Tweet

Sales Secrets - The Best Advice

Written by: Jim Meisenheimer

Article Overview: Some advice you receive naturally falls by the wayside. Some advice sticks to your ribs for a lifetime. See some of the advice that has made a difference.

Sales Secrets - The Best Advice

Here's a sales secret. The best advice I ever got was from my father. Growing up as a kid, whenever I asked him, "What do you think I should do," he always responded with, "What do you think you should do?"

I guess the best advice wasn't really advice, more like a gift. The gift of learning how to make my own decisions.


The following were excerpted from the May 12th issue of Fortune Magazine.

Michael Bloomberg - Mayor of NYC. "The advice was, first, always ask for the order, and second, when the customer says yes, stop talking."

Mark Hurd - CEO Hewlett Packard. "An NCR executive was giving a presentation. He had great slides and an even better delivery. The CEO, Chuck Exley, listened to the entire presentation. At the conclusion, he nodded and said something brief but profound: "Good story, but it's hard to look smart with bad numbers."

Indra Nooyi - CEO Pepsico. "My father was an absolutely wonderful human being. From him I learned to always assume positive intent. Whatever anybody says or does, assume positive intent. You will be amazed at how your whole approach to a person or problem becomes very different."

Sam Palmisano - CEO IBM. "Some of the best advice I ever received was unspoken. Over the course of my IBM career I've observed many CEO's, heads of state, and others in positions of great authority. I've noticed that some of the most effective leaders don't make themselves the center of attention."

Thomas Murphy - CEO Capital Cities/ABC. "Doing the wrong thing is not worth the loss of one good night's sleep."

Nelson Peltz - CEO Train Fund Management. "Get sales up, and keep expenses down." Now that's a sales secret worth noting!

Charlene Begley - CEO GE Enterprise Solutions. "Jeff Immelt, before he became CEO, gave me this advice: spend a ton of time with your customers."

Bob Iger - CEO Disney. "My father wrote in my sixth grade yearbook quoting Hamlet - Polonius to his son, Laertes: 'To thine own self be true.' I was 12 years old but it had a powerful impression on me then, and I've often thought of it since."

Here's one more sales secret for you. Most advice is easy to give and hard to take. But as you can see from the above, good advice has life-long staying power.

Here's a sales secret you can take to the bank if you're willing to accept it. Read. Read a lot. You will become what you read.

If you out-read your competitors you will surely out-smart them.

Related Articles
  Book Review: The Yes Factor - Secrets of Persuasive Communication
  Success Isn't Magic
  Top-10 Secrets of: Sustainable Small Business Growth
  Why simple advice is sometimes the best advice
  Are The Majority Of B2B Salespeople Allergic to Paperwork Even Though It Means They Are Missing Out On A Competitive Advantage?

Article Tags: bob iger, capital cities, center of attention, charlene begley, enterprise solutions, exley, fortune magazine, fund management, giving a presentation, grade yearbook, growing up as a kid, hamlet polonius, laertes, mark hurd, michael bloomberg, ncr, nelson peltz, pepsico, sam palmisano, thomas murphy



Related Forum Posts
Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing
Re: Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - [quote="ltrahan":31w9r2iz]Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing[/quote:31w9r2iz] I second the request...
Hello From Marietta GA! - Hello All! My name is Tim Naylor and I am in Direct Sales! I am glad I have found EC's sites and I hope to learn and share a lot!
7 words or less for Structogram - Some "7 words or less" (more or less) for Structogram for your comments: Training to get your message across(6) Secrets to get your message across (6) Training so people will listen to you (7) Helping you get your message across (6) Training to learn to get your message across (8) Communications training for yourself and your team (7)
taxes in canada - Well in Canada we only have a few provinces and the Sales tax is slightly different. Here in Ontario the Goods & Services tax has reduced to 5% from 7% in the last year due to the promises made by the government in place.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

The Biggest Domain Name Myth

A New Year in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Living on The Edge of Chaos...

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.