Selling Strategies: Strategies for Success Newsletter February 2008 No. 26
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Published by Emily Huling Selling Strategies
Copyright 2008 Emily Huling. All rights reserved.
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In this February 2008 issue:
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1.
Thoughts from home
Let there be light
It’s not unusual for children to be afraid of the dark. Who knows what lurks
under a bed, in a drawer, or behind a closet door? Closed eyes and darkness
create a vivid imagination. Parents
come to the rescue, turn on a light, and say, “You’ll be fine. Monsters can’t
live in the light.”
Thank goodness we become adults and don’t see night time monsters. Or do we?
If you’ve ever gone to sleep after a long and tiring day only to sleep fitfully,
you know we still create monsters. The one-eyed, green, hairy giants have been
replaced with images of bosses, coworkers, family, and friends.
Our minds race. “Why did I do that?” “Why didn’t I say that?” “Did I
remember to ________?” How could she __________?” “What will happen if
___________?”
Unlike imaginary childhood monsters, if we aren’t careful our adult monsters can
destroy us. Self-doubt, blame, and unsubstantiated anxiety will sabotage our
minds and well-being.
Do yourself a favor when night-time monsters appear. Turn on a light.
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The key to living a full life is to live in the present. EH
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2.
Thoughts from the office
Keep emotions in check
Inappropriate emotions in the workplace can undermine our credibility and
professionalism. This includes
crying, pouting, anger, distrust and fear. Any of these will cripple productive
work and create a dysfunctional work environment. Coworkers distance themselves
from those they find emotionally unpredictable. Why say good morning to someone
when the response could be unpleasant? Why ask a question if the reply implies
distrust?
Two parties are involved to keep heightened emotions under control – you and the
other person. No matter who initiates what’s perceived as inappropriate
emotional behavior, it’s up to you to recognize and manage the situation. Here
are five steps to diffuse emotionally charged circumstances.
1.
Recognize and understand the emotional charge. Is your coworker angry or just
excited? Are you dealing with anxiety or is it full-fledged panic?
2.
What’s the source of the feelings? Are you recalling a similar past situation
that caused the emotion and not today’s reality? Could your coworker’s reaction
be a result of something that has nothing to do with the situation at hand?
3.
Unhook from the source. Take a deep breath, acknowledge the emotion, and deal
with it directly. Say to yourself “I will not get plugged into… a snippy tone of
voice, rushed coworker, feelings of doubt about my job, etc.”
If you need to remove yourself from the situation until the emotions
clear, do so.
4.
Acknowledge aloud what you are feeling or what you sense from your coworker. Do
this in a non-confrontational way.
For example, “I’m sorry I’m so angry about this. It’s not directed at you. This
situation happened last week and it was a lot of extra work.” Or if you’re the
recipient of the emotional charge, say to your coworker, “I feel frustrated
because this happens all the time.” Do not say, “You do this all the time.”
I-messages explain where you’re coming from and help avoid unproductive,
accusatory language.
5.
Use business tools and strategies that will help avoid emotionally charged
encounters. For example, handling large commercial renewals can be a stressful
challenge for your team. Make the process smooth and predictable by implementing
and adhering to a renewal workflow with scheduled meetings, accountabilities and
timelines.
Strong emotions result from any number of personal factors. The office is not
the place to deal with the psychology of the issues. Learn how to divorce
yourself from the emotional charge to get work done to meet business and
individual goals.
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Thoughts on happiness from Andy Rooney
“If you don’t enjoy getting up and working and finishing your work and sitting
down to a meal with family or friends, then the chances are you’re not going to
be happy. If someone bases his happiness or unhappiness on major events like a
great new job, huge amounts of money, a flawlessly happy marriage or a trip to
Paris, that person isn’t going to be happy much of the time.
If, on the other hand, happiness depends on a good breakfast, flowers in
the yard, a drink or a nap, then we are more likely to live with quite a bit of
happiness.”
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On the road in 2008
Here are my currently scheduled public speaking engagements and conferences I’ll
be attending.
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Business growth opportunities and tools
This coaching program provides four months unlimited access to me. Contacts
include scheduled phone calls, course assignments using my books and audios,
weekly activity and results reviews, and a dozen other topics to increase
business. Our goal is to shorten the learning curve and create a sales process
for long-term success. Full details on acceptance, topics, and cost are on the
website. www.sellingstrategies.com
3.
Improve written communication skills with this new audio seminar
Write On! Business Writing for Insurance Professionals. This four-CD
program offers tactics, tips, and
techniques to write concise correspondence, create proposals that close sales,
write articles that get published, and diminish e-mail overload. The program
includes audio, slide presentation, handout, and quiz. Listen on the go or
conduct your own in-house workshop. For detailed program information and to
order, go to
www.sellingstrategies.com.
Newsletter readers save $20 off the $119 program cost. Use coupon code news11 at
checkout.
4.
Soft Market Selling: Exceeding Client Expectations. This new audio seminar will
be available in March.
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Selling Strategies: Strategies for Success Newsletter is published by Emily
Huling Selling Strategies. For further information contact
emily@sellingstrategies.com.
© 2008 Emily Huling. All rights reserved. Feel free to share our newsletter if
copyright and credit are always included.