newsletter 10

Selling Strategies: Strategies for Success Newsletter October 2007 No. 22

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Published by Emily Huling Selling Strategies

www.sellingstrategies.com

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In this October 2007 issue:

Thoughts from the office
Thoughts from the road
Thoughts from home
Upcoming public speaking engagements

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thoughts from the office

Table etiquette continued

I received an enormous response from my piece on table etiquette. Most thanked me for giving them a way to broach the subject with colleagues or children. Many wrote to say how clever the “b” and “d” tip is. One reader wrote to tell me she thought I had forgotten a very important point and she’s correct. Close your mouth while chewing. It makes it impossible to talk with your mouth full. Thank you, Andrea Dahl, for adding that important tip to the list.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

New Audio Seminar Coming in November!

Write On! Business Writing for Insurance Professionals

Tactics, tips, and techniques to write concise correspondence, powerful proposals, engaging articles, and determine when to use which communication channel. Program includes audio, slides, and handout. Later this month, we’ll have program and ordering information on the website.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thoughts from the road

Contagious consciousness

Late day planes are almost always delayed and my flight from Charlotte to Orlando at 4:30 was no exception. Charlotte is a busy connecting hub, so when I arrived at the gate I wasn’t surprised that there were few seats left for the waiting passengers. A young woman caught my eye and moved her backpack welcoming me to her side. I noticed she was reading Tim O’Brien’s book about Vietnam The Things They Carried, a finalist for the 1990 Pulitzer Prize. She was eager to talk.

I learned Caroline had just graduated from high school in Allentown, PA, which is where her day began. She was going to Florida to be with her brother who was having surgery. In the fall, she’d be attending Hofstra University on Long Island for pre-law and international studies. Her dream is to work at the United Nations and change the world.

Caroline talked to me about social injustice, bad governments and global warming. Had I read The Kite Runner about Afghanistan under the Taliban? Had I seen the Motorcycle Diaries about Che Guevara? Had I read Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins? (Yes, no, and no)

She was passionate. She said there is so much to do, so many people to help. Learn all you can. Get involved. Be certain to vote. Make sure your life makes a difference.

Quite a powerful message and reminder from an eighteen year old.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jobs that pay nothing are often the best learning opportunities. EH

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

My Deal Makers’ column has been a regular feature in IA magazine since 2000. We’re posting select columns on the website each month.

Go to www.sellingstrategies.com to read top sales cues, marketing tips, and deal closers. Follow the link from the home page.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thoughts from home

The Game of Winning

I was playing Candy Land with Quincey, the 4-year-old daughter of my cousins who live in Charlotte. She’s a child any adult would want to be with. She plays nicely with others including her brother Nathan and her Aunt Emily. Her daily activities outside of pre-school are playing with toys, coloring, and using her imagination. I think her delightful disposition and playfulness are partly a result of not watching television, except for an occasional TIVO’d Dora the Explorer.

Back to Candy Land. Quincey knows her colors and how to count, so with every card drawn, she moved the game pieces. I was doing color commentary describing the moves, the jumps, the setbacks as we visited Gramma Nutt and my personal favorite, Mr. Mint. We laughed and had a great time. As we were putting the game away, her mother said to me, “You’re all about winning.” That stopped me cold. She was right. As baby boomers, we played games to win. We were raised to have winning attitudes.

I recently heard Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, interviewed on the topic of his latest book (co-authored by his wife Suzy Welch), Winning: The Answers: Confronting 74 of the Toughest Questions in Business Today. I’ll paraphrase his comments. He said young people entering the work force don’t have the drive to win. They aren’t being raised that way. We need business people who want to win.

For many people, winning has gotten a bad rap and I don’t know why. Having a winning attitude is about doing your best and understanding that circumstance, opportunity, and timing play a key role in the outcome.

Vince Lombardi has been credited with more than a dozen quotes on winning. Here’s one I agree with. “Winning isn't everything, but the will to win is everything.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On the road

Here are my upcoming scheduled public speaking engagements:

October 11-12, 2007 Young Agents Conference - Independent Agents of Virginia, Richmond, VA

October 17, 2007 Agency Management CIC, Reno, NV

October 19, 2007 ASCnet Conference, Orlando, FL

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Selling Strategies: Strategies for Success Newsletter is published by Emily Huling Selling Strategies. For further information contact emily@sellingstrategies.com.