http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3380875

Sales is a contact sport complete with your team and their - competitors - team. 

Does your team know your "home run" dream? 

Would the competitors team think enough of you to help you get it?

Often times people think the profession of sales lacks character.  I am here to tell you that is not true!

Many have asked me about the DEDICATIONS page in my book, The Field Guide To Sales….and WHY in heavens name would I dedicate my book to a COMPETITOR???????????  This video reminded me of Rick Smith -my greatest competitor EVER! - and how he was like the two young women who didn’t hardly hesitate to do what was right with no time to think about what this would do for them…..but knowing that young woman on the OTHER team could not make her dream of a home run come true by herself and her own team could not help her.  Their character is as second nature to them as breathing…is yours?

Some days it is not about the number on the scoreboard….the girls who carried their competitor over home plate so she could score a home run did not win the game……and they were not losers either.

Play ball!!!!!!!!!!      

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http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3380875

Sales is a contact sport complete with your team and their - competitors - team. 

Does your team know your "home run" dream? 

Would the competitors team think enough of you to help you get it?

Often times people think the profession of sales lacks character.  I am here to tell you that is not true!

Many have asked me about the DEDICATIONS page in my book, The Field Guide To Sales….and WHY in heavens name would I dedicate my book to a COMPETITOR???????????  This video reminded me of Rick Smith -my greatest competitor EVER! - and how he was like the two young women who didn’t hardly hesitate to do what was right with no time to think about what this would do for them…..but knowing that young woman on the OTHER team could not make her dream of a home run come true by herself and her own team could not help her.  Their character is as second nature to them as breathing…is yours?

Some days it is not about the number on the scoreboard….the girls who carried their competitor over home plate so she could score a home run did not win the game……and they were not losers either.

Play ball!!!!!!!!!!      

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A special thank you to you Donna for hosting us at the beautiful TransSynergy Group offices…..thank you to Betty also for helping get everything coordinated!:)

Thank you for sharing in Karel Anne’s and my excitement over our books….each of you make it extra special!:)  We would love your book reviews after you read them….or in the case of Karel Anne’s books we would love to come and do a taste test of the recipes you prepare from her book!:)

Chip Richie was with us on Wednesday….and now in his SEVENTH:) decade of film making:)….who remember when he was in his FIFTH decade….I do, I do!:)…..please see his email below for the link to his newest trailer on YouTube….as always, he is doing amazing things….and finally the world is recognizing him for it!:)

Our best to each of you always!:)  Let us know if we can do anything for you!!:)

Hugs,

Deb:)

You can view a trailer of Chip’s next film on YouTube.

Our Spirits Don’t Speak English:  Indian Boarding School

http://youtube.com/watch?v=OQ48PlBr7Oc

and an interview that will break your heart

http://youtube.com/watch?v=qDshQTBh5d4

Available in two weeks at

www.richheape.com

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The Chicago Sun Times featured Chocolate Prescription in their Wednesday Food Section.  Here’s the link to the online version of the article.  In the paper, they printed a photo of her 1 Week Prescription!

 
http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/food/922599,FOO-News-fancy30.article

I hope all is going well for you and that you are eating lots of dark chocolate!  : )

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How do you get your message to the WORLD???  Needless to say meeting everyone on the planet one on one is probably not an effective use of your time or even possible!:)

What if you have someone help you tell the world…or at least 60 countries on the face of the globe?

Enter a wonderful Johnny Appleseed who is helping me sow the message for sales that I want to get out to the world.  His name is Forrest Ward and I want you to know him too!!  Forrest has a program called Living & Leading on an internet radio site called Apostle Radio and he invited me to be his guest speaker to tell about my background, my business and the community things that are important to me that might help others in how they make a difference in their world.

Hear the interview here:Debbie Mrazek - Living and Leading interview with Forrest Ward

Forrest and I met at a luncheon hosted by Jeff Crilley who has written THE book on Free Publicity - Free Publicity: A TV Reporter Shares the Secrets for Getting Covered on the News.  Jeff had allowed us to stand up during the luncheon and tell about our new book, The Field Guide To Sales, and afterwards Forrest came up to me to ask if he could buy a copy and told me he had a radio show that he would like to interview me for…WOW! was all I could think!!  (NOTE: You know how I am always telling you that you need to show up for something to happen…this is a great case in point!!:))

Forrest uses the radio program to showcase others and get the message out about what he does for companies in his business.  His firm is committed to working with entrepreneurs to expand their businesses through developing business plans and marketing strategies, facilitating those plans and strategies, pre-screening and testing potential employees, training new employees, and providing a network of services to obtain clients.  Feel free to Call 817-880-5651 or email Forrest@ForrestAllenWard.com to have Forrest work with you and your business or speak to your group.

How do you get your message out to the world???  Engage with others who use a different medium to get the word out or who have a different market.  I use newsletters, blogs, speeches, articles,etc to get the word out.  Forrest uses his great LIVING AND LEADING radio program.  So today I tell my world via my blog about him and he tells his world via his radio show about me….this is how the world becomes our oyster!!

Who has an audience that you would like to reach today….call them and see if they will share your story with their audience and you in turn can share their story with yours…and the world gets bigger!:)

Happy Selling!
Deb:)

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What are some other different kinds of ways you could have FUN with your colleagues and get to know one another, engage in meaningful conversation, talk comfortably…..some other ideas might be:

• A wine tasting - usually done in quiet environments over a few hours and everyone is usually "happy" when they leave
• Hot air balloon ride - get everyone out to do something they may have never done before but that is engaging and highly memorable
• Cooking class - we all know the way to the heart is thru the stomach right??:)  We all can’t be Julia Childs but a group can put out a great meal like Julia when they have someone showing them every step of the way!  Check out my friend, Chef Karel Anne’s cooking school that does this sort of event   www.kitchen-friends.com
• Concert in the park - find a group that all like the same artist and buy tickets, sit in the grass, rent a bus to ride together to go there, stand in line for nachos and beer together in between sets….great way to get to know people and have time to talk!:)

Whatever you do just do something FUN….sales does not have to be drudgery to be successful….the best sales are always done with people who genuinely like one another and enjoy being together whether at the conference table, over lunch or at a FUN event!:)

Happy Selling!
Deb:)

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What groups do you belong to?  Professional, community, school, etc??

Why do you belong to them?  How long have you belonged to them?

What do they do for you?  Do you participate or merely show up from time to time?

Obviously, you have thousands of organizations out there today that you can belong to.  How do you choose?

I generally choose because of the leadership, the mission, the members that are involved. Ten years ago I joined an organization called   eWomenNetwork because of it’s two founders, Sandra and Kym Yancey, who were just beginning this new organization that was only going to be on the web - I loved them as the leadership, believed in their mission to connect women all over the world by having a website where they could find one another sorted by their areas of interest or geography and I knew the membership would be great because it would be other terrific women.

After 10 years not only have I met an unbelievable group of women but the organization changed after a couple of years of being on the web when they continued to have women ask them if they could get together in person. 

Fast forward - we have met in person hundreds of wonderful women at monthly meetings, spoken at different chapter meetings, attended the International Conference and Business EXPO (which if you are in Dallas July 10-13th you don’t want to miss this—remember your girls dorm in college and how fun that was?? Well, this is the downtown Hyatt Regency as a 4 day dormitory with fabulous women and it is legal to drink alcoholic beverages without getting expelled!:)),had the opportunity to speak for all of eWomens Managing Directors from Canada and the United States as well as do a conference breakout session - also, eWomen is the one who recommended me to speak in various cities for the Office Depot Success Strategies for Businesswomen Conferences,  we joined another eWomen initiative the eWomenPublishing Network - learned how to create a book, have created a book, have published our book The Field Guide To Sales —and  yes that is our book on the first page of the networking site!:) ***at our monthly meetings we also have sponsorship tables….this was us yesterday at our monthly meeting at Glen Eagles Country Club - contact Kym Glass - Managing Director, Plano if you would like to join us next month: kymglass@ewomennetwork.com

Has it been worth the time, the money, the effort?????????? YES a thousand times over!!!  Can you say this about organizations that you belong to?  If not, find a great new organization where you can volunteer, participate, learn, network, connect with other awesome people like yourself who share your drive and ambition….it is money in the bank when you do!!!!!$$$$$

Thought you might enjoy some of the points that I did from our monthly meeting last month when Sandra spoke on WORKING TOGETHER WORKS :

We love a down economy; everything is on sale!!

When you think no one cares about you – skip a payment.

Universe never shows up early or late….it is always right on time.

Believe what you see; see what you believe.

Don’t need to adopt others way but adapt in a way that honors yourself.

Your fortune is in the future because of follow-up.

People like people who smile.:)

-Sandra Yancey

Founder, eWomenNetwork

Author, Relationship Networking: The Art of Turning Contacts into Connections

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Thank you for the opportunity to have a table…see picture attached:)…..to show my book to all my eWomen girlfriends!

Love you all,

Deb:)

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Do you do trade shows???  It is a great way to get to see many people that you are focused on for your business in one place during a specific period of time….think about it like you are having many sales calls with people that you want to meet without the trouble of phone tag, driving to each of their place of business - and back to the office, etc…

For example, I did the Women’s Business Council trade show this week.  Women Business Owners (WBE’s) like myself were the exhibitors and the "audience in attendance" were other WBE’s and corporations that support the Women’s Business Council - FedEx, JC Penneys, Frito Lay, Texas Instruments, UPS….you get the picture…..these are not companies that you can waltz into any old day of the week and be able to meet with the exact person you need to talk to.  Imagine them walking up to you!!:)  Sales doesn’t have to be hard you know!:)

You need to have a booth that is engaging and peeks their interest as they walk by because they don’t know you and perhaps they didn’t come to the trade show today looking for your specific product or service.  They see your booth and think to themselves that they forgot they were needing what you do…and voila! there you are!:)

I was wanting to use this venue to get out the word on my Recession Proof Sales program and of course:)….promote and sell my new book, The Field Guide To Sales.  Have a theme for what you are wanting to do….use posters like these great ones that our friends at Crown Press did…ask for the awesome Tom Walters and tell him we sent you!:)…one poster featured the question: Don’t You Wish You Had A GPS to Improve Your Results? and the other has my beautiful bee logo and my company name.

Go to WalMart and get fun stuff to further your theme….for me I was using camouflage  - Trail Mix for them to take with them, Camo napkins so they don’t get their hands dirty, camo rug to drape across table, camo cooler to haul books:), signs that fit with the theme, tin can to collect business cards for the drawing for the SALES SURVIVAL KIT, of course my happy face volleyball for fun in the wilderness:)…and unfortunately the part we forgot to take a picture of was my darling CAMO flats to go with my wilderness jacket!!

Cost…yes, it does cost real green dollars to do a trade show…this one was about $750 dollars…and of course a days worth of my time……but how much would I have paid for the UPS representative to come and talk to me about what UPS needs and also recommend me to a person at Microsoft that is doing a women’s conference???  More than $750 I promise you!!:)  What will be the return??  Of course, there are no guarantees.  What I know for sure is that if you don’t show up nothing will happen….you have got to play to win!!:) 

Are you in the game to win….are  you in the game???  If not, GET IN TODAY!!!  Call your professional association and see when their next conference, trade show, event is and sign up!!

Happy Selling!$$$$$$$

Deb:)

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