by Kirby Hasseman
I love to read. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not because I love the feeling of “curling up with a good book.” That’s fine, I guess. But my personality does not really lend me to a curling up kind of guy. I love it because I feel like reading pushes me. It makes me think. It inspires me to push harder. But sometimes it’s hard to recommend books because your need depends on your area of interest or need.
So I usually default to some of the books that I have enjoyed lately.
That’s cool…but I thought it might be helpful to break it down via “area of interest.”
So here are 7 sales books that I have loved and have helped me grow.
1. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: You might be saying “but this is not a sales book.” You would be wrong. It’s a “better human” book. If you follow these principles, you will be a better sales person. Period.
2. The Ultimate Sales Machine: I loved the overall sales process that Chet Holmes outlined in this one. It inspired me. And if you look at the life of selling results (regardless of industry) Chet had the goods.
3. High Trust Selling: This book changed my business. I love the concept of the 80/20 rule of sales that Todd Duncan lines up in this book. For me, this is when I took the “next step” in my sales career and hired an assistant. It was a leap of faith for sure. And I took it because of this book.
4. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion: If you want to affect people’s behavior, you need to understand their psychology. Why do we do what we do? This book, originally written as an academic text for psychology, has become a sales “must read.”
5. The 10X Rule: If you need a red bull style kick in the pants, Grant Cardone has you covered. I love goals. But Cardone takes it to the next level. I listen to this one and he gets me fired up to attack the day.
6. Fanatical Prospecting: This book was another book that really grabbed me by the collar. It tells you things that (as a salesperson) you might not want to hear…but you need to hear. If you want to have more sales, you need to do Fanatical Prospecting.
7. The Sales Acceleration Formula: This is one that taps in the science of the sale when it comes to the basics of content marketing. From one of the early leaders at Hubspot, this one will make you think of your sales process…and how to turn it on its ear.
This is hardly an exhaustive list. But there are some really good ones here that have inspired me at different times on my sales career! What are your favorite sales books? Let me know! Make sure you never miss an update! Sign up for the VIP newsletter here and we send out a weekly wrap up of everything!
by Kirby Hasseman
You probably hear it from someone every week. “TGIF! Thank God It’s Friday.”
It seems we have an entire culture full of people that are “living for the weekend.” And though I understand that every one needs leisure time, for the most part this is nuts. As Gary Vaynerchuk says, “If you are living for the weekend, your shit is broken.”
Why? Because my whole goal in life is to be chasing something that excites me. If that’s the case, I need (and want) to be doing it all the time. I am not upset on Monday. I am excited to get after it.
That being said, I love Fridays too! Here are my reasons I say “TGIF.”
1. Everyone Else Is In A Good Mood
That’s right. One of the reasons I love Fridays is because you love Fridays. It means that you (and most of the people I know) are in a better mood. This makes every interaction more fun and productive. I am just like everyone else. If everyone around me is lighter, then I will be too! (Oh, and happy people are more successful, I talk about that here).
2. People Make Decisions
I find that a lot of work gets done before you go on vacation. Why? Because there is a deadline. The same is true, in my experience, on Fridays. The decision they have been putting off all week gets made on Friday. It’s like a mental deadline. They want to get it off their desk so they can leave the office with a clear conscience. That means Fridays are a great day to pick up the phone in sales.
3. Measuring the Weeks Results
In a sales and entrepreneurial world, we are chasing results, right? Much of the time, we measure those based on what happens Monday through Friday. So how have I done? How far have I come? What did I accomplish? I measure these on Friday. I love that. Either I have done what I had hoped…or not. Then that provides me the carrot or the stick to start again next week.
So there you have it. These are 3 reasons that I say “TGIF.” How about you? What is your favorite thing about Friday?
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by Kirby Hasseman
Some people just don’t like me. I am not for everybody.
I was having this conversation yesterday with Josh in my office. It’s a reality that everyone faces. No matter how hard I try to be a good person, or how much I want everyone to like me, it’s not going to work.
Some people have good reason not to like me. I might have done them wrong. I am not perfect. Some people have have heard something about me that they don’t like. Maybe from the group above. Some people just don’t like my face.
For whatever the reason, not everyone will like me. And that’s ok. I am not for everyone.
The same is true of your organization. No matter how hard you work to take care of each and every customer, some people will not like you. Because despite of your best efforts, there will be times when things go wrong. You (or your organization) might mess up and frustrate a customer. You won’t mean to…but it will happen. Those people might tell a few friends…so they won’t like you either. And some people will decide they don’t like your logo (your face).
But here’s the good news. You don’t need everyone to like you. Because if you are working hard and showing up every day, you will find people that LOVE you. You will uncover people that are fired up about your services (and you) and are excited to tell others about them! They will have a great experience. They will tell their friends. And they will love your face!
This is the group you (and I) need to focus on. We need to spend all of our time, money and energy on this set of people. They are the ones that we can build a business (and a happy life) on. This is also the group we can best serve.
This sentence can either frustrate you or set you free. I am not for everyone.
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by Kirby Hasseman
My youngest daughter Jade is getting ready to start her Senior Year. As a parent, this is an exciting, bittersweet, scary, fun and surreal time.
Yes. All of those. As many of you know, it’s also the time when you have to start talking about “what’s next.” With that in mind, there are the obligatory college visits, discussions about the future, and the ACT test. This is the test, of course, that helps colleges and universities decide whether your kid is good enough to pay for the opportunity to attend their school. If you think you detect a hint of negativity about the process, you are right.
Unfortunately, on the first time out, Jade felt the same way.
She was not sure what she wanted to do. She did NOT want to take this test. She did not want to get up early. She was pretty much “all out” on the whole process. Her results showed it. She did not do well on the test. But as is nearly always the case, the failure is not nearly as important as the response to it. Jade went back to work.
First, she adopted a better attitude about the whole process. That is SO important. Studies tell you that when you have a positive attitude, your brain functions better. So that alone might have helped. But that was not all. She also started working with a coach. Elaine Smith worked with her over 5 sessions. Not only did she give Jade tips and tricks for attacking the test, but (maybe more importantly) she gave her the confidence that she could do well.
She studied. She worked on it . She had a better attitude. Her results showed it.
I am very proud to report that Jade’s overall score went up quite a bit. Several sections of the test went up even more. It’s great news. But to me, this is not the best part of the story. The reality (as I see it) is that this is just one standardized test. It’s one of those things that seems important in the moment. But it’s not. Not really.
What IS important is that Jade learned how life works. When you try something new, you might do poorly. You almost certainly will do poorly if your attitude sucks. But if you learn from it. You readjust your attitude. You work on it. You get a coach. You will get better. Now THAT is a lesson I can get behind.
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by Kirby Hasseman
Delivering Marketing Joy is one of the pieces of content that I am most proud. Why? Probably because it was one of the first consistent pieces I produced…and it helped put me on the map.
Now, nearly 250 episodes later, it’s still rolling. As you might expect from a journey like this, I have learned a lot from Delivering Marketing Joy. But what can it teach you? Here are a few lessons I am proud to share.
Don’t Listen To The Voice: I have talked about this before here, but it’s worth mentioning again. The hardest voice to overcome when starting something like this is the one in your own head. For Delivering Marketing Joy, I had to overcome the voice telling me that no one wanted to talk to me on an interview show. Who was I? I am so glad I pushed through that. Most people were more than willing (and generous) to spend the time.
Share Platforms: One of the reasons I think the show worked (early on) was because I was sharing platforms with other people in the industry as I grew my own. In my first episode I talked with Mark Graham. He was already an influencer in the industry, so I was able to leverage his audience too! Obviously, the goal is to provide value. So by sharing platforms you get to share the goods with more people.
Stay With It: When I was about 20 or so episodes into the show, I was kind of tired. I was proud of how many shows I had done…but I did not know whether it was worth it to continue. Insert Seth Godin. I got the chance to interview him (with Mark Graham) and Seth mentioned that he had seen the show! Wow! Then he said something I will never forget. “Stick with it. In 3 years you will be glad you did.” At the time I did not have the next episode lined up! But I did keep it up. And Seth even agreed to be my guest when I got to Episode 100. Watch that here.
Be Consistent: This is something I preach a lot…because I think it really matters. If you want to build an audience (and I am still working on it), you need to be consistent. It’s important to the audience. But I think it’s important to you too. It sets a deadline. Otherwise, it becomes really easy to “just miss one.”
Start With A Few in the Bank: This leads nicely to Start with a few “in the bank.” When I started DMJ, I heard that the average web show never makes it to Episode 5. I have no idea if that was true. But I was obsessed with starting with 5 shows done! That bank of episodes gave me some confidence and gave me time to get more going!
Don’t Worry About the Metrics (at first): It’s not about creating a “viral video.” It’s about creating value. Way too many people get really focused on the numbers too early on. It’s a recipe for frustration. You are (likely) not going to have a big audience at first…so the numbers are not going to be impressive. That’s fine. It will build. Plus, I have found that despite the numbers, you never know who is watching. Keep focusing on the value…the numbers will take care of themselves. Delivering Marketing Joy is a weekly class for me. I learn something all the time. But these are just a few lessons that I am reminded of as I look back.
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by Kirby Hasseman
I love what we do. Whether you call it Promo, SWAG, Premiums, Branded Merchandise, you name it.
We do marketing. We do fun.
And with each month, some of the best and the brightest minds are continually coming up with new and cooler products that all of us can put branded messages on. I just love it.
As I have said before (and I will say again) Promotional Products affect human behavior. If you want to drive people to a website, to work safer, to come to an event or to donate to a cause…the best organizations use Promo because it works. But what do I use on a regular basis? After all, I am in the industry! So what do I find myself using each week?
Though it changes, and I will update this list at some point…here are a few items I find myself using every week!
Clip It Vent Mount:You can find more details here.
12 oz Urban Peak 3 in 1 Insulator: this will be appreciated.
Stay Organized Journal: We did these as a team and I did not expect to like them as much as I do! It’s a great size and it has a great look. And let’s face it, no one ever throws away a journal. So as I use it each day to take notes (including ideas about this blog), I think this is a home run.
Twist Erase Mechanical Pencil: Check it out here.
Mission Pack Backpack: When it comes to backpacks, I know there are a lot of options. But this one just seems to suit me. I love the shape, color and functionality of this bag. I use it for my daily trip to and from the office. And I have even used it on longer, cross country trips as well. Oh…and have I mentioned you can do as few as one with your logo? Well…that’s pretty cool. Get more information here. So those are just 5 Promotional Products that I am using all the time.
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