by Kirby Hasseman
I was looking into the eyes of a frustrated young lady. She was in the middle of a situation where someone she used to be close to was disparaging her on social media. She was angry. She was emotional. And she looked at me and said “I want some advice. What do you think I should do?” It’s a tough spot. But I said, “What I am about to say is simple…but it’s not easy.” I told her that she needed to ignore it. She needed to rise above it. She should not respond in kind. The fact is, what she needed to do was simple from my perspective. It was simple because I was not emotionally attached to it. But simple is not the same as easy. The same is true for nearly everything we want to accomplish in life. We “know” what to do. You want to lose 10 pounds? You need to eat better and work out more. Simple. You want to increase your sales? You need to reach out and talk to more potential customers. You need to ask them to buy from you. Simple. Oh, you want to have a better relationship with your significant other? You need to listen more, give more, love them more. Simple. That’s why it’s really easy to look at other people’s lives and diagnose what “they” need to do. When we look at other people’s situations, we have no emotional attachment to the issues. So we can look objectively and easily prescribe a solution. What does this mean for you? It means we all struggle with the same challenge. We know what to do. We just need to do it. So grant yourself some grace if you have not done it in the past. You can only do something about today. The solution is likely simple…it’s just not easy. Today, do the thing you know you need to do. Then do it again. Make sure you never miss an update! Join our VIP newsletter here.
by Kirby Hasseman
Each week Kirby will dig into a word that will help in personal development, sales, and growth. The weekly word is designed to be short and sweet, and provide a quick lesson that will help you grow each week. 
Guess who’s back, back again??? Kirby’s back!!! Tell a friend!!! Welcome Back!!!! Kirby Hasseman of Hasseman Marketing is bringing back the weekly segment of the Weekly Word!! This segment focuses on personal development that will build a lesson around a word each week. This week’s weekly word is GOALS. In this video, Kirby teaches us the importance of having goals in your life and gives a few pointers on how to live the life that you mean to live. Kirby believes that if you want to build a life that you want you have to do it with intention. The way you do that is to create your life around GOALS. Kirby emphasizes that studies actually show that only 3% of the population have their goals and have them written down. This is totally blows Kirby’s mind, because most studies show you that you are more likely to achieve your goals if you have your goals and actually write them down and post them as a daily reminder. So make it your goal to strive to be a part of that 3%. Make it a habit to do your life intentionally. Always keep in mind that if you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there. Kirby encourages you to think about your GOALS, write down your GOALS, and build a life that you mean to build. Want to keep up all the time? Make sure to join our VIP List! Our VIP’s get an email with the latest content…and other special offers as well. Join here.
by Kirby Hasseman
The “secret to successful selling” is something that sales professionals and entrepreneurs search for like the holy grail. There are thousands of books about the subject. White papers and blogs are shared to help you find this elusive “white whale.” Videos are produced all the time to help you “fill the funnel” and “close the sale.” But here is the secret I have found about sales. There is no secret. The process to growing your sales is simple…not easy. Are you ready for it? Want to hear it? Here goes… 1. Make more sales calls (to real potential buyers).2. Ask for the order. I know that’s not sexy and not detailed. But I find in most cases (including my own), when sales are trailing, these two things can help. Let’s dig deeper though. Here are some more tips on growing your sales in nearly any market. 1. Be a Learner Not an Interrogator: If you have been in sales for more than 3 minutes, you have heard people tell you that you need to “ask questions” and you need to “listen.” There are all kinds of memes that will tell you that you have two ears and one mouth and to use them accordingly. But one trap you can fall into is to ask questions in a sequential order. You have a script (even if it is of questions) and you follow that. You want to get to the answers so you can qualify this prospect. In this instance, you are asking questions, but not really listening. Take on the role of a “learner.” Listen to their answers and ask follow up questions with things like, “Tell me more about that.” This will allow you to learn more about the problem you are trying to solve, but also the person who you are meeting with. 2. Provide Value: One of the best ways to connect with a person (buyer) is to listen to them honestly (see above). The next is to sincerely try to help them. Obviously we are all in business, and we want to make the sale and make money. But if you listen, you might find a way you can provide them value outside of the transaction. Do you have an article you can share with them? Are they new to town? Can you help them find a place to shop? Whatever. Listen to them and provide value up front and you will create a person that wants to do business with you when the time is right. 3. Ask For Next Steps: I said above that we need to “ask for the order” and that’s often true. But sometimes that’s jumping the gun. What I like to consider is “what is the logical next step?” Ask for that. Sometimes sales professionals are reticent to do this because it might seem pushy. To be honest, I think it’s weird if you have just spent time with a client and don’t ask. You have just wasted their time and yours. Maybe the next step is to put another appointment on the calendar. Maybe it’s to ask for the order. Maybe it’s step where the client needs to provide you information. Whatever it is, ask for that. The fact is, there are many subtle steps to the sales cycle. But if you take these 3 steps you will start to see progress in your sales journey! Don’t ever miss a post from Hasseman Marketing! Sign up for our VIP newsletter here.
by Kirby Hasseman
Begin with the end in mind. In Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” this is Habit number 2. Covey tells us to think to our own funeral. He tells us to consider what we hope people will say about the life we lived. Then he reminds us to go live that life…create that legacy. I was reminded of this during the past week as I prepared to give the eulogy at a friend’s funeral. He was my best friend growing up. He was the best man at my wedding. But there I was, preparing to try to speak about his life and his impact on me. It was an honor to have been asked. But wow. For the better part of a week, I struggled with what stories to tell and what words to use. What would he want me to say? What would his family need to hear? Honestly, what would be therapeutic for me to say? But of course there are no special words in a situation like that. What I think brings healing in those moments are to celebrate a life lived. We did that, I think. Eric was very much my brother. I certainly hope we all remember the best in him. But now, as is the case in situations like this, we are expected to move on. So this week, as I come out of the fog of grief (piece by piece), I am reminded of Habit number 2. What do I want people to remember about me? What life do I want to have lived? What legacy do I want to have created? I have thought a lot about that. Now I need to begin with end in mind…and go live that life.
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by Kirby Hasseman
If you get to a certain age, you will have made your fair share of mistakes. You will have said some dumb things. You will have done some dumb things. As the old saying goes “Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from bad decisions.” On the other hand, in nearly every life, you will have made some good decisions too. You have had triumphs. You have had some wins. During some of those tougher times, you hopefully learned some lessons. I feel comfortable saying this, because this is the human experience. We have some good…and some bad. But which story are you telling yourself? Moving forward, each of us have the opportunity to tell ourselves a story. Is your highlight reel only showing you the defeats? We all have crashes. But you can sabotage yourself by reminding yourself of your failures every day. The thoughts you choose don’t have to be totally rosey (you want to learn from those mistakes) but it shouldn’t be all negative either. As you start the next phase of your journey (and yes, that starts today), make sure you are choosing thoughts that inspire you. Show yourself the highlight reel of the best of you. I am reminded of the old parable below.
A grandfather is talking with his grandson and he says there are two wolves inside of us which are always at war with each other.
One of them is a good wolf which represents things like kindness, bravery and love. The other is a bad wolf, which represents things like greed, hatred and fear.
The grandson stops and thinks about it for a second then he looks up at his grandfather and says, “Grandfather, which one wins?”
The grandfather quietly replies, the one you feed.
So today, ask yourself what story you are telling yourself. And remember, the story you tell yourself is the one you are telling the world too.
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