NZSALES JUNE 30th 2010 / Issue 41
How to revive prospects
when they disappear into black holes
A little American goes a long way Renowned international sales leader Jack Daly on his upcoming visit to NZ
Are you assertive enough? I’m not here to sell you anything!
Are you one of this week’s winners? SEE INSIDE!
NZ’s e-mag for sales leaders
JUNE 30 th / Issue 41 4
THIS WEEK'S MUST READ How to revive prospects who disappear Getting out of the black hole
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A little American goes a long way Raising the Bar – a tool for salespeople
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NZSM CALENDAR
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RESOURCE CORNER Snap Selling
ARE YOU ONE OF THIS WEEK'S WINNERS? SEE INSIDE!
Speed Up Sales And Win More Business With Today's Frazzled Customers 15
SALES TRAINING DIRECTORY
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TWO MINUTE TOP-UP Are you assertive enough? What is it costing you?
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Quick Fix It’s not what you sell, it’s how you sell.
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THE CLOSE
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read an interesting statistic today from a McKinsey survey which found that the most destructive selling activity, as determined by customers in the US and Europe, is too much contact, either in person, by phone or by email. Now while the report does not quantify ‘too much contact’, the amount of contact we have with prospects and customers is clearly something we need to get right. However, if we focus on the quality of the contact, the quantity will become less of an issue. In our lead article today, Jill Konrath gives some great advice on ways to contact a prospect who has gone quiet on you. Take note - the best piece of advice from Jill is to make each connection valuable – to the prospect. In our article, A Little American Goes A Long Way, Jack Daly comments that Kiwis are ‘backwards about coming forwards’ and that we need to be more assertive. I agree. I find that we don’t like to be sold to in a pushy way, and therefore, we don’t want to be perceived as a ‘pushy’ salesperson. Read Sally Mabelle’s excellent article on assertiveness too – and challenge yourself on whether you are sufficiently assertive at the critical moments.
ABOUT / Short and sharp, New Zealand Sales Manager is a free e-magazine delivering thought provoking and enlightening articles, and industry news and information to forwardthinking sales managers, business owners and sales professionals. EDITOR / Paul Newsom ART DIRECTOR / Jodi Olsson GROUP EDITOR / Trudi Caffell CONTENT ENQUIRIES / Phone Paul on 04 586 4733 or email pauln@nzsalesmanager.co.nz ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES / Phone Richard on 09 523 4112 or email richardl@nzsalesmanager.co.nz ADDRESS / NZ Sales Manager, C/Espire Media, PO Box 137162, Parnell, Auckland 1151, New Zealand WEBSITE / www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz
NZ Sales Manager has one ticket to see Jack Daly worth $795 +GST to give away to a lucky NZSM reader, courtesy of Results.com. Look inside on page 11 for details of how to enter. Happy Selling!
Paul
NZ Sales Manager is a GREEN MAG, created and distributed without the use of paper so it's environmentally friendly. Please think before you print. Thank you!
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TH I S W E E K ’ S M U ST R E A D Jill Konrath, author of Selling to Big Companies and Snap Selling, helps sellers crack into corporate accounts, shorten sales cycles and win big contracts. Visit Jills’ website at www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com
How To Revive Prospects Who Disappear Getting out of the black hole By Jill Konrath
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ave you ever had hot prospects who suddenly stopped returning your call? Then you know how disconcerting it can be - especially when they'd expressed so much interest in your product or service only days before. At first, you assume their lack of responsiveness is an isolated situation that will quickly self-correct. But after repeated failed attempts to connect, you start to question your own sanity. You could have sworn they were interested, but their current behaviour indicates otherwise. And, not wanting to appear too desperate or to come across as a real pest, you're stymied in terms of what your next steps should be.
Why They Disappeared As a seller, it's always important to analyze what may be causing this behaviour before taking action. In my experience, these are the typical reasons why prospects disappear into "The Black Hole." They're totally swamped. Without a doubt, this is the most common. In virtually every company today, people have way too much to do and not nearly enough time to get it all done. They fully intend to continue the conversation, but not right now. Priorities changed. This can happen overnight. Changing market conditions, bad 3rd quarter results, and new NZSM / JUNE 30h 2010 / 4
leadership are just a few of the possible root causes. But when this happens, it's darn near impossible to regain your momentum in the short term. Lack of urgency. Sometimes sellers confuse a prospect's interest level with a desire to take action today. As such, they share all the glorious details about their offering instead of building a business case for immediate change. Column fodder. Occasionally prospects just need comparative bids/pricing to justify their decision to go with another company. They know everything. When prospects feel they have all the information they need, there's literally no reason to talk with you any further. Different reasons call for different actions. Some you can prevent by doing things differently in your customer interactions. Always be open to this possibility since prevention is your best cure. Others you have no control over. In any case, you need answers! Is it "yeah" or "nay"? Are they still interested or not? Should you keep pursing them or find new prospects?
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By leveraging one or more of these strategies, you'll often be able to re-engage a prospect who has disappeared into The Black Hole.
What You Can Do When you don't know what's behind their silence, figuring out how to respond can be a dilemma - especially since you don't want to be a pest. Here are some strategies you can use in dealing with "The Black Hole": Just keep trying. Realize that prospects expect you to carry the "keep in touch" burden - so do it. It can often take 8-10 contacts before you actually reach them again. Don't panic. This is normal in today's business environment. Make each connection valuable. Don't just say, "Hi Eric. Just getting back to you as I promised about your xxx decision. If you have any questions, give me a call. Instead, you might say, "Eric, Based on our conversation last week, I know how important it is to you to shorten your sales cycle. There's a white paper on our website that addresses this issue. I'll be sending you a link via email shortly." Have a sense of humour. After 4-5 contacts, leave a funny message such as, "Eric. I know you're swamped. But I also know that shortening your sales cycle is important to you. That's why I keep bugging you. I'm looking forward to FINALLY reconnecting." Leverage a variety of mediums. Mix up phone calls with emails, mailings, invitations to upcoming events, sending articles, etc. To position your self as a resource, makes sure each connection educates, informs or adds insights. Create multiple entry points. Never let one person be your total gateway to a company. Identify and nurture multiple relationships concurrently. When appropriate, reference others you're talking to in your messages/emails. Re-evaluate your initial connection. How could you NZSM / JUNE 30th 2010 / 6
increase their urgency? Determine if you're just column fodder? Or, tie your offering more into their business priorities? In way too many cases, sellers have done a product/service dump when talking to prospects. Instead you need to focus on critical business outcomes and the difference you can make. Plan your next step now. Never leave a meeting without a homework assignment (for you and/customer) and a firm follow-up appointment scheduledw. If they're unwilling to do this, it's an indicator that something may not be quite right - which should prompt you to explore their need and urgency in greater depth. Let them off the hook. Send an email stating that you thought they were interested, but perhaps you misjudged the situation since you haven't heard back from them in the last 6 weeks. Believe it or not, this strategy often gets a response & an explanation from a prospect who is feeling guilty about not reconnecting. Reduce your contact frequency. If, after ten touches, you still haven't heard, start contacting them less often. A quarterly schedule might be more appropriate. Or, you might want to keep on top of what's happening in the account and reconnect at a more appropriate time. By leveraging one or more of these strategies, you'll often be able to re-engage a prospect who has disappeared into "The Black Hole." Not always, but often. And, if you've continually provided value and focused on the impact your offering makes, they'll likely be ready to implement your solution yesterday. ď §
MID STRENGTH FULL FLAVOUR FULL LIFE
A Little American Goes a Long Way Raising the Bar – a tool for salespeople
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op international sales leader Jack Daly returns to New Zealand in July with some advice for overly modest businesspeople, and some tips on how to achieve sales excellence.
Though New Zealand is awash with American cultural influences, and our spending and viewing habits indicate we adore McDonald’s, Nike and MTV in equal measure, in many respects the business culture of the US could not be more starkly different to our own. It’s something top international sales leader Jack Daly noticed when he visited New Zealand to lead a sales event last year for business execution firm Results.com. As he anticipates another visit in July, to present a Telecomsponsored seminar and workshop on winning sales strategies for Results.com, he has timely pointers for business owners NZSM / JUNE 30h 2010 / 8
and employees who are focused on selling. “Simply put, in the US people know how to blow their own horn. If they’ve got something they think is special, they talk about it. But in New Zealand, possibly due to the tall-poppy syndrome, businesspeople are backwards about coming forwards. In my view, when you have a product or service of value, be assertive about it. Tell people!” Having spent considerable time in Canada before first coming to New Zealand, Jack says he saw the distinctions between the two North American business cultures amplified here. “New Zealanders are the nicest people you could run into, but you could benefit from being more forthcoming about your products and services. I think if your company is representing something that has value to the market, it’s in everyone’s interest for you to be more
proactive about talking about the benefits.” He points to examples of American businesses which are skilled at talking themselves up, including Apple and Dominos Pizza. “They are very different, but they both have excellent communication in common, both inside and outside the company. They tell people, in a variety of ways and in detail, what they can do for them. And there is no tall-poppy syndrome, because they will live or die by whether they can deliver what they promise – that’s how the market works.”
even the consummate sales professional needs to continually improve to stay at the top of their game, this exercise should be used as a catalyst to reinvent themselves, their business and their practice. It invites you to determine where you stand in relation to the Super Star Salesperson by taking the following quiz. Grade yourself on each category/activity, based on the following:
Raising the bar – a tool for salespeople
3 = I’m doing this now, consistently. 2 = I’m doing this now, occasionally. 1 = I don’t do this now, but am willing to start. 0 = I’m not interested in doing this.
Jack designed a tool called ‘Raise the Bar’ to enable people to easily test their ‘sales superstar potential’. Raise the Bar posits that a professional salesperson should always be stretching towards further improvement. Because
As you work through the quiz, look to identify how and where you can take your business actions and performance to an even higher level. 9 / JUNE 30th 2010 / NZSM
GOALS • Have a written one-year plan • Have a tracking and reporting system to monitor performance to plan • Incorporate life goals beyond pure business goals • Know the daily/weekly/monthly actions necessary to reach key objectives • Start off each day with a detailed to-do list • Follow a disciplined time-management system • Have the necessary patience, realizing superstar results come from a process, not an event
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT • Approach new markets and new business sources regularly • Identify a ‘Prospect Basket’ of candidates to do new business with, and weekly pursue a specific quantity, including a proactive follow-up • Practice ‘Model the Masters’, by brainstorming with other superstar sales professionals in your business • Be actively involved in both trade associations and community groups to ensure visibility Customers for Life • Calculate the lifetime value of your customers • Be selective about who you work with, and manage your time accordingly • Maintain a database of standard form letters for typical customer contact points • Provide value-added suggestions, ideas and tools to help your database be more successful and enhance your relationships Referral Business • Create the ‘great first impression’. Make it easy for first-time customers to be enthusiastic about referring business opportunities to you • Have a formal plan and process for asking for referrals at different stages where appropriate • Refer business to your clients whenever possible NZSM / JUNE 30th 2010 / 10
“ In New Zealand, possibly due to the tall-poppy syndrome, businesspeople are backwards about coming forwards.
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MARKETING • Try new and innovative marketing ideas • Understand and implement an effective ‘perception of value’ campaign • Have an ongoing ‘touch system’ to stay visibly in front of your market • Evaluate your competition to gain and implement new, winning ideas • Spend at least 50 percent of your time each week talking with prospects, customers and clients • Seek out and develop niche markets to expand your marketing and business reach
Entrepreneur Behaviour • Treat your book of business as if it were a business • Invest in your business and marketing efforts, don’t wait for the company to do so • Stay focused on business-creating activities • Seek out a mentor to help you reach the next level • Master your key products and services • Attend industry conferences and seminars, and maintain a regular industry reading programme Culture for Success • Align yourself with top professionals and a company with a solid reputation • Maintain ongoing recognition systems for 1) prospects, customers, clients, 2) fellow sales associates, and 3) sales support team • Focus on key revenue-generating activities, delegating as much admin activity as possible to support staff • Leverage the company resources as further support to your business • Maintain a practice of ‘under-promise and overdeliver’ in daily business activities
Scoring Add up points for your total. If you scored 85-105, congratulations on your superstar performance and direction. Ensure you review this key activity indicator and work on your areas where improvement is indicated. A score of 60-85 suggests an acceptable direction towards sales professionalism; however, there remain a good number of areas for improvement and opportunity.
Pick two or three specific activities to focus on for improvement. Once implemented, return to this indicator and choose additional areas to work on. A score below 60 is a wake-up call, and suggests the need for an overall review and reworking of your activities and commitment to excellence in the sales profession. Use this quiz as your starting point, and begin to implement more of the activities that are reflective of those recognized as superstars in the selling profession.
Jack Daly will appear at the Winning Sales Strategies event, sponsored by Telecom, on 30 July at the Ellerslie Racecourse Events Centre in Auckland. It is a combined seminar and workshop from 8am to 5pm showing you how to create and manage winning sales strategies. Auckland Mayor John Banks will deliver a keynote speech to open the afternoon session. Tickets are available from www.results.com/jackdaly
Jack Daly Workshop & Seminar Competition! NZ Sales Manager has one ticket to see Jack Daly on 30 July 2010, worth $795+gst to give away to one lucky NZ Sales Manager subscriber, thanks to Results.com. To enter the draw just send an email to pauln@nzsalesmanager.co.nz before 5pm Friday 9 July along with your name and contact details. Winner will be notified by email. 11 / JUNE 30th 2010 / NZSM
NZSM CALENDAR JULY - AUGUST 2010
2 July Overcoming Objections - Closing Auckland/DINANMITE www.dinanmite.com/event-registration 7 July Business to Business Sales Skills Auckland/Zealmark Group Ltd www.zealmarkgroup.co.nz/profile_Business_to_Business.php Sales Dynamics Auckland/Sales STAR salesstar.trainingplatform.co.nz/courses/9-sales-dynamics 8 July Sales Mindset & Motivation Auckland/Sales STAR www.salesstar.trainingplatform.co.nz/courses/7-sales-mindsetmotivation 12 July Better Business By Phone Dunedin/Sales STAR www.salesstar.trainingplatform.co.nz/courses/34-better-businessby-phoneworkshop 13 July Consultative Selling Auckland/Sales STAR www.salesstar.trainingplatform.co.nz/courses/5-consultative-selling Better Business By Phone Invercargill/Sales STAR www.salesstar.trainingplatform.co.nz/courses/34-better-businessby-phoneworkshop 15 - 16 July Essential Sales Fundamentals Auckland/NZIM Northern www.nzimnorthern.co.nz/wa.asp?idWebPage=16885&idDetails= 118 16 July Sales Preperation-Reaching Decision makers Auckland/DINANMITE www.dinanmite.com/event-registration 17 July The Success Attitude Auckland /Attitude Specialist. www.attitudespecialist.co.nz/workshops.htm 20 July The Success Attitude New Plymouth /Attitude Specialist. www.attitudespecialist.co.nz/workshops.htm 22 July Business to Business Sales Skills Auckland/Zealmark Group Ltd www.zealmarkgroup.co.nz/profile_Business_to_Business.php
The Success Attitude Whanganui/Attitude Specialist. www.attitudespecialist.co.nz/workshops.htm 27 July Negotiating Skills (Day 1) Auckland/Scotwork www.scotwork.co.nz/How+Youll+Benefit.html 28 July Negotiating Skills (Day 2) Auckland/Scotwork www.scotwork.co.nz/How+Youll+Benefit.htm 29 July Negotiating Skills (Day 3) Auckland/Scotwork www.scotwork.co.nz/How+Youll+Benefit.html 30 July Pitching -Qualifying Auckland/DINANMITE www.dinanmite.com/event-registration 3 August Sales Mindset & Motivation Auckland/Sales STAR www.salesstar.trainingplatform.co.nz/courses/7-sales-mindset-motivation 4 August Sales Dynamics Auckland/Sales STAR www.salesstar.trainingplatform.co.nz/courses/9-sales-dynamics 6 August Business to Business Sales Skills Auckland/Zealmark Group Ltd www.zealmarkgroup.co.nz/profile_Business_to_Business.php 10 August Negotiating Skills (Day 1) Wellington/Scotwork www.scotwork.co.nz/How+Youll+Benefit.html Consultative Selling Auckland/Sales STAR www.salesstar.trainingplatform.co.nz/courses/5-consultative-selling 11 August Negotiating Skills (Day 2) Wellington/Scotwork www.scotwork.co.nz/How+Youll+Benefit.html 12 August Negotiating Skills (Day 3) Wellington/Scotwork www.scotwork.co.nz/How+Youll+Benefit.html Overcoming Objections - Closing Auckland/DINANMITE www.dinanmite.com/event-registration
RESOURCE CORNER
Snap Selling: Speed Up Sales And Win More Business With Today's Frazzled Customers Author: Jill Konrath Publisher: Penguin Group $29.97 from Fishpond.co.nz
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nternationally recognized sales strategist Jill Konrath shows sellers how to get more appointments, speed up decisions, and win sales with these short-fused, frazzled prospects. They'll discover how to leverage the SNAP rules to: - Keep it simple throughout the entire process - Be invaluable to gain (or keep) a competitive edge
NZSM / JUNE 9h 2010 / 14
- Always align to ensure relevance with a prospect's objective - Elevate priorities to keep the momentum going. SNAP Selling is an easy-to-read, easy-to-use guide for today's increasingly frenzied environment. ď §
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TWO MINUTE TOP UP Sally Mabelle is a specialist in 'the voice of leadership', and a professional speaker. For more information see www sallymabelle.com .
Are you assertive enough? What is it costing you? By Sally Mabelle
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For me, one non-assertive incident cost me $80,000. Not a life-threatening situation, but I still could have avoided it had I been more assertive.
Do any of the following scenarios sound familiar?
In 1991, my husband and I had sold our home in Colorado, and we were looking for ways to invest the profit. We were approached by a financial ‘advisor’, who introduced us to a man who wanted to borrow $80,000 to invest in his fast food business. The return on our investment was to be 15% interest, and he would start to pay us back within a couple of months. The deal was supposedly secure, but when I met the fast food restaurant owner, my intuition said that something was ‘off’. I didn’t speak up because I felt pressured from my husband and financial advisor to sign the loan papers.
ow confident are you being direct and open with your prospects, customers, and sales team? Do you avoid telling your team and your customers things that they might not like to hear? Have you ever considered your lack of assertiveness might be a life or death matter? Assertiveness is a critical skill in sales. It is crucial to your success, both at work and at home.
It’s time to ask for the order but you waffle because you are afraid the customer will say ‘no’. How much business does this cost you? Your top sales person has some offensive habits - you don’t say anything because you’re afraid he might leave, rather than being assertive and talking through the issue. You have a gut feeling that something is going wrong with a big deal but never quite get round to telling your manager and hope it will come right. You lose the deal and your manager is furious - what is the cost? What is the cost of not speaking up? NZSM / JUNE 30h 2010 / 16
Long story short, we never got any of the $80,000 or the interest and learned an expensive and painful lesson. Since then, I have committed to being more assertive when I sense something is ‘off’, even if it is uncomfortable, awkward, and inconvenient for me. Sometimes not speaking up can mean the difference between life and death.
Let’s look at the example of the three plane crash incidents cited by Malcolm Gladwell in his book, “Outliers: The Story of Success”. Gladwell cites three extreme examples of how failure to communicate assertively cost hundreds of people their lives. Although you are a sales manager and not a pilot or co-pilots as in the following examples, you’ll understand the point that it is critical for you to pay more attention to the clarity and directness of your communication. The plane crashes involved three airlines: Air Florida, Korean Air, and Avianca Airlines (from Colombia). All three of these tragedies could have been prevented had the co-pilot dared to speak up more assertively with the Captain and/or the Air Traffic Controller. In all three incidents, the co-pilot only hinted that there was a major problem, hoping that the Captain would understand what he meant. The bottom line is that the crashes were due largely to someone’s hesitancy to speak up. Jeffrey S. Nielsen, former executive consultant for Fortune
100 companies, highlights in his book, ‘The Myth of Leadership', research demonstrating people’s tendency to 'soften the truth' when delivering unpleasant news to anyone they perceive as a 'superior'. Let’s look at an actual dialogue of one of the crashes. In 1982, Air Florida, crashed into an icy river right outside Washington, DC shortly after take-off. The copilot tried three times to tell the captain that the plane had a dangerous amount of ice on the wings, but he only spoke in 'hints', not direct statements. Take a look at the dialogue captured from the 'black box' which is the voice recording device recovered from the debris of the plane after it had crashed into the river. Co-pilot: "Look how the ice is just hanging on his, ah, back... back there, see that?" No response from the Captain. Then, a bit later: Co-pilot: "See all those icicles on the back there and everything?" Again no response. Then: Co-pilot: "Boy, this is a, this is a losing battle here on trying
How confident are you being direct and open with your prospects, customers, and sales team? to de-ice those things, it gives you a false feeling of security, that’s all that does." At last, when they get 'clearance for takeoff', the co-pilot magnifies his communication from a 'hint' to a 'suggestion'. Co-pilot: "Let’s check those wing tops again, since we’ve been sitting here awhile." Captain: (seemingly ignoring the co-pilot) "I think we get to go here in a minute."
the Captain ignores them.
The final words of the co-pilot...just before the plane plunges into the Potomac River, is not a hint, not a suggestion, and not a command...it’s a simple fact...and this time the captain acknowledges him.
So, how does this scenario relate to you, your life, and your work?
Copilot: 'Larry, we’re going down, Larry.' Captain: 'I know it." Thankfully, in the past 15 years, commercial airlines have taken non-assertiveness seriously and instituted new training programs specifically designed to teach co-pilots to speak up and challenge a pilot when they think something is dangerous. They are required to seize control of the plane if
Airlines now typically split the flying duties equally between the captain and co-pilot. Research has shown that crashes are far more likely when the captain is in the 'flying seat'. Planes are safer when the less experienced pilot is flying, because it means the second pilot isn’t going to be afraid to speak up!
Are you happy with your current level of assertiveness? If not, what will you do to improve it? If you ARE happy with how assertive are you, are you confident that those who work with you will speak up if there is a crucial situation that needs strong action? If not, what can you do to support them? I wish you renewed courage and commitment to communicate clearly and assertively. This one skill could make a dramatic difference in your life and work. 17 / JUNE 30th 2010 / NZSM
QUICK FIX
Quick Fix
It's not what you sell, it's how you sell
“I’m not here to sell you anything”. If you use this line in front of your clients, in the hope that they will think that you are not selling something, and therefore can trust you, then stop right now. Sales people meet with clients for some reason connected with selling. If you are not there for that reason, then you must be there for social reasons or to waste their time. Trying to position yourself as trustworthy by saying that you are ‘not here to sell you anything’ will have the opposite affect on most clients. The mere fact you find it necessary to say anything in this respect, will raise the suspicion of your customer, and alert their defence system to a state of preparedness in case you are there to ‘sell something.’ The fastest way to build trust is through your questions and listening, not by claiming that you don’t actually do what you are there to do.
WIN A LASER POINTER PEN FOR YOUR QUICK FIX! If you have a favorite ‘quick fix’ that you would like to share with our readers (without giving your winning secrets away!) then email the editor at pauln@ nzsalesmanager.co.nz. You will be in to win a high-powered laser pointer pen, courtesy of the great guys at Brand Storming Promotions. ,0 * B NZSM / JUNE 30th 2010 / 18
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It isn’t what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about. - Dale Carnegie Have you subscribed to NZ Sales Manager? It’s free! Simply visit www.nzsalesmanager.co.nz to get a copy of NZ Sales Manager delivered straight to your inbox every third Wednesday!
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