June 2014
Strategies for Success Newsletter June 2014 Issue 102
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Published by Emily Huling Selling Strategies
www.sellingstrategies.com
Copyright 2014 Emily Huling. All rights reserved.
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In this June 2014 issue:
Thoughts from home
Josmo’s Café
Thoughts from others
Stay energized
Emily Live
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1. Thoughts from home
Find fault or find a friend?
John and I continue to find new and interesting activities to experience with Quincey (10 1/2) and Nathan (9), my cousin’s children who live in Charlotte. In mid-April, we attended the Rural Hill Scottish Festival in the north Charlotte community of Huntersville.
It was the warmest and sunniest weekend we’d had all year so the crowds were heavy. Children were given Scottish Passports to be stamped at the 70 clan tents around the field. In between meeting the proud clan representatives, we saw the bagpipe parade, sheep and duck herding by talented border collies, and athletic events including battle ax, tug-o-war, hammer throw, and clachneart competitions.
Lunchtime hunger struck everyone at once. The lines were long. The sun was hot. There were two types of people in line. Those that found fault and those that found friends. Fault finders complained about the heat, the lines, the wait, the lack of shade, and their impatient children. The friend finders were cheerful. They were meeting, greeting, and sharing personal stories as to what brought them to the event. I learned a lot about Scotland’s history from the two people I chatted with.
Moral of the story: The clock ticks away at the same rate for everyone. Why not make that time more pleasant by finding a friend rather than finding fault?
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Be interested in others. You’ll be surprised what you can learn.
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2. Josmo’s Café
I felt like I was competing in Food Network’s Iron Chef America competition last month. I bought way too many shallots for a recipe and was looking for other dishes in which to use them. Lucky for me, I found two terrific recipes. All the guests wanted copies to take home. I hope you also enjoy both the Roasted Broccoli and Tomatoes and the Strawberry Feta Salad.
Josmo’s Cafe is celebrating its 10th anniversary! Learn the history and try the famous Josmo’s Cosmo cocktail posted on the Josmo’s Café webpage.
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3. Thoughts from others
Dr. Wayne Dyer, one of my very favorite inspirational speakers, presented his tenth PBS fundraising program called I Can See Clearly Now in March. In a conversational format, Dr. Dyer shares his personal stories and the five key principles that have guided his life choices – willingness, determination, fearlessness, compassion, and love. As part of his message, he read the poem The Cookie Thief by Valerie Cox. Here’s the text of the poem. I hope you like the story and the message as much as I do!
The Cookie Thief by Valerie Cox
A woman was waiting at an airport one night,
With several long hours before her flight.
She hunted for a book in the airport shops.
Bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.
She was engrossed in her book but happened to see,
That the man sitting beside her, as bold as could be.
Grabbed a cookie or two from the bag in between,
Which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene.
So she munched the cookies and watched the clock,
As the gutsy cookie thief diminished her stock.
She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by,
Thinking, “If I wasn’t so nice, I would blacken his eye.”
With each cookie she took, he took one too,
When only one was left, she wondered what he would do.
With a smile on his face, and a nervous laugh,
He took the last cookie and broke it in half.
He offered her half, as he ate the other,
She snatched it from him and thought… oooh, brother.
This guy has some nerve and he’s also rude,
Why he didn’t even show any gratitude!
She had never known when she had been so galled,
And sighed with relief when her flight was called.
She gathered her belongings and headed to the gate,
Refusing to look back at the thieving ingrate.
She boarded the plane, and sank in her seat,
Then she sought her book, which was almost complete.
As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise,
There was her bag of cookies, in front of her eyes.
If mine are here, she moaned in despair,
The others were his, and he tried to share.
Too late to apologize, she realized with grief,
That she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief.
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Could your front-line staff use a confidence boost? The Personal Lines manager in a Michigan independent agency sent me this comment.
“We are about 1/2 way thru the Great Service Sells book with our staff. Your program is generating much discussion and team bonding. We did Chapter 9 as a group and came up with the lists for both why people want to do business with our agency and why personally. I think they left the meeting with their heads held a little higher. Thank you for writing the book.”
Great Service Sells contains 21 five-minute chapters – perfect material for a year’s worth of staff meetings. Agents will acquire a dynamic service-oriented mindset and learn tips and techniques to retain business, round out accounts, increase new sales, and earn referrals. A complete chapter list, group learning instructions, and client feedback is on the Great Service Sells info page.
The cost is affordable – The package of 2 Audio CDs & 1 Book is $69.00. Additional books are sold in sets of 5 for $50.00.
In celebration of Selling Strategies’ 20th anniversary, we’re offering a 20% discount on all books and audios. Apply coupon code HAPPY at checkout to receive your savings.
All orders include a complimentary copy of the 2013 Energizer Minute Collection with the bonus track – 27 Tips to Be a Great Co-worker.
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4. Stay Energized!
June Energizer Minute – Three Good Things Get supercharged with Energizer Minutes – one-to-two minute audio stories told by yours truly to energize, invigorate, and inspire!
Our series of 17 Terrific Tips continues with 17 Terrific Networking Tips. For those of you who read the special mailing on this, thanks for asking me to clarify #6 about name tags. It should have read “Wear your name tag on the right. It makes it easier to see both the person and the name badge.”
Follow me on Twitter @EmilyHuling to read my weekday Energizer Moments.
Receive your complimentary copy of the priceless 2013 Energizer Minute Collection plus 27 Tips to Be a Great Co-worker with all learning material orders.
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Since 1994, Selling Strategies’ purpose is to build top-performing sales, service, and leadership organizations. We offer insurance industry expertise to companies, agents, MGAs, industry partners, and service providers.
Our Commitment to Our Clients
We will improve your clients’ experience, grow your top-line revenue and your bottom-line profit. Together we accomplish this through:
· Strategic planning and implementation
· Leadership and management development
· Business development – marketing, sales, service strategies
· Organizational and process improvements
· Individual skill and team development
· Personal coaching
To discuss how to fast forward achieving your goals, please contact me for a complimentary 30-minute conversation. Call 888-309-8802 or emily@sellingstrategies.com.
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5. Emily Live
Let me know if you want to connect when I’m in your area!
Private Client – Phoenix, AZ – May 31- June 4, 2014
International Association of Insurance Professionals Annual Convention – San Diego, CA – Great Service Sells – June 6, 2014
Private Client – operations review, planning, workshops – St. Louis, MO – July 29-31, 2014
Private Client – How to Become the Agent of Choice and There is an “I” in Team – Madison, WI – August 5-7, 2014
PIA of NC Annual Convention – Highpoint, NC – August 13, 2014
Private Client – operations review, planning, workshops – Blue Ridge, GA – August 19-21, 2014
NAPSLO Annual Convention – Atlanta, GA – September 15-17, 2014
NAMIC Annual Convention – National Resort, Oxon Hill, MD – Three Strategies to Earn Agents’ Business – September 21-23, 2014
Private Client – Indianapolis, IN – Deliver Service that Sells and Protects and Turning Change into Opportunity – October 7-9, 2014
Agency Management CIC – Louisville, KY – October 15-17, 2014
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Selling Strategies: Strategies for Success Newsletter is published by Emily Huling Selling Strategies. For further information contact emily@sellingstrategies.com.
© 2014 Emily Huling. All rights reserved.