You’ve probably heard the mantra Carpe Diem a thousand times. It’s on t-shirts, bumper stickers, motivational posters, and screensavers. Some people even have it tattooed on their bodies.

The phrase is originally from a Latin poem written by Horace over two thousand years ago, where it appeared as “Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero” or “Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future.”

But what does this have to do with sales? I recently created and adopted a new sales mantra: Carpe Salesem . I want to share it with you.

Carpe Diem (seize the day!) is a philosophy for life.

Carpe Salesem (seize the sale!) is a philosophy for sales success.

In light of my discovery, I’ve made a conscious decision to approach customers with value, with ideas to improve their business, and with a focus on long-term relationships rather than wham-bam-transaction-slam! You might be able to manipulate prospects into making a one-time purchase, but that slam! above is the sound of your one-time customer slamming the door on future sales.

It may take me a little longer to get the first order with the Carpe Salesem philosophy, but I keep my customers for life. And so can you.

Carpe Salesem is NOT “selling by telling.” It’s not about pressuring your prospect or customer to buy now. Carpe Salesem is about balancing buyer urgency (or lack thereof) and seller patience. Let me be clear: I’m not suggesting you take a passive role in your success. You MUST take actions every day that create a buying atmosphere, and that identify buyer needs and wants, rather than your product’s features and benefits.

The Carpe Salesem philosophy incorporates best practices from my personal sales experiences, and lessons from successful salespeople I have worked with over the years. By no means do I consider myself a literary god (take, for example, the fact that I invented a Latin word— Salesem —without proper authority), but I do know that my mantra works for me. And, it can work for you IF you apply the elements to yourself and your business.

Here are the essential elements of my Carpe Salesem philosophy:

1. Seize every opportunity. Not just the sales opportunity, but opportunities to serve others in memorable ways that lead to relationships.

2. Enjoy the sales process. Don’t just seize the sale; enjoy it. Make use of your passion and your customers will love you for it.

3. Help your customers. Offer valuable insight and solutions. Become known as a resource—someone who is helpful, rather than someone who is just looking for a commission.

4. Be prepared. Plan your day the night before and come in to the office (or better yet, to a customer appointment) with your sales guns blazing. Understand the importance of Monday morning and Friday afternoon. You can put in eight productive hours (four on Monday, four on Friday) while your competition is either hung-over or leaving early for happy hour.

5. Be responsive. I have a rule that I ALWAYS follow—ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS respond to EVERY customer contact (whether it be a voicemail, email, instant message, text message, or smoke signal) before you go to sleep. Even if it’s 3a.m. and the only thing you have the energy to write is, “Hey Mr. Customer, thanks for the email. I wanted to let you know that I received it and that I am working on a great solution for you. I’ll be in touch tomorrow with an idea and answer to every question you’ve asked.” My rule does not result in perfect service, but it works. It puts the customer at ease and it shows them you care.

6. Be friendly. A smile costs nothing, but it’s worth millions. Being friendly sets the tone for a great relationship. And a great relationship sets the stage for big sales. I landed the best account of my life by befriending the biggest jerk in my industry. Turns out, he wasn’t that bad of a guy. He just didn’t know how to smile.

7. Be memorable. Differentiate yourself from your competition with creative ways to serve your customer.

8. Be studious. I’m not an expert at sales. I’m a student of sales. I’ve been that way since I started selling 20 years ago, and I’ll stay that way until I die. Staying a student means I learn something new every day.

9. Be inquisitive. Instead of telling your customer everything about YOU, ASK your customer about their needs—and don’t stop until you know everything there is to know about them. Your competition will be reciting features and benefits, marketing drivel, and lines from Cheap Sales Tricks 101 while you’re finding out how to actually get your customer to buy. It’s up to you: Don’t ask…don’t sell.

10. Be persistent. Nothing says Carpe Salesem more than persistence. And the key to mastering the elements above is being persistent in everything you do. Don’t quit until you know in your heart it’s over. If you have to ask yourself if it’s over, it ain’t over. It’s only over when you sincerely believe that you can no longer be of service to your customer.

This list is by no means exhaustive, and each element is a lesson in its own right. In the coming weeks, I’ll share those lessons and how to apply them to your business in more depth.

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN: What’s your sales philosophy? Or better yet, what’s on your Carpe Salesem list? Email the most powerful element from your list of sales tenets to noah@gitomer.com . I’ll post the best ideas on my blog at www.rickun.com .

Noah Rickun is a Gitomer-Certified Speaker who helps companies everywhere increase sales, build customer loyalty, and to develop their YES! attitudes. To hire Noah for your next event, please contact his friendly office at 704-333-1112.

©2009 All Rights Reserved – Don’t even think about reproducing this document without written permission from Noah Rickun.

I recently flew from Milwaukee to Minneapolis and then on to Fargo, ND.  Each time I landed, I felt my iPhone vibrating in my pocket, indicating that I had received a new voicemail, email, or text message.  When I pulled out my phone in Minneapolis, I had 17 new emails, 2 voicemails, and 3 text messages. That flight was only about 90 minutes.  I had a 45-minute layover, so I did my best to return calls and emails, but I didn’t get to them all.

By the time I landed in Fargo I had more emails, 5 text messages, and 3 additional voicemails—all in an hour!  Half of the messages were people re-sending their original message (perhaps in a different format) because they were upset that I hadn’t responded yet.

Today, my customers, employees, and partners expect 24/7 availability.  I am connected via email, text messaging, iPhone, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and four different instant messaging platforms.

For most people, the added pressure of technology has complicated “The Balancing Act” even more.  Everything becomes a trade-off–with only 24 hours a day available (minus a few for sleep), you must choose to either ignore or neglect certain needs.  Often, it is family and self-care that is overlooked.  It’s an emotional decision that we attempt to rationalize with logic.  For example, I’ve found myself thinking, “I’d sure love to work out today, but I’m behind on emails.  I’ll do the emails now, and work out tomorrow.”  Problem is, tomorrow is not any less hectic or task-packed than today.

In the end, I prioritize tasks and work through them one-by-one. Commonly, I do what is expected of me rather than what I think is important.  I know that everything I do, I could do better if I were able to devote more time or mental energy to the task at hand.

My major issue centers on the notion of PRESENCE.  With an iPhone in my pocket, I am rarely 100% present in any setting.  I can’t remember the last time I spent with my daughters where I didn’t have to step away once or twice to respond to an email or voicemail.

The last safe haven (until recently) has been the airplane.  That’s always been “me” time.  Time to reflect, to write, to nap.  There are no expectations from outside parties.  Until now.  Several airlines have launched Wi-Fi on their flights, which puts me right back in touch with everyone, and everyone’s expectation that I will respond within minutes!

The bottom line is this–if you can master the art of being present, quality rules and quantity becomes much less important.  One hour of focused time with my children far outweighs four hours of the kids trying to get attention from a distracted daddy.  It means much more to all of us.

I have no self-control when it comes to connectivity, so I’ve had to follow some strict rules to keep myself in check.  I have found these rules works best:

1. Blend work and home life–to a degree.  Be sure to include your family in major work events and to take time at your office each day to call home once or twice.  Bring some work home, but limit the work to specific hours (i.e., after children are sleeping).
2. Leave your cell phone and laptop in your car when you first get home.  Eat dinner with your family and then spend time after with one another BEFORE you even think about getting back to work.
3. Create a work area (i.e., office) in your home and DO NOT work anywhere else.  Don’t answer your cell phone, don’t check your email, and don’t respond to text messages unless you are in that work area.
4. Do more work in the early AM rather than at night.  Wake up before everyone else in the house rather than staying up late.  It’s incredible how much more productive you are after a good night’s rest.
5. Above all else, remember the age-old question:  “Do you live to work, or work to live?”  Make a decision and always judge your actions against your priorities.

By no means have I mastered the five steps I laid out above, but I am conscious of my deficiencies, and I recognize I have choices.  And, just as technology has created new expectations, challenges, and additional workload, technology has also created solutions.  I am currently working to leverage technology to help me service my customers better, faster, and more proactively.  I figure if I can free my inbox of everything but ORDERS and THANK YOU LETTERS, I’ll be rich and happy.

In the meantime, I have a rule that I ALWAYS follow—ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS respond to EVERY customer contact (whether it be a voicemail, email, instant message, text message, or smoke signal) before you go to sleep.  Even if it’s 3am and the only thing you have the energy to write is, “Hey Mr. Customer, thanks for the email.  I wanted to let you know that I received it and that I am working on a great solution for you.  I’ll be in touch tomorrow with an idea and answer to every question you’ve asked.”  My rule does not result in perfect service, but it works.  It puts the customer at ease and it shows your customer that you care.

BIG TIP:  If you send the email late at night (after 10pm) or early in the morning (before 7am), you’ll impress your customer with your dedication.  Now, dedicate yourself to responding within an hour and work toward getting there as soon as possible.  When you get there, you’ll be hours ahead of where you are now, and light years ahead of your competition.

Want a list of technology solutions (software, hardware, and gadgets) that can help you to serve your customers faster and better than you are currently doing?  Go to www.rickun.com and click on “Cool Tools for Sales Dudes.”

Noah Rickun is a Gitomer-Certified Speaker who presents to companies on sales, customer loyalty, and attitude.  His seminars are both engaging and memorable.  For bookings, please contact his friendly office at 704-926-5582.