Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Social Entrepreneurs Competition


Dear Friend of Echoing Green,




We are excited to launch our search for the next class of Echoing Green fellows. If you are interested in applying, you can get started now by downloading the application questions here. We will be in touch again when the online application goes live.



Complete details are available at: http://www.echoinggreen.org/fellowship



And please consider helping us spread the word more broadly:

· Forward this to group email lists or list-servs that you have access to

· Submit the note below to any newsletters where you can contribute

· Blog, Tweet, mention on Facebook/LinkedIn, etc.



Thank you so much!



Rebecca



- - - - - - - - - -

Rebecca Magee

Data and Events Coordinator, Fellow and Alumni Programs

Echoing Green

A: 494 Eighth Avenue Second Floor

New York, NY 10001

W: http://www.echoinggreen.org

T: @echoinggreen



Echoing Green Seeks World’s Leading Social Entrepreneurs

Since 1987, Echoing Green has provided seed funding and support to nearly 500 social entrepreneurs – including the founders of Teach For America, City Year, College Summit, SKS Microfinance, and Genocide Intervention Network.



In Spring 2011 Echoing Green will award between 12 and 20 fellowships to early-stage social entrepreneurs. Fellows receive up to $90,000 in seed funding over two years, technical support, and access to a powerful global community of fellows and alumni.



The online application will open in October 2010. Right now, potential applicants should review the application questionsand sign up for application updatesfrom us. Complete details are available at: http://www.echoinggreen.org/fellowship



Turn your dream for social change into a reality.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Sales And Golf, the ‘Links’ to Learn

I have studied the strong bond between golf and salesmen. Probably since the outset of the game, and most of the top sales professionals are extremely good golfers, a lot of business is conducted on the links, but this article isn’t about how to sell on the golf course, rather it’s about the many similarities between selling and playing the perfect round of golf.

An adept player says, “It’s a funny thing, the more I practice the luckier I get.” The same can be said of sales: the more activity you put into your craft and work day, the better the results will be. Selling is not about luck or chance, top salesmen may give the impression that it’s easy, but that has come from years of practice, and often many costly mistakes. The bottom line is, you can’t shortcut the hard work needed to be successful (and that goes for anything in life!)


The object of the game of golf is very simple: you have clubs and a little, white ball, the course has 18 holes, and you have to hit the little ball as few times as possible until it goes into the hole. Likewise (the game of) sales is equally as simple: there are buyers and there are sellers, and there are products and services. The salesman has to sell his products or services to as many buyers as possible. Just like golf, even if you are playing in a group, every time you’re really just playing against yourself. With sales it’s the same thing: what you’re really selling is yourself (the product or service is usually secondary, unless you have a high-demand item and limited availability.)

Both golf and sales are a mental game. If you walk onto the golf course with the wrong attitude, it will show in your performance. If you make a bad stroke and stew over it, you’ll have a run of bad strokes. Keep a clear head, take it each shot at a time, don’t over-think it, and you’ll be surprised how much better you play. The same applies to sales. If you have problems at home and you drag those thoughts around with you, you won’t be as productive that day. If you have money issues, the potential buyer will pick up on the fact that you want the sale more than they need what you’re selling. If a sales appointment goes badly, have some techniques to clear your head and move on. Conversely, if you have a great appointment and make a sale, leverage that positive attitude and turn a great day into an awesome day.

I’ll leave you with one other useful comparison: know when to call it a day. When your energy is high, the weather is perfect, and your game is on, that is the time to consider maybe playing two rounds (or at least another 9!) Just the same with a perfect sales day or week, even if you’ve hit your quota, this is the time to get ahead to cover for the bad times – go for a personal record. At the opposite spectrum, if a bad day just keeps getting worse, you’re doing yourself no favors by battling on regardless – that’s when a bad day can turn into a big slump. Best thing you can do on a day like that… Dust off the clubs and head to the country club!

Adopted from Anthony Donnelly