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Spicy Strategies to heat up your business relationships

Posted on 19. May, 2010 by in Interviews, Marketing & Sales

Lydia Johnson entered the world of sales when she was just 12 years old and has since racked up more than 32 years of professional experience in the areas of banking and business.

In her role as Vice President of Sales and Service at Canada’s largest credit union – Vancity Credit Union she led a sales team of about 1,000 staff. She saw first-hand how trusted relationships are critical in banking as they either make or break the sales continuum.

Lydia recently launched her own consulting business focused on leadership development and sales management and is publishing her first book `The Jalapeno Handshake – Strategies to heat up your business relationships’.

She has also created training programs to help people hone their skills in the areas of sales and leadership and has been a keynote speaker and a conference presenter in North America and overseas.

Lydia has spoken many times on the importance of inspiring purpose and igniting passion in business and sales. Her sales motto is strength in people, strength in leadership, strength in organizations.

As an entrepreneur what are you most passionate about?

Helping others reach their own goals. Spending my time as I choose and having the freedom and flexibility to pick and choose projects. Getting myself to a totally financially free lifestyle so I can undertake personal passions

What’s been your biggest entrepreneurial challenge to-date and how did you tackle it?

That would be staying focused. I believe discipline is key and managing my activities because we can’t mange time. I also stay strong in my faith that I will succeed and remind myself everyday how much value I bring to others.

What’s the most important sales lesson you can pass on?

It’s all about your customer, so listen to your customer and do this well. Understand what it is you are gearing your services towards to fix or solve their pain. Focus on what they need or want and anticipate their needs for the future.

How can a business create trust with its clients?

  • Be a straight shooter. Go over the fine print with your clients and don’t hide behind misleading messages or jargon.
  • Always do what is right and best for the customer. Sometimes this means letting the client go elsewhere to get what they really need.
  • Transactions between a client and a business should always be mutually beneficial.
  • Keep your promises and your clients will want to do more business with you

How do you define great leadership?

Someone worth following who determines the direction, sets the pace and applauds the spirit of those being led. A leader is confident, courageous, curious, open minded, interested in hearing others’ opinions and a great communicator

What was your inspiration behind your book The Jalapeño Handshake: Strategies to Heat up your business relationships?

I felt compelled to share my decades of experience and lessons learned from my years in corporate sales along with my new passions about how our minds work, and how we get the results we get.  Plus I was always told there is a book in all of us!

Tell us about the most challenging and the most rewarding aspect of writing a book was for you?

The most challenging aspect was having patience with myself for getting what I wanted on paper faster rather than slower. It was extremely rewarding getting so many testimonials from people I highly respected.

What are the key lessons The Jalapeno Handshake’ will teach readers?

  • How to use powerful questions to establish a better relationship with business employees and clients
  • How to effectively set your goals, personal or professional, and how to achieve them
  • How to overcome a fear of failure in any business transaction
  • How to get back on track after a detour or setback


What are the three top books you’ve read that have made a personal difference to you and influenced you and why?

Think & Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill – such depth in learnings from a brilliant compilation of successful people. This book should be in everyone’s library. It is chock full of lessons of how we and only ourselves can make such a huge difference in our own lives

Excuses Be Gone-  Dr Wayne Dyer – like the title implies, Dr Dyer teaches us how we can get over the many excuses we allow ourselves to make and replace them with great affirmations and ways to attack our own excuse making thinking

Oh the Places You Will Go, Dr Seuss- who doesn’t love Dr Seuss?! I love this book for children and for adults alike. It tells us of the many wonderful places our lives will go when we set our own compasses in the right direction. It’s a great reminder of the many choices we all have!

What is your key piece of advice to any female considering becoming an entrepreneur?

DECIDE! It’s that simple. Once you have firmly decided, everything else will begin to fall into place. You will start to take action in making it so. Sitting on the fence will not do so. You will always sit in limbo and inaction. Decide and then hang on for a great ride!

Lydia is excited to offer a signed copy of her about to be released book. To get your copy simply click on the `Retweet’ button at the top of the post & add your own spice to the end of the tweet.

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