Dawson Trottman, the founder of Navigators said, “If you go through life and you haven’t changed people’s lives, then you haven’t accomplished anything at all.”
I can’t find a better way to describe what drives me as a business coach, sales trainer, and speaker.
As you think upon your own life and business, begin to identify the ways in which you have changed people’s lives. Recognize them, CELEBRATE them, and then brain-storm how to increase their impact.
Our free webinar series has become very popular, so I want to give you the information for our next in the series on May 16th.
We will be conducting an overview of Wallace Wattles book, “The Science of Getting Rich” that was written in 1910, but still incredibly applicable today.
Wallace contends that you can follow well established principles to move along a path of increase in your life, particularly in the acquisition of more wealth.
You can register for this webinar at: http://www.skillfulbusinessowner.com/the-science-of-getting-rich/
Each person that attends this webinar will receive a free PDF copy of the book.
“The daily practice of gratitude is one of the conduits by which your wealth will come to you.” – Wallace Wattles
I touched on the attitude of gratitude in a prior post, and revealed the importance of gratitude in achieving our goals and dreams in our business and personal lives.
What I want to share with you today is the benefits of practicing gratitude on a daily basis. Develop the habit of giving thanks periodically throughout the day. Upon waking, while getting ready for the day, as you drive, during lunch, etc.
Remember to be grateful for what you have NOW, as well as for what is coming to you.
I have been contemplating why many of the business owners I come into contact with have a negative first impression of the “Law of Attraction.” This is not the time to go into the law as a definition, but those that believe and practice this believe it to be a natural law just like the law of gravity is.
I wonder if one of the primary reasons for the negative response is that the law of attraction appears to them to be a “new age” concept or teaching. To others it may not seem rational to them.
While reading a text on the law of attraction, I noticed that the law used to be called the “low of love” in many circles of adherents. Maybe, just maybe, some of the resistance might be to what it is called. It would be hard for someone to be initially resistant to something called the “law of love.”
I recommend that you explore this subject. Rhonda Byrne has a book entitled, “The Secret”, and Wallace Wattles wrote a book, “The Science of Getting Rich.” Both books can be found in bookstores, or ordered online.
For myself, I have decided to live by the principles of the law of attraction. Anything that is an uplift to mankind, and focuses on positive qualities like this law is beneficial to mankind. Enjoy the journey!
I wanted to let my blog readers know about an upcoming webinar entitled, “Debunking the Sales is a Numbers Game Lie”. In particular, we will be looking at effective ways to lower resistance in our prospects.
It is all about getting off the roller coaster sales profession ride and realizing that it truly is not a numbers game if you have the right tools.
Date: April 25, 2012
Time: 11:00 AM CDT
You can register at the link below:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/876378032
Creating a powerful mindset is one of the keys to achieving your business dreams. One way that helps me in this regard is reciting a declaration very early in my day.
One declaration that has become a favorite is,
“I CAN succeed! All that is possible to anyone is possible to me.
I AM successful. I do succeed, for I am full of the Power of Success.”
I want to invite you to add a morning starting declaration to your day.
Sometimes even thinking about the possibility of massive change in your business, or life, can shut you down. Be prepared mentally for just how much of a challenge success will bring to your psyche.
Have you every experienced, or seen someone sabotage themselves like this? Give some thought to this concept and after having identified if it has happened to you, make a vow to learn how to not let it happen ever again.
Give us a call if you would like to explore this topic, and others that will give you the best opportunity to create your ideal business, and ideal life.
I am totally stoked to be leaving tomorrow for a four-day intensive immersion based training in Jacksonville, Florida. Coaches and Trainers, new and old, will come together to sharpen skills, absorb wisdom, and share best practices and success concepts.
I was thinking as I prepped for the trip, (yes, even advance reading and exercises), how important it is that even Coaches and Trainers continue to be coached and trained. When is the last time you have availed yourself to either business coaching, or sales training? Has it been a long-time, or maybe even never?
Tony Robbins frequent states that, “Repetition is the mother of all learning.” We need reminders of prior lessons learned, as well as exposure to new and life changing concepts in both business, and sales. Wallace Wattles teaches fervently that like all living creatures, we have a strong NEED to increase, or advance in life. If we quit growing, we die.
Many business owners and sales professionals know on an emotional level that ongoing education and being challenged is a need that should be addressed. Often the barrier is the logistics and time required to engage in coaching and training, and not necessarily the training itself. I can understand that, as I am a business owner myself, and am challenged in the same way.
I have concluded that my success in business is dependent upon being challenged to increase, or improve through being coached and trained. How about you? What decision will you make?
POWERUP Strategy is Coming!
“Knowledge is the engine that powers great decision making.”
“Rightly applied knowledge is the beginning of wisdom.”
Business owners are always looking for access to great information that will help them grow their business. Unfortunately, many times you have to wade through a massive amount of information to gather up the “golden nuggets” that have value to you.
POWERUP Strategy is being created to cut through the fluff, and deliver the critical information that you need as a business owner very quickly. Topics are selected carefully in order to deliver the most valuable information possible.
There will be three knowledge and informational tracks, and each will be incredibly valuable to business owners.
Keep an eye out for the awesome offers that will be available to you at our launch.
I recently had someone ask me what I thought the most important fundamental business principles were, so in order to provide that insight to others, I have decided to publish a series of articles on the “Top 10 Basic Business Principles.”
There is great benefit to reviewing the basics. Being fundamentally sounds makes it possible to build upon a rock-solid foundation.
Here are the principles that I will be addressing over the next several weeks:
- Decide what you do (and what you don’t do)
- Decide who you serve (and focus on them intensely)
- Decide what makes you different (and do it)
- Manage cash flow (very closely)
- Manage employees (incentivize them for success)
- Manage customer expectations (under promise and over deliver)
- Set goals (and go after them)
- Expose yourself (tell the market what you do)
- Persevere (through the tough times)
- Always maintain your integrity (in everything you do)
As each article is written I will turn the items above into a link that will take you directly to that topic. This way, you can bookmark this page, and when you return, you will have access to each topic from this page if you so desire. Another option is to subscribe to my RSS feed.
Could you and your sales team use some training in the new year?
You may have a diverse group of salespeople, or it might just be you within your own company, but one thing is for sure, if you don’t take deliberate action to improve your selling ability, you will plateau at best, and regress in your skills at worst. Maybe this has happened to you in the past, or you have observed someone who did not put the required effort into maintaining their skills, and the natural result was that sales decreased. This wasn’t even the worst of it. The commissions took a big hit as well.
Just as a craftsman hones his/her skills to stay on top of their craft, we salespeople must constantly strive to improve our capabilities. Otherwise, we will slip to middle-tier performers, or even worse, we will start pulling up the rear of the sales performance chart.
Don't End Up Like Sysiphus!
Some of your top performers may only require a “tune-up”, while others on your team might need remedial help. The goal is improvement for everyone on staff. This is where tremendous ROI can be achieved for a business. Raise the level of performance for the stragglers, the mid-performers, as well as your stars.
We are currently running eight-weeks sessions with our sales training, and ongoing support is available beyond that point as well. In less than than two months, your team can be re-energized, experiencing better meetings, and closing more business.
Request our sales training assessment and we will schedule a time for the assessment, AND schedule a time for a FREE training session, so that you experience first hand the value of investing in yourself. Give Michael a call at 636-724-5222, or fill out our contact form and put “sales training” in the comments section.
“One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular.”
- Tony Robbins
“Successful people do what failures won’t.” – Tony Robbins
How do you see yourself?
Every person I have interviewed has some level of what I call “self-talk” going on in their mind that helps to formulate their impression of themselves. The issue with most is that their “self-talk” is not positive and uplifting. For some, it is caustic and critical.
You perception of yourself plays a huge part in how you interact with the world. It will impact your spouse, children, friendships, as well as your professional career. So how we think about ourselves is very important to our success.
What, and how, we think is our foundation. How sturdy, or healthy is your foundations? Do you talk to yourself with positive and uplifting words, or is it the other way around? This is a topic that goes much deeper than this post, but I want to mention that our business coaching service has a eight-week segment on the power of our beliefs, and deals specifically with not only this issue, but others as well.
Two things are for certain.
- You want your business to be a success, and
- I want your business to be a wildly successful.
Give me a call, and let’s discuss how to strengthen your belief structure to support your business success.
There are many new and innovative ideas for business that we will be taking advantage of in 2012, and many of those things will become incredibly helpful.
That being the case, I want to bring our attention back though to what some might say are antiquated and old-fashioned elements to business that continue to be indispensable. Let’s take a look at the first of these.
It is old-fashioned in many quarters to greet your clients and customers cheerfully, with a big smile on your face. Having a sincere desire for their success is a part of this apporach as well. The warm, caring approach is the antithesis of dealing with a grump that barely makes eye contact with you, and acts like they would rather be anywhere else than with you at that moment. I’ll bet you have experienced people like this, and remember the experince well for its unpleasantness.
My business bank reminds me of the value of this old-fashioned approach every time I visit. I am greeted warmly at the door, many times opened for me, and then when I walk into the lobby all the personnel give a second greeting. One of the staff asks me if I want coffee, and then takes me to the Keurig machine to make sure I pick a great blend.
My local restaurant/bar took the time from the very beginning to memorize our names, and then learn what our favorite drinks and entrees were. We are greeted cheerfully each time we visit, not only by the hostess, but by the servers, and even the managers. Needless to say, we have developed a strong loyalty to this restaurant.
I imagine you have begun to think back upon some exemmplary examples of being taken care of as well. You know that something special is happening when it occurs.
Let’s internalize this for a few minutes. How would you rate your interactions with your internal staff, clients, and prospects? Try to judge this realistically. If you are having trouble, ask your spouse, or trusted advisor for their opinion. It is important for your business to be completely honest with this assessment.
Is their experience “memorable”, or do they go away mumbling and grumbling internally. All it takes is one bad experience to place their interactions with you on the “back-burner” of priorities. Remember, this is not just applicable with prospective customers, and clients, but your existing client base as well. There are plenty of competitors out there for your customers, and it is likely that someone is embracing this old-fashioned philosophy that would just “love” to have that customer and revenue.
There is nothing wrong with embracing the new. Just don’t let that cause you to lose sight of the tried and tested.
Here is a short list of some typical reasons someone might work with a business coach?
There are a lot of reasons that an person or team can choose to make use of a business coach, including however, but not restricted to the examples below:
- One has never discovered his or her primary strengths and how to use them to advantage;
- There is a gap in knowledge, capabilities, self-confidence, or assets;
- Work and life are out of whack, and this is producing unwelcome outcomes;
- There’s a absence of understanding, and there are choices to be considered;
- There is a desire to speed up success;
- The individual is incredibly successful, and good results has started to become troublesome;
- There is something on the line (a concern, objective, or business opportunity), which is imperative, compelling or exciting, or all of the aforementioned.
I invite you to explore business coaching with Skillful Business Owner, and our free executive business briefing is a great way to learn about our services. This free webinar will give you the insight necessary for making a good decision.
What are some things we can do to reduce the 10 percent that is in the negative column?
- Identify potential solutions that you have control over. Many of the negative things are beyond our control, and the first step is identifying whether we have a measure of control over the issue.
- If we have some ability to move the negative into the positive column, create and execute some action steps to see if they produces the results you are looking for. If there is no ability to influence, then recognize that, and release yourself from the issue in order to move forward.
- Spend time in your meditation and prayer activities, focusing on the positive and making your gratitude expressions.
- See if there is someone else who can deal with the negative issues on your behalf. If so, enlist their services with the purpose of bringing healing to that area.
Making the effort is cathartic, and almost more important than the end result. Remember that even when you are attempting to deal with the negative, that the overwhelming positive in your life is not forgotten.
Why are people who are in a good mood more likely to buy?
A person’s bad mood is a fundamental objection to the sales process. Once the mood of a person lifts, they become more receptive to what the salesperson is communicating.
In effect, a bad mood is another mode of resistance that must be removed before real communication can occur.
We also associate our purchases to a feeling of pleasure. It is much harder to move someone from a bad mood to feelings of pleasure than it is to move someone the shorter distance between being in a good mood to one of pleasure and contentment.
Laughter is a fantastic tool for mood transfer.
I saw this humorous picture on Facebook, and after I got done chuckling, my thoughts turned to how the poor lab in the lower right corner portion of the photo has represented me, and undoubtedly, other business owners who have looked at a humongous “to-do” list and “freaked out” at one point or another.
It is no fun to feel like you are out of control. There are only so many hours in a day, and trying to figure out the 20% of activity that will accomplish 80% of what needs to be done is not always easy.
Our company was designed to help small business owners get a handle, not only on time management, but the other key areas that will relieve stress and focus attention on what will make small business owners incredibly successful.
Fill out our contact form, and write “free executive briefing” in the message section to learn more.
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It is essential in business to relieve tension. Tension can crop up in many ways. It might show itself in the sales process, or in delivering a product or solution. It might even occur if you have not been paying attention to a valued client, or customer.
Relieving tension can also be relieved several ways, and the one that I want to reference now is laughter! How does laughter relax us?
Laughter ends up being our sixth sense. The “sense of humor.” Laughter has the tendency to “dissolve” things like tension, objections, and the types of emotions that weigh us down. Even the Bible talks about laughter being “better than medicine.” It takes us back to childhood, where the weight of the world was not resting on our shoulders.
According to science, laughter helps to integrate both hemispheres of the brain. You can use laughter to help the analytic get in touch with their creative, and vice-versa.
I an not advocating that you learn a stand-up routine, especially if that is not your strong suit. Make it a point to be on the lookout for the “sublime” elements in life, and be ready to share those. Some of the funniest things in life are derived from the mundane.
What can we do to differentiate ourselves, not only a human beings, but also as business owners?
Business is no longer about who has the cheapest, or even the best “widget.” Business is now built on relationships. Do you believe this? I hope you do, since it is reality, whether we wish it to be or not.
Let’s take a peek at one way you can almost instantly stand out from a relationship perspective.
A couple of characteristics that are in short supply amongst businesspeople and salespeople is honesty and integrity. People are desperately looking for the old-time “straight shooters”, where their word was their bond, and they delivered on what they said they would. It can be almost that simple to separate yourself from the pack and show that you desire relationship.
The reason that this can become a game changer is that one of the fundamental needs of human beings is relationship. When you consider how many of your clients and prospects may have come from broken homes, blended families, or have even experienced the break up of a marital relationship, you will begin to understand the void of relationship in many peoples lives. It is not a question of dysfunction, but rather the degree of dysfunction in relationships that is in question.
Can a single relationship bridge all of these potential gaps? Of course not, but reaching out will benefit both parties in tangible ways. Our reaching out in relationship must be genuine activity though, and not a tactic designed to make a sale. Authenticity is a must in relationship. We humans have a way to “sniff out” if something is not authentic.
Relationship helps all of us create and maintain a level of certainty regarding our “worth.” We all have the opportunity to deliver powerful medicine to the soul with each person we create a relationship with, yes, even a business relationship.
Go forth and spread the healing.
To me, one of the biggest benefit to a career in sales is being able to determine just how much money I want to make, and how much time I want to spend making that money so that I can enjoy what life has to offer while I am still young enough to appreciate it.
I really believe that there are two areas in which a person can “write their own ticket.”
- The first is in a sales career.
- The second is as a business owner.
If you combine the two, then you have a powerful synergy.
How can we make ourselves so compelling that the prospect has the desire to buy?
IF we can demonstrate that we are “THE” solution to that which causes our prospect to lose sleep, the likelihood that the prospect buys rises exponentially. IF we have engaged their intellect, and their emotions, as well as brought the solution in a unique and engaging way which personalizes the relationship, then we can clearly identify the buying signals that gives us the best opportunity to win the business.
Preparation and proof are the strongest tools to help us accomplish these goals.
Is the almost 100-year old way of chasing sales DOA (Dead on Arrival)? I was reading a article by Jeffrey Gitomer yesterday that asserted that this was indeed a fact. Truth be told, I agree with him, and have felt this way for over a year. If you intend to be a sales superstar in 2012, you are going to need to learn a new approach. You can continue in the old ways if you are content with the crumbs that will be left over by the master salesperson.
How can you tell if you are stuck in the past?
Do you ask yourself any of the following questions?
- How do I make a better cold call?
- How do I close a sale?
- How do I get to the decision maker?
If you answered yes to any of these, you are still using a deprecated form of salesmanship. Unfortunately you are beating your head against a wall, with very little hope of the success you are looking for and deserve.
Learn me ask you a series of better questions?
- How many Twitter followers do you have?
- Do you have an updated and informative Facebook page?
- Do you network on Linkedin?
- Do you know what your Social Promotion Score is?
- Are you involved in a significant way in your community?
The way to get in front of decision makers has changed for good. Cold calling may get you in front of a business owner occasionally, but if you analyze your performance with cold calling, you will begin to see that your conversion rate is at best quite anemic.
For better or worse, we live in an age where relationships and reputation rule the day in business. The world has turned social, and many of us didn’t notice. At least we didn’t notice right away. Now is the time for action!
I would be happy to get you a nudge in the right direction. Just use our contact form to let us know you would like to discuss selling in 2012.
- When was the last time you felt intensely enthusiastic about a topic, pursuit, or activity?
- Have you recently been in the presense of someone who was enthusiastic about a subject?
- What did it feel like?
- How did your, or their enthusiasm impact others?
- Has it been awhile since you have been truly enthusiastic about anything?
Just in case there is any confusion as to what a constitutes enthusiasm, I want to share what dictionary dot com puts forth as a definition. “Absorbing or controlling possession of the mind by any interest or pursuit; lively interest.” The word comes from a Greek origin which meant, “having a god within, or god-possessing.” WOW, that is a powerful way to describe enthusiasm.
People who are enthusiastic have an INFECTIOUS way of sharing their interest that pulls you into their world, creating an environment of wonder and possibility. Would you agree at the very least that there is power in enthusiasm? People can discredit what people say, but it is fruitless to discredit enthusiasm.
From a business owner perspective, I would like to humbly ask you if you still possess the sort of enthusiasm that led you into entrepeneurship and business ownership? Have the rigors of business sapped you of your enthusiasm? If so, would it alarm you if I mentioned that a loss of enthusiasm teeters you on the edge of ultimate failure?
The prospect may seem dire, but the final chapter has yet to be written on you, and your business. Thankfully so.
Unfortunately many today look suspiciously upon the enthusiast in business. We seem to accomodate musical, sports, and hobby enthusiasts, (even the fanatic) as being normal, but there is just something a bit suspect about someone who is truly enthusiastic in business. We may even internalize thoughts like, “what is this person trying to put over on me?” Nothing could be further from the truth.
Let me share with you a couple of quotes from men who are imminently qualified to speak on the subject of enthusiasm.
Napolean Hill famously quoted, “Enthusiasm is the power that turns knowledge into action and moves you towards your definite purpose.”
The best laid plans, and the greatest visions in life will not get off the launching pad without enthusiasm. If your business is lagging, why not give the rekindling of enthusiasm a shot. Do a little real-life A/B testing in this area and see what happens. It can be as simple as recapturing the vision you had for your company.
Need more encouragement to take back up the mantle of enthusiasm? How about Charles M Schwab then?
“A man can succeed at almost anything for which he has unlimited enthusiasm.”
If there is anything I can be sure of, it is the fact that YOU want to succeed beyond your wildest dreams with your business. That puts you into an appropriate category for Schwab’s assertion.
Out thoughts will migrate towards the things we focus on. So here is my challenge for you. Spend 10-minutes a day focusing intensely on your vision for your business, and why you headed down that path in the first place. It is alright to see things as they are right now, but keep that vision handy so that you can see things as you truly want them to be.
Developing the skills to augment our natural talents requires massive effort on our part, as well as constant action to develop. Do you believe this? Can the label of mastery pursuit be made truthfully about you as you think upon your own career or personal path?
My 50-years upon this beautiful orb has brought me into the path of relatively few people who have made this type of investment in order to truly master their life or craft. The ones I have encountered have been truly extraordinary individuals. They are the type of people who draw you to themselves like a magnet draws iron.
Tony Robbins talks about repetition being the mother of all learning. Repetition is fundamental to skills development and mastery. As a child I remember the saying, “practice makes perfect”, when in reality it is truly, “focused practice
makes perfect.” Even the second saying is a bit flawed in one way, since I don’t believe that we should strive to be perfect. Instead we should strive to be outstanding, which is far superior to the pursuit of perfection.
What types of skills activities do you focus on that will lead you to becoming a master? What takes up the bulk of your time? Do you spend more time on these activities than you do watching television, reading magazines, responding to non-important emails, and other time wasting activities that are probably coming to your mind right about now?
It will take laser-like focus for you to succeed in the pursuit of mastery. It will take a great deal of willpower to not take the path of least resistance, if indeed you truly want to experience the fulfillment of mastery. One of the keys to that type of focus is to visual the outcomes that you want to achieve. The Whats and the Whys will give you the mental ability to figue out the Hows.
Jump on the narrow path that leads to personal and career fulfillment. Decide today that you will no longer allow yourself to suffer in the pit of mediocrity. If you make the decision to become like the masters of yore, would you give me a shout and let me know. I would be honored to celebrate with you!
Business has been difficult for many businesses over the past two years. Growth has leveled off, if not declined. A sense of panic can slowly envelope an entire organization if a sense of hope wanes.
The KPI “Key Performance Indicator”, that most often leads to a situation like this is a decline in qualified leads being brought into the business.
Less leads = less new business = less cash flow = panic
When we humans are confronted with a situation like this, many times our first inclination is to constrict expenditures in a mighty way in an attempt to cope with the lower revenues. One of the first things we tend to slash is the marketing budget, possibly because it is not easy for us to quantify the value that we are receiving for our marketing dollars.
Is this always the best approach?
I can’t speak to every situation, but answer this, “when is the last time you ever heard of a company contracting its way to success?”
Wow, can I ever write this from my own experience today.
Do you remember the expression, “The good things in life are the worst enemy of the best things?” This is so important in the way we use our time as business owners.
Time is a commodity that we have a fixed amount of each day. There are pressures related to your time. How many times have we used the phrase, “If I only have a few extra hours in the day.” Unfortunately we don’t get any extra hours when we ask.
Have you ever stopped to write down all the good things you are doing and then determined whether those good, mostly immediate, things that need attention are keeping you away from the most critical things you need to do to be successful in your business or career? I never cease to be surprised when I go through that type of exercise.
One of the hardest “good” time wasters to “unhook” from is email. Do you absolutely have to know about, and respond to email the moment it hits your inbox? May a small pox fall upon the creators of iPhone and Blackberry. You might consider checking your email before you get your day started and then don’t check again until noon. Try it. You’ll be amazed in this step alone how much more productive you become. Then check it after 4:00 PM.
Have you heard of the concept of “benign neglect?” Each day, (or the night before), we need to determine what is absolutely the most important things to accomplish in the time that you have available to you. Anything that doesn’t fit in that plan has to be gently sacrificed to the “gods of maybe tomorrow.” How else are you going to get it all done? If you spend time on the immediate and easy, you will always fail to accomplish the critical.
Hopefully you are renewed in your resolve to tackle the really important issues and tasks that will help you achieve your goals of revenue generation and return on investment. Here is to all our our success!
We live in tough economic times, and the challenges before us are difficult, but certainly not insurmountable. As business owners, we are constantly on the lookout for those things that will either make our business function easier, wring more profit out of our efforts, or both. That is the beauty of the free enterprise system. Our success, or failure, is within our ability to control.
Business has changed
Much has changed in the way that business markets. What an understatement, and the changes are coming at greater frequency. A high percentage of business owners now believe that marketing their products and services is absolutely essential, but the problem still remains regarding determining who they should turn to for help.
FIRST: The first step should be to look for someone who will sit down with you and ask the right questions in order to understand your challenges and desires. A “cookie cutter” approach does not work well with any type of marketing.
SECOND: After the needs are fully addressed, look for someone who will give you options. You should be able to step into a plan that fits your needs, as well as your marketing investment budget.
THIRD: Marketing on the Internet in particular is changing rapidly, so finally, you should look for someone who will stay with you, in effect partnering with you for your success.
Getting to the top of a Google search pages is an important objective for any company that is serious about selling their products and services. It makes no difference if you sell online or not. People have to know that you exist before they can purchase from you.
There are proven activities that a skillful marketer will engage to make that happen, but I believe true success starts before those activities even begin. Careful and methodical research is the key to success.
- What are people searching for,
- how are they searching,
- does the phrases match your target demographic,
- does the phrase have commercial intent?
Those are all fundamental questions that must be asked, and answered before any activity begins. Then you have to examine the competitive landscape. Is it even possible to get on the first page based on existing competition?
If you have key people in place, whether in-house, or vendor, do you trust them to run with your dream, or do you micro-manage their activities? Of course there may be those reading who try to do it all themselves, and as a result do none of it very well.
We have to face the fact that most business owners have an entrepreneurial spirit, and as a result, often find letting go of key activities very hard. Your business is your “baby”? We know well the expression, “Jack of all trades, and master of none.”
One aspect of business that I am truly qualified to comment on is the marketing component. I am going to ask you to do yourself a hugh favor that could have tremendous financial consequences for you. Please give this careful consideration. Consult with your marketing agent / company to set goals and priorities, and then, let them do their work in the way that has been proven by best practices and experience.
Success Characteristics
Our best clients have demonstrated several very prominent characteristics. First, they committed to their marketing objectives. They know that marketing is an activity that drives sales, and not the other way around.
Secondly, they understood that online success was a process. That is why we partner with our clients to perform work month over month. Some business owners treat online marketing like a game of darts. They want to hit an immediate bulls eye and if you don’t you “suck.”
The third key characteristic is that they have “certainty” that if they get great leads, they will close business with those leads. It stings when you do great work for a company, and they can’t close business. Of course the marketing is suspect, never the sales team.
The best thing we can do as a business owners is to get real with expectations, both internally, as well as externally. Then commit, demonstrate patience, and build your level of certainty about your product and business. Put those things in place, and your business will become a wealth generation machine.
Tony Robbins has famously stated that success can be achieved by making a 2 millimeter shift in what you are doing. In other words, the path to the right destination does not require a hugh redirection. This is especially true in sales.
Regardless of your innate abilities in sales, small adjustments can help you to achieve significant increases. The key is to schedule those adjustments systematically, and with the oversight of an outside observer. This is where sales training and coaching can pay off big.
Systematic training, which includes role playing and accountability, under the watchful eye of a trainer can help you, or your sales team, make the incremental changes that will elevate performance across the board.
If you, or your company needs a sales “shot in the arm”, I want to invite you to give me a call at 636-352-3692. Tiger Quest through Skillful Selling many just be exactly what you need to make the right shift.
“In times of change learners inherit the earth while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to work in a world that no longer exists.” – Eric Hoffer
Economically, the US is in change mode. There is quite a bit of uncertainty as we contemplate 2011, but we do have within us the ability, and opportunity, to become learners. Those that do will find themselves taking advantage of what lies in the future. Those that don’t … well, I think you can guess the outcome they face.
Are you a winner, or a whiner?
Come on in and take inventory with me for just a moment. When things don’t go exactly the way that you want with your sales prospects, how do you react? Do you take full responsibility for what has happened and work on taking the necessary steps to move it in the right direction, or do you find anything and anyone to blame for the situation.
Are you a winner or a whiner?
Let’s face it. It is difficult to take responsibility for all things related to your sales career. It is easier to make excuses and blame others.
Don’t let others control you, because that is what happens when you choose to blame other things or other people. Take full control over your career, and choose to excel at what you do. Take responsibility.
Hiring a sales coach can help you improve in many areas, and being accountable is just one of the areas that you can take advantage of. I want you to not only take responsibility of your sales career, but I want you to make a massive amount of money doing it. Taking responsibility is a step in the correct direction.
Imagination is essential to becoming a great salesperson. Being able to imagine and visualize the end result has a powerful way of translating your visual run through into the actual sales process. We all grew up knowing how powerful the imagination is.
“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”
Albert Einstein
Did you see it coming? The author of the quote that is. Maybe you never associated how important the imagination was to a world-class scientist and inventor like Albert Einstein.
Albert Einstein and Imagination
There are many resources available that can help you develop your imagination and visualization abilities. The Tiger Quest sales training system sees this as foundational for achieving greatness in your sales profession.
What would you like your, “life’s coming attractions” to be?
This truth was driven home to me a little more than a week ago as I was going through a sales training “boot camp” in Jacksonville, Florida. There were moments when I was wondering if I was going to emerge as one of the successful ones.
Fortunately I was able to recite the quote on the graphic to your left a few times, and was reminded of why I was willing to make the tough choices in order to be a great salesperson. I don’t want to be a failure, and truth be told, I haven’t been since I started my first business almost four-years ago.
In fact, I was at the boot camp in large part because of my success. Marvin’s Tiger Quest training has been an integral part of my sales and business success, almost literally from day one. Now I was going through boot camp in order to be found worthy of providing sales training for others in the way that Marvin has for me. You see, “Failure is not an option” for me. Not in my own business endeavors, and not for those that entrust their sales force to me either. “Whatever it takes.”
Whatever does he mean?
Don’t be mistaken … I am not saying you should throw away your profession as a salesperson. If that is not what I am saying, then what does this statement say to you as a salesperson? Please comment below, and let’s flesh this thing out together.
This one thing alone can help you salvage many sales.
