Seven Rules to Thrive

I am privileged to currently work with Business coaching clients from all over the world. And, I am blessed with the success that my coaching clients have experienced. But I’ll let you in on a little secret; I learn as much from my business coaching clients as they learn from me!

The most recent and major reality that I’ve come to understand is that the issues, needs, challenges and concerns that business people experience, no matter where they are at in the world, are all basically the same! These issues always seem to revolve around three things: Productivity; Profitability: and struggling to improve the quality of their life. However today, with the ongoing international economic issues and changing consumer attitudes…the RULES ARE CHANGING!

As a professional business coach I work with many types of business and business owners and I’ve come to the conclusion that there are only two types of business strategies that business owners and managers employ. Probably 80% or more work from the strategy based simply on SURVIVAL. I recently was working with a new customer whom I asked if they had a daily goal that they were striving to achieve. The customer looked at me and with a very straight face said, “Absolutely I start every day, hoping and praying, with the singular goal of…..breaking even!” The battle is already lost unless we can make a quick and profound change in their thinking. The other half or more work on a strategy based on THRIVING. They were striving to take advantage of every opportunity and every situation.

I have created a list of seven of the rules that have changed. Here is the SEVEN RULES TO THRIVE!

1. If you conduct business the way you’ve always done business…you WILL be out of business! You must adapt, adjust and change to the changing market and your changing customers attitudes. You must meet their needs from THEIR point of view not what you think they want. Many researchers say that everything we know today will be obsolete in less than two years. Things are changing and changing fast so you must to. You cannot afford to be stuck in “The way we’ve always done it…” syndrome.
2. You must run your business like you did when you started it….every day! In other words, no matter how long you’ve been in business you must run it like a “bootstrap” start up, every day. That means, you must get back to watching your expenses every day. You must have effective marketing and if it isn’t STOP it! Everything you do; every penny that you spend MUST BE EFFECTIVE. This is really the number 1 response that I’ve gotten from business development experts when asked about the single most effective trait of successful business people, in ANY economy wherever they’re at in the world.
3. You must be disciplined! Brian Tracy told me once that he defines discipline as Doing what you have to do….When you have to do it…..Whether you want to or not! You must be disciplined in all that you do. You must plan and prioritize your time…every day! You must read your goals…..every day! Be disciplined and do what you need to do, when you need to do it….whether you want to or not. It will make a difference!
4. Your strategies must be based on…WHAT IS vs. WHAT IF.  Understand the reality of the business situations and challenges that you face and base your true strategies on that. I was working with a client that was particularly frantic about her perception of the state of the U.S. economy. I asked her to give me one and only one specific way that the economy has seriously affected her. She thought for a moment and then said, “Well I guess it hasn’t…..but it could!” She was basing all of her reactions on WHAT IF. So slow down, calm down and understand what’s real and what isn’t then plan based on the facts.
5. You must be passionate about what you’re doing! You must enjoy what you’re doing even when times are tough and challenging. If you don’t life is quite a bit harder. And you just as well quit and put yourself out of your present misery. Love what you’re doing and your attitude changes and really everything changes for the better. You find yourself looking for opportunity rather than problems.
6. You must work, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY hard! Sometimes the answer is so simple that you talk yourself out of it. You can plan for weeks and months; you can worry till you’re sick….but nothing happens until you go to work. Right or wrong the only way to find out is go to work. Go to work with a plan; with goals; with enthusiasm and passion. If you can be one of the few that can do this, you cannot fail.
7. REPEAT RULE 6. Got it? Good!

No Market for Bad Attitudes!

People with negative attitudes wear me out! I just don’t get it! If you’re in business and you want to stay in business, there is simply no room for a negative outlook in today’s market. A business owner simply cannot afford it. I have seen a bad attitude as the single reason that someone lost their business. It permeates and set a tone to a business, good or bad; your customers WILL feel the vibe. Your attitude directly effects your staff, the atmosphere of your office/or business and your customers. And, your customers and prospects simply won’t stand for it! Why? They don’t have to! There are far too many alternative choices today for them, so they’ll just go somewhere else! They don’t have to put up with a bad attitude that they can avoid just by going somewhere else or as easily as simply accessing the internet.

In my business coaching practice I see it every day and it can be fatal for a business owner and their business. So, it’s time for some “mental triage”! As a business coach, I look for a few key symptoms of what is sometimes called “Stinkin’ Thinkin”.

The business person is;

1. Always tired and worn out
2. There is ALWAYS problems
3. They blame everyone else for everything that’s wrong instead of taking personal responsibility.
4. They blame the economy for all of their collective woes
5. They are overtly emotional
6. They are working from a business strategy of survival only. (This is a true statement! I work with a customer whose initial goal in life for their business was to, “Get up in the morning, go to work and do everything possible to break even!”

If you find yourself checking off these items here are a few solutions that I offer my business coaching customers;

1. Force yourself to take some quiet time every day to just meditate and relax.
2. Get your time under control and prioritize your tasks. Only do those things with the highest consequences,
3. Start taking responsibility for mistakes, shortcomings, failures and yes, your successes as well.
4. Set written goals! Understand what is really important and what you’re working for, Every successful business person today has very clear and written goals.
5. Plan a strategy of THRIVING, versus just surviving. It’s a completely different mindset.
6. Get new friends and associates. If everyone you hang with is always bitching and moaning then you will too. Surround yourself with positive input.
7. Get some coaching! There is a reason why all top level professional athletes have a coach! So it just makes sense that businesses should as well.
8. Plan you business and your life basing all strategies on WHAT IS versus WHAT IF.  Don’t worry; don’t ruin your life because you’re in a panic about what might happen. Understand the situation and how it is exactly affecting you at this very moment and plan your strategies on that reality.

As Henry Ford said a long time ago, “If you think you can or you can’t….you’re right!” Think positive…life is more fun that way.

Be Great,

Coach Dan

The Secret to Business Success in Tough Times

Will we ever get free of the mental and emotional shackles of this economy? If you think it is near, think again. Although there are many positive signs, over the next few coming years, people will continue to lose their homes and their wealth.  But it doesn’t have to be you!

However (and this is BIG) as a professional business coach I want to tell you what I tell all of my clients; Just because things are tough does not mean that you should put your goals, your dreams, or the success of your business on hold. Quite the contrary! As a matter of fact there is enough research to fill the Arizona desert to prove that in every tough economy there is always….I repeat, Always major opportunities for those who chose to seek them out. In fact, Brian Tracy refers to it in his Financial Success newsletter as (and I quote) “In nasty recessions like this one, they always provide once in a lifetime opportunities to get rich!”

There is not enough room or time to refer to all of the research or strategies that we could employ here, so let’s keep it simple. The secret of people who get rich in a tough economy is that they have physically and mentally created a personal and business GROWTH STRATEGY versus a SURVIVAL strategy.  Think about it. How do you go about your day, simply surviving or are you taking advantage of the opportunities with a mentality of growth and a watchful eye for opportunity?

Test it yourself. Think about words you use; how you process issues and challenges. In my business coaching practice I see many business owners who have allowed their “perception” of the economy to cloud their entire life with a veil of doom and gloom. The glass is always half empty! Others have a growth plan or are at least open to creating one, finding and building on the available opportunities.

It’s all about attitude, my friend, so open your eyes and look for opportunity, think every day about winning above all odds. Mold your life around how to take advantage of your competitions bad attitudes and wait and see vision. Stop looking for an excuse or crutch to lean. Stop using the economy to blame for all that’s seemingly wrong. It’s not only thinking about potential, the potential is real. All you have to do is open your eyes and ears to see and hear the success stories coming out of these times. So stick your chin out and let’s start moving forward. Proclaim that you’re sick and tired of worrying. Take charge of your business and your life with a positive strategy of GROWTH rather than just survival!

The 18 Disciplines of Selling: Part 5: The Finale

At FocalPoint Business Coaching of Arizona I believe in a system that anyone can follow. One of these systems is the 18 Disciplines of Selling. Whether you like it or not, you are a salesperson. We all are. And the basic skills are essential to master. Whether you’re just realizing the fact that you sell or you’re a seasoned veteran, you still must continually remember and hone your BASIC skills in addition to new ones. This is the last of five articles discussing the 18 Disciplines. Previous articles covered what I believe to be the fundamental building blocks of a successful businessperson who must understand selling skills in order to survive. In our last article we covered the skills necessary in selling with Disciplines #7 through #11.  In Part 5 we’ll finish with disciplines #11 through #11.

Selling Discipline #12: Be consistently Persistent! Once you find a prospect that’s interested and willing to take the necessary steps to be your customer NEVER let them off the hook, be consistently persistent in everything that you do. And it doesn’t matter what you’re selling, from financial services; insurance or business coaching services. Most salespeople quit too early through fear, assumptions or sheer laziness. Fear in that you’re just afraid to go out and look for customers. Assumptions are ones where you’re making decisions for your customer and judging how they will react before you even speak to them. Today time is your enemy and you cannot be the conscience of your prospect. Never get into the mindset of “I’ll call them back next week. If I call them back this week, they’ll think I’m bugging them.” It’s not your job to guess what they’re thinking it’s your job to sell them your goods and services. Here are the facts:

• 48% of all salespeople NEVER follow up with a prospect
• 25% of all salespeople make a 2^nd contact and stop!
• 12% of all salespeople only make three contacts and stop!
• Only 10% of all sales people make more than three contacts.

Here is the bottom line;

• 2% of all sales are made on the first contact
• 3% of all sales are made on the second contact
• 5% of all sales are made on the third contact
• 10% of all sales are made on the Fourth contact
• 80% of all sales are made on the Fifth to Twelfth contact

So if the prospect is in your target audience and they’ve given you the buying signs, stick with them because the odds are your competitors won’t.

Selling Discipline #13: Understand the Customers needs from the Customers point of view ! In other words, become a master of the art of listening. Shut up and listen. Shut up and listen to your prospect and customer. Ask them lots of questions and shut up and listen. If you can master this simple act an amazing thing happens. Your prospect or customer will tell you how to sell them! Very few people today listen to anyone else. And that my friends is a killer for people who sell. If you’re perceived as not listening, then you’re perceived as not caring.  I hear it all the time while working with my business coaching customers. If you become the one salesperson that does listen, then your prospect or customer will tell you things about their business and themselves that will earn you the right to do business with them. Then you simply satisfy their needs (not always problems) from a unique perspective. You satisfy their needs from their point of view which makes the solution remarkably powerful.

Selling Discipline #14: Close early and often! What’s so hard about asking a prospect to buy? Or, asking a customer to buy more. Understand that closing is NOT a big event. Closing a sale is very incidental. If you’ve earned the right to get to this point by asking questions and listening; If you’ve tied your USP to the prospects specific and exact needs then you have earned the right to simply; casually and logically ask them to buy. It should just make sense as a natural progression. The problem is that many salespeople do the work but many also never ask the prospect to buy. When this happens it’s the first salesperson that walks through the door with a similar logical solution that gets the order.

Selling Discipline #15: Understand clearly what you’re willing to give up to get what you want! It’s the first rule of negotiation. There’s negotiation in every selling situation. You negotiate with your kids; friends; parents, relatives, potential employers, employers and of course business prospects and customers. So be prepared. Don’t walk into any situation without clearly knowing what it is that you are willing to give up to get the deal. Is it price; is it time; is it scheduling or payment terms? Whatever it is know what you’re willing to give on before you ever get into a situation that could cost you money. You can build your conversations around this knowledge, just as you can build your presentations around this knowledge. When you clearly know what you’re willing to bend on then you’ve instantly got the upper hand in the deal and can then move to a ideal win/win situation.

Selling Discipline #16: Track everything! Every truly successful salesperson can tell you their KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) and where they currently are against them. This begins with goals that are clear and precise. With some very simple charts and graphs you can track the goal and your progress, daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly. It’s imperative. As the wise man once said, “How do you know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’re at?”

Selling Discipline #17: Work really, really, really, really, really, really hard! Don’t listen so some of the new age blather that says that if you just clearly understand what you want that you can simply sit down and wish for it and it will happen. It just doesn’t happen that way. Yes you must clearly understand what you want in your life (goals) but once you know, you must work for it and work hard. Particularly in sales, your report card comes out every week. If you want to earn more, go out and sell more. Planning, goal setting, working the phone, working prospects, networking, marketing, workshops, sales calls all take time and effort and planning. Nothing replaces hard work. Nothing! I’m often asked why I’ve been so successful as a business coach. It really comes down to the basics. The same people who ask me that question are the same ones that won’t believe me when I tell them that I work the Disciplines of Selling every day. But its true. I had a call last month where we went through this scenario. The bottom line was that this fellow had conducted over the course of a year about 50 closing presentations. In the same years period, I had done 186. That was my “secret”. I had conducted over three times more selling presentations asking people to buy something. My odds were just higher than his of finding a prospect to say yes.

Selling Discipline #18: Repeat Discipline 17! Once again, nothing replaces hard work and focused effort. What you put into it is what you will get out of it, so get to it!

In closing, let me share with you the bottom line that I offer to all of my workshop attendees; all of my customers and every prospective business coaching client that I’ve ever had. There are three things that I know to be true:

1. This is the best time in history to be in business and be in sales
2. This is the best time in history to maximize your potential, whatever level your are at. I truly believe that.
3. And….If you’re passionate about the success of your prospects or customers, you will sell them and work with them forever!

Good Luck! And as always….

Be GREAT

Coach Dan

The 18 Disciplines of Selling: Part 4

In our last installment we continued our discussion into the fundamental building blocks of a successful businessperson. At FocalPoint Business Coaching of Arizona I believe that no matter how long you’ve been selling you must have a continuous mastery of the skills necessary to remain efficient and to insure long term success. We last discussed Disciplines #4 through #6.  In Part 4 we’re going to discuss disciplines #7 through #11.

Selling Discipline #7: Have a daily prioritized plan! How do you plan your day? Do you get up in the morning, go to work and sit at your desk and say, “What do I need to do today, and I sure hope I don’t forget something?” If you do you’re not alone. In my business coaching practice I’m continually shocked and surprised at how many people that depend on their sales skills are in the same boat and I guarantee you that their results are mediocre at best. The people that are making the big commissions and that are always successful have a plan, a daily plan of action that they have prepared in advance usually the night before each new business day. Success psychologists and experts have proven in testing that if you plan out your priorities and tasks for the next day the night before that your “super” conscious mind will work on the opportunities and have you ready to go the next morning. In Napoleon Hill’s groundbreaking book, Think and Grow Rich, he details this result as your “infinite Intelligence”. Once you notify it of your plan it will help you achieve it bringing to bear all that is necessary for you to be successful. Now when you get up in the morning, you walk over to your desk and pick up your written plan for the next day and you’re ready to do and have more than a two hour head start from most other sales people. Be sure it’s prioritized as well. Ask yourself, “What is the most important single thing that I should be doing to move my goals forward?” Another way to say it is “What can I and only I do that if done well will advance my business and personal goals?” Then to stay on track adjust the mantra to ask yourself during the day, “STOP, am I doing the number one thing that I should be doing in order to move my goals forward?”

Selling Discipline #8: Have a clear understanding of who your ideal target customer is! This is a fairly simple concept that most businesspeople today have never really considered. In today’s market you CANNOT sell to everyone. Pareto’s Law is in effect more than ever today but with a change. The law says that 80% of all of your results will come from 20% of your activity and it applies across the board. In this case 80% of your sales will come from 20% of your customer base. But today, many business development experts will tell you that it’s narrowed even further to the 90% – 10% rule. That is as much as 90% of your results will come from 10% of your activities, customers, etc. With the impact of the internet and the expansion of options for to days consumers, you have no choice but to identify your 10% and focus on them. Who are they and what do they want?  This by the way is one of the key “business killers” that I see every day in my coaching practice. Business people who continue to target everyone versus the key customer that true customer that delivers the lion’s share of business for them. You had better find out and quick, because how you take care of them, service them and cater to their needs may just represent the life or death of your business.

Selling Discipline #9: CLEARLY understand your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) It may sound crazy but do the research. Most top business development experts will confirm that what is estimated to be over 95% or more of all salespeople/businesspeople cannot tell you just what it is that they do in under :10 seconds, or even under :30 seconds for  that matter. Try it out. I hear it all the time as a business coach and I test it all the time. Rarly can the businesspeople that I talk to tell me concisely and with clarity what it is exactly that they do. In many cases my prospects and business coaching customers once they understand the concept are shocked about their complete lack of clarity about what they do. Many are honestly surprised that they’ve been able to stay in business as long as they have. In our coaching sessions we learn to understand what they do, I mean what is it exactly that they do for a customer. It’s too easy to say, “I sell real estate” or “I sell cars”. Take the time to sit down and really think about what is unique about what you do and how you do it. That’s what prospects and customers want to know. Otherwise they will always ask that one inevitable and frankly logical question. “So What?”

Selling Discipline #10: Create a powerful :10 second and :40 second marketing message. Remember that most consumers (and never forget that you’re a consumer too) will say to themselves, “SO WHAT?” when you give them a general statement about what it is that you do.  There are thousands of real estate people for instance in every market, so why should your customer use you instead of ANY of the others? That’s always the real question isn’t it? And the salesperson who can answer the SO WHAT question is the one that will win. So take the time to truly understand WHAT it is that you do for your prospect or customer in what I recommend is the :10 second statement that is based on your USP….then tell them HOW you do what you do for them in the more traditional :40 second statement.  Then sit down and listen to yourself say it and ask yourself the SO WHAT question and be sure your statement has an answer. Tell the prospect what’s in it for them to hire you or do business with you. With this kind of clarity for yourself and your prospect and customer, you sales will improve in a matter of days.

Selling Discipline #11: Talk to lots of people and ask lots of them to buy! Ok, too simple right? However you would be amazed how many sales people mistakenly think that a little bit of activity is something that will get results. IT JUST DOESN’T WORK THAT WAY! Sales, at best and at absolutely any level are a game of numbers. The more target prospects you talk to, the more opportunities you’ll have to find the ones ready to buy….now! Discipline yourself to talk to as many people as possible every day and every week. This should be part of your goal system. Every action that you do, every conversation should be focused on finding someone that might be your client now. In today’s market a salesperson simply cannot afford the time to develop a large group of prospects. Developing long term prospects should be a limited part of your day but the bulk of your day should be looking for the low hanging fruit. Remember the four S’s. Some WILL, Some WON’T, So WHAT, Someone’s WAITING! But also remember this.

Once you find a prospect that’s interested and willing to take the necessary steps never let them off the hook, be consistently persistent in your efforts. You’ll learn that a little extra effort and tenacity will go a long, long way. We discuss that in Part 5.

Stay focused, work hard and as always,

BE GREAT!

Coach Dan

The 18 Disciplines of Selling: Part 3

In The 18 Disciplines of Selling: Part2, we began our journey into the fundamental building blocks of a successful businessperson and the skills necessary in selling with Disciplines #1 through #3.  In The 18 Disciplines of Selling: Part 3, we’re going to discuss disciplines #4 through #6.

Selling Discipline #4: Be PASSIONATE about what you’re doing and let it show! With all of my business coaching for small business, entrepreneurs, executives or sole proprietors, the first three disciplines are foundational. Our first three disciplines are based on being proud about what you’re doing, then acting like a winner and leader followed by expecting success and never giving up. But, none of it works unless you’re passionate about what you’re doing and showing it. Now don’t panic. I don’t mean the fake smile and actions, jumping around and such. What I do mean is finding that burning fire in your gut to accomplish your goals and letting people see it in your eyes; in your speech and your actions. When you make a statement about your product or service let your prospect hear it from your heart. Again, it’s a perception that is established. Every prospect would, I guarantee, rather work with someone that they perceive is committed to getting the job done than someone with a perceived lackluster attitude or focus. Let them see your confidence and positive attitude as that is, again, something that will give you the slightest edge and sometimes that’s all we need.

Selling Discipline #5: GET YOURSELF ORGANIZED! Don’t even try to argue with me here! I’ve yet to see a highly successful and consistently successful businessperson and/or salesperson that is disorganized. In fact the issue of disorganization may be the number one biggest excuse for lack of activity or failure that I’ve ever seen. Research has proven time and time again; business development experts have written hundreds if not thousands of  books on the subject and all say that, psychologically, personal disorganization leads to cluttered thinking which leads to a distinct lack of focused productivity. So NO MORE EXCUSES! Get organized. Take the time to do it because it’s not that hard. Simply remember the primary rule for organization: Never touch a piece of paper unless you do something with it! Here’s your shopping list: (1) box of Avery labels, (1) box of file folders, (1) box of green hanging files. Now, here’s the drill: Push everything on your desk onto the floor. That’s right, you heard what I said! Now pick everything up a piece at a time. Determine what the subject is and if it’s worth keeping and if it is, get a label and write the proper heading on it. Put the label on the folder and put the folder in a hanging file. Do that until you’re done and now you have a system. The hardest part of this is being tough and committed enough to have the discipline to do this each and every day. So how tough are you? Follow the system and if you do, your productivity, your sales and your profits WILL go up! So take action today!

Selling Discipline #6: Set clear, concise and written goals! Ok, I know what you’re saying; “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that before. Everyone says that. I’ve got some but they’re in my head!” Well Pal, that’s not good enough. By most accounts, and the numbers vary, 70% of our society does not have any goals whatsoever. Another 28% has goals of some kind and only 2% or so have written goals. But here’s the kicker. Many business development experts and some very noted research say that the 2% to 3% with written goals control 80% to 90% of all income. And this is a fact that has been touted for over a half of a century. So it might be worth your time to reviewing your thinking here. It’s hard to establish proper written goals. You have to push yourself and be honest with yourself about what you want and what you need to improve on and for some that’s a huge task. There are countless books fully dedicated to goal setting. In my business coaching practice I rely heavily on the research and life work of renowned business development expert Brian Tracy. Most systems are similar so find you one and do it now. The foundational rules are all the same. They are based on the acronym of SMART goals. S is for Specific, you must have a very clear and concise vision; M is for Measurable, you must know where you’re starting from to clearly see what your results are; A is for Aligned with your values, you cannot set goals that go against your value system; R is for Realistic, your goals must be attainable yet must make you stretch for them; and T is for Time bound, you must establish a reasonable time frame to achieve your goals.

Jim Rohn, the world renowned business philosopher once said, “Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying fundamentals.” And that my friends are what the 18 Disciplines are all about.

In our next installment, we’ll discuss disciplines #7 through #10.

The 18 Disciplines of Selling: Part 2

In The 18 Disciplines of Selling: Part 1, we began by discussing rules of the game. So now let’s talk about excelling at the “game” of selling. In Part 2 of our discussion into The 18 Disciplines of Selling, we’re going to briefly discuss disciplines #1 through #3. You’ll notice quickly that each is separate but connected and believe me it’s the little things that make the great success.

Selling Discipline 1: Be Proud of what you’re selling and what you’re doing! You’ll make a lot of sales simply based on how your prospects perceive how confident you are! I am by trade a professional Business Coach, and when I coach business people to success the first thing that we talk about is the perception that your prospects and customers will develop of whether they want to work with you or buy anything from you, based totally about the “vibe” that they get from watching how you walk, talk, act, smile, listen & think. If you are going to be successful at selling coaching you must “Walk like a coach; talk like a coach; act like a coach; smile like a coach….” Or said in another way, “Walk like a professional; talk like a professional; act, smile, listen and think like a pro.” When you walk into a room you want people to say, “I don’t know what he sells or does, but I want some of it!” Simply put a prospect or customer does not want (particularly in today’s economy) to invest their hard earned money in someone that they don’t believe in. You wouldn’t want to work with a heart surgeon that says that he “thinks” that he can do your surgery, do you? So even if you’re new at a job or profession, you have to act proud and confident and committed to what you’re doing because if you’re not, the customer or prospect can smell it from a mile away!

Selling Discipline 2: Act Like a Leader and a Winner! Sales success is an attitude! It’s a look and feel and it’s something that you need to remember from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed. Your customers and prospects and just as important, future customers and prospects will be attracted to you simply due to your positive attitude. In these times of bad news and uncertainty, prospects and customers WANT to work with someone that they perceive to know more about an issue or need that they have than they do. So you as a sales person, no matter what it is that you’re selling, MUST act like a leader and winner and the person that your customers and prospects and future customers and prospects are looking for. Hold your head up high, smile, act confident (even if you’re not as much as you should), walk straight and speak with an authority. Prospects are looking for someone with solutions and a positive outlook. Remember, SOMEONE IS ALWAYS WATCHING! It may be a prospect; a customer; a competitor; a board member; an investor; or a vendor that’s watching, but count on it….someone IS always watching. So set yourself apart by being perceived as a leader and winner.

Selling Discipline 3: Expect Success and Never Give Up! When asked how he felt about all the failures that he had while inventing the light bulb, Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” To be in business today you must simply expect success. No matter how bad it gets or how bleak it looks you MUST expect a positive outcome. The only thing that is sure other than death and taxes is that YOU WILL FAIL and YOU WILL MAKE MISTAKES. It’s how you deal with the failure and mistakes that will dictate your future in sales and business. The founder of IBM, Thomas Watson once was asked by a young employee what advice he would give about how to speed up their rate of success and he quickly said, “You must increase your rate of failure.” We will make mistakes and screw things up from time to time, but that’s simply a fact of life. So learn from the mistake, take a moment to decide how to prevent the mistake from happening again then put it in the rear view mirror and move forward. For others to have enough confidence in you and your product to buy something from you, they must believe in you and what you represent. If you expect success it shows…if you expect failure, it shows as well. By thinking positive and never giving up you overcome all the bugaboos of selling: call reluctance; fear of rejection; cold calling and more. You want to exude the attitude that “I have a great product and I won’t give up because I believe in it so much!” Anything less you represent the old joke about the downtrodden sales rep whose body language alone said, “You don’t want to buy anything from me today….do you?”

Zig Ziglar once said: “You were born to win, but to be a winner you must Plan to win, Prepare to win, and Expect to win!”

In our next installment we’ll discuss Selling Disciplines #4 through #6.

The 18 Disciplines of Selling: Part 1: RULES

I am a sales professional. That’s what I know and that’s all I’ve done for most of my life. My profession is that of a successful business coach. Yet I consider myself a sales professional applying my skills to the field of Business Coaching. There are sales skills that we all have. Some are natural, others are learned. AND, learning these skills and learning the art of selling is something that I believe anyone can do or easily improve upon. In fact if you think about it, everyone sells whether they want to admit it or not. It still surprises me when I hear people still turn up their nose or be fearful when I tell them they are sales people. “Oh I could never be a salesperson!” “I don’t want to be a salesperson!” If you’ve ever sold an idea to your kids or a teacher, you’ve sold something. If you’ve ever asked for a raise, you’ve sold something.

The ability to be a good salesperson is not as hard as most people make it. There are tons of books out there that discuss every phase and level of selling. Every strategy and nuance is covered. However, it’s hard to find something that really covers the basics. The “daily” elements and attitudes it takes to be a good salesperson. In fact, I believe that the hardest thing to master in order to become a great salesperson is simply the art of daily discipline to do the basics, day in day out. Renowned business development guru, Brian Tracy, defines discipline as “Doing what you need to do, When you need to do it, everyday, whether you want to or not!”

So, In this series of blogs, I hope to give you what I believe are the 18 Disciplines of Selling that you must master on a daily basis in order to be a consistent and highly compensated sales producer, whatever  you are selling. But before we get into the Disciplines, there are some rules to this game.

Rule 1: A good friend and colleague of mine once said “When you wrestle with a gorilla, You don’t quit when YOU get tired….You quit when the GORILLA get’s tired.” The Zen Master of Minnesota

In other words, you must work very hard at whatever you’re doing and selling. You must develop a thick skin and a laser focus and let nothing get in your way! You must never give up!

Rule 2: Understand that THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS TO ANY PLACE WORTH GOING! Once you learn the foundational principles many people then disregard them and move on looking for a silver bullet. There are no silver bullets in selling. Learn the craft and do not leave the path.

Rule 3: If sales are the way that you choose to make a living, remember….

• If you’re not selling, you had better be in front of a customer or prospect
• If you’re not in front of a customer or prospect you had better be selling!

Driving, planning, meetings, thinking, eating and talking on the phone DO NOT COUNT! Only face to face and belly to belly with a customer or prospect counts in selling!

Rule 4:

Selling happens in all phases of life:

• We must SELL a prospect on even talking with us
• We must SELL them on what we offer
• We must SELL them on the value of the offering
• We must SELL them on liking and trusting us
• We must SELL them on committing to us
• We must SELL them on the continuing and on-going value of our product or service
• We should ALWAYS be selling!

So let’s define selling. Selling is “the PROCESS of helping a person to conclude that your product or service is of greater value to them than the price you are asking for. Your prospect/customer MUST feel they will be better off as a result of the transaction that they would be without it. “

For your prospect/customer to buy, they MUST be convinces that your service is;

• The Best choice available, and
• There is no better choice for them to spend the equivalent amount of money

Selling is convincing your prospect or customer of this and getting them to commit.

Quite simply, if we don’t SELL, we DON’T have customers. Without customers we don’t have a business.

The elements of successful selling are not hard. Again the hardest part is having the discipline to apply them daily. The FOOTPRINTS OF SUCCESS have already been laid! We just need the discipline to do the basic elements of sales success every day. Simply put, It’s mastering the little stuff, that makes a successful sales person, no matter what you’re selling!

In our next installment Selling Disciplines #1 through #5.

Building a personal and business SUCCESS TEAM!

Building a personal and business SUCCESS TEAM!

In sports or big business, every success story is always a success story for a team! The accolades may go to an individual, who persevered mightily; who fought against the odds; who toiled beyond belief….but seldom did they not have a winning team behind them. They always have an “A” team of technicians; advisors; mentors; friends; parents and spouses. If you dig long enough and deep enough you’ll always find them. Bill Gates once said that his key to success was to hire lots of people smarter than he was. But in today’s world you don’t have to be a Hall of Fame sports star or a titan of industry to surround yourself with smart people that can and will coach; train and mentor you to business success. You can build your own team of superstars to guide you. They’re not on your payroll; most of us couldn’t afford them. But they are available to all of us and many times at little to no cost. They are professionals whom we can work with to help us in strategic areas of business success that we have no expertise in.

Oh my, what did he just say?

Yes I said in areas we have no expertise. Now is not the time to play Business Superman.  Too many businesses go out of business today simply because the owner tried to run all areas of their business on their own. Drop the ego! That’s not only nearly impossible, it’s stupid. There are many top experts in specific and strategic fields that you can build into your team. Some critical areas that I recommend to my business coaching customers include; A qualified Business Coach (of course); Accounting; Legal; Marketing; Sales consulting; Banking, and financial counseling. In fact I find that a great financial advisor/counselor is an essential team member and a key player in planning the future of a business. A good one can do much more than just put your money in the market; they can help you lay a smart plan for cradle to grave.  The following is a checklist of some of the essential elements that I have my customers look for in a great (not just good) financial advisor. They include:

1. Look for an advisor that will focus on recommending a plan that will reduce your risk while building wealth.
2. Look for an advisor that will make every attempt to understand your specific business and personal financial planning needs…..FROM YOUR POINT OF VIEW! In other words, they’re great listeners!
3. Look and listen for an advisor that is truly service focused. That once the plan is complete you WILL see them again at least once a quarter!
4. Look for an advisor that’s truly qualified. What is their background? What is their success record? Who makes up the bulk of their clientele? Is it successful customers that have been with them long time or do they have an average customer retention of less than a year?
5. Look for an advisor that is both Creative and Innovative. Many advisors today are merely sales focused and pushing very specific financial products. They’re more interested in selling you a specific product rather than fitting products and strategies to your specific needs.

The bottom line is that a GREAT financial advisor is an essential voice in both your business and personal success team. Now is not the time or economic climate to go it alone. I believe that you can be one of the business success stories in the next decade simply by creating your SUCCESS team as soon as possible.

Dan Creed

FocalPoint Business Coaching of Arizona

(Dan Creed is a certified business coach and two time back to back winner of the Brian Tracy Award of Excellence recognizing him as international business coach of the year for FocalPoint International)

SO YOU WANT TO BE WEALTHY?

Just as the old blues song goes, “Everyone wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die!” So goes wealth. It seems today everyone wants to be rich but few want to work for it. Today the best way to control your destiny and to build equity for yourself is to work for yourself.

In today’s uncertain economic times, jobs are precious and the “protected” job is something of a dinosaur. You’ll bust your buns with long work weeks; non-stop travel; cutbacks that just mean more stress and work for the survivors. You simply must get yourself into a situation where you control your destiny.  It’s getting scary when companies cut staff hours to 39 hours a week so they don’t have to pay benefits. Or, loyal employees are laid off weeks before retirement benefits kick in. Or in some highly publicized cases where long term employees lose everything because of fat cat mismanagement.

One solution of this is that if you’re willing to work hard for someone else, you should be willing to work hard for yourself. Find something that turns you on; that you are interested in and then think. That’s right think about how you might make a living by doing that job.

That job that was perfect for me was Business Coaching. It feels like the last 35 years of my career was a “dress rehearsal” for becoming a successful business coach. I own my own business and through my hard work and sacrifice (for myself) I have built a very strong and successful practice. Recently I was honored to have the opportunity to build FocalPoint Coaching in the state of Arizona. I will continue to coach as that is my passion, but I will also be recruiting new coaches to help businesspeople throughout the state of Arizona and around the world. They will control their own destiny and build equity in their own business from their hard work.  But the point is we control our own destiny.

Brian Tracy recently published a short article on the ways to become wealthy… and I thought that it ties in nicely to what we’re endeavoring to build here in AZ. So, here it is. Enjoy and take heed to the message. And if you need some help accomplishing everything you want in life, give us a call!

Five Ways to Become Wealthy
By: Brian Tracy

There are basically five ways that you can become wealthy starting with nothing in America based on over 25 years of research into American millionaires.

The Five Roads to Financial Success in America and How to Choose Your Own
There are basically five ways that you can become wealthy starting with nothing in America based on over 25 years of research into American millionaires. Number one, you can inherit it. Less than 10 percent of wealthy Americans inherited any of their money, and it’s less and less every single year.

The Second Way
The second way that you can become wealthy is you can achieve it professionally. You can become a doctor or a lawyer or an architect or an accountant. You can become extremely good at what you do, be paid very well, and hold on to the money.

The Third Way
The third way you can achieve it is you can become a senior executive of a large corporation. You can be highly paid; you can have stock options and bonuses. And if you stay with the company long enough, for enough years, you can be paid enough to become wealthy.

The Fourth Way
You can win it. But only a tiny fraction of one percent of wealthy Americans got that way by winning their money some way or another. As a matter of fact, the odds against you winning the lottery are the equivalent of lightning striking twice in the same place. They’re millions and millions to one.

The Best Way
The fifth way that you can become wealthy is you can start your own business and earn it all by yourself. Starting your own business has been and will always be the high road to becoming wealthy for most self-made millionaires. Entrepreneurship in America offers more opportunities and opens more doors than all other possibilities put together. This is why it has been said that if you have the ability to start your own business and you don’t do it, you are a fool. I’ll repeat that. If you have the ability to start your own business and you don’t do it, you’re a fool.

Where do you start?
You start by getting your finances under control. The very first thing you do is you make a decision to get your finances under control. Some years ago, a man named George Classon wrote a book called The Richest Man in Babylon. It’s a classic on financial success and what Classon said in that book was that the key to becoming wealthy is to pay yourself first. Take ten percent off your earnings, off your gross income every month and put it aside. Learn to live on ninety percent or less of your gross income. So the very first thing that you do is you begin to save your money.

Action Exercises
Now, here are two things you can do immediately to put yourself onto the high road to personal wealth:

First, resolve today to begin saving your money a little bit at a time. Set a goal to save 10% of your earnings, to put it away and to never touch it. This will change your life.

Second, immediately register your own business or sole proprietorship. Open a bank account, get business cards and letterhead and create the corporate entity under which you can do business. Your business opportunities will appear far sooner than you think. If you build it, they will come

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