I realize that my personality and style will not appeal to many. In fact, I know that I will repel at least as many people as I will attract. That is done intentionally by design because I am looking for a certain type of psychographic profile as my audience. So, I don’t normally respond to emails that are whiny or complaining because I see no value in wasting my time with someone who will probably never become a client. Time is precious and must be ruthlessly protected.  

 That being said, I did get an email from a subscriber and thought that all of you would benefit from reading the email and most importantly my response to it.  The name has been changed to protect the misinformed.  

Hi Steve,

Maybe your email newsletters were always the way they are now, but I’m finding it increasingly difficult to find the meaty content instead of the fluff to sell yourself and your products.  If it was truly a great blog I wouldn’t mind paying a small amount to receive it but instead it just seems like ads to sell your other stuff.  If you’re blog’s this focused on selling your other stuff, it is only reasonable to expect that your stuff, such as Prospecting to fill the Pipeline would be just as focused on trying to sell other stuff.  I’m hoping there’s a real person back there who is actually trying to help people become better sales people but I suspect it’s just another creation trying to turn a buck without supplying any real effort. 

So I guess in answer to your question, yes, I will be relevant in the future but I’m not so sure about you.  

XXXXXX

My Response  

Dear XXXX,  

Thanks for taking the time to write and share your thoughts.

Since you have been so blunt in your comments I will do the same. Seems as though I struck a sensitive nerve with you - that’s good - at least I got you think - which is the purpose of my ezine.

As far as free “Prospecting to Fill the Pipeline” CD, I show no evidence of you having ever ordered it. So how can you make a judgment about the contents of a CD you have never listened to? You are guilty of committing Sin # 2 of the 10 Cardinal Sins of Selling - NO ASSUMPTIONS!!

You are right about the change in format of my ezine. It does contain content that is designed to sell my products and services AND at the same time offer my best content in the form of each week’s Featured Article. This is intentional and I make no apologies for it.

As far as my personal motives for conducting business you should refrain from making judgments about mine or anyone else’s values who happen to be different than yours.  

Lastly and most importantly, you and I are in sales and our primary focus and objective should be to maximize profits for our companies. We can only do this by offering quality products and services to as many buyers as we can. Failure to do that in the competitive marketplace makes us irrelevant to our company. That’s just the way it is in a highly competitive global marketplace.

If, as a producer of profits for your company, you are put off by having to perform and justify your employment in sales by relentlessly and aggressively closing more sales perhaps you should seek a job in teaching or counseling or some other similar helping profession.

I have done both and will tell you, that while it may make you feel warm and toasty inside and satisfy your need to feel that you are making the world a better place, you won’t make the kind of money you will make in sales. You have to decide why you are in sales. If it is for any other reason than to make as much money as you can, while honestly and ethically providing products and services that enhance people’s lives, then perhaps you should do yourself, your company and your prospects a favor and go do something else. 

If this sounds harsh that is because it is the reality of the business world. I didn’t create this economic reality and I would be a fool to ignore it or pretend it didn’t exist. We can lament and wring our hands about how horrible these Capitalistic, money grubbing pigs are as we sit around the campfire holding hands and singing Kumbaya like Joan Baez or we can roll up our sleeves and get with the program of closing more sales. The choice is ours and ours alone.

End of my Response

The Chinese symbol for crisis is composed of two separate symbols that mean opportunity and danger. These two elements always exist simultaneously. They are inseparable.

We hear a lot about cutbacks, layoffs, slowdowns and recession. The popular press loves bad news. Why? Because bad news always sells better than good news. Those who get a steady diet of electronic or print news are bound to feel depressed. It is impossible to be fed this stuff without it influencing one’s attitude.

During the economic boom of the nineties, business was easy and few salespeople were really “put to the test.” Because the nineties were one of the most prosperous decades in our history most salespeople that have less than ten years experience have never experienced selling in a recession.

THE RULES HAVE CHANGED.

As things tighten up, those companies with stagnate and ineffective sales forces will quickly become frustrated with their inability to sell and compete effectively. And the salespeople, many of whom have never seen a tough market, will get more frustrated and less productive. A great many of them will leave the profession.

What’s the answer? Quit listening to the nay Sayers of this world. Turn off the TV. Quit reading garbage that affects your attitude. Go to work on developing an abundant mentality. Give thanks for what you do have. Redouble your efforts to improve your selling skills.

There are two ways to look at it. Is the glass have full or half empty? Those who see it as half full see a great opportunity to take market share from the lazy and unskilled sales people they compete against. These current conditions will really separate the true sales professionals from the pitchmen and product peddlers who are always abundant during the easy times. I for one will be glad to see it happen.

If you like being scared no need to wait until Halloween just flick on the television or open the newspaper.

At some point you have to decide who you are going to listen to.  Are you going to  cower in a corner  like a small child and let the talking network heads tell you what your future will be or are you going to grow up and take personal responsibility for your own thoughts, actions and destiny?

Most of the talking heads that are making noise are simply making noise. There is no real basis for their mindless chatter. They sit and stare at the little red light on top of the television camera and pontificate as if they have a crystal ball and can foretell the future. They can’t. I can’t and neither can you or anyone else.

The business reality is that people are still buying stuff and spending money. Lots of money. People are still eating at restaurants, going to movie theaters and shopping at the malls.  People are still buying insurance, houses, cars and clothing and they are still traveling to exotic vacation destinations. Businesses are still buying advertising, computers, office furniture and everything else businesses normally buy.

The bottom line is that people are still buying the stuff you or your company sells. They may not be buying quite as much or spending quite as recklessly as they were but they are still spending trillions of dollars annually.

As I survey my clients across the U.S. and Canada, I find a common theme. Those companies who are excellent at what they do, have a clear vision, a detailed plan, and aggressively go after market share are growing their sales revenues and profits by double digits.

 Those who are slovenly, unfocused, half committed and operationally mediocre are struggling or shrinking now that the easy money has disappeared.

Let’s face it. When money is easy anyone can make money. When things tighten up we find out who the real players are.

The beautiful thing about the market is that it always separates those who are performers from those who are pretenders. This shaking out process that culls, cleanses and prunes the market of business imposters is healthy.

Today’s economic climate is not a negative.  It is a great opportunity to leap ahead of your competition and become the dominate player in your market.

Are you excellent at what you do? Do you have a clear vision and written goals? Do you have a detailed written plan to achieve your goals? Are you aggressively going after market share?

Stay tuned. In part three we will talk about specific strategies that can help you become a market leader.

Be careful who you listen to

Hysteria is running rampant in the news media. Headlines like these are filling the front pages of newspapers and news magazines across the country.

 ”Economists bet housing prices will fall 10% more”

“Homebuilder Lennar Corp posts third-quarter loss of $510 million and cut its work force by 35%.”
 
“It’s going to be a distressingly long time before we get back to normal.”

“The National Association of Realtors reported existing home salesl fell in August to the lowest level in five years.”

“Nearly 180,000 homes fell into foreclosure in July, up 93 percent from a year ago.”

“Sales of new single-family homes were off 22.3 percent in June from a year earlier.”

“The National Association of Realtors reports there’s enough housing inventory for sale to last 9.6 months, more than double the 2005 level.”

“This is the largest sustained decline in year-over-year prices since 1991,” says Yale economist Robert Shiller.

“The collateral damage is spreading.”

“The second quarter, same-store sales were down 5.2 percent at Home Depot and 4.3 percent at Sears.”
 
“In July, auto sales were down 12 percent from the year before.”

“The sky is falling. The sky is falling”. NOT

Relax we have been here many times before.

When Jimmy Carter was President in the 1970s we had double digit inflation, double digit interest rates (400% higher than today)- my home mortgage was 13%- and double digit unemployment, gas lines and gas rationing. All of this led to an avalanche of home foreclosures and the collapse of savings and loans banks.

In the 1980s and again in 1991 we had a recession. No big deal just an economic bump in the road that preceded one of the greatest bull markets the world has ever seen.

If the financial hysteria doesn’t scare you how about lead poisoned toys, fish and tea from China, global warming, the melting of the polar ice cap, the bird flu epidemic, terrorist plots, the war in Iraq, the sub prime debacle. Pick your boogey man. To quote Jimmy Buffet, “It’s a scary world out there kiddies.”

In its desperate need to fill the airways and tabloids the mass media manufactures hysteria, dire predictions and over hyped crisis that scares the hell out of a jaded, uniformed and ignorant public. They do that because they know if they were to report on the low unemployment rates, low interest rates and a healthy economy they wouldn’t draw much of a crowd.

 While there is a significant correction in the bloated housing market - remember the talk of a housing bubble just three years ag0 and the stock market correction earlier in this decade - we are not headed for an economic depression. Recession maybe. Depression not a chance.

The key to your prosperity in good times and in bad is to eliminate a scarcity mentality by learn to focus on  Cultivating an Abundant Mentality. If you will do this you will position yourself to take advantage of the fear and hysteria that permeates the business landscape?

Stay tuned for part 2 next week…

What’s Inside Top Performing Sales People

What is it that motivates humans to take action? What is the source of their desire to become involved in or to avoid certain activities? What motivates humans to do what they do?

The answer to being effective, satisfied and personally fulfilled lies deep within a unique set of personal interests, attitudes and values.

Defining Attitudes

In 1928, Eduard Spranger wrote “Types of Men.” In it he identified six major attitudes or worldviews. These attitudes are windows through which we view the world and seek fulfillment in our lives. If we are participating in a discussion, activity or career that is in alignment with our attitudes, we will value the experience and excel. Conversely, if we are in a conversation, activity or career that is in conflict with our dominant attitudes, we will be indifferent or even negative toward the experience, possibly causing stress.

The Six Attitudes

Theoretical: The primary drive with this value is the discovery of TRUTH. In pursuit of this value, an individual takes a cognitive or intellectual attitude. Since the interests of the theoretical person are empirical, critical and rational, the person appears to be an intellectual. The chief aim of this attitude in life is to order and systematize knowledge for the sake of knowledge.

Utilitarian: The Utilitarian attitude is a characteristic interest in money and what is useful. An individual with a high Utilitarian attitude wants to have the security that money brings not only for themselves, but for their present and future family. This value includes the practical affairs of the business world - the production, marketing and consumption of goods, the use of credit, and the accumulation of tangible wealth. This type of individual is thoroughly practical and conforms well to the stereotype of the average American business person. A person with a high Utilitarian score is likely to have a high need to surpass others in wealth.

Aesthetic: A higher Aesthetic score indicates a relative interest in “form and harmony.” Each experience is judged from the standpoint of grace, symmetry or fitness. Life may be regarded as a procession of events, and each is enjoyed for its own sake. A high score here does not necessarily mean that the individual has talents in creative artistry. It indicates a primary interest in the artistic episodes of life.

Social: Those who score very high in this value have an inherent love of people. The social person prizes other people and is, therefore, kind, sympathetic and unselfish. They are likely to find the Theoretical, Utilitarian and Aesthetic attitudes cold and inhuman. Compared to the Individualistic value, the Social person regards helping others as the only suitable form for human relationships. Research into this value indicates that in its purest form, the Social interest is selfless.

Individualistic: The primary interest for this value is POWER, not necessarily politics. Research studies indicate that leaders in most fields have a high power value. Since competition and struggle play a large part in all areas of life, many philosophers have seen power as the most universal and most fundamental of motives. There are, however, certain personalities in whom the desire for direct expression of this motive is uppermost; who wish, above all, for personal power, influence and renown.

Traditional: The highest interest for this value may be called “unity,” “order,” or “tradition.” Individuals with high scores in this value seek a system for living. This system can be found in such things as religion, conservatism or any authority that has defined rules, regulations and principles for living.

In a ground breaking study Bill Bonnstetter, President of Target Training International, Ltd. in Scottsdale, Arizona and Frank Scheelen of the The Scheelen Institute, Waldshut-Tiengen, Germany confirmed that (1) top performing sales people around the world are similar and (2) that attitudes or motivations are more important than behavioral style or personality.

In this study participants were given two validated psychometric assessments: (1) the DISC - a behavioral style analysis or personality assessment and (2) the PIAV - a Personal Interest, Values and Attitude assessment.

In this study they concluded that most if not all personality types can sell. However, the most remarkable aspect of their study was the fact that seventy-one (71) percent of the top performing salespeople in 492 companies in Germany and 178 companies in the United States had Ultilitarian motivation as their top motivator. The conclusion from this study is that when it comes to top performing sales people motivation is more important than personality hands down.

American born Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich the most successful business book in history, is considered by many to be the most influential self-help writer in history.

Born in 1883 in a one-room cabin on the Pound River in Wise County, Virginia, Hill began writing, at age thirteen, for small town newspapers, and went on to become America’s most beloved motivational author. Fighting against all class of great disadvantages and pressures, he dedicated more than 25 years of his life to define the reasons by which so many people fail to achieve true financial success and happiness in their life.

His big break came when he was asked to interview steel-magnate Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie commissioned Hill to interview over 500 millionaires to find a success formula and write a series of success stories of the famous that could be used by the average person. These included Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford, Elmer Gates, Charles M. Schwab, Theodore Roosevelt, William Wrigley Jr, John Wanamaker, William Jennings Bryan, George Eastman, Woodrow Wilson, William H. Taft, John D. Rockefeller, F. W. Woolworth, Jennings Randolph, among others.

He became an advisor to Andrew Carnegie, and with Carnegie’s help formulated a philosophy of success, drawing on the thoughts and experiences of a multitude of rags-to-riches tycoons. It took Hill over twenty years to produce his classic. The book has sold over 50 million copies, and has helped thousands achieve success. The secret to success is very simple, but you’ll have to read the book to find out what it is!

In chapter 15 “The Six Ghosts of Fear” Hill writes “Indecision is the seedling of fear! Remember this as you read. Indecision crystallizes into doubt: the two blend and become fear! The “blending” process often is slow. This is one reason why these three enemies are so dangerous. They germinate and grow without their presence being observed.”

As I coach business owners and high-income sales professionals, I have observed the ability to make decisions quickly is one of the key differentiators between the highly successful and the mediocre.

I have observed this to be so true that I no longer will take a client that needs to “think it over”, ruminate or procrastinate when they have seen all there is to see and heard all there is to hear.

What about you? Do you pursue prospects that have perfected the art of procrastination or do quickly disqualify them. More importantly, are you a decision maker or are you a procrastinator?

The most successful salespeople know that only decision makers can get others to make decisions. Chances are if you are getting a lot of stalls, put offs and think it overs it is because you are guilty of this behavior yourself.

Funny how our life experience mirrors who we are.

“It is not how you feel that determines how you act. It is how you act that determines how you feel.” said William James

“If you want to change your emotional state change your physiology.” says Tony Robbins

Faith and Fear cannot exist in the same mind at the same time. If one has a good plan and executes consistently then they don’t have time to feel miserable.

If you find yourself feeling down then get up and “do something.” It will make you feel better even if you get no results.

However, if you have a good plan and execute consistently then you will get great results. If you will do this then you will be ahead of your competitors when this economy turns around. It WILL turn and those who are faithfully doing the right things now will be the beneficiaries.

A teacher in New York decided to honor each of her seniors in high school by telling them the difference they each made. She called each student to the front of the class, one at a time.

First she told each one of them how they had made a difference to her and to the class. Then she presented each of them with a blue ribbon imprinted with gold letters, which read, “Who I Am Makes a Difference.”

Afterwards the teacher decided to do a class project to see what kind of impact recognition would have on a community. She gave each of the students three more ribbons and instructed them to go out and spread this acknowledgment ceremony. They were to follow up on the results, see who honored whom and report back to the class in about a week.

One of the boys in the class went to a junior executive in a nearby company and honored him for helping him with his career planning. He gave him a blue ribbon and put it on his shirt. Then he gave him two extra ribbons and said, “We’re doing a class project on recognition, and we’d like you to go out, find somebody to honor, give them a blue ribbon, then give them the extra blue ribbon so they can acknowledge a third person to keep this acknowledgment ceremony going. Then please report back to me and tell me what happened.

Later that day the junior executive went in to see his boss, who had been noted, by the way, as being kind of a grouchy fellow. He sat down with his boss and he told him that he deeply admired him for being a creative genius. The boss seemed very surprised. The junior executive asked him if he would accept the gift of the blue ribbon and would he give him permission to put it on him. His surprised boss said, “Well, sure.”

The junior executive took the blue ribbon and placed it right on his boss’s jacket above his heart. As he gave him the extra ribbon, he said, “Would you do me a favor? Would you take this extra ribbon and pass it on by honoring somebody else.” The young boy who first gave me the ribbons is doing a project in school and we want to keep this recognition ceremony going and find out how it affects people.

That night the boss came home to his 14-year-old son and sat him down. He said, “The most incredible thing happened to me today. I was in my office and one of the junior executives came in and told me he admired me and gave me a blue ribbon for being a creative genius. Imagine, He thinks I’m a creative genius. Then he put this blue ribbon that says, “Who I Am Makes a Difference” on my jacket above my heart. He gave me the extra ribbon and asked me to find somebody else to honor. As I was driving home tonight, I started thinking about whom I would honor with this ribbon and I thought about you. I want to honor you.

My days are really hectic and when I come home I don’t pay a lot of attention to you. Sometimes I scream at you for not getting good enough grades in school and for your bedroom being a mess, but somehow tonight, I just wanted to sit here and, well, just let you know that you do make a difference to me. Besides your mother, you are the most important person in my life. You’re a great kid and I love you.

The startled boy started to sob and sob, and he couldn’t stop crying. His whole body shook. He looked up at his father and said through his tears, “Dad, earlier tonight I sat in my room and wrote a letter to you and Mom explaining why I had killed myself and asking you to forgive me. I was going to commit suicide tonight after you were asleep. I just didn’t think you cared at all. The letter is upstairs. I don’t think I need it after all.

His father walked upstairs and found a heartfelt letter full of anguish and pain. The envelope was addressed, “Mom and Dad”.

The boss went back to work a changed man. He was no longer a grouch but made sure to let all his employees know that they made a difference. The junior executive helped several other young people with career planning and never forgot to let them know that they made a difference in his life…one being the boss’s son. The young boy and his classmates learned a valuable lesson.

Who you are DOES make a difference!. Start letting the people who matter to you know that they make a difference to you.

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career.

When the carpenter finished his work the employer came to inspect the house. He handed the front-door key to the carpenter. “This is your house,” he said, “my gift to you.”

The carpenter was shocked!. What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.

So it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting less that our best into the building. Then with a shock we realize we have to live in the house we have built. If we could do it over, we’d do it much differently.

But we cannot go back. You are the carpenter. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall.

“Life is a do-it-yourself project,” someone has said. Your attitudes and the choices you make today, build the “house” you live in tomorrow. Build wisely!

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a twenty-dollar bill. In a room of, two hundred, he asked, “who would like this twenty dollar bill”?

Hands started going up. He said, “I am going to give this twenty dollar bill to one of you but first, let me do this”. He proceeded to crumple the bill up. He then asked, “who still wants it”? Still the hands were up in the air.

Well, he replied, “what if I do this”? And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He then picked it up, crumpled and dirty. Now “who still wants it”? Still the hands went up.

“My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It is still worth twenty dollars”.

“Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value: dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who love you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or what we have or who we know but by WHO WE ARE.”.

You are special – Don’t EVER forget it. And remember to count your blessings not your problems.