We are the Captains of our own ship...and we've got lots of people counting on us. Give them your best, they deserve it.
I can remember a time, not so long ago, when I was sitting back on our couch on a Satuday, almost laying down. Saturday afternoon, about two o clock, and both of my boys were pulling at me, wanting me to come outside and play basketball with them. They wanted to play a game of 3-way twenty one. I'm hesitant to outline this scenario because it's embarrassing and completely ridiculous. They approached me with excitement in their eyes, but, at the same time, they were borderline fearful to ask me to get off the couch. My oldest son is extremely intuitive and reads people's emotions/intentions almost too well. Needless to say, he had a feeling, based on experience, what my answer was going to be.
They asked me to come join their game and I refused, politely. My youngest asked why, and I gave some bullshit excuse, saying I was tired from working so hard this week or some crap like that. They walked away, defeated. What a chickenshit I was in this circumstance.
The bottom line is that our responsibilities as a husband and father go way beyond bringing home the bacon. Providing is important, please don't misunderstand. But, it's the baseline responsibility we have. If we desire to be a good father, we have to be involved. Each person in our families have their own lives, filled with different interests, desires, goals, likes and dislikes. We must plug in to each person, find out what their deal is, and become a part of it, just if we want to be a "good" father and husband.
If we strive to be great, we must take it several steps further than being good. We've got to make each person in the house a part of our system. We have a system for managing our careers, sales territories, our small businesses, etc. We have a system for obtaining the results we want in the health and fitness side of our lives. We have a system of saving and investing our money, so that we can retire or do, be, or have certain things. To become a great husband and father, we have to also be systemic in this role as well...
As a husband, there are certain actions I take on a daily basis, to make sure I'm winning the mind and heart of my wife every single day. First, I answer her calls during my day, whenever possible. I don't screen her calls, as that makes her self-conscious. A self-conscious woman is a dangerous thing. We don't want any part of that. Next, as soon as I walk through the door, I embrace her as though she's the single greatest wife in the world. This sort of enthusiasm puts her up on a pedestal immediately, and she'll start to eagerly anticipate your returning home, which is great for us. Then, throughout the evening, my role becomes helping her with her roles, while leading her toward a calm, positive existence...showing her how to handle the conflicts with the kids, the stresses of a household, with calm and grace, instead of with emotional reaction.
As a father, I embrace my kids with the same enthusiasm. Same results with the kids..they are lifted up by our presence. Next, I spend at least 20 minutes with each of them, pouring all of my focus into every word that comes out of their mouths. They talk about school, friends, challenges throughout the day, etc. This gives me an incredible opportunity to coach them on almost every major coaching opportunity that's arisen during their day. We talk, actually, they talk, and I listen...intently, as if they're the most important person in the world. Now, I know exactly what's going on in their individual lives, I can coach them along the way, and they know I am plugged in with everything they have going on. What a deal.
Our energy level is what is going to afford us the energy it takes to be this disciplined and enthusiastic at the end of a long work day. That being said, we have to get our butts to the gym and work extremely hard. At the same time, we have to eat clean and limit sugar, so we don't crash and burn as soon as we get home at night. We've been blessed with amazing families...we can't take them for granted, or we'll lose them.
Give them your best. Give your career your best, so that you can provide them with everything this life has to offer. But, ultimately, all they really care about is you...your time and your attention.
Flip the switch
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
Finish Strong
Ok, today's Friday...my favorite day of the week. I'm challenging myself to finish this week on a high note.
This has been an unbelievable week from a business standpoint. I've put two full days in with my new, top prospect, who's just recently committed to locking arms with us for 2010. Knowing that this is a critical point in the sales process, I've made them my top priority this week. They've seen something in me and my offer that appeals to them...Now, I'm going to make absolutely certain that they KNOW they've made a good choice. I conducted a sales training for their sales group in the STL area, and as a result, we've gained leverage. We now have their counter guy pushing our product, and all three outside reps are fired up about selling our windows. In fact, all three outside sales reps stepped out of the meeting and began making phone calls, hoping to schedule joint sales calls with me next Tuesday and Wednesday.
The bottom line is these guys now know I'm for real and see me as a valuable partner for them in growing their business. After the meeting, I pinned them all down for feedback to see where each is at individually...are they gonna push us or not. The feedback was strong and consistent with all five guys. Before this meeting, they didn't know if I was the guy they could take in to see their top accounts and prospects, because they've all had bad experiences with reps going in and mushmouthing the whole deal into oblivion. Not the case. They are all working hard to schedule their top customers/prospects for us to call on jointly. Huge progress! The result could very well be that we now have five qualified sales people going out every day, cultivating relationships with contracting businesses that could buy anywhere from $100,000 to $500,000 per year each in windows. This is leverage.
There's another factor at play here...I can reference this success with their other two locations. Now that we have a few of their own in our corner, it'll be that much easier to get the rest of the group's attention. Overall, when we earn the focus of all their sales reps, we will end up with 15 new sales guys...this is how I plan to hit my objective of $3,000,000 of new business in 2010.
On the MBJ front, the Austin crew produced four projects this week for us. This generated cash as well as profit...all good stuff. We are two weeks away from our canvassing launch. Leads should start flowing within the next three weeks. The goal is 16-20 leads per week for our canvassing team as a whole. Our metrics tell us we need approximately one hour of canvassing per lead. The metrics come from last year's efforts. They hold up as long as the effort is directed at the specific target neighborhoods and subdivisions we've outlined.
My overall fitness level is improving, as you'd expect. Any time you do anything conistently, you're going to see improvement. It's impossible not to. My results should trend on a steeper path to good, now that I've got a solid foundation of working out consistently. What I mean is there seems to be a point in this process that after a few weeks of seeing modest gains, all of a sudden you see significant change almost overnight. I fully expect to experience this sooner rather than later, especially now that I'm locked in on really eating clean.
All good things, really. The discipline aspect of this program is getting easier, I must admit. Well, it's not that it's necessarily easier, I think these Simple Disciplines are becoming habit...second nature. Nothing excites me more than the prospect of having the discipline to execute the highest-level tasks all day long, habitually. The vision is around the corner, once this becomes automatic.
Let's use this afternoon to not only fill our schedule with new biz opportunities for next week, let's take a moment to make sure we're moving closer to our visions. Only you can answer this question. You know what you've been doing over the past few weeks. Are you doing the things you committed to do? Are you writing down your objectives and creating solid plans to accomplish them? Are you preparing yourself for each meeting and opportunity you get? Are you giving the people you meet with your fullest attention and your very best effort? If the answer is yes, congratulations...you're on your way to greatness. If no, now is the time.
Starting right now, get on the phone and get five good meetings set up for next week. Fill your day Monday and Tuesday with three new biz calls and four or five calls with existing customers, to figure out ways to help them increase their purchases this year 30% over last year. This sort of specific goal planning will give you the direction and focus you need to not only hit your own goals for 2010, but to truly help your customers grow and become more profitable.
That's a great objective for next week. Target your top 10 existing customers, write them all down. Look at their total sales volume for 2009, write it down. Figure out, from their totals, what you need to get from them in 2010 to hit your growth goals, organically. Find out what that sales dollar figure is, figure out what that growth is percentage-wise. Call every owner from all ten and get in to see them next week. Go in with a plan - a real, specific plan of action to help those guys sell whatever you need them to sell this year. Make sure your plan includes the massive value YOUR ROLE is going to play in making this real. For me, it's going to be sales training on product demos and building canvassing teams for my in-home partners, and territory management training for my distribution sales reps with an emphasis on joint sales calls with each rep, myself, and new business opportunities.
Now, when we present these plans, we present them in terms of the increased profit each customer will experience...not in terms of ME making more money for myself. In the end, our customers really only care about themselves and their companies. They've got a whole host of challenges we don't understand, because we aren't them. Makes sense, really. Most of the time they see reps as company employees who collect checks week to week and don't have to worry about the pressures of making payroll, paying for insurance, etc. So, just be sure to make all of the focus on the customer's business. They'll respond well to this approach.
Whether you choose to implement this mini-strategy or not, I think you get what I'm after. The idea is that we have to have specific goals we're working toward each day, week, month, quarter. If we only focus on yearly goals, it's easy to get complacent. I think I've got a shot at already having closed what I need for the year. If I didn't re-focus and set these shorter-term objectives and play these smaller games within the big game, I'd get bored or lazy or something. We need to keep this fun, keep it interesting. Creating challenges like this is an entertaining way to achieve the goals we're supposed to be achieving anyway. But, this stuff forces us to carry that sense of urgency we all need to have in order to become who we want to become.
Flip the switch
This has been an unbelievable week from a business standpoint. I've put two full days in with my new, top prospect, who's just recently committed to locking arms with us for 2010. Knowing that this is a critical point in the sales process, I've made them my top priority this week. They've seen something in me and my offer that appeals to them...Now, I'm going to make absolutely certain that they KNOW they've made a good choice. I conducted a sales training for their sales group in the STL area, and as a result, we've gained leverage. We now have their counter guy pushing our product, and all three outside reps are fired up about selling our windows. In fact, all three outside sales reps stepped out of the meeting and began making phone calls, hoping to schedule joint sales calls with me next Tuesday and Wednesday.
The bottom line is these guys now know I'm for real and see me as a valuable partner for them in growing their business. After the meeting, I pinned them all down for feedback to see where each is at individually...are they gonna push us or not. The feedback was strong and consistent with all five guys. Before this meeting, they didn't know if I was the guy they could take in to see their top accounts and prospects, because they've all had bad experiences with reps going in and mushmouthing the whole deal into oblivion. Not the case. They are all working hard to schedule their top customers/prospects for us to call on jointly. Huge progress! The result could very well be that we now have five qualified sales people going out every day, cultivating relationships with contracting businesses that could buy anywhere from $100,000 to $500,000 per year each in windows. This is leverage.
There's another factor at play here...I can reference this success with their other two locations. Now that we have a few of their own in our corner, it'll be that much easier to get the rest of the group's attention. Overall, when we earn the focus of all their sales reps, we will end up with 15 new sales guys...this is how I plan to hit my objective of $3,000,000 of new business in 2010.
On the MBJ front, the Austin crew produced four projects this week for us. This generated cash as well as profit...all good stuff. We are two weeks away from our canvassing launch. Leads should start flowing within the next three weeks. The goal is 16-20 leads per week for our canvassing team as a whole. Our metrics tell us we need approximately one hour of canvassing per lead. The metrics come from last year's efforts. They hold up as long as the effort is directed at the specific target neighborhoods and subdivisions we've outlined.
My overall fitness level is improving, as you'd expect. Any time you do anything conistently, you're going to see improvement. It's impossible not to. My results should trend on a steeper path to good, now that I've got a solid foundation of working out consistently. What I mean is there seems to be a point in this process that after a few weeks of seeing modest gains, all of a sudden you see significant change almost overnight. I fully expect to experience this sooner rather than later, especially now that I'm locked in on really eating clean.
All good things, really. The discipline aspect of this program is getting easier, I must admit. Well, it's not that it's necessarily easier, I think these Simple Disciplines are becoming habit...second nature. Nothing excites me more than the prospect of having the discipline to execute the highest-level tasks all day long, habitually. The vision is around the corner, once this becomes automatic.
Let's use this afternoon to not only fill our schedule with new biz opportunities for next week, let's take a moment to make sure we're moving closer to our visions. Only you can answer this question. You know what you've been doing over the past few weeks. Are you doing the things you committed to do? Are you writing down your objectives and creating solid plans to accomplish them? Are you preparing yourself for each meeting and opportunity you get? Are you giving the people you meet with your fullest attention and your very best effort? If the answer is yes, congratulations...you're on your way to greatness. If no, now is the time.
Starting right now, get on the phone and get five good meetings set up for next week. Fill your day Monday and Tuesday with three new biz calls and four or five calls with existing customers, to figure out ways to help them increase their purchases this year 30% over last year. This sort of specific goal planning will give you the direction and focus you need to not only hit your own goals for 2010, but to truly help your customers grow and become more profitable.
That's a great objective for next week. Target your top 10 existing customers, write them all down. Look at their total sales volume for 2009, write it down. Figure out, from their totals, what you need to get from them in 2010 to hit your growth goals, organically. Find out what that sales dollar figure is, figure out what that growth is percentage-wise. Call every owner from all ten and get in to see them next week. Go in with a plan - a real, specific plan of action to help those guys sell whatever you need them to sell this year. Make sure your plan includes the massive value YOUR ROLE is going to play in making this real. For me, it's going to be sales training on product demos and building canvassing teams for my in-home partners, and territory management training for my distribution sales reps with an emphasis on joint sales calls with each rep, myself, and new business opportunities.
Now, when we present these plans, we present them in terms of the increased profit each customer will experience...not in terms of ME making more money for myself. In the end, our customers really only care about themselves and their companies. They've got a whole host of challenges we don't understand, because we aren't them. Makes sense, really. Most of the time they see reps as company employees who collect checks week to week and don't have to worry about the pressures of making payroll, paying for insurance, etc. So, just be sure to make all of the focus on the customer's business. They'll respond well to this approach.
Whether you choose to implement this mini-strategy or not, I think you get what I'm after. The idea is that we have to have specific goals we're working toward each day, week, month, quarter. If we only focus on yearly goals, it's easy to get complacent. I think I've got a shot at already having closed what I need for the year. If I didn't re-focus and set these shorter-term objectives and play these smaller games within the big game, I'd get bored or lazy or something. We need to keep this fun, keep it interesting. Creating challenges like this is an entertaining way to achieve the goals we're supposed to be achieving anyway. But, this stuff forces us to carry that sense of urgency we all need to have in order to become who we want to become.
Flip the switch
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Not Good...Great
We are a few weeks into 90 Days of Discipline, and we're faced with a choice. We have a decision to make. So far, we've done a great job...of creating a vision, setting some long-term as well as short-term goals that will serve as milestones toward that vision, we've created plans to achieve these goals, and we've broken down our lives into Simple Disciplines, that will propel us toward our goals when executed consistently and with passion. Awesome.
Now, we have a choice. We can sit back, bask in the glory of a phenomenal couple of weeks, pat ourselves on the back and feel good. Or, we can take a good, hard look at where we're really at, and get our butts back in the saddle on the pursuit of a life that's worthwhile for ourselves and our famiies.
Yes, you're right - we've done well. We've closed deals, we've opened new doors with prospects that are GOING to become customers. We've busted our butts in the gym for a few weeks, and we've cleaned up our acts at the chow trough. But, do me this favor. Be proud of what you've done. Take a night this weekend and celebrate. But, leave it at that. Don't delude yourself. You're on the path, yes. But, you're still a long, long way from becoming anything. Three weeks of consistent execution of Simple Disciplines is fantastic. Three years of executing Simple Disciplines is a real accomplishment. And this is what it's going to take.
Every single person I know has done something similar to what we've done these last three weeks. Whether it's a diet/exercise routine, a new focused plan to grow a sales territory, a new-found desire to be a plugged-in husband and father, I've seen this before. I don't want to rain on our parades, but we're not even close. Look at every gym in town in January of every year for the last fourty years. January, it's packed. 75% of the folks in town are sweating it up at the gym...the treadmill, the elliptical, the weight room...they're all packed. Now, come back in February. It's a ghost town.
With all this in mind, what are we going to do now? I know exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to not only finish what I've started with 90 Days to Discipline...I'm going to blow it up. The formula we've created is a good one...it works, so I don't want to mess with it. My emphasis is going to be on these two aspects or ingredients...focus and state.
I've said on many occasions how critical it is to not only be consistent with executing Simple Disciplines, but to do it with passion. Passion comes from knowing what you want, specifically and WHY. Let's go back over our vision and our goals and re-explore our reasons for building a better life. These reasons are what compel us to get up every morning and take action.
Here's my plan of action moving forward:
I'm going to keep arising early, and locking in 100% on visualizing my life "as if".
I'm going through my list of things I'm grateful for in my life.
From this, I will get myself into that state in which I'm on fire
Then, I'll start my day...with focus, with clarity, and in a state in which fear is gone and confidence is jumping off me. Charisma, confidence, focus, and determination will guide me.
Flip the switch
Now, we have a choice. We can sit back, bask in the glory of a phenomenal couple of weeks, pat ourselves on the back and feel good. Or, we can take a good, hard look at where we're really at, and get our butts back in the saddle on the pursuit of a life that's worthwhile for ourselves and our famiies.
Yes, you're right - we've done well. We've closed deals, we've opened new doors with prospects that are GOING to become customers. We've busted our butts in the gym for a few weeks, and we've cleaned up our acts at the chow trough. But, do me this favor. Be proud of what you've done. Take a night this weekend and celebrate. But, leave it at that. Don't delude yourself. You're on the path, yes. But, you're still a long, long way from becoming anything. Three weeks of consistent execution of Simple Disciplines is fantastic. Three years of executing Simple Disciplines is a real accomplishment. And this is what it's going to take.
Every single person I know has done something similar to what we've done these last three weeks. Whether it's a diet/exercise routine, a new focused plan to grow a sales territory, a new-found desire to be a plugged-in husband and father, I've seen this before. I don't want to rain on our parades, but we're not even close. Look at every gym in town in January of every year for the last fourty years. January, it's packed. 75% of the folks in town are sweating it up at the gym...the treadmill, the elliptical, the weight room...they're all packed. Now, come back in February. It's a ghost town.
With all this in mind, what are we going to do now? I know exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to not only finish what I've started with 90 Days to Discipline...I'm going to blow it up. The formula we've created is a good one...it works, so I don't want to mess with it. My emphasis is going to be on these two aspects or ingredients...focus and state.
I've said on many occasions how critical it is to not only be consistent with executing Simple Disciplines, but to do it with passion. Passion comes from knowing what you want, specifically and WHY. Let's go back over our vision and our goals and re-explore our reasons for building a better life. These reasons are what compel us to get up every morning and take action.
Here's my plan of action moving forward:
I'm going to keep arising early, and locking in 100% on visualizing my life "as if".
I'm going through my list of things I'm grateful for in my life.
From this, I will get myself into that state in which I'm on fire
Then, I'll start my day...with focus, with clarity, and in a state in which fear is gone and confidence is jumping off me. Charisma, confidence, focus, and determination will guide me.
Flip the switch
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
A Test
Most of us never find our who we are because we never have to....
The life of an average American is pretty damn easy...when you consider some of the real hardships that exist in other societies. Now, there are an infinite number of potential debates regarding my use of the word "average", and I'm not interested in going down that path. I'm simply offering a general observation about our lifestyles, here in the good ole U, S of A. We throw away more than most even have. Think about this. You're cleaning up the dinner dishes, clearing off the plates before loading them into the dishwasher, think of the amount of food on each plate we throw away. My kids rarely eat half of what's on their plates. Entire families could be fed with what we discard, on a nightly basis.
This isn't a political post, by any means. I'm not trying to persuade you into thinking America is wasteful or unjust, I'm simply pointing out that we have it pretty darn good here.
We have gotten comfortable in the process. Most of us work our way through life without testing ourselves. In the past decade, rarely-if ever have I heard a friend or family member speak of an experience or, really, any point, in which he was tested. That statement could be misinterpreted as well, but bear with me. I'm talking about a point in which we discover who we really are and what we're truly capable of.
Apart from our military people, police, and firefighters, most of us are never faced with challenges that provide this kind of self-discovery.
That's what the 90 Days to Discipline is all about. More than anything, I want to know if I have the discipline and the intestinal fortitude to finish this program. At age 35, I'll most likely never go to war. I'll probably never be in another fight. I rarely compete in sports the way I used to. How will I find out what I'm made of?
Now, for example, when I do play sports, it seems like the overall attitude is about getting some exercise in, more than it's about winning. This is fine, really. I mean, it's a good thing...to never have to go to war, or to be in a fist fight, or to even have to prove myself on the basketball floor. This is part of being a man, and growing up-being a husband and father. I get it. We are not kids anymore.
But, why not push ourselves past the point? Why not put ourselves in a situation that demands we dig deep...real damn deep to see what we've got. Do we have the guts to push through and finish what we've started? I want to know.
Why not look at this like Ranger training? These young men(and women?) are forced out into the wilderness for days...hell, weeks maybe, without food, sleep, water. The experience, from what I understand, is grueling, both physically and mentally. The mental side is the real test, again, from what I've heard. Not everyone makes it. The psychological demands are beyond what most can endure...days and days without sleep, constantly on edge, not knowing what's coming next. Brutal. But, in the end, those who make it through Ranger training come out with a confidence and swagger that they can survive anything. Their minds have been sharpened to a point we'll never know. Rangers carry a self-confidence most of us will never know, because we just don't place those kinds of demands on ourselves. Confidence and discipline come from doing things that are difficult and out of our comfort zones. Every time we face our fears, and do the very thing we're most afraid of...we get stronger, and the fear starts to release its grip on us. Eventually, after we've faced our fears enough times and acted anyway, in spite of those fears, we begin to master them. We master our fear instead of allowing it to control us. This is why...or how, these folks can walk straight into the eye of the beast, so to speak, in war, and lead us to victory. While many, would run and hide.
Sort of a dramatic way of articulating a point, I know, but it does bring into light the fact that most of us have gotten soft. We've lost our edge. Our lifestyles are almost ridiculous, when you look at them in the context of this blog post. We complain when there's no Starbucks nearby...bashing the hell out of small towns cuz we can't get our "venti, non-fat, no-whip, half-caf, caramel macchiato"...We eat four times the amount of food little kids get in third world countries. We complain about not getting a good night's sleep while there are young men in the 120 degree desert or in the hills of Afghanistan, fighting wars, who may not get to sleep for days. We complain about being broke, can't do this or that, but we have a roof over our heads, our bellies are full, and we have a warm bed to sleep in.
So, what do we do? Well, I'm sure as hell not going to go join the army. I'm not looking to beat my chest and prove my manhood, or anything crazy or short-dicked like that. But, I would like to make a habit of pushing myself...pushing my limits physically, emotionally, spiritually, mentally. We grow when we push against great resistance, I believe this philosophy. I think I'll make this a part of my development, as I move toward my vision. Maybe we take on a difficult physical challenge, like running a marathon...or a half marathon. Maybe we could fast a day or two per week, in honor of those who go without. Maybe we place higher demands on ourselves, in terms of adhering to a stricter moral code. I guess the answers lie with us, because down deep, we all know who we are and what we need to do to become better people, better husbands and fathers, and better citizens of this great country.
One thing I know for sure is that I'll never do all of the things I want to do, or have the things I want my family to have, or build the businesses I desire, unless I continue to sharpen my axe. We must make the inner game changes in ourselves, in our minds, before the outer game appears. So, why not see what we're made of?
Flip the switch
The life of an average American is pretty damn easy...when you consider some of the real hardships that exist in other societies. Now, there are an infinite number of potential debates regarding my use of the word "average", and I'm not interested in going down that path. I'm simply offering a general observation about our lifestyles, here in the good ole U, S of A. We throw away more than most even have. Think about this. You're cleaning up the dinner dishes, clearing off the plates before loading them into the dishwasher, think of the amount of food on each plate we throw away. My kids rarely eat half of what's on their plates. Entire families could be fed with what we discard, on a nightly basis.
This isn't a political post, by any means. I'm not trying to persuade you into thinking America is wasteful or unjust, I'm simply pointing out that we have it pretty darn good here.
We have gotten comfortable in the process. Most of us work our way through life without testing ourselves. In the past decade, rarely-if ever have I heard a friend or family member speak of an experience or, really, any point, in which he was tested. That statement could be misinterpreted as well, but bear with me. I'm talking about a point in which we discover who we really are and what we're truly capable of.
Apart from our military people, police, and firefighters, most of us are never faced with challenges that provide this kind of self-discovery.
That's what the 90 Days to Discipline is all about. More than anything, I want to know if I have the discipline and the intestinal fortitude to finish this program. At age 35, I'll most likely never go to war. I'll probably never be in another fight. I rarely compete in sports the way I used to. How will I find out what I'm made of?
Now, for example, when I do play sports, it seems like the overall attitude is about getting some exercise in, more than it's about winning. This is fine, really. I mean, it's a good thing...to never have to go to war, or to be in a fist fight, or to even have to prove myself on the basketball floor. This is part of being a man, and growing up-being a husband and father. I get it. We are not kids anymore.
But, why not push ourselves past the point? Why not put ourselves in a situation that demands we dig deep...real damn deep to see what we've got. Do we have the guts to push through and finish what we've started? I want to know.
Why not look at this like Ranger training? These young men(and women?) are forced out into the wilderness for days...hell, weeks maybe, without food, sleep, water. The experience, from what I understand, is grueling, both physically and mentally. The mental side is the real test, again, from what I've heard. Not everyone makes it. The psychological demands are beyond what most can endure...days and days without sleep, constantly on edge, not knowing what's coming next. Brutal. But, in the end, those who make it through Ranger training come out with a confidence and swagger that they can survive anything. Their minds have been sharpened to a point we'll never know. Rangers carry a self-confidence most of us will never know, because we just don't place those kinds of demands on ourselves. Confidence and discipline come from doing things that are difficult and out of our comfort zones. Every time we face our fears, and do the very thing we're most afraid of...we get stronger, and the fear starts to release its grip on us. Eventually, after we've faced our fears enough times and acted anyway, in spite of those fears, we begin to master them. We master our fear instead of allowing it to control us. This is why...or how, these folks can walk straight into the eye of the beast, so to speak, in war, and lead us to victory. While many, would run and hide.
Sort of a dramatic way of articulating a point, I know, but it does bring into light the fact that most of us have gotten soft. We've lost our edge. Our lifestyles are almost ridiculous, when you look at them in the context of this blog post. We complain when there's no Starbucks nearby...bashing the hell out of small towns cuz we can't get our "venti, non-fat, no-whip, half-caf, caramel macchiato"...We eat four times the amount of food little kids get in third world countries. We complain about not getting a good night's sleep while there are young men in the 120 degree desert or in the hills of Afghanistan, fighting wars, who may not get to sleep for days. We complain about being broke, can't do this or that, but we have a roof over our heads, our bellies are full, and we have a warm bed to sleep in.
So, what do we do? Well, I'm sure as hell not going to go join the army. I'm not looking to beat my chest and prove my manhood, or anything crazy or short-dicked like that. But, I would like to make a habit of pushing myself...pushing my limits physically, emotionally, spiritually, mentally. We grow when we push against great resistance, I believe this philosophy. I think I'll make this a part of my development, as I move toward my vision. Maybe we take on a difficult physical challenge, like running a marathon...or a half marathon. Maybe we could fast a day or two per week, in honor of those who go without. Maybe we place higher demands on ourselves, in terms of adhering to a stricter moral code. I guess the answers lie with us, because down deep, we all know who we are and what we need to do to become better people, better husbands and fathers, and better citizens of this great country.
One thing I know for sure is that I'll never do all of the things I want to do, or have the things I want my family to have, or build the businesses I desire, unless I continue to sharpen my axe. We must make the inner game changes in ourselves, in our minds, before the outer game appears. So, why not see what we're made of?
Flip the switch
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
They're On Board...Now What?
When we get a commitment from a prospect that he's "on board", it means our work has only just begun.
One of the biggest differences between sales superstars and your average-producing sales person is determined at this ever-critical point in the sales process. You've gone through the prospecting phase, qualified the prospect, developed a solution and presented it, gotten feedback that he'd like to begin working with you. You've got him sold!....Right? Not necessarily.
The great salesman understands that this is the point where he has to really bring it, and demonstrate through action that the prospect/customer has made the right choice in working with him. Up to this point, he's heard what he needed to hear, in terms of the message you have communicated. The prospect feels you could help him with whatever challenge he's experiencing. But, again, he's only "heard" what you can do. Now, it's time to show him.
So, how do we do that? How do we show him we're the man for the job? Much of this is going to depend on what business you're in. But, I'll explain what I do in my field, and hopefully you'll be able to see where I'm going and adapt the concepts for your situation. I'll focus on my window manufacturing endeavor, in which I sell windows to large-volume window contractors, who, in turn, sell our products installed to homeowners. Our customers, by and large, all have the same challenge in that they struggle to find leads--opportunities to sell jobs. Doesn't matter which dealer you call on, or what market he's in presently, they all say the same thing..."I just need more leads". The second biggest challenge is they need to close a higher percentage of the leads they do generate.
We'll use these two examples for our discussion in how to separate you from the others. Knowing he's struggling to generate leads, I'll go out digging with every single customer I have on best practices for generating leads. I'll talk to as many good, profitable guys we have buying from us and find out what they're doing. I've done this for years, because I know if I can help in this aspect of a prospect's business, he'll buy from me for a long time and I'll be difficult to replace. Once I'm armed with a few ideas for him in terms of lead generation, I'll reach out to him. If I get his voicemail, I'll leave something like this on the vm..."Hey Tom, this is Greg with WW, hey I was doing a little digging with some of my other good guys and I have a couple of ideas for you in terms of picking up a few extra leads, give me a jingle when you get a minute". Guess what? He calls back...quickly.
After years of paying attention to what works in generating leads, I know that canvassing programs are the best system. So, I've actually gone out canvassing to see what it's all about. I'll canvass for a couple of reasons...one, I've actually done it; two, I can actually generate metrics associated with a good canvasser and what it means to my dealer; three, I'll speak with confidence, knowing I'm not just spewing somebody else's ideas.
What's given me the best results, is to actually canvass in this guy's market, and walk into his office with a handful of leads. Completely blown away. He now knows I'm for real. I'm concerned about his well-being, I'm not just another peddler of a product at a price.
To address the second issue he's having...needs to close more deals(higher close ratio). My next step is to get in front of his sales guys. I'm going to blow these guys away with best practices relating to product pitches in the home. I'm a student of it, I ride with top producing sales guys from my other customers, I've got a killer demo. So, I use it. I get in front of the sales group and bring it! I also present the metrics associated with each guy either canvassing himself or hiring a canvasser. My presentation outlines the number of leads they can expect to generate per hour, and the costs associated with that effort. I break down the cost per lead and then show them the amount of deals they'll close as a result. Next is the amount of extra money they'll earn for the year.
This is the kind of high-level stuff I'm talking about folks. Imagine, you're doing this stuff for your dealers, riding with sales guys, helping them build canvassing teams, bringing in leads from canvassing yourself...and some rumdum shows up with a competitive window, kicking the tires, trying to tell the owner that he can "save them money"...or whatever. This guy's got no chance. He's a joker in the customer's eyes, because he's comparing him to you...and you're the best rep he's ever seen in this business, because you work on high-level aspects of the business and generate real value to his organization.
Flip the switch
One of the biggest differences between sales superstars and your average-producing sales person is determined at this ever-critical point in the sales process. You've gone through the prospecting phase, qualified the prospect, developed a solution and presented it, gotten feedback that he'd like to begin working with you. You've got him sold!....Right? Not necessarily.
The great salesman understands that this is the point where he has to really bring it, and demonstrate through action that the prospect/customer has made the right choice in working with him. Up to this point, he's heard what he needed to hear, in terms of the message you have communicated. The prospect feels you could help him with whatever challenge he's experiencing. But, again, he's only "heard" what you can do. Now, it's time to show him.
So, how do we do that? How do we show him we're the man for the job? Much of this is going to depend on what business you're in. But, I'll explain what I do in my field, and hopefully you'll be able to see where I'm going and adapt the concepts for your situation. I'll focus on my window manufacturing endeavor, in which I sell windows to large-volume window contractors, who, in turn, sell our products installed to homeowners. Our customers, by and large, all have the same challenge in that they struggle to find leads--opportunities to sell jobs. Doesn't matter which dealer you call on, or what market he's in presently, they all say the same thing..."I just need more leads". The second biggest challenge is they need to close a higher percentage of the leads they do generate.
We'll use these two examples for our discussion in how to separate you from the others. Knowing he's struggling to generate leads, I'll go out digging with every single customer I have on best practices for generating leads. I'll talk to as many good, profitable guys we have buying from us and find out what they're doing. I've done this for years, because I know if I can help in this aspect of a prospect's business, he'll buy from me for a long time and I'll be difficult to replace. Once I'm armed with a few ideas for him in terms of lead generation, I'll reach out to him. If I get his voicemail, I'll leave something like this on the vm..."Hey Tom, this is Greg with WW, hey I was doing a little digging with some of my other good guys and I have a couple of ideas for you in terms of picking up a few extra leads, give me a jingle when you get a minute". Guess what? He calls back...quickly.
After years of paying attention to what works in generating leads, I know that canvassing programs are the best system. So, I've actually gone out canvassing to see what it's all about. I'll canvass for a couple of reasons...one, I've actually done it; two, I can actually generate metrics associated with a good canvasser and what it means to my dealer; three, I'll speak with confidence, knowing I'm not just spewing somebody else's ideas.
What's given me the best results, is to actually canvass in this guy's market, and walk into his office with a handful of leads. Completely blown away. He now knows I'm for real. I'm concerned about his well-being, I'm not just another peddler of a product at a price.
To address the second issue he's having...needs to close more deals(higher close ratio). My next step is to get in front of his sales guys. I'm going to blow these guys away with best practices relating to product pitches in the home. I'm a student of it, I ride with top producing sales guys from my other customers, I've got a killer demo. So, I use it. I get in front of the sales group and bring it! I also present the metrics associated with each guy either canvassing himself or hiring a canvasser. My presentation outlines the number of leads they can expect to generate per hour, and the costs associated with that effort. I break down the cost per lead and then show them the amount of deals they'll close as a result. Next is the amount of extra money they'll earn for the year.
This is the kind of high-level stuff I'm talking about folks. Imagine, you're doing this stuff for your dealers, riding with sales guys, helping them build canvassing teams, bringing in leads from canvassing yourself...and some rumdum shows up with a competitive window, kicking the tires, trying to tell the owner that he can "save them money"...or whatever. This guy's got no chance. He's a joker in the customer's eyes, because he's comparing him to you...and you're the best rep he's ever seen in this business, because you work on high-level aspects of the business and generate real value to his organization.
Flip the switch
Monday, February 22, 2010
Personal Development
Over and over I've promoted the benefits of PD(personal development). It's without question, the single biggest factor in the positive changes I've experienced in my life. What it does is challenge the belief systems you've been given throughout your life.
Unfortunately, none of us got to consciously choose what beliefs we hold today. Everything we understand to be true or to be so were passed down to us from people in our lives -- parents, teachers, coaches, friends, whoever. Kind of a scary thought when you look around. Families are great, we love them. But, they don't always necessarily have the most empowering ideas about life, business, money, or whatever else we now find important. Poverty, like wealth, is passed down from generation to generation. Not through measly bank accounts, but through beliefs.
With this in mind, it's important to know those philosophies can be identified through the process of PD. I've experienced this firsthand. PD exposes us to better philosophy, which, in turn, challenges what we already believe. Then, through repetition in hearing or reading these empowering beliefs, we'll start to adopt them as our own. This is the path to much better results.
I thought I'd outline a few of the new philosophies I now have. These serve as filters for all of the decisions I make and consequently, the actions I take. Some are philosophy, as I mentioned. Some are just ideas, some are goals, whatever:
The true rewards go to those who are willing to consistently go outside of their comfort zones.
To achieve great financial results, we must focus on serving the many.
Before a man can lead and inspire others, he must first be in control of himself..mind and body.
Anything the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve(Napolean Hill)
We get paid according to the size of the problems we are able to solve.
It's not what we do every once in a while that determines our results, it's what we do every day.
I'm building businesses that produce profit while I'm out enjoying my life with my family, playing golf, traveling, etc...it's leverage.
Good marketing provides us leverage in that it attracts hundreds, thousands of qualified prospects who know us and what we have to offer.
There's a distinct difference between working "on" the business versus working "in" the business.
Financial freedom is when your passive income exceeds your monthly expenses.
We grow, mentally, spiritually, physically, when we push against great resistance.
Create a business that portable -- it can be run from anywhere, including a beach.
A man who has self-discipline can build any life he chooses.
Surround yourself and your family with winners.
We become the average of the five people we associate with the most.
Never make a decision in a state of fear.
Leaders get all the info and decide quickly and are slow to change their minds; followers are slow to decide and change their position quickly, usually based on someone else's opinion.
Identify where the 97% of our population is headed, and go a different direction.
If you can write a check-no matter how big and it goes away, it's a challenge, not a problem.
Look for the good in people and circumstances, and you'll find it.
We always have something to be grateful for.
Wherever you are, be there.
Our philosophy determines our attitude, our attitude determines our actions, our actions determine our results, our results determine our lifestyle.
Just a few of the beliefs I now hold...all as a result of PD. Now, when I'm faced with challenges, or questions or big decisions, I have a set of filters that shape my thoughts toward the positive, instead of getting frustrated or afraid or whatever I used to get from my old beliefs.
Just an hour a day, is all it takes. Make this a part of your day and you'll be blown away with the results....I promise you.
Flip the switch
Unfortunately, none of us got to consciously choose what beliefs we hold today. Everything we understand to be true or to be so were passed down to us from people in our lives -- parents, teachers, coaches, friends, whoever. Kind of a scary thought when you look around. Families are great, we love them. But, they don't always necessarily have the most empowering ideas about life, business, money, or whatever else we now find important. Poverty, like wealth, is passed down from generation to generation. Not through measly bank accounts, but through beliefs.
With this in mind, it's important to know those philosophies can be identified through the process of PD. I've experienced this firsthand. PD exposes us to better philosophy, which, in turn, challenges what we already believe. Then, through repetition in hearing or reading these empowering beliefs, we'll start to adopt them as our own. This is the path to much better results.
I thought I'd outline a few of the new philosophies I now have. These serve as filters for all of the decisions I make and consequently, the actions I take. Some are philosophy, as I mentioned. Some are just ideas, some are goals, whatever:
The true rewards go to those who are willing to consistently go outside of their comfort zones.
To achieve great financial results, we must focus on serving the many.
Before a man can lead and inspire others, he must first be in control of himself..mind and body.
Anything the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve(Napolean Hill)
We get paid according to the size of the problems we are able to solve.
It's not what we do every once in a while that determines our results, it's what we do every day.
I'm building businesses that produce profit while I'm out enjoying my life with my family, playing golf, traveling, etc...it's leverage.
Good marketing provides us leverage in that it attracts hundreds, thousands of qualified prospects who know us and what we have to offer.
There's a distinct difference between working "on" the business versus working "in" the business.
Financial freedom is when your passive income exceeds your monthly expenses.
We grow, mentally, spiritually, physically, when we push against great resistance.
Create a business that portable -- it can be run from anywhere, including a beach.
A man who has self-discipline can build any life he chooses.
Surround yourself and your family with winners.
We become the average of the five people we associate with the most.
Never make a decision in a state of fear.
Leaders get all the info and decide quickly and are slow to change their minds; followers are slow to decide and change their position quickly, usually based on someone else's opinion.
Identify where the 97% of our population is headed, and go a different direction.
If you can write a check-no matter how big and it goes away, it's a challenge, not a problem.
Look for the good in people and circumstances, and you'll find it.
We always have something to be grateful for.
Wherever you are, be there.
Our philosophy determines our attitude, our attitude determines our actions, our actions determine our results, our results determine our lifestyle.
Just a few of the beliefs I now hold...all as a result of PD. Now, when I'm faced with challenges, or questions or big decisions, I have a set of filters that shape my thoughts toward the positive, instead of getting frustrated or afraid or whatever I used to get from my old beliefs.
Just an hour a day, is all it takes. Make this a part of your day and you'll be blown away with the results....I promise you.
Flip the switch
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Myth of Multi-Tasking
Multi-Tasking....complete myth
People who "multi-task" all day long are normally the ones who get the least done. They look busy(frantic), they definitely feel busy...in reality, they're getting nothing of any real value done.
If you are constantly doing several projects or tasks all at once, you're not executing any of them well. Our work, whatever it is, deserves our very best effort. Some may argue that point, especially if they feel their work is beneath them or they don't align with the overall philosophy or direction of their employers.
If we master the work we have now, we'll demonstrate to our bosses or owners or shareholders that we should be working on solving bigger problems. Being able to solve bigger problems is what launches us ahead in our careers and business endeavors and allows us to earn higher compensation.
Focus is power...it's like a laser beam in that when you focus all of your effort, all of your heart, all of your attention on one challenge or one roadblock, you'll explode through it.
Our day should consist of various high-level tasks that get us closer to our overall objective, when executed consistently with passion and enthusiasm. For example, a salesman's day should look something like this...consisting of various high-level tasks that drive the overall objective:
1. Four or five face to face sales calls with customers and prospects.
2. Ten to twenty prospecting calls to uncover opportunities for new business.
3. Five to ten follow up calls with current customers, serving them as well as possible.
4. Solution development, during which he designs solutions to each individual prospect's needs and desires.
These are the main activities a salesman should be focused on, generally speaking. If he executes these fundamentals every single day with passion, he'll produce the results the owner of the company is looking for--sales(revenue). This consistent action fills his pipeline with qualified prospects, which is key to his success.
Now, would this salesman get those results if, while he was executing his prospecting calls, he constantly responded to emails on his IPHONE? I'd guess no. He couldn't prospect as effectively if he were distracted by incoming emails. This would take his focus away from the important task of finding opportunities to land new business.
We must apply all of our focus to the high-level activities we all have in whatever our jobs may be. For a doctor, it's seeing patients, or conducting surgeries. How effective would your doc be if she answered emails or phone calls while she's in with you, checking you for a back problem? Not very.
So, what's the remedy? Completely undisturbed blocks of time during your workday in which nothing will distract you from executing these tasks to the best of your abilities. Plain and simple. If you're scheduled to make follow up calls and your boss calls and wants to talk...sorry. you'll have to get back to him. If a prospect wants to see you at 3:00 this afternoon, and you've already blocked that time out for prospecting calls...you'll have to see her Thursday at 10:00 or Friday at 12:00, times during which you're scheduled to see customers face to face. It's this kind of self-respect and discipline that will separate you from the rest.
The production we get from two hours of focused, undisturbed time making prospecting calls is worth more than six hours of prospecting if you're constantly interrupted by incoming calls, emails, facebook sessions, reading the newspaper online, etc. Works this way with every Simple Discipline we find in any career or business. We need to operate in these blocks of focused time. This is the key to efficiency and it's the quickest way to experience explosive growth in your overall performance and production....
This same approach must be used at home. Tomorrow is Sunday. Let's give our families a huge block of undisturbed, focused time.
Flip the switch
People who "multi-task" all day long are normally the ones who get the least done. They look busy(frantic), they definitely feel busy...in reality, they're getting nothing of any real value done.
If you are constantly doing several projects or tasks all at once, you're not executing any of them well. Our work, whatever it is, deserves our very best effort. Some may argue that point, especially if they feel their work is beneath them or they don't align with the overall philosophy or direction of their employers.
If we master the work we have now, we'll demonstrate to our bosses or owners or shareholders that we should be working on solving bigger problems. Being able to solve bigger problems is what launches us ahead in our careers and business endeavors and allows us to earn higher compensation.
Focus is power...it's like a laser beam in that when you focus all of your effort, all of your heart, all of your attention on one challenge or one roadblock, you'll explode through it.
Our day should consist of various high-level tasks that get us closer to our overall objective, when executed consistently with passion and enthusiasm. For example, a salesman's day should look something like this...consisting of various high-level tasks that drive the overall objective:
1. Four or five face to face sales calls with customers and prospects.
2. Ten to twenty prospecting calls to uncover opportunities for new business.
3. Five to ten follow up calls with current customers, serving them as well as possible.
4. Solution development, during which he designs solutions to each individual prospect's needs and desires.
These are the main activities a salesman should be focused on, generally speaking. If he executes these fundamentals every single day with passion, he'll produce the results the owner of the company is looking for--sales(revenue). This consistent action fills his pipeline with qualified prospects, which is key to his success.
Now, would this salesman get those results if, while he was executing his prospecting calls, he constantly responded to emails on his IPHONE? I'd guess no. He couldn't prospect as effectively if he were distracted by incoming emails. This would take his focus away from the important task of finding opportunities to land new business.
We must apply all of our focus to the high-level activities we all have in whatever our jobs may be. For a doctor, it's seeing patients, or conducting surgeries. How effective would your doc be if she answered emails or phone calls while she's in with you, checking you for a back problem? Not very.
So, what's the remedy? Completely undisturbed blocks of time during your workday in which nothing will distract you from executing these tasks to the best of your abilities. Plain and simple. If you're scheduled to make follow up calls and your boss calls and wants to talk...sorry. you'll have to get back to him. If a prospect wants to see you at 3:00 this afternoon, and you've already blocked that time out for prospecting calls...you'll have to see her Thursday at 10:00 or Friday at 12:00, times during which you're scheduled to see customers face to face. It's this kind of self-respect and discipline that will separate you from the rest.
The production we get from two hours of focused, undisturbed time making prospecting calls is worth more than six hours of prospecting if you're constantly interrupted by incoming calls, emails, facebook sessions, reading the newspaper online, etc. Works this way with every Simple Discipline we find in any career or business. We need to operate in these blocks of focused time. This is the key to efficiency and it's the quickest way to experience explosive growth in your overall performance and production....
This same approach must be used at home. Tomorrow is Sunday. Let's give our families a huge block of undisturbed, focused time.
Flip the switch
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