Stories To Share --- Bobby's Gift

Bobby was getting cold sitting in his backyard in the snow. Bobby didn't wear boots; he didn't like them and anyway, he didn't own any. The thin sneakers he wore had a few holes in them and they did a poor job keeping out the cold.

Bobby had been in his backyard for about an hour already. And, try as he might, he could not come up with an idea for his mother's Christmas gift. He shook his head as he thought, “This is useless. Even if I do come up with an idea, I don't have any money to spend.”

Ever since his father had passed away three years earlier, the family of five had struggled. It wasn't because his mother didn't care, or try. There just never seemed to be enough. She worked nights at the hospital, but the small wage that she was earning could only be stretched so far.

What the family lacked in money and material things, it more than made up for in love and family unity. Bobby had two older and one younger sister, who ran the household in their mother's absence.

All three of his sisters had already made beautiful gifts for their mother. Somehow it just wasn't fair. Here it was Christmas Eve already, and he had nothing.

Wiping a tear from his eye, Bobby kicked the snow and started to walk down to the street where the shops and stores were. It wasn't easy being six without a father, especially when he needed a man to talk to.

Bobby walked from shop to shop, looking into each decorated window. Everything seemed so beautiful and so out of reach. It was starting to get dark, and Bobby reluctantly turned to walk home when suddenly his eyes caught the glimmer of the setting sun's rays reflecting off something along the curb. He reached down and discovered a shiny dime.

Never before has anyone felt so wealthy as Bobby felt at that moment. As he held his new found treasure, a warmth spread throughout his entire body and he walked into the first store he saw. His excitement quickly turned cold when salesperson after salesperson told him that he could not buy anything with only a dime.

He saw a flower shop and went inside to wait in line. When the shop owner asked if he could help him, Bobby presented the dime and asked if he could buy one flower for his mother's Christmas gift. The shop owner looked at Bobby and his 10-cent offering. Then he put his hand on Bobby's shoulder and said to him, “You just wait here and I'll see what I can do for you.”

As Bobby waited, he looked at the beautiful flowers, and even though he was a boy, he could see why mothers and girls liked flowers.

The sound of the door closing as the last customer left jolted Bobby back to reality. All alone in the shop, Bobby began to feel alone and afraid.

Suddenly the shop owner came out and moved to the counter. There, before Bobby's eyes, lay twelve long-stem red roses, with leaves of green and tiny white flowers all tied together with a big silver bow. Bobby's heart sank as the owner picked them up and placed them gently into a long white box.

“That will be 10 cents young man,” the shop owner said, reaching out his hand for the dime. Slowly, Bobby moved his hand to give the man his dime. Could this be true? No one else would give him a thing for his dime! Sensing the boy's reluctance, the shop owner added, “I just happened to have some roses on sale for 10 cents a dozen. Would you like them?”

This time Bobby did not hesitate, and when the man placed the long box into his hands, he knew it was true. Walking out the door that the owner was holding for him, he heard the shop keeper say, “Merry Christmas, son.”

As he returned inside, the shop keeper’s wife walked out. “Who were you talking to back there and where are the roses you were fixing?” Staring out the window and blinking the tears from his eyes, he replied, “A strange thing happened to me this morning. While I was setting up things to open the shop, I thought I heard a voice telling me to set aside a dozen of my best roses for a special gift. I wasn't sure at the time whether I had lost my mind or what, but I set them aside anyway. Then just a few minutes ago, a little boy came into the shop and wanted to buy a flower for his mother with one small dime.

“When I looked at him, I saw myself many years ago. I too was a poor boy with nothing to buy my mother for a Christmas gift. A bearded man, whom I never knew, stopped me on the street and told me that he wanted to give me 10 dollars.

“When I saw that little boy tonight, I knew who that voice was, and I put together a dozen of my very best roses.”

The shop owner and his wife hugged each other tightly, and as they stepped out into the bitter cold air, they somehow didn't feel cold at all.

Stories to Share --- I BELIEVE

I hope each of you can believe in many of these, as I do.

I believe …That we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.

I believe …That no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and, you must forgive them for that.

I believe …That true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance.

Same goes for true love.

I believe …That you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

I believe …That it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I believe …That you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I believe …That you can keep going long after you can't.

I believe …That we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I believe …That either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I believe …That regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there had better be something else to take its place.

I believe …That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I believe …That money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I believe …That my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time!

I believe …That sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down will be the ones to help you get back up.

I believe …That sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I believe …That just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.

I believe …That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I believe …That it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others.

Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I believe …That no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I believe …That our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I believe …That just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.

I believe …That you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.

I believe …That two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.

I believe …That your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.

I believe …That even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.

I believe …That credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I believe …That the people you care about most in life are the essence of life.

Tell all of the people in your life that you care about today how much you love them and what they mean to you...do it and do it now!!!

Love the Opportunity by Jim Rohn

Somebody said you have to love what you do, but that’s not necessarily true. What is true is that you have to love the opportunity—the opportunity to build life, future, health, success and fortune. Knocking on someone’s door or making that extra call may not be something you love to do, but you love the opportunity of what might be behind that door or call.

For example, a guy says, “I’m digging ditches. Should I love digging ditches?” The answer is, “No, you don’t have to love digging ditches, but if it is your first entry onto the ladder of success, you say, ‘I’m glad somebody gave me the opportunity to dig ditches, and I’m going to do it so well, I won’t be here long.’ ”

You can be inspired by having found something, even though you are making mistakes in the beginning, and even though it is a little distasteful taking on a new discipline that you haven’t learned before. You don’t have to love it; you just have to learn to appreciate where you live, appreciate opportunity and appreciate the person who brought you the good news—the person who found you.

Appreciate the person who believed in you before you believed in yourself. Appreciate the person who said, “Hey, if I can do it, you can do it.”

If you will embrace the disciplines associated with the new opportunity, and you will soon find that your self-confidence will start to grow, that you will go from being a skeptic to being a believer. And soon, when you go from person to person, talking to people, you will find it to be the most thrilling opportunity in the world. Every person you meet—what could it be? Unlimited! Maybe a friend for life! The next person could be an open door to retiring. The next person could be a colleague for years to come. It’s big-time stuff. And sometimes, in the beginning, when we are just getting started, we don’t always see how big it is.

So, before you are tempted to give up or get discouraged, remember, all success is based on long-term commitment, faith, discipline, attitude and a few steppingstones along the way. You might not like the stone you are on right now, but it’s sure to be one of the stones that leads to great opportunities in the future.

Just The Facts - Frankly, I Don't Give A Damn

The smartest guy I've ever known once told me something so profound I've never forgotten it “Frankly My Dear, I Don't Give a Damn”... and it's shaped my career over many years.

He was a gruff old guy named Ken and Ken had a law degree but never chose to practice law. Instead, he made a ton of money rescuing nearly broke car dealers from certain bankruptcy. He was a turnaround specialist long before I ever heard that term associated with corporate America.

Ken had the ability to look at a problem... no matter how complex... and almost immediately cut through the noise and identify the simplest solution.

Here's what Ken told me..."There is no one deal that will ever make you or break you. Never spend one moment in the middle of a presentation worrying about whether or not the person in front of you is going to say yes or no. Your job is to present the facts. The decision is all theirs."

Your commitment is to the process... never become emotionally attached to the outcome.

Some people call it posture but it's much more than that. It's the supremely confident belief that what you're offering the prospect is infinitely more valuable than what you're asking them to give up in exchange. It's not something you conjure up... it's something you walk and talk every day.

When I sit down with a prospect I KNOW that what I have to offer is nothing short of absolute freedom. Either the light comes on for them as they learn the facts or it doesn't. Either way is truly okay with me... I can't force or beg people to make money.

The only thing you can be responsible for is making sure they have enough information to make a decision for the right reasons. You don't want them to say no for the wrong reason and you sure don't want them to say yes for the wrong reason... that's worse than getting a no in the first place.

But for that process to work effectively you have to convey the attitude...no...the truth...that your only interest at that moment is making sure they get the facts.

I've said this to prospects many times..."Joe, my only obligation or responsibility here is to make sure you get enough facts about this business to make the decision that's right for you. Don't think for one moment that I'm going to miss any meals if you say no...and I'm not going to get rich today if you say yes. Joe, my point is this...there's not going to be any pressure to do anything. The final decision is yours to make. I'll respect that no matter what and we'll both be happy when it's done."

Now, if you said something like that with complete honesty... to your prospects before every presentation do you think they'd pay closer attention? Do you think they'd see you as coming from a position of strength or a position of weakness? Do you think if they paid closer attention they might see something they otherwise might have missed because their defenses were up? Do you think that would result in more product sales or sign-ups?

I'll leave you to answer those questions for yourself because... you see... my only obligation or responsibility here is to make sure you get the facts... your answers are your own... I'll be happy either way.

Be an Optimist at All Times

Are you an optimist (positive) or pessimist (negative)?
It is important to realize the difference and know which one you are, as we all need to be and should be optimists. Remember, what you send out in life via energy (thought, feelings, words and deeds) is what you get back; so if you send out negative, you get negative results and if you send out positive you get positive results. Therefore, it would only make sense to be an optimist. The following is a great article provided by Brian Tracey about the comparison of optimists vs. pessimists:

Everyone wants to be physically healthy. You want to be mentally healthy as well. The true measure of “mental fitness” is how optimistic you are about yourself and your life.

Below you will learn how to control your thinking in very specific ways so that you feel terrific about yourself and your situation, no matter what happens.

Control Your Reactions and Responses
There are three basic differences in the reactions of optimists and pessimists. The first difference is that the optimist sees a setback as temporary, while the pessimist sees it as permanent. The optimist sees an unfortunate event, such as an order that falls through or a sales call that fails, as a temporary event, something that is limited in time and that has no real impact on the future. The pessimist, on the other hand, sees negative events as permanent, as part of life and destiny.

Isolate the Incident
The second difference between the optimist and the pessimist is that the optimist sees difficulties as specific, while the pessimist sees them as pervasive. This means that when things go wrong for the optimist, he looks at the event as an isolated incident largely disconnected from other things that are going on in his life.

See Setbacks as Temporary Events
For example, if something you were counting on failed to materialize and you interpreted it to yourself as being an unfortunate event, but something that happens in the course of life and business, you would be reacting like an optimist. The pessimist, on the other hand, sees disappointments as being pervasive. That is, to him they are indications of a problem or shortcoming that pervades every area of life.

Don’t Take Failure Personally
The third difference between optimists and pessimists is that optimists see events as external, while pessimists interpret events as personal. When things go wrong, the optimist will tend to see the setback as resulting from external factors over which one has little control.

If the optimist is cut off in traffic, for example, instead of getting angry or upset, he will simply downgrade the importance of the event by saying something like, “Oh, well, I guess that person is just having a bad day.”

The pessimist on the other hand, has a tendency to take everything personally. If the pessimist is cut off in traffic, he will react as though the other driver has deliberately acted to upset and frustrate him.

Remain Calm and Objective
The hallmark of the fully mature, fully functioning, self-actualizing personality is the ability to be objective and unemotional when caught up in the inevitable storms of daily life. The superior person has the ability to continue talking to himself in a positive and optimistic way, keeping his mind calm, clear and completely under control. The mature personality is more relaxed and aware and capable of interpreting events more realistically and less emotionally than is the immature personality. As a result, the mature person exerts a far greater sense of control and influence over his environment, and is far less likely to be angry, upset or distracted.

Take the Long View
Look upon the inevitable setbacks that you face as being temporary, specific and external. View the negative situation as a single event that is not connected to other potential events and that is caused largely by external factors over which you can have little control. Simply refuse to see the event as being in any way permanent, pervasive or indicative of personal incompetence or inability.

Resolve to think like an optimist, no matter what happens. You may not be able to control events, but you can control the way you react to them.

Action Exercises
Now, here are three actions you can take immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, remind yourself continually that setbacks are only temporary, they will soon be past and nothing is as serious as you think it is.

Second, look upon each problem as a specific event, not connected to other events and not indicative of a pattern of any kind. Deal with it and get on with your life.

Third, recognize that when things go wrong, they are usually caused by a variety of external events. Say to yourself, “What can’t be cured must be endured,” and then get back to thinking about your goals.

WHICH ONE ARE YOU AN OPTIMIST OR A PESSIMIST? WHICH ONE DO YOU WANT TO BE?

This Weeks Jumpstart (90 Day Cycle) - Denis Waitley

Great read that came across my email by Denis Waitley:

In my work with Olympic athletes, astronauts, top business executives and other winners, I’ve discovered that most of them have approached their success in 90-day seasons. In many areas of life, 90 days is regarded as an appropriate growing cycle. The business world operates on a quarterly basis.

The sports world, to a great extent, operates on a seasonal basis in which the majority of league games are played during a 90-day cycle, not including post-season playoffs.

The academic world, in many universities, is set up on a quarterly basis, with the fourth quarter usually being summer. Even academic institutions that operate on a semester schedule usually have nine-month terms, or three quarters of the year spent in class.

I’ve found a 90-day cycle of success to be a wonderful unit of time. It’s a time period that is long enough to plan for, begin, work hard at, and accomplish certain objectives. At the same time, it isn’t a year from now or forever. It is a short enough time to generate a sense of urgency. One of the problems with focusing on monthly goals is the gap in a month caused by events and holidays.

Tax time in April. Vacations in June, July or August. Christmas and other religious holidays, the World Series, the playoffs and the Super Bowl. These gaps present a problem in any given month. To sum up the concept of the 90-day season of success: It is a long enough period of time to accomplish something significant, yet it is a short enough time that there is urgency to act now.

Your 90-day season of success will build your motivation because, often, yearly or five-year goals are so distant that it’s easy to get discouraged and give up on them in frustration. When your goals are proximate and positively pressing, you’re more likely to muster the motivation necessary to achieve them. Before you begin your next 90-day success season, take an evening to go through the following exercises. To do this, block out some time for yourself when you’re alone and can think without being interrupted.

Exercise 1: Review your life-forming goals, and update your personal mission statement for your life or career.

Exercise 2: Take 15 minutes and write down your most important priorities personally and professionally for the next 90 days. Get your calendar and planner out, and start sequencing your action steps. Write down a list of to-dos, phone calls, e-mails and appointments you need to make.

Exercise 3: Now review your list from Exercise 2, and spend another 15 minutes adding things to that list that you want to do for your own personal entertainment or enlightenment.

Exercise 4: Take five minutes and record three things that tend to slip through the cracks in your professional life. Then do the same exercise for your personal life. These are things that you always mean to accomplish, but somehow never get around to doing.

Exercise 5: Create your “Seasonal Success Focus.” Review the specific goals and images of achievement you want to accomplish during the next 90 days in order to further your life’s mission. As you write these goals on paper or in your electronic diary, put a short statement as to the major benefit of accomplishing these goals.

Once you have done this review, determine what the present reality is—where are you right now in relation to the accomplishment of these goals.

This week, start thinking about your goals as “quarterly quotas.”

Look for an Open Door by Les Brown

Most of us spend so much time talking, grieving and being angry about the closed door in our lives, we don’t see the open door. Les Brown, the legendary human-potential expert, says our trials and disappointments can take us all to a door of discovery and greatness. Brown shows you how to:

1. Be Thankful. It’s easy to think about what is missing and ignore what you have. When you develop an attitude of gratitude, you begin to view things from that positive light and start working toward making something happen. Giving up is not an option you can entertain.

2. Be Thoughtful. When things go wrong, don’t go with them. As you look at yourself, you have to harness your will, you have to be grounded, you have to pause and you have to go within. Begin to clear your head and give yourself permission to accept the reality that is happening. And then turn the page and start working toward where you will go from there.

3. Be Active. Matt Jones, one of the great speakers, wrote a book with the message: If you’re going through hell, don’t stop. Keep moving. Start with small steps and build from there. When you are not active and you’re not engaging in life, you have a tendency to worry and regret and to engage in less-than-useful emotions. It’s very important that you start moving and working and doing things that can give you some headway. The more active you are the less chance you have of becoming depressed, angry and immobilized with fear.

4. Be Connected. Many times, people fail because they can’t see the picture when they are in the frame. They think there is no way out. These are people who are disconnected and feel isolated and desperate. But interacting with others provides a number of benefits, including helping us find new paths and new ideas to explore.

5. Be Patient. Don’t expect instant results. Plug away carefully and consistently, and keep the mindset that things are going to get better even though you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. We are living in a microwave society where we want instant results. But it’s not that kind of party. Patience and a spirit of expectation and trust will help you work to reach your goals and dreams.

Be Your Own Best Advertisement

In an article by Entrepreneur Magazine they asked how to be your own best walking advertisement: now without becoming offensive, off-putting or in people's faces. There's definitely a fine line between authentic self-promotion and being pushy. Today, I'll share with you one of the tips for making people aware of your problem-solving resources, without becoming 'Client Repulsive': The tip? GIVE GENEROUSLY.

It's easier to promote when you are GIVING something of high-value to a prospect. It's an approach of SERVICE rather than 'selling something' or trying to 'get something' from your prospect. GIVING is much more Client Attractive and takes the pressure off of the person (and yourself). Let's face it; people love to buy, but they don't like to be sold. So, make it easy on them by giving them something.

When working with private clients who want to quickly build a database of prospects and fill their pipeline consistently, we almost always create something called an "Irresistible Offer", something that has a high perception of value, offered at no charge. It is something that will create the WOW factor and naturally PULL them in to you. For example, a website that offers an audio CD at no charge on the home page. This would be a version of the Irresistible Offer!

Instead of trying to explain "what we do" at length to a prospect, which would turn someone off immediately, it's much easier to say something like, "Go to our "informational" based website to see what we do and if interested, fill out the form and we will provide you with a free, no obligation demonstration where you will actually be able to use the system."

When you do that, two things happen. 1) There's a WOW factor that gets them excited. 2) They're often impressed that you would give something of such value at no charge, which makes you look even better in their eyes. And, 3) you let the high-content of your 'Irresistible Offer' demonstrate the value of what you offer, so there doesn't need to be any selling.

When you give good content at no charge, people automatically realize that this is just the tip of your iceberg and they'll get that your paid stuff will be even more valuable. It doesn't have to be a CD, it can be a special report (information they won't receive otherwise), an audio download, video download, a seminar or tele-class. Anything that has a high perceived value will work, as long as the content is very good and pertains to their needs. That way, marketing feels authentic to you AND to the person you're talking to.

Best of all, if the information on your "giveaways" or on your website is of high-content and high-value, word will spread quickly. They'll tell their colleagues, their friends, anyone who will listen, but only if you've given them something of value and then it's just a question of providing more high content on a regular basis through easy stay-in-touch marketing vehicles, until the trust and credibility has been established and the prospect raises their hand when they're ready for your service or product. You'll be shocked at how quickly your pipeline will fill when you have the right 'Irresistible Offer'.

The key is, when you give generously, both in a giveaway and in content, you make it OK to offer other resources that will help that prospect. It's like reading your favorite magazine. When you love every article, chances are the ads in the magazine will also appeal to you. It’s the same thing here.

Your Client Attraction Assignment:

So, start thinking about how you can give more generously:

• A special report
• An audio download
• A video download
• A CD
• A live seminar
• A tele-class

Once you put it together, make sure it's high-content (without giving away the farm) and that you have a way of continuing to speak to them regularly with more high-value stay-in-touch marketing vehicles. Then, you avoid being Client Repulsive and instead, you become extremely Client Attractive.

If you're looking for more ways to create a compelling marketing message and PULL clients toward you, I recommend you CONTACT US NOW, we can/will help you attract the clients you want. (Why struggle when you can just attract clients easily?)

The Power of Personal Development

Everyday is great day to continue learning and building your personal development, with this in mind, I came across this is great read from Jeffrey Gittomer. Enjoy and make it a successful and awesome day!

When I say Think and Grow Rich, what comes to your mind?

Almost everyone in sales and those interested in personal development have read this classic by Napoleon Hill at least once. And almost everyone who's read it has a positive comment. Many (like me) will say, "Turning point in my life."

Everyone has a turning point in their quest for lifelong learning. Everyone has their Aha! In your personal development, it's what you choose to listen to, watch or read that enhances your understanding of your life and teaches you what you need to do to succeed.

Napoleon Hill's 1937 quote sets the standard. "Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve", and once you have the information, it's all about what you are willing to do to take advantage of it.

Most people know Napoleon Hill was the author of Think and Grow Rich. The person Hill emulated and studied was Orison Swett Marden. Not many know that. Marden was the leading positive-attitude genius of the 20th century. Well-known before 1930 - almost unknown today, he was a founding father of personal development and positive thought. Aha!

Author of more than 40 books, Marden also was the founder of SUCCESS magazine. Here are a few of his words of wisdom from the book he wrote in 1908, He Who Thinks He Can.

• "Every child should be taught to expect success."
• "The man who has learned the art of seeing things looks with his brain."
• "The best educated people are those who are always learning, always absorbing knowledge from every possible source and at every opportunity."
• "People do not realize the immense value of utilizing spare minutes."
• "No substitute has ever yet been discovered for honesty."
• "Poverty is of no value except as a vantage ground for a starting point."

These are quotes worth learning and passing on to others. One hundred years old! Based on my personal experience and personal “Ahas!”. I'd like to challenge you with the rules of personal development and give you some examples of what I have learned so you might make your own plan to succeed or enhance the one you have.

1. Expose yourself to knowledge.
At the end of a seminar I gave on positive attitude, I received an evaluation from a woman named Mary with a comment that read, "I wish I would have heard this seminar 30 years ago." I got goose bumps of sadness and thought of a Jim Rohn quote: "All the information you need to succeed already exists; the only problem is you're not exposing yourself to it." This information existed 30 years ago. Mary just hadn't exposed herself to it.

Jim Rohn is known as America's leading business philosopher. His CD, The Art of Exceptional Living, is among the modern classics of personal development. Jim Rohn is the current master of inspiration and Aha! He imparts wisdom in every sentence.

Between Marden and Rohn, there is a long list of valuable books. I owe my career success to these books and to personal development information to which I have exposed myself.

Most of the books are more than 50 years old, many with religious connotations - but still preaching the right words and thoughts. One of the most notable is The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale, Biblical and brilliant!

2. Simple is powerful.
If you read it and it seems too easy or too hokey, reread it. It's probably part of your personal development foundation.

One of my early Aha! Moments of personal development was the simplicity of the message. Sometimes it's so simple, you go right past it without understanding the impact it can make.

A classic example is the eternal How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. In 1936 he wrote, "You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you." How many salespeople could benefit from that single Aha!? I think all of them.

Interesting to note that Dale Carnegie's lessons still are being taught in the classroom 70 years later!

3. Think and apply to improve.
In “As a Man Thinketh”, published in 1902, James Allen says, "A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts." Thinking what can be done is at the core of your personal development. About 54 years later, in the million-seller, The Strangest Secret, Earl Nightingale writes, "We become what we think about all day long." Get it?

In 1969, I listened to Glenn W. Turner on a cassette tape: "Act as though you have already begun to achieve. Not fake it-live it."

4. Take a daily dose.
Think about the time-worn expression, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." Apply that to personal development and it means learn and apply one new thing every day. At the end of a year you will have 365 new pieces of information.

5. The older the better.
If you want a new idea, read a book that's 100 years old. "The best educated people are those who are always learning, always absorbing knowledge from every possible source and at every opportunity." - Marden, 1908. Or, "History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats." - B.C. Forbes, 1919.

6. Personal development and positive attitude are joined at the hip-and at the brain. And there is another component-being of service.
"There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative." - Clement Stone, 1946. Add that to the 5000-year-old Chinese proverb, "To Serve is to Rule."

7. Do it even as your butt falls off.
In 1898, Elbert Hubbard wrote an essay titled, Message to Garcia. Deliver the message, get the job done, and complete the task-no matter what. Many have read that essay. Few have emulated it.

Personal development challenges you to think forward.
"Greater than the tread of mighty armies is an idea whose time has come." - Victor Hugo, 1874.

Personal development challenges you to be your best.
"You cannot mandate productivity; you must provide the tools to let people become their best." - Steve Jobs, 1988.

"I am the greatest of all time." - Muhammad Ali, 1963.

Personal development challenges you to make decisions based on the person you seek to become. "The highest reward for a person's toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it." - John Ruskin, 1869.

Wondering where you can "find more time" to devote to your own success?
"It has been my observation that most people get ahead during the time that others waste." - Henry Ford, 1901. Just a thought!

The key word is not development; the key word is personal. Do it for yourself, in your own way, and make your own time for it-or not.

The biggest “Aha!” of personal development is from Russell Conwell's "Acres of Diamonds". Considered to be one of the finest speeches ever written, Acres of Diamonds offers a multitude of lessons about the rewards of work, education and finding the riches of life in your own back yard-or your own library. Aha!

Stop Blaming the Economy: Three Tough Questions for Winning More Business in Today’s Soft Market

The experts have stated "recession" and you can almost hear the collapse of sales funnels everywhere. Account managers and sales professionals are complaining about how difficult it is to close business in this slowing economy. This doesn’t come as a big surprise.

Less than half of today’s business-to-business sales professionals have ever weathered a true economic downturn. These folks learned how to sell in the nifty ‘90s which was one of the longest business expansions in U.S. history. Hey, it’s not that hard to hit quota with double digit market returns and huge growth in the number of new jobs. But what should you do when the economy starts to tap the brakes?

Rule one—don’t blame the economy.
Companies still have to buy goods and services no matter what the economy is doing. They may buy different, they may buy less, but they still have to buy. If you can’t convince prospects that what you’re offering is a solid investment with meaningful return, then maybe the problem lies closer to home.

Let’s look at this a different way. The major objection most reps face during slow times is, “I have no money.” How is that possible? If your customer has no money then they’re out of business. What they are really saying to you is, “Your ideas stink or I don't know you.”

What can you do to close more business in a slowing economy? Start by answering these three questions that will put you back on the path to success. I can’t guarantee that they will work for you, but I can guarantee that they work.

How much energy are you wasting on insignificant activities?
You’ve probably been told that business will improve if you just make more appointments, increase the number of demos, give more presentations and ramp up your number of cold calls. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing incorrect with increasing these selling activities; especially if you sell low-value products to one time customers.

Experience tells me that chasing everything that looks like an opportunity keeps you busy but makes you very ineffective (time management 101). You’ll be working hard, but you won’t be working smart. Eventually you’ll burn out your prospects and yourself – toast for two!

Start today by re-qualifying every prospect and work on cleaning out your funnel. Focus on your best selling opportunities and put your energy there. You’ll create more success by investing the right resources into ten solid opportunities than you will by chasing twenty five half baked leads.

Are you making every conversation count?
Clients and prospects should be impressed with your preparation for every sales call. When you demonstrate that you’ve done your homework it becomes easier to have an open and honest dialogue with you. When the economy slows down, people get nervous. They don’t want to waste time meeting with sales reps unless they see some potential value and benefits for them.

The “smile-n-dial” mentality of simply pounding on more doors with the same pitch may produce extra appointments. But it also creates the fear that you’re going to sell them something that they don’t need.

Open your next client conversation with this simple phrase, “In preparing for this meeting I took some time to…” Then simply highlight the two or three critical things that you did to prepare and watch what happens to the atmosphere of the call. You will blow away the last rep that opened their meeting by announcing that they were just “checking in” to see if anything new was going on.

The goal is to stop “educating” your customers about your company and what you can do for them. They don’t care unless they are engaged. Talking about your company, your products and your reputation will not engage customers. Talk about them (the customers), ask about them, provide ideas for them and communicate in terms of them.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Who are you talking about—you or them?

Do you have any questions?
Knowledge is a key ingredient to sales success, especially in a slowing economy. The more you demonstrate knowledge, the more prospects will take time to listen. And the best way to establish expertise is not by pitching features; it’s by asking questions. Questions that can differentiate the value you bring to every call.

Many reps fall into the common trap of asking questions that are self serving. “What does your purchasing process look like?” is a mind numbing, self serving question that doesn’t create new insights. Your customer hears these types of questions every day and they bring zero value to the dialogue.

Instead ask questions that get customers to stop and think. Ask questions they haven’t been asked before. Ask questions that get the customer to pause and say, “That’s a really good question.”

Creating high impact questions takes extra time. But it’s worth every minute. Start investing sixty percent of your time doing research, forty percent of your time making calls. I know this contradicts traditional wisdom, but this isn’t a traditional selling environment.

Don’t pick up the phone or walk into the lobby until you’re absolutely ready to engage in a meaningful dialogue. You’re not going to get a second chance in a slowing economy, so make sure every one counts!

CUSTOMERS/PROSPECTS TODAY PURCHASE FROM THOSE THEY KNOW AND HAVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH, DO YOURS HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU!

GETTING PERSONAL:
Re-connect with your current customers (it costs less) and TRY to build relationships with the new prospects rather than "selling" them right away; get to know them better, see how things are for them in this economy and what are they doing to stay above water...in other words build and cultivate those relationships. TAKE THE TIME TO GET TO KNOW THEM!

Get personal with your past customers and prospects by turning them into clients for life, it is easy to do, find a way to connect on a personal level and you are half way there, future sales are easier and they may/will start introducing you to colleagues and associates. Here are some things you should know about your customers/prospects and if not, why not?

• Where did the customer grow up and go to school?
• Do you know their birthday, spouses name and wedding anniversary (how many years)?
• Do you know the anniversary date of the time they first did business with you?
  
• How many kids do they have and what are the names/ages/birthdays?
• Where do the kids go to school?
• What does the customer like to do in his/her spare time?
• Hobbies and etc?
• Where do they like to vacation and why?
  

Now once you have this information; what are you going to do about it? Need an answer I can help, CONTACT ME now to get started and see the VALUE, you will not be disappointed!