Invincible
I just watched the movie Invincible with Mark Wahlberg today for the first time. What a true inspiration this movie was, not unlike other great movies of the past Rocky, Rudy, and The Rookie. This movie was about a true underdog coming out on top. I loved it! This movie was based on a true story of former Philadelphia Eagle Vince Papale played by Mark Wahlberg. Vince was a bartender/part-time school teacher who had 1 year of high school football under his belt. When Dick Vermeil played by Greg Kinnear holds open tryouts to try and Save a miserable Eagle Football Team from another losing season, Vince reluctantly goes to give it a whirl. Out of 300 hopefuls Vince is the only one invited back to participate in The Eagles Training Camp. Vince not only makes it past the first cut, but in due time Dick Vermeil reluctantly against anyone else’s wishes, but his wife’s, decides to put Vince Papale in the Eagles line-up. Vince successfully made it through 3 ½ seasons with the Eagles, before having to retire at the age of 34 from injuries.
How could anyone ever predict the future? With talent drive and a little luck this story has happened over and over again in America. How did Vince make it? In the movie Dick’s Character said that he had heart. None of the players liked him at first. His father was an underpaid factory worker, his most successful friend owned a bar, and his wife of 5 years left him because he couldn’t amount to anything. One thing Vince did have going for him was he had determination and the willingness to not be afraid to step out there and take a risk. Had Vince never gone to the open tryout he would probably still be bartending somewhere in Philly? But since Vince gave it a chance and went to the tryout, he rose to the occasion to shine where he had been told to shine.
This story could apply to many who have risen above great odds to make it in America. Most recently, Carrie Underwood comes to mind. This young gal drove several hundred miles from her hometown in Oklahoma to try out for American Idol. Did you know that her album is the biggest selling album in country music since 1991? I actually put her song “Jesus Take the Wheel”, on my ring-tone on my phone to remind me of 2 things: 1) that I am not in charge he is, and 2), that dreams belong to the few who dare to make them come true.
While you are beating yourself up this week and not feeling worthy, think of Papale, Rocky, or Underwood. Think of the underdog coming out on top. If you come from a poor family, or find yourself struggling in this thing called life, just remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day, and that we were all designed for greatness. I think Zig Ziglar said it best when he stated, “You were designed for success. You were endowed with the seeds of greatness”. If we are all are created equal and we all are great to begin with, how come only a few succeed? It’s only because of 3 things lack of ambition, lack of belief, and lack of opportunity. I believe that we all start out as geniuses and over time life degenius’ us. There is a reason that Jesus spoke so highly of children in the bible? Belief is instilled at an early age either good or bad. And if bad must be smashed. Opportunity and Ambition are born by just simply showing up and always giving it your best shot.
I stated to my wife recently, Wow it’s amazing if I just get out of bed early in the morning, take a shower, and somehow start working, great things begin to happen. Not bad for a guy who was once a drug addict, would sleep in until 10 or 11, and could barely even hold down a job for any length of time. We may not all become household names like Carrie Underwood, or Vince Papale, but we certainly can arise to the occasion and become much greater if we just simply show up keep a positive attitude, most importantly give life our best shot.
Sunday, January 7, 2007
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Relationship Selling
If you have chosen a career in sales the chances are great that you are going to be doing some relationship selling. Unlike knocking on doors and trying to sell items that people may or may not need (meat, candy, newspaper subscriptions, or vacuum cleaners) chances are great you are going to be building relationships. Building relationships is a much longer process than just knocking on doors and trying to gain an order on the 1st or 2nd visit, it will require way more patience from both the salesperson and the employer, but in the long run you will be much better off, both financially and emotionally. I have done both types of selling, and I can tell you from experience that unless you want to be knocking on doors everyday, you will have to learn to build relationships. It’s not surprising that most salespeople hate to cold call? Most companies require it, and it is a must in the beginning, unless your current company just hands you a book of accounts to manage. But over time, if you are really good on the back end, you will not have to hunt near to as much as THE OTHERS.
You might be asking yourself, where do I begin? JUST REMEMBER THIS - Spend your time building relationships with people that will help your business grow. In sales, you are building a business within a business. In other words, don’t waste your time with people that are only going to bring you one sale, unless it’s going to be a huge sale. The above belief can also apply to network marketing, as you don’t want to waste your time with distributors that either or not interested or not motivated to do anything. Think about your product and/or service, and focus 80% of your energy on making sales to individuals that will automatically bring you more sales. I sold over a million dollars in new business a few years back and did this with only a handful of top clients; they made up 80% of my sales. I had an account manager position a few years back with a major software company and had almost 60% of my sales from 2 of my resellers. It may take you a year to build up those accounts but once you do, you will be on auto drive.
Also you should know that the best salespeople aren’t out pounding the pavement every day. That’s like trying to run a marathon a day for 20 days, which is how much time you have in a month to sell your product our service. Don’t ever let your company take away business you’ve developed, always be involved in every account you sell, your long-term success depends on it. You want to make sure that you are being financially rewarded every-time that you make a sale to this customer. I currently have a friend who was the number 1 salesperson for a huge Fortune 100 company and he used to say that people don’t buy his product, they buy him. If you do it right these 5 - 10 customers that you build solid relationships with are going to make up 80% of your sales. Once you build up these accounts you are going to have to spend a lot of your time schmoozing these customers on a regular basis, as you don’t want to lose them to competition. If your business requires you to build relationships you should try some of the following:
¨ Take them to lunch regularly
¨ Drop them by gifts on major holidays, or birthdays.
¨ Make regular visits to their office and say hello (No more than once every 2 – 3 weeks). If your sales are done outside of your local area or internationally, you might just put your top customers in your ticker file and call them or email them every few weeks.
¨ Invite them for a round of golf
¨ You might want to even go as far as sending them on a trip (Only if they are a huge customer)
These are just a few of the ideas I have used over the years to build my business. If you try to sell people every time you see them, or every time you pay them a visit they will probably become annoyed over time. Always beware of the salesperson who understands people, or has empathy, he will build relationships most effectively. The first thing an interviewer should ask a new potential salesperson isn’t how quickly they can get sales, but if they truly care about people. Remember people buy from people they like. If you don’t get a lot of repeat business currently, there are probably 3 things going on: 1) They don’t like you, 2) Your not doing enough of the above, or 2) They don’t like your company. If your product or service is lousy you could offer trips around the world and you will not retain business for very long. If that is the case you might want to fire your employer and go elsewhere, but if that’s not the case just try some of these little things and you might be surprised at what happens.
Sometimes when I take my clients out to lunch I don’t talk about anything but them. Most salespeople love to talk and don’t know when to shut up, so make sure that when you are with a client that they are doing most of the talking. Be prepared, have information on your company, but also have an archive of your own story. Pictures of your family are always great, especially if you are out to lunch with somebody who also has a wife/spouse or kids. I was on a phone call the other day with a potential customer for my network marketing business, and I just let them talk on the phone to me for 30 minutes without me saying more than maybe 10 words. 2 or 3 times throughout the call my potential customer stopped me dead in my tracks and kept asking me what it was I was trying to sell him. It’s a great ice-breaker by just simply letting the customer or prospect do most of the talking and this one technique will set you aside from 90% of your competition. As Anthony Robbins says “Let your prospect design the presentation”. Learn to become a caring person, persist, and most importantly learn to listen and you will have no problem building relationships. It will take hard work, a ton of patience, but if you don’t quit your job, or your company doesn’t go out of business, you could quite possibly have a customer for life, and that my friend is The Sale of the Century.
You might be asking yourself, where do I begin? JUST REMEMBER THIS - Spend your time building relationships with people that will help your business grow. In sales, you are building a business within a business. In other words, don’t waste your time with people that are only going to bring you one sale, unless it’s going to be a huge sale. The above belief can also apply to network marketing, as you don’t want to waste your time with distributors that either or not interested or not motivated to do anything. Think about your product and/or service, and focus 80% of your energy on making sales to individuals that will automatically bring you more sales. I sold over a million dollars in new business a few years back and did this with only a handful of top clients; they made up 80% of my sales. I had an account manager position a few years back with a major software company and had almost 60% of my sales from 2 of my resellers. It may take you a year to build up those accounts but once you do, you will be on auto drive.
Also you should know that the best salespeople aren’t out pounding the pavement every day. That’s like trying to run a marathon a day for 20 days, which is how much time you have in a month to sell your product our service. Don’t ever let your company take away business you’ve developed, always be involved in every account you sell, your long-term success depends on it. You want to make sure that you are being financially rewarded every-time that you make a sale to this customer. I currently have a friend who was the number 1 salesperson for a huge Fortune 100 company and he used to say that people don’t buy his product, they buy him. If you do it right these 5 - 10 customers that you build solid relationships with are going to make up 80% of your sales. Once you build up these accounts you are going to have to spend a lot of your time schmoozing these customers on a regular basis, as you don’t want to lose them to competition. If your business requires you to build relationships you should try some of the following:
¨ Take them to lunch regularly
¨ Drop them by gifts on major holidays, or birthdays.
¨ Make regular visits to their office and say hello (No more than once every 2 – 3 weeks). If your sales are done outside of your local area or internationally, you might just put your top customers in your ticker file and call them or email them every few weeks.
¨ Invite them for a round of golf
¨ You might want to even go as far as sending them on a trip (Only if they are a huge customer)
These are just a few of the ideas I have used over the years to build my business. If you try to sell people every time you see them, or every time you pay them a visit they will probably become annoyed over time. Always beware of the salesperson who understands people, or has empathy, he will build relationships most effectively. The first thing an interviewer should ask a new potential salesperson isn’t how quickly they can get sales, but if they truly care about people. Remember people buy from people they like. If you don’t get a lot of repeat business currently, there are probably 3 things going on: 1) They don’t like you, 2) Your not doing enough of the above, or 2) They don’t like your company. If your product or service is lousy you could offer trips around the world and you will not retain business for very long. If that is the case you might want to fire your employer and go elsewhere, but if that’s not the case just try some of these little things and you might be surprised at what happens.
Sometimes when I take my clients out to lunch I don’t talk about anything but them. Most salespeople love to talk and don’t know when to shut up, so make sure that when you are with a client that they are doing most of the talking. Be prepared, have information on your company, but also have an archive of your own story. Pictures of your family are always great, especially if you are out to lunch with somebody who also has a wife/spouse or kids. I was on a phone call the other day with a potential customer for my network marketing business, and I just let them talk on the phone to me for 30 minutes without me saying more than maybe 10 words. 2 or 3 times throughout the call my potential customer stopped me dead in my tracks and kept asking me what it was I was trying to sell him. It’s a great ice-breaker by just simply letting the customer or prospect do most of the talking and this one technique will set you aside from 90% of your competition. As Anthony Robbins says “Let your prospect design the presentation”. Learn to become a caring person, persist, and most importantly learn to listen and you will have no problem building relationships. It will take hard work, a ton of patience, but if you don’t quit your job, or your company doesn’t go out of business, you could quite possibly have a customer for life, and that my friend is The Sale of the Century.
Saturday, December 16, 2006
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Your philosophy will determine where you will end up in 5 to 10 years. Have you ever thought about what you want to be when you grow up? How about what you desire? Remember when you were a kid and there was this zealous confidence that one day you were going to become a policeman, writer, or doctor. Did you end up getting what you wanted back then? It's taken me 20 years to realize that all I've ever wanted out of life is to be self-employed. No alarm clock, no boss, no sitting in a cubicle staring at a wall full of pictures. All I've ever wanted to do is work out the home, and have the freedom to do the things that I love: music, acting, surfing, and writing.
I used to be an actor because I didn't want a regular job, than I became a musician because I didn't want a regular job, than I got into sales and marketing because I didn't want a regular job and I needed a more steady paycheck to support the family. If your punching in the time clock every day, god bless you, but thats' not for me. I want control over my time, I want freedom, I want weekends, and I want to surf during the week, while most people are sitting in an office. Remember Dreams belong to the few who dare to make them come true.
I used to be an actor because I didn't want a regular job, than I became a musician because I didn't want a regular job, than I got into sales and marketing because I didn't want a regular job and I needed a more steady paycheck to support the family. If your punching in the time clock every day, god bless you, but thats' not for me. I want control over my time, I want freedom, I want weekends, and I want to surf during the week, while most people are sitting in an office. Remember Dreams belong to the few who dare to make them come true.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Attitude & Giving
Attitude and Giving
Your attitude is probably the most important ingredient to how well you will handle living in the world today. With WAR, Global Warming, AIDS, poverty, and terrorism - the world seems pretty bleak. If I want to really make myself feel sick, I can pick up a magazine at the check out line at the grocery store and see how Nicole Kidman makes 17 Million a Movie, or look at how ugly I am compared to Brad Pitt. Isn't envy one of the 7 deadly sins? It's funny how we tend to always want more than what we have. Most all successful financial advisors, say if you are struggling financially to start giving off the top. The bible preached it continually, and I must say - I have seen it work numerous times in my life before. Giving is a universal phenomenon and can really make you feel blessed. Do you realize that if you don't go to bed hungry every night you are better off than 1/3rd of the world. Yep, it's been said that 1/3rd of the world goes to bed hungry. Six million children die every year as a result of hunger. I would suggest this holiday season that we all take time out to think about the starving children in the world, the soldiers in Iraq, the homeless man down the street, the AIDS victim, and/or the child that lost his/her parent, or ther terminally ill. When you start thinking of the less fortunate than you can look up in the sky and thank god for giving you what he has given you, and maybe you can find it in your heart to give something back.
Your attitude is probably the most important ingredient to how well you will handle living in the world today. With WAR, Global Warming, AIDS, poverty, and terrorism - the world seems pretty bleak. If I want to really make myself feel sick, I can pick up a magazine at the check out line at the grocery store and see how Nicole Kidman makes 17 Million a Movie, or look at how ugly I am compared to Brad Pitt. Isn't envy one of the 7 deadly sins? It's funny how we tend to always want more than what we have. Most all successful financial advisors, say if you are struggling financially to start giving off the top. The bible preached it continually, and I must say - I have seen it work numerous times in my life before. Giving is a universal phenomenon and can really make you feel blessed. Do you realize that if you don't go to bed hungry every night you are better off than 1/3rd of the world. Yep, it's been said that 1/3rd of the world goes to bed hungry. Six million children die every year as a result of hunger. I would suggest this holiday season that we all take time out to think about the starving children in the world, the soldiers in Iraq, the homeless man down the street, the AIDS victim, and/or the child that lost his/her parent, or ther terminally ill. When you start thinking of the less fortunate than you can look up in the sky and thank god for giving you what he has given you, and maybe you can find it in your heart to give something back.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Networking and working for profits instead of wages
Have you ever thought about making more money? Are you happy in your current employment? Robert Kiyosaki the author of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad” says the next waves of millionaires are going to be networkers. I read an article recently which claimed that 20% of all millionaires in the US got there by network marketing. Most people hate the term network marketing and will shy away from this phenomenon as soon as you mention it. The reason that most people hate the idea, is simple, it's too unconventional for most people to grasp. Plus most people are addicted to a paycheck, and don’t want to put in the time to build a residual income.
I recently was reading Robert Allen's latest book Multiple Streams of Income where he shared how he worked solid for 2 full years without a paycheck. He said during those 2 years the kids at McDonalds were making more money than him. Later on it paid off as he re-cooped millions in royalties, but he did give up 2 years of pay to do so.
It's not rocket science, but the rich do work differently than the poor. If you haven't read "Rich Dad Poor Dad", I highly encourage you to do so; it will open your eyes to a whole new way of thinking. It basically states that profits are better than wages. Unless you come from wealth, you have start thinking outside the box, otherwise you may end up like 95% of the 65 year olds today - Dead or broke. Whoever came up with this idea of working for somebody else and getting a wage?
I recently was reading Robert Allen's latest book Multiple Streams of Income where he shared how he worked solid for 2 full years without a paycheck. He said during those 2 years the kids at McDonalds were making more money than him. Later on it paid off as he re-cooped millions in royalties, but he did give up 2 years of pay to do so.
It's not rocket science, but the rich do work differently than the poor. If you haven't read "Rich Dad Poor Dad", I highly encourage you to do so; it will open your eyes to a whole new way of thinking. It basically states that profits are better than wages. Unless you come from wealth, you have start thinking outside the box, otherwise you may end up like 95% of the 65 year olds today - Dead or broke. Whoever came up with this idea of working for somebody else and getting a wage?
Monday, November 27, 2006
Success
Why are some folks so successful while others just get by? Why do some see the glass half empty while others see if half full. To live is to dream, to die is to quit dreaming. If your living a life that is full of dullness, it's time you take life by the horns and start dreaming again. It's been said that dreams belong to the few who dare to make them come true.
I love it when I come up with a new idea and I share it with someone and they tell me - You can't do that. Most successful people tell you, that they had deaf ears when it came to OPO's (OTHER PEOPLES OPINIONS). I'm not talking about doctors, lawyers, or accountants, that's a very safe career path. I'm talking about the real successful - Bill Gates, Michael Dell, and Donald Trumps of the world. The guys who went out there with guts and came out with Glory. Yeah you might say they got lucky. Luck is always part of the game. But had they listened to their influences early on, they might never have gotten where they are today. And don't forget Donald Trump owed 10 billion to a 100 different banks just barely 10 years ago. If he had given up, where would he be today?
You have 2 choices in life when you wake up every day they are: Fear or Faith. If you want to be successful you have to choose faith, because life is full of opportunities and difficulties. Most obstacles that we face in life is in our heads. It's been said a million times that your attitude will determine your altitude and I firmly believe it.
I love it when I come up with a new idea and I share it with someone and they tell me - You can't do that. Most successful people tell you, that they had deaf ears when it came to OPO's (OTHER PEOPLES OPINIONS). I'm not talking about doctors, lawyers, or accountants, that's a very safe career path. I'm talking about the real successful - Bill Gates, Michael Dell, and Donald Trumps of the world. The guys who went out there with guts and came out with Glory. Yeah you might say they got lucky. Luck is always part of the game. But had they listened to their influences early on, they might never have gotten where they are today. And don't forget Donald Trump owed 10 billion to a 100 different banks just barely 10 years ago. If he had given up, where would he be today?
You have 2 choices in life when you wake up every day they are: Fear or Faith. If you want to be successful you have to choose faith, because life is full of opportunities and difficulties. Most obstacles that we face in life is in our heads. It's been said a million times that your attitude will determine your altitude and I firmly believe it.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Flexibility
Working from home, or a home based business is the key to flexibility. I believe that most Americans would take a paycut for flexibility in their work schedule. I just finished watching the movie Spanglish with Adam Sandler, and in the film his character gave up 20% of his business to an employee, so he would have more time with his family. Life is short, and we need to do something fullfilling, especially when it comes to work. Ask yourself when you go to work again, if they weren't paying me would I still show up? If you answered yes, than unlike most Americans you love what you do. Ask yourself another question - do you work to live, or do you live to work? Ask yourself how many people on their deathbeds ever say, man I wish I put in more time at the office?
I believe that whoever invented 9 to 5 should be shot. Why not work 9 - 9, but take breaks every few hours, take a nap in the afternoon, have dinner with the family, watch a TV Show, take your clothes to the drycleaners, run a few miles on the treadmill. Spread your day out, it's alot more fun, believe me. Eliminate commuting and work an 8 hour day in 12 hours, it's really fullfilling, I've been doing it for a few years now. It's kind of ironic that I am writing this blog from my bed in my home office.
I believe that whoever invented 9 to 5 should be shot. Why not work 9 - 9, but take breaks every few hours, take a nap in the afternoon, have dinner with the family, watch a TV Show, take your clothes to the drycleaners, run a few miles on the treadmill. Spread your day out, it's alot more fun, believe me. Eliminate commuting and work an 8 hour day in 12 hours, it's really fullfilling, I've been doing it for a few years now. It's kind of ironic that I am writing this blog from my bed in my home office.
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