Immerse Yourself In Your Craft, or Risk Drowning

“… In song and in dance man expresses himself as a member of a higher community; he has forgotten how to walk and speak and is on the way toward flying into the air, dancing. His very gestures express enchantment. Just as the animals now talk, and the earth yields milk and honey, supernatural sounds emanate from him, too: he feels himself a god, he himself now walks about enchanted, in ecstasy, like the gods he saw walking in his dreams. He is no longer an artist, he has become a work of art: in these paroxysms of intoxication the artistic power of all nature reveals itself to the highest gratification of the primordial unity…”

 - Friedrich Nietzsche

Sales is an art form. Ever heard that said before? Actually, one of the sales greats, Tom Hopkins, published one of the greatest books the industry has ever seen when he wrote “How to Master the Art of Selling”. 

The great artists of the last six-hundred years - Picasso, Renoir, Degas, Michelangelo, Da Vinci, to name a select few - produced their works with an untamed passion for creation, expression, and story. The nascent inspiration of art comes from a place within the deep recesses of the soul, presenting itself to those who sincerely experience it as a reflection of the most vulnerable parts of human quintessence. It is something of wonder that is truly unique to us. 

The instruction for today’s post is simple: immerse yourself in your craft, whatever it may be. Commit to all aspects of your creation and leave no soul-stone unturned. Those around you - clients, friends, family - crave the invariable and authentic connection of that part of us which makes us human. By revealing that part of you and adding it to your daily interactions you will begin to attract the same. 

From a purely business standpoint, clients will be grateful for authenticity and most likely will respond in kind, however this requires a commitment to transparency and full engagement of craft. 

Push yourself, because no one else is going to do it for you. 

Breaking the Barriers That Hold Us Captive

“Throughout recorded time, and probably since the end of the Neolithic Age, there have been three kinds of people in the world, the High, the Middle, and the Low. They have been subdivided in many ways, they have borne countless different names... but the essential structure of society has never altered.

...no advance in wealth, no softening of manners, no reform or revolution has ever brought human equality a millimetre nearer. From the point of view of the Low, no historic change has ever meant much more than a change in the name of their masters.”

- Excerpt from The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism by Emmanuel Goldstein, from the book Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell 

Transcending the barriers that confine us. How many of these barriers are placed around us on a daily basis? Tens? Hundreds? Sometimes it feels like too many.

Speed limits. Lines on the road. Laws and regulations. These are all barriers imposed on us by groups of other people. Some are meant to keep us safe, others to provide order. Some are blatantly designed to control us. Of these aforementioned barriers, how many can we influence? How many can we really change? Is that really what we need to focus on? 

In addition to the externally imposed barriers, we place a number of barriers on ourselves. Either consciously or unconsciously, we decide what our limitations are going to be - everything from how much time we spend on a project or activity, to what we think we’re capable of accomplishing. 

Transcending these barriers is not as complex as you would think - not easy, but not complicated. Here are 7 things to help you with this journey. Source information can be found here. 

1. Emotional Management

• To be successful, invest in your internal growth and personal development. You have to be your own best manager. When mistakes happen, deal with the emotional consequences.

2. Having a Purpose

• To be successful you need a purpose you will, without a shadow of a doubt, follow through to closure. A strong mission provides the motivation and unwavering belief required to be a standout success story.

3. Rise Above Conformity

• Exceptional entrepreneurs are nonconformists in a world that needs new ideas, new thoughts and new inventions. They are unafraid to face the ridicule, nay-sayers and rejections they will undoubtedly confront as they put their ideas to work.

4. Renew Yourself

• It is easy to be passionate when you are starting out, but successful entrepreneurs commit to keeping their energy levels high when they hit the inevitable, frustrating roadblocks. To be successful you have to care for yourself physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

5. Walk Your Talk

• You can talk about what you want to do so much that you develop an imaginary belief you have actually achieved your dream. To live your commitments you must understand that “trying” is unmoved energy. It is a form of the fatalistic thinking pattern of “potential.” 

6. Remain Curious

• Curiosity is a form of innocence and a protection from fear. Curiosity gives you the courage to start a business that will breach the status quo, possibly creating disruption. To find the courage to follow your curiosity about breaking boundaries, worries of consequences are placed to the side. Passionate curiosity is stronger than the fears of disruption.

7. Using Doubt as Motivation

• A little bit of doubt is healthy. When you are in doubt it means you are pushing yourself to the very edges of your comfort zone. True innovation pushes the boundaries of the status quo. Being pushed to the edge is the place of discovery.

Leadership and Love: Two Sides of the Same Coin

 “Freedom and love go together. Love is not a reaction. If I love you because you love me, that is mere trade, a thing to be bought in the market; it is not love. To love is not to ask anything in return, not even to feel that you are giving something - and it is only such love that can know freedom.” 

- Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian theosophist 1895-1986

I don’t believe it’s possible to be a leader without love, at least not a good one. In fact, I would argue that leadership and love are two sides of the same coin and give leaders the ability to be human in their actions. 

In my past I’ve had a number of really terrible managers who would never qualify as leaders in my book because they couldn’t understand how to love their people. Over the next few days I’m going to share my personal experiences with these managers. Here’s the first:

I was 19 going on 20 and my first real white-collar manager was named Paul. He had been in the industry for several years with a typical backstory: Paul worked his way up through the ranks and eventually made it to Regional Manager. He was stationed out of the regional head office and would travel to our branch for a week at a time on a regular occasion as part of his duties. 

During one particular week he was there, he noticed an outstanding quote sitting on my desk that hadn’t been priced and sent back to the customer. Now, truth be told, I was waiting on pricing and spec options to come back from our supplier but this quote was for a major customer and should have been higher on my priority list to deal with. 

Moments after Paul had noticed this mistake, he asked me to join him in one of the empty offices we had at the branch - never a good sign. I expected a lecture, and prepared myself for a lesson on prioritization of tasks and customer service. What I wasn’t prepared for was what he did next. 

Once the door closed to the office he tore into me. I mean this was the whole meal deal - yelling, screaming, swearing, hand gestures, little bits of spittle flying out of his mouth, bulging eyeballs, and we can’t forget the threats of being fired. It was a full-on tirade and I had the unfortunate front-row seat. 

After about 3 minutes of yelling and screaming (which felt significantly longer to me), he opened the door of the office and ushered me out. Worst of all, my team lead was within earshot of the office we were in and heard the whole thing. Hard to walk back to one’s desk and continue one’s day after such an experience. 

Sadly, as I worked with him more over the next few years I found out that this was his modus operandi and he treated other employees in the organization in a similar fashion. Always being overly forceful and dictating the rules of the kingdom without ever reciprocating a shred of respect. 

For all the training and experience he had as a manager, Paul never learned how to lead with love. He cared little for the people who worked for him and because of it, was constantly ridiculed in his absence. Personal lives were irrelevant in his eyes, and he never bothered to take a genuine interest in anything his people did outside of the office. He rarely asked how you were doing and if he did, he didn’t give a shit what the answer was. 

Whether a sad coincidence or the culmination of a stressful life, eventually it caught up with him. About 3 years later he suffered a massive heart attack and ended up in surgery. He survived, but eventually left the company for another opportunity. You could tell post heart-attack that he had changed. His personality and demeanor had softened considerably and he was generally more approachable. I suppose a life-threatening situation forces one to gain perspective. Too bad he didn’t choose to do it sooner. 

Are You Disciplined Enough To Read This?

 “He who cannot obey himself will be commanded. That is the nature of living creatures.” 

- Friedrich Nietzsche

Discipline. More accurately, self-discipline. Such a simple concept to do what you need to do, when you need to do it, yet it’s one of the biggest struggles we face as sales professionals, entrepreneurs, and leaders. If I’m being honest, I struggle with it every day although much less now than I did 7 years ago when I started my business. 

So what’s involved in developing an attitude of self discipline? Where do you start? Hopefully I can offer a sense of direction. As part of my learning and development around this subject, I came across 20 strategies to help develop self discipline habits. And they’re really, really good. 

I’m going to provide a “Cole’s Notes” summary of all 20 in this post, but I’ll provide a link to the full article at the bottom of the page. It’s worth a read. 

What Self Discipline Isn't

• It's not about becoming a superhuman productivity machine who never fails.

• It's not beating yourself up because you didn't achieve more than you did yesterday.

• It's not expecting that you'll never be tempted to sleep in, eat cupcakes or scroll through Facebook.

• It's not rigid and inflexible. It doesn't mean holding yourself to an impossible standard

1. Challenge Your Own Excuses

In order to build self discipline, we need to master the art of avoiding a temptation that is right there in front of us, so we can hold out for something better in the future. Studies have shown that being able to delay gratification is one of the most important personal traits of successful people.

2. Delayed Gratification

In order to build self discipline, we need to master the art of avoiding a temptation that is right there in front of us, so we can hold out for something better in the future. Studies have shown that being able to delay gratification is one of the most important personal traits of successful people.

3. Make Choices in Advance

One way to reduce the amount of decisions you have to make in a day is to make these decisions in advance, so they are not a choice anymore. For example, if you make a large batch of healthy dinners for the week on a Sunday and freeze them, you've decided in advance what you'll eat each weekday night.

4. Removing Temptation

According to a study by the American Psychological Association, training self-control through steadfastly trying to resist temptation again and again simply doesn't work. Instead of keeping temptations around and trying to resist them (which we are terrible at), why not remove the temptations in the first place? This makes self-discipline effortless, as the decision is automatic.

5. What You Don't Do is Just as Important As What You Do

Take a close look at where you are spending your time and energy. What percentage is spent on things that really don't matter? The average adult spends five hours per day looking at their smartphone. It sounds crazy, but when you think about the countless times you check your notifications for a minute or two, it really adds up.

6. Consistent Small Habits

This strategy isn't concerned with the results themselves, it's simply about building a consistent habit. Once you do that, the results will come. (Also, it's important to pick a task that is significant enough to make a difference but small enough that you can do it every day.)

7. Focus is a Muscle You Can Build

You can build up your ability to focus by setting a timer and working exclusively on one thing for a set period of time. Put your phone out of sight or on airplane mode and close all other browser windows. At first, this focused burst might only be for 10 minutes. Then, you can work up to 15, 20, 30 minutes eventually, taking a short break between each section. (This is known as the Pomodoro Technique.)

8. Nutrition, Sleep and Exercise Are Key

If you eat nutritious food, get some form of physical exercise every day and get a good sleep, you'll find it much easier to work towards your goals. You'll have more energy, an overall positive attitude and you'll be less likely to give up when the going gets tough.

9. It's About the Habit, Not the Outcome

Rather than saying "I want to lose weight" say "I want to walk at least 10,000 steps per day." "Losing weight" is something nebulous and difficult to pin down. How are you going to achieve it? How will you know when you are successful? Walking 10,000 steps per day is something concrete that you can track and measure.

10. "It's Just What I Do"

Problogger founder Darren Rowse talks about the power of saying "It's just what I do" when he is building a new habit. “I walk 10,000 steps per day. It's just what I do. I eat 5 servings of vegetables every day. It's just what I do.”

11. "You Can't Improve What You Don't Measure"

You may have heard this saying before, but it's really true. Measuring progress is a powerful way to motivate yourself to improve. Clearly tracking the things that are important will help you better understand your performance and how you can improve.

12. Eat That Frog

Mark Twain said, "If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. If it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first." The "frog" is the big, daunting item on your to-do list you are avoiding. If you can face this task first, you'll tackle it with a clear mind when your willpower and concentration are at their strongest. If you save it for the end of the day, you'll be tired and more likely to push it onto tomorrow's to-do list.

13. Do Just One Pushup

Tell yourself you only need to do one small thing - once you get started you'll end up doing more. This can be used for developing self discipline in any area. You can tell yourself that you'll work on your blog for 10 minutes, or that you'll read one page of a book every day.

14. You Don't Need Permission From Anyone

If you're waiting for approval from others - don't. Building self discipline means that you will need to learn how to find that approval within yourself.

15. But You Do Need a Supportive Environment

A support system of people who believe in you can be incredibly valuable when you are improving your own self-discipline and striving toward a difficult goal.

16. Budget Your Energy, Not Your Time

When do you do your best and most focused work? Everyone has a different circadian rhythm. Some of us are more alert and active in the morning, while others get a burst of energy at night.

17. Punch the Clock

You will have good days and bad days, but what matters is that you show up and complete the habit. This is often referred to as "punching the clock."

18. When You Catch Yourself Cheating, Reassess

If you've committed to counting your calories, you'll eventually eat a cookie and decide not to log it. If you've decided to turn off notifications while at work, you'll eventually decide to sneak a peek at your email. If your plan was to run for 5 miles, you might find yourself giving up and walking the last mile. Does this mean you are a terrible, no-good person who will never amount to anything? Absolutely not. It just means that it's time to re-examine your habit and figure out why you are tempted to cut corners.

19. Trust In a Good Habit

When a behavior becomes a habit, we stop using our decision-making skills and instead function on auto-pilot. Therefore, breaking a bad habit and building a new habit not only requires us to make active decisions, it will feel wrong. Your brain will resist the change in favor of what it has been programmed to do.

20. Don't Expect Perfection

Last but not least, don't expect yourself to perform perfectly every time. If you hold yourself to an unachievable standard of perfection, you'll only succeed in making yourself feel inadequate. When you fail, forgive yourself, get up and move forward. Make it your motto to "Never Miss Twice." That means that if you miss one workout it's not the end of the world, but you're not going to miss two in a row.

Next Steps

Self-discipline is like a muscle. It doesn't explode overnight. It grows over time with consistent work.

Original article by Kelly Dunning: https://www.consulting.com/self-discipline

Getting Distracted? You Might Be Impotent...

 “People are not lazy. They simply have impotent goals - that is, goals that do not inspire them.”

 - Tony Robbins

Man, do I struggle with this. Not being lazy, but making sure I have the right goals to focus on. I have found time and time again that there is a direct correlation between the strength of one's goal and the amount of time wasted in trying to achieve them. 

I’m not going to spend a whole post talking about goal setting because there is a mountain of information already available on the subject and quite frankly, the goal setting process must be a deeply personal experience in order to effectively attach emotions to those goals.

If I were to identify the two biggest enemies of time in my day, they would be distractions and distractions. Not a typo folks. In everyone’s day there are activities that excite you and motivate you, activities that you would swear are sucking your will to live, and all the other crap in between. For everything outside the activities that excite me, I find that it’s a real struggle to push through them because I always forget why I’m even doing them in the first place. 

How I overcome the distractions: 

1. Trust yourself. You’ve been doing what you do for a long time and (should) have an idea of where you’re going and what the career end game looks like. Use this to your advantage and remind yourself that those soul-sucking activities are simply a means to an end, nothing more. 

2. Music. I try to listen to music as much as possible throughout the day because it does a few things for me. First, it gives me an energy boost to push through the crap. Second, it’s a counter-distraction. I’ll explain: When it’s quiet in my office I hear background noises, notifications dinging on my phone, and people talking in the background. To pile on even further, my mind wanders in a quiet space and begins it’s creative process. Good for planning, bad for working. Music drowns out all the background noise and keeps my mind from wandering. 

3. Getting passionate. Who we are is not the sum of the tasks on our list each day. We are emotional beings that have beliefs and dreams. Build your passions around your schedule to help you maintain perspective on the bigger picture. Identify how a particular task will help you achieve your dreams. Vision board? Diary? Scrapbook? Whatever floats your boat. 

How do you overcome distractions? What tricks have you learned? Share in the comments!

Funny Story Friday

It’s Friday, and it’s been a long week so I’m going to share a story that will hopefully start your day with a good laugh. Now, this may not be for everyone but try to have an open mind and live a little. Original story posted on reddit. 

Happy Friday.

When I was in 6th grade, my small town school track team did very well and was allowed to compete in the state finals. My event was the 200 meter dash, and while I did OK against the other small towns we normally faced, I had no chance at state. This was pretty much the case for most of us, so we mostly goofed off and explored the massive arena and whatever. I wasn't allowed soda at home, but somebody bought me a huge Coke and I thought it was pretty great.

Came time for me to run my race, well actually my heat in the preliminaries as this thing was so big that they actually had more runners than would fit on the track at once (first time I'd ever seen that). Coach tells me to do my best and have fun. Nobody expects much, it's just an honor to be there.

I line up on this beautiful, wide cinder track with maybe 15 lanes (I was used to 8) and an unbelievable crowd watching. Big grandstands full of people, all new to me. I get kind of excited about the whole thing. So we all set our feet in the blocks, crouch down and tense up, waiting for the shot from the starter pistol, meanwhile a hush settles over the crowd, we're on edge waiting for the bang.

When the starter fires, I take this huge leap forward like I'm going to sprint the whole 200 meters (which is pretty much what people who are good at it do, but not my usual approach). This massive physical effort simultaneously propels the most violent, loudest fart of my life out my preteen rectum.

Most of the crowd hasn't trained to the peak physical level that I have, so their reaction to the pistol shot is a tiny bit slower. The effect is that after the bang but before anyone makes a single sound, my fart echoes through the arena with unbelievable clarity and tone. For everyone there it's just like "BANG! FFFAAAAARRRTTTT!"

I manage a few strides just out of instinct before the realization of what's happening starts to set in. I glance over at the crowd and in that split second I can just see it on every face... they know. They all know and they are all looking right at me.

This starts me laughing super hard while also running as hard as I ever have, and what's my body's reaction to that unusual combination? Yep, fart a lot more. However, I am now taking strides pretty rapidly so instead of one big blast, I'm ripping a little one with each step. I can't even think of what letters could represent the sound. If you can imagine a rapid series of very brief, very loud farts, that's pretty much it.

This whole situation has only taken like 10 seconds to develop, we aren't even halfway done yet and I've farted about 15 times. I literally could not continue from laughing so damn hard. I stumble to a hunched over stop right there in the middle of the fanciest arena I've  ever been to, giggling like the farting idiot I am.

I then realize that nobody is rushing past me, which, come to think of it, should have happened by this time in the race regardless of the fart situation. I turn around and every one of the other runners is either lying on the ground or crouched over laughing just as hard as I am. Literally crying laughing. Apparently, my fart-propelled lunge off the line had taken most of them out and the rest succumbed to my staccato encore presentation.

And that's the story of how an entire heat was eliminated from the 200 meter state finals with no one completing the event, which I was told had never happened before in the history of state finals.

Turn Your Milestones Into Stepping Stones

“When a milestone is conquered, the subtle erosion called entitlement begins its consuming grind. The team regards its greatness as a trait and a right. Half hearted effort becomes habit and saps a champion.” 

- Pat Riley, American basketball coach

If you know me personally it’s no secret that I’m overweight. I’m 5’10” and for most of my adult life I’ve been heavy set (thick Scottish stock that I’m made from), usually weighing between 340-360 lbs. Like so many out there I’ve struggled with my weight and trying to find the right balance of lifestyle choices that would allow me to remain committed to dropping a few (hundred) pounds. 

Having goals is one thing - having an action plan to get there is something else entirely. Even more, hitting milestones along the way gives us a small taste of victory but it can also distract us at a critical moment. 

Goals and action plans are only as strong as the desire to make them happen. If we reach a plateau or start thinking that what we’ve achieved thus far may not be the end result but it’s “good enough”, that’s where we need a coach to step in and help us refocus. Don’t let complacency rob you of your victory. Instead, let it inspire you! You deserve to win. You work your ass off. Never lose sight of where you’re going and don’t just think you have what it takes - know you do. 

As for my weight loss self-challenge, I just crossed the 300 lbs. milestone this week on the way to my target of 230 lbs. It’s been nearly 20 years since I’ve been at this weight and, sure, I took a moment to celebrate but I draw inspiration from that moment and double-down on my efforts.

Now, get the f**k out of my way - I have a salad to eat. 

How to Talk to Anyone, an article from Psychology Today

 

“Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after. 

- Anne Morrow Lindbergh, American Author

I’m sharing an article from one of my favorite publications, Psychology Today, that has been compiled from several submissions entitled “How to Talk to Anyone”. 

I find myself reading and re-reading this article in particular because it contains so many nuggets of valuable information that can be applied to all facets of your life. I strongly encourage at least a cursory look to discover interesting ways we can connect with one another. 

“There is very little that we seek to achieve in life that can be accomplished without speaking to another person...And therein lies the challenge, because oral communication is not always intuitive or smooth…”

Link to the full article:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/articles/202011/how-talk-anyone

When Did You Decide? Or Have You?

“Ask any successful person to look back over the events of his or her life, and chances are there'll be a turning point of one kind or another. It doesn't matter if that success has come on a ball field or in a boardroom, in a research laboratory or on a campaign trail - it can usually be traced to some pivotal moment.” 

- Bill Rancic, American entrepreneur

In the summer of 2004 I was on my way to work, stuck in traffic as was the usual routine. I had been contemplating starting a business for years, researching and reading, compiling spreadsheets, and generally just trying to understand what an entrepreneur was all about. I had read the E-Myth and started going to business seminars and other training sessions to better understand the foundational elements of successful businesses.

I reflected on all of this as I drove to work that morning. I couldn’t help but feel exhilarated at the thought of starting a business and having some measure of control over my future. It was a decision that was made subconsciously as I continued my commute.

A short time later I resigned from my sales role at the time and decided to make dreams into reality. I put together a makeshift business plan, filed for incorporation, and ordered my business cards. I was young. 

Nearly 20 years later and still going at it. That first business I started was not as successful as I had hoped, but the lessons I learned from it were absolutely priceless. 

What was that moment for you? 

Live in the Now

“I can feel guilty about the past, apprehensive about the future, but only in the present can I act. The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness.”

 - Abraham H. Maslow, American psychologist 1908-1970

I have a problem with getting overwhelmed. Not because I have too many irons in the fire, but because I tend to try and solve everything at once. As soon as I break down tasks into manageable steps and plan them out into progressive stages, then my blood pressure starts to come down. This process requires me to stop what I’m doing, take a break, and be in the moment. I quiet my mind so I can think through each process and visualize what needs to be done. 

The ability to take a step back and be in the moment is absolutely critical in the sales process. It gives our mind a chance to catch up on what we’ve done and internalize it. In fact, several studies have shown that taking frequent breaks helps our brains consolidate information better, and also helps with retaining it. 

Book time in your schedule to take breaks and be in the moment. Reflect on what you’ve accomplished in your day up to that point. Plan out the next work sprint and visualize the results. Be in the moment - it’s all you have control over. 

Work Less, Daydream More

“All men dream, but unequally. Those that dream at night in the dusty recesses of their minds awake the next day to find that their dreams were just vanity. But those who dream during the day with their eyes wide open are dangerous men; they act out their dreams to make them reality.” 

- Thomas E. Lawrence

We’ve all been there - sitting at our desk and suddenly we find ourselves slipping into our own little world. We start thinking about possibilities, creating scenarios in our head and acting them out. If we’re lucky we might even get rocked with a mind-bending “AHA!” moment during our mental day-cation and get clarity on something that we’ve been trying to figure out on a subconscious level. 

Believe it or not, the average daydream only lasts about 14 seconds, and it happens to everyone. In fact, some studies show that we spend about 46% of our waking hours daydreaming, particularly at work. 

According to an article published on psychologies.co.uk, “[Daydreams] help us realise our goals, and reveal our innermost hopes, desires and fears. ‘Paradoxical though it sounds, daydreaming is what makes us organised,’says Eric Klinger, professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota. ‘We think of daydreams as scatterbrained and unfocused, but one of the functions of daydreaming is to keep your life’s agenda in front of you; it reminds you of what’s coming up, it rehearses new situations, plans the future and scans past experiences so you can learn from them.’”

So what’s the takeaway here? If you find yourself drifting off to la la land in the middle of the day, you shouldn’t necessarily fight it. Let it happen and enjoy it - it might contain the very idea that will change your life. 

How to Make the Message in Your Voice Match with the Direction of Your Moral Compass

“Our present time is indeed a criticizing and critical time, hovering between the wish, and the inability to believe. Our complaints are like arrows shot up into the air at no target: and with no purpose they only fall back upon our own heads and destroy ourselves.” 

- Sir William Temple

That quote seems to resonate heavily with the events we’re seeing in the world today. The desire to balance production and progress with environmental accountability. Freedom of expression colliding with the ever-changing definition of race, color, and culture. Polarized political issues that inspire distrust and misinformation. When the dust settles, we have only ourselves to hold accountable. Sounds all too familiar, eh? 

Hard to believe that quote is nearly 400 years old. Yep - Sir William Temple was a British Diplomat and Essayist who passed in the late 17th century (1628-1699).

When we’re having a tough day on the job it’s easy to start pointing fingers and casting blame on the things - and sometimes the people - around us. We’re allowed to have bad days however we need to be honest about the root cause. As much as we hate to admit it, bad days are sometimes the culmination of several missteps that just happened to add up. 

First off, we need to slow down a little. The current pandemic situation has placed tremendous stress on everyone and we need to temper the expectations of ourselves, and our clients. 

Second, we need to be more objective of our actions on a daily basis. Are the things we’re doing still effective given all the change we’ve seen over the past year? Do we need to re-approach our tactics? Our messaging? Our mindset? 

Lastly, we need to be cognisant of repercussions and take the appropriate measure of responsibility that comes with the decisions we make. In this current state of moral ambiguity, our north star should revolve around what is in the best interests of our clients and customers. 

It’s funny. My grandfather always told me to never point a finger at someone because there will always be three more pointing back at you. Good advice. 

Wow... I was such an idiot.

 “Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust.” 

- Zig Ziglar

I went back and re-read some of my past sales scripting this afternoon and boy did it suck. Many years ago I had a mentor tell me that the best way to handle objections is to resolve them before they even come up. I can tell you with great certainty that the advice he offered never made it into any of those scripts. 

If we consider the five obstacles or objections that Zig Ziglar talks about, we should be focused on handling these early on in the selling process. If we don’t take a proactive approach to this, we’re idiots. It’s like knowing what questions are going to be on a test before we even take it, having ample time to prepare, and still failing. 

What does your process look like? Are you managing these early on in the relationship or do they sneak up on you and kill your sale when you’re already several meetings in? 

Please share your comments below!

What are you made of?

 “A man's own character is the arbiter of his fortune.” 

- Publilius Syrus

What does it take to be an effective sales professional? What character traits should we possess or learn to embrace to be a valuable asset to our clients? 

Most articles and websites are going to name things like being tech-savvy, being upbeat, goal oriented, competitive nature, multi-tasking (I can’t believe this was on one list I saw - it’s complete bullshit), and being “hungry”. By the way, “being hungry” is part of an extinct paradigm and part of the larger and grossly outdated sales philosophy built around aggression, fear, and quite frankly, a lack of true skill. 

I’m still learning after all these years, however I have put together a list of characteristics that I think are integral to professional selling. 

1. Empathy. Take time to understand the problem through the client’s eyes. How does it make them feel? How is it affecting their ability to be successful in their role? Tie the solution into those feelings to foster emotional buy-in. 

2. Listening Skills. If we’re doing most of the talking in a client meeting, we’re doing it wrong. It takes time, but learning about the incredible power that comes from shutting the fuck up and letting the client speak is one of the best characteristics we have as professionals.  

3. Curiosity. Combined with the aforementioned Listening Skills, being curious and asking questions about things you hear during a conversation or meeting can turn into nuggets of pure gold. 

4. Service Mentality. A desire to help our clients achieve their goals and put their needs ahead of our own. If we are to be trusted we need to shift our thinking to a Service Mentality. 

5. Adaptability. Roll with the punches. Change on the fly. Shift conversations as new ideas and needs arise. Learn how to do things more than one way. Keep backups of your backups. Adapt or die. 

6. Tenacity. Cold-calling is hard work, but sticking with it and reaching your weekly KPI’s will translate into dollars. 

7. Imagination. This is our fuel. We conceive what we believe, and the bigger the imagination the bigger the possibilities. Never mistake this for anything less. 

Are there any that you think should be added to the list? Post your thoughts and ideas in the comments section below and share this post with your fellow reps. Now go sell without the bullshit.