The Sales Trainer Newsletter

Michael Phelps And You by Art Sobczak

Greetings,

You're not going to get any opening statement ideas, questioning tips, voice mail suggestions, or closing lines in this email today.

But you could get something that can have a tremendous impact on your performance, life, and income, far beyond any technique I could present.

If you're open to some inspiration and an attitude adjustment, read on.

I am constantly amazed by, and have tremendous respect for people who excel at things I could not, or would not want to do. (Which is really, most things, now that I think about it. Especially anything involving tools.)

Architects who design massive structures. The people who build them. Nurses. School teachers. Most of the workers on "Dirty Jobs." And certainly, as I have the TV on in my office while I write this, Olympic athletes.

As I watch the gymnasts glide, bounce, tumble and flip, I just shake my head.

And Michael Phelps. Are you kidding me? Get this: He was interviewed the morning after his record-breaking eighth gold medal and was asked, "So what next?"

He said,

"I don't know...probably try another event, one that I really haven't worked on."

Here's the most decorated Olympic swimmer ever, owning more medals than most countries, able to cash in hugely on his success, and he says he needs to find a new challenge he can master!

THAT, fellow sales pro, is the kind of attitude rarely found among most people. Then again, it's not surprising, since it what makes extraordinarily successful people- the top 2%-who they are.

The attitude drives the work, which drives the continued work, which produces the results.

The reason I say that excellence attitude is rare is because I see the opposite of it so often.

You would think that in sales, a profession that can provide a lifestyle beyond the reach of most employees performing regular jobs, you'd have more people going for their own Gold.

Yet, I regularly see and hear about sales reps who are "veterans," and have been in sales for x number of years. So does that mean they are performing at high levels. Quite often, not. Many times they are coasting. Downhill.

Longevity does not mean excellence. Hey, I have known how to swim for 40 years. That does not mean I could race in a competition. In fact, my arms would turn to bungee cords and I'd probably choke up a lung 50 yards into it.

Many sales reps are not motivated to attend training, invest in themselves, listen to audios, read books, newsletters or other online information, practice, or God forbid, put in the little bit extra time after-hours and weekends to go to the next level. But it's there for the taking. So few squeeze out every drop of potential. Or squeeze at all.

Sure, many people would like to make more money. That's why gambling, the lottery, and get-rich-quick schemes are so popular. But they are not willing to do the real work that it takes to actually succeed.

I'm often amused that after training programs I've presented, and this usually happens at a large national convention with several hundred people in the audience, someone will come up to me and say, "You know, I've been in sales a while. I could do what you do."

I always enthusiastically respond, "You should!", knowing full well that most would never try. Not ashamedly, I can say that I can make talking before 1000 people look easy, and deliver solid content in an entertaining, engaging way. What people do not see is the thousands of hours of work that preceded that presentation. What drives it is an insatiable desire to get better and smarter, and the work ethic to make it continue to happen.

The great news about personal performance is that it is 100% our choice, and responsibility. At any time, anyone can make the choice to begin going for their own Gold. Or resuming the quest.

And as the financial guys say, "Past performance is no guarantee of future results." Meaning that if someone has been a total screw-up to this point in their life, that has nothing to do with the positive choices they make moving forward.

Over the past 25 years in my business, and a few before that in corporate life, I've learned one thing to especially hold true and I see it validated every day: your attitude about sales, and your subsequent actions are a greater contributor to your success than any other factor.

What are you doing, right now, to in pursuit of your own Gold?

Have your best week ever!

About the author: Art Sobczak, President of Business By Phone Inc., specializes in one area only: working with business-to-business salespeople--both inside and outside--designing and delivering content-rich programs that participants begin showing results from the very next time they get on the phone. Audiences love his "down-to-earth,"entertaining style, and low-pressure, easy-to-use, customer oriented ideas and techniques.

He works with thousands of sales reps each year helping them get more businesses by phone. Art provides real world, how-to ideas and techniques that help salespeople use the phone more effectively to prospect, sell, and service, without morale-killing "rejection."

Using the phone in sales is only difficult for people who use outdated, salesy, manipulative tactics, or for those who aren't quite sure what to do, or aren't confident in their abilities. Art's audiences always comment how he simplifies the telesales process, making it easily adaptable for anyone with the right attitude.

Contact Info
Art Sobczak
Business By Phone Inc.
13254 Stevens St.
Omaha, NE, 68137
402-895-9399
ArtS@BusinessByPhone.com
www.businessbyphone.com

Nine months down and 3 months to go. What will you do differently during the last three months of the year to improve your selling results? If you don't take time to think about what you'll do differently, you may not do anything different.

Now that’s okay if you're happy with your year to date selling results. If however, you want better results during the last three months you'd better think about making some changes now.

One of the keys to raising your personal selling bar is effective sales planning. For most of us selling is fun and planning is not. Remember that selling success doesn't come from doing what everyone else is doing.

The most successful salespeople I know, do the things that most salespeople avoid or put off doing. There are two requirements for sales planning. First set aside some quiet time for creative thinking. Second, be sure to put your thoughts on paper.

At least once a year professional salespeople and entrepreneurs should dedicate a minimum of one-day to strategically think about your businesses. Don't be too quick to say you're already doing it.

Most sales reps acknowledge they think about their territories and customers daily. When pressed however most will admit they don't have time to creatively think about blue sky scenarios that may happen a year from now. If you can't devote one solid day for unrestrained creative thinking, don't think about aiming for the stars.

Begin your planning process with these six critical questions. Direct these questions at your business, your territory, your accounts, your customers, and naturally your competitors.

These questions will raise more questions and you should consider this process a success if you end up with more questions than answers.

Here are the six questions that can take your personal selling success to the next level.

1. Where are you are now? Where are you now relative to your selling results and sales skills? How's your performance?

What's your relative rank within a your region and within your company? What kind of overall growth do you have in your territory and in your top-10 accounts? Where are your competitors making inroads in your accounts?

How well are you managing your time in your territory? What are your biggest challenges and best opportunities for growth? Please be specific.

2. Where are you headed if you don't change anything? What's the implication for you if you don't acquire new skills? What happens to your overall performance next year if you don't make up the loss of your second-largest customer?

How will your customers react to a strategy that is really based on a "More of the same" philosophy, especially when your competitors are becoming more creative in their approach?

With more work and less time available, how are you planning to manage next year when your business is expected to grow 7% across the board?

If you can't handle the challenges and opportunities this year, how will you respond to the one’s you are given next year?

3. Where should you be headed? Do you have specific personal and professional goals? Are these goals specific and clearly defined? Are they in writing? Do you have completion dates established?

For each of your top-10 accounts do you have specific objectives for sales, margins, growth rates, product mix, etc? Have you made a commitment to read sales books and to subscribe to sales publications? Have you analyzed your travel time and the time you allocate to large, medium, and small accounts?

4. How will you achieve your objectives? You really can't "do" a goal or an objective. What you can and must do is create a written action plan detailing how specifically you plan to achieve the goals you outlined when considering question three.

For example, if your goal is to increase your sales by 6.5% in your largest account, how specifically will you do it? How many “how’s” will it take to achieve your goal?

Your goals define (what you want to achieve) and your strategies define (how specifically you’ll do it.) Without proper linkage between goals and strategies, your goals begin to look like dreams.

5. What are the specific details involved? The details referred to are the who, what, where, why, when, which, and how as they relate to initiating and implementing your strategies. Ben Franklin once said, "Small leaks can sink big ships." In sales, minor adjustments often create big impacts.

When it comes to personal selling never forget that little things mean everything to your selling success.

6. What should you measure? Always measure what matters most. One of my favorite old sayings is "What gets measured gets done." To keep you on your stated course (objectives) how will you measure your progress? What key elements of success should your review monthly? Personal growth and development are often the result of careful measurement and evaluation.

The difference between first-place and second place is often a very narrow margin. It's time for a tuneup if you're serious about making this year's 4th quarter your best 4th quarter ever.

These questions can make a significant contribution to your selling results, but only if you invest the time to ask them them. The favorite day of the week for procrastinators is tomorrow.

Action-oriented people, the real doers in life, recognize, if you focus your energy on today, tomorrow takes care of itself. The future is yours to live one-day at a time.

The shape of your future personal selling success depends on the foundation of your plan.

Are you planning your future today or waiting for tomorrow to do it? It's a clear choice and it's all yours.

The choices you make today will determine the personal selling success you achieve tomorrow.

Jim is a Sales Strategist and is the creator of No-Brainer Selling Skills. He shows salespeople and entrepreneurs how to increase sales, earn more money, have more fun, and how to do it all in less time. His focus is on practical ideas that get immediate results. He offers Advanced Sales Management Workshops, Sales Coaching, Consulting, In-house Sales Training Programs, and a wide variety of Learning Tools i.e. books, special reports, sales manuals, and CDs.

Jim Meisenheimer is a member of The National Speakers Association, where he earned the C.S.P. designation, Certified Speaking Professional. He has authored five books including, "The 12 Best Questions To Ask Customers," and the recently published “57 Ways To Take Control Of Your Time And Your Life”.