Success And Happiness

Success/Happiness

It’s been said that most people want two things out of life; Success and Happiness.  I found that in Jerry Acuff’s book; The Relationship Edge In Business.  To place this in context, I was teaching a Sales Development class where I introduce the ideas of how people can connect with each other. 

Let’s take this idea that most people what these two things out of life, success and happiness, and develop this further. It has been my experience that most people agree with the premise.  HOW they achieve these and WHY they strive to achieve these are the where the greatest stories are told. If someone were to stop you in the street and ask you about your success and happiness, how would you reply?

Success – Just the word alone can create a host of emotions.  Words like envy, anger, accomplishment, satisfaction, struggle, joy, finished, starting, focus, determination, peace, and reward all come to mind.  For some, success is a bad word due to previous experience in their lives or in the lives of people they know and love.  The connotation is negative due to what success did to them (negative). Perhaps they have  parent (or both) who were striving for success and could not invest the proper amount of time with them growing up.  The demand of the job, the travel, late nights early morning all took their toll on the family and friends.  Success is not something they want to be associated with.  Or, success is for “other people” and not you due to what success did for those other people.  Emotions of jealousy and envy cloud clear thinking and place judgment upon them for their success.

Now, on the flip side, success can bring up a host of positive emotions.  Words like achievement, goal setting, money, freedom, time, toys, charity, teaching, winning, and reward all come to mind.  Success, framed like this, is as good thing and should be celebrated.  Sales success provides larger commission checks, educational success provides a better job placement, financial success provides time and freedom to do what you want, and athletic success provides wins instead of losses.  What fascinates me about the word success is how people respond to the statement. Are they positive or negative toward success and where is the story or stories of HOW and WHY they feel that way?

Happiness – If most people want this, how do they define it?  Can happiness be measured?  How do you know when you achieve it? Does it ebb and flow like the tide? In my experience of introducing this concept that most people want Success and Happiness, I have discovered that Happiness is the more elusive one.  Can you be successful and NOT happy; yes.  Can you be unsuccessful and happy; Yes? In my understanding of the concept of happiness, it is very personal.  How does someone “get happy?”  Why is someone happy? How do you know when you are leaving a state of happiness?  How do you know when you are entering a state of happiness?  Lots of questions regarding something as impactful as happiness.

It has been said that Happiness is a choice. If you Google “Quotes On Happiness” you’ll read many quotes from all types of people.  In fact, our Declaration of Independence says “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit Of Happiness.” That is an interesting phrase; the pursuit of happiness. How does one begin the pursuit?  Once the chase begins, how do you know when you catch it? How long can someone keep happiness once they pursue and catch it?

I mentioned that the best part of success and happiness are the stories told by people who have experienced success and happiness.  The secrets can be revealed in the stories we tell about our own pursuit of happiness and our own struggle with success.  These are the nuggets which contain the gold.  These are the examples, the “true grit”of life where struggle meets application.  What we need are more great stories of success and happiness. 

As a motivational speaker and sales expert, I have my share of stories.  More importantly, I seek out more stories,  When I get the chance; I ask people about Success and Happiness and ask them to tell me a story from their own lives regarding these two bookends.  That is where life meets application and were both parties walk away richer for the experience of storytelling and life application. What about your stories on Success and Happiness?  Where do they begin?  Where do they end?  Each of us have many stories inside just wsaiting to be shared with others.  What’s yours?

 

 

Pressing The “A-Game” Button

A-Game

Here we are, at the start of a new year.  I was having lunch with one of my sales professionals; DJ Triechel and he admitted he is not ready to press the “A-Game” button and get going in 2012. We talked about that during lunch and I had to admit; I was not ready either.

Here I am, a “motivational speaker,” hesitant in hitting the “A-Game” button. Most of the time, I can recite a pithy answer to almost all things motivational. Deep down, I love being a motivational speaker, a sales development speaker, etc.  Yet, there I was, contemplating what DJ said and agreeing with him. I had little to no desire to whack that “A-Game” button and get kick started into 2012.

I was watching a www.TED.com video of Tony Robbins where he was saying he’s the “why guy” and not the motivational guy.  He enjoys and is an expert in the “why” behind whenever is keeping someone down, keeping them from getting the things they desire in life, keeping them from hitting the “A-Game” button. So, I began to self-diagnose myself to determine just what is causing the motivational lethargy. During that process I determined 3 things and how to turn them around.

1. Mental Fatigue can be tied to Physical Fatigue – I recently hiked part of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and I was bone-tired from the hike.  Plus, just knowing I am 50 and not 20, the recovery period on this hike was long and painful. So, my mental fatigue was tied directly to my physical.  My SOLUTION:  Exercise more…in moderation.  Look, we all want to be the superstar yet we blast out of the gates and then tire quickly.  Creating that plan, seeing it through helps to make it easier to hit the “A-Game” button.
2. Seeing Is Believing – What are you seeing on the inside?  Is it the accomplishments and good things in your life or the dark and horrible things?  Why?  What  is driving your internal vision to the negative instead of the positive?  I found myself spinning in a circle of negative self-talk which only added to my mental fatigue and self-fulfilling prophecy.  The answer – see the good things on the inside.  Become that “good finder” who is complimenting themselves first and then the people they meet on a daily basis.  I started finding the good in myself and in my connections and that turned things around.
3. Association – Eric Worre (speaker and MLM Guru) wrote an article 20+ years ago regarding the people you associate with.  Jim Rohn has a similar one; both are worth gold. I was hanging around negative people, spending too much time with the people who’s glass if ½ empty. I needed to associate with the people whose glass is ½ full and getting fuller by the minute.  See that a difference that can make?  You bet, all the difference in the world.

If you’ve hit the “A-Game” button and are well on your way to a great 2012, congratulations.  If you are still having challenges, reflect on the ideas above and let me know how that goes.

To your success in 2012 – Curt

 

Sales Corner – Gotta Have A Plan

Got Plan?

Hector Jimenez is the Regional Sales and Operations Vice President for DXP, an Industrial Distributor located in Houston Texas. Hector’s recent promotion to Sales and Ops VP for the Northeast brings with it a need for strategic account management. His review of the sales team brought into clear focus and discussion the need for sales professionals to have a plan for each and every sales call. This plan needs to have some well thought out goals and objectives for the direction of the call and the possible redirections based on doing a proper needs analysis during simple conversations.

My conversation with Hector sparked this blog post. How many times do we, sales professionals,  prepare for the sales call? How many times do we “just wing it” due to confidence or perhaps arrogance that we’ve been there, done that, and know everything there is to know about how a sales call should go. I am writing this as a challenge to both the seasoned veteran and the new recruit.

Seasoned veteran of the sales game, what have you learned throughout your years in the field, the time with prospects and customers, the endless hours of business development and product presentations? What have you tried and failed, only to recover and continue? Where have you seen your deals unwind due to expected and unexpected hazards that caught you flat-footed?

New recruit, where are you in your sales learning curve? Are you sitting at the feet of veteran sales professionals who are willing to teach, coach, and mentor you? Are you sitting at the feet of seasoned veterans; jaded, tired, old, and frustrated that they cannot seem to close deals like they used it. My advice to you is to connect with the winners and avoid the whiners. Connect with the players who want to lift you up and disconnect from the players who want to tear you down. Jim Jacobus, a professional sales developer says that “sales is an honorable profession when done right.” Now that is a great quote due to what it says and how you, new recruit, have the chance to earn an outstanding living as a sales professional when you do it right. It is all about the plan you have for the sales call.

In my experience, here are 7 ways to prepare for your sales call:

1.  Know your product/service better than the competition knows your products and services.

2. Know something about the customer you are calling on (if possible) so that you have a conversation starter

3. Prepare some type of discussion, never show up with nothing applicable to discuss.

4. Have an idea in mind on what you are prepared to close for (next meeting, trial, demo, presentation, quote, etc)

5. Do your research on how your product or service fits the basic niche of your prospect/customer

6. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse your sales call in your mind, in the car, with your sales manager, etc.

7. Take notes: It shows respect for the person you are calling on, and professionalism on your part

I’ve been the unprepared sales amateur and the unprepared sales professional. Being unprepared is the mark of the average sales guy or gal. Being prepared, being orderly, and having a reason for the call, these are the signs of a true professional who plans their work and works their plan!

Do The Right Thing Next…

And the Next Think Right.  I first coined that term back in the early 90’s and have used it in my professional and personal development.  After all, development should be both professional and personal right?  The phase is kinda catchy once you let the impact sink in.

As a Motivational Speaker, Sales Professional, and Sales Manager, I’ve held lots of titles, lots of responsibilities and yet I am still open minded enough to know that I do not know all there is.  Just doing the “right thing next” would be enough for a lifetime of personal and professional development.  Now, when you blend in the “…and the next thing right” you have the bookends of motivation and development.

Let me unbundle this phrase (do the right thing next and the next thing right) in a way that will help you in the last month of 2011 and perhaps provide some course correction for 2012.  We’ve got a lot of things happening in 2012 and getting a little course correction, motivational “rah-rah” and plain old fashioned good sense can go a long, long way!

“Do The Right Thing Next” – Life tends to come at us in a sequence.  Picture yourself walking on a path and while you are going forward, there are things coming your way, in a sequential order. Placing one foot on front of the other is doing the Right Thing Next.  As each “event” presents itself on the path, you have a choice.  You can do the “wrong” thing next, the “not so right” thing next, or simply the “right” thing next.  Next…it is a nice (4) letter word.  There is always a next.  The right thing would be to pay a compliment, the wrong thing would be to gossip or talk behind someone’s back.  The right thing would be to tell the truth about something, the wrong thing would be to hold back, parse the meaning and the definitions, or just flat out lie.  The right thing would be to turn off the TV and read a development book. The wrong thing would be to justify why the latest reality show is development for you (professional and personal). 

I’ve had the pleasure of working with outstanding people; professionals that are consistent when doing the “right thing next.” While they may not be 100% (who really is), they strive, press onward, walk the path one foot in front of the other, and do the right thing next with their professional and personal development.  They attend seminars, they listen to podcasts, conference calls, they read, they associate with like minded people.  Personally, they do the right thing next with their habits, their diet, their health plans, and their spiritual plans.  They form habits of doing the right thing next and that shows in their face, in their character, and the outcomes in their lives.

“And The Next Thing Right” – Let me take you back to La Crescenta, where I grew up.  I was on a baseball team and I remember the coach teaching us all out to catch a ground ball from the outfield. Some of you can go immediate back to this “state” and be there on the field, bored to death, wondering what mom will be cooking for dinner…when all of the sudden the coach is teaching via a raised voice, how to catch a “grounder.”  For those not familiar with baseball practice, here is the “next thing right.”  To catch a fast moving ground ball, you have to first position yourself in front of the ball, directly in front.  Then you bend one knee and use your body/chest as the backstop, preventing the ball from going past you.  Next, you take your glove hand and place that on the grass in front of you, between you two legs, one which is on a knee, and have your other hand on top of the glove ready to trap the ball into your glove.  By doing this, you begin to eliminate the areas where the ball can get past you. During this coaching practice, our coach would field ground balls over and over again, showing us EXACTLY how it is done.  Not a single ball got past him.  Then he let each of us assume the position, and begin trapping, stopping, and throwing back the ground balls. First he showed us the “next thing right” and each time we did it wrong, he would stop, position us, show us how the RIGHT way was, and do it over and over and over again. 

How tragic would it be if you did the RIGHT thing next and the next thing WRONG? The thought was right and the execution was wrong.  Time for more practice, more instruction and correction.  I’ve worked with many people who know they are doing the next thing wrong, yet they have a teachable spirit and desire to change from WRONG to RIGHT.  Sales processes, customer service skills, leadership skills, surfing, skateboarding, painting, cooking, sewing, weight lifting, hunting, fishing, they ALL have an element of doing the “next thing Right / Wrong.”  Some motivational speakers call it failing forward, moving up the path yet taking the risk, doing it wrong, then doing it “less wrong, more right” until you get it right.  There is always a sense of achievement and celebration when you do it right!  Remember tying your shoe laces?  It is a great feeling when you can do the whole day without having to tie them because your first attempts did not do the trick.

Now, let me close this out. “Do The Right Thing Next And The Next Thing Right” can be applied to every aspect of your life.  My challenge is you right these words down,  tape them to your mirror when getting ready for work, tape them by your desk at work, or place them in a place where you can refer over and over again.  Read the words, place them in your conscious and subconscious mind, let them take root and you will see a development in both your professional and personal self.    

Communication…Disconnection

Do you ever have a communication that gets disconnected?  Typically you are talking on a cell phone and the signal drops, communication disconnection.  What about in your professional and personal life when your are attempting to communicate and the other person is just not “getting it.”  Somehow, the message you are sending is not being received.  Where does that get disconnected?  Here is a simple communication model.  There are 5 parts to this, allow me to expand on this and offer some recommendations regarding how we communicate and how we (and others) receive those messages.  It really is a fascinating area of motivation. Special thanks to Jim Jacobus for teaching me this model.  (www.aplayersonly.wordpress.com)

Where Communication Connects and Disconnects

• Message – It starts with a message.  We desire to communicate so we use words, pictures, props, and other items which we intend to aid us in creating our message for communication.
• Encode – We encode our message with all sorts of “stuff” which we bring into the message creation. Personal agenda, private agenda, innuendo, world view, religious filters, politics, issues, emotions, and a host of other things tend to get attached to the message we craft.  Sometimes on purpose and sometimes innocent and unintentional, yet, the encoding process is alive and well when we are crafting our message.
• Send – The delivery of the message.  Allow me to brainstorm a few ways we “send” messages; verbal, non-verbal, email, text, phone, fax, pictures, greeting cards, notes, gestures, and body parts are various ways we can send a message.  Note, this is the message we’ve encoded, so it can be powerful or subtle.
• Decode – The receiver of the message then decodes based on their personal agenda, private agenda, innuendo, world view, religious filters, political views, issues, emotions, and a host of other things we attach, sometimes innocent or unintentional, other times, VERY intentional.
• Meaning – The final stage, the associated meaning of the original message.  It might be 100% true or 99% false. The range of meaning can create joy, anger, indifference, love, hate, direction, safety, danger; the meanings are almost endless. 

Where does this entire communication breakdown?  Great question! The two most popular places where communication breaks down are in the ENCODING and the DECODING of the message. Reason – we are humans and therefore we bring outside influences into the communication model. “That’s not what I meant.”  “That’s not what I said!” “How did you get THAT meaning from what I said?” “What did you NOT understand?”  “No….means NO!”  You see where all this can get tangled up and confused? 

In order to become a master at the communication model, you have to master the art (and science) of encoding and decoding with as little filtration as possible. You have to become more of an expert in the creative ways to send a message that gets a clear and focused meaning. Does this happen over night?  Unfortunately, no.

To move from an amateur to an expert in the communication model you have to work on how you communicate today.  Be very mindful of how people are receiving your message. Note the impact as they decode and attach the meaning to your message.  Was the intent delivered properly or did it cause confusion and possible additional drama.  Do you find yourself repeating over and over the same message?  Perhaps you need a fresh means of “sending” the message.  We have so many options today in how we send messages.  This should be seen as a great thing, yet for many, they become intimidated with new ways of sending messages and they fight back with ways that get decoded and the meaning is not impactful.

Here is an example.  Recently, I sent an email to a group of people asking for clarification on a few points. My original email creates a series of replies and more confusion.  I realized that email (SENDING) was not the best way to handle this.  I then requested a conference call (switching from keyboard to real talking.) This resulted in addressing the original issue, the ensuing confusion, and brought of 2 new points which were addressed and we all came away with clarity and a strong understanding.  Can you imagine the email traffic between 5 people if that was the ONLY way to proceed?  I noticed the communication was breaking down, I offered a fresh way to move the model forward, and we all came away with our encoding and decoding filters reduced and unrestricted.

We are now entering both the holiday season and the US political season.  Watch how you use the communication  model during these holiday times.  Watch how the candidates use the model and especially the encoding and the decoding of the messages in political ads that are reduced to a 30 or 45 second sound bite. Believe me when I say, each candidate hires professionals to craft a message, attach some SERIOUS encoding, deliver in via TV, Radio, Email, Video, and Web Sites, and hope most people will decode this with favor and attach a meaning which makes the sender’s message clear. 

It will be a fun season!

 

Mulligans and Motivation

In the world of Golf, there are team events called Scrambles.  In short each player hits their own initial ball and the team plays the “best ball” from that point forward for that hole.  The idea is to drive very low scores due to a stronger chance to hit fairways and greens under par.  When corporate events are hosted in golf scrambles, one feature is the purchase of several “mulligans.”  A mulligan is a simple “do over” and most times, each team has the opportunity to buy mulligans during the registration and sign-in process.  When the golf event, with a scramble format, focuses on a charity cause, the mulligans purchased go toward that charity.  Mulligans range between $5 – $15 each and most scramble events allow some type of maximum per team player; typically less than 5 to make the tournament somewhat even. 

So, let’s say you are in a golf event with a scramble format and you have 4 good players.  You are on the 8^th hole, par 5 and your “A Player” pounds the ball 310 yards down the center of the fairway.  Each player now tries to get “on the green in 2” by swinging from that point directly toward the flag. One of you get there, now you have a strong chance to sink the putt for an Eagle, or 2 strokes under Par. You are 11 feet from the hole and each person gets close, yet misses the hole.  You feel you could sink this putt, if only you had a 2^nd chance.  Wait…you bought a Mulligan and now you have the chance to use it.  You’ve seen the putt 3 times and know the line.  You set up, smooth stroke, and sink the putt; Eagle! You are in a strong play to win this tournament.

What about life?  Are there really Mulligans in life?  Can you really “do over” a mistake, a sure thing you blew, a chance you should have taken; yet held back?  If only you had the chance to do it again!  Well, motivation is a lot like a golf game, there are hard holes and easy holes, hazards and traps, and rules…you get the idea.  Motivation and life are tied together.  Mulligans are self imposed in some instances, based on forgiveness in other cases.  You are motivated to do something new, you try it and either fail or it just does not work out.  You know you should go back and try again; Mulligan time!  Give yourself permission to try it again…and again…and again when and where it makes sense.

In sales, you have to have a whole bag of mulligans to perfect the art and science of selling.  John Jeffery, the Senior Vice President of Supply Chain Service at DXP Enterprises always says “when you’ve seen one, you’ve seen one.”  Meaning, no two sales calls are EXACTLY alike.  If you blow one, you get a mulligan to try again.  Perhaps it is the same customer, perhaps a new customer.  Perhaps the presentation bombed in the morning and soared in the afternoon.  It is all about the self-imposed permission to take a DO-OVER and then…do it over. 

In relationships this too applies.  Recently, I came home from traffic and a long day, very grumpy.  I sat in traffic and stewed over something and it festered all the way to the front door.  Then, I got inside, where a perfectly good family (who were having a wonderful time) were placed on the receiving end of Mr. Grumpy.  Wow, did the mood change in that Living Room.  I realized that I took all my anger and frustration and dumped it right at the feet of my loving family.   MULLIGAN time.  I asked for a Mulligan.  I walked out the door, reframed myself, and re-entered the house, better attitude and better approach. You see, I took a mulligan so I did not subject my family to my grumpy attitude.  Thankfully, both sides recovered quickly!

I see too many people who carry so much anger, guilt and shame over things in their past which might be corrected with a mulligan.  Motivation is understanding the things of the past and learning to lean forward, into the future; all the while letting go of the things that held you back in the past and carrying the lessons learned toward the future.  Do-overs, mulligans, forgiveness and grace are all tools in the bag of the self-made motivated person.

Sitting In A Garage Does Not Make You A Car

I am not a car

“Sitting In The Garage Does Not Make You A Car” I heard that Saturday night and it rolled around in my mind for the better part of the weekend.  Now, each of you reading that will have your own definition of what that means.  Some people will not get it.  Other people will attach a meaning, chuckle, and move on.  I got stuck on this quote for one back reason – I’ve been there, done that.  Allow me to expand and then weave this into some practical applications.

Have you ever thought about doing something? Thought long and hard over the subject.  Perhaps done a few Google searching on the matter.  Even gone as far as buying a book or a tape on the subject.  Once that book or tape arrives in your home, it sits on the table (possibly unwrapped) for the longest time.  You pick up the book; perhaps decide to carve out some time to read, yet life gets in the way.  Maybe the book is on tape and it makes it to your CD player or onto your MP3 player, yet you never quite get through listening to the whole deal; again life gets in the way.

Or, you do your research, you invest in the books and tapes, read them cover to cover, highlight and underline all the catch phrases and AH HA moments (possibly in multiple colors).  Then you begin talking about all this new found insight, discovery and knowledge…yet at the end of the day you NEVER REALLY DO ANYTHIN.  Ouch – I might have touched a nerve here. Here I am, entering the garage every day.  I read all about the combustible engine, the power transmission, and the way cars have impacted the world since Henry Ford created a perfected assembly line.  Wow, lots of time invested, yet I never quite become the car. 

Now, allow me to move this to some practical applications from my own life, which I hope will resonate with yours. 

Motivational Seminars – I’ve been to many.  I’ve been the keynote speaker at quite a few.  Sold a lot of books and bought a lot of books at these events.  I’ve taken notes from Zig Ziglar, Jim Rohn, Tom Hopkins, Jim Jacobus, and many others. I’ve challenged audiences to not only invest in the products at the back of the rooms, buy to BREAK THE SHRINKWRAP on the products and USE THEM.  Attending motivational seminars does not make you a motivational speaker….you have to DO something!

Marriage Workshops – I’ve been to many.  Early on, I would attend and quickly forget all the teaching, practical advice, and insight, because I felt it did not pertain to me.  Later, after landing smack dab in the rocky season of marriage, I re-read the books, listened to the tapes and then APPLIED the recommendations from the authors.  For me, it is a constant application.  In order for me to get better at my side of the marriage equation, I need to get better at my role as a husband.  The better I can get, the more attractive I become to my wife.  She would rather have someone who is trying to get their side of the street clean than someone who is mean, ugly, self absorbed, and selfish in the relationship.

Sales Development – Being in sales for 28 years, from the inside to outside sales, sales management, sales teaching, sales writing, and sales coaching, I am an authority on the profession.  Now, let me change the beginning quote – “Hanging around the professional of selling DOES NOT make you a Sales Professional!”  Yep, gotcha on that one! Most of the sales people I know are average in their sales game.  Why?  Why are a majority of sales professionals just part of the B Players?  Why are they not striving to become an A Player?  Great question – go ask ‘em.  Most of the time, I get Victim answers.  I would be an A Player if only ___________.  My Quota is too big, my territory too small, products are not good, management is clueless as to our vision and direction, competition is stronger….sounds like the wussification of the sales profession!  Note:  To be an A Player, you have to DO SOMETHING.  To remain an A Player you have to DO SOMETHING.  You have to be in ACTION, practicing your profession, learning new ideas, tools, tips, techniques!

Direct Selling – Network Marketing – Here I can lead by example.  As an Independent Distributor for Sendoutcards, getting one promotion to Manager, I know what it takes.  I listen to the weekly conference calls, I read the literature, and I use the product…. A LOT.  Yet, if I am not out recruiting new customers and distributors… I am sitting in the garage….willing myself to become a car…..just because I am in the garage.  You see, it just does not happen.  You have to DO SOMETHING.  In my case, I need to show more and more people me products and services.  If they have never seen them, how can they make a decision if they can use them? 

OK, perhaps I’ve been on a RANT here, yet I really want to stress that for all of us to get better at what we do, to achieve the desires that are inside us, and to make a direct impact on the personal and professional development of ourselves, we have to stop sitting in the garage!  We need to understand that just sitting the garage will not make you or I a car.  Just doing the research and not putting it into ACTION will not get you or I the results we desire.  Plain, simple, and direct….

 

5 Reasons To Consider A Peer Advisory Team

Recently, I met R.D. Yoder, someone with a passion to connect business people with other business people for the express purpose of networking, idea exchange, and improving their business game.  R.D. is a master networker, a skilled craftsman in the art and science of connecting people together.

R.D.’s latest venture is the Houston Business Executives (http://houstonbusinessexecutives.com) a new idea on the value and merits of Peer Advisory.  R.D. hosts a Wednesday evening radio show here in Houston, featuring business professionals, CEOs, Sales Experts, etc.  I was on the show last Wednesday night addressing the power and the need for Peer Advisory groups.  That got me thinking of writing about why these are so powerful.  Here are 5 reasons why you should consider joining a Peer Advisory group.

1. You Get Perspective – “Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There!”  Now that is a great quote I first read from Dr. Scott Simmerman (www.squarewheels.com).  A Peer Advisory group is the assembly of like-minded and like titled professionals who all face the exact (or similar) challenges and victories. When grouped together with a professional facilitator who can help guide the discussions, each person who actively participates will gain perspective.  Yes, I highly recommend you actively participate.  Why else would you invest time and money to join one of these groups? People in high positions tend to isolate from others who face similar things.  Peer Advisory groups will break that trend of isolation and allow you to gain that valuable perspective.
2. You Get Connection – Let’s take highly successful sales professionals.  Often they tend to isolate themselves on islands due to the demands of their territory, accounts, and responsibilities. Without knowing is, they can get dull, lose their edge, and replace their smart work with hard work.  I’ve seen many successful sales reps, when connected to other successful sales reps, regain their edge due to the connection with others. CEOs, Senior Vice Presidents, and others in high authority and responsibility positions can invest so much time and energy in their jobs that they work 50-70 hours without any connection to others in similar positions.  Connection is a critical success factor, requiring risk to get out of the office and surround yourself with like-minded professionals for the greater good of connection.
3. You Get Accountability – “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” A well written Proverb which is as applicable today as when it was written. As a professional speaker, I attend meetings (Peer Advisory types) where I connect with others, who hold me accountable.  Accountable to honest research, adding value, fee integrity, and client satisfaction.  When I attend Treat’Em Right seminars and the yearly convention from Sendoutcards, I get insight, ideas, and a sense of “can do” which I then share with others.  We meet and hold ourselves accountable.
4. You Get Validation – Company Presidents, Thought Leaders, and other Professionals need the validation from outside peers or they will dull themselves into thinking that all their ideas are valid and powerful due to surrounding themselves with the same old group.  I am not saying the same old group is never enlightening, clear, and insightful.  What I am saying is that a Peer Advisory team gives you a fresh set of eyes and ears, a fresh set of life and work experience to bounce your thoughts, ideas, market conditions, challenges, and victories off.  What if you could gain some outside wisdom?  What if you could head off a bad decision early by the recommendations (validation) of outside peers and experts?  How much would that be worth? 
5. You Get Creativity – Let’s admit it, we are not the sharpest knives in the drawer when we isolate and live on islands.  Our creative minds need other people’s feedback, input, insight, and wisdom.  Many high-powered professionals surround themselves with “yes people” due to the fear of losing their job if they really become honest.  We tend to go to meetings with our answers already formed, and then ask the questions just to validate we are the smartest people in the meeting.  What if you really could form a group of people who would give you an honest listen to, an honest feedback session on your latest idea. You see, the beauty and the power of Peer Advisory is that they (peers) are not on your payroll, therefore they cannot be fired for telling you what the really think of your idea. On the flip side, when a Peer Advisory group does meet, it can spark fresh creativity in the minds of those who need it.  Creative thought on a new market, new direction, new operational excellence, new learning and development, new ways to recruit, develop, and retain people, new products and services.  All due to the collective creative juices of all the people in the room.

These 5 reasons and more should spark some ideas for you, the reader.  Let me know how you plan on using your new ideas to seek out a Peer Advisory team!

What Makes You Come Alive?

What Makes You Come Alive?

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive because what the world needs are men who have come alive.” (John Eldridge, Wild At Heart).

The first time I read this quote, I was floored.  I felt it spoke directly to me; both my head and my heart.  There are times when you get an “AHA moment” of clarity.  A moment when you know your purpose, your mission, your destiny.  Sure, that might sound a bit melodramatic to many who are reading this blog. “Really, Curt?  Do you really believe that people still have those AHA moments?”  Yes, I do! Here are 3 reasons why:

1. What Does The World Need?  While that might be a strong question, it is so broad that the answer would be like dropping a pebble into the ocean and awaiting a powerful impact.  The “world” is a big place,  the needs and demands are huge.  Peace, Food, Clothing, Innovation, Irrigation To Plant, Education, Democracy, Money, Power, Machines, Workers, Industrialization, the list goes on forever. You see, when you try to place yourself into this question, you are the pebble being tossed into the sea, waiting for some powerful impact.  Too often, it is too little and too late. 
2. What Makes You Come Alive? OK, better question.  One that turns the focus away from the world and directly toward….you?  What makes YOU come alive?  If you read this and something stirs inside you, something pricks your imagination, you’re dreaming, your passion…then you have something inside which requires more of your personal attention.  I cannot tell you what makes you come alive.  Only you and perhaps God;  depending on your perspective of God.  When I first read this quote, I knew deep inside that what makes me come alive is all things related to the world of speaking/training.  What I born a “motivational speaker?”  What I born a teacher, nope again.  Over time, I felt a calling.  I felt myself drawn to areas and events, situations and people who would encourage me along this path. Now, I can say that encouraging others (a subset of the greater speaker/teacher expertise) also makes me come alive. What about YOU?  What REALLY makes you come alive?  Have you suppressed that over time?  Have the demands of this current challenge beat you down to the point where you are no longer alive?  Has someone, or a group of someone’s taken your dreams?  Tough talk from a guy that writes a blog right?  Well, if not me…who?  If not now…when?  Time to get VERY serious about what makes you come alive.
3. World Needs Men (ALIVE) – What we need are men and women who have come alive!  Men and women who have tapped into their passion.  Who have surrounded themselves with people desiring them to succeed with that makes them come alive.  October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Women, and men, who have come alive to create a heightened awareness of Breast Cancer.  This message has gone global and made it easier for women and men to get the proper diagnosis, awareness, and prevention of this deadly cancer. What if more men and women found a voice to what makes them come alive? What if that voice could then be acted on, to be nourished, feed, and given the freedom to be acted upon. What would happen if…..

What the world needs is you, reader….to COME ALIVE!  As long as you are NOT DEAD, you have something we all need.  What if you were the missing puzzle piece to the solution?  Forever undiscovered so to the self talk that suppresses the voice, the passion, the spark that makes you come alive.  I am more alive when I am living out my passion.  I am a Christian, and when I ask God what He things makes me come alive, I really get excited.  You see, my belief is that God created me for a purpose, therefore, if I (the created) as Him (the creator) WHY He created me…well, He just might have the perfect answer? Then what?  Then I have to act on that stirring inside.  I have to act on that prompting.  I have to create an action that drives me TOWARD what makes me come alive. You, the reader, must to the same. You MUST drive forward to what makes you come alive.

Why?  Because we, the world, NEEDS YOU.  We need your “aliveness” to be added to the rest of this collective group of people to are acting now what makes them come alive.  WOW, have I stirred something inside?  Have I awoken a giant? 

Michael Kelly – Profile In Sales Success

Life In Success Lane

Investing a career in Sales Development, I often come across people who really know how to sell.  I reflect on my sales career and try to emulate the success factors of those around me who manage to exceed the quotas, expectations, and limitations often provided to those who call themselves sales people.

Michael Kelly is a sales professional. Michael is tenacious, outgoing, professional, intelligent, and likeable. Michael has been on a sales career roller coaster as he concentrates his expertise in the Oil/Gas, Petrochemical markets in Freeport, TX (and surrounding areas).  The roller coaster comes from economic challenges, customers identified, developed, expanded, lost, and then rebuilt, and the ever present demands to sell more products and services into a mature geographical marketplace where innovation is met with a large dose of skepticism. 

I have had the honor and privilege to be Michael’s manager since January, 2005.  Recently, Michael and I were having a conversation regarding the introduction of a new service to one of his key accounts. Michael called me prior to the sales call, walking me through how he and the vendor representative were going to introduce the service, how the features and benefits would solve an identified need, and what the we were going to close for; the chance to place this device and the monitoring service inside their plant as an evaluation unit.  I received a phone call shortly after the meeting with the exciting news that the customer was more than impressed and wanted Michael to work up an quote on the service and the estimated delivery time.

Now, why am I writing about something we in sales do EVERY DAY?  Well, great question.  I’ve reflected on this for some time prior putting fingers on this keyboard to write this blog post.  Here are 3 factors in becoming a Sales Success:

1. KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER – As I listened to Michael’s version of the sales call, the excitement in the voice and eyes of the customer, and the willingness for the customer to take the next step, I asked Michael “How did you know this would be a good fit?”  Michael’s response what classic – “I make it a point to KNOW my customers as deep as possible, so I can recommend products and service that they need.”  Now, for you the reader let me provide a little insight.  Industrial Distribution sales is a world where the field sales rep has access to hundreds of products and services; from pumps to bearings, grinding wheels to safety cones, drill bits to condition monitoring systems.  Plus, the vendors continue to innovate and push their new products and services into a mature market with the motto “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
2. KNOW YOUR PRODUCTS – Relationships are powerful, critical, and a must-have in today’s competitive world.  To balance this, you need to fully understand your products and services.  If you do, you can cut through all the small talk and address the real issues at hand.  Your confidence in the eyes of the customer reassure them that they made the right decision in having a meeting with a sales professional who knows their ups and downs, ins and outs, etc.
3. KNOW YOUR VENDOR – Team selling is what Michael was playing.  He knew the value add was to bring in an expert in the condition monitoring service.  Michael knew that his vendor better be as sharp as he was, because the foundation of the relationship between Michael and his customer had to support the connection between the vendor and the customer.  If you have a weak foundation, no telling the troubles that will cause.  Michael invested time prior to this call, getting to know the vendor and assisting the vendor in what their part was in the sales call.

Novice sales people would try to sell everything and anything to their prospect and customer base, simply because they can.  Sales professionals, like Michael “Freeport” Kelly, know their customers SO WELL, that the recommendations are aligned with the challenges facing the customer.  “How did Michael get to know his customers so well?”  Great question – Michael has been investing time into his geographical area, knowing the players, knowing his products and services, and knowing how to connect the dots between what his customers need, and what he can offer. 

Over the next 6 months, I will be profiling sales professionals in various industries and markets to provide you current info you can use to increase your sales success.  My goal is for you to read these profiles and take away the ideas and “nuggets” you need to grow you sales and make your numbers.  Then, let me know how that is going, I would love to hear from you.  Drop me a line at tueffert@aol.com.