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The Winning Attitude | Subscribe to this Blog |
July 31, 2008
by Bill Sayers
I just had the privilege of accompanying my wife on her company’s President’s Club trip to Rio de Janeiro. It was a great trip to a great city. (Don’t believe all the press about the streets being overrun with criminals. Be smart, and you’ll discover that Rio is unbelievable and one of the most beautiful cities in the world.) What I noticed most about this trip was the attitude of all the winning sales people. It was infectious; it was everywhere. You knew these people were highly successful.
Where does that attitude come from?
There were 70 sales people with 70 different personalities and 70 different backgrounds and yet they all had this attitude of success and “getting it done.” As I participated in the events, it was reinforced for me again and again: a winning attitude is an internal choice. There were reps who were there for the eighth or ninth time – every year that they had been with the company. They expected to be there and expected to be one of the top performers. There were reps who had had a good year and realized that they could do it again. There were the rookie reps who were going to do it again next year.
It rubs off.
The amazing thing was that the winning attitude and energy rubs off on everyone. As a spouse you’re inspired by your partner’s success and are thrilled to celebrate and share in this success.
At the awards breakfast, the CEO congratulated the winners on their achievements. He then challenged them to look around and see which colleagues were not there and asked everyone what they were going to do to help those reps be there next year. Wow. What a great way to have that attitude rub off on the entire organization! What do you think that will do to foster great teamwork?
Sales reps are competitive. I did not like sitting at the kick-off meetings and not have my name read for the President’s Club. When I didn’t make the trip, I kicked myself into high gear to make sure I was on the “trip” the next year. I still have the plaques and awards hanging on the walls or sitting on the shelves in my office. That attitude is what the CEO wants to inject into the organization.
How do I get this attitude?
Attitude is not a God-given trait. We all have personalities and behaviour traits that we were born with and stay with us forever. That is proven. It is also proven that a shift in attitude—particularly in sales people—can take you from the bottom of the pile to the top of the heap in a very short period of time.
Attitude is something you own and “must” take responsibility for. Your attitude is 100% your responsibility. How you view the world, what words you use, the context in which you speak, your ability to respond to situations is all in your control. If you believe otherwise it is time to change your attitude! A positive attitude will put you in a better mood, affects your health positively and people want to be around you.
While in Rio, I spent time with the two top performers (one male; one female). They had two very different personalities, yet I loved being around them because they were “real,” fun, and confident. And they weren’t arrogant; those reps never last because everyone is trying to knock them off their pedestal—and I mean everyone. Their enthusiasm was infectious and put a smile on your face every time you are with them.
Sayers says:
How is your attitude? What words and turn of phrase do you use when speaking to others? Do you take responsibility for your behavior and actions? Do people want to hang around you? Do you send people away with a smile on their face? Spend some time this week thinking about these questions and answer them honestly. If you need to change – then change – it’s up to you!
Bill Sayers speaks, coaches, leads education sessions and provides management consulting services to a variety of companies. For the past five years Bill has run his own sales consulting practice. He has recently completed the writing of his new book – “Funnels and Forecasts – The Great Game of Sales”. He has been a professor at George Brown College teaching Personal Selling Skills to the Sports and Event Marketing Graduate Program, and is on the faculty of Canadian Professional Sales Association and Canadian Management Centre. To receive our free “How are you Playing The Game” Scorecard and a 45 minute one-on-one session with Bill Sayers, email: info@TheSayersGroup.com or visit: www.TheSayersGroup.com
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The Fine Art of Pulling Weeds | Subscribe to this Blog |
July 20, 2008
by Jeb Blount, author of PowerPrinciples
A few weeks ago my parents prepared their garden for pumpkins. They turned the soil, fertilized, planted the seeds, and watered. Then they went on vacation for two weeks.
Upon their return my father went straight to the garden eager to see if his pumpkin vines had sprouted. He was thrilled to find that things had sprouted and dismayed that there were both weeds and pumpkins. Knowing that he had to pull the weeds so that they wouldn’t choke out his crop of pumpkins, he got to work. But he quickly realized that he could not tell the weeds from the good plants. I advised him, tongue in cheek, of the old saying that “a good plant will be easy to pull from the ground while the weed will be difficult.”
My mom wasn’t thrilled about having him experiment with the tensile strength of the plants. So I suggested that we look on Google to see if we could find help identifying the weeds, so we could tell the good plants from the bad plants. I typed in “identifying weeds” and got 1.6 million results. Turns out that this is something a lot of people are interested in, and for good reason. By pulling the weeds early the good plants don’t have to compete for nutrition, space or water and will grow into healthy, mature pumpkins. But by waiting until the weed can be easily distinguished from the good plant – well by that time it is too late.
That got me thinking about the weeds in our own lives. Just as in any garden, in life, weeds are inevitable and frankly just evidence of our fallibility as humans. Weeds of fear, poor attitude, bitterness, laziness, indecision, ignorance, clutter, poor time management, failure to set goals, lack of exercise, poor eating habits, and neglected relationships. How often do we allow them to grow unchecked until they choke out our happiness, contentment, and success?
Our weeds usually start out small. A simple lapse in self-discipline, poor judgment, or procrastination provides fertile ground for weeds to grow. At first we don’t notice a weed has popped up, but, a little bit every day, it grows and becomes habitual; and, by the time the weed is easily identifiable – it is too late – the damage has been done. Our physical and emotional well-being are choked. Our relationships suffer. Our careers falter. Failure takes the place of success.
It happens to the best of us. We have all allowed weeds to grow in our life unchecked and suffered the consequences. It happens to Sales Professionals every day when they put off prospecting and activity only to find a month or two down the road that they are producing no business because their pipeline is empty. By the time this weed is identifiable, it is too late and many lose their jobs.
While no one is perfect enough to keep weeds from sprouting, we can take measures to identify and pull our weeds before they take hold. One the most effective means of identifying and pulling the weeds in your life is through honest introspection. This means scheduling time to sit in silence and just think, to listen to your inner voice, to heed your intuition, and to take stock of where you are and where you are going. For many people this quiet time involves prayer. Silence allows us the freedom to just think and contemplate without intrusion from the outside world.
Shakespeare’s famous line from Hamlet, “to thine own self be true,” is important to remember when pulling weeds from our lives. I believe that we all have the capacity to identify and pull weeds before they take over our lives. The key is becoming self-aware. Self-awareness is a simple equation of taking time to just think and being honest with ourselves – being true.
This week I challenge you to set aside 15 – 30 minutes on your calendar to sit in silence and just think. When you do, I am positive that you will discover for yourself the fine art of pulling weeds.
I am very excited to announce that my new Power Principles audio book has just been released. This full length audio edition of Power Principles is available as an instant download. To get your copy today just go to www.jebaudio.com
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2008 Sales Book Awards | In Search of the Best Sales Book on the Planet | Subscribe to this Blog |
June 28, 2008
The Sales Book Awards recognize books, authors, and publishers whose work advances sales as a profession.
Atlanta, Georgia June 25, 2008 — During one of their regular conversations, two avid readers, writers, and globally recognized sales experts lamented that sales books were often overlooked by book award programs and shunned by many in the publishing industry.
Jeb Blount, CEO of the sales portal, powerhouse, SalesGravy.com and Jonathan Farrington, Chairman of The Sales Corporation based in London and Paris and CEO of Top10SalesArticles.com, who share a life-long passion for sales, decided it was time for a book award program just for sales and sales related books, ebooks, and audio books.
Farrington, who has identified and cataloged the world’s top sales experts on his website TopSalesExperts.com said, “Our ultimate goal is to develop and foster a wide coalition of thought leaders, educators, publishers, authors, and corporations who share our mission to recognize authors and publishers who create outstanding works which contribute to the profession of sales.”
“Advancing sales as a profession is our core mission,” said Blount. “All proceeds from corporate sponsorships and entry fees will be used to create scholarships for deserving students enrolled in University level, sales degree programs.”
He explained that across the globe there are more than 50 universities and colleges that have developed degree level programs for sales within their business schools. “The students who graduate from these programs will be responsible for growing the world’s economy in the very near future. Our desire is to play a small but significant role in helping future Sales Professionals meet their financial needs while at the same time highlighting the accomplishments of today’s key thought leaders who contribute so much to sales.”
In the spirit of their mission, Jeb and Jonathan tapped three students, enrolled in professional selling at the University of Central Florida, to design the Sales Book Awards and build the website. According to Blount, Yurani Caicedo, who will be selling for the Miami Heat when she graduates this summer, along with Bri Chmel, the 2007 Women’s World Wakesurfing Champion who will also be enrolled in the University of Central Florida Sales Track this fall, and Raymi Dick, a UCF marketing major who graduates in 2009, were the real key to bringing the Sales Book Awards to life.
The Sales Book Awards call for entries begins on June 23, 2008. Titles may be entered online at http://www.salesbookawards.org.
Any publisher or author may enter books with publication dates between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2008. Books will be judged in ten separate categories and a title may be entered in up to five categories. Finalists in each category will be announced on November 15, 2008. On December 15, 2008 category winners and the Sales Book of the Year will be named.
For information go to:
http://www.SalesBookAwards.org
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