Are You Stuck In Your Business?

Uncategorized | Posted by tripp
May 16 2012

Do you ever get stuck in your business? Not sure what the next thing is, what the next service is you want to offer, what the next product or products need to be, or when the next marketing sequence needs to go out? 

It happens to all of us. Here’s the thing to think about. The answers to those questions are typically in your numbers.  Measuring and business numbers are typically things most small business owners and entrepreneurs don’t like and don’t really want to deal with.  Do you feel that way? 

Measuring, measuring, measuring…knowing your numbers – it’s critical and here’s why. 

If you have a question and you aren’t really sure whether you should send another piece, go back and market a product, do another launch, or maybe you’re wondering if it’s time to do host your own live event. Whatever your questions are about your business, if you go back and critically analyze your numbers you’ll get your answers because your numbers will give your answers to you. 

Was that campaign successful? If you look at the time you spent to get it going, is the time value and the ratio of time you spent to the money you made, does it make sense to do it again? 

Everything is in the numbers and so many people don’t want to hear about the numbers.  One of the best definitions I ever heard for marketing is that marketing is psychology plus math. Psychology to understand how people think and how to talk to people, how to relate to people, communicate with people, and how to put copy and the words to use, and math so you know what the next things are, so you know that numbers make sense. 

You don’t want to go out and run a campaign for a second or third time if it didn’t work the first time, because you don’t want to get more of that same result.  You might run the campaign again if you change certain things, like maybe the headline or something else.  Maybe the campaign wasn’t the success you wanted it to be because the copy was weak or ineffective, maybe it was due to the media you used, or whatever, but you really want to look at it so you can determine the cause. 

And, if you have a question in your business or you’re stuck and not sure where to go next, take a look at your numbers. Most of the time, looking at your numbers will point you in the right direction, so you can go after the things that are going to make you the most money, in the least amount of time, with the smallest amount of effort. 

So take a look at those things in your business, and the numbers will typically lead you down the right path. 

For a complimentary copy of “The 9 Key Building Blocks To Growing Your Business” visit http://www.completemarketingsystems.com/ or call (866) 293-0589.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
No Comments »

What Do Women Want?

Uncategorized | Posted by tripp
May 09 2012

I just spent the past several weeks on the road meeting with many great clients and partners across the world. It’s always exciting to hear about all the successes they are having and how they are growing. I can’t remember a time when all my clients are doing such similar projects and looking for similar results.

What are all my clients buzzing about? That’s easy. They all want to know how to sell to women and how to create marketing materials that attract women to their products and services.  Now I may be venturing out on thin ice here, but I think I may have uncovered the secrets they are looking for. I’ve been working and interacting with women for over 50 years. Starting with my Mom and working my way up through today. I’ll share the three things that all women want and what they demand from the best partners. You might read this and say, “Tripp, have you lost your mind? These aren’t secrets.  I know these things better than you. Why did you waste my time with these three things? How do you expect me to implement them? You’re rotten for bring me so close but not sharing what you really know. “ Bear with me and read my three secrets to what women want.

The first element for successfully selling to women is being authentic. How many times have you heard people want to deal with people who are real? Women want to deal with people who let them share their ideas and dreams. They don’t need an expensive car or watch.  It’s more important to them that you are who you say you are.  They prefer people who are transparent.  In our society, we admire the perfect body, perfect hair and makeup. But we love women who can throw on a pair of jeans and are still comfortable in their own skin.  The ideal message rings of truth and our own experiences.  Women have a built in BS detector and they aren’t afraid to use it. They have the ability to focus in on the problem and then be open minded about the best way to solve it. “Sell me a practical solution that I can use and your halfway home to closing the deal.”

The second element is helping women get the results they want while respecting them.  So much bad marketing tries to convince women they don’t know what they’re talking about. Women expect to be treated with respect. Don’t insult their intelligence by minimizing what and who they know. My successful partners understand fantasy is good but mutual respect is better.  Take time to listen to women’s stories and challenges. Let them know that you understand. That’s the other part of getting a woman to look at your product or service. Women expect you to partner with them. How does your solution help women but more importantly, how do you help women individually? Women will buy from you but they need you to know you are in it for the long haul, because she is.

The third element and the real way to a woman’s heart and checkbook is humor.  Why do women love the Old Spice Man?  They know a guy just like him and it reminds them of something funny that happened. The combination of humor and partnership is unbeatable. Study after study shows the first thing that attracts a woman to a man is humor. They can share it with their family and friends and they can laugh out loud.  If you want to build a trusting relationship with your female customers and clients, don’t take yourself so seriously.  There are serious things happening in the world and most women know it. They don’t need another stuffed shirt lecturing to them about their children and their problems. If your marketing can make people smile, you’re on your way. Understanding how to tell humorous stories is a great way to connect to your female market.  No matter how serious the situation, a little humor can take you far. 

Now why did I bring this up today? This weekend is Mother’s Day. I’ve spent many years watching people try to connect with women.  Spending billions of dollars to try to convince women of things they know to be untrue or, at best, half lies. I’m always surprised how many different ways people can miss the mark. The money wasted on trying to impress with no connection to who the person is and the situation that they are in. I was very fortunate that the first woman I had a serious relationship with was committed to helping make sure I understood where people were and didn’t try to impress them. I believe she is why I have such strong connections to my female clients. She taught me to be real, respect others, and always share a funny story. It has served me well in the first half of life and I’m sure it will in the second half, as well.  Thanks for these lessons, Mom.  I’ll never forget them, or you.  Happy Mother’s Day, Mom.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
2 Comments »

Your Secret Weapon

Uncategorized | Posted by tripp
May 01 2012

I’ve got a secret weapon in life, do you? So, what’s my secret weapon? I started my career selling Kirby vacuum cleaners on the streets of Cleveland in 1983. It was a tough job, the sweepers were $1,000 each and I had to find my own appointments. We had a marketing campaign, if you wanted to call it that.  The central distributor would set up between 5-10 appointments per week for our sales team. We were paid a several hundred dollar draw if we were able to get 15 appointments a week.  In this job, you learned to sell and close quickly. We also had to repossess the equipment if a payment was missed.

This was a tough sales job, but not for the reason you think. It was tough because you had to learn to cut your losses quickly or you’d spend several hours of your time with people who had no intentions of buying, but wanted you to clean and shampoo their house carpeting and furniture for free.  People were always willing to say what they needed to get you to do what they wanted. At times, some would say things that just lacked all remnants of the truth.  Growing up in a small town, I had a problem. I trusted people. Where I grew up, we thought if someone said it was true, they would make good on their commitments.  Not so easy to count on in the big city. 

One of my early mentors saw that I was struggling and recommended a book for me to read.  I read and reread it as I went selling door to door.  The book was by Robert Ringer and it was called “Winning Through Intimidation.”   I bought a copy of the book and carried it with me as I went out selling in the neighborhoods.  I thought the book itself would take my selling to new levels. I would become intimidating on my sales calls, the champion of my neighborhood, “The King of the Kirby Sales Realm.”  I knew just having the book in the front seat of my old broken down car would intimidate even the toughest old lady.

What I discovered from Robert Ringer was the world of human psychology.  Robert had funny stories and characters in his book and he shared his experiences of breaking into sales in the big city. He shared common sense ideas on how to deal with others throughout the sales process. He warned of hidden pitfalls and chuckholes along the path of selling in this world.  He talked about the different people you might encounter in your sales careers and how to deal with them. He was a real lifesaver. I found myself embracing many of his beliefs as my own and improving them where I saw the opportunities. I would sneak off between appointments to read his material and evaluate my sales failures by his criteria, not my own.  

Over time, I got good at selling because of his one simple principle that changed my life forever. What was it? Respect yourself.  Don’t allow others to intimidate you into doing what’s not in your best interest . . . ever. It’s the foundation of how I’ve done business over the past 29 years and it’s never let me down. When you allow others to take advantage of you, you’re hurting yourself more than you’re helping others. Learning to cut your losses is critical to your long term success. People don’t treat you better because you’re their lapdog, they just keep taking and taking. If someone asks you to do something that is only in their best interest, but act like it isn’t, be wary.  People will always hide behind their causes, their beliefs, and their values, but act like they’re looking out for the greater good. I’m not sure why this is true but it is and knowing it could become your secret weapon. I know it’s mine.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
No Comments »

A New Paradigm for B2B Marketing

Uncategorized | Posted by tripp
Apr 26 2012

Generating qualified leads is the Holy Grail for B2B marketers. Your marketing campaigns must do the following:

  • Place your messages in front of highly targeted prospects.
  • Grab those prospects’ attention and hold it.
  • Communicate a significant amount of information in a short amount of time.
  • Gently persuade prospects in a way that’s entertaining and memorable.
  • Incent them to take an action that demonstrates a significant level of interest.

A study conducted by Rich Media calculates a 600% increase in viewer engagement and response rates using online video compared to static content such as text and graphics. It makes sense then to couple online video with marketing strategy and tactics like a story format. People are hard-wired to be fascinated by stories. They remember and retell stories.

I am fortunate to be acquainted with Joe Pulizzi, the Godfather of Content Marketing. I reached out to Joe to ask his advice. Here’s what he said when I explained my idea for an online B2B video marketing service: “I think it’s a viable idea… particularly the combination of building the videos on well-conceived marketing strategies, and telling stories via the videos. Those are differentiators that not only set you apart, but they’re what the market needs.”

Of course, this is all for naught if we don’t capture qualified leads from the process. Each video must include a call to action – a specific assignment given to the viewer that, if completed, converts them from a prospect to a qualified lead. That means there must be an offer of some type and a follow through. An appropriate offer (e.g. an ROI study) prompts the prospect to fill out a form to learn more about the product or service, thus self-identifying as a qualified lead.

Finally, the qualified leads must be taken care of. They may be ‘sales-ready’. In that case a salesperson is assigned to the opportunity. If the lead is qualified, but not ‘sales-ready’, they’re placed in a lead nurturing bucket. They will then be contacted periodically with relevant and useful information to keep them warm and engaged until they’re ready to buy.

Bob Leonard is the managing consultant at acSellerant. Over a 20 year period, prior to launching acSellerant, Bob held individual contributor and management positions in Corporate Marketing, Field Marketing, Sales and Sales Support at EMC, GTE, Interleaf (document management), and Digital Equipment Corp.

His consulting business acSellerant is a content and social media marketing agency that focuses on small to medium-sized (SMB) business to business (B2B) companies.

 

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
No Comments »

Are You Playing the Odds?

Uncategorized | Posted by tripp
Apr 19 2012

What do the numbers 5, 15, 80 have in common? Take a moment to consider what these numbers might mean to your growing organization. When I first heard this twenty plus years ago, I was amazed at the impact these numbers have. Many of you have probably heard of the 80/20 rule, but Dan Kennedy, a noted author and speaker, breaks them down even further.  He uses them in terms of people who are financially successful in our society.  I’d like to use them today to help you understand how these numbers might be impacting your organization.

The first number is five. This is the number that is critical to your organization’s success. They are your biggest fans.  The five percent are the first to volunteer for your special events to make them successful.  They’re the first to take out their checkbooks when you start a donation drive. They are the evangelists for your cause to anyone who will listen. They are your most successful members.  They believe in your cause wholeheartedly and are fiercely loyal to your organization. Unless something really terrible happens, they will continue on forever.

The next number is fifteen. Now this is where it gets interesting. These are the people who are interested in your cause.  They might participate in your events or fundraisers but they have to be cajoled into helping out.  They would prefer to just write a check rather than get really involved.   They are positively swayed toward your cause but have not yet begun to evangelize your cause in a big way.  Financially they are doing well, but are seeking the silver bullet to take their lives to the next level. They may attend your events, but they’re also involved in other causes.  They may not believe everything you do or say.

Now the third number is eighty. This is the largest group of people and you know who they are. This is the group that attends your events, but spends the least amount of money.  They rarely donate to your cause.  They have limited loyalty to you or anyone else and will be very expensive to acquire. They are not certain that they are interested in the cause you are advocating. They are slow to adopt new ideas and tend to be very cynical of whatever they come into contact with. They are struggling financially and they tend to belong to many groups but are active in none. They don’t invest in their own future and they see themselves as being victims to their environment.

Now guess which group you invest most of your time and resources on?  Most organizations focus their attention and efforts on getting the 80% more involved.  The 80% is the least responsive to your efforts.  Spending your time and resources on the upper 20% will lead to much greater returns.

Over the next couple of blogs, I’ll share how to target your market to the first two groups. I’ll also explain why so many organizations are unsuccessful with their marketing and communications efforts, failing to reach their potential size or market share.   So, stay and grow with us!

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
No Comments »

Are You Overlooking This Passive Income Stream?… Like Most Business Owners

Uncategorized | Posted by tripp
Apr 11 2012

Do you want to make more money while working less? We’re always looking for additional income streams in our businesses and ways to do things that generate money but don’t create more work. You’re busy and have enough work to do between staff and everything you’re managing in your business.

Think about this…is there a way, in your business, right now, that you could create an income stream, or streams, where you are the conduit through which the product or service comes, but you aren’t actually the one providing the service?

Is there a way you can set up, in your business, services that someone else provides, someone else does, and you just get a percentage of the sale? Something like an affiliate, only it’s an ongoing relationship.  An ongoing joint venture that happens over and over again for you.

For example, maybe you don’t have the capability to offer website services, but you know somebody who’s really good at building websites. So you contact them and tell them you would like to offer websites in your clients and have them actually do the work. Then, you work out a mutually beneficial deal. What happens is, you’re simply the person who’s the pass-along, or the referral source, or the conduit, and the other business is doing the work and you’re getting paid a small referral fee. It becomes a passive income stream for you.

 There are a lot of different ways to do this in business, you just have to sit down and think about how it will work best for you.

Another example would be if you’re somebody who does direct mail, and you could use an outside printing service or mailing house to actually print and mail the pieces. You contact them to do the work for you while you get a percentage of the job or a flat fee for each referral.  It’s an extra income stream for you and your business.

A passive income stream like this uses other people’s resources, and allows you to make more money while doing no additional work.

Imagine setting up five or ten different ways similar to this where you’re bringing money in through various resources. You’re adding additional income streams using the power of other people’s time and skills.

One is always the worst number in business, because if something doesn’t work, or something doesn’t work as well as you’re used to it working, or laws change like it did with faxing and phone calling and those types of things, and you have to change what you’re doing, guess what? Those income streams stops.

You can certainly add streams of income where you’re doing the work, where you’re going out and hiring staff getting more leverage in your business, and you already know how to do that. Also think about how you can make money and how you can add additional streams of income, by simply being the portrayer of, the referrer of, the conduit through which the business flows.

Hopefully this gives you some ideas and you can think of more ways to work less and make more money in your business.

For more information on how to expand your income streams go to http://www.completemarketingsystems.com/ or call (866) 293-0589.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
No Comments »

How to Build Better Sponsorships

Uncategorized | Posted by tripp
Apr 01 2012

I’ve spent the last several weeks working with several new clients on sponsorships and partnerships. In this role, I’m responsible for helping my clients better understand the value they bring to their potential sponsors. After several interesting conversations with both the nonprofits and their partners I discovered that most of them really don’t understand the value proposition of nonprofits.  I don’t think this is particularly unusual for most organizations.  Many companies get involved in nonprofit sponsorships not because the ROI but because they care about the cause.  This is a problem because it can lead to a low renewal rate among sponsors. They get involved for the love of the cause but in challenging economic times they cut back on sponsorship dollars.

The solution is help partner organizations objectively measure the impact of their involvement. Both the nonprofit and the sponsor are serving the same market.  By providing objective, measurable data about your audience helps sponsors justify and renew sponsorship arrangements from a business point of view as well as humanitarian. 

It would probably be helpful to share some of the critical elements your partners need to know to get a better ROI on sponsorship partnerships. It also allows them to be better informed on what level of partnership makes sense given their marketing objectives.  The biggest mistake most nonprofits make is by not identifying and assessing their audience. 

Who’s in your audience?  I’ve known far too many nonprofits whose answer to this question is, “Everyone!”  If you haven’t done so yet, sit down and write as many characteristics of your audience as possible.  Are they old or young?  Are they primarily male or female?  What attracted them to your group?  What do they tell other people about your group? Do they bring other people to your activities?  Write down as many characteristics as possible, but be realistic.  No one believes everyone is your audience!

Who are your most engaged audience members? Every nonprofit has a subgroup of highly engaged and active members.  These are the people that volunteer countless hours to a project, raise more money, or donations than anyone else.  What are the characteristics of those highly engaged members?  How much do you know about them?  Try to quantify the traits and what they have in common.  If you know what a highly engaged member looks like, you can recruit others from your engaged audience.

Who are your engaged audience members? An engaged audience member is one that likes or believes in your cause, has donated money or time, or has joined in some of your activities.  What are the characteristics of these audience members?  Try to quantify the traits and what they have in common.  If you know what an engaged member looks like, you can recruit others from your desired audience.

Who are your desired audience members? Desired audience members may have liked you on Facebook or retweeted you.  They share the qualities and characteristics of your engaged audience, they’re just not members, yet!  What kind of offer would they respond to?  How to you get them more engaged in your organization?

Why does this matter?  Keep in mind; partners are buying access to your audience with a sponsorship.  The better the information you know and provide about your audience, the more informed decision a partner can make about sponsoring your organization.  Many nonprofits make the mistake of defining their audiences too broadly.  Consequently, it’s difficult for a partner to get an appropriate match for their product or service.  When they don’t reach their marketing goals, they drop the sponsorship. 

The closer the audience matches between the nonprofit and the partner, the better the sponsorship arrangement works out for both parties.  Take the first steps today, and start writing down who is in your audience now, and who you’re looking for to join.  It will make finding partners much easier down the road.

Tags: , , , , , ,
No Comments »

So are You Your Message?

Uncategorized | Posted by tripp
Mar 28 2012

When I took my first job in leadership in marketing, I was given a book by Rogers Ailes called, “You Are the Message.” This was long before he went on to create Fox News and become such a polarizing figure today in our culture.  I’d like to publicly thank Roger for helping me take my life to a level I couldn’t have imagined growing up in a small town called Avon, Ohio. I hope to share some of his best secrets for being a powerful communicator with you today.

He has always believed in creating interesting spokespeople within their areas of expertise. You don’t expect an explosive Libertarian former federal judge or an incredibly self effacing chief business reporter with a wacky sense of humor to create a new business network with a tag line yelled by his crew, “Demand it!”  His ability to help others communicate from their strengths and know they’re supported has created a significant following around the world.  His reporters respect Roger and would do almost anything he asks. This helps create the success that Fox News Channel has become today. For many who don’t believe that it works, take to look all the iterations from the many other news networks around the world.

This book changed the way I worked with media and helped me best understand how to write for other people.  This is an important quality for a speechwriter. I’ve written speeches for many well-known corporate and nonprofit leaders over the years.  They’ve all been very happy with the response they got from their speeches.  I thought it might be helpful to share what makes these leaders more effective.

Here are the three things I took away from Roger.  Try applying these tools to your communication strategies and you’ll be surprised at the response you get.

Rule 1 – First impressions count. Take time to relax, slow down your breathing, and remember people are there to help you succeed.  Keep in mind that this is not a speech but something you want to share with your audience. Your message can change their lives, but they are looking to be led from the beginning of your discussion. Remain conversational, but not boring.  Smile naturally, and look out to your audience.  Begin connecting individually and then as a group.  Once you have established eye contact, don’t keep it too long but long enough so you don’t look like your eyes are darting around.

Rule 2 – Prepare your speech with the idea that the person you’re presenting it to understands the subject but not everything you could do in a given situation. Bring people up to speed quickly but don’t go too far into the weeds. Share explanations, but don’t make people feel stupid.  Explain from the point of view, “Here’s something I know that you might not.”  This helps you win over even the most unwelcoming audience.  Sharing something is much easier than lecturing someone.  Learn about who is in your audience and try to balance the material so everyone listening feels like they’ve learned something new.  I want my presenters to connect with the audience in both content and friendship. People can take tough news from a good friend easier than from someone who is disconnected. High flying oratory only takes you so far. Today, knowing the right mix can take you to a higher level.

Rule 3 – Take time to be yourself. Don’t try to give a presentation the way someone else would. In most cases, you’d come off as a cheap imitation anyway. Use your strengths, connection, and clarity to help you better share your points of view.

How you present yourself is critical to your success. Many of the R&D scientists and technologists struggle in their corporate uniform, a suit and tie, for example. I suggest that my clients where clothes they’re comfortable in. It doesn’t mean they don’t match their audience expectations, but they find some little way of connecting to their own core. For years I used cartoon ties to soften my hard driven image. It became such a trademark for me, clients would send them from all over the world for me to wear.  They always brought a smile to the face of the people in the audience.  It was a great way to connect on a deeper level.

When I work with my clients, I spend 80% of my time helping them to identify their authentic voice. This includes the speed at which they talk, and the beliefs and passion they feel about the subject. Allowing a person to be themselves is a challenge if they don’t know who they are and what they believe. Helping them clarify their message provides them with a solid platform to speak from on any occasion, from speaking in a board meeting to delivering a toast at a wedding.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
No Comments »

Is There a Contest in Your Future?

Uncategorized | Posted by tripp
Mar 21 2012

I’m working with one of my favorite clients this week. We’re trying to decide the best way to engage his members.  We did some brainstorming and came up with several ideas that should help involve his members during the spring sports season. With graduation, sports championships, and prom in the near future, we want to make sure that we keep creating value for his stakeholders.

So, how do we to help him create excitement around his video blogs and leadership updates? I think creating contests for members shakes things up. Who doesn’t love a contest? Since we’re dealing with over 120 different locations, we need to create a contest to engage people no matter where they are. The contest will tie into many of the strategic themes he shares with his clients on a weekly basis. Currently the blog gets a lot of feedback, but we want to get their involvement to the next level.

First, find a topic in which everyone can participate. That means making sure the topic fits your audience’s interests. You want to generate involvement, so choose a task for the contest that they’ll want to participate in.  It could be submitting an answer to a question, making a video, or sharing a story or photo.  Whatever you choose, make it something your audience wants to do.

Second, make sure your rules are spelled out carefully.  Include start and end dates for the contest, how prizes will be awarded and what’s a valid entry.  Be sure to let them know the criteria you’ll be judging on, and don’t be afraid to disqualify contestants if they didn’t follow the rules. If you have awesome prizes, people will take the time to follow the rules, which leads to . . .

Third, have some awesome prizes lined up.  Keep in mind that awesome is in the eyes of the beholder, so if your audience is teenagers, don’t get prizes thirtysomethings would want. Get high-quality prizes appropriate for your audience.  Also, think in terms of having several prizes available.  You may get higher participation if people know there’s more than one prize.  If you have high traffic to your site, you may be able to get a sponsor to donate prizes that fit with your topic.

And last, promote your contest heavily.  Only a portion of people will participate in a contest, so even if you have a lot of loyal fans, think about promoting your contest on sites with an audience similar to yours.  The more you promote the contest, the more participation you’ll get.

Because my client’s audience is primarily teenagers, he needs to provide a safe place for members to interact with others. To meet this objective, we need to share the rules and ask people to stay positive with others contributions.  By setting the rules up at the beginning we can insure everyone has a good time contributing content on a regular basis.  We want to make this fun for everyone.  Stay tuned for other ideas to generate excitement around your blog and engage your audience.

I’d like to thank Carletta Sanders for sharing some of her ideas on how to organize a contest where everyone wins.  Carletta Sanders is a stay-at-home mom of four and editor of the website, Successful Homeschooling.  Visit today to find information and ideas for your home school journey.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
No Comments »

The Seven Secrets of Sales Success

Uncategorized | Posted by tripp
Mar 14 2012

There are seven secrets, or principles, of sales success. They are practiced by all the highest paid salespeople every day. The regular application of these principles is virtually guaranteed to move you to the top of your field.

Secret number one: Get serious! Make a decision to go all the way to the top of your field. Make a today decision to join the top 10%. There is no one and nothing that can hold you back from being the best except yourself. Remember, it takes just as long to be great as to be mediocre. The time is going to pass anyway. Your job is to commit to excellence, to get better and better each day, and to never, never stop until you reach the summit.

Secret number two: Identify your limiting skill to sales success. Identify your weakest single skill and make a plan to become absolutely excellent in that area. Ask yourself, and your boss, “What one skill, if I developed and did it consistently in an excellent fashion, would have the greatest positive impact on my sales?” Whatever your answer to this question, write it down, set a deadline, make a plan, and then work on it every day. This decision alone can change your life.

Success secret number three: Get around the right people. Get around positive, successful people. Associate with men and women who are going somewhere with their lives. And get away from negative, critical, complaining people. They drag you down, tire you out, distract and discourage you, and lead you inevitably to underachievement and failure. Remember, you cannot fly with the eagles if you continue to scratch with the turkeys.

Success secret number four: Take excellent care of your physical health. You need high levels of energy to sell effectively, and to bounce back from continual rejection and discouragement. Be sure to eat the right foods, get the right amount of exercise and get plenty of rest and recreation. Make a decision that you are going to live to be 80 years old, or more, and begin today to do whatever you have to do to achieve that goal.

Success secret number five: Visualize yourself as one of the top people in your field. Imagine yourself performing at your best all day long. Feed your subconscious mind with vivid, exciting, emotionalized pictures of yourself as positive, confident, competent and completely in control of every part of your life. These clear mental pictures preprogram you and motivate you to sell at your best in any situation.

Success secret number six: Practice positive self-talk continually. Control your inner dialogue. Talk to yourself the way you want to be rather than the way you might be today.

For example, repeat to yourself these powerful words, over and over again. “I like myself! I’m the best! I can do it! I love my work!”

Say to yourself, “I feel happy! I feel healthy! I feel terrific!”

Remember, fully 95% of your emotions are determined by the way you talk to yourself, most of the time. The way you feel determines how you behave. And how you behave determines how much you sell.

Your job is to get yourself on an upward spiral where you think and talk to yourself positively, all day long. You think, walk, talk and act like the very best people in your field. When you do, your success becomes inevitable.

Success secret number seven: Take positive action toward your goals, every single day. Be proactive rather than reactive. Grab the bull by the horns. If you are not happy with your income, get out there and get face to face with more customers. If you are not happy with any part of your life, accept responsibility and take charge.

All successful salespeople are intensely action oriented. They have a sense of urgency. They develop a bias for action. They do it now! They have a compulsion to closure. They maintain a fast tempo and move quickly in everything they do.

And the good news is this. The faster you move, the more energy you have. The faster you move, the more ground you cover. The faster you move, the more people you see. The more people you see, the more experience you get. The more experience you get, the more sales you make. The more people you see and the more sales you make, the more your self-esteem and self respect goes up, and the more you will feel like great about yourself. You will have more energy. You will be happier and more positive.

The faster you move, the more you take complete control of your entire life and virtually guarantee that you will be one of the top performers and the highest paid people in your field.

Salespeople are among the most important people inAmerica. Every single company depends for its survival on the success of its salespeople. High sales is the number one reason for company success. Low sales is the number one reason for company failure. And you can be in the driver’s seat.

About The Author

Brian Tracy is legendary in sales addressing more than 250,000 men and women each year on the subjects of management, leadership, and sales effectiveness.  He has produced more than 300 audio/video programs and has written 26 books, including his just-released books “Create Your Own Future” and “Victory.”  He can be reached at (858) 481-2977 or www.briantracy.com.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
No Comments »