Tx. Jim for sharing
Here are the 12.5 elements in the formula…
1. Your attitude. The key to your success. Get CDs now. Listen two hours a day for six months. Stop doing or listening to negative things.
2. Your goals. Set them today. Read the 6.5 steps in the Post-it Note section again (page 47). Use the Post-it Notes beginning right now.
3. Your networking. Find out where your best customers and prospects meet (trade association, chamber, club). Begin attending every meeting you can. It is imperative that you attend regularly.
4. Your power questions. Write ’em. Learn ’em. Use ’em.
5. Your power statements. Write ’em. Learn ’em. Use ’em.
6. Your sales tools. Figure out what tools you need and get ’em.
7. Your sales knowledge. Get sales skills CDs and listen to them. Alternate with the attitude CDs. Use the idea as soon as you hear it. Read every chapter in this book twice. One chapter per day.
8. Your preparedness. Are you truly ready to sell? If you are, you will. If you’re not, you won’t. The opposite of preparedness is failure.
9. Your follow-up. Tenacious, creative persistence that leads to a sale.
10. Your sales numbers. Making yourself see the numbers you need to build your pipeline and keep it full. Find your formula and use it.
11. Your prospect pipeline. Seeing the proper number of people a day who are qualified to buy builds your pipeline. The key to double income is having the right number of prospects ready to buy.
12. Your commitment. Write it to yourself. Tell others who will help you. Your commitment is your personal promise to yourself. Keep it at all costs.
12.5 Your self-discipline. Your determination and ability to achieve your goals and live up to your commitments.
There is a sales adage that says, “Your chances for success increase in proportion to the number of sales calls you make.” It’s amazing how the truth can be so simple. If it’s so simple, why don’t you do it?
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
People do what they see the Leader do.....
Good leaders are aware that others do what they do. And they always keep in mind that:
1. Followers are Always Watching What Leaders Do
If you are a parent, you have probably already realized that your children are always watching what you do. And just as children watch their parents and emulate their behavior, so do employees who are watching their bosses. If the bosses come in late, then employees feel like they can, too. If the boss cuts corners, employees cut corners. People do what people see.
Followers may doubt what their leaders say, but they usually believe what they do. And they imitate it. Former U.S. Army General and Secretary of State Colin Powell observed, "You can issue all the memos and give all the motivational speeches you want, but if the rest of the people in your organization don't see you putting forth your very best effort every single day, they won't either."
2. It's Easier to Teach What's Right than to Do What's Right
Mark Twain quipped, "To do what is right is wonderful. To teach what is right is even more wonderful—and much easier." That's one of the reasons why many parents (and bosses) say, "Do as I say, not as I do."
One of my earliest challenges as a leader was to raise my living to the level of my teaching. I can still remember the day I decided that I would not teach anything I did not try to live out myself. That was a tough decision, but as a young leader I was learning to embrace the Law of the Picture. Norman Vincent Peale said, "Nothing is more confusing than people who give good advice but set a bad example." I say, "Nothing is more convincing than people who give good advice and set a good example."
3. We Should Work on Changing Ourselves Before Trying to Improve Others
Leaders are responsible for the performance of their people. The buck stops with them. Accordingly, they monitor their people's progress, give them direction, and hold them accountable. And to improve the performance of the team, leaders must act as change agents. However, a great danger to good leadership is the temptation to try to change others without first making changes to yourself.
As a leader, the first person I need to lead is me. The first person that I should try to change is me. My standards of excellence should be higher for myself than those I set for others. To remain a credible leader, I must always work first, hardest, and longest on changing myself. This is neither easy nor natural, but it is essential.
4. The Most Valuable Gift a Leader Can Give is Being a Good Example
A survey conducted by Opinion Research Corp. for Ajilon Finance asked American workers to select the one trait that was most important for a person to lead them. Ranked No. 1, with 26% of votes, was leading by example. Second, at 19%, was strong ethics or morals. More than anything else, employees want leaders whose beliefs and actions line up.
Leadership is more caught than taught. How does one "catch" leadership? By watching good leaders in action!
So as you approach the end of the calendar year and start thinking about the performance of the people you lead, stop for a moment of honest reflection and ask yourself this question: What kind of example am I setting? If you're setting a high standard for integrity, competence, work ethic, and professional growth, if you're being all that you desire your people to be, then you're setting up yourself, your people, and your organization for success. If not, you need to make some changes.
John C. Maxwell is an internationally recognized leadership expert, speaker, and author who has sold over 13 million books. His organizations have trained more than 2 million business, government, and military leaders worldwide. Dr. Maxwell writed My Leadership Perspective for BusinessWeek.com/Managing once a month.
1. Followers are Always Watching What Leaders Do
If you are a parent, you have probably already realized that your children are always watching what you do. And just as children watch their parents and emulate their behavior, so do employees who are watching their bosses. If the bosses come in late, then employees feel like they can, too. If the boss cuts corners, employees cut corners. People do what people see.
Followers may doubt what their leaders say, but they usually believe what they do. And they imitate it. Former U.S. Army General and Secretary of State Colin Powell observed, "You can issue all the memos and give all the motivational speeches you want, but if the rest of the people in your organization don't see you putting forth your very best effort every single day, they won't either."
2. It's Easier to Teach What's Right than to Do What's Right
Mark Twain quipped, "To do what is right is wonderful. To teach what is right is even more wonderful—and much easier." That's one of the reasons why many parents (and bosses) say, "Do as I say, not as I do."
One of my earliest challenges as a leader was to raise my living to the level of my teaching. I can still remember the day I decided that I would not teach anything I did not try to live out myself. That was a tough decision, but as a young leader I was learning to embrace the Law of the Picture. Norman Vincent Peale said, "Nothing is more confusing than people who give good advice but set a bad example." I say, "Nothing is more convincing than people who give good advice and set a good example."
3. We Should Work on Changing Ourselves Before Trying to Improve Others
Leaders are responsible for the performance of their people. The buck stops with them. Accordingly, they monitor their people's progress, give them direction, and hold them accountable. And to improve the performance of the team, leaders must act as change agents. However, a great danger to good leadership is the temptation to try to change others without first making changes to yourself.
As a leader, the first person I need to lead is me. The first person that I should try to change is me. My standards of excellence should be higher for myself than those I set for others. To remain a credible leader, I must always work first, hardest, and longest on changing myself. This is neither easy nor natural, but it is essential.
4. The Most Valuable Gift a Leader Can Give is Being a Good Example
A survey conducted by Opinion Research Corp. for Ajilon Finance asked American workers to select the one trait that was most important for a person to lead them. Ranked No. 1, with 26% of votes, was leading by example. Second, at 19%, was strong ethics or morals. More than anything else, employees want leaders whose beliefs and actions line up.
Leadership is more caught than taught. How does one "catch" leadership? By watching good leaders in action!
So as you approach the end of the calendar year and start thinking about the performance of the people you lead, stop for a moment of honest reflection and ask yourself this question: What kind of example am I setting? If you're setting a high standard for integrity, competence, work ethic, and professional growth, if you're being all that you desire your people to be, then you're setting up yourself, your people, and your organization for success. If not, you need to make some changes.
John C. Maxwell is an internationally recognized leadership expert, speaker, and author who has sold over 13 million books. His organizations have trained more than 2 million business, government, and military leaders worldwide. Dr. Maxwell writed My Leadership Perspective for BusinessWeek.com/Managing once a month.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Attitude: Jerry’s Story
Jerry was the kind of guy you love to “hate.” He was always in a good mood, and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, “If I were any better, I would be twins!”
He was a unique food service manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because he was such a powerful motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went to Jerry and asked him, “I don’t get it. You can’t be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?” Jerry replied, Each morning, I wake up and say to myself, ‘Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.’ I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept the complaining or I can point out the positive side of life.”
“Yeah, right. It’s not that easy,” I protested. “Yes, it is,” Jerry said. “Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how to react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or a bad mood. The bottom line: It’s your choice how you live your life.”
I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in the restaurant business—he left the back door open one morning and was held up by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery, and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.
I saw Jerry about six months after the incident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, “If I were any better, I’d be twins! Wanna see my scars?” I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. “The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back
door,” Jerry replied. “Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered I had two choices. I could choose to live or I could choose not to live.” “Weren’t you scared? Did you lose consciousness?” I asked. Jerry continued, “The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But, when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. I realized that I had to take action.” “What did you do?” I asked. “Well, there was this big, burley nurse shouting questions at me,” said Jerry. “She asked if I was allergic to anything. ‘Yes,’ I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. . . I took a deep breath and replied, ‘Bullets!’ Over their laughter, I told them, ‘I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.’”
Jerry lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him, that very day, we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything!
He was a unique food service manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because he was such a powerful motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went to Jerry and asked him, “I don’t get it. You can’t be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?” Jerry replied, Each morning, I wake up and say to myself, ‘Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.’ I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept the complaining or I can point out the positive side of life.”
“Yeah, right. It’s not that easy,” I protested. “Yes, it is,” Jerry said. “Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how to react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or a bad mood. The bottom line: It’s your choice how you live your life.”
I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in the restaurant business—he left the back door open one morning and was held up by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery, and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.
I saw Jerry about six months after the incident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, “If I were any better, I’d be twins! Wanna see my scars?” I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. “The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back
door,” Jerry replied. “Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered I had two choices. I could choose to live or I could choose not to live.” “Weren’t you scared? Did you lose consciousness?” I asked. Jerry continued, “The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But, when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. I realized that I had to take action.” “What did you do?” I asked. “Well, there was this big, burley nurse shouting questions at me,” said Jerry. “She asked if I was allergic to anything. ‘Yes,’ I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. . . I took a deep breath and replied, ‘Bullets!’ Over their laughter, I told them, ‘I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.’”
Jerry lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him, that very day, we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
