It never ceases to amaze me the number of people that have reached a point of satisfaction. Their job is “ok”, their personal life is “ok”, and financially they can meet their bills every month but are not able to save any for the future. Basically they are doing “ok”. They have lots of things they would like to do for instance, travel, drive a fancy car, own a larger home, wear name brand clothing, own fine jewelry, buy new furniture, or send their children to college. However, things are going “OK”.

All of these people lead me to believe that “OK” is simply someone who has let them self settle for less than what they really had hoped to achieve. It could be that they have allowed their goals, dreams and aspirations to be compromised. Maybe they have lost the energy to fight, claw and sc...Read More

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Sales are up then sales are down. One month is great the next month mediocre, and then the third month sales are down. It seems as though sales the past months have been as volatile as the stock market; bouncing up and down like a rubber ball. What is the rest of the year going to bring? I would guess a lot more of the same.

The real question becomes are you a salesperson who is going to sit around and wait for customers to come to you, or are you going to go out and make something happen? That is really the difference between good and/or even great salespeople and those that could be labeled as exceptional salespeople. Some people, or businesses, build these ivory palaces and wait for people to come in based on location or advertising. Sometimes they don’t come. If you build it they will come only works in the movies, in real life you have t...Read More

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Did you ever notice how at a social function, a wedding, company party or hospitality get together how the people that seem to be having the most fun are the people that are dancing. They are laughing and carrying on just having the best of times. They may in fact be the only people at the wedding who are dancing, but nonetheless, no one is going to stop them from having a terrific time.

Then did you ever notice how when you are at the same wedding or social function how miserable some people look, those people that weren’t dancing. Ask the people who weren’t dancing what they thought of the reception, they will tell you how boring it was and that they actually couldn’t wait for the bride and groom to cut the cake and throw the garter and bouquet so they could leave.

The bottom line is that people choose to make th...Read More

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Sometimes it seems as though life just isn’t fair. You don’t get the breaks that others get. You are not feeling as successful as you think you should. You are not accomplishing all the things that you set out in your business life to accomplish. Other people have such an easier time learning and applying new concepts. The lucky branch seems to strike everybody except you. People you grew up with seem to have more possessions, take more vacations, work less hours and have had things given to them that you just haven’t been lucky enough to get.

Success, money, accomplishments and accolades seem to come to everyone else but you. You work just as hard if not harder than others. You put in just as many hours if not more than everyone else, and yet nothing is ever easy for you. You have to try harder, work even more, study longer, and give more of yourself t...Read More

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Who do you look up to in both your business and personal life? If you could mirror someone for a day, a week or even a month, who would that person be? Should you have the opportunity to mentor someone in order to learn and grow from that person who would that person be? All interesting questions that only you can answer. However, I would bet that the person that you would try to emulate wouldn’t be considered lucky. I would bet you would connect with someone who has paid the price for success. A person who is self made, where nothing was given on a silver platter. Your mentor would probably be a person that had to crawl and scratch and actually work for everything that they have achieved.

The person may not be the smartest, have the most money or the most possessions. The person would probably have a great deal of self-respect, determination, desire, enthusiasm, s...Read More

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Many people possess the wisdom or knowledge to know their strengths and weaknesses, yet very few make the commitment to act upon the knowledge that they have. Business owners and salespeople alike have the knowledge that they need to improve in certain areas, however very few commit to themselves or to the growth of the personnel within the business, thus failing to maximize the opportunities that they have before them.

There are all kinds of excuses. The cost involved, the time commitment, the realization that a change needs to be made and the fear that accompanies change. It could be a lack of confidence in oneself or their people. Maybe complacency or the simple satisfaction with the current level of achievement is the excuse. Sales are good right now. So, the excuse is wait until sales are bad. Other excuses are that I have been in the business forever or my people ...Read More

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What culture does your company have? Is it a Sales Culture, Merchandise Culture, Operations Culture, Repair/Service Culture, etc? In other words when someone mentions the name of your company what is the first thing they think of? Is it that you have a great selection of merchandise? Is it that you do great repair work? I hope they are thinking what great people you have that will do anything to help service the customer’s needs because that to me is a sales driven organization.

A sales driven organization is a company that from top to bottom realizes that they are in the sales business. Whether the customer was to speak to the accounting person, janitor, receptionist, repairperson, salesperson or the owner, everyone would have the customer’s best interest in mind. Too often I see organizations where the repair department looks at customers as a pain. I see a...Read More

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There is a very contagious bug running through the sales industry. More and more salespeople I run into have caught the disease and have yet to even know they have the affliction. Very few are seeking a cure for the disease. The disease I am referring to is pointing. Point a customer here or point them there. Everywhere you go salespeople are pointing customers in all sorts of directions.

The watches are right over there. The day beds are back in that corner of the store. The men’s casual shoes are right over on the sidewall. Look around, if you see anything you are interested in I’ll be right over there. The brochures are up by the counter. You’ll find the blank tapes in the middle of the store by the customer service counter. Customer Service Counter?? The problem comes to play in that these salespeople don’t realize that...Read More

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The buzzword of advertising and marketing companies for the new millennium is “Branding”. Companies are spending millions and millions of dollars identifying themselves as a brand or something different in their competitive community. What sets one company apart from another? In order too not only make the customer conscience of where they made their purchase, but in making it an experience to be remembered as well. Most companies spend five, six or even as high as ten percent of their total sales on advertising and marketing. We are talking major dollars. Look at the advertisements that cost two million dollars during the Superbowl. All placed with one purpose in mind, that being name and/or brand recognition. Do I agree with branding and name recognition? Yes I do.

In today’s competitive environment you need to “Brand&rdqu...Read More

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Ask not what your company can do for you, but rather what you can do for your company. Business in the year 2008 is a give and take. For your efforts in sales you are rewarded with money and/or benefits, in return you are expected to show up on time and put in an honest days work. You are expected to give your best effort with every customer, contribute to the team effort when it comes to non-selling duties, pull your own weight, pay for your own income with productivity, prospect, generate leads and thus generate sales.

However, too many salespeople that I encounter are waiting for something to happen. They expect the advertising to pull in thousands and thousands of people. They think the brochures, displays, signage, and/or general word of mouth will cause their company to become the latest hot bed of traffic, sales and profits. We all know that...Read More

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One of the things that I appreciate the most about our profession as salespeople is that we control our own destiny. As a salesperson, you alone wake up every morning and choose what the outcome of the day will be. You alone can decide if you are going to repeat the actions of the past or look for new and better ways to do your job. You alone control your attitude, enthusiasm and commitment.

Just as a company has to reinvent itself on a regular basis so must you, the sales professional. Look at yourself and your profession as a one-person organization. You are a one-person sales organization that has the capability to make as much or as little money as you decide you want to make. You can decide for yourself if you are going to be an entrepreneur or an employee. You can be a success or a failure. You can excel or remain idle. You can lead a great life or you can lead a b...Read More

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Did you ever notice how at a social function, a wedding, company party or hospitality get together how the people that seem to be having the most fun are the people that are dancing. They are laughing and carrying on just having the best of times. They may in fact be the only people at the wedding who are dancing, but nonetheless, no one is going to stop them from having a terrific time.

Then did you ever notice how when you are at the same wedding or social function how miserable some people look, those people that weren’t dancing. Ask the people who weren’t dancing what they thought of the reception, they will tell you how boring it was and that they actually couldn’t wait for the bride and groom to cut the cake and throw the garter and bouquet so they could leave.

The bottom line is that people choose to make the social function a gr...Read More

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