Welcome back to...me!!

Friends,

It's been too long and I apologize. The Agile One has turned the calendar but apparently hasn't left some of those bad habits behind. Like not blogging or even so much as checking in. It's done..It's over..From now on you can count on me to post always..often..regularly..ok ok..Once in awhile. But let's be honest, to be Agile, one must be flexible and spontaneous. Sounds like an excuse to me..a damn good one at that. 2011 brings new focus and new direction. Stay tuned

Commitment For Success

Happy New Year!! Welcome to 2010 my friends. As the calendar flipped I was thinking about goal setting as i so often do. I've alwyas been perplexed by those who don't set goals. I feel that unless you are working towards your own then you are working for someone else's. Here's a simple outline for you sales pros to think about.

1. Follow Written Goals with a Plan
1. Create a Bird Cage—Cut out and Paste Pictures of:

• Things You Want
• Places To See
• Long Term Dreams
  

2. Choose Single Most Exciting One

• Determine Cost
• Set Date
• Create Plan How To Attain It – Amount of New Business Needed, Daily Activity Needed, What is in your cookbook?

2. Daily Self – Affirmation – Positive Self Talk
1. No Negative – Stop Rating Yourself By Comparing Performance To Someone Else
2. Remember even at your current level your identity always=10
3. Go buy a book or tape on motivation/self worth
4. Daily Affirmation

• “I do whatever it takes to succeed”
• “I will make the agreed upon dials on a daily basis before I leave.”
• “Prospects only reject the message, not me.”
• “It’s Okay to get out of my comfort zone.”
• “It doesn’t matter what my prospect thinks or says about me.”
• “I will not make or accept any excuses.”
• “If I can bond with someone, I can sell them anything.”

3. Put Self in High Risk Situations – Seek out Situations That Have Risks
1. You have to participate in some uncomfortable activities to grow.

• May be uncomfortable at first – more you do them the easier it gets

2. Write down 3 selling situations that seem risky –out of comfort zone—commit to doing them
3. Write down 3 personal life situations that seem risky—commit to doing them

• Go in line at grocery store that says “10 Items or Less Only” and bring at least 15 items
• Go to restaurant that says “No Substitution” and try to substitute

4. Remember risks are inherent to anything you do

• Decide what worst case scenario could be—come up with plan to handle it
• Decide what best case scenario could be – hope for it
• Expect Mistakes
  

4. Record as many calls as possible if possible-Self critique
1. Improve your 60 second commercial
5. Write down as many self-limiting records as I can commit to working on and changing and how you will go about it
1. “Before you can change your actions you must change your beliefs.”
2. In personal life commit to daily, weekly, etc

• Improving my buy-cycle –at restaurant, make choice in 30-60 seconds
• Making decisions –pick movie/TV program quickly
• Talking about money – ask people how much rent is, utility bills, etc.
• Reverse Regularly –reverse as many questions asked as possible

This may seem like a trivial exercise but do it anyway. Keep growing.

The Mysteries of Management...

Start with a cage containing five monkeys. Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string and place a set of stairs under it. Before long, a monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all of the other monkeys with cold water.

After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with the same result all the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water. Pretty soon, when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.

Now, put away the cold water. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his surprise and horror, all of the other monkeys attack him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.

Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm! Likewise, replace a third original monkey with a new one, then a fourth, then the fifth. Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs, he is attacked.

Most of the monkeys that are beating him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.

After replacing all the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approaches the stairs to try for the banana. Why not? Because as far as they know that's the way it's always been done around here.

And that, my friends, is how a company policy too often begins.