“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve. Thoughts are things! And powerful things at that, when mixed with definiteness of purpose, and burning desire, can be translated into riches.”
-Napoleon Hill

If you are like me, the first time you heard this was when your Mom or Dad said, “You can do anything you want, once you put your mind to it!” But did you ever really believe it? Whether you did or not doesn’t matter. What does matter is your willingness now to give it a shot. Seriously! And it starts by not letting anybody around you determine how successful you will be. Think about it. Are some people born to be “bosses” and others the employees? Are some pre-disposed to being a top performer and others meant to be average? Are some born lucky and others SOL? The answer is NO. Nobody controls how far you will go in your career.

So this week, take 15 minutes in your office and ask yourself, “Am I reaching my potential?” Then ask whether it is you or others that are limiting you. If it is others, do NOT let them have any power over your thoughts. While they project negativity, stay focused, knowing that they have no control over your career or your life. Only you do. It’s time to put your greatest performance weapon to work, in ways you never have. Because once you understand the power of your mind, you will realize that you have been given the same gifts that make the world’s top performers who they are.

“If you want to be famous in business, do your job so well that everybody wants to tell a friend about you.”
-Brian Sullivan

Let’s get something straight. Nobody…I mean NOBODY likes to make cold calls. That’s because well over 90% of the cold calls we make lead to rejection. And that rejection leaves us feeling as we are somehow less human than we were before the cold call. While many of our professions rely on us reaching out to new prospects, who says those new prospects have to be ice cold? Because they don’t! In fact, if you do your job exceedingly well for current customers, then make it a habit to ASK for their help in growing your business, your days of getting kicked to the curb should be greatly limited or eliminated all together.

So this week, identify 10 current customers who love you and your company. Then ask each one of them this question, “Can I ask you for a favor? I am trying to grow my business,  and I trust your opinion. Do you know of three or four friends or associates who could use the type of service/value that I have been providing?” Then don’t look shocked when they actually give you some names. Hey, if you get three referred leads from each of those ten customers, you just created 30 new warm and cozy leads. Then go spend your sales time prospecting with that list…a list that carries a much higher percentage of success than that frigid one staring you in the face right now.

How do you feel? Are you ready? Of course you are. Because in 2010 you are going to change the world! And I promise it’s not going to be difficult. In fact, it’s going to be easier than you ever imagined. And the good news is that you have total control over how much positive impact you make. If you want this to be your most famous year ever, you absolutely can have it. But it means you have may have to “clean house.” That house is your mind. You need to get rid of any grudges, anger, jealousy, apathy or fear that existed in your business or personal life just two days ago. Why? Because it’s holding you back. If I thought being negative, angry or grumpy would help you sell more, lead more, organize more, or change the world more I would say, “Go for it!” But it doesn’t work.  It only makes people more negative angry and grumpy towards you and you can’t influence them if they think you are a jackass.

So today, make a deal with yourself. While others are making excuses, gossiping about a co-worker, cutting corners or frowning in frustration, be the one finding solutions, recognizing the good in others, finishing the job and smiling in celebration. Then be prepared for the positive results that this year will bring. Because these small changes in you are about to make BIG changes in everybody around you.

People fall down, winners get up, and gold medal winners just get up faster.

-Bonnie St. John

Bonnie St. John lost a leg at the age of 5. Several years later, she would go on to become the first African-American to win an Olympic medal in skiing as she was awarded a silver and two bronze medals in the 1984 Paralympics in Innsbruck, Austria.  This week on my radio program, I asked Bonnie to tell her story about how she won the Silver. She said, “I was leading in the slalom after the first run. Then in the second run, I slipped on an ice patch and fell down the hill. I thought for sure this would cost me a medal, but I got up and continued racing.  Several other competitors hit the same patch of ice and also fell…even the one who eventually won the gold.  The only difference, however, between her and I, and the Gold and the Silver, was SHE got up faster…and THAT won her the gold.”

So what about your business? In this tough year, do you feel like you have “slipped on a patch of ice?” Well if so, NOW is the time to get up…and get up FASTER than your competition. Because there is only one gold, and it’s either going to you or them.

Here are three ways to get up faster in your business:

•    Get out of bed 30 minutes “faster” and earlier each morning.  Then use that extra time to learn something new about your Product, Industry or Competition.

•    Stop procrastinating! It’s time to quit talking and start doing. Write down a list of high value activities that might be painful but necessary to make you famous in your company then schedule time each day to do those things.

•    Network and Cold Call more than the competition. If you are speaking to 10 accounts each day, pump it up to 15 accounts each day.

And remember, the common fuel to “getting up faster” is URGENCY. Make your body feel it, then help others use it to make decisions more quickly. And by this time next year, you will look back on the autumn of 2009, as the greatest FALL of your career…the fall that couldn’t keep you down.

“Performance stands out like a ton of diamonds. Non performance can always be explained away.”
-Harold S. Geneen

Tuesday while driving home from family vacation I spotted a diamond behind the counter of a gas station register. While I walked into the 15×15 ft tiny room that held only a cooler and two racks full of snacks and candy bars, that “diamond” (otherwise knows as Jack according to his name tag) was delivering a dazzling performance. He leaned over a small microphone that could be heard through the speakers at the gas pumps and enthusiastically announced, “Hope your day is going great! For the next 10 minutes ONLY we have a buy two candy bars get one free special! Come on inside and treat yourself!”

Then as I approached the counter to pay for my daughter’s bag of pretzels he smiled and said to me, “Those pretzels might make you thirsty. Right now you can get two 16 oz Cokes for only $2.22.” I walked out of that store spending slightly more than I had planned but got an opportunity to watch a top performer in action. I had never seen somebody work a cash register and a mic with such passion. As I walked away, I wondered how many additional sales he created each day, month, or year just by LOOKING for additional sales opportunities with EVERY customer. Is there any doubt this sales HABIT will produce significant and sustainable results? Of course not!

So this week, be like Jack! Let NO prospect leave you without you having tried to sell and serve them more. So go for the add-on sale! Ask for the referral! And make it a HABIT. Because the only difference between Jack and the average “non-performing” salesperson is he knows the formula to becoming a Diamond. It’s to LOOK for diamonds in every prospect he sees.

“But wait, there’s more…”
Billy Mays

This week the sales world lost one of its great Pitchmen, Billy Mays. His ability to create millions of dollars in sales by pitching common household products landed him on his own Discovery Channel show known as Pitchmen. So what can we learn from Billy that will make us a top Pitchmen or Pitchwomen? Well there are many lessons, but perhaps the biggest one that stands out is Billy’s ability to make common products seem uncommon. To do this, he made his demonstrations fun. They never got stale or boring. He was able to get more done in a two-minute commercial than most “professional” salespeople can get done in 60 minutes.

So this week, pick your favorite product to sell. Then sit down and write a short two-minute commercial on what makes that product so special. It should include

•    An introduction,
o    “Hi, I’m Billy Mays here for What Odor.”
•    Heavy on Benefits
o    “Eliminates Embarrassing Odors with One Spray.”
•    The Secret to How it Works
o    “Non-Toxic, All Natural Formulation of 41 Oils.”
•    Where to Use it
o    Sour Milk, Moldy Rotten Cheese, the Litter Box
•    Wow Examples
o    “Can eliminate a Skunk’s Odor”
•    Call to Action with UREGENCY
o    “Order now and we will add a second bottle.”

By taking time to think like Billy Mays, you will have developed the essential ingredients of what will become your greatest sales presentation. So thanks Billy, for teaching us how passion, energy and an occasional loud voice are essential tools to not only getting prospects interested, but committed.

-Zig Ziglar

I recently had a sales call that didn’t go as well as I would have hoped. The feedback I received from one of my associates was that I might have been a bit too enthusiastic. As I thought about my “performance” I thought about what I could have done differently. My first analysis was that I perhaps needed to better control that enthusiasm. But then I realized something…I really like what I sell and know it helps people.  I may never be able to fake apathy towards my products and services and I will never try to. And while I do believe it is important to match your customer’s emotions, I believe it is perhaps more important to show confidence and passion for what you are selling. Will there be a mope or two that you turn off…perhaps? But the positive emotions that you create will far outweigh the opportunities that you scare away. So this week, think of three things that you and your company do really well, get fired up about the benefits those things provide, and don’t hold back with those good vibrations! A lot more prospects will come to you than run from you!

Do you know what makes you so good? If somebody asked you right now to tell them why you or your company is worth more than your competitor, could you tell them precisely and confidently? While most salespeople and businesses believe they are worth every penny and certainly worth more than the competition, most cannot articulate what makes them better. Because they often have not spent time thinking about it.

Today, take 15 minutes at your desk and make a list of what makes your offering so special. Is it your knowledge, follow-up, listening skills, or creativity? Whatever it is, write it all down. Then dig deeper. Be specific in each area. What knowledge do you have that’s different? How quickly do you follow-up? What do you listen for? How does your creativity benefit others? And once your list is done, ask yourself, “Would my competitors list look like this?” If so, you better change your list or do a better of identifying EXACTLY why you can do those things better.

By making this list and then putting it into a repeatable “script,” you will be better prepared the next time a prospect asks you, “Why should I do business with you.” And rather than spewing out the same lame, “We specialize in service blah blah blah,” you will instead fire off your specific sales value in a way that leaves them better understanding why they NEED to spend money with you.

Want to turn your salesforce into Sales Weapons? Go to sellhardplayhard.com to learn about the PRECISE Selling Performance Camp on June 11 in KC. To find out more about Brian’s sales and leadership programs, visit him at www.preciseselling.com or email Brian at bsullivan@preciseselling.com

Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel. It is to bring another out of his bad sense and into your good sense.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Have you ever sat through a corporate or business presentation, only to find yourself counting the minutes until this nightmare was over…so you can go back to being productive? Well guess what? If you don’t look at your own presentations as “show time,” your audience and team members often feel the same way!

So if YOU had the choice between jumping off a cliff or presenting a topic to a large group of people, which one would YOU choose? Fact is, every time you get an OPPORTUNITY to get up in front of a group, you are also given the opportunity to impact people in a meaningful way. And here are some quick tips to getting it done:

•    If you use PowerPoint, use as few slides as possible to get your point across. (Has anybody ever said, “That presentation was lousy because there weren’t enough slides!” ANSWER: NO)

•    Practice at least the first four minutes of any presentation OUT LOUD several times so it rolls of your tongue as if you were Ronald Reagan Obama.

•    Survey or ask the audience members BEFOREHAND what THEY want to hear. Then craft your presentation with a “what’s in it for them” message.

•    Smile, have fun, add stories, YouTube Video, etc

By focusing on these small but key areas, you will leave your audience smarter, more motivated and better prepared to put your recommendations into action. And as you add more value to them, your own value to your people, your company and your industry will increase. And as you get your audiences out of their bad sense and into your good sense, don’t be surprised if you have a few more CENTS in your pocket at the end of the year.

This week, Brian interviewed author Kevin O’Conner on his weekly radio show. Kevin wrote the book “Present Like a Pro.”  To get  specific tips on making YOU a better presenter, go to www.preciseselling.com/Radioaccess.htm to listen to the interview. To find out more about Brian’s sales and leadership programs, visit him at www.preciseselling.com or email Brian at bsullivan@preciseselling.com.

If I can just remain ‘flat’ this year, I will be happy,” were the words recently spoken to me by a fellow salesperson. By this he meant he would deem it a successful year if he only equals 2008 sales. But there is a problem with that philosophy. If you plateau or consider “flat” sales a success, you are NOT remaining flat…because others are in attack mode and growing their business. And for them to grow their business, they either need to sell more to current customers or ATTACK yours. Now is business a little more difficult to find this year? Maybe, but who cares? Because the only think YOU have total control over is what YOU do. But one thing is sure. Expect flat sales and you will GET flat sales. Believe this will be your toughest year. and it WILL be your toughest year. But here’s the good news. 2009 can be the year that FORCED you to become the best professional you have ever been. And because you decided not to sit back but instead to attack, it will be this year that you will look back on as the one that FORCED you to become more knowledgeable, more innovative, a better communicator, a more effective negotiator, and flat out BETTER at what you do.

So this week, decide how many new clients you want to have on the books by the end of the first quarter. Then decide how many formal presentations it will take to capture that number. Next, decide how many cold prospecting calls you need to make to get those formal presentations. Then get to work! Attack and then attack some more. And when the battle of a slow economy is over, you will look back on this time as the period in your career when you became a true professional.

As president of PRECISE Selling, Brian Sullivan helps improve sales, customer service, negotiations, leadership, and presentation skills through seminars and Internet training programs. He also hosts “Entrepreneurial Moments,” a radio show on business and personal development. For more on his speaking, consulting or book, visit: www.PreciseSelling.com or email: bsullivan@preciseselling.com.