Are you doing what you love?

From an early age I decided that I wanted to be in sales or do something where sales skills would come into play, while my friends were dreaming that they wanted to be firefighters or police officers or pilots , I would dream that I could be talking to people and make a living , my grand father was great at it , I use to ride with him from time to time with my cousins while he would go out and push the lamps that his factory made , he had sales people but he would always say "no report sheet will tell you how the customers buy your product" , and while my cousins were playing in the car I would go on this sales calls with him and boy was he a master ,I learned early that the number of sales you make is directly in proportion of the calls you make , I mean you can't win them all right? unless you are my grandfather but that's for another article.

I Love sales , I Love the hunt , uncovering needs and guiding people through the process is an art , no manipulation techniques no typing the customer , just a genuine desire to help other people through my service.

When should I ask for the sale? often but you should know when to do it , do it too early or too late and you miss an opportunity , you have to be able to recognize buying signals , when a customer asks how much up front is not good , when they ask how much after your presentation ...ding ding ding buying signal baby!!

Do you wake up everyday excited about going to work? excited that you are going to a place where you will be doing what you love to do and on top of that you get paid? I do , if I was any more excited I would have to pinch myself , big question , why not discover what you love to do? bigger question , do you already know what it is? biggest question , what are you waiting for?

Daily doses of attitude , daily doses of knowledge , daily doses of fitness etc..
They say an apple a day right? it does not say 30 apples at the end of the month , so why do you feel like you should cram everything up the last day? why do you have to scramble ? why not prepare ourselves?
Read everyday for 15 minutes in the morning before you start your day , make it something about attitude , humor , spiritual , religious but read everyday, invest your time don't spend it , watch less TV and use those hours for something that will advance your sales career, prepare yourself for the next day , where are you going? who are you calling ? keep impeccable notes and practice impeccable follow up.

It is so amazing to me how many sales people don't take the time to make selling easy , only 2 words bubba.....HARD WORK , but I promise you that if you follow this simple guidelines you will succeed.

Remember that you don't get good at sales in a day , you get great at sales day by day , so prepare yourself and be a student of sales.

Now go out and have a great sales day !

Can you describe success in one word?

Is there one word that defines success? Yes, there is. It's attitude.

And I'm certain that you have studied or been told that a positive attitude is the key to success. Not quite.

Attitude is defined as the way you dedicate yourself to the way you think. Your thoughts can be positive, neutral, or negative - and you choose them. You choose the way you think, the way you speak, and the actions you take. Positive, neutral, or negative.

What are your attitude thoughts, expressions and deeds? What are your attitude choices? Are you ready to win, or thinking you'll probably lose?

It occurred to me that the word attitude is just one part of the phrase that sets your thinking in motion. Attitude comes in many formats and circumstances. If you segment your attitude thoughts, you'll be able to focus more on a positive process and have greater impact on the outcome.


I believe all salespeople want to have a positive attitude, but situations occur that can cause challenges to your achievement.

Here are several specific attitude elements and insights that may help you better understand and maintain your positive attitude during those situations, opportunities, and moments when it counts:
Sales Attitude. Business is down, and you need to make more sales NOW. Do you believe you'll make the sale BEFORE you make a call or get to an appointment?
Value First Attitude. The customer wants value, not a sales pitch. Are you thinking about how you can bring value to others BEFORE you make a sales call?
Can-Do Attitude. You're challenged to get a project done or make that big sale. Do you believe you can do it BEFORE you attempt it?
Relationship Attitude. You know it's more than a sale. It's creating a long-term, value driven association. Is your mind set on what you can do to build relationships?
Winning Attitude. You know it's your turn to win. Do you think about AND believe you are a winner BEFORE you win?
Profit Attitude. There are two sides to profit. Do you believe you will get your price AND that others will profit as a result of dealing with you and buying from you?
Service Attitude. To serve is to rule. Are you thinking, "How can I be my BEST at serving others?"
Loyalty Attitude. You know that loyal customers breed more sales and greater profit. Do you believe that the actions you're taking will lead to more business and referrals from each customer you sell?
Money Attitude. You know it's not just making money; it's EARNING money. How do you think about money? Do you believe you are earning your money BEFORE you receive it?
Success Attitude. Everyone strives for success in his or her own way. A huge part of success is believing that you will achieve it. Do you dedicate time to think about your success and what it will take to make it?
Fulfillment Attitude. Fulfillment is a level beyond success. It arrives after you have achieved beyond your dreams and your money, and are at peace with your life and your relationships. You may not be fulfilled at the moment, very few people are. But you must think and BELIEVE that fulfillment is possible.
Five Year Attitude. Even though the achievement of attitude and the maintenance of attitude is a daily process, you must have a vision of your thinking. Where you will be five years from today will be determined by the actions you take today, and day by day.

My dad use to always say: "Son, the days and weeks go very slowly, but the years fly by." And so they do, and so do your positive attitude thoughts and actions.

Like many others, I owe my attitude awareness to Napoleon Hill and his teachings in Think and Grow Rich, Earl Nightingale from his timeless recording of The Strangest Secret, and to the quote from the most powerful children's book of all time, The Little Engine That Could. "I think I can. I think I can." I am the little engine that could baby !!

Unlike many others, I owe my attitude ACHIEVEMENT to multiple readings and multiple listens to them, and putting their ideas, philosophies, and strategies into my thought process and into action.

What day do you celebrate?

January 1st is always a big deal.

It’s a celebration of the new and of being grateful for, thankful for, or washing out the old. It’s a day of celebration, a day of football, a day of hangover recovery, a day of New Year’s resolutions, and a day of your strongest intentions to do more, do less, and do better.

And then there is January 2nd. It’s not as significant as January 1st or February 1st. Or is it?

There are several major (predictable) days of emotion, celebration, and reflection in each year. And there are some special days that pop upYour birthday is the easiest one to identify, with significant other people’s (spouse, children, extended family members) birthdays and anniversaries close behind.

The reason I’m challenging you to think about these days is that they tend to be emotional and inspirational in one way or another.

And my thought tonight is: Why aren’t all days like that?

Think about the celebration, the emotion, the determination, the resolve, and the intention that you have on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. If you could replicate that 364 times each day you wake up this year, you could conquer the world (or at least your customers and prospects).

My new year’s challenge to you is to better understand where your emotional drivers come from, document them, define them, harness their power, and repeat them each day as you get ready to conquer your world.
What holidays or days create resolve for you? What makes you on those days or holidays feel like you can take over the world? and how can you do that day by day ? how can you keep your motivation at a high? I can tell you that it will not matter much without a clear plan.

Document and memorialize these emotional moments and days in a way that you can call up their power every day. Maybe it’s a picture of your husband or wife on your desk as a reminder, maybe it’s a short list that you put on your calendar every day, maybe it’s Post-It notes on your bathroom mirror, maybe it’s establishing a mastermind group that meets weekly for breakfast, or maybe it’s just alone time for you to write and clarify your thinking, your intentions, and your proposed actions.

And then take action with the same determination you had on New Years or your birthday.

Whatever it is you decide to do with this concept, I challenge you to do it soon. February 1st is coming and you may not realize it’s as big a day to celebrate and take action as January 1st.

I rather you do this today than not start at all , look I have said it many many times , we all have challenges , we all have shortcomings and all of us in one way or another have tried to over come them, why have you not been able to succeed in the past? ist it your environment ? is it the people that you hang around with ? or is it you bubba?... well let me tell you this , it's you bubba and it always has been.

I will close now with my quintessential line.....Now go out and have a great sales day!

Trust , have you earned it?

When you make a sale, the first thing you do is celebrate the victory. That’s OK for a minute or two, but then you have to make more sales , see as a sales person you wake up unemployed every morning and MUST go out and find work right?

What you should do after a sale is determine how the sale was made, and why the customer bought from you. This critical information will lead you to the next sale in half the time. Or less.

For years I have employed this sales law: If they like you, and they believe you, and they have confidence in you, and they trust you – then they may buy from you. (I did not coin this phrase so don't get excited)

The customer bought because they trusted you. But in order for you to gain that trust, they first had to like you AND believe you AND have confidence in you. If those three elements were not present, trust (or trust enough to purchase) would not have followed.

BEWARE ;There’s a variation of this law. In sales, trust or no trust, sometimes customers will just take the lowest price. Avoid these people at all cost , they will be a pain in the ass like customers....trust me on this one.

In sales and business relationships, why does one person trust another person? Trust is a perception . It’s based on initial feelings and perceptions by the prospective customer -- value perception being a huge one. If the prospect feels value, they will begin to believe, have confidence, and maybe even purchase.

Relationships are based on trust. Engagements and interactions over time and words and deeds over time. They’re based on a past history of performance. Trust is not given. Trust is earned. And trust is not earned in a day; it’s earned day by day.

It may take two years to earn trust. But it only takes one minute to lose it. And the difference is two letters UN – truth or untruth.

Trust is not complex. Many of the answers you come up with as to why you trust others can lead you to your own game plan to become trustworthy.

Here are some simple elements of trust that you must MASTER in order to make it possible for a relationship to blossom:


Tell the truth. This is the number one element of trust AND relationships. Once truth has been violated, trust evaporates and may never return.
Deliver what you promise. People hope and expect you to deliver on promises.
Do what you say you will do. This is a test for being reliable and trustworthy.
Communicate in a timely manner. Rapid response shows you are responsible, on top of it, and that you care.
Bring value beyond your product or service. What you do to help others be more successful will be a true reflection of your character.
Be on time. Being on time shows you respect the other person’s time. It also proves your reliability.
Be friendly. Smiling people are the gateway to open communication. It costs no extra money to be friendly.
Be sincere. This can only come from belief in what you do, loving what you do, and caring for others. Not just being true to others, being true to yourself. Sincerity comes from within.
Be appreciative of their business. Showing and saying genuine thanks will not only build a relationship – it will enhance loyalty.
Be grateful for the opportunity to be of service. If you have a service heart, if you love to serve others, you will build trust with every action.
Be consistent. Trust is not a once in a while thing. It’s a constant thing. You can’t be on time one day and late the next. You can’t be friendly one day and rude the next. You can’t deliver one day and not the next. I believe this element is the most difficult to master because it combines all the other elements.
Give trust. You become trustworthy by giving trust to others.

In sales, in business, and in personal relationships of all kind, trust is THE critical element. It’s the glue that binds all the other elements together. Without it, the relationship will fade, diminish, or die.

What are you doing to breed trust? What are you doing to build trust? What are you doing to enhance the trust you have built? What are you doing to guard and protect the trust you’ve built?

I trust you will work on it.

Now go out and have a great sales day...

Bring Sexy Back...

When I say Justin Timberlake, what one word comes to mind?

Singer? Rich? Celebrity? Sexy? All of those words are correct. Add a couple more: Performer. Musician. Dancer. Entertainer. And of course , Britney.

People pay a premium to sit in the front. Actually, stand in the front. But they don’t care , every one of his concerts are spectacular, I had the pleasure of watching his concert on HBO ( I know lame but I’m 40 years old give me a break)


What’s that got to do with sales? well if you must know , Justin Timberlake did not have to sell one thing. People bought. Every ticket. Every bag of peanuts. Every drink. Every t-shirt was bought by fans who stood on line for a half an hour waiting to overpay. And they were happy they did.

Justin Timberlake is the essence of the law of attraction. His customers are his fans. His theme, “Bringing Sexy Back” should prove once and for all that sexy sells.

But let me put this in perspective, like I said I’m a 40 year old man, what the hell am I doing watching Justin Timberlake singing and dancing for three hours? I’m having a blast, that’s what I’m doing. And I’m learning the difference between the rock concerts I attended growing up , and the rock concerts of the 21st century.

Six months ago, I saw Panic at the Disco. Both of these concerts had one thing in common. Excellence. You may not like the music, you may not appreciate the music — but the quality of their performance, and the performers dedication to their craft, is undeniable.

What’s your level of dedication? How excellent is your performance? Who is willing to pay to watch you perform – and buy the t-shirt? That’s what I want to talk about for the next 400 words so keep on reading bubba,it’s going to get interesting I promise.


Let me give you the qualities that Justin Timberlake exuded during his performance, so you can see how they match up to your sales qualifications.

In his 2.5 hours of performance, he never missed one note.

In his 2.5 hours of performance, he never missed one word.

In his 2.5 hours of performance, he never missed one dance step.

There were 20 other dancers and musicians in his group who also performed to perfection. Everyone gave their BEST performance. Justin sang, played, danced, spoke to the audience, and performed as well as any entertainer I have ever seen. He owned the audience of 20,000 people from the first note. He’s 29. How old are you? How well do you perform?

If you’re going to sing and dance and play instruments for 2.5 hours, you better be in shape. Justin Timberlake is in shape. And the audience responded in kind with the appropriate singing along to every word of every song, and shrieking every time he came close to them.

I wonder if being in shape, and giving his all, and preparing for months, had anything to do with his ability to sell out the house, win the approval of fans, win Grammy after Grammy, and make millions of dollars.

I wonder how in shape you are? And I wonder how that affects your ability to perform and earn at the level of “best.” How many “Sales Grammys” could you win?

And, oh yeah – he also writes his own music.

From a business perspective, there are a lot of lessons you can learn from this event and this performer.

His image, his reputation, his music, his attraction, his marketing, his level of performance, his self-confidence, his team, and his ability to communicate are all beyond excellent. And when combined into a concert, it’s not just an event; it’s an experience.

After 2.5 hours of Justin Timberlake’s performance, no one wanted the concert to end. Appropriately, he ended with his “bringing sexy back.” (which we should all do , my humble opinion)Not just singing and dancing and playing — but literally jumping on top of the piano with one leap. He didn’t win the approval of the crowd; he drove them crazy.


If he would have said, “Okay, everyone give me 100 more dollars when you leave,” EVERYONE would have gladly donated.

And they will talk about it, write about it, blog about it, and YouTube about it for years to come.

What do people say after your sales performance? How much applause do you get from your customers?How much do you prepare the night before your “sales performance”?

I know that this is a little bit off the wall , but my point here is that we as sales people must prepare to bring excellence to our sales and not miss a note , now if you want to be like Justin and Britney you better prepare yourself baby!! because it does not come easy , you must apply the 2 dreadful words “HARD WORK”

Now go out and have a great weekend , prepare yourself for your next week and bring sexy back!! have a great sales day

On choosing happiness, what's your choice?

After is a self-defeating word. It robs you of the present, and makes you wait without taking any action.

You convince yourself that life will be better after something: After you get a new job, after you get a better job, after you get more money, after you get out of debt, after the economy rebounds, after your stocks go back up, after you sign that big customer….after.

You convince yourself that life will be better after an event: After you get married, after you have a baby, after you get a new house, after you take a vacation, after you come back from vacation, after summer is over, or some other action-procrastinating “after.”

Are you frustrated that your kids aren’t old enough, and believe you’ll be more content after they’re in high school or out of high school? Are you frustrated that you have teenagers to deal with? You will certainly be happy after they’re out of that stage. Certainly you’ll be happier after they’re in college, or is it out of college?

You tell yourself that your life will be more complete when your spouse gets his or her act together, when you get a nicer car, a new house, a raise in pay, a new boss, or worse, after you retire.

The truth is, the fact is, the reality is, there’s no better time to be happy than right now.

If not now, when? After the economy gets better? that is not going to happen for a while bubba so get used to it.

You may not be able to wait that long.

Your life will always be filled with challenges, barriers, and disappointments. It’s best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. Alfred Souza said, “For a long, long time it had seemed to me that I was about to begin real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.”

There is no way to happiness.

Happiness is the way.

There is no after to happiness

Happiness is now.

Here’s the answer: It’s inside your head FIRST and everyplace else second. Happiness is a treasure. Your (missed) opportunity is to treasure every moment that you have.

Stop waiting until you finish school, until you go back to school, until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have kids, until after you quit smoking, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until you retire, until you get married, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get your new car or home, until your car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until fall, until winter, until the first or the fifteenth, until your song comes on, until you’ve had a drink, until you’ve sobered up, until you win the lottery, or until the cows come home to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy.

And treasure the happiness of now more because you share it with someone special enough to invest your time in…

Happiness is:

Not a sale or a commission.

Not an economy or a budget.

Not a yes or a no.

Not a game winning hit or a last second touchdown.

Happiness is a way of life that is inside you at all times. It helps you get over the tough times, and helps you celebrate the special times.

Seems pretty simple to define on paper, but real difficult to manifest when the chips are down. My experience has taught me the difference between resign and resolve. You can resign yourself to what is, and hope or wait for a better day. Or you can resolve that you are a positive person who finds the good, the positive, the happiness, the smile, and especially the opportunity in everything.

Happiness is now, not a goal or a destination . It’s not an after, it’s a before.
And it’s up to you baby !! All you have to do is: decide , happiness is a choice.

Now go out and have a great sales day.

Thinking about the way you think ...maybe for the first time

THINK BABY!

Think is a word that most people read, and don’t do. Or don’t do enough. Ever hear the phrase, “What were you thinking?” Do I have to define it? No, because it usually means you weren’t.

John Patterson, Founder of The National Cash Register Company in 1880, created the word THINK! as the motto, and a directive, for his business.

How do you think?

Have you ever consciously thought about the way you unconsciously or subconsciously think?

Have you ever thought about how thinking affects outcomes and results?

Consider these elements of how thinking affects every area of your life:

Thinking is the process used to make a decision.

Thinking is vital to attitude.

Thinking is vital to response.

Thinking is vital to action.

Thinking is vital to outcome.

Thinking is a process that you develop through conscious practice – IF YOU’RE PAYING ATTENTION.

Some people refer to thinking as “focus.” Not me. Focus is an attribute applied to goal achievement or outcome. I call it “pause.” Mental pause. The mental pause between listening and responding. The mental pause between having a task to do, and executing it.

It’s your stream of conscious that takes into account your intellect and your ability to reason, and combines it with your experience and your ability to decide. It’s your ability to reflect, and consider options and their consequences or risks – weighed against the possible rewards.

”I want to think it over” is one of the classic sales objections (or stalls) of all time. People, you included, need time to think – or at least to solidify initial thoughts.

Yes, THINK is complex – that’s why most people don’t do it properly – or at all.

There are several ways to think:

1. In writing. Writing your thoughts allows your thought process to deepen.

2. To yourself. Contemplating action or decision as you gaze out a window.

3. In a group. Bring up your idea or thought and get feedback, or more thoughts.

And my personal favorite:

4. Talking to someone. Sharing your thoughts aloud to act as clarification to yourself. Not necessarily to get the other person’s input or feedback, but to hear your thoughts or ideas out loud. When you hear your thoughts as you express them, they become clearer and more justified in your mind.

There’s more, but you’ll have to think about that until next week, when I’ll present more answers and examples of how to think things through in terms of the customer.