5 Steps to Believing YOU Can |
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Sales Mindset -
Sales Mindset
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Written by Rochelle Togo-Figa
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A key step to creating success in your life starts with believing in yourself and believing you can do it. When you have a powerful positive belief system, nothing can shake your foundation. It is the core of who you are.
Do you believe in yourself? The best way to answer this question is to look at where your life is right now. Do you have all the things you really want in your life? Are you satisfied with what you’ve accomplished? Do you believe your wishes/dreams will come true?
We may want to believe we can have anything we want, yet something gets in the way of that happening. And that “something” can be limiting thoughts. Those nasty little thoughts sneak in and keep us from feeling good about who we are.
It’s not unusual after you take on something big in your life, like starting your own business or doing something you’ve never done before, to have all your doubts and fears come up. Some familiar thoughts you may have are, “Can I do this?” “What if I fail?” “Am I good enough?”
I can remember when I decided I wanted to take my business to the next level; I was so excited. I knew it was time to play a bigger game but then those nasty thoughts started to creep in. There was always this little voice in my head saying, “You don’t have what it takes. You’re not smart enough. What if you fail?” I knew if things were going to change, it was up to me to make those changes. I then took the steps to shifting my thinking forever.
 Here are 5 steps I created to help you to believe you can:
1. Love yourself for who you are. Before you can let love in, you must first learn to love who you are. We are all whole and complete just as we are. We all came into this world as magnificent human beings fully expressed. Sadly, many people walk around feeling there is something wrong with them and with the world. And, they’re never satisfied with what they have or who they are. They never appreciate what they’ve accomplished because they’re always thinking “what’s next?”
The good news is nothing’s wrong, there’s nothing to fix, there is no where to get to because you’re already there. There is nothing you need to do to make yourself better because you’re perfect just as you are.
2. Trust. So often, we walk through life with an expectation that things “should be” a certain way. And, when that doesn’t happen, we’re upset, frustrated, and angry. We then make ourselves and others wrong. We start walking around complaining and blaming others.
There were many times when I was frustrated about my business. I had limiting thoughts like, “Why don’t I have more clients? I’m never going to make the money I want to make.”
I then took on practicing a new way of thinking. I consciously changed my thoughts and focused on trusting it would turn out. And each morning, I would think of what I wanted in my life and business and say, “I trust it will come to me.” When I did that, the door of abundance opened up and new opportunities flowed in.
3. Appreciate your accomplishments. If you want to attract more abundance into your life, slow down and allow yourself to be present to your accomplishments. When we take the time to do this, we’re opening up a space of more of the same to come to us.
Think about it this way. If you spend most of your time thinking about what you don’t have, what do you think you’ll attract the most? That’s right! You attract that which you focus on the most. Most times we rush through life thinking about the next thing rather than appreciating what have right now.
When you take the time to appreciate your accomplishments, you are allowing yourself to bask in the victory of what you have achieved.
4. Be Grateful. Quite often, people dwell on what they don’t have and complain why they don’t have what they want. And the more they do that, the more they perpetuate the same. Remember, like attracts like. They focus on the future and that some day they’ll have more money or more clients.
It’s just as important to your happiness to take time to be grateful for the things you have right now and have already accomplished. When you do that, you’re immersing yourself in the positive energetic forces of life that are around you. And, what you focus your attention on most is what comes to you. The more you are grateful for, the more you open yourself up to attracting more of the same.
Here’s a brief statement taken from Joe Vitale’s book, The Attractor Factor. “Feel thankful for your life, your lungs, your home, it doesn’t matter. Once you feel grateful, you are in an energy that can create miracles.”
5. Choices. You are where you are because of choices you made. The choices we make in our lives help to make us who we are today. If you don’t like what you have, you can change it. When you decided to start your business that was a choice you made.
Each day we have thousands and thousands of thoughts. We may not think we can choose our thoughts but that’s because we think we have no say in how we think. However, the truth is, if we don’t like the thoughts we have, we can change them and choose more positive thoughts.
Every day you get to choose how the day is going to go. So why not make it a great one! It's a conscious choice you make to believe in yourself and you can start today.
(c) Rochelle Togo-Figa.
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Do You Really Believe That? |
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Sales Mindset -
Sales Mindset
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Written by Colleen Stanley
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The self help guru’s are the best at teaching, “You are what you believe. Your thoughts determine your outcomes and actions. And what you think about most will manifest in your life.”
These guru’s are right and many salespeople and sale managers still subscribing to old beliefs and ways of selling do not serve them well in the information age.
Prospects are smarter, well armed with information and detect sales techniques quickly. They don’t enjoy sales meetings that seem like a role play. Prospects want salespeople that are the real deal and real smart.
Here are three beliefs to check and change if you’d like to enjoy better results from sales in 2012.
#1: You can only expect people to stay with your company for a short amount of time.
Business owners and sales managers are told by the experts that the alphabet generation, X, Y, and M (millennials), are different than the boomers. They are motivated to stay in a position for only two years. Then they will move onto the next opportunity and throughout their career enjoy approximately 14 different jobs.
 Here’s a tip that will make you money immediately. Let your competitor hire this traveling group of salespeople. The numbers show that a short tenure by a salesperson is not a profitable business model.
Let’s walk through the numbers. You hire a new salesperson and even with the best on-boarding and training process, it takes about six months to get her up to speed. She must learn the business, fill the sales pipeline and close business. According to the job hopping experts, you now only have one and half years for that salesperson to produce revenue for your company before moving on. The formula doesn’t make sense. Most top sales producers hit their stride after two years. By then, they’ve built relationships, referrals are coming in and repeat business is in place.
Look around at the most successful people you know. Are they job hoppers or job committers? Bill Gates, Warren Buffet……even Mark Zuckerberg. What would have happened to Facebook if Zuckerberg would have followed the trend to explore another opportunity after two years? You can bet they wouldn’t be getting ready for one of the country’s biggest IPO’s.
Business owners: Don’t lower your expectations or standards. There are salespeople out there, of all generations, with longevity in their resume. Change your beliefs and expectations. You will be amazed at who shows up at your company’s door step.
#2: Buyers are Liars:
This belief creates an interesting scenario for a sales professional. How in the world does a salesperson build a relationship with someone he has profiled as a “liar?”
Prospects aren’t liars--they’re just tired, really tired. They’re worn out from outdated selling techniques that create stupid conversations. For example, many salespeople have been taught to ask leading questions. “So, Mr. Prospect, if we could save you money, would you want to?” The question is not only outdated, it’s an insult to a prospect’s intelligence. What is the prospect supposed to reply? “No, we are proactively planning to lose money in that same area again this year.”
Another reason that prospects get labeled liars is because salespeople have been taught to overcome the objection. Prior experience has taught the prospect that when he says no, the salesperson moves into overdrive and starts overcoming the objection. They offer up trial closes, assumptive closes, and the mother-in-law close. (You’ll have to think about that one.)
So instead of telling the salesperson the truth, prospects says, “I need to think it over.” In 2012, ask for the truth and then be ready for the truth. Don’t force your prospects to lie to you. Let your prospects know that giving you a “no” is actually a gift because it saves you time and money from writing a practice proposal.
#3: ABC: Always Be Closing
Now that’s a sales meeting a prospect can look forward to. It sounds like this. The prospect meets with a salesperson, decides to be vulnerable and opens up about a challenge. The salesperson hears the problem and translates it to a buying signal.
She jumps on the challenge like a sumo wrestler and does a trial close. “Wouldn’t you agree that some of solutions we offer would solve this problem?” (Does anyone talk like this at home?) The prospect recognizes a set-up question and closes down.
The skilled sales professional avoids leading questions like and trial closes like, “Wouldn’t you agree….?” They are students of neuroscience and emotional intelligence. They understand that leading questions create a biological reaction in the prospect. (Yes, biology 101 is now part of an effective sales meeting.)
Here’s how it works. There is a part of the brain called the amygdala, often referred to as the old brain. Under pressure, the old brain goes into fight or flight mode. The prospect either gets hostile, (fight) or ends the meeting early, (flight). Neither reaction is a good way to end a sales meeting.
Real world sales professionals aren’t always closing. What they are doing is always opening up conversation by asking questions and not offering up solutions quickly. The old brain calms down and a smart, peer to peer sales meeting happens.
Get rid of old beliefs and outdated sales techniques. The new economy demands a new approach and philosophy in sales.
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The Secret to BEING Happy and Successful |
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Sales Mindset -
Sales Mindset
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Written by Mike Brooks
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Years ago I discovered a secret that has enabled me to create so much happiness and success, and the amazing thing about this secret is that it’s the exact opposite of what I had always been taught. You see, I was always told that if I wanted to BE happy or successful, then I had to Do things first that would enable me to HAVE something and then I would BE happy.
So I went about DOING a lot of the things people said I had to DO to be successful. For example when I wanted to become a Top 20% producer, my manager told me that I needed to cold call a lot, that I needed to give a lot of presentations, and that I need work harder, smarter, etc… So I did. But I didn’t become a top producer!
The reason was that the image I held in my mind was that of a bottom 80% producer who was trying to Do the things so I could HAVE the things I thought I needed to BE successful. And that image of me trying to struggle to become something I wasn’t (and that I didn’t see myself as) was the reason I wasn’t making much progress.
It was my self image of not already BEING something (successful) that kept me from DOING the right things to BE successful. You see, I was still a pretender trying to be something that I didn’t believe I was. So I kept adlibbing it through my sales process, still wasn’t using proven techniques, and I still sent out unqualified leads, etc. So matter how much more I DID, I remained a struggling rep still trying to get the things (HAVE them) so I could BE successful.
 It didn’t work.
And then I learned the secret. It was simple and made perfect sense, but it wasn’t that easy to do in the beginning. What I learned is that the image I have of myself, my self image or picture that I hold of myself, is what drives and ultimately determines all levels of success and happiness. And my number one priority was to first SEE myself as successful, in other words to BE successful in my thoughts and consciousness FIRST, and then I would Do (take the right actions) and HAVE success.
I learned that the way the world really works is opposite of the way I had been taught. All manifestation and results work like this: You first have to BE something in your mind (really feel it and believe you already have it) and then you will HAVE the things you want and then it will be like you to automatically DO the things you need to do to get them.
And here’s how I now practice this “law of manifestation”:
1) First I identify exactly what I will feel like when I accomplish any goal I have. Exactly what it will mean to me to BE in that state of accomplishment and feeling. If my goal is to achieve a certain level of production and income, I then capture all the feelings and describe all the things I will have now that I’ve accomplished the goal. I do this in intimate and elaborate detail…
2) Then I write up an affirmation card that includes a paragraph that reinforces exactly how I’m feeling and what it’s like to BE at that level of accomplishment. I read and visualize that affirmation and imprint those feelings into my subconscious mind so that I can BE that in my mind’s eye. After a few weeks of BEING this in my mind, my self image is changed and I have changed the picture of myself at my deepest BEING level.
3) All while this is happening, I watch myself as I begin making better decisions and as I begin getting (HAVING) different, more successful results in my life. And all this leads to me DOING things differently that support and reinforce and bring into reality the image that I now have in my mind (of how I am BEING).
The way this breaks down is that if my goal is to make more money in a month, I visualize what I feel like now that I’ve accomplished this, and then I watch as I naturally take better actions, and watch as more people, situations, and deals come into my life. I know this might sound magical and, well, it is. But it works…
If you find that you are struggling to achieve a certain result – whether it’s earn more money, get in better shape, improve a relationship, etc., then before you wait to be successful at it, why not start with the end result first? Try BEING the thing or state you are trying to accomplish first, and watch as what you HAVE begins to change and the things you begin DOING change to support that new image.
It’s how all long lasting change takes place, and it’s a lot easier than going about it the old way you may have been taught, too.
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Optimism is a Selling Skill. Is Your Sales Glass Half-empty or Half Full? |
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Sales Mindset -
Sales Mindset
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Written by Colleen Stanley
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Everyone is looking for a competitive edge in this post recession economy. Should we engage in social media tools? Hold a strategic planning session to determine best course of action? Roll out a new marketing plan? Here’s an idea that won’t cost you any money: take a look at the emotional intelligence skill of optimism. Just in case you think this is going to be a ‘Pollyanna’ article, don’t despair. There is evidence that shows optimistic salespeople make more money.
One of the best case studies comes from the work of psychologist Martin Seligman. He was engaged by Metropolitan Life in New York to help with their sales turnover challenge. Dr. Seligman convinced Met Life to give him access to their new sales candidates and administer their usual testing measures, as well as a new test he developed which measured optimism. He followed the progress of the new sales hires for one year and found that salespeople who scored high in optimism sold 33 percent more insurance than those who scored low. After two years, the optimistic salespeople were thriving in their positions. Met Life experienced increased retention, decreased turnover, and increased sales.
 How optimistic is your sales organization? People get worried about catching colds or the flu. Salespeople should be worried about catching the virus of pessimism. It is a deadly virus when it hits a sales organization because emotions are contagious. The clinical term is emotional contagion or “the transmission of moods.” When people are in a certain mood, happy or depressed, that mood is often communicated to others. So what message or mood is the sales management team sending the sales team? What message is your sales team communicating to customers and prospects? A sales manager shares the story of a sales rep that started every conversation during the last downturn with, “You probably don’t have any money ….” The self-fulfilling prophecy was set by the salesperson and the prospect followed the salesperson’s lead and said no.
So what can sales organizations do to stop the epidemic of pessimism? Here are four traits found in optimistic salespeople and sales organizations. Start installing them in yourself or your sales culture today.
#1: When faced with adversity, optimistic salespeople ask themselves better questions.
- What’s good about this? Top salespeople know that adversity is where character is formed and great lessons are learned. Optimists take advantage of this free degree because they know the lessons learned today will make them money in the future.
- What can I do about this situation? Optimistic salespeople take control because they know that control equals action, action yields results, and results increase motivation.
- What is funny about this? Humor is a great way to relieve stress which frees up the mind for creativity, clarity and innovation.
#2: Optimistic salespeople choose their friends wisely. Jim Rohn quotes, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Are you hanging out with optimists or pessimists? What kind of emotion is getting spread among your peers and colleagues? Is it healthy conversation or the pessimistic flu? Here’s the difference. The pessimistic salesperson says no one is buying. The optimistic salesperson says someone is buying…I just need to find him or her.
#3: They remind themselves that the adversity is temporary, not permanent. If business is a little slow, optimistic salespeople speed it up by taking care of their best assets: existing customers. They invest more time in consistent prospecting. They know the economy will turn and when it does, the prospect will call them not their competitor who has been sitting in his office comparing sad stories with his pessimistic colleagues.
#4: Optimistic salespeople manage results, not excuses. They know sales is a great profession because they can control their outcome. Top salespeople seek out mentors who can help them look at another way of doing business in tough times. They outwork their competitors that are still wishing the good ‘ole days would return. Top salespeople invest in learning so they can outsmart and out sell their competitor. Optimistic salespeople don’t look for greener pastures. They make greener pastures.
Optimism is a soft skill that yields hard sales results. Optimistic salespeople are easy to manage. Sales managers spend less time on drama and sad story telling and more time strategizing on how to find and open new business. Optimism is a choice. Everyone reading this article has the choice to wake up and choose to something good in their day, and in their business. It doesn’t mean you don’t pay attention to the reality of a tough economy. It does mean that you look for a better balance of reality and optimism. Remember the song, “Don’t worry. Be happy.” That mindset might be a new way to increase your top and bottom line.
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