‘Change’
Stop Watching The News
Stop watching the news! Come on folks is this what we’re destined to become? A nation of bad news junkies? And the reason I say this is because every time I turn around someone is telling me how bad it is out there.
Well guess what, we’re the only ones who can make it better!
And I’ll tell you another thing, there are salespeople, entrepreneurs and business owners out there right now that haven’t even had the time to look up and witness a recession. Why? Because they’re too damn busy opening up new markets, capturing market share and beating out all the competitors who have been scared off by bad news.
Listen, for 26 YEARS, from 1982 until September of 2008 the U.S. economy was in a recession for a grand total of 16 months! In other words, we are coming off of 26 total years of economic prosperity; the longest economic boom in the history of the United States, which is amazing. But therein lies the problem.
Most salespeople and business owners have been order-takers for decades.
Let’s face it, when business was booming did you really have to sell? Or did you just sit around waiting for the phone to ring or the door to open?
The big problem for far too many salespeople and dealers is they only know how to sell this way. They’re still sitting there waiting for the phone to ring (which it’s NOT) or the door to open (also NOT).
What is needed right now is a strategic attitude change when it comes to goal-setting, client relationships and prospecting for new business.
I am in the business of motivation and aggressive business development. Getting professionals of all stripes to take action in their lives, careers and businesses is what makes me tick. And with all the negativity every where you turn, I want to make an extra effort to get my programs into the hands of people like you.
My programs will help you create a game plan for your life, career or business and get back that crucial confidence you need to make 2009 a big winner. I promise you that.
For the first business week of December ending this Friday, I am offering a 50% discount on all of my products. They can be found by clicking these links:
This includes all of my DVDs: Make My Life Easier (my definitive seminar on building client relationships), Goal-Setting Techniques That Work, and Prospecting Skills That Work.
This means you can buy my DVD Success Series which includes all three of my DVDs plus a bonus copy of my book for less than $75! Click here to order.
Simply click on any of the “add item to cart” links like you normally would to purchase with us, and the 50% discount will automatically be deducted from the order total.
Doing Business By Accident Is Over
The age of doing business by accident is over. Clients and customers have so many choices today that you can’t expect to just show up, throw your briefcase on the table, and grab an order.
Now, is this a doom-and-gloom scenario, stating that there’s no more opportunity out there? Of course not. In fact, there’s more opportunity out there today than ever before. I really believe that no matter how successful you are right now, you have an opportunity to be more successful than you’ve ever been before.
There’s just one catch: In today’s competitive world there is no more margin for error.The companies and the people that will succeed today, tomorrow, and on into the future are the ones who will be willing to do everything RIGHT.
I know that as a client, customer, or consumer I can buy almost anything I want from the Internet and I never have to talk to you! So the question now becomes, what is it that you are willing to do for all your clients, customers, and prospects that creates so much extra value that it is more beneficial for them to buy directly from you than to just click on their computers?
Need help selling value? Click here for my online audio program Supercharged Selling, which will give you everything you need to turn customers into clients for life.
In other words, how are you differentiating yourself from the competition?
I think the single biggest question I have for you is this: What are you really selling?
Are you just selling whatever will get you the fastest commission, or are you selling extraordinary quality, service, convenience, and value? Are you just selling the first thing out of your bag, just to get your boss off your back, or are you selling “Save me time and make my life easier”? Are you just selling whatever the customer thinks they want and need, or are you selling knowledge, expertise, information, and education?
Are you just selling stuff? Are you just selling what everyone else is selling? Because if you are, I can click on my computer and I can buy stuff from the cheapest guy in town.
Get out there and sell some value.
It’s Never Too Late To Do The Hard
Two years ago, I posted a blog article titled, Consequences of the Easy Way Out.
It detailed the experiences of my son, Michael who was 18 at the time. It told how his penchant for taking the easy way out had put him in a position where he had limited his college choices. He ended up at a school he hated and while he did well, academically, in his one year there, his transfer choices were limited, to say the least.
I wrote in the article, “The good news for Michael is that these are not earth shattering or life threatening mistakes, and since he’s only 18 his actions, or lack of it, have become a valuable learning experience.”
Thankfully, I was correct.
Michael decided, since he couldn’t go where he wanted to go, he would take a year off from school and work full-time. Let me tell you something: there is nothing like a dose of the real world to really help you appreciate what it takes to be successful.
Michael worked hard as a Pizza delivery man for the local Pizza Parlor. He made a lot of money and saved a lot money. He invested wisely in the stock market and made a significant profit.
After a year, he decided it was time to go back. Through an acquaintance of ours, he was told about an excellent small private university 45 minutes to the west: Elon University. We checked it out; Michael loved it, applied and was accepted.
If he would have applied right out of high school, no way he gets in. But since he decided to “Do the hard,” his first year of college, those freshman grades got him accepted to a school he really enjoys and where he is not taking the easy way out.
Mistakes, bad judgment, always looking for the easy way out; these are not irrevocable tragedies. You can easily turn these around to your advantage just by realizing “The extra effort I put in up front, will save me far more time and effort in the long run; make my life better overall and assure me a successful future.”
Amazing Customer Service In Academia!
Delivering extraordinary customer service is not hard. It doesn’t take any amazing skill or talent. It’s very similar to playing great defense in basketball. Both take a high level of commitment, desire, communication and buy-in from everyone on the team as well as every level of the organization.
The only reason a company or organization would deliver lousy customer service is the same reason the New York Knicks play lousy defense. Not enough people on the team care; from the top on down.
Just recently, I came across extraordinary customer service in academia! Yes, you heard that right; the ivy-covered, sheltered-from-reality world of academia. You and your company now have no excuse.
My daughter Emily will soon be completing her junior year of high school and has started her college search. I suggested to Emily that she check out High Point University: a small liberal arts college in High Point, North Carolina. She agreed and we signed up for a campus tour.
I suggested it because I happen to know the new President, Dr. Nido Qubein. Dr. Qubein is not an academic. He is a highly successful businessman, entrepreneur, speaker, and author with a high-energy, can-do, no excuses attitude. I figured if anyone could create a unique, cutting-edge atmosphere on a college campus, this was the guy.
Dr. Qubein became president of High Point University three years ago. What he inherited was not pretty: a failing institution that was bleeding money and losing students. What he has done in the last three years is nothing short of remarkable.
- He raised over $100 million in the last 2 years.
- He made the decision that everyone at High Point would understand that students are customers.
- He told his professors that their biggest responsibility was to be in the classroom, be accessible and educate students.
Everyone who works for the university is friendly, accessible and gives you the impression there’s no task too tough to handle. Dr. Qubein wants every student to have an extraordinary experience in a fun atmosphere. Let me take you through our tour in order for you to really appreciate it.
First Emily, Linda (my wife) and I pulled into the visitor parking lot. Now each parking space has an electronic sign. We found our space and the sign read “Welcome Emily Greshes.” Remember, it’s those small unique touches that people remember.
Next we walked into the admissions building where up on the wall was another electronic sign welcoming all the students who were there for the 2PM tour. Each student was greeted by a separate admissions counselor. Pretty amazing since there were about 10 to 15 students there for tours. She briefed us on the university, told us what would happen on the tour, answered our questions and then turned us over to our tour guide. Our tour guide took us around campus in a golf cart, with two other students and their parents.
What we saw was amazing…
The grounds were perfectly groomed with beautiful flowers everywhere. While the university is 80 years old, there isn’t a single building (dorms included) that isn’t either brand new or completely renovated.
Class sizes are no more than 20 students per class. The entire campus is wireless. The new School of Business building was designed to be exactly like the Harvard School of Business. The dorms look like hotels. A freshman girls dorm had two, three and four bedroom apartments with a kitchen, dining area, common area and bathroom. The bedrooms were singles and each apartment accommodated 2 people per bathroom. The dorms had lounges on each floor with flat-screen televisions, leather recliners and games like foosball.
Now for more of those unique small touches…
In today’s crazy world, I’m sure many of you (like me) worry about security on campus, especially those of you with daughters. At High Point U, the campus police are right in the middle of campus next to the Student Union. If you get back to campus late one night and can’t find a parking spot near your dorm all you need to do is drive over to the campus police; they will take your keys; valet park your car for free and shuttle you to your dorm.
There is an ice cream truck that drives around campus dispensing free ice cream. We met the driver: he’s the Student Body President! They’re lucky my son Michael doesn’t go to school there or that truck would be out of business. There are also outdoor kiosks on campus that will dispense hot coffee, hot chocolate, and breakfast snacks for FREE to any student who is rushing to class and didn’t have time for breakfast.
The new Student Union has an outdoor pool with a hot tub (Emily was sold). Since High Point is the furniture capital there are leather recliners all over campus. Linda was so impressed she asked Dr. Qubein if she could apply for admission.
Needless to say, enrollment is soaring and better yet, so is retention. And just in case you’re wondering, and I’m sure you are, the price represents one of the best values in America for a private school.
It’s amazing what an organization can do when everyone is on the same page and is committed to the same thing! If it can be done in the stodgy, resistant-to-change halls of academia, it can be done anywhere.
