When an athlete runs a triathlon, his goal is to beat his opponents and win. When a person engages in an intense workout, there is a weight goal that he or she would like to meet. When you apply for a job, your goal is to pass the interview and get accepted.As you may notice, it is important to set a goal for yourself so that you can meet a particular objective. Without goals, your actions will all be for nothing. This is the reason why goal setting is important. When dealing with your career, your finances or even your personal life, setting goals for yourself will allow you to create an action plan so that you can work towards, and eventually meet those goals.

The Numerous Advantages of Goal Setting

As a whole, goal setting will allow you to turn your future plans into a reality. Here are the numerous advantages that you can get to enjoy with the help of goal setting:

1. Setting long-term goals for yourself will give you that drive to work harder in meeting your career or your personal objectives. 2. Setting short-term goals can be a great motivator, especially if you monitor your progress and celebrate your successes in each small accomplishment that you have. 3. Goal setting will allow you to determine the possible distractions that you may deal with in the process of meeting your long-term goals. Once these distractions are identified, you can exert an extra effort so that you will not be lured away from your goals. 4. Goal setting is the key to effective time management. 5. Goal setting will boost your self-esteem since it improves the quality of your life by letting you know exactly where you are headed in the future.

Getting a Head Start in Goal Setting

Now that you know all about the importance of goal setting, how can you begin setting such goals for yourself? Here are some useful goal setting tips that you can follow:

�* Start by creating a list of your short-term goals while still keeping your lifetime goals in mind. �* As you slowly progress and each of your short-term goals are being met, you can move on to a broader picture: by setting your long-term goals. �* Your long-term goals should span your personal, professional, financial, physical, educational, and even your public service goals. Answer these questions: – How would you like to see yourself a few years from now? – How would you like to make a difference in the lives of others? – What long-term financial goals would you like to meet? – What are your travel plans in the near future? �* Remember that whether you are setting long-term or short-term goals for yourself, they should still be realistic. Knowing what you want out of life is the best way to set realistic goals for yourself.

To sum it all up, goal setting is all a matter of deciding what is important for you to achieve in this lifetime. Removing distractions, motivating yourself and boosting your confidence are the steps that you need to follow in order to meet the goals that you have set for yourself.

Committing yourself to achieving your goals is what will make your journey in life more fun, enriching and meaningful.

Many people spend some time at the end of the year working on the New Year. These people typically fall into two groups: those who use the end of the year as a way to be introspective and look back on the past year, and those who spend time looking forward; setting goals and planning the coming year.

Actually, there is a much larger third group – the group that intends to do one or the other of these things but ends up doing neither. Why this third group exists is the topic for another article, but reading this article can provide a path to help you if find yourself stuck in inactivity each December!

Each of the first two groups is doing something positive and helpful, but both are missing something. They are each doing half of the two step process for accelerating your success. Here are those two steps:

• Reflect
• Project

Either of these steps can be useful, however when you place both of them together, you create a powerful synergy. Let’s look at each individually.

Reflection

Reflection is key to capitalizing on your past experiences. Have you ever met someone who seems to make the same mistake repeatedly? This person isn’t taking time to reflect on what worked (and what didn’t) in their past experiences. Reflection allows us to learn and grow from our past experiences. You can see why people like to do this at the end of the year – it gives them time to take stock of their year and look for the things they learned.

Doing this reflection successfully though is about more than collecting lessons; it is also about growing from those lessons. Effective reflection leads to an outcome – an intention for applying those lessons in the future, which leads to the second step.

Projection

Projection is a process of looking forward. When people take time at the end of the year to look ahead and set some goals they are projecting. Projection is planning; thinking about the future, deciding what you want and then expecting success. When we plan from a perspective of expected success, we plan more thoroughly. And when we plan more thoroughly, we improve our ability to execute on those plans.

As you can see this is a more engaging process than just creating a New Year’s Resolution. The good news is that this more integrated approach gives you a much better chance of making your “resolutions” real.

How To Do It

Now that you know the steps, you may be looking for more guidance on how to do them. While books could be written on specific details and tools, you’d likely rather be reflecting and projecting than reading an in-depth treatise on approaches. So let me make it simple.

Ask yourself questions.

Ask yourself questions to reflect on the past year, on the lessons you learned and more.

Ask yourself questions to think about the coming year, what you want to achieve and how you can use the lessons of the past to reach those plans more rapidly.

Asking questions and answering them is one of the most powerful ways to help you reach any new goal or objective.

Only at the End of the Year?

I’m writing this in mid-December and this is definitely a time of year when this two-step approach is helpful. But you can use this approach any time you wish, or any time you are looking for a kick start on success.

Maybe . . .

• Once a quarter
• At your birthday
• At the start (or end) of a new job
• At the start (or end) of a big project

You can reflect and project anytime you want – in fact the more you think in terms of learning from your past and applying it to your future goals and plans, the more you accelerate your progress!

Like many other things in life, the more time you put into these processes the more valuable they will be, and yet simply working on a daily basis with this dual focus of reflection and projection can be helpful as well.

Make this your best year ever — I dare ya’

Frank Cardia

Even though it’s one of the most powerful ways to build your business, most business owners don’t send out personal cards because they don’t know when it’s appropriate, what to say, or they feel it doesn’t apply to them because their business is DIFFERENT.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a real estate agent, coach, hairdresser, insurance agent, restaurateur, sales rep or dog walker, your business depends on relationships and if your clients and customers aren’t staying with you for the long haul and bringing their friends, there’s a flaw in the system.

A Technical Assistance Research Project conducted in Washington, D.C. a couple of years ago revealed the following reasons why customers leave a business:

1% – Death
3% – Move Away
5% – Buy from a friend
9% – Are sold by a competitor
14% – Product price
68% – Perceived indifference

You can add together the first five percentages listed, double them and they still won’t amount to the number of clients and customers you lose because they don’t have a sense of relationship with you.

In order to create a bond, clients need individual attention, acknowledgement and a feeling that they are genuinely appreciated.

And the simple greeting card has the power to make that happen.

Following are ten creative scripts you can use in a card to strengthen your client and prospect relationships. You will be astounded by the impact this individual attention has on the number of referrals you attract, the loyalty of your existing clients, and the reduction in complaints, returns, and advertising expenses.

After a Networking Event: It was a pleasure meeting you at XYZ last evening. Thank you for sharing your time and telling me about your company’s vision for the future. I have been fortunate to work with outstanding individuals like yourself and would consider it an honor to help you reach your vision. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call.

After a Customer Makes a Purchase: Thank you! It was a pleasure to serve you and I would like to acknowledge you for your superb taste in . My goal is to provide you with the best customer service you have ever experienced so you will return and confidently refer your friends. Please contact the customer service number below if you require assistance and you will be served with the utmost care.

After a Prospect Says No – Thank you for giving us the opportunity to provide a proposal. Although we were not selected to be your service provider at this time, we are continuously adding to our array of services and may be able to serve you in the future. Please contact us as you encounter future needs and we will be happy to help you find an appropriate solution.

After a Telephone Conversation – Thank you for your time today. It was a pleasure to speak with you and learn more about your business needs. In respect for your busy schedule, I will contact you only once our evaluation is complete. It should take no more than two weeks. I look forward to the possibility of a mutually beneficial business relationship with you.

After a Group Presentation – Thank you for giving me the time today to teach your staff how they can improve efficiency without sacrificing quality. Simple improvements have a far reaching effect and it would be my pleasure to introduce your satellite offices to a tailored approach that enables them to create similar results. If you would be kind enough to refer your subsidiary managers my way, I’d be happy to provide them with the same personal attention I shared with your group.

After Receiving A Referral – Thank you for your kind referral. It’s an honor to serve your friends and family and you can rest assured they will receive the highest level of attention and service possible.

After an Interview – It was a pleasure to meet you today. Thank you for your time. I delivered a portfolio to your assistant shortly afterward so you may explore the range of services offered in greater detail. If I can serve you in anyway, please do not hesitate to call.

Birthdays – Happy Birthday ! It’s clients (patients/customers) like you who make going to work every day a reason to celebrate. Have a super day today and every day! I appreciate you and wish you the very best.

Anniversaries – Happy 1st Anniversary in your new home (truck/boat/business). I trust you’ve had a wonderful year and wish you many more ahead. If I can do anything to help you add to your experience, please let me know. I’m only a phone call away.

Thanksgiving – As this time of year rolls around, I reflect on all of the wonderful events and people in my life and think of you. Thank you for your business over the past year. It is always a pleasure to serve you and I look forward to many more years of showing my gratitude by giving you the best service possible.

Haven’t Heard – It’s been a little while since your last visit and I’m concerned. If you have simply forgot, please contact my office today so we can ensure you continue to receive your treatment. If there is an alternate reason why you have not returned, please contact me at the private number below so I may personally assist you.

Find reasons to send your clients and prospects cards. A few cards a day should take less than ten minutes.

If you’ve heard of a new addition to a family, send a congrats card. In the event of a loss, express your deepest sympathy. If a customer mentions his 25th wedding anniversary is in two weeks, send a Happy Anniversary card.

These simple acts of kindness go a long way in building relationships that last a lifetime.

Replacing lost customers is expensive and time consuming. Keeping them is inexpensive and highly rewarding not only in terms of your bottom line, but in the quality of relationships you create.

Now go and sell something,

Frank Cardia

Top 10 Sales Mistakes Every salesperson, regardless of the industry, product, or skill level, makes mistakes. Here are some basic sales mistakes to avoid and some tips for selling more and having happier customers.

1. Not listening. Do not just listen to what the customer is asking for; look past that to find out what they need. Too often salespeople sing the praises of a product without hearing what the customer wants. You cannot sell to someone if you do not know what they want. Listen to your customers, identify the need, and fill it.

2. Overselling. A nonstop sales pitch leaves your potential customer with no room to make an intelligent decision. There is a fine line between being a good salesperson and being pushy or obnoxious. Know when to stop selling.

3. Being unprepared. Whether you are making a sale in a showroom, a board room, or on the phone, you need to know the details about what you are selling and be able to answer all pertinent questions. Be prepared. If you are prospecting for new business, know what you are going to say and be ready for questions you may be asked.

4. Jumping straight to the sale. In any type of sales business, you need to establish a relationship. Even on the Web you need to have landing pages to provide information about your products or services before jumping to the shopping cart. Do not rush to the sale. Take the time to educate your customers, and they will reward you with sales.

5. Not closing the sale. This is the flipside of the mistake above. Once you have provided your customer with the information he or she needs, ask if the customer is ready to make a purchase. It may seem unnecessary, but sometimes asking for the sale can be the nudge your customer needs to make a final decision.

6. Going off topic. Some salespeople overdo the need for a “relationship” with excessive chatter. Others continue to talk about the product or service, but spend an inordinate amount of time on irrelevant information. While you do want to build a relationship and make your customer comfortable, the goal is to make the sale. If the sale is the topic, don’t veer too far off on tangents.

7. Not researching your customer. If you are trying to sell to a specific client at a meeting, you need to know what he or she is all about. Do some research before the sales meeting and get a good idea of the prospect’s likes, dislikes, interests, and manner of doing business. The same holds true for consumers. Get to know who makes up your target audience.

8. Judging books by their covers. Salespeople routinely miss sales because they prejudge their customers. Do not let race, creed, gender, ethnicity, or appearance stand in the way of making a sale.

9. Not following up on leads. Just because someone does not buy immediately does not mean they will not be interested later — particularly if they requested information. Follow-up is a critical aspect of sales that is often neglected.

10. Failing to prospect for new customers. Even when sales are at their peak, you need to devote time to looking for more customers. No company can survive without a constant influx of new customers, so no business can afford not to prospect for them.

Now go out there and sell something

Frank Cardia

There are only three ways to sell more. Do more right. Do less wrong. Or, do both. Every successful software salesperson knows that there are many skills and attitudes that contribute to their success, but there are twelve critical attributes that the sales super stars have integrated into their overall sales strategy. The following are in no particular order, but if you want long-term consistent success you will embrace and incorporate each of them into your routine sales attitudes and behaviors.

1. Make a sale, you’ll make a living. Sell a relationship and you can make a fortune: Poor salespeople focus on just closing the sale. Successful salespeople focus on closing the sale and the relationship. Which is your approach?

For many salespeople, the close of the sale, typically comes at the end of the sales presentation. It represents for many, the final act in the sales process. It is unfortunate that these poorly informed or trained salespeople, lack adequate understanding of the role of selling in today’s competitive world.

Selling is not about only closing the current prospect on a particular product or service that solves one of their pressing problems, needs or desires. It is about building a trusting relationship and partnership with them, by becoming a resource, and helping them solve their on-going problems, or satisfying their continuing and evolving needs and desires. Super stars know that the lifetime value of a client is far more than the value of one sale or transaction. They take along view of the relationship. It is not just about this sale but future sales, referrals and customer trust and loyalty.

2. People buy when they are ready to buy not when you need to sell: One of the critical concepts that sales super stars know is that their role is to help people buy and that just because they may be behind in their sales quota is not a reason why a prospect should buy from them now.

You don’t change people’s buying habits or circumstances. What you can do is accurately discover them and then attempt to create a sense of urgency. A lot of buying is done due to momentum. It is important to discover those ‘real’ reasons or circumstances as to why a prospect would buy now, later, not at all or never. Once you have discovered their real issues the sales super star tailors their appeal to those specific needs, desires and buying circumstances.

3. When you sell price you rent the business. When you sell value you own it: Most poorly trained salespeople tend to lower the price when they receive price resistance. Any price, no matter how low, will always seem high to a prospect or customer if their perceived value is low. The key to effectively handling price resistance is to understand this simple, yet profound, concept.

Prospects and customers say they want low price, but what they really want is low cost. What is the difference? Price is what customers pay for your product or service now. Cost is what the customer pays by buying late, not at all or wrong. It is their overall cost over an extended period of time. In most cases we get what we pay for. Buy cheap and you get less value or higher cost. Buy expensive and you get higher value or lower cost over time. This is not always true but tends to be true most of the time. The sales super stars sell value and don’t defend price. In the long run, it is much easier to justify high price if the value is there, than poor quality and constant product/service problems.

4. Your prospect will tell you what you need to tell them to sell them: Accurate and timely information is the key to success in selling. One of the biggest mistakes poor salespeople make is that they give information before they get information. In other words they talk too much. If you practice this approach, you are going to make one or all of the following mistakes. 1) You will give too much information (more than is necessary to make the sale). 2) You will give the wrong information (based on the prospect’s needs, wants, desires or problems). 3. You will give information that could sabotage your success either in the short or long term.

The sales super stars understand that their job is not to sell their software or services but to help the prospect become comfortable with buying their products or services and giving themselves permission to buy now. Information is power and successful salespeople are masters at uncovering needs, problems, prejudices, concerns and desires in a timely and truthful way.

5. If two people want to do business together they won’t let the details get in the way. If two people don’t want to do business together they will let any detail will get in the way: Some people actually know that when they are making a commitment to you to buy that they have no intention of following through. Why? Maybe they are just subtly telling you that they are not really a prospect for you. Maybe they have an inflated view of their authority or power within their own organization. And maybe, they just lie a lot. Who knows. If two people want to do business together they won’t let any details get in the way. If a prospect doesn’t want to do business with you they will let even the slightest detail get in the way. We are talking here about intent. Sales super stars know how to identify the prospect’s real intent or their purpose. They are not easily misled and tend to probe deeper when they feel they are not getting the real truth from the prospect or customer.

6. They need to work as hard to keep the business as they did to get it in the first place: Many salespeople make lots of promises or benefit statements while trying to sell a new prospect. Most people like to buy, but resist being sold to. A key concept to keep in mind while selling is that the close of the sale is not the end of the sales process, but the beginning of the sales relationship.

The purpose of the sales process is to discover how you can help a customer or prospect with a need, problem, desire or challenge, and then position your product or service in such a way that the customer discovers in his mind the value necessary in order to justify a purchase. Once the sale has been closed and the prospect accepts your promises, commitments or features as ones that will benefit him, he or she now moves into a sort of limbo mode. They wait patiently to see if you meant all of that sales stuff or were just trying to get another deal. They observe and monitor your behaviors, actions, follow-through and communication consistency. Most don’t do this consciously but nonetheless they are doing it.

After-sales service is the key to keeping sales closed and keeping customers satisfied and buying again. It can often be a subtle test to see if you can really deliver. One of the keys is to promise a lot and deliver more. In other words, exceed customer expectations – wow them with service. Poor salespeople continuously promise a lot and deliver less, or promise a little and deliver next to nothing. Sales super stars know that to ensure repeat business, customer loyalty, positive references and qualified referrals that their after sales service must be one of their strengths.

7. To sell more every year, they get better every year: Over the years, one common denominator I have observed in sales super stars is their willingness to invest in the continued improvement of their skills, attitudes and philosophy.

Life is an interesting relationship between paying the price and winning the prize. Between self-investment and rewards. Between investing time in personal development and your ultimate success. It is never too late to begin an aggressive on-going self development program. There are hundreds of books to read, audio CD’s to listen to and seminars to attend. Sales stars don’t wait for their organization to invest in them and their future value. They take full responsibility for the quality of their life and learning. They are pro-active in seeking out learning opportunities. They use professional coaches, have mentors and belong to mastermind groups. They are constantly taking advantage of networking opportunities looking for all types of people who can help them improve. They create strategic alliance relationships that are mutually beneficial.

8. They manage their time and territory effectively: Each of us gets 24 hours to do with what we will. Some salespeople wish they had more while others wish time would pass a lot quicker. Some salespeople act like they have an unlimited time bank available to them and that their prospects or clients will see them whenever the salesperson would like. The sales super stars understand the importance of using every available selling minute to its full advantage.

Before you can improve your use of time to sell you need to get a handle on how you are spending your time and how you are abusing it. Most of us tend to waste the time we do in the same old ways, day after day, year after year. For one week carry a stop watch and start it when in the presence of a prospect or customer to sell only and then stop it when you leave. After the sales visit don’t reset the clock but keep a running accumulative total of time spent selling in one week. You can do this with every sales activity for example; how much time you spend on the telephone prospecting for new business, travel time, doing paperwork, in meetings, how much time you spend doing research or solving client problems.

With this simple exercise you will get a fairly accurate picture of where you need time and territory management improvement. Yon can’t change or fix what you don’t know is wrong. So before you launch into some sophisticated time management program remember, you can not manage time. It passes with or without you.

9. The close of the sale begins when the prospect agrees to see them: People don’t like to make decisions. The main reason is they don’t want to make a poor or wrong decision. Traditional sales closing methods asks people to make a decision. For example. Do you want it in green or red? (Alternative choice) Do you want to use your pen or mine? (Action close) Can we write up an order now? (Direct close) Each of these closing techniques, even though they do work, have two fundamental problems. 1) They ask the prospect to make a decision. 2) The average salesperson is uncomfortable using them.

Few salespeople have a closing strategy a process that they follow with each and every real sales opportunity. They tend to ask a few questions, jump into the presentation too soon, try and overcome a couple of the prospect’s sales objections and then prematurely go for the close – usually unsuccessfully. The sales super star knows the outcome long before they get to the end of this routine process and they do it by ensuring that; they have a well qualified prospect, they know the prospect’s dominant buying motives, they have identified all of their potential objections before they are even expressed, they have carefully observed the various buying signals from the prospect and they have given an effective and interactive presentation. They know long before they ask their closing question what the answer will be. How? By being effective at people reading skills, by asking intelligent, effective and appropriate probing qualifying questions, by being good listeners and by asking a variety of trial closing questions throughout the sales process. They don’t try an force a fit. They discover the prospects sense of urgency or they create it.

They are in the prospect’s presence to sell not educate. They are there to do business. From their opening remark to their final closing statement their attitude is I am here to sell. This does not mean that they are applying pressure or hard-selling. It means they are serious about helping the prospect solve their problems or take advantage of opportunities.

10. They never give up control of the sales process: A common mistake poor salespeople make is that they lose control of the sales process at some point. There are many ways they accomplish this and here are just a few for your consideration:

They quote price before they have had a chance to build value.

They don’t ask enough questions early in the sales process. They just ramble on.

They send out literature when asked, without first qualifying the prospect’s agenda or reasons for requesting it.

They send people to their website without first getting some basic qualifying information and having a follow-up strategy after the prospect has perused their site.

They don’t get advance deposits on services or products.

They leave ‘will calls’ when calling a prospect.

Control of the sales process is one of the key strategies of the sales super star. They understand that control is not manipulation, but is in the ultimate best interests of the prospect or client. When the salesperson controls the sales process they are never broad-sided with a lost sale they thought was in the bag.

11. They never project their buying prejudices into the sales process: The objection that you will tend to have the most difficulty answering successfully is that objection that is the most consistent with your own value system.

If you are a price buyer and your prospect objects to price you will tend to accept their objection. If you are the type of buyer who tends to think decisions over before making a purchase and your prospect says to you, “We need to think this over.” Again, you will tend to go along with their objection as rational or making perfect sense (because that is the way you buy.)

This simple act of accepting sales objections that resonate with you because you can relate to them is nothing more than projecting your personal attitudes, opinions, judgments or biases into the sales process. When you project your personal beliefs into the sales process you are assuming that everyone who buys, buys the way you like to buy and often for the same reasons. You are also tending to assume that when they don’t buy for a reason that is similar to one of yours that it makes perfect sense to you.

The sales super star leaves their personal biases, prejudices and opinions at home.

12. They never lose their passion: Passion is the great equalizer. It can make up for a lack of experience and knowledge. I am not suggesting that you not develop your knowledge or experience – only that until you do, your passion will be interpreted by others as a strong belief in yourself, your mission and your purpose.

Passion is different from enthusiasm. The old outworn cliché says “Act enthusiastic and you will become enthusiastic.” I have never subscribed to this philosophy. The reason is that if enthusiasm is an act which you use when things are going well, how do you behave when your life is falling apart? Are you just as enthusiastic about failure, more problems than you deserve and any number of disappointments, frustrations and adversities?

Passion is not an act. It is a way of believing. It is woven into your cellular structure just as much as your DNA. Passion – real passion for who you are, what you are selling, who you are becoming and what you believe in. It shouts to the world: “I am here to stay, I am here to make a difference, I will leave my mark in this world. It may take me my entire life, but I will not give up until my purpose and destiny are realized.”

Are you in love with where you are, where you are going, who you are becoming and what you are selling? Or, are you living like more than 85% of the population with the attitude, “Same Stuff, Different Day?” If you have lost or are losing your passion for your career do whatever is necessary to get it back.

Now get out there and sell something.

Frank Cardia

Generating sales referrals and repeat business is necessary to expand your business and ensure the success of sales professionals. At times, the importance of sales referrals is often overlooked or not emphasized enough. This can be the difference between top producers and over performers versus under performers and those who comes close to attaining their goals.

It is important to acknowledge and recognize your clients regularly especially those that gives you the most business. These clients can be referred to as your ‘gold clients’ and should be given attention and treated with care (all clients are important).

If customers are satisfied with your products and services then they will tell you. They will also tell others they know since people have a natural tendency and impulse t spread good experiences. Also, by asking or referrals these clients will be more than happy to provide you with referrals because they would feel comfortable doing it.

Many sales professionals are simply afraid to ask for sales referrals for whatever reason they could justify. To overcome this fear think of the referral process as having no less importance than asking for the order.

If you are not in direct sales then you may consider using customer surveys to find out what did correctly to satisfy the customer and repeat such performance in future prospecting. You should strive to equal or surpass the level of service which will result in more referrals. When asking for referrals you should have a sense o balance and use your discretion.

Finally, it is recommended that you show appreciation for referrals given to you by existing customers. Let your referral know who referred them to you and get as much information from your customer about the person being referred before actually speaking with them.

This networking will make new referrals less likely to bail out and they might stay with you for a long period of time. In addition you may send a handwritten thank you note to the customer that gave the referral.

By utilizing these techniques you will be able to generate a lot more sales referrals.

Now get out there today and get some referrals!!!

Frank Cardia

There are seven secrets, or principles, of sales success. They are practiced by all the highest paid salespeople every day. The regular application of these principles is virtually guaranteed to move you to the top of your field.

Secret number one: Get serious! Make a decision to go all the way to the top of your field. Make a today decision to join the top 10%. There is no one and nothing that can hold you back from being the best except yourself. Remember, it takes just as long to be great as to be mediocre. The time is going to pass anyway. Your job is to commit to excellence, to get better and better each day, and to never, never stop until you reach the summit.

Secret number two: Identify your limiting skill to sales success. Identify your weakest single skill and make a plan to become absolutely excellent in that area. Ask yourself, and your boss, “What one skill, if I developed and did it consistently in an excellent fashion, would have the greatest positive impact on my sales?” Whatever your answer to this question, write it down, set a deadline, make a plan, and then work on it every day. This decision alone can change your
life.

Success secret number three: Get around the right people. Get around positive, successful people. Associate with men and women who are going somewhere with their lives. And get away from negative, critical, complaining people. They drag you down, tire you out, distract and discourage you, and lead you inevitably to underachievement and failure. Remember, you cannot fly with the eagles if you continue to scratch with the turkeys.

Success secret number four: Take excellent care of your physical health. You need high levels of energy to sell effectively, and to bounce back from continual rejection and discouragement. Be sure to eat the right foods, get the right amount of exercise and get plenty of rest and recreation. Make a decision that you are going to live to be 80 years old, or more, and begin today to do whatever you have to do to achieve that goal.

Success secret number five: Visualize yourself as one of the top people in your field. Imagine yourself performing at your best all day long. Feed your subconscious mind with vivid, exciting, emotionalized pictures of yourself as positive, confident, competent and completely in control of every part of yourlife. These clear mental pictures preprogram you and motivate you to sell at your best in any situation.

Success secret number six: Practice positive self-talk continually. Control your inner dialogue. Talk to yourself the way you want to be rather than the way you might be today.

For example, repeat to yourself these powerful words, over and over again. “I like myself! I’m the best! I can do it! I love my work!”

Say to yourself, “I feel happy! I feel healthy! I feel terrific!”

Remember, fully 95% of your emotions are determined by the way you talk to yourself, most of the time. The way you feel determines how you behave. And how you behave determines how much you sell.

Your job is to get yourself on an upward spiral where you think and talk to yourself positively, all day long. You think, walk, talk and act like the very best people in your field. When you do, your success becomes inevitable.

Success secret number seven: Take positive action toward your goals, every single day. Be proactive rather than reactive. Grab the bull by the horns. If you are not happy with your income, get out there and get face to face with more customers. If you are not happy with any part of your life, accept responsibility and take charge.

All successful salespeople are intensely action oriented. They have a sense of urgency. They develop a bias for action. They do it now! They have a compulsion to closure. They maintain a fast tempo and move quickly in everything they do.

And the good news is this. The faster you move, the more energy you have. The faster you move, the more ground you cover. The faster you move, the more people you see. The more people you see, the more experience you get. The more experience you get, the more sales you make. The more people you see and the more sales you make, the more your self-esteem and self respect goes up, and the more you will feel like great about yourself. You will have more energy. You will be happier and more positive.

The faster you move, the more you take complete control of your entire life and virtually guarantee that you will be one of the top performers and the highest paid people in your field.

Salespeople are among the most important people in America. Every single company depends for its survival on the success of its salespeople. High sales is the number one reason for company success. Low sales is the number one reason for

Now Go Sell Something. And you can be in the driver’s seat.

Frank Cardia

TOP PRODUCERS

1. ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION – Maintain goal driven attitudes and behaviors that motivate performance at the highest obtainable level.
2. SELF-COMPETITIVE – Keep ongoing accounts of performance levels, based on previous performance, with the single objective of constantly improving. Focus on the behaviors that generate the numbers, not the numbers themselves.
3. OPTIMISM – Achievers focus on their strengths to make things happen, which translates into a “can do” enthusiasm that is contagious throughout the company and with the customers.
4. WINNING PERSONALITY – Chameleon like flexibility with a people orientation is a certain winning style. Sales Professionals call on people with all types of personalities. Those who can pace the prospect’s style will be able to establish the trust, rapport and communications necessary to sell.
5. PRODUCT/SERVICE KNOWLEDGE – Extensive. Customers come to rely on them as consultants and problem solvers, rather than product pushers.
6. TRAINING – Top performers are continually engaged in self-development. They read sales and marketing books, journals, and newsletters. They listen to cassette tapes while driving. They attend seminars and workshops. They spend time each day sharpening one skill at a time.
7. ASSERTIVE – We used to think that we wanted aggressive salespeople. But now we know that aggression is based on anger. Anger serves the function of demolishing obstacles blocking goals. If the goal is a sale, and the prospect blocks the way with objections, then a win/lose scenario is set. Assertive people on the other hand, won’t be shut down at the first sign of disinterest, they believe in their mission, hold their ground (won’t give away the store), and seek a fair negotiated resolution that will make sure the customer and company both have their needs met.
8. LISTENING COMPREHENSION – True Professionals possess the ability to concentrate on the prospect’s point of view with such intensity and respect that he/she can then paraphrase and communicate complete understanding (not necessarily agreement). This results in the prospect becoming psychologically obligated to do the same.
9. PROFESSIONAL IMAGE – Successful sales people hold themselves and their chosen profession in high esteem. They are proud to be in a profession that makes the economy run, one that supports the jobs of everyone in the company, one that helps people get their needs met.
10. AFFILIATIONS – Professionals belong to professional organizations. These organizations help maintain identity, image, motivation, ethics, and provide a host of other benefits unattainable elsewhere.
11. FUNDAMENTAL NEED TO CLOSE – Top producers have an aversion to loose ends. They need to know where they stand and what must be done to move to the next step in accomplishing their goal. They have a need for control and for movement toward the goal with each rung in the ladder firmly in place. Even in casual conversation, they attempt to get closure on any points left up in the air. They will always find a way to take control of any follow-up.
12. SELF-CONFIDENT – They know themselves well. They practice their skills over and over until they become totally ingrained and a natural part of their personality and interactional style.

Frank Cardia