If you do nothing, guess what?

Nothing will happen!…. and by virtue of this, nothing will change. Life will remain stagnant and all the things that you will plan will fall flat. And, I can almost guarantee you will be disappointed. That does not mean life will stop. To the contrary, life changes nano-second by nano-second. The difference is the impact of you on life or its impact on you.

Making the decision to do something to change the circumstances of your life and the lives of those around you is a conscious one, but doing nothing unconsciously impacts you and them as well. The difference is what you consciously do will fit with your higher objective. What you unconsciously do will more than likely not fit with that objective and then it is left to fate. Life is not luck. You can’t even imagine the amount of bearing you have when you set your mind and thoughts (plans) into action.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “…..that which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do. Not that the nature of the thing itself has changed but our power to do it is increased.”

Be a beacon, a harbinger of conscious change and positively impact your life and those around you. Have a great day!

Stay Sharp and good luck!
Until next time my friends,
Bo

Are you awesome?…

I don’t mean this in an arrogant or conceited way, but a quietly confident way. So ask yourself……Does your planning include being the best?
….in life?
….in your career?
….in your relationships?
In a metaphysical /spiritual sense you already are. The only issue for most of us is that we don’t usually acknowledge it or worse we are oblivious to it. We usually spend the first half of our lives allowing the bricks of self defeat and negativity pile over time and ultimately get in the way of that realization. And, in most cases, we put them there ourselves. We build our own obstacles completely unaware of not only what we are doing, but the affects of doing it. So what we are born with becomes obscured over that period of time.
The trick for most of us is that it takes conscious “right action” to achieve this objective and it is very difficult to accomplish. It only happens by divine providence and that is because of our decision to do something about it, the belief that we can, developing a plan to do it and putting the plans in motion. It has to happen in that order! When one of those elements is missing, it will fail. This is not something that occurs through luck.
It is our highest purpose in life to be the most awesome version of what we were intended to be from the minute we came to this world. To not realize this is tragic.
So it is never too late to Be Awesome!….or Expect the best. Work hard and remain diligent.
Peace!

Stay Sharp and good luck!

Until next time my friends,
Onward and upward!

Bo

What next…patience and virtue

One of the beautiful things about analyzing numbers is they don’t lie. They tell a clear story about what one is doing and how effective one’s activities are. They also provide a framework for the changes one should make in their plans and activities. The hard part is trying to figure out what to do with the information. Otherwise it is nothing more than just that….information.

Okay, so we have all these numbers and conversions and data. Now we gotta figure out what to do with it. Remember it is useful if we can provide a context for how to use it. We made some calls, had a few successes, a lot of near misses and some complete failures in the last 90 days, 6 months and 12 months. Okay, so don’t be so hard on yourself. Ask yourself the question why. Why were there successes in some places and less in others? Why did some people buy and why didn’t others? What were the reasons for each?…These are loaded questions. Sometimes difficult to answer and a lot of time, there are multiple answers. The reason we do this though, is to maximize the successes and minimize the failures.

So the exercise now is to write down the answers to each question for each prospect /customer call and then look for a common thread in each. Make columns to organize the information, as well. This will make it easier to see and when this is complete, we will come back next week with a framework for how to apply these answers to a planned activity and target list.

Hint: We are re-outfitting our equipment to be more calibrated and efficient. Think 30-06 with a laser scope instead of sawed-off shotgun.

Have a great week and we shall see later.
Good luck and happy selling!
Bo

Reality Check…..analyzing the numbers

Okay, so your are reading some of the books that I suggested a couple of weeks ago in my previous post. Perhaps you have even added some of your own to your personal sales /motivational library from which to pick. Either way, now is the time in the planning to understand where you have been. This allows you to determine your effectiveness and then identify the strengths and weaknesses in your approach, make the appropriate changes in your planning and set an action plan.

I am amazed at the number of experienced sales and business development professionals that do not do what I am getting ready to do or worse even know how. Either way whether you are new at this or a seasoned veteran, this is a critical part of measuring you effectiveness as a sales person. What am I referring to?….numbers! Understanding the numbers of your efforts. One thing is certain, numbers don’t lie. They paint a clear picture of where you have been and give a solid map of where to go. There are all sorts of names for this step; metrics, statistics, measurement, conversion or just plain ole numbers. The trick is to make sure that the numbers are accurate. Bad numbers, equal delusion. Kind of like garbage in, garbage out. So here is how it works.

First ~ list your monthly income (salary, commission, etc.) If annualized then divide by 12
Second ~ make a list of every successful sales/contract made in the last 90 days /60 months and 12 months
Third ~ make a complete list of every call you have made in the same period of time as above and break it down to 1st call, 2nd call, etc.

At this point and depending on how deep you want to dig, it’s time to plug the numbers into the following formulas. It is pretty simple to do, the trick is to know what to do with the information. 1. gives pull-thru or conversion ratios, 2. is a measure of time versus money or how much money is spent on every call attempt.

1. Successful calls divided by all calls.
2. Income divided by all calls and Income divided by successful calls

The next step is to analyze the data and then figure out what to do with it. I’ll catch you next week with that piece of the puzzle.

Until next time, my friends,
Stay sharp and think successfully!

Success is not an accident!

It’s true! Oh there are always going to be incidences where someone achieves some degree of success by simply being in the right place at the right time. But I would argue that even that is not luck. Success comes from careful planning and solid execution. Same is true in sales and business development. We are on the cusp of a new year and a new decade and the opportunities to carefully evaluate and formulate new strategies for succeeding in the new economy have never been better.

There are no simple rules for proper sales planning, but it has to begin granularly (is that a word?) acknowledging that the fundamental principles of sales do not change. However the first step is making sure we know what those fundamentals are.
First things first

My first suggestion is study and learn. Pick up a book(s) and read. There have been literally hundreds of volumes written about the proper fundamentals of selling and customer service. Naploean Hill, Zig Ziglar, Og Mandino, Dale Carnegie, Brian Tracy, Jeffrey Gitomer, Keith Ferrazzi are just a few of my favorites. These writers understand the fundamentals of sales and building relationships and each have a unique perspective on what they are and how to approach each one. I believe that no one has the “corner on the market of great ideas”. The truth however is they all do. If you spend time learning their wisdom and gleaning pieces of it that are appropriate to your personal situation, you can add it to your POV and apply them in your planning and routine.

Start here, do this first and I will pick up next week on the statistical science of sales.

Stay sharp and Good luck

Your business development and sales strategy expert

Bo Hussung

86,400 seconds

Time is a funny thing. We all have the same amount if it. The same 24 hours. The same 1440 minutes and the same 86,400 seconds, every single day.

What we do with them determines the degree to which we have can impact our lives and the lives of others. I have read that some consider time an illusion. That may be true. Regardless, the impact we have on the lives of others is not an illusion. Make the best of it and use it well. Create meaningful impacts every single second of every single day. This is the basis of good customer experience.

Be your best!
Stay Sharp and good luck!
Until next time my friends,

Customer Service -what it’s really about?

Hi friends,

I have seen it a thousand times and sometimes it is easier to notice when you don’t get good service. But when you do…it is glorious. Frankly there is nothing like it and the feeling that it bestows is priceless. In fact, there are companies that spend thousands…..nay, millions of dollars making sure their customers have a positive customer experience. I say it is not about what you spend, at least not directly, but the culture that is created, from the top down that makes the difference. Good customer service should be natural not forced. So how does one do this?

1st and foremost, people do business with people.
2nd – the Golden Rule always applies….Did I mention ALWAYS?
Thirdly, check rule 1 and if there are still any questions, read rule number 2.
That Is It!………..Plain and simple.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you and remember that your customers are just like you. They are people. They have feelings and emotions, good days and bad and sometimes one person and one kind act can make the difference in their day. The by product is you may end up with a long term customer that organically helps you grow your business. And the cool thing is it only took a random act of kindness and your employees will feel better about them selves in the process.

Feel good about what you do by making someone feel good about themselves.

Stay sharp and think out of the box

Bo

Scouting the hazards of big water…lessons learned in business

I am sure you have heard the old adage, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results” Well, the current economic environment is causing just that sort of thought process….kinda like running a class 5 river.

Many of us that have been in business for years and yeah!….we know what we are doing, right? After all, we have been doing it with so much success for so long, of course we know it…. So why are we not having the same success? Is it the economy or something else entirely different?

 

I started white water kayaking about 10 years ago and I learned on small rivers, class 1 and 2 and slowly worked my way up to bigger water, class 3 to 4. The one thing I used to say was when you go to the big water, you go from a “floater, to a boater”. You paddle harder, a lot harder. Your movements are more planned out and more deliberate. When you approach a particularly difficult water hazard, you get out of your boat and scout the rapid to see how to navigate it and then after some planning, you get back in your boat and paddle hard and run it.

Doing our jobs in this environment is not much different. All the things we learned, the fundamentals are still in place, but the market and the conditions are bigger, much like a rapid on a class 5 river. Success is never easy all the time. Sometimes it requires some scouting and carefully, thought out planning to navigate the treacherous waters.

Stay Sharp, plan your next move, paddle hard and good luck!

Until next time my friends,

 

 

Don’t ever Give up!

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

 

Thomas A. Edison

 

The road to success is paved with many, many hazards along the way. Every success story has hundreds, if not thousands of examples of what did not WORK before they achieved their success. To that end, success is not a destination it is a journey.

Don’t ever give up!

 

Stay Sharp and good luck!

Your ActiveRain partner and national title agent,

Until next time my friends,

Positive customer experience is not an accident

Just like the fabled Goldilocks and The 3 Bears, a recent experience at a local mall required 3 tries and 1 “just right” outcome. Here is how it played out:

My son and I were hunting for a pair of sunglasses. Not just any sunglasses, but polarized sunglasses that were functional, yet stylish and oh yeah, we had a budget. We made a few phone calls and determined before arriving at the local higher end mall that 1 particular store had what we were looking for.

Experience number One: “Thanks but no thanks”……Greeted with no sense of interest, desire to help or engagement. We weren’t spoken to until we asked a question and our question was answered with the lax, “this is what I was told”. We told the clerk our specifications and when the issue of budget was shared….the level of interest went from lukewarm to chilly. We clearly were wasting their time. The last tactic was to get rid of us by suggesting a lesser price store. We were happy to oblige.

BTW, did I mention we were in a hurry?

Experience number Two: “Thanks for the recommendation”….We entered the 2nd store, were greeted with a little more interest, still lukewarm, but friendlier and a little more willing to assist. Nonetheless, we cut straight to the chase. We presented our specifications and were then shown every marked down frame in stock, even the ones that did not fit our specifications. Not as helpful, but more engaging and friendly. Still nothing though. We asked for a recommendation and once again when were told of one more store in leased space inside a rather large well known department store. Ugh, this seemingly simple exercise was quickly becoming complicated and a real drag…no fun!

Enter experience number Three….”now that is what I am talking about”….we entered said department store and were immediately greeted by a friendly, engaging and very pleasant sales professional. Notice I put emphasis on the word, professional. They asked many questions, instead of the obligatory,”can I help you”. There was a casual aire of real interest in not only what we were trying to accomplish, but gathering enough data to make help us make an informed decision. In less than 15 minutes, we knew the persons name, their career objectives, who owned the company, how they train their staff and customer service philosophy, all while we were being shown the proper frames to meet our exact specifications from a fashion and functional perspective. They complimented us without being patronizing and here is the best part, the frames were exactly the same as the ones from the previous 2 experiences. In fact, they cost more. We bought them anyway and without any hesitation. We were given additional instructions on how to care for them, to emphasize the importance of our purchase as more of an investment. They thanked us and with one final act of courtesy, handed us a business card and said, “if you ever need anything, feel free to call me”. Now that is real customer service and real positive experience. We left the store with a good feeling about what had just happened.

The lesson?…we do business with people that engage us and show a sincere interest in the person with which they are conducting business. They elevate the experience to make it about us, not them.

3 scenarios, 1 outcome…..As Goldilocks stated, this one is “just right”