Monday Morning Wake Up Call!

Monday Morning Wake Up Call: Your Motivation, Inspiration, & Direction for the Week Ahead

Time to FLY! Good morning! What an awesome week this is going to be.  I can feel it. It’s almost like flying.  By the way, do you know how the golden eagle teaches her young eagles to fly? She swoops down to the nest, snuggles up to one of her little ones, then pushes it out! The young eaglet then free-falls to the ground, when mother sweeps in and saves it. Whew! Then when the eaglet is feeling safe and warm in the nest, the mother does it again! And again! Why? She knows the eaglet was born to fly, and can, but the baby eaglet does not know it yet. Next, the mother eagle starts to remove all the feathers, leaves and soft things from the nest, forcing the babies to huddle together for safety. Then mom starts to pull apart the nest! Why? She is determined that those little ones will fly, but she also knows that they will never fly as long as they remain in the nest.  When she takes away their security, it’s because she knows that they are ready to fly, and they do!  It’s a little like our comfort zones, don’t you think?  It’s easy to stay in the safe and secure. The known. The zone.  That’s not how you get to the next level though, is it?  To do that you’ve got to spread your wings a little and try new things, new ideas and new experiences. This week, I challenge you to not only fly – but to soar! Make it amazing. Something to Think About What an exciting feeling it must be to fly. Those who have jumped from planes have experienced a little of what it must feel like. First is the fear. What if I break my leg or break everything? All great reasons to stay in the comfort and safety of the plane. But you will miss out on something that most are unwilling or unable to do. Sales is like that too.  Be willing to give up the certainty to experience new heights. Weekly Activity  Do something adventurous this week! Challenge yourself to try at least one new thing that will take you closer to your goals. Words of Wisdom If you are not taking care of your customer, your competitor will. – Bob Hooey People don’t ask for facts in making up their minds. They would rather have one good, soul-satisfying emotion than a dozen facts. – Robert Keith Leavit A mediocre idea that generates enthusiasm will go further than a great idea that inspires no one. – Mary Kay Ash You don’t close a sale, you open a relationship if you want to build a long-term, successful enterprise. – Patricia Fripp Nobody counts the number of ads you run; they just remember the impression you make. – William Bernbach

Monday Morning Wake Up Call

Monday Morning Wake Up Call: Your Motivation, Inspiration, & Direction for the Week Ahead

Perspective is Everything! How was your weekend? When I ask that question, sometimes people sigh and say, “It was nothing exciting”, while others smile and say, “I did absolutely nothing, and loved it!” The same scenario but experienced differently.  It reminds me of the dad who wanted his son to see poverty so that he could appreciate all that he had. He took him to a very poor region of South America. After the trip the father asked, “Are you now able to see what it means to be poor?” The boy said, “Yes, and it was such a great lesson.” When the father asked him to explain what he saw, he said “Well, we have only one dog, and they have four of them. In our garden, there is a pool, while they have a river that has no end. We‘ve got expensive lanterns, but they have stars above their heads at night. We have the patio, and they have the whole horizon. We have only a small piece of land, while they have the endless fields. We buy food, but they grow it. We have a high fence for protection of our property, and they don‘t need it, as their friends protect them.” The father was stunned. He could not say a word. Then the boy added: “Thank you dad, for letting me see how poor we are.” This is a great example of how each saw their situation in a different way. Perspective is everything! Have a great week! Something to Think About... I don’t think we need to travel to a remote part of the world to appreciate what we have but sometimes it’s good to sit back and think of how that everything in life can be seen differently if we take the time to look. For some, a large house represents success, while to others it represents pressure and stress to maintain and keep that large house. Losing a job could be seen as a disaster for some, but to others, it represents an opportunity to do something different and perhaps even better. There are always new ways of looking at things in our lives and in our businesses.  The next time you’re confronted with an obstacle, turn it over and around a little and see it a different way. It may be just the key you were looking for to unlock a new success! Weekly Activity  Be grateful for everything this week, especially to those that helped you get where you were.  Take a few minutes to write out a hand-written card to at least five top clients who consistently send business and referrals your way and say thank you. Words of Wisdom You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want. – Zig Ziglar The successful people are the ones who can think up things for the rest of the world to keep busy at. – Don Marquis Don’t wish it were easier, wish you were better. – Jim Rohn He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else. – Benjamin Franklin Fear is the destroyer of dreams and the killer of ambitions. – Jeffrey Benjamin

Monday Morning Wake Up Call

Monday Morning Wake Up Call: Your Motivation, Inspiration, & Direction for the Week Ahead

Five Ways to Generate New Business Good morning!  How’s business? Great? That’s awesome, but it’s also a potentially dangerous time of the year. If you are like most agents, you are really busy, which is good. But it’s also easy to get a little lazy with regard to generating new business.  It takes 60 days to generate and close new business, so don’t wait until things slow down to generate more business in the pipeline. Here are a few ideas to keep that pipeline full of business, all year long. Pipeline regeneration: Go back and revisit all those “dead opportunities” who said “no” in the past and present them with reasons why this is the time to reconsider. Time management: Spend 15 minutes at the end of each day, planning what you will do tomorrow. Focus on revenue-generating activity, mentorship and planning your success. Sales acumen: Sales is a process. To be great, you need to master each step. Prospecting, communication, creating value and finding ways to set yourself apart from your competition. Product knowledge: Know the value of the services that you offer, compared to those of your competitors, how to overcome common objections, and knowledge of your inventory, which are the homes that you will sell. Forecasting: Forecasting is about making smart decisions for your business. Based on your pipeline, are you on track for your goals? If not, what do you need to do differently? The best sales professionals know how to use their forecasts to prioritize their time, ask for help when needed, and when to walk away from a deal. Let’s continue to make this your best year ever! Have a great week! Something to Think About Success does not just happen. You must plan for it. Zig Ziglar said, “You were born to be great. But to be great, you must plan for it, prepare for it and expect it!”  Great words to live by. Weekly Challenge Follow at least three (if not all five) of the tips in this week’s message to generate more activity! Words of Wisdom How you think when you lose determines how long it will be until you win. – Gilbert K. Chesterton The secret of man’s success resides in his insight into the moods of people, and his tact in dealing with them. – J. G. Holland Business is like riding a bicycle. Either you keep moving or you fall down. – Frank Lloyd Wright Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust. – Zig Ziglar I like to think of sales as the ability to gracefully persuade, not manipulate, a person or persons into a win-win situation. – Bo Bennett

Monday Morning Wake Up Call

Monday Morning Wake Up Call: Your Motivation, Inspiration, & Direction for the Week Ahead

Seven Sales Skills Good morning! Hope you had a terrific weekend. Quick question: Did you have an opportunity to purchase something from a salesperson this past week? If so, how was the experience? According to Dan Ross with Salesforce, there are Seven Sales Skills that cannot be taught. They are part of who we are. These skills determine what a consumer’s experience will be and the overall success of that salesperson. Those skills are: Curiosity: Sales people who are curious, are always looking for solutions, better ways to meet the needs or their client and stay on top of the latest and best training and tools. Integrity: They get it done but they get it done the right way. Drive: They challenge themselves to do more. Problem Solving: There are always obstacles in sales that you can’t train, or prepare for. Problem solvers isolate each situation and find or create a solution. Problem solvers find energy, not frustration, in this part of the job. Resiliency: Stuff happens. There are lots of ups and downs, and lots of rejection in sales. You can be 100% sure the buyer is going to buy, then they don’t. You can offer superior service and better results, and have a potential client chose someone else. Those who are the most resilient bounce back the fastest, learn from their mistakes and grow from challenges. Self Awareness: Salespeople who are self aware can quickly identify where they need to improve and go straight to the prescription. They are more deliberate with success and know how to repeat it. Take a look around. Do the highly successful salespeople that you know possess these traits? How many of these “natural” traits to you possess? Have an amazing week! Something to Think About The study assumes that you have these traits, or you do not. And if you don’t have these traits, there is nothing that you can do to change that. Do you believe that to be true? Perhaps it’s just the problem solver in me, but I think we can all do or be anything we choose, within reason. For example, perhaps you are not as resilient as you would like, but once you become aware of it, you have a change to work on that trait, or skill. What are your thoughts? Weekly Challenge: This should be your busiest time of the year. If not, ask yourself, “Are you marketing to your client base? Are you asking for referrals? Are you hunting for business?” Spend this week asking and hunting for more business. You should pick up several new clients. Words of Wisdom Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman - not the attitude of the prospect. -W. Clement Stone In business, you're the Chief Salesman. Create a sense of demand, rather than waiting to have demand. - Barbara Corcoran Your competition is EVERYTHING else your prospect could conceivably spend their money on. – Don Cooper Your business is never really good or bad ‘out there.’ Your business is either good or bad right between your own two ears. – Zig Ziglar The majority of men meet with failure because of their lack of persistence in creating new plans to take the place of those which fail. – Napoleon Hill