Archive for Sales Psychology
No Fear
So my wife hears James (my four year old) call her while he’s playing outside, “Mommy, look what I found!” She goes out to discover he’s found a snake and of course, he’s picking it up and playing with it!
I suppose at the age of four, a little snake isn’t all that scary unless someone has told you that you should be scared! After her initial freak out, my wife realized that this little snake was really harmless. In fact, his two older brothers as well as the neighboring kids started taking turns holding the snake after realizing that there was nothing to fear.
A lot of people are gripped by fear these days because of personal financial struggle and concern about what the future holds for their businesses and lives. Let’s take a lesson from a four year old who didn’t know he was supposed to be afraid!
Sometimes you get buried . . .
Okay, most of us know that there are plenty of analogies between golf and business. So here’s one from Howard Chung! www.viddler.com/explore/864coach/videos/38/
2nd Half with a ‘Slight Edge’
Obviously as a coach and trainer, I’m a huge fan and proponent of written goals, road maps, assessment tools, and progress reports. Over the years I’ve referenced many times a ’study’ that both Zig Ziglar as well as Tony Robbins have used regarding a study at Yale (according to Robbins) and Harvard (according to Ziglar) regarding how the financial worth of 3% of graduates who had clear written goals were greater than the combined 97% of graduates who did NOT have written goals.
Well, turns out this study is an urban legend according to multiple sources I just found in a google search. I did however find an article supporting goal setting conducted at Dominican University. Okay, maybe at some point we’ll discover that even this study is bogus, but if someone is going to go to the trouble of writing a fictional article about the credibility of a fictional study, more power to them! Here’s the article: Goal Setting pdf.
The study done by Domincan University shows that people with written goals and progress reports didn’t have a ridiculous advantage over those who didn’t, but rather, that they had a Slight Edge . And according to Slight Edge Theory, it’s this small advantage accumulated over time that makes all the difference in our health, wealth, relationships, and significance. So in my opinion, the Dominican survey is more POWERFUL than the Yale/Harvard story. Begin your 2nd half of the year with some written goals. Finish your year with a slight edge !
Recession Free Zone
Doing a group coaching/training session yesterday and I saw one of the best signs that I’ve ever seen! Realized that we can all have a “Recession Free Zone” in our minds as well!
You Have Arrived . . .
Do you use a navigation system? If you have one or have ever seen one in action, you know that even when you’re in unfamiliar surroundings you have a certain level of confidence that you would otherwise not have. There’s a roadmap that shows you how far you are to your destination. There’s even a great voice (I like the British female voice option personally) that lets you know when you’re almost there and finally, that you’ve arrived!
It’s important not only to have a roadmap in your car, but one for your business and even life! Find the link under my “864 Resources” called the “F5 Refresh Worksheet.” It’s a great roadmap to help you and your business to your destination!
F5 ~ Refresh Your Business Workshop and Social
Okay, most of us can’t believe it’s already MID-YEAR! Did the first half go the way you wanted? If so, then it’s time to refresh! If not, it’s also time to refresh!
Join us for a fun and dynamic POWER Presentation on how to quickly evaluate and assess your business year-to-date, re-fresh your MVP (Mission, Vision, and Purpose), and establish action items that will end your year strong! Of course, there’s always the alternative . . .
Dates and Registration at www.864Community.com
- Sponsored by 864 Community
- Cost: Donation of $5 suggested to OneDaysWages.org / Fighting Global Poverty
- Refreshments provided
- Click Here to Download Promotional Flyer
School Bus
I don’t know about you, but I didn’t particularly enjoy riding the school bus when I was a kid. Maybe it was partly due to the fact that I was the shy, fat Asian kid who didn’t have any friends on the bus! My kids, on the other hand, LOVE the school bus! My wife and I initially offered to drive them to and from school because it took 40 minutes off their ride (each way), but they insisted on getting to the bus stop early (even if it sometimes meant missing breakfast), and coming home close to 4:30 in the afternoon! So what was it about the school bus? Community.
Inside the school bus, there were no boundaries or classrooms. It was like recess! They could sit next to whoever they wanted and make friends with whoever they wanted. The school bus was a community by itself OUTSIDE of school that my kids enjoyed!
Most of the time we play it so safe by staying inside the comfort zone of our ‘mini-communities’ and we hardly ever look to expand our spheres of influence. How’s that working for you and your business these days? Maybe it’s time to start looking for a school bus to hop on and make some new friends . . .
Flow . . .
In my backyard, I have a water feature. It’s a small concrete pond with a sump pump that operates a little makeshift waterfall. Just the sound and image of that water always puts my mind and body at peace. But last week, the waterfall stopped working. Sump pumps have a limited life and they simply need to be replaced from time to time. So I spent this morning digging up and replacing the old pump. After the hard work, the waterfall is working better than ever! The new pump I installed was more powerful than the previous one that died out.
Do you have an image of what your business (or life) should look like? Consider a river or waterfall. How’s your flow going these days? What do you need to do in order to get the flow moving again? Maybe it’s time to replace the pump!
This is an Awareness Test
I remember watching this video in high school! If you haven’t seen this clip, watch it first before reading the rest of this entry. . .
The question for me is, “what’s the obvious that I’m missing?” For many of us, we’re still focused on blaming the current economy and “the market” rather than potentially the real issue (the moon-walking bear); it’s the fear of change and uncertainty.
This is a time in history for all of us to establish new and better habits when it comes to our business, our spending, and the things most important in our lives.
Let’s not waste this great opportunity!
The Power of Conformity!
Are you conforming to this economy? Or will you keep focused or re-focus on what it’s going to take to thrive?
