Remembering Mr. Ziglar !

As 2012 comes to an end I pay homage to a wonderful human being, a mentor, a leader of excellence and an amazing person of discipline !

I will always remember your teachings Mr. Ziglar...would have loved to have met you !

The Key to Success

The Key to Success: 5 Ways to Building Mega Credibility

Written By Brian Tracy | Sales Success | December 12th, 2012 |

The key to success as a sales professional is to sell the very most and earn the very most that you possibly can.  As it turns out it takes just as long to become a sales superstar as to remain an average performer.  The choice is up to you.

As our society becomes more and more high-tech it will require more and more high touch in the field of selling to balance it out and add value.  The better you get at selling, the more opportunities you will have.  According to recent research, fully 5% of self-made millionaires in America are salespeople who have sold for another company or companies all their lives.  The reason they are successful is because they became very, very good at selling and earned a very high income.  They then saved and invested a substantial part of their income as they went along.  And so can you.

Your Key to Success

Today it takes credibility for you to get an appointment with the customer.  But it takes mega credibility for you to get the sale.  Mega credibility is defined as credibility that is far above and beyond an appeal to just quality and service.  It is credibility that is far beyond anything your competitors might be offering at the same time, this is your key to success.

Add Value and Build Mega Credibility

There are five keys to building mega credibility and unleashing your key to success.  The first is the salesperson – yourself.  Your credibility is so important that you can make or break the sale simply by your appearance and by your personality.

FREE REPORT: Everyone is a Salesperson

There are three parts to personal mega credibility.  They are: dress, grooming, and accessories.  Top salespeople dress for success and know that everything counts.  You should read a book on the subject of dressing for success in business for men or women and then make sure that you look like the kind of person that a customer would be comfortable taking advice from, or give money to.

Look at the top salespeople in your field and then both dress and groom yourself the way they do.  Fully 95% of the first impression you make on a customer will be made by your clothes.  This is because your clothes cover 95% of your body.  Don’t leave anything to chance.

The second part of mega credibility is the reputation of your company, how long it has been in business, and how large it is.  Fully 85% of sales today are based on word of mouth.  This goes back to positioning and how your company is thought of and talked about by customers and non-customers in the marketplace.  The bigger and more positive your reputation, the easier it is for customers to accept your recommendations and to go ahead with the purchase.

The third part of mega credibility is testimonials.  A letter from a satisfied customer, a list of happy customers, or even photographs of happy customers can add value and builds mega credibility in the sales conversation.

Often, people will not buy a product or service until they know who else has bought the product or service and been happy with it.  Be sure to volunteer this information clearly in your sales conversation.

The fourth part of mega credibility is the presentation.  A well thought out, completely professional customer focused presentation can add value to the product or service and actually increases the price you can charge for it.  A good presentation builds credibility to a high degree, and the credibility overcomes the fear and misgivings that hold most customers back.

The fifth ingredient of mega credibility is the product or service itself.  Your presentation should demonstrate clearly that the customer will be much better off with what you are selling than he or she would be with a competitive product or with the money that it costs.  The sale is made in the presentation.

Everything Counts

And here is the great rule for sales success.  It is this: everything counts.  Everything counts.  Everything you do in a sales situation either helps or hurts.  It either moves you toward the sale, or moves you away.  It is either increasing your credibility or decreasing your credibility.  But nothing is neutral.  Everything counts.  All top sales professionals know that everything counts.  They leave nothing to chance.  And neither should you.

Thank you for reading this post on the keys to building mega credibility and how to add value to your prospective customers. Please share this article with others and comment below!

Professional Development: A Must for Today’s Worker

Professional Development: A Must for Today’s Worker
SHALA MARKS | November 15, 2012 |

It’s no secret that our world is ever changing. Back in 1998 when it was just coming on the scene, most people were asking “What’s a Google?” Today, 14 years later, Google is the number one search engine on the web. Dinosaur-like cellular phones and pagers have transformed into sleek, lightweight iPhones and PDAs. Hand-written letters have been swapped for emails and landlines are being traded in for Skype. Things like social media and augmented reality have changed the way we connect with others, even inside the workplace.

Our society will always be evolving and, in order to be successful, we have to adapt and keep up with the evolution. Just like we cannot keep our old habits with new technology, we cannot stay the same in our professional careers. Industries change and it’s the worker’s job to follow that change. And what better way to keep up with the trends than to invest in professional development?

Professional development programs are an extremely important component to any company. Most employers that offer such programs are more attractive and appealing to job seekers because it shows them the companies support the advancement of their employees. Similarly, participating in professional develop for an employee shows companies the individual is dedicated to his or her career growth. Specialized workshops, seminars, classes, and conferences for your profession are all great ways to take your career to the next level. How so?

Opportunities for developing new skills. Professional development courses and trainings are all about education. You will get the chance to learn new information, tactics and methods specific to your position or field, thus developing a new skill set. These courses can also help sharpen the skills you already possess.

Staying up-to-date with your industry. You should desire to be the best at what you do and a part of that comes from being in the know within your industry. Understanding the ins and outs of your field and keeping current on what’s new, what’s old and what is to come can give you the upper hand when it comes to succeeding in your field. How can your company properly supply the needs of customers if it doesn’t know the current demand? Regular professional development can ensure you stay up-to-date with what’s happening in your industry.

Building your network. We all know the power of networking; professional development simply opens another door for it. As you travel to conferences and attend trainings you will meet various people within your industry who may be essential to your future success.

Strengthen your personal brand. Have you ever heard the saying you are your own brand? Today more than ever this holds true. Your actions, your credential and your expertise are what speak for you as a professional. Why not allow professional development programs to help with that? By participating in professional development, you’re only strengthening your personal brand as employers see the effort you put in to advance yourself and skills in the field. This especially holds true for professional development done outside of work.

Remain competitive in the industry. Business is a competition. You want to be the best: offer the best service, provide the best products and find the best solutions. The same is true as an employee. Hundreds of people apply for one position. And even after you land the job, many more wait, ready and willing to take your place if you fail. To move up the ladder, you will have to remain competitive and professional development can help you do just that. That extra training session or course you took provided you with an extra skill or some knowledge another worker may not have.

Benefit yourself and the company. Professional development is a two-way street. You’re growing as an employee and, in turn, helping the company to grow by the new skills and expertise you bring to the table. Now who doesn’t love a win-win situation?

Retail associates should be doing, but probably aren't...

Retail Experience.com has some great sharing ...
As Dale Carnegie's sixth principle teaches us, the sound of a person's name is the sweetest and most important sound to that person. It is an immutable truth, because our name is not just a few letters on paper — it's a part of who we are. If you look at your social security number (also something that identifies you), you probably don't feel any emotion. But your name? That's you.

For the past few months, I've made a conscious effort to address people by their names, specifically people who you normally would not. The person who makes your sandwich at the deli. The young girl who rings up your groceries. The teller at the bank. These are people who have always worn name tags as a matter of course, but those name tags seldom serve any purpose — we normally just mumble a "thanks" and then move on.

It has been astonishing to me to notice how it impacts people like this, to hear their name spoken right after that "thanks." Eye contact where there wasn't any before. A smile. A mood that has visibly been lifted. This is no longer just the guy who makes my sandwich or the girl who sells me groceries. This is Peter, and that is Susan. It is validating to them as human beings.

Now, this is me as a shopper, addressing the service employee. Why isn't this happening the other way around?

Because the fact is, unless you're dealing with a cash transaction, your retail associates have the name of the customer embossed on the little rectangular piece of plastic that is handed to them at the moment of sale. How many of them think to take a half-second to look down at that name, then thank the customer by that name?

Again, for cash transactions this is a moot point. But I would submit that for all credit and debit transactions, there is no excuse for your associates to not thank their customers by name. It's simple, it costs nothing, and it can be transformative for your relationship with your customers.

Non-Verbal Mistakes...!

by ClassesandCareers.Learn about infographic design.

Working on Motivation

3 Lessons on Motivating Employees by Not Working on Motivation

Recognize This! – You can’t “leverage” motivation, but you can encourage it.

An excellent article by Scott and Ken Blanchard in Fast Company. There are several important points in the article, a few of which are highlighted here.

The greatest motivator is freedom to do the job.
You hired smart, capable people. Why not let them do the job you hired them to do? Yes, they need (and want) guidance and direction, but they don’t need (or want) micromanagement. Give them control.

“You can’t control motivation. While traditional carrot-and-stick levers can influence behavior in the short term, they do not create the intentions to apply discretionary effort and work collaboratively that are required in today’s more sophisticated work environments. …

“We are finding that giving people a chance to succeed in their job and setting them free to a certain degree is the key to motivation, as opposed to trying to direct and control people’s energy. It’s really about letting go and connecting people to their work–and each other–rather than channeling, organizing, orchestrating, and focusing behavior.”

Leadership must be on board for culture change.
Unless your CEO very visibly sets the examples – and lives that example out every day in his or her own actions – then culture change at any level will not happen.

“Without a shift in thinking at the top of an organization, it is almost impossible to change an organization’s culture. A study conducted years ago shed some light on the role of senior leaders in changing organizational culture and behavior. The study concluded that the CEO’s disposition and personality had everything to do with the company’s service orientation and collaborative mindset.”

Employees need to know where they fit in the big picture.

Help people connect to each other and their work by encouraging everyone in the organization to notice appreciate and formally recognize the good work others are doing when it is in line with strategic objectives and conducted in line with desired behaviors (the what as well as the how).

“Today we realize that control doesn't work. Find a way to connect your people with the big picture. Create an environment free of fear and anxiety. Leaders don’t need a new lever–they need a new approach to bringing out the best in people. Give a little bit. You’ll be surprised at what can be accomplished when people are free of fear and find their motivation within, instead of being controlled by external carrots and sticks.”

Give them the insight they need into where they fit by letting everyone paint the picture.

Inspired & Engaged

4 Ways Twitter Keeps Its Workforce Inspired and Engaged

In just two years Twitter has gone from having no obvious revenue and an unclear business model to a successful company that is getting the attention of Wall Street and Madison Avenue alike. eMarketer projects Twitter will beat Facebook in the critical fight for mobile advertising revenue in 2012, and other sources project Twitter to generate $1 billion in revenue in 2014.

With rapid growth, 1,300 employees and approximately 30 new hires a week, how does Twitter make sure they are building a strong company, values-based culture, and keeping employees inspired and engaged?
I recently spoke with Twitter Head of Organizational Effectiveness and Learning, Melissa Daimler, who shared key factors that continue to drive their high levels of engagement.

1. CEO-led Management Sessions. Dick Costolo, who assumed the Twitter CEO role in October of 2010, believes that a big part of building a strong business starts with building strong managers. Just as Jack Welch personally taught courses at the famed GE University, Costolo leads a “Managingat Twitter” session at least once a quarter.Rejecting the use of slides, Costolo uses stories, leverages his own best practices and incorporates role-playing exercises to engage the managers in the class. The opportunity to spend this much time with the CEO to understand his management point-of-view sets the example of great management throughout the company. He is currently working on the next iteration of this class called “Leading at Twitter”.

2. Measure it. Most companies conduct an employee satisfaction survey occasionally or at most once a year. Twitter executes their “pulse” survey every six months. Short and focused, the survey of approximately 15 questions measures current engagement levels and includes open ended questions to capture employees’ ideas for improvement. A monthly people dashboard also stays on top of attrition levels, learning impact, and organizational span of control.

3. Focus on the Core. Traditional employee engagement efforts often fail because they are complicated and programmatic. Twitter values simplicity, which is why it developed just five core skills that every employee (from individual contributors to managers & leaders) is working toward. They aren’t just competencies, but, rather, skills that will be woven into how people are being evaluated and recognized. They are: Communication, Development, Direction, Change and Collaboration. Twitter wants people to learn every day. Establishing core skills to focus on helps employees with a context for doing so.

4. Give authentic & fearless feedback. I previously wrote an article on Feed forward Coaching that explained that Growth is a top driver of engagement, thus enabling managers to provide future-oriented, ongoing performance-improving feedback is a critical skill—for everyone. Although there is currently a twice-a-year official performance review process at Twitter, the emphasis is increasingly on giving continuous feedback—up, down, and across. Quarterly learning labs are being launched to support employees in both giving & receiving feedback. It even starts in Costolo’s management session where he stresses the importance of defining what success looks like in each role, setting the direction, and just as critically, giving feedback in an open, authentic and fearless way.

Whether your own organization is a fast-growing startup or an established Fortune 500 company, Twitter’s focus on consistent approaches to feedback and learning is an approach that can be emulated to drive high levels of emotional commitment and engagement.