Resource Centers
Special Sections
-
Presented by
-
From
-
Sponsored by
is your arsenal for developing and maintaining sound financial plans and business strategy.
Inside: Budgeting | Compensation | Valuation
Free Trial: Intuit QuickBooks
Simple Start Free Edition 2009 for Windows
Departments
Newsletters
Help Me...
Sold! by Greg Winston
Recent Entries
Inc.com Featured Blogs
February 12, 2008
Don't Watch 60 Minutes
Posted at 12:48 PM
From command performances on Oprah to best-selling books to coffee-room chatter at work, The Secret has taken America by storm. But how does it apply to selling? Is there any element of Rhonda Byre's book that could help improve the sales process? The answer is yes, and the key is focus.
Even if you disagree with the concepts of The Law of Attraction or The Secret, sales careers have many times been made or broken based on one's ability to focus. Authors Napoleon Hill and Norman Vincent Peale were the first I read to understand that "we become what we think about the most." In selling, we must think of success and how we can get there rather than entertaining any thoughts of failure. Is it fair to assume that if you have a negative thought before you make a sales call that the negative thought can affect your body language or your confidence? Yes, it can, and it will. Consequently, we must attract business through positive thoughts, preparation, and actions. Here's an example:
Prepare your week before it starts -- or Don't Watch 60 Minutes. Rather than watching 60 Minutes or any other television program, sit down and prepare your entire week. Write down every client you plan to see that week and the day you plan to see him or her. To the left of their names write down how much money each client is worth if you close them. Then, to the right of their names, write down how you help them. The money you can earn gives you incentive. The idea that you help them will give you confidence. By preparing the entire week before it starts, this allows you to use your subconscious mind to think, attract, and become aware of things to help you reach your goal.
For more information, please click here: http://www.gregwinston.com/download.asp.
Try a RISK-FREE Issue of Inc. Today!
Great post!
Excellent Info! Preparation is key and goes a long way towards achieving your goals. Thank you for sharing your keys to success.
As simple as these concepts are, it's always good to revisit them, and get back in the habit of doing them. I think you've re-introduced these basics in a very thought-provoking manner; organize and plan your week instead of watching TV, which is the biggest time waster of all.
A very good point! The law of attraction does work and for those who don't believe, give it a try for a month and see where it gets you. TV is a great waste of time and I can testify against it with first hand experience. Thank you for this thoughtful note it has done well with my morning coffee!
Thanks Nathan ... sounds like you believe in the law of attraction. Is there a concept you use that you could share with the rest of us?
Thanks,
As an author, professional speaker and consultant to Fortune 500 sales teams, I agree with everything Greg says about The Secret and the power of focus. The truth is there's much more to gain from the law of atraction than focus. Great thinkers have been writing about this principle long before Napoleon Hill and Norman Vincent Peale. James Allen wrote about it in detail in his pivotal book, As a Man Thinketh. The Secret, while wildly popular, just touches the tip of the iceberg. Unfortunately, the movie/book leaves out the single most critical component of world class success: the role behavior plays. Thinking about your dream or vision 24 hours a day is a beautiful beginning, but in the end, only action will make it reality. Start with the secret, and then go to work. Thats what all the great ones do.
Reminds me of the saying "Whether you think you can or think you can't ... You're right!"
I agree with the idea of planning and feel much better going into any meeting knowing as much as possible about all sides of a customer, prospect etc. But sometimes I spend too much time in preparation and may miss a good opportunity. It is then that I remember the wise words of Nike - Just Do It. When you are focused and believe in yourself and your product you can go in and sell without all the preparation you may think you need.
I agree with the idea of planning and feel much better going into any meeting knowing as much as possible about all sides of a customer, prospect etc. But sometimes I spend too much time in preparation and may miss a good opportunity. It is then that I remember the wise words of Nike - Just Do It. When you are focused and believe in yourself and your product you can go in and sell without all the preparation you may think you need.
Greg, I like this idea of planning too - from my perspective, what makes your approach more powerful is that you seem to be leveraging the power of the natural law that says ... "Energy follows thought." This is one of the basic ideas talked about in the movie The Secret. When we plan our week and go into the details of thinking and visualizing who we are going to call and what are we going to say to them or "offer" them - we are very clearly directly a lot of "thought energy" toward a very specific end result - success.
Energy Follows Thought! - thank you for making it easy and practical for us to use.
Post Your Own Comments