My Crazy Idea for This Weekend: 20 New Blogs by Monday

So, I had this crazy idea on Wednesday: why not spend this weekend doing a Blog Building Marathon?  After all, I love blogging, I love the setup process, I know people who want to start blogging but don’t know how, and, best of all, it beats doing yard-work.  Never one to think small, I immediately set a BHAG I could be proud of: I set the intention to create 20 new blogs between Friday evening and Monday morning.  I know, crazy, right?

I told a few friends what I was planning and asked them to spread the word to anyone they knew who wanted to start blogging but needed a little help to get going.  There were questions, of course.  I also posted my plans on Facebook, which generated a few more questions.  I got my first two new bloggers lined up, and they had even more questions.  So I thought, why not write a blog post to let everyone know why I’m doing this and to answer some of those questions publicly.  Here goes:

Why are you doing this? First and foremost, I’m doing this because I love blogging. I think blogging is a great way to connect with other people who share your passions.  I believe that blogging is a fantastic tool for attracting new clients to your business (or new fans for your music, or new readers for your books…you get the point).  I’m also doing this because I’m getting tired of hearing stories from people who’ve paid big money to blogging “experts”, waited for months to see their sites, and still been disappointed with the results.  I figured that if I could knock out 20 blogs in a weekend for a minimal cost, maybe more people would realize that it’s not as complicated as the “experts” make it sound.

What are you offering? Basically, what you’re going to get is a WordPress blog configured with what I consider to be the essential plugins (if you don’t know what plugins are, don’t worry…I’ll send instructions for using them), including a domain name of your choice and hosting for 12 months.  The blog will be built on one of the thousands of available free WordPress themes, with a little bit of customization to make it uniquely your own.  Nothing fancy, unless you really want it, in which case we’ll need to work out some details.  The blog will also be integrated with your accounts on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn so that when you write a new post, your followers on those sites will know about it automatically.

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Manage the Process, Not the Outcome

One of the worst questions a sales manager can ask a salesperson is, “So when is Prospect X going to sign with us?”  I’ve got news for you Mr./Ms. Sales Manager: not only is that question impossible for your salesperson to answer, it clearly demonstrates that your management efforts are misguided.  Instead of managing the sales process, which is squarely under the control of you and your salespeople, you are trying to manage the outcome, something that neither you nor your salesperson is capable of doing.

Understand this: while you and your salespeople are in control of the sales process, your prospects and customers are in control of the buying process.  And the buyer is ultimately the one who controls the outcome of any sales situation.  We’ve all had the experience of executing the sales process flawlessly only to have the prospect we were courting say “No thanks” in the end; it happens, and it’s out of our control.  Getting frustrated or angry about it is silly; it’s like being mad that it rained today.  Recognize that it’s out of your control, let it go, and move on.

Does that mean that sales managers should just forget about the performance of their sales people?  Not at all!  They just need to shift their focus from the things they can’t control (outcomes) to the things they can control (processes).  Are the salespeople in their charge following a good sales process, or are they “making it up as they go”?  Has the process been clearly defined?  Are their rules of engagement and scripted responses for different contingencies?  Those are the things you have control over; manage them.

And if you’re reading this thinking that it doesn’t apply to you because you don’t manage salespeople, think again.  If you’re an entrepreneur or small business owner who is an army of one, you have to apply these same principles to your own sales efforts.  Too many solo business owners are not taking their sales efforts seriously.  Sales is something they do when they feel like it or something they will try to get to “when things aren’t so crazy.”  As a result, they’re in a constant feast/famine cycle that they just can’t break.

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To Shift, or Not To Shift

One of the biggest challenges I face as a budding entrepreneur is what to do when I get stuck on a project.  I know I’m not alone; in fact, this post was inspired by a friend on Facebook who is one of those wacky serial entrepreneurs you’ve read about (thanks for the idea, Travis).  It was nice to find out I wasn’t the only one who gets in this mode from time to time.

The question remains, though: what should you do when you get stuck?  Is it better to muscle through in an attempt to get to the other side?  Or are you better off just giving in to the “stuck”-ness and switching gears to a different task?  Or should you, as my friend Joel D Canfield says you sometimes should, just call it a day and head for the beach?

The answer, of course, is that there’s no one right answer.  That said, here’s what I do: I meditate.  Rather than make a decision when I’m feeling frustrated by a lack of progress or productivity, I’ll consciously make an effort to step away from the project for a set period of time, say 15 or 30 minutes.  During that time, I might push my chair back, close my eyes, and let my mind wander; or I might take a brisk walk and take in the scenery (this is especially effective on perfect spring days like the one we had today in Sacramento).

Whatever I do, I purposely let go of any thoughts of the project I was stuck on and just take some time to enjoy being (thanks to Paul Coltharp for reminding us of that one).  You’d be amazed at how powerful this little exercise can be.  Sometimes I return to the project with a fresh outlook and manage to get past the place where I was stuck; other times, I realize I’m not going to get anywhere right then and I pick up something else to work on and leave the current project for later.  Either way, it beats staring at a blank computer screen and waiting for something to happen.

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10 Steps to Become the Greatest Salesperson In the World – Part 9

“I will act now.” - from The Scroll Marked IX, The Greatest Salesman In the World by Og Mandino

I love the way this scroll starts: “My dreams are worthless, my plans are dust, my goals are impossible. All are of no value unless they are followed by action.” There’s a cold shot of reality, eh?

Many in the “law of attraction” crowd would have you believe that dreams, plans and goals (mixed with positive thinking, of course) are all you really need to succeed. I’m reminded of a quote I heard a few years ago: “If all you do is sit on your couch and meditate all day, eventually they’re going to come and take your couch!”

You probably know by now that I’m a firm believer in the power of dreams, plans, goals and a healthy dose of positive thinking; you probably have also discerned that I’m a firm believer in activity. What you have to find is the right mix of inner planning and outward manifestation of that planning. Finding the right mix is essential.

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10 Steps to Become the Greatest Salesperson in the World – Part 8

“Today I will multiply my value a hundredfold.” - from The Scroll Marked VIII, The Greatest Salesman In the World by Og Mandino

What do you do when you’ve accomplished a goal? Hopefully, you take some time to bask in the warm glow of accomplishment…but not for too long. Hopefully, you also set your sights on something higher and start working on it immediately. Resting on your laurels and past acheivments will never get you where you want to go.

Success is like a muscle; stretch it and work it and eventually it rises to the occassion. If your goal is to be able to lift 200 pounds 10 times in a row, you can get there even if you start off lifting less than 100. When you hit your goal though, a funny thing happens: you plateau. The muscle stops growing because it’s no longer challenged. Step your goal up to 300, and you kick the growth cycle off again.

It’s the same with your personal growth. Once you reach a goal, you run the risk of stagnation if you stop there. Human beings have an amazing potential for growth that sometimes gets hampered because we’re unwilling to push ourselves to grow. Why? Growth is painful. It’s uncomfortable and scary. We set up all kinds of elaborate, unconscious schemes to avoid the pain of growth, and we seriously limit the results we can acheive in the process.

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10 Steps to Become the Greatest Salesperson In the World – Part 3

“I will persist until I succeed.” - from The Scroll Marked III, The Greatest Salesman In the World by Og Mandino

This principle has become my personal mantra over the course of the last few years. I remember a former employer whose favorite phrase was “Persistence overcomes resistance”, and that phrase has stuck with me through some pretty challenging times.

It’s a fact: the last few years haven’t been easy on anyone. The reason I created Motivation 101 and started this blog was that I kept hearing people around me talking like they were ready to just give up and run for cover; I knew that was the wrong response, and I felt compelled to jump in and do something about it. So I recorded an audio program in a friend’s garage. He produced it, and I started making CDs in my home office and handing them out to anyone who was willing to listen.

The feedback was encouraging: most of the people I talked to were discouraged, but not quite ready to roll over just yet. We would talk about their challenges and how the principles of positive thinking and persistence were the only things getting them by. Some of them had lost jobs, homes, credit scores and personal dignity. It had all taken a toll on their self-image, but they hadn’t given up. They wanted to keep going, and we were able to offer each other mutual encouragement.

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It’s All About the Conversations

After reading an insightful article about social media by my friend Jim Keenan, I started thinking about the way a lot of businesses and individuals are using social media.  Is it just me, or do the majority of users seem to think that social media sites are just free advertising space?  I see it every day, and I’m sure you do, too: the thinly veiled ads, the blatant pitches, the sales copy in “Free Report” clothing.  It’s got to the point where my Twitter stream is so clogged up by spammers, I’m having trouble staying one step ahead of them.  I wonder how the folks with 20,000+ followers do it!

So here’s the thing:  I want to challenge everyone involved in using social media in their business to remember the key word (and no, it’s not media…guess again).  This is supposed to be social. In other words, it should be about conversations.  Instead of worrying about how many Facebook friends or Twitter followers you have, you should be thinking about how many of them you’re interacting with.  This was brought to light recently at one of the companies I work with.

The company has two teams of of people in charge of using social media sites to connect with potential customers.  Team #1 took a “scorched earth” approach and started slamming their pre-packaged message out to as many people as they could and directing them back to the company’s website, relying on the site to make the sale.  Team #2 took a more deliberate approach of engaging prospects in conversations and walking them through the buying process.

Can you guess what the results were?  I probably don’t need to tell you that, after on week, Team #1 had contacted 500 prospects with zero conversions and Team #2 made far fewer contacts (about 60) with a 10% conversion, and the results are still trickling in from Team #2′s activity as they follow-up on their initial contacts.

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What Does the Motivator Do On the Days He's Not Motivated?

Well, I admit it.  In spite of all my rants about taking responsibility for your own motivation and doing the activity that leads to success, I still have days when I’d rather just give up and curl up on the couch.  Even though I tell everyone how important it is to control your own thoughts and choose an optimistic outlook,  I sometimes allow the negativity to creep in and seize my brain.  And there are days when all I want to do is whine about how I wish things were different.  Days like today.

So what does the guy whose constant theme  is motivation and optimism do on a day like this?  Well, here’s the plan.  First, I’m going to take some of my own advice and spend some time in quiet contemplation, visualizing a successful outcome for the day.  Then, when my head is a little straighter, I’m going to leave the office and go make a call on a local real estate agency to share the message of “Motivation 101” with them.  I’m also going to make a couple of phone calls to follow up on some great contacts I’ve made over the past several days. 

Then, I’m going to come back and let you know how it turned out.  I’m going to do all this bcause I know one thing: the only antidote to having a crappy day is to get up and do something about it.  Change your thoughts, and you change your life.

I’m curious: what do you do to break the momentum of a bad day?  What do you do to help you keep going when you really feel like giving up?  Please share your suggestions and advice in the comments section and, until next time, make it a better day!

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Information Overload and the End of the Recession

With the beginning of a new month on the horizon, I want to chat for a bit about information overload and its effect on the unwary salesperson. I’m sure you would agree that it’s very easy to get bogged down with too much information: from the daily news to talk radio to the endless stream of e-mail alerts, RSS feeds and Tweets, we receive far more information in a day than we can hope to process. This often leads to that old disease, the paralysis of analysis.

When we ask our minds to process too much information, we have a tendency to lose sight of the fact that information alone is useless. We have to put that information to use, and in a positive direction, before we receive any value from it. For example, consider all the data you’ve seen recently with regard to the economy. From the sub-prime mortgage crisis and the related plummet in real estate prices, to the oft-repeated declaration of “the worst depression since the Depression”, we are bombarded by data that has worked many people into a state of panic. This panic has caused many salespeople to fall into negative thinking patterns (“No one is buying in this economy!”) which prevents them from engaging in the very activities that could bring a swift end to all the bad news. Enough is enough, already!

Consider a different way to look at, process and do something with all that information that comes in the form of “bad news” about the economy. What if, instead of buying into the panic, the salespeople of the world looked at the situation as their cue to step up their efforts and invigorate the economy? What would happen then?

I’ll tell you what would happen: we would get the blood (in other words, the money) flowing again. That is the power that you, the world’s sales force, holds in your mortal hands. We all know that salespeople (and small business owners, entrepreneurs, solo-professionals, etc.) are the backbone to any thriving economy; at the same time, we can also exacerbate a stagnant economy. The only difference is in our attitudes. If we buy into the dismal outlook regarding the future, are we really going to feel motivated to get out and make our daily number of connections with prospects? If, on the other hand, we choose to let all that information motivate us to take responsibility for getting things moving again, we really can make a difference.

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Want Results? Better Get Moving!

Question: What have you done this week to move yourself closer to your goals? Do you have a clearly defined, written plan to get you where you want to be? If not, what are you waiting for?!

We’ve all heard that what gets written down gets done, yet the majority of us don’t do it. It really amazes me how many salespeople I talk to who have no idea what they need to accomplish on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis to help them achieve their goals; in fact, I still encounter many people who have no idea what their goals are! I only have one question: if you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you’ve arrived? More importantly, how will you even know if you’re on the right course to get there?

Specific written goals are vital to your success. You know that. If you haven’t written out your goals for this year, stop reading and go do it now. Don’t come back until you’re done, because what I’m going to suggest next will require you to have your written goals in front of you. This is a powerful tool that will help you achieve any goal you set, and it is actually very easy to do. Unfortunately, anything that’s easy to do is also easy not to to do, so I want you to make a commitment, here and now, to try this method out for the next seven days. If it doesn’t work for you, you can stop; but you have to try it for at least seven consecutive days before passing judgment. Ready?

Looking at your list of goals, I want you to think of the six most important things you could do tomorrow to move you closer to their accomplishment. Limit your list to only six things, the six most critical. Now, prioritize the list in order of highest impact; in other words, the most impactful thing you could do becomes number one and so on. Now comes the hard part.

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