I had a really compelling dinner conversation tonight with Jim Pelley, Karl Palachuk and Jeff Marmins (each a genius in his own right, in my humble opinion).  One of the things we all agreed on, and the inspiration for this post, was what I’m going to start calling the M-Myth (if Michael Gerber is reading this, I hope he’ll remember that imitation is the sincerest kind of flattery).

The M-Myth was born in the Information Age, and it’s been plaguing business professionals and entrepreneurs for decades.  It’s destroyed careers and businesses, occasionally even lives.  What is the M-Myth?  It’s the myth of multi-tasking.

Some people claim to have this ability, even wearing it as a badge of honor.  They strut around with a misguided superiority complex, thinking that their ability to multi-task somehow puts them in the intellectual elite, with a brain so powerful, one task just isn’t enough!  Well, here’s the bad news: multi-tasking is impossible! At least, that is, for humans.  Computers can almost pull it off, but even they (as Karl points out in his book Relax, Focus, Succeed) have to chunk the separate tasks down into steps that get done one at a time; it just looks like multi-tasking because they do it really, really fast.

Jeff highlighted the impossibility of multi-tasking by using the simplest example: having a cup of coffee while doing some kind of work, let’s say writing a blog post.  Some would consider this multi-tasking in its most basic form, but think about it for a minute.  What’s really going on?  Am I really doing two things simultaneously?  No.  In order to take a sip of my coffee, what do I have to do?  That’s right: I have to stop writing my blog.  Makes it pretty clear, doesn’t it?  We really can only do one thing at a time.  Multi-tasking is a myth, and a dangerous one at that.  How so?

Think about what happens when you try to multi-task at work.  For example, what happens when you are talking to a customer on the phone while reading an email from a coworker?  Are you able to do either task justice?  No.  All you’re really doing is creating distraction and lowering the quality of performance on both tasks, and your work suffers as a result.

How about at home?  How well does it work to listen to your spouse talk about their day while reading the newspaper?  Not well at all.

So rather than perpetuate the M-Myth, why not do what successful people everywhere have learned to do: focus on one task at a time, do it really well, then move on to the next, giving each your full attention.  Developing this ability to focus is one of the greatest tools in your professional arsenal.  Don’t neglect it in pursuit of the M-Myth.

Over the course of 2009, my friend and business partner Joel D. Canfield and I had some fun creating a series of videos for YouTube.   We were the Business Heretics, and we called the series our Burning Business Tips.  I was going through the videos tonight, and I came across one that I think has some relevance as we head into the new year.  The video below was recorded in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo lunar landing:

I think it’s important that we all give this some thought as we look ahead to what we’re planning to accomplish in 2010.  I know that, for many of us, 2009 was a year we’d rather forget.  I also know that many of us are still carrying around some of the bruises and scars that we received during the past year, and that those scars are affecting the way we’re thinking about the future.  They’re even having an impact on the goals we’re setting for the new year.

As the video states, though, we can truly accomplish anything, as individuals or businesses, if we start with the firm belief that we can.  I know this to be true, and so do you, though you may have forgotten it. And it’s time to take our power back now.  No more wallowing in the misery of 2009.  It’s time to plan for a much better 2010, a task which can only be accomplished if you believe that you can do it.  After all, who sets a goal that he doesn’t truly believe he can achieve?

If you tackle a problem or set out to achieve a goal with the belief that it’s impossible, you’re destined to fail.  On the other hand, a belief that accomplishing your goal is within your reach will inspire you to new levels of commitment.  When the going gets tough, rather than giving up, you’ll get more creative.  Your belief, your faith that you can achieve what you set out to achieve, is the first and most important step on the path.

I think Michaelangelo said it best: ” The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark.”  With that in mind and with a clean slate for the new year, what do you believe you can accomplish?  Dream big, write it down, and believe you can!

I make no secret of the fact that this blog is only indirectly about business and sales.  While you’ll see the occasional post about a particular sales skill or business task, what you’ll usually find is something about how to think differently: about yourself, about your life, about your business.  My primary purpose is to get you thinking about your thinking.

Lately, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the challenges that so many are facing in their lives and in their businesses, and wondering if there isn’t something more we can all do about improving the situation.  Of course, being an optimist, I always believed that there is, and I got what I was looking for: gratitude.

For so many of us, gratitude is the missing link in our happiness, and a lack of gratitude for the good in our lives makes a bad situation seem even worse.  And while I know and understand completely that many people are facing challenging, sometimes overwhelming, circumstances in their lives, there are still things, a lot of things, to be grateful for.  Like what, you ask?  Well, it’s going to be different for each of us.  I know what I’m grateful for, but it’s up to you to decide what you’re grateful for.

And yes, you read that right: I said you have to decide what to be grateful for.  Gratitude, like any other feeling, is something we have to choose.  Especially if you’re experiencing difficulty in your life, it can be a difficult choice to make; after all, it’s so much easier just to see the bad and to wallow in it.  Finding something to be grateful for in a bad situation takes a lot of effort, but it gets easier with practice.  Here’s a shortcut: write down five things you’re grateful for on a 3 x 5 card and carry it around in your pocket.  That way, when a challenge comes up, you can pull out your card, read it, and get right back on track.

Why choose gratitude, though?  Can it really have an impact, other than just making us feel good when things are bad?  Absolutely!  Think about it for a minute: if you’re miserable and wallowing in the despair of your bad circumstances, how motivated are you going to be to go out and find new customers for your business?  If you’re giving in to the belief that nothing is working and that the world and the economy are falling apart, why wake up early and stay up late working on that new project?  What’s the point, right?

On the other hand, if you consciously choose to find something to be grateful for, you’re more likely to be moved to take some kind of action, aren’t you?  If you wake up in the morning, thrilled to alive and grateful that you’re healthy enough to get through another day, doesn’t that make you want to spend that day in a worthwhile way?  If, even though you may not really like your job, you’re grateful for having it, won’t you do better work than if you choose to focus on how much you hate it?  I think you get the point.

Gratitude isn’t a sales skill, it’s a life skill.  And, like so many of the life skills we choose to ignore in our pursuit of the perfect “closing technique” or “objection-handling response”, it’s something we can practice that will have an incredible impact, not only on our lives, but on our businesses as well.

If you really want to start changing the results you’re getting, start looking at the way you’re thinking.  If you’re not choosing to be grateful, positive, optimistic and happy, you might want to reconsider your strategy.  Yes, these are challenging times we live in.  That said, what are you choosing to think, feel and do about it?  I recommend that you think of something to be grateful for, feel that gratitude in your heart, then go out and demonstrate that you truly are grateful by working on creating solutions instead of focusing on problems!

In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a big believer in the power of positive thinking.  I know there’s no better way to get what you want than to believe that you can; I also know that optimism is essential to success.  The big question everyone always asks, though, is “How do I do it? How do I become a positive thinker when my life/business/career is so crappy?”

That’s a great question with a really simple answer: you need to have a little chat with yourself.  I’m serious!  One of the biggest saboteurs to success is that nagging little voice in your head that says things like “Yeah, but…”, “I can’t do that!”, “That’ll never really happen!” and all the countless other negative phrases we say to ourselves when we have a great idea or try to take some kind positive action.  The voice might be that of a parent, a teacher, a sibling, an old boss…all those folks who, whether they meant to or not, planted seeds of negativity in our brains that we’ve never quite been able to shake.

Well, it’s time to strangle that little voice and replace it with a new, more supportive one, and it’s going to be easier than you think.  I’m going to encourage you to do something that’s going to feel a little weird, possibly even a little uncomfortable (imagine that!), but that will pay huge dividends in your personal development.  I’m going to encourage you to start doing…*gulp*…affirmations.

Now before you write me off as a new-age wacko in salesperson’s clothes, let me remind you that the Great Ones (Zig Ziglar, Jim Rohn, Brian Tracy, etc.) all encourage affirmations in one form or another.  And I agree with them all: positive self-talk is good for the soul.  More importantly, though, positive self-talk is GREAT for activity, which leads to results, which reinforces beliefs, which opens your eyes to greater potential, which spurs even greater activity…and so on.

But I’ve always had a problem with actually doing affirmations.  Why?  Well, because I felt a little silly.  Standing in front of my bathroom mirror and shouting positive phrases at myself while my wife was trying to sleep was always a little uncomfortable for me, so I never really got in the habit.  That is, until I found a nifty little shortcut that made doing affirmations and creating positive self-talk (and a more positive self-image) easy to do.

Using the sound recorder on my computer, I started recording positive phrases, things like “I’m a talented and intelligent business person” and “I’m always on time with customer proposals” and “I always make the time to read positive books”…really, anything I wanted to change my beliefs about was fair game.  Next, I transfered the file to my MP3 player (alternatively, you can burn the file to a CD), and I made a habit of listening to it for 10 minutes when I wake up in the morning and 10 minutes before I go to bed at night.

Presto!  I was doing affirmations!  And did it make a difference?  You bet it did!  Within just a few weeks, I was noticing a difference in my self-talk throughout the day, which very quickly made a difference in my behavior and level of activity.  I was surprised hat ow quickly this was having a positive impact on me.

So, set your doubts and cynicism aside and give this technique a try. Record some positive self-talk to replace the little voice in your head, then listen to it every day.  Believe me: the little chat you have with yourself every morning and evening will bring  you a new kind of power, the power of positive thinking!

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!

Jerry

Whenever I have the chance to speak to groups, I always start by asking the following question: “Who loves salespeople?” You might be surprised to find (or maybe you won’t be) that I’m often the only person in the room with my hand raised. This has even happened when I’m speaking to groups composed entirely of salespeople! Why is that the case?

For the most part, people really, really hate to be sold to. Think of the last time someone tried to sell something to you; did you enjoy the experience? Even if you were there specifically to buy something, the answer is probably “No”. There is just something about being sold to that sets off a defensive reaction. We feel that if we’re not careful, we’re going to be taken advantage of. Salespeople, on the whole, have a nasty reputation. That said, you might find what I’m about to say a little offensive: no matter what you do, you are in sales, or at the very least, sales adjacent!

That’s right: no matter what line of work you are in, if you provide a product or a service that other people pay you for, you are either in sales or a sales support role. Bottom line. No arguments to the contrary will be accepted. Selling is the primary function of business. Think about it: if you don’t sell anything, can you really say you’re in business?

So we’ve got a bit of a dilemma: no one, including you, likes to be sold to; at the same time, without sales you have no business. How can you reconcile this quandary? That’s where HERO Selling comes in. You see, the reason no one likes to be sold to and that everyone hates salespeople is simple: many “traditional” selling methods (and the salespeople who still use them) are offensive, brutish and outdated. You know the routine:

                             “What can I do to make sure you drive out of here in this car…TODAY?”
                              “If price weren’t an issue, would you buy…TODAY?”
                              “How many of these widgets would you like to order…TODAY?”

Just hearing the questions makes you cringe, right? You automatically feel hemmed in, backed into a corner and defensive. So why do people still use these tactics? Simply stated, they just don’t know any better. Their managers are so busy pushing for “results” that they never bother to teach them how to treat people.

So what can you do to be different? How can you make sure that you (or the salespeople who work for you or with you) don’t heap this kind of abuse on your prospects and customers? You can become a HERO!  What’s a HERO, you ask? Stay tuned for more…

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.

I’d like for you to try a little exercise with me: from now on, whenever you sell something I’d like for you to visualize the process by which that product or service arrives at the customer’s door. Think of all the folks who receive a paycheck along the way; try to imagine what they, in turn, buy with the proceeds of that check and all the subsequent paychecks that activity generates. Keep it up until you can see a crowd of at least a thousand people in your mind’s eye, all smiling and waving their checks over their heads. Now, I’d like for you to accept that you are responsible for making sure they continue to get those checks! That certainly changes the way you look at your sales day, doesn’t it?

It really is amazing how shifting your perspective can influence your activities and, therefore, your results. So get out there and get things moving! As we start to see the first signs of improvement, fan the flames! Let’s all work to create the momentum we need to bring the world’s economy back to its feet and take it to even greater heights. This is your call to action. If you’re in, spend the rest of the week doing your best to help people buy. Who knows: the paycheck you save might be yours.

I just finished reading “ONO: Options, Not Obligations” by Marc Warnke and I have to say: if you have any desire to be in business for yourself and to use that business to create a lifestyle filled with the things you want to do instead of the things you have to do, you really need to read this book.

Marc is an expert in ONO, having created a life in which he is free to spend time with his wife and kids as he chooses and to pursue his passions.  This life didn’t happen by accident or some random stroke of luck, though: Marc applied the principles he writes about in “ONO” to seize the opportunities that were presented to him and leverage them into the life of his dreams.

Instead of presenting a step-by-step “how to do” approach to creating ONO, Marc focuses on “how to think”.  He helps you create a mindset of entrepreneurialism while working at your current job so that you can make the transition when the time is right.  Rather than encouraging new entrepreneurs to plunge in and “follow their passion”, Marc recommends developing a calculated, well thought out path to creating ONO.

What I appreciated most, though, is Marc’s voice.  He speaks with the compassion of someone who has been there and at the same time doesn’t allow us to wallow in our self-pity.  His inspiring words will help you find the desire to do something different, to start looking at your life and the decisions you make through new eyes: the eyes of a Family First Entrepreneur.  

I hope you’ll take my advice and order your copy of “ONO: Options, Not Obligations” today.  Once you’ve read it, I’d love to hear what you think, so head back here and leave a comment or start a discussion.

Thanks for reading!

Some sales trainers will tell you that the location of your sales presentations is of critical importance in making the sale; unfortunately, they don’t all agree what that location should be. Some say that sales presentations should be made in the prospect’s office, others in your office and still others in a neutral zone such as a restaurant. I’m going to break with these folks and say that the only place where truly successful selling takes place is right between the your ears.

The most important playing field in sales is and always has been your mind. Look at any sales superstar and you’ll see this is true. The truly great ones in any field succeed because they have developed the mindset for success. For some, this mindset has developed naturally because of good genes and a nurturing environment. For most of us, though, developing the right mindset takes a significant amount of work and a constant vigilance to guard any progress we make.

The reason for this is that we are under a constant barrage of negative messages from the world around us. We take in so much negative information on a daily basis, it can be a real challenge to keep our success mindset intact. What are some steps we can take that will help? Try these:

First, limit the amount of negative information you voluntarily take in on a daily basis and replace the negative with something positive. I talked about this a couple of days ago, but the point is this: be proactive with your mental intake.  Don’t just soak it all up like Sponge Bob…choose what you allow into your mind.  Your conscious mind is the filter for your unconscious, so use the filter wisely to sift out negative thoughts.  Do like Tom Hopkins says: whenever a negative thought starts to creep in, throw your hand out in front of you and shout “BAD SEED!”  You’ll be amazed at how effective this technique is for banishing negative thoughts…and the people who would spread them.

Second, and perhaps even more important, I want you to start consciously choosing to be optimistic. Focus on the good things, the things you are grateful for. Remember that no matter how bad things might seem right now, there is almost always someone who is in a worse plight than yours. Optimism is a choice. You get to choose in each moment how you are going to react to what the world is offering you. The more often you choose to react with gratitude and optimism, the more you will see the world around you respond with things to be grateful for.

Are you as tired as I am of all the bad news being offered up by the national media? If so, please join me in a special campaign this week. I’m officially designating it National News Free Week.

This is the critical second step in staying motivated to accomplish your goals: the ability to stay focused and avoid distraction!  So I’m issuing a challenge to as many people as I can reach to turn off the news for one solid week. That’s right: no TV, radio or internet news for seven full days.

“But Jerry!” you ask, “How will I know what’s going on in the world?”

Good question, and the answer may shock you. Listen closely: it doesn’t matter! Yes, you read that right…it just doesn’t matter what’s happening in the world around you. The only thing that truly matters is what’s happening in the world inside of you.

I wonder how many people realize that by obsessing about which corporations are filing for bankruptcy this week and what the Dow is doing this minute, they are actually giving up the only power they have: the power to direct their own thoughts and actions. They are allowing the circumstances of the world around them to dictate their actions. What an incredibly dangerous way to live!

And yet, that’s how the vast majority of people structure their lives. They decide how they’ll act and what they’ll think based on what they see and hear going on around them instead of listening to the voice inside of them that tells them what they should be doing.

What does this have to do with sales and motivation? Just this: if you have been sucked into all the drama, I can almost guarantee that it’s had a negative impact on your sales activity. It has de-motivated you. Honestly, how motivated do you feel to get up early and stay out late when the news is convincing you that no one has any money to spend anyways?

So this is a call to action! Starting at 12:01 am on the day you read this, turn off the news and don’t turn it back on until 11:59 pm seven days later (the really adventurous might want to make it all TV, but that’s up to you). In place of the news, read a good book or listen to an audio program or sales podcast that will motivate you to get into activity mode. If something really important happens in the world, I promise that you’ll hear about it.

This one act is going to help you take your power back. Instead of feeling like a victim of the economic crisis, you’ll begin to realize that you have the privilege, as a small business owner, entrepreneur or salesperson, of being a part of the solution to said crisis! You’ve heard that nothing happens until something gets sold, and that’s never been more true than it is now. We need to restore the confidence of the average consumer to resume consuming. If we don’t, who will?

Do I mean to say that you should be out selling things to people that they don’t need or can’t afford? Absolutely not! That kind of behavior has been one of the big causes of the current situation. At the same time, you need to be working hard to match up your products and services to your customers’ needs and help them to realize that it’s okay to buy!

Are you with me? If so, pass this challenge along to everyone in your network and let’s make this week the most productive one so far this year.

I look forward to hearing your feedback and, hopefully, your success stories as well. Leave a comment and until next time, happy sales to you!