“I will live this day as if it is my last.” - from The Scroll Marked V, The Greatest Salesman In the World by Og Mandino

I’ll never forget the scene in “Dead Poets’ Society” when Robin Williams lines his students up in the hallway in front of the pictures of students from years past and whispers in their ears, “Carpe diem, boys…seize the day”. The Scroll Marked V reminds us of this valuable lesson in a powerful way: don’t just seize the day…seize it as if it were your last!

I encourage you to consider that everything you’ve ever been told about guilt and worry is wrong (that is, unless you’ve been fortunate enough to be told that they are both wasted energy). Unscrupulous and/or misguided parents, teachers, leaders and managers have for centuries used guilt and worry to manipulate those under their supervision to do what was expected of them; that kind of manipulation is certainly effective at motivating in the short-term, but the long-term stress it causes ultimately destroys any motivation and puts the subject in a state of constant, immobilizing fear.

Have a look around and you’ll see what I mean. Way back in 1854, Henry David Thoreau identified the cumulative effect of this kind of manipulation when he wrote that “the mass of men lead lives of quiet desparation”. How many of your friends, neighbors and co-workers does that describe? The problem, of course, is fear. Fear that yesterday’s transgressions will somehow prevent us from succeeding today; fear, too, that we won’t be up to the challenges that tomorrow presents.

That’s all wrong, though. The sole purpose of guilt and anxiety is to motivate us to behave differently, not to paralyze us. Feeling guilty about some past wrongdoing is okay so long as it moves us to do everything in our power not to repeat the pattern; wallowing in guilt to the point that we can’t move beyond it is missing the point. And anxiety over our future should move us to do everything we can, so long as we can, to make sure that future is bright; becoming paralyzed by the anxiety and worry is foolish.

The past and the future have one very important thing in common: you have no control over either. Fretting about things you have no control over is self-destructive. Wouldn’t you be much better served if you expended that same energy on the now, the only moment you have any control over? Of course you would. And yet so many of us struggle with remaining firmly rooted in the present moment. What can we do to make the most of the now? Mandino tells us:

“I will avoid with fury the killers of time. Procrastination I will destroy with action; doubt I will bury under faith; fear I will dismember with confidence. Where there are idle mouths I will listen not; where there are idle hands I will linger not; where there are idle bodies I will visit not. Henceforth I know that to court idleness is to steal food, clothing, and warmth from those I love. I am not a thief. I am a man of love and today is my last chance to prove my love and my greatness.”

The key is to recognize the destruction wrought by guilt and anxiety and to seize each day, each moment as if it were your last. How do you want to spend your last minutes? Worrying about a past you can’t change or a future you can’t control? Those aren’t fatalistic questions; they’re a wake-up call that should cause us to stop and assess how we’re spending our minutes. Are you spending yours wisely?

If, for whatever reason, you haven’t been living up to your potential, you get to start again today. You can choose, right NOW, this very moment, to start again. That’s the beauty of being present: each moment is NOW and can be a fresh start on your path to success. All you have to do is decide how to spend this moment, then this one, and again this one.

If you’ll choose to exercise that control and to spend each day living as if it’s your last on this earth, you’ll live a life full of purpose. And whatever your chosen path or profession, pursuing it fully on purpose will make you a great success.

“I will live this day as if it is my last. And if it is not, I shall fall to my knees and give thanks.”

I had a little time to catch up on some reading last week, and I’ve gotta tell you about two fantastic books that you should make it your goal to read as soon as possible.

The first is Og Mandino’s classic “The Greatest Salesman In the World“, and it’s one of those “life-changing” books (so read at your own peril) filled with “a-ha!” moments and epiphanies.  I’ve been hearing about what a great book this is for years, and it did not disappoint.  Mandino, through a cleverly-written business fable, reveals ten principles that will fundamentally change the way you think about selling.  I was so moved by the “secret” principles revealed, in fact, that I’ll be dedicating a post to each of them in the coming weeks.  If you haven’t read it, grab a copy and prepare to be moved.

The second is one of the “new classics” for business: “Go For No!” by Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz.  Richard and Andrea were kind enough to contribute a guest post here last week, and it’s a great introduction to the ideas presented in the book.  ”Go For No!” is another from the business-fable genre, and an incredibly powerful one at that.  It’s based on the idea that the difference between mediocrity and greatness, in sales or anything else, all comes down to the way you deal with hearing “No”.  Sound familiar? Now you know why I’m such a big fan!  Get your copy today, read it immediately, and start putting the idea into practice!

Be sure to check back here tomorrow for the first part of the new Og Mandino inspired series: “10 Secrets To Becoming the Greatest Salesperson In the World”.

OK.  I’m a little disappointed.  So far, American Idol Season 9 is off to a weak start.  I’m not sure what’s happening, but there really haven’t been any stand-out performances so far.  I hope it get’s better; I’m really starting to miss Adam.

One thing did stand out though: Simon told one of the contestants (who looked like he was terrified throughout his entire performance), “If it’s uncomfortable for you, it’s uncomfortable for the people who are watching you.”  And that’s tonight’s American Idol business lesson: your mood is catchy.

Like it or not, the people around you are tuned in to your mood.  This is especially true in a sales situation.  If you’re nervous or desperate or distracted, you’re going to make your prospect uncomfortable.  And people who are uncomfortable don’t buy.  So what can you do?

First, determine what’s making you uncomfortable; then figure out how to overcome it.  Is it a lack of preparation?  That’s easy to fix: prepare better.  Is it a lack of experience?  That’s okay: it’ll get better with time if you don’t give up.  Is it because you’re afraid they’re going to say “No”?  Get over the fear of “No” by having more people say it to you.

I don’t know what to tell the hapless contestants on American Idol this season, other than to step up their game.  I do know what to tell you though: learn to make the people around you (whether co-workers, family or prospects) comfortable and they’ll be happy to help you succeed.

And what’s the outlook for the guys this week?  I say it’s time for Jermaine and Tim to call Southwest’s reservation line to book their return flights.  Have a safe trip home guys, and try again next year!

I just finished a post over at the Sales Bloggers Union about the importance of getting to “No” faster and more frequently in order to be a successful salesperson.  You can read that post here.

As I was writing that post, though, I started thinking of some ways to help salespeople get better at eliciting those “No”s from their prospects more efficiently.  I decided to write a series here called “5 Steps To Get To the 2nd Best Answer In Sales”.

We’ll start with the most important step: getting your mindset properly aligned.

Step #1: Remember That “No” Really Means “Not Now”

Why do I say that your mindset is the most important step?  To begin with, developing the right mindset will help you handle the inevitable rejection involved in selling for a living.  Have you ever wondered how great salespeople can get rejected all day long and get up the next day to do it all over again?  It’s because they know this little secret: “No” doesn’t really mean “No”…it just means “Not now”.

If the person you’re talking to is really a prospect (and if they’re not, why are you talking to them in the first place?), the fact that they tell you “No” today doesn’t suddenly turn them into a non-prospect, does it?  Of course not.  It just means that either you didn’t do a good job of uncovering their triggers and presenting the right solution, or that they just didn’t connect with you on some level, or that they really just are not going to buy right now.

And that’s OK.  It happens to the best of us.  But it doesn’t change the fact that they’re still a valid prospect and that maybe, if you play your cards right, you’ll get another shot at some point in the future.  In the meantime, move on.  It’s not the end of the world.  Put them back in the queue and check in with them periodically, keeping an eye on any relevant sources of information (their website, news articles, social media) that might indicate a change of circumstance.  And when the time is right, make another run at it.

While you’re at it, how about a sincere “Thank you!” to the prospect who had the guts to tell you “No” instead of dragging you through that Vale of Shadow known as “Maybe”.  Remember: “Maybe” is the natural enemy of the salesperson, to be avoided at all cost!

Salespeople have begun to develop an aversion to hearing “No”, and we sometimes do stupid things to avoid hearing it.  Like not making calls.  Like not asking for the business.  Like playing the “Maybe” game with prospects who wouldn’t buy from you if you promised them all dates with George Clooney.  Sound familiar?  If so, it’s time to get comfortable with “No” again.

And before you think I’m encouraging salespeople to return to the “bad old days” of sticking your foot in the door and not taking “No” for an answer, let me assure you that nothing could be further from my mind.  On the contrary, I’m encouraging you to take “no” for an answer as often as possible so that you can move on more quickly to prospects who want to engage with you.

So what should you do when a customer says “No”?  Shake his hand, say “Thanks very much!” and get your behind back in the saddle as quickly as possible.  Otherwise, this may not be the right profession for you.

So now that your mindset is in order, what next?  Tune in tomorrow for Step #2: Talk to More People!

One of my favorite things in life is a good book, and one of my favorite authors is Dean Koontz.

I first started reading Koontz novels about 4 years ago, and I’ve been hooked ever since.   For my money, he’s one of the best fiction writers alive today.  His books are incredibly entertaining ,and they always make me think about things I hadn’t considered or offer a new perspective on  life and death and being human.

What I never expected, though, was to write a blog post about the sales lessons I’ve learned from Mr. Koontz, but here it is.

#1 – It’s all about the story

Whatever else you might say about Koontz, there’s one thing no one can deny: the man can tell a story.  His books are at the same time thrilling and profound, but the parts that make you think are wrapped up in stories that are so compelling, it’s very likely you’re going to lose a few hours sleep.  More than once I’ve been so engrossed in a Koontz story that I’ve lost all sense of time and missed an entire night of sleep (Intensity was one such tale…read it at your peril).

Are the stories you share with your customers so compelling that they lose track of time and are surprised when they realize you’ve been chatting for an hour?  Or are they bored with your canned pitch 30 seconds into your presentations?  It’s a question worth considering, because your ability to engage your customers with great stories will directly correlate to your success as a salesperson.

One caution about stories, though: the goal should always be to move the ball forward.  When Koontz goes on a tangent, you can be sure that it has a purpose and will eventually be woven into the overall theme of the story.  Too often, salespeople tell stories that have no point and that have no correlation to the theme of their presentations.  Avoid those kind of stories.  No one enjoys them but you.

#2 – Being human means being flawed…deal with it

If there’s one thing I love about Koontz more than anything else, it’s that his “heroes” are all flawed, ordinary people, dealing with seemingly impossible circumstances.  They don’t have all the answers, and rarely do they make it through unscathed.  A Koontz protagonist is typically someone you can identify with.

I’ve talked before in this blog about the need for humility, and I think this drives that point home.  Being human means you’re going to make mistakes.  You’re going to screw up, and chances are pretty good it’ll happen again before the week is over.  And that’s OK.  Screwing up makes you human; it’s how you react to screwing up that determines the kind of person you are.

Do you take ownership of your mistakes?  Do you freely acknowledge your mistakes and humbly apologize to customers when things go wrong?  Or are you quick to point the finger, pass the buck, and play the blame game?  Your customers (at least the good ones) will appreciate your honesty and humility in admitting your mistakes.

#3 – The bad guys never give up

Usually a combination of superhuman and dangerously psychotic, Koontz’ bad guys are persistent, to say the least.  Just when you think the hero has them beat, you realize there are at least 40 pages left in the book and that the bad guy is definitely going to come back.

The “bad” guys in your own story (i.e., your competition) are every bit as relentless as Koontz’ antagonists.  They never sleep.  They are on the clock 24 x 7, looking for a weakness they can exploit.  OK…that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but a little paranoia can be a good thing.  The trick to staying one step ahead of the competition is the same one that Koontz’ heroes employ: just keep moving forward.  Don’t give up.  If you hang in there long enough, you can win.

Remember, a successful sales career is a marathon, not a sprint.

#4 – Respect the intelligence of your audience

While Koontz’ books aren’t considered “great literature” by many critics, they’re not exactly fluff, either.  Words like “ululating” and  ”sussurant” are always cropping up, forcing me to reach for the dictionary.  And that makes me feel like Koontz respects me as a reader.  He’s willing to challenge me, and he doesn’t talk down to me.  I get the sense that he believes I’m an intelligent person.

Is that how your customers feel?  Do you respect their intelligence and business savvy?  Or do you have a tendency to talk down to them, telling them what’s best for them?

I’m amazed at how many salespeople take this approach.  I’d like to point out that the business owner they are talking to was intelligent enough to build a business, whereas the salesperson still works for someone else.  Not that there’s anything wrong with working for someone else; just that they might want to show a little respect for someone who is out doing it on their own.

No matter how right you think you are or how good of a match your product is for them, you don’t ever have the right to treat your customer like a dummy when they disagree with you.

Koontz is a great author, and I love that I can get this kind of education while reading a great book.  What have your favorite authors taught you about business?

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.

Last night, I was poking around, looking for something good to read, when I came across this post from Crystal Williams, keeper of the Big Bright Bulb blog.   Crystal discusses the fact that when we really, really really want something, we have a tendency to go after it with gusto.  We give it everything we’ve got, and it doesn’t even feel like work.

OK.  That last bit isn’t really true.  It still feels like work, but it’s fun at the same time.  And it doesn’t feel like that kind of work we do grudgingly or against our will (for me, that’d be be something like sorting and delivering mail), but like the kind of work we’d do even if we weren’t getting paid for it (for me, writing this blog).  It’s still work in the sense that it can be difficult and challenging and a real pain sometimes, but it’s exhilarating!

Crystal’s post got me thinking about my own successes and failures, about the things that work in my life and the things that don’t.  And what I’ve come to realize is that if I want something badly enough, if I commit to it, there’s really not much that can stop me from having/being/doing it.

I think most, if not all, of us are built the same way.  Sometimes, though, we forget we have this amazing ability.  I know I do.  Sometimes, we give up at the first sign of trouble.  We concede at the first “No!” we hear.  We accept the excuses our mind comes up with for why we quit, and we go about our day as if nothing was lost by our surrender.  But something was lost, because every time we set out to accomplish something and give up, we believe a little less in our ability to succeed the next time we try.  And that loss of belief in our ability to succeed actually diminishes our ability to succeed.

That’s not to say that failure is a bad thing; it’s not.  Failure is a great teacher.  It’s giving up before we’ve had the chance to fail that kills us, little by little.  Surrender, even if it seems to insignificant at the time, has lasting effects.  What’s the answer?  How do we keep ourselves from quitting?

Easy: only pursue projects and prospects that you believe in, that you’re committed to seeing through to completion, no matter if you win or lose.   And then pursue them with everything you’ve got! You’ll be amazed how much easier it is to accomplish something when you believe in it enough to commit to it.

I’ll never forget a scene from one of my favorite movies that really drives this point home.  The movie: First Knight.  The scene: King Arthur is facing his nemesis, Malagant.  Malagant’s forces have infiltrated Camelot and are threatening to burn it to the ground unless Arthur capitulates, kneeling in front of Malagant.

Arthur asks forgiveness from his subjects for what he’s about to do, then removes his sword, approaches Malagant with a downcast gaze, and says to his subjects, “As my last act as your king, I command you…”  He begins to kneel, then, when it seems all hope is lost, raises his sword and shouts, “To fight! Fight like you’ve never fought before! Never surrender…Never surrender!!”  As his body is riddled with crossbow bolts from Malagant’s men, his final cry is “Camelot lives!”  Arthur was committed to Camelot.

Do you have that kind of commitment?  If not, I highly recommend you find it.  When you do, you’ll be amazed how easy the rest is.

When it comes to creating and maintaining forward momentum in your career or in your business, there is one factor that rises above all the others: your why, your reason for doing things, the motivation behind your motivation.  It’s been said that you can accomplish any what, so long as you have a big enough why.  I’m a firm believer in the truth of that statement.

Have a look around, and you’ll see that those who get what they want out of life are driven to succeed by their why for doing it.  In other words, their reason for succeeding is bigger than any defeat they may experience along the way.  These may sound like empty platitudes, but look a little deeper and you’ll see what I mean.

Think of a time when you were close to achieving some particular goal but stopped just short of getting there because of some obstacle that came up.  Most likely, like the fox in Aesop’s fable, you made a declaration of “sour grapes”, justifying to yourself that not attaining the goal was probably for the best anyways.  Dig beneath the surface, though, and I’ll bet you’ll realize that, no matter how important attaining that goal may have seemed to you at the time, somewhere along the way you lost your zeal for it: you no longer had a big enough why.

Now think of a time when you did achieve some goal you’d set for yourself, in spite of any roadblocks that may have come up.  No matter what the setback, you got up, dusted yourself off, and kept right on going, pushing ahead until you got what you wanted.  What kept you going in this case?  Examine your motivation, and I’m sure you’ll find that in this case, you had a really significant reason for achieving that particular goal.  In this case, your why was big enough to accomplish the what.

Now think of your plans for the upcoming year.  This is the time when many of us will be examining ourselves and setting our goals for next year, hopefully challenging ourselves to reach greater heights than we have in the past.  While you’re working though that process, here’s a little something to consider: a goal, no matter how specific and measurable it might be, is useless without knowing why you want to reach it.  You have to examine your reason for the desired outcome.  Once you have a strong enough why, nothing will stand in your way, no matter how big the goal is.

If you’d like some help in delving into your motivation, click the link at the end of this post to download a free 10-minute excerpt from the “Motivation 101″ audio program.  It’s step one of the program, “Ask Why”, in it’s entirety.  In it, you’ll get a better understanding of the importance of having a clear purpose, a why big enough to keep you on track.  You’ll also learn the steps for creating a powerful why statement for each of your goals for the coming year.

I hope you’ll enjoy this gift.  And don’t worry: you won’t have to provide any information to receive it (not even your name or email address).  This is my gift to you to help you prepare for massive success in 2010 and beyond.  Just click on the link below, and enjoy!

Early last month, my friend Tibor Shanto shared an experience he’d had with the Apple store in Toronto.  The story reminded me of something out a bad retail dream: disrespectful technicians, a rude store manager and a genuine lack of regard for the customer.   Unfortunately, this scenario is becoming all too familiar, and the time has come for a little wake up call.

When is the last time you genuinely thanked a customer?  I mean really, truly thanked them from the bottom of your heart?  A couple of days ago, I wrote a post about the importance of gratitude.  Well, here’s a good place to start: how about a little gratitude for your customers?  After all, if it weren’t for your customers, where would you be?

I’ll always remember hearing Jeffrey Gitomer talk about saying thank you to your customers.  He said we should get in the habit of saying something like “Thanks for dinner!” when a customer places an order, since that will always help us remember that without the customer, we don’t eat.  Is that how you see your customers?  If not, it might be time for an attitude adjustment.

In a world where consumers have nearly unlimited choices for almost everything they buy, why would you give them any excuse to buy from someone else?  Why not give them the best possible experience each and every time they choose to do business with you?

If you’ll take the time to do that, you may just begin to create a base of the best kind of customers: customers for life!

I’m not often struck speechless, but that’s exactly the effect this article in the New York Times had on me.  In fact, even though I knew I was going to write a blog post about it the minute I read it, it’s taken me the better part of a week to figure out what to say.

The article basically says that, while large companies used to be content to battle it out in the marketplace, they are now taking their battles to a different venue: the nations courtrooms.  Many have resorted to suing competitors over allegedly false claims made in ads, asking judges to remove the ads from the airwaves in an effort to regain marketshare.  Here’s a quote from the article:

“The increase in these actions may be a reflection of the dismal economy: in recessions, when overall spending lags, advertisers must fight harder for customers.”

Oh, if only that were true.  Rather than “fight harder for customers”, these companies are choosing a different battle. They’re choosing to slug it out with competitors rather than do the one thing that could really help them regain marketshare: focus on their relationships with their customers, a technique my friend Skip Anderson calls customer engagement.

In other words, these companies shouldn’t be worried about the claims their competitors are making in ads (claims which, by the way, the average consumer is mostly likely very skeptical of to begin with); they should be concerning themselves with turning their customers into raving fans!

Take AT&T’s suit against Verizon Wireless over the “white space” in the maps Verizon uses in their “There’s a Map for That” ads.  Could anything be more preposterous?  I’m a Verizon customer, and I have been for nearly 10 years, not because Verizon has better coverage (for the past three years I’ve lived in an area that had very poor coverage by Verizon, and no 3G coverage at all), but because my customer service experience with them over the years has always left me feeling warm.  I love the way their support staff treat me, and I’ll put up with a dropped call every now and then for the exceptional customer experience.

Another thing that really perplexes me in all this is the fact that, when the data would overwhelmingly prove otherwise, companies still treat the consuming public like we’re ignorant children.  Case in point: Science Diet suing Iams over Iams’ claim to that “no other dog food stacks up like Iams”.  Are these companies so arrogant that they actually believe we the public are still paying attention to the ridiculous claims they make?  Wake up folks!  Todays consumer is more savvy than at any point in history, and we’re not easily duped.

So here’s my question for you: are you guilty of treating your customers like gullible morons, or are you humble enough to  recognize that your customers are well-informed, intelligent people with the ability to make good decisions?  Taking the humble approach and treating your customers with the respect they deserve, engaging in meaningful dialog with them, and constantly thanking them for their business is a great foundation for building the kind of customer relationships that result in raving fans.

But of course if that doesn’t work, you can always sue your competition.