Life is good ... Live it up!

Secret Formula for Sales Success Part I

When you ask a typical salesperson what there plan is today ... The answer usually is "sell something, duh". Its amazing that they cannot give you a formula or plan to get that done.

Here is the secret formula to sales success:

I / $ PER SALE = # SALES
# SALES X # P/WU PER SALE = # P/WU
# P/WU X #C PER P/WU = #C
#C X #A PER C = #A
#A / WORKING DAYS = #A PER DAY
I / #A = VALUE OF EACH A

It doesn't appear to be simple but I assure you it is very simple.  It allows you to boil your success down to a very simple and basic formula.  It helps you to devise a very simple daily game plan to achieve whatever level of success you desire.
Here is the detailed description of this formula:

Income goal / $$ earned per sale = # of sales needed
# sales needed x # presentations / write ups needed to make 1 sale = # presentations / write ups required to reach income goal
# presentations/ write ups  required x contacts required to make 1 presentation / writeup = # of contacts needed to reach income goal
# of contacts needed x # attempts to contact needed to make a contact = # attempts needed to reach income goal
If your income goal is annual!, monthly or weekly - determine how many working days are that time frame.  Divide the total number of attempts by working days.  Also, take your income goal & divide it by the total number of required attempts. That gives you 1) how many attempts to contact you should make EVERY working day 2) how much each attempt is worth to you.

The first step is to determine your Income Goal. Annual, monthly or weekly it doesn't matter.  What do you need, want and desire?  How much do you want to give or invest? How much are your bills each month?  You do the calculation.  Spend the time and make sure you take ownership of this number and commit to your income goal.  We will then plug it in and get started on your formula.

Expect to Win!

--JW

Never Forget

God Bless Us All!!

I WILL hit my number!

Following up on yesterday's post about decisions ... Salespeople make many each day. The 1st is the most important.  I learned and now teach the sales process that doesn't begin with a greeting but with prospecting. Before making a first impression you have got to go and get a prospect. 

The decision that needs to be made involves determining how many people you need to talk to about your product or service to meet your goals.  The strategy should involve a daily number of contacts needed.  The decision then is moment to moment taking actions that lead to reaching that daily contact number.  You must determine what things you do during the day that help you hit the number and the things you do that keep your from hitting your number.  In sales we deal with rejection every day which we don't like.  The fact about our dislike for rejection leads to inaction in many cases.  That inaction comes from a decision to avoid rejection rather than make a decision to hit our number.  This decision comes about moment to moment throughout every day of every week of the month and year.  The habit of making the right decision to take action to hit your number every day is the catalyst behind success in sales.

Expect to Win!

--JW

Decisions & Consequences

I have felt the immersion of the news about Former Baltimore Raven running back Ray Rice over the last 24 hours.  I had always believed that Rice was an upstanding individual and a guy that young boys can look up to.  However, what he did is disgusting.

 Is there anything for us to take from this other than a renewed sense of disdain for men that hit women?  He may be a good guy but he made a very bad decision to react to whatever was going on to brutally punch his wife.  Now, due to that decision, the consequences are that he has lost his once in a lifetime job and commentators are discussing whether or not he will ever play again.  I make many decisions every day and each one has consequences. Good decisions gain momentum and allow us to easily make more good decisions resulting in favorable consequences.  Developing the habit of continually making good decisions is like working a muscle to strengthen it to lift or run etc.  if you work the muscle you get stronger and faster but if you get out of the habit of strengthening that muscle you slow down and get weak.  You can not ride the fence when making decisions.  You either develop the muscle or habit to make good decisions or you let the muscle get lax and you develop the habit of making bad decisions. 

Life in business is controlled daily by the decisions we make no matter how small or monumental.  Therefore, it is vital to success that we develop the habit of making good decisions.

Expect to win!!

JW

The Harbaugh Boys

I love the Super Bowl.  I really enjoy the week leading up to it, especially now with the NFL channel and the Dan Patrick show that broadcast from the Super Bowl site throughout the week.  They interview current and former Super Bowl stars and tell the stories of the Super Bowl.  My favorite story this year is the Harbaugh brothers.  What a great story!!!  There are only 32 NFL head coaches at any one time and only 2 of them each year make the Super Bowl.  It is almost unreal that the 2 coaches this year are brothers.  

John and Jim Harbaugh are the sons of Jack and Jackie Harbaugh.  Jack was a very accomplished coach in his own career.  The 2 coaches grew up only 15 months apart as any 2 little boys do.  I am sure that they ran around the house and drove Mom nuts.  I am sure that they scared Mom and Dad to death with their "just being a boy" ways.  They played little league ball and went to school and had friends and problems.  Their parents watched them succeed in high school and college and then began a career and a family.  Sounds very normal.  I wonder at what point that Jack & Jackie saw this coming or if they ever did. Do you think when Mom was trying to corral those 2 little boys that she thought they would be coaching the 2 teams in the biggest sporting event in the world? I am sure that her feelings were very much like yours are when your kids are seemingly out of control and maybe your frustration level is at it's apex.

So how did these 2 boys from this normal home and life end up at the pinnacle of their field at the same time?  Why not?  They evidently had a theme of doing your best ingrained in them from a very early age.  They took that theme into their lives and applied it and now they both are coaching and teaching young men the same thing.  

Take this example from the Harbaughs and please tell your children today that they can make a difference, that they can make an impact, all they have to do is to do the right thing and do the very best that they can!

Expect to Win!

I dedicate myself to...

Accomplishing a goal or succeeding in an endeavor depends on the amount of passion we have towards that goal or endeavor.  That passion creates the dedication to the cause which produces the attitude to never quit.  Wow that was an easy recipe for success.  The greatest challenge in many cases is the dedication.  It is the piece that puts the passion into action, that drives the attitude  when it waivers. 

Definition of DEDICATION
: an act or rite of dedicating to a divine being or to a sacred use
: a devoting or setting aside for a particular purpose
: self-sacrificing devotion

The definition of dedication is daunting.  From the reference to divine & sacred to the use of the words self sacrificing devotion.

• Noah was dedicated to pleasing God & saving his family.
• • • • • • • 
              
• Jesus dedicated himself to all of God's children by giving the ultimate self sacrifice.
• Could Stephen have saved himself from the fatal stoning he endured? His dedication to God wouldn't allow him to do anything contrary to that devotion.
• Gandhi's remarkable dedication to peace has been an inspiration worldwide.
• Nelson Mandela's dedication to justice for his people led to the strength to endure many years of prison and the courage to lead in the face of adversity.

• Martin Luther King's dedication to God and that we are all created equally and children of God, gave him the courage to persevere through criticism and persecution.
• Michael Jordan practiced his craft of basketball longer than any of his peers because of his dedication to be the best, fueled by the passion created when he was told he wasn't good enough as a teenager.
• Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, pioneers of our computer era, had very tough times to begin.  But, their dedication to the pursuit of their dreams was paramount in their success.
• One of my very favorite movies, the Pursuit of Happyness, tells the story of Chris Gardner.  A tremendous story of dedication and action.  

• Thousands of salespeople succeed daily because of their dedication to their families and their clients.
• Thousands of ministers through out the world inspire and serve daily because of their dedication to their God and to their neighbor

I could go on and on with examples of dedication in our world.  Historic, present day, Christian or in business the examples are powerful and show us the importance of dedication.  

To test your dedication today, do these 3 things:

1. Look at your calendar or schedule.  What is on it?  Is it full or blank?  If it is full, what is it full with?  If it is blank, why?  This examination will tell you what in your life you are dedicated to.
2. Look at your check book and/or bank account.  What are you spending your money on?  What does your budget look like?  Do you stick to a budget?  This examination will further tell you what in your life your are dedicated to.
3.  Over the last 30 days, make a list of:  People you spent time with, books you read, websites you spent time on, videos you watched.  How much time with each? Work related or family? Church related? This examination will tell you what you are dedicated to?

Our time, our priorities and our money.  Those 3 things are what we have control over.  We control them based on what we are passionate about, dedicated to and take action on. If you are passionate about your family and their well being;  that will be shown, in your schedule, your checkbook and the people, books, websites, videos you spend time with.  This can be a gut wrenching exercise, but a very productive one if you do it honestly.  After you do this exercise then compare it to what you feel you should be achieving and you may be able to diagnose a problem with some course corrections in the area of dedication and action.

We have such great examples of dedication in our history in our lives.  Look for them and be one of those examples of dedication for others.  Expect to Win!