Don't Just Let 2016 Happen - Make It Happen

In 2016, Will You Let Your Life Happen, or Will You Make It Happen?

The Choice is Yours

Most of us go into the New Year with good intentions, but no real way to achieve them. We make goals. We promise ourselves that we'll do better this year. Then, we return to business as usual. By the end of the year, we realize that we've been really busy, but we haven't accomplished what we listed on the first of the year. 

We Let the year happen. We should have Made the year happen.

My 2016 will be the best year of my life. I refuse to Let it happen. I will Make it happen. 

Would you like to Make your life happen? Then join me on the journey. Click Here to learn more.

Make More Money by Learning to Be the Best Storyteller

Salespeople are still evolving.

Part 1, the Jurassic Sales Period

65 million years ago, your sales toolkit consisted of a big wooden club. Prospecting consisted of running faster than your buyers, so you could stop them. There were no sales objections while you were swinging your club. Closing was easy...at least until you turned your back.

Part 2, the Roaring 20th and 21st Centuries

Your sales toolkit consists of (a) shiny brochures and (b) a calculator. The shiny brochures are filled with colorful pictures accented by lists of features and benefits. The calculator is used to see how much money you can give away when the buyer isn't impressed with your brochures, features and benefits.

Part 3, Your Future in Selling: Buyers Want to Live

Buyers don't want to be lulled into a coma with your features and benefits. Buyers want to live! They need stories, and you need to deliver those stories.

Stories capture our imagination. Stories make us want to be like the hero. Stories motivate us to take action. 

When you are the best storyteller, you close more sales. You increase your margins. You enrich the lives of more buyers, sooner.

Learn to Be the Winner in Sales, with Stories

I just finished my newest storytelling course, Storytelling for Sales Professionals: Selling More, Faster. My course consists of 20 lessons and sample stories, 30 worksheets and examples, and three quizzes to test your knowledge along the way. 

My course is reasonably priced at $97. You're reading my blog, so you get it for only $49. Click Here to start learning about sales storytelling today. There are only 100 discount coupons. Better start now.

How to Get Un-Stuck

Your job includes selling. If you don't sell, bad things happen. 

Lately, you've been stuck. It's as if you're spinning your wheels with no traction.

The best way to get un-stuck is to turn your efforts into a project.

1. Your sales quota becomes your project goal.
2. You'll set milestone check-in points during the year.
3. You'll list the activities required to reach each milestone.

Here's the secret to success: work the activities. Complete them on time. That way, milestones are achieved on time, and your goal is achieved on time.

I'm building a new mobile course on project management for sales professionals. Meanwhile, click here for more free ideas you can use today.

Why Stories Work

Stories work because they touch hearts and minds. Stories appeal to the emotions of your audience. Here's an example. By the way, it's a story:

When I was an elevator sales rep, I was taught to stress quality, reliability and durability. I had a briefcase full of brochures. When that was all I had, the sale always came down to price. The buyers were not moved by my facts or my brochures. The buyers picked the lowest bidder. The sellers were lucky if they made five-percent profit on the new installation sale. 

Frankly, I thought it was insane to base a purchase solely on price. Among all the elevator manufacturers, quality ranged from Exceptional to Junk. Yet they were all viewed the same by the buyers, because price was the determining factor. 

I tried an experiment. I left my brochures in the trunk of my car. I walked into a contractor's office and told them a story. It went something like this:

“You have said that you want the right elevator for the right price. That’s the same thing Joe told me last week. He felt that the lowest price means the best deal. He assumed that all elevators are equal, except for their brand name and their price.

I invited Joe to take a little ride with me. First, we stopped at a five-year old building using one of my competitor’s elevators. We looked at the quality of the fixtures; some of the plastic faceplates were cracked. We got into one of the elevators and rode to the tenth floor. The ride was noisy and bumpy. Some of the other passengers were complaining how the elevators were always breaking down.

Back in the street, Joe asked why those elevators were installed in the first place. My answer: because they had the lowest price to the general contractor on bid day. Joe shook his head in disbelief.

Then, Joe and I walked across the street to a ten-year old building where my company’s elevators are installed. The fixtures looked better. They seemed to be more durable. Joe and I took a ride. It was quiet and smooth. Most of our fellow passengers were chatting about everything except the elevators. One passenger, obviously a new tenant, was talking about how he moved from the building across the street because of its unreliable, noisy elevators.

When we returned to my car, I asked Joe if he would prefer to be a tenant in the first building or the second building. Joe said that of course he would choose the second building. As a general contractor, he could not afford to damage his reputation by putting up a building with poorly-performing heating, plumbing, electrical or elevator systems. Joe just ordered a new elevator system from me yesterday.

I know you want the same outcome that Joe will receive: a high-quality elevator system that attracts tenants instead of driving them away. To achieve what Joe will achieve, all you have to do is choose the elevator system that Joe chose: mine. ”

I sold several elevator installation contracts that never went to bid. Having a smooth, reliable elevator system was more important to the general contractors than saving a little money and winding up with a piece of junk. I built greater value in the mind of the buyers. Even though my price may have been a little higher up front, my value was always much higher than my price. 

...and I did it with a story...

What stories have you used to increase your sales and margins?

Mike

Stories Beat Brochures and Spec Sheets

I Was a Little Nervous As I Entered their Conference Room

I was about to present Sage MAS 200 accounting software to a prospect I had been trying to see for two years. Finally I had the appointment.

My prospect was in the Seattle-Tacoma, Washington area. I had driven up from the Portland, Oregon area, I was given ninety minutes for my presentation. The decision-makers sat down and said, "Go."

I Was Confident I Had the Solution They Needed

I began by asking questions. I confirmed their needs by the only practical way: they restated their needs as they answered my questions. 

Now that we had their unfulfilled needs on the table, I asked them to calculate the cost of the pain they were suffering. Their answers showed the cost of their pain was enormous!

Next, I told them a story of their future. They were the heroes of the story. I described their struggle with their spreadsheets. I reminded them of the pain they were experiencing, and their calculation of the cost of their pain.

The next part of my story described their transition from pain to triumph! In general terms, I described the implementation of their new software. I described the training of their staff and management. Then I showed them a Day in the Life after they were using the new software. I watched their eyes and listened to their comments. They all liked the new Day in the Life. 

Here's Why I Won the Sale

At the conclusion of my story, my call to action was simple: "Are you ready for your new Day in the Life?"

They said, "Yes." I handed them my proposal. Its payment terms were Cash Before Delivery. They signed my proposal. After they signed my proposal, I asked why they gave me the honor of implementing their new accounting and financial management system. Their answer was straightforward: "The other software vendors, including other Sage vendors, came here to impress us with their software demonstration skills. They showed us feature after feature, with no link to our needs. You showed up as our business growth consultant. You made it all about our future. Here's your signed contract, and your check.

The best storyteller wins. I was the best storyteller. I made my story about my client and their future. 

Would you like to learn to be the best storyteller? Would you like to stand out from the crowd?

Here's the link to my Storytelling page. Here's to  your success!

success tips: What to Do When You Hit a Wall

Throughout our lives, we strive to achieve worthy goals at work and at home. Some where along the road, we will hit a wall. We'll know this because we have stopped moving forward. Sometimes, we hit the wall slowly. It almost sneaks up on us. It takes a while, but we eventually stop moving altogether.

Sometimes, we hit the wall quickly. There's a resounding "smack." We stop immediately.

When we hit the wall, we have to evaluate our options. We must make a hard choice:

A. Give up. Stop moving. Accept what you have, and decide that it's good enough. Besides, any further effort might be risky, painful or embarrassing. It just isn't worth the trouble.

B. Break through the wall that's holding you back. Don't let anything stop you. Keep trying, even if you fail on the way. 

For a richer life, choose Option B. To make the world a better place, choose Option B.

Here are the five steps I've used to break through countless walls:

1. State your goal. What are you striving to achieve?
2. Define the wall that stands in your way. What is its essence? What is it made of? Where are its weak spots? Now that you understand the wall, it's not as imposing and frightening as it once was. Now, you're ready to...
3. Make your plan to break through the wall. List the activities necessary to achieve your goal. List the resources and time you need for each activity. Each activity has a deliverable, a due date and an accountable person. Now, put the activities together in a schedule. It's your schedule to success.
4. Execute your plan. You know what must be done, when it must be done, and who's responsible for accomplishing it. 
5. Celebrate your success! Hold a party. You deserve it.

If this looks a little like Project Management, it is. Goals, activities, schedules, execution and partying are characteristics of a formal project. The reason I know this is that I teach project managers how to pass the rigorous Project Management Professional certification exam.

For more information, I wrote a novel titled "Breaking Through Walls." The story describes the way the hero, Joe Wilson uses these five steps to achieve uncommon success.

Click Here to learn about Breaking Through Walls.

Break through your walls, for a richer life.

Mike

The Best Storyteller Wins. It's Your Turn.

Once upon a time, I was sitting in traffic court, waiting for my turn. I had received a $200 speeding ticket. I figured I had my normal two options:

1. Mail a check for the full price of the ticket.
2. Show up in court. Talk with the judge. Receive a discount.

Today was different. This judge was making everyone pay full list price. How unfair! If I had known I would be required to pay full price, I would have stayed home and mailed a check.

The judge called my name. I walked through the short, wooden gate and sat at the table. The judge read the charges. He asked, "How do you plead?" I answered, "Guilty as charged, sir."

The judge asked, "Is there anything you want to say before I pronounce judgement?" That was my chance. The judge seemed to be bored. I figured that if I could liven things up, he might give me a discount.

I told him a story. It was a story of my driving history, and how few tickets I have received in my many years of driving. I admitted my guilt, but I asked for mercy. 

I was the hero of my story. The judge imagined himself as the hero of the story. At the end of my story, I gave him the opportunity to be the hero by giving me a discount.  

I was the only person who told the judge a story. I was the only person who received a $100.00 discount. It only took sixty seconds.

Imagine what would happen if you presented your products within a story. Your story might take this sequence:

1. Introduce the hero, and their pleasant surroundings.
2. Introduce the villain, who gives the hero a problem to fix.
3. Show the hero's journey as they discover your product.
4. Show how the hero's problems are solved when they choose your product.
5. Issue a call to action: ask the audience to achieve what the hero achieved, by doing what the hero did:  choosing your product.

The best storyteller wins. The best storytelling sales professional wins the highest sales volume.

Shouldn't that be you?  

To learn more, email me.

Mike

How to Sell More by being More Organized

When I began selling, my boss gave me a sales goal. I had to achieve those results any way I could. 

The focus was only on results. Sales process was a different discussion that my boss didn't want to have.

In my next selling job, I received "sales training." The training was all about outsmarting the buyer, doing something that would force the buyer to give me the order. I couldn't imagine making a living by deceiving others. It was depressing. 

I began a journey of exploration and self-learning. I based my journey on a novel idea: selling should be about enriching the customer, not by deceiving them.

Many of my peers thought I had lost my mind. (Perhaps that's true, but it happened long before they noticed it.)

I found that by being more organized in my sales efforts, I could reach more prospects, sooner. Without giving it a name, I was turning my selling efforts into a project. My sales project had these characteristics:

1. I had an annual sales goal. It was measurable. It had a due date. It was easy to see my progress during the year. It was easy to see if I achieved my goal at the end of the year.
2. My daily chaos was reduced. To achieve my annual goal, I created milestones during the year. If I was achieving my milestones on time, I would be more likely to achieve my annual goal.
3. I created a list of activities that would help me achieve each milestone. Each activity had a deliverable, a due date and an accountable person: me.
4. I scheduled the start dates and due dates of my activities. I now had a project schedule for my entire sales year. 
5. It was time to execute my plan. My list of activities, each with their own start date and due date, let me open my Franklin Day-Planner and schedule my week with confidence.

By turning my sales efforts into a sales project, I reaped these rewards:

• I was more organized. Chaos went down. I didn't wake up at 3 AM, wondering if I was doing the right thing.
• My sales increased dramatically, because I was using my time better.
• I enriched the lives of more customers, sooner.
• I was able to take more time off. I spent more time with my family, my hobbies, exercise...you know the list.

I learned this valuable lesson: to sell more, turn your sales efforts into a project.

What about you? Would you like to learn how it works? Watch this blog for the details.

Mike

What Sales Professionals Want Most

I published a new video that shows you how to get the three things sales reps and sales managers want most:

1. Get better organized
2. Sell more
3. Go home earlier

This is my new home page video. Will you help me make a dent in the universe with it? 

Will You Let Your Toastmasters Growth Happen, Or Will You Make It Happen?

To achieve your sales goal, you need a Sales Project. 

To achieve a Distinguished Club Award this year for your Toastmasters club, you need a growth project. Sound familiar? The principles are the same: achieve your goals by implementing the principles of project management.

On January 17, 2015 I presented a club growth workshop at the Toastmasters Leadership Institute in Wilsonville, Oregon. My presentation was published in the District 7 Toastmasters monthly magazine, Voices.

Here are the principles:

1. Set your goals.
2. Make your plan.
3. Execute your plan.
4. Monitor and control your execution.
5. Celebrate your success.

For the full article, Click Here.

What about your organization's success? Isn't it time to harness the power of sales project management?

What Value Do You Offer to Help Others?

I was reading a James Wedmore post about value. It's a core topic of Sales Project Management.

Your audience will not buy your greatness. They will buy what your greatness does for them. You can have a long line of abbreviations and acronyms after your name, but it won't mean anything unless you can help your audience accomplish something. 

Example: You have a flat tire. You're at the side of the road. It's raining hard. You've never changed a tire. A car stops behind you. A young man gets out and offers to help you change your tire. Do you ask him for his resume? Do you care if he is a degreed engineer or a high-school drop-out? No. His value to you is not his education or the book's he's read. His value to you is his willingness to help.

When you lay out the activities in your sales project, are they designed to show off your greatness, or are they designed to enrich your customers?

When you compose your sales message, do you talk about you, or do you talk about your buyers' needs and how you'll help them?

Make each of your Sales Project Management activities about enriching your customers. They'll be better off, and so will you.

Why I Created the Future of Selling

Why not create the Future of Selling? I'm a sales professional and a certified Project Management Professional. I combined both professions. Magic happened. Here's why it matters to you:

What Is the Purpose of Your Business?

Here's a question we've all heard many times:  "What is the purpose of a business? Your business? Any business?"

Many years ago, I used the answer I had been taught. After all, I took Marketing, Management and Finance in college. The teacher gave me a gold star for choosing this answer: "The purpose of a business is to generate profits for its stakeholders." That type of thinking makes investors smile.

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

Unless your purpose includes your customers, you won't have many of them, and you won't have them for long. This answer is much more powerful:

"The purpose of a business is to create an experience and value for its customers."

Here's proof: I have a three-ring binder of letters from happy clients. Each letter describes the same two elements:

1. The value that came from applying my products and services.
2. Their positive experience as I performed the implementation.

Your customers don't care about your profitability. They don't care about pleasing your stakeholders. They care about the value you bring to their lives or their businesses. They care about the experience of using your products and services. 

Customer value does not take away from your profitability. In fact, customer value helps your profitability. Show your customers greater value. It justifies higher prices...and greater profits.

So...what is the purpose of your business? Write it down. Make sure your business plan is structure to deliver it. 

What Happens When You Apply Project Management at a Toastmasters Club?

When you think about it, growing a Toastmasters club is just like growing any other organization. At the beginning of the year, you have two choices:

1. Wing it. Do your best. Work hard. I'm sure something good will happen. At least, I hope so. When you choose this option, you choose to Let It Happen.
2. Apply project management principles to growing your club. Make your plan. Work your plan. When you choose this option, you choose to Make It Happen.

When you apply project management principles to growing your club, you see these benefits:

1. Chaos is reduced. Everyone knows what they're supposed to do, and when their work is due.
2. Individual and organizational performance improves.
3. Your probably of success goes through the roof.

Here's an overview:

1. Set written, specific goals, with due dates and accountable people.
2. Develop mid-year milestone events, with deliverables, due dates and accountable people.
3. Develop the individual activities that lead to each milestone. Give each activity a deliverable, a due date and an accountable person.
4. Develop your project plan. Include a calendar containing every activity and milestone event. The best visual planner is a Gantt chart.
5. Execute your plan. Regularly monitor your progress.
6. Celebrate your success with a party.

This Saturday, I am presenting a Toastmasters Leadership Institute session titled, "How to Earn Your Distinguished Club Award: MAKE It Happen, Don't Just LET It Happen." Learn how it's done, for free.

Click Here for the Distinguished Club Project Worksheet.

What Teams Really Need from Their Leaders

If you work on a team, your leader can help you, hinder you or ignore you by the way they lead. 

If you are the leader, you can supercharge your team or you can merely keep score.

Your team will achieve superior results when you give them what they really need:

Need #1:  An Environment Where They Can Thrive

1. Give them the workspace they need. Maybe it's Class A space in an office tower. Maybe it's old brick and exposed timbers. Maybe it's shared incubator space. Whatever it is, make sure it's a place your team can work effectively, individually and as a team. 
2. Select qualified teammates who are likely to watch each other's backs. A team that works well together will achieve more than a room full of prima donnas.
3. Help each teammate deliver their best work by being a true Servant Leader. More on that later.

Need #2:  Recognition

1. Give each teammate genuine praise for their accomplishments.
2. Give each teammate genuine, problem-solving coaching for their "problem" work. Never belittle them. Never criticize them publicly. Help them be the best they can be, every day.
3. You are the Protector of your team. You will never throw them under the bus, just to look good. If something goes wrong, you will run interference for them. You will take the heat, so they can keep working. That's another way you recognize their value. You won't have to say anything. They'll get it, and they'll respect you for it. 

Need #3: Servant Leadership

Three types of people lead teams and organizations:

1. The Manager was given their authority by the organization. A typical manager is an administrator, a scorekeeper. They don't lead much, but they have a record of your productivity and your mistakes.
2. The Leader offers a grand vision to the team. The Leader points out that no single person can achieve the vision; the team members must work together to achieve it. The Leader holds up their sword and yells, "Charge" and the team follows.
3. The Servant Leader goes one step beyond the Leader. The Servant Leader believes that success comes from serving those who are being led. One of the Servant Leader's skills is coaching, helping each team member achieve more than even they thought was possible.

The teams that achieve the most are led by Servant Leaders. 

Are you a Servant Leader? Do you care about helping each of your team members achieve their absolute best? Focus on their success, and watch your results soar!

To Succeed in 2015, Make the New Year a Project

Too many times, we merely react to the new year. We let the year happen.

What would happen if you were proactive? What if you decided to make your year happen?

Here's the secret to success in 2015: make it a project. Let me take you on a journey to uncommon success in the new year. To make it easier, I've even made a worksheet for you. Here are the basic steps to your achievement:

STEP 1: TO PREPARE FOR THE NEW YEAR, LOOK BACK AT THE LAST YEAR

What worked in 2014? What didn't work so well? What did you learn from your successes and your mistakes? 

STEP 2: LIST YOUR STAKEHOLDERS

Stakeholders are the people who can help or hinder your project. Sometimes you invite them. Sometimes they invite themselves. Either way, your project will run smoother when you identify their needs. Knowing their needs, you'll know how and when to communicate with them.

STEP 3:  LIST YOUR GOAL

Choose your primary goal. Don't pick seven goals; just pick one at this time. For many people, it is a revenue goal. Write it down. A goal has three components:

1. A deliverable, something you can measure.
2. A due date. Your goal must be achieved by a specific date.
3. The name of the person who is accountable for achieving the goal. If everyone is in charge, then no one is in charge. Be bold! Name one person.

STEP 4:  LIST YOUR MILESTONES

Major events will occur during the year. These events might include trade shows, dictated by your industry or your customers' industries. The events might be dictated by you, as mid-year check-points. List each of your milestones, with the same components as your goal:

1. A deliverable, something you can measure.
2. A due date. Your goal must be achieved by a specific date.
3. The name of the person who is accountable for achieving the goal. If everyone is in charge, then no one is in charge. Be bold! Name one person.

STEP 5: LIST YOUR ACTIVITIES, YOUR STEPS TO SUCCESS

These are the individual activities that comprise your day-to-day work. You will list the activities that complete each milestone. Each activity has the same components as your goal and your milestones:

1. A deliverable, something you can measure.
2. A due date. Your goal must be achieved by a specific date.
3. The name of the person who is accountable for achieving the goal. If everyone is in charge, then no one is in charge. Be bold! Name one person.

SPECIAL SECRET

The excitement is in the activities. When you complete your activities on time, you automatically complete your milestones on time...and you automatically achieve your goal on time!

HOW TO GET STARTED

Click Here to download your new year's project worksheet.

Veterans Day Inspiration

Recently, I was privileged to speak at the Yellow Ribbon events sponsored by the Oregon Army National Guard. They had recently deployed soldiers to another country. I was addressing the loved ones left behind. You'll hear tones of project management, risk management, communications and storytelling in my presentation.  

My hosts asked me to prepare a DVD they could use again. Here is the playlist of the clips I used to produce the DVD.

God Bless America, and our brave service members!

The Ultimate Sales Program: My Free Video Course

Why It Matters

As a sales professional or business owner, you want three things from your sales efforts:

1. Get more organized.
2. Increase your sales.
3. Go home earlier.

The Story

Here's the story of how I created "The Ultimate Sales Program.

I have been a sales rep and a sales manager for over for decades. I knew the value of a plan. When I created a goal, my sales performance improved. When I created milestone events on the way to my goal, my sales performance improved. When I planned, executed and monitored individual activities, my sales performance improved. As I trained to become certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP), I knew it was time for project management principles to show up in the sales department.

Next, I tackled the wasteful and expensive problem of sales training events. Over $20 Billion is spent each year on sales training. Within a few months, it's as if the training event never happened. Two factors cause this problem:

• Content is not relevant to the audience (your sales reps).
• Reinforcement of content, before and after the event, was missing.

As a sales trainer, I found that when I personalized sales training content to my sales reps' daily work, their performance improved. When I prepared my sales reps for a training event with teasers, case studies and other activities, their performance improved. When I followed the sales training event with content-rich reminders, case studies, and success stories, their performance improved. 

Finally, I explored reasons why a technically-proficient sales rep had difficulty through most of the steps of their sales process. One common denominator emerged: if they weren't able to touch the hearts and minds of the buyers, their technical knowledge and their skill sets didn't matter. I realized a universal truth: The Best Storyteller Wins." This truth works throughout the sales process:

• The best storyteller finds more prospects who say, "Tell me more."
• The best storyteller learns the buyers' hot buttons sooner.
• The best storyteller makes the best presentations.
• The best storyteller handles objections better and sooner.
• The best storyteller closes more deals.
• The best storyteller wins more cross-sell and up-sell opportunities.
• The best storyteller earns more referrals.

The Power of Combining All Three Tools

Each of the three tools works. Project management works. Sales training works. Storytelling works. What happens when you combine all three tools into a single, integrated sales program? Think rockets to outer space.

Here's a free video course I developed to show you The Future of Selling. Sign up below, to begin receiving the video course:

Subscribe to The Future of Selling E-Course

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Learn How to Break Through the Wall that Holds You Back

Will you give up, or will you break through?

As you go on your merry way towards achieving your personal or professional goals, you will hit a wall. When you hit the wall, you have a simple choice:

A. Give up. That's what most people do. It's too hard or risky to keep going, so just stop.

B. Break through. Through blood, sweat and tears, break through the wall. Claim the victory on the other side, the victory that most people will never know.

Break through your wall, to achieve uncommon success.

On November 8, 2014, I'll show you how to break through your walls. I'm speaking at the Toastmasters District 7 Fall Conference.  

Click Here for information on the Fall Conference.

Click Here for information on my book, "Breaking Through Walls."

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