Keys to Completing a Triathlon

1. Cardio is the first key.  There is no substitute for logging the miles.
2. Swimming in open water is no joke.  Mental toughness is the biggest key to the Swim
3. Find some sort of organized swimming group so you can get some stroke coaching.  
4. Really think through your event before you buy an expensive bike.  If you just do a short triathlon, get a cheap mountain bike that you can use for life before commiting to a road bike.  
5. Practice running after cycling -- it's an odd experience.  
6. Look into a strength program and yoga.  
7. Focus on strength, flexibility and diet more than swimming, cycling & running
8. Learn to eat and drink while running; these are weird sensations on race day.
9. Finally, hydrate constantly

DE

Keys to Joy

Loving Relationships
Unrelenting Hope

Unwavering Faith

Meaningful Work
Optimal Health
Financial Freedom
Eternal Prospective
Stewardship Mindset
Deep Self-Knowledge

It is easy to become an "expert"

http://www.zintro.com/expert/daviesjoel

One Key for Sales: Fear Sells and Pain Buys

Quit feature and benefit dumping on your prospects.  They could care less.  "But I talk about how much money they could be saving".  Really??? ...so does every other salesman.  Here is a simple key.  FEAR SELLS.  If you don't believe me go watch TV for a little while.  Pay attention to the commercials.  You will see car accidents, ziplock bags that are about to break, identity theft, retirees with no money, the list goes on.

Simple assignment:  Look at your top 5 features and benefits.  What fears do these eliminate?  Now construct 15 questions that draw out those fears.

Example:

Feature/Benefit: Identity Theft Protection
Fear: Getting your identity stolen, ruined credit, emptied bank account, the months of clean up
Question: "If your identity was stolen how would you know?.  Did you know that on average it takes 3-4 weeks before someone is aware of identity theft.  What is the worst that could happen in 4 weeks?" "Are you going to need credit in the next 3 years"...

Try it out in your business and let me know how it works.  Remember "If you can scare them, you can sell them"

Summary of the Little Red Book of Sales

LITTLE RED BOOK OF SELLING

12.5 Principle of Sales Greatness

Jeffrey Gitomer

Bard Press, 2005, 219 pp., ISBN 1-885167-60-1 www.gitomer.com

Jeffrey Gitomer is an optimistic, audacious salesman, a sales trainer, and the author of several books on sales. Following are tidbits from the book.

“If they like you, and they believe you, and they trust you, and they have confidence in you…then they MAY buy from you.”(5)

Top reasons customers buy: [These 5 are from the top 12]

1. I like my sales rep.

5. I believe my sales rep.

6. I have confidence in my sales rep.

7. I trust my sales rep.

8. I am comfortable with my sales rep. (7)

“Passion is the fulcrum point of selling. No passion, no sales.” “If you don’t love what you sell, go sell something else.” (18) “…you have to put your heart into your work, and you have to love what you do.” “…it’s the difference between going up the ladder and going down the ladder.” (19)

“Give first. Become known as a resource, not a salesperson. Your value is lined to your knowledge and your willingness to help others.” (21)

Principle 1: Kick your own behind. Get out there. (32)

List of cures for a slump – p. 40 ff.

“Attitude drives actions. Actions drive results. Results drive lifestyles.” (43, quoting Jim Rohn) Develop a ‘YES!’ attitude. “…if you think of yourself as a ‘yes’ person, not only will you be in a positive frame of mind but you will also have positive expectations.” (44)

Before you meet with a prospect, do your homework. Be prepared. Decide on an objective for the meeting. Most salesmen make the mistake of getting all their own stuff ready but not studying the prospect. (46-51)

“Whiners are avoided.” (52)

Principle 3: Personal Branding is sales: It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you.” (54)

Personal Branding is not complicated, unless you take a course in it. Then it’s scary as h….” “I have a brand. Or should I say: I AM the brand. I have taken my name, ‘Gitomer’ and ‘Jeffrey Gitomer’ and turned it into my brand.” (55) [Following pages give suggestions.] “In sales, prospects buy the salesperson FIRST.” (55)

A few of his many suggestions: (57-60)

· “Establish yourself as an expert.”

· “Be a consistent positive performer.”

· “Be willing to give of yourself—first.”

· “Become a resource.”

· “Ignore idiots and zealots.” [I don’t know who this includes but it sounds like a good idea. dlm]

· Become known as a person of action, someone who gets things done.

Principle 4: “It’s all about value, it’s all about relationship….” (64) “Value is something done for the customer, in favor of the customer.” (65)

Principles for giving value: (66-7)

1. They will NEVER read your brochure. But send them information about how they profit and they will read it.

2. Write (good) stuff in journals, newspapers, e-zines, and newsletters.

3. Create response vehicles or mechanisms in everything you write – a way to get more.

4. Send your stuff after they ask for it, and make sure it has something they will keep.

“The sale is emotionally driven and emotionally decided. Then it is justified logically. (74)

“I put myself in front of people who can say yes to me, and I deliver value first.” (78)

“Make friends before you start.” “Act professionally, talk friendly.” Sales are for the moment. Friends are for life. (80-81)

Principle 5: It’s Not Work, It’s Network.” (82) “To make the most of a networking event, spend 75% of your time with people you don’t know.” (93)

Best networking book: Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty by Harvey Mackay (91)

“If you want to know the effectiveness of your current brochure, grab a red Sharpie and circle ALL the areas that your customer or prospect would consider valuable or save-able.” (100)

“Ask compelling and engaging questions.” (101)

“THEY DO NOT WANT TO TAKE THEIR TIME TO HEAR ABOUT YOU. If they give you time, it better be about them.” (102)

“If you’re not present when the last decision is made – odds are you will lose…” (103) “Arrange a meeting with all deciders.” (105) “The problem with most salespeople is that they are sitting in front of someone who has to ask their mommy or daddy [or missions committee or pastor] if they can buy it or not.” (107)

Can’t get voice mail returned? See p. 109

Principle 7. “Engage me and you can make me convince myself.” Ask compelling, thought-provoking questions.” (110) Failing to ask good questions is a major weakness of every salesperson. “The first personal (rapport) question sets the tone for the meeting, and the first business question sets the tone for the sale. That’s critical.” (111) List of 25 powerful questions: p.112 ff. “Develop a list of 15 to 25 questions that uncover needs, problems, pains, concerns, and objections.” (117) Good questions make the person think. (119)

Principle 8. “If you can make them laugh, you can make them buy!” “Humor is the highest form of language mastery.” (124) Keep it clean. “Poke fun at yourself. It’s OK if the finger points at you.” (127) Laughter is a universal bond.

Principle 9. “Use creativity to differentiate and dominate.” (136) OK, you’re not creative, but you can learn.

Principle 10. “Reduce their risk, and you’ll convert selling to buying.” (152) “A risk of purchase is some mental or physical barrier, real or imagined that causes a person to hesitate or rethink ownership. As a salesperson your job is to identify the risk and eliminate it.” (153)

Principle 11. “When you say it about yourself, it’s bragging. When someone else says it about you, it’s proof.” “Who will testify on your behalf?” (164) “To be most effective, testimonials need to have a specific message.” (166) Testimonials work. But they lose their power if not used in an appropriate manner. (168) “Take your best customer with you on your next sales call. (169) “What are your customers saying about you?” (175)

“The First things prospects buy is the salesperson. The first sale made is you.” “It all begins with you.” (199) Rate yourself on your image, speaking ability, ability to establish rapport, attitude, product knowledge, desire to help, preparedness, humor, creativity, sincerity, reputation, and character. “How well are you ‘put together’?” (201)

Question Based Selling

Five QBS Strategies That Reduce Your Risk
Below are five key strategies you will learn that will minimize your risk of mismatching:

1. Ask More Questions and Make Fewer Statements - Minimizing the mismatching behavior starts with prevention. If you can identify and prevent those things that cause people to mismatch the things you say or do, then you can avoid a negative reaction.

Statements are easily mismatched in conversations because most statements take a definitive position that can easily be disagreed with. While statements can be easily mismatched, questions are not. Questions help diffuse the emotional triggers that fuel the need to mismatch. After all, it’s impossible to disagree with a question.

2. Credibility Reduces the Prospect’s Need to Resist - Establishing credibility should be one of your primary objectives in the sales process. If a salesperson appears credible to the prospective customer, then the prospect’s need to mismatch is reduced because they start feeling comfortable with you, rather than cautious of you. An air of credibility also opens the door to a more productive conversation.

3. Curiosity Neutralizes the Mismatching Reflex - Making prospects and customers curious is the most effective way to engage them in a productive sales conversation. People who are curious will want to hear more about your product or service. When customers ask you a question to satisfy their curiosity, they are actually requesting your help – and it’s impossible to ask for your help and push you away at the same time.

4. Reversing the Positive - The following questions have a negative tone, so when someone answers and takes the opposite position they actually mismatch in your favor. This technique is called reversing the positive.

“Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“Am I interrupting?”
“Is next week too soon for a presentation?”
“Will the pricing in this proposal make your boss nervous?”

5. Momentum Helps Reduce the Mismatching Instinct - Most prospective buyers won’t make a buying decision just because the guy down the street decided to take the plunge. They will need more evidence to get convinced. Instead of trying to motivate potential customers with individual references.

The Efficiency Curve

By: Brian Tracy

The more you discipline yourself to working non-stop on a single task, the more you move down the "Efficiency Curve." You get more and more high quality work done in less and less time.

Each time you stop working however, you break this cycle and move back up the curve to where every part of the task is more difficult and time consuming.

Self-Discipline Is the Key
Elbert Hubbard defined self-discipline as, "The ability to make yourself do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not."

In the final analysis, success in any area requires tons of discipline. Self-discipline, self-mastery and self-control are the basic building blocks of character and high performance.

The True Test of Willpower
Starting a high-priority task and persisting with that task until it is 100% complete is the true test of your character, your willpower and your resolve.

Persistence is actually self-discipline in action. The good news is that the more you discipline yourself to persist on a major task, the more you like and respect yourself, and the higher is your self-esteem.

And the more you like and respect yourself, the easier it is for you to discipline yourself to persist even more.

Focus Clearly on Your Number One Task
By focusing clearly on your most valuable task and concentrating single-mindedly until it is 100% complete, you actually shape and mold your own character. You become a superior person.

You become a stronger, more competent, confident and happier person. You feel more powerful and productive.

Build Your Self-Confidence
You eventually feel capable of setting and achieving any goal. You become the master of your own destiny. You place yourself on an ascending spiral of personal effectiveness on which your future is absolutely guaranteed.

And the key to all of this is for you to determine the most valuable and important thing you could possibly do at every single moment and then, "Eat That Frog!"

Action Exercises
Once you start your most important task, discipline yourself to persevere without diversion or distraction until it is 100% complete. See it as a "test" to determine whether you are the kind of person who can make a decision to complete something and then carry it out. Once you begin, refuse to stop until the job is finished.