Thoughts of a Young Gun...

"Thoughts of a Young Gun" Blog Moving to WordPress

2009-10-19T13:03:00.000-07:00

I have decided to move my "Young Guns" blog over to Wordpress. I value all of you and would love to have you join me at my new site www.thoughtsofayounggun.wordpress.com

I will be monitoring this site for the next few months so please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. Thank you!

iPods don't sell...white headphones do!

2009-10-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

Today's entry is going to be short, sweet, and to the point! A few months ago, I was reading a book called Buy*ology by Martin Lindstrom. In his book, Martin talked about the impact that the white headphones had on the sales of Apple's "iPod". He went on to explain, that as people began to see these white headphones, it no longer became a product they wanted...it was a membership. Apple was selling an MP3 player that also offered an exclusive mebership into the "white headphone society".

Even though Apple has done a great job of selling "memberships", they are not the only company that has recognized what they really sell.

You maybe a motorcycle rider or you may even be the one that cringes as the loud "potato-potato" sound flies by you on the highway. The truth is that it doesn't take a Harley owner to recognize the kind of force Harley Davidson is in the world of motorcycle sales. Why is HD so dominant? Why have they grown from a manufacturer to a culture?

It's because Harley Davidson does not sell a motorcycle. They sell t-shirts and decals! Harley Davidson sells a persona...they sell a LIFESTYLE!! I am not saying that HD does not sell a quality product because they do (not to mention I know a number of family members that would come unglued if they heard me bash HD).

So what does this mean? This means that we must not lose sight of what we really sell. My wife, the dietitian, does not sell meal plans and consultations. She sells 10 more years with your grandchildren! She sells the feeling of fitting into your old college jeans!

As a financial advisor, you don't sell opinions on how to allocate our savings or visions of what the future will hold. You sell the comfort of retiring in the country! You sell an Alaskan Cruise for your 50th anniversary!

Now, for the million-dollar question...

What do YOU really sell?

Tricks, Tactics, and Techniques...5 Things Purchasing Professionals Do To Influence YOU!

2009-09-24T06:33:00.000-07:00

A little over a year ago I did a month-long research project on the "Purchasing" profession. In that month I interviewed over 25 purchasing professionals, went through numerous online classes, and read every negotiation/purchasing book the national association recommended. When I decided to start this project, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. In this blog I am going to share, with you, a few of the tactics and strategies that purchasing professionals, around the world, use to influence sales professionals!

Some thoughts to consider before we start...

1. This information is not industry specific. I interviewed purchasing professionals from wide range of industries.

2. Not all purchasing professionals fall into these categories. When searching for purchasing professionals to interview, I asked for the toughest, most aggressive purchasing professionals out there. The reason for doing so is so I could illustrate the extreme...which would make everything else a cake walk!

That being said...let's get started!

Who are these "purchasing professionals"?

- They are some of the most intelligent and passionate professionals I have encountered.

- Purchasing professionals live, eat, and breathe negotiating. This is not a hobby for them...it is their life!

- They are some of the most consistent learners I have ever seen. Purchasing professionals are regularly reading, going to workshops, and listening to industry audio programs.

-They are extremely competitive! Almost every individual I interviewed had some history of playing a highly competitive sport. They don't only want to beat us...they want to dominate us!

In the next section we will discuss 3 things...

1. I will illustrate the strategy used....

2. What the purchasing professional hopes to gain by using it...

AND

3. How we, as sales professionals, can defend these tactics!

Price Is Too High - This is one of the most used and most effective strategies used in the purchasing profession. This might as well be an introduction for some PAs. Purchasing professionals sometimes have not even considered the price but they feel it is a great way to start the conversation!

Goal of PA- To get the sales professional out of their comfort zone. The number one goal of a purchasing professional is to identify 3 things... - Will the sales professional break on their price? - How fast will the break? - How far will they break? The more price is addressed or defended...the more power it has in a negotiation!

Our defense- stand our ground. If we break on our price right out of the box, the purchasing professional will say to themselves, "Wow, they are breaking already! If they are dropping the price this fast then they must have some significant room to move!" In response, we can also ask one of these three questions in response... PA Statement - "Mary, I am sorry but you product is too expensive!" Our Answer- 1. "Ok John...help me understand how you evaluate price. Is it cost of ownership or the initial cost? 2. "Compared to what?" (definitely an edgier answer but will let them know we are holding firm) 3. So! It's worth it! (very edgy response...but can be extremely effective in the right scenario)

Nice Guy- This is where a purchasing professional will attempt to create a friendly relationship right off the bat. They may ask about our family, compliment our professionalism, or even ask about our hobbies. They will do whatever they can to get us to like them!

Goal of PA- To get us to let our guard down. It is a very effective tool to get us to compromise our position...because we enjoy working with them. They feel that if we like them then we will be willing to give up a chunk of the margin.

Our defense- Think about our family, our home, our car. Will that individual send our children to college? Will that friend pay our mortgage? We get up each day to tend to our business and that is what we must focus on...our business. If that person has a genuine desire to establish a relationship with us, they will understand our position.

The Guilt Trip- Have you ever made a mistake during a meeting? Have you ever showed up late to an appointment? Quoted a customer the wrong price? Didn't know an answer to a question you should have? Have you ever forgotten to call a prospect back? If we have answered yes to any of these then we have given the purchasing professional a gift. They will take our mistake and use it as leverage in the negotiation.

Goal of PA- To make us feel so bad for our mistake that we are willing to drop the price just to make it up to them. This one is not used as often but, when used, is almost always effective! - Salesperson- I'm sorry...$150 is as low as I can go. - PA- That is as low as you can go?! You showed up 30 minutes late and you are lucky to be sitting in my office right now...and now you are saying $150 is as low as you can go? - Salesperson- I apologize for being late. I guess I can do this for you for $140. (their forgiveness becomes a concession they have given us. Now that they have given us a concession...they want one from us!)

Our defense- Apologize and move on! We will make mistakes and it is crazy for anyone to believe that we will be perfect. That being said, should we give away $10,000 of our company's profit for being 15 minutes late? I don't think so. We must apologize and jump right back into the negotiation...without baggage!

The Nibbler- is when we have come to an agreement, we are about to sign papers, and the purchasing professional says, "You do have a rebate program don't you? Do you give discounts for paying early? Training for our people is included in this price, right?

Goal of PA- is to give us a taste of the sale and drive us to start giving things away. They use this tactic to get us right on the cusp of the sale and begin asking for a few more things. Sales professionals can be much more giving when the salivation begins.

Our defense- When we begin giving things away it can become a slippery slope. Part of the reason this tactic is such a success is because is is almost never recognized, in the heat of the discussion. We must focus on the big picture and not get tempted by the idea of closing a sale. At this point in time we must pause and say, "Are these things important to you? If you would like, we can re-work the contract to make sure that you get everything you want. Would you you like me to begin re-working the contract?"

The WOW!!- If we have a product that is relatively pricey in the industry the purchasing professional may say..." $60,000?!?! WOW!!"

Goal of PA- To get us to begin lowering the price or start giving away concessions. They want us to feel like we are about to get kicked out of the office. This is really just a strategy to get us to question our position...and it is very effective.

Our defense- Stand our ground. We may say something along the lines of, "Yup $60,000 is right. I would sell it for $75k if they would let me." If we are confident in the price of our product they will hear it in our voice. If we second guess the price...so will they!

These are just a few of the many tactics used in the purchasing profession. I hope this helps and please let me know if you have any questions regarding the material.

Jason@aplayersonline.com

A Life Time of Selling

2009-09-16T11:20:00.000-07:00

First let me say that there is nothing more exciting than seeing your spouse genuinely enjoy their job. My amazing wife just started her first job and could not be more in love with the company and her team members (She is the new dietitian/nutrition coach for Life Time Fitness in Mansfield, TX). Over the past few weeks we have spent hours talking about creative techniques, tactics, and strategies to help her create a solid client base from the very beginning. Before she ever started working at Life Time Fitness I shared a thought with her that my dad shared with me a few years ago (and a friend of his, Shep Hyken, shared with him years before)...

My dad, being in the speaking industry, was told "its not about doing the deal...its about getting the deal!" What Shep meant by that was that we may be the best speaker, most knowledgeable personal trainer, or most well-educated dietitian in the area but if we can't sell what we do...we'll starve!

After sharing this thought with my wife we quickly drifted into a conversation about what she can do to be the best in her company at "getting the deal". In listening to her rattle off a number of creative ideas I began to realize that most of her ideas involved doing things that fell outside her "billable hour/s" of consultation. What she was really talking about is adding value to something she already considered valuable (being the service she offers). Too many times we feel that our product or service holds all of the value. It is amazing how many times a customer will pull the trigger on a product because of the value we bring to the table.

So how can we bring value to our customers outside of the product and service we provide?

1. High Impact Questions...

To identify need, we must focus on asking high impact questions. High impact questions are questions we ask that help us learn more about our customers and their current situation/predicament. When we learn how to ask effective high impact questions, it can also help us identify a customers "hot-buttons". An example of a high impact question that dietitian could ask would be, "You obviously seem very serious about eating healthier, why is changing your diet so important to you?" In this situation, the client may say, "Well, I bought this red dress last year and can't fit into it anymore. My goal is to be able to wear it to a New Year's party this year." It is questions like this that help us understand what our clients consider to be a "big win"!

2. Build trust and show commitment...

Now that we have been informed of the motivating factors behind our customer's actions, we can focus on reinforcing the feeling of "wearing the red dress to the upcoming New Year's party" and how we will help them get there. When they begin to trust us and associate us with their "big win", that is when we move from being a "sales person" to being a "trusted adviser"! This may come from a short text message to the client saying, "I'm committed to helping you get in the red dress...are you?" What all does this achieve? This not only shows a reciprocated commitment to the goal but it also deepens the relationship. Text messages, at least for now, typically come from close friends and family members. When we start opening up different channels of communication, it builds trust and trust is what leads to long-term relationships.

3. Communicate regularly...

Buyer's Remorse typically comes when there is a large gap between a purchase and when an individual starts experiencing the value of the product/service. If we can close that gap then we can eliminate most buyer's remorse. This theory is one reason why follow-up is so important. This doesn't mean we need to call/text message twice a day but it is vital to stay in contact with our customers on a regular basis. If the only time we call is to sell something then we become associated with a sales person...and being known as a "sales person" will typically eliminate any chance of a long term professional relationship.

"If all we provide is a transaction, we will typically fall short of long-term customer satisfaction!"

Get up you EMPLOYEE!!

2009-08-14T08:23:00.000-07:00

I have been married for about a month now and we already have a new addition to our family. Her name is Mango and she is a 7-week old black pug puppy! At 4:15, the morning after her first night, I decided to take her out to go to the restroom and play a little bit. I normally wake up around 4:30, so after I was out there for 15 minutes my "unique" alarm went off on my phone. As I cam e back in from taking Mango outside my wife asked me,

"Is there any way you can change your alarm ring to something other than Led Zeppelin? Not everyone likes to listen to classic rock at 4:30 in the morning. Oh yea...why does your alarm say "GET UP YOU EMPLOYEE!" ?"

Now, while I cannot explain my love for the song "Ramble On" at 4:30 in the morning, I can explain why my alarm reads "Get up you EMPLOYEE!".

When I first started working with our company I asked my dad what he thought it would take for me to be successful at selling what we do. He direct and unusual answer caught me completely off-guard...

"Jason, if you want to be successful then don't act like an EMPLOYEE!"

What? I am an employee of the company but to be successful I need to avoid acting like one? Huh?

My dad did go on to say, " Jason, If you want to be successful then don't act like an EMPLOYEE...act like a BUSINESS OWNER!"

Acting like a business owner has ZERO to do with actually being a business owner. It is merely a decision to run our sales business and approach our territory as a business owner would. Would a business owner show up to the office after everyone else and spend 3 hours a day checking emails? No, they would be attending to current customers and building trust with prospective customers. Would a business owner drive 3 hours to deliver a 5 gallon bucket of paint to a client that only makes up minute percentage of our monthly volume or would they invest time in the client that is regularly placing large orders? They would do what yielded the highest ROI...and I am assuming that is not a 3 hour, small volume "customer service" trek!

While we discuss showing discretion in what we choose to spend our time on, we are not saying that you refuse to work on your quarterly projections because "a business owner doesn't have to do quarterly projections". Even business owners have the numerous house keeping items to take care of. The only difference is that a business owner addresses those items immediately because the longer they stew over it the more time they are spending "not making money"!

So, what does it take to become a "business owner"?

1. Become more introspective...

What could I be doing to become more successful? Where am I losing time in my day? How can I generate more high ROI customers? Which customers of mine am I investing a great deal of time in and gaining very little in return? These are questions we should be asking ourselves on a regular basis.

2. Don't wait for instructions...

There is always something for a business owner to do! Self-management is key to being successful in sales. A true sales professional does not need constant instruction because they know that there is always something that can be done to widen or deepen their business. Business owners are proactive...not reactive!

3. Keep learning...

Business owners treat their business a craft and a craft requires constant attention and regular improvement. Whether it be through books, CDs, podcasts, seminars, or webinars, we must make a commitment to keep learning and growing.

Join us for our August Webinar Series

2009-08-10T10:33:00.000-07:00

In roughly 60 days the Rated R 4 Results Team will be launching a subscription-based website, called "Gladiator U", to aid in the success of sales and sales management professionals across the globe. To ensure that our product is world-class we are delivering 6 free webinars over the next 60 days. With the webinars playing a major role in our upcoming website, we wanted to deliver a variety of them for free to you, our prospects and sales experts, to obtain your feedback!

So...how can you help? Sign Up! They are absolutely 100% free, no tricks, nothing up our sleeves and no bait and switch! Can't make the times fit your schedule? No problem! We are going to be recording every webinar and will send you a link to download them and view them at your leisure! All we want is your feedback. What did you like, not like? What works for you and what doesn't work? Bottom line ... when we roll the "Gladiator U" site out in October, we want our webinars to be the best!

What does our August schedule look like?

The August webinar series will address the following subjects...

"From Order Taker to Gladiator" - How Top Sales People Win & Win Big!!

This webinar is designed to address the 4 critical building blocks for outstanding sales performance. In this webinar we will discuss what it is that top sales performers "are & do" that consistently lands them at the top of every sales report

August 11th, 2009, 2:00pm to 3:00pm CST

"Are You Social? - How to Tap Into the Social Media World and Implement it Into Your Business"

Are you retiring in the next 3 months? If not, then you cannot afford to sit out in the world of social media. In this webinar our attendees will learn how to create a presence through systems such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Blogging.

August 18th, 2009, 2:00pm to 3:00pm CST

"A" Players Only! - How Top Sales Managers Build "Hair on Fire" Sales Teams!

This webinar is designed to discuss the skills necessary to build a high performance sales team. Key topic areas for this program include how to get the right people on board from the very beginning, how to develop and manage the team and then how do you keep that talent on board for the long haul.

August 25th, 2009, 2:00pm to 3:00pm CST

Register Now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/724940931

Can't make it to one of the webinars? Like we said ... don't worry! We will be recording each of the webinars in our August series and will be more than happy to send them to you. We look forward to having you join us for this great series. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions at jim@r4ronline.com !

The Ultimate Customer Experience!

2009-08-03T08:33:00.000-07:00

Planning a trip to Mexico anytime soon? If so, you have to consider staying at The Royal Playa del Carmen. I have had the pleasure of staying at a number of amazing hotels/resorts from Rio de Janeiro to London...and The Royal Playa del Carmen has claimed the top spot.

This is my opinion, however, the reason for my praise is far more interesting.

Although incredibly beautiful and in a prime location...the reason for my "Top Spot" is their phenomenal staff. From the second we arrived to the moment we left, the staff was ON! As we arrived, we were welcomed by Nancy at the front desk, "Hello. Welcome to The Royal Playa del Carmen. May I get your last name? Mr. Jacobus...and Soon-to-be-Mrs. Jacobus! Congratulations. We are privileged you have chosen us for such a special occasion. You are going to make a beautiful bride!"

While the welcome was very genuine and friendly, it was overshadowed by Nancy's memory. We saw her a number of times of the next few days and each time we saw her it was the same thing, "Hello Mr. Jacobus and Mrs. son-to-be-Jacobus. Are you enjoying yourselves so far? Are you excited for the big day? Please let me know if I can do anything."

How did she do it? How do you remember those kinds of details when you have around 1,000 visitors at a time?

At the beginning I thought it was just a neat quality that Nancy possessed but the more staff members we met, the more I realized that it was the culture of the resort. I HAVE NEVER been to any hotel/resort that was more focused on the "Customer Experience". If I ever had a question of the staff's commitment to their customers, it vanished when we met the entertainment team. This group of young employees was hired to interact with the visitors and encourage them to participate in the overall experience of The Royal. The led water aerobics, sand volleyball, bracelet making, bartending classes, bike rides, kayaking, and contests...but what they really did was make each visitor feel like they were the most important person at the resort.

It was an unbelievable experience to watch this team work. I just couldn't understand what The Royal could have done to create this type of culture...at least until I had a chance to chat with the bartender at our rehearsal dinner. I had a chance to speak with Moises, father of two, and overall amazing guy. I asked him what it was that made the service at The Royal so incredible. Moises simply said, "Mr. Jason, we have everything we could possibly imagine at our fingertips. We have a beautiful hotel, amazing pools, and a great location. We have it all...and when you combine that with a genuine interest in honoring our visitors, it is hard to mess up that bad."

I was completely caught off by his use of the word "honor". I mean, I have heard of respecting customers and being customer focused...but "honoring" the customer?

WOW!

After hearing Moises say that, we decided to request Moises for the reception the next night. Luckily enough, he was added to the reception team. After first giving me a hug, I had never seen an employee work as hard as he did for his 5 hours on duty. He was on point the entire time, as were the other two staff members. It was our special night and you could tell that they knew that. It was simply amazing.

As the night came to a close I saw Moises chatting with his two partners. A few minutes later the other two gentlemen approached me and gave me the most sincere thank you. They eventually went around and thanked each and every attendee. Come to find out, Moises had made nearly $700 in tips that night...and decided to share it with his partners. After I found this out I pulled Moises off to the side and asked him about his decision to share his earnings, "Well Mr. Jason...we are a family here. I love them. I have wife and two girls at home but I am not the only one. They have families too and tonight we will all have a gift to give our families."

I was entranced by how wise Moises was. He gave us a great gift that night but that it was tiny in comparison to the gift he will give his two young girls one day.

Overall, our wedding and vacation at The Royal Playa del Carmen was unbelievable. I will always remember the incredible staff there and will always be in debt to their commitment to make our wedding week perfect.

Click Here to Learn More About The Royal Playa del Carmen

Stop a thief!

2009-07-31T06:46:00.000-07:00

I know most of the blogs on this site are mostly driven towards helping each of us become more successful in sales. However, it is also a duty of ours to protect the content that you and your company work so hard to deliver.

Most of you are probably wondering what I am talking about. Well, here is the story...

I recently received an email from a friend of mine saying that couple articles from this blog are being used under another authors name. Knowing that I was the one and only author of these thoughts, I decided to do some investigating of my own. The conclusion...I was one of MANY victims. James Rickman ( http://www.sustainablevirtualbiz.com/ ) has been stealing articles for quite some time now. As I Googled his name I came across a number of articles that he has "authored". I then copied and pasted a sentence/paragraph out of each article and Googled it...11 out of 13 articles came back as being the material of another author (many of them posted on websites such as FastCompany and BusinessWeek). One of the articles was actually stolen from a US News reporter!! I called each of these original authors and asked if they were, in fact, the original authors and each and every one of them confirmed (which would eventually negate James' claim that he was a ghost writer and that is why his articles are posted in a number of locations).

So what is going on? A couple of things...

1. To populate his library of articles and content on his website, James Rickman is stealing articles from a number of sources. He is changing the titles by one or two words and then copy and pasting the remainder of information.

How to protect yourself?

- Copy and paste a line or two from each of your articles and put them in Google Alerts. You will be notified if anyone uses that same line in their material.

2. James Rickman is selling stolen articles to his customers by means of his "ghost-writing" services. It is easy to have a fast tournaround when you copy and paste. One lady we spoke to said she hired James to write 6 articles. It didn't take her long to realize that each one had been stolen.

How to protect yourself?

- Make sure that you hire a credible ghost-writer. If you hire someone that is cheaper than everyone else and can return a 6, 2-page articles in less than a day, we must consider the old saying, "When things seem to good to be true, they normally are!"

Now for the funny part...

In an effort to contact James Rickman, I wrote him an email with all of the links to the stolen articles and links to the original authors. He then sent me an email from his "legal team" that said, and I quote, "was forwarded to legal for review and possible damages -- it is appreciated if you cease and deceased all further communications including online etc --- SVS LLC, Legal Team -- ."

You would think an individual that was part of his legal team would know that it is called "cease and desist".

p.s. Here is an article that takes a more entertaining approach to stopping plagiarism...sounds like fun to me!!!

http://www.conversationmarketing.com/2008/10/stop-plagiarism-in-3-easy-steps.htm

Are you on YouTube?

2009-07-10T08:47:00.000-07:00

Do you know how to make a coke bomb?

No? Click Here To See It On YouTube

Have you ever seen the amazing story of "Team Hoyt"?

No? Click Here to See It On YouTube

Ok...So we all know that YouTube is a melting pot of inspiring, hilarious, and breathtaking videos from across the globe, but does it bring any value to us as sales professionals?

Of course it does!

What exactly is YouTube?

YouTube is a FREE video sharing website that allows individuals to upload and share videos to a mass audience!

So has the bell gone off yet?

YouTube can be one of the best platforms on the planet to market who you are and what you do!!!

Here are two different approaches to marketing on YouTube...

Click Here to Watch the "Will it Blend? iPhone" Video on YouTube

Story Behind "Will It Blend?" -

BlendTec developed a very powerful new blender and one day some of the developers were testing its durability by putting various items in the blender and turning them to dust. Luckily, one of the BlendTec leaders was walking by as they were determining "Will it blend?" and decided that they needed the rest of the world to see what he had just seen. Now there is a "Will It Blend?" series on YouTube where they test marbles, canned food, money clips, hockey pucks, and so on. Oh yea...the video you just watched has been viewed over 7 million times and sales at Blendtec have gone through the roof!

Now on to a video that takes a different approach to marketing...

Click Here to Watch a "Weird Kid Start a Huge Dance Party" on YouTube

Story Behind "Weird kid Starts Huge Dance Party"-

In watching this video you may have been asking yourself...how in the world is this a marketing piece? You may have also asked yourself, as thousands have, "who is that band in the background?" The answer is "Santigold"...and they are the ones that hired the kid to start a dance party and the camera man to catch it all on film. This video has been posted under a number of titles and on a number of similar sites. After this video was posted the group's sales went through the roof. The way they were able to accomplish this is by having group members initiate conversation in the comment board by asking, "Who is this band? they are awesome!!" It didn't take long for people to start learning more about "Santigold".

So what is the lesson here?

That YouTube can be a great resource to market what we do! We can make it a big production (Will it Blend?) or we can create something all natural and raw (Weird Kid Starts Huge Dance Party)!

How to Create Your Own YouTube "Commercial"

1. Identify your company's/product's/service's value proposition. What is it that you do better than any other company out there?

2. Get creative! How can we communicate our value to the audience? (demo, interview, answering popular questions, positive customer reviews, etc)

3. Be real and raw!!! Obviously BlendTec poured a few dollars into their "Will it Blend?" series, but that was more out of want than necessity. What if that same guy was just sitting in the middle of a mall as he turned these everyday items into "smoke"? It would still have a huge impact! People become hesitant when they know they are being marketed to so the more real and raw we can be, the better.

4. Push the video! You can send a mass email pushing the video or just add the link to your email signature. Just think how fast you could drive people to your video if you were on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn...wink, wink!

Marketing your product or service through YouTube is not for everyone but if you can clearly communicate your product's value visually and you are not utilizing YouTube...you are cheating yourself!

Are we losing control...or gaining it?

2009-06-24T12:55:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned on a number of occasions, I am huge fan of reading. While you won't catch me buried in a Harry "Potter" book or swooning over the "Twilight" series, you are almost certain to find me plowing through a business book late at night. Now, I have been an avid reader for many years but I have to say that I have NEVER seen so many great books come out as I have in the past year! I mean...it is unbelievable!

I recently plowed through Barnes and Noble in search of the latest in Social Media trends and theories. Needless to say, I found plenty of good resources. One of the books a picked up was the Bestselling book by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff "Groundswell"!

I am only a few chapters in but I believe this will be one my "Top 10 of 2009". In reading the first few chapters I came across the story of Kevin Rose (Founder of Digg.com). Digg.com gives you the opportunity to search the internet and "digg" a variety of articles...both on websites and blogs. On Digg's homepage you can view a list of top-stories that people are "digging" throughout the day. Kevin Rose believed he had a fortress for a website until "Rudd-O" decided to write a blog releasing some valuable information. Rud-O wrote a blog releasing a code that allowed the technically advanced readers to make copies of the "uncopyable" DVDs on the market. Within a day over 15,000 Digg members voted for Rudd-O's post. As a results of all the "digging" the story made it on the homepage of Digg.com for the world to see. Needless to say, the movie industry was lesss than thrilled. They put in an order to have the link removed. Even though Digg.com did not break any laws, Kevin rose decided to remove the link in order to escape any unnecessary legal action. Rose removed the link and reponded with a post of his own, informing the "Diggers" of the situation. The only problem is...Rose can't control the information posted on other websites/blogs. Within a day the "Digger Mob" located the encryption and posted it on nearly 100 blogs. By the end of the day that number had climbed to over 3,100.

Lesson: "Lawyers and entrepreneurs aren't the most powerful force on the internet. People are. And people, empowered by technology, won't always go along." - Groundswell

So, how do we gain control when it is obvious that control is the "mystical unicorn" of the internet?

We learn how to use the "crowd" to our benefit! Here are a few ways to do so...

1. Stay involved!

- Google your name. Google your company's name. Do your best to identify your reputation within the social media circle. If you recognize that your reputation is "sub-par"...engage the commentator and seek answers. Every time an individual posts a negative article about us, it tarnishes our brand. If we seek out these individuals and inquire as to how we can be of better service, we have the ability to turn an angry mob into our personal marketing department.

2. Be proactive!

- Start blogging! Don't just wait to respond, begin sharing info and creating a following of your own. This is not only for blogs...we must create a presence on sites such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

3. Be active and current!

- Having a blog that is not current or irrelevant is worse than not having one at all. Individuals read blogs because it is a regular flow of pertinant information. If we haven't updated our blog in 6 months and the last story is not relevant to today...our following will deteriorate.

How good do you want to be?

2009-06-15T06:34:00.000-07:00

In writing these articles, I want to provoke thought...I want to deliver ideas in a way that drives each of us to become more introspective! The neat thing is that it also gives me an opportunity to share some personal stories along the way.

In each of our lives, we approach events that have the ability to impact us forever! In about a month I will be face-to-face with one of these moments, as I will be saying "I do" to the love of my life in Playa del Carmen, Mexico! To say the least, I am an incredibly lucky man! One of my friends said it best when he said, "The three of you should be very happy together! You, Her, and her seeing-eye-dog!"

Now some of you may be asking yourselves, "Is he going to sit here and tell us all about HIS life or is actually going to give us something to take home?"

The fact is, while this wedding is a once in a lifetime event, it is the result of a process I have used a number of times throughout my life.

I have shared this process with friends that are in relationships, college students who are looking to make better grades, and sales professionals that are looking to have a record-breaking year!

1. We must ask ourselves, "How good do I want to be?"

This is not a question our boss, spouse, or kids can answer for us! This is a question we must answer for ourselves! Do I want to be average? Do I want to be good? Or...Do I want to be the BEST?! There are plenty of people out there that are perfectly fine with being average and there is nothing wrong with that. However, being average is a matter of choice...not a matter of ability! We were all given the tools to be extraordinary!

What if I do want to be the best?

2. Become clear on what it will take to become the best!

There is no better way to do this than to identify an individual that has a experienced a great deal of success in the industry and ask them, "What did it take for you to get to where you are today?" It is impossible for us to really know what it will take but the best road map we can follow is that of someone who has been there!

3. Make the decision, "Am I willing to do what it takes?"

This is typically where separation begins! "Well, I want to be the best sales person in our company! But, you mean I have to get to work an hour earlier than everyone else?" Some call it making excuses...I call it the "Meatloaf Mentality" after Meatloaf's 1993 hit song "I'd Do Anything for Love" (but I won't do that). It is really a simple progression...

I want to be the BEST!

I know what it takes to be the BEST!

Am I willing to do what it takes to be BEST?

"The difference between winners and losers is that winners are willing to pay a price that losers won't pay!" - Jim Jacobus, CSP

4. Identify mentor that is flying at 30,000 ft and one
that is flying at 10 ft!

"What are you talking about Jason?"

We must have one mentor that is just around the corner from us and one that is miles down the road!

ex. For my relationship with Caitlyn, I meet with one young man that has been married 3 years and I meet with another guy that has been married for 30. The "newlywed" can still remember how he felt when they were trying to hash out there finances and the "veteran" helps me keep things in perspective. It is about addressing the "now" yet thinking about what "will be"! From a professional perspective, we must identify the individual that is where we want to be in a year and the one that is where we want to be in 10 years!

If each of us can be honest with ourselves as we move through this process, there is no limit to what we can accomplish both personally and professionally!

p.s. Thank you to all of you that have played a role in my relationship with Caitlyn. If it is true that we are only as good as our friends, then I have a great deal to look forward to in life!

To Text or Not to Text...That is the Question!

2009-05-15T07:11:00.000-07:00

LinkedIn, text messaging, Twitter, Smartphones, Facebook...

Where do these fit in my business?

Earlier this week, I had the privilege of speaking with a group about integrating "new technology" with what they are currently doing. As I walked into the room it was easy to see why I was there. Half of the group had been in business for 20+ years and the other half had only been out of college for a few years. As I introduced myself to the group, I asked them "At the end of the day, what would you like to get out of our time together?" The answer was predictable...

"Jason...over the past few months we have discussed a number of ways to reach out to our client base and we keep hearing words such as "social networking" and "text messaging". Now, I grew up following the basic framework for networking and it has worked very well for me throughout the years. At the same time, our younger team members are saying that we should be on Twitter and LinkedIn. Which way do you think is the most effective way to connect with clients?"

My answer to them was, we must utilize BOTH!

This is not an "either/or" scenario. The basic structure for networking and building relationships is not sacrificed for the implementation of the "new stuff"!

When it comes to reaching out to clients and staying connected with them, we must search for what they respond best to...not what we feel is the most effective. Yesterday, I was following up with a number of individuals and I used nearly every system possible. I sent a text message to one gentleman, I "Facebooked" a lady that I spoke with the day before, I responded to another customer via email, and called a friend of mine regarding an interview we had that afternoon. The reason I didn't just send an email to each of them is because I had identified the most effective way to communicate with them, as individuals. The fact is, that as individuals, we all have our preferences and to be relevant we must identify what our customer's preferences are. To identify these preferences we simply ask, "What is the best way to get in touch with you?" This question not only allows us to become more effective in our communication but it also makes us more credible. After asking that question I will also follow up by searching for them on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. The reason we do this is to make as many connections as possible. If we are friends with a prospective client on Facebook, connected with them on LinkedIn, and following them on Twitter we will beat out the competitor that is simply emailing them.

A while back we were doing a program and we had an experienced sales manager ask, "Texting is so unprofessional! I would never text a customer! What could you possible gain by doing something so impersonal?" As my dad was in the front of the room, he called on me to offer my feedback "Jason, everything else being equal, if you were trying to decide between working with a sales rep that text messages you and one that only wants to talk on the phone...which one would you choose?" I quickly responded with "the one that text messages me, without a doubt!" On the same note, I did a program for a group of college seniors and I was talking about the impact awareness can have in the interviewing process. As I was encouraging them to become aware of what is in the interviewer's office, I used the example of looking for stationary. If an interviewer has stationary in their office then that means they probably place great emphasis on hand-written notes. So, when you get home write them a hand-written thank you note to show your appreciation for their time. Before I could finish my sentence, a young man chimed in and asked "Jason, why can't we just shoot them an email saying thanks?!" While respecting the young man's curiosity I said, "While an email may be appropriate, it may not be the most effective way to say thank you! If we want to be successful we must be outwardly focused....we must identify their hot-buttons" The biggest inter-generational struggle we face, as a population, is being able to adapt to those different than us! As a young sales professional, when I am selling to a more experienced veteran I must adapt to them. Every thing we do that illustrates our differences will be reasons for the sale to come to an end.

In sales, we may be neck and neck with a competitor. We sell the same product, at the same price, and we both offer similar perks. The only difference is that our competitor will only talk business on the phone, yet we are willing to use text messaging and LinkedIn if that is what the customer responds to. In this scenario...Who do you think wins the deal?

The exciting thing about sales is that no two situations are the same. One day we may be selling to a VP of Sales that has been in the industry for 35 years and the next day we may be selling to a 24 year-old purchasing agent. The key to being successful in such a diverse industry is to carry as many tools in the bag as we can...and own each and every one of them!

Who's going to win, a professional golfer with 14 clubs in their bag or an amatuer carrying one club that they hit really well?

I encourage all of us to have the following tools in our arsenal...

- Text Messaging
- Smartphone or PDA (emailing purposes)
- LinkedIn Account
- Facebook Account
- Twitter Account

Hiring "Young Gun" Sales Pros!

2009-05-11T12:11:00.000-07:00

What should I look for if I want to hire the "Young Guns" of the selling world?

This is a question I saw posted on LinkedIn this morning and, given the numerous responses, I figured I would chime in with my own thoughts. After reading some of the thoughts I realized that some of us are trying to start on the roof before laying the foundation!

When I graduated from college I looked back at my education and was blessed to have been exposed to so many lessons but the one thing that I was most proud of is my ability to recognize potential in young people. In 3 years as a campus leader I had the privilege to interview over 1,000 college students for a number of positions. I made horrible hiring decisions and I made great ones...but as many of us know, we learn just as much from hitting a ball in the water as we do hitting one down the middle (thanks Dave)!

Some of you may be asking yourselves...

"This guy is talking about college! Do these principles carry any weight in the "real world"?"

Absolutely!!

These 5 Principles have only become more important as I immerse myself in the world of professional selling!

So...

Here are the "BIG 5"...

5. "Business Owner" Mentality

Being an employee is a state of mind! When we work with large sales forces this is one of the first topics we discuss. We encourage each sales professional to approach their customers, their territory, and their business as if they were the owner of the company. Too many times we run into sales professionals that get to work at 8 and leave at 5, while only doing what they are asked to do. The truth is, that may be enough to keep your job but it should not be enough to keep your pride! As a sales professional, we are suppose to make decisions like a "business owner"! We confront dilemmas like a "business owner"! And most importantly, we put in the time and commitment that a "business owner" would!

This week, ask yourself "What would a business owner do?"

4. Continuous Learner

We are always moving! We are either moving forward or falling behind. When looking to hire ANYONE we must identify an individuals desire to learn! To grow! To improve! Too many times we encounter sales professionals that are doing the same thing today that they were doing 15 years ago. We are not going to reach success today by doing what worked yesterday! To compete today we must stay ahead of the curve and we do that by learning new skills. If you want to have some fun...ask your stagnant sales professional, "What books are you currently reading?" You will have your answer right there! A true pro is ALWAYS polishing their craft!

3. Interpersonal Skills

While cliche, this one is even more important in an economy like this. We must hire sales professionals that ADD value to our product/service...not detract from it! I had been going to a men's clothing store for the past 4 years but recently made a switch to a new one because while one store focuses on interpersonal skills, the other could not even spell "relationship". While I am only one customer...I am getting married (buying suits for the wedding) and I have sent a number of my friends over there to get their wedding attire! That one "detail" cost one company thousands of dollars while the other store has more business than they know what to do with.

If we struggle to generate relationships, we will struggle to pay the bills!

2. Resiliency

I once heard my dad tell a sales manager, he was working with, "If you hire a sales professional with low levels of resiliency you are committing management malpractice!" Sales is a tough profession and if we do not hire "tough" sales people, we will either face low sales or a high turnover (maybe both)!

We must find sales people that have the mentality...

"Some will...some won't...so what...Who's Next?!"

1. Personal Accountability

We define personal accountability as "I do what I say I am going to do...because I said I would!" You know...I have noticed that individuals with low levels of personal accountability are always the ones who are "stuck in traffic" and are late "because someone else..."! Sales professionals do what they say they are going to do because they do not know any other way. They are committed to doing what it takes to keep their word and even if they are not responsible for the mistake...they take responsibility for making it right!

In this blog I communicated 5 principles that impact the success of young sales professionals but I think if you take a close look at the "Big 5" you will see its impact in other areas of business...and life!

The Optimistic Realist!

2009-05-08T07:36:00.000-07:00

I blame it on Michael J. Fox! I am sitting here at 2 a.m. writing this blog because I cannot seem to get my mind to shut off. A few hours ago I was flipping through the channels and saw a special coming on about Michael J. Fox and his adventures to locate triumphant stories of hope!

While I do enjoy writing about sales strategies and tactics I feel that this blog must be focused on something bigger. We are in a tough economic time right now but we have a CHOICE of how we view our current situation! We will touch on this in a little bit but, for now, we will dip back into the show...

Michael J. Fox's hour-long show had me captivated the entire time. Throughout his many adventures you could see the symptoms of Parkinson's fighting within, yet Michael J. Fox views this world as a blessing. As an OPPORTUNITY!

Now, I am going to go out on a limb and say that this economy, while tough, is not the worst thing that could happen! It is not losing a child, it is not cancer, it is not PARKINSON'S!

So, while so many are blinded by the economic struggles upon us, how does Michael J. Fox see the world in such a promising light?

Is he blind to reality?

Is he in denial about his condition?

The answer is NO!

Michael J. Fox knows exactly what he is up against! He knows the reality of his disease and the hold that it will eventually place on him!

So what is so special about people like Michael J. Fox? How do some fight through the pain and focus on their purpose?

The reason they remain so positive is they do not see optimism and realism as being an "either, or" scenario!

We do not have to sacrifice living in reality for choosing to be optimistic. Optimism is not believing that the world is perfect and everything is all smiles and happiness.

Optimism is being able to see all situations in their entirety and while acknowledging the good and the bad, we choose to focus on the positive!

Michael J. Fox battles the pain and anguish that consumes him at times but he also realizes that this disease has given him the platform to impact millions of people! His pain and courage gives him the strength to comfort others. He has become an advocate of LIVING!

So what does this have to do with our professional lives?

To answer that I would like to share a short story with you and ask you a couple of questions...

In Michael J. Fox's adventures he made a trip to Bhutan. During his visit to Bhutan he was informed that Bhutan had something called the GNH...the Gross National Happiness! Bhutan believes that happiness is important in the success of a culture. While interviewing the Prime Minister of Bhutan, Michael J. Fox asked him "How do you drive happiness and hope throughout a culture?" The Prime Minister said, "We focus on the individual first. If an individual is happy then that happiness flows into their family, which is spread throughout the community, which impacts a city, which changes a culture!"

Wow! What a piece of wisdom?!

So let me ask you...

What would it mean to those around us if we made it a point to become more optimistic?

What would it mean to our organization if we focused on the opportunities in the market place and not this economic "crisis"?

Do you think that we have a better chance of selling more if we have a promising mentallity or if we appear defeated?

Could our approach to adversity change the dynamic of our family? Our company? Our industry? Our COUNTRY?

If you would like to buy Michael J. Fox's book "Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist" Click Here

The Foundation of FACEBOOK!

2009-04-28T11:02:00.000-07:00

"Facebook me!" has become the closing line of billions of conversations over the past few years. We have seen a website grab the attention of the world in a way that was previously unheard of. But what is so special about Facebook? What is it that, Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg knew that would lead him to create one of the most dominant websites of this decade?

A while back Mark was speaking at an event where he was asked the million dollar question,

"How did you build a community of over 200 million active users?"

As the question was asked the attendees pushed to the front of their seats with pens in hand, just ready to write down the secret "Facebook Formula".

But Mark caught everyone off guard when he said he never built a community of 200 million. Mark explained to the group that...

"We don't build communities! They already exist!"

What mark did was identify a community that already existed and helped them become more efficient in what they were looking to accomplish, which was connecting with others!

So how can we use this model in our business?

We must ask ourselves 3 questions...

1. Which community are we focused on working with?

(ex. kids, CEOs, etc)

2. What is it this group would like to accomplish?

(ex. sell products, share pictures, etc)

3. How can we help them become more efficient in what they are looking to achieve?

To give you an opportunity to see how one company would answer this series of questions we will look into the online meeting provider www.GoToWebinar.com!

1. Which community are we focused on working with?

- GTW Answer -

Anyone that holds meeting for personal or professional use.

2. What is it this group would like to accomplish?

- GTW Answer -

Be able to hold meeting without having to travel or even leave their office.

3. How can we help them become more efficient in what they are looking to do?

- GTW Answer -

Create a website that allows people to join for a meeting in the comfort of their office or home by allowing them to connect through the computer. We will take care of the visual by allowing each party to view the presenter's computer screen and we will address the audio component by allowing each person to talk through a microphone or headset. We have created a cost efficient and time efficient meeting by developing the "virtual meeting".

So, are you spending your time building communities that already exist...or are you helping existing communities become more efficient?

What's New?

2009-04-20T11:12:00.000-07:00

If there is one commonality I have noticed in the world of success, it is that successful people are life-long learners! I have had the privilege to interview hundreds of very successful individuals and one question I always ask is, "What books/CDs/podcasts/learning systems do you recommend?"

So, in the spirit of my "favorite question" I will give you a few of my favorite books of 2009. While many of these books were not written in 2009 I encourage you to read them before 2009 comes to a close!

My Top 10 Favorite Books of 2009

Predictably Irrational: by Dan Ariely

- In Dan's book Predictably Irrational you will begin to see why irrational behavior can become predictable. Dan injects the business world with a dose of behavioral psychology. Beware: This book will mess you up! After reading this book I began to realize that logic is not as prevalent as we may think. It is a a great book and will keep you thinking for months to come.

Click Here to Buy "Predictably Irrational" from Amazon.com

Buy-ology: by Martin Lindstrom

Coca Cola and white headphones! Martin Lindstrom addresses the dominance of certain companies and products in a way I have never heard before. Martin also takes a scientific approach to why we are attracted to one product/company and not another. If you are focused on the branding and marketing of your product...you will LOVE this book!

Click Here to Buy "Buy-ology" from Amazon.com

The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life: by Alice Schroeder

How can you make a billion dollars fixing pinball machines? Ask Warren Buffett! In The Snowball you will be submerged into the life of one of the world's greatest success stories. Alice Schroeder will walk you through the life of Warren Buffett and will illustrate how he went from selling golf balls to buying private planes. While it is a pretty long read (over 800 pages), it was worth worth every second.

Click Here to Buy "The Snowball" from Amazon.com

Grown up Digital: by Don Tapscott

Are you a forward-thinker? Do you have kids that fall into Gen X or Gen Y? Do you manage a cast of young professionals? If you answered "yes" to any of those questions then this book is a MUST! Being a young professional myself, I can say that Don is "right on" with his writing! This is a roadmap to mastering the "Net Generation"

Click Here to Buy "Grown Up digital" from Amazon.com

Negotiation Genius: by Malhotra & Bazerman

One of the best negotiation books I have ever read (and I have read a lot!). This book provides tactics AND reason all in one enjoyable read. The book is very well written and illustates the "what to do" and "why to do it" of negotiating. If you negotiate in your profession and you don't read this book...you are leaving money on the table!

Click Here to Buy "Negotiation Genius" from Amazon.com

Wooden On Leadership: John Wooden

It doesn't matter if you are the GM of a Honda dealership or the CEO of an oil company...this book will apply to you. John Wooden, who is one of the most dominant leaders of all time, gives you a genuine account of what it took for him to win and win big! I highlighted more in this book than I did in my college chemistry book. It is an amazing book and would probably be in my Top 5 favorites of all-time!

Click Here to Buy "Wooden on Leadership" from Amazon.com

What Would Google Do? by Jeff Jarvis

My most recent read. I picked this book up at the airport last week and read it in 2 days. If you blog or Tweet or do ANYTHING around the internet then you must read Jeff's book. Jeff walks through some of the internet's most dominant companies and communicates why they have been so powerful. In What Would Google Do? Jarvis will show you how to approach your "community" in the same way Google, facebook, and Craig's List does. One of the best books of the year!

Click Here to Buy "What Would google Do?" from Amazon.com

Outliers: by Malcolm Gladwell

Success doesn't occur in a vacuum. There are many things that play into the success of a team or individual. In Malcom's book Outliers, he discusses the many different variables that create an opportunity for success. I have read all of Malcom's books and this one may be his best one yet. It is almost scary how creative this guy is!

Click Here to Buy "Outliers" from Amazon.com

Flight of the Buffalo: by Belasko & Stayer

One of the best leadership books ever written. In Flight of the Buffalo the authors compare the leadership style of buffalo and that of geese. It is an intriguing comparison that will hit home with anyone in a position of leadership. Are you in a company that you hope will continue to prosper when you are gone? If so, this book is for you.

Click Here to Buy "Flight of the Buffalo" from Amazon.com

Josh Hamilton: Beyond Belief: by Hamilton & Keown

I save this book for last because it hit me the hardest! Josh Hamilton (outfielder for the Texas Rangers) tells his very emotional story in one of the best books I have ever read. If you are a man or woman of faith then you cannot pass this book up. Josh tells his story of alcohol and drug abuse in a genuine fashion. He also shares his thoughts on what it took for him to rise from the streets to the cleats! You may want to start reading this one on a Saturday morning because you won't be able to put it down! It is truly an inspirational story!

Click here to buy "Beyond Belief" from Amazon.com

Enjoy!

What do we really sell?

2009-04-15T07:11:00.000-07:00

How can I hold on to my margins when I keep getting beat out in this "price war"?

This question was a question I saw posted on LinkedIn this past weekend. While a predictable question, the responses were surprising. In reading over 60 comments, almost all of them were an attempt to console versus offering direction. It wasn't a forum for advice...it was a support group. In fact, most of these individuals said they were encountering the same obstacles and were struggling to figure out what to do. Many of the ailing authors were extremely frustrated that "price" was their only leverage. The answers mostly came from individuals that felt their product was a commodity and "when all you offer is a commodity their is no way to secure your margin!".

It was very apparent, after observing this post for a few days, that the majority of these individuals felt they had lost all control because "selling has become all about price." The unfortunate issue is that many of us never consider our personal value proposition or the company's value proposition as part of the equation.

Too many times we let the product take the spotlight and we believe that the product will sell itself. If this was true then sales organizations would not spend near as much money on their sales professionals. After all, if it was just about price or the product would sell itself then we could just train monkeys to walk in and deliver the proposal. The reason companies invest a great deal of time and money in their sales force is because they recognize that the sales person can drastically impact the value of a product or service.

In times like this we must become clear on why what we, personally, bring to the table and what our company adds to the deal. When we struggle to identify the differentiating factors within our product we must focus on identifying what makes up our personal and company value propositions.

When we go into a sales call we are selling three things...

- Our product/service
- Our company
- Our personal services/relationship

The key to gaining ground when selling these three elements is to identify which ones we have an edge in and which ones we don't. If we acknowledge that our product is the same as our competitor's then we must focus on selling ourselves and our company's position in the industry.

ex.

"Susan, from what I have heard you say, you are really focused on expanding your business and eventually want to take it world-wide. You also mentioned that you are tired of having 10 different contacts within one company. The fact is, all of the companies involved are offering the same great product. However, we are the only world-wide solvent company in the area. When you do expand, we will be able to address your needs from Chicago to Tokyo. That being said, I will also be your only contact within our company. If we need to involve another department, I will do the running around so you don't have to."

As you see in the example above, the sales professional focused on the areas in which they had an edge and they did their best to exploit them. While the sales person in the story did not have an advantage in the product, they illustrated their personal and company's value proposition in a way that addressed the customer's needs. When we begin selling three elements and not one...we are not as easily impacted by factors outside of our control. This 3-tooled arsenal gives us the ability to sell in any and every situation.

Get Excited or GET OUT!

2009-04-13T08:36:00.000-07:00

I am going to start off this post in a different way...

I will start by warning all of you, who are reading this, that this post may cause you a few sleepless nights! In this post I will challenge each of us to become more introspective toward our lives and our professions.

Now that I have addressed that...let's get started!

In my last post I made the comparison between fishing a sales. This post will take on a much greater topic!

A little over two years ago, as I was preparing for my final exams, I got a phone call from my Dad...

"Hey Bud"

- "What's goin on Dad?"

"Well I have good news and bad news for you"

- "Ok....go ahead"

"We I am in the hospital...but I am ok."

That morning, as my dad was getting ready to catch a flight, he started having severe chest pains. When my step mom asked if my Dad needed to go to the hospital my Dad gave her an overwhelming YES! For my dad to risk missing a flight to get checked out, she knew that something was seriously wrong! Being a nurse, she didn't take any chances and drove my dad to the emergency room immediately.

As they began performing some tests on my dad the nurse "attempted" to give my dad something for the pain. My dad quickly jumped in and said...

"If at all possible, I would like to avoid taking anything. I have a flight here in a bit and I really need to make it"

The nurse did not argue but she did return with the doctor...

"Mr. Jacobus...the nurse said you didn't want anything for the pain."

- "Well I have a flight here in a few hours and I would really like to catch it if I can"

"Mr. Jacobus...Sorry to be so blunt but you are not going home today! You are not going home tomorrow! You probably won't be going home this week! You have a bilateral pulmonary embolism!"

- "Is that serious?"

"Well Mr. Jacobus...IF you had made it to the airport....and IF you had made it on the airplane...I can GUARANTEE you would not have made it off!"

As I was hearing this story I began to realize...I was probably less than a couple of hours from losing my father, my mentor, and my best friend!

Over the next few days they treated him for his PE and eventually released him from the hospital. As my dad rested at home he received a phone call from one of our family members. It would be a call that would re-emphasize my dad's belief that "life is too short"...

"I just wanted to check in on you and make sure everything was going ok. Are you feeling better?"

- "I am. Just trying to heal up right now. I will probably be off my feet for a couple of days."

"Well Jim, I guess this is a pretty good sign that you need to slow down!"

- "Slow down?!?! I think it is a sign that I need to speed up! There are still a ton of things I want to accomplish and I was only a few hours away from never having that opportunity! I will never slow down...and do you know why? Because life is too short!"

That was turning point in my dad's life...and in mine! That day taught me a lot about life, work, and relationships.

A few months later my dad and my step mom started their marriage ministry and began pursuing many of the dreams they put off. It also drove me to ask myself, "What do you really want to do? What is that that you could not imagine NOT doing?

It was the ultimate awakening for me!

Jason...Why this topic? Why now?

Over the past few months a number of people have lost their jobs or taken pay cuts. While unfortunate, it reveals our true passion by removing money from the equation. It also allows us to ask ourselves...

Do I really enjoy what I am doing?

Is this really what I feel called to pursue?

If this was my last day, week, month, or year on Earth...would I want to spend that time in this office?

My guess is that there would be some of us that are right where we need to be. We wake up excited to go to work. We feel that we are leaving our mark on this globe and we couldn't imagine doing anything else.

But...

I would say that there are probably more individuals out there who dream about doing something else. We may have jumped into a job without any passion or lost it somewhere along the way. If this is you I encourage you to ask yourself a few questions...

If I hit the lottery tomorrow, would I stay where I am?

What would I do if money, power, recognition, and/or pride was not an issue?

What am I teaching my children by pursuing something that I am not passionate about?

3 Reasons We Should "Get Excited or GET OUT!"

1. Life is too short. One thing that is certain is that life is uncertain. We don't know how long we have so we must find something we love to do and give it everything we have!

2. We will never reach our potential if we are not passionate about what we do. Passion is what keeps us working and pushing when things get tough (ex this economy).

3. It is the greatest gift we could ever give our kids. I am not a parent but the greatest gift my parents have given me is to show me what a passionate professional can accomplish!

Are you passionate about what you are doing?

If you experienced what my dad experienced, how would that change your career path?

I hope this post has encouraged you to "Get Excited or GET OUT!"

Do you only fish when the weather is nice?

2009-04-02T08:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, as I was getting off the plane in Corpus Christi, Texas I was struck with disappointment! We were planning on leaving the airport and heading straight to the marina to go fishing...but the weather was horrible. Windy, rainy, and chilly! Not exactly what I had hoped for. As we made the 30 minute drive back to Rockport my dad asked me, "Well bud, you wanna give it a try? You never know what is going to happen. All I can say is that are chances of catching fish only increase if we give it a go!"

That was all I needed to give him the thumbs up!

As we jumped onto our boat I looked around...only 3 cars in the parking lot (normally filled with 100 cars).

What were we doing?

The weather is not good and the chances of catching fish are slim to none. Why are we going to go out there in these conditions...just to waste our time?

As we puttered out of the marina we were both second guessing our decision to go out. We had no idea that our decision would pay off in just a few short minutes!

We eventually made our way to our first stop and shut the boat down. I decided to start with a top-water (a lure that floats...always one of my favorites because you can see the fish attack it).

It was only a few minutes, and a few casts later, that I would learn a great lesson.

On my 3rd cast my lure exploded. It was one of the biggest hits I had ever seen! As I began to fight the fish I could tell that this was a BIG fish. After a few minutes of watching the fish distance itself from our boat, I began to gain some ground.

The fish was only 30 yards away now!

Now 15!

I could almost see it!

As the fish came up to the boat and I could finally see it, I quickly realized that it was the biggest speckled trout I had ever caught!

The 30" monster (a giant in the world of speckled trout) was quickly scooped up by my "net man" (my dad).

Catching this kind of fish...when the conditions are this bad! What are the chances?

more like...

Catching this kind of fish...when the conditions are this bad! What is the lesson?

Do you "give it a go" when the conditions are bad?

Now, I am not going to sit here and tell you that the conditions are great in the economy right now...because they are not! What I will say, is that shutting down and not "fishing" is not going to help our chances.

There are a number of individuals out there that believe the effort is not worth it because the economy "won't allow us to be successful"!

I mean, "what are the chances of bagging an elephant in a time like this?"

The conditions may not be great but there are a few things this "monster fish" taught me about fishing when the economy is sub-par...

1. We will never know unless we "give it a go!"

2. Opportunities surface in bad times. We were able to fish wherever we wanted to because there weren't any other boats on the water. A rough patch in the economy can occasionally take our competitors out of the game!

3. When we decide to give it a go...and it works...that type of success feels so much better. We recognized the challenge, we battled anyway, and we came away triumphant! It also gives us the strength and drive to endure it in the future because we tell ourselves, "You know, it was like this the last time...and I bagged that huge account! Today could be another one of those days! I won't know unless I give it a try"

4. Most importantly...We go out in "bad weather" because that is what a professional does!

I hope you are enjoying our YOUNG GUN BLOG! If you are, encourage your friends to join us. We would love to have them!

Hammer or Nail Gun?

2009-03-31T13:24:00.000-07:00

I posted an article the other day that obviously generated some thoughts...so I figured I would re-examine the topic. After posting "How To: Incorporating Twitter Into YOUR Business" I received this email...

"Jason,

After reading your article it made me think. I am a 52 year old sales manager and I am getting a little fed up with young people getting rid of old fashion networking for this new "social media". Back when I was starting out we put our nose to the pavement and sought out valuable relationships. Now you "young guns" think that it can all be done on the internet. Not meaning to bash your article but I think this Twitter and Facebook crap is just that...CRAP!"

While confused (given that the individual found me on a BLOG), I was not up upset. Sometimes the best learning occurs when we take our views and allow others to critique them. Being an introspective person is a great foundation for continuous growth.

So what I will do now is give you, and this anonymous author, my thoughts on why I feel that this technology is so important...

Earlier today I was speaking with Donna Fisher (www.DonnaFisher.com), one of the leading experts on networking, and we were discussing the direction networking is going. Donna is an active user of Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn and she believes that while networking is still built around the same framework, there are numerous tools on the market that allow us to reach a community that was previously unavailable.

After thinking about Donna's point of view I decided to share some supporting thoughts of my own...

What do you mean "Hammer or Nail Gun"?

Networking is much like building a home in the fact that it takes a great deal of time and there are not many shortcuts that can be made. When building a home, time and quality have a strong correlation with one another. We must still pour the foundation and begin piecing together the frame. If it is something that we want to last, then we must give it the appropriate attention and focus it needs.

The difference in building homes now is, we are using nail guns...not hammers! Using a nail gun does not change the way a home is built or eliminate the need for a solid foundation...it just makes us more efficient at our task.

Would you say that using a nail gun takes away from the structural integrity of a home?

I don't believe so.

The key is not whether we are using a hammer or a nail gun. The most important factor is that a professional is the one placing the nails.

If we take an unprofessional person and give them a LinkedIn account then we will, more than likely, see the development of shallow relationships. That beings said, if we give that same unprofessional individual a face to face meeting, I don't think it will increase their potential for establishing long term relationships.

It is not the mode by which we make the connection...it is our purpose when pursuing the relationship!

Simply put...

If we take a genuine interest in other people and seek out ways to help them, we will be build lasting relationships!

Thoughts?

Thank you to all of you for your feedback, whether it supports my view or not! Both groups impact my growth and the growth of those around me. I hope you have a great week and feel free to offer suggestions for future YOUNG GUNS blog posts!

Jason@aplayersonline.com

Tricks, Tactics, and Techniques...5 Things Purchasing Professionals Do To Influence YOU!

2009-03-30T07:26:00.000-07:00

How to: Incorporating Twitter into your business!

2009-03-26T12:33:00.000-07:00

I know most of us have heard of Twitter but many are still asking themselves a few important questions...

Why should I use Twitter?

AND...

How can I incorporate this tool into my business?

In this blog I will share with you a few keys to maximizing Twitter and using it to create a "following"...

What is Twitter?
Twitter is another great addition to the social media "force" that has taken the world by storm. Twitter gives individuals an avenue to relay information to each other on a regular basis and in a rather timely fashion.

From my experience, there are two types of "Twitterers"...

1.The individual that will Twitter the morning "play-by-play" of how their teeth brushing is going. If a storm comes through you will be informed of the sounds, size, and direction of the rain fall.

AND...

2. Individuals that will send out numerous articles/videos/links to new information. Twitter has become a platform for professionals to share valuable information that is relevant to their industry.

My blueprint for incorporating Twitter into your business...

How to: Start "Following" Others

1. Locate as many industry contacts/experts we can and begin "following" them.

2. Once we have built up a list of individuals that we are following then begin to weed through the list by sorting out those that we would consider a "#1" (those that give you the play-by-play of their day). This "weeding out" is what will make Twitter a business tool and not a scheme to raise our text message bill!

3. (Optional) After we have identified the #1's and the #2's...then we need to set up our phone to receive Tweets as text messages. We do this so we can receive information whether we are by our computers or not (to do this just go to the Twitter homepage and click on "Devices").

- After we have set up our phones to receive "Tweets via Text" we then click on the list of who we are following. On that list we will see an "On" and "Off" next to the person. If we click "On" then we will be notified, by text message, when that individual has posted a new "Tweet". I started off by turning on about 20 people...and it became overwhelming! I was receiving text message every 20 minutes. I now have 8 people turned on and that is plenty of information for me. The key is to determine how much we, personally, want to bite off.

How to: Start Being Followed

1. Add our Twitter name to our email signature. (ex. Tweet me @ JJacobus). As simple as that sounds it can be a great way to generate a following.

2. Plain and simple...we must become a #2 ourselves! We need to post "Tweets" that bring value to others. Sorry #1's but no one is chomping at the bit to know what you are searching for in the grocery store! The people that are followed the most are the ones that are consistently sharing valuable articles and links to their community of followers.

- I post articles, my blogs, new statistics, quotes, stories, videos, etc...

3. Start following others. I don't know if it is out of respect or just an opportunistic reaction but people tend to follow us when we follow them!

4. Begin referring articles from other people and include their Twitter name in the post. (Ex. Just read a great article on vision and purpose @Champjj). This lets our followers know that "Champjj" may be someone they would like to follow. When we begin to spread the information of others then they tend to share our information as well.

These are just a few keys to start incorporating Twitter into your business! Have fun Tweeting!

Below you will find some people that I have enjoyed following...

Champjj
ScottMcKain
DonnaFisher
Steve_r_Gardner
Randy_Gage

Leading Change

2009-03-24T07:52:00.000-07:00

CHANGE...It's a word we have all heard quite a bit of over the past few months! With Barack Obama moving into office we have been exposed to many different initiatives to make a "change". This blog is not my opportunity to jump on my political soapbox but, more so, an opportunity for me to address a key aspect of any leader's role...Promoting change!

While change can be encouraging, it should not be the focus of any leader! A true leader focuses on the vision...on the RESULT of the change! Too many times we hear of a vision built around change when the change should only be a bi-product of an inspiring vision!

Details...Details...Details, Jason...

What is the difference between motivating people through change versus vision?

The fact is, change can be very uncomfortable! Tommy Hopkins said "the price of progress is the pain of change!"

That being said, a follower will only endure the pain of the change if they believe in the vision!

Many times people may get excited about the idea of change but they quickly fade because they are blind to the purpose behind the change!

When I was in high school we had a very good golf team. Many felt that we would be a strong contender for the state championship. At the beginning of the year our coach asked us..."Do you want to win State? Do you want those rings?" It was on overwhelming yes! Our coach then said, "Well, that means that we will have to take our preparation to another level! We will practice in good weather and bad! We will outwork every other team...and we WILL win the State Championship!"

Pretty inspiring huh?

We wanted to started working right then and there! We welcomed the chance to "outwork" our competition!

Now let's cut the "vision" out of the picture and see how inspiring my coach's speech becomes...

"Today is a new day! We are going to take our practicing to the next level. Starting today we will be practicing in good weather and in bad! We will practice harder and longer than any other team across the state of Texas!"

Almost sounds like punishment doesn't it?!

When the "vision" of the state championship was set in our heads, we took ownership in the work that it would take to reach our goal! We focused on the purpose...not on the pain!

As a leader, we must promote the vision because it is the vision that will push us through the discomfort of change!

Are you focused on promoting change or communicating a vision?

What advice would you give a young sales professional?

2009-03-18T07:25:00.000-07:00

I recently began posting questions on LinkedIn and I have decided to share some of the opinions of the industry experts in our group...I hope you enjoy!

What Advice Would You Give A Young Sales Professional?

"Be coachable. Just like you are convinced that as a 20-something, newly entered into the workforce, that you know more than any 12 yr old on the planet, remember that those who have been doing the job for 10, 20, 40 years may have some pretty good ideas, too. And some of the things you're convinced are true, may not work. Come into it with true humility, because not only will you learn more, you'll be showing a tremendous leadership skill that will get you noticed. A lack of coachability is a standard complaint about those who are just entering the workforce. Don't reinforce the stereotype."

- Steve Gardner (Owner - Five Star Speakers)

Steve's Company Website - Click HERE

"When you are green you will grow . . .when you are ripe you will rot. Your constant and consistent willingness to learn and fine-tune yourself on the basics of your selling process and products will always net the best result. And know that you are the one who can be counted on to deliver results. Both of these require discipline of your will and your schedule. Easy to type . . .not easy to do. But they will take you far."

- David Redabaugh (Direct Sales Manager @ Yellow Book USA)

David's Company Website - Click HERE

"DON'T JUST FOCUS ON PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE (I am shouting this from the mountain top). Your "product" only excites you.

Understand Business. Learn to read a balance sheet, an annual or quarterly report. Delve into the industry you are selling to and understand that industry's language and specific business challenges.

If you are selling to Tyson - know "catch weight" if you are selling to KPMG understand the "global cost of pursuit". Anything else is just faking it and you will always be perceived as green. The earlier you become a business expert

Read CIO, CFO, CEO magazines (all available online). Read "how to think like a CEO". The fastest way to be perceived as an equal is to become one"

- Becky Guillory (President, Bungalow4sale; Principal at Kris and Company Sales Training & Consulting Toplinked.com)

Becky's Company Website - Click Here

What does is take for us to "win in the mountains"?

2009-03-13T06:55:00.000-07:00

Lance Armstrong will go down in history as being one of the most dominant athletes of all-time. The cyclist has not only made his mark through his numerous Tour de France victories but has also created a following by his triumphant battle with cancer.

Hundreds of individuals have studied Lance's success in the Tour de France and developed theories of why he has been so successful. The one thing that is understood, by all who study Lance, is that he wins the races in the mountains!

The Tour de France offers a variety of terrains but the most excruciating part of the race is when the riders reach the mountain stages. Already beginning to fatigue from the earlier stages, the riders begin their steep accent to the top of the mountains. As many of the riders begin to slow, there is one rider that begins to push even harder! Lance Armstrong has built a reputation around his ability to separate himself from the competition as he moves into the mountains.

When asking Lance why he is so dominant in the mountains Lance says that he focuses on the last 20% of the incline. He said that he will push harder in the last 20% of the mountain crest than any other section of the Tour de France!

When asked why the last 20% is so important, Lance communicated that it is vital to push harder because it allows him to top the crest with a great deal of momentum! That momentum allows him to reach incredible speeds on the decent. It is this mentality that allows Lance to generate drastic leads in the mountain stages.

Ok...great story Jason...but where does this fit into the world of business and sales?

To answer that, I would say that I believe that we have made our way into the mountains ourselves. With the economy the way it is, and has been, we have been tempted to slow down. We can get caught up in a pack of people that have the mentality "I just hope I can stay alive long enough for this economy to change".

My Challenge:

Do what it takes to pick up speed now, so we have momentum built up when everything does take a turn! When the economy begins to improve, the "Lances" of the business world will see themselves leaving the pack behind.

The other bonus is that this tough time will begin to eliminate the little "ankle-biters" that move in and out of the industry!

2 Ways to Pick Up Speed in The Monutains:

1. Focus On Learning

- CDs
- Podcasts
- Books
- Seminars
- Workshops
- Extended education
- etc.

2. Reevaluate Our Business Model

- We will not reach success today by doing what worked yesterday!
- Identify what it will take for us to stay ahead of the curve!
- Read "Built to Last" - Jim Collins

Free sales training? Watch Curling!

2009-03-03T08:21:00.000-08:00

I was on LinkedIn last week and I posted a question regarding how to effectively communicate with individuals outside of your generation. I received numerous comments but one response caught my eye. Jeff Howery (Direct Sales Manager @ Toyota Sunnyvale) said the key to his success was his ability to recognize what makes different generations tick. He also gave a great deal of credit to his children for teaching him how to relate to the younger population. Needless to say, Jeff was definitely a continuous learner!

Fascinated by Jeff's point of view, I wanted to thank him for his feedback. I sent Jeff a message on LinkedIn letting him know how much I appreciated his thoughts and how I feel that continuous learning is contagious!

Jeff responded yesterday and ended up giving me one of the best sales "visuals" I have ever received...so I wanted to share it with you!

Jeff said that if you want to learn a few sales strategies...watch Curling!

What is Curling?

In Curling one teammate begins to slide a granite stone down the ice in the direction of the house ( a giant bullseye ). The sport can be compared to shuffleboard on ice! Once the "rock" is sliding down the ice it cannot be touched. The way the team controls it's direction is by sweeping the ice in front of it. The "rock" is ultimately sliding under its own power but it is the job of the sweepers to create clear the path in front of the stone so it arrives at it's desired location. That visual brings us back to the 'ol saying...

"People don't want to be sold...but they love to buy!"

Like in curling, successful sales professional recognize that the goal is not to control the customer but to tailor the path to lead the customer to THEIR desired results!

Our desire in sales is to create an atmosphere that when a sale is final, the customer feels that they arrived to that point on their own volition!

A client that buys will be around forever...but it is only a matter of time before a client, that is "sold", decides to go somewhere else!

Are you focused on creating a path that helps your customers buy?

Thanks for the great feedback Jeff!

How to sell ourselves...without bragging!

2009-02-24T13:39:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago I was doing a program at a university and we were discussing building a "personal value proposition". About halfway through the program a young man asked a great question...

"How do I sell myself without sounding like I am bragging?"

After he asked that question I looked around at the room and realized that a good number of the students were wondering the same thing.

These students were just a few short months away from graduating and moving into the workforce. They had attended this session to learn how to differentiate themselves in the job market.

As I answered the question I realized that the answer applies to sales professionals as well. These 3 tools will help us create our own value proposition in the competitive world of sales.

So...

"How do we sell ourselves, to our clients, without looking like we are the stereotypical sales people...show up and throw up?"

First...

We must have credibility in our field!

Bragging occurs when we display confidence without credibility!

Can you tell the difference when someone has been there and done that and someone who has been told what to say?

Of course you can!

Credibility does not only come with time/experience but it comes with a devotion to learning the trade. There are plenty of young, credible professionals out there because they realized that in order to compete, without a wealth of experience, they would have to learn their industry inside and out! They would have to learn their product/service inside and out! They would have to learn their customer inside and out!

The Second way to sell ourselves without bragging...

Sell in response to a question!

The problem with the "show up and throw up" approach is that we have no idea what the client wants or what their needs are.

When we ask questions we can identify their current situation and then we can provide solutions for that issue. It also gives us insight into the clients "hot buttons", which gives us the opportunity to tailor our responses to fit them perfectly.

Ex.

"So... Mrs. Shafer...at the end of the day, what are are you looking for in a supplier?"

"I am looking for a supplier that is going to be around for a while. A company that has the desire to be a consultant for our company for years to come!"
(p.s. While this is not a question...it is, what we would call, an inquisitive statement!)

"I completely understand...we have a number of clients that have been in our family for over 20 years and we definitely understand the impact that can have on the success of a company!"

So what did that accomplish?

1. We asked what she wanted/needed...

2. We identified what the "hot button" was...

3. We acknowledged her situation and addressed it...

4. We gave her reasons why our company meets her criteria...aka...we sold ourselves effectively!

The Third way to sell ourselves without bragging...

Is to have proof!

Selling ourselves using statements that are not tangible and that cannot be proven will only leave the client questioning the validity of our claims!

When we begin selling what we do or who we are, we must have proof for each and every value proposition we make!

We need to be able to draw it out!

We must be able to do the math...right then and there!

We will not make large strides in any sale unless we have the ability to prove "the value" on the spot!

Have you ever heard this line from anyone...

"It will be worth it...trust me!"

That approach does not work in sales. We don't make large-scale sales by saying...trust me!

The best sales professionals are the ones that say...

"This product is the best...and I can prove it!"

So...How does you style of selling stand up to this model?

How do we sell ourselves without bragging?

1. Be a credible source of information!
2. Sell in response to a question (or inquisitive statement)!
3. Have proof!

He was devoted...devoted to his craft!

2009-02-16T09:49:00.000-08:00

Do you get up and go to work?

Do you work hard at your job?

Do you constantly drive to enhance your career?

Do you dream about perfecting your craft?

Before you answer this question...Let's take a look at what these words really mean...

Work- exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something; labor; toil

Job- anything a person is expected or obliged to do; duty; responsibility

Career- an occupation or profession, esp. one requiring special training, followed as one's lifework

Craft- an art, trade, or occupation requiring special skill, requiring devotion

Now... How do you view YOUR profession?

Is it work?

Is it a job?

Maybe a career?

Or...

Is it a craft?

In all honesty...I didn't give much thought to the differences between these until I heard about a young boy named J-Mac...

J-Mac (Jason McElwain) was diagnosed with Autism at 2 years old but that isn't why his story has reached millions...

J-Mac has been labeled with something else...a love for playing basketball!

From a young age, basketball became his love and his refuge!

When coming into high school J-Mac did not make JV basketball team but his love for the sport drove him to be a part of it any cost!

He soon found a way to contribute to the team and its success...he became the team manager!

J-Mac was the JV team manager and eventually became the manager for the Varsity!

In his 3 years as team manager he never missed a practice and only missed one game!

As his senior season was coming to a close...

with just one game left...

J-Mac's coach said "J-Mac...I'm gonna try and get you in this game! I can't make any promises but I will try!"

The entire school had heard rumors about J-Mac getting to play in the last game of the season, so hundreds of students piled into the gym for the game. They carried cardboard cut-outs of J-Mac's face and cheered for him throughout the game!

Finally, it came...

With 4:19 left in the final game of the season (Senior Night) J-Mac was put in the game!

This was his time! This was his chance to show everyone what heart and drive can create!

Unfortunately, J-Mac missed his first shot!

The crowd sank...praying that J-Mac would score just one point in his first, and final, game!

Then...he lined up for a second attempt...

It was good! A 3-pointer! The stands exploded in a roar!

Then his next shot...ANOTHER 3!

And his next...ANOTHER 3!

No one could have imagined that in the final 3 minutes of the game J-Mac would score, an astonishing, 20 points!!!

That's right...J-Mac was 6 for 10 from the 3-point line and was the high scorer in the game!!!

As the final buzzer went off the fans rushed the floor! He had done it!

The game was an amazing story but its what J-Mac's dad said after the game that caught me by surprise...

When asked if his son's performance surprised him, he had this to say, "Not at all! Tons of kids play basketball but for J-Mac...it was more than a game! It was his craft! Shooting the basketball was an art to him! He saw it as an opportunity that needed constant attention and polishing! When you devote as much time to your craft as he devoted to his...you would experience what he did...Greatness!"

What a statement!!!

So...how do you view your profession?

Is it a job or a craft?

Is it a career ... or ... is an art?

Click Here To Watch J-Mac's Story (ESPN Special)

"This isn't a young man's game or an old man's game...this is an eagar man's game!"

2009-02-04T10:38:00.000-08:00

After graduating, it became increasingly harder to catch up with college friends. I am off doing my thing...they are off doing their thing! Its just, flat out, difficult to maintain the depth of relationships you had while in school.

In trying to fix the issue I make it a point to grab lunch or dinner with my friends at least a couple times a month. This gives us an opportunity to catch up on things and chat about what's new...

Most of my friends love to refer back to the "good ole days" of college and talk about what was...

I do have one friend though, that loves to talk business...and what will be! He loves to pick my brain about what's new and I love to grill him with questions regarding his business!

Needless to say...it is always a blast connecting with Robert!

Robert has been in the chemical/oil industry since he graduated and has really made a name for himself in this short time! He, like myself, decided to go into business with his family which gives us another topic to discuss.

We have both acknowledged the task at hand when it comes to stepping out of the shadow of the family name and creating an identity for yourself. We have also recognized that our scenario is not unique to the family business.

Attempting to create an identity is a challenge many young professionals face...

The other reason I love talking with Robert is he has one of the most positive perspectives on life and business that I have ever seen! The guy can recognize a tough situation but focus on the positives better than anyone I have ever seen!

I asked him the other day, "Rob...how's this economy effecting you and your business?"

He quickly fired back with, "I love it! I can't keep people away!"

Not sensing any sarcasm in his voice I wanted more details, "What do you mean? Why is a bad economy a good thing for you?"

He said, "because...in a bad economy people are shopping around! They are looking for value! My current clients aren't going anywhere because we bring a ton of value and the prospective clients are climbing aboard because they see us as a diamond in the rough! They recognize what we bring the table in the short run and long term!"

What a great way to look at this issue?

As we were finishing up lunch today I asked him, "So do you think age and experience play a major role in predicting success?"

He sat there and thought a second, "I would be lying if I said it didn't make a difference but I will say that it is not the difference maker! This isn't a young man's game or an old man's game...this is an eagar man's game!"

Wow! That is the truth!

He could really send me an invoice for a comment that powerful!

It is an eagarness to work...an eagarness to grow...an eagarness to improve...but most importantly...It is an eagarness to compete!

The young professionals that will succeed are the ones that love the heat of battle! They love disproving the current beliefs! They love setting the new standard!

The sad thing is that I think some people feel safe surrounding themselves with people who are self-labeled "victims" because there is minimal ownership in a group like that. With no ownership there is no call to action!

The only prblem is that a true "victim" is someone without control...we have control!

Our mental health is determined by how much we feel we control in life!

How much ownership do you take in your success...and your struggles?

I hope a lot!

...because it is only when we accept responsibility in the result, that we are given the power to improve!

Thanks for the powerful insight Robert...keep up the good work!

"What is the point of knowing how to text when you can just pick up the phone and call them?"

2009-02-03T13:31:00.000-08:00

First let me say that earlier this morning I received 30 minute tutorial from my dad on today's newest form of social media...Twitter!

Yes...you heard that correctly! He tutored ME on the uses of Twitter!

Now to tell you a little bit about my dad...he has always run at my pace (sometimes even faster) when it comes to the newest tools, technology, social media, music etc.

Needless to say...he is a lifelong learner!

In all honesty, I have always taken his "youthful" demeanor for granted! I just assumed that most people were as driven to see through the curve as he was.

Ohhhhh how wrong I was!

I didn't realize just how unique his style of learning and growth was until I attended a training session we put on in Houston in the first half of last year.

We were about three days in and my dad was speaking to a group of about 15 senior managers and he was addressing the ways that we can, in the sales profession, leverage the many forms of communication to improve our business.

He had no idea the resistance he was about to face with his next comment (and neither did I)...

"Ok...let's dive into some of the ways we communicate with our customers....email, phone, text messaging..."

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" a guy yelled out from the back of the room...

"Text messaging?!?! That's rediculous! Why would you ever text message a client when you can call them or email them?"

My dad quickly seeked clarification from the gentleman and asked..."I'm sorry...what is about text messaging that seems so innappropriate?"

The manager said, in a VERY convicting voice, "Honestly?!?! I mean...how unprofessional is sending a customer a text message?!"

(Knowing my dad's style and his confidence in me...I knew he was going to throw me into this at some point)

He said, "Ok...How many feel that text messaging is ineffective or innappropriate?" The majority of the room raised their hands! "How many of you know how to text message?" Only 5 (out of 15) raised their hands.

"Ok...so let me ask you a question...Is our generation getting bigger or smaller in the workplace?"

The group answered, with some reservation, "smaller."

"What generation is getting bigger?"

The group quickly pointed at me (I'm 24) and said, "His"

My dad responded by calling on me...

"Jason...what form of communication do you use the MOST? If you were to need to get a hold of your fiance or your freinds...how would you go about contacting them?"

I said very directly..."I would text them!"

My dad, in a very calm voice, said "So if our workforce is being taken over by individuals like my son back there and they communicate through text messaging...why don't we know how to use it? Why do we feel that it is innappropriate? Do we feel that they should adapt to our style of communiaction or should we learn how to use their form of communication?"

The room was very silent for a second...

My dad, then added "I am not saying we need to stop calling customers and only text them. I am just saying that it is a tool that we must know how to use! We must have it in our bag! If a customer says text me...we need to be able to. If we don't then we immediately lose credibility with that customer. They will go to the young guy across the street that they feel they connect with."

I was sitting in the back nodding the whole time...

How true is that? Would we, as young professionals, rather do business with someone who can relate to us... or someone who is so old school that they communicate via "pony express"?

I don't bring this story up to encourage you to text because I am assuming you do...

I say this to make all of us aware that we have an immediate advantage if are well versed in all of the forms of communication...because so few of our, more experienced, counterparts are using these tools!

We should be masters at programs such as... LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc.

Why?

...because they are crucial tools for creating a following!

Would we rather have a couple clients pushing our brand or have a following of thousands spread across the globe?

I heard an interesting fact the other day... If MySpace was a country it would be the 5th largest (population) in the world!

You mean we could have access to that many people from our computer?

Exactly! So why not learn how to leverage these tools to help grow our business?

These forms of communication may be an advantage today...tomorrow they will be a must!

Start creating a FOLLOWING now!

What is the world coming to? Watch this and find out...

p.s. We will be addressing the application of these tools throughout many of our upcoming blogs and articles! If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at Jason@aplayersonline.com .

A Lesson in Scottsdale

2009-01-29T13:51:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately had to fly home from beautiful Scottsdale, Arizona to iced-over Dallas on Tuesday. The only good part about was that I was going to see my beautiful fiance and that I was coming home with a wealth of knowledge from the previous two days!

We were in Scottsdale for the TTI (Target Training International) Winners' Conference! TTI creates some of the worlds greatest, professional assessments...and after this week, there is no doubt in my mind why they are so good!

The leadership within TTI is some of the best I have ever seen!

It is a powerhouse team of driven, vibrant, excited individuals that are always pushing to take their business to the next level!

My dad has been a distributor for TTI for about 12 years now and this particular weekend he would be given the opportunity to open the conference with a keynote. My dad has always said that this was one of his big 3...one of the 3 audiences he has always wanted to address.

The other two being the NSA Convention (National Speakers Assoc.) and Promise Keepers (a Christian organization that focuses on men and their walk with Christ)

When my dad was asked to speak at the TTI conference he asked if my stepmom and I would attend it as well! We were thrilled for him and thrilled to be attending the conference! As much as I expected to learn a ton, I never thought that I would learn so much from one specific comment!

In the program following my dad's, the founder of TTI (Bill Bonnstetter) addressed the audience! He was talking about the direction that TTI was going and the growth that was in progress. It was one of the more powerful programs I had ever heard!

As much of a high-content program as it was, it was Bill that intrigued me!

The founder of a very successful organization, that was celebrating its 25th Anniversary, was sharing his thoughts of what it took to be succesful in his industry. He was brilliant! He was obviously a lifetime learner, that you could tell was ALWAYS trying to get better...and always trying to make his company better!

It was about 30 minutes into his hour-long presentation when he said something that I will never forget!

He said, "We have stiff competition but I urge each of us to not be negative...we just need to be better!"

Wow! How great is it to hear a statement like that?!

We must not be negative...just be better!

Now, the sales application of this is apparent! How much more successful would we be if we stopped taking jabs at the competition and started focusing or providing our customers with more value?

Many of us have been tempted to throw a competitor under the bus to gain business...and let's be honest here...many of us have let it go further than a temptation! We've done it!

Even though it is more in line with this blog to explain my point through business analogies...I am going to atke it another direction!

Let's talk about our recent election...

ohhhhhh nooooo...here he goes on politics...

Don't worry...I will not go into my political stance!

I just want to discuss the pattern of politics and the way campaigns are run these days!

I have grown up in an age where an election is like battle ship...which side is the least damaged by the other's attack! The one brutally beaten wins over the mortally wounded! It really is a beautiful thing (beware of heavy sarcasm!)

In our recent election I got to the point where I voted for the one I disliked the least! Now how sad is that?!

I am voting for the leader of our country and I admit to not really being satisfied with either party!

Why do you think that is?

It is not because they are bad people...its because they have brought out every piece of dirty laundry out for the world to see! Any and every imperfection and mistake is now the headlining story...not their ideas of how to better our country!

When did winning by default become more appealing than winning through character and insight?

The campaigning was entirely based on the idea that if we destroy the other side then they will HAVE TO vote for us!

The negative side of that is that at the end of it...a good number of people are uncertain if EITHER choice is the right choice!

I use the election as an example but we face that exact same scenario in our sales careers! How do we handle it when we are in direct competition with another company or another salesperson?

Answer: We do so by focusing on why we are the right choice not why the competitor is the wrong choice!

Thank you to Bill Bonnstetter and the TTI team for showing me that a true professional succeeds through customer focus...not through competitor focus!

The Man's Shop

2009-01-19T19:00:00.000-08:00

It's called The Man's Shop! It is a men's specialty clothing store in Arlington, TX and it has built a business around selling much more than designer clothes. I have been a customer of a, well known, men's clothing store for many years and they have always been good but I recently found myself considering moving my business elsewhere.

Why would I leave a company that is great at selling clothes?

Without giving you the name of my past provider, I will tell you that I do not have a bad thing to say about them! They have always done a great job at selling clothes! They have the answers I need about the clothes I want! They run a very solid business and I see them being around for a while.

The only problem...

I have been going to this store for about 4 years and they still ask me, "Hello sir. Is this your first time visiting ________?"

At one point about a year and a half ago I visited the store a couple times over the span of two weeks (we were trying to get suits picked out for a friend's wedding). I spoke to two individuals on a Monday and came back on Tuesday and spoke to the same two...as I walked in they asked, "Sir, can I help you with something today?"

They had NO IDEA who I was or why I was there!!!

Ok...so I have to be honest...at that time it did not bother me at all!

It was like a bad relationship! Sometimes you don't know you are in a bad relationship until you get a taste of what a good relationship is like. That was the case when I found a great relationship at The Man's Shop!

My fiance's parents had been pushing me to visit the store for a while (they have been good friends with the owner for quite some time) so I decided to swing by this past Saturday to see if they could help me with attire for my wedding in July.

As I walked in I had really already made up my mind to buy my clothes from my old store...I was just doing this because my fiance's mom asked me to (Just being honest...sorry Wally!)

Little did I know that my mind would change within 5 minutes of being in the store!

I walked in and asked for Brandon (which I was told to do) and told him that I was sent by the Moore's to discuss potential wedding attire.

The first thing Brandon did was he walked me over to a file folder and began taking notes...

Now these weren't notes of what type of clothes I needed, colors, or even measurements (he recorded those later).

He began asking questions and taking notes on details such as...

- Where in Mexico are you getting married?
- How do you spell Caitlyn's (my fiance) name?
- Who's your best man?
- How do you know Matt? (he began using my best man's name immediately...why...build trust!)
- When did you graduate from TCU?
- What is your degree in?
- etc.

I was caught off guard! Wally (owner) and his team were more interested in my needs than what I might spend!

They realize that people love to buy but hate being sold!

For the next hour they answered any and every questioned I had. They were not sales people...they were clothing consultants!

As I left I still couldn't believe the difference in The Man's Shop versus other stores I had visited.

And it only got more impressive as I pulled up in front of my fiance's house!

As I was walking up the driveway my fiance's mom just got off the phone with Brandon. He was calling to tell her thank you for sending me!

WOW! Small things make a big difference!

I now pledge my allegiance to The Man's Shop and will recommend them to anyone looking for a great store with an even better motto...

"We don't sell clothes...we sell relationships" - Brandon Baker

Thanks to The Man's Shop (www.TheMansShop.com) for a wonderful experience!

A Master's Mentality

2009-01-19T15:08:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago my fiance and I flew down to Rockport, Texas to meet up with my family and spend a couple days fishing together. The four of us fished as a group at the start of the week but on Friday my dad and I decided to go out with a guide. The girls did not go on this trip because the trip would be 100% wade fishing (standing in the water while fishing) and I would have a better chance at winning the lottery than getting my fiance to go wadefishing. As we showed up to the dock that morning, I would have no idea of the life lessons that were around the corner!

Before we get into these lessons, let's flashback a bit...

We have a boat for a couple years now and even though we love to fish out of our own boat, we still go fishing with a guide a couple times a year. We hire a guide for the same reason you would sign up for a seminar...its a learning experience. On this particular trip my dad wanted to do a little research and find the local "expert". It wasn't long until we booked the saltwater fishing legend, Jay Watkins www.JayWatkins.com .

It was a unanimous conclusion throughout Rockport that if we wanted the best, Jay was the one!

We stepped out on the dock, that day, walking up to the boat as if we were about to get golf lessons from Tiger Woods...nervous, yet eagar to learn!

From the second we stepped on the boat the seminar began!

Jay educated us on anything and everything that had to do with fishing...but the real lessons came when we started fishing.

Our first stop was a shoreline where the bait fish were jumping as if they were allergic to the water (this is a good sign that fish were in the area). We shut the boat down and began to pile out. We began wading down the shoreline and it didn't take long to realize that the fish weren't there. As opposed to trying to force something to happen or waiting on our luck to change, Jay said "Let's load em up boys...we have a ton of places to hit today!"

I looked at my dad as we walked back to the boat and whispered, "We were only there for like 10 minutes...at this pace he is going to run out of spots in a couple hours!" My dad just looked at me and shrugged (I think he realized I would end up eating my words by the end of the day).

As we got back to the boat my dad asked Jay, "How long do you stay at a spot when you feel it might not produce?" Here was lesson 1...

Jay said, "Not long! As a professional, you don't wait on change...you make things change!"

That was the moment I knew this would be a trip that might not only impact the way I viewed fishing, but would change the way I viewed success!

Jay then cranked up the boat and headed off to our next spot. As we pulled up to the shell reef he was constantly telling us what he was looking for..."Yep! There's bait here boys...water looks good...current's perfect...Let's do it...let's go bend these rods boys!"

My dad and I were eating this up...we couldn't get enough of this guy!

We began wading down one side of the reef and casting to the other side. Jay was constantly walking and changing his "area of attack" (refer back to lesson 1...create change!). After about 5 minutes we heard Jay say, "There he is boys!" ...as his rod was beant down! (this would be a phrase and a sight we would experience over 100 times that day).

"Move down here boys...they are right over there!"

I proceeded to cast it right where he said (lucky I guess) and he looked at me and said...

"That's it right there! Hold on! You're gonna get 'er with that cast!"

He didn't even finish his sentence when I got slammed by a big trout!

This guy was rediculous!! He was like Babe Ruth calling his shot but saying..."I am going to hit a home run to the guy in the green shirt, row 12, section 114!

I finally had to ask him..."How do you know know where these fish are going to be and when they are going to bite?"

Jay looked at me, chuckled, and said " If you spent thousands of hours out here like I have, you would be able to do it as well! It's not a God-given ability...it's a learned skill!"

I think too many times we see someone that is exceptional at what they do and we try explain their degree of success by saying that they are gifted or just lucky. A couple thoughts on the perspective...

1- That is just a way to justify why we aren't as good as someone else. "I could be as good as Tiger if I could hit the ball 350 yards!"

The statement should go like this...

"I could be as good as Tiger if I put in the hundreds of thousands of hours of blood, sweat, and tears, on the driving range like he has!"

Now, some of you might be thinking..."Talent does play a part in success!". First, let me say that I agree with you...BUT...

Talent is only the "wood"...it takes a great deal of work, preparation, resiliency, and patience to build a beautiful home!

2- It takes away from the hard work the individual, like Jay, had to put in to be so good!

ok...Back to our fishing trip...

We had caught 30 or 40 fish at this spot and we were still catching them when Jay said...

"Load 'em up boys! Nuff playin with these kids...lets go find their parents!"

(just for the record...the fish weren't small but when you are a true professional "small fish" aren't good enough anymore...you begin looking for the "Big Fish")

We got back into the boat and headed to a few more spots but Jay treated them like the first spot we went to...10 minutes and no BIG fish..."Load 'em up boys!"

That's when we hit a shoreline where the next life lesson took place...

We piled out of the boat and began wading down the shoreline...

We couldn't have been more than 20 feet away from each other and we were casting into the same vacinity but Jay was catching 5 fish to every 1 we caught!

How can this happen?

We are standing right next to him, casting to the same spot, fishing with the same bait, and he is catching 5 fish to every 1 we catch!!!! I asked my dad..."How is this possible?" His answer would be my next lesson...

My dad said..."Jason, its simple! Its just like sales! If you put an amateur in the same territory as the professional, the professional will beat him all day long! Its not the water...its the process at which he works the water!"

After about an hour of fishing this shoreline we decided to head in and call it a day!

I figured the lessons would end at that point...since the fishing did...

ohhhh how wrong I was! The next lesson left me speachless!

On the ride in my dad asked Jay, "So Jay, do you ever have a problem with clients fishing your spots?"

Jay said, " Nope. They aren'y MY spots! If they are in a spot that I regularly fish then I'll go to another one. I don't have 6 spots...I have hundreds! Anyone who gets mad at you for fishing in their spot is relying on the location...I rely on my ability! If you know how to fish and what to look for...you have endless options!

WOW!!! I still cannot stop thinking about this fishing trip! The lessons I learned, that day, will stick with me for a lifetime!

Thanks Jay! It was one of the most memorable fishing trips of my life!!!

What makes YOU so different?

2008-12-08T18:00:00.000-08:00

I went to New York City this past summer for a convention. I really do enjoy going to programs and seminars but it can be hard for someone that is new in the business...there is just SO MUCH information. Given that there is way too much to take home and implement, I like to write down key ideas and thoughts that I feel are important to my success, at this stage in the game.

I also enjoy writing down quotes from people because they are normally small phrases that communicate big ideas. In one of the sessions I went to there were quite a few "newbies" in the business and the speaker started off by addressing their mentality going into the business. He said, " I know many of you are here because you know you have a lot to learn and I will do my best to give you more than you expected. I also know that there are some of you who feel like you are the new speaking prodigy! For those of you that feel you are "the prodigy"...you aren't...if you were we would have already heard of you!"

Although bold...it was true!

There is a great deal of talent in this world but there are few prodigies!

Think about it in NBA terms...

How often do you see a talent like LeBron James come along?

Let's be honest...its a rarity!

When we come into an industry we must understand that, while we may be talented, we are nothing out of the ordinary!

We only become special when we begin to do the things that others won't do!

With the talent pool getting deeper and deeper with time we must learn to do things that differentiate ourselves from others.

What is it that you can do to set yourself apart?

What is it that makes you special?

Something to think about:

Look at the individuals in your organization, that are considered the best, and do your best to determine what attributes/characteristics set them apart.

The next step is becoming clear on whether or not you are willing to do what they do...

"The difference between winners and losers is winners pay a price that losers won't pay! Sometimes that price is very little...but only the winners know that!" - Jim Jacobus

Grow Wise Before You Grow Old!

2008-12-08T12:43:00.000-08:00

Obviously we cannot turn back the hands of time to give us more "real world" experience...so what can we do to gain experience? Maybe we should address that question with a couple more questions...

Do you know how Warren Buffett went from selling golf balls to buying private planes?

How did Mark Zuckerberg balance his finals, at Harvard, and the launching of his billion-dollar website, FACEBOOK?

Why are white headphones responsible for the overwhelming rise of the iPod?

While the answers would be neat to know the real gift is knowing why Warren Buffett was so resilient, how Mark Zuckerberg put the Facebook concept into action, or what branding had to do with the white headphones that seemed invade every college campus across the globe!

The point is...we cannot create experience out of thin air! All we can do is to become experienced through studying the experiences of others!

"Smart people learn from their mistakes, however, the smartest people learn from the mistakes of others!"

How do we become students of success?

...We make a conscious effort to become lifelong learners!

This begins with making continuous learning a priority in our day to day lives! Whether it is through reading, seminars, research, or audios, we must understand what makes people and companies so successful!

It wasn't until an interview I had my sophomore year in college that I realized why reading was so vital to success...

When coming to TCU I immediately got involved in a program that helped incoming freshmen make a smooth transition from high school to college. This program became such a major part of my life that I had decided to pursue a position on the director board for the following year.

My interview for the board was going smoothly up until they asked me a question that completely caught me off guard...

"So....Jason...what books are you currently reading? Not for school...but for yourself?"

I tried answering the question like a political candidate..."Wellllll...you know...I am glad you asked that! That is a question that most of this country wants answered by their future leader. Its one of those questions that I have been looking to address since starting this campaign."

...ok...not really! But I did try hard to delay it for a few seconds so could come up with my escape plan!

The fact was...I wasn't reading any books for myself! I didn't even like reading!

After admitting that I wasn't "half-way through Harry Potter and looking forward to 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", I decided to question their choice of interview questions...

"So...just out of curiosity...why do you care what book I am reading? All of your questions have been driven toward my potential position and my ability to satisfy its requirements...why a a question about books?"

The answer to this question would shape my approach to reading and learning from that point on...

The interviewer, that asked the question, said " I understand your confusion Jason but it may be the most important question we've asked in the entire interview. When we decide on someone for this position we are not looking for the person that has all the answers...we are looking for the person that knows they don't... but is willing to go get them! The one way that we can encourage others to grow is to let them see us grow! We grow by learning from others and what better way to learn from others than to read about their lives!"

I think I read 10 books in the next month! From that point on I was hooked...not hooked to reading...but to learning!

I now make it a point to read, at least, an hour a day. If I want to be the best, I must study the success of others.

Call to Action:

Find a book on a company or individual that intrigues you! Read their book and begin drawing a connection between their success and your opportunities!

If you cannot think of a book on an individual or company, here are a few business books that I recommend...

- The Snowball - Warren Buffett
- Buy*ology - Martin Lindstrom
- Wooden on Leadership - John Wooden
- Grown Up Digital - Don Tapscott
- Made To Stick - Chip & Dan Heath
- Predictably Irrational - Dan Ariely
- Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell
- First Things First - Stephen Covey

I will do whatever it takes!

2008-12-04T13:34:00.000-08:00

I have been around the speaking/training/consulting business for almost 20 years due to my dad's investment in the industry. He has been a full-time speaker and consultant for about 18 years now and the one thing I know is that the speaking industry is HARD! It is one of the most competitive industries out there and it chews up a mass of dreamers and spits them out...

When I was about 7 years old my dad had been speaking for a while and he was really struggling! He sat down with me by the window, at our old house, and he told me that he thought he was contemplating putting and end to his career in speaking! I know it was hard for him to tell me this because he felt like a failure and he felt like he was teaching me to give up on your dreams! If he only knew the impact that conversation had on my life...

Fast forwarding about 12 years from that day by the window and 12 more years in the speaking industry...

My dad, stepmom, and I were sitting on the first teebox at the Kapalua Plantation Course in Maui, Hawaii... After we putted out on the first green I asked my dad, "Do you remember that time we sat and talked by the window in our old house? You know...when you told me you were considering ending your speaking career? Did you ever imagine we would be playing golf in Hawaii due to all of your hard work?"

The neat thing about kids is they know how to catch you off-guard!

He stopped and smiled at me ...

Which could have been because he was already down one stroke after the first hole or it could have been because he recognized the magnitude of the lesson he taught me 12 years prior!

He just said, "It was worth it! I didn't know it at the time but...it was all worth it!"

I went on to ask him what it was that took him to the next level in his career and he said, "I had to make up my mind to quit or to dig in and do whatever it takes!"

Since then, my dad has sent that message to thousands of people around the world and encourages them to make up their mind and decide to do whatever it takes to be successful (within moral, legal, and ethical boundaries)!

This was the thought going through my head when he challenged me at the start of my career with the company... Am I willing to do whatever it takes to be successful at this? Am I willing to do whatever it takes to be an expert in this field? Am I willing to do whatever it takes to overcome my inexperience?

The overwhelming answer was YES!!

My decision at that point in time will always be, in my mind, the first step in whatever success I achieve later in life. It wasn't an action...it was a decision to do whatever it takes!!

After I communicated my decision to the team they assigned me with my first task as a member of the team...

My assignment: What is it that, the world of purchasing professionals, focuses on to be successful at what they do? How do they approach the sales battle? What are they like, personally? What motivates them? What classes do they attend? What books do they read? What tactics do they use? How can a salesperson negotiate with professional negotiators?

At least this was the verbalized assignment...

The real assignment was...

How much are you willing to do? Are you willing to disregard the expectations and do what YOU are capable of doing? What can you do to become the expert in this field?

My journey started with me asking myself..."If I wanted to be the worlds best purchasing professional...what would I do? If I wanted to be the YOUNG GUN in the purchasing arena, what preparations would I make?

That is when I decided to go to every association website that supported purchasing professionals...

I read every book and every article on all of their websites (which turned out to be over 20 books and 100 articles)...

I interviewed every purchasing professional that I could get an interview with for over 2 weeks straight...

I took online classes that educate purchasing professionals...

After nearly a month of doing everything I could to learn about this profession and the people that occupied purchasing positions I sent in my notes... that could have been passed of as the manuscript for War and Peace!

It was then when I realized that I was on my way to becoming an expert...not just in the field of purchasing professionals but becoming an expert in whatever I chose! This was now possible because I knew what it felt like to do whatever it takes...and I was addicted!

Bridging the Gap!

2008-12-04T12:38:00.000-08:00

Ok...let's face it...there are many things we can control and many we can't. One thing we can't control is the level of our experience at this point in time. There is a positive though...there are two good times to do something...when you should have and NOW (this is welded in my mind from years listening to my dad...thanks dad)!

So...How do we address this idea of not having the benefit of 20 years experience in our field? How can we overcome this setback in the world of selling? Is it even a setback?

These are the questions we will address in my next few entries...

When I graduated from Texas Christian University I decided to go into business with my dad...

I'll give you a few minutes to get all of the stereotypes off your chest... (most of you are probably calling me an SOB aka Son Of the Business)

To disclose all information though...I was excited about working with my dad not because I felt that it would be smooth sailing but more because I knew my dad could push me harder than anyone else! He knows my potential more than anyone and I knew he would push me to accomplish what I was capable of.

Now back to my introduction into the world of business...

I graduated in December of 2007 and in January of 2008 I was fully engaged in the development of one of the biggest projects our company had ever taken on. It was overwhelming at the beginning because I felt like I was the black sheep of the group...like I didn't belong in the same room with the experts.

I have never had serious issues with self-confidence but I was experiencing a big case of it at this point in time. After 5 straight days of developing material for this massive sales training, my dad recognized that something was up with me. He pulled me aside and asked why a talkative individual like myself had only said a few words the entire week.

Now...I could have done this one of two ways...

1. I could have come right out with my feelings of insufficiency within the group

or

2. I could try and act like nothing was up and have my dad call me out on my attempt to mislead him!...and then eventually tell him my thoughts.

So...I bit the bullet and told him that I didn't feel worthy to be contributing information along side people that were clearly more knowledgeable than I was. This turned out to be one of the most important conversations I would ever have with my dad...in a business sense!

My dad asked me..."Do you want to become an expert? Do you want to be as credible as them? Are you comfortable with being good or do you you want to be the best? If you want to be the best then you must OWN the solution! Not just kinda know it or know it pretty well...but know EVERYTHING about it! If you want to be the expert in a certain field you must constantly search for more information and become innovative with your own ideas! This comes when you make up your mind to be constant learner...and that means books, audios, seminars, online classes, workbooks, interviews, etc. You must make a habit of doing what others won't do. When you decide that you are willing to do these things...that is when you will be confident to stand in front of people and share your thoughts!"

What a piece of advice that was...That day was the start of my journey to bridge the gap between myself and my mentors!

In the next entry we will discuss my initial steps to achieving my potential in the world of business and selling!

What is a Young Gun?

2008-12-04T08:19:00.000-08:00

"There is no substitute for experience!" ...I disagree! Whoever said this was obviously not in Augusta, Georgia in April of 1997! On this day in history a 21-year old, rookie, golfer named Tiger Woods walked off the 18th green, at Augusta National, with his first Masters victory...but this wasn't any normal victory...Tiger Woods, in only his 9th month on tour, had demolished the field by shooting an 18-under (270) and had won by 12 strokes over PGA veteran Tom Kite! So let's return to the cliche "There is no substitute for experience!"

In this story of one of the greatest sporting performances in history we must understand that Tiger had very little professional experience and NO Masters experience, yet he was able to dominate a field of experienced professionals! So what can we attribute his success to, since it was obviously not his experience? The answer to this question is what makes Tiger Woods a Young Gun!

So...what is a Young Gun?

A Young Gun is an individual in their 20's or 30's who is competing in a world of experience and wisdom...yet they make a habit of living at the top!

Now I am not taking away from the impact that experience can have on our success but I am saying that there are many other components to being successful that go beyond our years of experience in a given area!

In this blog we will discuss those components and how to implement them into our lives, as professionals. While I will make many references to sports, movies, and other aspects of our daily lives, this blog will discuss what it takes to be a Young Gun in the world of competitive selling!

p.s. If you saw the focus on a certain age range and thought, "Well, this won't apply to me because I am not in my 20's and 30's anymore" don't go away just yet...

...this blog will also share many ideas of what it takes for us to influence the "young talent" around us!

I also encourage you to let me know if there is a certain topic you would like addressed through this blog because we would love to make this great, interactive, source of information for you and your team!