Do you use the same principles in sport as in business???

Last Saturday night I went on a date with my husband to the soccer (dedication I say).
It is not a sport I would normally follow or really know about. Apart from the aim of the game is to
kick the ball into the net. Well how hard is that?
So I started to look at things a little differently during the first half after many near misses.

Really its about teamwork...
The beauty of soccer is that it’s a complex game where the possibilities are endless. Your proficiency in soccer not only depends on your physical coordination, but also on your ability to read the game, make quick decisions, and communicate with your teammates. No matter how crisp your dribbling, shooting, and passing skills may be, it’s all useless without a strategy. You choose the one most likely to achieve your goal.

The best way to improve your strategy is to play with and against the best. If you play a good team and you’re constantly put under pressure, you’ll be forced to play the ball quickly. Don't do things that you know you wouldn't get away with if you were playing a good team. This kind of discipline will keep your mind sharp.

Making an effort to understand how teams get a winning edge and look for an opportunity to apply that strategy yourself on the field.
Another strategy or tactic in soccer is knowing your role. That's why the best teams have all the players roles well defined
Teams will often change tactics if they score a goal or they're ahead with just a few minutes left in the game.
Soccer is so much about momentum and confidence. The best teams never lose the belief that they can come back and win the game.

So is soccer and the strategies the players and coaches use really any different to running a business?

Prepare,Prepare,Prepare...

Gain the Upper Hand in Any Situation, so what does this mean?
“By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail,” Benjamin Franklin the influential author, inventor and Founding Father once said. Planning and preparation will give you a 10-times greater chance to achieve your goals. It will reduce wasted time and effort, while improving and maximizing results.
So here are some tips on preparing so you can stand out from the crowd:
1. Study: The people who are achieving super status are the ones that continually reading, listening to Cd’s watching DVD’s at any opportunity. They don’t waste their time with escapism and mindless entertainment. They are the ones that have all the data, background and always working on improving their craft. This will always give you the upper hand in any situation. It takes approximately 10000 hours of deliberate practice to master a skill. For instance it would take 10 years of practicing 3 hours a day to become a master in your subject. (If you want to read more on this The Outliars by Malcolm Gladwell)
2. Develop: Decide on the skills that are necessary to achieve the oracle status in your Niche (remember the 10000 hour rule). Everything is learnable and you can master any skill. This will help you to succeed in your business and in your life.
3. Practice: Whether you are a musician or a Footballer playing in the Grand Final they spend time practicing. Busy professionals and entrepreneurs should practice the skills they need for success—public speaking, impactful writing and interpersonal communication. The more you practice the better you get.
4. Play the Game in Your Head First: Recreate the event exactly as you want it to be. What do you want to happen first, how you expect the event to play out? Whether it is an important phone call, training or presentation know what the purpose is and how you want it to be. Try re-enacting the event you’ll be amazed at how your posture, energy and expectation will change. As we know from our NLP training your unconscious mind rises to the occasion. Try it and let me know how you go.

5 steps to creating the image you want in sales

In sales when a potential client/prospect meets you he will decide in 3 minutes whether he likes you enough to continue the conversation. Sales are about building relationships. People buy from you because they like you and trust you and part of that is how they see your image as you represent the product you are selling. Most of our success is to get along with other people and the quality of our relationships. The prospect wants to know you have authority, professionalism and high standards. Style is important because not only does it make a difference to people’s perception of you but it alters how you feel about yourself. Studies have shown that on meeting a person, they are judged 55% on appearance, 38% body language, and only 7% on the words they say.
We are all different and we will have an individual style, even when you wear a uniform the individual style comes out in some way it may be the hair, our stance or the way we hold ourselves. It’s about getting the respect and power showing that you are able to influence and have confidence.
There are 5 criteria to look at when deciding which image is appropriate for you to get the best results:
1. Who is my Avatar/prospect/client?
2. Who do I need to be so I reflect the product I am selling?
3. What is the character I am playing to get this avatar/prospect/client to relate to me?
4. How will I build rapport with this prospect?
5. What research do I need to do before visiting this prospect so I may reflect all of the above?
Once you have answered these questions you may go ahead and decide how to dress and what image you will portray. By dressing for success you have taken the first step towards becoming a success. Style comes from within we all have our innate way that we want the world to see us. This is great if your style is congruent with your market. If your love piecing, tattoos and quirky clothing. Then you need to decide whether you are living congruently with your purpose.
Go ahead look at your wardrobe are you dressing to get the results you want and to be seen as an expert in your field. Is it in line with your Prospect.

ANTS THE 4 PART PHILOSOPHY

Today I heard a great story about Ants and their 4 part philosophy as I read through I thought to myself that we could learn some important lessons from these tiny creatures.
1. Ants never quit If they’re headed somewhere and you try to stop them they will look the other way. They will climb over, under or around. They keep looking for another way.
Lesson: To always look for another way to get to where you want to go, never give up.
2. Ants think winter all summer. Don’t be naive and believe summer will last forever. Ants start to gather their food for winter in the middle of summer. Think rocks as you enjoy the sun and sand.
Lesson: It’s important to be realistic. Think ahead.
3. Ants think summer all winter. They remind themselves that the winter will not last; we’ll soon be out of here. First warm day they’re out. If it gets cold they dive down again the next warm day they are out again.
Lesson: Stay positive at all times.
4. All that you possibly can. How much will the ant gather for during the summer for winter? All he possibly can!!
Lesson: Do all you can...and more!!!
So when we sum up the 4 part Philosophy
1. Never give up 2. Look Ahead 3. Stay positive 4. Do all you can?
“Don’t be encumbered by history go out and do something wonderful”. Robert Noyce.
So when you read this what can you take from this story, what changes can you make to your mindset, day to day things you do, how will you make a positive change to allow this philosophy to start to work for you?
There are many questions in that last sentence. What is important is that you think about the ants, their philosophy and that we should learn from all creatures’ great and small.

Time... Where Does It Go!!!

We all have the same amount of hours in the day. What do you do with yours? Do you invest in the busy-ness of what comes along or do you plan the day based around the things that truly matter?
Start by Decluttering your life, decide what's important to you right now. Get rid of the things in your life that waste time for eg too much TV, x-box and computer games.
Once you have worked out what your dreams are and how you want your life to be there are some questions to ask yourself?
1. How much time do you waste watching/playing TV, video games etc?
2. Which friends/family are drainers and timewasters and you can elliminate?
3.How can you use your time more effectively to do the activities that create health, wealth or whatever you have chosen?
4.How much time will I spend focussing on my goals and dreams and what I need to do to achieve them?
Once you have answered these questions and spent time writing your goals and dream, then it's time to write your 30,60,90 day goals and take it even further and break them down to daily and weekly goals.
Always remember Richard Branson has the same amount of hours you do he just uses his
more effectively. It's the 80/20 rule 20 per cent of your activities should produce 80 per cent of the results.

The presentation secrets of Steve jobs vs. everyday selling

Today I was reading an article from Seeds of Success enzine discussing the above SJ presentation secrets.
Really is it any different from the presentation secrets that any salesperson should employ.
Let’s look at each step closely
1. Deliver a story or statement that arouses the audience’s interest.
When a customer enters your store start the conversation make it interesting, non confrontational, light hearted and get them to feel comfortable. This is the first step to building the relationship.
2. Pose a problem or question that has to be solved or answered.
The customer usually comes into your store with a problem that they want you to solve. This step is very important you must listen to the problem, ask fact finding questions and show the customer you care.
3. Offer a solution to the problem you raised.
Once you have the required information show them the product. This product will solve all their problems and more.
4. Describe specific benefits for adopting the course of action set forth in your solution.
Discuss features and benefits based on the answers in step 2. Show them how it will solve their problem. Be Knowledgeable about your product be confident and believe in yourself and your product.
5. State a call to action for Steve it’s as simple as saying “Now go out and buy one”.
Once you know they have all the necessary information, they like you and trust you go ahead and ask” Would you like to pay by cash or card today?”
So when you look at this all broken up how does it really differ go out today and action these steps and I would love to hear how you go, drop me a line.

Lifes Purpose

Do you just go through life with no purpose? just get out of bed hope the day turns out okay nobody bothers you. Get home if its been an easy day it's been a good day, dinner, watch some TV and go to bed then start the day over the next morning.
Well you would be like most people.
Could your life be better if there was a purpose a reason you got out of bed, went to work at a place of your choice and throughout the day you were full filling your life's purpose. How much self satisfaction would you feel, because you knew there was a difference to be made.
What does it mean to have life purpose,its the reason you exist,You have clarity you make a difference and you leave the world a better place. Give it a try:
Take a sheet of paper, put a heading MY LIFE PURPOSE, Why were you put on this earth? (apart from to make your parents life hell)What difference can you make?
Write the first 3 things that come into your mind, sit with them how do they make you feel, are you emotional, do they make you feel good deep down inside, do you feel like crying? If not start again (unless your not the emotional type and you quite like what you've written).
Would love to know how you go.

"The greatest Leaders Don't Rule They Inspire"

Lead the team and the team will follow. Earn respect with your actions and your words. Reach goals by coaching employees to reach their peak performance. Be positive, enthusiastic, supportive, trusting, respectful and patient.
As an effective laeder get the workers what they need to do their jobs well, it may be tools, time, instruction, answers to questions, and protection from outside interference.
Respect them, respect their rights as employees and human beings. Its important to work with them, you are all part of a team if they do well you do well.
Everyone has a need to achieve, they want to learn and they want to contribute to the end result. Everyone wants to be challenged, when handing out tasks match the person to the job and most importantly stretch them sometimes they may need guidance its about the journey they take thats were the learnings are.
Create an atmosphere which encourages staff to share ideas, the greatest leaders listen and ask great quality questions. its okay to sometimes get it wrong admit to the mistake, fix it and learn from it. You don't have to always get it right you need to look like your human.
Most importantly have FUN.

The Power of Attitude: by Chuck Swindoll

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life, Attitude, to me, is more important than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. it is more important than appearance, giftedness or scale. it will make or break a company....a church..a home.The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people act in a certain way. we cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude...I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it, and so it is with you...We are in charge of our attitudes.

I am glad I read this last night it made me realize that we can sometimes get caught up in the politics of life and other peoples stories etc. As long as we learn from the things that happen to us in our work and our private lives we move forward with greater knowledge and forgiveness for others misgivings.Life is full of lessons "Learn and Grow" and most importantly have people around you who are nurturing, loving and fun.

ZARA, too successful to give follow up service

When is it that a company is so successful that they feel the customer is not important. Shopping in Athens we had an issue with a top that had been purchased
and worn once. When we went in with the receipt and our problem t-shirt we were told we had created the issue and there was nothing that could be done. I had 4 18year old
staff members stand around telling me we had caused the issue.
When I asked for head offices number they gave us a contact. As we left the store we were treated like criminals by the staff and the security guard because we had dared to question the quality. (let me say we had spent a considerable amount of money in their stores throughout Athens.
We told our story to the assistant of the national manager, and she would call us back. There was no phone call or follow up service.
So we no longer shopped in Zara Greece, (we gave in when we got to Paris though) not that the service was any better and I was actually giving them my money.
So when your ZARA and you are so successful and have a good range of clothing (quality questionable at times)is customer service not part of the business model?
Why do we still shop there is there no alternative?

When Time Is of the Essence!

What a difference in service standards when you leave mainland Greece and come to the islands. We are in Santorini and this island is geared for tourists and the service standards have risen 1000%. They know they have 5 months to make their money ch has to last the year. They actually smile! They attempt to help you and do whatever is necessary to get the sale. Sometimes to the point where they get pushy!

The best service I had received was in a jewellery store called PONIROS (meaning sly), he was able to get me into the store try on the piece I had admired, gave me the credibility of the designer through magazine articles and how their business was the place to purchase. He made sure that I had all the features and benifits covered before he even mentioned the price, he wanted me to fully understand the value.
He knew I would not make a decision immediately so he even suggested he would give me information on the island and where to eat when I came back to purchase. (Very sleek). Every time I went past he would greet me remembering my name. Santorini is small so it was hard to avoid his store. Even though I will not be purchasing that piece of jewellery. I admired his salesmanship and I'm sure it will be a good summer for this business.
When time is of the essence these people need to work hard for their money!!!!

Service Is a Dirty Word

We have now been in Athens for the past week. We have found that there is no such word as service in this country. The service mantra is "Like it or leave it". We have been in stores, travelled on their bus line 'KTEL', and visited tourist destinations. If it is a simple transaction they are nice enough, however, do not ask questions or deviate in any way.
The worst interaction we have had was at Delphi wanting to catch bus back to Athens and needed to be on the 1.30pm as the next one was at 4pm. We had a plan, buy bus ticket, eat food quickly starving by this time and it would take 3 hours to get back to Athens. The KTEL man was not there OMG!
He finally arrives, proceeds to answer his phone call and ignore us as if we didn't exist. He has lovely chat with friend still ignoring us, 5 minutes later whilst still chatting to his friend he processes the tickets. We give him 200 euros, the tickets cost 54 euros, he screams at us, it is getting later and he does not accept cards, we are in a small town. What do we do? Panic. We go across road to the Periptero (Little shop on street), my husband is sent to bank, it is now 1.25, no husband ,no food and bus coming soon. The KTEL man comes out screaming at me "where are you to pay for tickets!!!?". By this time hungry, children bored, still no husband and peeved, my reply from across the street was "you are a backwards country and will always be a backwards country!!!!". Finally husband comes back with money, buys tickets and leaves. We got on and the bus was full! after our long wait husband had to stand for 2 hrs and me for 1 hr.

Great Service comes from within

On my flight from Melbourne to Dubai via Singapore,I was dissapointed with the average service we had received. I started to think.What makes the experience great?
There were smiles. They were helpful, when asked. What makes the differnce? It's when the person cares and wants to make a differnce to the person they are servicing.
It's like they were shells but there was nothing inside!
They mostly knew what they had to do, they needed to smile and be nice. But did it come from within?
Food for thought!
When either serving or being served look out for the rapport building. Did the service come with warmth, care? If these signs are there,m then you will notice a difference!

1 HOUR PER DAY

I read something today that was interesting and I wanted to share. If you read 1 hour per day studying and making permanent notes. This is 250 hours per year and 1250 hours over 5 years, this would make you an expert in your field. What a great habit to start. So just think if we had some other great habits how would they pay off? Could you show up early for work instead of sleeping late?, Could you be exercising each morning to get a fit mind and body, learning about the product you sell, Role play with your fellow team-members? Learning information that you may need in the future?
The more knowledge we have the more empowered we feel, the more empowered we feel the more success we will achieve. Go that extra mile. I challenge you to take one hour per day and read a topic that is either relevant to current career or something you would like to be doing in the future.
Happy reading!!!

Fear Is A Dirty Word

Having fear distracts us from achieving our greatest achievements because we play it safe.
Our 3 fears are not being loved, not being good enough or not belonging.
I know you are wondering, How does this relate to sales?
We won't Greet and Approach customers because he have a fear of not being loved and being rejected.
We will avoid asking the closing question for fear of not being good enough believing they will not buy from you.
We won't step up in the store when there is an opportunity to shine because of the fear of not belonging.
If any of these resonated with you, take a different road and act.
Have the certainty to make a choice.
Find the courage to Greet/Approach every customer who enters your store.
Know you have the passion and knowledge in your product and you have answered all their objections to ask the closing question confidently.
Have all the certainty that you have all the resources within to step up.

Are you living below the line or above the line?

We all have choices as to how we will live our lives.
This is based on the quality of questions we ask ourselves. Don't wish to have no problems at all in life, be content to have high quality problems.
When we have the problem(opportunity) rephrase the question in a positive manner for e.g.
positive: What could I have done differently with that customer to have bought this jacket?
negative: Why am I such a loser I can"t sell anything today?
Which questioning do you think is more empowering? If you said positive you are on the right track.
When we think under the line we blame others, justify, have hissy fits and give up. Above the line thinking allows us to come up with solutions.
Where do you want to live?

What is success?

Why do some sales people succeed and others just coast along in life.
The difference with successful salespeople is they take a
different action and feed their minds with information that helps them improve their strategies
and inspiration. The tools gained are used ongoing.
They are around people with similar values who are successful and have quality conversations that are positive and help one another to reach goals.
Most importantly they have the right mindset. They may have challenges but they know
there are learning's to be had.
Emotional mastery is the key knowing when and how to act. Turning negative self talk
into positive.
As we learn we grow immerse yourself in the learning's and you will see the great results you too
can achieve.

THE WORDS ARE YOUR REALITY

When you are speaking out load or even in your head always remember your unconscious mind is always listening in to your conversations. The unconscious mind and ego is designed to keep you safe.
All sentences need to be structured in the way you want it to be for eg "I am going to greet all customers today and I feel great about myself" opposed to "All customers are grumpy see who comes in today".
Talk in the way you want things to be. When you are negative, down on your self and hate everything and everyone around you, life and work becomes negative and your experiences become negative.
WHO IS IN CONTROL OF THEIR LIFE AND THEMSELVES?
YOU ARE
Your goal for today if you choose should be to catch yourself and be aware of what you say. How have you framed it. Is it how you want the outcome to be or the behaviour to be or is it negative and what you don't want?
HAVE FUN...

People Have all the resoursces they need to bring about change and success

What sets salespeople apart?, its the mindset.

We have all the resources we need within we just need to access them.

Have the mental attitude of being a success, know your outcome, aquire the belief that you have the ability to achieve the goal, move in the direction you want to focus on.

Ask yourself who do i need to be to achieve the outcome, is there someone to model who is already successful in this field or goal.

What books do I nead to read, and what are the steps I need to move towards the desired

outcome.

See challenges as gifts to experience growth (even the difficult customers). Choose to be part of solution not the problem. Ask yourself the question How can I look at this challenge to get the best result.Have the behavoural flexibility to make changes if something isnt working.

But most importantly have the courage to make the changes and succeed. ACTION

3 minutes is all you have to convert the customer

Have you ever been into a store and not recieveed any customer service, because the sales people couldnt be bothered, didnt care or had not been trained.
I am the customer who walks into your store:
I will firstly look at your window this will get me into your store, decide whether the store is inviting, easy to navigate and have product that I would purchase.
Then most importantly I will decide whether I want to be served by the staff member in front of me.
Retailers often forget the staff are the face of the company. The staff must reflect the brand strategy and trained to provide a great shopping experience to encourage return business and word of mouth marketing.
The customer decides in the first 3 minutes of walking into the store whether they will purchase or not.
Whats your conversion rate like?

Know the 3 Key Drivers of your customers Buying Strategy

1.What motivates your customer to buy:
-Establish rapport, remember people buy from you because they like and trust you.
-Match body language with your customer.
-Listen to their key words and use them in the sales presentation.
-Talk their language and ask questions in their language.
-Discover the clients motivation, decision and reassurance strategies.
2.Decision:
-Established a need, establish value.
-Help them to see that the product will solve the problem you uncovered earlier.
-Sell the product based,on their values, needs, features and how it will benefit them.
3.Reassurance:
-If you have done step 1 correctly this part will be easy.
-Paint the picture as to how having this product will make a difference to them.
-Close, ask for the buying decision.
-Answer any objections

Resistance to your message indicates lack of rapport. If you can see this happening
at any point go back and build rapport.

MAP IS NOT THE TERRITORY

Do you often wonder Why people think and act the way they do? Why we are all different and how we see the world around us differs? There is a simple answer " MAP (our subjective, limited perception) IS NOT THE TERRITORY (reality)"
We use our senses to explore and filter all of our experiences. Through our culture,language, beliefs, values, interests and assumptions we further filter our unique experiences. We all live in our unique reality from our sense impressions and individual experiences of life, and we act on the basis of what we perceive our model of the world.
To get the most out of life experiences, more rewarding and a fulfilling place to be, let go of the need to be right, or justify, or explaining and of feeling righteous.
Everyone forms their own version of reality based on the information they have, its their MAP.

WHO'S DRIVING YOUR BUS?

The act of reflecting, thinking, dreaming and planning is such a powerful action which will have a positive impact in 2010.
Take time to reflect on the past years victories and defeats, growth and times of procrastination. It's time to wipe the slate clean and design how you want 2010 to be.
When we have goals we can achieve so much more, they inspire you! There's no telling what you can do when you believe in them. There's no telling what will happen when you act upon them.
We all need powerful long range goals to help us past the short term obstacles.
The most compelling reason to have goals is to become the person it takes to achieve
them. To get the most out of your goals work on them, work on your plan and build a great future.
We all have choices: we can make a living or we can design a life.