WHO BELIEVE IN YOU?

Of all the successful people I’ve interviewed and studied, almost every one pointed to an individual (or several) who had a profound and lasting influence on their accomplishments.

In many cases, it was simply someone who had confidence in their potential at a time when they needed someone to believe in them.

I’ve been fortunate in my own life to have a number of people who had faith in me and my success. And it’s quite possible that without their support, I might not have made it.

You see, it’s easy for people to believe in you when things are looking up. It kind of comes with the territory. But when times are tough, when you’ve made mistakes and when most people are actively distancing themselves from you, the ones who still express their confidence are usually rare—sometimes even non-existent.

No doubt there have been people in your own life who made such a difference. They believed in you and that helped you to hang in there when you otherwise might not have done so.

When I was in my early twenties, I bought a farm from my father and began farming. It’s not an easy way to make a living. But I was idealistic and a bit naïve. I was on a quest to help to diversify a very undiversified agriculture in the state of Vermont.

One of the few people who believed in my ability to do so was a young lawyer named Peter Langrock. Peter was and is a truly interesting man. He had a small farm himself where he bred race horses. His law practice was quite successful, and he has become one of the best known attorneys in Vermont—if not the country.

For whatever reason, Peter took a liking to me and my quest. He saw a young, ambitious, hard-working kid with a dream and a vision. And when no banks would lend me any money any money to make it happen, he took it upon himself to co-sign a loan. Now that’s belief.

I built one of the largest livestock operations of its type in Vermont and even started a meat packing company. But in the end I was not very successful in farming and agribusiness. It’s expensive to be a maverick.

Nonetheless, I will never forget this man’s faith in me and how much it helped me then—and even now. Thank you, Peter.

What about you? Who had faith in you? Or did you prevail IN SPITE of not having anyone believe in you?

And also, who do YOU believe in? Who have you mentored, encouraged or taken under your wing? I believe we all have the responsibility to pay it forward.

Make a difference in a young person’s life. Take an interest in someone with a dream—or help them develop one. Look for the best that’s within them.

In our twilight years, it won’t be our monetary success, our achievements or accumulation of toys, but rather the difference we have made in people’s lives that we will remember best.

Simply believing in someone—and having them know that—may be the best that you can do to help someone succeed.

THE KEY TO SALES SUCCESS

Learn to Listen Well
A vital key to sales success is listening. The ability to listen well is absolutely indispensable for success in all human relationships. The ability to be a good listener in a sales conversation is the foundation of the new model of selling. It leads to easier sales, higher earnings and greater enjoyment from the sales profession.
Being A Good Talker is Not Enough
Many salespeople have been brought up with the idea that, in order to be good at your profession, you must be a glad-hander and a good talker. You have even heard people say, "You have the 'gift of the gab'; you should be in sales!"
Focus On the Other Person
Nothing could be further from the truth. As many as seventy five percent of all top salespeople are defined as introverts on psychological tests. They are very easy going and other-centered. They would much rather listen than talk. They are very interested in the thoughts and feelings of other people and they are quite comfortable sitting and listening to their prospects. They would much rather listen than talk in a sales situation. Poor salespeople dominate the talking, but top salespeople dominate the listening.
Practice "White Magic" With Everyone
Listening has even been called "white magic." It is too rarely engaged in by business people. When a salesperson develops a reputation for being an excellent listener, prospects and customers feel comfortable and secure in his or her presence. They buy more readily, and more often.
Practice the 70/30 Rule
You've heard it said that God gave man two ears and one mouth, and he is supposed to use them in that proportion.
Top salespeople practice the "70/30 rule." They talk and ask questions 30 percent or less of the time while they listen intently to their customers 70 percent or more of the time. They use their ears and mouth in the right ratio.
Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.
First, resolve today that, from now on, you are going to dominate the listening in every sales conversation. Become comfortable with silence.
Second, practice the 70/30 rule in every sales conversation. Listen 70% of the time and only talk and ask questions 30% of the time.

LOVE YOUR WORK

A long time ago, I heard Jim Rohn talk about the necessity
to "love your work, every single day." I've never forgotten
that.
Jim was wise enough to make the distinction about "liking"
your work every day. Very few of us are fortunate enough to
enjoy every moment of every day on the job. Things go wrong.
People get cranky. Sometimes, stress and tension and anxiety
are life's way of telling us we are in the wrong line of
work, or it's time to make some changes.
But those daily ups and downs are not the same thing as
"loving" your work.
I recently got an email from a friend who noted that his 13-
year old son can be "a handful, but we don't love him
because it's easy, we love him because we do." Your
relationship with your career should be something like that.
Ultimately, your financial success is the result of "loving"
your work – nurturing it over time, going the extra mile,
doing it right whether or not anyone is watching. Love means
taking care of the details. Loving your work means investing
in your customers, investing in tools and skills and
resources. Ultimately, loving your work means investing in
your own future.
Whatever your job, profession, or business, love and sustain
it. Care for it and give it every chance to grow. There is
no other path to ultimate, long-term success.

Quotes of the Week
"Never underestimate the power of passion." -- Eve Sawyer"
"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land
among the stars." -- Les Brown
"Freedom is actually a bigger game than power. Power is
about what you can control. Freedom is about what you can
unleash." -- Harriet Rubin"
"Be ready when opportunity comes. Luck is when preparation
and opportunity meet." -- Roy D. Chapin Jr.

THE TOUGHEST JOB

There Are No Buffers
Selling is one of the toughest jobs in the world. There are no buffers between you and the reality of daily difficulties, delays and disappointments. You often ride an emotional roller-coaster, up and down, that never seems to stop. You are all alone.
You Must Motivate Yourself
Like a front line soldier, you must get yourself up every day and go out to where the bullets of rejection fly. You must continually deal with the possibility that all your sales efforts could turn out to be in vain through no fault of your own. And you must keep on going in spite of this because your profession of selling requires it.
Face the Facts of Selling
Selling is hard. It always has and it always will be. Even for the best and most experienced salespeople, it is a continual effort. You can make it easier by developing your skills in the critical areas of prospecting, presenting and closing sales, but you can never make selling an easy profession. However, once you accept that selling is a hard way to make a living, it somehow becomes a little easier. When you stop expecting it to be something other than it is, much of the stress of selling goes out of it. As William James said, "The first step in dealing with any difficulty is to be willing to have it so."
Open Unlimited Opportunities
Selling is also a wonderful profession. It offers opportunities for the average person that are unimaginable in most countries. Your potential earnings are beyond what 95 percent of the world's population could ever hope for or expect. Because selling is difficult, your activities are valuable and important and they have to pay you very well for carrying them out. As you move to the top of your field, you can earn more than a person with ten or twelve years of university education. You can eventually become financially independent. Fully five percent of self-made millionaires in America are salespeople who do their jobs extremely well.
Make a Wonderful Living
As a salesperson, the reason that you can make a wonderful living for yourself and your family, achieve your goals and fulfill all of your aspirations, is because making the sale is difficult, and often, extremely difficult. And the longer the sales cycle, or the larger the dollar amount involved, the more that companies have to pay salespeople to do the work. When you are selling complicated or expensive products in a highly competitive market, and you do it well, you can become one of the highest paid people in your field, if not the world.
Be the Best at What You Do
You should get up every morning and give a silent prayer of thanks that selling is so difficult. If it was easy, the field would be flooded by amateurs and the amount you could earn would be greatly reduced. But because it is hellishly hard, by becoming very good at it, your future can be unlimited!
Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.
First, dedicate yourself to getting better and better at selling. The better you get at selling and closing, the easier and more enjoyable it is.
Second, be grateful that selling is a tough job. It keeps the weaklings and the mediocre out of the field and enables you to be even more successful.