Break the Plateau

One of the best things you can do for yourself if you've been exercising hard and eating right for a period of time is to take a week off.

As you're exercising and noticing positive changes over the course of 3-4 months it can be counter-intuitive, but  a week of limited activity and lots of rest can do wonders. If you do any research on time management and productivity regarding work, everything you come across will tell you to put forth highly focused effort for anywhere from 1-2 hours and then to take 10 minutes to recharge your mind so you can come back for another 1-2 hours, etc. The same rule applies to your body. If you've been consistently exercising 4+ days per week, eating right, avoiding the temptation of sleeping in or the temptation of the office bagels for 12 weeks, that is a lot of wear and tear on your body physically and mentally.

Giving your body a week to get a little extra sleep and not be broken down by physical activity will allow it to recover a little more. I would suggest doing some stretching and foam rolling to enhance the recovery benefits even more during your off week.

Once you get back to your routine after the week off your body will once again be "shocked" and over the course of a few weeks you should bust through any plateaus you were on before and achieve even great positive results.

Workout Nutrition

“A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools.” 

~ Spanish Proverb

Nutrition is easily 80%+ of the battle when it comes to weight loss or weight management. No matter how hard you work, if you're not eating the right portions of the right foods at the right times you will not reach your maximum results potential. 

Before I really dove into the fitness industry to study and learn the craft and become a personal trainer I was always a bit unsure about what to eat before and after my workout. I'm sure you fall into the same boat. You can read one thing one place, and then another thing another place. 

The American Council on Exercise recently published a great blog post on pre/post workout nutrition based on the different times of the day you may work-out. Check out the article HERE. 

Everybody's preferences and how their body reacts to foods will be different, but the general idea of the protein vs carbohydrate mix and timing are the same. 

For me, I workout early morning and I've found that my body best responds pre-workout to a simple container of yogurt. Now that I'm going wheat free (previous post here) and found out my precious fat-free yogurt has modified food starch I've had to switch it up and I go with a scoop of whey protein powder and a piece of fruit about 45 minutes before I workout. 

My post-workout 99% of the time is within 15 minutes of working out and is 1-2 scoops of whey protein powder mixed with either water or milk and two pieces of fruit (typically banana or apple).

Since I've been eliminating 90% of my carbs due to the wheat free aspect I haven't noticed much of a drop off in my exercise energy production (or hunger). If you time your carbohydrates right (pre and post workout), restrict them the rest of the day, and get healthy fats and proteins it's very doable to still perform at your peak and achieve fantastic results. 

If you're fighting the weight loss battle, before you go out and buy a better pair of shoes or decide to exercise for twice as long, take a step back and look at your diet. What are you eating? When are you eating it? I highly recommend meeting with a nutritionist to plan out your diet before you start planning your workout. 

What kind of pre/post workout meals do you find help you preform at your best? Your sharing is welcome! :)

Wheat Belly

About 2 weeks ago a colleague of mine attended a seminar put on by a local cardiologist, Dr. William Davis. He claims that the reason obesity, diabetes, heart disease, etc are so high is due to our diets that are filled with abundant sources of wheat. Basically, whole wheat/whole grains are making us fat. When I first heard about this I rolled my eyes and told my colleague to let me know how it goes. Having a personal training and fitness background I was skeptical...but that quickly changed after I talked with her about the seminar.

After hearing her glowing remarks about what Dr. Davis said I checked out the website, Wheat Belly. After reading about how mutated and genetically altered our current wheat supply is and some of the negative effects it has on the body I decided to give the "wheat free" diet a try for a few weeks to see what happens.

Within 3 days I immediately felt great. My energy level was higher, my stomach (wheat belly) felt smaller, I was rarely ever hungry, and wasn't having night time cravings. There were definitely difficulties, including a huge headache on the 4th day and high irritability. I gave in and downed my fair share of pizza on the night of the 4th day and my headache instantly went away and the irritability was gone. The next day I woke up and felt hung over - swollen, headache, tired, kind of nauseous.

Another few days went by and my "Wheat Belly" book arrived. As I started reading those first few chapters I was shocked to read that what I had just experienced the past 4-5 days was outlined right there in the book. Wheat is like a drug and it tricks your body into wanting more, even when you're not hungry. No wonder I've been eating healthy whole grains and needing to eat every few hours because I'm hungry. By removing the wheat I'd removed the hunger, which was why after even 5-6 hours I was barely hungry. The irritability and headaches - similar to detoxing from a drug addiction.

I've now been at it for close to 2 weeks and I feel really good. I've have a few lapses over the 2 weeks, and my body immediately pays for it with that swollen feeling, a lack of energy the next day, and stomach "issues". It's definitely not easy, but it's also not very difficult. Trying to keep the mindset that this is a lifestyle change for my health and well being and not just for weight loss has been a big focus of mine, which I think has helped me stay the course.

I don't want to go into tons of details at this point, but I highly encourage you all to pick up a copy of "Wheat Belly" and give it a try. At some point in the next month, as I finish the book and make more progress, I'll blog about some other information in the book as well as my results.

Please feel free to leave any comments about results you've had and what your thoughts are. Thank you!

Positive Footprint

“Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you.” - Shannon Alder

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Your Legacy. Given that this is an important week in the Christian faith I feel the need to again talk about leaving a lasting positive story. 

After talking with one of our club groups owners a couple weeks ago I came to find out that he volunteers his time each week to instruct  martial arts classes. Here's a guy that is working tons of hours and is financially in a good spot, but decides to donate even more of his precious time to teach others. He has a passion for martial arts and said volunteering to instruct is his way of giving back. 

What are you doing to make sure the footprint you leave when you pass is a positive one? You don't have to be wealthy and leave a fortune from your estate to cancer research. Giving to others isn't about having the most money; it's about having the most heart. Time is just as valuable, if not more valuable, than money. You won't be remembered for having lots of money, but you will be remembered for having lots of heart. 

Your name and good deeds may not live on for eternity as Jesus' will in The Bible, but they will live on with the people that matter the most - your family and friends. In the year 3015, when your great great grandchildren are showing their children pictures of you from the "old days", what do you want them to know about you? 

Delivering WOW

"Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends" - Walt Disney


"Wow"...how many times have you said that after you were given great customer service? In the present day where service is driven overseas, you wait on hold for what seems like forever, have to go through at least 5 different "press 1 for this; press 3 for that", and then when you finally get through to somebody they sound robotic and unemphatic reading their script; my guess is not often.

The good news about how poor customer service has become is that companies that deliver great service can easily build loyal customers. Delivering WOW is one way the best companies set themselves apart from their competition. When you "wow" your customers they recommend you to their friends and family; and in this day and age where news is spread to hundreds or thousands of friends, followers, or connections, your word of mouth marketing can deliver big time.

WOW is when you go above and beyond what is expected. For example, a company I've talked about in the past, Zappos, delivers WOW by surprising people that order from them with free next day shipping. Imagine yourself buying something on-line and getting the standard USPS shipping where your product will arrive in 3-5 business days. OK, you say to yourself, that's how it is everywhere. What would you say when you get home from work the next day and see your package sitting there for you at your doorstep?.........My point exactly.

One way we deliver WOW at Wisconsin Athletic Club is through top notch service. For example, picture a mother with a young girl saying "I want a water, I want a water", and the mother who is visibly stressed is trying to carry the girl's younger brother in one arm while rifling through her purse with the other arm, which results in items falling out onto the floor. "I'm sorry, I don't have any cash on me" the mother says to her daughter, which results in the little girl throwing a fit....causing the mom to be embarrassed and even more stressed. In comes a WAC employee who grabs a bottle of water, gives it to the little girl, and tells the mom to not worry about it and that it's on us..."wow".......again, my point exactly.

Delivering WOW doesn't have to cost a lot of money. Simple kind acts that go above and beyond what people expect deliver smiles, deliver WOW, deliver positive word-of-mouth, and deliver profits.

What does your company do to deliver WOW? Do you or your people even know what WOW is? Are you given the authority (empowered) to deliver WOW?

Set yourself and your company apart from your competition and put a smile on somebody's face by making it a priority to make your customers say "wow".......my point exactly :)

Stress & Time Management

"You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it." - Charles Buxton

At Wisconsin Athletic Club we have a continuing education program called WAC University that offers employees a wide range of courses from "Language for Leaders" to "Pool Maintenance 101" to "Posture Analysis". At the North Shore club we rolled out our own club specific Personal Development WAC-U courses for 2012. This year we'll be conducting 10 courses spread out over 9 months. Part of my role as Service Director is to work with our Training & Development Coordinator on these courses. Yesterday was our first course of the year, "Finding Balance: Stress & Time Management".

Here are some great ideas that were shared by our T&D Coordinator as well as the attendees:

Stress Management 

• It is the do-more-better-faster approach to living that leads to physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual imbalance.
• Write down some physical (ie get warm or sweat?), mental (ie get "scatter brained" or draw a blank?), and behavioral symptoms (ie get cranky or hurried?) you feel when stressed? Now, recognize when these occur and take necessary steps to decrease stress.
• Write down activities that help you to renew and decrease stress. Having trouble finding time to do these things? Schedule them in as can't miss appointments in your daily/weekly schedule. 
• The Four Dimensions of Renewal (from "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey): 
• Physical - exercising regularly, proper amount of sleep, eating the right foods
• Mental - learning new things, reading, keeping a journal, puzzles, hobbies, uplifting music
• Spiritual - observe nature, practice religious worship, create a personal mission statement, find things that uplift and inspire
• Social/Emotional - cultivate relationships with family and friends, build new friendships, listen to others, engage in creative work
• The top tool we have to combat stress - BREATHING. Practice "belly breathing". Your stomach should inflate as you inhale through your nose for 3-4 seconds and then deflate as you exhale through your mouth for 3-4 seconds. 
• Other ways to decrease stress: smiles & laugh, remember it's OK to make mistakes, don't say "yes" to everything...remember, when you say "yes" to something you say "no" to another thing, learn great time management skills

                            "It's not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it." - Hans Seyle 

Time Management 

• Prioritize. List out your activities. The top 20% of those activities will give you 80% of your results. 
• Avoid procrastination & distractions. 
• Break big projects into smaller, manageable chunks. 
• Eat the frog first - do the biggest, nastiest thing first...the rest will seem easy
• Write things down - don't carry it in your head
• Use "waiting time" efficiently. Those small chunks of time (10-30 minutes) when you are in between meetings or appointments can add up to big productivity. 
• Identify your peak hours and reserve those for the most challenging tasks.
• Only handle each email or piece of paper once. Take care of it, file it, or throw it away. 
• Schedule appointments with yourself to organize and relax.
• Use a daily calendar to organize your time - my personal favorite is Google calendar because I can sync my computer calendar with my phone calendar
• Plan ahead. Plan your next day the night before, your next week the weekend before, your next month the last few days of the current month. 

Don't try and use all of these tips; you'll get overwhelmed and give up on it altogether. Take a couple tips and start doing them immediately. Then, after you've established those into your everyday life, take a couple more and implement them immediately. Over time, you'll grow to be much better at managing your time and your stress. 

Your Legacy

"Your story is the greatest legacy that you will leave to your friends. It's the longest lasting legacy you will leave to your heirs." - Steve Saint


Have you thought about what kind of legacy you want to leave? You don't have to be a saint or some sort of hero to leave a legacy. Legacy is defined simply as something that is passed down to family - it can be money or property or most importantly, reputation.

What kind of reputation to you want to pass onto your kids or your family? In the not too distant past the most important thing a person left behind for their family was their last name. I know you're busy; we're all busy, but your story is well worth taking time to make sure it's a positive one.

I highly encourage you to find time to give back to your community. Even if it's a few hours once per month, it's well worth it. Find something you're passionate about and share that passion with others. Take that great gift or skill you've been blessed with and use it for the good of others. If you have kids, bring them and build that sense of community in them.

You cannot get until you give - you reap what you sow, but you have to sow first. I'm not saying give just so you can get, but the getting part is a nice perk added on top of the story you're building and the joy you feel when helping others in need.

This is a grim thought, but take a moment and think about your funeral. When people stand up before the attendees what will they have to say about you?  What will your lasting legacy be?

Overcoming the Obstacles

"Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it" - Lou Holtz

Everybody has goals and dreams, but only few achieve them. Last week I blogged about confidence being a key ingredient for success: Essential Ingredient for Success. I've been in a funk myself the past two months and in thinking about how I'm going to get out of this and achieve the goals I have set I realized there are only two things I need: 1) hard work & 2) faith. Those two things have brought me through the darkest of tunnels.

The journey isn't always smooth, no matter how good you are and how hard you work. Those obstacles will come en route to your goals, the only uncertain thing is when. Too often people get discouraged by the obstacle and start to either lose faith in their goal and abilities or they decide it's too hard to get to the goal and give up on it or settle for something less...something easier.

When times are tough, when the obstacles seem to keep popping up after you've just overcome one, that's when you need to work your hardest and have your strongest faith. Without continuous hard work in the face of the difficult odds and faith that you will get through it to achieve your goals you will not get there.

I hope you remember this next time you're faced with obstacles that stand between you and your goals. Don't let up, don't lose faith. Work hard and have faith that you will get there and you will.

Essential Ingredient for Success

"Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy." - Norman Vincent Peale

There are numerous characteristics that need to be possessed in order to achieve success: positive attitude, work ethic, determination, motivation, etc. 

One key ingredient in the formula of success is confidence. Confidence is part of what fuels success and, in combination with other factors such as determination and work ethic, provides that initial success and subsequent momentum that leads to more and more success. 

Athletes are prime examples of what you can achieve with confidence. Of course they have athletic talent that's possessed by few, but part of what makes good athletes into great athletes is their confidence in their abilities. I can't remember when this was, but I remember Ray Lewis being asked about success at his age in a sport where the average career is 3 years. His response had to do with having confidence in his abilities. Without confidence his talent would mean nothing and he would be getting blocked and knocked back all game. 

Another example - this "Lin-sanity" phenomenon that is sweeping the world. Lin seized his opportunity due to the confidence he has in his abilities. There was an interview with him on ESPN the other day where he said he was going to go out and "play his game" and leave no regrets. If he didn't have confidence in his abilities he wouldn't have played his game, which means he would have taken a back seat and played like a deer in the headlights. Without that confidence there's no way Lin would have been the spark plug he has been for the team, for basketball fans all over the world, and for people that love that type of "Rudy" story. 

How confident are you in your given abilities? Why not take a page from athletes and build up your level of confidence so you can create your own success. Like I mentioned above, there are many ingredients in the formula of success. You must possess a strong work ethic and determination to overcome difficulties, but if you lack confidence in yourself the equation won't be complete, leaving you unable to seize your opportunity and build your own "Lin-sanity".

You can build confidence by increasing your knowledge of your company, products, core competencies, and competition. Preparation is like the fertilizer in the garden of success. The more knowledgeable and prepared you are the more confidence you'll have in your career field.

Another way to build confidence in yourself is to increase your knowledge in the job specific skills that you need. Everybody needs a positive attitude to achieve success so there's no reason you shouldn't be working on it - daily. Take a look at the job you do and what skills are needed to be great at it. Not sure what skills are needed? Ask your manager or somebody that's highly successful in your field. Assess your strengths and weaknesses and then get busy mastering your strengths and shoring up your weaknesses. 

I've talked about this in the past, but positive affirmations are a great way to build confidence in yourself too. Over time, if you keep telling yourself certain things they'll start to stick and actually happen. If you consistently tell yourself you are a great: communicator, leader, manager, listener, etc you will become one. But if you consistently put yourself down, such as like "Darn it, that was a stupid mistake. You're such an idiot." then you will continue to lack confidence in yourself and never fully achieve your highest potential success. 

Keep working hard and having confidence and you will one day seize that big opportunity that presents itself. Good luck to you in your own pursuit of success!

Balance

"I believe that being successful means having a balance of success stories across the many areas of your life. You can't truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles." - Zig Ziglar

The American dream is a powerful force. It caused more than 20 million immigrants to come over to the US from the late 1800s to the mid 1950s. It causes American's to work more hours than ever and for over 70% of households to have both parents working to live that dream. At least 130 countries have laws setting the maximum length of the work week, but the US does not. And in the US over 85% of males & 65% of females work over 40 hours per week according to a recent study. 

Having goals & dreams is important to keep you focused and motivated, but what's the cost of working all those hours for the almighty dollar? 

Studies have shown that more work leads to more stress and a lower quality of life. Yes, there's more money in your pocket, but money doesn't buy happiness; money gives you a short term "high". True happiness lies in moments that you spend with your loved ones, your friends, and doing the hobbies you enjoy. The more you work the less time you have for these moments. 

I'm not a lazy person - I work hard, but I also work efficiently. You'll find a lot of accomplished CEOs or business people say they don't track their hours because it's about getting the job done, not the hours. I believe that to be true in a sense, but I also believe in balance. Working 50-60 hours per week isn't getting the REAL job done (for the REAL job - read the quote at the top of the blog again). Personally, I schedule my hours so that I don't go over 45 each week. Now, it doesn't always happen, but I've found that time guideline to give me enough time to do my job well and have quality family time to build great memories. 

Stress is the #1 cause of both physical and mental health problems. I would also say that it's one of the top reasons people die too early...think about these killers: heart disease, heart attacks, diabetes, lung cancer. You can trace all of these back to their very first building blocks in a person - stress. 

People often over eat when they're stressed. Over time, this indulgence in calories can lead to heart disease, heart attacks, and diabetes. What else do people do when they're stressed? What about smoke or drink? Smoking can lead to lung cancer and drinking can lead to several health problems. Stress also leads to things like anxiety and panic attacks and is also the "trigger" for several mental disorders. 

Now, not all this stress is due to work and I know they are extreme examples, but I want to illustrate the point that stress is the major factor that starts the ball rolling in many cases. Stress from work is another form of stress that can get the ball rolling...and with more and more Americans being overworked and over-stressed the number of health related deaths will only continue to go up. 

For the sake of your health, find balance. Work hard and be focused on saving and achieving those long term financial goals, but don't forget about the gift you've been given today (the PRESENT - duh). Finding balance between those long term goals and short term experiences that build long term memories is essential to your happiness. Don't dwell on the money, dwell on the memories. When all is said and done what do you want the lasting memory of you to be - that you worked your butt off to become the owner of a company OR that you worked hard and always found time to enjoy moments with your loved ones? 

Handling Conflict

Great article from Club Industry about how to handle member complaints: Give Your Staff the 'LAST' Word

What method does your company train on when going over conflict resolution/handling complaints?

At Wisconsin Athletic Club we train on the "LAUGH" method. Listen Apologize Understand Get it solved Happy ending. The similarities between "LAST" and "LAUGH" go to show you how important it is to 1) listen, 2) apologize, and 3) get the problem solved.

With the "LAUGH" method we also emphasize showing empathy and having that genuine interest in their problem with the "understand" portion. And we also focus on not only getting it solved, but delivering that little extra to get a "happy ending". That happy ending can also be known as the "plus 1". Not only do you want to solve the problem, you want to deliver that little extra that sticks with them so they remember how well you handled their problem.

In a book by Jeffrey Gitomer: "Customer Satisfaction is Worthless; Customer Loyalty is Priceless" (a book I highly recommend from my reading list), he explains that satisfied customers are the lowest form of acceptance. You want to create loyal customers, because they are the ones that actively refer new customers to you and are a positive advocate for you and your company. One way to create loyal customers is to deliver that "plus 1" when solving their problems.

For example, at WAC, if a personal trainer were to double book themselves with a training client and a Fit University appointment (what we call the 2 - 1 hour sessions every new member gets) we would handle it by not only re-scheduling their appointment, but by also giving them an additional Fit University appointment to use, giving them a beverage, and showing them any equipment they wanted to use at that time. We take that negative experience, solve the problem, and then deliver that extra so they're not only satisfied, but WOW'd by the lengths we took to compensate for it.

Some companies have go-to people that handle all complaints, but upset customers don't want to be put on hold or have to wait to deal with the issue. If you're a manager you should train and empower front line staff to handle all complaints and see them through to the end. Allow them to deliver the resolution and "plus 1" without asking for permission. Train them, empower them, and trust them and they'll do wonderful things for you and your company. (to train staff, read the Gitomer book about the role playing scenarios, create your own, and implement them)

Take a look at what you and your company currently do to solve problems or handle complaints. What could you add to the resolution to deliver that "plus 1"? And how could you improve the process in which problems/complaints are received and addressed? In other words, what can you do to create loyal customers that brag about how you handled their issue?

Just Say "NO"

From an article on time management: This is a major reason why people have poor time management in the workplace (and maybe at home too!). The inability to say NO. It is very rare to find people with the ability to politely and firmly say NO. There are many valid reasons for people not wanting to say NO. Unfortunately, saying yes all the time leads to poor time management at work and more work and more stress. 

How valuable is your time? My guess is you think your time is pretty darn valuable, and you're right, IT IS. Everybody's time is valuable, and it's important to remember that given that everybody is asked to do more and more in their jobs without extra pay or with less pay. We all have performance expectations to meet and performance goals to meet.  So why is it that you always say "yes" whenever somebody asks you to do something, even though others are available to help them, when you have tasks to complete and work to get done?

Saying "no" to somebody is like the fear of rejection in reverse. You're afraid that saying "no" when you're asked to help will make you seem rude or like you're not a team player or that the other person will be upset with you.

The people that accomplish the most with the time they have in a work day do so because they know how to prioritize, when to say "yes", and when to say "no".

Now, saying "no" all the time is a different story. You have to give to get. However, if you're always saying "yes" whenever somebody asks for help you'll be the one they come to time and time again - taking advantage of your own precious time.

Help when you can, but when you simply cannot don't be afraid to say "no". How that person that asked you for help reacts is up to them. You'll find that they'll react similar to how they would handle any obstacle in their way. Either they understand, suck it up, and do it themselves or find somebody else to help OR they get upset. Again, it's up to them - how they react has nothing to do with you and reflects more on who they are than on who you are. They asked and you simply let them know you could not help.

Next time your boss, colleagues, family, friends, or kids ask for your help be sure to assess your current situation and answer honestly if you can really give up that time to do it. If you can't give up that time, don't be afraid to just say "no".

10.5 Sales Commandments

"You don't get great at selling in a day. You get great at selling day by day." - Jeffrey Gitomer


Don't let the title fool you, although it's the 10.5 SALES Commandments, you can apply many of these principles to your own life and career in whatever field you're in.

Part of what we do as a membership team at our bi-monthly meetings is an "education" rotation. Each of us will cover a topic to educate the others on for anywhere from 10-20 minutes. There were a million ideas flying through my head on what I wanted to pass along that could help the team improve. One day last week I was stuck in my car in traffic for well over an hour due to winter weather so I decided to make use of the time and listen to the 10.5 Sales Commandments CD I downloaded to my iPhone. I knew after listening to it that this would be my educational topic.

In the health club industry it's easy to get caught up in the numbers. Just like any other industry and profession the bottom line is a barometer for your success and is critical to your sustained success. The months of December & January are huge for a health club. The weather in Wisconsin is typically frigid cold by now and people that workout outside start to flock inside finally; and of course there are the New Year resolutions. During this time the membership sales goals are at its peak and we're running around like crazy to help current members and usher in new members. It's very easy to get caught up in that sales goal and lose sight of why we're really here - to make a difference in peoples lives...by helping them achieve their health & fitness goals.

I'm sure you experience certain "busy times" in your own profession. Whenever the typical busy time for your profession is - seasonal, certain days of the week each month, certain months each year, etc. it's good to remind yourself of why you're really doing what you're doing.

The commandments focus on building the relationship, which is key in whatever you do. If you're a manager you need to build relationships with the people you manage; in sales you build relationships with the prospective buyers; in any career you also build relationships with the people you work with - these principles can apply to everybody.

#1 and #10.5 are my favorite. If you've read any of my previous blog posts you'll understand why I love #1....and you'll understand why it IS #1 :). 10.5 ties it all together and reminds the reader of how they can get better at all of the above commandments/principles.

If you have questions on any of them please feel free to comment or message me on whatever social media platform you read this on. Happy reading!

Without further a due...

Here are Jeffrey Gitomer's 10.5 Sales Commandments I handed out to the team to talk about (the little bullet points were for my own reference so I knew what I wanted to touch on with each commandment):

The 10.5 Commandments of Sales Success

ü      Sales Bible

ü      Not just commandments – core principles

ü      Build relationship, not just make a sale

1)    THINK – The sale is in your head.

o        Mindset determines success more than anything

o        Think it will suck, it will suck – approach w/o smile starts off bad

o        Confidence

o        Affirmations, positive material – “feed your head”

o        “I Think I Can” – book

o        Article…success: 1) faith – God, myself, positive expectations (positive attitude) 2) hard work

2)    BELIEVE – Develop a 4 part belief system that can’t be penetrated.

o        1) company, 2) product, 3) yourself, 4) customer is best off with you

o        Glue of all is #4

o        Most only believe in the $$ they earn

3)    ENGAGE – Develop rapport & personal engagement.

o        First impression – make smile, find the “link”, laugh with them

o        Ppl want to do biz with friends

o        Keep it positive – avoid weather, news, negative stories

o        Begin convo with THEM, not with us (90% of ppl look up on-line before come in)

o        Principle of leaning forward

4)    DISCOVER – People buy for their reasons, not yours. Find out their reasons first.

o        Begin with THEM

o        Establish their “WHY” – dig deep

o        Ask Qs after they talk

o        Talk outcomes – not features (Fit U/classes = goals)

5)    ASK – wrong questions = wrong answers / right questions = sale

o        Qs are heart of sales – uncover motives

o        Ask for their opinion…ask if they can see themselves here

o        Goal = “great question”…known for questions you ask

6)    OBSERVE – Your ability to observe must be as powerful as your ability to sell and ability to listen.

o        Observe leads to understanding

o        Daily practice & self discipline…be a “thinker”

o        “antennas up” – be aware of opportunities

7)    DARE – Have the chutzpah to risk.

o        Risk to succeed…voicemail, asking for sale, new ideas, resolve when fail

o        “Every day is chutzpah day” – courage and action

8)    OWN – Know whose fault it really is when the sale is not made.

o        No blame, no excuses à negative, creates a pattern, and self destructive

o        YOUR fault…didn’t return my call? – leave a better voicemail

o        Evaluate lost opportunity & determine what you could have done better

9)    EARN – Sell for the relationship, not the commission.

o        Earn a friend and earn a fortune…earn leads to loyal customers and referrals

o        Not MAKE a sale…GET a sale & not WORK HARD for success…EARN success & not ASK for referral…EARN referral

o        EARN = LOYALTY

10)     PROVE – One testimonial is worth one hundred sales pitches.

o        Video testimonials (my signature)…VALUE

10.5) BECOME – You don’t get great at selling in a day. You get great at selling day by day.

o        Development – reading, listening

o        Self discipline

o        Adopt and change to your style

o        Sales is about who you are, what your attitude is, your dedication to personal excellence, and sincerity in helping others

Take Control of Your To-Do List

"A man must be master of his hours and days, not their servant" - William Frederick book 

With New Year's resolutions in full effect, and hopefully still being worked toward achieving, this tip from the Harvard Business Review is a perfect fit. Many people resolve to get organized and manage their time better and these tips can help you actually achieve that. 

Take Control of Your To-Do List

Having an unruly to-do list can be overwhelming. If you find yourself rushing around, but not actually getting anything done, try the following process: Write it all down. Put everything on one list. Determine which tasks are easy and which are more difficult. Do some easy things. Spend 15 minutes doing the easy tasks. Focus on speed: make the quick phone calls, shoot off the brief emails. Cross as many tasks off the list as you can. Turn to a bigger task. Turn off your phone, close all the open windows on your computer, and focus on one of the more challenging tasks. Do this for 35 minutes without distraction. Take a break. After 35 minutes, take a 10-minute break. Then return to step two.

If you do any research on time management you'll find a wide variety of methods to make the best use of your time. I've read about methods that suggest spending anywhere from 1-2 hours focusing on the biggest project you have for the day first thing when you get in. Close your door, don't interact, and knock off a chunk of that big project. 

On the flip side, this HBR tip says to focus time on the small, easy tasks first so you can knock them off quickly and feel like you've made great progress and achieved quite a bit. And then focus a small chunk of time on a bigger project. 

Two things that remain constant across the time management methods are: 1) write everything down and 2) divide your day into working segments (times vary) and take a short break in between each segment. 

Taking 15 minutes before you head out for the night to plan your next day helps you to organize your thoughts and form a plan on what you're going to do. When you come in that next morning all you have to do is review your plan and get after it. 

Taking breaks between work segments helps you to remain fresh. You may think that hammering through your work for 4 straight hours is more beneficial than working for 50 minutes and then taking a 10 minute break (and repeating 4 times), but you will actually accomplish more by working less due to the mental break. Your mind will come back after those 10 minutes refreshed and ready to go. If you go straight through for those 4 hours you will hit a point where you lose motivation or feel as if you're in a fog due to your brain being mentally exhausted. 

Every job is different and the amount of control you actually have over your day is different than others, but you have to find what works best for you to make the most out of your time spent working. Would you rather get the same amount of work done in 50 hours or in 42 hours each week?  

A YES! Attitude Creates a Buying Attitude

"Attitudes are contagious. Are yours worth catching?"

Last week I posted about resolving to have a positive attitude and how you can make that happen. For that blog post click here. 

I came across an article in the weekly Gitomer Sales Caffeine E-zine (YES! Attitude Creates Word of WOW Marketing) that I wanted to share with all of you as you're working to build and maintain a positive attitude so you can achieve every goal you set and overcome any obstacle in your way. 

What a great story that Thomas shared about a former manager. You may not be a manager, but your attitude (whether positive or negative) has an impact on everybody you interact with and on your organization. If you work in sales your attitude rubs off on the potential customer and can lead to (or break) a sale. As a manger, your attitude can set the tone for a meeting or for an employees day. 

Like Thomas' manager said, of course he doesn't always feel "fantastic", but he doesn't let how he really feels that day get in the way of him making others feel fantastic (or turning his day around and making himself feel fantastic). And like I've written about in the past, the more you say and think you feel a certain way the closer you come to actually feeling that way. You can think to yourself that "the days sucks and nothing is going your way" then your day will continue to go down hill OR you can resolve to stay positive thinking "today is a great day; nothing will stop me from having a great day". The choice is yours!

Take the time to practice having a positive attitude and sharing it with others...yes, I'm talking about practice! (in my awful Allen Iverson voice impression). 

I hope you're all still going strong on your 2012 resolutions. If you need motivation, encouragement, or guidance on anything fitness or health related (or anything at all for that matter) please don't hesitate to contact me. Here's to making 2012 your best year ever!

Resolve to Have a Positive Attitude in 2012

"Any fact facing us is not as important as our attitude toward it, for that determines our success or failure. The way you thing about a fact may defeat you before you ever do anything about it. You are overcome by the fact because you think you are." - Norman Vincent Peale

The new year always brings about great hopes that "this is going to be the year I _______". Why is it that so few people actually make this "the year they _______"? Last week I blogged about how to go through the formal goal setting and achieving process. Having a positive attitude is a key factor in whether or not you'll achieve those resolutions. 

I've written about positive attitude in the past, but with the new year upon us I wanted to again touch on this extremely powerful success vehicle. 

If you look at successful characteristics or traits as a pyramid, a positive attitude is one of the base corner blocks of the pyramid, if not the entire bottom base of the pyramid. If you have a strong enough base you can build and build and build to the highest of accomplishments. However, if the base has cracks or is weak it will eventually crumble, no matter how strong and solid the blocks are that sit on top of it.

Resolve to be more positive in 2012. How do you do this you ask? 

• Wake up each morning and immediately tell yourself "today is going to be a great day"
• Look for the good in every situation. Don't look at the obstacle and think "how the hell am I going to overcome this". Instead, look at the obstacle as an opportunity. Look for what the obstacle can teach you and tell yourself "I WILL overcome this". 
• Look for the good in every person. When you deal with somebody that is having a bad day and taking it out on you try to see things from their point of view. Now, don't make excuses for the person's behavior, but step in their shoes and try to understand "why". Also, if you know the person well, try to remember what you like about them instead of letting that negative moment get to you.
• When negative situations occur, which they most certainly will, make it a point to take it in, dissect it quickly, and put it behind you. Do not hold onto the negative encounter or situation. Negativity is like an annoying little rodent. If you encourage it or feed it it will keep coming back and make itself at home. If you cannot control it, be done with it and move on. Only worry about those things that are within your control. 
• Surround yourself with positive people and rid yourself of negative people. People that are constantly complaining or are always upset about something drain your energy. Rid yourself of those "energy vampires" (read The Energy Bus) and surround yourself with people that speak about positive situations during their day/life rather than the negative. 
• Practice positive affirmations. Saying positive words or phrases to yourself daily, even several times per day, puts the positive deep into your subconscious. Over time, your subconscious will be so strongly positive that you won't even need to remind yourself of the above 5 items - you'll just do it. 

I'm very passionate about positive attitude because I've seen, heard, and read about the powers it can unleash within you. 

One of my resolutions is to focus more on the positive in 2012. To help with that I've decided to keep a daily journal where I write down every positive situation, encounter, or moment from the day. I do this at the end of the day before bed to put myself in a positive frame of mind before I lay my head down at night. This has already helped me to rid myself of stress or worries before bed (resulting in deep, restful sleeps) and has been a great way to focus on the positive. 

What are your 2012 resolutions? What is your plan to achieve them?