So who would have thunk that a good attitude is imperative if we want to kick ass in sales? Of course we need to have a good attitude but riddle me this Batman, what do you do when thy attitude sucketh, when life keeps taking a poke at the Castain voodoo doll and when the stars are aligned and seem to be spelling “Screw You”?
Here are 12 ways to give that attitude an enema Moy Pronto!
1) Don’t get caught up in that whole “turn that frown upside down” BS! Get it out of your system, vent, talk about it. If you are angry, call it like you see it! If your attitude is a result of a person, clear the air, say what you need to say and then get on with your money activities. Obsessing over negative things makes you unproductive. So does sweeping things under the carpet that need to be dealt with!
2) Beware that misery loves company! This has two deadly sides to it. The first involves our natural tendency to not stop at one thing that pisses us off. We therefore search for other things about a person, a situation and our lives that can join the “F You Party”. The other side of this is that we love to complain to others about how rotten things are. Once again, there is nothing wrong with venting to the right people in your life, when it develops into a “Pity Party” you are heading for trouble and at the very least non productivity! Remedy: When you find yourself taking a negative inventory, interrupt that pattern by taking a positive inventory of all the good things you have. Can’t think of one? How about being above ground and vertical? When you find yourself an active participant in a “Pity Party” simply disengage, end the conversation and get out of there quick!
3) Express your gratitude to someone who has helped you. Doing so reminds you of the good and helps you step outside the things that are bringing you down.
4) Give: Giving takes the focus off of you and is an instant high if you ask me.
5) Move! Motion leads to emotion! Get up, move around. Take a walk. Clear your head. Throw some cold water on your face. Get some fresh air.
6) Smile and Laugh! Its really hard to have a bad attitude when you are smiling or peeing your pants laughing! By the way, do you keep a mirror by your phone? You should. Trust me when I tell you that the person at the other end of that phone can hear it the same way they can hear a bad attitude! Listen to comedy to break your negative pattern. Do you have comedy playlists on your I-POD at the ready as sort of a “Break Glass In Case Of Emergency” pattern interrupt?
7) Are you getting enough sunlight? I make the mistake quite often of getting so wrapped up in my work that I forget to open the blinds or even get outside believe it or not. I can tell you first hand that it makes a big difference in your attitude so make sure you are getting enough sunlight. For those of you who make lots of phone calls and are sort of chained to your desk, perhaps you could bring in a beach chair and make a few of those calls outside on a sunny day?
8) Music: For those of you who didn’t read my post on the importance of music, you will want to check it out here:
http://salesplaybook.blogspot.com/2009/07/soundtrack-for-success.html
9) Power Questions: I completely ripped off this concept from Tony Robbins. Its simply asking yourself questions designed to get you into a more positive productive state. The brain is such an awesome computer that we truly get what we ask of it. Too many times we are so busy asking lame questions such as “Why me?” that we miss an opportunity to leverage the positive qualities. Think about questions such as “What could I learn from this situation?” “What’s funny about it?” “What am I most grateful for in my life?” Action Item: Come up with 5 solid power questions of your own.
10) Stay away from the news! I don’t know who the genius was who assumed that the news has to be filled with murders, foreclosures, wars and disease but there is only so much one can take of it. My suggestion is to simply scan the news items online or the newspaper. Anything beyond that and you are weakening your body armor!
11) Get something good in your head every day. Read about those who made it under impossible odds here
http://salesplaybook.blogspot.com/2009/08/when-odds-are-clearly-against-you.html inspirational quotes, educational items to help you hone your craft. The more you focus on positive, productive things, the more you build up your defenses.
12) Allow yourself to vulnerable to ask for help. This is very hard for us as sales professionals to do because that wonderful body armor we have called an ego can get in the way of us seeking the counsel of others. To that, I will simply say, sometimes all of us need to get over ourselves and learn how to ask for help.
And if by chance this didn’t do it for you:
How about a full page of Zig Ziglar podasts?
http://www.podcastdirectory.com/podcasts/20533
If that dude can’t get you tearing bumpers off of cars, no one can!
OK, good talk. Let's go sell something!
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http://salesplaybook.blogspot.com/2009/09/when-your-attitude-needs-enema.html
Monday, September 14, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Thought for my Day
“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”
— Theodore Roosevelt
— Theodore Roosevelt
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
20 Mid Day Laughs!
1. How Do You Catch a Unique Rabbit?
Unique up On It.
2. How Do You Catch a Tame Rabbit?
Tame Way, Unique Up On It.
3. How Do Crazy People Go Through The Forest?
They Take The Psycho Path.
4. How Do You Get Holy Water?
You Boil The Hell Out Of It.
5. What Do Fish Say When They Hit a Concrete Wall?
Dam!
6. What Do Eskimos Get From Sitting On The Ice too Long?
Polaroid's.
7. What Do You Call a Boomerang That Doesn't work?
A Stick.
8. What Do You Call Cheese That Isn't Yours?
Nacho Cheese. <--ha!!
9. What Do You Call Santa's Helpers?
Subordinate Clauses.
10. What Do You Call Four Bullfighters In Quicksand?
Quattro Sinko.
11. What Do You Get From a Pampered Cow?
Spoiled Milk.
12. What Do You Get When You Cross a Snowman With a Vampire?
Frostbite.
13.. What Lies At The Bottom Of The Ocean And Twitches?
A Nervous Wreck.
14. What's The Difference Between Roast Beef And Pea Soup?
Anyone can Roast Beef.
15. Where Do You Find a Dog With No Legs?
Right Where You Left Him.
16. Why Don 't Blind People Like To Sky Dive?
Because It Scares The Dog.
17. What Kind Of Coffee Was Served On The Titanic?
Sanka.
18. Why Did Pilgrims' Pants Always Fall Down?
Because They Wore Their Belt Buckle On Their Hat..
19. What's The Difference Between a Bad Golfer And a Bad Skydiver?
A Bad Golfer Goes Whack, Dang!
A Bad Skydiver Goes Dang! Whack.
20. How Is a Texas Tornado And an Alabama Divorce The Same?
Somebody's Gonna Lose A Trailer!
Unique up On It.
2. How Do You Catch a Tame Rabbit?
Tame Way, Unique Up On It.
3. How Do Crazy People Go Through The Forest?
They Take The Psycho Path.
4. How Do You Get Holy Water?
You Boil The Hell Out Of It.
5. What Do Fish Say When They Hit a Concrete Wall?
Dam!
6. What Do Eskimos Get From Sitting On The Ice too Long?
Polaroid's.
7. What Do You Call a Boomerang That Doesn't work?
A Stick.
8. What Do You Call Cheese That Isn't Yours?
Nacho Cheese. <--ha!!
9. What Do You Call Santa's Helpers?
Subordinate Clauses.
10. What Do You Call Four Bullfighters In Quicksand?
Quattro Sinko.
11. What Do You Get From a Pampered Cow?
Spoiled Milk.
12. What Do You Get When You Cross a Snowman With a Vampire?
Frostbite.
13.. What Lies At The Bottom Of The Ocean And Twitches?
A Nervous Wreck.
14. What's The Difference Between Roast Beef And Pea Soup?
Anyone can Roast Beef.
15. Where Do You Find a Dog With No Legs?
Right Where You Left Him.
16. Why Don 't Blind People Like To Sky Dive?
Because It Scares The Dog.
17. What Kind Of Coffee Was Served On The Titanic?
Sanka.
18. Why Did Pilgrims' Pants Always Fall Down?
Because They Wore Their Belt Buckle On Their Hat..
19. What's The Difference Between a Bad Golfer And a Bad Skydiver?
A Bad Golfer Goes Whack, Dang!
A Bad Skydiver Goes Dang! Whack.
20. How Is a Texas Tornado And an Alabama Divorce The Same?
Somebody's Gonna Lose A Trailer!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Lunch Menu Leadership Test
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Lunch Menu Leadership Test by Kevin Burns
Based on the conclusively proven notion of "how you do one thing is how you do everything," comes my Lunch Menu Leadership Test.So who is the test meant for? The test is applicable if ever you are in the position, or even on a selection committee, to hire for any of the following positions: CEO, CO, Mr. Big, VIP, administration, administrator, baron, big brother, big cheese, big man, big wheel, boss, brass, businessman, chief, commander, director, directorate, don, entrepreneur, exec, godfather, government, governor, head, head honcho, head man, heavyweight, hierarchy, high priest, higher-up, industrialist, key player, kingfish, kingpin, leader, leadership dude, management, manager, meal ticket, number one, officer, official, point man, skipper, sales manager, supervisor, top, top brass, tycoon or any other position in the upstairs upper echelon - you know, that place with the gold-encrusted toilets - yes, up there.The test is relatively simple and takes only a moment to complete. Here's how it works. Take your candidate up for promotion for lunch, nothing really fancy just a place where the menu wouldn’t be too foreign to an average Joe. Once seated, either your host/hostess or a server will swing by with menus and say something like this: “Good afternoon and welcome to the Monkey Bar & Grill. My name is Peter and I will be your server today. Can I start you folks with a couple of beverages before I tell you about our fantastic luncheon specials today?”(Jeez, did you order a story? I don’t remember ordering a story.)Anyway, back to the test. Once Peter drops the menus on the table and rattles off the luncheon specials for the day, once he turns his back and runs to fetch your beverages, start the clock and say nothing more. Simply open your menu, pretend you’re looking at it and observe what transpires next. This IS the test.If the candidate closes his/her menu in under sixty seconds with a decision made for lunch, you have a winner. Here’s my thinking, if someone about to be moved into a leadership position can not make a decision for themselves in under sixty seconds, a simple decision about what to eat, then how in the world would they be able to make far more important decisions affecting the entire organization?The key to the Lunch Menu Leadership Test is the following philosophy: How we do one thing is how we do everything. If the candidate can make quick decisions on unimportant stuff, then he/she can likely make quick decisions on important stuff. If the candidate takes more than sixty seconds with a simple luncheon menu, you’re going to have problems with him/her.If the candidate says, “I’ve never eaten here before, what’s good?” that could mean, “I’m not comfortable with new surroundings. I might be able to become comfortable with a little help from someone who’s experienced this before, but right now, I don’t know what to do (have).”“Hmm, I’m not sure what to have. What are you having?” can mean "I will be making the vast majority of my decisions based on consensus. That means I will be polling people so I can decide what I should do next."Studying the menu and flipping pages back and forth several times means they can’t decide. They are indecisive.During the meal if I hear “Maybe I should have ordered what you did,” he/she spends too much time on second guessing their decisions. Likely, direction will change like the wind.There are many more things that can be translated from the test but the key here is if you are going to place someone in a position of leadership, they had better be able to stand on their own two feet, accepting the results of their decisions and not afraid to make them.This test never fails, unless the candidate knows about the test in advance and knew where they were going to be eating. Is it hard science? No, but it is a good indicator of how people react in everyday situations. If picking lunch is a stressful event, good luck on the hard stuff. Want to find out what your sales manager or GM is really like? Take them for lunch. You’ll see what I mean. As a point of interest here, during the meal, you can even discuss with your candidate your observations while ordering lunch. It's a great icebreaker into the whole discussion of decisiveness and can actually be used as a tool to help start a conversation with salespeople who seem to be struggling.---Kevin Burns - Corporate Attitude Expertwww.kevburns.com/blogTuesday, September 1, 2009
Lunch Menu Leadership Test by Kevin Burns
Based on the conclusively proven notion of "how you do one thing is how you do everything," comes my Lunch Menu Leadership Test.So who is the test meant for? The test is applicable if ever you are in the position, or even on a selection committee, to hire for any of the following positions: CEO, CO, Mr. Big, VIP, administration, administrator, baron, big brother, big cheese, big man, big wheel, boss, brass, businessman, chief, commander, director, directorate, don, entrepreneur, exec, godfather, government, governor, head, head honcho, head man, heavyweight, hierarchy, high priest, higher-up, industrialist, key player, kingfish, kingpin, leader, leadership dude, management, manager, meal ticket, number one, officer, official, point man, skipper, sales manager, supervisor, top, top brass, tycoon or any other position in the upstairs upper echelon - you know, that place with the gold-encrusted toilets - yes, up there.The test is relatively simple and takes only a moment to complete. Here's how it works. Take your candidate up for promotion for lunch, nothing really fancy just a place where the menu wouldn’t be too foreign to an average Joe. Once seated, either your host/hostess or a server will swing by with menus and say something like this: “Good afternoon and welcome to the Monkey Bar & Grill. My name is Peter and I will be your server today. Can I start you folks with a couple of beverages before I tell you about our fantastic luncheon specials today?”(Jeez, did you order a story? I don’t remember ordering a story.)Anyway, back to the test. Once Peter drops the menus on the table and rattles off the luncheon specials for the day, once he turns his back and runs to fetch your beverages, start the clock and say nothing more. Simply open your menu, pretend you’re looking at it and observe what transpires next. This IS the test.If the candidate closes his/her menu in under sixty seconds with a decision made for lunch, you have a winner. Here’s my thinking, if someone about to be moved into a leadership position can not make a decision for themselves in under sixty seconds, a simple decision about what to eat, then how in the world would they be able to make far more important decisions affecting the entire organization?The key to the Lunch Menu Leadership Test is the following philosophy: How we do one thing is how we do everything. If the candidate can make quick decisions on unimportant stuff, then he/she can likely make quick decisions on important stuff. If the candidate takes more than sixty seconds with a simple luncheon menu, you’re going to have problems with him/her.If the candidate says, “I’ve never eaten here before, what’s good?” that could mean, “I’m not comfortable with new surroundings. I might be able to become comfortable with a little help from someone who’s experienced this before, but right now, I don’t know what to do (have).”“Hmm, I’m not sure what to have. What are you having?” can mean "I will be making the vast majority of my decisions based on consensus. That means I will be polling people so I can decide what I should do next."Studying the menu and flipping pages back and forth several times means they can’t decide. They are indecisive.During the meal if I hear “Maybe I should have ordered what you did,” he/she spends too much time on second guessing their decisions. Likely, direction will change like the wind.There are many more things that can be translated from the test but the key here is if you are going to place someone in a position of leadership, they had better be able to stand on their own two feet, accepting the results of their decisions and not afraid to make them.This test never fails, unless the candidate knows about the test in advance and knew where they were going to be eating. Is it hard science? No, but it is a good indicator of how people react in everyday situations. If picking lunch is a stressful event, good luck on the hard stuff. Want to find out what your sales manager or GM is really like? Take them for lunch. You’ll see what I mean. As a point of interest here, during the meal, you can even discuss with your candidate your observations while ordering lunch. It's a great icebreaker into the whole discussion of decisiveness and can actually be used as a tool to help start a conversation with salespeople who seem to be struggling.---Kevin Burns - Corporate Attitude Expertwww.kevburns.com/blogTuesday, September 1, 2009
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