Just the other day, I was reading up on the profiles of Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, the expected top two selections in the 2012 NFL Draft. I have always been fascinated by people regardless of professions or backgrounds. I love to see how a person connected the dots in their lives or what motivated them to achieve the success that they've uncovered?
During this time spent reading, I also came across a comment from Tim Tebow, the Denver Broncos much talked about signal caller, who's inspirational performances from the 2011 NFL season - like it or not - captivated the entire sports world and beyond! Regardless of his playing statistics, you can tell that Tebow is a believer from the piece I read. A strong willed individual. In my estimation, this young man is far beyond his years and has a certain calling waiting for him and it's not going to be about tossing a football (I still say he should have a position in the WHITE HOUSE as our nation's new "Youth Program Leader!")
Back to my story ... Tebow's comment that caught my eye came from his college playing days at the University of Florida where he spoke about discipline and how it helped their team focus and achieve so much success on the field. He said: "if you were just 'one second late' for a workout, you were wearing a 30-pound vest all day. And when we ran in groups, everybody's got to make a certain time, not just the leaders". It was a way of promoting teamwork no doubt.
Tebow said that much of his inspiration back during his college playing days came from a movie ANY GIVEN SUNDAY that plays up the importance of a "few inches". Tebow said: "Six inches too far or too short, that's the difference at those crucial times on the field."
It's pretty amazing when you think of this individual's mindset and the fact that he was just a student in college and not some business CEO making this type of statement. So that you know, there are many business executives that when they hire managers to lead their sales team or to even run a furniture store, they'll look to hire someone with leadership from an athletic environment. That is a true statement!!
Most will also tell you that it's not always about the talent in one's self, their experience or the person's size when discussing athletics or business. Those that are successful all have common threads that work in sports, in business and in life. That is the DRIVE WITHIN YOU... the DISCIPLINE... your DETERMINATION to get back up when times get tough.
In terms of "discipline", for example, ask yourself how many minutes in a day do you waste at your job? Challenge yourself to find out. Use a stopwatch. How many minutes did you spend last week in front of a customer face-to-face? Don't count driving, waiting in the lobby or filling out call reports. The latter should be done at the end of your day. Every day in the sales world, if you are disciplined, you will RECRUIT new prospects... PROGRESS current prospects and CLOSE out the existing ones. In between all that, if you are disciplined, you will ask for referrals.
I am a big believer that between the times of 9:15-11:45 AM and 1:15-4:00 PM, they should be your focused revenue opportunity times to make something happen. Your bread & butter minutes so to speak! We all have administrative responsibilities assigned to us. Tackle these tasks in the hours not mentioned above. Same for meetings. An example of mine would be a media station contacting me for a possible ad buy. Interviewing a potential intern candidate. Schedule those times in the 4 PM hour during the week so that you can stay on plan.
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Jim Loria, Career Planning Expert for Sports ProfessionalsEmail address: loria@sfstampede.com
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Saturday, March 10, 2012
ONE SPOKEN WORD CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
I recently attended our yearly USHL marketing meetings in Chicago and one of the subjects touched upon was 'cold calling' and 'number of appointments'. It brought back memories of a terrific phone conversation I had with Butch Bellah, then the Arena Football League GM of the Bossier-Shreveport BattleWings in Louisiana. We both met through Facebook and then reconnected through LinkedIn.
The conversation began with Butch inquiring about my hockey club's first-ever attempt at creating a “Facebook Members” party for an upcoming game. Soon afterwards, the dialogue switched over to sales and learning of one another’s selling philosophies and various techniques. We both agreed that we do exactly the same thing each and every day despite the differences in our sport and levels (pro vs. amateur).
Butch was recalling one of his strategies that he used and how this worked for him more times than not in gaining the all-important "face time" with a client. It came about from omitting the word "Appointment" when asking for an in-office meeting. Why? Because, as Butch was describing, "there are those business leaders that do think the worst when someone is calling on them to get an appointment." Seriously, put yourself in the chair of the prospect: Some do think of "Appointments" as costly time for them to give up? Some view the scheduling of an "Appointment" as an unforseen expense coming their way? So I said to Butch, "How did you ask for your meeting times?" He said: "By asking the customer if they can put me on their calendar instead versus making an Appointment." Do any of us even know what APPOINTMENT means? How the word is actually viewed?
Let's play the old TV Show "Family Feud". Here's your TOP TWO answers found in Wikipedia for the definition of APPOINTMENT:
> "A time reserved for something such as a doctor visit, much like a reservation.
> "An appointment, in government refers to the assignment of a person by an official to perform a duty, such as a presidential appointment of a judge to a court."
For all the year's I've been in sales, the industry members have always - and through today - asked for an “Appointment" as a means to set up a meeting with a customer or business prospect... well, the latter didn’t even surface in the Wikipedia TOP FIVE responses.
Butch and I were also discussing during our conversation about how certain business executives have a hang-up with knowing that a SALESPERSON is calling them and holding on the other line! In today’s world, we all need to shift gears and focus more on becoming a “Relationship Seller” or an "Event Planner". By building and fostering relationships, the consumation of the sale will come more times than not or at the very least, a solid referral will be provided (if asked for). FYI: I just spent some time researching the meaning of the word "SALESMAN” minutes ago and what popped up was an amusing quote from famed movie director/actor Woody Allen in which he once said: “There are worse things in life than death. Have you ever spent an evening with an insurance salesman?”
While we're on the subject of how one WORD can make a difference. It reminded me of a meeting I enjoyed several years back with Pat Williams, a guru in marketing & promotions (and today the Senior VP of the NBA's Orlando Magic). Pat was shedding light on the legendary Walt Disney and what made his Magic Kingdom truly work! Always ahead of his time, Disney branded certain WORDS that became so engraved in the minds of his Disneyland employees back during its startup period. For example, Park Rides would be known as ATTRACTIONS. Employees would be known as CAST MEMBERS. And, even Disney's creative team members were called IMAGINEERS!
Remember the old adage, "it's not what you say, but how you say it?" You may find roadblocks in your sales path every day and by adjusting a few WORDS here or there can make a world of difference. THANK YOU for that chat Butch! Would you put me on your calendar again!!
Jim Loria, Career Planning Expert for Sports Professionals
E-Mail: loria@sfstampede.com
The conversation began with Butch inquiring about my hockey club's first-ever attempt at creating a “Facebook Members” party for an upcoming game. Soon afterwards, the dialogue switched over to sales and learning of one another’s selling philosophies and various techniques. We both agreed that we do exactly the same thing each and every day despite the differences in our sport and levels (pro vs. amateur).
Butch was recalling one of his strategies that he used and how this worked for him more times than not in gaining the all-important "face time" with a client. It came about from omitting the word "Appointment" when asking for an in-office meeting. Why? Because, as Butch was describing, "there are those business leaders that do think the worst when someone is calling on them to get an appointment." Seriously, put yourself in the chair of the prospect: Some do think of "Appointments" as costly time for them to give up? Some view the scheduling of an "Appointment" as an unforseen expense coming their way? So I said to Butch, "How did you ask for your meeting times?" He said: "By asking the customer if they can put me on their calendar instead versus making an Appointment." Do any of us even know what APPOINTMENT means? How the word is actually viewed?
Let's play the old TV Show "Family Feud". Here's your TOP TWO answers found in Wikipedia for the definition of APPOINTMENT:
> "A time reserved for something such as a doctor visit, much like a reservation.
> "An appointment, in government refers to the assignment of a person by an official to perform a duty, such as a presidential appointment of a judge to a court."
For all the year's I've been in sales, the industry members have always - and through today - asked for an “Appointment" as a means to set up a meeting with a customer or business prospect... well, the latter didn’t even surface in the Wikipedia TOP FIVE responses.
Butch and I were also discussing during our conversation about how certain business executives have a hang-up with knowing that a SALESPERSON is calling them and holding on the other line! In today’s world, we all need to shift gears and focus more on becoming a “Relationship Seller” or an "Event Planner". By building and fostering relationships, the consumation of the sale will come more times than not or at the very least, a solid referral will be provided (if asked for). FYI: I just spent some time researching the meaning of the word "SALESMAN” minutes ago and what popped up was an amusing quote from famed movie director/actor Woody Allen in which he once said: “There are worse things in life than death. Have you ever spent an evening with an insurance salesman?”
While we're on the subject of how one WORD can make a difference. It reminded me of a meeting I enjoyed several years back with Pat Williams, a guru in marketing & promotions (and today the Senior VP of the NBA's Orlando Magic). Pat was shedding light on the legendary Walt Disney and what made his Magic Kingdom truly work! Always ahead of his time, Disney branded certain WORDS that became so engraved in the minds of his Disneyland employees back during its startup period. For example, Park Rides would be known as ATTRACTIONS. Employees would be known as CAST MEMBERS. And, even Disney's creative team members were called IMAGINEERS!
Remember the old adage, "it's not what you say, but how you say it?" You may find roadblocks in your sales path every day and by adjusting a few WORDS here or there can make a world of difference. THANK YOU for that chat Butch! Would you put me on your calendar again!!
Jim Loria, Career Planning Expert for Sports Professionals
E-Mail: loria@sfstampede.com
Saturday, March 3, 2012
LISTENING: DO WE TAKE THIS SKILL FOR GRANTED!
There’s an old Turkish Proverb that reads: “If speaking is Silver, then Listening is Gold!”
I am sure most all of you that are reading this Blog are connected in some way to a career in marketing, public relations, sales, etc. You’ve possibly read a paper or two on the subject as well as glanced over at a few other sites to see what the professionals are stating each and every day. Most of my pieces play up the importance of communications and follow through more times than not, but there’s another skill set that we often find ourselves taking for granted and that is simply just “listening”.
Listening is a skill that doesn’t need a degree. Doesn’t cost a cent. It does affect you and I every minute of every day! Thanks to technology that changes by the day, the world we live in at present gives us everything we need to know in less than a split second and has perhaps made people pay less attention to this all-important skill?
Listening can affect us all, whether you’re a college student taking in a lecture; an athlete going over the game planning with your coaches; a sales rep attending a client meeting or working the phones. Heck, listening affects most couples even at home. One or the other complains “you’re not listening to me”. My wife always gives me a hard time and says “when it comes to your job, if someone says anything, you never forget it!” Listening does really come down to conditioning one's mind to focus on the tasks at hand.
Ultimately, we are all judged by our body of work be it from educators, employers, coaches to parenting our kids and yet, one of the vital keys to becoming that “success” in your chosen field is through the power of “listening”.
What made me chime in with this piece today came from reading a past edition of GQ Magazine that featured actor Clint Eastwood on the cover. Inside the article, Eastwood was asked about his life as a child and a special moment in his Academy Award nominated (2008) movie Changeling where the GQ writer was struck by a particular scene Eastwood directed in which a boy sits up in front of a radio to just listen in.
“Life was pretty simple then (in my day). Because you didn’t sit and watch television all the time. There was the radio. Everything was listening, so you imagined everything”, said Eastwood. On the movie scene involving the boy and radio, he added: “There’s an art to listening. There’s not much of it going on in the world. As an actor, it’s the most important single function”.
I will leave you with another favorite quote of mine which is authored by Karl Menninger from the famous Menninger family of psychiatrists (who founded the Menninger Foundation and the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas). He once said: "Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. The friends who listen to us are the ones we move toward. When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand."
Jim Loria, Career Planning Expert for Sports Professionals
Email address: loria@sfstampede.com
I am sure most all of you that are reading this Blog are connected in some way to a career in marketing, public relations, sales, etc. You’ve possibly read a paper or two on the subject as well as glanced over at a few other sites to see what the professionals are stating each and every day. Most of my pieces play up the importance of communications and follow through more times than not, but there’s another skill set that we often find ourselves taking for granted and that is simply just “listening”.
Listening is a skill that doesn’t need a degree. Doesn’t cost a cent. It does affect you and I every minute of every day! Thanks to technology that changes by the day, the world we live in at present gives us everything we need to know in less than a split second and has perhaps made people pay less attention to this all-important skill?
Listening can affect us all, whether you’re a college student taking in a lecture; an athlete going over the game planning with your coaches; a sales rep attending a client meeting or working the phones. Heck, listening affects most couples even at home. One or the other complains “you’re not listening to me”. My wife always gives me a hard time and says “when it comes to your job, if someone says anything, you never forget it!” Listening does really come down to conditioning one's mind to focus on the tasks at hand.
Ultimately, we are all judged by our body of work be it from educators, employers, coaches to parenting our kids and yet, one of the vital keys to becoming that “success” in your chosen field is through the power of “listening”.
What made me chime in with this piece today came from reading a past edition of GQ Magazine that featured actor Clint Eastwood on the cover. Inside the article, Eastwood was asked about his life as a child and a special moment in his Academy Award nominated (2008) movie Changeling where the GQ writer was struck by a particular scene Eastwood directed in which a boy sits up in front of a radio to just listen in.
“Life was pretty simple then (in my day). Because you didn’t sit and watch television all the time. There was the radio. Everything was listening, so you imagined everything”, said Eastwood. On the movie scene involving the boy and radio, he added: “There’s an art to listening. There’s not much of it going on in the world. As an actor, it’s the most important single function”.
I will leave you with another favorite quote of mine which is authored by Karl Menninger from the famous Menninger family of psychiatrists (who founded the Menninger Foundation and the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas). He once said: "Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. The friends who listen to us are the ones we move toward. When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand."
Jim Loria, Career Planning Expert for Sports Professionals
Email address: loria@sfstampede.com
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