Inside the WRA
Chairman's Corner with Bob Weber
It is a bittersweet moment as I write this last "Chairman's Corner"
column for the Wisconsin Realtor. My year as Chairman proved to be
more than expected in many ways.
We have just completed a very successful 2003 state convention at the
Kalahari in Wisconsin Dells. Your new Chairman, Walter "Corky" Hellyer,
was installed along with his leadership team. The 2003 VPs include
Roger Rushman, Steve Beers, Mike Seigel and Kevin McKillip. Jeff
Kitchen is Treasurer and Kitty Jedwabny holds the position of
Chairman-Elect. This group will truly offer dynamic leadership with a
blend of veteran knowledge and new blood to stimulate healthy debate.
In addition to the installations, the convention proved to educate and
motivate the attendees. We heard Brian Shul describe his
life-threatening battle experiences and how he rose above tremendous
obstacles to realize his dreams. We learned how to adjust our
attitude, balance our life, develop a business plan and utilize Feng
Shui to grow our business and expand our horizons.
The WRA staff, lead by Kitty Kuhl, once again pulled off a quality
convention. A good time was had by all who attended. The conclusion of
the convention also signals the conclusion of my year as Chairman. My
experiences included traveling to Washington D.C., New Orleans, and
locations all across Wisconsin. Through these travels, I had the
opportunity to meet people, see places, and do things that were
pleasantly outside of the ordinary. In addition to sharing our
"Wisconsin Realtor Way" and pursuing positive change, I learned a
great deal from the perspective of others. In this process it is
evident that you truly get back more than you give.
In closing, I thank you for the opportunity to serve as Chairman of
the Board of the WRA and I encourage anyone to follow in my footsteps.
The experience will leave you a richer person.
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Nominating Committee Seeks Candidates
Are you interested in serving in a leadership role for your state
association? The WRA Nominating Committee is seeking candidates for
the positions of Chairman-elect, Treasurer, Executive Committee Vice
President, WRA Board of Directors Regional Representative Director
(there is one opening in each of the following regions: one, two,
four, five and seven, plus two openings in region three), and 2005 NAR
Director. Applications are now available from the WRA Web site at
www.wra.org/pdf/inside_wra/nomappl.pdf or by contacting Sandy
Bolgrihn at sandyb@wra.org.
Applications for Chairman-elect, and Treasurer must be returned by
Dec. 31, 2003. The deadline for Executive Committee Vice President,
WRA Board of Directors Regional Representative Director and NAR
Director candidates is March 31, 2004.
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The Secret Weapon of
Sustainable Sales Success
by James A. Ray
Long-term sales success has less to do with skills or knowledge
than you might think. Nor are stunning brochures or excellent products
guaranteed to make one iota of impact over time. Unless certain
critical elements already exist in the salesperson, providing training
and tools in hopes of improving performance does nothing more than
giving a PGA golfer's best driver to an amateur. The club itself can't
make someone a pro.
Yet a pro can take a cheap driver and make a better shot than an
amateur with the best and biggest Big Bertha has to offer. Likewise,
you probably know one or two standouts who have excelled without
classic sales training, without flashy support materials for their
products, and even without a superior product to represent.
Then what makes the difference? If it's not remarkable closing
ability, outstanding product knowledge, or relentless objection
handling ... if it's not talent or brainpower or tools that create
sustained success, what is it?
In more than twenty years studying the top performers in many
fields, I've discovered the mysterious X-factor is a mindset: A group
of attitudes, understandings, beliefs, and resulting behaviors create
high achievement over the long haul. Whether you're talking about golf
or sales or any other pursuit, the same principle applies. Ultimately,
the mindset creates top performance, excellent production numbers, and
prosperity for both the salesperson and the company he or she
represents.
Creating a mindset of sustained success requires you to focus on
three key areas:
- The beliefs you have about yourself
- The attitudes you have about your customers, product and
industry
- The ownership you take of your own success.
Adopt Positive Beliefs About Yourself
Positive thinking has been on the lips (if not the minds) of people in
sales for many years now. But in adopting positive beliefs about
yourself, you go far, far beyond the Stuart Smalley mantra of "I'm
good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it - people like me."
Let's look seriously at the subject of beliefs. What are they?
Beliefs are nothing more than habitual thought. Thoughts, and the
words we use to express them to ourselves and others, have
corresponding images in the mind. These images have corresponding
emotions, the emotions have corresponding actions, and actions have
corresponding results. So the path to any result is
thought/word-emotion-action-result. If you want to improve the results
you are getting, you must interrupt the habit of thought and create a
new one. You must walk a new path.
Although I'm not a doctor, when a friend of mine with cancer was
looking for ways not only to beat the disease, but also to feel better
during the process, I did have one piece of advice for him. He had to
begin to imagine himself whole, complete, and well. He needed to
actually spend time seeing himself in his mind's eye in robust
condition. He needed to create a new habit of thought, one that
focused on the new result he desired.
"You have to stop thinking, I don't want to have cancer," I told
him. "Instead, you have to start thinking, I am healthy and whole."
Otherwise, the mind fixes itself on the negative. If I say, "Don't
think about ice cream," what happens? Your brain holds onto the idea
of ice cream like a dog with a bone. You can't not think about ice
cream. So, instead of thinking about being rid of cancer, my friend
had to visualize himself as completely healthy.
"Let your mind latch onto the positive," I counseled.
Does it work? Just ask the gymnasts who are taught to work through
injuries with visualization. Instead of practicing with a badly
sprained ankle, for example, they lay on the floor and imagine
themselves doing their regular warm-up, work-out, and cool-down every
day. Many gymnasts report that when they come back from an injury,
they do as well if not better as long as they've been visualizing
during their time off.
Please know that I don't believe we can always think our way out of
injury or illness. Nor do I believe we always think our way into
health problems. But there's no denying the power of the mind to help
us heal and its equal power to hinder us in our healing if we're
misdirected. The mere thought or utterance of the word cancer must
create a corresponding image of disease, setting off a dangerous
cycle. Likewise, my friend's visions of wholeness created a completely
different picture. I'm delighted to report that, with this mental
boost and other health-affirming practices, my friend's cancer went
into full remission. He continues to receive clean bills of health.
The Inner Game of Sales
You have to see yourself as successful in the inner game in order to
be successful in the outer game. When you give that "command" to the
subconscious mind when you imagine how you'll feel, look and sound
when you are producing at the level you desire the mind thinks it's
already occurred and calls for an encore performance in the real
world.
Dr. Morris Massey wrote about how our mind sets us up for success
and failure. It's as if we've "programmed" our inner selves to produce
certain results in our outer world. Wouldn't it be great if it was
literally lines of code that could be rewritten to create exactly what
we want? In a way, we can "reprogram" ourselves, but we have to
decipher the hidden codes buried in our subconscious. Massey tells us
that our core programming, our most fundamental beliefs about
ourselves and the world we live in, locks in by puberty and acts as a
secret governor from then on.
Another psychologist, Maxwell Maltz, wrote about such mental
mechanisms in Psycho-Cybernetics (Wilshire Book Co., 1981). He
compared the subconscious mind (including those beliefs we've had
since puberty) to a thermostat that equalizes the temperature to a set
point whenever it gets too hot or cold.
Every day, I see this operate in a business context. You've
probably seen it, too. Do you know any salespeople who come in at
about the same numbers every year? And who, every once in a while,
have a phenomenal first three quarters so that by about September,
they are on track to create the best year ever? And who decide to
coast into the new year instead, so they wind up making the same as
last year?
People who are mysteriously drawn to a particular income or
production figure are suffering from Maltz's thermostat. Outside their
conscious awareness, they believe they are, for example, a
$100,000-a-year performer, and if their production gets too "hot," the
thermostat kicks in to cool things off. The cybernetic mechanism
measures the deviation from the set goal and automatically turns on
the cooler to make things more comfortable.
This doesn't apply only to numbers. It can show up in many ways. Is
there anything you know you should do for your own career success, but
you don't do it because, on some level, it takes you out of your
comfort zone? The first step to changing your own programming is to
recognize it. Think about it. Think about why you don't do what you
know intellectually you should. Then start thinking about what's
behind it. What do you have to believe about yourself, your world,
your product, your industry, to cause this behavior to occur?
Some common underlying beliefs that regulate salespeople's
performance are:
- "I need more training and skills before I can succeed."
- "I'm not worthy of earning more than ... "
- "I don't deserve to be a top performer."
- "I am not good at cold calling."
- "I'm not able to talk to (or get to) the decision makers at the
top."
- "I need more experience before I can be successful."
Once the underlying belief is uncovered, a new belief must be
chosen. The new belief can be the opposite or an "antidote" to the old
one, such as "I have unlimited life knowledge and experience." New
beliefs must then be "installed." Specifically, the new belief must be
supported by both evidence and habit.
Start by answering a simple question: What will I have to see,
hear, and feel to cement this belief? Then begin vividly visualizing
these results at least twice a day. (Note: the mind is most open to
suggestion first thing in the morning just after waking and the last
thing at night before sleep.) Many people think that results build
belief, and in some cases this is true, but it's more often the
inverse. Remember the chain: thought/word-image-emotion-action-result.
You must be able to see yourself already in possession of the outcome
of the new belief.
A belief always starts out as an idea, which we gather evidence to
support. Once we have enough evidence, the idea becomes a belief. This
is the process we undergo as children when our earliest beliefs are
formed all unconsciously, of course. As adults, we can take this
process and deliberately adopt beliefs that lead to success.
When I study top sales professionals, I notice they all seem to
think in the same way. You can ask them after the first quarter, "How
are you going to do this year?"
Invariably, they'll respond, "I'll make or exceed my goals."
(That's the belief.)
"But you're way behind. What are you going to do?" you might ask.
They'll say, "I'll catch up!" (And as they work to catch up, they
use each step toward the achievement of the goal as evidence that they
were right all along.)
"How?" I may ask.
"I don't know. I just will" often is their answer. And nine times
out of ten they'll find a way. The results come from their belief.
Champions in any field create an unbending belief in themselves,
program themselves to continually find evidence to support its truth,
then consistently and vividly see themselves in possession of the
desired goal. William James, the father of modern psychology, said,
"Your belief creates the fact."
Now Forget Sales, and Focus on Your Customers, Product, and
Industry
Once you've visualized yourself achieving your goals and removed any
psychological obstacles, it's time to put those goals aside and focus
on the customer. Again, this all happens in your mind, but it has a
profound impact on the way you affect your outer world.
No doubt you've heard the saying, "People love to buy, but they
hate being sold." In today's market, this has never been truer, and as
a result, I believe you can't be a salesperson of the old school any
more. The salesperson's old mindset was "Gimme": Gimme your business,
gimme your money, gimme my sales goal. This kind of attitude makes
other people's skin crawl. Somehow, humans are equipped with
detectors, and when they are confronted with the Gimme mindset, they
naturally respond with the "Lemme" mindset, as in Lemme outta here.
Today's customers and clients require a new attitude, one that
offers something rather than asks for something. In a high-tech
society, high touch is highly valuable. The new-school salesperson
focuses on giving instead of getting, on service instead of sales.
Always a man ahead of his time, Henry Ford captured this mindset
eloquently: "Wealth will never be achieved when sought after directly;
it only comes as a by-product of providing useful service."
This level of service takes some guts. Sometimes you have to tell
people what they don't want to hear. Sometimes, you even have to say,
"Maybe I'm not the best for you ... I'd like to send you to someone
who will be." Service means that you're no longer willing to do
whatever it takes for the sale. Now you'll do whatever it takes for
the customer because it's the customer who makes or breaks your
business, not an isolated transaction.
I recently read that you have a one in fourteen chance of doing
business with someone new. You have a one in four chance of doing
business with someone you've served before. You have a one in two
chance of doing additional business with someone you're already
serving. Think about this for a moment. This means that the existing,
satisfied customer is your greatest source of business. Yet most
people are still doing a lot of cold marketing work. Instead, ask, Who
have I worked with before, why did I lose them, and how can I get them
back? Who am I working with now? How can I serve them so well that
they'll be interested in additional services I can provide? Or refer
me to their friends and colleagues?
Can you achieve this level of service to your customers with a
product you don't believe in? I don't think so. Your desire to serve
is neutralized by a poor product. Instead, you must have an unbending
conviction that what you are offering is of tremendous value and
assistance. This attitude toward the product goes hand in hand with
the desire to serve the client. If you don't represent such a product,
you must help your company get it. If your company can't get it, you
must find a new company or resign yourself to mediocre results.
What about your industry? Must you have confidence in your industry
to succeed? Yes, just as with a poor product, lack of enthusiasm for
your industry neutralizes the desire to serve the client.
Just two days ago, I was talking to an investment advisor who told
me that his results are dependent upon the market. Now that's a
limiting belief! His returns may depend on the market; that's a fact
of life. But his results with clients? Nonsense.
I asked, "Do you know anyone who succeeds regardless of the
market?" Of course he said yes, so I asked him to tell me about these
people. As he did, he began to realize that his results were not
dependent on the market. What a liberating distinction! He ended our
conversation by telling me, "My industry is great, and it is what I do
within it that determines my success." He got it. Remember, the
product and industry are secondary; without the right beliefs about
your own success, none of this matters.
Old Hat, New Head: Take Ownership of Your Success
Have you heard these ideas before? Are you utilizing them as you
should? If not, why not? Likewise, are there other, obvious principles
of business success you've overlooked? How about basic accountability
for your words and actions, taking responsibility when you mess up
then finding new and better ways of doing things in the future? How is
your self-management? Are you spending your peak hours during the day
on what actually helps you achieve your goals?
The bottom line is that sales success grows out of a fundamental
mindset, based on some ideas that may be "old hat," but that require a
"new head" to fit you. If we're looking for a label to capture the
essence of the attitudes, understandings, and beliefs you need to make
the hat fit, we can call this the Entrepreneurial Mindset™. Regardless
of whether you work for yourself or for someone else, begin to think
of yourself as an entrepreneur, as the owner of your own success.
Consider the implications . . .
- As an entrepreneur, would you have to first and foremost believe
in your ability to achieve?
- Would you have to be passionate about what you and the product
have to offer?
- Would you be willing to settle for mediocrity? Or would you
strive for excellence?
- Who would you consider responsible for every result you produce?
- Would you be more interested in identifying problems or in
proposing solutions?
- Would it benefit you to be more rigid or more flexible?
- Would you value comfort or creativity?
- Would it serve you to wait and see what happens, or to be
proactive and growth-driven?
- Would you amble through the day mildly interested in the people
and happenings around you, or would you exert enthusiasm in all that
you do?
The answers to these questions seem obvious. I operate from the
premise that you know what you need to do, and you have what you need
to create a six- or seven-figure income. Most salespeople have heard
all the "magic bullet" ideas and pitches. But until you begin to think
in new ways, you will never apply these time-tested principles. The
distinction between short-term flashes in the pan and sustained
success is simply doing what may seem obvious to you right now. As
they say, if the hat fits, wear it.
James Ray is a master of the Entrepreneurial Mindset. As a
business and life-success coach, he has helped numerous organizations
improve performance through their people and thousands of individuals
accelerate their personal and professional growth. Companies like Dow
Chemical, AT&T, Acura, Equifax, RE/MAX and numerous others have
profited from and embraced James' unique message and methods. James is
the author of The Science of Success, a series of easy-to-learn,
proven methods and skills that produce outstanding, consistent
results. James and his company, James Ray International, are committed
to igniting the entrepreneurial spirit and accelerating business
growth. Copyright© 2000-2001, James Ray. All rights reserved. For
information about James' Keynote presentations, please contact Frog
Pond Group at 800.704.FROG (3764) or email
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