Salesmanship Corner by Jeffrey Gitomer - You don’t “get” respect, you “earn” it!

In 1978, Rodney Dangerfield burst onto the comedy scene claiming he “got no respect.” That theme earned him millions of laughs, and millions of dollars. The reason is the theme resonated with his audience, many of whom also got no respect. No respect from their employer, family members, or customers. Rodney was their champion, their anti-hero.

How respected are you?
How respectful are you?
How well do you believe you command the respect of others?

Respect is not defined in a dictionary. It’s intangible. It’s a feeling. And it’s an earned position. Contrary to popular belief, bosses do not command respect; they earn respect. And bosses who do not earn the respect of their people, have a high employee turnover rate and wonder why.

Respect is earned by words, and by actions. Things like keeping your promises or proactively providing service. Things like becoming more personally involved with the success of your customer, or taking responsibility when responsibility is not really yours.

It’s the extra effort. It’s the extra mile. It’s the extra measure of sincere effort that you put into your dialogue or your process. Others can sense that you care about them, and will respect that effort. Very few people will actually say, “I respect you.” Rather, they will do things that prove their respect without ever having to say the word. Things like placing an order, placing a second order, or giving you a referral. Even things like taking your phone call, or returning your phone call, show respect.

One of the keys to respect is the word personal. How personal are you in your actions? How personal are you in your communication? The more personal you are with others, the more respect you will earn.

But there is a secret to respect. If you master this secret you will be able to create respectful atmospheres in any environment you encounter. The secret is: In order to earn the respect of others, you must first respect yourself.

This means you have to have confidence in yourself. You have to like what you do. You have to be willing to serve. You have to like yourself. And you have to love yourself. Like and love are two separate issues. You may like yourself for how you look, or how you sell, or how you communicate, but you love yourself for who you are, what you believe in, and what or who you seek to become.

Loving yourself gives you the ultimate opportunity to respect yourself. I’m not saying that you have to be a goody two-shoes, I’m certainly not, and I have a TON of respect for myself. What it means is doing the right things for yourself, taking the right actions for yourself, and loving yourself enough that its evident when you enter a room, evident that your expressions come as much from your heart as they do from your mind, and the same with your actions.

I challenge you to spend one day in retrospect. Take a flip chart and begin to document all the good things that you’ve done for yourself, and all the good things that you’ve done for others. Be real enough with yourself to admit what you like about yourself, and what you love about yourself.

Then document what you need to change about yourself that will make you better and stronger. Maybe your self-respect suffers from the way you see yourself in the mirror, or some of the personal choices that you make. Maybe it’s your environment. But whatever it is, if you don’t acknowledge it, you will never be able to change it or enhance it. You’ll never be able to grow in earning respect from others until you grow in respecting yourself.

One of the most interesting parts of respect is there’s no measuring tool, there’s no “How much do you respect me?” Respect begins with an opportunity, and ends with reality. You can only get it by earning it, and it can only grow slowly over time.

The secret is easy. Do the right thing all the time and respect will be yours. Say the right words, take the right actions, and believe in your heart that you’re doing the best you can do -- for yourself first, and for others second.

For a bit more on the secret elements of self-respect, go to www.gitomer.com and enter the word RESPECT in the GitBit box.

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Little Red Book of Selling and eight other business books on sales, customer loyalty, and personal development. President of Charlotte-based Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts Internet training programs on sales, customer loyalty, and personal development at www.trainone.com. Jeffrey conducts more than 100 personalized, customized seminars and keynotes a year. To find out more, visit www.gitomer.com. Jeffrey can be reached at 704.333.1112 or by e-mail at salesman@gitomer.com

Salesmanship Corner by Laura Laaman - 7 Ways to Recession Proof Your Sales

I am not usually one who thinks, let alone says the "R" word. (OK, I'll say it once so we're all on the same page -- recession.) Even if you believe we are only in the midst of a challenged economy, you have two choices: stick your head in the sand or figure out a way to turn it into opportunity.

Here are seven powerful strategies to make you more money in this and any economy:

1. Make your vision clearer. Take the time to figure out what you want to end up with this year. How much money will you earn? How much will you save? Where will you vacation? This may seem crazy, especially if you are resigning yourself to earning less this year. Heck, maybe you're just hoping you won't be laid off. But by not taking the time to go through this mental exercise -- imprinting your mind with positive visions -- you are more susceptible to buy into the negative news and start making excuses. Before you know it, your fears become reality. Remember, top salespeople are almost never laid off, and if they are, they're scooped up quickly.

2. Develop an arsenal of recession-proof knowledge, techniques and strategies. Your mind is your most powerful asset. Now is the perfect time to put your brain into revenue boot camp! Commit to reading at least one article a day, a business book a week and attend one seminar per month. This may seem daunting, but business books are generally easy to read. Good seminars are filled with ideas and techniques and they're motivating. Increased motivation will make it easier to do the necessary steps to propel your success.

3. Make your body stronger. If you want to make millions (or billions), start treating your body like the multimillion dollar machine that it is. If you don't exercise, start. This will not only make you more fit physically, you'll look better, feel better and reduce stress. Already working out? Add something new. How about kick-boxing, or weight training? Making your body stronger will start the blood and endorphins flowing, allowing you to mentally perform better than ever.

4. Reduce stress. No one is immune from stress -- especially in this economy. But smart people implement a few powerful stress-busters. Yoga can lead to reduced stress, sounder sleep, lower blood pressure, and more. Be brave enough to attend a class and consider including your family. If I can't convince you about yoga, a few other suggestion: take a relaxing walk; give out 10 complements a day; make a point to laugh with (not at) your family and friends.

5. Prospect more. Now is the time to turn up the heat on prospecting. Sure, it makes sense that you're going to hear more rejection with a struggling economy, but there are lots of reasons to plow ahead. Foolish salespeople are going to cut back on prospecting and leaving a window open for disciplined people like you. The No. 1 reason that salespeople don't prospect is that they are afraid to hear "no." By working on your skills, you won't be hearing as many no's.

6. Diversify your prospects. If you're depending on one industry that's being hit hard by the slowdown, you're in big trouble. Diversification is smart financial advice and equally smart prospecting advice. If you think you're limited to one industry, look for other sales avenues within it. I worked with a concrete-mixer manufacturer during a challenged economy. Even though it seemed in direct conflict to our business, we got into the used-mixer business. Thank goodness we did. I ended up closing a deal that netted the company more than $500,000 and kept it financially viable during a time when other manufacturers were going out of business.

7. Make your product as financially appealing as possible. It's easier than ever for customers to say, "I'll have to think about it. I'm not sure we can afford it." Rather than start price-slashing, sharpen your sales skills to overcome predictable objections, such as cutbacks in budgets. Offering extended payment terms, discounts for larger purchases and even gifts with purchase are all proven strategies to boost business.

Countless people will create great wealth during this economy. Implementing these tips will help ensure that you're one of them.

Sincerely,

Laura Laaman

Salesmanship by Zig Ziglar - Moving Up (Part One of a Two-Part Series)

Where You Start Is Not Important - It's Where You Go That Counts

Dave Longaberger graduated from high school at age 20. He repeated first grade and three-peated fifth grade. He read at the eighth grade level, stuttered, and had epilepsy. Dave died in 1999, but the company he founded, Longaberger Baskets, is still growing strong and is a multi-million dollar business. How did it happen?

Dave had a lot of positives going for him. He was possessed of an entrepreneurial spirit. As a child he worked so many jobs his family called him the "twenty-five-cent millionaire." He learned many important lessons from his jobs. As a seven-year-old in a grocery store he learned that the way to please the boss was to figure out what the boss wanted and get it done.

Next, he studied people and learned about them from every job. Examples: Work could be fun and he did a better job when he enjoyed his work. The more the people he dealt with liked him, the more likely they were to continue doing business with him. In the Army he learned about uniformity, control, consistency, and Central Headquarters.

He also learned how to become a risk-taker and not a gambler. For example, he opened a tiny restaurant on a shoestring. On opening day he had $135 which he used to buy the first day's breakfast fixings. After breakfast, he had enough money to buy supplies for lunch, and then he used the money he made from lunch to buy dinner preparations. That's starting a business on bare bones!

Later, Dave bought a grocery store and ran it very successfully. All the time he was preparing for bigger and better things. That's the subject of next week’s column. In the meantime, learn the lessons that Dave learned on the way up and I'll SEE YOU AT THE TOP!


Zig Ziglar is a motivator and teacher. He is the author of 26 books and loved by millions of people world wide for his practical wisdom and his gift of hope.