Salesmanship Corner by Jeff Gitomer - How good at sales are you? Look at your report card!

Every salesperson, you included, gets a report card – every day.

Most salespeople, you included, ignore it.

Every time a customer gives you an order, they’re grading you for your quality, your value, and how you compare against what else is out there in the market. You get an “A” – or should I say, you get an “O” for outstanding job, and order.

The rest of the report card you get from customers and prospects requires listening and understanding, thinking and observing -- discerning is the word. It means to perceive or recognize something barely visible to others.

You don’t jump for joy because you got an order. Well, maybe you do. But you should celebrate that you were chosen above all others, because of perceived value, and perceived quality.

Grading yourself on a sale is an easy grade.

What about your other grades?

No one actually gives you a card with grades on it – prospects and customers will tell you how you’re doing by their words and actions.

For example, when a prospective customer says, “Great question! No one ever asked me that before,” that is an EXCELLENT grade. Try to get at least one of those per day.

Or, an existing customer says, “WOW!” when proactively responding to a service call they placed an hour ago to comment on what happened. That is an EXCELLENT grade. Try to get at least one of those per week.

Then there are the subtle grades. Grades that prove you’re making progress, and you have the customer’s attention. When the customer or the prospect says, “I didn’t know that,” or they say, “I’m glad you told me that,” or better, they say, “I wish we had more suppliers like you.” That is high praise. A great grade.

Music to your ears should be when a customer says, “I wish all salespeople I talk to were as good as you.” That’s not praise. That’s a blessing.

Here are some other positive grades based on your customer’s actions:

• They think of more ways to use your business or your products BEFORE you suggest them.

• They call YOU to say thanks.

• They smile when they talk to you.

• They call you to praise an individual in your company.

• You get a testimonial letter – unsolicited.

• You are invited to join an inside supplier group (asked to participate or speak).

• They ask you out for lunch.

• They offer you tickets, or ask you to an event.

All good marks – some great marks. Some of these marks may indicate that loyalty is emerging. And more important, that bidding on the next order may not be necessary. The above marks (and remarks) are reserved for value providers.

But there are also REALITY MARKS on your report card. I gave you all the pretty ones, all the nice ones. Now it’s time for the bad ones:

• No return phone call.

• They told you your price was too high.

• They stood you up for an appointment.

• You got hung up on.

• The prospect refused a meeting or an appointment.

• You got underbid.

• You got outsold.

There are lots of others, but I think you get the idea.

NOTE WELL: You don’t get a “B” for a bad mark – you get a ZERO. Unless you BLAME. Not only is there no mark for blaming, there is no reason for blaming. If you blame, you get a SUB-zero rating for not taking responsibility.

Back to the good marks. You never get the bad ones anyway, right?

There are three TOP marks. Here are the biggest three marks and most profitable marks you can get on your sales AND profit report card:

MARK ONE: You get an unsolicited re-order. What a profitable and rewarding surprise. You got it because you earned it. TOP MARK.

MARK TWO: You get an unsolicited referral. One of your customers has urged a potential customer to call you with a desire to do business. This is a REAL high mark. It means your customer is willing to risk a business relationship with someone else, in favor of the trust they have for you. TOP MARK.

MARK THREE: You become a trusted advisor to your customer. I have a few ways to determine this status. Go to www.gitomer.com, register if you’re a first-time visitor, and enter the words MARK THREE 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

Leadership Corner by Dr. John C. Maxwell - Lessons from Basketball's Greatest Coach

At 97 years of age, John Wooden is a legend in the coaching profession. In 1999, ESPN named him The Greatest Coach of the 20th Century.

The list of honors garnered by Coach Wooden during his coaching career is unrivaled.

• Over the course of twelve years, his UCLA Bruins basketball teams won ten NCAA Championships, including an astonishing seven in a row from 1967 to 1973. For comparison's sake, no other men's coach has won more than 4 NCAA titles.
• He led his teams to four undefeated seasons; no other coach has had more than one undefeated season.
• His teams set a record by winning 88 games in a row, including 38 in a row in the NCAA Tournament.

Winning: More than the score

After glancing at Coach Wooden's record, a person may be misled into thinking Coach Wooden was a man preoccupied with winning. However, nothing could be further from the truth. For Coach Wooden, competition was never about comparing his team to the opposing squad. Despite all of the victories, trophies, and championships, Coach Wooden never spoke to his team about winning.

John Wooden was college basketball's greatest coach because he kept score differently than any other coach. Rather than measuring success in terms of wins and losses, he focused relentlessly on potential and improvement. Coach Wooden would grow livid if his players loafed when the team was ahead by 20 points, and he could be thrilled with his team's performance - even when they lost by 20 points.

Leadership Application: When businesses focus exclusively on market share or the bottom line, they run the risk of overlooking or undervaluing the people, processes, and systems that drive results.

Practice: Not perfection, but preparation

When questioned by reporters about missing team practices, current NBA star Allen Iverson gave a disdainful tirade on the pettiness of practice. "We're sitting here, and I'm supposed to be the franchise player, and we're talking about practice. I mean, listen, we're sitting here talking about practice, not a game... how silly is that?"

For many sports fans, Iverson's comments were emblematic of the arrogance and me-first attitude of an athlete in the National Basketball Association. If nothing else, his words revealed his underlying attitude: I'm an NBA superstar; I've arrived; I'm good enough to skip practice; practice doesn't matter, it's my performance on game day that counts.

To John Wooden, such an attitude would have been reprehensible. Coach Wooden's style was best noted for his keen attention to detail and the rigors of his practice regimen. In his words, "If you prepare properly, you may be outscored but you will never lose. You always win when you make the full effort to do the best of which you're capable."

For Coach Wooden, winning happened when the stands were empty and the spectators absent. He loved the day-by-day discipline of practice. By convincing his team to give their best effort at practice, he coached them to perform at a higher level than opponents. As a result, he enjoyed unprecedented success when games were played and championships were on the line.

Leadership Application: Challenge your people to give top effort every day, and prepare to the point of excess. If you don't tolerate sloppiness when the team prepares, then they will perform better in pressure situations.

Peak Performers: More than Talent

John Wooden gained an advantage over other coaches because he had a superior method of selecting players. While most recruiters scoured high school gyms solely in search of talent and athleticism, Coach Wooden began his search from a different vantage point.

When selecting players, Coach Wooden's primary consideration was the student's transcript. For him, a student's discipline in the classroom spoke volumes about the young man's priorities. Coach Wooden wanted players who recognized their primary responsibility was to earn a college degree rather than excel on the court.

When evaluating potential recruits, John Wooden's second criterion was the student's family life. Did the student respect his parents or guardians? Did the student treat his siblings kindly? By looking into a potential player's family life, Coach Wooden measured the player's ability to build healthy relationships. He knew relational skills were essential for establishing teamwork and camaraderie.

John Wooden's third consideration when selecting talent was the composite evaluation of six coaches. He was leery of basing his analysis on a single performance. By diligently consulting the opinion of six coaches, Coach Wooden measured consistency. He wanted to avoid selecting players who gave top effort one night only to withhold it on another evening.

Coach Wooden's final criteria for selecting players were quickness and talent. He wasn't na�ve. He knew speed and natural ability were uncoachable and irreplaceable. Even so, he refused to select a player until he felt comfortable with the young man's priorities, relationships, and track record of consistent performance.

Leadership Application: By looking blindly at talent, leaders end up with malcontents who place personal gain above team spirit or talent-rich sluggards who rarely give their best effort. When hiring, consider an interviewee's life priorities, relational history, and career accomplishments. Don't discount talent, but never elevate it as the sole quality in a prospective teammate.

Relationship Corner with DR. Gary Chapman - When Your Adult Child Moves Home

You thought your adult children were gone, but suddenly they are back in your house. Many couples have discovered that the main problem was their reactions to each other. The adult child was fine, but the two of them found themselves fighting each other. If you find yourself fighting, please seek a negotiator and let him or her help you draw up some reasonable guidelines that will make life easier for everyone. This may be a counselor, pastor, or trusted friend.

Planners and Strugglers
Two types of young adults return home: planners and strugglers. Planners come home to prepare for independent living. Their goals usually include saving money, paying school debts, and building a nest egg for the future. They add vitality to their parents’ lives.

Strugglers tend to return home out of necessity. They find the outside world threatening and don’t want to struggle on their own. Parents who can respond with understanding will help them reach the level of maturity necessary to go out on their own and lead productive lives.

Terms and Conditions
When your adult child returns home, it is important that you work out an agreement on a few critical issues. First, establish a time limit for the nesting experience. Second, formulate a financial agreement that will take into account the financial goals of all parties. And third, respect the need for privacy. Your marriage will not only survive but thrive if you work together in forging such an agreement.

A Thriving Marriage
Parents who have adult children at home can consider themselves fortunate in several ways. First, they are able to help their children. Parents of strugglers also have the opportunity to rectify past mistakes. They have additional time with their children while the children are developing life values.

Nurturing your own marriage is extremely important for your adult children. They need to see a model of two adults loving and encouraging each other through the years. In order to encourage our adult children, we need to encourage each other in our marriage. Giving each other words of encouragement not only sets a model for your adult children, but it gives your spouse the emotional fuel to keep going.

There are five love languages. What's yours? Take the 30-second quiz.

Excerpt taken from Parenting Your Adult Child: How You Can Help Them Achieve Their Full Potential by Dr. Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell. To find out more about Gary Chapman's resources, visit www.fivelovelanguages.com.