"Nothing needs reforming so much as other people´s habits." -- Mark Twain

"When you do the wrong thing, knowing it is wrong, you do so because you haven't developed the habit of effectively controlling or neutralizing strong inner urges that tempt you, or because you have established the wrong habits and don't know how to eliminate them effectively." -- W. Clement Stone

"The secret to Momentum in life can be found in the word Momentum... you create it Moment by Moment..." -- Doug Firebaugh

"Being miserable is a habit; being happy is a habit; and the choice is yours." -- Tom Hopkins

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If Selling - Listen to the Symptoms by Ron White

'Doc...I got this cough.''Is it a light cough?''No Doc it is a deep hacking cough like this....KUUH...KUUH'

'Okay, anything else?''Yeah, I got the shivers and this red bumpy rash.''Oh, well you have got the jungle hemoglobin neuro-cardio virus. Take these pills for two weeks and you will be as good as new.'

Isn't it amazing how a doctor can listen to the symptoms and then accurately diagnose what is ailing you? Well, if you are in sales you should be able to do the same. Listen to what your customers are telling you and it will tell you where you are going wrong in your presentation.....

I recently heard a speaker say, 'Yeah, I didn't sell but one package of CDs – the owner stood up and said he was going to buy one package of CDs for the office library and everyone could share.' The speaker then shook his head as if there was nothing he could have done to sell the group. I never heard that speaker's sales pitch; however, I know exactly what he did wrong by listening to the symptoms. In his sales pitch, he sold the value of his products, which he should have done – however, he did not pitch the value of building your own personal development library. If he would have closed this way, the owner would have never of stood up and said he would buy one for the group to share because he would have been contradicting the value of your own personal library that was just discussed.

I didn't have to hear his sales pitch; listening to his symptoms, the diagnosis was easy.

What about you? What are the objections you are receiving? Listen closely because they are the symptoms that will diagnose your problem:

*Sounds great! I will definitely get this product one day! – Diagnosis – you didn't establish the benefits of purchasing today. You did not make it clear that inventory was low, the special price of purchasing today or other incentive.

*I need to think about it – Diagnosis – 50% of the time this will be because you didn't show them how to purchase (i.e. where to sign) or ask for the sale. The other 50% of the time it is because they have a hidden objection that you did not answer. Your response,' Is there something in particular I can answer for you as you think about it?'

*Let's buy one and share! – Diagnosis – you didn't establish the value of this being a personal purchase.

*It cost too much – Diagnosis – price is rarely the objection, you failed to build value and didn't demonstrate how this product will actually save you money over a period of time because it is durable or it will save you time and time is money.

Just as a doctor – listen to your symptoms and they will tell you where you are failing. Do not blame the symptoms on your prospects incompetence. Instead – listen, diagnose and treat by altering your presentation the next time. The answer to catapult your sales success is in the symptoms. Listen carefully!

Now, if you will excuse me I have to run. I have the jungle hemoglobin neuro-cardio virus and I have some pills I need to take.-- Ron White

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By: Brian Tracy

How to set standards for excellence and back them with total integrity.

A Commitment to Excellence
Leaders have specific responsibilities and must fulfill certain requirements. One requirement of leadership is the ability to choose an area of excellence. Just as a good general chooses the terrain on which to do battle, an excellent leader chooses the area in which he and others are going to do an outstanding job. The commitment to excellence is one of the most powerful of all motivators. All leaders who change people and organizations are enthusiastic about achieving excellence in a particular area.

Be the Best!
The most motivational vision you can have for yourself and others is to "Be the best!" Many people don't yet realize that excellent performance in serving other people is an absolute, basic essential for survival in the economy of the future. Many individuals and companies still adhere to the idea that as long as they are no worse than anyone else, they can remain in business. That is just plain silly! It is prehistoric thinking. We are now in the age of excellence. Customers assume that they will get excellent quality, and if they don't, they will go to your competitors so fast, people's heads will spin.

Have A Vision of High Standards
As a leader, your job is to be excellent at what you do, to be the best in your chosen field of endeavor. Your job is to have a vision of high standards in serving people. You not only exemplify excellence in your own behavior, but you also translate it to others so that they, too, become committed to this vision.

This is the key to servant leadership. It is the commitment to doing work of the highest quality in the service of other people, both inside and outside the organization. Leadership today requires an equal focus on the people who must do the job, on the one hand, and the people who are expected to benefit from the job, on the other......

The Most Respected Quality
The second quality, which is perhaps the single most respected quality of leaders, is integrity. Integrity is complete, unflinching honesty with regard to everything that you say and do. Integrity underlies all the other qualities. Your measure of integrity is determined by how honest you are in the critical areas of your life.

Integrity means this: When someone asks you at the end of the day, "Did you do your very best?" you can look him in the eye and say, "Yes!" Integrity means this: When someone asks you if you could have done it better, you can honestly say, "No, I did everything I possibly could."

Integrity means that you, as a leader, admit your shortcomings. It means that you work to develop your strengths and compensate for your weaknesses. Integrity means that you tell the truth, and that you live the truth in everything that you do and in all your relationships. Integrity means that you deal straightforwardly with people and situations and that you do not compromise what you believe to be true.

Action Exercises
Now, here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.First, identify the area of your work where excellent performance can contribute the very most to productivity and profits. Focus all your efforts in this area.Second, do your very best on every task. Imagine that everyone is watching even when no one is watching. Imagine that everyone in your company was going to do their work exactly the way you do yours.

Never compromise your standards!

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