You've Been Cleared To 35,000 Feet

A few weeks ago, I had the chance to fly from Sugar Land, Texas to Charlotte, North Carolina in a private Citation V jet. The best part was that I sat in the Co-Pilot's seat both ways. the Citation V is owned by David Little, the president of DXP Enterprises, here in Houston. We were flying to Charlotte for a sales meeting.  Mr. Little saw the excitement in my eyes to fly on the private jet and saw me staring at all the instruments.  "Hey Curt, why don't you sit in the co-pilot's seat?"  What an invitation

James, our pilot was great.   He explained most of the instruments, answered my questions, filled in the blanks where I wanted to ask a question; yet hesitated.  James is a 20+ year professional pilot who still has the thrill of flying.

Somewhere, between takeoff and landing on our trip from Charlotte to Sugar Land, I took the chance to reflect on my career. James, our pilot has over 20 years of flight time, he knows his airplanes.  I have about 25 years in the selling field; while I think I know, I am open to new ideas, new ways of selling, of understanding buyer behavior, of just about everything. Here are a few nuggets I would like to pass along for those in sales who follow my blog.

• People like to buy, they get annoyed when being sold - DUH! I have been so annoying in my sales career!  There are times when you build trust, understand their needs and wants, identify the challenges, and then present the facts (the solution).  If they get it, they will buy on their time line, not yours.  How many times have I tried to force the issue with cheesy lines, offers, and infomercial techniques "buy wait..there's more!"
• Buyers will be liars.  Yep, they will listen to your presentation, they will show interest, and then, they will not buy.  Sometimes they are just trying to be nice and get you out of their office, sometimes they just do not have the authority to buy, sometimes they are just cruel. They'll lie just to do it.
• There is joy in the selling career - I love it.  I truly love it. Yes, there is a high level of rejection.  Yes, there is a high level of frustration.  Yes, there is a high level of turnover in the sales career.  So what!  We who are in the sales profession know the feeling when you match a challenge with a solution. The excitement of great customer service. The satisfaction when you have earned a reward for a job well done.  If you know what I mean, you might be smiling at this point.
• Continuous Education - In sales, you should always be learning.  I said "should" because not everyone hungers for more education.  I love to read sales books, attend seminars, listen to conference calls, and participate in blogs, interviews, and other venues. Why, because I want to grow, I want to expand my experiences so I can contribute to the next sales call, the next customer question, or the next challenge faced by someone on my team.

"You are cleared for landing..."  Now that is one experience that is different when you are sitting in the very front of the plane!  Lots of work to prepare the plane for landing.  When you hit the runway at 110 knots, and have to stop inside a fixed length, experise is what is required. 

Thank you to David Little for allowing me to travel on his plane.  Thank you to James, our awesome pilot who listened and answered my questions.  Thank you, readers, for allowing me to share my thoughts at 35,000 feet.

Acting On A Prompting

A few weeks ago I attended a Treat ‘Em Right seminar hosted by Sendoutcards. Kody Bateman, the president of Sendoutcards was one of the speakers. What really struck me was his life purpose of “Acting On A Prompting” and using a powerful tool such as Sendoutcards to assist people in doing just that.

What is a prompting? A prompting in an internal “nudge.” Something inside you that tells you “Hey, you ought to do ___________.” Examples of an internal prompting are:

* to call that friend,
* tell that person you appreciated them
* write that card,
* send that someone special a gift

All these examples are simple to do, and simple NOT to do. Kody introduced us (about 350) to the promptings that happen inside us, and then, what we do about these promptings. If we ignore them, they go away, some never to return again. If we make a decision to act on them, they become part of our lives.

For me, a strong internal prompting is to say “thank you” to people who have helped me in some aspect of my life. Teachers, coaches, employers, managers, friends and family. I remember what they did and I want to express gratitude by writing them a note. In doing this, I am not expecting anything in return, I am simply acting on a prompting.

My challenge is that I need to train myself to be more disciplined in the “action phase” of promptings. Actually writing that note, capturing the memory, the gratitude, and the moment and writing that down. Kody’s vision what to have a product/service that would help us all act on our promptings by sending a card in the mail. That little step of using technology such as the Internet to capture the moment, write the note, and then hit the “SEND” button launched a complete new and vibrant company. Once I type the gratitude and hit Send, Sendoutcards prints the card, stuffs the envelop, places a stamp in the upper right hand corner, and then delivers that card to the US Post Office. A few days later, the card appears and the inner prompting gets delivered. How cool is that!

So, if you have read this far, and you know someone that would benefit from your inner prompting, act on it. Write that note, write that card, tell them you are thinking about them and that you appreciate them. Need help; allow me to act on behalf of you. Here is a free Gift Account where you can create your contact info and send a few cards on me.  Now, how cool is that!

Be-Do-Have

Three simple words, right? Yet, they construct the framework of something so much larger than each word; set apart. You see, these three words have helped me improve in areas where improvement is both needed and welcomed.

Here is the extended version - In order for you to BE ___________, you need to DO _______, so you can HAVE _________. Obviously, the blanks are critical here. Let me break it down in a few areas.

If you are in sales, allow me to rephrase this as "To BE successful in Sales, you need to DO the things Successful salespeople do, in order for you to HAVE the things successful salespeople have." What are some of the things successful salespeople do? First, I would ask the, watch them, and take notes. For me, I DO things such as:

• Take Notes
• Appreciation Marketing
• Follow Up Passionately
• Dive into Personal and Professional Development
• Become an Expert in my field

See, when I do these things (above) then I begin to get (HAVE) the closed sales, the increased commissions, the trust and respect of my customers/clients, etc. Yet, first, I had to SEE MYSELF AS A SUCCESSFUL SALES PROFESSIONAL. I had to BE successful FIRST..... It is a "vision thang."

Here is another one - "To BE a 10k runner, I have do DO the things runners do, so I can HAVE the stamina/completed 10K races, etc that runners have." It starts in the mind, in the vision and the belief that YOU ARE A RUNNER, then you would naturally DO THE THINGS RUNNERS DO....so you can have the things runners have. So what are the things runners do? Ask them, watch them, take notes. Here are a few

• Diet - they eat the right foods and the right amount of foods so they can train
• Train - they have a schedule when the run, the distance, speed, routine, etc
• Equipment - they have the shoes, the shorts, the shirt, the whole package
• Enroll in 10K races - they sign up early and often so they can complete for thier personal prize

OK, here is one I am personally working on - "To BE a GREAT HUSBAND, I need to DO the things great husbands do, so I can HAVE a Great Marriage." So what have I learned in this area? First, I have to see (visual again) that I am BECOMING a great husband, so I do:

• Take an honest self-inventory of my strengths and character flaws
• Read books on creating a great marriage
• Network, hang out, ask questions from people who have a great marriage
• Attend classes (when available) on create a great marriage

What is the end result here, a process where my marriage is becoming better. It is not 100% there, it is a work in progress and it is moving in a forward direction. Why, because I made the choice to move / improve.

BE ==> DO ==> HAVE 3 simple words, yet when mixed together, so very powerful for people who are reaching for their goals, their dreams, and their future.