Sales Meeting December 3, 2012
Quote: “Knowledge is power. The more knowledge, the more expertise…the easier it is for you to make it. What are you doing today to increase your knowledge?”
Video clip Neil showed in the sales meeting
Hilary Hinton Ziglar born 1926 10th of 12 children in Yazoo city, Miss. Served briefly in the navy during WW2, then began as a salesperson who struggled for many years and really started to be successful in his mid-40s.
1. “Remember that failure is an event, not a person.” Everyone fails at one time or another and it can often feel like you will not recover. How many times have you had the wind knocked out of you because of a “failure” only to discover a little ways down the road it wasn’t so bad? Would you consider Walt Disney a failure? He was fired by a newspaper editor because “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” He went bankrupt several times. So why do you say he is not a failure? Walt Disney took the failures and built on them and now we have the largest media conglomerate in the world based on his visions. When you have a “failure” in your life see how you can learn from it and get back on your feet. You never know what is waiting for you just around the corner.
2. “You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.” So true, yet so ignored by so many people. It all comes down to how you think of things. For most of us, most of the time, it’s all about “me, me, me” when it ought to be all about “you, you, you.” People want to do business with you because you help them get what they want. They don’t do business with you to help you get what you want. So why aren’t we focusing every conversation on discovering and giving our customers what they want?
3. “People often say motivation doesn’t last. Neither does bathing, that’s why we recommend it daily.” Every day, take 10 min 3 or 4 times a day to read or listen to something motivational. I will send out Zig Ziglar links all week for you.
4. “A goal properly set is halfway reached.” Identifying a goal is vital to achieving it. Of course, if we set the bar exceedingly low, then achieving such a goal can be meaningless. So, Zig must also have meant that the goal should be a bit out of reach, not set unrealistically high, yet reasonably achievable. If the goal is too big a stretch, one can lose heart. I usually get 1 listing a month but this year, I will get 4 listings a month starting now. You work hard but in month one surprise, it does not happen so then you loose heart and decide, “oh well, I tried, that did not work so I will do something else.”
5. “Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.”
A. Attitude.
The manner in which you approach any situation is crucial to the results that you ultimately achieve. If you can maintain a positive attitude, you will always be able to find the upside in almost any situation. Your attitude determines your mindset; it is the foundation on which your responses sit. The attitude you choose to have will determine how effective you are. To maintain a positive attitude, it is important that you believe in 3 things:
- Believe in choice – you must believe in your ability to choose your attitude and your responses in any given situation. No matter how hard it may seem, how you respond to circumstances and the people around you is your choice. You are the master of your fate and the choices you make
- When you believe in possibilities, it opens your heart and mind to new worlds; some of which you have only imagined and even the ones you have not. This mindset significantly impacts your attitude in a positive way because when you are open instead of closed, your experiences are richer and you feel a whole lot better.
- Believe in the future – your attitude will be affected by your hope for the future. If you have no hope then your attitude will be one of pessimism and cynicism. If you truly have hope for the future – a better tomorrow – your attitude will reflect it and so will your choices. The way that you approach your life and your outlook for the future are the fuel for a positive attitude. Without a positive attitude, it will be hard for you to imagine a better tomorrow. This is why your mindset is so important to your success – to improving your personal leadership.
B. Aptitude
Your aptitude determines how well you do something; it is the level of your abilities that will sustain the fire in your attitude. If you do not seek to improve your skills or use your gifts then you will continue to struggle. The more you struggle the harder it will become to maintain a positive attitude.
High aptitude requires 2 things:
(1) Keen awareness – the more aware you are, the better the choices you make and the more effective you will be. It is easy to become aware of your strengths, however, becoming aware of your shortcomings is more difficult because we don’t want to see ourselves in that light. The more you know what you don’t know, the more you will learn.
(2) Practice – it does truly make perfect. The more you do something the better you become at it and the more success you achieve. High aptitude comes from doing; acting on the things you learn.
C. Altitude
Your altitude is about the heights to which you can grow. We all have the potential to reach tremendous heights; however, many of us won’t even reach half that potential. Zig says Your altitude is fueled by your attitude and aptitude. With the right mindset and the consistent growth of your skill set, there are no limits to what you can achieve. There are no limits except for those that we place on ourselves. I have more potential.
6. “If you can dream it, you can achieve it.”
If a person desires more of anything in their life they need only decide that there is more to learn and then seek out those who can teach it. One of those teachers for me is Zig Ziglar. I am fortunate to have been exposed to him, my life and the life of those around me are better because of it. If you don’t have these people in your life, begin today to search for them as, they will change your life forever.
Today matters! What changes will you make today?
The best way to pay tribute to another individual is to take something they have taught you and implement it or live by it, and let’s go out and work on continuing on running through the finish line.
