John Daly – Professional Golfer
John Daly Professional Golfer If a customer says no to you, do you stop? If 50 customers say no to you, do you stop and go home? If you do not win any of the 180 golf tournaments you have played in, do you give up and retire? John Daly didn’t give up. With a well documented story of having tough times and difficulties in coping with life, it has been 9 years since John Daly won a PGA tournament....
What’s Your System?
Every profession has a system in place for success. For instance, according to Todd Piland, Sr. VP of HEB ( Retail Grocer), location is crucial for a store’s success. We all know that. But do you know the critical factors they look for in a location? Todd looks for a location that is on the right side of the road which happens to be on the way home for most folks. In other words, this is the side of the...
Rick Feeley
"When you say something, the customer hears it as an opinion. When the customer says the same thing, they consider it to be fact" Rick Feeley Director of Sales, Timber Trading Translation: What ever you say to the customer is not as powerful than if they said it themselves. Instead of showing how much you know, ask good leading questions that get the customer to verbalize the issues. It will mean more to them in the end.
Jerry Jones-The Flexibility Factor
Jerry Jones, owner, president and GM of the Dallas Cowboys, is one of those people who you either lover or hate. There is no middle ground. The fans of Dallas despised him when he came to town on his high horse and quickly fired Tom Landry, the only coach the franchise has ever known. Yet, they came to love him when he brought in the hugely popular Jimmy Johnson to coach the team to a couple of Super Bowl victories....
Don Cameron
Don Cameron President Guilford Technical Community College Did you ever wonder how a small community college can grow in difficult economic times? Just ask Don Cameron, President of Guilford Technical Community College (GTCC) in North Carolina. Don has seen his share of tough times. The long gas lines in the early 70’s, the recessions of 1981/’82. 1991/’92 and the tough economic times of post 9/11. In tough economic times like these, states normally cut budgets. In fact, when Don became...
Modern Day Prospecting
We all know about the intelligent databases marketing companies use to mine information on its buyers so they can be targeted to in a customized manner. But what about customized cold calls? If you are still dialing for dollars blindly, chances are you’re wasting your time. While prospecting is still a numbers game, today’s technology allows us to increase our hit rate dramatically. Yet, many sales executives who use the phone for prospecting are not effectively using the technology available...
The Power of Options
The concept of giving your customers a variety of options of how to buy your products and services is not new, but it still remains a powerful sales tool. Let’s take a look at Disney World’s version of Option Selling. When you buy your park passes, you have several choices. First, you decide how many days you want the pass to be valid for. You even have the option of choosing calendar days (meaning the next three days) or “anytime”...
Maurice Bendahan Entrepreneur/Philanthropist
"You have to exhaust yourself in practicing youth. No one understands life because they forget to live it" Maurice Bendahan Entrepreneur/Philanthropist Translation: Staying young and vibrant is crucial to one’s ability to live up to their full potential. The things that get in the way of us doing this are our limiting thoughts and a lack of discipline & commitment. When one is motivated, there is a charge in one’s life similar to the attitude of a hard charging young...
Tightrope Leadership
Organizations and individuals often have to make difficult decisions while walking the tightrope of success, decisions that can easily throw them off that path. For example, Dell Computer and ExxonMobil have successfully built overseas call centers in India to handle many of their support calls. The reason is quite simple. The significant savings in labor costs and the ability to maintain a seamless operation that does not interfere with customer service adds up to a profitable decision. But at what...