In the world of business, change is also relentless. It’s rapid. And it’s reality. You can only be certain of its uncertainty.

To effectively deal with change—simply requires your willingness to take a step beyond.

David Thomas, former Dean of the the Cornell Business School once said, “The number one characteristic of students who later became company leaders, is the ability to withstand uncertainty.”

Therefore, if you want, need or demand more from your life, business, team, customers, clients or prospects—you may have to change. The old way may no longer be appropriate or even work. Your past assures nothing. It’s an influencer, not a guarantor. Clinging to the old way, just because “it has always been done that way,” thwarts new ideas, opportunities and solutions.

Daily, ask yourself:

• Do you choose to innovate?

• Do you choose to imitate?

• Or do you choose to vegetate?

And if you choose the latter, change may force you—to simply abdicate!

Like “the Don,” Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, must have been a superb negotiator! Abe once said, “The best way to destroy your enemy, is to make him your friend.”

The key to a successful negotiation is a sincere attempt to understand the other person’s perspective. A negotiation never means lace-up your boxing gloves and prepare for battle! Don’t be argumentative, confrontational or abrasive. Don’t try to “destroy your enemy.” For if you do, the other side leaves annoyed, frustrated or angered. You both lose. And you have one less trip to make to the bank!

When you negotiate, it should truly be from a win-win position. It’s your opportunity to solve problems, reach agreement and move forward for the benefit of all. Avoid the quick and fleeting “hit.” Play the game and the relationship—for the long-term.

Okay, I’ll confess. It’s a trick question. There’s only one right answer.

YOU!

Immediately following a keynote presentation, a participant once asked me, “Jeff, what makes your stuff different from any other speaker I’ve heard?”

My response, perhaps surprised him. I simply said, “You. You make the difference. I’m the messenger, yet YOU get to put the message into motion.”

When I speak, (or write), my goals are to challenge, inform, intrigue, educate, inspire and entertain an audience or reader. While it’s important each person leaves with an experience they’ll long remember, it’s more important they attain results they’ll always value. That’s why I also want to motivate folks to take action.

And that action, is significantly influenced by what you read. What you hear and listen to. And who or what you watch. Yet what you do with this knowledge, is up to you. For when it comes to new stuff, you have a “continuum of choice.”

Meaning, with new strategies, ideas or approaches—you can ignore or implement them. Erase or embrace them. Or anything in between. The choice is yours.

Remember, information is valuable, yet execution is crucial. You should be compensated for what you do. For what you make happen. You’re not compensated for intent.

In a time-driven economy, you’re rewarded for merely punching a clock or logging hours. While in a results-driven economy, you’re rewarded for outcomes. There’s a reason we keep score or measure things.

Now, especially, is a time for results!

And that may require new skills, attitudes and behaviors. Plus—practice, rehearsal and repetition.

Mastery requires repetition. And…

• Repetition leads to recognition.

• Recognition leads to reinforcement.

• Reinforcement leads to internalization.

• Internalization leads to execution.

• And execution leads to results.

In business and life, the name of the game is results!

While it’s true, that our lives are significantly influenced by the books we read and the people we meet, the most influential force in your life…

Is YOU!

What will you do to make a difference in your life and the lives of others?

Several friends told me, their kids recently graduated from college. The parents are ecstatic. Especially, because their children are also employed. Yea!

Yet, many parents asked me, “Jeff, what’s your advice to recent college grads ready to start their first job?”

Here are a few simple suggestions:

– do the unexpected

– be punctual

– do the right thing

– contribute to others’ success

– treasure your first experience—ask lots of questions—be a sponge

– help others attain a more favorable future, (your internal and external customers)

– volunteer, raise your hand and say, “I can do that!” or “Let me help!”

– daily, improve your communication skills (oral and written)

– read, LOTS

– take responsibility and accountability

– smile, nobody likes working with a grouch

– don’t think your opinion doesn’t matter, simply because you’re “new” and young…if you think there’s a better way or a different perspective—share it

– find ways to grow revenue, reduce expenses and maximize profits—without sacrificing quality and service

– don’t gossip

– don’t show up to get a paycheck, instead, make a difference

What would you add?

A few weeks ago, Lea, an Amazon customer service representative uttered something remarkable!

Because she was especially helpful in solving my problem, I said, “Lea, thanks for being so kind and gracious. Really appreciate your help.”

She didn’t reply with, “You’re welcome.” Or, “No problem.” Or, “My pleasure.”

All would have been appropriate and courteous.

Instead, she exclaimed, “Mr. Blackman, you deserve my help.”

Whoa! How good is that?

I “deserved” her help!

What have you recently heard, that was a keeper worth remembering?

• “1,001 Ways to Close A Sale!”

• “No Means Yes!”

• “Power-Close Your Way to the Bank!”

• “They’ll Never Say No Again!”

• “Close the Deal Before They Toss You Out!”

I get a great kick out of such boastful and absurd claims. Because despite their “guarantee” of success, success is actually unlikely. Can you imagine memorizing “1,001 ways to close a sale”?

Plus, these contrived closes usually operate from the basic premise of “When your customer says this—you respond with Close 52—‘the imminent emergency close’! But if your customer says this—you respond with Close 712—‘the behind-your-back, slam dunk, in-your-face, puppy dog close’!”

It’s ridiculous and unfortunate. Because if these misleading and hard-sell pressure tactics are used, they backfire. Not only is this opportunity lost, but any future business relationship is also jeopardized.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never had two prospects or clients who carry the same “script.” Let alone a “script” that’s the same as mine!

Plus, if you do try to memorize 1,001 ways to close a sale, there’s a real good chance your prospect will deliver: Objection 1,002!

I was once given a book boasting on its front cover, that it was “the most powerful book ever written on closing.” It’s also the most manipulative. In a chapter entitled, “The Greatest Closes on Earth,” it shares closing strategies with names like; “the sharp-angle close,” “the three-devil close,” “the intimidation close” and “the negative close.”

Each closing tactic also has an example of its use, preceded by a brief description. Let me share with you, verbatim, four of these despicable descriptions:

1. With this close, the closer throws the customer’s objections right back at him and makes him eat his own words.

2. This close actually tells the customer to go to hell when he says he has to think about buying the product.

3. This close is designed to embarrass and shame the customer into buying the product through pressure and emotion.

4. WARNING: When the closer uses this close, he had better be on his toes and far enough away from the customer, so if the customer becomes violent, the closer can take defensive precautions.

The preceding descriptions aren’t jokes. They’re not fabrications. They’re sadly presented as legitimate strategies to get business. If these strategies are used, the only thing you’re likely to get—is total and deserved rejection and humiliation!

Tricky, manipulative or coercive closes serve no purpose for, have no place in and must never be part of any attempt to generate business.

Remember, when you properly conduct the various stages of business-development, (as described in the six steps of the Opportunity $elling!® sales and business-growth system), and especially—your ability to ask a series of powerful questions—then asking for and receiving The Yes is simply the next natural step.

(The preceding is an excerpt from the 5th edition of Jeff’s bestselling book, Peak Your Profits. Available on Amazon and at your favorite bookstore.)

Scroll social media. Turn on the TV. Turn up the radio. Open the newspaper.

Online videos, print ads and broadcast commercials urge you to:

“Lose weight!” / “Get in shape!” / “Eat healthy!” / “Change your life!”

And to do it “Now!” So you can, “Take advantage of incredible savings!” (Especially at the start of a new year.)

Companies like; diet- and nutrition-centers, fitness-facilities and weight-reduction products are in a major push NOW for customer acquisition.

Yet they needn’t worry about customer satisfaction and retention. Why? Because most of these new customers ain’t gonna be customers for long.

Don’t get me wrong. They won’t be angry, frustrated or disappointed customers. Instead, they’ll be part of the January juggernaut, February fade or March madness, that simply quits. Gives up. Surrenders. Not to some external force, but to themselves.

Some call this, “customer churn” or attrition. It’s not. Savvy retailers, business people and marketers know what it really is. It’s called “profit margin!”

Yet the real question is, “How come?”

Why do so many people start with good intentions to accomplish a defined goal, yet then get sidetracked? How come they fall prey to obstacles? Why do they abandon their hopes, dreams and desires?

That’s why resolutions seldom work.

Resolutions, usually urge you to; avoid, delete, eliminate or reduce. Or “add” something to your daily regimen that’s new, untested or unproven.

Neither the addition or the deletion brings initially, great joy or happiness. Instead, it can be accompanied by pain, frustration, sweat and tears.

Ouch! Not much fun.

Success takes time. No magic bullets. No quick fixes. No special elixirs.

Once, I heard an NBC Today Show broadcaster ask Phil McGraw, Ph.D., a.k.a. “Dr. Phil,” “Do you believe in resolutions?” He quickly answered, “No. But I do believe in committing to projects with deadlines.”

I agree. Here, simplicity works.

First, define the “what.” What do you want to accomplish?

Then, define the “when.” What’s the deadline, deliverable or due-date?

Next, define the “how.” What must you do?

Dr. Phil also said, “At the end of the game, it’s about results. Life is a full-contact sport and there’s a score up on the board.”

In 2025, what will your scoreboard look like?

Now, if you’ve heard this alleged wisdom espoused over the years, guess who else has? Of course, your decision-maker.

So what happens? I’ve heard stories about businesspeople who sit in silence for five minutes or longer. Both buyers and sellers are operating under the mistaken fear—that the first one who talks, loses. That’s absurd!

Do you really think, the first person to talk loses if you:

• have developed a cooperative, collaborative relationship

• have progressed positively through the other stages of the business-growth process, i.e., an effective opening, impactful power probes, a dynamic presentation, etc.

• have effectively determined problems to solve, needs to fill or goals to realize

• have involved your decision-makers and they responded favorably to your presentation or product reveal

• have repeatedly stressed the benefits and what your product or service means to them

• have isolated and removed concerns or objections to their total satisfaction

• have conveyed throughout the entire process, that you’ll deliver high perceived-value and help them improve their condition, attain a more favorable future, and now—as part of that natural and positive progression, you seek their commitment

Of course not!

However, just in case your decision-maker hits the mute button and goes silent, here’s a very simple, yet effective strategy.

Look at your buyer, and then with almost a chuckle in your voice, say something like, “You know, this reminds me of something my wise uncle once said, and that’s, “Silence means consent!”

Your decision-maker is likely to smile or laugh as well. Now, you can address their concern, if there really is one—and together, move toward the “yes”!

At a young age, I quickly learned to admire Willie’s power, speed and defense. He’s regarded by fans and baseball pundits—as one of the top five ballplayers of all time. For good reason. His production, consistency and attitude drove results—for the long-term.

Plus, my dad also appreciated and valued Willie’s baseball brilliance. And dad thought it would be important, for me to be in the “presence” of a winner. When I was a little guy, dad bought me this plastic statue of Willie. Now, you might be wondering, “Where are Willie’s arms or the brim of his cap?”

Every night before bedtime, Willie proudly stood on my bedroom dresser. From my bed, about ten feet away, dad encouraged me to roll my socks into a ball and toss it at Willie, in an attempt to knock him down. When I was successful, THEN it was bedtime.

Over the years, Willie took some “bumps and bruises”. Yet he always “dusted” himself off and rose to play again! And numerous times, he must have “attempted” miraculous dives in multiple directions to “catch” the socks! (Eventually, leading to broken arms and a busted brim, that couldn’t be replaced. Or glued!)

The lessons Willie taught me—about focus, discipline, hardwork, resilience—stay with me to this day. His statue still has a place of prominence in my baseball memorabilia collection.

Willie, will miss you. Thanks for your winning ways.

What lessons have you learned from an athlete, celebrity, loved one or mentor?

Here’s hoping, that you too, like Willie—have a Hall of Fame career!

John Puscheck is the President & Owner of Prager Moving & Storage, here in the Chicagoland area. He’s also a terrific guy.

Years ago, I had the privilege to work with John and his talented Prager team.

And John told me something, that has always stuck. So I’ve shared it countless times with clients and audiences throughout the world. Each time I do, folks exclaim, “Jeff, one more time. Slower, want to make sure I get every word.”

When John has a prospect tell him, “John, have heard great things about you and Prager, but we’re not moving our office and I’m not moving my home, so there’s no need for your services.”

John, politely listens and then responds with this burst of brilliance, “That’s okay. I’d rather you know about us and not need us — versus need us and not know about us.”

Whoa! How good is that?!

When you’re attempting to politely persuade and positively influence others—what’s an example of your favorite statement, question or phrase?

Hustle is what drives you to bounce out-of-bed before the roosters are crowing. It’s what allows you to decide at 5:00 p.m. if your day is over or just beginning. Hustle is what lets your head hit the pillow—pooped, but proud and fulfilled.

Hustle is defining a prospect’s “No” as not yet. Hustle is always being in the hunt. Playing in the arena. You’re an active and aggressive participant, not a casual spectator. You’re in the action. You drive the outcome. You make things happen.

When you hustle, the thrill is in your journey, your adventure, your pursuit—as well as reaching your destination.

Your hustle defies the odds. It’s polite persistence. It’s early mornings and late nights. It’s travel. It’s time. It’s tenacity. It’s triumph!

Hustle breeds hope and happiness.

© Blackman & Associates, LLC

The preceding is excerpted from Jeff Blackman’s bestselling book: RESULT$: Proven Sales Strategies for Changing Times

It kept inching closer. I laid on my horn. Slammed on my brakes.

It was futile. BOOM! Glass shattered. Metal crunched.

I was now an official traffic accident statistic. No bumps. No bruises. No cuts. Good news.

However, the other driver immediately jumped out of his limo and began yelling, “Look what you did to me!”

I politely asked, “Are you okay?” He said, “Yes” and again exclaimed, “Look what you did to me!” I suggested he get his license, as I called the police.

Seven minutes later the police officer arrived. He told us to move our cars from the busy intersection, to a nearby parking lot. There, he motioned both of us into the backseat of the squad car. He then asked, “What happened?” The limo driver began in broken English…

“I make right turn…go slow…three to four miles per hour…then he speed up, hit me. Why he do this?!”

This was a fascinating, fictitious tale. I then told the police officer the truth. The cop, a 23-year veteran, somewhat disinterested stated, “People lie. Cars do not. Stay here. I want to see the damage.”

Three minutes later he returned. And said, “I inspected the cars. The damage tells the story. Mr. Blackman is telling the truth. You are not. Mr. Blackman has no damage to the front of his car. It’s all on the side. Meaning, you hit him. There’s no way he hit you!”

The limo driver responded, “Sure, you believe him. He American. I a foreigner!”

The police officer did not react favorably to this accusation. For me, a minor traffic accident—now became a values lesson.

Reflecting on this experience, was I angry? Nope. Disturbed? Uh-uh. However, I was disappointed. Disappointed at how quickly one can:

• Lie.

• Blame another for their mistake.

• Rationalize a ridiculous reason for another person’s logical and correct conclusion.

If you have heard me speak before, (or are a regular reader), you know I continually stress the importance of self-accountability. If you make a mistake, own it. If you achieve a victory, relish it.

The only way to attain greatness is by being responsible for it. Don’t point a finger of blame, when it may be far more appropriate, to merely glance in the mirror.

Winners make wise decisions. They influence and control the forces that will shape their destiny. Their thought process is: “What can I do?” vs. “Look what he or she, did to me!”

Winners are quick to declare, “I or we won! I or we did it! I or we made it happen!”

Yet, they also unhesitatingly say, “Oops, I goofed! It’s my fault! I apologize. I’m sorry!”

Be a winner. And also, stay far, far away—from stretch-limos making unlawful turns!

While there are lots of influencers, there are three crucial areas:

1. what they see

2. what you say, and

3. how you say it

Or your mastery of the three Vs: Visual. Vocal. Verbal.

1. Visual

It’s everything your decision-maker sees. How you’re dressed. Are your products working properly and free of dust? Does your website or promotional literature convey a positive image? Does your car have that showroom look or is it ready for the junkyard? Does your company “look good”? When you meet somebody, do you confidently and professionally greet them or appear uninterested by their presence?

2. Vocal

It’s not what you say, but how you say it. It’s your vocal quality, intonation and inflection.

Let’s try this simple exercise. First, exclaim in a positive, upbeat tone, “Welcome, it’s great to see you today. How can we help you?”

Now, repeat the exact same words, but in a negative, demeaning and confrontational tone, “Welcome, it’s great to see you today—how can we help you?”

Hear the difference? And the only thing changed, was the tone or attitude of your voice.

3. Verbal

It’s the words you use to convey your message. Does your industry or company have a unique language or jargon? Of course. Yet are all customers going to understand this language? Probably not. They might need to be educated.

Therefore, you should communicate, market, sell, negotiate and serve at the customer’s level of understanding.

While conducting a business-growth workshop for a large Chicago law firm, one of the attorneys asked me, “Jeff, all this information about easy-to-understand language is fine and good, but what if I want impress my clients with my technical expertise?”

While I wanted to “shake him” for his pomposity and arrogance, I politely replied, “Ask yourself this question: Which is more important, impressing your clients or having them understand you?”

DYNAMIC? OR DINOSAUR?

If you purchased a computer from a high-tech manufacturer, you’d expect it to be innovative, latest/greatest and leading-edge, wouldn’t you? Of course!

And for that reason, I had a client, (a manufacturer of software to the healthcare industry) remove the typewriters from their office. A typewriter conveyed the wrong visual and perceptual image for this client.

Their office should say dynamic, not dinosaur!

The power of visual and vocal persuasion are significant. However, they’re only elements of the business-development process.

While a strong visual or vocal incentive may be used to lure a customer in the initial or “Open” stage of business development, it must be always accompanied by a sincere desire to help your customer or decision-maker.

Just as a Broadway opening hopes to set the stage for a long and profitable theater run, your opening—with its visual and vocal impact—should also start a long and profitable relationship.

(The preceding is an excerpt from the new 5th edition of Jeff’s bestselling book, Peak Your Profits. Available on Amazon and at your favorite bookstore.)

While the preceding hasn’t come to an abrupt stop, it all seems a wee bit different now.

Kids no longer glance at the clock to see how many minutes until their favorite TV show starts or how much time they have to play a video game. But instead, acknowledge they’ve now got four minutes to get dressed, wolf-down breakfast and catch the school bus!

Adults have likely completed their vacations and realize—at least here in the U.S., Labor Day is the unofficial line of demarcation between work and play. It’s about now, business folks exclaim: “Whoa! Eight months gone, better do something.” (I think my Dad was right, as we age, time moves faster!)

Whether it’s back to work or back to school, each can be a time of anticipation and anxiety. Hope and hesitation. Promise and procrastination.

Yet most important, each represents a new beginning.

So what will you do, to make your daily new beginning?

How will you rejuvenate?

Re-energize?

Re-invent how you approach your life—at home and at business?

What skills, attitudes and behaviors will be critical to your success?

What actions will you take?

Now, is a good time to work smart and bust your butt. To be tenacious when others are timid. To be fearless when others are fearful. To produce results while others concoct excuses.

And as you succeed…along the way…take some time for recess!

Once, I spotted a beautifully framed poster in a Houston office. While the frame was a vibrant, rich cherry, it was the poster’s content that offered the “real riches.” It’s from the Executive Gallery and is titled, “Can-Do Winning Attitudes.”

There are two columns, the “Can’t Do” and the “Can Do.” Each, offers you a choice. A perspective. An attitude for
action or inaction. As you’ll see, the choices you make—will drive your relationships, results and revenue.

Can’t Do: We’ve never done it before
Can Do: We have the opportunity to be first

Can’t Do: It’s too complicated
Can Do: Let’s look at it from a different angle

Can’t Do: We don’t have the resources
Can Do: Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Can’t Do: It will never work
Can Do: We’ll give it a try

Can’t Do: There’s not enough time
Can Do: We’ll re-evaluate some priorities

Can’t Do: We already tried it
Can Do: We learned from the experience

Can’t Do: There’s no way it will work
Can Do: We can make it work

Can’t Do: It’s a waste of time
Can Do: Think of the possibilities

Can’t Do: It’s a waste of money
Can Do: The investment will be worth it.

Can’t Do: We’ll cannibalize our own sales
Can Do: We’ll do it before they do

Can’t Do: We don’t have the expertise
Can Do: Let’s network with those who do

Can’t Do: We can’t compete
Can Do: We’ll get a jump on the competition

Can’t Do: Our vendors won’t go for it
Can Do: Let’s show them the opportunities

Can’t Do: It’s good enough
Can Do: There is always room for improvement

Can’t Do: We don’t have enough money
Can Do: Maybe there’s something we can cut

Can’t Do: We’re understaffed
Can Do: We’re a lean, mean machine

Can’t Do: We don’t have enough room
Can Do: Temporary space may be an option

Can’t Do: It will never fly
Can Do: We’ll never know until we try

Can’t Do: We don’t have the equipment
Can Do: Maybe we can sub it out

Can’t Do: It’s not going to be any better
Can Do: We’ll try it one more time

Can’t Do: It can’t be done
Can Do: It will be a challenge

Can’t Do: No one communicates
Can Do: Let’s open the channels

Can’t Do: Isn’t it time to go home?
Can Do: Days go so quickly around here

Can’t Do: I don’t have any idea
Can Do: I’ll come up with some alternatives

Can’t Do: Let somebody else deal with it
Can Do: I’m ready to learn something new

Can’t Do: We’re always changing direction
Can Do: We’re in touch with our customers

Can’t Do: It’s too radical a change
Can Do: Let’s take a chance

Can’t Do: It takes too long for approval
Can Do: We’ll walk it through the system

Can’t Do: Our customers won’t buy it
Can Do: We’ll do better at educating them

Can’t Do: Our company is the wrong size
Can Do: We’re perfect for this project

Can’t Do: It doesn’t fit us
Can Do: We should look at it

Can’t Do: It’s contrary to policy
Can Do: Anything’s possible

Can’t Do: It’s not my job
Can Do: I’ll be glad to take the responsibility

Can’t Do: I can’t
Can Do: I can!

• • • • •

Well, the choice is yours. What type of person are you: Can’t do? Or CAN DO?

Folks continually ask me about the significance of “belief” and “preparation.” Meaning, optimism vs. pessimism. Rehearsal vs. improvisation. The expectation for positive results vs. doom and gloom. Fear vs. faith. Triumph vs. tribulation.

And I stress to folks, belief and preparation are powerful. For they drive self-esteem, self-worth, decisions and behaviors. And all of these things, have a profound impact on outcomes, consequences and rewards.

Trepidation, reluctance, hesitancy and winging-it, can turn the courageous into cowards. The powerful into the pitiful. So understand it. Respect it. But don’t fall prey to its menacing allure and evil grasp.

Climb to a higher step. Pursue the path never taken. Practice. Practice again. And believe: In yourself. And your future!

I worked with their senior leadership team and store owners on sales, marketing, and business-growth strategies and opportunities.

At one results-session, I made a simple recommendation to store owners, that had a profound impact on their business.

I suggested they walk around their stores, on their knees.

This idea was initially greeted with skepticism and confusion. Until one store owner exclaimed, “I get it! I get it!”

When another owner wondered, “Get what?!” she answered, “Kids! Jeff wants us to see things from a child’s perspective!”

Bingo! She was right.

In an ice cream store, a child is a significant decision-influencer. Yet their size makes it tough for them to see into the traditional ice-cream dipping cabinet. So when a parent would ask, “What would you like?” it produced a child’s frustrated shrug and disappointed reply, “I don’t know, I can’t see what they got!”

Armed with this new knowledge or “customer awareness”—store owners began to re-design their signage and displays. They literally wanted kids to see all the goodies they could get. So they could then “politely urge” their parents to buy more yummy stuff.

The owners realized when customers can’t see it, they don’t try it. And when they don’t try it, they don’t buy it!

I shared a similar strategy, when working with car wash owners. I noticed parents were struggling to lift their kids to witness the parade of soap and suds. So I suggested some of the display windows be bigger and/or lower.

This simple approach turned a car wash into a parental savior and a child’s entertainment center, with its blinking lights, blaring horns and colored soaps and waxes. Plus, it was a lot cheaper than a movie or an amusement park!

So what do the preceding have to do with you and your business?

Everything!

Profit points:

– how are you seeing things from your decision-maker’s/influencer’s perspective

– have you truly stepped into your “customer’s” shoes, to experience their experience

– how can a customer’s experience be improved, enhanced or upgraded

– what’s distracting or diminishing a customer’s experience, (what can be changed or eliminated)

– how can decision-influencers help or hurt you, (how are you attracting, repelling or ignoring them)

– are your products, services and solutions easily “visible,” i.e., in your conversations, in your literature or at your website

– what “hidden” assets do you need to uncover

the world’s fastest-strategic plan:

1. Where are you?
2. Where would you like to be?
3. How would you like to get there?

The “reality” of these questions was driven home years ago. It was September 18th, 2003.

My flight landed in Pittsburgh at 4:30 P.M. By 5:15 I was behind the wheel of my rental car. (By the way, how come when you rent a car, for the first sixty seconds you just sit there feeling stupid, trying to figure out how it works?!)

Before departing, I again glanced at directions that would take me to Indian Lake, Pennsylvania. A trip I was told, that should take ninety minutes.

Confident and prepared, I pulled out from beneath the protective cover of the parking garage.

Immediately, I was greeted by the wrath, fury and aftermath of Hurricane Isabel. A torrential rainstorm pounded the windshield. Fifty miles-per-hour winds shook the car.

Since I had been on-the-road for an exhaustive thirty seconds, thought it would be a good time to pull over for a break!

Before I headed for the turnpike, I called the resort to request they tell my client I had landed and was on my way. And to confirm the directions a hotel employee had given me earlier in the week.

Patty, who answered the phone this time, said, “Oh no, those directions are all wrong. Here’s what you oughta do.” She then gave me a new game plan.

With Patty’s guidance, I attempted to reach the turnpike. But traffic was at a standstill. I called Patty again. She said, “Okay, change of plans.”

That became a familiar and often repeated retort.

Patty’s ongoing changes and suggestions would feature; a turnpike, highways, side roads, twisty paths and blind curves. All being navigated in a downpour moving from left to right.

And her directions didn’t always include street names or highway numbers. Instead, they began with, “Look for the sign that says Shanksville and hang a left.” Or, “After you pass that funny-looking house on the right, get ready for a series of big bends.”

Finally, after three hours, mission accomplished.

Patty greeted me with, “I’ve spent more time talking to you, than all of my previous husbands!”

Lessons:

1. If you think, you always know the best way to reach your destination, you might be wrong. Consider alternatives.
2. There’s likely to be more than one way to “get there.” Explore the possibilities.
3. Seek the advice and counsel of those who truly know the strange twists and turns of an experience you’re about to embark on. Use their knowledge to your advantage. Let them prepare you for the unexpected and potentially dangerous pitfalls. And how to safely avoid them.
4. Know that requesting assistance is a sign of strength, not weakness.
5. Pay close attention to the “signs.” They alert you to what’s ahead.
6. Focus on what’s in front of you.
7. Appreciate that speed is important. Yet it can also be dangerous. On occasion, slow and deliberate ain’t bad. Also realize, if you’re going too fast, you’ll miss the details, an alternative route or blow an opportunity.
8. If you’re headed for trouble, take corrective action. Fast!

A client once asked, “Jeff, what are the worst things you’ve ever seen a sales or businessperson do?”

Yikes! Just remembering these tales of terror, sends shivers down my spine.

Okay, the following may be weird, frightening and painful, yet they’re all true!

Believe it or not, and I ain’t kidding…

From the simple faux pas to the unforgivable…

Here are some of the acts I’ve seen or heard business buffoons and sales slobs commit:

• tell dirty jokes

• ignore ringing telephones

• stare at customers, yet not greet them

• leave French fries, half-eaten burgers and open mustard containers in the sales or display area

• be sloppily attired

• b.s. with other employees, while ignoring customers

• clean their nails

• complain about; their work, company and leaders

• lie

• read a book, play a game, watch television or stay glued to their computers or smartphones, while eager customers wait to be served

• argue with customers

• talk with food or a pen in their mouth

• frequently glance at their watch while with customers

• open their mail

• smoke and flick ashes on their office carpet

• refuse to help a customer, because they were on break or headed to lunch

And here’s the funniest thing a salesman did, while his cell phone was ringing:

Me: “Would you like to get that?”

Him: “No! I never answer my cell phone, when I’m with a customer!”

Me: “That’s okay.”

Him: “Nope. You have my total attention. I’m here just for you. Although, let me check caller-id to see if it’s my wife! Oops. It is. I’ll be right back!”

Plus, here’s the funniest thing a saleswoman said to my wife:

My wife: “Hi, could you please help me?”

Her: “Oh, sorry for the wait. It’s so slow and I didn’t expect to see anybody today. The mall is dead!”

My wife: “Well, I’m alive!”

Her: “Hmmm. Yes, yes you are!”

Do you recognize yourself or one of your teammates in any of the preceding examples?

Hope not!

Because…

You and your fellow sales pros, and for that matter, everybody in your organization…are walking, talking billboards for your company.

Customers often make hasty generalizations, like, “Whoaa, if that guy is such a jerk, bet everybody in this place is a jerk!” Hey, who said this is fair! It’s tough to create a “wow” when you’re perceived as weak or whiny.

What are some of the bizarre behaviors you’ve seen?

Please send them to jeff@jeffblackman.com and we’ll add them to the next tally of terror. And give you credit for sharing them.

Wouldn’t that be nice!

However, it’s unlikely, because buyers or decision-makers are often reluctant to change, even if the change helps them attain a more favorable future or improved condition. They have a comfort or security level with the past they probably don’t want to disrupt.

My suggestion, is never try to replace your competitor. Instead, position yourself to become the next best alternative or Plan B.

Here’s the question you ask: “Mr. and Ms. Budge, I can now understand why you’ve been so happy with Hard Sell Enterprises and why you wouldn’t want to replace them. So I’m wondering: ‘How can I, our company, and our solutions—complement what Hard Sell is doing for you?’”

This question is extremely powerful. Here’s why. It relieves decision-makers. They now know they don’t have to replace their current supplier. Together, you and your decision-makers can now determine how you can best complement, contribute to or be a part of their solution, and not the entire solution.

May it too, help you embrace your future with hope vs. hesitancy. To your results!

Erase villains. EMBRACE HEROES.

Erase reluctance. EMBRACE RESILIENCE.

Erase selfishness. EMBRACE SELFLESSNESS.

Erase getting. EMBRACE GIVING.

Erase complaining. EMBRACE CHANGING.

Erase observing. EMBRACE DOING.

Erase negatives. EMBRACE POSITIVES.

Erase mere interactions. EMBRACE MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS.

Erase boundaries. EMBRACE POSSIBILITIES.

Erase delay. EMBRACE NOW.

Yep, thought so.

While your desire to replace or eliminate your competitors is admirable, unfortunately, it’s highly unlikely. How come?

Because buyers are reluctant to change. Even if the change helps them improve their condition and attain a more favorable future.

Therefore, as much as you’d like to replace your competitors, your decision-maker may have a comfort or security level with the past, they don’t want to disrupt.

So if you’re unable to “replace” your competitor(s), here’s how to position yourself—to become the next best solution.

Ask something like:

“Irv, I can now understand why you’ve been so happy with Hard Sell Enterprises and why you wouldn’t want to replace them. So let me ask you this, how can I, (our team / company and our i.e., products / services / solutions) complement what Hard Sell is doing for you?”

This question is extremely powerful. Here’s why.

It allows your decision-maker to breathe a sigh of relief. He or she now knows they don’t have to replace their current relationship. They sense, there could be high risk with replacement, but minimal risk when one complements.

Together, you and your decision-maker can now determine how you can complement, contribute to or be a part of their solution, and not the entire solution.

While initially, you might be unable to get the whole pie…

With this simple, proven and winning strategy, you can now earn…a tasty slice of it!

Intriguing question. It prompted me to reach for and dust off—an old workbook from a shelf in my business library. It was from a course I attended in 1990.

As part of my ongoing work with a manufacturing client, they requested I participate in a program taught at Motorola University. It was called: Understanding Six Sigma

A sigma, is collections of similar items, people or objects—that shows variation among the members of the collection. A Six Sigma process would produce .0000002% defects or 99.9999998% defect-free work.

For example, Six Sigma would produce 3.4 defects per million parts or moments of customer opportunity.

Thirty years ago, Motorola was using Six Sigma, to achieve their commitment to total customer satisfaction. To them, Six Sigma meant:

a. a measure of goodness, the capability to produce perfect work

b. a defect is any mistake that causes customer dissatisfaction

c. sigma indicates how often defects are likely to happen

d. the higher the sigma, the lower the defect rate

e. the lower the defect rate, the higher the quality

Six Sigma, (in the 20^th century and now in the 21^st)—can still help drive total customer satisfaction with:

1. constant respect for your fellow human being

2. uncompromising integrity

3. best-in-class practices; with people, sales, marketing, manufacturing, technology, operations, products, services, etc.

4. increased market share

5. outstanding financial performance

6. the realization that business is about:

• customer acquisition

• customer satisfaction

• customer retention

And that is a powerful six pack!

There must be a fire in your belly, a passion in your gut, a sense of excitement in your sinew. You must have a missionary zeal, along with a relentless pursuit to satisfy your customers, clients and prospects.

Your passion has nothing to do with phony smiles, clever phrases and hanging banners with slogans. It means your ability and desire to compete profitably now and throughout the 21st century.

Passion is burning the midnight oil. It’s going the extra mile. It’s doing the unexpected. Passion is your positive attitude in a world of negativity. It’s finding the extra fuel when you thought your tank was dry. It’s an unwillingness to accept second best or “it’s good enough.”

Passion, somehow, lets you execute, even when you’re exhausted. Passion confidently pits you against your toughest competitor—you.

Passion converts suspects into prospects. Prospects into customers. And customers into friends for a lifetime.

Passion turns successful business pros and salespeople into superstars!

Lots? Of course. Yet to the best of my knowledge, salespeople, rainmakers and business pros are never born.

I have several friends who are obstetricians and they assure me, they’ve never hoisted a newborn high into the air and proudly announced to the parents, “Congratulations, you’ve just given birth…to a salesperson! An entrepreneur! No, no…it’s a business-development specialist!”

Successful businesspeople aren’t born. They’re nurtured, developed and trained. At least the top achievers are. They may have the ability to “gab or talk,” but their real skill is their ability to probe or question. Questions establish rapport, uncover concerns, reveal problems and peak profits. Questions are a natural way to get others to talk, so you can listen and learn!

As a radio and TV talk-show host, the real success of my interviews depended not upon my speaking ability, but instead my questioning ability. Questions gave me the opportunity to explore a guest’s feelings, attitudes and opinions. Exactly like your business interview.

Like a doctor, you can’t precisely make a diagnosis and prescribe a cure, until you know more about the patient’s problem. Good physicians don’t guess at an illness, they examine the patient and ask lots of questions. As a sales or business pro, you too, must examine and question. For prescription without diagnosis, is malpractice!

Your ability to work with people rather than against them is crucial to your success. There are almost eight billion of us walking, talking and thinking beings roaming the earth. Probably no two are exactly alike.

Buyers are not genetically encoded. They make decisions differently. Some are animated and friendly. Others are direct and decisive. Some are conservative and cautious. Others are analytical and critical.

What one buyer finds appealing and valuable, another finds irrelevant and useless. Yet they all like to buy from business pros and salespeople who see the world from their perspective.

Now, you don’t have to become a chameleon. Instead, adapt. Be flexible. Don’t persuade and sell the way you like to be sold. Sell the way—others like to buy!

Years ago, I had the pleasure to work with Rochelle Jacobson, President of N. Merfish Supply and her team in Houston, Texas. (Rochelle retired as President in 2012. And in 2019, Merfish Pipe & Supply and United Pipe & Steel combined under Merfish Pipe Holdings, an entity majority owned by One Equity Partners.)

Long before Rochelle’s retirement, I received an invitation from her. The following, is verbatim language:

Send-off party Friday!

Please join us in the downstairs conference room to say goodbye to…Status Quo!

Those of you who have been around for a while, know what Status Quo has meant to this place. Through all the ups and downs, Status Quo was always there. So let’s raise a glass Friday, November 3, 2000 and wish Status Quo good luck.

Things just won’t be the same around here.

So how will you say…

√ Sayonara to Status Quo…

√ Adios to the way it has always been…

√ Fuh-ged-about it…if you’ve done it that way before…

Remember, life and business are a lot like the organic world, you can either wither and die—or grow and prosper!

Toss a fiesta to your future!

Where will your journey take you?

Several years ago, I left my home in the Chicagoland area—for a three-week speaking and book tour throughout New Zealand and Australia. The first leg of this journey took me from Chicago to San Francisco. The man sitting next to me was Al Wilkerson. Had never met him. Will never forget him.

Al told me a story that happened with his three-year-old daughter Alycia, who was flying for the first time.

Al and Alycia had never traveled together before, let alone on an airplane. Alycia couldn’t wait to get to the airport.

And as they strolled through the terminal, Al clutched Alycia’s hand. He sensed her excitement. As they walked down the jetway, her eyes grew bigger. Her heart pounded louder.

Once they boarded, Al took Alycia and plunked her small body into a great big leather seat that surrounded and engulfed her. Then he turned her face to the window—so she could see the world from a new perspective.

As the 747 rolled down the runway, Alycia had a look of fascination and joy. Yet after the plane took off, and started to climb toward 35,000 feet—Al stared at his daughter, as her expression changed. From fascination and glee, to fear and panic.

Alycia kept look looking up and then to him. Up and at him. Up and at him. Until she finally exclaimed, “Daddy, Daddy, when do we hit the ceiling?”

Remember, in life and business—there are no ceilings, no parameters, no boundaries, unless YOU place them there! And when you’re breaking through your own mental boundaries, it’s not called trespassing!

One of my clients has actually placed an eight-inch by eight-inch ceiling tile on the desk of every employee in his company. Emblazoned on each tile are these words:

RAISE YOUR CEILING!

A study by U.S. News and World Report once revealed how and why companies lose customers.

Customers are lost because:

• One percent of them die.

• Three percent move away.

• Five percent form other friendships or business relationships.

• Nine percent switch for competitive reasons.

• 14 percent are lost because of product dissatisfaction.

• 68 percent quit doing business with a company, because they perceive an attitude of indifference toward them by some employee.

That’s right, 68 percent of your customers may stop doing business with you, not because your product is inferior or your location is inconvenient, but instead, because you or your people, simply look, sound and act—like you just don’t care.

A customer makes one buying decision at a time, yet this “decision” is made repeatedly. For months, years or even decades. Unfortunately, a lost customer seldom or even never returns.

Ouch!

What’s the lifetime value of your customer or client?

What’s the lifetime impact of that loss?

Remember, a long-term, profitable business—is all about customer or client acquisition, satisfaction and retention.

How goofy! For time is a reflection of input, NOT output. It merely reflects time devoted or energy expended. And not results produced or outcomes achieved.

Plus, if one is an “hourly- biller”—it’s in their best interests to spend more time on a project, so they can earn more money!

If you’ve heard me speak before, you know I’m an ardent advocate of value-billing. Plain and simple, if you deliver, you get paid. If you don’t, you may get nothing. That’s right. Nada. Bupkus. Zip.

People should be compensated for their positive impact upon an individual’s success or a company’s growth.

Fred Bartlit, an extremely successful attorney—knows the value of results. Plus, he’s known for his innovative legal billing methods. Typically, most lawyers and their firms bill by the hour.

When it comes to revenue, attorneys acknowledge—the billable hour is the deity. (Many law firms, have billable hour minimums between 1,700 to 2,300 hours annually.)

However, Bartlit will charge a flat-rate fee versus the usual hourly charge. And his firm has even negotiated fees that are only 60% of the hourly rate—if it loses. Yet, when they win, they can earn as much as 150% of their hourly rate. Bartlit says, “If we get results, we are a bargain!”

He’s right!

How do you bill for your services, talent and expertise? And perhaps more important, how do you pay?

Invest in results!

Chaby described in vivid detail, the demands of battle and the five-and-a-half days of Seal Hell Week. A grueling test of mind and body. Mental and physical fatigue. Exhaustion. Frustration.

And if a Seal decides, this ain’t for me—he simply rings a bell three times—and makes a D.O.R., a drop-out-request.

However, for those who continue, and succeed, Chaby defined five key success factors:

1. professionalism

2. pride

3. proficiency, meaning smooth is fast

4. accountability and

5. teamwork

Chaby’s “5” applies to the field of battle, as well as, the games of life and business. His themes are simple:

√  Make the right choices.

√  Do the right thing.

√  Refuse to quit.

√ Take action.

√ Accept responsibility.

√ Achieve success with the help of others.

Yet, at times, you may feel as if you’re whipping around unknown curves. Plummeting through darkness. Falling uncontrollably. Doomed for disaster.

Customers, clients or prospects won’t take or return your phone calls—or reply to your e-mails. They suddenly have selective memories. And at worst, some lie.

Inexplicably, things careen out of  control. And you have no control. The sure-thing, the done-deal, the no-brainer heads south. Your decision-maker who already gave you the “thumbs-up” changes his or her mind. Is demoted. Fired. Or even dies!

Impossible? Nope. They’ve all happened to me!

So you may ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?”

Because, nothing happens until somebody sells something!

Somebody like YOU. You make a difference.

Business development and selling are a great ride—with far more highs than the unfortunate, yet occasional lows.

So hop on, enjoy your trip. I’ll meet you at the top!

© Blackman & Associates, LLC

The preceding is excerpted and adapted from Jeff Blackman’s bestselling book, RESULT$: Proven Sales Strategies for Changing Times.

Your word represents your credibility, reputation and character. Integrity is a non-negotiable. Its impact is powerful. It’s good character, good will and good sense.

Buyers might expect you to sit at the bargaining table with a sharpened pencil, laptop computer and savvy negotiation strategy. Yet there should be no need for a lie detector, belief barometer or ethics evaluator.

As an ethical business person or sales pro, you may be perceived as unique. And it’s a valuable, respected and appreciated “unique.”

Just like a diamond is worth more when it’s unique and rare, so are you. You possess a special power, an aura of influence. Your prospects and customers believe in you. They like you. They trust you. And they buy from you—again and again!

Well, here’s an unexpected example of using the right words in two age-old questions.

I recently overheard a nurse ask these two brilliant gems to a patient:

     1. How young are you?

     2. How little do you weigh?

Wow!

It’s fascinating, how profound the impact of “young” vs. “old” and “little” vs. “much”—have upon your perception, attitude and reaction to these questions.

So here’s my challenge to you:

Take a peek at the questions you regularly ask; prospects, customers or clients and employees—to discover how they can be improved with perhaps the simple, yet powerful upgrade of changing—one word!

Yet, Rick is the first to admit his approach isn’t sophisticated. If anything, it’s simplistic. It’s also incredibly effective. Here’s what Rick does.

He takes out a plush felt bag filled with pennies. He gently hands the bag to his clients and tells them the bag represents their “financial future.” He then encourages them to pour the pennies onto the conference table. Somewhat skeptically, they do.

Rick then tells his clients (let’s call them Harry and Pam) that each penny represents $10,000 and belongs to them—it’s their money. Rick suggests they push, pull and slide the pennies across the table to form different piles. Each pile or category represents the couple’s goals. One pile could be a retirement fund. Another could be set aside for their kids’ or grandkids’ education. While another represents a major purchase down the road or significant contributions to various charities.

Rick says Harry and Pam quickly forget they’re playing with pennies. Instead, they strategically plan and calculate their financial future. Obviously, Rick’s clients are involved!

How will you involve your decision-makers?

Like a physician, you can’t precisely make a diagnosis of your customer’s or client’s needs until you know more about the individual. A good doctor doesn’t guess at the illness, but rather examines the patient, asking questions and observing closely.

For decades, my primary care doctor has been Gerry Lewis. (Yes, I know, it only makes sense, that my doctor, would have the same name as a comedian!)

Gerry is a terrific doctor. Smart. Compassionate. Empathetic. And always accessible. Yet our conversations, in-person or over-the-phone, always begin the same way. Gerry asks me a simple, yet powerful question, “What’s up?”

I answer. He listens intently—then makes specific “next-step” suggestions.

As a business professional, you, too, must examine, question and observe, first!

Remember, prescription without diagnosis is malpractice!

Plus, then be interviewed and asked, “What’s most important to the individuals we serve?”

https://tinyurl.com/NSAinfluence18Blackman

The background: two huge segments from the Berlin Wall that fell in November, 1989. 12 feet high. 4 feet wide. 11,905 pounds.

Literal and figurative reminders of life’s barriers and breakthroughs.

The answer to the first question, is something you must possess. And that’s focus.

The answer to the second question, is something you must overcome. And that’s fear.

When it comes to focus, many folks start their day with self-talk that goes something like this, “What am I going to do?” or “I wonder what’s going to happen today?!”

From the moment their eyes open and their feet hit the ground, they are the day’s humble servant. They don’t attack their day. Instead, they allow the day to attack them. Their day lacks clarity. It’s unplanned. Unstructured. And all too often, unproductive and unprofitable.

Focus, gives you a distinct vision, for your day—and—for your life.

Focus helps you:

  • be decisive and take action

  • make today a breakout performance

  • light the fire in your belly

  • produce the passion in your gut

  • live a life of no regrets

  • imagine your world of infinite possibilities

However, focus, is destroyed by fear. Fear can turn the courageous into cowards. The strong into the weak. The powerful into the pitiful.

To fight fear, stare it in the face. Understand it. Respect it Acknowledge it. Yet don’t fall prey to its menacing allure and evil grasp. Turn your trepidation into triumph. Your doubt into desire. Your reluctance into resilience.

Don’t let fear fool you. Be willing to walk to the edge. Climb to a higher step. Pursue the path never taken. Ignore the predictors of doom and gloom. The naysayers. The critics. Opposition is often a clue you’re on the right track.

See the fear. Then, take action. Stomp on it. Beat it. Whip it. Defeat it. Destroy it. Emerge victorious. Feel the freedom. Turn your fear into focus and fortune.

Jeff, my parents introduced me to your columns when I was in college. It has been a big help, both personally and with my classes. Thanks! As I get ready to graduate and enter the “real world,” what’s your advice, as I prepare for my first job?

Answer:

Congrats! You’re about to embark on an exciting journey. While it has been said, all you need to know, you “learned in kindergarten,” I realize, it’s reinforced in grammar school!

When our youngest child, Amanda, was a fourth-grader, we visited her class, where I picked up a copy of her school’s Guide to Parent, School and Student Roles and Responsibilities. It had some simple, yet powerful tips for success in the classroom. Which also will serve you well in your new corporate life.

To be successful:

   – meet deadlines

   – be on time

   – read

   – set a time for “homework”

   – be prepared and honest

   – make good choices

   – listen, discuss, then solve an issue

   – use a variety of resources

   – try before quitting

   – challenge yourself

   – have a positive attitude

    – respect others and their property

And here are a few more suggestions from me:

   – do the unexpected

   – do the right thing

   – contribute to others’ success

   – treasure this first experience, be a sponge, ask lots of questions

   – help others attain a more favorable future and improve their condition, (your internal and external customers)

   – volunteer, raise your hand and say, “I can do that!”

   – daily, improve your communication skills (oral and written)

   – smile, nobody likes working with a grouch

   – don’t think your opinion doesn’t matter, simply because you’re “new,” if you think there’s a better way, share it

   – don’t gossip

   – don’t show up to get a paycheck, instead, make a difference

For example, I recommended they consider doing searches for:

• fee based planners

• investment advisors

• financial advisors

• fee-only planners

• financial planners, etc.

How come? Because they, like you, can quickly use the web, as a direct and indirect source of inspiration. For language. Concepts. And phraseology.

Often, when you search for stuff that’s merely related to your business, you can discover some powerful possibilities.

Here’s a similar strategy. I constantly scour magazines and articles for captivating communication I can easily adapt for potential use.

The following examples, may have direct application to you and your business. They can influence how you communicate in print, as well as, during client meetings or prospect conversations.

From an old issue of BusinessWeek magazine:

     Excerpts from a Duke Energy ad:

     “We didn’t become a leader by wearing blinders. We see the subtleties. The opportunities overlooked by others. It is this intimacy with detail, and the ability to step back and see beyond, which give us perspective.”

How can you adapt the preceding? Imagine a prospect asks, “So what makes you so special?”

You might answer, “Extremely satisfied clients like, (name drop), tell us we’re focused on the details and the subtleties of their business. They feel this ability gives us and them a unique perspective to capitalize on opportunities that might be overlooked or missed by others.”

     Excerpts from an ad for Novartis, (a drug therapy for eyesight deterioration):

     “…an innovative force that’s bringing new optimism and hope…think what’s possible”

You might stress, “Clients like, (name drop) tell us we’re an innovative partner and creative force, helping them achieve new results and possibilities. Like the time we, (refer to case studies, metrics, goals met and exceeded, stats, testimonials, etc.)”

     Excerpts from an ad for Lufthansa:

     “Wherever you want to go, we make it easier for you to get there.”

You could emphasize, “Our clients, (name drop) especially value the easy or hassle-free way we…”

As you can tell, the possibilities are huge. So be willing to take the direct, indirect and side roads to results!

Have we become so mistrusting, so disbelieving, so fearful of being taken advantage of, that we now need to congratulate others when they’re honest with us? I hope not!

As an ethical business professional, you may be perceived as unique. Just like a diamond is worth more when it’s rare and unique, so are you. Your integrity base gives you a profound advantage over your competition. Your unwavering and unqualified commitment to integrity by you and all who work for your company will have a dramatic impact on your bottom line. Your prospects and customers will believe in you. They will trust you. And they will buy from you. Again and again.

Your decision to buy shares in a company, could have even been influenced by the company’s P/E or price/earnings ratio.

Just like a stock can increase in value, you, too, over time, can increase in value.

Therefore, it’s important that you also focus on your P/E ratio.

The P is your:

• Performance

• Productivity

• Pride

• Persistence

• Passion

The E is your:

• Energy

• Excitement

• Enthusiasm

• Effectiveness

• Execution

A publicly traded company produces an annual report that always features an opening statement, “To our shareholders.” Your “shareholders” are your prospects, customers, clients, leaders, teammates, partners, community, industry and stakeholders.

Your opening statement, “To our customers”—might go something like this:

“By nearly all measures, I have attained the qualities of a stellar performer—market leadership, superior customer satisfaction, a solid clientele, plus loyal and profitable relationships. I’m now leveraging those strengths to realize my remaining goal: sustained and enviable growth, service and results.”

On a daily basis, use your skills, attitude and behavior—to drive your choices—and do whatever it takes to enhance your P/E ratio and increase the “value” you bring to your company, customers and marketplace.

After all, just like a stock, you too, are or can become, a “blue-chipper.” Which means you’re reliable and of the highest quality!

Question:

Jeff, really enjoying your Stop Whining! Start Selling! book. My team and I are working on putting its strategies into action. I’m not by nature a salesperson, so cold-calling is my downfall. I’m nervous, hesitant, uncertain, and scared to say the wrong thing. Any ideas?

Answer:

While you and others are welcome to make cold calls, brrrrr! It gets cold enough in any city, without added chill!

Leverage your current customers for introductions and referrals. Thay already know you, like you, love you and trust you. And they prove it. How? They pay you!

Let’s quickly examine your life: Does your family…

Know you, like you, love you and trust you? Hope you said, “Yes!”

However, would it be fair to say…

YOU GIVE THEM MONEY! That makes it easy for you to be their favorite!

With your clients or customers, not only do they have “affection” for you, they demonstrate it on a regular basis—with a check, P.O., wire transfer or at the cash register.

Master your referral skills and you’ll drive new biz. Quickly, ethically and dramatically! What will you add and earn? New customers. New revenue. New profits. New commissions.

What will you diminish or even delete? Your customer or client acquisition cost! How sweet is that?!

Get to it. Start driving on your referral road to results! And please keep me posted on your “hot” progress.

YOU!

Immediately following a keynote presentation, a participant once asked me, “Jeff, what makes your stuff different from any other speaker I’ve ever heard?” My response, perhaps surprised him. I simply said, “You. You make the difference. I’m the messenger, yet YOU get to put the message into motion.”

When I speak, (or write), my goals are to challenge, inform, intrigue, educate, inspire and entertain an audience or reader. While it’s important each person leaves with an experience they’ll long remember, it’s more important they attain results they’ll always value. That’s why I also want to motivate folks to take action.

And that action, is significantly influenced by what you read. What you hear. And who you listen to. Yet what you do with this knowledge, is up to you.

For when it comes to new stuff, you have a “continuum of choice.”

Meaning, with new strategies, ideas or approaches—you can ignore or implement them. Erase or embrace them. Or anything in between. The choice is yours!

Remember, information is valuable, yet execution is crucial. You should be compensated for what you do. For what you make happen.

In a time-driven economy, you’re rewarded for merely punching a clock or logging hours. While in a results-driven economy, you’re rewarded for outcomes.

Now, especially, is a time for results! And that may require new skills, attitudes and behaviors. Plus, practice, rehearsal and repetition.

After all, mastery requires repetition. And…

   √  Repetition leads to recognition.

   √  Recognition leads to reinforcement.

   √  Reinforcement leads to internalization.

   √  Internalization leads to execution.

   √  And execution leads to results!

In business and life, the name of the game is results!

While it’s true, that our lives are significantly influenced by the books we read and the people we meet, the most influential force in your life, is YOU!

What will you do, to make a difference in your life, and the lives of others?

This is the kinda stuff I often think about. For I firmly believe, the right beliefs, values and principles, are the greatest influencers of success and achievement.

While what you do is crucial. That’s really a reflection of who you are. And perhaps the best summation of these principles, I found unexpectedly.

Many years ago, my wife and I attended Amanda, (our youngest child’s), first-grade curriculum night. On Amanda’s desk, was a simple sheet, titled: Lifeskills by Susan Kovalik & Associates. It said:

• Integrity: To act according to what is right and wrong.

• Initiative: To do something because it needs to be done.

• Flexibility: The ability to alter plans when necessary.

• Perseverance: To keep at it.

• Organization: To work in an orderly way.

• Sense of humor: To laugh and be playful without hurting others.

• Effort: To do your best.

• Common sense: To think it through.

• Problem-solving: To seek solutions.

• Responsibility: To do what is right.

• Patience: To wait calmly.

• Friendship: To make and keep a friend through mutual trust and caring.

• Curiosity: To investigate and seek understanding.

• Cooperation: To work together toward a common goal or purpose.

• Caring: To show / feel concern.

• Courage: To act according to one’s beliefs.

Kinda funny, ain’t it, the lessons you learn, when you sit at the desk of a six-year-old!

About thirty minutes after check-in, there was a knock at the door. When I opened it, there stood a smiling Marriott associate. She had a bucket filled with ice-cold skim milk and a large platter of chocolate chip cookies. These were monsters. Each, about the size of a Volkswagen hubcap!

They stared at me through their cellophane wrapping. Teasing me. Tempting me to eat just one. Despite their seduction, I refused to fall prey to their menacing allure.

Later that evening, at about 11:30, I was pooped. It was bed time. But the cookies were now winking at me. Calling my name. Daring me to bust through what had been their impenetrable plastic protection. I still resisted. And remained awake for the next thirty minutes.

The cookies were no longer the enticement or the problem. Instead, it was my next door-neighbor.

The adjoining hotel room had at least four people. One was a child. They were loud, boisterous and having a ball. (Kinda like my family when we’re in a hotel room.)

I thought the revelry would subside. It didn’t. At midnight it was still going strong and the decibel level was rising. Okay, it was decision time. What do I do?

My choices were:

1. Call their room and yell, “Hey, I can’t sleep. Pipe down!”
2. Call the front desk, complain and delegate the dirty work. Let security handle my plea for silence.
3. Or…

And boom, it hit me!

At 12:03 AM, I snatched the phone and called their room. A man answered with a sound of surprise in his voice. I said:

“Hi, I’m your neighbor. We haven’t met, but I can tell by the laughter and conversation, that you and your family are a lot like mine, you enjoy being together. And that’s great. Except, it’s really loud! Now, I would never ask you to do something for me, unless I first did something for you.

If possible, it would sure be appreciated if you guys could turn down the volume a wee bit. And in return, to say thanks, I’d like to provide you and your family with a platter of homemade, baked today, sealed in cellophane, Marriott chocolate chip cookies. Each, about the size of Rhode Island. I’ve already placed them outside your door.”

His response, “Okay.” I heard the door open. The door close. And then…

Nothing. Just the sound of silence.

Sweet dreams!

LESSONS:

– when negotiating, provide an irresistible offer

– be polite, rude seldom produces your desired results

– provide value first

– delay your own gratification, your immediate reward may have greater value and significance at a later time to somebody else (if I gobbled too early, my bargaining chips, {no pun intended} would have been eliminated)

– patience pays

– if you expect to get something, be willing to give something in return

– take action first, especially when it gives the other party an advantage, (i.e., they had the cookies before I had slumber

– make your communication memorable and meaningful, (gotta believe these folks told others, “You can’t believe what happened to us!”)

– be involved, don’t delegate delivery of the message when you’re the stakeholder and most affected by the outcome of another’s decision

That Saturday afternoon, I was one of many Brickman fans who was entertained by his musical talent and witty between-song banter.

When Brickman sought questions, I asked, “What do you want an audience or concert-goer to leave with?”

He replied:

– an emotional, true connection

– an honest and meaningful experience

– an adventure, a new place to visit, a unique moment in their life

– the opportunity to hear a favorite song, that’s like being with an old friend, as well as, hear a new song that creates a new energy

– the chance to leave behind any worries or concerns

Hmmm. Interesting. Also, great goals for any customer experience!

While at a Tucson resort, I was headed to the gym for an early morning workout.

Before hopping on the treadmill, I discovered on the wall, a mental exercise. Its author, Patricia Diane Cota Robles writes:

Beginning today:

I am going to control my emotions, so that nothing can disturb my peace of mind.

I am going to watch my words, thoughts and actions, because they are all powerful and will bring their effect into my life.

I am going to let my family, friends and co-workers know that they are a vital part of my life, and be as enthusiastic about their accomplishments, as I am about my own.

I am going to speak of health, happiness and prosperity.

I am going to be so involved improving myself, that I won’t have time to criticize others.

I will eliminate worry, anger and fear.

I will radiate confidence.

I will think the best, speak the best, do the best and expect the best.

*****

Great stuff, thanks Patricia.

So I ask you, how will you…become your best?

A friend, who’s a business-owner asked me:

“Jeff, my folks were recently having a good-natured debate about which department, team or individual is more important, i.e., service, sales, ops, credit, etc. What’s your opinion?”

Answer:

Did you then solve the chicken and the egg dilemma?!

Interesting question. Kinda like asking, “Which is more important in a car, the steering wheel or the brakes?”

Obviously, without sales, there’s nothing to do.

Yet wait, without talented service pros, there might be nothing to sell next time.

Hmm, and those folks in finance, credit and accounting keep track of all those dollars.

And if manufacturing doesn’t make it, it can’t be sold. And if it can’t be sold, it can’t be bought.

Did your receptionist vote? After all, he or she is your first voice to the world, your director of first impressions.

And how ‘bout your role as the owner and the contributions of your leadership team. What if together, you don’t create a culture of trust, value, vision and accountability?

Let me give you another perspective. Years ago, I had the pleasure to consult with the team at the Chicago O’Hare Hilton. Their General Manager was Bruce Ulrich, a wonderful guy, who told me something I never forgot.

He said, “Jeff, do you know who some of the most important members of my team are?” I replied, “Who and how come?”

He answered, “My custodial team. Especially, those who clean the bathrooms near our lobby, front desk and restaurants.”

Bruce went on to explain…

“We’re part of O’Hare Airport, so our lobby or first floor, is a busy place. Folks grabbing a quick meal. Relaxing on a layover. Or conducting a meeting. And when they enter those first-floor bathrooms, they’re forming opinions. Not just about the bathroom(s), but the entire hotel. If the sinks, floors or toilets are dirty, they begin to wonder about the cleanliness of our sleeping rooms, the quality of our food, the functionality of our meeting space and our hospitality commitment to our guests.”

Bruce further emphasized, he let his custodial team know the value they brought and the significance they played, not just in the hotel’s “bathroom beauty,” but in the hotel’s performance and profitability.

So I guess, the answer is obvious. Your most important person is…

Now you may be asking yourself, “What the heck does this have to do with results and peaking my profits.”

Actually, everything!

I’ve always firmly believed, business and success are also about…

• altruism, not just capitalism

• what you give, not just what you get

• and being selfless, not just selfish

Therefore…

On a chilly, rainy day in Chicago, I dropped my wife and kids off and then parked.

As I began the two-block walk to meet my family, I was protected from the steady downpour by an umbrella. However, as I waited to cross the intersection, I saw an elderly man slowly walking toward me. He made futile attempts to block the raindrops with his hands.

As he approached me, I asked, “Where are you parked?” He said, “A few blocks from here.” I said, “Great! Let’s share the umbrella. I’ll walk you there!” He gratefully nodded.

After our first step together, I stopped. Then said, “I’ve got a better idea. Please raise your right hand.” He did. I then placed the umbrella in his hand and said, “Congratulations! You’re the proud owner of a new umbrella. Stay dry!”

He had a look of confusion and satisfaction.

We both left happy!

Who will you surprise today?

If so, here’s how you respond without sounding pompous or boastful.

An effective way to translate value to a prospect or referred lead is with testimonial endorsements. Your clients or customers are probably willing to say lots of nice things about you. Yet perhaps, you haven’t asked them.

It’s important to stress, the only way to secure favorable comments is by first doing your job: to meet clients’ or customers’ expectations and to exceed them!

Whether folks say incredible things about you in print, via e-mail or on the phone, your real challenge, is in using these words of praise to your advantage.

The next time a prospect asks:

• “Why should we use you?”
• “What makes you so special?”
• “What will you do for us, others can’t?”

Here’s my suggestion. Don’t answer. That’s right, don’t answer. At least not from your perspective.

If you begin to tell a prospect what makes you so special, from whose viewpoint are you answering? Yours! And you’re biased. Even if it’s the truth.

Shift into a third-party testimonial strategy. Say something like:

“That’s a great question and a fair one to ask. It’s also a tough one for me to answer, because I guess I’m somewhat biased. Instead, let me share with you what three other clients/customers said about our working relationship and results.”

Here, you can:

√ repeat statements told to you

√ read from thank-you notes

√ send copies of e-mails

√ fax them letters

√ play or provide links to audio or video testimonials

Testimonials offer tremendous power and credibility. They’re especially valuable if your prospect knows the testimonial endorser.

I actually had one decision-maker exclaim, “Ernie said that about you? He doesn’t like anybody, you must really be good!”

This fellow quickly went from being a suspect—to a prospect—to a client!

The third-party testimonial strategy helps you toot your own horn, with some assistance. While you hold the horn, your testimonial endorsers enthusiastically play the notes!

At the start of a new year, folks are always in search of a “new” happiness. It’s a topic, amongst others—I addressed years ago, with fellow author and speaker, Brian Tracy, on my TV talk-show INSIGHT.

Here are brief excerpts:

Jeff Blackman: What is foremost on the minds of people you meet?

Brian Tracy: The common denominator, is we want to be happy. Happiness is largely defined as good relationships, good health, meaningful work and financial independence. We all want all four of these. You can measure how healthy and how happy you are, by how well you’re doing in each of these areas. If you have a deficiency in one, then you feel unhappy. Therefore, happiness is when your deficient needs are satisfied.

JB: Why are people so unwilling to take a risk or to make an enhancement, that can unequivocally improve their life?

BT: Fear and doubt have been the greatest enemies of mankind throughout history and still are. If a person was absolutely guaranteed that if you use this, you will experience marked improvement, if they were absolutely assured of it, they would act on it. But people sabotage themselves with their own doubts.

JB: Success is evolutionary, but everyone is looking for that quick fix. Is there one?

BT: We have two mental illnesses. A mental illness is a way of looking at the world that is incorrect with regard to reality. It isn’t what a person knows that hurts them, it’s what they know that isn’t true.

One of the things people are taught is that it’s possible to be successful quickly. There are no quick successes. To be successful, you’ve got to be willing to put in years of hard work.

The second mental illness we have, is called something for nothing. It’s impossible to get more out then you put in, unless somebody gets less out, then what they put in. You cannot have more unless you are stealing from somebody else. Our society is based on this idea that you can get something for nothing and you can get rich quick. The fact is, you have to pay full price in advance for any success you want.

JB: Do we spend too much time focused on victory vs. the behavior required to attain that victory?

BT: My friend, Denis Waitley, says we spend too much time on activities that are tension relieving, rather than activities that are goal achieving. The question is, “How badly do you want to be successful?” If you want to be successful, study other successful people. They have certain characteristics in common:

1. They accept complete responsibility for their lives and don’t make excuses. They don’t expect something for nothing. They don’t expect anyone else to do it for them.
2. They have very clear goals and written plans.
3. They are continuous learners. They recognize that whatever they know is already becoming obsolete or is being eliminated by their           competition.
4. They are very persistent. They are tenacious. They keep at it. They just keep working and working.

Anybody who will do these four, is going to have a wonderful life.

With many schools already “back-in-session”—I found something in our daughter Brittany’s fourth-grade “academic archives” that’s applicable to not only “students” or “kids”—but also us “adults” in life and business.

It was originally sent to me, by John Hopkins, Brittany’s fourth-grade teacher at Glen Grove School. And it’s excerpted from Dr. Haim Ginnott’s 1972 book, Teacher and Child.

(The red parenthetical comments are my additions.)

“I’ve come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom.”
(office, boardroom, field, home)

“It’s my personal approach that creates the climate.”
(the culture, the environment, the family dynamic)

“It’s my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, (leader, owner, sales pro, customer service rep, parent, child, team member…), I possess a tremendous power to make a child’s, (employee’s, teammate’s, customer’s, family member’s, friend’s…), life miserable or joyous.”

“I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child, (teammate, client, supplier, parent, husband, wife, partner, son, daughter, family member, friend…), humanized or de-humanized.”

Thanks John! It always fascinates me, when you learn valuable lessons, in unexpected ways.

Oh, Brittany passed the fourth grade in flying colors! And today—is a happy, positive, caring, compassionate, empathetic, productive and successful person and business-pro. Apparently, while in the classroom, she was paying attention! I love you Brit!

It wasn’t the words, it was the sound in his voice that told me something was wrong.

During a recent phone conversation, a friend assured me everything was good in his life—with family and biz.

He said it. I heard it. Yet it didn’t ring true.

So when I politely nudged him, he finally admitted, “Jeff, I just lost a client. A big one. What did I do wrong?”

What if you, had asked me the same question? I’ll tell you, what I told him.

To give you a deeper insight and more on-target explanation, I need to obviously know more details. However, there’s a pretty good likelihood you blew it, in one or more ways.

So take a deep gulp. Be brutally honest. Review the following. And then you’ll know better than anyone else, where you goofed.

You may have lost a client if:

1. You promised a lot, but under-delivered.
2. You or you people were rude, uncaring or indifferent.
3. You stopped listening, because you knew all the answers.
4. You remembered the importance of customer or client acquisition, yet you forgot about the significance of satisfaction and retention.
5. You forgot that individuals make decisions—and you began to take for granted or ignored the value in your relationships.
6. Your product or service has declining value or quality.
7. You stopped communicating in a timely and effective manner.
8. Your client’s needs and expectations changed, but your strategies and solutions didn’t.
9. You committed an ethical breach.
10. You began to think you were selling a commodity with no differential competitive advantage, except a lower price.
11. You missed deadlines and deliverables.
12. Your customer found somebody else, who wasn’t doing 1 thru 11.

Are you in jeopardy of losing a customer or client?

If so, the time to take corrective action, is NOW!

By the way, a “lost” customer or client, may only be temporarily “misplaced.”

Where they are, really depends upon, where you are!

To help you start strong in Q3, here are some notable quotables!

*****

“The greatest gap in life is the one between knowing and doing.”

— Dick Biggs

“No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings.”

— William Blake

“A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.”

— Jeff Bezos, CEO and co-founder of Amazon.com

“There’s only one way to succeed in anything, and that’s to give it everything.”

— Vince Lombardi

“Enthusiasm moves the world.”

— Arthur Balfour

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.”

— Helen Keller

“Life is a series of near misses. A lot of what we ascribe to luck is not luck at all. It’s seizing the day and accepting responsibility for your future.”

— Howard Schultz, Chairman – Starbucks

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”

— Theodor Seuss Geisel, from Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

“A life spent in making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.”

— George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright and critic

“You can’t just sit there and wait for people to give you that golden dream; you’ve got to get out there and make it happen for yourself.”

— Diana Ross, American singer

“Don’t just stand there, make it happen.”

— Lee Iacocca, former Chrysler chairman

“Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly.”

— Dr. Robert Schuller

“There’s only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s yourself.”

— Aldous Huxley

“To be irreplaceable, one must always be different.”

— Coco Chanel

“The distance isn’t important; it’s only the first step that’s difficult.”

— Marie de Vichy-Chamrond

“Why not go out on a limb? Isn’t that where the fruit is?”

— Frank Scully

“Kites rise highest against the wind, not with it.”

— Sir Winston Churchill

“The key to success: make a habit of doing the things you fear.”

— Vincent Van Gogh

“If we make up our minds what we’re going to make of our lives, then work hard toward that goal, we never lose.”

— Ronald Reagan

“If you work just for the money, you’ll never make it, but if you love what you’re doing and you always put the customer first, success will be yours.”

— Ray Kroc

“The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.”

— Peter Drucker

“There ain’t no rules around here. We’re trying to accomplish something.”

— Thomas Edison

“Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.”

— Raymond Chandler

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”

— Steve Jobs

“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”

— Johann Goethe

*****

Get to it.

Go do it!

Do you have a favorite quote or saying? Would love to see it!

Please send it to: jeff@jeffblackman.com

Thanks. To your results!

Once, I suggested to a financial services client, that their advisors use Internet search engines to discover what others in their industry are doing and saying to promote their products, services and solutions.

For example, I recommended they consider doing searches for:

• fee based planners
• investment advisors
• financial advisors
• fee-only planners
• financial planners, etc.

How come? Because they, like you, can quickly use the web, as a direct and indirect source of inspiration. For language. Concepts. And phraseology.

Often, when you search for stuff that’s merely related to your business, you can discover some powerful possibilities.

Here’s a similar strategy. I constantly scour magazines, (online and hardcopy), for articles and ads with captivating communication I can easily adapt for potential use.

The following three examples, may even have direct application to you and your business. They can influence how you communicate in print, as well as, during client meetings or prospect conversations.

1. From an old issue of BusinessWeek, excerpts from a Duke Energy ad:

“We didn’t become a leader by wearing blinders. We see the subtleties. The opportunities overlooked by others. It is this intimacy with detail, and the ability to step back and see beyond, which give us perspective.”

How can you adapt the preceding? Imagine a prospect asks, “So what makes you so special?”

You might answer:

“Extremely happy clients like, (name drop), tell us we’re focused on the details and the subtleties of their business. They feel this ability gives us and them a unique perspective to capitalize on opportunities that might be overlooked or missed by others.”

2. Excerpts from an ad for Novartis, (a drug therapy for eyesight deterioration):

“…an innovative force that’s bringing new optimism and hope…think what’s possible”

You might stress, “Clients like, (name drop) tell us we’re an innovative partner and creative force, helping them achieve new results and possibilities. Like the time we, (refer to case studies, metrics, goals met and exceeded, stats, testimonials, etc.)”

3. Excerpts from an ad for Lufthansa:

“Wherever you want to go, we make it easier for you to get there.”

You could emphasize, “Our clients, (name drop) especially value the easy or hassle-free way we…”

As you can tell, the possibilities are huge. So be willing to take the direct, indirect and side roads to results.

Search. Discover. Adapt. Profit!

A workshop participant once said to me, “Jeff, we’re living in the days of the Jetsons, but we’re serving our customers, like the days of the Flintstones.”

There’s always a better way. Your challenge, is to find it.

Here are nine creative strategies:

• To boost your brain…
• To crank your cranium…
• To turn creativity into cash…
• To convert possibilities into profit!

1. BE ON THE PROWL

Read. Then read some more. Especially, outside your area of expertise or traditional areas of interest. Head to a bookstore or newsstand and buy a book or magazine, where you might exclaim, “I can’t believe I’m buying this!” Or hop online and surf the web. Ride the wave of wonder. Give

yourself permission to bust beyond your perceived boundaries. Seek fresh content. Open your eyes to new stuff. Play with the possibilities.

Several years ago, as part of a project for a new series of books, I was stumped. My creative inspiration for an impactful logo was frozen in futility.  When my graphic designer kept asking, “What do you envision?,” I’d reply,

“Ain’t sure. Still thinking. Still looking.”

And then, one memorable night, I received the lightning bolt of inspiration I was waiting for. Where did it come from?  One of my kid’s magazines.  With the turn of a page, boom, there it was! A publication geared to eleven and twelve-year-olds stirred my creative juices. (Okay, so maybe I think and act like their target audience, but that’s a discussion for another book or therapy session!)

2. STARE WITH YOUR EARS, LISTEN WITH YOUR EYES

While focus is crucial, be sure to still look in all directions. Pay attention to the world around you. There’s lots of cool stuff happening! Look at billboards and signs. Walk into stores you’ve never visited before. Politely eavesdrop on conversations. Take a different route from point A to B. Then wonder, “Whooa, when did they build that?! Where did that come from?”  See new things.

When you’re at an airport, a mall, a restaurant, activate all your senses.  Look. Listen. Smell. Be ready and receptive to discover and uncover the possibilities.  Because some times, they sneak up on you.

The inspiration for my Carpe A.M. • Carpe P.M. – Seize Your Destiny book title, came from a passing bus billboard, promoting a discotheque in Florida.

3. KEEP IT

When an idea hits you, capture it. NOW! Don’t lose it. Mumble into a recorder or smartphone. Send yourself an e-mail. Leave yourself a voice mail. Write it down. (I keep paper and pencil; in my car, next to my bed, in the bathroom, near the treadmill, etc.)

Start a file, (either hardcopy or electronic), for your ideas, then categorize them, i.e., new products, new services, new clients, new strategies, etc.

4. INCUBATE

The idea hits you, cool! You wrote it down, excellent. Now, forget about it.  For an hour or a day. Get a good night’s rest. Sleep on it. Let your subconscious kick-in.

Time, is a miraculous contributor to upgrades and improvements. It brings clarity. Use time to your advantage.

5. SEEK OUTSIDE COUNSEL

Ask others for their input. Capitalize on multiple brain-power. Remember, “Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.” Or to state it another way, “When two people are always in agreement, one of them ain’t necessary.”

6. GET ABSTRACT

Let the bizarre, absurd or goofy creep into your thought process. Defy the rules of conformity. I’ve always believed, if enough people tell you you’re nuts, you’re probably headed in the right direction!

7. TRUST YOUR GUT

That strange, quirky sensation that stirs in your tummy is usually right.  Listen to it. Trust your instincts. Don’t let your intuition lose to the cynics or voices of logical debate and doubt.

8. WATER IT AND WATCH IT GROW

Crank the H2O. Something miraculous happens near water. When I’m in the shower or shaving, my subconscious creativity is in turbo-drive. Let your mind wander. Often, the journey to greatness doesn’t take a straight or linear path. Let water unleash your creative spirit.

Nolan Bushnell entrepreneur and founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese once said, “Everyone who has taken a shower has an idea. It’s the person who gets out of the shower, dries off and does something about it who makes a difference.”

9. BE A DOER

Take action. Turn ideas into implementation. Inspiration into execution. There’s a big difference, between thinking and doing. As Ben Franklin once stated, “Well done is better than well said.”

And the best way to predict your future, is to create it!

Have you ever heard the figurative business suggestions to “sharpen your axe” or “polish your tools?” Me too. Well now, I’m gonna suggest, you also wield your saber. Or, S.A.B.E.R.!

A saber is a slightly curved blade that’s sharp on one edge. It’s a powerful tool. And so is this S.A.B.E.R, which will help you achieve a new edge of excellence!

SABER stands for:

S skills +

A attitude +

B behavior +

E xecution with excellence =

R results

SKILLS:

Do you have the skills you need, to attain the results you desire? If your answer is “no” then whatta ya gonna do about it?

Consider:

• What are the skills you’d like to improve? (Make a list.)
• How will you upgrade these skills? (i.e., will you read a book, listen to a CD, watch a DVD, enroll in a seminar or online course, or hire a coach or an advisor)
• When will you start this new road to results? (Commit to a date. Define a deliverable. Take the first step.)

ATTITUDE:

Is attitude everything? Nope. For without action, it’s merely positive fantasy.  Yet attitude matters. Lots! And here’s the good news. When it comes to attitude, you’re the ONE in control. Total control. Positive or negative, it’s your decision.

A few years ago, I heard another hotel guest in Battle Creek, Michigan mumble beneath his breath, “It’s one of those days!” Heck, it was only 10:00 a.m.! Yet he was already convinced he could place this Monday on the losing side of his “daily scorecard.”

So what might influence your attitude? Do you see:

• Challenge or opportunity?
• Problem or inconvenience?
• Dilemma or lesson?
• Breakdown or breakthrough?
• Mistake or asset?
• Failure or fortune?

It’s a choice. And the choice is yours!

A sign in a University of Washington oceanography class proclaims: “Man is 97% water, the rest is all attitude.”

BEHAVIOR:

Plain and simple, it’s what you do. Not what you promise. Not what you claim. Not what you boast. Not what you intend. But what you DO.

And all too often, folks ain’t doing the right things! They engage in, what our youngest daughter Amanda, (who at the age of nine), began referring to… “inappropriate behavior.” (I know, the wisdom of a sage at a tender age!)

Psychologists even have a fancy term for helping folks who engage in counterproductive conduct: “behavior modification”

With behavior mod, psychologists attempt to positively influence one’s behavior, by rewarding new and desirable activities or performance. And making the undesirable behaviors, less attractive.

Whoa. Simple stuff. Good stuff. When it works. Yet often, it doesn’t. How come? Because it only works, when you work. With many, when all is said and done, more is usually said than done.

Don’t be a “sayer.” Be a DOER!

EXECUTE WITH EXCELLENCE:

To execute with excellence, it’s about attention to detail. Doing the right thing. The passion and commitment to deliver at peak levels of performance.  Not once. Repeatedly.

It’s about turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. It’s about the spirit, the will, the desire, the act to excel. To win.

It’s realizing while speed is appreciated, execution with excellence is remembered. Yet to pursue excellence and the right actions, it takes guts. For you’ll always be testing your limits. As Paul Harvey once said, “You can outdo you, if you really want to.”

RESULTS:

That’s the name of the game. Like it or not, we keep track. In points. In goals. In grades. In ratings. In dollars. In sales. The simple question, “How’d you do?” is all about results. And results is all about outcomes. Consequences. The tally. The score.

Did you win or lose? Advance or retreat?

Yet what influences or determines the results, are your skills, attitude, behaviors and execution with excellence.

As Dr. Phil McGraw, Ph.D., a.k.a. Dr. Phil, once said, “At the end of the game, it’s about results. Life is a full-contact sport and there’s a score up on the board.”

S + A + B + E = R! A simple formula.

S.A.B.E.R., a simple tool. Yet perhaps, an even more dynamic “weapon for winning.”

Will you wield this S.A.B.E.R.?

The choice is yours!

In 1999, when we celebrated our son Chad’s 10^th birthday at a local I-MAX theatre, it was your basic evening of popcorn and pandemonium. We tried, with little luck, to corral a dozen hyper-energized ten-year-old boys.

However, little did I realize, I’d also learn a valuable lesson from a 3D picture. Yet it’s a lesson, also applicable to you and your life and business, especially now.

That I-Max system was powered by a 12,000 watt sound system that produced the equivalent sensation of a jet plane taking off. Plus, the I-MAX projector had two 15,000 watt Xenon (Zee-non) lamps which created enough energy or light to project a spot 225,000 miles away…on the surface of the moon. Now that’s focus.

And focus is absolutely crucial to your on-going success, especially in any time of change. Remember, change may initially bring shock, discomfort or even pain. Yet it’ll also bring opportunity and growth.

While the past is history and the future a mystery, there’s nothing strange or mystical about change. It’s a constant. It’s a reality. So great things are still to come. Change, simply requires your willingness to take a step beyond.

Focus. And reach for the moon!

Several years ago, on a flight to Richmond, Virginia, I glanced out the airplane’s window and was inspired by the blue skies and white clouds to write the following:

ASCEND MY FRIEND!

What hurdles are high, what stands in your way,
What obstacles might, challenge you today.

The barriers, the pitfalls—they will always exist,
So pursue and destroy them, don’t you dare resist.

For you’ll soon discover and unequivocally find,
that the real power—is within your mind.

So confront your battles, there’s no time for remorse,
Let positive thoughts, help chart your new course.

Hardship and hurt may attack with surprise,
But the only tragedy, is if you choose not to rise.

Along your journey, you may hear rejection,
But your only foe, is your own reflection.

Listen to your heart, you have much to learn,
You have lives to influence and success to earn.

Be your most ardent supporter, your own best friend,
And the ladder of life, you will always ascend!

Therefore, I learned a powerful response to their constant queries of “Why?” So when they asked, “Why?”…I conditioned myself to exclaim, “Because.”

It was simple. Direct. And a momentary stop-gap.

However, “because” is two syllables and it took too long to repeatedly utter. Therefore, with extensive training, I developed the ability to answer the frequent “Why?” questions with only one syllable, “Caus.” (Pronounced: cuz.)

They asked, “Why?” I declared, “Caus!”

And I realized, wouldn’t this be a wonderful retort to a prospect, who wonders, “Why should we use you?” And all you need to confidently respond with, is “Caus.”

Here’s what I mean.

What if “Caus” stood for:

Constant

Awesome

Unduplicatable

Supremacy

And that’s exactly what you deliver.

CAUS meaning:

Constant: on-going, all-the-time, non-stop.

Awesome: phenomenal, incredible, extraordinary.

Unduplicatable: can’t be copied, unique, one-of-a-kind.

Supremacy: highest quality, superior, the ultimate.

When you offer the marketplace constant, awesome, unduplicatable supremacy, your customers benefit. They tell the world. And you profit. Big time!

Here’s a simple example of “CAUS” in action. As you may know, in the Chicagoland area, “the hot dog” is considered haute cuisine. And one of the best places to devour this Chicago tradition, is at the Superdawg Drive-In.

Superdawg is literally a nostalgic throw-back to the 1950s. Car-hops attach a tray to your car window stacked high with snap when you bite ‘em Superdawgs, hot and crispy Superfries and thick and rich Supershakes.

And the Superdawg receipt boldly declares:

“Our family has been thrilling customers with superfood and friendly service  since 1948.”

Wow! How’s that for a “CAUS” declaration!?

My wife and I even stopped for a Superdawg one night, after a wedding. The parking lot was full, yet we were the only ones in a formal gown and a tuxedo. (I was in the tux!)

So how can you create, constant, awesome, unduplicatable, supremacy with:

– your products

– your services

– your promotional literature

– your website

– your correspondence

– your telephone reception/greeting

– your delivery

– your culture

– your image

– your phone contact

– your packaging

– your merchandising

– your relationships

– your strategic alliances

– your people

And most important…

– with YOU

Oh, when you’re in Chicago and would like to witness and taste “constant, awesome, unduplicatable, supremacy” at Superdawg, call me. Lunch is my treat!

Answer:
Whoa! Intriguing question!

Every April, family, friends and clients ask me “How will the Cubs do this year?” Seven months ago, I confidently exclaimed, “They’ll be better, a few games over 500. About 85 victories and 77 losses.” I was wrong. Big time! Yet never have I been happier, to drastically miss-the-mark.

The Cubs finished the 2015 season 97 – 65. That’s 32 games or wins above 500! They headed to baseball’s postseason. Shocking! Surprising! Exhilarating!

They then defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Wild Card game. And then whupped their arch rival, the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Divisional series. And then came the New York Mets and the National League Championship series. Ouch! The Cubs were swept 4 – 0.

So how do I now feel about this year’s Cubbies season? It’s interesting how overachieving creates new expectations. For years, decades, ummm, even centuries, Cub Nation has declared, “Wait ‘til next year!” It really wasn’t a confident, prophetic prediction. Instead, it was more akin to a resigned consolation. An acceptance of prolonged defeat and mediocrity. Until…

We Cub fans started to wonder, imagine, dream…could “this” year be “THE” year? Nope! Yet once you shake away the disappointment and heartbreak, you realize there are SO MANY positive things that happened this year for the Chicago Cubs and their fans, that they teach you valuable lessons about life and business. For example:

• youth is a great thing, it represents talent and potential, yet it’ll always get beat by successful execution / Lesson: It’s not what you know or can do, it’s what you do DO!

• little things really do matter; one play, one pitch, one inch / Lesson: Pay attention to the details, they’re likely to be the difference in your life, personally and professionally.

• leadership starts at the top, from the moment he was hired as the new Cubs manager, Joe Maddon set the stage for positive possibilities and a new mindset of optimistic expectations (When I shared a flight to Tampa with Maddon in January, I simply said to him, “Joe, welcome. We’re thrilled you’re here!” At the time, I and others couldn’t predict, how thrilled we’d be!) / Lesson: Choose your leaders wisely. Culture starts at the top. Whether it’s who’s heading your company, a division, a department or a committee, the right leader better be in place. While they may or maynot help you “win the prize” this year, they’ll sure increase your probability for victory. And along the way, drive lots of other successful results and outcomes.

• baseball’s regular season is a grind, 162 games over 6+ months, it’s easy to lose focus, especially with long travel, injuries and slumps which is why the Cubs relied upon Maddon’s motivational mastery…with music, magic or other motivational mayhem to keep players interested and performing / Lesson: Know what drives your team. Individually and collectively. And that only happens, when you know your people. Their hopes, dreams, desires and motivators. Build and strengthen relationships. Let others know you care.

• unorthodox, unconventional and unexpected work, some think Joe Maddon is crazy, he might be, yet that also makes him a brilliant baseball strategist, i.e., batting the pitcher 8th vs. 9th, having players play multiple positions, executing back-to-back, run-producing safety squeeze bunts, etc. / Lesson: Forget about the naysayers and critics. Do what you think is right. Rely upon your knowledge, experience, metrics, statistics, eyes, ears and gut. Then decide. Confidently. Then execute or get the heck out of the way, and let your team execute. Your results will infom the world.

• control what you can control: Maddon would stress, “Forget about yesterday, don’t worry about tomorrow. Focus on today.” / Lesson: Be in charge, every day, of your attitude, choices and actions.

For you and the Cubs, may next year, be “the” year, to attain new levels of success. Live and work, like a champion!

His journey began in 1945. He was a recent high school graduate and now an 18-year-old “Navy Man.” A Petty Officer Third Class. Yet little did he realize, he’d receive a hero’s welcome for his service as a World War II veteran, 70 years later. It was September 2nd, 3:05AM. Dad slowly entered my car. We left in darkness.

Over the decades, Dad and I have spent lots of memorable days together. Yet none like this. His Honor Flight Chicago trip as a World War II vet had officially begun. (Honor Flight Chicago’s mission is simple: “To thank and pay tribute to America’s war heroes, by bringing them to Washington, D.C. for a day of honor and remembrance at no cost to them.”)

First stop, Chicago’s Midway Airport. 3:40AM, Dad carefully exited my car. Orange-shirted volunteers gently helped him into one of his many “chariots” for the day. A smooth-movin’ wheelchair!

I parked my car and headed into Midway to join the fun. (I spend lots of time in airports. Yet never have I seen such excitement and joy…in any airport, especially at 4AM!) Hundreds of volunteers were there to “serve” veterans. For they had served America, its citizens and future generations.

Dad was one of 85 vets. 84 men. 1 woman. Average age 90. The oldest 99. And as Dad said, “Even a ‘kid,’ who was only 86!”

I donned my green Honor Flight shirt. I was now an “official guardian.” And I’d have the privilege of being Dad’s guardian for the day. Dad always encouraged and politely pushed me to succeed. Yet now, I’d be “pushing” him and his wheelchair, through crowded airports, around memorable D.C. memorials and up countless ramps.

But first, an extensive, remarkably organized “check-in” process: Name tags issued. Ditty bags passed out. Portrait photos of each vet taken.

We breezed through a special security line and once at the gate for our Southwest charter to D.C., we were treated to coffee, donuts and “time travel.” A live-band, featuring “Andrews Sisters” impersonators belted out hits from the 1940s. While volunteer dancers in 40s garb danced with veterans.

Then the slow, methodical, highly efficient boarding process began. 85 vets. 8 nurses. 2 doctors. Volunteers. Guardians. Photographers and videographers. Finally, wheels-up. A glorious day to fly.

When I fly for business, clients ask, “How was your flight?” I typically reply, “Perfect! We took off, we landed. Uneventful.” By that aviation standard, this “flight” was also uneventful. But not the “greeting!”

As we entered the Dulles terminal, each vet was greeted by hundreds of volunteers, well-wishers, adults, children, high school teams and admirers, who thanked the vets for their courage and commitment with an extended handshake, a warm embrace, a high five, a huge smile or a simple kiss to the cheek.

The enthusiastic crowd showed their gratitude with signs, cheers and the always powerful, “Thanks for your service.” (It was one of many times during the day, when I wish I had a box of Kleenex with an automatic dispenser!)

Eventually, we exited the terminal, (still to thunderous applause), and headed to the next mode of transportation, our gleaming, five-strong “bus brigade” – Red, White, Blue, Green and Gold. (It’s also pretty easy to navigate Virginia and D.C. traffic, with a police escort!)

Visits during the day included; the Air Force Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center and our most memorable visit to the World War II Memorial.

It included a special ceremony for the vets with a color guard, members of the U.S. Marine Corps band and a personal greeting from Senator Bob Dole, himself a WWII vet. (And ironically, the date of our trip, September 2^nd, was the 70th anniversary of V-J Day, when Japan “formally” surrendered aboard the U.S.S. Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay.)

D.C. was stifling hot. Yet there was never a complaint. About the heat. The lack of sleep. The pace of the day. It was now easy for me to understand, why this group of men and women, have been called, “The Greatest Generation!” Being with them and Dad, was a day of significance.

It was late afternoon, and for the final time, almost 150 haggard yet happy vets, volunteers and guardians boarded our five buses. Off to Dulles! As we gathered at the gate for our return flight home, there was an audible buzz. Folks reflected on the day with new friends. They swapped stories about life during and after the war. And there was 1940s music, with a local dance group “cutting the rug” with women in polka dot dresses and men in zoot suits!

Finally, Southwest charter 8248 was headed back to Chicago. The overhead lights dimmed. Exhausted eyes closed. Proud, but pooped heads sunk into slumber. Until…

One hour into the flight, the plane’s lights abruptly began to shine. They were accompanied by a loud declaration over the plane’s PA system, “Mail call!” The vets were in disbelief. And awe!

Each received a 9×12 envelope with their name on it. Inside; cards, letters, faxes, e-mails, crayon drawings, original artwork…from family, friends, business associates, local students and even the owners of Chicago’s professional sports teams. Each message offering sincere thanks, admiration and love to the vet for their service!

8:41PM, we landed. As we taxied toward the gate, a surprised vet exclaimed, “Is it raining?” Nope! Yet there was water raining down each side of the plane. The vets were receiving “salutes” from the Midway Airport Chicago Fire Department’s water canons! As the water streamed, so did the tears!

As vets de-planed, they were greeted by applause and cheers. And that was just in the jetway, from Southwest crew members, Midway employees, Honor Flight volunteers and members of the Chicago Fire Department.

If the reception at Dulles was remarkable, the welcome at Midway was incomprehensible. As each vet exited, he or she was greeted by saluting active members of the U.S. Navy, who then became a vet’s official escort. I relinquished Dad’s “pushing priorities” to the U.S. Navy’s Jeremy Butler. I proudly walked about five feet behind, capturing pictures and video. Hundreds of enthusiastic well-wishers whooped, hollered, clapped and repeatedly told each vet, “Thanks for your service!” (The musical accompaniment was bagpipers!)

And when you thought the raucous welcome couldn’t get any better, it did!

As we headed to Midway’s ground floor, a band played patriotic American songs. Plus Honor Flight transformed an expansive area of baggage claim, into a dedicated, winding parade route. Lined by almost 3,000 frenzied family, friends and admirers.

Many feverishly waved American flags and held up signs, banners and posters, with a vet’s picture from the 1940s and simple messages of love and appreciation. Folks continually reached over the security fence or barrier to thank each vet for their service. And then…

Tears swelled in Dad’s eyes. To my knowledge, yet his surprise…

He looked up, to his right, lining the parade route…were my Mom, my family and our friends, cheering, applauding, hugging, kissing and yelling, “Welcome home Irv!” / “You’re a hero Dad!” / “Way to go Papa!” (Dad said he now expects this reception, every time he flies!)

If you’re a World War II vet or know a vet who’s interested in this powerful and unforgettable day of remembrance, (or you’d like to volunteer), hop online to see what honor flights are available in your region of the United States. And if you’re in the Chicagoland area, simply head to honorflightchicago.org or call 773.227.VETS (8387)

Mom, we brought your Navy Man home safely. Dad, thanks for serving. You’re a hero. I love you!

A subscriber asks:

Jeff, as much as I try to stay focused, I’m often easily distracted. What do you suggest?

Answer:

Great question. One we could easily spend hours on. Yet in the interest of brevity, simplicity and ease of execution, here’s a dynamite idea from Rob Baskin, a client and friend, who continually shows me, he’s a very focused guy.

Here’s Rob, in his own words:

“My hourglass, is about 16” tall with white sand. When I run it, I commit myself to working on one and only one task for the duration. When in the office, I generally use it one or two times per day, to focus on and knock-off my highest priorities.

If I finish early, I either move on to my next highest priority or use the newly discovered time to return calls, check e-mails, or do a walk-around one of our departments.

The hourglass has also become symbolic of focus time. If someone enters my office for an impromptu visit, my assistant knows the glass is running and tells him or her, I’m in “focus mode.” Generally, visitors are very agreeable, and we visit when focus time is over.

This is a very simplistic idea, yet what I find absolutely amazing, is what can be accomplished in such a short time. I guess that’s the power of focus.”

Thanks Rob!

What will you accomplish, in your focus time?

While standing in the checkout line at Whole Foods Market, I glanced up. Emblazoned on the wall, is a series of simple, yet powerful signs.

The first one, is about six feet long and brown, with ten inch white letters proclaiming: Our Core Values

Beneath it, were five smaller signs. Each, about three feet by two feet. Their beige letters, state the five distinct core values of Whole Foods:

1. We sell the highest quality foods available.
2. We care about team member happiness and excellence.
3. We satisfy and delight our customers.
4. We create wealth through profits and growth.
5. We care about our environment.

All, good stuff. Truly, food for thought! So it got me thinking…

What are your core values?

How are they communicated? Internally? Externally?

Are they tucked-away or highly visible?

And most important, how are you living and executing them?

Bruce Jenner walked into our radio station early. He had a big smile, a warm handshake and a friendly, relaxed demeanor. Bruce was gracious, charming and funny. On-the-air and off. Some guests would only be “on” when the red light was on. Not Jenner. He conveyed the message, “I’m happy to be here!” And following our interview, he even hung around to pose for pictures with me and other members of the WFYR radio team.

It was the 1980s, long before the relentlessly-hyped, headline-grabbing April 24th conversation between Jenner and ABC’s Diane Sawyer, seen by 17 million viewers. While frequently promoted as, “The Interview,” there was a far more valuable and impactful Bruce Jenner dialogue to me. My interview with him, when Jenner was a guest on my radio talk-show in Chicago, The Connection.

When Jenner and I visited, he wasn’t a “reality TV star.” In reality though, he was a star. A big one. A celebrity. An Olympic gold medalist. An American hero!

Our focus here, won’t be on Jenner’s transgender announcement. Instead, it’ll be on our conversation thirty years ago. What I learned from him then and have applied for three decades. And what you too can learn from him and apply with remarkable results. If you choose.

Yet there’s one thing Jenner said during the ABC commercials to promote his interview with Sawyer I found especially interesting. Because when I heard it, it immediately took me back to our interview.

Jenner said in the ABC TV spots, “My whole life has been getting me ready for this.” And I realized, that’s quintessential Jenner. Really no different “today” versus three decades ago, with his approach or preparation.

For what I learned then about Bruce Jenner is…

He’s a focused, disciplined winner. Jenner knew how to prepare mentally and physically for victory. How to become a world-record-holder and a gold medalist in the grueling Olympic decathlon competition.

As a radio and TV broadcaster, I interviewed many professional athletes who performed at peak or championship levels. And all of them had one thing in common. They visualized their success. Visualization helped them create a mental rehearsal for the real thing.

Yet the most striking example of the power of visualization, is Jenner’s. I asked Bruce to tell me about his gold medal and record-setting decathlon victory in Montreal in 1976.

Bruce interrupted me and said, “Jeff, I didn’t win the gold in ’76, I won it in ’72!” I said, “Excuse me?!” And he said, “Let me explain. Jeff you’re right, technically I won the gold in 1976 in Montreal, but I really won it in 1972, when I lost in Munich.”

He said the victory in Montreal was for the world to witness, but what he called the “victory in ’72,” was even harder to secure, because it was a victory only within his mind. He told me from the moment he lost in Munich in 1972, he began to rededicate and recommit himself to his goal, the gold medal in the decathlon.

He saw himself victorious every day for the next four years. He saw himself standing on the victor’s platform with the gold medal draped around his neck. He saw himself circling Olympic Stadium waving the American flag. Bruce Jenner visualized victory and it became reality.

To see Jenner’s story as told by me in an excerpt or “classic cut” from our Vintage Video Vault and my How to Set and Really Achieve Your Goals video, please click this YouTube channel, Jeff Blackman’s ResultsTV link:

http://tinyurl.com/BlackmanJennerInterview

Bruce Jenner’s success is a dramatic testament to the impact of visualization. And visualization is also linked to another step in positively programming your belief system. And that’s graphic reinforcement or using pictures to help you focus on your dream(s), desired outcome(s) or goal(s).

Bruce Jenner also used this winning strategy. Jenner told me he took a picture of the gold, silver and bronze medalists from the 1972 Olympic games and then altered the picture in a unique way.

He cut out from the picture, the head of the gold medalist. And in its place, he pasted his own face. For the next four years, he stared at a picture showing him, Bruce Jenner, to be the gold medalist. He once again stressed, “Jeff I won the gold in my mind and in that picture, after I lost in Munich in 1972.” He added, “I merely went to Montreal in 1976, to pick up a medal I already won!” How’s that for a powerful example?

What might your pictures or words of graphic reinforcement be? For your life? Career? Business? If you’d like, here’s a fun project.

When I’m conducting goal setting results-sessions, I have participants create goal setting achievement posters or vision boards. They’re surrounded by personal photos and lots of magazines. The magazines are a source of inspiration, with articles, words and pictures about successful people or ads promoting products people might like to own.

These images and words can be pasted on to the goals posters. One side or both sides. One poster or more. Within the poster’s borders or beyond. No rules! No boundaries! For I stress to folks, “When you’re busting beyond your own mental boundaries, it’s not called trespassing!”

Graphic reinforcement can be a single picture, or with the goals posters, it can be several pictures. The vision boards tell a story of accomplishment and success at both personal and professional levels.

Clients’ posters have included pictures of their dream home, a vacation getaway, a new car, the corporate logo of a prospect they’re pursuing, an ideal weight, or words reinforcing their lifestyle or approach to business, i.e., family first, teamwork, persistence, healthy, innovation, imagine what’s possible or We can!

Whatever your hopes, dreams and goals are…

See them. Believe them. Pursue them. Realize them. Yet always remember, goals are only realized with a process in place to seek and attain them. And we, as individuals and as a world progress, because we “see” and choose to have a better life.

Here’s to your better life, your better business, your better you, as you stand upon your victory stand!

A client asked, “Jeff, what strategies, attitudes or behaviors, will help me drive results daily and for the long-term?”

Super question! For days or years…of significance and success, be sure to implement these “fantastic four!”

1. To destroy an enemy, make him your friend
2. Deliver image impact
3. Vote for value
4. Know who pays your salary

1. TO DESTROY AN ENEMY, MAKE HIM YOUR FRIEND

In Mario Puzo’s best-selling book, The Godfather, Don Corleone calmly states, “Never get angry. Never make a threat. Reason with people.” While you may not agree with the Don’s method of negotiation, it’s hard to find fault with his philosophy!

Like the Don, Abraham Lincoln, 16^th President of the United States, must have been a superb negotiator.

Abe once said, “The best way to destroy an enemy, is to make him your friend.”

The key to a successful negotiation is a sincere attempt to understand the other person’s perspective. A negotiation never means lace-up your boxing gloves and prepare for battle!

Don’t be argumentative, confrontational or abrasive. Don’t try to “destroy your enemy.” For if you do, the other side leaves annoyed, frustrated or angered. You both lose. And you have one less trip to make to the bank!

When you negotiate, it should truly be from a win-win position. It’s your opportunity to solve problems, reach agreement and move forward for the benefit of all. Avoid the quick and fleeting hit. Play the game and the relationship for the long-term.

2. DELIVER IMAGE IMPACT

It ain’t fair, yet it’s fact, first impressions influence buying decisions. And especially when buyers can’t physically hold or see your product, they try to find reassurance. That reassurance or peace of mind is often provided by your presence and professionalism.

Daily, decision-makers are bombarded by countless external stimuli: from travel, work, advertising, the media and your competitors.

Many times, these external factors and buying influencers are analyzed quickly. Buyers make snap judgments and then are off and running, ready to attack the next crisis. Therefore, you want to make sure every judgment made about your products, your services, your company, your communication and especially you, is positive and favorable.

According to my friend, communications specialist Lynn Pearl, “You only have five seconds when you enter a room to make a positive impression. A confident manner characterized by a strong stride, a friendly smile, good posture and a genuine sense of energy commands respect.”

Studies have even shown a firm handshake, good eye contact, or simply remembering names are critical sales and business-growth skills.

So how’s your image impact?

3. VOTE FOR VALUE

Don’t be driven by only commissions, quotas or contests. These are your motivators, not your decision-maker’s.

Today’s buyers don’t simply want a product or a service, they want you. And they expect you to be a consultant. A strategic adviser. A partner. Partners are invaluable. Vendors are expendable.

Don’t peddle products and services. Instead, deliver results and value. And know two crucial things about value:

– First, always deliver more in perceived value than you take in actual cash value.

– And second, realize, in the absence of a value barometer, your relationship is

reduced to a price eliminator.

For years, I’ve had a card called Values written by John Ruskin. It says:

“It’s unwise to pay too much, but it’s unwise to pay too little. When you pay too much you lose a little money, that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing you bought it to do. The law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot. It can’t be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it’s well to add something for the risk you run. And if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better.”

4. KNOW WHO PAYS YOUR SALARY

Why is it, we some times ignore those who pay our salary? How come we often neglect the lifeblood of our business? Why is it, we forget about the people who help us buy our home, car, clothes and raise our family?

Are we selfish? Rude? Arrogant? Uncaring? No!

Maybe, it’s just we often get too excited about the chase, the opportunity to clinch the new deal, reel in the big one or land that tough-to-get prospect! We forget about the significance of the customer!

Today’s customers and clients are more sophisticated and more demanding. They have higher expectations. And they can afford to be that way. Because they know if you don’t serve them, your competitors will.

Years ago, the deity was greed. Now and throughout the 21^st century, it’s service!

With your commitment to service, you boost retention and profitability. Without it, you jeopardize your future.

Selling without serving is a dangerous game. The penalties are severe. And the penalties aren’t measured in yardage, points or minutes. The penalties are measured in lost dollars. Your lost dollars.

When you serve, you soar!

Daily, I’m never quite sure, where I’ll discover that valuable nugget or significant keeper. That’s why I always keep my eyes and ears open for “moments of significance.”

Here’s an example.

I was in Dallas, conducting results-sessions for some of the top financial advisors in the world. The night before I spoke, I attended a reception and dinner, where the featured guest speaker was Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban.

Cuban is a self-made billionaire. Before he bought the Mavericks in 2000 and became an NBA (National Basketball Association) team owner, he made a boatload of money by founding two companies, Micro Solutions and broadcast.com, which he sold to yahoo.

Now I’ve seen Cuban interviewed lots. He’s a frequent guest on sports broadcasts and has been featured/profiled in numerous newscasts. Plus, he’s a celebrity investor on ABC’s hit TV-show, Shark Tank.

As one of my radio producers used to say, Cuban “gives good air!” Meaning, he fills the airwaves with entertaining anecdotes, quotes and opinions.

Cuban’s detractors would say he’s brash, arrogant and cocky.

Well, okay, he may be all of those things, yet after hearing him speak (really answer questions for seventy-five minutes) and chatting with him briefly, I also found Cuban to be extremely likable.

Dressed in blue jeans and a baggy white shirt, Cuban sat comfortably in a director’s chair on a stage, answering questions and sharing stories about his humble beginnings, work ethic, customer commitment, charitable donations, player negotiations and new business ventures.

He was direct. Smart. Funny. Honest. Entertaining. And memorable.

Being memorable, is something Cuban especially values.

Here’s why.

When he was asked, “What’s your goal for your team/franchise?”—he replied with what I’ll label as an un-rehearsed burst of brilliance:

“My business really isn’t about basketball or for that matter, winning games. My purpose is to create memories, so fans will forever remember their experience at a Mavs game. The next day, I want their throats to still be raw from screaming. Their hands, still red from clapping. And their feet, still sore  from stomping.”

That’s brilliant!

Cuban is singularly focused on the outcomes, results, benefits, advantages, value and memories his “product” produces.

Of course, he knows the importance of winning, yet it must be in a unique and memorable environment. One that’s unforgettable. One that generates positive word-of-mouth. One that helps sell over 17,000 seats per game.

Cuban knows memories drive revenue. To best create those indelible mind impressions, Cuban is an active participant. He can be seen cheering his players and screaming at refs from the sidelines. Or cueing the audio engineer at a Mavs game to pump up the volume. He knows music that’s loud, thumping and stirring revs-up the crowd.

Cuban is also easily accessible. Daily, he answers hundreds of e-mails from fans. He knows this type of “personal relationship” with customers also creates the right memories.

What memories are you creating for your customers?

A frustrated friend once said to me, “When a prospect or client tells me ‘No,’ I take it personally. And it becomes really tough for me to recover and bounce back quickly. What do I do?”

It’s a great question. And I applaud my friend for having the courage to ask it. Because I know a lot of folks are confronting the same dilemma, yet they might be unwilling to admit it.

After working with lots of businesspeople, (and listening to their feelings, emotions and explanations), I’ve discovered too many folks suffer from…

PTNS – Post Traumatic No Syndrome! It attacks in four stages.

Stage 1: What you say to the decision-maker.

“No problem.”

“I understand.”

“Keep us in mind for the future.”

Stage 2: What you say to yourself.

“Why me?”

“What’s wrong with me? How’d I screw-up?”

“Why don’t they love me?”

Stage 3: How you really feel.

“I’m angry!”

“I’m hurt. Disappointed. Bummed out!”

“I’m frustrated!”

Stage 4: What you really think.

“Those idiots!”

“What a bunch of jerks!”

“I’m glad they said ‘No!’…didn’t want to work with them anyway!”

So how do you combat PTNS? Here’s how.

Success step 1.

Go:

Sulk. Pout. Whine. Complain. Scream. Yell. Stomp. Pound.

After this thirty-second catharsis, move on to…

Success step 2.

Analyze:

What went right?

What went wrong?

What could you have done different?

Turn despair into desire. Loss into learning. The “No” into knowledge.

Success step 3.

Review:

How you positioned or inquired about future opportunities?

How you earned the right to still ask for referrals and how many you received?

Success step 4:

Tell yourself:

This is a learning experience.

It’s unfortunate they won’t benefit from my expertise and talent.

This “No” gets me closer to a “Yes” with another decision-maker.

I’m now prepared to G.O.I.M.O. (Get Over It and Move On)

To best move on and be well-prepared for you next opportunity, realize most objections or obstacles are ones of:

• Delay: “I’d like to think it over.”

• Denial: “Nobody would use it.”

• Distrust: “You don’t offer anything different or unique.”

Before you decide how you’ll combat an objection, determine how you’ll first combat yourself.

Huh?

For example, if you’re repeatedly getting pre-mature price objections, discover why. Perhaps you’re too quick to give an information and feature-dump before effectively probing. Or you mistakenly keep stressing you’re less than your competitors, which draws attention to price, not value.

Here, an objection is likely to be the “result” of your wrong behavior. Sorry, but it’s likely you’re the “reason” for the objection, not your buyer.

Therefore, let’s focus on the right behavior, when an objection pops up.

You can always try to combat objections or obstacles with facts, logic, data, surveys and stats. These help. They’re a great place to start. However, you better also appeal to the decision-maker’s “perceived reality.” Meaning, what their gut tells them is the perceived issue or concern.

And you accomplish this, with “persuasive emotion.”

Aristotle once said:

“One who attempts to move people to thought or action must concern himself with their emotions. If he touches only their minds, he is unlikely to move them to action or to change of mind…the motivations of which lie deep in the realm of the passions.”

Hey, I’ll never downplay the significance of facts and logic. They’re invaluable. Yet they don’t always lead to a sale. With “persuasive emotion” you creatively focus on the buyer’s inner feelings, concerns, needs and motivators.

When you do this, you capture and tap into what movie character Austin Powers calls, “Mo Jo.”

Mo Jo is a special blend of power, energy, force and momentum. It does more than merely adeptly deflect an objection or obstacle. It also conveys with clarity and conviction, your unequivocal desire to help your decision maker make the right choice and do the right thing.

• It’s about the pursuit of your customer’s goals, before the pursuit of your profit.

• It’s about gaining the customer’s commitment, not just their cash.

• It’s about long-term results, not short-term conquests.

You must create an environment with your responses, so your decision-makers know they can rely upon and trust you.

The mind of the buyer can be a complex combination of fear, concern and hesitation. Your job is to bust through this complexity, with articulate, risk-reducing replies. You provide the types of answers that demonstrate both good business sense and intuitive emotional understanding.

Then, you turn obstacles into opportunities.

Who consistently delivers great service?

That’s an easy one. The Ritz Carlton.

I’ve never had a bad experience at a Ritz. And if something unexpectedly goes awry, they fix it. Fast!

In March, 2004, I was speaking/staying at The Ritz in Orlando, Florida. The Ritz does little things right. Like at check-in, they offer you a glass of fresh lemonade. (I’ve noticed other hotels are implementing a similar service strategy, by offering at check-in, glasses of i.e., champagne, juice or bottled water.)

And when I asked where the elevator was, Dena at the front desk didn’t merely point toward the elevator, she personally escorted me there.

Later, at 6:00 p.m., I called room service. The phone was cheerfully answered by Gloria. She took my order and then said, “Mr. Blackman, please let me recap, to make sure I’ve got it right.” (Confirmation now, often eliminates problems later.) I then asked, “Gloria, would it be possible to have dinner arrive at 7:00 p.m., since I’m leaving now to run in the fitness center?” She replied, “Absolutely! We’ll see you at 7. Enjoy your run!”

At exactly 7:00 p.m. I returned. I was there, dinner wasn’t. At 7:11, I called Gloria and said, “I’m lonely!”

She immediately apologized and said a rush would be placed on my order. At 7:22 there was a knock at the door. It was Rupert from room service. He said, “Mr. Blackman, Gloria and I once again apologize that your dinner has arrived late. Tonight, your meal is compliments of the Ritz.”

Whoa! Cool! (Especially since the bill would have been over $350. Chicken nuggets ain’t a bargain at the Ritz. Just kidding!)

I thanked Rupert for his gracious hospitality with a generous tip. I also gave him a tip for Gloria. He was surprised, yet grateful.

Then, I called Gloria to express my thanks. I said, “Gloria, that was very thoughtful of you to comp my dinner.” To which she said something remarkable. It was only a one-word response, but it was unforgettable.

She replied, “Ownership.” (Meaning, even if it wasn’t her fault, she still owned the problem. And the solution! She didn’t assign blame. She delivered satisfaction.)

I asked, “Gloria, is that your word or are you trained to say that?” Her response, “Mr. Blackman, it’s simply part of our Ritz ethics and commitment to our customers.” Yikes! I wanted to know where I could buy her books!

Lessons to learn and things to consider:

– What little things are you doing that’ll yield BIG results?

– How can you improve your customer’s experience?

– How many moments of magic or touch-points do you have with a customer?

– What subtleties will elevate their value?

– How do you get others to talk about you and your business with phrases beginning with:

“You’re not gonna believe…”

“Wait to you hear what happened to me…”

“Have I told you about the time…”

Who “owns” the solution at your business? Is it only one? A few? Or many, who can deliver satisfaction and create loyal customers for a lifetime?