Tag: Motivating Sales Teams

Forgive me in advance if this rubs a bit too close to the bone.

It’s not meant to be offensive, but it is meant to be objective. (I’ll explain in a second.)

1. You will break your resolutions by the end of January.

2. You will make the same amount of money as the average of your last 5 year’s total income.

3. You will gain 2 pounds of body fat.

4. You will struggle with the same habits, patterns, and behaviors that you always have.

5. You will get to the end of the year and have made very little progress in your life.

Why do I make these predictions?

Well, statistically speaking, that’s what will happen to almost everyone, including you.

So, it’s a safe bet that the same will happen to you this year.

That is, if you don’t make some necessary changes and STICK TO THEM.

I know … I know …

What nerve? Who the heck am I to say such things?

Exactly!

No one can make accurate predictions about an individual. Only about populations.

The fact is, it’s only the people who are outside of the “norm” that really do anything significant with their lives.

So, are those people made that way?

Is it just the luck of fate or genetics?

C’mon, both you and I know better than that.

In fact, I’d like to introduce you to someone that has a large volume of evidence that shows that exactly the opposite is true.

The fact is, success “can” be reverse engineered and reproduced.

You don’t have to accept what everyone else is getting but you MUST make a few new choices.

Suppose you decided today – right now – that you’re finally serious about making a REAL commitment to turning your dreams into actions… AND your goals into achievements.

And suppose you had more fun doing it than you ever imagined!

It can happen… but you need to be challenged and you’ve got to take the first bold step.

Is 2012 going to be the year you accomplish all you’ve dreamed of…forever?

You can do it, and I’ve found a way that will show you how.

Say hello to Gary Ryan Blair and the 30 Day – Got Resolutions Challenge!

This extreme performance acceleration program will be the kick in the behind you need so YOU can change your life for the better, and I mean MUCH BETTER!

All you have to do is say YES, I’m ready for a challenge, and Gary will show you how to make this the best year of your life!

I recommend the program, I recommend that you act quickly, and more importantly I recommend Gary as he is the BEST at what he does.

Click here to turn your dreams into reality.

You’ll love this very special program!

Mike Brooks
Mr. Inside Sales

P.S. Be sure to check out the video that explains the entire system. It’s a very unique approach with cartoons that is one of the best I’ve ever seen.

Go here now:

Click here:

This saying really resonated with me the first time I heard it. At that time I was selling over the phone, and I knew all about being driven by fear. I was afraid that if I didn’t make quota I would be fired. I was afraid that if I didn’t close any business before the end of the month I wouldn’t be able to afford my rent. I was afraid to cold call because no one seemed interested in what I was selling.

It was this fear that pushed me to show up. It was there in the morning when I awoke. As I laid there it overwhelmed me and pushed me out of bed. When I got to the office, and after I had procrastinated most of the morning away, it was there to push me to make cold calls. Later in the day it was there to push me to make closing calls. All day long (and the days turned into weeks and months) my fear of economic insecurity, of having made the wrong choices in my life, of what my future would be like, pushed me through my life as a salesman.

As I looked around my office I’d wonder what I was doing wrong and why others in my office looked and acted more confident and happy. The top producers driving the new cars and moving into their new homes didn’t look like they had much fear. The two bosses who owned the company didn’t look like they had the fear I had. In fact other producers who seemed to be trying hard and actually looked like they enjoyed the challenge and their successes didn’t seem to have the fear I did.

What was wrong, I wondered?

And then I heard the statement, “Fear pushes, Vision Pulls”. Someone asked me what my goals for the rest of the year were, and I couldn’t tell her. She asked me what got me excited in the morning, and I had to admit there wasn’t much. She asked me what I was looking forward to accomplishing in the coming years, and I didn’t have an answer. She asked me if I had specific goals in each area of my life that I could actually believe in, and I told her I didn’t. And that’s when she explained about the importance of having a vision for my life.

She told me that before I could have a dream come true I first had to have a dream. She explained that developing and having a vision that I could believe in was what made the tough times easier to bear and it made the good times more rewarding. She told me that it was easy to develop a vision and once I really believed that it could come true that it was then destined to manifest itself in my life.

After doing a lot of work with goal setting, affirmation setting, visualization and imprinting my goals into my subconscious, my visions did come true. Books like “The Secret” and “Beyond Positive Thinking” and “The Sermon on the Mount” helped me change my life and my thoughts, and I highly recommend books like these if you’d like to learn techniques and methods to help you manifest your dreams as well.

Over the years, though, what I’ve found to be important is that if I don’t keep painting a vision for my life then fear quickly sneaks back in to push me to take action again. While it works for a bit, it’s highly inefficient and it’s uncomfortable for me and for all those around me. When I’m driven by fear, my life quickly becomes unmanageable and I start asking myself all the old questions again. When that happens I know it’s time to create a new vision for my life.

What I’m doing right now is setting a two year vision for my life and just thinking about it has already rekindled the enthusiasm and spirit that were briefly missing over the last two months. Just mentioning this to my wife has invigorated her as well. Separately and then together, we are mapping out what the various areas of our lives are going to be like by the end of December 2013. We picked that date because it gave us enough time to get everything done and having that time is important to allow us to buy into and believe that it’s possible. That’s one of the keys manifesting.

The other key that has me so excited about the vision I’m creating is that it is balanced and includes all areas of my life – not just my business. I’m setting specific goals in terms of:

Health and fitness

Finances

Creative (in terms of books to write and publish)

Travel and fun!  There are trips to Europe, NFL football games, fall color tours and more

The vision includes daily, weekly, and monthly benchmarks, as well

And through it all I’m staying focused on exactly how I will feel when I’ve accomplished it all. I’ll tell you, I get excited just writing about it right now! I can’t wait to get on the phone! Over the last week I’ve woken up with a new energy and it’s the power of being pulled forward by vision.

If you’ve found yourself in a slump lately, or if you’ve detected some of the old fear creeping back into your life, then I encourage you to sit down over the upcoming holiday and write out some specific goals and to turn those goals into your vision. Read some of the books that inspire you to create the life you know you were meant to live, and share it with those who love you and whose lives will benefit from the dynamic and exciting vision you can create.

I guarantee you’ll feel better when you stop being pushed by fear and start being pulled by your vision…

If you found this article helpful, then you’ll love Mike’s NEW book of phone scripts, “The Ultimate Book of Phone Scripts.”  Get over 220 Brand New Scripts to help you easily get past the gatekeeper, set appointments, overcome objections and close more sales. Visit:  http://www.mrinsidesales.com/booklaunch.htm and get over $400 of FREE Sales Bonuses by Jeffrey Gitomer, Tom Hopkins and more!!

Do you have an underperforming inside sales team?  Talk to Mike to see how he can help you and your team reach your revenue goals.  To learn more about Mike, visit his website: http://www.MrInsideSales.com

Years ago I discovered a secret that has enabled me to create so much happiness and success, and the amazing thing about this secret is that it’s the exact opposite of what I had always been taught. You see, I was always told that if I wanted to BE happy or successful, then I had to Do things first that would enable me to HAVE something and then I would BE happy.

So I went about DOING a lot of the things people said I had to DO to be successful. For example when I wanted to become a Top 20% producer, my manager told me that I needed to cold call a lot, that I needed to give a lot of presentations, and that I need work harder, smarter, etc… So I did. But I didn’t become a top producer!

The reason was that the image I held in my mind was that of a bottom 80% producer who was trying to Do the things so I could HAVE the things I thought I needed to BE successful. And that image of me trying to struggle to become something I wasn’t (and that I didn’t see myself as) was the reason I wasn’t making much progress.

It was my self-image of not already BEING something (successful) that kept me from DOING the right things to BE successful. You see, I was still a pretender trying to be something that I didn’t believe I was. So I kept adlibbing it through my sales process, still wasn’t using proven techniques, and I still sent out unqualified leads, etc. So no matter how much more I DID, I remained a struggling rep still trying to get the things (to HAVE them) so I could BE successful.

It didn’t work.

And then I learned the secret. It was simple and made perfect sense, but it wasn’t that easy to do in the beginning. What I learned is that the image I have of myself, my self image or picture that I hold of myself, is what drives and ultimately determines all levels of success and happiness. And my number one priority was to first SEE myself as successful, in other words to BE successful in my thoughts and consciousness FIRST, and then I would Do (take the right actions) and HAVE success.

I learned that the way the world really works is opposite of the way I had been taught. All manifestation and results work like this: You first have to BE something in your mind (really feel it and believe you already have it) and then you imagine to HAVE the things you want and then it will be like you to automatically DO the things you need to do to get them.

And here’s how I now practice this “law of manifestation”:

1) First I identify exactly what I will feel like when I accomplish any goal I have. Exactly what it will mean to me to BE in that state of accomplishment and feeling. If my goal is to achieve a certain level of production and income, I then capture all the feelings and describe all the things I will have now that I’ve accomplished the goal. I do this in intimate and elaborate detail…

2) Then I write up an affirmation card that includes a paragraph that reinforces exactly how I’m feeling and what it’s like to BE at that level of accomplishment. I read and visualize that affirmation and imprint those feelings into my subconscious mind so that I can BE that in my mind’s eye. After a few weeks of BEING this in my mind, my self-image is changed and I have changed the picture of myself at my deepest BEING level.

3) All while this is happening, I watch myself as I begin making better decisions and as I begin getting (HAVING) different, more successful results in my life. And all this leads to me DOING things differently that support and reinforce and bring into reality the image that I now have in my mind (of how I am BEING).

The way this breaks down is that if my goal is to make more money in a month, I visualize what I feel like now that I’ve accomplished this, and then I watch as I naturally take better actions, and watch as more people, situations, and deals come into my life. I know this might sound magical and, well, it is. But it works…

If you find that you are struggling to achieve a certain result – whether it’s earn more money, get in better shape, improve a relationship, etc., then before you wait to be successful at it, why not start with the end result first? Try BEING the thing or state you are trying to accomplish first, and watch as what you HAVE begins to change and the things you begin DOING change to support that new image.

It’s how all long lasting change takes place, and it’s a lot easier than going about it the old way you may have been taught, too.

If you found this article helpful, then you will love Mike’s bestselling book on what it takes to become a Top 20% producer: “The REAL Secrets of the Top 20% – How To Double Your Income Selling Over the Phone.”  (Recommended by Jeffrey Gitomer!)  Get a Special Offer and read about it by clicking here: http://www.mrinsidesales.com/secrets_and_CD.htm

Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, works with business owners and inside sales reps nationwide teaching them the skills, strategies and techniques of top 20% performance.

He offers a FREE audio program designed to help you double your income selling over the phone, as well as an internationally acclaimed FREE Ezine. If you’re looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting: http://www.MrInsideSales.com

Years ago I was taught a tool that helps me whenever business or life isn’t going my way. While this is a seemingly simple tool, you shouldn’t underestimate the power in it. You can use it anywhere and at anytime, and it will always work to restore your attitude and your perspective. It has the uncanny power to improve your mood and your outlook. And it always helps you generate the positive results you’re trying to achieve.

Here’s how it works:

Whenever you’re in fear (any kind of fear – financial, emotional, professional, etc.), all you have to do is make a list of 25 things you’re grateful for. I like to use a notebook myself, but I suppose a computer or smart phone would do. The point is to write down 25 things you are grateful for today.

Your gratitude list can contain many different kinds of items. Here are some of the things you may be grateful for:

Having a loving family

Having a job

Making money yesterday or last month

Having your health

Having access to fresh water

Being in a position to help others through your work

Going on a vacation or just coming back from one

Being able to spend time with your kids

Having your kids be healthy

Your ability to enjoy a good meal today

Your ability to be able to afford a meal today

Working for a company that creates or sells a great product that helps so many people

Being able to walk without pain

Being able to sleep without pain

Having a home to go to

Having access to all the technology we have

Knowing that the NFL finally starts in a month!

Having faith in God

Being blessed with good friends

Living in a country where you can do and become anything you want

Having options to completely change your life

Having access to great books, CD’s and other material to help you accomplish your goals

Having money in the bank today

Being able to read

Being free to act, think and do as you please

And so many more things.  I’m sure you could add some really great things to be grateful for in your life, couldn’t you?

Why it works:

I love writing a gratitude list whenever I’m in fear about business or money.  You see, because I’m in sales I sometimes forget that I’m not here for me and for what I can get out of it.  Rather, I’m here to offer solutions that help other sales reps and companies do their jobs better and make more money.

When things slow down and I get into fear, I can get self-centered and focus on myself.  When that happens things never go well.  It becomes hard to make calls and take action when I’m only thinking about myself and what I don’t have.

But as soon as I write a Gratitude List, something magical happens.  Suddenly I remember how full my life already is and my perspective changes.  In just a few minutes I transform my perspective, and I remember what I’m here for –  to add value to your life.

Once I’ve completed my Gratitude List, it’s easy for me to take the actions that generate business and abundance in my life – because now I’m thinking about you and how I can help you.  It’s that attitude that gives me the energy to keep prospecting.  And it’s that attitude that opens up conversations because people can sense when you’re being genuine and want to help.

Hey, sales – and life – isn’t always going to go your way.  But when you can stop and appreciate how incredibly fortunate and blessed you already are, and get restored to what your true purpose is, you’ll find that today it’s easy and even enjoyable to take the actions you need to take to help others accomplish their goals.

And when you can help enough people accomplish their goals, you’ll always exceed yours.  So the next time you’re struggling or just not feeling it, do what I do:  Write a Gratitude List.  You’ll be grateful you did.

If you found this article helpful, then you will love Mike’s bestselling book on what it takes to become a Top 20% producer: “The REAL Secrets of the Top 20% – How To Double Your Income Selling Over the Phone.”  (Recommended by Jeffrey Gitomer!)  Get a Special Offer and read about it by clicking here: http://www.mrinsidesales.com/secrets_and_CD.htm

Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, works with business owners and inside sales reps nationwide teaching them the skills, strategies and techniques of top 20% performance.

He offers a FREE audio program designed to help you double your income selling over the phone, as well as an internationally acclaimed FREE Ezine. If you’re looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting: http://www.MrInsideSales.com

Want to know a little secret?  One of the most powerful techniques you can use to ensure your immediate and continued success is to stay focused on what you want – and all aspects of that – and not to give in to worry, doubt, or to the temporary circumstances that might be happening right now in your life.  I know this sounds simple, but most people find it extremely hard to put into practice.

To start with, while everyone understands the importance of goal setting, and many of you may even have goals now, what usually happens after the excitement wears off is that reality settles in.  You may have a goal to earn a certain amount of money, or drive a different type of car, etc, but after you receive a few checks that seem to be about the same, or after you get back into your old car for a few months, have you ever found that you forget about your goal and just start accepting that things are probably going to remain the same?

Or have you ever attended a motivational seminar or read a motivational book and been fired up for a while?  Have you even taken some of the advice and written down your new goals or even taken some action on trying a new marketing plan or diet?  If you have, then you’ve probably experienced the kind of let down that comes from not making progress fast enough and of laying in bed at night worrying about your income or about your future.

In fact, let me ask you right now: “How much of your thinking is about what you don’t want to have happen or about what might happen if something you’re trying to accomplish doesn’t work out?”

The answer to that one question will always determine your ultimate success.  You see, the secret to all success is to be able to stay focused on exactly what you want regardless of how long it takes, or what else is currently happening, or what temporary obstacles might be in your way.  It is this single ability to stay focused, committed and always trained on the end result you want – no matter what – that will enable you to ultimately achieve any goal you can set.

So how do you stay focused on what it is you want when so much seems to be to the contrary, or your mind constantly says, “Yes, but….”?  Here are some tips that help me, and they might help you as well.

I remember when I wanted to upgrade my Nissan Hatchback to a Mercedes.  Well, at first I couldn’t afford the down payment, didn’t know how I was going to make the monthly payments, insurance, etc.  Instead of trying to figure all that out, I started with the thought, “If other reps in the office drive nice cars and they seem to be able to write enough business to afford them, why not me?”

That basic belief was the core driving thought that I always went back to when I had a bad sales day, or week.  Whenever my mind started to go negative on me with the, “Who are you kidding?  You a Mercedes?”  And so forth, I would always reaffirm what I could believe in – “If others could do it, I could do it too!”

After that, I strengthened my vision by going to a Mercedes dealership and test driving the car I wanted; I had the sales rep at the dealership take pictures of me next to my ideal car (in fact you can see that exact picture by clicking here and scrolling down a bit), and I brought all the brochures home that I could and kept them on my desk and looked at them often.  And then I wrote up an affirmation card and spent three to five times a day slowly visualizing how I felt now that I owned that car.

That combination – always combating any negative thoughts with a thought I could believe in – “If others could do it, I could as well” – along with constantly feeding myself the feelings of having accomplished my goal, enabled me to stay focused on what I wanted, rather than on what I didn’t have.

The result?  Four months after writing up my affirmation card and making the commitment to own the car of my dreams, I went back to the same dealership and bought the exact car I had been visualizing about.  You see, the manager drove that car and it was still available when I was ready to buy.  Coincidence?  I don’t think so!

So my question to you is this: What do you want, and what belief can you buy into that can become your default belief that will counteract any negative thinking?  And then what kinds of reinforcement tools can you surround yourself with that will keep you dreaming about how you’ll feel once you attain your goal?  These, coupled with an affirmation statement that you visualize several times a day, will keep you focused on what you want.

And once you do that, your goal will always become a reality…

Let’s face it – every now and then sales don’t seem to be going our way and we can begin to get into fear about making our numbers, making our mortgage, taking that vacation, etc. While we may not be able to control the ebb and flow of sales, what’s important is that we keep control of our attitude and expectancy level. In other words, keeping positive, reflecting on wins, and expecting success is what always drives a top producer through the seemingly slow times in sales.

I like to compare keeping my attitude up to how a pilot tries to stay on the radio beam when he’s flying. A directional beam is projected to guide the pilot to his destination, and as long as he stays on the beam, he’s safe and he’ll make it through just fine. It doesn’t matter that the weather may be temporarily blinding him or that he may not be able to see where he is or where he’s headed, as long as he can locate and stay on that beam, he’ll be all right.

It’s the same thing in sales. If things are temporarily not going your way, or if you have to start prospecting again, or if that big client or if those deals didn’t close, that’s OK. All you have to do is to get back on the beam of being positive, expecting to close more sales, and continue to reflect on your sales goals. If you can do that (and that may sometimes be a tall order given the temporary appearances), then you’ll be fine in the end.

What you can’t fall victim to is negative thinking. That only leads to deflated attitudes, less activity, and poor sales skills. It tends to feed itself and you start looking for reasons to fail, and you often find them! You know you’re “off the beam” if you’re in fear, if you get agitated easily, if you become resentful of others or if you begin feeling depressed in any way.

If that happens, here are 4 ways to get back on the beam:

1) Reflect back on your previous wins. Get quiet and begin reliving all the times when you closed big deals, when you made your goal and when you got new clients and closed deals. Remember those feelings… This will immediately move you back towards the beam.

2) Remind yourself that your very next phone call could result in the biggest deal of your career. This is not only true, but by dwelling on it you’ll begin to want to make more calls, and you will actually begin attracting that success to yourself.

3) Review your financial goals and begin imaging how you feel now that you’ve achieved them. Relish those feelings. Get excited about what you’re enjoying now that you’ve reached your goals. This is visualization 101 and remember that your subconscious mind can’t tell the difference between a real event and one vividly imaged with feeling.

4) Change your attitude into one of absolute service to others rather on if you’re going to get a deal. Start each phone call with the thought, “I’m here to be of maximum service to this person.” That will not only take the pressure off of you, but your prospect will feel it – and respond to you.

Any one of these techniques will get you back on the beam. If you combine all four of them you’ll be out of your temporary slump in no time and you’ll be closing deals like the top pro you know you are.

People ask me if I believe in the Law of Attraction.  I tell them that not only do I believe in it, but I use it every day to attract the kind of life I want.  In fact, using the Law of Attraction is as important a part of what I do as is picking up the phone and speaking with clients, conducting training programs, creating products, etc.

Actually, it’s more important than all that.  You see, I believe that it all starts in my mind first, and then that vision is what drives the actions and decisions I make and it brings the opportunities and situations into my life that allow me to fulfill my vision.

People then ask exactly how I use the Law of Attraction to bring things into my life and I tell them I have and practice a simple 4-Step process that ALWAYS works for me in my life.  And today, I’ll share it with you.

Step One: The first thing I do is get somewhere where I can be quiet.  I have a meditation space in my office, but I’ve done this in my car, in the parking lot, at the park, even in the lobby of companies.

The important thing is to just sit somewhere and get quiet.  Don’t try to think about anything.  Don’t try to think of the right thoughts or of what you want or what you don’t have or what you’re afraid of.  The point here is just to clear your mind for a few moments.

I do this by just counting five breaths.  Once you’re quiet, then you:

Step Two:  Shift your mind and think about either: God.  If you’d rather think of something else bigger than you, then great!  You can think of The Power of the Universe, or The Great Spirit or The Law of Attraction, or the power that drives the waves in the ocean.  Just think about a power greater than yourself.

Concentrate on this power and think about all its attributes.  I like to think about how God is all around me and everybody else.  I like to think of the infinite resources God has, the knowledge and power and how God always wants the best, the highest for me and all others.

Once you concentrate on this for a few minutes, then you:

Step Three: Think about what it is you want to accomplish.  The key here is to think about what it feels like to have already attracted or created or achieved what it is you want.  Think about how you feel, how others feel, and what it means to actually be living and being what it is you desire.

Feeling and emotion at this point are crucial.  If you’re able (and you will with a little practice) to actually believe that you’ve achieved your goal, then you’ve succeeded here at this step.

After a while, this will be a really fun step, and you’ll want to do this exercise over and over because it feels so good!

Step Four: Give thanks to God, or the Universe or whatever power you’ve thought about for brining this goodness into your life.  This is an important step and learning to live in thanks and gratitude will change your life.

I’ve found that this last step has been the most important to help me maintain the feeling of “being” at the new level of achievement I am seeking.  And it is this feeling of “being” that acts as the magnet bringing in the circumstances and opportunities into my life.

If you’re looking for a way to create the life you know you are capable of achieving, then I highly recommend trying these “4 Secrets to Attracting What You Want.”   I know first-hand that they work, and I know they’ll work for you, too.

If you found this article helpful, then you will love Mike’s bestselling book on inside sales: “The REAL Secrets of the Top 20% – How To Double Your Income Selling Over the Phone.”  (Recommended by Jeffrey!)  Get a Special Offer and read about it by clicking here: http://www.mrinsidesales.com/secrets_and_CD.htm

Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, works with business owners and inside sales reps nationwide teaching them the skills, strategies and techniques of top 20% performance.

He offers a FREE audio program designed to help you double your income selling over the phone, as well as an internationally acclaimed FREE Ezine. If you’re looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting: http://www.MrInsideSales.com

You know how big I am on the 80/20 rule in sales. I see it in every company and industry I work in, and, as many of you know, I’ve dedicated myself to helping sales reps and companies elevate their skills and techniques, so they can start producing sales and income like the top 20% of sales reps do. Often I get asked just what the top 20% make in actual income, and today I can tell you…

The Associated Press, quoting figures released from the recent Census Bureau report, published an article last week revealing what the top-earning 20% of Americans make in income. They found that the top 20% of all Americans earn over $100,000 in income. While that’s interesting in and of itself, what even more important is that the top 20% are also receiving over 50% of all the income earned in the country.

Now that’s BIG. Obviously, what this means is that the other 80% of income earners are splitting up the remaining 50%. That’s a big disparity and it tells us that the top 20% not only make most of the money in the country, but that they have a much bigger piece of the pie to split up.

While being a top 20% producer and income earner is obviously a nice place to be, the next question I get is, “How do I get there?” The answer to that question might surprise you. Most sales reps I ask about this usually point to all the wrong things. They point to outside things like:

If the leads were better, or

If the economy was better, or

If I had a better product, or price, or company or training….

Here’s the real truth – the only thing that is holding you back, or will ever hold you back, is your own belief in what you think you deserve. In other words, your consciousness or comfort zone. The real cause of your income, your health, your outside anything, is the image or picture you hold of them in your consciousness.

The universal truth is that: What you hold in your mind’s eye is always manifested out. One of my favorite authors, Dr. Robert Anthony puts it perfectly in his book, “The Advanced Formula for Total Success”:

“Your ability to accept (financial success) is determined by your consciousness. We all know people who have more money than they know what to do with, and we all know many people who never have enough. Why the difference? If a person who has virtually nothing is given a large sum of money, within a very short time that person will have nothing again. If we divided all the money in the world equally, in a short time the rich would be rich again, and the poor would be poor.

Many people think that if they could just get their hands on a large sum of money, they would be set for the rest of their lives. This is absolutely not true. Surveys have shown that people who receive large sums of money without working for them — those who won lotteries, or inherited wealth, for example — almost always find themselves back to their original financial level within two years of their windfall. They think that if they had money, they would pay their bills, get out of debt and start anew. But that very seldom happens. Over ninety percent of the people who win large sums of money eventually end up with no more money than they had before their winnings. Their standard of life does not increase and it is in many cases lowered because of their excess spending. The point here is that if you have a poverty consciousness or a consciousness of lack and limitation, you will literally spend yourself into poverty. If you find yourself with too much money, you will spend whenever you have in order to get back to your comfort zone.

Take all the money away from a person, who is a millionaire — one who has the consciousness of the millionaire today — and within a short time he or she will be a millionaire again. Riches start from the mind, not your pocketbook, bank account or investment. The bank account and investments are the effects, not the cause. The cause is always an idea or belief. A person is not rich because they have money. They have money because they are rich in consciousness. They believe that they are rich. Again, this is the reason that the rich will always get richer and the poor will always stay poor until they change their consciousness.”

So if you would like to become one of the top 20% earners in America, then you don’t need to change jobs, careers, or anything else “outside” of you. You just have to change the image you have of yourself and become rich in your consciousness first. That is the real secret to your success.

Your results in sales – and all of life – are completely dependent on what you think about all day long. Your thoughts lead to your actions, and it is your actions that determine your results. But everything starts by your mental attitude, by what you dwell on all day long.

I’m sure that you’ve heard this before, and you may even believe it’s true, but if you do not act on it, then you’re no better off than if you’d never heard this before. I once heard that someone who doesn’t read is no better off than someone who can’t read. In fact, if you’re like most people, much of your self-talk and attitude, through most of the day, would indicate that you don’t know the law of the mind, or that you don’t really believe in it.

Most people’s thinking is really negative. It is pervasive and happens so quickly, that most people don’t even realize how bad it really is. And because we’re talking to ourselves at a rate of about 60,000 thoughts a day, we receive a lot of negative input from our own minds. Even our conversation is often negative, and I’m sure you’ve caught yourself or others complaining about the economy, the government, the leads, the weather, etc…

Imagine now that there was an application available for your iPhone (or other device you have) that would begin recording every thought and word you had and said from the moment you woke up in the morning to the moment you went to sleep that night. Imagine that it kept a perfect record of everything and that the next day you could hear it all, word for word, thought for thought. How scary would that be?

Now imagine this: You have such a device with you at all times and it is called your subconscious mind. It not only records everything you say and think, but it also records every feeling and emotion you feel and it believes it as if it was the truth. It then makes sure that you act in direct accordance with the truth as you believe it to be and that becomes your experience and your results in life.

This is the great law of being (some call it the law of attraction), and it is the most important concept you can learn and apply in your life. Just remember this great truth: You future is being shaped right now by the thoughts and feelings you hold in your consciousness today. So if you bought that new iPhone app, what would it be recording?

There are two kinds of sales philosophies out there and while they both accomplish the same thing – closed deals – they go about it in very different ways and with very different consequences to the closer. I’m very familiar with these approaches because I’ve practiced both of them, and in my consulting and coaching I constantly run into both attitudes.

On the one hand is what I’ll call the serious closer. I used to be this kind of closer, and, when I was, the only thing that mattered was how many deals I closed and how big my paycheck was at the end of the week. Now don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying this is a bad thing and I can tell you that I sure made a lot of money. But there was a downside to it.

The main downside was that I based my entire self-esteem on how well I did as a closer. If I had a good month then I felt good about myself, but when I didn’t do well I tended to get anxious and depressed. I could be moody, and I often projected my attitude and self-esteem on others. I looked down on those who didn’t perform at the top and after a while I lost my empathy for others and eventually for myself.

Another problem was that I was driven to succeed all the time. While this might sound like a good thing, the flip side of it was fear. There were many evenings and mornings I would wake up in fear of not making or exceeding my quotas. This fear drove me close sales at all costs, and in the end I cared more about closing sales than I did about what was in the best interests of my clients.

While this may seem like an extreme attitude, the push for profits, for making quotas and for succeeding in business often supports and rewards this kind of a sales mentality.

After years of pursuing sales in this way, a slow transformation took place and I developed into what I now refer to as an “of service” sales professional. While I’m still all about closing deals, today I go about it in a very different way. Today I’m more concerned with finding people and companies I’m a good fit for and then looking for the maximum ways of being of service to them. I’m more interested in helping today than I am in closing at any expense.

There are many benefits to this new attitude and one is that today I don’t have the kind of financial fear that I used live with. These days when I wake up in the morning I have a ritual of meditation where I now ask the spirit of the universe to put me in the position to be of maximum benefit to the people I encounter. As in all my meditation and affirmation sessions, I always end with a visualization of many companies and people contacting me with the specific needs that I am uniquely qualified to help with.

After many years of practicing this kind of sales philosophy, I can tell you that as long as I continue to take action, remain positive, and stay focused on being of service, I have all the business I can handle. I also have a peace of mind and a calmness that sees me through times when the economy changes or the seasons change. For that I’m truly grateful.

Today when I work with clients in a coaching relationship, the one common thing theme I find is a constant worry and anxiousness about not having enough money or not being successful enough. The answer to that, I’ve found, is to examine their core sales philosophy. “Are you trying to get or to give?” I ask them. Once we get straight on fundamental question, the business flows in a much easier and enjoyable way.