The new year is approaching. It’s a new decade. How was your last decade? How do you feel about your prospects during the next year and next decade?

This is the time of year to start looking at your past and make promises to improve yourself.

This is the time of year to ask for or purchase presents for yourself. Is anything that will help you improve your options on the list?

Let me make a recommendation. Beginning NOW (no need to wait for the calendar to flip to the new year), order the following books:

• Yes!Attitude by Jeffrey Gitomer
• Tribes by Seth Godin

Sign up for the following FREE ezines:

• Sales Caffine by Jeffrey Gitomer
• SBDiTips by Pat Ferdinandi

Set up your RSS feeds (replace the news ones…they aren’t helping you achieve greatness) with these blog feeds:

• Seth Godin
• CopyBlogger

Follow Tweets of those that Don’t Abuse Your Time by providing real thoughts and suggested actions. I set up a list of proven architects. I also have a page that lists the latest 20 tips from people that inspire me to be better. I have a twitter list of Architects with impact. What are you doing to keep in the loop?

Hey, you can start to improve any time. All it takes is commitment.

My father sold steel for a living.  His father sold steel for a living.  Determined to break the mold I majored in Journalism and English at UMASS – Amherst. As with most people, I thought sales was a four-letter word.  Here I am now, more excited to sale and help clients. How did I make the turnaround?

A channel sales job and a book by Jeffrey Gitomer (http://www.gitomer.com/) change me.  I got a job selling enterprise software.  A kind and savvy VP of Sales took pity on me, a desperate out of work writer, and gave me a job.  (I gave her the my dad’s a salesman and his dad was a salesman routine and it worked!)  She said, “you’re not qualified, but I’m gong to give you a shot.  I’ll put you under a  sales manager and see how you do.”  As she escorted me out of her office she hand me a noticeably red book. “See you on Monday,” she said.  The book was Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Red Book of Selling.

I read it in about an hour.  Jeffrey knew his audience well.  The book excited me.  Jeffrey helped me come to realize I could be a successful salesman AND help people.  Sales is not just a four letter word.  It’s also an honest living.

Here is a video by my mentor, Jeffrey Gitomer about Asking Powerful Questions. 

 Though Mr. Gitomer is talking about salespeople…the same applies to any technology person that interacts with the business community.

I recently spoke at the Art of Sales Conference hosted by bestselling author and guru, Jeffrey Gitomer.

These are some of the most engaging live educational events you’ll ever experience! At the conference you will find a collection of world class live events of professional and personal interest that will provide you with the tools, techniques and knowledge that you need to put you on the path to success.

Each event features leading authorities, renowned presenters and only the most sought after visionaries (including me!), ensuring that all content is relevant, cutting edge and exclusive. Experience it for yourself!

www.theArtofProduction.com

I think everyone’s personality should be ‘flawed’ in some way. In fact, I usually don’t like flawless people.  I feel like they’re oh-my-God-look-at-her-ankles‘ing me when we’re talking. And maybe they are. I’m not one to go for weekly mani-pedis. I’m usually too obsessed with work and family to slow down my brain long enough for a trip to the spa.

My point is,  if you always look and talk like you just walked out of a GQ, Cosmo or Fortune spread, you’ll have to work harder to prove yourself. To me at least. Here’s why…

Flawless can come off as fake, which makes it hard to trust in that person, much less feel like they are friend material. Not a good thing, since I believe it’s true that all things being equal, people would rather do business with their friends, (Little Red Book of Selling – my bible for inspiring creating sales scripts and media kits).

I’ve decided that I’m much more comfortable working with, for or around people who are quirky, weird, interesting, geeky, funny, quiet or loud. Basically, as a potential buyer of Mr. or Mrs. Flawless Widgets, I’d rather you had a weird laugh, bad shoes and a great idea for my business than a 60 slide Powerpoint presentation, crisply pressed pantsuit, and an answer for everything. So no plastics, please.

Actually, I think some of my own personality flaws, demons or whatever you’d like to call them, have made me a better business person.

Familiar with Jeffrey Gitomer?

I’ve read many of his books, but not until I attended his seminar did I really what this guy was about.

Jeffrey Gitomer

He’s brilliant.  Easy to understand, fun, creative, and has changed the way I do business.  Go to his website, buy a book and attend his seminar – you’ll be glad you did!

In this week’s E-Caffeine (his weekly e-newsletter) I had several takeaways from this article … Read it and tell me if you know a business whose guilty …

Take a Internet lesson from big companies. Don’t do it their way.

How come the smartest people in the world (CEOs, sales VPs, and Marketing VPs) are so stupid when it comes to treating their customers like kings and queens online? And how “online smart” are you?

OPPORTUNITY: Because the business model of big business leaves out “ease of doing business and ease of customer contact,” or the people building their site are customer unconscious, or the people who work in the company have never been their own customer to test the process, or they’re so busy working on their stock price and squeezing profit nickels — they forget that at some point, long-term revenue from loyal customers will determine success.

And then they wonder, “what’s wrong,” or why people don’t return or create the positive virus they were hoping for. Hello!

The Internet is without question the new commercial frontier. Especially in these times. The only question is who will “win the web.” And the answer is: Those whose products are in demand, and who are easy to do business with before, during, and after the transaction.

And size (of company) does NOT matter.

Here are a few things (most large companies do NOT do) to consider as you’re seeking to improve your web awareness and increase e-commerce revenue:
1. Have a “call me” or “e-mail me” or “I need help” or “chat” button in your e-commerce area. Technology has taken everyone to a level where instant is the standard of service. Customers want help and answers. Deliver that or lose to someone who does.
2. Post your address, email, and phone number in several prominent places. Especially on your home page, your lead e-commerce page, and your checkout page. Sometimes I wanna call somebody because I think calling is faster and easier. Give me the option, or I’ll get to the checkout page, have a problem, need a quick answer, look for a phone number, not find one (because you’re gonna educate me to use the Internet) and click off and abandon the order.
3. Too many clicks to nothing. Pages that lead me to more choices instead of just getting me to what I want.
4. Leaving me out in the ozone after I do something. I wanna buy, and I click “add to my cart.” Now what? TAKE ME BACK TO WHERE I WAS.
5. Humanize your email auto-response. Have an auto-response that contains the name of a human being, their e-mail address, and a phone number. Signing your email, “the customer service department,” is as stupid as it is rude.
5.5 Unplug auto-attendant and answer your phone with “Hello!” If I ever do find your number and call you, telling me “To serve you better please select from the following nine options,” none of which are why I called, and when I press “0” telling me “that is not a valid option” is an insult, and EVERYONE hates it (including you). Why do you do it? If all companies would make the first option “press one if computer phone attendant pisses you off” and get that to the desk of the CEO and the board of directors, computer phone answering devices would be ripped out of the walls worldwide. Forever.

COST REALITY: The biggest whine of big companies is that it costs too much to answer the phone with a live person — well it might increase their operating costs – but the key to business longevity is “friendly help,” not price or aggravating service. Profits generated by increased sales will more than make up for it.

BONUS BUSINESS: Bloggers and tweeters will create a viral windstorm telling people that you answer live and are friendly.

There are several other elements that will help purchases both short and long term. Great photos, excellent descriptions, ease of form filling out, customer friendly return program, and customer ratings of both product and shipping.

We have added video clips that serve both as a description and sales pitch. Short, sweet, and profitable.

Many people will read this and think, “don’t want to spend the money,” or “don’t have the budget,” or worse, “don’t need to change.” This is great news for you. They are the people and the companies you can beat to the sale, and beat to the bank.

Want a few more web sales ideas? Go to www.gitomer.com, register if you’re a first-time visitor, and enter WEB SALES in the GitBit box.

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Little Red Book of Selling and eight other business books on sales, customer loyalty, and personal development. President of Charlotte-based Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts Internet training programs on sales, customer loyalty, and personal development at www.trainone.com. Jeffrey conducts more than 100 personalized, customized seminars and keynotes a year. To find out more, visit www.gitomer.com. Jeffrey can be reached at 704.333.1112 or by e-mail atsalesman@gitomer.com

It is fairly easy to acquire and maintain persistence in pursuing the object of one’s desire.

There are a few steps.

Two hit me.  Hard.

Close out ALL negatives including those from family, friends and acquaintances.

Have a friendly alliance with one or more persons who will encourage one to follow through with both plan and purpose.

Napoleon Hill via Jeffrey Gitomer.

Anyone fired up for a friendly alliance?  I’m buying the coffee.

This whole blog is about improving your attitude! I quote so many people who talk and instruct on the topic. People like Jeffrey Gitomer, Napoleon Hill, Earl Nightingale.

In a recent post by Seth Godin (on how to make you and your product remarkable), puts attitude in the place to have the most impact on your success!

Here is his heirarchy of success:

Attitude

Approach

Goals

Strategy

Tactics

Execution

I bet you have been putting tactics and execution first! If you are not as successful as you want to be…try the reverse order.

How do you harmonize …I must try to harmonize better.

In all areas of my life … I tend to disagree initially.

How do you do it? Harmonize that is.

You’re listening to your customer (hopefully taking notes) and don’t agree with his comments. You should immediately:

A. Ignore the comments initially, and continue with your conversation.

B. Try to understand his point of view, and repeat it to him for clarification.

C. Find out why he feels this way, and ask if it is what he actually meant.

D. Tell him you do not agree with his opinion, and ask him to change it.

The Wisdom Behind The answer…

When you don’t agree, rather than argue, you must try to harmonize. Finding out why the customer is in disagreement with you, is the key to harmonizing. Then and only then can you determine who is correct (without arguing). Understanding and repeating may be part of the process, but will not lead to harmony – and may be a negative, since it leads no-place. Disagreeing will lead to a lost sale. And ignoring is the root word of ignorant. Typical sales manipulation is to ignore — and it doesn’t work anymore. Any disagreement — whether in a sales presentation, a customer relationship, a friendship, or even in a marriage — has with it a goal to end in harmony. Make that your goal.

–JEFFREY GITOMER, excerpted from The Little Red Book of Sales Answers

You and I all need (want) money to achieve goals and dreams.

Why am I in my present job (money producing activity)?

Why do I believe in myself?

Why do I believe in my company?

Why do I want to improve my career and job skills?

Why do I believe in my ability to help others?

Why do I want to be the best at what I do?

Thanks Jeffery.

You become what you think about all day long.

If you think positive people are silly, that’s ok, Yet, keep tabs on these folks as they will be successful ones later in life.

#1. We have been doing it for years. We do it it automatically. I am asking myself now to change. My new rule is only to say good things. If I would not say it directly to their face, I am not going to say it behind their back.

#2. Change is a process, not a event. We incorrectly worship the event and look down upon the process. No longer. As a reminder, I now remember that everyday my attitude will be tested. It’s a lifelong process.

#3. NO more I am sorry. I vow to say “Thank you, I appreicate you bringing this to my attention. Now that I know about this, I can begin the process to fix it right away.”

Or maybe “Thank you for bringing this up. I was wondering if you would tell me how this came about as I would like to begin the process of figuring out the best immediate soultion?”

I changed the name and focus of my blog.  I’m still cutting my teeth on the whole blogging thing, but that just means you get to come along for the ride!

I had previously envisioned this blog as a kind of journal for my weight loss efforts, but quickly came to realize that I wanted to write about other things too.  There will still be updates on that journey, but they will play into the larger vision I have for my blog: success.

I got the idea for the title of this blog from Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching! (Full disclosure: I was not asked to endorse this book, nor am I getting paid to do so – I just really find it relevant and useful, and I hope you will too).  It has really given great perspective not only for my career (I’m in sales), but also my personal life.  In addition to the principles of success, one of the main goals of the book is to find out what “rings your register”.  In other words, what’s your definition of success?  I’m still trying to answer that question, and this blog is one tool I’m using to figure it out.

I’ll be posting my successes, but also the successes of others (along with my thoughts).  It’s my belief that one of the keys to being successful is to be surrounded by other successful people, stories, etc.  So please, leave your thoughts on any of my posts, as well as posting your own successes and let’s create a community of successful people inspiring each other with our stories, methods, tips,  and most importantly, successes.

Here is a video by Jeffrey Gitomer on developing a positive mental attitude!

I like to read Jeffery Gitomer and he says to talk friendly. I believe in that philosophy and I coach that to my partners, thanks Jeffrey. One of the things that I haven’t read from Gitomer is about written communication. How are you communicating in letters, emails, proposals etc? I would like to focus on that in this blog posting.

I get about 120 emails a day from partners, potential partners, my bosses, vendors and others. I do try to read them all. To me the most important emails are the ones I get from the partners that I coach. The reason that I say that is because we work so closely together and my timely response to them could determine how they approach a client or communicate to a prospect.

One of my partners who has been with me a while had a bit of a dry spell in sales. I was talking to them about their approach, pitch, value and proposal. They walked me through everything and I was still baffled by their lack of closing new sales. After the 3rd loss in a row, I asked them to send me a copy of the proposal. Once I received the document, I knew found the problem. The problem wasn’t their approach, pitch or value, it was the proposal. A 15 page proposal with 10 pages talking about how great they are and why the client needs to do business with their firm. The proposal took away from their value and threw it out the window. When they changed their proposal to a 3 to 4 page document using friendly language, they closed a sale the same day. The client was able to understand what they were purchasing from the partner. Hooray for everyone!

Another thing that I don’t get is lack of detail in written communication. For instance, I recently received an email from a partner and it was a forwarded email asking “does this work with VA?” I replied, “Does what work?” VA, short for Virtual Administrator, is the company that I work for. I really have nothing to do with any of the product offerings, except for the Trusted Advisor Program. (If you are interested, the other product offerings are, Hosted Kaseya, Intronis (Backup and Recovery), Spam Soap (email filtering) and Hosted Sonicwall GMS (firewall management).) I knew that the product my partner was inquiring about was the hosted Kaseya offering and if it had the ability to integrate with a hosted PSA tool. The issue I had with the email was that it could have been interpreted a number of ways.

The point I am trying to make here is just because you understand what you are saying, doesn’t mean your reader will. Re-read what you write and as you do, ask yourself, am I communicating clearly? Am I using friendly language? Will this make sense to the person who is going to read it? Be sure you avoid confusing the reader, or worse yet offending them. PUT YOURSELF IN THEIR SHOES!!!

Another pitfall to beware of is tone of the communication. Emotions can be misunderstood in the written communication. What may be passionate to you may come across flat to the reader. What you intend to be humorous may come across as offensive. I could go on and on but I hope that you get the point.

As I close out this post (lesson) in communication, remember it always come back to reputation. When you write something, it is a direct reflection on you. Therefore, be cautious of what you write because it is out there forever.

All the best,

Stu

It is the year 2014 and you’ve suddenly realized that your life isn’t exactly what you wanted it to be.   The world has changed again and you weren’t ready again.   The peaks and valleys of the world’s economic engine keeps shifting and leaving you feeling totally unsure of what to do next.

The decisions you make today will impact how you live in 2014.  Are you preparing for the next wave of change today?   Are you seeking the way to tomorrow?

What things in your life today are not as you’d like them to be?   Which of those things is the most important to address?   It is important to identify the area that you feel has the greatest potential to increase your happiness, self-worth, self-esteem and value.   What one area in your life would you like to see positive change?

What will you do to make that area better?

Jeffrey Gitomer has a couple of hints on what it takes to become better.

1. Define your commitment to yourself
2. Define your commitment to others

What are you going to do to better yourself?

What are you going to do to better others?

In other words work on yourself so that you have the best capabilities you can possibly have and keep working towards mastery of the topic you choose to have the best capabilities in.    Then help others become better, help others have a better day, a better career, a better life, a better experience and greater happiness.

You can start today.  Take a look at this brief video clip on attitude.

And have a great day!