Blog Archives
The Five Star 5 – My Favourite Sales Quotes
I have complied a large collection of sales quotes over the past 2 years. Here are my five favourites:
- Be a good listener. Your ears will never get you in trouble – Frank Tyger
- Become the differentiator. What you sell can be copied but you can’t – Jill Konrath
- Stop selling. Start helping – Zig Ziglar
- Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman, not the attitude of the prospect – W. Clement Stone
- If you’re speaking and not getting a reaction, well, you are just making a speech – Unknown
I would love to know what your favourite sales and/or business quote is.
Send me an email at TimMushey@gmail.com and I will share the top 5 responses early in 2014!
Merry Christmas!
The Five Star 5 – Leadership Lessons From Coaching Kids Hockey
I never thought being an assistant coach for my son’s six-year-old hockey team would be easy, but there is more to it then I thought!
I have learned many leadership lessons from the experience, and here are my favourites:
- Patience – Many of these kids still sleep with teddy bears. They are very young and their development takes time
- Encouragement – “High-Fives, pats on the back, and a “great job” goes a long way for their confidence
- Focus On The Positive – We tend to focus on what is being done wrong, that we sometimes forget to reward what is being done right
- “Sandwich Method” – Put a suggestion for an area of improvement between two positive comments
- SMILE – Then laugh with them, and make them feel comfortable. It is truly about having fun, developing skills, and learning what it means to be part of a team
As I was writing this, I realized many of these points can be related to managing in the corporate world, or business in general. At least, I thought I could inspire other coaches who may need some new perspective!
If kids are not inspired by their coaches, there are many other activities that they can do these days. Each interaction with them is critical to building that connection.
Is it time to tweak your coaching, managing or general leading philosophies?
Timmy’s 10’s – My Favourite Websites!
As much as many of you support my sometimes long-winded blog posts, there is something to be said for quick, to the point content as well. Today I start a new ongoing series called “Timmy’s 10’s”.
For my first post, let’s start with a bang! These are my favourite websites/blogs RIGHT NOW!
• Paul Castain http://yoursalesplaybook.com/
• Pat Flynn http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/
• Lewis Howes http://lewishowes.com/
• Scott Ginsberg http://www.hellomynameisscott.com/
• Dan Rockwell http://leadershipfreak.wordpress.com/
• Bob Burg http://www.burg.com/
• Gary Vaynerchuk http://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/
• Michael Margolis http://www.getstoried.com/
• Guy Kawasaki http://www.guykawasaki.com/
• John Lee Dumas http://www.entrepreneuronfire.com/
Who is on your list?
I will compile all the responses and post the “best of the best” later in the month!
Think “Give First” – Always!
A short time ago, I received a special gift from somebody that I admire greatly. It was totally unexpected, but I was very grateful for the gesture. Some people just think “give first”, and those people have it figured out. In this case I am certain that it is not a business strategy, rather it is just who he is.
The gentlemen’s name is Bob Burg. I did not ask him for anything; we had just been having dialog about an online purchase I had recently made of one of his audio cds. In return, I got a very unexpected gift. And I LOVE telling the story now.
A couple of weeks back, I spoke to another “giver”, Mr. Paul Castain. Of course, I told the story about what Bob had done for me. Paul’s response,
“Tim, I have heard one thousand of those stories about Bob”.
My only response was “WOW”.
I need to be clear about something. When I use the phrase “give-first mentality”, I don’t mean to give everything away for free. Last time I looked, businesses are developed to drive revenue, but hopefully change lives for the better as well.
The “extract value from people as soon as possible so you can ride off in to the sunset” strategy does not sit well with me. I truly believe if you “give-first”, good things will happen for you.
Don’t kid yourself, those who are paying attention know who the “value extractors” and the “value givers” are. Everyone claims to understand this concept, but do they really?
Here is one of my favourite quotes from Bob Burg:
“All the great fortunes in the world have been created by men and women who had a greater passion for what they were giving – their product, service or idea – than for what they were getting. And many of those great fortunes have been squandered by others who had a greater passion for what they were getting than what they were giving.”
You can check out Bob’s fantastic content (especially his new book “Adversaries Into Allies”) over at:
Have A Laugh Fridays – “Who Just Joined, Who Just Joined?”
NEVER join a conference call late!
Have a great weekend everyone….
Have A Laugh Fridays – “Tim Mushey Style” Sales Call Prep
This is how you properly prepare before a sales call “Tim Mushey style!”
Enjoy..
Oh yeah, if you have not stopped by my Facebook page yet, why don’t you this weekend at http://www.Facebook.com/SellLeadSucceed
There is also “no cover charge” for Black Friday over at our LinkedIn discussion group – The Daily Music Sanctuary.
I peaked your curiosity didn’t I? http://linkd.in/OeKGgr
See you over there 🙂
Sometimes You Still Need To Hear It!
I would love to think that I am confident and feeling great about my abilities all the time. But I know better. Some days are better than others. Self-doubt creeps in to my head on occasion, even though I try to fight it with positive thoughts.
The power of other people’s words and actions can be life-changing for those who need a little pick-me-up from time to time.
Early in my career, I was floundering in a very demanding role making little money. Self-doubt crept in and I was wondering what I was doing there. One day I heard from a colleague that my boss told him I was doing a great job. When I heard that, I felt fantastic. His simple comment changed my perspective going forward.
A couple of weeks ago, I was having a bit of a rough go, and spent a few minutes looking at my LinkedIn profile. I decided to take a quick scroll through recommendations that people gave me. This one grabbed my eyeballs instantly:
“Loyal. Passionate. Dedicated. Motivated. These are only a few of the many adjectives that I could use to describe Tim as both an individual and business colleague. I have saved the best for last, though, in that I must comment on the man’s integrity. I have had the pleasure of knowing Tim for 30+ yrs now, and must say that in all that time I have yet to come across another individual who displays the consistency of actions, values, measures and principles that Tim does. Tim’s value system is unparalleled. I am truly humbled to be able to call him a friend and colleague.”
What a way to change my week in 30 seconds! These words from a close friend reminded me that I can do whatever I want. I am going to print it and put on my office wall for a constant reminder.
- What is the best thing that a family member, colleague or friend has ever said about you? Would love if you shared your thoughts here.
Never underestimate the power that your words you can give others to help get them back on track, or keep them on track.
To all my American followers / friends – Have an incredible Thanksgiving. Enjoy the time to reflect, recharge and be with those you love.
Which “Version” of You Do You Want To Be?
If you have ever been in a funk during your career (especially now) you need to take a couple of minutes and read this.
Close your eyes and take several deep breaths. Think back to a time when everything was clicking with your current role. Reflect on why things were going so well, and what you were doing specifically (and how you were feeling) to make it all happen.
It is my experience that when people are confident, have a positive attitude and a bounce in their step, everything falls in to place over time. As I write this line, I think back to how great I feel when I am “on my game” while golfing! Dr. Bob Rotella has some incredible content on the mental side of golf. I see many parallels with the psychology of sales, and will continue to explore the similarities down the road.
I worked with a retailer in the past that put heavy emphasis on employees closing the sale with the first customer who walked through the door each morning. Why? Because that put them in a great mindset for the rest of the day. On a larger scale, if you make half of your sales quota in the first week of the month the pressure is off, and you can get to work and sell more comfortably for the next three weeks.
To be clear, relaxed does not mean taking it easy. More that you don’t feel the pressure of every sales call or every retail customer having to result in a sale immediately.
Many little things can throw us off and put us in to a funk for long periods of time. Remember when you did poorly on an exam or test in school? Did that make you a bad student? Of course not. I drew a total blank during one exam and failed the course.
That one blemish did not make me a bad student, but it certainly toughened me up, and I made darn sure that it did not happen again! The key is to shrug off those setbacks as soon as possible, and get back to your reality of success.
I wanted you to reflect on being in an awesome place with your role because you deserve to “return there” as soon as possible. I have wrestled with “self-doubt” demons several times during my career and felt that my current existence was just the way that things were going to be forever. Thankfully I would always snap out of it.
I am very respectful that the economy and other things out of our control can certainly affect our mindset and general demeanor for extended periods of time. But when every setback moves you further and further from your goals, job satisfaction and ultimately overall happiness, the negative spiral can be catastrophic!
If you need to hit “reset” with your current role …..
Splash some cold water on your face, take a good look in the mirror, and become that “you” that you really want to be again. You deserve it!
- Are you at the top of your game with your current role?
- Like a golf swing, are you “feeling it” now?
- If not, what changes can you make as soon as possible to get back to the best “version” of yourself?
Expect Success! My Simple Example..
My first job out of university was with a car rental company. One of the key statistics that we were “graded” on was what percentage of customers purchased the $0 deductible coverage on each rental.
When I started to sell it, I was unsure of my pitch, hesitated often, and I didn’t believe in the value of the service.
One super-star in the office sold a higher percentage of the coverage then the rest of us . I started to watch him sell as often as I could, but it was difficult to get a read on his secrets to success.
I discovered a great way to find out what his “secrets” were. I asked him 🙂
His answer was powerful, yet simple.
“I expected to sell it to every customer. I had the mindset that there was no reasons that they should not buy it. What better time to have worry-free driving then when their car was in the shop or they were going on holidays. I was confident in my sales pitch, and acted surprised if they declined initially. Those objections still typically converted in to sales”.
When I shifted my mindset from “I hope to sell it” to “I expect to sell it” – it was a game changer for me. I still had to practice my pitch, learn to handle objections and be ready for all scenarios; but that expectation of success steadily improved my results.
- Can you reflect upon a time in your career when you felt confident selling something vs. being a little unsure of yourself?
- Describe what the difference in results were when you expected success?
- If you are not as confident as you should be now with what you are selling, what changes can you make to gain positive momentum?
“Success is simple. Do what’s right, the right way, at the right time.” – Arnold H. Glasow
Sell, Lead, Succeed! 