Mondays-love them or hate them.  Do you look at Mondays as the exciting opening to a productive week?  Hold high expectations coupled with a brilliantly executed plan? Or are your Mondays a slap in the face reality, back to the grind, mark time to the next weekend?

Success doesn’t just ‘happen’; it is a culmination of expectations, planning and actions.   Creating a brilliant plan means utilizing the weekend to its fullest so that you’re out of the gate prepared and ready to go, expecting great results first thing Monday morning.  Weekends need to include your hobbies and family.  They are the grounding factor that will help keep you focused the rest of the week.   Turning great expectations into powerful results can only happen when you take the actions necessary to achieve it.

Use the weekend to organize your thoughts, action and time blocks for the upcoming week.  Take 45 minutes to catch up on business reading, reviewing the calendar and writing notes and thank yous’ to those you met within the last week.  Organize whatever you will need for the week and have it ready to go at a moments notice. Then, spend the rest of the time enjoying your family and friends and rejuvenating for the new week!

The number one dollar productive activity for any sales professional is prospecting.  If prospecting is number one, then following up leads is number two.  In order to keep this activity flow consistent, time-block each activity or it will never get done.  Eliminate all the disruptions, distractions and time robbers that can happen on Mondays.  Listening to fellow associates telling all the details of their lives that happened over the weekend may be fun but it is a distraction to your goals.  Give yourself 10 minutes to join in the office repartee.  Create a daily time-block that allows you to do the important tasks necessary to run your business and allows you the time to be hospitable.  There are only so many hours in a given work day and time blocking will provide the organization to accomplish everything.  Review the following sample of time-blocking schedule that could work for you on Mondays and throughout the week:

6-7 am- As the old saying goes, “the early bird catches the worm”!  Catch up on emails, review who you will be prospecting, write out thank you cards to those that you met throughout the weekend. Review your goals for the week and finalizing the 4 to 7 most important tasks** that will greatly improve your operation systems.

7-8am-Spend a few minutes catching up with others about their weekend (no more than 10 minutes).  Plan meeting time with your team evaluating the “pipeline” of prospects and clients.   Allow team members to update where they are with their projects and where additional help is needed to complete their tasks.

8-10am-Begin calling your referral sources and pipeline of leads and clients.  During any concentrated phoning and meetings with your team make a point of turning off email alerts and only take calls from clients that are an absolute necessity at this time. Change your voice mail often, outlining exactly when you will be returning calls. If possible, direct callers to a member of your team that can solve problems in your absence.

10-11am-Catch up on emails, and return phone calls.

11-12pm- Lunch break. Bring your own lunch; take a walk outside, catch-up on memos and what the finance markets are doing. Work on the 4-7 most important tasks** that need to be completed.  If lunch outside the office is a necessity, limit your time away from the office to one hour.

12-1pm-Check in with your team to make sure that their task list is advancing smoothly.   Continue to work on your task list. Return any lingering voice mails.

1-3pm-Specifically focus on the “250”** list; calling on your sphere of influence and professional referral sources, and setting appointments.

3-5pm-Face-to-face appointments, and applications.  Not all appointments are going to fit into the time block, but keeping like events clustered together will increase productivity and create time for new opportunities.

5:00pm-Head for home and time with the family. After dinner, take 45 minutes to prepare for the next day:  shut off the phone at 7pm, shut down the emails, quickly prep and organize for the next day.  Spend the rest of the evening for you and your family. 

9pm-10pm-While catching up on the day’s news, also read business help books, and then finish reading something for pleasure. 

Time-blocking your schedule will give you approximately six hours for prospecting.  Ask yourself the question, “If I concentrated six hours a day prospecting, what would that do for my business and income?”

If prospecting is the number one dollar prospecting activity, then you need to time-block it in or it will never get done.  To control phone calls, consider changing your voice mail a few times during the day and let callers know you are in an appointment, and when they can expect you to return their calls. Make “fake appointments” throughout the day so that you can concentrate on completing important tasks or protecting your time for prospecting. Change your email and let senders know that you will be responding to emails at a certain time of day, utilizing the “out of office assistant” function in Microsoft Outlook. 

Examine what gets in your way of accomplishing dollar-productive activities.  Statistics show that average sales people spend only two hours a day focusing on selling and prospecting activities, the heart and soul of the sales profession.  By time-blocking and eliminating distractions and interruptions, your Mondays thru Fridays will be singing “cha-ching” instead of the blues. 

**References to “The 90 Day Journey” Action Plans.

How do you use your time? Is your day comprised of rote activities, meaningless contacts and time wasters, or are you diligent in using each day as efficiently as possible?  The importance of staying focused and using time wisely boils down to the small actions that can be taken throughout the day.

Reviewing the “list” before going to bed helps to organize your priorities for each day.  By taking a few minutes in the evening to outline and prioritize the next day, you allow your mind to wind down and guarantee a better night’s sleep.  Creating that time to permit a “brain-dump” before heading to bed, allows your whole being to be more relaxed and benefit with better sleep.  Develop and maintain a list of specific things that will need attention each day.  Keeping a notepad and pen by your bedside can help log ideas that occur during the night.  Checking off details on the list daily offers a level of satisfaction and will enable you to accomplish more in less time.  Aim to accomplish the most important difficult task/project to be completed early in the day.

Examine the month ahead and anticipate what obstacles may be lurking.  Are there big projects or opportunities that need extra planning and time blocking?  Anticipate what’s on the calendar.  Sales appointments that are the bread and butter of most businesses and need advance preparation.  Often the worse appointments are those that were not prepped in advance.  “Winging it” should never be a part of an appointment.

Procrastination is a time killer.  Self-talk is defined as what you say or think to yourself, either silently or aloud.  Positive self-talk involves thoughts you intentionally choose to think because of the results they will produce in your life and business.  Motivate yourself by being your biggest supporter!

What is time worth?  Refine your day into doing the activities and tasks that will create the kind of income that your time is worth.  Eliminate the non-dollar productive activities.  Examine what your hourly rate is and focus on the activities that produce that rate, consistently.

Creating uninterrupted time to concentrate on the high priority items or activities that will improve business is the most elusive.  For sales professionals, prospecting is the number one action for success.  Eliminate all distractions and interrupts for four of the eight hours a day and a successful sales career will be secure.  Place your phone calls on hold, offer a voice mail recording identifying specific times when you return calls, and outline timelines for specific activities, such as prospecting, paperwork and calls outside the office. 

Take time to periodically examine your life and business plan.  If you haven’t developed these plans, do so. A focused plan allows inspection of each project, person or activity, and the determination of the time and effort associated with it.  Align purpose with your life and business model.   Learn the advantages of using OPE-Other Peoples Energy and Expertise and delegate responsibilities whenever possible. Your time is important, as well as the use of capital and talents. 

Time is a statement of starting, leaving or arriving and is what’s expected.  To be slightly early sends a message of purpose, courtesy and respect – to others and yourself – and assures better results over time.
To be even one minute late (consistently or not), implies a message of rudeness.

Time is serious. Respect time.  Be organized, be prompt, respect the time of others and develop continuity within each day; the positive impact will improve business, and create trust.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Activity is contagious.” Have an impact. Enjoy great results. Embrace the early start. Go long. Inspire yourself and others.”

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, I decided to dedicate this week’s letter to his incredible speech he gave on August 28, 1963.  Those that I coach and mentor, I emphasize the importance of speaking as it “ups” your chances to get clients, meet your hourly rate goals, and gives you the opportunity to show that you are an expert in your field.  But speaking is more than just spewing information out—it gives you the opportunity to show compassion, enthusiasm, and the opportunity to inspire the listeners into action, just as Dr. King did during his time on earth.  Here is a portion of Dr. King’s speech.

“I Have a Dream from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with a new meaning, “My country, ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.”

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

What a speech—what a speaker!!

I hope you get the chance to watch the You Tube Video of Martin Luther King’s—“I Have a Dream”.  Here is the link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk.

Look at the video closely when Dr. King gets to the part “I have a dream”.  The emotion that comes from his heart, not reading any notes shows why on August 28, 1963 the perfect example of how inspiring and uplifting Dr. King was as a speaker.

Speaking Lessons from Dr. King

 Dr. King used some rhetorical methods, including  repetition, metaphors, inspiration, identification and persuasion in his speech topics.  Dr. King identified with the crowd and emphasized unity.  He brought historical background into the speech.  He used repetition of the current situation and what and why the current situation needed to be corrected by the classical appeals using emotion, facts and values.  Midway through the speech, Dr. King explains his goals and solutions to the problems-how to change, proposing, demanding and persuading.  As speakers, we need to have elements of problem solutions in our speech topics—visualizing the practicality of our solutions, how they will improve the situation and show their effectiveness and practicality to those that we are speaking to.

Final Thoughts

In the 1950’s and 60’s Baptist minister Dr. King was the leader of a non-violent movement that strived for racial equality.  In 1964, Dr. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  Here are two additional quotes that I love from Dr. King:  “We must combine the toughness of the serpent and the softness of the dove, a tough mind and a tender heart”.  “If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live”.  In today’s economic challenges, we must remain tough and persevere, but also gentle to those who are important in our lives.  We must also have strong convictions that we are willing to die for—no matter what the cost will be.  Have a wonderful Martin Luther King Holiday.

 So, you finally have that one-on-one appointment with a highly connected professional. With only 30-45 minutes to conduct an interview, what questions are you going to ask that will give you the most out of this opportunity? The information that you are looking for involves whether there is an opportunity to work together and the highest and best use of yours’ and the prospects time.

Questions to Ask Yourself

When I get the opportunity to meet with a possible client, I use specific interview questions to help guide myself to a decision about working with this person. At the same time I’m asking myself these important questions:

 1. Would I feel comfortable doing business with this person?

2. Would I feel comfortable trusting this person with my clients?

3. Does this person run their business align with my values?

4. By taking this person on as a referral partner, will they create stress for me and my staff?

5. Do we have an “essence match” or will we be having constant battles because our philosophies are so different? An essence match means we will meld together easily, rather than adding abrasion to each of our businesses.

6. Does this person understand the importance of creating long term relationships with their clients?

7. Does this person understand what a loyal partnership is all about?

These questions guide me through the interview process and assist with the final determination about doing business with the prospective client. If even one of the questions is a no, then I would pass on working with this person or provide limited service. I’ve learned some valuable lessons in the past by taking on referral sources whose values do not line up with mine. I have it in my mind that I can change the person and coach them about the importance of establishing a loyal partnership and that I can become a major asset to their business. All I received was a grief and a major headache.

Get to Know Them First

 Getting to know the person first is most important. I ask questions that make them talk about themselves. If I’ve done some “recon”, then my questions will be different or worded differently from those below, but this will give you some ideas.

1. Tell me your five minute story.

2. How did you get to Colorado?

3. What do you do for fun? Do you have any hobbies?

4. Are you associated with any groups such as Rotary, Kiwanis’s, or Chambers of Commerce?

5. What charities and non-profits are you involved with?

6. Before you got in your current profession, what did you do before? Don’t just jump in asking questions about their business right away. Get to know and like the person before you start asking probing questions about their business. Their answers to casual questions may be important clues as to how they conduct their businesses.

Questions Related to Their Business Model

Probing questions will give important clues on how the prospect does their business. The answers to these questions will determine how you proceed in the interview process.

 1. Where does the majority of your business leads come from?

2. How do you generate leads and referrals?

3. How do you stay in contact with your past clients?

4. Do you have professional business relationships that refer you their clients?

5. What is the biggest challenge you are experiencing in your business or industry currently? If you have decided through the interview process that you know and like the person, then you need to determine if you can trust the person enough to share your business model or “unique selling proposition”. If you feel that you can not, then nicely close the interview by thanking them for their time and move on.

Final Thought

You don’t need to accept every opportunity that comes in front of you. I was invited to meet with a gentleman who belongs to an organization that I am very involved in. The initial conversation went well as our children were going to the same high school and it was easy to connect. When it came to asking questions about his business model, creating loyal clients for life and working with professional referral sources, I knew that we would not work well together. I told the person, that we should remain friends but working together in the future was not in the best interest of either of us. Being honest upfront has kept our friendship strong and this person has referred many professionals in his profession to me that have worked out well.

 Be picky about the people you work with. Take pride in your business and only work with those that you like and trust. Building your business with quality referrals will improve and refine the essence of your business.

 The buzz was “Other People’s Money”, OPM. Real estate empires have been built on it, credit card companies issued credit based on it and banks used our money as the basis for questionable loans. OPM created a financial disaster. That doesn’t mean, however, that OPM is obsolete. It is still as valid but with a caveat…..understanding the consequences and proceeding with caution. OPM has in fact, opened the door to other OP Factors, especially through sites such as Linkedin that are just as energizing and constructive as the original OPM.

Other People’s Energy-OPE Building a business and growing a sales force takes lots of energy. In fact, it is nearly impossible to accomplish a successful empire without utilizing the energy of other people. In order to accomplish more, try delegating any tasks that can be accomplished without you. Conserve your energy for the most important aspects of the business. In order to accomplish this, a business plan becomes the centerpiece of a successful business. Understanding the business’ goals, time lines, project designs, building a Professional Referral Source and other phases of business growth is crucial in placing those Other People into the right positions and tasks to make the overall business or sales team successful.

 Other People’s Time-OPT Every person is allotted the same amount of time, every day. Along with OPE, bring in extra help when needed to expand the business. If paying someone can help you expand your business by two or three times, isn’t it worth it? Remember though, that if you are going to pay someone, the expectation is that they will improve the business, not hamper it. If an employee is causing problems, not accomplishing daily tasks or creating distress within the ranks, perhaps removing them needs to be considered. The old adage, “Time is Money” has never been truer.

 Other People’s Viewpoints-OPV Consider the value in other people’s viewpoints, both in similar businesses and businesses not associated with your particular field. Every business has unique problems and struggles connected with it and sharing those issues with others can help sort out details. This doesn’t mean you are blabbing trade secrets but rather using other people as a sounding board for solving problems. Master Mind groups and networking groups that focus on business development can help any business entrepreneur in the further progress of their own business development. Bringing in other viewpoints that may be the key to unlocking challenges you are having.

Other People’s Network-OPN The more people you know, the more possibilities and opportunities that can happen from the people that your people know. Joe Girard, considered the greatest salesperson, is in the Guinness Book of Records. He sold more cars than 85% of all car dealerships in the country five years in a row!! He is known as the creator of the “250 Rule”— most people know 250 people through the course of their everyday lives. If those 250 each referred one person to you, think of the string of leads that would continue to stream into your business. Joe used a friendly, simple message, on a monthly basis to all his clients that was intended to convey “I like you”. In his case, it was a simple card relaying sentiments of birthdays, anniversaries, ‘thinking of you’ or just plain ‘Thanks for your business’. Joe’s clients became friends. Friends refer friends to those they like.

 Other People’s Knowledge-OPK The car is giving you problems so you lift up the hood and stare. You touch a few things, squint, check the oil, move the fan belt and jiggle a few more things. You don’t have the knowledge to actually fix the car, and staring at it is not going to get the job done. Hire a mechanic to fix the problem. Seek others in areas that you’re not good at to save you time and frustration.

Other People’s Leadership-OPL Any business is only as strong as the leadership. If you are the leader in your business you have a responsibility to your employees. That means the ability to make decisions, guide through procedures and to know when you need support from others. True leaders seek out the talents of others to help make their business stronger. That may mean taking part in coaching for yourself, looking to your superiors for advice and sometimes asking for assistance. There is no such thing as a single-handed success. When you include and acknowledge those in your corner, you propel yourself, your teammates and your supporters to greater heights.

 Other People’s Wisdom-OPW- Being a good leader also means looking to others for wisdom. Look to those in your life that have already experienced the life lessons you may be going through now. Wisdom comes through many sources….books, conferences, networking groups….but also through experiences that may be outside business. Older family members, friends and business associates have already lived through a number of life lessons and may be the best sounding boards for whatever challenges and failures you may be facing right now.

Other People’s Expertise-OPX “The E-Myth”, by Michael Gerber, refers to the idea that most businesses fail because the founders are “technicians” that were inspired to start a business without knowledge of how successful businesses run. The technician then tries to run every facet of their business: marketing, HR, accounting, etc. Bringing in experts who are great at what they do will allow you to do the things that you are best at. Sales professionals love the game of prospecting and closing the deal, but need experts for systems and operations or they won’t be able to deliver what was promised. Use OPX to concentrate on areas that your strength and learn to rely on Other People’s Expertise to build your business stronger.

Utilizing the OP Factor will help strengthen your business, create better leads and provide the leadership and expertise to bring any business to great success. The basis for the OP Factor is dependent on giving up on the idea that you can do it all and finding the people and resources to become the backbone of your business. How you run your business, treat your employees and treat those around you measures the true success of every individual. Use the OP Factors to elevate you and your business to success.

“Character Counts”

Be careful of your thoughts, for your thougts become your words

Be careful of your words, for your words become your deeds

Be careful of your deeds, for your deeds become your habits

Be careful of your habits, for your habits become your character

Be careful of your character, for your character becomes your destiny.

Be careful of yor leadership, for your leadership becomes your legacy.

I challenge you to read this short poem as a daily discipline and over time, those actions become who you are, determine the credibility you earn and shape the legacy you leave–both personally and professionally.

In today’s world, price is everything. Everyone seems to be looking for a bargain. Shopping the grocery stores for the weekly deals: hunting down the gas station with the lowest price, or waiting for retail stores to put merchandise on sale or clearance. Everyone wants a bargain. But is shopping for a bargain always the best strategy? For sales professionals, bargain shoppers will not guarantee long term business prospects. Although it is essential to be competitive, it is more important to be trust worthy, service oriented and conscience of the specific needs of the client.

For the mortgage and real estate professional as well as most sales professionals, losing a sale means not only commissions lost in the present, but the opportunity for future business and referrals. Building a referral based business focuses you as the best person for the job. Undercutting price to ‘get the deal’ may work for awhile, but without substance behind it, business will soon dry up. Negotiating a price for the sake of a sale without consideration of profit will soon leave you with no income.

Referrals are the only way to sustain business for the long term. Sometimes negotiating a price will preserve the sale, and that may be prudent if the client has the potential to be a solid referral source or possibilities of future business. When you lose the sale, you lose the opportunity of future business and referrals.

If the majority of your clients are a result of a referral, you have already been pre-sold as an expert and a have a high level of credibility. You have the responsibility of establishing trust by asking the prospect probing questions. Know your products well and know your competitor’s products. If negotiating price becomes an issue you are prepared to position yourself as a top authority, with a commitment to small details. That can be the difference between saving and closing the deal at a respectable profit and losing it entirely because of price alone. Although internet shopping for lenders has become popular as of late, it is the classic example of price isn’t everything. One study shows only 16% of loans through internet lenders closes at the quoted price with the quoted rates and will close on time. Your clients place a lot of trust in you and what you represent. Always, under promise and over deliver!

Be a problem solver. This is the reason they are hiring you…..they have a problem and are you the right solution. By asking questions, building rapport and caring about the customer’s needs will establish that you are concerned more about the client and not about the commission.

 Develop rapport, listen to the client, understand their needs and execute your services better and faster than anyone else. Every appointment needs prep time; make sure you are as prepared as possible for each and every client.

 Be readily accessible for the client during the process. Explain the best ways the client may communicate with you and ask the most convenient way and how frequent the client would like to be communicated with. Keeping even the smallest commitments will slowly build trust.

Sometimes it becomes absolutely necessary to negotiate price. Move cautiously. Jumping to your lowest price leaves no latitude for discussion. Clients who are merely ‘shopping for price’ will pin you to a price point with no guarantee of commitment. When you are up against price, by negotiating and meeting halfway with the client’s price, gives you have a better than 50-50 chance in getting the business.

Building your business through referrals keeps a steady stream of reliable income. Negotiate price only when necessary. Remain professional in every aspect, respect the client’s needs and concerns, build trust and communication, and be mindful of the small details. Your clients want someone they can trust and feel confident in referring others as well as the best price.

In sales, we can have operation and system lids. For example, let’s say I’m a great sales person who can produce ten orders a month, but if my back-office can only get eight orders out a month, then I have a lid on my operation systems. As a mortgage originator, I hustle to bring in fifteen applications, but if Susie processor can only process 12 files per month, then I have a Lid on my income because of Susie’s capabilities.

We can also put a self-imposed lid on our sales success. I had a top sales professional transfer to my office a few years back. Now this guy worked his tail off in a small territory and did rather well so corporate thought by moving him to a larger area, he would do even better. Unfortunately, he didn’t make a dime more than in the smaller territory. He just couldn’t see himself making twice amount of money. The thought of making more money scared him. If he would have lifted the lid, he would have seized the moment and rise to the challenge of greater opportunities for himself and family.

I had a gentleman interview a couple of weeks ago and was a bit surprised to see him come in casually dressed. In Colorado, it seems that we don’t have much of dress code etiquette as I’ve witnessed shorts and blue jeans at the theatre, weddings and funerals. However, I knew this guy had met with a senior vice president of our company just a week ago and our SVP is a shirt and tie guy and would have assumed this guy would be coming in with the same. I was candid with him on his dress and asked why he didn’t dress appropriately and he said, “I just can’t see myself wearing one.” In my words, he didn’t want to come off too professional. He didn’t get the job.

Every sales person has some kind of built in Lids in their makeup. Titles and positions do not eliminate them. The issue is not do you have Lids but what are you going to do about them. Here is a list of Lids that sales professionals can face:

Fear -They are afraid to raise the lid of success. They’re too afraid to tackle bigger opportunities as they will bring on more responsibilities.

Confidence-They lack sales skills so they don’t prospect. They tend to work with people they know and those that they do work with tend to be under-achievers.

Assumptions-These types of individuals assume that spending the time prospecting is worthless since the potential client most likely has a service provider in place.

Lack of Knowledge-Whether they lack the knowledge or not, their Lid of Confidence doesn’t allow themselves to show that they have the knowledge of their product or service.

People’s perception of them-In some ways, this person is ashamed of their professional as a sales person. In most situations, they won’t tell people what they do for a living as they don’t want to come across as a pushy salesperson.

Lack of Understanding-Haven’t taken the time to learn about personality types. This person is also impatient and because of their personality flaw, they tend to come across as uncaring and unconcerned.

As a sales manager, I have the responsibility to be a Lid Lifter. If you’re reading this and need to lift your lid in your business, then let me give you a little encouragement: I’ve had some self imposed lids before and I can’t tell you how good it feels to be free from them.

How are you with the various lids in your life? What are they? What is your attitude concerning them? Are you taking responsibility for them? Do you have enough humility and courage to allow a lid lifter into your area of need?

When you are able to overcome the Lids in your business, you can then help others with theirs. Here are three qualities Lid Lifters can help others with their self-imposed lids.

1. You can become a word of encouragement. Challenge yourself and others to eliminate the lids that are limiting you for greater success.
2. Your actions. Increase your contacts, ask for referrals, change your behavior and start acting as a top professional. Show your peers that the lid has been lifted in your life personally and professionally.
3. Your sacrifice. Become selflessness to others and you will be rewarded for your actions. People before profit, service above self.

Everyone has lids that limit their success and even the most successful people have some kind of lid that they battle. All lids can be lifted up, and few successful sales professionals let others lift their lid-they do it themselves. Mom would have said, “Put the lid down!!” I say, lift the lid up and don’t ever let me catch you putting it down!!

For me, September is the perfect time to review and rework these plans and I want to encourage you to do the same. As in all industries, things have changed dramatically and if we are going to have successes, we need to change and in some cases have a full transformation in our operations/systems, creating leads and opportunities and profit and loss management.

Change fixes the past. Transformation creates the future.

The chances of getting what we want increases as we become clearer about what our vision for our life personally and professionally will look like. Do you want a better version of now or something new? Both paths are difficult and produce rewards, so whatever you choose, choose wisely.

CHANGE requires becoming familiar with the current situation, and working to make things better, faster, cheaper, or some other word that ends with an “ER”. The past is the fundamental reference point and actions are intended to alter what already happened. The success of a CHANGE initiative is judged by efficiencies and economies that are realized at the end of our effort, compared with when you started. When you choose CHANGE, your future is really a reconditioned or improved version of the past.

TRANSFORMATION is an assertion that our actions today create our future tomorrow. The future can be described and realized when you free yourself from constraints of the past. In transformation, you design your future and invent ways to bring it about. Transformation doesn’t describe the future by referencing the past (better, faster, or cheaper); it births a future that is entirely new. Like CHANGE, TRANSFORMATION also begins with firmly grasping the current state of affairs – the As Is of the CORE PRIME. Without an intimate understanding of our As Is, we’re delusional about the future from the outset. When you choose the path of TRANSFORMATION, it becomes easier to leave the past behind after thoroughly considering the As Is. You permit yourselves to envision the future freely; you make specific promises, with full INTEGRITY, about how things shall be. You take action to ensure that we live into your declarations about the future.

A butterfly is a transformation, not a better caterpillar.

With this in mind, what parts of your life or business needs a transformation? When you change something, you can always change back. People can change and eventually drift back to the person they changed from. You can change hair colors or clothes and eventually change them back to where they were before. Transformation to me means a complete change. When you get transformed, you can never go back to what you were before. The people that are evolving and realizing that they can be all that they can be all that they ever dreamed are the ones experiencing Transformation. There is a change in behavior and habits. This is a necessary to evolve. If you keep old habits and behaviors you will never experience full and complete transformation. You don’t have to change everything at once, you just need to change something every day-a caterpillar doesn’t change in a second, but throughout its metamorphosis, it eventually transforms to a beautiful butterfly.

The 90 Day Journey Transformation

Two years ago, about the same time as this letter, I saw some major changes happening in the real estate and mortgage industry. I also talked to many sales professionals from other professions who were scared as they had never experience such challenging times and didn’t know what to do each day to correct their poor pipeline of clients, prospects and suspects. They hadn’t put a plan in place that would build professional referral sources that would consistently bring them opportunities. I had always put myself on a 90 Day Journey the last three months of the year so I decided to invite the “world” to join me on a 90 Day Journey and my promise was if anyone would join me on this journey, they would then receive every day, marching orders and assignments that would bring them opportunities and transactions. To make a long story short, I received over 6,000 responses with hands raised saying, I want to be part of this Journey.

Many of you who are reading this letter have already purchased the Journey. I challenge you to dust it off and make a commitment to yourself that you will transform your current situation by working the plan. If you haven’t purchased the Journey, then invest in the 50 cents a day for 90 Days or $45.00. You will have 90 straight days of actions, challenges, disciplines required of you-that includes the weekends. You will be printing off nearly 400 pages and by the time you are through the 90 Days, your business will be transformed.

Challenge your office, your friends, and your professional referral sources to join you on the Journey and hold each other accountable. I’m going to be on the Journey for the next 90 Days and traveling alone is lonely so come along with me. I promise you, that you will be in for a very exciting quest of transformation. Will you join me?

September is the perfect time to review and rework your life and business plan.  In fact, I’m writing this at the Building Champions Experience in Cle Elum, WA reviewing my business plan for the last 90 Days of the year, rewriting my life plan and planning for 2012.  As in all industries, things have changed dramatically and if we are going to succeed we have to change with it.  This means that whatever your business and life plans/goals were when you wrote them last year, you just might need to ramp up and increase your actions and dollar productive activities to accomplish your goals.  Review your life plan and acknowledge the gaps in your life will help you make improvements in all major areas.  Are you all work and no play? Learn a new hobby. Take time to participate in community and philanthropic causes. Have you revised your family budget?  Spend time with your significant other and talk about spending habits.  Do you spend enough time with your children and family?  It is understandable that you won’t be able to attend every school event but your kids will grow up fast and those special moments will be gone.  Devise time in every day to enjoy the family.  Developing a life plan allows you to filter through all of your life decisions.  Don’t forget education for yourself…..read a book, take a class, or attend a seminar. All are important for self growth. Allow your life plan to help you improve in all areas.

 The last 90 days allows me to put together my business plan for the following year.  Times have changed and if you are adhering to a business plan made 1-5 years ago, you are out of the loop. Refocus your energy, look at where your business comes from, develop a niche market and refine your sales skills. 

Take risks and implement.  Carefully consider what is worth keeping, what needs to be eliminated and what can be started new.  This will help create energy when you start writing out your plan.  Yes, I said WRITING out your plans!  Writing out your life and business plans allows you to measure where you are going, see what you have accomplished and stop you from going down an unproductive road.  Write out your plans, and keep them with you. Refer to them often and measure your success!

Most important of all is putting your plans into action.   If you don’t start implementing your plans right away, you will soon forget about them and   thoughts of progress will wither away into another mediocre year of production.  Take the 90 Day Journey to Sales Success…..when others have given up, you will be setting yourself up for incredible success in 2012!