HAPPY NEW YEAR!
It doesn't matter whether you call them resolutions, goals, desires or dreams...
what matters is that you don't choose ones based on your present circumstances.
Stretch yourself but not too far.
Make your goals “just out of reach.”
Then you are not discouraged that you did not reach them but came close.
Set your annual goals to match up with your BIG WHY in life.
What do you have to achieve THIS MONTH to achieve THIS YEAR?
Then set in motion what you have to achieve THIS WEEK, TODAY
to achieve what you want in your life and future.
QUOTE: "If at first you don't succeed, you're running about average." M. H. Alderson (writer)
QUOTE 2: "To be happy, drop the words 'if only' and substitute instead the words 'next time'." Smiley Blanton (Psychiatrist, 1882-1966) “If only I had done this…”; to “Next time I will do…”
GYMBEAUX NOTE ON QUOTE 2: Quote 2 also reminded me that you should drop the word “but.” Think about all the times you use the word BUT in your sentences. Try this in sales: “The offer we received is great BUT you may consider the price a little low.” What does the word “BUT” accomplish in this sentence? It builds a wall between where you are (not having an accepted contract) and where you want to go (having an accepted contract); just that one word BUT accomplishes. You most likely have at times thought that as well, “Here comes the BUT!” Admit it. What could you have said instead? “The offer we received is great AND I think you and I can work with it.” No BUTS any more!
FROM MICHAEL DUNN: Ever notice that people who are successful share the same belief system. It seems that I can never get enough of people's stories of how they became successful. Arnold Schwarzenegger's story is one to hear. Listen to his 6 Rules for Success that he gave at the USC Graduation Commencement as: www.michaelpdunn.org
WHAT’S THE BIG SECRET, by Michael P. Dunn. For those of you reading the book, check out page 59. According to Dunn there are three types of people. Which type are you? Are you sure? Absolutely sure? Oftentimes you are NOT the person you think you are. That is one of the HUGE values of having a personal coach. A coach will tell you, a friend probably will not. I think everyone of us would like to be a Type 3. According to studies and Dunn’s book, 3 out of every 100 people are a Type 3. Whoops! There are approximately 80 people in our Market Center – that’s when it becomes scary!
20 TIPS FOR A POSITIVE NEW YEAR FOR 2012: By Jon Gordon. These should be obvious but given the track record of so many people like you-know-who, they need to be revisited: http://www.jongordon.com/newsletter-010212-20tips.html
7 GREAT WAYS TO MAKE 2012 A GREAT YEAR! By Joe Tye. All seven of these are great and highly recommended; I like #3 the best; talk about thinking outside the box: http://tinyurl.com/7ozmmut 7.5 Things To Think About In The New Year by Jeffrey Gitomer. I particularly like #7.5; seems like I have heard that before someonewere. I wonder where? http://www.gitomer.com/articles/ViewPublicArticle.html?key=ajcdMibak3PR3vBnNEyzlQ%3D%3D
FIND OUT WHAT KIND OF ANIMAL YOU ARE. Surviving Your Serengeti by Stefan Swanepoel is a great inspirational novel, very easy to read yet very instructional at the same time. Take the 3-minute quiz to find out what kind of animal you are. Personally, I am an Enterprising Crocodile; you will be amazed at just how well that fits me. You? Go to http://www.whatanimalami.com/ to find out! SUPER EFFECTIVE SPEED LIMIT REDUCTION; it pays to complain to the government. http://zanylol.com/speed_sign.html
GREAT MESSAGE FROM DEBBIE BEAUMONT; OUTREAGOUS BUSINESS GROWTH: This is an a copy of an email I received on December 31 in regards to how to give you a better chance of achieving your desired business growth in 2012. Give it a minute to read, that is all it will take. It WILL make a significant difference for you in 2012. It has been posted on www.SlidellCalendar.com in the Document section in the Motivation File Folder.
MARKETING SOURCE: I have been using www.Queensboro.com to purchase clothing items with EMBROIDERED company logo including www.NuggetsForTheNoggin.com The minimum order is usually 4 items and in most cases the 4 items do not have to be the same item 4 times. Once you get your logo approved and established there is typically no additional logo charge to customize your logo. The best part you can include not only your company logo but also include your personal embroidered name on your items. For an additional $5.00 per item you can have your web site embroidered on the back of your item. The prices are exceptionally good but I would strongly suggest you sign up for Queensboro’s email sales emails – the prices there are fantastic. Comment: Wearing Neat, Attractive Logo Clothing is like wearing a uniform and is accepted as proper working attire by most customers. Remember, you only have one chance to make a favorable first impression. SLIDELL CARJACKINGS: Reports indicate a third incident of carjacking in Slidell. This time it was two girls in a parking lot. When you leave a store, please pay attention to your surroundings. Set your cell phone for speed dialing to someone you know. Stay off your phone when leaving stores. Using your phone while walking to your car only distracts you.
MUGGING NEAR ROUSES: Last night I was at Rouse's near I-10, and there were two of Slidell PD's finest, and they said a woman was mugged in the area moments before. PLEASE NOTE, this happened in a *crowded area*. Whoever is behind the recent string of crimes is apparently not afraid of acting in daylight or even when there are other people around. It is imperative that you BE AWARE of your surroundings. You determine your own level safety. This means more than taking a quick glance around as you leave the store with your phone to your ear. Stop the phone call, take out your ear phones so you can hear, notice people as you walk, etc. Also, have your keys out so they're ready for when you get to your car. There's plenty of other safety tips out there. From David McLaughlin.
Steeling Yourself for Sales Survival in 2012
By Tom Hopkins, author of the award-winning book:
Selling in Tough Times
WITH NOTES BY GYMBEAUX
In order to survive any challenge that negatively impacts your selling career, you need to follow the Boy Scout motto of "being prepared." So, how do you prepare yourself for some unknown event that may pop up on the horizon?
You begin with a commitment to personal growth. Personal growth is a process of increasing your knowledge and effectiveness so you can serve more, earn more and contribute more to the betterment of yourself, your family and all of humankind. It demands an investment of time, effort and money. Keep in mind that if you're not moving ahead, you're falling behind.
Surround yourself with winners. (Gymbeaux Note: There is no better place to do this than attending the 2012 Family Reunion in Orlando) Find other, like-minded, individuals and feed each other strategies for selling in these times, positive news, creative ideas and referral business. Be careful not to involve anyone in this process who doesn't contribute. And don't you be the one wanting the gain but not giving your own positive input to the others. (Gymbeaux Note: This is what makes Keller Williams Realty so great and so different. Most agents are so willing to share with other agents what is working and helping them.)
To keep yourself moving ahead, I recommend that you allocate five percent of your time to personal improvement. (Gymbeaux Note: I did the math for you. 5% of an 8-hour days equals just 24 minutes, 24 Minutes. If you dedicated 24 minutes every workday, that would equate to 104 hours a year. What could you make of yourself and your business if you dedicated 104 hours a year to improve them? It is mindboggling to me.) If you work a 40-hour week that's two hours each week. It needn't be a two-hour block of time, although many of my students find that extremely helpful. You could commit to half an hour each day. (Go ahead and do the math, it does add up to a little more than two hours a week that way but you do want to achieve long-term greatness, don't you?)
What do you work on? That depends on you. (On a Scale of 1 (do nothing) to 10 (do as much as you could) rate your skill level in the following areas that are critical to success:
· Time management
· Computer skills
· Writing, composition
· Ability to Focus
· Self-discipline
· Verbal communication skills
· Dress and grooming
· Business etiquette
· Body language - reading and relaying
· Reading skills
· Math
· Product knowledge
· Paperwork/ data entry knowledge
· Networking
· Prospecting
· Handling your personal finances
· (Gymbeaux: Working on your presence on Social Media)
· (Gymbeaux: Creating and updating your personal Blog)
· (Gymbeaux: Reading and studying The Millionaire Real Estate Agent)
· (Gymbeaux: Working on and maintaining your Personal Business Plan based on the MREA)
· (Gymbeaux: Teaching others
· (Gymbeaux: Giving back to the community
· (Gymbeaux: Attending weekly Partners Meetings and Monthly ALC Meetings
If you find yourself getting nervous about your current level of expertise in any of these areas, don't worry. The purpose of investing five percent of your time improving is to waylay those fears through education. (Gymbeaux Note: The best way to become a master in any subject is to teach it. Volunteer and learn to teach to give back to our industry.)
This educational experience need not be expensive or traditional (in case you're like me and hated school). Many resources can be found at your local library (Gymbeaux: and online). Forget the ads for credit cards. Having a library card is the single most powerful card you can carry in your wallet or purse.
Can there be any better investment than in your own personal growth? Think about it. Anything else you might invest in can lose market value, be stolen or seized. The time you invest in bettering yourself will remain with you for life, contributing throughout your career to your self-confidence and your ability to defeat whatever life sends against you. (Gymbeaux Note: You can sit back and complain about the unprofessional qualities of the people in our business OR you can help improve the real estate industry one person at-a-time by becoming a teacher; you choose.)
Create an educational fund for yourself. Set aside five percent of all of your net earnings into a savings account for education. Then, when an opportunity for education above and beyond what you can find for free comes along, you'll never have to say, "I can't afford it." (Gymbeaux Note: I would suggest that when the opportunity avails itself like the Family Reunion, YOU CAN’T AFFORD NOT TO ATTEND!) You want to be able to take advantage of courses at your local community college or university (Gymbeaux Note: HELLO; what about the courses offered in our own Market Center and on Keller Connects?) Some private technical schools offer excellent programs, for a fee, that can help your career immensely. Just like concerts, many excellent teachers bring seminars to your local area on topics specific to your industry or field. Watch for them. Schedule them into your calendar. Go and learn!
Psychotherapist Alan Loy McGinnis addresses this well. He said, "All of us have weaknesses. The trick is to determine which ones are improvable. Then get to work on those and forget about the rest." (Gymbeaux Note: Dr. John Maxwell suggests that we concentrate on brining the areas in our business and lives that are in the 7 to 10 ranges to make them better and get people to work with you on those areas where you are weak to do those activities. It makes sense. Why try to raise a 3 or 4 to a 5 or possibly a 6 when you could very easily raise an 8 or 9 to a 10 and then get someone to do the 3 or 4’s for you.)
In analyzing your strengths and weaknesses in the categories listed above, there are bound to be some things that you find easier than others. Those that you find difficult or uncomfortable will likely make the biggest difference in your career once you educate yourself on them. Initially, you may feel some hesitation to begin work on these areas. That's quite normal. We hesitate most to do that which we fear most. And fear is nothing more than a lack of knowledge. (Gymbeaux Note: Golf Analogy: Golfers spend millions of dollars and practice time to hit longer drives. But if they can’t get on the green in regulation and if they can’t make the putts when they get there, the long drives go for naught. In golf there is the tee-shot, the approach shot, the short game, the bunker game and the putting game. A weakness in any area will destroy your score just like a weakness in the selling game will cause you to lose money. Where are you weak? What should you or someone else be doing right now to fix the gap? Do you know?)
Tom Hopkins is the author of 14 books including the best-selling How to Master the Art of Selling and the award-winning, Selling in Tough Times. These books, Tom's audios, videos and seminars contain no fluff, no hype, no theory. They're simple, how-to sales methods that work! Learn how to become a better you. Then, use Tom's proven-effective communication strategies and closing techniques to serve more clients, generating more revenue for your company and a higher income for yourself. Stop settling for the same sales income you've had for years. Give yourself a raise with Tom's easy-to-use approaches that will quickly get you the results you desire.
