Tag: #2020goals #attitude

An Inside Job

Personally, I have peace and joy during this very trying time. I am continually sharing with my staff and my family that joy is an inside job and not dependent on, or slave to our circumstances.

If we take action through a lens of fear, it is bound to increase the feelings of anxiety. It is usually an act of defense if we act at all. Survival mode if you will. When we act out of faith, it is driven through hope and thanksgiving and most always proactive.

Our inner circle needs leadership, not pandemonium. Our communities, co-workers, family, and staff need leadership and vision, not more fuel to a wild fire.

Leadership is the ability to influence others. So in essence, we carry around two buckets at all times. In one hand, a bucket of water and the other a bucket of gasoline. Wisdom and leadership teaches us when to use each one. One puts a fire out and one makes even a small ember a huge flame. In a situation like what we are currently living in, leaders must asses the facts and lead from a position of strength. Those who are throwing fuel on a fire in a time of crisis are not leading at all. This is the time to use the bucket of water to calm the fears of those around us.

This does not mean that we need to like our circumstances or ignore them. In fact, we can down right hate our current circumstances. But rest assured this too shall pass. With the exception of death and taxes (and Tom Brady going to another Super Bowl with Tampa Bay), everything passes. So, use this time as a time of reflection; as a time of goal setting; for being more prepared when we go back to “normal”; for smelling the roses; for more quality time with those we love; to maybe facetime those whom we do not see or speak to often; as a time to reconnect with friends once close; an perhaps more important than all, a time to pour the bucket of gas on our spiritual life.

Last night my daughter made her very own home-made hibachi grill for our family. The fried rice was super! Her recipe included rice, and egg or two, salt, pepper, and stir fry sauce. The chicken was outstanding and so were the veggies. She even had a water bottle to squirt in everyone’s mouth and she tossed veggies into our mouths from her spatula. She is refusing to bow to the fear, because joy is an inside job.

Cake, Less Eggs, Ain’t Cake

You have to excuse the grammar; I heard this saying once and it jumped out at me. Building a team in business is like making a cake . . . so to speak. Just the right ingredients mixed just the right way will produce an outstanding cake.

I recently have been interviewing for an open management position I have available, and all of the candidates are good at some things but not good at all things. Some have 20 years worth of experience but their overall automotive IQ doesn’t support it. Others have only a year of experience but have quickly seasoned and have a very high automotive IQ.

Picking the right person for the position can be a challenge as it relates to overall  experience. However, I feel it is even more important is how they fit in with the overall recipe of the store’s culture. Think about it; when you make a cake, you have eggs, flour, sugar, flavoring, butter, and salt. If you put too many eggs in, or not enough sugar, or only use a bowl of flour alone, it will be a cake to forget — if a cake at all. Eggs in and of themselves are not bad at all. But a bowl full of eggs alone will never get you the end result you are looking for, if the end result is a tasty cake.

When I interview, I am asking myself if the candidate will compliment the overall feel (or recipe) of the existing team. I wonder if they will be what we are looking for as we move into the future. I wonder if they will challenge and nudge the team members to be better or will they be argumentative and hostile in general. I am probing to see if I actually like the person, as in, are they kind/well groomed/well spoken/professional/humble/confident. It is even more vital that my existing management team will be assisted to even greater heights by the new hire and not fall into discouragement or worse; discontentment with their position based on the new recruit. It is not always about how many mountains you have moved on your resume or how many awards you have collected. It is also important that the fit is right interpersonally, because when putting a recipe together; cake, less eggs, ain’t cake.

7 Intentional Sales Steps to a Great 2020

Follow me here through the steps: Pun intended. All kidding aside, if you follow the seven steps outlined below, you will have a better year in 2020 than you have had in 2019. Remember, your steps must be intentional, not an accident. What are we waiting for? Let’s get started today and everyday thereafter.

Decide to Have a Good Attitude — Always

I use the word decide, because it is always a choice, and certainly cannot be a byproduct of your circumstances. Learn to have a good attitude in all situations. Trust me: it can always get worse. And if it were to get worse, you would wish that you were back in this present situation. I am not saying you have to like a bad situation. But learning to control your emotions and your attitude in spite of the situation you find yourself in will pay dividends.

Read Positive Material

Your mind is like a sponge. The same sponge that can soak up clean and refreshing water, can also soak up damaging and dirty chemicals. Your brain is no different. Feed your brain positive material by people just like you and I, who have succeeded or have overcome a tough situation. Read about others who have won awards, or have accomplished something wonderful. Read success stories, testimonials, spiritually nourishing books, and more. Stay away from the negative, such as the news or newspaper — as they all preach that the sky is falling.

Find Positive Reminders Every Day in What You Do

Maybe it is a reoccurring calendar reminder or a post-it note with an inspiring message or quote from a leader you look up to. You can print articles or pictures where you can see them that inspire you. You can keep the thank you cards from your happy customers or family/friends. The method does not matter, but the principle is a crucial step in keeping your focus on your goals.

Focus on Opportunity, Not Failure

Every customer is your opportunity. The town you live in is your opportunity. The state you live in and the country you live in is your opportunity. The world-wide-web is your opportunity. What you decide to focus on becomes your reality. Focus on failure, and get more of it. Focus on opportunity, and the more of it you will see available to you. Think it through; the person who has the money to spend on your product is asking you to help them spend it. They are never a nuisance. Ever. Yes, customers can be a royal pain, but if you can only sell to nice people, your pool of opportunity shrinks dramatically. Think of it another way — picture walking down a very long corridor with hundreds of doors that are all closed. Many are locked but some of them are unlocked. If there was a hundred dollar bill behind every unlocked door, you would simply run down the corridor twisting door knobs. You would never stop at the first locked door. Therefore, just start twisting the proverbial door knobs, as sales is simply a numbers game. Some doors are locked but the reward is only found behind the unlocked ones. Focus on the opportunity.

Celebrate Your Accomplishments, No Matter How Small They May Seem

When you were a baby, your parents or guardians celebrated your constant attempt at walking, even though there was more falling down than walking going on. They were encouraging you to keep trying, knowing that if you failed enough, you would eventually succeed, as long as you didn’t give up. Take the time today to celebrate your accomplishments and learn to focus on progress, not failure. As I have said in the past; inch by inch its a cinch but yard by yard its hard.

Develop a Cheerful and Outgoing Personality

Simply put — Be cheerful. People like to do business with people they like. AND, they buy more frequently and spend more money per transaction with less hesitation from happy people. Be that happy person. I have found that if you count all of the things you have to be thankful for, being cheerful and positive is much easier. Also, your associates will appreciate the breath of fresh air. It is easy to like someone who smiles, is happy, and is thankful.

Remember to Take Care of the Customer

Do you enjoy the niceties in your life? If you boil it down, the customer paid for it. Without the customer, we all have nothing in a free enterprise market. In my entire career, I have fired less than 7 customers. These customers were not fixable, they were toxic, and they were opportunists who were looking for someone to extort. So, I fired them. Most customers who seem unreasonable just want to be heard and helped. So, take care of the customer. Thank the customer. Appreciate the customer. Honor the customer.

Dick Chitty from Lexus had three rules that he shared with the dealer network to become successful in the car business. Rule #1 – Take care of the customer. Rule #2 – Take care of the customer. And rule #3 — you guessed it.

Happy New Year everyone. Let’s get intentional in 2020. It will be well worth it.

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