Will future-you respect today's you?

Today I was confronted with a dilemma.
Someone had gone out of their way to lie about who I am, to make matters worse, they did this publicly.  I was mad, really mad even,  for about 3 minutes.

Then it hit me; the bullies will always be there.  The people who hate you will always exist.  All we can do to keep ourselves sane and happy is to not let another person's misery and vile thinking penetrate our sense of who we are. 

The price we pay for the poor choices we have made is infinite. 
When you look back and feel that you want to give your younger self a beating; stop.  Use that energy and passion to ensure your future self approves of who you are today.

Bumper Sticker Business.

I'm the type of person who prays for something and then goes out and gets it myself.

Ever heard that before?

I have. Lots. Usually by people who I would consider wiser than myself.

Planning IS important. However, Too often business people and sales pros alike get too caught up planning as opposed to doing. Take action! Motion creates emotion. All success is emotional. Stop dreaming, start doing.

And so ends Joshua Haddon's midnight aggressive bumper sticker wisdom rant.

Shameless Promotion.

When is promotion shame-filled?
I spent the last few days using my time to promote or ‘spam’ if you will, everyone I know regarding, what I think is the greatest product ever.

Discount Savings Network has a three tiered approach to helping restore Windsor, Ontario’s economy.
First, our savings card ensures that consumers get the best value for their dollar when they spend money here in Windsor.  This hopefully cuts down on the amount of cross border shopping that is done.  Second, we donate almost 20% of our revenue to local charities to help our fellow Windsorites.   Thirdly, Discount Savings Network increases loyalty to local businesses, which should help them grow and employ more people.  It truly is Win, Win, Win!

When you believe in something as much as I believe in this, shameless promotion doesn’t exist.  The only shame would be if you didn’t do everything you could to tell everyone about it.

Check out the website and let me know what you think.
You can also like us on facebook.

The Internet shows growth.

I wrote this 5 years ago. It's amazing how we can grow so much in such a short period of time.

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In my current position I work with a sales team on improving closing percentages and lowering cancellations during the 10 day rescission period. The sales team consists of men and women age 19 to 45, with the majority of them being 20-25. They have a marketing department that directly markets individuals, and invites those who are ‘qualified’, to a sales presentation. In sales, qualifications vary service to service and product to product. Generally, a ‘qualified’ prospect must be between the ages of 28 and 70, be working or gainfully retired and have a significant other that they bring with them to the presentation. This particular sales team is fielding 80-120 qualified tours every week. All the sales team has to do is show up for work and the potential sale is waiting to be closed. Would you believe a lot of them complain about their job? I just laugh and think of how many car salespeople would beg for this job given today’s economic state.

When I started this position the team was closing 1 in 8 qualified prospects. Those are dismal numbers in this industry. I took to the sales floor to see what was going wrong. Over the next week I observed, researched and learned everything I could. I couldn’t help but notice the age difference between the prospects and most of the sales team. During my second week, I worked the sales floor, closing 4 out of 11. Now that may seem like an improvement, but it was still barely the industry standard of 1 in 3. I still had a lot of work to do and hadn’t even begun thinking about how to close the age gap.

I was moving to a new condo and was packing. I came across some family photos from my High School and University days. There was one of me during a debating tournament shaking hands with the director of the tournament. I was surrounded by deans, principals, city officials and other people of apparent high morale standard. In my private time, I was your typical 18 year old; drinking on weekends, smoking the odd joint and chasing girls. Somehow I had won these people over. Normally I avoided these types of people like the plague. However, in this picture I looked so innocent, so trustworthy and if a picture really says a thousand words, this one would give a speech on my strong morale fiber and constant altruistic deeds.

The next week I wore a sweater vest every single day. I looked like a preparatory school boy, the honest and trustworthy boy from the picture. I closed 9 out of 11 that week. I equate this to humanity’s subconscious desire to seek out truth and purity. My next contract is in the financial education field. I can only hope that In Vest They Trust.

Feedbacking not backpatting.

The people in your circle who are consistently agreeing with you are not helping you. Earlier today, I asked a good friend of mine his opinion on a business idea I had. After five minutes of us debating back and forth, he apologized for disagreeing while standing his ground. Somehow, in the heat of the moment, I knew that no apology was necessary. At that moment, I knew I had made the leap to a place where I wanted to be professionally. I realized the ideal mindset for success was the one where I believe; the people who disagree with me are the ones I should be talking to.

Sometimes a different road will lead you to the same castle - only faster.

When you go out in the world and tackle 2013, do your best to get more feedback than back pats. It'll show in your bank account at years end.

Allow Me To Re-Phrase That.

'If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.'

This should really read;

'If you want something done right and have no idea how to lead, do it yourself.'


'Don't count your chickens before they hatch.'

This should really read;

'Don't count all of your chickens before they hatch, but go ahead and enjoy the future fruit of your labour before it all comes to fruition - you do only live once.'

'It takes two to tango.'

This should really read;

'Fighting, as in the tango, needs to be started by someone.  In office arguments almost always stem from a poor leader allowing a cancerous team member to remain.  Kill the cancer.'

Lessons from lesser leaders.

We've all been on some sort of a team.  Sports teams, project teams, sales teams, customer service teams; W5H clubs, committees, event planners etc.

All of the teams you have been a part of had someone who was the leader.  Appointed or not, there most definitely was an individual who steered the ship so to speak, in an effort to produce the team's desired and/or mandated common goal.
Leaders, like ice cream, have many flavours.  Unlike ice cream, some leader flavours are so terrible, no one could possibly enjoy it.

I worked as a consultant for a travel business for 20 months, probably the hardest 20 months of my professional life.  Why?  I had to spend every single day watching the leaders of this company make the same mistakes over and over.  Beyond that, I then had to sit in weekly meetings where they complained that nothing was changing.   A common theme in my writing is the simple definition regarding insanity.  These leaders were the epitome of that definition.  Despite my impeccable record of turning companies around, running successful businesses and getting teams to succeed - my suggestions for success were ignored.   Since last year, I really wondered what these gentlemen were paying me for and what my value was to them.  Something didn't sit right.

After countless months of late paychecks, consumer complaints and employee morale issues I decided it was time to leave.  Then, within days of this epiphany I had a stroke. 
Today is almost 4 months later and I no longer work for the company.  I'm working on other awesome projects, smile more and I'm much healthier and happier.

The lesson I learned from these lesser leaders and hope you learn here;

When a company or a person continuously asks for your help with problems but then ignores your solutions.  Something isn't right.  When you are receiving what people call, 'all the information' and after reviewing the information sense those same people might have ulterior motives, they probably do.  When something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't. 

I'm always looking for new projects, please feel free to email me.

If Money Doesn't Move - Nothing Happened.

Too often new, bright eyed entrepreneurs are overly excited by a potential gain or a 'great meeting' they have had with a 'major player'.  To make matters worse, a couple of good meetings and many people stop planning meetings, they start to 'follow up' and wait for the process to happen.  What happens when nothing happens?  Nothing happens.


The number one thing green young entrepreneurs need to embrace and understand is the age old saying, 'money talks and bullshit walks'.  Nothing has happened if money has not changed hands.  You need remember this everyday and consider it in every decision.  Intentions are great, dreams have their place, money is the only truth in business.

You think you’ve got problems!?

Of course you do.  We allhave our own.  Some problems might stareat you with ugliness and contempt.  Thetruth is, this is the perfect time to create something beautiful.

Years ago, somebody was lucky enough to be born when anyonebefore them used their brain to write down the clever tidbit, ‘Every problem isan opportunity.’   As true as this is, itsounds like garbage due to its overuse.

I write on many different topics here and sometimes I have close friends or colleagueswho say things like, ‘I think it’s great that you write about things even youneed to improve on’.  Ha!  I have never really thought about it that way,but it is indeed true.  Well, today’spost will be something anyone who has ever met me knows to be my forte; Findingsolutions for problems.  Below are the thingsI have come to do naturally in the event of a problem. 

1. A foolproof way to make your problems seeminsignificant and remove the panic from your emotions?  OPEN YOUR EYES.  Get off of your computer and walk around yourcity.  Good spots include: Your downtowncore, your downtown bus depot or your dodgy neighborhoods.  You’ll notice people who are quite obviouslystruggling.  If they are alive andsurviving, so can you.   Removing panicfrom the situation is a great first step for turning problems into solutions.  Remember, this is not the end of the world.
2.  Now that you’re calm, consider how the problem occurred.  There is nothing you can do now, to changewhat just happened.  There is no way youcan alter the past.  Instead of dwellingon what you could have done, immediately vow to not allow the sequence ofevents that occurred to happen again. Have tough calls to make in order for that to happen?  Make them! No one ever got to the top by being a wimp.
3. Assign a dollar value to the problem.  Most business related problems have a dollaramount attached to them.  If you could pusha button and get money, how much would you need to solve this one?  Is your problem a $100 problem?  $1,000 problem?  $10,000 problem?  There are two ways to look at the problemonce you have completed this exercise.  Ifit’s a smaller number, brush it off, fix it over the next few days and live tofight again.   If the number is on thelarger end of the spectrum, go back to step one and put your life into perspective.  There are people in our world who have muchgreater challenges.  Be honest with thosearound you and push forward.  The onlytime you are at risk of failing because of an unexpected problem is when you donothing, freeze up or start dealing from defense.  Always push forward, remember you are betteroff than most and find creative ways to solve what’s happening.  Feel better? If you don’t, you didn’t do it right. 

When confronted with a problem, breathe, minimizethe problem in your head and fix it. Should you have the luxury of a mentor to talk to you could also; Stop,collaborate and listen.

Loose Lips Strengthen Ships

Did you ever get picked last for kick ball? If not, did you feel badly for the kid who did? Or course! Most people want to be accepted, most people want to belong. In a small business, using this to your advantage is a key competitive edge. Be honest with your key people, make your goals, their goals. If times are tough and your business needs a cash influx, be honest. You will truly see who is in the fight and who is not.

Motivate your people with facts, not fiction or pipe dreams.

There is nothing better than knowing where you stand. There is nothing more comforting than separating those who will fight with you to the end and those who will not.

Knowledge is power. Be open, be uniquely loose. Loose lips with strengthen your ship, on the way up and when it is taking on water.

Complete Success.

'She is so successful.'

'He is such a successful guy.'

'That company really worked for their success.'

You thought of money didn't you? Piles of money? Nice cars? Houses on the water or on golf courses? Yeah me too. For the last quarter century I've been programmed to equate success to money. They are synonyms in the mind of the average person. Like love and marriage - wait, it's 2012, you can in fact have one without the other. Success is boring in comparison to what I'm discussing here. Complete Success, I imagine, is great.

What is Complete Success? I have no idea. I just know having a decent bank account is not success, at least not for me. Money cannot buy happiness or health, and I'm pretty sure those last two intangibles are more synonymous than success and money. With people dying all around me lately and the C-word* being throw around like feces in a monkey cage, I started doing some soul searching. You see, Complete Success, as I am referring to it, is a state of bliss without ignorance.

I imagine it is the time when you hit every red light and it's quite alright. The time when you auto forward your email to a trusted colleague and watch Seinfeld reruns without a care in the world. Complete Success is pulling up to a driveway and being so happy to walk inside that home to see your stuff, cat, dog, wife, kids or whomever. Complete Success isn't measurable. It isn't even real to anyone but you. I imagine it is something like having third stage syphilis. Euphoric, free, loving and bright.

Today I've decided to deepen this journey I am on and strive for not only a fat wallet, but a trimmer waist line, lighter heart and brighter smile. Complete Success is subjective, that's the good news. The bad news is, Complete Success is in all probability going to be a big pain in the succASS.

See you at the gym.

Personal vs. Professional.

The whole theory of staying 'professional' in today's business world is, for the most part; bullshit. People who need to remain professional and speak professionally are:

a) People who do not belong in the position they are in. These are the people who put their time in a certain business or industry and have a great title, but bring no new ideas or motivation to the table. They compensate for their incompetence by trying to 'sound' like they know what they are talking about.

b) People who represent a terrible product or service. After reading this, you'll notice one thing: Some of the best looking and sounding marketing materials you will see - come from the most boring, un-innovative people in the business world. These are the same people who will send you emails that are paragraph after paragraph of garbage, buzz words and bullshit. My favorite business people are always to the point and direct.

When was the last time you saw Tom Brady tell one of his receivers, "Wes Welker, I must say that is one of the finest completions we have seen in this organization in quite some time. Your annual review will be undoubtedly positive if you keep that up."

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!?!?

Your 'organization' is a team. Teams thrive on structure and motivation.

Be a Brady, not a Boob. Reward people on a human or personal level. Stop focusing on 'trying to be more professional' and focus on being more personal. People buy YOU. Not your business acumen.

Success Solutions

You've heard the name Success Solutions before in my writing and talks.

We've finally built our online image.

If you think you could PROFIT from what is written in this blog.
If you think you could GROW from the teachings written in this blog.
If you think you could BENEFIT from the teachings written in this blog.

Then you should get a free consultation from our Success Solution Providers:

www.successsolutions.ca

Remember, we only profit when you do.

You are who you associate with.

There is no ‘I’ in team, they say. ‘They’ are somewhat wrong. In sales, as in life, we are who we surround ourselves with. Have you ever noticed that people who spend time with each other on a regular basis have the same catch phrases and mannerisms? Of course you have. These are the tangibles, the similarities you can see and hear.

The same diction isn’t the problem, isn’t the intangibles that effect a person’s ability to succeed or not.

In seemingly insignificant ways, those we associate with on a regular basis rub off on us. They, in part, dictate our day to day operations and how we conduct ourselves on a both professional and personal level. Napoleon Hill discusses the concept of creating a Mastermind Alliance – a group of individuals who are smarter, stronger, more creative and more successful that you. Henry Ford wasn’t the brightest man in the world, but he surrounded himself with people who knew what he didn’t – and for that – became great.

We train our Sales Professionals to surround themselves with positive people. However, sometimes people in our organization forget that that same principle goes for them too.

By allowing negative people into your life, you are green lighting others to interfere with your ability to become as successful as you imagine.

There very much is an ‘I’ in team. YOU are responsible for your team, just as much as you are responsible for yourself. If you have a cancer-type person or group in your life, in order to strengthen your team you must eliminate them. By strengthening your team, you strengthen yourself. By strengthening yourself, you strengthen your team.

Without a solid team around you, you can expect mediocre results.

- BEAT CANCER.
- ELIMINATE BULLSHIT.
- DO YOUR BEST and stop using the word ‘try’ or ‘tried’.
- TAKE PRIDE IN EVERYTHING YOU DO OR DON’T DO IT.

There are plenty of I’s in MILLION$ and BILLION$.

Defined Roles.

Great leaders are considered great leaders because they were able to persuade other men and women to believe in their methods and follow them.

You don't become a great leader by doing everything yourself.

Great organizations are made by great people. Not at the top, but at the center of these great people is a man or woman to whom they all look to for guidance, advise, support and mentorship.

These leaders know how to delegate and know how to grow their team of key people.

****

Sales Professional know that THEY TOO are LEADERS.

To be great at sales, you must be great at defining who you are in your organization and what your role(s) is/are. Too often I witness sales people being asked to preform mundane and non PROFIT PRODUCING tasks.

Listen up!

Set some boundaries.
Define your role.
Preform that role better than anyone could ask of you.
Cash checks.

You'll be a better and wealthier person for doing one or two things incredibly, then for doing many things decently.

Mickey Mouse Doesn't Have A Bad Day.

Bang! Your plane lands at John Wayne airport and the children start to get excited again. 'Daddy! Are we here? Are we here?' You've just traveled miles by tres chere air. You are 20 Miles from Anaheim and the kids are ready to do Disney for the first time. The look on their faces when the plane lands is worth the $6,000 it cost your family of four to get there, right?

Thirty minutes getting bags, twenty finding the rental car shuttle and ninety minutes getting to the hotel and checking in - you are finally ready to 'do Disney' as the kids would say.

After all of this effort and money, with the ultra pure gleam of anticipation in your children's eyes; imagine that you got to Disney and Mickey Mouse was having a bad day? Mickey Mouse smells like cigarette smoke. Mickey Mouse is hung over. Mickey Mouse is fighting with his girlfriend. Forget all that, what if Mickey Mouse was just mellow. Simply, O-K. How would you feel after $6,000? How would your children feel?

What do your customers get when they call you? How do you make them feel? What personal problems of yours are visible while you are working? In order to be great at sales and customer service - which by the way, are the same thing; You must not have a bad day. That means leaving your personal problems in your car. You must be prepared to give the best version of who you are to every customer or prospect you meet.

Mickey Mouse doesn't have a bad day? Look how successful Disney is.

Business Owners, what are you customers being greeted with when they call or come in to your office?

Mickey Mouse or Grumpy the 5th Dwarf?
Tigger or Eeyore?

Happy Customers = Happy Bank Accounts

(This is more of a rant than a post)

Ravings Fans. If you haven't read that book, you need to to. If you have read it, start practicing the principles outlined more closely. In this world of tweets, texts and diggs it is easy for one person to make or break a company or person's reputation. With that in mind, it would seem so logical to have fair, just and equitable business practices wouldn't it?

The premise of Raving Fans is that satisfied customers are no longer good enough; in order to be a leader in your industry you must create 'raving fans' - a team of people who not like, but love you, your company and how they are taken care of. Imagine, you create one new over joyed customer a week and in five years you have 250+ people who every time someone mentions your product or service, they give your name. If you're lucky, they'll tell a story of how great you were as well.

In the interest of a quick buck, I've dealt with two people in the last 7 days who were more interested in my money today, than much more of my money over the next 5, 10 or 20 years. What these two people have created is the exact opposite of a raving fan. They have created a tech-savvy, intelligent and well connected foe. Instead of the awesome referral sender companies get when they please me, these two companies have created a naysayer. Someone who will go out of their way to tell others not to do business with them.

How does the Raving Fans principle translate into your success? Happy customers translates into a happy bank account.

As a true Maple Leafs fan, I'd rather cheer for the Montreal Canadians then the two people this article is about.

(Please do not discount the credibility of this information over a professional sporting team choice.)

Cost Of Doing Business

January. It was pegged to be great. Sales people all sat around on January 1st, claiming this was going to be their best year. They had the best intentions and they were eager. Then January 10th rolled around, and soon after January 20th. Many realized they were no further ahead than they were at this time in 2010.

Yikes.

What now? Resort back to bad habits, excuse making and the blame game? Not if you want to be a true Sales Professional.

I have representatives who are cutting corners, they have excuses, they point fingers, cause problems and are overly aggressive. Dealing with people who are on route to becoming true Sales Professionals is tasking at times. As the saying goes, that's the cost of doing business.

The career you have chosen is laden with opportunity. Many others before you have failed. They sit around and tell stories of how they used to do sales. They talk about how tough it is, how unforgiving cold calling is and how they could of been successful at it if their boss/company/customers would have only _________.

Being a successful Sales Professional comes down to you. Only you. If you can't convince yourself of the number one rule, how could you possibly persuade others to listen to anything you say?

Many people choose another career path because they are mentally weak. Unless you are highly educated or have a great idea, it's tough to find a trade that offers the freedom and financial gain of being a true Sales Professional. If you want to be in this business, you need to understand that it is not always going to go your way. This is an art and not a science. All you can do is remember, whether you win or lose in sales, it is all your fault. Sound bleak? Sometimes it can be.

That's the cost of doing business.

Paint By Numbers Greatness? Or Picasso Greatness?

Everyday someone in my network will ask, ‘Josh what sales book should I read?’ or ‘Haddon, what sales book had the biggest impact on your career?’ Today, someone emailed me who I had never met, asking what books I would suggest a new sales person read. So I figured I'd reply here, since this blog is how they found me.

By no means do I want to sound cynical or holier than thou, but a majority of the ‘sales’ books out there are garbage. I’ve read 100’s of these ‘sales’ books. Early in my career I bought every book I could get my hands on. All the books promised methods, systems and strategies to guarantee riches and success.

About two years ago I realized that I will never be truly great while using someone else’s verbiage, system, script or ‘master process’. Those crutches and tricks and scripts helped me be better than the average Jane, but I soon noticed I had reached a plateau.

I have a book in my library that is titled, ‘Sales Scripts That Sell’. This same guy might as well of made a book called, ‘Book Titles That Sell’ because the best sales training I received from that book is that people buy when they perceive you have a solution to their problem. Back then, my problem was I wanted to sell more, in turn, I bought the book.

I constantly talk about becoming a true Sales Professional not a typical salesperson. Therefore, wouldn’t it be counter-intuitive to walk around sounding the same way every other salesperson who bought that book sounds? Of course it would be!

When you first start on your path from typical salesperson to Sales Professional; morally sound, respectful, brand creating, referral producing sales is an art, and not a science. Once you’ve mastered the art, it appears to those on the outside looking in, as a science. Many art forms become quasi-sciences once mastered and preformed very well. Look back in history to when philosophy branched off into a science we now call psychology.

Pick three people from history who were considered ‘great’ at what they do. In almost every case you’ll find that they had similar traits. They were creative, focussed and had passion. Becoming a great Sales Professional requires the same three traits. Now, some may argue that you can in fact learn those three traits by reading a book. I would differ.

Napoleon Hill talked about having a ‘master mind alliance’. The saying goes, “Forty years from today, you will be the same person you are now, expect for the books you read and the people you meet.” I’d advocate that 40% if the people you meet, 10% are the books you read, 50% is what you choose to emulate from the people you have met or the books you have read.

Breaking down the quote my way should inspire hope. Hope that you do have a controlling share in your destiny. If you want change and you want to succeed, start changing – something. Anything. While you are at it, introduce yourself to some new people. Step out of what you know and experience something new. Familiar surroundings will almost always produce familiar results.

Typical salespeople are for the most part are actors. They recite old ‘lines’, ‘openers’ and ‘closes’, They paint by numbers. These are the guys who walk into my office at 45 years old needing a job while talking about how they are ‘the best’. They have all the ‘tricks’ of a weathered salesperson but lack of the traits of a great Sales Professional.

If you want to be the best Sales Professional possible, find a mentor and shadow him or her. While reading the hundreds of books I mentioned I read above, I used to spend thousands of hours with the top sales people in my first sales job. I would hang on their every word. When the time came that I had learned all I could from them, I found new people to absorb information from. I read books, but for every book I read, I learned 10 times more from interacting with the great minds around me.

Ty Cobb re-invented baseball.
Einstein would sit for days just thinking.
Picasso didn’t paint by numbers.

Be yourself.
Sales is a conversation, not scripted dialog.
Find a mentor or at least someone better than you to learn from.
Take some risks.
Put yourself into unfamiliar situations.
Stop listening to what your friends, family or co-workers say. Unless they are saying, ‘you are unique and beautiful; and correct to want to shoot for the stars, because every other successful person in history was also only flesh and blood, just as you are’. If they are saying anything else, forget it.

And if you have time during all of this, read books that promote character building more than you read books that promise wealth.

Never Slow Down.

Today was our team's first full day back from holidays. This morning's meeting was a special place to be. It's nice to see determination and excitement in people's eyes at eight in the morning. Especially since December was below par by my standards.

We spoke at length about what we learned last year and how we can apply what we had learned this year. They had this new, 'I'm going to take 2011 by storm' look in their eyes. By nine o'clock I was certain these men had evolved into Sales Professionals. They started making their follow up calls and I could hear in their voices they meant business.

Around one o'clock, I could see the determination and excitement fade in some of them. They looked like the 2010 versions of themselves. It was as if their 2011 dreams had been defeated in only three hours of follow up calls. (Which in the sales world is really only about 20 calls.)

I sat there in shock. You can probably tell I'm rarely at a loss for words. In this case though, how was I to point out to these grown men that they had just given up on their dreams of a great year because of the immediate results of 3 hours? Less than .008 of the year!

The key trait of a person who is great at something is their ability to always keep moving. Like the shark, who's intake of oxygen would cease if ever they were to stop moving, a true great-anything is one who finds a way to keep moving, no matter what. I told one member of my team today to never slow down, 'keep pushing' I said. His eyes lit up. He knew what I meant, he knew what he had to do and he did it.

My best friend says to me once a month when I ask how he is, 'I'm just moving the ball forward man, moving the ball forward.' It wasn't until today that I realized how important that expression is in life. To see your wildest dreams come true, you must always keep momentum, never lose hope and have a short memory.

Strive on no matter what. The marathon runner began with a single walk around the block.
Believe that you are capable of anything - and you will be.
Learn from your mistakes and quickly forget them. Failure is just research.

With the whole world moving around us, if you're standing still, you're going backwards.