Small Business Leadership and Sales Blog

Happy Thanksgiving week.  Pleae enjoy this piece written by Joshua Becker. 

 “Gratitude is a vaccine, an antitoxin, and an antiseptic.”  —John Henry Jowet

Gratitude matters.

A grateful heart is a contented heart. A contented heart is a simple heart. And a simple heart leads to a simplified life.

Gratitude opens the door to simplicity. A person who is grateful for the things they own will care for them, enjoy them, and waste less energy seeking more. They will experience fulfillment in the gifts they already possess rather than looking outside themselves for more.

But we live in a culture that preaches discontent. A consumer culture will always attack gratitude—if they can sow discontent in our lives, they can sell us their new product line or latest version with new improvements.

In contrast, those who can find gratitude in their current existence will be less influenced by those empty promises.

How can we find gratitude in a world that seeks to destroy it?

1. Intentionally choose it. Gratitude will never be a result of your next purchase, success, or accomplishment. It is available in your heart right now. And you will never find gratitude in life until you intentionally decide to choose it.

2. Count your blessings. A new day, a warm bed, a loving spouse, a child in your life, a unique personality, or a special talent… You have wonderful things in your life already. Gratitude quickly sets in when we begin to spend a quiet moment each day remembering them. This practice alone has the potential to change your heart and life immeasurably.

3. Stop focusing on what you don’t have. Too many people never realize gratitude because they spend so much mental energy focused on what they don’t have. Throw away catalogs and advertisements that inevitably promise you more fulfillment and joy in life. Those things are not sold in stores—never have been, never will be.

4. Embrace humility. Humility is an essential ingredient in gratitude. A humble heart finds satisfaction in the gifts it already possesses and demands less from others and life. Remember that no matter what your accomplishments, your life contains no more inherent value than the person sitting next to you… no matter where you may be sitting.

5. Open your eyes to those with less. Almost half the world, over three billion people, live on less than $2.50 a day. 1.1 billion people have inadequate access to clean water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation. Let those facts sink in for just a moment—and slowly allow gratitude and a desire to become part of the solution to take their place.

6. Find gratitude in difficulty. It is easy to be grateful when things are going well. It can be more difficult during the trials of life: death, disease, rejection, or failure. The truth is that no one is exempt from the trials of life, but good can always be found in even the worst of times. And embracing gratitude during those trials may be the one thing that gets you through them.

In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy. And that gratefulness always leads to a satisfied, simplified life.

About Joshua Becker

Writer. Inspiring others to live more by owning less.
Bestselling author of Simplify & Clutterfree with Kids.

Bruce Baltich, a long time colleague of mine in Orlando, Fla. shared an interesting point with me recently.  His statement was: 

I want to avoid "commission breath" in my conversations with those that I serve.

Below are three strategies that will help you avoid commission breath, and position you as avaluable resource to your client.

If you don't have a product or service that the client needs, tell them you can’t help them. Then go the extra mile to proactively find that product or service for them.  Your centers of influences and your current network of contacts almost always will turn up a name or two that can fill their need. Yes, you might initially miss a sale of some sort, but the goodwill you will create will be rewarded with future sales and referrals that will far exceed the initial lost sale.

Strategy No. 2: Create new business for your customer.

Pull out your list of your top customers.  When is the last time you referred them business? 

Why so long? They need referrals just like you do. Not to mention, the best way to earn a referral is to give a referral first.

Questions to consider when thinking about a referral:

1. What products and services do my top clients offer?
2. Who do I know that needs those products and services?

Strategy No. 3: The relationship-building lunch.

Now, I'm not talking about an extravagant lunch. Something simple. Some place that's not noisy. In the relationship-building lunch, you are asking questions, finding common grounds of interest, finding ways that you can be helpful. You don't have dog eared papers and contracts to sign. That yells commission breath. And commission breath at a relationship building lunch is bad business.

Recently I had lunch with a top client at a local New Orleans neighborhood restaurant. About halfway through lunch the owner asked, "So, why are we really here today?" I looked at him straight in his eyes and told him, "Our sole reason for being here is to build our relationship with you and to tell you we appreciate you and your business."  (May I strongly suggest that you go back and read that last sentence out loud?)

Call to action:  So you've just read 3 strategies that are tried and tested. What action will you commit to implementing these ideas?

Make Marvelous Happen!

We can spend our whole life working in sales and yet not know its origin. That astounds me — so much so that I often ask salespeople, “Have you ever looked up the word sales in the dictionary?” Never in my speaking career has anyone in my audience responded to me with the correct root of the word.

So here it is. It comes from the word sellan, an Old English word meaning to give.

• It does not mean to take!
• It does not mean to sell door-to-door like a charlatan.
• It does not mean to connive.
• It does not mean to manipulate.

Can you imagine if all the newcomers that strike out in the sales world really knew what salesmanship was about? They would understand that true salesmanship is about true give-manship!

Get that or you ain’t got nothin’, folks.

In my view, we’ve got so many people living in this capitalistic society who are so involved in me, me, me. Rarely will anyone give a “dung” about what you want until you help them acquire what they want.

Thank you Lefty Lefton for this revelation: As salespeople, we must start with the prospective buyers’ most important question: “What’s in it for me?”

We have to make it all about them. It’s kind of an unorthodox, altruistic turn if you really think about it. If you satisfy them first, you’re going to get enough of what you want. But, you’re going to have to wait.

My point? Be more patient and sell more! Being from Louisiana, I call this “gumbo patience.”

Marvelous people, it’s a lot like cooking a good gumbo. You have to bring that gumbo up to a boil, then you have to slow it down. You don’t rush it. If you rush it, you’ll burn the hell out of the bottom of the pot, and the gumbo will taste like starch. You have to have a little patience. So, you put that gumbo on a low fire and you wait.

Word to the wise: Don’t overlook the “bringing it to a boil” point that I just made. Excellent communicators must never forget this rule: I must be red hot before I can expect you to get lukewarm. Remember that it’s our responsibility to inspire our prospective client to get “red hot” and boiling with desire to move forward.

It’s like one-day-old wine. Nobody ever drinks one-day-old wine. It’s not good until later. It’s the same way with sales. We have to wait and stay with our systems and go through the process. We can’t be so self-consumed with paying our mortgage, bills and insane expenses that we don’t stop and ask some good questions.

Peace, Love and Gumbo, 

Marvin LeBlanc LUTCF, CNP

In your business, are you primarily grabbing just the low-hanging fruit?

Close your eyes and think with me for a moment. If you were hungry and standing at the bottom of an apple tree right now, are you immediately going to leave the apple tree to go look for a ladder? Of course you wouldn’t do that. You would simply and conveniently grab the low-hanging fruit -- the apples that are hanging the lowest to the ground and the easiest to grab.

Be careful with overusing this approach in your business. We might be spending so much time picking low-hanging fruit in our business that we no longer focus on the high-level, more profitable fruit. Why do we do this? Because it's easier; it's comfortable.

Many producers (and companies, too) stay in a certain market because they don't feel they're worth more. But take courage and stretch! Upwards! Higher!

Don't get confused. I am not saying that you shouldn't pick any of the low-hanging fruit.

I am saying pick the low hanging fruit and keep the ladder handy for other opportunities. Don't get lazy. Remember that picking low-hanging fruit is a complacent, low-energy, passive activity. Picking high-ladder fruit is a strategic, high-energy proactive activity.

The low-hanging fruit will not always be readily available. To prevent large slumps, another diversified strategy must be implemented that will allow you to bring in revenue and use sales volume from a different source.

- Consider identifying a niche market in your area, one that is either not being served by you at all or a competitor is currently serving that and you know you can do better than that competitor.

- Consider assigning some of your team members to picking the low-hanging fruit. Others may be specialized and held accountable to focus on harvesting "high fruit." If I spoke to all your team members separately, would they all clearly know who is responsible for what? That kind of clarity is a big part of gaining team focus. To sustain growth, your business model will need to have that type of balance and agility.

-Remember the Titanic. You remember that huge boat that no one ever thought would sink. Well it sunk. What sank the Titanic was not the ice they could see. It was the ice that they could not see, the ice they didn't anticipate or plan for. So many people died that day because they did not have enough ladders to get into the rescue boats. Plan to have your ladder with you and available at all times in your business. You and your company will die if you do not have other sustainable alternatives.

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We are all in sales. We sell something everyday. Some of us won’t admit it. Some of us have less than a favorable view of sales as a profession. But we’re all selling. It may just be ourselves and our abilities. It could be our writing skills, our opinion, or [gasp] a product.

Much of the everyday fabric of our lives contains patterns and connections. In his first book, Split Second Choice: The Power of Attitude, Jim Winner (yes, that’s his real name) identifies significant patterns that influence every aspect of our lives. These patterns eventually become habits for us and often are followed with no conscious thought. They are interwoven into our daily routines and our personalities. Winner, a professional trainer for over thirty years, helps us to become aware of these patterns, take control of the behavior they cause, and find connections to the solutions that make these patterns work for us instead of against us. Winner is a man of dreams and goals, someone who has learned to deal with fear, and a mentor whose amazing career is convincing evidence that what he offers in this book is effective.

Philosopher William James proposed that when we see a bear approaching, we run. He says (and this is simplified) that we feel fear because we run, not just because we saw a bear. Winner builds his success pattern on a derivative of James’ bear theory – we can alter our lives by altering our attitudes of mind. Winner writes, “Many authors have written about how attitude makes the difference…” but that “…they leave us on our own for the most difficult part…” and “…they don’t really tell us how to control our attitude.” Split Second Choice explores the power of attitude and our personal obligation to control our own emotions. Winner encourages us to learn how to identify the decision point, make the right choice, and be successful in all our endeavors; then make a habit of the process.

Ninety-six pages long, written in workbook format, Split Second Choice takes barely more than an hour to read. It could be a reference that you consult for years to come which is why I wish it was available in hardcover. My own experiences in the self-help field have taught me that you cannot learn to ride a bicycle by reading a book, listening to a tape, or watching a video or webinar or podcast online. You learn to do by doing and this book is the recipe. The book, filled with flow charts, diagrams, and inspirational stories concludes with an indispensable chapter on dealing with frustration, something Winner says is as inevitable as ants at a picnic.

Split Second Choice is now available as an e-book and paperback at: Amazon.
James L. Winner lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with his wife, Margaret, and family. He is still active as a professional trainer and is also involved in real estate.

FCEtier, aka "Chip"

Chip is a husband, father, grandfather, pharmacist, photographer, high school football official and freelance writer. He's currently in the 10th year of a long term "news fast" -- so for him, everything is history. 

I am constantly being asked, "How do you do all the things you do?"

Here are a few strategies and tactics that have served me well over the years.

• I have days designated to see my clients. During these days the focus is on clients and nothing else. 
• I have paper/mail days where I do work in the office and don't see clients. 
• Every morning and every afternoon I have an appointment with myself to spend 25 minutes on social media and up to 1 hour on responding to email. It is scheduled time on my calendar. 
• When I am in an appointment, I don't answer my cell phone. 
• I make the most of my commute time (58 miles one way). For example, I wrote my book while driving by recording it as an MP3. 

If you are clear about your dreams, your discipline will reward you.

I would love to hear from you about things you do to help make Marvelous happen in your business.

Peace, Love and Gumbo!

Marvin LeBlanc LUTCF, CNP 

(DIRT)+C = Growth for your Agency © ™

A Five Part Series on how to Effectively Manage Your Advertising and Marketing Budget

Part One: D = Direct Mail

It’s a common phrase I used with the agents I worked with on marketing their agencies in the Rochester, New York area, “You know half of your advertising works and the other half doesn’t, now to figure what half that is.” Usually the line would get a polite chuckle in a group meeting or in a one-on-one a nod as if to acknowledge the frustration most insurance agents feel towards advertising and marketing. In the last ten years we have seen drastic changes in what advertising and marketing looks like in the past, pre-internet (if you can remember that far back) you had well paid professionals who were your account executives who helped you with cable, newspaper, the local coupon mailer, and so on. However in the last decade as the Internet has exploded there are a ton of “free” resources for you to use as an agency owner online, but they come at the cost of your time and really who has enough spare time to figure out the Internet when you have an agency to run? 

Looking at successful agencies that had been in business for more than five years and then applying our learning to new agencies just getting started; it became apparent that the agents who “worked the DIRT” were the agents who were having the most success in growing their agencies. DIRT is an acronym for D = Direct Mail, I = Internet, R = Referrals, and T = Telemarketing and then later with the advent of social media I added “C” referring to community involvement. So let’s dive into direct mail.

I know response rates are down with direct mail with the advent of the Internet, but if didn’t work why do you still get mail from the crazy lizard insurance company? Because it works! Now as a local insurance agent or small business owner you cannot match any large national carrier piece for piece, but you can own is your neighborhood. First understand the demographics of your neighborhood and understand who within a five mile radius is most likely to buy insurance from your company either based on price or if you are in a more affluent area then it’s a combination of price and service that will drive people to your door.

Once you know this information start mailing, and keep mailing. My feeling on direct mail is “Go Big or Go Home”, meaning you can’t just do one mail drop and say, “That didn’t work, time to stop mailing.” Direct mail is long-term strategy that will take months or years to reap a return from. However what it does is let the neighborhood around your agency know you are there month-in and month-out. With current response rates below 2% with direct mail most people will throw it out, but what you are hoping for is that when your neighbor has an issue with their current carrier such as a rate increase or bad claims experience your piece of mail ends up in their inbox, and they make the call because they got your piece of mail.

Direct mail isn’t complicated but it’s not a onetime event, and for most agency owners that’s what makes direct mail so frustrating. Key points, focus on the area right around your agency, be consistent mailing monthly or at least every other month, and keep it doing it. Because the people who respond to a mailer are not the people who are going to jump online for a quote, and you want to be “there” when they need you.

The Author: Brad Heutmaker, MBA, is the President & CMO of Chairman’s Management, LLC. He personally works with some of the largest insurance carriers and agencies in the country. You can follow Brad on Twitter @bradheutmaker or “Like” his Facebook Page – Chairman’s Management, LLC

Meetings & Conventions is proud to announce that 298 worldwide properties and CVBs have achieved one of the industry's highest honors — an M&C Gold Award. The winner's list was selected based on the votes of meeting planners who are the toughest industry critics.

The New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau was recognized as Gold Elite winner exemplifying a standard of excellence and received the top five votes in their category.

For the New Orleans CVB, the goal is to be the most meeting planner-friendly city in America. As a destination with over one million square feet of exhibit space, a newly renovated Superdome complex and over 38,500 hotel rooms, New Orleans competes for some of the largest conventions in the nation. So to differentiate the destination, the CVB tailors as many resources to each customer as possible. That's why their motto is: Our Service is as Distinctive as the Destination Itself.
For more information visit their website: www.neworleanscvb.com

Look for the complete list of M&C 2011 Gold Award winners on www.mcmag.com!

Hello Marvelous People!

As many of our longtime subscribers know, I’m not an encourager of you wasting too much valuable time obsessing about what is being said in the “news”. Because if you haven’t figured it out yet, the “news” is about shock value & ratings. Your chance to receive real value comes much later, assuming it ever arrives at all.

Sadly, but not shockingly the “news” recently released a story that a Senior Executive at a prominent insurance Company was summarily dismissed from his job duties.

Details: the skinny of it was that he was having a “couple of drinks” after a business session when his Tongue began to Waggle about his discontented feelings about his boss. There are different versions of the story but several people within earshot picked up one of his ill planned snippets. Something to the effect that his boss was a “F------ Ass!”

The real point I wish to emphasize is not that this man was fired, but that this man failed to remember the Jerry Stovall rule:

“Remember who you are! Remember who you represent!”

See folks, when we lack the ability to resist the “waggling tongue syndrome” about a frustration that you have with your boss, your co-worker, your vendor, your friends, your neighbors or your relatives, two things inevitably happen.

1. It forever serves to destroy, but it constructs NOTHING. (Lose/Lose Proposition)

2. There is no gain & all you can lose is character. (Lose/Lose Proposition)

3. My daughter has heard these words so many times:  “Taylor, it takes much more character to say NOTHING when you are frustrated and you want to “just tell somebody off”. That’s not how you win. You are so much more than that.

Here’s my suggested call to action for you.

· Stand guard at the Gateway of your Mouth.

· If you can’t drink, don’t drink.

· Don’t forget what your parents or grandparents hopefully told you.

· If you don’t have something good to say, don’t say it at all.

People are more sensitive & amped up with their egos today more than ever before in my life. I was brought up in a household that enjoyed a whole bunch of bantering and light hearted sarcasm. But these days the “light hearted” sarcasm is now “heart felt” sarcasm & it’s just not a road on which you wish to travel.

Thank you for sharing your time & your life with us.

Make Your Marvelous Happen for You today.  Please, drop us an email. You inspire us.

Hello Marvelous People: 

Today, we have a guest blog post from Brad Heutmaker.  I hope you enjoy his tips for creating a sales process. 

Peace, Love and Gumbo - Marvin LeBlanc, LUTCF, CNP 

Recently I was visiting a client who buys Internet leads from my company. For the past 10 years they have purchased leads and they have seen their conversion slowly drop over the past three years. During the conversation a lot of focused was placed on the Internet lead industry, my company, and the leads we deliver to them.

While they took an offensive approach to the conversation I sat back and listened to their concerns. When they were done I calmly and confidently addressed their issues, and then asked one question. The question I asked them caught them by surprise, and judging by their response they hadn’t considered they could be part of the problem.

The one question I asked them was, “What is your sales process of working the leads we send you?”

After I finished asking my question the room went quiet, and that is when the Vice-President of Sales and Marketing looked at me with a straight face and said, “Well, we hope the lead will call us after they see our logo on your site.”
Let me really tell you what this “VP” said, “We don’t have a process in place, we just hope someone will call.”

Early in my career I was a call center jockey and my sales manager would come by our cubes and “gently” remind us that “hope” was not strategy or tactic to make sales happen and we had to pick-up the phone and speak to someone.

My friends, hoping for sales to happen is not a business strategy, but far too many of you who own a small business have no formal process around sales and marketing. For the most part I bet you have great people in place to handle the “service” that has to be done, but nothing formal on how to grow your business.
If you’re wishing your service people will sell, guess what I have news for you. They won’t! Here are three steps to get your business moving in the right direction.

1.    Get the chutzpah to hold your team accountable, and if they don’t come along with you help them find another opportunity

2.    Hire a sales person and then when they join your team, hold them accountable to what they were hired to do.

3.    Close up shop or sell it and get a job. Seems a bit harsh but in my experience a lot of small business owners are better suited for employment than business ownership.

Happy Selling…