Have you ever been to a home where the host truly made you feel like an honored guest? When traveling, have you ever stayed at a hotel where every member of the hotel staff made you feel like an honored guest at their establishment? 

Do you still remember those great experiences? How did the experience make you feel? I know anytime I have experienced the "honored…

I woke up today thinking about the amount of energy required for sustainable success. If you think about it, we all have the ability to create energy in our own unique way. There are some common activities we can pursue that will bring us energy from a physical and mental perspective:

1. Physical exercise produces physical energy and mental…

This is for those special wonderful crazy people with an idea who are about to throw caution to the wind and become an entrepreneur. For those who are about to abandon comfort and security for a 200 miles per hour roller coaster ride that has never been tested.

This is for those people - men and women, young and old - who have quit listening to the doubters. This is…

When I launched the Winning Words sales strategy 32 years ago, little did I know this program would take me on a global adventure spanning six continents. Today, thousands of organizations and small businesses have implemented the Winning Words approach into their sales model with great success.

This unique approach to sales was…

People often ask me how my sales career began, so I thought I would share the back story with you. Between my junior and senior year of high school, a good friend told me about a summer job opportunity. I was not interested in the least because I played summer baseball every year and didn't want to miss the season. My first response to my friend Richard was a big,…

I was about to be introduced by Blair Upton, a Senior Executive with General Motors Canada, to deliver the keynote address to all their senior leaders and dealers. The room was packed with over 600 highly successful people. The energy and anticipation was high, and I knew it was going to be a very special day.

We had been contracted to write,…

Across the business world today, there is a mad race going on to select and develop HIPOs within an organization. In case you're not familiar with HIPOs, they are the high potential employees, the rising stars in a company. There is an even more dramatic event taking place as talent management experts and HR specialist are trying to delineate the best time to tell a…

We are all chasing that elusive thing we call success. Every person deep in their heart has a desire to achieve, to contribute, and to feel like what they do makes a difference. No one wakes up and says, "I want to pursue mediocrity and fail." So how do you define success in life? What does it mean to you? Until you define the outcome you are chasing,…

As I walked into one of my client's education rooms recently, I was immediately inspired by their approach to conducting training and "Get Up" meetings. There were positive phrases all over the wall that promoted their culture. High-energy music played from a selected playlist intentionally used to elevate the moods of those in attendance. Leaders greeted every person…

When I speak to sales groups, the subject of rejection comes up often during our Q and A sessions. Rejection is a natural part of the business of sales, and it is critically important to learn how to make rejection work in your favor. The way you view rejection will determine how you respond to each "no", "not yet", or "maybe" during your sales career. Your outlook…

At the start of every month, I look back over the last 28-31 days of my life and ask myself, “Did I hustle my tail off? Did I give all my sweat, blood and tears to the goals I was trying to achieve?”

What is your perception of the word “hustle”? Is there a positive or negative thought running through your brain? Many people who have never hustled, view it negatively.…

We have all heard the saying, "referrals are the lifeblood of a salesperson's business." This statement is true, and it's true for many different reasons. When a trusted friend refers you, your opportunity to sell is amplified. Referrals must be earned before they are to be expected, yet salespeople often do not know how to build a referral network. When a salesperson asks…

All things being equal, why should I buy from you? I posed this question to a salesperson in one of my workshops, and I watched his eyes grow as big as saucers. He hesitated, stammered, and finally said, "Because I will take care of you after you purchase." I smiled and said, "And how will you do that for me?" Again the same type of reaction occurred, and he said, "I will be available if you have any questions." I said, "OK, but everyone says that. Why should I buy from you?" He stammered,…