The restaurant had been open for a month. We were hoping for a good experience because the restaurant was only 2 miles from our home.

To sum up our experience, they will never get our business again.  In other words they lost our business for a lifetime.

You can use this link to read all about it.

http://www.startsellingmore.com/lose-a-customer.html

http://startsellingmore.com/improve-your-sales-productivity.html

Just keep reading – please.

1. Doing is better than thinking about doing! It’s so easy to become distracted from achieving your goals.

Develop a “First things first” approach to every selling day. Here’s what I mean. Start every day with a “Six-pack.” This six-pack is a list of the six most important things you want to accomplish every day. Of course this list must be in writing and should be prioritized using the numbers 1 – 6.

Be careful of the distractions you’re dealing with every day. You won’t get much done if you’re tethered to your cell phone. Your cell phone can be a time saver and at the same time a time buster, if you’re not careful.

Procrastination kills more sales deals than anything else imaginable. Sales professionals are always thinking about new ways to attract new business. That’s okay if it doesn’t get in the way of getting things done.

Why think about doing something when you can simply choose to do it?

One of the best ways to get things done on a daily basis is to put the things you want to get done on a sheet of paper. Forget putting it and hiding it in your computer.

Print your six-pack on Goldenrod paper. Keep referring back to it as you work your way through your list of six priorities.

Throughout the day, stay focused on your list and only do another task if it’s more important than one of your six priorities in your six-pack.

2. Self-improvement is one of the biggest keys to your selling success because it unlocks the doors of opportunities for you.

I’ve been observing salespeople during the last 30 years and many of you try to climb the ladder of success without a plan.

You see, nothing will push you up the ladder of success faster than having a plan and having sheer determination.

I took my wife, Bernadette, to lunch yesterday at Marina Jack’s in Sarasota. The restaurant is perched on the water overlooking Sarasota Bay. There was a 70 foot yacht docked in front of the restaurant.

The name of the boat was “Determination.” Having determination makes you unstoppable. I’m sure the owner of this boat is not easily distracted from achieving his goals.

You can achieve anything in life if you employ your mind and engage your self-development with self-improvement.

The key word is “Self.” Nobody else is responsible for your self-improvement because that’s entirely your responsibility.

Here are several resources you should consider: the Wall Street Journal, http://ezinearticles.com, audio books and of course e-books. Look at it this way the size of your personal library is the easiest way to gauge your long-term success.

Too many salespeople get swamped and overwhelmed and keep trying to dig their way out of the hole. The quickest way out of the hole is stop digging.

Stop digging and start learning. And just as a reminder Google has made learning a bit easier and less time-consuming.

3. Ask this question every day. If you ask this question every day you will automatically achieve a degree of self-improvement.

The question is “How can I do it better?”

Don’t assume your last sales call was terrific. Ask “How can I do it better” next time.

Don’t assume your sales proposal hit the bull’s-eye. Ask “How can I do it better” next time.

Don’t assume you’re going to get the business. Ask “What else can I do and how can I do it better.”

The Japanese have a word for this. It’s called “Kaizen.” It means the process of continuous improvement.

Asking the question, “How can I do it better” will put you in the fast lane on the road to continuous improvement.

4. It’s hard to succeed alone. Maybe you should consider hiring a coach. I’d like to share my coaching story with you.

I’ve been in business for 24 years. Beginning with my first year I achieved 18 consecutive years of increased sales and profits. That’s a pretty good record.

My business was good and continued to grow because of my focus on increasing my sales and beating “Last year’s numbers” every year.

There is a business coach in Phoenix and his name is Somers White. We talked a couple of times over several years. Because of my business success I really didn’t believe I needed a business coach.

Boy was I wrong about that. I hired Somers White in 2001 and told him to look at me as a block of Swiss Cheese. I told him to find the holes in my business.

His office was lined with wall to wall audio cassette albums. He asked me how many cassette albums I had.

And that ladies and gentlemen was the biggest hole in my block of Swiss Cheese.

Within 12 months I sold $100,000 of my new and first audiocassette album.

The point is a good coach can often see things that you can’t see because you’re too close to your business.

Personal productivity is just that – it’s personal.

I’ve been thinking about launching a coaching program (Via the telephone) for a long time. In fact it’s been too long.

So now I’m doing it. If you have an interest in taking your business to the next level take a quick look to see what I’ve got for you.

You know you can’t succeed alone. Maybe it’s time for you to consider a coach.

A good coach will bring out the very best in you.

If you are a sales manager use this link:  

http://sales-management-coaching.com

If you’re a professional sales representative use this link:

http://the-selling-coach.com

And please remember this, “If it is to be, it is up to me.”

And in this case the “Me” is “YOU!”

These are the best of times for you to improve your personal sales productivity.

I started thinking about this last weekend and created a list of qualities that, based on my observations and experience, make good salespeople great.

There’s nothing scientific about this list. It’s just 12 qualities that most great salespeople seem to have.

Here’s your list:

http://startsellingmore.com/great-salespeople.html

I take a look at my Caller I.D. and it says Air Force One.

So I start wondering why President Obama would be calling me at 11:15 AM.

Well, I didn’t have to say, “Good morning Mr. President” because the caller introduced himself and said he was with Air Force One Air Conditioning Services.

Very clever I’d say because it grabbed my attention, even if

it was for only a brief time.

Imagine being clever every day and imagine all the doors that would open for you.

Why be ordinary, when you can be extraordinary?

Air Force One was a great movie, and my phone call from Air Force One was pretty good too!

Free report – How To Get Motivated:

http://tinyurl.com/nk8yjr

A man with one leg wins the NCAA wrestling title for his weight class.

And you’re in sales facing impossible challenges.

Give me a break.

Read Max Bradshaw’s story and you’ll be inspired to achieve extraordinary selling results.

You can see it here:

http://www.startsellingmore.com/nothing-is-impossible.html

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http://tinyurl.com/kqdvcf

http://tinyurl.com/my-selling-newsletter

And remember nothing is impossible, unless you agree that it is!

I’ve put together 31 phrase you want to avoid.  But there’s one phrase that will bury you on a sales call.

Go here to see what it is:

http://www.startsellingmore.com/putting-your-foot-in-your-mouth.html

Image via Wikipedia

How many things are piling up on your “To Do List?”

Your “To Do List” won’t finish itself. It’s up to you and how you prioritize everything in your life.

You have to understand that “The Key To Finishing Is Starting.”

When you think about it, it’s really a no-brainer.

You can see my just released article, “The Key To Finishing Is Starting” using this link.

http://startsellingmore.com/Key-To-Finishing.html

Enjoy – and start doing what’s most important first!

Image by The Happy Rower via Flickr