25 Ways To Get Motivated
For A Sensational Year

A Special Report

25 Ways To Get Motivated
For A Sensational Year


Plus



My 5 Best Time Management Tips

by

Jim Meisenheimer

13506 Blythefield Terrace
Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202


(800) 266-1268

e-mail: jim@Meisenheimer.com

web site: www.startsellingmore.com

25 Ways To Get Motivated For A Sensational Year

Get Motivated - First let's begin with a definition of "Motivation." According to Webster's New World Thesaurus, it means impel, inspire hope, stimulate, insight, Pro pal, spur, goad, move, induce, prompt, arouse, instigate, fire, provoke, actuate, cause, touch off, egg on, and trigger.

Rest assured no one ever stays 100% motivated 100% of the time. We all need to be inspired from time to time.

What follows is a short list of motivational ideas you may be able to use to help you stay at the top of your selling game.

Motivation idea #1

This may be one of the biggest self-motivators on the entire list. Put all of your personal and professional goals in writing. If you're not currently doing this it can literally change your life. I had a goal for 18 years to write a book and that goal was buried deep in my subconscious.

18 years as a subconscious goal and I did not write a single word. Once I put this goal, to write my first book, in writing it took only two years to complete that first book. If I had more time I could give you literally dozens of examples from my own life and from others as well that would serve as testimonials to the power of goal setting.

There are three simple steps when preparing your goals.

1. In writing.

2. Specific with numbers - so they can be measured.

3. Include a specific completion date.

That's all there is to it.

This is the perfect time of the year to establish your professional goals. It's also a good time to consider writing your family goals and you should consider doing it together as a family project. Why not set a GOAL to become RICH?

Motivation idea #2

This one is easy and also compelling. Remember when you were in high school and you used composition notebooks to take notes, well the same composition notebook can serve a higher purpose for you today.

Keep a journal. Now a journal is not a diary. In your journal you can record key phrases, questions, closing techniques, new ideas, inspirational quotes, what worked in a sales call, what didn't work in a sales call, and all kinds of daily observations related to sales and marketing etc.

If you include things that are stressful in your journal you'll be amazed at how the act of writing these stressors in your journal can actually reduce the stress that they have created.

Buy your composition notebook today and make your first entry and income goal for the coming year.

Motivation idea #3

How big is your personal learning Library? Do you have a learning Library? If not, why not? About 3 1/2 weeks ago I read something that I found to be interesting as well is true - based on my own experiences.

You can often judge a person's success by the size of his/her Library. I believe that to be true and accurate. What's the difference between a person who can read and a person who doesn't read? Get Motivated.

There isn't much difference. I realize you're busy, but I encourage you to hook yourself up to a learning I.V. just 15 minutes a day devoted to acquiring new knowledge about the art of selling will make a substantial difference in your results.

Don't ever be too busy to get Smart. Reading books is one of the best ways to become smarter.

Start with 57 Ways To Take Control Of Your Time And Your Life

When it comes to personal self-motivation nothing beats the sound of your own voice. All you need to get started is a digital recorder such as an Olympus DS 2000 with a microphone adapter (to make recording hands-free) from Radio Shack.

On the subject of recording CDs you might also want to consider a brief 10 to 15 minute CD that you can send all new prospects after your first meeting. How many of your prospects are getting CDs, recorded personally, from the salespeople who call on them for the first time?

Remember blending in is out and standing out is in especially when it comes to first and second impressions. It pays to be different.

If the competition isn't doing it - you should be!


Motivation idea #5

I will confess that this next idea isn't for everyone. Everybody talks to themselves. It's quite natural and normal. The problem however, is that most of this self-talk language is negative. Examples might include, "I can't believe I put my foot in my mouth again. Boy was that stupid. I wish I could do that call over again. I must be an idiot to have done what I just did." You get the picture.

Positive affirmations however require disciplined thinking. One of the best examples of an affirmation I can think of, was from a man named W. Clement Stone. He was a pioneer in the insurance business. He lived well into his nineties.

His response to the often heard greeting, "How are you today" would be "I feel happy, I feel healthy, and I feel terrific." Imagine saying that literally dozens of times every day.

He was never sick a day in his life. How could you get sick after saying that over and over again? Compare and contrast his affirmation with a slightly negative version that goes something like this, "it's December and I always get the flu in December - a sneeze."

Get Motivated.

Motivation idea #6

Exercise is important. Exercise is a very important. There is no excuse not to exercise. Consider this situation: Your doctor calls you up 6 a.m. tomorrow morning and states if you don't complete 30 minutes of any type of exercise you'll be dead by 8 PM in the evening. Guess what you would find time to do?

How you feel affects how you perform. When it comes to exercise there are different strokes for different folks. You can walk, jog, ride a bike, use a treadmill, go to a gym, or exercise in the privacy of your home.

Got a dog - take them for a walk. Got a cat - take her for a walk. Got some fish - put them in a Ziploc bag with water and take them for a walk. There are no excuses - only bad habits.

Why start exercising after you get the heart attack.

While you’re exercising – listen to one of my favorite CDs.

The simplest way to get motivated to do this is to put the word exercise on your calendar. You can abbreviate it this way – 30X.

While you’re exercising – listen to one of my favorite CDs.

You can't delegate self-motivation. It comes from within. Actually, you could say motivation is an inside job. Get Motivated

One of my all-time favorite upbeat and motivational songs is the theme from "Rocky." All I need to become instantly motivated is a cup of coffee from Starbucks and listening to the "Rocky" soundtrack.

For me, it doesn't get any better. How about you - what's your favorite soundtrack?

Motivation idea #8

From time to time most of us have to deal with stuff. Stuff like illness, death, rocky marriages, and problems with our kids. This stuff needs to be dealt with and not used as an excuse for poor performance.

Consider this. If you are flying on a 767 to London for a vacation and had a pilot who was dealing with stuff - would you want to hear about it or would you expect the pilot to fly the plane?

The next time you find yourself dealing with stuff, plant a "Trouble Tree" in your driveway. Every morning, as you drive off to you first sales call, toss your troubles on to your "Trouble Tree."

When you're driving home later in the day and as you pull into your driveway, you can grab hold of the stuff you need to deal with.


Motivation idea #9

Let me set a minimum learning bar for you with regard to reading books. I strongly suggest that you buy and read one business book every month.

Too many salespeople and entrepreneurs believe they get their selling ideas from their customers. That's pure unadulterated B.S..

Can you imagine a customer saying to you, "Bill, the next time you find yourself in the closing situation, try using the Benjamin Franklin close." Now - what's the probability of a customer teaching you that one?

Books are beautiful. One of the beauties about books is you don't have to read a non-fiction book from cover to cover. Simply browse through the table of contents and select the individual chapters that you're most interested in.

Think about your head for a minute. How much money you spend a year on your hair? Remember, your hair is what's on top of your head. Get Motivated.

As a teacher, I'm more concerned about what's inside your head. The more books you read and the more ideas you'll get.

Pity the poor salesperson who year after year spends more for what's on top of his head than what's inside of it.

The Ultimate No-Brainer Selling Skills Manual Volume I

The Ultimate No-Brainer Selling Skills Manual Volume II

Motivation idea #10

Let me also set a minimum learning bar for you with regard to listening to CDs. I strongly suggest you buy and listen to one CD every week.

The CDs I'm referring to are sales/business related. Calculate how much time you spent in your car last week while in your sales territory.

I realize you're tempted to make lots of phone calls. You should also be tempted to convert your car into a classroom for a minimum of 30 minutes a day.

Developing this habit will help you to become a sales giant in your business. You'll be respected by your customers and your company. You'll be feared by your competition.

If you’re mot very comfortable giving presentations to groups, you probably will get some good ideas from my CD titled, 17 Ways To Make Your Stand-up Presentations Stand-out.

Motivation idea #11

If you'd like to be motivated for every single sales call, every single day the easiest way to accomplish this feat is to prepare written sales call objectives for all sales calls - no exceptions!

If you don't have an objective in writing - consider yourself a well-paid tourist during a sales call.

Four example, let's say you're calling on Bill Anderson for the very first time. Your written sales call objective could look like this:

My objective during this first sales call is to establish rapport and build credibility. I'd like to identify one common interest that we share. I'd like to ask 3-5 open ended questions to gain a better understanding of Bill's current situation. And if qualified, I'd like to secure a follow-up appointment with Bill within 2-3 weeks.

This objective takes less than two minutes to prepare in writing. Once written, however, it becomes your compass for the sales call.

Motivation idea #12

Depending on your attitude number 12 can either be motivating or depressing. If it's depressing you might want to consider something other than a career in sales. Here's the idea.

Divide your current annual sales quota by 12.

Divide that by 4.

Divide that by 5.

Divide that by 2.

If you do the math you'll end up with your quota for every morning and every afternoon. You need to know how important each selling day is relative to your annual quota.

Knowing these numbers will help you become more productive and more competitive, especially if your competition doesn't know their numbers.

Motivation idea #13

Let's do the same exercise - but this time let's do it based on your projected annual income.

Divide your current annual income by 12.

Divide that by 4.

Divide that by 5.

Divide that by 2.

You now have a better idea of what your time is worth - literally. Knowing what your time is worth prevents you from making poor time based decisions.

Get Motivated.

This will allow you to make more intelligent choices – especially if you want to become RICH.


Motivation idea #14

Call one new prospect every day - no exceptions. Get it - no exceptions! If you haven't discovered this by now - you should realize that self-motivated salespeople do the things ordinary and mediocre salespeople avoid. If you're happy with mediocrity and being ordinary you don't have to concern yourself about being self-motivated.

Obviously, you don't think that way, otherwise you would not have purchased this Special Selling Report.

Motivational tip number 14 isn't easy to do. You see if you're not currently doing this, getting started and forming the habit will be your biggest challenge.

My suggestion, just like exercise, is to have a pop up on your calendar. Do it as early in the day as you can.

The most successful salespeople pay attention to both ends of the sales of funnel. The more that you put in (prospects) the more that comes out (happy customers).

Motivation idea #15

One of the best ways to stay motivated is to accomplish all the things that are very important to you both personally and professionally. On a daily basis your pace is quick and the demands of your job oftentimes press you to your limits.

If it's important, put it on your calendar. In fact, I encourage you to make your calendar the centerpiece for your life. It's okay to combine personal and professional things on the same calendar.

Unless you want to look like a dinosaur, don't be sashaying into your accounts with one of those three-ringed Franklin Planners. The world has gone digital – hello!


Motivation idea #16

Do you own a dictionary? Since we use words to communicate throughout the selling process both on the telephone and when we're face to face with our prospects and customers, I would be personally embarrassed not to own a dictionary.

These words don't belong in your dictionary: Get Motivated.

Can’t, impossible, discount, commodity, quotations, negative and hope.


Motivation idea #17

If you'd like to be in a perpetual state of motivation you can achieve this level if you are constantly changing and improving everything in your environment.

The easiest way to uncover "change opportunities" is to ask this question about everything you do. Don't assume anything is perfect.

The question is brief and it's extremely effective. The question is, "How can I do it better?" The beauty of the question is that you tend to focus on improvement. People who don't make this a habit are left with stagnation.

You can become a master of change or a prisoner of change. Your choice!


Motivation idea #18

People who are self motivated tend to show their appreciation often. Nothing shows your appreciation and a bonus touch of class, than a handwritten note signed by you. The envelope should also be handwritten and metered stamps should be avoided, if possible.

Another suggestion is to visit www.photostamps.com to learn how you can put your picture on a stamp to make your note even more memorable.

People who deserve to be appreciated include anyone who helps you to make a sale i.e. inside and outside of your company.

And don't worry about your crummy handwriting - it's the though that counts. Trust me on this one.

You can see a list of all the books I’m recommending here.

Motivation idea #19

this is a simple motivational idea which can have a huge impact on the way you deal with challenges and problems. The first thing I want you to do is to buy John Miller’s book QBQ.

QBQ - the first to Question Behind the Question. Always be accountable and the easiest way to do that is to ask questions that begin with "What" and How." Get the book today!


Motivation idea #20

Be yourself. This is great advice and I know because I finally took it. You see, I was born in Brooklyn. So I have what you might say is a slight New York accent.

For years, especially when I moved to the Midwest, I tried to hide my accent. I won't bother you with all the details. After a while people who I met for the first time were not able to pinpoint my New York accent.

YIPPEE! I thought I had won. Actually - I had lost. I have lost one of the things that belonged to me and made me different from a lot of other people.

Now I don't hide my accent. Sometimes I even have fun with it, like when I say “Botta bing, botta bang, botta boom in my authentic accent.

That's the story and here’s the point. Don't hide what makes you unique. Get Motivated.


Motivation idea #21

Think like Columbus and if you do you may become one of the most motivated salespeople in North America.

During the 1400s conventional thinking was the world is flat. Of course, we now know that is not true.

Back in those days a lot of sea captains hugged the coastlines for fear of falling off the world which was flat.

In essence they were being very conservative. In your sales territory what are you hugging and not letting go of?

Christopher Columbus didn't hug the coastline on his voyage. The rest as we know it is history.

Thinking like Columbus could help you design a new "Map of success" in your sales territory.

But you gotta quick hugging what you're hugging.


Motivation idea #22

This one is simple and it's good. It's good for the receiver and it might even be better for the giver. Try to do at least one "Good Deed" every day. I realize in your sales world that this is - easy to say and hard to do.

Nevertheless - when you start doing good deeds your self motivation takes on a whole new dimension.

In sales little things mean everything. In life little things mean even more. Do lots of little things every day. Get Motivated.

Motivation idea #23

Save at least 10% of your income. I do not want to get preachy about this, especially since I wasn't always a saver. As a matter of fact, I started in my mid-thirties.

The harsh reality is most people don't get serious about saving until they're very close to retirement which unfortunately limits most of the options for you.

I'm going to make a shocking statement for some of the readers of this Special Selling Report.

For every $1000 a month you'd like to have in retirement income you'll need $240,000 of net worth to fund it throughout your retirement years. For example, let's assume you 35 years old and plan to work until you're 60.

Let's also assume, because of inflation, you estimate you'll need a monthly retirement income of $7,500. Fasten your seatbelts because in order to be able to do this you'll need a net worth Nest Egg amounting to $1.8 million.

You can check with your financial planner for more details. While we’re on the subject I think it's stupid to manage your own money.

If you want to continue to be motivated throughout your retirement years - you'd better start saving for them right now. Get Motivated.


Motivation idea #24

Make one extra sales call a day. Make five extra calls a week. Make 250 extra calls a year.

It's a little thing that can have humongous results for you. Humongous!


Motivation idea #25


Start every day with a six-pack. It's a supreme time tip and it's also a superior self-motivator. I'll discuss this more in my five best time management tips.

Remember - motivation is an inside job!

Bonus My Five Best Time Management Tips

The first time tip I have for you is to begin every day with a six-pack. Look, everybody has a million things on their "To Do" list. That's not the issue. What is the issue is how you spend your time on a daily basis. Do you spend your days reacting and overreacting as things pop up? You know there is a better way.

Identify the six most important/highest value items on your "To Do" list and then simply prioritize those using numbers. It's that simple. It's so simple - most people neglect to do it. Those that do - have a distinct advantage over their competition.

The second time tip is to buy a Whiteboard. The bigger - the better. In my home office back in Illinois I have a 4x5 ft. Whiteboard mounted on a wall in front of my desk. In June I moved to Florida where I have more windows then walls so I bought a Whiteboard measuring 2x3 ft. and mounted it on an easel. The beauty of the Whiteboard, when you're working in your office, is that it allows you to stay focused on what's really important.

My third time tip has to do with how most salespeople use cell phones. You may as well go to a Tattoo Parlor and get 24/7 printed on your forehead when you give everybody your cell number.

My fourth time tip is about your car. Most salespeople, and for a variety of reasons, confess to driving between 2-3 hours every day. Unless I'm hallucinating most of the time is spent on the cell phone and/or listening to popular radio talk shows like Dr. Laura and Rush Limbaugh. Neither of them by the way will add a nickel to your daily sales quota. I suggest you convert your car into a classroom for at least 15 minutes every single day.

More about this in a few minutes.

My fifth time tip is a big one. Please don't be too quick to dismiss this. It's conceivable that you are totally unaware that you're doing this during a sales call. Most salespeople can't wait to hear what they're going to say during a sales call which means many salespeople don't recall specifically what was said during the sales call.

Now to the tip and how to avoid fire drills. Most of the fire drills you experience are caused by you and more specifically buy what you say. For example, "How soon do you need it" is a very commonly used to phrase. Naturally, it's an attempt to please and satisfy and impress your customer/prospect.

What makes it pathetic however is the fact that 99% of the people respond with an ASAP answer - thus putting you and your support staff in the fire drill mode. It's completely reactive and totally unnecessary. Simply inform your customer/prospect when you can arrange to get the "Item" to him. You can then ask, "How does this work for you?" In most cases you'll get a positive response. When you don't you can go back to you fire drill mode.

Make today your best day of the week and live it as if it were your last!

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