Culture versus Strategy

Have you ever given much thought to what a trainer actually does. Just think about it, is he trying to work a strategy or influence a culture? I've heard it said that "Culture eats Strategy for breakfast".  I will tell you that if you just try to train from the bottom up, you will have limited short term success. That is a strategy. However if you train from the top down you will develop a culture. As an example if you are the CEO/CFO GM or Manager of your company and you are willing to pick up a piece of trash as you cross the parking lot that your staff will soon react in much the same manner. And heading the other direction, if you walk past the trash they will too. The proper culture will surly help build integrity and a winning team! So make the right choice today, pick up that paper floating across your parking lot. Set a high example for your expectations. Most importantly have a great attitude today!

Your best teacher...

Your best teacher is your last mistake. That only works if you are paying attention. We need to ask if it is the DK or the DE that is the issue. We either Don't Know or Don't Execute. If your a sales consultant you get many opportunities to learn and master your skills. Let's look at some quick numbers, and old rule of thumb was the average Sales Person sells 8 cars, and closes at 20%. Simple math tells us that is 40 opportunities per month times 12 months is 480 per year. Now you would believe that after a year or almost 500 opportunities we would have a better understanding of how to work with our customers. Surprisingly we still struggle because we fail to review each deal and use it as a learning experience. When you are conducting One on One's with your staff are you asking the hard question such as do you see what we could have done to close and deliver this customer? Every one counts. Take advantage of the opportunity to learn. Learning is uncomfortable. If you have a bunch of "yes" men around you then you may not be getting the message you need to hear.

Look deeper, close more deals and have a great attitude today!

Is your worst enemy looking at you in the mirror?

Simple message!

Have a great attitude today.

How much has changed?

Today, 2 year olds can unlock and iphone, open and close their favorite apps all by themselves. When I was that age, I was eating dirt. Oh my, how has time changed. Now that puts a picture in your mind now, does it not?

Don't you find it funny that we still sell things the same way we have for many years. I understand that we now have Internet. And our first contact could be electronic. But selling a car has not evolved as fast as computers or information technology. I read an article that says if you started college this year, by the end of your second year the information would be outdated. Yet we are still selling cars much the same as we did 30-40 years ago.

In training classes we discuss some of the changes that we have seen. When I think back 30 years ago my General Manager told me shake their hand and tell them everything you can about the car. Later, I remember manufacturer reps discussing packages that customers claimed to want from focus groups. Now how do you sell your

cars, trucks and SUV's?

Times have changed, have you?

Whatever you do, do it with the right attitude.

Choices

It all comes down to the decisions we make! Don't give up what you want most, for what you want now. How often do you think about long term consequences when making daily decisions? There are some studies that claim that most people have no clue of what their life will be like in five years. One of the studies discussed the fact that most young adults in their early 20's prefer to not participate in 401K's claiming to not know the seniors that would be themselves later in life. Truth is we do not know who we will be but we can affect some of the results by

 making good decisions now.

So once again it comes down to choices and decisions. So make good choices today

and have the right attitude.



Have you ever been challenged?

   Have you ever noticed that some of the most inspired people that you ever meet are the ones that have been challenged the most. Sometimes they are born with something that sets them apart from the crowd, others have accidents that bring about a change. Some are born in war torn parts of the world. The stories are endless of the successes that they achieve.

   My story falls into the second category. Mine was a head injury on August 14 almost 16 years ago. It was just another bike ride that went wrong. It was my wake up call. The understanding that we were not going to be around forever became real in

the following days.

   It did take some time for me to start to put things right. But you find ways to make up time. You write new rules for your life. You challenge yourself to set yourself apart everyday. And you don't hide from the challenges that are to come.

   The song "Live Like You Were Dying" puts things into good prospective in my book. If you read my blog on a regular basis this may explain why I challenge people so much to live a full and happy life. It may be why my attitude is so important to me.

And why I have such a passion for life.

   Thanks letting me share and for

being part of my story!

Now go out and challenge yourself today!

Your Customers

When thinking of your data base of customers, are they relationships? And if they are they take time and patience to develop trust. Do your customers trust you? We all want the sale. Do we do what we need to maintain the relationship long term?

Just something to think about.

Have a great attitude today.

Trust

It is a question of integrity.

Have a great weekend!

Friday is coming

Well, we are past the Camel! Welcome to Thursday. Since we have given most days some love lets celebrate Thursday this week. Think about it Monday is the first day of the week. Whenever your starting your weekend, have a great one! The most important part is to have the right attitude today!

Attitude is a choice

I love the fact that I control my attitude. It is a choice that is made everyday. It was a little over 12 years ago that my process started. I wanted to re-invent myself and knew there was work to be done. Soon it became clear that most of my problems were being caused by my own thinking. Junk in, junk out over, and over again. Often it is written that Bad Credit is a series of bad choices. It does not mean that you will always have bad credit. It does mean that you need to do something different. What your doing now is not working. Your attitude works much the same way. So it is, it you want a good attitude you must put some effort in, in order to head the right direction. Small incramental steps over a long period of time will yeild you more success than you know how to handle.

Start your process today, right now with the right attitude.

Do the right thing.

We are all managers! We manager our actions in our lives each day. Do you listen to the whispers of others? Is that wise? First, what does the thoughts of other mean in your life? We all have a path and a direction we want to follow. Some are more spiritual, some are ruled by your work. Whatever you listen to, don't let it be the nay sayers that loom largely in the background. You see they will make comments about your direction. Funny thing is most of these folks are not moving in any direction. They have become comfortable right where they are in life. Oh, they may want more out of life, but they are not willing to get out of their own comfort zone to get there. If you challenge yourself each day you will leave most of these folks in your wake. A year from now their comments will become distant noises in the past. Do the right thing for yourself.

Have a great attitude and a great day today.

A year from now..

It is a great time to look back a few weeks. 7 weeks to be exact to January 1st. Did you make some New Years Resolutions? Have you reviewed them since you wrote them? 2/12th of the year is soon to be past. You can't get it back. Are you moving forward? I am excited for you because you still have time to meet all your goals for the year! So let's review a couple of important facts: first a written goal has a far greater chance of being met than an unwritten goal. So write it down!

Next you need to review it, or even better have it on a index card on your mirror. Only trouble there is you will begin to ignore it if you don't make an effort to read it on a regular basis. Not just the words, remember why you set that goal in the first place. Make it an daily affirmation. Next be honest with yourself. If you are not on track rethink how you are going to get there. If you just write it down and make an effort just think where you will be in a year with a minute a day! So, I am excited for you.

Have a great attitude and a great day!

Remember you can do it!

Our Natural State Is Joy

If our natural state is joy why is there so many unhappy people out there? We can talk about state of mind all we want.  The bottom line is we are what goes into our mind. What the heck does that mean. It means if your watching the news what kind of information are you sending to your brain. What do you expect to hear on the news. Everytime I listen it seems to be negative. What goes in your mind comes out your mouth. First thing in the morning, last thing at night you take in the negative information and we are amazed that we are negative. I am not saying there is not a time for news, or a different way to take it in. I scan the paper and the internet. So next time you want to load your  mind look for something to smile about and not so much the headlines. Remember what goes in your mind comes out your mouth.

Have a great attitude today!

Is the grass always greener

Love this saying.

I think about this saying with work.

If you are focused on the task at hand

it will be difficult to focus on another opportunity.

So if you are happy where you are focus on how to make it even better.

If you work hard and focus

good things will come.

If you are not happy where you are, your focus is not where it should be anyway.

Remember to get what you have never had

you must do what you have never done.

Whatever you decide

do it with the right attitude.

Have a great day!

 

Never Give Up

Remember it is not about you!

Have a great attitude today.

 

Most days I walk around with a smile on my face. And most days I hear someone say something like why is he always smiling?Sometimes they ask me are you really that happy? Such a simple question has a simple answer "Yes" I am that happy. You see to me it is just a choice. It takes more effort and energy to be frustrated than it does to put a smile on your face and deal with life. We can so easily ruin our day by a few simple words, or actions from others. Maybe it is your employees? Something does not get done, you have a choice.

It could be a training event, or a discussion. The bottom line is we do what must be done and we should grow from it. What did we learn from that event that did not happen correctly? It still boils down to decisions, and attitudes.

So have a great attitude today!

 

 



Small Daily Improvements

What is your challenge this week?

Is it working towards a long term goal?

I find it to be like writing a book.

In life we all have the knowledge that it takes to write a book. But have you ever tried?

Just getting the information from your head to paper takes a major effort.

I have been working on a book for over a year.

I have plenty of ideas...

That is the easy part...

Now just to put them on paper,

how do you do it?

It is like eating an elephant.

You must do it one bite at a time.

One word, page, paragraph, chapter.

If you have a big goal, it is the same thing.

Approach it with the right mind set.

Just small gains each day, week or month.

We will get there!

Have a great attitude and a great day!

Motivation

Sometimes nothing should be added.

Have a great attitude today.

When it is most difficult your just about to learn something

I find it funny at times when people work hard for a goal and just when they are about to make a break through, they quit trying...

What if you had the mindset that when it is the very most difficult that you were on a verge of a break through....

You should get excited, not frustrated.

What is your frustration about?

Is it your ego?

Is it because it is different?

Work through the frustration and you will get where you are going.!

Have the right attitude.

What are you thinking about this Sunday morning?

How is it that some people get stuck in a blizzard and have a great time,

and others are miserable?

Is it really a choice?

Did the happy people look at

the situation and say

"to heck with it",

we are going to have a good day!

And the unhappy or negative people complain

about where they are?

Here is a clue, if you can't change it

then don't worry about it.

Find a way to make it useful.

What I would give to have a few days

where I could focus on what

I thought was most important.

Take what life gives you and run with it.

And run hard.

One day you will look back and wish you had.

Think about his saying:

"A year from now you will wish you had.."

you fill in the blank.

And whatever it is, find a way.

And if it really is important to you,

then you will.

Have a great attitude today!

Persuasion

In training many times we discuss 

The 6 Laws of Persuasion.

We don't mention Integrity until later.

Something so important.

It takes you years to build.

And minutes, seconds to ruin.

We all live in an electronic age.

Information moves fast.

Don't put yourself in a bad situation

form a momentary lapse.

That lapse could take you years to recover.

Think about your decisions before you act.

Have a great attitude today!

Selling is about relationships

It starts with the right attitude.

It is about relationships.

Rapport helps you start the relationship.

Common ground helps grow it.

Integrity helps you maintain it.

Have a great attitude today!



Challenge yourself

Invest in yourself

Do you have dreams

Sometimes you have to carry your own torch.

You can not depend on someone else to motivate you each day.

It may be by avoiding the negatives the best you can such as the News.

So think about it, what generally is the first 3 minutes of the News each night?

The majority of the time it is the Breaking News, people getting shot, or bad wrecks.

Why subject yourself to that stuff?

Maybe you need to read something positive each morning and evening.

Why do you want to sleep with the news bouncing around your head?

So make some good decisions today.

And have a great attitude. 



Spring is realy around the corner

It is time to prepare for the warmer weather that is right around the corner.

In the Auto-Industry we need little reminder that March will soon be here.

What should you do to be prepared?

Are you staffed properly?

Has your staff been properly trained?

How are your manager?

Are they the right ones to take you

to the next level?

Are you prepared?

Do we  have the right inventory?

Lots of questions to answer.

If you don't know now,

you need to find out.

If you look up and it is October,

you will have missed it.

Have a great attitude today!

Important Meetings

Some of the most important meetings I have each year are right under my own roof.

We do meetings at least weekly at the office to plan and prepare ourselves, and our staff.

So why don't we do it at home.

Having goals that give you options in life are important for your entire family.

I am fortunate enough that  my Wife will sit down and discuss what we accomplished along with what we would like to accomplish

 in the future.

It is a great time to ask the difficult questions of yourself and your spouse.

Just as an outline we discuss finances, trips, personal goals, home budget, home projects to accomplish and discuss what we can

do better as a spouse.

Try it once, we have been doing this for 14 years with great results.

Again it all starts with your attitude.

Attitudes drive decisions, decisions drive direction, and direction drives results.

Have a great day today!

Why the gap

    The numbers show that 85% of people leave their house wanting to buy a vehicle. Yet delivery rates or Close Rates in stores hover between 20-30%?

    Lets look at a simple Bell Curve.

     So is it true that we have a far greater opportunity to deliver a vehicle than we believe?

    This is just food for thought.

I am writing an article to be posted on dealerelite.com that focuses on this topic.

What do you think?

  -85% of people leave their house with the intention of taking delivery.

  -NADA has posted that 76% want to take delivery.

  -And 80% based on numbers collected and reviewed in training classes show they want to take delivery.

    So why are we struggling to get a

50% close rate?

So check your attitude, it all starts there.