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Greetings!
Welcome to the premier email newsletter for referral-minded independent sales professionals who want the Big Picture.
*To guarantee that the most exceptional and motivated sales professionals and sales managers are not missing out on the excellent ideas from this ezine consistently, be a resource and please forward this on and recommend that they sign up on my website: www.thereferralauthority.com
Date: January 7, 2008
Word count: 952
Reading time: 3-4 minutes
Benefits of Taking Action: why would you get busy in 2008 without first being crystal clear about what you are truly passionate about?
In this issue:
1. Got passion?
2. Coming Soon! The Loyalty E-Zine client loyalty program.
"You have to stay in touch if you want referrals." Jeffrey Gitomer
3. Seminars for You and Your Company to Get More Referrals.
4. Revitalize Your Results Getting Referrals in 2008!
Got passion?
If you're serious about making 2008 your best year so far, why would you move forward without being crystal clear about what you are truly passionate about?
(Many of you should consider using some of these ideas with your clients. I guarantee you will connect more with them, immediately set yourself apart and when clients feel good about us, hmmn, sometimes they just might refer us!)
One of the reasons why only a few people really get what they want in life is because they are willing to pause and do some homework on it. Most people think they're too busy but they are not spending time on what is most important. Are you sure you are?
I took the Passion Test yesterday from the recent book (same title) by Janet Bray Attwood and Chris Attwood. They got the idea at a goal-setting seminar when the speaker mentioned that a survey of one hundred of the most renowned and affluent people in the USA had found only one thing in common: that they had all achieved the five things that they believed were most necessary for their ideal life. Have you? Can you recite what they are?
Its premise is simple.
1. Make a list of 10-15 responses to the statement: When my life is ideal, I am:
You might respond with:
Living by a lake in a beautiful home
Spending every evening at home with my children
Enjoying financial freedom
Should your clients be asking themselves this question?
2. Prioritize your top 5
Wait at least a few hours before doing this step to allow things in your brain to simmer. Then do this by asking yourself: if I could have #1 before I die but not #2, which would I choose? Repeat until you have a top 5. The outcomes may surprise you.
3. Create 5 markers for each passion
These are statements that define what has happened for you to reach your passion. So using example #1 (the home), it could include: I enjoy the five bedrooms, I love living on the shore of Lake Geneva, I delight in the x0,000 square feet etc.
4. Create a vision board, write passion pages and a 100th birthday speech
The vision board is made up of pictures of what you want your future to look like. Put it somewhere highly visible. I heard a top-of-the-table producer in 2006 tell a story about this concept when he first started in financial services. He cut out a picture of his dream home and put it on his fridge door. 16 years later he moved into it. I have heard this same story shared by many different people.
Idea! Could some of your clients benefit from doing this? (Realtors: how about a vision board covered with sample pictures as a closing gift? You leave a legacy for them and include some classy but generic pictures of dreams people have including dream properties in their area as a subtle hint! They can personalize it after that. Financial advisors: your clients tell you their goals - find some generic but classy pictures of these goals. They can personalize that too: what a great way for you to stay top of mind throughout the year!)
The passion pages start with you writing one page about living each of your passions. The clearer you are about what you want, the sooner it will show up in your life.
The 100th birthday speech is a lot like Stephen Covey's eulogy exercise in his 7 Habits book. The advantage is you are there to hear it! And who knows, anything's possible: Britain's oldest woman just turned 115 (she credits whiskey and onions for her longevity - there's a diet book bestseller for you!) You write it in the 3rd person as if a best friend is reading it. You write about everything you have achieved in your life and what your legacy is.
5. Repeat the Passion Test every six months.
Why? Because of change and because our self- awareness can always be growing. It's a way to check in and ask: Am I really being true to myself?
6. Intention - Attention - No Tension
To get what you want, they break down what I learned from Deepak Chopra's Seven Spiritual Laws of Success many years ago.
a) Intention: get clear about what you want. Is it truly your passion or someone else's?
b) Attention: focus on it as much as possible (ex. fridge, bathroom mirror, dashboard, wallet/purse, computer screen) and it will begin to appear.
When you're not getting what you want, are you sure you're focusing on what you want or are you focusing too much on what you don't want?
For example, if your business is not where you want it to be, have you been FULLY FOCUSED on the good things? On how much you help your clients?
On how well you treat your clients?
On the successes and profits flowing to you?
On how much you enjoy what you do?
Or have you been thinking too much about:
All the bills you have coming up?
How unappreciative some of your clients are?
How little money you have left over each month?
How tough the market is?
How frustrating your debt is?
Earl Nightingale said it in The Strangest Secret: "You become what you think about."
c) No tension: Don't strain too hard to force it. Have a sense of detachment as to when it will arrive. Things rarely work out exactly as planned.
Action Plan:
Start with 30 minutes when you have no distractions and do step #1.
Get passion! You'll be delighted you did.
Please let me know how these ideas make a difference for you.
Be a resource. Who else do you think might get value from reading this? Please forward this on.
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