Mark's Highway  

Hello Again Friends,

Welcome back to E-Zine Street! Oh and Happy New Year! How are those resolutions coming? Remember first we form habits, then they form us. Good habits are hard to form but easy to live with.  Bad habits are easy to form and hard to live with! Fulton Sheen said "The great advantage of habit is that is saves us a lot of attention, effort and brain work".  Are you serious about your resolutions? Grab your journal and record five habits (resolutions) you'd like to have. If your journal's not handy, grab a 3X5 card or a post-it. Now on another sheet record the five habits that are getting in the way of your better future. Most experts will tell you it takes 21 to 35 days to form a new habit (good or bad) so review your lists everyday for at a month and take action! A wise man once said "No matter where you go, there you are..... and if you don't watch out.....you'll get there".

A great big Thank You goes out to all of you who sent us comments and feedback. We strive that each issue of E-Zine Street has a different, yet inter-related aspect of Leadership development to consider.

Next an apology. Our shopping cart was a little buggy for the first weeks of December. Many of you shared your frustration when you tried to order product. Now all is well in shopping cart land. We even added a second resource to help with any more bugs. But again thanks for your patience!

 Watch "The Road" Buddy!

Our NEW Web Community Matteson Avenue has much to offer. Here are some of the many benefits you receive at Matteson Avenue:

Listen to Mark on the radio. Linda Stasburg interviews Mark on KTKK AM Salt Lake City.

Join Mark in Seattle at DiscoverU on February 16th, 2005 as he presents "Freedom From Fear" based on his best selling book. We will be producing a new DVD during this seminar!

Enjoy the "Gratis" page packed with Fr^ee articles, stories, sales tools, e-books, video and audio.

Explore the "Street Talk" Forum where you can learn, share, brainstorm or just say Hi!

Discover the Matteson Avenue "Links" to other valuable sites.

Find the "Reading List" and the eight categories of great books that will change your life.

Preview Mark's newest book "Freedom From Fear Forever - Len's Last Lesson" as an e-book!

Road Improvements

"Are Those Guppies?”  

A number of years ago, as a consultant, I was asked by a contractor to help one of his salesmen.  Let’s call this fellow Mike. Mike was an affable fellow, kind, caring, likable. Mike had been a parts driver.  They decided he would make a good salesman.  With no training and very little help, they threw him to the wolves.  Mike had a lot of activity, but not a single sale in three months.

There were a number of problems right off the bat.  Dress.  He still looked like a parts driver.  Baseball cap, coat with “Mike” on the lapel and company issued pants that were just a little too small.  The broad mind of his youth had traded places with his narrow waist.  Having said all that, he did a great job of following up on leads that came in.  He had 15 proposals outstanding, but no signature.  We scheduled three appointments for the day. 

The first was a pet store in a mall.  He had a $1,500 Test and Inspect Maintenance Agreement in hand ready to present.  We arrived at 0900 to a very receptive owner.  He had a triple net lease which meant he was responsible for maintenance and repair.  He was referred to the contractor by two of his neighbors who were using this company’s services and were delighted with the service.  It should have been a slam dunk.

I just sat back and watched, listened, observed.  Mike talked about the weather, the baseball team and pets.  At 0920, he ran out of small talk.  It was time to ask for the sale.  It’s a tense moment for a new, untrained, unassertive sales rep.  You could smell the fear.  He opened his mouth… “Are those guppies?” he asked, like Thor, the God of Thunder, breaking the silence and my faith in him in one swift swing of his hammer.  “Yes,” the owner said walking over to the tank.  You see, prospects don’t like to talk about closing the deal any more than a new sales rep does.

I couldn’t stand it anymore.  “I hate to interrupt your conversation about fish, but, can I ask a couple of questions?”  It was 0924.  The Iron Gate in the mall was going up in six minutes.  “Sure,” the owner said, shifting his focus to me.  “Did you want Mike’s technicians to come out in the morning or afternoon?”  Pausing for a moment to ponder the question, he said, “Mornings are best for me.”  “Fine,” I said in a serious tone, writing his answer down.  “Did you want this service agreement to bill monthly or quarterly?”  Again, the owner answered quickly, “We do everything monthly.”  I scribbled again.  “Did you want to authorize this agreement on Mike’s back or would you prefer the table?”  He shook his head with a big smile, “NOOOO, I wouldn’t use his back!”  He came over to the table and signed the agreement without reading it or looking at the price. 

You see, he trusted Mike.  He wanted to sign.  He had already made a decision to buy.  But he had to be led.  In sales, you still have to ask for the order.  In this case, I used the “Trial” Close blended with an “Alternative Advance.”  I also used a little humor to break the tension.  The owner was grateful.  Mike was confused.  I said, “You probably want to finish preparing to open your store.”  We left.  Mission accomplished. 

In sales, if you can’t or won’t ask for the sale, you are just a nice conversationalist.  Sales studies by the American Management Association show that a sales person has a 64% chance of closing the sale after the fifth request to buy. 

Remember that the next time you visit a prospect with the clear expectation to close.  In my sales training seminars, I suggest to audiences that they begin the meeting with this, “At the end of this meeting, I am going to ask you to make a decision, is that fair enough?”  It’s better than saying, “Are those Guppies?” 

One for the road

As you may have gathered from last month, "One for the Road" is our monthly book review. This month we have another life changing book. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki. A must read for aspiring millionaires.  This book has spent 221 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list…doesn’t that make you a little curious? Learn how to make your money work for you and why you don’t need to earn a high income to become rich!  This true story created one paradigm shift after another for me.  It shattered all my old and erroneous beliefs about money and opportunity.  I read it on a flight from New Jersey in one sitting, then re-read it again.  The next day bought a copy for my wife.  Within 3-months of buying two copies, we have our first rental house and plans to buy three more in 2005!  If you want results, buy this book and do what he says. Your kids will thank you.