November 2018 Newsletter: Will They Remember You?

The next time you go on a sales or service call, make sure you are memorable! Don’t leave any of yourself on the table. Give it all you have! When I think about the importance of being memorable, it reminds me of a scene in one of my favorite movies, Remember the Titans. In this scene, the team members make a unified decision to up their level of play and to become memorable. Every time I watch that part of the movie, it gives me chills. We all have the ability every single day to up our level of play, to be better than we were yesterday, to make sure our customers know WE WERE THERE! That type of attitude, my friends, will get you the deal more times than not. Have the attitude that no one can compete with what you can do for your customers The next time you’re talking with a prospective customer, be sure to make strong, bold statements that will make them remember you. No matter whether you are talking with them in person or on the phone, you must have the attitude that failure is not an option. Your goal is to make that person want to do business with you. Stay laser-focused and attentive; never interrupt them. Listen more than you talk, and when you do talk, make strong, bold statements like these: I will make that happen. I am the right person for this job. No one in my industry can compete...

October 2018 Newsletter: Respect Me…Win Me Over!

If someone wants to do business with me, they can win me over by making me feel appreciated and showing that they respect me for doing business with them.

August 2018 Newsletter: How Big is Your “WANT TO”?

How Big is Your “WANT TO”?   Asking the question “How big is your ‘want to’?” is exactly the same as asking “How much do you want it?” Maybe you want to be a better student, a better athlete, a better husband or wife, a better parent or child. The intensity of your “want to” will determine your success in any of those roles. However, today I am asking you to consider the question “How big is your ‘want to’?” in terms of what you want to achieve in your career. When I think of my career, I relate this question to how hungry I am to succeed and how passionate I am about accomplishing everything I set out to do. There is no magic formula for achieving what you want. Instead, it’s a combination of believing in yourself and believing that you deserve whatever your “want” is.  I challenge you to apply the following eight principles to ensure that your “want to”will be firmly embedded in your mind, heart, and soul. 1. Begin each day believing that something really good is going to happen to you. When you believe that good things are coming your way today, they are more likely to happen. Try talking to yourself in the mirror every morning and telling yourself what you expect to happen in your life today. Don’t be shy… you don’t bite! I like to look in the mirror in the morning and tell myself how productive I will be, because...

July 2018 Newsletter: “You matter to me”: Praise is FREE

Nothing is more important than making people feel like they matter, and the best way to do it is to give praise when it’s warranted. When people have this mindset, everybody wins. If our actions or words don’t tell people how important they are to us, they will never know how we feel. We should be constantly thinking of ways to make our customers, managers, employees, coworkers (and basically everyone else we’re in contact with) feel like they matter to us. This can be done with simple words or actions. Praising someone doesn’t cost us a dime, yet it can be costly if we don’t do it. Did you know that 55% of employees would leave their current job if they had a chance to work for a company that recognizes its workers? Praise is one of the most powerful things a leader can bring to their firm. When it is delivered well (and well-deserved), praise gives people the drive and motivation to continue doing top-quality work. “One of the sweetest of all sounds in business is praise for a job well done” Life is short, and I believe we should take advantage of every opportunity to make people feel validated and important to us. When my firm had 350 coworkers, customers used to call me for all kinds of reasons. On rare occasions they needed to complain about their agent, but mostly they wanted to commend them and brag about how great it was to do business with them....

June 2018 Newsletter: Seven Decisions that Determine Personal Success

You have the ability to incorporate into your life these seven decisions that will determine your personal success.

May 2018 Newsletter: Controlling Your Stress in Business

If you intend to succeed in your career, you will need to develop good strategies for dealing with stress.

April 2018 Newsletter: Asking for Referrals

The purpose of every business is to create a customer who creates new customers

March 2018 Newsletter: Should You Dress to Impress?

When you look your best, you perform at your best.

February 2018 Newsletter Your DREAM is possible

    Do you dream of achieving big things? I believe that a dream is a prelude to reality. I know this is true because it has happened to me over and over throughout my career. Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, said the same thing using different words: “If you can conceive it and believe it, then you can achieve it.” That quote has been in my head since high school. I didn’t grow up with a mentor, and nobody ever gave me a blueprint to succeed in business. In high school I was a class clown, always trying to make people laugh and never really taking things too seriously. Even though I had an incredibly loving family, nobody laid out a path for me to follow. However, I remember where my true motivation came from. When I was 16 or 17 the blockbuster movie Rocky came out, and seeing that movie changed my perspective on life. I realized that if a self-proclaimed bum could develop a strong enough work ethic to become the heavyweight boxing champion of the world, then I could create a work ethic just like he did and become a successful businessman. That movie was so empowering for me that I still get chills thinking about it. Fifteen years later when I was building DEEB Realty I hired Jimmy Jamison to sing our company’s jingle. Jimmy was part of the group Survivor that performed the soundtrack for the Rocky movies. When people heard...