I think this is awesome so I decided to post it… This is also the name of the new movie out on South Africa's Nelson Mandela....

"Invictus"

Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole;

I thank whatever gods may be; For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chanceMy head is bloody; but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears looms but the Horror of the shade; And yet the menace of the years Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll; I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley

My Toastmasters Ice Breaker Speech

The goal of the Ice Breaker speech was to speak to the group about myself and this is what I said...

Dance With My Father

"Several years ago, Luther Vandross recorded a song entitled; "Dance with My Father.” I know that I am supposed to speak about myself, but I could not begin to speak about myself without speaking about my dad… You see, my dad saved my life…

I would like to tell you how… When I was 18 years old, I was unemployed, and I was not in college and had no direction for my life… Without going into the gory details of one particular evening, my dad came home from his job and there I was at home… my girl friend was upstairs.

Dad came home, loaded me and my girl friend into his car drove my girl friend home, (The funny part is that I had my own car) and took me to a hotel… Dad took me to a room on the second floor; he advised me that he had paid for two nights. He handed me two one hundred dollar bills, shook my hand and said, “Good luck son.” And he left me in that room. (My dad was the inventor of tough love…)

After the door closed, I started to cry… I happened to look up and see myself in the mirror and at that moment I stopped crying… And made two decisions; first, I would never cry again and that I would never be broke… I am now 54 years old and I can honestly tell you that I was wrong on both accounts.

The next day I went out, got myself a job and found myself a place to live… About a year later my girl friend and I got married; I went to school at night and earned my Associates Degree…

I am proud to say that my wife and I will celebrate our (can’t tell you which) wedding anniversary next year…
We have a beautiful 26 year old daughter who is a graduate of Indiana State University; our son is 23 and a senior at Marian University in Indianapolis IN… We have a beautiful granddaughter, “Sanyia Elyse”… and now I know why people used to say we ought to have our grand-kids first…

I enjoyed a 30 year career in the mortgage business and all that time was seniority with the same company.

My mother and brother live in Detroit Michigan with most of our family and both have been a blessing to me…

My dad developed “Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease” and he passed at the early age of 66 years old… While Alzheimer’s is a devastating disease, it does sometime have its lighter side… dad was already in a nursing home because he had began to lose his memory and was wandering around… we would often pick him up from the nursing home on the weekends and take him home… on one such trip (even though he no longer remembered our names) we happened to pass by that hotel. Dad got a “gleam” in his eye as he pointed to the hotel, then he smiled and pointed to me as if to say, well done son, well done… My dad passed away in 2002 from complications of Alzheimer’s disease…

We miss dad very much and have many memories, but I will never forget the night that he saved my life, and I only wish that I could; “Dance with My Father Again…”"

Selling; Art or Science? Or both?

Selling is a cross between an art and science… It is an art because some people become good enough at it that it truly takes on an art form… We say they are born salespeople. Then there is the science of selling that indicates that the principles of openings, presentations and closings culminate into a sale whether you are a natural born sales person or not.

I am writing this blog to show that it does not matter whether you have a natural talent or if you have to work at it, combining the natural talent with the science of selling will make everyone even better…
I have used a compilation of information from Stephan Shiffman’s, “The 25 Most Common Sales Mistakes… And how to avoid them” as well as Rosalie Maggio’s, “How to Say It” (Choice Words, Phrases, Sentences & Paragraphs for Every Situation).

In Corporate America it is easy for these vital principles to become dwarfed by a company’s own policies, procedures and guidelines. There are always scripts, guidelines and rules that are designed for consistency, and this certainly makes good sense. However sometimes; when it comes down to delivering on the script, these rules take away all ability for the end user to “make it their own” …

This article will give you strategies that you will be able to integrate into your company’s established programs…

Mistakes we make;

#1. Not being Obsessed– This is a big one! Stephan Shiffman says, “You must like what you are doing for a living (selling) enough to become obsessed with it. Not fifteen-hours-a-day obsessed, but rather "I - have – absolutely – got – to – do - this – right – day – in – and – day – out obsessed."
He talks in terms of Obsession, Utilization and Implementation… Obsession requires a repetitive, second nature approach to sales… (The science) Utilization means utilizing everything at your disposal to increase your success. In a way it is being obsessed about getting the most from your environment… Implementation means just doing it; making the effort in the first place. All the sales books in the world will not help you if you do not try.

#2. Not Listening to the Prospect – You must let the prospect speak about him or herself; the information you’ll receive as a result is invaluable. Always ask needs based questions and when your prospect wonders something aloud, give the person enough time to complete the thought. When your prospect asks you a pointed question, do your best to answer succinctly—then listen for the reaction. Allow the prospect to complete their sentences, never interrupt them. (Always allow them to interrupt you at any time in order to get more info from you).

#14. Trying to convince rather than convey – You have to commit to understanding the problems and concerns of the prospect, not steamrolling over them. And you have to work from there to show; to demonstrate, in a compelling way-how your product or service can address their relevant concerns. Mr. Schiffman’s 25 Most Common Sales Mistakes is a must read for all that want to succeed in sales.

“How to Say It”; Rosalie Maggio’s book is also a must read for the successful salesperson… I have shared some gems below… but you must read the book to get the full benefit… These gems can be integrated with your normal scripting… Consider them like seasoning for your sales recipes… I.e. these gems will “spice things up!”

“Sincerely sorry to hear that…”
“Until you are completely satisfied…”
“I hope you know how sorry we are for the problems you’ve experienced with this order…”
“I certainly do apologize for…”
“I am not excusing our/my errors, but…”
“Acquaint you with…”
“Add a new dimension to…”
“All of this at your fingertips…”
“Gives you your choice of / the opportunity to…”
“I think you will discover…”
“You will be joining the select company of those who…”
“Can make a dramatic difference to you…”
“Take advantage of this opportunity…”
“We expect a tremendous response to this offer, so…”
“We want to make it as easy as possible for you to order…”

Folks, these little ditties are but a microcosm of the information that is available to you in order to help you hone your skills and to help you turn your natural skills into the science and art of selling… the principles of selling work and I strongly encourage you to become obsessed with learning as much as possible about your chosen field. There are many books and seminars out there on the subject don’t stop until you have tried them all!

“A little something extra”;
If you don’t believe that how we say things makes a difference, consider this excerpt from Zig Ziglar’s “Closes, closes, closes… he speaks of an 8 word statement that takes on a new meaning depending upon which word the emphasis is placed on… The statement, “He did not steal money from her purse” try it, it is fun!
· “(He) did not steal money from her purse”
· “He (did) not steal money from her purse”
· “He did (not) steal money from her purse”
· “He did not (steal) money from her purse”
· “He did not steal (money) from her purse”
· “He did not steal money (from) her purse”
· “He did not steal money from (her) purse”
· “He did not steal money from her (purse)”
I am sure you can see how important the way we say things are as it relates to our success… Zig also says always ask for the sale and have fun selling!

Rod

Should Michael Vick be allowed to play football again?

To that question I say yes... Should he be allowed to own pets? Well that would be a different question...

I just finished reading an article and ensuing comments on Michael Vick’s release from jail after serving his sentence for promoting and participating in dog fighting. People still are calling for his head… When he played football many thought he was an excellent player, and many bought his jersey and other apparel… his team and his sponsors made a lot of money from his name… many of you reading this blog may have even coveted him for your fantasy football squad… and there are also as many people that thought he was over-rated.

What I am having trouble believing is that there are so many people out there that are so intolerant... I don't advocate that we should have tolerated the crime that Vick committed... quite the contrary.

But I do believe that our system of justice works better than any in the world and our system sentenced him to jail as penance for his crime... Whatever gains he received from his football career and the illegal dog fighting has been lost... His name has been totally and completely tarnished... He has filed for bankruptcy and now, even though he has paid what many will agree is more than his proverbial debt to society; many want him to serve a life sentence by suggesting he not be able to work in his chosen field?!!!

We are not saying he should not be allowed to own dogs or other animals… we are saying he should not play football! I am sorry, but this makes no sense to me…

I love dogs, and would not dream of mistreating my two… But Michael Vick did not create the business of dog fighting, he participated in this illegal act and got caught… he was cruel to the dogs and even killed some of them and he pled guilty and he accepted his punishment. It does not matter if he was an over-rated player or the best quarterback that ever graced the field... what matters is that he has charged for the crime and paid more for his crime than most… he should be allowed to move on... If we don't want to see him play football then we don't have to buy a ticket, or we do not have to tune in our TV sets... "Let he who is without sin..."

The reality for Mike Vick is that we live in a capitalistic society and money will (as it did when he was worshiped for his athletic ability) make the final determination… I would only hope that Mr. Vick will do more for animals in general and dogs in particular, than he did before all of this surfaced… he could become a card carrying member of PETA and use his celebrity to continue speaking out against the cruelty of animals. This would certainly do more for animals and society than refusing to allow him to make a living doing what he knows…

Good luck to you Mr. Vick... I believe you have paid enough…
I hope you resume your career and if you do, I hope you are prepared for the people whose opinion will definitely differ from mine…

TSA - Not exactly on top of their Airport Security game

I traveled to Boca Raton Florida last week for business... it was my fourth trip in the last 5 weeks... I consider myself an experienced traveler... I pack my liquids in a quart size baggie... I take off my shoes, my belt... I remove my laptop from my carrying case and I place my cell phones and any other metal objects in the little bowls provided. I manage to do it all without holding up the line in the least...

But others are not so experienced and I watched an elderly lady trying to get through the check point... At first it was actually rather amusing... She first caught my eye because I noticed the very big hat she was wearing... As she approached the detector the TSA person asked her to remove the hat...

She complied and to the surprise and amusement of everyone that noticed, she had on a second hat, took that one off and had on a third! Apparently she was trying to carry her hats without having to pack them! It was very funny... but after I had gone through the check point I looked up and they still had the lady at the check point rummaging through her bags... this lady was about 80 years old and no more a terrorist than I am!

At this point I was more than mildly annoyed... But this is our system and they are doing this for our protection right? Yeah right! I finished putting on all of my gear and as I was putting my laptop in the bag I noticed that I had forgotten to take something from the bag... see below...

Are you nervous yet?

Folks, not only did I pass through the Houston airport with the "letter opener" above... but I brought it back home through the Fort Lauderdale airport...

While I am glad that I did not have to go through the aggravation of them finding my letter opener... I would hope that the TSA would do a better screening job on what we take through the check points and less time harassing 80 year old patrons... Someone passing through with the letter opener above would certainly be able to do more harm than an 80 year old with a few hats...

Free Speech - Sometimes Cost Plenty

I know that many of you have seen and or heard more than enough of the cartoon published by the New York Post...

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I defend the 'right to free speech'... But as a realist I know that even though the speech is free, someone usually has to 'pay a price'...

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The police have just shot what is supposed to represent the rabid monkey that attacked the lady in Connecticut.

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One thing that has not been talked about a lot is that on page 11 of the paper is a picture of President Obama signing the stimulus bill into law and on page 12 is the cartoon in question...

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The New York Post says that there was nothing racial intended. I want to know what you think...

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What do you feel the post was really trying to say to us? What is the price tag on this type of rhetoric? Did you see the humor in it? How did it make you feel personally? Please post your comments in the comment section of the blog...

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Rod White