Robert Fiacco's Blog, page 23

Preparation: The Key to Winning

Being prepared in sales is so vital to your success !

When we talk about preparation I truly believe that we have to look at it from several view points.

Long Term Preparation
Short Term Preparation

Discovery
Immediate Preparation

Emotional Preparation

Long term preparation starts weeks, months and sometimes years before the (Hugh presentation). Being a student of your industry is critical for you to be a true long term professional and a real success. Learning everyday will help you at a time when you least except it. You should read daily (about your industry), get designations if applicable and stay abreast of the changes taking place within your chosen field.

Short term preparation is absolutely critical and so often miss calculated. I have seen countless numbers of sales representatives go into the (Hugh presentation) blind, hoping to “smooze” their way into a relationship that will lead to a sale. I seldom, if ever, attempt to close a sale on the first call; in fact, I don’t even like calling it a call. I prefer the term interview because that is what I believe it should be an interview with the prospective client for them to get to know me and me to get to know them.

The discovery should start before you even get to the interview. Go on line “Google “your client and show up to the interview as well informed as you can about them and their business and their industry.
Prepare questions to ask but do not prepare judgments.
Learn what your customer feels that they want so you can then help them buy what you know they need.

Immediate Preparation is looking and feeling your best. Is your shirt pressed, your shoes polished and have your shaved (if you’re a male)? Little things make the difference and how we look often will determine how we feel.

Emotional preparation is the Achilles tendon of closing the (Hugh Deal). Is your passion for what you do at 100%, have you put out of your mind your personal issues and are you prepared to give all your attention to your client.

Here is my “pre-game warm up” 1. Exercise the day of the presentation. 2. Listen to my favorite music on the way. 3. Go to make a friend.

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Good Selling

Bob

 

19 Hard Things You Have To Do To Be Successful

One of my team memebers sent me this ..I think it’s worth reading. 

You have to do the hard things.

You have to make the call you’re afraid to make.
You have to get up earlier than you want to get up.
You have to give more than you get in return right away.
You have to care more about others than they care about you.
You have to fight when you are already injured, bloody, and sore.
You have to feel unsure and insecure when playing it safe seems smarter.
You have to lead when no one else is following you yet.
You have to invest in yourself even though no one else is.
You have to look like a fool while you’re looking for answers you don’t have.
You have to grind out the details when it’s easier to shrug them off.
You have to deliver results when making excuses is an option.
You have to search for your own explanations even when you’re told to accept the “facts.”
You have to make mistakes and look like an idiot.
You have to try and fail and try again.
You have to run faster even though you’re out of breath.
You have to be kind to people who have been cruel to you.
You have to meet deadlines that are unreasonable and deliver results that are unparalleled.
You have to be accountable for your actions even when things go wrong.
You have to keep moving towards where you want to be no matter what’s in front of you.

You have to do the hard things. The things that no one else is doing. The things that scare you. The things that make you wonder how much longer you can hold on.

Those are the things that define you. Those are the things that make the difference between living a life of mediocrity or outrageous success.

The hard things are the easiest things to avoid. To excuse away. To pretend like they don’t apply to you.

The simple truth about how ordinary people accomplish outrageous feats of success is that they do the hard things that smarter, wealthier, more qualified people don’t have the courage — or desperation — to do.

Do the hard things. You might be surprised at how amazing you really are.

Source Article: http://danwaldschmidt.com/2014/01/attitude/hard-things#ixzz2qWJmZ2i3

www.LuthasCorporation.coM

Good Selling

Bob

No Do Over In Life!

Have you ever wanted a “do over” in your life? You know a chance to start over when things aren’t going right. Maybe it’s your finances, your health or your relationships – something in your life that’s just not working. In golf we call this a mulligan, and you can, depending on who you play with (and as long as it is not a serious match) take one. Maybe you sliced one into the woods from the tee box. “I’m taking my mulligan,” you exclaim. Wouldn’t it be great if we could say that in life?

 I believe that we are all indeed fortunate not to have the option of taking a mulligan. We don’t need one in life, and we should not take one on the golf course. The mistakes and challenges we all face are part of the overall development of who we are and who we can grow to be. Just like a bad shot on the golf course shows us what we are doing wrong in our swing, our life’s mistakes and obstacles can truly be gifts of growth and development. As a career recruiter, manager and developer of sales associates, I have had firsthand experience dealing with the internal struggles that people in all walks of life face.

 “Showing Up To Play” gives readers humorous true stories that have taken place on the golf course and allows them to see a correlation to life’s struggles that all individuals face. These stories, although funny, allow the reader to find a strategy or core value to help them overcome these hurdles.

I truly believe that this is a message needed by millions of people, we can truly win in life if we just SHOW UP TO PLAY everyday.

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Good Selling

Bob

Five Inspirational Examples of How One Person Can Make a Difference

So often over my life I have heard individuals say, and yes I have even been guilty myself of saying the words “What difference can I make, I’m only one person?”  History is full of courageous, remarkable and inspirational individuals who have paid extreme prices to make a difference in the world. Without these individuals, it is hard to imagine how different our world would be today. Truly inspirational individuals who have proven that when your hopes and dreams out weigh your fears one person can truly make a difference.

Here are five inspirational examples:

Nelson Mandela – Born is South Africa in 1918 he fought a lifelong battle to end apartheid (a system of complete racial separation) in South Africa. This amazing man spent 18 years in the most horrible prison conditions imaginable, twice refusing release if he would be willing to renounce the attack on apartheid. After release from prison Mandela would go on to become the first black president of South Africa, winning South Africa’s first all –race election, he would share the Nobel Pease Prize in 1993 with the South African President F.W. deKlerk.

Ronald Reagan – “Tear down this wall!” on June 12, 1987 President Ronald Reagan, against the advice of many of his advisors and at a time of heightened tensions between East and West gave a historic speech at the Brandenburg Gate near the Berlin Wall. The speech challenged Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev to destroy the wall. The thought, although absurd, was part of the Reagan ideology that there could be a Communist free government in the East. Twenty –nine months later, on November 9, 1989, East Germany would in fact open the Berlin Wall. This action would be the start of the dismantlement of the Communist governments of Eastern Europe and eventually the Soviet Union.

Mahatma Gandhi – Albert Einstein said of Gandhi “Generations to come will scarcely believe that such a one as this walked the earth in flesh and blood.” A quiet unassuming man led a revolution against the Colonialism of India professing and living a life of peace and nonviolence. His commitment to change through peace was truly inspirational to the likes of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rosa Parks – Born in 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama this one women’s courage to stand up to the establishment in refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama bus would spur a city wide boycott. The city would eventually be forced to lift the law requiring segregation on public buses. This one action by one individual would help launch the civil rights movement.

Mother Teresa – The Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, MC also known as Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation, which in 2012 had 4500 sisters actively running hospices and homes for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis in over 130 countries. The peace and comfort that she has brought to the world is nothing short of phenomenal and inspirational for everyone.

These short writings about these great people can certainly not do justice to their lives and the amazing, inspirational impacts that they have had on the world. They are great examples of what one person with a dream can do to impact history and inspire generations

What can you or I do to impact our families, our communities our companies and yes the world if we dream big and give of ourselves?

One person can make a difference, you can make a difference.

 

Good Selling

Bob

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What the Hell Do I have to be Thankful For?

Did you ever have one of those years? You know where you wonder what else could possibly go wrong. I was tempted to save this for a Christmas letter…that letter where your friends or family tell you about Fred’s promotion, Mary getting a full scholarship after being named prom queen and, Jr. finding a cure for cancer while being chosen to be the first 8 year old in space…..you know what I mean. My letter would be one that would make you cry and most likely want to send me a check.  Rather than a Christmas letter I decided to torture you in this blog and again ask” What the Hell Do I have to be Thankful for?”

Here is my last twelve month (get a hanky and read on):

-         Two days after last Thanksgiving I was on my way to my office and slipped in my garage tearing my quad tendon completely from the bone, I had to have holes drilled in my kneecap and the tendon reattached. As I lay on the garage floor wincing in pain unable to move I threw shoes and other items from my brief case at the door hoping to get my wife’s attention. Thankfully my dog “Bagger Vance “ heard the thuds and ran to my wife …”mommy quick, Timmy fell in the well again” – saved at last.

-         Due to the injury I was forced to wear a full leg brace from hip to toe for twelve weeks. Giving me throw back memories from a childhood of surgeries and body casts…. A physiologist dream that’s what I am.

-         One and half months later in January of this year my father passed away. Unable to travel I could not be with him in his last days or attend a final service for him.

-         As executor of his estate I was forced to deal long distance with the challenges that come with losing a parent, dealing with an estate and five siblings… enough said?

-         Also in January my son lost his job due to a corporate change in the position he was in.

-         In August I had Gastric By Pass surgery to correct my uncontrollable  weight gain, over the last few years I began to resemble Jabba the Hut with out of control blood pressure, high cholesterol, boarder line diabetes and sleep apnea  (other than that I was doing pretty good).

-         Two weeks after the surgery I started having some bleeding, thinking it was just after surgery issues I ignored it for a week and ended up in intensive care, losing five pints of blood over that week. I spent four days in the hospital while my wife was out of town. I was scheduled to meet her in my home town to bury my parent’s (I would have to miss this again).

-         STAY WITH ME THERE’S MORE   

-         Three days after leaving the hospital my company notified me that due to corporate reorganizations my office was being eliminated and that my services were no longer required. The first time in thirty three years that I had ever been out of a job.

-         Due to that situation we decided to sell our home (in a down market) and relocate.

Wow, what a year! Thankful, blessed, what the hell do I have to be thankful for? Well plenty. Everything happens for a reason and a purpose and it serves us. This is something I personally choose to believe, so let me explain:

-         Tearing my quad, although painful and very inconvenient actually helped me heal some very deep and old personal struggles that had haunted me since childhood. I had been trying to resolve these issues but going through the recovery process not only helped me in my knee recovery but helped me find closure to some personal issues…a blessing in disguise.

-         The passing of my father: Having now lost both of my parents and as foolish as this sounds I’m an orphan at fifty eight and only someone who has lost both parents can understand that pain. So where is the good? For the past four years my father has suffered with a broken heart from the loss of my mother to whom he was married to for fifty five years. The pain of his loneliness was apparent whenever I was with him and today although I have lost him, he is at peace with my mother. That is a blessing I choose to accept.

-         In dealing with my parent’s estate I had the opportunity to honor my parents by helping to make their last wishes become a reality. I hope they are proud of how I handled things.

-         The blood loss and ICU visit…hey I didn’t die….it could have been much worse for that I’m thankful.

-         For years I have wanted to open my own business and have more control of my life. Losing my position along with the severance package and an offer from a friend has made that dream come true.

-         We have tried to get back to the Carolina’s for five years because of the events of the past several months we have our dream home on a golf course in Greenville, South Carolina and my son has been able to move to Florida, which was his dream.

 

Yes, I have much to be thankful for as all of us do. Some say that as we go through life it seems like a random chaotic mess of confusion with no rhyme or reason but when we look back years later our lives are like a finely written novel. I believe that is true. Remember life is about choices what you chose to believe is a choice. Look for your hidden blessing they are there.

Good Selling and I hope You Had A Happy Thanksgiving

Bob

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A Case for Charitable Giving

It is said that you cannot give without receiving and I certainly have found that true in my own life. That being said, I feel guilty of not doing more to help others. Now, I have all kinds of reasons why I haven’t stepped up to the plate of charitable giving – I’m so busy with my work and my family, etc.  Excuses have been easy for me to manufacture but the reality is that I just haven’t taken the time to think about all of the blessings I have been given in my life while there are millions of people suffering every day.

However, recently, I was given a wake-up call and given a reason to consider getting involved with charitable giving in my life. This past Saturday my wife and I had the privilege of attending the Fifteenth Annual UFCW Minority Coalition Ball on Capitol Hill. The event is a recognition ball for the organization as well as an annual fundraiser for “Faces of Our Children” a charity founded to help educate and fund research and support for children suffering from Sickle Cell Anemia. I was introduced to the charity by a friend and I never realized the suffering that these poor children will go through over their life time without the proper help. Even with medical attention and medicine, when a child is in “crisis” it is truly heart breaking to hear of the physical toll that this disease can have on a young innocent individual.

You may ask, “What is your interest in a charity for a disease that you are not a risk for or have no direct connection to?”  We should all care whenever any child is suffering and we can do something to help. “Faces of Our Children” is one of many charities that can use our support through charitable giving.

This is my commitment to charitable giving for 2014:

I will identify two organizations that I feel need support.
I will get active and make the time to support either financially or with my time.
I will give with the expectation that one person “can” make a  difference
I will challenge all my readers to do the same.

People need our help. There are truly those in need of clothing, food and medicine. We need not forget “there but for the grace of God, go I.” There are many souls who have stumbled for whatever reason onto hard times, and we all have a responsibility to care.

 

Good Selling

 

Bob

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Business email etiquette

What’s the deal with e-mail? Why is it that people will say things in e-mail that they would never say in person, is there a protective blanket they feel gives them security and protection over the internet? Business email etiquette is simple. When you send an email it’s forever so be careful what you write and more importantly be careful with what you send.
Here are six keys to business email etiquette to keep you out of trouble:

1. Say it but don’t spray it (don’t hit send) – Venting in the written word can be very therapeutic and give you momentary satisfaction, but just like the spoken word, once you say it you can’t take it back. If you write it and email it, not only can you not take it back, but its there forever and is not easily forgotten like words can be.
2. Do a double take – Once you have gotten off your chest what you want to say, re-read it after a few minutes. You may find you are way more aggressive than need be, especially if your message is one that could cause you heart burn down the road.
3. One more time – Before you hit send give it final read, remember email is forever.
4. Get another opinion – If you have received an email that you find aggressive before you start blasting away at the key board ask someone to read it and see if they get the same message you do. Remember when using e-mail you lose that face-to-face interaction that really can aid in communication. And, in such a situation, perhaps the best business email etiquette would suggest a phone call might be the best way to proceed.
5. Have a purpose and end result in mind – Just to blast someone in an e-mail with no point and no resolution may make you feel good but certainly won’t win you any congeniality awards or make you look very professional. Always start out with the purpose for your e-mail and state what you hope to achieve by sending it. Having a purpose other than to show your “backside” may keep you in the realm of professionalism.
6. Don’t try and be so funny – It’s amazing how what one person thinks is humor another finds offensive. Be careful when trying to be funny in e-mail what can be met to be humor can be easily misunderstood.

The internet is an amazing tool and in the future I can only guess where it will take us regarding technology and communication. When sending emails, be sure to keep business email etiquette rules in mind to stay out of trouble. And, above all else, think before you send.

Good Selling

Bob

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Seven Hot Secrets to a Successful Sales Career

So here they are:  

 

“Go All In” – You cannot go half way on anything in life and expect to succeed. I have heard individuals throughout my career say “I’ll give it a try” you might as well just not even get started. The only way to approach life is just like Caesar crossing the Rubican (an act that would guarantee war for the Roman Empire) in sale and life anything less than absolute commitment is leaving an opening for failure.
 “Think Big” – In sales we limit ourselves by our own lack of ability to dream big. Remember the old saying shoot for the stars and hit the moon.
Be an “I can Person” – Talk about the positive and try to ignore the negatives. If I fail to make a sale with someone you will never hear me mention it. I have found that with most good sales people we tend to think they sell everyone they see. They don’t, they just don’t focus or talk about the ones that don’t matter.
“Believe you’re the Best” – The first step in believing is wanting to believe. If you want to believe you’re the best, than it is as simple as telling yourself over and over that you are. In time it becomes ingrained in your subconscious that confidence will come across to your clients. People want to deal with the best.
“Keep Score” – Great sales individuals know the numbers. How many calls to get an appointment, how many appointments to make a sale. To not track these things is like taking a trip to a place you have never been with no map, no GPS and no Google….insanity.
“Dress to kill” – I have always wanted to be the best dressed person in the room than run the risk of being the second worst dressed person. You have mere seconds to make a first impression. Read my blog the “Seven Deadly Sins of Business Dress”.
“Don’t Let Anyone Steal Your Dream” – Run don’t walk from negative people. It seems that people want you to do well just not better than them. There are far too many individuals out there that will discourage, sabotage and destroy your dream if you allow. Run from negativity.

 

I’m actually going to give you eight! Number eight is this “ There is no secret” the steps to success in any walk of life are timeless and have not changed since man first walked upright and realized that there was “more”.

Good Selling

Bob

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Half the Man I Use To Be!

For forty eight years I have fought a battle with my weight. I have, over those forty eight years read just about every diet book written and tried every diet on the street from losing weight while you sleep  “don’t ask”, to different diet shake drink plans….One I almost died on, thankfully a Girl Scout saved my life when she showed up at my front door selling cookies. I told her Mom to back the van in and I believe she won the trip to Washington that year.

My story is the same as many, lose seventeen pounds gain twenty five and this roller coaster ride has went on for the better part of my life until this past January when I hit an all time high weight of 267 pounds…well on my way to resembling Jabba the Hutt, for you Star Wars fans. I was taking four blood pressure medications, two cholesterol pills a diabetes pill and using a C-Pap machine to sleep. Talk about Star Wars my wife would wake up in the middle of the night and think she was sleeping with Darth Vader….hiss…. “LUKE I’M YOUR FATHER”

So enough was enough and on August 5th I had Gastric Bypass surgery. I have always believed that you can do anything if your dreams are big enough. I have dreamed about getting my life back, having the energy of my youth and looking healthy for years and the truth of the matter is that discipline, exercise and diet alone just were not working. You know if you don’t make a change in your life you can have no change in your life. The allure of the donut and the cookie were too great for my” pillar of sand” discipline when it came to food, I had to do something!

My friends thought I was crazy….Your not that fa?…uh …big! Why would you have that done? Well NO CHANGE REAPS NO CHANGE! Surgery was a big and dangerous step but one I felt compelled to try and I am happy I had the courage to do it. I am down 5 sizes, weight just under 200 pounds and take no medications, oh and bye- bye Darth Vader.

Now please understand I am not telling anyone to run out and have Gastric Bypass Surgery that’s something between you and your doctor. What I am saying is if you want something bad enough you have to take risks and be willing to commit all the way no matter what it is in life. You can do anything you dream if you are willing to make the commitment.

Good Selling

Bob

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Why Colonial Life?

For those of you who follow my blogs and know me personally you are aware that the last 45 days have been …….well to say the lease exciting. As many individuals are forced to do I was faced with career decisions that were unexpected. That being said I have had a number of interviews and offers presented to me and have had to do some serious soul searching as to what path my future would take. Well, I’m very excited to announce that I have decided to heed my own advice and take charge of my destiny, I will be taking a District Manager position with Colonial Life in Greenville South Carolina effective November 1st of this year.

Some of you may ask why Colonial Life? Let me give you my reasoning and tell you why I’m so excited:

1)     I have preached to my readers around the world about the merits of being in business for yourself, taking control of your life and overcoming the fears that hold us back in life. A sales or management contract with Colonial Life will allow me those things, a chance to be in business for myself but not by myself. It will allow me to decide what is important in my life and to follow my dreams as long as I comply with company policy and standards.

2)     I get to work with my close friend and mentor Frank Ferez. Business is about relationships and trust. Being able to select who my partners are and whom I report to and knowing that person is a person of integrity is very important to me.

3)     I get to decide where I will live. Rose and I have been trying to get back to the Carolinas for years and to live in the foothills of South Carolina close to Ashville, and Charlotte is incredible to us.

4)     Business reasons:

 I have said it for eight and a half years that Colonial Life is the best kept secret it the industry….and it is.
The next five to ten years, I feel, will be the golden ten years for Voluntary Benefits. With the uncertainty of the Affordable Health Care Act and the tremendous gaps that all Americans will find in their health care plans Colonial Life is positioned to dominate.
Tools: any company can build a product but to be able to accommodate the billing, the customer service and deliver the promise Colonial life is second to none.

         i.      Communication tools; benefit statements, benefit books one on one education for all employees.

         ii.      Enrollment capability; there is virtually no enrollment situation that Colonial Life cannot accommodate.

         iii.      Product; an all encompassing portfolio that can solve just about any problem the employer or employee has.

         iv.      Compensation; I know firsthand hat Colonial Life offers me the finest compensation package in the industry today.

5)     Someone once said that “nothing furthers an agenda like a good crisis.”  The health care crisis, I feel, has put Colonial Life and those individuals smart enough to see it and with the courage to seize it in an unbelievable position in the market place.

I am truly excited and thankful for this opportunity. I have always said everything happens for a reason and purpose and it serves us. I had wanted to that this step for sometime but am not ashamed to say to you that fear held me back. Sometimes the universe will force us to take the steps we are afraid of.

Good Selling

Bob

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