A newsletter designed to support our training participants with continuous development ideas and opportunities. 

What’s New with us:   

May you have the best, greatest and happiest Merry Christmas ever! As Tiny Tim says, “God bless us, everyone.” The season is for giving, friends, family and letting go of all the bad and negative things from the past year. It’s for optimism as we enter the New Year and the possibilities we can now make happen.  

“To all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!” 

Psychology of Persuasion 

Some programs we have coming up: 

Ever wished you could cause a positive change in someone else? Kelvin Daniels, our sales associate, and myself want to announce the Public Psychology of Persuasion Program to be held in Fargo in February of 06. This two (2) day program will deal with communication and persuasion skills that apply to business, sales, politics, family and friends. Anyone in Business, Management, Sales, Parents or Friends can benefit from this skills development program. It is based on Dr. Kevin Hogan’s 20 years of research in communications and persuasion. You’ll understand Outcome Based Thinking, the 10 laws of persuasion, determining values, Meta programs and even some simple yet powerful tools. Here are some comments from the last program:  

“Helps you understand yourself, reinforce your abilities, have control and enjoy your career.” Physician  

 “I think it was a perfect setting because of the personal attention.” Sales 

“Very well put together, leaned a bunch.” Sales 

“The interaction between everyone is great.” Sales 

“Motivating others will be more easily obtained.”   Sales Mgr 

Contact Kelvin at kdaniels@itstartswithyou.net  cell phone 701-793-2003 or Harlan at Harlan@itstartswithyou.net cell phone 701-799-1972.   

Public Sales Program: 

This program will be starting in Fargo , ND with January dates of the 23^rd-24th, Monday/Tuesday, 06. This program is two (2) intense days with 24 hours of follow-up programs, or a total of 40 hours of training, coaching and application. Check out the Reverse Engineering Sales program for a detail look at this challenging and productive selling approach. We already have good group of companies signed on for this session! Click on “Reverse Engineered Sales” on the left column of this newsletter. Some comments from a recent program.  

“It will result in more effective and productive communications with my customers.” Sales 

“Material is sound and the exercises made the material adaptable to us.” VP 

“I thought it was immediately applicable, will generate results & will be used.” Mgr 

“Yes, very different than other programs.” Mgr 

“Yes, it presented a way of thinking that I’d never used.” CRS 

Web Site:  

Don’t forget to check out our web site! Some colors and layouts have changed and we have some video clips. www.hgoergerassoc.com  or www.itstartswithyou.org  

We have several Corporate Programs scheduled for this First Quarter and Summer. If your company would like to see more performance we may very well be able to make it happen for you. Contact me at Harlan@itstartswithyou.net  

Selling Skills for the Month:  

In a recent corporate sales program we worked on the concept of “penetration” into an organization and how to become more “locked in” through understanding the “influences” within the company.  

Too many times we see salespeople work hard to get an account, really work with their contact, only to have that contact leave or be influenced by someone and go to a competitor. The salesperson is baffled and wonders what happened.  

Everyone can be, is and has been influenced by other people. If we ignore this, we will come up short. We have to understand the “influence structure” within the organization as well as those “influences” that come from outside. Once we have identified the possible influences we can diagram them to get a better picture and create a better plan.  

Here are a few of the “influencers” to look for:  

Position: Has influence simply because of the position they hold. The CEO has influence over the management; management has influence over the staff.  

Technical: This influence has high technical skills that others do not, when called on for input, they have a great deal of influence. The IT people have influence over the president when it comes to the computer system.  

Friend/Mentor: This person is personally connected to the contact, can be viewed as a confidant and possibly carry a great deal of trust. This influencer can be a higher, same or lower level position in the organization.  

We look at 13 different influencer types that one should understand about their customers. When the influence structure is understood, it can be a powerful tool that can wedge out the competition. Look both inside and outside the organization and ask how this person, organization or event could influence you contact. Then develop a plan on how to connect with these influencers so they are working for you, not against you. This will help you to penetrate the organization in a very positive way and lock them in while locking your competition out! 

After this corporate group completed several “influence diagrams”, they found holes in their influence but could now formulate a plan on how to strengthen that influence with their customers.  

Management Skills for the Month:  

The past discussions have been on dealing directly with people in accountability, conflict and coaching. This time we’ll talk about “Focus” and how to use it as a tool. Many organizations talk about “Vision and Mission ” and invest many hours in developing these statements. Their purpose is to provide the organization with a “Focus”.  

For those companies that truly keep these statements as their focus, they work exceptionally well. For those that do not keep it as their main focus, it can become the company joke.  

What do we mean by this “Focus”? In our last Psychology of Persuasion program we had a very lively discussion and examination of “Cultic Intelligence”. This discussion started with religious cults, religion then corporate culture and ended up with sports and NASCAR.  It was determined that NASCAR was an excellent example of “Focus” and “Cultic Intelligence”. “Huh?” 

Let me explain, when I was 17 the dream of being a Formula 1 racing driver was at the top of the list. These were the elite drivers and cars. They had the money, influence and image all around the world. NASCAR was this bunch of Southern boys that went in circles and got in fights. But the France family had a vision and a focus, to have NASCAR in every home. While Formula 1 focused on the drives, cars and prestige, NASCAR focused on the fans! Everything that could make the fans feel like the center of something big was tried. The drives and cars were secondary to the fans and the drives knew it. The crowds grew and the influence grew. Today, even the non-racing fans know what NASCAR is, but probably very few know about Formula 1.  

This idea of focus was soundly shown last year when Dale Earnhart Jr. not only got fined, but lost points (cost him millions) for saying “sh**” on TV after winning a race. Many said it was ridiculous, but those that understood the power of focus, vision and mission knew it was a powerful reinforcement of NASCAR’s focus. The focus on the “family” and “traditional family values” is what has propelled NASCAR’s growth to the top sport in the nation and soon, maybe the world.  

Meanwhile other sports such as baseball, football, basketball, hockey and others focused on the athletes and big contracts while the fans were secondary. I wonder why NASCAR has more fans, dollars and support than all the ball teams combined! 

This is the power of focus. It’s taking a bunch of southern rowdies, on a sand beach at Daytona. FL, with their dad’s cars, going in circles on a Sunday afternoon and propelling them to the largest single sports fan base in the world.  

Now if one man with a vision, a bunch of weekend rowdies and long term determination can do this, what can we do with a strong focus?  Make sure everyone on your team has the same focus, continually reinforce that focus and stand back! 

Food for the Attitude:  

This month I want to give you a specific idea that can help you develop your self-perception on a daily basis.  We all realize we talk to ourselves almost continually. We have an ongoing dialog all day long as we plan our activities, participate in our activities and review our activities. If we were to record this internal conversation and then transcribe it, many of us would be appalled at how negative and self-defecating the conversation is. We would never talk to our children that way, much less anyone else!  

Just recently, a young man was loading up some items to carry to the car and in a matter of 5 minutes cut his legs out from under himself by verbally talking negatively about himself. I’m a klutz, I’m not coordinated, I’m …, I’m…. . In that five minutes he put him self down verbally at least a dozen times. Not only did he reinforce it in himself by thinking, speaking and hearing it, he also projected it on to others who heard it. Do you suppose he has a self-perception issue? He is intelligent, athletic, caring, talented and with many abilities.  

So what is one tool we can use to combat this negative self-talk?  It’s presuppositions! 

1. The act of presupposing; an antecedent implication; presumption.
2. That which is presupposed; a previous supposition or surmise.

In plain terms, it is assuming that something is going to happen in the future and talking in those terms. Words such as obviously, luckily, fortunately, happily presuppose something. Let’s take some of our negative self-talk and change it to a presupposition.

I’m a klutz.                          Luckily I’m getting more graceful.
I’m not very good at… .       Fortunately I keep getting better at …. .
I suck at..                             Obviously I’ll get better with practice.
That was a disaster!           Luckily I have next time to plan and do better.

These presuppositions are also great when coaching others. Next time you start talking to yourself, try the presuppositions and obviously you’ll see what a difference they will make. 

Interesting Thoughts for You: 

Put the Glass Down
A lecturer was giving a lecture to his student on stress management. Here it is:
 
He raised a glass of water and asked the audience, "How heavy do you think this glass of water is?"
 
The students' answers ranged from 20g to 500g.
 
"It does not matter on the absolute weight. It depends on how long you
hold it.
 
If I hold it for a minute, it is OK.
 
If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my right arm.
 
If I hold it for a day, you will have to call an ambulance.
 
It is the exact same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it
becomes."
 
"If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, we will not be
able to carry on, the burden becoming increasingly heavier."
 
"What you have to do is to put the glass down, rest for a while before
holding it up again."
 
We have to put down the burden periodically, so that we can be refreshed and are able to carry on.
 
So before you return home from work tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it back home. You can pick it up tomorrow.
 
Whatever burdens you are having now on your shoulders, let it down for a moment if you can.
 
Pick it up again later when you have rested...
 
Rest and relax. 
Life is short, enjoy it!!

 

WORDS TO LIVE BY
 
Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.
 
Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
 
Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
 
Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.
 
If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
 
If you lend someone $20, and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
 
It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.
 
Never buy a car you can't push.
 
Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
 
The Second mouse gets the cheese
 
When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
 
Birthdays are good for you; the more you have, the longer you live.
We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors but they all have to learn to live in the same box.
 
A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
 
Happiness comes through doors you didn't even know you left open.
 
Have an awesome day, and know that someone has thought about you today.... 

Till next month: You make it a great day as only you can!!! 

Harlan Goerger