P3 Coaching & Training

Most of us in business fight unrelentingly to make sure our product or service is not commoditized. As entrepreneurs we understand that commoditization is a death nail in the coffin because price has become your most important value proposition. The inherent risk in a sales strategy positioned around price is that eventually someone will come along and offer what you offer for cheaper. Being the cheapest is almost always a losing proposition because then you have to sell on volume. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, until the next “cheap” guy starts cutting in on your client base. When that happens you must either further lower the price of your product or service or re-introduce a new value proposition to justify your price as compared to the new “cheaper” offering of your competition. This is kind of like McDonalds, once just competing on price, and now competing with their new “healthy” line of food.

A coffee bean is a commodity. Coffee beans sell on price. That coffee bean has a full spectrum of opportunity. It may remain a coffee bean, forever condemned to justifying its value based on its price, or it may be transformed into something so much bigger than itself, something like an experience. That coffee bean may become a mocha, choca, latte, talle, where, combined with dim lights, soft music, and excellent service, that little bean demands so much more than its peers. Yes, that bean moves away from being an expense, a price driven commodity, into an investment into something bigger, like the start of someone’s day.

Here’s the bottom line; don’t become a commodity. If anything, build a brand and a business that is so robust that you end up turning your competition into the commodity. When someone is shopping for the cheap, low cost, alternative, you don’t want them shopping from you. Anyone looking hard enough will always find a cheaper option (or at least an option that they perceive as cheaper), so don’t even throw your hat into that ring. Here’s how to not become a commodity, and better yet, how to turn your competition into one.

1. Never Engage in a Price War: If you end up in one, you are a commodity. This simply means you have not defined your product offering well enough or that you haven’t presented it well enough. For example, for many years when recruiting professionals to my sales team, I had no proper presentation. I would meet with candidates for my sales team offer coffee where I would share a dialogue about my offerings, but did not offer a formal presentation to fully share my value proposition. Back then, it was not unusual for me to end up in a price war. Today I have a formal presentation that explains the value proposition of my firm over others. The bottom line is, I don’t get in a price war. I am not the cheapest firm, and I acknowledge that openly and proudly. My presentation makes it clear that I am more expensive than my competition and explains why. You can’t be cheap and offer extreme value.

2. Branding and Marketing Must Steer Clear of Price: It’s not unusual for consulting clients of mine to adamantly deny that price is part of their value proposition. These are the same clients that include pricing information right in their marketing and brand campaigns! There’s a lot to be said for that high end steak house that does not list prices on its menu. Are you listing price on your menu? If you are, you are asking for a price war? Don’t go there. Pricing is a conversation you want to have with a buyer, not a shopper. Your brand and marketing campaign should create buyers. Until you have a buyer in your clutches there is no need to have a conversation about price. How many people get up and leave that high end steak house because there are no prices on the menu? It happens I am sure, but not often. Their branding makes a statement; “If price is important, don’t eat here!”

3. Be an Asset, Not a Liability: There’s a cost involved in buying your good or service, right? Wrong! If there’s a cost, you’ve got a tough road to greatness. You need to effectively explain the return your buyer will reap by buying from you. Will the buyer save time or money by choosing you? Maybe your offering increases the buyer’s time on earth if you are offering greater health? If you save the buyer time or money or create more time or money for them, you are selling an asset, not a liability. Your selling lingo must include words like investment and ROI. The word “cost” suggests that your product or service creates a liability or expense and nobody wants more bills. The only time you should speak in terms of costs or expenses is when you are talking about the offerings of your competitor. Who are you to say whether their offering is an asset or liability? When it comes to the competition I always err on the side of caution and assume that their offering is nothing more than an additional expense to the end buyer.

Through a tough economic recession these past five years, Apple continues to sell iPods, iPhones, iPads, and more. They fly off the shelf. Buyers of these products are not comparing prices with similar products on the market, because Apple does not define price as part of their value proposition, thereby taking themselves out of a potential price war. Yes, there are similar products that are less expensive. Apple is ok with it if you go buy the cheaper version of their creation, because whatever you are buying, it’s not Apple…if you are ok with that, they are too. The best businesses in the world work relentlessly to build and demonstrate a value proposition that is not price dependent. As a business owner, CEO, entrepreneur or leader, to build a great business, one that is sustainable into the future, take a good look at what you are selling. If a coffee bean has so much potential, what is possible for you?

Recently I fired a great salesperson. If you are a leader of a business that is fueled by salespeople, only then can you feel my pain. For most businesses, your sales team is like a self-fueling engine that keeps the rest of the organization going. Your fuel is your customers and the revenue they generate that allows the organization to keep pumping out product or service. Without great salespeople, there is no fuel, and for many of us, there is no business without them.

If great salespeople are so absolutely vital to any great organization, why would I go and cut out a chunk of my engine by firing someone who clearly had the ability to sell? It’s all about re-defining greatness. The sales business has come a long way in the past century. Fifty years ago it was not uncommon to have salespeople visiting your front stoop to sell you anything from vacuums to encyclopedias. If you were the owner of the vacuum company, it was likely very easy to judge the success of your sales force. If they could sell vacuums, they were keepers, if they could not, you would re-introduce them to the workforce. It was easy to judge talent back then because the only benchmark for determining whether your salespeople were good was their ability to sell.

Greatness in sales has been redefined by our smartphones, social networks, and other technology. Fifty years ago, you were remarkable if you could simply sell. Today, sales ability is a minimum standard, and is not quite good enough for companies seeking greatness. What makes for an amazing salesperson today?

1. Empathy: The number one trait of a really good salesperson is their ability to put themselves in the shoes of others. A salesperson with this trait is appreciated by your consumer because they get where the customer is coming from. As well, these types of salespeople are also a breath of fresh air for organizational leaders because those that can empathize understand that the company needs to make a profit too. These are your salespeople who are not trying to renegotiate their compensation every time they bring in a good-sized piece of business for your firm. On the other hand, when you have a salesperson with the inability to empathize, you will hear about it. In our new world of technology, word travels quickly which means a poor salesperson can create major waves in a vast ocean pretty quickly. Sometimes it’s just a matter of sending out a tweet to the world. Before technology, there was six degrees between me and Kevin Bacon. Today, if I really want to get a hold of Kevin Bacon, I’m pretty sure I could, even if just by a tweet. The double edge of all the new and great technology in the world is that you have instant access to everyone, while so does your consumer.

2. Honesty: I would bet that it was a rare occasion when the leader of the door-to-door vacuum company heard complaints about a dishonest salesperson fifty years ago. It wasn’t that easy for a customer to communicate with a business owner back then. This meant that the leader of the company was in the dark when it came to any unscrupulous salespeople. The business owner was in the dark and so too were other potential consumers. Back then people didn’t communicate with this huge network of all the people they have ever met on a daily basis, like we do on Facebook today. Technology is great for weeding out all the dishonest salespeople in today’s new world of business. If you have a salesperson that has cheated someone, you’ll find out through a Google or Topsy alert when the disgruntled customer writes a blog about it. Unfortunately, by that point, the entire world has found out about your dishonest salesperson too.

3. Nice: This, by the way, is the reason I fired my salesperson. She could sell, that’s for sure. She would have been a prized salesperson for any organization in times past. If you have a salesperson that is unable to be nice to others, you don’t need them. Niceness trickles through an organization. When you have one salesperson that is always angry, moody, and carries a chip on their shoulder, it costs your organization big bucks. I’m not talking about someone who occasionally has a bad day. I’m talking about that person that never has anything nice to say, complains constantly to you and to their co-workers, and is just generally unhappy. You know who I’m talking about. It is that one salesperson that you say to yourself, “How does this person do any business?” This person is a cancer in your organization, regardless of how much money he or she brings in. For every customer she closes, she probably loses five others. She is also a drain on your productivity and that of your other team members. If you have tried to fix the problem by talking and it just doesn’t seem to work, do your company a big favor and get rid of her. What this says to your other team members, to your customers, and to the world is, “You are worth more to me than another sale.”

I know how hard it is to cut a great salesperson from your ranks, so for me, it came down to re-defining greatness. When you step back, and re-define what great is for your company and your sales force, you end up trimming some fat from your business while at the same time empowering the rest of your team to live up to the new and improved standard.

Fasten your seat belt friends. I am about to give you the most important key to unlocking unlimited wealth.  If you want to be amazingly rich, with more money, more power, and the awesome feeling of never having to worry about money again, the only way to get it is by creating it in your head first.  You must live, in your head, the life you want.  You must feel rich and powerful.  You must never worry about how the bills are going to get paid.  Rich is a state of mind before it is a reality.  The question is, how do you live a life of wealth when creditors are calling, the bank account is empty, and the one thing you totally lack is money?  Here are five simple steps for living rich even though you may very well be poor.

1. Affirmations: The life you live right now is a direct result of the thoughts you have.  If you worry about money constantly, the universe will oblige and give you something to worry about.  Here are some important affirmations for you to say yourself every day.  If you commit right now to two particular times in which you will repeat these affirmations daily, studies show you are more than 70% more likely to actually follow through with the commitment.  So, commit!  Will you do your affirmations when you take a shower in the morning and when you brush your teeth at night?  Pick and set the times now.  Then, start today.  Here are some affirmations to start with.  Repeat these five times in the morning, then again five times at night.

* I have more money than I know what to do with.  (Repeat 5 times)

* I have so much money I am obligated to use it to help others. (Repeat 5 times)

* I am so eternally grateful that money comes to me easily. (Repeat 5 times)

* I am good at saving for my family and never needlessly wasting the riches bestowed upon me. (Repeat 5 times)

* It feels good that I am paying my debt and saving for my future. (Repeat 5 times)

Within a month you will begin to feel a shift in how you feel about money and how easily it comes to you.

2. Give: I do not care how much money you have or don’t have, you need to dedicate your life to giving back.  If you have a dollar in your pocket and the universe brings a kid collecting for Unicef to your door or you run into a Salvation Army ringer at the mall, it’s your opportunity to give.  Give without ever expecting anything in return.  If you cannot be giving of your money, make up for it ten times over by being giving of your time.  There are millions of people that need you.  Don’t believe me?  Stop by your local nursing home and I can guarantee there are people who would be eternally grateful for your time.

3. Trick Yourself: One of the most successful land developers I know offered me a great tip many years ago.  He said that back when he had only $1000 to his name, he would carry it around in his pocket.  He said that the feeling of having $1000 in your pocket makes you want to work harder.  It makes you feel powerful.  It makes you feel rich.  Today, he is a millionaire many times over, so I’d guess this strategy worked.

4. Be Gracious: If the universe sees that you are ungrateful for what you have, why should it trust you with more?  As you operate throughout your day, be grateful for all you are blessed with.  I challenge you to be thankful 100 times a day.  Start with the air you breath, the sunshine, your work, the food on your table, and continue throughout your day seeking out the millions of blessings you are already graced with.  Only then will the universe know you can handle a little more.

5. Eliminate Worry: There is no emotion as useless as worry.  Eliminate it.  If you worry, the universe answers with more for you to worry about.  Worriers do not accumulate wealth.  The richest, most affluent, wealthy people in the world focus on possibilities not worry, and so shall you to achieve all the riches you desire.

This weekend I went out for dessert with my family to The 99 Restaurant (a New England favorite).  My two year old daughter, Oshyn, ordered a hot fudge sundae and as you can imagine, she was pretty antsy after eating it.  She didn’t want to sit in her seat, but rather wanted to run around, or simply leave the restaurant.  When the waiter came with our bill, Oshyn noticed the shiny pen and little slip of paper that was encased in the leather bill binder.  She grabbed the pen and started drawing.  When the waiter noticed that we were unable to sign the credit card slip because our two year old had confiscated the pen, he stopped by the table and gave us a second pen.  “I’m going to let you keep that,” said the waiter to Oshyn, referring to the shiny pen.  To which I replied on her behalf, “Thank you!”

Later on as I was reflecting on the evening, it occurred to me that the waiter had done something extraordinary.  He imparted value on the pen by saying, “I’m going to let you keep that.”  I acknowledge the value by thanking him.  It was nothing more than a plain old Bic pen.  It was an almost value-less item until the waiter imparted the value.

As my partner, Jay, and I discussed this further, we realized that this technique could be used in so many scenarios.  For example, if you are a real estate agent who has prepared a market analysis for a seller, instead of just giving it to the potential client, why not impart some value on it by saying, “I’m going to let you keep this.”  By doing so, it is very likely that you will get a “Thank you” from the other side, as an acknowledgment of the value you have offered.  This could be done with a sales quote that you prepare, marketing materials, or absolutely anything, including a plain old pen.

Jay decided to try it out with a business card.  Upon stopping at the local coffee shop for coffee, upon receiving his change, he offered his business card to the cashier.  “I’m going to let you keep that,” said Jay about his business card.  The cashier replied graciously, “Thank you so much!”  When was the last time you had someone thank you for your business card?  Jay had successfully imparted value onto his business card.

Here’s the point – your sales collateral, your business card, and in fact anything you offer to someone else has value.  You can do what most people do and just hand it over with no acknowledgment of its worth, or you can impart value on the item you have given by simply saying, “I’m going to let you keep that.”  Go ahead, try it out, see what happens, and let me know your results.

There is nothing on earth as precious as time which makes tomorrow a very special day.  At two am the clocks will turn back in most parts of the US and Canada giving you a rare opportunity to take advantage of one extra hour of time.  How will you spend yours?  Here are 101 ways to spend your extra hour.  Let us know which you end up choosing, or if you choose something that’s not even on the list.  Please share!

1. Read a book or newspaper to someone with failing eyesight
2. Work in the garden
3. Read a book
4. Take in a movie
5. Go for a walk
6. Call an old friend
7. Have breakfast with your grandma
8. Make a big breakfast for your family
9. Lay in the grass and watch the clouds
10. Start a fire and roast marshmallows
11. Call your mom
12. Pick up litter in your favorite park
13. Buy canned foods for the local shelter
14. Play a board game with your kids
15. Google “hobbies” and find a new hobby to get involved with
16. Spend an hour in the library surrounded by the quiet
17. Go for a hike
18. Bake a holiday bread
19. Visit your neighbor with fresh coffee
20. Rake up some leaves and jump in them with the kids
21. Write a letter about something you are passionate about
22. Watch cartoons in your PJs with the kids (or even by yourself)
23. Make a homemade soup
24. Clean out your junk drawer
25. Make a bag of clothing that hasn’t been worn this year and donate it
26. Visit the local nursing home with muffins and tea
27. Call your best friend from 5th grade
28. Have a family sleep-over/movie night in your living room
29. Pack a picnic
30. Go on a bus tour of your city
31. Organize your favorite recipes
32. Create a private blog for your family
33. Write a poem
34. Sit outside with just a cup of coffee
35. Go to church or synagogue
36. Rake leaves at an elderly neighbor’s home
37. Take a walk on the beach
38. Go to the gym
39. Change batteries in your smoke detectors
40. Throw a ball with your dog
41. Write a list of “Year End” resolutions
42. Teach your little ones hopscotch
43. Learn how to knit
44. Organize your favorite closet
45. Visit a candy shop
46. Use a gift certificate you have had for a while
47. Plant a tree
48. Try a new food
49. Play chess
50. Bake a lasagna for someone
51. Blog about something you are passionate about
52. Write the first chapter of your book
53. Run a road race
54. Get the family together for a photo
55. Watch It’s a Wonderful Life with the family
56. Paint rocks with the kids
57. Make a care package for someone serving in the military
58. Try out a new social network
59. Get out your binoculars and go on a bird watch
60. Feed the pigeons
61. Read through your cable and phone bills and look for savings opportunities
62. Make a Youtube video for someone
63. Listen to music that you loved 20 years ago
64. Make a kite and fly it
65. Take all your change to Coinstar and splurge on something for you
66. Visit the grave of a loved one
67. Decorate for the holidays
68. Plan a special holiday outing for the family
69. Visit the animal shelter and give some love to homeless animals
70. Create a family “fall back” ritual
71. Clean out the fridge
72. Google “motivation” and get inspired
73. Host a tea party
74. Do your kid’s homework just this once
75. Hang out at your local coffee shop and people watch
76. Get a manicure or pedicure…or treat someone else to one
77. Pull out your wedding album
78. Donate unused toys to the local women and children’s shelter
79. Make a fruit cake
80. Map out your ancestry on a family tree
81. Write out a business plan
82. Listen to a motivational cd
83. Download a new app
84. Make a meal with the family
85. Paint a self portrait
86. Find five new outfits by mixing up stuff you already have
87. Watch your kids sleep
88. Visit an open house of your dream home
89. Fix that leaky faucet
90. Lay out under the stars and find the constellations
91. Inspire someone
92. Write a Yelp review for your favorite business
93. Deliver fresh pastries to your local police or fire department
94. Write a thank you note to someone
95. Say you are sorry to someone
96. Create a holiday To Do list
97. Hit a bucket of balls at the driving range
98. Go out for an ice cream
99. Pledge your time to a non-profit
100. Have a sock puppet show with the kids
101. Sleep in!

As a consultant to many mid-level and large businesses, and a coach to sales professionals across several types of industries, one question that I constantly get is, “How can I be more profitable?” There are hundreds of ways to increase the profitability of an organization or personal sales business including better time management, delegation, and product/client specialization. There is, however, one very simple way to make more money, and for some reason, this is always the one that is perceived as most difficult to my clients. I have coached thousands on a breakthrough technique that can virtually double profits overnight. Here goes.

Charge more.

You are a consumer right? You buy stuff all the time. Why do you pay what you pay for the stuff you buy?

The answer is as follows: You pay what you pay for services and goods, mostly because that is what the seller is willing to sell them for.

Have you ever shopped prices when it comes to a doctor, dentist, accountant or lawyer? How many times do you go to the grocery store and buy not just certain products, but most products, because you want them, not because of the price charged? If the Oreo Cookies you are craving are $2.75 rather than $2.50 are you going to buy them anyway? If the accountant that you like and trust charges a bit more than other accountants for tax advice and preparation, would you still go? If you are like me, you are not even going to shop around because you appreciate that there is value in working with someone you know, like and trust. If you are like me, you are going to buy the Oreo Cookies because you feel like one. Study how you buy, then re-vamp how you sell.

Most of your customers pay what you charge simply because that’s what you charge. If you charged more, they will pay more, just like Oreo Cookies. Does this scare you a little? It should, because this means that if you have not been meeting your income goals, there’s a good chance that this is your own fault because you don’t charge enough. If you increase your consulting/marketing/sales fee, most of your customers will pay it.

What if you lose some clients? No big deal. Most clients choose you because they like you and most people buy based on these “feel good” emotions. It’s rare, but occasionally you will have a customer that buys your product or service based solely on price. These are the worst types of customers to cater to because even if you don’t increase your price, someone else will eventually offer a lower price than you, and these customers will leave you anyway. These are the people that want an Oreo Cookie but will wait until the price comes down by 25 cents before satisfying that urge. Let’s say that you lose 10% of your clients by increasing your price by 50%. Let’s also assume you currently charge $1000 and now you are going to charge $1500. You have 100 customers prior to the price increase. That means you are making $100,000 from your 100 customers before. You increase your price, and now you are making $135,000 with 90 customers. You have increased your revenue by 35% and decreased your workload by 10%!

One of the biggest mistakes I see sales people and businesses make is that they are undercharging for the value they offer. Often times this is a result of a value offering they began when they first jumped into the business in order to quickly accumulate clients. Most never change their value offering or fee which means they get stuck constantly undercharging to a point that the salesperson or business actually comes to believe that this is what they are worth. I tell salespeople all the time that more often than not, your customer thinks you are more valuable than you think you are! Your customer’s are not coming to you because you are the cheap alternative, they are coming to you for the value you provide.

Increase what you charge, you are worth it. Be ready to explain why your product or services are superior to those offered by others in your business, for the instances in which you are challenged by the customer. Make peace with the fact that some clients will move on and realize that this is your opportunity to fill the gap with clients who value what you do.

Many years ago I attended a motivational program on how to focus and build upon your strengths and to spend no time developing your weaknesses. I’m glad I didn’t listen, and here’s why you should focus on your weaknesses.

1. The Greatest Potential for Growth is in Developing Your Weaknesses – If you are naturally good at something, for example let’s say you are really, really , excellent at networking, there are many gurus that theorize that you should spend more time developing your talent of networking with people and little to no time on the areas in which you are weaker. The problem with this theory is that if you are already good at networking, there is not as much room for growth as there is in working on an area that you do not excel at. For example, let’s say that on a scale of 1 – 10 with 10 being the best, you are an 8 at networking. If you pour all of your time and energy into developing this talent, you are only going to increase slightly to get to the 10. On the other hand, let’s say that on a scale of 1 -10 you are a 2 in using technology. If you develop this skill, you have the potential for improving by 8 points, not just 2. Those who agree with conventional business theories would tell you to delegate out anything that has to do with technology since this is your weakness. They would advise you not to bother developing your technology skill because you can just pay someone else to do that for you, giving you the opportunity to build upon your skill of networking. This makes no sense to me.

I take the exact opposite stance and would advise any budding entrepreneur to develop your technology skill up to a higher level. Do what comes natural to you in networking since your good at it anyway. Any additional skill required for networking should be delegated because you are better off developing a skill that allows for greater improvement than the minimal 2 point improvement that perfecting your talent for networking would allow for.

2. Developing Your Weaknesses = Developing Your Strengths: If you develop your weaknesses, you will also develop your strengths even further. My strengths twenty years ago: (1) Empathy for others, (2) Strong work ethic, (3) Listening. My weaknesses at that time were (1) Major fear of public speaking, (2) I hated selling anything, (3) Fear of flying. After leaving that motivational seminar and ignoring all of the sage advice of that guru, I set in motion on a path which lead me to lots of new strengths that I have today including a love for public speaking, selling, and flying around the world. I can’t imagine my life today if I hadn’t developed a love for things that I feared twenty years ago. As well, I’m still strong in the areas I was originally strong at including empathy, work ethic, and listening. All of the new strengths that I developed spilled over to help me become even stronger in the areas that came naturally. Today, I’d rate myself an 8 or 9 in all six areas rather than 9 or 10 in three areas and 1 or 2 in the others.

3. SWOT – Surely you have heard of the SWOT Analysis where businesses, entrepreneurs, and sales professionals do a detailed study of their business to determine the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Since we are talking here about developing weaknesses, picture two different businesses.

Business A: This business does a SWOT Analysis and decides to move forward just focusing on its strengths and opportunities. This business ignores the weaknesses in favor of building a stronger business by just concentrating on things they are already good at.

Business B: This business does a SWOT Analysis and decides to move forward by delegating the task of pursuing the strengths and opportunities to a team that can cultivate the areas that the business already excels at. The rest of the ownership team, senior management, and top talent at the organization has one job – eliminate the weaknesses.

Which business would you rather work for, the one that has weaknesses (ie threats) or the one that has none? For me it’s simple. The company that has eliminated the weaknesses is the winner hands down. In fact, once weaknesses are eliminated, even more time and attention can be spent on developing all the strengths (new and old).

Being a New Englander, my blog would not be complete without some reference to one of our sports teams. New England Patriot’s Quarterback, Tom Brady, who has lead the Pats to the Superbowl on five occasions, winning three, was drafted by the Montreal Expos Baseball Team right out of high school. That’s right, it turns out that Brady had quite the talent for baseball. So, maybe not so much for the rest of the country, but right here in New England, we are quite thankful that he didn’t pursue his strengths, but rather started developing new ones in his junior year at college.

If there is one concession to my theory that I might offer it is this: If you are an aspiring Olympian, world class cellist, or PGA golfer, your time is probably better spent developing your talent so that you are really good at just one thing. In those fields, going from 8 to a 10 means the difference between winning and losing. That’s just not the case in sales, entrepreneurship, or business. No, when it comes to making money in everyday business, profits are maximized by becoming really proficient at everything. Going from an 8 to a 10 in one area won’t earn you more. Going from a 2 to an 8 in several areas will be the difference between a a profit and loss statement that is black as opposed to red.

In conclusion, if there’s one additional tiny piece of advice I could impart, it is this: Learning from others is good, but always remember, be your own guru.

Only The Paranoid Survive
October 24, 2012 By Stacey

In business, there is always someone better than you. The minute you think you are the best, you are doomed to fail. Andrew Grove, former CEO of Intel once said, ”Success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds failure. Only the paranoid survive.” He couldn’t be more true. The climb to the top in any business requires that you remain discontent with your status-quo and that you continuously strive to be better tomorrow than you are today. Yes, I am a New Englander, but no, this article is not about the Red Sox. However, is the Red Sox fall from grace a situation where members of the corporation, the leaders, players, and staff, believed that greatness lasts forever?

Success is a moving target. If you think you achieved it, you are basing your findings on what you believed success to be yesterday. Today it’s different and you won’t know what success today is until it’s over. It changes everyday, every minute. Only businesses and salespeople who continuously strive for success will maintain it for any period. This is how I’ve built my businesses for the past twelve years and this is how I will continue to accomplish great things. The very second that you think you’ve achieved success, that’s the second that you better re-visit your goals, re-evaluate what success is, and start re-mapping your future. If you don’t, there’s a good chance that another salesperson or another business will out-work you and out-achieve you.

How do you maintain success if success is a moving target?

1. Embrace Your Weakness: Every salesperson and every business has weaknesses. Do you know what yours are? If you think you don’t have a weakness, look harder. In fact, be religious about finding your weaknesses. Even the most successful have huge flaws. Unfortunately, often times businesses and sales professionals become so blinded by their success they can’t see their weaknesses. Just because you nailed it in customer service doesn’t mean you nailed it in building a great company culture. If you want to maintain success for the long term, search every day for your weaknesses. Rate yourself in the following areas.

website design and function
SEO
Social network visibility
customer service
customer loyalty
strategy implimentation
budgeting and forecasting
apps and technology
employee talent
prospecting
workspace functionality
company culture

You aren’t perfect in all these areas. Work toward perfection in every aspect of your business and by the time you achieve it, you must re-evaluate what perfection is at that time and start re-achieving your goals.

2. Be Paranoid: You should constantly be looking over your shoulder to see what your competition is doing. I don’t care if you have 90% of the market share. Do you think that ten years ago local shoe stores would be worried that an online shoe retailer would come in and snap up a huge piece of market share? Most shoe retailers had a limiting believe that consumers would only buy shoes at a brick and mortar store where they could try on the shoes. Most of those shoe stores are out of business now. Zappos proved them wrong. When it comes to shoes there is only so much room for competition, and this is true for your business too. Be paranoid and assume that your competition is in on some secret that you don’t know about and plan accordingly. Work feverishly to find out the things that your competition knows that you haven’t figured out yet.

3. Listen to Your Team: The hardest thing in the world is to accept criticism about your business. It’s your baby! Hearing someone tell you that there is something wrong with how you are doing things is a lot like someone telling you that your baby is ugly. That being said, however, your team is in the trenches and they know your business, maybe even better than you do. When a team member offers an idea or feedback on how to make things better, listen closely. Even better, form your own Board of Advisors which consists of employees and team members from the inside and consultants from the outside who can offer valuable feedback on what it will take to achieve success as it’s currently defined for you, while at the same time re-formulating what success might look like in the future.

4. Accolades Are Your Warning Sign: When you start to get close to success, you’ll be paid compliments regularly and articles will be written on blogs and newspapers. For really large companies, books may even be written outlining your accomplishments. Many business owners and sales professionals start to get comfortable as these signs of success start popping up. For me, these are warning signs. The accolades to me are a reminder that my competition will start working harder. When I started with nothing, I was motivated by my competition. All of the praise and accolades my competition received fueled my fire to work harder. In fact, it’s my competition who made me who I am today. Now, twelve years later, when I see the news clippings and stories of my company success I smile, say thank you, and I pull up my boot straps…because my competition’s coming after me and I’ll be dammed if they are going to have a shot at winning. I have built many businesses on the core belief that Only The Paranoid Survive!