Seasons Gratitudes To All

150 Delegates fill the room, waiting in anticipation for the day’s motivational program to begin. I stand at the back of the crowd, all miked up and ready to strut my stuff. Before introducing me, the MC announces a special guest singer from the Cape Flats and invites the audience to stand. They pick up little pieces of paper containing the words to our anthem “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika”. With no backing music, the singer begins the anthem, her beautiful voice hauntingly leading the group in emotional song. Without warning, tears begin to roll down my face. Tears of joy, tears of pride, tears of gratitude. I am reminded, once again, why I love these people, this Country, this Continent of Africa.

I recall singing the “old” anthem at school with no passion, going through the motions, feeling no emotion at all. I remember how just a few years ago, many South Africans resisted the new anthem, refusing to accept the modified version. And I realise how far we have come, when the nation unites in indignation at the butchering of the anthem by brother Ras Dumisani in France.

I recall the comments that our new flag was too colourful and busy and looked like a pair of Y-Front underpants. Today I see our flag flown with pride at events such as the FIFA world cup pool draw, watched by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. I see a nation, at once troubled and divided, uniting behind our new symbols reflecting unity, diversity and the desire for a better life.

And as the year draws to a close, I feel the fatigue of a long 12 months. My first reaction is to think it has been an “Annus Horribilus” (Latin for Horrible Year.) But as you know, it is in my nature to seek the positives and see the glass as half full. So I take a deep breath and make time to really reflect upon what has been positive and what I am grateful for. It is at first difficult, my thoughts are blocked. Then suddenly, surprisingly, a stream of positives begins to flow through my mind. Briefly, here are some of them:

On a personal note:

  • I am grateful that my business has actually improved through the downturn and emerged leaner as a result, ready to capitalise on the upturn when it comes.
  • I am grateful to all my loyal customers, who have continued to support me even though their training budgets have been slashed. Thank you so much!
  • I am grateful to our IT Guy, who organised our database, redesigned the website and demystified many of our IT challenges. Thanks Francois.
  • I am grateful to my Consciousness Coach, who taught me that if we hold an important question in mind for long enough; we will become the living answer to that question. Thanks Michele.
  • I am grateful to the founders of World Alive, for designing the most powerful personal development program available in South Africa and electing me to run the Cape Town Office. Thank you for believing in me.
  • I am grateful to my wife and family, who have continued to support me in my journey to make a difference. I love you guys so much.
  • I am grateful to my peers and colleagues, who continually challenge and support me to reach greater heights of awareness.
  • I am grateful to you who read my newsletters, and give me so much valuable feedback. THANK YOU!
  • I am grateful that this year has caused me to deeply evaluate what is really important and where to spend more of my quality time.

On a broader scale:

  • I am grateful that humanity is realising how urgently we need to make dramatic changes to save this precious planet. I am confident that humankind has the intelligence and creativity to find ways to do this.
  • I am grateful that we still have some honest policemen who risk their lives every day, for very little pay, in order to protect us.
  • I am grateful for the teachers, doctors and nurses in public service who believe that making a difference and serving others is more important than money.
  • I am grateful that we still have some officials and politicians (yes we do!) who fulfil the role of being public servants without greedily stuffing their pockets. Thank goodness for you!

How about you? Have you taken the time to reflect upon what you can be grateful for? Can you identify the positives from the past year? Or are you stuck in the belief that it was all bad?

The trick is to step outside the box, to go deep within and ask the question: What went right this year? For me, my relationships, my personal growth, my business, the country, the planet. What did I learn, how did I grow? What will I do differently next year as a result?

Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude. It makes you more positive and opens up space for you to receive more. It is better to have a little, and appreciate it a lot, than to have a lot and appreciate it a little (or not at all!)

In closing, I wish you and your loved ones a safe, relaxing and joyful festive season.

Please drive safely – enjoy the Ride! Remember that statistically you are 300 times more likely to die in a motor vehicle accident than as the victim of a violent incident in South Africa.

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Are you Addicted to the Internet?

Howzit

I don’t know about you but it has become patently obvious to me that I am addicted to my inbox. I reckon that I click on send/receive at least 30 times per day. It is a powerful and absorbing thing, this internet and its related technologies. I was planning to book into a rehab centre till I learned that a Chinese lightie of 15 was recently BEATEN TO DEATH whilst attending an internet addicts boot camp. The Skynews article also notes that China has the world’s largest internet population, with almost 300 million users, and that they have more than 200 organisations offering treatment for web addiction. Only last month, the nation banned electro-shock therapy as a treatment for the problem. How’s that for harsh my China?

Anyway, back to Boerewors Country. Almost everyone I know spends large chunks of their valuable time staring hypnotically into their computer monitor. Or Blackberry, or i Phone, or Omnia or Palm or PDA. Or Playstation, PSP, X Box or Wii. Or the blerrie TV. We cannot escape being sucked into the information vortex. But what are we seeing in front of us, what information is really being delivered here? To be honest it’s mostly irrelevant twak, which does very little to enhance our already stressed lives.

Let’s check out the most common items up for grabs on the techno-buffet:

Email:

I am a very lucky dude. Every day I win millions of Euros in the lotto and can easily buy Fake Rolexes, Top Quality University Degrees, Wonderful Weight Loss Products, Sensual Massages, Penis Enlargers, Viagra and of course Niagra (the female version of Viagra.) Based upon the number of mails I have received in the past 12 months, at least 263 897 people believe my male member is undersized. And this is just in my Junk Mail Folder!

In my inbox, I have 6 507 896 365.33 newsletters, invoices, unread mails, awaiting action tasks, jokes and worst of all, soppy inspirational pieces. In fact, if I see one more “pass this on to your 10 worst enemies and you will be eternally doomed”  email involving flowery words accompanied by lame ducks, cute kids, amiable animals, planets, forests, lakes, mountains or flowers, I am going to throw up all over my keyboard. Sies man.

Internet:

I really love Google. They have allowed me to access the world’s largest library with fast, intelligent searching. Internet Banking allows me to manipulate my meagre money matters to my heart’s content. Have you realised that your money has become an illusion floating in cyberspace? Because you never actually get to see very much of it for real.

For buying and selling almost anything gumtree is a truly awesome site. And online airticket and movie bookings have become a breeze. I also enjoy Youtube come to think of it. And have you heard the SA version of Lady Ga Ga’s Pokerface? It’s called Pap en Vleis and it’s really funny.

Of course the energy I spend on all of these sites leaves me no time to waste on the millions of social networking tools like Blogs, Twitter, Linked In, Plaxo and Facebook (OK – I’ll admit I stumble reluctantly into FB about once per month) I also never get to visit the News Channels and Chat Forums and Flash Games and Celebrity Slobberers and Sleazy Porn Sites. Blind ek se!  But hey, here is a Real Newsflash – I just learned that you can now watch the daily news delivered to you by naked people! Yes, if you are over 18, not too prudish and keen for a different angle on the news dangle, click here.

Playstation:

My 9 year old son is already able to kill 2 374 of the enemy per hour. He has thumbs like vice grips. Yet recently, I watched in awe as my wife quickly covered his eyes when a pair of naked female breasts flashed across on our TV screen. I tried to reason with her that our son was far more likely to see real live boobs one day than actually kill somebody, so why not let him have a good look in preparation? Give him a head start so to speak. She told me to shut up and so we agreed to disagree on this touchy issue.

T.V.

I mostly watch rugby, my wife watches movies and my kids watch cartoon network. I tried to watch Ed, Ed and Eddie once but almost had an epileptic fit. None of us watches the news ever, it’s just too damn depressing. Soap Operas are also banned in our household – who wants to stare vacuously whilst drooling at “Days of other people’s lives?” DSTV continues to dish us up miles and miles of nothingness. Why don’t they let us choose our 10 or fifteen favourite shows – allow us to design a custom bouquet which we will really enjoy, for a reduced fee? Catch a wake up you Monopolistic Monolith!

Cellphones:

I smaak the Apple i-Phone stukkend –you can do absolutely anything with it. (Except make a simple phone call.) The Blackberry is now known as the crackberry because it is so addictive. I hate meetings involving people with Blackberrys cause they don’t pay me much attention – their shifty eyes and surreptitious toggly fingers are very distracting. Meanwhile my new Nokia takes photo’s and synchronises my contacts and diary through blueteeth with my laptop which is wirelessly connected to my WAN which uses an ADSL pipe to connect to the world wide wiki. Kan jy dit glo my Bru!!!

Relaxation:

Ja well no fine. So what do we do to relax, find balance and switch off from all this attractive and addictive technology? Here are some ideas:

  1. I have been told to read 2 great books and I intend to do so just as soon as I can find the time. They are: the 4 Hour Workweek and Take back your LIFE.
  2. Download a simple, powerful relaxation exercise from my website by clicking here. It’s free!
  3. Resolve to only click send and receive only twice per day. Or automatically at 2 hour intervals (Easier said than done).
  4. Set appointments with yourself for exercise, relaxation, vacation and family time etc. I colour code mine green in Outlook, so I can visually see if my life is balanced.
  5. Read a non-fiction book which uplifts you. Click here for my recommended reading booklist.
  6. Plan a weekend away or holiday – do it NOW (use the internet)
  7. Invest / spend / live some quality time with your kids.
  8. Tell a loved one how much they mean to you.
  9. Listen to uplifting music.
  10. Attend my one hour Presentation, Winning Ways to Work Smarter, or my one day Workshop on Time Management.

Also, if you have a moment to mail me, I would love to hear about how you deal with all these technology issues and what actions you are taking to balance your life.

Have to go now – my inbox is calling me. “I’m coming honey……”

Till next time

Braai Braai

Mark

View your responses and comments to this newsletter.

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Struggling to meet Sales Targets?

Exceptional Times call for Exceptional Ideas.

In many industries right now, making sales is very tough, in some cases almost impossible. Salespeople are frustrated and demotivated, sandwiched between the pressure of meeting targets and their customers’ reluctance to buy. Traditional sales techniques are not getting the required results.

We need to explore a new approach to selling, which utilises more of the current technology and psychology. This does not mean that the basics of selling have changed or should be discarded. It means that the psychology of buying needs to be taken into account.

Let’s briefly analyse traditional sales techniques:

Traditional sales techniques worked like this:

1. Set ambitious sales targets. It’s all about the numbers.

2. Prospect for customers, using cold calling techniques or an existing database etc.

3. Make appointments, be on time and dress the part.

4. Ask some clever opening questions, to establish rapport.

5. Present your offering to the customer. Be sure to know your product or service really well, including its FAB’s and USP’s. Be confident.

6. Be ready to handle their objections, have the right answers ready when required.

7. Try to close the deal, or agree to submit a proposal. Leave your corporate brochure and business card with prospect.

8. Follow up – try to close again. Be sure to know at least 5 foolproof closing techniques.

9. Be persistent – some deals take time to conclude.

10. Keep filling your sales pipeline by following the steps above.

By using the above approach you often end up with tons of unconfirmed proposals and very little cash flow! In the new world order, we need to adopt a far more creative, strategic approach to selling. I call it “High Touch – Low Pressure Selling”. Below is a brief summary of how it works:

High Touch – Low Pressure Selling:

1. Formulate a proper Sales Strategy. Segment your market correctly. Analyse your competitor’s activities. Decide what you really want – growth, survival, more market share or stronger relationships. Be realistic – don’t think you can achieve all of these at once. Understand your customer’s current reality – not just regarding your product – regarding their entire business or business division. Design a compelling offering, taking all relevant factors into account. Don’t just cut price – find ways to add real value. Exceptional Times call for Exceptional Ideas!

2. Research your prospects effectively. Visit their website, google their name, befriend their PA or colleagues, build up a clear picture of them before you make contact. Prepare a CRM contact sheet with the important info and attach your printed research.

3. Make the appointment. Don’t try to sell at this stage. Confirm the appointment by email and include an agenda for the meeting. Make the meeting time frame no longer than 20 minutes.

4. At the appointment ask some pre-formulated, intelligent “Power Questions” to gain an understanding of your prospect, their interests, their business and their current challenges. Pay careful attention to their answers and then ask deeper, more probing questions. Use the opportunity to gauge their behavioural style (Analytical, Amiable, Expressive or Driver). Adjust your communication immediately to suit their style. Try to avoid talking about your offering at this stage – rather be completely interested in their reality. Picture yourself as their partner or advisor; keep trying to understand their headspace. Give short verbal and body language responses to show you are listening actively. Make notes of the key points.

5. Wait for the opportune moment to speak about your offering. Again, try to do this using questions rather than statements. Gauge how much the customer knows already and just fill in the gaps. Don’t talk too much – watch their body language to see if you are losing them. Your offer must be compelling, as decided during your sales strategy session. This will give you natural confidence.

6. Be prepared for objections and draw them out in their entirety. Ask a reflective question or rephrase the objection to show that you empathise with the prospect. Commit to finding a mutually beneficial solution. Remember you are positioning yourself as a trusted consultant / advisor – not a high pressure salesperson.

7. In some cases, if the customer has a need and some budget, the close will now happen automatically. They will close themselves. If not, try one of the “Power Closes”. Be sure it is appropriate to the client’s behavioural style. If they request a written proposal, first make sure that they qualify for the time it takes you to prepare and send it.

When I sell, I prefer to quickly talk through how the proposal will be structured, with the key points, to ensure that they know what to expect. I also try to find out who will be involved in the decision making process – gatekeepers, influencers and decision takers. I also often talk about price at this stage, even if it is a ballpark figure. If they fall off their chair, we go back to step no.6.

Only send a proposal if you feel that there is at least a 75% chance of closing the deal. Remember – you are not in the business of sending proposals. You are in the business of Closing Deals. Make sure you leave with your prospect’s business card. Ask if they would like your card and/or brochure. Don’t waste paper by leaving your documentation if it looks like they will toss it the moment you leave. Find out how soon they require the proposal – then send it ASAP. Agree with the prospect exactly how and when you will be following up – set an appointment for the follow-up meeting if possible. This will be the closing appointment.

8. Send the proposal – make sure it is short, has quality graphics and looks professional. Also ensure that the numbers are easy to understand. In your covering mail, ask them to confirm that they have received the proposal. Enter the customer’s info into your CRM database. Within 2 days, you begin to send them High Touch – Low Pressure emails. The content of this high touch communication is determined by WHAT YOU UNCOVERED during your meeting with the client. These mails have nothing to do with your company, its products or achievements. They have to do with items of interest to the client. These communications can include; links to interesting websites, newsletters, valuable business information, statistics, information about their industry, ways to work smarter etc. This ensures that you deepen the relationship, stay top of mind and set yourself apart from the opposition.

9. Be persistent but patient – find the balance between pushing too hard and being afraid to close. Trust the high touch process – It works!

10. Keep refining the steps above and tweak the system to suit your selling style. Hold the attitude that you are here to build relationships, to sell, to add real value, to make a difference and to have some fun in the process. Keep investing in yourself – read books on selling, subscribe to magazines, grow your general industry knowledge, join a network, attend sales training courses (mine are really good!). Remember – Selling is a Profession. Professionals regularly upskill themselves – so should you!

Some are comparing the current economic crisis to the great downturn of 1929. Yet historically, in similar economic downturns, fortunes have been made, bargains have been bought, history has been shaped! Shaped by those who had the courage and the foresight to spot the opportunities – those who thought out of the box and became creative rather than reactive. Those who accepted that cycles are a part of all life, and went with the flow. Those who implemented exceptional ideas and actions!

Yours in Training

Mark Berger

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South Africa – Seeing is Believing or Believing is Seeing?

Eish

It’s not easy being an optimist in these challenging times.  The forces of sadness and negativity are finding more and more evidence to justify their unhappy existence. The psychic vampires are conspiring to drain my positive energy.

Also, I am beginning to think we South Africans suffer from a form of collective national erectile dysfunction. Or at least a massive countrywide inferiority complex, with a smidgen of schizophrenia thrown in. It seems to me that many other countries believe in South Africa more than we believe in ourselves!

The Indian Premier League is a prime example. The people of India (who completely idolise their cricket players) were concerned about the IPL players’ safety due to possible unrest during their elections. So they sent them all to SA, in the midst of our elections, to play the IPL tournament here. They believed that their players would be safer here than back home in India. In addition, we were given only a few weeks to prepare for this massive event and, in true SA schtyle, we pulled it off magnificently!

We also seem to believe that we have the monopoly on dodgy politicians. Right now our old imperialist coloniser Grate Britain (yes spelled grate – because of their constant whingeing and complaining) are catching a major wake-up call. Many of their politicians are deeply embroiled in the current expenses scandal. Their justice Minister Shahid Malik recently resigned after being caught red handed. We had travelgate – they now have mastergate.

Many other countries regularly report highly questionable behaviour by their politicians. For example, click here to view a report on the top 5 most corrupt USA politicians of 2008. It may surprise you to learn that as a country, we only rank 46th in terms of corruption. Which means we are less corrupt than Greece, Brazil, Mexico, Thailand, China, Egypt and India to name but a few.  This statistic by no means justifies or minimises the actions of our businessmen or politicians who succumb to the massive temptations of position and power. It merely puts their behaviour into context.

As John Mayer sings: “We keep waiting, waiting for the world to change”  So we keep waiting for the policemen, politicians, councillors, trade unionists and others to effect the change we need in order for us to finally believe. We spread sad stories of inefficiency, corruption, poor leadership and incompetent civil servants. What is the point? It merely serves to perpetuate our lack of self belief. How long are we going to keep waiting for things to change? When are we, to quote Gandhi, going to become the change we want to see in our country?

There is an ongoing debate on whether seeing is believing, or believing is seeing. The USA is a prime example of the latter. They are technically a bankrupt nation, with a national deficit running into trillions of dollars. About half of their population is overweight and 30% of them obese. Nationmaster reported in a survey on crimes per capita that the USA has more crimes per capita than SA. (Unflippingbelievable!) All they seem to have going for them now are a likeable presidential couple, a thriving democracy and tons of self belief.

Having lived in the USA for 12 months, I was amazed to see their collective level of self belief and patriotism. They harness this collective energy and somehow manage to have the strongest economy on the planet, with less than a third of the population of India and a quarter of that of China! Why? Because they fly their flag and sing their anthem and speak one language and believe in themselves and support one another and work together to keep their dream alive! For them, believing is seeing. We really should learn from this.

As a motivational speaker, my strategy is to open my eyes, my mind and my heart and look out for what is going right. Then focus my attention on it, to keep my spirits high. Which is different to getting high on spirits!

So what do I see in SA, in order to help me believe?

  • I see massive roadworks, currently causing some major traffic problems. I believe however, that within 12 months they should be finished and we will have a vastly improved transportation infrastructure.
  • I see many people struggling financially in these awful economic times. Yet I also believe that we are not as badly affected as many other countries, partly due to the National Credit Act and Exchange Controls which we moaned about for so long.
  • I see layoffs and retrenchments and short time. Yet I also see many people restructuring their busy lives, reprioritising what is really important and starting to create more balance between their work, health and family life.
  • I see compassion and caring starting to replace greed and consumerism.
  • I see reports of many South African expatriates coming home, which I believe could alleviate the acute specialised skills shortage in some of our sectors.
  • I see doctors going on strike, demanding higher remuneration. I support them completely – doctors need to be paid well or they will simply seek work in other countries. Once again, other countries welcome our doctors with open arms, believing in them more than we do. We simply cannot afford to let them go. (By the way, have you ever wondered why doctors study for at least 7 years and then spend the rest of their life practising?)
  • I see my white children, schooling and playing and laughing with black and brown and even Asian kids. I believe this is our hope for the future. (I also had China’s in school, but they were from Jo’burg!)
  • I see cranes and stadiums and construction and housing projects for the poor and packed convention centres and busy shopping malls and an economy which continues to function, albeit in slow motion.
  • I see a photo of Africa, taken from outer space, showing visible evidence of why we are Africa’s largest economy. Africa believes in us – the bulk of the 9.5 million tourists we welcomed to SA last year were visitors from Africa.
  • I see a new minister of finance who has a truly remarkable track record, having vastly improved the efficiency and revenue collection of SARS. I believe he is a worthy successor to Clever Trevor.
  • I see SA companies like MTN and Shoprite expanding into Africa, making a difference and making a profit. Isn’t that what business is all about?
  • I see so much more, but don’t want to become a bore.

What do you see? What do you believe? If we open our eyes, our hearts and our minds, how much more can we achieve?

Henry Ford said: If you think you can, or you think you can’t, you are right.

I THINK WE CAN!

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