The Lion Roars on Mondays!

The Lion Roars on Mondays!

 

Mondays are power days for powerful sales people. While so many average sales people spend their Monday mornings chit chatting with co-workers about the weekend and getting ready to get ready to start doing something. Power Lenders are already on point with a plan of attack for the week.

 

Mondays are clean slate days. Last week is over and the action plan for this week was done before watching Dexter or Homeland Sunday night. If you’ve waited until Monday morning to get your week mapped out here are a few things to consider about Mondays.

Monday’s are for Moby.

Mondays are great whale hunting days. Spend at least 1 hour on Mondays and another hour later in the week reaching out to those big accounts you want to land. Send hand written notes or cards, drop an email, make 25 calls, or create your target list.  Spending time each week working the big accounts before you get caught up in the traffic of the week will pay huge dividends. Setting time each week to identify, set a strategy, and implement a plan to land big deals generates positive focus. 2 hours a week on task working toward bringing in big deals adds up. Think about it. It’s almost 100 hours a year. Now what kind of return should that kind of focused execution bring?

Stay Out of the Boss’s Office.

Be ready to roll. There is no need for you on Monday mornings to be a distraction to your boss. Your deals are no more important to talk about than anybody else’s. Don’t be the guy or gal that needs to be “buddy, buddy” early on Monday morning. Your boss has more than you on their mind. They have deadlines and numbers to meet just like you. They have other salespeople who need more assistance than you. They hopefully trust that you know what you are doing and want you to get it done. You can be needy and want your ego stroked later in the week. Leave them alone. They will better serve you mid week when you can be a boost of energy for them. Help them get in the groove by staying out of the way.

Call Your Brokers.

Monday morning is the best time to reach out to brokers. They want to know you are there for them and ready to serve. Pick up the phone or drop a handwritten note letting your brokers know you are thinking of them. Encouragement is a powerful commodity. Most of us like to hear that we matter and that we are important to others. Let your brokers know they matter to you and that you value them. You want to stay top of mind and heart with your business contacts. Cultivate relationship in meaningful ways with your brokers and lead sources.

Hit the Ground Running.

Here’s a timless proverb paraphrased for you.  You've probably heard it a 100 times but it's so rich in meaning that I had to share. “In Africa when morning comes the lion knows it needs to be strong and fast enough to catch the slowest gazelle or it will die from starvation. On that same day, the gazelle wakes up knowing it must outrun the fastest lion or it will surely die and be eaten." No matter who you are, you gotta hit the ground running on Monday morning.

For more information about partnering with other Power Lenders contact Joe Kiefer 859-781-0211 or kiefer.joe@gmail.com Follow Joe on Twitter https://twitter.com/J0eKiefer

The Power Lunch is Back!

The Power Lunch is Back!

For the Power Lender lunchtime is prime work time. Meeting new prospects, building the all mighty broker relationships, or just re-connecting with current contacts over a meal can be powerful. Here's a few things you might find helpful.

Go to them

Go to where the action is. If your lunch guest has an office downtown then go downtown. If they are in an office park in the burbs then go to the burbs. Make it easy. When setting up a lunch appointment in someone else’s neck of the woods you might want to ask if there is a new place that they haven’t tried yet.  You get to share a new experience with them and keep them on even ground. The last thing you want to do is go to lunch and have the server or manager at your table talking about Labradors or weekend soccer games.

Always get the daily special

Always order the daily special. This allows you to not spend precious time thinking about what you’re going to eat. You will come across as confident and look like you can make decisions quick. You don’t want waste time waffling in front of your guest.

Only eat 1/2 of your meal

With portion sizes out of control its difficult sometimes to stay in shape. Eating out can be a disaster to your physique, especially if you are having dinner out again the same day. For many Power Lenders especially when just in town for a couple of days the meal meetings are non-stop. Breakfast meeting with a banker, lunch meeting with prospect, maybe a dinner meeting with a new broker group, and somewhere in there is the mid-afternoon coffeehouse debrief with you and your laptop.

The calories add up quickly. Eating only half your meal also allows for you to engage better with your guest. Make sure you aren’t talking the whole time and eating a cold lunch at the end of your conversation. Watch your pace. The last thing you want to do is to be sitting there with an empty plate while your guest has barely touched theirs because they’ve been talking about this year’s numbers and next year’s forecast. They will shut down if they think they are talking too much.

(This one is free. STAY AWAY FROM the FRENCH ONION SOUP. There is little worse than stringy melted cheese stretched from your bowl to your mouth.)

Wait for it…

Often times, when meeting with a new prospect or prospective broker the best thing to do is to listen and be attentive. Wait until they are ready to hear what you have to say. Jumping into your pre-cooked pitch is the worst thing you can do when meeting with someone new over a meal. Be patient and learn as much as you can about what they do and who they do it with.  Everyone wants to be heard. Don’t be needy. Wait to your turn.

 It’s about the connection

For some it’s all about selling and getting the deal. My thought is that connecting on a human level is more important than pushing products and services. It is when people can connect on this human level that real opportunities are born. You want to conduct yourself in a way that will convey to your guest that you are reliable and can be trusted with their business. You want to be sharp with information that is useful and share the side of you that is refined and confident while at the same time remaining humble and authentic. Now that is a heavy order. Power Lenders know how to earn the right to do business with others.

Get out of Dodge

Be sure to leave before all the work is done and all the talk fades. Leave them wanting more. Having another engagement and cutting things short is a good thing. Stick to the allotted amount of time that you and your guest agreed upon. You don't want them to think you are overly chatty. Don’t overdo it when trying to build the relationship. Slow and steady wins the race.

For more information on connecting with other Power lenders and becoming a factoring broker contact Joseph Kiefer at kiefer.joe@gmail.com or 513-400-6475

Want To Want To Want To

Want To Want To Want To

It was over 25 years ago. I was young and enthusiastic about life. There was nothing in this world that would get in my way of being a success. I had no clue that someday I would get tired and bored and settle for just OK.

I had been with a small company selling to strangers door-to-door. I was pretty good at it from the start. You could even say I was a natural.  No matter what I did though, I just couldn't get my name at the top of the All Powerful Wall Chart. One evening, I was filling out my daily report and talking to one of my managers, Carlos Ortecho. Carlos was always upbeat and ready to engage. I asked him, "How do you get up there?" as I pointed to the wall chart. His reply was simple. "You got to want to! want to! want to!" he was so excited in his answer that spit sprayed from his lips and hit me on my shirt as I sat across the desk from him

He went on to tell me if you want to be the best at anything you have to want it more than anything and do whatever it takes to develop the skills and increase your knowledge in order to be successful. This was revolutionary to me. I look back now and realize how simple his advice was. Anyway, I took it to heart.

I became a self educator and learned how to overcome every rebuttal imaginable. I went to work on learning how people would react to what I would say and how to say things in such a way as to win their approval. This was huge. I spent nights in front of my mirror at home rehearsing my script and practiced looking myself in the eye when I did it. I bet my hard earned money against those guys at the top of the wall chart that I would out sell them on the day and on the week. I lost a weeks' pay once doing this. It didn't matter. I wanted to be the best.

As you can guess, I soon become the number one guy on the All Powerful Wall Chart to beat. I dedicated myself to growing and learning. I started reading sales books and leadership books (everything I could find). I did everything I could to be great. I even started working out like crazy and running to stay in shape and increase my energies. I had so much swagger.

I still remember my first week at being number one. I felt like I had arrived. I was high on life and there was nothing better than what I felt at that moment in time. Over the years though I have noticed that the enthusiasm and drive of being number one has waned some. I became OK with just being really good and a solid salesman with great closing skills. I was confident and delivered a reasonable amount of sales. There wasn't anyone who wouldn't want me on their sales team. I was seasoned and delivered.

I had lost my edge though. I became satisfied with doing a "good" job. Raising a family and spending time doing other things became the focus of my energies. There is nothing wrong with this at all. Life was good and I had become a success if it was measured by having a great family and earning enough to take care of everyone, get ahead, and be esteemed by my fellow man.

I was walking with my wife one evening after dinner and mentioned to her that I felt that I had lost a little bit of swagger. That my edge was not there like it used to be. I used to be so energetic and enthusiastic and convinced about about myself. Not arrogant but convinced. Selling had become repetitious and boring. I wasn't driven like I had been before. She, being honest had told me that she saw this as well.

This getting soft if you will is not just my phenomenon but is realized by many great sales people. Time and energy gets directed elsewhere. The excitement wanes and the passion dwindles for many who were once at the top of their game. It almost seems like part of the journey. But the great thing is that we can change paths and actualize different realities.



I challenge you to become your best again. It takes energy and drive. You know and have felt the ecstasy of being the best and you know what it feels like to be the one who sets the bar the highest. But do you want it? Do you really want it? Being one's best self is not for everyone. If you are happy being less than your best that's OK, for you. It's not OK for the Power Lenders out there.

If you want it, go get it. Upgrade your skill set. Leaders are readers! Read, if not for any reason but to increase your knowledge of the modern business speak. Start working out again. Really work out. I am not talking about 30 minutes on the treadmill. Get fired up and go be the best.

The only difference between those people who will do this and those who won't is this: the people who decide to be the best go and do it. You have to want to, want to, want to. Say it with me. Say it loud with spit flying from your lips.

 "I WANT IT! I WANT TO! WANT TO! WANT TO!"

If you are a Power Lender and want more information on becoming a factroing broker earning as much as 15% on the gross profits of each deal for the life of the account, contact Joe Kiefer at kiefer.joe@gmail.com or call 513-400-6475.