Minutemen: Todays Kudos & Encouragement (Thursday 6-25-15)

Good Morning Minutemen, (and women)

The Minutemen were the first armed militia to arrive or await a battle. Although today Minutemen are thought of as connected to the Revolutionary War in America, in our business, we truly are the minutemen of flooring. We are first to show up, prepared and ready to fight and win the “battle of ugly flooring”.  While other armies (flooring companies) make the customer wait a couple days for an appointment, then another couple days (or weeks) for install, we are there, Johnny On The Spot, same day/next day, ready to fight for our customers. Knowledgeable, Professional, and Ready to whoop the competitions butts.

The first 30 minutes of our day really do set the tone/pace in our brains and in our body. Though many of us have sufficient product knowledge and know how to show up at an appointment and do a great job for our customer, there is another level of preparation that can be embraced. 

When the first 30 minutes of our day are spent finding our happy, and our servant’s hearts, and our conviction, we are MORE THAN PREPARED. When step #1 of the 10 step process (approach and entry for those struggling to remember) starts 30 minutes to an hour before arrival to our first appointment, our brains are totally wrapped around the task at hand.

There is a reason that here in Denver we are called a Sales Force. We are a force to be reckoned with. Yesterday we not only had to battle the competition, we had to battle and overcome Mother Nature herself. Well I say, BRING IT ON Mother – give us your Tornados, Hail and Flash Floods – You will not win – we will be victorious and overcomers – we will deliver the BEST Empire has  to offer – NO MATTER WHAT!!!

I don’t know about you guys/gals, but I am READY to storm the castle!!

“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win”  ― Sun Tzu

Dan Thompson

Floors By Tomorrow

Auth Rep of Empire Today

Sales Trainer

720-371-2000

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Referral Agents: Todays Kudos & Encouragement (Wednesday 6-24-15)

Good Morning Referral Agents,

My mind is kind of blown by that whole #2 in the nation in self gens report yesterday. It got me thinking, “I don’t feel like I am doing anything special.” I just talk to people … constantly. And my opening line is pretty straight forward, “Hey, you been thinking about getting some new carpet or flooring in the near future?” And their answer doesn’t really matter. If yes, then “I would love a chance help you out!!” If No, then “Well now that I’ve asked you’re probably gonna start thinking about it.” Either way, I have a business card ready to hand them.  In my self gen business, just like with Empires leads, people are at all different stages of the buying process. We must constantly be filling our pipelines.

To me it is a numbers game. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not a numb, mindless quote producing assembly line. Every single person I meet gets 100% of my attention, caring, knowledge and absolute BEST efforts. And though I always give the customer a chance to be a one call close (especially all my ET appts) and order on the spot, I do not do the high pressure, used car salesman thing. Seriously, they do not care how much we know until they know how much we care. I know it sounds cliché, but it’s true.

Once we’ve treated our customers like they are kings & queens, it makes it a lot easier to ask some of these follow up questions and statements for SOLD & QUOTE alike:

"I'm really glad that we’ve met. Thank you for your order.  I'm always looking for referrals and wonder if you know anyone else who might be interested in carpet or flooring."

“We’ve found that people would rather do business with others they know--or know of--than with strangers, who can you think of that might be interested in doing a carpet or flooring project?”

Pre-Ask for referrals: “When I do a great job for you--and I will—will you agree to give me a couple referrals?"

“Thanks for becoming my customer. I have one request. I want you to think of some friends, family, neighbors and colleagues who you think might be interested in a new carpet or flooring project – providing we are as incredible as I’ve been claiming we are. Once I proven to you, beyond all doubt, that we are all that, I’m going ask you for the referrals. Does that sound fair? (MUST FOLLOW UP AFTER INSTALL)

Don't let our own shyness or fear get in the way of building our business. Referrals will get us more clients. And the more referrals we ask for, the more referrals we'll get - just because the customer knows that we want some. It's a small effort for a great reward.

Now, don’t tell anybody this last part, but sometimes, when I am giving discounts, I even offer an additional $100 discount that I call my “bribery discount”. I’ll say something like, “if I gave you an additional $100 off, could you come up with somebody you could refer me to?”  They ALWAYS say YES! And I make a production out of it reminding them “THAT IS REAL MONEY”.  And to sweeten to pot, I’ll even give you the $100 first, then if I am able to help your friend/family out, ET will give you some more referral money (Discover Gift Card) depending on how much they order.”

Sorry for being so wordy today!!

 
“People influence people. Nothing influences people more than a recommendation from a trusted friend. A trusted referral influences people more than the best broadcast message. A trusted referral is the Holy Grail of advertising.” – Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO

Dan Thompson

Floors By Tomorrow

Auth Rep of Empire Today

Sales Trainer

720-371-2000

Submit a Successful Experience with Me & Empire

Connect with me online:

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Pilots: Todays Kudos & Encouragement (Tuesday 6-23-15)

Good Morning Pilots,

Yes, there is magic in positive thinking! In aviation, the word attitude means the angle at which the plane meets the wind, whether the wings are level with the horizon, and whether it is climbing or descending. The pilot who fails to take responsibility for the attitude of his aircraft is in serious trouble.

And likewise, any of us who have not taken charge of our own beliefs and attitudes runs a similar risk. The key to cultivating and maintaining a positive mental attitude is to take control of our thinking and avoid negative minded people. It's a challenging task to develop a calm, focused mind, but well worth the effort.

Every setback and failure we experience also comes with a great opportunity. When one door closes, a window of possibility opens. The key is to look for the opportunity and avoid dwelling on failure. Think thoughts of defeat and we are bound to feel defeated. Our attitude is not determined by circumstances, but by how we respond to those circumstances. We determine our attitude; we always have the choice to respond either positively or negatively. What happens to us is less important than what happens within us.

Dan Thompson

Floors By Tomorrow

Auth Rep of Empire Today

Sales Trainer

720-371-2000

Submit a Successful Experience with Me & Empire

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Rays of Positivity: Today's Kudos & Encouragement (Monday 6-22-15)

Good Morning Rays of Positivity,

A positive attitude--optimism, expectancy, and enthusiasm--makes everything in business easier. A positive attitude boosts us up when we're down and supercharges us when we're already "on a roll."  Attitude has nothing to do with what happens to us, but instead with how we decide to interpret and react to what happens to us.  We need to adapt beliefs that frame events in a positive light. Our beliefs and rules about life and work determine how we interpret events and therefore our attitude. Decide to adopt "strong" beliefs that create a good attitude rather than beliefs that create a bad attitude. Examples:

The first sales call of the day goes poorly. (Attitude)  Every sales call is different, so the next will be awesome.

A customer reduces the amount of an order at the last minute! (Attitude) Customers who change orders are more likely to be satisfied!

A big sales day comes seemingly "out of nowhere." (Attitude) Something wonderful  happened and I bet it will happen again!

Spend at least 15 minutes every morning to read, view, or listen to something inspirational or motivational, if we do this regularly, we'll have those thoughts and feelings ready at hand (or rather, ready to mind) when events don't go exactly the way we'd prefer. That’s the reason for these K&E’s, if we need more on any given day, we can go to the blog archive and fill ourselves up. (BLOG)

While great flooring, superior advertising and name recognition can attract business, our attitude determines whether customers buy from us or not.  When was the last time we bought something for ourselves or a loved one and spent way too much?  Notice I didn’t ask if we ever have. I asked when. Everybody does. When one of our customers is vacillating between Gilmer & Greenwich (extreme example) and worrying about the price difference, simply remind them, “No one buys flooring like this because they need it. They buy it because it's beautiful and it makes them feel good.”

“When we are joyful and have a positive mental attitude, we say yes to life and have fun and project positivity all around us.  We become a sun in the middle of other peoples universe’s.” –Dan Thompson

Dan Thompson

Floors By Tomorrow

Auth Rep of Empire Today

Sales Trainer

720-371-2000

Submit a Successful Experience with Me & Empire

Connect with me online:

Website, Facebook, Twitter, G+, Blog, Yelp Review