I know many of you who receive this weekly e-mail sell something, so this week I wanted to give you a tip that might help you sell more successfully. Many times, all that is holding the prospect back from making a decision is trust. From time to time we all worry about doing business with companies we simply don’t know well enough to trust. Trust is something that is built over time, not overnight. Let me share a story with you.

Several years ago I had a prospect who wanted us to do a large amount of landscaping for them; they were new to the area and called us because they received some marketing from us. I had great meetings with the prospect, but the wife, with whom I had been working, was very apprehensive. They had just moved to Dayton, Ohio, from California and had been burned by many contractors there; one got them for over $10,000! Sensing this was an issue, I suggested to her that we would start and complete the project without any deposits or payments and bill her for the entire project when we were done. I asked her to sign a contract. I did happen to know a little bit about them. A client, who had become a close friend, was the husband’s boss, so I was not going into this blindly. Once I told her I did not need any money until we were done, she gladly signed the contract. We got a job for close to $75,000, and we made a client happy, and to this day, I still have a client and a friend.

Sometimes we must remove the risk for the prospect to commit to the sale. I’m not suggesting that you do what I did there; that might be a little too risky and you all know your business and clients way better than I do. I merely suggest that you pay attention to get to the root of the cause of a prospect’s apprehension, and if at all possible, do something out of the ordinary to get them to trust you and to say yes. You never know where this might take you!

Change is a good thing. It’s just we often don’t see it that way.

Take a minute to read through these tips designed to help you cope with change. I read them in the inter-company newsletter sent out by the bank where I’m a board member. These may seem basic, but are vitally important in helping make change a more positive experience and I wanted to share them with all of you. Here we go:

• Develop support relationships at work and home. People with friends they can rely on during stressful times experience fewer negative effects of the stress change can bring. They also remain healthier, are more successful and live longer.
• Examine your work environment. If you can, change what you don’t like about your work environment or accept what you can’t change.
• Take care of yourself. Eat a balanced diet, exercise, get enough rest. Take time to relax with friends and family. Enjoy your hobbies. Listen to your body.
• Build self-esteem. There is only one you. You have special talents and interests. List what you like about yourself and note your special talents. Also, list what you appreciate about family and friends. Tell them and make them feel good, too.
• Be open and flexible. Knowing that change can happen at any time helps you accept and adjust when it occurs. Most people are eager to settle into comfortable routines. Realize that your present routine may only be temporary.
• Keep your “sunny side” up. The old song went something like, “Accent the positive and eliminate the negative. Keep on the sunny side of life.” A positive attitude helps you feel good about yourself, goes a long way toward improving your health and helps you deal with changes that come along.
• Take control of your life. What can you do now that will help you cope with the changes in your life? Make a list of options. What are the positive and negative outcomes of each choice? Practice finding the good in each of life’s changes. It’s not what happens to you that causes you to be happy or unhappy; it’s how you react to what happens. Your reaction governs the outcome. Take charge of your thoughts and actions.
• Use resources available to you. Resources include self-help publications, support groups, friends, money, loving family members, special talents, good health, time and a positive attitude. All of these resources and more can help when you’re facing a change. Learn to recognize and use them.

Dealing with Change, by Gale Loeffler, Colorado State University Extension, Arapahoe County

I hope you’ll be open to change going forward; it makes a big difference. Embrace change, my friends! Talk to you next week! Click here to learn more about my teleseminars…an easy way to learn from the comfort of your office, home, car, or even the bathroom!

I recently received the following photo and note from Todd Pugh, a mega-successful landscaper and inventor and purveyor of the Mulch Mule. Here’s what Todd reported to me:

Marty,

Thought you might enjoy my new ride. I picked up the idea from Nanak’s.

I am currently averaging 48.5 MPG. I have a little over 3000 miles on the car. I began driving to make a point to the company we are going green as well as we need it to conserve energy. It has been a huge hit with clients and everywhere you go.

Thanks,

Todd

Cool car, Todd, and a great marketing idea. Todd is one of those guys that is constantly learning and constantly (and I mean constantly) trying to find new and better ways to run his business. He learned about a successful landscaper in Florida, Nanak’s, that we toured as part of my last ever Boot Camp. Todd does whatever it takes to be successful, but most importantly, he’s a leader in every way, shape, and form. Leaders show what they’re made of more so by what they do than by what they say. You can’t talk about doing the right thing for the environment and drive a Hummer. You can’t talk about customer service and not be good at it yourself. You can’t talk about good communication and not communicate well yourself. I’m sure you get my point.

Todd, good job, talking about being “green” is one thing; being green is another. I wish we would all be more concerned about what we do than about what we say. This week pay attention to what you are doing. Like a mentor of mine often says, “I see better than I hear!”

Oh, yeah, if you’re tired of shoveling mulch out of the back of your truck, check out Todd’s Mulch Mule by clicking here. And, yes, I have one. Remember, leaders show more by what they do than by what they say!

One of my favorite thinkers is Dr. Larry Schweikart. He was a history professor of mine at the University of Dayton and still teaches there and is the author of many best selling books. From time to time he sends out some comments or some thoughts. Recently, he was doing some research on happiness, of all things. Below are the thoughts he sent me; I found them interesting and compelling.

Take a few moments to read this and think about his comments. For one, his comment that countries that have a lot of trust are also happy. I have found that to be true in business as well. If your team knows you trust them and you do trust them, happiness seems to find everyone! Have a great week!

Are you aware of that there is a journal for the study of happiness?

Paul Veenhoven of Rotterdam is one of the leading “experts” in the scientific basis of happiness in the world. Among his (and other) findings, reported in Eric Weiner’s book, The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World (12 Books, 2008):

1) Money does buy happiness to an extent. Surveys showed that happiness quotients are increasing even in western countries, and increasing a lot as poorer countries get richer.

2) Homogenous nations like Finland and Denmark are happier than diverse nations like the U.S. There appears to be a connection between “diversity” for its own sake and unhappiness.

3) Countries with larger gaps between the rich and poor are . . . happier than those with more equal economic levels. (My take: People are happier knowing it’s possible for them to get ahead, even if they aren’t there yet).

4) Africa is the unhappiest place on earth. No African nation got above the middle ranking on the happiness index; most were at the bottom.

5) Trust and happiness go together. Nations with high levels of trust also report high levels of happiness.

6) Generally, too many choices make people unhappy. There is a “happy medium”—with one exception: the USA always favors more choices rather than fewer in psych experiments.

7) People who report faith in God “test out” as happier on surveys.

One thing seems to universally assist in happiness, according to the studies. Chocolate.
LS

Thanks, Larry. Also click here for more insight on happiness.