My friend Thomas was a fellow Viking Hurler back in high school. He is now on his thirteenth visit to the south pole. Here are some incredible pictures he's been sharing! Inspiring!

Selling Strong Practice #10 Sell Yourself!

If you won't who will? Be your strongest supporter. You are selling yourself when you are selling anything. People buy from people they like. Let your customers in. Let them know who you are. It took me a while to figure this one out, but my doctors would ask me, "What's new?" I would jump on my sales message and tell them what's new about my product. What a dolt.

What's new. I'm new. A new man. This past weekend I went camping with my three girls and it was so great I must admit that I am a new man. It was so cold and I forgot my own sleeping, but my girls kept me warm. They were so brave. The sunrise was so bright. So warm. Revitalizing. Rewarding. A weekend like that makes a sales call like this a joy and an honor. I love it here. Do you camp? Check out this picture of a sunrise I will never forget.

Now that's what's new.

Selling Strong Practice #9 Sell to Win!

Life is a game. Play to win.

My Dad was a Champion.

My Dad always said all you need to do to be a Champion is win!

If you watch a group of kids playing basketball and they're not keeping score, what do you see? Long low percentage shot selection, trick shots, general lolly gaging. Not keeping score makes lollygagers. In that basketball game what happens when you start keeping score. Hustle. Competition. Strategy. Victory. Celebration! And best of all, NO LOLLYGAGERS!

Win!

Selling Strong Practice #8 Find your voice and help others find theirs. Tell your story. In sales the best story wins!

Blog. Post on Face Book. Tell your story. Who are you? What are you doing right now? What are you going to do next? And who you going to tell about it? Find your voice by speaking from the heart. When you tell your story with passion and believe in what you are saying people will listen. So know what you believe. Know what you stand for. Know what matters to you. Know what you know and what you don't.

Sell your story. In sales the best story wins.

Selling Strong Practice #7 Sharpen the Saw.

If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six sharpening my axe. -- AbrahamLincoln

Steven Covey's Seven Habits climaxes with this habits. Sharpen the saw. Improve yourself. Sharpen your tools. Hone your craft. Take the time to learn something new. I add share it with others. Learn then teach. Share your knowledge. It is the currency of the future. Start training yourself. Go back to school literally or figurative. Educate yourself. Read. Write.

When I was recently, temporarily separated from my company the thing I would have regretted most was that I hadn't taken advantage of all the benefits offered to better myself. So when I got a second chance in a modified version of my old territory  I decided to go for it. I went back to school online at the University of Phoenix. I am right now one week, and three six week courses away from a Maters Degree in Business with a concentration in technology management. As I write this I am realizing I am only posting as a way to procrastinate even more before doing what I need to do to finish the last week of the class I am currently taking. I have received a revitalizing education from the TRL library from work. The Tape Rental Library is awesome. CDs of everything from Steven Covey to Malcolm Gladwell, from Jack Welsh to Jim Collins, I recently had my annual review with my boss, I had reviewed twelve CDs in 2011! When asked about them I rattled off Blink, The Tipping Point, Love is the Next Killer App, From Good to Great, How Full is Your bucket?, Re-inventing yourself, The 17 Lies that Are Holding You Back and the Truth That Will Set You Free, The four Principles of Execution, Putting your Strength to Work, and the only one I didn't like, Power Speak. He said omg, what else have you been up to?
1. MBA
2. CMR
3. TRLs
4. Work
5. Play
I don't really know what's been going on with me lately. I think the more I've sharpened the saw the more I am able to cut. This has become an enjoyable process.

OK enough procrastination, I must now go write my part of the final group project and prepare for my final exam. Wish me luck.