Control the Game

In Jerry Kramer’s book, INSTANT REPLAY, he makes several references to Vince Lombardi’s exhortations to play with “reckless abandon”. I’m not sure I agree.

I believe that football is a game of control.
Control the line of scrimmage.
Control the ball.
Control the clock.
Control the man you are blocking.

How can you control any of these facets of the game if you cannot control yourself?

Two examples of when a player must stay in control of himself:
1)On kick coverage: If the player sprinting down the field goes all out and cannot make a quick turn or adjustment in direction, the ball carrier can easily slip by untouched.
2)A safety blitzes and goes untouched into the backfield at full speed while the runner sprints right by him, untouched because the safety was moving too fast and out of control.

If players didn’t maintain control, there would be late hits on every play, neutral zone violations on every play, holding on every play, face mask fouls, and roughing on most downs.

Where do kids learn self-control? Hopefully, they get some training in self-discipline at home. In many cases, kids get additional lessons in self-discipline in the class room.
Where do athletes get self-control skills? Hopefully, they benefit from their coaches and teammates.
Where do coaches get self-control? Maybe they developed good habits from their childhood, student experience, and their own athletic endeavors. (Judging from the number of times I see coaches slam a headset or clipboard onto the ground, I wonder how much self-control coaches really have.)

We already hear a lot of discussion about the “excessive celebration” rule in NCAA football. There is adequate room on the sidelines for unlimited celebration so the game is not delayed. Part of the job of being a coach is to control the sideline. Do your job!

Many of our culture’s more popular sports are contact sports in which aggressive behavior is expected and rewarded. My wife doesn't like sports in general, but she does like hockey. She says, “Any sport that involves men hitting each other with sticks can’t be all bad!” Have we progressed much from the gladiators or the lions and the Christians? Paul Simon said, “Zebras are reactionaries.” I’m not a reactionary – I take control! As a referee I believe that with preventive officiating and maintaining control of the game, there will be fewer penalties.

I'll take one of those "irregular jobs" please!

When I enrolled in pharmacy school, I had no idea I was signing up for a lifetime in sales! In 1969 the majority of pharmacists were in retail and most of them yearned for their own store. It quickly became apparent that the outgoing, friendly pharmacists who could establish trust with their customer/patients became the most successful in building a large business. It isn’t just pharmacy. Paul Witherspoon reminds us, ” I've always wanted to be a business owner. And if you are the owner of your company, you are the #1 salesperson in most cases.” People like to do business with the person whose name is on the sign out front.

Paul got his degree in business management …” but for some reason I thought I was above a sales job. Sales jobs are for the people who can't get regular jobs. Interestingly enough after six months of searching and not finding anything...guess what? I couldn't get a regular job. So, sure enough I went into sales. And now, i don't know how I could turn back.”

I’m with Paul, although my stage where I perform is inside a big box retail outlet and I manage the pharmacy. When the curtain goes up and I walk out with my white smock on, it’s SHOWTIME and I feel like a rock star! I pretend that every customer came to see me and I don’t want to let them down. This isn’t like outside sales where you have to go out and find your prospects. They come to me and often are attracted by convenience and price. Just like outside sales though, I’ve still got to get their attention, show them the benefits of doing business with me and the company I represent, enhance their desire, convince them they’re making the best choice, and then close the sale.

Paul is inspired by someone he considers to be a great salesman. “My favorite is Jesus. He had 12 disciples and somehow these 12 men had the responsiblity of telling the world that he was the son of God. What a job that was...huh? And now The Bible is the best-selling book of all time!”

So, whether you own your own business or operate one for someone else, go out there and sell something. Be honest. Show people that you have integrity and how they will benefit from your product and you’ll be successful, too.

Paul Witherspoon is an entreprenuer and minisite owner including http://www.laptopsspec.com

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How Kathryn became Bob.

My wife’s name is Kathryn. She has always preferred to be known as “Kathryn” or “Kat”. She cross-stitched a small sign (pictured at right) for her desk to prevent people from calling her “Kathy”. One day, a co-worker placed a sticky note over the “Kathryn” on the sampler that read simply, “Bob”. She thought it was funny and told me. From that moment on, I’ve always called her “Bob”. When she moved to Baton Rouge to marry me I got her a credit card with Bob Etier on it and introduced her to everyone as “Bob”. When the pastor announced at church that he was going to marry Chip and Bob after service that day, it raised a few eyebrows.
Bob later became a teacher at the church’s day care and the kids began to call her “Miss Bob”. She now has a custom plate on her car with that on it.
Many of our friends felt this story was charming. Once they got to know her, they realized just how charming Bob really is!

Sales Image -- Part Two

“People buy what they want. They have to be sold what they need.” – Unknown

Heard that one before? Remember that from those old tapes still playing way back in the recesses of your mind? Most likely there are still some memories of how those widgets you are selling are such good widgets, that everyone needs several of them – or an annually renewing subscription.
To be a really effective sales person, that inner conviction that you’ve got the widget that everyone needs is important. Almost as important as the personal ethics to avoid selling your prospect something they don’t need.

Here’s the situation presented to health insurance salesman, Brian Goodwin:
“I once made a sales call to a middle aged couple. The husband had recently been laid off, and they were on COBRA, which if any of you out there know, is not cheap (the rates are calculated on group insurance rates, which to many people's surprise, are more expensive than individual policies!). He had started a real estate investing company and was now in business for himself.”

When Brian set the appointment he “pre-qualified” his prospect to make sure they could afford to buy. They obviously had a need and some cash flow from the new business. In their minds, the man and his wife had already decided to buy. Let’s see what happened next. For a salesperson to satisfy the needs of the client, we need to know what those needs are. An appropriate segue would be, “To save time and better determine how I can help you, would you mind if I ask you a few questions?”
Now, back to Brian: “The husband chimed in at about this point, letting me know that they never make 'spur of the moment' decisions and that they wanted time to discuss it. I said, 'great, that's why I'm here! Let's take all the time you need to figure out how you want this structured so I can help you out of the problem you contacted me to fix.' He got more defensive this time. 'Look', he said, 'I hope you don't think I'm signing up tonight, because I'm not.' I realized that in being laid off and his situation being difficult, he was really protective of his finances.”

This is an interesting dilemma for a professional salesperson whose goal is not to sell something to earn a commission, but to help his client. If the client is helped this time, there is an excellent chance they’ll become clients for life. A poorly trained agent that had little or no confidence in himself and his product may have thrown in the towel. This is a case where the prospect had a significant need. Suppose this couple had been in a serious auto accident the next morning – without adequate coverage? If you can’t stand up at the Kiwanis Club and say with pride, “I’m in sales!”, how will you get through this situation? If you’re sitting there in someone’s home in a polyester suit, dandruff on your shoulders, using a cheap ball point pen and sporting a five o’clock shadow, are you showing them that you are the professional they can trust to save them? Would they allow you to forge ahead and press the issue?

Brian had the confidence and courage to continue. After some discussion about why he was there, available alternatives, and the prospect’s needs, he was able to let the prospect:
“close the deal on himself, I wanted to have him acknowledge that my policy was better, and that I had actually come to help him. My goal was complete. The competitor may have closed the deal if he had been more confident in himself, or if he had really been there to help them. I had both!”

If you are going to be in sales for a living (or just extra income) and want to be successful, make a solid commitment. Get the training you need so you can be confident and know your product. Sell yourself and establish some trust. Put yourself in the position so that your prospects will trust you to help them make the best choice! When you’ve done these things you can, like Brian Goodwin, look in the mirror on your way to an appointment and say, “I’m in sales! And I’m proud of it!”

Special thanks to Brian Goodwin for his contribution. Visit his site at: http://www.Goodwin4.info

I'm Not in Sales!!!

My wife is shy. She describes herself as a recluse. She is intensely private and rarely shares personal information with casual friends, much less strangers. She has a distrust for sales people that is hard to overcome. Our church was in need of items for a silent auction and she shocked me. She went out alone one day and made over thirty cold calls on businesses in our town and the adjoining town. At the time this happened we were relatively new in the area so every person she spoke with was a stranger. Almost all of the businesses she called upon had been hit by solicitors for a wide variety of causes. She had a eighty-eight per cent success rate! She attributes this success to her straightforwardness, honesty, and sincerity. A strong belief in the cause was the basis for her motivation. [This will be the subject of the next article in this series.] Afterwards, she was surprised at herself that she had even begun this project. Could she sell refrigerators in Alaska? Can you? Are you in sales, too?

"When was the last time you told a friend about the great (or awful) food you just ate at a restaurant? Did they take your word for it and go or not go? Well then, you just SOLD them on your experience. To say we aren't all salespeople is like saying you don't breathe the same air I do. EMBRACE reality and then, GO SELL SOMETHING! You do it anyways, now you will do it intentionally and strategically...just like I tell my coaching clients about their Facebook posts. Be intentional and strategic in ALL THINGS!"
Denai Vaughn, The Networking Queen
http://TheNetworkingQueen.net

What are you looking for?

I've found it!
Wonderful wife, wonderful life, great job, fun with photography, fulfilling avocation (officiating high school football) and I'm savoring every minute!

The following article on networking received such favorable feedback, there will be a second in the series soon. The one before that, on vacation photos was well received, too.

Good luck on your quest and remember. Set a goal. Have a plan.
If you don't know where you're going, you won't know it when you get there!

Watch for updates soon!