Randy Smith

I read The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod a number of years ago, and I am a strong advocate for his SAVERS methodology (Silence, affirmations, visualization, exercise, reading and scribing-writing). This gave me the foundation to start with and find my own miracle morning. Here's what I do today: start with gratitude for the blessings of my life, ask for guidance throughout the day, nourish my body, still the mind through meditation, exercise, and the review the day ahead. It's important to come up with your own miracle morning based on the needs and attention you need in your life. And don't worry about changing it up from time to time.

I've used the 30 second strategy over the last couple of years, and it has really helped me overcome the uncomfortable feelings so many face when networking at professional events. When you walk into any event, scan the room, and either find an individual or a group of people that look welcoming, and immediately walk over and introduce yourself. Most people in these settings will be welcoming and invite you into conversation. Another technique I use is to introduce myself, and ask the other person what they are hoping to accomplish at the event. That's takes the focus off of you and puts it on them. They get to talk about themselves which is usually everyone's favorite topic:)

I was laid of 2x after 10 years each, and the time following those layoffs provided more growth and opportunity than I could have ever expected. In both situations, I was able to get back to the basics of good exercise, healthy food, mediation, reading, reconnecting with the most important relationships, and ultimately refocusing on long term goals and aspirations. At the core, getting back to the basics will get you back to your core beliefs and help you identify your next steps.

Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy wrote an excellent book called The Gap and The Gain. It's a great reminder to focus on how far you've come versus how far you have to go. This book really helped me focus on the positives when I was laid off for the 2nd time in 2022. The book also discusses a process where you write down three wins every day, and I've been doing that for 2+ years now. I've also added daily learnings, and I've been compiling the wins/learnings on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual basis since. To look back at regular intervals and see all of the positive accomplishments and learnings is really powerful and helps from a mindset perspective.

I find it really helpful to send a follow up email the same day as the meeting covering the items that were discussed in the meeting as well as the follow up or action items each participant agreed to. This allows your prospect/client to agree/disagree with the summary, and it clearly identifies the expectations following the meeting. It should go without saying, but it's critically important to actually do what you promised to do as a follow up. I think most sales are lost because sales professionals don't follow through and follow up. By simply doing what you say you're going to do, you have a leg up on a large portion of your competition.

The open ended question is the most powerful tool in sales to get your prospects/clients talking. Closed ended questions are a great way to verify information or steer a conversation, but open ended questions are the key to sales success. I like to start conversations with tell me, show me, guide me, help me, or walk me through questions. That really gets people talking, and talking prospects create sales opportunities. Here's a couple of favorites: -How did you get involved with...... -Tell me about a time..... -What impact did xyz have on your company.... Another strategy that has been helpful is if you find a fire, throw gas on it. When you uncover a challenge, dig into the challenge and help them feel the pain of the challenge.