Listen, Learn & Live

Listen, learn and live seem like three normal everyday terms. If you were to take each word individually I'm sure that many could come up with the definitions relatively easily. I want to take a look at them as a whole and how they apply and effect each other. Now, of coarse, I am in sales but what I'm about to say about these three words can apply in life in general.

Let's talk about the LISTENing. Last week I did some training about how to listen to your customers in order to get them what they want. Apparently, most people weren't Listening. I am not saying that listening will get you everywhere in life but it can help, especially when paired with my other 2 words. Listening can help you learn what to do and what not to do. If you see someone doing something that seems wrong or hear someone say something wrong then you can decide that whatever they are doing isn't beneficial to you and be able to figure out what the right way might be. But, on the other hand, you can apply what you hear from more experienced salespeople that have come before you and apply what has made them successful and use it for your benefit. I think the main danger in this point is that there are a lot of salespeople out there that don't want to listen at all. They think they know it all and that there is nothing that anyone else can offer to make them better. It really amazes me, especially with today's competition, that people don't want to get better by learning as much as they can learn. I try to learn something everyday.

Which brings me to my next point and that is to take what you LISTEN to and hear and LEARN from it. Whether it is something positive or negative you can always learn something. Learning, in this business, is crucial in order to grow and mature. I will admit, that when I first started in the car business, that it didn't take me long to think I knew it all and that I didn't need to learn or listen to anyone else but once I matured a little I figured out that if you are not learning and growing then you are dying. It's frustrating for me to see new sales people come in, sale a few cars and then they think they know it all. I can't stress it enough......Learning is an essential part of any successful sales person, no matter what type of sales you happen to be in. It's very hard to learn everything there is to know in almost any sales business there is out there though many think they know ALL.

Now, we can talk about LISTENING and LEARNING but if you don't LIVE what you've heard and learned then you haven't accomplished anything. Remember back when I mentioned listening to or seeing what people are doing right or wrong and applying it for the positive in your life? That's what I'm talking about here. If you say that there is something you need to change in your life or in your profession and not do something to change then you are doing nothing but talking. If you are not taking some kind of ACTION then you are standing still or moving backwards. Don't get caught up thinking that you don't have to move because if you want to continue to grow and improve then you must take those things that you LISTENED to and LEARNED and now you must LIVE what you have gained from them. 

Never take life for granted. Nothing is guaranteed except death and taxes and that includes tomorrow. You can plan for tomorrow but you may never see it so learn all you can and apply it so that you can if you do make it to tomorrow that you won't have any regrets. It's always easier to say "I wished I would've done this or that differently" so why not go ahead and do it differently now!

Hope I was rambling too much!

Thanks for reading!

Fist Pump Guy out!!

#thefistpumpguy #listenlearnlive

The 6 Ps of Sales

Today I trained on a topic that I thought would be important to people in the sales industry. Now, there may be a different version of this taught but this is the idea that I came up with that would actually kind of add to the other teaching and that is my 6 Ps of Selling.

People -      you must have clients/customers to work which you get by Prospecting. You can't sell anything without having someone to sell to

Process -     you must learn the process that your company has come up with that they feel is most efficient in order that you might be more Proficient in the Procedure

Product -     you must be knowledgeable in whatever product you are going to be selling so that you may Permeate Perfection to your Prospects

But it starts with

Potential -    you must know or at least think you have Potential and then you must Practice until you reach your goal and then set more goals

Professionalism - is accomplished through Practice to learn the skills necessary to be considered a true Professional in your field

Patience -    you must be patient until you reach your goal. It doesn't happen overnight. But you must Practice Patience through Persistence. In other words you must always be moving forward toward your goals. If you aren't moving forward you are moving backwards


These are just some ideas I had come up with. I'm sure you may have your own but the idea is still the same. Have a goal to shoot for even if it seems out of reach. If your goal is easy you aren't going to work and strive as hard. But if you don't see your own potential to do it then it will be very difficult to even set a goal!

Thanks for reading!

Fist Pump Guy out!

#thefistpumpguy #the6psofselling

Reasons to consider the Toyota Corolla

The ABCs of Selling!

Today I trained on a topic that is essential in any kind of sales industry especially in the car sales industry. It's pretty simple to understand the basics of this topic but it's also very important to understand these points in order to make yourself relevant. In an ever growing digital age it is very important to make sure that you are growing in your craft no matter what type of sales you currently work in. The following steps will help you become a better you.

Give yourself

A Better Chance

By looking for

A Big Clue

And

Always Be Collecting Data

While

Always Being Consistent

But 

Always Be Careful

That

All Bases are Covered

So that you may

Always Be Closing

Essentially the whole point is to make sure you are giving yourself A Better Chance to be successful by setting yourself up for that success. At the end of the day you must Be Closing in order to hit your goals and to stay relevant and grow your Reputation! 

Thanks for reading!

Fist Pump Guy Out!

#thefistpumpguy #abcsofselling 

Importance of Building Your Reputation

I currently work in a field that doesn't have the best reputation or track record. For years, and still today, car salesmen have taken a bad wrap for being dishonest or thieves. Granted, back in the day and even some today, deserve to have that stigma but not everyone does. Back in the older days there was much more emphasis on word of mouth business and that is also mainly how one's reputation got around. Today it is bigger than it has ever been when it comes to getting the word out about a person or a business.
Today, we are in a very technological world that depends highly on electronic gadgets to just get by day to day. I am a firm believer that some of these same gadgets have actually made us dumber since we don't have to remember things as much anymore. But that doesn't change the fact that they are here and here to stay. There are so many ways to get information nowadays from phones to tablets and watches and it's still growing. You may be asking yourself "where in the world is he going with this?". Well, my point is this, if there is so much technology out there and every person has some form of it just about then why wouldn't someone be concerned about their reputation? If any person at any given time can do an online search and find out just about anything about anybody then why wouldn't you be concerned about what they might find?
Now, granted, there are many jobs that one may have that may not be affected so much by a good or bad reputation but that's not the majority. Even if you are job hunting your reputation can either help or hurt you. If you are trying to grow a business with new business it can too be affected by a good or bad reputation. So, I am always baffled when I here someone say "I don't care what people think about me" or "I'm not concerned about my reputation". Ideally, just about everyone has some feelings about what people think about them. They try and play it off like they don't but they really do. I'm always amazed at the amount of people that walk around with a chip on their shoulder because they can't find a "decent" job and they like to say that they are being treated unfairly. There may be some times that they may be treated like that but a lot of times they have just had a bad reputation following them. Whether they are a job jumper or they don't come to work on time their reputation follows them. Most of the time it's their fault and they like to blame others.
Ideally, in order to be truly successful, you need to have a very favorable reputation. Whether it's looking for a new job, or trying to excel in your current job, having and building a good reputation is vitally important. If you are trying to get ahead at work by hard work then you want to be known as a hard worker and someone who can get the job done. If you are applying for a new position or a new job then you want that same reputation to follow you. Let's face the fact that many businesses search potential applicants online to get more information. You can lie or stretch the truth a little on a application and get away with it but it's hard to get away from the published truth online so you need to make a valiant effort to be reputable online.
 Search yourself online and see what you find. Do you find good or bad things about yourself? Do you find anything at all? Because not finding anything can be bad at times too but we will talk about online presence at a later time. Make sure you are being noticed but that you are being noticed for the right things.

Thanks for reading!

Fist Pump Guy out!

#thefistpumpguy #buildingyourreputation #getsresults

Pleading Your Case

I have recently been training on building your reputation and how it important it is especially in the sales industry and how it leads to Results/Rewards that you desire. I also trained on the ability to adapt or change into what the customer needs you to be through The Phone Booth Salesman. Then I trained on QDR which was Toyota's focus when they started building vehicles and continues today and how using these same guidelines to show people your Quality, that you are Dependable and that you are certainly Reliable.

Yesterday I fed off of these training topics and taught on Pleading Your Case to the customer. Much like how an attorney gathers the facts and is able to build a story to convince a jury or a judge we, in the sales industry, must be able to do the same. We start off by greeting the client/customer and then gathering facts by asking questions and finding out what the customer's true needs are and not necessarily their wants. It's fine to listen to all of their wants and desires but sometimes they aren't necessarily things they MUST have and it's our job to find out what they need instead of all they want. Simply put, if a customer comes in and says " I want so and so fully loaded" doesn't always mean they want the top of the line. They may just mean they want alloys and leather which may be on a lesser priced vehicle. It does no good to try and build value in something a customer doesn't need unless, of coarse, it's the only one you have and then you need to exceed the value. This is just an example of coarse and I'm just using it to show you what I mean. 

My whole point is that in order to build value and sell a car you must be able to Plead Your Case about whatever vehicle you are showing and in order to do that effectively you must ask the right questions and gather the correct facts. If you don't gather the right facts then you may be wasting your time and therefore you may be Pleading Your Case on the wrong item. If you are able to put them on the right item and then Plead Your Case effectively it will eventually end in a deal and therefore it will build your Reputation and Respect because, sometimes, those are more important than the monetary Reward/Result. 

Thanks for reading!

Fist Pump Guy out!

#thefistpumpguy #buildingyourreputation #pleadyourcase #getresults 

Buidling Reputation leads to Results!

This is the topic I trained on this morning during our sales meeting. Soak it in and allow it to help you no matter what type of sales you are in! Don't let anyone tell you that your reputation isn't important because everyone has one. You have to know if yours is negative or positive and how you can improve it in order to earn Respect and get Results!

Thanks for reading!

Fist Pump Guy out!
#thefistpumpguy #buildingyourreputation #getsresults #followthefistpumptoenterprise

New logo!

In an effort to continue to try and brand myself I have received my new logo. It's somewhat simple but I love it. I plan on putting it on my shirts and maybe doing key chains and such for my customers. Maybe it'll catch on soon!

Fist Pump Guy Out!

Follow the Fist Pump to Enterprise!

I just wanted to send a quick shout out to all my customers and say Thank You for your business! I truly appreciate it! I also wanted to send out a quick message to all my friends and family and ask that if you know anyone that may be looking for a new or pre-owned vehicle to send them over to see me. Just tell them to ask for me and let me know that you sent them and I will handle the rest! There have been people sent over here to Bondy's Toyota  that were suppose to ask for me and didn't and ended up buying from others here. Though I appreciate them buying from Bondy's in general I don't get paid unless I sell them a vehicle myself. Please tell them to ask for me. If you need me to I will text you a business card or you can get it from this Blog post! Thank you in advance!

Fist Pump Guy out!

When is enough enough?

I need to start today's blog with a quick statement..... I do not understand some people. I don't understand why some people do what they do. My faith aside for a minute I just don't understand the fact that some people have no ethics or morals whatsoever and it bugs me to no end. I went home last night and thought about this situation for a while. I finally decided that it wasn't worth worrying and stressing over but it still doesn't make sense to me why people have to be so bluntly dishonest and not care one bit.

I guess the question comes down to.... "When do you call a thief a thief and liar a liar?" Is it after they've been busted once and then it was swept under the rug because they "perform" better than anyone else? Is it after they have been busted numerous times and again it is swept under the rug because they seemingly out perform everyone else by a landslide? Is it because, in my line of work, that certain things become acceptable as long as the car gets sold? As long as the uppers get paid it doesn't matter who sells it even though others are struggling because they keep having things stolen from them? I don't know how to really answer the questions I've just asked. The only conclusion I can come up with is that dishonesty to perform better than anyone else is better that honesty and integrity. I'm not sure if everyone feels this way and I don't want to lump everyone into one category but I can only assume that when things are being allowed to happen on a regular basis that it is better to "out perform" dishonestly than to perform decently and honestly. I got news for you, my integrity is way more important that "performing" better than anyone else. If I can't get it honestly then I don't want it. If I can't say that "I'm on top" by doing things the right way then I'm okay with that! If I fall a little short on my goal but I'm doing it honestly then I'm okay with that! If I for one second feel like I have to be dishonest and lose my integrity in any job I perform then I can't do the job and need to move on. Yea, I get it, there are many in this business that are dishonest and people may not even realize it as long as they get what they want but I have One I have to answer to even if I did want to be dishonest. I can't control how some people act and things they do other than just try and be a positive influence that rubs off and I can't control how things are handled but I myself choose to be as honest as I possibly can be.

Now, the question I want to pose is this...."If one is being dishonest and "out performing" everyone else by taking deals from others then why is it allowed?" It's because he is "selling" a lot more than everyone else and he "out performs" everyone and the uppers don't want to lose "their best sales person". But, I guess I wonder, that if all the numbers he puts up were actually customers of another sales person? I wonder how many people he has actually stolen from others in order to make more money and to be on top? I wonder when you start saying that the one's supporting what he does and makes excuses for what he does are just as guilty as he is? When do you say "birds of a feather flock together"? I don't know how to answer these questions either because, quite frankly, I don't come in everyday trying to figure out a way to cheat the system and steal from others! I hope this isn't being too harsh but if you continued to have things taken from you, maybe more than you're aware of, and nothing is done then at what point to need to change your environment? At what point do you say "I've had enough"? I'm sure I'm not the only one out there that feels like this and I'm sure that I'm not the only one that actually likes his job but hates the way certain co-workers think and act.

Selfishness and greed is very dangerous! It affects the one doing it and affects how people act around them because of their actions!

How do you measure success?

In many ways the car business is primarily focused on units sold and that is usually how many dealers measure their success monthly and also how many sales people measure their success monthly. The other side of that is focused primarily on gross and that is how they measure their success. If you listen to many of the big names out there they say that money is the focus always. When you listen to them speak they always gear success towards money. That begs the question of "Is monetary things the only way to measure success?"

Well, the idea has always been that money is the ultimate goal and factor of one's success. I want to tell you that I try my hardest to not make things about money nor do I try to compare myself with others around me that make more money. I don't mean that I don't want to make money or that I don't need money because I have bills like everyone else. I simply wanted to state that because, though selling cars is the ultimate goal, that focusing only on that and how to make more money can take other things away from you. It can take your happiness and joy and replace it with resentment and stress along with worry. Now, granted, I still worry sometimes, not because I want to for sure, but because I have place a bigger burden on myself than I need to. I try not to but if you have a bad month or a bad few months and you get behind then your stress level rises and then you find yourself doing or saying things you may not want to nor realize you are. I guess that is part of being in sales.

Having said that, if you have a good and supporting spouse you can have a different attitude. My wife, for example, is pretty supportive of me. I do my best to not talk about my day because her job, by far, is way more important and stressful than mine. I do my best to be supportive of her too but she is supportive in the fact that she has confidence in me. Being in the car business is very stressful and it has a tendency to effect your life especially the family. Long hours worked and almost every Saturday can and will take a toll on the relationship you might have with your family. In turn, if you have trouble at home it can affect you at work, regardless of your profession.

I guess what I am getting at is this. though I want to be successful and have things that I need, I don't necessarily base my income on my success. Yes, I have made good money in the car business and I thank God for what He blesses me with but I don't want the money and material stuff to be what measures my success. I want my relationship with my Lord, my wife and my kids to be my ultimate measuring stick. If I have all the money in the world and my relationship with any of the three is not good then I have nothing. The Bible says "the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil" not because money, in itself, is evil but the love of it. It can and will affect your marriage and other relationships if you let it be the primary focus in any part of your life. If money is your primary, and most important goal then you may be blinded to what you truly need in your life and what your family truly needs form you. Yes, have stuff is nice but not if you have to sacrifice the happiness and joy that comes from your family. Many people have committed suicide, divorced their spouse and even robbed and killed because of their "need" for money.

All that to say, don't let your goal of making lots of money and having material things affect your relationship with others. When is it enough? After you've lost all the important people in your life? or to the point you don't care about anyone else but yourself?

Thanks for reading!