Dec 21 2022
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The HUGE block keeping you from success

If you are struggling with success there is only one thing holding you back!

Your own ability to move forward.

That simply means you have to move consistently toward your success. And you do that by following through and following up.

The newest studies indicate it takes between 8 and 20 contacts to create a sale.

Imagine that. Most people bail out and stop calling after two or three calls or emails. We all seem to have this innate feeling that if we call too much we will piss people off.

But let me ask you this.. if you piss me off and I refuse to do business with you, what’s the difference between not calling enough and not getting some business or calling too much and not getting the business?

Most of us fear upsetting people and facing rejection.

And it is the fear of that rejection that holds us back the most.

Fortunately, that rejection can be minimalized simply by understand the difference in our approaches.

If what you do is send out vibes that you are selling, people will usually avoid or reject you. No one wants to be sold.

But if what you learn to do is offer your support, offer real solutions, people will usually listen .. until you try to sell them.

Have you gotten those connection requests on LinkedIn? You know the ones I am talking about. The ones where they say, hey! I looked at your profile and I think we should connect.

Then, BAM! You accept and they send you their offer, their products, their sales pitch!

When you reach out, it should be to find out what that person needs. How do you do that?

Well, it’s not, HI! Tell me your greatest challenge? Tell me what you need for your business.

No one wants to share that with a stranger especially when they do, most people will send back their PITCH!

If you really want to make a lot more money, sell a lot more of your products or services, then start a conversation. Hey, Hi, I saw your profile and I have some questions about what you do? Would you care to connect and tell me more about you and your business?

Most will say, YES!

Who else is offering this? Who else wants to listen? Get them into that initial call. Find out all you can in a short conversation. Keep this first call under 15 minutes. You won’t find out enough so you will have to have another call.

Then another and one day soon, you will have created a meaningful dialogue. A meaningful conversation. And after a few more contacts you will know and find out about them to have a real relationship.

What happens with relationships? They think of you first! They refer you first. They give you first options to more opportunities!

I hope you understand now how important the 5-15th call is to your success.

I hope, if you have questions about how to have these conversations that you might join us at

http://www.cocomastermind.com

and learn how to create meaningful conversations that will change your life and business.

Steve Sapato, the expert conversationalist

Jan 05 2015
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achieving your dreams, BUsiness skills, free online training, goals, goalsetting, great managers are made, leadership skills

Closing is NOT about selling! The ONE reason you aren’t closing …

Closing is NOT about selling! The ONE reason you aren’t closing …

Have you missed a sale or a closing opportunity? We tend to think of CLOSING as selling but closing is all about BUSINESS! We use a close to get an appointment. We use a close to make things happen.

If you haven’t been taught to close, and I don’t mean taught by sitting in on a company sales meeting, or being lectured by the ‘how to sell’ local guru company about closing or showed you videos. I mean, has someone sat down with you and beat you to death on your closing.

Closing doesn’t have a time. It doesn’t have a place. Closing is all about the feeling you need to learn in order to finish the business as soon as your client is ready for it. Or should I call them, your partner. You should look at every closing as a partnership. Because every partnership is about continuing your relationship. If you sell them something you want to sell them over and over again. If you set an appointment you want to start a relationship and make it ongoing. Both of you should benefit and both will come out winners.

Back to the ONE reason you aren’t closing. You have not been taught how to close and closing is the most important area to be great.

You need to practice closing in everything you do. Close your wife, your husband, your kids. Close the grocer, the cashier, the people in the elevator. Close if you want to use the remote control, go out to dinner.

And you need to have someone teach you that closing is an emotional time. It is not an event.

When you walk into your clients office you should open with a close. You should be able to see in their eyes when they are ready for the close even in the middle of your sale, description, presentation…

You should be able to hear it in their words, see it in their body language. There is no coming back from going right past the perfect time to close. And that ‘time’ is when your partner is ready to be closed.

I teach parents how to close their kids. I teach kids how to close their parents. I teach entrepreneurs how to close for their appointment.  I teach sales people how to close their sale. I teach managers how to close with their staff.

We spend a lifetime closing and yet almost none of us study the how, when and why of closing. And it is not at a specific time in your presentation, not a specific place in your script, but it is at a specific emotional time and place that your partner will give to you IF you know what you are looking for.

I wish you success and wealth!

Steve Sapato

http://www.mentalprosperityblog.com

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Nov 28 2014
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employee training, leadership, leadership and management, leadership skills, leadership training, management, management and leadership, management skills, managing, people management, people skills

My Manager has one sided thinking and it’s killing our department! The #1 reason managers are not great at their jobs.

My Manager has one-sided thinking and it’s killing our department! The #1 reason managers are not great at their jobs.

One of the greatest challenges facing a manager in today’s world is motivating their employees. We all know it but what are we doing about it?

You can read articles all across the spectrum about what an employee needs and wants out of the workplace and there are loads of opinions. The true determination of those articles is in the research they have done and the results that they show.

Here is what we know so far. Most, meaning 82% of all managers are not great at their jobs. Now don’t go getting all huffy on me or pretend like you are one of the 18% until you know that you are.

The number on reason most managers are not great at their jobs is because, (drum roll please), they are not good at admitting they are not the smartest person in their department.

And the number two reason is because they are not good at listening and receiving the opinions and ideas of others.

Most managers think they have to have the answer and usually that involves all of the answers. They huff and they puff and they stomp around getting upset whenever someone else tries to input other ideas.

Darren Hardy, a best-selling author and publisher of Success Magazine, says it this way, “Most everyone else in the organization is trying to keep everyone and everything out of the organization. They are saying “no” to things all day every day. It can become a knee-jerk reaction to everything. And they are spending most of their days doing the C-YA thing. New ideas only create risks and opportunities for them to fail… or more responsibility for them to burden.”

What most managers, again the 82% that are not great managers are doing, is worrying about that C-Y-A thing. Trying hard not to get caught in a mistake or worrying that someone else might take their job from them. What they fail to do is understand that, like the President of The United States, you don’t have to be the smartest person in the room if you will surround yourself with the smartest people.

What your bosses are actually looking for are leaders. They are wanting to find people who are willing to succeed at the expense of failure because they know all about leadership and success and therefore they understand that success comes at the expense of certain, limited, failures. They are looking for great ideas and initiative, and seeking the few people who understand what that takes. You, as a great manager, should be looking for the cream of the crop to surround yourself with and great people you can promote.

I have learned from many very successful people that they got ahead the fastest when they promoted great people who also recognized the potential of the boss who was promoting them. They in turn, lift those managers up both verbally to their superiors and also give accolades long after their days of working with them were over. This in turn led to those managers receiving bonuses and promotions.

So now tell me again, why do you have one-sided thinking? And how can you find some really good people with great ideas to help you achieve your goals, promote to your superiors and achieve great success?

Yes, I agree. Maybe we need to look at our people from a new perspective. Maybe you have a winning team sitting right in front of you.

I am Steve Sapato and I have been a manager, owner and business advisor for over thirty years. If you need more advice, weekly uplifting blogs like this then subscribe to my blog at http://www.mentalprosperityblog.com

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Nov 27 2014
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being thankful, Benjamin Watson, BenjaminWatson, Ferguson, Forgiveness, leadership, leadership and management, leadership skills, leadership training, mental prosperity blog, Misourri Riots, New Orleans Saints, NewOrleansSaints, people skills, Racism, Riots, Thanksgiving

Football? Benjamin Watson? And Ferguson, Mo? Can we have some hope? Yes and here is why~

No, I didnt write this. A football player for the New Orleans Saints did. Read on.

At some point while I was playing or preparing to play Monday Night Football, the news broke about the Ferguson Decision. After trying to figure out how I felt, I decided to write it down. Here are my thoughts:

I’M ANGRY because the stories of injustice that have been passed down for generations seem to be continuing before our very eyes.

I’M FRUSTRATED, because pop culture, music and movies glorify these types of police citizen altercations and promote an invincible attitude that continues to get young men killed in real life, away from safety movie sets and music studios.

I’M FEARFUL because in the back of my mind I know that although I’m a law abiding citizen I could still be looked upon as a “threat” to those who don’t know me. So I will continue to have to go the extra mile to earn the benefit of the doubt.

I’M EMBARRASSED because the looting, violent protests, and law breaking only confirm, and in the minds of many, validate, the stereotypes and thus the inferior treatment.

I’M SAD, because another young life was lost from his family, the racial divide has widened, a community is in shambles, accusations, insensitivity hurt and hatred are boiling over, and we may never know the truth about what happened that day.

I’M SYMPATHETIC, because I wasn’t there so I don’t know exactly what happened. Maybe Darren Wilson acted within his rights and duty as an officer of the law and killed Michael Brown in self defense like any of us would in the circumstance. Now he has to fear the backlash against himself and his loved ones when he was only doing his job. What a horrible thing to endure. OR maybe he provoked Michael and ignited the series of events that led to him eventually murdering the young man to prove a point.

I’M OFFENDED, because of the insulting comments I’ve seen that are not only insensitive but dismissive to the painful experiences of others.

I’M CONFUSED, because I don’t know why it’s so hard to obey a policeman. You will not win!!! And I don’t know why some policeman abuse their power. Power is a responsibility, not a weapon to brandish and lord over the populace.

I’M INTROSPECTIVE, because sometimes I want to take “our” side without looking at the facts in situations like these. Sometimes I feel like it’s us against them. Sometimes I’m just as prejudiced as people I point fingers at. And that’s not right. How can I look at white skin and make assumptions but not want assumptions made about me? That’s not right.

I’M HOPELESS, because I’ve lived long enough to expect things like this to continue to happen. I’m not surprised and at some point my little children are going to inherit the weight of being a minority and all that it entails.

I’M HOPEFUL, because I know that while we still have race issues in America, we enjoy a much different normal than those of our parents and grandparents. I see it in my personal relationships with teammates, friends and mentors. And it’s a beautiful thing.

I’M ENCOURAGED, because ultimately the problem is not a SKIN problem, it is a SIN problem. SIN is the reason we rebel against authority. SIN is the reason we abuse our authority. SIN is the reason we are racist, prejudiced and lie to cover for our own. SIN is the reason we riot, loot and burn. BUT I’M ENCOURAGED because God has provided a solution for sin through the his son Jesus and with it, a transformed heart and mind. One that’s capable of looking past the outward and seeing what’s truly important in every human being. The cure for the Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice and Eric Garner tragedies is not education or exposure. It’s the Gospel. So, finally, I’M ENCOURAGED because the Gospel gives mankind hope

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Oct 06 2014
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employee training, leadership, leadership and management, leadership skills, leadership training, management, management and leadership, management skills, managing, people management, people skills

Are you one of the 2/3 who are unhappy at your job? What can and should you do about it?

A new study by ComPsych, a company that provides employee assistance programs, reported that workers are feeling more burned out than ever by their jobs.

The survey asked more than 2,000 employees about the stress levels of their jobs. The findings showed that 2 out of 3 workers report high levels of stress with extreme fatigue and a feeling of being out of control. And more than half of those surveyed said they miss one or two days of work per year because of stress.

I have been at this for many years now. Training and teaching people about happiness, how to rediscover their joy and how to be in control of their lived. Some call this self-empowerment. The question always come back to, what is making you unhappy?

One of my jobs in Great Managers is to teach managers how to move from good to great. Some I teach how to move from just being in a managerial position into how to be a manager and what that really entails. Not just a title but a responsibility.

And that often is what makes people unhappy with their job. Having a poor manager.

The latest information about what makes people HAPPY at their jobs is having a job that is meaningful. And then doing something that makes them feel fulfilled. Notice it is not what we have been teaching for the last several years which was ‘being recognized at their job’. Recognition now is down the list. Being significant and feeling significant is what people really want.

That means, as a great manager, you have to know what your people want and need in order to feel signficant. It means as a person working every day at your job that you have to know what makes you feel meaningful. And that means you also have to realize the importance of your job. Is what I am doing making a significant difference at my company.

If i am working at a fast food place and my job is to clean the restrooms think about how you feel when you walk into a filthy restroom and how it really does impact you. Think about how you can change that by cleaning it so that people might actually say, as many of us have in the past, wow, the bathroom surprised me because it was so clean!

Now think about how your job impacts the rest of the department or the rest of the group or…

You see, many times it is not what we do so much as how we look at what we do that will help us feel significant and meaningful. If you are just getting by with your job think how you might feel if you were your boss and someone who really did the job well was working for you? How would that impact you as your boss?

Can someone working for you put you in a better mood just because they do a great job? Can someone impact your job and cause you to do a better job just because they are doing a great job?

You see, sometimes it’s not what we do for others that makes us feel special. Often times it is what we do for ourselves that makes us proud not matter what anyone else sees or thinks.

I am Steve Sapato from mentalprosperityblog.com and I hope you are in the 1/3 of all workers who like, appreciate and excel at your job just because you want to.

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Sep 15 2014
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leadership, management, management skills, managing, people skills, successful managing

Are you a real manager or merely a position filler? Real managers know the difference, do you?

I am always amazed with how little training most managers get before being put into management positions. How about you?

Most managers are merely employees who were in the right place when a manager position was needing to be filled. Then, because of seniority or proximity or because the boss liked them or even better, the boss needed to get rid of them for being a pain in the… well, they got promoted to manager just to move them from where they were.

Does that make someone a manager? Is that you? What actual management training have you completed? What classes, courses or books on managing have you read, studied or learned from?

Most managers believe that they are highly qualified simply because they have spent time as a manager and believe they are good simply because they have been there a long time of because they get promoted again.

John Maxwell has it nailed. You should at least watch his YouTube videos but you should buy his books. He says there Five Levels Of Leadership. If you don’t know them, learn them. They are important and even vital to your success and your companies success. Whenever I train managers I try to incorporate them into the training so that managers can become Great Managers and help their organizations grow and prosper.

These five levels are basic to understanding you role as a manager.

The first is a position holder. That means you got promoted or hired to fill a position. You are a title and nothing more than a title. It does not mean you are good, or better than anyone else for this position it is merely a position. And most managers live their lives holding down their management position. Stage one in becoming a real manager that should lead to all others but seldom does simply because most managers get caught up in their own title and stop learning, growing and becoming. People follow you simply because you have that title.

The second level is permission. This is where many managers actually fall apart. It is where leaders become more involved and establish relationships with their people. Many managers fall into the trap of relationships and think they need to become friends and buddies with their people. While that is a small part of this level many managers get so caught up they fail to lead. Their friendships dominate their favors, control their emotions and ruin moral. Whereas a good relationship manager listens well, observe all that goes on and learns from it.

So here is the question. Have you seen yourself grow through these first stages as you look into your management growth? Are you still in one of them? Because there are three more levels to grow into.

This is not one of my training sessions though and you will actually have to go look up, learn and grow in order to find the other three levels.

I wonder… will you? Or like most managers, will you simply say, I’m too busy and have learned enough already and stop here.

Many blessings my friends. I hope you journey never ends.

I am Steve Sapato and I train people how to be their best with Mental Prosperity and you can find out more at www.mentalprosperityblog.com

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Aug 14 2010
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