Can you be Prepared for a Recession?

You may have recently read about the Fed raising interest rates and how the experts are forecasting a pending recession. While nothing is fool proof, I do believe there are some definite things that you can do to prepare yourself for financial uncertainty. What I'm sharing below is just my experience and nothing more - there were many coaches along the way and a lot of books, articles, and podcasts to help me just become more comfortable around money and personal finance. If you are interested, then I would encourage you to educate yourself for free with all the free content out there in becoming debt free.

In 2015, my daughter was admitted to the hospital for a since relieved condition, but the cost of that ambulance ride and couple of nights in the hospital added up fast. Six months later we got a call from a credit department asking for their money. We panicked and the next day started working on paying off our debt. In 2018, we became debt free and that journey continued until we bought our home 2 years ago.

In times where the news cycle is dominated by financial doom and gloom, I encourage those who want to feel that freedom to do whatever is necessary to get yourself debt free. Our journey wasn't easy and I'm not trying to pretend it is, but what I can confirm for you is it wasn't about how much money we were or weren't making, it was about our mindset. There is no magic formula for being "recession proof", but getting rid of our debt created a mindset that we can weather any (or most) storms.

Some of the things we did during that time to pay off our debt:

- Listed our everyone one of our debts - yes, even student loans! The first thing you need to know when trying to get somewhere is where are you at?!

- Got rid of our credit cards. To this day, we do not have any credit cards. Yes, I know you can get some benefit from using them and paying them off in full each month, but this isn't something we wanted to risk. Making the minimum payment when times get tight is too easy. For us, it was just easiest to get rid of them. AND YES! We have rented cars, booked hotel rooms, stayed in resorts all on a debit card!

- Built up a small emergency fund of $1000. In full disclosure, we were also listening to the Dave Ramsey podcasts and reading his book, so this was an idea we really liked. And we needed that $1000 many times over the debt free journey - car trouble, AC trouble, garage door trouble...and when the fund got below $1,000 - we started saving it back up.

- Limited spending money! The hardest thing at first was limiting our spending/fun money. We gave ourselves a $50/month allowance for "walking around money". That was it. When it was gone there was no more dipping into the bucket. We just recently raised that to $100/month!

- We sold anything we could - we went through the garage, our basement, closets and listed everything we could on Facebook marketplace, ebay, offer up, Craig's List...It became a game for us - "Hey, let me see if I can sell that!" You would be surprised at what people will buy!

- BUDGET! We use a budgeting app - where we list ever dollar of income and every single expense. Whatever is left went to paying off our debt.

- Side hustle! My wife was doing teaching those wine painting classes and i drove a few weekends for Uber.

- Weekly budget committee meetings - every Wednesday night from 7-7:20, we would meet about the budget! How romantic! But it helped us to get on the same page and to be accountable to each other. This was very tough for me. I had a lot of old ideas that I felt needed to be heard - golf is $120/round! I can't smoke cigars that are under $8 each! But, we made these meetings a priority and got through them and after a year or two, got used to them :)!

The last debt we paid off was my student loan. This loan I was carrying around with me for 20 years! I was paying $139 dollars a month for decades! When we sold our house, we took that equity and made that final payment to Department of Education.

Once we became debt free the best gift we are giving ourselves is a 6 month emergency fund.

These are just a few of the things we did, but we did them consistently and without fail. Now when a friend or family member says, "Hey you want to meet at X for dinner?" we don't have to tell them no because we have a line item in our budget called "Carry out meals"!

This is a purely informational and experiential post to let you know that if you are worried about finances, there is hope! You can do it. I'm always open to chat and answer any questions you might have, I'm not a financial planner, an expert, or this isn't a service I sell. I just want to share an experience I've had.

#mindset #money #debtfree

It's Not About You

I meet a lot of people who are trying to sell me something. I also buy a lot of stuff. How I decide where to spend my money and who I'm spending my money with comes down to how the person or company makes me feel during the buying process. As an individual consumer, I have a pretty systematic way of buying things. I make a decision that I need something, I ask around if anyone I know and trust has any recommendations, I research those recommendations and in the course of that research come across other reviews and recommendations from people I've never met. Once my research on the actual product is completed, I look for where to buy. Here is where most of my time is spent. As a buyer, it's all about me.

I meet a lot of people who I am trying to sell something. My selling process is very different from my buying process. I still cherish my personal references and referrals, I still research the companies people refer to me, and in the course of that research, discover like-minded companies and contacts who also might need the services and products I sell. Selling is about creating value and trust. If my client doesn't think what I'm selling provides any value, then they don't need what I'm selling. If my potential client doesn't trust me, then they certainly won't buy from me and they certainly won't refer me to anyone else. This all sounds like basic common sense, but think about your last buying experience or the last time you were being sold on something. How did that person or company make you feel?

We can learn a lot from people who are selling to us and the experiences they are trying to create for us (or themselves). Selling should never be about me. It should be about creating an exceptional experience for my client. When the selling process becomes about me, i make different decisions, I think about different things, and I lose sight of the simple rule that when the client wins, we all win. Remember, it's not about you.

Tell me about your last buying experience - good or bad and how it could have been improved? I enjoy sharing experiences and learning from others, so please leave a comment, tag a friend, or share with your contacts!

The Little Things Matter

I recently read a daily reflection that mentioned the 1954 song, The Little Things Mean A Lot. I pulled it up on YouTube and was surprised at how many different versions there were of the same song. It got me thinking about my daily tasks and how I am constantly trying to be consistent in my approach to doing the little things. As a former Project Manager, I am always reminded of how the little things at the end of a project are usually what the client remembers. In my days as a Project Manager, I was often on some very large and long office furniture installations. I can remember working for months on a projects only to do a final walk through and leave with a three page punch list filled with things like, "vacuum office 238, replace trim cover on cube 1110," or "remove screw packing from top of all desk tops". My client often times said things like, "Not a big deal, but..." It has been proven time and time again that the little things indeed mean a lot.

Today, as a Sales Consultant, I try and make it as easy as possible to work with me. From the initial discovery call to the final invoice and all points in between, the easier it is for the client the greater the chance they will have a positive experience and will want to repeat that experience with me the next time. I have found this the path of least resistance to becoming a trusted adviser. Consistently doing the little things and making the clients job easier is my goal on each project we work on. Once the client sees we are paying attention to the smallest of details, we begin to build trust and the more trust we have, the more we can begin to be partners rather than just a vendor. Three easy ways to begin paying attention to the little things are:

1. Listen - everything seems to always go back to listening. Pay attention and listen to understand, not to respond. Get to know your clients. Stop talking about the parts and pieces and learn things about each other. You will have a better understanding of exactly what your client is trying if you understand the destination instead of the vehicle used to get there.
2. Communicate - Make sure you confirm with your client that what is important to them is what you are hearing. Once you feel confident in your understanding of your clients real needs, communicate that information to your team members. While many things are benefited by a process to execute, each customer has their own unique challenges and are separated by these very little things. Understand these and communicate them to your team members.
3. Deliver - nothing destroys trust faster than undelivered promises. All the listening and communication in the world means nothing if you can't execute. Business today is a game of inches and every one of my competitors does a good job. In order to separate us from the competition, we have to do the little things better. In order to win and keep business from our competitors, it is important that we execute at the highest level possible and to deliver on all the promises we've made throughout the buying process. 

What are the little things that matter in your industry and how are you executing them for your customers? How do you create separation from your competition? Share them with me, I'd love to hear about your success stories!

Listening for the truth

Listening is at the forefront of every "ways to improve" self-help, sales list I've ever seen. Easier said than done, I know and what exactly are we listening for? Sure, I know what the sales pros tell me, but when I actually engage with my client am I being selective and only hearing the good news they are telling me? Equally unhelpful is only hearing the bad news. Imagine if the only information you had to make decisions was based around bad news. What we should be striving for is  actually hearing what the client is saying. The conversation can go like this, "Hey Marc, we really liked the solution, however it's not a good fit for our organization. Can we get together and discuss options?" With my hyper intuitive sales listening antennae all the way up, I might run back to my team and say, "Good news team, they really liked the solution!" If I only hear the good news, I can spin my wheels and waste time trying to sell a solution that my client has no interest in or need for. This happens all the time. I've done it, I've seen others do it, and like anything else the only way to hear the truth, is to practice, make some mistakes, and get some experience.

When I was first  making sales calls, I always wanted someone to come with me. It was crucial for me to make sure I was hearing what I thought I was hearing. Listening has been something that I have had to develop over time. This is the good news and bad news of the situation. Listening for the truth takes practice. You have to do it to get good at it and while your learning to do it and sharpening your skills, you're going to hear some really confusing things along the way. Keep at it, the payoff of actually understanding what your clients and prospective clients are saying is well worth the effort.




mas
08/14/18

10 Things to Stare at Other than the Sun: A Beginner’s Guide to the Eclipse

As we approach go time on the great Eclipse of 2017, my news-feeds have been filled with articles warning me not to stare directly at the sun. I haven’t had a chance to personally thank everyone for this information, so I thought I would do my part and craft a quick, last minute, beginner’s guide to help with your safe eclipse viewing pleasure. For some reason, it appears all logic is getting thrown out the window and one of the more dangerous effects of this eclipse is the brainwashing that on August 21, 2017, it might possibly be OK to stare at the sun.

This is false. Do not fall victim to whatever force is providing you this sun staring permission! I haven’t had time to delve into all of the potential conspiracies around why we should all go blind, but there are any number of possibilities; Trump, Clinton (take your pick of which one), Al Gore, Michael Moore, Steve Bannon, Aliens, Hitler, Putin, North Korea, SNL, CNN, State of Illinois, State of California, or the 1987 Bruce Willis movie, Blind Date. Rest assured, you can certainly find one that will lead you to the truth. The truth is out there. So in an effort to help you keep your eyesight, I’ve compiled a list of 10 things you should stare at other than the sun, and it isn’t really polite to stare, so just take a look.

 These are in no particular order.

·        Adam Judge home run blast – the rookie Paul Bunyon-esque NY Yankee slugger has been dropping cartoon like blasts

·        Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Instagram page. He’s funny, he’s built, he’s not embarrassing, and he’s got a social media flair that makes Instagram fun.

·        Bill Burr animated videos on YouTube. This animated helicopter pilot bit taken from his popular Netflix special, I’m Sorry You Feel That Way is hilarious. Watch all the animated videos. Repeatedly. And again.

·        I’m a sucker for field to table videos. For those not familiar with that concept, it is when the subject catches the animal and then cooks it all on the same video. I’m not sure anyone has this down better than Robert Arrington of the Deer Meet for Dinner channel. He has a great appreciation and love of the outdoors and his energy is totally positive. DMFD has hog hunts, crocodile hunts, deep sea fishing, frog legs, you name it, and Robert has probably caught and cooked it. His weekly Tasty Tuesday segments are always great to look forward to.

·        Speaking of cooking, Scott Rea of the Scott Rea Project and his Butchery and Cookery channel has some great videos. I discovered him while viewing dozens of deer processing videos. He is Scottish, so there’s a different take on what he cooks and how he prepares his animals and dishes.

·        In case you hadn’t heard, rock band Phish recently played 13 nights at New York’s Madison Square Garden where they played 26 sets, 237 different songs, and no repeats. They also played a “Lawn Boy Reprise”. Seriously. Read more about this epic residency here.

·        When it comes to Twitter, it’s a blast following Jimmy Fallon. In this climate where entertainment stars are trying hard to be political experts, Fallon tends to stick to comedy most nights. He’s had his moments of dipping his toes in the political commentary, but he’s a late night host and they’ve been doing that for years. His “Thank You Notes” and live tweeting allow for great fan interaction and I think he’s hilarious.

·        The Grand Canyon. When it comes to National Parks, is there anything better?

·        For your Sunday Morning, there’s nothing better than CBS Sunday Morning. I don’t always get to watch it live, but I do follow along with the show and it’s normally feel good stories.

·        Since I was a kid, the fall always meant going back to school and the Major League Baseball playoffs. There’s just something about the MLB playoffs that makes me feel like a kid again. I don’t think there’s anything better in sports. Not the NFL, not McGregor v. Mayweather, not anything soccer related. For me, nothing is more exciting than the MLB playoffs.

Protect yourselves tomorrow. I don’t want to be a buzzkill, but DO NOT STARE AT THE SUN. You will suffer the consequences which may or may not include blindness. With that being said, enjoy the eclipse tomorrow, it’s going to be out of sight!

~mas

Seeking to Understand

The idea for this week's blog came to me while sitting in some sales training reviewing content based on the idea of seeking first to understand, then to be understood. Now that idea isn't very new to living or selling, but I had to ask myself, "is this me?"

The idea of seeking first to understand goes back to the bible, but it is still as relevant today as ever. As we become more of a "me first" society, an idea like trying to understand our customers before offering up a solution can really separate us from our competition. This is not just an exercise to be applied to the client relationship, but can be implemented in our everyday interactions with everyone we meet.

First, I want to caution those reading that this isn't a "tip" or trick to be added to the tool bag, but rather a way of living that will (hopefully) become who we are. It is a belief that in order to be effective needs to be nurtured and practiced in our everyday lives. Just like all good stuff there is some good news and bad news associated with this way of life. Once we start to practice thinking of how we can understand before we seek to be understood, life - and consequently our careers - start to become less of a grind. That's the bad news - this is going to take work. 

The good news is that anyone can do it. You've probably already got the necessary tools needed to start practicing this TODAY! When I was sitting in training last week, I was thinking about the times in my life where I've lived this way. The fact that this isn't a new philosophy should also provide you examples of times you've lived this way too. The idea is to become aware. So how do we start?

Well, today is a great day to begin. When your wife says, she doesn't really want anything for Mother's Day today, ask her what "nothing" means. Dictionary.com has a modest 19 different definitions for the word and I don't think any of those definitions included, "a steak dinner, pedicure, and a nice card". You get my point. When a client says one thing it is important that we really understand what they mean before we attempt to solve the problem we think they just told us they had. It is easy to get excited about having a client actually call us back and give us time to discuss a problem they want us to help them solve, so our natural instinct is to come up with some killer solution complete with all the bells and whistles, then sit back blow on our fingers like super heroes only to find out when they said "sound system", they were actually talking about the audio-conferencing in their Board Room and not the powered loud speakers in their auditorium.

I always want to be learning. I think it's one of my strongest characteristics. The people that I want to emulate in sales and life seem to have an unquenchable desire for continuing education. I can read all the books I want, listen to all the podcasts available, and ready trade article after trade article, but that's no excuse for practical experience. I need to practice what I learn. Learning by doing is always beneficial for me. It's easy to read a book, learn some quotes, and pretend those quotes are now your experience, but what I'm trying to do is reach the next level of living and selling. I want this to be a natural way of working and living. So, I'm going to practice. Tonight. I'm making "it doesn't matter" for dinner. 

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there for being the rocks I'm sure most of us would say you are. Thank you for always being there.

Everyone Has A Story, Tell Yours

Everyone is selling something. Whatever your profession, you've got an idea, a product, a proposition, or a service to sell. Everyone also has a story to tell. The most successful sales people are those who tell their stories well and in a way their customers hear it best. We all tell our stories differently and what interesting to you may not be interesting or important to me. What's important is that we tell it truthfully and with enthusiasm. I can't count the number of times someone has been telling me a story about something whose subject isn't at first glance all that interesting to me, but their enthusiasm and knowledge of the material is so honest and interesting, I eventually want to know more. I've watched countless documentaries on Netflix where the subject matter isn't the reason I'm searching, but because the person recommending it to me explains it to me with a story so engaging that the subject becomes almost secondary. 

As salespeople, I think storytelling is a lost art in getting the customer to relate to you in a way that wants them to know more about what you do or have to offer. The first order of prospecting is to get the meeting and i'm not sure there is a more effective way to interest a customer than with a story that ties their story to yours. As a consumer, I'm not likely to buy from you if the story you're telling doesn't hold my interest.

I'm not pretending that we're all Stephen King or J.K. Rowling, but I'm sure Stephen King and J.K. Rowling are OK with that. They understand the stories they are telling are THEIR stories and they sell plenty of books to people who love their stories. I've never read one Suzanne Collins (Mockingjay) or Stefenie Meyer (Twilight) book, but does that mean that neither of those two storytellers have a quality product to sell? Collins has sold almost 90 million books and Meyers has sold over 100 million copies of her books!

We all have a story to tell and if we stick to our own, we will reach those customers who can relate. We might not reach them all, but we will have success working with people who relate or enjoy our story because we tell it honestly and with enthusiasm. Try it the next time you want to get something from a customer. Whether that something is an appointment from a hard to reach CEO, or your 3-year old who needs to pick up those painful legos from the living room floor. 

We all have a story to tell, what's yours?