I have been a fan of Tom Peters for well over 20 years. I found his book “In Search of Excellence” a little difficult to read but ground breaking at the time.

I love his speeches and teachings and how he has encouraged managers and sales people alike to ‘mix it up’ to ‘make a difference’ to ‘make it happen’ and to buck the system.

My guess is that each and every day I use just a little of the Tom Peter’s philosophy.

This series of three video’s are both inspiring and how ‘historic’ as he is promoting a change in the Whitehouse and now that change has been realized.

Yes we live is history making times and history will judge 2008 an one of the most important years of this century, so far anyway!

There are three video here, Enjoy!

Till Next Time, Live, Love and Laugh

Stephen

Guys,

This is one of the best videos I have ever seen . .

Enjoy!

A good friend ‘Don’ recently sent me a short email . . . It just read “Stephen, You must listen to this lecture” and it came with a YouTube link. Well I looked quickly and saw that the video went for over an hour so I filed it away until I had some time to watch it.

Last night, as my loving wife slept soundly beside me I fired up my trusty laptop, plugged it into the TV and clicked on the link my friend Don had sent me.

The video (below) is one called “The Last Lecture” and the author Randy Pausch, sub titled it “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams”.

Although Randy at the time of filming the video was dying of pancreatic cancer his lecture is about living. It’s about determining what matters and following though to “make a difference”

“We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.”
—Randy Pausch

His lecture is touching, aware, enlightening and educational. It’s truly worth the investment of time that you invest in watching it. I wish to thank Don here and encourage you to “listen to this lecture” as Don encouraged me to do.

So here is the video – Enjoy!

Oh by the way you can visit their website <Click Here>

And if you should want to download the video to watch it either on your iPod or another device then <Download it Here>

The Sales Funnel Based on Contact Type

The Sales Funnel concept is based around ‘people’ or contacts being of a particular type: Suspect, Prospect, Lead and Client. An important mistake to avoid is the confusion and therefore a lack of appropriate prioritization around whether a contact type is a Suspect, Prospect, or Lead.

Suspect

A suspect is an organization name or a target account at this stage a “name” is all you have it may only be the company name. You may not know the contact name of the person who is responsible for their buying decisions, or, if you have a name, it may be a reader of a publication, an attendee to a technical update or another type of trade event. It may be just an interesting person, or a business card that you acquired whilst clover leafing in an area. You don’t know if this person is the appropriate buyer. You only suspect this “entity” is a target for your products or services.

Prospect

A prospect is a suspect that has engaged with your business in some way, whether it is an action taken on a web visit, from a technical update, a telephone enquiry, etc. Your goal in this stage is to qualify this prospect to the point that you know the decision-maker and you have identified an interest in your product or service.

This is when the Art of Discovery comes into play.

Lead

A prospect becomes a lead when you have established a need for your product or service with the prospect.

The more immediate the need, the greater the reason why the decision maker wishes to deal with you - the more hot the lead.

Before we can move the lead to the “assess phase”, we must determine what information we most need to know. For example, what is their decision-making process/timeline, do they understand our offering and value proposition, does our solution align with their business and expectations, etc?

Client

A client is a person or organization who has entered into business arrangement with you or your business to supply the agreed products or services. The dictionary defines a customer as “a person or company that buys goods or services” or “an individual with whom one must sale”

The same dictionary defines client as “a person or entity helped by another: a person or entity dependent on the protection or patronage of another person or entity” and “The party for which professional services are rendered” therefore you wish to develop client relationships rather than acquiring ‘customers’.

The Stages of the sale relates to specific milestones that occur during the sales process.

The main purpose of defining the major stages of the sales process is to enable sales forecasting with a level of predictability.

Although it may not be accurate with an individual opportunity or a very small sample, as your working pipeline grows the accuracy of this forecast will increase. Over time, if each opportunity’s probability index is kept up to date sales forecasting will become surprisingly accurate.

• Try it for yourself, you can use a simple tool like excel or a more sophisticated tool like a CRM

The Definition of Process:

A series of actions, changes, or functions bringing about a result

The Definition of a Sales Process:

• The action of converting Suspects to Prospects,
  
• Prospects to Leads, and Leads to Clients
  
• And disqualifying along the way
  

Friends,

Rarely does something come across my email that I wish to share with the world. Recently my brother Michael sent me this email just entitled‚¬”I wish you enough” I am unable to credit the author for this poem, although I wish I could.

I Wish You Enough
I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting
I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye

My Friends, I wish you enough.

When I was much younger, I would play with my brother in the back yard. I would dream of when we were both grown up, and how that would be. My brother had a greater affect on my life than anyone would every know.

When I found this song on You Tube this morning, I just wanted the world to remember when you were young;

• What was important to you?
  
• Is it still as important?
  
• What is important now?
  

Enjoy the video – the words are below!

Take Care – Stay Safe!

Stephen

Two little boys had two little toys
Each had a wooden horse
Gaily they played each summer’s day
Warriors both of course
One little chap then had a mishap
Broke off his horse’s head
Wept for his toy then cried with joy
As his young playmate said

Did you think I would leave you crying
When there’s room on my horse for two
Climb up here Jack and don’t be crying
I can go just as fast with two
When we grow up we’ll both be soldiers
And our horses will not be toys
And I wonder if we’ll remember
When we were two little boys

Long years had passed, war came so fast
Bravely they marched away
Cannon roared loud, and in the mad crowd
Wounded and dying lay
Up goes a shout, a horse dashes out
Out from the ranks so blue
Gallops away to where Joe lay
Then came a voice he knew

Did you think I would leave you dying
When there’s room on my horse for two
Climb up here Joe, we’ll soon be flying
I can go just as fast with two
Did you say Joe I’m all a-tremble
Perhaps it’s the battle’s noise
But I think it’s that I remember
When we were two little boys

Do you think I would leave you dying
There’s room on my horse for two
Climb up here Joe, we’ll soon by flying
Back to the ranks so blue
Can you feel Joe I’m all a tremble
Perhaps it’s the battle’s noise
But I think it’s that I remember
When we were two little boys