Surviving with Character in the Valley

Over the past eight months I have shared various insights with you including thoughts around sales, coaching and mentoring, skiing, customer commitment, Zig’s message of hope and encouragement and more. I thank you again for all of your feedback through calls and emails. Over the next few months my letters will be focused on how we deal personally and professionally with the highly competitive and uncertain economic times– the valley– we are now facing.

In a recent exchange of emails with a Zig fan, Joseph Irons, we discussed how we can operate with complete faith, integrity, and character in the face of a recession, where others may choose to take the low road. Joseph’s last reply was so good I wanted to share it with all of you.

When times are tough true character comes out. Integrity is crucial to surviving as a seller and leader in an up and down market. Selling and leadership kind of go hand in hand in the aspect that a leader must stay focused on the goal and not allow cynical thinking in himself or his team. A seller can never afford cynical thinking to creep in because this is the death of the sale.

Cynical lines of thinking may give you an accurate gauge of the temperature of the moment, but it robs you of hope for the future. Fred Smith Sr. said that the best antidote for cynicism is humor and you have to fight the right fight.

During an up economy it is easy to allow your character to develop flaws. It is easy to cut corners and not do the basics or little things that you know you should do. When a down economy comes if we have let our character falter and we have developed the habit of cutting corners, then all of a sudden we blame the economy for our turn of bad sales or “luck.” This is fighting the wrong fight. The truth is if we search our character we will find that we are the root of the problem. This is when we can start fighting the good fight. The one thing that I know is in an up or down economy people will still spend money if they believe in the value. Enthusiasm is stifled in cynical thinking and what is enthusiasm? Enthuse-I-A-S-M, I Am Sold Myself. Cynicism robs this and causes you to fight the wrong fight.

Many of us have gotten into the ugly habit of not assigning blame accurately. Again it goes back to who is Lord in your life. Self will ultimately destroy self…we will never have enough. We will never be able to see our own faults unless the Spirit discerns for us. Galatians 3:3, “Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?”

Maintaining faith is a matter of keeping focused on what is important, doing what others who complain won’t do because it is work, maintaining a healthy dose of humor and fighting the right fight.

I hope you enjoyed Joseph’s insights as much as I did. I believe the saying goes that you acquire your fruit in the valley; in other words, you find out who you are when you are experiencing your toughest moments. It’s easier to live with character and conviction when things are going as planned. But times of change or economic stress are when your faith, integrity and character are all tested.

I urge you to fight the right fight, as Joseph says, and use all of your ammunition - your faith, integrity, and values to battle cynicism and embrace enthusiasm.

As always, send me your emails at mnorton@ziglar.com or call me at 972-383-3207 and share your thoughts.

April 16th, 2008 - Posted in April 2008 | | 2 Comments

What Do You Sell?

“Selling is not something you do to a customer it is something you do with a customer.” – Zig Ziglar

Being a part of Ziglar gives us the opportunity to represent an incredible brand.  Many of you are blessed to represent an amazing brand, too.  Because of Zig’s reputation and our well known brand, people often think that our sales team must have it easy when selling our products and services, or engaging new prospects.  Let’s face it, most people know who Zig Ziglar is; however, once we get past the pleasantries and the prospect shares their own Zig memories and stories, then the real selling begins. This is the point where the prospect asks that all important question, “So, what are you selling?”

So let me ask you, “What are you selling?”

You may be thinking to yourself, “Well I don’t sell anything; I am not in sales.”  Let me remind you that everybody sells! If you have children, they have sold you on why they need to have a sleepover or why they need the latest Play Station or XBox games. Ladies, if you are married or have a boyfriend they have sold you on why they need to play golf this weekend or why they need that new fishing boat. And men, if you are married or have a girlfriend they have sold you, at one time or another, on why you need new furniture, a vacation, or tickets to the ballet.  You see, we all sell somebody something at one time or another.

So again, let me ask you, “What are you selling?”

If you focus only on what is in it for you, you have already lost. If you focus on the features and functions of what you are selling, you have still lost. Only when you focus on the needs of the person to whom you are selling and the benefits that they will receive from the purchase will you have a chance of winning. Becoming needs and benefits focused will help you in all forms of selling as well as communicating. When people realize that you actually care about them, you will strengthen your relationships– and that is the third leg of the stool. Needs, benefits, and relationships are key, regardless of what you sell.

It has been said that people don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.  This is true of any personal or professional situation you can imagine yourself in. Adopt this as an attitude and a philosophy, and not a tactic, and you will probably never have to answer the question of, “What do you sell?” again.

“You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” - Zig Ziglar  

So it doesn’t matter if sales is your profession or not, we all sell. It doesn’t matter if you are a mom, dad, husband, wife, employer, employee, or friend– place the focus on the other person and watch how all areas of your life improve and grow!

Thanks again for all of your feedback and comments, keep the emails and calls coming, mnorton@ziglar.com or 972-383-3207.

Sincerely,

Michael Norton

March 25th, 2008 - Posted in March 2007 | | 3 Comments

Bringing Us Closer in an Internet Driven World

“It’s a small world, and getting smaller all the time.”  Just last week that saying rang true for me.  I received an e-mail thanking us for launching the Encourage Our Military program (more on this program later). It came from LCDR Dana Caswell of the United States Coast Guard. When I responded to LCDR Caswell thanking him for taking the time to write to us and for serving our country for the past 28 years, I informed him that I too served in the United States Coast Guard in the early 1980’s.  As it turns out his ship, the USCGC Hamilton was moored next to the ship I was stationed on, the USCGC Chase in Boston, MA. Our small world had just gotten smaller; LCDR Caswell and I were in Boston at the same time back in the early 1980’s.

In Hollywood, writers like to pretend we can be almost anywhere at anytime.  Like the instant transportation found in the recent movie Jumper, and the “Beam Me Up Scotty” futuristic technology made famous in Star Trek.  The closest thing we have in reality to that idea is the Internet.  E-mail, Web Cams, Webinars, Web Conferencing, and Mobile Devices allow us to instantly transport our ideas, thoughts, and feelings without leaving the comfort of our home or office.

With that idea in mind, we wondered if we could make Zig’s world of motivation and inspiration easier to access for those far from home serving our country.  I am so proud of our initiative at Ziglar called Encourage Our Military.  This program truly represents Zig’s philosophy of having everything that you want in this life if we will just help enough other people get what they want. If you haven’t heard about this yet please check it out at www.ziglar.com/vault and find out how you can personally help 15 military personnel receive Zig’s words of hope and encouragement as they defend our nation and our freedom!

Regardless of your political position or feelings about the war, the men and women fighting the fight are our family, our friends, our neighbors, our brothers and sisters, and our moms and dads. Zig has helped inspire our troops for decades and now with the power of technology and the Internet, together we can make this small world even smaller.

You can help make a difference in the lives of our military personnel by signing yourself up for the Ziglar Vault. For every person that becomes a member of the Ziglar Vault community, we will provide 24/7 access to all of Zig’s material to 15 military personnel. You can make the world smaller by supporting our troops anywhere in the world as they continue to support you and your families each and every day.

Check out the Ziglar Vault and let me know what you think. Again I love hearing from you all and you can call me at 972-383-3207 or e-mail me at mnorton@ziglar.com.

Sincerely,
Michael Norton
President
Ziglar, Inc.

February 28th, 2008 - Posted in February 2008 | | 1 Comments

Halliburton Deserves Better

Dear Friend,

Here at Ziglar we are proud to be a solution provider for many great companies. We work with individuals, small family-owned businesses as well as large multi-national corporations. One of the clients we are proud to serve is Halliburton. Some people I have met have expressed concern that we are taking Zig’s hard won reputation and somehow tarnishing it by associating and serving the employees at Halliburton.

Over the past two years, our company has been invited to participate in some of Halliburton’s training programs, many on Zig’s staff has gone to several of their field locations, and I, personally, have been hosted in their corporate offices in Denver and in Houston. And I have to tell you that I have enjoyed meeting and getting to know these down to earth, hard working, well intentioned, and committed people. The Halliburton teams are dedicated to their profession, committed to safety, and most importantly go to work each and every day so that you and I and our families can benefit from the energy services they provide and ultimately the products they produce.

The management team and executives I have met feel very strongly about each employee in their care. They are smart business men and women who have taught me a great deal since the inception of our working relationship.

My professional career now spans more than 24 years and I have had the benefit and privilege of working with individual sales representatives for companies, with Human Resource departments, purchasing departments, management, all the way up to the Chairman and CEO of top organizations. I have learned so much from each and every one of these contacts and I continue to learn something everyday through every encounter. The same has happened as I work with Halliburton. My relationship with Halliburton has provided me and the rest of our company with many unique experiences. We have taken what we have learned there and offered that wisdom to other companies we serve.

It is my observation that many people have formed negative opinions about Halliburton from what they have read in the press and I believe that their misconceptions are the byproduct of political agendas. As I and the Ziglar staff have gotten to know more about how Halliburton works and how their decisions are made we have come away with a genuine respect for the company. My hope is that anyone who is interested will reexamine the facts, look for nonpartisan information and consider that although it is a large company it is still comprised of PEOPLE, just like you.

Zig has so often said that he is proud to be an American. Everyone in our company shares that same sense of pride. I am glad that people have the freedom to voice their opinion so freely with me. I love to hear from our customers – both the good and the bad. Those same freedoms also allow me to write this letter in support of some of the finest men and women I have met within the Halliburton Corporation. They are a great organization, serving a tremendous need, and I appreciate them all very much.

So as the heat turns up in the Presidential campaigns, hopefully they will focus on the good, no, hopefully they will focus on the GREAT that Halliburton does, as they deserve better! At Ziglar, we would like to publicly say, “Thank you Halliburton and keep up the tremendous effort!”

The Ziglar mission is to be the difference maker in the personal and professional lives of as many people as we can so that we can have a positive impact on the world. Our clients hire us because they want to become better husbands, better wives, better moms and dads, more productive sales people, stronger leaders or managers, and/or just better people. We believe that Zig’s messages of hope and inspiration are appropriate in any business to any employee. How may we serve you today?

As always, your comments and feedback are welcome 972-383-3207 or mnorton@ziglar.com.

Sincerely,

Michael Norton

February 11th, 2008 - Posted in February 2008, Uncategorized | | 1 Comments

Letter from the President

Dear Friend,

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

“It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish.”

No matter what profession we have chosen, we all started out as “beginners” at some point.  We may have been new to sales, some of us may have entered into a fast track management program, others may have assumed a new position in administration, operations or the warehouse, and I am sure there are a few of us that were once a first time entrepreneur. Any way you look at it we started as beginners.

Then we started to mature in our positions. We met with certain levels of success, we may have earned more money and certainly more respect from those around us as we grew into the “intermediate” stages of our profession.  We gained confidence through daily challenges and experiences as well as through the knowledge we captured during this time. Our value to our company, to our families, and to ourselves fueled this confidence and accelerated our desire to grow and succeed.

Then we became recognized leaders. We hit the “advanced” category as far as delivering on our capabilities and contributions. Many of us grew to be top sales professionals, managers, executives, and even coaches and mentors. All of our hard work paid off.  We can look back at the time we were “beginners” and how far we have come on the journey. We can remember the trials and tribulations we learned how to overcome during our “intermediate” times of learning and growth. And we can remember all of the coaches and mentors we had along the way that helped us achieve the “advanced” stage we enjoy today.

Everyone reading this letter is either just “beginning” their race, pushing themselves harder to learn during their “intermediate” part of the race, or excelling in business as they have attained “advanced” status in their profession. It’s not how you start the race that matters; it’s how you finish the race that counts.

My challenge to those of you at the “intermediate” and “advanced” stages of your career is to help grow the “beginners.”  The world is changing rapidly around us, the economy is impacting us personally and professionally, and the need to grow our people has never been so important.  If we want to move up the ladder of success, we need to make sure that there are qualified people within our teams that can fill our roles if we ever want to move up. And my challenge to the “beginners” is to seek guidance and coaching from the folks who can add value to your journey. If they are not coming to you, seek them out and ask for help.  Ask a person you respect and desire to learn from to meet with you once a week for 15 minutes over a cup of coffee. You will be amazed at the tips you will get that will help you finish the race in a much better position.

As always, I enjoy your feedback, “beginners” “intermediate” and “advanced” are all encouraged to contact me directly at 972-383-3207 or at mnorton@ziglar.com.

Sincerely,
Michael Norton

February 6th, 2008 - Posted in February 2008 | | 4 Comments

Ski with the President, Part II

Dear Friend,

I have enjoyed talking to many of you about the idea of learning and skiing together. Thanks for all of the fun and creative responses. You are all true Zig students.

Due to the response rate and my availability (I do have a company to run), I will be offering this exciting opportunity during the last week in February only. And since it looks like I will have groups of people attending and not just individuals, I am offering an incredible new deal for everyone who wishes to participate.

The new rate is $995.00 for one day, and $495 for any additional days you care to join the group. The investment covers the program fee as well as a one day lift ticket (travel, lodging, meals, rental equipment, etc., are NOT included).

Please choose from the days below and select the program(s) that will be most rewarding for you!

Monday February 25th – Strategies for Success – Personal Development/Spiritual Journey

Tuesday February 26th – Sales

Wednesday February 27th – Leadership/Management

Thursday February 28th – Half Day of Strategies for Success and Half Day Sales

Friday February 29th – Half Day Sales and Half Day Leadership/Management

Every day will begin with some classroom instruction and inspiration. We will then ski Beaver Creek Mountain and I will share personal and professional observations as we tour the mountain. It is truly a magnificent experience that will end with some additional summary discussion and après-ski fun! I will be available each evening to continue our discussions during dinner, which is optional for each participant.

Thanks again for all of your inquiries and ideas and I look forward to skiing with you in Beaver Creek!

Please call me at 972.383.3207 or e-mail me at mnorton@ziglar.com.

For those of you who are non-skiers – I will be happy to offer another opportunity in the summer for hiking the mountain. Beaver Creek is beautiful anytime of the year!

Sincerely,

Michael Norton

January 16th, 2008 - Posted in January 2008 | | 0 Comments

An Invitation to Ski with the President of Ziglar!

Dear Friends,

I want to thank all of you again for your communications and responses to my open letters. I truly enjoy corresponding with you and hearing your stories, so keep them coming!

Now let’s have some more fun… by combining a little business with a little pleasure.

Every year I spend many weekends in Colorado, specifically in the charming and picturesque ski resort towns of Beaver Creek and Vail. I love skiing and just being in the high country during the winter months. When I look around at the evergreens, aspen groves, and boulders against the quiet backdrop of the snow-covered peaks, I am truly inspired and renewed by the results of God’s paintbrush.

Are you wondering where I’m going with this? Well, over the years I have been fortunate to spend a good deal of time on the mountain. That experience has led to insights which have proven helpful for salespeople, managers and leaders, as well as for folks on a spiritual journey. This is where you come in! Are you a beginner sales representative, or seasoned veteran who wants to elevate your success? Do you manage or lead a diverse team with varied abilities and skill sets? Are there hazards and unmarked obstacles in your business or personal life? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then I would like to personally invite you to join me in Colorado. You will benefit from a unique, inspirational, motivational, and educational experience, just as I have.

As a fellow skier or snowboarder, you will relate to the correlations I make by sharing experiences from waiting in lift lines and on chairlift rides, skiing with people at all levels of skill, and negotiating all types of terrain– from the easy green runs to the most difficult double black diamonds. Learning to be more patient and observant, working with people of differing abilities, and overcoming fear and challenges are great lessons that can be applied to all areas of your life. Additionally, Beaver Creek and Vail draw many interesting people from all over the world, and after a day on the mountain it is fun to get to know them at the numerous après-ski establishments.

So, I invite you to join me as I host a series of “days on the mountain” from January through March. You can come alone, or bring your family or a team from your company. We will create an agenda and ski itinerary that meet your needs and skiing ability, and will discuss or train on any topics that are of particular need or interest to you. Of course, I will be sure to include Zig’s lessons and philosophies, for as he said, “It’s your attitude not your aptitude that determines your altitude!”

Elevate your altitude and we will make sure you leave with the right attitude!

Beginner, intermediate, and advanced skiers are all welcome. If you prefer snowshoeing, ice skating, shopping, or just being in the gorgeous high country, we will make it work. For more details call me at 972-383-3207 or send me an email at mnorton@ziglar.com.

Sincerely,

Michael Norton

December 11th, 2007 - Posted in December 2007 | | 4 Comments

Letter from the President

Dear Friend,
If you are reading this letter either on the blog or on my website page, then you’re obviously interested in improving your life, and accelerating your success.  Now is the perfect time of year to re-examine your personal and professional goals and objectives, and begin to improve all of the working parts as a whole… which is, of course, the Ziglar approach.  This is an appropriate time to create a strategic plan for 2008.  Sounds complicated and scary doesn’t it?  But really it is an easy process.
Examination is the first step.  First, you must take a hard and honest look at how things are working – or not.  After that, the focus turns to how things are done.  At the end of the process, the paths to change can be documented, communicated, and implemented.  And from real change comes real success.
Let me break the process down even further.  First, consider your life.  Make a list of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities for improvement, and threats to that improvement.  Be honest with yourself.  No one has to see this but you.  This is a quick examination of your life, and the first step in making a strategic plan.
Now look at that examination, and ask yourself:  What do you really want to be?  Perhaps you want to be a stronger, more available parent.  Maybe you want to be at the next level in your career.  Whatever your goal, your life will open up to other possibilities and greatnesses once you achieve it.  It’s your overall objective.  Write it down.
Next, think about what you need to have in place in order to get there.  Do you need to spend more time in the house with your family, or reduce outside obligations so that you can better concentrate on what your kids have to say?  Is there a certification or course you need to complete, or do you need to make a presentation to your boss that outlines your qualifications for a promotion?  You’ll probably think of several things that would need to happen in order for you to reach your overall objective.  Those are your tactics.  Write those down, too.
Now that you have a list of tactics, you can start thinking of actions to take to achieve them.  Perhaps you need to cut back on volunteer activities, reduce the kids’ after school duties, and commit to eating one meal a day together at the table.  Or, maybe you need to research continuing education opportunities, discuss your goals with your manager, or update your resume.  You might find you need to ask someone for help, to collaborate – be sure to note that, too.   Whatever your actions, write them down, and while you’re at it, give yourself some deadlines.
And there you have it, your personal strategic plan for 2008.
The power of writing something down is immense.  Just typing up a statement is a form of commitment.  Examining your current state and then coming up with your overall objective will probably be the most difficult parts of this process.  But as you go forward and start knocking out the action items that support your tactics, you’ll begin to see real progress.  Be sure to periodically review and update your plan, changing and adding tactics and actions… and maybe even your overall objective.
That’s the goal after all:  to change your life to the degree that you can completely refocus on something new.  Think big.  Then think bigger.  As Zig says, “Confidence is going after Moby Dick in a rowboat and taking the tartar sauce with you.”
Go on, try it.  Once you start documenting what you want and how you’re going to get it, you’ll get the clarity you need to succeed.  Check in with me in a month or so, and let me know what you’ve decided to strive for.  I want to hear back from you again after that, once you reach your goal… to learn where you’re going next.
My e-mail is MNorton@ziglar.com and my telephone number is 972-383-3207. Keep sending your thoughts, I enjoy corresponding with you.

Sincerely,

Michael Norton
President
Ziglar, Inc.

November 28th, 2007 - Posted in November 2007 | | 1 Comments

Letter from the President

Dear Friend,
As the close of 2007 approaches, thoughts naturally turn to celebrations, connections, and capacities.  We all want to end the year on a positive note, remembering events and people who made a difference, and approaching 2008 with an open mind to good things ahead.
You might be thinking of ways to make the next year better for yourself, your family, and your organization.  At Ziglar, Inc., we’re doing that too.  Zig has always had a commitment to and interest in life improvement and positive change, and now is the perfect time to re-examine habits and old ways of thinking. This is also the time to think about connections and partnerships, and how to maximize the benefits from those relationships.
Zig believes in collaboration.  Two together is stronger than one alone in any situation, especially when change is afoot.  That collaborator is an even more solid asset when it’s a trusted friend who understands the “why” behind your “how.” 
On that note, I am pleased to tell you that we have entered into a strategic alliance with our friend and partner, Tony Jeary. Tony, coach to the world’s top CEOs, is known and respected as a Strategic Facilitator and Success Accelerator.  He and Zig have a long-standing relationship that goes back many years.  In fact, I have personally worked with Tony during the past several years, and I have come to understand and like his way of doing things.  Like the rest of us at Ziglar, Inc., Tony is committed to making positive differences in the lives of others, and operating with the Golden Rule in mind.  In fact, he runs his life and business under the motto, “Give value, do more than is expected.”  (Check out his website, www.tonyjeary.com , and take his free self-assessment on Success Acceleration.)
Together, we will begin to provide strategy services to high-level leaders and their organizations.  These services will include strategic planning, facilitation, collaboration, and training.  We feel that Tony’s strategic expertise, coupled with our demonstrated performance improvement programs, will create a collaboration that will help leaders and organizations examine how they do business, determine new goals and methods, communicate these changes to their teams, and ultimately celebrate their successes together. We will enable people to accelerate their success. 
Want to know more?  I would love to talk with you at more length about what this partnership can do for you and for your organization.  My e-mail is MNorton@ziglar.com  and my telephone number is 972-383-3207.   Please keep the emails and phone calls coming – you make it fun for me to go to work everyday! 
Sincerely,
 
Michael Norton
President
Ziglar, Inc.

November 20th, 2007 - Posted in November 2007 | | 0 Comments

Letter from the President

In my last letter I challenged you to prepare for your day as if it were the last day before your vacation.  I have already received some great feedback, and many of you have accepted the challenge to try this for 30 days. It is great to know that some of you are already experiencing the positive results of this proven philosophy.  I would love to hear more success stories – or if you need a little word of encouragement – I would be happy to do that as well.On another note, let me share some observations from the 2007 World Series. Although born and raised in New Jersey, I have lived in Colorado for 11 years and have adopted the Colorado Rockies as my National League team. For those of you who did not follow the last two months of Major League Baseball, the Rockies appearance in the World Series is nothing short of a miracle. They won 21 of their last 22 games just to get to the World Series. Unfortunately for the fans wearing the black and purple, and for the guys actually on the field, the Rockies were swept by the Boston Red Sox in 4 games.

I attended both home games of the World Series for Colorado this past weekend. The feeling was electric, even though the Rockies were down 2 games to none. But what really caught my attention was the attitude of gratitude displayed by the majority of the fans. Yes, they were all hopeful that the Rockies magic would continue and the team would bounce back on their home field, but more than that, they were truly grateful that the Rockies had actually made it to the World Series. I am sure the players didn’t come to the games prepared to settle for second place; but the fans, we were just elated that the team had made it this far.After the game, I met with former professional baseball player Bill Ripken. Even Bill recognized the tremendous accomplishment of the Colorado Rockies. He viewed their run as catching lightning in a bottle. But I guess the real testament to this amazing run of the Rockies and the sincere gratitude of the fans came at the end of the final game. The Red Sox had just won the World Series and were celebrating on the field. There were hats thrown, gloves tossed, and yelling and screaming in the middle of Coors Field. Then the chant started, “Let’s Go Rockies! Let’s Go Rockies! Let’s Go Rockies!” The Rockies fans didn’t run out of the stadium quickly, they didn’t walk with their heads down pointing fingers of blame at the Rockies team or managers. They stayed in the ballpark and showed their appreciation by cheering for their team one last time. It was heart warming and a great demonstration of appreciation for the players and coaches.

So what are you grateful for in your life? Who are those that you appreciate? Is there someone in your circle of family and friends who just lost a game or battle of any kind? Do you have a friend or loved one that may be struggling and could use your support? Zig tells us how important that “Attitude of Gratitude” is, and that personal recognition is the number one motivator of people. Who will you appreciate, support, and motivate today? “Let’s Go ____________!” You fill in the blank.Send me an e-mail and let me know how this works out for you, mnorton@ziglar.com or call me at 972-383-3207.

Sincerely,Michael Norton

November 1st, 2007 - Posted in November 2007 | | 0 Comments