10 Real Estate Cold Calling Scripts to Increase Lead Generation

Every day, realtors must generate new appointments from prospective clients, hearing their pain points and, hopefully, selling their homes.

There’s no easy way to fill your real estate prospecting funnel, but could cold calling be a way to get you there?

The short answer is: yes. But there are right and wrong ways to do it.

Many realtors may think cold calling is dead. But before you write them off completely, remember they do serve a purpose. Of course, much of the success behind a cold call comes from a realtor’s pitch and targeting. If you’re up for the challenge, a database of killer cold calling scripts can help you land you more real estate clients.

The good news? You don’t need special powers to make cold calls that convert. The success lies in your preparation and delivery. How you position yourself on a cold call should reflect core traits that buyers want in a realtor:

Confidence in your abilities
Preparation that shows your prospect you’re the realtor for the job
Enthusiasm to get their property sold

Let’s dive into how cold calling works, and ten scripts to help you fill your sales funnel and your CRM system with new potential sellers.

1.The out-of-the-blue cold calling script
2.The script that gauges interest
3.The script that positions you as a community champion
4.A script for leveraging a recent sale you made
5.The script for nailing your elevator pitch
6.The script for pitching someone you already know
7.The script that gets to the point
8.The script to pitch a property owner who is already selling
9.The script to follow up on a previous property appraisal
10.The script to stop a discussion about commissions

The secret sauce to perfect cold calling scripts

Each cold calling script in your sales arsenal should serve a specific purpose.

One might be to connect with a prospect who’s looking to put their property on the market. Another may just be to reach out and see if a homeowner is looking to sell in the future.

But no matter what script you use and for what scenario, they should all have a few basic ingredients:

Goal: You must define the outcome you want from the call, whether it’s to meet up with the prospect or to secure a listing
Positivity: You need to be upbeat on your call and show your prospect that you’re enthusiastic about working with them in the market
Empathy: Even on an initial cold call, you need to share your prospect’s frustrations and show them that you understand their pain points
Questions: Ask your prospect questions so you can engage in a more meaningful conversation and deepen your relationship
Value: Offer a solution to their problem instead of just selling them on your real estate agency

A good approach to real estate cold calling is to set a daily target for how many you plan on making (and make it realistic). Let’s say you average a conversion for every 20 cold calls you make. If you’re happy with bringing in two new prospects a day, then make 40 cold calls that day and no more.

You don’t want to burn out, but you need to make sure you’re getting enough prospects in your pipeline to fulfill your targets.

Practice makes perfect

According to sales training guru Mike Ferry, practicing real estate cold calling scripts is the key to making them as successful as possible.

And to do this you must practice and develop your skills so you can handle yourself in any cold call. Ferry says this means you need to practice with intensity:

“Okay, let’s role-play, “so when do you plan on moving?” Everybody likes that question. “And how long have you lived there?” No, no. It’s not how long have you lived there, it’s “how long have you lived at this address?” It’s “where did you folks move from.” See, you practice with the intensity as if you were actually working with a buyer or seller.”

Once you’ve come around to the idea of practicing your cold scripts, enlist the help of other realtors in the office to help you nail them. The great thing about real estate is that objections from sellers are easy to predict.

Think about it, you know you’re going to get asked for the following:

Your commission rate
Your experience
How many properties you’ve sold
If you’re familiar with the seller’s area/property type

If you practice handling these objections in-house, it gives you a better chance of tackling them with confidence in the real world.

For the purposes of the examples in this piece, we’re going to use the persona of John, who works for Big Wins Real Estate.

Let’s get straight into the scripts.

1. The out-of-the-blue cold calling script Let’s start with a script for when you’re making an initial cold call to someone to see if they’re interested in buying.

This script is good for: Gauging a prospect and hearing their pain points. This script is used to get your foot in the door. If they don’t write you off, arrange a time when you can call them back for a more in-depth chat about how you can help their property affairs.

“Hi! My name is John. It’s so good to finally reach you! I’m a real estate expert for the Big Wins Real Estate community. Just checking, is this a good time to talk?”

Now, let the prospect respond. For all you know, they’re driving or in the middle of something. Showing a prospect that you understand they may be busy is always a good way to build initial rapport, as it shows them that you understand that they have a life.

Be ready. At this point, your prospect will either give you an objection (“I’m not interested” etc.) or give you a couple of minutes of their time. Regardless of their answer, you need to steer the call with empathy:

“I totally get it, you’re busy and I understand you can’t talk right now. It’s (prospect’s name), right?”

“Sure, I can feel your frustration. The market certainly is difficult right now, (prospect’s name)”

“Of course, I completely understand you’re low on time, (prospect’s name), so I’ll get to the point”

This script allows you to gauge where a prospect is at, and hopefully figure out a time to make contact again for another in-depth call.

2. The script that gauges interest

This script gauge’s a prospect’s interest in the market. Let’s look at this one as dangling a carrot in front of them.

This script is good for: Getting a more in-depth look into a homeowner and if they’ve considered putting their property on the market.

“Hi, I’m John with Big Wins Real Estate. Is this the homeowner?”

Wait for their confirmation.

“Ok, great! The reason for my call is that I have some buyers that are looking for homes in your neighborhood at the moment. Would you consider selling your home if you had someone lined up to buy it?”

Then, wait and listen.

The overall goal of this script is to plant the seed of selling a property in the prospect’s mind. But planting a seed isn’t enough, which is why you need to create a sense of urgency in the call as well. If you tell the prospect you have buyers who are looking in the area, this does just that.

If your homeowner shows an interest, make an appointment when it suits them within the next week and tell them you’ll do an initial pricing assessment of their property.

Many homeowners will tell you that they aren’t interested in selling at the moment. This is ok, but you must still pass on your information and explain how they can get in touch with you. No doubt, the prospect will bring up your call in a conversation in the following weeks, and this could be what leads them to think about selling a little more seriously.

A cold lead is better than no lead, so keep them in your sales pipeline to follow up with at a later date.

3. The script that positions you as a community champion

Positioning yourself as a champion in the community can help to build trust between you and those in the neighborhood you’re pitching within.

This script is good for: Humanizing yourself as an agent and connecting with prospects through their sense of community. It’s a great way to build relationships with prospective sellers and buyers.

“Hi (prospect’s name), this is John from Big Wins Real Estate. Just reaching out as I’ve been living in the (neighborhood/area name) for over 20 years and I just love this place. As a new agent at Big Wins with a specialization in the local area, I wanted to know if I could find a suitable buyer for your property in the next 30 days. Would you be open to meeting with me to discuss?”

This script gets to the point. Your prospect is either going to say yes or no. The tactic behind this script is, even if the prospect says no, you’ll likely strike up a conversation about the local area as you mentioned earlier.

Take notes of anything you pick up in the conversation. Even if the prospect isn’t looking to sell, it’s a great way to build the foundations of a relationship, and they may refer you to friends or family members who are looking to sell.

2. The script that gauges interest
This script gauge’s a prospect’s interest in the market. Let’s look at this one as dangling a carrot in front of them.

This script is good for: Getting a more in-depth look into a homeowner and if they’ve considered putting their property on the market.

“Hi, I’m John with Big Wins Real Estate. Is this the homeowner?”

Wait for their confirmation.

Then, wait and listen.

If your homeowner shows an interest, make an appointment when it suits them within the next week and tell them you’ll do an initial pricing assessment of their property.

A cold lead is better than no lead, so keep them in your sales pipeline to follow up with at a later date.

3. The script that positions you as a community champion
Positioning yourself as a champion in the community can help to build trust between you and those in the neighborhood you’re pitching within.

This script is good for: Humanizing yourself as an agent and connecting with prospects through their sense of community. It’s a great way to build relationships with prospective sellers and buyers.

4. A script for leveraging a recent sale you made

This script positions you as an agent who has already made a sale in the neighborhood, and to show prospects that you are the person to get them results if they’re looking to sell.

This script is good for: Getting prospects to think about how much their properties are worth by highlighting a property you recently sold in their area.

“Hi, I’m John from Big Wins Real Estate. Is this the homeowner?”

Wait for their confirmation.

“Just getting in touch because I sold a property down the street from you recently at (recent sale address). It’s a great area with a lot of interest at the moment and the properties are selling for fantastic prices. Out of interest, have you thought about selling your home?”

This should kickstart their thinking process. If their neighbor’s house four doors down sold for $500,000, then they start to imagine their property could sell for that, too. Highlighting recent sales in a neighborhood is a great way to get a prospect thinking about if it’s also the right move for them.

If the prospect shows a hint of interest, you should offer up any information about the recent sale that will paint you in a good light. It could be how quickly you sold the property, or how well the property was priced. From there, you should at least be able to book an appointment with them to meet or price their property for them.

This script has two goals: to get the prospect thinking about putting their home on the market and to have you positioned as the agent to get the property sold.

5. The script for nailing your elevator pitch

Every realtor needs an elevator pitch, but the biggest mistake realtors make is coming across as robotic and rehearsed. You need to sound natural and convincing.

<>This script is good for: Getting prospects curious about your real estate agency and what you might be able to offer them and their hopes for their property sale.

Elevator pitches have one goal: to highlight why a buyer or seller should pick you as their real estate agent. Here are some examples:

“I just sold a property in this area last week for considerably more than the asking price. I know you’ve got a tight deadline for selling your property. If I could show you a plan to get your property moving on the market and above the asking price, can we set up a meeting?”

“I’m on a mission to help 50 people find their dream homes by the end of the year. I’d like you to be one of those people and I want to be the person that finds your dream home in the shortest time frame possible. Would you be open to meeting with me tomorrow?”

As with an elevator pitch in any industry, objections are common, but only if you haven’t managed to strike an interest in something you’ve said.

Your overall goal with this elevator pitch script should not be to sell yourself as the best realtor in the area, but to simply book an appointment with the prospect.

If they do object:

Show empathy towards their objection: “I understand you’re busy”
Ask for details: “Can I ask, why do you have a tight deadline for your property sale?”
Offer up a solution: “We can get your property sold within your timeframe”

Positioning the conversation around their pain points can make a difference in the success of your elevator pitch.

6. The script for pitching someone you already know

Has somebody put their property on the market that you’ve already met at an event or know through a mutual friend? If so, this is a great opportunity for you to connect with the prospect organically and build on the trust you’ve already established.

This script is good for: Getting a headstart on other realtors. In some way or another, you already know the prospect. Use that to your advantage and get your foot in the door before your competitors do.

“Hi (prospect’s name), this is John! We met at (fundraiser, mutual friend’s birthday etc.). So, how have you been?”

Don’t open with the fact that you’re a real estate agent. Try and build the conversation from your last engagement with the prospect.

“I was just calling you because, as (mutual friend’s name) might have told you, I’m a real estate agent for Big Wins Real Estate. I’m just reaching out to family and friends to see where they’re at with their properties and if they’ve thought about upgrading, downsizing, or selling their home. (Prospect’s name), have you considered a move, considering the market right now?”

Use this script to reconnect with someone you’ve already met. This way, they’re much less likely to go on the defense. As they’ve already met you, it’s likely to be more open to a discussion and keeping the conversation casual—especially as your job is something that may well have already come up in conversation.

But that doesn’t mean the conversation can’t be productive. As you’ve established a level of trust, asking to meet up on the weekend to give them a pricing estimate won’t be such a strong ask. Work with them when it comes to times and, of course, ask them if anyone they know is looking to sell.

7. The script that gets to the point

When it comes to cold calling, if you aren’t careful with your time, it can chew up your entire day. That’s why you need to get to the point without rushing your prospect.

This script is good for: Fitting the number of cold calls you require into your day without it hindering everything else on your schedule.

“Hi, this is John from Big Wins Real Estate. I’m calling as my agency has some buyers who are interested in buying a home in (prospect’s area). Can you tell me if you are looking to sell your home either now or in the near future?”

This one is short, sharp and most importantly, it’s clear.

Your prospect knows right off the bat why you are calling, and your question leaves no room for an answer other than “yes” or “no”. If they are interested, move on to your next pitching technique and, if they say “no”, add them to your CRM as a cold lead and make a note to follow up with them again in the future.

8. The script to pitch a property owner who is already selling

Sometimes, people are unsuccessful when they try to sell their homes privately to avoid commissions. Pitching these prospects when they’re struggling to sell and feeling deflated can be a great way to leverage your real estate cold calling.

This script is good for: Contacting a prospect who hasn’t had any success selling a house on their own. They are more likely to be open to hearing your pitch if they’ve tried (and failed) to sell.

“Hi, is this (prospect’s name)? My name is John and I’m calling from Big Wins Real Estate. I was surfing the web this afternoon and I noticed you’ve got your house up for a private sale. I was just wondering if you have had any success?”

Wait for their answer, which will most likely be a “no” if you’ve spotted the property on the internet.

“I’m not surprised, the market is slow at the moment. How long have you been on the market for now?”

Wait for their answer.

“Hmm. What kind of response have you got from interested buyers so far?”

Wait for their answer.

“Where are most of the interested buyers coming from? Have you had an open house or are you relying on your internet advertisement?”

Wait for their answer. By now, you’ve already got some information that can steer the pitch in your favor.

“That’s very interesting. The reason i’m calling you today is just to see where you’re at with the sale. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you with the sale, and if you would like my assistance with getting some more interest in the property.”

It’s at this point you may get some objections from the prospect. For example, they might reassure you that they’ve got the sale under control. If this is the case, you can then ask whether they would change their mind if you could get them the property price they’re asking for.

Either they’ll bite at this point, or they won’t. If they don’t, make a note of it in your real estate CRM and follow up with them on a regular basis until they come on board, or they manage to sell the property themselves.

Pro-tip: Don’t use this script if the seller is already using another agent. It’s unethical and violates the Standards of Practice 16-2, 16-3. Don’t be that realtor.

9. The script to follow up on a previous property appraisal

If you’ve given a property appraisal and then hear crickets back from a prospect, it doesn’t mean you should write them off. They’ve shown initial interest in selling their property, so try following up six months after the appraisal to see where they’re at.

This script is good for: Following up with leads that have gone cold. If you’ve given a prospect an appraisal, you should be following them up with interest.

“Hi (prospect’s name). It’s John calling from Big Wins Real Estate. I just wanted to touch base with you about the appraisal I conducted on your home in (month of appraisal). I’ve been watching the market in your area closely and there’s been quite a lot happening. Has your position on selling the property changed at all?”

Wait for their answer.

“Ok no problem. Because the market in your area has been so busy, it may be worthwhile updating the initial estimate I gave you. Would this be something you would be interested in?”

Wait for their answer. If they say “no”, don’t give up.

“Okay (prospect’s name), I completely understand. I’m picking up that you aren’t planning on moving from the (neighborhood) at the moment, but I think you might be interested in how other properties in the area have sold since I spoke to you in (month you last spoke).”

Wait for their answer. If they don’t put up any immediate objections, you can talk to them about any new sales or listings in the area.

As with our point from script four, people are often interested in how much their neighbors make from selling their property, so use it to your advantage.

10. The script to stop a discussion about commissions

Although nothing is certain in real estate, it’s likely your prospect will bring up the topic of your commission rate.

This script is good for: Not getting locked into talking about your commission on a call. As we all know, it can get ugly.

The best way to handle an objection about commission is to extinguish it early.

Prospect: “John, I don’t want to pay more than 3% commission on the sale.”

John at Big Wins Real Estate: “(Prospect’s name), I’m making a note that you don’t want to pay anything more than 3% commission. How’s tomorrow or Tuesday looking to meet up to preview the property?”

Here, you’re not agreeing to their terms, but merely acknowledging it to make the prospect feel understood. If you disagree over commissions on an initial call, you may never step foot inside the prospect’s property.

Once you’ve previewed the property and let them know what you can offer them as a realtor, then you should address the commission fee again and reinforce what you can do for them and their property.

Bonus tip: Making the most of your open houses

As a realtor, you need to be looking for new prospects every chance you get. This includes any open houses you host for current clients.

Not everyone that attends open houses are there to buy. Some people are just there to have a casual look around. But be mindful that many who attend open houses are either sellers who have properties on the market, or homeowners who may be considering putting their homes on the market in the near future.

These people are gold when it comes to real estate prospects. And you should have an open house pitch ready to go to make the most of the opportunity.

Ask every single person that comes to the open house how they found out about it.

It doesn’t matter if they found out through a newspaper advertisement or they saw the “for sale” sign in the front yard, they’re all listing prospects. Once you’ve opened up the conversation with them, find out:

If they currently live locally
If they’re looking to buy or sell either now or in the near future
What their timeframe to buy or sell is
When they want to move or sell
When they would need to sell their property so they could purchase another home (timeframe)
If they’ve had an agent conduct an appraisal on their current property
If their property is already on the market

If all goes well at the open house, you’ll arrive back to your office with some interested buyers for your seller’s property, as well as some hot new leads to add to your prospecting funnel.

Keep track of all your cold calls with JustCall

To ensure that your calling strategy is as effective as it can be, you need to track and monitor all your outgoing and ingoing calls.

Calling app JustCall can help you do just that.

By integrating JustCall with your CRM, any calls are automatically logged in your sales process. Calls to existing contacts and matched and added to the contact’s page, while calls to new numbers automatically create a new deal.

Conclusion

To be successful at the cold calling game, you must be doing more than dialing numbers and telling prospects you can sell their house.

Cold calling is hated by most salespeople for a reason: because they’re not good at it.

Don’t be that realtor that hassles people through useless cold calls. Add a sense of professionalism by practicing your cold calls before you make them. Once you’ve got a prospect listening, you’ll be able to steer the conversation in your favor.

Whether you’re just touching base or looking to make ground with an old relationship, the strategy is the same: listen to their pain points, be empathetic, and let them know you’re the right realtor to make ground with their property.

Sales Underachieving? Motivate Your Sales Teams With These Proven Methods

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Motivating a sales team can be the most challenging aspects of being a sales manager, however it is also one of the most important. Sales reps need to be extremely motivated to deal with the rejections that they come across during the job. They need to be persistent and unwavering, and this only comes from a strong motivation to close deals and to hit the number. Below are 9 proven methods that can be used to get the most out of your sales team.

Make Commission a Force

Making commission a driving force can have an immediate effect on the direction of sales reps. If you want a certain product to be pushed, make the commission possibilities larger for that product. Be cautious, however, because poor commission structures can also cause problems. Incorporating commission ceilings or receding commission structures can produce an adverse effect on motivation. If the commission gradually reduces in percentage with larger deals, sales reps will stay away from chasing large clients. If a ceiling is put into place, high earners who hit that level will stop working hard as there is no potential for increased earnings. As a sales manager, you need your best earners to continually work and close out a majority of their deals. It is important that the bigger the deal, the bigger the payout will be.

Create a Culture of Friendly Competition

It can be a great motivation method to create social pressure within a sales team. Many sales professionals are naturally competitive individuals and thrive under this structure. Incorporate strategies such as publicly posting sales numbers and conversion rates. By making these numbers known, sales reps will know where they stand in the company and if they need to improve. It creates an environment of friendly competition. Another strategy to create pressure is by having a “man on the bench.” Create a pipeline of talent that can be used to replace existing under-performers. This will put pressure on the laggards to improve.

Celebrate Wins – Big or Small

This might be obvious, but it can’t be understated how important it is for sales managers to, on a personal level, recognize the good work of their employees. Everybody appreciates hearing positive things from their boss. It shows that the manager is paying attention. Even just the two words “good job” can go a long way when it comes to the motivation of a sales team. Make sure your sales team is celebrated – this can be done by a variety of different things, such as gifts, bonuses, vacations trips or things as small as an email blast or a team dinner.

Internally Promote the Sales Team’s Success

Don’t make sales success a secret. Use public recognition to motivate the sales force. Publicly acknowledge sales success at meetings and other gatherings. It gives the reps who are doing well an incentive to keep working at a high level, as well as shows the team that the manager acknowledges success. Another way to bring recognition public is by having a successful rep train the rest of the team on the techniques that they have put into use. This will showcase top performers and give them visibility throughout a company.

Strategically Segment Your Team and Compensate Accordingly

It is sometimes best to segment motivation techniques between laggards, core performers, and stars. These different strata within an organization will act differently to programs. In the case of stars it is best to remove roadblocks to continued success, such as incentive ceilings. It is best to simply limit the possibility of de-motivation for high earners, as they already have the motivation necessary. Laggards require more nurturing to motivate them. They require the stick at times as well as the carrot. The fear of loosing the job might just be enough to force them into action. Core performers are the most difficult to incentivize. They contain a wide range of character traits and are not easily generalized, however tactics such as multi-tier targets have been shown to be successful in moving them up the ladder.

Master the Different Individual Motivational Factors

Try to understand what motivates each member of the sales team individually. A good manager knows how the members will individually respond to different tactics. Everybody responds to different stimuli and it is up to the manager to act accordingly. Ask what they want and experiment with different tactics to see which showed the best response. Some people respond best to money incentives, while others will respond better to non-financial stimuli, such as more vacation days or the ability to telecommute. People feel more motivation when they believe that they have a say in the process.

Equip Teams With the Tools They Need

A lack of the necessary tools to make sales can cause a serious loss of motivation for any sales team. This could be a lack of lead generation stemming from poor marketing, poor sales content, or a time consuming pipeline. When a sales person is unable to do their job well, they will lose any semblance of motivation and most likely leave for another company. Equip sales teams with the necessary tools that allow for a streamlined sale. Invest in the newest sales technology such as cloud based sales applications. This will allow reps to compete at a higher level against other sales reps and will allow them to be as effective as they can be.

Lead By Example

It can be a strong motivational tool for a sales manager to get into the trenches with the sales team. Sometimes what you want accomplished cannot be simply explained. Show them first hand how to handle a call, track down the decision maker in a deal or how to work with an existing client. Just showing them for 10 minutes that you are willing, and can, do the nitty-gritty of sales will have a strong impact on a team.

Repeat, Optimize, and Enhance Your Strategy

These techniques are not one and done. Once you find something that works well for your team, continue to use it. Incorporate these methods into the daily work place environment.

More Creative Motivation Techniques

Here are some more creative techniques for motivation that are a little different.

Rewarding rejections: Reward people for getting rejections (not as much as yes’s though). This will motivate people to increase their volume of calls, which will eventually lead to more yes’s.

Bring in the spouse: Create rewards that involve the spouse and family. This will create more motivation for the rep as their significant other becomes involved too and motivates them at home.

Team building happy hour: Have a happy hour (paid for by the company) for all of the sales teams that have reached their quota. Along with motivation, happy hour is good for team bonding.

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7 Ways to Motivate a Sales Team

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Human nature makes all of us want to achieve more: a higher salary, better opportunities, more influence and power. That’s why we can make quite a logical assumption that the most common motivation strategies are connected with income and career. Although they do work in many cases, there are a lot of other ways to motivate and inspire your sales team.

1. Set clear goals and KPIs

When motivating your sales team, keep in mind that they need a clear understanding of the main goals and priorities. Vague OKRs can make your team feel as if they are working hard but not getting anywhere. This leads to stress, anxiety and finally may cause a professional burnout.

We recommend you to set SMART goals. They may become an efficient tool for team motivation and improve the sales process.
Another thing to take into account is personal and team KPIs. Always discuss your team performance altogether and allow sales reps to take part in articulating KPIs for the next period. This way they will take the job more personally and make bigger inputs.

2. Encourage initiative

If you still wonder how to motivate your sales reps, remember: freedom does make a difference. Give your salespeople more freedom of action and you’ll get knocked off your feet with all the creative ideas. Your trust gives employees the possibility to prove themselves and impress you. Thus, you’ll be able to discover new talents in case you underestimated someone before, and bring your sales process to the next level.

One more thing that may encourage your sales reps’ initiative and autonomy is remote work. Modern trends prove that the vast majority of employees prefer to work on their own to hit maximum productivity. So one of the unconventional sales team motivation ideas would be to allow them to work remotely from time to time.

And by the way, speaking of some time off work. A great example is Hasbro. This globally-recognized toy producer at some point decided to introduce a more flexible schedule. Now, every Friday is a half-day and the employees may go home much earlier. Nice move, huh?

3. Give and request feedback

One of the crucial components of any team’s workflow is providing feedback. Yet, you should not only articulate your performance review to your employees. It is also important to ask them for the feedback of your interaction and cooperation as a manager.

Open feedback culture is integral when motivating a sales team. It lets your employees understand their strengths and learn about the skills that require improvement.

A good feedback session includes a review of positive and negative points, support, and recommendations. Yet, it is not an annual thing as you may think. The best option is to do it quite often, let’s say once a fortnight or once a month.

4. Integrate useful tools

We all love working with efficient digital tools that may facilitate our workflow. And sales teams are no exception. Integration of their favorite apps may help you build better relationships with your employees. It will enhance credibility, build trust, and bring joy to your team members.
One of the tools worth consideration is NetHunt – a free Gmail-based CRM. It integrates some G Suite apps, automates data flow, and makes information available anywhere you work. Besides, it is easy to use and doesn’t require any special skills, so your employees may start using it right away.

5. Organize events, games, and competitions

Team building activities are a great way to motivate a sales team and lift their spirits. Arrange some outing in nature or visit an outstanding place as a bonus for a good job. This way your employees will have some rest and get charged with positive energy.

Many companies now offer some fun activities right in the office. The staff may play table tennis, board games, and even PlayStation. Such things may give a boost, inspire, and motivate to work faster and more efficiently.

Another fun way to motivate a sales team is to organize an internal contest among your sales reps. Get them into the competitive spirit encouraging the most productive employees with a bonus or some extra benefits.

6. Reward achievements and positive behavior

Achieving KPIs and showing good results shouldn’t go unnoticed. It is always a good idea to dedicate a part of the budget to monthly bonuses for good performance.

Yet, you shouldn’t only focus on the personal results of your employees. Sometimes, the whole team deserves a reward for doing a great job: closing deals, working under pressure or at short notice.

And most importantly, you should also focus on rewarding positive behavior that you’d like to instill in your sales reps. Encourage them for using a CRM system consistently, performing follow-ups or doing any other day-to-day tasks that you consider worthy.

7. Celebrate your team’s and clients’ success

The power of small victories is impactful. For that reason, recognize all achievements of your employees, no matter how big they are. Closing a deal is as important as generating new leads, so never neglect an opportunity to say a couple of good words to motivate your sales team.

Celebrating your clients’ success is also vital. Thus, your sales process should never end at closing a sale. Get feedback from your customers, ask them to write a review and share these stories with your team. You know, a real spark in the eyes may only appear when you know that you’ve done something valuable and useful.

Post Scriptum
Certainly, there is no exact guarantee that your sales will rise twice or more after you start encouraging your staff. Yet, the result is expected. All you need to do is remain patient and incorporate all of the tips to motivate a sales team mentioned above. Take care of the needs of your personnel and the service provided to clients and you’ll prosper.

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10 Tips for Becoming a Better Leader

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How would you describe a strong leader? In one study, leadership qualities such as assertiveness, adaptability, intelligence, and conscientiousness were cited as the most important.

Transformational leaders are positive, empowering, and inspiring. They value followers and inspire them to perform better. So what can you do to embrace these valued leadership qualities and become a stronger and more effective leader?

Transformational leaders are usually described as enthusiastic, passionate, genuine and energetic. These leaders are not just concerned about helping the group achieve its goals; they also care about helping each member of the group reach his or her full potential.

Consider some of the following tips for how to become a better leader and think about ways that you can implement these strategies in your daily life.

Start by Understanding Your Leadership Style

Understanding your current leadership style is essential. What are your strengths? Which areas need some improvement? One way to start assessing your skills is to take this leadership style quiz to get a general idea of how you lead.

Once you have completed the quiz, read about the major characteristics of your dominant style. Are these qualities helping or hindering your leadership? Once you’ve determined which areas need some work, you can begin looking for ways to improve your leadership abilities.

2 Encourage Creativity

Intellectual stimulation is one of the leadership qualities that define transformational leadership. Followers need to be encouraged to express their creativity. Effective leaders should offer new challenges with ample support to achieve these goals.1

One way to foster creativity is to offer challenges to group members, making sure that the goals are within the grasp of their abilities. The purpose of this type of exercise is to get people to stretch their limits but not become discouraged by barriers to success.

3 Serve as a Role Model

Idealized influence is another of the four key components of transformational leadership. Transformational leaders exemplify the behaviors and characteristics that they encourage in their followers. They walk the walk and talk the talk. As a result, group members admire these leaders and work to emulate these behaviors.

Research suggests that leaders are able to foster a specific belief and then transmit that inspiration to their followers.2 As a result, followers are optimistic and have high standards for performance and achievement.

If you want to become a better leader, work on modeling the qualities that you would like to see in your team members.

4 Be Passionate

Would you look to someone for guidance and leadership if they did not truly care about the goals of the group? Of course not! Great leaders are not just focused on getting group members to finish tasks; they have a genuine passion and enthusiasm for the projects they work on.2

You can develop this leadership quality by thinking of different ways that you can express your zeal. Let people know that you care about their progress. When one person shares something with the rest of the group, be sure to tell them how much you appreciate such contributions.

5 Listen and Communicate Effectively

Another important quality of transformational leadership involves a focus on providing one-on-one communication with group members. Transformational leadership is effective when leaders are able to communicate their vision to followers, who then feel inspired and motivated by this vision
By keeping the lines of communication open, these leaders can ensure that group members feel able to make contributions and receive recognition for their achievements.

6 Have a Positive Attitude

Transformational leaders have an upbeat, optimistic attitude that serves as a source of inspiration for followers. If leaders seem discouraged or apathetic, members of the group are likely to also become uninspired.

Even when things look bleak and your followers start to feel disheartened, try to stay positive. This does not mean viewing things through rose-colored glasses. It simply means maintaining a sense of optimism and hope in the face of challenges.

7 Encourage People to Make Contributions

Let the members of your team know that you welcome their ideas. Leaders who encourage involvement from group members are often referred to as democratic or participative leaders. While they retain the final say over all decisions, they encourage team members to take an active role in coming up with ideas and plans.

8 Motivate Your Followers

Transformational leaders also provide inspirational motivation to encourage their followers to get into action.5 Of course, being inspirational isn’t always easy. Fortunately, you don’t need motivational speeches to rouse your group members.

Some ideas for leadership inspiration include being genuinely passionate about ideas or goals, helping followers feel included in the process and offering recognition, praise, and rewards for people’s accomplishments.

9 Offer Rewards and Recognition

Another important quality of a good leader involves knowing that offering effective recognition and rewards is one of the best ways to help followers feel appreciated and happy.6 It may also come as no surprise that happy people tend to perform better at work.

10 Keep Trying New Things

Who says leadership is a one-way relationship? As you work toward developing some of these leadership qualities, don’t forget to look to your followers for feedback and inspiration.

Pay attention to the things that have been effective in the past and always be on the lookout for new ways to inspire, motivate and reward group members.

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How To Delegate Tasks and Become a Better Leader to Your Team

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How To Delegate Tasks and Become a Better Leader to Your Team

Being a senior developer who also has an executive function as a leader of a team of developers is quite a challenge.

Here’s a little backstory:

Close to a year ago, I was hired by a software development company. One of my first tasks was to manage a team of programmers who were supposed to develop software for an architecture and design company.

At that time, I was not sure if my new boss was just testing my abilities or setting me up to fail. Either way, there was no way of getting out of it.

Things got even more complicated when, in addition to my lack of leadership experience, I learned that the people I was supposed to manage had never worked in a team. They’d worked in different departments, had their own tasks, and had stuck to those tasks every day they came to the office.

Nevertheless, there was a lot to do, and I had no intention of doing the whole job myself. So, after a series of meetings, I got to know my team—more or less—and started to delegate tasks to people with corresponding skills.

After we struggled (it seemed to me) through and completed the project, I asked team members to fill out a small questionnaire to rate their satisfaction. The results were surprising to me, as they changed my perception of the role of delegation in leadership:

The average time a team member spent on doing a task had been reduced by 30% and the average satisfaction rate had increased by 40%.

The results made it clear: Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And the skill of delegating tasks is an important prerequisite to becoming a leader.

The Connection Between Delegation and Job Satisfaction

Delegation is a prerequisite of successful leadership, no matter what team you’re managing.
Researchers from Denmark did a study on delegation and job satisfaction and found that:

Job satisfaction grows with geometric progression, when a leader regularly delegates tasks

It takes team members less time to perform their work, primarily due to a perceived autonomy, with no impact on the quality

The study explored the feedback from people who worked in different areas that include software development, such as healthcare, governmental work, and private enterprises.

How do You Delegate to a Team of Programmers?

Although delegation, in general, is very important for successful leadership, the way it is applied depends on the area in which you work.

As for programming app and software development, here’s what I learned when delegating tasks to my team.

1. Do Preliminary Planning

Before delegating, make sure that you understand the technical specifications of the whole task first.

Start breaking the task into bigger chunks, and then break those into smaller chunks. For instance, if your team will be working on new software, there are usually several important segments to this task:

Creating a database

Managing the business side of software development

Working on user interface (UI)

Testing the software

These segments can further be broken into several chunks as well:

Database: choosing database software (Microsoft SQL, Oracle, RavenDB, etc.), figuring out security standards, encryption, vulnerability evaluation, etc.
Business: law compliance, compliance with contractual obligations, etc.

UI: working on input controls, navigation components, informational components, etc.

Testing: implementing Software Testing Life Cycle, A/B testing, environment setup, result analysis, etc.

When it comes to programming, the devil is in the details. So, the more detailed your plan is, the better you’ll understand to whom you can assign each chunk of work.

2. Nurture Clarity and Avoid Micromanaging

Once you’ve planned the work to be done, it’s time to assign tasks. When assigning tasks, make sure your mission and message sound as clear as possible.

With a team of programmers, clarity is important. As I mentioned, in programming, the devil is in the details. I had a case when one of my team members copied and pasted the code from somewhere else, and it disrupted the whole system we’d been working on. In their defense, the code was similar to the one we were writing, but there was one small part of it that didn’t match our work, and that one difference made an overall impact.

When I gave a more detailed description of what I expected from my team, they did their job more accurately. For instance, if someone from the team is writing a code in JavaScript, we go over the tags, commands, attributes, and which external CSS files to include, in detail.

The case with the broken code, however, almost made me start micromanaging my team, which is something you should absolutely avoid by all means. Micromanagement has a negative effect on employee engagement. Imagine how demotivating it can be when your boss criticizes every bit of work you’ve done.

Delegation is about trust. Even if you doubt your team’s skills, don’t doubt their ability to learn.

3. Say No to Task Switching

When writing code, reassigning tasks is an absolute no.

Programming teams often have pressing deadlines, and sometimes, team leaders may decide to reassign tasks if they deem it necessary to speed up the process. In reality, what they are doing is adding to someone’s already big pile of work, and the process doesn’t really go any faster. Worst-case scenario is that common programming mistakes like broken cryptographic algorithms and missing initialization will pop up and you’ll spend more time dealing with them.

In this case, you’ll have to apply your mentorship abilities rather than your time management skills. I always try to remind myself to be more democratic by remembering a tweet by Patrick Rogers, an SQL team manager from the international real estate company Flatfy:

All your team members have a different range of skills and experience. It’s your task, as their team leader, to use those skills and mentor them through this current experience.

Bonus: How To Be a Better Leader to a Team of Junior Developers

I’ve heard many senior developers complain about having to manage a team of junior developers.

I’ve also had the pleasure of working with a team that had no previous experience in coding or software development, besides learning the basics at college or during programming lessons.

So, how do you delegate tasks to a team of junior developers?

Start by explaining coding standards and architecture to avoid redoing the work several times. Junior developers often come to work right after they finish their education, so they might not be aware of the specific programming style that your company follows. Explaining coding standards and architecture would rid you from spending time on fixing coding mistakes that could be avoided.

Instead of delegating small and simple tasks, delegate bigger tasks to assign more serious responsibilities to your young team, like proofreading the code written by senior developers. Sure, it no longer will be junior work, but from my experience, junior developers spend more time on small tasks than they do working on bigger tasks. Plus, it is a great learning experience.

After coaching several teams of junior developers, I realized that they often come to a big company not to practice the skills that they already have, but to get new ones.

When delegating, keep in mind that junior developers need more learning experience. They learned how to do easy tasks while studying; now it’s time to help them advance their knowledge. Otherwise, they will have no motivation to contribute.

Working with junior developers is not a burden, but a rewarding experience. The value of bringing juniors to a company is an opportunity for seasoned developers to become mentors, help junior developers start off, and pass on their knowledge.

Delegation Is Key to Leadership

It’s a common misconception that it’s enough for programmers to know how to code, and that’s all they ever need to do. In reality, we are often asked about other skills that seemingly have nothing to do with coding, such as management and leadership skills.

In my experience as a senior developer and a team manager, learning how to delegate is key to becoming a good leader. Besides making teamwork more structured, you build trust and respect, which are so important to the quality of work and job satisfaction.

To sum up, remember these key points of successful delegation:

Create a plan and break work into chunks before assigning tasks to your team

Be clear and avoid micromanaging

Don’t switch tasks

And, of course, nurture your team’s knowledge and abilities, and always give them the opportunity to learn

With these tips, you’ll be able to better understand your team’s needs, organize their work more effectively, and become a better leader in general.

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3 Signs That Your Helping Raise a Quitter

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Quitting is a bad habit and one that is taught and learned. As parents we have way more control over this than we think, or even want to take responsibility for. Our children emulate what they see. If you bounce from job to job, or hobby to hobby, your child is more likely to do the same. Conversely, if you have been committed to your marriage, your career, your faith, or to a fitness regimen, your children are likely to do the same. Duplication is by no means guaranteed, and as a father of 5 who has stumbled, fumbled, and bumbled my way through parenthood, I’ve discovered 3 key indicators of when I am enabling, perhaps even cultivating, a culture of quitting.

1. You Use Your Excuses As Their Exit

Being a good parent is hard. Very hard. Harder than most people think. Combine this with your faith, a meaningful relationship with your spouse, a career, a fitness regimen, and you’ve got a resume that would make any circus juggler envious.

It’s our job as parents to nurture the interests and creativity of our children. So what do we do? We have them learn an instrument. We put them in sports. We send them to coding or acting class. We keep them busy-especially during the summer months. Here’s the catch, keeping them busy makes your busier.

As parents we have way more control over this than we think, or even want to take responsibility for.

After a particularly stressful day, the last thing you want to hear is, “Mommy/Daddy I have practice at 6:30 pm.” Don’t even get me started if you are the coach. All you want to do is sit on the couch. I’ve been there. When I get home after a long day, I don’t want to jump back in my car to drop off my kid.

Your child sees this and feeds off this energy. The last thing a kid wants to hear or see is their mom or dad groan about taking them to band practice after anxiously waiting for you to come home for the last hour. It sets a precedence and one that children can use as leverage to quit in the future. Remember, everything is fun in the beginning-until you want to be exceptional at it. Then the reality of what it takes to be good settles in. When this reality settles in is when most people, not only children, abandon their goals or dreams.

“But Paul, I have to force my kid to go and it’s a battle every time.”

I’ve been there. It is easy to just give up and let your child stay home or worse yet, quit because you don’t want to deal with the regular confrontation of forcing them to participate in their activities or because you are exhausted. You cannot permit your lethargy as a way out for your child or they will use your moment of weakness as an escape. Once your child learns how to use this as leverage they will exploit it. Trust me. They will. I know some of you will argue, “Not my child.” and I’ll just smile and agree with you.

Don’t let your excuses be the reason your children quit.

You cannot permit your lethargy as a way out for your child or they will use your moment of weakness as an escape.

2. You Finish/Fix Things For Them

It never fails. There is a class assignment or a science fair and one child turns in a project or a diorama that was clearly completed by a parent. I’m not trying to make a blanket statement. I realize that there are many talented children who are beyond their years, but let’s be real, when Tommy turns in a model of Fenway Park that looks like Frank Lloyd Wright could have done it, it’s going to raise an eyebrow. I’m all for participating in the assignment with your kid and using it as an opportunity to connect, just not doing it for them. Winning an award for work they did not personally complete is just as bad, or worse than participation trophies. Buy them the supplies and all the tools they need to complete the assignment, just don’t do it for them or you’ll find yourself doing this more times than you think.

It is important that we let our children finish what they start. This applies to everything, even household chores. There are more times than I can count where I ask one of my kids to do something, knowing that I can get it done faster and better than they can, and yet I sit on the sidelines watching and waiting for them to complete the tasks. It wasn’t always this way. I used to: 1) assign a chore to my children, 2) wait for them to complete it, 3) get tired of waiting, and 4) do it myself. This was a horrible pattern and it taught them that if they didn’t do something, it would eventually get done by someone else. Bad. Bad. Bad.

There is an amazing sense of satisfaction and self worth that is accompanied with finishing things on our own and as parents, it can be challenging to watch our children struggle, but it is necessary.

3. You Make Quitting an Option

I cringe when I hear someone say, “Try it, and if you don’t like it-quit.” When you start something with that kind of mentality you have one foot in, and one foot out the door. I’m not saying that there isn’t a time and place for exploring options, because there is. I am saying however, that if all you are doing is exploring options, and never committing to them, you are setting yourself up for guaranteed failure.

Shame on you if you are teaching your children the same method of operation. Live your life as you wish, but don’t rob your child of the pride and self satisfaction that comes from committing to something and following it through.

I cringe when I hear someone say, “Try it, and if you don’t like it-quit.”

My wife and I have taken our children to their activities on days when they were kicking, screaming and even crying. We’ve taken them on days where we were tired, hungry, stressed out, and broke. We are non-negotiable. My kids know this. In our family it isn’t about being the best in as much as it is about finishing what you start. Being the best is a by-product of staying committed and putting in the work when others are “trying it out.”

If you make quitting an option, most children will opt in and develop a habit of not finishing what they start. If you make finishing the only option they know, they are less likely to head for the hills upon the first roadblock they hit.

I hope you enjoyed this piece may it bring more commitment and success to you and your children.

Follow me here and subscribe here for all the latest tips on how to increase sales by up to 400%!

– Paul

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5 Magic Tips on How To Follow Up with Prospects for Sales Professionals

Believe it or not, you will lose more business due to lack of follow up than you will ever lose to a poor presentation or due to your professional sales skills. The average consumer needs to be reminded (contacted) a minimum of 7 times in order for them to remember your message and/or who you are. Just having one conversation, one consultation, sending one email, one text message, or leaving one voicemail is not enough for them to make a purchase.

Most salespeople DO NOT follow up with their prospects enough.

Most salespeople are afraid of calling, texting, messaging, mailing, or contacting them too much out of fear that the client will be turned off by them. There are plenty of ways for a client to be turned off by you, but professionally following up and demonstrating your enthusiasm to work with them is not one of them.

Tip #1 – Close Early

This is one of the most important skills you will have to master when it comes to following up. I give you permission to close the sale early. That means asking for a) payment or b) their signature right away. You’d be surprised how many clients will buy and sign when given the opportunity early enough. If the client doesn’t buy or sign early, your next step is to identify and handle any objections as they are presented. Many sales gurus will tell you to find out what the objections are and then close. I disagree. Why put the client through a 45 minute sales presentation when they are ready to sign and pay in the first 10 minutes?

Sales gurus tell you to find out what the objections are first and then close. I disagree.

Let’s review this sample Follow Up script:

Hi John,

It’s Paul Argueta. Can I steal 2 minutes? When we last spoke you mentioned that you were still planning on buying <service/product>?

I didn’t want you to think that I had forgotten about you-especially because of how excited I am about helping you buy <service/product>.

Did you want to start the process today or would would Friday be better?

(as you start to close for a meeting the objections will start to come out and/or the client will tell you they aren’t moving forward.)

One of two things will happen:
The client will let you know they aren’t interested
The client will let you know they are interested.

That’s it.

Disclaimer: Your company may have rules that prevent you from using the tools or strategies detailed below. Please make sure you review your organization’s rules prior to engaging in any of these marketing activities.

Tip #2 – Pick Up The Phone

In this digital age, fewer and fewer people use their phones to talk. This is a curse and a blessing. It is a curse as people are less likely to answer their phones. It is a blessing as it makes conversations more personal and sincere. It is important to note that newer phones will use caller ID to label your telephone number as spam. When this happens you are even less likely to get people to answer the phone. To combat this, there are services that assist you in rotating phone numbers that you pay for.

Tip #3 – SMS and Text Messaging

People are more likely to see and respond to a text message than an email. Even if a text message isn’t responded to, it is most likely viewed, and sometimes that is half the battle.

There are text messaging services that permit you to create workflows aka campaigns so that you don’t have to manually send messages one at a time. I recommend using salesmsg.

Keep your messages short. Use hyperlinks as a call to action. Ex : John, you requested more information on our product. Here is the link to sign up : https://join.ly.

Notice the assumption close. I didn’t ask him if he had questions. This goes back to what I said earlier, if John has questions he will pose them right away. If he doesn’t he’ll sign up. Why steal someone’s opportunity to sign up for your product or service just because you want to be long winded?

You can even send links to a video message that you created just for them. The possibilities are endless. Advanced Tip: If you upload a video message to YouTube and share that link, make sure the video is unlisted or any followers of your YouTube channel will see all your messages to your prospects.

Why steal someone’s opportunity to sign up for your product or service just because you want to be long winded?

Tip #4 – Connect on all Social Media

Many social media coaches advise you to have two different profiles. One for work and one for social use. If you’ve ever used social media you know that maintaining just one account is a lot of work. Updating two different accounts on multiple platforms is exponentially more challenging. Yes, you can outsource your social media work, but if you think that outsourcing is hiring someone to simply post motivational quotes every couple of hours, you are sadly mistaken. You will still have to create the content. You can read more on my social marketing strategy here.

I suggest that you have one social media account on each platform and keep that account clean enough to demonstrate professionalism and personal enough to allow your creativity to shine. My general rule is to not share or post anything that your mom or dad would be embarrassed by.

Connect with your prospect on every single social media platform that they use. “But Paul, won’t they get annoyed that I’m sending them messages on every platform. Isn’t that stalking?” No. You are presuming that they are active on every platform and that is an incorrect assumption. There are millions of profiles that are dormant and haven’t been updated for years. You don’t know which platform is the one they frequent and as such you should try them all. Friend them, follow them, connect with them, whatever. The key is reaching out to them and sending them a message. Video messages are ideal. LInkedIn is great because you can see their educational background and their profession. Facebook is great because you can see their social interests. You can’t go wrong with a genuine compliment especially if it is a common interest you share.

I like sending video messages through social media, although LinkedIn does not permit it as of right now. These messages are typically not as cold as they are follow up messages and when done correctly continue to build rapport. Lastly, unlike a message which can be read and discarded very easily, there is something about the human curiosity that prompts people to click on a video versus just an email or text.

Tip #5 – Don’t Take it Personal

Having someone tell you they aren’t moving forward is not the end of the world. In fact, it’ll help save you time in the long run. You want prospective clients to make a decision. It saves you time. Stop taking it personal when someone decides to not sell or buy. Them deciding to not buy or sell has nothing to do with you. Now, if they tell you they aren’t going to buy or sell, and then they do with someone else-that was you. Sorry. Sorry not sorry. You will have that happen to you. More than once. There’s nothing you can do about it.

Your goal should be to have about 20-30 warm prospects and 4-5 hot prospects that you are working with at any given time. You warm and hot list should be changing on a daily basis. You are adding and subtracting hot and warm leads daily. If your funnel of hot and warm prospects is shrinking consistently for more than 3 days, you are not prospecting enough. There will reach a time when your inflow of prospects is more than your outbound efforts through the use of internet marketing. I can help get you there.

I hope you found these follow up tops useful and will implement them into your daily regimen. You might have noticed that I didn’t include email as a follow up strategy and that was intentional. Email serves it’s purpose in business, but is very passive and can easily be dismissed. You need to have an active email campaign in place with every prospect, just don’t expect email to do the follow up for you.

– Paul

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3 Reasons Your Kids Need to Listen To Inspirational Content in the Morning

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What is the very first thing you reach for in the morning? Be honest. It’s your smartphone. We all do it. It takes a very disciplined person to not reach for your phone. This is a very dangerous habit for a variety of reasons, but most importantly, it sets the tone for your day.

If the first thing you do is look at the news, which is almost never positive, you are feeding your mind mental potato chips. Having a bag of chips every once in a while probably won’t do any long term damage to your body, but eating these deep fried snacks every day, or worse yet, multiple times a day, will most definitely start to take its toll on your body, your health, and your mental well being. Ditto on checking email or social media. These should not be the first images your mind sees.

When you wake up your brain is in what is referred to as alpha stage. It is in this stage that your subconscious mind is susceptible to whatever messages you send it. Send it negative messages about doom, despair, and problems at the office, and your brain will respond back with dreadful thoughts and runaway fantasies about just that. It can and will do this on autopilot, the same way you can drive to work multitasking not even remembering the route you took to get there. It’s scary how the brain can play these negative novelas in our heads without us even trying.

I have good news for you. If the first thing you do is listen to something inspirational, you are feeding your mind mental protein. All human beings need protein in the literal sense. In the figurative sense, your brain needs mental protein. I’ll speak for myself, but my brain needs it hourly. If I am not careful, my brain has no problem spielberg-ing one of those negative novelas I alluded to earlier.

Several years ago I decided that I would apply the same practice with my children. Every morning in the car I play motivational speeches by Oprah, Ellen DeGeneres, Les Brown, Joel Osteen, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and many more, as I drove them to school. That 15-20 minute ride is our time. I won’t respond to phone calls or emails and I’ll have them put their phones away. They have to listen to whatever message I’m playing for them that morning.

Then came Alexa. We have multiple Alexa speakers throughout the house so I stream the speeches on all the devices in the home the minute I wake them up at 7:00 AM. I make sure that the very first thing they hear is something motivational and something to inspire them. Occasionally I’ll start with the song “Eye of The Tiger” by Survivor and then transition into the talks. Most of the stuff I play for them has to be set to some type of music or I tend to lose them. I have it playing as they get dressed, as they eat cereal, and as they brush their teeth and groom themselves. I don’t turn Alexa off until we are out the door. Once we are in the car it resumes again.

I’m going to give you three reasons your kids need to listen to inspirational content in the morning.

1. Not Everything is on Prime Now

The Prime Now generation is used to instant gratification. Everything they could ever want is at their fingertips instantly. Food? Order from Grubhub or Doordash. Movie? Stream it or buy it. Video game? Download it. Underwear? On it’s way. You don’t even have to leave your home if you don’t want to. This is an amazing luxury when you are a consumer and you have money to spend.

Our children think reaching a goal is easy…everything to them is instant.

You and I both know that the real world doesn’t operate this way. Dear child, you want to master the piano? Prime Now can’t help you. My son, you didn’t make the football team? Bingeing on the entire catalog of football movies on Netflix isn’t going to help you. Our children think reaching a goal is easy. Why shouldn’t they? They’ve grown up thinking everything is instant.

Many, if not most of these talks tackle the topic of failure, persistence, and grit. Children need to hear these messages of resiliency more than ever so that when they do hit their first wall of rejection or failure, and we know they will, they are prepared to handle it and understand that it is just part of the journey.

2. The “F” Word

Most of us were raised in a household where we were taught that to be “the best” you had to make the fewest mistakes. This was then reinforced in school and sometimes even in church. Children are taught at a young age to avoid failure. They are led to believe that coloring outside the lines, risk taking, and making mistakes are not rewarded.

Failure is my favorite “F” word. If there is anything that these motivational speeches have taught me and my children, it is that failure is not the end of the world. Our kids know about Thomas Edison’s 1000 failed attempts at creating the lightbulb. They know about David Goggins having to complete 60,000+ pullups just to be able break the record of 4030. Our five children know that JK Rowling was rejected by 12 publishers before publishing her first Harry Potter novel. Our kids have a friendly relationship with failure. To them, failure is just a part of the process.

3. Celebs Carry More Weight

I’m just Dad. I’m the guy who asks my kids to take out the garbage or put the dishes away. I’m sure this doesn’t happen to you, but sometimes, my messages fall on deaf ears at home. When my children hear Dwayne Johnson talk about hard work and waking up at 4:30 AM in the morning to go to the gym, it impresses them, because well, look at him. My wife and I wake up at 4:30 AM in the morning to hit the gym too, but I don’t look like him. It sounds intense coming from him. It doesn’t sound awesome coming from me.

When the Rock talks about hard work and waking up at 4:30 AM it sounds impressive.

The same thing goes for influencers. I love it when I hear influencers share their journey about how long it took to become successful at whatever it is that they are doing. My kids love watching multi-millionaire professional gamer Ninja. I loved watching the video on his rise to fame and his dedication to his craft. Same thing with Ryan’s family from Ryan’s Toy Review. That family had to put out one piece of content every day for a long time before they saw success. One piece of video content every day is not easy, especially when you are not making money to do it.

I hope you enjoyed this piece and look forward to hearing about your results from having your children listen to inspirational messages in the morning!

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– Paul

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5 Reasons You Need To Be The Biggest Cheerleader in Your Organization

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If you played sports in high school, college, or even in the pros you know that on every team there is always that one, if you’re lucky two, players on your team that may not be the most valuable players on the court or on the field, but they are certainly the most inspirational players on the sidelines or in the locker room. They cheer the loudest. They take pleasure in watching their teammates score. They take it personal when something happens to a member of their team or the coach. They find ways to contribute even if it isn’t reflected on the scoreboard. When they are gone, their presence is missed in a big way.

For the sake of this piece, I am going to refer to these unsung heroes as cheerleaders. Cheerleaders don’t only exist in sports. They exist in business. They exist in marriage. They are friends and family. Some of them know you personally. Some of them have never met you. Some are vocal, and some silently applaud from afar.

Have you ever hung around a football game after a loss? Pay close attention to the cheerleaders. After a game, the cheer squad is either on the sideline cheering or they’re at the tunnel or bus greeting their player with smiles and chants as they return. Win or lose, their job is to do one thing: cheer.

You need to be the biggest cheerleader in your organization. When I refer to cheering, I am not talking about yelling out chants like, “Be aggressive. Be, Be, aggressive.” Cheerleading as I will define it in this blog is recognizing the hard work and the effort of those around you by praising them, thanking them, and congratulating them on their wins, no matter how small or large. You can do this online, offline, individually, or in groups. There are many different ways to honor someone’s hard work.

Learn to celebrate others and be happy for them. Genuinely happy.

Learn to celebrate others and be happy for them. Genuinely happy. This might take some practice on your part. It did for me. It takes a big person with a little ego to cheer on the successes of other people without being envious. It’s easy to fall into the “When will it be my turn?” trap. Don’t beat yourself up for feeling that way. We all have, but don’t stay in that mental place. Focus on what you want. Live there. Celebrating someone else’s victory is no different than having that poster of your childhood hero plastered on your bedroom wall. Cheering for your hero on the poster was effortless. It didn’t matter that you didn’t have any of their skills, talents or superpowers. That poster served as a reminder of who you wanted to become. Let the wins of those in your organization inspire and remind you of you want to become now.

Complimenting others may feel awkward at first, but don’t stop trying. If people aren’t used to you being so supportive, they may question your authenticity. Pay them no mind. Find something positive to say about someone and acknowledge it. The best way to greet someone is with a smile and a compliment. I’ll cover more of the “How To” in a separate post. This entry, part one, will be “The Why.”

Here are five reasons you need to be the biggest cheerleader in your organization.

1. People Are Starving For Recognition

You overestimate your own use of recognition. It’s okay. We all do. Have you ever had someone tell you something negative you might have said about them, only to remind that person that you complimented them about X,Y, and Z? I won’t dare to try to explain the human brain, but most people tend to remember negative events more than positive events, and they remember these negative experiences with vivid detail. Knowing this, you shouldn’t be surprised to hear that you can’t over compliment someone. You might argue that in some relationships it may come off as desperate and needy, especially when you are showered with compliments too early, but trust me, you’ll notice and miss those kind words if they disappear.

Studies show that recognition is third to 1) salary, and 2) job security, when it comes to picking a place to work. Most employers don’t recognize the efforts of their team, or worse yet, take credit for their team’s hard work. A good leader knows that when something goes wrong, it’s their fault. A great leader knows that something goes right, it was the team’s effort.

During a trip to NASA in 1962, President John F. Kennedy introduced himself to a janitor and asked him what it was that he did. The janitor profoundly responded with, “I’m helping put a man on the moon.” Mic drop. That is precisely how you should treat every member of your organization. There is no role too small-especially when someone takes pride in what they do. Make it your goal this week to recognize someone on your team that deserves to hear how valuable they are to the group. It doesn’t have to be on a soapbox. Even just pulling them aside and letting them know how much you value them will be enough.

2. It Serves as Motivation

Competition is a part of life. In sports, business, and even romance, there has to be a winner and a loser. This is the ying and the yang. No one wants a participation trophy. In fact, studies have shown that when kids get token awards it has the opposite effect and makes them feel worse than losing does. So why sugarcoat the fact that someone is excelling? For fear of making other people feel bad about themselves? Horse crap.

Recognizing top producers creates a culture of winning and of friendly competition. It sets a standard for others to strive to achieve. I’ve worked with managers who won’t publicly praise their top performers because they “don’t want to inflate their egos…” and lose them to a competitor. What a horrible, cannibalistic culture that is. That isn’t how you are going to keep your top talent. Cheer them on. Make them feel valuable. Let them inspire those around them.

If God can do it for them, he can do it for you. Let the wins of your peers or colleagues motivate you.

Sharing the success of others may make you feel uncomfortable about where you are in your career or in life. I’ve been there. Not so long ago, you couldn’t have paid me to watch a show like MTV’s “Cribs” or “The Secret Lives of the Super Rich” because I convinced myself that, “I’d never afford those things anyway, so why look?” That was such a poor mindset. These days I’m hooked on shows that showcase the trappings of success yielded from hard work, and love hearing about the victories of my peers. If God can do it for them, he can do it for you. Let the wins of your peers or colleagues motivate you. There’s no shame in sharing someone else’s win or giving them a pat on the back.

3. Referrals & Partnership Opportunities

When you make a habit of paying honor to your colleagues it opens up the possibilities for them to refer business back to you. Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, & Google (FAANG) don’t just compete with one another, they collaborate with one another. Don’t believe me? Google at least two of these companies as one search query followed by the word collaboration and see what pops up. If you haven’t done this before, you are in for a surprise.

Whats my point? Even if someone in your organization wanted to capture 100% of the business in your territory, they wouldn’t be able to. Why not develop a strategic alliance with that person or team and be in a position to capture the overflow? The best way to develop these alliances is by being one of their biggest cheerleaders. There are a lot of ways to do this and it’ll be covered in the second part of this blog topic, but for now, understand that people are more likely to do business with someone they know, like, and trust, versus someone they don’t know. If you’re regularly celebrating their wins with them they will know who you are.

4. You Don’t Come Off As Desperate

We’ve all made the mistake of trying to promote our business or service on social media only to come off like the guy in a bar begging someone for a telephone number. Are you a millennial? My bad. The guy in the bar begging for an Instagram handle. No one wants to be that guy, and yet we have no problem doing just that on the internet. Don’t be that guy.

Instead of sharing the “Use me!” or “Buy my product! Buy my service!” post, why not try offering up some praise to someone else in your organization. It doesn’t necessarily have to be about who has the most sales. It might be you simply offering up a thank you post to the person who makes sure there is hot coffee every morning. When was the last time you did something like that? The best part is that that person will be appreciate it and others will follow your lead by chiming in with their own praise and thank you’s. Would you call yourself a cheerleader of your organization? If not. Why not? I know that some of you will say, “Why should I be a fan when they don’t acknowledge me?” Point taken. I would argue that the minute you start complimenting members of your organization, or cheering on your company as a whole, you’d be surprised by how quickly you’ll get noticed and how different you will be treated. Every organization needs cheerleaders and the great ones have superfans.

A natural result of this is that you are still promoting your product, your service, or your business. “But Paul, I’m a sole proprietor and I don’t have any employees.” Recognize your clients. Praise the vendors that come through your doors. Thank the Amazon or the Arrowhead water delivery guy/gal for always making sure your clients are hydrated and their packages are delivered on time. When you praise those in your organization, or those who help support your business, you still win. You can’t go wrong being the biggest cheerleader in your circle.

5. Better Home Life

You can’t over compliment someone-especially not at home. If you are married you will either learn this the hard way or you’ve already learned it. Hopefully, I’ll save you some time and heartache.

When you started dating your partner, you spent most of your time focusing on all their wonderful qualities. In some cases, you magnified them. You knew about some of their faults and you ignored them, or minimized them. I want you to go back to that place. It will do wonders for your relationship. Easier said than done, I know. Some of you will contend that your partner doesn’t compliment you enough to deserve your honey dew dipped words of affection. Do it anyway. They need to hear that you appreciate them, and quite frankly, you need to hear yourself saying it. It may feel fake at first. Stay the course. Your partner will eventually take notice. Most people give up on the one yard line of success. Did I just use a football metaphor and motivational quote as relationship advice? Yes. I did.

If you have young children, you know what it’s like to praise them when they deserve it, and when they don’t deserve it. Parents unselfishly shower kids ten years of age or under with supportive dialogue like “You can do it!” or “You are so good at (fill in the blank)”. As the child gets older that praise turns into constructive criticism that may graduate to insults by the time they are young adults still living at home. I speak from personal experience. As I write this, my wife and I are dealing with the emotional struggle of having had our two eldest children in their 20s move out in the same year. Their departures were prompted by their desire for more freedom, less supervision, and the perceived notion of less responsibilities at home. I mean how could a parent possibly expect their 20 something year old child who doesn’t pay rent to take out the garbage, right? It’s difficult seeing your child leave the nest and if there is anything I learned during this process it is that we should all be more stingy with our criticisms and more generous with our compliments.

I want you to strive to be the biggest cheerleader in your organization and at home. I hope that these tips inspire you and remove any doubt that everyone wins when you honor and praise everyone around you.

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– Paul

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7 Tips On How To Get Over Losing a Business Partner

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Being an entrepreneur is challenging. It may be the most difficult journey that you will ever embark on. Because of this, many entrepreneurs choose to partner up with other like minded individuals, especially when they have skill sets that compliment one another.

Forming a partnership sounds attractive. Fifty percent of the burden, responsibility, finance, and stress is shouldered by someone else, and bonus, you’ll have a warm body there to comfort you should things not work out right? What could go wrong? The long and short answer is everything.

Statistics show that seventy percent of all business partnerships fail. Yup. Seven out of ten of them will go bust. I’ve gone through this twice now, incidentally, in the same business venture. Same business. Two different partners lost. I’m the last man standing.

When a business partnership fails it can be devastating. Not only do you lose a partner, friend, and confidant, but your business may also be jeopardized. I am giving to give you seven tips that will help you weather the storm and come out stronger.

Tip #1 – Don’t Play The Blame Game

The first thing you are going to want to do is either blame yourself, or blame your ex-partner. It’s very similar to a divorce. Your ex will have their version of what happened, and you will have yours. There is no point in rehashing what you believe what went wrong. Who’s fault it was, is irrelevant at this point. It’s over. Time to move on.

Some of you will blame yourself over the failed partnership. Don’t do this-even if you genuinely believe that it was your fault. Blaming yourself is a self destructive behavior and your energy can be used better elsewhere. You may have made mistakes. You are in good company. Every entrepreneur makes mistakes. Every. Single. One. Some mistakes are larger than others, I know, but very few are final, or worse yet, fatal. Your career doesn’t have to end here. One failed business venture does not define who you are.

Every entrepreneur makes mistakes. Every. Single. One.

Analyze what happened. Acknowledge your mistakes. Own what went wrong, but don’t beat yourself up over it. You can assume responsibility without having to berate yourself or remind yourself of “how you messed up.” When you take responsibility for your situation it is empowering. When you blame everyone else for your circumstances, you are telling yourself that you have no control over what is happening to you, and that is a lie. You have total control over what is happening and complete control over how you are going to respond to it.

Tip #2 – Don’t Burn Your Bridges

These is another one of those easier said than done tips. Like a divorce, not all parties can stay friends after the separation. It is easier when at least one side is open to an amicable separation, but nothing is guaranteed.

Even if the separation is under good terms, don’t burn any bridges. You don’t have to keep the door open for a possible reunion, but why split on bad terms? You might have a partner that is going around bad mouthing you to other people. Ignore it. You might have a partner that blames the separation entirely on you. Who cares? Unless the dissolution of the business relationship is so bad that legal intervention is required, I’d recommend just letting everything the former partner does roll off your back like water to a duck.

In my case, my business partner was my Uncle. My relationship with him was more like a father & son relationship. I knew, and he knew, that we would see each other during family functions and that it would be best if we let bygones be bygones. We don’t discuss business at any family events. It’s not worth the aggravation, and all it does is pick at old scars.

Tip #3 – Don’t Troll

Ever troll an ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend on the web? Nah. Not you right? The same thing happens in business. People troll each other. Former employees, staff, and yes, even former business partners.

Trolling is a waste of time. You aren’t going to find what you are looking for. If you are hoping to find news on your ex-partner losing it all or images of them living under a bridge in a cardboard box, it isn’t going to happen. People post their wins on social media, not their losses. All you are going to see is the glammed up victories that your former partner has racked up since you two have parted ways. Some might be true. Some might be embellished. Who cares? Focus on building up your wins, ignore what everyone else is doing.

Another thing you will find yourself doing is decoding hidden messages in your ex-partners social media posts assuming that every message is a jab at you. I don’t mean to burst your bubble, but the truth is, you don’t occupy that much space in your ex-partner’s mind unless you did something really dirty to them. Those posts are probably not about you.

Tip #4 – Don’t Get a Rebound Partner

Have you ever had a friend break up with a boyfriend or girlfriend, only to try and ease the pain by getting with someone else right away? This is known as a rebound relationship. As crazy as this sounds, the same thing can happen in business.

After a business breakup, you need to focus on improving your business and yourself, not on finding a replacement partner. Fight the urge to go out and find a new partner. This can be especially difficult, even terrifying, if the ex-partner was the financier or the business’s main source of capital. I’ve been there. When I originally started my company there were three partners. Our third partner was less involved in the day to day and more involved in the pay to play. We eventually parted ways and my uncle and I were forced to increase sales and find new streams of income to supplement the loss of our financier.

You will get through this. You just need to be creative and resourceful. The last thing you want to do right now is partner up with someone during this vulnerable phase, only to find out that the new partner wasn’t the right fit either. If you think surviving one business breakup is tough, try surviving two in one year. It’s not good for your psyche, company morale, or your blood pressure.

Take this time to reflect. Analyze your business model. Seek out mentors not new business partners. More on that later.

Tip #5 – Turn To Fitness

Now is absolutely not the time to turn to drugs or alcohol to numb the pain or stress. I know it’s an easy, temporary fix, and many an entrepreneur will succumb to binge drinking, smoking, or even eating.

Instead of giving into vices, I want you to give into fitness. I shouldn’t have to sell you on the health benefits of working out on a regular basis. If you have a regular workout routine, then keep doing what you are doing. If you don’t have a regular workout routine you are going to have to develop one. ASAP.

There will be days when you will want to stay in bed. I’ve been there. Force yourself to get up. If you can’t force yourself to get up and find an accountability partner. In my case, my accountability partner is my wife. She kicks me out of bed every morning at 4:30 AM. Find someone who can do that for you. In extreme cases it may require having someone physically coming to your home and ringing your doorbell until you get up. Hell, you might even have to pay someone. Do whatever it takes until you have developed the habit of getting out of bed on your own.

When all hell is breaking loose in your professional life, it is critical that you feel like you have some control over your life, and having a physical regimen is one small way to reassure yourself that you are in control. You will feel better after working out. Every. Time. It doesn’t matter if it’s a bad workout. You’ll will still feel better, more accomplished, and victorious. Acknowledging that small win builds momentum and gives you permission to recognize all the little victorious that follow.

Don’t troll social media. People only post their wins online.

Tip #6 – Lead The Troops

Just because the breakup isn’t talked about openly, doesn’t mean that people aren’t aware of it. The troops will talk. I know this from personal experience. If you have staff or employees, it’s very important that you are transparent with them about what is taking place.

Organize a staff meeting with a plan of action addressing the current state of your business. Do not, under any circumstances, disparage your former partner. Assume all responsibility for the current situation you are in. No one respects a leader that doesn’t take ownership. If it fails it’s on you. If it succeeds, it was a team effort. That’s leadership 101.

Make sure you have a strategy in place and share that strategy and the vision with your team. Hiding from your staff is the worst thing you can do as people will begin to jump to their own conclusions, and trust me, their own conclusions will never be positive. Instead of leaving them to their own imaginations, be specific about what your plans are and give specific dates as to when they will be executed.

During the initial breakup phase it is important that you meet with the team no less than once per month.

Tip #7 – Prepare For Defectors

I am the eternal optimist. I recite self affirmations over 500 times a day. I practice abundance meditation for 20 minutes a day. I share this with you because in spite of all my inner happy-happy talk, I know that with the loss of a business partner, there will be defectors.

Some people will leave with your ex. You will lose some of your talent. Prepare for this and have a strategy in place for when and if this happens. This is a part of business and there’s nothing that you can do about it. It has been said that if you organization isn’t growing, it is shrinking. You should always be recruiting new talent as your talent is always being recruited by your competitor. Don’t be naive enough to think that your staff or team isn’t being approached by other companies. You can still lose talent even if losing a business partner has nothing to do with it.

When and if there are people who leave your organization, tips one, two, and three will still apply. Take the higher ground and focus on building the business. Build a business and a company culture that is so attractive that people won’t want to leave.

Tip #8 – Pray

This should really be tip number one. I’m not going to impose my religious beliefs on you, but I am going to tell you that there is a higher power at work here, and you aren’t going to be able to convince me otherwise. My Higher Power is God. When things start to go sideways, I turn to my Heavenly Father. In the same fashion that your children turn to you when things go wrong, there is a comfort in knowing that I can turn to my Heavenly Father when I am feeling lost, or stressed or scared.

Praying is free. You can pray anywhere and at anytime. You can pray in your car on your way to the office. You can pray in the shower. This is the beauty of the gift of prayer, and it’s at your disposal whenever you need it.

Take solace in knowing that you aren’t in this alone. Many successful businesses started as duos only to end up as sole proprietors. You’ll get through this.

Starting a business with a partner is almost like being married with a child. The child of course, is your business, and in the beginning, everyone plans for, and hopes for the best. Things don’t always work out as planned and I hope these tips will empower you to keep moving forward in your endeavor. Don’t throw your dream away just because your second biggest supporter, second only to you, stopped sharing the same dream. This too shall pass. You will either survive this chapter and become bitter or become better. I say better.

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– Paul

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