The Power of Ambition
The Power of Ambition
# Discipline
Bodybuilding takes enormous discipline (if you have ever lifted weights you will appreciate that). Immigrating to another country takes ambition and courage. I can relate to that one, having immigrated to the US myself at about the same age as Arnold. But I spoke the language, or at least the Aussie version of it. I can only imagine the added pressure of trying to find your way in a new country with Arnold´s distinctive accent. Success in sales requires that we focus on our goals, ignoring distractions, putting in the extra effort, becoming aware of our shortcomings and working around them. I was fortunate to learn the value of self- discipline early in life. My High School´s motto was "Vincit, qui se vincit" which you Latin scholars will immediately recognize as "He conquers, who conquers himself".
# Enthusiasm
Arnold is full of enthusiasm and energy. The big smile, outstretched hand, and ready laughter are truly contagious. People gravitate towards enthusiasm because it has an almost spiritual quality about it. (The word itself comes from two Greek words "en" = in and "theos" = God.)
It is also true that "Nothing happens without enthusiasm". In another life I sold franchises for a start-up company. I loved the franchising concept, I was impressed with the owner, and I felt that my entire career had been a preparation for this particular opportunity. The entrepreneur who hired me assured me that I would sell the first dozen franchises on enthusiasm alone. He was right. And after six months, when the enthusiasm was waning, he gave me another piece of good advice "fake it until you make it". That worked, too. Just because you don´t feel particularly enthusiastic does not mean that you cannot act that way, A funny thing happens when you act enthusiastically - the feelings seem to follow the behavior.
Check out our NEW tool for sales assessment and development
# Confidence
Confidence and enthusiasm are brother and sister. Arnold looks confident in himself, and can inspire confidence in others. Like most successful sales people, he does it through body language. Note how straight he stands with his head held high. When you are tall there´s a tendency to stoop, which communicates a certain lack of confidence. I´m forever telling my son, who is tall, to hold his head up and push his shoulders back. My daughter on the other hand, who is short, walks with a bounce in her stride, her head held high, and projects self assurance and confidence.
# Straight talker
I´ve met many sales people who erroneously believe that the best sales people are fast talkers. Quite the opposite is true, if you study successful B2B sales people. They tell it straight. There are no false promises, vague assurances or highly exaggerated claims. Good sales people do however have the gift of the gab. They are eloquent, colorful and mesmerizing in their choice of words. They also speak from the heart (that "en theos" again) and the meaning of their words is rarely cloudy. Despite the accent, when he speaks, Arnold is forceful, clear as a bell, and authentic. Again, it comes through control of his body language. The best communicators have complete awareness and complete control of their every hand movement, every gesture, and every eye movement, and in intonation of their voice. They know how they want to come across and they marshal all their faculties to accomplish it. It takes two things, sincerity and practice. You cannot practice sincerity, but you can practice the behaviors that signal it. I don´t really know if Arnold is a straight shooter.
I guess we´ll find out soon enough.
The Power of Ambition - To learn more about this author, visit John Brennan's Website.
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Arnold´s story is a lesson in the power of ambition. Here´s a guy who was a farm boy in Europe, came to this country as a young man, learned to speak the language (well - more or less) and won world championship bodybuilding events. Recently he switched careers and became a famous, if not skilled, actor. Then recently he switched careers again and won the governorship of the largest state in the Union. The best sales people are not happy to come in second, they want to win.
# Discipline
Bodybuilding takes enormous discipline (if you have ever lifted weights you will appreciate that). Immigrating to another country takes ambition and courage. I can relate to that one, having immigrated to the US myself at about the same age as Arnold. But I spoke the language, or at least the Aussie version of it. I can only imagine the added pressure of trying to find your way in a new country with Arnold´s distinctive accent. Success in sales requires that we focus on our goals, ignoring distractions, putting in the extra effort, becoming aware of our shortcomings and working around them. I was fortunate to learn the value of self- discipline early in life. My High School´s motto was "Vincit, qui se vincit" which you Latin scholars will immediately recognize as "He conquers, who conquers himself".
# Enthusiasm
Arnold is full of enthusiasm and energy. The big smile, outstretched hand, and ready laughter are truly contagious. People gravitate towards enthusiasm because it has an almost spiritual quality about it. (The word itself comes from two Greek words "en" = in and "theos" = God.)
It is also true that "Nothing happens without enthusiasm". In another life I sold franchises for a start-up company. I loved the franchising concept, I was impressed with the owner, and I felt that my entire career had been a preparation for this particular opportunity. The entrepreneur who hired me assured me that I would sell the first dozen franchises on enthusiasm alone. He was right. And after six months, when the enthusiasm was waning, he gave me another piece of good advice "fake it until you make it". That worked, too. Just because you don´t feel particularly enthusiastic does not mean that you cannot act that way, A funny thing happens when you act enthusiastically - the feelings seem to follow the behavior.
Check out our NEW tool for sales assessment and development
# Confidence
Confidence and enthusiasm are brother and sister. Arnold looks confident in himself, and can inspire confidence in others. Like most successful sales people, he does it through body language. Note how straight he stands with his head held high. When you are tall there´s a tendency to stoop, which communicates a certain lack of confidence. I´m forever telling my son, who is tall, to hold his head up and push his shoulders back. My daughter on the other hand, who is short, walks with a bounce in her stride, her head held high, and projects self assurance and confidence.
# Straight talker
I´ve met many sales people who erroneously believe that the best sales people are fast talkers. Quite the opposite is true, if you study successful B2B sales people. They tell it straight. There are no false promises, vague assurances or highly exaggerated claims. Good sales people do however have the gift of the gab. They are eloquent, colorful and mesmerizing in their choice of words. They also speak from the heart (that "en theos" again) and the meaning of their words is rarely cloudy. Despite the accent, when he speaks, Arnold is forceful, clear as a bell, and authentic. Again, it comes through control of his body language. The best communicators have complete awareness and complete control of their every hand movement, every gesture, and every eye movement, and in intonation of their voice. They know how they want to come across and they marshal all their faculties to accomplish it. It takes two things, sincerity and practice. You cannot practice sincerity, but you can practice the behaviors that signal it. I don´t really know if Arnold is a straight shooter.
I guess we´ll find out soon enough.
The Power of Ambition - To learn more about this author, visit John Brennan's Website.
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very good and inspiring content. Keep up the good job!
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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