Friday, May 31, 2013

Living Life By Design...

Every so often I have the chance to meet up with an old friend to enjoy some camaraderie and conversation during a long weekend bike ride.

Last weekend was one of those occasions.

Jack Daly is a sales trainer, and in my opinion, is unequaled by any other in his profession. Over the last 20 years, I’ve had the pleasure to participate in several of Jack’s presentations and workshops specially geared to salesmen and sales  managers.

Not only have I participated myself, but I’ve also sent countless of my own sales people to Jack’s seminars and trainings.

Jack’s basic sales methodology is relatively simple:
  • Show up for sales calls... on time... be prepared... and always have a purpose in mind of what it is you want to achieve during the call.
     
  • Ask a lot of questions and listen intently to what your customer is saying.
     
  • Find ways to connect with your customers both professionally and personally... sales is really just the transfer of trust... if your customer doesn’t trust you... they won’t do business with you.
     
  • Look for opportunities to do things for your customer that your competitors are unable or unwilling to do... be an innovator not an imitator.
     
  • Follow up... follow up... and follow up...
His basic sales management philosophies are equally as important: 
  • A sales manager’s job is not to grow sales but rather to grow sales people.
     
  • 20% of your sales people will produce 80% of your sales... focus on making the 20% great NOT making the 80% better.
     
  •  The team with the best players wins most of the time... always be on the lookout for the best players in your industry.
     
  • While most great sales people are indeed driven by money... what they truly desire is recognition... never forget to personally recognize outstanding achievement.
     
  • Coaching is done on the field... not in the locker room.  Spend time with your sales people in the field... not in the office.
Jack absolutely loves being in front of an enthusiastic audience and displays more energy than most 20 year olds (did I  mention that Jack was nearing the age when most people retire?).

His travel schedule has him on the road some 250 days each year... conducting sales training and corporate seminars on every continent on the globe.  Many times, he is escorted by Bonnie, his high school sweetheart and wife of 43 years as they manage to sandwich some vacation time in between Jack’s work schedule. 

In addition to his work, Jack is passionate about other areas of his life.

In his "spare time", Jack races in triathlons 4-6 times per year. Not some sprint triathlons where a person is required to swim a few hundred meters, ride their bike 10-15 miles while finishing the race with a 5K run.

No... Jack is an Iron Man triathlete.

A full Iron Man competition requires the racer to swim 2.2 miles (generally in rough water conditions), bike an amazing 112 miles, and then finish it off with a full 26 mile marathon!!

Most participants do not finish such a race... but Jack not only has finished 12 such races, but he has also now qualified to run in the Iron Man World Championship in Kona, HI this October.

Preparing for these races takes an incredible amount of training and dedication. One of the ways he prepares himself is to run in sanctioned marathons.

Jack’s goal is to run in a marathon in every state (he has already completed marathons in 34 states to date) and  on each of the seven continents (including Antarctica) which he will run next winter - (remember it’ll be summer there).

In addition to his personal endeavors, Jack is a family man finding ways to spend quality time with his wife, his two grown kids, and his two grandchildren.

It’s no wonder why Jack and I have had such a hard time finding some time to meet up and ride together this summer...

As we were riding along, I asked Jack in a sincere way, whether he had ever thought about slowing down a bit... if nothing else... to take time and "smell the roses".

He turned his head and looked at me with a somewhat confused look...

"Jimmy... you don’t understand... I am taking time to smell the roses... in fact... I take time every day to smell the roses..."

"You see... I live my entire life strictly by my own design... not by chance... everything I include in my life is there because I want it to be there... I don’t really do it for the money... I don’t do it for the celebrity... I live my life this way because I love doing it... !!"

"Do you think I just woke up one day and said that I think I’ll run in the Antarctica marathon next year?... no... it took years of preparation and thought... I have certain items in my schedule that I’ve planned for two or three years in advance."

"I alone take responsibility for everything in my life and what I’ve chosen to do... if I don’t like something... I alone have the power to change it."

I’ve thought a lot about these words for the next few days...

Jack isn’t a prisoner of his own life... rather he is a guardian.

Now I have no expectations in my own life to try and achieve the lofty goals that Jack has created in his. I am not motivated to spend 250 days a year on the road nor do I feel compelled to complete Iron Man competitions.

My life has been designed by me for me...

This is the same for every person on the planet...
 
The big difference in Jack Daly’s life is that he never idly waits around for his goals to one day become a reality... he spends each and every day preparing to conquer yet another challenge that he’s set for himself... to check off another "done that" box on his bucket list.

Jack lives his life just like he makes sales calls...
  • He gets out of bed each day and shows up for the life he’s chosen to pursue.
     
  • He sets off each day with a purpose in mind.
     
  • He prepares himself for success by creating goals and measuring his results.
Even though it would be impossible to try and mimic Jack’s life... we can perhaps draw a little inspiration from him and try to live our own lives with a sense of urgency and purpose rather than by purely chance.

Thank you so much for your support of OptiFuse, where we believe that life is worth living to the fullest each and every day.

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