the Sales Doctor™ – Top 20 Mastermind Tips!

Seek & Share Ideas. Regularly seek information on different topics in journals, magazines, the Net, associations. Share those ideas with your colleagues and your customers. Build your confidence, credibility and knowledge to make more sales.

Share Success. Create opportunities to share news of your successes with others – not only "large" successes but also the smaller ones that add up to big wins. Build the confidence and support network by telling others of that great cold call, the super game of catch with your child, or any success you experience.

Creative Relaxation. Sit comfortably, eyes closed. Breathe deeply. Visualize a pleasing, relaxing place. As thoughts enter your mind, let them come and go. Concentrate on your visual place. Enjoy 10-15 minutes visualizing that place ("being there").

Maestro. Arms straight out at sides (as a "T"). Bend arms at elbow, let lower arms hang down freely. Now with exaggeration lead an orchestra by swinging your lower arms back and forth energetically. Create energy as you expend energy. Breathe deeply. Go for 1-3 minutes. [A great energizer during a string of cold calls!]

Smile (and laugh) no less than 25 times day. Count each time until the smiling becomes a habit... then you won't need to count. Soon you'll be at 25 before 10 a.m.

Do Different Things. Even if you're not in a rut, get out of it! Learn chess, backgammon, bridge, in-line skating, fly-fishing. Take up cooking or sewing. Use a laptop. S-T-R-E-T-C-H Y-O-U-R-S-E-L-F!

Do Things Differently. Change your morning routine. Put your clothes on in a different sequence. Take a different route to work. Most importantly, notice how it feels to do things differently. Pay attention to any changes, and how these changes affect how you think about and do your "normal stuff."

Show and Tell... that you care for your customers. Use different tactics to show that they are personally important to you. Send them balloons or funny cards or personalized presents. Send them for out-of-the-ordinary reasons as well as for birthdays, anniversaries, and graduations.

The What If Game. Free up your creativity. Ask (and answer) out of the box questions: What if we required no food? What if cars were outlawed? What if there were no spoken language? What if animals were smarter than humans?

Motivator. What is your plan? If your goal and vision are not crystal clear, you are not truly motivated. Construct a specific list of 5-10 Self-Expectations. [Hint: Don't limit them to your work only.]

Entrepreneur. Determine and strengthen your ability to make major decisions (especially within a short time frame) and your willingness to take risks. Write out explicitly what success means to you.

Focus. If you know your goal(s) and you have your vision, you can concentrate and act upon only what is necessary for your success. Before taking any action, ask yourself: "Does this action support my goal?" If the answer is no, bypass that action.

Walk Your Talk. Devise and implement a method of knowing how you are doing. Create a support group for mutual debriefing and feedback. Use a record book in which you jot down quantity and quality indications of specific actions you perform. You've set your standards, now measure your performance against them.

Inspire Your Passions. Make use of tools and techniques to continually refuel your personal motivation. Evaluate music, educational or inspirational audiocassettes, books by specific authors, meditation, exercise.... Take the time to find what works for you... then treat yourself to using it.

Thought/Day. Give yourself a "Thought for the Day" every day. Select from the many collections published and on the market, or write your own based upon what you've learned (and taught!) yourself. Consider a standard thought-opening such as "today..." or "I will..." or "I can...." [Here are Quick Energy POPs. They take 30 seconds apiece. Try for 5 a day]

Yessss! An instant energy boost. Think success, any success. Stand up and pump your fist forward as you exclaim: YESSSSSSS!

Teaberry Shuffle! Another energy boost. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Hop once on both feet. Hop a second time on left foot only. Hop a third time on right foot only. Stride forward and smile as if you are marching in to see a customer... and make a sale!

Whoooooeeee! Another energy boost. Pick a place where you can walk at least 15 feet. Begin the walk, shake your hands at the ends of your arms to release tension. Take a deep breath and from deep in your torso let out a long, exaggerated: WHOOOOEEEEEE.

Yo-yoing. Still another energy boost. Keep a yo-yo in your desk drawer. When something/anything gets you "down," use the yo-yo to prove that what goes down can come up again... with a little bit of effort.

Juggling. Another energy boost. Treat yourself to 3 beanbags (or anything that won't bounce and roll away!) Allow yourself to learn to juggle. Let the juggling represent whatever you wish – from problem solving to project management to customer satisfaction to stress relief.