My old bedroom

Everybody has a backstory; we all came from somewhere. And while some of us were born into a family where money wasn’t an issue, most of us had parents that struggled and were forced to decide between their wants and our needs. The greatest thing about the country we live in is that even though you may not have been born into perfect circumstances, you have the opportunity to create the life you want… all you have to do is pursue it.

The thing about humble beginnings… is they’re beginnings.

One Moore Thing: Don’t wait for your boss, your parents, or your teachers to write your life story. Create your own novel… one chapter at a time.

Try it and let me know who happened

I recently watched We Bought a Zoo on DVD and, besides being pleasantly surprised about the entertainment value of the movie, I heard a great quote by Matt Damon’s character: All you need is 20 seconds of insane courage and I promise you something great will come out of it.

I love that quote! How many times have you just brushed away the fear, summoned up the courage, and did something without overthinking the possibility of a negative outcome? I guarantee the result was memorable.

One Moore Thing: Use 20 seconds insane courage to to walk up to a big-time prospect at an event, or to call that upset customer, or to volunteer for something. The consequences will follow… and they’re bound to move you to greatness.

Information is only useful if acted upon

There are two problems with gathering data: Not taking action on the data or the data being innacurate.

We stockpile information in our heads, journals, and databases. We do this to potentially utilize the data in the future for the benefit of ourselves, our organizations, or for somebody else. If we never do anything with the information we’ve gathered, we have wasted time and brain space when we gathered it in the first place.

Even worse than not using data, is using data that is inaccurate. Was your perception of an individual skewed by your own sour mood? Have you ever spent time persuading an individual who had no authority to make a decision because your information said he was the decision maker?

One Moore Thing: First decide whether or not to save a particular piece of information, then make sure the data is correct so you can maximize it’s value.

Let customers know the real you

More than ever, clients have options. They can buy online, down the street, or from their brother-in-law. The one thing they can’t get anywhere else is you… your expertise, your work ethic, and your personality. Don’t cloud your uniqueness by being anything other than yourself.

If you aren’t yourself, customers will see through it and choose to do business elsewhere.

One Moore Thing: Not everybody will be able to work with you, and that’s good. That means you’re not generic, not bland, and not replaceable.

Keep on truckin

When you’re on a road trip and drive through a rest stop or gas station, you’ve probably noticed that most of the semi trucks have their motors running all night. With the rising cost of gas, why would they do that? Because they burn more fuel by starting the diesel engine than by leaving it on for several hours. The same goes for our habits.

When you decide to give up smoking, start exercising, or change your prospecting habits, those first few weeks require you to constantly think about what you’re doing until it becomes a habit. Simply put, it takes more energy to start doing something than it does to continue doing it.

One Moore Thing: According to most evidence, it requires 21 days to form a habit. So if you’re trying to change something in your life, commit to at least a month.

Okay… maybe not THIS crazy

Why should you be crazy? Normal doesn’t stand out in the marketplace.

One Moore Thing: You don’t have to be a total contrarian, but doing things the same as everybody else will never separate you from the competition.

Rock on, Grandma

If she can’t explain it, then your message is overly complex.

One Moore Thing: Even if you offer a dozen different services, condense it into a message that can be communicated in less than 15 seconds. If done properly, people will ask questions that expand the conversation.

If you don’t have a story, you don’t have an audience

It seemed like my grandparents knew everything. I could listen to them talk for hours, and even when I was supposed to be sleeping, I would sneak to the top of the stairs, lay on my belly, and eavesdrop on them talking to other people. I remember those conversations like they were yesterday… but I can’t remember what I heard yesterday.

Why is that? Because there’s no story.

Would you rather look at your friend’s souvenir from a trip to China, or hear how he acquired it? Do you remember the uneventful boat tour you had in Amsterdam or running smack dab into the middle of the anti-American protest (ask me about that one…)?  Would you rather watch a boxing match or the movie Rocky?

Since the beginning of time, people have passed on information by telling a story. It’s an art that has been lost in this age of information, where you can literally find a hundred million pieces of information about any topic and without interacting with anybody. People are desensitized and they’ve stopped paying attention to the minutia of messages.

So, as a marketer, how do you not only grab somebody’s attention, but get them to remember you for more than six seconds after your interaction? You tell a story.

Stories help us remember because they involve humans instead of statistics, features, or insignificant details. A good story helps the audience put themselves in the shoes of the protagonist, and once they are in invested in the story, the listener will more readily accept the lessons learned by the heroes in the story.

One Moore Thing: Telling a great story (and being a great storyteller) gives you a chance to frame a problem and provide a solution. People will remember what you said long after they’ve forgotten your competition’s name.

Make sure competition isn’t working against your goals

You may be undermining your sales staff without even knowing it. We have always believed that competition is good, that the constant nipping at your heels by a peer would elevate your performance. While that may be true for some people, it doesn’t work for everybody, and it doesn’t work for anybody 100% of the time.

Some salespeople see competition as a threat to their jobs, and many times that is accurate. If they feel their managers only view them as a number instead of a person, they may be forced to make decisions that are detrimental to the company or that have negative long-term consequences. Some examples include:

• Not being completely honest with a customer just to get the sale. The salesperson gets credit for the sale but the client has incorrect expectations for product performance.
• Signing unprofitable clients because “we’ll make money on their next order.” That never works because they’re trained to expect the same discount for the length of the relationship.
• Selling transactions instead of  being strategic. Transactions are a band-aid to the customer while strategic partnerships help their business.

One Moore Thing: Yes, competition is good, but it can’t be the only thing that motivates your people… it’s your job to find their intrinsic motivators. Leaders need to emphasize to their sales force that they are valuable members of the team, and their actions should accentuate the long-term interests of the organization and the customer. If they’re constantly looking over their shoulders, nobody wins.

Oh yeah, he can dance, too.

Even casual football fans know who Peyton Manning is. In addition to an all-pro quarterback, he is the star of several commercials and a repeat host of Saturday Night Live. He’s an all-universe athlete, seems humble, and is surprisingly funny in front of the camera. And he was fired. Actually, he wasn’t fired as much as an injury forced the hand of his employer, the Indianapolis Colts.

So he went to look for a new team, and although his resume is impeccable, he is something of an unknown entity because of the nerve damage he sustained. The only person that is 100% positive about his physical recovery is Peyton himself. Manning recently signed a five-year deal with the Denver Broncos for almost $100 million, and while most of us will never see that kind of money thrown at us, we can learn valuable lessons from Peyton Manning’s job hunt:

1. Keep it quiet: The media followed Peyton Manning around, so everybody pretty much knew who he was talking to. But Peyton didn’t discuss any details. He was quiet until it was time to not be quiet.
   Talking to too many people about your job offers may jeopardize your current job. It could also get back to whoever is offering you the job and make them rethink their position.
2. Analyze the offers: There were other teams that offered Manning more money, but he chose to make a decision based on the entire team and the trust in the management.
   There is more to a job than the money in your paycheck. Is there time for family, chance for advancement, or market growth?
3. Make it your full-time job: Peyton Manning didn’t talk to any other team until he was released by the Colts. Once that was official, he immediately contacted people and setup workouts so they could see his ability.
   If you don’t have a job, finding a job should be your full time job. The average unemployed person spends less than 20 minutes per day in their job hunt.
4. Weight your parameters: Manning obviously had a list of requirements for a potential employer and you should be no different.
   Is office space important to you, or would you like to work from your house? Do you want to be involved in community activities or only work 8–5? Do you want to work for a small company or a big corporation? There are no wrong answers, but you need to know yours in advance so you don’t get mesmerized by a big shiny lobby. 

One Moore Thing: If you’re looking for more job hunting tips, watch this presentation.