Students Of Success

Auto sales training is definitely a constant need in any successful auto dealership, and one that you will find many dealerships not implementing properly because of lack of time. In today’s day and age, having a sharp and well trained staff is no longer a luxury; it’s an absolute necessity.

Car dealerships today are faced with the fact that the traditional auto sales training programs are “not cutting it.” These courses that they have been putting their staff through are not keeping pace with the technological advancements that are coming to the market on a daily basis. Think about it like this: One “X” brand dealership has a well trained staff; one that has a well organized auto sales training program which every single staff member completes. They train their staff the “steps-to-the-sale” and how to properly deal with prospects, customers and some advanced skills in relationship building.

Conversely, a competitor on the other side of the city realizes that they need to stay up with the advancements in technology that seem to take place daily. They have integrated their auto sales training program with a few external trainers, so now this staff is being trained in some amazing new ways. They all individually have their own web sites…a blog…and a PDA.

They are taught how to develop a relationship with their prospects and customers in a way that the dealership ultimately benefits from 10 fold. The sales staff, through the auto sales training program, is now able to engage and utilize technology; while the dealership management has leveraged the relationships of these staff members to ultimately grow the bottom line dramatically.

Which of these two dealerships would you want to be?

I think that the choice is clear, as well as imperative. You see, it is just impossible to be great, or even good, at multiple things…as there is just not enough time in a day. Dealers and the management teams are busy buying cars, selling cars and training their staff on how to buy and sell cars. Technology is flying by us at an incredible pace…and it is proven to be true; that the dealers that have totally engaged technology are the ones that have been able to leverage their time and resources in ways only once imagined.

One really quick example I would like to give regarding leverage is this: the Credit Union sale. Dealers go to Credit Unions all the time to “joint venture” a sale to the clients of the respective Credit Union. Why do they do this? The answer is quite simple. Credit Unions have fantastic relationships with their members, and by leveraging this relationship, dealers are now able to communicate and do business with an entirely new group of individuals that they may not have previously had access to. This is the power of leverage.

Now apply this to a well trained sales staff; a staff that has engaged technology to the fullest and is using this technology to develop their relationships with their prospects and customers.

Now, think about this, while your sales staff is developing better relationships with their prospects and customers…blogs, websites, pod casts, email marketing…the dealership is the ultimate benefactor. Conversely, if the dealership itself is the one that is attempting to do the direct marketing to these potential customers, it is merely seen as MARKETING.

I hope you all see the benefit of not only empowering your sales staff with a more efficient auto sales training program, but that you see how it is ultimately in the best interests of the dealership.

Visit http://www.mindsetforsales.com to learn how you can acquire the technology to stay ahead in this game!

Yes, it really is possible to go bananas with your music! Take my word for it, because I’ve helped many musicians do so in the past and here’s your chance to do it to. One of the most important ways to sky rocket your sales, increase your fan base and music career is to start your online newsletter that keeps people updated about what’s going on in the life of an artist, which is you.

I’m quite pleased to say that the online newsletters are one of the most important mediums through which you can keep in touch with everyone, and of course, is the cheapest and cost-effective way of doing so.

There are so many newsletter providers online that can help you for free or for a small fee. The one I recommend is Constant Contact, because it lets you send unlimited emails free to up to 50 members, and then you pay a fee when it increased in number.

It’s also important to define what the newsletter will convey to your fans. Will it be about you as an artist? Will it be based around your band? Will you mention other acts or items in there? Also define its frequency. How often will you send it out? Every week? Every fortnight? Every month? It doesn’t matter what you choose, but ensuring you stick to it is important, as people tend to look out for it if they enjoy it! And they will enjoy it!

Also think about the content when planning. How much will you put in it? Will you use images, and if so, what kind? Will you store past issues in a way that people can access it? Will you feature advertisements?

The main thing for me to convey here is to keep it realistic, simple and write in a tone that is friendly and understandable. Its important to ask for feedback now and again, and perhaps feature comments from your fans now again. Give your articles some kick too!

Instead of your regular two eyes! Get four! Once you’ve written it, get someone to proofread it so that it’s to a good level. Better to have people know that you’ve put effort, and not just doing it because you have to.

Getting a newsletter done is a real simple job! Really 

If you can’t do it, or haven’t got the time, get your manager to do it. Or someone else at least, but do it! It’s really important and it builds relationships and trust with your audience.

The next important thing then is to actually have people to send your online newsletters too. Start small, and grow organically - that’s my secret! Add all your family and friends onto your newsletter list. Then wherever you go, whomever you see, wherever you perform, have a mailing list form/chart that people can fill it out should they wish to so that they can keep up to date with your work. Don’t force it, but let it flow out of you.

If you want some more help in really getting your newsletter to catching and sales quality so that you are making some passive revenue this way, get in touch with us to see how you can better your newsletter.

© Kavit Haria, The Musicians’ Coach

Kavit Haria is The Musicians’ Coach. Kavit is the director of
InnerRhythm, a company that prides on providing success solutions for
musicians worldwide. Kavit sends out a musician development newsletter to
over 2000 musicians in 16 countries every fortnight to help them achieve
their desired results. Sign up now and experience the huge benefits from
www.innerrhythm.org

Dear Daughter,

I love you so much. I wish that I could always protect you from all dangers, but I know that I can’t. You are growing up and you will have to face dangers and make some decisions on your own. However, I am always here and I can always be a pretty good coach. Please talk to me anytime about any problem you may have, even if you have messed up. I have messed up a few times myself.

I was thinking about my last letter on dating. I would like to continue those thoughts. As I think about the potential dangers to avoid, drugs and alcohol are at the top of the list.

The moment you learn that a boyfriend is using any type of illegal drug, begin choosing the location for the break up. Never let the relationship continue thinking that he will give up the drugs for you. I know this sounds cruel, but it is true. People who are using drugs will look you in the eye and convincingly lie about the drug use. The drug use actually alters their personality. They will lie and do things that they wouldn’t normally do.

When you break up with someone over drug use, it’s a little different situation. As described before, choose a semi-private but public location, such as a restaurant. Take your own transportation and enough one dollar bills to pay for whatever you order, if you are meeting in a restaurant.

Get straight to the issue. If you like him, tell him so. If he has some good points, compliment him. Then tell him that you cannot continue dating him because he uses drugs. Tell him that this is something you decided long ago and that you are sticking to it. If it is true, tell him that you still consider him to be a friend, but you will not date him.

He will try to minimize the drug use. He may say that he doesn’t use drugs that often, and that it’s no big deal, everyone does it. He may say that he can quit anytime he wants to quit. He may try to make you feel guilty for treating him so badly. Don’t believe any of this. Tell him that only he can decide what he wants to do, you wish him the best and that you hope, for his sake, he does decide to give up the drugs. Get up and leave.

In about a week or so he may call to tell you that he is off all drugs and doing great. Congratulate him and tell him that you will not consider dating him until he has been drug free for at least a year. He will then try to make you feel bad for being so unreasonable. He may even try to make you feel guilty for not helping him stay off drugs by continuing the relationship. Without you he may start using drugs again. Don’t buy any of this. Tell him that it is up to him to quit the drugs, not you. You are not responsible for his behavior. By the way, if you are thinking that everyone does some drugs so there is no one left to date, you are hanging around the wrong people.

While we are on the subject, do we need to talk about drug use? I don’t think that we do, but if we do, please, please, let’s talk. You need to know that there is a lot of false information out there, most of which comes from the people who are using the drugs. They make it sound really good. It’s not. I have seen many people lose their family, friends, their productive lifestyle, and sometimes their life, because the drug became number one in their life.

Do you know what upsets me the most? Not a single one of those people set out to destroy their life. I am certain that if these people had known what destruction lay ahead, they would have never taken that first drug that seemed so harmless. In reality, the most dangerous illegal drug is the first one taken. It seems so harmless in the beginning.

In spite of the seriousness of drug use there is a simple solution; simply don’t do it. Don’t take that first drug. No matter how harmless it may seem or how good other people make it sound, don’t do it. Make that decision now, before you find yourself faced with “friends” who are encouraging you to “just try it.” Make the decision now so that you will not have to decide when under pressure. There comes a time when you have to make some decisions about yourself. Make good decisions.

By the way, what would you do if you were with a group of friends and suddenly alcohol or an illegal drug turns up? You may be thinking “Don’t take it.” That’s a good answer, but you must do more in this situation. You must leave the group immediately. If the individual with the drugs or alcohol is caught and arrested, the whole group will be arrested. It is important that you choose wisely when it comes to friends. I will have more to say about this in a future letter.

Let me also mention a few things about alcohol. Alcohol is probably the most dangerous drug available in terms of destruction to individuals and families. The reason it is so destructive is because it is legal, socially accepted and readily available.

For those who have trouble with alcohol, the onset of problems is slow and not even noticeable to the victim. Victims of both drug and alcohol dependence often have their world falling apart all around them, and they are in total denial of the problem and the consequences.

You are under age. It is illegal for you to drink alcohol. This makes my advice simple for now. Don’t do it. It’s that simple. No doubt you will find yourself at a party and there will be alcohol present. Don’t do it, leave immediately. It’s illegal and you could be arrested.

When you become an adult and are living on your own, you will have to decide what you will do about alcohol. Some people can drink socially and never have a problem with alcohol abuse or dependence. Other people begin with social drinking and the use slowly increases until it becomes abuse with the entire range of social, and eventually, physical problems. Which group are you in? I don’t know either.

I want you to know that there is a danger involved. To avoid the danger, the best thing to do is choose to not drink alcohol. This is the safest route and the one that I recommend to you.

As far as dating someone who is using alcohol, it is similar to the drug issue. You are under age. If your date brings alcohol around you, he is putting you in danger. You could be arrested. He is being irresponsible and this is your cue to plan the break up. What if he is older and is of legal age to use alcohol? It doesn’t matter. He is still endangering you. Plan the break up.

What will you do later on, when you are of legal age to drink alcohol, and your boyfriend drinks alcohol? This is not a black and white situation. If you have chosen the safe route and you do not drink alcohol, you may have decided that you will only date people who, like you, do not drink alcohol. If so, this simplifies things.

On the other hand, if you wish to continue dating the person, there may or may not be danger. As discussed earlier, some people have trouble with alcohol and some don’t. If the relationship becomes serious, discuss your concerns with him. If you have a good relationship, an in-depth discussion should not be a problem. Remember that you always have access to professional drug and alcohol counselors who can help you evaluate your situation. Be sure you are comfortable with the situation up front rather than after the marriage.

Alan Yarbrough, Ed. D. is a retired psychologist. Letters to my Daughter is a series of heart-touching letters written by a Christian psychologist to his teenage daughter. These letters deliver what most parents want to say, but rarely do. Available at www.pricelessebooks.com or www.amazon.com

Yes… and no! Curriculum is nothing more than a roadmap. Seasoned travelers often
can get to a destination without a map; however, less experienced travelers might
get lost trying to make a trip without a map. It’s the same way with curriculum.
So, you might think that your many years of teaching a Bible study negates the need
for curriculum. Not so fast! How many years you’ve been teaching doesn’t affect
your need for curriculum; it has to do with study skills.

How you study and prepare is more important than your teaching history. If you
don’t have good inductive skills, you really ought to think twice about “flying by the
seat of your pants.”

Every Scripture passage has a context in which it originally was set. Yet, in an effort
to prove our points, we often twist Scripture and make it say things it doesn’t say.
Curriculum publishers use this strategy when trying to make Scripture support their
agendas. That’s why some Bible studies jump around and skip verses or passages.
In a presentation about a stewardship campaign, a representative of the fund-
raising company was discussing the biblical mandate to give. To legitimize his
point, he said, “We should give because God gave. The Bible says, ‘God so loved the
world that He gave!’” I watched as heads nodded and the teaching corps collectively
agreed with his statement. It is true that God did give, but the context of John 3:16
has nothing to do with raising money; it has everything to do with God’s providing a
Savior.

Be wary of the following when selecting your curriculum:

Publishers with agendas. When the agenda becomes more important than
the Scripture, the tendency is toward propaganda, not education.

Publishers with no educational direction. If you check the educational
qualifications of the staffs of some curriculum publishers, you might be surprised to
discover that no one on the staff is trained in adult education. That should be a
concern!

One-issue wonders. Everyone has a pet issue and some curriculum
publishers seem to make every Bible study come back around to their pet issues. If
you find yourself teaching on the same topics over and over, you probably have
found your curriculum publisher’s pet issue. If you keep using that curriculum you’ll
keep teaching that issue!

Studies of non-biblical content. Certainly there have been many great
things written by many great people, but Bible study is Bible study, not “what
someone said about what the Bible says” study!

Plug-n-play studies. If adults want to watch TV, they’ll stay at home.
Technology should be used to enhance the study of God’s Word, not replace it.
Because of the relational aspect of adult education, the attrition rate of “sit and
watch” studies exceeds 50%. This means that more than half of those who start a
study quit before the study ends.

Scripted studies. These are easy to find. If the material has leadership
material, take a look at how many times the instructions give you a statement to
make. Teaching is more than parroting the thoughts of someone else.

Quick fix options. OK, so Saturday was busy and you never got around to
preparing to teach your class. Aren’t you glad you have curriculum that tells you to
grab an item from your kitchen cabinet, read a few verses of Scripture, and consider
yourself to have taught a lesson? James 3:1 warns against taking your teaching
responsibility lightly. It’s unfortunate that curriculum publishers put profit above
educational integrity. The best thing you can do is commit yourself to preparation…
and leave the quick fix solutions stacked in the warehouses of the publishers!

So, what’s left? Honestly, not much! Even when publishers introduce “new”
curriculum, it’s often nothing more than the repackaging of old ideas. In
Teaching for a Change, we show teachers how to prepare to teach, how to
study the Bible, and how to use supplemental resources. There also are lessons to
help teachers deal with bad lessons in the curriculum they use. Teaching for a
Change is the first teacher training elearning course on the market. Because
each lesson takes less than 20 minutes to complete, your time isn’t wasted!

You can download a free copy of the Session Preparation Guide or
enroll in Teaching for a Change at our website. You might not need
curriculum, but you do need a plan! Think about it!

Dr. Terry Hadaway is an author, motivational speaker, university professor, and
conference leader who is recognized as a leading authority on elearning,
decision-making, and adult education. For more information on Rapid Fire Learning,
visit http://www.rapidfirelearning.com.