Wednesday, April 6, 2011

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Thanks for all your reading! Just in case you missed it, all of our blogs are now at:

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thanks!

Friday, April 1, 2011

5 musts of a sales meeting

Hey Stellar Fans,

For the past 12 years I have participated or ran sales meetings multiple times almost every week. It shocks me how many of them are planned and conducted the wrong way. It’s estimated that 90% of sales training is a waste. The major cause for this is improper planning and execution. I see companies doing one of three things wrong.
1.       They don’t even attempt sales meetings, or gather once in a while to find out what is going wrong.
2.       They meet on a regular basis and the majority of the content revolves around putting out fires or talking about what everyone is doing wrong.
3.       And worst; they meet every day or at least three times per week and bore everyone to the point where they are yawning and looking at the clock.
Sales meetings must revolve around the following five things:
1.       They must be planned. You expect that out of your sales staff, practice what you preach. I prepare sales meetings on a standard "fill in the blank" form. This allows me not only to plan what I will do but to also track what I have done in the past.
2.       They must be themed. Typically a sales meeting is the result of the owner not being happy with a certain result. While it is good to analyze the numbers and base your meeting on improving certain aspects, it must be done in a positive way. Theme your meeting around improving a certain area and tie it into the current contest or mantra of the business.
3.       They must be short. Sales meetings that drag on for hours have the reverse effect of what was intended. Thirty days after attending a seminar or a sales meeting you will have forgotten 87% of what was said. Be brief and to the point, follow the format and don’t drag it out.
4.       Follow the format of: Recognition, Education, and Motivation. Start by recognizing the positive results that sales reps have obtained since the last meeting. This recognition will naturally motive those that are not mentioned; to do things that get them mentioned the next time.
5.       The emotional flow of most sales meetings are: start off high, die down during the meat of the meeting, and jack it back up at the end…… WRONG! The emotional flow of the meeting should start off slow and mellow, then slowly build throughout. Reaching the peak and ending it there. Remember, always leave them wanting more and run the meeting like a great story.
For a complimentary sales meeting at your business contact Destry @ destry@stellarremix.com

Destry Brink

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Systems reign supreme

Hey Stellar Fans,
At a recent client meeting I could not help but smile inside knowing that I have put systems in place for the most critical aspects of my client’s  businesses. There was a lot of frustration in the room, as the company leaders voiced their concerns. The answer was simple: There was not one tangible form of a system in this business. Everyone’s own version of what they should do and how they should do it was in their heads. The owner had his system, delegated objectives, and judged the result based on how he would have done it. How he would have carried out the specific task though, was nowhere on paper or involved in any training program.
I quickly turned to his IT employee and asked how difficult it would be for a computer to operate successfully with no systems or algorithm in place? In my computer layman’s terms, it could not. When your computer is not performing tasks to your expectations, what do you say? I have learned that most people blame the computer. If someone in your organization is not performing as expected, look into your systems first. The great military commander Sun Tzu, knew to check his system of training first before he beheaded two concubines.
Sales organizations with the resources to keep their sales team on appointments are the industry leaders. These organizations tend to have strong systems in place to keep their sales team on opportunities. Their systems also seem to flow directly into every aspect of their business. Simply put, they have a system in place that is workable, they work it, reflect on it, enhance it, and then start over. Lather, rinse, and repeat.
 The most important aspect of a sales organization is to have this system in place. Not only will most organizations never do this, I have learned that most of these organizations don’t have a business plan, copied a competitors plan, or have not seen their plan since it was typed up during the start-up phase.
Systems need to start with the simple and work up to the complex. If there are no systems in place or very few, start with the easy ones. For example, how do you go about recruiting team members? When do you recruit them, why are you recruiting them, where are you going to recruit them? If this information is not on paper in a plan, with different contingencies, you’re lagging behind. The industry leaders I have been fortunate enough to learn from had all of this, the bottom feeders did not. The choice is yours.

For information on the Stellar Recruiting System, including 14 methods to recruit top talent, contact Destry Brink @ destry@stellarremix.com

Destry Brink


Friday, March 18, 2011

The Whiner's thought process.

I have learned that most people will whine and complain about the end results, endlessly.
“I can’t believe this happened to me.”
“Why won’t these people buy from me.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t get the job.”
Whiners, you don’t understand these things and you never will…… until now.
When you give attention to a result that already happened, you have already missed the boat. Your focus must always be two or three steps ahead of where you are at. Why don’t you be honest with yourself, were you really going at it 110%? Were you really investing ALL the time POSSIBLE to improve your skill sets? Did you REALLY do all your homework before hand?
The helpless ones will answer yes, and know they are lying. The future success’s will say no, and make the necessary changes, the current success’s were never whining in the first place.
CURRENT THOUGHTS = ACTIONS = FUTURE RESULTS.
“THE WHINER THOUGHT PROCESS”
“I CAN’T, THIS ISN’T FAIR, WHY = PITY PARTY = DOWNWARD SPIRAL
“THE SUCCESFUL THOUGHT PROCESS”
“WHERE DO I WANT TO BE, & WHAT DO I NEED TO DO” = CONGRUENT ACTIONS = STRUGGLING UPWARD = WASH, RINSE, & REPEAT.

Destry Brink

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Because I have learned.......


I have learned that a script should not be followed word for word because it is meant to be a guideline. Just like a mapped out road trip, a script provides you with where you are, and where to go next. There is always more than one way to reach your destination. A script has never sky-rocketed me to the top of my field, but principles have. Two words that you should incorporate into every sales talk you have, are “because”, and “learned.”  Whether your sales presentation is done on the phone or in person, these two words are principles rooted in human psychology and persuasion. If you are paying attention, I have already used them once.

Because: Your parents have used this one on you since you were a child. Do you remember hearing: “because I said so!” You see they might not have known its persuasive powers but they used it instinctively. When you have built enough rapport to assume the higher status, begin using “because” to gain compliance. If you do not yet have the rapport, use body language to assume the higher status. If your selling happens over the phone you will need to build that higher status prior to using “because” effectively.
Learned: This is what linguists call a factive verb. I have learned that after using this particular word, the following thought is believed to be true without question on most occasions. Take the following example from our former President, George W. Bush’s state of the union address on Jan. 28th 2003.
“The British Government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.”
That is just one small simple example; however that example does show you what was said to help make a decision to go to war, spend billions of dollars, take the lives of American soldiers, and in the end…… not find any weapons of mass destruction. In the end, his speech was talking about British intelligence, not American intelligence.
Destry Brink

For specific help and advice on how to incorporate these principles into the right place in your script, feel free to contact me @


Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Calculated movements

Quote of the day:         “….It is clear that fortune will let herself be won by (those) who are impetuous rather than by those who step cautiously.”       -Niccolo Machiavelli
"Being cautious can have you doing the same thing your entire life."
Impetuous; moving forcefully or rapidly. An impetuous flow of water. According to Machiavelli these actions were favorable in obtaining fortune then being cautious. Being cautious can have you doing the same thing your entire life. For some that is preferable, however the world is much different now than the days of: go to college, get a degree, find an employer, and retire. With your carefully crafted career moves you must be impetuous. Seize new and better opportunities, and carve out more responsibility for yourself.
"Let them, they are being cautions spectators."
Do you want to make it? Do you want success, more pay, more responsibility and more choices? Then throw most of caution to the wind. Caution can be useful to you, only to the extent that it does not paralyze your moves. Caution should be used to investigate new opportunities. When it comes down to making decisions, be quick and forceful with an iron fist. In life you will situate yourself into responsibilities like children, spouse, financial obligations, ECT. Remember this: your primary responsibility is to yourself. Some may see your outward behavior and speak out against you. Let them, they are being cautions spectators. In the meantime you will be making calculated movements.

Word of the day: Impetuous; Characterized by sudden and forceful energy or emotion; impulsive and passionate. 2. Having or marked by violent force:

Destry Brink

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Until time ends, fear nothing.

Quote of the day: “…people who cannot suffer can never grow up, can never discover who they are….”                                    -James Baldwin

Hey Stellar Fans,

Your fears are imagined and self-imposed, for the most part. Are there real fears? Of course! If you are standing at the edge of a skyscraper, willing to jump off and free-fall down with no assistance you are going to die. That fear would be real. That fear will serve you. What of the fears that are imagined and self-imposed? Some of these fears are, poverty, failure, success, rejection, and loneliness. These fears can cripple you if you let them.

“You can completely change who you are and the path of your life.”

The trick with fears is to act on it. Take it head on and conquer it. Overcoming fears has a euphoric feeling attached to it. You can completely change who you are and the path of your life.

Anthony Robbins, for years, did a fire walk during seminars. Paraphrasing him, he has written; “this was not a lesson about the benefits of walking across hot coals, but a lesson in beliefs. That the fears holding you back are only imaginary.”

“Afterwards they find themselves literally swept on to success.”

There are far too many examples in our culture of individuals that confronted, and overcame their fears. Afterwards they find themselves literally swept on to success.

Lance Armstrong nearly died of cancer; afterward he won the Tour de France a record 7 times, in a row! The fear of dying was conquered, the pain he had to endure during those races let him know that he was alive.

“….a level of confidence unmatched in thought and action.”

Be present in your suffering, soak it up and experience it for all it is. Consider your inhibitions to step out above the crowd a faceless fear, and then attack it. To conquer fear, you must have a resolve, an unquestioned belief in your eventual success, and a level of confidence unmatched in thought and action.

Word of the day:  pernicious /per·ni·cious/ (per-nish´us) a. Tending to cause death or serious injury; deadly: a pernicious virus. b. Causing great harm; destructive: pernicious rumors

I came across this word while reading The 50th Law by 50 Cent & Robert Greene. It was mentioned in the first chapter which is based on the fearful attitude and how pernicious that attitude is to your success.

Destry Brink