This article was submitted by Steve Cashdollar, an author, teacher, and coach. Steve is uniquely qualified to talk about success. He achieved a major goal at age 32 when he founded a radio broadcasting company with the purchase of a radio station in his hometown in Indiana. He advised and consulted with radio broadcasters throughout the U.S including Infinity Broadcasting (CBS Radio) and Clear Channel Communications. He was awarded the Top Five award from Merrill Lynch and Co as a Sr. Financial Advisor and later went on to create Cashdollar and Co. a financial advisory firm.
“Explore. Dream. Discover.” — Mark Twain
“We may have to fire Doris,” said my radio station manager.
Since I had recently sold my successful radio station, our manager of a new station relied upon me, the new part owner, to guide him. Doris wasn’t confident enough to make sales presentations to the advertisers like soft drink bottlers, fast food chains, and giant car dealers. She was comfortable talking to her hair dresser or the local café and donut shops, but they would never be big radio advertisers.
I asked my station manager about the strengths he saw in Doris. We made a list including the words “loyal,” “hardworking,” “proud,” “likeable,” and “trustworthy.” And we were thinking of firing her? Really?
“What does she need?” I asked. He replied, “Confidence.” So, we enrolled her in a self-study goal-setting program focused on self-esteem and taking responsibility for your results. She paid for half the cost of the program, and we decided we’d pay both halves if she set and achieved a significant goal.
She set three goals: (1) build a new front porch, (2) be more active in her church, and (3) buy a new car.
I was hoping for a sales goal for the radio station but agreed to support her on these goals. Soon after, she went to the Chevrolet dealer and asked for the owner. She said she wanted to buy a new Chevy Cavalier. He began writing an order.
She told him, “No, not yet. Steve said I should share the goal with someone who could help me achieve it.”
He brought out a giant poster of a red Chevy Cavalier—tan interior, automatic, with a nice sunroof—and told Doris to put the poster on the wall over her desk. It was a perfect match with the training program she was studying. She pasted a picture of herself in the window of the Cavalier so she could see herself driving the car!
Over time we saw a remarkable increase in her confidence. The manager joined Doris on sales
presentations, showing her that she had nothing to fear. Over the next year or so, Doris became a valued member of our sales team. She bought the car and became more involved in her church. The new front porch probably came later.
She confided, “No one ever told me I could do it,” and, “No one ever showed an interest in me.” Later, Doris taught the goal-setting program to others. When we acknowledged her strengths, she started to believe in herself. It was one of my proudest moments in business.
What is your intention for the future? Write it down.
Steve Cashdollar writes, speaks and coaches about “courage.” His Professional Advantage training program is a systematic approach to new client development for attorneys, accountants and other professionals who never imagined they would have to sell! You can “Crash a Class” for free by clicking here.
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