Jim Doyle and Associates is excited to announce that John Hannon, Executive Vice President of ACME Communications, Inc., has joined Jim Doyle and Associates as Senior Vice President.
While at ACME, John most recently oversaw operations of their station, WBXX, in Knoxville, TN, and syndicated distribution of The Daily Buzz a national morning news program originating from Orlando, FL, as well as assisting with ACME’s sale of assets. Prior to that, John managed ACME’s CW station in Dayton, OH. During his leadership, WBDT was the #1 rated CW affiliate in the nation for four consecutive years. Ironically, it lost that position this year to WBXX while John was running the Knoxville station on an interim basis.
Prior to ACME, John spent time as an AE, LSM, and GSM in Dayton and oversaw the Quorum Broadcasting, ABC and FOX stations in Billings, MT.
“I’ve been a fan of John’s for years,” said Jim Doyle, President of Jim Doyle and Associates. “His station experience and passion for local sales and for TV will make him a critical part of our future.” In addition to working with JDA clients and consultants, John’s number one priority is to bring a brand new Basic Selling program to market in 2012. “I’ve been to Jim’s Sales Manager Boot Camps, watched his national satellite conferences, and participated in his training sessions,” Hannon said. “I am a huge believer in the value JDA provides to broadcasting companies and am thrilled at the opportunity to join the team and launch Basic Selling, a product specifically designed to satisfy an ongoing broadcasting industry need.”
Jim Doyle and Associates is a Sarasota, FL, based Sales Training firm. Hannon joins Jim, Tom Ray, and nine Senior Consultants in providing revenue development and training to TV stations and Cable systems across America.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Friday, September 16, 2011
Characteristics I look for in a new hire
This article originally appeared in The Leaders Edge, Jim's coaching program for managers. For more details, on The Leaders Edge, go to: jimdoyle.com/MediaSalesManager/The-Leaders-Edge
From Tom Ray, Executive Vice President of Jim Doyle and Associates
Here are some of the things I think you should hire for since you can't teach them easily: -Positive Personality. I want upbeat, energetic, glass-is-half-full people on my team, not Debbie and Donnie Downers. -Strong understanding of how business works. I want team members who "get" business and are able to determine the win for a client and work towards it. -Competitive and like to win. I like former athletes and individuals who have excelled in competitions because they are driven to win. -Naturally curious. Hire people who want to know how things work, how a client's business operates, and who enjoy learning from others. -Learners. Readers. Self-Improvers. The best AE's I encounter always want to know more. -Ideal AE's have a firm grasp on technology. They use the tools available to them, they don't fear the computer or smart phone, but embrace it and end up teaching everyone else the tips and tricks they learn. -Finally, closers. When the work is done and done well, they aren't afraid to ask for the business. Not "closers" who start with the close, but professionals who expect to be rewarded for their efforts, and who know the only way they will be is when the client says, "Let's do it." Jim weighs in on what he looks for when hiring an AE: -Are they driven? What Caliper calls Ego drive, which is the deep desire to win. In selling, winning is defined as closing the sale. Ego drive causes sellers to work harder, come in earlier, come back one more time, make cold calls even when they aren't comfortable, work hard to overcome objections. -Do they have great EMPATHY? That's the ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes. Empathy without drive can become sympathy. With drive, empathy is powerful. "I'm so sorry that business is bad, what do you think we could do about it?" -Resiliency. Especially for new-to-the-business AE's. Do they have the ability to bounce back from rejection and not take it personally? New AE's face more rejection than I've faced since my 7th grade dance. (Trust me, it was ugly!) -Are they smart? This is becoming more and more important. AE's today need to analyze both the client situations and the AE's arsenal of products to determine what is the RIGHT solution for a client. We need smarter, more analytical people. I'm told that IQ testing is okay for applicants as long as it's gender/race neutral. I think it's time to do that. -Are they students and learners? I agree with Tom here. The desire to learn is critical to continuing to be relevant. It also suggest whether they're a curious person. I think curious, interested people do well in sales (if they have strong Ego drive!). -Are they likeable? I am more and more focused on this. A good AE has to get the client engaged quickly. Do I want to hang out with them? -What about follow through? We require more attention to detail than ever. -Do they love the business?
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Are we losing clients because of weak production?
Are we losing customers after we’ve made the sale?
The folks at our company look at hundreds… maybe thousands of TV ads every year. That’s what we do!
We just viewed a bunch more at our most recent Senior Consultant meeting. And want to hear something REALLY scary?
Most of the commercials that we see look great. They’re well-edited and have a professional look. But, most of the commercials we see probably won’t work for the client. At least they won’t work with all the potential of a truly effective message.
My friend and colleague, Don Fitzgibbons, a.k.a. the Guru of Ads, does a fun and powerful seminar. During the seminar, he shows a horrid-looking ad and asks the audience, “Good ad or bad ad?” The audience responds to their emotional sense and says, “Bad ad.” Don, however, goes on to report that this ad was responsible for a huge growth in sales for the advertiser and asks again, “Good ad or bad ad?”
There’s just one thing that makes an ad good. Good ads produce good, measurable good results for our clients. Bad ads don’t. No matter how creative or how well-produced the ad is, if it doesn’t produce results for the customer, it’s a bad ad.
We spend hours and hours of our time working on new business. We make new business a major priority of our sales effort—and then create commercials that don’t work for our advertisers.
What an incredible tragedy!
Leaders know that today we MUST succeed with new business development. Our new business efforts have to be more effective than they have ever been.
But there’s a dirty little secret about new business development: it's profitable for the company, and for the AE, only when we get repeat business. The amount of time it takes to generate one new business sale makes it a very unprofitable deal. Renew the 2nd or 3rd time and and ROI grows dramatically. And, if the client keeps going for a couple of years? Wow.
Unfortunately, a massive percentage of the time we never get that 2nd order because our client doesn’t get results during their first schedule. And yes, that’s often caused by under-selling. But far more often, the problem is a nice-looking ad that isn’t effective and doesn’t get results.
If we’re going to develop local business, our AE’s and producers must become better at marketing. That’s true for our core TV business and digital products alike.
Here’s a real-life example. Ask yourself if your AE’s and Producers could help a client in this way.
An assisted living center was advertising on a station’s dot.com. The banner ad:
Southwood Assisted Living, click here
We suggested they apply the marketing principle of focus, a basic marketing concept. The ad was changed to:
Assisted Living Programs for Veterans, click here
The click-through rates quadrupled overnight. (The same idea would have dramatically improved the results for the core TV product, as well.)
Before that change, the client probably would have cancelled. But not now!!
This is a big deal. If our new business efforts get better and better, but we lose clients as fast as we bring them in because of poor production, we’re cooked. We’ll have clients who now believe TV doesn’t work and won’t come back anytime soon. And, we’ll have AE’s who don’t believe in the power our products.
I can think of few industry issues that are as critical to our long-term success as this one. Too bad it’s one we don’t talk about very often.
It’s a problem we need to fix!
The folks at our company look at hundreds… maybe thousands of TV ads every year. That’s what we do!
We just viewed a bunch more at our most recent Senior Consultant meeting. And want to hear something REALLY scary?
Most of the commercials that we see look great. They’re well-edited and have a professional look. But, most of the commercials we see probably won’t work for the client. At least they won’t work with all the potential of a truly effective message.
My friend and colleague, Don Fitzgibbons, a.k.a. the Guru of Ads, does a fun and powerful seminar. During the seminar, he shows a horrid-looking ad and asks the audience, “Good ad or bad ad?” The audience responds to their emotional sense and says, “Bad ad.” Don, however, goes on to report that this ad was responsible for a huge growth in sales for the advertiser and asks again, “Good ad or bad ad?”
There’s just one thing that makes an ad good. Good ads produce good, measurable good results for our clients. Bad ads don’t. No matter how creative or how well-produced the ad is, if it doesn’t produce results for the customer, it’s a bad ad.
We spend hours and hours of our time working on new business. We make new business a major priority of our sales effort—and then create commercials that don’t work for our advertisers.
What an incredible tragedy!
Leaders know that today we MUST succeed with new business development. Our new business efforts have to be more effective than they have ever been.
But there’s a dirty little secret about new business development: it's profitable for the company, and for the AE, only when we get repeat business. The amount of time it takes to generate one new business sale makes it a very unprofitable deal. Renew the 2nd or 3rd time and and ROI grows dramatically. And, if the client keeps going for a couple of years? Wow.
Unfortunately, a massive percentage of the time we never get that 2nd order because our client doesn’t get results during their first schedule. And yes, that’s often caused by under-selling. But far more often, the problem is a nice-looking ad that isn’t effective and doesn’t get results.
If we’re going to develop local business, our AE’s and producers must become better at marketing. That’s true for our core TV business and digital products alike.
Here’s a real-life example. Ask yourself if your AE’s and Producers could help a client in this way.
An assisted living center was advertising on a station’s dot.com. The banner ad:
Southwood Assisted Living, click here
We suggested they apply the marketing principle of focus, a basic marketing concept. The ad was changed to:
Assisted Living Programs for Veterans, click here
The click-through rates quadrupled overnight. (The same idea would have dramatically improved the results for the core TV product, as well.)
Before that change, the client probably would have cancelled. But not now!!
This is a big deal. If our new business efforts get better and better, but we lose clients as fast as we bring them in because of poor production, we’re cooked. We’ll have clients who now believe TV doesn’t work and won’t come back anytime soon. And, we’ll have AE’s who don’t believe in the power our products.
I can think of few industry issues that are as critical to our long-term success as this one. Too bad it’s one we don’t talk about very often.
It’s a problem we need to fix!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Could Your AE's Do This?
Could your AE’s do this?
An article about the future of our business from Jim Doyle.
Ask yourself honestly. Could my AE’s do this?
The client: A furniture retailer in a Top 30 market.
Situation: Business “ok…but not great” Ad dollars split between multiple media and multiple stations. Print, radio cable, and 4 TV stations all being used..
The TV Station: The LSM and AE conducted a full 90 minute diagnosis of the clients issues directly with client. No selling was involved on this call. The ad agency was present but the meeting was with the client. That day the station learned that the chain’s total ad spend was over $1.5 m but that the client was not happy with results.
Proposed solution: Station suggested the client significantly reduce number of places they advertised. Provide multiple success stories of other businesses that had done this and seen results. Stations annual commitment went from $100,000 to over $600,000 by moving unproductive radio and some print money.
Client results: The chain experienced a 10% growth in sales in a market where overall furniture sales were down. Owner has already renewed commitment to station for Year 2.
Revenue impact to station: $1,000,000 already. Likely will continue to renew as results stay strong.
Could your AE’s sell this way?
Look at what was required…
- The station had a Local Sales manager who could actually sell and was out on calls instead of being office bound. Sadly, this doesn’t happen anywhere near enough.
- Both the AE and Sales Manager didn’t walk in to the client pitching the cheap spot package of the week. They were smart enough to spend a lot of time in diagnosis. And they knew what questions to ask. “Prescription without diagnosis is malpractice”
- They didn’t just focus on the share of the TV money they were getting but looked at all the money the client was spending. This seems simple but it’s a radical departure for most AE’s.
- They were smart enough to know that this client wanted impact not advertising. So they brought the client multiple success stories that reduced the risk of the client making the decision.
- The selling approach was totally customer and results focused.
This station created a huge win/win. A big revenue win for them. A growth win for their client. And a customer who will likely have some loyalty to them. Not a quick hit sale that doesn’t renew.
So let me be blunt. If your AE’s can’t do this kind of selling you’ve got big problems. I hate to tell you this. Most AE’s don’t have a clue how to do this. They are hanging on to a business that no longer exists.
We need a revolution in the way we approach TV sales. We’ve got huge local opportunities. But we need to change the way we sell locally.
Would you like to have a training program that is actually a profit center? We teach your AE’s our UPGRADE Selling process. And then our 7 Senior Consultants makes advertiser calls side by side with your team that makes your station money. A lot of money.. We’ll work in 63 markets this year and our typical year one ROI is 7-10x investment. To learn more or check availability in your market call Jim Doyle personally at 941-926-SELL.
An article about the future of our business from Jim Doyle.
Ask yourself honestly. Could my AE’s do this?
The client: A furniture retailer in a Top 30 market.
Situation: Business “ok…but not great” Ad dollars split between multiple media and multiple stations. Print, radio cable, and 4 TV stations all being used..
The TV Station: The LSM and AE conducted a full 90 minute diagnosis of the clients issues directly with client. No selling was involved on this call. The ad agency was present but the meeting was with the client. That day the station learned that the chain’s total ad spend was over $1.5 m but that the client was not happy with results.
Proposed solution: Station suggested the client significantly reduce number of places they advertised. Provide multiple success stories of other businesses that had done this and seen results. Stations annual commitment went from $100,000 to over $600,000 by moving unproductive radio and some print money.
Client results: The chain experienced a 10% growth in sales in a market where overall furniture sales were down. Owner has already renewed commitment to station for Year 2.
Revenue impact to station: $1,000,000 already. Likely will continue to renew as results stay strong.
Could your AE’s sell this way?
Look at what was required…
- The station had a Local Sales manager who could actually sell and was out on calls instead of being office bound. Sadly, this doesn’t happen anywhere near enough.
- Both the AE and Sales Manager didn’t walk in to the client pitching the cheap spot package of the week. They were smart enough to spend a lot of time in diagnosis. And they knew what questions to ask. “Prescription without diagnosis is malpractice”
- They didn’t just focus on the share of the TV money they were getting but looked at all the money the client was spending. This seems simple but it’s a radical departure for most AE’s.
- They were smart enough to know that this client wanted impact not advertising. So they brought the client multiple success stories that reduced the risk of the client making the decision.
- The selling approach was totally customer and results focused.
This station created a huge win/win. A big revenue win for them. A growth win for their client. And a customer who will likely have some loyalty to them. Not a quick hit sale that doesn’t renew.
So let me be blunt. If your AE’s can’t do this kind of selling you’ve got big problems. I hate to tell you this. Most AE’s don’t have a clue how to do this. They are hanging on to a business that no longer exists.
We need a revolution in the way we approach TV sales. We’ve got huge local opportunities. But we need to change the way we sell locally.
Would you like to have a training program that is actually a profit center? We teach your AE’s our UPGRADE Selling process. And then our 7 Senior Consultants makes advertiser calls side by side with your team that makes your station money. A lot of money.. We’ll work in 63 markets this year and our typical year one ROI is 7-10x investment. To learn more or check availability in your market call Jim Doyle personally at 941-926-SELL.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
GM’s Payback Ads are Sleazy
I am rooting for the new GM to be successful. I think that will be good for America and good for a whole lot of friends of mine who own GM dealerships.
But I think the ad campaign from GM’s CEO Edward Whitacre is sleazy. This is the ad where he’s bragging about the company paying back the ALL the money the government loaned them…in full……and with interest.
One of my father’s favorite sayings was “figures don’t lie but liars can figure.”
So here’s the deal about this so called payout according to a great post on Bloomberg Business Week.
“The gripe is that GM paid the debt portion of the government’s investment with cash the company got from the government’s equity investment. Here’s how it works. When GM emerged from bankruptcy, it got $49.5 billion in cash. The U.S. Treasury and governments of Ontario and Canada gave GM $8.4 billion in loans. The rest of the money was given to GM in exchange for stock. The U.S. government owns 61% of the company and Canada owns 11.7%. Back in July, the feds decided to give GM enough cash to get through a longer, deeper recession, according to a former member of President Obama’s Auto Task Force, who asked not to be named because the discussions were private. As the economy started to recover and auto sales have climbed, GM found it had more cash on hand than it needed. Repaying the government loans wasn’t such a hard thing to do. So when Whitacre goes on television saying “we have repaid our government loans, in full, with interest, five years ahead of the original schedule,” his comments raised a few hackles. “They were repaying Uncle Sam with money they already got from the government,” snapped Maryann Keller, an independent consultant in Stamford, Conn. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) weighed in during his weekly web cast calling Whitacre’s television appearance, “a little bit disingenuous.” He also said, “They’re paying it back with bailout money that they have from the federal government in the first place.”
Yes you read that correctly:
- The government LOANED GM a little over $6B.
- GM paid that back with additional bailout money!!
- The US Government also made a $49.5 BILLION equity investment in GM. The Canadian government also made a big equity involvement.
So what GM’s Whiteacre said in his ad may be great PR….his attempt to remove the “bailout monkey” from his back because GM has seen how not taking money has benefited Ford. But it’s a long way from the whole story.
And frankly it offends me.
What do you think?
I am rooting for the new GM to be successful. I think that will be good for America and good for a whole lot of friends of mine who own GM dealerships.
But I think the ad campaign from GM’s CEO Edward Whitacre is sleazy. This is the ad where he’s bragging about the company paying back the ALL the money the government loaned them…in full……and with interest.
One of my father’s favorite sayings was “figures don’t lie but liars can figure.”
So here’s the deal about this so called payout according to a great post on Bloomberg Business Week.
“The gripe is that GM paid the debt portion of the government’s investment with cash the company got from the government’s equity investment. Here’s how it works. When GM emerged from bankruptcy, it got $49.5 billion in cash. The U.S. Treasury and governments of Ontario and Canada gave GM $8.4 billion in loans. The rest of the money was given to GM in exchange for stock. The U.S. government owns 61% of the company and Canada owns 11.7%. Back in July, the feds decided to give GM enough cash to get through a longer, deeper recession, according to a former member of President Obama’s Auto Task Force, who asked not to be named because the discussions were private. As the economy started to recover and auto sales have climbed, GM found it had more cash on hand than it needed. Repaying the government loans wasn’t such a hard thing to do. So when Whitacre goes on television saying “we have repaid our government loans, in full, with interest, five years ahead of the original schedule,” his comments raised a few hackles. “They were repaying Uncle Sam with money they already got from the government,” snapped Maryann Keller, an independent consultant in Stamford, Conn. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) weighed in during his weekly web cast calling Whitacre’s television appearance, “a little bit disingenuous.” He also said, “They’re paying it back with bailout money that they have from the federal government in the first place.”
Yes you read that correctly:
- The government LOANED GM a little over $6B.
- GM paid that back with additional bailout money!!
- The US Government also made a $49.5 BILLION equity investment in GM. The Canadian government also made a big equity involvement.
So what GM’s Whiteacre said in his ad may be great PR….his attempt to remove the “bailout monkey” from his back because GM has seen how not taking money has benefited Ford. But it’s a long way from the whole story.
And frankly it offends me.
What do you think?
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Who has it worse Tiger or Toyota?
Sometime in the next month Tiger will probably go on Oprah. Or maybe there will be a Diane Sawyer interview. Elin will likely play some part.
Tiger will talk about his problems….share how he’s trying to make things right for his wife and family. Do a genuine mea culpa. And then give a gazillion dollars to Haiti earthquake victims.
A few weeks later he’ll be competitive at the Masters. And the world will start to offer its forgiveness.
Within a year……if he stays straight…….he’ll be back.
But it won’t be that easy for Toyota.
With almost every day the news seems to get worse for Toyota. When did they know? Did they ignore evidence before this fall? And now there’s problems with Prius. 8 million + cars now recalled. That’s 8 million customers who previously were known for their loyalty now with nagging questions. Will they lose all of them? Of course not. But they’ll lose a bunch. And like any business those last customers contribute a whole lot of the profit to any company. So the implications for Toyota and for their dealers are pretty significant.
And don’t think this ends anytime soon. The lawsuits from the victim of these few crashes will go on forever. And quite possibly they’ll lead to even more disclosures about the companies mistakes. This will be in the news for years.
Toyota has had almost icon status among car companies for quality. So this issue goes straight at the strength of their brand. And that makes it a huge deal. Maybe one of the most critical fights to save a brand since the legendary Tylenol fight. But Tylenol got off to a way better start then Toyota. Tylenol offered full disclosure and responded instantly. I’m not sure Toyota met that standard.
Once again my Toyota dealer friends are in a tough spot which proves, once again, that dealers are so much at the mercy of things they can’t control, like mistakes made by their manufacturer. And Toyota forced so many dealers to build new (high overhead) facilities in the last few years. And dealers did so because the brand had been so strong.
In December I wondered if there could ever be a brand that destructed faster than Tiger Woods.
We may be seeing that now.
Tiger will talk about his problems….share how he’s trying to make things right for his wife and family. Do a genuine mea culpa. And then give a gazillion dollars to Haiti earthquake victims.
A few weeks later he’ll be competitive at the Masters. And the world will start to offer its forgiveness.
Within a year……if he stays straight…….he’ll be back.
But it won’t be that easy for Toyota.
With almost every day the news seems to get worse for Toyota. When did they know? Did they ignore evidence before this fall? And now there’s problems with Prius. 8 million + cars now recalled. That’s 8 million customers who previously were known for their loyalty now with nagging questions. Will they lose all of them? Of course not. But they’ll lose a bunch. And like any business those last customers contribute a whole lot of the profit to any company. So the implications for Toyota and for their dealers are pretty significant.
And don’t think this ends anytime soon. The lawsuits from the victim of these few crashes will go on forever. And quite possibly they’ll lead to even more disclosures about the companies mistakes. This will be in the news for years.
Toyota has had almost icon status among car companies for quality. So this issue goes straight at the strength of their brand. And that makes it a huge deal. Maybe one of the most critical fights to save a brand since the legendary Tylenol fight. But Tylenol got off to a way better start then Toyota. Tylenol offered full disclosure and responded instantly. I’m not sure Toyota met that standard.
Once again my Toyota dealer friends are in a tough spot which proves, once again, that dealers are so much at the mercy of things they can’t control, like mistakes made by their manufacturer. And Toyota forced so many dealers to build new (high overhead) facilities in the last few years. And dealers did so because the brand had been so strong.
In December I wondered if there could ever be a brand that destructed faster than Tiger Woods.
We may be seeing that now.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Jack Canfield words of wisdom
As if! Talk to a teenager these days and you’re sure to hear a favorite saying, “As if,” meaning “As if that’s really going to happen.” The sarcasm just drips off their words.
Jack Canfield describes “as if” in a different way. In The Success Principles, Canfield says, “Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail. Think like, act like, talk like, dress like you have already achieved your goal.”
I thought of a couple of “as if” moments that I’ve experienced in my life. I will never forget my junior year in college when I was involved with the college radio station. One sunny, fall afternoon I was at the “Old Rockpile,” War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo, NY, with Steve Brown. We were there to call the Canisius College Golden Griffins football game for our school radio station. Both Steve and I dressed in navy blazers and khakis so we would fit in with the other local “real” media that were there to cover the game.
A few minutes before kickoff, Steve and I were frantically trying to set up our broadcast equipment. Unfortunately, as the lowly college radio station, we were placed at the far end of the broadcaster’s area and we needed an extension cord, which we conveniently forgot to pack. Then, right at kickoff, with our gear unplugged, Steve put on his headphones and proceeded to welcome our listening audience! We were talking to an audience of two – Steve and me. But it didn’t matter. Steve acted as if he were the lead broadcaster for a major network. We did the entire game unplugged, talking to no one but ourselves. That didn’t matter at all to Steve, who used the opportunity to hone his broadcasting skills.
Today, you can see Steve Brown’s skills as a reporter for Fox News. Every once in a while I’ll catch a report of his and just smile and remember our afternoon in the “Old Rockpile” in Buffalo.
Canfield says, “You can begin right now to act as if you have already achieved any goal you desire, and that outer experience of acting as if will create the inner experience that will take you to the manifestation of that experience.”
If you were in Rochester, NY in the late 80’s and happened to take in a Rochester Red Wings Triple A baseball game, you’d wonder about the young man who would set up a card table in the stands and bring his tape recorder and do play-by-play of the game. Josh Lewin knew he wanted to be a sports broadcaster his whole life, so he pretended as if he was. He became a fixture at the Red Wings games, doing entire broadcasts into his tape recorder. A few years later, when the real Red Wings announcer retired, management came to Josh and gave him the job. He was 21 years old. Josh went on to be the voice of Major League Baseball’s Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers. Josh does sideline reporting for the NFL on Fox and does play-by-play for the San Diego Chargers. As a teenager, Josh Lewin acted “as if” in a far different way than today’s teenagers use the phrase.
Decide what you want in your career – top biller status, management, or whatever it is, and act as if you are already there.
I can't wait to participate in our tele-seminar this month with Jack Canfield. I always seem to pick up some new tidbit every time I hear or read something by him.
Leave a comment if you have any words of wisdom you've learned from Jack's teachings.
Tom Ray
Executive Vice President
Jim Doyle and Associates
Jack Canfield describes “as if” in a different way. In The Success Principles, Canfield says, “Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail. Think like, act like, talk like, dress like you have already achieved your goal.”
I thought of a couple of “as if” moments that I’ve experienced in my life. I will never forget my junior year in college when I was involved with the college radio station. One sunny, fall afternoon I was at the “Old Rockpile,” War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo, NY, with Steve Brown. We were there to call the Canisius College Golden Griffins football game for our school radio station. Both Steve and I dressed in navy blazers and khakis so we would fit in with the other local “real” media that were there to cover the game.
A few minutes before kickoff, Steve and I were frantically trying to set up our broadcast equipment. Unfortunately, as the lowly college radio station, we were placed at the far end of the broadcaster’s area and we needed an extension cord, which we conveniently forgot to pack. Then, right at kickoff, with our gear unplugged, Steve put on his headphones and proceeded to welcome our listening audience! We were talking to an audience of two – Steve and me. But it didn’t matter. Steve acted as if he were the lead broadcaster for a major network. We did the entire game unplugged, talking to no one but ourselves. That didn’t matter at all to Steve, who used the opportunity to hone his broadcasting skills.
Today, you can see Steve Brown’s skills as a reporter for Fox News. Every once in a while I’ll catch a report of his and just smile and remember our afternoon in the “Old Rockpile” in Buffalo.
Canfield says, “You can begin right now to act as if you have already achieved any goal you desire, and that outer experience of acting as if will create the inner experience that will take you to the manifestation of that experience.”
If you were in Rochester, NY in the late 80’s and happened to take in a Rochester Red Wings Triple A baseball game, you’d wonder about the young man who would set up a card table in the stands and bring his tape recorder and do play-by-play of the game. Josh Lewin knew he wanted to be a sports broadcaster his whole life, so he pretended as if he was. He became a fixture at the Red Wings games, doing entire broadcasts into his tape recorder. A few years later, when the real Red Wings announcer retired, management came to Josh and gave him the job. He was 21 years old. Josh went on to be the voice of Major League Baseball’s Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers. Josh does sideline reporting for the NFL on Fox and does play-by-play for the San Diego Chargers. As a teenager, Josh Lewin acted “as if” in a far different way than today’s teenagers use the phrase.
Decide what you want in your career – top biller status, management, or whatever it is, and act as if you are already there.
I can't wait to participate in our tele-seminar this month with Jack Canfield. I always seem to pick up some new tidbit every time I hear or read something by him.
Leave a comment if you have any words of wisdom you've learned from Jack's teachings.
Tom Ray
Executive Vice President
Jim Doyle and Associates
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