Dozens of coaches and mentors have played an instrumental role in helping me to learn my craft and develop the top-producing systems I have relied on throughout my career, including the following:
• Julia Rowland, my grandmother and owner of Fashion Treasure Jewelry—an accomplished saleswoman who embodied the joy of selling.
• Tony and Noel Fox of Fox Brothers Real Estate were the real estate brokers who hired me right out of high school and taught me how important it is to introduce myself to everyone. They would drop me off at the local grocery store early in the morning with a stack of business cards and pick me up at night.
• Ira Hayes, the original Ambassador of Enthusiasm, who taught me the power of the word “Great!” A positive mindset is crucial to achieving anything.
• Tom Hopkins, author of Selling For Dummies and the guy who wrote the first book of tips for real estate agents.
• Zig Ziglar, the sales superhero, who taught me that if you help enough people get what they want, you will get what you want.
• Charlie “Tremendous” Jones, who revealed to me the life-changing power of people and books. According to Charlie, you are only as good as the people you meet, the books you read, and the audio recordings you listen to.
• Art Fettig, who taught me the difference between a great salesperson and an order taker and who turned me on to the Platinum Rule you’ll learn about during Week 44.
• Joe Girard, the top car salesman of all times, who sold cars four miles from where I grew up and took time out of his busy schedule to meet with an up-and-coming salesperson who was willing to learn.
• Floyd Wickman, a real estate agent in my area, who taught me to stay on track and be competent, confident, and natural. Floyd went on to be and continues to be a successful trainer and speaker.
• Dick Runstatler, my favorite sales manager of all time, who let me be me and taught me how to handle stressful situations. Without Dick’s lessons on life, I would be second-guessing every decision I have ever made and will ever make.
• Tom Desmond, a real estate agent I worked with at Earl Keim Real Estate, who was constantly striving to improve himself.
• Earl Keim, a guy who could sell you the house next door, even if you didn’t want it. He coined the phrase “Keim Sold Mine.”
• Mark Victor Hansen, the “Master of Mindset” and co-creator of Chicken Soup for the Soul, who taught me to deflect rejection and continue to pursue my passion.
• Og Mandino (
www.ogmandino.com), a humble, yet remarkable man who spent much of his life striving to overcome his own personal challenges and sharing what he discovered through his writing and teaching.
• Tom Antion, the speaker’s speaker, who taught me that if you can’t talk to people, you can’t sell.
• Les Brown, who taught me the power of living with a purpose and who encouraged me to have the willpower to confront even the most daunting challenge.