Tim Sanders, HFIC Closing Speaker

Tim Sanders: Confidence is an outlook one has that he or she will be successful in a situation or over the long haul in an effort. It’s a way of seeing yourself in the context of the future. I generate my confidence through my actions and my lifestyle design. This way, I am not dependent on favorable circumstances to possess confidence.

Confidence is rocket fuel for success. When you have it, you are bold enough to seize opportunities. You are persuasive to others. You are smarter, experience more clarity through your point of view. You are more generous with others, which boosts your relationship power. Research suggests that confidence is second only to IQ when it comes to predicting one’s success.

WR: You also mention in the book that your lesson in confidence came from your grandmother. What other lessons did you learn from her?

TS: My grandmother Billye taught me to feed my mind with good stuff, and be judicious about who I listened to and spent time with. She taught me that the best antidote to fear-of-the-future is reading books and doing real research. She taught me to out-give others in business as a strategy for success.

Much of what she taught me was a product of her post-Depression young adult years. She was also a fan of Napoleon Hill and Norman Vincent Peale.

WR: Was there a time when you were not so confident?

TS: Earlier, when I was in my late 20s and early 30s, my confidence was hit or miss. If I was doing well at work, I was confident. When conditions changed, I’d lose confidence like most, and it would torpedo my career path. It was stop-start-stop-start confidence for me. When I was 36, I had a chance to interview with Mark Cuban for his startup (AudioNet, broadcast.com). My wife pumped me up so I’d have the confidence to win the job, and it made all the difference to me.

When I was a kid, as a special education student until the sixth grade, I lacked social confidence. I was the type of kid you’d rob for lunch money or give a wedgie to for kicks. I broke out of that place by my sophomore year and by my senior class year, I was the president of the student council.

WR: Why do you believe it is important to build strong business relationships?

TS: Business relationships are the oil that keeps your business running smoothly. One electrician puts it this way, “You can burn down the customer’s house, but if the two of you are close enough, he’ll say that ‘accidents happen.’”

When you have deep relationships, you get and give better information, which can impact sales and business development. One Yale study found that relationship masters sell 40 percent more than the average due to this factor. Also, you are more likely to convince people to look at product extensions outside of your normal offering. Lastly, when you have strong relationships, you have an emotional support system for your ups and downs.

WR: How does one’s attitude affect their confidence, their relationships and the world around them?

TS: You cannot betray your thoughts. If you think you will lose, you play to survive. If you think someone is competing with you for a piece-of-the-little-pie, you see things win/lose and share very little.

As Billye often told me, “attitude is important, so pick a good one.”

WR: Why are you so people-centered?

TS: Because people are the center of any business or organization. They are likely 90% of the secret sauce behind every brand success story. Too often, in our culture, we think only about financial or technical success. I’ve found that people-skills are the last horizon for leadership and sales growth.

WR: Does the current over worked, over stressed, over committed business life make it hard to stay confident? How would you help the entrepreneurial spirit thrive in today’s chaotic world?

TS: You have to design your information life to filter out poison and inject healthy doses of confidence building material that prepares you to be more successful. You need to turn off technology and declare “offline zones” in your life to stay in control. Finally, you need to screen friends for their attitude and eschew any Chicken Littles or Debbie Downers from your social or circle.

WR: How can home furnishings retailers gain more confidence in themselves and their businesses?

TS: Remind yourself of your previous successes. Recall, in high definition, winning moments from your past and remind yourself that you are as good today as you were then. Reignite your passion for what you do, and build community around these positive feelings.

Also, if you read constantly about how the world is changing, you will future-proof yourself and be much less intimidated about change. In fact, if you are bookish enough, you’ll lead the charge towards new technology, retail, etc.

WR: How can a company change its culture?

TS: At a company, culture is a conversation that leaders lead about “how things are done around here”. If you want to change the culture, change the conversation. Confront the Chicken Littles that declare the sky is falling. Strip the hoarder managers of their powers to land-grab instead of share. Tie relationship skills and attitude to rewards and succession—that’s the best way to change the conversation!

WR: How do you encourage leadership thinking in a team environment?

TS: Napoleon Bonaparte often said that “the leader’s role is to define reality, then give hope”. It’s a balancing act. For team-based work, leaders must strike the balance between realities of today and opportunities of tomorrow. By focusing the team on the solutions, and not the problems, you move the conversation forward.

WR: What do you say to yourself when pessimism sets in?

TS: Question the sources of information you are consuming. Question your commitment to thrive during change. Find new people to hang out with, and if you are a leader, find the pessimists that are likely infecting you and the rest of your group.

The best strategy was created by the founder of Carrier. When faced with pessimistic thoughts, he confronted the worst case and often found that it was actually tolerable. Too often, we let the worst case remain a mystery, which gives it enormity in its vagueness.

WR: What is the difference between total confidence and arrogance?

TS: Total confidence is to believe in yourself, your team and your purpose. Arrogance is solely focused on you, and more often than not, reflect an imbalance between your perception of self and reality. Also, arrogance is often expressed via “I’m better than them” thoughts, which is actually a sign of insecurity. Totally confident people are quite balanced, and more often than not, are the calm big dogs in the room.

Here is a sneak peek of one of HFIC 2012’s break out sessions Maximizing the Selling Moments, with David Szen.

Do you ever wonder if you are connecting with humans during key communications? Ever wonder why the sales process seems to take longer even though we can now communicate more efficiently than ever before? Ever feel like people are only partially listening to you? Do you hear “I am not interested” more than ever before? Are you checking your email right now while you allegedly are reading an article? Welcome to PADD (Partial Attention Deficit Disorder)—It is treatable!

Technology has changed incredibly over the past decade and it has changed people for the worse. It has changed the face of sales, decision makers and all the rules. The pain of change is relative to your years of experience but new skills and techniques can quickly improve your results. Understanding how much professional sales and people have changed opens the door to the new human skills that have been lost in the shuffle. In order to succeed in the new world humans must get reacquainted with key skills that will allow us to communicate with a decision maker who is smarter, does not want to be sold, listens less and can’t focus for long. Sounds fun, huh? Face it, we all need practical skills, techniques and a new perspective on how to advance the selling process in a very different world with a wildly different human. The playing field has not changed, it’s upside down, sideways and inverted.

During the 2012 Home Furnishings Industry Conference, David Szen will tackle the big changes and new skills needed in a two-part session designed to improve your awareness and sharpen your skills. Session one lays down the foundation for what really has changed and how sales, communications and the sales process have been impacted. You will also gain 7 NEW SKILLS needed to survive and thrive in 2012.

Session two quickly reviews the fundamental skills and concepts discussed and then takes a deeper dive through exercises. Focus on: Understanding and working with key buying styles, listening skills, questioning skills, handling sales resistance and being much more strategic with the words you do select. Given the wildly different decision makers we are faced with, it takes the development of key skills to get better results. You will come away with new ways to improve the communication process and be able to spot the new decision maker of 2012.
These sessions bring you an opportunity to super power your communication and selling skills in these times of incredible change. As President and Senior Consultant of Symmetrics Group, David works with sales professionals from numerous industries to improve sales effectiveness and drive real business results. His work includes designing sales and delivery processes, sales coaching, key account development, sales process implementation and keynote speaking. David has a strong consulting business that allows him to see the relevance of his topics take place in real-time in live selling opportunities. Take advantage of this opportunity to learn new skills that are relevant, powerful and ready to be implemented right away.

Learn more and register today at www.homefurnishingsconference.com.

Roseville, CA: The 2012 Home Furnishings Industry Conference, in Palm Springs next May 6-8, offers a powerful opportunity for industry manufacturers and vendors to show products and services. The new Product Showcase will have a large audience of home furnishings professionals ready to purchase the latest products.

“In my opinion, if you want the opportunity to spend a couple of days in a positive and welcoming business environment, meet leaders in the furniture industry, see what’s new in products and services and learn what other retailers are doing to be successful in our challenging environment, then this conference is the right place to be,” said Eric Mawyer, VP of training, Guardian Protection Products.

The Product Showcase will also feature a One-Hour “Let’s Make a Deal” Product Bonanza. Showcase vendors will have the opportunity to offer a secret special that will only be revealed during the Product Bonanza. Attendees will have one hour to shop the event and receive these exclusive deals. This is a not-to-be-missed event for manufacturers, vendors and retailers!

“Guardian, like most companies today, takes an aggressive look every year at what type of short and or long-term financial return on investment is generated by attending these conferences,” Mawyer added. “I can honestly say the long-term impact Guardian will realize on our investment to attend this year’s conference will be the best in years.”

Along with the time set aside to shop the Product Showcase, manufacturers and vendors will have the chance to work with retailers side-by-side during all conference education and social events. Manufacturers and vendors are encouraged to sign up early to ensure placement in the Product Showcase. Table tops and 10’ x10’ booths are available. To reserve booth space, contact Cindi Williams at cwilliams@whfa.org or (916) 960-0277.

Interested in attending the HFIC 2012? Registration is now open on www.homefurnishingsconference.com.