Immediately we sent out the following message to our list:

What a shame that we live in a time where hackers will do this.  Yet, what a blessing when you learn how great the people are who are on your list.  We got many great comments back from our followers who got our apology.  Below are a few that you may enjoy.

Here are two lessons learned:

1. No matter how prepared you are and how many fortifications you have built, some people can still get through and cause havoc in your life.  How you respond to this makes all of the difference.
2. When you are transparent, take immediate action, and throw in a bit of humor, people will reach out and encourage you when you are going through a difficulty.

Check out these responses to our Apology:

I wish people could find better uses for their talents than doing stuff as you expressed. How are you these days, Tom – how goes the world and the Ziglar family?  How is your dad? Take care and create a blessed day!  Harry

Thanks for the feedback Tom.  Love to your family.  Allan and Abralyn

So I shouldn’t have ordered a case of Viagra and Oxycotin?  (This one came from my cousin who I will not name!)

“Plus, we know for a fact that nobody on the Ziglar list would ever need Viagra!”    LOL  I almost fell on the floor Tom…literally!   Thanks for the ‘heads-up’, and the great sense of humor…indeed.    Don

We all need a little help sometime. Steve

Thanks Tom. How “upstanding” of you to catch this. I hadn’t opened it. I hope all is well with you and the family. It was a hot summer for camp, but I’m sure you folks handled it well.  God bless you and thanks for your noble pursuits.  Bob

HA now that joke came from Zig-hehe.  No problem.  I hope Zig is doing great and my love to the redhead.  Victoria

That is the cutest apology that I have ever heard.  Don’t feel bad they did the same thing to me two years ago from my personal email.  Kim

No one is immune, Tom! Unbelievable… Please tell your Mom and Dad we say hi, and we always keep your family in our daily prayers.  All the Best, Jack

You’re confident tom! “nobody on our list would ever need viagra” LOL  Good to see sense of humor.  Email ignored, rest of your useful info filled away for leisure reading!  S

Aloha Tom, not to worry. because of my past association, ongoing experiences, and knowing the character and consistent efforts of Zig and this newsletter, i immediately sensed that an imposter was responsible for the email.  i appreciate the quick response and know that the Ziglar group will again, ‘make is so’!!!  LivLuvLaf,  spenze

What seemed like the ruining of a great Saturday dealing with this mess has turned into a humorous way to get connected with our readers.  Please leave a comment below if you want to join the fun!

“You are who you are and what you are because of what has gone into your mind.  You can change who you are and what you are by changing what goes into your mind.”  Zig Ziglar

This quote is so Pure and so Simple.  Don’t like where you are?  Don’t like what you are?  Change your input.  Turn off the TV.  Turn off the screaming heads on talk radio.  Just say no to your negative “friends.”  Say yes to the good, the clean, the pure, the powerful and the positive.  Say yes every day.

This great article by Thomas Sowell says the same thing in a much more intellectual way.  And it makes me think  – are we smart because we are smart?  Or are we smart because we do what smart people do?  As for me, I am not willing to take a chance!  I think I will do what the smart people do.  How about you?

Watch this video and tell me what you think of Bob’s impression of Zig.

You can find Dad’s original version of this in the cd program “Secrets of Closing the Sale.”

And, for your reading pleasure, here is the written version of the story taken right out his book, Secrets of Closing the Sale.

Does This Technique Work?

Bill Egan, a Buick-Datsun dealer in Bradley, Illinois, said yes.
After returning from a business meeting, Bill was told by his management team that an elderly couple was in a closing office and had been for some time. This was their third trip into the dealership, so they were definitely interested in buying, but they were still hesitating and the salesman was making no progress. Two other salespeople had also tried for the close with no results. Bill had been listening on his cassette recorder to this particular close on price and cost, so he decided to give it a try himself. The following dialogue took place after the introduction and small talk.

Bill: “It will take $9,600 for the exchange.”
Couple: “The price is too high.” (In this particular case the woman was the one who made the statement.)
Bill (lowering his voice and adding inflection so the statement became a question): “Ma’am, the price is too high?”
Lady: “Yes, the price is too high.”
Bill: “Let me ask you, Ma’am, are you talking about price or cost?” Husband and wife both looked at Bill with blank stares.
Lady: “What do you mean?” (At this point Bill says he knew he had at least made some progress.)
Bill: “Ma’am, do you mind if I tell you a story to emphasize the point?”
Lady: “No. Go right ahead.”
Bill: “Several months ago, I contracted for a large amount of asphalt to be put down on my property. While making the preliminary investigation, just as you are doing now, I wanted to make certain I got the best buy for my money. I believe all of us want that, wouldn’t you agree?” (The lady agreed.)
Bill continued: “I don’t know much about asphalt, blacktop, and construction, but I had learned that the number of inches of gravel you put underneath as a base determines how much the price is going to be. Like a lot of other people, I went with the best price.
“To make a long story short, it wasn’t two months before I started noticing cracks and upheavals in the surface of the asphalt. Walking around the store I discovered it was happening everywhere. In about a year the asphalt was breaking up and I spent an additional six thousand dollars repairing the job I had originally paid for. Here’s my point, Ma’am. Price is a one-time thing. Cost can go on forever and ever, as long as you have the particular product. Question: Wouldn’t it be better to pay a fair price one time and be through with it than to go on paying those little costs you get from a product which is probably not as good as what you’re looking at right now?”

At this point Bill paused. The husband looked at her as she looked at him. Without further ado she said, “I’ll take it.” Bill continues by saying that not only did he close the sale but it was for a product that was several hundred dollars more than she was going to pay for another car somewhere else. The only thing Bill had done was convince her of the difference between price and cost.

Several factors are involved in this sale. Number one, the couple obviously wanted this particular car, or they would not have made the third trip into the dealership. Number two, Bill used voice inflection, a solid business reputation, and a talking pad in the transaction. Number three, he used a simple analogy to make his point and hold the prospect’s interest. Number four, he asked a question which led the prospects to come to their own conclusion. Another story with a happy ending because the right man was using the right techniques, selling the right product under the right circumstances to people who were legitimate prospects.

The next point is very simple. Wouldn’t it have been doubly unfortunate for everyone concerned had this couple, who obviously wanted the car, and Bill Egan, who obviously wanted the sale, been unable to get together because of the absence of sales skills and persuasion?

Here is a link to the book if you would like your own copy.

]]> http://tomziglar.com/?feed=rss2&p=786 3 http://tomziglar.com/?p=765 http://tomziglar.com/?p=765#comments Tue, 06 Apr 2010 18:05:06 +0000 Tom Ziglar http://tomziglar.com/?p=765 (Details on the Picture with Dad at the end)

Long-term, consistent, repeatable success depends on Will, Skill, and Refill.

Will – is the “want to,” the desire, passion, motivation inspiration to get it done.  Successful people and organizations realize that without the right attitude to make it happen, it’s not going to happen.  You can have all of the talent, all of the skill, all of the knowledge, but if you don’t have the Will to take the field you will never win the game.

Skill – is the “how to,” the technique, the process, the X’s and O’s needed to get it done in the right way.  Having a great attitude and the willingness to do it is great but you will never achieve the level of success possible if you don’t have the skills necessary.

Refill – the constant and consistent reinforcement of the Will and the Skill.  There is no such thing as “one and done” when it comes to long-term, consistent, repeatable success.
How much time do you spend on developing your Will?  Your Skill?  How much time do you spend in Refill?

A Big Mistake – most people and companies focus first on Skill, then on Will, and seldom if ever on Refill.  This allocation of time and money is nearly backwards.  Actual application of what Skill is learned has more to do with Will and Refill than anything else.

Proof – through the years Ziglar has received literally thousands of testimonials from people and companies regarding our training products and services.  By actual count, for every one person who said “your speech or your event changed my life,, 100 people have said “listening to and/or reading your materials after the event over and over again changed my life.”

Refill the Will and the Skill will be applied!

Picture of Zig – Dad is taking a VO2 test to determine how efficiently his body is using the oxygen he is breathing.  At 83 Dad understands that the workout he did last week is not enough to keep him healthy for the rest of his life, so he Refills on the work out, and constantly seeks to add Skill and Will (why he uses a trainer in his workouts) to his workouts.  Like physical health, mental and spiritual health need Will, Skill, and Refill!

“You are what you are and where you are because of what’s gone into your mind.  You can change what you are and where you are by changing what goes into your mind.”  Zig Ziglar

Today (Feb 1) during my morning devotionals I was reading from The One Year Daily Insights written by Dad and his good friend, Dr. Ike Reighard.  And wouldn’t you know it, at the end is my favorite quote!

Well, that doesn’t seem like a big deal, until you realize that Feb 1 is my birthday!  So this morning I checked with my sister Julie (she is Dad’s editor) to see if she put it in there on purpose.  She assured me that she didn’t, and, in fact, explained that the quotes were just matched up with the subject of the devotional for the day. It was a coincidence.

Another one of my favorite Dad quotes:

“Coincidence is just God’s way of staying anonymous.”  Zig Ziglar

As you can imagine, when God shows up with a special gift on your birthday, it’s going to be a good one!

The new iPad gave me an idea.  It must be pretty expensive to print and deliver a newspaper.  I have no idea the cost, but if it was 50 cents a day, that would be well over $150 a year.  If my newspaper called me and said I could get the new iPad from them for $199 plus $9.95 a month, and I got their newspaper on the iPad as well, I would do it, and I would understand why I would have to make a two year commitment.

I read a ton of books, and almost all of them are recommended to me by friends, or by an authority I trust.  I follow about ten different bloggers and writers on the Net, and when they recommend a book, I pay attention.  How cool would it be if the iPad had a feature where I could list my favorite “experts,” and then it automatically told me what books they were reading on their iPad?  What if I could click an author’s name and then see where that expert “underlined” something in a book (actually seeing the page of that book), and then link to their comments on their blog about it?

Of course, if I liked what I saw I could click the expert’s affiliate link and get the book instantly, and automatically join the iPad book community for that book.  Now that I think about it, why doesn’t a big publisher call me and offer to sell me an iPad at $199 plus $9.95 a month just like the newspaper?  I am waiting…

]]> http://tomziglar.com/?feed=rss2&p=753 9 http://tomziglar.com/?p=748 http://tomziglar.com/?p=748#comments Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:25:40 +0000 Tom Ziglar http://tomziglar.com/?p=748 I thought I would share with you a devotional I did today (January 19) from The One Year Daily Insights with Zig Ziglar (my Dad!) and Dr. Ike Reighard.  I love Psalm 12:6.  Enjoy!

PURE AND POWERFUL

The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.  Psalm 12:6

With all the technology surrounding us, we hear thousands of messages every day.  Linda Stone, formerly of Apple and Microsoft, coined the term continuous partial attention to describe the constant distractions of e-mail, instant messaging, cell phones, and other devices.  She observes, “To pay continuous partial attention is to pay partial attention—continuously…  We want to connect and be connected.  We want to effectively scan for opportunity and optimize for the best opportunities, activities, and contacts, in any given moment.”

Too often, we value all received messages equally.  God’s Word, though, is more precious and valuable than any other message sent to us.  The psalmist describes God’s message as “pure words” that are like silver processed “seven times” in the furnace.  The number seven signifies completion and perfection throughout the Scriptures.  God’s Word is absolutely perfect and in alignment with the character of God.  It is the supreme measure of truth, and it imparts light and life to those who treasure it.

When we read and hear God’s Word, we need to sit up and take notice.  If we don’t’ understand it, we need to dig deeper until we find out what it means.  And when God uses His Word to redirect our steps, we are wise to say, “Yes, Lord.  I’m listening.”  God’s Word directs us along God’s path, and that way is perfect for us each day.

How do you treat letters or e-mails that are especially meaningful to you?

What would it mean for you to truly treasure God’s Word?

“To know the will of God is the greatest knowledge!  To do the will of God is the greatest achievement.”  George W. Truett

]]> http://tomziglar.com/?feed=rss2&p=748 6 http://tomziglar.com/?p=745 http://tomziglar.com/?p=745#comments Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:05:06 +0000 Tom Ziglar http://tomziglar.com/?p=745 I am in the process of finalizing our 2010 profit center goals for Ziglar.  My wise and good friend Bruce Barbour told me a truth he learned from his dad: “If every business unit is profitable, the company will be profitable.”  That Bruce is one smart man!

Years ago Dad developed the Wheel of Life concept.  Dad broke the wheel into seven components:  Physical, Mental, Spiritual, Personal, Family, Financial, and Social.  Dad says:  “True success means balanced success in your Wheel of Life.  Set goals in each area, and when you do well in each area, you will have balanced success.”  Dad is one smart man!

On a scale of 1 to 10, are you at least a 7 or higher in each of your profit centers, or areas of your Wheel of Life?  If not – get busy and set some goals!

Of course, like many people, I didn’t bother to crack this little book until I faced the first really major crisis in my life in 2001.  Since 2001 I have spent many mornings with Oswald.

Bruce gave me an idea that has been a huge blessing to me.
Each day I read, I write a short note or prayer about what is going on.  My first devotional book is jammed with notes from different years, and every year it’s great to see what God has done, and to be reminded that the present crisis will also be handled by God, just like He took care of the previous ones.

For example, through the years on Jan 8th I prayed about:

A new business we started that tanked

A book deal

Blessings for a seminar

A family member with cancer

A family member with serious immune issues

A family member who had a heart cath

An old friend battling alcoholism

Reflecting on every one of these it is truly amazing how God has worked.  I am so blessed!

My recommendation for you in 2010 – spend some daily time with God, and write your thoughts down.  He doesn’t need you to write them down, but you will be blessed when you see His hand in your life as you look back.

]]> http://tomziglar.com/?feed=rss2&p=737 4 http://tomziglar.com/?p=723 http://tomziglar.com/?p=723#comments Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:09:57 +0000 Tom Ziglar http://70.86.115.90/~tomzigla/?p=723