“I define a brand as a promise for the future based on past performance.”

“Everything of significance a leader accomplishes happens not just because of his or her efforts, but through the efforts of others.”

“People who lead – whether or not they have a title – strive to make things better for those around them. They increase what I call ROI. In this instance ROI doesn’t stand for “return on investment,” but rather:

Relationships,
Outcomes and
Improvements.”

“I define leadership as an invitation to greatness that we extend to others.”

“Managing is Power over People but Leadership is Power with People.”

“Focus and determination beat brains and intellect every time. If you focus on the right things, and work at them often, you will achieve exceptional results.”

“While most people tell, leaders sell, or persuade. Telling is about providing information; selling is about influencing action.”

“Communication is both a science and an art.”

“You and I know how good we have become, but we don’t have any idea of how good we could be.”

“More important than achieving your goals is pursuing your potential.”

“Use your past as a springboard instead of an anchor. Deal with the issues that are holding you back.”

“Losers make excuses. Winners make explanations. Excuses don’t teach you anything and keep you from making needed changes. Explanations help you learn what went wrong and give you insights for needed changes.”

“The elimination of foolishness and stupidity is the beginning of excellence.”

“Don’t copy the crowd–follow the leaders.”

“In the past, leaders were those who knew the right answers. Today, leaders are those who know the right questions.”

“To keep growing you need a healthy form of skepticism that can be summed up in these words: Answer your questions but question your answers.”

“A wise person once said, ‘The bad news is that you can’t have it all. The good news is that when you know what’s really important, you don’t want it all anyway.'”

“Focused attention beats brains and brawn every time.”

“Focus on your MVP activities (Most Valuable and Profitable activities).”

“Continually ask yourself, ‘What gives me the biggest payback on my investment of time and energy?'”

“Fight entropy. What did you used to do that made you successful that you either quit doing or aren’t doing as much of or as well as you used to?”

“Spend 60-80% of every day on your MVP activities. That still gives you 20-40% of each day to deal with interruptions, emergencies and the unexpected.”

“You can’t put more time in your life but you can put more life into your time.”

“Discipline is the ability to do what needs to be done even when you don’t feel like doing it.”

“Implementation is everything. Execute boldly.”

“The difference between excellence and mediocrity is usually the difference between common knowledge and consistent application.”

“There is always one option that is completely within your control: the ability to work harder than anybody else.”

“Do whatever you do better than anybody else who does it and you will realize uncommon success.”

“You can earn more when you do more. You can charge more when you provide more. You can have more when you give more.”

“Add value to everything you do.”

“Know the difference between impressing people and influencing them. Impressing them changes what they think. Influencing them changes what they do.”

“To get anybody to buy from you requires three things: rapport, logic and emotion. Rapport means that the buyer trusts you. Logic means that buying makes sense. Emotion means that buying feels good. Use all three tools.”

“Don’t sell products or services. Instead, create an experience for your customers.”

“Go beyond simply satisfying the customer. Aim to astound.”

“The only thing more powerful than knowing what to do is doing it.”

“Create a personal learning agenda. Identify important skills and areas of expertise for your success and ‘go to school’: get the best books, audio tapes and videos, talk to the best people and take the best courses and seminars available.”

“It is relatively easy to make money. What’s difficult is making meaning. The greatest challenge is to make money and meaning in your work.”

“You always accomplish more cooperating with people than you do competing against them.”

“Take responsibility for your life. If you can’t control what happens, you can at least control how you respond.”

“If you’re going to take credit for the successes, you’ve got to take credit for the failures.”

“No matter what happens, somebody always wins. Whether the market is up or down, whether business is good or bad, there are those people who figure out what it takes to succeed and they do.”

“Not everything worth doing is worth doing well. Some things are just worth getting done, some things are worth doing pretty well and other things are worth doing extremely well. Priorities help you understand where to invest your time and energy.”

“Your success in life isn’t based on your ability to simply change. It is based on your ability to change faster than your competition, customers and business.”

“Live life on full volume. The future belongs to the bold.”

“Never postpone happiness or waste the present trying to live in the past.”

“It’s better to be a ‘has been’ than a ‘never was.'”

“Where you’ve been or where you are aren’t as important as where you’re going and what you’re doing to get there.”

“Every morning when we wake up we are confronted with a choice: another day just like the last or a clean slate to start all over.”

“Risk and you won’t always win; never risk and you’ll never win.”

“Always be yourself, but choose to be your best self.”

“Take what you do in this life seriously, but don’t take yourself too seriously.”

“No matter how good a product, service or idea is, somebody has still got to sell it.”

“Excellence in selling requires the substance of a good product and the style of a professional salesperson.”

“Happy buyers take credit. Unhappy buyers place blame.”

“A sales professional who doesn’t beat the bushes gets beat.”

“There are very few things that buyers today truly need. There are lots of things they want. The key is to build desire for what you sell.”

Sanborn’s Maxim: “The customers who are willing to pay you the least will always demand the most.”

“Learn to walk away from an unprofitable sale. You’ll do a better job of selling and serving customers when you feel you’ve received a fair price for your effort.”

“The ultimate objective of a business is profit. The primary purpose of a business is to create customers. Profitability without customers is an impossibility.”

“Do you ever compromise on service? Do you cut corners, only partially fulfill, or even forget, commitments? Exceptional service means keeping every commitment you make to customers. Period.”

“The pleasure of the buying experience is as important as the price of the product.”