It is about time for that marvelous event called the Olympics.  Our friends down under are hosting the world this year as we watch the best compete in this inspiring event. 

We as business owners and salespeople can learn much from the Olympics and what they have to do to make it.  Those athletes that make it to this event do so by rigorous training (mental and physical) and unrelenting discipline.  By employing technology to help us we can accomplish more and stretch our limits.

Here are some important concepts we can use in our own competition:

1.      Mentally decide to win.  You have to be willing to pay the price.  For the athlete this means getting up earlier, denying the pleasures of the moment for long-term goal achievement and relentless pursuit of excellence.  Mentally commit to achieving a goal that is worthwhile and attainable for you. 

2.      Be quick.  Speed is king in today’s world.  Think through common requests from your prospects and customers.  How can you automate your answers and responses so it is 1) faster for them and 2) easier for you?  Does your website have easy-to-download forms that answer common questions?  As  professional speaker I get lots of requests for a printable picture for a program’s brochure.  I have a printable picture on my website that can be downloaded easily and quickly for customers.  In the past we had to overnight pictures.  Now the technology saves us money and makes it faster and easier for our clients.  Think about how you can leverage technology to make it faster for customers and easier for you.  Get the fastest Internet connection you can.  First Choice: DSL or a T1 line.  Second Choice: Cable Modem or Satellite, Third: ISDN line.  Fourth: Dial Up 56K Modem. 

3.      Be available.  One of the greatest tools for communication is e-mail.  Although it can be abused, like any form of communication, is has changed our culture.  We think faster, want answers now and have adopted a more casual, open form of communication.  We don’t have space here to go into the merits or drawbacks of that.  Suffice it to say that customers want you to be available to answer their questions.  Does that mean you have to be chained to e-mail 24/7?  No way.  Instead, have the system automate as much as possible.  I like the Palm Vx with the wireless modem.  I can collect e-mail from most locations (even inside buildings) without being attached to the wall.  For fast e-mail responses it is a strong competitive advantage.  This is better than a pager.

4.      Automate to be more personal.  This might sound contradictory but it works.  Automate as much as possible so you have more time to be personal where it counts.  You can automate the downloading of forms, pictures and even demonstrations.  Use video on your website to illustrate how you widget works.  Let the demo answer numerous basic questions that are often asked.  Then save your best talent and time to be personal and spend quality time with prospects and customers to answer those questions that are unique to their situation.  As odd as it sounds, by automating we can be more personal and close to customers. 

5.      “Napsterize” your company.  Athletes know they can’t do it alone. They have to have coaches, training from others, comradery among peers and a support system. Think of peers that you can rely upon and work with to accomplish the things you want.  You have the potential to do more with others than alone.  Napster has raised the ire of many in the music industry because of the sharing of music files.  Although I feel strongly that producers of intellectual content (music, information, etc.) should be compensated for their work, Napster shows the new way of thinking in today’s world.  Sharing information is critical.  Write articles dealing with specific issues in your industry that can help others.  Encourage this sharing.  By giving away useful, valuable information, you will attain the attention and interest of people that will later want to purchase from you.

6.      Persist in the hard times.  An Olympic athlete has to focus on the goal even when she doesn’t want to.  Make a list of the things you want to accomplish and put them on the wall.  Carry them in your Palm device so you are reminded of them over and over.  Send yourself e-mail messages to arrive in the future about important tasks.  Use a service like Yahoo! Mail to send a reminder.  It’s free and can potentially put lots of money in your pocket.

7.      Leverage with your website.  I’m continually amazed what can be done with today’s technology on a website.  You have the power to communicate with the world via your own newspaper, radio and television station.  Once you master the simple, basic skills of changing some articles, doing some audio and video and then placing these on your website, you have an enormous amount of power!  Get someone to assist you on this if you’re not into technology as much or have little time.  Have them design templates and forms and then you supply them with text from a Word document, a picture (JPG file) or a quick audio.  Remember when you first learned a word processing package?  It was tough at first but once you mastered the basics, it is probably very easy.  Use this to leverage your way to greater profitability. 

As you watch the Olympics, think of the training, leverage and motivation that go into putting each of those special people in Sydney.  You are in your own Olympic event.  Set your goals high and attain them through the combination of determination, persistence and the right use of technology.  You’ll be a winner every time.