Mindset 101

You are capable of doing what you believe you can do. It’s easy to say this, but to actually live this way is another thing entirely. Most people would agree I think that their mind is super powerful. Therefore it follows that their thoughts are that power in action. Mindset then would be a set way of thinking, right?

Mindset is defined by The American Heritage Dictionary as meaning, “A fixed mental attitude or disposition that predetermines a person’s responses to and interpretations of situations. An inclination or a habit. A way of thinking; an attitude or opinion, especially a habitual one.”  Other dictionaries give similar definitions, but I believe The American Heritage truly nails it when it says that it’s a mental attitude that predetermines your responses to and interpretations of situations. So, your mindset actually determines what you are going to do or think relative to any situation.  In short, it constantly guides all of your actions and thoughts.  

I think that most people don’t consider their mindset. I mean, they don’t think about it and how powerful it is or how much of an effect it has on their lives and the people around them.  One reason they don’t is more than likely that it takes great humility to be honest about what is your mindset.  Humility is difficult, especially since we all know that we’re not perfect and we should constantly be striving to become better.  It takes work and that’s what we’re going to do in this lesson. 

So mindset means just that; that your mind is set or firmly positioned.  The questions then are what is your mindset and how did it get set this way?  Can it be changed?  My father was in the Navy for 27 years.  There were certain things that the Navy drilled into him that set his mind to work towards the Navy’s way of doing things.  These were new things and really reset his mind. Officer candidate school had a profound effect on him and his mindset, but even more so was functioning as an officer in the Navy for 27 years.  Mindset is formed over time and becomes as it is defined, a habit.

I remember how he would have a very intense focus on whatever he did.  This I believe was learned.  In the Navy, the motto is, “Do it right or do it again.” He always insisted on getting things done right. No doubt he learned this from being expected to get things right repeatedly throughout his career.     

So, be considerate of what you permit into your life experience. Who you spend time with and what you spend time doing changes you little by little. For example, I guarantee you that if you decide to spend time watching the news everyday, you will become more negative about life. Why? Because for the most part the news is very negative. And I really haven’t met many truly successful people who were negative or who watched the news.

Spend your time in a way that conditions you to achieve your goals. If your goal is to run a 4-minute mile, then I wouldn’t suggest hanging out with people who eat junk food all day and constantly tell you that you’ll never run a 4-minute mile. This would seem like common sense, but it’s not. If it were common then I think we’d have a lot more people able to run a 4-minute mile. We’d have more people achieving a great number of incredible feats.

Try this out. Try for one week to immerse yourself into your craft or the market you’re pursuing. Only read books about that subject and only spend your time with positive people who genuinely support your goals and believe in you. You will see a difference in your mindset because you’ll be feeding your mind with what it needs to help you achieve your goals. Set your mind up for success by surrounding yourself with only what supports a predetermined outcome…your success.

Be Thankful

Back when we sent our our software on floppy disks to our customers we learned the value of sending other things in their package. We would of course send information on their purchase, but also marketing material to upsell other products. We had their undivided attention during the unboxing, so we took advantage of that. In many ways it was better than the phone and back then the phone was huge. But one thing stood out as the most powerful item to include in their box. A Thank You card.

https://mobiloopcards.com/

Today we use cards designed by Mobiloop Cards. Start saying thank you to your customers and see the results.

Product Focus

Have you ever found yourself focused on your competition? You may have a business that’s found success this way and that’s ok. There are businesses that do very well by copying their competition at every turn. They let their competition learn what their market needs and follow their lead on how to serve it best. Both types of businesses seek the same good outcome for customers, but one of them leads and the other follows.

We have always focused on our product. The emphasis here is on “our” product. We’ve never paid much attention to our competition’s products, except to notice our ideas and content. We never slighted anyone for taking ideas or content from us in the past. Many might ask, why didn’t we go after them legally? The reason is focus. We really didn’t have the time. We were constantly focused on improving our product for our customers. We knew all along that while we were constantly moving the needle in favor of our customer experience, they (our competition) would be playing catchup. We really didn’t care. We actually found it flattering if anything.

We’ve also found it to be great fun and this is saying a lot considering our first market was school-based test prep software. We admit it’s not the most exciting market. We are constantly challenged not by a race with other companies, but a race to do what our market is hoping we’ll be able to do for them. So, focus on your product first. Sales and marketing are of course important. But, the degree to which your product is superior in your market is the degree to which you really don’t have competition…and therefore your sales come much easier.

If you need help with building your business by focusing on a superior product or service then please contacts us. We’d love to learn about your business and how we might be able to help you. Schedule a free call today.

May 1998

I remember the first time I showed up for work at Triumph. I was an intern. My father, Bill Zuberbuhler, was the CEO. Our offices were at 206 North Washington Street in Alexandria, Virginia. We had a super disjointed but expansive suite that wound around more than half the building. They put me in a small corner office with a desk, a chair, and a phone. I did have a window that looked out on busy North Washington Street. I was handed a multi-paged list of numbers to call and was told to invite high school principals to workshops that we were conducting around the country. I called high schools in all the major cities of Florida.

Little did I know that a month later I would meet almost everyone who I booked for the workshops. I accompanied my father on the trip to Florida. He along with other sales reps presented at the workshops. I was tasked with carrying the bags and setting up the laptop and projector that we used. It was a lot of fun being with my dad and I learned the first lesson in sales. Get to know your customer as much as you can.

Don’t just know their name and what they do, but know why they do it. Know if they like their work. Know why they like or don’t like their work. This was important to us because our product was designed to help them in their work. Depending upon how your company serves your customers, you need to focus on that aspect of their life. Building rapport is also important, but it’s not simply about that. You have to get in their shoes to find out what it is they want or need. Otherwise, how are you going serve them? Sales is a service more than anything else.

Going to all of the workshops and meeting everyone was a true challenge for me, because I’m an introvert. But it helped me immensely. I not only built a bond with the people who we served, but I learned a lot about them and what challenged them. I saw how my father, who was a master at connecting with people, would find out through conversation exactly what our customers wanted and needed the most. We gradually built our software programs to take care of every one of their pain points. We also knew exactly how to market them. Our prospects and customers told us almost word for word what copy to write. And so we did.

This customer focus aided by many more workshops helped us add an additional $2M in revenue over the next 18 months. Get to know your prospects and customers.

“Hello – We’re Triumph Education”

We are a lean family-owned business and a good example of the American success story.  We got our start 33 years ago developing software in the Silicon Valley. In the mid-90s we became internet pioneers when we released the first online test prep. We continued to innovate and helped many businesses move online and or develop cutting edge web & mobile apps. 

Today we begin this new blog where we will publish posts that explore best practices in online marketing. Social media is where the action is right now, but we’ve seen a lot of change through the years, so we’re always ready to pivot.

Please join the conversation. Ask us questions. Give us your insights. We look forward to speaking with you.

You can also visit us at https://triumph-online.com.

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