No matter how busy you are, try to find some time over the next two weeks to reflect, think, give and plan. Look in the rear view mirror so to speak.
The week between Christmas and New Year's is the ideal time for this. Try to slow things down. Take some time to talk with your spouse and kids about goals and dreams for the year 2012. Use this as a time to recharge your batteries, not just by watching TV the entire time, but to seriously and with excitement think about a handful of changes or additions you want for your life in 2012.
I believe you will find the act of reflecting, thinking, dreaming and planning (with your family) to be one of the most important exercises you can do that will positively impact the next 12 months.
And remember, do not neglect to commit yourself to set this time aside or you will find that the business of life can and will get in the way.
So let's all take a moment to gather up the past year of victories and defeats, growing as well as those times of stagnation and use it to wipe a clean slate and thoughtfully design the next year the way we truly desire it to be.
Winston Churchill once said "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts" how true is that!
Make it a great year!
Sam
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Are you losing motivation?
By Sam The Coach
Are you suffering from feelings of indifference or a lack of concern when it comes to marketing your business? Do you lack the passion that’s necessary to attract customers to your business?
Feelings of passiveness, disregard, and a lack of interest is
widespread among today’s businesses. This attitude is like putting a roadblock between you and your success. Fortunately, there are a number of solutions for overcoming apathy that you can start
implementing today. Try one or more of these.
1. Do something.
The best way to take a blah attitude and turn it around is to do something. You may have heard the phrase, “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop”. The same goes for your business. Apathy often disguises itself as procrastination – lack of action. In the case of your business, an idle business can mean financial disaster.
When you find yourself not wanting to do anything, do something. Pick up a book and read for a while, call a client or two and ask them how things are going, or contact your coach to get yourself moving. If you have to, get up and do jumping jacks or take a walk around the block.
When you engage your physical body, it’s usually easier to engage the rest of you. Once you get the energy moving on your end, you’ll be able to take it and channel it into a number of avenues that can lead to business success.
2. Gather your support team.
A support team is critical to our personal and professional well-being. A support team can consist of our friends, business colleagues, family members, a loving partner or spouse, or even groups that we belong to – like business or civic groups.
When we experience rough days in our business we can call on these folks for uplifting conversation, brainstorming, or just to share a friendly “hello”. Our support team can mean all the difference in the attitude we have in our business. Not only will you benefit from the interchange, you’ll give your support members the opportunity to share their gifts with you. Everyone wins.
3. Obtain more education.
Often indifference about our business can find its roots in a lack of knowledge. You’ve probably heard the phrase “Knowledge is power”. Seeking out new knowledge, whether by reading a book, taking a teleclass, or enrolling in a workshop can be a wonderful solution to curing feelings of apathy. Seeking more education can introduce us to new people and ideas, which will often be just what is needed to get our creative juices flowing.
4. Craft a clear vision.
Having a clear vision of your business purpose and mission can be critical to your business success. A vision, designed exclusively by you, provides a roadmap to help you move from where you are today to where you want to be tomorrow.
When you don’t have a clear vision about why you are in business and what purpose you are serving, it’s easy to go in the wrong direction. Craft a written vision of your business. It will help you stay focused and on track.
5. Read a variety of periodicals.
Probably one of the best solutions to marketing apathy is to read – and one suggestion is to read a
variety of periodicals. Take a trip to your local bookstore. Visit the areas you most enjoy. Peruse
cookbooks, business books, or spiritual books – anything that catches your interest. Don’t forget to visit the magazine racks, which include hundreds of publications on almost every topic imaginable.
You don’t necessarily need to be reading books and magazines about marketing to get ideas about new things to do with your business. Look at what other companies are doing to communicate about their products and services. You might find a creative way to adapt something to your own business.
One of my favorite things to do is pick up a magazine on a topic I know nothing about and turn to the back where the smaller classified ads are listed. It’s amazing how many ideas I’ve been able to adapt from an industry totally unrelated to mine.
6. Hang out with new people.
Look at your Rolodex or database. Do you socialize with the same kinds of people all the time? How about joining a new group - maybe one that isn’t related to your business - and start meeting some new people? You may be surprised when something said would open your eyes to a new idea you can
implement in your business. Better yet, you’ll be expanding your network and increasing your
opportunities to introduce others to you and your business.
7. Take failures and turn them into successes.
Everyone has experienced a failure in their marketing or in their business. But, how you choose to look at it can mean all the difference in your attitude and determines whether you are going to remain stuck or move forward. Think of a few failures you’ve had in the past year. How can you reframe those into
positive experiences?
What did you learn from those experiences that helped you to avoid further issues? Did those
experiences create opportunities for you? In many cases, you’ll probably be able to see the “good” in the “bad”. Whenever you start feeling down about your business marketing, stop your thoughts in their tracks and ask, “Where is the good in all of this?”
8. Focus on the few.
Sometimes we find feelings of listlessness and lethargy creeping into our marketing efforts, usually
because we’re overwhelmed with all we have to do. We don’t know where to start, we feel pressured to perform and to get something out there to attract clients, but we don’t know which direction to take or which marketing technique to select.
The solution to overwhelm, and the accompanying feelings of apathy, is to get focused. Select one or two marketing techniques that you feel comfortable and competent with implementing. Test them and see if you get the results you want. If you don’t, then you’ll have great feedback to try a new way. Don’t try to do everything, otherwise you’ll find yourself in a state of overwhelm, and doing nothing.
9. Create alliances with others.
Isolation can create environments where we lack motivation and enthusiasm. And, when we’re trying to market our businesses, we definitely need these two ingredients! When we work with others, we can move ahead a lot more quickly and, usually, with more ease. Who can you create a partnership or
alliance with?
Perhaps there is a person in a competing or complimentary discipline with whom you can partner with to create a workshop, e-book, or even a teleclass. Their enthusiasm will motivate you; and your enthusiasm will motivate them. Share your talents and ideas. You never know what kind of success you can create together.
10. Recognize the value in you.
Apathy can often find its roots in the attitudes we carry around about ourselves. And, the sad truth is that these often are completely false. As an aspiring entrepreneur, learn to recognize the value in you. Who you are and what you have to offer holds great value. Your gifts, talents, and your unique way of looking at the world are just what your clients are looking for!
Are you suffering from feelings of indifference or a lack of concern when it comes to marketing your business? Do you lack the passion that’s necessary to attract customers to your business?
Feelings of passiveness, disregard, and a lack of interest is
widespread among today’s businesses. This attitude is like putting a roadblock between you and your success. Fortunately, there are a number of solutions for overcoming apathy that you can start
implementing today. Try one or more of these.
1. Do something.
The best way to take a blah attitude and turn it around is to do something. You may have heard the phrase, “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop”. The same goes for your business. Apathy often disguises itself as procrastination – lack of action. In the case of your business, an idle business can mean financial disaster.
When you find yourself not wanting to do anything, do something. Pick up a book and read for a while, call a client or two and ask them how things are going, or contact your coach to get yourself moving. If you have to, get up and do jumping jacks or take a walk around the block.
When you engage your physical body, it’s usually easier to engage the rest of you. Once you get the energy moving on your end, you’ll be able to take it and channel it into a number of avenues that can lead to business success.
2. Gather your support team.
A support team is critical to our personal and professional well-being. A support team can consist of our friends, business colleagues, family members, a loving partner or spouse, or even groups that we belong to – like business or civic groups.
When we experience rough days in our business we can call on these folks for uplifting conversation, brainstorming, or just to share a friendly “hello”. Our support team can mean all the difference in the attitude we have in our business. Not only will you benefit from the interchange, you’ll give your support members the opportunity to share their gifts with you. Everyone wins.
3. Obtain more education.
Often indifference about our business can find its roots in a lack of knowledge. You’ve probably heard the phrase “Knowledge is power”. Seeking out new knowledge, whether by reading a book, taking a teleclass, or enrolling in a workshop can be a wonderful solution to curing feelings of apathy. Seeking more education can introduce us to new people and ideas, which will often be just what is needed to get our creative juices flowing.
4. Craft a clear vision.
Having a clear vision of your business purpose and mission can be critical to your business success. A vision, designed exclusively by you, provides a roadmap to help you move from where you are today to where you want to be tomorrow.
When you don’t have a clear vision about why you are in business and what purpose you are serving, it’s easy to go in the wrong direction. Craft a written vision of your business. It will help you stay focused and on track.
5. Read a variety of periodicals.
Probably one of the best solutions to marketing apathy is to read – and one suggestion is to read a
variety of periodicals. Take a trip to your local bookstore. Visit the areas you most enjoy. Peruse
cookbooks, business books, or spiritual books – anything that catches your interest. Don’t forget to visit the magazine racks, which include hundreds of publications on almost every topic imaginable.
You don’t necessarily need to be reading books and magazines about marketing to get ideas about new things to do with your business. Look at what other companies are doing to communicate about their products and services. You might find a creative way to adapt something to your own business.
One of my favorite things to do is pick up a magazine on a topic I know nothing about and turn to the back where the smaller classified ads are listed. It’s amazing how many ideas I’ve been able to adapt from an industry totally unrelated to mine.
6. Hang out with new people.
Look at your Rolodex or database. Do you socialize with the same kinds of people all the time? How about joining a new group - maybe one that isn’t related to your business - and start meeting some new people? You may be surprised when something said would open your eyes to a new idea you can
implement in your business. Better yet, you’ll be expanding your network and increasing your
opportunities to introduce others to you and your business.
7. Take failures and turn them into successes.
Everyone has experienced a failure in their marketing or in their business. But, how you choose to look at it can mean all the difference in your attitude and determines whether you are going to remain stuck or move forward. Think of a few failures you’ve had in the past year. How can you reframe those into
positive experiences?
What did you learn from those experiences that helped you to avoid further issues? Did those
experiences create opportunities for you? In many cases, you’ll probably be able to see the “good” in the “bad”. Whenever you start feeling down about your business marketing, stop your thoughts in their tracks and ask, “Where is the good in all of this?”
8. Focus on the few.
Sometimes we find feelings of listlessness and lethargy creeping into our marketing efforts, usually
because we’re overwhelmed with all we have to do. We don’t know where to start, we feel pressured to perform and to get something out there to attract clients, but we don’t know which direction to take or which marketing technique to select.
The solution to overwhelm, and the accompanying feelings of apathy, is to get focused. Select one or two marketing techniques that you feel comfortable and competent with implementing. Test them and see if you get the results you want. If you don’t, then you’ll have great feedback to try a new way. Don’t try to do everything, otherwise you’ll find yourself in a state of overwhelm, and doing nothing.
9. Create alliances with others.
Isolation can create environments where we lack motivation and enthusiasm. And, when we’re trying to market our businesses, we definitely need these two ingredients! When we work with others, we can move ahead a lot more quickly and, usually, with more ease. Who can you create a partnership or
alliance with?
Perhaps there is a person in a competing or complimentary discipline with whom you can partner with to create a workshop, e-book, or even a teleclass. Their enthusiasm will motivate you; and your enthusiasm will motivate them. Share your talents and ideas. You never know what kind of success you can create together.
10. Recognize the value in you.
Apathy can often find its roots in the attitudes we carry around about ourselves. And, the sad truth is that these often are completely false. As an aspiring entrepreneur, learn to recognize the value in you. Who you are and what you have to offer holds great value. Your gifts, talents, and your unique way of looking at the world are just what your clients are looking for!
Monday, November 7, 2011
You Are Who Your Friends Are
It is important to acknowledge the power of positive thinking. This goes not only for yourself, but also for the people you surround yourself with. Attitudes are catchy. Whether they are positive or negative, they are rubbing off on you. If you are around people who complain, judge, spread negative gossip, blame others, and play victim roles, chances are you do, too.
Who are you around most often? Are they achieving their dreams or complaining about their circumstances? Do they look up to others who are go-getters and high achievers, or do they make fun of them and roll their eyes? How do they treat you? If you are spending time with people who do not support your dreams and goals, it's seriously time to look at whom you call your friends!
Successful people surround themselves with successful people! They want to be around others who are achieving their goals and making things happen for themselves. They want to know their secrets and strategies for winning. They are not embarrassed to be hanging out with the "nerds" of this world who are studying for success and making good money.
You, too, need to surround yourself with positive influences! Join the clubs that other successful people are in, learn what they are learning, act how they act, and talk how they talk. It doesn't matter from what walk of life you are coming from. Show up and transform yourself into an achiever! Success is not just for those who have had it easy, who came from supportive homes or had expensive educations. There are so many successful people who rose up from very poor conditions and overcame obstacles to achieve the goals they had their sights set on. But they did not get there by hanging out with negative energy drainers!
Have you been limiting your success by letting yourself be influenced by other people's negative energy? Make a list of all the people you spend time with and make note of the kind of personality they have. How many negative people are you around every day? How many people on your list are achieving their dreams, are supporting yours, and are taking responsibility for their lives? You're better off spending time alone than with people who hold themselves back with a victim mentality.
Simply stop spending time with the negative people on your list. Join the clubs that will put you in with a positive circle of friends. Set a new standard for yourself and don't become friends with people who fall below that standard. Invite your old friends to come with you and you'll know who has potential and who to stop being around entirely.
You have to take responsibility for this area of your life. Look around you at the people you call friends, you act just like them! Does it make you proud? Are you selling yourself short? Or are you on the right track? Keep successful people around you and you will be successful! Be around people who can accomplish their goals and you will accomplish yours! The choice is yours to make.
www.samthecoach.com
Who are you around most often? Are they achieving their dreams or complaining about their circumstances? Do they look up to others who are go-getters and high achievers, or do they make fun of them and roll their eyes? How do they treat you? If you are spending time with people who do not support your dreams and goals, it's seriously time to look at whom you call your friends!
Successful people surround themselves with successful people! They want to be around others who are achieving their goals and making things happen for themselves. They want to know their secrets and strategies for winning. They are not embarrassed to be hanging out with the "nerds" of this world who are studying for success and making good money.
You, too, need to surround yourself with positive influences! Join the clubs that other successful people are in, learn what they are learning, act how they act, and talk how they talk. It doesn't matter from what walk of life you are coming from. Show up and transform yourself into an achiever! Success is not just for those who have had it easy, who came from supportive homes or had expensive educations. There are so many successful people who rose up from very poor conditions and overcame obstacles to achieve the goals they had their sights set on. But they did not get there by hanging out with negative energy drainers!
Have you been limiting your success by letting yourself be influenced by other people's negative energy? Make a list of all the people you spend time with and make note of the kind of personality they have. How many negative people are you around every day? How many people on your list are achieving their dreams, are supporting yours, and are taking responsibility for their lives? You're better off spending time alone than with people who hold themselves back with a victim mentality.
Simply stop spending time with the negative people on your list. Join the clubs that will put you in with a positive circle of friends. Set a new standard for yourself and don't become friends with people who fall below that standard. Invite your old friends to come with you and you'll know who has potential and who to stop being around entirely.
You have to take responsibility for this area of your life. Look around you at the people you call friends, you act just like them! Does it make you proud? Are you selling yourself short? Or are you on the right track? Keep successful people around you and you will be successful! Be around people who can accomplish their goals and you will accomplish yours! The choice is yours to make.
www.samthecoach.com
Evaluating Your Associations
If you were to evaluate the major influences in your life that have shaped the kind of person you are, this has to be high on the list: the people and thoughts you choose to allow into your life. Mr. Shoaff gave me a very important warning in those early days that I would like to share with you. He said, "Never underestimate the power of influence." Indeed, the influence of those around us is so powerful! Many times we don't even realize we're being strongly affected because influences generally develop over an extended period of time.
Peer pressure is an especially powerful force because it is so subtle. If you're around people who spend all they make, chances are excellent that you'll spend all you make. If you are around people who go to more ball games than concerts, chances are excellent that you'll do the same thing. If you are around people who don't read, chances are excellent that you won't read. People can keep nudging us off course a little at a time until finally, we find ourselves asking, "How did I get here?" Those subtle influences need to be studied carefully if we really want our lives to turn out the way we've planned.
With regard to this important point, let me give you three key questions to ask yourself. They may help you to make better analyses of your current associations.
Here is the first question: "Who am I around?" Make a mental note of the people with whom you most often associate. You've got to evaluate everybody who is able to influence you in any way.
The second question is: "What are these associations doing to me?" That's a major question to ask. What have they got me doing? What have they got me listening to? What have they got me reading? Where have they got me going? What do they have me thinking? How have they got me talking? How have they got me feeling? What have they got me saying? You've got to make a serious study of how others are influencing you, both negatively and positively.
Here's a final question: "Is that okay?" Maybe everyone you associate with has been a positive, energizing influence. Then again, maybe there are some bad apples in the bunch. All I'm suggesting here is that you take a close and objective look. Everything is worth a second look, especially the power of influence. Both will take you somewhere, but only one will take you in the direction you need to go.
It's easy to just dismiss the things that influence our lives. One man says, "I live here, but I don't think it matters. I'm around these people, but I don't think it hurts." I would take another look at that. Remember, everything matters! Sure, some things matter more than others, but everything amounts to something. You've got to keep checking to find out whether your associations are tipping the scales toward the positive or toward the negative. Ignorance is never the best policy. Finding out is the best policy.
Perhaps you've heard the story of the little bird. He had his wing over his eye and he was crying. The owl said to the bird, "You are crying." "Yes," said the little bird, and he pulled his wing away from his eye. "Oh, I see," said the owl. "You're crying because the big bird pecked out your eye." And the little bird said, "No, I'm not crying because the big bird pecked out my eye. I'm crying because I let him."
It's easy to let influence shape our lives, to let associations determine our direction, to let pressures overwhelm us, and to let tides take us. The big question is, are we letting ourselves become what we wish to become?
—Jim Rohn
Peer pressure is an especially powerful force because it is so subtle. If you're around people who spend all they make, chances are excellent that you'll spend all you make. If you are around people who go to more ball games than concerts, chances are excellent that you'll do the same thing. If you are around people who don't read, chances are excellent that you won't read. People can keep nudging us off course a little at a time until finally, we find ourselves asking, "How did I get here?" Those subtle influences need to be studied carefully if we really want our lives to turn out the way we've planned.
With regard to this important point, let me give you three key questions to ask yourself. They may help you to make better analyses of your current associations.
Here is the first question: "Who am I around?" Make a mental note of the people with whom you most often associate. You've got to evaluate everybody who is able to influence you in any way.
The second question is: "What are these associations doing to me?" That's a major question to ask. What have they got me doing? What have they got me listening to? What have they got me reading? Where have they got me going? What do they have me thinking? How have they got me talking? How have they got me feeling? What have they got me saying? You've got to make a serious study of how others are influencing you, both negatively and positively.
Here's a final question: "Is that okay?" Maybe everyone you associate with has been a positive, energizing influence. Then again, maybe there are some bad apples in the bunch. All I'm suggesting here is that you take a close and objective look. Everything is worth a second look, especially the power of influence. Both will take you somewhere, but only one will take you in the direction you need to go.
It's easy to just dismiss the things that influence our lives. One man says, "I live here, but I don't think it matters. I'm around these people, but I don't think it hurts." I would take another look at that. Remember, everything matters! Sure, some things matter more than others, but everything amounts to something. You've got to keep checking to find out whether your associations are tipping the scales toward the positive or toward the negative. Ignorance is never the best policy. Finding out is the best policy.
Perhaps you've heard the story of the little bird. He had his wing over his eye and he was crying. The owl said to the bird, "You are crying." "Yes," said the little bird, and he pulled his wing away from his eye. "Oh, I see," said the owl. "You're crying because the big bird pecked out your eye." And the little bird said, "No, I'm not crying because the big bird pecked out my eye. I'm crying because I let him."
It's easy to let influence shape our lives, to let associations determine our direction, to let pressures overwhelm us, and to let tides take us. The big question is, are we letting ourselves become what we wish to become?
—Jim Rohn
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Inspirational Business Thoughts.
Whatever your job title, you are in the business of customer satisfaction. Who is your customer? - Brian Tracy
Internalize the 'Golden Rule' of sales that say, 'All things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business to, those people they know, like and trust.' - Bob Burg
Make sure you don't end up the richest person in the cemetery. You can't do business from there. - Colonel Harlan Sanders
Business success comes from identifying and targeting specific customer groups or market segments for your product or service. - Brian Tracy
Choose a job that you love and you won't have to work a single day in your life.
Eat and drink with your relatives; do business with strangers. - Greek Proverb
It isn't the number of people employed in a business that makes it successful, it's the number working.
Live together like brothers, but do business like strangers. - Arab Proverb
Business? It's quite simple. It's other people's money. - Alexandre Dumas the Younger
Humor is the great equalizer. When you make someone laugh, you make them feel good. When they feel good around you, they tend to feel good about you. When they feel good about you, they want to do business with you.
You have to have your heart in the business and the business in your heart. - Thomas J. Whatson, Jr.
Exposure plus 95 cents might buy you a decent cup of coffee. The key is to 'position' yourself in your market as the expert, the resource, the only person your prospect would ever even THINK of doing business with, or referring to others. - Bob Burg
Because its purpose is to create a customer, the business has two basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. - Peter Drucker
Proper business planning demands that you focus on the self-interest of the customer at all times. - Brian Tracy
Your memorable actions create a classic opportunity to examine how customers can make or break your business after a transaction has taken place. - Jeffrey Gitomer
Profit in business comes from repeat customers, customers that boast about your project or service, and that bring friends with them. - W. Edwards Deming
Wherever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision. - Peter F. Drucker
When everyone is looking for gold, it's a good time to be in the pick and shovel business. - Mark Twain
Imagine if your business burned down and you had to walk across the street and start again, what would you do differently? - Brian Tracy
When people ask each other for a referral, or a business reference -- it's given based on their past personal experience -- or what they 'heard' from others. What's the word out on you? - Jeffrey Gitomer
You create a customer by convincing him overwhelmingly that you are the lowest-risk, highest-value, easiest person and company to do business with. - Brian Tracy
Success or failure in business is caused more by mental attitude even than by mental capacities. - Walter D. Scott
In business, everything costs twice a much as you expect and takes three times longer than you planned. - Brian Tracy
Get Real... People hope for friendly, but rarely get it. You can capture business with friendship gestures. You can lose business without them. - Jeffrey Gitomer
A man to carry on a successful business must have imagination. He must see things as in a vision, a dream of the whole thing. - Charles M. Schwab
Internalize the 'Golden Rule' of sales that say, 'All things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business to, those people they know, like and trust.' - Bob Burg
Make sure you don't end up the richest person in the cemetery. You can't do business from there. - Colonel Harlan Sanders
Business success comes from identifying and targeting specific customer groups or market segments for your product or service. - Brian Tracy
Choose a job that you love and you won't have to work a single day in your life.
Eat and drink with your relatives; do business with strangers. - Greek Proverb
It isn't the number of people employed in a business that makes it successful, it's the number working.
Live together like brothers, but do business like strangers. - Arab Proverb
Business? It's quite simple. It's other people's money. - Alexandre Dumas the Younger
Humor is the great equalizer. When you make someone laugh, you make them feel good. When they feel good around you, they tend to feel good about you. When they feel good about you, they want to do business with you.
You have to have your heart in the business and the business in your heart. - Thomas J. Whatson, Jr.
Exposure plus 95 cents might buy you a decent cup of coffee. The key is to 'position' yourself in your market as the expert, the resource, the only person your prospect would ever even THINK of doing business with, or referring to others. - Bob Burg
Because its purpose is to create a customer, the business has two basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. - Peter Drucker
Proper business planning demands that you focus on the self-interest of the customer at all times. - Brian Tracy
Your memorable actions create a classic opportunity to examine how customers can make or break your business after a transaction has taken place. - Jeffrey Gitomer
Profit in business comes from repeat customers, customers that boast about your project or service, and that bring friends with them. - W. Edwards Deming
Wherever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision. - Peter F. Drucker
When everyone is looking for gold, it's a good time to be in the pick and shovel business. - Mark Twain
Imagine if your business burned down and you had to walk across the street and start again, what would you do differently? - Brian Tracy
When people ask each other for a referral, or a business reference -- it's given based on their past personal experience -- or what they 'heard' from others. What's the word out on you? - Jeffrey Gitomer
You create a customer by convincing him overwhelmingly that you are the lowest-risk, highest-value, easiest person and company to do business with. - Brian Tracy
Success or failure in business is caused more by mental attitude even than by mental capacities. - Walter D. Scott
In business, everything costs twice a much as you expect and takes three times longer than you planned. - Brian Tracy
Get Real... People hope for friendly, but rarely get it. You can capture business with friendship gestures. You can lose business without them. - Jeffrey Gitomer
A man to carry on a successful business must have imagination. He must see things as in a vision, a dream of the whole thing. - Charles M. Schwab
GOALS
Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing.
Abraham Lincoln
Man is a goal seeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals.
Aristotle
Make your life a mission-not an intermission.
Arnold H. Glasgow
If you don't know where you're going, you'll end up somewhere else.
David Campbell
The secret to productive goal setting is in establishing clearly defined goals, writing them down and then focusing on them several times a day with words, pictures and emotions as if we've already achieved them.
Denis Waitle
All you have to do is know where you're going.
Earl Nightingale
Many people fail in life, not for lack of ability or brains or even courage but simply because they have never organized their energies around a goal.
Elbert Hubbard
Developing the plan is actually laying out the sequence of events that have to occur for you to achieve your goal.
George L. Morrisey
There is no top. There are always further heights to reach.
Jascha Heifetz
The true worth of a man is to be measured by the objects he pursues.
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
A goal is a dream with a deadline.
Napoleon Hill
All successful people have a goal. No one can get anywhere unless he knows where he wants to go and what he wants to be or do.
Norman Vincent Peale
All who have accomplished great things have had a great aim, have fixed their gaze on a goal which was high, one which sometimes seemed impossible.
Orison Swett Marden
Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal: my strength lies solely in my tenacity.
Louis Pasteur
Business purpose and business mission are so rarely given adequate thought is perhaps the most important cause of business frustration and failure.
Peter F. Drucker
Your long-term goals should be realistic, challenging, and attainable statements of where you want your company to be in three to five years following the direction outlined in your mission statement. Long-term goals function as starting and organizational points, to make it easier to process, prioritize, allocate resources, and coordinate related short-term goals and objectives.
Peter J. Patsula, Author of Successful Business Planning in 30 Days
A person who aims at nothing is sure to hit it.
Unknown
Four steps to achievement: Plan purposefully. Prepare prayerfully. Proceed positively. Pursue persistently.
William A. Ward
Abraham Lincoln
Man is a goal seeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals.
Aristotle
Make your life a mission-not an intermission.
Arnold H. Glasgow
If you don't know where you're going, you'll end up somewhere else.
David Campbell
The secret to productive goal setting is in establishing clearly defined goals, writing them down and then focusing on them several times a day with words, pictures and emotions as if we've already achieved them.
Denis Waitle
All you have to do is know where you're going.
Earl Nightingale
Many people fail in life, not for lack of ability or brains or even courage but simply because they have never organized their energies around a goal.
Elbert Hubbard
Developing the plan is actually laying out the sequence of events that have to occur for you to achieve your goal.
George L. Morrisey
There is no top. There are always further heights to reach.
Jascha Heifetz
The true worth of a man is to be measured by the objects he pursues.
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
A goal is a dream with a deadline.
Napoleon Hill
All successful people have a goal. No one can get anywhere unless he knows where he wants to go and what he wants to be or do.
Norman Vincent Peale
All who have accomplished great things have had a great aim, have fixed their gaze on a goal which was high, one which sometimes seemed impossible.
Orison Swett Marden
Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal: my strength lies solely in my tenacity.
Louis Pasteur
Business purpose and business mission are so rarely given adequate thought is perhaps the most important cause of business frustration and failure.
Peter F. Drucker
Your long-term goals should be realistic, challenging, and attainable statements of where you want your company to be in three to five years following the direction outlined in your mission statement. Long-term goals function as starting and organizational points, to make it easier to process, prioritize, allocate resources, and coordinate related short-term goals and objectives.
Peter J. Patsula, Author of Successful Business Planning in 30 Days
A person who aims at nothing is sure to hit it.
Unknown
Four steps to achievement: Plan purposefully. Prepare prayerfully. Proceed positively. Pursue persistently.
William A. Ward
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Who Packs Your Parachute?
Charles Plumb a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, was a jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience.
One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, “You’re Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!” “How in the world did you know that?” asked Plumb. “I packed your parachute,” the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, “I guess it worked!” Plumb assured him, “It sure did, if your chute hadn’t worked, I wouldn’t be here today.”
Plumb couldn’t sleep at night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, “I kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat, a bib in the back, and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen and not even said, “Good morning, How are you?” or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor.
Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shroud lines and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn’t know.
Now Plumb asks his audience, “Who’s packing your parachute?”
Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. Plumb also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory………… he needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety.
Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason. As you go through this week, this month, this year, recognise people who pack your parachute.
sam
One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, “You’re Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!” “How in the world did you know that?” asked Plumb. “I packed your parachute,” the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, “I guess it worked!” Plumb assured him, “It sure did, if your chute hadn’t worked, I wouldn’t be here today.”
Plumb couldn’t sleep at night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, “I kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat, a bib in the back, and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen and not even said, “Good morning, How are you?” or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor.
Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shroud lines and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn’t know.
Now Plumb asks his audience, “Who’s packing your parachute?”
Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. Plumb also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory………… he needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety.
Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason. As you go through this week, this month, this year, recognise people who pack your parachute.
sam
The Top 10 Most important rules in Customer Service
Customer Love
1- I apologize for the mistake, Lets make it right. People want to be heard and acknowledged. Tell them what you can do to make it right
2- Thank you for your Business. Please come back again. Repeat and loyal customers are KEY
3- I am not sure but I will find out. It’s ok not knowing the answer. It is not ok to let the customer search for it. That’s your job.
4- Be prepared to go the extra Mile. There is less competition there.
5- What is most convenient for you? People are pleasantly surprised when you ask that.
6- How may I serve you? The question reinforces your role in the relationship. Play it the BEST YOU CAN.
7- How did we do? Feedback is critical and people appreciate being asked.
8- Glad you are here!. Customers that FEEL welcomed spend more time, more money and come back more.
9- Thank You. Basic manners. Yet how many times you are sincerely thanked as a customer.
10- The most important word: YES. Be a YES PERSON.
Customer Service is not a department. It is an attitude.
They don’t care how much you know…..Until they know how much you CARE!
1- I apologize for the mistake, Lets make it right. People want to be heard and acknowledged. Tell them what you can do to make it right
2- Thank you for your Business. Please come back again. Repeat and loyal customers are KEY
3- I am not sure but I will find out. It’s ok not knowing the answer. It is not ok to let the customer search for it. That’s your job.
4- Be prepared to go the extra Mile. There is less competition there.
5- What is most convenient for you? People are pleasantly surprised when you ask that.
6- How may I serve you? The question reinforces your role in the relationship. Play it the BEST YOU CAN.
7- How did we do? Feedback is critical and people appreciate being asked.
8- Glad you are here!. Customers that FEEL welcomed spend more time, more money and come back more.
9- Thank You. Basic manners. Yet how many times you are sincerely thanked as a customer.
10- The most important word: YES. Be a YES PERSON.
Customer Service is not a department. It is an attitude.
They don’t care how much you know…..Until they know how much you CARE!
12 Mistakes That Sales People Make
.
1. Badmouthing the competition
There’s only one industry where badmouthing the competition is an accepted practice - professional wrestling. So unless you’re Hulk Hogan, you will reek of amateurism the moment you start the mudslinging. It’s okay to draw intelligent comparisons and demonstrate why your product, service and company are superior to the competitions – just be sure to do it professionally.
2. Pricing without confidence
If you sheepishly tell the customer what your price is, or give a wordy, qualifying preamble before quoting your price, customers will interpret your actions as a lack of confidence on your part. They will think that you don’t believe that your product is worth the price you’re quoting. And please, for goodness sake, never use the term “asking price.” By doing so you’re giving them “the price that stupid customers pay” and are inviting price negotiations.
3. Talking too much
There’s a misnomer that talkative people make great salespeople. In reality, nobody likes a chatterbox. Focus on listening so that when you do talk you’re honing in on the customer’s hot buttons. You have two ears and one mouth. Use them in that proportion.
4. Acting desperate
If you’re begging for appointments or orders, you’re doing a bad job in getting the customer to appreciate the value of your offering. Have some dignity for crying out loud.
5. Guessing
If you don’t know the answer to challenging customer questions, don’t make something up that you think they want to hear. Instead admit that you don’t know the answer but you’ll find out right away. Customers will appreciate your candour and professionalism.
6. Vanishing after the sale
If you provide great service throughout the selling process and then disappear after the contract is signed, you’ll leave the customer thinking, “Did that guy just run off with my money?” You’re not a 19th century snake oil salesman who skips town with a pocketful of cash. You’re a 21st century sales professional. Service the heck out of customers – even after the sale – and reap the rewards of valuable referrals.
7. Premature Closing
Closing the sale should be like a traditional marriage proposal. By the time you get to that point in the relationship, the close is simply a rhetorical question because both parties realize the benefits of getting together. Just like a guy wouldn’t give a diamond engagement ring to a new acquaintance at a singles bar, you shouldn’t go for the close until the prospect thoroughly knows how wonderful your offer is.
8. Overpromising
When you tell a customer that the product will ship in five days or that you’ll be there at 9:30 or that your system is 25 times faster, you had better deliver. Nothing destroys trust and generates scepticism more quickly than a salesperson’s broken promises.
9. Treating prospects like numbers
There’s an old saying that sales is a numbers game. Whether you subscribe to that notion or not, it is never acceptable to treat a customer like a number. Without customers, your company wouldn’t exist. Instead of treating customers like the umpteenth person you’re speaking with today, treat them like the important human beings that they are.
10. Knowing it all
You might be an expert on your product. You might be a recognized authority in your industry. But customers are the only ones who are experts on their unique situation. Don’t jump to conclusions and draw assumptions about your customers’ predicament. Let them tell you about it. Ask great questions to draw it out of them. Then apply your expertise to deliver the solution that best fits their situation.
11. Stepping on the little people
Salespeople strive to meet with high-level decision makers because they are the ones with the authority to write cheques. Although the big shot is the one making the decision, your chances for closing the sale increase if you build rapport with the underlings. Receptionists can block your calls. Mid-level managers can make recommendations that steer executives away from your offering. Earn buy-in from underlings but negotiate only with the senior exec. Remember, you can’t lose an election by getting too many votes.
12. Acting like a prima donna
If you’re flashing your Rolex watch, answering your cell phone in the middle of meetings and constantly telling people how busy you are, then you’re turning customers off. Be humble. Be modest. Be polite. Focus on the other person, not yourself.
Sam Zughbaba
1. Badmouthing the competition
There’s only one industry where badmouthing the competition is an accepted practice - professional wrestling. So unless you’re Hulk Hogan, you will reek of amateurism the moment you start the mudslinging. It’s okay to draw intelligent comparisons and demonstrate why your product, service and company are superior to the competitions – just be sure to do it professionally.
2. Pricing without confidence
If you sheepishly tell the customer what your price is, or give a wordy, qualifying preamble before quoting your price, customers will interpret your actions as a lack of confidence on your part. They will think that you don’t believe that your product is worth the price you’re quoting. And please, for goodness sake, never use the term “asking price.” By doing so you’re giving them “the price that stupid customers pay” and are inviting price negotiations.
3. Talking too much
There’s a misnomer that talkative people make great salespeople. In reality, nobody likes a chatterbox. Focus on listening so that when you do talk you’re honing in on the customer’s hot buttons. You have two ears and one mouth. Use them in that proportion.
4. Acting desperate
If you’re begging for appointments or orders, you’re doing a bad job in getting the customer to appreciate the value of your offering. Have some dignity for crying out loud.
5. Guessing
If you don’t know the answer to challenging customer questions, don’t make something up that you think they want to hear. Instead admit that you don’t know the answer but you’ll find out right away. Customers will appreciate your candour and professionalism.
6. Vanishing after the sale
If you provide great service throughout the selling process and then disappear after the contract is signed, you’ll leave the customer thinking, “Did that guy just run off with my money?” You’re not a 19th century snake oil salesman who skips town with a pocketful of cash. You’re a 21st century sales professional. Service the heck out of customers – even after the sale – and reap the rewards of valuable referrals.
7. Premature Closing
Closing the sale should be like a traditional marriage proposal. By the time you get to that point in the relationship, the close is simply a rhetorical question because both parties realize the benefits of getting together. Just like a guy wouldn’t give a diamond engagement ring to a new acquaintance at a singles bar, you shouldn’t go for the close until the prospect thoroughly knows how wonderful your offer is.
8. Overpromising
When you tell a customer that the product will ship in five days or that you’ll be there at 9:30 or that your system is 25 times faster, you had better deliver. Nothing destroys trust and generates scepticism more quickly than a salesperson’s broken promises.
9. Treating prospects like numbers
There’s an old saying that sales is a numbers game. Whether you subscribe to that notion or not, it is never acceptable to treat a customer like a number. Without customers, your company wouldn’t exist. Instead of treating customers like the umpteenth person you’re speaking with today, treat them like the important human beings that they are.
10. Knowing it all
You might be an expert on your product. You might be a recognized authority in your industry. But customers are the only ones who are experts on their unique situation. Don’t jump to conclusions and draw assumptions about your customers’ predicament. Let them tell you about it. Ask great questions to draw it out of them. Then apply your expertise to deliver the solution that best fits their situation.
11. Stepping on the little people
Salespeople strive to meet with high-level decision makers because they are the ones with the authority to write cheques. Although the big shot is the one making the decision, your chances for closing the sale increase if you build rapport with the underlings. Receptionists can block your calls. Mid-level managers can make recommendations that steer executives away from your offering. Earn buy-in from underlings but negotiate only with the senior exec. Remember, you can’t lose an election by getting too many votes.
12. Acting like a prima donna
If you’re flashing your Rolex watch, answering your cell phone in the middle of meetings and constantly telling people how busy you are, then you’re turning customers off. Be humble. Be modest. Be polite. Focus on the other person, not yourself.
Sam Zughbaba
Simple things, that you can do, starting tomorrow, to be a better leader
.
1. TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE – Leaders think about the future and help others see the future. As Mark Collar says, “Leaders teach people to dream, not just execute”.
2. TEACH SOMEONE SOMETHING – Leaders are involved in their organisation and are committed to growing organisational capability. Nothing sends that signal stronger than taking a moment to teach someone something.
3. SEEK OUT A NEW IDEA – Actively look for ideas and then champion them in the organisation. This says a lot about your ability to accept change as a leader.
4. TELL SOMEONE THEY DID A “GOOD JOB” – Leaders are not afraid to hand out praise when a job, large or small, is well done. This builds not only enthusiasm for the work, but trust in your management.
5. GET MAD, THEN GET OVER IT – Leaders all have passion for the business and sometimes this passion turns to anger or frustration. This shows you are only human. An effective leader has the capacity to move beyond emotion into constructive action.
6. MEET SOMEONE NEW IN YOUR ORGANISATION – Get out of your office and say “hello,” to someone new in or near your group. It’s guaranteed that you will learn something and it is visible proof to your organisation that you care.
7. SAY “YES” – Leaders aren’t afraid to make a commitment, to make a choice, to move on. Find something where you can say “yes.” Nothing says you trust your organisation more than the power of agreement.
8. ACTIVELY LISTEN – Many of us talk about being good listeners, but few of us are really good at it. The next time you are asked to listen to someone, use clarifying and confirming skills, but don’t offer a point of view until the presenter says, “What do you think?”
9. BE ENTHUSIASTIC – Leaders have enthusiasm and energy. They transfer this energy to the organisation and the business issues at hand. Practice being outright enthusiastic about an idea and watch how people change.
10. HAVE FUN – Leaders typically enjoy what they are doing, no matter how tough the task. People want to follow someone who enjoys what they are doing.
1. TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE – Leaders think about the future and help others see the future. As Mark Collar says, “Leaders teach people to dream, not just execute”.
2. TEACH SOMEONE SOMETHING – Leaders are involved in their organisation and are committed to growing organisational capability. Nothing sends that signal stronger than taking a moment to teach someone something.
3. SEEK OUT A NEW IDEA – Actively look for ideas and then champion them in the organisation. This says a lot about your ability to accept change as a leader.
4. TELL SOMEONE THEY DID A “GOOD JOB” – Leaders are not afraid to hand out praise when a job, large or small, is well done. This builds not only enthusiasm for the work, but trust in your management.
5. GET MAD, THEN GET OVER IT – Leaders all have passion for the business and sometimes this passion turns to anger or frustration. This shows you are only human. An effective leader has the capacity to move beyond emotion into constructive action.
6. MEET SOMEONE NEW IN YOUR ORGANISATION – Get out of your office and say “hello,” to someone new in or near your group. It’s guaranteed that you will learn something and it is visible proof to your organisation that you care.
7. SAY “YES” – Leaders aren’t afraid to make a commitment, to make a choice, to move on. Find something where you can say “yes.” Nothing says you trust your organisation more than the power of agreement.
8. ACTIVELY LISTEN – Many of us talk about being good listeners, but few of us are really good at it. The next time you are asked to listen to someone, use clarifying and confirming skills, but don’t offer a point of view until the presenter says, “What do you think?”
9. BE ENTHUSIASTIC – Leaders have enthusiasm and energy. They transfer this energy to the organisation and the business issues at hand. Practice being outright enthusiastic about an idea and watch how people change.
10. HAVE FUN – Leaders typically enjoy what they are doing, no matter how tough the task. People want to follow someone who enjoys what they are doing.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Lesson in Leadership
We're all talking to ourselves every moment of our lives, except during certain portions of our sleeping cycle. We're seldom even aware that we're doing it. We all have a running commentary in our heads on events and our reactions to them. Here are some tips to remember:
• Be aware of the silent conversations you have with yourself. Are you a nurturing coach or a critic? Do you reinforce your own success or negate it? Are you comfortable saying to yourself, "That's more like it." "Now we're in the groove." "Things are working out well." "I'll do it better next time."
• When you fail, view it as a temporary inconvenience, a learning experience, an isolated event, and a stepping stone instead of a stumbling block.
• When you have even a small success, reinforce that success by rewarding yourself and feeling pride, rather than feeling lucky or guilty for the attention.
• When you receive a compliment for any reason, simply respond: "Thank you." And accept value graciously whenever it is offered.
• Always greet the people you meet with a smile. When introducing yourself in any new association, take the initiative to volunteer your own name first, clearly; and always extend your hand first, looking the person in the eyes when you speak.
• In your telephone communications at work or at home, answer the telephone pleasantly, immediately giving your name to the caller. And when you call, give your name before you ask for the party you want and before you state your business. Leading with your name underscores that a person of value is making the call.
• Don't brag. People who trumpet their exploits and shout for service are actually calling for help. The showoffs, braggarts and blowhards are desperate for attention.
• Don't tell your problems to people, unless they're directly involved with the solutions. And don't make excuses. Always talk affirmatively about the progress you are trying to make.
Apply these tips and keep the running commentary in your head on a positive note!
We learn by observation, imitation and repetition.
Remember:
Habits begin as offhand remarks, ideas and images. And then, layer upon layer, through practice, they grow from cobwebs into cables that shackle or strengthen our lives.
Habits are like submarines. They run silent and deep.
First we make our habits, then our habits make us.
Habits are like comfortable beds. They are easy to get into, but difficult to get out of.
Winning and Losing are both learned habits.
By D. Waitley
• Be aware of the silent conversations you have with yourself. Are you a nurturing coach or a critic? Do you reinforce your own success or negate it? Are you comfortable saying to yourself, "That's more like it." "Now we're in the groove." "Things are working out well." "I'll do it better next time."
• When you fail, view it as a temporary inconvenience, a learning experience, an isolated event, and a stepping stone instead of a stumbling block.
• When you have even a small success, reinforce that success by rewarding yourself and feeling pride, rather than feeling lucky or guilty for the attention.
• When you receive a compliment for any reason, simply respond: "Thank you." And accept value graciously whenever it is offered.
• Always greet the people you meet with a smile. When introducing yourself in any new association, take the initiative to volunteer your own name first, clearly; and always extend your hand first, looking the person in the eyes when you speak.
• In your telephone communications at work or at home, answer the telephone pleasantly, immediately giving your name to the caller. And when you call, give your name before you ask for the party you want and before you state your business. Leading with your name underscores that a person of value is making the call.
• Don't brag. People who trumpet their exploits and shout for service are actually calling for help. The showoffs, braggarts and blowhards are desperate for attention.
• Don't tell your problems to people, unless they're directly involved with the solutions. And don't make excuses. Always talk affirmatively about the progress you are trying to make.
Apply these tips and keep the running commentary in your head on a positive note!
We learn by observation, imitation and repetition.
Remember:
Habits begin as offhand remarks, ideas and images. And then, layer upon layer, through practice, they grow from cobwebs into cables that shackle or strengthen our lives.
Habits are like submarines. They run silent and deep.
First we make our habits, then our habits make us.
Habits are like comfortable beds. They are easy to get into, but difficult to get out of.
Winning and Losing are both learned habits.
By D. Waitley
“How to Organize Your Office Workload”
Take control of your office workload before it takes control of you.
Anyone can appreciate the sight of a busy, high-level executive, seated behind a large desk without so much as a piece of paper -- let alone a speck of dust -- in sight. Appearances belie reality, for that executive is probably just as busy as you are but he has found a way to organize his office workload. You can, too, as long as you develop a system that works for you. This might mean employing some "tried-and-true" techniques while dismissing others. Like that high-level executive, remember that you're in charge and that it behooves you to seize control of your workload before it seizes control of you.
Instructions
o 1
Establish a filing system -- electronic and paper -- so that you can promptly dispense with information once you are done reviewing it. Many business professionals are "master stackers," meaning that they tend to accumulate piles of paper that eventually overwhelm them. Make a commitment to work on a project and then, when you're done, promptly file it away. For paper files, establish a color-coded file system, with each color denoting a message meaningful to you. For example, implement a three-color hierarchy system in which green means "high priority," yellow means "moderate priority" and red means "low priority. Or, to reduce the number of files on your desk, use a two-color system. Follow the same logic to create a computer filing system.
o 2
Create a daily to-do list and keep it with you at all times to keep you focused and on track. Cross off tasks as you complete them. Likewise, keep a calendar with you at all times, cross-referencing the two as necessary. Review your to-do list at the end of each day and the beginning of every new day to cement your daily obligations in your mind.
o 3
Establish time limits and deadlines for each of these tasks, being optimistic but also realistic. Be particularly vigilant about the time you allot to reading and replying to emails, as it is incredibly easy to get sucked into the time-consuming "email vortex." Tag your emails with "high priority" messages to help focus your efforts -- and then decide whether or not to respond accordingly.
o 4
Your goal is an uncluttered desk at the end of every workday. Begin phone calls and meetings with an estimate of their duration -- and then watch the clock and stick to the plan. People will respect your discipline if you say something like: "As I know we are all busy, let's try our best to keep this phone call or meeting to 30 minutes."
o 5
Set boundaries for coworkers who may try to ensnare you in a prolonged lunch or a protracted conversation about their awful blind date the night before. While some social interaction is important to building relationships among coworkers, be careful that it doesn't get out of hand and throw a curveball into your otherwise well-structured workday.
o 6
Reconsider multitasking. You may think that talking on the phone, writing an email and reviewing a marketing proposal makes you a super employee but, in fact, you may be diffusing your attention and are instead being counterproductive. If you must, force yourself to focus your attention on one task at a time and compare the results to the multitasking mode of organizing your workload.
o 7
Assess your present workload before agreeing to assume new responsibilities. Although many employees assume that they should step up and never say no to such requests, carefully consider whether you have time to complete the tasks and if they can be accomplished according to your own high standards.
o 8
Consider the possibility that multitasking is highly overrated. Consult with your supervisor to ensure that you are on the right track with your plan to organize your office workload. Review your "plan of action" and ask for feedback.
Anyone can appreciate the sight of a busy, high-level executive, seated behind a large desk without so much as a piece of paper -- let alone a speck of dust -- in sight. Appearances belie reality, for that executive is probably just as busy as you are but he has found a way to organize his office workload. You can, too, as long as you develop a system that works for you. This might mean employing some "tried-and-true" techniques while dismissing others. Like that high-level executive, remember that you're in charge and that it behooves you to seize control of your workload before it seizes control of you.
Instructions
o 1
Establish a filing system -- electronic and paper -- so that you can promptly dispense with information once you are done reviewing it. Many business professionals are "master stackers," meaning that they tend to accumulate piles of paper that eventually overwhelm them. Make a commitment to work on a project and then, when you're done, promptly file it away. For paper files, establish a color-coded file system, with each color denoting a message meaningful to you. For example, implement a three-color hierarchy system in which green means "high priority," yellow means "moderate priority" and red means "low priority. Or, to reduce the number of files on your desk, use a two-color system. Follow the same logic to create a computer filing system.
o 2
Create a daily to-do list and keep it with you at all times to keep you focused and on track. Cross off tasks as you complete them. Likewise, keep a calendar with you at all times, cross-referencing the two as necessary. Review your to-do list at the end of each day and the beginning of every new day to cement your daily obligations in your mind.
o 3
Establish time limits and deadlines for each of these tasks, being optimistic but also realistic. Be particularly vigilant about the time you allot to reading and replying to emails, as it is incredibly easy to get sucked into the time-consuming "email vortex." Tag your emails with "high priority" messages to help focus your efforts -- and then decide whether or not to respond accordingly.
o 4
Your goal is an uncluttered desk at the end of every workday. Begin phone calls and meetings with an estimate of their duration -- and then watch the clock and stick to the plan. People will respect your discipline if you say something like: "As I know we are all busy, let's try our best to keep this phone call or meeting to 30 minutes."
o 5
Set boundaries for coworkers who may try to ensnare you in a prolonged lunch or a protracted conversation about their awful blind date the night before. While some social interaction is important to building relationships among coworkers, be careful that it doesn't get out of hand and throw a curveball into your otherwise well-structured workday.
o 6
Reconsider multitasking. You may think that talking on the phone, writing an email and reviewing a marketing proposal makes you a super employee but, in fact, you may be diffusing your attention and are instead being counterproductive. If you must, force yourself to focus your attention on one task at a time and compare the results to the multitasking mode of organizing your workload.
o 7
Assess your present workload before agreeing to assume new responsibilities. Although many employees assume that they should step up and never say no to such requests, carefully consider whether you have time to complete the tasks and if they can be accomplished according to your own high standards.
o 8
Consider the possibility that multitasking is highly overrated. Consult with your supervisor to ensure that you are on the right track with your plan to organize your office workload. Review your "plan of action" and ask for feedback.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
When your best client ia actually your worst!
Ever worked in a business where one customer is viewed as the most important and precious to the company and everyone treats with kid's gloves? Yet this customer seemingly pays later than all the others, demands special terms, takes up all the managers and staff's time and never seems satisfied?
When asking about how it works that one customer can seem to dominate the firm, the reply is often along the lines of: 'they're our longest serving customer' or, 'they're are biggest customer' or even 'they're a personal friend of the owner'.
Bottom line; is this customer adding to the growth and well being of the firm or, actually detracting from it. This is particularly acute when a customer's business represents greater than 40% of the overall turnover. This benchmark indicates that the customer has so much influence in effect it runs the business not the owner.
For a SME it's easy to accept large orders or, to grow on the back of one customer placing more business that lead to this position. Indeed I've both been in a business where this has been in the case and worked with clients in this position. The key point though is that if this large customer starts to dictate how the business operates, what markets it's in, products offered and crucially pays late, then the business owner is in real trouble.
How to get out of this? In the short term, work towards educating the customer about the terms of business you want to have. Easier said than done you may say, yet when explaining what you want, need, and why, to many people, it often does produce the change you're looking for. In the long term, work towards expanding your customer base and even, towards exiting doing business if desired. Again if a customer doesn't pay on time, not matter what their size, are they really a customer? And how much time could be freed up to handle those that do pay with better margins. Remembering to work this plan in alternative customer sources and cutting of ties when the time is right for you.
In ActionCOACH we call this getting rid of 'D' Class customers (from grading all customers A to D). Therefore, review your customer base and does your 'best' customer upon inspection really live up to this premise- or if you had a choice, you'd rather not to have taken the order and would prefer to have other customers?
Sam
When asking about how it works that one customer can seem to dominate the firm, the reply is often along the lines of: 'they're our longest serving customer' or, 'they're are biggest customer' or even 'they're a personal friend of the owner'.
Bottom line; is this customer adding to the growth and well being of the firm or, actually detracting from it. This is particularly acute when a customer's business represents greater than 40% of the overall turnover. This benchmark indicates that the customer has so much influence in effect it runs the business not the owner.
For a SME it's easy to accept large orders or, to grow on the back of one customer placing more business that lead to this position. Indeed I've both been in a business where this has been in the case and worked with clients in this position. The key point though is that if this large customer starts to dictate how the business operates, what markets it's in, products offered and crucially pays late, then the business owner is in real trouble.
How to get out of this? In the short term, work towards educating the customer about the terms of business you want to have. Easier said than done you may say, yet when explaining what you want, need, and why, to many people, it often does produce the change you're looking for. In the long term, work towards expanding your customer base and even, towards exiting doing business if desired. Again if a customer doesn't pay on time, not matter what their size, are they really a customer? And how much time could be freed up to handle those that do pay with better margins. Remembering to work this plan in alternative customer sources and cutting of ties when the time is right for you.
In ActionCOACH we call this getting rid of 'D' Class customers (from grading all customers A to D). Therefore, review your customer base and does your 'best' customer upon inspection really live up to this premise- or if you had a choice, you'd rather not to have taken the order and would prefer to have other customers?
Sam
Monday, August 22, 2011
Dedicate Yourself to Educate Yourself
By Tom Hopkins
To become and remain a professional in this business of selling, you must recognize that you are in charge of your own training and act on that fact. Build on your strengths and correct your weaknesses. If you aren’t sure of what to work on first, there is certainly someone in your life who will gladly assist you—your manager, your spouse, your children, a trusted friend. Here are six skill areas that I strongly recommend you consider developing or strengthening:
Negotiation
Do you consider yourself a trained negotiator? Trained negotiators can quickly and effectively analyze the details of situations and determine the best route to resolution. If that brief description doesn’t fit you, make an effort to find a book, tape or seminar on the subject, and then schedule the time to learn from it.
A Second Language
Consider the part of the country in which you live and those people you do business with. As our country continually redefines itself by its people, be aware of the advantages of being able to communicate with others in their native tongues. Today’s projections show that both Hispanic and Asian portions of the population are on the increase. To be able to offer your fine services to more people, you must learn more about them, their language and their cultures.
Voice
Since your clients choose to ‘own’ your products or services based on what you say and how you represent it, doesn’t it make sense that you train your voice to give the highest level of professional presentation? If you’ve never considered voice training before, tape yourself giving a portion of your presentation, then listen to it. Most of us hate the sound of our voices on tape. Just imagine how our clients must feel when listening to us. To project your message with clarity and power, consider at least one session with a voice coach. They can be found in your local yellow pages.
Public Speaking
Many sales professionals find that giving short speeches in their communities helps build their name recognition and their business. Public speaking is also a great way to build your confidence. Try your skills out by speaking to your child’s class about what you do or a hobby you have. Teachers love it when the students can learn firsthand about careers. Join Toastmasters International. There are local chapters in just about every city. They provide excellent opportunities to hone your skills and meet other business professionals with whom you might do business or share referrals.
Memory
Having a good memory is critical to anyone in today’s world, but especially so to those of us who meet many new people every week. I have learned to make a game of it in my career. I challenge myself to remember as many people and their stories as I can. There are some great courses and books written on this subject. Even if you learn and use only one small strategy, I guarantee you’ll see the benefit of having done so.
Math
Don’t cringe on me here. I know a large percentage of people hate math. However, in business, you need to know some basic math skills really well. How does it look when you take a client to lunch and you have to think real hard to calculate the tip? Do you think that will raise any doubts about your competency in the client’s mind? Of course it will. Also, when clients toss out figures in their projections, you have to be quick on the uptake in understanding what that means in your business—quantities of supplies they’ll need, projecting delivery dates and times, etc. Practice your math skills. Every time you hear or see a number in a conversation or even in a bit of advertising, take a moment to work with the number and see what it means. Compute unit costs for grocery items—$1.29 for 12 ounces. How much is that per ounce? I know the favorite computation of every salesperson who works on a fee basis is to determine their percentage of every sale. Don’t stop there. Play the numbers game often and you’ll get better at winning.
Choose just one of these six areas and dedicate yourself to improving in it this month. Then, next month, choose another. Once you get started on this journey of self-education, you’ll be amazed at what you learn and how simple things can have a powerful impact on your overall success in life.
To become and remain a professional in this business of selling, you must recognize that you are in charge of your own training and act on that fact. Build on your strengths and correct your weaknesses. If you aren’t sure of what to work on first, there is certainly someone in your life who will gladly assist you—your manager, your spouse, your children, a trusted friend. Here are six skill areas that I strongly recommend you consider developing or strengthening:
Negotiation
Do you consider yourself a trained negotiator? Trained negotiators can quickly and effectively analyze the details of situations and determine the best route to resolution. If that brief description doesn’t fit you, make an effort to find a book, tape or seminar on the subject, and then schedule the time to learn from it.
A Second Language
Consider the part of the country in which you live and those people you do business with. As our country continually redefines itself by its people, be aware of the advantages of being able to communicate with others in their native tongues. Today’s projections show that both Hispanic and Asian portions of the population are on the increase. To be able to offer your fine services to more people, you must learn more about them, their language and their cultures.
Voice
Since your clients choose to ‘own’ your products or services based on what you say and how you represent it, doesn’t it make sense that you train your voice to give the highest level of professional presentation? If you’ve never considered voice training before, tape yourself giving a portion of your presentation, then listen to it. Most of us hate the sound of our voices on tape. Just imagine how our clients must feel when listening to us. To project your message with clarity and power, consider at least one session with a voice coach. They can be found in your local yellow pages.
Public Speaking
Many sales professionals find that giving short speeches in their communities helps build their name recognition and their business. Public speaking is also a great way to build your confidence. Try your skills out by speaking to your child’s class about what you do or a hobby you have. Teachers love it when the students can learn firsthand about careers. Join Toastmasters International. There are local chapters in just about every city. They provide excellent opportunities to hone your skills and meet other business professionals with whom you might do business or share referrals.
Memory
Having a good memory is critical to anyone in today’s world, but especially so to those of us who meet many new people every week. I have learned to make a game of it in my career. I challenge myself to remember as many people and their stories as I can. There are some great courses and books written on this subject. Even if you learn and use only one small strategy, I guarantee you’ll see the benefit of having done so.
Math
Don’t cringe on me here. I know a large percentage of people hate math. However, in business, you need to know some basic math skills really well. How does it look when you take a client to lunch and you have to think real hard to calculate the tip? Do you think that will raise any doubts about your competency in the client’s mind? Of course it will. Also, when clients toss out figures in their projections, you have to be quick on the uptake in understanding what that means in your business—quantities of supplies they’ll need, projecting delivery dates and times, etc. Practice your math skills. Every time you hear or see a number in a conversation or even in a bit of advertising, take a moment to work with the number and see what it means. Compute unit costs for grocery items—$1.29 for 12 ounces. How much is that per ounce? I know the favorite computation of every salesperson who works on a fee basis is to determine their percentage of every sale. Don’t stop there. Play the numbers game often and you’ll get better at winning.
Choose just one of these six areas and dedicate yourself to improving in it this month. Then, next month, choose another. Once you get started on this journey of self-education, you’ll be amazed at what you learn and how simple things can have a powerful impact on your overall success in life.
Do you Delegate well?
Free Your Genius and Success Will Follow by Jack Canfield
There are things that you do incredibly well. There are things that you love to do so much you hardly feel like you’re working when you do them. It is your purpose, your core genius, and if you got paid to do it you would make it your life’s work. You have been developing your core genius and defining your purpose and formulating steps to take to achieve success with it. It is time to evaluate how much time you actually spend doing what you love to do.
Successful people believe in their core genius. They believe it holds tremendous value and they put their purpose first. They find as much time to focus on it because they know it is what they are meant to be doing in the world. In order to find more time, they learn to delegate!
Are you one of those who does everything yourself? You’ve got a household to keep in order, groceries to get, food to make, phone calls to make, bills to pay, perhaps you’ve got kids to take to school and all of their extracurricular activities, a yard to take care of, laundry to wash; in your non-working life alone you have got a full time job with daily chores! You might have a job to go to or a business to run, accounting to keep in order, mailings that need to go out, phone calls that need to be made, files that need to be organized, reports that need to be read, and people you need to meet with. There is so much of your day that you spend doing the things that need to be done, but they don’t have anything to do with your core genius. Time spent doing tasks that you don’t really want or like to do is time taken away from doing what you love. Free up your time so you can be focusing on your purpose!
Delegating is not easy sometimes. You might be afraid to delegate because it means giving up control. But why waste your time with these tasks that you don’t even like doing when you could double the amount of time you spend developing and practicing your genius? There are people who love to do what you hate to do, and they do it much better than you because they love it!
When you know your core genius, you’ve got to find a way to devote yourself to perfecting it. You have got to spend as much time with it as possible. So learn to delegate and delegate completely! When you have found someone to accomplish the tasks that take up your time, let them know exactly what you want and then give them the freedom to accomplish it. There is no sense in micromanaging! Find someone you trust to do the job and do it well, and then leave them alone unless you are not happy with the results.
What are some things that you don’t particularly care doing? How much time do you spend every week doing those things? Imagine spending that time doing what you love to do while someone else is enjoying doing what you used to be doing. It’s a win/win situation!
There are things that you do incredibly well. There are things that you love to do so much you hardly feel like you’re working when you do them. It is your purpose, your core genius, and if you got paid to do it you would make it your life’s work. You have been developing your core genius and defining your purpose and formulating steps to take to achieve success with it. It is time to evaluate how much time you actually spend doing what you love to do.
Successful people believe in their core genius. They believe it holds tremendous value and they put their purpose first. They find as much time to focus on it because they know it is what they are meant to be doing in the world. In order to find more time, they learn to delegate!
Are you one of those who does everything yourself? You’ve got a household to keep in order, groceries to get, food to make, phone calls to make, bills to pay, perhaps you’ve got kids to take to school and all of their extracurricular activities, a yard to take care of, laundry to wash; in your non-working life alone you have got a full time job with daily chores! You might have a job to go to or a business to run, accounting to keep in order, mailings that need to go out, phone calls that need to be made, files that need to be organized, reports that need to be read, and people you need to meet with. There is so much of your day that you spend doing the things that need to be done, but they don’t have anything to do with your core genius. Time spent doing tasks that you don’t really want or like to do is time taken away from doing what you love. Free up your time so you can be focusing on your purpose!
Delegating is not easy sometimes. You might be afraid to delegate because it means giving up control. But why waste your time with these tasks that you don’t even like doing when you could double the amount of time you spend developing and practicing your genius? There are people who love to do what you hate to do, and they do it much better than you because they love it!
When you know your core genius, you’ve got to find a way to devote yourself to perfecting it. You have got to spend as much time with it as possible. So learn to delegate and delegate completely! When you have found someone to accomplish the tasks that take up your time, let them know exactly what you want and then give them the freedom to accomplish it. There is no sense in micromanaging! Find someone you trust to do the job and do it well, and then leave them alone unless you are not happy with the results.
What are some things that you don’t particularly care doing? How much time do you spend every week doing those things? Imagine spending that time doing what you love to do while someone else is enjoying doing what you used to be doing. It’s a win/win situation!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Why Have a COACH?
PUT ME IN COACH by M. Katz
All teams, in all games, in all sports, always have a coach.And it's not just teams either. Sprinters, boxers, golfers, even chess players have coaches.
In fact, according to research that if conducted would probably be true, every professional athlete of any merit in the world has a coach.
So why don't you?
Why is it a given that top performing athletes have professional guidance from people whose sole
responsibility is to help them perform better, and yet when it comes to running our businesses – we think we've got it covered?
I have no idea. However, as someone who's worked with a coach for a few years now, I can tell you without question that it's been worth every penny.
Here's what it's given me:
• An objective point of view. Particularly if you're just starting a new business, having someone who can help you sort through the ins and outs, the opportunities and the fears is tremendously helpful. You can't watch yourself working any more than an athlete can watch himself playing; a coach sees what you can't.
• A trained, constructive listener. Like me, you may be lucky enough to have a spouse who's supportive, but I've come to see that good coaching is a lot more than that. My coach's understanding of when to push back, when to encourage, and when to remain absolutely silent (one of her most annoying skills) is something I've found invaluable again and again.
• A paid professional. Although your friends and/or spouse may be willing to go deep (gratuitous football reference) on important issues, your relationship with them requires give and take; it can't be all about you. The nice thing about having a coach, on the other hand, is that it can. Your time with the coach – as with any professional you hire (attorney, doctor, etc.) – is dedicated to your success.
• A time to refocus. I have to admit, there are weeks when I'd rather just keep working and not take 30 minutes out of the day to call my coach… those tend to be the days where I find the session most valuable. My weekly coaching call forces me to stop running and make sure I'm headed in the right direction to begin with.
Bottom Line: I speak with my coach once a week, 50 times a year. And while most sessions don't result in any immediate business breakthrough, every six months or so I gain an insight or develop a new idea that more than pays for an entire year's worth of sessions.
If you think coaching is only for people with "problems," you're looking at the wrong side of the equation. If you want to be among the best, and maybe even play in The Big Game, find someone who can help you get there.
"A strong, successful man is not the victim of his environment. He creates favorable conditions. His own inherent force and energy compel things to turn out as he desires." — Orison Marden
Call Me TODAY to get Started!
All teams, in all games, in all sports, always have a coach.And it's not just teams either. Sprinters, boxers, golfers, even chess players have coaches.
In fact, according to research that if conducted would probably be true, every professional athlete of any merit in the world has a coach.
So why don't you?
Why is it a given that top performing athletes have professional guidance from people whose sole
responsibility is to help them perform better, and yet when it comes to running our businesses – we think we've got it covered?
I have no idea. However, as someone who's worked with a coach for a few years now, I can tell you without question that it's been worth every penny.
Here's what it's given me:
• An objective point of view. Particularly if you're just starting a new business, having someone who can help you sort through the ins and outs, the opportunities and the fears is tremendously helpful. You can't watch yourself working any more than an athlete can watch himself playing; a coach sees what you can't.
• A trained, constructive listener. Like me, you may be lucky enough to have a spouse who's supportive, but I've come to see that good coaching is a lot more than that. My coach's understanding of when to push back, when to encourage, and when to remain absolutely silent (one of her most annoying skills) is something I've found invaluable again and again.
• A paid professional. Although your friends and/or spouse may be willing to go deep (gratuitous football reference) on important issues, your relationship with them requires give and take; it can't be all about you. The nice thing about having a coach, on the other hand, is that it can. Your time with the coach – as with any professional you hire (attorney, doctor, etc.) – is dedicated to your success.
• A time to refocus. I have to admit, there are weeks when I'd rather just keep working and not take 30 minutes out of the day to call my coach… those tend to be the days where I find the session most valuable. My weekly coaching call forces me to stop running and make sure I'm headed in the right direction to begin with.
Bottom Line: I speak with my coach once a week, 50 times a year. And while most sessions don't result in any immediate business breakthrough, every six months or so I gain an insight or develop a new idea that more than pays for an entire year's worth of sessions.
If you think coaching is only for people with "problems," you're looking at the wrong side of the equation. If you want to be among the best, and maybe even play in The Big Game, find someone who can help you get there.
"A strong, successful man is not the victim of his environment. He creates favorable conditions. His own inherent force and energy compel things to turn out as he desires." — Orison Marden
Call Me TODAY to get Started!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
The Formula For Change!
Could There be a formula for change? Well, Here it is:
D x V + F > R Let me explain!
Dissatisfaction multiplied by Vision and having a First Step to start will overcome Resistance!
Why am I saying this? Because in In today’s fast-paced life, the wins usually go to those with exceptional skills and abilities. The old quote is true, “The race is not always won by the swift and the strong, but that is the way to bet.”
With this in mind, and with your desire to become increasingly successful, here are some ways to accelerate your abilities, thus enabling you to achieve greater and greater things.
D: Dissatisfaction:
Become dissatisfied with your current state. Growth for growth’s sake is good. Those who will achieve much are those who say to themselves, “I want to grow. I want to be better. And I am willing to do what it takes to get there. This current state is not enough!” This dissatisfaction will create for you an insatiable drive to do what it takes to get your abilities to the next level.
V: Vision:
Visualize the benefits of increased abilities. Put them at the forefront of your mind. This will saturate your mind with the motivation that it will take for you to do what it takes to increase your abilities. What good will come out of my increased ability? How will I be better off as well as the others around me? The answers to these questions act as the carrot before the horse, moving you forward.
F: First Step
Understand your weaknesses. If you want to improve, one of the best ways is to start with some area that you aren’t particularly good at. This is the “shoring up method.” Sometimes it is easier to improve something you aren’t good at than something you are. And the gains will still look great for your overall situation! Take some time to consider what areas you are weakest in and focus in on them for a while. The results will obviously be much more pronounced than getting better at something you have already somewhat mastered.
Attempt greater levels of what you are already good at. Another tack to take would be to stretch yourself in an area that you already have some skill and ability in. What areas do you excel in? Now understand that when you leave the weaker areas weak and make extraordinary gains in one area, then you will be moving more toward “specialist” rather than “generalist.” That is okay, but needs to fit in with your overall goals.
Commit time each day to improvement. Steady improvement is the way to go. In fact, you may not see improvement for days or weeks. You may feel like you are failing each time. But alas, eventually you will get it and your skill will increase to the next level. The key is day in, day out, spending time working on improving. Even five minutes a day equals a half hour a week, 2 hours a month. That adds up! Remember, Practice, practice, practice.
Seek out and spend time with someone who has greater ability than you. One of the best things to do to increase your ability is hang out with people who are already more skilled than you. Watching, them, studying them, interacting with them, even competing with them will make you better. As in sports, to improve, you play with people better than you, not worse. They will raise you to a new level. Who around you can you get involved with who will help you with your ability?
Take a class or hire a coach. Go to school my friend. Take a course at a local college or vocational institute. Take a class online. Hire one of the many coaches available today. Pick a specific skill you would like to improve upon and find someone who is a specialist in that area. At the very least, pick up some audio or videotapes to help you grow.
Be the tortoise, not the hare. Slow but sure. Take your time, do it right. Keep going in the right direction. Learn your craft correctly. Don’t give up quality for speed. The whole idea of acceleration is this way: Slow start, work up to high speeds, go the distance. Luckily life isn’t a sprint but a marathon!
Remember, when you get the resistance to make positive change, ask yourself if you have enough dissatisfaction, strong Vision and the steps to move forward!
sam
D x V + F > R Let me explain!
Dissatisfaction multiplied by Vision and having a First Step to start will overcome Resistance!
Why am I saying this? Because in In today’s fast-paced life, the wins usually go to those with exceptional skills and abilities. The old quote is true, “The race is not always won by the swift and the strong, but that is the way to bet.”
With this in mind, and with your desire to become increasingly successful, here are some ways to accelerate your abilities, thus enabling you to achieve greater and greater things.
D: Dissatisfaction:
Become dissatisfied with your current state. Growth for growth’s sake is good. Those who will achieve much are those who say to themselves, “I want to grow. I want to be better. And I am willing to do what it takes to get there. This current state is not enough!” This dissatisfaction will create for you an insatiable drive to do what it takes to get your abilities to the next level.
V: Vision:
Visualize the benefits of increased abilities. Put them at the forefront of your mind. This will saturate your mind with the motivation that it will take for you to do what it takes to increase your abilities. What good will come out of my increased ability? How will I be better off as well as the others around me? The answers to these questions act as the carrot before the horse, moving you forward.
F: First Step
Understand your weaknesses. If you want to improve, one of the best ways is to start with some area that you aren’t particularly good at. This is the “shoring up method.” Sometimes it is easier to improve something you aren’t good at than something you are. And the gains will still look great for your overall situation! Take some time to consider what areas you are weakest in and focus in on them for a while. The results will obviously be much more pronounced than getting better at something you have already somewhat mastered.
Attempt greater levels of what you are already good at. Another tack to take would be to stretch yourself in an area that you already have some skill and ability in. What areas do you excel in? Now understand that when you leave the weaker areas weak and make extraordinary gains in one area, then you will be moving more toward “specialist” rather than “generalist.” That is okay, but needs to fit in with your overall goals.
Commit time each day to improvement. Steady improvement is the way to go. In fact, you may not see improvement for days or weeks. You may feel like you are failing each time. But alas, eventually you will get it and your skill will increase to the next level. The key is day in, day out, spending time working on improving. Even five minutes a day equals a half hour a week, 2 hours a month. That adds up! Remember, Practice, practice, practice.
Seek out and spend time with someone who has greater ability than you. One of the best things to do to increase your ability is hang out with people who are already more skilled than you. Watching, them, studying them, interacting with them, even competing with them will make you better. As in sports, to improve, you play with people better than you, not worse. They will raise you to a new level. Who around you can you get involved with who will help you with your ability?
Take a class or hire a coach. Go to school my friend. Take a course at a local college or vocational institute. Take a class online. Hire one of the many coaches available today. Pick a specific skill you would like to improve upon and find someone who is a specialist in that area. At the very least, pick up some audio or videotapes to help you grow.
Be the tortoise, not the hare. Slow but sure. Take your time, do it right. Keep going in the right direction. Learn your craft correctly. Don’t give up quality for speed. The whole idea of acceleration is this way: Slow start, work up to high speeds, go the distance. Luckily life isn’t a sprint but a marathon!
Remember, when you get the resistance to make positive change, ask yourself if you have enough dissatisfaction, strong Vision and the steps to move forward!
sam
Your Automatic Pilot to Goal Achievement by D. Waitley
Every living organism has a built-in autopilot to help it achieve its goal, which is, in very basic terms, to live. In more primitive forms of life, to live simply means physical survival for both the individual and the species. This built-in mechanism or instinct in animals is limited to finding food and shelter, avoiding or overcoming enemies and procreation to ensure the continuation of the line.
Humans have intelligence and emotional and spiritual needs and capabilities, which animals do not have, and we often overlook the fact that human beings have a success instinct. Animals cannot select their goals; their success mechanisms are limited to those inborn goal images that are called instincts. The success instinct in the human being, however, has something that animals will never possess: the creative imagination. The human being is the only creature on the earth that can direct his or her future by choice. You are more than a creature; you are a creator. You choose what your reticular activating system in your brain gives credit to. And you choose what you are looking for in the future through the repeated use of your creative imagination. The way you perceive your world defines the world in which you live. To see it in its unlimited range of possibilities is to see with the Quantum mind.
The perceptions we hold of ourselves, or our self-images, determine the kind and scope of people we are; our self-images are our life, controlling mechanisms that dwell at the subconscious level of thinking. Responsible for autonomic body control, such as breathing and heartbeat, and also for storing conditioned reflexes (repeated skills or images), the subconscious can be compared to a navigational guidance system or automatic pilot. The conscious level of thinking, responsible for collecting information from the environment, storing it in the memory and making rational decisions, can be compared to an attorney or judge.
Guidance systems can be programmed to seek an image or target. They are installed in missiles and spacecraft, which are then guided by these highly sophisticated electronic systems to seek a target through the use of electronic data feedback. The homing torpedo, for example, is a self-propelled system that makes every correction necessary to stay on target and score a hit by constantly monitoring feedback signals from the target area and adjusting the course setting in its own navigational guidance computer. Programmed incompletely or nonspecifically, or aimed at a target too far out of range, the homing torpedo will wander erratically until its propulsion system fails or it self-destructs.
So it is with each of us. Set a goal or an image and this self-motivated system, which constantly monitors self-talk and environmental feedback about the goal, adjusts the self-image settings in our minds and makes every decision necessary to reach the goal.
Most of the information fed into your subconscious memory stays there. The billions of separate bits of input stored over a lifetime are all there awaiting retrieval, and can never be willfully erased by you. They can be overridden or modified over a period of time, but you are stuck with them for life. While performing brain surgery on patients who were conscious under local anesthesia, Dr. Wilder Penfield of the Montreal Neurological Institute stimulated certain brain cells with a weak electrical current. Incredibly, he found his patients remembering experiences that had happened to them many years before; it was as if each person had a videotape recorder in his or her head. One thirty-five-year-old woman recalled her fifth birthday party in vivid detail. She saw all the children around her in party hats; she saw herself opening her presents, including a Dutch doll with wooden shoes, and she blew out the candles on her cake and made a wish. On the basis of this work, Dr. Penfield theorized that every experience, sight, sound, smell, taste and touch registers a pattern in the brain that stays long after the actual experience is consciously forgotten.
Recent research suggests that the brain can function like a holographic projector, which uses laser beams to project and reassemble three-dimensional images. If you’ve been through the delightful experiences of Disneyland, Walt Disney World or Epcot Center, you’ve been startled and amazed at the “real-life” ghosts and characters. Though they are just an assembly of light waves, they appear so solid that you could reach out and touch them! It is this holographic capability of the brain that makes your mind such a potent force.
Scientists agree that the human nervous system cannot tell the difference between an actual experience and one imagined vividly, emotionally and in detail. Many of your everyday decisions are based upon information about yourself that has been stored as truth but is just a figment of your imagination, shaded by your environment.
During every moment of our lives, we program our self-image to work for us or against us. It strives to meet the objectives we set for it, regardless of whether they are positive or negative, true or false or safe or dangerous. Like a videotape recorder playing its cassette, its sole function is to follow instructions implicitly, based upon previous inputs/
Humans have intelligence and emotional and spiritual needs and capabilities, which animals do not have, and we often overlook the fact that human beings have a success instinct. Animals cannot select their goals; their success mechanisms are limited to those inborn goal images that are called instincts. The success instinct in the human being, however, has something that animals will never possess: the creative imagination. The human being is the only creature on the earth that can direct his or her future by choice. You are more than a creature; you are a creator. You choose what your reticular activating system in your brain gives credit to. And you choose what you are looking for in the future through the repeated use of your creative imagination. The way you perceive your world defines the world in which you live. To see it in its unlimited range of possibilities is to see with the Quantum mind.
The perceptions we hold of ourselves, or our self-images, determine the kind and scope of people we are; our self-images are our life, controlling mechanisms that dwell at the subconscious level of thinking. Responsible for autonomic body control, such as breathing and heartbeat, and also for storing conditioned reflexes (repeated skills or images), the subconscious can be compared to a navigational guidance system or automatic pilot. The conscious level of thinking, responsible for collecting information from the environment, storing it in the memory and making rational decisions, can be compared to an attorney or judge.
Guidance systems can be programmed to seek an image or target. They are installed in missiles and spacecraft, which are then guided by these highly sophisticated electronic systems to seek a target through the use of electronic data feedback. The homing torpedo, for example, is a self-propelled system that makes every correction necessary to stay on target and score a hit by constantly monitoring feedback signals from the target area and adjusting the course setting in its own navigational guidance computer. Programmed incompletely or nonspecifically, or aimed at a target too far out of range, the homing torpedo will wander erratically until its propulsion system fails or it self-destructs.
So it is with each of us. Set a goal or an image and this self-motivated system, which constantly monitors self-talk and environmental feedback about the goal, adjusts the self-image settings in our minds and makes every decision necessary to reach the goal.
Most of the information fed into your subconscious memory stays there. The billions of separate bits of input stored over a lifetime are all there awaiting retrieval, and can never be willfully erased by you. They can be overridden or modified over a period of time, but you are stuck with them for life. While performing brain surgery on patients who were conscious under local anesthesia, Dr. Wilder Penfield of the Montreal Neurological Institute stimulated certain brain cells with a weak electrical current. Incredibly, he found his patients remembering experiences that had happened to them many years before; it was as if each person had a videotape recorder in his or her head. One thirty-five-year-old woman recalled her fifth birthday party in vivid detail. She saw all the children around her in party hats; she saw herself opening her presents, including a Dutch doll with wooden shoes, and she blew out the candles on her cake and made a wish. On the basis of this work, Dr. Penfield theorized that every experience, sight, sound, smell, taste and touch registers a pattern in the brain that stays long after the actual experience is consciously forgotten.
Recent research suggests that the brain can function like a holographic projector, which uses laser beams to project and reassemble three-dimensional images. If you’ve been through the delightful experiences of Disneyland, Walt Disney World or Epcot Center, you’ve been startled and amazed at the “real-life” ghosts and characters. Though they are just an assembly of light waves, they appear so solid that you could reach out and touch them! It is this holographic capability of the brain that makes your mind such a potent force.
Scientists agree that the human nervous system cannot tell the difference between an actual experience and one imagined vividly, emotionally and in detail. Many of your everyday decisions are based upon information about yourself that has been stored as truth but is just a figment of your imagination, shaded by your environment.
During every moment of our lives, we program our self-image to work for us or against us. It strives to meet the objectives we set for it, regardless of whether they are positive or negative, true or false or safe or dangerous. Like a videotape recorder playing its cassette, its sole function is to follow instructions implicitly, based upon previous inputs/
Friday, July 29, 2011
“Re-engaging Your Inactive Customers”
by Deb Pilgrim
No matter how brilliant you are technically or what it is you sell, you're really in the business of marketing, and you need to be running a continual marketing campaign.
You've done all the background work, you're clear on who your ideal clients are, the results you deliver, and the solutions you provide to their challenges and issues. Now you need to get out there and market yourself, letting people know about you, your business and the problems you solve.
Marketing doesn't need to be pushy or in your face. It needs to be congruent with who you are and true to your business model.
Building relationships, understanding your clients, knowing what they need, and delivering results will build loyalty. It's this type of loyalty that you want to continue to develop.
It's often said that it's easier and more cost effective to spend your time and money focusing on your current clients rather than looking at bringing new clients in. But from a marketing perspective, you may need a different approach for different types of clients.
One group that it's important not to overlook is your inactive, sleeping or dormant customers. These are the clients who haven't purchased from you in the last one to two years, and have gone quiet. They don't buy your products or services any more and they've stopped interacting with you and your brand.
These clients know you and know what you can do for them, so they're the perfect group to spend your time, money and energy on.
They may have gone quiet, but there was a stage when they were active and engaged in your business. You just need to find out how to re-engage them and bring them back to an active status. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
• Find out and understand why they've gone silent.
• Develop a marketing campaign that focuses specifically on bringing them back into an active status. Offer them something that is worth coming back for.
• Remind them about the results you deliver for your customers. Show them what you can do for them. Above all else, be proactive and consistent in your messages and offers to this particular group of clients
No matter how brilliant you are technically or what it is you sell, you're really in the business of marketing, and you need to be running a continual marketing campaign.
You've done all the background work, you're clear on who your ideal clients are, the results you deliver, and the solutions you provide to their challenges and issues. Now you need to get out there and market yourself, letting people know about you, your business and the problems you solve.
Marketing doesn't need to be pushy or in your face. It needs to be congruent with who you are and true to your business model.
Building relationships, understanding your clients, knowing what they need, and delivering results will build loyalty. It's this type of loyalty that you want to continue to develop.
It's often said that it's easier and more cost effective to spend your time and money focusing on your current clients rather than looking at bringing new clients in. But from a marketing perspective, you may need a different approach for different types of clients.
One group that it's important not to overlook is your inactive, sleeping or dormant customers. These are the clients who haven't purchased from you in the last one to two years, and have gone quiet. They don't buy your products or services any more and they've stopped interacting with you and your brand.
These clients know you and know what you can do for them, so they're the perfect group to spend your time, money and energy on.
They may have gone quiet, but there was a stage when they were active and engaged in your business. You just need to find out how to re-engage them and bring them back to an active status. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
• Find out and understand why they've gone silent.
• Develop a marketing campaign that focuses specifically on bringing them back into an active status. Offer them something that is worth coming back for.
• Remind them about the results you deliver for your customers. Show them what you can do for them. Above all else, be proactive and consistent in your messages and offers to this particular group of clients
Thursday, July 21, 2011
“24 Simple Ways to Promote Your Facebook Page”
.
Facebook has become an increasingly important marketing platform, but to use it effectively you need to get visitors interacting with your page. Here are some tips that will help.
• Post on your page regularly. It doesn't have to be daily, but at the very minimum it needs to be fortnightly.
• Post quality content that’s relevant to your page’s purpose.
• Put a Facebook ‘Like’ box on your website - not just on the contact us page, but also on the home page and indeed every page on your site.
• Add a link to your Facebook page to your email signature.
• If you have a physical location for your business, put a poster up asking people to like you on Facebook, and include your page’s URL.
• Add the page details to any promotional materials you have, and again, include your page’s URL. (Don’t expect people to find it for themselves).
• Add the page details to your business cards.
• Actively ask your current likers to share your page with their friends.
• Have a landing tab on your page explaining what people get if they like your page. Pages with landing tabs are liked twice as often as pages without them.
• If you have a store on your Facebook page, offer a special price to people who like the page. You can do this if you use the free VendorShop application.
• There is a link on the right side of your page that says “Use Facebook as Page”. Switch to this to post on other page walls, making sure you aren't adding spammy comments.
• When you mention other pages in your posts make sure you tag them so that the post appears on their page as well as yours. To tag another page in your posts you need to first like the page (if you are posting from your account as the admin you need to like it, but if you are using Facebook as your page, then your page needs to like it), then type in @[the page name]. (You’ll know it’s worked if the text turns blue). Just be aware that not all pages let you tag, so if it doesn’t work this may be the case.
• Try using Facebook advertising to promote your page. Make sure you use it to drive people to your Facebook page, not your website – it works far more effectively that way.
• Invite your personal Facebook friends to like your business page.
• Offer an incentive to those who like the page, such as a free download, voucher or PDF.
• Write comments on relevant blogs and include the link to your Facebook page instead of your website.
• Add your Facebook page as a website to your LinkedIn profile.
• Make other relevant pages Favourites of your Facebook page, and ask those pages to Favourite you back.
• Run a competition on your page (making sure that it’s within Facebook's promotions guidelines) and ask your likers to share it with their friends.
• If you have a blog, mention your Facebook page and hyperlink the text back to it.
• Include a link to your page in your e-newsletter – not just once, but every time.
• Respond to all the comments people write on your wall; it will encourage them to write more. Every post they write on the wall appears in the newsfeed of all their friends, thus promoting your page.
• Encourage people to share your page posts with friends by suggesting they click on the share button – people don’t always know how to do this.
Facebook has become an increasingly important marketing platform, but to use it effectively you need to get visitors interacting with your page. Here are some tips that will help.
• Post on your page regularly. It doesn't have to be daily, but at the very minimum it needs to be fortnightly.
• Post quality content that’s relevant to your page’s purpose.
• Put a Facebook ‘Like’ box on your website - not just on the contact us page, but also on the home page and indeed every page on your site.
• Add a link to your Facebook page to your email signature.
• If you have a physical location for your business, put a poster up asking people to like you on Facebook, and include your page’s URL.
• Add the page details to any promotional materials you have, and again, include your page’s URL. (Don’t expect people to find it for themselves).
• Add the page details to your business cards.
• Actively ask your current likers to share your page with their friends.
• Have a landing tab on your page explaining what people get if they like your page. Pages with landing tabs are liked twice as often as pages without them.
• If you have a store on your Facebook page, offer a special price to people who like the page. You can do this if you use the free VendorShop application.
• There is a link on the right side of your page that says “Use Facebook as Page”. Switch to this to post on other page walls, making sure you aren't adding spammy comments.
• When you mention other pages in your posts make sure you tag them so that the post appears on their page as well as yours. To tag another page in your posts you need to first like the page (if you are posting from your account as the admin you need to like it, but if you are using Facebook as your page, then your page needs to like it), then type in @[the page name]. (You’ll know it’s worked if the text turns blue). Just be aware that not all pages let you tag, so if it doesn’t work this may be the case.
• Try using Facebook advertising to promote your page. Make sure you use it to drive people to your Facebook page, not your website – it works far more effectively that way.
• Invite your personal Facebook friends to like your business page.
• Offer an incentive to those who like the page, such as a free download, voucher or PDF.
• Write comments on relevant blogs and include the link to your Facebook page instead of your website.
• Add your Facebook page as a website to your LinkedIn profile.
• Make other relevant pages Favourites of your Facebook page, and ask those pages to Favourite you back.
• Run a competition on your page (making sure that it’s within Facebook's promotions guidelines) and ask your likers to share it with their friends.
• If you have a blog, mention your Facebook page and hyperlink the text back to it.
• Include a link to your page in your e-newsletter – not just once, but every time.
• Respond to all the comments people write on your wall; it will encourage them to write more. Every post they write on the wall appears in the newsfeed of all their friends, thus promoting your page.
• Encourage people to share your page posts with friends by suggesting they click on the share button – people don’t always know how to do this.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Seven Qualities of Master Achievers
.
by Brian Tracy
If you think the way successful people think and adopt their success habits, you too can be successful. Here are seven qualities of the top 1% of successful people.
They Are Ambitious
They see themselves capable of being the best. They see themselves with the capacity of being really good at what they do. This was a really big thought for me. It held me back for many years. When I saw people who were doing better than I was, I naturally assumed they were better than I was. And if they were better than I was, then I must be worse than them, so that would mean they were superior and I was inferior. That is a big problem in our society.
We have feelings of inferiority, and these feelings of inferiority are often translated into feelings of undeservedness. We don’t feel we deserve to be a big success. The word “deserve” comes from two Latin words meaning “from service.” You deserve 100% of everything you make and enjoy as long as you get it from serving other people. Your rewards are in direct proportion to your service. If you serve better and serve more and serve at a higher level and serve more enthusiastically and serve a higher quality, then you’ll have a wonderful income and you’ll deserve every penny of it. You must see yourself capable of being the best.
They Are Courageous
They work to confront the fears that hold most people back. The two biggest enemies to your and my success are fear and doubt. Eliminating fear and doubt is the key. The key to eliminating fear: If you want to develop courage, then simply act courageously when it’s called for. When you do something repeatedly, you develop a habit. Make a habit throughout your life of doing the things you fear. If you do the thing you fear, the death of fear is certain. To overcome fear of rejection in prospecting, you must realize that rejection in selling is not personal. Top salespeople do not fear prospecting. Face your fear. Do the things you fear. The ability to confront your fear is the mark of the superior person. If you have high ambition and you decide to be in the top 10%, and you can confront your fears and do the things that are holding you back, those two things alone will make you a great success.
They Are Committed
The top people in every field, especially the top salespeople, are completely committed. They believe in themselves; they believe in their companies; they believe in their products and services; they believe in their customers; they have an intense belief. We know that there is a one-to-one relationship between the depth of your belief and what happens in your reality. And if you absolutely believe in the rightness and the goodness of what you’re doing, you become like a catalyst. You create what is called a transfer, like an electrical transfer of enthusiasm. People like to buy from people who truly believe in what they are doing. People who are not committed to what they do lead very empty lives. The second part is that caring is the critical element in modern selling. Caring is a critical element in life, as well. All men and women who enjoy great lives care about what they do! They have passion about what they do. They love what they do.
They Are Professional
Top salespeople see themselves as consultants rather than as salespeople. When you think of the word “consultant,” what words come to mind? When do you call a consultant? A consultant is a problem-solver. What word does not appear when you think of a consultant—the word “salesperson.” We don’t think of consultants as salespeople. The most successful consultants in America are the very best salespeople of their services. When a person is positioned as a consultant in the mind and heart of the customer, he is not seen as a salesperson. Do people like to be sold? Do people like to be helped to improve their lives and work? So they look upon a salesperson as someone who sells them. Selling is something you do “to” someone, and people don’t like to be done to.
So when you think of being a consultant, here is the key. How do you position yourself as a consultant with your customers? Of course, you act like a consultant, but even before you get the chance to act like a consultant, you build a rapport. And the most simple answer of all, and this is the most profound principle: People accept you at your own evaluation of yourself. Consultants come in and have a cup of coffee. Salespeople wait in the waiting room and have a glass of water. If you say you’re a consultant, your customer will accept you as a consultant. From now on, position yourself as a consultant. Think of yourself as a consultant. Remember, 80% of what you accomplish on the outside is determined by who you are on the inside. How you see yourself determines how the customer responds to you. The customer’s perception of you determines how much they buy and how much they recommend you to other customers.
They Are Prepared
They review every detail in advance. To be in the top 10% requires additional efforts. It requires doing things that the average person is not willing to do. It requires making sacrifices the average person is not willing to make. It requires reviewing every detail of every call or situation before every business meeting. But the difference it makes is extraordinary. Before you go into a meeting, do your homework. Successful people are more concerned about pleasing results than they are about pleasing methods. When you sit down with a client, there is nothing more complimentary to a client than the feeling that you have prepared for the meeting.
They Are Continuous Learners
They recognize that if they’re not continually getting better, they’re getting worse. They read, they listen to CDs and they take additional training. The professional never stops learning. So read, listen to CDs, take continuous training.
They Are Responsible
They see themselves as president of their own personal services corporation. The top people in our society have an attitude of self-employment. We are presidents of our own personal services corporation. You work for yourself. The biggest mistake we can ever make is to think we work for anyone else. We work for ourselves. The person who signs our paycheck may change; our jobs may change, but we are always the same. We are the one constant—we are always self-employed. The fact of the matter is—this is not optional, it is mandatory—you are the president of your own company, you’re the president of your own career, your own life, your own finances, your own body, your own family, your own health. You are totally responsible. We are responsible. No one will ever do it for us. It’s the most liberating and exhilarating thought of all, to think that you’re the president of your own life.
How do you Measure?
by Brian Tracy
If you think the way successful people think and adopt their success habits, you too can be successful. Here are seven qualities of the top 1% of successful people.
They Are Ambitious
They see themselves capable of being the best. They see themselves with the capacity of being really good at what they do. This was a really big thought for me. It held me back for many years. When I saw people who were doing better than I was, I naturally assumed they were better than I was. And if they were better than I was, then I must be worse than them, so that would mean they were superior and I was inferior. That is a big problem in our society.
We have feelings of inferiority, and these feelings of inferiority are often translated into feelings of undeservedness. We don’t feel we deserve to be a big success. The word “deserve” comes from two Latin words meaning “from service.” You deserve 100% of everything you make and enjoy as long as you get it from serving other people. Your rewards are in direct proportion to your service. If you serve better and serve more and serve at a higher level and serve more enthusiastically and serve a higher quality, then you’ll have a wonderful income and you’ll deserve every penny of it. You must see yourself capable of being the best.
They Are Courageous
They work to confront the fears that hold most people back. The two biggest enemies to your and my success are fear and doubt. Eliminating fear and doubt is the key. The key to eliminating fear: If you want to develop courage, then simply act courageously when it’s called for. When you do something repeatedly, you develop a habit. Make a habit throughout your life of doing the things you fear. If you do the thing you fear, the death of fear is certain. To overcome fear of rejection in prospecting, you must realize that rejection in selling is not personal. Top salespeople do not fear prospecting. Face your fear. Do the things you fear. The ability to confront your fear is the mark of the superior person. If you have high ambition and you decide to be in the top 10%, and you can confront your fears and do the things that are holding you back, those two things alone will make you a great success.
They Are Committed
The top people in every field, especially the top salespeople, are completely committed. They believe in themselves; they believe in their companies; they believe in their products and services; they believe in their customers; they have an intense belief. We know that there is a one-to-one relationship between the depth of your belief and what happens in your reality. And if you absolutely believe in the rightness and the goodness of what you’re doing, you become like a catalyst. You create what is called a transfer, like an electrical transfer of enthusiasm. People like to buy from people who truly believe in what they are doing. People who are not committed to what they do lead very empty lives. The second part is that caring is the critical element in modern selling. Caring is a critical element in life, as well. All men and women who enjoy great lives care about what they do! They have passion about what they do. They love what they do.
They Are Professional
Top salespeople see themselves as consultants rather than as salespeople. When you think of the word “consultant,” what words come to mind? When do you call a consultant? A consultant is a problem-solver. What word does not appear when you think of a consultant—the word “salesperson.” We don’t think of consultants as salespeople. The most successful consultants in America are the very best salespeople of their services. When a person is positioned as a consultant in the mind and heart of the customer, he is not seen as a salesperson. Do people like to be sold? Do people like to be helped to improve their lives and work? So they look upon a salesperson as someone who sells them. Selling is something you do “to” someone, and people don’t like to be done to.
So when you think of being a consultant, here is the key. How do you position yourself as a consultant with your customers? Of course, you act like a consultant, but even before you get the chance to act like a consultant, you build a rapport. And the most simple answer of all, and this is the most profound principle: People accept you at your own evaluation of yourself. Consultants come in and have a cup of coffee. Salespeople wait in the waiting room and have a glass of water. If you say you’re a consultant, your customer will accept you as a consultant. From now on, position yourself as a consultant. Think of yourself as a consultant. Remember, 80% of what you accomplish on the outside is determined by who you are on the inside. How you see yourself determines how the customer responds to you. The customer’s perception of you determines how much they buy and how much they recommend you to other customers.
They Are Prepared
They review every detail in advance. To be in the top 10% requires additional efforts. It requires doing things that the average person is not willing to do. It requires making sacrifices the average person is not willing to make. It requires reviewing every detail of every call or situation before every business meeting. But the difference it makes is extraordinary. Before you go into a meeting, do your homework. Successful people are more concerned about pleasing results than they are about pleasing methods. When you sit down with a client, there is nothing more complimentary to a client than the feeling that you have prepared for the meeting.
They Are Continuous Learners
They recognize that if they’re not continually getting better, they’re getting worse. They read, they listen to CDs and they take additional training. The professional never stops learning. So read, listen to CDs, take continuous training.
They Are Responsible
They see themselves as president of their own personal services corporation. The top people in our society have an attitude of self-employment. We are presidents of our own personal services corporation. You work for yourself. The biggest mistake we can ever make is to think we work for anyone else. We work for ourselves. The person who signs our paycheck may change; our jobs may change, but we are always the same. We are the one constant—we are always self-employed. The fact of the matter is—this is not optional, it is mandatory—you are the president of your own company, you’re the president of your own career, your own life, your own finances, your own body, your own family, your own health. You are totally responsible. We are responsible. No one will ever do it for us. It’s the most liberating and exhilarating thought of all, to think that you’re the president of your own life.
How do you Measure?
Monday, July 4, 2011
Why Measure Business Performance? And How?
.
If you want to improve the outcome of something you need to measure it. Apart from anything else, unless you measure, you won't be able to tell if it has improved.
In other areas of life this is taken for granted. Think of the way sportspeople obsess over the times they run, the heights they jump, and the goals they score. If you want to lose weight the first thing you do is get on the scales – you need to measure your current position and set a target, then measure your progress compared to that target.
So if everyone agrees that measuring is critical, why do so few small businesses do it? And of those that do, why do they do it so poorly?
Even if you think you're an exception to this, take a couple of minutes right now to think about and answer the questions below.
1. Do you keep your accounts up to date?
Many smaller businesses only enter data to their accounts at the end of the quarter, so any reports they run can be up to three months out of date. Only by having your accounts constantly up to date can you run reports that are current and which you can use to make decisions about the one thing you can change – the future.
2. Do you measure your results?
If you do keep your accounts up to date, do you run reports from your accounting system? For example, do you run a monthly profit and loss statement, and if so how soon after the end of the month do you run it?
3. Do you know what to measure?
Running a profit and loss statement is a good starting point, but what else do you measure? Do you also run a monthly balance sheet? Or a cashflow report? Do you run more detailed reports from your accounts, and then drill down into key data?
4. Do you measure inputs as well as outputs?
Not everything you need to measure is in your accounts. You should also be reporting on (and therefore measuring) the other drivers of your business. These will vary from business to business, but may include website hits, forward orders, the percentage of enquiries converted to sales, dollar per sale or a measure of repeat business.
5. Do you compare the reports you run against a benchmark?
Interpreting any of your reports can be quite difficult without some basis for comparison, and that's where benchmarking comes in. The three most common yardsticks are a previous period (such as this year against last), a budget (or forecast) or a comparison with what is the normal performance for other businesses like yours.
6. Do you prepare any ratios?
Not everyone knows what this means, and those that do often switch off, thinking that ratios are too boring! But creating just a handful of really simple ratios can tell you so much about what is going well in your business.
For example, rather than just reviewing gross profit as a dollar figure, track your gross profit percentage (divide your gross profit by your sales and multiply by 100). Using a ratio makes it much easier to spot trends (good or bad), or to compare (either to a budget or a benchmark).
Similarly, get into the habit of tracking some balance sheet ratios, such as debtors days (how long it takes your customers to pay you) or current ratio (a measure of your ability to pay your debts on time).
7. Do you know how to interpret the results?
All of the tools above should help to interpret the results, but you might also want to seek help with this. Whatever you do, make sure the information you're obtaining about your business means more to you than just "numbers on a piece of paper".
8. Do you take action on the results of any reports you do run?
And now the most important point of all. Just because you've prepared and interpreted some information, the future will not change unless your actions change. Once you understand the causes of the results in your business – both the good and the bad – you can decide what you want to do differently to change your results in the future.
So how did you score? If you got 8 out of 8 and you should be enjoying the business results you desire. A lower score means there's room for improvement. Once you've used this checklist to identify any areas of reporting weakness in your business, implementing the solutions really isn't that difficult.
Sam Z.
If you want to improve the outcome of something you need to measure it. Apart from anything else, unless you measure, you won't be able to tell if it has improved.
In other areas of life this is taken for granted. Think of the way sportspeople obsess over the times they run, the heights they jump, and the goals they score. If you want to lose weight the first thing you do is get on the scales – you need to measure your current position and set a target, then measure your progress compared to that target.
So if everyone agrees that measuring is critical, why do so few small businesses do it? And of those that do, why do they do it so poorly?
Even if you think you're an exception to this, take a couple of minutes right now to think about and answer the questions below.
1. Do you keep your accounts up to date?
Many smaller businesses only enter data to their accounts at the end of the quarter, so any reports they run can be up to three months out of date. Only by having your accounts constantly up to date can you run reports that are current and which you can use to make decisions about the one thing you can change – the future.
2. Do you measure your results?
If you do keep your accounts up to date, do you run reports from your accounting system? For example, do you run a monthly profit and loss statement, and if so how soon after the end of the month do you run it?
3. Do you know what to measure?
Running a profit and loss statement is a good starting point, but what else do you measure? Do you also run a monthly balance sheet? Or a cashflow report? Do you run more detailed reports from your accounts, and then drill down into key data?
4. Do you measure inputs as well as outputs?
Not everything you need to measure is in your accounts. You should also be reporting on (and therefore measuring) the other drivers of your business. These will vary from business to business, but may include website hits, forward orders, the percentage of enquiries converted to sales, dollar per sale or a measure of repeat business.
5. Do you compare the reports you run against a benchmark?
Interpreting any of your reports can be quite difficult without some basis for comparison, and that's where benchmarking comes in. The three most common yardsticks are a previous period (such as this year against last), a budget (or forecast) or a comparison with what is the normal performance for other businesses like yours.
6. Do you prepare any ratios?
Not everyone knows what this means, and those that do often switch off, thinking that ratios are too boring! But creating just a handful of really simple ratios can tell you so much about what is going well in your business.
For example, rather than just reviewing gross profit as a dollar figure, track your gross profit percentage (divide your gross profit by your sales and multiply by 100). Using a ratio makes it much easier to spot trends (good or bad), or to compare (either to a budget or a benchmark).
Similarly, get into the habit of tracking some balance sheet ratios, such as debtors days (how long it takes your customers to pay you) or current ratio (a measure of your ability to pay your debts on time).
7. Do you know how to interpret the results?
All of the tools above should help to interpret the results, but you might also want to seek help with this. Whatever you do, make sure the information you're obtaining about your business means more to you than just "numbers on a piece of paper".
8. Do you take action on the results of any reports you do run?
And now the most important point of all. Just because you've prepared and interpreted some information, the future will not change unless your actions change. Once you understand the causes of the results in your business – both the good and the bad – you can decide what you want to do differently to change your results in the future.
So how did you score? If you got 8 out of 8 and you should be enjoying the business results you desire. A lower score means there's room for improvement. Once you've used this checklist to identify any areas of reporting weakness in your business, implementing the solutions really isn't that difficult.
Sam Z.
Winning: Defining It! Achieving It!
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What do you really enjoy doing in your life? Why are you in Business? What defines you? Who is your Role Model- Personal & Business? Putting Money & time to the side, What would your DREAM be? These are just a few questions worth considering in order to have clearer worthwhile goals.
If you ask most people whether they would like to be considered a winner or a loser in life, they would most assuredly reply that they would like to be a winner. But this begs the question: “What does it mean to win at life?” In some things it’s easy to define a clear winner. In a basketball game, whoever has the most points at the end of the game is the winner. In a game of hearts, my favorite card game, whoever has the least amount of points when one of the players reaches 100 points is the winner.
But it isn’t quite as easy to decide what it means to win in the game of life, is it? And that is because people define winning in different ways. For many, winning is through the accumulation of money or material possessions. “He’s a success, a real winner,” they say. Others think winning means living the longest. Still others say that it is to have their body in tip-top shape. Some say it is to have a happy family. Some say it is to regularly enjoy their hobbies.
All of these are fine, in and of themselves. But I would like to encourage us to think about winning or success in a different way. Generally, people think of winning as the overachievement in a particular, chosen area. I like to believe, however, that to truly win at life is not to overachieve in one area but to succeed in maintaining balanced achievement in numerous areas.
Let me repeat that: To truly win, to be a success, is not to overachieve in one area, but to maintain balanced achievement in all areas of our lives.
For instance, is a person a success if they earn millions of dollars but lose their family? Is a person a success if they garner national fame but have no friends? Of course not. In fact, they may live the most pitiful of all lives.
First, Define
So the first thing we must do is define what we will consider “winning in life.” As you ponder this for yourself, I would like to recommend that you focus in on three overarching areas: Body, Soul and Spirit.
The body has actual connection with the physical world and would encompass physical health, financial health, family, work and relationships.
How is your health? How are your finances? Are your relationships, both with your family and others, all that they could be? Is work fulfilling? How would you define winning in these areas?
The next area, the soul, deals with the emotions, will and intellect. It is our thoughts, ideas and attitudes.
How are you emotionally? Are you able to exercise your will? Are you growing intellectually? Have you done an attitude check lately? How would you define winning in these areas?
And the spirit is the part of us that transcends this life, the part of us which communes with God. Zig Ziglar said, “Money will buy me a house, but not a home, a bed, but not a good night’s sleep.” So true. Inner peace comes from something much deeper.
Have you thought about going back to your spiritual roots? Are you able to spend time in quiet solitude and prayer from time to time? This is an extremely important area and all too often neglected. What would you like to achieve in this area? How would you define winning in these areas?
As we experience balance in these areas, we will find ourselves much more at peace with ourselves than if we were to experience tremendous success in one area but loss or failure in the other areas. We were designed to work as congruent, balanced people. This is how we get to the end of our lives and say, “I won.”
Second, Prioritize
Once you have defined what it is that you would like to achieve in each of these areas, you have to prioritize them, and let other, nonimportant areas drop off the chart. Commit to developing a plan to succeed in a balance of areas. Exercise your will. Choose. Dwight D. Eisenhower said: “The history of free men is written not by chance, but by choice—their choice.”
When we manage our time and schedule, we are simply making choices in regard to our priorities. For most, their priority is to take action on whatever is screaming the loudest at the moment. For those who become winners, they reflect on what they desire to achieve, make a plan and decide to eliminate the rest.
Last, Do It
Okay, you have defined winning. You have prioritized your life. Now, the hard part: Doing it. This is where we are all alone. We all make this step on our own, but having a written plan is as good a preparation as you can get. Rather than saying that you are going to do this for the rest of your life, take the next week to implement your new balance of winning. If a week sounds too long, just focus on today. Spend some time, be it ever so small, enhancing your life in these areas. Exercise a little. Read for a while to challenge your mind. Deal with your emotions. Spend time in silent contemplation to renew your spirit. Give some time to your spouse and children. Will Rogers said, “Even if you’re on the right track, you won’t get anywhere if you’re standing still.” There has got to be action.
As we do this over time, and balance our lives out, we will begin to finally feel like we are winning at life. That will be exciting, as will the process!
In Part by Chris Widener
What do you really enjoy doing in your life? Why are you in Business? What defines you? Who is your Role Model- Personal & Business? Putting Money & time to the side, What would your DREAM be? These are just a few questions worth considering in order to have clearer worthwhile goals.
If you ask most people whether they would like to be considered a winner or a loser in life, they would most assuredly reply that they would like to be a winner. But this begs the question: “What does it mean to win at life?” In some things it’s easy to define a clear winner. In a basketball game, whoever has the most points at the end of the game is the winner. In a game of hearts, my favorite card game, whoever has the least amount of points when one of the players reaches 100 points is the winner.
But it isn’t quite as easy to decide what it means to win in the game of life, is it? And that is because people define winning in different ways. For many, winning is through the accumulation of money or material possessions. “He’s a success, a real winner,” they say. Others think winning means living the longest. Still others say that it is to have their body in tip-top shape. Some say it is to have a happy family. Some say it is to regularly enjoy their hobbies.
All of these are fine, in and of themselves. But I would like to encourage us to think about winning or success in a different way. Generally, people think of winning as the overachievement in a particular, chosen area. I like to believe, however, that to truly win at life is not to overachieve in one area but to succeed in maintaining balanced achievement in numerous areas.
Let me repeat that: To truly win, to be a success, is not to overachieve in one area, but to maintain balanced achievement in all areas of our lives.
For instance, is a person a success if they earn millions of dollars but lose their family? Is a person a success if they garner national fame but have no friends? Of course not. In fact, they may live the most pitiful of all lives.
First, Define
So the first thing we must do is define what we will consider “winning in life.” As you ponder this for yourself, I would like to recommend that you focus in on three overarching areas: Body, Soul and Spirit.
The body has actual connection with the physical world and would encompass physical health, financial health, family, work and relationships.
How is your health? How are your finances? Are your relationships, both with your family and others, all that they could be? Is work fulfilling? How would you define winning in these areas?
The next area, the soul, deals with the emotions, will and intellect. It is our thoughts, ideas and attitudes.
How are you emotionally? Are you able to exercise your will? Are you growing intellectually? Have you done an attitude check lately? How would you define winning in these areas?
And the spirit is the part of us that transcends this life, the part of us which communes with God. Zig Ziglar said, “Money will buy me a house, but not a home, a bed, but not a good night’s sleep.” So true. Inner peace comes from something much deeper.
Have you thought about going back to your spiritual roots? Are you able to spend time in quiet solitude and prayer from time to time? This is an extremely important area and all too often neglected. What would you like to achieve in this area? How would you define winning in these areas?
As we experience balance in these areas, we will find ourselves much more at peace with ourselves than if we were to experience tremendous success in one area but loss or failure in the other areas. We were designed to work as congruent, balanced people. This is how we get to the end of our lives and say, “I won.”
Second, Prioritize
Once you have defined what it is that you would like to achieve in each of these areas, you have to prioritize them, and let other, nonimportant areas drop off the chart. Commit to developing a plan to succeed in a balance of areas. Exercise your will. Choose. Dwight D. Eisenhower said: “The history of free men is written not by chance, but by choice—their choice.”
When we manage our time and schedule, we are simply making choices in regard to our priorities. For most, their priority is to take action on whatever is screaming the loudest at the moment. For those who become winners, they reflect on what they desire to achieve, make a plan and decide to eliminate the rest.
Last, Do It
Okay, you have defined winning. You have prioritized your life. Now, the hard part: Doing it. This is where we are all alone. We all make this step on our own, but having a written plan is as good a preparation as you can get. Rather than saying that you are going to do this for the rest of your life, take the next week to implement your new balance of winning. If a week sounds too long, just focus on today. Spend some time, be it ever so small, enhancing your life in these areas. Exercise a little. Read for a while to challenge your mind. Deal with your emotions. Spend time in silent contemplation to renew your spirit. Give some time to your spouse and children. Will Rogers said, “Even if you’re on the right track, you won’t get anywhere if you’re standing still.” There has got to be action.
As we do this over time, and balance our lives out, we will begin to finally feel like we are winning at life. That will be exciting, as will the process!
In Part by Chris Widener
Success Is Easy, But So Is Neglect
by Jim Rohn
People often ask me how I became successful in that six-year period of time while many of the people I knew did not. The answer is simple: The things I found to be easy to do, they found to be easy not to do. I found it easy to set the goals that could change my life. They found it easy not to do. I found it easy to read the books that could affect my thinking and my ideas. They found that easy not to do. I found it easy to attend the classes and the seminars, and to get around other successful people. They said it probably really wouldn’t matter. If I had to sum it up, I would say what I found to be easy to do, they found to be easy not to do. Six years later, I’m a millionaire and they are all still blaming the economy, the government, and company policies, yet they neglected to do the basic, easy things.
In fact, the primary reason most people are not doing as well as they could and should, can be summed up in a single word: neglect.
It is not the lack of money—banks are full of money. It is not the lack of opportunity—America, and much of the Free World, continues to offer the most unprecedented and abundant opportunities in the last six thousand years of recorded history. It is not the lack of books—libraries are full of books and they are free! It is not the schools—the classrooms are full of good teachers. We have plenty of ministers, leaders, counselors and advisors.
Everything we would ever need to become rich and powerful and sophisticated is within our reach. The major reason that so few take advantage of all that we have is simply neglect.
Neglect is like an infection. Left unchecked it will spread throughout our entire system of disciplines and eventually lead to a complete breakdown of a potentially joy-filled and prosperous human life.
Not doing the things we know we should do causes us to feel guilty and guilt leads to an erosion of self-confidence. As our self-confidence diminishes, so does the level of our activity. And as our activity diminishes, our results inevitably decline. And as our results suffer, our attitude begins to weaken. And as our attitude begins the slow shift from positive to negative, our self-confidence diminishes even more... and on and on it goes.
So my suggestion is that when giving the choice of “easy to” and “easy not to” that you do not neglect to do the simple, basic, “easy,” but potentially life-changing activities and disciplines.
Consider these few points:
Some things you have to do every day. Eating seven apples on Saturday night instead of one a day just isn't going to get the job done.
Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day; while failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day. It is the cumulative weight of our disciplines and our judgments that leads us to either fortune or failure.
Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals.
People often ask me how I became successful in that six-year period of time while many of the people I knew did not. The answer is simple: The things I found to be easy to do, they found to be easy not to do. I found it easy to set the goals that could change my life. They found it easy not to do. I found it easy to read the books that could affect my thinking and my ideas. They found that easy not to do. I found it easy to attend the classes and the seminars, and to get around other successful people. They said it probably really wouldn’t matter. If I had to sum it up, I would say what I found to be easy to do, they found to be easy not to do. Six years later, I’m a millionaire and they are all still blaming the economy, the government, and company policies, yet they neglected to do the basic, easy things.
In fact, the primary reason most people are not doing as well as they could and should, can be summed up in a single word: neglect.
It is not the lack of money—banks are full of money. It is not the lack of opportunity—America, and much of the Free World, continues to offer the most unprecedented and abundant opportunities in the last six thousand years of recorded history. It is not the lack of books—libraries are full of books and they are free! It is not the schools—the classrooms are full of good teachers. We have plenty of ministers, leaders, counselors and advisors.
Everything we would ever need to become rich and powerful and sophisticated is within our reach. The major reason that so few take advantage of all that we have is simply neglect.
Neglect is like an infection. Left unchecked it will spread throughout our entire system of disciplines and eventually lead to a complete breakdown of a potentially joy-filled and prosperous human life.
Not doing the things we know we should do causes us to feel guilty and guilt leads to an erosion of self-confidence. As our self-confidence diminishes, so does the level of our activity. And as our activity diminishes, our results inevitably decline. And as our results suffer, our attitude begins to weaken. And as our attitude begins the slow shift from positive to negative, our self-confidence diminishes even more... and on and on it goes.
So my suggestion is that when giving the choice of “easy to” and “easy not to” that you do not neglect to do the simple, basic, “easy,” but potentially life-changing activities and disciplines.
Consider these few points:
Some things you have to do every day. Eating seven apples on Saturday night instead of one a day just isn't going to get the job done.
Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day; while failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day. It is the cumulative weight of our disciplines and our judgments that leads us to either fortune or failure.
Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
“Top 7 Reasons Why Small Businesses Fail”
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1. You start your business for the wrong reasons.
Would the sole reason you would be starting your own business be that you would want to make a lot of money? Do you think that if you had your own business that you'd have more time with your family? Or maybe that you wouldn't have to answer to anyone else? If so, you'd better think again.
On the other hand, if you start your business for these reasons, you'll have a better chance at entrepreneurial success:
You have a passion and love for what you'll be doing, and strongly believe -- based on educated study and investigation -- that your product or service would fulfill a real need in the marketplace.
You are physically fit and possess the needed mental stamina to withstand potential challenges. Often overlooked, less-than-robust health has been responsible for more than a few bankruptcies.
You have drive, determination, patience and a positive attitude. When others throw in the towel, you are more determined than ever.
Failures don't defeat you. You learn from your mistakes, and use these lessons to succeed the next time around. Head, SBA economist, noted that studies of successful business owners showed they attributed much of their success to "building on earlier failures;" on using failures as a "learning process."
You thrive on independence, and are skilled at taking charge when a creative or intelligent solution is needed. This is especially important when under strict time constraints.
You like -- if not love -- your fellow man, and show this in your honesty, integrity, and interactions with others. You get along with and can deal with all different types of individuals.
2. Poor Management
Many a report on business failures cites poor management as the number one reason for failure. New business owners frequently lack relevant business and management expertise in areas such as finance, purchasing, selling, production, and hiring and managing employees. Unless they recognize what they don't do well, and seek help, business owners may soon face disaster. They must also be educated and alert to fraud, and put into place measures to avoid it.
Neglect of a business can also be its downfall. Care must be taken to regularly study, organize, plan and control all activities of its operations. This includes the continuing study of market research and customer data, an area which may be more prone to disregard once a business has been established.
A successful manager is also a good leader who creates a work climate that encourages productivity. He or she has a skill at hiring competent people, training them and is able to delegate. A good leader is also skilled at strategic thinking, able to make a vision a reality, and able to confront change, make transitions, and envision new possibilities for the future.
3. Insufficient Capital
A common fatal mistake for many failed businesses is having insufficient operating funds. Business owners underestimate how much money is needed and they are forced to close before they even have had a fair chance to succeed. They also may have an unrealistic expectation of incoming revenues from sales.
It is imperative to ascertain how much money your business will require; not only the costs of starting, but the costs of staying in business. It is important to take into consideration that many businesses take a year or two to get going. This means you will need enough funds to cover all costs until sales can eventually pay for these costs. This business startup calculator will help you predict how much money you'll need to launch your business.
4. Location, Location, Location
Your college professor was right -- location is critical to the success of your business. Whereas a good location may enable a struggling business to ultimately survive and thrive, a bad location could spell disaster to even the best-managed enterprise.
Some factors to consider:
• Where your customers are
• Traffic, accessibility, parking and lighting
• Location of competitors
• Condition and safety of building
• Local incentive programs for business start-ups in specific targeted areas
• The history, community flavor and receptiveness to a new business at a prospective site
5. Lack of Planning
Anyone who has ever been in charge of a successful major event knows that were it not for their careful, methodical, strategic planning -- and hard work -- success would not have followed. The same could be said of most business successes.
It is critical for all businesses to have a business plan. Many small businesses fail because of fundamental shortcomings in their business planning. It must be realistic and based on accurate, current information and educated projections for the future.
Components may include:
• Description of the business, vision, goals, and keys to success
• Work force needs
• Potential problems and solutions
• Financial: capital equipment and supply list, balance sheet, income statement and cash flow analysis, sales and expense forecast
• Analysis of competition
• Marketing, advertising and promotional activities
• Budgeting and managing company growth
In addition, most bankers request a business plan if you are seeking to secure addition capital for your company.
6. Overexpansion
A leading cause of business failure, overexpansion often happens when business owners confuse success with how fast they can expand their business. A focus on slow and steady growth is optimum. Many a bankruptcy has been caused by rapidly expanding companies.
At the same time, you do not want to repress growth. Once you have an established solid customer base and a good cash flow, let your success help you set the right measured pace. Some indications that an expansion may be warranted include the inability to fill customer needs in a timely basis, and employees having difficulty keeping up with production demands.
If expansion is warranted after careful review, research and analysis, identify what and who you need to add in order for your business to grow. Then with the right systems and people in place, you can focus on the growth of your business, not on doing everything in it yourself.
7. No Website
Simply put, if you have a business today, you need a website. Period.
In the U.S. alone, the number of internet users (approximately 77 percent of the population) and e-commerce sales ($165.4 billion in 2010, according to the US Department of Commerce) continue to rise and are expected to increase with each passing year.
At the very least, every business should have a professional looking and well-designed website that enables users to easily find out about their business and how to avail themselves of their products and services. Later, additional ways to generate revenue on the website can be added; i.e., selling ad space, drop-shipping products, or recommending affiliate products.
Remember, if you don't have a website, you'll most likely be losing business to those that do. And make sure that website makes your business look good, not bad -- you want to increase revenues, not decrease them.
When it comes to the success of any new business, you -- the business owner -- are ultimately the "secret" to your success. For many successful business owners, failure was never an option. Armed with drive, determination, and a positive mindset, these individuals view any setback as only an opportunity to learn and grow. Most self-made millionaires possess average intelligence. What sets them apart is their openness to new knowledge and their willingness to learn whatever it takes to succeed.
Sam the Coach
1. You start your business for the wrong reasons.
Would the sole reason you would be starting your own business be that you would want to make a lot of money? Do you think that if you had your own business that you'd have more time with your family? Or maybe that you wouldn't have to answer to anyone else? If so, you'd better think again.
On the other hand, if you start your business for these reasons, you'll have a better chance at entrepreneurial success:
You have a passion and love for what you'll be doing, and strongly believe -- based on educated study and investigation -- that your product or service would fulfill a real need in the marketplace.
You are physically fit and possess the needed mental stamina to withstand potential challenges. Often overlooked, less-than-robust health has been responsible for more than a few bankruptcies.
You have drive, determination, patience and a positive attitude. When others throw in the towel, you are more determined than ever.
Failures don't defeat you. You learn from your mistakes, and use these lessons to succeed the next time around. Head, SBA economist, noted that studies of successful business owners showed they attributed much of their success to "building on earlier failures;" on using failures as a "learning process."
You thrive on independence, and are skilled at taking charge when a creative or intelligent solution is needed. This is especially important when under strict time constraints.
You like -- if not love -- your fellow man, and show this in your honesty, integrity, and interactions with others. You get along with and can deal with all different types of individuals.
2. Poor Management
Many a report on business failures cites poor management as the number one reason for failure. New business owners frequently lack relevant business and management expertise in areas such as finance, purchasing, selling, production, and hiring and managing employees. Unless they recognize what they don't do well, and seek help, business owners may soon face disaster. They must also be educated and alert to fraud, and put into place measures to avoid it.
Neglect of a business can also be its downfall. Care must be taken to regularly study, organize, plan and control all activities of its operations. This includes the continuing study of market research and customer data, an area which may be more prone to disregard once a business has been established.
A successful manager is also a good leader who creates a work climate that encourages productivity. He or she has a skill at hiring competent people, training them and is able to delegate. A good leader is also skilled at strategic thinking, able to make a vision a reality, and able to confront change, make transitions, and envision new possibilities for the future.
3. Insufficient Capital
A common fatal mistake for many failed businesses is having insufficient operating funds. Business owners underestimate how much money is needed and they are forced to close before they even have had a fair chance to succeed. They also may have an unrealistic expectation of incoming revenues from sales.
It is imperative to ascertain how much money your business will require; not only the costs of starting, but the costs of staying in business. It is important to take into consideration that many businesses take a year or two to get going. This means you will need enough funds to cover all costs until sales can eventually pay for these costs. This business startup calculator will help you predict how much money you'll need to launch your business.
4. Location, Location, Location
Your college professor was right -- location is critical to the success of your business. Whereas a good location may enable a struggling business to ultimately survive and thrive, a bad location could spell disaster to even the best-managed enterprise.
Some factors to consider:
• Where your customers are
• Traffic, accessibility, parking and lighting
• Location of competitors
• Condition and safety of building
• Local incentive programs for business start-ups in specific targeted areas
• The history, community flavor and receptiveness to a new business at a prospective site
5. Lack of Planning
Anyone who has ever been in charge of a successful major event knows that were it not for their careful, methodical, strategic planning -- and hard work -- success would not have followed. The same could be said of most business successes.
It is critical for all businesses to have a business plan. Many small businesses fail because of fundamental shortcomings in their business planning. It must be realistic and based on accurate, current information and educated projections for the future.
Components may include:
• Description of the business, vision, goals, and keys to success
• Work force needs
• Potential problems and solutions
• Financial: capital equipment and supply list, balance sheet, income statement and cash flow analysis, sales and expense forecast
• Analysis of competition
• Marketing, advertising and promotional activities
• Budgeting and managing company growth
In addition, most bankers request a business plan if you are seeking to secure addition capital for your company.
6. Overexpansion
A leading cause of business failure, overexpansion often happens when business owners confuse success with how fast they can expand their business. A focus on slow and steady growth is optimum. Many a bankruptcy has been caused by rapidly expanding companies.
At the same time, you do not want to repress growth. Once you have an established solid customer base and a good cash flow, let your success help you set the right measured pace. Some indications that an expansion may be warranted include the inability to fill customer needs in a timely basis, and employees having difficulty keeping up with production demands.
If expansion is warranted after careful review, research and analysis, identify what and who you need to add in order for your business to grow. Then with the right systems and people in place, you can focus on the growth of your business, not on doing everything in it yourself.
7. No Website
Simply put, if you have a business today, you need a website. Period.
In the U.S. alone, the number of internet users (approximately 77 percent of the population) and e-commerce sales ($165.4 billion in 2010, according to the US Department of Commerce) continue to rise and are expected to increase with each passing year.
At the very least, every business should have a professional looking and well-designed website that enables users to easily find out about their business and how to avail themselves of their products and services. Later, additional ways to generate revenue on the website can be added; i.e., selling ad space, drop-shipping products, or recommending affiliate products.
Remember, if you don't have a website, you'll most likely be losing business to those that do. And make sure that website makes your business look good, not bad -- you want to increase revenues, not decrease them.
When it comes to the success of any new business, you -- the business owner -- are ultimately the "secret" to your success. For many successful business owners, failure was never an option. Armed with drive, determination, and a positive mindset, these individuals view any setback as only an opportunity to learn and grow. Most self-made millionaires possess average intelligence. What sets them apart is their openness to new knowledge and their willingness to learn whatever it takes to succeed.
Sam the Coach
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Procrastination Doesn't Make Perfect : “Procrastination is the thief of time.”
Perfectionists are often great procrastinators. Having stalled until the last minute, they tear into a project with dust flying and complaints about insufficient time. Perfectionist-procrastinators are masters of the excuse that short notice kept them from doing the quality job they could have done.
But that’s hardly the only variety of procrastination—which is one of my own favorite hiding places when I try to blame external conditions instead of myself for some difficulty. Mine comes with a gnawing feeling of being fatigued, always behind. I try to tell myself that I’m taking it easy and gathering my energies for a big new push, but procrastination differs markedly from genuine relaxation—which is truly needed. And it saves me no time or energy. On the contrary, it drains both, leaving me with self-doubt on top of self-delusion.
We’re all very busy. Every day we seem to have a giant to-do list of people to see, projects to complete, e-mails to read, e-mails to write. We have calls to answer and calls to make, then more calls to people with whom we keep playing voice-mail tag.
Henri Nouwen’s classic book Making All Things New likens our lives to “overstuffed suitcases that are bursting at the seams.”
Feeling there is forever far too much to do, we say we’re really under the gun this week. But working hard or even heroically to solve a problem is little to our credit if we created the problem in the first place. When most people refer to themselves as being under the gun, they want to believe, or do believe, that the pressures and problems are not of their own making. In most cases, however, the gun appeared after failure to attend to business in good time. Instead of being proactive early, they procrastinated until the due date became a crisis deadline.
By the Inch Life’s a Cinch, by the Yard It’s Hard
One of the best escapes from the prison of procrastination is to take even the smallest steps toward your goals. People usually procrastinate because of fear and lack of self-confidence and, ironically, become even more afraid when under the gun. There are many ways to experiment and test new ground without risking the whole ball game on one play.
Experience has shown that when people go after one big goal at once, they invariably fail. If you had to swallow a 12-ounce steak all at once, you’d choke. You have to cut the steak into small pieces, eating one bite at a time. So it is with prioritizing. Proactive goal achievement means taking every project and cutting it up into bite-sized pieces. Each small task or requirement on the way to the ultimate goal becomes a mini-goal in itself. Using this method, the goal becomes manageable. When mini-mistakes are made, they are easy to correct. And with the achievement of each mini-goal, you receive reinforcement and motivation in the form of positive feedback. As basic as this sounds, much frustration and failure is caused when people try to “bite off more than they can chew” by taking on assignments with limited resources and impossible timeline expectations.
Two major fears that sire procrastination are fear of the unknown and fear of rejection or looking foolish. A third fear—of success—is often overlooked. Many people, even many executives, fear success because it carries added responsibility that can seem too heavy to bear, such as setting an example of excellence that calls for additional effort and willingness to take risks. Success without adequate self-esteem or the belief that it is deserved also can create feelings of guilt and the result is only temporary or fleeting high achievement. Playing it safe can seem more tempting than a need to step forward with determination to do it now and do it right.
But that’s hardly the only variety of procrastination—which is one of my own favorite hiding places when I try to blame external conditions instead of myself for some difficulty. Mine comes with a gnawing feeling of being fatigued, always behind. I try to tell myself that I’m taking it easy and gathering my energies for a big new push, but procrastination differs markedly from genuine relaxation—which is truly needed. And it saves me no time or energy. On the contrary, it drains both, leaving me with self-doubt on top of self-delusion.
We’re all very busy. Every day we seem to have a giant to-do list of people to see, projects to complete, e-mails to read, e-mails to write. We have calls to answer and calls to make, then more calls to people with whom we keep playing voice-mail tag.
Henri Nouwen’s classic book Making All Things New likens our lives to “overstuffed suitcases that are bursting at the seams.”
Feeling there is forever far too much to do, we say we’re really under the gun this week. But working hard or even heroically to solve a problem is little to our credit if we created the problem in the first place. When most people refer to themselves as being under the gun, they want to believe, or do believe, that the pressures and problems are not of their own making. In most cases, however, the gun appeared after failure to attend to business in good time. Instead of being proactive early, they procrastinated until the due date became a crisis deadline.
By the Inch Life’s a Cinch, by the Yard It’s Hard
One of the best escapes from the prison of procrastination is to take even the smallest steps toward your goals. People usually procrastinate because of fear and lack of self-confidence and, ironically, become even more afraid when under the gun. There are many ways to experiment and test new ground without risking the whole ball game on one play.
Experience has shown that when people go after one big goal at once, they invariably fail. If you had to swallow a 12-ounce steak all at once, you’d choke. You have to cut the steak into small pieces, eating one bite at a time. So it is with prioritizing. Proactive goal achievement means taking every project and cutting it up into bite-sized pieces. Each small task or requirement on the way to the ultimate goal becomes a mini-goal in itself. Using this method, the goal becomes manageable. When mini-mistakes are made, they are easy to correct. And with the achievement of each mini-goal, you receive reinforcement and motivation in the form of positive feedback. As basic as this sounds, much frustration and failure is caused when people try to “bite off more than they can chew” by taking on assignments with limited resources and impossible timeline expectations.
Two major fears that sire procrastination are fear of the unknown and fear of rejection or looking foolish. A third fear—of success—is often overlooked. Many people, even many executives, fear success because it carries added responsibility that can seem too heavy to bear, such as setting an example of excellence that calls for additional effort and willingness to take risks. Success without adequate self-esteem or the belief that it is deserved also can create feelings of guilt and the result is only temporary or fleeting high achievement. Playing it safe can seem more tempting than a need to step forward with determination to do it now and do it right.
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