|
|
Like this article? PLEASE +1 it! |  |
|
colleagues Tagged Articles
|
Words of Inspiration For Your Life Coach Journey
| |
| Being a spiritual coach is a calling. It allows you to be a conduit for divine expression to flow through you to your clients, your friends, your colleagues, your family, and the interconnectedness of the Universe.
|
|
|
Plan Early for a Successful Partnership
| |
| Forming a company with a few colleagues these days may make all the sense in the world. And combining skills, assets and business development efforts may very well be a smart move. But, what happens when the bank asks for a personal guarantee of the company owners and one of them declines? Where do you go from there?
|
|
|
Do Sweat the Small Stuff: Beware of the Hidden Restrictions in Non-Disclosure Agreements
| |
| Recession or not, my clients and colleagues are doing business, the smart ones even capturing a little more space in their particular niche as the timid and fearful hang to the rear. As you do so, however, keep in mind that if you sign contracts too quickly (understandably not wanting to lose the opportunity), you run the risk of getting caught up in those little "gotchas" that we fail to recognize until it's too late.
|
|
|
Dig Your Well Before You Are Thirsty
| |
| You never know when you might come across a situation in your life or your business that you would need the expertise of one of your former colleagues or associates. By being diligent in keeping in touch with your network of people you will always have resources to draw from regardless of the type of situation you find yourself in. |
|
|
Being assertive is good for business
| |
| Not everyone knows how to be assertive, that is, being confident and firm without being aggressive. It is especially useful in the working environment, as greater assertiveness can help to get the best out of yourself and your people, yielding returns in all areas of your business.
Assertiveness encourages those who are shy or less vocal to become more involved, and helps the more extrovert or volatile to fine tune their dealings with customers, suppliers and colleagues. An assertive person is a positive, resourceful presence in your business. |
|
|
Are You Customer Centric?
| |
| Research indicates that when polled, 80% of your customers will respond that they are very satisfied with your products/company. Makes you feel great, right? Don’t be fooled by the common misperception that these customers are indeed loyal and plan to repurchase products, or endorse them to their peers & colleagues. The answers to these two questions are the real drivers of customer-centricity & loyalty. |
|
|
Lesson #1: Stick With It
| |
| “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it,” said Ford. |
|
|
Directing His Own Success: How Spielberg Climbed to the Top
| |
| He went from charging five cents per ticket to viewing parties for his homemade movies to becoming the most commercially successful director in Hollywood history. He has challenged the industry by tackling difficult subjects in his films, working hard to reach the top of his game and remaining there for over thirty years. How did this shy, socially awkward boy from Cincinnati become one of the biggest and most respected names in Hollywood today? |
|
|
Lesson #1: “Take care of your people and they will take care of your customers.”
| |
| Marriott got to where he did in the business world by relying on a strong team of colleagues and employees around him. He rose through the ranks by focusing on honing his managerial skills, by ensuring that he was building the best possible team around him. |
|
|
Lesson #5: Know When to Get Help
| |
| “If you’re building an organization, you quickly realize that you can’t do it alone,” says Schultz. “You’ll build a much stronger company if you can find a colleague you trust absolutely, someone who brings different strengths to the mix but who still shares your values.” |
|
|
Lesson #4: Break Through That Wall
| |
| “I have had all of the disadvantages required for success,” says Ellison. “There were lots of times, especially in the early days, that were very, very difficult.” From being given up for adoption by his birth mother to losing his adoptive mother to cancer to dropping out of school, Ellison could have been the poster boy for adolescent angst. But, whether it was rebounding in school or bring Oracle back from the brink, Ellison managed to find the determination that he needed to press on. |
|
|
Lesson #4: Develop a Strong Sense of Leadership
| |
| “The ability to deal with people is as purchasable a commodity as sugar or coffee and I will pay more for that ability than for any other under the sun,” said Rockefeller. |
|
|
Lesson #1: Don’t Compromise
| |
| At the very first audition of “American Idol”, fellow judge Paula Abdul got her first taste of what it was like to work with Cowell. Following a terrible performance by a young contestant, Cowell responded with one of his trademark criticisms. “My jaw literally – like a cartoon – must have hit the table,” recalls Abdul. She proceeded to tell Cowell that he could not talk to people that way. Cowell responded that indeed he could. Abdul countered, saying he could not talk to Americans that way. Cowell said that he could and he would and the conversation abruptly came to an end. |
|
|
Lesson #5: Trust Your Gut
| |
| When Cowell first started out at BMG, he wanted more than anything to produce a hit and prove himself to be a valuable contribution to the company after years of rejection by the industry. Oddly enough, he decided to look in the direction of professional wrestling. His colleagues thought he was crazy, but Cowell had a hunch that if young boys would pay to watch professional wrestling and buy all the related merchandise, they would surely also buy a WWF-themed record sung by the superstar wrestlers themselves. |
|
|
Lesson #3: Learn To Put People First
| |
| “First and foremost is our corporate philosophy, which we call PSP: People, Service, Profit,” says Smith. “If you're going to run a high service organization, you have to get the commitment of the people working for that organization right at the start. If you don't, you'll never be able to deliver at the levels of expectations of the customer.” |
|
|
Lesson #1: Success Doesn’t Happen Overnight
| |
| “I think a lot of people, friends included, were saying, ‘I know you're a believer in this and all, but you know, sometimes no matter how hard you believe it just doesn't happen. Maybe you should kind of give up the ghost and try something else,’” recalls Case. While he can look back on the early stages of his career now and laugh, at the time, it was no laughing matter. Case was struggling to become a success, to find his niche and to make a name for himself in an industry in which he saw limitless potential. “I just believed, and so I kept doing it…we're going to make this happen. We were going to stick with it.” |
|
|
Lesson #3: The Accidental Entrepreneur is No Accidental Success
| |
| “There is such a thing as a natural-born entrepreneur, for whom the entrepreneurial urge drives everything, and who can make a business out of almost anything,” says Moore. “But the accidental entrepreneur like me has to fall into the opportunity or be pushed into it. Then the entrepreneurial spirit eventually catches on.” Moore and Noyce are evidence of the fact that entrepreneurs do not necessarily have to be born as such. Through a process of discovering their passion and being unhappy with their prospects at other companies, Moore and Noyce decided to start up their own business. It was their willingness to admit their shortcomings and seek out the help of others that the two accidental entrepreneurs in fact became two of the most successful entrepreneurs in modern time. |
|
|
From Plastics to Ports: How Ka-shing Cashed in on Success
| |
| “I wake up every day just before 6:00 am and exercise and play golf for an hour and a half,” says Li. “I insist on reading before I go to bed at night. I am still energetic during the day. Your energy comes from being interested in your work.” From manufacturing plastic flowers to becoming one of Hong Kong’s savviest businessmen, Li must have had an intense interest in his work to accomplish all that he has. How did this one time refugee and high school drop out become one of the world’s billionaire businessmen? |
|
|
Howard Schultz Starbucks
| |
| Howard Schultz, Starbucks visionary, once said, “I believe life is a series of near misses. A lot of what we ascribe to luck is not luck at all. It’s seizing the day and accepting responsibility for your future. It’s seeing what other people don’t and pursuing that vision.” |
|
|
Lesson #2: Know When to Hold ‘Em and Know When to Fold ‘Em
| |
| In 1995, Schwartz embarked on one of his most ambitious business deals to date, and one that would forever haunt his career. That was the year Schwartz decided to put in his bid to buy the John Labatt Brewery. He had even been successful in persuading the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board to support his $2.3 billion bid to takeover the popular beer company. But Schwartz would not experience the smooth sailing he had predicted. |
|
|
Lesson #3: Create Long-Term Value For Your Shareholders
| |
| Before Schwartz ever made a decision to acquire a company or not, he would always ask himself one question: what can this company become? Schwartz was not interested in making short-term profit. Instead, his number one goal centered around creating value for his shareholders. “Every decision Onex makes is made on the basis of creating long-term value,” says Schwartz. “Our philosophy is to operate like a forever owner of an asset.” |
|
|
Lesson #4: Set High Standards So You Can Take Pride In Your Product
| |
| “If you’ve got time to lean, you’ve got time to clean.” That was one expression that Sanders was fond of telling his staff at Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets across the country. |
|
|
Lesson #3: Do Not Sell Out Your Vision or Values
| |
| “I’m not really that concerned overall to let any sort of licensing tail wag any dog,” says McFarlane. “My mindset is that…if I’m going to do any sort of animation…I do the best animation. I don’t really care if it makes sense if I can’t sell a t-shirt, or if I can’t sell a movie.” |
|
|
The Power of Pokemon: How Tajiri Took the Bugs Out of Success
| |
| According to some reports, Tajiri has been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a disease that shows itself in the form of social awkwardness and public clumsiness, among other things. Despite this, he has managed to become one of the most beloved and successful video game designers in history. How did he do it? |
|
|
Lesson #4: Turn a Learning Disability into a Learning Opportunity
| |
| For the 30 years that Orfalea served as CEO of Kinko’s, his office would have been unrecognizable as such. He had no stacks of reports piling up in his desks. He had filing cabinets, but a quick peek inside would reveal no files. He had no computer and often times, not even a pen. Why? Because Orfalea suffered from both dyslexia and ADHD. He ran his company differently from most CEOs because he had no other choice. |
|
|
Lesson #5: “It's who you are as an organization that makes everything possible.”
| |
| If it is who you are as an organization that makes everything possible, then it is who you are as a leader that makes the organization what it is. Wrigley Jr.’s organization was a strong one because he was an even stronger leader. It was several of his key personal characteristics that made the organization reach the heights it did under his leadership. |
|
|
The intuition vs. analysis conundrum
| |
| Let's say you've got a really good idea. And you've had good ideas before.
|
|
|
Celebrate Your Victories and Give Thanks
| |
| Research has shown over and over again that the more you acknowledge your past successes, the more confident you become in taking on, and successfully accomplishing, new ones. |
|
|
Money as a Social Barrier
| |
| Check out this study by Prof. Kathleen Vohs of the University of Minnesota (Go Gophers!). She tested the hypothesis that thinking about money can create social barriers. Here is a description of what she did: |
|
|
Tools of the Trade: LinkedIn
| |
| In most of my speaking and writing about building relationships for success, I focus on helping people acquire a relationship mindset through understanding and practicing four fundamental principles. |
|
|
Swim Against the Tide
| |
| Your electricity might flow better through another socket |
|
|
Tip of the week - Great recruiting takes great relationships
| |
| When people are considering new job opportunities, I always tell them "Make sure you consider who you'll be working with, who will be mentoring you, and who you can get access to because of this job. Usually that's more important than the money or even the work you'll be doing because it's the PEOPLE that will make the biggest impact in your career and your life." |
|
|
You get to choose
| |
| That's the cool thing about marketing. Unlike most other functions in the organization, you get to choose where and how you do what you do. |
|
|
100 Ways to Succeed #104
| |
| Shut Up! |
|
|
Probably not stupid
| |
|
Your difficult boss, customer, prospect, voter, student... probably not stupid, probably just uninformed. There's a huge difference. |
|
|
Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn to Find a Job
| |
| Searching for a job can suck if you constrain yourself to the typical tools such as online jobs boards, trade publications, CraigsList, and networking with only your close friends. In these kinds of times, you need to use all the weapons that you can, and one that many people don’t—or at least don’t use to the fullest extent, is LinkedIn. |
|
|
5 Ways to Make Someone Say “WOW, I Want to Be Your Client”
| |
| The objective: To jog potential clients, colleagues and new contacts from the “business as usual” frame of mind that gets in the way of making true connections. |
|
|
Hmmm!
| |
| The Sunday New York Times had a special section called "Education Life." One article, "Career U.," describes some of the changes we might expect in university education. For example, the president of the University of Michigan was surprised (to put it mildly) when she learned five years ago that 10% of incoming freshmen, some 600, had started their own businesses while in high school. She and her colleagues responded by creating about 100 entrepreneurship courses. The article tickles our imagination by describing a few of the more inventive new master's programs:
|
|
|
Drunks, A Wall, Entrepreneurs and Jobs
| |
| That young firms account for most of the job creation in the U.S. – as written about my Kauffman colleagues Dane Stangler, Bob Litan, and others -- has quickly become one of those compelling facts that changes the way you apprehend the entrepreneurial world. Young firms assume their rightful priority of place, and the vexing conflation of young/growth firms with small firms is finally and rightly undone. |
|
|
What a Pole Vaulter Can Teach You About Professional Networking
| |
| Here’s an insight about building intimacy that I shared on yesterday’s Relationship Masters Academy coaching call. |
|
|
STRESS & How to become Stress-Free Quickly !
| |
| This article is a first aid kit against stress. It provides fast solutions to handle and get rid of stress. |
|
|
Why is it so critical and yet so difficult for solos to ask for
| |
| Support can come in many forms. It is the people
you hire, the software you use, the equipment you choose, the systems you
put in place and/or the colleagues and vendors you refer to. All
these resources are necessary in any business. For solos they are
critical. |
|
|
Build Rapport and Build Great Relationships
| |
| All of us rely on our ability to communicate effectively with our colleagues and clients. To be the best you can be you need to discover the magic of rapport. |
|
|
5 Secretes To Solopreneur Success
| |
| Going solo resonates confidence, fun, being in-control and satisfying but it may also get you slowed down, jittery and wrong if you get a bit sloppy. As all businesses build on values and skills so does a solopreneur. Here are top 5 secretes that can help you to easily navigate through the solopreneur's rough role. |
|
|
Lesson #1: “I’d scrap things together – try this, try this, try this”
| |
| Steve Wozniak could not be considered a failure by any stretch of the imagination. However, he has experienced his fair share of failures in his life, and it is to those failures that he attributes his success. |
|
|
The Top 5 Factors That Predict Sales Turnover
| |
| Our data shows that only 16% of the A players with experience stick for more than two years. And that brings us back to the original question.
What do you think - A's or Longevity? Should the answer be a direct relation to the length of your sales cycle? Should you go for longevity when you have a long sales cycle and for A's when you have a short sales cycle? We're interested in what you have to say!
|
|
|
How to Get Business to Drop Out of the Sky
| |
| I think it's both predictable, phenomenal, and fulfilling. I'm talking about the magic that occurs when you and your salespeople leave their comfort zone and work hard to perform the very work, activity, behavior and actions that, left to their own devices, would choose not to do. Whether it's a salesperson who finally: |
|
|
How to Find an Endless Supply of Article Ideas
| |
| Have you ever sat down at your computer, ready to write your next marketing article, and then wasted thirty minutes or more trying to come up with something to write about? If so, then you know a few uninspired days can make article marketing seem like a huge burden, taking up way too much of your time. |
|
|
Three Keys to Reducing Defensive Reactions to Feedback
| |
| Providing quality feedback is the most underutilized "tool" in any manager's toolkit. Because of the typical difficulties associated with such discussions many managers avoid or mishandle this basic responsibility. This article shows how to craft talking points that have a better chance for a "you're right, I do need to work on that" employee response instead of the all too common defensive reaction.
|
|
|
Getting my beauty sleep between emails
| |
| The ubiquity of email and our reliance on the web as an information source is well ingrained in our lives. We have little tolerance for slow servers and are easily frustrated when we can’t just hit ‘send’ with instant results. I recently had ample opportunity to sit and reflect on the speed of communication and how it’s changed so much in our lives. It was the change in rooms, however, that helped me change my point of view. |
|
|
Six Ways to Increase Your Social Media Marketing Traffic Starting Yesterday
| |
| Every article you will find about using social media making to promote your product, business or opportunity successfully will always include the importance of traffic generation. This means getting lots of people to your door. Lots and lots of people, yesterday, today and tomorrow. |
|
|
The Power of MLM That Drives Most Professionals to Quit Their Day Jobs
| |
| Have you ever heard of MLM? This stands for multi-level marketing or commonly known as network marketing. The truth is that more and more people have decided to leave their day jobs to enter into this kind of business and I will show you why. |
|
|
"It's About What Goes Out, Not What Comes In"
| |
| When things go wrong at work, most of us seek someone to blame. But in good teams, when things go wrong, individuals don't wait for someone else to fix themselves or fix the situation. They fix it themselves. |
|
|
Smart Women and a Bird in the Hand
| |
| Getting new, qualified clients is easier than you think. In a time where business owners are looking for ways to grow their business, there are simple ways to get the phone ringing with more qualified clients. This article offers some tips on how to secure new clients from their current clients. It offers 5 easy solutions on how to create a positive relationship with their clients so that their clients will want to send them referrals. |
|
|
Top Causes of EMR Implementation Failure
| |
| About half of all IT projects fail. Very often, the root cause is the 'people factor.' |
|
|
Are Shelter Books Dead -- Or merely the new bridal magazines?
| |
| With the news that Hachette Filipacchi Media is shuttering Metropolitan Home magazine, we've come to a turning point, I think, in what used to be known as the "shelter books" -- magazines focusing on interior design for the home. |
|
|
9th of the 10 Kurlan Sales Competencies That are Key to Building a Sales Culture
| |
| All of the stuff they have been doing, including the order in which they have been doing it, is usually wrong when we begin working with them - and permanently so. It's harder to stop doing the permanent stuff than it is to learn a more effective way. Think of an elastic band. The information from the new lesson stretches the band a lot. Then the natural tendency to do what has become permanent snaps the band back into its original shape. Solution? |
|
|
Website Domains: 7 Things Your Web Marketer or Designer Might Not Tell You
| |
| Most businesses who hire a web marketing company or designer to put up a website are more interested in results than process. Take the time to understand the steps your consultant or designer wish to take, and speak up if something just doesn’t seem right. Know what will and will not be attached to your name, your business and your reputation when the transaction is complete. You are still your best advocate for the welfare and protection of your business’ web operation, and reputation. |
|
|
When, if ever, is it time to quit building a relationship with a potential referral source?
| |
| I was recently asked this question on Twitter. It's a very interesting question. Referrals come from people with whom you have built relationships over a period of time. In some cases the relationships may take years to develop. So how do you know when to focus your efforts elsewhere? |
|
|
My Story - What has this business opportunity meant for my life?
| |
| In this article i tell my story and how I got in to network marketing and direct sales. How my life changed from being a struggling student to a successful entrepreneur. |
|
|
How to use E-mail Marketing as part of your Online Marketing Strategies
| |
| Any website owners and online businessmen take advantage of the potential of e-mail marketing as part of their online marketing strategies. It is an effective medium to boost their profits, when used properly.
There are many ways to use e-mail marketing. For example, an information site sends out news via e-mail marketing that a new content has been added. Some e-commerce sites may also use this method to remind customers of their carts or to send follow-up e-mail to their customers. |
|
|
Maybe I really DO want to appear to be an order-taker...
| |
| Technology has changed everything. It used to take multiple face-to-face sales calls to get a prospect up to speed on the potential value of our products and services. More importantly, those calls enabled us to acquire a broad, deep understanding of their issues, requirements and problems. Now, web 2.0 makes our info available 24/7. They don't need us to learn about us. AND, they now refuse to take the time to educate us regarding what they need. |
|
|
How to Improve Your Presentation Skills
| |
| This article outlines how to continuously improve your presentation skills, using a four-step learning cycle to incorporate new skills each time you make a presentation.
By using the ideas in this article, you'll feel in control of your performance and your progress as a presenter. It will be great for your reputation as you'll impress others with your willingness to accept constructive criticism and your determination to succeed. |
|
|
The "I's" Have It-Insight & Influence
| |
| Power coaching sessions circle around to these essential ingredients that are part of every success story we love to hear. These two "I's" are in the mix. There are simple ways to develop them on your terms. |
|
|
The Importance of Empathy in the Workplace
| |
| An article of 1210 words describing empathy as an ability to connect and relate with others in building and managing healthy relationships. |
|
|
Quit Your Job - Don't "What If" Yourself to Death
| |
| There are SO many people who are doing work they hate. They are "stuck" in careers that they simply don't enjoy. Why? Because they imagine the worst case scenarios that might happen if they resign their position to pursue their dreams. |
|
|
The Secret to Instant and Lasting Motivation
| |
| How can you get motivated NOW and stay motivated for the long run? |
|
|
Making a Habit of Personal Development
| |
| Do you study personal development? Do you study your self and your behaviors? This kind of self analysis is proven to yield high levels of success. |
|
|
Cherish The Tough Times
| |
| Learning how to benefit from the challenges experienced during tough times. |
|
|
HR Guide to Using Yammer to Stay in Touch with Employees and Colleagues
| |
| What is Yammer? Yammer is a free social networking service based on employees' answers to the question: "What are you working on?" |
|
|
Squidoo - A Fast Way to Promote Your Website or Blog
| |
| A not so "new kid on the block" - Squidoo is a medium where you can promote your website or blog fast on the internet. Google indexes Squidoo lenses more often than your site is indexed and a presence on Squidoo will take your products and services to the front row of the internet.
A serious marketer should become very active on this platform by finding their niche and write about it. There is no limit to how many lenses you create. The more the better.
This article will explore the advantages of writing Squidoo lenses. |
|
|
Behavior Based Safety - fact or fable
| |
| What is BBS and how is it different to behavioural safety?
How does behavioural safety evolve within an organisation?
How can you know if BBS or behavioural safety will work in your environment? |
|
|
Human Resources: Getting to the Leadership Table
| |
| Most Human Resources professionals want a seat at the leadership table--but struggle to gain the opportunity to do so. This article describes the challenges facing human resources professionals and prescribes an approach that builds credibility to the contributions that HR professionals can and should make to the success of the business. Follow this prescription, and you are more likely to find yourself a more highly regarded member of the leadership team. |
|
|
Why Do Kids Sell Better Than Adults?
| |
| How come as a kid you could sell your parents on almost anything? Now you are having trouble selling potential customers (a.k.a. prospects) on your products and services even though you know they need them. So what gives? |
|
|
No Business Card Simply Means No Business
| |
| Have you attended a business networking event or a business conference and attempted to exchange professional business cards with another professional but he or she did not have one? What were your thoughts? |
|
|
WHO ELSE WANTS TO MAKE MONEY ON THE INTERNET?
| |
| Off course we all want to make money. Do we really want to work all hours in a job to make someone else rich? There a vast opportunities available on the internet to start a home based business using your computer. |
|
|
Staying Hooked In With Your Internet Based Business
| |
| As someone with a home based internet business, you know the siren lure of staying for an extra hour or two at the computer - just one more job, one more email. That next ping might be the big deal that boosts your business, big time. It's very easy to get wrapped around the spindle of your work and let your home life suffer. |
|
|
Collaboration in The Nonprofit Community- The Many Benefits Of Working Together
| |
| Collaboration is a process where two or more parties get together to work on common goals. The advantages of collaboration are numerous, and they benefit all parties involved. Collaboration helps organizations save time and money, and provide quality services to their clients. This article lists what I feel are the major advantages of collaborating with your colleagues. |
|
|
Employee Disciplinary Action - Steps You Can Take To Protect Yourself and Your Nonprofit Organization
| |
| Disciplining employees can be time consuming, difficult, and challenging. However, if you want the disciplinary action process to go as smoothly as possible, it is important to develop clear policies and procedures that will result in a strong disciplinary action program. By having a solid program in place, it will help to protect you and your organization. This article provides some steps you can take to develop and implement an exemplary disciplinary action program. |
|
|
Razban Golden Rule 1: The 10% that Changes 90% in Empowering Managers
| |
| The 10% can over come 90% concept is desribed here as a trusted way of empowering managers to succeed. |
|
|
Types of Difficult People and 3 Best Ways to Interact with Them at Work
| |
| It takes all types to make the world go around, and unfortunately, we find all of them in the average workplace. Co-existing with difficult people can be a challenge at the best of times, but working with them takes it to a whole new level. Here are some tips to working with some of these difficult types. |
|
|
Discipline And Its Threats On the Net
| |
| This Article tries to show and explain that discipline is vital
for the establishing and operating of a successful online business,
the threats, how to develop the right discipline and how to follow it.
|
|
|
Extroverts excel at working from home, research says
| |
| Working from home or in a freelance career is an attractive prospect for many employees – but is this arrangement suited for everyone?
An article in Business Week explores the personality traits that successful home-based workers typically possess.
|
|
|
Smart Women Celebrate Their Independence
| |
| This article is about how fortunate women are to have the opportunity to live independent lives in this country (US). We have the opportunity to become whoever we want to be and do the things in life that we love. We can live out our passion and purpose freely. |
|
|
Marketing strategies: How to Stay Positive No Matter What
| |
| Is your mindset getting in the way of your success? This article gives you some great tips on how to find and keep positive energy in your life. |
|
|
Speakers, Coaches, and Experts: Write to Sell During a Recession
| |
| Money is tight, but that doesn’t mean people don’t need you and your solutions. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that the people in your market need the guidance and insight you provide now more than ever. But in a recession, it takes a little more encouragement to get people to help themselves by buying your products and services. In other words, you may need to fine-tune your marketing. |
|
|
Chinese Salespeople May be the Next Group to Outsell Your Salespeople
| |
| What are you going to do when, not only are you out priced, out sourced, out willed, out shipped, and out produced, but also out sold - by the Chinese?
That is the question posed by my Kurlan & Associates colleague, Frank Belzer, who is blogging from Shanghai, where he is spending the week training Asian companies in the art of sales management. |
|
|
The Benefit of Hope
| |
| Can you find a way to sell the benefit of hope?
If so, the practice might very well provide you with a significant advantage when interacting with customers or colleagues, especially in today's tougher economy...
|
|
|
Introvert Myth - Are Introverts Aloof Or Something Better?
| |
| If you're an introvert you may be accused of being aloof, snobby, stuck-up, rude or seeming disinterested. Years ago this would happen to me and I believed it. All I could do, without the understanding I have now, is apologize. Today, I would be able to take the accusation and explain it. |
|
|
5 Steps to Approaching your Current Employer about Telecommuting
| |
| Many people fear that if they suggest telecommuting, or even working from home occasionally, that they will be viewed as "less than serious" about their job. Of course, if your company already has a formal telework plan in place it is much easier, but what do you do if they don't? |
|
|
Are you an expert? (...at anything?)
| |
| Read any trade publication. Surf the net for a sales trainer or consultant. Listen to the radio or TV. We are surrounded by experts. The gurus are everywhere! |
|
|
Value, Value Stream, Flow, Pull, Perfection
| |
| Manufacturing executives said it didn't apply to them. (They were dead wrong.) Software development executives said it didn't apply to them. (They were dead wrong.) Business & technology services executives said it didn't apply to them. (They were dead wrong.) Sales executives, managers and professionals KNOW FOR SURE it doesn't apply to them. And of course they are right. Right? |
|
|
Should Leaders Have Friends at Work?
| |
| Relationships are essential, the core of the commercial world yet it's not uncommon for executives to avoid 'friendships' with co-workers. They often fear that having personal relationships in the workplace might compromise their ability to make tough decisions. So should Leaders have friends at work?"
|
|
|
BEING THE BEST MEANS CREATING A SELF MANAGING CULTURE
| |
| Self Management is the #1 Competency of Successful cultures and of successful people. Take a look at any top performers or top companies and the clues to their success are evident.
They make and keep commitments, are self driven, and focus on the value the bring to those they serve and those they work with. Managers coach through meaningful conversations and walk their talk.
|
|
|
SUCCESSFUL COMMUNICATION
| |
| Many businesses today are using technology such as the Internet, fax machines, e-mail, and voice mail to enhance their productivity and efficiency. The use of technology has effected the lines of communication between managers and their sales teams. It is a less personal way to communicate and can lead to feelings of alienation. |
|
|
Five Things You Need to Know About Networking
| |
| Networking is one of the best business building strategies I have ever used. As a matter of fact, I built my business through networking, so I know that it works. |
|
|
The huge cost of hesitation
| |
| I knew that being hesitant in the sales arena was a no-no, but I didn't know just how much business it could cost. |
|
|
Why Financial Planners and Mortgage Brokers Need to Wake Up and Dream
| |
| Too many Mortgage Brokers and Financial Planners are working too hard doing the wrong things..
They are bogged down focussing on paperwork, compliance and technical matters rather than what clients are really interested in... dreams, goals, hope, security, peace of mind...
It's time for all good planners to wake up and start dreaming... |
|
|
I've Got An Idea
| |
| What do you do with a great business idea? Forget about it until someone else runs with it and hits it big? Or do you have the commitment, time and energy to really do something with it? |
|
|
5 Must Haves to Increase Sales for Business, Executive or Sales Coaches
| |
| Would you like to increase sales for your coaching practice? Then check out if you have these 5 must haves to do just that. |
|
|
Job Interview Tips: How to Ace the Job Interview and Get Hired - Even in a Recession
| |
| Get hired faster even in a recession! Once You Get the Job Interview, Here Are Your Next Steps... |
|
|
I Miss Upward Feedback
| |
| Looking at benefits of upward feedback programs. |
|
|
Why Am I Here Doing This Job
| |
| In this inspiring article worklife expert David Oliver challenges us to ask why we are doing our current job |
|
|
Words That Sell and Promote - What to Look For in a Rockin' Copywriter
| |
| A copywriter is more than just a great writer. The following steps will help you hire a rockin’ copywriter to get the job done for your online marketing needs.
|
|
|
Writing Tip: Follow basic email etiquette for greater productivity
| |
| Poorly written emails today suffer the same consequences as poorly written memos and letters of earlier times. So, when writing emails to your colleagues and clients, remember to create a professional image by following these simple guidelines. As you do, you will help others meet important deadlines and keep projects on target. |
|
|
Why Managers and Supervisors ARE NOT the Best Communicators During Times of Change
| |
| Most of the programs fail to manage change within organizations...Here’s why managers & supervisors are not the best face to face communicators during times of change.
|
|
|
Can You Take a Baby Step?
| |
| It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the big picture or larger goal. Even breaking goals down into milestones and individual tasks can leave you feeling stuck. When you begin to feel that way, just think about taking baby steps. |
|
|
Let your mouth say what your heart wants to without your brain getting in the way
| |
| We waste so much time in business and in life because we aren’t straight with each other. We don’t say what we mean or ask for what we need for fear of being judged, ridiculed or even fired. It takes courage to speak from your heart and to speak your truth.
|
|
|
Staying Competitive in Your Organization
| |
| In today’s economic situation, having and holding your job cannot be assured. We are no longer living in a world where the organization one works for has any guaranteed loyalty to its employees. Here are 6 tips on how to stay competitive within your organization:
|
|
|
Using Employee Engagement & Satisfaction Data to Strengthen Company Performance
| |
| Article discussed the differences between employee satisfaction surveys and employee engagement surveys as they relate to company performance. |
|
|
Employee Induction – the why and how
| |
| We offer some helpful and practical advice on how to best work through this process. Once you’ve made your recruitment decision and chosen your new employees their induction is vital for both you as the employer and them as the new worker. |
|
|
Online Business Success: Leveraging LinkedIn
| |
| Are you utilizing the power of LinkedIn to increase your business referrals? Read this article and learn nine ways to power up your LinkedIn account. |
|
|
Sell Don't Tell
| |
| Whether we like it or not, selling and persuasion is going on all the time.
This articles explains how to utilise these skills if you are to be a successful Motivational Manager. |
|
|
Recession-Proof Your Mind (Part 2)
| |
| What is a recession? Does it really mean that times will be tough for the entrepreneur? Learn the secrets to profiting during economic tough times when you recession proof your mind. |
|
|
Four Steps to Help Improve and Spotlight Your Value
| |
| One of the biggest mistakes many women leaders make is avoiding the spotlight. Time after time, our women clients tell us stories of being "lost in the shuffle" when it comes time for promotions and opportunities. Most of the time, it's not because they lack the skills or the ambition to rise up in the ranks, but because they're not visible within their organizations... |
|
|
Why Improve Your Communication Skills?
| |
| Ask yourself these questions. The answers you generate may surprise you. |
|
|
Real Estate Marketing Strategies - Are You a "People Pleaser" or Are You Committed to "Win/Win"?
| |
| Are you letting your desire to please people get in the way of your business? Take control! Here are some tips to empower you and help you commit to "win/win" interactions. |
|
|
The Importance of Soft Skills in Business
| |
| What are soft skills? Why do they matter? How can you develop yours and improve your work? |
|
|
Hooking the Media
| |
| In person or in print, you only have ten seconds to create a great first impression. Learn how to hook the media for free publicity. |
|
|
Why Affirmations Are Pathetic
| |
| Affirmations are like putting pretty make-up on a canker sore: it doesn’t cover the problem. There’s a big difference between “I want to believe this” and “I DO believe this!” You have to do the real work. |
|
|
Getting New Managers to Deliver Quickly
| |
| As companies start transforming their businesses in response to changing market conditions, they need their people to deliver. Every CEO faces two main people challenges. The CEO's first challenge is to develop current high performers into good leaders who can put in place a multiplier effect on their talents. The CEO's second challenge is to induct new talented people and get them off the block quickly. Organizations that have a strong process culture can get their new manager's off the block quickly and with less pain. |
|
|
EMAIL RES-CUE
| |
| For someone who loves in-person and voice contact, I’m baffled by how much time I spend sending and responding to emails. It’s so easy to use email as the default for doing business, for building relationships (and now even email is being slowly usurped by social media software). But I stand resolute in my campaign to make sure we don’t trade humanity for technology. Having been both perpetrator and victim of emails gone bad, I offer some ways to bail yourself out of the email jail, and match the right message with the right medium. |
|
|
Getting Over Getting Fired
| |
| Take time to mourn over the loss of your job, and then move on. |
|
|
Keep Listening After "No!"
| |
| How Rick Schilling found his successful, new business after a potential client has just rejected his sales pitch. This article is about the art of keep listening after someone has said "No!" to us. |
|
|
Is There Money in It?
| |
| When you do what you love, the money may not necessarily follow; at least not immediately. |
|
|
Facebook Connect vs OpenID — Which will win?
| |
| It’s been a few days since my last post and I must say that I have calmed down considerably since my meeting on Monday. Several things that I got to do over the last few days made the week completely worth it.
Firstly, I was able to give a Social Media 101 crash course to my colleagues. I always enjoy doing presentations and when I can help someone, it makes it that much more rewarding. Just to let you readers know, my door is always open if you have any questions. |
|
|
A New Kind of Networking for Recessionary Times
| |
| With our economic market in an up and down swing, and sales from referrals our very best source, quality networking has taken on new meaning. |
|
|
Necessity is the Mother of Invention: An Entrepreneurial Call to Arms
| |
| Calling all entrepreneurs, we have to take matters into our own hands. Credit has dried up, commerce appears to be paralyzed, but not our spirits. The vision of hope lies with the entrepreneurial spirit. I know that in crisis, there are also possibilities and solutions. |
|
|
Smart Women Are “Lucky”
| |
| This article is about taking ownership and responsibility for your future. We all have needs and wants that we desire, but are we truly taking the steps necessary to accomplish our Big Ideas, Dreams, and Goals or are we waiting for someone or something to make all our dreams come true? |
|
|
Cultivate Your Network
| |
| In today’s mobile world, our relationships are often the only constant. Excellent leaders are also resourceful people – they know how to access their network to quickly get stuff done. Any decent contact management system can help store and update contact information, track interactions and enter other helpful data (birthdays, special skills, personal hobbies, spouse’s name, etc.).
|
|
|
The Sales Force with Over Achievers Who Don't
| |
| I think that many CEO's are in denial.
Despite the struggles of their sales force, they continue to look at the pipeline and say to themselves, we'll be okay as soon as these deals close. But the deals aren't closing and with each passing day companies are less okay then they were the day before. |
|
|
12 Simple Ways to Sell More Books
| |
| 10 very easy to implement "stand out" ideas so your book will stand out from the millions of others out there. |
|
|
Why Should You and Your Business be In a Joint Venture Club
| |
| If you are considering building or growing a business you need to understand the current business trends. |
|
|
Smart Women Ignite Their Fire
| |
| This article is about how we as women, can sometimes go through many years in our lives without allowing ourselves to realize our Big Idea, Dreams and Goals. We are so busy taking care of others that we hold our passion and desire inside of us. We fan the flames of other’s desires and dreams and put ourselves last. It’s important to create the time and space in our lives so that we can feel fulfilled and full of passion and purpose—bring our special gift to the world. |
|
|
Be The Hot Dog Stand - Search Engine Optimization
| |
| You are far better to relinquish some of your budget to being found than making your website just the prettiest one on the internet.
The term commonly used for this is search engine optimization (SEO), meaning your site needs to be created in such a way that it is search engine friendly and laden with the proper key words. Here are a few quick tips to get your rankings up!
|
|
|
MySpace Marketing A StepByStep Guide to Promoting Your Business on MySpace
| |
| A Greater Number of Businesses Are Now Promoting Their Products and Services on MySpace. Here’s a Step-By-Step Guide for Those Who Wish to Join in and Reap the Rewards. |
|
|
Home Business Expert: 3 Qualities Of Leadership
| |
| Consistency, accountability, decisiveness these are the three qualities most leaders have in common. |
|
|
The Five Minute Easter Egg Miracle
| |
| The five minute miracle means I can write down my idea and keep it safe. I don’t need to worry about forgetting it because the really key stuff is on paper and I can take it where it needs to go when I am ready.
|
|
|
Two Amazingly Simple Actions to Increase Sales
| |
| Probably, the least used action within the sales skills of most sales people are these two. Even with all the articles, the books on improving sales expertise, far too many sales professional fail to master these two critical sales skills. Interested, read on.
|
|
|
How to Make Mega Millions
| |
| Tips on achieving your financial dreams |
|
|
Want to Skyrocket Your Career During This Recession?
| |
| Tips on how to thrive in your career despite an economic recession |
|
|
Twitter - What is twitter, and how can I use Twitter as a business tool?
| |
| Learn how to use Twitter as a business tool boosting your brand while allowing you to keep an eye on the competition. |
|
|
Viral Marketing, Let's See How it Works
| |
| The biggest problem most websites have is that they are instantly forgettable. They sell or say the same thing as hundreds or thousands of other sites; to an audience that is so quick to click-away that a large percentage of their traffic never appreciates why they should buy anything or listen to what's being said. |
|
|
Business coaches aren’t for everyone
| |
| A personal decision not to use a business coach |
|
|
Leverage Your Business Lunches To Maximize Your Sales Results
| |
| Do you need to meet potential customers (a.k.a. prospects), potential qualified clients, colleagues, current customers, vendors, or strategic partners for lunch? Is your goal to get in and out? As a sales professional, do you arrive a little earlier or a little late to avoid the noon hour rush? Have you ever considered that this might be negatively affecting your sales results? |
|
|
Some important time management tips to help streamline your business and your life.
| |
| Small businesses today are under tremendous pressure to do more with less. One of the ways we can stretch our business buck is to work smarter. These practical time management tips can help your company run smoother and more cost-effectively. |
|
|
Manage Fear of Failure
| |
| Clues from past sucesses can help up beat fear of failure. |
|
|
It just didn't matter
| |
| In negative times, not all you hear need matter but if you aren't careful you can let it matter when it needn't. |
|
|
Act on the Present
| |
| In tough times Harry needed to focus on being present -not lamenting the past |
|
|
- Business Development Training - How to Beat the Fear of Meeting People
| |
| Recently I presented a business development training session at a conference. The audience were managers from all across Australia. I gave them a 2-minute break and asked them to get up and talk amongst themselves. It can get scary when we have to meet new people.But – from a business development perspective – it is extremely selfish when we are not brave enough too reach out to people we don’t know. |
|
|
Why an Outstanding Resume is Not Enough to Get an Interview: Reason 6
| |
| Many people think that a powerful, well written résumé is sufficient to give them the edge needed to secure a job interview. While an outstanding résumé is absolutely necessary, it may not always be sufficient. This is the sixth in a series of short articles which outlines the factors, other than your resume, which could determine whether you will be amongst the chosen few from the multitude. |
|
|
Why External Diagonal Career Moves are Rare
| |
| An external diagonal career move occurs when someone moves into a more senior or broader role in a different organisation in either the same or a different industry. For example, if a Marketing Manager in an organisation moves to become a General Manager or Chief Operating Officer or CEO in a different organisation, I call this a diagonal move. They are rare. Most of the time people move either vertically or horizontally. |
|
|
When should you fire poor performers?
| |
| Every business has someone who just doesn't seem to be working out. Whether they were a bad hire, or suffering from personal issues outside the job, it really doesn't matter. Sometimes people just get tired, or bored, and uninspired. When people are not engaged, it is time for them to move on. Sometimes it's clear, more often it's not. And few people like to fire staff. In this article, I talk about when to bite the bullet and do what's right for you and your employee - termination. |
|
|
Customer Service do you get it
| |
| Building relationships is the cornerstone of all sales - how do you get started? |
|
|
Sales Assessments vs. Personality Assessments Episode III - The PHD's Strike Back
| |
| Are PHD's more sensitive to criticism than the rest of us?
I heard from a few over the past week and they weren't happy with what I wrote here and here. I rocked their world and they couldn't cope. |
|
|
Let’s hope that the Macworld Expo lives on
| |
| Apple has bowed out of all upcoming Macworld Conferences & Expos. But let's hope the annual event lives on. |
|
|
Stress and the Sales Cycle
| |
| On one hand we are being told that the economy is improving, turning around, doing better. On the other hand we hear our colleagues say that sales are down, services are still being cut back. Jobs are being cut and the jobless rate continues to inch higher. There is the flavor and smell of fear in almost every workplace.
If sales are down then what is up? Stress and office conflict are on the increase and the natural tendency to blame and judge is on the rise. Recently a very angry client called me with the following question. Actually, it was more than a question; it was a ten minute rant and rave about injustice and unfairness. It went something like this "He stole my idea. He used my exact words and took all the credit. |
|
|
Actions for Successful Remote Freelance Work
| |
| As an online freelance provider, I use technology every day to provide my outsourcing managers with transparency, visibility, and open and honest communication. These three critical areas are the real deliverables with respect to outsourcing, and the most successful freelance providers recognize their value when building long-term outsourcing relationships.
Relating to these three outsourcing concerns, there are some relatively simple things that a freelance remote worker can do to help themselves succeed. Here are five actions for successful remote freelance work... |
|
|
How Successful Sales Conversions and Article Writing Share One Common and Critical Characteristic
| |
| Successful sales conversions is the goal of any sales professionals. Converting all those calls to meetings is how to increase sales and put more dollars into the piggy bank. For many sales professionals, they are also engaged in article writing either as authors or as readers. A recent statistic revealed how successful sales conversions and article writing share an essential and critical characteristic. |
|
|
Top 7 Pitfalls That Keep Sales Professionals from Their Goals to Increase Sales
| |
| Most individuals are involved in selling whether it is selling learning to selling an idea. However a few are compensated for their sales efforts because they sell products or services. Far more sales professional could dramatically increase sales if they would change their behaviors (sales skills) by avoiding these top 7 reasons for sales failure. |
|
|
Lessons on Leadership: No Clowning Around
| |
| The events around the world have a "what would I do" quality as we watch the rescue efforts in Japan. In leadership development programs a module on the many faces of fear is vital.
Think about how you and your colleagues have been discussing world events. Is it in hushed tones with a glint of sadness in your voice? Is someone making silly comments that raise eyebrows and cause groans before they say "I was just joking"? |
|
|
People First,Things Second - Leadership Education
| |
| What can we learn from a world in turmoil? What can we learn from watching the courage of young, old, men, women, and children putting their lives at risk for something as amorphous, as intangible as freedom?
What can we learn from watching our colleagues in neighboring states go to the seat of power, the capitol where they march, stand, sit, drum, chant that they will not go away, they will be heard? |
|
|
Giving Beyond a Season An Entrepreneurs Wish
| |
| The giving that really matters is often just old-fashioned (yet, highly fashionable commendation). Hardworking entrepreneurs need lots of it to keep hanging in there when times are less than favorable for business. There is no out-of-pocket expense associated with offering praise where praise is due. |
|
|
Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Economy?
| |
| Sometimes it seems like the media points out nothing but bad news because it grabs viewers and sells papers. It's easy to be swayed by isolated statistics, but before you panic, look at the bigger economic picture -- you may be pleasantly surprised. |
|
|
Whats Going on at Your Hospital Emotional Intelligence Development
| |
| What's Going on at Your Hospital? Emotional Intelligence Development.
|
|
|
The Art of Asking the Right Questions
| |
| The truth is, most of us don’t know how to ask good questions, or when we do ask a really great question, it is by accident. There are several ways to ask questions. Some people seem really good at it, while others use a random, what-ever-pops-into-head approach.
|
|
|
Effective Workplace Communication
| |
| Communication is an extremely powerful tool for success which, when effectively engaged in, creates strong relationships, harmonious working conditions and allows us to share the best of ourselves with students and colleagues. |
|
|
Effective Leadership = Business Success
| |
| Leadership plays a vital role in the building of any business and can have a direct effect on the attitudes of colleagues and staff which in turn affects products and services. The attitude and influence of the leader is also reflected in aspects such as staff satisfaction and retention. |
|
|
Why don't we like talking about ourselves in marketing?
| |
| Have you ever had the experience of having to promote someone else’s products and services? I don’t know about you, but I always find this much easier than promoting my own business. May be it’s because we’re not as close to someone else’s business as we are to our own and so if people say no it’s not such a big deal. |
|
|
Karma Keys to a Referral-Based Business
| |
| Want to build a repeatable and successful process of increasing sales to both existing customers and new prospects? Then build a referral-based business where giving referrals is just as valuable as getting referrals. |
|
|
SELLING WITH A POSITIVE MINDSET
| |
| Successful people have a positive attitude about their abilities, about the products or services they offer and about their clients. They have a positive attitude about their work environment and about their colleagues. |
|
|
Turning the habit of self-criticism upside down
| |
| Perhaps this sounds familiar:
When it's time to write a resume or talk to a boss or discuss a project glitch with colleagues, the instinct is to spin, to avoid a little responsibility, to sit quietly. Put a best face forward, don't set yourself up. |
|
|
What Bookkeeping Software Package Should You Use?
| |
| I am well aware that there are few places for you to go and ask questions about the different accounting packages that are available. Not many of you have an accountant in the early days of business so where do you go for unbiased and expert advice on the choice of bookkeeping package?
Do you ask friends and colleagues? Do you wait for months until you find a review in a magazine of 2 or 3 packages and use that? Or do you go to one of the large computer stores and look at what packages they sell and pick one of those? |
|
|
Top 10 Differences Between Sales Winners and Losers
| |
| What is it about some players, teams, salespeople, and companies that cause them to win while others don't? I have probably not written about this subject as often as I have written about tactics, strategy and motivation so I'll give it some attention this week. I'd like to discuss the ten biggest differences between sales winners or over achievers and sales losers or under achievers. |
|
|
Scheduling for Success
| |
| Working from home you face many challenges. The first challenge to overcome is to set your schedule, and keep it. While that sounds easy enough, how do you set a schedule and more importantly, how do you stick to it? |
|
|
Just By Answering Your Telephone Can Increase Sales
| |
| Next to driving by more business than you’ll ever had and just asking for business, returning phone calls may be an incredible opportunity to increase your sales. |
|
|
Are You Successful? Yes or No? Which Life Are You Leading?
| |
| Which life do you lead?
Do you consider your life to be constructive or would you describe it as destructive to you and all around you.
Both result from a chain reaction, one leading to a downward spiral and the other leading to an upward spiral.
|
|
|
Good Customer Service Alone Doesn't Win Referrals
| |
| Don't wait around for your excellent service to pay off. Instead, build a network for word-of-mouth marketing. |
|
|
What to Expect When You Hire a Copywriter
| |
| The Copywriting Process Unveiled~ |
|
|
Just Say "No!"
| |
| Did you know that saying "No" can actually be doing a favor for the person you are talking to? Really -- it can!! It is also something that is really hard for overachievers to do. And that is what we are right? As entrepreneurs we take on all kinds of things, but sometimes they are not the right things for the time. |
|
|
HELPFUL SUGGESTIONS FOR MANAGING WORK
| |
| Manage your time better and plan ahead. Develop a system that works for you and not against you |
|
|
10 Reasons To Publish A Newsletter
| |
| Here are 10 reasons why, as a small business owner, you should publish a newsletter. |
|
|
Can You Read Me?
| |
| This article explains how e-mail marketing campaigns can have a seriously positive impact on your business. |
|
|
Top 10 Tips for Being Persistent
| |
| Top 10 Tips for Being Persistent |
|
|
Six Tips to Help Bring Out A Colleague's Inner Einstein
| |
| Think of your favorite relationships-people who make you feel really good and who bring out your best qualities. What does it do to your sense of self when someone reveals your brilliance by showing you how you are smart? You hold your head higher and feel more confident in your abilities. This creates a truly synergistic relationship with the other person. Wouldn’t you love to turn around and unlock the unique brilliance in others so they can make that same, life-changing discovery about themselves and show up brilliant wherever they go?
|
|
|
When and How to Get Feedback on Your Book-in-Progress
| |
| If you’re writing a book, eventually you need to get feedback on your writing skills, the material itself, and whether or not your goals were accomplished in the manuscript. After all, the goal of writing a book is to communicate with readers, and if no one has read your book at press time, you’ll never know whether your message is perceived the way you intend it to be perceived. You can read it yourself over and over again, but you won’t be able to get a sense of how others interpret your book without letting someone else read it.
|
|
|
Get Over Yourself and Publish Your Prices Already
| |
| Jakob Nielsen has published his annual Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design for 2007. It’s classic Nielsen—high on quality, low on filler. Number 10 on the list is my favorite by far and always sparks healthy debate amongst my colleagues. (That’s probably why it’s my favorite.) Nielsen tells us to plainly answer your user’s most burning questions. Be forthright, not mysterious. And always answer the most obvious question which is “How much does it cost?” |
|
|
What if Getting More Clients was Not An Issue
| |
| Do you feel like you are in a constant race to get more clients? How about changing things so that a constant stream of clients come to you instead? It's easier than you think. |
|
|
Stress-Free Selling® - Do Your Proposals Sell?
| |
| How often is your proposal evaluated by people who were not part of your previous meetings?
Regardless the communication method (in person, phone, email, fax, etc.), many proposals are reviewed by superiors, committees or colleagues we were not able or granted the right to communicate with.
|
|
|
The Ultimate Wealth
| |
| What is “the ultimate wealth”? Notice if your mind immediately went to the thought of ‘money’ as the equivalent of ‘wealth’.
What do you notice are your thoughts when you define wealth as the amount of money that you have? What are your feelings? What sensations in your body are present? Pause. Take a moment and notice what is there for you to learn about you before read-ing further.
Ask yourself in this quiet place: How fulfilled am I in this area? Do I truly have the sense of having ‘enough’?
|
|
|
HOW TO CREATE A BRAND ONE PROSPECT AT A TIME
| |
| By Robert Croston
Having spent longer than I care to admit pursuing traditional brand development through advertising, I recently became fascinated with the prospect of building brands using direct response marketing and lead generation activities. (I wonder what my colleagues at the ad firm would think if they knew!)
Traditional wisdom has always told us marketing types that our marketing communications are either 1) emotionally oriented and image based OR 2) direct oriented and response based activities. You simply can't do both at the same time.
Or can you?
|
|
|
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR SHORTENING YOUR SALES CYCLE OVER TIME
| |
| By John Doerr
It usually takes a long time to find a shorter way. ~Anonymous
I spend a good percentage of my time selling. I also teach selling to professional service providers. And one issue that comes up time after time is, "How do I get prospects to buy faster? Why don't people respond to my proposals, my calls, my emails, or me? How do I shorten the sales cycle?"
My flip answer, "Have more in the pipeline at all times, so the sales cycle just seems shorter."
Of course, that rarely makes anyone feel better. So based on our research and experience, here are my Ten Commandments to Making the Sales Process Move More Quickly.
|
|
|
Getting Recommended By Others Will Increase Your Profits
| |
| Over the past 30 days you have purchased many items and services. If you are like most of us you are completely satisfied with the products and services you purchased. But how many of the sellers have you recommended to your friends, family and colleagues? If you are completely satisfied why haven’t you recommended the sellers to other? I know you are busy; it is not at the top of your mind. Not a priority. You have come to expect satisfaction from the sellers you buy from. You just have not thought about it. |
|
|
10 Top Business Assumptions that cause you to lose money
| |
| Stop maiking Bad Business Assumptions and your sales & profits will grow |
|
|
The secret to lowering you marketing cost
| |
|
Marketing cost are going up..
• The U.S. Postal Service has increased postage rates again. The latest increase (as of July 2008) has pushed the cost of mailing a letter to 42 cents and upped the cost of shipping magazines and catalogs 20%. This would be the largest increase in decades.
• Newspaper advertising costs as well are estimated to increase along with radio and television.
• Printers ink and paper cost are estimated to increase.
|
|
|
Advertising & Referrals -The Two Big Punches of Marketing
| |
| The 5 reasons to advertise and why to use referrals |
|
|
Coaching Tip: Creating a “Rough Day” Strategy
| |
| We all have those days that challenge us to stay centered, optimistic, productive and connected to ourselves. Learn how to develop a strategy to shift into a more positive and productive mindset. |
|
|
What’s a friend worth to you?
| |
| It’s a nice marketing stunt, but that’s all it is: a stunt. The long term value is not pending for most of us (John will probably pull a miracle out of it).
So the question, then, is not how many friends you have, but how many significant interactions you have with customers, prospects, partners, and colleagues. How can you share 1 more today? |
|
|
Seven Secrets of Closing Deals with Women Why Entrepreneurs Need to Focus on Women
| |
| Women have different buying patterns, thought processes and experiences than men do. Therefore, closing deals with women requires knowing what they want and what motivates them to buy. |
|
|
Internet Business – 10 Cost Effective Ways to Promote Your Internet Business
| |
| Your website will need visitors for you to earn money with your internet business. The biggest challenges for those starting a new internet business are limited resources and money to run marketing campaigns; and limited knowledge on how to cost effectively drive traffic to the website. |
|
|
How to Start and Prepare a Home Based Business
| |
| In recent times, the most effective and productive way to do work is at home. Constant noise, the phone rings and even colleagues from the office can be distracting and it disturbs a lot of people who are concentrating on their work. While your own home can be filled with distractions, you can always create a working space where you can be left alone. |
|
|
7 Habits of Highly Successful Speakers
| |
| If you follow these 7 steps, you will feel more confident and secure when facing audiences -- whether a first-time speaker or still-not-quite-secure repeat performer. 1.KNOW YOUR PAL™: Purpose, Audience & Logistics. 2.PREPARE 3. CREATE A USER-FRIENDLY FINAL DRAFT: Highlight must know, should know & could know materials in different colors. 4.PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE: At least 3 to 6 times, out loud. 5.ARRIVE EARLY: Make sure the room is set up correctly, the microphone is working & check visual aids. 6.DELIVERY TECHNIQUES: You want the audience to be receptive to your 3 V’s – Visual, Vocal and Verbal. 7.HANDLE QUESTIONS & ANSWERS WITH TACT: Answer them as briefly & concisely as you can. It’s best to paraphrase the question before answering it. These secrets are a head start toward helping you gain the competitive edge when presenting. |
|
|
How to avoid objections during your sales presentation
| |
| Handling customer objections at the end of the sales meeting can cause you a lot of grief and frustration and sometimes lose you the sale, well here is great tip on how to avoid this ever happening to you. |
|
|
Your Business Card Making It Making the Most of It
| |
| Your business card is an important marketing tool. This article explains how to make the most of it. |
|
|
What Workers are REALLY Thinking About in Meetings
| |
| The next time you worry that your meeting presentation might not be detailed enough, or you want to make sure you include all of the relevant data, or you want to re-do that PowerPoint slide one last time, you might want to reconsider.
People apparently are not hanging on your every word.
A study completed by Mindjet Business Meetings shows that people are so bored with traditional presentations and the same old meeting format that they are thinking about, well, almost anything but the topic at hand.
A synopsis of the study can be foundin this article. |
|
|
How to Become a Rock Star Entrepreneur
| |
| Want to be a rock star entrepreneur? Want to land those high-profile media outlets? Before you run out and hire a PR firm, get your personal (NOT your BUSINESS) brand in shape. If you do, you will have the media coming to YOU. Read this article and learn how one small one-person firm became an international sensation by cleverly structuring, then perpetuating an engaging personal brand. |
|
|
Even Better Than Great
| |
| What aren't you thinking of that's holding you back or could help you evolve? If you figure out the answer to that, you won't be great. You'll be even better than great! |
|
|
Success Really Isn’t About Money…
| |
| This morning I had a meeting with several professional Scouts. These people make their livings serving the Boy Scouts of America. They are not likely to become wealthy in the conventional sense. Their jobs involve long hours and they all serve well above and beyond the normal parameters of their job descriptions... |
|
|
Part Six - Prospecting for More Sales
| |
| Part Six of a Ten Part Series. In this series, we explore all the different avenues of prospecting necessary for a business to succeed.
Think of your business as a a beautiful garden, and then consider all the things you need to do to keep that garden beautiful and growing, rather than dreary, dead or decaying.
Need help with Prospecting? Feel free to get in touch with us via our website.
|
|
|
Managing Impressions
| |
| An article of 1270 words describing how and why it’s important to regulate the impression you make on others in your everyday life. |
|
|
The Great Business Discovery of 2007
| |
| One of the absolute BEST things any professional, business owner or manager can do is invest in seminars and conferences. The chance to get away and "see the forest for the trees" is incredibly valuable. Conferences generate new perspectives, and new ideas create vast new opportunities! Invest in yourself! |
|
|
Don't settle, find a job you love!
| |
| Are you happy where you are career wise? Do you genuinely enjoy the work you do? Many people express their unhappiness at their current job, but very little spend the time researching why. Do you enjoy what you do but maybe not the environment or people you surround yourself by? Or, do you wake up day in and out dreading the day and work ahead? Once you determine the source of your unhappiness you can create a plan to move forward. |
|
|
Home Based Business Stressing You Out? Three Ways to Restore Your Sanity
| |
| No one can ever say that having a home based business is boring! |
|
|
Find the Right Coach for You
| |
| Preparation and research are the first steps to finding the best coach for you. Here's a step by step guide to get ready for your search. |
|
|
HOW TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE LISTENED TO
| |
| In order to be listened to, we need to become listeners ourselves. |
|
|
HARNESING THE POWER OF DIFFERENCE
| |
| In the work situation where people are together for long hours under pressure, the ways in which we differ need to be understood and managed if sound working relationships are to be maintained |
|
|
Getting Support in Times of Change
| |
| Understand what "helpful" support looks like, and how to get it. |
|
|
THINKING ABOUT THINKING
| |
| Thoughts and actions which are allowed to flow without being considered lead us to instinctual behaviour where we repeat the same actions, and often the same mistakes, as the past. |
|
|
How to develop a career action plan
| |
| The focus of this article is on the development of your career action plan. However, the process can also be easily adapted to other areas of your life.
The first and most important step is to make a decision. The decision is whether or not you need a career action plan. Many may not require any action in their career at this stage of their life. For some there are more important areas in their life to which they want to devote their time. The challenge is to make a conscious decision and either accept the current job or put into place actions to achieve your goal job. |
|
|
Everyone is all a-twitter about Twitter.
| |
| What is Twitter and how can it benefit your business. Don't miss out on this hot new marketing technique. |
|
|
Just do it!
| |
| You've tried several times to lose the weight, you've expressed interest in a new career move, you're tired of friends or colleagues taking advantage of you, or you've been seeking Mr or Mrs Right, however you've had a hard time either getting started in the first place or succeeding in your goal. How often have you told yourself, "I'll start tomorrow" or "I'll start next week"? It's easy to find excuses to put off your dreams, goals and aspirations. But where have the excuses gotten you? The exact same place you are today and where you'll be tomorrow. |
|
|
Sorry No More
| |
| Do you find yourself saying “I’m sorry” too often at work? Have you noticed a pattern of prefacing feedback or sharing of your ideas with an “I’m sorry, but?” Clients often come to me noticing their overuse of this phrase and the negative impact it has on their professional stature. What place does saying “I’m sorry” have in the workplace? |
|
|
When to Say When
| |
| Do you know when to say "When"? Not to stereotype our gender, but it does seem that women seem to have a problem with being able to say "no" to the requests for our time, services and money. When friends and colleagues come to us for our expertise in what we do, we gladly give away our knowledge and insight. Many times though, this can also lead into using your skills and services. If this goes on without keeping it in check, soon you find that what you typically get paid for from your clients, you are now doing free for those close to you, which in turn, uses up too much of your time. |
|
|
Stop Workplace Stress In Its Tracks
| |
| It's difficult, if not impossible, to avoid stress entirely. These tactics will allow you to perform emergency stress reduction, but you must also be aware when you're beginning to feel stressed. Do a self-check periodically (hourly, when you get up and move, or some other interval that works for you) so you can notice stress build-up so you can take these stress reduction steps before the stress level becomes unmanageable.
|
|
|
How to Create Great Word of Mouth
| |
|
Today, word of mouth is drown out by radio, TV, newsprint, mail, billboards and email advertising and publicity. You can use technology and traditional marketing channels to get the word out in a different way-a way where you are sure that everything said about you is true. |
|
|
Make Your Small Business an Overwhelm Free Zone
| |
| What causes overwhelm? And what the heck can a small business owner or self-employed professional do about it? Find out in this article from Molly Gordon, author of The Way of the Accidental Entrepreneur. |
|
|
Business Life Success Tip The Value of Self-Investment
| |
| There is a direct relationship with who you are on the inside and what you do outside in the world. Failure to see the value of investing in growing yourself as a person, as well as growing your business, will affect your outcome - guaranteed. You might be losing more than you can imagine. |
|
|
The Quickie Internal Customer Experience Diagnosis
| |
| Have any questions about the customer experience that your company delivers? Conduct a quick internal diagnostic. How does your company treat salespeople? The answer will be revealing. |
|
|
What Makes You Fabulous, Lovable, Wonderfull…..?
| |
| If asked the questions: ”What do your love about yourself? What makes you fabulous and lovable?”
What would you answer? |
|
|
Change Results In Stress
| |
| The stress faced by workers is substantial. For many workers, it is intrinsic to the job itself, where competing demands and pressures cannot be escaped. The sheer volume of work can also be overwhelming at times, whether one is a social worker, teacher, doctor, sales person, factory worker, supervisor or manager. Anyone in this kind of job knows, either from their own direct experience or from observing colleagues, that stress can have very serious consequences. |
|
|
A working guarantee to bring you success
| |
| It is not difficult to be truly successful in life, but too many people believe that to get to the top they must swindle their way underhandedly, stepping over dead bodies if necessary. Recent media coverage reflects ongoing inexcusable accounts of fraud and misconduct in the work force. |
|
|
Who Else Wants Career Success? Follow This Proven Method
| |
| If you want to climb the career ladder...you must have a 'network'. Try these ideas and get noticed! |
|
|
12 Principles of Leadership Mastery
| |
| Surveys have shown that poor leadership is the leading cause of low employee morale. Correcting poor leadership should be on the top of every executive’s agenda for improvement. Many leadership mistakes can be corrected if managers and executives understand and apply a few simple yet powerful principles. A principle-centred approach is premised on the idea that leadership can be systematically taught and learned. The following list of principles represents a distillation of leadership expertise. Following it is one of the quickest and surest ways to achieve leadership mastery. |
|
|
Taking Your Business Online : Tips for Launching a Small Business Web Site
| |
| The decision to launch a Web site for a business owner has gone from “if” to “when,” in just a decade. However, the expectations of your average site visitor have also changed in that time. Cheap, home-made Web sites are no longer acceptable. The site you create for your business is a stamp on its credibility; therefore the process of designing and launching one must be taken seriously and considered to be an earnest business investment.
|
|
|
Managing Organizational Stars
| |
| What contributes to an individual's ability to remain a star? To what extent does past star performance predicate future star performance? And to what extent does a key organizational factor—colleague quality—help or hinder the ability to sustain star performance? The performance of stars is an important career matter for individuals as well as for managers who want to inspire, nurture, and recruit stars. |
|
|
PAPERWORK Making molehills out of mountains
| |
| Are you feeling overwhelmed by your mountain of paperwork? Does it take you ages to find what you need because it's lost in a mountain of paper? Here are some tips to help you get back on top. |
|
|
Three Strategies for Coaches, Consultants, and Business Advisors to Reach Top Decision Makers
| |
| As the title suggests, this article helps business advisors reach top decision makers. |
|
|
Why Coaches should work from both the inside out and outside in
| |
| This article discusses the importance on focusing on BOTH behavioral and transformational approaches to improving results. |
|
|
Effective Time Management: Complete Your Tasks Easily And Have Time For Your Family
| |
| When we think about effective time management we often look at it as a means of better organising our professional lives. However, it is also a valuable tool for maximising and making better use of your leisure time and the time you spend with your family.
|
|
|
Don't Set New Year's Resolutions - Take Action in The New Year
| |
| It's that time of year again when we start talking and thinking about New Year's Resolutions even though they're old hat and we instinctively know they don't work. Because your friends, family and colleagues may chat about what Resolutions they're going to make, do you find yourself wondering whether to make any? We know that within a few days or weeks, the Resolutions will be forgotten, nothing will have changed and yet for some reason most people still worry about them. So why do we still bother with New Year's Resolutions? First, they're a custom and a New Year ushers in a new start, so what better time than now? There's even a small chance that we may stick to our Resolutions this year, so we have a go. The main reason some people think about New Year's Resolutions is because they want to change things in their life. |
|
|
Leggo My Logo
| |
| Since I recently changed my business logo, I wanted to explain my process so you can likewise better develop your own logo. While your logo isn’t the soul of your business, it does give a quick impression about it. |
|
|
To Increase Sales Means You Must Map Your Icebergs
| |
| Are trying to increase sales? How much of your sales are you missing? Maybe it is time to map all of your icebergs. |
|
|
Raise Your Work Quotient - Five Strategies to Increase Your Value to the Company
| |
| Do you long for a promotion or to make more money? How much positive influence do you bring to your work? Utilizing these five strategies can make you more valuable to your company and raise your level of awareness of what it takes to be more successful, and more savvy regarding your career. |
|
|
Employee Satisfaction Surveys Stink
| |
| Truth is, in many organizations, the doing of the survey is more than enough. Only rarely does anyone get down to what happens next. |
|
|
Customer Service - How To Get The Customer Facing Employees You Must Have
| |
| The truth is, it's always best to recruit the people you want and need in your business, rather than create that silk purse out of the sow's ear you already have. |
|
|
How to Create Your Personal Work Life Balance Plan
| |
| Creating a Work Life Balance Plan is not hard but there are some crucial issues to explore. In essence, you need to 'Plan your work and plan your play'. You may also need to deal with conflicting demands on your time and energy. Here is how to get started. |
|
|
Networking is Not a Dirty Word
| |
| Networking doesn't have to be overwhelming, it is a valuable tool that enhances our job search, your career advancement, and enables you to find a satisfying and rewarding career path. Overcoming the resistance to network is crucial to your career. |
|
|
Worry in the Workplace
| |
| Worrying does not serve you at any time. It takes you away from your priorities, diminishes your focus and prevents you from engaging at your full level of competence and confidence. It robs your company or organization of your full capabilities and talents. |
|
|
Who Is In Your Circle of Influence What Does That Say About You
| |
| We have heard that old saying, “You are judged by the company you keep.” That saying is important in our business life and our personal life. Who you associate with will say as much about you, your ethics, your integrity, your honesty, your core values, your beliefs, your passion and your future intentions as your actual personal behavior does. And as a business owner or business leader, you are being observed every minute of every day. Colleagues, clients, vendors, suppliers, et al are all scrutinizing, watching, listening to those people you influence. Therefore, this is a serious matter for consideration when you decide who will be in your circle of influence. Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach challenges you to stop and look around you. Who do you see? Who is there? Who is in your circle of influence? |
|