1. Have SMART goals
2. Have strategies that work– Make sure your goals are workable, realistic, and actionable.
3. Have good implementation—follow through and be methodical, sequential and incremental.  Start small and do not despise the day of small beginnings.
4. Accountability—be accountable to trusted advisors and mentors and those more experienced.  Coach and mentor others as well.  Hold yourself and others accountable to your goals.
5. Minimize distraction—focus on what’s important—keep the main thing the main thing
6. Commit to your goals and plans—daily review your goals and adjust as needed
7. Communicate your goals, with all stakeholders and family members—don’t do this in a corner.
8. Post written goals publicly—be very public and very accountable and very up front with  goals
9. Get family buy in and immediately—kid buying in and commitment to everyone involved.  Share what you have in mind with others who play a role in the plans success and achievement.
10. 10. Have daily, weekly, monthly meetings to review goals and progress
11. Develop reasonable implementation schedule and stick to it—calendarize!
12. Do your plans, see what happens, adjust as needed, and keep in touch with those who can help you stay on track.  Accountability works great!
13. Evaluate—revisit current goals and paradigms and find what works and what doesn’t.  Implement change immediately.  If it works.  Do not fix it.
14. Think out of the box—creatively brainstorm. Be fearless and try new things.  Get feedback from trusted advisors and mentors.
15. Go away—go somewhere way from all distraction and develop a compelling parenting plan.
16. Create a culture of accountability, celebration and clarity—celebrate achievement by awarding team and individual accomplishment.  Give public and private encouragement and praise. reward achievement
17. Communicate expectations—have courageous conversations and be clear on expectations. Communicate, communicate, and communicate.
18. Leverage your time and manager prime times of the day—the times where energy is the highest and most focused.
19. Just do it—plan the work and work the plan. Commit to high performance.  Kill procrastination and perfectionism.  Keep a sense of humor.  Learn to grow and change.  It back in action and get involved.
20. Dream it, write it down, and just do it— rediscover your passion, mission and purpose today.  You have a choice, time, resources, and ability.  Now it’s up to you.

Prayer From The Greatest Salesman In The World … by Og Mandino

Oh creator of all things, help me. For this day I go out into the world naked and alone, and without your hand to guide me I will wander far from the path which leads to success and happiness.

I ask not for gold or garments or even opportunities equal to my abilities; instead, guide me so that I may acquire ability equal to my opportunities.

You have taught the lion and the eagle how to hunt and prosper with teeth and claw. Teach me how to hunt with words and prosper with love so that I may be a lion among men and an eagle in the market place.

Help me to remain humble through obstacles and failures; yet hide not from mine eyes the prize that will come with victory.

Assign me tasks to which others have failed, yet guide me to pluck the seeds of success from their failures. Confront me with fears that will temper my spirit; yet endow me with courage to laugh at my misgivings.

Spare me sufficient days to reach my goals; yet help me to live this day as though it be my last.

Guide me in my words that they may bear fruit; yet silence me from gossip that none be maligned.

Discipline me in the habit of trying and trying and trying again; yet show me the way to make use of the law of averages. Favor me with alertness to recognize opportunity; yet endow me with patience which will concentrate my strength.

Bathe me in good habits that the bad ones may drown; yet grant me compassion for the weaknesses in others. Suffer me to know that all things shall pass; yet help me to count my blessings of today.

Expose me to hate so it not be a stranger; yet fill my cup with love to turn strangers into friends.

But all these things only if thy will. I am a small and a lonely grape clutching the vine yet thou hast made me different from all the others. Verily, there must be a special place for me. Guide me. Show me the way.

Let me become all you planned for me when my seed was planted and selected by you to sprout in the vineyard of the world.

Help this humble salesman.

Guide me, God.

By

Arnold Sanow, MBA, CSP

Rapid heart beat, sweaty palms, nausea, frequent bathroom breaks, may sound like some terrible sickness, but to many of us the diagnosis is speakers anxiety or fear of speaking in front of a group.

In fact, according to the book of lists, the #1 fear of most Americans is speaking in front of a group with the fear of death a distant #6.

For most of my life I had this terrible affliction, I was afraid to speak up for the fear of looking like a fool and being rejected by my peers. In fact, at staff meetings, I would never contradict ideas or voice my opinion and when it came to speaking to a big group I would always find an excuse to get out of it.

There were a number of steps that helped my transformation and if adhered to can help you become more confident and master this most important skill.

1. Join Toastmasters International – My involvement with Toastmasters was life-changing. Toastmasters is a non-profit organization that helps people master their communication and speaking skills. It’s easy to set up a group in your organization or join an existing one. Through a combination of exercises and positive feedback by the other participants you will see your speaking skills and confidence reach new levels. Contact their national office at 1-800-9-wespeak.

2. Get Rid of the Beliefs and Behaviors that Cause Fear. Many of our fears about public speaking come about due to unwarranted and unjustified thoughts. Here are some negative affirmations and beliefs to put out of your mind forever.

*Speaking is dangerous to my well being.

*I failed before in a speaking situation. I will probably fail again.

*A survey says that public speaking is the #1 fear, so it must be my #1 fear.

*The audience wants me to fail. The audience is my enemy.

*I don’t have the physical appearance or natural ability. My talents and looks are

limited.

*I may make a mistake. I want to be perfect.

*Jimmy Stewart, Willard Scott and Johnny Carson have feared it. Therefore, I ought

to fear it and avoid it.

As Abraham Lincoln said, “You are what you think”. Before each speaking

opportunity, think and write out positive affirmations (i.e. “I’m a great speaker”) and

you will eventually believe it and become it.

3. Practice … Practice … Practice - Learning to become a confident speaker is like learning to swim. You can watch people swim, read about it, listen to people talk about it but if you don’t get into the water you’ll never learn. Take every opportunity you can to speak!

4. Focus on a Friendly Face – Everytime you speak there is always at least one person who is smiling, looking at you or nodding in agreement. Keep your eyes on them until you feel relaxed.

5. Visualize the Audience in Their Underwear – Winston Churchill used this technique to overcome those apprehensive, grim looking people in the audience. It immediately calmed his fears by realizing that everyone is just a person like himself.

6. Plan – 90% of a good presentation revolves around good planning. If you want to decrease your anxiety — know your audience, research your topic, prepare a good outline and then follow it.

7. Visualize a Successful Presentation – Picture the opening, body and the close. Picture everyone smiling, laughing at your humor, applause at appropriate times and then coming up afterwards telling you about the great job you did.

8. Use your Own Style – Be yourself. Many fears can be attributed to a speaker trying to adapt to a style that is not their own.

9. Get to the Meeting Early – If possible, I’m always at my speaking engagements at least three hours before I’m scheduled to go on. By being early, I can check out and get comfortable with the room, practice my presentation, and get to know some of the participants.

10. Meditate – One exercise I use is a relaxation exercise which involves tensing up parts of the body and then relaxing them. For example, I will tense my hands, then relax them. Do this with your hands, feet, head and entire body until you feel totally comfortable.

As Walter Cronkite says, “It’s natural to have butterflies, the secret is to get them to fly in formation”. By following the formation above, your fears will be replaced with confidence.

SAY IT RIGHT & WIN MORE OFTEN

The Better Talking Paradigm

In addition to thinking better, another big a part of creating a DONE BUSINESS is to employ a better manner of communicating with the people who can help you get more of what you want.  This would include customers and prospects, employees, centers of influence, consultants and coaches, and of course, friends and family members.  The Better Talking Paradigm is a series of steps to follow when informing others, enlisting support, or assigning tasks and responsibilities.  By working the steps you can expect to enjoy better results because those to whom you speak will more clearly understand what you expect from them.  This makes success come more easily. 

HERE’S WHAT YOU MUST DO:

1.            Make your listener want to hear you.  Open a channel then briefly state your point up front.

2.            Ask that judgment be suspended until you’re through talking.

3.            Send your message.  Describe the behavior you want.  Present win/win scenarios.  Don’t talk too much.

4.            Confirm both the receipt and understanding of your message.  Agree on fulfillment criteria and time lines.

5.            Get a committed response, a promise of action.

6.            Follow up, observe activity and results.

7.            If necessary, repeat the process more forcefully.

Your communication may necessitate a bit of planning; working on a step-by-step Game Plan of implementation so proper/timely execution can occur and the things you want can get done right the first time so they don’t have to be done over. 

Often the intent of talking is to persuade people.  Centuries ago Aristotle posited that for verbal persuasion to be truly effective, three elements must be present: trust, logic, and emotion.  You need to make a good first impression by establishing trust, through attitude, body language, voice tone and personal packaging, (how you look).  You have to present your case with indisputable logic.  And you have to give a tug to the emotions.  Then people will want to do what you want and you will win more often. 

“If all my possessions were taken from me with one exception, I would choose to keep the power for speech, for by it I would soon regain all the rest.”  – Daniel Webster

Thanks to Dr. Richard Borough

WHY WE STRUGGLE

Do not be an indentured servant to your business, employees, and customers. Avoid the traps that if allowed to run amuck will conspire to tighten the chains of business bondage and kill your spirit.

1. TUNNEL VISION: Habits determine destiny. A lot of business owners are former technicians now masquerading as owners. They think they’re owners, but they don’t act the part. As once-accomplished technicians, they have a hard time letting go of such expertise and familiarity. They remain trapped in a technical tunnel vision comfort zone and mindset. Technical expertise is not enough when it some to managing a growing and thriving business. That takes an involvement in the big picture and in the strategy and in the leadership skills necessary to run a business successfully for the long haul.

2. BUSYNESS: Too many business owners confuse activity with accomplishment. They confuse busyness with results, hard work with working smarter, perspiration with purpose, and efficiency (doing things right) with effectiveness (doing the right things). Instead of working smarter, many hold tight to the delusion that working harder and harder is the solution. They keep trying to shift into higher and higher gears. The more the business grows, the harder they work, the more imprisoned they become. Truth is no matter how much energy you expend, the wrong strategies will inevitably lead to poor results—less freedom and more headaches. It’s like trying to catch fish in a pond with your bare hands. No matter how many hours you work or how deep you wade, a poor strategy leads to poor results—no fish dinner!

3. DOPEY DOER-SHIP: Instead of leadership, many business owners excel at doer-ship. They micromanage, like to touch and control everything. They trust no one but themselves. They believe no one does it as well as them. They seldom delegate, if at all. They mistake activity for leadership. Instead of thinking and leading like owners, they think and behave like employees. Instead of reflecting and planning, they excel at sweating and doing. They act like they have a job instead of owning a business. To lead effectively, you must trust others. Failing to develop leadership skill can cost you dearly.

4. INADEQUATE OR MISSING SYSTEMS: Most business owners don’t know how to re-engineer their operation to be more systems-dependent and professionally equipped with plans, policies, and procedures. They don’t create and document the specific processes outlining repeatable ways to do things right. They don’t write down the policies and procedures it takes to create a well-organized, smoothly running, easy-to-manage operation. Without defining and documenting the work that needs to be done, you can’t delegate effectively and in so doing, gradually remove yourself from your technician role. Tragically, you may unknowingly, reactively, and accidentally create an owner-centered and owner-dependent business. Until systems run your business, you’ll

always feel a little out of control and you’ll be trapped, and that’s never good.

5. ESCALATING COMPLEXITY: All business owners struggle against escalating complexity. Some lose the battle. As growth brings them an increasing number of customers, transactions, and problems they eventually reach a limit, a tipping point. Then the next little straw crushes them. Of course growing pains are unavoidable but if left unchecked they can make predictability nearly impossible. The good news is that with decent leadership and good systems, complexity can be restrained so your growth issues won’t overwhelm you.

6. MISSING MEASUREMENT AND POOR SCOREKEEPING: It’s easy to screw up when it comes to keeping score. Many business owners fail to install the most telling and helpful measurement devices. They don’t check on the status of “the money” often enough or they don’t understand the data they get, let alone know what do as a result of either bad news or good news. To end the struggle you have to keep track of helpful indicators. The money for sure, but other things too, like the degree of customer satisfaction, time spent working, and stress levels, especially yours. Master measurement and scorekeeping and you can predict the future more accurately. Then everything can get better, much better. And that’s a good thing.

7. LOUSY COMMUNICATION: Communication matters. Most business owners are not communication experts, especially in the beginning. High schools and colleges do not offer courses in how to communicate by talking. They should because there’s not much that matters quite as much, but they don’t. So it’s incumbent upon you to figure out how to speak effectively, how to use words to persuade others to do more of what you want, to willing want to follow your lead. You can find effective communication models described in many books and seminars. Read a book or two. Enroll in a seminar. Do it soon. It’ll be time and money well spent.

8. CRAPPY CASH FLOW: Happiness in business is positive cash flow—the money that comes from strong sales, from collecting what’s owed, and from controlling costs and payables. Planning your marketing and promotional activities so they produce intended results, adjusting systems to accommodate growth, and anticipating future money needs, this is the pure work of business itself. Do this well and become a cash flow wizard.

Freedom is what you want…lots and lots of freedom…and money…and contentment too. To make that happen simply follow the done business recipe. Embrace the seven commitments, work the thirteen commitments, and resolve the reasons why we struggle. Piece of cake!

Thanks to Dr. Richard Borough

Perception is Reality…

How do Your Customers Really See You?

To keep both our internal (employees) and external customers happy we need to have a thorough understanding of their likes and dislikes. To make sure you are keeping them happy and delivering the best possible service ask yourself, your staff and above all your customers the following questions;

How well do we deliver what we promise?

How often do we do things right the first time?

How often do we do things right on time?

How quickly do we respond to your requests for service?

How accessible are we when you need to contact us?

How helpful and polite are we?

How well do we speak your language?

How hard do you think we work at keeping you a satisfied client?

How much confidence do you have in our products or services?

How well do we understand and try to meet your special needs and requests?

Overall, how would you rate the appearance of our facilities, products and people?

Overall, how would you rate the quality of our service?

Overall, how would you rate the quality of our service compared to our competitors?

How willing would you be to recommend us?

How willing would you be to buy from us again?

Arnold Sanow- www.arnoldsanow.com

Just knowing the features and benefits about our products and services does not guarantee sales. To sell our products and services we must be able to tell stories and create pictures in the minds of our customers to excite their imagination. A story can either be dull and uninteresting or it can come alive. To put imagination into your sales story and increase your closing opportunities answer the questions below.

    Get out the list of your product and service’s persuasive features and benefits to your customers. If you don’t have a list make one. Next to each feature and benefit put the answers to the questions below. (a feature is the characteristic about your product or service and the benefit is the result)

1.      What’s the most dramatic statement I can make about this feature and benefit?

2.      What’s the most arresting visual presentation of this feature and benefit to set a customer thinking about it?

3.      What’s the most searching question I can ask about this feature and benefit to set a customer thinking about it?

4.      What are the most interesting success story or sales examples I can give to back up the claims I make for this feature and benefit?

5.      Which are my best, most impressively written testimonials, the ones most likely to get attention either because of the person giving the testimonial or of what it says.

6.      What is the most dramatic action I can perform to hold and impress my customer while dealing with this feature or benefit?

7.      What is the most compelling logic I can find in relating this feature and benefit to others?

8.      What is the most effective demonstration I can make of this feature and benefit?

9.      What customer participation can I devise, in this feature and benefit so that my customer becomes part of the act?

10.  What practical test can I suggest for proving the validity of my claim for this feature and benefit?

     To further increase your opportunities and kick start some life into your business, ask yourself, your staff and your customers these questions about your product and services:

     Can the products/services be put to other uses? Can it be adapted? What else is like this? What other ideas does this suggest? What could we copy? What could be modified?,  Given a new twist? Changed in color, meaning, sound, motion, odor, form, shape?  Any other changes possible? Can it be magnified? What can be added? More time? Greater Frequency? Stronger? Higher?  Longer? Shorter? What can we substitute? What else instead? Other ingredients? Rearrange? Change the schedule? Reverse it? Combine it? Different Purposes?

       Remember that you only get one chance to make a good impression. By putting some “zip” into your sales presentation you’ll close more sales and see your business skyrocket to the top!

• Successful people have formed the habit of doing hard to do things.
• Things that make them uncomfortable.
• They do uncomfortable things anyway.
• This is the biggest truth about success.

What’s marketing? Marketing is a series of planned, interrelated activities that when done right: 1) Identifies best potential buyers of your products and services – and aligns what you sell with their needs/wants. 2) Devises ways to attract the interest of these targeted best potential buyers to your business. 3) Presents irresistible offers to best potential buyers in the most cost effective and compelling ways possible.

A key reason why some business people are fabulously successful – seemingly without effort – is because they have Better Marketing Behavior.

So marketing is what you do to get people to give you money. It’s all the activities, communications, and demonstrations you can successfully strung together to produce a highly desirable event near the end called a sale. Leadership and communication are parts of marketing. What else? How about cajoling, coercion, and manipulation, are they part of marketing? Yes they are. Is building trust part of marketing? Of course, people buy from those they learn to trust. Is marketing lying? Can be, yes indeed, it can. But those who lie when marketing will not long survive, a sale of two perhaps but in the long run the liars will lose big time. Good marketing is not lying. It is telling the truth attractively.

There are two skills you must master for your marketing to work right. The two skills are leadership and communication.

What’s leadership? It’s getting people to do things they’re afraid to do, or don’t know about, or don’t understand, or never thought of, or don’t think can be done, or things that someone might think others can do them but not them personally, or things that make them feel uncomfortable, or things that people just don’t want to do at all. If you can successfully lead people you’re a powerful person. And you can lead people, because leadership is a skill that can be taught and learned. You can develop the ability to get people to support your ideas and to go along with what you want. You can use this ability to get others to do your bidding, to support you, to give you their money, their energy, their resources, their heart and soul, to put themselves on the line for you, and to rally around you in all ways that they can and to do so wholeheartedly, with genuine enthusiasm, as if whatever you wanted from them was indeed their own idea, as if the actions and belief systems you get them to embrace were their own. That’s leadership.

What’s communication? It’s talking; it’s also writing, using images, lots of non-verbal communication too but for our purposes, it’s mostly talking. Communication is talking with the intent of instructing, supporting, sharing, understanding, imparting values, entertaining, influencing, and helping people make decisions that are good for them and good for you too.

WHAT GOES WRONG?

• No written plan,
• No research in the plan,
• No test of strategy,
• Plan not implemented, or only sporadically,
• Poor organization, can’t be productive when we’re not organized,
• Lousy follow up, no tracking,
• Can’t close the sale, make the deal.

MARKETING BEST PRACTICE “Know Your Audience”

• Know what they need and want,
• Know what they are willing to pay for,
• Know where they are,
• Know what will attract their interest,
• Know how to cost effectively reach them,
• Know how to close them.

DEVELOP AN IRRESISTIBLE OFFER

• Specifically what are you offering that satisfies the highest needs/wants of your audience? What’s your offer?
• How will you present your offer? What will you say?

DON’T BE PASSIVE

• If you sit and wait for opportunities to come to you, you’ll wind up taking whatever comes along, even work you may not like much, from people you may not like much either.
• Your pipeline might full up, but will you be happy? Probably not.

IF YOU’RE PROACTIVE…

• If you seek out the exact kind of buyers you want, and proactively go get them, you’ll fill your pipeline with rewarding work.
• You’ll like your new customers.
• You’ll like your life better!

Courtesy Richard Borough

25 Ways to Keep Your Customers for Life
by Arnold Sanow, MBA, CSP – www.arnoldsanow.com

In today’s fast-changing and competitive environment, excellent customer service is essential for success. In fact, the only way to differentiate yourself and to become less of a commodity in the marketplace is through good customer service. The strategies for keeping customers for life can be honed down to some basic steps that any business owner can use. To get customers, keep them and to get enthusiastic referrals follow these 25 proven techniques:

1. Reward your customers. Send them a gift, provide them a lead, generate business for them, etc.
2. Use your customers’ services and buy their products. If you want to increase loyalty, there is no better way.
3. Send thank-you cards. Make sure they are handwritten and sent promptly. Peter Drucker attributed much of his success to the fact that he sent out 12 thank-you cards every day.
4. Return phone calls promptly. Since so many people don’t return calls, you automatically look good when you do.
5. Do what you say you are going to do.
6. Do things when you say you’re going to do them.
7. Underpromise and overdeliver.
8. Be accessible. Make sure you are available and willing to help customers whenever there is a problem. Your business should be open to meet the convenience of your customers and not only for your convenience.
9. Be credible. If you can’t establish that trust right away, customers may start to look at your competitors.
10. Appearance counts. Perception is reality, and the reality is that people do judge a book by its cover.
11. Show empathy. Remember the best customers are your currents ones. Stay in touch and continue to service their wants and needs.
12. Have a “Goof Kit.” If you make a mistake, it’s not enough to say, “I’m sorry.”
13. Promote customers’ products and services. By getting business for your clients, you ensure you will have a customer for life.
14. Do things for the customer’s convenience not yours. Make it as easy as possible for your customers to do business with you. The easier you can make it for your customer to do business with you, the more business you will have. Determine all the ways you can eliminate the hassle factor.
15. Send an invoice periodically with a “no charge” on it. This will help your customers remember you. And if it is unexpected, it will have a much larger impact.
16. Have a customer advisory panel. Only by knowing your customers’ wants and needs can you successfully grow your business and be totally customer-oriented.
17. Hire mystery shoppers. To really find out how good your customer service is, hire someone to go out and use your service from start to finish.
18. Be a resource. No matter what your customer needs, try to find it for them — even if it has nothing to do with your business.
19. Shower customers with kindness.
20. Speak your customers’ language. If you use jargon your customers can’t understand, they won’t use you.
21. Have a great attitude.
22. Treat your employees well. If they are treated poorly, there is a good chance your customers will also get poor service.
23. Give your customer what they want, when they want it and how they want it.
24. Give back to your best customers. If you run a special price or product offer for first-time customers, ensure your current customers are offered the same opportunity.
25. Don’t show an attitude of indifference to your customers. In a recent study on why people give up on a company, 68 percent quit because of an attitude of indifference toward the customers by the owner, manager or employees – 68 percent!

Conclusion

“Customer service is more than just smile training — it’s about treating people the way they wanted to be treated,” “It’s also about giving the client what they want, when they want it and how they want it. It really comes down to the fact that good communication and human relations skills equals good customer relations.”