Keep in Touch and Follow Up to Easily Close Sales

Published Date: 2008-06-15 18:09:34 WorkOnInternet.com

Keep-in-touch marketing is a process that you incorporate into your business to stay in front of your prospects and customers. Develop a system to follow up with every prospect, every time. Be respectful that the time may not be right, but remember, you offer a quality product your prospect may eventually need to solve his or her problem. Gently persist with your prospects with regular calls to check back in with them.

Studies show that over 80% of sales take place after seven contacts. To be absolutely effective in your marketing, you need to plan on having at least seven contacts with your prospects. Too many people give up with prospects too early. And this is one of the reasons they have trouble keeping their pipeline full.

Remember, "Not right now" does not mean "no." "We're working with another company" does not mean "no." Until you hear the word "No," it's not a "No." In addition, these calls are building relationships with a person who might also be a referrer or COI (Center of Influence).

Remember the Dr. Seuss book, "Green Eggs and Ham"? Super salesman Sam-I-Am works on persuading his friend to try the not-so-appetizing meal of green eggs and ham. He is relentless regardless of his friend's objections. He asks questions about various scenarios. Would you try them with a fox? Wearing socks? In a moat or a boat? Finally, the friend decides to taste the stuff only to discover he LOVES it! A prospect converted into a raving fan. I think Sam-I-Am would have made a lot of money as a sales training consultant, don't you? Even though he is a cartoon character, Sam is still a great model for the power of persistence.

Often when we have a goal of making a sale, we try just once or twice and then give up. We say, "Well, I guess it's just not going to happen." To be truly successful, keep at it! Successful business owners are not at the top of their game because they are "naturals." It's because they don't give up. When at first they don't succeed, they try again and again and again until at last...they realize their goal.

Herbert True, a marketing specialist at Notre Dame University, did some amazing research on sales follow up and found the following:

• 44% of all salespeople quit trying after the first call


• 24% quit after the second call


• 14% quit after the third call


• 12% quit trying to sell their prospect after the fourth call

This means that 94% of all salespeople quit after the fourth call. But 60% of all sales are made after the fourth call. This revealing statistic shows that 94% of all salespeople don't give themselves a chance at 60% of the prospective buyers. (from The Success Principles by Jack Canfield)

So, how are you currently keeping in touch with your prospects and customers on a regular and consistent basis? You must create an ongoing follow-up program to keep in touch with your prospects and customers so you stay on the top of their minds. To be effective, you must get in front of your prospects and referrers at least once a week and not less frequently than once every month.

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Learn marketing techniques to attract new customers quickly in Author Wendy Maynard's free report: "Marketing Strategies to Fill Your Pipeline" at http://www.gomarketingmaven.com/free_report.html

This article was published on WorkOnInternet.comThe URL for this article is : http://www.workoninternet.com/article_23624.html

MOTIVATION vs INSPIRATION

Today I answered a question on LinkedIn.com of a person who asked, "What do you do to recharge your battery and remotivate yourself when experiencing sales activity burnout?"

I was inspired to write the following:

First of all . . . forget about motivation. Motivation is an external stimulus that I liken to taking a bath. One needs to do bathe often and sometime more than once a day. Without bathing, one begins to stink and without motivation, one’s life begins to stink.

If we experience “sales activity burnout,” it’s time to look inward and ask, “What are my feelings about what I am selling?” This question points to our internal compass that directs our thoughts about what we do in life. I call this inspiration rather than motivation.

Inspiration is an internal process that we can tap into at any time with a simple question, “How am I feeling?” If we are feeling good or positive (I call this place “love”) are thoughts are going to be good. If we are not having positive or good thoughts, our feeling are not good or negative (I call the place “fear”).

These two places or feelings, “love” and “fear”, are absolute opposites (negative and positive) and each leads directly to thoughts. Scientifically speaking, it has been proven that our feelings occur 40,000 times faster than do our thoughts. If our feelings our negative, our thoughts will be negative, our words will be negative and our actions will follow suit.

So, if you’re thinkin is stinkin, ask yourself, “How am I feeling and what are those positive feelings I have when I’m really pumped about what I am selling.” Also, ask yourself, “What is causing me to fear.” When you identify the fear, change the way you think about it and your words and actions will follow.

I call this process thinking with your heart (the source of your feelings) and not your mind. One might also refer to one’s heart as one’s soul and/or spirit. I believe that one’s soul and/or spirit can only want what is best for one’s life. Our egos, as a function of our minds, will often trick us into using words and acting in ways that are not in keeping with our souls and can only come from a place of fear. This is an instinctive act of self-preservation because only our souls know what potential wants to have happen in our lives.

So next time you feel “burnt out on the sales process,” get out of your head and ask your heart, “what potential do you want to have happen today?” Then stop, and listen for an answer. Your soul, your spirit will give you the answer. That’s when you are thinking from the heart . . . when you are thinking “in spirit” which is what inspiration is all about according to Dr. Wayne W. Dyer in his book, Inspiration; Your Ultimate Calling. Another outstanding book to read that addresses this topic is Steve Chandler’s book, Fearless; Creating the Courage to Change the Things You Can.

You Made Your Bed . . .

Neale Donald Walsch recently sent me an email that said,

"You actually don't have to lie in it just because you made your bed.

Somebody told you a falsehood if they told you that you have to live with your past decisions, choices, and actions. The past is past and has nothing to do with you. It has nothing to do with Right Now.

Do not let anything from your past inhibit you in this Present Moment. Start over. Start Fresh. Each day. Each hour, if it serves you. Heck, each minute. Just get going. Just do it. Just say it. With love. All else will take care of itself."

Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn Guy Kawasaki
Mario Sundar July 25th, 2007

When Guy Kawasaki blogged about the Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn, LinkedIn had 8.5 million users in 130 industries. Since then we’ve grown to over 12 million users covering 147 industries, but many of Guy’s suggestions on using LinkedIn (see below), still remain a great way for professionals to strengthen their online brand reputation and leverage their professional network. Happy Reading!

1. Increase your visibility.
   By adding connections, you increase the likelihood that people will see your profile first when they’re searching for someone to hire or do business with. In addition to appearing at the top of search results (which is a major plus if you’re one of the 52,000 product managers on LinkedIn), people would much rather work with people who their friends know and trust.
   
2. Improve your connectability.
   Most new users put only their current company in their profile. By doing so, they severely limit their ability to connect with people. You should fill out your profile like it’s an executive bio, so include: past companies, education, affiliations, and activities. You can also include a link to your profile as part of an email signature. The added benefit is that the link enables people to see all your credentials, which would be awkward if not downright strange, as an attachment.


3. Improve your Google PageRank.
   LinkedIn allows you to make your profile information available for search engines to index. Since LinkedIn profiles receive a fairly high PageRank in Google, this is a good way to influence what people see when they search for you. To do this, create a public profile and select “Full View.” Also, instead of using the default URL, customize your public profile’s URL to be your actual name. To strengthen the visibility of this page insearch engines, use this link in various places on the web> For example, when you comment in a blog, include a link to your profile in your signature.


4. Enhance your search engine results.
   In addition to your name, you can also promote your blog or website to search engines like Google and Yahoo! Your LinkedIn profile allows you to publicize websites. There are a few pre-selected categories like “My Website,” “My Company,” etc. If you select “Other” you can modify the name of the link. If you’re linking to your personal blog, include your name or descriptive terms in the link, and voila! instant search-engine optimization for your site. To make this work, be sure your public profile setting is set to “Full View.”


5. Perform blind, “reverse,” and company reference checks.
   LinkedIn’s reference check tool to input a company name and the years the person worked at the company to search for references. Your search will find the people who worked at the company during the same time period. Since references provided by a candidate will generally be glowing, this is a good way to get more balanced data. Companies will typically check your references before hiring you, but have you ever thought of checking your prospective manager’s references? Most interviewees don’t have the audacity to ask apotential boss for references, but with LinkedIn you have a way to scope her out. You can also check up on the company itself by finding the person who used to have the job that you’re interviewing for. Do this by searching for job title and company, but be sure to uncheck “Current titles only.” By contacting people who used to hold the position, you can get the inside scoop on the job, manager and growth potential. By the way, if using LinkedIn in these ways becomes a common practice, we’re apt to see more truthful resumes. There’s nothing more amusing than to find out that the candidate who claims to have caused some huge success was a total bozo who was just along for the ride.


6. Increase the relevancy of your job search.
   Use LinkedIn’s advanced search to find people with educational and work experience like yours to see where they work. For example, a programmer would use search keywords such as “Ruby on Rails,” “C++,” “Python,” “Java,” and “evangelist” to find out where other programmers with these skills work.


7. Make your interview go smoother.
   You can use LinkedIn to find the people that you’re meeting. Knowing that you went to the same school, plays hockey, or shares acquaintances is a lot better than an awkward silence after, “I’m doing fine, thank you.”


8. Gauge the health of a company.
   Perform an advanced search for company name and uncheck the “Current Companies Only” box. This will enable you to scrutinize the rate of turnover and whether key people are abandoning ship. Former employees usually give more candid opinions about a company’s prospects than someone who’s still on board.


9. Gauge the health of an industry.
   If you’re thinking of investing or working in a sector, use LinkedIn to find people who worked for competitors—or even better, companies who failed. For example, suppose you wanted to build a next generation online pet store, you’d probably learn a lot from speaking with former Pets.com or WebVan employees.


10. Track startups.
    You can see people in your network who are initiating new startups by doing an advanced search for a range of keywords such as “stealth” or “new startup.” Apply the “Sort By” filter to “Degrees away from you” in order to see the people closest to you first. [Republished from: Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn via "How to Change the World" -- Guy Kawasaki's blog]

Guy is known for bringing the concept of technology evangelism to the masses through his pioneering work at Apple’s Macintosh group. In addition to blogging the above post earlier this year, he has also blogged on topics ranging from LinkedIn Profile Extreme Makeover to LinkedIn and the Art of avoiding an Asshole Boss. [Source: Guy Kawasaki's weblog -- How to Change the World]

In an email I received from Neale Donald Walsch, Neale stated:

"If you think you have nothing to lose, you win. If you think you have something to win, you lose.
It all drives to motivation. Why are you doing what you are doing right now? To avoid loss? To achieve gain? Wrong reason both times. Life is not about win-and-lose. Life is about being or not being, expressing or not expressing, who you are.

Don't do things for personal benefit. And don't do things to avoid personal damage. Do things to feel personal authenticity. Then your life will make sense, no matter what is going on around you.

Prospecting is Like Exercise...
by Keith F. Luscher
Author, Prospect & Flourish

The more I learn about the challenges people face when it comes to prospecting, the more I am convinced that it is so much like exercise. Consider these similarities:

Everybody has to do it. As I find myself repeating, “Whether building a business or building a career, everybody prospects.” Well, everybody in business has to. The same is true for exercise—everybody has to do it. Those who don’t exercise pay a price. And I can’t tell you how many people have admitted to me, “I don’t do enough of it.” Are they talking about prospecting or exercise? Take your pick.

It only takes a little bit of time every week. You don’t have to spend all your waking hours prospecting, nor do you need to do it exercising. Yet both are important, healthy activities that should be scheduled into your week, preferably in time blocks. Consider how much time you want to invest in each, and budget that time accordingly.

We join clubs to do it. Well, we don’t always, nor do we have to join a club, but we do often make that investment, don’t we? How many of us have bought a membership somewhere and never used it? Okay, put your hands down…

There are countless ways to get it done. How many ways are there to exercise? There are hundreds! Any kind of vigorous activity can be categorized as exercise—and you get automatic “credit” for doing so! Now consider this: how many ways are there to interact with and meet other people? Just as many. Think of prospecting as “social exercise.” You’re building and strengthening your skills, and your relationships. The benefits are exponential.

So, how does this information help you? Look at it this way: What is one of the most important pieces of advice you hear when it comes to exercise?

“Pick an activity you love, and just do it,” is what you will hear. Whether it is walking 30 minutes several times per week (if not daily) while listening to your iPod or swimming 30 laps every morning at the gym, either is fine—providing you enjoy doing it.

Why are enjoyable activities important to tasks that you might otherwise avoid? You know the answer—it keeps you from procrastination! I’ll be the first person to admit this: I am not crazy about exercising. There, I said it. Anyone else?

But I do enjoy going out and getting a good walk in, preferably in the middle of the day. It helps clear my head, it gets my thoughts focused (great for us ADD types!) and it helps me relax. If the weather is nice, I appreciate that as well. Or, I can listen to a business podcast or audiobook that furthers my personal growth as well. Not a bad way to invest 30 minutes.

So, what do you enjoy doing when it comes to prospecting? Are you passionate about what you do and how it positively impacts peoples’ lives? Do you get a rush when you share someone else’s success story, or introduce one person to another at a social gathering? If so, these are prospecting activities, just a few of countless others that can be fun, rewarding and even healthy.
And if you need a professional trainer, you know who to call.

http://www.prospectingweekly.com/PW28_prospecting_is_like_exercise.htm?goback=%2Ehom

"Nitty-Gritty" Reasons
by Jim Rohn

Wouldn't it be wonderful to be motivated to achievement by such a lofty goal as benevolence? I must confess, however, that in the early years of my struggle to succeed, my motivation was a lot more down-to-earth. My reason for succeeding was more basic. In fact, it fell into the category of what I like to call "nitty-gritty reasons." A nitty-gritty reason is the kind that any one of us can have -- at any time, on any day -- and it can cause our lives to change. Let me tell you what happened to me.

Shortly before I met Mr. Shoaff, I was lounging at home one day when I heard a knock at the door. It was a timid, hesitant knock. When I opened the door I looked down to see a pair of big brown eyes staring up at me. There stood a frail little girl of about ten. She told me, with all the courage and determination her little heart could muster, that she was selling Girl Scout cookies. It was a masterful presentation -- several flavors, a special deal, and only two dollars per box. How could anyone refuse? Finally, with a big smile and ever-so politely, she asked me to buy. And I wanted to. Oh, how I wanted to!

Except for one thing. I didn't have two dollars! Boy, was I embarrassed! Here I was -- a father, had been to college, was gainfully employed -- and yet I didn't have two dollars to my name.

Naturally I couldn't tell this to the little girl with the big brown eyes. So I did the next best thing. I lied to her. I said, "Thanks, but I've already bought Girl Scout cookies this year. And I've still got plenty stacked in the house."

Now that simply wasn't true. But it was the only thing I could think of to get me off the hook. And it did. The little girl said, "That's okay, sir. Thank you very much." And with that she turned around and went on her way.

I stared after her for what seemed like a very long time. Finally, I closed the door behind me and, leaning my back to it, cried out, "I don't want to live like this anymore. I've had it with being broke, and I've had it with lying. I'll never be embarrassed again by not having any money in my pocket." That day I promised myself to earn enough to always have several hundred dollars in my pocket at all times.

This is what I mean by a nitty-gritty reason. It may not win me any prize for greatness, but it was enough to have a permanent effect on the rest of my life. My Girl-Scout-cookie story does have a happy ending.

Several years later, as I was walking out of my bank where I had just made a hefty deposit and was crossing the street to get into my car, I saw two little girls who were selling candy for some girls' organization. One of them approached me, saying, "Mister, would you like to buy some candy?" "I probably would," I said playfully. "What kind of candy do you have?" "It's almond roca." "Almond roca. That's my favorite. How much is it?" "It's only two dollars."

Two dollars. It couldn't be! I was excited. "How many boxes of candy have you got?" "I've got five." Looking at her friend, I said, "And how many boxes do you have left?" "I've got four." "That's nine. Okay, I'll take them all."

At this, both girls' mouths fell open as they exclaimed in unison, "Really?" "Sure," I said. "I've got some friends that I'll pass some around to." Excitedly, they scurried to stack all the boxes together. I reached into my pocket and gave them eighteen dollars.

As I was about to leave, the boxes tucked under my arm, one of the girls looked up and said, "Mister, you're really something!" How about that! Can you imagine spending only eighteen dollars and having someone look you in the face and say, "You're really something!"

Now you know why I always carry a few hundred dollars on me. I'm not about to miss chances like that ever again. And to think it all resulted from my own embarrassment, that when properly channeled, acted as a powerful motivator to help me achieve.

How about you? What nitty-gritty reasons do you have waiting to challenging and provoke you into change for the better? Look for them, they are there. Sometimes it can be as simple as a brown eyed girl selling Girl Scott cookies.

To Your Success,

Jim Rohn

The Four Pillars of Standing Out Online
By Dave Saunders

Using the Internet to gain exposure, position yourself, attract and maintain new business has never been easier. Thanks to the continued growth of the Internet, especially the explosive growth of new social media web sites, you can build relationships with people around the globe. You can share your passions and add value to the global community of the Internet by sharing what you know and what you're learning.

Social media is not some new system merely for driving traffic to a landing page. It represents a collection of tools and resources which have been created to bring people together online. Collectively, this "new media" is known as Web 2.0. It doesn't replace, but rather adds to the existing capabilities of the Internet.

The number and variety of online social media sites already available is vast and growing almost daily. Joining and connecting with the people on only a handful of these sites can connect you to a bounty of people. No matter which of the many social media sites you use, there is one ingredient that is so important; to leave it out is like pulling out of the driveway without tires.
That essential ingredient of your online presence is you.

Also known as your personal brand, your presence online leaves an impression for others to...

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What have you got to lose?
By Dr. Ritu Arora, 12th January 2009

“No, it can’t be done,” said people to a man named Thomas, as he kept on failing at his experiment. Had he given up, today we would be still living in the dark. He failed for a thousand times until finally he made a bulb that could glow. And what did our hero Thomas Alva Edison have to say? He said he had learned 1000 ways that did not work until he found the right technique.

Often we do not try for fear of losing, but even if we lose, aren’t we winning? Winning experience, winning friends, and winning sympathy. Click Here for the rest of the article.

Eleven ways to get started with Social Networking




by Joe Dager, President of Business901



I was recently flipping through the pages of the January 9, 2009 issue of The Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce Emphasis insert in The Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly and what did I find? An article by Joe with whom I'd had lunch at the Fort Wayne Sumit Club to talk about Social Networking. Here is Joe's article:



1) Read 10 blogs - sign-up on Google Reader account and search for and subscribe to 10 blogs about social networking - you can return daily to your page to find and read all the new content on your 10. Of course you can add blogs about your industry and interests here too.


2) Comment on 10 blogs - posting relevant comments to blogs you read is a very simple form of social networking. It's also a good way to get some extra visitors to your site or blog.

3) Join Facebook - Join and create a profile. Find and friend some of your existing contacts using tools on Facebook. You'll be surprised how many people you already know have Facebook accounts. Facebook has some real value for you because of the rich set of tools and large amount of active users. This is a great place to experiment with how people interact in social networks. Once you get your feet wet you may also find that Facebook is a great way to connect with business contacts you may never bump into otherwise.

4) Create a mySpace page - this service is really embraced primarily by musicians and the younger set. It also happens to have a large underbelly contingent so be warned, but it is a great tool for learning how to build a presence outside of your web site.

5) Join LinkedIn - this is a service that's been called Facebook for professionals. It is really about meeting and connecting with like-minded business folks. It is a great service for people looking for a job or to make connections with people who may be out of reach without an introduction.

6) Visit Ning - this is the largest custom social networking service that allows you to create your own community using a variety of tools that can be branded to match your current site. Several local sites worth reviewing are Smaller Indiana and RainFortWayne.

7) Create a Workbench profile - This one's a little self-serving as this is the Duct Tape Marketing social business networking site but it's a good example of the personalized business community that's the next wave for small business.

8) Create a Twitter account - this tool is pretty silly on the surface, it allows you to type in 140 characters or less what you are doing right now. It feels like a giant waste of time but a very large and active community has grown around this kind of micro-blogging and you should understand how people are using it.

9) Create a StumbleUpon profile - This is a social network built around discovering and recommending sites that you like. Active stumblers can send a lot of traffic your way.

10) Create a Digg account - this site allows you to keep up to the minute with what's happening in the world of business. Users submit and vote on what is believed to be the most important content.

11) Create a FriendFeed account - this site automatically imports shared stuff from sites across the web, so if your friend favorites a video on YouTube, you get a link and a thumbnail of the video in your feed. You can also view your FriendFeed in your iGoogle homepage or read it in a feed reader. If you make your FriendFeed publicly visible (kind of like a blog that writes itself), you can embed your feed in your home page or blog.

You might also consider Mixx, Squidoo, Slideshare, Delicious, and Flickr as places to find and develop niche related communities when you're ready to really get out there. Think of mySpace, LinkedIn and Facebook as your labs - get in there and experiment for the future. Social Media can be very productive but it is like any networking venue. It takes time and learning the nuances of the structure. Now, you can start blogging!

Joe Dager is President of Business901, a company providing direction in areas such as social media, target marketing and organized referral marketing. A certified coach of the Duct Tape Marketing Consulting organization, they specialize in small and medium sized businesses. Parts of this article copyrighted Duct Tape Marketing, used with permission.

Business901 installs marketing systems!

www.business901.com 260-438-0411 jtdager@business901.com

"6 Ways to Boost Your ROI in 2009"

Submitted by Alight Interactive

Here's another great post from my friend, Scott Howard, at www.SoLoHonet.blogspot.com.

Entrepreneurs are known for accomplishing great things with limited resources. If you want to do the same thing, here are six easy tips you can implement right now to maximize every dollar of your marketing budget.

1. Visualize and plan

Poor planning can skyrocket your campaign expenses and slash your return on investment (ROI). Visualize what you want to accomplish and identify your budget and timeline. Read more.

2. Segment your target market

An average campaign generates a 1-3% response rate, so to increase the total number of leads generated, you can either increase your list size or improve your response rate through better segmentation. Read more.

3. Clean up your list

The average bounce rate from a direct mail campaign is 5-20%, depending on the industry you target. Read more.

4. Seek a direct response to your Website

A critical but often overlooked component of every marketing campaign is a call-to-action. What exactly do you want the prospect to do? Read more.

5. Follow up with prospects

Have a follow-up plan in place for when a prospect responds. It is vital to act quickly while the interaction is still fresh in the prospect's mind. Read more.

6. Leverage Web Analytics to measure your results

Through web analytics, you can learn a lot from past campaigns. Web analytics allows you to get beyond open rates and response rates to real ROI based on an action. Read more.

How to Effectively Start Calling a Lead
By Michael Oliver

I recieved this article as a subscriber to Networking Univeristy (http://www.networkingtimes.com/). To read the full article you will have to follow the link at the bottom of this post and register (at not cost). The benefit of registering is the free webinar available at the end of the article.

Here is an interesting question from TD who asks, How do I establish an open discussion with new potential partners over the telephone?

My Answer: In order to answer you correctly I would need to know whether you are referring to calling leads, calling friends or associates, cold calling, referrals, etc.

For this week, I will address how to start the approach of calling leads.

First though, if you want to establish an open discussion or dialogue, it is important to start correctly. The Connecting Stage, which is the first stage of five of the Natural Selling Dialogue Framework, is designed to do this.

It sets you up to be successful for the important second stage, The Discovering Stage which will determine what you present in your solution.

Unlike other sales approaches that concentrate on...

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Ending Procrastination

by Jim Rohn

Perseverance is about as important to achievement as gasoline is to driving a car. Sure, there will be times when you feel like you're spinning your wheels, but you'll always get out of the rut with genuine perseverance. Without it, you won't even be able to start your engine.

The opposite of perseverance is procrastination. Perseverencemeans you never quit. Procrastination usually means you never get started, although the inability to finish something is also a form of procrastination.

Ask people why they procrastinate and you'll often hear something like this: "I'm a perfectionist. Everything has to be just right before I can get down to work. No distractions, not too much noise, no telephone calls interrupting me, and of course I have to be feeling well physically, too. I can't work when I have a headache." The other end of procrastination - being unable to finish - also has a perfectionist explanation: "I'm just never satisfied. I'm my own harshest critic. If all the i's aren't dotted and all the t's aren't crossed, I just can't consider that I'm done. That's just the way I am, and I'll probably never change."

Do you see what's going on here? A fault is being turned into a virtue. The perfectionist is saying that his standards are just too high for this world. This fault-into-virtue syndrome is a common defense when people are called upon to discuss their weaknesses, but in the end it's just a very pious kind of excuse making. It certainly doesn't have anything to do with what's really behind procrastination.

Remember, the basis of procrastination could be fear of failure. That's what perfectionism really is, once you take a hard look at it. What's the difference whether you're afraid of being less than perfect or afraid of anything else? You're still paralyzed by fear. What's the difference whether you never start or never finish? You're still stuck. You're still going nowhere. You're still overwhelmed by whatever task is before you. You're still allowing yourself to be dominated by a negative vision of the future in which you see yourself being criticized, laughed at, punished, or ridden out of town on a rail. Of course, this negative vision of the future is really a mechanism that allows you to do nothing. It's a very convenient mental tool.

For the rest of Jim Rohn's message

click here

ENLIGHTENED PERSPECTIVE

I received these in an email from a dear freind, Joan Rorick. Thanks Joan.

by Andy Rooney, a man who has the gift of saying so much with so few words. Enjoy.......

I've learned.... That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.

I've learned..... That when you're in love, it shows.

I've learned..... That just one person saying to me, 'You've made my day!' makes my day.

I've learned.... That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.

I've learned.... That being kind is more important than being right.

I've learned.... That you should never say no to a gift from a child.

I've learned.... That I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him in some other way.

I've learned.... That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.

I've learned.... That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.

I've learned.... That simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.

I've learned.... That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.

I've learned.... That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.

I've learned.... That money doesn't buy class.

I've learned.... That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.

I've learned... That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.

I've learned.... That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.

I 've learned.... That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.

I've learned.... That love, not time, heals all wounds.

I've learned.... That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.

I've learned... That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.

I've learned.... That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.

I've learned... That life is tough, but I'm tougher.

I've learned.... That opportunities are never lost, someone will take the ones you miss.

I've learned.... That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.

I've learned.... That I wish I could have told my Mom that I love her one more time before she passed away.

I've learned.... That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.

I've learned.... That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

I've learned.... That when your newly born grandchild holds your little finger in his little fist, that you're hooked for life.

I've learned.... That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.

I've learned.... That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.

I hope you enjoy the wisdome contained in these words.

Special Report - Direct-Mail Basics

Although I found this extensive article in FundRaising Success, www.fundraisingsuccessmag.com, there are many basic principles that apply to both non-profit and for-profit organizations. There are multiple topics included in this one installment which in my opinion are excellent. Enjoy.

The first installment in our year-long Fundraising 101 series focuses on direct mail, with features including "7 Rookie Copywriting Mistakes to Avoid," "10 Things You MUST Know About Direct-Mail Fundraising in a Tough Economy," "3 Things You Absolutely Must Know About Paper This Year," and "An Alternative to the Traditional Envelope."

You are not the things you do, but the way you are being.

Here is another thought sent to me by Neal Donald Walsch, author of Conversations with God. Neal goes on to explain:

Your State of Being is the way you express your very definition of self. This has nothing to do with what you are doing, what you have done, or what you imagine you will do in the future. It has to do with the quality and the essence of the energy that emanates from you right now. Is it love, or is it fear?

Everything you express emerges from one of these two starting points. Yet you can return to love, as Marianne Williamson famously wrote, at any time you wish. For each day, each moment, offers a new beginning.

How I Broke 5,000 Followers On Twitter… And Into The Top 500

This is posting I came across on a 16 year old entrepenur's website/blog. The teen's name is Stanley Tang. How did I find Stanley? Through Twitter; and what was Stanley's most recent posting about . . . Twitter . . . what else! Many of you, my colleagues, have asked me, "what is Twitter?" Well here's the answer from an expert.

Jan 11, 2009 in Articles, Marketing Ideas, Online Marketing, Personal Thoughts, social media

5 days ago, my Twitter followers count crossed the 5,000 milestone. In fact, as of now, my Twitter shows 5,425 followers. At the same time, according to both Twitterholic and TwitterCounter, I am now officially part of the exclusive Top 500 on Twitter :-)



It’s just amazing to see how fast my follower count has been growing… considering just 28 days ago I was at 1,425. It took me 10 months to hit that mark, but I was able to add an additional 4,000 followers in just a tenth of the time - that’s nearly 400% growth in 28 days!

So how did I do it? Here’s the 3 step formula:

1. Follow

Follow Others - Follow as many people as you can, who share the same interest/passion. For example, if you are in the golf market, you want to follow golfers, golf trainers, golf enthusiasts etc. That’s the idea. So how do you find people who are in the same niche as you? There are 3 ways:

1. Friends. Obviously, first follow the people that you personally know. They are probably going to follow you back :-)
2. Find thought-leaders or big-guns in your industry and follow the people who they follow (or the people who follow them). If the people you’re interested are interested in these people, chances are you will be interested in them too.
3. Follower Suggestion Tools. There are plently of websites/scripts out there that will analyze the list of people you follow or following you and give you suggestions on who you should follow. A great one out there is called Who Should I Follow? There are also Twubble & Twitter Grader.
   

UPDATE (16th Jan 2009) - Twitter has now launched a new suggestion tool that helps you find people to follow - http://twitter.com/invitations/suggestions

I tend to look for people who have a balanced following/followers ratio. These are usually the ones who will follow you back. People who have lots of followers but don’t follow many people usually suggests that they are not into building relationships and making new connections (people use Twitter for different reasons - but in this post I’m talking from a marketer’s perspective). These people are unlikely to follow you back, and probably aren’t worth following (unless they are a thought-leader, guru etc).

It’s going to take a while to build up your network and accumlate your followers. Just keep in mind not to follow 1,000 people in 3 hours otherwise they’ll think you’re a spammer. And NEVER ever use scripts or bots or names that look fishy (e.g. BobSmith4231) as you will simply get banned.

Once you are able to branch out and expand your circle, that’s when you begin to find the TRUE VALUE of Twitter.

Follow People Back - I believe that Twitter is about building MUTUAL relationships. Always follow people back (make sure to check their profile page out first to make sure they are not a spammer trying to get your follow). I mean, if you walked up to somebody in a party and said, “Hi” and that person just turned his back towards you, how would you feel? It’s the same thing with Twitter.

You are seeing more and more gurus (like Loren Feldman, John Reese, Mike Filsaime, Guy Kawasaki, Jason Calacanis) doing just that. Somebody like Kevin Rose would be a bad example. Don’t let your ego get in the way. Remember, it’s about SOCIAL media, not SOLO media.

You might be asking, “What if I can’t keep up with 5,000 people that I’m following?” Well, just go get yourself a second Twitter account (like me) and use that just to specifically follow the people you want to hear more about. Guess how much a Twitter account cost? Alternatively, TweetDeck has this cool feature called “Groups” which literally help organize your followers into groups (although I personally don’t really like this and find it a lot easier to get a second account)
2. Tweet!

Tweet Often - After following people, you need to start tweeting - and OFTEN. You need to invest time into social media. People want to know what you’re up to and what you’re all about. Keep in mind of your noise level though as you don’t want to spam people’s Twitter homepage out with your Tweets. I personally post around 10-20 tweets per day.

Provide Value - Make sure your tweets are TWEET-WORTHY. Tweet stuff that are interesting or useful and people will follow you. If all you do is tweet “at work” or “at home” or “at school”, you probably won’t get too many followers. You need to CONTRIBUTE to the community and add VALUE. Produce and share content that your audience will love. That way people will begin to notice you and start re-tweeting your stuff, thus bringing you new followers.

Engage In Conversations - Be part of conversations on Twitter; start asking and answering questions; bring something to the table. If you reply to other people’s Tweets with interesting stuff, people will find you. For example, let’s say you reply to me, I may reply to you by saying:

@JohnSmith I agree with you. The new movie rocked!

Now all of a sudden, 5,430 of my followers will see John Smith and can follow hm (sic) with just one-click! Imagine engaging in dozens of those conversations every day - not only do you get new followers but also build new relationships.

Have Personality - Don’t be another “me-too”. Inject your personality into your Tweets if you want to stand out. These people are all your friends, you don’t want to be boring, you want to be FUN.

3. Promote

Twitter Counter - You’ve probably seen those FeedBurner chicklets that display the current count of your RSS subscribers. Well, do the same thing for Twitter to show the count of your Twitter followers on your blog! Like this: You can easily create it using TwitterCounter. It’s all about social proof. People are more likely to follow you if they see that everybody else is following you as well. Obviously, I wouldn’t recommend you to display it until you hit at least 1,000 followers.

Signatures - Put your Twitter link in your signatures for your emails, forums etc. If you got a mailing list, blast it out to your subscribers and ask them to follow you. If your subscribers don’t know what Twitter is, you might want to take some time to explain what Twitter is, what to do etc.

In fact, Mike Filsaime recently sent out an email doing exactly that and added over 2,000 followers in just 12 hours! It doesn’t just apply to email subscribers, also to your blog readership. Sometimes, taking the time to EDUCATE your subscribers will help boost your Twitter count.

To sum up, it’s really that simple - Follow, Tweet, Promote.

And I’ll (sic) like to end it by saying, Twitter is like a cocktail party. You’re there to make new relationships, not hard selling. I think this quote sums it up:

“Facebook is about people you used to know; Twitter is about people you’d like to know better” - Ivor Tossel

And remember to follow me on Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/stanleytang

And remember to follow me on Twitter to - http://www.twitter.com/paulwhawkins

Do You Engage?



This is a posting on M. Sue Woodward's blog, Sue's Muse at http://www.suesmuse.com/. I thought it applicable to both non-profit and for-profit application. If you need any referals to outstanding web designers, please be in touch. I know several who all do fantastic work.


That is the question … do you engage first time and returning visitors on your website?


It is more imperative than ever to ensure that site visitors have a good experience when visiting your site … this may be your only chance to share information, get them to sign up for future communications, volunteer and ultimately, of course, to donate (or buy).


Over the past couple of years, organizations have been taking stock of their existing sites (remember your site is your store front) and have determined that perhaps things are a bit messy, overcrowded and NOT user friendly when navigating … and are now embracing the POWER OF THREE.


“Good design is a Renaissance attitude that combines technology, cognitive science, human need and beauty to produce something.”Paola Antonelli, Museum of Modern Art.


These organizations vary in size, from the newly launched American Red Cross site to ANERA, a small organization that provides humanitarian relief in the Middle East. Other examples include Lupus Foundation, Armstrong Foundation, and HRC.

Suzy DeFrancis, Chief Public Affairs Officer at the American Red Cross shared enhancements to the ARC site in a recent email, included:

• Quickly directing a visitor to donate money, time or blood


• A Join Us button that allows us to register people when they come on the site


• Reorganizing and re-prioritizing the content and functionality to better meet user needs


• Improved navigation


• Links to social media sites


• More accessibility for people with disabilities

This is a great example of prioritizing your site goals and using the elements of good design to achieve them. So ask yourself the question … How do you engage? … It might just be time for a redesign!

QUICK HIT
Study: Shorter E-mail Subject Lines Perform Better

I found this article in the January 13, 2009 edition of FundRaising Success www.fundraisingsuccessmag.com. Allthough the publication is directed at non-profits, the article had considerable application to for-profit businesses as well.

When it comes to e-mail subject lines, shorter is better. Epsilon recently released the findings of a comprehensive study that examined more than a billion e-mails to determine best practices for creating subject lines and found that "shorter subject lines correlate with higher open rates and click rates … ," the company said in a recent press release.

"Epsilon experts evaluated the correlation between the length of a subject line of each campaign and the unique open and total click rates," the company said. "In addition to subject line length, the study suggests that subject line word order, word choice, and brand and audience awareness are also critical success factors. Additionally, it is crucial that marketers perform subject line testing to increase open and click rates."

Thane Stallings, senior analytic consultant for Epsilon Strategic Services, is quoted as saying, “Companies are spending little time thinking about and testing subject lines, compared to the resources and time devoted to creative development. The reality is that more people will see a subject line than its accompanying creative.”

Here are some guidelines for successful e-mail subject lines culled from the Epsilon report:

1. Front load subject lines with the most important information.
2. Keep the subject line as short as possible to convey the message.
3. Use longer subject lines only when there is a compelling reason to do so.
4. When in doubt, test.
   

The full report is available at www.epsilon.com/emailsubjectline

Focus Your Sales Efforts

Posted: 09 Jan 2009 04:32 AM CST by my good friend and colleauge, Scott Howard, on his blog at www.ScLoHonet.blogspot.com.



Recently in one of our sales meetings, I told our staff that one of the keys to success in 2009 is to sharpen our focus.



Face it, there will be a pruning of businesses in 2009.



Not everyone will survive. Your clients and potential clients are looking for the best value for their individual needs.



If not, then they may go out of business in the new year, and you'll be left with worthless accounts receivables.



I found this article Sunday at the CompellingMarketingBlog.com.



Finding Clients that Fit Like a Glove



Clients are a lot like pants.

• Some seem fine in the store but then constantly rub you the wrong way until you can’t wait to rip them off.
  
• Some require a lot of fussing and tugging—and they never stay comfortable for long.
  
• Many fit fine, there’s just nothing particularly special about them.
  
• And then there are your favorites…a few that seem to be tailor-made just for you. You’re always happy to put them on because you know both of you will end up looking good.
  

Getting dressed would certainly be easier if you had a closet full of the made-for-you pants…And so would your business.

The trick is finding out who those perfect-fit clients are. Here’s one way to do it:

1. Print out your client list—the ones who have actually hired you to work with them. (Skip any who have just bought products from you.) Include past clients too.
   
2. Rate your clients. Jot down a few positives and negatives that immediately come to mind by the client’s name. Consider things like:
   

• Were they easy to work with?
• Did they know what they want from the start, or change their mind a lot?
• Were they knowledgeable or need a lot of educating?
• Did you look forward to doing the actual work? Why or why not?
• Were they enthusiastic about your work?
• Did they follow-through (if relevant)?
• Did they get good results?
• Did you work with one person? A team?
• Did they balk at your estimate? Pay promptly?
• Did they volunteer a testimonial or refer others to you?
• Are there ongoing opportunities to work with them? Or just a one-off project?
• How would you feel if they called today and had more work for you?

3. Pick your ideal client. Maybe none of your clients really get you jazzed. Then who would you LOVE to work with? Pick a specific person you know of and jot down all the reasons why.
   
4. Now analyze your notes. What consistently came up in the negative or positive columns? Overall, which projects and clients did you like the best? Why?
   

Which of those traits could be easily found in others? Do people in their industry or profession need (and want) your services? Or people with similar life experiences (e.g. working moms, people nearing retirement or who practice yoga)?


Finally, once you’ve identified some concrete traits to look for then get busy finding more clients just like them…and soon you’ll be looking at a closet full of clients that fit like a glove!

"If a man does not know what port he is steering
for, no wind is favorable to him."

I received this quote along with a message from Neal Donald Walsch, author of Conversations with God. Neal says in his message:

“Seneca said that, and it is true. You have to know where you are going in order to get there. This may seem simplistic, but many people have no idea where they are going in life--much less where they are headed on the Journey of the Soul.”

“ Yet these are things that have to be decided , not discovered. Too many people are waiting to discover what they should decide; to chance upon what they should be choosing. Are you one of them?”

January 23 I attended a CEO Round Table planning session at the Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce (just one of the many benefits available to members of the Fort Wayne Chamber). The session was led by Jim Wyrostek with The Growth Coach. We left our afternoon session with individual 90 day plans for the 1st quarter of 2009 and what actions would be required to complete the projects. We also had of list of “Money Making Opportunities” in 4 different areas.

Why did we take time from our busy schedules to work on these plans? As leaders of companies and organization, we need to know where we are going – what our destination is or “what port we are steering for”. The extraordinary opportunity we now have, as a group, is to help each other keep our “instruments” calibrated and focused each time we meet. Projects cannot be left on the "back burner". We now have a group of like-minded individuals to whom we can be accountable.

What are your plans for the first quarter of 2009? Where are you headed and who is helping you get there? You can reach Jim Wyrostek with Growth Coach at (260) 969-0781, j.wyrostek@thegrowthcoach.com or visit his web site at www.thegrowthcoach.com/jwyrostek.

For more information about CEO Roundtables or about the Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce, you can contact Teresa Royer at (260) 424-1435, troyer@fwchamber.org or visit the Chamber web site at www.fwchamber.org.

Happy Sailing!

"Would Somebody Please Call Me Back?"
Mark Helsel

I received the following as a free subscription member of Networking University.

One of the most frequently asked questions we get is "how do you get people to call you back?" It is arguably one of the most frustrating issues of our business. At Virtual Office Systems we have been answering this question for over 10 years and I must say, our answer has evolved over that time. This article will give you a clear and effective answer to a very important question. Before we delve in to how to get people to call us back, we must first understand why many of them don't. Case in point, I received a voicemail message not long ago from a woman who mentioned something about her son playing on my travel baseball team. There were a few inherent problems with her message. First of all, she did not...
To read the rest of the article CLICK HERE

7 of 15 Tips to Get More Sales
Posted: 07 Jan 2009 04:46 AM CST

This is another outstanding post on Sott Howard's blog, http://www.sclohonet.blogspot.com/.

Actually, this is the first of a two part-er on cold calling. Look, I know very few people that like to cold call, but anyone that says you never have to do it, are either lying or dead. Everyone in sales needs to learn how to do this:

7 tips for confident cold calling

In the challenging markets of today many salespeople and business owners are focusing more and more of their efforts on cold calling to secure sales appointments and to win new business. Cold calling is an area of selling that many sales and business people can be very uncomfortable with.

As a sales motivational speaker and sales author one of my core focuses is helping individuals and teams to be more motivated and more confident and to deliver sales excellence and positive sales results on demand. To help you to get and maintain the right sales attitude here are 7 tips (of 23) that will help you to be a more confident and successful cold caller!

Tip 1
Know why cold calling is important to you and remind yourself constantly.
Stick pictures that remind you why cold calling is important to you on your PC. Make notes in your diary to remind yourself why cold calling and the results that you get from cold calling are important to you. Spend time focusing on your reasons for taking positive cold calling action every morning.

Tip 2
Cold call consistently, even when you have enough business.
Make cold calling one of your sales success habits. Cold calling is something that you should do all of the time not just when you don’t have enough business.

Tip 3
Cold call every day (or every week).
Ten cold calls every day of the month is easier than saving them all up and trying to make 230 calls on the final day of the month! 10 calls every day means positive sales habits and positive sales habits mean consistent sales success.

Tip 4
Keep a sales log book and record your cold calling successes.
The most important things in your life are worth recording. That’s why many top salespeople keep a sales success logbook. Record what works, what doesn’t, what you learnt, what you’re proud of, how you are going to do things differently next time…

Tip 5
Know your cold calling ratios . . .
Keep a record of your dials to conversations, conversations to meetings, meetings to opportunities, opportunities to deals etc. Knowing this powerful information will enable you to measure your progress and your skills.

Tip 6
Get your (motivated) colleagues involved in “inter-mate” competitions.
Don’t wait for your manager to organize competitions to get you fired up; organize them yourself and set your own expectations and standards higher than anyone else could ever set for you. It’s your sales results that will benefit.

Tip 7
Reward yourself for activities completed and maintaining a positive attitude, not just when you get results.
Many salespeople only reward themselves for results. You should reward yourself for displaying the right sales behaviours and doing the right sales activities also. These positive behaviours and activities will ultimately bring top sales results so it is these superstar behaviours and activities that you need to reinforce.

I’ll share more of the 23 stategies with you another day but in the meantime if you want to unlock more free cold calling strategies, tips and ideas check out my other blog posts on cold calling or check out my cold calling resources.

Gavin Ingham is an author and motivational speaker specialising in sales training and business growth. Gavin has helped tens of thousands of salespeople, business owners and entrepreneurs to increase their sales and build the businesses that they desire.

Check out Gavin’s powerful books, audios & DVDs & make sure that you join his free Success newsletter.

If you want to set your next conference, AGM or away day alight then call Gavin’s team now on +44 (0) 845 838 5958. To syndicate any of Gavin’s articles or to find out about having Gavin write something for your magazine or newsletter then contact us now.

. . . when you see the light at the end of the tunnel, it is not beneficial to go out and build more tunnel.

Neal Donald Walsch, author of Conversations with God, sent me the quote above and went on to say:

It was John Quinton who observed that politicians do that. Maybe you've caught yourself doing it, too. Just when things look like they're getting better, you start seeing more things that "aren't right," or "could go wrong."

The Universe is essentially a friendly place. So friendly, in fact, that it will give you exactly what you expect it to.

Isn't that wonderful? Of course, it depends on what you expect...

My friend and colleague, Scott Howard, has had some fantastic articles about sales on his blog, ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom. You can follow his blog at www.scloho.blogspot.com. Here is an article he posted earlier this month:

Steve Clark wrote this excellent piece of wisdom. I got it in an email, and you can too if you subscribe to his site at www.newschoolselling.com.

Understanding the Buyer’s Decision Process
by Steve Clark

Many of the world’s best sales forces are the best because they have developed and use a systematic sales process. Having a map of the things that have to happen before a sale can be made provides a framework for sales planning and activity, reduces mistakes, and shortens new hire ramp-up time. However, what is conspicuously absent from most of these process maps are the things that prospective customers have to do each step of the way in order to buy. The truth is that the things that are done at any particular step or stage in the process could be a complete waste of time if the client doesn’t do what they must do to move forward to the next step or stage in their buying process.

As sales professionals, you don’t retire quota or earn commissions for anything that you do. You get paid on what your prospects do. When they sign a contract or issue a purchase order, then you make some money. You have to accept that you cannot control your prospects.

Account Managers or Sales Managers often ask, “What do we have to do to close this deal?” That is the wrong question. What you should be asking is, “What does the prospect have to do in order to buy?” and then the follow-on question is, “What do we have to do to get them to do those things?”

Whether or not you have or follow a systematic sales process, you should endeavor to understand and document your prospect’s buying process. You must understand not only the things that have to happen throughout the selection and approval process, but who will be involved along the way.

Armed with a thorough understanding of the steps and stages of your prospects buying process, you can plan your work accordingly. Then every single move you make can be made with the specific intent of enabling or empowering your prospect to take the next step they need to take in order to buy.

In order for you and the buyer to understand the buying process, you need to ask questions. Lots of questions. Here are some questions that will help you and the buyer define and clarify what has to happen before a decision will be made:

1. What kind of results are you having with your current advertising campaign?

2. If your current campaign is not providing for you what you need it to how do you plan on discovering if another campaign might work better?

3. How have you managed to do so well in spite of the fact that you are not receiving from your current campaign what you really need?

4. How did you come to accept these less than satisfactory results from your existing campaign? What needs to happen before you and the other decision makers in this company will decide to do something different?

5. Can your existing advertising provide the results needed to take your business to the next level? If so, what has stopped it from providing the results before?

6. What do you and the other decision makers need to know or understand before you will be willing to solve this problem?

7. Since bringing in a new advertising strategy and plan would necessitate changes, what would your decision team need to understand before they’d be willing to help you through the change process?

8. What would they need to see or hear before they would be able to understand that this new process would not create chaos for them?

9. What I hear you saying is that you need blah, blah and blah from me to have the confidence that we can help you. Is that correct? What would you like for me to do next?

Before you proceed to any next step, you should know and understand exactly what has to happen next in their buying process, and what you’re going to do to make that happen. If you spend the time and money to go visit a prospect without a plan of what you intend to say and do to help them take the next step in their buying process then you are little more than a professional visitor.

Defining and documenting a useful map of our prospects buying process will take time, it will take effort, and it will require that you reach, qualify, and sell to all of the people who will play a part in the selection and approval process. You will need a lot of input and perspective because simply accepting any one person’s opinion of their process leaves too many variables to chance and ultimately leaves you with too much exposure and opportunity for failure. Taking the time to thoroughly understand all of the things that the prospect needs to do in order to buy often makes the difference between the very successful and those who simply get by.

Good Selling

Steve Clark

Time to Upgrade
This is was post I read on my friend and colleague, Scott Howard;s, blog ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom January 2, 2009.

When the economy was strong, we could afford to make mistakes or ignore bad sales habits. Things have changed now.

Recessions separate the weak from the strong. It's the ultimate "survival of the fittest" in the business world. Your skills, talents, and attitude are the real competitive edge in this marketplace.

Smart sales professionals are investing in themselves. They are reading more, listening to Podcasts, attending seminars and webinars, and taking advantage of their corporate training programs.

Take time to upgrade now and you will become an invincible competitor in your industry and market regardless of the state of the economy.

Source: Sales trainer/speaker Jeb Blount (www.salesgravy.com, 2008)

Elements of Change
Chris Widener

The key to achieving more than you currently are, no matter which area of your life or work you are focusing in on now, is change. The old saying rings true: If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you’ve already got. If you keep eating and exercising the way you currently are, you will weigh the same a year from now. If you continue to sell to the same people on the same schedule, you will make the same amount of money next year. In order to move forward, we must change.

As I have worked with people, both in a professional setting and on a personal basis, I have found two things to be true about change. One, it is simple. Two, it is not easy. That is, the concept of change is simple to grasp. People or organizations are quick to say, “Oh, I know we need to change.” Simple.

But where the problem starts, and why most people and organizations do not change, is because it is not easy to change. But, I believe, if the process is well thought out, and if we have the guts and determination to carry it out, change can happen, and we can move on to more fulfilled lives.
With that said, let me give you what I consider the elements of change.

Discontentment with your current state.
The first step in the process of change is to not want to be where you currently are. You must be discontent with it. If you are overweight, you must say, “I will not accept this anymore.” If you are in debt, you must say, “I cannot tolerate this any longer.” If you have broken relationships, you must say, “I will not live with this.” This is a decision to change and not accept the status-quo.

The picture of your preferred outcome.
What is it that you want to change to? It absolutely is not enough to say “I need to change.” It must be: “I am going to change to…” This becomes the goal. I would encourage you to get a mental picture of it formulated in your mind. Get a real picture of it if it is that tangible. Perhaps write yourself a short essay, extolling the virtues of what life will be like when you get to the changed state.

New associations with the two states.
You must begin to associate your current state you are in with pain, and the state you want to be in with pleasure. Let’s take weight for example. We tend to think of ice cream, mounds of it, with pleasure. I know that I do. Especially chocolate chip mint. Last night we went to some friend’s house and we had some ice cream. Normal portions. I don’t like to eat normal portions. I like huge portions of ice cream. There is an association of pleasure there. But what I did to overcome the urge to eat scoop after scoop was to associate huge portions to being overweight, not the pleasure of the taste. I also associated not eating the ice cream with feeling better about myself. Then when it comes to exercise, I work on associating the exercise and weight-lifting with the pleasure of fitting into my clothes rather than the pain my muscles feel every time I do it. This help me win the battle of the mind.

Develop a plan of short, simple steps.
“I am going to lose fifty pounds in two months.” “I will sell 500% more next month.” These are examples of change that are good goals to have long term, but too big for the time allotted – and this is havoc on change! If your goals are too big in too short of time, you will fail and become discouraged. Then you will quit and decide change can’t be accomplished. Instead, you must have short, workable, attainable goals if you are going to see real change happen and stay. “I am going to lose five pounds a month for ten months.” “We are going to sell 6% more each month this year (That would double your business each year)” These are the size steps you need to take. Then you will build victory after victory.

Discipline yourself.
Sorry but this is where it is up to you. At the heart of change is the ability to discipline ourselves. I cannot lose your weight. Your mom cannot go out and make sales calls for you. The only real obstacle standing between your current state and your desired outcome is you! So do everything you can to get yourself motivated to change! Force yourself to get out of bed and get to work on your goals! Discipline yourself. Choose to make the right decision.

Reward yourself when you have made the change.
That’s right: reward yourself. You have worked hard and exerted a lot of self-discipline to get there! You deserve it!

Chris Widener is a popular speaker and author who has shared the podium with US Presidents, helping individuals and organizations turn their potential into performance, succeed in every area of their lives and achieve their dreams. Join subscribers in over 100 countries for a weekly leadership & success eZine by clicking here. Enjoy motivational audio programs from Chris Widener & other top speakers including Zig Ziglar & Brian Tracy by visiting www.MadeForSuccess.net.