Increase Your Sales, Respect & Admiration: Invite Prospects to Your Office

Invite your prospects to YOUR office and watch the dynamics of ‘the sales meeting’ shift in your favour.

Whether it is your office or a neutral business or public location, get prospects out of their offices, if at all possible.

In a prospect’s office you are just another self-serving salesperson, and suddenly each of you is thrust into your traditional adversarial, seller/buyer roles.

In your office you are the congenial host and she/he is your guest. Feel the difference in the dynamics already?

If a prospect has agreed to visit your office he/she is interested, a qualifying position that saves time and money for you both.

Break the mold of the stereotypical salesperson making the same stiff, unimaginative sales calls. You will sell more, your prospects will buy more and you both will have more fun doing it.

~Peter Skakum, Tangent Strategies

Success in Life Starts With Knowing What You Want

Success is so many different things to many of us. It may be material things, money or a relationship that brings us love. The perseverance toward obtaining these things is what separates the dreamers from the realists. Success is commonly found in those who make their dreams reality. But how do you find out what it is you want?

We often hear people use the word vision. Simply put it means that you can clearly see where you are going. Exceptional people are often referred to as visionary. But what does that really mean? I believe visionary people are able to bring new yet unseen pictures and ideas to reality. Less visionary people can do this to, but at a level we already know exists. We often hear of people using vision boards with pictures of their favorite car, their dream house or favorite vacation spot on the vision board. You can use these pictures as subtle reminders that help us stay on track. Many of these pictures have come from our dreams and goals. They can be transferred loves of things from our parents. We should also make sure they are what make us happy too. I caution that chasing other peoples dreams can lead to heartbreak.

The most important part is to understand that we gravitate to what makes us happy. You must and you have to put yourself first. That does not mean you have to give up your love of others and become singular. I suggest you look at it this way. Don't you want your wife or children to be happy? Of course you do. I suggest to you they want the same for you.

The following six tips will get you started in obtaining a clear picture of what it is you want and where you want to be.

1. Write down all the things that make you happy.
2. Make sure it is what makes you happy and not what someone else wants for you.(ownership)
3. Take it the next step and write down why they these things make you happy. (validation)
4. List these make me happy priorities in the order of importance.
5. Write down your action plan that you are going to use toward achieving these things that make you happy.
6. Share these affirmations with your mentor or accountability partner.

Your Success is just outside your comfort zone.

Staying on track is not always easy. Your success rate jumps when you have to report to someone what you have done this week toward achieving our goal. As simple and goofy as it may feel, I truly believe you will not find success if you do not write down what it is you want. If you can not get to that level of commitment right out of the starting gate you will continue to struggle in finding success.

Not all of us have a "Eureka" moment that defines what it is we want in life. What matters changes as we grow older. The need to impress others also diminishes as we grow older. We gravitate toward what makes us happy. Knowing these things earlier in life helps us find success sooner.

~by Paul Roy - Paul's many years of business and life experience have provided him with the expertise to deal with complex issues regarding success and obtaining your goals. Paul has developed a passion for writing and chooses to share this knowledge with his readers and clients. Paul has lived and taught much about what he writes about. This is what separates Paul from those who have just studied it from those who have experienced it,studied it and taught it. Life is full of tough decisions and some times we need a coach to help us through that. Paul can help you get pointed in the right direction and gain control of your life once again. For more information please go to http://www.toyourfuturesuccess.ca

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6327036

Are Women Better at Selling than Men?

The time has come for selling to evolve to a higher state of consciousness. The iconic salespeople of the future will be women. Women will take over the profession.

Jay Forte, a nationally ranked thought leader and president of Humanetrics had this to say about women in the workplace. “The biological feminine attributes of communication, consensus building, nurturing, cooperative spirit and empathy naturally predisposes women to business. Customers need salespeople who can sell on these terms. Even bestselling author and management guru Tom Peters, a product of North America’s once male-dominated corporate culture, recently asserted, “Women are better salespeople than men.”

It is important to clarify that the point of this vignette is to neither elevate the female predisposition for selling nor denigrate males in this role, but to illuminate what the marketplace says it needs from today’s salespeople whether male or female. There has never been a more exciting, constructive and profitable time to become part of one of our planet’s most noble professions … selling.

~Peter Skakum, Tangent Strategies

Tips for Successful Blogging

Blog is a shortened form of Weblog, and it’s basically a personal chronological log of thoughts put on a webpage (like what you’re reading now). The goal of a blog is ultimately to create a name for yourself as an authority on your blog topic (to brand yourself and/or your business as an expert) and to engage your target market. Depending on your blog content, a successful blog can be very profitable.

So, how do you create a blog that is successful?

First, you’ll need to choose a theme for your blog. This should be a topic you feel passionate about that somehow relates to your business. Once you’ve chosen the theme for your blog, you’ll have to set it up.

You may have the capability of adding a blog onto your current website. This is a fantastic choice because it keeps content on your website fresh and engages your audience. The alternative is creating a blog on a third-party site. We’ll address this option just briefly.

Three blog platforms you could use are WordPress, Tumblr and Blogger. (There are others; these are just three that we like.)

WordPress is very effective for generating high search engine rankings. Tumblr is quite unique and has a more of a graphic quality to it. Blogger is the easiest of the three to set up. Check out each one and decide what is best for you. If search engine rankings really matter to you, then we’d recommend WordPress or Tumblr.

Once you’ve chosen a platform to use, you will need a title that captures your blog’s theme and a website address for your blog. You can also select a blog design. We recommend choosing something relatively simple that will not distract from the articles themselves.

We also recommend that you spend a bit of time personalizing your profile so that visitors to your blog will feel more of a connection to you. You will also want to add a description of your blog so that when it comes up in the search engines, potential visitors will know what your blog is about.

You could spend hours or even days creating the perfect blog…or you can get one up there in 15 minutes. Of course you can always have a professional set it up for you. Remember that you can make changes as you go, and we can almost guarantee that you’ll want to. So, don’t worry about making it perfect just have some fun and play around. It will take you some time to figure out just the way you’ll want it.

Once the setup is done, you’re ready to start posting articles.

Posting is the process of placing an article about your topic onto the blog. You do not have to be a great writer in order to have a successful blog. If you love to write, then great…enjoy creating the articles yourself. They should not be too long…we’ll suggest around 500 words as a ball-park figure, but remember that’s just a guideline. Your article should focus on a very specific topic that relates to your blog theme, and in the article you’ll want to link back to either your website if the blog is not connected to it. In order to place a link in your post, highlight the text you’d like to link (such as “click here”), click on the infinity symbol or the word link, and paste the URL for the website you want to link to. This is a very easy thing to do, and it keeps the posts very clean.

If you’re not a writer, we would encourage you to try writing your own articles anyway. It’s not about winning a Pulitzer Prize…it’s about communicating with your audience.

However, if you are really opposed to writing your own articles, then never fear. You can find articles to post on your blog from many different sources. You can do a search for niche articles and find articles on just about every topic that you can actually use as your own. There is typically a cost for these subscription services. You pay a monthly service fee from $15.95 to $24.95 per month, and that includes 30 articles or so and usually other bonuses. With these articles, you can change links and content as necessary to refer specifically to you. If you use these niche articles it looks like the article is written by you and targeted specifically to your area of expertise.

Another option is to do a Google search for free blog articles. However, if you use someone else’s article, you must put it on your blog exactly as is. You must include the author’s name, their links, etc. You may not change any of their content. That’s the drawback of using someone else’s article in this way. However, you can put your comments before or after, almost like a short review of the article. This can be quite effective.

You can also do a search for free private label articles, and you’ll find many offers. These will allow you to change content, but you also usually have to agree to some other terms.

Okay…now you have articles to post on your blog? How often should you post? Well, consistency is very important. It’s essential to post at least once a week, but you should aim for three times a week or more. I’ll say it again…consistency is key to blogging. In order for your blog to get rated by the search engines, you most post regularly.

Now that you’re posting on a regular basis, how do you get your blog out there? One thing you should do every time your post or add new content to your blog is to ping it. Pinging your blog notifies the search engines that updates have been made to your blog so that they index your site, publish your blog, and thus increase your blog’s popularity. This is a free way to increase traffic to your blog. www.Pingoat.com and www.pingomatic.com are some resources. Choose one and use it regularly. (Don’t use more than one pinging service each time or the search engines will treat it as spam.)

In addition to pinging your site, a great way to advertise your blog is to include it on any of your social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.). Another way is to include your blog URL in your signature when you post to forums that are on the same topic as your blog.

Blogging takes time, but when done consistently it can be one of the most powerful ways to brand you as an expert and to engage your audience. It’s a powerful way to use attraction marketing and to offer your audience information that is of real value. Plus, it’s fun!

~Frances Leary, Wired Flare Online Marketing Consulting

How to Have a Positive Attitude in a Negative Situation

Imagine you have taken a hit and things are bearing down on you. You just want to go and crawl in a hole and wait for all this to blow over. But are you doing the right thing by hiding away? I for one say no. I personally feel you should and must deal with these negative things that knock you off balance as soon as possible. Taking this positive attitude accomplishes several things.

1. First is that you can deal with it and remove as much of the pain as possible so you can regain a clear mind.
2. There will usually be a take away or learning experience from this negative situation.
3. Dealing with tough decisions or setbacks can build mental toughness that can help us in the future.
4. It can teach us to only worry about things that we have control over.

I like to put the emphasis on not worrying about things we have no control over. Lets imagine that you are on a connecting flight and the first flight is late which causes you to miss the next flight. This can be a very upsetting experience as many of you know. I suggest you stop and think about it this way. You had no control over this situation you are in. What you do have is control over are your emotions and how you will deal with the situation. So do you sit and grumble or do you start to plan what you will do with this extra time you now have on your hands. Yes. New found time that you can use to prepare for that next meeting. Time to sit quietly and read a book. You may possibly meet a wonderful person with whom you have an engaging conversation. I like to simplify things and suggest you consider it this way. When you booked the flight you knew the risk of having a tight connection. So when it happens, don't act as if you have been blindsided.

I ask what comes to mind when you hear the term unflappable. Do you think of mental toughness. Self control. Come to think about it, we tend to admire people for having this ability. This ability is easier to come by than we think. It all starts with having a positive attitude. People with positive attitudes don't always have their heads in the clouds. They possess a can do attitude. They have an ability to embrace a change of plan. Positive thinkers can some times lift the mood in a room. Do you think that motivational speakers have a positive attitude. You bet. That's why we pay to see them. We want to be motivated. They inspire us.

Life does not always go according to plan. I suggest to you, life would be terribly boring if this was the case. But we have to have a plan. Having the ability to make the adjustments to your plan with the right mindset is what will set you apart from the crowd. Unflappable. A mouth full of syllables that spells confidence. To get to this mental space we must first have a positive attitude.

~by Paul Roy - Paul's many years of business and life experience have provided him with the expertise to deal with complex issues regarding success and obtaining your goals. Paul has developed a passion for writing and chooses to share this knowledge with his readers and clients. Paul has lived and taught much about what he writes about. This is what separates Paul from those who have just studied it from those who have experienced it,studied it and taught it. Life is full of tough decisions and some times we need a coach to help us through that. Paul can help you get pointed in the right direction and gain control of your life once again. For more information please go to http://www.toyourfuturesuccess.ca

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6253288

Red Nose Angel

Maybe some things are meant to be. I arrived at the Victoria airport really early for my flight to Calgary. When I checked in, I was offered the last seat on the next flight departing in 30 minutes. It was a regional jet, the kind with two narrow seats on either side of the aisle. My 6’3’’ self hunched over as I entered the plane and snuggled into the row one window seat facing the bulkhead beside a little old lady who commented on my obvious cramped leg room. The lone flight attendant on the flight tossed her coat across the two remaining seats across from us as if staking a gold claim.

It was the little lady who suggested that I ask about switching to the empty aisle seat across from us. I waited until the flight attendant started pushing her cart down the aisle and inquired as to whether she minded if I switch my seat to allow for the better legroom.

There was a cold silence and then she responded curtly, “I was going to sit there.” After another icy pause she said, “Oh, go ahead.” It was clear that either today was not her day or she slept through her customer service 101 training.

I moved her airline issued jacket over to the window seat and sat down to enjoy sticking my feet up the aisle. When her cart service concluded she plunked down beside me to do her books. She made a terse comment about having little time to get her paperwork done on short flights. After a time she hunched over and twisted her gaze out the window while slowly rubbing her forehead and back of neck.

“Do you want something to take away your headache?” I offered thinking of a special cure I had in my bag.
”No,” she replied, “It will go away on it’s own.” She shared that this was her 5th flight today and got up to tidy the galley.

Even though she was unresponsive to my offer to help I kept having a nagging intuition to do the right thing. I knew that in my bag and I had a distress headache cure. I just finished sharing 200 of them with hard working managers in high demand responsibility roles at a conference in Victoria. The preventative cure for her stress, as it was for the managers at the conference, was the healing power of humor.

When she sat with me the next time I held out a red foam clown nose and said, “This will help with your headache.”

“Are you kidding?”

“Yes I am kidding and I am joking, that’s the point,” I asserted, “laughter creates endorphins and flushes the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol makes your headache.”

“I can’t wear this. I have to look responsible.”

“Sure you can,” I insisted and held up my book to block any potential embarrassing passenger glances and she hunched over and put in the nose.

“Whoa, my head feels better already”, she observed after less than a minute. She chucked when I suggested she should do the next cart run with the nose on.

She introduced herself and we had a light hearted chat. She apologized for being out of sorts and she shared that the nose meant a lot to her because she had beaten nose cancer twice. Then she paused and said, “When you get off the plane are you going to disappear?” I must have look puzzled. She continued, “Like are you an angel that comes to earth to help troubled souls then when the job is done you go back up to rejuvenate until the next time.” She looked me in the eye and said, “Thank you. You were meant to be on my flight.”

I explained to her that actually I wasn’t meant to be on her flight and shared about the last minute change. But maybe things are meant to be especially if we listen to that still small voice of intuition that calls us to do the right thing.

When the plane landed we said thanks to each other. As I left I gave her my success quote card and she handed me her pen. At first I thought she felt obliged to reciprocate my gift gesture and that was all she had. It wasn’t until after read the inscription that it was clear that some things are just meant to be.

On her pen was a line from Psalm 91, “For he will command his angels concerning you.”

~Peter Davison

Courageous Kindness

When was the last time you took a chance and stuck you neck out to do the right thing?

Here’s the scene. You are on staff of a respectable establishment and notice him as soon as he enters the building. He stands out for two reasons. 1. Because he is carrying a cute little girl on his shoulders and 2. because he seems to be a bit unstable on his feet. He spends 15 minutes browsing around with the little girl. He completes a transaction at the counter with one of your colleagues and lifts the little girl back on his shoulders and seems to stagger across the parking lot to his car.

What questions come to mind? Do you check-in with your colleagues to see if they have any suspicions? Should we say anything? What do we say? How will this guy respond? And who’s going to speak to him?

You have until he straps the little girl into her car safety seat to make a decision before he gets behind the wheel and drives away. Do you risk embarrassment or even a possible confrontation? What do you do?

Here’s what happened. The decision is made to confront him and you’re the one to do it. You walk swiftly out the main door and across the parking lot. The man notices you behind him as he lifts his head after fastening in the little girl into her car seat. You take a breath and ask the obvious question, “Excuse me sir, have you been drinking?”

The pause after that question while the man collects his thoughts at the abrupt nature of the question might have created anxiety if you had time to imagine the consequences of all possible responses.

He replies, “No. I haven’t been drinking.” He assures you and continues to explain, ”I have Parkinson’s Disease and that makes my right foot flop when I walk.”

You reply with the conviction of your values, “If you have been drinking we wouldn’t want you to drive away with that little girl in the car.”

His eyes fill with tears as he thanks you for the courage and kindness it must have taken you to come out and check with him about the safety risk to him and his child. He is obviously profoundly moved by your caring.
____

This is true story. I know because I was the man and the little girl was my 2 year old daughter Hannah. She loves the library and we had just signed out several Christmas books including, as she calls it, a book on “Crosty the Snowman.” I don’t know the name of the librarian that came out to talk with me. But I do know one thing, that such acts of courageous kindness are what make the world beautiful place. And given the true meaning of Christmas, is much closer to a gift of love than any boxing week sale items we can score.

My heartfelt wish for you as the New Year rolls out is to celebrate life and it’s infinite possibilities for love by embracing opportunities to do the right thing and help others with courageous kindness.

Stay Blessed.

~Peter Davison