Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Obstacles and Keys To Effective Team Coaching

Learn about the common obstacles to effective coaching, and essential skills necessary for managers to build their authority and successfully coach their teams to great results.

By Rick Kirschner

The most common obstacle to building and projecting your authority in coaching others is the idea that coaching is about talking, that somehow talking takes priority over listening to understand.

I understand how this happens. In fast paced environments, it’s a natural tendency to put the pedal to the metal, to try harder, move faster, do more. The problem is that you wind up talking at your people instead of with them and to them. And the obstacle this lack of understanding creates is that without knowing what motivates your people, you can’t engage them where it counts.

When you understand what motivates your people, and it’s different for different people, you can speak with authority that is recognized as authority, because it is relevant and conveys experience and knowledge.

The next most common obstacle is the confidence problem. When managers come off as tentative, hesitant or uncertain, it tends to evoke these responses in the people around them. This problem is the side effect of at least two missing pieces: you first have to know your own motivation, and you must be prepared to speak when it’s time to speak. The fact is, people want to be led, not managed, and they need to get that sense of authority from you, because it gives them confidence to do what needs to be done. They believe it when you believe it.

Now, it’s a legitimate question, confidence in what? After all, in these changing times, nobody really knows what’s coming next. And some degree of introspection is prudent for anyone wanting to thrive instead of merely survive. But you can have confidence in your motivations. You can have confidence in what you do know. And you can have confidence that under the right conditions, people will want to give you their best, to do their best.

So, what are the key listening and communication skills that you can improve upon as you work to develop and strengthen others?

Fundamental to success in coaching are two essential skills. The first is blending, the second is asking questions.

Blending is the foundation of all successful relationships. It happens whenever you reduce the differences between yourself and another person. It happens whenever you send signals of similarity and commonality. And because nobody cooperates with anybody who seems to be against them, a failure to blend is the root cause of most conflict. If perception is everything in relationships, then sending blending signals is how you create the perception of partnering with your people in a process or project.

As for questions, I believe it was the stoic philosopher, Epicetus, who said “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” Maybe this is the apt metaphor for the way we’re built, but I’ve observed that too many people just don’t get it. Although they certainly think they do. Ask just about anyone if they’re a good listener, and they’ll tell you yes. But most people do a meager job of it at best, instead drawing conclusions and then making statements instead of engaging people by asking questions.

Maybe the people who don’t ask very many questions are afraid of looking stupid. Maybe they think it makes them seem weak. Or maybe they think they’re supposed to have all the answers. Maybe it’s just a function of the fact that we can think faster, at 500 words a minute, than most people talk, which is about 130 words a minute. It’s not uncommon for our minds to wander to what we want to say when its our turn to talk, so it’s pretty easy to get ahead of what we’re hearing.

But a great coach understands the limits of his or her knowledge about another person, and explores that boundary to build the connection, rather than building the boundary and weakening the relationship. The key is curiosity. The less you think you know, the more you find out. The more value you place on what you can learn by listening, the less distracted you’ll be with your own thoughts.

Have you ever heard someone say “There is no such thing as a stupid question?’.’ That’s a great guide when it comes to everyone other than you! You can’t afford to ask dumb questions if you want to bring out the best in your people. When someone asks me a question, no matter how trite, simplistic or off the point, I welcome it and find the opportunity in it.

I do think there are dumb questions to avoid, when it’s me asking the questions. They’re dumb if they fail to take into account things people have said. They’re dumb if they’re closed ended instead of open ended, unless I intend to bring something to a close. I want my questions to serve an intelligent purpose. A person’s motivations and positions are in the deep structure, so that’s where I want to go. I want to learn about their goals and aspirations, their desires and fears. Asking questions is a great way of leading people to their own resourcefulness. Just as their answers inform me, I want my questions to inform them.

As a coach, the more you know, the more likely it is that you will know exactly what you need to know in order to elicit comfort confidence and credibility.

©Dr. Rick Kirschner. Dr. Rick is a bestselling author and speaker, coach and trainer, with clients that include Heineken, Providence Healthcare, and Texas Instruments. Author of 'Insider's Guide To The Art Of Persuasion.' Free for a limited time, a $49 value audio on Dealing With Difficult People. Go to http://theartofchange.com/promo for details.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Why Do Your Customers Buy From You

Entrepreneurs and small business owners need to know why their products attract buyers and why they don't. This article shows a quick way to think about why customers buy and how to design your offers to take advantage of their reasons.

By Sue Painter

Here’s a fun way to figure out why people are willing to get out their credit card to buy from you, a small business owner. Ready? Sit down and think about why YOU bought the last dozen items you spent money on. You might be surprised at the reasons, and you can use the insight to help structure the offers you make to your own customers.

I just spent over $200 on Magellan’s travel supplies website. Why?

1. I got their new spring catalog in the mail (direct mail, timing was right as I have several trips coming up, the catalog renewed my TOMA (top of mind awareness) about Magellan’s.) The key here? Timing! I regularly receive Magellan’s catalog and most usually pitch it without looking. But I’m excited about upcoming travel, and I needed to refresh a few things. LESSON LEARNED: Keeping in touch with your customers over time is critical, even if they haven’t bought from you in a while.

2. A notice on the catalog’s front cover offered free shipping on orders over $100. I figured almost any order would come to that amount, and free shipping saves me money. A deadline on the free shipping (May 9th) spurred me to take action now rather than put it off. LESSON LEARNED: Make your special offers time-limited, with a relatively short time frame.

3. Let’s look at what I ordered and my reason for each purchase.

Spill-proof pouch - because the last time I was on a plane one of my face care products leaked out into my cosmetic bag. This pouch SOLVES A PROBLEM.

Electronics travel case - I didn’t go looking for this item, but I saw it browsing the catalog. I’m thinking “Hmm, I’m sure tired of all my various chargers and USB cables getting into a big knot at the bottom of my briefcase, so maybe I’ll try this. This purchase SOLVES A PROBLEM and was a win for Magellan’s because of 1) A GOOD IDEA and 2) SUGGESTED SELLING.

Personalized Luggage Strap - This is actually a gift for my husband. His luggage looks similar to many, and more than once he’s picked up someone else’s at the airport. The strap WORKS AS A GIFT and helps SOLVE A PROBLEM.

Extra-large mesh pack-it cube - These things are hard to find in large sizes, so Magellan’s gets a star for carrying them. They allow me to pack clothing inside my luggage and quickly pull out what I need without digging around. And if you get stopped for inspection, you can easily pull these out without re-shuffling and wrinkling your clothing. For years now I’ve used 2 gallon kitchen zipper bags, but the zippers don’t hold up to being open and closed over and over again, and for some reason the 2 gallon size is now hard to find. These mesh cubes SOLVE A PROBLEM but also GAVE ME A FEELING OF LUXURY. I get to graduate from packing my clothes in baggies.

Blackberry pouch - When I’m sight-seeing I try hard not to lug around a purse, but I often need my phone and camera with me. This handy little pouch hangs around the neck and will hold both my Blackberry and my small camera. Perfect! Again, solves a problem and makes something easier for me.

Walk stool - One of the downsides of having a new knee is that it’s still hard for me to stand on concrete for very long without pain. This innovative product offers a sturdy, foldable instant stool but weights only a pound and can hang off a belt, a backpack, a purse, or my shoulder. Next time I think I better not go on a walking tour because we’ll stand and listen to a guide for 15 minutes, I’ll be able to go and know I can sit when I need to. HUGE problem solved for me and a solution I can live with (not too heavy or too bulky, small and easy to pack).

Blow-up neck pillow - I use this on planes all the time, and foolishly over inflated mine a few trips ago. POW! It burst at 30,000 feet and that was the end of that! I’ve looked around in airports but balked at paying $30.00 or so. Magellan’s had one on sale for $12.99. What sold me? REASONABLE PRICING and PROBLEM SOLVED.

As you can see, I’m a buyer who will spend for solving problems. I also respond to suggested selling and to the feeling of having something a little fancier for myself. But these are not the only reasons Magellan’s got $200 from me.

1. Their website is easy to maneuver and loads quickly.

2. They offer customer reviews of their products, which talked me into the stool and the Blackberry pouch.

3. Their page for each item tells me immediately that the item is in stock. (One of my pet peeves is ordering online only to find that the item isn’t due in for 30 days or so.)

4. Their page for each item offers more pictures than the catalog, allowing me to “look” at items in detail.

5. Their check-out process is easy. I’ve jumped off of more than one website that was hard to maneuver or had excessive checkout procedures, and I’ll bet you have, too.

Take a look at what you’ve spent money on and list the reasons why you bought. You can then look at what you offer to others and think about whether your offers are attractive for those same reasons. If they don’t, tweak them and your sales copy, and see if your sales improve. Knowing why you buy and turning it around will help you to see why some of your customers buy from you.

Sue Painter is a marketing therapist whose expertise is finding the dark and murky under-places that keep your business from succeeding. She develops business plans that work, and strategic marketing plans that take dead aim at your target market. You can subscribe to her Marketing Tips e-zine at http://www.confidentmarketer.com .

Monday, June 21, 2010

Small Business Coaching On Why Leads May Not Be Converting

For a lot of small business owners, leads may not be a problem. They may be receiving lots of leads. It's the conversion of those leads that may be the problem. So in this article, let's explore 4 reasons your leads may not be converting and what you can do about it.

By Allison Babb

1. Lead or Prospect Mismatch
Some people believe you have to get LOADS of random leads then some may shake out to be your ideal customer or target market.
That’s a laborious process and it also produces false leads - people who were never really interested in what you have in the first place.

Leads may not be converting because they truly aren’t your ideal customer and they never were. If that’s the case, evaluate who those leads are, and check that they match the profile of your target market . If they’re not an ideal prospect, don’t waste time following up. Instead focus on generating more qualified leads that truly reflect your target market who is hungry for what you offer.

2. Follow-Up Fortunes
One of the things I discuss with clients is setting up a follow-up process for their business.
There’s a fortune in the follow up, and honestly, there may be people out there just waiting to whip out their credit cards if only you’d pick up the phone and follow up with them.

When we’re pondering how to sell services, it’s important to create great follow-up systems that produce sales. A clear set of steps you take to follow up with someone who expressed interest in what you have to offer but hasn’t made a buying decision yet. The thing to remember is that customers buy not when we want them to buy; they buy when they are ready to buy. And this is why it’s important to have a follow-up system where you continue to provide value and you also remind them of how you can help.

My weekly Ezine is a good example of a follow-up system. It shows up every week with valuable information in response to subscriber questions, and it’s also a reminder of how I can help further if you’re interested in going deeper on any of the topics I discuss.

3. The Sting Rejection
Sometimes when we follow up, we essentially get a “No thanks, I’m not interested.” Ouch. But is it really an ouch?
To me, sales is all about genuinely finding out the customer’s need is first, and listening very well to see if I truly have a solution to those problems/challenges. If I do have a solution that can help, then I’ll share what options exist. And I do so by giving the prospect all the information they need to make a decision.

Sometimes we are not converting leads because we’re very afraid to follow up. Afraid of rejection. Afraid of bothering or pestering people. I’d invite you to embrace that the sale is not about us (as small business owners). It’s about the prospect or client. Avoid getting emotionally attached to the outcome of following up.

If you know you can help someone eliminate a challenge or frustration by what you offer, then why not follow up to let them know. Sometimes that requires that you shift your thinking from someone trying to “get a sale” to becoming a provider of solutions. And if that follow-up leads into having a sales conversation where you’re sharing specifics about your offerings, sure, they may say “no.” Their decision is simply a choice and not a rejection of you. All that said, however, you do need an effective sales conversion process… which brings me to my next point.

4. Sales Conversion Process
Prospects convert to paying clients more easily when you have a clear sales process through which you can take them.
If you don’t have a clear, step-by-step method to take a prospect from interest to purchase, this may be why you’re not converting them. Sometimes we get stuck because we’re staring the list of prospects but we really don’t know what we would say if we did follow up with them. So we procrastinate and we don’t take action.

And now I'd like to offer you the FREE one-hour audio seminar for solo entrepreneurs on "How to Create a Steady Stream of Clients For Your Solo Business" at: http://www.moreclientsaudio.com Allison Babb is an author, speaker and Small Business Coach to solo entrepreneurs at: http://www.GreatSmallBusinessAdvice.com

Friday, June 18, 2010

Be #1 On MSN Bing By Christmas. Really!

MSN Bing is probably the most profitable search engine you can be found on. Unlike Google, it attracts many more adults eager to buy than kids just playing around. And very unlike Google, you can get to number one on MSN Bing using the simple method revealed in this article.

By Michael Small

MSN’s new counterpart Bing is rewriting search engine history. Touted by Microsoft as the first ever “decision engine” it’s picking up steam like Yahoo in its heyday and is in place to give Google a serious run for its money.

Speaking of “serious”; it’s important to mention that MSN and now Bing are the search engine of choice for most credit card carrying adults. In fact, MSN Bing is the default search engine on every new Windows PC sold. That’s Big! A lot of people go to Google for playing around but stick to Bing when they mean business. And that’s great for you!

I recently obtained ten (out of 10!) top five placements on MSN Bing using a simple formula I can share right now. It took me only a few hours to do all the work, including the domain purchase and setting up hosting. Here is that magic formula:

* Focus on just one keyword for the site. Make it your most important.

* Use the exact keyword phrase as your domain name and be sure it ends in .com, .net, or .org. It is fine to use dashes between each or any combination of words in the domain name. They are treated as spaces by the search engine and are typically much easier to get than domains without dashes.

* Pay for two or more years when you register the domain. They appear to be using Google’s trick of checking registration dates and giving preference to those registered for more than one year.

* Post just one or two pages. If you need more than a home page, add a contact page or something else light on text. Note: You can use your site as a landing page and create links to all of your main site’s pages.

* Keep your home page text between 250 and 400 words. If you need to say more, add images that contain the text you want displayed.

* Put your keywords in the headings but do not use “head tags” or “strong tags.” Just make the text big and bold using the “bold tag.”

* Use your keyword phrase up to two times per one hundred words of text, but do not go over five full mentions for the entire page of text (plus up to two more for headings.)

* Mention your full keyword phrase once toward the beginning of the first paragraph and again within the first one third of the page text. Then use it once near the end of the page text. The other mentions can go anywhere in between.

* If you decide to go the software route to get faster results (still using these tips), stick with one that works well for MSN Bing. Many do not. Note: I developed the method above by using the tool I found at http://www.SEOeliteWeb.com.

Results: Here’s one example… I took one local client’s main keyword phrase of “richmond auto repair”, separated each word with a dash and registered the dotcom version. Within two weeks it became number one on MSN Bing for that keyword phrase and has stayed there as a gateway to the main site. It’s been four months now and I’ve done this for dozens of keywords, with my last experiment yielding 10 for 10 using just the tips listed here.

You can do it too.

Mike Small is the SEO Specialist for Marketing Considerations, LLC. Based in Richmond Virginia, Marketing Considerations helps clients from all over the US, Japan, Germany and the UK with their search engine optimization needs.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

3 Marketing Mistakes That Sink A Business During A Recession

A recession does not mean the end of your business unless you navigate those rough waters blindly. Here are three rocks that can sink your business ship unless you avoid them while navigating the dangerous waters of a tough market. You might get wet but no need to capsize.

By George Torok

A recession does not mean the end of your business unless you navigate those rough waters blindly. Here are three rocks that can sink your business ship unless you avoid them while navigating the dangerous waters of a tough market. You might get wet but no need to capsize.

Cut expenses across the board

Cut marketing. Cut staff. Cut all expenditures! This siren call is the most common and foolish mistake. It’s common because it is a knee jerk reaction that requires no thinking. It’s foolish for the same reasons. Making across the board cuts is a political response. It’s not a smart business strategy. If cutting across the board in tough times was smart then raising all expenses in good times would also be smart.

Instead, review all expenditures and categorize each line item into A, B and C categories in terms of ROI. “A” items are those expenditures where you can measure a strong return. Continue spending and maybe even increase these investments. “B” items are those that you believe are good but you haven’t yet developed an accurate measurement. Continue these activities, improve the tactics and improve the measurement. “C” items are losers. Stop these completely.

Cut your prices

You will be asked to cut your price. Don’t act like that is a surprise. And don’t pretend that this is the first time. So prepare for an onslaught of such requests. Prepare to deal with the price issue strategically not as a prisoner. Don’t cut price - without an equivalent exchange in value or a reduction in your costs. For example you might allow a discount for early payment or a larger order.

Another way to deal with price resistance is to introduce a lower value product. At the same time introduce a higher value product so the original product which is now in the middle looks more attractive. This is a variation of the good-better-best positioning. If you can’t afford a Lexus you can always buy a Toyota.

Hide

Imagine how it looks when you stop attending trade shows, discontinue your advertising, shelve your newsletter, stop meeting with clients and avoid networking events. Imagine what your clients will think, what your competitors can say and what prospects might believe. None of it will be positive for you or your business.

When times are bad, people need to hear from you more often. Especially make a point of connecting with your best clients and advocates more often. Make your connections more personable so they can feel your confidence.

For the rest of your clients and contacts find efficient ways to stay connected. Maybe it’s a good time to launch your newsletter - or publish it more often. Explore the tools on the Internet that allow you to stay in touch with people easier and more cost effectively. It might be a good time to launch your blog, build your FaceBook page or post videos on YouTube.

A recession can be tough. No need to panic. It’s time to think and act smart with your marketing. Keep your business off the rocks while aiming for the deeper waters beyond. Don’t stop paddling until you are clear of the rocks.

© George Torok is the co-author of the bestselling Secrets of Power Marketing. It's published in at least seven countries. He helps small and medium businesses gain an unfair advantage over the competition. Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" at http://www.PowerMarketing.ca Arrange for Torok to speak at your conference by visiting http:///www.Torok.com For media interviews call 905-335-1997

Monday, June 14, 2010

The 5 Secrets Of Motivating Your Sales Team

How do you motivate a sales team? If you're looking for effective and inexpensive ways to get the most production out of your sales team, then you'll love these five proven steps.

By Mike Brooks
Copyright (c) 2010 Mr. Inside Sales

Motivation seems to be one of the toughest areas to get a handle on. Many managers tell me that some of their reps are already motivated and don’t need their help in that area (usually the Top 20%), but that the majority seem to need constant motivating, mentoring, counseling, or out right babysitting. Sound familiar?

When asked what to do, I tell them there is only so much they can do because true motivation comes from within—in other words, each member of their team is already motivated. There are, however, 5 things you can do to get the most out of your sales team and keep motivation and morale high. Here’s what they are --

#1) Make your monthly revenue goal, and each reps part of that goal, crystal clear. I’m sure you have a monthly revenue goal, but does each member of your sales team know what their specific part of that goal is? (Hint—it’s not all equal). Recognize that some reps will produce much more of the overall goal than others, but also make sure each one is clear on what their part of that overall goal is.

#2) Individualize the bonuses or prizes. The problem with most bonus programs is that as soon as they are released, over one-half of the sales team knows they can’t win so they are more discouraged than encouraged to produce. Customize each reps bonus based on their individual production goal. This ensures every body has a chance to win and thus will be motivated.

#3) Get out of your office and close some deals. Most managers are way too busy in meetings, or reporting, or just plain hiding out to be really effective. Remember one thing—as the manager, you are the leader. And leaders lead by example. Want to motivate your team, make your numbers, and create real value for yourself?

Go onto the floor and close business for some of your sales reps and help them make their revenue goals. This is the most important thing you can do not only for your bottom line, but for your team's motivation as well.

#4) Invest $100 in a couple of trophies. The best money you’ll ever spend—make one a “Weekly most improved” or “Best effort” and hand it out each Monday morning. Each winner gets to keep it on their desk that week. The other trophy can be either “Most deals,” or “Most new clients” or whatever other category everyone has a chance to win (as long as it is revenue related).

Again, hand it out in your Monday morning sales meeting, and each week the winner gets to keep it on their desk. Rule #1 in motivating: recognition among peers is almost always more important than money.

#5) Have some fun! Go to a toy store and buy one of those beanbag tosses, and after lunch on Friday make some teams and have some fun playing as a team. Tack on $50 for good measure and watch the competition and fun build your team and dissolve stress. This works ? try it!

So there you have it. Inexpensive, proven techniques to build morale, motivate and make more money.

Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, helps sales reps close more business over the phone. Learn how to sell more today by downloading the Special Report, "Ten Techniques to Instantly Become a Better Closer".

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Successful Corporate Gift Buying Basics

As a retired manager in a multi-country company, I have found that buying the right corporate gift for employee reward programs, customers or for corporate celebrations in general, can become a challenging task. Giving it is worse since you have the intention to gain business ties, connect with clients, and send your message of giving thanks. Although there are no definitive rules, knowing the following corporate gift buying basics will increase your chances of attaining your goals.

Ask this: "What particular office item does he or she lack?" Any person would appreciate when he or she receives something that sparks his or her interest. For example, your boss or your business partner loves cigars. Think of something that he or she can use together with his or her cigar. It can be a cigar lighter, leather cigar case, or a box of cigar from the best brand you can find. For someone who likes to collect watches, you can consider a leather watch case or another watch to add his or her collection.

Avoid gender discrimination. Obviously, you will choose your gift according to gender but make sure that you treat each of them equally. Do not buy a $50-gift for men and a $10 gift for women. Keep it equal. Better yet, choose an item that will suit both men and women and give it to all.

Corporate gift packaging is important. This can make it or break it when it comes to the first impression to the receiver. An appropriate packaging will send a message to the recipient that she or he is important to you. A gift with poor packaging on the other hand will tell the recipient that the item inside is not that important, or worse, the recipient may think that she or he is not important. So regardless of the price of the gift inside, it is inevitable that a corporate gift should be packed appropriately.

Make sure you check company policies on corporate gifts to employees and clients or customers. Some companies prohibit gift giving at all; some have dollar limits on the gift item; while other don't have limits at all. By checking your company's policies on this matter you will know how much you have to spend on a particular gift item to avoid your gift being sent back to you. If the gift if for a client, it pays to find out their policy as well. It will be a short call that saves you a lot of potential hassle.

If you are giving gifts to selected few, be discreet. If in case you only plan to give gifts to a chosen few like your assistant, few clerks, and the receptionists, do not tell everyone about your plan. Keep it silent and hand your gifts when no one else who can see; it may be out of the office. You can be charged with favoritism if you are not careful enough.

Buying a corporate gift can sometimes become a daunting task, but with experience, common sense and by following corporate gift buying essentials will increase your chances of a successful and rewarding experience for all parties.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

3 Vital Tools In Your Manifestation Toolbox

There are 3 vital tools that can help you to grow and become successful in whatever you wish. Self-Reliance and learning to think for yourselves and expanding our education continuously is one vital tool. We must first know what our passion is and what we enjoy doing. Finally, determination, do we have what it takes to keep at it until we become successful.

By Valerie A Dawson

Mastering the conscious use of the Law of Attraction depends on your ability to expand your own confidence, knowledge and skill. Developing the three qualities below will help you form a solid foundation upon which your success can grow:

Self-Reliance
Do you sometimes feel as if you need to take a formal “course” in manifestation to master it? We often turn over much of our power to institutions and programs and that dispense knowledge and forget that we ourselves can be our greatest teachers - and this is especially true when it comes to attracting abundance into our lives. Formal education is certainly a valuable and positive way to enhance our opportunities in life, but it often falls short by failing to emphasize the importance of thinking for ourselves and expanding our education continuously. Self-education can be more lucrative than limiting ourselves to what others teach us. If we make an effort to learn from every experience, we will embark on a journey of consistent inner growth and evolvement that will pay off forever. Not only will we find it easier to make more money, we will expand and enrich every aspect of our lives.

Passion
We cannot become wildly successful at something we don’t enjoy.
Yet many of us start out trying to do just that. We see a person who is successful at a specific activity and we think that we could attain success too if we just follow their example. Eventually we realize that success has nothing to do with the activity, but has everything to do with the person who is performing the activity.

Another challenge is that many of us have no idea what we love to do - or how to earn money doing it even if we do have an idea. This is where self-reflection can be a useful tool, because deep inside we truly do know the answers to both of these questions. We simply have to ask and listen for the guidance that inevitably follows.

Determination
When we look back at past goals we set and never achieved, it is often clear that we made poor progress because we didn’t care enough to put forth a strong intensity of effort.
Conversely, there may have been things we wanted so desperately that we did whatever it took to make them happen. Failure was simply not an option with those goals. Which category do your current goals and aspirations fall into? Are you truly willing to do whatever it takes to achieve them, or do you often find yourself losing determination or procrastinating when it comes time to work on them? If it’s the latter, you may want to spend some time tweaking your goal until it becomes so important that you can’t NOT achieve it.

Can it be this easy? Is this all it takes to create wealth in your life? The answer will surprise you. Grab your complimentary "The 7 Biggest Mistakes People Make with the Law of Attraction and Money and How YOU Can Avoid Them" http://www.thinkrichclub.com Valerie Dawson is the Founder of TheDawsonMethod.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

The Right "Sales" Attitude

As marketers and sales professionals our attitudes are constantly being tested and it is sometimes difficult to stay positive and focused so I want to dedicate some time to the topic of "attitude."

By Omar Martin

All of these sales secrets that I share with you have made me incredibly successful. But none of them will help you if you have a poor and crappy attitude.
I live by this saying: “Your attitude will determine your altitude.”
I like to believe that attitude is everything. Why is it everything? Well, if your thoughts are not maintaining a positive outlook then there is no way that you can achieve anything you set out to do.

It’s an individual’s mental attitude that helps them overcome their challenges in life. Whether the challenge is making more sales, hitting your goals or overcoming an obstacle, it’s your mentality that will get you through it. Selling is 90% mental and only 10% physical. Simply put, your attitude is the reason why you either make the sale or fail.

Along my journey of sales training, developing and motivating; I’ve learned that there are 6 keys to developing and maintaining a positive mental attitude. They are as follows:

Belief: Believe in what you are selling. For example, is your product something that you’d buy for yourself? Is it something that you honestly believe can help people? Do you believe that they can actually benefit from your product? If you answered yes then you are going in the right direction. If you answered no, then maybe you should consider a different product.

You have to believe in yourself. Believe that you can see it through until you’ve reached your goal. Believe that you CAN and WILL succeed. You must have the belief that you and your family deserve to have the good things life has to offer. None of that is possible if you don’t believe in your product..

Faith: Have blind faith. Even though you can’t see it physically in front of you, you must be able to envision it in your future. You can’t see oxygen right? But you breath it in every day don’t you? You’ve got to have faith that you will achieve your goal because blind faith manifests itself as self confidence.

You should never defeat yourself in your minds eye. Always envision yourself succeeding instead of failing. If you don’t believe in yourself do you think others will? Answer is, probably not. How will you be able to close a sale if your prospects can’t believe in you.

Determination: Do you have determination? If you don’t or if you just aren’t that sure then that’s okay, now is the time to find that determination though. A positive attitude is not something you can flick on and off like a light switch, its a way of life. Having a positive attitude is nothing more than a conscious decision.

Once you choose to have a positive attitude you will begin to see positive results, this will increase your determination to succeed. Look at your setbacks as learning experiences and keep focused, pick yourself up and try harder!

Dedication: You must be dedicated, dedicated to your success and your goals. Set SMART goals. That means: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, & Timely goals. Make a commitment to see it through. The best way to do this without burning yourself out is to keep a daily planner. Set up a weekly schedule for yourself and review your progress daily. This sort of dedication will help you to develop good habits which ultimately result in long term success.

Drive: You have to have that inner drive to help keep you going. Sit down and make a list of things that motivate you. What are the top three things you want to achieve in your life? What will your sales successes enable you to finally do that you have been unable to do before? Is there a loved one in your life that you want to make happy? Is there a specific object that you are trying to buy?

What ever this motivating factor is for you, keep a picture of it on you daily. Look at it often. Whenever your attitude or determination begin to falter, pull it out and look at it. This will serve as a reminder of why you’re doing it all and will help you activate that inner drive.

Desire: You must have the fire in your eyes. You must want it, to achieve it. You must eat, sleep and breathe success in order to become successful. Ever want something so bad it hurt? If you have, then you have to feel that in order to push yourself to reach your goals. If you’ve never felt that way, then it’s about time you do.

You have to want it so bad that it’s all you can think about. For as long as I can remember I’ve wanted to be successful. I have always looked to see how I can convert things into money. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe that money is the most important thing in life, but on my list of necessities I put it up there with oxygen! You need it to survive. That is reality. Anyone who says money is the root of all evil has never had any. It is money that will put your child through college, or pay for the best doctor if someone in your family becomes ill.

No one is made of steel. Every body has a point when they get discouraged. It happens, it’s happened to me many times. It’s not why you got discouraged that is important; it’s how fast it takes you to get back in the game that counts. There are many ways that you can safeguard your attitude. It’s different for everyone. It all depends on what motivates you.

For example, if you are motivated by family, and you have reached a discouraging point, then maybe you need to take a moment to spend time with your family and remind yourself why you started your journey in the first place. If your motivated by freedom or retirement, maybe you need to take a weekend trip to remind you of what you would like to have the freedom to do when money just isn’t the deciding factor of what you can do in your life.

For a very long time I squirmed whenever I heard someone talk about these types of things. I began to think of it as ... blah ... blah ... blah. I would want the speaker or the author to just cut to the chase and tell me how to make more money. It’s not that I didn’t believe in “being positive” or having determination. It’s just that it never seemed to work for me. I just kept defeating myself. I was only looking for the shortcut to making money without all of the “positivity” mumbo jumbo. LOL

Omar Martin is an internet marketing and sales expert. Omar & his partner Mike Filsaime help internet marketing newbies succeed online through 1 on 1 mentorship and coaching visit http://higherlevelstrategies.com/ . You can get their Cd-Rom delivered right to your doorstep at: http://InternetSellingForNewbies.com