Friday, July 30, 2010

Is Job Stress Affecting You? - Overcome Anxiety And Help Your Heart!

Workplace stress has been proven to be associated with increased rates of heart attacks. This article looks at some of the signs of anxiety and ways to begin to overcome it.

By Maria Parkinson

How to overcome anxiety at work is a vital topic for Executives to focus on. More and more anxious workers are looking at potential heart problems, due to job insecurity, long working hours, unreasonable workloads and tight deadlines.

According to various studies in America, higher workplace-stress levels have been proven to be associated with increased rates of heart attack and hypertension and have also been linked to nervousness, anxiety and depression.

The American Institute of Stress Cites that,it is so well-accepted in New York and Los Angeles that, police officers who suffer a heart attack on or off duty, are assumed to have a work-related injury and are compensated accordingly(including a heart attack sustained while fishing on vacation or gambling in Las Vegas!).

It is believed that, we have learned to respond with anxiety to situations. Whilst that makes sense, our response also depends on what kind of person we are and the type of environment we find ourselves in. Both of the former aspects contribute to our stress levels in many ways.

If we are a very sensitive person, who likes peace and calm and find ourselves working in a chaotic, noisy place then this may affect us. We have different personalities and tolerance levels.

Firstly, learning to overcome anxiety involves being consciously aware of, what type of person we are and what type of environment is conducive to our peace of mind.

Secondly, recognizing and acknowledging when we are anxious, and taking action to help ourselves is a sign of strength, not of weakness.

Here are some early warning signs of stress:

1. headaches
2. difficulty sleeping
3. difficulty concentrating
4. irritability and anger
5. becoming withdrawn
6. upset stomach
7. low morale
8. nail biting
9. weight loss or weight gain
10. feeling powerless to change anything
11. turning to food,alcohol,drugs or caffeine as an escape
12. chronic fatigue
13. cravings for sugar and chocolate
14. excess energy,can’t relax
15. heart palpitations,shortness of breath

We need to stop, sit down, and identify how we are feeling, what is creating the problem and what we want to do about it, before it is too late and the decision has been made unconsciously.

It is vital to make a conscious effort to recognize the triggers and overcome anxiety quickly, so that you do not internalize it, where it can play havoc with your body.

Is the job more important than your health? If you die of a heart attack, you will be replaced at work but your family, your life and your heart cannot be replaced.

Make a conscious decision to overcome anxiety and live a long and fruitful life.
OVERCOME ANXIETY - If you would like to learn more about eliminating anxiety and stress from your life permanently, you can do so here: http://www.stoppanicattackspermanently.com

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Set Up A Time Sensitive Database To Grow Your Sales

If your prospect will need to purchase your service or product tomorrow and you call him today good things happen. The most important of which is his belief in your opinion of the importance of his issues (hard sentence, important point). You knew he would need you tomorrow and you called today. That's the company he wants to do business with!


By Thomas Anthony

When I stop at the traffic light and the man approaches me saying “Hey buddy, wanna get her some flowers?”, I just close the window. I have absolutely no reason to talk with that man today and I really wish he would leave me alone. But……. when he came over to my car the day I was going to see my girlfriend and apologize…. well that’s another story! I quickly paid his $20.00 and said “thank you” with a truly genuine tone.


“The squeaky wheel gets the grease”. Truer words have never been spoken and understanding how that phrase applies to your business is absolutely mandatory! Squeek at the right time and get even more grease! Your company may be the strongest, most professional, most experienced and most capable player in your market for a particular task, but if you are the only person that knows that information…. well… you get the idea.


Every business needs to advertise to grow and establish a client base. Always remember your client base is where your consistent cash flow and your referrals come from. Whether it’s signs, uniforms, print, radio or Internet advertising, telemarketing or direct sales, you need to do something to fuel your business. Telemarketing is the subject of this article, so I’ll touch on it here.


The brief overview of a telemarketing effort would be the understanding of who you are, what your immediate goals are and exactly who you should communicate that information to. As an example, if I were to be cold calling from a list of Facility Managers:


“Good morning, my name is Thomas Anthony and I’m with Facility Support Services. We are commercial cleaning vendors and I’m interested in competing for the cleaning business with your company. Who would be the person I need to speak with?” I wouldn’t offer any other information, unless asked, until I connect with their decision maker. When I do connect with the decision maker I would repeat the above sentences again to him/her followed by:


Are your cleaning requirements re-evaluated and bid annually or only as necessary? Their answer to that question gives you your action date. Forward them a little information about your company and add their information to your time sensitive prospect file. Their contract isn’t available for bid right now, so taking too much of their time now would be annoying and unprofessional (like the guy with the flowers). Set an approximate date with them for your follow up call (never more than 60-90 days), thank them for their time and send a follow up thank you letter/e-mail including brief company information. If your company has a strong client base, include it as footer to most of your correspondence.


A time sensitive database of all the prospects in your area is an incredibly valuable tool. Your time is much better spent, and your closing ratio is substantially greater, when you are sharing information about your company’s abilities with a decision maker at the time their looking for it (again the flowers). Every contact you have should reside in this database and you should check and update it daily. Soon it will be directing you towards new business and new cash flow streams. Try to include every prospect with a short “he said-she said” in the database to refresh your memory as necessary. Always remember the rule of SW:


SW: some will


SW: some won’t


SW: so what!... next! … and pick up the phone again.


Good luck with your prospecting!


Mr. Anthony’s service industry websites include: Facility Support Services and Staffing Tracker

Friday, July 16, 2010

How To Mess Up A Cold Call

A lot of people think that cold calling doesn't work anymore. A lot of people think that cold calling never worked. A lot of people think that cold calling doesn't and won't work for them. A lot of speakers are making a lot of money perpetuating this myth (watch out for my forthcoming video series where I set the stall straight on that one!).

By Gavin Ingham
Copyright (c) 2010 Gavin Ingham

“I would like to invite you to an event?” is the message the cold caller has left for me for the past few days. We finally spoke today and he launched into a series of questions (which weren’t all bad) and then a reasonably well crafted and well presented pitch. This guy should be making a lot of sales but, whether he does or not, I bet that he does a lot of head banging on a daily basis and he could do a lot better…

Why?

Lack of research, planning and preparation. You might ask how I know he wasn’t prepared properly? Well, these two little gems to start with…
1.His opening gambit, “I don’t know much about your company”. For that, read, he knows nothing.
2.Having the nerve to ask me, “What are the main products and services you sell?” Seriously, can you believe that? And to a sales motivational speaker too. He needs to attend one of my sales seminars!

Intrigued, I asked him how he got my details. The answer was not clear but it was something like, “Well, I have a list that came from research and my manager recommended you and I had a look and...” Oh, come on. No, you didn’t and no he didn’t and we both know that someone bought a list of numbers from somewhere and you rang it without a second thought. You’ve done nothing.

A lot of people think that cold calling doesn’t work anymore. A lot of people think that cold calling never worked. A lot of people think that cold calling doesn’t and won’t work for them. A lot of speakers are making a lot of money perpetuating this myth (watch out for my forthcoming video series where I set the stall straight on that one!).

The truth is that cold calling does not work for many salespeople. And it doesn’t work for several reasons…

1.They’re not in the right state of mind.

2.They don’t make enough calls.

3.They don’t know enough about their prospects.

4.They don’t personalize their calls for every individual.

5.They don’t ask enough questions.

6.They don’t know how they are most likely to be able to help that prospect.

7.They don’t listen.

8.They don’t tailor their solutions.

9.They don’t offer up enough(any)value.

10.They give up too easily. Cold calling can and does work.

I am not going to bore you talking about the clients that I have helped to explode their sales results, nor am I going to drone on about how I have helped individuals to create and sustain the lives they desire by being able to attend more proactive sales meetings and sell more when they get there. Instead, I am going to share with you the success a friend of mine, Clifton, who led a professional services sales team by running powerful sales meetings stemming from professional cold calling techniques…

They grew a division taking 700 meetings a year and turning £7m pa to a team running 1000 meetings a year and turning £25m pa within 2 years. On one specific project they had 250 meetings (gained through cold calling) and won £22m worth of revenues.

Cold calling doesn’t work when coupled with powerful sales strategies? As Bart would say, “Eat my shorts!”

But cold calling has to be coupled with powerful, proven sales strategies and it also has to be professional, purposeful and legitimate and this requires effective planning and preparation to even get off the starting line. If you review my list of the 10 reasons cold calling doesn’t work you will see that at least 8 of them (if not arguably all of them) could be addressed or massively improved by doing the right preparation in the first place.

I hope my cold caller reads this article. It might help him. It probably won’t as I don’t think he will think to check my blog, certainly not now… I’m just the guy who spoiled his morning and said that I wasn’t interested.

To read Gavin's acclaimed sales training blog visit www.gaviningham.com/blog/ now.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Like-minded Connections ... "the Best Stuff" To Explode Your Business Results

Masterminds are powerful tools for the solo entrepreneur. So how do you create one or join one? Here are three quick strategies to help you get started!

By Chris Makell

Just by virtue of its title, the solopreneur or solo entrepreneur can be a lonely job. You’re primarily heads down, with “one focus” to create value for your customers and delivering it with just two hands or maybe with a small team. And yet, there are the times when you pause and begin to wonder:

Is there anyone else facing the same challenges?

Are they hitting the brick wall on ideas?

Have they reached a plateau?

Can they be searching for new and fresh ideas to re-ignite their business?

Have they lost some of their passion?

Yes, it can be tough being a “one person” show. But it’s also pretty cool, right? You get to call ALL the shots. You say, go “left” and you don’t have to get 3 levels of approval on the use and relevance of the word “left”! It’s exhilarating to be able to shape your own destiny. You can deliver “the promise”, in the way your clients want and deserve. And you get to fully enjoy the exchange of money for the service you deliver! Yes!

And when you’re at a place where routine has set in and you’re craving something new, you can always read more or attend a teleseminar or workshop. But nothing beats being with and around those in your same field, industry or as part of an issue-based forum, be it virtually or in person.

When you connect with these like-minded individuals, in this case solopreneurs, there is a charge, a spark of electricity that ignites new strategies and a call to action! You hear the new ideas and approaches in a fresh way and the inspiration just surges through your brain. You’re seeing a whole new way to deliver value to your clients and to re-energize your passion around your business.

Let me give you a quick example!

Tom still loved and spoke passionately about his business; however he didn’t know what else he could do to bring in more clients beyond networking and speaking. He had heard about the power of masterminding with other successful business owners to learn more successful strategies. And he thought the accountability and support would help him achieve better results, faster.

He asked his network about how he could find a group of like-minded business owners who were in a mastermind or who could direct him to one. Having found his mastermind, Tom began actively participating with members of the group who opened his eyes to additional approaches to attracting new clients, based on their success.

By engaging in a mastermind group with others in his industry, he learned about more value-based offering his clients would be interested in. He just hadn’t thought anyone else was successfully doing it! The group gave Tom the insight and the steps to take immediate action. As a result, he’s launched a new campaign that brings him more clients than he anticipated!

Connecting with like-minded individuals in a well managed and facilitated mastermind can create untold business opportunities for you, because it leverages the powerful knowledge and experience of a team.

Here are 3 strategies to help you connect with like-minded solopreneurs, today, and create greater value for your business and your clients.

Strategy #1:

Plan to attend a one or two day conference in 2010, if you haven’t already. You will establish new connections to call on and learn new strategies for your business. And by the way, it will pay for itself in new ideas and actions to attract and deliver value to your clients and increase your income.

Strategy #2:

Do a search (either online or ask others while networking) and find associations/communities of solopreneurs in your industry, specialty, etc. Attend their meetings to learn more and leverage their knowledge. Request an opportunity to speak or contribute an article, so that others learn from you and recognize your expertise.

Strategy #3:

Look for and participate in a mastermind group. This collection of like-minded individuals will help you explode your results in a powerful and highly supported way. You can check in with your current network, as Tom did!

Connect with like-minded individuals and build the mastermind that takes you and your business to more profitable levels easily.

Chris Makell helps coaches, consultants, and other solopreneurs who want to live their life's purpose transition smoothly from unfulfilled full-time employees to successful full-time entrepreneurs. To learn how to make more money doing what you love, visit www.RadianceMarketing.com to claim your free special report, "7 Surefire Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Time and Marketing Dollar."

Monday, July 5, 2010

First Law Of Networking: Scratch My Back And I'll Scratch Yours

The law of reciprocity says that after you do something for me I will feel obligated to pay you back. Say hello and I answer you back. Ask me how I feel and I respond in kind. Hold a door for me to enter and I will thank you and be more inclined to hold it for the next person. This is the most important principle of networking.

By George Torok

The law of reciprocity says that after you do something for me I will feel obligated to pay you back. Say hello and I answer you back. Ask me how I feel and I respond in kind. Hold a door for me to enter and I will thank you and be more inclined to hold it for the next person. This is the most important principle of networking.

Give me a business lead and I’ll start thinking about who I can refer to you. That’s the fundamental principle of business networking.

You can apply this law in two ways. You could wait for someone to do you a favor. After they do, you can pay them back. That makes you even. But is your goal to be even?

I suggest that in networking your goal is to be uneven. Not only uneven but to keep increasing the balance of what is owed to you. Every time that you do a favor for someone in your network you write an IOU. They owe you a favor. This is like building your bank account.

Build your bank account of IOUs by doing favors for others in your network. The more favors you hand out, the more people will feel obligated to pay you back. Not everyone will pay you back. Don’t worry about that. Instead realize that if you give out nothing till you get something you might never be out of pocket and your bank account will be zero.

Your networking bank account grows by the number of favors that others owe you. Keep depositing into this bank account because some will pay you back and some will pay back with interest.

How can you use your time wisely so you get the best return on your investment?

Imagine that you attended a networking event, walked around the room and gave everyone a dollar. You told them the dollar is a gift. You told each person that they can keep the dollar as long as they want. If fact they don’t need to return it because it was a gift. If they wish to they are welcome to give the money back to you with or without interest.

That would probably freak a lot of people out. Some would return the money. Some would keep it.

But consider the obligations and goodwill that you would build with every dollar you gave away. The main limitation on you would be your supply of dollars.

Now imagine a similar scenario but instead of giving away dollars you gave away favors - leads, referrals, introductions, advice and news. Now the limitation on investment is removed. You can give an almost unlimited number of favors. The only limitation is in using your time wisely.

Instead of giving out dollars, give more favors and watch your networking bank account and business grow.

Business networking works on the principle that if you scratch my back I’ll scratch yours. Get out there and scratch more backs.

© George Torok is the author of "Your Guide to Networking Success". Discover how to build a more profitable network in 30 days at http://www.powermarketing.ca/networking_success.html Find more free networking tips at http://www.Business-Networking-Tips.net To arrange for George Torok to speak to your conference or business team call 905-335-1997