Business and leadership thoughts, advice, and tips.

Why Network Marketing Makes Sense

2008-09-11T12:12:00.000-07:00

Almost everyone when asked if they would prefer to be in business for themselves or continue to work a job will say they would prefer to be in business for themselves.

Many of those same people however don't have the time, capital, and more importantly the knowledge on how to effectively run a business of any sort let alone start their own. That's where network marketing comes into play

Becoming an Entrepreneur

When considering becoming an entrepreneur a few things have started to happen. First, you are probably realizing that you were not born with a W-2 form attached to your birth certificate.

Second, working a job is okay initially if all you want to do is make a living, but is not ideal if you're trying to make a life.

And lastly, you really are not control of your own income if you're working for someone else. You've heard the famous joke about the guy who said he was his boss's right-hand man and as such could not get fired. Well soon after that statement his boss got left-handed really quick.

So what business could you start? How do you know what type of business or industry you want to get into? Where do you learn what it takes to be an entrepreneur and business owner?

You might want to consider network marketing as this business model will answer all those questions and then some.

An Entrepreneurial Shortcut: Network Marketing

Robert Kiyosaki is an investor, businessman, self-help author and motivational speaker and is best known for his Rich Dad, Poor Dad series of motivational books and other material.

In his book, Business School, he affirms: "If I had to do it all over again, rather than build an old style type of business, I would have started building a network marketing business." Strong statement from one of the world's most sought after entrepreneurs and business minds.

But what is it about Network Marketing that makes it so attractive and why should it be the first choice for people looking to get into business?

Here are some key reasons why network marketing is very attractive to new entrepreneurs.

Capital

Most network marketing businesses are very easy to get involved in and typically have a very low start-up cost. So there is no real risk of losing any money at the forefront and if you find the business is not exactly what you were looking for there is usually a money-back guarantee on your registration. Investing millions of dollars in a franchise just to get it off the ground is much more daunting than a couple of hundred bucks to get started in your own business.

Training and Support System

Most people don't have any knowledge on how to build a business of their own because no one is taught how to do this in any formal form of education. The education system is set up to teach people how to get a job and is more focused on developing skills. Jobs require skills but business ownership takes mindset. Most network marketing businesses have very extensive personal growth programs and support materials to help you make that transition from a job mentality to a business-ownership mentality. I recommend not focusing on the products of the business but their education program. Even if you do not make much money with your involvement, the education you receive will be worth the time invested.

Low Risk

Network marketing businesses are designed to be built during the spare time of the person looking to become an entrepreneur. So it is not possible to participate in a lot of these businesses full time like a conventional business or job. Because of this, there is no risk to what you may be currently pursing as a profession. It takes much more risk to totally stop your current form of income to pursue something that you have no real knowledge about with no guarantee of income in the future. A network marketing business will give you that flexibility to keep your day job but create the lifestyle you really want during your spare time. The famous saying is "You make a living from 9 to 5, but a life is made from 5 to 9."

No Limit to Potential Earnings

Once you understand how the business is run there is no limit to how much income you can create in a network marketing business. Because most of these businesses are focused on direct sales of products and services, you can outperform any distributor based on your own work ethic and your own effort. It is strictly performance based.

This is usually tough for most people who are used to showing up to work, surfing the internet for 8 hours and then getting paid at the end of the week for doing an average job at work. Networking marketing will teach you the hard lesson about what real business is about: you want a raise, you give yourself a raise. If you're not making money it is no one else's fault but your own.

How to Choose a Network Marketing Business to Partner With

Robert Kiyosaki also encourages people not to focus so much on the products that a network marketing business offers but to focus on some of the more intangible characteristics. In his book Business School, he affirms once again that he endorses any network marketing organization that is "first committed to developing you as a human being, more than developing you into a salesperson."

He reiterates that people should seek organizations that:

Are proven organizations that have successful track records and a distribution system and a compensation plan that has been successful for years.
Have a business opportunity you can succeed with, believe in and share confidently with others.
Have ongoing, long-term educational programs to develop you as a human being. Self-confidence is vital on the right side of the Quadrant.
Have a strong mentor program. You want to learn from leaders, not advisers. People who are already leaders on the right side of the Quadrant and want you to succeed.
Have people you respect and enjoy being with.

According to Kiyosaki if the organization meets these five criteria, then and only then look at its product. Don't take my word for it, take his. Good luck!

Why Affiliate Marketing

2008-09-11T12:10:00.000-07:00

Business are generally very difficult to get up and running.

Making a profit is not usually a short-term goal and in reality most conventional businesses are lucky if they can even get into the black the first two years.

Affiliate marketing represents a business opportunity that can be profitable in a very short timeframe.

Affiliate marketing is an Internet-based marketing practice in which a company rewards numerous other businesses for each referral business brought about by their marketing efforts.

It is a form of online marketing which is frequently overlooked by advertisers but more companies are starting to realize just how revolutionary this marketing strategy is. While search engines, e-mail, and website syndication captures much of the attention of online retailers, affiliate marketing carries a much lower profile.

For entrepreneurs however affiliate marketing is a very attractive industry to currently get informed and educated about. The social networking website buzz that hit the business world recently is a direct result of this.

Young kids in their early twenties are becoming multi-millionaires by simply tapping in to the concept of providing different revenue streams for different companies as long as the different affiliate companies use them for their advertising. It is ingenious and more importantly it works.

Amazon.com is a great example of what an affiliate marketing business can accomplish in a short period of time. They have used their affiliate program to drive online sales, and in the process have made a ton of money for all of their affiliates.

The Amway-Quixtar Corporation is another one of the better affiliate marketing business models and taps into a huge alliance of companies which aid in the servicing of their customers. There are plenty of affiliate programs out there to chose from. Affiliate aggregators like Commission Junction allow you to tap into literally hundreds of affiliate programs for free.

So what makes this affiliate marketing business model so appealing to companies, customers, and budding entrepreneurs alike? Here are some key points about affiliate marketing.

Multiple Products

Probably the most important benefit about affiliate marketing is that it gives the parent corporation access to a variety of products and services. When asked usually about a website like Amazon for example and what products they sell the answer is usually this: everything.

The question really should be "what don't they sell"? Because they partner up with so many different companies and give them a platform that they can use to get the word out about their products. Amazon used to only sell books but now they sell almost anything you can find in a mall.

A Business That Is Not Expensive to Start

This is important to understand about affiliate marketing. This business model gives both large companies and individual entrepreneurs who are looking to dapple in small business the opportunity to do so. For big companies, forming or becoming part of an affiliate marketing program usually requires certain criteria be met but once this is taken care of the company now has access to a client base it otherwise wouldn't have.

With regards to small business owners, to participate in an affiliate marketing program is usually just s couple of hundred bucks. For companies like Amazon it is free, and all you have to worry about is the distribution end which isn't usually expensive.

Support Systems Are Available

Biggest fear about getting into business is the lack of knowledge or technical know-how involved in building and operating successful business. Affiliate marketing programs are usually privately owned and funded and have their own proven training and support system that you can plug into to learn everything you need to know about running and working that particular business.

The key term here is that they are "proven" systems, which means they work as long as you do the work to get the results.

Performance-Based

The most exciting aspect of affiliate marketing programs is that you get paid strictly on your own performance and how much traffic you can drive through the portal. The greatest part about this is that the income potential is limitless.

You earn what you work for which is very appealing to most people looking to get into business but aren't ready to make the heavy investment that is required to get into conventional business.

What It Takes to Become an Entrepreneur

2008-09-11T12:06:00.000-07:00

The best thing about being in business for yourself is this: your financial future is now in your hands.

The worst thing about being in business for yourself is this: your financial future is now in your hands.

Most people dream of being the boss with no worries, no stress, a balcony overlooking the beach, lemonade and sunglasses in the sun, trade winds coming from the east with sun tan lotion so you can bake as long as you want, etc.

But if this is the reality that awaits us, why are so few people not ready to take the big first step and go out on their own?

The reality is that becoming an entrepreneur is much tougher than working a job and people inherently know this. Most people are not ready to leave the security of a job and move into the more exciting adventure that is entrepreneurship. It offers no guarantees and as such the income potential is limitless. So it takes a totally different mindset to become an entrepeneur.

Let's take a look at some of the characteristics of successful people in business.

Visionaries

Most entrepreneurs are visionary thinkers; they have a dream that is going to require a number of years to achieve.

They are committed to seeing their dream come to reality and as such understand that showing up to work every day is not just for a paycheck but is bringing them one step closer to what they really want. If you're looking to become an entrepreneur you must begin with the end in mind or you shouldn't even bother getting started. If you start anything for the wrong reasons you will eventually quit for the wrong reasons.

Know what you want when you want it, and what you're willing to give up to get it. Knowing the sacrifice you're willing to make is more important.

Long-Term Thinkers

This goes hand in hand with the first characteristic. Entrepreneurs understand that they are in business for the long haul and whatever temporary setback they face is simply just that: a temporary setback.

Their focus is always on their long-term goals for financial independence or freedom or whatever they may be shooting for. If the dream is big enough, setbacks will be seen as little speed bumps along the way that you have to slow down for just so you don't ruin your vehicle but the second you get past them you can put your foot on the gas and keep on trucking.

Mentally Tough

Entrepreneurs understand that they are different from the masses and as such never seek approval from them but can still handle critics. When most people tell them that they're working too hard that means they're on the right track. And furthermore, when people criticize their product or idea they get even more excited because that means they're on fast-track. A famous quote states that "if people aren't criticizing you it probably means you're not about to do anything great."

Entrepreneurs understand that when you stick your head above the crowd and do something different you're liable to get tomatoes thrown at you. This is part of the job description and does not diminish the belief they have in what they are doing.

People-pleasers, people who worry what everyone else thinks about them, never become successfull entrepreneurs.

Leaders

If you are going to be a successful entrepreneur you will eventually have to develop and possess leadership qualities.

People will only follow leaders stronger than themselves and so your business and the people working for you will be a reflection of your leadership. Successful entrepreneurs are obsessed with personal growth, which is why their organizations always seem to be growing rapidly.

If you can get on a personal development program of books and tapes, you will be well on your way.

Enthusiastic

Enthusiasm is a character trait that every successful business owner possesses.

To become a business owner you must develop a genuine enthusiasm for your product or service. Enthusiasm is contagious and produces excitement in those around you.

You cannot transfer enthusiasm because this comes from passion. You can however transfer excitement. If you promote your value to others with passion and enthusiasm you will soon have a following of many excited people who eventually become committed to the vision for your company. And if you're not an enthusiastic person, just act enthusiastic!

Eventually it'll become part of your personality.

Key Takeaways for Would-Be Entrepreneurs

The biggest takeaway is that becoming an entrepreneur takes less educational intelligence and more emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is the ability to control your emotions regardless of the outcome.

Business is not steady. It never grows as fast as you want it to and never will. While becoming an entrepreneur, you will experience more emotions than you probably ever have your entire life but that is what makes it so worth it.

Entrepreneurship is tough enough to keep the weak ones out, but simple enough that anyone can take a shot at it. If you think you have what it takes then I encourage you to go ahead and take the first big step.

An old Chinese proverb states that "the best time to plant a tree is 25 years ago. The second best time is now." Don't waste time, do it now, because your dreams and goals are yours to claim this lifetime. Good luck!

Wal-Mart and Distribution

2008-09-11T12:05:00.000-07:00

Wal-Mart is more than just a success story.

It is the largest grocery retailer in the United States, making up about 20% of the grocery sales market last year. As a business, it is ranked number one in revenue when compared with other public corporations. There are so many more accolades to list but it is safe to stop here and just say that this company is not going anywhere in the near future.

The most intriguing aspect of Wal-Mart is that it specializes in non-glamorous products. The company is in the distribution business and is, if not the best, one of the best at it. You can find almost anything in Wal-Mart and at an affordable price. Their business model focuses on buying in bulk at a discount and selling products at a much cheaper price than its competitors.

Okay so we know Wal-Mart is in distribution, we know they are absolutely dominating the market right now, and yet they do this by selling products at the lowest prices possible. What is about the distribution market that makes a company like Wal-Mart continue to improve its revenue every year since the 1960s?

Distribution is not limited to one market

This is probably the best part of being in the distribution business and Wal-Mart's discount business model only makes this better. Big warehouse grocery stores like Wal-Mart, Costco, Hannaford, etc, all have the ability to expand their product inventory because of this simple reason: they distribute everything.

You can find products ranging from perishable items like eggs, milk, meat and poultry, to bigger warranty items like tires, television sets, dishwashers and bed frames. Because Wal-Mart is not limited to one market they have the ability to sell whatever consumers want. Imagine being in the VHS cassette tape market just two decades ago.

You were making a lot of money in the early eighties to early nineties. But right now if you were still in the VHS business you would be bankrupt and out of business. Compact Discs and DVDs have revolutionized that industry and cassette tapes couldn't be any more obsolete. Wal-Mart's strength lies in its ability to sell whatever is hot on the market. If consumers like Mp3 players then Wal-Mart will start to distribute Mp3s.

Distribution helps you leverage what is hot in your favor because you are not in manufacturing so have the leeway to move in and out of the supply chain wherever it is convenient from a profit standpoint.

Disintermediation: Middle-men can be eliminated

In every supply chain there are multiple intermediaries that aid in getting the product or service from the manufacturer to the consumer. The only challenge here from a business standpoint is that as a result the amount of profit potential possible to the eventual retailer is small compared to what they otherwise would get to keep if they owned the whole distribution chain.

With the advent of the internet a lot more of the intermediaries that used to be deemed irreplaceable in the supply chain can now be replaced and their profit shifted elsewhere. Wal-Mart's business model eliminates the wholesalers and jobbers and lets them access the manufacturers more directly. This is why they are able to offer a wide range of products at very cheap prices.

If the products were allowed to pass through the hands of the other intermediaries then the price would have to go up because Wal-Mart would have to incur the cost of paying the jobbers and wholesalers. So distribution gives you the ability to access certain links in the supply chain based on your company's competitive advantage and eventually eliminate some of them so you can keep more of the profit.

Internet makes the world an even bigger oyster

The internet has without a doubt revolutionized the way we do business today. There is no question about that. The distribution industry is no different and Wal-Mart like other companies is leveraging the ability the internet has to reach a worldwide audience.

For a long time Wal-Mart was the middle-man for most large-scale manufacturers. But ever since the internet came along the internet essentially replaced big warehouse distributers like Wal-Mart and took the place of middle-man in the distribution world. More and more companies are not just lining up to get a website, but also are looking to develop a larger customer base online.

The three biggest expenses for almost every company are advertising, employees, and overhead. What the internet has enable distribution companies to do is cut down costs tremendously in all those three areas. Not good news for people looking to work for these companies, but very good news to the owners.

Most effective advertising online is through word of mouth and referrals. So making the transition from conventional stores to online shopping for Wal-Mart has been a piece of cake. More and more people are getting used to shopping online and it is fast-becoming the more prevalent way to shop now. There are projections that by the year 2010, 30% of all revenue generated through distribution will be captured via the internet.

You can expect that these distribution companies are enjoying the costs that the internet is helping reduce and the profit potential it brings.

Be rest assured that distribution is not going anywhere. There is a lot of profit to be made in any part of the supply chain but perhaps the most lucrative today would be in the actual contact with consumers.

The future belongs today to the company that can get products to consumers faster and without the help of additional intermediaries along the way. Wal-Mart is doing this and doesn't look like they are slowing down. They aren't concerned with innovation because they let the consumers dictate what their inventory looks like. They access manufacturers directly and as such keep more of the profit when the final sale is made.

For those of us thinking about getting into the distribution business, hopefully this stimulated some ideas. The further down you are in the supply chain the better. Manufacturing is probably not the smartest industry to get into, but the service industry is continuing to produce more opportunities for budding entrepreneurs.

Tips on Time Management

2008-09-11T12:01:00.000-07:00

Time management is hard for many people.

No matter the industry time management is not easy in today's world simply because as a nation we are busier than we have ever been. So rest assured you are not alone in this dilemma. If you feel multi-tasked out and always seem to be juggling more balls than you can catch and toss up at once then perhaps it is time for a paradigm shift.

The most successful people are ruthless with what they spend their time doing. The greatest thing about success principles is that they are always the same no matter where they are applied.

The rest of the article will highlight some of the key aspects of effective time management that most successful people understand.

Important Versus Urgent

The biggest challenge in running and operating a business is that you still have a life! But life is not going to stop so you can effectively run your business with no headaches, no challenges, no setbacks and no stress.

You have twenty-four hours just like everyone else does. And here's a tip: even if you had twenty-five it would still seem like you don't have enough time. So the first step is to make sure to decipher when something is urgent and when something is important.

Sadly most urgent things take the place of important things, and important things end up being pushed back on the list. If something is urgent and requires your immediate attention then take care of it. But, take care of it only if by not taking care of it you will jeopardize taking care of the more important things to do.

Important things and urgent things vary from person to person so you can be the judge.

Managing Priorities

First rule about time management: you can't manage your time. Time is not going to wait for you and time cannot be compartmentalized. You can't manage your time but you can, however, manage your priorities.

Make a list of priorities on a first day-to-day and then week-to-week basis and put them in ascending order of importance. Knock off the most important once first and only then can you move on to the next items on the list.

It is easier to manage priorities than to manage your time because time is definite but priorities do not have a timeframe. Sometimes you may underestimate how much time something may take or even overestimate how much time something may take you to complete and so managing your priorities is the most effective way to get yourself being more efficient.

Wake Up Early

Waking up early is the best habit you can pick up. Most successful people rise early and go to bed late. And trust me you will not die from lack of sleep.

Set a goal for yourself if you are not a morning person to rise at least an hour earlier than you have been and to go to sleep an hour later than you have been in the past. You'll find that that extra hour you wake up gives you ample time to really plan and schedule your day effectively and the extra hour at night gives you ample time to reflect on the day.

If you are spending most of your time sleeping then success is going to always be elusive for you. Success is not going to attack you in business, you must pursue it with all you've got and this means with every hour you can muster.

Sleep less!

Eliminate Distractions

Distractions usually come in all different shapes and sizes. Some are self-induced and some you just can't do anything about. The focus here will be on the self-induced distractions.

Some common ones are cell phones, internet browsing, television and exercise All four of them seem harmless but they take up more time than any other thing people do on a daily basis. The average American is said to watch an average of thirty-eight hours of television a week. That's like a part-time job with no pay!

The first step here will be to anytime you find yourself distracted from doing what you know you're supposed to be doing, write down immediately what the distraction is. You'll find that it is usually one of the four things listed previously. Once you can identify which distraction is usually the culprit it will be easier to stay away from them until the tasks are done.

Distractions are really things you should do after you do what you're supposed to, but choose to do earlier than you should. There's nothing wrong with watching television, but if it is getting in the way of you finishing up your proposal then it is a distraction.

Budget Relaxation Time

It is very important to fit in relaxation time into your schedule. Most people don't do this and find themselves feeling overworked. It resonates more when you can actually fit relaxation into your schedule versus trying to find time to squeeze it in.

Pre-planned relaxation always feels better and rejuvenates. Squeezed relaxation leaves you feeling guilty and exhausted thinking about the work you have to do tomorrow. It is okay to even allocate one day a week to just do something fun so you can decompress and be ready for the working days ahead.

Remember the saying: all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy -- they should add exhausted too.

Tips on Setting Appointments

2008-09-11T11:59:00.000-07:00

There are only two real reasons for a general lack of appointments: the fear of the phone and not knowing what to say and how to say it.

Some people are just afraid to pick up the phone to make prospecting calls. These people either never get going at all or only make a few calls. They never generate enough positive activity to succeed.

There are also the fearless ones who can burn through a prospect list in no time. However, they lack basic skills. In the absence of these skills, they can turn a great prospect list into worthless pile of paper and end up discouraged and defeated.

The following appointment setting techniques and principles will give you some great tips for making successful sales calls and booking appointments.

Set the Prospect at Ease

For your prospects to be open to your message, it is essential that they first be set at ease. A statement of familiarity must be made early in the call to capture attention, create interest and raise the level of comfort your prospect has with the calls.

Make sure to state immediately the purpose for the call and the potential benefit of the both of you getting together. People always want to know what is in it for them, and if you can communicate this early on it will increase the length of the conversation by increasing their curiosity.

Take Control

The person asking the questions is always in control of the conversation. You must master the skill of asking questions that people are compelled to answer and get them talking about their needs.

When people hear themselves telling you their likes and dislikes they automatically start to become endeared to you and want to hear more about your product. Be sure to be bold when asking questions and try and show some empathy about what their plight might be. Do not be so quick to move on to the next person on the list because the prospect will feel that.

Enthusiastically Assume the Appointment

Do not ask for an appointment. Asking for it puts the ball in their court. You never want the ball in their court.

Force them to either go through the awkwardness of saying no to sitting down with you or acquiesce to your request because it is obvious to them that you expected them to. Your expectation is the most important thing you bring to the phone call and will set the tone for how the conversation will go.

Expect then Manage Appointment Pushback

You can almost always expect initial resistance to your request for an appointment from both qualified and unqualified prospects.

The key is to properly manage this initial pushback to determine if your prospect's resistance indicates they are really not qualified or if it is just an automatic response from an otherwise qualified prospect. This initial resistance to an appointment is normal, welcomed and easily managed.

Reaffirm After Confirming Date, Time and Location

Always make sure to repeat all the prospect's information back to them. It reminds them of the information themselves as well as emphasizes them that you are putting this information down in writing.

This places more importance on the meeting and helps them understand that this meeting is important to you and more importantly that you will be there. They will show up most times just for that reason.

The Root Cause of Failure in Entrepreneurship

2008-09-11T11:57:00.000-07:00

Most businesses are guaranteed to fail within the first five years for a number of different reasons.

The sad reality, however, is that most of these businesses fail due to their having been founded by inexperienced overly-enthused entrepreneurs.

This is usually the single most important reason for business failure early in a business.

The first step to fixing a problem is identifying what it is. So let's take a look quickly at some of the reasons why most businesses fail. If you are looking to start a business or have already started a business of your own, you can use these tips to hopefully avoid some of these pitfalls in your own business career.

Wrong Motivation

As a business owner you are hopefully starting for the right reasons. I cannot tell you what your reason should be but I can recommend it be something that you think about often, something that perhaps gets your emotions going, something other than just money. For most people it usually is a shock that most successful people are more passionate about something else that is dear to them which is why they are successful at what they do which is also why they make a lot of money.

Here's the big takeaway: if you start something for the wrong reasons, you will stop for the wrong reasons. If your only intention for getting into business is to make lots of money then your resolve and mental toughness will be test greatly if after five years you haven't even turned a profit. Attach the monetary value that you are shooting for to something bigger. Maybe you want to build a school, or donate money to charity, or retire your mother, something that will keep you going when life hits you upside the head.

Poor Management

Many a report on business failures cites poor management as one of the biggest reasons for failure. New business owners frequently lack relevant business and management expertise in almost all business functions and do not have enough capital to hire the necessary people to take care of what they do not know. Unless they recognize what they don't do well, and more importantly seek help, business owners may soon face disaster.

A successful business owner is also a good leader who creates a work climate that encourages productivity as well as innovation. You must be skilled at hiring competent people, training them and able to empower people to go above and beyond the call of duty. A good leader is also skilled at strategic thinking, able to make a vision a reality, and able to confront change, make transitions, and envision new possibilities for the future.

A tall order for someone who just gets into business, which is exactly why most people are not able to defeat the battle of attrition that comes with new business.

No Mentorship and Lack of Experience

A lot of the setbacks and hiccups, failures and hurdles that are encountered along the way can either be avoided or alleviated with the help of a business mentor. If you are starting out a business entirely on your own you might as well have started the journey five years ago blind-folded.

A mentor can help you identify potential pitfalls as well as confirm certain setbacks you will face if you continue what you are doing. They are an invaluable asset that you must seek to have in your corner if you want to be successful in business and at least get your business off the ground.

Failure to Change with the Times

The only constant in business is change. The ability to recognize opportunities and be flexible enough to adapt to changing times is a key ingredient to surviving and even prospering in the toughest business climate.

The challenge is that most new entrepreneurs are so excited about their idea that they fail to see some of the cons of pursuing it. They choose to ignore their competition that most times are more familiar with the industry and are leveraging the changes in the marketplace. Be sure that as you pursue your business venture you pay respect to the economy before you and the competitors you currently have. They have been running the marathon longer than you have and are still running.

That is a good enough reason to pay attention to what they are doing as well as how they are reacting to the economy.

Inadequate Goal-Setting

Business owners often fail to establish clear goals and create plans to achieve those goals, especially before starting out, when they fail to develop a complete business plan before launching their company. You can't achieve your goal if you do not have one. Having a goal gives you purpose and direction.

Goals act as your life map. They are like the dashboard on your car and chart your course and tell you when you have arrived at your destination. Most young entrepreneurs focus too much on the details versus just mapping out the end of the journey. You needn't worry about how you will achieve your goals. Simply concern yourself with the process of setting short term, medium term, and long term goals.

A written goal is infinitely more likely to be achieved that one that is merely kept in your thoughts or spoken aloud. Write your goals down and review them consistently.

The Importance of Reading

2008-09-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

To become a successful leader in business it is imperative that you get on a personal growth program.

No leader in history ever became one simply because he was a born leader. Leadership is not a talent, but a discipline that is forged through years of consistent work on weaknesses and development of strengths. Leadership is influence and you cannot learn to lead anyone until you learn to lead yourself. So, the challenge here is simple: how to learn to lead you.

One of the best ways to do this is by reading. Throughout the rest of this article, we will point out some of the most important things you may not know about reading and what it can do for you in your business and personal life.

For starters, we are not just talking about reading any books, but, rather, we are specifically discussing books on personal growth and development.

Most people stay away from self-help books because it makes them feel inadequate and no one wants to feel like they are not perfect yet. Here's a news flash: you will never be perfect. But reading books will help you to self-evaluate, self-motivate and self-critique yourself better than any other external party can.

Here are some of the important reasons why reading is a necessity to develop leadership.

Reading builds your self-image

Your self-image refers to not how you feel about yourself but really how you feel other people feel about you. It predetermines a lot of your confidence in different aspects of your life in including your business. Everything you have accomplished in life thus far can be directly correlated with your self-image.

It is the most important thing you must continue to protect and continue to work on developing. You must continually evaluate your self-image for this important reason: you will never outgrow your self-image. A person with a strong self-image will have high expectations for himself and his future but someone with a low self-image will not expect much good to happen to him and will subconsciously sabotage anything good that may happen.

The scariest part about not having a healthy self-image is that most people who don't have a good self-image have no idea they don't. So make sure you're reading books that build you up and remind that you can do anything if you work hard enough and consistently enough for it. Remember no one was born with success written on their forehead. On the contrary we were all born with two things in common: we were ugly and were crying.

Reading maintains your attitude

Your attitude is probably the second most important thing you must check, correct and monitor on a daily basis. The first is your self-image. But your attitude is vital to your success because it determines how you will respond to the negative things that may happen to you during the course of your business.

It is important to note that life by nature is filled with ups and downs and so it is a natural deterrent to success. The question is not IF something negative is going to happen to you sometime in your life but WHEN. Reading of positive-mental-attitude books by Napoleon hill and Norman Vincent-Peale will help to strengthen your resolve and will give you more mental toughness.

Building business requires two things: courage and mental toughness. You need courage in the beginning to get yourself started, but you need mental toughness to stay the course when things are rough. Your self-image will give you courage, but your attitude is controlled predominantly by the amount of mental toughness you possess. If you are expecting to be successful in business plan to run into some challenges and temporary setbacks.

Most businesses fail within the first five years of inception. This is a fact. However, I believe they don't fail, the people just quit because they don't have the mental fortitude to hang in there when the going gets tough. If that's not the story you want I implore you to pick up a book and watch your attitude go through the roof!

Reading strengthens your ability to communicate

There is no successful person on this earth that is not a good communicator. The ability to connect with people is of paramount importance if you are looking to be a successful business owner. It is important to note here that people misconstrue having good communication skills to translate into being a good talker and having all the right answers. A good communicator is actually the total reverse. A person with great people skills is actually very skilled at listening.

A lot of effective communication is active listening and the ability to help people express themselves and their ideas. Reading will greatly help you to improve your ability to communicate as well as improve your diction and word choice when talking.

There are a plethora of books on people skills by Les Giblin, Dale Carnegie and a host of other authors in any major bookstore in the United States. The information is out there so you have to go out there and find it.

Reading offers exposure to self counsel

The ability to self-correct is a skill that must be developed over time. This initially will only happen by first talking counsel from someone else like a mentor or close friend who knows more than you do. If you, however, do not have access to a mentor then reading is the next best thing you can do to mentor yourself.

The best thing about reading books is that all the advice is there for you to take or leave at your own discretion. You may have an ego, but you know that the book doesn't. This makes it easier for you to take action on what you are learning from the books because it is not someone personally telling you that you need to sharpen your listening skills and stop snapping at your employees. The reason for this is when you read you actually hear yourself through your inner ear and as a result you hear yourself giving advice to yourself and it makes it easier to take action on the advice given.

So the bottom line is leaders are readers. Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers. If you are looking to become an impact player in your industry then I suggest you start to form a healthy habit of reading daily. Start with fifteen minutes and work your way up to at least an hour a day if you're really serious. As much as the television is an awesome form of relaxation if that is what you're into, it really adds no value to your personal growth no matter what you're watching.

Take some of that relaxation time and relax by filling yourself with more wisdom that you can apply immediately and better your business.

Signs of Disunity in an Organization

2008-09-11T11:51:00.000-07:00

Unity is easy to create and maintain in a small organization.

As a business or company grows, however, it become increasingly difficult to maintain organizational unity and great care must be taken to keep the organization motivated and loyal to the mission statement of the company.

Why Unity Matters In Small Business

Everyone knows what it's like to be a part of a great team.

And more often than not, it is the unity and camaraderie that you experienced and witnessed that is remembered more than anything else. The reality is, however, most people identify the whole concept of team with sports. Most people have been part of a sports team growing up or maybe even in college if they played it as a varsity sport.

The uniqueness of being part of a sports team, however, is that the roster changes every year and at most you are together with a few of the same people for four years. In business this is not the case as you will find yourself working with the same people for years at a time and the roster does not change as much.

This is not to say that unity is harder to preserve in business, but it is different from keeping a sports team together. There are a lot of different dynamics involved and so it requires more attention and care from the leaders in the organization.

Disunity in a business team or organization is not uncommon because businesses are made up of human beings with varied interests and frailties.

When you put them together and leave them to their own devices, even the most well-intentioned people will usually deviate toward detrimental and unproductive behavior. And because most leaders and managers are not schooled in the art of building and maintaining teams, small problems are left untreated and spiral further and further into ugliness and eventually corporate politics.

Signs that Unity Is Lacking Within an Organization

Here are some of the key things to watch for in an organization and they may happen most likely in this order as they build on top of one another. These are signs that a company could be headed for disaster if care is not taken and these issues are addressed.

1. Lack of trust

This is probably the first thing that will happen before anything else. The people in the organization will begin to lose trust for one another on a variety of levels.

Team members are uncomfortable being vulnerable with one another, unwilling to admit their weaknesses, mistakes or needs for help. It goes without saying that if people cannot be vulnerable with one another they will not be able to trust one another. It is important for people to feel comfortable expressing their ideas without fear of being reprimanded or alienation.

They must also feel that no matter the circumstances that their ego or self-worth will not be challenged. To prevent this lack of trust from developing leaders must make a conscious effort to build relationships with as many key people in the organization as they can so they are always aware of ruffled feathers and tension build-ups in the company that they can aid in decompressing.

There is no substitute for trust. It begins with the willingness of team members to open themselves up to one another and admit their weaknesses and mistakes. When all else fails, win back trust of your employees to start over. As the leader be the first one vulnerable at all times and risk losing face in front of the team. This will create an environment that does not punish vulnerability.

2. Fear of confrontation or conflict

This is the natural next level of disunity. Teams that lack trust are incapable of engaging in unfiltered and passionate debate about ideas. Instead, they resort to veiled discussions and guarded comments.

Gossip ensues simply because people do not feel they have a common space in which to share ideas or dialogue. It is important to note that dialogue does not have to necessarily be positive but it must be open to everyone. If dialogue isn't positive then that is a clear indicator that something is wrong. Covering up negative dialogue between people, however, is only a temporary solution to a permanent problem.

As long as fear is part of any equation involving people there will be absolutely no progress. All great relationships require productive conflict to grow. Healthy conflict is limited to concepts and ideas and avoids personality-focused, mean spirited attacks. The conflict ought to have passion, emotion and frustration so that everyone is heard, knowing that the purpose is to produce the best solutions in the shortest period of time.

Teams that engage each other in healthy conflict waste far less time than teams which avoid it. So avoiding conflict is not the answer. That is similar to putting a band aid on a wound that requires stitches. Abstain from premature resolutions to conflicts to protect people from embarrassment and encourage everyone to face conflict head-on.

3. Lack of commitment

The two greatest causes of lack of commitment are the desire for consensus and the need for certainty. Seeking consensus is dangerous and unnecessary if everyone is heard, at which point team members will rally around the decision. If there is an impasse, the leader of the team is allowed to make the call.

Great teams can commit and unite around decisions even when there is little assurance about whether the decision is correct. They understand a decision is better than no decision. Compare this to dysfunctional teams that hedge bets and delay decisions creating paralysis and lack of confidence. It is conflict that underlies the willingness to commit without perfect information.

When all the cards are on the table the team can confidently commit. It is important to understand that one of the greatest consequences for an executive team that does not commit to clear decisions is irresolvable discord deeper in the organization, and this leads to true indecision, unhealthy morale and poor performance.

More than anyone else, the leader must be comfortable with the prospect of making a decision that ultimately turns out to be wrong. The leader must continue to press for meeting deadlines, but not place too high a premium on certainty or consensus.

4. Unwillingness to hold one another accountable

Accountability refers to the willingness of team members to call their peers on performance or behaviors that might hurt the team. Members of great teams overcome the fear of confrontation and "enter the danger" with one another. But this is difficult because no one wants to jeopardize a valuable personal relationship. Yet, without such conflict, relationships deteriorate and results deteriorate with them.

It turns out that peer pressure motivates respected teammates to not let each other down and motivates people to the highest standards. Team members fail to confront one another around behaviors and deliverables that do not conform to agreed decisions. As the leader allow and encourage the team and not individuals to serve as the primary accountability mechanism. Otherwise team members won't take active responsibility.

The leader must in the end serve as the arbiter of discipline when the team fails and the first person to give praise and edification when the team succeeds.

5. Inattention to results

The ultimate dysfunction of a team is the tendency of members to care about something other than collective goals and results.

In poorly performing teams, members derive status from being part of the team, or they focus on enhancing their own positions or career prospects at the expense of their team. A functional team must make the group results the most important goals, and they must be results oriented, living and breathing results. Team members put their individual needs for career development and recognition before the collective goals of the team.

The leader must set the tone for a focus on results. Team members must sense that the leader values these results more than anything. Otherwise they will take this as permission not to themselves. Team leaders must be selfless and objective and reserve rewards and recognition for those who make real contributions to the achievement of group goals.

Retirement Myths

2008-09-11T11:49:00.000-07:00

In today's economy the biggest challenge for most people is not so much getting a job but keeping it until they are eligible for retirement age.

This is not to say that getting a job is easy because that is not the case. But for a lot of people who worked hard to get where that are currently in their occupation, the future is a little shaky if they cared to take a look at what the economy is currently experiencing.

According to an article released by CNN early in August of 2008, "Employers cut jobs in July for the seventh straight month, while the unemployment rate hit a four-year high". The labor department reported a net loss of 51,000 jobs in the month of July and the latest report brought the total job losses this year to 463,000! Now if that is not getting people to stop and think then we have a big problem.

So with all this recession talk, people losing jobs, companies cutting costs, restricting and everything else, why is retirement something most people still feel they are guaranteed by age 65?! Robert Kiyosaki, an investor, businessman, self-help author and motivational speaker, is quoted as stating that "if you still believe in retirement, you probably believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny".

Quite the comparison, but I believe he may be on to something here. Let's take a look at some similarities between them and why such a comparison makes sense in light of what we're seeing today in the economy.

Everyone believes they exist, till they get older

Everyone remembers waking up as a little toddler Christmas morning with the anticipation of seeing gifts under the Christmas tree that good ol' Santa Claus had just dropped off through the chimney earlier. And most of you also remember that fateful Christmas morning when you woke up a little earlier than usual and to your surprise found not Santa but your father putting down the last of the Christmas gifts before sneaking back to bed. Oh how betrayed we all felt when we realized our parents had been lying to us the whole time.

Well fortunately for us we don't have to wait until we're 65 to figure out Santa Claus isn't real (and if you still never figured it out I apologize for spoiling it for you).

The reality is that more people are getting the pink slips these days than bonuses or raises at their job and the only reason they hang around long enough to get the boot is because of their belief in retirement. The days of starting with one company and finishing with one company are long gone.

Ask the senior citizens you see at Wal-mart stores at the entrance whether or not they're working because they're bored or broke. They'll probably tell you they're bored but we know the truth. They found out that retirement isn't feasible for many Americans. According to the social security administration, 98 percent of Americans today cannot retire at age 65. So you've got a 2 percent chance if you keep doing what you're doing. Exciting isn't it? Remember the quote, "growing old is automatic but growing up is optional". The wise ones among us stopped believing in Santa a long time ago. If you're still not sure you might want to check out the facts.

Give you something to look forward to

The seductiveness of Santa and the Easter Bunny is they are nice, fluffy characters and are associated with a lot of fun and enjoyment.

This is not a good proxy for how life as an adult will be which is exactly why kids are the primary target for those holidays. Christmas is celebrated by all, but the young ones are usually the most excited and for good reason.

Christmas happens once a year and as such always has such a build up to it. It is the one time when everyone is supposed to be happy and cheerful and thankful for the start of a new year. You get to receive gifts from your family and friends which in a way is the affirmation that in spite of all you went through together that year you are still a good person.

Once again we see the similarity with the concept of retirement. Most people are educated for about 16 years through school with all the pressures and stress that comes with it. Then they eventually get a job which they hope will take them through the next forty years but we know that is not realistic anymore. And the dream for every working person is to at some point never have to work ever again. They paid the price, they did everything they were supposed to and the reward should be an easy retirement.

The dream of being free is one of the biggest motivations for people going to work for forty years only to find once again that there is life at the end of the tunnel; it's a freight train coming right at you.

So the bottom line is get over the fact that what you thought was true actually isn't. Retirement is definitely realistic; just without money. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but all you have to do is take a look at those before you and ask yourself what you are doing differently from them that will put you in a position better than they are currently right now when you get to their age.

If you're like most people, you really can't say you're doing anything different. That's okay, but just remember that Santa Claus was as real as your parents were real, until you found out that he was your parents!

Start planning now for your retirement. Don't rely on your company's 401K plan and pension plan. Most companies don't even have a pension for employees just getting into the work force today. They can't afford it. Start looking for other ways you can diversify your income, and I'm not just talking about portfolios. Get a business of your own. Take the entrepreneurial plunge; you just might like it. It beats finding Santa is your mom or getting a pink slip at age 45. The choice is yours.

Referral Marketing

2008-09-11T11:47:00.000-07:00

Business only works if marketing is involved because it is the marketing strategy that ultimately determines how much potential profit can be captured.

The challenge in marketing is usually how much of the limited budget most startup companies have should be used in advertising.Conventional advertising is expensive and is not a guarantee that an audience will purchase your product. It does, however, give you a chance to get your product or business or service out to the public and create a pull towards your business.

Referral marketing or word of mouth advertising is a new trend that is taking the business world by storm. It is simply a process by which consumers share their knowledge about a particular product or business with other fellow consumers and this continues to grow and eventually expand the market coverage for that product.

The movie industry is notorious for using this method of advertising as most movies tend to release previews a month in advance to the movie opening and then the preview showings are completely stopped. They then rely on the movie viewers to continue spreading the word about the movie and so their advertising budget does not need to be over-extended.

As an entrepreneur and business owner, referral marketing is a good method of advertising to adopt as even your primary method of expanding your market coverage for a number of reasons.

Inexpensive

The best part about referral marketing is that it is inexpensive. This is simply because the people who are advertising for you are doing it voluntarily. A lot of the social networking websites like facebook.com, myspace.com, youtube.com and the like are all booming as a result of referral marketing.

According to consumer reports, 57.7% of all products purchased online in the year 2007 were because of word of mouth. That's more than half of the revenue generated online in a whole year. This goes to show you that if people like a product not only will they buy it but they will talk about it and encourage other people to do the same.

Self-Perpetuating

The nature of referral marketing is that it continues to expand by itself without any external force applied. The law of inertia states that an object in motion stays in motion. Well in this case, once you get this started it will continue as long as people are enjoying your product or service.

The famous e-mail account Hotmail.com was started in a similar fashion. One person created the concept of free e-mail but required that if you signed up for it that you had to refer at least ten of your friends.

After a year he had over one million people in his network and then Bill Gates came along and purchased the rights to his already built network. Now I don't think Bill Gates would have needed help building his own network so why did he pay this kid over $400 million for it? Because it was a "self-perpetuating" subscriber base. It was growing regardless of what was going on because it was free and people liked the service.

That is the power of referral marketing.

People Carry More Credibility

Here is the big takeaway for why referral marketing works: people do the advertising. People will naturally have more influence than any other conventional form of media advertising like billboards, television ads, newspaper ads, etc.

If you think about the products you are currently using now, you probably did not get convinced to use the brand of toothpaste you use because of a commercial on television. It was probably your mother that told you it was the best one and you took her word for it.

That's the key: you took her word for it. People carry more credibility because they are actual users of whatever it is they are promoting. The same goes for the movie industry example. If you saw a movie you really enjoyed you would have no problems referring to someone else with enthusiasm. Same goes for a movie you really didn't enjoy.

But here's the reason why this is so effective: if you saw a fantastic preview to a movie and decided to go see it and a good friend of yours told you it wasn't worth your time, you probably wouldn't go see if even though the preview was good.

The credibility from your friend outweighed the credibility of the conventional form of advertising.

Referral marketing works if you know how to access it and use it for your own personal business. Sure you might have to initially spend a little money and dapple in conventional advertising as your primary source for getting market coverage, but in the end happy consumers will always bring you happy consumers. Good luck!

Overcoming Rejection in Sales

2008-09-11T11:46:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest reasons most people are scared of sales or selling is the fear of being rejected.

It is mentally draining even for very experienced sales professionals and entrepreneurs. The most successful people in sales learn and master how to not let a rejection affect their next sales appointment. How does one become more mentally tough about taking a no?

Learning to Love NO

It is important to note that this is not a fear that is specific to sales. People in general do not like being rejected as we all have an inherent need to feel accepted by the people around us.

However, the first step in becoming proficient at sales is to understand that when people say no to the purchasing of a product or service you are trying to sell, they are not rejecting you as a person.

A no simply means no. It doesn't mean you are a bad person, it doesn't mean they don't like you and it certainly doesn't mean they will not buy your product at another time.

Their answer quite frankly has absolutely nothing to do with you and everything to do with what they are in need for at that point in time! It is time to move and get over yourself.

But how does one get comfortable in an environment where high volume numbers are the only way to succeed and so the ability to take rejection is part of the job description? If you are struggling with this or even if you are a veteran, here are some tips you can use to strengthen your ability to overcome rejection from a potential client.

Quantity over Quality

People new in sales always make the mistake of trying to be perfect before attempting to make a sale. Focus initially instead on going through more potential clients. Trust me, it is okay. This will get you used to accepting rejection and understanding that whether they say yes or no really is not under your control.

You can't control what their answer is, but you can control how many prospective clients you sit down with that week. Put the numbers in your favor and just ask enough people until someone gives you the answer you want.

Ask More Questions

Learn to ask more questions. There is always a reason why a person doesn't want to buy your product. Ask them to explain why they don't see the value in it. Enough answers to this question will give you some insight into what you can do to promote the product better. You will also uncover some misconceptions they might have had about the product and clarify for them the benefit they did not pick up on.

Asking them why they do not want what you are selling will also affirm for you that they really have nothing against you and just don't need your product. This should boost your confidence and put you in the right state of mind.

Emotionally Disconnect from the Outcome

Remember that rejection may not be written into your job description as an entrepreneur, but it is a big part of it. To be emotional about a job function is suicide and your attitude will be like a roller coaster with dips and valleys at unexpected times. Your attitude is all you have so protect it by reading positive mental attitude books and listening to motivational tapes or CDs.

This is very important as your attitude will go down if you do not maintain a steady flow of positive reinforcement. It is like a gas tank that needs to be refilled every time it is half full. You cannot afford to let it get close to being empty because it needs to be overflowing with enthusiasm for the tougher prospects who will want to be convinced rather than sold.

Think of positive as being a noun and not a verb. The more positive you have, the more positive you will give out and the more you will get back.

Embrace Failure

Understand that success and failure are Siamese twins. You must go through failure in order to be successful as the road to success is paved with failure.

Every person in history who has ever become great had to go through numerous rejections before being given a chance. Luckily for you, you will be no different.

If you can persist and get to the other side of failure, success is waiting for you.

Embrace every no as bringing you one stop closer to a yes. Focus on getting your failure rate higher and by default your success rate will increase based on the law of averages.

Remember to stay consistent. Dick Devos, CEO of Amway Global, stated that "One must develop relentless perseverance to be successful as a business owner. Relentless perseverance is consistency, but consistency under pressure."

It's a Numbers Game

So the bottom line is sales is a numbers game.

But here's a question for you: what isn't a numbers game?

People in the medical profession have to overbook their calendar to make sure they are guaranteed a certain number of patients. Colleges and Universities accept more students every year because they know a lesser number will graduate. Sports teams at any level, whether from high school to professional sports, always have a tryout session with a lot of players initially and then gradually make cuts to get the best of the best from the group.

You get the point?

Michael Jordan when asked what he thinks contributed the most to his NBA career stated that he has missed more shots than he has made, that is why he has made more memorable shots and no one bothers to highlight how many he's missed.

Increase your failure rate, get more people to say no to you and you will be amazed at the success waiting at the other side.

Managing Personalities by Mastering You

2008-09-11T11:41:00.000-07:00

We are all very different for a lot of reasons. For example, some people are tall, short, fat, slim, driven, quiet, or extroverted.

As a business owner, however, a key trait you must be aware of in the people in your organization is personality.

If you can understand the different types of personalities people have it makes it much simpler to communicate with and manage them. This article will break down the four common personalities according to Gordon McFarlane, an author and motivational speaker on leadership, sales and relationships.

Our personality is a big part of who we are. It determines how we respond to things that happen to us, how we respond to others, how we go about solving problems and so on and so forth. As an entrepreneur it is very important you understand how you relate with other people, especially the people working with you and for you. Some personalities turn certain types of people off and some turn certain types of people on. This all depends however on the person's likes and dislikes. Here is a quick look at the four main types of personalities and how as a business owner you can better manage them and manage yourself. See if you can spot yourself in one or two of them.

Dominant Personality

This type of person is outgoing and task-oriented and likes to be in charge. They are dynamic leaders, ambitious and strong-willed, and seem to thrive on pressure. They are very competitive and always want to win. They will always give that extra effort, if that's what it takes.

High dominant personality types are very demanding of themselves and others and will seldom take no for an answer. They are direct in their approach to handling problems. Empathy is not their strong suit, and they are often blunt and to the point with their words. If you want a direct answer, you need look no further. They are bottom-line people with not much use for details.

They are both determined and independent. When others feel defeated and want to quit, they are courageous. They will persevere in the face of adversity. Since they are persistent, a "no" to them means "maybe later." They are wired to handle the heat and the pressure and can make the hard decisions in hard times.

You won't get much sympathy from a person with his personality, and that may make them seem cold and uncaring. In addition, they are quick to answer and their lack of thinking may make them appear rude and reckless. Their confidence can sometime be mistaken for cockiness.

These people love to win. They love to win so much that they can become ruthless in their quest to dominate. It's not about how to play the game; it's about how to win! Winning at all costs can often permanently damage relationships. This can be avoided with some sensitivity and patience towards other players. They have to be careful about their short fuse and hot temper. Interestingly they do have an ability to forgive, forget and move on faster than any other personality.

Inspiring Personality

This type of person is outgoing and people-oriented and likes to have fun. People with a high level of this personality are so impulsive that they will say yes before you complete your question if it starts with "Do you want to go?" They like to be on the move or do anything if there is fun involved.

They are energy personified and want to enjoy everything life has to offer. They love to stir things up and get the party started. Generally, they ARE the party!

People with inspiring personalities have the ability to meet a total stranger and feel right at home with them. They never really want to be grown up or take life too seriously. They have a great sense of humor and love to laugh. They have a positive and optimistic disposition that makes them fun to be around and don't stay mad for long, because after all life is too short. Not surprisingly, they work very well with others.

Recognition and approval are strong basic needs for them. They are very friendly and carefree, and they often exhibit more confidence in themselves than ability. They are very creative and persuasive and very good at expressing their ideas.

Because they are so spontaneous, they can easily become impulsive. They can jump to another exciting opportunity and then another without first producing any tangible results from their first endeavor. They have trouble with focusing their energy and seeing a task to its completion.

Supportive Personality

This type of person is reserved and people-oriented and likes to be appreciated. They are usually labeled as steady, because they are so even-tempered and reliable.

They don't handle pressure well at all and prefer things to stay routine with no changes in their pattern. They feel secure when things are running smoothly. They will easily adapt to any situation and fit in for fear of being noticed. Supportive personality types avoid being put in the spotlight and would much prefer working behind the scenes in a supporting role. They have a difficult time saying no, and they will struggle against being forceful with someone.

They are excellent team players even though they are naturally passive and shy. This style will enjoy having fun with people as long as the fun isn't centered around them. They are quiet, back-seat dwellers and will do nothing to purposely oppose you. They want you to genuinely like them and really don't want to ruffle any feathers. They are the most loyal of friends and will want to serve the people closest to them and meet their needs. They are very predictable and trustworthy.

They often appear to have a lack of initiative. They much prefer to take things slowly and even stick with the status quo rather than consider another alternative. This all stems from not really liking change. They are resistant to change and can be quite stubborn.

If there is a chance of failure, these individuals would prefer to do nothing. They are caring and cooperative people. They are soft-hearted and will work with people and go the extra mile when others won't. They will sacrifice their own needs for others even at a loss and need to toughen up and learn to say no sometimes! They can hold a grudge by keeping something that bothers them deep inside and harbor long-term resentment. They prefer to say nothing for fear of hurting the person who may have hurt them first. They are very uncomfortable with confrontation.

Cautious Personality

This type of person is reserved and task-oriented and likes quality, perfection, and being correct. These people love clear documentation and accurate information.

They are very seldom wrong, because they have double-checked everything. They take mistakes, when pointed out, very personally. They are very analytical and will painstakingly break down each of their projects into workable components and complete each one in order until the entire task is done. While they do tend to get slowed down with details, these people often see pitfalls that other personality types may overlook and ultimately be more structured and productive as a result of their high standards.

They love consistency, because it creates a familiar comfort zone in which they can function. They are also very tenacious and hard working and can be counted on for quality work even if it means extra hours. They are fanatics about doing things by the book and will seem rebellious or disrespectful when they continue to ask questions when assigned a specific task. They need clarification and complete understanding, so they don't mess up. These types want to look the best and be the best.

If you have made a mistake with this personality, they are not afraid to inform you; it's their duty and you should know! "Do it right or don't do it at all," is their motto. However, telling it like it is may not win them many friends. They tend to believe they are always right, and as a result display an air of self-centeredness, This could cause them to appear unsociable. Because most of life is a serious game they have little time for nonsense.

They are driven to a standard of perfection, and this can cause others to feel they are just critical of any other standard. They are able to focus with great intensity. The whole world could be crashing in around them, and they would be hard at work at the station, completing the task. They can often be very rigid. These individuals don't generally let their emotions show and expects others to do the same. They prefer answers that are based on clear and irrefutable facts, not emotional responses.

Using Personality Categorization to Your Advantage

Knowledge of these four personalities is definitely helpful to people who are ready to take on the leadership role of really learning what makes the people in their organization different from one another.

But ultimately it is more important to use this knowledge to understand yourself first before trying to figure out others. Use this information to develop a better understanding of you because if you can master you, then managing people will be a breeze. Good luck!

Key Characteristics of Goals

2008-09-11T11:39:00.000-07:00

An organization without a goal is like a ship without a rudder.

It will drift and not drive and will misconstrue activity with accomplishment. Goals keep you moving in the right direction. As you continue to grow your business, it will become apparent that progress has much to do with direction and much less to do with speed. Without goals, you may be moving really fast in the wrong direction.

But just how does one go about setting goals? As the owner or leader of a start-up, here are some things you must consider when setting goals.

Goals must be realistic

Setting a goal you do not believe is feasible is like starting a race you don't expect to win. Why start the race in the first place?

What usually happens when a goal is set that is not feasible is this: nothing. Usually most of the time is spent thinking about how impossible it will be to achieve the goal that absolutely nothing gets done which just leads to more frustration.

It is important when setting goals that you stay realistic and have a feasible way to accomplish the goal that has been set. This is not to say that the goal should not stretch you or your company to become better, but it should not be so daunting that people just freeze and become unmotivated. A good goal will always keep people motivated. An unrealistic goal will keep people stagnant.

Goals must include everyone

This second point is directly tied in with the first aspect of goals which is that they should be realistic. So it goes without saying that if a goal is to be realistic it must include all aspects of the organization.

To take this a step further, if the people in your organization do not believe something can be done then it is either up to you to build their belief that it can be accomplished or to readjust and reset the goal. Sometimes leaders feel that they must always be at the forefront of the decision making. In reality some of the best decisions, especially on goals, are made by going down in the management hierarchy and asking the very people who will most likely be doing most of the work. Make sure when goal setting you remember this.

Goals should have different ranges

One of the biggest mistakes when setting goals is to focus too much on the end result. It is important to begin with the end in mind but do not forget the beginning is just as, if not more, important than the end result. You should make sure when setting goals to split them up in order to be effective. You should have first your long-term goals. This may range from one to two years, to even five years. Yearly goals should be next, then quarterly goals, monthly goals, weekly goals, and ultimately daily goals.

Daily goals are usually the toughest to manage and stay consistent with and rightly so. If you can stay accountable to your daily goals and gradually progress to your weekly goals, you will see a dramatic change in your results and success in completing your goals.

Goals need to be communicated

This is vital in order to produce the maximum effort of everyone that is part of the organization. If the leader has a vision that is not shared with the rest of the organization then it does not qualify as a vision. Goals not communicated to an organization are as good as nothing.

Everyone should know what is expected of them to know how much effort to give and no when to push even harder. The management of short-term goals should be left to the individual leaders on the team but the communication of the long-term goal should be done by the leader of the entire group.

Keeping an Organization Unified

2008-09-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

Most successful sports teams always point to their cohesiveness and unity as the biggest reason for their success.

In business, this is no different. Behind every successful company is a unified group of people. You will find a consistent language, atmosphere and expectation when talking with the employees of that company because they understand that a team not unified isn't a team.

There are some things to be aware of that contribute to the unity of a team. They are mostly intangible things that could go unnoticed to the untrained eye, but if you are to be successful in business you just learn to pick up on these things immediately. A close monitoring of the occurrence of these things will help you understand what keeps a team growing in unity and what breaks the trust that was previously established.

Edification

This is probably the most important aspect of any team's success. A unified team is always in edification. The word edification means "to build up". It is important for the leader of the organization to be the best example of this as it will duplicate throughout the organization.

Build up and praise your people in public, not behind closed doors. Talk about all their strengths and tie those strengths to the success of the organization. Make sure to shine spotlight on high performers, but remind the organization that spotlight is to highlight people producing results so that others know what to do.

Edification makes people feel better about what they're doing and why they're doing it and a leader who edifies his people will create an environment where everyone is looking to shine the light on someone else. A famous quote by Michael Jordan exemplifies this: "Players win games, but teams win championships".

Avoid gossip and negative talk

As people get closer to one another, familiarity sets in and this can start to be dangerous if not monitored closely.

The old saying is that familiarity breeds contempt. In laymen's terms, the closer you get to someone the more you notice things you don't like about them.

Make sure to stay away from meetings outside of the office. Any discussion outside the office or place of work is gossip and gossip is never productive. This is one of the first signs that the unity of the organization is starting to dwindle. If possible, make sure to talk to the people spear-heading the gossip sessions and find out what the topics of conversation are. It is usually some dissension among some of the employees and can be rectified with the proper attention.

Never mess with anyone's ego

This is especially true with men. It doesn't take much to get someone's ego out of whack. The safest way to go about keeping this as a rule is this: if it's not positive, it's negative. In other words, if you're not sure something you're about to say is positive it probably isn't, so don't say it.

Stay away from off-shade jokes about race, gender or beliefs of any sort. Stay away from personal comments both in private and in public on topics like weight, relationships or personal issues. You never know what will hurt someone's feelings or set some emotions off that they didn't realize were still sensitive.

Crystallize the vision

When people are distracted it is mainly because they at that point in time are either lacking focus or have lost sight of the objective. Revisit the vision for the organization as often as possible to remind them why they're doing what they're doing.

Sometimes the drudgery of work can be the biggest obstacle to unity. When people feel bored and idle they start to look for other things to distract them, and most distractions are never positive.

Internal Recruiting

2008-09-11T11:37:00.000-07:00

Internal recruiting seeks applicants for positions from among the ranks of those currently employed in the company.

With the exception of entry-level positions, most organizations try to fill positions with current employees. The Internal Recruitment is the most favorite source of candidates in the stable and developed companies for a number of reasons, so it may not be the first choice for a new business still in its inception phase.

Internal recruiting is not better than external recruiting necessarily. Both the recruiting methods however have pros and cons, benefits and pitfalls that you should be aware of when deciding which recruitment method to focus your company around. Here is a quick look at some of the advantages of internal recruiting.

Cost-efficient

Internal recruiting first and foremost is less costly and quicker than an external search process for applicants. There is a considerably lesser need for advertising as all positions available are either posted on the company website or on bulletin boards in the office of the company. Since everything is done in-house it is easy for both the applicants and the HR department to carry out the process of recruitment.

Better knowledge of internal applicants

Another advantage to the firm is that Human Resource data is immediately available for any employee recruited internally. And even more importantly, the employee's work habits are known and previous performance appraisals are on record so it makes it easier to evaluate the applicant.

Requires a short induction training period

An internal recruit will be familiar with the firm. This employee will be familiar with the firm's products, clients, organizational policies, and corporate culture. As such, the firm might be able to save money by cutting down costs as orientation sessions for such an employee may not be necessary. The internal applicant will also assimilate faster into the position because the challenges that external applicants have off adjusting to corporate culture is non-existent.

Improves morale

Internal recruitment may lead to increased morale for employees as the organization is perceived to reward good performance or loyalty. The employees are not pressed to look for opportunities on the external job market. Often, one promotion leads to another vacant position and this chain effect contributes further to increased morale. It encourages healthy competition between employees driven strictly by performance and results.

The disadvantages to internal recruiting are very closely related to competition within the workplace which is understandable. So a lot of care must be taken by management to ensure that promotion from within is very fair and just with no favoritism occurring during the process. Here are some of the key disadvantages to internal recruiting.

Resistance to change

Continuity is not always such a good thing in the case of internal recruiting. If the organization has deiced to change its business strategy, for example, entrenched managers are probably not the "change masters" you want.

One theory of internal recruiting is that the approach simply self-perpetuates the old ways of doing things. This problem is popularly coined "Managerial in-breeding". Sometimes this resistance to change will come about as a result of a personal connection to the old method or process of doing things. Some managers do not want to see the work they started get altered or hanged by another person or authority.

Discontentment among employees

This is usually the biggest challenge among employees. No matter how hard management tries to make sure everyone has a fair shot at being promoted there will always be disgruntled employees who feel shafted or side-stepped. They never feel it has to do with the fact that this person who is getting promoted is perhaps a batter performer than they are. This usually affects productivity and morale in the short-term until the person becomes fully assimilated into the position and a new relationship is established.

Don't count on your employees being excited about everyone else's growth but encourage them to be excited because they also have the same opportunity.

Affirmative action goals are more difficult to achieve

Most companies battle with affirmative action goals and this task is made doubly difficult in a small company that uses internal recruiting as its primary recruiting method. To fulfill the quota for diversity candidates from within is tough if you already do not have enough staff from diverse backgrounds. In most cases the only real option is to recruit from outside sources.

Hard to do with rapid growth

The inertia states that an object in motion stays in motion. Another way of looking at this is if it isn't broken, don't try and fix it. In business momentum is precious, and when an organization is growing rapidly the last thing you want to do is mess up the synergy. Promoting from within during times of rapid growth can throw the synergy out of whack and put a halt on the regular proceedings. Try and stay away from internal recruiting during times of fast growth just because there is not enough time for people in new positions to fully assimilate and understand the requirements of their new positions.

Important Elements of a Good Business Plan

2008-09-09T11:05:00.000-07:00

Most investors are very busy and so they need a business plan that has enough important information without too many details.

The goal is to give them enough background to allow them to make a quality decision.

Writing a business plan is no easy task but with the right guidance it can be a fun process.

If you are planning on writing a business plan in the future this article will point out some important things to remember about bad business plans. Sometimes to figure out what you want it is easier to take a look at what you don't want so we'll adopt this approach when taking a look at business plans and some pitfalls when writing them.

Make Projections

The tendency for inexperienced writers of business plans is that they feel they don't have enough tangible information. You are not supposed to have enough information. If you did, then you wouldn't need to write a business plan. The product or service would probably already be in the market.

The business plan is not supposed to give investors a definite future outcome but more a projection of what may happen if the product is manufactured. Use projections wherever you do not have necessary numbers to calculate definite figures, but be sure to include in the business plan that these are projections and not actual calculated numbers.

Investors like projections because that means there is some room for flexibility with your results and this could mean more profit than you anticipate and more profit for them.

Stay Away from Definite Numbers

This is tied in with the first point about making projections. It is almost a disadvantage to have enough data to estimate numbers that are probable in the future. Investors don't like definite figures or statements about the potential profit margins that the manufacturing of a product will bring. They believe that the more flexible your projections are that the more research and work you put into the business plan.

If you are flexible with your numbers and figures, it will put less pressure on you to back them up with more statistics. But if you are giving them concrete definite numbers then you must be prepared to back up those numbers with the necessary tables and statistics.

Always Offer a Compelling Executive Summary

With the possible exception of the conclusion and recommendation, the executive summary is the most important part of a business plan. The executive summary contains enough information for the readers to become acquainted with the full document without reading it. Usually, it contains a statement of the problem, some background information, a description of any alternatives, and the major conclusions.

An investor reading an executive summary should get a good idea of main points of the document without becoming bogged down with details.

I repeat, investors are very busy people and are not looking for details. So most of the time, they will read the executive summary first to figure out if it makes sense for them to go through the entire document. If the executive summary is not satisfactory, forget the business plan. They will never get past the first stage and may miss out on a very well-written document.

Just ensure that your executive summary is accurate and representative of your full document. It should not be misleading, but it should give readers the same impression as if they had read the entire report.

Include actual figures where possible.

I know I mentioned earlier that actually figures and numbers are not necessary and in fact play to your advantage. This is true, but you still need to have them in there. A business plan with too many supposed actual future figures is a death sentence to a project, but a business plan with little to no actual figures is even worse.

The actual figures are usually a benchmark from where the projections can build from and without them a lot of the projections will not be coherent. Actual figures give some validity to the potential profit of your proposed business idea or product and will give the investors some idea of what is realistic and what is not.

You must have an exit strategy.

In entrepreneurship an exit strategy is a way of terminating ownership of a company or the operation of some part of the company. Entrepreneurs and investors use exit strategies to reoccupy capital they have invested in a company and so this is very important.

Investors want to know that if in the even the projections for the project are wrong and continuation of the project would be detrimental with regards to the money invested that there is an easy strategy to either get their money back or direct the equity somewhere else where it can continue to develop. Make sure this exit strategy is clearly stated and is feasible. This is usually not too complicated but it is important to map out in detail.

Profit is not necessary, but growth is.

Remember that a business plan does not have to end with the company making a profit for it to be a good business plan. The objective is to show that in the future there will be a profit. Make sure to show projections for break-even points as well to give a realistic timeline for when the profit can be generated. But focus more on the growth trend and not the profit that may be generated. Investors want to see growth projections, not profit projections.

How to Offer Constructive Criticism

2008-09-09T11:04:00.000-07:00

Most people have heard the statement made that there is no such thing as constructive criticism.

Criticism in any manner, shape, or form, will demoralize and de-motivate any employee. It highlights things they are not doing right versus putting spotlight on the things they are doing. This all sounds like marshmallows and smores when documented on paper, but just how does one go about correcting someone if they are doing something that is affecting the growth or the results of a company or business?

Use the sandwich method

The sandwich method is a good way to bring up something negative to a staff member or employee. It involves stating something positive first, then bringing up the negative thing that needs to be brought to their attention, and then finishing up the conversation on a positive note or statement about their work once again. So if you MUST criticize, make sure to praise the things they have been doing well, briefly but thoroughly state what they need to improve and then finish up by stating your full confidence in their ability to continue being big performer.

Criticize the action, not the person

This is management 101. Most people have a low self-image because they were put in the responsibility of people who didn't understand how important it was not to criticize individual people. Athletes will continue to complain about coaches who yell at them for making mistakes and employees will continue to complain about bosses for the exact same reason.

If someone makes a mistake, talk about the mistake. The person isn't stupid for making the mistake. The use of the word stupid puts more emphasis on the state of the person versus the mistake that was made.

If a job was mismanaged, then state exactly that the job was mismanaged. This makes criticizing easier and the person is more willing to accept the criticism because it has nothing to do with who they are as a person and everything with the project that they know they can do better on. In their mind it is much easier to fix a project than fix themselves.

Do it in private

Criticism for the most part is not bad at all. Most people really just despise being criticized in public. At all costs you should avoid reprimanding anyone in public or in front of anyone except the both of you. They will respect the fact that you thought enough of their self-respect to not criticize them in public. This will in turn make them more open to criticism in the future knowing that there ego will always be protected.

Evaluate your intentions

This is important as it will remind you that the reason you want to stop this negative thing from happening again is for the good of the organization and so they can improve. If you do not feel positive about giving criticism then you probably shouldn't.

How to Lead Leaders

2008-09-09T11:02:00.000-07:00

Leadership and management have for a long time been misconstrued as being one and the same, but not anymore.

Today in the business world it is more effective to develop leaders from within rather than hiring an external professional to come in to do the dirty work. This is usually expensive and is not always assimilated quickly because different organizations have different cultures.

But regardless, high performers either from outside sources or within the organization are tough to lead. They know what they're doing and have a solid work ethic that is usually unmatched by most.

Leading such individuals takes a humbling of the competitive spirit in most entrepreneurs. Egos are usually the first things that have to be put in check if a healthy relationship is to be established. Let us take a look at some of the important things to do to effectively manage a leader in your organization.

Be the Example

This is rightfully the very first thing to shoot for to be effective in management of the high performing leader. Leaders will only follow leaders.

Most leaders are compared to lions and for good reason. A lion leading a herd of sheep will always defeat a sheep leading a herd of lions. So with that in mind, remember that if you have a ferocious performer in your organization they will be looking for an equal to follow and you better hope it is you.

They deserve that from you so make sure you're en example in all aspects that they are proficient. They will only really listen to you if they're sure you know what you're talking about. Remember, they want to get the job done just as much as you do.

Continue to develop yourself

This is tied in with the first point. Apart from being a good example you also have to make sure that you are on a personal growth program yourself which will keep you stretched.

This is not to imply that you must be perfect; this isn't possible. But you should always be striving for excellence in yourself. The leader in your organization will see that and acknowledge your effort and this will give you credibility in his eyes which is very important.

Be a partner, not their boss

This is usually the toughest part of leading a leader. The tendency is to fall back on your position in the organization as a reason to demand respect, credibility and submissiveness from everyone.

You must remember that if someone is a top performer in your business, they KNOW they are a top performer and will expect a little more respect and friendship from you than some of the other people.

Give them that respect as long as they have earned it and make sure they know you appreciate the extra leadership they bring to the table. Bounce ideas of them if your self-image can handle it and take their advice into consideration. After all there is a reason why they are a top performer. It takes a strong leader to not compete with an up and coming leader in his organization, so if you struggle with this welcome to the club.

Develop trust early

John C. Maxwell is quoted famously as saying "people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care".

Make sure to work on developing trust with this person early on. Let them feel you working to develop this trust; it will endear them to you and they will appreciate your effort. The tendency is to rest on your position as boss and wait for your employees to initiate. But a lot of respect is given to the leader who can step down from his throne and work on developing friendships with his people.

Trust comes from two sources: service to others, and words backed up by action. Do things that are not necessarily expected of you like remembering birthdays, noticing they're having a bad day and encouraging them, etc. And secondly if you say you will do something, do it. It takes a little more effort, but the return on the investment in these types of relationships is huge.

Empower by giving more responsibility

This is for you control freak, dominant type-A personalities. It is okay to not control everything that goes on in your organization, especially when you have a leader that you know is more than capable.

Resist the natural tendency to give unsolicited advice. This will only piss off your top performer even more. Rather, wait for them to come to you for advice as they will always act on advice they sought out more than advice that was forced on them.

Unsolicited advice is just as good as criticism and will create tension between the both of you over time. Give them more responsibility with little directions on how to get the jobs done. Let them know you trust their ability and watch them go beyond the call of duty to rise up to your expectations.

How to Handle Conflict and Confrontation

2008-09-09T11:00:00.000-07:00

Any interaction involving disagreement can be classified as a conflict. It is important to note that conflict itself is not bad but poorly handled conflict however is what is detrimental to an organization. Poorly handled conflict causes anxiety, tension and stress in the workplace, reduces morale and hinders productivity.

Confrontations are similar in that they could potentially involve a high degree of tension if care is not taken and morale and productivity can also be hindered.

Handling conflict and confrontation is not something that comes naturally to anyone. There are skills that you can use to help alleviate some of the problems if not remove all of the problems that come with conflict and confrontation.

Skills can be learned so you're in luck if this is something you currently struggle with. Here are some on confronting people, handling conflict and addressing concerns. As a leader remember that it is not a question of if you will have conflict in your organization but when, so take a look at these and start apply them right away.

Examine Your Intentions

In nearly all relational situations, it is much more productive to go into a confrontation keeping the other person's interest in mind. It will put you in the right frame of mind and will lower the temperature if there is any.

Try and go into a confrontation or conflict situation with the goal of making it a win for both parties. And if you attempt to ensure the other person wins first, then you know you have the more beneficial perspective. Remember that it is more important to get everyone back on track and unified than to exercise your authority or position.

The choice is always either win the battle and lose the war, or lose this battle for the sake of the organization. The point here is you don't have to be right all the time because you're a leader. You do have to make sure everyone else knows what the right thing to do is and it is your responsibility to enforce that the right thing is always done. Examine your intentions and you will always end up putting the big picture first.

Meet Together As Soon As Possible

Whenever conflict arises we are tempted to either avoid it or procrastinate in dealing with it. But the truth is that anytime you let conflicts go unchecked they only get worse. If people are left to start speculating about another person's motives or to figure out what might have really happened, they often think the worst. Putting off confrontation only causes the situation to fester.

Even worse is letting things build up to the point where there are so many things you need to unload on someone now that there is no way to do it without creating tension and animosity from them. It's never a good idea to save up a bunch of stuff and then give a person a history lesson during a confrontation.

Meet together right away, in private and face-to-face. Only confront someone by phone if it is absolutely impossible to do so otherwise but under no circumstances should you confront someone via e-mail. That shows a lack of respect on all levels.

Seek to Understand First

A significant hurdle to positive conflict resolution is having too many preconceived notions going into a confrontation. There's a saying that the person who gives an opinion before he understands is human, but a person who gives judgment before he understands is a fool.

Most employees would advocate that we have a lot more fools than human beings in management than management would like to believe. Once again it is important to remember the whole point of why you are confronting this person. You cannot reach an understanding if your focus is entirely on yourself.

on helping the person communicate their feelings on when, what and why the situation either happened or keeps occurring and then and only then can you make a move to share your thoughts on the matter. A lot of conflict resolution involves asking the right questions not having all the answers. Listen more and talk less and you'll find the confrontations will be much easier to deal with.

Clearly Outline the Issue

You can only speak on the main issue is after you have let the other person speak. Remember to use the sandwich method of positive, negative, and then positive. It is the most effective way to bring up a problem you are having with someone.

Most people eat a sandwich because of what is inside, but without the two slices of bread the sandwich wouldn't taste as good. This is the same with confrontations. The main issue is the negative thing you have to bring up to them, but you must start off on a positive note and finish on a positive note for it to go down well with the person. When it is your turn to speak make sure to first describe your perceptions.

Stay away from conclusions or statements about the person's motives. Say what you think you see and describe the problem you think it's causing. Next, tell how it makes you feel and be honest about this. And finally explain why this is important because many times people don't realize the importance of their actions.

Engage in this process with as limited negative emotion as possible. Be upbeat and positive and the person will feel like they just had a conversation with you, which is in reality what it should be.

Encourage a Response

Never confront others without letting them respond. If you care about people, you will want to listen. Sometimes simply having the discussion helps you to realize that your perceptions were wrong. I know that's happened to me. It's very humbling when I realize I am the problem.

Other times you discover that you need to take extenuating circumstances into account. Encouraging a response helps you better understand the problem. It also gives the other person a chance to process the issue emotionally.

Most of the time when you confront people they will have an emotional reaction. They may be shocked or get angry or feel guilty. They may want to share those feelings with you or they may not. But no matter what you should encourage them to give you a genuine response because if they don't have their say they won't be able to move toward a resolution.

Agree to an Action Plan

Most people hate confrontation, but they love resolution. And the only way to achieve resolution is to take positive action. By developing and agreeing to an action plan you place the focus on the future and not on the problems of the past.

This is very important. If the person wants to change he will gravitate toward the possibility of making things better. If your confrontation is formal, such as in a work setting, then put the action plan in writing. Then you can always go back to that document if resolution doesn't go as planned.

Remember that successful confrontation usually changes both people involved, not just one. A good measure of success of resolving conflict is the ongoing growth of the relationship.

Any time you truly do resolve conflict in a relationship, it doesn't hurt the relationship; it strengthens it. Just focus on the other person and have a genuine interest in them improving as a person and as an employee and you will start embracing conflict as a means to bettering your organization.

How to Get Repeat Sales

2008-09-09T10:58:00.000-07:00

The rainmaker in the old days was the person known for being able to summon rain at will to water the farmland centuries ago in the Native American culture.

Most people in sales know what it means to be the "rainmaker" in an organization. It is a prestigious title or nickname given to the person who consistently brings in the most sales in a company.

A closer look at rainmakers though will reveal that bringing in sales and keeping sales are two totally different things and the latter is much more difficult.

An entrepreneur will not be successful if they have a revolving door business. In this scenario, they have to bring in the same amount of sales every month and more just to stay ahead because they have no referrals from clients and fail to keep their existing clients on board.

Fortunately, the ability to not only bring in revenue from clients and maintain those revenue streams through repeat sales is a skill that can be learned.

Let's take a look at three key tips on getting and keeping customers.

Build relationships before and after the sale

Business is all about relationships. Selling has a lot to do with not just understanding your product but more importantly understanding the needs of your prospective clients. It is important that you identify what it is they are looking for and if they have a need you can fill and do the best you can to fill that need if possible with your product.

After the sale, however, make sure to make follow-up phone calls, asking them how they are benefitting from their purchase and if there is anything you can do to further help them. Make them feel like they are your only customer and they will always come back to you. In other words, create an environment that keeps them wanting your business.

Ask for referrals

The best and least expensive form of advertising is customer referrals. People will buy something more because they know someone personally that uses the product and less because of an advertisement or good sales presentation.

Do not underestimate the importance of asking for this even after the close of the sale. It is imperative, however, to ask for referrals even if you were unsuccessful in selling your product but do so with tact and be respectful of the wishes of the client.

Sometimes this technique can even have unanticipated results if the prospect that did not buy refers you a few names and numbers, and these people you eventually meet happen to get excited about your business. As a result the initial prospective client who did not want to buy the product, may possibly reconsider trying it out after hearing the excitement of their friends.

Offer subscriptions or replenishment services

If this is not yet a part of your business plan, make sure to include it right away.

Customers are lazy by nature and anything that can keep your business flowing through their household or organization is your responsibility. Offer a wide variety of subscriptions and replenishment systems to ensure that they use your product consistently and frequently so that it eventually becomes a part of their lifestyle. Once you are part of a customer's routine, you will never lose their business.

Be unique

Consider this example. Mp3 players have revolutionized the way people interact with music today. One of the more famous brands of mp3 players is the popular iPod. It is interesting to note however that the iPod is not the most expensive product in its category, doesn't have the most options and was not the first such product to be released.

The reason for its success is the simplicity of using the product. It is the easiest of the Mp3 players to manipulate. So the point here is this: have some exclusive items in your line of products. Develop a product that your customers cannot get anywhere else and this will ensure a continued long-lasting business for you.

So the bottom line is that repeat sales are more than just revenue. They represent the only real residual income for the organization. Without repeat sales it is tough to set realistic future goal. Use these tips to keep your organization bringing in more revenue and keeping old revenue as well.

How to Develop Charisma

2008-09-09T10:53:00.000-07:00

Almost all leaders have a few generic characteristics. We all know them when we see them but are unaware of what it is about certain people that makes others want to be around them. Fortunately we are all born the same: ugly and crying. No one is born with a stamp on their head that says "charisma". Charisma is developed, it is learned, and yes it can be taught.

There are a bunch of characteristics of charismatic people and I will touch on some of the more noticeable characteristics as well as some ways to develop some of these traits for yourself if you are in the pursuit of influence. Remember though that charisma has a lot to do with personality, and contrary to popular belief you can change your personality if you choose to. So here are some things you can do to start developing that elusive charismatic personality.

Smile

Most people who have a sunny disposition and are always smiling always seem to attract people. A smile says "I'm happy", "I'm friendly", and more importantly "I'm confident".

The next time you see someone just flash them a big smile showing them your bright sparking teeth and watch their response. You'll be amazed at the smile you get instantly returned to you.

This is a reflex response in people. They can't help but respond to you in kind when you smile. A smile brightens up their day and it also brightens up yours. Remember it takes many more muscles to frown than it does to smile so start smiling today and start developing that endearing personality.

Listen more than you talk

This is usually the toughest skill to develop. Most people are not good listeners and for good reason. We act on rational self-interest and are by nature very self-centered. So it is no wonder that the few people who are able to master the skill of listening to others talk are always liked more by everyone.

Listening to someone shows you respect what they are saying and also shows that you think they have something worth listening to. This makes them feel better about themselves and in return they identify that feeling with you from then on.

Show genuine interest in other people

People are all primarily interested in talking about one thing: themselves. Selfish yes, but if you can remember this in your daily interactions with people you will be better off for it. Charisma has everything to do with asking the right questions and not having all the right answers.

Most people spend most of their time around people simply trying to impress them. Your goal should be to make everyone around you feel like they are your superior by asking questions and then listening. Learn good questions to ask people that endear them to you. Examples of such questions include: "what's important to you", "who has had the most influence in your life and why", "what do you think about …", etc.

Maintain eye contact

This is probably the most important one. The eyes are the window to the soul is a famous saying, so it is no wonder that a person who can maintain eye contact with you will leave a lasting impression.

Maintaining steady eye contact is a sign of a healthy self-image. A person who can look you directly in the eye and continue conversation has nothing to hide and is offering you nothing adulterated. If this is hard for you, start practicing maintaining eye contact with your friends first.

You can later move to making and maintaining eye contact with people you do not know very well that you may meet at networking events or engagements where that are a lot of people. No matter what, never break eye contact. It is the simplest way to communicate confidence.

Learn to make people laugh

Some people are naturally funny, and for some of you very serious types this might be the biggest challenge you will ever face. If you can develop the skill of making people laugh you will be more than half way to developing charisma.

Laughter relaxes people, and when people are relaxed they are happier. Anyone who can make relieve some of their stress by making them laugh will always leave a lasting impression. So start a journal of jokes, practice them and fit them into your own personality and try them out. You might sound silly at first but soon you will be known for being able to just crack people up at will.

How Personal Growth Fuels Business Growth

2008-09-09T10:51:00.000-07:00

Profit is the name of the game when it comes to business. Most business plans focus on the break-even point of the business which is the point when the cost to produce the products or services is equal to the revenue generated. This is the benchmark for most start-up businesses and an indicator that profit is just around the corner. Or is it?

Most veterans in business understand that an organization only grows as fast as the leader spear-heading its growth.

Even if you may be seeing a profit in a new start-up, remember this: fast growth and permanent growth are two different things. If you have fast growth, that is awesome. But fast growth is not an indicator and definitely not a predictor for permanent growth.

Personal growth of the leader is the only real indicator for where the organization is going. Profit is actually a lagging indicator and is a result of the personal growth the leader experienced months before.

Why is personal growth so important and just how is it correlated to business growth and profit?

Duplication

A person who is driven to succeed will attract other people driven to succeed. A person who is ambitious will attract other people who are ambitious.

Get the point? You attract who you are, not what you're looking for.

John C. Maxwell, a guru on leadership, advocates that if you want a certain type of person in your company you must first ask yourself if you possess any of the attributes you are looking for. If you don't, then forget it. It won't happen until you possess those qualities.

Most people always talk to the CEO of a company and deduce right then and there whether or not they would want to work for that company. Why? Because the company is usually a reflection of the leader.

Your employees will do half of what you do

In business, your people will always do half of what you do right and double what you do wrong.

This can be dangerous but also a blessing in disguise if you're up for the challenge. If you are a hard worker, chances are your employees will mostly be average workers. If you usually work half days and your employees see you doing that, they will come to work to surf the web and get nothing accomplished.

As a leader you live in a glass house with the lights on. Everyone is always watching you regardless of if you want to be watched or not. Raise your expectations for excellence and this will permeate through the whole organization.

People follow growth

Most people want to be part of a winning team. A winning team is a growing team and a growing team has a growing leader. If you stop growing, the people in your organization will stop growing and the business itself will stop growing.

Your organization will only grow as fast as the people running it so make sure to always be setting the example.

External Recruiting

2008-09-08T14:11:00.000-07:00

External recruitment makes it possible to draw upon a wider range of talent, and provides the opportunity to bring new experience and ideas in to the business.

Most organizations that are looking for an injection of new ideas, new leadership and a new culture use external recruiting methods.

Startups initially need someone who has some experience to come in and show them exactly what they need to do to improve as a business, so this is the number one choice for most entrepreneurs looking to hire expertise.

Like all recruiting methods, this one also has its pros and cons. It is important to note however that external recruiting is not better than internal recruiting but can be more effective based on a number of different reasons. Let's first take a look at some of the key advantages of external recruiting.

Increased innovation and ideas

The injection of a new person into an already existing organization will bring a surge of new ideas and a new of thinking. This is vital for a company that has not been experiencing recent growth and is looking for a catalyst. Most outsiders are brought in usually from an organization that is very successful and so the ideas that they bring are meant to bolster the company into a new era of growth. For new startups the same intention applies.

More applicants

The most obvious advantage of external recruitment is the availability of a greater pool of applicants. Thus, only those applicants who have the exact qualifications will apply and be selected. This has consequences for the organization's training budget. Whereas external recruits will require orientation upon being hired, they will not require any extra training assuming they were selected for their capabilities.

Less threatening to hierarchy

With internal promotion there is always the fear that already existing employees will not agree with some of the promotions taking place as they know the people being promoted well and can evaluate for themselves whether or not they are worthy of the position. In the case of external recruiting however, the injection of an outside party into the organization is usually met with little resistance because no one feels unfairly treated.

Here are some of the disadvantages of external recruiting. This form of recruiting is more beneficial to companies looking for change and maybe still in their inception phase. So these disadvantages will be found mostly in larger companies that have been well-established for a number of years.

Expensive

Recruiting a professional for their expertise is usually expensive and the bargaining power is always in their favor. Because they are meant to come in and produce results right away they usually require a high level of compensation for their commitment to turning the company around since it will involve a lot of pressure. Promotion from within tends to be much cheaper as there is no external equity to worry about.

Slower assimilation period

Adjusting to a new corporate culture as well as new environment, people, restaurants, etc, all play a major role in how quickly an external party can influence an organization to change. They must first get settled into the new environment they find themselves in and this could range from months to years depending on the nature of the work and location of the business. This time frame is usually very unpredictable.

Less reliable data

Resumes are not reliable with regards to some of the more important intangible assets like leadership and interpersonal skills. So most times HR managers do not know what they are getting until the person has been assimilated into the company and by that time it is too late. It is much harder to get data on all these things from an outside party and this in turn further complicates the process.

Hinders upward movement of personnel

If an organization spends a huge amount of money to bring in an external party, you better believe they are going to milk them for every last penny they spent. As a result of this, potential for upward advancement is almost non-existent. This has the tendency to reduce overall morale over the long haul because the present employees do not feel they have a fair chance at getting promoted.

Entrepreneurship or Job Security?

2008-09-08T14:09:00.000-07:00

Today, kids are going to school, working hard, getting good grades, and securing great jobs coming out of college, but the problem is they happen to be a little bit more ambitious than their parents.

And, they should be. Given the recent financial times, choosing entrepreneurship over job security may actually pay your bills on time.

Millennials, the generation that watches MTV's "Cribs" and "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," have no desire to work for someone else, and definitely not forever.

Most of the wealth they see on TV are from people who are rewarded for their own personal accomplishments, be it in music or athletics. Needless to say, working in a cubicle for 30 to 40 years doesn't measure up.

A quick glance at the economy points toward the fact that the challenge today is not even getting a job, it's keeping the job after you get it. In an attempt to cut costs and get out of the red, companies are restructuring, downsizing and reducing their biggest expenses: employees.

So, in today's world, the question is not "if" you will be laid off in the future, but "when."

Staying with one company for your entire career is not realistic anymore and certainly not feasible. The economy continues to change so rapidly that a job needed today may be obsolete in the next five years. Job security is an oxymoron, kind of like jumbo shrimp, death benefits etcetera. The problem today is that people are still trying to force the conventional job to give them a lifestyle it is not designed to give.

Why is entrepreneurship fast-becoming the new choice for a career? Robert Kiyosaki, a best-selling author of the book Cash Flow Quadrant and many other books on business and entrepreneurship, advocates that "people are starting to realize that just because 98 percent of the people happen to work a job as their primary source for income does not make it the most effective way for making money". In laymen's terms, just because a million people are doing something does not make it the right thing to do.

If you want to be successful just observe the masses and do the opposite. The general opinion of most employees is that going into business for oneself is very risky. The truth is NOT going into business for yourself is risky.

It makes more sense to be in control of your own income stream rather than relying on the good favor of your boss and the economy for a potential 3% raise. Raises barely help employees to keep up with the growing gas prices.

However I must emphasize that waking up and remembering that you are your own boss is more appealing not because of the income generated. There really are no short-term financial rewards for going into business on your own. In fact, most of the financial benefits are long-term which is why very few people choose to go out on their own and away from the leaky umbrella of the company they work for.

The biggest benefit of going into business is that you have control. Waking up in the morning and knowing what is going on rather than waiting to find out whether or not you are getting laid off today is much more appealing.

Apart from the peace of mind, most people would work much harder for themselves than they would for anyone else.

Effective Presentations

2008-09-08T12:06:00.000-07:00

What are some aspects of a good presentation? What differentiates an average sales pitch to a contract-maker? In this article, we highlight some tips on giving effective presentations and essentially closing the deal.

A common myth often heard among inexperienced sales people is that "if a product is good enough it will sell itself."

This statement could not be any further from the truth because products don't sell products. People sell products.

No matter how good a product may be, there still needs to be a strategy to inform customers on the benefits, pros, cons and the ways in which the product differs from its competitors. As a business owner and entrepreneur, if you have the capital to do so a marketing strategy involving advertising is always effective. However if yourbusiness or company is still in its nascent stage, you might be forced to break out a board and easel, grab some magic markers and give presentations for potential customers.

It is a fact that public speaking and presentation skills are terrifying to most people but in sales this is a prerequisite. So if you're an entrepreneur and find that you break out in hives or feel like puking your lunch before a presentation, it is time to get over this fear once and for all. You will find that the more you give presentations the easier they become and the better you get at giving them.

Here are some quick tips on giving effective sales presenations.

Prepare and know your material

It is vital that you know what you will talk about, focus on, and communicate to your audience.

It doesn't matter if your audience comprises two people or twenty. If you don't sound like you know what you're saying, they will quickly lose interest and grow frustrated with your lack of seriousness about your own product. They will not take you seriously if you do not take yourself seriously.

Take some time to sharpen your axe before looking for a tree to cut. In other words, always be prepared with your material and sales pitch memorized and perfected. As the saying goes, "If you stay ready, you don't have to get ready". Opportunities are always available. Most people are just not prepared for them and miss them as they go by. Don't miss the chance to bag the big fish because your bait isn't enticing enough.

Speak with conviction and enthusiasm

Enthusiasm about your product will be contagious. Enthusiasm is the simplest way to communicate passion.

People are attracted to passionate people and will buy into you first before they buy into the product you are selling. If you are not the type to speak with boldness and excitement, just act like you are and eventually it will become part of your personality. Most people if given the option to listen to a boring lecture by a professor or listen to a dynamic speaker on any topic would obviously choose the latter even though the professor is more valuable in the knowledge he or she can impart to them. It doesn't so much what the message is as long as the messenger is convicted about his or her beliefs.

Interact with the audience

Be sure to continually through the presentation make eye contact with everyone in the room and ask for participation when possible. This will make the prospective clients feel like they are having a conversation and not just sitting in on a boring meeting. They do enough of that already during the week at work or at other engagements.

Figure out ways to relax them and let them know the presentation will be informative but also a lot of fun. Relate the product to their everyday lives and relate to some of the stuff and challenges they have to go through and experience because they don't have the product. This will create the value they are looking for and bring your presentation full circle.

Be straightforward

Nothing irritates people more than a salesman who is not straightforward about what he is looking for. Do not sugar-coat the price and definitely be honest about the value of the product.

Exaggeration of any type is not necessary and will only give the potential customer the impression that the product is not as good as you make it out to be. Less is always more. Let them ask you questions so you can slowly help them understand why your product is the best on the market.

Relax

This is very important and probably the toughest thing to do for people who are not proficient in the skill of presenting. People will generally reflect the posture and attitude of the person they are communicating with. If you are relaxed, your audience will be relaxed. If you appear uncomfortable, rushed, hurried, or unsure of what you're doing or saying your audience will become very uncomfortable and will stop listening.

Take a deep breath before proceeding and remind yourself that they are not there to try and make you feel stupid; you'll do more of that yourself. They are just there to listen to what you have to say. They have never heard the presentation before and as such will not know if you mess up or not. Relax and have fun and it should be a breeze.

Be yourself

People can smell a phony. Do not pretend to be anything or anyone but yourself.

Your audience will be most uncomfortable if they can tell you are putting on an act. No one really wants to be impressed. They just want to know if they like you before they even consider your product. Put your best foot forward but make sure it is your own foot. If you're not funny, don't try to be funny. Be genuine and let them know your honest opinion about the product.

If you are the owner of the product or business, then you really should have nothing but enthusiasm to share, and this is always a winning formula in sales.

Dressing for Success

2008-09-08T12:05:00.000-07:00

The famous saying in business and networking is "You only get one chance to make a first impression".

In business, this is not just a mere quote, this is a fact.

Most people size up someone they meet for the first time in the first five seconds of meeting them. Certain things are unconsciously observed within those first five seconds that can either break or make that connection a good one.

Here are some of the most important things to be sure you have in order when meeting a business prospect, giving a business presentation, attending a conference, attending an interview or any other type of business engagement that involves meeting people.

Proper Business Dress

The safest bet for men is always a suit. Style doesn't matter too much, but the suit should be well fitted with the appropriate lengths for both the pants and the suit jacket. Dark colors like Black, Navy Blue and Smoke Grey are preferable over any other colors with a white shirt as a background. White is universal and goes well with any suits and any ties. The back of the pants should rest comfortably at the base of the shoe but not touching the ground with the front of the pants resting comfortably on the front of the show with little folding.

The arms of suit jackets should not pass the wrist and preferably should be at least three-eighths of an inch from the wrist to allow the shirt sleeves to show up from under the suit jacket which gives a very professional look.

Ties should command respect like solid red, pink, something that stands out noticeably. Make sure that the tie does not pass over the belt buckle of the pants but isn't too short either.

For women, dress suits are very professional and are really a step up from pant suits. Pant suits should be used for semi-formal wear. And remember to always wear pantyhose at all times. For dress suits, it is important that the skirt not be too high and the top of the shirt not be too low. If the budget is limited for both men and women, purchase two good suits and alternate the shirts in the case of the women and the ties in the case of the men.

Hair

For men, less is always better. Hair should not be distracting. Long hair does now go well in business. It might be popular in the younger generation but in business is just looks silly. How many CEOs do you know with long hair?

Make sure that if you use hair gels or pomades that it is used in moderate amounts. Facial hair is fine but it is safer to stay clean shaven with no sideburns. Most people feel a man with a beard or a moustache has something to hide. Sounds silly, but why let a little facial hair keep you from establishing credibility with a prospect who shares that superstitious view.

For women, hair should be neat no matter what the style is. Once again, any hairstyle that is too distracting should be discouraged.

Nails

Nails are one of the first things people notice. Make sure that fingernails are cleaned and manicured. Biting of the nails leaves the fingernails looking very unkempt. If you are in the habit of biting your nails, stop!

Women should be careful not to wear their nails too long. This is fashionable outside the business world but could be a turn off or distraction in a business setting. You probably couldn't give a proper handshake with fingernails the size of French fries anyway.

Jewelry

All visible piercings in men should be removed. Once again, this may be popular in the younger generation but it sends a different message in the business world. Ear piercings, lip piercings, nose piercings, any type of piercings are not to be worn. Watches with chain straps are fine but should be properly fitted around the wrist. Leather straps work perfectly as well.

Women can wear ear rings but should stay on the conservative side. Pearls are a popular choice for dress suits in women but other types of necklaces are fine. The word here is conservative. Less is always better.

Teeth

Dental is expensive, but can go a long way to ensuring you make a good first impression

A smile always attracts people, but a good-looking smile is always a winner. If you have any gaps or deformities in your teeth see if you can get braces quickly to close the gaps and give you a dashing smile. Whitening your teeth is also a good investment. This gives your smile a sparkle.

When you have good teeth, you want to smile and you want to meet new people. It gives added confidence and your prospects will feel that.

Developing Leaders Around You

2008-09-08T12:03:00.000-07:00

The business environment has never before needed leadership like it does now, that is for certain. But leadership has become much more than just a position.

Gone are the days of the military forms of leading where power and authority simply came from the top and reduced as you went down the ranks.

Developing leaders in your organization is one of the most important things one can do in business. As an entrepreneur you must remember that you will only be as effective as the people you surround yourself with, and most of the time these people work for you. If your people are not growing most of the time it is because of one of two things: either you are not personally growing, or you are failing to help your people develop the skills necessary for them to move on to the next level.

John Maxwell, an American author, motivational speaker and leadership expert, runs an organization called EQUIP. This stands for encouraging qualities undeveloped in people. The challenge for most leaders according to John Maxwell is that they are very task-oriented and not very people-oriented.

It is important to find a balance because initially you will need to be task-oriented to get your business up and running, but after its inception you must now learn to be more focused on the people in your organization. If they don't grow, the organization will stagnate and eventually start to grow backwards.

So what are some ways leaders can effectively develop those people around them while still maintaining a focus on fulfilling all the task-oriented requirements of the organization? Here are some quick tips.

Tip 1: Continue to develop yourself

People will naturally follow a leader who is stronger than themselves.

Make sure that you are on a personal growth program which may consist of reading self-help books and listening to motivational and self-help tapes and CDs. This will keep you enthusiastic and excited about your business as well as motivate your organization to stretch itself.

John Maxwell is quoted as saying that "Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them."

Tip 2: Get a mentor

There are two very crucial ways that people learn in life: one is their own mistakes, the second way is through a mentor.

Every successful person has a mentor and in business this is vital to your success.

Having a mentor will put you in a follower's position from time to time and will give you a relationship to emulate with your organization.

Chances are your mentor in business will have some experience in developing people too. In fact, if he's been your mentor, he probably helped you develop into the person you are now.

Tip 3: Invest your time wisely

A leader cannot effectively build meaningful relationships with everyone in an organization. This is not possible, especially if you have moved from a small startup to a much bigger team of employees.

To remain effective you must know which people to focus on developing, so there are other people helping you duplicate your thought-process on how things should be done to the rest of the organization.

The Pareto principle (also known as the 80-20 rule) states that, for many events, 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. It is a commonly used principle in business, as 80% of your productivity will come from 20% of the people. It is these 20% of the people you need to be spending time with, as they will produce 80% of the results.

By leveraging your time this way you can effectively teach them to do the same thing and what you will have is leaders developing leaders developing leaders.

Tip 4: Develop a genuine interest in other people

People skills are something most people think they have already but in reality you can never stop improving your ability to communicate and relate to other people.

People will go to great lengths to perform or rise up to a standard for someone they know cares about them. John Maxwell advocates that "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care".

Spend some time getting to know the people in your organization. Connect with them on their level. Find out some of their goals and dreams and you may find that you can line up the goals of your organization with theirs. This is a winning combination that is unmatched.

A good book to read is by Dale Carnegie, titled "How to Win Friends and Influence People". And remember, people skills are not a manipulative tool and the people you try to do this with will see through what you are doing.

Real people experts don't use people skills, they have people skills. There's a big difference.

Tip 5: Be the standard

The best form of advice is being the right example.

If your people see that you are someone with integrity, the most hardworking person in the entire organization, always positive and with a great attitude, they will inevitably be drawn to you and will want to emulate what you are doing.

Set the standard not by saying what the standard is, but by being it.

There's a famous saying which states that "what you do speaks so loudly that I can't hear what you're saying". This is good and bad news. If you do nothing but try to micromanage your people they will listen to what you say, watch what you do, and then do half of what you do.

As a leader your people will always do half of what you do right and double what you do wrong. Remember that when you are asking them to go above and beyond the call of duty.

Ask yourself the question whether you would want someone exactly like you in your organization. If the answer is no then you've got some work to do.

Characteristics of Successful Salesmen

2008-09-08T12:01:00.000-07:00

Sales people are some of the most mentally tough, self-motivated people you can find in the business world. The prerequisite for getting involved with sales usually consists of criteria like personable, driven, ambitious, hardworking, self-motivated, resourceful, etc. People skills are almost the bare essential with other charismatic traits as an added bonus.

Those are some of the traits you need just to get started. But what exactly do you need to be very successful in the industry? If you are already in Sales, watch the very successful sales agents around you and you'll notice they possess the following qualities.

Enthusiasm

When it comes to sales, enthusiasm is the most critical personality trait you can work on incorporating into who you are as a person. Being genuinely enthusiastic about your company and products is extremely important.

In addition your desire to serve and help your customers on solving their problems will make all the difference between you and your competition. Norman Vincent Peale said, "If you have zest and enthusiasm you attract zest and enthusiasm. Life does give back in kind." Enthusiasm is contagious and your clients will feel it from you and respond by enthusiastically signing the dotted line.

Selling is and always will be a conveyance of feeling. If you can get the prospect to feel the same way about your product as you do, they'll buy it. Greater passion and enthusiasm will lead to greater sales, it's that simple. You express your passion and enthusiasm by the intensity of your voice, your body language, and your facial expressions.

This is important because 95 percent of the purchase decisions made by people are emotional not logical. Facts are important but communicate them with some passion and enthusiasm and watch your clients and prospects move up on their seats, lean forward, and eventually tell you to stop talking because they want all of what you're selling.

They Never Take the First NO

The old saying in sales is that "the real selling starts with the first no". This is not to say that you are not to listen to your prospect, but you must be able to read what they are saying no to.

The most successful sales people are very good at hearing a no response and asking a follow-up question right afterwards. They learn to accept objections as a challenge which when handled correctly will benefit both you and your prospect. This is critical: if you fear objections, you will always fumble your response. Most prospects that buy usually have 50 percent more objections than people who don't so you're losing out on a huge market if you are getting cold feet.

There are only a few reasons why prospects will have an objection to purchasing your product. Some common ones are they dislike decision making, prefer old habits, are reluctant to give up something old for something new, or even a perceived threat to their self-image. But always be on the lookout for the real reason.

Experienced salesmen are adept at getting past that first no to find the real reason why the prospect does not want to buy. Once you know what their concern is then solving it is easy and getting them to buy is a piece of cake.

They Overcome Rejection Very Quickly

Successful salesmen have mastered the art of overcoming rejection very quickly. What I mean by that is not making a sale or someone telling them that they do not value their product does not diminish how they feel about it.

For a lot of sales people, their biggest challenge is that when they get a NO, the actual value of their product doesn't diminish but it does in their minds. And they almost feel the next prospect they sit down with is not getting a good product because someone else told them they didn't like it. This is as a result of a low self-image and can only be improved through repetition.

Successful Sales people understand that a no to a product or service simply means that: NO. The value of the product still stands, and as long as they keep asking more people, they will get the answers they want.

They Have High Expectations

Successful salesmen understand that their expectations about how a meeting will go are more important than the process involved. Your expectations define your reality. What you expect is what you get. It's simple, powerful, and profound all at the same time.

The expectations that you present to the world about yourself, and the people around you, will usually manifest. Just the way our exceptions of others influences how we deal with them, they also influence how other people respond to us. As a sales person it is vital that you go into every meeting expecting every prospect to buy multiple units of your product.

In fact, you should be bewildered when your prospect says no. Having that expectation will do two key things. One, it will control your attitude during the meeting. And two, it will influence your prospects perception of what you have. If you can't believe they don't see the value in what you have, chances are they will start to not understand why they don't either. Expect the most positive outcome from every meeting, appointment, phone call, and sales pitch and you will be amazed. People tend to rise to your expectations; this includes prospects.

Benefits Versus Features

2008-09-08T11:59:00.000-07:00

Most people in the business world are aware that sales is not the easiest thing to do but that it is perhaps the most essential of all the business functions.

Quite frankly, without sales a business cannot sustain itself. Understanding how to make a sale quickly and efficiently is both a skill and an art. It can be learned but it also requires a good amount of people intuition and people skills.

The first thing to understand about sales is that people are primarily concerned with one person: themselves. They are as a result of this driven by the benefits of a product and not so much the features.

Most would-be sellers do not realize how important the knowledge of these two aspects of a product is. As a result, they always fail miserably when making a sale.

Here's a tip that you should never forget: the customer always knows what they want, so it's your goal to figure that out by baiting them with the various benefits.

The popular sales quote is that "Features are the skins of benefits". Before you start selling, master the art of peeling each layer of a feature one at a time and understanding its benefits. Doing so will allow you to get to the core of what your customer are really looking for.

Remember, benefits help customers make decisions quickly, so get right to the benefits of the product as soon as possible.

So why does focusing on benefits always work more than focusing on features? Here are a couple of reasons.

First and foremost, benefits are more personal. Most people when looking for a specific product have a reason for looking for it. There is a benefit they are seeking out and hope to find it by using that product. When selling your product it is important to talk about the benefits to the customer first and foremost and then later talk about the features which produce those benefits and not the other way around.

Most people will shut off quickly when they find that you are circuitous in your description of your product and not directly relating it to them and what they're looking for. Remember once again to ask questions as this will help you understand the need that the customer wants filled.

Another important thing to consider is that every product has features. There isn't a product on the market that doesn't have specific features that come with it. The problem here is that customers are inherently lazy when making purchases, and they are not skilled in translating features into benefits. They want the dirty work already done for them.

Analyzing the features of every single product they see advertised to come up with the potential benefits takes too much work and they will simply choose not to do it if given the choice. You need to explain the benefits. Since your competitors may be doing the same thing, focus most on the benefits that are unique to your offering and you'll have more success.

The bottomline? Benefits focus on the customer, features focus on the product.

Customers only care about themselves and what the product can do for them, period.

If you can shift the focus of your sales team or presentations from a product orientation to a customer orientation, you should seen an increase in success in this area.

Attributes of Entrepreneurs

2008-09-08T11:58:00.000-07:00

Robert Kiyosaki is quoted as saying "a job takes skill but business and entrepreneurship takes a mindset, mental toughness and emotional intelligence".

Here's the challenge: those three things are not taught in colleges.

Most colleges train students to become employees.

Even great MBA programs which give the impression that their students graduate into entrepreneurship continue to produce more wage earners.

What does it takes to develop a business-owner mindset? John Maxwell, author of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, says "To be successful, you must emulate the way successful people think."

Some successful entrepreneurs and business owners who are now self-made millionaires include Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Devos, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Jeffrey Bezos. None of the people had any specialized degrees and half of them didn't even finish college.

According to Donald Trump, there are three things that will not help you solve your financial challenges: hard work, more education or a different job.

Just think for a second about all the people you know who are chasing those three things. How are they doing financially? Do they have pillow cases of money just stored away in their garage from all the money they've saved up? Or are they in the same position they were five years ago; working really hard with nothing to really show for it.

There are a couple of key traits of successful business owners and entrepreneurs to pay attention to. For one, they are long-term thinkers.

This is where the emotional intelligence (EQ) becomes very important. This is the ability to maintain a consistent optimistic attitude regardless of the outcome of your business especially during its early stages. If you don't believe in the longevity of your business, why should anyone else.

They are also willing to educate themselves. The famous saying is that you make a living from 9 to 5, but a life is made from 5 to 9. Start reading books, attending seminars, listening to audio tapes from successful people who succeeded in starting up their own company. This will help you go through some of the tougher times in developing your business as you will find you aren't the first one experience the challenges you are having.

The most important attribute of successful entrepreneurs is that they learn to embrace failure as a partner. This is tough for most people making the switch from being an employee to going out on their own because we are trained throughout school that you get penalized for mistakes. In reality, this is exactly the only way to be successful in business.

You essentially must fail your way to success. John Maxwell in his book Failing Forward states that "Many failures are merely mistakes and everyone makes mistakes. Those who achieve success are those who persevere after mistakes."

For the veteran business owners, consistency of habit is the name of the game. John Maxwell encourages veterans to "stay in the habit of doing the things that work". Also important is enjoying the temporary setbacks and learning from them while continuing to maintain the enthusiasm you had early in the inception of your business.

Growth is always three steps forward and two steps back, so staying in the learning mode will keep you reflecting on what you should be learning and not worrying on what the challenge is.

Staying in the learning mode is paramount as it is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows. Do not get intoxicated with your own success as it may be fleeting the second you get complacent.

Something that is critical to all successful entrepreneurs is they never stop reading books to develop their mental toughness. Leaders are readers, period.

Activities to Keep Your Sales Numbers Growing

2008-09-08T11:55:00.000-07:00

The key to selling is having the opportunity to actually sell. If you are in sales the one thing you must master in order to be successful is keeping a steady list of appointments booked into your calendar.

Keep your calendar booked

The first thing to understand about developing the ability to book your calendar on a week to week basis is that it is a skill. It doesn't take talent to book your calendar every week but it does take time and effort to hone the necessary skills.

Sales numbers will inevitably start to drop if you don't have appointment numbers that are consistently growing.

Just based on the law of averages, every sales person knows that you will get more people saying no to the purchase of your product than saying yes any given week. So in order to be efficient with your time you have to make sure your calendar always has a plethora of appointments.

Initially you will find that you are just sitting down with prospects that show a little interest in what you're selling but with time the quality of your prospect list will improve and so will your success ratio as well. Remember this important tip: if you have five appointments booked this week for example, it is because of the work you did last week, not this week.

To book your calendar in advance you must do the work in advance. This is the fastest way to gain momentum and boost your sales volume month to month.

Have a script and go over it daily

This is very vital when making phone calls to book appointments as well as when you eventually sit down with your prospect. In the world of Sales there are two main reasons why prospective clients will not buy: one if you, the other is them.

The goal is to absolutely eliminate any mistakes from your end so at least you know you did everything you could to make the sale. Have a script that is pretty generic and can be used to call anyone with reference to your product. Go over this over and over until it becomes second nature that you can eventually say it with your own personality and style.

Scripts keep you guided and help keep the phone conversation flowing. Most people are busy and if you call them and start stuttering or fluttering with nervousness they will grow impatient and hang-up the phone. Make sure to include in your script a plan of action if they say no to either the purchase of your product or even to sitting down for an appointment.

Prospects can only give a variety of answers and usually ask the same questions. Master how to respond to the questions on the fly so you do not get flustered and come across as not being confident in your product. You have to sell your confidence too, and if you have a script and memorize it you will appear very confident. The prospect wants to know you've done this before so if you haven't mastered your script get to it!

Personalize your calls

The script is important, very important, but make sure to remember that you are not acting here for a movie. The goal of the script is to give you a professional guided blueprint for how your phone calls, appointments, and meetings should flow. But the ultimate goal is to connect enough with your prospect so they eventually want to purchase your product. This will only happen if you find out what it is they are looking for and try and relate to where they are.

A lot of times prospects want you to have done your research so they don't have to. Study their industry before giving them a call so they know you put some time into trying to help them fill a need they have. They will greatly appreciate this. Also make sure to let them know if you have helped other people or companies in a similar situation they find themselves currently in. People like to know that you have a proven success record with a competitor or even a non-competitor of theirs.

The bottom line: relate, connect, pull and then close the sale. Prospects don't want to be sold a product from a sales person. They want to buy a product from a friend.

Ask for referrals

This is the single-most dropped ball by so many sales people. It is staggering how much more a sales person could bring in monthly sales in whatever industry if they just form the habit of turning the answer no into a yes by asking for referrals.

The challenge in asking referrals is this: people don't ask! The assumption is that most people would be offended if asked for a referral in the light that they are not going ahead with purchasing the product. In reality they really don't care. They can either say two things: yes, or no.

If they say yes that still leaves the door open for you to come back to this prospect at a later time and is a clear indicator that the prospect recognizes the value of your product.

If they say no, at least you still asked! If for every no response you got from a prospect you got three to five referrals, how big would your list be at the end of the week of people to call? And how much less work did you have to do just because you had the guts to ask them if they knew anyone who they would refer you to in confidence that you would service them just as well as you have the prospect. Ask, and you shall receive.

The Job Security Myth

2008-09-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

It is no secret that the economy is currently in a recession…or may as well be, given how most of us are feeling.Government officials have tried to keep it from the public, but with inflation rates at 5.6% and job losses of 463,000, there is definitely something wrong.

According to a CNN report earlier this month "the unemployment rate rose to 5.7% from a 5.5% reading in June" and it was "the worst reading since March 2004". The bewildering thing to those of us who don't have our heads buried in the sand is that people still talk about Job security like it is something that still holds true today. My advice is that you bring your head from the sand and face the reality that job loss is universal, it is prevalent, and it is only matter of time before you are next if you don't do something about it.

The two words "job" and "security" have no connection to each other in today's economy. The phrase itself doesn't make sense and is an oxymoron at best. Kind of like Jumbo shrimp, or death benefits. You can't have any tangible benefits given to you when you die, and jumbo shrimp are probably the tiniest things you can order on a menu these days.

But why aren't jobs as secure as they used to be? What changed in the economy that is producing such an ambivalent attitude in workers today both at the entry level and nearing retirement?

A quick recap of the economy stars us off as an agrarian society, one that is based on agriculture as its primary means for support and sustenance. The society acknowledges other means of livelihood and work habits but stresses on agriculture and farming. This was the common way for Medieval European countries to gain wealth and the United States slowly followed suit.

Next came the Industrial age which totally changed the focus from farming and agriculture to steel mills and power plants. Production on a mass scale was the economy's priority and the industrial revolution required that people leave their homes to go to work elsewhere to make a living. In other words they needed employees, not farm owners. Big business required the biggest resource to effectively work; people.

Around the early 1960s, the number of people holding "white collar" jobs was starting to exceed the number of people holding "blue collar" jobs. It was clear at this point that we were leaving the Industrial Age and moving into something else. As the Industrial Age ended, the newer times adopted the title of "the Information Age" which is the term that has been used to refer to the present era. The name alludes to the global economy's shift in focus away from the production of physical goods (as exemplified by the industrial age) and instead towards the manipulation of information to provide those goods and services more effectively and efficiently from a business and consumer standpoint.

The internet has essentially replaced a lot of "middle-men" in the distribution value chain as well as other markets in the economy. As such, employees are not needed half as much as they used to. You don't even need a bank teller to complete large business transactions anymore let alone buy groceries. Everything today is either automated or sent off-shore. And why are employees being removed from the business equation so much more these days? Simple: they are every company's biggest expense.

Something else the internet has brought about is reduced cost of overhead for businesses. More and more people are now doing business via the internet to the point where business can afford to close down some of their stores. In the past to be successful, it used to be the more stores you had open the more money you had the potential to make. Now it is the reverse: the more warehouses you can build as an inventory- base for your online audience the more money you have the potential to make.

Another major reason job security is not realistic anymore goes back to an earlier point made. The bottom line is that people go to work to make money. In fact, people go to work to get paid the most they can for doing the least amount of work possible. This is in direct opposition to what a company hires employees for. They hire people to work their hardest for as little money as they can afford to pay them. So if your advancement in the company is an expense to them, who do you think is going to win this battle? You already know the answer to that.

Okay, so now you understand that the whole job thing is a way of the past and more and more jobs are rapidly getting phased out. 463,000 jobs lost and counting in the year 2008. How does one go about getting security?

Start start your own business and get behind the wheel of this vehicle called life. If you've only got one real shot at this thing then why not make sure you know what is going on rather than wondering when you're getting the pink slip. If you're reading this, you probably have already caught the entrepreneurship bug and are considering taking the red pill. All it takes is a few Office Space movie moments before you start looking for Morpheus to plug you in like Neo from the Matrix.

The economy has changed and is continuing to change with or without the people acknowledging this change. Just like when the first automobiles were manufactured a lot of farmers complained that the chickens didn't like the sound of the cars, people today will continue to complain that they're not getting the raises they want, they don't like their boss, they work hard and have nothing to show for it, but they will still refuse to CHANGE.

The famous saying is that if you want to be successful, observe the masses and do the opposite. 98% of people in the United States, land of the free, home of the brave, cannot retire at age 65. The 2% that can are either investors or own their own businesses. I recommend get in business for yourself as fast as you can, before your job is given to one of these young puppies coming out of Business School. And remember: they don't hate their job, yet.