Maple Dreams Business Coaching

Sales Champions Course

2012-02-17T12:34:00.000+05:30

How Your Logo Design Will Be Memorable?

2012-02-17T10:02:00.002+05:30

How Your Logo Design Will Be Memorable?

By Edward Fery John

There is a said "For me, being memorable is more important than winning". Your logo should be unique and innovative, which helps you to get great response from market place. Plenty of small businesses end up wasting money and time on their logo design just because they do not know how to design an unforgettable logo. If you own a business and are looking to get an innovative logo design, which represent your business efficiently, then you need to know how a logo should be designed to give your business a professional look.

I think there are following elements, which helps you to make your logo memorable and unique.

Planning:

The first step is to make a plan. What sort of product are you doing to promote? How do you want to target your audience? How do you want them to recognize you after looking at your logo? What kind of impression do you want to leave? Once you answer these questions, then you will able to design a good logo for your business. I would like to suggest you to be calm and create a strategy wisely. You must remember that, "Everything is designed. Few things are designed well".

It must be unique and creative:

If you want to establish a name, your logo design should be unique, innovative and appealing. There are many great and well-known logos in this world with each having a unique brand identity and individuality for e.g. Nike, Apple and IBM each of these logos are unique in sense to represent their real brand identity. Your logo should depict the vision of your Business in terms of quality and uniqueness. You can say quality and uniqueness is the key of victory.

Try to keep it Simple:

Make sure that you keep the design as simple as possible. A simple and unique logo design is easily memorable, as we know that "Everything should be as simple as it is, but not simpler."

Therefore, you should avoid copy-write logo designs. That is understood the logo is designed to attract customers towards a company therefore, it should be simple and straightforward. The more complexity you add, the more it is likely that clients will overlook the logo. All well-known brands like IBM, Motorola, HP and KFC have simple, conspicuous and easily understandable logo designs. This sort of logo helps your customers can easily retain your Business identity in their minds and they can easily recall it later.

About this Author

To acquire the best Logo Design reflective of your business it is essential to get a well known company that creates business logo design just the way you want it!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Edward_Fery_John

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6856599

5 Things You Should Never Delegate

2012-02-16T09:54:00.002+05:30

5 Things You Should Never Delegate

By Mary Wilhite

Delegation is the assignment of authority to another person to carry out specific activities. Not everything can be delegated. And the type of things to be delegated depends on your level and stage in business.

There is no shame in asking for help. As your business grows you will need an assistant. Besides that, even when you are small, you still need help so as to create more time for items that are of long-term value like reports, eBooks, courses and books.

It's difficult to do this when you are bogged down with routine tasks. Delegation allows you to use your time and skills optimally. However, here are five things you should never delegate fully.

1. Your Marketing.

If you want to build a success mobile marketing business, then you're going to the head of MARKETING.
Marketing is the lifeblood of any company. You must be the face of the company; the vision carrier; the relentless passionate man or woman who sees no obstacles that can derail a dream. Get help but be fully in charge of your marketing.

2. Your Finances.

Most mobile marketers like to make the money but are not keen on 'dealing with the money'. They feel this is the work of the accountant.
You need to have the figures on your fingertips. The cost of ads and their returns; the advertising costs of various outlets; your lead generation costs; the lifetime value of clients. These are things you need to know every day.

3. Leadership.

You will have to provide leadership to your teams. After all you are the president and what you do is likely to be noticed and interpreted in different ways. You must be aware that your team members are watching and you must be careful about your words and actions.

4. Business development.

You must mentor your long-term associates for better productivity. It is difficult to pass on the responsibility if you want the best performance from individuals who help you make money.

High performance individuals always want to evolve and develop and if you can't allow this, they will leave. They are not necessarily motivated by money.

5. Your values.

The ethics, integrity of your business and what you stand for should be something you articulate all the time. You must be committed to this and be seen to be ready to die for it. It is difficult for someone else to be passionate about your values as you would be.

About this Author

Mary Wilhite is a Mobile Marketing Specialist, also known as the Mobile Marketing Queen. Teaching small businesses, entrepreneurs, and internet marketers how to attract better customers with mobile marketing devices. Get more of her mobile marketing tips, tricks, and strategies today. Just click here http://marywilhiteblog.com
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6740480

How to Implement the Personal Selling Process

2012-02-15T09:46:00.002+05:30

How to Implement the Personal Selling Process

By Nick Tart

Selling is at the core of almost every business. In almost every case, you have to sell something for your business to make money. That is why the Personal Selling Process is so important. This process has eight steps that every salesperson should go through in order to be efficient and effective at landing sales.

1. Prospecting.

The first step, prospecting, involves finding qualified sales leads. Not every consumer is going to be willing and able to buy. Your job as a salesperson is to find the ones who are.

2. Pre-approach.

This step involves collecting information about the potential customer prior to the initial visit. If you are on the sales floor, this means studying their demeanor and attitude while scanning the shelves. If you are on a computer, conduct a little research about your customer before contacting them.

3. Approach.

The approach is obviously the first contact you make with the customer. As always the first impression is important and you should be able to recognize and adapt to the potential customer's social style. If the customer is
looking for facts, give them facts. If they are looking for opinions, give opinions.

4. Need Identification. This is the stage where you, as the salesperson, should ask probing questions of the prospective customer to determine their needs. Remember to ask open-ended questions so the customer feels comfortable to respond.

5. Presentation.

This is the most important step in this process, also known as the sales pitch. Here you will explain to the customer how the features of the product will provide benefits. If this step goes well, the customer will seriously consider purchasing the product.

6. Handling Objections.

After presenting your sales pitch, your potential customer will likely have objections. If you can comfort the consumer about their objections, they will probably make their final decision to buy. Keep in mind that objections are a sign of interest on the part of the prospect.

7. Gaining Commitment.

In this step, the salesperson must ask for commitment from the customer. Whether it is the commitment to make a one-time purchase of a product or to sign a five-year contract for a service that your company provides.

8. Follow-up.

This is the final step of the personal selling process. Here you must complete any agreed upon actions (i.e. bonus, rebate) and stay in touch after the sale. Customer retainment is critical to future sales.
The personal selling process is almost fool-proof when it comes to managing customers. Happy selling!

About this Author

Nick Tart is a senior at Colorado State University and the founder of JuniorBiz.com, teaching young people how to become entrepreneurs. He anticipates graduating Magna Cum Laude this spring and chooses to use his $40,000 education to help young people with their businesses. Find 100+ teen business ideas on his site. Entrepreneurship is a game. May the best one win.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1826809

10 Secrets To A Happy Married Life

2012-02-14T09:59:00.003+05:30

10 Secrets To A Happy Married Life

By Abhishek Agarwal

You can achieve a happy married life in a number of ways. Small things can help maintain peace and harmony at home while big decisions can harm the domestic atmosphere. While it almost impossible to agree with what the other says all time time, a couple should realise that it is possible to maintain peace even while arguing. Understand that a disagreement is temporary, and this small step alone can see your marriage through a variety of trials.

1. Know Your Partner Well

Developing awareness of your partner's tastes is among the keys to a happy married life. Your relationship can be shaped according to each other's preferences. When you are aware of your partner's dislikes, you can refrain from doing what will cause distress to your partner. This will ensure your partner that you are considerate of him or her, a factor that is of utmost importance in the successful achievement of marital harmony.

2. Make Decisions Together

Making decisions together is also a key to achieving happiness in marriage for three reasons. First, this practise enables the couple to work in collaboration to reach a decision. Second, both get equally involved in the decision making. Third, if only one person makes a decision that ultimately turns out to be a bad one, it could lead to resentment.

3. Balance Your Work and Life

You have to pay a lot of attention to your married life to ensure its success, which means that you should learn to balance between your career and personal life. Sometimes, you could get very much involved in your career and push married life to the background. You have to put in some effort to prevent this from happening.
You have to realize that there is no career in the world that holds as much importance as your married life. At the same time, it cannot be denied that sometimes you have to work at weekends and in the late evenings too. But make an honest attempt to minimize these situations.

Try not to bring your work home. In short, don't allow your career to interfere with your married life. If you place too much emphasis on your job, your marriage will naturally suffer. You can talk about your day at work or vent about some problem you might be facing with employers or colleagues, but otherwise, keep the office where it is and don't let it wreck your married life.

4. Don't Focus on Disagreements

All marriages have their share of problems and discords. It is important not to prolong an argument. If ever you disagree, try to come to a friendly conclusion. If this is impossible, at least agree to disagree and proceed with your married life.
Everyday is a new beginning. Forget the disagreements or arguments of the previous day when you wake up to each day. In spite of your honest attempts, if you were unable to work out a solution to the problem, forget about it and go on with new day harmoniously.

5. Agree on Financial Matters

Another key to a happy married life is to come to an agreement on financial issues. Financial matters create a lot discord in married life. Both partners should develop awareness about financial situations and establish a budget that is easy to stick to. This will prevent any arguments related to financial issues in married life.

6. Agree on Critical Issues before Marriage

Before getting married, know your partner well and discuss major issues. For instance, it will be disastrous to discover after marriage that your partner does not want any children while you want to become a parent. Differences of opinion on such crucial matters can utterly destroy a marriage. Make sure that you marry someone only after coming to an agreement about critical matters such as this. It will prevent problems cropping up in your married life in the future.

7. Don't Discuss Sensitive Issues

Keep away issues that might create discord in your married life. While it is perfectly alright to have opposing points of view regarding politics or religion, it is not acceptable to allow your differences in opinion to cause a split in your married life. You can enjoy a harmonious married life if you respect your partner and his or her opinions.

8. Give Each Other a Lot of Space

Give each other a lot of space to ensure a happy married life. Spending a lot of time with each other can be suffocated. So, it is as important to be apart as it is to be together and communicate matters pertaining to your interests. The time that you spend apart from each other not only protects the marriage but also enables each partner to retain his or her individuality.

9. Respect Your Spouse

Respecting your partner is of paramount importance in marriage. Couples that show a lot of respect to each other and to themselves can be civil to each other even during a disagreement. Respect always promotes peace and happiness in married life.

10. Share Household Chores

This is the greatest secret to a happy married life. A couple that shares domestic chores and goes out of the way to make things easy for each other ensure happiness and peace in their married life.

You will wreck your life if you don't help your spouse with domestic chores. You could also go as far as making a list of things to be done everyday and taking your share of the responsibility. It is not fair to burden one person with all the work; so a written document of the responsibilities that each partner has to shoulder will go a long way in protecting domestic peace.

Don't confuse harmony in married life with agreeing to everything that your spouse says. You don't have to agree to each and every issue to enjoy a peaceful and happy married life. Many factors contribute to the peace and happiness of a married life. Some might be crucial and some may be small, but they all play a major role in a harmonious marriage.

About this Author

Abhishek has got some great Dating Secrets up his sleeves! Download his FREE 96 Pages Ebook, "How To Date The Hottest Women Online And Offline!" from his website http://www.Dating-Tricks.com/139/index.htm. Only limited Free Copies available.
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Maple Dreams Business Coaching

2012-02-13T19:24:00.002+05:30

Motivating Employees: Steps For Successful Staff Motivation

2012-02-13T09:53:00.002+05:30

Motivating Employees: Steps For Successful Staff Motivation

By Carl Mueller

Employee motivation is less about figuring out how to motivate staff and more about learning how to ensure your staff are self-motivated.

At the end of the day, you need staff who are self-motivated. You can't force staff to be motivated just like you can't force them to be happy. What you can do is foster a positive environment where staff understand what the company is trying to achieve and where they buy into the bigger goals of the company and choose to be part of it.

Here are some suggestions for properly motivating employees and fostering an environment where staff will be self-motivated:

Understand what motivates each of your staff. The first step to motivate employees is to understand what motivates them individually. What motivates one person might not be nearly as important to someone else. Don't assume that each of your staff wants the same thing.

Give regular feedback. Even if your company gives formal employee appraisals, offering regular feedback to your staff between these appraisals can be a great way to motivate them. Acknowledging your employees' work and how it has contributed to company goals helps to make staff see the contributions they have made.
Give rewards. Money and other similar rewards aren't necessarily great motivators since not everyone is money motivated. After understanding what motivates each of your staff, you might find that giving them more time off, flexible work hours, job sharing, working from home and things of that nature might be more desirable to your staff than monetary rewards.

Offer training and employee improvement options. One great way of motivating employees is to stress the importance of their continued learning and to offer ways for them to keep learning. Offering in-house training or enabling staff to choose selected training courses that the company will pay for are two ways to ensure that staff remain in touch with your business while also illustrating that the company values its employees.

Ensure that your staff understand company goals and results. One of the worst things can be to work in a company (especially a large one) and not fully understand what the company's goals are or how the company is doing overall. It's important for managers for ensure that there is an information flow that reaches staff and that relevant information is shared.

Don't expect an increase in job performance. When instituting methods to improve staff motivation, don't expect that the result will be an immediate or even noticeable increase in their job performance. Not all staff will react the same way to your motivation efforts and some of your staff may already be performing as best as can be expected. The goal of employee motivation should be to ensure you are doing everything you can as a manager to properly motivate your staff and to provide them with tools they need to succeed but not all of them will react the same way.

About this Author

Carl Mueller is an Internet entrepreneur and professional recruiter who wants to help you find your dream career.

Free newsletter:

Separate yourself from other job searchers by signing up for his free monthly newsletter: [http://www.find-your-dream-career.com/dream-career-finder.html]
Free 5-day course: Sign up for The Effective Career Planner, Carl’s free 5-day course: http://www.find-your-dream-career.com/effective-career-planner.html
Please feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your website but please don’t change any of the content and ensure that you include the above bio that shows my website URLs.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/126392

Well Rounded Brand Strategy = Guaranteed Sales

2012-02-11T10:16:00.002+05:30

Well Rounded Brand Strategy = Guaranteed Sales

By Charles Elena

While deciding upon a brand campaign, the haunting question is, 'will I get substantial sales from this campaign?' If you too feel the same, read on to find out the tips that will do the trick to lift up your brand image plus get you voluminous sales.

Go Social:

For once one might skip their morning tea but one can never forget to check their FB and Twitter account. This is the power of the social media sites. Further, Face Book alone has over 550 million active users. Including Face Book marketing in your brand strategy makes a lot of business sense. Combined with Tweeter marketing, you reach out to another 200 million people. It's no rocket science that reaching out to more people significantly boosts up your chances of sales.

With a coherent social media campaign you can make your brand popular to millions on the social networking sites. Converting interested leads into sales becomes a lot easy then. Even if you are able to convert one percent, you make a million dollars. A word of advice - get people talking about what they love (your product, of course). Don't pitch your products too hard, this will make them feel you are trying to sell to them forcefully.

Got it, Advertise it:

Just got the latest collection in your store? Go advertising it on big banners, get eye-catchy flyers and send out impressive invites. Grab this opportunity to talk to your target customers about how your new range of products is different and delivers customer-centric solutions. You might consider pay-per-click advertising campaigns for your brand strategy as well. This way you call attention to your store and get more footfalls which get converted into, you guessed it right, sales.

EDM:

Electronic direct marketing has the best of both conventional marketing and modern internet-based marketing. EDM campaign has the personal touch of print marketing and the cost effectiveness of e-marketing. Notify your specific customers of your special deals and new developments directly to each customer via strategically designed e-flyers. This increases web traffic almost instantly without spending a fortune. Remember, relevant traffic is one step way from sales.

If you think this all is very cumbersome, consider to partner with a brand management company. They will carry out a cohesive branding campaign and also assist you with your business' changing requirements. This way you focus on doing what you are good at- your business and leave the hassles of branding to the experts.

About this Author
Charles Elena Design specializes in brand strategy development for companies belonging to varied industries. We are an award winning brand Management Company. View our work samples on http://www.charleselena.com.au/.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charles_Elena

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6784930

mapledreamsbusinesscoaching@yahoo.com

2012-02-11T10:08:00.002+05:30

Well Rounded Brand Strategy = Guaranteed Sales

By Charles Elena
While deciding upon a brand campaign, the haunting question is, 'will I get substantial sales from this campaign?' If you too feel the same, read on to find out the tips that will do the trick to lift up your brand image plus get you voluminous sales.

Go Social:

For once one might skip their morning tea but one can never forget to check their FB and Twitter account. This is the power of the social media sites. Further, Face Book alone has over 550 million active users. Including Face Book marketing in your brand strategy makes a lot of business sense. Combined with Tweeter marketing, you reach out to another 200 million people. It's no rocket science that reaching out to more people significantly boosts up your chances of sales.
With a coherent social media campaign you can make your brand popular to millions on the social networking sites. Converting interested leads into sales becomes a lot easy then. Even if you are able to convert one percent, you make a million dollars. A word of advice - get people talking about what they love (your product, of course). Don't pitch your products too hard, this will make them feel you are trying to sell to them forcefully.

Got it, Advertise it:

Just got the latest collection in your store? Go advertising it on big banners, get eye-catchy flyers and send out impressive invites. Grab this opportunity to talk to your target customers about how your new range of products is different and delivers customer-centric solutions. You might consider pay-per-click advertising campaigns for your brand strategy as well. This way you call attention to your store and get more footfalls which get converted into, you guessed it right, sales.

EDM:

Electronic direct marketing has the best of both conventional marketing and modern internet-based marketing. EDM campaign has the personal touch of print marketing and the cost effectiveness of e-marketing. Notify your specific customers of your special deals and new developments directly to each customer via strategically designed e-flyers. This increases web traffic almost instantly without spending a fortune. Remember, relevant traffic is one step way from sales.

If you think this all is very cumbersome, consider to partner with a brand management company. They will carry out a cohesive branding campaign and also assist you with your business' changing requirements. This way you focus on doing what you are good at- your business and leave the hassles of branding to the experts.

About this Author
Charles Elena Design specializes in brand strategy development for companies belonging to varied industries. We are an award winning brand Management Company. View our work samples on http://www.charleselena.com.au/.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charles_Elena

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6784930

Power Selling - How to Convince People to Buy What You Sell

2012-02-10T09:56:00.002+05:30

Power Selling - How to Convince People to Buy What You Sell
By Marco Giunta

A salesperson sells - that is what he does.

As a salesperson, you may sell to people who desperately need whatever it is that you are selling. You may sell an item to someone who can live without it, but would like to have one anyway. You are also going to at least try to sell an item to people who could not care less about what you are trying to sell. These are the people who are going to need your skills in order to convince them. After all, the others are pretty well determined to have what you are selling anyway, aren't they?
So, how DO you convince people to buy what you sell?

You convince people to buy what you are selling, no matter what it is, by:

* Knowing the market and the people you are selling to.
* Knowing the product that you are selling as if you gave birth to it yourself.
* Knowing how to read people.
* Knowing how to talk the language of different people.
* Knowing when to back off and when to push just a little bit.
THE KEY CONCEPT OF CONVINCING PEOPLE TO BUY WHAT YOU ARE SELLING, SIMPLY STATED, IS KNOWLEDGE. Knowledge is the key that will get your foot in the door, will get your point across, and most importantly, will get that sale made.

1: Knowing the Market and the People That You Are Selling To.
Have you ever seen an older man try to talk "hip" to you kids in the hope of making a sale? It is feeble. They are not buying it. He is uncomfortable.

A good salesperson knows the crowd he is selling to and knows how to talk to them. You simply need to know how to hit their buttons and how to do so while still using your own style and your own voice.

ENGAGE EVERY POTENTIAL CUSTOMER AS "THE" CUSTOMER. Make them feel as if they really matter.

2: Knowing the Product as if You Gave Birth To It yourself.
Your products are your children, and you should be able to rattle off information about them as easily as the names of your kids. There is just something comforting buying from someone who really knows what they're talking about.
3: Knowing How To Read People.

A Good salesperson is like a good poker player. He knows when someone is bluffing him or stalling for time. He knows when they are about to all it quits and walk away. He knows this because much like a good poker player, he can read people. He knows the body language that says "sale" or "no sale". He can see "lower the price" in their eyes.

If you have never been able to read people, consider taking a course in body language, or at least leafing through a book that explains the basics so that you can get the hang of it. KNOWLEDGE, ONCE AGAIN, IS POWER.

4: Knowing How To Talk the Language of the People.
The same way you need to know the market, you need to know how to talk to people around you. Again, you are not going to use language that is counter-intuitive to you. IT IS POSSIBLE TO LOSE A CUSTOMER IF YOU ARE NOT TALKING THEIR BUSINESS LANGUAGE. You can adjust the conversation as you go. If you think you are losing them, go basic, but never lowbrow them.

5: Knowing When To Push A Little Harder and When To Back Off.
Not everyone is an easy sale. Some need a little more convincing. As a salesperson, you have to be able to see the "line" - the line that separates "just hard enough" from "way too damn hard", and you have to walk that line with your customers. This can be difficult, but paying close attention to customer's "cues" will help you to better understand where they are in the sales process.

As a 30-year industry veteran, Marco Giunta has always had a futurist look at IT, and worked with many of the leading companies in the Outsourcing industry, in the likes of Tata, Accenture, Collective Technologies, Storage Networks, Cordiant Communications, Decision One and IBM.

Marco has held various positions of increasing responsibility in management, sales, technology, and business development covering Information Technology, E-commerce, Data Center infrastructure, Startup Companies and enterprise software and communications.

Please read more in Marco Giunta's new book "Rethinking Sales"
http://rethinkingsales.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marco_Giunta

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4743801

Small Business Marketing Plan - Increase Your Business Profit Without Breaking Your Marketing Budget

2012-02-09T09:59:00.002+05:30

Small Business Marketing Plan - Increase Your Business Profit Without Breaking Your Marketing Budget
By Tim Bruxvoort

Most small business owners fail when it comes to their small business marketing plans. They've got excellent technical skills in their line of work, but that just doesn't translate to having effective marketing skills.

As a result, profitability of many small businesses has been declining over the years. Ever increasing competition is making it more challenging in many ways. For those businesses that aren't losing money, most are not producing the profit they could be if they knew how to market themselves properly.

These business owners usually just copy what they see other businesses doing, or they follow the advice of some media sales person. The problem is they copy the wrong types of businesses, and the media sales people typically only know as much about effective marketing as the business owner does.

Without the right kind of marketing system in place, the success of any business is by pure chance. To help remedy this situation, below are seven things a small business can do to increase profits while spending less on marketing.
1. Use the power of free stuff
Everyone likes getting free stuff and you can use that to your advantage. If your business lends itself to giving away free samples of your product, do that. It helps get people hooked on it. Business profits have boomed on this marketing model.

As Chris Anderson author of the book titled, "Free: The Future of a Radical Price" says, "You can make make money giving things away." In his book he talks about how businesses are giving away products and services they used to charge for, and in return, a percentage of their customers are buying something else. As a result, they are making more money than ever.
When you give something away, you often activate a universal law called the "Law of Reciprocity." It says that when people get something free, they feel obligated to do something for you. Obviously it doesn't work every time, but it does work enough of the time.

But there is another way to give away free stuff that can greatly benefit your business. When you do it right you get something very valuable in return: customer contact info...which leads us to the next tip.

2. Start capturing customer contact info and use it
One of the biggest mistakes small business owners make is not tapping their current customer base. They let customers visit their business (online or offline) all day long without ever trying to capture their contact info so they can continue to market products or services to them.
You likely know how expensive it can be to get a new customer. But you can market to your current customers for little or no cost. Capturing and using customer contact info can mean the difference between a profitable business and one that barely gets by.

Your business has more customer value in it than a customer can possibly digest in a short visit so if you aren't continually marketing to your customers, you are throwing money away!
You can make customer contact capture easier simply by using the power of free from tip number one. Simply start a monthly drawing to give away something free and print some registration slips visitors can fill out. Also have people register online on your website.

Tell customers they only have to register once for all drawings and you will contact them monthly via email to let them know who won. Of course you will always include an offer for a product or service!
What do you give away? Anything with a perceived value makes a great free item. Free items do not have to be expensive. Buy something on sale at WalMart or at eBay and offer it. You can also offer free informational reports that help people solve their problems. People are always looking for ways to solve problems they are having.
Of course, once you capture this information you have to do something with it. If you're too busy to take on any more work, then the next tip will help you out.

3. Use automated tools to keep in touch with customers
Once you have a customer list, I recommend you send a minimum of 25 "messages" a year to it. A message could be an email, direct mail piece, fax, or phone call.
If you don't use an automated tool to do the work for you, you'll likely be too busy to get the job done. When you automate, your messages go out regardless of how busy you get (the more messages that go out, the busier you'll get).

One tool you can use is an email autoresponder, which is a web-based system that sends out emails when someone signs up. It sends out emails at intervals you set up. You can also set it up to send an email on a specific day, such as a holiday.
The great thing about an autoresponder tool is that you enter your messages in the autoresponder one time, then it automatically sends emails to your list. You can also broadcast messages any time you want.

Using this tool, keeping in touch with your customers is easy and it will help keep the competition from creeping in and stealing your customers because they've forgotten about you and the services you provide.

4. Stop marketing like you're a big business.
Marketing a small business like it's a big business is something almost every small business owner does. They just copy the marketing they see being done at large companies with big brands. This kind of marketing is called "brand identity," "brand building," or "image" marketing.

This is a HUGE waste of advertising money for a small business. You simply don't have the resources you need to support a successful branding campaign.
Brand advertising typically has no "call to action," (they don't ask you to do anything). They just give you features of the product or service, or they entertain you without asking you to do anything.

Brand advertising is usually benefit free. The viewer has to determine if there is a benefit to them. It may contain a list of features and the user will have to assign their own benefit to each feature. It is usually focused on the product or provider of the product instead if the customer.

A successful marketing campaign for a small business is created around direct response marketing techniques.

5. Use old fashioned direct response techniques in new ways
The kind of marketing plan that works for a small business is direct response marketing. It doesn't require a huge marketing budget to use effectively. It can be used for all types of products and services.
And the good news is that you don't even have to hire an advertising agency to do it since it doesn't require creativity. All you have to do is learn the basic structure of direct response marketing and you can easily increase the sales your business makes.

Direct response sales copy always asks the reader or viewer to take some sort of action i.e. "Call in the next 5 minutes, and we'll include a free set of Ginzu steak knives!".

It may ask for the sale directly if a full "sales presentation" was done (one-step advertising), or it may ask them to request more information (two-step advertising). It will at a minimum, ask the reader to take some form of "traceable" action so you know if it is working or not.

There should always be a headline for written advertisements! Never put your company logo at the top of a direct response advertisement. That's brand advertising.
Whenever you create an advertisement in any form always look at them from the customer point of view. Look it and ask "Who gives a crap?" about everything in it. Do you think the customer cares about your logo. No! They care about what you can do for them. Put in benefits and not features. Let the customer know what's in it for them. A successful direct response ad for a small business includes several things:

• An offer to buy something
• Sufficient information for the consumer to make a decision to act now (or directions on how to get more info)
• An explicit "call to action" sooner rather than later
• A clear way to respond such as a telephone number or web page
• A means of tracking the response.

Direct response advertising is not just used for mail campaigns. You use it in all forms of media: print, web, mail, and broadcast. Take a look at all the advertising you are currently doing no matter where it is and start making the change now.
6. Use the Internet to advertise for free
Even though websites as we know them have existed since around the early 90s, only 49%* of small businesses currently have a website *9/08, Barlow Research. It's surprising how many businesses do not understand how powerful this marketing tool is. If you don't have a website, get one because there is no better source of free advertising!

The Internet has hundreds of "Web 2.0" websites where you post "content" for free. The content can be text, videos, or audios you create and it can lead people to your business. Plus, it helps establish you as an expert in your field.
EzineArticles.com is one such place you can post content. There was no charge to post this article. All I had to do is write it, post it, and then you found it.
You can put links in the "author resource" section, to drive traffic to a page on your website. The articles you post in EzineArticles can rank extremely well in Google search results with a little help from you.
You also want to get your business listed in places like Google Local if you do local business. Once again this is absolutely free.

Once you learn how to do use the Internet for promotion you'll have a head start on the future of advertising and you get customers for free!

7. Outsource routine marketing tasks so you can work on the growing your business
One of the biggest problems small business owners have is that they get so consumed by working IN their business, they don't have time to work ON their business. So no growth can occur.

When it comes to marketing yourself on the Internet, there are ways to use "virtual assistants" to do most of the work for you. A virtual assistant is someone you hire on a full or part-time basis who does the work for you.
But a virtual assistant is not a direct employee so you don't provide benefits or have the normal hassles of an employee. They are usually located somewhere in the world that has low-cost wages so they are very affordable. That's the beauty of the Internet and the communication it provides.
Virtual assistants aren't just confined to small business marketing plan tasks though. They can do almost anything for you: reservations, schedule appointments, answer phones, customer service, send flowers, buy a present for your spouse, find someone to fix your car, website development, accounting, software development, writing, graphics, or anything you need.

There are lots of resources on the Internet that can help you find a virtual assistant.

Create Your Small Business Marketing Plan Now!
Use these seven marketing tips to start building your small business marketing plan right now. If you procrastinate, your busy life will get in the way of business growth. Even if you only take a little of the advice you've been given, you'll find it can have a big impact on the profitability of your business.
Tim Bruxvoort is an ecommerce entrepreneur who operates a full-time ecommerce business called http://www.IntercomsOnline.com. He also is a partner in a small business marketing plans consulting business that helps small business owners improve their marketing.

For more information go to http://www.fastbusinessprofits.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tim_Bruxvoort

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NLP Influencing Strategies for Sales and Business Management

2012-02-08T09:55:00.001+05:30

NLP Influencing Strategies for Sales and Business Management
By Rintu Basu

NLP and Hypnosis have a lot of tools around covert language and persuasion skills. Real persuasion only happens when you stand back from the situation and take the strategic view. Hypnotic language tools are really useful, but only when they are used from a strategic perspective. For example, a manager from the NLP Scotland's Business Group recently emailed me with a typical problem.

Her team is constantly hounding her for answers to problems they can find for themselves and she is losing a lot of time constantly helping them out. The answer to this is all about training her team to do things differently. What is happening is that by giving them answers it is encouraging the team to see going to their manager as the easy route.

If the manager were to create work for her team every time they are looking to her for a quick answer they will soon stop unnecessary questions. If every time a member of the team asked a question they were shown how to find the answer themselves and then had to report back on that answer at the next team meeting they would be getting more work. Over a period of time the team would start sorting out their own questions because they will start to realize that asking their manager would mean more work than if they just found the answer for themselves. This is a fairly typical management issue and the solution is arrived at by standing back from the situation and understanding the net gain for the team in doing what they are doing.

One useful NLP Technique is just considering the positive intention behind any behaviour. In the above case the team were probably doing this because it was giving them attention from their manager and also solving the problem in the easiest way from their perspective. By taking away these benefits it suddenly makes figuring out the problem for themselves much more attractive.

By taking away the positive benefits of certain behaviours and making sure that they get benefits from the behaviour you want them to display you can make great changes in organizations easily. An example might be some of the sales teams I have worked with. A standard measurement in sales teams is obviously sales. Sales people being competitive and usually rewarded for results means that they are generally keen to get the sale, sometimes at the expense of the customer. This can lead to problems about customer satisfaction, retention and buyer's remorse.

One sales team I have worked with recently took this idea of a strategic NLP technique. The problem they had was customers canceling the policy within the thirty day cooling off period. The issue being that their sales staff were pressuring customers into buying policies that they didn't really want. By moving the measurement of a sale to the end of the thirty day cooling off period almost instantly created the result they were looking for. Initial sales fell, but the retention after thirty days rose quite dramatically. The sales staff were more focused on creating quality sales and making sure that the customer was happy with the policy they were buying.

The key to this approach is to understand that there is a positive intention behind every behaviour and that is what keeps the behaviour in place. So if you can move the positive benefit to the place where it supports the behaviour you want then people will follow very quickly. A good NLP Practitioner Training Course will give you tools, models and techniques to apply this to individuals and teams.
Rintu Basu is the only NLP and Hypnotic Persuasion Trainer in the UK. Having worked with businesses, the police service and the financial sector. His latest venture is developing NLP in Scotland through good quality public NLP training courses.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rintu_Basu

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/846288

Correcting the "Disconnect" Between Sales and Marketing in Corporate America

2012-02-07T10:00:00.002+05:30

Correcting the "Disconnect" Between Sales and Marketing in Corporate America
By James Laliberte
Corporate America has significantly changed over the last 30 years. Excellence and exceptional performance, once the cornerstone of Corporate America, have degenerated in some cases to a complacent mediocrity that just doesn't seem to care. Maintaining "status quo" has become more important than creating products and programs that address true market needs. One of the symptoms of this affliction is a definitive "disconnect" between marketing and sales.

I recently had a conversation with an HR manager for a large corporation about their prerequisites for personnel in their marketing department. She told me that they take people with graduate degrees in Marketing, Brand Management, etc., to fill these spots. Coming from the "old school", I immediately challenged this policy. I asked why they didn't fill the positions with people from their sales group. After all, these are the people that deal with the accounts everyday and know what the customers want and need. Her answer was that sales people "try to do too much" and therefore are never brought into marketing.

How can "trying to do too much" be a bad thing? Where I'm from, those are the people you want to hire. They have initiative, drive, etc. In addition, creativity is not the result of a graduate degree. It is a talent that you either have or not. Period. It cannot be taught. No amount of schooling can instill this quality.

So what is the relevance of a graduate degree in marketing, brand management, etc? What does it mean in practical terms? It certainly may give someone tools to do research and provide insights into the methodologies of various marketing disciplines. However, it cannot teach creativity and this is the driving force in marketing. Without pure creativity, what do you really have?

THE PROPER ROLES OF SALES & MARKETING
The function of sales is to sell. It is to create solid relationships between the company and the customer, therefore driving a wedge between that customer and the competition. This is accomplished by helping the customer to identify their needs and provide long term solutions that address those needs now and in the future. Only by proving that you are there to create success for the customer do you earn the trust to be considered as a business partner. By doing this you break into their "trust zone". More than likely, the customer now buys from you rather than you having to sell them.

The salesman that achieves this result is also a good psychologist. They know when to listen, when to talk......when to be aggressive, when to be more passive. It is their job to become the value proposition to the account, the reason the customer buys from that company. The result is a partnership based on trust where all doors of potential are now open - competitive marketing information, free focus group studies, etc. This salesman is now viewed as a trusted business partner by the customer. More than likely, this will be a very profitable and long term relationship due to a job well done

The Importance of Pure Creativity
Marketing can be the crown jewel of an organization or its greatest detriment. Great marketing is driven by exceptional creativity. This results in superior planning and proper utilization of all the tools that contribute to an effective new product campaign. It is absolutely essential to the success of any company. However, the best sales force in the world cannot sell poorly conceived products or programs. Nor should they even try. It is the company's responsibility to ensure that their marketing department has a truly creative leader and avails itself of every resource available to come up with the best in product and promotional ideas.
Marketing should have a Creative Director or someone heading up an Innovation unit to discover new trends and address them on a continuous basis. My experience has shown me that most of these departments are very complacent, satisfied with the status quo. Not a whole lot of creativity, which should be what drives the entire department. Creativity is the engine that leads and makes necessary the rest of the "marketing train", i.e., sourcing, packaging, branding, etc. Without this creative funnel being fed, neither marketing nor sales have anything to do. Eventually, this leads to the death of the company.

If this is the case, marketing should be communicating with sales for this "read" on the market, taking the information that sales has discovered and creating products and programs to address these needs. Period. They are trained in the methodologies of advertising and how to properly bring a product to market. However, they can't do this without creative and new information on the market. If they can't find it on their own, they should rely on sales to provide this information to them.
Sales and marketing should work together in a synergistic fashion where one function enhances and strengthens the other. They are simply different sides of the same coin. Unfortunately, some marketing departments do not fully utilize the information available to them from sales. This can result in a product or program that wastes company resources as well as not addressing true market needs. Or they may bring in consulting groups to answer questions that could easily be provided by sales.
Think about that. Bringing in a consulting group that has no intimate relationship with your customer base nor any practical experience with your company and how it approaches the industry. In my estimation, this is lunacy. There is a perfect consulting group that knows the customer and how the company is positioned in the industry.......it's called the sales department. It doesn't cost anything to use and has much more relevant information to offer marketing.

THE SOLUTION
Attack the market with enthusiasm. Throw heart and soul into using every resource available to become the innovator, the leader......the best. Get excited again. Call on marketing and sales to work together as a team to find the best solutions to every challenge. No exceptions.

New guidelines should be established to create a close knit relationship between these departments. Sales and marketing should have a constant feedback loop going on. In fact, marketing should make it policy to accompany sales on a regular basis with important key accounts calls.

Sales can school marketing on interpretation of customer reactions based on their relationships with them and marketing can train sales to conduct "Focus Group Studies". This turns the sales person into a virtual marketing department in the field on every call and a consistent source of relevant marketing information. It also strengthens the bond between the two departments and creates a great relationship between the customer and company. Customers become creative partners and appreciate being asked what they need, what they think, etc.
This interaction between the departments also facilitates a mutual understanding of the functions of each to the other. Ideas and consumer insights that sales brings to marketing can then be further refined between the two departments until a consensus is reached that defines the ultimate solution.

This is a simple and elegant process that can be repeated again and again to keep the creative pipeline full of ideas just waiting for implementation. The more it is practiced, the more streamlined the process becomes. It creates a synergistic environment for the "Perfect Storm" of creative execution. Everyone works together, enhancing customer relationships and maintaining a proactive stance that may very well propel the company to the top of their industry.

Creativity Cannot Be Taught
Like any artistic talent, creativity cannot be taught. One either has it or not. It is engine that drives all new ideas, the innovative force behind every blockbuster product or program. It is the agent of change that makes all the difference between the "want to bes" and the real players. Creativity is the key to all potential. It is a precious gift and yields extraordinary results when utililzed properly.

SUMMARY
Therefore, in order to best enhance position in their respective industry, I would encourage any company to look within for answers and remember that graduate degrees in any discipline can only teach book knowledge. They cannot teach pure creativity. Seek out those people with the creative spark, the ones that think "out of the box". These people are the sources for real growth. They will change your company from a slow moving hulk to a nimble and formidable sales/marketing machine.
Get the sales and marketing departments working together and you will find they are natural companions. Creativity will be greatly enhanced and focused. Once unified, they have the potential to accomplish much more and refine each other in the process. Go back to the "old school" ways and be innovative in all you do.
James Laliberte - Director of Sales & Marketing - Liberty Marketing - (916) 346-4571
Innovation, creativity and finding new solutions to old problems are my strengths. These solutions not only address the present, but are designed to evolve and set the stage for future growth. The goal is to create a steady stream of fresh product/sales strategies that align with corporate objectives, maximize revenues and keep competition off balance.

Using this strategy in tandem with consultative techniques, I have been responsible for products and programs that had industry-wide effect and created very profitable new platforms for growth. I am confident in my ability to achieve similar results for any company.
I have over 25 years of sales & marketing management experience in the consumer and industrial product industries with major companies. I excel at creating innovative sales and marketing strategies that get results. I am available as a consultant should you wish to employ my services to improve your company's performance.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_Laliberte

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/425128

The Power Within

2012-02-06T10:07:00.001+05:30

The Power Within
"The greatest trouble with most of
us is that our demands upon
ourselves are so feeble, the call
upon the great within us so weak
and intermittent, that it makes no
impression upon the creative
energies; it lacks the force that
transmutes desires into realities."
Orison Swett Marden

Have you ever read the stories of
the amazing feats of strength
performed by people in a crisis?

The man that single-handedly
lifts up a car so a person can be
pulled to safety, for example?

How can people do those things?
Our quote suggests that it's the
wrong question.

Perhaps we should ask - why can't
people do these things all the time?

After all, if we can do them in a
crisis, why not any time we need
to?

These special cases suggest that
we have a reservoir of power within
us that we rarely ever tap. Not just
physical power, but the power of
resolve and determination.

With this power, wouldn't we be able
to do amazing things in our lives,
to achieve amazing goals? Why
wouldn't we use it?
Well, some people do use it. We
call them "successful" and we see
them as special or lucky.

But they're special only in that they
chose to use that power that Marden
calls "the great within us" without
waiting for a car wreck.

Feeble demands make no impression
upon the creative energies, so we
never engage them and we don't
even know they're there.

But they are there. I challenge you
to raise the level of achievement that
you expect from yourself, to place a
much higher demand upon your
creative energies.

It make take some effort to wake
them up if they haven't been used
for a while, but they're waiting for
you.

Employ the force that transmutes
your desires into realities. Be
prepared to sweat.

No more excuses!

Many blessings,

How to Grow Your Business by Clearing the Way to Growth

2012-02-03T10:17:00.002+05:30

How to Grow Your Business by Clearing the Way to Growth
By Greg Roworth

Is your business growing as fast and effectively as it could, or is it stuck at the same level it has been at for years? Research (Larry Greiner, 1972) has discovered 5 specific stages of business growth. Most business never grow beyond the second level. At this level, the business is characterised by a small group of owners (if not a sole owner), supported by a small team of people at an operational level. This describes the 90 plus percent of businesses, which have 10 or fewer staff.

Why should it be this way? The Greiner growth model describes 5 levels of growth that are characterised by the type of organizational structure and leadership style at each stage. The model describes a very obvious and practical problem that is evident in all businesses that grow over time. Growth is never simply a smooth transition from small to large. It occurs in a series of jumps from one level to the next. Growth at each level is limited by the structure and leadership style. A business can grow at each level to a certain extent, but after a while, the activity created by growth makes the structure at that level unwieldy and inefficient, limiting the growth, until the next evolution of the business occurs to solve the inefficiencies at the previous level.

The issue is not that these growth crises occur, but that there is a clear solution to these crises which few businesses take the time to discover. I am sure there are some business owners who want to keep their business small for lifestyle reasons, but I am also sure that if most business owners could find a way to grow their business beyond the current level, they would.

Most businesses that are stuck at the level where the owner(s) work in the business full time (or more) and there are a handful of employees, don't do what it takes to overcome the growth crises that are created at the limit of growth at that level. These crises are evident in the issues of control, where the business is dependent on the skills and input of the owners for most of the results and the owners can spend little time away from the business because performance will suffer in their absence. When work increases, the informality of communication and organisation become a liability resulting in errors, delays, poor quality and unsatisfactory service. Costs blow out and profits shrink rather than grow with increased sales volumes. Many owners conclude that it was easier and more profitable running a smaller business and revert to a scaled down operation. Unfortunately, this means the business and the owners never achieve their full potential and end up living a life far below the level that could have been accomplished.

Rather than scale down, the business could continue growing by scaling up. The solution to the growth crisis at this level is very clear and the path to growth is well established by the successful ones who have taken the leap to the next level. The answer is to re-organize the business with the owners delegating more responsibility to the operator level, appointing managers to take responsibility for certain functions, combined with developing systems to assist in maintaining control.
Many businesses increase the problems at this stage when they only increase delegation without increasing control. This is the key to smooth transition through this level. Control tools provide the information to management to ensure the business performs efficiently and profitably, with adequate cash flow. This development is often beyond the skills and experience of business owners who have come from a technical background and have never had training in finance and management areas. It is wise for owners at this stage to seek professional assistance in creating and establishing effective operating systems and control measures. As the business grows, the need for greater professionalism grows as well. Owners are wise to commit to a self education program so that they develop the knowledge and skills to run a business at higher levels.

At the higher levels of growth, the crises are more evident in the leadership areas. With growth, the need for increased management and organisation grows proportionately. Sometimes businesses need to be restructured along functional lines, or sometimes organisation is more determined by geographic elements. Whatever the case, the need for strong leadership and communication with management levels about performance issues, motivation of personnel and strategic elements of the business are of greater concern than the technical issues were at lower levels. Business owners need to develop their own leadership skills as well as develop or employ highly skilled managers.

If you are frustrated that your business has the potential to grow, but can't find the way through the current hurdles you are facing, which create increased stress, over work and performance issues, perhaps it is time you looked at changing the structure of your business and becoming more professional about how you manage it. Unless you make the changes, your business will be forever held back. You will not be capable of further growth until you re-create your business to perform efficiently at the next level. You may be held back because your current situation makes you too busy working in the business that you don't have time to work on it, to develop new systems and controls. It is time to bite the bullet. Unless you free yourself to work on reinventing your business to clear the way for growth, you will continue to bounce up against that invisible ceiling you keep hitting, without ever being able to break through.

Reviewing your business structure and transforming it as needed is the key to helping you put your business on autopilot, where your business works so well that you don't have to. Find out more in Greg Roworth's special free report, The Freedom Challenge, available at http://www.businessflightpath.com. Greg Roworth is a successful entrepreneur, author and mentor who helps small and medium business owners escape business dependency and create a business that provides an abundant living, lifestyle and legacy.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Greg_Roworth

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/38516

The Zen Habits 12-Step Get-Out-of-Debt Program

2012-02-02T10:04:00.002+05:30

The Zen Habits 12-Step Get-Out-of-Debt Program

Article Source : http://zenhabits.net/the-12-step-get-out-of-debt-program/
1. Acknowledge the problem. The first step is admitting you have a problem. The first week, all you have to do is say to yourself, “I have a problem with debt. I got into this because I spend money I don’t have. But I believe that there’s a way out, and I can do this. I can control my spending, make a plan, and slowly get out of debt.” That’s a major step. Now set aside just 30-60 minutes a week to deal with your finances — make it a set day and time, and don’t let yourself miss this appointment.

2. Stop digging. If you’re in a hole, the first step is to stop digging, and that’s what you’re going to do this second week. For 30 days, see if you can stop any non-essential spending. If you have a major problem with credit cards, cut them up. If you’re not so bad with credit cards, at least put them away and don’t buy stuff online for one month. What’s essential? Obviously your bills, housing, auto, gas, groceries … that kind of stuff. Non-essential? Clothing, CDs, DVDs, books, magazines, gadgets … you know what I mean. Just 30 days. After that, you can decide how much to spend on these things.

3. Make small cutbacks. This third week, take a look at things you normally buy and see if you can cut out a few of them, or spend less on them. Groceries? See if you can buy house brands instead of name brands. Coffee? Make it yourself at home instead of buying out. Lunch? Try packing it to work instead of eating out. Add up what your cutbacks will save you this month.

4. Start an emergency fund. This fourth week, set up a savings account, if you don’t have one already, for an emergency fund. Now take the amount you saved in Step 3 (and even in Step 2 if you think you can make them last for awhile) and set up a regular automatic deposit from your checking to this emergency fund savings account for this amount. It’s important that before you start paying off debt, you have at least a small emergency fund. Aim for $1,000 at first, and you can grow that later. The reason: if unexpected expenses come up, and you don’t have an emergency fund, you will skip your debt payments to pay for the unexpected expenses. The emergency fund protects your debt payments.

5. Take inventory. OK, this is a step that we don’t like to take. But take a deep breath. You need to do this. Remember what you said in Step 1? You can do this. This fifth week, set up a simple spreadsheet. In one column, list all of your debts — credit cards, medical bills, auto loan, etc. You can leave out your mortgage, but put everything else. In the second column, put the amounts you owe for each debt. In the third, put the minimum monthly payment, and put the percentage interest in the fourth column. Total up the second and third columns to see your total debt owed and how much you have to pay, at a minimum, towards debt each month.

6. Make a spending plan. We don’t like to do this step either. But it’s not going to be as painful as we think. This sixth week, set up another simple spreadsheet. In one column, list your monthly bills (rent or mortgage, auto payment, utilities, cable, etc.) — everything that is a regular monthly expense. Then list variable expenses (things that change every month) like groceries, gas, eating out, etc. Later you should add irregular expenses (stuff that comes up once in awhile — less than once a month) such as auto and house maintenance, clothing, insurance, etc. But we won’t get into that now, as we want to keep it simple. In the second column, put down the amounts for each. Be sure to put enough for things like gas and groceries, as you don’t want to be short. Be sure to also include your minimum debt payments and your emergency fund deposit. Now, list your income sources and monthly amounts. There. You’ve got a temporary spending plan (you’ll want to add the irregular expenses later). Now, if the expenses are greater than the income, you’ll need to make adjustments until the expenses are equal to or less than the income.

7. Control spending. If you’re into your seventh week of this debt plan, you may find it hard to keep track of your spending and ensure that you’re sticking to your spending plan. Here’s the key: first do the emergency fund deposit. Then do the debt payments. Then do your monthly bills. Then withdraw the variable amounts in cash, and put them into separate envelopes. It’s old-fashioned, but it works, as you don’t have to worry about overspending. When your envelope is empty, you can’t spend anymore. Continue to cut back on non-essential spending as much as you can at this point, so you’re able to stick within your spending plan.

8. Pay bills on time. This may be a problem for a lot of people. It’s important, if you want to get out of debt, to start paying all your bills on time. If you follow the payment plan outlined in Step 7, your bills should be paid before you get to any discretionary spending categories. At this point, you want to focus on getting those bills paid on time, and making it a habit. If you have trouble remembering, try one of these methods: 1) pay bills as soon as they come in — take them to the computer and pay them online, or write out a check and prepare the envelope to be mailed the next day; or 2) set up a reminder in your calendar program to tell you when bills are due.

9. Start a snowball. Now that your finances are relatively under control, you can start a debt snowball. At this point, you should have the beginnings of an emergency fund, you should know how much you owe, you should have a temporary spending plan, you should be paying bills on time and controlling your spending. Now you can focus on paying your debt. Here’s what to do: If you can find at least $100 from your spending plan, use that to start your debt snowball. You may need to cut back on discretionary spending (as you did in Steps 2 and 3). Or, once your emergency fund is at $1,000, you can use the amount you were putting into that account for your debt snowball. If you have trouble finding $100 for a debt snowball, you need to look at what other expenses you can cut back on. OK, once you’ve found at least $100 for your debt snowball (and more would be better), take a look at your debt spreadsheet. First, order the debts from the smallest amount owed to the largest. Now, look at your smallest debt owed — you will start by paying $100 (your debt snowball) plus the minimum monthly payment on that debt each month, until the debt is paid off. When the debt is paid off, you will take the amount you were paying on it (let’s say $50 monthly payment plus the $100 debt snowball for a total of $150) and pay it to your next smallest debt, until it is paid off. Continue to pay off your debts, one at a time, until they are all paid off. Now you have a large sum you can put into growing your emergency fund, and funding your irregular expenses, and finally start investing.

10. Find larger cuts. Once you’ve controlled your finances and started your debt snowball, there are ways to increase the snowball — and hence the speed with which you get out of debt. Look at your larger expenses — are there ways you can eliminate or cut back on them? Can you sell your car for a smaller, used model? Can you find a smaller house or apartment to rent? Can you sell your house and rent a cheaper one? Can you get by with one car? Can you eliminate some services you’ve been using? Whatever cuts you make, apply that amount to your debt snowball — don’t spend it.

11. Grow your income. Another great way to get out of debt faster is to make more money. Look at ways you can make money on the side — or ask for a raise or get a better job. Take 30 minutes to brainstorm. Are there ways you can start a small business online? Sell your valuables on eBay? Start freelancing on the side? Get a part-time job? This only has to be temporary, but the more money you make, the faster you’ll get out of debt. Be sure to apply your new income to your debt snowball.

12. Track your progress. On your debt spreadsheet, be sure to update it every payday (or however often you pay debt) so that you can see your shrinking debt amount. You should be able to calculate how many months you have left before you’re completely out of debt. It may be a long ways off, but it’s within sight!

13. Bonus step: Celebrate! It’s important to celebrate, not only when you’re out of debt, but along the way as you eliminate each debt. Have fun! Make this an adventure. It can be amazingly satisfying to stop spending and gain control of your finances instead. Find free entertainment, make it a challenge to be frugal and save money and find cheap used stuff. Pat yourself on the back along the way.

5 steps to delegating and supervising

2012-02-01T10:10:00.000+05:30

5 steps to delegating and supervising
There are 5 steps to delegating and supervising that guarantee that your expectations are met and success results are achieved.

Step One
The first step in delegation is to become perfectly clear about the results that you desire from the job. The greater clarity you have with regard to the results expected, the easier it is for you to select the right person to do the job.

Step Two
The second step is to select a person based on his or her demonstrated ability or success at doing this job. Never delegate an important job to a person who has never done it before. If the successful completion of the task is important to the success of your business, it is essential that you delegate it to someone who you confidently believe can complete the task satisfactorily.

Step Three
Third, explain to the person exactly what you want done, the results that you expect, the time schedule that you require, and your preferred method of working. The reason that you are in a position to delegate a task is because you have probably already mastered this task. Taking the time to teach and explain the best way to do the task based on your experience is an excellent way to ensure that the task will be done as you wish and on schedule.

Step Four
Step four is to set up a schedule for reporting on progress. If it is an important task, set up a deadline for completion that is a day or a week before your actual deadline. Always build some slack into the system. Then, check on the progress of the task regularly, very much like a doctor would check on the condition of a critical care patient. Leave nothing to chance.

Step Five
Step five, inspect what you expect. Delegation is not abdication. Just because you have assigned a task to another person does not mean that you are no longer accountable. And the more important the task, the more important it is that you keep on top of it.

What task can you effectively delegate to someone else? Which one of your employees can handle the task efficiently?

Are You Having Trouble Forgiving Someone?

2012-01-31T09:59:00.002+05:30

Are You Having Trouble Forgiving Someone?

By Tim Connor
Why is it so hard for people to forgive.
In every relationship each partner will from time to time behave in such a manner that their partner will have the opportunity to forgive them or hold on to the blame, resentment, anger or disappointment.

The willingness to forgive is an important ingredient all successful, peaceful, happy and positive relationships. The ability to forgive will be a useful tool in your relationship if it is used in a timely and effective way. It can be a negative one if used as a manipulation device to get your partner to relent, beg, plead or grovel for your willingness to let go of the hurt, pain or frustration.
Forgiveness is not about letting the other person off the hook for their transgressions or mistakes. Its primary function and value is to let you off the hook from the damaging consequences of carrying around allot of suppressed negative feelings.

So lets talk about what forgiveness is, what it isn't and how to learn to use this powerful relationship device.

Forgiveness is many things but it is most of all:

One, A letting go of the responsibility for the actions, feelings and behavior of your partner.

Two, It is taking the power back in your life for your own feelings, attitudes and behavior.

Three, It is freeing yourself from the negative emotions connected with the other persons behavior.

Why does it feel so painful when we are hurt by our partner's behavior, actions or words? We feel betrayed, let down, afraid, insecure, out of control, compromised. stupid, victimized and disappointed .

Since many of the reactions and emotions when we are hurt by our partner are negative why do they do the things that cause our pain or anger. First of all they don't do the things to us they just do them. Second they do them for any number of other reasons such as: they are human, they are unskilled at relationship issues, they have their own stuff that they are dealing with in their own consciousness, they don't think, they think we deserve it, they set us up, they don't know they are hurting us, they hurt us for our own good, they hurt us as a result of spill-overs from their own life issues, they hurt us because they don't care and they hurt us because they are on their own path learning the lessons in life that are theirs to learn.

You must remember that one of the reasons your partner is in your life is that they are a mirror for you. You brought them into your life to help you learn more about your self and the lessons you must deal with while on your path to wholeness.
There are many things that get in the way of forgiveness. Some of the more common elements are; ego, stress, poor communication skills, a lack of vulnerability or realness, a lack of honest self disclosure, an attitude that they are right, a desire to not be seen as soft or weak, especially in men, fear and stubbornness.

What about the ultimate benefits of forgiveness. This is the real purpose of forgiveness, to release all the pent up emotions or feelings that will ultimately contribute to poor health if you elect to hang on to them long enough.
The benefits are the release of negative energy, a clearing of the air, it opens the gate to intimacy, you become free of the past, you can move forward in the relationship and you will experience increased trust and security.
The costs of an unwillingness to forgive I am sure are obvious but for the record they are, poor health, emotional distance, broken relationships, stress, frustration and guarded or closed communication and unfinished business.
I have often been asked in my seminar on relationships two vital questions. First, is it possible to forgive someone that you will never see again either because of physical distance or death?

The answer is yes. They may or may not be aware of your forgiveness but remember its primary function is for you not them. The second question I am often asked is are their limits to what you should forgive? The question is no. Forgiveness is not forgetting.

An example I have used is that in a former life I did (according to my partner) a number of things that in her opinion were criteria for divorce. I have asked a number of people if I had done those things to them would they have asked for a divorce. The answer was always no, but that is not my point. If I were to call my former wife to forgive her for her behavior during our separation I am confident her attitude would be that she didn't do anything that required my forgiveness. So here I am I need to release all of this stuff, but I can send it to her without her rejection. Does that mean I am doomed to carry all of this stuff with me to my grave? NO. I sent her my love, light and my forgiveness out into the universe. I released all of my anger, pain and grief. She may or may not be aware of it but I am. And that is all that matters.

One area that we have not touched on so far which is by far the most critical element in forgiveness is the ability to forgive yourself.
Look at your own life in retrospect. What un-forgiveness are you carrying around in your mind that needs to be released. I will bet that you are either consciously or unconsciously punishing yourself for any number of words spoken or not spoken, deeds done or not done, mistakes, failures and behavior that you should have had or not had.

You need to let go of all of this negative baggage about yourself for all the same reasons you need to do it for another person.
There are four stages of forgiveness. The hurting stage, the hating stage, the healing stage and the coming together. Everyone spends a different amount of time in each stage. Everyone experiences and expresses themselves differently while in each stage. The key is to recognize that they exist and to be aware of your behavior while in each stage.

There are a few steps that you can follow to speed up the forgiveness process. They are;
One, learn to see the divinity in your partner. Two, recognize that they are not their behavior. They are so much more than the transgression, words or mistakes. Three, Know that most people are doing the best that they can with what they have at the time. Four, Practice forgiveness in little things before you tackle a biggie. Five, Is this person or situation worth getting sick over. Six, the mind can't hold love and hate in it at the same time, it can't hold un-forgiveness and acceptance in it at the same time. So choose your actions.
You and I are responsible to our partners but not for them. We are responsible for ourselves in the relationship but not their behavior or feelings. We are not responsible to but for. Subtle difference in definition but major difference in attitude or philosophy.

Tim Connor, CSP is an internationally renowned sales, relationship, management and leadership speaker, trainer and best selling author. Since 1981 he has given over 3500 presentations in 21 countries on a variety of sales, management and relationship topics. He is the best selling author of over 60 books including; He can be reached at tim@timconnor.com, 704-895-1230 or visit his website at http://www.timconnor.com.
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Are You Having Trouble Forgiving Someone?

2012-01-31T09:59:00.001+05:30

How to Feel Good About Yourself

2012-01-30T10:05:00.001+05:30

How to Feel Good About Yourself
By Mitch McCrimmon
We are all hooked on the same set of tactics to help us feel good about ourselves, most of which have no lasting effect. To achieve sustainable self esteem, the first step is to become more aware of how our usual tactics are self-defeating.
Your Unproductive Self Esteem Building Tactics
1. Feast on bad news about other people. The media feeds us universally bad news because it meets our deep need to feel good about ourselves. Seeing other people suffering makes us feel that we are not as bad off as we think. When we see people in California lose their homes to fire, we feel that, however hard up we are, they are worse off. We feign sympathy while inwardly feeling relief.
2. Criticize other people or find ways to put them down. A common way to pump ourselves up is to gloat over the stupidity of others. As angry as the mistakes of others make us, we would be lost without them. We need their mistakes to realize that surely WE are not that stupid.
3. Win as many arguments as you can. Being right is a good way to score points, if only to convince yourself that you are better than the other person. It doesn't really matter if you distort the facts or overlook some inconvenient truths, as long as you can convince yourself and your opponent that you know best.
4. Be quick to spot how people differ from you. Despite sharing 98% of our genes with chimpanzees, we can spot how people differ from us more quickly than an eagle can spot a mouse. Differences automatically mean inferiority in others and superiority in us. Looking for things we have in common with other people does nothing for our self esteem, so why bother?
5. Align yourself closely to a select group - community, political party, ethnic group, religion, club, nation, age group or racial category. Just as we identify with winners in sports, we need us-them relationships with other groups to feel superior.
6. Exaggerate someone's faults. The greater someone else's faults appear, the more faultless you can regard yourself.
7. Blame someone else, circumstances or bad luck whenever something goes wrong to take the heat off yourself.
We are hooked on these tactics because they give us the same quick fix we get from food, drugs and alcohol. Equally, they give no lasting boost to our self esteem.
Why We Feel Bad About Ourselves
Our search for more productive ways of building self esteem must begin by recognizing the self-defeating habits listed above. Next we need to understand why we feel bad about ourselves in the first place. Here are some of the most common reasons why we don't always like ourselves:
1. We're not sufficiently aware of our strengths and daily good deeds because they come naturally to us so we discount them by saying "Surely, anybody can do that!" The things we are good at, enjoy doing or find easy to do are indicative of strengths but we discount them as strengths precisely because they are easy for us.
2. Similarly, we overlook how much we have got to be happy about (like just being alive) and focus primarily on what we haven't got.
3. We compare ourselves with unrealistic role models thanks to media attention constantly paid to the rich and famous.
4. We get more negative than positive feedback because people react to what annoys them. People want to focus on their own needs. As long as no one bothers them, they don't notice good deeds unless they are remarkable. But as soon as you do something that distracts them from themselves, they turn nasty and put you in your place. No wonder you see yourself as a bad person.
5. We compare how we feel with how everyone around us behaves. If they seem OK, we feel worse because we think we are the only ones with bad feelings.
6. Some parents idolize their children, making them think they are invincible and setting high, unrealistic expectations for them, thereby unwittingly setting them up to fail. Conversely, some parents go to the other extreme and see their children as never doing anything right.
7. We quickly forget our successes and good fortune. Even if we win the lottery, six months later we return to our normal state of dissatisfaction.
This list is not exhaustive, but there are enough reasons here to be down on ourselves. You likely have your own unique reasons to beat yourself up.
Twelve Ways to Build Sustainable Self Esteem
1. Monitor yourself closely to avoid self-defeating tactics and short term fixes.
2. Engineer more positive feedback for yourself by focusing a lot more attention on meeting the needs of others. Enough people will show appreciation if you do nice things for them to help you feel good about yourself. This is also about taking the focus off yourself, being less self-absorbed.
3. Recognize that everyone has similar fears, anxieties and low self esteem and that you have the power to make them feel better about themselves. Helping others is a sure way to feel good about yourself.
4. When you catch yourself thinking or saying something negative about people, force yourself to list a comparable number of positive facts about them.
5. When you want to disagree with someone, begin by stating a few aspects of their position that are agreeable to you.
6. Become more aware of your strengths and daily good deeds. Stop taking them for granted just because they are easy for you to do.
7. Instead of placing blame, focus on the future, and ask yourself: "What can I do differently to improve this situation?" Take ownership. By placing blame, you disempower yourself. While you may feel better immediately by getting your anger off your chest, it never helps. in the longer term, to feel disempowered.
8. Meet regularly with your team, boss or colleagues and review what went well since you last met. Most meetings focus on problems, creating a negative atmosphere.
9. Compare yourself with realistic role models and set realistic goals for yourself.
10. Regularly remind yourself of your good fortune, the reasons you have to be happy.
11. Be active. Practical action is better than excessive soul searching. Too much introspection breeds discontent and self-doubt.
12. Spend more time with upbeat friends, less with those who are overly negative.
See http://www.leadersdirect.com for more information on this and related topics. Mitch McCrimmon's latest book, Burn! 7 Leadership Myths in Ashes was published in 2006. He is a business psychologist with over 30 years experience of leadership assessment and executive coaching.
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Sale-Closing Techniques

2012-01-27T10:09:00.002+05:30

Sale-Closing Techniques - A 1 - 2 - 3 Punch to Get the Sale
By James M Hussey

It doesn't matter what industry you're in, if you're trying to make any profit, you need to become adept at successfully using sale-closing techniques. Even as a remodeling contractor, the author had to use these in order to succeed in business and generate an income in a volatile, competitive market. As the new family business has taken off so well, it has all been traced to sales generated using this combination.

It all really depends on your personal selling process--but here are 3 of the most effective methods to get the sale, used in tandem for a knockout punch:

• Door Knob Close
• Assumptive Close
• Puppy Dog Close

There's plenty more to choose from, these happen to be the 3 related money-makers that have been effective in the author's experience as a franchisee-owner and owner of two other businesses. Let's look at each in turn, and feel free to tweak this to fit your own application.

Door Knob Close
After the sales presentation or pitch, and asking for the sale a few times (using the Assumptive Close, below) only to be met with a flurry of objections, it may take the wind out of your sails a bit. Rather than give up so easily, however, a successful salesman will have this ace up his sleeve. For the sake of rhetorical integrity, let's say you're presenting in a place of business, say you're trying to sell advertising or what have you. You're met with one or another objection, you think you've answered them but the prospect is leaning towards a waffling "No."
The Door Knob Close is when you turn around and head for the exit, seemingly accepting defeat, only to appear to pause in thought with your hand on the knob. Then, in Colombo-like fashion, you make it look like you just had a great idea. Turning to your prospect, you say, "Hmm, you know, I can appreciate what you've just said, I've been in those shoes, too. But if price is the main objection...(or whatever the objection is)." Then you come out with a Puppy Dog Close (see below) for the strongest door knob close, or some other "this is the best I can do, I'm giving it away at this point" type of deal.

Assumptive Close
The Assumptive Close is really a way of asking for the sale, and can fit into anyone's personal selling process. Instead of asking for the sale in a "Yes" or "No" fashion, simply assume the sale and phrase the close as a choice of quantity, quality or delivery date. In other words, if you're selling a sports car, ask if they want it in automatic or manual shift, rather than, "Do you want the car?"
A common mistake that many make with the Assumptive Close is that they forget to come prepared with answers to objections. Answering objections is a necessary part of all sale-closing techniques, so come prepared. After answering the objection, go back into the Assumptive, and ask for the sale again.

Puppy Dog Close
The Puppy Dog Close is the easiest to do if you're the business owner, just be sure you know your own break-even and ROI for a given sale before you offer it. In other words, don't give the farm away to win a tractor. This works really great in tandem with the Door Knob Close, for a great 1-2 combo.
It works like this: you've gone through the above, answered objections, and you get the feeling that the prospect would buy right now, but somehow you've lost them. At some point, their sales resistance went up just a hair, and the Puppy Dog Close just may bring them back around. You offer a "Try it Risk-Free" condition, and if they don't want it after giving it a shot, then they don't have to buy.
We do this all the time in our service-oriented business, and it works well. If people want to give us a shot, then they can, and we fill out our form and "sign them up," so to speak, all the while telling them they don't have an obligation to use us. The kicker is that it's all true, mind you--don't do a Puppy Dog if you're just being unethical and are cornering the prospect into a contract deal in an underhanded way.

To summarize:
When you ask for a sale, assume it's a done deal. (Assumptive Close)
If you're met with objections just for objection's sake, and you think the person is waffling, use a Door Knob Close.

To really seal the deal and remove all sales resistance, use a Puppy Dog Close, or risk-free trial, to allow your company to prove themselves to your prospect.
Armed with these sale-closing techniques, adapted for your own personal selling process, you should close more sales than not.
James Hussey works a successful family business by day built on these sale-closing techniques. When he's not out closing sales he blogs, freelances on Elance creating SEO-rich content and articles as "JamestheJust," and reflects on how amazing his wife and kids are. Really. One of his blogs is http://DogPetStores.com/ where you'll find info on Dog Booties and beds, training collars and clothes, dog meds and dog behavior questions.

Come visit and get a couple of samples of dog training programs, for FREE, including FREE video lessons for dog training.

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How to Discover Your Life's Purpose!

2012-01-25T09:58:00.002+05:30

How to Discover Your Life's Purpose!

By Cheryl Fauvel

Do you ever feel that sometimes your life seems a bit stuck and you feel like you are just drifting! This is not a nice feeling and can leave us feeling insecure and lost with no idea of our destination! There has to be more to life than that? Discover your life's purpose!

Life is short and the years just fly by, sometimes it feels as though time is running out, and I for one don't like that feeling at all!
So Much To Do And So Little Time!

We have become so bogged down with our daily necessary things to do, the job, the family, the chores.. by the time we have some time for ourselves we are done in and fit for nothing. Then on top of that, others want a piece of us as well! How are we meant to achieve any goals when this is what we have to deal with?
So many people feel this way, we get caught up in life, living how we think we are supposed to live, we forget who we truly are and what our life is meant to be!
This is not what life should be like, not at all!
Life Is Too Short!

Life is definitely too short to be letting it just slip by, or living it by others standards. Our life is the most precious gift we have, and we should not take it for granted and let it slip by! We need to reach our potential, grow as much as possible and take in all the beauty that is on offer for us! It is all just waiting for us to see the light and stop living a boring mundane life!
If we just take a leap of faith, life is not gray and boring, it's just beautiful and amazing, we are too busy to see it!

Don't you want to look back at your life and smile, knowing that your strived for your goals and lived to the full? Yes our lives are definitely about more than this! We have a mission, it is our job to find our true purpose and live it!
How do We Find Our life Purpose?
Firstly we have to take time for ourselves, if that means that you have to leave your family to their own devices for a while, so what, they will survive while you take an hour for yourself!

Get out, go for a walk, open your eyes and look at the wonders around you! Get into the habit of demanding that time for yourself, try to do it at the same time everyday, and don't feel guilty, you are entitled to this, you will become a better person and your family will get used to it and love you for it!
Ask Yourself Some Questions!

Now that you are used to your own time, sit with nature, maybe next to a big powerful tree! Ask yourself if you are happy, what would you change if you could? Is there something you would like to achieve with your life! Look for your passion. If you feel really excited and just have to get on the road to achieve this, then you have most likely found your purpose, the reason for your life!
If this is your purpose then you will not be able to let go of it, and believe me if you do not proceed to live it, you will be missing out on all the glory and wonder of your life!

Don't waste your life, live your passion create your dreams, do it now! Discover your life's purpose!

Life is too short not to love every moment, start loving it! Choose to grow and achieve your dreams, it really is your choice, make it now! Be true to you and discover your life's purpose! My Success to you, to all you deserve and desire! Cheryl Fauvèl http://mindandbodyinhealth.com

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Social Media Marketing Plan

2012-01-24T09:59:00.002+05:30

Social Media Marketing Plan
By Simon J. Maselli

Do you know how to Leverage your social media marketing plan to maximize your business exposure to the internet?

Social networking is the latest revolution in online advertising and it continually surprises me how few leverage its potential. It is relatively simple to set up and once you reach critical mass, the results from social media marketing are awesome.
Read on to find steps on setting up your social network.

1. Set up a business page on Facebook. This is relatively simple to achieve. Sign up to Facebook and set-up a personal page. You would then set up your social media marketing page by establishing either a group or a page. My personal recommendation is to set up your social media marketing plan as a page. Complete as much information in the business information tabs as possible and remember to link back to your main website.

2. Set up a profile on twitter. Go to the Twitter home page and select "New User". Twitter is currently the fastest growing community on the internet. Complete the relevant information and verify your account. The next step is to search twitter for users interested in similar ideas as your business. There are a number of options you can target your social media marketing prospects, from your contacts lists to keyword searches. Take your time and add as many new contacts as time permits.

3. Visit LinkedIn and make a new profile. Linked in often gets users searching for individuals/business for work so it is key to make sure that you completely fill out the details required for a complete profile. This will leverage your social media marketing opportunity and ensure your LinkedIn prospects know what you are about.

4. Join Digg and begin to submit the pages of your website to the Digg Community.

5. Join StumbleUpon and submit pages from your website. This is one of the largest source of traffic early in your websites development and it is important that you maximise the power this resource has to offer to leverage social media marketing.

6. Add buttons to your website that will enable you to link from your website to each of these to your Social networking profiles. there are widgets and banners available at each of the Social Network Marketing sites that you can simply cut and paste into your website to Leverage the Power of this Medium
If you follow these 6 steps to Social Media Marketing you will be well on your way to leveraging the power of this marketing strategy.
Simon Maselli is a Progressive, innovative, energetic and diversely experienced Entrepreneur, and Professional Deal Maker with more than 16 years success as a Leader/Project Manager on multi-million dollar projects with some of the top ASX listed companies in Australia.

As a Social Media Specialist [http://simonmaselli.com/smm.html] and expert in the field of Personal Branding [http://simonmaselli.com/pb.html] who focuses on Return On Investment by boosting your personal and business presence, Simon gets Results
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Sales Appointment Planning

2012-01-23T10:40:00.001+05:30

Sales Appointment Planning
By Alan Gray

This is arguably the hardest thing you will ask a salesperson to do, the part of the job they really hate. They normally have a planning day to make appointments, follow up quotes and catch up with any paper work.

The appointment making is the part where they come unstuck. You normally have the sales manager demanding X number of appointments per week as we all know all sales departments play the numbers games. The more people you call, the more appointments you make, the more quotes you will do, the more orders you will get. That part is only common sense. However by working smarter in marketing imagine you come into work on a morning and your inbox is full of requests from people who actually wanted to see you, your appointment planning becomes a lot easier.

Just to re-emphasize that point Let me run the following past you
You are a Sales manager and you request each of your sales team members to do 16 appointments per week. Now the Salesperson will know of 5 or 6 companies that they need to see in that week so they will ring up, hopefully get in touch with the person they need to see and make the appointment. They will do this to all six companies and if they are really lucky, make 6 appointments. General rule is they will make four and two call backs on the companies they could not appoint. You now have an experienced Sales person who still has 12 appointments to make and no idea where they will come from. So what do they do, they start cold calling, hoping beyond hope that they will manage to find 12 potentials with a need for their product and the budget to buy it. Desperation sets in because they want to keep you happy with the 16 calls you have targeted them to make. They will practically beg customers to let them visit even though they do not have an application or budget. The result is your Salespeople turn into talking brochure and they end up wasting both their time and the customers. Let me ask you a question. Do you know how much it cost's to send a sales person on a visit? Multiply that figure by the number of appointments that are potentially talking brochure calls and multiply that by 38 weeks, you'll be horrified at the wasted cost

To put a Sales person on the road we will use the figure of £100,000. This includes Salary, car, hotels, fuel and support staff. (Please enter your own figure)
If we use 38 weeks this will account for holidays, sales meetings and training
So 16 appointments per week X 38 weeks equals 608 appointments per year
The cost to put a sales person on the road in our example we have used £100,000
So the average cost per sales visit is £164.47
If in our example you are doing 12 calls per week that are none value added i.e. talking brochure you could be wasting
12 X 38 X £164.47 = £74,998.32

That's why you need first class marketing. I was once told "If you are bad at marketing you have to have a damned good sales team"
Alan Gray sales consultant [http://www.issmarketing.com]
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How To Be Happy With Yourself Everyday

2012-01-23T09:54:00.002+05:30

How To Be Happy With Yourself Everyday

How To Be Happy With Yourself Everyday
By Grace Rivera

Want to know how to be happy with yourself? Want to know what principles happy people cling on to? Here's a peek to some of the secrets to being happy with who you are day in and out. With hope, the following should change your perspective in life and improve your disposition. Lastly, it should help you embrace yourself and be one of the happy few who succeed in life.

Here are some tips on how to be happy:

Loosen up and find time for leisure. Your crazy work life and domestic responsibilities may kill your free time completely but that should never be the case. You don't need an hour to pamper yourself to some quick leisure activities. Take a fifteen-minute break every three hours of solid chair-wrecking session with your laptop and treat yourself to a sweet and warm mug of chocolate or cappuccino. Go out for a breather and take in some fresh air or watch the sun folds its glorious rays before your very eyes.

Surround yourself with things that delight you. If you are a girl, surround yourself with beautiful things such as flowers or plants, pretty furniture or work desk fillers, funny photos, inspiring quotes, etc. If you are a guy, you might find action toy figures, family picture, car posters or photos of gadgets fascinating. Whatever it is that lights a flicker of smile in your heart, whether it's something you have or don't have practical use of, put it where you frequent. These things shall remind you of your aspirations and experiences and stir in you a sense of joy that can only be found in simple things.

Lose yourself from time to time. Do crazy things once in a while and make yourself as goofy as possible. The ability to enjoy life is sometimes reflected on how mighty you can laugh at yourself. Don't be afraid to see and unleash your freak. Take your inhibitions away, have fun, and get to know yourself in every light. This is a good exercise if you really want to know how to be happy with yourself. After all, being comfortable with yourself means knowing yourself fully well.

Accept everything you are. No one else will. It is okay to have flaws and there's nothing wrong with being imperfect. Sure there are things you wish you could be or have but that doesn't nullify all the other good qualities you have. And if you will take time to notice, you find that not all bad things about you are thorns in the flesh. Sometime, they can be your saving grace, too.

Set aside time for self-talk. No, you don't do it in public or when you're in your cubicle. Like scheduling an appointment with your dentist, this self-talk should be done in private, when you are alone and not rushing. What do you do in a self-talk therapy session? Well, it's basically an exercise where you let your thoughts and feelings out by talking. You can get a mirror if you are more visual but often times just focusing on yourself talk will suffice. Talk as if you are the only person alive. It's good for the soul and spirit, but never ever try doing it out in public or others may think you're crazy.

Make other people happy. You can start by doing kind things for others or saying some really encouraging or inspiring. You may show up and show your support if a significant one is undergoing a life-changing event in her life or a crisis. Or you may literally crack a joke or witty remark over lunch or during a boring meeting. Whatever could make someone happy, do it as long as you are capable. The more happiness you give, the more you receive.

All in all, how to be happy with yourself takes effort. For some it comes out naturally but in some cases, you really have to work on it. Thankfully, there are ways. You have just been given the key to lasting happiness, use it well.

Discover the easy ways on how to be happy today. Visit us at www.motivateyourself.org to find out how.

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3 Sales Closing Techniques You Must Master Immediately

2012-01-21T09:41:00.002+05:30

3 Sales Closing Techniques You Must Master Immediately
By J Allen Reeves

There are a lot of sales closing techniques you'll hear from thousands of different people - all telling you slightly different things to try.

However, there is no time in the day to master them all. In this article you'll learn 3 sales closing techniques I recommend mastering first, before moving on to anything else.

3 Sales Closing Techniques You Need To Know

1. Understand Your Prospect - This is something few people talk about, but a skill you MUST get better at if you want to close more people. Listen very, very closely to what the prospect is saying - and figure out ways to show them that YOU can help with whatever problem they're having. Give case studies, be genuine, and come into the conversation with one goal - to HELP that person fix whatever problem they're currently having.

2. Be Confident - Nobody likes a person who's ashamed to admit they're good at what they do. Being timid about your skills is a HUGE killer when closing sales... so do whatever is needed to gain confidence in your skills, and then display that confidence to your prospect. If they ask if you can help them out with "X" problem - boldly declare that you can and will. If needed... guarantee your work. This holds you accountable and dissolves the "confidence" problem immediately.

3. Follow-Up Is Key - Very few people I know regularly follow-up with clients they didn't close on the first try... and it's KILLING their sales! This sales closing technique is absolutely mandatory - simply because if you continually followup with prospects and show your willingness to work with them... they will eventually come to you. Each followup shows that person that you're serious about what you do, which helps them gain trust, credibility and many other factors that go into actually closing the sale.

Listen... when it comes to sales closing techniques - their are probably hundreds of them that you can follow. DO NOT try and become a master of them all at once. One of the best things you'll ever do for your business are mastering a few of the "key" components of closing the sale.

The 3 I gave you are what I consider to be some of the most key factors you can use.

1 out of 3 will get you average results.
2 out of 3 will get you good results.
3 out of 3 will put you at the top of your game... and the top of our industry.

Now work on increasing your ability to do these 3 sales closing techniques... and then write me and tell me how much money it's made you!

To see Jeremy Reeves' track record of profit-exploding results and to discover how Jeremy can help explode YOUR bottom-line profits using advanced selling and copywriters strategies and to reserve your FREE 30 minute consultation... visit http://www.ReevesCopy.com

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The Psychology of Consumerism

2012-01-20T10:12:00.002+05:30

The Psychology of Consumerism
By Saberi Roy
On the marketing and behavioral aspects of consumerism and the advantages and disadvantages of consumerism
Consumerism is in a way the more human aspect of business and companies and businesses consider consumers along with their employees as the essential 'people elements' of their endeavor. Yet consumerism can have its other meanings and represent a culture of buying, highlight the virtues and vices of a materialistic society and emphasize on the importance of globalized business environment. Companies have to keep their consumers happy and develop and sell new products based on consumer needs. The needs of the consumers and the needs of businesses however seem to be circular as companies create needs of consumers and consumers also project their needs to businesses suggesting an interdependent relationship. When I say, companies create consumer needs, we can consider the example of Apple iPhone. Apple successfully created a need in consumers to possess a product that would successfully integrate the phone and the iPod. Of course Apple must have also done the initial survey to find out what consumer needs or demands are and then finally expanded and focused on these consumer needs to come up with the new products, including the iPhone. A good company is the one that can provide realistic and well defined frameworks for initial vague consumer needs. The needs of the consumers are initially not well defined or clear as consumers tend to have some idea about what they want but are not too sure about what they actually want. So through surveys and discussions with consumers and in house technical or product development advisers, companies are able to develop on these initial consumer ideas and vague consumer needs and provide shape to their future product plans.
Yet we could first try to define consumerism and understand why consumerism is such an important aspect of business and marketing. The term consumerism seems to have both positive and negative connotations as consumerism could mean a culture of possessions and glorification of materialism. Consumerism could however also mean progressively more consumption of goods and products that could benefit the economy and the markets with a heightened buying culture among people although consumerism could also mean the entire gamut of marketing and business activities that finally lead to the buying of products by consumers.
Consumerism thus has a broad definition and can include a range of buying and business behaviors, so finally consumerism is a 'kind of behavior' and that is how it is important to psychology and psychologists. Consumerism is about individuals or groups and how they select or buy secure and use or dispose products and services so that they can satisfy their needs of consumption and the practice of consumerism would also have a significant effect on society. The study of consumer behavior in a systematic and even a scientific manner would be the basis of the psychology of consumers and consumerism. The psychology of consumerism could be considered from two different aspects - one from a marketing or the business viewpoint in which consumerism is seen as essential since it helps maintain companies and businesses so the psychology would be based on how to attract consumers whereas the other viewpoint is the behavioral aspect of consumerism or why consumers buy or consume products and services, and what are the reasons of a buying culture and how this could be justified with normal or abnormal behavioral analysis.
The latter part of this discussion can help us answer several issues about consumerism.
Consumer Psychology from a Marketing Aspect -
Consumers buy according to their personal needs and what they feel is necessary and also according to social needs as they follow trends and thus become interested in certain products and services. Certain products appear more important, essential or attractive to consumers and these products tend to have certain value which makes it easier for companies to sell these products. Businesses and companies are capable of attracting more consumers by using the psychological principles of marketing and consumer behaviour and the key is to create want or the requirement for a product. Businesses and companies understand initial consumer needs through surveys and then they develop new products to attract consumers. Once products are developed, brand image and advertisements help in providing an association between products and companies and when consumers develop an element of familiarity with this association between brand name and product features, they tend to even want the product. In keeping with the demands of competition and consumerism, companies tend to give promotional offers, discounts, sales and low priced products with the aim of attracting more consumers. Considering the marketing perspective, consumerism is advantageous as more consumers and increased buying behavior would mean more sales of products although the disadvantages of increased consumer spending would be minimal except that increased consumerism would also signal increased competition from other manufacturers.
Thus the most essential features of consumer psychology from a marketing point of view are - creating the need for consumerism or for a specific product by advertising specific and unusual features of the product, developing the association between brands and products and offering attractive options such as discounts and sales to attract not just more consumers but also more sales.
Consumer Psychology from a Behavioral Aspect -
From a behavioral perspective, it would be interesting to engage in an analysis of buying behavior and we can try to understand why consumers buy in the first place. There could be several reasons for buying that arise from social and personal needs, from emotional and financial needs and some of these needs are healthy and positive and in fact essential in our daily life. However, buying behavior as in 'shopaholics' would be unpredictable, random, and even unhealthy, from a psychological point of view as excessive buying or consumerism cold indicate bipolar illness or a kind of addiction. However consumerism and specific focus on luxury brands could highlight the almost unhealthy addiction to fashion trends and status symbols in modern times and globalization seems to be encouraging this. Companies and businesses create choices in consumers so consumers already have a 'need' when they engage in buying behavior. Although this need could be personal and social, the need could also perfectly an emotional need to possess.
From a psychological viewpoint consumerism is about fulfilling our inherent need to control and possess certain objects which could well replace or substitute other possessions. For example, a woman undergoing divorce proceedings may suddenly develop the irresistible need to buy things continually because the need for possessiveness towards a partner has been diverted to other directions.
From a more clinical point of view consumerism could be explained with abnormal psychology and the role of depression, the need to satisfy excessive possessiveness and also the blind faith or dependence on fashion trends and all these are seen as negative aspects of consumer psychology. If consumerism is considered as a positive phenomenon, the advantages of consumerism would be the application of psychological principles in understanding buying behavior.
Consumerism and the study of consumerism helps us to understand and recognize not just consumer needs and how these needs are created or fulfilled but also the behavior and attitudes of consumers towards products and the business directions or endeavors to understand marketing from a behavioral perspective. The psychology of consumerism is thus about creating needs and associations so consumers develop certain familiarity with the product ideas even before buying them.
Consumerism could be both positive and negative and represent not just a global and globalized culture but also highlight the superficial trends and deeper necessities of individuals across societies and communities.
Reflections in Psychology - Part I - by Saberi Roy (2009)
http://www.lulu.com/content/5865445
Saberi Roy - Books
http://saberiroy.tripod.com/books
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How To Be Happy With Yourself Everyday

2012-01-19T15:52:00.002+05:30

How To Be Happy With Yourself Everyday
By Grace Rivera

Want to know how to be happy with yourself? Want to know what principles happy people cling on to? Here's a peek to some of the secrets to being happy with who you are day in and out. With hope, the following should change your perspective in life and improve your disposition. Lastly, it should help you embrace yourself and be one of the happy few who succeed in life.

Here are some tips on how to be happy:

Loosen up and find time for leisure. Your crazy work life and domestic responsibilities may kill your free time completely but that should never be the case. You don't need an hour to pamper yourself to some quick leisure activities. Take a fifteen-minute break every three hours of solid chair-wrecking session with your laptop and treat yourself to a sweet and warm mug of chocolate or cappuccino. Go out for a breather and take in some fresh air or watch the sun folds its glorious rays before your very eyes.

Surround yourself with things that delight you. If you are a girl, surround yourself with beautiful things such as flowers or plants, pretty furniture or work desk fillers, funny photos, inspiring quotes, etc. If you are a guy, you might find action toy figures, family picture, car posters or photos of gadgets fascinating. Whatever it is that lights a flicker of smile in your heart, whether it's something you have or don't have practical use of, put it where you frequent. These things shall remind you of your aspirations and experiences and stir in you a sense of joy that can only be found in simple things.

Lose yourself from time to time. Do crazy things once in a while and make yourself as goofy as possible. The ability to enjoy life is sometimes reflected on how mighty you can laugh at yourself. Don't be afraid to see and unleash your freak. Take your inhibitions away, have fun, and get to know yourself in every light. This is a good exercise if you really want to know how to be happy with yourself. After all, being comfortable with yourself means knowing yourself fully well.

Accept everything you are. No one else will. It is okay to have flaws and there's nothing wrong with being imperfect. Sure there are things you wish you could be or have but that doesn't nullify all the other good qualities you have. And if you will take time to notice, you find that not all bad things about you are thorns in the flesh. Sometime, they can be your saving grace, too.

Set aside time for self-talk. No, you don't do it in public or when you're in your cubicle. Like scheduling an appointment with your dentist, this self-talk should be done in private, when you are alone and not rushing. What do you do in a self-talk therapy session? Well, it's basically an exercise where you let your thoughts and feelings out by talking. You can get a mirror if you are more visual but often times just focusing on yourself talk will suffice. Talk as if you are the only person alive. It's good for the soul and spirit, but never ever try doing it out in public or others may think you're crazy.

Make other people happy. You can start by doing kind things for others or saying some really encouraging or inspiring. You may show up and show your support if a significant one is undergoing a life-changing event in her life or a crisis. Or you may literally crack a joke or witty remark over lunch or during a boring meeting. Whatever could make someone happy, do it as long as you are capable. The more happiness you give, the more you receive.

All in all, how to be happy with yourself takes effort. For some it comes out naturally but in some cases, you really have to work on it. Thankfully, there are ways. You have just been given the key to lasting happiness, use it well.

Discover the easy ways on how to be happy today. Visit us at www.motivateyourself.org to find out how.

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The Psychology of Happiness

2012-01-17T16:02:00.002+05:30

The Psychology of Happiness

By Saberi Roy

A lot has been written about happiness and from psychology to philosophy, different theories of happiness have focused on issues of satisfaction, contentment, and even spiritual liberation. But happiness is one of the most subjective mental states and several factors could be at play when a person is truly happy. Whereas anger or fear could be defined with physical reactions and certain behavioural patterns, this is not so for happiness and that is how happiness is extremely subjective. For example one bar of chocolate could make one child happy whereas another child would want two chocolate bars to feel truly happy.

So why do we feel happy? Happiness is usually associated with some kind of gain or attainment. When we achieve or attain something, we feel satisfied and this triggers happiness. The attainment does not have to be material, it could very well be spiritual. It could even be bodily and physical, just as an insomniac person would feel happy after a good night's sleep. So, in defining happiness we have to locate a specific material, spiritual or physical gain or attainment and the contentment arising as a result of this attainment. The question would arise whether it is possible to be happy without any attainment. I would say that it is not possible to happy without attaining something and this attainment does not have to be immediate and could be related any past achievement. Now, you could say that you do know someone who is always happy without any specific reason. It's that you haven't found out the reason for his happiness. He may be a simple man with simple needs and happy after a warm bath or a nice meal, so that's still some attainment. So, happiness always involves some attainment or need fulfilment, however small or big that is.

Psychologists have used several models including bio psychosocial and PERMA models to explain happiness suggesting that happiness is attained when our biological, psychological and sociological needs are met or when there is pleasure (bodily for instance), engagement (in some activity for instance), relationships, meaning (for instance purpose of life) and accomplishments. These models suggest that happiness involves something deeper than just our fleeting pleasures. I would differ and suggest that happiness being extremely subjective, some people may just be happy attaining pleasures whereas some others would seek meaning or possibly accomplishments and relationships. So the level or type of attainment that makes one happy would vary from one person to another.

Thus some people would be happy when their basic needs are fulfilled whereas some others would not be happy even after significant professional accomplishments as they may be expecting some other level or kind of achievement. Thus happiness largely depends on our subjective understanding of what it means to be happy. Since happiness is so subjective it cannot be strictly placed within models or frameworks although the underlying common factor that makes people happy is always some kind of attainment, gain or need fulfilment.

The next level of analysis would be whether happiness could be categorized to generalized happiness or a continued happy state of mind and specific happiness for attaining one of the specific pleasures or goals. I would suggest that there cannot be a generalized state of happiness without a specific reason. A seemingly happy person may not be genuinely happy or may be genuinely happy as he may have attained an exalted spiritual state or accumulated substantial wealth. So again as we see a continued state of happiness could also be explained with attainment.

The need fulfilment or attainment that triggers happiness could be biological such as bodily pleasures as when we quench our thirst, satisfy physical desires etc. The attainment could be social when we form relationships and feel happy or simply talk to strangers at a large event or remain engaged in social activity, or the attainment could be spiritual when we seek and even find some kind of spiritual liberation. The attainment or need fulfilment could be psychological when our love needs are fulfilled or when we reach our goals or fulfil our ambitions. The biological, psychological, social and spiritual aspects of attainment could provide happiness according to their needs. Thus happiness is intricately tied to our specific needs although these needs could be interrelated as for example the need for status or power could be both social and psychological.

Thus we distinguish the factors that could lead to happiness

1. Biological (bodily pleasures, basic needs)

2. Social (status, relationships, social activity and engagement)

3. Psychological (emotional, love, friendship, personal accomplishments)

4. Spiritual (finding meaning and purpose, transpersonal needs)

There could be several reactions to happiness and this could range from smiling to engaging in rigorous physical activity as happiness could mean a sudden surge in energy levels. People who engage in physical activity are more likely to be happy due to improved blood circulation and general good health. However happiness being an extremely subjective emotional state, in order to feel genuinely happy, some achievement in terms of long term goals such as love or conjugal life, wealth, spiritual liberation, or professional achievement could help a person to attain a continued happy state of mind. This is the prolonged state of happiness that has causes similar to any transient state of happiness although the effects could be long lasting. The people who have a prolonged state of happiness are generally lively, sporty, fun loving and optimistic. A child may show a prolonged state of happiness when adequate care and love are provided by their parents or carers. However transient states of happiness are more common as prolonged states of happiness could be interrupted by adverse life events so momentary joys and pleasures provide us with reassurance to accept and embrace life.

From a more psychoanalytic point of view, happiness would be related to desire, libido, our energy levels and even the defense mechanisms that we unconsciously use to vent out our frustration and thus remain happy or calm. Happiness would naturally raise our libidinal levels and make us more energetic and high levels of energy could in turn make us happy, so this process is cyclical. Several scientific studies have shown that happiness is directly related to our levels of energy.

Considering defense mechanisms, psychoanalysis could in a way suggest that happiness is actually acting out or reaction formation when we show certain reactions that may be completely opposite to what we feel. For example in reaction formation we may show happiness, when in reality we are sad or depressed. Although genuine happiness could be explained with psychoanalysis as well, as for example, an artist is genuinely happy when he can sublimate his desires to socially acceptable forms of expression through his creativity. A sportsman is genuinely happy when he can channel his aggressive or sexual desires through sport or rigorous activity. So these defense mechanisms in psychoanalysis could actually produce genuine happiness in people because of the inherent survival and coping strategies involved in these defenses.

Finally, happiness being a state of mind would be entirely subjective and would evoke extreme subjective reactions. For instance, someone laughs on hearing a joke and feel happy about it and someone else would be sarcastic or may not feel the same level of excitement. Whereas anger and other emotions could be explained in terms of physical responses, happiness usually does not have defined physical responses although there is a general positive feeling of well being and the physical responses could vary considerably. As I have stated on the psychology of emotions, it would be necessary to determine the components of feeling and bodily reaction for every emotion including happiness and psychology has an extensive research project to consider for the future.

Reflections in Psychology - Part I - by Saberi Roy (2009)
http://www.lulu.com/content/5865445

Reflections in Psychology - Part II - by Saberi Roy (2011)
http://www.saberiroy.com

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How To Bounce Back From Adversity Again And Again?

2012-01-17T11:17:00.002+05:30

Everyone at least once in their life experiences some form of a setback, adversity, failure or loss in at least one area of their life. Adversity can strike with or without notice. It can hit a relationship, a loved one, a career, your business, your health or your financial status.

No matter where or when it hits, the anxiety, stress, frustration, disappointment, fear, sadness or panic leave the same feelings or emotions in its wake. A senses of hopelessness and/or despair.

Life is circular not linear. First there is birth, then growth, then maturity then death, followed again by birth or re-birth and so on. This is the law of the universe, whether it is life itself or a change in career or a relationship. I do not mean to imply that all relationships must die before their time, but they do eventually end. There is a big difference. Endings are different than death. Death is certainly an ending, but there are literally thousands of types of endings.

Periods of life end, for example youth is followed by adulthood. All careers end if not by premature death, then retirement, or the beginning of a new or different career. Relationships end, if not physically, then a stage in the relationship, for example lust, infatuation or physical attraction is replaced in long standing relationships with deep and abiding love.

Setbacks and adversity are often signals that some aspect of life has come to an end or needs to come to an end. They are wake-up calls or what I call choice points in life. Many people, myself included, on a number of occasions, resist endings from time to time. Sometimes however, we embrace or encourage them. We want to continue life, business or a way of life forever. Most people die with unfinished business left in them. It is seldom that there isn't something more that could have been said, done, seen, learned or shared by someone who has passed on.

This is not an article about death and dying. It is about bouncing back from an event that life has been thrown in our path, or we have brought into our life because of our attitudes, decisions, behavior or actions. At the end of this article I will offer some ideas on how to bounce back, but first let's look at a few related ideas.

What gives adversity its power over emotions, feelings and responses? Why is adversity a tool used by some to improve or change, while it is used by others as an excuse or reason to give up or whine and bemoan their circumstances? Where is the potential learning or lessons in a setback or adverse situation?

Life isn't fair, and it isn't unfair. It just is. Life is neutral. It brings each person unique opportunities to learn and grow as a result of the events or circumstances that cross their path. Everyone, I repeat everyone regardless of their age, sex, nationality, religion, career status or financial position is a student in life. Some people, upon an outward-in first glance may "have it made". But do not judge by appearances only. Everyone has inner battles of one kind or another that they are fighting.

No one is immune to the teachings of life. Class is always in session. School is never out. There are no vacations. We never graduate. We don't get to select the curriculum, but we do have to do all the assignments and take all the quizzes. If we pass, we get to move on to other sometimes bigger or higher lessons. If we fail, we get to repeat the same lesson again and again until we finally learn whatever it is we need to learn as we travel through life. The repeated lesson might present itself from a different spouse, career situation, or any number of new and/or different circumstances, but the lesson will be the same.

There are several predicable stages that people go through following any loss regardless of its nature or severity. They are denial, anger, acceptance and finally moving forward.

Many of us bring repeated adversity of one kind or another into our lives and a great many people choose to see themselves as victims. To see yourself as a victim, and not take the responsibility for your circumstances is to live in an inner emotional world dominated by blame, guilt and resentment. I once heard a friend make the statement, "why is this happening to me again?" There was a common denominator in all of the repeated events. It was him.

Adversity gives us the opportunity to do a number of things as we move through our lives. Some of them are: reevaluate old life patterns that are not working; see ourselves more clearly as a contributor; develop new attitudes about life, relationships, money, people, work etc.; observe how we handle the lessons we are given.

A number of people have asked me why some people seem to have or attract more adversity or failure while others seem to glide through life with wonderful relationships, stable financial lives, growing careers, lots of friends and excellent health. I don't know for sure why some people seem to have more, do more and become more while others struggle daily with the basics of life. But I do have a few ideas and will share them with you as food for thought only. You won't find these in a psychology text or on a counselors couch. They are just my observations seeing life through my own personal struggles and successes.

Everyone is on their own personal path through life.

There is a law in the universe called the law of cause and effect. There is another metaphysical concept that states, be careful of what you ask for because you will probably get it. Still another says, what you are seeking is seeking you. There is a great quote from Yogi Bera, "expecting different results from repeated behavior is a mild form of insanity." Another from my relationship seminar says, life determines who comes into your life, your attitudes and actions determines who stays.

As you can see from a number of different perspectives, a great deal of the adversity and loss in our lives is self-inflicted as a result of our conscious actions, expectations, perceptions and thoughts or our unconscious values, beliefs, judgments and paradigms.

All behavior is the result of a persons consciousness. To attempt to change behavior without first changing consciousness is to invite failure whether it is with eating habits, communication patterns, or work ethics, and everything in between. The reason so many people fail at whatever behavior they attempt to change is because they try to change outside-in rather than inside-out.

What does all of this psychological mumbo jumbo have to do with adversity and bouncing back? Everything. Our state of mind is often fertile ground that attracts adversity into our lives. Our state of mind will determine how we will respond to, or overcome the events that come to us. Our perceptions, or filters (how we see life) will determine our interpretation of whether this is an adversity or not. Give twenty different people the same adverse event, and I guarantee that some will see it as negative, some will see it as positive and some will see it as devastating. The event was the same, the interpretations unique and personal.

Let's summarize and answer the first question, what gives adversity its power over people's emotions, feelings and responses?

When we are confronted with a situation regardless of its nature, that is perceived as a threat to our comfort, security, sense of well being or the status quo we tend to imagine the worst. Fear takes over. How will I survive alone? Will I ever find a new job or career that I will be successful in? Will I ever find another lasting nurturing relationship? What will my life be like with only memories of the past? Am I destined to struggle my entire life? How can I ever get over this tremendous loss? There are others, but I am confident you see my point.

When we operate out of a consciousness of fear, we tend to lose our perspective. We don't think rightly, see clearly or feel safe. We therefore see ourselves as victims and out of control of our lives.

Adversity can be a tool, just like any other emotional tool for positive change. If the wake-up call is heard, we can listen carefully to what we believe it is trying to teach us. This takes awareness, courage, self-love and patience. If we are too hard on ourselves and beat ourselves up thinking, I am such an idiot, or I'll never get this right or, I deserve all this bad stuff, we will find it difficult to create the proper mind-set to change direction. Adversity needs to be looked at with precision, careful observation and honest introspection. It needs to be seen as one of life's teachers, and not some villain that is out to get us or beat us down.

Having said all this it is also important that we not let ourselves off the hook with justification or acceptance. It is important to learn to become more comfortable with where we want to be or who we want to become rather than where we are or who we are.

As promised here are a few things you can do if you are smack in the middle of a situation that is uncomfortable, challenging or trying to teach you something, in other words an adversity.

One, try and keep the circumstances or situation in perspective. Will this be as big an issue in 100 years as it is today. Two, evaluate the situation in light of your entire life. Three, focus on what you have, not what you lost. This isn't any easy step when you are neck deep in pain, sorrow or grief, but continuing to focus on what is no longer, tends to keep you locked in the past and a state of 'no positive action'. Four, do something, anything to re-focus your thoughts, energy or activities in a positive or more healthy direction. Five, if it is a loss of a relationship or loved one, remember all that you had with them that was good and positive. Six, Remember you can't change what has happened, but you can change the future. And you change your future in your present moments. You also create all of your memories positive or negative, in your present moments. Seven, keep in mind the concept that you don't always get to determine what comes into your life, but you always get the choice of how to react or respond to it.

These are not easy steps. Loss and adversity of any kind are painful and difficult as long as you continue to remain focused on the loss or the problem. To use adversity as a positive teacher that has come lovingly into your life to help you overcome shortcomings, character defaults or poor judgment is a sign of emotional maturity. To wallow indefinitely in the negative circumstance, failure, disappointment or loss is to remain stuck and out of control. Life is neutral. It doesn't care how you react or respond to its teachings.

So the final question I would leave you with is, what kind of a student are you as you pass through the classes in life? Are you a willing learner or are you resisting the teaching, and the opportunity for personal growth?

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Happy Makar Sakranti!!

2012-01-14T16:40:00.003+05:30

WHAT IS MAKAR SAKRANTI??

Read here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makar_Sankranti

Sankranti is the Sanskrit word in Indian Astrology which refers to the transmigration of the Sun from one Rāshi (sign of the zodiac) to another. Hence there are 12 such sankrantis in all. However, the Sankranti festival usually refers to Makara Sankaranti, or the transition of the Sun from Dhanu rashi (Sagittarius) to Makara rashi (Capricorn).
For this purpose, the signs and houses of the zodiac are calculated using sidereal time, not tropical. As such it does not account for the Earth's precession. The festival therefore takes place around 21 days after the winter solstice (between December 20 and 23) that marks the starting of the phenomenon of 'northward apparent migration of the sun' or Uttarayana, literally meaning northward journey of Sun.
Considering the winter solstice marks the beginning of the gradual increase of the duration of the day. Scientifically, the shortest day of the year is around December 21–22 after which the days begin to get longer, hence actual Winter Solstice begins on December 21 or December 22 when the tropical sun enters Makara rashi. Hence actual Uttarayana is December 21. This was the actual date of Makar Sakranti too. But because of the Earth's tilt of 23.45 degrees and sliding of equinoxes, Ayanamsa occurs. This has caused Makara Sankranti to slide further over the ages. A thousand years ago, Makar Sankranti was on December 31 and is now on January 14. Five thousand years later, it shall be by the end of February, while in 9,000 years it shall come in June.[citation needed]
While the traditional Indian Calendar is based on lunar positions, Sankranti is a solar event. So while dates of all Hindu festivals keep changing as per the Gregorian calendar, the date of Makar Sankranti remains constant over a long term, 14 January. Makar Sankranti is celebrated in the Hindu Calendar month of Magha.
Makar Sankranti is a major harvest festival celebrated in various parts of India. According to the lunar calendar, when the sun moves from the Tropic of Capricorn to the Tropic of Cancer or from Dakshinayana to Uttarayana, in the month of Pausha in mid-January, it commemorates the beginning of the harvest season and cessation of the northeast monsoon in South India. The movement of the Sun from one zodiac sign into another is called Sankranti and as the Sun moves into the Capricorn zodiac known as Makar in Hindi, this occasion is named as Makar Sankranti in the Indian context. It is one of the few Hindu Indian festivals which are celebrated on a fixed date i.e. 14 January every year.
Makar Sankranti, apart from a harvest festival is also regarded as the beginning of an auspicious phase in Indian culture. It is said as the 'holy phase of transition'. It marks the end of an inauspicious phase which according to the Hindu calendar begins around mid-December. It is believed that any auspicious and sacred ritual can be sanctified in any Hindu family, this day onwards. Scientifically, this day marks the beginning of warmer and longer days compared to the nights. In other words, Sankranti marks the termination of winter season and beginning of a new harvest or spring season.
All over the country, Makar Sankranti is observed with great fanfare. However, it is celebrated with distinct names and rituals in different parts of the country. In the states of northern and western India, the festival is celebrated as the Sankranti day with special zeal and fervor. The importance of this day has been signified in the ancient epics like Mahabharata also. So, apart from socio-geographical importance, this day also holds a historical and religious significance. As it is the festival of Sun God and he is regarded as the symbol divinity and wisdom, the festival also holds an eternal meaning to it.

How to Eliminate Your Victim Mentality

2012-01-14T09:49:00.002+05:30

How to Eliminate Your Victim Mentality
By Kristin Hutchings

Do you feel like a victim in your life? Well, you if you do, you are not alone. When you have a victim mentality you feel as though you cannot succeed no matter how hard you try and that everything and everyone is against you. Feeling like this can be very frightening as it keeps you stuck. You feel trapped and helpless and believe you have no control over your life. Your thinking patterns are likely to be negative and very pessimistic. There is also a strong chance that self-pity and sadness are familiar features of your life.

Believe it or not, having a victim mentality is attractive to some people because they believe it holds several benefits, such as not taking any risks in life and therefore not failing at anything; generating pity and attention from other people; not having to work hard in order to take responsibility for their lives and having a victim mentality can also feel safe, simply because thinking in that way has become a habit and "normal".

In order to eliminate your victim mentality you have to realise the pay-offs for retaining that frame of mind and also know that it is a woefully poor substitute for a full and successful life. This is a very important first step to change. It is also important to be consciously aware of your thinking patterns and replace your negative thoughts with positive affirmations. Our thoughts create our feelings, so it is vital that you start to retrain your thoughts so that they are beneficial to your self-esteem and are encouraging and motivating.

The next step is to begin to take responsibility for your life. This means letting go of blaming others for our present situation. It means being accountable for your life and not handing control over to someone else. Taking responsibility helps to build a sense of inner strength and you cease to search for your validation from other people. They will no longer have such a strong influence on your thoughts and feelings.

Another way to eliminate your victim mentality is to take a moment to put your problems and fears into perspective. Comparing your predicament with people whose lives are much harder and less fortunate than your own is an excellent wake up call for your victim mentality. Gaining a sense of gratitude for the many blessings in your life is essential for appreciating the many gifts you have.

Gratitude may seem like a hard task in view of our past hurts, especially if we have been treated badly by people we loved and trusted. However, allowing ourselves to focus on betrayals and cruelty only serves to keep us stuck in a victim mentality. In order to break free from this we need to learn to forgive. Remember that forgiveness does not necessarily mean we condone others' actions against us. We forgive primarily for ourselves, not for others. Forgiveness releases us and unburdens our soul and it severs the link we hold with the person who treated us badly. Their power over us is broken. Forgiveness is vital if we wish to eliminate our victim mentality and move forward in our lives.

Victims very often turn their attention inward, narrowing down the focus of their life to the point of self-fixation. It is far better to start to turn your attention to the world around you and ask yourself what you can do to make it a better place and what you can contribute. There is a multitude of charitable and good causes that are crying out for help. Helping other people is a fantastic way to not only do something worthwhile but it's also a great way to feel wonderful about ourselves. When we help people in need we receive far more in return than we give. How you behave and act towards other people has a strong effect on how you treat yourself. If you treat others with kindness you are likely to treat yourself with the same thoughtfulness. Eliminating your victim mentality also requires that you are kind to yourself. Congratulate yourself for each day you take control over your life. There will still be days when you feel like a victim, but as these lessen you will see how much fuller and satisfying your life is and you will realise also that you have so much to offer to the world.

Increasing our confidence is essential for our emotional well-being. For a step by step guide on how to boost your self-confidence and banish negative habits such as a victim mentality, please visit http://socialselfhelp.wordpress.com/ and download the no-cost video.

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Maple Dreams Business Coaching

2012-01-13T13:58:00.000+05:30

Poor Service Impacts on Business More Than the Recession By Michael M Walsh

2012-01-13T12:23:00.002+05:30

Poor Service Impacts on Business More Than the Recession
By Michael M Walsh

Being unable to see their business through customers' eyes loses more business than the recession. So says Michael McLaughlin, for twenty-years a business vetting manager for the Guild of Master Craftsmen. The biggest haemorrhage of client assets is the loss of goodwill caused by badly trained or de-motivated staff.

As fast as service providers generate business through imaginative cost effective marketing, they lose it because of poor staff training and sheer bad management. The average customer can reel off a dozen businesses they no longer frequent. When asked why they reveal that they have been offended by poor customer service. It is the self-inflicted recession that never goes away.

American Best Practice

The chairman of an American car making giant was the first to see the light. He couldn't understand why his Far Eastern competitors were outselling his company's equally good products. Delegating members of his staff as pretend customers he sent them to his firm's dealerships; and to his rivals' outlets.

When they reported back he was shocked by the culture of complacency in his own firm's showrooms when compared with the customer-friendly 'can do' response of his Japanese and South Korean competitors. Setting up a department of mystery shoppers, their brief was to identify poor service judged from the customer's perspective. He aimed to identify the causes of his clients' dissatisfaction, and to address them, before his customers defected to the competition.

He added a complaints department that actually listened to customers, acted on their complaints; identified and dealt with problems so they didn't recur. The head of another corporation said: 'Today there isn't much difference in products; it is service that counts.'

The Good Business Test

McLaughlin sets out a test for business owners: He invites them and their staff to write down the number of services they no longer support, not because their products are inferior but because their service has left them disappointed. He says he can think of a dozen; a high proportion being restaurants, though interestingly Chinese eateries invariably score high marks.

The main complaints are incompetent, inattentive, or surly waiting on staff; a shoulder shrugging indifference to meals delivered late or badly cooked, poor value for money, and a lack of entertainment. Other offenders are town hall and local authority administrative departments. He says they should remember their monopoly, which leaves the consumer without alternative choice, does not justify poor customer service. If their salaries are sourced from their customers' bank accounts then they have a duty to work to the highest standards of customer service.

Customer dissatisfaction is often expressed when dealing with reception staff; hotels, and airport attendants. Medical centre staff come in for a great deal of criticism. Often the customer is patronised; empathy is non-existent; they are made to feel not only unwanted but a nuisance. A minimum of information is offered leading to administrative errors, unnecessary delays, customer irritation; all of which combine to reduce job satisfaction. Everyone loses.

The former quality assessment expert says business owners can help build and retain custom by inviting friends, unknown to staff, to give their honest opinion after clandestinely using their services. He says; "By all means tell the staff of your intentions. In my experience they respond well when they are involved without threat but offered rewards for helping to build a customer base and add to their shopping experience. "Business owners," he adds, "should heed the wise words of the Scottish poet, Robbie Burns: "The greatest gift that God can give us is to see ourselves as others see us."

© Michael Walsh: Experienced journalist-writer. Applies professional finish to stories or features; marketing flair for product or service reviews. Small press publishing. All genres considered. Welcomes your e-mail. http://www.michaelwalsh.es/

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How to Deal With Insults - 5 Tips

2012-01-12T12:54:00.003+05:30

How to Deal With Insults - 5 Tips
By Rand Whitehall

Some of us have thick skins and really just don't seem to flinch when insulted. Others are devastated and hide under the covers crying for a week. Here are a few tips you can use when dealing with insults.

1. Avoid a physical confrontation: At no time should an insult turn into a fistfight. This may seem to go without saying but many an insult does turn into a public brawl and it wasn't long ago that 'gentleman' actually dueled and shot each over such things, legally!

2. Use the true or false question: An insult is either true or false. If it's true, the party under attack may dispel the matter outright by stating his awareness of this fault of his. If it's false the accused can contradict if he wishes (see step 5), but really if the insult is false he won't care what strangers may think and those who do know and care for him will no doubt know it to be false as well. It might be pertinent to contradict however if there are professional consequences at stake.

3. Realize the person doing the insulting is out of control, and has broken the unspoken rules of behaviour: By insulting someone, the offender is revealing that he or she has lost control of the situation. So there's no avoiding the fact that (in theory anyway) one should ever be burned by an insult. Not only is an insult an oafish attack, it is only effective on people who do not have healthy self-awareness and lack 'maturity' (what I like to think of as an ability to assess facts).

4. Do not take the bait: When someone hurls an insult at you, don't show them your anger because that's what they want--to see you hurting over their words. Smile. Let it go. Life is short.

5. Tell them how you feel and lay out the consequences: Later, when the smoke has cleared, calmly tell the person who insulted you exactly how you feel about the situation. Tell the person never to insult you in that way again, or there will be consequences, for example, you will no longer associate with that person, stop speaking to him or her, etc. The key is that you clearly, calmly state that their behavior is unacceptable and lay out exactly what you will do if it happens again.

Rand writes about computers and Linux, cycling, and great recipes to name a few. Check out his blue nitrile gloves site for a large dose of nitrile glove info! There's even a page on black nitrile gloves too!

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The Best Way to Get a Dream Job

2012-01-11T10:01:00.001+05:30

The Best Way to Get a Dream Job
By Kimberly Bates

Ever hear about someone's job and think, "wow, now that's a dream job?" Chances are, it didn't start out that way.

There are really two options for you if you want to have one of those elusive jobs. The first is to create one yourself by designing your own dream business around the things you love to do. This isn't for everyone, however!

The second is to find a dream job as an employee for someone else. And, the reality is, most of those type jobs weren't conceived by the employer. Most of the time, those jobs were created by someone who was already working for the company in a different capacity.

And that's the big secret...most dream jobs are inside jobs. That is, they wind up getting created by someone already employed there, who builds a case for either creating or modifying a position into their perfect job.

I've actually been able to do this on two occasions. The first time I worked for a large telecommunications firm. I was newly pregnant, and wanted to stop traveling. There was a job posted that would be perfect for me, except it was located at our division offices 400 miles away. I approached the director about taking the position and doing it from home. Although they hadn't considered that option, we agreed to let me do it that way until I had the baby. Then, we would reassess. It was so successful, I wound up working "virtual" for six years. Yet, the job would never have been posted on a board as a "telecommuting" position.

The second time, I've been able to use work rules and scheduling options to make a job part-time. I get full benefits, but only work about half the month.

The drawback in both cases is that this "perfect" setup rarely lasts forever. In the first case, the company ultimately outsourced the work I was doing and the job went away. In the second, the company is being acquired and the new company may not offer the same options.

So, how do you create a "dream job?"

*Get a job, almost any job, in the industry or with the specific company where you want to work.

*Do really well. Establish a name for yourself. Become indispensable.

*Study the company to see if there are any existing positions that would fit your dream with doable changes (such as working from home).

*Approach management with your idea.

If they say "no," consider going out on your own to do the work as a consultant.

If working for an employer, and the restrictions and demands on your life and time just aren't working for you, please allow me to give you a complimentary consultation on your other options!

As a Dream Business Designer, I help people like you take their passions and lifestyle priorities and create a profit-modeled Dream Business idea with them. We start with an exciting, inspiring session to come up with an idea, then I work with you to turn that dream into a reality.

I'll start out by giving you ideas in a complimentary 20-minute brainstorming session by phone. Tell me your biggest wish and obstacle, and we'll go from there. http://dreambusinessdesign.com

Kimberly Bates, The Dream Designer

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Are You Having Trouble Forgiving Someone?

2012-01-10T14:29:00.002+05:30

Are You Having Trouble Forgiving Someone?
By Tim Connor

Why is it so hard for people to forgive.

In every relationship each partner will from time to time behave in such a manner that their partner will have the opportunity to forgive them or hold on to the blame, resentment, anger or disappointment.

The willingness to forgive is an important ingredient all successful, peaceful, happy and positive relationships. The ability to forgive will be a useful tool in your relationship if it is used in a timely and effective way. It can be a negative one if used as a manipulation device to get your partner to relent, beg, plead or grovel for your willingness to let go of the hurt, pain or frustration.

Forgiveness is not about letting the other person off the hook for their transgressions or mistakes. Its primary function and value is to let you off the hook from the damaging consequences of carrying around allot of suppressed negative feelings.

So lets talk about what forgiveness is, what it isn't and how to learn to use this powerful relationship device.

Forgiveness is many things but it is most of all:
One, A letting go of the responsibility for the actions, feelings and behavior of your partner.
Two, It is taking the power back in your life for your own feelings, attitudes and behavior.
Three, It is freeing yourself from the negative emotions connected with the other persons behavior.

Why does it feel so painful when we are hurt by our partner's behavior, actions or words? We feel betrayed, let down, afraid, insecure, out of control, compromised. stupid, victimized and disappointed .

Since many of the reactions and emotions when we are hurt by our partner are negative why do they do the things that cause our pain or anger. First of all they don't do the things to us they just do them. Second they do them for any number of other reasons such as: they are human, they are unskilled at relationship issues, they have their own stuff that they are dealing with in their own consciousness, they don't think, they think we deserve it, they set us up, they don't know they are hurting us, they hurt us for our own good, they hurt us as a result of spill-overs from their own life issues, they hurt us because they don't care and they hurt us because they are on their own path learning the lessons in life that are theirs to learn.

You must remember that one of the reasons your partner is in your life is that they are a mirror for you. You brought them into your life to help you learn more about your self and the lessons you must deal with while on your path to wholeness.

There are many things that get in the way of forgiveness. Some of the more common elements are; ego, stress, poor communication skills, a lack of vulnerability or realness, a lack of honest self disclosure, an attitude that they are right, a desire to not be seen as soft or weak, especially in men, fear and stubbornness.

What about the ultimate benefits of forgiveness. This is the real purpose of forgiveness, to release all the pent up emotions or feelings that will ultimately contribute to poor health if you elect to hang on to them long enough.

The benefits are the release of negative energy, a clearing of the air, it opens the gate to intimacy, you become free of the past, you can move forward in the relationship and you will experience increased trust and security.

The costs of an unwillingness to forgive I am sure are obvious but for the record they are, poor health, emotional distance, broken relationships, stress, frustration and guarded or closed communication and unfinished business.

I have often been asked in my seminar on relationships two vital questions. First, is it possible to forgive someone that you will never see again either because of physical distance or death?

The answer is yes. They may or may not be aware of your forgiveness but remember its primary function is for you not them. The second question I am often asked is are their limits to what you should forgive? The question is no. Forgiveness is not forgetting.

An example I have used is that in a former life I did (according to my partner) a number of things that in her opinion were criteria for divorce. I have asked a number of people if I had done those things to them would they have asked for a divorce. The answer was always no, but that is not my point. If I were to call my former wife to forgive her for her behavior during our separation I am confident her attitude would be that she didn't do anything that required my forgiveness. So here I am I need to release all of this stuff, but I can send it to her without her rejection. Does that mean I am doomed to carry all of this stuff with me to my grave? NO. I sent her my love, light and my forgiveness out into the universe. I released all of my anger, pain and grief. She may or may not be aware of it but I am. And that is all that matters.

One area that we have not touched on so far which is by far the most critical element in forgiveness is the ability to forgive yourself.

Look at your own life in retrospect. What un-forgiveness are you carrying around in your mind that needs to be released. I will bet that you are either consciously or unconsciously punishing yourself for any number of words spoken or not spoken, deeds done or not done, mistakes, failures and behavior that you should have had or not had.

You need to let go of all of this negative baggage about yourself for all the same reasons you need to do it for another person.

There are four stages of forgiveness. The hurting stage, the hating stage, the healing stage and the coming together. Everyone spends a different amount of time in each stage. Everyone experiences and expresses themselves differently while in each stage. The key is to recognize that they exist and to be aware of your behavior while in each stage.

There are a few steps that you can follow to speed up the forgiveness process. They are;

One, learn to see the divinity in your partner. Two, recognize that they are not their behavior. They are so much more than the transgression, words or mistakes. Three, Know that most people are doing the best that they can with what they have at the time. Four, Practice forgiveness in little things before you tackle a biggie. Five, Is this person or situation worth getting sick over. Six, the mind can't hold love and hate in it at the same time, it can't hold un-forgiveness and acceptance in it at the same time. So choose your actions.

You and I are responsible to our partners but not for them. We are responsible for ourselves in the relationship but not their behavior or feelings. We are not responsible to but for. Subtle difference in definition but major difference in attitude or philosophy.

Tim Connor, CSP is an internationally renowned sales, relationship, management and leadership speaker, trainer and best selling author. Since 1981 he has given over 3500 presentations in 21 countries on a variety of sales, management and relationship topics. He is the best selling author of over 60 books including; He can be reached at tim@timconnor.com, 704-895-1230 or visit his website at http://www.timconnor.com.

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Five Ways to Increase Employee Productivity

2012-01-09T09:26:00.002+05:30

By Robert Edward Smith

The twin factors of economic downturn and high unemployment can seem on the surface to indicate an employer's market when it comes to either reviewing employee's productivity or picking and choosing new applicants from the filled-to-bursting pool of unemployed workers. With an abundance of talent to choose from, companies can choose to set higher qualifications for their applicants, or consider raising productivity levels for the existing team, knowing the candidate pool today is inexhaustible. Yet, every company - regardless of the team it has in place - has to keep its eyes firmly focused on productivity. Borrowing a baseball analogy: a good manager must use a variety of methods to put his players in a position to win.

1. Communicate - Listen - Instill Trust

Sometimes the communication flow in a business is a one-way street, coming only from the direction of the employer-owner-supervisor. Make it possible for your employees to feel like they have a say in the way things are done. Let them know their input (if constructive) will not put them in a bad light or jeopardize their job. Whether it's the warehouse floor, the assembly line or the office cubicles, your employees know how production can really improve - if the company culture allows them to communicate it. But in order for that to happen, the employees must trust that their suggestions will carry weight and will be welcomed.

2. Incentives / Rewards

Programs that set realistic yet positive benchmarks for above-average production give employees a standard in mind that will keep them geared toward productive activity. The reward for overall production can be shared with everyone and can build team unity. Individual recognition can stimulant healthy competition in sales; in production jobs, employees know their efforts can bring them more than just a paycheck - maybe it could mean a promotion or a bonus as well.

3. Give Them the Tools

Sometimes an employee will be slowed by the tools he's been given. Whether it's an older computer or an inefficient order system, it's important that the employee isn't constantly compensating for a lack of modernity or efficiency when it comes to the daily (or hourly) duties of their job. Ask them if they have what they need to do the job and do they understand what is being asked of them. Maybe the answers will surprise you.

4. Give Them the Training

Consistently good output is a result of good training and the application of that training to the day-to-day activity. Is your training specific to each position or do you employ a one-size-fits-all approach to training new employees? Or if you delegate the training of new employees, does the company trainer or supervisor completely understand each position's duties and responsibilities? Do you use a manual? Is it updated regularly? Have your long-term employees fallen into non-productive habits? Reviewing policies and procedures regularly will keep production methods and skills fresh and top-of-mind. Training doesn't have to be dull, either. Keep it light, make it fun, let the veterans contribute and watch the results improve.

5. Help Remove the Distractions

Employees spend 2/3 of the day away from the job. As in anyone's life, there will be times when personal problems arise and may create stress as well as carry an emotional toll. It's widely known in Small Business that employees that have problems off the job carry them to the job. One method to alleviate these distractions is to offer Voluntary Benefits to the employees in the way of a Legal Services Plan along with some kind of Identity Theft protection. Studies have shown that productivity increases when such benefit programs are in place. These two benefits in tandem can resolve many of the modern day issues that can affect anyone. They are relatively affordable and carry no expense whatsoever to the employer, unless he wishes to share in the premium costs with his employees.

For More Information Visit: http://www.smithpartnerships.com/employeeproductivity.html

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How to Be a Better Listener - It Can Change Your Life!

2012-01-07T08:44:00.001+05:30

How to Be a Better Listener - It Can Change Your Life!
By Joseph Malinak

"He won't just listen! He has to try and fix everything! I don't need him to fix the issues I have with my friends...I need him to listen. Why can't he just...listen?"

Do you recognize that rant? If you are a man or a woman who has ever been in a romantic relationship of any length, chances are you have either heard or delivered those kinds of words. Of course, "He won't just listen," depicts a particular power struggle women find themselves in when they just need to be heard and the men in their lives want to do the manly thing and fix the problem.

Honestly, though, women are not the best listeners either! There are times, especially in their relationships with each other, that women try to be such good active listeners that they continually interrupt the person who's talking. Because they are not really listening, they make incorrect assumptions about what's being said and the person sharing has to slow down and defend herself rather than simply be heard. If they could just be still and listen, instead of trying to anticipate or even fix what isn't broken for each other, their conversations would be much more meaningful and rich.

I have discovered a pathway to better listening that can change your life. I guarantee it works for both women and men. It works for women because it's right up their avenue of relationship expertise. I know it also works for men because it has worked for me. The respect in my wife's voice when she notices my improved listening skill makes me a happy man! This pathway to better listening is simple yet profound, requiring patience and discipline.

The pathway to better listening lies directly through the feelings you experience when you listen. Let's use the typical listening power struggle that occurs so frequently between women and men.

Stanley and Iris are a working couple who have just come home from a hard day's work. They've only been married a few years but have created an after work plan that more or less takes care of both of them. For the first hour they're home, Iris gives Stanley space to relax, chill, and do nothing. In that hour, she changes clothes, putters around the house, and begins a meal. She'd rather talk to him but respecting his uniquely masculine needs, she does the next best thing and goes into nesting activity around the house. Besides, this agreement isn't one-sided. Stanley will not only clean the kitchen after supper, while Iris puts her feet up, when his hour of repose is over, they share the details of their day with each other.

The plan works for the first hour they are home and it works for the rest of the evening most days of the week. But when Iris has had an especially troubling time with her boss or a fellow employee at work, things get sticky. It is at this point that Stanley just knows he has the answer Iris needs to fix her problem.

If Stanley could stop himself from giving advice and feel his feelings as she continues to share, he would learn to recognize that his need to interrupt and fix her stems from the discomfort he feels as a result of Iris sharing something he has no direct influence on. It makes him nervous and anxious to hear her go on and on about a problem not directly related to him. It makes him feel as though she's vulnerable to harm out there on her own. And because she doesn't handle the problem the way he would, he experiences anger with her because, from his perspective, her choices make her even more vulnerable.

For the sake of keeping this short, let me quickly add that similar dynamics occur between women and women and between men and men. Between two women, the urge to interrupt and fix it more likely comes from the discomfort the listener feels over being certain she can appreciate her friend's predicament, trying to distill the discomfort by taking over the conversation and rescuing her friend. Between two men, the urge to interrupt and fix it more likely comes from a sense of competitiveness and the need to defend one's own position.

The commonality is that one's feelings drive the energy to interrupt and either fix, rescue, or defend rather than just listen. This is why the pathway to better listening lies through the feelings. As you put your attention on your feelings and deal with your own discomfort; you, first of all, listen better because you can't talk and put your attention on your feelings at the same time. Going back to Stanley and Iris, this gives Iris more time to share or vent her experience of her day.

The other way putting your attention on your feelings helps you become a better listener is that your feelings are neither right nor wrong and they are not who you are. So, Stanley doesn't have to use his feelings to make Iris wrong and him right. In this way, he feels his feelings without agenda. Feeling your feelings without agenda has an amazing effect. It makes the feelings diminish.

As his feelings diminish, Stanley has a whole new attitude with which to listen to and appreciate Iris. It means he can more likely, at a time when Iris has shared enough to feel listened to, be able to ask her a question like, "May I make a suggestion?" Because she has been able to express herself fully, that question spoken in an even tone of voice shows interest in her, making her feel heard. With Iris's affirmative response, Stanley can gently offer his suggestion based on his logic and reason with the real possibility that she will, in fact, be able to hear him.

With patience and self-discipline, you can master the art of listening better by paying attention to and addressing your feelings as you listen. As you become a better listener, those you communicate with will likely become better communicators and listeners as well by the example you set and because you make them feel truly heard.

Joseph Malinak, owner of Creating Ideal Relationships, LLC, and co-author of "Getting Back to Love: When the Pushing and Pulling Threaten to Tear You Apart," is a relationship compatibility expert. Making use of his credentials as both a Jyotish Astrologer and Magi Counselor of The Cards of Your Destiny, he is uniquely gifted in helping people handle compatibility issues. Visit http://www.JosephMalinak.com for more information on how you can benefit from a compatibility consultation.

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How to Recruit Dealers-Distributors to Sell For You

2012-01-06T12:55:00.001+05:30

How to Recruit Dealers-Distributors to Sell For You
By DeAnna Troupe

Everyone dreams of owning a super money-making business where other people do all the work, and their only duties involve the approval of sales and bank deposit slips. It's the only way to go as a business owner.

The problem is however, not too many people seem to know how to " put together" such a business. What you're really talking about is an operation where you supply the product and other people do the selling-A prime source with a dealer or distributor network.

Assuming that you have the product, you'll also need a sales kit and plenty of impressive, eye-catching promotional materials. If you don't supply or offer to supply materials with which your sales force can sell the product, you'll have a hard time enlisting people to sell for you, and you probably won't set any sales records relative to your product either.

Let's assume that you've just written a book-HOW TO MAKE $100,000 PER YEAR AT HOME, WITH YOUR COMPUTER..Okay, in order to sell this book, you've got to get the word out to the people that you have such a book available. Advertising on your own is going to cost you money, and unless you've got a good understanding of the advertising business, you may never reach your full sales potential-besides, the time and effort expended in finding the "right" place to advertise, the placing of your ads, monitoring your returns, and the frustrations of dealing with the curiosity seekers, will quickly wear you out. Such is not the way you envisioned your life when you got the idea to write the book, get rich and enjoy a life of leisure.

So, just as soon as you've got your book written-the book is your product-get some "bids" out to the advertising agencies in your area, the freelancers, and the advertising department at your local colleges. What you want these people to do is make up an advertising circular promoting and selling your book. Now then, in a different-maybe smaller-type, and kind of like an afterthought-at the bottom of this circular, you include the phrase: Dealer Inquiries Invited...

Look over all the submitted circulars and choose the one (s) you consider the best. then have a supply of these printed up at your local print shop, obtain a mailing list of opportunity seekers, and get them in the mail.

Just as soon as you've dropped these first circulars in the mail, start writing your dealer/distributor letter. This should be simply an explanation describing how you will dropship orders for their customers, allowing them a certain commission on each sale and, the price per copy you'll sell your book to them in wholesale quantity lots. At the same time, this letter should include a copy of your advertising circular, and an explanation, reassuring these dealers that they can reproduce this circular with their name/address in place of yours on the order coupon. You might even include a brief note that you will pre-print these circulars with the dealer's name/address and ship them to him for a wholesale printing price. All of this boils down to your supplying him or her with whatever is needed to promote and sell copies of your book for you. The bottom line is simply that you can only reach so many people, and sell so many books yourself. With 1,000 people helping you-mailing out advertising circulars and running small ads in hundreds of opportunity seeker publications-your costs of running your business will be minimal while your book sale skyrocket.

Remember though, you need an impressive, eye-catching advertising circular or mailing package for your sales force to use as their own, and you need a clear easy-to-understand books in wholesale quantity lots, and the availability of advertising materials for your dealers.

The advertising circular should be dual purpose- you send it out to solicit sales of your product, and at the same time, recruit dealers who are impressed with your advertising materials and feel that they can make some money for themselves by promoting your product. Again, this needn't be much more than a simple "throw-way" line at the bottom of the circular: Dealer Inquiries Invited...

Now that you're organized thus far, the next thing is to contract to run as many small DEALERS WANTED ads in as many of the mail order publications as possible. Such ads can be either a classified or a small, but eye-catching one inch display ad:

DEALERS WANTED! Outstanding new book. Sells like wildfire! Everybody wants a copy! Make $10 profit on every $15 sale! Details for SASE to:

Basically that's all your "dealers wanted" ad needs to say, and then with plenty of exposure in all the mail order publications over a period of six or eight months, you should have hundreds of people all over the country selling your book for you. Simple, easy, almost cut and dried, but it works!

In building my own business from scratch over the past 10 years, I've found that once you've established a basic dealer/distributor network-or a list of people selling for you,you can add hundreds of related products, and the orders just keep coming in. Give it a try and see for yourself just how easy and profitable it can be for you!

Copyright 2004 by DeAnna Spencer

DeAnna Spencer is a virtual assistant that helps entrepreneurs run a successful business by providing affordable administrative help. She also publishes a blog for small business owners. Visit this small business resource today.

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How to Convince Someone to Change His Mind

2012-01-05T11:32:00.002+05:30

How to Convince Someone to Change His Mind
By M. Farouk Radwan

How to change someone's mind

During our lives we encounter many situations where we become in need to change someone's mind about something.

When someone refuses to change his mind about something it doesn't mean that he is stubborn or annoying but it simply means that somewhere in his belief system there is something that is preventing him from believing you.
In order to be able to change someone's mind about anything you need to understand how he thinks, what he believes in and how you can insert your ideas into his belief system with minimal resistance. In this article I will tell you how to do all of this.

Changing someone's mind, a step by step guide

Here is a step by step guide to changing someone's mind about something:

• Throw the bomb: Start by saying your argument directly, clearly and briefly. For example "What you did yesterday was wrong"
• Draw a map of the defense lines: As soon as you oppose someone's beliefs he will start to argue by giving you many reasons for his actions. At this point you must remain silent and record what says into your mind. I call these arguments defense lines because as soon as you penetrate them you will easily change the person's mind
• Debunk his arguments one by one and in the same order: The mistake lots of people make while trying to convince others is that they focus on the main point without understanding that if they managed to get rid of many arguments the other person gave the way to convince him will be opened.
• New arguments might appear and that's normal: If you Successfully managed to reply to his arguments he might dig deeply into his mind and find the final one or two arguments he has. At this point you shouldn't lose hope but instead you should know that he is running out of arguments and that he is now using the strategic reserves.
• Reply back to the final arguments: Again you should reply to his final arguments by giving valid reasons that proves them wrong
• Repeat your beliefs and its over!!: As soon as he tells you "I don't know" or "I am not sure" repeat your main idea again many times and he will believe in it. For example "You know it is wrong, why did you do that?"
Things that can help you to change a person's mind
Of course the process is not that simple and you won't be able to convince someone that his arguments are wrong unless you sound really convincing, this won't happen unless:
• You give solid proofs: After all the other person needs stronger evidence than the ones he has in order to believe you
• Back your arguments by facts: Use statistics, numbers, research findings or even quotes from authoritative figures to sound more convincing.
• Use social proof: Let the person feel that he is odd but giving him examples of many other people who have opposite beliefs. The social proof theory states that at the time of confusion people tend to stick to what the majority is doing
• Repetition: the more you repeat your argument the more convincing it will become. If you managed to let another friend repeat the same argument then your probability of changing the person's mind will become much higher.

Finally changing someone's mind is all about removing the obstacles he is holding in his belief system one by one then repeating your idea over and over.

http://www.2knowmyself.com, The ultimate source for self understanding

9,000,000 Million visits and counting

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How to Handle Staff Problems

2012-01-04T15:45:00.002+05:30

By Richard A Stone

If you are having trouble with a member of staff who is not achieving the performance you expect in spite of being highly qualified, the problem is usually one of motivation. With the help of a case study we will show you six possible strategies for talking to your subordinates about any motivational problems they might be experiencing.

Case Study

You are the new manager of a regional office that employs 15 staff. The office is fully stretched with work but understaffed. After some time you realise that one of your team, John, who has been working at the office for two years as an administrator, often fails to take phone calls. You have already had a few customer complaints because of this. What would you do?

Strategy 1: The polite request

With this method you clothe your displeasure in a polite request. You ask John in a friendly tone of voice to start giving his incoming phone calls an immediate response, and you then explain why you attach so much importance to this. You might say, 'John, I'd be much obliged if you could start picking up the receiver before it's rung for the fourth time. It's very important for our business reputation that customers should be served promptly. Thank you for you cooperation.'

Strategy 2: Praise for conduct

In this case you should watch John and, when he does for once lift the receiver straight away, you should use the opportunity to praise him and express your appreciation. Wait until the call is over and then say to him, 'I think it's really great when you pick the receiver up at once. You know, it's extremely important that our customers should feel we're available at any time. I appreciate something like that.' Try not to sound patronising.

Strategy 3: Put your foot down

This technique demands that you tell John in no uncertain terms to start accepting his calls at once. Say to him, 'John, I expect you to pick up the receiver before it's rung for the fourth time. Have you understood me?'

Strategy 4: Sandwich method

The sandwich method is a combination of praise, criticism and praise. Call John into your office for a talk and proceed as follows, 'I'm very pleased with the way you look after customers. You really are doing good work. But I'd also like to point out how important it is to answer incoming phone calls straight away. Our business reputation is founded on rapid service to customers. Please see to it that our customers don't have to hang on the phone for an unnecessarily long time. Thank you for this friendly talk, and keep on working with the same success in future.'

Strategy 5: A joint attempt to solve the problem

Try and tackle the problem together. Tell John that some complaints have been received from customers about unanswered telephone calls, and ask him whether he might not know a solution. Explain to him, 'We've got a customer service problem here which you might be able to help me with. Two customers have rung up my office in the last few days and complained that they had rung your number several times, but nobody came to the phone. What might we be able to do about this?'

Strategy 6: Analysis of the causes

In this case you ask John whether he has any job-related problems. He may possibly mention that business with the phone of his own accord. If not, you should bring the conversation round to it and try to find out the real reasons for this unacceptable conduct. Endeavour to take joint remedial action by eliminating the causes. Your conversation could run like this, 'John, have you got a moment to spare? I wanted to find out how you're getting on. Have you got any problems?'

Should John not mention the telephone, say, 'I've noticed that you don't always answer your incoming phone calls. I'm sure there are good reasons, but perhaps you could briefly explain what they are. Then we might be able to change this situation together.'

This technique will help to unearth the cause. It might be down to John lacking in confidence or lacking in product knowledge leading to him not wanting to answer the phone. It could therefore highlight a training or staff development need. He might not like answering the phone and therefore you need to make sure he does speak to people and customers over the phone so that he becomes used to it and therefore sees it as part of the normal working day. You may have to practice with him and work through the typical scenarios and how to deal with them. Another good way is to let him listen in on your, or a colleague's calls so that he becomes familiar with how to deal with customers.

Whatever strategy you decide on, remember do not let the problem rest for too long, otherwise you will develop an aggressive impulse which will come to the surface even if you do not express it verbally. Annoyance and anger are not likely to solve staff problems. Good management as taught on any good management training course is essential to achieve high standards from staff.

Richard Stone (richard.stone@spearhead-training.co.uk) is a Director for Spearhead Training Limited that specialises in running management and sales training courses. Richard provides consultancy advice for numerous world leading companies.

View the original article at http://www.spearhead-training.co.uk/Articles-management-articles-how-to-handle-staff-problems.php

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Have you woken up yet?

2012-01-03T17:46:00.000+05:30

How to Get a Lean Body - Quick and Easy Tips For Success By Patty Evans

2012-01-03T14:32:00.002+05:30

How to Get a Lean Body - Quick and Easy Tips For Success
By Patty Evans

Are you wondering how to get a lean body? It's not as hard as you think. Follow these tips and you will quickly be on your way to the long lean body you've always wanted.

Exercise is obviously the major key for how to get a lean body. My favorite is pilates. For those of you who are not familiar with pilates, it is a whole body sculpting system which builds flexibility, endurance, coordination and strength without adding muscle bulk. It helps to sculpt the body and strengthen your "core" which is your torso.

People who practice pilates on a regular basis have better posture, have better overall health and quickly obtain a lean body. Pilates uses controlled movements which tone and strengthen the body. Dancers, gymnasts and many athletes use pilates to increase their strength, sculpt their muscles and lose weight. It is very popular with Hollywood actors also. The easiest way to do pilates is to purchase a dvd and follow along with it at home. Pilates videos will teach you how to get a lean body in a very short time.

Another way I love to exercise is on a rebounder (mini-trampoline). You burn more calories jogging and bouncing on a trampoline than you do with regular exercise. Bouncing also reduces cellulite and increases lymphatic circulation. It is so much fun - you can do it while you're watching tv or listening to the radio.

What you eat plays a big part in getting a lean body. Avoid all processed foods and drink lots of water. Water hydrates your cells for optimal fat burning and reduces water retention. Try to drink a full glass of water every hour you are awake. Drink a glass before each meal, but don't drink any with your meal or for an hour after your meal.

Your diet should consist of organic vegetables, fruits and eggs, wild caught fish, grass fed meats and nutritious oils. Once you rid your body of pesticides, chemicals and growth hormones that are found in non-organic foods, your weight will drop and your stomach won't be bloated. You will also have more energy to exercise - this is how to get a lean body.

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Message of the Week!

2012-01-02T17:48:00.000+05:30

Turn Goal Setting Into Goal Achieving in 2012

2012-01-02T13:18:00.003+05:30

By A Horton

No matter how tough things may have been in the past, you have a spotless future. As you wake up to this bright new day, the canvas of your life is blank. This new beautiful day offers you an opportunity to begin painting any picture you want for your future. Anything that may have happened in your past does not equal what you can make happen in your future. You have the choice today to press the reset button and to make the few small shifts necessary to completely change your life.

Have you got the passion and desire to make a few fundamental changes to your life, which will help you to radically redesign your future, because if you choose not to make these few small changes and you continue down the path you are now on, something amazing will happen; NOTHING!!! It is most certainly possible to make 2012 your year for achieving all your goals, where you can finally deliver on the promises you have been making to yourself for the past few years. 2012 can finally be that year where you do not only set goals, but your year, where you actually get to achieve them too.

I have invested many hours during 2011 refining, analysing and honing my own practices and processes around goal setting and explored all the options that have delivered the best returns this year. I want to offer these to you here in a simple point form for easy reference and to help you to apply these in your life next year. None of the ideas I present to you below are difficult, complicated or even unknown to you, they are all common sense ideas, which if applied consistently during 2012, will completely change your life.

There are only three new foundational habits you need to develop and apply in your life in 2012 that will completely change how next year will turn out.

1. You need to ensure that you make time to carry out your goal achieving activities every day. (Meet Your Future Today)
2. You must have a system to help you turn activity into a success habit routine. (Code of Personal Achievement)
3. You must measure your progress daily. (Performance Management System)

Meet your Future Today

Make sure that you have time to do whatever it takes to achieve your goals, by scheduling time every day into your dairy, to carry out the activities necessary to turn your goal setting activities into goal achievement. This is done once a week, where you sit and make fixed appointments every day with YOUR FUTURE.

These are inflexible appointments that can only be rescheduled in the case of an extreme emergency. During these appointments you give 100 % of your energy to carry out the goal achievement activities, you have chosen to carry out during that time.

Ensure that:

Your mobile phone is off
Your door is closed and nothing can disturb you.
Nothing short of a real emergency will cause you to reschedule this meeting. Threat these appointments as more important than a meeting with your most important customer, because they are.
Meeting your future is the time that you invest into carrying out the activities,which will create the future you desire. What could be more important than that?

Code of Personal Achievement

This is simply a commitment you make with yourself to discover three to five new behaviours, which are aligned with the goals that you want to achieve. You then use your willpower daily to carry out these new behaviours, until after about 90 days these new behaviours are entrenched.

For example:if you are a salesperson and you want to grow your sales, then you would choose new behaviours like:

Prospecting three new clients every day
Communicating and connecting with 15 people every week via social media or other electronic media.

Meeting face to face with three important people for lunch or for tea each week
Giving one gift a week to someone that you have identified as important. This gift is given with no expectations of getting anything in return.
At first these new behaviours will take effort and need a lot of willpower to carry out? After about 90 days, these new habits will be entrenched and you will carry them out without even thinking about it. Every ninety days you will introduce an additional 3 to 5 new commitments or codes. At the end of the year you will have between 12 and 20 new success habits, which will contribute to your long term sustainable success and long term super achievement.

Performance Management system

When you are setting your goals it is crucial that you build measurement criterion into the planning process.

For example: If you want to increase your sales by 10 % next year.

Then you need to quantify exactly how much that will be and then break that number back into monthly, weekly and even daily goals.
You then need to regularly measure your performance against these outcomes.
If you are achieving the results you want, then keep doing what you are doing.
If you are consistently falling short of expectations, then it is crucial to take corrective action as soon as possible.
Look at the actions you are taking and have the foresight and courage to change and improve the actions you take.
Follow a cycle of PLAN, Do, REVIEW and IMPROVE throughout the year and you will have a simple system for supporting your goal of super achievement in 2012.

http://www.andrewhorton.co.za

Hi my name is Andrew Horton; I am an inspirational Speaker, Master Teacher, Radio and TV Host, Global Traveler and Author. My area of focus is in the field of human behavior, expanded awareness and enlightenment. I travel the planet constantly researching, learning and seeking ways to unlock the mysteries of the human mind. I delve into the inner workings of the universe, always looking for ways to understand my role in making things better and contributing to the improvement of the human experience. Please visit my website to sign up for a daily inspirational message, by following this link Daily Inspirational Message. This is your daily call to action, a reminder to do things better each day. Visit my website at http://www.andrewhorton.co.za

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Self-Introspection: A Vital Secret To Strengthening Self-Mastery

2011-12-31T14:25:00.001+05:30

I begun a Group Discussion about Self-Mastery on a Mastermind Group Fan Page one day and the following post was giving by James Mcllroy:

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Self Mastery.... hmmmmmmm, I would definitely put introspection at the top of
the list. Know who you are, what you believe, and what it is that you really want

to achieve in life. Daily meditation, and goal setting is a must.

I then began to discuss the "details" of his thoughts in this manner.

Wikipedia states that,

Introspection is the self-observation and reporting of conscious inner thoughts, desires and sensations. It is a conscious mental and usually purposive process relying on thinking, reasoning, and examining one's own thoughts, feelings, and, in more spiritual cases, one's soul. It can also be called contemplation of one's self, and is contrasted with extrospection, the observation of things external to one's self. Introspection may be used synonymously with and in a similar way to self-reflection.
1. "Know who you are" -->many people go through life never really realizing this need...the need to know who they are in life, their purpose, their destiny, WHY they do certain things. They aimlessly walk about, wishing someone else would pity them or give empathy to their "poverty" mindset.

Getting to know who you really are is a demanding and genuine Process. This process is not for the faint-at-heart. It can be often quite painful. A process that needs support, time, energy, and being honest about yourself, your environment, your mindsets, your relationships, and where you'll spend eternity when you die.

Beginning TODAY with this process, to knowing who you really are, is one of the first steps to deliverance from personal bondage and mental slavery. Go ahead and cast off all fear and concerns. Someone already knows you better than yourself (Psalm 139).

2. "what you believe" --> Belief: "is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true."

What do you believe about life, about yourself, about your mindset? WHY do you believe what you do? Do you suppose faith has anything to do with your belief system?

I think that Belief and Faith are genuinely related...a juxtaposition of a confident assurance that I believe, by faith, not necessarily what I can see. Without Faith, there's no Belief. To believe in something or someone, you NEED faith. Often times belief comes from your experiences and how those experiences relate to the stimuli around you.

For example:

Scenario #1: Self-introspection and Faith-->Consider the chair you may be sitting in right now. You first have faith that a chair will hold you up, right? After several successful experiences, the chair holds you up and you begin to "believe" this to be TRUE every time you sit down in your chair.

Unless something outwardly changes (weight gain, broken chair parts, abuse, etc) you believe the chair will consistently hold you up. Thus, strengthening the self-awareness that you can somehow TRUST this chair to function properly on a consistent basis.

This BELIEF exists because of your own experiences.

Scenario #2: Self-introspection and Observation-->Now, you never actually sit in the chair, but observe daily others who do sit in the chair. The chair tends to hold them up every time. All different sizes of people sit in the same chair with no problems.

You begin to observe the "faith" of others and begin to "believe" that if you would sit in the chair, then it would hold you up as well, having never sat in the chair yourself.

Can you see the difference in HOW Belief relates to "Experiences" and "Observation?"

With that being said, I think this applies appropriately to our discussion of Self-Mastery in this way:

1. When building your self-confidence or self-awareness of your thoughts and actions, and self-introspection, what goes in and out of your conscious and unconscious mind, you become keenly in-tuned with your own beliefs because of your own experiences.

You believe that YOU are someone special, someone with a purpose, and that YOU can, and are, making a difference. You ARE taking ACTION and learning from those experiences!

2. When building your self-confidence or self-awareness of your thoughts and actions, and self-introspection, what goes in and out of your conscious and unconscious mind, you become keenly in-tuned with your own beliefs because you observe what works for other people.

You start saying to yourself, "If Mr. X and Mrs. Y can do this online business, so can I."

What's great about Masterminding with other like-minded people, and developing the exercise of self-introspection, is that you begin to share your own experiences of past success and failures. We all learn from each other. Building both respect and rapport, where there is relationship of mutual understanding or trust and agreement between people.

In the pursuit of Self-Mastery and Self-Introspection, I agree with James Mcllroy that everyone should "know who you are" and "what you believe."

In Conclusion:

Faith --> Belief --> Change in Behavior --> Action -->Success

Robert {Bryan} Anthony is a rising online marketer and life coach providing honest and relevant solutions that inspire and transform others by using top Online Internet marketing techniques and an honest Online Marketing Training System. He teaches anyone how to sell anything, to anyone, anywhere around the world through the power of the internet. He mentors home business owners and network marketers to encourage them to create their own success story.

Want to know more about HOW to Strengthen your Self-Mastery and find a system that's right? Do you want to know more about who you are and what you believe? Then take positive action and see how this Legally Blind minister from Orlando, FL is building his business because he has overcome surmountable odds and challenges. Discover more about Bryan at http://www.MeetRBryanAnthony.com/videos

Also, be sure to join Bryan with his training and the excitement as you become a part of an exclusive group he is currently assisting. Go to http://www.FreeTrainingVault.com

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Happy New Year 2012!!!!

2011-12-30T11:49:00.002+05:30

How to Handle Employee Vacations and Leaves

2011-12-30T10:55:00.002+05:30

By Tiffany Wright
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2219435

Most small businesses have fewer than 5 employees. So what does a small business owner do when your small company with relatively few employees has a key employee who wants to take vacation? You cannot deny their vacation or they may not be around for much longer! But when your top performers are out for a week or longer, how do you keep things running smoothly? Or, even worse (in the business person's mind), what do you do when a key employee wants to take maternity or family leave?

Yes, as a small-business owner you can still maintain a well-functioning business when employees go on a two-week vacation or take a multi-week maternity leave. (By the way, the laws around family leave apply to businesses with more than 50 employees. So it is not mandatory if you have fewer employees to provide those full benefits. However, providing a portion of such benefits by incorporating some of the options below will help you retain excellent employees and build loyalty.) Below are some tips and explanations on how to keep your business running smoothly when certain employees go on leave or vacation. These tips follow:

Vacation

1. Have the employee who will be on vacation write a list of items that need to be taken care of while he or she is gone and briefly explain how to take care of those items. For example, a top salesperson needs to make a number of calls, is expecting a number of return calls or anticipates a couple of requests for a meeting. Have the salesperson write up separate short scripts for outgoing and incoming calls and face-to-face sales meeting and provide his tracking mechanism - i.e., Excel spreadsheet, notebook, or something similar.

2. Have the employee create a mini process manual in advance. That way another employee can cover the basics of the job while the primary person is out of the office.

3. Identify a temp who has significant experience in your business - a retiree, someone seeking extra work - through customers or association membership. Construction is a notoriously up and down business so, at any given time, there are generally a small number of qualified individuals familiar with a trade who can step in temporarily to assist. In the current climate, the same applies to banking, consulting, and a number of other industries.

Maternity or Family Leave (or Similar)

4. If you have key employees taking maternity or family leave and you are concerned that the employee will be completely unavailable for 6-9 weeks (or whatever your policy allots), offer to extend the leave time by 50-100% if they agree to be available 10-20 hours per week to work remotely during the entire time. (The time spent in the hospital is exempted of course!) This provides continuity of work and projects and access by those who may be filling in.

5. If you have a few employees who take many sick days to care for ill children or who use family leave to care for ailing adult family members, it may be cheaper to contract with a home health care agency to have health care workers provide occasional service than it is to lose the employees' productivity. These agencies provide nurses or other care staff for services ranging from short check-up visits to day-long attendants. You can contract to utilize up to a specified number of hours or days per month.

6. To increase the likelihood that someone will return immediately after maternity leave or family leave, or not take it in the first place (especially family leave), offer flexible work options. Telecommute several days per week, job share, video conference instead of travel, onsite or nearsite child care are a few examples. If you have employees with ailing adult members, seek out adult day cares and negotiate reduced or subsidized rates for your employees.

Remember, there are always solutions to a "problem". Being creative, focusing on the work that needs to get done, and clearly defining job scope and expectations can go a long way towards helping you build a strong business with happy, well-rested employees. Empathizing with employees and attempting to look at their issues from their perspective, then from the business perspective can result in creative solutions that cost little yet promote morale and loyalty - both key to a healthy business.

Tiffany Wright, is a small business advisor, small business owner and the author of Help! I Need Money for My Business Now!! Tiffany Wright has compiled a number of easy-to-follow examples and case studies that will lead you step-by-step through the process of financing your business, available at http://www.financeyourcompany.com In under 90 days you can rev up your company's cash flows without a CFO! For more financing info., follow her blog at http://www.Cash4Impact.com.

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How To Make Your Boss Like You

2011-12-29T10:26:00.006+05:30

Article source :http://www.career-success-for-newbies.com/how-to-make-your-boss-like-you.html

You have just entered the working world. One obvious question on your mind is – how to make your boss like you? Frankly, as a fresh entrant in the job market, making your boss like you isn’t difficult. It just takes a little common sense. So, how to make your boss like you? Let’s start with a few obvious ones.

1. Ask When You Do Not Know

Never assume things. Never assume how things are done or need to be done. When you are not clear always ask.
You probably think, wouldn’t that make me look bad? Well, what is worst? Because you assumed you got the work wrong and spend more time correcting it or asking to clarify?

2. Take Initiative

Asking when you do not know does not mean that you cannot take initiatives.
In fact, you should learn to take initiatives when the need arise or when the opportunity presents itself.
Is there something that can be done better or should be attended to but no one found the time to attend to it. Ask to be the one in charge and make sure you see through the initiative you have taken.

3. Be An Ever Present Help

Be there whenever help is needed. Is there a project that may need more hands? Take the initiative to ask for a role.
Your boss will appreciate the extra help. Even if your help is not needed, your boss would at least know you are willing to chip in. This is one of the easiest ways on how to make your boss like you.

4. Make Your Boss Look Good

Now, that doesn’t mean you take blame for things that go wrong. It can be something as easy as preparing the background to a meeting she is attending. In this case, ensure that she has the pertinent information needed to have a productive meet.

5. Stay Out Of Trouble

Do not get involved in office politics. Do not gossip. Do not speak ill about other colleagues – be it in your team or otherwise. Not only will you suffer for your own words and actions, your boss will too. Create good working relationships across departments. Another way on how to make your boss like you is to stay out and avoid giving your boss any trouble. When you go to your boss with challenges you face, always bring two to three solutions and state your preferred solution to the challenge you are facing.

6. Be Like A Dry Sponge

Soak up the working culture around you. Learn the working styles of your colleagues and how you can find competitive advantage for yourself. Observe how personnel dynamics work in the office - like who can get things done due to their influence. Become a quick learner of everything.

7. Pick Up Cues Of How Your Boss Works

Learn, observe and ask how your boss likes things done. The best person to ask is your boss and those closest to him.
Learn from other’s mistakes when they work with your boss. People will complain when the boss reprimands them, and that is the best time to learn what doesn’t go down well with the boss.

8. No Job Is A Bad Job

People like to pick and choose jobs or projects assigned to them. They choose to believe that some have more value than others.
To a certain extent that is true. But it is also true that bosses know who are the ones who are sincere in helping and uses these opportunities to learn. No assignments are bad at an early level. Every project is an opportunity to learn.
Take the assignment from your boss graciously and do your best. It will not go unnoticed.

9. Don’t Try To Get Away With Things

When you make a mistake, come off clean and do not try to cover up. That’s one way on how to make your boss like you. Don’t try to get away with things also means do not do your work by testing how little effort does it need.
Some people are always trying to get work off with the least possible effort and at a passable rate only. Strive for excellence in everything that you do. Let the quality of your work shine. Your boss will know.

10. Be Early

Or should I say - if you want to know how to make your boss like you, be punctual. Sometimes this can mean be early at work. Do not turn up for work later than your boss. When you leave for the day, let your boss know you are leaving and ask if anything needs to be attended either that day itself or the next day.
Of course, there are many more ways on how you can make your boss like you. These are some of those that can work easily.
Like everything in life, you need to do this sincerely in order for it to work.

Message of the week

2011-12-26T09:48:00.001+05:30

Pulling Your Team to Success

2011-12-26T09:42:00.002+05:30

by Gregg Gregory

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6691818

Have you ever flipped through the channels on your TV and ran across one of the strong men competitions? You know the type - one man attempting to move a jumbo jet so many feet, and the man who can do it in the fastest time wins. Let me ask - Are they pushing or pulling the jumbo jet? If you said pulling you are correct. Do you know why? When you pull something like a jumbo jet you are using leverage to your advantage. The exact same thought process holds true when building a team - you cannot push them to be great - you have to pull them, therby becoming great.

It goes without saying how critical the concept of leading by example is. Over the years, the catch phrase has become - "Don't talk the talk, if you can't walk the walk." The more involved a leader is, the better - - so long as it is involvement, and NOT micro management. The team needs to know the leader believes in them, and that the leader is part of the team.

The founder of a landscaping company in suburban Washington, DC, has an amazing crew of workers. On a recent job they did for me, his foreman/team leader for the project told me he had been with the company for over 20 years. And the average tenure for the workers on that crew was over 10 years. In an industry where employee turnover is higher than most, the founder said "It is about treating them right, and working alongside of them." The team leader did this throughout the entire day. When the founder dropped by later in the afternoon, I noticed that he hustled right along side of the hourly workers. This assisted in the development of trust from the team. The founder not only talks the talk - he walks the walk everyday with his crews. His participation with the each team demonstrates how he developed trust with each team and thus how the team leaders work with each team to build the next level of trust and respect.

If your organization is looking to reduce employee turnover, develop long lasting high performing employees, elevate your team from mediocrity, and create a team, that delivers results, simply follow these eight simple steps.

Instill Growth

The statement "if you're not growing, then you're dying" is true not just for plants and flowers - it is also true for teams. Whether it is an individual learning a new skill set, or the team as a whole learning a new process, it is critical to continue the growth cycle. Individually, everyone should be reading at least 2-4 non fiction books per year and taking at least 6-8days of training to keep the team growing. Remember, the more people learn, the more they want to apply. This increases productivity and attitudes of everyone.

Break Out Of Your Comfort Zone

Even the best of us can find ourselves in a cycle which can become a rut. Don't be afraid to shake things up a bit - do something new and different, frequently. Different meeting days and times; get team members to run the staff meeting and rotate them regularly, these are just a few ideas. Shaking things up applies to us individually as well as to the team as a whole.

Walk The Walk

Do not be afraid to get in the mix with the front line workers and show them you can indeed work with them and not just "be the boss". Trust and respect are vital to any leader's success and this is one of the fastest ways to earn that trust and respect. Everyone has leadership skills and it is not just the "boss" who is the leader.

Always Have A Strategy

Even though you may like to fly by the seat of your pants, be sure to have a reason for everything you do. This could be as simple as helping a colleague or teammate improve his or her skills. Another way to develop a strategy is to plan a retreat. This is a great motivator for the entire team. It can also get the on track and ready for the next large project. Remember, once your goals are set, stick to them.

Accountability

Make sure everyone (individually as well as the entire team) is held accountable. When management holds individuals accountable, team members will in turn hold each other accountable and the bar is naturally raised. No one wants to let their teammates down; this behavior is natural. An added benefit is that trust is strengthened throughout the entire team.

Reward The Team

We get so caught up in recognizing individual talents (continue to recognize and reward individuals) that we sometimes forget to reward the team for the team's accomplishments. Several years ago, a team finished a rather large and detailed project. They wanted to reward themselves, so the team took the afternoon off and played a few rounds of miniature golf. Even though they talked about the golf outing over the next several days, they were still focused on their next project days flew by, errors dropped, and attitudes soared.

Tap The Talents Of Others

Every team has hidden talents. Take the time to learn about your teammates and uncover their hidden talents. You'll discover how different members can contribute to the team in many more ways. Learning is great regardless of its origin; knowledge is transferred deeper when it comes from a teammate.

Keep The Lines Of Communication Open

It is critical that the team has no secrets with each other or the leader. Everyone should feel comfortable in talking with everyone else. It keeps the conflict healthy, and allows the team to grow as well.

Following and implementing these strategies will help develop any team, at any stage by; building more confidence and greater morale among team members, creating more trust across job functions, ultimately increasing productivity for the future.

Merry Christmas Friends!

2011-12-24T18:08:00.002+05:30

Sticking to New Years Resolutions

2011-12-24T09:39:00.002+05:30

by Simone Lea

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6756266

Most people at sometime in their life make a New Years Resolution, but not many people will follow through with a New Years Resolution for even 6 months! Why? They have high hopes! They want the resolution to happen, that's why they made it! So why don't people stick to it?

It's like deciding to bake a cake without looking at what the ingredients are. You know what you want, but you don't bother to find a receipt, or look up the ingredients, you just guess that you can make this cake. And sometimes it will work a little bit, but if you've never made a cake before you might use the wrong flour, leave out the egg, put the oven on too high, and many other things.

The same can be said for New Years Resolutions. If you want to make a lasting change in your life, you need a recipe. Now the thing with internal change is that you have to be prepared to ask your self the hard questions! You can't decide to get fit by going to the gym if you don't like the gym. You just wont stick to it. You need to ask yourself why do I want to get fit? What has stopped me before? And how can I make this work this time? So you may have multiple answers for all of those questions, but if you don't work through all the answers to the first two questions you may not last on your quest for being fitter.

So, examples may be, "I want to get fitter so I can run with the kids", "I want to get fitter to lose 10kgs/ pounds", anything. The next question however is the hard one! And the first answer you think of probably isn't the real problem. Your first answer could be, " I don't have time for exercise" Well you and i both know you could make time, dig deeper! "Well, I don't like gyms", OK, join a sports team, take up swimming, dancing, surfing, there is so much fun stuff. Dig deeper, Maybe the reason is your worried people will laugh at you, or your scared people will judge you, or your not sure you can do it anyway so why start? You really need to examine what is stopping you with this resolution!

From there you need to decide if that's worth stopping for? Someone else's opinion that you don't know, or doesn't know you, is it worth staying unfit for? Or is it worth not even trying because you don't think you could do it anyway? Really? Ask your self who is going to care for you if you don't care for you? Someone else wont magically make your resolutions happen! You need to work out what is stopping you, and work through it. From there you can correct the past. That way you will have more success with the future!

New Years Resolutions are just goals set at New Years, they can be made any time of the year. If you make it on New Years, and break it on the 10th of Jan, have a look at why you broke it, work through it, and make the goal again on the 11th of January. Figure out what you want in life, and look at why you haven't got it... to get it you just need to be prepared to look back and see how far you've come, and how you can adjust your course to move forward quicker and easier.

Are You A Negative Thinker?

2011-12-23T09:35:00.002+05:30

By Sarah PJ White

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6754422

Are you addicted to thinking the worst? Do you always look at the down-side to life, spend all of your time exhausted and worrying - surrounding yourself with constant negativity?

Negative thinking causes so much stress on the body. All the negativity and catastrophic thinking will leave you feeling anxious and stressed and, as the medical profession have been pointing out for a long time now - stress is one of the leading causes of illness. Stress sets into motion the body's fight or flight response, pouring hydrocortisone into the body and eventually exhausting the adrenal glands. Adrenal exhaustion can be one of the results of so much negative thinking.

The problem is, we all know that negative thinking and stress can affect our health, but we can find it extremely challenging to give up all the negativity. We wrongly believe that the negative thinking keeps us safe from disappointment. We believe that it prepares us to deal with any bad thing that could happen - as we are then prepared to deal with it. We believe that the pain of disappointment would be less, if we know about it in advance and actually expect it to happen. We don't want to get caught off guard.

People to think the worse believe they can gain an element of control in their lives. They believe they can prevent the bad things actually happening in the first, by thinking through them before they happen. They think they can control what other people think of them, by constantly being vigilant about their behaviour - by watching that they always say and do the right thing. In doing so, they can always be alert to putting themselves in a good light and ensuring that other people would then treat them right and feel good about them as a person.

Negative thinking can actually make you ill and exhausted; as you are constantly on alert - not only of yourself but of the people and events around you.

Quite often the root cause of negative thinking is actually a need for control and/or the fear of disappointment and rejection.

Unfortunately, the feeling of then being in control is actually an illusion of control. It would be impossible to foresee every event that might cause you pain or upset. If something happened that you didn't foresee; you are then feeling both the pain of the event and the feeling of being hugely disappointed that you didn't see it coming!

Trying to foresee future events prevents you from being present in the moment. The only thing you can really control is your attitude and thoughts to events and other people, events that are happening right now, in this moment. Being in the moment also enables us to listen to our inner guidance and knowing.

If you are a negative thinker, you probably have been practicing and building on this most of your life. Moving forward will be a long process, one that takes time - it won't happen overnight. Tuning into your stress and learning to connect it with your thought patterns will enable you to work on changing them and you will then be able to have happier thoughts, be a happier person who lives fully in the moment.

Achieving a Winning Attitude

2011-12-22T12:20:00.002+05:30

By Rick A Conlow

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6770156

It takes a winning attitude to achieve a winning performance. Are you up to the task?

The parable of the contented frog illustrates the obstacles we face in winning. If you boil a pot of water and drop a frog in it, guess what happens? The frog quickly jumps out. However, if you put a frog in a pot of cool water and then slowly heat the pot up, guess what happens? The frog boils to death!

How often do people become contended where they are at or with what they are doing? To win we must be willing to change. To win we must be willing to look bad (by trying new approaches or ideas to look even better).

Do you want: More success in your job or life? More recognition? More profit? If you do, read on. Get more motivated to be all you can be with a winning attitude. In fact, Tom Watson, the founder of IBM, created a world giant of a company with a winning attitude and performance. He believed strongly that people learn to win.

Possibility

This is the first characteristic of a winning attitude. Dr. Viktor Frankel declared, "Man's ultimate freedom is his ability to choose his own attitude." Are you choosing a winning attitude?

Positive over negative

Strength over weakness

Success over failure

Persistence over despair

Possibility over problems

Yes over no

Winning over losing

Dr. Andrew While said most people look at the world and see imminent disaster. It seems natural to think negatively; the more people do, the more they think it is the right way to think.

Winners think of possibility. They seek solutions and strive after goals. Instead of GIGO (garbage in, garbage out) they work at PIPO (positive in, positive out). Positive thinking is a lot like the game of golf. Just when you think you've perfected the game, you shank a shot. Positive thinking must be worked at day by day, every day.

Winners in sales, management, customer service or any career seek an edge. They are never 50% better than competitors. Success comes by being 1%, 2%, 3% better by seeking the positive not the negative in all situations.

Persistence

You may be saying, "Who are you to talk?" You don't know me or what I've been through." And that's right. Yet I do know winners have persistence. Abe Lincoln once wrote, "I am the most miserable man alive, whether I'll make it, I do not know." Yet he did, didn't he? He persisted.

Helen Keller had a few bad days, but she kept on keeping on. Beethoven wrote his best work while in debt to his creditors. Handel composed the Messiah while he was deaf. Mike Tyson was a juvenile delinquent but became the heavyweight champion of the world. Then he lost it all and resurrected his life and career. Socrates was bald, fat and ugly. However, he is labeled as one of the greatest philosophers of all time.

What is the secret of persistence? It's between the lines in these words by William Henley: "It matters not how strait the gate or marred with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul."

Pride

All winners have pride! A sales survey of top performers indicated their best attributes included their pride and ability to work hard. In other words, they wanted to win and they did.

Don't be like the little girl who wrote the following letter: Dear Miss Harper: My mother said if I wanted to be good at the piano that I should work hard, practice long and apply myself. That is why I'm writing this letter; I decided to quit the piano. Your student, Susie Thompson.

All excellence is equally difficult. Work hard! Practice long! Apply yourself! You'll win more success, recognition and profit in your career.

"I have a vision that soars on golden wings. I visualize of your achievements and legacy that sings. I do not know all about your awesome goals or persistent efforts to raise the bar. I only know you are the best a superstar!" May those words inspire you to a winning attitude.

Team Building: Learn To Lead Like A Lion

2011-12-21T09:45:00.002+05:30

By Barbara Edie

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6702545

if you or your business is looking to roar in to the new year with new focus and new strength, Ian Thomas, an animal tracker and business strategist from South Africa, has a great model for you. Thomas talks about "The Power of the Pride" and how businesses can build teams that thrive by observing the most powerful group in the jungle - a pride of lions.

Close up of a lion In the African bush and the business jungle, everyone loves the idea of eating their competitors.

Powerful teams are built by powerful individuals.

Lions choose to hunt together. Prides work because everyone has a "specialty" and knows what they're superb at. Lionesses do most or all of the hunting because they're fast, camouflaged and designed to hunt; males must protect the lionesses and hold the territory.

What are you superb at?

Thomas says when he asks business people that question, most of them panic. Very few are prepared to state it on paper. Some just don't know their strengths, and others are unclear.

Does every team member know and understand the final goal?

If you are hunting big game, you must all focus on the same target.

Lions know what the goal is and focus on one goal. If a lioness is going to take down and 750-kilogram bull buffalo, every lion on the team must be there to support her. If even one or two lions are unclear and uncommitted the result can be failure... death or starvation.

In his work with business teams, Thomas says, on average, 40% of people do not write down the same goal. In other words, out of every 10, four people are doing something else. And in some cases, Thomas has seen whole teams that don't know what they are trying to do.

In the animal kingdom - and business world - trust is essential.

The only reason a lioness is prepared to attack, and risk injury in hunting a huge target is because she knows the other six are coming in hard and fast to back her up, says Thomas. She has 100% trust her team is coming to help her.

Trust is huge, and if breached can destroy individuals... and the entire pride.

Out in the jungle, you have to trust each other, look after each other, and get over your ego or any self-serving attitude.

Trust is also the least understood. Trust is about knowing that if the team is focused, clear and each superb at her job, the team will 'make the kill'... everyone will eat, everyone will be healthy, and it will allow everyone to get more of what they want.

As soon as you do not buy into that goal, you become untrustworthy. And if team members don't even know what the goal is, you've got no chance.

In the business jungle trust is equally critical.

You must know who your customers are, know exactly what they want from you, and be able to deliver the goods. And in joint ventures, partners must be confident in the other person's ability.

Conflict or change can be healthy when it allows you to create powerful individuals who can lead a trustworthy team. Many of us fear the potential in someone else's abilities. However, if we can learn to work with people's strengths, and not against them, the results are magnificent.

The more powerful your team, the stronger you are to ensure a great future.

Lionesses know the importance of nurturing, protecting and teaching the cubs. They need these potential sprinters to protect the future strength of the pride.

The male lion king also knows his place on the team. He is a great tactical fighter but without his lionesses hunting for him, he is weak, hungry and, ultimately, dead. He secures the territory for the lionesses to hunt and raise strong cubs. The lion king and lionesses are a team with different skills but they back each other up... 100%.

Imagine if you could create that kind of trust and respect in your business, family or relationships!

To create this kind of power - in business, at home or in life - act like a lion pride:

1) Build strength in the individuals.

2) Focus clearly on what you are trying to do - as an individual, family or team.

3) Look to one another for communication and support.

4) Develop trust by knowing your goal, buying into it and delivering on it. If you are unable or unwilling to deliver, say so.

5) Be competent. Know your strengths.

6) Back one another up!

Here's to a prosperous new year of building stronger teams and businesses, with worthy targets.

‎2012 - Goal Setting 2 Goal Getting Course.

2011-12-20T21:39:00.001+05:30

2012 - Goal Setting 2 Goal Getting Course

A program that helps Entrepreneurs to plan & strategise
their Business and Personal Goals with a detailed Action Plan.

1. Personal Counseling Sessions with Exclusive attention to you.
2. No Classroom Disturbance.
3. Detailed Customised Solutions for Goal Planning.
4. Motivational Video Films And Exclusive Content.
5. Action Plan to Achieve Goals.
6. 25% Discount for All future Coaching Programs Upto Dec 2012.

3 Sessions of 2 Hours each.
Time at your convenience.
Venue - Maple Dreams Coaching Centre, Borivali (W)
Fees : Rs. 8000/-

Batch 1 - Starts 5th Jan
Batch 2 - Starts 6th Jan
Batch 3 - Starts 7th Jan

Batch 4 - Starts 12th Jan
Batch 5 - Starts 13th Jan
Batch 6 - Starts 14th Jan

Book Your Session Now!!!

Call : 9322881694
Email : mapledreams22@yahoo.com
Blog : mapledreamsindia.blogspot.com

Please Take Prior Appointment!!

Please Book Your Session Now! Also Please Refer This Powerful Course To Someone Who Is Success-minded!

Message of the week

2011-12-20T13:34:00.001+05:30

Steve Jobs Quote: Is Your Life Your Own?

2011-12-20T13:33:00.000+05:30

By Chace T Parask

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6746973

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition." - Steve Jobs

Is your life your own? This is the question I ask when people come to me and say they are frustrated with multiple issues in their lives. The response is usually a look of confusion. Followed by the question,"What?" People do not live their own lives.This is an epidemic in the modern society. Steve Jobs lived his own life. He followed a path of literally his own design. Look what it did for him. He was a multi-billionaire, he brought incredible technology into this world for betterment of literally billions of people. He had abundance and prosperity in many facets of his life.

Imagine if you turned on your water faucet at home in your kitchen sink and gasoline poured out. Let us say that this pure gasoline always came out of your faucet free of charge. Well you would be pretty excited, you could make millions, but now some extremely influential individual comes along and says, "No, you can only use what comes out of your faucet for cooking, cleaning and other normal kitchen duties." and you follow his advice. That would be devastating! Well that is what many people do with their lives. You have an incredible source of energy flowing through you. A creative, powerful, intelligent energy. All you have to do is listen to your inner voice and it will guide you. Sadly most people let the noise of others' opinions drown out their own inner voice. When this happens people are miserable. It is a slow process so most do not notice, but little by little people choose to just do what society thinks is best. Why? Because then they do not have to be courageous. If you follow your intuition and things do not work out then people can say, "We told you so!"

Today you are going to start following your inner guidance. This is where your power is. You know what makes you feel good in life. You know when your conscience is clear and your passion is ignited. Today you will learn to follow that voice and drown out the voice of others opinions. You will live a life created of your thoughts which you have chosen. This will be the day you became happy because you realized that now the energy that you feel can be harnessed and used to guide you towards that which you desire. You will not be frustrated because you are working toward aims which fit who you are and come naturally to you. All your efforts will be focused on those things that you are truly enlivened by. Things will always work out because who would not persist if they were doing what they loved every moment of their lives. Courage to follow your heart will become the norm because to do otherwise will seem utterly futile and ridiculous. Why should you not follow your heart what else does life have to offer? Can you even imagine wasting an entire lifetime performing monotonous tasks for a purpose not your own?

Below is an affirmation to repeat in the morning when you wake and in the evening before you sleep. The more you think on this statement, without any stress, the more benefit you will receive from it.

Morning and Evening Affirmation:

"What I desire to do, I can do. What I will to do, I can do. What I want to be, I can be. My life is mine to live how I choose. I will do that which brings me the greatest joy and fulfills me. It does not matter how difficult it appears to be because I choose to live my passion! I love living my life to the fullest. I make every moment count towards the joy and peace I will to feel inside. I will succeed because I have the courage to follow my heart and intuition."

Repeat this affirmation everyday. Never stop unless you write one which suits you better. Affirmations are like the water that cuts a mountain to make a valley. Your mind has its concrete habits of thought, but let this idea trickle in daily and soon the concrete will begin to wear away. Your courage will grow, your inner voice will become louder and you will see the change in yourself.

Do you know what do you want in 2012?

2011-12-17T20:14:00.001+05:30

Do you know what do you want in 2012?

2011-12-17T20:14:00.000+05:30

Are you ready for...2012???

2011-12-16T18:25:00.005+05:30

Your Mind Is Missing In Action

2011-12-15T09:41:00.002+05:30

By Willie Horton

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6722771

When I meet a client for the first time, their biggest surprise is the realization that they haven't turned up! And, even as you read this article, you're only partly here yourself. Research carried out over a protracted period of time in both the US and Europe strongly suggests that your mind is stuck in your own personal version of Groundhog Day. Today, your mind will play host to approximately fifty thousand random thoughts. Ninety seven percent of them will be the same as the fifty thousand thoughts you had yesterday. Tomorrow, ninety seven percent of your thoughts will be the same as today's.

Consequently, as you go about your day today, as you do your work, chat with your friends, pick up the kids, sit down for a meal or watch the TV, only one percent of you is there - the rest of you is lost in thought. Now, that wouldn't be so bad if some of those thoughts are productive. But, in the main, they're quite the opposite. They are thoughts that bubble to the surface from the depths of your subconscious mind - the part of you that dictates your behaviour and, consequently, creates your version of reality. That version of reality, however, has nothing to do with what's going on right now. How could it, you're not here! Instead, you reality is constantly and remorselessly being driven by a subconscious mind that is living in your formative years. Whilst all this is going on, your life is simply passing you by.

It's very difficult to get anything out of life if you haven't mustered enough energy to bother yourself to turn up to your own life. And, yet, as you crawled out of bed this morning, whilst your body made a heroic effort to wake itself up, your mind stayed fast asleep. As you've gone about your business today you've been drifting automatically through a dreamworld created by your own inner thoughts and limiting beliefs - an experience much better described as something approaching a nightmare. And that's what has your life in the state it's in. That's what has our world in the state it's in. And, even if you think you're already experiencing a degree of success in your life, it's still just a pale shadow of what would be possible if you could just wake up.

And waking up is all that it takes. Funnily enough, if you wake up, you'll be alert to life's opportunities. You'll be more alert to what needs to be done to handle life's challenges. And you won't find yourself burdened by the imaginary challenges that our dormant minds normally toss in our direction... fear, worry, anxiety, stress, depression, low self-esteem. The list is endless and I'm quite sure that you have your own! It's worth noting, for example, that stress only exists in the mind of the person who thinks that they are stressed. If you were to stop paying attention to the particularly useless thoughts that create stress, you would realise that stress is not.

And therein lies the secret to living - successful living, yes - but, for starters, simply living as distinct from existing. To wake up, you've simply got to pay attention. As people burdened with a normal adult mind, we have become accustomed to paying attention to nothing at all. Our minds are hardwired to ensure that we don't have to pay attention to the habitual. However, sooner or later, everything in life becomes habitual so, in the end, we end up paying attention to nothing at all. As I said earlier, we fail to turn up to our own lives.

Neuro-psychology has charted the correlation between paying attention and being happy and successful. And, although happy and successful can mean very different things to different people, I am sure that you would agree that these are things that might just make a major difference in your life! Simply put, the more attentive you are, the more focused you will be, the more effective you will become and the more open you will be to new opportunities.

So, how do you learn to pay attention if you've spent all of your adult life paying little or no attention to anything at all? It's easy - there are things all around you at this very moment in time that you can use to redevelop the innate childhood ability that we all had to give our undivided attention to what is simply going on right here, right now. Find somewhere quiet to sit. Close your eyes. It sounds like someone has turned up the volume. You can suddenly hear birds chirping, or traffic whizzing past in the distance. You can hear the hum of the air conditioning, the whirr of your laptop's hard disk. You are suddenly alive to all the things that are going on all the time anyway - it's just that you have never been there to experience them.

You've five senses - and you need to come to them. Play around, in quiet moments, with tuning in all five senses to what is actually happening here and now. For it is in these seemingly innocuous quiet moments that you will begin to turn yourself on, turn up to your life and change its very course.

Willie Horton is an Irish self-help and personal development author and trainer. He has been working as a personal and leadership development consultant since he set up his own practice in 1996. His many clients include Pfizer, Deloitte, Allergan, KMPG, Nestle, Diageo, ESB and DHL - where he works with senior management helping them be more effective, successful and happy.

Memory Training Gives You Confidence

2011-12-14T09:43:00.003+05:30

By Nathanael Eisenberg

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6604151

Are you worried about memory loss? There are some techniques that will help you unlock your memory power. Poor memory could be just an untrained memory. With memory training you could help increase your memory capability to new height.

Memory loss does not have to happen with age. There is no direct link between old age and bad mental functions. Poor mental functions in the elderly might be related to dementia, health problems or the simple fact that you didn't train your brain or challenged it for many years.

Many of us can be absent minded. If you experience forgetfulness at work, it could result in the loss of a promotion. This could be just another side effect of an untrained memory.

How many times a day do you say the words "I forgot"? When you say this, it usually means something didn't get done, or you did something wrong. Memory training could help you eliminate this problem.

Do you remember a person's face but cannot remember their name? How about if you have to introduce someone and you cannot recall their name? These situations can cause embarrassment and cost you credibility.

There are tricks to learning and remembering names with correct memory training. It is a relatively easy process and by regularly brain training you can improve your memory and other key cognitive skills. A scientifically validated brain fitness program will help you train these cognitive abilities.

Have you ever put something in a safe place so you wouldn't forget where you placed it? Of course when it comes time to find it, you can never remember where it is. This happens because necessary associations between the item and the place you put it are not achieved.

How many times have you had to search for instructions for an item because you cannot remember how to use it? There are many techniques you can use to remember a set of instructions as well.

The ancient Greeks were able to deliver speeches without using notes. They did it with highly effective memory and learning techniques. Memory training has been around for a long time! Obviously not in the more simpler and more effective way as it is today.

Learning telephone numbers, log in words and passwords are very difficult. You should always have them written down somewhere. What if your brain and cognitive abilities were trained to remembering them and were able to throw all of those notes away?

Are you one of those people who start to tell a joke and forget the punch line? Pretty embarrassing! Learning how to remember to tell jokes and stories is another advantage to memory training.

A good memory training system is something you also need to enjoy to the fullest your daily life!

Nathanael Eisenberg is the CEO of CogniFit, a company that develops software which measure and train cognitive abilities. We help people discover new insights about themselves and decide what to improve in their life.

Your Life's Vision

2011-12-13T09:39:00.003+05:30

By Larry DeRusha

Article Source :www.successconsciousness.com

As the new year begins, it is always a good idea to take a look at your life's vision to decide if you are on-track or not. When I say life's vision I mean the vision your soul has for your life. If you haven't taken the time to vision, I'll give you a technique to accomplish it. If you have your vision already use this technique to re-energizing it.

Let's make a distinction between visioning and visualization, which I call imagining.

Imagining

This process is to visualize some thing or situation using your imagination. Perhaps you want a new job. Let's use the desire for a new job and the process as a demonstration.

1. Sit quietly in a place where it is comfortable. This place should be relatively dark and quiet so your senses will not engage in the outer world so easily. Then as you are sitting take a deep breath and let out all the air. Now breathe normally and close your eyes. Allow you awareness to focus on your breath. If your mind is busy thinking of all kinds of things you may want to chant - use the word "relax". Just repeat it over and over until your mind is quiet your breathing steady.

2. Next, imagine yourself in this new position/job.

3. Imagine all of the detail in this picture. Look around in your mind's eye picture and notice the detail. Notice colors, what if anything is being said what it feels like. If this is a still picture see if you can turn it into a movie.

4. Once you have this picture and detail the next critical step is to experience what it feels like when you are working in this new position. To do this look at the picture/movie and notice how wonderful or fulfilling it feels. Notice this in your body right now as if the experience is actually happening.

By combining what you see hear and what you feel in your imagination, you present to the mind a circumstance-a mold into which the universe pours reality. Imagining is very important to the creation process. Being able to imagine what it is you want to create is a necessary part of conscious creation. You may want to practice this several times. I sat for two weeks on and off doing this process until I just couldn't any more. The results showed up within two weeks.

There are several cautions. If you have doubt about the circumstance you are imagining you are actually impeding its creation. The more doubt, the less likely the creation will take place. The reason why you create what you have always had is you have faith in what you have already created and believe it to be your truth. The second caution is not to expect too short a time frame. It will happen whenever you have fully accepted your desire as true of your life. The time it takes to clear your doubts is the amount of time that will pass before you experience what you wish to create. Practice this process daily to chip away at your resistance to having what you desire.

Visioning

Unlike imaging, visioning is a function of the intuitive mind. It allows you to tap into your soul and "see" your future. Visioning is sitting in the silence of meditation and allowing yourself (ego) to dissolve into the something beyond the conscious mind and beyond the Local Story to the Greater Story. It is from this place that you can "see" your life and how it unfolds for the highest good. This gives your life a reference point to determine if you are on-track.

When I first visioned my life, I sat in a quiet place where I wouldn't be disturbed for at least three hours. This would give me time to quiet my conscious mind and move into the silence. Some people take longer and some less time to accomplish this same thing. When I sat and found the silence I saw parts of a movie playing. The overall theme was helping people to find deeper meaning in their lives and to use my intuition to open people to their vision.

If you haven't captured your life's vision yet, begin by taking this question into meditation: "What is the highest good that I can allow to come through me?" This question can open the door as you move into a deeper, more relaxed meditative state. If the vision doesn't come the first time you sit - try again. It may take several sittings. Few of us have cultivated our intuitive powers. Is it any wonder then why the first time or two or three we come up blank?

Furthermore, your purpose in this life can be more readily understood when you catch your life's vision. This vision is the "internal picturing" of your purpose unfolding-the reason why you exist. When you create a life plan or blueprint for your life part of the plan must be to vision your life. Take the time to catch the vision of your life and watch the miracles happen.

Message of the week

2011-12-12T10:01:00.001+05:30

How to Create Higly Effective Teams

2011-12-12T09:55:00.002+05:30

By Hammad Siddiqui

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6733018

Throughout his career, an entrepreneur faces many challenges. One of the biggest tasks for an entrepreneur is to build an effective team and keep it intact. In this real world, teams come together and break, sometime due to inefficiency of the system within the organization, and sometime due to team players not getting along well. Undoubtedly, there will be ups and downs, but an intelligent entrepreneur will always try to make the most of his team.

An interesting blog posted at Harvard Business Review written by Linda A. Hill is the Wallace Brett Donham Professor Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Kent Lineback spent many years as a manager and an executive in business and government. They are the coauthors of Being the Boss: The 3 Imperatives for Becoming a Great Leader. In this post, they raise a valid question:

Are the people who work for you a real team?

Managers would agree with their view that most teams are just bunch of people working individually in a group, but not every group is a team! The reason given by Linda and Kent is that entrepreneurs and managers do not pay attention to collective performance!

The second question asked by the authors is:

What is a team and what makes it potentially such a valuable instrument of leadership? And the explanation to this question is: A team is a group of people who do collective work and are mutually committed to a common team purpose and challenging goals related to that purpose.

Having said above, the question remains - What are the key ingredients that help an entrepreneur build good teams and keep them intact?

Perhaps the most important ingredient is the creation of "Teamwork Culture". This can be done by creating collective work plans and objectives. So instead of starting at an individual level, these two should be developed based on a bottom-up approach. This will encourage individuals to look at the bigger picture and place their contribution in creating this "Picture".

The other most important ingredient is "Team Rewards". Instead of rewarding individuals for their performance, consider adapting a team reward approach. Some would argue that this approach discourages "Start Performers", but they often forget that the share meaning of teamwork is the utilization of individual capacities to achieve common objectives.

Is Branding a Must?

2011-12-10T09:43:00.002+05:30

By Charis Taylor

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6731336

The word branding derives from the act of branding of cattle in order to discern the identity of the cattle, or whom they belonged to. Branding means to "burn" one's mark on their product. Today, branding has evolved to encompass a company, product or service's identity and how that image is imprinted in the mind of the consumer. Branding is not only about making people aware of your product, but also about perception. You want your customers to see you as the end all, the only solution to what they are looking for. If people trust in your brand, they will be willing to pay for it, no matter what the cost. A brand creates an image in the consumer's head. It tells them that there is something special about your brand, something that is not like other businesses or products out there.

When you are prepared to get started with your branding strategy, you need to establish what your company stands for. By doing this you will define exactly how you want your company to be perceived. Come up with a few ideas and then build around them from there. If you are unable to brand your company into a few terms, then how do you expect your customers to do the same? At the end of the day, you want to create a successful brand, bring in customers and give the positive experience. This will create a devoted customer.

These days many companies make promises to consumers. "Money back guaranteed!" "You won't believe the results!" Branding is how your company strategizes making its promise to the customer. Companies have to stand out from other brands, which is challenging when we as consumers have so many options at our fingertips. Ultimately, the goal is for people to put your brand at the very top of whatever category your product or service fits.

There are a few things you should try to avoid when devising your branding strategy. It is not typical for a company to be successful at selling a "better" product and make claims of its superiority over a product that has a record of success; you must separate yourself from the competition. You should come up with your company or products branding in terms that the majority of consumers will understand; the simpler the brand concept, the more it tends to stick in people's minds. It is important to protect your brand and deal with online reputation management, or IRM. Lastly, focus on offering your customer's the best value and not the lowest price. There will always be competitors trying to get below your price point.

Remember that branding is about the consumer's perception and not the product itself. It is proven that perception is the reality of the consumer, not the facts. It does take time, money and consistency to build a strong brand, but the advantages of will pay off if it is done correctly.

Inspirational Leadership: Do It Your Way

2011-12-09T13:07:00.002+05:30

By Michael Hume

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6692388

To Be Inspiring, First Be Yourself

If you want to be a more inspirational leader, as do most of my clients, you first have to be inspired. It's natural to think of inspirational role models who've helped ignite your passion for what you do (whether you own your own business or toil in the service of an organization) and think, "I want to do what he does," or "I want to be more like her." That might work... but a lot of the time, it doesn't.

Put twenty earnest leaders in a room, and you'll have twenty different "right answers" on how to be more inspirational. I know - I've done it many times. And when you have leaders work together for a few days and then ask each other what they found inspiring about their colleagues, the answers generally cause everything from mild surprise to stunning revelation.

The guy who's been inspired by the thundering "evangelist" type, and who's trying to pull off the same style without the tool kit (or grey hair) wielded by his role model, is often disappointed to learn he's not inspiring his colleagues - who are really looking for inspiration in him. Meanwhile, the reserved woman who's done nothing all week but execute her work, quietly encourage her teammates, and listen well to what her colleagues had to say - she's usually stunned to find she's the most inspiring leader in the room.

I'm not saying "loud" or speech-making inspiration doesn't work - it does, for many leaders. But the folks for whom that style works are the ones who found their own loud voice as a true part of their personality, not the people who wear the style like a theatrical costume.

Think about all the people who've inspired you, and try to make a list of the attributes, actions, and words they used to make you want to excel. If someone did something that really inspired you to be your best, it's obviously a legitimate "tool" of inspirational leadership... but that doesn't mean it's the right tool for you as you seek to inspire others. Borrow from other leaders, sure, but make certain you never stray far from the center of the person you are.

Not that it's easy, but the best (and most simple) way to inspire others is to stay inspired yourself, and let the natural event of role-modeling "do the work." True, you can skill-up, especially with excellent leadership coaching (give me a call, if you like). But you have to start from your authentic self. If you lose that center, you're not going to inspire a lot of great things from a lot of teammates.

4 Strategies For Team Motivation And Involvement

2011-12-07T09:43:00.002+05:30

By Mike Krutza

Co-Author: Jodi Wiff

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6593197

Everything starts from the leader especially team motivation. A leader should possess important qualities. A good leader must wisely direct his or her team. They should endeavor to help his team improve so that consequently, everybody will be proficient in work performance and the team achieves successful outcomes.

Explain Yourself Clearly

As a leader, you need to meticulously set your goals, detail the work, and lead the group in harmony. You need to be clear about your objectives, procedures, and strategies. Find time to fully explain the data on hand. Make the team understand the tasks. Don't be vague on the instructions. Don't assume that the members know or understand it all. Be approachable so that if there are questions, you will be able to address it accordingly. Create a strategy to make your explanations simple and easy. You may even want to use diagrams and figures to create a vivid picture. You may want to distribute sheets of paper for the important matters in the discussion. Making your presentation interesting also adds up to the eagerness of the team to learn and understand and this boosts team motivation.

Ask Questions

Leaders need to hear the opinion of the members. Since everybody is involved, each inquiry must be addressed. Work is proficient in an area where communication is two-way and this increases team motivation. Set an environment where fears, anxieties, hesitations, and difficulties are dealt with. Encourage your team to ask questions for better clarification. Give time for them to comprehend matters and concerns.

Motivate with Incentives

Strategies like rewards are very helpful. Members become more motivated, more inspired, and more enthusiastic to work if they are anticipating something like cash bonuses, paid vacations, free meals, and even little tokens. Find out what specific items or rewards are interesting for your team. For sure, they will be enticed. Enhancing team motivation will make your team happy to work with you.

Do Not Be a Slave Driver

Never push your team too hard on the tasks. It just makes them more ineffective in their performance. You need to comprehend the capacity of the team as part of team motivation. Deadlines may be extended or breaks or rest may be set. Also, never ask too much for a job that needs to be done. Be elegant and focused even in the most trying circumstances. A good leader knows him or herself well and is able to encourage team motivation for the group's success.

Self-Confidence Is a Selling Skill You Must Develop

2011-12-06T09:44:00.002+05:30

By David Lynch

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6717123

You could do all the best sales training available on the market today but if you lack self-confidence you are missing a key ingredient to sales success. In fact I'm sorry to admit this but even bad sales people with lots of self-confidence can still enjoy a certain degree of success. Now if you put self-confidence together with a high skillset you really have the magic selling formula. Okay so now that we know self-confidence is necessary if we want to be in the all exclusive top 5% of sales people, how do we get it?

1. Remove All Negative Influences

There are a lot of people out there who will try and ridicule you if you demonstrate your self-confidence in selling but you have to politely remove them from your day. Surround yourself with positive mentors who only wish you the best of success. It seems plain obvious but you need a bit of discipline to put it into practice. There's always one person who is out to ruin the party!

2. Teach Your Sub-Conscious Mind To Be Confident

A lot of sales people don't realise that our sub-conscious thoughts rule our behaviour, so first and foremost, we need to make sure these voices in our head are saying the right stuff. The good news is that if we make true statements enough times our sub-conscious starts to interpret them as real. (You didn't know human beings were so dumb, did you?) So start now by writing notes all over the place with messages like "I am really successful in selling!" Or "I make lots and lots of sales with ease!" I know it feels a bit dumb to do this at first but you have to believe that this will influence your behaviour significantly over time. The problem is that most people stop doing it too quickly and that won't work. With a little work our minds can be programmed to think in a certain way

3. Look Back on your Successes

It's also very important to look back on those moments when you did something really well and to re-live them. Everybody will have spoken or written to a customer in such a way that it got a great response. For example, a customer may have liked the way you treated them and wanted to let you know about it. These moments are precious building blocks to greater self-confidence so document them as much as you possibly can. Show them to your friends and colleagues so they will also see you as being great at what you do.

4. Self- Confidence is Contagious

The beauty of self-confidence is the fact that it has a contagious effect on most people. People are almost fascinated by a person who believes in something with such conviction and when this is coupled with positive emotions they often also want a piece of the action. I suppose it's also quite difficult to fake self-confidence, although it can be done to a certain extent if you are great at acting. Your powerful conviction will allow people to have more faith in whatever product or service you are offering, simply because you are the living testimonial.

Now I'm not just saying that anyone can become super self-confident overnight without a big bang on the head or some kind of extra-terrestrial intervention. It's something that you have to work on in the same way that you would work on a muscle. However I believe that just about any sales person can improve their level of self-confidence if they are willing to work on it. The most important thing to reflect on here is the fact that improved self-confidence will almost certainly amount to more sales.

Message of the week

2011-12-05T09:45:00.002+05:30

Balancing Life and Opportunity

2011-12-05T09:36:00.002+05:30

By Pamela Miller

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5528464

Have you been thinking that you need to change the place that you are. Again, you know you are not in the physical or mental place you need to be. You begin changing your place when you know you in are not aligned or balanced. Align yourself to some of the opportunities presented to you, follow your instincts that tells "this is right for me." Use quiet space to think and reconnect yourself to the possibilities by preparing yourself for success.

You know the closer you get to connecting to people and opportunities, there will be road blocks trying to interfere. You know your health, your mindset, relationships and financials affect your health mental. Getting closer and to your opportunity takes a stage of events. Attracting like minds and a team are the links to your personal growth. Look at your mentors and the people they motivate and influence. Move in the same direction and observe their actions. The passion, plus the opportunity and the strength of many makes a momentum that get you 5 people closer to the person you need to meet.

Collaborate with those people who are interest and have that same passion. Make plans in being all in the same room at the same time. Learn to share and experience with many. An example: my Mom attended a conference with me where she was so impress by sitting in the room full of educators. Her thoughts were that there were so many educated minds making a force field of energy of feeling smart. Effectively and collectively that's what the energy does, it delivers most of whats around you.

Have value and content that you can share to help someone else. Instructions maybe necessary and you may need to be the leader to show how. You may have something that will bring growth to someone else or visa versa. Social exchange brings growth when you are ready to receive. Gather together because sticks in bundles are hardly broken. Adjust your energy level, mindset and your income. Give value, find who you are and who you can influence. Have some discipline to make a change. Have the strength to make a stand.

TIPS on staying on top:

-Try not to allow nothing time, time where you just do nothing. Apply your thoughts in a space where you can develop it and think out your possibilities.
-Dodge the negative energy that comes along, and be prepared to drop down below it and rise above it.
-The television is a tool used to distract you and pull you back, make you lazy and change your mind.
-Don't keep doing what you not sure you can do, instead always doing what you know you can.

This is your way of starting to balance and taking advantage of yourself and opportunities. When you make it Drop you rise to the top!