Isn’t is amazing that we can be indecisive, even when something fantastic is right in front to us, we hesitate, even when all we have to do is reach out and accept. I have noticed this phenomenon in myself at times, as well as in others. More often than not I have seen people walk away from something potentially life-changing than to make a decision that could radically change their life that had little to no risk involved.
What causes us to be indecisive? This is a deep, and potentially insightful question that could have a variety of causes. Here are a few thoughts.
- Lacking information sufficient to make a decision
There are as many levels of sufficient information as there are people. How much information is sufficient for you? Great decisions are based on information, but have you set the bar at a height where you make few decisions?
In some situations we will never have “enough” information. That puts in a bind, IF, we are not willing to make some decisions by faith. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen.” Start practicing a little bit of faith with some of your decisions. Take a leap every once in awhile and see where it takes you.
- A fear of doing something differently (change)
There is a subtle comfort in our current situations, even when we know, deep down, that those situations are not serving us well. Some people think, “the devil I know is better than the devil I don’t” is the best way to proceed.
We often give far more credit to fear than we should. The fear of failure is at the root of our indecision many times. Shift your focus then. Failure is an event and not a person. If something fails, it is not the end, but merely the beginning. Learn to laugh at the fear of failure.
- Not feeling enough pain
Many of us are indecisive up until that point where we really begin to feel the pain of our indecision. You were unable to make the decision from a pleasure perspective, and now it has almost become unbearable. Time to make a decision, yet the reside of pain lingers long into the process.
Don’t wait until you are in severe pain to make a decision. Next time you start feeling discomfort about something in your life or business, decide to made a decision to do something different. Don’t continue abusing yourself mentally and physically.
- Limited world-view
Sometimes we have never been taught, or learned through experience, that there are better options, approaches, processes, or designs. If a person does not acknowledge the possibility of something greater, they will never make the decisions that will lead them to it.
Socrates felt himself to be one of the wisest men in the world. Why? He stated, “I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.” You should come to grips with the fact that you will never come to the place where you know everything. In fact, it is best to state that we know very little. This type of humility will keep up open to learning great truths.
- Belief that they do not deserve better
This belief mentally cripples and maims people, and will be an anchor on our soul until you are liberated from its hold.
The only difference between those that achieve great things and those that don’t is how those two groups think. Beliefs are the culmination of the thoughts that we keep thinking. Start learning about the power of thoughts and how they create our existence. Read “The Science of Getting Rich”, or “The Secret”. Then move on to Bob Proctors book, “You Were Born Rich”. Teach yourself how to think correctly.
It is imperative that we learn to overcome the above limitations. Not only is it imperative, but it is also possible regardless of your age or education level.
I remember a lesson from a trust mentor several years back, when he challenged us to practice being decisive. The challenge was the next several times you visited a restaurant, instead of poring over the menu for a long time and asking for additional time to make a decision, you were to wait until the wait staff arrived, pick up your menu, open it, and then immediately place your order. The purpose was to learn to make decisions quickly and with purpose.
The journey to be freed from indecision can start today. I trust it will be today for you. Mental freedom is right around the corner, and much closer than you can even imagine.
Our free webinar series has become very popular, so I want to give you the information for our next in the series on May 16th.
We will be conducting an overview of Wallace Wattles book, “The Science of Getting Rich” that was written in 1910, but still incredibly applicable today.
Wallace contends that you can follow well established principles to move along a path of increase in your life, particularly in the acquisition of more wealth.
You can register for this webinar at: http://www.skillfulbusinessowner.com/the-science-of-getting-rich/
Each person that attends this webinar will receive a free PDF copy of the book.
I have been contemplating why many of the business owners I come into contact with have a negative first impression of the “Law of Attraction.” This is not the time to go into the law as a definition, but those that believe and practice this believe it to be a natural law just like the law of gravity is.
I wonder if one of the primary reasons for the negative response is that the law of attraction appears to them to be a “new age” concept or teaching. To others it may not seem rational to them.
While reading a text on the law of attraction, I noticed that the law used to be called the “low of love” in many circles of adherents. Maybe, just maybe, some of the resistance might be to what it is called. It would be hard for someone to be initially resistant to something called the “law of love.”
I recommend that you explore this subject. Rhonda Byrne has a book entitled, “The Secret”, and Wallace Wattles wrote a book, “The Science of Getting Rich.” Both books can be found in bookstores, or ordered online.
For myself, I have decided to live by the principles of the law of attraction. Anything that is an uplift to mankind, and focuses on positive qualities like this law is beneficial to mankind. Enjoy the journey!
I wanted to let my blog readers know about an upcoming webinar entitled, “Debunking the Sales is a Numbers Game Lie”. In particular, we will be looking at effective ways to lower resistance in our prospects.
It is all about getting off the roller coaster sales profession ride and realizing that it truly is not a numbers game if you have the right tools.
Date: April 25, 2012
Time: 11:00 AM CDT
You can register at the link below:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/876378032
Creating a powerful mindset is one of the keys to achieving your business dreams. One way that helps me in this regard is reciting a declaration very early in my day.
One declaration that has become a favorite is,
“I CAN succeed! All that is possible to anyone is possible to me.
I AM successful. I do succeed, for I am full of the Power of Success.”
I want to invite you to add a morning starting declaration to your day.
There are many “keys” to successful business, but let me share with the one of the fundamental questions that you must answers multiple times, every day.
“Is what you are doing right now helping you succeed in sales, or business?”
Marvin Himel – President of Tiger Quest shared this concept recently with webinar attendees from around the world. The question, once again, “Is what you are doing right now helping you succeed in sales, or business?”
How can we be reminded on a regular basis to deal with this concept? Let me share Marvin’s idea.
- Take a sheet of paper and pencil
- Write this question out on the paper three times
- Put one copy in your billfold or purse
- Put one copy in your pocket
- Put one copy on your desk or in your desk drawer
Now, each time you reach into your wallet, in your pocket, or into your desk drawer, ask yourself the question and give an honest answer. Commit now to cut all activity out of your business life that does not help you succeed in sales or business.
Your business, profession, relationships, and quality of life depend upon your discipline in this area.
Give me a call to see how you can help you leverage information like this through business coaching or sales training.
Grab The Training That Will Take You To The Top
When you don’t educate your self thoroughly, your selling skills are going to become a train wreck. That is why we provide you with superior sales coaching which is guaranteed to significantly improve your sought after earning potential .
Any excellent salesman understands that effective sales coaching is something that you should engage in constantly. Also, it is undeniable that there’s simply no miraculous solution to help your selling effectiveness instantaneously. Because of this, our world class selling instruction is the ideal platform upon which to construct a financially rewarding sales future. Although your existing passion and skill will probably determine how high you can actually go and just how swiftly you will get there, our exceptional selling instruction is the ideal prelude for your moneymaking selling fortune. We will get you there faster.
The sales instruction takes off by dealing with essentials including “The 6 standards of sales achievement.” All of us make use of the Socratic approach to instructing in our sales training program and that means you won’t sense yourself getting ‘lectured’ to, but instead discover youself to be within a fascinating active setting. Our sales coaching trainings are likewise distinctive because of their practice of inspiring, combined with acknowledging individuals, who present amazing perception within the training sessions.
High quality sales training meetings like ours are not only instruction sessions, but thought invoking coaching that promote your inner skill as a sales person. That which you uncover through these training sessions is going to have an intense influence on both you and your future.
I encourage you to call me today to discuss this opportunity further, or better yet, request our sales training discovery session to see exactly how you would benefit by our sales training.
I ran across this cartoon while surfing, and it struck me how true the saying is.
In business, what used to be “up”, is many times “down” now. A willingness to look at things from fresh perspectives can produce great outcomes.
POWERUP Strategy is Coming!
“Knowledge is the engine that powers great decision making.”
“Rightly applied knowledge is the beginning of wisdom.”
Business owners are always looking for access to great information that will help them grow their business. Unfortunately, many times you have to wade through a massive amount of information to gather up the “golden nuggets” that have value to you.
POWERUP Strategy is being created to cut through the fluff, and deliver the critical information that you need as a business owner very quickly. Topics are selected carefully in order to deliver the most valuable information possible.
There will be three knowledge and informational tracks, and each will be incredibly valuable to business owners.
Keep an eye out for the awesome offers that will be available to you at our launch.
I recently had someone ask me what I thought the most important fundamental business principles were, so in order to provide that insight to others, I have decided to publish a series of articles on the “Top 10 Basic Business Principles.”
There is great benefit to reviewing the basics. Being fundamentally sounds makes it possible to build upon a rock-solid foundation.
Here are the principles that I will be addressing over the next several weeks:
- Decide what you do (and what you don’t do)
- Decide who you serve (and focus on them intensely)
- Decide what makes you different (and do it)
- Manage cash flow (very closely)
- Manage employees (incentivize them for success)
- Manage customer expectations (under promise and over deliver)
- Set goals (and go after them)
- Expose yourself (tell the market what you do)
- Persevere (through the tough times)
- Always maintain your integrity (in everything you do)
As each article is written I will turn the items above into a link that will take you directly to that topic. This way, you can bookmark this page, and when you return, you will have access to each topic from this page if you so desire. Another option is to subscribe to my RSS feed.
Could you and your sales team use some training in the new year?
You may have a diverse group of salespeople, or it might just be you within your own company, but one thing is for sure, if you don’t take deliberate action to improve your selling ability, you will plateau at best, and regress in your skills at worst. Maybe this has happened to you in the past, or you have observed someone who did not put the required effort into maintaining their skills, and the natural result was that sales decreased. This wasn’t even the worst of it. The commissions took a big hit as well.
Just as a craftsman hones his/her skills to stay on top of their craft, we salespeople must constantly strive to improve our capabilities. Otherwise, we will slip to middle-tier performers, or even worse, we will start pulling up the rear of the sales performance chart.
Don't End Up Like Sysiphus!
Some of your top performers may only require a “tune-up”, while others on your team might need remedial help. The goal is improvement for everyone on staff. This is where tremendous ROI can be achieved for a business. Raise the level of performance for the stragglers, the mid-performers, as well as your stars.
We are currently running eight-weeks sessions with our sales training, and ongoing support is available beyond that point as well. In less than than two months, your team can be re-energized, experiencing better meetings, and closing more business.
Request our sales training assessment and we will schedule a time for the assessment, AND schedule a time for a FREE training session, so that you experience first hand the value of investing in yourself. Give Michael a call at 636-724-5222, or fill out our contact form and put “sales training” in the comments section.
How do you see yourself?
Every person I have interviewed has some level of what I call “self-talk” going on in their mind that helps to formulate their impression of themselves. The issue with most is that their “self-talk” is not positive and uplifting. For some, it is caustic and critical.
You perception of yourself plays a huge part in how you interact with the world. It will impact your spouse, children, friendships, as well as your professional career. So how we think about ourselves is very important to our success.
What, and how, we think is our foundation. How sturdy, or healthy is your foundations? Do you talk to yourself with positive and uplifting words, or is it the other way around? This is a topic that goes much deeper than this post, but I want to mention that our business coaching service has a eight-week segment on the power of our beliefs, and deals specifically with not only this issue, but others as well.
Two things are for certain.
- You want your business to be a success, and
- I want your business to be a wildly successful.
Give me a call, and let’s discuss how to strengthen your belief structure to support your business success.
Here is a short list of some typical reasons someone might work with a business coach?
There are a lot of reasons that an person or team can choose to make use of a business coach, including however, but not restricted to the examples below:
- One has never discovered his or her primary strengths and how to use them to advantage;
- There is a gap in knowledge, capabilities, self-confidence, or assets;
- Work and life are out of whack, and this is producing unwelcome outcomes;
- There’s a absence of understanding, and there are choices to be considered;
- There is a desire to speed up success;
- The individual is incredibly successful, and good results has started to become troublesome;
- There is something on the line (a concern, objective, or business opportunity), which is imperative, compelling or exciting, or all of the aforementioned.
I invite you to explore business coaching with Skillful Business Owner, and our free executive business briefing is a great way to learn about our services. This free webinar will give you the insight necessary for making a good decision.
There is an old express, “The buck stops here”, that represents the attitude we should own regarding whether our business succeeds or fails.
Having interacted with dozens of business owners over the years, I am still amazed at the excuses I hear for business difficulties and failure. Some say the economy is down. Others talk about financial institutions that won’t work with them. Franchisees have complained about, and faulted their franchisor. The common denominator is that the business owner is pointing to someone, or something, other than themselves as being responsible. It doesn’t work that way.
I have yet to run into a successful business owner who does not take responsibility for their success or failure. The “buck” truly stops on their desk.
The smart business owners learns to avial themselves to every available resource in order to help them make the best decisions, but in the end, they “own” it. They are responsible for the results.
Resist the temptation to point the finger when things don’t go as well as you anticipated. Dig in, and enlist any and all help to assist you to turn it around. Be responsible. It is liberating!
What are some things we can do to reduce the 10 percent that is in the negative column?
- Identify potential solutions that you have control over. Many of the negative things are beyond our control, and the first step is identifying whether we have a measure of control over the issue.
- If we have some ability to move the negative into the positive column, create and execute some action steps to see if they produces the results you are looking for. If there is no ability to influence, then recognize that, and release yourself from the issue in order to move forward.
- Spend time in your meditation and prayer activities, focusing on the positive and making your gratitude expressions.
- See if there is someone else who can deal with the negative issues on your behalf. If so, enlist their services with the purpose of bringing healing to that area.
Making the effort is cathartic, and almost more important than the end result. Remember that even when you are attempting to deal with the negative, that the overwhelming positive in your life is not forgotten.
Why are people who are in a good mood more likely to buy?
A person’s bad mood is a fundamental objection to the sales process. Once the mood of a person lifts, they become more receptive to what the salesperson is communicating.
In effect, a bad mood is another mode of resistance that must be removed before real communication can occur.
We also associate our purchases to a feeling of pleasure. It is much harder to move someone from a bad mood to feelings of pleasure than it is to move someone the shorter distance between being in a good mood to one of pleasure and contentment.
Laughter is a fantastic tool for mood transfer.
Why is it important to remind ourselves that about 90 percent of the things in our lives are right, and about 10 percent are wrong?
The “wrong” is what generally plants itself “front and center” in our minds. Negative sells on the news, it carries itself on the barbs of gossip, and tends to settle uncomfortably in our gut.
If we don’t have a strategy to put the wrong in proper perspective, we will doom ourselves to unbalanced thinking. We must consciously “give thanks” for what is right on our lives, business, or profession. Positive thoughts tend to be less “sticky” in our minds, therefore we focus on the more powerful 90 percent to combat the persistent 10 percent.
I saw this humorous picture on Facebook, and after I got done chuckling, my thoughts turned to how the poor lab in the lower right corner portion of the photo has represented me, and undoubtedly, other business owners who have looked at a humongous “to-do” list and “freaked out” at one point or another.
It is no fun to feel like you are out of control. There are only so many hours in a day, and trying to figure out the 20% of activity that will accomplish 80% of what needs to be done is not always easy.
Our company was designed to help small business owners get a handle, not only on time management, but the other key areas that will relieve stress and focus attention on what will make small business owners incredibly successful.
Fill out our contact form, and write “free executive briefing” in the message section to learn more.
One of the most valuable lessons I learned in life was that I had the power within myself to accomplish whatever it was that I wished with my life. You must first of all believe in yourself, even before you entertain believing in your business, products, and services.
Your level of “certainty” is a critical factor for success. If this concept is foreign to you, a business coach can help you achieve this important goal.
It is essential in business to relieve tension. Tension can crop up in many ways. It might show itself in the sales process, or in delivering a product or solution. It might even occur if you have not been paying attention to a valued client, or customer.
Relieving tension can also be relieved several ways, and the one that I want to reference now is laughter! How does laughter relax us?
Laughter ends up being our sixth sense. The “sense of humor.” Laughter has the tendency to “dissolve” things like tension, objections, and the types of emotions that weigh us down. Even the Bible talks about laughter being “better than medicine.” It takes us back to childhood, where the weight of the world was not resting on our shoulders.
According to science, laughter helps to integrate both hemispheres of the brain. You can use laughter to help the analytic get in touch with their creative, and vice-versa.
I an not advocating that you learn a stand-up routine, especially if that is not your strong suit. Make it a point to be on the lookout for the “sublime” elements in life, and be ready to share those. Some of the funniest things in life are derived from the mundane.
Why is it that in the end, it is the salesperson with the strongest developed relationship with the prospect who wins the sale?
All things being equal, a client will go with, and stay with, a salesperson with which they have a strong relationship. Clients always intellectually rationalize their decisions, and as such, they like to buy from those they like. Building the relationship with your prospect becomes one of the prime factors for winning business.
Your new client now feels like they can communicate on a level that is much deeper than someone who made no effort to get to know them. They decided to buy from a “friend.”
“What are the advantages to finding time for family and friends as well having an interest outside of work?”
We have a need to grow in all aspects of our lives, not just in our profession, since success is comprehensive instead of compartmentalized. The most successful businesspeople and salespeople are well-rounded. Their growth in their personal lives provides residual benefits for their professional lives as well, but that should not be the primary motivation.
We use our profession to create an environment that makes our personal lives, and the standards by which we want to live them possible. The objective is not an isolated domination of our profession, but rather the fulfillment of a life that uses the profession to make additional opportunities for fullness of life possible.
You most probably have a vision, and definite goals for your work, but have you put as much energy and effort into having the same for your personal life? If not, I challenge you to make it a priority in the coming year.
Is the almost 100-year old way of chasing sales DOA (Dead on Arrival)? I was reading a article by Jeffrey Gitomer yesterday that asserted that this was indeed a fact. Truth be told, I agree with him, and have felt this way for over a year. If you intend to be a sales superstar in 2012, you are going to need to learn a new approach. You can continue in the old ways if you are content with the crumbs that will be left over by the master salesperson.
How can you tell if you are stuck in the past?
Do you ask yourself any of the following questions?
- How do I make a better cold call?
- How do I close a sale?
- How do I get to the decision maker?
If you answered yes to any of these, you are still using a deprecated form of salesmanship. Unfortunately you are beating your head against a wall, with very little hope of the success you are looking for and deserve.
Learn me ask you a series of better questions?
- How many Twitter followers do you have?
- Do you have an updated and informative Facebook page?
- Do you network on Linkedin?
- Do you know what your Social Promotion Score is?
- Are you involved in a significant way in your community?
The way to get in front of decision makers has changed for good. Cold calling may get you in front of a business owner occasionally, but if you analyze your performance with cold calling, you will begin to see that your conversion rate is at best quite anemic.
For better or worse, we live in an age where relationships and reputation rule the day in business. The world has turned social, and many of us didn’t notice. At least we didn’t notice right away. Now is the time for action!
I would be happy to get you a nudge in the right direction. Just use our contact form to let us know you would like to discuss selling in 2012.
Developing the skills to augment our natural talents requires massive effort on our part, as well as constant action to develop. Do you believe this? Can the label of mastery pursuit be made truthfully about you as you think upon your own career or personal path?
My 50-years upon this beautiful orb has brought me into the path of relatively few people who have made this type of investment in order to truly master their life or craft. The ones I have encountered have been truly extraordinary individuals. They are the type of people who draw you to themselves like a magnet draws iron.
Tony Robbins talks about repetition being the mother of all learning. Repetition is fundamental to skills development and mastery. As a child I remember the saying, “practice makes perfect”, when in reality it is truly, “focused practice
makes perfect.” Even the second saying is a bit flawed in one way, since I don’t believe that we should strive to be perfect. Instead we should strive to be outstanding, which is far superior to the pursuit of perfection.
What types of skills activities do you focus on that will lead you to becoming a master? What takes up the bulk of your time? Do you spend more time on these activities than you do watching television, reading magazines, responding to non-important emails, and other time wasting activities that are probably coming to your mind right about now?
It will take laser-like focus for you to succeed in the pursuit of mastery. It will take a great deal of willpower to not take the path of least resistance, if indeed you truly want to experience the fulfillment of mastery. One of the keys to that type of focus is to visual the outcomes that you want to achieve. The Whats and the Whys will give you the mental ability to figue out the Hows.
Jump on the narrow path that leads to personal and career fulfillment. Decide today that you will no longer allow yourself to suffer in the pit of mediocrity. If you make the decision to become like the masters of yore, would you give me a shout and let me know. I would be honored to celebrate with you!
“The great end in life is not knowledge but action.”
- Thomas Henry Huxley
Somewhere along the line a disconnect occurred between the twin necessities of knowledge and action. There was a time when it was common to acquire knowledge on a subject, or topic, and then taking action to capitalize on the knowledge. The action is what created the success opportunity.
I have noticed a sharp decline in the desire to take action. Many have become comfortable to learn about things that will improve their business, their personal life, or their family, yet they don’t translate the knowledge into an action plan that will drive the change they are looking for.
What about you? I want to challenge you to take action, by contacting me through my contact us form. I will share with you an executive briefing at absolutely no cost to you. You can learn about the options in a no pressure environment. I look forward to speaking with you.
In order for your company to effectively compete in today’s business world, you need to have a stellar Internet presence. Even so, just having a website isn’t enough. Your website has to rank nicely inside the search engines so potential consumers can discover you. In order for that to happen, you need to become an expert in world-wide-web promoting, or hire a professional services Search Engine Optimization firm.
There are numerous advantages to hiring an SEO Company instead of trying to market your web business yourself. For one thing, learning net marketing and advertising is a big expense in time. You have to do it properly in order to beat out your competition. There are several techniques to learn and several of them are learned through trial and error, which keeps you from achieving your goals as quickly as possible.
The time you invest in understanding about online promoting could be better spent in building your company and taking care of your customers. You can leave the management of the site to an experienced company that will get improved effects much quicker than you could do personally.
Knowledge can mean the difference between success and failure for your Internet site. That’s the main reason why you should hire professional help instead of trying to understand online promoting well enough to produce it yourself. Things change fast on the Internet. What works today may possibly be outdated by the time you learn it. It takes a huge commitment of time and interest to stay abreast with the latest on net advertising and marketing trends.
Marketing a website on the Internet is not as easy as it might seem. That’s due primarily to the fact that there is so much competition. You’ll find hundreds if not thousands of other websites, which are trying to get ranked for many of the same keywords that you need to use. The corporations that utilize the most skilled net marketing experts are the ones that will secure those coveted, best search engine results listings.
If you leave net advertising and marketing up to chance your competition might trounce you.
I’ve been wandering around the office the past couple of days with a wicked head cold. You know the feeling. It is like you have stuck your head into a fish bowl that is murky. You see everything alright, but there is a lack of clarity in what you see.
It doesn’t require a head cold to create this kind of situation in our minds regarding our businesses. To borrow a military term, it is likened to “the fog of war”. Being in the middle of all the tasks that pull at us on a daily basis, plus all of the non-business issues we are dealing with can put us in a situation where we are likely to make decisions without “clarity”.
We cannot afford to make important decision unless we can see the issues clearly. Take some time today to retreat to a place of quiet and begin to think about what it is about being in business that you love. Begin to toss the clutter of the day-to-day behind and see once again the important issues. There is something therapeutic to this activity. Do it enough times and the important begins to bubble to the surface.
Once we pull our heads out of the fish bowl, we can see clearly enough to make the right hire, set the correct goals, and market in such a way that maximizes ROI.
Our Greatest Fear —Marianne Williamson
it is our light not our darkness that most frightens us
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other
people won’t feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of
God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.
