Doug

Here Is A Quick Way Towards Finding Employment

Feb 262011

Many friends have congratulated me on finding new employment last week, and asked “What did you do?” I’ll tell you. Perhaps you’re hearing many naysayers around you that repeat what they hear in the media. You’re constantly getting messages nowadays like, “jobs are hard to get”, “unemployment is too high,” and “the economy is terrible.” Those messages are meaningless to you. You are not deterred from seeing and believing the truth, which is you can find employment. You go through the doubters. You don’t let them block you. You don’t block yourself.

The way I received the job offer is quite by surprise, but on hindsight makes complete sense. One of my co-workers from Microsoft in the marketing role had been hired at the same firm a few weeks before me. She recommended they look at me and the interviews and an offer ensued. She continued to express her favor for me to the executive management team to choose me over the other candidates during the interviewing stage.

Good and Bad of Unseen Job Market

I think my job opportunity was never announced publicly. Most of the best ones for us aren’t announced publicly in this economy. If these opportunities were published, then we’d get buried in the mass of candidates, plus it’s most likely not going to be as good of a match. The best ones come when someone personally refers us to the hiring manager. That’s what you’re seeking.

Power of Advocacy

Lesson learned? You need an advocate. You don’t always pick the advocate, sometimes they pick you. It doesn’t matter who does the picking. It needs to happen though. It’s up to you, if you’re not getting the results in this area. You don’t know where your job lead will come from. Be optimistic that it will come. You’ll need an advocate, maybe more than one to get you in. You don’t know who can help you, or who wants to help you, or how they can help you. That is not an impossible problem. Try to think of it as a blessing, stimulating your creative powers and motivation. It is merely unrealized potential.

Power of Attitude

Your approach has several aspects. Your attitude is key. You’re using a process with stages, broadcasting widely in the beginning, followed by narrowcasting, and having a personalized touch with your friends, associates, customers etc. It’s a timing thing, very ephemeral. You repeat it periodically. Your next job offer will be most likely from a client, co-worker or boss from one of your past employment or contract situations that gets you to your goal. Someone who already knows you. Don’t worry if few people respond to your efforts to communicate. Many are reading your message, and don’t respond. It doesn’t matter how many don’t respond. You work with the ones that DO respond. All you need is your first one. You might remember this:

“Some will,

Some won’t,

So what,

Who’s next.”

Power of Action and Numbers

You focus on connecting with them in two stages. I’m talking about doing something here. You don’t think it out too much at this stage, just get the message out. First do it in a programmatic way, where you start things the same way with a bunch of people. Maybe you make an email announcement, a Facebook, Twitter or other social media platform ‘What’s happening?’ series of blurbs. For topics, you can spotlight projects you’re working on, or an event you’re going to, a news item of interest, or something that gives them insight into your genius.

Then you go onto stage two, where you do something more personal for a couple of them that respond to you, the ones who you want to think of you more deeply. Then the job leads unfold. As you begin your campaign, don’t focus so much on the job leads, but rather on creating what I call the WoW Factor, meaning what can you do to make them feel good about themselves or you? It will trigger something where they want to do something in the future for you in return–like search their contacts directory and give you hiring manager contact information!

8 Job Search Tactics to Focus on Today:

Look through your contacts directories
If it’s linkedin, then pick a couple persons and write and send them a recommendation.
Someone may offer to write one for you in return. Now you’re creating buzz, and you’re going to grow this.
Phone them or set up a meeting. At the meeting, not before, have ready to discuss your research results on their ‘industry trends,’ your ‘ideal job description’ and ‘top 10 employer targets’. Personal stuff is also on the agenda here.
See my linkedin slideshare deck for a set of more job searcher tips, using that platform.
If your target contact person writes a blog, visit it and write a response on one of their blog posts. I like blog post comments on mine.
Let a bunch of other burn-out job search tasks go; for example, sending in your resume on an opening where you don’t have a personal referral at the firm.
Go to twitter, subscribe to some job search resources. A new one in my current industry is http://twitter.com/spjbs and another excellent one is http://twitter.com/JobHuntOrg run by Susan P. Joyce. Today, she has made 10,322 tweets and attracted over 21,410 followers. Reason being, she tweets terrifically.

You already know the ratio of applications to appointments to interviews to job offers. Ugghh! Something’s got to give. Somehow, you need to re-position yourself to bypass all that mumbo jumbo. Your personal relationships and action steps are the key.

Why don’t you give these recommendations a go and tell me how it works for you?

10 Secrets I Learned From ‘Gotta Get More Sales’ Boot Camp

Sales Strategy 2 Responses »

Feb 122011

This is the fourth post in a series of six articles

Bolt Out
of the
Shadows

and into

the Sun

1. Picture Success

You’ve heard “I’m on a vision quest.” For me, it’s a discovery quest. My vision of success on this project is to create a great sales process. I see sales success as partnering with marketing to attract prospects, and then converting the interested ones into customers in a consistent manner. Many businesses try to bring certain functions together: research and development, product management, marketing, operations. But they neglect the sales part. Big mistake. Are you one who has neglected the sales part, don’t want to get involved in the messy details of sales. If so, my article here aims to encourage and enlighten you on the idea that the purpose of a business is to attract and retain customers. Profit is just a byproduct of sales done right. Nothing counts until a sale happens. Remember, I pictured discovering a great sales process.

2. Plan Strategically

Simply put, my sales strategy involved adopting two or three channels of distribution and executing tactics to maximize opportunities.

Businesses which provide their employees with laptop computers and smart phones.
Wireless phone and consumer electronics distributors and retailers.
Customers who care about protecting their electronics, valuable items, reputation and ability to be productive using these tools.
Affiliates who have aligned business and charity causes with ImHONEST.com

3. Make Goals

Because I want to bring WoW Factors to my customers, I make sure to have intentional congruence between my short term sales growth goals and my long term business development picture of success. It’s a virtuous circle. I started out with six metrics to monitor, and my sales team quickly advised me to narrow it down to a more manageable number for our ‘Gotta Get More Sales Boot Camp’ game. With a green field opportunity to sell ImHONEST.com products, I decided on three, number of calls made, number of review meetings with decision makers, and number of sales. With my starting and ending dates set, my purpose clear, my strategy in place, I am ready to bolt off the starting line, eager for a strong finish.

4. Do It!

Secrets Learned: There can be no doubt that all my success results from intentional, focused action. This chart shows my prospecting actions over the last four weeks. In week one, I missed my weekly target by two calls, but I came into the realization that my sales goal loomed large and I needed to step it up. In week two, I boosted the numbers over goal, but I still wasn’t satisfied. Good things happened to me in week three, when I doubled the activity goal. Be ready to take on a double now and then. I’m not talking about a double cheeseburger either.

Sometimes I hear people say the problem with prospecting is that it’s hard to do. It’s NOT HARD, if you’re prepared. It’s easy to do, but it’s easy not to do too, even when you’re prepared. You know what I’m talking about, don’t you? Yes, easy not to do. Any sales plan needs to track field activities. Especially when you’re starting something new. In this example, the chart doesn’t tell the whole story, just the numbers. Management likes the numbers, but leadership knows they need the proper key to unlock the your potential, to get yourself to produce the activities. Why are you going to do it?

5. Pause Reflect Recharge

Secrets Learned: If you pay attention, the numbers in the chart above tell you what you need to know. After week one, I came up short. The key lessons for me:

Obtain a better prospecting list, work introductions of associates. I shifted from calling office supply retailers in week one, to wireless dealer distributors in week two. The list had no decision makers though. If you can get a list with decision maker contacts, it’s even better.
Write a presentation script, write some answers to anticipated objections, and practice them.
Have objectives for your calls.

Get the Decision Maker Contact info. Name, phone, email, times in office, schedule, assistant
Get suggestions, advice, a referral or introduction.
Get an appointment for a product review when addressing the Decision Maker, have them take some kind of action
Get a commitment to BUY.

Ask myself what can I do to improve my result next time?
Break up my routine. Get out of my comfort zone. Seek feedback.

Secrets Learned: Although sales revenues and numbers are key results to achieve, having an interim milestone like meetings with the decision maker highlighted above, gives me vital clues about my activities, effectiveness, progress, and success. I use this information to make adjustments in strategy or tactics to improve my sales approach. You will become excited going through this process.

6. Deal with Reality

Time happens, whether you’re making the numbers or not. Have you ever noticed that somehow, successful sales professionals make the time to do the numbers? Unsuccessful ones let interruptions crowd out their time for doing the numbers. Then they make excuses. That’s not you. You put distractions in the rear view mirror.

Secrets Learned: Perhaps you found a coach and a team of associates working on similar goals, while forming new habits. If you have not found them, then you’ll want to identify them, get together, and gain solidarity. My coach gave me an invitation that I could not pass up for even a moment. It was 30 minutes per day, every day, for four weeks. She called it ‘Gotta Get Sales Boot Camp’. I signed up immediately. If you can’t face reality on your own (and most sales people can’t), then I recommend you get a coach. I did. You’ll be fortunate if yours does for you what mine does for me.

Go ahead and check my coach out. Her business zooms at Accelerated Outcomes.

7. Make a Commitment

You may have heard the definition of a sale is the transfer of enthusiasm. Did you ever wonder about the meaning of enthusiasm? Why do some people have it and some don’t? The root word enthuse has Greek origins, meaning ‘the god within.’ And I-A-S-M, is an acronym that stands for “I am sold myself.” The God within I am sold myself. Once you make a commitment, enthusiasm flows. Give it a try.

I play mind tricks on myself. I’ll give you a couple examples. I don’t quit calling on a high note. I keep going with the next customer when I’m on a high note. Why? Because the person you reach will feel it, and that can be your next customer. Alternatively, I don’t quit if I haven’t reached my goal. I make another call.

Another example happens when I’m growing frustrated. Instead of falling into the hole, I catch myself and become fascinated. Have you ever been caught sitting in your car, on the freeway when it’s a parking lot and you have a critical meeting with an important person? Nothing you can do will change the situation, kind of like President Hosni Mubarak this week, with the Egyptian protestors marching for freedom. The pressure keeps building, building, you’re boxed in . . . and then you notice the chrome wheels and lug nuts of the truck next to you throw off shards of light shimmering in all directions. Fascinating . . .

8. Prepare Daily Tasks

There are only 24 hours in a day, and now I had a new set of activities to layer into my daily schedule. Something had to give. It wasn’t going to be my morning exercise, but the problem was most of my customers were on the east coast and I am on the west coast. If I didn’t start early, time would slip away. My response was to start making calls at 5:30am. Shift happens. In order to do that, I needed to go to sleep earlier. I gave up a worthless evening hour of TV, and it was a breeze. I’m still looking to find associates to join me for lunch at 10am, however . . .

In one of my calls to Disney, the customer asked where’s area code 510? I answered San Francisco and he said, “Doug, you have tough working hours.” My response, “Yeah, it may seem so. It’s early, but I am done with my work day before 2pm, plus I don’t have the same traffic challenges that many others do.” Actually, I get more done now, from this minor adjustment. One of the benefits of making this change, is that I am stronger asking my customers to make adjustments too. Funny how things work that way. You don’t have to get up to make calls a ungodly hours of the day to be successful in this area. My point is you prepare daily tasks, resolve to never give up. And your effectiveness will soar.

9. Track and Monitor

I set the goal for six sales. OK, so you see I haven’t made the sales numbers after four weeks. Is that a bummer? No, because that was five weeks prior when I didn’t have a clue about what the sales process should look like. Now, I have greater insights into what it takes to succeed in this business; also like Vince Lombardi said, I just ran out of time. I know sales will happen. I’ve received verbal commitments. I will ride out the closing process, no matter what. I’m not going to beat myself up for missing this milestone. I have learned much about what I need to do to improve, and have committed to getting the sales by the next period. Do you notice the attitude? It’s time to be a victor, not a victim. Only you decide that.

Secrets Learned: Sales is a critical metric to monitor. In this case, the gradient was too steep. When starting out selling a new venture, product, or service, it’s important to craft a delicate balance between what is inspiring and what could be overwhelming. I had inspiration sustain me during this four week period. Even though I made much sales effort, the sales goal needs to be adjusted to later in time, for a more even gradient. My workaround was to accept a verbal commitment from the customer to buy, and go for two of those in the final stretch. There are other key business metrics you can track here, including margin per sale or customer, size of sale, percentage of growth rate, or repeat customers.

Remember this: You can probably fool other observers with your numbers for a few days, maybe your associates for a couple days, your boss or coach for one day, but not yourself, not even for one day. You don’t want to call your character into question. So don’t even try.

10. Find Bright Lights

Some of my recent bright light figures who I owe kudos to: Harvey Baraban because he stands for personal integrity and shares his knowledge generously in our monthly roundtable events. JT Foxx, because listening to him makes me uncomfortable, his unreasonableness, incisiveness stir up my assumptions; and then, his passion is like a warm blanket coaxing me out of my comfort zone. Raymond Aaron, because his intellect, passion and communication are rational yet challenging; and, Eroca Lowe, who carefully teases out whimsical dreams from far places, and nurtures these thoughts into reality, then steadfastly keeps them growing. My Wife gets my special thanks because so much is fascinating with her. Brian Tracy for sheer force of belief, a prodigious idea factory, and offering new introductions that reveal opportunities at every turn. Then there’s Bill Bartmann for his decent boldness and sensible approach. Nick Nanton the celebrity brand maker, bursting onto the ‘I will improve your life’ scene with contagious optimism. And finally, like the unknown soldier, we have to thank the superstar sales rep you know who proclaims joyously, “My friends are my clients!”

Thanks for Reading

Please add your comments below and remember to get updates by email now or get the Honest Intentions RSS Feed, if you haven’t already, so you don’t miss out. As always, good luck with launching your sales strategy.

Please Tell People About Honest Intentions

If you like this article, please ReTweet it with the little green button, or tell a friend. My blog group has introduced a little tool called Share and Enjoy to make it easier for you to email it to a friend or add it to your favorite social media website. I hear that if you bookmark it on Delicious or Stumbleupon, that will get more readers here. Many of my thanks in advance for your help. I appreciate it.

What WoW Factors Are You Creating In Your Business?

Sales Strategy No Responses »

Jan 302011

I’ve been searching for the WoW factor in my business. Maybe you have too! The WoW factor is an exceptional customer experience, a pleasant upside surprise that brings them back. I didn’t know I was searching for it last year, until I met a guy named JT Foxx. I’ve noticed since the new year has turned, many of my customers, partners, and associates are searching, just like me. It gets me up every morning. One of the things that sparked my quest to deliver and receive it was meeting JT Foxx at an entrepreneur’s event. There, I heard some of his coaching sessions with Nido Qubein.

Another WoW factor event happened when JT invited me to join him, his partners Jason Gilbert, and Raymond Aaron at KABC/KLOS radio station during one of his broadcasts. The time we spent in the studio flew. We laughed, cheered, joked. JT created a stir asking off the wall questions like ‘Raymond, should prostitution be made legal?’, Raymond made edifying statements, trying to elevate the discourse.

The radio station field trip impacted me on a profound level, raising my awareness that I need to accept transformational change every once in a while, in order to move my business to the next level; and that the transactional changes that I’ve been working on during 2010 have run their course. If this has happened for you, then keep reading about what Nido Qubein says to an Entrepreneur, JT.

Short introduction for Nido. He is the President at High Point University in North Carolina. He is majority owner for Great Harvest Bakery Franchises. He is on a mission to educate and inspire others. He’s a family man too.

Nido’s Advice to an Entrepreneur

Taking risks is OK, but manage it. Having doubts is OK, but make it right, make a decision, question it, reaffirm it. It’s OK.

JT asks: How is it possible to do what you do, Nido?

Nido Answers:

1. Focus is more important than intelligence. I don’t get off track.

2. Time management is a science, not an art. My first daily task is to do what needs to be done. For me, I initiate activities with my delegates in the early morning, so that they have the day to get it done.

3. I don’t do sit down meetings. I go to my associate’s office.

4. I let my attorney travel to me and pay for the extra time it takes.

5. Email is better than the phone. These emails are about six lines with Yes or No type data points.

6. I have a point person to run the departmental organization, or task partnership.

7. I consider my personality. If I’m on a short fuse, I am wary that it may snap and I let unfiltered comments loose. It is my responsibility to be respectful of others at all times, and not infringe on another’s freedom.

8. As a successful entrepreneur, I keep doing what I’m doing and realize there will be detractors trying to take me down.

9. It’s critical to make time for strategic thinking. An example: “If I didn’t do _______, what is it that I lose?

10. I enjoy helping other people, but I’m not comfortable with the lost time. I like the energy I get from talking with bright people, strategic thinking and planning are of highest importance. Smart people value the quality of the relationship.

11. How are my products and services different from competitors? The way the service is delivered is the key. This is the place I produce WoW factors.

12. I ask myself over and over, ‘Is there a better way?’ Can I combine, blend, layer, shape, organize, or reverse engineer to extract huge efficiencies repeatedly and habitually? Can I do it without diluting the value to my customers, but through improving my power of focus?

JT pointedly asked me “What are your three WoWs you do in your business?” Just off the top of my head, I noted: first, I make my networking and business relationships a win, win, win. Secondly, I watch my financial dealings like a hawk, and thirdly, I keep a journal and habitually spend time reflecting on my responses, decisions, strategies, actions, and future direction. The purpose for these is to become better and better day by day.

My golden nuggets from Nido, JT, and Raymond’s guidance

I need to be true to my word. Stop committing to too much. Just show up. I’ll never know what opportunities will emerge. I have multiple coaches for areas like accountability and improvement. I hire a coach for transformational work. I look for Bright Lights, meaning people that give me inspiration. I do critical actions when my will power is high. I make sure my environment protects me when my will power is low. I seek intentional congruence. I pay attention when procrastinating and stop it. Procrastination is a blessing, because that is nature telling me I’ve reached a limit and I need to ask for help. If I don’t have an assistant, I am one. I can package and sell my ideas. Multitasking is a lie. I can improve my productivity and effectiveness by cutting task switching time. And my favorite: The WoW is the heart it came from.

I discover and create WoW factors today because I know that I’m sitting on a gold mine. Part of extracting the gold is protecting it, taking care of myself. Included with caretaking is working on my 2011 blueprint, and making WoW moments every day. I’ll give you an example from today. I read to my son one of my journal entries written January 19, 2003, eight years ago. In it, I wrote a dream list with 11 items listed. Today, I’ve accomplished nine of those 11 items. I’m still working on the other two. At the time, I had no idea I would accomplish them, or even how I’d do it, but looking back it all seems like yesterday. I have a new list today, and I welcome hearing from you about what’s in your gold mine, and in your 2011 blueprint.

Thanks for Reading

Please add your comments below and remember to get updates by email now or get the RSS Feed, if you haven’t already, so you don’t miss out. As always, good luck with goin’ mobile securely.

Please Tell People About Honest Intentions

How to Generate Intentional Gift Ideas

People No Responses »

Nov 302010

If you’re like most people, you’re racking your head trying to figure out what gifts would be good for some of your friends and family. Here’s an idea that might help.

As gift giving season comes upon us, I’m curious about what would be a great gift for many of my friends and loved ones. You may be too. One way to do that is to pay attention to them. Another is to have them take an assessment or personality test, then study the results.

One test I found illuminates the subject of what makes a person captivating for their audience. I know the creator of the test didn’t intend on helping me identify great gifts to give my family, but that is one of its unintended consequences.

The test is called the {F}SCORE from Sally Hogshead, featuring concepts from her book Fascinate. You or your family member can breeze through its 28 multiple choice questions in a few minutes. When your family member finishes, they’ll receive a short summary of their primary, secondary, and dormant personality characteristics, Sally calls triggers. Her conclusion: We all use these triggers when trying to persuade others. Having an awareness of the unique combination of your personality strengths is the beginning of creating impactful messages.

I have some acknowledgments for finding Sally’s fun test. I found her in a blog post from Bart Gragg, who delivers management consulting services through Maverick Business Advisors and addressed an audience of entrepreneurs tonight on the subject of writing an effective business plan. I found Bart through an exceptional events calendar, called workit.com for tech startups, organized by Derinda Gaumond.

Have You Been Caught By Phishing Attacks? Take This Quiz And Find Out Your Aptitude.

Customers No Responses »

Sep 262010

Email and social sites like Facebook or Twitter are a few of our cornerstone internet tools. It’s not always easy to tell if messages you receive come from someone with honest intentions. You use email to bank, shop, and correspond privately. You’re expecting email protection that is relevant to the way you use it. You’ve configured the spam filters, installed antivirus and firewall protection, but you haven’t found a 100% solution that will prevent online bank fraud, consumer phishing tricks, and identity theft crime rings. Therefore you will need to build your aptitude and apply some judgment.

So, you think you’re good at spotting phishing emails

View more presentations from djskinner.

Apple and Google Tech Titans Battle in Music Business

Partners No Responses »

Aug 042010

Trends Taking Shape In Music Will Yield Opportunities For Some And Threaten Others

It seems to me that there is a growing contention between Google and Apple. One can’t stay out of the other’s business more and more. Eric Schmidt, Google’s CEO drops from the board of directors at Apple. Apple blocks Google’s Admob service from being the sole advertising system on their iPhones. Now Google moves into the digital marketplace for music. Have you thought about what this means for you?

Both firms have increased revenue phenomenally over the last few years. Apple passed Microsoft in market capitalization. They’ve expanded their core service offerings, added new products, created new marketplaces, and increasingly have been getting into each other’s clouds and smart phone customers. When Google recently revealed their online music marketplace, everyone roared about the storm clouds forming. No wonder, Apple with their iTunes store leads the way for all contenders, and vigorously defends iTunes. Those in the music industry widely recognize their capitulation when they let Apple launch the iTunes store.

When I heard recently that 40% of the music business is digital downloads, I was quite surprised because I thought a much higher percentage of the music business was digital downloads.Apparently, CD’s at 60% are still a major distribution medium for music in 2010. The tech titans are making an end run, based on a number of factors, but what’s interesting to me are couple key trends: cloud computing and smart mobile devices.

There’s a feeding frenzy on music content and the trends affect all stakeholders in profound and mundane ways. If you’d like to read further trends and the impact on consumers, artists, music business wags, technologists, and advertisers, check out my survey on your music preferences.

Side Notes

I invite you to tell us about your stories of enjoyment using your music player device, whether you play an iPod, an mp3 device, or an ordinary CD player, a time where you set the tone at an event with music, or were the self appointed DJ, you were the Karaoke favorite, you had so much fun you drained the battery, or you inflamed your passion.

Please Tell People About Honest Intentions

If you like this article, please ReTweet it with the little green button above, or tell a friend through the Share and Enjoy buttons below. I have been introduced to these features to make it easier for you to email it to a friend or add it to your favorite social media website. I understand that if you Digg it or bookmark it on Delicious or Stumbleupon, that will get more readers here. Many of my thanks in advance for your help. I appreciate it.

Break Through From Cell Phone To Smart Phone

Customers No Responses »

Jul 102010

My brother proudly showed me his new Droid smart phone. I got weak in the knees. He’s never used a Smart Phone or computer before and out of the blue he asked me how he could improve his life using this new device and its capabilities. That was a really big question. He really meant, ‘what kind of entertainment features can I load to have fun?’

I hadn’t quite figured out what he was asking right away, but I was thinking he wanted the same things I want: productivity, and greater efficiency by connecting to his community of family, friends and customers. Clearly, he’s part of a growing consumer group, discontent with the sluggish support efforts from old-line cell phone operating systems, and he is surfing on the surge in demand for Smart Phones.

	I took a deep breath because I was thinking “Do either of us know what he wants? He thinks this droid thingy will change his life, and I’m thinking it would be a frozen place in hell if this device would work for him the way mine works for me.”

As I showed him some of the things I do with mine, I could see him becoming frustrated. I noticed his attitude shifted to anger because he didn’t know what to ask, and how to implement things like setting up a password account, going to the app store, searching for apps, and installing them.

Adapting To New Technology

It was too much to absorb. The shrimp kabobs on the grill were getting done fast. The family was totally ready to have dinner. We were running out of time, and neither of us could figure out what would make our short conversation a win-win. We dropped our pursuit. Had we been grilling steaks, here’s three entertainment ideas that I would’ve set up for him.

NFL Application

All Slots Casino Games

Multimedia and Entertainment

I invite you to tell us about your stories of victory or trepidation about using your new smart phone, your successes and accomplishments of getting it done, a time where you had so much fun you drained the battery, you mastered a new application, you started a new process to be more productive, you found deeper meaning, you inflamed your passion, or the way you integrated the technology into your regular habits and routines.

Please Tell People About Honest Intentions

If you like this article, please ReTweet it with the little green button above, or tell a friend through the Share and Enjoy buttons below. I have been introduced to these tools to make it easier for you to email it to a friend or add it to your favorite social media website. I hear that if you Digg it or bookmark it on Delicious or Stumbleupon, that will get more readers here. Many of my thanks in advance for your help. I appreciate it.

Here’s A Quick Way To Curb A Panic Before You Lose Your Phone

Customers No Responses »

Jun 302010

Habits and Our Smart Phones A crisis event will happen to you or someone you know when the smart phone gets lost. Before it happens, that is an opportunity to raise your awareness and start something new. You want to enjoy the benefits of having a cell phone, but it carries some responsibility that most people don’t want to accept. Yesterday, I was reminded of these little short-cut habits when my brother asked me to help him get acquainted with his new smart phone.

Goin' Mobile

Time Travel and Your Cell

Most of us consider having our phone vital to our livelihood, because it extends our ability to live our purpose. We’ve all been cut off from using our mobile phone. Note the feelings you have when that idea takes root. That’s a fertile subject for some people, addressed in an article by Susan Weinschenk, Ph.D. You don’t need to dump your phone to go into the present, but it allows you to traverse the past and the future to be better in the present.

3 Solutions

The anxious feelings you have when your gadget gets lost is the perfect signal that you need to take precautionary steps in case it happens in the future. You wouldn’t leave your home or office without charging it first, right? Oh, are you one of the few of us who forgets to charge it sometimes? Let’s save that topic for another post. Most of us charge it before going mobile. Now, it’s time for us to extend that action step further with some protection recommendations to use.

Password to log into the device
Mobile security software to protect your data
Lost and found item recovery service to return your device

So, you’re a bit anxious about a lost cell phone or smart phone? Take some of the stress out, and enjoy your mobile device. Be sure to take these three steps, today. And please, feel free to share a personal mobile phone crisis.

More about Susan Weinschenk, Ph.D.

Susan Weinschenk, Ph.D. authored Neuro Web Design, which you can buy on Amazon.

Thanks for Reading

Please add your comments below and remember to get updates by email now or get the RSS Feed, if you haven’t already, so you don’t miss out. As always, good luck with goin’ mobile securely.

Please Tell People About Honest Intentions

If you like this article, please ReTweet it with the little green button, or tell a friend. My blog group has introduced a little tool called Share and Enjoy to make it easier for you to email it to a friend or add it to your favorite social media website. I hear that if you Digg it or bookmark it on Delicious or Stumbleupon, that will get more readers here. Many of my thanks in advance for your help. I appreciate it.

Be the Best in the World

Customers No Responses »

May 162010

If you knew you would be the best in the world in your field by making a commitment to a certain level of effort or number of working hours, how much more confident, persistent, and passionate would you be towards your dreams and goals?

Outliers

Malcolm Gladwell answers the question of being the best in Outliers in an insightful, seductive, and entertaining way. During the first part of the book, you’re wondering what is the point of him talking about a great percentage of professional Canadian hockey players with birthdays in January or February.

Hockey Players and the Wealthy

By the end, you have a keen sense of a unique theory that unifies the fact that most hockey player birthdays are clustered in the calendar with the same fundamental basis for the great wealth of John D. Rockefeller, and Bill Gates, or the long tail influence of Amadeus Mozart, and Joe Flom of legendary law firm Skadden Arps; or the fame of the Beatles? And, by the way, what does this have to do with honesty?

Belief in Yourself

Gladwell’s Outliers book illustrates how these seemingly overnight successes became the best in the world. For me, reading it unveiled one less mystery, one more reason to be encouraged to achieve my ambitions. The theory he poses that I found fascinating is that being the best comes from a confluence of ideal external circumstances, plus internal factors like talent and ambition.

10,000 Hours

In several cases, Gladwell points to a common thread where each subject took advantage of opportunities, spent 10,000 hours with their craft before they reached world’s best recognition. Gladwell’s findings highlight a major divergence common with society; and that is, most people don’t reach their potential destiny because as George Leonard says in his book Mastery; they either dabble, obsess, or hack in their journey. It is compounded by an American War against Mastery, reflected by a consumerism society, a quick fix mentality, and a never ending quest for climax after climax. “There’s no Plateau.”

Preparing for a Big Decision?

If you feel like you’re facing a fork in the road, Gladwell’s book may not offer you the advice you need. I invite those of you who are asking “Should I quit, or should I stick?” to check out another book, which may be perfect for you. It is The Dip by Seth Godin.

Your Success Outlook

In Gladwell’s conclusion, he brings it home by applying his observations of history and coincidences of his mother Joyce, and grandmother Daisy, lifting themselves in Jamaican society. The book offers the reader a fresh perspective on what it takes to reach a stage of mastery in one’s life or profession. I was greatly encouraged by its message. If you’ve been doing what it is you do for less than 10,000 hours, then keep going if you haven’t reached it yet.

You might as well be Honest-Abe with yourself, then you have the strongest foundation. I welcome your comments here on how Gladwell has shaped your success outlook. 9PPEPWBZBSFH

Here Is A Look Behind The Scenes Into A Super Star Sales Professional

Sales Strategy No Responses »

Apr 132010

This is the third post in a series of six articles

Why you will be the next person your customer seeks to solve their problem

You may think that making more sales in your business is too challenging, but if you try, actually your prospective customers will thank you for offering the solution they’ve been seeking. And if you just introduce yourself with their needs in mind, then you’re well on your way and you’ll get better sales results.

Find Things in Common

First, you find something in common, making sure that you’ve made a connection. Often I hear people use closed ended questions in the beginning of the conversation. You know, the yes-no type. This is a generally big mistake. Remember the poem from Rudyard Kipling? I KEEP six honest serving men who to taught me all I knew. Their names are What and Why and When, And How and Where and Who. Then you begin to discover your customer’s situation, with some context to build from. Save the yes-no questions for decision time, a very short interval at the end of your conversation.

Have You Tried Paraphrasing?

I’ve used paraphrasing in conversations, where I listen intently to the customer, re-phrase what they are saying with words that will reveal buried meanings and feelings submerged under their statement. This approach works great, and should be studied carefully. These concealed meanings and feelings need to be clear.

Here’s an example . . . when I’m discussing the ImHonest.com product that helps people recover lost valuable gadgets, I sometimes hear a prospective customer say that they never lose anything. Many times I can spur the conversation along a direction pleasing to my goal, by first, acknowledging what I just heard. Yes its admirable that you are careful with your belongings. Can I ask you this, “How do you manage to not lose valuable items.” “I tell you, it’s a habit that I learned from my mother. I just wish that my teenage kids would be better at keeping track of their iPods and cell phones. They rely on me too much.” Here’s the paraphrase that the superstar sales person might use: “It seems to me that if you could help them to recover their lost items, that it would relieve you of a certain burden of replacing it. Am I right?” You’re seeking a deeper level of understanding. The person I credit with learning this approach is Lee Boyan, writer of Successful Cold Call Selling. With their answer of Yes, now I have it going a way that helps both of us. This is just one example of the kind of seeds you want to plant that take root in the form of impressions and memories of events or attachments. Commit to learning it and give it a try.

Get Agreement on the Minor Things, then the Major Things Take Care of Themselves

Make sure you have agreement, and that you’ve empathized properly with their situation. The conversation is lively at this point, because you’re talking about what’s important to them. Next, summarize the benefits and ask more confirmation questions. Here’s a way I do this with the customer, “Yeah, so you’ve told me that it’d be a lot easier to receive a notice later in the same day from ImHonest that someone found your son’s missing iPod and it’ll be shipped to your home via UPS in three days.” These are mini yeses, which seek agreement. It’s kind of like testing the temperature of the water in the hot tub with your foot before sinking your whole body. If you have a complex product or service, it’s a good idea to seek several confirmations on different aspects of your solution. You know, follow up appointment, payment method, delivery date, implementation plan. When you take the time to learn this approach and execute it, you’ll notice that reaching the final agreement, when they say YES to your offer, will be a natural and pleasant conversation rather than a contrived, ill timed, awkward presentation.

It’s time to take off the chill and embrace the thrill of selling. Let me know how you find this working for you.

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