Do the Right Thing

"I try to do the right thing at the right time. They may just be little things, but usually they make the difference between winning and losing." - Kareem Abdul-Jabar, basketball player Always 'try to do the right thing'. This could involve ethics. For example, you would let your prospect know when the product or service he or she is interested in is really not the best choice, even though you could earn significant revenue. It could also mean following up quickly when your customer is dissatisfied. "Doing the righ thing" might also involve disciplining ourselves with managing our time and other resources. We might enjoy doing research, or working in our shop; but the 'right thing' might be to finish preparing our marketing materials or to get out and make sales calls. As Kareem indicates, pay attention to the little things, the details. Think about which details are important. In sales, it might be introducing yourself with a good firm handshake, or making that one more call, or making sure your clothing is neat, ensuring that you have all your sales materials, or a thousand other things. Your new business is your means of sustaining your family. Don't 'fly by the seat of your pants'. Is it not important to give thought to how you can "do the right thing"?

Getting Results

"I've always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come. I don't do things half-heartedly. Because I know if I do, then I can expect half-hearted results." - Michael Jordan, basketball player Usually we have to be more patient than we want to be. Results are simply a product of hard work. Once we have identified activity likely to produce results, we need to immerse ourselves in that work. This means hard work on the things that we have determined to be revenue- generating activities. Beyond hard work, Jordan points out the importance of having our heart in what we do. When you figurative "heart" is in it, we will amaze ourselves with what we can do! Are you getting the results you want? Have you identified the activities which lead to sales results? Where do you go for advice and help? Take full advantage of what BERN offers in T2P's, networking lunches, 'Sales at Sunrise', and other events. What books do you read? What events do you attend?

Continual Self-Improvement

"The principle is competing against yourself. It's about self-improvement, about being better than you were the day before" - Steve Young, football player

The only effective way to have business success is through constant attention to self-improvement. Continually strive to be better than you were the day before. You will enjoy untold rewards in personal satisfaction, and financial revenue. In most cases, your competitors are not doing this.

Many small business owners avoid seeking improvement, and shun every such opportunity. Some are more comfortable in obsurity. They avoid those who could help them improve. Rather than recognizing the need for constant improvement, we allow our insecurities or our pride to prevent us from benefiting from the assistance that is readily available.

The most successful business people believe that there is always something to learn from someone else, and that people who can coach and mentor them are to be sought after and nurtured. Personally, I receive several sales and business email newsletters every day; I read books and magazines on business and sales; I attend workshops and seminars; I try to associate with those who I can learn from, and who can inspire me. I even watch "Dragon's Den", and "The Apprentice!" That's why this is a best practice - a consistent effort of the best business owners. They make a conscious effort to seek opportunities for self-improvement.

Where do YOU go for advice and help? Take full advantage of what BERN offers in T2P's, networking lunches, 'Sales at Sunrise', and other events. What books do you read? What events do you attend?

Are you better than you were yesterday?

Visualize and Expect Success

(Taken from Denis Waitley's newsletter)

Our studies of high achievers have shown that no matter how different their personalities, work habits, occupations or gender, the people who accomplish great things in life have visualized and expected success all along. They've had the ability to vividly picture their achievements and to reassure themselves in the face of long odds that they would come through.

To visualize the person you want most to become, set aside some time this week in which you can create an atmosphere conducive to re-affirming your life dreams. You may want to be near the ocean, or a lake, or in a park, in a garden or in the woods. Or you might just sit quietly by yourself in a comfortable lounge or chair. Get yourself in the mood for visualizing. When the left hemisphere of the brain is quiet and relaxed, the mind is most receptive to creative inputs. To facilitate this you may want to use soothing recorded music, preferably slow and inspiring, such as Bach, Handel or Vivaldi if you like classical music, or soft, popular instrumentals from epic movies or other mood music.

Once you're properly relaxed and optimistic, let your mind focus on who you really want to become. Visualize the future in two time frames: five years from now and ten years from now. First, design a day in your life five years from now. Who are you five years from now? Where are you professionally and geographically? On Monday mornings, where do you go?

What are you doing, seeing, feeling and thinking? Who are the people around you? What's different about your life five years from now?

Next, project ahead ten years from today. Picture a film of your life at that time. Who is watching it with you? What dramatic moments are depicted by that film? What personal triumphs are revealed? What obstacles are courageously overcome?

Don't be shy! The purpose of this exercise is to load visualized software in your mental computer. Just as a computer must be configured to accept specific materials, your mind must be prepared to accept the reality of your greater success. By introducing positive images of goal achievement, you're preparing yourself to translate those goals into reality.

I especially like to visualize myself being introduced at a dinner in my honor. Maybe it's the Coaches' Hall of Fame! Don't laugh! It could happen! The emcee comes to the microphone and reads the highlights of my life and adds some insights as to who I really am. What would the emcee be saying about you if such a dinner were held in your honor ten years from now? Devote a page in your journal to describing the things you would want said about you.

This visualization will put you on a path that leads to your future self that you vividly picture today!

Know What They Look Like

Have you written a brief profile of your ideal customer?

Analyze their geographic area, demographic characteristics, social class, and stage in life, their personality and self-image. List the potential benefits gained from using your product or service (such as convenience, time or money saving, independence from chores, or buying behaviour). Identify in what ways you will save them time, money or hassle.

Also, consider frequency or regularity of purchase, amount of purchase, brand loyalty and attitudes toward your product or brand, use of cash, check or credit card, or customer's desire for personal relationships with you and your associates.

It helps to develop a customer profile form to identify potential clients. It might list age bracket, approximate income, occupation, etc. Try to identify different types of customers and the benefits they need and want. Let me know if you want help developing one, or I can send you an example.

Determine some basic characteristics of who has purchased similar products in the past, either from you, or other businesses offering comparable products or services.

Consider this imaginary case in point for a business-to-business situation: 80 percent of our clients come from three types of businesses: they average 75 employees per company; most have been in business 15 years or more; they have at least $1 million in annual revenues; they are all in Simcoe County and Muskoka; they are all suffering because of the increased cost of petroleum.

Then, go where they go, be where they are. For example, if many of your identified target customers belong to the curling club, perhaps you should consider joining that organization, or at least get involved with it somehow.

Schedule time in your weekly plan for focused sales activities. Discipline yourself to stick with it for a pre-determined time.