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Monday Morning Motivators – May 19, 2008
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Enjoy your java with an eclectic collection of tips and ideas to use today and to get energized for the week ahead. Subscribing and unsubscribing at www.mondaymorningmotivators.com
Will you look back on life and say, 'I wish I had,' or 'I'm glad I did'? ~
--Zig Ziglar
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Table of Contents
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1. Customer Care – Linda Fayerweather
2. Take it from a Success Coach - Rebecca Booth
3. The Law of Dharma – Pat Altvater
4. Do It, Try It, Fix It – Referral Incentives – Paula Frazier
5. To Do This Week
6. Fine Print
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1. Customer Care
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At some point in our businesses we will have a dissatisfied customer. Solving their problem over the phone can be done and here are some tips to help:
1. Don’t wait – the sooner the better.
2. Know how much you can spend on solving the average problem.
3. Know that you will lose some customers and some you want to lose.
4. Get and use the customer’s name when talking.
5. Allow the customer time to explain the situation. This may require calmly listening to anger.
6. Ask the customer how they would like the problem resolved.
7. Own the blame if your company is at fault. Don’t be afraid to say “we are sorry. . .”
8. When you come to an agreement, follow-up with the details.
Share with your staff and peers the problem, how it was resolved and how to prevent a reoccurrence. Often an unhappy customer whose problem is solved will tell people how great you really are!
Copyright 2008 Linda Fayerweather
“Believe You Can Survive.”
Changing Lanes LLC
www.ChangingLanes.biz
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2. Take it from a Success Coach
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The most powerful business tool is the ability to learn from your mistakes. Entrepreneurs are sponges when it comes to knowledge. We are constantly on the outlook for innovative ways to improve our business practices. We attend workshops, talk with our peers, garner feedback from our clients and devour magazines and books in hopes of taking our businesses to the next level.
Success Coach Romanus Wolter, says that all of this information is meaningless without our own unique interpretation of it. Things move so fast that we often forget to apply what we’ve just learned to our businesses. With this said, we can – and do – falter. While we can’t reverse or change that history, Wolter says can change four very small habits and improve our businesses:
1. Make Hindsight Your Mentor – document your lessons – those you’ve learned the hard way by a mistake or those that you’ve learned from that workshop you just took. Keep a notebook with you at all times and take note of the what you’re doing right, wrong and what you can implement.
2. Trust Your “Sixth Sense” – your natural instinct is a powerful one. Fine-tuning your instincts will show you how seemingly random events fit together in your business. When you get that tingle in your gut, don’t ignore it. Stop and evaluate the information and explore how you might use it.
3. Integrate Hindsight with Foresight – History is a great teacher. Let past experiences provide you with helpful advice for the future. Weave what you’ve learned into future projects. Chronicle your lessons and update your business practices accordingly. By disciplining yourself to look at the past and future simultaneously it helps you make significant breakthroughs.
4. Let Yourself Make Mistakes – Making mistakes is a natural part of the process. Be open to tweaking your hindsight lessons to fit the particular needs of a new project. Open your mind to new strategies and recognize that errors may occur. Be truthful with yourself even it if hurts. By drawing on lessons you’ve learned as you engage in everyday actions, you’ll achieve even more with less effort. Hindsight is an effective tool in propelling your business forward and an important reminder that you have the ability to attain any goal.
Go for it!
Copyright 2008 Rebecca Booth
Marketing Goddess
Imagine That!
419-855-3399
www.rebeccaboothmarketinggoddess.com
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3. The Law of Dharma
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This is the seventh in a 7 part series based on Deepak Chopra’s book The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success.
The Law of Dharma is about living a life of purpose. It means finding what you do better than anyone else and using that talent to provide a service to others. So the focus is on what you are here to give.
There are three components to the Law of Dharma:
1. To become aware that we are spiritual beings living a human experience and to nurture the spiritual part of us
2. To discover and learn to express our unique talents
3. To be of service to others. The question is not “What’s in it for me?” but instead “How can I be of service?”
To incorporate this law into your life:
• Make a list of your unique talents.
• Ask yourself these questions:
o “If money were no object, what would you do?”
o “Do I have passion for what I currently do?”
o “How am I best suited to serve humanity?”
According to Chopra, when you become aware of your divinity, find and express your unique talents, and serve humanity, you can generate all the abundance you want.
Pat Altvater
Chief Wizard of WOW!
Journey to WOW – Choose Success NOW™ coach
Certified Law of Attraction Practitioner www.transformationsinstitute.com
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4. Do It, Try It, Fix It – Referral Incentives
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Your word-of-mouth-based business can be greatly enhanced if you design some creative incentives for people to give you referrals. Although finder's fees could be appropriate, they are not the best ploy to use in most situations. Remember, money is not always the best motivator. Try different types of incentives, track the results, stick with the one that works best.
Copyright 2008 Paula Frazier bases her businesses in Roanoke, Virginia. She is an Executive Director for BNI and part of a select team of Master Trainers for Referral Institute. Over the last year, Paula’s business networking articles have been published nationally.
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5. To Do This Week
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Spring clean the entrance to your business – it is the first thing your customer will see.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Monday, May 05, 2008
Leadership - Soft Sale - Intention - Selling
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Monday Morning Motivators – May 5, 2007
============================================================
Enjoy your java with an eclectic collection of tips and ideas to use today and to get energized for the week ahead. Subscribing and unsubscribing at www.mondaymorningmotivators.com
“You can’t lead with memos”
--Anonymous
============================================================
Table of Contents
============================================================
1. Leadership – Leading the Troops – Linda Fayerweather
2. One Smart Cookie - Rebecca Booth
3. The Law of Intention and Desire – Pat Altvater
4. People Don’t Like to Be Sold – Paula Frazier
5. To Do This Week
6. Fine Print
============================================================
1. Leadership – Leading the Troops ============================================================
Over the last few weeks we’ve been talking about leadership knowing most small business owners need to be both a leader and a manager. A manager will often be great at following procedures but a leader will know when to get people excited and focused to help reach the business’s promised land or vision. How a leader looks and sounds actually does more to establish trust and believability in staff than the words used. That means the leader needs to believe the business’s mission or vision is a cause! Using clarity of vision while leading from shared values will help staff join the cause and feel they are in a caring workplace. Leadership is about evoking passion and enthusiasm for a common cause.
Listen up leaders – when you are excited about your business’ direction, let your face and eyes know. That is where your staff will be looking and if they don’t see it, they won’t play your game!
Copyright 2008 Linda Fayerweather
“Helping Businesses get everyone rowing in the Same Direction”
Changing Lanes LLC
www.ChangingLanes.biz
============================================================
2. One Smart Cookie
============================================================
I had to take my mom to the hospital for some tests a few weeks ago. I had 2 hours to wait, so I sifted through all of the stale 2006 magazines. But I did find a "vein" of upscale catalogs and more interesting reading that I quickly latched on to. After savoring a Norm Thompson catalog, I noticed a label on the back covering up the person's snail mail address. The label read:
Recycled by Judy! Caring for the earth and all your
real estate needs. Looking to buy or sell?
Judy Kasper, Realtor.
Not only was Judy one smart cookie for recycling, but she had done some impromptu advertising to boot.
She impressed me in several ways:
1) the hospital was in her target market;
2) she saw a captive audience and catered to it;
3) she showed me that she and I had quite a few tastes in common which gave her instant credibility with me, and
4) her sales message wasn't aggressive (like too many realtors fall prey to).
So, what can you do to become one smart cookie today?
PS My mom's fine, thanks for asking!
Copyright 2008 Rebecca Booth
Marketing Goddess
Imagine That!
419-855-3399
www.rebeccaboothmarketinggoddess.com
===========================================================
3. The Law of Intention and Desire
============================================================
This is the fifth in a 7 part series based on Deepak Chopra’s book The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success.
According to Chopra, “Attention energizes and intention transforms.” Intention is powerful because it’s desire without attachment to outcome. Desire alone is very weak because it’s typically attention with attachment.
To release attachment to the outcome, create an intention for the future, but put your attention on the present. Be in the NOW! If you give up worrying about the future and how things are going to turn out, you’ll be much more effective in the present moment!
To incorporate this law into your life:
• Make a list of your desires; carry it with you, review it day and night and think of it during your meditation time
• Release the list and trust that if things don’t go the way you believe they should, there’s probably something even better coming for you.
• Accept the present as it is and don’t let it or what anyone else says, deter you from your desires and intentions.
This week, practice enjoying every moment in your life’s journey, even if you don’t know how any of your intentions will come about.
Pat Altvater
Chief Wizard of WOW!
Journey to WOW – Choose Success NOW™ coach
Certified Law of Attraction Practitioner
www.transformationsinstitute.com
===========================================================
4. People Don’t Like to Be Sold To But They Do Love to Buy
===========================================================
Question: How much time could we save and how much more successful could we be if we spent time in front of people who have already decided to do business with us?
Answer: LOT$$$
Therefore, it’s important to be aware that your referral marketing success is directly related to your network’s referral marketing competency. This is what makes building your business by word-of-mouth so challenging. The people that help spread the word about you and your business will not generally be experts in your industry; therefore they are probably not going to “sell” anyone. They can however learn how to:
1. Actively listen on your behalf
2. Identify the potential need for your product or service
3. Inform the prospect that you may be able to help them
4. Offer a brief testimonial about how you’ve helped someone with a similar need
5. Connect them to you in a way that they (the prospect) are most comfortable with
As a rule, people don’t like to be “sold to” but they do love to buy. Working with educated referral partners brings you in as close to the sale as possible. They’ve already invested their time, effort, energy and possibly money to help establish their own relationship with the person they’re referring to you. They can literally lend you their credibility. You ride in on their coattail and go forward from there.
Over the next 12 weeks, we’ll take a look at some critical components of your referral marketing efforts. We’ll begin with – “Finding Your Starting Point”. Stay tuned…
If you’d like help developing your referral marketing plan visit http://www.referralinstitute-va.com
Copyright 2008 Paula Frazier is an Executive Director for BNI and part of a select team of Master Trainers for Referral Institute. Over the last year, Paula’s business networking articles have been published nationally. She is also acknowledged in the New York Times best seller, Truth or Delusion – Busting Networkings Biggest Myths. Check out #33, Delusion with a twist!
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5. To Do This Week
===========================================================
Plan ahead to the Vacation Season – Schedule yours and your staffs before June.
Monday Morning Motivators – May 5, 2007
============================================================
Enjoy your java with an eclectic collection of tips and ideas to use today and to get energized for the week ahead. Subscribing and unsubscribing at www.mondaymorningmotivators.com
“You can’t lead with memos”
--Anonymous
============================================================
Table of Contents
============================================================
1. Leadership – Leading the Troops – Linda Fayerweather
2. One Smart Cookie - Rebecca Booth
3. The Law of Intention and Desire – Pat Altvater
4. People Don’t Like to Be Sold – Paula Frazier
5. To Do This Week
6. Fine Print
============================================================
1. Leadership – Leading the Troops ============================================================
Over the last few weeks we’ve been talking about leadership knowing most small business owners need to be both a leader and a manager. A manager will often be great at following procedures but a leader will know when to get people excited and focused to help reach the business’s promised land or vision. How a leader looks and sounds actually does more to establish trust and believability in staff than the words used. That means the leader needs to believe the business’s mission or vision is a cause! Using clarity of vision while leading from shared values will help staff join the cause and feel they are in a caring workplace. Leadership is about evoking passion and enthusiasm for a common cause.
Listen up leaders – when you are excited about your business’ direction, let your face and eyes know. That is where your staff will be looking and if they don’t see it, they won’t play your game!
Copyright 2008 Linda Fayerweather
“Helping Businesses get everyone rowing in the Same Direction”
Changing Lanes LLC
www.ChangingLanes.biz
============================================================
2. One Smart Cookie
============================================================
I had to take my mom to the hospital for some tests a few weeks ago. I had 2 hours to wait, so I sifted through all of the stale 2006 magazines. But I did find a "vein" of upscale catalogs and more interesting reading that I quickly latched on to. After savoring a Norm Thompson catalog, I noticed a label on the back covering up the person's snail mail address. The label read:
Recycled by Judy! Caring for the earth and all your
real estate needs. Looking to buy or sell?
Judy Kasper, Realtor.
Not only was Judy one smart cookie for recycling, but she had done some impromptu advertising to boot.
She impressed me in several ways:
1) the hospital was in her target market;
2) she saw a captive audience and catered to it;
3) she showed me that she and I had quite a few tastes in common which gave her instant credibility with me, and
4) her sales message wasn't aggressive (like too many realtors fall prey to).
So, what can you do to become one smart cookie today?
PS My mom's fine, thanks for asking!
Copyright 2008 Rebecca Booth
Marketing Goddess
Imagine That!
419-855-3399
www.rebeccaboothmarketinggoddess.com
===========================================================
3. The Law of Intention and Desire
============================================================
This is the fifth in a 7 part series based on Deepak Chopra’s book The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success.
According to Chopra, “Attention energizes and intention transforms.” Intention is powerful because it’s desire without attachment to outcome. Desire alone is very weak because it’s typically attention with attachment.
To release attachment to the outcome, create an intention for the future, but put your attention on the present. Be in the NOW! If you give up worrying about the future and how things are going to turn out, you’ll be much more effective in the present moment!
To incorporate this law into your life:
• Make a list of your desires; carry it with you, review it day and night and think of it during your meditation time
• Release the list and trust that if things don’t go the way you believe they should, there’s probably something even better coming for you.
• Accept the present as it is and don’t let it or what anyone else says, deter you from your desires and intentions.
This week, practice enjoying every moment in your life’s journey, even if you don’t know how any of your intentions will come about.
Pat Altvater
Chief Wizard of WOW!
Journey to WOW – Choose Success NOW™ coach
Certified Law of Attraction Practitioner
www.transformationsinstitute.com
===========================================================
4. People Don’t Like to Be Sold To But They Do Love to Buy
===========================================================
Question: How much time could we save and how much more successful could we be if we spent time in front of people who have already decided to do business with us?
Answer: LOT$$$
Therefore, it’s important to be aware that your referral marketing success is directly related to your network’s referral marketing competency. This is what makes building your business by word-of-mouth so challenging. The people that help spread the word about you and your business will not generally be experts in your industry; therefore they are probably not going to “sell” anyone. They can however learn how to:
1. Actively listen on your behalf
2. Identify the potential need for your product or service
3. Inform the prospect that you may be able to help them
4. Offer a brief testimonial about how you’ve helped someone with a similar need
5. Connect them to you in a way that they (the prospect) are most comfortable with
As a rule, people don’t like to be “sold to” but they do love to buy. Working with educated referral partners brings you in as close to the sale as possible. They’ve already invested their time, effort, energy and possibly money to help establish their own relationship with the person they’re referring to you. They can literally lend you their credibility. You ride in on their coattail and go forward from there.
Over the next 12 weeks, we’ll take a look at some critical components of your referral marketing efforts. We’ll begin with – “Finding Your Starting Point”. Stay tuned…
If you’d like help developing your referral marketing plan visit http://www.referralinstitute-va.com
Copyright 2008 Paula Frazier is an Executive Director for BNI and part of a select team of Master Trainers for Referral Institute. Over the last year, Paula’s business networking articles have been published nationally. She is also acknowledged in the New York Times best seller, Truth or Delusion – Busting Networkings Biggest Myths. Check out #33, Delusion with a twist!
===========================================================
5. To Do This Week
===========================================================
Plan ahead to the Vacation Season – Schedule yours and your staffs before June.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Risk - Sales - Effort - Calendaring
============================================================
Monday Morning Motivators – April 28, 2007
============================================================
Enjoy your java with an eclectic collection of tips and ideas to use today and to get energized for the week ahead. Subscribing and unsubscribing at www.mondaymorningmotivators.com
“Reach for the Stars and you won’t come up with a handful of mud!”
--Leo Burnett
============================================================
Table of Contents
============================================================
1. Leadership – Falling in Love with Risk – Linda Fayerweather
2. Sales Tactics 101 – Part 2 - Rebecca Booth
3. The Law of Least Effort – Pat Altvater
4. Calendaring Creates Time – Paula Frazier
5. To Do This Week
6. Fine Print
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1. Leadership – Falling in Love with Risk ============================================================
All business is Risky and being committed to your business’s vision is a great multiplier of success. Your commitment to your vision, mission and strategies will make it much easier to find others to work with as their excitement and commitment will be obvious. Risk is the zest that keeps entrepreneurs up at night and/or they wake up wired to go! Accepting risk means you are willing to change and think outside the normal solutions. We often hear “think outside the box” and that saying is often related to this puzzle.
Connect all nine dots with four straight lines while never taking your pencil off the paper. Once you solve this, you will always want to see what is outside the box.
. . .
. . .
. . .
Remember, leadership is going outside the box. Need a hint to solve this problem – go to: Nine dot solution
Monday Morning Motivators – April 28, 2007
============================================================
Enjoy your java with an eclectic collection of tips and ideas to use today and to get energized for the week ahead. Subscribing and unsubscribing at www.mondaymorningmotivators.com
“Reach for the Stars and you won’t come up with a handful of mud!”
--Leo Burnett
============================================================
Table of Contents
============================================================
1. Leadership – Falling in Love with Risk – Linda Fayerweather
2. Sales Tactics 101 – Part 2 - Rebecca Booth
3. The Law of Least Effort – Pat Altvater
4. Calendaring Creates Time – Paula Frazier
5. To Do This Week
6. Fine Print
============================================================
1. Leadership – Falling in Love with Risk ============================================================
All business is Risky and being committed to your business’s vision is a great multiplier of success. Your commitment to your vision, mission and strategies will make it much easier to find others to work with as their excitement and commitment will be obvious. Risk is the zest that keeps entrepreneurs up at night and/or they wake up wired to go! Accepting risk means you are willing to change and think outside the normal solutions. We often hear “think outside the box” and that saying is often related to this puzzle.
Connect all nine dots with four straight lines while never taking your pencil off the paper. Once you solve this, you will always want to see what is outside the box.
. . .
. . .
. . .
Remember, leadership is going outside the box. Need a hint to solve this problem – go to: Nine dot solution
Copyright 2008 Linda Fayerweather
“Hey, I know that fishermen are women, too!”
Changing Lanes LLC
http://www.changinglanes.biz/
============================================================
2. Sales Tactics 101 – Part 2
============================================================
What happens after the sale? A lot of times nothing. Herbert True, a marketing specialist at Notre Dame University found that:
--44% of all sales people quit trying after the first call
--24% quite after the second call
--14% quit after the third call
--12% quit trying to sell their prospect after the 4th call.
That's right 94% of all salespeople quit after the 4th call. But 60% of all sales are made after the fourth call. This revealing statistic shows that 94% of all salespeople don't give themselves a chance at 60% of the prospective buyers. Turn that number upside down by staying in touch with the prospect and keep asking! Source: Jack Canfield's The Success Principles.
Copyright 2008 Rebecca Booth
Marketing Goddess
Imagine That!
419-855-3399
http://www.rebeccaboothmarketinggoddess.com/
===========================================================
3. The Law of Least Effort
============================================================
This is the fourth in a 7 part series based on Deepak Chopras book The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success.
This law is about letting go of ego and going with the flow. When you come from ego, you seek power and control over other people or you spend your energy trying to get approval from others. Both of those activities are counterproductive. So re-channel this energy become immune to criticism, unfearful of challenges and focus on harmony instead.
Practice this law by committing to:
--Embrace the NOW moment. Accept situations, circumstances and events as they occur, not as you wish them to be. Do not struggle against the NOW moment, instead embrace it.
--Assume responsibility. View challenges as opportunities to change and never blame anyone else for your circumstances.
--Practice defenselessness. Give up the need to be right; stop yourself from attempting to convince or persuade others to accept your point of view.
Pat Altvater
Journey to WOW – Choose Success NOW™ coach
Certified Law of Attraction Practitioner
http://www.transformationsinstitute.com/
===========================================================
4. Calendaring Creates Time
===========================================================
Referral marketing doesn’t require a large investment of money. It’s become known as one of the least expensive most effective methods of marketing. The largest expenditure is typically - TIME:
--It takes time to identify referral partners.
--It takes time to build trust with your referral partners.
--It takes time to educate and engage your referral partners.
--It takes time to provide support and referrals for your referral partners.
What is one of our most limited resources? TIME!
Last week I had this same conversation with a group of my clients. We’re working on our 12 month Referral Marketing Plans. When it comes to budgeting time to carry out their plans they whole-heartedly agree that they barely have enough time to take care of themselves, much less their referral partners. We did a little calendaring to identify some areas of opportunity. I encourage you to do the same. Take out a blank monthly calendar template:
1. List all scheduled church activities.
2. List all scheduled family activities.
3. List all scheduled business activities.
4. List all scheduled networking activities.
5. List all personal/business development activities.
Honor your commitments! Resist the temptation to cancel one appointment to schedule another. Everything that you choose to put on your calendar should be equally important for different reasons. If not, don’t agree to devote any time to it!
To learn more about strategically investing in others to leverage your time and increase your referral marketing efforts, visit http://www.referralinstitute-va.com/ or http://www.bniswva.com/
Copyright 2008 Paula Frazier is an Executive Director for BNI and part of a select team of Master Trainers for Referral Institute. Over the last year, Paula’s business networking articles have been published nationally. She is also acknowledged in the New York Times best seller, Truth or Delusion – Busting Networkings Biggest Myths. Check out #33, Delusion with a twist!
===========================================================
5. To Do This Week
===========================================================
Plan ahead to the Vacation Season – Schedule your's and your staff's before June.
Solution to nine dots
Connecting the nine dots requires thinking outside the visual box the dots make!
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