Are You Pushing Business Or Pulling Business ?

Time and time again sales people have pitched me with features and benefits before they have even asked me if I have any knowledge of what they have to sell or program they propose. They just keep talking and move to a close. Two things come to my mind. That poor person just does not get it. Even worse that poor person's boss does not get it. These types of people are the types who give sales people a bad wrap. I honestly could not sleep at night having sold someone something they did not need or want.

We all have to carve a living out of life. Some of us get the chance to do what really turns us on. How good is that? For me I get to do two things that really excite me. One is being the sales leader for a contact centre. I work with companies who have some pain in their processes that I help resolve. Having been an entrepreneur most of my life I know that the biggest issue with business is growing business. More important is growing business profitably. Most successful business owners know they can't be good at all things. Basically I love helping my customers grow their business. I am also a business coach. I help my clients turn their dreams into successful businesses. I also help business owners turn their struggling companies around. This is all very rewarding to me. I am a lucky guy. For me it's not sales.

I ask that you think hard about what I have stated in the previous paragraph. I get joy in helping other people find their success. The only way I can do this is to find out what they want to achieve. I can only do this by asking questions. This is where the pulling business part kicks in. It is only through asking the questions and really listening that the solution become obvious. I should point out that it should also be obvious for your customer or client too. It is when you get to this stage you can then ask your potential customer how would it feel if this was the solution that would benefit their business. Please note that I have asked two questions here. One was the emotional part and the second being the good for your business part. I truly believe if you marry the two questions together and the answer is yes to both you have sale. The potential customer came to the determination of what they need to do. They are making the purchase. I did not sell them anything. This is what I call pulling business.

I agree that at some point of the process there has to be a features and benefits conversation. To be really successful at selling you have to be good at pulling. This is achieved by asking good and thought provoking questions. It is only after answering these questions that you can move to the benefits and successful ending. My experience is, don't rush. It pays to be patient. When your customer has made a purchasing decision it has been made for the right reasons. Have you noticed that no where in this article did I mention price? If you do not focus on the price your potential customer will not focus on the price either. Isn't it time you started pulling your way to successful selling?

Does Your Positive Attitude Run On Automatic

Recently while attending a Rotary District Leadership weekend, I found myself in a room full of people with high energy and positive attitudes. People who want to effect change and make the world a better place both at home and in countries in need. It's one of the many reasons I belong to Rotary. My article this week is not about Rotary but it's the people of Rotary who planted the seed for this weeks positive attitude article.
I find personally that I focus on the positive result and not the act of being positive. Spend the energy on the result. The only way to obtain the positive result is with a positive attitude. This means that you are already in the positive attitude mindset. Say good-bye to that voice in the back of your mind saying, " I have to be positive, I have to be Positive". Do you see what I mean by this? One of the keys to getting to this space is to be cognitive of your thoughts. If your thoughts are positive outcome based, it's about the outcome.
I often refer to myself as the opportunity salesman. Do you suppose you can be the best you can be with a limp attitude? I don't think so. Do you want to go through life without becoming better than you are today? I would hope not. The human race is evolving. Do you suppose that evolution is taking place because of the doubters and negative minded types. I don't think so. The can do positive minded individuals are leading the charge. To use an analogy. Many of us in North America are disgruntled with politics and politicians. So what happens. We vote leaders and governments out. All the energy is spent combating the other political party. I ask you. What do suppose would happen if all were pulling in the same direction? I expect the social and business agendas would be met. That's why I don't watch the news. It's counter productive. I get my news from the Internet. My reading includes business news and good new stories. There is no room for negativity in my mind. Yes I would agree that we can not go through life with blinders on however I prefer to spend time in the space that I have some control over.
Here are some simple tips that will certainly get your head in a positive state of mind.

1. Start a gratitude journal and write in it every morning. You will discover you have much to be thankful for.
2. Review your goals. To do lists are good however they are activity based and not big picture. I caution you not get your to do list and goals mixed up. You may find that if your trying to change a habit that is related to a goal you will need to put this on your to do list until it becomes automatic.
3. Look for a couple of inspirational web sites and save them on your favorites list. Read a few of these each morning.
4. At the end of each business day write down what you will do first thing in the morning. Open your email second as that creates reacting to external forces. Yes you will have to deal with these emails but you should deal with them on your terms.
5. Look for positive minded new friends whether they are social or business.

It is my belief the can do people are those who have their positive attitude in automatic. All their energy is focused on the end result. The bonus is, that it's one heck of allot more fun to do than grinding through things you deem a pain in the butt. How are you going to start your day tomorrow? I know how I am going to start mine.

Life Lessons In This Message

We as humans generally become more risk adverse as we mature. Why do you suppose that happens? I believe there are two answers to that question. With age one has less time to recover from a set back, financial or otherwise. The second is that we have become conditioned to react from certain events because we have been there before. I will share some of what I have learned from both my successes and my failures. Making sound decisions should be a process whether you are young or old. This is where the study and reading part plays a role. Knowledge can be learned through study, while wisdom for the most part is earned.
Quite simply it shapes up this way. I have been broke twice in my life and lived to tell about it. Yes, this builds character but it should not have to be that way. Both set backs were a result of bad decisions. In both instances I was owner of bricks and mortar businesses. Yes industry consolidations played a large role in the failures. But, to be perfectly honest some impulsive decisions in my personal life played a big part as well. You will notice on my Linkedin Profile that my education is a Masters In Common Sense. I can honestly say I gained this degree the hard way. I grew up with a strong family background that included decency and work ethic. The common belief in our home was this is a land of opportunity and you have loads of talent. I did not formally go to university however I was continually taking courses in business as well as attending personal development workshops. I was heavily engaged in personal development long before it became in vogue. Being an ADHD I knew I must invest time in this area, as it would help me be more cognitive of my decisions. I believed it would help me make more rational decisions. For the most part it did. ADHD's are emotionally charged and running with your heart is not always the best practice. This life course has brought me to where I am today as a coach to business owners. I have learned that many entrepreneurs get so emotionally involved it often clouds the decisions they must make.
One of life's toughest experiences came during a period when I owned a small business with a staff of 12. It was a successful business for 9 years followed by 2 years of a living hell. A consolidation in the industry coupled with a large life style left myself and the business with little wiggle room during a down turn in the economy. I lost everything including my pride. I managed to hold on to our house with the help of family. Through these times I lost my self-esteem and confidence. I hit rock bottom. I wondered. Could things ever get better? I can assure you they can.
This is where the lesson part comes in. I felt I always took the responsibility for my actions. For the most part that is true but it is easy to blame external forces. I also blamed these external forces as a form of personal denial. Taking responsibility for your actions is only half of what is required for you to move on after such events. One must make changes in how we approach the next steps. More of the same way of doing things will produce the same results. You need to understand why things went wrong. Were these events things you had control over? If that is the case it's time for some real soul-searching and understanding of yourself. Ask yourself. Is a change required of your habits and the way you do things? You have to peel back the layers of the onion and see what's in the middle. Often there is a smell associated with this exercise. It takes courage to look that deeply inside ones inner self. I did it and I moved forward.
Lessons can also be learned from our successes. I believe time should be taken to reflect and learn from our success. It's only natural to take success for granted. Success and victory feel great and do not carry the anguish and pain that comes from failure. You should take a step back and look at what took place to reach your goal. Was there pain, or were there roadblocks that you over came? What I have learned from my success as a businessperson is that I work well with people. I love to grow business and relationships. I am good at letting staff be the best they can be and to allow them to learn from their mistakes and to grow. What I am not good at is too much structure and repetitive work. I hate being managed. I need things to be fresh and engaging. I like strategic thinking that is solution based. I like projects because they have a beginning and an end. I ask many of my clients. Whats your end game with your company? What's your exit strategy? Many do not have an exit strategy. You should build your life or business plan around that outcome. That was one of my toughest lessons in business. I had an opportunity to sell my business at it's height. The irony is that three years later the business collapsed. You can not begin to appreciate the pain associated with that decision. But I learned from that.
Yes the toughest lessons come from failure. It is through your failures that you are able to have bigger success in the future. Success is rarely easy. You see, even in success we often say to our selves "I would do it a little differently next time".

Achieve Success By Managing Your Goals

Normally I do not focus on myself when writing success tips however due to a series of personal events the past year, I was forced to reevaluate some of my goals. What took place caused me to focus even more intensely on some goals and put other goals in the parking lot.

For my regular readers you will notice I have not written an article in 9 weeks. This is a big change after a steady pace of writing an article a week for over 15 months. So what happened? Several things. I took the lead on a huge project at work that consumed a ton of hours. The result of these efforts will make a huge difference to the company and it also means I will achieve my income goals for this year. What became very clear is my number one goal was receiving most of the attention.

One of the events that took place is both my parents broke their hips 8 months apart if you can imagine that. Being with them has taken up much of my time. Both these events were beyond my control. But they happened. My being there for my parents is extremely important to me and that caused me to prioritize my time to accommodate what was important. More importantly I had to evaluate the goals I would have the time to work toward.

These following four things had to be put on the back burner because there was not enough time to achieve them.

1. My weekly article writing became unimportant.


2. My 20 mile a week walking regime dropped way off which put my target weight goal on hold.


3. The book I am working on fell right off the radar with the completion date being pushed out. I have allowed myself two years.


4. I had to cut down on my volunteer work. Perhaps the toughest one to put on hold. Doing this without having some guilt was difficult for me. I have so much to be thankful for it's hard to imagine cutting back on my giving.


5. What did take off as a result of adjusting my goals were these three things. All good things to be proud of.


6. The number of new big accounts has taken off at work. This as a result of my diligent and well planned marketing to an untapped market. These new deals are very strategic and rewarding. I am helping other companies grow their business. As an entrepreneur for many years of my life it is a total sense of joy. Building business is what entrepreneurs do. What a rush.


7. My coaching and mentoring career is starting to take flight. Once again I am helping others grow and prosper. This is a very rewarding experience.


8. Thirdly I am spending more quality time with my family. All four generations of them. I do this with intention and purpose. I do not leave it to chance that I will have the free time. I accomplish this by scheduling this time with my family.

So what's the lesson here? What has become very clear is that we must always stay conscious of our goals. Reviewing and measuring these goals at least several times a week it critical to your success. Prioritize your goals and adjust them so they are clear and relevant. My goals that were placed in the parking lot are not dead. I simply say they are in hibernation. One thing for certain is if your not committed to a goal then it's not well thought out. If you are going to do it, make sure it is for the right reason. Some of your goals may become less important in time. This is much the same in life as what matters changes with age. You should be OK with that. Does it not make sense to excel with fewer stretch goals than achieve six easy ones? Exactly.

The real bonus for me is that my most important goals are flourishing. Yours can too. I am having so much fun achieving my most important goals and I have a renewed energy. I know that I am being the best that I can be. Our staff depends on that. Our customers deserve that too. The time I have spent writing this article has also freshened my love to write. That goal of completing my book is not lost. Success is in your grasp too. Managing your goals will give you a boost toward your future success. Take the time to do this. Your worth it.

Achieve Success Through Giving

We hear time and time again. Just give. It always comes back. I believe this to be so. The part about giving that many people do not understand, is that you can not just give once or twice and wait for it to come back to you. You must continually give. You can give your time and your expertise as the gift will come back to you in a different forms that you expected. Lets call it giving in kind as you rarely have to pay for it.

During a recent tel-conference interview hosted by success coach to authors and speakers Steve Harrison he asked the world's number one success coach Jack Canfield what he did to help get his book Chicken Soup for the Soul published. Jack told us he and his co author Mark Victor Hansen were out public speaking at no charge and they joined business clubs and public service clubs for the purpose of giving. Mr. Canfield added that by doing this it was about the audience and not about himself. It was however in the power of the message that opportunities came following his presentations. Offers to do seminars and corporate trainings with good financial rewards often followed these presentations.

If your not convinced, the challenge for you will be taking the leap of faith that this will work. This is not about religion. It's about human understanding and core values. This method is about giving a benefit to the listeners, attendees and readers. For example this is the beauty of Ezine Articles. Advertising in your articles is not permitted. Self promotion is restricted to our resources boxes. If the publishers of Ezine Articles do not see the value in your articles or you are attempting to self promote the article will not be approved. I suggest to you that if there is value in your message first time readers will go to your personal website to find out more about you. The purpose is value to the readers.

Here are some additional ideas and benefits to giving that will bring you rewards for years to come. It's not just for authors and speakers. It can be in support of your business or your way of life. 

• Be the quest speaker at free to attend speaking engagements. This will help you hone your skills in presenting and public speaking to an audience.
• If you are starting out as a life or business coach you may wish to consider taking the odd client for a reduced fee or no fee. If you have been able to help them then they will send you referrals.
• Get your articles or blog published in local news papers or magazines for no charge. Writing no fee articles will help you get the message out about who you are and what you do. Lets call this free advertising. Yes and it was a gift! How good is that.
• Join a service club. It is a wonderful way to get in touch with the community and to meet new and interesting people. Give first and the opportunities will appear in ways that you least expect them. I have been a Rotarian for 20 years and I can not begin to tell you what a huge impact this organization has had on my life. Relationships, travel, new business customers and the joy of helping and watching others grow. Wow, is all I can say.
• Get involved in a mentorship program. Help an immigrant get started. Help a small business owner gain the confidence to grow. The joy of helping others grow will be payment enough. The benefits to you will receive will be nothing short of astonishing.

Multiple gifts will often bring return gifts of two or three times more than you gave. When you as one person give to a group more than one person in the group will give the return gift. The key to giving is to expect nothing in return. If you looked at it in any other way it would be doing someone a favor to which you expect to collect later. The best and only way is to give without obligation. Give from your heart and be genuine. Others will then want to give to you. It has happened to me so many times over my life I can sum it up in three words. I am blessed. You see success comes in many ways as it is different for all. When your passion produces the gift the return gift fuels your passion. True success is when others want to send you their business because you gave and give value. By giving, good things will come to you. I am living proof.

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Staying Positive in Life - Tips for Improving Your Outlook on Life

It's the age old question. How do you stay up beat and positive amid so many pressures and challenges in your day to day live. In my Business Coaching practice I work with entrepreneurs who are holding so many balls in the air that they lose focus on what the object of their lives and their business is all about. Many of them are consumed in doing stuff. Working in their business instead of on their business. It's hard to stay positive when it seems you are not making any progress. So how do you bring that positive attitude back into your life? Here are some tips that work for some of my clients who suffer from being over whelmed. Yes, I too practice these tips.

• Create a personal purpose. Lets call it a mission statement but for your life. It's not about the business you own or work for. I can tell you that it took me several weeks of introspective thought and research to get to mine. There are numerous sites on the internet that will help bring you to that point where you are ready to put it to paper. Some are religious based and some relating to finding what makes you happy. In my books happy is always good. Creating a well thought out personal purpose will help bring out your passion and harness it. The result being you will have increased your outlook on life with the benefit being a stronger positive attitude.
• Start a Gratitude Journal. I write in mine every day. I give thanks to all the wonderful things in my life including the names of wonderful and uplifting people I meet every day. You will be amazed at what you already have. Stop. Catch your breath. Think about all the good things in your life. Write them down on purpose. I suggest you not focus on the hole in the donut but focus on the chocolate glaze. Yum.
• Spend time with and hang out with positive minded people. They are out there. Lots of them. I suggest to you they have problems in their lives they are trying to overcome as well. The difference is their outlook. Things are good now and life will only get better. Positive minded people embrace this outlook and they are doing something about it.

It is extremely important that you be conscious of your thoughts. Turn back the negative thoughts as soon as they appear. Just plain nuke them. The sun shines on a rainy day. It's just out of view. You know it will come back tomorrow. You should also know that your likely going to get wet when your chasing rainbows. You'll dry off. I will close with sharing with you with my personal purpose. I hope this helps you, in achieving your new outlook that life is grand and full of abundance.

My personal purpose is to be a role model of giving, love, wisdom, credibility, personal satisfaction, learning, happiness and joy that will inspire my family, friends, customers and associates.

Overcoming Obstacles Is The Key To Your Success

I spent some time early this morning doing some reading of inspirational quotes. Not so much as to get me pumped up but to provide me with fresh ideas to write for my readers. We all see Facebook Friends who post daily quotes of what others have said in an attempt to inspire others. What they have not said is one word why they have put this quote forward or why they believe the quote to be relevant. I usually just hit unsubscribe for these Facebook friends who push out these daily quotes. I see it as a shallow attempt to increase their Google rankings or to suggest they have wisdom because they posted an inspiring quote. Wisdom is earned. Yes we want to inspire others. It is however through ones life experiences and research that we gain wisdom.

The quote that grabbed me the most this morning was that of Henry Ford. "Obstacles are those frightful things we see when you take your eyes off the goal." This quote however is not as harsh as one of Abraham Lincoln's quotes, "Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm". The two quotes are similar but to what extreme do we endure pain and failure to reach our goals? I believe what we learn from these quotes is there will be obstacles. It's the preparation and mental toughness of how you deal with these obstacles that will determine your success. Life is not anywhere close to pick door number one and it's smooth sailing from here.

You know there will be road blocks. You know there will be failures.

• By simply accepting that road blocks and obstacles will appear is the first step.
• Through preparation and your willingness to learning how to deal with obstacles is the second step.
• The third and most important step is understanding that these obstacles and road blocks are a way to validate that your goal passes the test. If not, than your goal needs changes. This is the difference between a very attainable and a stretch goal.

I personally believe we have to live life in the big picture. That being said, life is full of details we must attend to. It's by doing the little things right that we get to live life in the big picture. The devil is in the details can be viewed this way. If you allow yourself to get mired in the little things you will never be able to expand and see the big picture. The sky is large and for the most part blue for a reason. I believe the term blue sky is for all things possible. The dream. The big picture. I will leave you with my second most favorite quote I read this morning. It's by Cherie Gilderbloom: "The best dreams are the ones we have while we are awake."

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