Fear

A quote:

“It’s not that we fear the unknown. You canot fear something that you do not know. Nobody is afraid of the unknown. What you really fear is the loss of the known. That’s what you fear.”

Anthony DeMello – Awareness The Perils and Opportunities of Reality

Desire the Good of All…

Desire the Good of All

“Desire the good of all and the universe will work with you,” a quote from Sri Maharaj. There is a tremendous amount of wisdom in this statement that many of us with good intentions forget. This is especially true when times are tough. We often get tunnel vision when we are personally challenged. It may even seem impossible to focus on anything but what we are trying to fix, correct or improve. This is particularly the case when it comes to our finances. As most businesses have seen a decline in revenues over the past several months, they have buckled down and reduced expenses, often at the cost of key relationships. Dare I say, some of the more desperate have even found themselves using ‘less then integrus’ actions. Okay, so ‘integrus’ is not an actual word – yet. Mark my words, it will be inducted into Webster in the next couple of years. No matter where your business is today, growing or declining, I want you to uphold this one principle: ‘Desire the good of all and the universe will work with you.’ Make this your mantra. You will be amazed at how it will set your mind at ease. Ultimately, the most successful businesses maintain the belief that what they do is generally good for others. They solve problems, put people to work, generate tax revenue, have a positive impact on their communities and so on. Unfortunately, when we are under the stress and strain of tighter finances, we often forget the good that we actually do. Many believe that small business is very noble for the reasons I stated above. I know it may be difficult to remember when you are fighting to put food on the dinner table, but you must remain crystal clear as to what good you do for others. Not only is there an extreme intrinsic value to it, but it will also help you sell your products and services more effectively. Secretly, you know that when your business is struggling, there is a little voice inside your head that doubts that what you do is of value. You must remain steadfast in your belief that you will help hundreds, if not thousands of people with your product or service. After all, if you don’t believe it, who will? To help provide a little structure for you, use this as a mantra: Desire the Good of All and the Universe will work with you. This principle has stood for thousands of years. It is the very principle behind donating to charity. You have probably heard of the theory of giving will ultimately lead to receiving. Too many of us think in the reverse, once I receive enough, then I will give. Get creative and fold it into your business model. Think of ways you can give back as a result of various levels of sales. Let’s face it, charities are struggling just as hard, if not harder then us small business owners. The conundrum is that there is a greater need today for those charities. What you give does not need to be extreme. Give 5% of sales over a certain threshold, or donate a dollar for every new client. At Getting Results Coaching, we are donating $50 per month per introduction to new clients so long as that person remains a client of Getting Results. We have chosen the Wounded Warrior Project to help severely injured soldiers. We have also opted to allow our referring source to choose a charity of their choice if they prefer. The point is to give back however you can, because one thing I know for sure, it is not just the dollars we make while on this planet, it is about the impact we have while we are here. I can guarantee one thing, the intrinsic value you will receive from giving back will be worth far more then 95% percent of the things you buy. To learn more about how to help us support the Wounded Warrior Project, or if you know of someone who is stagnant in their business and have a specific charity you would like to support, please contact us directly at: info@GettingResultsCoaching.com Together we will make the world a better place!

Lauren Doyle is a nationally renowned business coach with Getting Results Coaching. She has an incredible impact on the businesses and lives of hundreds of people through coaching since 2000. The results of her firm Getting Results Coaching far surpass those of their competitors.

Accountability is a Good Thing…

Rick Wagner was recently forced to step down from General Motors (GM) due to the poor performance of the company he led. I know there are various opinions out there as to whose ‘fault’ it is that GM has been failing, but ultimately, his job performance is tied to the company’s performance. After all, the CEO is in charge of making the decisions necessary to keep the company profitable on a good day, and at the very least, prevent it from going under. I will be the first to say that it is not an easy job, but that is why CEO’s make the big bucks! Given that GM has continued a downward slide since he has been at the helm, he should be held accountable for his lackluster performance.

Accountability is a necessity in the business world. Managers hold their employees accountable, ultimately, shareholders and board members are supposed to hold the executives accountable.

With all that being said, I also believe highly in rewarding people on good performances as well. Productivity, making money and serving customers well should all be rewarded when done above and beyond the call of duty. When expectations are exceeded and top performers emerge, they undoubtedly should be paid handsomely. There is much talk out there today about ‘excessive greed’ in large companies (especially those too large to fail). I say that it is excessive when it is not warranted. When the leaders are at the helm of a sinking ship, they do not deserve a reward at all, but deserve more the fate of Rick Wagner. However, if there are performers within the company that are making money for the company (despite the horrific spending/bleeding of the rest of the company), they should be rewarded regardless of the overall company’s health. Why? Because they are the only people who can actually save a company. If you don’t reward performers, those performers will go to another company who will. What happens if all the performers leave? The show is over. Plain and simple.

I understand this implicitly as I was one of only 3 performers at a former company. They penalized me (due to the health of the company) by eliminating the tools that kept me effective and reduced my pay and commissions to pay for their own splender. The CEO had a ‘need’ to fly first class and stay in the finest hotels while my cell phone was eliminated (hello, my #1 most critical tool – a telephone or a cell phone when traveling). It didn’t take me long before I decided I didn’t need the company to do what I loved doing. At that point I was flying solo anyway and had built the confidence of being able to do it on my own, so I left. Shortly after, productive person #2 left and finally, productive #3 left. Before they knew it, they were singing ‘Kiss him Goodbye’ and the show was over.

Tough decisions need to be made in business, especially in times like these. Be warned to make your decisions wisely. Eliminating those who are not making the cut sooner rather then later so you can be sure to continue to reward those who continue to make money for the company is a hard, but wise choice.

Don’t mistake me, I am not against CEO’s, I am one. However, I am against a poor use of power. I am a believer in paying your executives well. They make the tough decisions and should have the experience to handle the pressures thrown at them, so reward them handsomely when they succeed, but when they flounder, hold them accountable.

Lauren Eichner’s firm, Getting Results Coaching helps the best get better in relationship-based sales professions. The integration of psychology with business systems allows them to get the most from each individual. To learn if coaching can help you or your business, go to: www.GettingResultsCoaching.com, click on the ‘Get Started’ button and complete the short Personal Assessment.

I’ve been there…

In many of my past columns and in much of my correspondence with business professionals, I maintain an optimistic perspective. Some have even asked if I thought my views were ‘Pollyannaish’. While I admit that at times my thoughts and expressions can be interpreted that way, I believe that your perspective is what creates your experience of the world. Question is: why would you choose to create a negative experience? I’m not here to dismiss the challenge of today’s economic times. In fact, I have a story to tell that will hopefully give those of you ‘hurting’ out there the opportunity to turn things around – first in your head, then in your own reality.

The story of my husband/business partner and I will sound familiar to many. The difference is that our story started in 2001 instead of 2008.

Prior to starting Getting Results Coaching, Ken and I both worked for a training and development firm in San Diego. It was our dream job- we loved the company and invested much of our selves and even personal finances. In 2000, the company hired a CEO who lacked integrity and rapidly drove the company into the ground. Many of us gave up our salaries and began putting company expenses on our own credit in our fight to turn the company around. Ken and I were the only two making money for the company despite not receiving any support from the firm. Because of this, I decided that I no longer needed the company to do what I loved so I left and started coaching clients on my own.

Ken’s commitment to the company, however, ran much deeper. As a result, he put everything he had including energy and money into keeping alive. This would prove to be a lesson of perseverance. He continued the battle long after he stopped getting paid. This led to him supporting himself and the company by using whatever credit he had, leaving him greatly in debt, owed over $100,000 by the company and facing an eviction.

It wasn’t long before Ken realized he had nothing left to give the company, so he had no choice but the leave. Ken and I had just started dating six months prior so we had each other to lean on, but at the same time we were BOTH unemployed. Even worse, Ken was denied unemployment because they claimed he left the company ‘voluntarily’.

Fortunately, we also knew the skill set we had was extremely valuable and soon joined forces to start Getting Results Coaching. We were profitable in our first month and have had a growing business ever since. Our belief in ourselves and our commitment to creating a business that truly serves others with integrity paid off.

We were promised that one day, the company would pay us back what was owed, but unfortunately, the writing was on the wall and the company went belly up shortly after we left.

Our situation today is 10 times better then it was at the former company even in its glory days. We likely would not be in the place we are today had it not been for that experience. Did it stink while we were going through it? Absolutely! It was a tough time for both of us, but our vision of what we would create and our commitment to achieving it is what allowed us to get through it and create what we have today, which is owning multiple houses, traveling the world and most importantly doing what we love to do by developing a company that is a true service to others!

Often times we need that uncomfortable push, sometimes from a company gone bust, to move us onward and upward. The critical lesson is that the more clear-minded you are and the sooner you accept what IS, the faster you will move forward and create a much better outcome for yourself. Every person I’ve helped through their transition now acknowledges that they are better off then they were before, but absolutely needed the nudge into the uncomfortable in order to make it happen.

So call it, Pollyannaish, hopefulness or just plain optimism, it is one of the most effective tools I have and it comes from real experience.

Peaks and Valleys

While driving back from Florida a couple of weeks ago, a critical distinction because apparent to me. I was most captivated by the mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee, as I am every time I drive up and down the longitudinal parallel. It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve seen it, I’m always in aw. I make sure that I am awake to see it (when someone else is driving). I find it captivating and interesting. It provides vividness to the landscape that I certainly didn’t get driving across the state of Florida, aka flat land.

On the contrary, when we drive long hours across flat terrain, I find myself fighting to stay awake. Hmmm, this led me to think about what is going on in the business world these days. I hear conversations on the street all the time about how tough business is. I get it. It is definitely more challenging in this environment (or in this Valley). The cool thing about my drive is that I knew once I was in the valley, I could look forward to the next mountain to climb. Was it easy to climb the next mountain? No, especially in a 40’ rig towing a car. But it sure was worth it when we got to the top again. The view was amazing. It made me alive and awake again. And with each valley we hit, I knew I had another mountain to look forward to.

As you can imagine, I am going somewhere with this analogy. There are always going to be peaks and valleys in business. It is what makes business thrilling. What makes anything thrilling? The risk. The anticipation. The wonder of how high can we go. Unfortunately, we go unconscious when we are in the valley, our site becomes limited – we can’t see the far landscape of where we are headed. We are only able to see where we sit today. Then we dwell on where we sit today which prohibits us from effectively ascending up the next mountain. We complain about the view. We fantasize (or catastrophize) about how deep the valley will go. We consume all of our limited attention on how bad things are that we don’t give ourselves a chance for recovery. Recovery takes effort and focused attention on where we are headed next – not dwelling on how bad it will get.

Let’s go back to driving through the plains. You have probably had the experience of driving back from a long trip through the flat lands of America, fighting to stay awake. You may use tactics like turning up the radio or sticking your head out the window for a nice blast of cold air. You may notice that the easier the terrain to drive, the more your mind slacks off. You become less responsive. But you fight to stay awake because your life depends on it.

It’s kind of like the last economic cycle we just came off of. We hit a valley right after 9/11, then we started ascending up the mountain. Things were tough at first, but the ride and view became so thrilling that we were energized and built a level of success. A few years of that, we hit the plains and began coasting because we could. Because business was flowing in as a result of the effort we put forth while ascending up the mountain. The problem was many of us fell asleep at the wheel. We sat back as business rolled in. Wow, business is so easy! We stopped working the very systems and relationships that got us to the height of the mountain. Then as the terrain changed again, as it always does if you drive long enough, we spent so much time coasting and then standing in the valley in shock because our businesses had suffered great losses, we lost the opportunity to seize the next opportunity. Because with every valley is another mountain.

Now is the time to wake up and become more conscious about your business again before it is too late. Now is the time to provide greater value and greater attention on the products and services you offer. Now is the time to set up the systems in your business that help you adjust to a changing landscape to create a more predictable level of income. Now is the time to stop throwing a pity party and wallowing in your sorrow, get off your duff and work harder and smarter at your business today. Because if you don’t, your competition will and they’ll leave you in the dust of the valley.

The Lean Media Diet

Be Mindful of your Mind! Huh? What exactly does that mean? And, how exactly do you do that?

Let me start with a story… I met a few friends down in Naples, FL a couple of weeks back. Funny thing, they live only 45 minutes away in Toledo, but we had to go to Naples, 24 hours away, to meet up. Anyway, I digress. A friend of ours from this group has a very successful company related to the home improvement and construction industry. I asked him how his business was doing. Because of this you may think you know the answer to the question. After all, construction and Midwest in the same sentence hardly sounds like a winning formula these days. However, his answer may surprise you. He said, “Great, just as long as I turn off the news.”

So what does not watching the news have to do with the success of his company? The answer lies in what 24/7 of bad news can do to your mental state of mind. If you are like most people, you probably watch the news, maybe a lot. As a result, you may have been sold into the idea that it is impossible to succeed in today’s business environment. I hear it all the time, but I also hear of many success stories like my Toledo friend who just cashed a seven digit check.

Unfortunately, stories like his or like most of my clients don’t get broadcasted at 7am, just as you are psyching yourself up to saunter into the office to grind out another day. On the contrary to most news stories making the boob tube, I know several individ uals who are having their best year ever in business! So, what’s the difference? Have a structure to manage their minds or what they choose to focus their attention on. So let’s commit ourselves to paying attention to only those things that serve our commitment to having a successful business. Because at the end of the day, specific news stories rarely have a direct impact on your business. Your business activities stay constant in a good economy or a poor one. You still need to block and tackle or, in other words, talk to people and meet with them.

Here are a few things to keep your conscious and focused attention on:

- Read a business book instead of vegging out in front of the television (I know, I’m not going to be popular with news stations this week). - Seek out the business professionals who are doing well and ask them what they attribute their success to.

- Sit outside Costco, Ikea or Walmart. Why? Because you will actually see that there are still people out there living life. The economy is tough, but it certainly is nothing what the media is making it out to be.

- Spend your time on www.RevenueBlitz.com, going through the Free Coaching Program or watching the Motivational videos. A much more constructive use of your time.

- Finally, if you find you can’t do it alone, hire a coach! Have someone help you keep your head on straight and doing the activities that a successful business requires.

After all, you have a choice, but please make it consciously. You can choose to be in the dying crowd of businesses, and they are out there, I’m not denying that. OR You can choose to be in the group of businesses that will succeed beyond this recession and when they do, they will be hugely successful because there will be a larger market to be had (think less competition, more clients and customers for you). The choice is all yours – just choose consciously!

Awareness, Education, Action

Awareness, Education and Action are the three areas you should focus on in your marketing. It doesn’t matter if you are a financial advisor, real estate professional or sell widgets, these three elements are critical to your marketing.

Awareness – Your potential customers need to know you exist. If they don’t know you exist you won’t get their business, plain and simple. The first step of this process is to become aware of who your target audience is. I know this sounds like Marketing 101 and it is, but you would be surprised as to how few people or businesses actually take the time to study who their market really is, not just who you think it is. The two may be very different. Spend the next month taking detailed notes about who each customer is. Find out as much information as possible. You may know that your market is men between the ages of 30 and 55, but you may find out that your primary market is actually Hispanic men between the ages of 30 and 58 who have two kids and an income of over $100,000. The more detail you have the better targeted your marketing will be. Once you know exactly who your target is, you can craft a message more directly related to them, then broadcast that message using the most effective mediums to create AWARENESS.

Education – Once your potentials become aware that you exist, it is now time to educate them on who you are, what you do and why it is useful to them. If they don’t understand why or how they can benefit, you will lose them as a ‘suspect’. Don’t make them work hard to understand what you do. I have seen way too many poor marketing campaigns that left me wondering what exactly the company did, but not curious enough to take the time to figure it out. I might be too busy or just too lazy to take the time to research it myself. Make it easy for me, or more importantly, your target market. Spell it out for them and EDUCATE them.

Action – Okay, so you may be clear on what action you would like your ‘suspects’ to take (if you are not, then you need to become clear), but are they clear on it? For example, the one action we want our ‘suspects’ to take is to complete our Personal Assessment online at our website at www.GettingResultsCoaching.com by clicking on the ‘Get Started’ button. We leave nothing to chance, we tell them exactly where to go and what to do. You need to be sure you know what that action item is you want them to take in order to transition them from the marketing process to the sales process. What ACTION step do they need to take to go from being a ‘suspect’ to a ‘prospect’?

This seems so simple. I realize that. But I took the time to write a column dedicated to it because I know just how rare it is for businesses to actually follow through on this. Clarifying these three simple steps will make a world of difference for your business.

Your people by your design

A quick reminder: Acknowledge the characteristics you want ignore the characteristics you don’t. Acknowledgement is a powerful design tool. People will accept acknowledgement and will resist criticism. The fastest way to change behavior is positive reinforcement. Focus on what you want to see in others. Stop correcting.

The Economy is collapsing. Choose:

A. Stock up on ammo and canned goods?
B. Keep your head in the sand and ignore the signs?
C. Solidify your tribe?

Whatever your choice there will be consequences to your actions. It may always be a good idea to have plenty of ammo and canned goods but if it comes to that we are all screwed. The ostrich effect is not a bad idea because I believe the media drama is hyped and the economy is already clearing and becoming more efficient but what do I know? So gentle readers the proper answer is C to solidify your tribe.

Human beings from time immemorial have been tribal in nature. It is how we survived despite not having sharp claws, big tusks and heavily muscled bodies. Our ancestors banded together to take down the saber tooth tigers and mammoths. We no longer live in hunter gatherer societies but our ancestry follows us today. Studies show that a human being roughly has 215 friends and 1,000’s of acquaintances. That is a lot of people so how do we know who should be in our tribe?

A tribe takes care of its own. A tribe can help you get that job or lead, or financing that you will need. To quote Napoleon the pig from Animal Farm “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.” This tribe concept also applies to our clients so which of our clients are more equal than others? Who is in the first class cabin of your business? Who are the people that you take care of? If you are answering, “I treat all of my clients equally” my retort is that you are screwed. Why? All of you clients are not equal. Some of your clients pay you a lot of money and they like and trust you. While other of your clients pay you little and drive you crazy. Makes you wonder doesn’t it?

If you do it right your tribe will help you weather these economic challenging times. Your tribe will be anchored by your first class cabin. The hardest part about creating a first class cabin is that you have to discern. Yes you will have to discriminate against your clients for they are not equal. No one ever said life was fair.

The criteria for discernment is simple and it is explained in detail here: http://www.revenueblitz.com/interior.asp?id=22

Build your tribe and thrive.

How to make a real difference for your Sales Team…

As you well know the most valuable asset you have in your business is your people. The fastest way to increase your bottom line is to increase the productivity of your people. RevenueBlitz.com was created to do just that. RevenueBlitz provides a fast and easy way for you to drive sales through your human capital.

Why should you use RevenueBlitz?

RevenueBlitz.com gives you the structure to become a world class sales coach for your people. Simply follow the lessons with your people, engage them in the program and you have the ability to increase sales by 33% – a conservative figure. The most successful in the industry pay $30 an hour to learn these techniques in a one-on-one environment with our individual coaches. RevenueBlitz has replicated this technology so your team can have access to the best business coaches in the country anytime, anywhere and for free. Where are you going to get the most return on your investment, from a new contact manager system or by increasing the closing ratio or your producers by 25% or more?

To effectively manage a sales team you need a shared language and sales process. RevenueBlitz will provide that. Imagine having your team of speaking the same language when it comes to the sales process? Many sales people fail because they do not follow a system. They make up their business day each and every day. They are winging it! We hear it all the time in our business. Most sales professionals have no plan. As a sales manager this should scare you! If they are not following a process they can never improve.  As you may know the skill of sales is 90% science and 10% art not the other way around. A sales process creates sales success. Let me repeat, a sales process creates sales success! If there is no process, there is no way to effectively improve it. The beauty of a structure is that it is measurable and improvable.

How to roll it out to your sales team:

Firs,t look at your people development plan. Do you have one? If the answer is no, you have one now! RevenueBlitz is your staff development plan. It is simply up to you to ensure they follow it. How do you structure your sales meetings? Do you have quick 10 minute meetings each morning or a longer one once a week? The system is built to fit easily into your salesperson development process. Each lesson takes approximately 3 – 5 minutes of video and written instruction followed by homework that will ensure that the lessons stick. Depending on how aggressive your development plan is you can do 1 lesson a day or one lesson per week. An effective element of this program is that you will have a shared context and business development plan that will allow you and your sales team to speak a similar language. To continually improve your people they will have to be introduced to new ideas and new concepts. RevenueBlitz.com can give you nearly a year’s worth of training. All for free if you choose.

RevenueBlitz.com is a complete business development system and it is yours to take advantage of.

It is ideal to use in your one on one meetings with each of your sales professionals. You can pinpoint areas of improvement that your producer may need and review the exercise with him or her and create a conversation as well as a skill development plan. Everyone has an area of improvement the areas that we make available for you are to have your producer improve, these are the five primary modules, which can be taken in any order:

His Relationship with himself: Foundation (confidence and understanding their value)

His Relationship to Time:  Efficiency (productivity and proactivity)

His relationship to his clients: Business Growth (Replicate top business relationships for a dramatic growth in business)

His relationship to systems: Systems (automating parts of their business that provides more time for them to sell)

And his relationship to his world: Leadership (Enrollment and Charisma are important skills of top sales professionals – these are key elements in the Leadership module)

RevenueBlitz.com will give you the structure to be a world class coach for your people. The greatest opportunity for returns is in the development of your people. Take advantage of this resource while it is still free.

We provide the structure the coaching and you get the glory of a top performing team!

More Solutions:

Are your producers unmotivated?

Send them to the motivation den for a sales pick up.

Do you want to create a greater sense of community and support with your sales team?

Revenueblitz.com will help provide that by developing a shared context and language with the team and the social networking part of the site will allow them to further interact and support each other in their development.

Do you want us to run the program for your entire team?

We can set up an affordable option where we integrate the free online program with our live coaching