If you’re like most ambitious people (and I bet that you are!),
you like to see just how people who’ve reached monumental levels
of success got there…

You ask yourself:

“Self, what did they do …to get so high in life?”

“What sets them apart from those who never did quite make it?”
and, again if you’re ambitious with large goals and big dreams,

“How can I do the same?”
(or, if you care to admit it,)
“Can I do the same?”

The answer is YES!

And it starts with “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants!”

Join me tomorrow, Wednesday April 01, for our next episode of
“Empowering Women in Business and Life” as we pick apart and
discover how the Most Creative Female Geniuses in Business
History reached their pinnacles of success.

Just CLICK HERE to get to Empowering Women in Business & Life Radio Show

We might as well Learn from the Best, right??

When you click the link above, or call in at (646) 716-6513 at
12:00 p.m. PST (3 p.m. EST), you’ll join me for a close-up look at some of most creative self-made Creative Female Geniuses in Business history.

People like Oprah Winfrey, Estee Lauder, Mary Kay Ash, Liz Claiborne & several others.

* What makes or made them really tick…?

* What, despite the odds (there there were SOME BIG ODDS for
every one of them)- made them soar to the tops of their
industries and stay there?

* What Strategies did they use to Leap-Frog above the fray?

* Did you know that most of them did it of their own accord?!

I’m not saying that they didn’t learn quick how to find great Mentors & to Mastermind- I’m saying that none of them were born with silver spoons nor did they have a Rockefeller or Kennedy-like family to guide them along the way.

What this means for You and for Me is that, no matter where
we’ve been and where we’re at- we can go As HIGH AS WE CAN SEE
(so long as we can really SEE IT in our minds).

More importantly, we’ll find out what You- yes YOU… can learn from THEM to then apply to your life & business Starting Today, thereby joining them in the ranks of those who’ve achieved undisputable Meteoric Success!

I CAN’T WAIT, ’cause you’re going to be Shocked… And Surprised at what a lot of them did.

And then, well, you’re going to think, “Of course, I knew that… and now I’m ready to start doing that (again??) in my own life!

As we go through the show, I encourage you… neigh, implore
you, to join the conversation by either hitting 1* on your keypad, or through the chat feature on the website.
Be prepared to discuss what YOU SEE as the most important
characteristics of these legendary giants  (or, if you want to, you can just sit quietly in the corner hoping no one will notice you so that you don’t accidentally give a “wrong” answer…)  ; )

Also, give me the names of others who could also reasonably compete for the title, “Most Creative Female Genius in Business.”

Put it in your calendar now, go to the Blog Talk Radio website,
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/empoweryoutoday and click on
“Remind Me” to get an automatic reminder of the show.

And if you see any value in this topic, please, click on the “Share”
button and send it to a friend who also needs to hear the
discussion and/ or could meaningfully contribute!

Let’s face it- if you’re living & breathing and of “working age” in today’s American Economy- you, me & the rest of the world knows that nobody’s going to take care of you.

That security- no matter what your job- is no longer yours. Only the “lucky” will hold on to their good-paying (or barely sustainable) jobs… Only the “lucky” will survive and thrive in this economy.

I say, that as I Empower Women in Business– as YOU EMPOWER YOURSELF–  You, me and that darned fly on the wall know that YOU MUST MAKE YOUR OWN LUCK!

“LUCK” stands for …”Living Under Correct Knowledge,” and you have to have Correct Knowledge, Act on Correct Knowledge & Live Out Correct Knowledge in order to survive and thrive!

So, do you have a plan to do this? I mean, really have a plan?

Okay, so you’re in business- of somekind- for yourself.  How strategically-have you thought this thing out? And of those thoughts- how much are they based on the experiences and insights of those who’ve succeeded before you- i.e. “On the Shoulder of Giants”?

Do you know where you want to be in 5 years?  In 10 years?  Do you know WHY and HOW YOU’LL GET THERE??

On Wednesday March 18- I interviewed a business great, Jeff Perlis, to better understand how women can “Stand on the Shoulder of Giants” and make their businesses soar!
What he said may surprise you- and it starts by approaching your business from the correct framework- namely, that of a woman.

While he’s a “he,” Jeff is very successful, and what he lives by & teaches has helped make many-a-millionaire, including and especially women (as a consultant and through his in-demand interactive training– Business and You, which is based off of the teachings of his mentor– Marshall Thurber).

(Plus, his favorite quote is also Marianne Williamson’s “Our Deepest Fear is not that we’re inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure…” (Did I score or WHAT with this interview!!  : )

You can hear all the juicy details that got SO MANY WOMEN COMMENTING BACK WITH “Thanks!” right here:

Empowering Women In Business & Life

(Say WHAT?!)

Shouldn’t we do things the same way that men do? After all, business is business, right?

This Wednesday, on Blog Talk Radio’s Empowering Women in Business & Life- according to Jeff Perlis- that’s totally & completely WRONG!

So Who Is Jeff Perlis and what right does HE HAVE to speak as an authority on Women in Business?

Jeff is a Top Realtor, Investor & Business Consultant; student & mentee of Marshall Thurber (who’s students include Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen; the founder and creator of Paul Mitchell hair products; Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream; Spencer Johnson, author of Who Moved My Cheese; Tony Robbins; Harv Eker; Robert Kiosaki and more).

WOMEN NEED TO APPROACH BUSINESS AS A WOMAN.

Jeff has seen many businesses fail & succeed- knows what works, and has helped many businesses make those crucial changes that mean the different between failure, and STRATOSPHERIC SUCCESS! In his “Business and You” workshop, Jeff says that there are proven Principles, Practices, Strategies and Tools that all of the successful entrepreneurs mentioned above have discovered & implemented. He also stresses that women should approach this differently than men.

For a woman to be successful in business, they need to know:

• What “The Samurai Business Philosophy” has to do with success in business & you as a woman.
• Clear Cut Ideas on how to leverage yourself and your business
• Effective Communication and Decision-Making skills
• Plans & tools that will enable you to take action immediately
• How to Bring Humanity back to Business

* What CRUCIAL ACTIONS you can take TODAY to ensure that your business is on track to SUCCEED!

Listen this Wednesday, March 18 from 12:00 p.m. PST on Blog Talk Radio’s new Empowering Women in Business & Life to find out more!

and…

What does turkey-banana-strawberry-cheese-potato-chocolate-sprinkles juice have to do with empowerment?

Answer: EVERYTHING!

It’s the difference between safe & predictable, versus exotic & wildly successful! Between the status quo and the invention of the lightbulb… telephones, Day-Time Television, The BatMobile, & water cars…

and here’s why:

Have you ever tasted turkey-banana-strawberry-cheese-potato-chocolate-sprinkles juice? No?  ‘Sounds nasty, doesn’t it?  Well, it is… but that’s besides the point.

Here’s how I came to find out about it:
My 8–year-old daughter had spent the evening perfecting her “Famous Potatoes,” a delicious totally-unhealthy-but-sinfully-good fried potatoes (think potatoes, oil & lots of butter, garlic, salt; a little onion and just a pinch of pepper…).  If you like fried foods, you would love this!  This is her “signature dish,” one that she’s very proud of because it’s one of the foods that she can (now) predictably make very well… and she “made it up” herself.

(I can’t tell you how many “nasty” tasting dishes we went through before coming up with predictably-good… Of course, my kids could say the same about my cooking, so we’ll move on with the story now..)

Cut to my 3-year-old son: He’d watched his sister working on this dish for 45 minutes, and after we spent created all of the hoop-la over how good it was… He wanted to make something of his own.

So, his inspired little self went into the kitchen and announced that he was going to make “Strawberry Juice!”

This started out as cut up strawberries mixed in water…

It didn’t taste that good, so he decided to experiment…

He added bananas… Okay.

Then cheese… (Well…),

Then some apricots…

Then he asked me to open up the turkey

(”You’re not going to put THAT in there, are yOU?”

“Well, yes mom, it’ll be delicious.”

“Okayyyy…”

I left him to his creation.  I could have stopped it when he wanted to add the turkey, but hey- he’d gone this far- let’s see where he takes it. He continued to create his masterpiece by adding sprinkles (you know- the kinds you put on cupcakes), some greying potato pieces (ones that Sissie had cut up but not cooked), and I’m not quite sure what else.  He was SO PROUD, and couldn’t WAIT for us to taste it!

Well, I love the Little Guy, and I am a little on the crazy side, but not that crazy… so I let him take the first sip…  He smiled bravely… and then handed it to me.

The moment of truth…

I closed my lips tightly, took a “sip” to let the bare minimum in my mouth, and then handed it to my daughter (with a wicked grin on my face!)  She did the same.

When we offered it back to him, he took another quick & brave sip, made some faces that you see Tom make when Jerry puts hot pepper paste in his milk… and then quickly announced that he was going to save the rest for his dad!

Conclusion: This particular experiment of his was not a success.

Neither was it a failure.  At least he knows that he can experiment, and he can fail, and he’ll still be around to try for another day.

Consider Thomas Edison.  Consider Alexander Graham Bell.  Oprah Winfrey.  Steve Sakane (creator of the Batmobile!). Daniel Dingel (inventor of the first water car…)

They all made many, many, many mistakes.  Lots of failed experiments, & ventures that didn’t work.  However, because they didn’t worry about what didn’t work, but cared only about finding something that did, we have what we have from them today.

Gene Landrum of Profiles of Female Geniuses, a book that profiles 13 creative geniuses (including women in business) who’ve had massive impacts on the 20th century , states this: those who are afraid to fail, never will get far enough to succeed.

Take note here now, ‘cause this is the one and only point of this particular post:

Stop worrying about whether or not you should try something– go and do it!

Take Action– don’t be so afraid of failure that you’re not willing to move forward…

Face it- we all do it- Multi-Tasking!
In fact, chances are, if you’re a woman in north America, then it’s a badge of honor to brag about how good you are at it!
Write the Proposal while talking to a customer on the phone while considering what to make for dinner while encouraging your child to “try that homework problem again.”
It’s so that we can get more done all at once, we can save time, right?…

(Yeah, me too sometimes).

So, how do we get better at it?

Well, here’s the skinny on Multi-tasking: If you’re a chronic multi-tasker, especially where your business is concerned, you’re probably hurting your productivity, business, and your bottom line!
Plus, it’s annoying to those people with whom you’re splitting your time, because they can tell that you’re not entirely “with them” (unless it’s your children, in which case they expect you to be able to do five things at once)!

And don’t you just feel burned out after a long-string of multi-tasking taskings?… I mean, where did the fun and passion of what we do go?!

I’ll tell you where- it seeped right out of our brains and hearts at the same time that our focus did the same thing.

We’re trying to do five things at once, sometimes because we look for instant gratification of accomplishment in the middle of a big project by detaching and momentarily focusing on some other task.

Consider this:

A scientific study mentioned by Tim Ferris (the “4-Hour-Work-Week-Guy) was once conducted that tested the efficacy of multitasking.  ‘Know what they found? Multi-tasking lowers your IQ more than smoking marijuana! (This is according to The British Institute of Psychiatry)
You wouldn’t hire a “pothead” for your business,would you?

So why be one in your own business?

Here’s why multi-tasking dumbs you down, and actually causes you to spend more time on all combined tasks when trying to do them all at once (as opposed to focusing on one thing at a time):
Brain activation for listening is cut in half if the person is trying to process visual input at the same time as listening, for example.
The above-mentioned study showed that checking your email while performing another creative task decreases your IQ in the moment 10 points. That’s like not sleeping for 36 hours!  Or, having smoked a “joint”- twice- before getting on the phone with that client!

It then takes 20 minutes to get back to the same mind-set of our original task when we let ourselves get distracted,and it may not be as good.

So that brilliant thought you had about that proposal you were writing before taking that call?…  It’s now going to take you 20 minutes to get back to flow and same frame of mind as when you started writing, and possibly twice as long to solve that customer challenge than if you were just focused on it.  And you still won’t know what to make for dinner nor will your kid’s homework won’t be done because they want you to take a look again.

How can you be a better multi-tasker?

Answer: Don’t!

What you can do in this age of Multi-tasking, especially when our lives seem to be set up to function as a multi-tasker, is to integrate each of the following 7 steps into your business and home life, in order to be more effective, more productive, and to have better over-all results:

1. Work on projects only during focused blocks of uninterrupted time. Peter Drucker, from his book, The Effective Executive, recomends working in focused blocks of at least hours at a time.

2. Schedule your most important work during your most productive times. (I’m a morning person when it comes to writing and computer work, but can be a people person all day long, so long as I don’t have some major projects hanging over my head!)

3. Train those around you- youremployees, your co-workers, your family etc… to not interrupt. You set the schedule as to when you’ll be returning e-mails, phone calls, helping with homework (for you home-based entrepreneurs), and when you will not…

4. Keep marching toward your goal, even if not seeing instant gratification….

5. Take mini-breaks (inbetween those focused blocks of productivity) and you’ll likely find a surge in creativity, focus and productivity.

6. Take care of your body in order to do a better job with your mind. This means eating well, drinking plenty of water, and excercising.  Doing this alone will help your ability to focus better, and make sure that your energetic presence is all that it can be!

7. Meditate. Yep, I’m saying that meditating will help you to get more done too.   (And, by the way, This doesn’t have to be the “lotus position, palms up, humming Ommm” kind of meditation- just do what’s comfortable for you)

Why?  Meditating helps to clarify your challenges and all of the issues swirling around in your head… and to bring the answers to your challenges right to the top!  We can create triggers for our peak performance states, and through meditation learn how to funnel emotion into deep focus and creativity.

Peter Drucker emphasizes, “To be effective is the job of the executive.”
Now, are you or are you not the executive of your business?

“Intelligence, imagination and knowledge are essential resources (for executives)… but only effectiveness converts them into results.”

Okay, now that you know the steps, while you’re reading this post- put down the phone, turn off the stove and take a deep breath.
In… Out… In… Out…
Now, doesn’t that feel better?

Now you can start being more effective by putting a stop to multi-tasking, scheduling your projects into uninterrupted blocks of time, and integrate the other 6 steps above.

When you do this, I promise you that your overall results (including the bottom line) will improve dramatically!  Not only will you be more productive, but you’ll also find yourself having more fun with everything that you do, more of the passion behind “what you do” will flow back in, and the people that you work, live and play with will all appreciate a more-connected and more-present you!

His answer, surprisingly, was something this:
“I don’t want to have to motivate my clients- I only want to work with motivated people!”

Well, okay, sure, doesn’t everybody?!

However, if you want keep your clients and customers long-term, and if you want them to do well with your product (thereby developing a growing collection of well-spoken testimonials), you’re gonna have to inspire your clients… even after you make the sale!

Let’s face it- whether you sell accounting services, online web-work, or organic skin care that makes your customers look 10 years younger- it’s YOUR JOB to help them see the big picture of what life will be like once they have and/or are using your products or services.  Empower them to use it to it’s fullest.

And yes, you’ve got to do it more than once!

I’m sure that many of you have heard the old adage, “You have to ask for the sale six times…”
There’s a reason behind this, and it’s more than just repeating,
“Do you want to buy it?  Do ya?  Huh?  How about it?”… Six Times…

It’s about creating, and then re-creating a picture in the minds of your customers of what life with her product will be like.
You’ve got to get your customer to feel, taste, touch and smell her life once she’s got the product.

And, once she has the product (especially if it’s an ongoing service, or you want them to buy again… which you do…), you’ve got to remind and inspire your clients as to why they bought it in the first place!

Your customers and clients get busy, and life impedes, and they have bad hair days or children who argue or appearances to make (if you’re Oprah, or Cindy McCain, or Michelle Obama or Sarah Palin…)… and they forget “why they ever bought/ invested in that product in the first place…”

But when you re-inspire them, and re-create that end result in their minds for them… motivating them to continue to use (or learn from or whatever) your product… Then you will have more satisfied customers, more testimonials, more referrals and a happy client-base that buys from you again and again!

Well, Have No Fear and Be Listless No More! 

Posted here is my “no-fail formula to getting rid of funk and gaining your productivity back!”…

…A friend and I were recently have lunch together, and in addition to life, business and other girl-talk, we talked about self-confidence & being perceived as attractive are directly related, as well as the relationship it has with our productivity…
 Now, why relate the two?  Long-story-short (and another post on another day)- we’re far more attractive when our confidence is high than when low (even if we’re not society’s definition of beautiful, high confidence can certainly make us so!), and the positive vibes we can get from “feeling attractive” can have a great affect on our productivity!

  Back to my story…

Niether this friend nor I are “spring chickens” anymore, and neither of us will likely ever get on the cover of “Vogue” for our looks (although, with any luck and a lot of work, maybe we can get on the cover of Vogue like Oprah did, through contribution… which also increases confidence, and thus making us feel and appear beautiful…Thanks for setting the example Oprah!).

This friend hadn’t felt attractive for years and has/had plenty of people in her life who constantly pointed out how inadequate she is. 

(’Ring a bell, anybody?)…

The sad thing is, this friend is actually a pretty foxy lady!
Back to my point: Not too long ago, she was out with a friend, and “accidentally” started turning lots of heads (of the male pursuasion).  Where was this coming from?!

Was it her new haircut? 

Was it because of her new outfit?  No, not likely, ’cause she’s had tons of those before…

It was her self-confidence!

You see, she had just finished giving a workshop in which she totally rocked the house!  It was a presentation that she had really prepared for- wanting to deliver great value to the attendees, and it really showed.  The participants’ enthusiasm throughout was amazing, and she got compliment after compliment at the end, and… she made a lot of sales.
After the workshop, she happened to be out and about with another friend of hers, when they both noticed that a lot of men were staring at her (in that flattering kind of way).  It was in a way that she says she doesn’t get (or notice) on most days.  A way that reminded her that she’s not dead yet (and I don’t just mean the literal sense of the word “dead,”), and that she’s still got it!
This friend had a stream of productivity after this.  Not just because of the attention of the men (as nice as that was), but also because of the realization that she’s important in this world, that she’s making a difference, and that she has a lot of talent.

So, now I turn to you and to me…

‘Ever get in an unproductive funk and don’t know how get out?
Let me help you out here with my “no-fail formula to getting rid of funk and gain your productivity back”:

First off, figure out what some of your “funk triggers” are.  What I mean by this is– what are the things that make your feel bad and fall into a “funk”?
For me, from the present and the past, my “funk triggers” could be:

* A technical challenge that keeps me from moving forward on some project (a mentor no longer allows me to use the word, “problem,” so “challenge” it is)!

* Dealing with a bill when the funds were low

* The kids getting into one of those Mount Versuvias Volcanic Eruption arguments

* Having a business deal fall through

* The dogs just chewed and scratched another hole in the fence…

What are your “funk triggers?”  I want you to make a list, not to dwell on, but to be aware of them, and then later burn them!

I want you to be able to replace your “funk triggers” with “Fun Triggers” as soon as they arise.

Real quickly, stop and think of a few… ‘Got ‘em?

Okay, now that you know what your personal “funk triggers” are, let’s figure out what your “Fun Triggers” are:

You know, those things that put you in a great mood!

Here are a few of my favorite Fun Triggers:
* Great music that elevates the spirit (anything from Alessandro Saffina, Josh Groban and a lot of Celine Dion does it for me!  “The Magic Treehouse- The Musical” Cd does it for my kids- no matter what their moods!)

* A good book- anything that reminds me that life is actually pretty good and that I can change my circumstances, and make an impact on the world is great (Harmonic Wealth, A New Earth, Discussions of A Course in Miracles, The Power of Intentions, etc.)

* Dancing to good music

* Singing full blast while driving down the street (with the windows rolled up so there’s no hesitation on my part!)

* Hugging my kids while they wrap their soft little arms around me and whisper, “I Love You Mommy!”

* Speaking to a room-full of enthusiastic people definitely rings my bell too!

… and my ALL TIME FAVORITE and MOST EFFECTIVE “Fun Trigger,” the thing that gets more confidence flowing in my vein that I almost don’t know what to do about it:

* Creating “Paul Potts Moments“
To really understand this, you must watch this quick YouTube video: Paul Potts Audition 

If you’re in a hurry, I’ll summarize it: 
“Guy with no self-confidence amazes an auditorium, gets a standing ovation, etc. etc., his life changes forever as he, in turn, inspires others with his music.”
It boils down to bringing out the potential and self-confidence in others, thereby empowering others.

When, because of something that I say or do, somebody else smiles, or has an elevated sense of confidence, or accomplishes something they didn’t previously know they could accomplish… I become like Jonathan Livingston Seagull- and angel with wings who can do no wrong!

I want to create as many “Paul Potts Moments” as possible in my life!

For my friend that I mentioned in the beginning of this post, we now know that one of her “Fun Triggers” is speaking to a room-full of people and inspiring them to create the life of their dreams.

What are your “Fun Triggers”?
Get out a piece of paper, write them down… I DO want you to dwell on these.

‘Having a hard time thinking of any?  Feel free to borrow mine until you remember and find some of your own!

Now, post this list somewhere where you’ll see it the next time you feel an “unproductive funk” coming on… so that you can immediately implement some “Fun Triggers” and turn the tide! 

* No matter how busy you are, Implement one of your FUN TRIGGERS! 

You and I both know that you’ll be infinitely more productive, more fun to be around (for your co-workers, employees, family etc.) when you get back into that “Yeah, I’m pretty cool and life is just great!” state of mind.

‘Want another source of inspiration guaranteed to not only lift your “funk triggers” but to erase them forever?

Check out “Gina Gaudio-Graves Miracle Motivational Package.” 

I believe that this lady is destined to create more “Paul Potts Moments” than just about anybody!

For an even greater impact, take this one step further and ask yourself these questions too (those that apply):

“How can you help lift the funk from my workplace or for my team?”
“What Fun Triggers can I implement to help lift the “funk” from my family, spouse, kids?” 

Please share with us: what are your “funk triggers”  and what are your “Fun Triggers?”

Now get out there and replace your funk with some Fun and Get Productive Again!

With a business plan, of course!

Whether you want to start a small home-based business, or want to take on the big auto manufacturers with a huge new company that manufactures a line of alternative-energy super sleek cars that everyone will want to drive… you need a business plan.  Yes, even if you’re starting up with a networking marketing company or some other “business in a box,” you STILL need a business plan.

Why?  Well, to make sure that your business  is viable, for one.  Also, you’ve got to have a good strategy to make sure that you succeed.  And, assuming that it’s viable, the more aspects of your business that you plan from a knowledgeable frame of mind, the better your business will take off!

We’re going to briefly discuss the business plan basics here, and then later on, go into some strategies that will turbo-charge your business.

Here are The Basics:
1.  Executive Summary: This is where you give a brief description of your business and your Vision.  This should be more than a page or two.
2.  Company Overview: Describe your company’s mission and values, the products you will offer, your distinctive approach to the industry or niche that you’re entering, and why now is a good time to go into this particular business.
3.  Business Environment: What’s the marketplace like for your industry, who are your customers, what do they want, who’s your competition etc.
4. Strategy: What are your plans for setting up the business and entering the marketplace?  What are your short-term and long-term growth strategies?  Marketing strategies?  Product fulfillment strategies?  Administrative strategies?
5.  Financial Plan: Plan out your current income and capital sources, projected costs and projected profits, etc.  Be sure to leave room for marketing and expansion from your initial profits.
6.  Getting Started Checklist: What action steps will you take to get your business machine going?

Here’s some things you need to consider both before and during your business planning:

* Do you like the business that you’re going into?  In other words, if you’re going to be slaving away long hours in the launch phase (and chances are, you will be), then will you still be excited about where you’re going with the business at 1 a.m. when you’re filling out more loan documents or writing more ad copy?

* Is there an active market for what you’ve got to offer? Make sure that you’re filling and serving a need that already exists, rather trying to create a need for what you want to offer.  Are there people making money already?

* How can you stand out from the competition? Quality?  Customer Service? Unique features or benefits? Quantity?

* Do you have the knowledge and experience to get this business off the ground?  If you’re lacking in some areas, where will you find the people and resources to fill in for you to ensure that you’re successful?

Once you’ve got these basics down, then you can work more on the details, which are likely to evolve as you go along.

If (or I should say when) you find yourself stalled by brick walls because you just don’t know what to do next, seek out experts who are already good in that particular area. It really does pay to spend a little money to find expert answers quickly, rather than staying stalled in your business implimention so that you can “save a few dollars and figure it out yourself.”

Spending nothing in order to save money makes no sense if you’re not making any money in the mean time!

If you’re not sure how to get started and need to “just get something going,” or would like to model after somebody who’s not only doing well for himself but has taught many others to also make money, check out this great resource:

No Monkey Business: Money-Making Secrets Revealed

No Monkey Business lays out how to make money online ($300–$500 per day, quickly), details you need to get your business started, and options to fit your personality, knowledge and expertise, and time frame.  I found it to a breath of FRESH AIR with real strategies that are simple to put in action.

And, it’s  written by a family man who values and understands the importance of spending time on your family– which is great for women entrepreneurs in busines.  Huey shows you how to get going and make between $300-$500 per day, walking you through each step of proven and simple ways to make money.
In addition to getting you on track to entering a profitable business, marketing it and actually making money, Huey adds some really important bonus resources:

* How to get and stay on track
* How to Focus (really important- and if you’re lacking this- it will be hard to succeed in anything!),
* A newsletter to keep you updated on the latest strategies and time-saving tips and others.

So, ‘got your business plan yet?  No?!  Well get writing then!

Fear not– it’s not only possible, but when you know the right sales techniques, you’ll be better at sales than you ever were using the pushy-jerk techniques that many of us first learned in sales.

A few years back, I got a job with a national mortgage company as a loan officer with prospects of “high commissions and happiness” glowing in my starry eyes.  I joined the company when I saw just how much money loan officers were making at the time, and how glamourous the lifestyle sounded (there was a lot of getting around to meet people!).  I realized that to make a lot of money, one has to be in sales.  After all, “nothing happens until a sale is made” (Red Motley- 1946), so why not

 make it happen because of me?!

Shortly after starting training, however, I quickly became disallusioned when I learned that, in order to be sales superstar with this company, you were expected to be and act like a jerk! 

I mean it- arrogance and undeserved posturing was a part of sales techniques taught and practiced by management. 

They taught us that we needed to look at our prospective customers as people to be conquered, and to enter their homes as if they were peasants who just happened to be lucky enough for us to stop by for them to lick our boots (and, oh yeah, refinance their homes with us!). 
The selling techniques seemed to employ an “us versus them” mindset.  “Boiler Room” statements like, “There’s always a sale made…If you’re not closing them, then they’re closing you!” etc. etc.  If we complained, or tried to come up with nicer ways to sell (other than the manipulative ways they were teaching us), we were told that maybe we weren’t cut out for the job, and did we want a job flipping burgers at Burger King, ’cause that’s all we were gonna get unless we followed right along?  You get the picture!

If it weren’t for a friend there by the name of Mardi, I don’t think I would have stuck it out there as long as I did.  You see, while all of the other smucks were running around acting as if they were God themselves… Mardi was just a really nice guy.  And, Mardi was making a lot of money there! 

I did a collective “mind, body and soul” sigh of relief when Mardi took me on some of his sales calls and showed me that you not only could be nice, but should be nice when selling.  In fact, the best sales techniques are more about being in tune with your customers and serving their needs and less about “closing the deal!” 

And so, I went on to make some pretty decent money using what I learned for as long as I was with the company, (and am glad to report that my clients are still doing well with the mortgage products that I sold them, in case you were wondering…).  What Mardi, and others along the way, have taught me about being great at sales has served me tremendously, and so I would like to share them here with you:

1. Believe and See that YOU can be a great sales person!  Yes, you!  See yourself breaking those sales records and getting mountains of commissions because… (go to #2):

2. You don’t have to be a jerk to be successful!  In fact, the nicer and more in tune with your customers that you are, the more sales that you make.  That’s right, nice folks can finish first here.  Sales is, afterall, about providing a product or service to somebody who has a need or want… and YOU get to be the nice guy (or, nice gal, in this case).  This is because of rule number 3…

3. Be friendly and ask lots of meaningful questions.  When you’re friendly, your prospective customers are more likely to pay attention and be in tune with you.  And when you ask lots of meaningful questions, you’re going to get a good idea of what your customer is really looking for, and which aspects (features, benefits etc.) of your product or service are going to excite them the most.  Remember, people buy for their reasons, not for yours.  So, make sure that you hit all the details.

Continue to ask questions even when they say, “No,” because…
4. Some will, some won’t, so what, who’s next?  In other words, you may or may not make this sale, but no matter what, you shouldn’t take it personally.  And when you don’t take it personally, you’re able to continue to stay connected with your prospect and continue to ask meaningful questions (and give meaningful answers) when they tell you “no” for the first time (which is really just an objection of some kind).  When you get an objection,

5. Handle Objections by Reframing them from meaning “no” to meaning, “I need more or different information for the sale to make sense to me.”   I know that you’ve heard about “handling objections,” and there are a lot of so-called “smart rebuttals” out there, but be careful what you choose.  Picking something like, “  ” that sounds clever is hard to make a good-comeback by the customer but still leaves them feeling uneasy is not really that smart.  It only sets you up for sales that just beg to be refunded as soon as the customer has a moment to think for themself.  A good salesperson re-frames objections to show the customer that you really heard them, and gives you another opportunity to make the sale if you can help the customer overcome the concern.  Here’s a few objection-handling-techniques that are very effective, and allows everybody to feel good at the end of the transaction:

   * “Feel, felt, found”: A classic way of moving your customers from “no to yes” by saying, “I understand how you Feel.  Many of my happiest customers also felt that way.  But what they Found is…”

    * “LAARC”: Listen, Acknowledge, Assess, Respond, Confirm:
 Listen- Really listen to their objections, questions and concerns.
 Acknowledge- Acknowledge what their objection is.
 Assess- Assess where their objection is coming from and what’s really behind it.
 Respond- when and only when you know how to respond in a way that relieves them of their concerns and shows how “buying” far outweighs not buying.
Confirm- Confirm that they have understood your response and that you’ve addressed their concerns.

* The Conditional Close is an objection-handling-technique that turns into a close: Make closing the sale a condition for resolving their objection.  Something like, “If price weren’t an objection, then you would be ready to buy, right?” or “Now, the biggest obstacle you have is where to get the money, or where the date is…And if I can show you where you can get the money, you’d want it, right?”

* Objection Writing: Write down and cross out objections.
 

If the other person still has the objection, repeat the cycle of handling objections..

6. Lastly, you have to Close the Sale.  Do this, first and foremost, by asking for the sale.  So many people skip this step.

After their presentation, if their prospect doesn’t leap up and yell, “Hallelujah!- This is what I’ve been looking for all my life- where do I sign?!” then they pack up and move on.  I hate to break it to you, but most people won’t close themselves no matter how great your presentation is.  You have to ask for the sale.  You have to close the sale.  You can do this in a variety of ways, including some of the Closing techniques below:

* The “Assumption” Close-  (makes the assumption of the sale) (put them in possession of your product in their mind, as if they already have it).  “I’ll need your okay on this paperwork- can we get started?” (It boils down to asking a minor question).

* Related Story Close- tell a story that has a positive or negative point which tells why somebody must get what it is that you have.  Touch the heart strings and touch the hot spots.

* “Now to be sure that we are clear on my recommendations, this price includes…(break down what your product includes).

* “We seem to be in agreement that this is what you need (want?), can I get your OK here?”

* The “Multiple Small Agreement” Close- where you go through multiple questions to get them to make small agreements.  Here, you are taking them down the road to making a final decision. 

* The “Alternate Choice” Close- Do you want a Big Mac or Filet-O-Fish?

All of this takes some practice, so set yourself up to succeed by practicing a lot!

If you want to get really good really fast, I highly recommend taking a look at Blair Singer’s “Sales Dog’s Training School”. Blair is a dynamic professional whose training program is unique because it delivers both immediate and long lasting change.  As a woman who loves succeeding as much as I love serving people, Blair’s sales training not only left me feeling right at home, but delivered selling techniques that helped me to vastly improve my close ratio. 
Blair Singer is an incredible individual whom from the bottom of his heart is dedicated to helping people become happier in order to become more productive and successful- which goes hand-in-hand with empowering women entrepreneurs!

Remember, you can be super successful at sales without being a jerk.  You just have to their attention, capture their interest, stir up their desire and call them to take action! 

Now go take some action and sell something!

It’s also the question I get the most from my clients, “Jennifer- what marketing strategies will work best with my business?” or “Jennifer, should I use online marketing strategies or offline marketing strategies?”

And my answer is always

 ”Well, it depends… Let’s make sure that your marketing to the right people the right product in the right way.”

And, yes, you should using online marketing strategies (as well as, depending on your business, offline marketing strategies, which I will discuss in another post).  No matter what business you’re in, if you’re not offering to your customers the ability to order online, you’re going to soon be left in the dust.  Put up a minimal web presence to start, and then implement one marketing strategy at a time.

So, how do you do that?

Now, of course, there’s everything from pay-per-click/ adwords advertising, to banner ads, to blogging, to creating an seo-rich content site and many more…
But there’s somewhere else you have to start first…

Especially with new clients, after hearing about their product ideas (whether it’s an event, a teleseminar, a homestudy course, or some other tool for people), I have to ask them, “Who is your target market?” and “How are you going to find them?” and “What do they really need?”  “Who’s your top competition, why are they good, and how can you stand out from them?”

If you don’t know the answers to these questions from the start, you can scratch all of your marketing ideas.

So, how do you find the answers to the questions above?

There’s a few ways.
Okay, so you’ve determined your niche (or industry and/or topic where you want to focus your business).
Nex, if you don’t know who your target market is, you need to do some online research.
If you do know who your target market is, you need to do some online research (yes, even if your business is completely offline).

You can find out just how many people are looking for what it is that you have (or want) to offer by doing a simple Google Search (www.google.com).  Let’s say that want to sell organic food.  Put in a variety of search terms related to what you’re offering, such as “Organic food, to give you an idea whether or not anybody is interested in your niche. 

More than 13,600,000 people are interested in “Organic Food” as of today, so I’d say this is a good area to start.

Now, check out your competition.  What are the top websites that come up when you do this search, and what are they offering? 
(And wouldn’t YOU like to be the one coming up as a top site for that search?)
What words and phrases do you see them putting on their main sales page?  Chances are, if they’re working well for the top-ranked sites, they’ll work well for you.

Don’t know what word-choices to use for your search?  Try using this great free search tool to give you an idea of not only how many searches are done every day using that word, but also other combinations of that word and topic. 

http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com or https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordTool
Using our example of “organic food” freekeywords also gave me the follow word combinations plus how many searches were done on that particular phrase that day:

“organic food” 338, “organic foods” 252, “organic dog food” 185, “organic food coupons” 69, “organic cat food” 50, etc.

It also told me which of these phrases got the most searches.
From this, I can see that more people search for “organic dog food” than “organic cat food,” so the more I write about “organic dog food” the more sales I will get (and, I can probably sell more organic dog food than organic cat food).

Another way to see what niche’s are not only searched but making money is to search to see how much competitors are paying for ads in your niche using “adwords” or “pay-per-click”.  If they’re paying a lot, then that means that people are probably spending a lot of money in that niche.  You can sign up for a Google Pay-Per-Click account here to check what you’d be paying for your keywords to advertise with them: https://adwords.google.com/select/starter/signup/ForkAuth

Next, now that you know who your target market is, conduct some research to find out more about what they want.  Do some informal surveys asking your potential customers what their greatest challenges are, and what would help them the most.  You can conduct a professional-looking survey by using a free site called, “Survey Monkey,” which you find at www.surveymonkey.com.

Once you know that you have a great niche, you can start using this same information to form your online marketing strategies.

These will almost always incorporate those good keywords that you researched (so keep the list), and can include any or all of the following:
* Create a website and then SEO (Search Engine Optimize) your site
* Running a Pay-Per-Click or Adwords campaign
* Writing & sending newsletters
* Article Marketing, that directs traffic back to your website.
* Writing blogs (like this one) to build a list of loyal readers (and buyers).
* Creating backlinks to your site and much more!

Learning and implementing these online marketing techniques take time, but are sure worth it once you get the momentum going! 

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to do all of these things quickly with a few clicks of the mouse?  After learning the hard way (and slogging through hours and hours… and days… of trial and error and implementing the above), I came across a GREAT resource that practically does it all for you!
It’s called, SENUke, and it’s something that I wish I had years ago.
Now, you still have to do some work, but SENuke cuts your research time down in half, and in half again, and in half again… and helps you to evaluate your closest competition.
It then helps you to automatically Optimize your webpage so that it shows up in the first few pages of any search engine (like Google), that then drives traffic directly to you!

SEnuke will let you dominate up to three pages of Google listings for your niche.

Think of how many of those 13,600,000 people would click on your site if your’s was one of the sites that came up every time somebody looked up “Organic Food” or _____ (insert your nich here).

Best of all, SENuke gives you a free trial, so that you can actually make money and get tons of traffic and value before you ever spend a dime by promoting your own products, as well as other top-selling affiliate products that they help you find with the click of a button. 

Serious marketers have seen first hand the sheer
power of this all in one marketing and SEO tool
simply by trying out the free trial version of SEnuke!

Be sure to watch their training videos right away to get full value from the program.

If you are serious about increasing your income potential– get those online marketing strategies in place now.  If you want to do it quicker, get some help with SEnuke.