Act Now to Escape Being Burned by the Hot Tin Roof of Complacency

Act Now to Escape Being Burned by the Hot Tin Roof of Complacency
The purpose of this article is to shock you out of your
complacency, to make you to think, and to get you to act.

What if a cat landed on a hot tin roof and just sat there?
The results wouldn't be pretty.

The same result happens when organizations become satisfied
with doing what they've always done; they are burned on the
hot tin roof of complacency, resulting in a searing
obsolescence.

Consider all of those organizations that don't exist any
more than were once considered world beaters. They spent
time patting themselves on the back, repeating the same old
same old, and they quickly became irrelevant. When was the
last time you rode on a Concorde SST? Are you still slim
from the Scarsdale Diet? When did you last eat at Minnie
Pearl's? Did you stay at Howard Johnson's during your last
vacation? Can you still find your George Foreman grill?

Consider all of those organizations that pretend that
everything is fine . . . when anyone can see that they are
in trouble. The hot tin roof of complacency will
eventually destroy them, too. Do you shop at Sears as much
as you did 20 years ago? Do you consider GM cars and
trucks when you need a new vehicle? Do you still read a
daily newspaper? Do you watch the nightly news on one of
the three original television networks?

How can you get off that hot tin roof of complacency? You
need breakthroughs; breakthroughs you can best create by
designing and delivering 2,000 percent solutions (ways of
accomplishing 20 times more with the same time, resources,
and effort). This article shows you what actions you need
to take now to get the most benefit for your organization
by hopping off the hot tin roof of complacency onto the
upward rising elevator of continual breakthroughs. Here's
the list:

1. Write down where your organization is performing well in
relation to your needs for tomorrow.

2. Write down where your organization needs to improve now
in light of tomorrow's potential.

3. Write down those areas where your organization must
change in order to perform close to its future potential
and set deadlines for when these changes need to occur.

4. Share what you have written with those who will have to
make the changes. Give them copies of The 2,000 Percent
Solution and The 2,000 Percent Solution Workbook and set
dates for completing plans to meet these deadlines for
change.

5. Begin helping everyone in your organization learn to
identify stalls (bad habits that make you complacent and
retard improvements, overcome them through stallbusting and
create many 2,000 percent solutions by employing the
management process described in Part Two of The 2,000
Percent Solution.

6. Put measurements in place within each key activity to
track the rise and fall of complacency throughout your
organization.

7. Check to be sure that the dates to begin repeating the
eight-step process for creating 2,000 percent solutions are
being observed.

8. Reread relevant materials about how to create 2,000
percent solutions annually.

Copyright 2007 Donald W. Mitchell All Rights Reserved.

----------------------------------------------------
Donald Mitchell is chairman of Mitchell and Company, a
strategy and financial consulting firm in Weston, MA. He is
coauthor of six books including The 2,000 Percent Squared
Solution, The 2,000 Percent Solution, and The 2,000 Percent
Solution Workbook. You can find free tips for accomplishing
20 times more by registering at:
====> http://www.2000percentsolution.com .

Deal or No Deal? How To Close Sales When Prospects Call

Deal or No Deal? How To Close Sales When Prospects Call
Small business owners know that the most important function
of the telephone is to bring customers to you, begging for
your service or product offering. So when the phone rings
with a prospective customer on the other end, do you know
how to transform an interested caller into a buying
customer? Here are three phone sales tips to help you
close more sales.

1. Find the need

Don't assume that everyone interested in your product or
service buys for the same reason. Before you attempt to
sell the prospect on how great your product or service is,
ask a few qualifying questions to uncover his buying
motivations.

For example:

"Will you be using this in your home office or your
workplace?"

"How many copies per day does your office normally need?

"What is it about your current copier you are not satisfied
with?"

Once you ask a few probing questions, listen for the
problems, challenges, or frustrations that your prospect is
facing. Your caller is not looking for you to sell him
something—he's looking for you to solve his problems.
Once you know his problem, you'll be able to sell the
benefits of your product or service based on what he needs.

2. Magnify the need

Most people buy for emotional reasons. When you magnify
the need, you tap into his emotional buying motives and
create an urgency to purchase. A few questions or
statements might be:

"Do you have a backup plan if your copier fails right
before a key client presentation?"

"I see how those continual paper jams could hold up copying
projects for hours."

"I'll bet that was an embarrassing situation, not being
able to make a copy for a client because your machine was
down."

By creating the perception that your product is critical to
his success, you are much more likely to win the sale.

3. Answer objections

Objections are the reasons that prevent your prospect from
saying, "So, do you take Visa or MasterCard?" If you don't
find out the objections, you can't answer them—and
your prospect will call your competitor instead. To find
out his objections, ask a few questions like:

"What key concerns do you have that prevent you from making
your decision?"

"How can I help you decide if this is the right product for
you?"

Be sure to answer his objections based on what you know
about his buying motivation, his need. Additionally, try
answering his objections with a question that will lead to
a buying decision. For instance:

His objection:

"I'm no good with technology. I hate to invest in a new
copier just to have problems with it that I can't figure
out how to fix."

Your Question:

"Would you like a free 12-month service agreement with your
new copier?"

4. Close the deal

It's amazing how many small business owners don't make the
sale because they fail to ask closing questions. Closing
questions are designed to bring the prospect to a place of
decision or a call to action.

Ideally, you'll want to ask closing questions through out
the sales process that produce small "yeses" like:

"Would information on product reliability be of value to
your decision?"

"Are you interested in a program that will save you both
time and money?"

"Is timely delivery an important issue for your business?"

Once your prospect gets used to saying "yes," it will be
more natural to say the all important YES at the end.
Listen for buying signals from your prospect and be ready
with many ways to ask for the sale. For example:

"If I could guarantee delivery by the end of the week, are
you ready to move forward with the purchase today?"

"If that price quote is acceptable to you, shall I ship it
today?"

"I can schedule your project for next week, but I'll need
your credit card information to hold your project start
date. I can take that information now if you are ready."

Good salesmanship requires practice, practice, practice.
Think through all possible objections to your service or
product. Write out possible responses and questions that
lead to buying decisions. If you put the time in to think
your sales process through, you'll feel more confident when
a prospect calls you. The more confident you are with your
sales process, the more sales you'll close.

----------------------------------------------------
Deborah Walker is a Small Business Coach specializing in
sales training and revenue growth strategies. Her
career-long expertise as a successful small business owner
provides insight to the do's and don'ts of building a
sustainable revenue stream. Click to learn more at

http://www.RevenueQueen.com

10 Reasons Why People Fail To Make Money Online

10 Reasons Why People Fail To Make Money Online
Are you one of those people who just keep dumping money
into e-book after e-book, and system after system hoping
that it's going to finally be the big one? Facts show that
only 5% of the people who start a home based business will
have good success, and only 1% will have extremely good
success. So why do people fail time after time, and never
make any money online?

1. Lack of support and training. Most people starting a
home-based business have no idea how to market online, and
they have no clue where to even start. This leads to
confusion, and frustration, which eventually leads to
failure.

2. They never do anything. People get into a business then
for some reason or another they just sit there and think
they will magically make money without doing a signal thing.

3. No time to do anything. Most people who join a home
business are working either a part time job, or a full-time
job. They also might have a family to attend to. A work at
home business just simply gets in the way of their every
day routine, and they have no time to invest into the
business after they join.

4. Lack of focus. People get side tracked very easily, and
also give up much sooner then they should. They lack the
focus and concentration you need to become successful
online.

5. No money to invest. People think they can make money
online for only $20 - $50. We all know you need to spend
money to make money. Some people just simply lack the extra
funds you need to get a business off the ground.

6. Fear of failure. People sit on the fence wondering "what
if" so long that their mind gets filled up with nothing but
fear. So when they finally do join a business their mind is
already programmed with fear and failure.

7. The classic "scam". Everyone thinks everything online is
a big money making scam. That's incorrect there are no
scams online. What you get out of the business is whatever
you put in. People want success so bad that if it doesn't
happen within a week they call the program a scam and quit.

8. To much hype. I understand everyone wants to make money,
but some people will say I want to make 10 - 20k within my
first month. More then likely that will not happen, and
when they find out it didn't they give up. Making money
online is hard work.

9. No help from their sponsor. Most people get little or no
help from the person who brought them into the business.
They easily become lost, and confused. Within their first
month they are so mad they just give up.

10. No money. People just simply lack the funds to start up
a business. They can't join one so they are never even
giving the opportunity to try.

People fail for a number of different reasons when it comes
to making money online. The bottom line though is that
success comes from within, and if you believe you can make
it happen then sooner or later it will. Just make sure to
never give up trying, and to always work towards your goals
no matter how long it takes.

----------------------------------------------------
Chris Rohrer has been working online for over 3 years. He
has helped a great number of people start successful home
businesses. To learn how Chris can help you visit
http://www.myroadmapriches.org

Corporate Gifts in the Land of the Rising Sun

Corporate Gifts in the Land of the Rising Sun
Corporate gift giving is naturally of great importance in
the land of the rising sun, where company life is, well,
life itself for many. The Japanese love a gift because it
foretells respect, appreciation and friendship. When
meeting a new Japanese business associate or colleague you
will be expected to participate in the centuries old
gift-giving ceremony.

Gifts do not have to be of high value, although if they
are, this will not be considered a bribe or insult. For
senior Japanese executives however, the gifts should be
higher quality with increasing rank. This etiquette is
important to observe and failure to do so will cause
offense.

Gifts should be wrapped, but the paper should not be too
bright, nor white. Be especially wary of white because it
symbolizes death. Also never give things in sets of four,
because the Japanese word for four, "shi", closely
resembles the word for death. This probably rules out golf
balls, unfortunately. The Japanese can be very
superstitious about this.

Both hands must always be used to present a gift, or even a
business card.

You cannot simply turn up with a gift unexpectedly, except
on occasions where it will be obvious you are giving
something, such as a first meeting. Instead, you should let
drop some kind of subtle hint that you would like to
present a small token of respect or memento in the near
future.

When the gift is for a group, make sure that all are
assembled before making the presentation and bear in mind
that it is considered extremely rude to present a gift to
only one recipient. It must either be presented to the
whole group, or a gift given to each individual member.

The gift itself should be downplayed as much as possible.
This is usual in all Asian cultures. The friendship should
be allowed to come to the forefront rather than the
material object which is symbolic of it.

Monetary gifts or ones displaying the company logo are not
usually acceptable in Japan.

As for when to present your gift, the end of a visit is the
best time. Business gifts are presented at mid-year, i.e.
on the 15th of July, and at the end of the year, on January
the 1st.

It is not difficult to choose a gift for a Japanese person,
although as has been mentioned, if multiple gifts are to be
made, a strict ranking of worth is essential according to
company position. Products which are unavailable in Japan
are always welcome, as are extremely expensive ones. Pens
are highly appropriate as gifts for Japanese colleagues,
because the pen is a symbol of knowledge. It is also easy
to pack.

Gift giving in the Pacific rim is not as formal and
ritual-bound as it is in Japan, but here, too, the
importance of the gift should be downplayed and in addition
it is considered polite to show slight reluctance in
accepting a gift.

Corporate gifts are a bit more problematic in China, where
giving gifts to officials was banned during the communist
regime. Gift-giving is enjoying a popular resurgence, but
to avoid giving the impression that it is a bribe, the
following guidelines should be observed: your gift should
not be too expensive, should carry the company logo and
preferably be presented to a group rather than to a single
executive.

----------------------------------------------------
Business corporate gift is for everybody – clients
and employees. Just like in Japan, unique corporate gifts
such as oil portraits done by artists like Jerry Carpos
from http://www.portraitkingdom.com may be sent to enhance
the growth of the business.

Career Suicide - Proclaim Yourself A Victim

Career Suicide - Proclaim Yourself A Victim
There is no quicker way to career suicide than to proclaim
yourself a victim. No one likes victims – people are
attracted to problem solvers and people in the know –
they are repelled by self proclaimed victims.

A true story to describe my point:

In a meeting of managers discussing a number of issues, one
of the managers made the statement - a number of times -
that " No one ever told him anything." This came as a
surprise to the other managers - they thought he was
actually one of the really plugged - in people. After he
made himself a victim - by his own words - his influence
and leverage disappeared. Who would want to seek out a
person who was told nothing - and, by inference, knew
nothing? Funny thing - he was one of most plugged in people
in a really secretive organization. He had more information
than most – and was regarded that way. But that
changed. And all because he gave himself up –
proclaimed himself a victim – and in his case, he
wasn't – he just perceived himself as out of the loop.

Have you ever known people that have done the same thing?
Have you ever been guilty of it yourself?

It's the quickest way to career suicide in any job. And the
person who commits this self inflicted wound is usually
just looking to get a little sympathy and understanding
from all the kind people they work with. They don't see it
as complaining. Huge mistake. It's almost impossible to
feel any real sympathy or empathy for a self proclaimed
victim. There are too many people who are working hard to
redeem and survive and grow and prosper to feel any kind of
regard for those "woe is me" types.

I don't mean to imply that you should act as if you have
all the answers and are plugged in to everything that goes
on in your world - that approach creates it's own problems.
But complaining without a constructive goal is a really
unattractive behavior - and people avoid that behavior like
the plague, and, if it persists, they punish it.

So the next time you're tempted to reach for your crying
towel and complain - stop.

Then: Remind yourself that shooting yourself in the foot is
very painful. Then remind yourself that the subject of your
complaint is probably shared by other people. Then remind
yourself that in every complaint is the seed for a
constructive thought or comment or, even better, action.
Then go in the direction of providing solutions. The upside
to that behavior is so positive, and the downside? Well,
there is no downside.

Start today – now. And if you know a self –
proclaimed victim, copy this article and leave it where
they will find it. Others have done that – and it
works – some of the time.

----------------------------------------------------
Andy Cox helps clients align their resources and design and
implement change through the application of goals focused
on the important few elements that have maximum impact in
achieving success - as defined by the client. He can be
reached at http://www.coxconsultgroup.com or
acox@coxconsultgroup.com