Networking is the new “Black” for the SME Business.
Or at least, it is the most popular Marketing Tool for the Micro to Small Business. Many try to make a living by utilising ONLY Networking, though only a few succeed with any degree of real success. In this article we will consider how one aspect of Networking, ‘The 60 Second Introduction’, can help to generate high quality sales enquiries.
What are you an expert in?
The key to success from Networking is Building Relationships. To do this you must firstly understand what you are an expert in and be able to explain your product or service in simple, understandable and memorable ways.
You would assume someone in business would know what they are an expert in. However, this is not the case in many cases. I’m a Life Coach! Or I’m a Training Facilitator. Maybe even ‘We provide Engineering Consultancy Services’. To the expert these terms and Job Descriptions tell everyone what they do. However, to everyone else they only tell us what ‘Industry’ they are members of and do very little to help us understand what they actually do.
The title, ‘Plumber’ may well tell someone that you fix leaks but that may not be the type of work you specialise in. A Plumber I know fits the plumbing into ‘New Build’ Properties, and that is ALL they do. So if I gave them a lead to install a Washing Machine for a family member they would not thank me. They are geared to fitting the plumbing in to 20, 30, 50 or 100 Houses on a new Housing Estate being built. They are so good at it they can fit 3 houses in the time it takes a general purpose plumber to fit just one house. Consequently they have contracts all around the U.K. for some of the largest builders in the country.
So before you go to your first Network Meeting, spend some time thinking about ‘what you are an expert in’. Look at it from your point of view and then look at it from your client’s point of view. Remember, people buy for their reasons not yours. You need to consider your business in terms of what it can do for your clients. ‘We provide Sales Training Seminars’ is an explanation of my services, from my point of view. ‘By attending my Training Seminars you will be in better position to convert more sales enquiries to sales than you ever thought possible’, is an explanation of my services from your prospective.
People ONLY buy after they have a positive answer to their question “What’s in it for me?”
Build a Relationship!
We all know the story of the race between the Tortoise and the Hare, and we should consider that message for all of our Networking. Networking is NOT about closing on the day; it is ALL about building Trust, Friendship and Understanding.
· Trust - No one will do business with you if they do not trust you or your business. After all, you would not do business with anyone you did not trust!
· Friendship - We all PREFER to do business with people we know and like, rather than strangers or people we do not like.
· Understanding - No one can do business with you unless they KNOW what you do. I don’t mean what you can tell them in 60 seconds. The 60 second speil is to get people to say “Tell me more”. In 60 seconds you can only ever give a superficial overview, whereas for someone to give you money; they need to really understand what you do and WHAT CAN YOU DO FOR THEM!
So how do we use our 60 second slot?
Many in business may be great at delivering their product or service but may not be great orators or sales people. So don’t try to sell and don’t try to give a great speech. Simply spend some time with friends and tell them about your business. Remember if you network every week you have nearly an hour over the course of a year to explain to your fellow networkers what you do and how they can help you. And that’s only within the 60 Second Slot. Utilise other time in the meeting to discuss yours and their business so that they understand what you do and you understand what they do.
As a result many business people fear the 60 second slot to tell their fellow Networker’s what they do. Do we need to develop an Elevator Pitch that sums up everything we do and a “Killer” ‘Follow on Question’ or is there another way?
Tell a story, spread over a number of weeks, that gives a deeper understanding of what your business does and how it has helped other people/businesses.
Lets take an example to show what I mean.
The Business: A Same Day Courier Service to collect and delivery anything from a parcel to a number of pallets from anywhere in Europe to anywhere in Europe.
Week 1: Good Morning, my name is Keith Ayres from KAA Couriers. “We deliver your promises!”
We have drivers across the UK and into Europe who are waiting to collect and deliver what ever you have promised.
It could be … “A Tender that has to be in London by 10.00 am tomorrow” – A promise not to charge you for the delivery if we fail is not a guarantee TNT!
It may be … “Labels that must be in Nottingham as quickly as possible, to ensure that a Production Line does not stop” – Tomorrow may be too late!
Or even … “Components that will allow your client to fulfil his promise to his client, and they must be in Copenhagen tomorrow.” – A Happy client is worth a thousand promises.
So if you promise your clients that something will be somewhere at a particular time, call KAA Couriers because …
… “We deliver your promises!”
Week 2: Good Morning, my name is Keith Ayres from KAA Couriers. “We deliver your promises!”
I want to tell you about a delivery we did for a client recently that may help you to understand what we do.
A major Financial Institution had to deliver a cheque to The Financial Services Authority tomorrow afternoon. The cheque was in Manchester and the person who was going to deliver it was in Exeter, and the FSA was in Peterborough. The cheque was for £2,000,000!
The Client wanted the person in Exeter to have the cheque by 6.00 am.
So what happened? We collected everything at 11.00 pm when it was finally ready. Our driver set off with plenty of time to get to Exeter well before 6.00 am. However, just north of Birmingham he was involved in a serious accident due to Black Ice on the Road. The Van was a write off, though the driver was fine.
We pulled in a driver from Birmingham to collect the cheque from our driver and to deliver to Exeter. We were now pressed for time. After communication with the person in Exeter we met them at the Train Station.
Cheque and Client were united and they delivered in Peterborough ON TIME.
At 9.00 am we told the client what had happened.
So if you want a company that ACTUALLY “… delivers your promises!” call KAA Couriers.
Week 3: Good Morning, my name is Keith Ayres from KAA Couriers. “We deliver your promises!” .............
Now you can add another story. Don’t be afraid to give what seems like a negative story providing you bring it back to why they should do business with you. Everyone makes mistakes but a good business can be differentiated from a bad company based upon how they deal with their failures and how they plan their operation to minimise mistakes.
Whilst your company and its services or products may be totally different than KAA Couriers I’m sure you can develop stories from your company. Talking about what actually happened in your business life as a way to inform listeners to help them to decide to do business with you takes it away from a “TALK” to a chat with friends. Terror can be reduced.
Remember to talk about what the prospective customer gets and less about what you offer. Stories do just this and your listeners will be able to understand what it would be like to do business with you. This will take away the fear of doing business with a new company as they will almost feel like a customer before they ever part company with any money.
Keith A Ayres
ClarityClarity
Turn your 60 second slot into a chat with friends to reduce the terror element.
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
Tuesday, 25 September 2007
Top 10 Myths about Selling
You cannot sell to everyone you meet!
Whilst the vast majority of sales people only sell to 15 – 25% of the people they present to, it is not universally true. It is not unheard of for new people who are sent out into the big bad world without having had any form of training sell to virtually everyone they meet... This can be explained by their enthusiasm. Selling has been defined as an exchange of enthusiasm.
However, this is not the only reason. More often it is because they have not been exposed to the training which tells them they will only sell to 1 in 5, or that “It’s hard out there!” So their naivety works in their favour as nobody has told them they are not supposed to sell to everyone.
So the solution is to learn your trade but retain the attitude that you are simply meeting the prospect to decide which of your products or services they are going to purchase. Approach each sales meeting positively and you will be amazed at the achievements you are capable of.
You need the gift of the gab.
Many people, outside of sales, only notice/remember the salesmen/women they see that are fast talking, confident business people. This is not a true picture of the majority of sales people.
In selling you need to talk less than your prospective client. You need to be asking questions and listening to the answers. If you talk too much you are likely to be talking yourself out of a sale rather than the reverse. Sales people should always remember that we have two ears and just one mouth, and they should be used in that ratio.
The reason people only see the fast talkers, is that the vast majority are quietly getting on with their job and actually selling correctly by listening and NOT saying very much.
You have to wear a suit
If you are selling to Commerce then the uniform of choice is the suit. But that is not true for all sales people. How would you react if a ‘Creative’ turned up in a suit? Yes, it may be appropriate but equally if they turned up in Jeans etc most people would find that acceptable and the appropriate uniform for the role.
IBM spent many $millions researching what their sales staff should wear to maximise their chances of successfully selling to their clients. They came up with Black Highly polished shoes, Black Socks, Dark Suit, White Shirt and Red Tie. There were other findings but the essence is as described. So if the suit is the correct uniform of choice then you should consider this research.
However, if my local builder turned up at my home to price a small job I needed doing then I would be surprised if they turned up in a suit. So it is more about what is acceptable in your industry rather that suits are a must. However, the larger the company the more likely that the sales force will be expected to wear suits.
People don’t like sales people
If this was true, nobody would buy anything and companies would never employ sales people. There is a well proven saying “People buy from People they like”.
What people don’t like are bad and pushy sales people.
As a sales person it is your job to identify what the client wants or needs and to show them how your product or service achieves this. That is to say, identify the problem and find a solution. The bad sales person has a problem (needs to sell their product/service) and sees the prospective client as the solution. In other words they have themselves as the highest priority, whereas the good sales people have their clients’ best interests uppermost in their minds.
If sales people do their job right they are liked not hated. Estate Agents (Realtors) are liked when they sell our home or find us our ideal home. Life Insurance Salesmen are loved if their client dies and the widow/widower is left with enough money to maintain their standard of living. So remember what you are really selling, the benefit, and concentrate on that and you will be liked not hated.
You don’t have to work hard
When other members of staff see a sales person, he or she is just chatting to clients and prospects, whilst they are slaving in the Warehouse, over a machine or with piles of paper to be processed. To them he has an easy life.
But as any sales person will tell you there is more to selling than simply chatting with clients and prospects.
Selling can be considered a very negative role as most soon discover that more people say No to them than Yes. So sales people have to live with rejection every day of their working life. Not many would willingly spend their life being rejected just for the occasional acceptance. But sales people do and thrive on it.
A Good Salesperson can sell anything!
There are two basic types of sales people, those who sell concepts and those that sell things.
A Conceptual Sales Person, like an Insurance Broker (IFA), would have difficulty in selling products or things. They are comfortable with selling ‘services’ or ‘concepts’. The selling skills or methodology are different for these two sectors.
Yes, they are both selling and similar skills are needed for each role, and no it does not mean that a seller of products could not sell services, just that they will be more successful selling products.
Like all Myths, the reason for their continuation is the element of truth that it contains. But the truth misleads in this case. To start to sell for a new Industry or a new business there will be a learning curve and that learning curve can be long or short and is dependent upon the individual.
For the best professional sales people another key factor to their success is their belief in the product or service. For them to sell another product or service they must have a commitment to that product to repeat the levels of success.
It is best to make the best sales person your Sales Manager
The skills needed for a good sales person are not the same for those necessary to make a good Sales Manager. Yes, they need to understand the selling process and the selling skills needed, but that is not what makes a good Sales Manager.
A Sales Manager, though senior to the sales person is also in a supportive role for the sales team. They are there to help the Sales Team become more successful. They have a responsibility to the organisation and are obliged to follow organisational policy and direction. However, they must implement that policy and direction in a way that best assists their team to be better at selling the organisations products and services.
A sales persons’ role is a selfish role, in that they must be primarily interested in their own performance. Whereas the Sales Manager is successful by the performance of his team both individually and as a whole. He must concentrate his efforts for others benefit rather than for his own benefit. These differences make it unlikely that the top sales people will make the best Sales Managers.
Selling is not a Profession
What do we mean by ‘Professional’? To many it the process of going through a long period of on the job and theory training/learning, culminating in an examination. Only the passers of that examination can then call themselves ‘Professionals’, like Solicitors, Accountants and Doctors. Hence they are members of a ‘Profession’.
To others ‘Professional’ means those who are at the top of their trade. They are the best. In this case the job is not a Profession it is some individuals are professionals.
Technically Professional can also be a description of a role that you do to earn a living. That is you are paid to do the job. In this case all jobs that are paid are Professions.
If we look at The Sales Role, we do see a long period of training and learning, both on the job and in the classroom, but only a few industries have an examination at any point in time. At least not a formal examination. However, the market place is a Sales Persons Examination. To fail this examination normally involves a Job Termination.
Therefore, I suggest that a tried and tested Sales Person, who have devoted effort to know their trade and spends time studying it is a Professional and therefore the role as a Sales Person is a Profession.
It takes years before you earn a good living!
As in any job, you have to learn your trade before you are likely to earn significant sums. However, unlike other jobs, you do not have to extensive knowledge to make money or even to make lots of money.
Selling is essentially an easy job. You locate people who want or need your product explain how it fulfils that need or want and then get them to take action.
Obviously selling some products or services requires technical knowledge and the acquisition of that knowledge can take time. However, that is not true for the majority of products and services. I heard a story about the introduction of safety glass to the American Market. This salesman took a sample into Glaziers and hit it with a heavy mallet and then asked “How much do you want?” People were so amazed they purchased in droves and he became the best salesman in the company by far.
His technical knowledge was very basic. He was told this glass would not break. So he realised that this would be the reason people would buy, so he simply proved it to them physically.
So neither age nor experience has anything to do with success. Nor does education, colour, sex or any factor other than being able to sell.
Women are better sales people than men!
Like Men, Women make excellent sales people, and yes some are better than men, but equally some men are better than some women.
Women do have advantages than men, but men also have advantages over women. We have to be careful of generalisations so I am avoiding ‘Feminine Intuition’ and the like as they are too general to base any argument upon. However, the fact that women have been discriminated against over the millennia can be an asset. It drives some women to out-perform their male counter parts. But it also has it’s drawbacks as it can make a women, in the eyes of some men, seem more like a man and can generate animosity.
For some reason women seem to be better at asking questions and building rapport. It could be based on a number of things but I feel it is gender role based. Women have had to be supportive historically so the less aggressive skills such as asking questions are more naturally part of their make up. But care should be taken in case we slip into gender stereotypes and are led off the facts.
Without trying to be sexist women can be better at selling to some male dominated industries. This is not universal.
The basic answer is that it is the person not their sex that makes individuals good, bad or indifferent at selling. However, we can all get better at selling by learning the trade and applying what you learn.
Whilst the vast majority of sales people only sell to 15 – 25% of the people they present to, it is not universally true. It is not unheard of for new people who are sent out into the big bad world without having had any form of training sell to virtually everyone they meet... This can be explained by their enthusiasm. Selling has been defined as an exchange of enthusiasm.
However, this is not the only reason. More often it is because they have not been exposed to the training which tells them they will only sell to 1 in 5, or that “It’s hard out there!” So their naivety works in their favour as nobody has told them they are not supposed to sell to everyone.
So the solution is to learn your trade but retain the attitude that you are simply meeting the prospect to decide which of your products or services they are going to purchase. Approach each sales meeting positively and you will be amazed at the achievements you are capable of.
You need the gift of the gab.
Many people, outside of sales, only notice/remember the salesmen/women they see that are fast talking, confident business people. This is not a true picture of the majority of sales people.
In selling you need to talk less than your prospective client. You need to be asking questions and listening to the answers. If you talk too much you are likely to be talking yourself out of a sale rather than the reverse. Sales people should always remember that we have two ears and just one mouth, and they should be used in that ratio.
The reason people only see the fast talkers, is that the vast majority are quietly getting on with their job and actually selling correctly by listening and NOT saying very much.
You have to wear a suit
If you are selling to Commerce then the uniform of choice is the suit. But that is not true for all sales people. How would you react if a ‘Creative’ turned up in a suit? Yes, it may be appropriate but equally if they turned up in Jeans etc most people would find that acceptable and the appropriate uniform for the role.
IBM spent many $millions researching what their sales staff should wear to maximise their chances of successfully selling to their clients. They came up with Black Highly polished shoes, Black Socks, Dark Suit, White Shirt and Red Tie. There were other findings but the essence is as described. So if the suit is the correct uniform of choice then you should consider this research.
However, if my local builder turned up at my home to price a small job I needed doing then I would be surprised if they turned up in a suit. So it is more about what is acceptable in your industry rather that suits are a must. However, the larger the company the more likely that the sales force will be expected to wear suits.
People don’t like sales people
If this was true, nobody would buy anything and companies would never employ sales people. There is a well proven saying “People buy from People they like”.
What people don’t like are bad and pushy sales people.
As a sales person it is your job to identify what the client wants or needs and to show them how your product or service achieves this. That is to say, identify the problem and find a solution. The bad sales person has a problem (needs to sell their product/service) and sees the prospective client as the solution. In other words they have themselves as the highest priority, whereas the good sales people have their clients’ best interests uppermost in their minds.
If sales people do their job right they are liked not hated. Estate Agents (Realtors) are liked when they sell our home or find us our ideal home. Life Insurance Salesmen are loved if their client dies and the widow/widower is left with enough money to maintain their standard of living. So remember what you are really selling, the benefit, and concentrate on that and you will be liked not hated.
You don’t have to work hard
When other members of staff see a sales person, he or she is just chatting to clients and prospects, whilst they are slaving in the Warehouse, over a machine or with piles of paper to be processed. To them he has an easy life.
But as any sales person will tell you there is more to selling than simply chatting with clients and prospects.
Selling can be considered a very negative role as most soon discover that more people say No to them than Yes. So sales people have to live with rejection every day of their working life. Not many would willingly spend their life being rejected just for the occasional acceptance. But sales people do and thrive on it.
A Good Salesperson can sell anything!
There are two basic types of sales people, those who sell concepts and those that sell things.
A Conceptual Sales Person, like an Insurance Broker (IFA), would have difficulty in selling products or things. They are comfortable with selling ‘services’ or ‘concepts’. The selling skills or methodology are different for these two sectors.
Yes, they are both selling and similar skills are needed for each role, and no it does not mean that a seller of products could not sell services, just that they will be more successful selling products.
Like all Myths, the reason for their continuation is the element of truth that it contains. But the truth misleads in this case. To start to sell for a new Industry or a new business there will be a learning curve and that learning curve can be long or short and is dependent upon the individual.
For the best professional sales people another key factor to their success is their belief in the product or service. For them to sell another product or service they must have a commitment to that product to repeat the levels of success.
It is best to make the best sales person your Sales Manager
The skills needed for a good sales person are not the same for those necessary to make a good Sales Manager. Yes, they need to understand the selling process and the selling skills needed, but that is not what makes a good Sales Manager.
A Sales Manager, though senior to the sales person is also in a supportive role for the sales team. They are there to help the Sales Team become more successful. They have a responsibility to the organisation and are obliged to follow organisational policy and direction. However, they must implement that policy and direction in a way that best assists their team to be better at selling the organisations products and services.
A sales persons’ role is a selfish role, in that they must be primarily interested in their own performance. Whereas the Sales Manager is successful by the performance of his team both individually and as a whole. He must concentrate his efforts for others benefit rather than for his own benefit. These differences make it unlikely that the top sales people will make the best Sales Managers.
Selling is not a Profession
What do we mean by ‘Professional’? To many it the process of going through a long period of on the job and theory training/learning, culminating in an examination. Only the passers of that examination can then call themselves ‘Professionals’, like Solicitors, Accountants and Doctors. Hence they are members of a ‘Profession’.
To others ‘Professional’ means those who are at the top of their trade. They are the best. In this case the job is not a Profession it is some individuals are professionals.
Technically Professional can also be a description of a role that you do to earn a living. That is you are paid to do the job. In this case all jobs that are paid are Professions.
If we look at The Sales Role, we do see a long period of training and learning, both on the job and in the classroom, but only a few industries have an examination at any point in time. At least not a formal examination. However, the market place is a Sales Persons Examination. To fail this examination normally involves a Job Termination.
Therefore, I suggest that a tried and tested Sales Person, who have devoted effort to know their trade and spends time studying it is a Professional and therefore the role as a Sales Person is a Profession.
It takes years before you earn a good living!
As in any job, you have to learn your trade before you are likely to earn significant sums. However, unlike other jobs, you do not have to extensive knowledge to make money or even to make lots of money.
Selling is essentially an easy job. You locate people who want or need your product explain how it fulfils that need or want and then get them to take action.
Obviously selling some products or services requires technical knowledge and the acquisition of that knowledge can take time. However, that is not true for the majority of products and services. I heard a story about the introduction of safety glass to the American Market. This salesman took a sample into Glaziers and hit it with a heavy mallet and then asked “How much do you want?” People were so amazed they purchased in droves and he became the best salesman in the company by far.
His technical knowledge was very basic. He was told this glass would not break. So he realised that this would be the reason people would buy, so he simply proved it to them physically.
So neither age nor experience has anything to do with success. Nor does education, colour, sex or any factor other than being able to sell.
Women are better sales people than men!
Like Men, Women make excellent sales people, and yes some are better than men, but equally some men are better than some women.
Women do have advantages than men, but men also have advantages over women. We have to be careful of generalisations so I am avoiding ‘Feminine Intuition’ and the like as they are too general to base any argument upon. However, the fact that women have been discriminated against over the millennia can be an asset. It drives some women to out-perform their male counter parts. But it also has it’s drawbacks as it can make a women, in the eyes of some men, seem more like a man and can generate animosity.
For some reason women seem to be better at asking questions and building rapport. It could be based on a number of things but I feel it is gender role based. Women have had to be supportive historically so the less aggressive skills such as asking questions are more naturally part of their make up. But care should be taken in case we slip into gender stereotypes and are led off the facts.
Without trying to be sexist women can be better at selling to some male dominated industries. This is not universal.
The basic answer is that it is the person not their sex that makes individuals good, bad or indifferent at selling. However, we can all get better at selling by learning the trade and applying what you learn.
Monday, 24 September 2007
How to Maximise Your Returns from (In Person) Networking
Understanding the principles behind Networking
Networking is a new and exciting marketing tool. But Networking is not new. You may have heard of “The Old School Tie”? That is giving business to members of a favoured community. In that case your old school chums or even ex-members of your old school whom you may never have met before. I would also like to mention The Masons, The Round Table and The Chambers of Commerce.
So Networking is simply about doing business with members of a favoured community.
But why do we like to network? We like to belong to a group. It gives us a feeling of security and safety. But in business, it means we can trade with members of the group with a greater degree of trust. However, in modern networking communities or clubs is that still true?
Formal Networking Groups
Most of us have heard of the Breakfast Networking Clubs. There are a number of them. They tend to have similarities. Firstly they meet on a frequent basis. Secondly the membership is the same each meeting, apart from visitors and new members. Commonly they run along a set format. They encourage insularity to keep all business within the group, as far as is possible. By having a membership that attends most of their meetings and by encouraging insularity they find that business actually results from this form of networking. However, not everyone likes this format and not everyone likes to get up early in the morning.
A lot of the success of these types of Groups is that the Management spends time to ensure that members are linked together and are shown/trained how to network and get business.
Additionally, as the group is inwardly focussed it is essential, for the group to succeed, that members of the community trust each other. Just because they are a member of the community does not make them either good at their job or trust worthy. When this is not true it can destroy a group or at least cause members to leave.
Informal Networking Groups
The most common form of networking being formed now is a more casual networking environment. These events tend to be in the evening and at a venue where alcohol is served.
There is no formal plan of action for each meeting and every member is left to their own devices. This can work very well but all too often new members to networking do not understand the rules and find they get virtually nothing for all their efforts. The solution being adopted by such groups is to Host the event and ensure every member is introduced to the sort of people they are looking to meet.
These type of meetings are favoured by many because of the more relaxed environment but they are far more difficult to generate business from, unless you follow the unwritten rules. But what are the rules?
They are not secret. In fact we all know them because they are the same as applies in a social environment.
- Make Friends
- Locate people who know the right people
- Keep to subjects you know about
- Be interesting to other people
- Be active
- Call after the event
- Meet
Let’s see how this translates into Business Networking.
Make Friends
At a party to feel comfortable and at home you look to people you can become friends with.
So why should you adopt a similar approach when you are networking for business? The simple answer is that it works. For Business Networking your objective should be becoming liked by members of that community. People buy from people they like and trust. You are not seeking deep and long lasting friendship, though that can result, but to be found as a nice guy/gal.
Ask yourself the question, ‘Do you prefer to do business with someone you like, or someone you don’t know?’ I assume your answer will be that given a choice you would almost always select someone you know and like rather than take a chance on a stranger. So remember that when networking. Spend time getting to know other members of the group. Not like a butterfly, that flits from one person to another, never stopping to get to know a person or ever getting known. As a rule of thumb, set your target at no more than 6 contacts an hour. That way you can find out what they do and they can find out what you do. Personally my target is 3 an hour.
As in your social life, the best way to get people to like and trust you is to ask about them. So after your introductions, ask them about themselves and their business. Not only what they do, but also how they got started. Remember your six friends. How, Why, Where, Which, When and What. Concentrate on the open ended questions and let the other person speak. They will tell you so much about themselves you will be amazed. Don’t talk about yourself or your businesses initially; just encourage the other person to talk about their business and themselves.
If they are worth working with or being friends with the contact will ask about you and your business. If they don’t, move on. But the key is to get to know them.
If you are going to get to know someone, and they you, you need a strategy. I find it easier if I look to get the following questions answered.
- Do I like this person? If there was no business advantage would I want to spend time with this person? If the answer is no then move on; would you want to spend your life with people you don’t like?
- Would I buy from this person? This will tell you if you are likely to be able to develop a good working relationship. If you don’t trust or don’t like the person, identify why or move on to the next contact.
- What are they an expert in? If you spend enough time to understand their business you will be able to understand what they are an expert at and if you think you could be of use to them. You cannot introduce anyone to them and they to you if you do not know what they do and visa versa.
- Would you introduce your contacts to this person? If the answer is no, either find out why or move on to the next contact. Remember, if you introduce people to this person they will feel obliged to reciprocate. So the more you introduce the more people will introduce sales leads to you. Always look for people to introduce to them and do not worry about people being introduced to you. It will follow naturally so don’t worry.
- Who are they looking to talk to? Having spent time in getting to know them and understanding ‘what they are an expert in’, you need then to identify who they want to make contact with. It may be their ideal clients or it may be the sort of people who can introduce potential customers to them.
Locate people who know the right people
No doubt you will have heard of the phrase “Keeping up with the Jones”. This tends to be about snobbery or maintaining or raising your social standing in the community.
Such people make an effort to identify the right people to know, the members of their community whose views are seen to be held in high regard. By associating with such people it is hoped that ones own status will rise. Whilst in this case they copy things that these people do, that aspect is not relevant here.
In business, whilst status is not the desired result normally, it is something that will benefit the business by increasing the number of sales enquiries.
The main advantage of seeking out influential people is that they know people who may buy your companies products and/or services. If you can convince that person to be an Advocate of your company you could get access to their contacts.
These influential people are more valuable than any individual client and should be sought out by all businesses. They will continue to give you introductions over the years and their value to you and your business could be measured in the £Millions or certainly in the £Thousands.
So seek Advocates or potential Advocates and make friends. Remember people do not introduce you to their contacts easily so you will have to work harder than you would to win a client. You need to build trust, you need to build a long term relationship, you need to prove your expertise, you need to prove that you are interested in them and what they get out of the deal and prove your products or services will build the reputation of your Advocate.
So what does the Advocate get out of the deal? It could simply be a commission for each introduction or sale from an introduction. This is good for both sides with a built in motivator for the Advocate. In many cases this is the route many businesses take with Professional Advisors such as Accountants and Solicitors. They introduce you to a client of theirs for a commission. It works well. However, do not sit back and expect the money to ensure you retain your Advocate. You should realise that others are making similar offers to that Professional Advisor.
All Advocates respond well to being treated as important people to your business, as they are, so I adopt a policy of regular meetings and “Thank You” cards in addition to commission payments. Whenever I am out and about I also promote their services/products and become an Advocate for them. I take every opportunity to give them compliments (deserved one ONLY). I make them friends.
Other Advocates will not take commission. This can be for a variety of reasons. They may be your personal friends. They may want to retain their independence from you in the eyes of theirs clients and contacts. But you must do all as I have suggested to ensure they know how much you value their friendship and support. In many cases these people are more interested in their reputation and introducing you must enhance that reputation.
These people must be thanked often, and like all Advocates they must be kept informed of the progress you are having with their introductions.
The key to successful Advocates is the building of trust and friendship. The two most important aspects you must bear in mind whenever you are networking. But Networking is an ideal location to identify and recruit new advocates.
Keep to subjects you know about
When you are out socially and talking with people, you will always come across the person spouting forth on anything and everything, an opinion for every occasion. These people are not of interest, so make sure you are not also dismissed similarly by talking about yourself too much and by claiming expertise on too many things.
You need to understand what you and your business do. Not generally, but specifically. You need to understand what you are an expert in.
Yes you can do this and yes you can do that, but what is your ‘Hot Button’? What gets you excited? What are your ‘Soap box’ issues? What could you give a talk on without notice?
There are a number of ways to identify what you are an expert in, but whichever way helps you, make certain you do know what it is. You cannot expect people to introduce you to others if even you do not know what you are an expert in.
You need that same information about whomsoever you are talking to so that you can understand who to introduce them to.
Do not fear writing notes on their business card so you do not forget important things about them or promises you make.
As in other areas develop a strategy.
Having a Plan of Action is important and to ensure you have the right plan, write it down and review it constantly.
Be interesting to other people
You may be enthralled by the mating rituals of the blue nosed elephant fly but not everyone else is. So don’t talk about it unless talking to another oddbod!
Whilst networking the newbie often feels they have to talk about business. That is not true. In a social environment we talk about loads of different topics and business may be just one of them. The same is the case in a Business Networking environment. Yes talk about business but talk about other things as well.
Be Active
We have talked about Strategies, Action Plans and priorities; but all are a waste of time if you don’t get out of your office and attend Networking Meetings or get online and interact with other business people.
So under this heading the recommendations is to “DO MORE”!
Find out about all the events in your area and attend. Most, you do not have to be a member; you can attend as a Guest. In the UK, there are a number of central resources to locate these events like
Just do more than you do now, but review … review … review.
Bear in mind it can take a number of visits before you start getting introductions so concentrate on giving introductions and the reciprocation will follow.
Call after the event
At each event you attend you will collect a number of business cards. You will get back into the office and seek to file them. DON’T! We cannot have your new contacts feeling like the girl you met at the Pub and promised to call, but didn't.
Enter the details from the business cards into your Database of Contacts. If you don’t have one start one! Use Outlook, as it will not involve additional cost or any other suitable CRM System.
But for a contact to be useful you need to make contact with them. You could send an email or a letter. Remind them where and when you met. Make a positive comment about your discussions with them. And suggest that a meeting might help the both you to understand how you can be useful to each other. Keep the note informal, unless the individual proved to be a very formal type of personality.
If you feel a meeting is not appropriate then simply say you will see them at a future meeting of The ????? Club. Here is a suggestion.
Hi Bill
It was great to meet you at The Restaurant Bar & Grill last night at The Downtown Liverpool Networking Club.
As this was my first visit it was nice to meet a friendly face, even though you support Everton!
We obviously have things in common and I would welcome an opportunity to meet with you to discuss further how we can mutually benefit each other. I will call you on Thursday at 10.00am if that’s OK with you.
Keith A Ayres
ClarityClarity
Business & Strategy Advisor and Training Consultant
In this note we are informal (telling the recipient we consider them a friend) and we tell the person why we want to meet them and that it may be beneficial for them as well as ourselves. Use your own words but make sure you contact everyone you meet, because even the most unlikely encounter may result in future business for you.
Meet
Networking is part of the Sales Process. You are not attending these events for fun; you are there to generate sales for your business. Always remember this.
The biggest reason for most sales failures is that no one actually ‘asked for the business’. Don’t make the same mistake!
Make an appointment to meet with each of your contacts outside of the networking environment. Here you can focus on the specifics relevant to attaining sales for your business.
Conclusion
Networking is about selling your business. But it has to be done correctly or you will not succeed. Follow these suggestions, personalise them to suit you and your business and start to make money out of networking.
Friday, 13 July 2007
How to see round corners
Can you see around corners? Of course you can.
With a Mirror, Yes. But what about in your life, in your business, in your relationships?
No not by using a Medium! Not by utilising Spies! Nor by Out of Body Experiences or any other such supposed skill or ability.
We can all see around corners in our life providing we have CLARITY.
Clarity: ‘Clearness of thought or style; lucidity’
Such a small definition, for such a gigantic concept. This one word has been my inspiration. It has allowed me to take my life in hand and set it on the journey of success. I hope one or more of my articles may help you in some small way.
Clarity is essential in my business. My job is to work with clients and help them to identify the challenges that affect their lives. I work with businesses but the benefits flow into their personal life. I am not a superman. I am not the holder of “The Truth”. I am not cleverer than my clients. I don’t have any skills or knowledge that my clients cannot get or do not have. Nothing I will ever tell you or them will be new! My job is to bring a torch to the meeting and shine it on the situation so that we can see everything more clearly. I bring clarity to my clients business.
Seeing round corners. Can you think of any advantage if you had this ability? Why would you want to be able to see the future in life?
To be able to see what is ahead of you means you can prepare to take advantage of the situation or to avoid or minimise its effects. The ability to see ahead gives us Choices. We can anticipate the future. To avoid being run down by a car we can ensure we are not in that position at that time. Knowledge is power.
Knowledge is Power, and that never more true in business. The more you know about your current position, your plans for the future and the route you plan to take, the more likely you are to enjoy success. (Success is a Journey not a destination) Where can you get this weapon in your struggle for success? How do you ensure that you are fully armed in your campaign for success? Dream. But don’t stop there … dream and set objectives. Set Objectives! Setting objectives takes a dream, adds Motivation, Achievability, Reality and finally puts a plan of action into force to ensure you Take action. Be S.M.A.R.T.
My Philosophy on Objectives uses a very old principle that many of you here will have heard of and probably use in their own lives.
FIVE “P” PRINCIPLE
“Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance”
PRIOR = Its all about Timing. If you take action before events happen you can be better prepared for whatever actually happens.
PLANNING = Knowledge is Power. Planning is the gathering of knowledge together and organising it for benefit. Most researchers on time management will tell you for every minute you spend on planning will save you 10 minutes in the action phase.
PREVENTS = If you have considered the challenges ahead of you you can take actions to maximise the benefits of positive actions, mitigate the chance of bad events happening and to minimise the effect if you cannot prevent them happening. Here is the real advantage and this is just like looking around a corner.
POOR = If you run your business like a poor Fire Brigade you will turn up on the day and spend your life fighting fires. So to plan ahead is to take control of your business, to run your business rather than your business running you. Don’t fire fight, manage.
PERFORMANCE = This is what its all about, Performance. To make more money, to become better at what you do you need to plan ahead and be a professional in control of your business rather than a headless chicken reacting to whatever is thrown at you. To be good at what you do you need to decide to become a life long learner. You need to be open to new ideas. You need to listen more than you speak. You have two ears and one mouth, use them in that ratio and you will enjoy the journey of success more effectively.
So to see around a corner is to plan ahead, to understand where you are today, where you want to be, how you plan to get where you want to be and fully appreciate all the challenges that may face you between now and then. To not only understand the challenges but to plan your response in the event.
When I said you could look around corners you may have originally thought that it was not possible. Hopefully you will now understand that you can see around corners if you live by the Five ‘P’ Principle.
In the Physical World you need a Mirror to look around a corner. In the Business World you also need a Mirror. But in the Business World the mirror is to look at yourself, your people, your processes, your plans, your objectives ….. Your Vision.
When you look at yourself you will better understand yourself and be able to achieve greater or even fantastic results.
Napoleon was the most successful of generals of his time, if not throughout all time. He only ever lost three battles in his life, one being Waterloo. He was successful by being cautious, by taking chances but mainly by having planned the campaign in detail. He knew what had at his disposal, he knew what he wanted to achieve, he new his opposing General and the likely actions that General would take and he planned his responses. He went into detail. Fine detail. He looked around corners.
Do you look around corners in your business?
Keith A Ayres
ClarityClarity
Unlocking Potential by identifying
and eliminating challenges to your business.
Have you taken the Clarity Confidential? Do you know what your Clarity Quotient is?
Get your copy of this FREE Business Tool by clicking here.
With a Mirror, Yes. But what about in your life, in your business, in your relationships?
No not by using a Medium! Not by utilising Spies! Nor by Out of Body Experiences or any other such supposed skill or ability.
We can all see around corners in our life providing we have CLARITY.
Clarity: ‘Clearness of thought or style; lucidity’
Such a small definition, for such a gigantic concept. This one word has been my inspiration. It has allowed me to take my life in hand and set it on the journey of success. I hope one or more of my articles may help you in some small way.
Clarity is essential in my business. My job is to work with clients and help them to identify the challenges that affect their lives. I work with businesses but the benefits flow into their personal life. I am not a superman. I am not the holder of “The Truth”. I am not cleverer than my clients. I don’t have any skills or knowledge that my clients cannot get or do not have. Nothing I will ever tell you or them will be new! My job is to bring a torch to the meeting and shine it on the situation so that we can see everything more clearly. I bring clarity to my clients business.
Seeing round corners. Can you think of any advantage if you had this ability? Why would you want to be able to see the future in life?
To be able to see what is ahead of you means you can prepare to take advantage of the situation or to avoid or minimise its effects. The ability to see ahead gives us Choices. We can anticipate the future. To avoid being run down by a car we can ensure we are not in that position at that time. Knowledge is power.
Knowledge is Power, and that never more true in business. The more you know about your current position, your plans for the future and the route you plan to take, the more likely you are to enjoy success. (Success is a Journey not a destination) Where can you get this weapon in your struggle for success? How do you ensure that you are fully armed in your campaign for success? Dream. But don’t stop there … dream and set objectives. Set Objectives! Setting objectives takes a dream, adds Motivation, Achievability, Reality and finally puts a plan of action into force to ensure you Take action. Be S.M.A.R.T.
My Philosophy on Objectives uses a very old principle that many of you here will have heard of and probably use in their own lives.
FIVE “P” PRINCIPLE
“Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance”
PRIOR = Its all about Timing. If you take action before events happen you can be better prepared for whatever actually happens.
PLANNING = Knowledge is Power. Planning is the gathering of knowledge together and organising it for benefit. Most researchers on time management will tell you for every minute you spend on planning will save you 10 minutes in the action phase.
PREVENTS = If you have considered the challenges ahead of you you can take actions to maximise the benefits of positive actions, mitigate the chance of bad events happening and to minimise the effect if you cannot prevent them happening. Here is the real advantage and this is just like looking around a corner.
POOR = If you run your business like a poor Fire Brigade you will turn up on the day and spend your life fighting fires. So to plan ahead is to take control of your business, to run your business rather than your business running you. Don’t fire fight, manage.
PERFORMANCE = This is what its all about, Performance. To make more money, to become better at what you do you need to plan ahead and be a professional in control of your business rather than a headless chicken reacting to whatever is thrown at you. To be good at what you do you need to decide to become a life long learner. You need to be open to new ideas. You need to listen more than you speak. You have two ears and one mouth, use them in that ratio and you will enjoy the journey of success more effectively.
So to see around a corner is to plan ahead, to understand where you are today, where you want to be, how you plan to get where you want to be and fully appreciate all the challenges that may face you between now and then. To not only understand the challenges but to plan your response in the event.
When I said you could look around corners you may have originally thought that it was not possible. Hopefully you will now understand that you can see around corners if you live by the Five ‘P’ Principle.
In the Physical World you need a Mirror to look around a corner. In the Business World you also need a Mirror. But in the Business World the mirror is to look at yourself, your people, your processes, your plans, your objectives ….. Your Vision.
When you look at yourself you will better understand yourself and be able to achieve greater or even fantastic results.
Napoleon was the most successful of generals of his time, if not throughout all time. He only ever lost three battles in his life, one being Waterloo. He was successful by being cautious, by taking chances but mainly by having planned the campaign in detail. He knew what had at his disposal, he knew what he wanted to achieve, he new his opposing General and the likely actions that General would take and he planned his responses. He went into detail. Fine detail. He looked around corners.
Do you look around corners in your business?
Keith A Ayres
ClarityClarity
Unlocking Potential by identifying
and eliminating challenges to your business.
Have you taken the Clarity Confidential? Do you know what your Clarity Quotient is?
Get your copy of this FREE Business Tool by clicking here.
Tuesday, 10 July 2007
Change Management
Business thrives on success. We all thrive on success. But success brings its own dangers.
When we are busy, work is coming in from all sides; that is the time we are most vulnerable. We are so busy we don’t have time to look for new business. So much is happening we never have the time to stop and assess what we are doing. Stress levels within Management and Staff increases. We get to a point where we have more business than we can cope with. To move ahead something has to change or we will start to fall backwards.
Many businesses have become successful by doing one thing and doing that one thing very well. Times change and we have to change to stay in touch. We have a worldwide economy. We have the Web. Technology is forcing EVERYONE to change. Most of us are excited by technology, but change adds a fear to that formula.
Often we have to make change when we are down or in the doldrums. In this case we also have high levels of stress. The destructive emotion of worry begins to take over. Worry causes inaction. Inaction makes things worse. We are unable to change because we are overtaken with fear. Fear destroys businesses.
The solution is to make changes, but change when we are down is next to impossible without external help.
We fear change, especially the change that is being forced upon us. Why?
Change forces us outside of our Comfort Zone. Inside our Comfort Zone we know where we stand. We are comfortable. We are safe because we are surrounded by the familiar. Inside our Comfort Zone we have the thoughts, attitudes and behaviours that fit us like a comfortable pair of slippers.
We all have our pair of shoes or slippers that we keep, even though they are past their best. We like them because they fit us. We can slip our feet in and out without any rubbing, without any blisters?
So why should we change?
In today’s business environment we have to move forward just to stay still. Let me ask each of you, what would happen if you made NO changes in your businesses over the next 5 years? Would your income be higher or lower? Would clients be clambering to do business with you or would they be switching to your competitors? Would you still be in business?
So what do you have to do to get better at whatever you do?
Most people in business have enough skills and knowledge to be more successful than they are now. In fact, almost everyone has enough skills and knowledge to be millionaires or even multi-millionaires.
Over the years we have all been learning, gathering knowledge, and educating ourselves. It did not stop when we left College or School, education continues throughout our life.
But we don’t use all that we know, do we. We only use a portion of what we have learnt over the years. We only use a small percentage of what we know. That is called your Comfort Zone. We are happy doing these things, thinking these thoughts, its safe ground.
Doing something new is change. We don’t change easily because inside our comfort zone we know what we are doing, we are a CONSCIOUS COMPETENT. Outside our Comfort Zone we may be an UNCONSCIOUS INCOMPETENT. Who wants to be an Incompetent?
But how do you change a business. How do you get a business to step outside of its Comfort Zone? How do you get your staff to change?
Most of my business life is spent working with clients to identify the challenges and opportunities facing people and their businesses. That’s the easy part. The difficult part is telling the Boss that I have identified the underlying challenge to his business.
Him or Her!
Most problems in a business stem from the top! Everyone will have challenges that affect them, their people and their business. And each of you, the business owners, is the point where the solution should START.
Have you ever tried to turn an Elephant by pushing on his rear end? It is easier to start at the Head and gently guide the Elephant to turn; the body will follow without a problem.
Let’s consider a scenario. It’s a common problem.
A Manufacturing Company has a happy workforce. But has some productivity issues. The company is concerned that the workforce is not fully committed to their Vision. The workforce finish work 15 minutes early every shift. They are waiting at the clock to punch off on the dot of 5.00pm.
My client saw this as a problem. He had 100 Production Staff and was loosing 15 minutes at the end of the shift and another 15 at the beginning of the shift. It meant, in effect, he was paying 6 people every week to turn up and get paid but NEVER lifting a finger in the business.
SIX PEOPLE WERE PAID FOR NOTHING!
He saw the staff as the problem. He wanted to sack the worst to get the others in line. He was mad at his staff.
I had a difficult job because I had to tell him that that was only an “Effect” and not the “Cause”. He needed to see that the problem lay with the Management. The Management needed to change. By addressing the Management Skills and Style they and he could inspire their staff and get back those lost 30 minutes a day. The staff cannot commit to a Vision if it is not shared with them, if they don’t OWN that Vision.
We have to work on the Leadership skills and Communication attitudes of the Management and Directors. Once this has been addressed we can adopt various techniques to empower the staff.
The Director of the company had to realise that the cause of his problems were not the staff. That responsibility lay with him, his fellow Directors and with his Management Team.
But to Change it is not easy. To change we need to change our Self Image. We need to change how WE see OURSELVES.
Everyone needs to understand this Fact. You will be earning NOW what YOU think YOU are WORTH. Your Self Image controls your whole behaviour to ensure that your vision of yourself becomes a FACT.
So if you want to sell more …
TELL YOURSELF THAT YOU ACTUALLY EARN MORE NOW!
If you want to be a Better Accountant …
SEE YOURSELF AS A BETTER ACCOUNTANT
If you want to be a better Sales Person …
SEE YOURSELF CLOSING MORE DEALS
If you want to be a better Businessman …
SEE YOURSELF AS A BETTER BUSINESSMAN
See everything that being a better businessman means
What sort of House will you be in?
What sort of car will you be driving?
Where will your business be operating from?
How will others treat you?
See others beating their way to your door.
What sort of Holidays will you take?
So to make effective change in your Business start with YOURSELF
To change your staff start with their Leadership Team, start with YOURSELF
To change yourself … SEE YOURSELF AFTER THE CHANGE. Visualise where you want to be as a FACT NOW! Your Self Image will take over and put you to work to create that visualisation; to make it a fact.
Thank you.
Keith A Ayres
ClarityClarity
Click to ask how ClarityClarity can help YOUR Business
When we are busy, work is coming in from all sides; that is the time we are most vulnerable. We are so busy we don’t have time to look for new business. So much is happening we never have the time to stop and assess what we are doing. Stress levels within Management and Staff increases. We get to a point where we have more business than we can cope with. To move ahead something has to change or we will start to fall backwards.
Many businesses have become successful by doing one thing and doing that one thing very well. Times change and we have to change to stay in touch. We have a worldwide economy. We have the Web. Technology is forcing EVERYONE to change. Most of us are excited by technology, but change adds a fear to that formula.
Often we have to make change when we are down or in the doldrums. In this case we also have high levels of stress. The destructive emotion of worry begins to take over. Worry causes inaction. Inaction makes things worse. We are unable to change because we are overtaken with fear. Fear destroys businesses.
The solution is to make changes, but change when we are down is next to impossible without external help.
We fear change, especially the change that is being forced upon us. Why?
Change forces us outside of our Comfort Zone. Inside our Comfort Zone we know where we stand. We are comfortable. We are safe because we are surrounded by the familiar. Inside our Comfort Zone we have the thoughts, attitudes and behaviours that fit us like a comfortable pair of slippers.
We all have our pair of shoes or slippers that we keep, even though they are past their best. We like them because they fit us. We can slip our feet in and out without any rubbing, without any blisters?
So why should we change?
In today’s business environment we have to move forward just to stay still. Let me ask each of you, what would happen if you made NO changes in your businesses over the next 5 years? Would your income be higher or lower? Would clients be clambering to do business with you or would they be switching to your competitors? Would you still be in business?
So what do you have to do to get better at whatever you do?
Most people in business have enough skills and knowledge to be more successful than they are now. In fact, almost everyone has enough skills and knowledge to be millionaires or even multi-millionaires.
Over the years we have all been learning, gathering knowledge, and educating ourselves. It did not stop when we left College or School, education continues throughout our life.
But we don’t use all that we know, do we. We only use a portion of what we have learnt over the years. We only use a small percentage of what we know. That is called your Comfort Zone. We are happy doing these things, thinking these thoughts, its safe ground.
Doing something new is change. We don’t change easily because inside our comfort zone we know what we are doing, we are a CONSCIOUS COMPETENT. Outside our Comfort Zone we may be an UNCONSCIOUS INCOMPETENT. Who wants to be an Incompetent?
But how do you change a business. How do you get a business to step outside of its Comfort Zone? How do you get your staff to change?
Most of my business life is spent working with clients to identify the challenges and opportunities facing people and their businesses. That’s the easy part. The difficult part is telling the Boss that I have identified the underlying challenge to his business.
Him or Her!
Most problems in a business stem from the top! Everyone will have challenges that affect them, their people and their business. And each of you, the business owners, is the point where the solution should START.
Have you ever tried to turn an Elephant by pushing on his rear end? It is easier to start at the Head and gently guide the Elephant to turn; the body will follow without a problem.
Let’s consider a scenario. It’s a common problem.
A Manufacturing Company has a happy workforce. But has some productivity issues. The company is concerned that the workforce is not fully committed to their Vision. The workforce finish work 15 minutes early every shift. They are waiting at the clock to punch off on the dot of 5.00pm.
My client saw this as a problem. He had 100 Production Staff and was loosing 15 minutes at the end of the shift and another 15 at the beginning of the shift. It meant, in effect, he was paying 6 people every week to turn up and get paid but NEVER lifting a finger in the business.
SIX PEOPLE WERE PAID FOR NOTHING!
He saw the staff as the problem. He wanted to sack the worst to get the others in line. He was mad at his staff.
I had a difficult job because I had to tell him that that was only an “Effect” and not the “Cause”. He needed to see that the problem lay with the Management. The Management needed to change. By addressing the Management Skills and Style they and he could inspire their staff and get back those lost 30 minutes a day. The staff cannot commit to a Vision if it is not shared with them, if they don’t OWN that Vision.
We have to work on the Leadership skills and Communication attitudes of the Management and Directors. Once this has been addressed we can adopt various techniques to empower the staff.
The Director of the company had to realise that the cause of his problems were not the staff. That responsibility lay with him, his fellow Directors and with his Management Team.
But to Change it is not easy. To change we need to change our Self Image. We need to change how WE see OURSELVES.
Everyone needs to understand this Fact. You will be earning NOW what YOU think YOU are WORTH. Your Self Image controls your whole behaviour to ensure that your vision of yourself becomes a FACT.
So if you want to sell more …
TELL YOURSELF THAT YOU ACTUALLY EARN MORE NOW!
If you want to be a Better Accountant …
SEE YOURSELF AS A BETTER ACCOUNTANT
If you want to be a better Sales Person …
SEE YOURSELF CLOSING MORE DEALS
If you want to be a better Businessman …
SEE YOURSELF AS A BETTER BUSINESSMAN
See everything that being a better businessman means
What sort of House will you be in?
What sort of car will you be driving?
Where will your business be operating from?
How will others treat you?
See others beating their way to your door.
What sort of Holidays will you take?
So to make effective change in your Business start with YOURSELF
To change your staff start with their Leadership Team, start with YOURSELF
To change yourself … SEE YOURSELF AFTER THE CHANGE. Visualise where you want to be as a FACT NOW! Your Self Image will take over and put you to work to create that visualisation; to make it a fact.
Thank you.
Keith A Ayres
ClarityClarity
Click to ask how ClarityClarity can help YOUR Business
Friday, 22 June 2007
Fly with the Birds
I would like to invite you on a journey, a wonderful journey. We are all going in the same direction, but we will take different paths. The route is simple but the way is confusing.
Rewards
The rewards are wondrous. Those rewards are available to everyone. But not everyone will enjoy the rewards. Everyone will have the rewards in their hands but many will not recognise them, and they will bemoan their lack of rewards. Other will receive few rewards but consider themselves the luckiest people in the world.
Courage
There will be dangers. The path will have many pitfalls. Most of the corners cannot be seen around, so courage will be needed. At some time, all of you will freeze from fear of the unknown and will cease your journey. Most of you will find that courage and resume the journey. Slowly at first but with greater determination with each step.
Money
There will be money, and plenty of it. Not all of it will end in our pockets. A large sum will be needed to ensure we can continue our journey. But a lot more will stay with us.
Joy
There will be joy. There will be laughter. Many falls are ahead of us. But we will reach fantastic heights. The panorama will always be fabulous.
Face your greatest challenge
And the greatest challenge that will face us will be something, in fact SOMEONE, that we don’t like to face. And for each of you that person will be someone different but it will be the same person. And I have the tool that you will need to ensure you face that challenge. You must face this person and conquer them. Many will not be able to and will fall by the wayside. The bravest of brave will manage to conquer that person and go onto see all the wonders that this world has to offer.
Mirror
The tool you will need is a Mirror. And, yes the person you need to face, the person who is your greatest challenge is YOU. Oh and the journey, that’s the journey of success.
GO Forward
Most will tell you that Success is a destination, but life will tell you it is a journey. Show me the person who has reached his destination and I will show you a corpse. Show me the successful person who has stopped striving to improve themselves, or has stopped striving to attain more and I will show a shadow. A shadow of that persons former self, in fact I will show you a shell, an empty shell.
Success Vs Failure
Where ever you go you will meet successful people. Everyone is successful. We have successful men. We have successful women. And everyone one of you fails; FAILS every day. But every one of you wins, and WINS every day. Success and Failure are not opposites, they are brothers in arms. YOU CANNOT HAVE ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER.
Play to your Strengths
But if you bow down to your failures you will never fly with the birds. Look to your successes not your failures. It is what you are good at that will make you more successful not what you are bad at. Face your strengths and grow stronger.
Strive for Success
If you strive to be better, to get better, to go faster, to earn more money, to be a better person, to be a better leader you are successful.
Control YOUR Future
How successful you are, depends upon only one thing, on one person. It depends upon how successful YOU think you are. It does not matter what I think. Or whatever anybody else thinks. You control your future, no one else.
Rewards
The rewards are wondrous. Those rewards are available to everyone. But not everyone will enjoy the rewards. Everyone will have the rewards in their hands but many will not recognise them, and they will bemoan their lack of rewards. Other will receive few rewards but consider themselves the luckiest people in the world.
Courage
There will be dangers. The path will have many pitfalls. Most of the corners cannot be seen around, so courage will be needed. At some time, all of you will freeze from fear of the unknown and will cease your journey. Most of you will find that courage and resume the journey. Slowly at first but with greater determination with each step.
Money
There will be money, and plenty of it. Not all of it will end in our pockets. A large sum will be needed to ensure we can continue our journey. But a lot more will stay with us.
Joy
There will be joy. There will be laughter. Many falls are ahead of us. But we will reach fantastic heights. The panorama will always be fabulous.
Face your greatest challenge
And the greatest challenge that will face us will be something, in fact SOMEONE, that we don’t like to face. And for each of you that person will be someone different but it will be the same person. And I have the tool that you will need to ensure you face that challenge. You must face this person and conquer them. Many will not be able to and will fall by the wayside. The bravest of brave will manage to conquer that person and go onto see all the wonders that this world has to offer.
Mirror
The tool you will need is a Mirror. And, yes the person you need to face, the person who is your greatest challenge is YOU. Oh and the journey, that’s the journey of success.
GO Forward
Most will tell you that Success is a destination, but life will tell you it is a journey. Show me the person who has reached his destination and I will show you a corpse. Show me the successful person who has stopped striving to improve themselves, or has stopped striving to attain more and I will show a shadow. A shadow of that persons former self, in fact I will show you a shell, an empty shell.
Success Vs Failure
Where ever you go you will meet successful people. Everyone is successful. We have successful men. We have successful women. And everyone one of you fails; FAILS every day. But every one of you wins, and WINS every day. Success and Failure are not opposites, they are brothers in arms. YOU CANNOT HAVE ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER.
Play to your Strengths
But if you bow down to your failures you will never fly with the birds. Look to your successes not your failures. It is what you are good at that will make you more successful not what you are bad at. Face your strengths and grow stronger.
Strive for Success
If you strive to be better, to get better, to go faster, to earn more money, to be a better person, to be a better leader you are successful.
Control YOUR Future
How successful you are, depends upon only one thing, on one person. It depends upon how successful YOU think you are. It does not matter what I think. Or whatever anybody else thinks. You control your future, no one else.
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