What do you do when all hell breaks loose?
Let me give you an example. You started your business a number of years ago. Business is starting to flourish, and you can see that all your work is starting to pay off.
The next thing you see is that there is another competitor in your area. They appear to be well-financed and look very professional. All of a sudden you can see that they are starting to take large amounts of your business away from you. What do you do?
Do you get nasty? No! Do you start a large advertising campaign? No! My suggestion is to take a step back and review what you’ve been doing. This review must be done in the proper perspective. You’ve got to be honest with yourself and admit that some of the actions you’ve taken were not good. Then you’ve got to find some humor in what you’ve done. Some of you who are reading this are thinking that this guy is crazy, but no I am not.
Humor is the greatest release any of us have in our lives. If we can laugh at our mistakes, we will grow as a person. We will look at situations differently and start to create better plans. Give it a try, you will be pleased.
When will you take action on this?
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Monday, July 16, 2012
What are you doing to make every moment count?
Or are you just going through the motions.
The reason for my focus on the moment is that we have only the present moment to live and to act. There is no doubt that we can’t live in the past, as those moments are done. We can’t live in the future as those are yet to occur. So there is only this moment! It is the only time that we have a bit of control over. I stress a bit of control, and that is because we have the opportunity to control our thoughts. We can make all the plans, but unfortunate things happen. It is when those unfortunate things happen that we need to have control over one thing – that is control of our thoughts. Those thoughts will make all the difference in the world.
This is how to make every moment count. If you can control your thoughts, you can control your world.
What will you do today to make every moment count?
The reason for my focus on the moment is that we have only the present moment to live and to act. There is no doubt that we can’t live in the past, as those moments are done. We can’t live in the future as those are yet to occur. So there is only this moment! It is the only time that we have a bit of control over. I stress a bit of control, and that is because we have the opportunity to control our thoughts. We can make all the plans, but unfortunate things happen. It is when those unfortunate things happen that we need to have control over one thing – that is control of our thoughts. Those thoughts will make all the difference in the world.
This is how to make every moment count. If you can control your thoughts, you can control your world.
What will you do today to make every moment count?
Friday, July 13, 2012
Why would anyone pay attention to what you are saying?
Yes, why would anyone listen to you speak?
In the past week I made a speech at our local Toastmaster’s meeting. It was meant to entertain. While I am a confident person who does not mind sharing my opinions with others, this speech scared me. The reason why it scared me is that in order to entertain I felt that I had to tell stories about me and my family. I knew these stories as I had lived them, but I wasn’t sure that they would be entertaining. The bottom-line is that my fears were without cause, as the evaluations I received said that the audience were not bored or fidgeting, as I was an excellent story teller. Why did I tell you this?
It is because if you want to hold anyone’s attention you need to believe what you are saying and be passionate about it.
What can you do to improve your speaking skills the next time you are speaking to anyone?
In the past week I made a speech at our local Toastmaster’s meeting. It was meant to entertain. While I am a confident person who does not mind sharing my opinions with others, this speech scared me. The reason why it scared me is that in order to entertain I felt that I had to tell stories about me and my family. I knew these stories as I had lived them, but I wasn’t sure that they would be entertaining. The bottom-line is that my fears were without cause, as the evaluations I received said that the audience were not bored or fidgeting, as I was an excellent story teller. Why did I tell you this?
It is because if you want to hold anyone’s attention you need to believe what you are saying and be passionate about it.
What can you do to improve your speaking skills the next time you are speaking to anyone?
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Is what you are offering different than what your competitor is offering?
Prove it!
That is what all your potential customers are saying. Prove that what you are offering is different or unique from all the others.
You can do that by becoming known for the uniqueness of the product/service differentiation. In other words, you need to be the ‘subject matter expert’ in a distinctive niche of your industry. So how do you do that?
It goes down to understanding what it is you offer on a deeper level. It is asking yourself – what is it that we do that attracts our type of customer? It is also asking your customer’s – what is it that we do that attracted you to become our client?
When you get answers to these questions, start to compare them. The one’s that share a commonality are your unique niche. Then you have to promote that uniqueness in a special way.
When are you going to take action on this?
That is what all your potential customers are saying. Prove that what you are offering is different or unique from all the others.
You can do that by becoming known for the uniqueness of the product/service differentiation. In other words, you need to be the ‘subject matter expert’ in a distinctive niche of your industry. So how do you do that?
It goes down to understanding what it is you offer on a deeper level. It is asking yourself – what is it that we do that attracts our type of customer? It is also asking your customer’s – what is it that we do that attracted you to become our client?
When you get answers to these questions, start to compare them. The one’s that share a commonality are your unique niche. Then you have to promote that uniqueness in a special way.
When are you going to take action on this?
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
What type of service do you offer?
This question is due to a recent experience with my internet provider.
I was having a small challenge so I called their service department. Sadly the technical support person did not know anything about service or listening skills. Every time I said something, his response was ‘I agree with you, but…’ It is the ‘but’ that was the challenge. When people say the word ‘but’ after agreeing what they are saying is ‘but you are wrong’. All that he had to say was ‘I agree with you, and did you consider this‘. Then he would have had me, and we could have had a discussion.
The next time you are in a discussion with someone of the opposite view, watch yourself and the other person for how many times the word ‘but’ is used. Then change your response from the word ‘but’ to ‘and’ and you will see an improvement in how the other person listens to you.
When can you do this, today?
I was having a small challenge so I called their service department. Sadly the technical support person did not know anything about service or listening skills. Every time I said something, his response was ‘I agree with you, but…’ It is the ‘but’ that was the challenge. When people say the word ‘but’ after agreeing what they are saying is ‘but you are wrong’. All that he had to say was ‘I agree with you, and did you consider this‘. Then he would have had me, and we could have had a discussion.
The next time you are in a discussion with someone of the opposite view, watch yourself and the other person for how many times the word ‘but’ is used. Then change your response from the word ‘but’ to ‘and’ and you will see an improvement in how the other person listens to you.
When can you do this, today?
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