Sales Tip # 9 – Stop Thinking

Sales Tip # 9 – Stop Thinking

Stop Thinking

Just stop thinking.

You did the analytics. You did the risk analysis. You know what can go wrong. You know you need to take action but you can’t stop thinking about what can go wrong, about what you may have missed.

You know you need to make that cold call but all you can focus on is the rejection. You cannot stop thinking about all the ways someone can reject you.

You want to call your accountant (financial advisor, friend, business associate) and ask for the referral. You can’t stop thinking about how asking makes you feel weak or what they might think of you for asking.

I could go on but you get the message.

There are things we want to do, we have to do, to get the results we want. Yet we don’t take action. We are afraid. We are afraid of what others might think, what they might do, or a whole host of others fears that are unlikely to happen.

Stop thinking and just do!

When I think about doing cold call I starting thinking of every reason someone won’t talk to me and I make every excuse to not pick up the phone. When I stop thinking about calling and just do it I have no problem picking up the phone.

When you see that beautiful girl, don’t think about it – just ask her out.

When you go to a networking event, don’t think about it – just introduce yourself to someone and find out how easy it is.

Here are some thoughts and beliefs I use to help and you might find them useful:

  1. If I am uncomfortable about something I assume there is a special gift on the other side so I just do it. Be reasonable. I am not talking about jumping out of a plane without a parachute.
  2. If I feel this way others do too. I am not alone. Others have overcome their fears and I can overcome mine.
  3. I surround myself with others who support reasonable risk taking.
  4. I ask for feedback and question the reason for the fear with my coach and advisor.
  5. I try to do something daily that makes me uncomfortable. I take action and when I am successful I wonder what it was that I was afraid of.
  6. I look for reasons it can and will work.

I was recently at a networking event and I received a great testimonial from one of my clients. Shortly thereafter I received a call from a business associate who wanted to know how much it was to join my program. I did not answer the question. Since I know him I asked him this question: You like to think. If you are willing to stop thinking and take action you will do well in my program. Are you willing to stop thinking?

His response was, “That will be hard for me.”

I love his honesty. He is joining and he knows what he has to do.

Can you be that honest?

Stop thinking and answer the question! No excuses!

To your success,

Ron Finklestein
Contact me now for your free sales assessment: ron@businessgrowthexperience.com
330-990-0788

 

 

I decided to Resign!

I received a call and the first words I heard were, “I just resigned!”

It is not often that I receive a call like this so naturally I was curious. Frankly, I was concerned this may have been an emotional respond and I was hoping he was not rash in making the decision.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE FRONT COVERThe call was from a TV producer who watched an interview I did to promote my book, “Make a Difference: From Being Successful to Being Significant.” All he said was, “after watching your interview I realized what I was doing was not consistent with my Enlightened Self-interest, so I resigned.”

It all started several weeks ago when I was approach by a local television producer to do a 30 minute interview on my book. As we were going through the process I wanted to know the person a little better so I asked him why he was doing what he did (TV.) When I asked the question, “what’s in it for you?” he did not answer and skillful redirected the question. We planned the interview and set the date.

After the interview we had lunch and I asked him again why he did what he did. Again, he skillful deflected the question. I decided to let the issue drop. It was two weeks later that I received the call.

“After watching the interview,” he said, “I decided what I am doing is not consistent with my enlightened self-interest and I decided to resign. I have other project that I am more passionate about and I will pursue them.” As we talked I asked him why he made the decision and he said, “You did not try to get an invitation back and you asked me questions no one has asked me before. You seem to have my best interest in mind.”

After our discussion I reflected back and realized he sounded happy and excited as he told me about his plans.

If you want to watch the 26 minute interview, just press the play button. If you decide to buy and read the book please post your comments on Amazon.com as well.

 

Please let me know your thoughts.

Ron Finklestein
330-990-0788
info@businessgrowthexperience.com

 

53 Things I wish I Knew BEFORE I Started my Business

53 Things I wish I knew Before I Started my Business:

  1. How to write a business plan
  2. How to execute a business plan
  3. How to find a good coach
  4. How to park my ego and ask for help
  5. How to network and build an effective network
  6. How to build effective relationships
  7. How to sell
  8. How to manage money
  9. How to use marketing to build a brand and attract the right client
  10. How to find the right customers
  11. How to ask for the order and not expect them to ask
  12. The value of surrounding myself with others who are better than me
  13. How to be vulnerable
  14. When to say no
  15. When to say yes
  16. How to take calculated risks
  17. The value of ethical leadership
  18. When to hire
  19. How to hire
  20. When to outsource
  21. What to outsource
  22. To understand what people were really saying
  23. How to value my product
  24. How to price my product
  25. Understanding of my ideal customer from both a demographics and psychographics perspective
  26. How to find a good accountant
  27. How to find a good financial planner
  28. How to find a good graphic designer
  29. To set my goal higher
  30. To go for the “no”
  31. Take more risks
  32. Forgive myself sooner when those risks fail
  33. Test for understanding
  34. Learn to say no
  35. Learn to say no again
  36. Reward myself more often when good things happen
  37. The power of a goal
  38. The power of a goal that I have to report on
  39. When to give up on  an idea
  40. When to act on an idea
  41. The power of planning
  42. The higher power of a plan “B”
  43. How to take better care of myself
  44. The power of a great diet
  45. How to get to the feeling of “belief” sooner
  46. Setting up a good filing system
  47. How to write a book sooner
  48. No caring what others would say
  49. Doing what is right
  50. Sleeping better at night
  51. How powerful “brainstorming” is in understanding a problem
  52. The power of having a database of trusted people who can help solve a problem and letting them
  53. The value of being a friend

Sincerely,

Ron Finklestein
ron@akris.net
330-990-0788
www.businessgrowthexperience.com

 

Expand Your Box (ESI)

Enlightened Self-Interest.

I created a concept called Enlightened Self-Interest (ESI).  ESI means to understand what is in my best interest with the intent to choose and take action. It allows you to get clear on what is important to you and marshal your resources to focus your time, energy and money to accomplish great things (for you). This concept is documented in more details in the book, Make a Difference: From Being Successful to Being Significant, available on amazon.com.

To accomplish anything important in our lives we have to do things have not done before. We need to solicit feedback from others to better understand our impact. We need feedback systems in place to allow us to self-correct. We need to understand how our actions and behaviors impacts others. When we do these things we do not get out of box – we expand our box!

It is impossible to get out of our box. We can only expand our box, make it larger. This expands our visions and allows us to see things differently; to see possibilities where none existed before. This is what a leader does. A leader create the vision (ESI), sells that vision, communicates that vision and helps others to see the bigger picture; whether in sales, personal development, business growth or personal growth. A leader helps others expand their personal box (vision of the world.)

When you embrace your ESI, you expand. Many time your ESI changes and you expand further. You might start out solving a specific problem (I need to grow sales). You might then grow your ESI into a strategy (this is how we will do things.) Ideally your ESI will evolve into your purpose (I will change the lives of one million people.) It is, as most things, an evolution an expanding, a becoming.

So what’s in it for you? The more selfish you become in executing your ESI, the more you expand you personally. You create a larger view of the world.

And…

As you expand yourself you are able to give more to others, to expand their box, to grow their perception. You can do this because you are seeing things differently, thinking differently and acting differently.

As human being we are driven to continually prove to ourselves the vastness of our influence and connectedness. You realize your boundaries are nearly limitless. Every business owner wants to expand his business, every mother wants their children to expand and become all them can be, each of use wants to know we are leaving a mark and our time spent (in business, in life, in a relationship) was purposeful.

Explore your ESI and give yourself permission to expand your boundaries and see who you really are and what you are capable of.  This is about personal leadership, business leadership and community leadership.

Enjoy!

Ron Finklestein

www.businessgrowthexperience.com
ron@businessgrowthexperience.com
330-990-0788

10 Lessons Learned in 2013

2013 has been a good year for me. I introduced many new products, created new relationships, and had a total knee replacement. I learned much and as I reflect back I want to share the top 10 learning’s I experienced. As you plan your goals, dreams and aspirations for next year, I thought I would share some lessons early in the hope you will think differently about personal growth, wealth and health going into 2014.

10. Life planning as well as business planning is essential. Create a life plan and get really focused on what is important, what makes you happy, and what provides peace of mind. Life is an experience to be lived and not a lesson to be learned.

9.   I like learning. It does not matter what it is. I realized it is important to me to bring value to every relationship and I give away too much. Not sure I want to change this too much.

8.   People who get both knees replaced (AT THE SAME TIME) impress me, I think. I know how much work it was to recover from one knee replacement, I could not image doing two at the same time!

7.   I now see the medical industry as a customer service organization. The positive service I experienced, at the hospital was extraordinary; from the nurses to the nutritionist to the physical therapist was incredible. Made the whole stay that much more pleasant and I believe my recovery time faster.

6.   I realized the value of good friends. Several stepped up to help out when I was in the hospital. I was amazed and impressed that people would be so open and sharing with their time, talent and money. What was really cool was I did not have to ask!

5.   One of our dogs died this year. The other became very depressed. It is very clear to me they need company and create deep relationships that benefit all.

4.   I love being greeted so warmly by my dog when I come home. I will take time and allow him to greet me when I walk in the door and I will greet them with the same level of love and enthusiasm (this was on the list last year.)

3.   Honesty, integrity and common sense make me tick. I love business and personal relationships with people where I know what makes them tick. I want to know what is important to you. I can always get better at communicating my intent and cultivating valuable relationships. Some people will love you and some won’t. Some feel it is ok to criticize because they can do it anonymously and no one will know. Relationships can be difficult. Always give them the benefit of the doubt and trust that when the time is right, things will be ok.

2.    Nothing is as valuable as your health. Having experienced a number of health challenges with a new knee make me aware of how I value mobility, sleep and activity. It is amazing how my attitude got better when the body feels better. Enough sleep is essential to great health and a positive attitude.

1.    Getting back to “my why.” For years I had a strong spiritual practice. I got away from it due to family obligations, business challenges and other reason. I changed and my spiritual practices did not change as I changed. I will implement practices that keep me grounded and focused on what is important. When the “why” is clear, life gets easy.

Bonus Lesson: The same challenge will keep showing up in your life until you learn the lesson life is presenting to you.  You would have thought that I would have learned that by now!

Another bonus lesson: Be Grateful. Share your gratitude.

Happy New Year,

Ron Finklestein
330-990-0788
RON@businessgrowthexperience.com
www.businessgrowthexperience.com

 

 

 

Half of Success is Just Showing Up!

Half of Success is Just Showing up!

I run Mastermind groups and several clients asked this question, “Why are people late or they don’t show up when they register for an event?”

A variation of that same question is, “Don’t they understand how much time, energy and money we invest?”

We can expend this question to include: Why won’t people return phone call, especially where a business relationship exists? I am not talking about a cold call.

I do not believe these are time management issues. I think they are behavioral issues: lack of focus, lack of clarity on what is important, maybe laziness.

Those questions are legitimate and in my opinion they reflect very badly on people who exhibit this behaviors.

When I have a sales call with a prospect I try to never be late. I believe it is a sign of disrespect when I am late. There are times when I am late. It may be a traffic accident, a call running longer than expected, etc. When I am in that situation, I call the person I am planning to meet and ask them if they want to continue with the meeting or reschedule.

I was on a radio interview promoting my latest book, Make a Difference: From Being Successful to Being Significant, and I was on the call exactly at 3 PM. She commented on my time management. I told her if I were not on time it would be the ultimate of disrespect to her and her schedule. She is busy. She has a radio program to run. She is dependent on the time slot the radio gives her. If I am late it puts her in the rough spot.

I was watching 60 Minutes and they were profiling Alabama football coach Nick Sabin.  One of his player was late for a team meeting and Sabin asked him why, “I could not get my earring out,” was his response. Sabin asked him this question, “Do you care more about your earring than this football team?”

Sabin was interrupted by someone who could not get his earrings out? Really. Shows you where his priorities are!

When you are late or do not show for a meeting or event, think of the message you are sending about who you are? Think of what the prospect thinks if you are late: are you dependable, can I trust you to do what you say you will do, will you blow me off again in the future, what will happen when I share with you my problems? They have a busy day and you are negatively impacting their schedule.

There are four rules all (sales) professional should implement daily:

  1. Do what you say you will do.
  2. Do it when you say it will be done.
  3. Don’t be late.
  4. Be a good listener.

As the old saying goes, “half of success is just showing up.”

Ron Finklestein
www.businessgrowthexperience.com
330-990-0788
ron@businessgrowthexperience.com

I could not believe he refused!

Last week my wife and I went shopping as some of our favorite places – second hand stores. I was preparing for total knee replacement and I needed some durable medical supplies (canes, walkers, ice packs, etc.)

The store we visited is called Kathleen’s Kornor. As you can imagine Kathleen is the owner and a friend. She is on West market Street in Akron, what is referred to as the Highland Square Area.

While visiting, the internet went down and Kathleen could not take credit cards.

This individual wanted to buy a roll of shelving paper and had no cash. He wanted to use his card, which could not be processed because of the internet problems.

I offer to pay cash and only ask that he pay it forward. He actually refused.

Not wanting Kathleen to lose the sales, I gave Kathleen the money. He offered to reimburse me $1.

As I walked out the store I simply asked him to pay it forward.

As I walked out the door I wondered why he resisted our simply request.

This got me thinking about all the times I refused help because of pride, time, embarrassment and other strange things we humans sometime do to ourselves.

So now I have a request I would like you to pay it forward. My Coauthor Dr. Tony Alessandra if offering a DISC assessment at no charge ($79 value). Here are the details. You can receive some great information and help someone at the same time.

To Your Success,

Ron Finklestein
330-990-0788
ron@businessgrowthexperience.com

Not making your sales numbers?

If you are not achieving the level of success you know you are capable of achieving, take five minutes and go through this sales assessment. There is no charge and I will not ask for your email address. This will give you an indication of what you need to do differently. If after taking this assessment you want to learn more, just send me an email.

Here is the link. http://businessgrowthexperience.com/do-you-need-us/

Business Growth Advisor

Ron Finklestein
330-990-0788
ron@ businessgrowthexperience.com

Make a Difference: From Being Successful to Being Significant

Make a Difference: From Being Successful to Being Significant

As I get ready to go to Washington DC to testify in a court cases, I received notification that my next book is being released. It is called Make a Difference: From Being Successful to Being Significant.

It is short read about a successful business owner who forgot why he is in business.

He lost a major sale and was on his way to the account to save the deal when he is in a car accident. A special teacher shows up and helps him understand that he can be both successful and significant by making a few simply changes in his life.

It is a story modeled after the many clients I had who struggled in growing their business and finally understood there is really no difference when you are successful because you are significant.

I invite you buy this book and incorporate these powerful lessons in your life. My hope is it will change how you think, what you do and how you do it.

If you want to learn more about implementing these concepts in your business please go to Business Growth Experience and download our free report. It is a good start.

Sincerely,

 

Ron Finklestein

330-990-0788
ron@ronfinklestein.com

 

 

Rynd Speaks

This is the first chapter of my next book. It is a parable on how Bob uses  the Nine Laws to solves some very difficult personal and business problems. The Book is called Rynd’s Nine Laws for Personal and Professional Success – Going from Success to Significance. My coauthor Mike Larocca and I are very proud of this book because of the compelling story, the easy read and lessons learned. It will be available on Amazon in shortly!

Please read and enjoy.

Bob’s Drive

 

“Why am I the only person in this office who can do sales?”

Bob is seated in an elegant office, in a luxurious black leather chair at a cherry wood desk, none of which he ever seems to notice. He’s wearing a tailored gray business suit. His jacket is draped over the back of his chair.

Bob is facing Richard, who wears a tailored navy Armani suit despite holding the title Inside Sales Manager and thus rarely leaves the office. Richard begins to formulate a reply, but Bob cuts him off.

“No, scratch that,” says Bob. “Okay, fine, maybe I’m not the only person who can do sales. But I am the only person who will do sales, who does do sales. It’s not difficult. Everyone we contact needs this service. It’s a great service. It’s simple to see this. It’s simple to explain this. But why am I the only person who’s actually doing the work?”

“I –”

“Don’t answer that. I’m not in the mood right now.”

Bob realizes that right now’s not the time for a reasoned conversation. After a brief, almost guilty look at Richard, Bob says, “Let me go calm down first. Then tell me what happened with Greg and the Eastern contract.”

My reaction was unreasonable, Bob realizes as he leaves his office. But being annoyed at this problem is not.

Bob briefly wonders how long it’ll take Richard to return to his own office, and almost smiles, but his amusement quickly gives way to his annoyance.

Bob doesn’t mind doing sales. He’s good at it. It’s not what he would have envisioned himself doing twenty years ago, but he doesn’t mind sales. Or marketing. Or customer service. Or even purchasing, receivables, payables, or payroll.

Well, maybe not payroll.

No, the problem is that he is either doing or overseeing all of them, in too much detail, being pulled in 94 different directions at once. He owns a business that grossed four hundred grand last year and he’s still working harder than he would in a 9-to-5.

It just doesn’t make sense.

Bob enters the break room and is halfway to the water fountain before he stops. The table is cluttered with napkins and plates. On the counter beside the sink are several bottles of soda.

Unfortunately, Bob’s secretary chooses just that moment to open the opposite door and enter the break room. Ella’s smart “office chic” business suit, silk blouse, expensive shoes, and styled black hair make her look almost as efficient as she actually is.

“This is just ridiculous.” Bob throws his hands in the air. “Am I a business owner or a babysitter?”

“Bob, I thought you were –” she begins.

“Am I the only person who is even marginally engaged in this place? I can’t believe I have to tell you to keep the kitchen area clean, to take out the trash, to answer the customer emails on the same day. It’s ridiculous that you don’t know all this. It’s ridiculous that you aren’t already doing all this. Is it ignorance or apathy? No, wait, let me guess – you don’t know and you don’t care.”

Ella knows this isn’t true. She also knows that Bob knows this isn’t true. She enjoys working for him most of the time, but he can overreact on occasion. She suspects it’s the result of keeping such a tight lid on his feelings, but it wouldn’t be appropriate to tell him that.

The atypical situation in the break room leaves Ella stunned for a moment. In that moment, Bob leaves the room. He’s out of the building before she ever gets the chance to tell him that the so-called mess was in fact Bob’s workers setting up the break room for his 45th birthday party.

Bob quickly drives his silver luxury sedan from the parking lot, enjoying its smooth handling and easy power. He always enjoys the first minute of every drive, before his thoughts and plans move to the front of his mind and distract him from his surroundings. The first car he looked at cost more than he was willing to spend, but he likes what he bought instead.

He drives half a block along the access road, stops at the intersection where it meets the four-lane “proper” road, turns left when the light changes, and starts using his hands-free phone.

“Ella, it’s Bob. I’m sorry about that. Really. I shouldn’t have done that, okay?”

“Sure.”

“I’m going to Eastern to see if I can save this contract. I don’t know when I’ll be back. I’ll keep you posted.”

“Okay.”

Bob drives his car onto the interstate and accelerates rapidly. He notices that Ella seems subdued, which makes him feel guilty. “I’m sorry I blew up back there. You do a great job. I’d be lost without you.”

“No problem.”

“Okay. Bye.”

Bob ends the call, swerves around someone who apparently doesn’t realize that interstates also have minimum speed limits, and makes another call.

“I’m sorry I blew up back there,” he tells Richard’s voicemail. “It’s not your fault. Since this is a local customer for a change, I’m going down there to save this one in person. Keep pulling those numbers together. I’ll catch up with you later.”

After quickly checking his GPS to remind himself which exit to take, confirming that his memory is accurate, he makes another call.

“Greg,” he says. “Bob. Tell me what happened.”

“I –”

“Give me the short version.”

Greg pauses. “The guy with the title Purchasing Manager does not, in fact, make purchasing decisions.”

Bob exhales.

“Exactly,” says Greg. “All that effort explaining what we do, winning over a guy – and we did win him over – who can’t say yes or no. He’s got to go run it by his boss, and we’ve never spoken to her at all –”

“And he’ll lose something in translation.”

“Right,” says Greg. “That’s exactly right.”

“So we find out who she is and then we start over again.” Bob bangs on his steering wheel in frustration.

“It gets worse. While we were busy with the gatekeeper, Dickson got into the company president. She’s the one making the decisions.”

“Oh… fudge.” Bob breathes deeply. “Dickson. How did they find out who the decision maker is before we –? No, never mind how they found out. The question is, how do we fix this?”

Oh great, he thinks, flipping on his headlights and windshield wipers. Rain.

“Recommendations,” says Greg. “Testimonials.”

“What about them?”

“If we start over now, we sound like salesmen.”

“That could be because we are salesman,” says Bob, chuckling.

“We know why we’re different from our competition, why Eastern should hire us instead. But we can talk ourselves blue in the face explaining that and it won’t be as effective as recommendations from our customers.”

“This is true,” says Bob. “But unless you know how to get our customers to drop whatever they’re doing and just jump in ahead of Dickson right now to tell Eastern just how great we are…”

Ahead of Bob, a car brakes suddenly. The lanes on this stretch of interstate have a way of suddenly ending or turning exit-only and panicking those unfamiliar with it, so he isn’t surprised, but he is annoyed. He swerves left and wonders why he’s so easily annoyed these days.

“We could always sabotage them,” Greg mutters, followed by a noise that doesn’t travel well from hands-free phone to hands-free phone.

“Did you just laugh nervously?” Bob asks.

“What?”

“I’ve read about that in books – oh, how I wish I had time to read books again – but I don’t believe I’ve ever heard it before. Was that a nervous laugh?”

“Um… no… um, I was just joking about sabotage –”

“Of course you were joking. Sabotage would be unethical.”

“It would,” Greg quickly agrees.

“So we don’t do that. We don’t sabotage Dickson. We reframe the job.”

“Reframe.”

“Sure. Reframe. If we’re bidding against an incumbent, we make the old entrenched methods look bad. If we’re the incumbent, we make our insider knowledge critical. If we’ve got a better reputation for data security, we play up the threat and likelihood of compromising a system. If none of our competitors provide a single point of contact, stress that we do and why it matters. If we’ve got a less experienced team, we play down the need for expertise and talk up our ability to do the same work at lower cost. If we’ve got a more experienced team, we play up the value of experience, and the peace of mind they’ll enjoy knowing that our people are all hired, trained, and in place. Make what we do best seem vital and what others do well seem not so important. Stress the critical importance of anything we know that our competitor doesn’t. Reframe.”

“Ah,” says Greg.

“Ideally before they call for bids, of course.” Bob takes the exit that leads from the interstate he’s on to the interstate he wants to be on. “Oh, have they called for bids on this yet?”

“Not yet.”

“Great! We are in there! We can help them decide what to stress in the RFP. If Dickson can beat us on what does matter to the customer, we bid on what should matter to the customer. Can you meet me in –”

Bob is driving in the leftmost of five lanes, which quickly narrow to four and then three lanes, and he needs to shoot to the far right lane within the next mile. This particular stretch of interstate brings out the worst in the lane jockeys, no matter the weather, especially if there’s a slow-moving bus or truck.

Bob is momentarily distracted by his phone call and therefore unaware of the car on his right, in his blind spot. The car veers to its left and smashes into Bob’s car at 73 miles per hour.

The road is newly wet, when the asphalt is at its slickest. Bob’s car skids. Badly.

Failing Forward,

Ron Finklestein
330-990-0788
ron@ businessgrowthexperience.com
www.businessgrowthexperience.com – Download the free report
www.businessgrowthexperience.net – Sales Membership Site – try it today!

 

 

Choice Points!

What is a Choice Point?

A Choice Point is a point in time where you choose – make a decision to do something different.

In one of my mastermind groups, we were on-boarding a new member and each member discussed the value they received as a member:

  • I am lonely because there is no one I can discuss important issues with. My wife doesn’t understand, my employees have hidden agendas, and others simply do not understand the complexity of what I do.
  • I need someone to hold me accountable. I know what to do but many times I won’t do it.
  • When I am making a big decision I ask myself what questions would my mastermind group ask me. I make better decisions as a result.
  • There are no hidden agenda and I know the feedback I receive is real. The members only have my success in mind.
  • And I could go on!

Each member came to a point in their career where they made a decision to get involved, to be committed. They came to a Choice Point and made a decision to do something different.

Choice Points can be the results of external events (the economy, death in the family, divorce, etc.) The can also result from internal events (decision to get married, have a child, change jobs, etc.) A Choice Point comes from the need to do something different. It can be embraced as a positive event and proactively embraced or actively resisted.

One choice suggest acceptance. One choice suggests struggle.

It is a choice – a Choice Point!

Some members join the Mastermind and actively embraced the change. Others joined the Mastermind and resisted the groups’ participation. The ones who resisted are no longer members. The ones who proactively embraced the Mastermind are growing personally and professionally. It is just a choice!

To Your Success,

Ron Finklestein

Check out http://www.businessgrowthexperience.com and download our free report: Six questions Prospects Want Answered Before they buy.

If you work in Northeast Ohio and want to attend our Sales Lunch & Learn events please click here http://saleslunchandlearn.eventbrite.com.

 

 

Have a Hero – Be a Hero!

Have a Hero – Be a Hero!

I am planning to do a series of posts on what people to do to make positive change in their life. I asked many people their tips and strategies for making change and have received over 100 good comments. Over the next several months I will be posting these tips and strategies. I am not sure if I will do all 100 but I will share some very good ones going forward.  

Before I post the first tip, let me give you some background. I wanted to help a client make some personal changes and I was getting stuck in helping him through some personal changes so I asked for some help. I sent out an email to several trusted advisors asking them how they introduce change in their lives and the outcome they experienced in introducing change. Their responses were incredible.

The most notable outcome they experienced in creating personal change is the expanding of their three foot circle. They created a more global view of the situation. They saw thing differently and they are better able to choose their response for the situation.

These articles will occur in no particular order. I am writing about them as it makes sense for me. I would encourage you to share with me you particular strategy for dealing with change, creating changes or helping others deal with change.

Here goes. The first one is – Have a hero, be a hero! (Special thanks to Joe Smucny for this one!)  

Can you imagine how you will live your life knowing you are a hero to someone: a child, employee, coworker, wife or husband? What if you knew someone would ask you why you did something. What would you say? How would you say it?

Can you imagine how you would live your life if you had to answer to your hero for every action you took: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Ben Franklin, Jesus, Buddha, or any of the thousands of people who could qualify as heroes? How would you answer their questions?

This raises the bar. It requires that you think about your actions and the impact they have. It requires that you take action, ownership, and responsibility for all things in your life.

This set the bar high and I like it.

Who is your hero and what action do you take to be like them?

Who do you want to be a hero to and what examples will you set for this person?

Please share your strategy for personal growth and change. You can email it to me or you can post it here. Please know if you send something to me you are giving me permission to use it.

Sincerely,

Ron Finklestein
www.businessgrowthexperience.com
ron@ businessgrowthexperience.com

330-990-0788

 

Are you being disrespectful (and losing business) and you don’t know why?

Are you being disrespectful (and losing business) and you don’t know why?

If you wonder why you are losing business, the story below may be useful. I run several groups call the Business Growth Experience (www.businessgrowthexperience.com). During one group I mentioned how frustrated I am with contractor not showing up on time or not showing up at all and not letting me know. My specific comment was “if I am not yet a customer how will they treat me when I am a customer?”

This lead to a discussion of how disrespectful it is to be late. When you are late you are telling me that I am not important, you do not respect my time and effectively you do not respect me. Each member of the Business Growth Experience talked about how difficult it is to be on time and one gentleman stated, “when I am late I am not honoring who I am, I am not in sync with my values of honesty, respect and dignity towards myself. With that said, I am almost always late and people think nothing of it.”

Have we reached a point where we have no respect for our time or the time of others? I realize that people run late, do not returning call (people I know) or respond to emails, are not necessarily the people I want to do business with. I decided I would not do business with any contractor who was late, did not deliver the proposal when they said they would or did not show, even if they had a good reason (without a call).

I do not think I am too different from the average business owner. I do not have time to waste. I want to associate with people who value my time as much as they value their own time.

How much business is this costing you when you are late? What message are you sending your prospect, associate or friend?

To Your Business Growth,

Ron Finklestein

330-990-0788

ron@ businessgrowthexperience.com

 

Sales Success is an Inside Job

Do you wonder about the how successful sales person becomes successful?

Tim Connor, in his book Soft Selling, discussed how average sales people spent 2% of their time in self-improvement and successful sale reps spent an average of 10% of their time in personal development.

In this post, Selling is an Inside job, the author suggest lack of time spent in personal development is communicated to the prospects in whys we do not really understand but we all have experience.

What message are you sending to you prospect without realizing it and how is impacting your sales?

 

Ron Finklestein
www.businessgrowthexperience.com
330-990-0788
ron@akris.net

It is just feedback

There is a blog post on www.businessgrowthexperience.com that discussed a concept near and dear to my heart called, ” It is just Feedback.”

Most people see feedback as criticism when in reality it is nothing more than feedback. If someone likes something you did, remember, it is just feedback.

If someone does not like something – it is just feedback.

If someone buys from you, it is just feedback. Same when they do not buy.

Here is the article – Enjoy

http://businessgrowthexperience.com/?p=768

Ron Finklestein

 

Why is Sales so hard?

Why is Sales so hard?

I do a lot of sales training and I heard two common complaints:

  1. Sales is hard
  2. I hate sales

Sales is hard if you do not know who your ideal customer is and why they should buy from you. To understand why your clients do not buy, download your free report at www.businessgrowthexperience.com.

If you hate sales and you need to sell to make a living you have two choices:

  1. Find a new profession
  2. Understand that selling is the faster and easiest way to change a persons’ life for the best.

If you do not believe your product or service will profoundly change someone’s life for the best, you have the wrong product or you are in the wrong profession.

To learn more, check out www.businessgrowthexperience.com

Sincerely,

Ron Finklestein

330-990-0788

ron@businessgrowthexperience.com

 

Evaluating Your Associations by Jim Rohn

Evaluating Your Associations by Jim Rohn

I’d like for us to take a look at the power of influence in our lives and how it is possible to be nudged off course a little at a time until finally, we find ourselves asking, “How did I get here?”

We should ask ourselves three key questions:

1) “Who am I around?” You’ve got to evaluate everybody who is able to influence you in any way.

2) “What are these associations doing to me?” That’s a major question to ask. “What have they got me doing, listening to, reading, thinking and feeling?” You’ve got to make a serious study of how others are influencing you, both negatively and positively.

3) “Is that okay?” Maybe everyone you associate with has been a positive, energizing influence. Then again, maybe there are some bad apples in the bunch. All I’m suggesting here is that you take a close and objective look. Everything is worth a second look, especially the power of influence. Both will take you somewhere, but only one will take you in the direction you need to go.

Only then can we discuss three ways to handle associations or relationships that are holding you back.

1) Disassociate. This is not an easy decision, nor something you should take lightly, but in some cases it may be essential. You may just have to make the hard choice not to let certain negative influences affect you anymore. It could be a choice that preserves the quality of your life.

2) Limited association. Spend major time with major influences and minor time with minor influences. It is easy to do just the opposite, but don’t fall into that trap. Take a look at your priorities and your values. We have so little time at our disposal. Wouldn’t it make sense to invest it wisely?

3) Expanding your associations. This is the one I suggest you focus on the most. Find other successful people that you can spend more time with. Invite them to lunch (pick up the tab) and ask them how they have achieved so much or what makes them successful. Now, this is not just about financial success; it can be someone who you want to learn from about having a better marriage, being a better parent, having better health or a stronger spiritual life.

It is called association on purpose—getting around the right people by expanding your circle of influence. And when you do that, you will naturally limit the relationships that are holding you back. Give it a try and see for yourself.

To your success,

 

Ron Finklestein
Business Growth Experience Sales Rainmaker Program

www.businessgrowthexperience.com
ron@businessgrowthexperience.com
330-990-0788

Shut the Front Door

 

I received this email form a friend and I thought it was very good advice. I am posting it here just as it was written – without edits. To provide some context, the author is an emergency room doctor who deals with the trauma of our humanity daily. Frank is a good person who asks the hard questions.  This advice is advice to live by, both in your professional and business life.

April 19th, 2012

 Shut the Front Door

“When you’re the victim of the behavior, it’s black and white; when you’re the perpetrator, there are a million shades of gray.”

-Laura Schlessinger

 

Ever ask yourself, “How do I get out of here?”  It seems like everyone in the Emergency Department is constantly complaining about someone or something!  Arrrgh!  Somedays it’s hard to even walk in the front door.  But the reality is we actually have great jobs.  The hospital is an amazing place to work where we get to do incredible things everyday.

When we really feel the need to get out of Dodge, all we need to do is shut the front door!  We, just like our patients, almost always create our own problems.  My hero Albert Einstein taught us, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”

If things are bad for us now and we want to make them good, we only need to think and act differently!

Just like there is black and white, there is wisdom and stupidity.  These opposites exist so we can see the difference.  In a place where there is no wisdom, exists stupidity.  Speech, the words we say, can be of only two types:  we can either speak wisdom, or stupidity.  If it does not help, it hurts.  It really is that black and white.

“Badmouthing Others”, “Gossip”, and “Trash Talking” can seem to bring instant relief when we are in discomfort, but this type of speech is nothing but stupidity.  This behavior of ours—and we all do it—actually creates the heaviness and toxicity we experience with each other at work.

But we always have a choice.  We can speak words of sharing, support, and positivity.  Or we can speak words of negativity and stupidity.   There is nothing neutral.  You either want to help or you actually intend hurt. It all comes down to “we” or “me.”  We is positive.  Me is negative.  We is unifying.  Me is separating.  Whatever is not “we,” must be “me.”

We need to remember that if we, in everything we do, would include the “we”, “the other guy,” then everything would work out great for everyone.  Win-Win solutions would be the norm rather than the exception.  Whenever we are thinking only of me, there is going to be trouble.  We will create chaos, we will create bad feelings, we will hold grudges and we will never be happy or satisfied.  We will be hurt, angry, sad, and disconnected.

Any interpersonal difficulty or chaos we have at work usually comes from our need to be right!  When we say something less than kind in order to prove a point or to look good, does it help or does it hurt?  Is it about “me,” or is it about “we?”

There are really only two options.  If it’s not good, it’s bad.  If it is not wise, it’s just plain stupid.  If it doesn’t help, it hurts.  If it does not unify, it separates.  So how do we speak in a balanced way?  How do we give to others and invest in ourselves at the same time?

Balance comes from setting priorities.  So make your number one priority reconnecting with your pure and altruistic desire to care, to make things better.  And when you want to say “me,” instead of “we,” simply shut the front door!

Action:  Think before you speak!  I once worked with a nurse named Wendy.  Nurse Wendy was seasoned, experienced, good with people and levelheaded.  She was a great person and such an amazing nurse.  She did not often join in the department banter or offer up unsolicited opinions.  However, when she did speak, her comments were insightful and exceptionally helpful.

One day, when I was complaining, she took me aside to offer this piece of real, sound wisdom. She told me when we are tempted to talk about someone to someone else, we should first ask ourselves three things:

  1. Do I know this story to be true, or is it something I was just told?
  2. Is it necessary for me to repeat the story?
  3. Is telling this story positive and loving, or is it destructive?

Sometimes, the easiest way out of a negative place is to just shut the front door, unless you have something really wise to inject into (y)our situation!

Give us your best!

Care, make a difference and change (y)our world!

 

Frank Pinchas Gabrin, D.O.

Thanks Frank for your wise advice. 

Ron Finklestein
Business Growth Experience
330-990-0788
ron @ businessgrowthexperience.com

www.businessgrowthexperience.com

I AM NOT DONE!

What is holding you back?

I recently went on a weekend retreat with several members of a group I started many years ago. The agenda was simple. All each participant had to do was answer one question: What holds you back? You could discuss personal, business, relationship issues or anything important to you.

Without a doubt the most common answer was – ME! I hold myself back. As we probed deeper we heard such things as:

“I am afraid of failure/success.”

“I fear rejection.”

“I need to forgive.”

“I know what I need to do but I am not doing it because it is not fun.”

“I need to be liked.”

“I am not a salesman.”

I could go on but you get my drift.

My experience is that business skills are easy to teach but the beliefs we have about ourselves are the deciding factors.

Can you put your biggest fears out for all to see? If you say “no,” you will have serious problems overcoming them. They lose much of their power once they are shared with others.

Each of us had a chance to put our issues on the table for the world to see. It took courage, intestinal fortitude and a willingness to risk it all. What I found was the group was supportive, nonjudgmental, accepting and each and everyone expressed a sincere effort to understand and help me go deeper.

My awaking was that we all suffer from the flaws of being human. Though I was in the room with people I consider to be successful, I realized we are all human, we all have our fears and doubt AND we are all capable of more.

Share your fears and risk being human. You will find another human will respond. It is liberating to feel heard and understood.

I now know what “I am not done” means to me.

Thanks to all who shared a powerful weekend with me. You know who you are.

 

Ron Finklestein
330-990-0788
ron@businessgrowthexperience.com
www.aboutbusinesssuccess.com

Free Marketing Tip to Bring Hundreds of People into Your Business Each Month

Free Marketing Tip to Bring People into Your Business

I am a member of AmSpirit, a networking and business referral group. We meet at creative source. Creative source does great work and I suggest you check out their website.

My reason for this post is to document Creative Source and how they bring in hundreds of business owner and sales reps into their office each month at no cost to them. Creative Source has a big conference room they allow others to use at no charge. They do not provide coffee or tea. Several networking groups meet there, Toastmasters meets there. I held some sales presentations there before I knew Mike. Mike, one of the owners, feels this is a good way to give back to the community.

By giving back to the community, he has hundreds of business people come to his place of business each month. Each business owner who walks through the doors each week sees his work, reinforcing his brand. He provides a table for others to place their brochures. He is not afraid of competition and some competitor belongs to the groups who meet there. He does all this and it cost him nothing. I am so impressed with his tactics that I writing a blog about his approach.

He is not a client. I am not his client. I just see his approach as a risk free way to attract hundreds of people to his business each  month. I do not know how much business he gets, nor does it matter to him. His primary reason is to give back to the community. The visibility and support he gives the community is amazing.

If you can, try this. It cost nothing. I taught this tactic to a restaurant client of mine and he has groups meeting at his restaurant regularly. He visits various groups and invites them to use his spare room at no charge. They pay for coffee, breakfast or lunch, and his repeat business has sky rocketed.

To Your Business Success,

Ron Finklestein
330-990-0788
ron@businessgrowthexperience.com
www.businessgrowthexperience.com
Improve your people skills and grow sales: www.akris.net

 

A Year in Review for a Great 2012 A Year in Review for a Great 2012

I am a co-host on Small Business Talk radio with Dale Stefancic. Dale wrote an article for a local newspaper that I wanted to share. It does a great job of helping you get ready to have a great year. If you would like to contact Dale, you can reach him at dale@dalestefancic.com. We invite you to listen to our radio program at welw.com, Be sure to press the listen now button. We are on air every Wednesday from 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM EST.

A Year in Review for a Great 2012

 

For many small business owners 2011 was more of a game of survival. Many challenges still face us and the economy as we try to press forward and identify opportunity and how we can take full advantage of it.

We discussed many items and topics this past year in my effort to try and make you better in your business and create some awareness of what needs to be accomplished to move forward and be more profitable.

So what I wanted to do being the end of 2011 and as we think and decide what 2012 may bring is a review that I hope renews some fresh ideas and thinking of how to win the challenges ahead of all of us.

LEADERSHIP:

People identify with leaders. They are well respected and have a strong voice with accomplishments in their field of expertise. As a business owner, you must constantly strive to be the leader in what you do. Some of the points of leadership to keep in mind are:  Leaders should know and understand that people are the core building blocks of their team and/or organization.  To be an effective leader, you need to understand the core building block of your people and their respective values.  Leadership begins from within.  Identify core roles, prioritize them and plan on development and then acting on them.  Any relationship begins with you.  Leadership begins with you.  To be effective, it is dependent on your ability to communicate effectively.

 

NETWORKING:

 

This is a great time of the year. The holidays are here and the thoughts of 2012 and what we might expect in the new year with business.

Many of us will be at social and business events meeting  many new people as well as many friends.

For these reasons the topic of networking is very timely.

Today  if you are networking correctly, it’s more than meet and greet with an exchange of business cards and contact information.

You have to network with the intent of turning contacts into connections and eventually business allies or customers.

As you attend your events you need to have a specific game plan in mind.

Make your connections, and then build relationships with these individuals.

The relationships can range from identifying some of the needs of your business or relationships that will bring more business to your company.

The key here is to develop your network with great people and cement those relationships to be a resource for you.

You cannot do it alone. All great businesses have very successful networks in place.

Also keep in mind the relationship is a two way street. Don’t just talk or think about what’s in it for you but lead with a value proposition that will make the person you are connecting with have a reason to develop the relationship further.

Over deliver and your investments of time, money and energy will be repaid ten fold.

TIME AND PRODUCTIVITY:

Time relates to productivity more than you might realize. Time can be as big a loss of profits for your company as almost anything else. When you better manage time you will be more productive. When you are more productive you will make more profit.

Here are some SMART things to think about. S.M.A.R.T. being an acronym for:

S- SPECIFIC- Being as specific as you can with bringing the reality in site of your goal.

M-MEASURABLE- You must be able to measure your results.  You can only measure your results if you are tracking all your activity that pertains to your business.

A-ATTAINABLE- Is your goal one that is reachable and in the time that you have allotted?

R-RELEVANT- Is the goal relevant to the purpose of your business or

your  personal life?  Is the goal you set bringing you closer to that purpose?

T-TIME SENSITIVE- Does your goal have a deadline?  With a deadline in front of you, your mind realizes it has to accomplish certain tasks within a certain time.

So to be productive, be S.M.A.R.T.

I think as business owners, we all realize what it takes as well as what we need to do.  But, how we measure, track and evaluate the activities we do, will help in becoming better, more profitable and leaves  us with more time to do the things we enjoy.

 

SELLING:

We may not like it but we have to constantly adjust and adapt to the process and fully understand the needs of the market and the consumer. Here are some points to keep in your selling mindset.  First, people in your target market will first buy you. Also making sure you know your market and the needs and what your market is looking for will be key in this step.

If your prospect has not bought into you, I doubt if you have any shot at a sale even if you are the cheapest price in town.

I’m sure you have heard the phrase that attitude is everything, well if you are in sales, it’s a really big key to your success in sales.

People will pay more for an agreeable, enjoyable experience with a great product than just one based on it’s the cheapest.

The individual that combines a great product with a great attitude can be unstoppable.

Today, many  companies are basing lost sales because of price. Granted some people do just shop price, but in most categories on products and services, price is only a factor in 14%-20% statistically.

Secondly, you need to think more in line with the buyer’s thinking. While your buyer may be objecting to price, here’s what is swimming around in his or her mind.

1.)Is there a better product? 2.) Is the proposal right? 3.) Will this really solve my problems? 4.) Will we use it? 5.) What will others think if I buy this? 6.) Will the company really service me and honor the guarantee?

With this partial list of objections, you need to be going through your prospects thought process and be prepared to present in a more thorough manner making the buying decision safe for you prospects instead of just driving the price factor home.

Too many businesses today are leading there marketing and advertising campaigns with price and not with value, experience, quality, strong guarantee’s and taking the risk out of the buying process.

Many times the sales person is just not totally prepared or has not taken the time to identify the needs of the prospect, as well as what the prospect is truly looking for.

Today as consumers become more savvy and aren’t as willing just to throw their money around without thinking about after the sale, don’t be afraid to lead with the value, expertise, quality and guarantee of what you are selling.

Communicate to your buyer that your service after the sale will be unmatched as you take the risk out of the purchase and make buying a pleasure for your prospect.

If you are leading with price and doing comparisons, good luck. Trying to be successful on the cheapest price is a tough place to live in.

 

Thirdly, sales for the most part always has the numbers factor.  You can make the numbers work in your favor.

With the correct and precise market analysis, knowing the needs and wants of your market, and taking massive action, you can make the numbers work more in your favor.

In sales, massive action is one surefire way to increase your response and success rate. Take enough action and you will achieve more.

Fourth, know where your prospects are in the sales funnel. Deliver your commitments on time and over deliver. Your prospects may be evaluating you every step of the way. Make sure you have addressed all their needs and have provided the best solution.

Fifth, don’t be afraid and come out and ask for the sale. Lead your prospect with a series of yes answers to what you have delivered in the sales presentation that makes good sense for the prospect to buy.

Enhancing Your Life so You Can Enhance the Live of Others

Ron Finklestein
www.businessgrowthexperience.com
www.akris.net
330-990-0788
ron@akris.net

 

Did anyone tell you something like this? Or How to ask for a referral!

Did anyone tell you something like this? Or How to ask for a referral!

I met with a client on Friday and he gave me this feedback:

“You helped me grow sales (2.7 to 7 new clients each month), you provided objective feedback on my ideas to provide clarity, you challenged my thinking in new and different ways so I make better decisions and everyone needs what you do. How do I tell them that?”

The more I thought about his question the more I realized that people need to experience what I do. When the process is experienced they can then make an intelligent decision to see if I can add value.

What prompted his comment? I run a group coaching process called The Business Growth Experience and as part of the process we share both good news and problems we need some help with. My good news was that I picked up three new clients as a result of referrals. My dilemma, how can I get more referrals?

Here is what they suggested. Call each of your client (who are happy with your work) and ask them to bring one of their client who they think can use your service to a lunch (I Pay) for an introduction.

What a powerful idea.

I knew about this process and simply forgot about it. So today I am going to do just that. I am going to call my clients and referral partners and ask them to introduce me to one of their client (over a lunch).

Since you read this far, send me an email and I will provide you a 30 minute free coaching session if are the first 10 reads who responds to this email. Consider this my Christmas gift to you. Send the email to ron@businessgrowthexperience.com with the subject line “Free Coaching.” In the email please provide a short description of what you want to discuss so I can prepare. Also, your time zone is important. I will then send you a link to schedule your coaching session. Please note you must use this email address and subject line or I will not see the message. This offer expires 12/15/11 so please act quickly. This offer is available to anyone.  My strengths are working with owners of small businesses to help them grow sales, increase revenues and influence others.

May your self-talk always be positive, your life meaningful, and your thoughts happy.

Ron Finklestein
www.akris.net
330-990-0788

 

 

 

“Observe everything as you walk your path (in life).”

Akita Mani Yo.

Robert Schepens, is part Native American and he often reminds me of the Native American saying “Akita Mani Yo.” This saying means “Observe everything as you walk your path (in life).”

Observing everything as we walk our path is hard to do. It requires both internal and external awareness.

Internal is defined a our reactions, feeling and emotions and external our environment, others and our ecology (relationships.) It requires seeing things we often pay no attention to.

It requires us to understand our life and the meaning of our life as defined by the contrast between ourselves and others. This contrast is what is observed. In this contrast lie the secrets we miss, the lost loves, the beautiful flowers that we ignore, the pain we inadvertently inflicted and the joy others experience. This observing shows us the pains of others that we missed, the opportunities lost, that opportunities missed, the opportunities we gained. It shows the joys that passed us by.

In NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) this is referred to as “Our perception is our reflection.” Stated another way, what we see and perceive is what we notice and what we reflected back to others.

If things are not what you want, shift your attention to notice the things you do want. What more customers? Shift your attention to being grateful for your existing customers. Want more love in your life, be a more loving person. Want more friends, be a better friend. Remember to Akita Mani Yo.

Ron Finklestein
Someone who is learning to be a better student.

ron@akris.net

330-990-0788

 

 

 

 

Why Relationship Skills Matter

Why Relationship Skills Matter.

We all belong to the human race. It is a simple sentence and a statement of fact. There are many assumptions made in that statement. One of the primary assumptions is we belong to the human race. Because of our membership in this august society, we know how to build safe, effective, successful and lasting personal and business relationships that allow all parties involved to grow, prosper and get results.

I am not sure this is a valid assumption.

Why? Though we have much in common, many of us have not been taught know how to build rapport, connect with others, understand the best way to support others and know how to ask them to support us. This is evident by the divorce rate; as many as 50% of marriages end in a divorce (Source divorcerate.org.) What is interesting to me is that the divorce rate drops the older we get. For example the divorce rate is 38.8% for American males age 20-24 versus 6.5% for American males age 35-39. It would seem the old men get the more they understand relationship strategies.

The question is how can we shorten that learning curve?

In business, according to Grant Thornton, 97% of all business owners want to strengthen the customer relationship.

SCORE suggests that 64% of all small businesses fail because they do not know how nor do they understand the value of marketing. Marketing is nothing more than a process through which companies build strong customer relationships. Can you imagine how simple life can become when you understand this and implement relationship strategies in your business?

I could go on but you get my drift.

To address this problem, I teamed up with Dr. Tony Alessandra, one of the world’s foremost relationships strategies experts, to create a web site that teaches you how to build safe, effective, successful and lasting personal and business relationships. The web site is called People Smarts. In this site we address relationship strategy issues, presentations skills, collaborative selling skills, marketing, personal growth and development, how to treat people the way they want to be treated and a host of other important and powerful topics that, when applied, will help you create more effective relationships to get the results you want and need. The site contains a full array of videos, eBooks, PDFs and MP3 to support you in your personal, sales, business and leadership development needs.

We invite you to explore and try out this site. In lesson one (which you have access) you will learn the different between the Golden Rule vs. Platinum Rule and experience the overview of all functions of relationship strategies. In addition, you will receive an introduction of the two dimensions of behavior. In this lesson, you will be presented with a very simple model that has been validated with hundreds of thousands of people.  It is a powerful guide you can use to improve communication and morale, build better work groups, and develop better relationships with co-workers, supervisors, customers, vendors and others.

I invite you to give People Smarts a try. To learn more go to www.akris.net. If you have questions please feel free to call Ron Finklestein at 330-990-0788 or email him at ron@akris.net. This powerful tool can also be used in you place of business for all your employees. If you would like more details about this opportunity ask Ron and he will provide the details.

Ron Finklestein

www.peoplesmarts.ws
admin@peoplesmarts.ws

330-990-0788

Do you take Ownership for Your Situation?

Do you take Ownership for Your Situation?

In a Business Growth Experience meeting we discussed how to identify high potential individuals. One trait that surface over and over was ownership – specifically taking ownership of a given situation.

It was suggested people who lack ownership used words like: I should, I must, I had no choice, I had to, and other made me do it. The stories they tell are other focused: they did this, you should hear what happened to me, etc. Excuses are a big part of their lives. It is always someone else’s fault.

People who embraced ownership used words like: I choose, it was my responsibility, I decided, and the stories they tell are focused on “I.” They ask questions like “why am I…?”, “in what ways can I…? ,“ why did I fail to communicate effectively with…?”, “how can I do things better?”, and “how can I change this situation?

Which side of the equation do you live on? Do you take ownership for your life, business, results, and relationships?

If you do not own your situation how can you change it? What kind of person do you want to become? What kind of person do you want to hang out with? Remember, there is no partial ownership. It is not like owning a time share. You either own  it or you don’t.

Ron Finklestein

ron@ronfinklestein.com
330-990-0788

www.ronfinklestein.com

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