Stop Missing Out on Sales By Using These Closing Techniques

Are you missing out on sale?

‘Compelling scientific evidence’ that being stressed makes you FAT says inventor of the revolutionary 5:2 diet

Worrying about your weight? Then stop now - because it's that very stress which could be making you fat, according to the inventor of the revolutionary 5:2 diet.

Dr Michael Mosley says there is now 'compelling scientific evidence' that stress wreaks havoc with our bodies and predisposes us to putting on weight.

Speaking in The Mail on Sunday's new 'Life' section, he advises dieters to relax.

He explains: 'Research has shown that chronic stress leads to increased hunger, comfort eating, self-loathing and disrupted sleep.'

'To lose weight and keep it off, it is important to reduce stress – and all the comfort eating that goes with it.'

In a two-part health plan starting in 'Life' tomorrow, Dr Mosley outlines practical tips on how to minimise stress and so make losing weight easier.

One essential is getting enough sleep – which has twin beneficial effects.

Firstly, sleeping well minimises levels of so-called 'hunger hormones' the next day. Secondly, it cuts levels of the stress hormone cortisol too. Both lead to less comfort eating.

To demonstrate the vital role of sleep when it comes to dieting, he and diabetes expert Dr Eleanor Scott of Leeds University subjected 20 volunteers to a sleep-deprivation experiment.

They had to endure two nights when they went to bed three hours later than usual, to see what impact a lack of sleep had on their eating habits. After that they had another two nights when they went to bed at their normal time and could sleep as long as they liked, with their eating monitored the following days.

Dr Mosley also took part in the study, full results of which will be revealed on BBC Two's Trust Me, I'm a Doctor this Wednesday at 8.30pm.

He recalled: 'It was pretty grim.'

Besides feeling dog-tired after the two very late nights, he was also 'unpleasantly surprised' by how hungry he was.

'The same was true for all my fellow volunteers – everyone complained about having had the munchies.'

One volunteer piled through 10 custard cream biscuits - for breakfast.

He explained: 'Sleep and stress are closely linked: being stressed leads to problems sleeping, and problems sleeping make your stress levels soar.'

Dr Mosley helped popularise intermittent fasting, where dieters restrict their intake to just a few hundred calories for one day or two days a week, in his best-selling book The Fast Diet

Sleep-deprived people consume on average 385 calories extra per day, according to another study – about the same as a large muffin.

But he said the solution was simple, 'a couple of nights of good sleep'.

Dr Mosley helped popularise intermittent fasting, where dieters restrict their intake to just a few hundred calories for one day or two days a week, in his best-selling book The Fast Diet. Since its publication five years ago millions of people around the world have adopted the '5:2' diet.

To read more expert advice on diet from TV's Dr Michael Mosley see The Mail on Sunday's brilliant new Life supplement.

 By Stephen Adams for The Mail on Sunday

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Coaching and the GROW Model

Biggest misconceptions I find in business is coaching vs mentor. Most are unaware about how coaching really works. If you thought you know what coaching is and your not 100% sure here a nice little introduction to the GROW method.

What Everyone Is Getting Totally Wrong About Emotional Intelligence

EQ is not defined properly. If you go back to 1996, you can rediscover what it really means.

The more I read about EQ (or Emotional Intelligence) the more I wonder if people are defining it properly. For years, I've heard that EQ is about an ability to read people--to pick up on body language, to assess a situation and read feelings, to display a warmth and emotional connection that sets you apart from others, to smile more or shake hands more vigorously. It's almost always defined as an ability to pick up on non-verbal cues and "sense" when people are frustrated or happy or sad...and that's it.

The problem with this definition is that it's practically useless in a business context.

So you can read people and pick up on emotions. Fine. That gives you some advantage in conversation or maybe in the sales process, but really it is just another tool among many by that definition. It gives you some insight and a way to interpret body language and pick up on some mysterious non-verbal signals, but you can mostly just pat yourself on the back and say you can "read people" and that's it. It gives you some bragging rights.

The actual definition of EQ, which mostly originated from a book of the same name in 1996, is partly about managing emotions and picking up on emotions. Yet, the part that is often left out--the important part, if you are thinking about business advantages--is how to manage your own emotions and how to influence others accordingly. By the classic definition of EQ, President Trump has a terribly low EQ since he doesn't seem to care about what other people are feeling and doesn't seem to read the correct signals. He's practically immune to EQ. By the classic definition from 1996, however, he is off the charts. He has an incredible ability to influence others using EQ in a way that takes the popular, more common definition and crumples it into a wad of nothing.

You can see how this often plays out. You will often hear stories about someone who didn't read people and acted in anger, or maybe it's someone who didn't read people correctly and paid for it when a business decision ended up looking cold and impersonal. It's too bad, because that's only half of the definition. It's less common to hear stories about people who used EQ to influence others in a way that led to a more well-regarded product or service--a practical use for something that is often defined as all about feelings. Leaving the influence out of EQ makes it stagnant. It's really just a touchy-feely exercise that makes you feel good and nothing more.

Here's the question to ask yourself. Let's say you have always thought you can read people well. How has it helped? What does it really mean? I agree that picking up on non-verbal cues does help you understand others, but in business, if we're not talking about influence then there isn't that much to talk about. All marketing is influence. All sales is influence. In some ways, all business is influence.

When you start thinking about EQ as some magical sixth sense and that's it, the entire concept falls flat because it's value is diminished. EQ was always supposed to be about tracking and managing your own emotions and then influencing others so that you are not always just reacting--you read emotions then influence.

I've experienced this many times, both from the standpoint of not managing my reactions properly and paying the price (making people mad, breaking a healthy relationship) and by managing my emotions and then using more of a practical, seasoned, and predictable approach (and seeing that people agree with an idea or join a cause).

That second part of the definition is where the action takes place. It's where EQ can help you the most, not just by listening more intently or smiling more. It's the part where you can build up a business and start promoting a product in a way that gets attention.

If you've been forgetting the classic definition from 1996, the part about managing your emotions and influencing, try thinking about how you can make changes in your own job or your company that tap into that deeper meaning of the concept. If you think of a change to make that leads to more influence, share your thoughts with me directly by email.

By John Brandon

 

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HOW TO BUILD SELF ESTEEM - THE SIX PILLARS OF SELF-ESTEEM BY NATHANIEL B...

Understanding our own behavior is always the best way to identify root causes and make lasting change.

8 tips for getting social media ads right

Are your social media ads missing the mark? Contributor Peter Minnium outlines eight tips and tricks to help you connect with your audience and build a community of loyal followers.

A friend recently complained to me that the targeted ads that persistently stud her social media feeds are not only disruptive but also frequently irrelevant. She uses social media primarily to keep track of friends and to follow artists and crafters that could offer her inspiration or technical knowledge.

As she vented her frustration, I wondered why the ads she saw were still so consistently missing the mark despite the great leaps in ad targeting technology. Surely there must be a better way for brands to reach audiences through social media.

Surprisingly, though almost two-thirds of social media users are irritated by the number of promotions that clutter their feeds, and 26 percent actively ignore marketing content, a whopping 62 percent follow at least one brand on social media.

According to the GlobalWebIndex, 42 percent of social media users are there to “stay in touch” with their friends, while over a third are also interested in following current events, finding entertaining content or killing time. Though 27 percent of users find or research products on social media, most usage is skewed toward building relationships. As such, it’s clear why many social media users are annoyed by ads they find intrusive, irrelevant or boring.

While this data helps us understand why users may find ads abrasive, it also gives us a glimpse into why they are so open to following brands on social media. Today’s hypercompetitive ethos is not limited to brands or ads. Consumers want to know about the latest trends in fashion and technology, and they want to know first. By following brands, users can keep tabs on the latest and greatest.

Following also allows consumers to interact with brands more directly and to voice their dissatisfaction when brands misstep. A full 46 percent of users have “called out” brands on social media, and four out of five believe that this has had a positive impact on brand accountability. The good news for brands is that when they respond well, 45 percent of users will post about the interaction, and over a third will share the experience with their friends.

Brands should note that 60 percent of callouts are in response to perceived dishonesty, which should lend some context to the fact that 30 percent will unfollow a brand that uses slang or jargon inconsistent with the brand’s image. This can be a costly mistake, as 76 percent of users aged 13 to 25 stopped buying from brands after unfollowing.

The news may seem bleak, but the truth is that these facts draw a clear path for brands that want to tap into the unprecedented consumer access offered by the social media revolution. Here are some tips to keep in mind.

1. Be authentic

Above all, brands need to strive for authenticity. Consumers have shown that they are not only open to branded social media content, they welcome it, provided the content is useful and relevant rather than disruptive to their experience.

From social media usage statistics, we see that users are most interested in staying connected and entertained. Brands that share news of upcoming trends or offer content that stands on its own merit can add value to users’ social media experience while reaching out to a more receptive audience.

2. Be useful

Understanding how individuals utilize their social media presence can help brands leverage their marketing dollars. Users may not want to see a soft-drink ad while scrolling through pictures of a friend’s trip, but an airline ad might hit home.

Instructional videos can be a particularly effective way of reaching an audience in a useful manner. Like many others, my friend would be far more welcoming of how-to videos from a yarn supplier than of the seemingly arbitrary clothing ads that pepper her crafting-heavy social media feeds.

3. Be contextual

As always, context is key. Not all social media interactions are alike. Users may look to one branch of their network for entertainment or news and to another for technical knowledge or inspiration.

While the current targeting approach estimates user proclivities based on the activity and interests of their network as a whole, determining how users relate to specific nodes in the network will enable brands to reach out to users when and where they will be most receptive to the marketing content in question.

4. Be credible

Differentiation is also critical in establishing credibility. An American Press Institute study showed that users place greater weight on who shares content than on where it came from originally. Social media users, especially those in the 13-to-24 age bracket, will actively share and discuss content they find engaging.

Brands can make use of this phenomenon to proliferate their content, but only if those who share it are perceived to be trustworthy by members of their network. How connections respond to a user’s posts or shares can be more important than how much the user shares.

5. Be accessible

Brands need to build an audience of active and reliable followers who will help spread branded content to loyal followers of their own. Beyond publishing content that is engaging and true to their image, brands can accomplish this by making themselves more accessible to consumers.

Instant messaging can be a powerful tool for answering consumer questions, responding to complaints and building more intimate relationships with followers. By responding in a more immediate and personal way to users, brands can empower users to take the initiative in building a stronger relationship with them.

6. Be persistent

The most important factor that determines a brand’s success in the world of social media is perseverance. In part, this means being responsive to user feedback and actively working to improve their social media presence.

At the same time, brands need to stick to their guns. A majority (some 60 percent) of users need to interact with content between two and four times before taking action, according to a Sprout Social survey. A steady production of quality content will keep users tuned in, translating user engagement with content into tangible results.

7. Be testy

Brands too often fail to invest in testing to understand the effectiveness of their social media advertising. It’s easy to make excuses for not doing so: “the per ad investment is too small,” “I get metrics from the platform,” or “we don’t have time” are the most frequently heard.

This is a mistake. Without independent validation that the ads achieve their objectives (both attitudinal and behavioral), a brand can’t be sure it’s made it through the gauntlet of challenges outlined above.

8. Use your listening skills

Brands that listen actively to social media users and respond earnestly to their needs and interests stand to gain a foothold in the new marketing frontier. Over 75 percent of users in the Sprout survey report purchasing a product after interacting with marketing content on a social media platform. Furthermore, just as many users discovered a new brand through social media as in-store or via a conventional ad.

While many brands are struggling to reach consumers on social media (and not for lack of trying), they can overcome the resistance they are experiencing by opening their ears — before their pocketbooks.

Article by:Peter Minnium 

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RSA ANIMATE: Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us

WOW Some insightful stuff on motivation. Thoughts?

4 Basic Tips on How to Improve Your Communication Skills

Effective communication can be difficult for many of us. Too eager and you’ll risk trampling over the other person’s thoughts, too passive and you’ll come away from the conversation frustrated that you hadn’t said what you’d intended. These issues can become even more complex as a creative, where we’re often more comfortable with visual, rather than verbal, communication.

But don’t assume that your “art speaks for itself” and that successful creatives don’t need to be bothered with articulating their creative vision. Actually, it’s just the opposite. As the creator, it’s imperative that you learn how to communicate effectively. Remember, you should always be the biggest advocate for your own work and lacking in communication skills only risks misunderstandings—and missed opportunities.

Many creatives can be introverts by nature—for every gregarious studio photographer, there is someone who takes solace in shooting their street photography alone at night—but don’t let this stop you. Pushing past your fears and understanding how you can still be yourself, yet speak effectively about your work, is the first step in using communication to further your career.

How to begin? A good starting place is to write your artist statement—luckily we have a handy guide—as the questions you’ll answer here will help form the foundation of your verbal communication. Once you have that done, let’s go over some useful tips to help you speak about your creative abilities in order to grab your next big collector or client.

Aren't sure how to effectively communicate your creativity? Here are some tips to help you hone your communication skills.

PRACTICE YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH

Many times, it’s easy to assume that people will understand your artistic vision. But, if you are not able to clearly, succinctly, and quickly clarify what you do and why it matters, you cannot expect other people to always get it.

That’s where an elevator pitch comes in. While this concept comes from the business world, there’s no reason why it doesn’t apply to creatives. This short, 30- to 60-second speech is a sales pitch, essentially selling the how and why of what you do. For a creative, think about the potential client, collector, or gallerist you may meet at an event. As you’re networking, you’ll want to have this pitch down. Sell yourself! Get people hooked and give them a reason to want to see more of what you do.

When developing your own elevator pitch, it will be important to understand your nicheand who your target audience is, as well as how your work fits into that niche. Do you use interesting materials or have you developed a cutting-edge technique? That should be in there.

You’ll also want to think about who you are speaking with. Bump into an important curator? They may be interested to know about your work with museums. Meet the head of a marketing department for a large brand? Let them know about the graphic design work you recently did with a like-minded company.

And make sure you finish by closing the deal, whether it be getting a business card or phone number or setting up a time to meet and discuss your work over coffee. Remember, you only have a minute, so don’t try to cram too much in. Just tease the best points and make them want to come back for more.

EXUDE CONFIDENCE

We’re talking about confidence, not arrogance—there’s a fine line, but important distinction. While arrogance can be off-putting, confidence actually draws people in and makes them want to hear more.

And while everyone has a different way of exuding confidence, here are some things to keep in mind so that even if you are feeling uncomfortable, no one will ever know.

Body language – Throw out the idea of the brooding artist hunched in the corner. That stereotype is exactly the opposite of what you’ll need to effectively communicate about your work. You want to be approachable and this means having open body language. That means standing up straight, keeping your arms uncrossed, and even leaning in slightly to let the other person know you are interested in what they are saying.

Eye contact – Along with your limbs, watch your eyes—and put your phone down. Looking down or away indicates insecurity and lack of knowledge about what you are discussing, or worse—a disinterest in the person you are speaking with. A great communicator will look the person, or people, they are speaking to right in the eye, which gives off the impression that you know what you are talking about and are confident in your words. And when it comes to your art, isn’t that what you want?

Filler words – If “umm” or “like” peppers your speech, pay close attention to this section. While you want to be thoughtful with your words, overly long pauses or peppering your conversion with these filler words makes you come off as unprepared. This is why preparing—either mentally or on paper—ahead of time can help. Of course, you don’t want to come off as scripted, but having a basic preparation will allow you to think without pause even if you are nervous.

KNOW WHEN TO LISTEN

Effective communication is like a tennis match, with the ball being lobbed back and forth. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is monopolizing the conversation. Yes, people may be at the opening of your exhibition or approached you about your portfolio, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want to be heard and be part of the conversation.

Everyone wants to feel important, including fans of your creative work, and by listening to what they have to say, you are forging deeper relationships which could pay dividends down the line. And remember, listening isn’t simply not talking, it’s actually taking in what the other person is saying. Try incorporating what they’ve talked about into your comments and questions, which will show them you have an interest in their perspective as well. Believe us, your top collector will appreciate it when you remember the name of their children or you suggest a book about their favorite sculptor.

EVERYONE IS EQUAL

Everyone can have a bad day, but in general, there’s no excuse not to treat everyone with equal kindness. You never know how the person in front of you can impact your career or who might overhear your conversation. So, it goes without saying that no matter you are speaking with, show respect and use it as an opportunity to improve your communication skills and how you articulate your work.

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Low on Motivation? 7 Psychological Hacks to Get Going

Even the most passionate and motivated among us have off days. We wake up feeling detached from work, or groggy, frustrated or depressed, and we can’t get into the right mindset to be productive. We might be able to go through the motions of work, but we aren’t operating at peak efficiency, nor are we enjoying what we're doing.

Is this you? Thankfully, even on your worst days, there are some psychological tricks you can use to hack your mind to become more motivated:

1. Visualize your long-term goals.

Research from the University of Virginia suggests that visualizing your potential future is highly motivating, even if that future is distant. Though we tend to perform our best and achieve the best outcomes when we optimize our work and focus for long-term performance, our minds are wired for short-term focus and goals. So, instead of zooming in on one task or project, think about your long-term goals, and work backward to visualize how these small steps will lead to that eventuality. Visualizing should super-charge your focus.

Long-term thinking is what Jeff Bezos used to make Amazon the tech powerhouse it is today. Since 1997, his manifesto has been “It’s all about the long term,” a kind of proactive warning to shareholders that the company is willing to sacrifice short-term revenue if that means higher long-term gains.

2. At least start your task.

One of the hardest parts of any task, especially a challenging one, is actually getting started. Once you’re in the middle of something, it’s much easier to keep that momentum going. To overcome this initial hurdle, commit yourself to at least starting your task;you can always tell yourself that you can abandon it after five good minutes of actual work.

By the time those five minutes are up, you might already be so into the project that you’ll naturally want to carry that momentum forward. So, start! The sooner you do, the sooner you’ll achieve that flow. This charge may seem intimidating or difficult if the task is beyond your usual scope, but in the words of former Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer, “I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that's how you grow. When there's that moment of 'Wow, I'm not really sure I can do this,' and you push through those moments, that's when you have a breakthrough.”

3. Set a timer.

You can also motivate yourself by setting a timer,forcing yourself to work for a fixed amount of time and putting a break on the schedule for the near future. This simultaneously puts a limit on how much effort you’ll need to expend and gives you something to look forward to -- a break.Studies show that the “average” optimal time for this work-break split entails working for 52 minutes and breaking for 17, but you’ll likely need some adjustments to make the pattern work for you. For example, Tony Schwartz (president of the Energy Project) takes a break every 90 minutes, since he says his alertness tends to drop off after those 90 minutes are up.

4. Tell someone what you plan to do.

Social pressure can influence your personal motivation fairly strongly. If you have a big project to do, or a major goal for the day, tell someone close to you (such as a friend, family member or even a colleague) what you intend to accomplish. Knowing you’ll need to eventually report back to that person, you’ll feel extra pressure to do what you said you were going to

If you want even more pressure, consider broadcasting your goal to a whole group of people, such as the entire office. Ray Wu, cofounder of Weilos, used that online weight-loss community's platform to measure this effect. The result: Participants who actively shared their goals and progress ended up losing 1.2 pounds per week, compared to just 0.27 pounds per week among dieters not using the platform.

5. Change your "self-talk."

A comprehensive review of 47 different studies reported in the Journal of Sports Exercise Psychology confirmed the effects of positive and negative "self-talk" -- that running internal dialogue most of us experience throughout the day. Essentially, positive self-talk leads to higher motivation, better self-esteem and an elevated mood, while negative self-talk leads to the opposite.

If you find yourself saying or thinking things like “This is too much,” or “I’m stressed out of my mind,” try rephrasing those comments to things like, “This is an exciting challenge,” or “I’m going to feel great when I’m done with this.” Sometimes, a simple mental change is all it takes to radically transform your perspective.

6. Keep a task list.

Start keeping a list of tasks to do, and write down everything -- even small, minutes-long tasks throughout your day. Whenever you get something done, cross it off the list or put a check mark next to it. This will help you stay organized but, more importantly, will give you a boost of motivation every time you cross something off.

In the words of April Underwood, vice president of product at Slack, “Have a clear system for to-dos: whether it’s ‘Getting Things Done’ or the ‘Checklist Manifesto,’ just have a system and stick to it." Continued Underwood: "I have a very specific method I use in Slack and in email that works for me, and knowing I have that system keeps me from feeling overwhelmed even when I’m behind or the to-dos pile up.”

By keeping a task list, you too will be able to tangibly mark your progress, and you’ll feel better about what you’ve already achieved. You’ll also get to visualize your progress over time, which can help you keep going when you hit a wall.

7. Establish consequences.

Though reward-based systems often work better for teaching people new things, our instinct to avert loss motivates us to accomplish a goal when there are consequences for not accomplishing it. For example, in one experiment, teachers were split into two groups: one group was offered a $4,000 bonus if their students’ grades improved, and another group was actually given the $4,000, along with the threat that they would have to return the money if grades didn’t improve. Those consequences led the latter group to perform better over the semester.

So, if you want to get more things done, establish your own consequences for not getting them done.

If you find yourself chronically low on motivation and this happens relatively frequently -- say, more than once or twice a week -- consider this a sign of a bigger problem in your daily work life. You might be dealing with too much stress (without an outlet to relieve it), or you might be heading toward burnout.

Jayson DeMers • VIP Contributor

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The Power of Motivation: Crash Course Psychology #17

WOW he wasnt joking when he said crash course lol ! I'd be surprised he didn't pass out after this video I'm not sure he took a breath lol!

Seven Key Steps to Success in Today's Challenging Business World

Succeeding as a business in today’s business world is no small feat, as entrepreneurs need toovercome significant challenges from the start, such as creating a viable business model, building a strong and reliable team, standing out among your competitors, and generating enough revenue tobe sustainable.

While there is no one-size-fits-all recipe for success, having a clear road map and making sure to implement a series of critical st Succeeding as a business in today’s business world is no small feat, as entrepreneurs need to overcome significant challenges from the start, such as creating a viable business model, building a strong and reliable team, standing out among your competitors, and generating enough revenue to be sustainable.

While there is no one-size-fits-all recipe for success, having a clear roadmap and making sure toimplement a series of critical steps toward one’s business goals can have a tremendous impact on an organization’s growth and development.

Below, seven members of Young Entrepreneur Council below share some key steps you should take, including talent retention, knowledge of the market, trust in your team’s capabilities and not being afraid of failure. Here are some details.eps toward one’s business goals can have a tremendous impact on an organization’s growth and development.

Below, seven members of Young Entrepreneur Council below share some key steps you should take, including talent retention, knowledge of the market, trust in your team’s capabilities and not being afraid of failure. Here are some details.

1. Retain Your Talent

Entrepreneurs need to be catering to their employees. Any company can do sales, any company can do marketing and any company can provide quality assurance — but not all companies can maintain their talent. Talent is what separates the lead singers from the rock stars. Catering toemployees is a multi-faceted goal, involving extensive vacation time, freedom to work and earnest involvement in their growth. - Allyson Case, Integro Rehab LLC

2. Give the Market What It Needs

In order for an entrepreneur to remain competitive and achieve success in the modern businesslandscape, they must maintain a high level of curiosity, work ethic, focus and persistence. Many times, people chase what is trending, or what they think will make them rich or famous, for instance. Forget what you want and focus on connecting with something the market needs, that you love and that you can be the best at. - Dan San, Meural Inc.

3. Help Others Shine

Helping others shine leaves a bigger impact on your character than all your efforts to raise yourself up. This type of commitment to the team will not go unnoticed. Look for an opportunity to put other people in the limelight. They will drop their negativity and will look forward to working with you. This is how true leaders are shaped. - Sweta Patel, Silicon Valley Startup Marketing

4. Evolve Constantly

To achieve success in the modern business world, entrepreneurs need to constantly evolve. CDs didn't become irrelevant because the quality suffered, they became irrelevant when MP3s arrived. Blockbuster didn't become yesterday's news because their selection was down, it happened because they didn't evolve quickly enough to our on-demand culture. If you don't evolve, someone else will. - Matt Carpenter, College Funding Services (CFS), LLC

5. Don’t Be Afraid to Fail

Don't get discouraged: Keep your head up and work your butt off. If becoming an entrepreneur was easy, then everyone would do it. Making mistakes is what has made me successful. I had 10-plus businesses fail before I landed a successful one. The lessons I learned from my failures are 10 times more valuable than any book or article. - Jonathan Bast, T3 Marketing, LLC

6. Be Ready to Work With a Remote Team

Entrepreneurs need to set up their business to work in remote environments. The workforce is constantly changing, and more people are becoming location-independent. In the U.S. alone, it's estimated that 50 percent of the workforce will be working remotely by 2020. Entrepreneurs need to be prepared: People no longer desire to be tied down to an office — they want more freedom. The change is inevitable. - Jinny Oh, Wander

7. Let Your Employees Grow

For me, the most important part of any business are the employees. Allowing your employees towear multiple hats, feel engaged in business operations, and make their own decisions is a keyfactor in attracting and retaining talent in the modern world. And always be over-transparent. Remember, the employees are what make your business what it is, so don’t lose sight of this fact. - Mark Grignon, Kognitiv, Inc.

POST WRITTEN BY

Young Entrepreneur Council

  YEC is an invite-only organization comprised of the world's most successful entrepreneurs 40 and younger.  

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This is Why You Don't SUCCEED - One of the Best Motivational Speeches Ever

Very insightful! Comment if you check your phone in the middle of the night lol.

5 Sales Skills Everyone Should Possess

Sales is something that everyone needs to learn. What few people realize is that they’re closing deals every day. If you don’t work in sales it’s easy to assume you don’t need to learn how. That’s simply not true. Developing sales skills will help you in many situations beyond a sales job.

Whether you’re closing a big deal or selling your significant other on where you’re going for dinner it’s still a sale. At the end of the day there’s no secret formula to closing every deal. However there are plenty of sales skills you can develop to improve your close rate.

Here are five sales skills that everyone should possess:

Qualify Every Single Prospect

It’s estimated that more than half of the prospects you come across aren’t actually a good fit for your products or services. That said sales people still spend hours trying to push their products on these unqualified prospects.

Instead of rushing to the sale you should emphasize quality control. As you prospect, develop a strict process on how you qualify a customer. I suggest making a basic check-list. Decide on what is required to be considered a qualified lead and only move forward with prospects who meet your specific requirements.

Script Your Introductions

Studies show that it only takes about 10 seconds for a prospect to decide whether or not they want to continue a conversation with you. This makes your introductions extremely important.

Since sales is a numbers game, you’ll likely be doing plenty of introductions throughout your career. Instead of leaving it up to chance you should always try to script your introductions. You can try out different methods but make sure you keep the script constant for a few prospects. Once you find one that works, stick to it as much as possible.

Find Your Metrics

As I mentioned above, sales it truly a numbers game. As you schedule your week for success you should always quantify what it’s going to take to hit your goals. Keep track of metrics like email opens, responses, and calls scheduled per set of prospects. Your end goal is obviously a closed deal.

If you can build a model that clearly shows what it takes to close a deal you’ll be able to work much more efficiently.

Build Relationships

Building rapport through schmoozing simply isn’t enough to win clients over. People are becoming increasingly skeptical of salespeople these days. This makes it increasingly important to build real relationships with prospects and clients.

If a prospect trusts you on a personally level then they’ll trust that your products and services will provide value. If you’re able to build relationships with existing clients then they’ll be more likely to give you a referral or two when you ask.

Listen Attentively

Every sales mentor will tell you that you need to listen more than you speak. This is especially true when the client begins to express interest in the deal. When a client is on the verge of closing they will typically ask their most important or pressing questions. These questions are the tipping point for whether or not they want to close.

If you fail to listen attentively you’ll miss valuable information on that specific client and potentially the industry as a whole.

Final Thoughts

If you want to succeed in sales you need to get out there and sell. If you want to close more deals I suggest practicing the five sales skills listed above. You won’t be disappointed.

 Renzo Costarella 

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Simon Sinek's Top 10 Rules For Success (@simonsinek)

Very inspiring and truthful. If your getting in the way of your own success this is a great video!

9 New Year's Resolutions for Small Business Success

Kimberly de Silva • Guest Writer
This story originally appeared on Bizness Apps

It's a good time to reflect on your business' progress and plan how you want to grow your business in the new year.

When people hear new year’s resolutions, they often think of “exercising more," “spending more time with the family” or “traveling more." Besides these personal resolutions, you can also create impactful resolutions for your small business. A resolution, after all, is a decision to do something differently to bring about positive change. It’s a good time to reflect on your business’ progress and plan how you want to grow your business in the new year. 

1. I will learn how to delegate and do more of it. 

As a small business owner, your to-do list probably doesn’t even fit on one page. There are so many things to do, and it’s easy to delude ourselves that we need to do all of them ourselves. You can only work so many hours in a day. As a result, you’re probably exhausted, stressed and don’t have any free time outside of your business. Delegation is the key to a healthy work-life balance. However, people don’t delegate because it takes a lot of upfront effort and requires a loss of control. So how do you let someone else do certain tasks, while making sure it’s done correctly? The answer is simple: communication and training. Make sure your employees are trained enough, to the point where they can take over some of your tasks. The next step is to clearly communicate the objectives and deadlines, so that you don’t end up micromanaging.

2. I will learn how to manage my cash flow more effectively.

Cash flow is the lifeblood of any small business. In fact, a prominent study from the financial services company U.S. Bank found that 82 percent of startups and small businesses fail due to poor cash flow management. According to The Balance, “This is a great resolution for small business owners who have drastic ebbs and flows in their cash flow, have been unable to create enough capital to invest back into the business or those who don’t really understand the day-to-day finances of the business.”

3. I will take steps to improve my digital presence.

If it’s been more than a year since your site has been updated, if you haven’t taken action to make your online presence mobile-friendly, if you still haven’t created an email marketing list or if digital isn’t part of your marketing strategy at all, it’s time to add this to your new year’s resolutions. You could even take a step further than mobile-friendly and use a mobile-first approach to your digital presence. 

4. I will charge what I’m worth.

Do you feel that your product or service is undervalued? If so, then it might be time to raise your rates to correspond with the value you bring to the table. You might be thinking that raising your prices will alienate certain people from becoming a customer. That could be the case, but you can’t be all things to all people. “Your target market will pay what the marketplace has proved it will pay”, says Entrepreneur. How can you implement this? Depending on your business, you can shift to a “packaged value” approach. This is where you provide tiered packages that give potential customers choices, so they can focus on the value you offer rather than the amount of time you spent. Your prices can then reflect this value

5. I will learn something new.

New year, new skill. Choose something new to learn in 2018 -- it may be directly related to your business or completely unrelated. Learning a new skill will add a dimension of interest to your life that will help to maintain that work-life balance. It will also help you to get out of your comfort zone and meet new people, if you decide to take marketing classes or learn a new language.

6. I will make business strategizing a weekly event. 

Planning is vital if you want to foster a growing business. But running a small business can be chaotic and it’s easy to get sucked into the day-to-day operations. Business strategizing allows you to take a step back and highlight what worked and what didn’t, while adjusting old goals and setting new ones. So why do it just once a quarter or once a year? Set aside time each week to review your strategies. This will help you stay on track and allow you to have a clear hold on your business. 

7. I will drop what’s not working and move on.

After all that business strategizing, you will know exactly what’s not working for your small business. Maybe your sales method isn’t performing well, one of your products isn’t selling or a specific partnership isn’t working out… If this is the case, it’s time to drop it. As The Balance states, “If a technique or a product or a business relationship isn’t working for you, stop using it. Don’t invest a lot of energy into trying to make the unworkable workable. Move on. Something better will turn up.”

8. I will promote my business regularly and consistently.

Since small business owners wear a lot of hats, you might not always have “marketing” at the top of your to-do list. While you should definitely focus on delivering that amazing small business experience, you shouldn’t forget to market that amazing experience to to the outside world. To attract new customers, you have to make promotion a priority. Take the time to create a marketing plan or, even your funds allow it, hire a marketing expert to help you set it up. To get started, try some of these ways to get press coverage for your small business.

9. I will enhance my technology footprint.

Few things frustrate employees -- and customers -- more than working with outdated technology. Slow internet speeds, clunky operating systems and inadequate tools can eat up valuable time. Make an inventory list of all your company supplies to see what needs replacing. Maybe it’s time to implement that online food ordering system, or maybe your employees could use new computers. Start the year off right by upgrading your technology footprint.

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