Difficult Things to Say
That Will Increase Your Income

Sales professionals sometimes get so taken up in strategies for productivity that they forget to be human. People like to do business with people who are like them. My guess is that a large percentage of your clients are human! Make the following statements a part of your language for the next six months. Include them in your client communications. You will make more money. By the way...it won't do any damage to your personal relationships either!
1. "That was my fault." I was in a nice restaurant. The food came before the appetizer. Within seconds, the server was at my table saying, "That was my fault. I didn't punch in the order properly. I can cancel it, bring it for you to eat with your food, or put it in a box so you can take it home. Either way, it's on the house." I ate it there and the server got a huge tip. The willingness to assume personal responsibility has great value in today's work place.
2. "I need your help." It's hard to be mean or closed-minded when you hear this statement. Is it curiosity? Does it appeal to the charitable side of the hearer? I believe it says, "I'm just like you." We all need help sometimes.
3. "I don't know. But, I can find out," is so much better than when someone tries to impress you with know- ledge they are only pretending to have.
4. "If you can't, I understand." They probably can, and since you are so understanding, they probably will.
5. "I can help you with that." It doesn't matter if you don't know quite how yet. It's the willingness to be part of the team that matters. Isn't this so much better than, "I'm not sure we can do that." Or worse, "Wow, you DO have a problem!"
6. "If you buy three, I'll throw one in free," isn't nearly as interesting as, "Try this one on me. If you like it, we'll do business." It's another quality that has value in today's work place. It's called initiative
7. "I appreciate you." Sure you do, but have you said it lately? Everyone wants to be appreciated, even if they don't want you to know it. "Thanks for your business," is polite, but it's about something you've done for me. "I appreciate you, is all about YOU.
Joe Marino
Personal Success Coach
E-mail: Joe@lifecanbegood.com

DID YOU KNOW

46% of people on the Web are non-native English speakers. These people represent the still untapped potential of international e-commerce.

30% of people on the Web are regular Internet users. They feel the Internet is crucial to their success. They shop online. They e-mail. They've adopted the Web and made it part of their lives.

15% of people on the Web are skeptics. They think the 'Net will never live up to its hype. Although they spend time online, their lives would not change much without it.

55% of people on the Web are somewhere in between. These are people who use the Web for work and personal uses, but are undecided how it's going to impact their career and life over the long haul. The future of the Web is truly in their hands.

TAKE A REST FROM THE RAT RACE

Get up, wash up, eat breakfast, commute, go to meetings, write letters, solve problems, deal with others, eat lunch, go to meetings, write letters, solve problems, deal with others, commute, eat dinner, watch TV, read, go to bed. Is it still fun?
The rat race can be enjoyable, with competition, frustration and achievement. When it's been going on too long, however, it can turn you from a motivated rat into an aimless hamster on an exercise wheel. If you're not having fun anymore, take a close look at what you want; your objectives for your job and your life. Then look at whether or not, for the moment, at this point in time, you have what you need. For example:
Do you have all the money you need for your lifestyle as it exists right now?
Do you have enough responsibilities for right now?
Do you have enough power and prestige for right now?
If the basic answer to the above is "yes", you're in a good place in your career. You may never have all you want, but identifying wants and striving for them is a separate exercise. Here you should only be concerned with whether your immediate needs for the next six months or a year are being met. If they are, go on to the next questions:
Do you have all your physical needs (health, fitness) in order?
Do you have all your mental needs (lack of frustration, tolerance, positive attitude, patience) in order?
Are your intellectual needs being met?
Are your needs for giving and receiving in relation to family and friends at the right levels?
Are your spiritual needs (peace of mind, comfort with yourself) satisfied?
If the answers to any of these questions are negative, you may need to take a rest from the rat race for a while. This doesn't mean that you simply take off for a two-week vacation in the woods. It means that you set a time frame, preferably six months or longer, where you get off the behavior treadmill you've been on and concentrate on strengthening the areas in life where your current needs are not being fulfilled. During this period:
Stop competing like you have in the past. Compete only with yourself, while helping others in the process.
Quit worrying about what others think. Since you can't read their minds, don't try. Think only about what you think about yourself, and keep those thoughts positive.
Give up political intrigue at work and at home. Be open and honest with relationships. Quit schmoozing up to others and putting on false identities to impress people. Laugh at yourself, never at others.
Express your feelings. Let people know you as a human being.
Do what you love to do both at home and at work. Spend time on things you really like. Get everything else out of the way quickly and thoroughly, so you won't have to do those things again.
Give of yourself to others: your spouse and family, a favorite charity, a church or civic cause, subordinates and coworkers who can learn from your experience.
Have fun. Fill in the sentence, "Gee, I've always wanted to…" and then do it!
This isn't as hard or as dramatic as it may seem. You're not going to quit your job, renounce all bad habits, sell your house, file for divorce and become a shepherd. You're simply going to decide that, from July through December, you're going to stay on a plateau, off the treadmill, and devote your energies toward what pleases you most to get all your needs met for today. You'll put off the pursuit of your wants until January.
The final word: When the period on your plateau expires, take a good look at what you've learned. You should be able to get back into the rat race and aim for your wants with a clearer perspective, a more balanced approach, less apprehension and greater confidence in your ability to achieve your dreams.

...By Carter Johnson:
Buying Time Seminars
630-910-1927

Smart Bytes
E-mail Etiquette and Ideas

Disaster Averted. Leave the recipient field blank as long as possible when constructing an e-mail. It prevents the sending of premature or accidental e-mails. You'll save everyone time and possible embarrassment.

One is Enough. If you have multiple e-mail accounts, try forwarding your mail to the account you access the most. It will save you lots of time opening and closing your various accounts. It's a great way to make sure you're not missing an important message.

Hello? Hello? Make sure you always answer your e-mail. If you've told people they can reach you through e-mail and you don't reply to their messages, you're giving off a bad impression of you and your company.

A Helpful Reminder. Most e-mails let you include a sender's original message along with the reply. This is a simple, helpful way to remind the sender what you're replying to. It also allows you to easily create an ongoing e-mail dialogue.

Do It In Threes

By Elliott M. Black

"Third time lucky?" we all say.

"Bad news comes in threes."

Just what is it about the number three? We have the Holy Trinity and the Three Musketeers; the Three Wise Men and the Three Little Pigs; the three witches in Macbeth...spells and incantations from all religions use the magic number of three...and so it goes.

Three is a number that crops up all the time in everyday speech; listen closely, next time a friend or associate is ticking off options, it will nearly always be along the lines of, "… first, there's A; then B; and thirdly, there's C…" or "I can give you three good reasons why we should x…" (Even the ellipsis… the dots used to indicate an exclusion...is a series of three dots, no more no less!)

So, if the number three IS such a powerful force, how can we harness this effectively for our own purposes?

EASY: Use bulleted lists to make your key points stand out in all your materials (letters, brochures, Web site, direct mail, advertising, etc.). Organize your material into threes:

o give your buyers three reasons to buy your product
o suggest three benefits of your product or service
o give three testimonials from satisfied customers

When doing a direct mail campaign, send out a three-part mailing.

Any little advantage you can gain helps you to increase your business. Try enforcing the Rule of Three regularly to your benefit.

To start you on your way to threefold success, here are three readily available sources to help you evaluate what marketing activities and directions you should employ. They are fast, effective and cost-efficient.

1. Your Customers
Conduct a customer survey by mail, e-mail or telephone. Ask straightforward questions about your current and recent marketing efforts. What do your customers remember seeing or hearing? What specifically inspired them to call or visit your business?

2. Your Database
Conduct some demographic research. Are your customers all coming from a specific industry? From a specific geographic area? Are they all similar in size? Do they have other characteristics in common?

3. Your Employees
Ask them which marketing program seems to work best based on their own contact with customers. What do your employees like best? Do they have specific suggestions for increasing the impact of your marketing message?

The above three information sources can help to optimize your marketing efforts and gain those added sales.

AN AUTUMN LIKE NO OTHER
As a result of the incidents of September 11th our world has changed. Our values and frames of reference have been permanently altered. Not all of these changes are bad as it gives us time to reflect and to reposition our thinking on key issues. Marketing of products and services continues as before, with perhaps a little more emphasis on personal relationships. We are a people society and will continue that way.
On a brighter note, the requests for our presentation entitled "High Impact Marketing on a Shoe- string Budget" continue unabated. Presentations are scheduled for October, November, January, February, and March. If you know of a company or organization which might be interested in learning more about this workshop, please let us know.
We hope to have some announcements in the near future with regard to the expansion of our services. Watch your mail closely for these developments.

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