1.) Get organized and prepare.
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of organization and prep for sales. Whether
it is a simple meeting to discuss service or a presentation, nothing is more irritating
than a disorganized representative. Immediately it gives the impression that this person
has a hard time managing themselves, so how are they going to help me?

5.) Ask for the sale, more than once. 
If you even ask for the sale once, you are already ahead of the majority. Ask for the Sale. 

We need to get this and this done so we can get going on getting you the product/service

you need.  Let’s do this.  Whatever your approach, a sale cannot be made if you do not

ask for the sale.

BONUS TIP:  Smile, and maintain a positive demeanor. Seems straight forward

but if you are sulking, feeling sorry for yourself, or lacking energy, you will not be able to have

a positive influence on your prospect.

Happy Selling.

Whether you are a manager, an executive, a business owner, someone seeking a new job, or new to the job market, everyone wants to get the most out of their time and investments. Today, there is an even greater emphasis on cutting back and watching budgets, resulting in a need for creativity and resourcefulness.

Luckily we live in a resource abundant society, with the internet being just a click away we can easily research and find credible information, products, and services. The truth is lack of resources is rarely the issue. Information overload and lack of application is something I see happening on a regular basis. People are distracted and overwhelmed by the amount of information and resources available to them.

So how do we make the most of these resources?

Imagine you are sitting at home feeling hungry, you look in the fridge and in the cupboard and come to the conclusion, there is nothing to eat. Occasionally this might be true, but more often than not, there is food. But it requires preparation and it might not be that exciting. It is much more exciting, appealing, and convenient to simply order a pizza or go out for dinner.

Being resourceful and getting the most out of your current resources means you open the fridge, grab ingredients and come up with a creation. You are resisting the temptation to buy your way out of the challenge.

The need: To eat.

The resources: What is in the fridge & cupboards.

What do you like most? What is it, what are its qualities? pro’s/cons?: Pick the ingredients that are most appealing and best suited.

Creativity: Putting something together from the ingredients.

Focus & Action: Getting it prepared, cooked, and eaten.

The result: A full belly, happy mind, and maybe even some savings.

Business Example:

The need: My client needs a website, cheap and has no budget.

The resources I have: What is it, and what are its qualities? (pro’s/con’s)

A web designer friend. If I get stuck I can call my friend. 

Elance, cheap web design work done remotely. 

Experience working with Shaw templates.

MonsterTemplate.com, cheap but requires a lot of software and skill. 

Wix Flash sites, includes template, and stock photos. Small monthly fee to operate.

Access to the internet for free stock photo’s.

Example content to give me some ideas.

A love for creativity and learning new things. 

What do I like most and would be best suited to the need?

Based on my needs, I think WIX could be utilized with my skill to create an site for next to nothing using my resources.

Creativity: Putting it all together; how will I use these ingredients to create success? What will it take, what will it look like?

The focus & action: Get prepared, create the site, launch the site.

The result: A website that looks professional, a happy budget and client.

ACTIONS

1.) Determine What is the need? What will you be using the resource for?

2.) Identify what resources to you have, make a list and be sure to include your own personal skills and talents.

e.g. Mentors, Books, Internet, Friends, A creative mind, A certificate on time management.

If in this process you determine there is in fact an important missing ingredient that must be acquired, then at least you have maximized what you already have and know exactly what is missing. 

3.) Pick what you like most and think will be best suited to your needs. Does it fit the requirements well?

4.) Establish how you will use this or these resources to create success.

Put it all together using your creativity.

5.) Give it your focus and put it into action: Get prepared, plan, and put your resource to use and action.

This is IMPORTANT: It is crucial that you put the resource into action. The stir fry is not going to make itself.  Getting organized, on track, and focused requires that you put your ingredients/resources into action. If you have sales goals, or want to create a killer resume, you need to put the resources into action. Follow the instructions, use the key ingredients best suited to make it happen. 

HOT TIP:

Whenever possible use time and attention skills & structure to help you create success. Make it real and book the time to get it done,.

6.) Measure your result. Was it a success? Do you need to acquire additional resources or look at your current ones to improve.

7.) The result. Success through creative and resourceful mind. 

When the decision is made to invest in something to help better our situation or increase our chance at success, there are ways to waste our time and money and ways to help us increase our return on investment. 

Here are 4 top tips on how you can increase return on investment, personally or professionally.

1.) Follow up & Follow Through: Did you finish reading that book? Did you walk away from the training course and never look back? First and foremost if you want to increase your return on investment, put in the effort and action. Go back and revisit something you once had interest in and never followed up on, create an action plan and make it happen.

2.) Evaluate the investment: Is there something more you can get out of it? Can it be used in any other way that is beneficial? Use creativity to help improve return on investment. If it is a course or training program, are you using it to it’s maximum capacity, or at least decided on how you can apply a few things you learned and turn it into action?

Can this investment make you more money?

Can this investment be used in any other way?

3.) Create a list of things that you learned or took away from the investment. Even if the investment didn’t seem like a success, you can still decide what you took away and learned from the experience. Focus on the positive, and be grateful. There is always something to appreciate or take away from every situation.

4.) Action, Action, Action. Put the investment to work. This is the best way to ensure you get the most return on investment. Whether it is a new laptop to help you make sales and create invoices, or a course on managing your time. Put it into action and make sure it is working for you, not gathering dust.

We can all be a little more resourceful when it comes to our personal and professional lives. Less waste and more creativity. If you are in sales it is not the new laptop that will make or break the deal, it is your personality, experience, confidence, and dedication that will give you the best shot. Your personality, experience, confidence and dedication are your resources, so increase your personal return on investment by tapping into your personal knowledge.

It is so easy to try to buy our way to success, or ignore the valuable lessons and resources we already have available to us.

Often we are looking for something new to solve problems and challenges when the answer and resource is sitting right in front of us. A good book, a mentor, an article, a course on time management, or even daily exercise and eating right.

Some of the most innovative and successful ideas come from a creative mind meeting a necessity. Challenge yourself today to get more creative, use what you have and do something unique. You might be surprised how much you already have and how much you can get out of it.

Jennifer Nuce, Level 88 Consultants. (Helping Leaders Reach Another Level)

I help leaders develop the effective habits they need to increase success for themselves personally and professionally. 

If you  haven’t seen the movie yet, here is a quick summary.

Two men, one uptight, well dressed, perfectionist professional, RDJ (Peter). One, sloppy, lonely, beardy, crazy guy, actor, meet at the airport, ZG (Ethan).

Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) must get to LA in five days to be at the birth of his firstborn. He is about to fly home from Atlanta when his luggage and wallet are sent to LA without him, and he is put on the “no-fly” list. Desperate to get home Peter is forced to accept the offer of Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) to hitch a ride with him cross-country. Peter is about to go on the most terrifying and agonizing journey of his life. Written by Douglas Young (the-movie-guy)

Enroute from Atlanta to Los Angeles via plane to be on time for the birth of his first child, Peter Highman instead runs into fellow-passenger/aspiring Hollywood actor, Ethan Tremblay, and has part of his baggage switched. Just when the flight is about to take off, Peter gets into a situation, is shot and subdued by an Air Marshall. When he regains his senses he finds he is on the ‘No Fly List’, no money/credit card, nor identification, and is compelled to hitch a ride with Ethan. Hoping to make it in time, he is has no idea that soon he will be assaulted by a ‘handicapable’ Western Union employee; get in a serious accident that will result in a fracture and several stitches; be on the run from Mexican Police; suspect his wife of having an affair with his friend, Darryl, and that the child may not even be his!! Written by rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)

Ethan essentially trashes Peter in to submission. Peter has an anger management issue, is a major control freak and

probably likes to iron his socks. Ethan’s sloppy and careless attitude lands them both into dangerously insane situations.

The contrast between the two characters is most interesting. On one hand you have a very organized individual who

wants to control everything, on the other, an individual who would rather look the other way, refusing to deal with

reality.

So how does this relate to your leadership style?

Leaders who rule by the iron fist, refuse to relinquish control, withhold information, and animately disregard

the importance of appreciation, are considered to be toxic. These qualities guarantee people will be resentful

in the workplace, decreasing productivity and ensuring there will be no future leaders to take their place.

Succession plan, what succession plan?

Leaders who rule with complacency, look the other way, refuse to be pro-active, and would

rather keep things steady than rock the boat, foster a culture of people who may like them

as an individual, but have very little respect for them as a leader. In addition, their lack of

engagement equates to a nervous culture, who never really know what is expected of them

or where they stand.  Employees know that this leader will put up with just about anything.

So, before you start justifying, denying, and looking the other way. Take a moment

to think about your leadership style? It might not be this black and white, but you

may notice some similar behaviours in yourself.

Word of caution: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0_5jwOFet0

Now for some much needed work comic relief….

Top 10 Funny (DUE DATE QUOTES)
No. 10 Funny Due Date Quote

Ethan: Let me talk to her. (Grabs cell phone from Peter who is talking to his wife). Do you have a hairdresser out west? I just go this perm and it needs some major upkeep.

No. 9 Funny Due Date Quote

Ethan: Holy moly, it’s like I’m traveling with a child.
Peter: Did you use the restroom?
Ethan: Good point, I need to take a pee pee.

No. 8 Funny Due Date Quote

Ethan: My father always had a saying, ‘When a day starts like this, it’s all uphill from here.’
Peter: Uphill? No, it’s all downhill from here.
Ethan: But everybody wants to be up. Nobody wants to be down. So it’s all uphill from here.
Peter: But it’s easier as you go downhill so you’re dad didn’t know what (eff) he was talking about.

No. 7 Funny Due Date Quote

Peter: I despise who you are on a cellular level.
Ethan: Okay, I’ve heard that before and I’m trying to work on it.

No. 6 Funny Due Date Quote

Peter: If I miss the birth of my child, I’m going to choke you out with your own scarf.
Ethan: …Seems a bit drastic.

No. 5 Funny Due Date Quote

Peter: Hand me that dog and I will cut it in half.
Ethan: You better check yourself before you wreck yourself.

No. 4 Funny Due Date Quote

Peter: I have to get back to Los Angeles.
Man: Have you ever seen the movie Forrest Gump? He ran across the U.S. and he was pretty stupid. I have faith in you.

No. 3 Funny Due Date Quote

Peter: How have you made it this far? How have you not run yourself over in a car?
Ethan: I’ve done that.

No. 2 Funny Due Date Quote

Peter: If you’re allergic to waffles, then don’t eat waffles.
Ethan: Then don’t take me to a waffle house!

No. 1 Funny Due Date Quote

Peter: Why are your father’s ashes in a coffee can?
Ethan: Because he’s dead Peter.

Original Top 10 content by: Colt Kingston

Jennifer Nuce (jennifer@level88.ca)

778 558 3910

www.level88.ca

Jim Rohn, was an amazing mentor to many people including Anthony Robbins. Whether you like  their styles and messages or not, you can not deny the fact that we could all use a reminder about these simple things we often take for granted. He taught us to remember that Attitude, Philosophy, and Discipline make all the difference.

“Be open to all experiences the same wall that keeps out disappointment keeps out happiness, You never know which experience will set off all four of these things.” – J Rohn

Here are four easy to remember tips to become a more successful leader:

1.)DISGUST: What does disgust have to do with becoming more successful as a leader? Think about yourself and all of the goals, dreams, aspirations you would like to achieve. Is there something that you SHOULD be doing and are not? Think about your weight or fitness, finances, people skills, whatever it is how do you feel about it right now? How do you feel when your pants don’t fit or you belly is bulging in your shirt? How do you feel when you can’t buy the things you want for your family or you are passed over for a raise/promotion? Feeling disgusted yet?

The good news is feeling disgusted is a positive thing. It allows us to understand that it is time to make a change and to take time to reflect on how we got there in the first place and make the necessary changes to create a new result. Leaders are regularly disgusted by low standards of themselves, their family, their community and the world. That is how they have enough passion and drive to make big changes.

2.)DECISION: Now that you are disgusted its time to make a decision. What are you going to do about it? Leaders live their lives they don’t let life happen to them. It is up to you to decide what you are going to do about it. A decision means you have made up your mind, you have already committed. Decision: 1. a judgment, conclusion, or resolution reached or given; verdict 2. the act of making up one’s mind 3. firmness of purpose or character; determination. As you can see a decision means you resolve, you have concluded ,made up your mind of your purpose and you are determined to make it happen. The lesson here is don’t take decisions for granted. Leaders don’t just go along with the crowd they think for themselves and make calculated decisions, or they make decisions just of the sake of it.  Next time you have to make a decision think about what that means.

So decide what you want to do and take is seriously,  if you don’t how can you expect others to respect your decisions. A note to leaders in business; sometimes leaders have to make hard decisions, unpopular ones that are not necessarily right are wrong, they just are. This is part of  the responsibility of being a leader, if you are unwilling to do this you’ve signed up for the wrong job.

3.)DESIRE: Having the wish for something better is desire. We all have desire its important to be aware of how strong your desire is. What is it that you desire and how strong is this desire? Take some time to figure out what it is you truly desire and make a decision. There will always be a chance to change your desire in the future but for now you must determine what it is exactly. Hopefully you are not looking for hand outs or you wouldn’t be reading this. If you have the desire for something decide and resolve to make it happen. Finger pointing, blaming, waiting around, these are behaviours that will keep you away from what you desire.

Point the finger at yourself and fuel the fire of your desire for something better.

4.)RESOLVE: So you are disgusted,  you have made a decision and you have the desire for something better, now it is time to RESOLVE to make it happen. To resolve means you have made a firm decision to make a change. It is not soft, it’s not I should change or I should do this or that, it’s I WILL do it. Leaders stand behind their word. When they say they are going to d something they follow through and see it to the end. This is how people know they can trust and count on them. Think about who you are leading in your life. Leadership is everywhere, it is up to you to decide what kind of leader you will be for yourself, your family, your workplace, your community,  and the world.

Resolve, Until you understand, never stop learning, book by book, piece by piece will not give up. Grow and resolve that you will pay the price until you learn, change, grow become.

JR taught that you attitude, philosophy and discipline could help you achieve great success. These four ways of thinking or attitudes can help any leader get the winning edge to create greater success.

In summary,

What are you putting up with or tolerating? are you disgusted yet? (I know I am).

Have you made a decision or will you? What will that decision mean for you in your life 3 months from now, 6 months?

What do you desire? What is it exactly that you want? This is important and be specific.

Have you resolved? Do you have what it takes to commit to this desire or wish? if not maybe it’s time to get disgusted.

As a Professional Coach, I have the honour of seeing first hand how the measurable and immeasurable results of coaching have an outstanding impact on a leaders professional and personal life.

“I never cease to be amazed, by the power of the coaching process.” -John Russell (Managing Director, Harley Davidson, Europe)

Mr. Russell put the words right into my mouth. It’s rewarding to be consistantly suprised by the power of the coaching process, imagine you have purchased something like a television, and every time  you turn it on a new unexpected feature shows up. Or imagine you stay the night in three star hotel, but end up getting four star services.

The immeasurable results of coaching, could be linked to many different features of the coaching process; such as active listening, this is such a rare thing to have. I would imagine most people don’t experience true, pure active listening very often if at all throughout their day to day lives. There is something really powerful about someone listening with such intent, focusing, caring and giving 100% attention to you.

Another feature of coaching is its objectivitiy, there is no judgement. Good coaches are trained to put their own opinions, feelings, and motives aside. It is all about the client developing their own conclusions, and growing organically. Therefore, you have this amazing support that has no ulterior motive or ego trying to potentially hold you back or meet its underlying wants and needs.

However, it is important to create excellent measures that can reveal the impact that coaching and coaches have so that the message and benefit of coaching is clear, and more people + organizations can benefit from this powerful service.

The following is an overview of some of the reasons why organizations are reaching out to coaching, and studies revealing the benefits of coaching.

Organizational managers and leaders reach out to coaching to help:

• Best leverage your leadership strengths
• Improve team performance
• Increase personal and team productivity
• Focus on the most important issues
• Achieve greater success in the most critical projects
• Better manage time
• Communicate more effectively, reducing conflict and misunderstandings
• Create a stronger climate of trust
• Achieve greater balance and reduce stress
• Behavioural changes

Coaching Benefits

• 77% Improvement in Relationships with Direct Reports
• 71% Increase in Relationships with Immediate Supervisors
• 67% Increase in Teamwork
• 63% Increase in Relationships with Peers
• 61% Increase in Job Satisfaction
• 44% Increase in Organizational Commitment
• 37% improvement in Relationships with Clients

(McGovern, Lindemann, Vergara, Murphy, Barker and Warrenfeltz with Manchester, Inc.)

Another study reported these benefits from coaching:

• Productivity (reported by 53% of people coached)
• Quality (48%)
• Organizational strength (48%)
• Customer service (39%)
• Customer complaint reductions (34%)
• Employee retention (32%)
• Cost reductions (23%)
• Bottom-line profitability (22%)

(Merrill C. Anderson, Ph.D. MetrixGlobal, LL

Timothy Ferris talks about Escaping paralysis in his wildly  successful book The 4 Hour Work Week:

1.) “Define your nightmare, the absolute worst that could happen if you did what you are considering.”

2.) ” What steps could you take to repair the damage or get things back on the upswing even temporarily?”

3.) ” What are the outcomes or benefits, both temporary and permanent of a more probable scenario?”

4.) “If you were fired from your job today, what would you do to get things under financial control?” or

-If you were threatened to be fired from your job today, what would you do to secure your position?

5.) “What are you putting of out of fear?”

6.) ” What is it costing you – financially, emotionally, and physically to postpone action?

7.) “What are you waiting for?”

” What we fear doing most is usually what we need to do. As I have heard said, a person’s success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have. Resolve to do one thing every day that you fear.” T-Ferriss

Now is the time, take action immediately, and make it a habit of doing so. Do whatever it takes to face your fear head on, and ask for help from people who support and care about your success.

Jennifer Nuce

Professional Leadership Coach

On average, employees admit they waste two hours a day. This doesn’t include time that is wasted on multi-tasking, and searching for lost documents

One cannot manage too many affairs: like pumpkins in the water, one pops up while you try to hold down the other- Chinese Proverb.

Executives waste about six weeks a year searching for lost documents, and the effects of multi-tasking can lead to the I.Q. of an individual who has lost an entire nights sleep, or smoked marijuana.

Trouble is, we often have no idea where our attention is going. The entire world is striving to get our attention, and it is being diluted one tweet, e-mail, text, commercial, advertisement, siren, next door neighbor at a time.

Become a detective, find out exactly where this time is going. For one week straight, try to track how  you spend your hours, pretend your hours are dollars. Imagine, if you have 24 (hour) dollars a day, how will you spend them? Would you give them away to your chatter box co-worker sitting in the cubicle next to you for free? Would you give them away to Facebook? Hey, it’s your life.

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.Carl Sandburg

Take some (time) to figure out where you are bleeding out time, where you are carelessly giving it away. The next step is understanding that it doesn’t do any good to schedule things into your calendar and not acknowledge that you must focus your attention on the task at hand, give it boundaries so you can have a start and stop time.

Better three hours too soon, than one minute too late.
William Shakespeare

When you schedule in a task, give it attention, and a deadline, you will most likely finish it 80% sooner. You will have put in 20% of the time, and will get 80% of your results. When you let things slide, each task, appointment, activity, gets pushed into the other, and they all come tumbling down like dominos.

Make some time, to get great at managing your attention.

I guarantee it will change your life, personally and professionally.

Excellent resource:

http://www.davidco.com/

Check out the Emotional Intelligence Slide.

Happy sharing.

There are millions of people in the world right now striving for success. What does it mean to be successful? how do we define success? and more importantly what is the purpose of success?

When your blackberry or iPhone goes off in the morning, and you open your eyes to a new day, what are you waking up for? Many people crave success, the trouble is, they haven’t taken the time to define what that success is or looks like, and more importantly they do not yet have purpose. What they do have is the desire to achieve, which is a great thing.

However, with all the challenges this world so easily has to offer on a day-to-day basis how can one person stand out and rise above. As Mr. Mandino has so wonderful stated, we must become a mountain. In order to become a mountain, you must have purpose.

Develop definiteness of Purpose

Success and progress towards achieving your goals in life begin with knowing where you are going.

Any dominating idea, plan, or purpose held in your conscious mind

Check out this article from business week, apparently having purpose helps you live longer. http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/627835.html?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_lifestyle

Tip # 1.) Plan your week out: Schedule with yourself  some time to focus on planning out your week Sunday night or Monday morning (early) if you prefer. This will help you be more organized, better prepared to respond rather than react, and as a result less stressed out.

Tip # 2.) Start each day with something funny: Schedule in some time to start the day with something funny. Laughter has so many benefits, it relaxes your muscles, relieves stress, improves mood and enhances resilience. I think we all can agree this is good for the working environment. More on benefits here: http://www.helpguide.org/life/humor_laughter_health.htm

Tip # 3.) Get one thing done you have put off: Procrastination is not empowering, it leaves us with that looming feeling. So figure out one thing you have been putting off, schedule a time to do it, and STICK TO THE TIME-FRAME (VERY IMPORTANT). Things that we put off are usually things we don’t like or don’t want to do, which also means we are very easily distracted. Schedule the time, stick to it, and get it done.

Tip # 4) Acknowledge someone for their good work: Go out of your way to let one person know  that you recognize, appreciate, admire something they have done (be genuine) . The wonderful thing about acknowledgement is, it’s contagious, and comes back to you.

Tip # 5.)  Pack some snacks: Make sure you have some nutritious snacks available at your reach. Including almonds, pistachios, string cheese, vegetables, apples, etc. High sugar, high processed foods are not good choices. The high sugar snacks make your blood sugar sky-rocket and then crash, while the highly processed foods are irritants to your body and don’t feed your brain.

There you have it, 5 Solid tips that will make a big difference in your work week. For best results: Schedule these in, and repeat!

“I help leaders develop the right kind of habits, to increase their success personally

and professionally”