Inspirational Quote Of The Day

"Our greatest glory consists not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."

Oliver Goldsmith

Why You Must Face Reality In Business -- And In Life

Life as a human being is a complicated mess. If you look at all the stuff you've got to deal with in your home and work life, it seems almost impossible to get through it in one piece, let alone raise a family and have a successful career.

What Does A Great Morning Look Like?

At a conference recently, I moderated a panel of professionals who had made changes in their schedules in order to be more effective. One woman, a college administrator, logged her time and realized that her work day featured constant interruptions. This was partly by design; she had an open-door policy, and valued close collaboration with her team. Indeed, we soon saw that her "interruptions" were probably the most important part of her job!

Inspirational Quote Of The Day

“Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven't planted”

David Bly

Get Customers To Buy Now, Not Later

You know the scenario: A prospect hears a presentation, agrees that your solution is the right one, and works with you on the price -- only to later tell you, "But let's look at this next week/month/quarter/ year..." It just doesn't add up. Companies invest time in considering a change in approach or supplier for a reason and that usually includes a level of urgency for change. If they then don't move forward, what should you do?

Constructive Criticism: 5 Ways To Get Your Point Heard, Every Single Time

One of the hardest parts of being an effective manager is communicating criticism to your employees. If you're too harsh, they'll react emotionally and won't hear you. If you're too vague, they won't hear the message.

Inspirational Quote Of The Day

"When a man is willing and eager, the Gods join in."

Aeschylus

The Best Way To Achieve Healthy Work-Life Balance

Want a clear separation between work and business? For the small business owner that's almost impossible. You are your business: virtually and symbolically, your business is an extension of you. That means you will get calls at night. You will answer emails on the weekend. You will be preoccupied and distracted. That's all part of owning your own business.

Fed Up? 3 Leadership Strategies To Fix Any Problem

(MoneyWatch) "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!" That rant, which Paddy Chayefsky used to great effect in his film Network, usually results in people getting hurt. But not always! Being fed up doesn't have to equate to rage or getting even. It can result in positive things. Two recent news stories made me realize, as Harvard professor and author Rosabeth Moss Kanter would say, "we change only when it hurts too much not to change."

Inspirational Quote Of The Day

"The great successful men of the world have used their imagination. They think ahead and create their mental picture in all its details, filling in here, adding a little there, altering this a bit and that a bit, but steadily building - steadily building."

Robert Collier

Make 2012 Your Best Year: Prepare This Holiday!

I feel like Scrooge about this time of the year. The lack of sales progress in the holiday and pre-holiday season can be maddening. For business-to-business sales people the action tapers off for the 6 weeks between the Monday before Thanksgiving and the Monday after New Year's Day. The business community goes into decision-making, phone call returning, email-responding hibernation and sales people are left to grumble. Here are 3 things you can do to set yourself in a great position for the next year's sales plan and avoid losing your mind:

You Won't Achieve The American Dream By Dreaming

We live in volatile times where viewpoints are highly polarized. The way people see business in America is no exception. Lately, it seems as if management commentary is either feel-good fluff or anti-business rhetoric.

Inspirational Quote Of The Day

"The talent of success is nothing more than doing what you can do, well."

Henry W. Longfellow

Unique Selling Proposition (USP) As A Competitive Edge

To capture a larger share of market and become more viable, sustainable, and profitable, you absolutely must differentiate your business, products, and/or services from your competitors. In other words, you need to make your business special in the eyes of your customers and prospects. You can achieve that by creating a “unique selling proposition,” or USP, and then effectively conveying it to your target. Virtually all businesses can benefit from a good USP, but it’s crucial for those operating in a highly competitive market.

The Easiest Elevator Pitch To Deliver

I'm terrible at delivering elevator pitches. While some people are great at making a wonderful first impression on potential clients, to me making an elevator pitch feels forced and obvious, so I usually chicken out and console myself by rationalizing that impromptu encounters with people in need of a ghostwriter aren't likely anyway.

Inspirational Quote Of The Day

“Success is not measured by what you accomplish, but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds.”

Orison Swett Marden

5 Rules Of Small Business Advertising Success

Many small businesses can't afford an ad agency, or prefer to do advertising and other creative work in-house. It makes agency people jump down my throat, but for many reasons (and after two decades of experience doing it both ways), I happen to think that "D.I.Y." is right for most startups and many established small companies.

How To Compete Against Giant Corporations--And Win!

Watch neighborhood kids choose their teams, and you'll see an emotionally brutal process unfold. Everyone gets to participate, but biggest, oldest and fastest kids are selected first; friends are second. And unknowns usually are among the last. In the world of sales, a similar sandlot process happens, except not everyone gets to play.

Inspirational Quote Of The Day

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”

Herman Cain

10 Ways To Get More Sales From Existing Customers

If you are looking to increase your revenue per customer, here are some tips on getting your sales staff focused on inside sales, upselling, and marketing additional services.

Practical Tips to Maximize Revenue Potential

In a constrained environment, where organizations of all sizes are being pressed to find ways to do more with less, maximizing revenue streams is a top-of-mind consideration for many SMBs.

Inspirational Quote Of The Day

"Success is the good fortune that comes from aspiration, desperation, perspiration and inspiration."

Evan Esar

On a Losing Streak? How to Win the Final Stretch

Sales in any business is a lot like baseball game. Focusing on the current game is more important than thinking of the next game coming.

The 3 Most Dangerous Sales Clichés

Clichés can wreak havoc. In sales, especially, many clichés can cause damage in the hiring processes, the buying experience and the sales conversation.

Inspirational Quote Of The Day

"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will."

Vince Lombardi

Why Your Business Doesn't Love You Back

Many small business owners fall out of love with their businesses. Over time, what you once felt passionate about has become a source of disillusionment, pressure, and stress. In short, you've gotten sick of your business -- and your business may be sick of you as a result.

7 Signs You Shouldn't Be An Entrepreneur

You've read a few books, heard the cautionary tales, created a business plan, and talked to other business owners. You've done plenty of homework and feel starting your own business is right for you.
That's a great start, but let's make sure. If any of the following strikes a chord, give a little more thought to taking the entrepreneurial plunge.

Inspirational Quote Of The Day

"There is only one success--to be able to spend your life in your own way."

Christopher Morley

Why You Shouldn't Care About Small Business Pessimism

Sure, Congress is ineffective, the Fed can't help you, and optimism is still weak. But there are plenty of reasons to feel good about being a small business owner.

5 Ways to Start a Successful Business During a Recession

You may think a recession is a terrible time to start a business, but, in reality, there are a lot of reasons it might be a great time. Smart entrepreneurs are taking advantage of new opportunities and unique needs presented by the economic downturn. The trick, business owners say, is to find a way to meet the new needs of the recession. Here are five ways you can start and grow during this protracted economic instability.

Inspirational Quote Of The Day

"Success is sweet: the sweeter if long delayed and attained through manifold struggles and defeats."

A. Branson Alcott

Built to Survive: The Darwin Approach to Business

Charles Darwin would have built a killer company. He knew that it's not necessarily the strongest or the first to arrive who are most likely to survive; it's the most adaptable who win in the end. The same is true in business.

Four Tips for Avoiding Business Failure

There’s an oft-repeated statistic claiming that half of all businesses fail in the first year. That’s a myth. But the truth is not a whole lot more soothing. Fully 50 percent of small businesses fail in the first five years, according to the Small Business Administration. To survive, a new business owner needs to avoid some of the common blunders known to derail many an entrepreneurial dream.

Inspirational Quote Of The Day

"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out."

Robert Collier

The Dirtiest Word In Customer Service

If there’s one word that stabs me in the ears and makes me don my Customer Service Avenger tights and cape, it’s “can’t.” It’s a filthy word that should be avoided at all costs.

The Best Sales Technique You’ve Stopped Using

Sometimes sales training and “advanced” sales strategies do more harm than good — especially if the techniques you adopt take you away from what works best for you.