I must tell of a story that initially made me feel very silly and I chastised myself for my actions.  However it’s worthy of sharing it to anyone who is self-employed, and to all women in business who find it challenging to deal with clients, run a business, and grow business all at the same time.

As a female in business I come across many situations every day that challenge me on many levels.  Being a female in an industry that is dominated by men who often are intimidated by my knowledge, confidence and zest for life is often challenging, and yet rewarding too when I feel I have conquered something.

Ultimately I am on a constant learning curve in life, and this is no more true than in business, and for me I would have it no other way.

In my busy world of juggling single parenthood and my own business, recently I was faced with mounting pressures to get as much business completed prior to Christmas.  As anyone in small/micro business can attest to, there’s a period of anywhere between 4 and 8 weeks where there may be no income over Christmas and the New Year. So it’s important to get as much done before Christmas – and of course get paid for it!  Then unless there are jobs confirmed and lined up for the new year, there is a lot of hope going into Christmas that it ‘won’t be long’ until the first client comes along in January.

For me this year it’s a lot healthier than it was last year, plus I learned a lot from experience last year (ouch!), and I was well prepared.  Indeed I had some work lined up for the new year, and lots of proposals on the table for the new year.  However going into Christmas I was going hard to complete as much as I could, take on absolutely everything offered to me, and ensure that my bank balance was healthy and would allow me to rest easy until well into the new year.  So I did all of this in amongst attending school plays, end-of-year events, concerts, recitals, parties, and of course then having my daughter home from school from the 11th December. Luckily for me she enjoys the vacation program at school so she happily went off there for a few days whilst I completed work and fulfilled my work commitments.

Then I became a little unstuck…

In my last post I spoke about a situation where I was managing a difficult client.  Well, I thought he was gone.  I seriously didn’t think he’d come back, and so when he DID COME BACK, I was both surprised and unsure as to how to deal with him.  He requested some additional training for his 2 business partners, and specified the amount of time he was prepared to allocate.  I immediately consulted a sound colleague to discuss this.  Should I take the work if I ask for payment up front, which would bring me in enough to pay the next month’s rent?  Or should I tell him that I am busy until February so that I no longer have to deal with him?

My instincts told me to go with the latter option.  My memories of last Christmas and the “oh my gosh I haven’t got enough money to pay the next month’s bills” panic played in my mind and told me to take the work.

I chose wrong, evidently.

I did decide to take the work, and he refused up front payment but promised to pay upon completion.  So I accepted those terms and of course he had already paid my previous account.  I completed the allocated training – not without hiccups.  One partner didn’t show up, another was 15 minutes late, and when we started the training they changed the agenda and then asked for different support.  Being the professional I am, I did everything I could.  I event went 30 minutes overtime and didn’t charge for it.  Silly me, I should have walked on the hour.

Upon completing the training I sent the invoice to the boss – my difficult client.  He responded overnight with an A4 page length email of accusations, disappointments in my approach, and many other lines all designed to intimidate and threaten me.  He even told me that his own consulting services were sought after at $1500 per hour and that the feedback he was giving me was all for my own benefit.  Did I take anything he said constructively or in a way that could improve my business?  Hell no.  He was a first-class jerk.

Upon discussing it with my own Business Coach I knew that I had made the wrong decision to take the work.  I did it for the ‘quick & easy cash’ rather than honouring my self-respect.

Despite the fact that he paid me the very day he received my invoice, the egotistical threats and effort he went to in order to intimidate me was enough for me to see that I need to follow my gut instincts when I hear them. Should he ever approach me for assistance again I will explain that I am busy, my rates have more than tripled due to demand, and he is better off contacting someone else for more expedient support.  I know now!

Ironically just 1 week prior to this incident, I was doing some professional development and going through an analysis of my clients to determine my ideal client.  I put him into the scenario and realised that he possesses none of the qualities of my ideal client.  In fact, on paper in a rating scale he came out as the worst kind of client for me to have.

What I learned from that experience is that in life I am always going to encounter people who will try to cut me down, intimidate me, or who feel threatened by me.  Being a woman in a niched and male-dominated industry I feel this moreso.  I need to be able to sniff them out at a moments notice and walk away.

Have I learned my lesson?

YES!  It is far more important to stay true to ones inner values and self-respect, than be sold to someone who has a different agenda and compromises your integrity.

May this help anyone as they go out on their own in business and deals with many different customers: as we will all encounter challenges of our own.

Here’s to a fantastic 2010!

SMIB

It was about 2 years ago when I was working long hours as a HR Exec for a bank, when I reached the point of complete exhaustion.  I recall sitting down on some steps outside the office building, located next to some water, and looking out at the murky colour and wondering “what am I doing?”.  My daughter was at that time in grade 3 at primary school and having a good time of it, although OUR time together wasn’t so valuable.

See, I’m a single mum and always have been.  Since I was about 3 months pregnant.  And I never wanted to be considered as ‘one of those single mums’ who were desolate and poor, who were needy and seen to be struggling.  I saw single dads (the few that are around) and they seemed to be fine: not struggling or pitied by society.  I figured that if I could have a good life with my daughter and work my way up the corporate ladder to financial security and success, then I could be a great role model against the odds.

However, that day two years ago hit me like a wet towel in the face.  What on earth was I doing?  Working stupid hours, doing enough work for 3 people, not spending a lot of time with my daughter, fighting 2 hours of peak traffic each day, and the absolute worst part was that I had lost respect for a lot of the people around me at work.  How could I respect and believe in people who were cut-throat, greedy, two-faced and ready to knife me in the back whenever they got the chance just so that they could look good?  It was ridiculous. AND I would spend a lot of money in holidays during the year to leave the stress of our lives there so we could relax and get away from it all.  Yet what I needed was to get away from the stress permanently, because it was making me sick.

I questioned my value to the company, and ultimately to myself.  And I realised that I deserved a LOT more than I was giving myself.  Working as an exec in a big-4 bank in Australia wasn’t what I wanted to do when I grew up.  It wasn’t on my top 100-things-to-do-before-I-die list. It was, however, a means to save some money for a while and give me the opportunity to do something else when the time was right.

It didn’t take long once I had mentally made the decision to leave the bank.  I shared my thoughts with a wise close friend, who helped me follow my path that eventually led me to resigning (amidst shock and then indifference) about 4 months later.  I left the big city that depressed me due to it’s weather and growing traffic burdens, and headed north for blue skies, warmer weather, and the chance to have a life with my daughter that was filled with meaning.

I made a commitment to be with her rather than putting her in After-School-Care 5 days per week.  I wanted to be a part of her school life and actually get the chance to meet the other parents, which was something of a challenge for me before.  I wanted to help out at school when they wanted assistance in class, and I wanted to have a happy and carefree daughter who could come home and share with me her day, rather than an hour’s car drive in city traffic that was stressful and not a good way to unwind.

The vehicle I chose to do this was to work for myself.  I joined a network of other professionals by buying a HR licence and establishing my own company.  All that was fairly straight forward and didn’t require too many challenges.  The bank happily gave me an overdraft – due to my existing salary and financial security – and then I just had to set up my office and go!  How naive and innocent I was!  It wasn’t too long before the realities of working for myself set in and I was faced with many challenges.

However, the start of our new life was in place: we were in a new location that embraced us and allowed us to be ‘free’, and I had the opportunity to be with my daughter much more.  That was what I had set out to achieve.  Now I just had to make the business vehicle work so that we could stay stress-free and happy and with money.

Therein lies the challenges and beauty of my journey that led me to write this blog.  So sit back, enjoy the ride as you read, and learn from the girl who lives life on her own terms and goes it alone…

Yours Sincerely,
SMIB (Single Mum In Business)

Build a Multimillion Dollar Coaching and Consulting Practice. David Neagle mentors small business owners to take their low 6-figure solo-entrepreneurships over the 7-figure mark in under 12 months. Video at http://www.davidneagle.com/summer2009 .

While being your own boss and working on your own can be great, it can sometimes be lonely. Missing the companionship of co-workers and having someone to run-things-by if you get stuck on something, can be frustrating. This is where Social Networking and being part of Forums come into their own.
Logging on to twitter, reading a blog or forum is like spending time at the proverbial “water-cooler”. Building relationships with other solo entrepreneurs in this way, helps with the feeling of loneliness and frustration.

But now there are other ways of overcoming this loneliness and solitude, if one has a laptop maybe coworking or even hotdesking would be beneficial.

What is hotdesking or coworking?

Coworking is where work-at-home independents get together in a social gathering to work in an office environment for only a period of time.
Coworking is an emerging trend for a new pattern for working. Typically work-at-home professionals or independent contractors or people who travel frequently end up working in relative isolation. Coworking is the social gathering of a group of people, who are still working independently, but who share values and who are interested in the synergy that can happen from working with talented people in the same space. Extract from Coworking Ireland.

Whereas hotdesking is about mobility and having the ability to work in cafes or anywhere there is a wireless broadband connection. Some coworking facilities offer one or two desks where “hotdesk-ers” are welcome.

As James Corbett says:

But hotdesking has evolved and broken free from the confines of the company. Now it’s more about flexible temporary space for individuals.

While at BizCamp Limerick, I met James Corbett and Keith Kennedy, who jointly write a blog, promoting “mobile offices” know as hotdesking or coworking.

For the VAs who work in seclusion, in their own office, these concepts could be of benefit to them, of course they would need to have a laptop, even if it was just for one day a week or month it would get them out and working in a different environment and share time with others.

******************

Written by Vicky, an Irish VA for all your general administration and typing needs. View my site www.c-vas.eu

Date: August 29th, 2008

Sharing what you already know

Anyone that knows me, they know that I LOVE to assist others. Actually, believe it or not, this was a downfall of mine when I first started in network marketing. See I came from a corporate and entrepreneurial background which meant that I ran new business the same way that I’ve ran every other business that I’ve ever had, and that is through giving back and helping others. Well, what I found out was that there were so many people out there eager to make their new home based networking business work that they would constantly call and ask for assistance looking for that “magic” answer on whatever it was they were confused on. Of course I was more than willing to help. Well, what happened was back then the only way I got my leads was through purchasing them and then spending hours on end chasing and following up contacts, which to be honest, I really didn’t enjoy doing. I loved talking with people who were interested, but could not stand calling and calling to no end only to find out that they really weren’t serious to start a new business after all. (No more of that by the way!!!) However, I DID enjoy helping others. Well, what ended up happing was I started training more than I was prospecting. I wasn’t getting paid to train other’s teams, but I was gaining so much experience and loved it so much that without knowing it that was a big part of getting me to where I am today!

What I found out is that actually helping others is a great way to get leads, and GREAT leads at that! People who had the same interests as I, are now calling me! They loved to travel, wanted to make incredible amounts of money, wanted to have a voice, wanted more quality time for themselves and their family, and truly wanted to get out of the 9-5 (in my case 7am-12am!) grind!!! They have desire and the drive to actually make a change in their life and they do not accept mediocrity as a way of life. AND, they all want to know how to make that change and what the vehicle was that was going to get them there. I love it! I have the vehicle, they just need to get in and move from the back seat to the drivers seat and that is a beautiful thing to witness!

I started writing articles, blogs and making videos and the end result was amazing. I got good, quality customers (not leads!) that wanted to either become a Platinum One Destinations affiliate or became part of my mentoring program, or maybe they just purchased one of my e-books. They become a customer on the level they are comfortable with. And, the beautiful thing is, I see all of my customers growing with me, purchasing more as they grow, truly based on what they need. Now, they aren’t always getting that from me, I have great mentors myself that are experts in their field and I’m not too proud to show you the way directly to them when needed, however I train on a very balanced business that will show you the way to reach whatever your “True Wealth” goals are and assist you in getting there as quickly as you are ready for.

Giving to others in so many ways is incredibly rewarding. I did find that I needed to start sharing my generosity with groups versus one-on-one if I wanted to keep living the lifestyle I desired and that truly is “Working from anywhere, anytime!” I don’t mind working hard, but my life was being taken over from the time I woke up until I went to bed. Eric, my hubby, and my adorable chocolate lab Kona, love to go to the beach for walks, and pick up and travel any time we feel like it and that all halted when I was working one-on-one. All of that changed when I started forums and groups based on different need levels. And, most of the groups felt more comfortable when there were others in the group that had the same needs as themselves, so it created a support group truly customized for them. They get what they need to grow and so do I, plus I get my much needed personal time to indulge in learning more and more so I can share with everyone and I still get to travel anytime I want, yippee!! It’s such a flexible business I can’t imagine working in corporate America ever again!

You may want to consider expressing your own generosity in more expansive ways such as myself. Share your knowledge such as lecturing, writing or teaching. If you can give some thought to your topic and have it dovetail upon that of your business, you’ll attract an amazing amount of new customers to yourself.

If you aren’t comfortable with groups, individual is a great way to start as well, I did. You could enter into a mentoring program or perhaps respond and answer questions on online forums that are “similar types” of people in your demographics that you would like to attract to your business. (Specifying your demographics and niche in a home based business is imperative to massive success, however that is a whole other article!!!)

Generously sharing your time and expertise gives not only you a sense of satisfaction about your ability to help others, but you are assisting them and attracting them to your new business as well. You’d be amazed at what you know. Whatever pops into your head, write it down. Something you may feel is very mundane or simplistic is something someone else could really truly use some assistance on. Here is a good example of what I mean . . . Organization, I can not tell you how many VP’s of corporations become network marketers and solo-entrepreneurs and when they start working from home all of a sudden all organizational skills go out the door and they “think” they don’t know how to organize themselves anymore. Trust me they are in complete chaos. In our consulting business we teach everything from organization to latest marketing skills to making a 7 figure income and still have a life! Yes, the simple things are important, don’t ever forget that!! 

When you figure out your niche and find out how much we can accelerate others learning curves by sharing with them what we already know, then it truly comes to light that we have so much more to offer than just our product or service at hand. You become a mentor to others, and that is so satisfying, while building your business as well, how exciting is that?!

Give back to others, get active by generously sharing your knowledge and you’ll truly be happy you did. This is just the next step in increasing your business by leaps and bounds, not to mention just being different than every other network marketer out there. Make a statement, you truly care, you aren’t just looking to make a sale.

For Business Opportunities and Coaching Contact:

Debra Larson, P1d The Trip Chic, 941.729.7035

Subject: Marketing Yourself

Date: 08/29/08

One of my top mentors, Alexandria Brown told us in meeting that “Your number one job is NOT to SELL a thing.” What is your job? It’s to market. Marketing is far superior to the mastery of the service or product that you sell. Now, I’m not saying NOT to strive to be your very best at what you do, because I believe in striving to be unconditionally the very best at what you do and make sure you are assisting others while you are doing. Now you learn to market correctly and the rest will fall into place and the sales will start rolling in, trust me. Like Ali said, “Your focus needs to be on marketing if not you’ll be spinning your wheels. If you learn marketing correctly you will be “golden” for a lifetime with “whatever” you sell!

There are a tons of ways to build your business practice, and that is just a portion of what I am here to teach you as a solo-entrepreneur and network marketer. Many of my associates on Team Cha-Ching at my Platinum One Destinations affiliate business, The Trip Chic, receive in depth information like this every week, check out our site at www.TheTripChic.com.

1.) One of the easiest, most proven ways to attract new business is to gain status as a recognized authority and/or sought after resource in your field of expertise. Build your branding – who are you, what are you all about, get personal, get REAL so others can associate with you. You’ll begin to attract new people into your business because these customers can relate to you, or maybe they dream to have the life you live.

Many join our Team Cha-Ching at Platinum One Destinations because they truly want to have more out of life, they want to spend more time with their families, enjoy the simple things in life like sitting on the beach and watching the sunset, eating ice cream, going for strolls on the beach, going to the park with your hubby and little one (which in my case is a chocolate lab named Kona!) They know that my husband and I do enjoy the little things in life and we truly do walk our talk about “Working from anywhere, anytime!”

Your branding IS why others will be attracted to you and this is so important to your business. If you work 24/7 and never take a break, never leave the house, never travel . . . however you boast to everyone you can do this business part time and work from anywhere, anytime and you now have so much flexibility in your life, you may want to re-think your main branding of your business!!! You have to walk your talk!

2.) Use the media and other forms of press releases to get FREE traffic to your website.

3.) Post mini-websites/capture pages in the search engines so customers will find you with key words.

4.) Use pay-per-click engines like Google. Now for-warning here, do your due diligence in learning how this works first. Google has a great little tutorial. Start with a small budget at first, say about $200-$300 a month while you are testing it out. OR, you can always outsource this to an expert! It may cost a little more in the beginning, but it could save you thousands of lost dollars in the end!

5.) Use an auto-responder, there are many out there, we use www.autowebbusiness.com NO not to SELL your product, however to send out valuable information that others can use. This “value-based” information will attract others to you and your product and services. You are the expert and YOU are here to assist!

6.) Write articles and submit them at sites such as www.ezinearticles.com which is a very popular distribution site for ezines, again make sure you have value-based information. Every once in awhile I do use my articles to sell Platinum One Destinations and netTrav which is my affiliate networking site which I sell wholesale travel memberships. (My associates and I earn very high commissions $50-$7500 per transaction, plus residual income and commissions!!! Can’t beat that! Check it out further if you like at www.OnlineTripChic.com )

7.) Create info products with your product and website links embedded in the article making them viral. You may also add value to your product line by selling your info product. Others make their info product complimentary and use it as a way to gain their customers confidence and loyalty prior to buying into their product and/or services. 

8.) Video & Audio: People love to connect a voice with a face, they feel like they know you. Your video’s don’t have to be perfect, just be YOU! Ad audio to a testimonial on your website and you will have a much larger impact. Using audio and video with your tools to market your product and services will develop a friendly rapport with your client versus just being another person trying to sell them something.

I use these strategies on a consistent basis to attract new clients to my business. They usually will email or call me, we chat, they already know a little bit about me and are asking me the questions, it’s a beautiful way to do business. Remember, people love to buy but they hate being sold!   

Contact:

Debra Larson, P1d The Trip Chic, LLC  941.729.7035

Date: August 29th, 2008

Making 5 major shifts towards success 

Many of my top mentors have all stated the same thing: You need to take a good look at yourself prior to blaming everything else around you and blaming your circumstances for not succeeding. Yes, I know, trust me this is very, very difficult to swallow sometimes. However, once you start to make certain shifts in yourself and your business you will magically find that everything starts to fall into place.

To learn more about these and other strategies, visit Debra Larson, affiliate member of Platinum One Destinations at www.TheTripChic.com, where I assist other solo-entrepreneurs and network marketers find balance in life and achieve great successes via our turnkey business or take you to new levels with your own.

Here are the 5 major shifts that I and my business associates actively demonstrate and work on everyday.

1. Operate from where you want to be: Seriously, operate from WHO, from HOW, from WHERE you want to be. Visualize it, write about it, dress like it, walk like it, talk like it. Think Bigger! Once you start to operate from a place where others are, that you want to be, or be like, start acting like they do. Raise your level of awareness and start incorporating little things into your life. 

Jim Rohn says that “You are the 5 people you hang around most.” I hate to say it but a few years back, that scared the heck out of me! Some changes needed to happen and happen quickly! If your friends aren’t quite into making millions, travelling all over, being super positive and helping others, then reach out to mentors that are that way. I surrounded myself with my business coaches and mentors Gabrielle Whitney, Dani Johnson, Michael Bernhoff, David Neagle, Alexandria Brown. And of course, Platinum One’s leadership team has amazing support and mentors that I learned from such as Nitsa Nakos and Bob Biss.

2.) When you make a decision and stick to that decision: Don’t operate from well, you know I just paid $148 to get into this business so if doesn’t work out it wasn’t that much. Well, if I try it for 2 months and it doesn’t work out I’ll just go back to work. There is no plan B, no safety net. If you take that step out on the ledge, don’t look down just keep walking and I promise you a bridge will begin to appear. 

3.) Stop marketing and training one on one: This is called leveraging your time!!! At first I had a hard time with this, thinking okay this isn’t very personal, but it was! My associates learned from each other and learned that YES, there are others out there experiencing the same thing that I am. AND, I was able to assist in groups leveraging my time which allowed me and my husband to spend more time doing the things we enjoy. Now, isn’t that what life is all about?!

4. Create Streams of Passive Income: Yes, you can do this through your Platinum One Destinations business affiliations, however if you don’t belong to our business there are other ways to bring streams of passive income into your business. Trust me $20 to $50 x 100 people a month, week or even a day adds up . . . don’t you think?! You can create streams of income coming up with your own affiliate product, an e-book, or just use other people’s affiliate programs or products. I know one guy who made a 6 figure income annually off of referring others! You don’t have re-invent the wheel, just take something and make it yours! Look at cook books for goodness sakes, there are millions of them out there, all with the author making it their own unique product.

The world is full of abundance! There is more than enough out there for all of us to experience True Wealth in every area of our lives! Trust me if you get clear on what you want, you will not have to worry about HOW you are going to get it. David Neagle and Alexandria Brown taught me this big time in a seminar that they held recently.

5.) Always be learning: It amazes me sometimes how much I push myself to grow and to learn to be more. Whether its new marketing niches, spiritual growth, speaking or maybe it’s just learning how to listen more. Continual learning is key to your growth. I also, highly recommend having a business coach, one that assists with your personal as well as business growth. Balance is just as important. If your personal schedule is totally out of whack, your business schedule is never going to be in control. I train on this consistently, creating balance between personal and business and achieving incredible success! Contact me if you like to learn more: www.TheTripChic.com

Emersion Learning – emerse yourself into your learning. You’ll be amazed how much energy you’ll receive from learning this way. A big key is making sure that you have an environment where you can live it, believe it, become it! Sometimes this takes getting out of the environment that you are in and spending time with others such as going to a seminar of like minded people for a weekend. I’m telling you I have spent thousands of dollars to “emerse myself” for 3 even 5 days at a time just to learn with the very best.

Don’t you deserve this as well? If you can’t get away, change your environment at home. I have a place where I can totally relax, sit in a comfy chair, look out at the water and just completely free my mind. I also have a place where the walls are truly “iguana” bright green which is where I work out and it totally revitalizes me. And my office, I surround myself with a big cushy chair, soft blue-grey walls, candles, my organized-clean desk overlooking a beautiful view of the water and a jump-rope close at hand in case I need a quickie energy boost! You don’t have to live near the water to have this environment – you can make any room comfortable or energetic. Just get rid of the clutter, or just simply move around some of your furniture and add a few photos – it will re-energize you!!

I hope you enjoyed this article. If you’d like to learn more about me and how I can assist YOU, or if you would like to sign up for a free newsletter that has weekly tips that will help you with your business, just go to www.TheTripChic.com or contact: Debra Larson, The Trip Chic, LLC at tripchic@verizon.net – toll free: 800-250-7981

Pasted from <file:///C:\Users\Deb%20&amp;%20Eric\Documents\A%20-%20P1D\Articles\Make%20a%20Shift_Aug1908.doc>
 

file:///C:\Users\Deb%20&amp;%20Eric\Documents\A%20-%20P1D\Articles\Make%20a%20Shift_Aug1908.doc>

Date: August 29, 2008

Simple ways to prospect like a professional (even if you just started today!)

1.) Your posture is everything on the phone:

• Go into every conversation fearlessly
  
• 93% of all communication is non-verbal! You can say all the right words but with the wrong attitude, full of stress, pressure, fear, anxiety, worry, you won’t get anywhere. It’s what you communicate via your tone, not the words that will make or break the conversation. This is an “inside” game – what you are, who you are, is what comes out and what you communicate
  
• If you communicate with full belief, no conditions, this is incredible. You love the product, you believe in the leadership, you have the “whatever it takes attitude” it will show through on the phone! You truly need to have the attitude: if it takes me 20 years to figure this out, it would be better than spending 20 years at a corporation, which by the way an average life span of an employee is only 5.3 years! So what have you go to lose, give it your all, care and know that you are going to keep going until you figure it out.
   

• You are looking for people looking to do something extraordinary with their lives. The people with desire, the “whatever” it takes attitude. You only want people who are truly serious about changing their lives and starting their own business.
  
• Desire, has a look . . . the look of persistence and follow through. The ones who are coachable. Someone with no desire has a ton of excuses in life!
  
• You are looking for a higher breed – it doesn’t matter if they work for McDonalds, but they have to want it, the desire to be better.
  

• Your smile changes the atmosphere. People want to be around people who smile and have energy – and I’m not talking faking energy! I mean you being you. Authentic.
• A smile communicates confidence, it changes the atmosphere, it tells people you know where you are going, it breeds curiosity
• It is felt over the phone – walk down the street and smile and see what happens.

 4.) How to build a friend first and eliminate all objections when prospecting

• First off you need to build rapport
  
• We are looking for long term relationships. You will come across like every other home based business owner if you do not become their friend first and build rapport.
  
• If you want rejection free prospecting becoming their friend first is a must. Get to know them, care about them.
  
• Don’t go in with the intention of trying to sign someone up. Go in with the intention of finding out: does this person have the quality, desire and intentions I’m looking for? You are interviewing them!
  
• Anything else, and the prospect can see dollar signs in your eyes.
  
• People are made selfish by nature. Very simply put, let them talk about themselves, they like what they like, they want what they want. They have their own idea of what their life should be like, it’s your job to find this information out, not to change them!
  

 

• Do you know what their needs are?
• Do you know what their strengths are?
• Do you know what their goals are?
• Your opinion means nothing, do not assume because you are familiar with this person you know what they want, you need to ask them.

6.) How to control the conversation, build curiosity, and make the invitation simple and easy

• You want to be in control of the conversation so YOU will be asking the questions. The person who is asking the questions is in control of the conversation and will come out the winner.
    

• People normally feel comfortable talking about themselves unless you are coming across slimy, you need to be authentic, real, be YOU!
  
• Start with a compliment, don’t assume what they are saying, listen to what they are saying – use icebreakers
  
• It takes about a year to start to master and understand people
  
• Make an invitation or follow up to invite them to your information whether it’s a LIVE event or website.
  
• If you are talking to them in person invite them to the event at the very end.
  

 

Date: August 29, 2008

Are you the cause of your own demise?

I was watching the Today show the other day. I don’t watch much TV but I do have a few favorites, and having coffee in the morning and watching the Today show is one of my favorites. They had a plastic wrist band on one wrist and each time they complained they had to move it to the other wrist. The whole process was to make you aware of complaining.

Now, I consider myself a very positive person, however even the most positive people get caught up in our circumstances that surround us versus keeping our focus on the positive and what we truly desire. Have you ever known someone to complain so much that you justify it by saying oh, that’s just them? Complaints can come in so many forms, sarcasm being a big one and it’s easy just to laugh it off. Some even have complaining down to a science, where they can find a complaint to go with just about every scenario.

If we look at this further, it truly is enlightening. Complaining is just our ability to find what is not working for us in our own life. Usually we don’t look at it this way though. Most of the average world doesn’t get past the griping and hear it for what it is, which is just that, a bunch of belly aching and griping. Of course, a small amount is human nature. When we need to really look hard at what the real problem is, which is when it becomes continual, and all of our energies are put into complaining.

There have been so many people I have trained and they set themselves up for failure from the beginning. They say to themselves from the start “Oh if this doesn’t work in 30 days, I’ll just go back to work.” Then day 31 comes around and I hear every complaint in the world why their new business didn’t work: I don’t like talking on the phone, I don’t have time, oh Scrubs is on, my computer is too slow, I don’t have time, the list goes on and on. It takes hopefully, 3 years to turn a profit in most businesses. Last I looked most of these people had jobs before they started this business which they sacrificed a minimum of at least 10 hours of their day including their commute. It DOES cost money to run a business and advertise it as well. Sorry, I just don’t understand the mentality of starting a business then just giving up after only a mere few weeks or even 90 day. I was ecstatic to make $21,000 in profits by my 12th week in my Platinum One Destinations business, however I know many that have done that in their 3rd or 4th week and others that are top producers in our company it took them 6 months to make their first sale!

So my question to you is, what is it that you complain about? If you had a wrist band on and had to move it every time you complained would that start to bug you too and give you something else to complain about? HA! Seriously, let’s take a real good look at what you are complaining about on a constant basis and really acknowledge what it really is that is not making you happy. When we complain and criticize it actually begins to tear down that of which we have worked so hard to build up and usually we are doing it to make room for something new because whatever we built up isn’t working for us.

What, you ask? Has Deb lost it? What do you mean I’m making room for something new?

Think about it, usually if we complain it’s about something that isn’t working or isn’t right in our lives. We are really saying either “I don’t know how to handle this and I’m fearful of the outcome, so I’m going to criticize or complain to make myself feel better and “save face,” or “This is just not working for me and I need to make a change, but I don’t know how,” so complaining again makes you feel more secure somehow, someway.

If you do in fact acknowledge the complaint and make room for something new, good for you for being so aware! Otherwise, if all we do is complain we’ll never make room for the energy needed to create the new, which I have found in most cases is very positive, creative energy. And, I don’t know about you, but I’m usually not complaining about myself, it’s usually about someone else or a specific circumstance that I haven’t taken complete ownership for as of yet because I didn’t feel in complete control of the outcome, or I didn’t know how to handle it. If we are complaining about someone else, you only have one finger pointing at them, the other 3 are pointed back at you, so again I ask, who really needs to do the changing here?

I didn’t write this article to sit here and say you should never complain and you should live in this happy-dappy beautiful world of Deb’s that she thinks everything is magical and wonderful. No, no . . . what I’m saying is just become more aware of what you are complaining about and it will open a whole new world up to you. The more you become aware, the more you’ll figure out what really needs to be changed in your life. Most of the time it’s something YOU have control over changing, even if it’s just your thoughts “towards” the core of the complaint. Then take the next step towards making room for the new and the positive.

I leave you with this thought, the “thing” that is truly making you dissatisfied, what would you rather have the outcome be, or how would you like to have seen the story play out, what is your solution to the “problem” or “complaint”? Now remember, you can’t change anyone else, so it has to be an answer that is something you can change or you can fix in your own life or thoughts. If it’s out of your hands, then accept it for what it is and channel your energies into something more positive that you do have control of.

If you enjoyed this article, we’d love your comments. You may also sign up for free tips on network and small business marketing newsletter “It’s all about YOU!” at www.TheTripChic.com , just write newsletter in the comment box. We also coach solo-entrepreneurs and network marketers on how to achieve balance within your business and life, and achieve incredible new heights. Don’t have a business, but would like a turnkey set up, be in control of your future, make incredible money, have time to get back to the simple things in life and travel for wholesale? Start your own Platinum One Destinations business with Debra Larson you may contact us at The Trip Chic, 800-250-7981or tripchic@verizon.net, please check us out first at www.TheTripChic.com.

How many of you have come across the same objections over and over again? I’m sure many of you with network and small businesses have. This article is for those of you that need a little assistance in what to tell your customer when they do come up with an objections. Sometimes even tackling the objection before your client asks can help too, but be careful you aren’t “planting” something in their head that they weren’t even thinking about in the first place! Whatever you do, make sure you acknowledge your customer by saying that you understand their concern, or qualify the question further by having them tell you more . . . Tell me more about that, or what do you mean by that is a perfect way to get them to expand. Honestly, objections really just tell you that the client needs more information, so don’t let the questions scare you, it’s a good thing . . . It means they are interested!

Some of my answers may be more geared around high-ticket networking companies and/or travel since that is what I’m familiar with most with my affiliate business Platinum One Destinations and netTrav . You may have heard of Team Cha-Ching, that is our Team. With The Trip Chic, LLC my husband I assist many small business owners and other network marketers reach heights in their business that they never thought possible.

If you’d like to find out more about our business or how to handle certain objections, please feel free to email me at TripChic@verizon.net. We can be found on many of the social networks as well ie Facebook, Youtube, etc. If you are able to utilize just one tip and it assists in your success to True Wealth, then we’ve done our job!

To your Continued Success!!!

Debra Larson, The Trip Chic, LLC

1-800-250-7981 toll free – 941-729-7035 direct

tripchic@verizon.net          www.TheTripChic.com

Obj: How much money have you made?

A: Well, I’m fairly new however my business mentor (which could be your sponsor, teammate, the owner of the company or one of your business coaches) made X amount of dollars within X amount of time. Many of my business associates are 6 and 7 figure income earners, you’ll get to meet them at our LIVE webinar (or Team Meeting, whatever your company has.) You can also say, “Well, I’m new but I expect to make $ X this month (BE HONEST!) and my Trainer makes X dollar amount

Cha-Ching Note: People respect your honesty! Use other people’s stories and testimonies within your company. This is tough when you are first starting out because you THINK you don’t want anyone to know that you are a “newbie”. I have to say that was one of my biggest mistakes as a network marketer when I first started. USE your trainers as much as possible, that is what they are there for, to help while you are learning. I’m a little stubborn so that was hard for me at first. Check out some Cha-Ching Black Belt Recruiting ideas to make your first days (and veteran days!) go a heck of a lot smoother! I wish I would have had some of these things in place way back when!

Obj: This sounds too good to be true.

A: Well, Mr. Prospect, I completely understand. I felt the same way when I started looking into my new business, however once I really started checking out all of the information and did my due diligence by attending the business review and listening to other testimonies and reading the business report and other PR write ups on individuals within and the founders of the company, then I knew it was the right fit for me and this truly was an amazing opportunity that I couldn’t let go by. But, no one can tell you this, you have to check it out and decide for yourself.

Now with my P1d networking company I would also say we earn incredible commissions ranging from $750 to $7500 per transaction and the reason we are able to do this is because our business membership is higher end therefore they are able to work in more commissions to give back to those that are fueling the company. It’s a win-win for everyone!

Obj: This sounds wonderful, but I know my spouse will be skeptical.

A: I completely understand. I wouldn’t want you going into a major business decision without him/her feeling comfortable as well, however I want to make sure this is something that you truly are interested in first, are you? (They already told you they were!!!) Great! Send your spouse through the same exact process that I just took you through (checking out your company, testimonies, etc) and then if he still has questions, I’d be happy to assist in answering any questions that he has.

Some people are hard core with this question and they say something similar to, “Do you run everything by your spouse?” I would never in a million years say this to someone, I’d be totally offended because I do have the type of relationship that when it comes to something major we discuss it together and make a decision on if it’s mutually beneficial. Now I’m pretty stubborn, so I usually get my way anyhow, which honestly if someone wants something bad enough they will too. You just need to make sure you have the best product, the best training, you’ve found out what their needs are and you’ve shown them that you are here to fulfill those needs.

Cha-Ching Note: Remember you will lose people to spouses and the chitter-chatter that surrounds us everyday. I call these people the dream stealers – man they bug me! There are so many times I see people back down from what they truly want because they listen to chitter-chatter from other people who know nothing of what they are blabbering. In this case you want to have as many referrals and soon-to-be customers coming as possible. To help in this area call me or check out some of my training I utilize within our company, The Trip Chic, LLC

How many of you have come across the same objections over and over again? I’m sure many of you who own affiliates in network marketing and small businesses currently come across. This article is for those of you that need a little assistance in what to tell your customer when they do come up with an objection. Sometimes even tackling the objection before your client asks can help too, but be careful you aren’t “planting” something in their head that they weren’t even thinking about in the first place! Whatever you do, make sure you acknowledge your customer by saying that you understand their concern, or qualify the question further by asking what they mean by what they are asking – have them tell you more and further explain. Other times it’s best to re-ask the question to make sure YOU understand correctly. Many times you’ll find that the customer really doesn’t even know that much about what they are asking, they just ask because other people have asked them the same thing. Honestly, objections really are just there to tell you that the client needs more information, so don’t let the questions scare you.

Some of my answers may be more geared around high-ticket networking companies and/or travel since that is what I’m familiar with most, and I am an affiliate of Platinum One Destinations and netTrav and the founder of Team Cha-Ching, however with The Trip Chic, LLC and Signature Success Networks, my husband I assist many small business owners and other network marketers reach heights in their business that they never thought possible.

If you’d like to find out more about our business please feel free to email me at TripChic@verizon.net. We can be found on many of the social networks as well. If you are able to utilize just one tip and it assists in your success, then we’ve done our job!  

To your Continued Success!!!

Debra & Eric Larson, The Trip Chic, LLC

1-800-250-7981 toll free/ 941-729-7035 direct

tripchic@verizon.net    www.TheTripChic.com 

Q: Is there an investment?

A: Thank you so much for asking. Great question! Yes, you’ll find that every successful business requires an investment. And, I must say some of the most successful ones offer a range so that you can choose the level that you feel most comfortable with ie click here for an example go to join now to see levels Normally with something like this you’ll be able to make much, much more if you start at a higher level with putting in the same type of effort. For instance, you can sell netTrav with our company and make $50 per sale, plus commissions off of any travel booked, with the same amount of marketing efforts, you could also make $750, $3,000 or $7500 on each transaction – now that ads up fast!

Obj: Well, there is no way I can up with any money and I don’t have any to invest.

A: I completely understand how you feel. Most network marketers and small business owners that I know didn’t have much either. They had more of a burning desire to change their life. You wouldn’t be looking into this great opportunity if you didn’t have some type of desire to change or improve your life in some way, am I correct? . . . . This will open up great dialogue and you’ll probably find out all of their needs all in one big shot here and you’ll find out if they are truly serious about moving forward in checking out your business.

Cha-Ching Note:
Please keep in mind we are looking for life-time clients not slam-dunk Ho-Ah I got the sale, sale! You’ll get a good understanding of what I incorporate in our business by going to Cha-Ching Black Belt Recruiting.

Obj: I don’t like the idea of selling

A: Trust me, none of us do!!! So, I’m so glad you said that! Our company has a system in place that is totally turn key and it does the selling for you . . . You should have in place an area where customers can go and check out your client testimonies, look at the business plan, maybe read some articles, PR information on your company. Here is a great example:
Team Cha-Ching Let your client know that you are here to guide them and answer any questions that they have, but honestly you want them to due their diligence and check out all of your information. Much of what we do is considered Attraction Marketing which basically means in a nutshell that your clients get to know you and your products prior to even calling you. . . Here, go to ATTRACTING CHA-CHING and you’ll get a good idea of what I am talking about, and how it works. Now remember this is ONLY a small part of what we train.

Cha-Ching Note: We have incredible mentors and even bring in outside trainers for personal and business development within Platinum One Destinations AND, within our own consulting business, The Trip Chic, LLC we offer an incredible amount of training from many of the best. Now any of my business associates within P1d that are Gold or Platinum members receive all of the same benefits that my business consulting clients would which is an incredible bonus especially since we’ve invested thousands of dollars into our mentorships of industry gurus like Alexandria Brown, David Neagle, Mike Dillard, Jim Rohn, Michael Bernhard, Dani Johnson, Gabrielle Whitney and the list goes on and on!