Small Business Leadership and Sales Blog

Hello Marvelous People!

First I want to tell you that I am honored that you continue to share my
blog with others around the world. Our subscriber base continues to grow &
it is that exact encouragement that continues to keep me committed to bring
you valuable content that may inspire you during your path to higher
achievement.

One of the most precious gifts that you can ever receive – (And by the way
you can’t buy it with money) – is the gift of being around a role model or a
mentor. Around 1980-81, I discovered a person that would be that person for me. Jim Rohn is no longer with us, but his spirit remains inside me today, as it
does millions of others that he has positively impacted over the years. We shared a stage only once. There were 4 or 5 speakers that night. I was the first speaker.He was the last.  As they say, we saved the “BEST FOR LAST”. They did. He spoke to a group of hopeful Network Marketers that were distributing products with Meadow Fresh Farms. A company out of Utah.

That was 31 years ago as I write this text, I enjoyed their nutritional beverage products 20 minutes ago. Their products now are distributed by Legacy.
 Jim Rohn had an impact on me. 31 years ago a product had a positive impact on me. 31 years ago Jim Rohn taught the following Life Lessons to me.

May you enjoy & be inspired by this lesson. This wisdom is TIMELESS.

Sip it, take it in, work with it. And make your life more——WORTHWHILE.
Peace, Love and Gumbo! Marvin LeBlanc

Four Words That Make Life Worthwhile by Jim Rohn

Over the years, as I’ve sought out ideas, principles and strategies to
life’s challenges, I’ve come across four simple words that can make living
worthwhile.

First, life is worthwhile if you LEARN. What you don’t know will hurt you.
You have to have learning to exist, let alone succeed. Life is worthwhile if
you learn from your own experiences-negative or positive.

We learn to do it right by first sometimes doing it wrong. We call that a
positive negative. We also learn from other people’s experiences, both
positive and negative. I’ve always said that it is too bad failures don’t
give seminars. Obviously, we don’t want to pay them, so they aren’t usually
touring around giving seminars. But that information would be very valuable.
We would learn how someone who had it all, messed it up. Learning from other
people’s experiences and mistakes is valuable information because we can
learn what not to do without the pain of having tried and failed ourselves.

We learn by what we see, so pay attention. We learn by what we hear, so be a
good listener. Now, I do suggest that you should be a selective listener.
Don’t just let anybody dump into your mental factory. We learn from what we
read, so learn from every source. Learn from lectures. Learn from songs.
Learn from sermons. Learn from conversations with people who care. Always
keep learning.

Second, life is worthwhile if you TRY. You can’t just learn. Now you have to
try something to see if you can do it. Try to make a difference. Try to make
some progress. Try to learn a new skill. Try to learn a new sport. It
doesn’t mean you can do everything, but there are a lot of things you can do
if you just try. Try your best. Give it every effort. Why not go all out?

Third, life is worthwhile if you STAY. You have to stay from spring until
harvest. If you have signed up for the day or for the game or for the
project, see it through. Sometimes calamity comes; then it is worth wrapping
it up and that’s the end. But just don’t end in the middle. Maybe on the
next project you pass, but on this one, if you signed up, see it through.

And lastly, life is worthwhile if you CARE. If you care at all, you will get
some results. If you care enough, you can get incredible results. Care
enough to make a difference. Care enough to turn somebody around. Care
enough to start a new enterprise. Care enough to change it all. Care enough
to be the highest producer. Care enough to set some records. Care enough to
win.

Four powerful little words: learn, try, stay and care. What difference can
you make in your life today by putting these words to work?

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How to Bundle our Mental Activities Ensuring Higher Productivity

If we dream of pursuing limitless opportunities and potential we must learn how to embrace the setting of boundaries. These guard against unwarranted interruptions to the tasks at hand and allow us to compartmentalize different aspects of our lives. This way you can attain the very best level of quality within each compartment.

What we are talking about is the importance of bundling our mental activities. There are a number of staple work interruptions that suck your time away, sap your energy and keep you day dreaming and away from the work at your desk.

These can be ‘drop-by’ visits from other employees, incoming phone calls (both internal and external), incessant internal emails between co-workers during work hours; and endless personal phone calls from the children and spouses of employees.

As an employer, you need to help them realize that when they are at work, they are there to work! It is not a case of just turning up and putting in the hours, half heartedly wasting away the day in order to collect the pay check at the end of the month. Hard work benefits everyone.

Work Hard and Play Hard!
I am of the view that you should work hard and then play hard. Away from work you should enjoy yourself to the fullest. Whether that is spending quiet time with your family and recharging your batteries, or going out and burning the candle at both ends. All I expect from my staff is that come work time they are fully prepared, both mentally and physically. Be presentable! Two pet peeves of mine are holes in jeans and the wet hair from a morning shower dripping onto an employee’s collar. Get yourself right mentally and the work value will follow.

At work turn up on time, work as hard as you can from minute one until the end of each day and ensure that you are adding value to the company!
That is one of the biggest truths you need to get through to your staff. Employees have to be educated that in order for them to make more money, they have to show the employer how they add more value to the company!
So, how can you do that? You can begin by compartmentalizing your work life and embracing the concept of ‘Living life by Appointment’.

An example of this is a company’s bills. Most businesses need to pay their bills every two weeks and allot an approximate time in order to complete this task accordingly.

The Key Points for an Allotted Session of Work:

• Set an appointment with the people who need to be involved with the said task.

• Show up on time and prepare your area (Keep the coffee away from important documents!).

• Be mentally prepared to handle your portion of the task.

• Notify all other team members (that are not involved with the appointment) that the meeting is going into session.

Once you have ‘Gone into Session’ there can be no interruptions unless of a critical nature and somebody is injured! In all seriousness, you have to set boundaries to all members of the session in order to focus their attentions and complete the task to a satisfactory level and on time.

In this example we are paying the bills. Here’s how it works:

• Have the courage to restrict all small talk that is irrelevant to the appointment (There’s plenty of time for that on your lunch break).

•  Do not accept walk in, or calls from other employees.

• Set to the task at hand. We are in the appointment for an hour, so focus your efforts and energies on the task alone, and complete the paying of company bills.

A final point:

If you decide to take a walk, then go for a walk. Maybe take an Ipod to listen to some music, or stay alone with your thoughts. Don’t talk on your cell phone about work the entire time.

Equally, if you have arranged some quiet time in order to think out and process a problem, embrace that time. If you need to relax and evaluate your own spiritual connectedness with forces beyond the human element, take that time out.

If you have arranged a meeting with a client in a restaurant, REALLY BE THERE with them. Do not pick up your cell phone and interrupt the meeting.
The fact is that human beings do not multi-task efficiently. If you can compartmentalize your life you can produce the highest quality one moment at a time, one thought at a time. This way you produce your best work, your best thoughts and there will be no need for multi-tasking to finish projects that have been interrupted.

OBSERVE YOUR BEHAVIOR OVER THE NEXT 3 DAYS AND TRY TO ‘BE WHERE YOU ARE’. EVALUATE AND ASK YOURSELF ‘HOW AM I DOING?’

Peace, Love and Gumbo~

Marvin LeBlanc LUTCF, CNP

Welcome Marvelous People!  This blog is from a guest blogger Myra Corrello. I hope you find it as useful as I did!

Peace, Love and Gumbo~ 

Marvin LeBlanc, LUTCF, CNP

This past weekend marked the start of summer travel season, many of you, like me, are making last-minute preparations for a trip. The most organized among us know that the whole preparation process can be greatly improved by using a packing checklist. From remembering an endless collection of technology adapters and chargers to the kid’s favorite snacks and toys, smooth traveling results from using a good preparation system.

Preparing to deliver a presentation involves similar logistical considerations and systematic steps.

In this month’s article, I'll share with you several items you may want to add into your pre-presentation checklist. Early and systematic planning will go a long way in enhancing your effectiveness on the Big Day.

Whether packing for your big trip or your next presentation, take a few minutes to m ake sure you’ve covered all your bases.

Happy and safe travels!

Use a Pre-Presentation Checklist to Enhance Your Success

Professional speakers never prepare for a presentation without a checklist. Neither should you.

There are so many details that go into great presentation delivery -- and most of them involve advance planning and communication. By using a checklist, you have a communication guide to help you team with the meeting host for a successful event. Advance planning is necessary in both content development and in logistical elements of delivery.

Today, let's look at some logistical elements that affect the success of your delivery.

Audience size. Ask the meeting planner for an estimated attendance at the beginning of discussions and continue to stay abreast of attendance changes till the day of the event. Audience size affects many logistical options and choices. For small groups, you have more flexibility to involve them in whole-group activities and discussions. Moving them around the room is also easier. You are also freer to roam among your audience in an intimate setting. For large audiences, you'll need to work harder to connect with everyone. It will also impact your choice of interactive activities and visual aids.

Seating. In some situations, you'll be able to influence seating arrangements. In others, you’ll need to adapt to their pre-specified format. Ask whether there is flexibility. Seating arrangement impacts your ability to communicate with them and their ability to communicate with each other. For small groups where you are serving primarily as a facilitator, you will want to request either a U-shape (to facilitate whole-group discussion) or table rounds (for small-group interaction). Theatre-style seating accommodates more people but it limits your audience's ability to work together, comfortably take notes, and manage their materials. Consult your meeting planner early and use their feedback to help you make the best decisions.

Audience interaction. Getting your audience engaged and involved is critical to your success in any presentation. In the February 2011 issue of Simple Strategies I shared with you my 3-step formula to insure maximum audience learning: teach → apply → share. How can you build in a 3-step learning process in your situation? Audience size and room layout, among other variables, affect your option s. If you're facing a large audience, you'll want to consider polling strategies – anything from raised hands or standing to electronic polling devices. In large audiences, you can also use "pair-share" techniques -- having them work independently on their application and then sharing their results with a neighbor. You can also arrange for a second microphone to be able to float through the room via a facilitator -- or have a few people come to the front of the room to speak into your microphone. (Just make sure that you or the facilitator maintain complete control of the microphone to prevent anyone from grandstanding.) As mentioned earlier, a smaller audience gives you greater freedom to build in interactive activities. But remember that regardless of the size of the audience, audience interaction is a critical piece.

Visuals. While PowerPoint and other visual s oftware is considered standard for most business presentations, there are many situations where models, demonstrations, props and other visual aids still have relevancy. The old-fashioned flip chart or whiteboard is still a great way to capture audience input as long as audience size stays at 40 or under. Just remember that flip chart paper and other materials may be best managed with the help of an assistant -- which should be recruited before the presentation begins. Consider audience members in the back of the room. Will they be able to see your visual aid? Are there other options that could be more effective? Knowing your audience size and room layout are critical for making the right visual aid choices.

If you choose to use PowerPoint, make sure and pack extension cords, a multi-head ada ptor, and remote control. If possible, have a backup projector and laptop available. Load your presentation file onto the computer in advance. Don’t rely solely on one flash drive. Have a backup plan for every element.

Handouts. Determine in the early stages of planning whether you or the meeting planner will be responsible for duplication and distribution of handouts. While allowing the meeting planner to print handouts is a nice convenience it does require you to: 1) prepare your program and handouts early (giving them proper time) and 2) you do lose control over the quality of the handouts. Doing them yourself can be more expensive and, if you’re traveling, may involve shipping or working with an on-site duplicator. In return, you control the quality of the document -- which carries your name.

On each handout page, make sure to have a header and footer that provide your name, contact information, and any proprietary rights and restrictions. Documents are shared and passed around. You want anyone who gains access to the handout to be able to contact you for more information.

Video. Find out in advance if your presentation will be videotaped. In some cases, you might request that you be allowed to video the session. That video can give you important post-presentation quality feedback and excerpts might be helpful in promoting your work to others. In other cases, you might not want the session videoed but it's a requirement of the meeting planner. Rights and restrictions to the video are a negotiable item. Think carefully about what you want and need and be prepared to negotiate.

Sound. Always use a microphone!! Let me repe at, ALWAYS use a microphone. If you are speaking to 15 or more people, you need to use a microphone. I've sat through countless presentations where amateur speakers say, "I hate these things. You guys can hear me fine without it. Right?" It isn't a question of whether they can hear you (and many will struggle to and not speak up). It's a question of professionalism. When you raise your volume to project without a microphone your voice quality suffers. You lose richness and depth. You sound flat. Don't do it.

Are microphones intimidating and restrictive? Sometimes. Practice with them and work with the meeting planner to make sure you have a microphone that meets your needs (i.e. wireless, lapel, hand-held). Many speakers carry their own to insure proper quality and compatibility with their needs.

Speaker introduction. Take time to prepare a proper 1.5 to 2-minute speaker introduction and share it with your meeting planner/intro ducer in advance AND bring a printed copy to the session (they often forget to bring it).

Your introduction is critical for establishing credibility and building anticipation for your program. Don't make the most common mistake of treating your introduction like a bio. While a bit of biographical information is important, it should only be elements that are relevant to the current presentation. As much as 70% of the speaker introduction should focus instead on "wetting the appetite" of your audience for the program.

Make sure your introduction is limited to one printed page, double-spaced, and 14 font size. Ask the meeting planner to please follow the script as closely as possible.

Contact information. Get emails and cell phone numbers for everyone: the meeting planner, the banquet manager, etc. Last-minute communication needs always arise. Have numbers at your fingertips at all times.

Early planning, preparati on, and communication will not only help your Big Day go more smoothly, it sets an important tone of professionalism between you and the meeting planner. A successful team effort will likely result in repeat speaking invitations -- a win-win for all.

Dr. Myra Corrello helps entrepreneurs, executives, and subject-matter-experts craft presentations to increase revenue, secure investors, build PR, or enhance overall effectiveness. She offers presentation-skills support through coaching, consulting, on-site training, webinars, and downloadable self-study resources.  Find out more at:  www.PresentationsForResults.com or contact Myra at (504) 899-8660 or by email:  Myra@PresentationsForResults.com.

Usually I don’t write about religion or martial relationships, but usually stick with more mundane topics, diet, exercise, type-2- diabetes, and Internet marketing since these involve my personal and professional passions. This week I visited an old friend, and we started talking about family holiday traditions. I told her about how our family goes shopping together on December 24 at a local mall, come home, wrap presents, and then open them on December 25 as a family. This year though my wife added a Chanukah dinner to the mix, as over the years my religious belief has shifted and while I am not Jewish I consider my beliefs and thoughts about God do fit with Judaism. If you were to press me on “what I am” in regards to religion I would describe myself as a Noahide (Google it.)

As the conversation evolved my friend went to say that she isn’t religious having never been exposed to it growing-up, but her husband is Roman Catholic and attends church weekly bringing their kids while she stays home. The thing that bothers her is that her husband thinks that she is going to HELL because of her lack of faith. I know from previous conversations that my wife is concerned about my eternal salvation since I no longer consider myself a Christian, and she has had to wrestle with this issue but recently she did say to me that she does not believe I am going to HELL, and that we will be together in the world to come even though this flies in the face of Christian belief.

Since my religious journey began in 2006 the thought of my wife thinking I was going to HELL bothered me, but I was able to reconcile that with my learning, new beliefs, and finally came to the spiritual knowledge that God sent me on my journey, and I am willing to accept my learning’s as they come to me. However, in speaking with my friend this week and other friends who no longer share the same beliefs as their spouse this is a real issue when one spouse thinks the other is going to HELL.

Personally I know at some level for the non-believing spouse it does bother them that their spouse thinks they are going to HELL, and at some level the believing spouse is bothered that their spouse does not believe like they used to or maybe never did believe. In the beginning of my journey my wife and I had very personal arguments about religion, and while it will never be 100% solved we have found our relationship is more important than religious belief.  Now the conversations are much more from a position of understanding and concern since we are raising two daughters in a religious belief that Daddy no longer believes. While the older child remembers Daddy at church the younger will grow-up as this being her normal.

The way I see it is how do we as parents demonstrate to our children tolerance for each other’s beliefs while at the same time allowing our girls to have their religious journey? And most importantly let their journey be their own just like their parents’ journey was? Because now as our daughter learns about salvation she worries about her Dad, so how do we reassure her that I will be alright but not ruin her faith in the process? I only wish there was a guide on such matters, but there isn’t and we are left to chart our own course. While the journey is not without incident, I think as a spousal team and parents we are doing a pretty good job explaining these issues to our family.

Written by Brad Heutmaker.  You can follow Brad's Mission to Help America Overcome Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes on his website http://www.bradheutmaker.com/

Peace Love and Gumbo~

Marvin LeBlanc

Could Home-Priced Insurance be a Contrarian Indicator?

SmartMoney ran an interesting article this past week on insuring against a
drop in home prices. In short, the article focused on how underdeveloped the
market for hedging and insuring against falling home prices is and how it is
starting to develop.

Up until recently, the only way to insure a home against falling prices was
to buy futures contracts on home prices in 10 metropolitan areas, including
Boston , Miami , and Las Vegas . Of course, if you didn’t live in one of the
10 metropolitan areas, you won’t be perfectly insured. If you lived in Reno
and bought futures contracts based on home sales falling in Las Vegas , you
could still lose if Las Vegas home prices rose while Reno home prices fell.

Today, firms are beginning to sprout around the country offering direct
insurance for local markets. One, Home Headquarters, a nonprofit, sells
insurance at a cost of 1.5 percent of the home’s value for homes located in
Syracuse , New York . More firms are set to enter the market this year.

This tells us something: new products (and articles about them) tend to
proliferate toward the end of a strong trend – either down or up. Perhaps
this latest data point on insuring against falling home prices, combined
with all the other negative data points on housing, is a sign the end is
near in a good way.

Peace, Love and Gumbo

Marvin LeBlanc,

This post is from a guest blogger Darleen Lenyo. 

So many times, especially in sales, especially starting out in sales, we’re concerned with what we are going to say. We allow ourselves to get fearful, create “horror” stories in our head of things that could go wrong, and we want a plan of action, a script, to make the call. And sometimes, more times than not, because we don’t create those scripts or that plan of action, we don’t make the call.

Did you know -

38% of communication is your tonality

55% of communication is body language

And 7% of communication is the words you use.

Let me repeat that, 7% of communication is the words you use.

What does this mean to you? The words you use are important. But what’s most important is the energy coming from you. Be sincere. Be enthusiastic. Share your knowledge. Bring something of value. Come from a place of contribution. Ask questions. Find out what they need and strive to help them.

People love enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is contagious.

People love passion. Passion is contagious.

People love to be included. Share your knowledge, your passion, your enthusiasm.

That’s your script. There’s your plan of action – Enthusiasm, Knowledge, Passion, Sincerity, Contribution, Asking Questions.

P.S. Looking for another tip to generate leads? The best time to make those calls is after you’ve received great news and have experienced some success! Try it – your self-confidence, positive energy, enthusiasm, & passion will shine through!

Darleen Lenyo, Mortgage Broker Extraordinaire

I hope you are enjoying the new blog!  If so please subscribe to receive updates in your inbox.  Peace, Love and Gumbo~

Marvin LeBlanc

Hello Marvelous People:

I recently participated in an online discussion. The topic discussed New Orleans Business. Are we closed minded & cliquish? Below you will see my response. Please post your comments.

New Orleans Business - Closed Minded & Cliquish?

We are known as one of the warmest, most welcoming fun loving places on the planet, yet I hear many say that when it comes to business we are in a world of our own. What do you think?....really. Should we seek to know what other larger cities are doing - or are we practicing it already?
 
My answer.

It's sad really. Most folks are resistant to change and when the change comes knocking on your door (Katrina), you're forced to embrace it. There's a mental internal struggle going on with my clients. I served St. Bernard Parish for 18 years & now serve multi-parishes from my new location in Jefferson Parish. Those that are "Past Based" (Close-Minded) have not moved forward. Those that are "Future Based" (Open-Minded) have not only built new, different and better relationships, but they are prospering better in their Post-Katrina world.
 
A question was posed in a meeting (not by me). If you could have your "Pre-Katrina" life back would you want it or would you want the life you have now?
 
The response I witnessed was amazing.
 
Do you know that in a group of 30 people, only 1 person would want their "Pre-Katrina" life back? When you just read this question, how many people did you think would raise their hand? More than 1? Me too.
 
What I drew from that is that these 30 business owners did successfully CHOOSE to embrace new people, new changes and in doing so, now prefer their "new" life. They were able to succeed in spite of the Closed Minded and the Cliquish.
 
The future of New Orleans area is stable and solid. It is true that business is spikier & you must be smarter. But business is not impossible.
 
Remember, "WHEN NOTHING IS CERTAIN, EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE".
Each "one" of us can change the world. Seriously.

Peace, Love and Gumbo!

Marvin LeBlanc, LUTCF, CNP

In the early 1990s, I was a State Farm agent in St. Bernard Parish. (A
Louisiana Parish adjacent to the east side of Orleans Parish) I had not
been an agent more than four or five years. I vividly remember that day
whereby we had a visiting agent come in and speak to our business group.

On this particular day our speaker was named Jay Butler. Jay Butler had
recently retired. He was from the California area if my memory serves me
correctly. His passionate purpose was to travel across the country
discussing some interesting ideas and giving back to his State Farm
“family”. Jay knew that he was in his final months fighting pancreatic
cancer. And because he knew his time was limited he actually worked 7 days a week graciously meeting with clients on Saturdays, Sundays or anytime.

All of us at one time or another have been told, “you know if you go to a
seminar or a workshop and you pick up JUST ONE GOOD IDEA then it was worth all your time.” Well on this particular day, the ONE GOOD IDEA that has
stayed with me for so long and I believe it can help you today is simply
this.

Dislikes/Likes

Take out a Yellow Pad and draw a line down the center of the page. On the
left side of the page start listing all of the things that you do not like
to do in your current job. So, take some time, maybe pause from reading
forward, and really think of all the things that you do not like to do and
write them down.

Now after really working hard on listing the “DISLIKES”, now turn your focus
to the right side of the page. Your “LIKES”. Vertically write down all the
aspects of your job or your career that you really do enjoy & like to do.
Maybe even love to do.

Although this idea’s simple, it is profound. Some of you wont take this
exercise serious enough. Because you long for and search for “the answer”.
And for it to be “the answer”, it has to be more complicated.

WRONG!
Here’s the key points.

1. Every day, when you wake up, you need to spend your time focusing on only doing the things you like to do. Resolve and commit to hiring and creating a team of people that their strengths are the things that you do not like to do, and let them do it. Did you really catch that last statement?

2. You cannot amass major income without first mastering the ability to
delegate. But you need to delegate your DISLIKES to team members that are
strong in that area. Their LIKES must be your DISLIKES.

3. You will constantly need to scout and recruit new talent. You don’t do
that just once a year, because you never know when you will lose a team
member. Things happen, people get jobs in different locations, sickness,
health problems, death, accidents. Many perils in life can happen, so you
always must continue to look for people who would be an asset to your team.
But what you cannot do is continue to fool yourself and live under the
illusion that you’re going to ever be strong in the areas that you’re weak.

4. There’s a man by the name of Dan Sullivan. He’s the co-owner with his
wife in their company, “The Strategic Coach”. And one of Dan Sullivan’s
philosophies is simply this: If you spend your entire life focusing on your
weaknesses, what you’re going to have at the end of your life is a long list
of strong weaknesses, but they’re still going to be weaknesses. You are
hard-wired for success, but you have to determine what it is that you’re
good at, and only do that.

The Jay Butler story is an excellent story about giving back to us in his
last year of life, when he knew that he was terminally ill. And the ONE
GOOD IDEA that I’ll always remember is to focus on the things you do well
and delegate to others the things you do not do well that they actually are
strong in.

This message brought to you by Marvin LeBlanc

“Be significant today. And remember significance is almost always
intentional. Significance is almost never accidental.”

Have a great day.

Did you like what you read?  If so I encourage you to share it with your friends and sign up on the right side of the page to be notified when new content is posted. 

Give us your thoughts and feedback!  We love hearing from our readers about how this tip helped to propel you forward in life.

Hello Marvelous People!

That’s right. You heard correctly. There is a way that you can generate referrals without constantly throwing money into advertising campaigns that never seem to be able to even track your return on investment.

This idea is so simple, that many of you will over-analyze it and do nothing.

Imagine the hundreds of emails that you constantly send out. Emails that the recipient refers back to from time to time. Emails that the recipient archives in their CRM software for future referral.  This is an example of drip marketing at its best.

IDEA: From now on, on the bottom of all those emails that you are forever sending out to friends, neighbors, co-workers & relatives, you will add the following tag message.

So go now and “drip yourself some referrals”. There’s nothing for you to think through. The work has already been done for you. JUST DO IT!

TAG:

Will you help us?

While most professionals feel they need to spend 50% of their time looking for new business, my team & I do not agree. In fact, we prefer to spend as much time as we can taking care of our existing customers. We don’t have to spend all of our time looking for new business like others, because we prefer to work with people that are personally introduced to us.

We prefer to work with people much like you. With that in mind, would you be willing to help us by sharing the names of 2 families or 2 Small Business Owners that we can discuss their _______ concerns? We would be grateful if we had your permission to use you as a reference.

1. Name:
Contact Info:

2. Name:
Contact Info:

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Marvin LeBlanc is a left-handed, right-brained, fun-loving Cajun that is obsessed with Life Performance and Overcoming Adversity. He is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker and founder of Marvelous Performance Systems. Marvin is available for business retreats, keynotes, breakout sessions, workshops, and individual coaching programs. His book “COME HELL OR HIGH WATER” will be available in the Fall of 2011 through New York Publisher www.BloomingTwig.com. To rent Marvin’s brain, contact him at marvinleblanc@aol.com and request a Free Personal Coaching Session.

Hello Marvelous People!

A special shout out of thanks goes out to Rod Mabe and his team members over in Coconut Creek, Florida for sharing this great little story. Painting a vivid mental image with proper questions is the point of this story. And maybe just a little “dash” of humor as well ya’ll.

Military Insurance – Sold Cajun Style
Boudreaux, the smoothest-talking Cajun in the Louisiana National Guard, got called up to active duty. Boudreaux’s first assignment was in a military induction center.

Because he was a good talker, they assigned him the duty of advising new recruits about government benefits, especially the GI insurance to which they were entitled.

The officer in charge soon noticed that Boudreaux was getting a 99% sign-up rate for the more expensive supplemental form of GI insurance. This was remarkable, because it cost these low-income recruits $30.00 per month for the higher coverage, compared to what the government was already providing at no charge.

The officer decided he’d sit in the back of the room at the next briefing and observe Boudreaux’s sales pitch.

Boudreaux stood up before the latest group of inductees and said, “If you has da normal GI insurans  an’ you goes to Afghanistan an’ gets youself killed, da governmen’ pays you beneficiary $20,000. If you takes out da supplemental insurans, which cost you only t’irty dollars a mons, den da governmen’ gots ta pay you beneficiary $200,000!

“Now,” Boudreaux concluded, “which bunch you tink dey gonna send ta Afghanistan first?”