Small Business Leadership and Sales Blog

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.

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!

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!

Our guest blogger is Tyler Winner – President of Dale Carnegie Training for Middle Louisiana and East Texas. His article today on Team Member Engagement offers great tips to use in your next team meeting. Let us know how his ideas help move your team forward at MarvinLeBlanc@aol.com.


7 Ways To Foster Team Member Engagement

As a leader at your business, you have considerable impact on employee engagement, and whether that engagement remains sustained or not.  Because employee engagement is so critical to the success of your business, affecting such areas as communication, development, contribution and employee morale, it becomes a necessary responsibility for all leaders.

Team Member Engagement Directly Impacts The Success Of Your Business.

Businesses with engaged employees benefit from having fewer absences, excellent customer service (acknowledged by their clients), stronger internal communication and employees who are generally more enthusiastic about their jobs and, thus, more productive.  To help you create the sort of dynamic work environment that team member engagement generates, we put together the seven tips below.

7 Ways To Foster Team Member Engagement:

#1. Talk To Your Team: Communication is a two-way street, but someone has to put the keys in the ignition and get the car started, and that someone has to be a leader.  If you want your team members actively communicating with one another, you need to lead by example.  Throughout the day, talk to them about what is happening in the business, about work in the team and about their personal interests.

#2. Get To Know Your Team: Developing a rapport with your employees works in tandem with talking to them.  By genuinely getting to know your team members — their likes, their dislikes, their passions, their goals — you will gain a better understanding of what makes them tick, and in the process help them feel like unique individuals as opposed to human-shaped representations of their job function.

#3. Make Time For Your Team: As a leader at your business, it is important that you are available to the members of your team when they need you.  If you come off as unavailable or detached from the main body of your team, you will create a barrier between them and you.  This will lead to a serious disconnect and inevitable breakdown in communication, directly affecting your business’ success.

#4. Promote Fun At Work: “Fun” in this instance has less to do with fun in the sense of “fun and games” and more to do with employees being enthusiastic about their jobs.  When employees are having fun at the workplace, they are considerably more productive and contribute to a positive energy that influences the success of your business.

#5. Actively Support Your Team: Feeling supported by the rest of the team and the leaders at a business is an important aspect of team member engagement. Said leaders need to look for ways to help their employees grow and attain their business goals in order to combat complacency and prevent employees from growing disheartened with their job and their role in the company.

#6. Provide The Tools They Need: If you want your team members to perform at the top of their game and deliver the very best they can produce, you need to supply them with the right tools for their respective jobs.  Expecting employees to make due with what they have in essence cripples them, and can leave employees feeling that their job is far more of a struggle than it ought to be.

#7. Be Flexible: Ruling with an iron-fisted “my way or the highway” mentality stifles growth and development and creates a static, unchanging, complacent work environment — the antithesis of innovation and design (read: success).  Strong leaders know when to admit their weakness and when to concede to employees who may know more about something than they do, in the process engaging the employee by acknowledging their experience and relative expertise.

Executive Summary: Team member engagement, for any business — no matter what you do or what your size — is absolutely crucial.  As a leader at your business, it falls on your shoulders to take the first steps towards engaging your team members.  It may take a bit of effort, but in the end, the payoff is immeasurable.  Engagement motivates employees, creates a work atmosphere charged with excitement and energy, better communication and so much more. Bottom line: Team member engagement improves your business in every way.

Your Next Step: If you want to find out more about how Dale Carnegie Training can make your business more effective, or need more information on this subject, please send us an e-mail at tyler_winner@dalecarnegie.com.

Make it a great day!

A few weeks ago I was watching TV before bed.  We were watching America’s Funniest Home Videos. There was this one scene where a guy was demonstrating that his storm door on the front of his house was missing the glass.  He would literally just step through the door because the hole where the glass used to be was about 6 foot from the bottom to the top.  Now once he displayed that the glass was missing, he called his dog to the door and asked the dog if he wanted to go outside. 

The dog obviously did because he was nudging the medal frame of the door.  SO the guy stepped through the opening where the glass normally is, blatantly showing the dog that the glass was missing.  But yet the dog waited patiently for the man to open the door.  He did this over and over 5 or 6 times, stepping through the huge opening, then opening the door for the dog to go in and out.

The dog never got it.  He had been programmed to wait until the door was opened, no matter what the circumstances.  All of the walls of the house could have been gone, but as long as that door frame stood, that dog would continue to sit and wait for its master to open the door.

As crazy as it sounds, people are programmed in the same way.  We are programmed from a young age to draw within the lines… to sit in rows in our school classrooms… we are taught to walk in a straight line when going to lunch.  And it’s this controlling conformity that does the most damage to us as an individual.  It robs us of one of our most valuable assets…

CREATIVITY!   Your creative mind is what enables you to walk through the doors of opportunity.  Not only does it give you the freedom to ask “What If”… but it gives you the “Guts” to walk through any door.  And if there’s no door, it gives you the “Power” to break down any walls. 

It’s creativity and imagination that has fueled ALL of the great successful people in the world.  Neither DisneyLand nor DisneyWorld would exist if Walt Disney had conformed and done what he was supposed to do… if he had stayed in art school.  But he refused to harness his creativity… he refused to do what he was told and draw within the lines, and he dropped out of art school.

The list of success stories attributed to creative ability is endless. Billionaire Richard Branson, owner of Virgin Records, Virgin Airlines, and over 200 other companies, dropped out of high school in the 10th grade to express and develop his creative abilities. 

Michael Dell of Dell computers started his computer company while he was a freshman in college.  He spent his school money on computer parts and built computers in his dorm room.  He stopped going to classes and focused all of his time making computers.  His father freaked out on him when he realized what he was doing.   He said, “Michael, why can’t you be more like your brother?”  His brother had graduated from medical school.  His brother played by the rules and didn’t draw outside the lines.  But now, his brother works for Michael.

Now, don’t misunderstand what I am saying … Education is important.  I am not saying you don’t need to gain knowledge.  All of the most successful people in the world seek out specific knowledge that help them achieve their goals.  And they also surround themselves with people that can help them achieve their goals.

The point I want to make is that they were bold enough to NOT conform to the norm.  And that comes from having a strong creative mind.

According to studies by UCLA and the University of Georgia, all children have 100 percent of their creative potential at age five.  But by age seven half of that creative potential is gone.  And throughout life, your creative potential continues to deteriorate, unless you exercise it. –Author Unknown

 

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, & 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.

 

The quarter of 2011 is now in the books and pretty much GONE!

So I have a question. What were the results of  the recent “2011 CUSTOMER ADDED VALUE” meeting you had at your company in the last month?

Be honest. You never had that meeting now did you? That is a PROBLEM. And that spells future PAIN for you in 2011.

Why do I say this? Because if you don’t provide the ADDED VALUE, your clients and prospects will find it from your competitor. And this will happen easily.  If you do nothing.

Perhaps a great goal for you is to “GET DONE” some vital thinking.

Define what ADDED VALUE for your clients and prospects really IS. Define what ADDED VALUE for your clients and prospects LOOKS LIKE.

(Do you have some clients that will tell you the truth about how you are doing in this area? It’s probably time to take them out for coffee anyways right?)

So do that, and be sure to let me know how it works out for you.  Save the RSS Feed for this blog and come back and share your important feedback.

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

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, & 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!

If you’re a small business owner new to Social Media, then this article is just the thing you need to read now. If you’re experienced in Social Media, more than likely there are 3 items out of the 10 that you are not doing well.

So read this helpful article by Dave Nelsen and take some notes on what you need to do differently today with your Social Media approach.

Ten Do’s of Social Media (By Vistage Speaker Dave Nelsen)

Social media and social networking are quickly becoming “de rigueur” for business. A recent study by a Chicago-based firm, Slack Barshinger, showed that small and medium-size businesses are getting “heavily involved with social media, with about half using blogs, wikis, Twitter or other social media channels for business purposes.” If your company is not yet engaged, it’s time to jump in before your competitors beat you to the punch. If you’re not familiar with social media, check out YouTube, Twitter, TalkShoe, or any blog–these publishing and broadcasting democracies involve hundreds of millions of people. While most of these services were originally conceived for consumers, social media allows businesses to engage in many-to-many conversations with customers, accelerating their learning and building trust.


Critial rules for Social Media Marketing:

1. Do the same up-front planning you would for any important business initiative.

2. Define your target audience. Detail how you intend to create value for them. Map out how you expect them to create value for you. Document your approach and objectives per medium (blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc.). Listen and learn from others for a few weeks before responding. In general,
spend twice as much time listening as responding.

3. Display your Personality, and keep the content Interesting and Entertaining (the old radio adage “PIE”). Remember, people buy from people; show your professional self.

4. Be authentic. Never before has a medium and its participants been more skilled at smelling a rat and turning against the perpetrator.

5. Remember that social media is about two-way conversation (see “Don’t try to control” above). Conversation builds trust; trust leads to more sales. Favor timeless content over time-sensitive content (note: this varies based on the medium and there are exceptions). We live in a time-shifted “Tivo” world and there’s wonderful leverage in creating a blog post (for example) that will have value to new readers weeks, months, or even years from now.

6. Remember that “push” is out and “pull” is in. Direct mail, traditional advertising, and unsolicited email are forms of “push” — the content producer chooses who to target. “Following” on Twitter, “subscribing” to a blog or podcast, or viewing a video your friends “liked” on Facebook are forms of “pull” — the content consumer decides what to listen to. In today’s information-rich world, people want to opt-in, choosing where to spend their valuable time. Give them a reason to choose your content.

7. Keep your eyes open. Use Google Alerts, search.twitter.com, relevant Linkedin Groups, Ning networks, and other sites to monitor or “listen in” on conversations about your company, your competitors, and the best practices in your industry.

8. Show patience. As the party with more power (a business relative to a customer/prospect), attacking or being critical will frequently backfire and word will propagate quickly.

9. Learn from your audience (as they will learn from you). Be prepared to rapidly evolve your products and services to meet their needs. They’ll suggest valuable ideas you never thought of.

10. In the next few years, social media will become a primary vehicle for interacting with your customers, partners, suppliers, and even employees. By getting started today, your company can adapt to a changing world more quickly than your competitors. What are you waiting for?

Vistage member and speaker, Dave Nelsen helps companies develop social media strategies to improve their marketing, sales, customer support, and even internal communication. He’s the Founder of podcasting pioneer TalkShoe and a long-time entrepreneur. You can contact Dave at dave@get121.biz.

Hello Marvelos People!

Part two of the Do's and Don'ts of Social Media for small business owners.  You can read the things you should be doing with your social media accounts here.

Vistage speaker Dave Nelsen says: This is not your father’s marketing.

Here are ten basic rules for what you should avoid in social media.

1. Don’t get started if you have significant product weaknesses or customer support issues. Engaging in social media makes good products more successful, and bad products… dead. But don’t delay for long; address the issues and then jump in.

2. Don’t use social media to overtly market or sell. Instead educate, enlighten, inform, and entertain your audience. In this way, you’ll position yourself and your company as an expert in your field and benefit from the “media halo.”

3. Don’t “set it and forget it.” This makes you look worse than not showing up at all. Once you get started, sustain your participation and interaction.

4. Don’t go negative. Emphasize your strengths and advantages rather than making claims about a competitor’s weakness.

5. Don’t mix personal and business accounts/personas, etc.

6. Don’t expect to fully control the conversation. Social media is not an advertisement, product brochure, newsletter, email blast, or one-way monologue; it’s a conversation. Conversations are bi-directional and can have rough edges. Even if you don’t want to participate, your customers and prospects are already
talking. Join them.

7. Don’t worry about some negativity for online users. Studies show that a little negativity increases credibility and empathy. Paraphrasing Abraham Lincoln: “You can’t please all of the people all of the time.” Be responsive to the negative.

8. Don’t feel the need to disclose everything. Not everyone who likes sausage wants to see exactly how it’s made. Be open and honest and use discretion.

9. Don’t be a generalist. With literally hundreds of millions of blogs, videos and podcasts to choose from, every individual can precisely tailor their consumption to their interests. Focus on one topic and do it well (the narrower the better).

10. Don’t overwhelm your followers with too much information, or too frequently. Everybody’s got a busy life and nobody enjoys getting “Twitter-ria”. Focus on the highest value information and content.

Vistage member and speaker, Dave Nelsen helps companies develop social media strategies to improve their marketing, sales, customer support, and even internal communication. He’s the Founder of podcasting pioneer TalkShoe and a long-time entrepreneur. You can contact Dave at dave@get121.biz.

Hello Marvelous People! Stick with me here for a second.

Take out a clean sheet of paper and draw one big circle.

Now draw 3 lines across the circle, making 6 different sections.

Now you have what looks like a beach ball, right?

You’ll now insert the following words in each of their own sections.

1.
Most Significant Event – Personal
Most Significant Event – Professional

2.
Personal Issues & Frustrations
Professional Issues & Frustrations

3.
Personal Goals
Professional Goals

4.
Personal Dreams
Professional Dreams

5.
Ideas that can make us better?

6.
How can I help?

With the tool of “The Beach Ball” you will have a 1 hour monthly focus supper with your team members.  Afterall, you’d probably agree with me that it’s not unreasonable to spend ONE QUALITY HOUR with your team members monthly.  The Beach Ball, used consistently month after month, serves as a conversation guide.  I strongly suggest an early supper right after work and definitely away from work. Somewhere casual. Somewhere that feels comfortable. Somewhere that’s not so loud that you can’t hear each other communicate. Afterall, that is the whole point of the “Beach Ball” tool.  Try it. Enjoy the process and you will be amazed what you might discover about your team members. Remember, “LISTENING IS NOT WAITING TO TALK”

Hello Marvelous People!

Ah yes! Out loud. Alone. Slowly say these words with me.

SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE. COMPELLING. ADDICTIVE.

Have you ever wondered why certain Web sites, restaurants & organizations are VALUED so much more than others? How did they become simply irresistible, compelling, (even addicting) and invaluable to their clients & prospects? They must have just been lucky, right? Maybe they were just in the right place at the right time? Yep, that happens. In about 1 out of every 100 businesses!!!

The rest of good business happens with good business PLANNING. Humor me for a second while I walk you through this quick exercise.

Step 1: Turn away from your monitor and quickly write down your 3 most favorite Web sites.

Step 2: Turn away from your monitor and quickly write down your 3 most favorite restaurants.

Step 3: Turn away from your monitor and write down the top 3 organizations that generated the highest revenue for you in 2010.

Step 4: Now go study your 3 most favorite Web sites and find out why they are valuable to you. Write your results down.

Step 5: Think about your 3 most favorite restaurants. What is it that REALLY makes them your favorite. Your most VALUED restaurants. And don’t put down, “because the food taste good”. BORING!!! So what. That’s not the REAL VALUE. Go deeper.

Step 6: Think about the top 3 REVENUE GENERATING groups you were involved in. (Chamber of Commerce, Service Club, Referral Group, Business Group, School Groups) Write down “WHY” you feel they generated so much revenue.

Step 7: The Final Step. Look at the answers you’ve created for yourself and sit down with an Accountability Partner (who’s not your partner or family member) and ask yourself the most important question in 2011: How can I apply these answers to offer Knock Your Socks Off, World Class Added Value to my clients and prospects? I’m talking to you Mr/Mrs Small Business Person.

Think about how serious this is. If there was a way you could get relief from the ridiculous “feast or famine” sucky sales cycles, wouldn’t that be worth it all? It will be. Recognize that the answer is in front of you with my 7 Steps to Becoming IRRESISTIBLE. Now invest yourself into some think time & get your plan in ACTION.