Too often, the only phone calls I receive are cold calls. Forget about cold calls, try using the phone for a more favorable activity. I’m referring to picking up the phone to follow up from a previous conversation or to extend an invitation to a client or business associate. I see a lot of people making lists of “things to do” or even using their automated CRM tool to remind them to make phone calls, but it seems like this one task gets pushed to bottom of the list over and over again. We would prefer to send an email or Facebook message over picking up the telephone. Since the invention of sales calls, the telephone has been getting heavier and heavier to the point of avoidance. You used to be able to use the phone to sell anything, but now, you need to use the phone to build a connection. …click here to read more

I was having lunch with a friend who owns a landscape design company, Blue Iris Designs. She offers a unique service that combines the benefits of feng shui within your landscape. She was asking me about the benefits of hosting a workshop. When after all was said and done, it wasn’t going to earn her a viable income . With all the time she was planning to invest, her question to me was “Is it worth it to hold a workshop?”

I offered her the same sage advice that I received from Marcia McGilley in the Small Business Development Center and added my own two-cents. There are multiple benefits to speaking at a workshop.
…click here to read more

We all want more business. We are all looking for that magic button that will create more sales and more customers just by pressing it. What we tend to overlook is the fact that we already have it. Where is it, you ask? Look at your passenger seat the next time you are headed out to an event. Is it empty or is filled with your favorite client or that hard-to-get-to decision-maker?
…click here to read more

I’d heard about this type of networking before. It was something people made fun of, so I was sure it was a rumor, until it happened to me. I was standing with a small group of people at a networking event when suddenly, there was a business card being placed in my hand, and into the hands of those I was talking to by someone none of us knew. In a flash, this person appeared, placed his business card into stranger’s hands, and disappeared. I had become the victim of a “Networking Drive-By”. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the action, but it’s not pretty. There’s no warning, no introduction, just a business card flung into your hand by a speeding networker who attacks faster than a speeding bullet
…click here to read more

More and more, I am discovering the importance of marketing. People often share their disappointment with me over lack of attendance at seminars or other professional events. I’m often asked how to get more people to show up or how to create that buzz for their business. My answer is, don’t forget to send the invitations.
…click here to read more

4 Prospecting Tips for Network Marketing

After sitting in on a network marketing presentation that dragged on and on, and despite my answers of not being interested, I felt compelled to write some tips for network marketers that keep your prospects in mind. Throughout this presentation, I felt like no one was listening to me. I felt like the only priority was the agenda at hand, and my own interests or goals were irrelevant. I have some prior MLM experience. I understand the background. Combined with my current career of teaching others how to build relationships with customers, I came up with 4 tips to help with prospecting for your network marketing business.
…click here to read more

Often times, you are invited to an event and the first thing you think of is “what’s in it for me?” You decide by the title if the event is going to be worth while or not. Furthermore, you’re unsure of the etiquette of RSVPing. Do you RSVP if you ARE going to attend? Or, do you RSVP if you AREN’T planning to attend? Different hosts ask for different responses, which adds to further confusion.
…click here to read more

I was at the bookstore today and grabbed a book off the shelf titled “Get more referrals” or something similar in that genre of titles. I opened to the middle – which is typical behavior for me in determining whether or not I like the book – and read a section titled “getting past the gatekeeper”.

Getting past the gatekeeper is one of those topics that every sales person is still trying to master. There are books, articles and seminars all over discussing this one roadblock to making sales. So, what is the master secret to getting past the gatekeeper?
…click here to read more