目标实现法

一个人设定目标时，最重要的并非“如何”实现这个目标，而是“为何
”要设定些目标，“为何”比“如何”更重要。

步骤一：列下实现目标理由
成功者在设定目标的同时，也会找出设这些目标理由来说服自己。当他
十分清楚地知道实现目标的好处以及不实现目标坏处时便会马上设下时限来
规范自己。

步骤二：设下时限
一般人如果没有时限来集中注意力的话，很难检查出自己在不同时间段
到底做到什么程度了。因此，当明确知道目标之后，便要设下明确的实行时
限。

步骤三：列下实现目标所需的条件。
若不知实现该目标所需的条件时，如何去进行则会模糊。比如你想进哈
佛大学就读，却不知哈佛的录取标准，则进入哈佛必定有所困难，如果明确
知道它的录取标准，则更能按部就班地达到它所要求的标准。

步骤四：自问“假如要实现目标话，我自己必须变成什么样的人？”并
在纸上列下来
很多人想成功，却不清楚成功者所具备的条件。我通常列出成功者所需
具备的26项条件，让自己知道该往哪个方面迈进，成为怎样的人。
例如，你的目标三年内当经理，接下来便把当经理的条件和能力列出来
，明确告诉自己就是要成为那样的人。

步骤五：列下目前不能实现目标的所有原因，从难到易排列其困难度，
自问“现在马上用什么办法来解决那些问题”，并逐项写下。
列完解答之后，这些解答通常就是立即可以采取的行动，并且十分明确
。

步骤六：下定承诺，直到实现目标为止，否则绝不放弃。
许多人只是对目标“有兴趣”，但并未决定一定要实现目标，因为当然
无法实现。“有兴趣”不会让你成功，“决定成功”才能让你成功。

步骤七：设下时间表，从实现目标的最终期限倒推至现在
例如，你决定三年之内当上经理，则列下后两后内要做到的程度，今年
内要做到的程度，每个月要做到的程度及每天该做的事。

步骤八：马上采取行动，现在开始

步骤九：衡量每天的进度，每天检查成果
若每年检查一次实施成果，则一年只有一次机会可以改正错误，若每月
检查一次，则有12次机会改正错误，若每天衡量一次，则就有300多次机会，
更遑论每天衡量数次进度了，机会当然相对增加。
快速实现目标将它具体化
重点在于把所有目标写在纸上，尽量具体化，例如想买汽车把汽车照片
贴在眼睛右上方看得到的部位，每天早晚利用5——10分钟的时间，想象你
已拥有这部车，并获得拥有该车的所有好处，这会加速你实现愿望的时间。
1、请设定个最想要达成的目标，并列出五项实现目标的理由。
2、请写下若实现目标有哪些好处及不实现目标哪些坏处？
3、你现在愿意做哪些事情，使你可以得到所期望的结果。

恭喜您，您又进步了一点点！

Sales Amateur vs. Sales Professional - By Alen Majer

I am sure you have heard about salespeople earning $200-300k, a million or even more. Do you think this sales person is better than you are? They are not much different from you; they are not geniuses or impeccable experts in their field. They probably don’t know much more about their products or service than other salespeople in the same company.

So you are probably asking yourself – how is it that they can make six or seven figures and you are struggling month by month to make ends meet and reach your quotas?

The first and probably the most accurate answer is that they see themselves as professionals.

How can you grow if you don’t adopt new ideas or learn about new things in business and in sales? How can you expect to advance to better, higher paid positions if you stop investing in your knowledge?

In my 16+ years in different roles in sales, I have met many sales people who never bought a book about the sales in their life. They never attended a seminar about sales, which was not part of their company at the time. However, they were always complaining about how companies are not investing enough in their sales force, yet expect them to be perfect and up to date. That is the reason why they don’t want to invest in seminars on their own.

They believe that if their company does not see the value in it, why would they pay for it by themselves? Also they feel they know everything about the sales, so there is no need for spending money on books and seminars, or finding time for reading magazines or specialized websites. Many of those people who don’t learn continuously wonder why they don’t advance in their career or are skipped over again for a promotion.

I am giving you perfect examples of how the amateurs are thinking while blaming everyone around them for being unsuccessful in sales. You are the one who is making the decision. Every morning, when you look in the mirror, are you seeing the reflection of an amateur or professional?

Sales professional is someone who invests in his knowledge, who reads magazines and web portals dedicated to sales people and attends seminars and conferences. A sales person who follows the trends understands how essential it is to improve him personally.Professionals are ones they know how necessary this is to start selling more. And of course – they are the ones who are earning more.

Be different from the 95% of salespeople out there who are not investing in their knowledge, and you will start seeing the change. It will start first inside of you where you will be hungrier for the new knowledge. You will have a better conversation and better approach to your prospects and people around you will see that difference.

Your self-respect that you’ve gained with that new knowledge will make the world your oyster. Don’t wait for your employer to send you to a seminar. Be proactive, for yourself and your career. It will benefit you in the long term - with your career and most importantly you will see the difference in your wallet!

You are asking your clients to make a change, but if you are unwilling to change yourself, how can you ask your prospects to?

Your sales process will also depend on your efforts invested in research and understanding your customer base, your energy and enthusiasm about your product. If you cannot transfer enthusiasm to your prospects, you are in deep problems. When you talking about something people can feel if you are insincere, or you really know what you are talking about.

It is not what are you saying but how are you saying it.

What does it mean to be sales professional? I am not saying that you have to live, eat and breathe sales 24/7 every day for the rest of your life, but to start seeing your sales position as something more, something bigger than 9-5 job.

Whether you love your sales job or not, you have a choice to do it well or not, to be fully involved or back away, and if you have this attitude of choosing to do your work well, you will enjoy your job itself!

You can be very productive once you consciously choose to be in sales, and if you change your approach from “get things done” to actually enjoy what you do, you can get the job well done and be rewarded for your efforts.

Fulfillment in your life comes with doing a great job, whatever you do. And your occupation, in this case sales profession, is just as important to your personal health as the right food for your body.

Invest in your knowledge; put the seeds in the small steps and watering your skills and constant caring about your sales knowledge. And when the time of harvesting comes, you will have the fruits of your efforts in front of you.

To differentiate from majority of people who don’t like what they do, you have to actually enjoy what you do.

Start your day by doing your job the best you can, and try to do it for a week. Then come back next week and do it all over again. The best you can, not waiting for rewards, not asking for rewards. Don’t wait for results to come, just do the job the best you could. When first results came back, when you get positive feedback from your customers, when you close a new deal – ask yourself: What has changed?

You will start loving your job because success will come, first in small steps, but more and more day by day it will grow. Your customers will start seeing you as a knowledgeable person, your colleagues will see you with different eyes, and you will realize that all of that is important, but most important are feelings inside of you that start building – good feelings about yourself.

You will feel worthy, valuable to your customers, colleagues, and you will build that feeling inside of you that you are valuable part of your environment.

And you will start feeling that you are helping others – your colleagues to be better, your customers to find the best solution, and by helping them you are actually helping yourself to become a more valuable member of the community.

Does it make sense?

Natural order of things is in doing your best at what you do best, and the rewards will follow inevitable.

Remember this - you can’t fail how hard you try it.


About the Author:

Alen Majer consults and trains businesses and salespeople on a variety of topics ranging from science to art of selling - from improving sales process, prospecting activities, and successful needs discovering, to developing better customer relationships, improving credibility and relationship building skills so much needed in 21st century selling environment.

Recession-Proof Yourself - Your Economy is Up to You!

By Dave Ramsey

"The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" That sounds just like what all the media people are telling us these days. "Recession! Recession!" Calm down, Chicken Little! The sky is NOT falling. Everything will be okay.

By definition, a recession doesn't happen until the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) numbers—how you measure the number of goods made and sold in the USA—goes down for 6 consecutive months. Even though the economy has slowed, it's no reason to completely freak out and think the world is going to collapse. Don't let the talking heads on the nightly news make you emotional and cause you to freak out about the economy. If you let your emotions dictate your actions, you're going to be broke your whole life.

What Can I Do About It?

Regardless of the condition of the national economy, it's a MUST that you take a look at your own personal economy. Do you have your $1,000 emergency fund saved? Are you tackling your debt snowball like crazy? If you follow my Baby Steps in order, you'll be able to prepare for yourself and your family so that you'll hardly notice when the national economy or your household economy faces potential setbacks:

1. Baby Step 1: $1,000 Emergency Fund
No one eagerly anticipates negative, unexpected events. But guess what? They're going to happen. It's just a fact of life. Money magazine says that 78% of us will have a major negative event happen in any given 10-year period of time. This beginning emergency fund will keep life's little Murphies from turning into new debt while you work off the old debt. Continue

2. Baby Step 2: The Debt Snowball
The principle is to stop everything except minimum payments and focus on one thing at a time. Otherwise, nothing gets accomplished because all your effort is diluted. List your debts in order with the smallest payoff or balance first. Do not be concerned with interest rates or terms unless two debts have similar payoffs, then list the higher interest rate debt first. Paying the little debts off first gives you quick feedback, and you are more likely to stay with the plan. Continue

3. Baby Step 3: Fully Funded Emergency Fund
Ask yourself, "Self, what would it take for you to live for three to six months if you lost your income?" Your answer to that question is how much you should save. Remember, this stash of money is NOT an investment; it is insurance you're paying to yourself, a buffer between you and life. Continue

Most importantly, remember one last thing. Your economy is up to you. If you are out of debt and have money in the bank, then the media can talk up a storm about a recession, but you won't feel it. When you have a plan, live on less than you make and save money, you are not in trouble. If you have a paid-for house, who cares if foreclosure rates are up? YOU are all right. If you have no credit card debt and the plastic companies decide to raise interest rates to 50%, how much will you care? NOT ONE BIT! Take care of your personal money situation, and everything else will take care of itself.

There's no time like the present to get started and recession-proof yourself! I promise...it's a plan that works EVERY time!

Dave Ramsey is a personal money management expert, an extremely popular national radio personality and best-selling author of The Total Money Makeover. Dave is changing the face of America by helping people get out of debt and build wealth. Ramsey exemplifies his life's work of teaching others how to be financially responsible, so they can acquire enough wealth to take care of loved ones, live prosperously into old age, and give generously to others. Learn more about navigating through the current economy.

Warren Buffet's advice for 2009

We begin this New Year with dampened enthusiasm and dented optimism. Our happiness is diluted and our peace is threatened by the financial illness that has infected our families, organizations and nations. Everyone is desperate to find a remedy that will cure their financial illness and help them recover their financial health. They expect the financial experts to provide them with remedies, forgetting the fact that it is these experts who created this financial mess.

Every new year, I adopt a couple of old maxims as my beacons to guide my future. This self-prescribed therapy has ensured that with each passing year, I grow wiser and not older. This year, I invite you to tap into the financial wisdom of our elders along with me, and become financially wiser.

* Hard work: All hard work bring a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

* Laziness: A sleeping lobster is carried away by the water current.

* Earnings: Never depend on a single source of income. [At least make your Investments get you second earning]

* Spending: If you buy things you don't need, you'll soon sell things you need.

* Savings: Don't save what is left after spending; spend what is left after saving.

* Borrowings: The borrower becomes the lender's slave.

* Accounting: It's no use carrying an umbrella, if your shoes are leaking.

* Auditing: Beware of little expenses; A small leak can sink a large ship.

* Risk-taking: Never test the depth of the river with both feet. [Have an alternate plan ready]

* Investment: Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

I'm certain that those who have already been practicing these principles remain financially healthy. I'm equally confident that those who resolve to start practicing these principles will quickly regain their financial health.

Let us become wiser and lead a happy, healthy, prosperous and peaceful life.

Avoiding the Top 10 Sales Mistakes

10 common sales mistakes you must avoid:

1. Insufficient Investment in Self-Development
Think beyond today's quotas. You must continually invest in your skills if you expect to increase your close rates, boost your earnings and stay on top. Best-selling sales books and “guru” seminars provide a flood of information, but can be like drinking from a fire hose — you typically retain very little and waste valuable time.

2. Inadequate Post-Sale Follow-up
Show your customers that you value their business. Schedule a series of communications via phone or email. Plan a (non-sales) visit to see how your product is working. Take your client to lunch, or drop off bagels and coffee. Great relationships create loyal customers.

3. Premature Close
Listen carefully to your prospects. If they're not ready to buy, use the appropriate close to achieve your next desired course of action. Choose a technique — such as the “minor point,” “Ben Franklin,” “next appointment” or “clean up” close — based on the signals you receive.

4. Information Overload
Don’t overwhelm your prospects with a barrage of features and benefits. Use consultative sales techniques to determine your customer's needs and create value by explaining how your product/service addresses those needs.

5. Inattention to Purchase Behavior
Increase your close rates by finding out how and when your prospects buy products and services. Research their budgeting cycles through public records, financial reports and other resources, and stay abreast of industry happenings that may impact their funding or purchasing.

6. Inadequate Competitive Knowledge
Gather competitive information from a variety of sources. Talk to your colleagues and current prospects. Research your competitors online, paying close attention to their web sites and marketing materials. Be sure to study the competition's pitch at any trade shows and conferences you may attend.

7. Inadequate Product Knowledge
Gain as much personal experience of your product as possible; you'll have more credibility and be better able to answer your prospects' questions if you've actually used what you're selling. Attend sales calls, trade shows and training classes to see how your colleagues are presenting your product, and talk to your existing customers about their experience with it.

8. Poor Lead Qualification Practices
Don't spend time and money on leads that aren't likely to convert to customers. Ask the right questions during the first conversation – or make follow-up calls if you need additional information – to ensure your lead has purchase authority and funding for your product.

9. Insufficient Account/Territory Research
Reevaluate your prospecting practices. Is there room for improvement? Use all the resources available to you – including the Internet, clients, suppliers and networking – to discover who and where the best sales opportunities are.

10. Pipeline Neglect
Think ahead, rather than focusing solely on what will close today or this month. Set aside blocks of time out of your schedule specifically to make calls to new prospects and follow up with existing clients, who can be an excellent source for referrals.

Below industry experts and online faculty from the University of San Francisco tell you how to steer clear of common sales missteps that can hurt your numbers and ultimately stall your career. How savvy are you when it comes to the latest sales tools and techniques? Are common mistakes negatively impacting your numbers? We've identified 10 areas where even the most experienced sales professional can come up lacking. Fumbling during the sales process can not only cost you sales, but also slow your career momentum – when the other guy who does know how to avoid these pitfalls edges you out. Studying and implementing these crucial strategies will help you maintain a competitive advantage.

从<康熙王朝＞看孝庄的智慧

1 在力量薄弱的时候，学会一个“忍”字。她一生辅佐了两位幼主，都是在风雨飘摇的时候，在这个时候，忍辱负重，忍气吞声，笼络大臣，等到势力大了，再将乱臣贼子一网打尽。

2 忠奸两党都用，她常对孙子说的一句话：大臣们斗起来，你就可以听到真话，如果他们都一个鼻孔出气了，那你的位置就不稳了。

3 管理者只需听，不要说太多。她说：你看佛祖在那里一语不发，可有谁在他面前会说假话？因为他的一语不发，让人都猜不透他心里想的是什么，所以，都不敢说假话。

4 在自己尽一切努力都改变不了现实的时候，那就顺其自然，然后退而求其次。做为一个母亲，眼见改变不了顺治出家的决心，就收起眼泪，尽快地做出另立新主的决定。

5 凡事以大局为重，不以个人喜好来判断一件事。

Dress For Success - Jim Meisenheimer

Dress For Success
Dressing for success isn't an option if you're a professional
sales person.

According to a February 5th article in the Wall Street Journal,
formality in dress is returning.

Bill Brewer, of the Bickel and Brewer Law Firm says, "I think
people expect high-powered lawyers to look like high-powered
lawyers."

What about extremely successful salespeople? Shouldn't you
dress for success too? Of course!

The best wardrobe advice I've ever seen is "Buy half as much
and spend twice as much." I wish I could remember the author's
name - but I can't.

Not a day goes by without companies announcing more employee
layoffs. You can bet the layoffs don't include the best,
brightest, and employees who make it a point to dress for
success. That's not the way it works.

Looking professional during a sales call also means matching
your belt to the color of your shoes.

And speaking of shoes - they should always be shined. It's a
little thing and you already know - in sales little things
mean everything.

Like all professional salespeople you are walking billboard.

How do you want people to react you?

What do you want people to think about you?

What first impression do you want to create?

What do you want people to remember about you?

If you want your personal billboard to say "Sounds good
and looks good" - you'd better dress for success!

Cold Calling Checklist

If we listen to the media, 2009 is shaping up to be a tough year. People are losing jobs and homes and businesses are struggling. A tough economy, however, does not mean that no one will ever buy anything or that no business at all will be done in 2009. What it does mean is that business owners and sales professionals will need to adjust tactics to survive: They will need to become more proactive and more efficient at finding new opportunities.

There are only four ways to generate new potential sales opportunity:

1. Marketing activities to generate prospects who will pick up the telephone and call you.
2. Contacting existing customers or your circle of influence for referrals.
3. Face-to-face or social networking/web 2.0 efforts.
4. Cold Calling
   

While all four of these types of activities will generate leads for your business only one is directly under your control. The first three of the listed activities are essentially passive in that once you undertake the activity you then must wait for the prospect to come to you. Because you have to wait for the results (prospects coming to you) these processes also take longer. When you pick up the telephone to contact a prospect directly, however, you are able to go to that prospect and initiate a conversation that can turn into a relationship which turns into a sale.

In today’s economy, cold calling is also one of the most economical ways to generate new business. It does not require expenditures in new equipment or infrastructure or staffing. All you need is your list and a telephone. When done well, cold calling is a direct, targeted, efficient and effective way to generate new business.

That said, here is your 2009 Cold Calling Checklist:

1. Target your market. Answer the questions:

· “Out of everyone in the entire world who may buy my products or services, who is most likely to buy my products and services?”

· “Who is most likely to buy a lot of my products or services and then come back to buy more?”

The answers might be types of companies, a particular industry, the size of company in employees or revenue…. Or the answer might be the types of individuals, their age, where they live, their level of education…. The bottom line is that that more specific you are about your market, the easier it will be to find qualified prospects and the more they will resonate with your message. And, by the way, to be effective you need to target your market for any type of marketing or prospecting activity, not just for cold calling.

2. Create your message. On a cold call you have approximately 10-30 seconds to grab and hold your prospect’s attention. And, bear in mind, it is harder and harder to get people on the telephone these days. It is therefore imperative that you craft your message before you start making calls. Winging it simply does not work. Figure out how you will introduce yourself, the key points you wish to make and the goal of your conversation. Your script does not have to be word for word, bullet points will do. Figure out answers to the objections and/or questions you are bound to hear. Write it all down.

Make sure that you write your script the way you speak. Written English and spoken English are different and if you write a script in written English and then say it, you will sound phony. If you have a hard time crafting your script in spoken English try recording yourself and then writing it down.

3. Practice out loud. If you are new to cold calling or uncomfortable with cold calling, practice your script out loud. Do some role playing with friends and/or colleagues. Call your voice mail and record yourself. The idea is to become comfortable with the words and the approach. Once you are comfortable you can simply be yourself, say what you have to say and most importantly, listen to what your prospect has to say.

4. Make phone calls. Nothing happens without action. Commit to making a certain number of dials every day or spending a certain amount of time every day. Put that commitment in your calendar and do it. Set yourself up to succeed by making your commitment realistic. It is best to make a small commitment and do it every day. Successful prospecting is not about making one phone call (or even sitting down one day to make 100 phone calls) it is about making many new contacts over time.

5. Track your results. If you are not tracking, you do not know what works. This is true for cold calling and every other type of marketing or prospecting activity.

For cold calling you want to track Dials, Completed Calls (meaning that you actually speak with the decision-maker) Appointments and then how many of those Appointments turn into Sales.

Tracking will tell you if the list you are using is a good one. Tracking will tell you whether particular approach works in a particular market. If you change approaches, tracking will enable you to know which one works better. If you have hired someone to make calls for you, tracking will enable you to tell if they’re doing their job and how well they’re doing their job.

6. The number one item on your cold calling check list for 2009 is Cold Calling College. This invaluable Homestudy course, offered by The Queen Of Cold Calling is a go-at-your-own-pace program that will help you gain confidence, increase appointments, and get more sales. Find out more about this special program here.

************************************************************************************ * Reprint these articles in your own publications *

Please reprint these articles in your own email, online or printed publications. It's free as long as you give credit (by Wendy Weiss) and mention the web site (http://www.wendyweiss.com) and email address wendy@wendyweiss.com .

Attitude Versus Aptitude

By: Brian Tracy

Overcome A Major Fear
A major source of stress in your life is the "fear of rejection" or "fear of criticism." This fear of rejection manifests itself in an over-concern for the approval or disapproval of your boss or other people. The fear of rejection is often learned in early childhood as the result of a parent giving the child what psychologists call "conditional love."

Rise Above the Need For Approval
Many parents made the mistake of giving love and approval to their children only when their children did something that they wanted them to do. A child who has grown up with this kind of conditional love tends to seek for unconditional approval from others all his or her life. When the child becomes an adult, this need for approval from the parent is transferred to the workplace and onto the boss. The adult employee can then become preoccupied with the opinion of the boss. This preoccupation can lead to an obsession to perform to some undetermined high standard.

Avoid Type A Behavior
Doctors Rosenman and Friedman, two San Francisco heart specialists, have defined this obsession for performance as "Type A behavior." Experts have concluded that approximately 60% of men and as many as 30% of women are people with Type A behavior.

Don't Burn Yourself Out
This Type A behavior can vary from mild forms to extreme cases. People who are what they call "true Type A's" usually put so much pressure on themselves to perform in order to please their bosses that they burn themselves out. They often die of heart attacks before the age of 55. This Type A behavior, triggered by conditional love in childhood, is a very serious stress-related phenomenon in the American workplace.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to deal with the fear of rejection, criticism and disapproval.

First, realize and accept that the opinions of others are not important enough for you to feel stressed, unhappy or over concerned about them. Even if they dislike you entirely, it has nothing to do with your own personal worth and value as a person.

Second, refuse to be over concerned about what you think people are thinking about you. The fact is that most people are not thinking about you at all. Relax and get on with your life.

How To Answer The Prospects Questions And Trial Close

By Jim Klein

When a prospect begins asking questions, the last thing you want to do is answer the question with a yes or no.

When a prospect asks me a question I answer with a question or ask a question at the end of my answer. This establishes two key objectives of selling:

1. I'm in control.
2. I might be able to close the sales now.

If you answer the question with a yes or no you may be passing up the sale.

If you remember back to lesson 1, when a prospect asks a question it's often a buying signal. As a salesperson your skills are being tested when a prospect asks a question or shows interest in your product or service.

The first response you naturally want to give to any question is a yes, no or some other response which anwers their question.

However, that answer will always be wrong because by answering yes or no you are in fact prolonging the sale.

Use the Prospects Question to Confirm the Sale

Once the prospect gives you a buying signal in the form of a question, answer it with a question that confirms the prospect wants to buy.

Here are some examples of this type of trial close called the porcupine close:

Question: Do you have this model in stock?
Answer: Do you need a quick delivery?

Question: Does it come in green?
Answer: Would you like it in green?

Question: How much money do I need to put down?
Answer: How much would you like to put down?

Question: How many copies is this machine rated for per month?
Answer: How many copies do you make per month?

You can also answer the prospects question and continue on with a different trial close. For example:

Question: Do you have a list of references?
Answer: Here's the list. If our references are satisfactory when can I expect your order?

When the prospect is asking questions and nodding along with every statement you make, now is the time to test the waters so to speak and try another trial close.

The first one is the alternate advance. This close involves giving the prospect two choices. No matter which option the prospect chooses the sales moves forward.

For Example:

Mr. Jones, When did you want us to deliver these, on the 5th or the 8th?

or

Sally, Would you like the blue or the green one?

Either choice and the prospect owns what you're selling. If they're uncertain at this point they'll raise an objection.

You're probably wondering if there's a secret to forming the questions and delivering them properly?

Yes there is, Practice!

The prospect is showing you signs their ready to buy, now it's time to move in for the kill, I mean close. But how do you ask for the sale?

I'll get in to that in the next lesson.

Make It A GREAT Day!

I'll see you next week...

9 Simple and Easy Ways to Increase Uour Intuition by Elizabeth Manuel

As I parked my car one day a year ago, I was urged very strongly to move my vehicle to a different spot. After work I came out, and surprise . . . no car! So why didn’t I listen? Because it would have been silly—I had no rational reason to move my car to a different spot.

I have mastered nine joyful ways to enhance my intuition, and I am delighted to share them with you.

Decide
When you decide to “listen” to your inner voice, you will hear this voice every single day. Decide, and it is done unto you. Deciding to really listen will increase your awareness of the times when you are following or ignoring your soul’s guidance. Think about “gut decisions.” The “gut” speaks from your soul.

Journal
Journaling is amazing. You get the opportunity to record the synchronicity, serendipity, and wonders of life. The more you acknowledge and appreciate the synchronicities, the more they happen. Every time you think something is a coincidence, think again. Write it down; read it over. The answers are everywhere. The proof is write in front of you. Write it down, and you will see it!

Laugh
Laughter changes our body chemistry in a wonderful way. When we feel great, we are not resisting the flow of life, we are literally in the flow. Why? Because you become open and receptive to receiving your guidance. You listen and act with confidence, without second-guessing yourself. Life really isn’t so serious.

Breathe
Diaphragmatic breathing is the answer. Breathe so that you belly pushes out like filling a balloon and draw it back to your spine on your exhale. The word breath comes from the root “ inspire” meaning to breathe in spirit. Spirit is where your intuition comes from. As humans we over ride our instinct by using our “reasoning mind”.

Meditate
It is a very powerful way to align yourself with your intuition. Meditation helps you to know your true self. It will help you to pay attention to your inner voice. Regular meditation integrates the left and right brain hemispheres helping you to become more aware of your intuitive nudges. Taking just five to ten minutes a day to quiet your mind will produce immediate and lasting results.

Toning
Toning also known as chanting is a very interesting way of opening your intuitive channels. Toning helps to open your third eye. Located just between your brows. Try chanting AUM in three distinct syllables: Aaaaa ,Uuuuu, Mmmm. You will probably notice a tingling sensation in your third eye. It’s a fun and easy way to expand your inner capabilities.

Exercise
Many times we gain powerful insights during periods of exercise because our conscious mind is so focused on the physical aspect of what we are doing. It allows the subconscious mind to generate ideas and information that can now “pop” to the surface. Ask yourself an important question immediately before your exercise session and then be pleasantly surprised how easily the answer shows up!

Play
Play with simple a simple “guessing game” to increase and build your confidence in your intuition. When the phone rings, ask yourself, “who’s calling?” before you answer. If you are meeting with someone you have never met before. Ask yourself, “what does this person look like?” While driving; “guess” which way the car ahead of will turn and when.

Water
Our bodies are comprised of 80% water and water is one of best conductors of energy. We need water for our cells to stay hydrated and to receive guidance in the form of intuition. Try replacing coffee with water or drink more water during the day to counteract dehydration. You will not only feel better and more energetic, you will have more clarity and your intuition will be clearer and more easily available.

Joy now fills my life. I rely on my intuition every day to make my life more joyful and easy. I now listen with full faith for my messages, and you can, too! Join me in sharing a magnificent, beautiful life.

Blessings to you!

Author's Bio
As Canada's leading happiness expert, Elizabeth has worked throughout Western Canada with educators, entrepreneurs, seniors, and people from all walks of life. She learned how to create happiness after spending 20 years in Corporate Canada leading sales initiatives, management roles & customer service training. Today, Elizabeth is the founder of MetaMind Consulting. She shares practical tools, solid research and mood boosting techniques, bringing smiles, contentment and prosperity into the lives of others. She prides herself on banishing your inner grouch and enhancing your greatness. Elizabeth has a black belt in the martial arts and is not afraid to use it in the name of happiness! Contact her at elizabethmanuel.com

Practice the ABC Method

By: Brian Tracy

"The first law of success is concentration - to bend all the energies to one point, and to go directly to that point, looking neither to the right or to the left." --William Mathews

The more thought you invest in planning and setting priorities before you begin, the more important things you will do and the faster you will get them done once you get started.

The more important and valuable the task is to you, the more you will be motivated to overcome procrastination and launch yourself into the job.

A Simple and Powerful Technique
The ABC Method is a powerful priority setting technique that you can use every single day. This technique is so simple and effective that it can, all by itself, make you one of the most efficient and effective people in your field.

The power of this technique lies in its simplicity. Here's how it works: You start with a list of everything you have to do for the coming day. Think on paper. You then place an A, B, or C before each item on your list before you begin the first task.

Determine Your Top Priorities
An "A" item is defined as something that is very important. This is something that you must do. This is a task for which there can be serious consequences if you do it or fail to do it, like visiting a key customer or finishing a report for your boss that she needs for an upcoming board meeting. These are the frogs of your life.

If you have more than one "A" task, you prioritize these tasks by writing A-1, A-2, A-3, and so on in front of each item. Your A-1 task is your biggest, ugliest frog of all.

Decide on Your Secondary Tasks
A "B" item is defined as a task that you should do. But it only has mild consequences. These are the tadpoles of your work life. This means that someone may be unhappy or inconvenienced if you don't do it, but it is nowhere as important as an "A" task. Returning an unimportant telephone message or reviewing your email would be a "B" task. The rule is that you should never do a "B" task when there is an "A" task left undone. You should never be distracted by a tadpole when there is a big frog sitting there waiting to be eaten.

Analyze the Consequences of Doing It
A "C" task is defined as something that would be nice to do, but for which there are no consequences at all, whether you do it or not. "C" tasks include phoning a friend, having coffee or lunch with a coworker or completing some personal business during work hours. This sort of activity has no affect at all on your work life.

After you have applied the ABC Method to your list, you will now be completely organized and ready to get more important things done faster.

Start on Your A-1 Task
The key to making this ABC Method work is for you to now discipline yourself to start immediately on your "A-1" task and then stay at it until it is complete. Use your willpower to get going and stay going on this one job, the most important single task you could possibly be doing. Eat the whole frog and don't stop until its finished completely.

Your ability to think through, analyze your work list and determine your "A-1" task is the springboard to higher levels of accomplishment, and greater self-esteem, self-respect and personal pride.

When you develop the habit of concentrating on your "A-1," most important activity, you will start getting more done than any two or three people around you.

Action Exercises
Review you work list right now and put an A, B, or C next to each task or activity. Select your A-1 job or project and begin on it immediately. Discipline yourself to do nothing else until this one job is complete.

Practice this ABC Method every day and on every work or project list, before you begin work, for the next month. By that time, you will have developed the habit of setting and working on your highest priority tasks and your future will be assured!

Positive Attitude Tips for Changing the Way You Think by Beverly OMalley

Of all the positive attitude tips offered on the many self help resources available the best is to change the way you think. And if it was really that simple then this article would end here.

However, knowing what to do is different from figuring out how to do it. You cannot change the way you are thinking if you are not aware of how you are thinking, so any list of positive attitude tips must include suggestions for self analysis and emotional reflection.

Starting at the beginning it becomes self evident that positive attitude tips can only be offered if we first understand what the word attitude really means.

In everyday common language the word attitude has many meanings, but it is mostly used to refer to a cognitive construct or in simpler terms a "pattern of thinking". Since we cannot see the way a person is thinking, attitude is usually inferred from behaviour. When a person's cognitive construct or way of thinking is positive their behaviour will reflect what will be interpreted as a positive attitude.

A positive attitude allows a person to create the life they want because they are not afraid to see things as they really are and work to create their own reality. A positive attitude really reflects a lack of fear in moving forward and creating change.

There are many benefits of a positive attitude including:

• better health
  
• improved relationships with others both at home and at work
  
• more opportunities for success
  
• improved productivity
  

Developing a positive attitude requires that you become aware of any cognitive distortions that are keeping you in a pattern of thinking which forms a barrier to creating the life you really want.

What is a cognitive distortion? It is simply an error in interpretation of our own lived experiences.

It is a partially true statement that we get our attitude from our parents! It is partially true because what happens to us in life is only part of the equation for developing a positive attitude (or cognitive distortions). How we interpret what happens to us is equally if not more important in creating our attitudes. That is the part that we can change and take control of. Cognitive distortions are nothing more that errors in interpretation and those errors can be changed if identified, examined, and re-interpreted in a positive way.

Think of it this way:
Developing a positive attitude means interpreting life's events in a way that is truthful, honest, and self affirming.

Keeping a positive attitude means continuing with these positive and self affirming interpretations of life's events, even negative events.

The cognitive construct behind a positive attitude would go something like this:

"Even though this bad thing happened, I am still a good person."

"I am going to take this opportunity to learn as much about why this happened as I can because I do not want it to happen to me again."

"I think that perhaps I need some help with this because I do not seem to be able to help myself in a way that is helping to resolve this problem."

The cognitive distortions which would be behind a negative attitude would go something like this:

"I screwed up again."

"I am not smart enough to try that."

"It is not really what I want but it is good enough for me."

"If I ask for help people will think I am stupid and know that I cannot even run my own life"

It is possible to change your attitude! But it does require identification and critical analysis of your own beliefs about yourself and the life you think you deserve.

The following positive attitude tips can help:

• Believe that you are in charge -- your life doesn't just happen to you accidentally. You create it. If you do not accept this fundamental belief no amount of positive attitude tips will help you to manifest the life you want. This does not require bull headed and single minded purpose, but rather a quiet self affirming belief that you do have the power to make a difference in your own life and that everything you do and think and say has created the circumstances you are now experiencing.
  
• Live with intent and purpose -- know what it is you want from life and continue to put yourself in charge of obtaining it.
  
• Live with emotional inquiry and clarity -- keep examining your emotional reactions to life's events. Ask yourself " What am I feeling right now? When was the first time I felt like this and why am I interpreting this circumstance in the same way." This should help you to uncover those cognitive distortions that prevent you from developing a positive attitude.
  
• Practice being grateful -- no matter how unlucky or dreadful you think your life is practice being grateful for one small thing every day. Thinking about one positive thing every day that you can be grateful for will change the cognitive distortions you have been carrying around.
  
• Help and serve others -- find things to do that help other people. You will be amazed at how much better you feel about yourself and how this can change many of those cognitive distortions that may be contributing to your negative attitude.
  

These are the positive attitude tips that will contribute to a change in the way you think. Once you change the way you think you have the freedom to think more clearly and the wisdom to make choices that will move you forward to the life you want.

Author's Bio
Beverly Hansen OMalley is a nurse who passionate about health promotion. She likes to write about topics that help people in their every day life and she loves to organize anything. You are invited to visit organization-makes-sense.com where she has information on how organization works so you can make it work in your own life. You might also be interested in visiting registered-nurse-canada.com where Bev explores the uniqueness of the nursing profession in Canada.

Attract Desired Relationships-Careers With Unseen Forces by Theresa-Maria Napa, CPCC, LOACC

"Every valuable human being must be a radical and a rebel, for what he must aim at is to make things better than they are." - Neils Henrik David Bohr (1885-1962) Danish physicist - Nobel Prize for Physics - 1922.

Creativity and imagination are masterful tools often underutilized in tapping into the results you seek. Most of us get hooked on the doing of things, which often keeps us stuck in the familiar. When faced with a dilemma of which direction to go, accessing your imagination elicits the genius within you. However, there is a prerequisite in the deal to bring forth amazing results: Inspiration (aka, energy field, intuition, gut feeling, spiritual guide).

When you allow inspiration to be a guide, you are combining forces unseen by the naked eye. The world is composed of energy transmitting vibrational frequencies. George Meek in his book, "After We Die What Then?" explains that the form of all matter depends on the level of vibrational frequency. To illustrate, he explains the changing frequencies of water. Water changes from ice to liquid, to steam, to an invisible vapor as the temperature of the water changes. The vibrational frequency of the water is also changing. The heavy density of ice has a very low frequency; while the invisible water vapor with a lesser density contains a higher vibrational frequency, which is no longer distinguishable by the human eye.

The frequency most of us rely on is the denser vibration of our five senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. Combine the energies of higher inspirational frequencies with denser vibrations to allow the genius in you the space to develop your imagination and creativity to get the results you are seeking.

Inspiration is spiritual intelligence available 24/7 - around the clock. What happens to most of us is we try to solve problems with the denser frequency of our brain. The irony is that logic comes from inspiration. The less we utilize the energy available to each of us from the unseen energy of imagination, the more limitation we put on the availability of our potential. We are beings of energy. Integration of the higher frequency of imagination and the denser frequency of physicality produces awareness to unlimited potential.

Albert Einstein, Carl Jung, Marie Curie, William James, Mother Teresa, and Niels Bohr are great examples of human beings who were not limited by their five senses. Science is expanding its scope from the physical to quantum physics and vibrational medicine.

"New scientific ideas never spring from a communal body, however organized, but rather from the head of an individually inspired researcher who struggles with his problems in lonely thought and unites all his thought on one single point which is his whole world for the moment." - Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck (1858-1947) - German physicist considered founder of quantum theory.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Questions Hold the Answers: In the Flow to Bigger Results *

1. What is it you want to strive for?

2. Why do you want it?

3. What is so important about it?

4. How would you feel if you were to succeed?

5. What is the distinction between inspired action and shoulds?

6. Can you feel the difference from inspired action and an action commanded by a should?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Tips to Using Unseen Forces to Attract Your Wants *

1. Visualize something you want to achieve that inspires you. Shoulds are negative vibrations.

2. Remember to integrate vibrational frequencies of higher and lower densities.

3. Keep your vision alive by putting it on paper, on your computer, on your nightstand. This creates an escrow of vibrations attracting what you want closer to you.

4. Make up a name for your vision, such as "Millionaire in Action" or "Beautiful Home" or "Dream Vacation /Job", etc.

5. Dare to challenge your imagination by asking, "What if?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Inspired visions create positive energies fields creating flow and reducing stress.

"Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained." - Maria Sklodowska-Curie (1867-1934) - First woman awarded a Nobel in 1903 for Physics B became the first person to win two with the 1911 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.

Remember - Anything is Possible!

Author's Bio
Theresa-Maria Napa, CPCC, LOACC is a certified personal and professional coach; founder of Right Track Coaching. Her talents have been strengthened through a variety of disciplines: Coaches Training Institute, Co-Active Leadership, Course in Miracles, Landmark, Coachpreneurs, CoachVille, Fashion Designer, Licensed Cosmetologist, VP of Marketing & Operations, Director of Marketing & Administration, Anthony Robbins, Stephen Covey, Now What authorized facilitator, Law of Attraction certified coach, Women in Film Chicago Board Member, NAWBO Membership Committee, small business owner, and more.

Theresa-Maria, takes her coaching to higher levels of impact with her understanding, compassion, and deliberate intention that each of her clients is distinctive in who they are and what they want to achieve. The testimonials at righttrackcoaching.com offer an insight to what her clients say about her style and what they accomplished during and after they were coached by T-M.

T-M loves to laugh, make a difference, as well as being the best she can be. She explores new possibilities and knows how to enjoy being in the now. Check out her programs at righttrackcoaching.com.

One Hour Makes All the Difference

By: Brian Tracy

You've gone as far as you can with what you now know. Any progress you make from this moment onward will require that you learn and practice something new.

Commit to Lifelong Learning
One quality of leaders and high achievers in every area seems to be a commitment to ongoing personal and professional development. They look upon themselves as self-made people, as "works in progress." They never become complacent or satisfied. They are always striving toward ever greater heights of knowledge and understanding.

Get to the Top in Five Years
Earl Nightingale said many years ago that one hour per day of study in your chosen field was all it takes. One hour per day of study will put you at the top of your field within three years. Within five years you'll be a national authority. In seven years, you can be one of the best people in the world at what you do.

Read Everything You Can
Read all you can about your field. Subscribe to the executive book clubs and book summaries. Build your own library of important books in your field. Never be cheap about your education.

In fact, if you make a decision today to invest 3% of your annual income back into yourself, back into your own personal and professional development, you will probably never have to worry about money again.

Go Through 50 Books Per Year
If you read one hour per day in your field, that will translate into about one book per week. One book per week translates into about 50 books per year. 50 books per year will translate into about 500 books over the next ten years.

Join the Top 1% of Money Earners
If you read only one book per month, that will put you into the top 1% of income earners in our society. But if you read one book per week, 50 books per year, that will make you one of the best educated, smartest, most capable and highest paid people in your field. Regular reading will transform your life completely.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into practice.

First, ask the successful people around you for their best book recommendations. Whatever advice they give you, immediately go out and buy those books, take them home and begin reading for one hour every morning before you start work.

Second, when you read, underline and take notes when you find important ideas that you can use. Implement them immediately. Take action of some kind on good ideas. You will be amazed at the change in your career.

Will Your Life Work the Way You Want It to in 2009?

By Jack Canfield

As I mentioned earlier, 2009 may bring greater uncertainty and more unsettling economic news than recent years, but these circumstances should compel us to take a deep breath, and pause to think about our lives.

When things happen in the world that seem so far beyond our individual control, it can feel unsettling.

Don't give up on your goals and dreams just because "the time isn't good"... you can still make 2009 the year you uncover a whole new you for the better!

Even in tough times, you get to decide how to respond to certain conditions, opportunities, and outcomes--both good and bad.

Life will always be a series of choices and YOU get to decide on what will move you closer to your goals, or farther away from them. External forces will always be part of the equation, even during the good times when the world is thriving.

When people ask me about the single most important ingredient to success, I always share the same response: realizing what's making you achieve success, and then realizing what is stifling your success.

Sometimes recognizing the things that are NOT working in your life can be painful, yet VERY powerful to shaping the life you want.

Don't try to rationalize them, make excuses for them, or hide them. This is when it's even more critical to take personal inventory and evict those excuses, rationalizations, and hidden habits that don't serve you. These things will keep you from the life you want to be living. Let me give you some examples. Ask yourself if you relate to any of these questions:

Do you want to be active, fit, and strong? Then you have to stop making excuses about your weight, diet choices, and lack of exercise.

Do you want to be in a loving relationship based on friendship and respect? Then you have to stop rationalizing why you and your partner are not communicating well.

Do you want to embrace Monday mornings and feel excited about going to work every day? Then you have to stop hiding your true passions and go after whatever it is you really want to be doing day in and day out.

Do you want to lose the debt forever? Then you have to stop ignoring your spending habits and get real about a creating budget that will pull you out of debt and allow you to reach financial freedom.

Do you want to feel more connected to the people in your life, such as your children, friends, and colleagues? Then you have to stop complaining about your poor relationships and figure out why you don't feel as connected as you'd like to be.

These things can be painful to look at because the truth is that you have to do something about them in order to make it work in your life.

You'll have to say no to the second helping of dinner and the dessert to follow and go through the awkward stage of getting into shape... You'll have to confront your partner about the areas that need work... You'll have to get past fears about changing your job or professional path... You'll have to cut back on your spending and be frugal... You'll have to take a good hard look at your personal relationships and perhaps consider your own shortfalls and weaknesses in communicating your needs and concerns.

Plain and simple, you will have to do something uncomfortable.

Successful people don't waste time in denial (or complain or make excuses for that matter). They face situations like a warrior. They look for the warning signs, they find out why things aren't working, and they go about fixing them- even when fixing requires problem solving, hard work, risk, and a level of uncertainty.

It's okay to identify a problem even though you haven't a clue about how to go about solving it right away.

The first step is just recognizing the issue, and then having faith that you'll figure it out with careful attention to it. That's how successful people live--in constant focus on goals, on results, on problem solving, and on the actions that get them to where they want to be.

Following are three things to do constantly in pursuit of your goals and dreams, however big or small:

• Awareness: Keep your awareness on the feedback you are getting from life and decide to address the situations immediately. Don't bottle up feedback, cast it aside, and avoid it like you would a pile of dirty laundry or a stack of unopened bills. Life tells you things every day. Do this. Don't do that. Think about this. Try me. Forget that. We live in a world that seemingly encourages us to live on autopilot. Successful people fly manually every day and so should you. When those feedback signals come in, listen to them and use them in planning your next step.

• Commitment: Commit to finding out why things aren't working and learn what will fix them. Once you start the process it will be much easier to continue. Nothing fruitful stems from inaction.

• Trust: Trust that making changes to the situation will ultimately bring about the best results. Sure you might go through a bit of discomfort during the change, and some unlikely or unwanted outcomes, but in the end you will triumph!

So are you ready to admit the things that just are not working out?

Make a list of the things in your life that are working against your success and ask how the situation can be improved. Commit to tackling just one of those issues and be brave!

If you need help organizing those "things" in your life, try using the following list of categories. I recommend reflecting on each of the 7 areas and ask yourself, what's not working here in each one and then brainstorm 3 potential solutions.

1.) Financial Goals, 2) Career/Business Goals, 3.) Free Time/Family Time, 4.) Health/Appearance Goals, 5.) Relationship Goals, 6.) Personal Growth 7.) Making a Difference

Remember, by facing what is not working, you can only improve your life!

© 2009 Jack Canfield

Taking Time for Yourself in a Relationship by John Gray

We have all heard this advice before. No matter how wonderful togetherness feels in a relationship, it is still crucial for partners to take time for themselves. There is simply no way that a man or a woman can fulfill all of their partner's needs; it's just impossible to do. Too often people will give up a favorite hobby, sport or pastime in the beginning of a relationship in order to devote more time and energy to making the relationship work. But, what happens down the road when one or both partners realize that they are terribly out of balance and not taking time for themselves? Relationship stress, miscommunication, or worse: resentment and emotional pain can result.

It is healthy to have different interests. In fact, giving up our own interests and the little things that we do to nurture ourselves when a relationship starts will eventually lead to resentment down the road.

It's important for both partners to value quality relaxation time. There is absolutely no need to feel guilty about spending time alone. Independence is good for both men and women, no matter how close they may be in the relationship. Typically, when one partner actively takes some alone time, their partner is encouraged to do the same.

How our differences compliment each other:
Just as men and women have different needs in a relationship, they also have different reasons for needing time to themselves. Too much togetherness usually results in partners expecting too much from each other. Women may tend to smother their mates, while men may seem cold and uncaring. It is healthy for each partner to take time out to explore his or her individual interests.

What Men Need:
Men need to periodically pull away. Remember that men are like rubber bands. It is his natural cycle to get close, pull away, and get close again. It is important for men to fulfill their need for independence. Men automatically alternate between needing intimacy and autonomy. Give a man his space and he will be a better, more attentive, partner. When a man gets too close and doesn't pull away, he often experiences increased moodiness, irritability, passivity, and defensiveness.

Also, when a man is in his cave, he wants to be left alone. He is working out his problems and frustrations by either doing something alone, like reading the paper or watching TV, or doing something active with his male friends.

Most men are happy when their mates do something fun for themselves at these times. It means that she is not sitting around waiting for him to come out of the cave. He will come out ready to talk and be intimate again, and she will have curbed her frustrations by being good to herself and having some fun.

What Women Need:
It is good for a woman's self esteem to take care of herself. She can get wrapped up in taking care of her family and forget how much she needs to nurture herself. Particularly when a man is off in his cave, she can enjoy the time alone to go shopping, work in her garden, go to a class at the gym, or simply languish in the simple pleasure of soaking in a hot bath with a glass of wine.

It is especially important for a woman to cultivate relationships with other women. Women need to talk about what's happening in their lives. On Venus, this is an important part of relationship building. Since this is not the case on Mars, it is wonderful for a woman to get together with her girlfriends so that they can talk about, and listen to, each other's problems, without judgment or offering unsolicited advice.

Couples can even plan these separate times apart. For instance, Tuesday could be his poker night with the boys, and Thursday her night for dinner and a movie with her girlfriends. Both partners will not only appreciate the time to do the things that make them feel good, but will come back feeling renewed and excited to be in such a healthy, well-balanced relationship.

-- John Gray

Handling Sales Objections To Price, And The Real Reasons We Get Them - By Stephen Craine

Sales objections can be the obstacle stopping you achieving sales career success. So imagine what you could achieve if you understood why we get them, and how to handle sales objections successfully.

I’m not going to tell you what to say when a potential buyer hits you with an objection. Smart rebuttals and rehearsed replies don’t work because they don’t get to the buyer’s beliefs that support and help form the sales objections. Think of this as a sales martial arts approach. You’re not meeting the objection head on, you’re taking away the foundation of beliefs and evidence that it stands on.

I’ve used two examples a sales objection to pric, to demonstrate the theory and process behind successfully handling sales objections. Read it, think about it, and understand it. Once you do that the words are easy to add to the process for turning objections into sales.

Other suppliers are cheaper

The customer is comparing the product you are offering with another product they see as similar, but the price appears cheaper.

The first action is to check the customer is comparing like with like. Do they have all the facts about the two products? The customer is not an expert on your product. The information they use to compare products may be incomplete, or based only on marketing hype.

You can overcome this sales objection by showing how what you can offer is of greater value than the competing offer. Think about what you can give the buyer that the others can’t. The products may be identical, but what about the service. It could be after sales service or guarantees. Management of their account could be important for business customers, and could be the added value difference that overcomes the price objection.

One sales technique many companies use to make it difficult for buyers to compare products and prices, is to package their products differently to their competitors. Think about how mobile phone deals are packaged. Have you tried comparing the different tariffs, call charges, free text, and additional extras? It is not by chance that all the suppliers have big positives to shout about, and no one can compare the deals on offer.

Consider packaging how you present your products to the buyer. How can you package your sales proposal to make it difficult for the customer to compare it to the competition? How can you present the additional features your company gives its customers, as part of the whole package?

The buyer thought it would be cheaper

The buyer has preconceptions about the price. These could be based on other purchases they have made, their belief’s about the cost of manufacture, or false information they have been given.

Find the source of the sales objection, the beliefs that it is based on. Question what they expected to pay and how they formed that estimate. Don’t tackle the price objection head on. Think like a martial artist and take away its supporting beliefs.

Challenge the information that the buyer used as evidence to form their preconception by showing why it is wrong, and then replace it with your own facts. The aim is to destabilize their current beliefs, and put new ones in their place. Use proof that what you are saying about your product is correct. Facts from an independent source, reviews and feedback from satisfied customers, or documents and guarantees, will all work on getting the buyer to form new beliefs.

Now put these sales objection techniques to work for you

As I said at the beginning, I’m not telling you the words to say to overcome sales objections. What I’m giving you is a new viewpoint to use when overcoming sales objections. With this viewpoint you can look for the reasons and beliefs supporting the sales objection, and move or change them to deal with the objection.

If you are experienced enough to see the theory and meaning behind this article you can gain more information on how to use it at Overcoming Sales Objections. You’ll see how NLP techniques have been adapted to overcome sales objections in the buyer’s mind where they are formed.


About the Author:

I'm a working sales manager and I have developed these sales objections ideas, and used and proven them with my sales teams.

You can see details of the course I present to them, and how you can use it in a complete sales training workbook at Sales and training Solutions Overcoming Objections - http://www.sales-training-sales-tips.com/sales-and-training-solution.html#objections

How To Handle The 10 Most Common Objections

By Jim Klein

Last week I shared with you how to convert objections to commitments.

This week, I will share with you the ten most common objections and the best ways I have found to handle them.

Here are the 10 most common objections you might hear:



1. "I need to think about it."
2. "I'm interested, but I don't have the budget." (or) "I can't afford it."
3. "Your price is too high" or "Your competitor's price is much lower".
4. "I need to talk to my partner, boss, or wife, etc.
5. "Call me next week or next month", (or) "I'll have to get back to you."
6. "We're currently using someone else."
7. "I'm not sure we need one right now."
8. "We'll need to get a couple more bids."
9. "Your product or service is not the right fit."
10. "Your company is too small" or "I've never heard of you." etc.

Once you have answered the prospects objection to their satisfaction, continue on in the sales process and ask for the sale.

Now, I will give you a comeback for each one of the most common objections.

1. "I need to think about it."

"You know what Sarah? The sooner you plant the seeds, the sooner you reap the rewards, right? You would agree with me that this is a bargain considering the results you'll get, wouldn't you?"

2. I'm interested, but I don't have the budget." (or) "I can't afford it."

"OK, if I hear you right, you are basically concerned with getting the right return on your investment? Have I failed to thoroughly explain the value of our service, or is price the only objection?"

3. "Your price is too high." (or) "Your competitor's price is much lower."

OK, I can appreciate that, but do you think the value of this type of product is overpriced in general, or is the issue that it is truly more than you are able to spend right now?

4. "I need to talk to my partner, boss, or wife, etc.

"Sure thing, most of my clients need to talk things over. Is talking to your boss, wife, or partner the only thing holding us back from doing business? Will you have enough time to speak to him/her before you and I talk tomorrow at 4pm? You do like the idea, don't you? Great! I will see you then."

5. "Call me next week or next month." (or) "I'll have to get back to you."

Tom, Either this is a good idea and you ought to go ahead with it, or it's not a good idea and you ought to forget it... but one way or another, let's make a decision now so nobody's time is wasted. Can I count you in?"

6. "We're currently using someone else."

"OK, I can appreciate that... And I have to say more power to you, Tom... but I can show you a list of everyone who has done business with my company over the last year with great results, and I bet this will prove that we can MEET OR BEAT the folks you are currently using. Can I tell you a little bit about this?"

7. "I'm not sure we need one right now."

"I understand your hesitation Jim; however, I don't want to undersell you. We don't want to take your money; we want to make you money, so that you come back to us week after week, simply because you are getting great results. We don't make our money by running small dollar test campaigns. We make our money on long term relationships where the client is happy because of all the new business we bring them. Here's what we need to do to get started."

8. "We'll need to get a couple more bids."

"I can appreciate that, however, I have to say that for what we do, we're the most affordable solution in town. We know the value of our service because it delivers results, just like you know the value of your service and what you need to charge for it, right?"

9. "Your product or service is not the right fit."

"Bob, I can understand how you might feel that way, however, I have to say you have a business that is perfect for this type of service. We have over 2,500 satisfied clients and almost 90% sign back up with us for a second and third time. There is no question that what we provide works everyday for many companies just like yours. You would agree with me on that, wouldn't you?"

10. "Your company is too small." (or) "I've never heard of you." etc.

"I'm glad you brought that up. We have many satisfied clients who will attest to the power and effectiveness of this type of service. I hope you can appreciate that they run a business just like you do, so please don't spend to much time with them when you call... but if that's all it's going to take to earn your business, does this mean we can go forward with this? OK, let's get the paperwork going before you give some of our happy clients a call."

Each of the examples can be tailored to fit your particular product or service. I have included only one comeback for each objection, because there are just too many to include in this module.

If you would like a great resource for sales comebacks, check out Bob Firestone's book, "The Ultimate Guide to Sales Comebacks and Rebuttals."

Here's the link for more information:http://tinyurl.com/3955lf

Look at objections as a good thing. It means the prospect is interested; he/she just needs a little more information or clarification before buying from you. So smile, and turn the objections in to commitments, and assume the sale.

Next week I will show you how to properly close the sale and eliminate buyer's remorse.

Make It A GREAT Day!

I'll see you next week...