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First in mind. Stay in Mind.
By Coach Sharon
What are some of the first perceptions your clients have when they think of you, your company and what you offer?
Perception is defined as a state of awareness . How aware is your target market of you? Different people take in the world through different senses – seeing, hearing, or feeling it – some express themselves in pictures, others talk about how things sound, and others how it makes them feel.
Have your clients going out of their mind over you….
To be first in mind with your target market, it is important to vividly differentiate your differences in their memory. One way is to connect with how they view the world.
People have three preferred methods of perceiving the world around them:
• Visual – about 35% of the population (they “see” the world)
— Appearance is important
— They remember things through pictures or moving images
• Auditory – about 25% of the population (they “hear” the world)
— They remember what was said, the sounds of an event or product
— Gather information from how you say it more than what you say
• Kinethetic – about 40% of the population (they “feel” the world).
— Gather information through touch, emotion, and “gut” instinct
— Act on what and how they feel
Now, that we know this listen to how you current clients describe you and what you do. Make note of which predicates (see, hear or feel,) they use to describe you. This list will give you which sense they prefer. We all use every sense, yet most of us have a preferred way of perceiving the world. Use the right copy (words) to establish rapport with them. See our blog post “Every Person Speaks A Different Language” for ideas on “the right words.”
To make sure you are first in mind, let visuals see, kinethetics feel, and auditories hear about the unique benefits you offer.
Have a great day whatever your adventure
To Success! To Life!
Sharon
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Lights, Camera, Action! How To Create The Future…
By Coach Sharon
Let’s be honest, are you really doing everything you need to be successful each and every day? I know, I’m not… so how can I complain… I can’t. A favorite quote of mine is from the character Yoda, “Do or do not, there is no try.” To be in integrity with myself, I have to take an honest look at my intentions, my actions and my results. The “MYs” have it…that’s what they are “my choices.”
Why do I bring this up? Well, as a coach sometimes I meet someone who asks for help, yet I know there is nothing I could possibly say (do) after listening to pages and pages of the past. I soon realize they are running for the mayor of Drama-land. They say they seek results, yet they do not do…. many times, the do not even try. It’s the drama (and sympathy) they seek, not the success they say they want.
We are each responsible for our outcomes… good intentions do not matter if there is no follow through with actions to get our desired outcomes. Don’t get me wrong, good intentions are great—it’s the first step needed to take action. Take my relationship with exercise… I have good intentions to get to the gym every day. I pay a huge membership monthly (you would think that would motivate me.) I have the right clothes and even home equipment. I could make the time, but I don’t. So, I can’t blame the gym. I can’t blame the clothes or equipment, I can’t blame my schedule – but I do… It’s the actions that count.
It’s what we do with each day that determines our future.
Lights, Camera, Action!
Have a great day whatever your adventure
To Success! To Life!
Sharon
p.s. I have to LOL! My friend and fellow BYS coach Jeff Simpkins, I swear so many times we are on the same wave length… as I was preparing to send this to you I get notice of his latest blog post…you guessed it – on drama in your life… Check it out here: http://tinyurl.com/lu73lv
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What are your odds for success?
By Michael Port
If someone could tell you what your odds of succeeding in business were, would you want to know the answer? If you’re like most people, you’d jump at such an opportunity.
That’s why I’m excited to share news that StartupNation has introduced a simple “Odds of Success Calculator” to help you understand your odds for success based on eight simple questions. They use comparative data from over a half million businesses to help you identify and evaluate business risk, and calculate the probability of whether your business will succeed or fail.
Here’s a direct link to the Odds of Success Calculator:
http://www.startupnation.com/small-business-success-calculator
Your results are provided along with specific suggestions for how you can clearly improve your chances for success. Best of all, it’s offered at no charge. Some of the key risk factors, including amount of capital investment, difficulty in obtaining funds, quality of financial management, degree of business planning, annual industry growth rate, management experience and industry experience are considered. One thing I enjoyed was entering different timeframes for success, such as two years or four years.
Definitely give it a spin and be sure to use the advice and resources they give to improve your odds.
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Seven Little Keys to Success
By Coach Sharon
Unless you’ve had your head in the sand lately, I’m sure you’ve notice the people everywhere are shaken by uncertainty. Another definition for uncertainty is lack of trust.
What is trust?
The two parts to trust are:
1. an emotion or feeling of confidence or sureness that is not rooted in your intellect;
2. a performance “track” record that confirms the feeling of confidence without worry or suspicion.
Trust is frequently taken for granted. A backlash has begun to develop. Consumers are seeking products and services that give them what they promised. They will no longer tolerate hype.
As consumers take greater control of their pocketbook and carefully consider each purchase, they are demanding open and honest communication from companies – everything from ingredients they understand—and can pronounce—to clear communication on company policies and practices.
Even if we, as business owners, have demanded of ourselves and our company full disclosure, transparency, accuracy, and respect of privacy, we are now tainted by the shenanigans going on around us…
To continue to thrive, reassuring clients that we are acting in the best interest of all should become a primary concern as these turbulent times continue to unfold. Seven keys to building and maintaining trust:
1. Don’t hide.
2. Keep commitments.
3. Keep confidences.
4. Don’t lose perspective.
5. Openly communicate.
6. Listen accurately. (Don’t judge too quickly.)
7. Ask for feedback. (Respond thoughtfully when received.)
“It takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.” ~ Anonymous~
Have a great day whatever your adventure
To Success! To Life!
Sharon
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Your Vision, Goals, and Dreams
By Coach Sharon
With all the day-to-day stuff that bombards us and the unrelenting media blitz on the “crisis” it is easy to lose sight of why we are doing what we are doing…. Some days I just wonder who opened the clown-cage?
Seems everybody just wants to quash my passion—
Gosh, it is all too easy to lose motivation. When that happens, I notice I prefer to clean house… I know that sounds silly, but sometimes having my conscious mind focus on something else, like cleaning, allows my unconscious mind to solve problems, re-energize and re-set my “GO” button.
Yesterday, during my last cleaning phase I found my Personal Vision Statement. I had written it several years ago, tucked it away for safekeeping, never to see the light of day until now…
A Personal Vision Statement is about identifying, in writing, your long range personal and business goals. Future-pace out 5 to 10 years or more then review with others that will be affected by these goals (family, business partners, etc.)
Statements like these are important, especially if you are part of a small business. Share them with other decision makers in your business. If everyone is going in the same direction it helps create a cohesive workplace. If your team is chasing the same rabbit, the likelihood of catching the rabbit is much greater…then each team member chasing a different rabbit…
• So, what do you stand for, what is your vision of success?
• How would you know you are successful – what would you see? Hear? Feel?
I decided to keep my Personal Vision Statement in a “not so safe spot.” I took several 2.5 x 3 index cards (half of a 3 x 5 card) and wrote one statement, goal, a step to achieve the goal, or an action I need to do on a card to remind myself of my long-term vision. (I tried post-it-notes, I prefer the sturdiness of the index card.)
I call them Personal Pocket Visions. I placed the cards where I will see them throughout the day. My refrigerator, mirror, purse, and monitor… each time I see a card, I think of not only what is written on the card, but my entire Vision. Take action, today, with your unique Personal Pocket Visions.
Have a great day whatever your adventure
To success! To Life!
Sharon
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