Quantum Leaps Consulting

So unknown, and still so omnipresent across borders and cultures, and seemingly so widely accepted, even though confronted with the law, probably nobody will admit to it.

The Danish/Norwegian author Aksel Sandemose put it on paper in his novel A Fugitive Crosses the Tracks (Sandemose 1933).

It is a story about the crippling affect of social conditioning referred to in the novel as Jante Law. This work is very familiar to those who grew up in Scandinavia, as Sandemose hails from and lived in that area. The story focuses on the effect of a theory summed up in a series of proclamations, or rules, known as Jante Law, that are ingrained in the minds of residents of a small town. These rules seek to not just level the playing field for everyone but stifle any growth or prevent any break from the conventional wisdom and customs as they relate to this small community based on the author’s hometown.

The Laws of Jante are as follows:

Do not believe you are something.
Do not believe you are as good as us.
Do not believe you are wiser than us.
Do not fancy yourself better than us.
Do not believe you know more than us.
Do not believe you are greater than us.
Do not believe you amount to anything.
Do not laugh at us.
Do not believe anyone cares about you.
Do not believe you can teach us anything.

This is an example of the type of mind-set that creeps into people’s subconscious and prevents them from charting their own course. Why is it so? Why is it so important for family, society, and government to mold everybody into conformity?  We come into this world as unique human beings. As soon as we are born, the molding process starts. Never mind the shape you come in, you’re destined to fit into the same hole.  Parents, grandparents. Look at your brother, listen to your mom, this is how we do it around here, thank you very much. Don’t do this and don’t do that. Comply with social norms. Then society takes over through pre-school and the school system. Grow up; get yourself an education and a secure job. Government kicks in through laws, procedures, systems and taxes. Trying to keep everybody conform. Earl Nightingale says that the opposite of courage is not cowardness, it is conformity. So why is it so present when it is so dangerous. Even in the USA, the land of possibilities and individualisms it is creeping in.

Dictators of course love the idea, probably under the cover of being protective, which of course is just a hidden agenda, it is just a way of keeping everybody down.

So why all this squareness with little room for individuality? Is it an effort of over protectiveness; we don’t want anyone to loose, fall outside of society. Or are we afraid to see others win, looking in our own mirror only to see someone not daring to break out?
As it is, the Law of Jante syndrome has turned out to be a very present part of us, which is sad as it to a very large extent prohibits development. Think how much this world could have thrived if what is expressed through the Law of Jante was not allowed to have such an impact on society, on the life of the individual.

JPA

Published: TRCB, Ezine Articles, DIGG

Everybody want success, how come so few really attain it?

If we want to succeed in pursuing our own dreams and ideas, we must break out of the limitations that our physical senses can put upon us. As a result of conditioning from a very young age, this tyranny, if you will, causes us to ignore the realm of possibilities afforded to us in this world. Now this is not to say that your senses do not provide crucial input and valuable information necessary to your health and well-being. It’s just important to realize that you are capable of enormous achievements, and you do not want to let your senses hinder your progress as a result of preconceived interpretations of stimuli. Becoming aware of your self-limiting behaviors is a major factor in overcoming them.

Before we go any further, let us define success. Earl Nightingale worked long on this definition which I think sums it all up: Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal (or goal). Worthy of you I should add.

We all have six intellectual faculties: memory, perception, imagination, reason, intuition, and will, the main topic of this article. Now the problem is not necessarily that people don’t use their intellectual faculties, it’s that most people aren’t even aware of their existence. If you are unaware of the fact that they even exist, you are not going to be able to fully appreciate and utilize the power they can provide.

And just as becoming aware of your physical senses and how they influence you will affect your ability to achieve your dreams, so too does your awareness of your intellectual faculties. This will allow you to use them more actively and most effectively. You must rely on your intellectual faculties if you are to get the most from your life and if you want to find change your results and achieve real success. This begins with using your conscious mind in figuring out and realizing what you want. What you really want. You have to begin by internalizing your desires and enlisting your will to make your dreams become your reality. Simple, but not necessarily easy.
Your intellectual faculties are the muscles of your mind. And just as it is important to challenge the physical muscles of your body—to provide resistance in order to make them stronger—you also have to test your mind to make it stronger, to make it grow. You have to utilize your intellectual faculties in order to keep them sharp.

The two most important intellectual faculties to use in your pursuit of success, is the imagination and your will.
We all think in pictures – which give us the opportunity to have a clear and vibrant picture of our goal. This is of utmost importance. Everything around us was once a picture in someone’s mind – wherever you are when you read this article, just look around you and see all the things around you, or actually this article for that sake. Everything is actually created twice. First in our mind and then in physical form. We use our imagination to create great pictures in our mind – knowing that the images will start to materialize. Napoleon Hill in his famous book Think and Grow Rich says that anything your mind can conceive and believe, you can achieve.
To understand the power of imagination just think of some of the fantastic inventions up through history the telephone, radio, television, airplanes, internet and millions more. All of them started out as pictures in someone’s mind. Unfortunately most people stopped using this important tool when they stepped out of the sand box. We need to stimulate imagination or creativity of you like to a much greater extent that we currently do, if we do it at all.

Using and developing our imagination is an important asset in order to create a clear and vivid picture of what we really want.
But then there is will. Will is extremely important as it helps us stay focused on our image and exclude any distraction. We create an image in our mind and hold it with our will.

The will is the ability to give ourselves an order, and do it. And by so doing we concentrate our energy on the image.
Often when we thing about a new goal we ask ourselves “Am I able?” – but what we really should be asking ourselves is “Am I willing”. Often we are not willing to do what it takes to achieve our goals. And here we are at the centre of the problem. But it is not very problematic at all; just follow this simple four step sequence:

1.    Decide what you want.
2.    Decide what you are willing to give up (in order to get there).
3.    Take responsibility.
4.    Know the value or service that you will offer.

JPA

Published: TRCB, Ezine Articles, DIGG

Decision is a powerful force. In a fraction of a second, the world as you know it, your whole life, can be changed. This can be an incredibly heavy thought to bear as it comes with a great deal of responsibility, but even as the truth can shock you at times; it can also amaze you with possibilities. Whether you do something or do not do something, the fact remains that you have made a decision. The decision to do nothing is, nevertheless, still a decision. Think about your job for a moment. Why are you there? It pays the bills? Well, think about it. You are there, because you choose to be there. Maybe you are there, because you really like your job. Or maybe you are there, because you have not made the decision to leave or you have not decided what else you want from life. However, you are there, because you choose to be there. If you are unhappy with your job, I am not suggesting that you quit without a plan. I am merely stating that if you are unhappy with your current circumstances, you have the capacity to make changes. If you are suppressing some greater desire or higher calling, it is because you choose to do so. You might be able to justify where you are in life a hundred different ways, but the truth is that you are where you are because of the choices that you have made and are currently making.

Our success in life, our level of fulfillment, is ruled by our ability to make sound decisions and make them quickly. Many of us think that we are not good decision makers, but you might just be out of practice. The overwhelming majority of people actually just goes with the flow and is carried away by the stream wherever it takes them. Unless you exercise your true decision-making muscle, it will go soft on you. It takes a strong will, determination, and a belief in yourself, but you must make the decisions that will put you on the right track, for you and not anyone else.

Decision-making is something we have to develop on our own. As important as decision-making is in our lives, sadly it is not often taught in school. Of course, learning math, science, history, culture, and other subjects is of substantive value, but if you don’t learn how to make decisions, where will you go in life? If you do know how to make sound decisions, your knowledge of other subjects can be put to greater use.

Making decisions with confidence is also of critical importance. Becoming a confident and effective decision maker is one of the surest ways of reaching your goals. However, you have to stick to your decisions. You have to be willing to see them through. You must also be aware of your surroundings and be able to process that feedback from your environment, which will keep you on course. Making adjustments will be necessary, but when you are prepared, informed and confident from the outset, your decisions will be based on a solid foundation. Your success in life ultimately boils down to your ability to make decisions and stand by them.

You will also follow a straighter and more direct course if you are an efficient decision maker, with fewer bumps and unnecessary detours along the way. When you find yourself making confident decisions, you will at once find yourself a confident person. When it comes to decisions, winners make them fast, while losers make them slowly. You have to build your decision-making muscle, and it takes time to develop, but the payoff is well worth the effort. Each and every day we are faced with decisions. What to do and what not to do? What to say or what not to say? Where to go or not to go? What to buy or not to buy? Should I quit or should I stay? You name it. You are making decisions all day, every day, of varying magnitude. Some might be more aware of this than others. Some of you might not be aware of this at all, as some decisions become automatic, preprogrammed. The more certain you are, the better. However, before you can make these decisions, you have to know what you want.

The problem is that too many people don’t know what they want. The result is indecision. Think about it. How can you possibly make a decision when you truly don’t know what you want? Have you ever found yourself agonizing over a decision? In all likelihood, that was because deep down, you did not know what you wanted. You couldn’t make up your mind, because, well, you didn’t know the answer. You were genuinely conflicted. When you have defined what you want and when your vision is clear, your decisions will be informed. You will be quick, and, most importantly, you will be right.

When you have taken the time to zero-in on what you want out of life, every decision you make, large or small, will be geared toward helping you achieve your goals. If you have not created a clear image in your mind of what you want, you will find yourself incapable of making quick and informed decisions. Or worse, you will make uninformed decisions that, unbeknownst to you at the time, will have negative repercussions that won’t be realized until much further down the road. You might have difficulty recovering from these decisions, as they will take you in a direction that requires more time and effort to get you back on track.

Now there are things that can be gained in life from making mistakes, and I can assure you that we all make them and will continue to make more of them as we go. I am not talking about a fear of making an unrecoverable mistake. First, you can always recover, and you will be richer for the experience. However, also realize that I am pointing out that if you are not aware of what you want, you will find yourself roaming around aimlessly. Not knowing what you want, or being under the impression that wanting anything at all is being unrealistic, will greatly increase your chances of failure. Circumstances can make you indecisive. You might actually find yourself so overwhelmed that you have effectively rendered yourself incapable of making the decisions that, if made properly, would enhance your life greatly. Do not become a victim of such thinking. Envision, plan, and take action.

JPA

Published: Ezine.com; TRCB, DIGG

How many times have you started a new project, reached for a new goal, or set out to accomplish something big, only to abandon the project or goal soon after starting? Maybe it was a yearly gym membership that you used only once or twice…or a work task you initiated but never finished…or even a home improvement project you gave up on midway.

Why do people often start out with grand aspirations, and then throw in the towel relatively soon? In a word: Terror. In fact, the terror barrier is the number one reason why people don’t achieve their goals.

Everyone has a comfort zone—a mental place where they feel at peace. The problem is that if you stay in your comfort zone too long, you don’t grow and achieve new things. All growth takes place outside the comfort zone. But when most people step out of that zone, they hit that phase when the “old ways” (aka: the comfortable ways) try to get them back. That’s when they hit the terror barrier and become frightened, procrastinate, make excuses, and do any number of things to validate why they should give up and go back to the way things were.

If you want to stretch yourself, set high goals, or learn new skills, you must step up and get out of your comfort zone. Use the following strategies to overcome the terror barrier you will face so you can push through to your ultimate objectives.

1 Set goals that are emotional to you.

Logical goals never make anyone’s pulse increase. Yet many people set their goals very mechanically, such as “Increase my sales by 10%.” Because people don’t get excited about the goal, they’re not willing to push through the extra mile to reach it. The key to creating emotional goals is to start with visualization. Create a picture in your mind of you achieving your end result. For example, if you want to increase your sales, envision yourself at your company’s year-end meeting, standing on stage and receiving the Salesperson of the Year award. Hear the crowd applauding for you. Feel the pride of being recognized as the best. That’s an emotional goal.

Next, write down the goal. But be careful. Don’t start writing the individual action steps yet, as that actually stops people from reaching goals. Too many people think they need to know exactly what to do and how to do it before they can start toward their goal. But if you spend too much time thinking of details and action steps right now, you’ll get too scared to start. So just decide on the goal; you can map it out along the way. Rather than create action steps, write down ten reasons why you want the goal. Why will it be worth it? You will need this list later when the going gets tough.

2 Take notice of how the terror barrier appears in your life.

When you are doing something new, how do you go off track? Do you feel fear? Do you procrastinate? Do you worry? Do you make excuses? Do you get distracted easily? For example, if your goal is to workout and lose twenty pounds, you may continually say, “I’ll skip my workout today and go to the gym tomorrow” (procrastination). Or if your goal is to increase sales, you may get sidetracked from making prospecting calls because your desk is messy and you need to clean it first (distraction).

Whatever gets you off track is simply an internal mechanism to keep you in your comfort zone. But understanding this process and how it manifests in your life is a fantastic source of energy. Now you know why you are procrastinating, why you’re not sleeping well at night, or why you feel fear. You know that it’s simply an indication that you’re growing. Now you can recognize the sign and can acknowledge that you’re at your terror barrier. This helps take the pain out of it so you can continue to move forward. Remember that the world is constantly changing. If you’re not moving forward, then you’re falling behind.

3 Take action toward your new goal.

Live, breathe, feel, and be your new goal. Take both small and big steps toward your destination. Map out your next steps as you go. The key is to simply move in the right direction—you don’t have to get there all at once.

Remember what Earl Nightingale said: “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal.” Unfortunately, many people feel that they are successful only when they reach the end goal. They don’t recognize the steps along the way as successes, especially if an individual step did not turn out the way they wanted. That’s why you need to redefine what success is. It’s the process where you’re moving toward your goals. Yes, you’ll have some bumps along the way and make some mistakes, but those are important parts of learning. Your failures are necessary in order for you to get the knowledge you need to push through.

4 Celebrate when you hit the terror barrier.

Hitting the terror barrier simply means you are growing. Be happy that you are widening your comfort zone and moving toward your goals. Think of it like remodeling a kitchen. Before you can get the dream kitchen you’ve always wanted, complete with granite countertops, custom cabinets, and top-of-the-line appliances, you first need to work through the rubble, exposed walls, and the giant mess. When you see your previously functional kitchen completely gutted and useless, you could say, “This is too much work. Just put everything back the way it was.” Or you could push on with the remodel and slowly see your dream kitchen take shape. The same holds true for any worthwhile goal you want to achieve. You have to live through some discomfort before you can get to the other side.

If you are an employer, understand that when you are asking your people to step out and take on a new challenge, they will feel fear. Therefore, have a plan ready of how you will support your team so they have the confidence to move forward. And if you are an employee, know that at some point you will face the terror barrier. Find a co-worker or someone who can hold you accountable and help you through it.

5 Know that repetition is the key to changing your habits and reaching your goal.

Keep on and push through! Just like professional athletes who practice and train regularly, the more you persevere and keep moving in the direction of your goal, the better results you’ll achieve. When the going gets exceptionally rough, refer to your initial list of ten reasons why you want the goal. Read the reasons you outlined slowly so you can think about them and envision them. Connect to the emotions of achieving the goal so you stay motivated.

Unfortunately, many business professionals are afraid of failing. But failing is good; you simply have to decide whether you want to fail forward or fail backward. In other words, either you can fail, learn, and move on…or you can fail, get stuck, and give up. The choice is yours. When you’re willing to work and take daily action—despite any setbacks—you can fail forward and accomplish your goal sooner.

Freedom from the Terror Barrier is Freedom to Achieve Your Goals

If you don’t feel like you’re hitting the terror barrier on a regular basis, then realize you’re not growing and need to take some serious action…right now. Celebrate the terror barrier, be grateful for the opportunities available to you, and always have new goals in mind that you can strive for. As humans, our natural tendency is to grow and to want more out of life. Embrace that mindset as you press on. When you acknowledge the terror barrier in your life and use it to your benefit, you’ll have the ability to achieve any goal you set for yourself and reach greater levels of success.

IA
Published: Widely

No matter what you do for a living—whether you’re a salesperson, a business owner, a self-employed professional, or an office worker—chances are the paychecks for people performing the same job functions as you vary greatly. Some people are earning a lot, while others are just barely scraping by. Even though you may be in the same market or industry and doing the same day-to-day things, your outcomes are very different.

Why is there such an earnings discrepancy among people in the same or similar job category? Because those who always emerge as the top performers know how to use the Law of Compensation to their benefit.

According to the Law of Compensation, there are no coincidences or circumstances as to why some people earn more than others. In other words, even though you’ll likely hear people say such things as, “He sells more because he has a better market than me,” or “The downturn in the economy has hit my industry much harder than others,” or “Of course she’s paid more…she’s the boss’s niece,” those external circumstances have little to do with a person’s earnings.

The Law of Compensation is a physical law and will always work; however, to have it work for your advantage you have to understand the elements involved. According to the Law of Compensation, the amount of money you earn will always be in exact ratio to the following five things:

1 The Need for What You Do

In order for you to be successful, there has to be a market for what you do—the product you sell or the service you offer. If you’re an employee or salesperson in a company, this point is taken care of for you. As long as the company you work for is viable and has hired you for a certain position, then there’s a need for what you do.

If you’re a business owner or self-employed professional, you’ll have to do some research to determine if there’s a market for your offering. Find out if anyone else is offering the same product or service as you. If yes, how much competition is there? Even if the marketplace seems saturated, you may be able to set yourself apart (see point #2). If no one else is doing what you do, why not? Have many people before you tried and failed? Or are you the first in your market to come up with the idea? Whatever the situation, get a clear picture of whether the marketplace can sustain you.

2 Your Ability to Do Your Job

Each day you must wake up and ask yourself key questions:

• How can I do my job with excellence?
• How can I best use my resources to excel?
• How can I be an expert by targeting a certain demographic?
• How can I improve given the circumstances I have?

Many people focus on the challenges they face rather than on the possibilities that exist. As such, they look at their job and how they should be compensated backwards. For example, they may say to their boss, “Give me more money (or a company car or stock options or better health benefits) and I’ll do a better job.” But such a mindset is the equivalent of saying to your fireplace “Give me heat and I’ll give you wood.”

The Law of Compensation states that you need to start with what you offer and then the money will come. Therefore, always focus on how you can do your job better, how you can be different, how you can improve, and how you can turn challenges into opportunities for yourself and your company. The more you keep your focus on serving and improving, the more money you’ll earn.

3 How Easy or Difficult You are to Replace

Your monetary worth is always in direct proportion to how easy it is to replace you. So if you’re easy to replace, then your monetary worth is low. But if you are the best one at your job and giving good service to your customers, then you are extremely valuable.

To raise your worth and thereby your earnings, always do more than what is expected from you. Too many people rely on the old phrase, “That’s not my job.” But going the extra mile and doing those things that aren’t in your job description will help you stand out and get the recognition that leads to more money. Realize that a lot of new opportunities started with someone seeing a need in a certain area and filling it. In the end, if you are the person who always volunteers and takes on new responsibilities willingly, people will remember you and you’ll be the first in line for new business, bonuses, promotions, and raises.

4 Your Attitude

A person’s attitude at work is often more important than his or her skill set. The way someone views the world and handles challenges definitely impacts his or her bottom line. For example, someone who complains all the time about not being paid enough, how tough the economy is, and how mean or unthankful all the customers are is not going to be viewed as favorably as someone who is proactive about solving problems and dedicated to customer service. As the old saying goes, “Where attention goes, energy flows.” In other words, the things you spend your time thinking about will multiply. What do you continually think about at work—the problems, the unfairness, your low pay check? Or do you think about rendering great service, finding solutions, and creating opportunities?

Instead of competing with everyone else and trying to look outside reasons for your lack of success, focus on your own ability to do your work. Be honest with yourself. A lot of people who think they’re earning too little are not really giving their full attention to their work and are displaying a poor attitude on the job. With a positive attitude, you become a happier person at work. And when you’re happier and focusing on how you can do better and improve service rather than hanging out around the water cooler complaining about a myriad of things, you will stand out as someone who deserves more money.

5 Your Belief in the Law of Compensation

To make the Law of Compensation work for you, you must believe in it and trust that it works. Granted, it might take some time until you see noticeable results. After all, this isn’t something you can start on Monday and expect significant results by Friday. You need a long-term focus to get the best benefit. Therefore, believe that you deserve more money and acknowledge that there is an indisputable law to your earnings success. Doing so will help you keep your perspective and strive to always do better on the job.

Success is Predictable

If you are not earning what you want, you need to take a good hard look at yourself and your on-the-job behaviors and actions. Are you following the Law of Compensation guidelines? Or are you just skating by, hoping that by some stroke of luck you’ll earn more? Remember that luck has nothing to do with your salary. When you follow the Law of Compensation principles and believe in yourself, your current salary will rise and your future income potential will be limitless.

IA

Published widely in print magazines

Today’s marketplace is about building relationships and learning how you can spend your resources wisely so those who are predisposed to buying your products and services step forward. Unfortunately, many companies are still following outdated mass marketing techniques where they approach everyone with their offer with the hopes of landing a few sales. As such, too many businesses spend too much money on marketing because they’re bombarding people with ads and offers—and getting mediocre results at best.

Because consumers feel buried under all the sales information hitting them every day, they don’t trust companies and people who are blatantly trying to sell them something. That’s why if you want to compete and win in today’s business arena, you need to “give it away” in order to attract long-term customers—that is, give away something of value for free.

The focus on “give it away” is on the pre-selling, meaning that you make the prospect predisposed to your product or service. The goal is simply to get prospects familiar with what you have to offer. By doing so the sales will come, although not always right away. Remember that customers willingly spend a lot of money buying from people and companies they know, like, and trust. Since many companies offer similar services or products, the winners will be the companies with the best relationship, credibility, and rapport with the marketplace. Competing on price alone is a road straight to bankruptcy.

Before you decide to give something away, consider the following suggestions so you can use this marketing strategy wisely.

1 Define your target audience.

To attract new customers, you need to focus on a target market and find new ways to reach them directly. Such an approach will cost you less than traditional marketing, because you’re focusing only on the people who are predisposed to your product or service. Additionally, no company can serve “everyone.” Even large multi-billion dollar companies who market products that are seemingly for everyone (soda, sneakers, snack foods, etc.) have a defined target market. They know and follow the old Pareto principle that states 80 percent of your revenue will come from 20 percent of your customer base. Therefore, you want to focus on that 20 percent and cater to their needs.

Ask yourself, “Who do we want to serve?” You can narrow down your audience many different ways: age, gender, family status, personal or professional interests, previous similar purchases, geographic location, etc. There’s no one correct way to define your target audience. Your job is to analyze what you do and whom you could help the most, and then narrow that audience down to a clearly defined niche.

2 Identify your target market’s biggest pain.

Once you identify the target market you want to serve, the next step is to figure out this group’s biggest pain or need. What are the concerns of your target audience? What issues keep them up at night? What information or services or products would they pay big money for? If you’re selling business to business, what is the biggest pain of your prospect’s customers?

To uncover this information, you need to think like your potential customers. Get in their shoes. Do what they do on a regular basis. You could also interview them or ask them to participate in a survey. Additionally, talk with your sales department and find out what concerns prospects routinely mention. Take the time to understand your potential customers, what motivates them, and what drives them to make a purchase decision.

Ultimately, prospects are never interested in you. They only care about what you can do for them. When they see that you can meet their needs, they will seek you out and do business with you, without you having to prod them.

3 Define a product, service, or activity you could give away.

When you decide what to give away, you need to stretch and extend yourself. What can you offer that will be of real value to your target audience? Realize that this does not mean your give-away must be expensive. It simply has to have a high perceived value to your target audience. For example, a CPA could do a free seminar on the new tax law changes and how they affect the target audience. A real estate agent could give home sellers in their target audience a how-to book or report on home staging techniques. A dentist could offer a free teeth whitening procedure to new clients. In each of these examples, the offering has a high perceived value to the customer but is actually low cost for the business to implement.

A few more examples of things you could give away include:

• A webinar
• An informational DVD, report, or e-book
• A complementary product or service that will make things easier for your target audience
• An in-depth consultation
• An assessment

Be aware that whatever you decide to give away must be relevant to the target audience and must address their pain. The worst thing you could do is give a “pretend” offer, such as a seminar or report that is really nothing but a sales pitch, a coupon for free or discounted products/services with lots of fine print restrictions and conditions, or a useless and cheaply made gizmo or gadget (don’t you have enough promotional magnets and key chains already?). Your prospects will immediately see through any tricks or deception and will avoid you as a result.

The goal is to let your prospects experience what you have to offer so you can prove to them that you are worthy of their trust…and their wallet. When you genuinely help your prospects fulfill some need or eliminate some pain, you will build a strong relationship with them that is based on respect and value. By keeping your focus on a customer’s lifetime value rather than the one-time quick sale, you will grow your customer base and be very profitable.

Give Today – Receive Tomorrow

As you go through this process, always remember that your prospects and customer are smart; they don’t want to be fooled. Therefore, don’t burry them in junk mail, bad offers, trick offers, or bad quality. Additionally, your prospects want to make their own decisions, not be chased by desperate salespeople. So if your focus is strictly on the commission or the prospect’s wallet, you won’t get vary far. You need to have a genuine desire to help people solve their problems.

Also keep in mind that your prospects and customers have a circle of influence. Therefore, give them a good reason to bring their friends and family to you. Happy customers will tell others about you, and those referrals can quickly add up and impact your bottom line.

So be the supplier of tomorrow’s customer. Focus on the long-term relationship of mutual trust, and always give more than expected (more service, more content, more value). Doing so will cost a lot less than traditional marketing activities, and it will increase your profitability dramatically.

IA
Published widely

I have been coached by Ingunn for the past four months. My experience with her has catapulted me in to a level of financial and personal success that I could not even imagine.

She helped me create a clearly defined life plan that was in line with my purpose and then helped me break it down into smaller achievable steps. Her guidance, wisdom and unconditional belief in my abilities allowed me to transform the vision of my small local business into a national one, in a very short time.

Victoria Scataglini, LMHC, CFLE
Founder Canvas Bag Program
www.canvasbagprogram.com