Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Business Goal Setting For 2012



The year 2011 is now over. You may be thinking of what you want to achieve for your company or business in 2012. But do you know how to go over setting your business goals in such a way that you wouldn’t be overwhelmed?

Here are few simple things to remember before you go about the business of business goal setting.

1. Clarity of your business goal.

Remember that diamonds, more than their cut, are greater prized and treasured for their clarity. Diamonds with yellow, blue ang green hues are simply alluring. But 'alluring' is not what to do with your business goal. What the above statement means is that what you want and what you need is a business plan that is clear from the onset, in order for the internal factors of your business to run smoothly.

2. Come up with a goal that is doable and result oriented.

Remember the businesses right across your office and the one at your back? They have folded just a few years ago, with their officials facing imprisonment for fraud.

A hundred theories have been presented trying to explain why such situations happened, but, hey, if you base everything on rhetoric, then you really wouldn't get anywhere. Go for something that is tangible and concrete. Something you can actually experience and proudly present to everyone. You wouldn't want a shutdown of your own business, would you?

3. Put it into writing.

Decide where you company should be for the next year. Effective business goal setting needs to be detailed and put into writing. This will give you a concrete basis for further review in the future. It will also save you from having to grope your mind for the ideas you came up with during one 'eureka' moment.

4. Use active words.

Active words are not only for writers; they should also work perfectly with your business goal. Do not use passive words and passive sentences because these will give you the feeling of indirect responsibility. Do say: “My company will capture this particular market by the middle of next year”, and not: “This particular market will be captured by my company by the middle of next year”. Breathe action into your words to give life to your business goal.

5. Come up with smaller goals to complement your biggest one.

The smaller goal will help you achieve the ultimate goal of your business, by providing the step by step actions leading to the ultimate plan. By doing this, you will also see more clearly the initial errors inherent with an imperfect plan. In the process, you will know what actions are effective and what are not.

6. Employ people who share your dreams and ideas.

They may not share your concept on how to do things but if these people share your vision, they will at least give you alternative routes in reaching your goal. These alternative routes represent their own view with the world and their belief in doing things.

This process will give you the chance to improve your precepts or ideas.

And, of course, take a regular review of your plan or business goal. Do some revisions if needed, depending on the small changes that you encounter as the plan progresses. And should there be changes, big or small, accept them wholeheartedly. This is what effective business goal setting is all about.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Attitude Powertip - Turning Failures into Successes.wmv


To improve yourself you need to be open minded. Every successful person has been on this journey, combining natural talents and gifts and learned skills. The top 3 skills of a salesperson are:

Attitude

Knowledge

Confidence.


Many job descriptions include the phrase ‘must have a positive attitude’, so employers rate this trait as vital to success, but how do you describe it?

Here’s how I describe it in my workshops on Workplace Attitude. People with a positive attitude focus on: how to fix the problem and search for solutions versus the problem itself from negative attitude salespeople. They search for what is required, implement it and learn for next time. They’re happy to ask for help and believe in themselves that they can complete the task. They embrace the challenge and look at the problem as a temporary setback they need an answer for. They enjoy the challenges of work,are organised (even though this can be a challenge for this personality) and have positive approach to life in general.

It’s no wonder employers are searching for these traits in
their employees. A few years ago I conducted two year research on the topic of
Workplace Attitude and these were my top findings.

Negative attitude and disengagement from work is prevalent
Lots of positive re-enforcement and rewards were used by some companies.
Motivation at work is self directed.

I could understand the negative attitude if there is no on-going motivation from the
company, but was pleased to discover that many companies were already engaged
in this. However, I was surprised at the third factor, that motivation at work
is self directed. Maybe I shouldn’t have been as these are the people who have
a positive attitude. These are the people who in their own time followed a life
of self discovery and self improvement, thus were happier and more successful.

Which brings us to ‘how to motivate yourself’ if you want to improve your sales
performance. Understandably you need to have the knowledge about your product,
but you need to add to your tool kit - self knowledge. Not your present level
of understanding about yourself, if you’re not achieving the results you want,
but an upgrade to your thinking.

The majority of people perform below their capabilities and although they were born
with no thoughts about attitude or themselves, throughout their life they’ve
learnt unhelpful thoughts that have lodged in their brain. Consequently they
don’t believe in themselves and abilities to achieve. For these people it’s
about making a decision to improve themselves and their life. Starting with
this objective here are some tools for greater success.

Commit to a new you.
Analyse yourself to decide where you can make change.
Realise this starts with your thoughts.
Monitor your thinking for a day or week.
Rate your percentage of positive and negative thoughts.
Decide what to change first.
Set yourself a plan of action.

Your biggest asset is your thoughts, however many people fail to control them. Once
upon a time mine were 80/20. Eighty percent negative and 20 percent positive,
but that was over twenty five years ago and now I can say they are 99% positive
and I’ve learnt the skill how to change my thought quickly when a negative one
floats into my thinking.

Albeit your changes to become an XFactor salesperson start with XFactor thinking, one
thought at a time. Successful people have charisma and confidence. They can
walk into a room and start conversation, people look and listen to them and the
air of success can ‘hang around them’. It’s confidence!

Wikipedia defines confidence as: is generally described as a state of being
certain either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen
course of action is the best or most effective.

And here’s another definition: Confidence is a feeling that you think
you are capable of doing something. It makes you optimistic and pleasing.

Tom Peter’s author of Search for Excellence says: The good news is that top sellers are not born; anyone can become a top seller by studying, practicing, concentrating, and focusing on his own performance.

I’ve has been working on confidence for over twenty five years. It’s a choice thing, if you are not happy with your life right now you need to commit to creating a
better life for yourself, she says.

Here’s a checklist from my new programme: XFactor Confidence – 3 Vital
Keys to Creating More Success and Money and you can use to monitor your own
confidence.

I have decided on my goals aligned to my values
I am letting go my past and learning to step out of my comfort zone
I am communicating assertively and creating win/win relationships
I am boosting my self esteem and rewarding myself daily
I am thinking positive thoughts am embracing my exciting future
I am wearing clothes and aligning myself to my personality
I am living a healthy lifestyle and nurture my body.
I am using my new found confidence to create more money and success.

The three vital keys from my programme are: Motivation,
Confidence and Investing your time, energy and money in yourself. Combining these
three instils in you a pathway in life to study, practice and concentrate to
improving yourself to achieve your best performance.

Free EBOOK on XFactor
Confidence at: www.xfactorconfidence.com
Free Goal Setting WEBINAR at: www.thesuccessattitude.info/goals



Thursday, January 12, 2012

Bring Tourists Back to Christchurch

'Bring Tourists Back to Christchurch' with this idea!


Professional Speaker and Entrepreneur Janice Davies was writing an article for a Christchurch magazine when she hit upon a great idea that 'won't go away'.

Downgraded as a tourist destination, Cantabrians need something to help them re-enjoy life as they live moment to moment in the throes of the earthquakes.

Playing on the radio was the song "We built this city on Rock and Roll' as she wrote. Creating a new spin on this idea Janice has this idea rocking and rolling in her mind.

Organise the "World's Biggest Rock and Roll "Event.

  1. First - Have lessons in the streets of Christchurch and teach each other to dance.
  2. Set a date for a long weekend.
  3. Check the Guinness world Records and see what record Cantabrians can break. OR - Create a NEW event by dancing in every street in Christchurch and make a NEW WORLD RECORD.
  4. Invite New Zealand Rock and Roll clubs to attend.
  5. Invite Overseas Rock and Roll clubs to attend.
  6. Invite Media and capture world media.
  7. Create a monthly R & R night in Christchurch for the tourists....or an annual R & R Festival.
  8. AND of course start the event with the song ' We rebuilt the city on Rock and Roll'.
  9. To revamp the energy, every hour play this song…

This may sound a bizarre idea, says Janice, but this could capture world headlines and something fun, exciting and profitable for the people of Christchurch AND BRING BACK THE TOURISTS.

Janice motivates people to succeed as a speaker, trainer, coach and author. Her new book The Success Attitude - Haunting Messages Guiding Us, is due for release in the USA market. This is one of those haunting messages she says...it won't go away, so I'm sharing it and hopefully someone might be interested to take this idea to reality.

2012 is a year of thinking differently. This is a great start!

This is a great way to re-unite the city and bring back the tourists to Christchurch. In my earlier jobs I was a travel tutor and often took my students to visit Christchurch and have visited it often myself. It's a great city…. It could be the Rock and Roll City. of New Zealand. It can work!!

Napier has revamped itself after it’s 1931 earthquake as the Art Deco city of New Zealand…so why not!