NEVER COMPLAIN, NEVER EXPLAIN

Quite a number of years ago, I stumbled across a phrase in a magazine that really piqued my interest. The phrase simply said "never complain, never explain." From the moment I read it, those four words really hit home with me. To my way of thinking, they summed up the philosophy of all winners. A winner should never waste his or her valuable time complaining or making excuses.

I decided to tape a piece of paper containing this phrase to a wall in my office along with an accompanying challenge. As soon as I went an entire day without voicing a complaint or offering up an excuse, I could take the message down.

I have always enjoyed a good challenge and I figured this phrase could provide a tough test of my will for a day or so. The first day or two quickly passed without me accomplishing my goal. "All I need to do is toughen up a little and I'll get the job done.

No problem," I confidently reassured myself. A month later, the piece of paper was still taped to my wall.

I couldn't believe it. I still had not gone just one day without making a complaint or offering up some sort of excuse. In fact, I had complained about something and made an excuse about something else at least one time every single day for a month. Not one or the other - but both!

I was disappointed that I had failed to accomplish what had originally seemed like such an easy goal. But more than that, I was embarrassed. Now I was really motivated to answer the challenge and get this message off my wall once and for all. Make no mistake about it; I would get the job done this time for sure!

Five years later that torn, tattered, yellowed piece of paper with the simple little message was still hanging defiantly on my office wall.

How could this have happened to me? I really gave it a good shot, but one way or another, I would always find a way to slip up at some point during each and every day and start complaining or explaining about something or another. One thing I learned from this challenge was we all complain a lot more than we think we do and we make excuses left and right.

We blame people and things and circumstances for just about everything. If you think not, go ahead and put the phrase up on your wall and see if you can go one entire day without offering up one single excuse and without making one single complaint of any kind. No blaming, no complaining, no criticizing, no excuses -- for one entire day.

I know what you're probably thinking right about now. You think it will be easy, don't you? Ha! I thought so too. I now realize that the fulfillment of that simple little pledge will be a lifelong pursuit of mine.

Even if you and I fail to live a single day devoid of any personal complaining or explaining, we can still significantly cut down on the amount of complaints and excuses we make and that is indeed a very good start, isn't it? When you take on this challenge, you will begin eliminating a lot of negative feelings and destructive actions from your life and consequently will become a much better person to be around.

There is no better time for you to get to work on your very own "never complain, never explain" challenge than right now. All you have to do is stop complaining and quit explaining and get started today.

THE LAWS OF NEGOTIATING

The Laws of Negotiating are closely related to economics. They are part and parcel of the same process. Both economics and negotiating are based on the fact that each person places different values on different things. Everyone behaves economically in the sense that they always strive to negotiate the very best situation or result for themselves in each situation.
The Universal Law of Negotiating
Everything is negotiable. All prices and terms are set by someone. They can therefore be changed by someone. Prices are a best-guess estimate of what the customer will pay. The cost of manufacturing and marketing a particular product or service often has very little to do with the price that is put on it. Don't be intimidated by written prices, assume that they are written in pencil and can be easily erased and replaced with something more favorable to you. The key is to ask.
The Law of Futurity
The purpose of negotiation is to enter into an agreement such that both parties have their needs satisfied and are motivated to fulfill their agreements and enter into further negotiations with the same party in the future.
The Law of Win-Win or No Deal
In a successful negotiation, both parties should be fully satisfied with the result and feel that they have each "won" or no deal should be made at all. When you are determined to achieve a win-win solution to a negotiation, and you are open, receptive, and flexible in your discussions, you will often discover a third alternative that neither party had considered initially but that is superior to what either of you might have though of on your own.
The Law of Unlimited Possibilities
You can always get a better deal if you know how. You never need to settle for less or feel dissatisfied with the result of any negotiation. If you want a better deal, ask for it. You will be quite astonished at the better deals you will get by simply asking for a lower price if you're buying and asking for a higher price if you're selling.
The Law of Timing
Timing is everything in a negotiation. Whenever possible, you must plan strategically and use the timing of the negotiation to your advantage. If you are in a hurry to close a deal, your ability to negotiate well on your own behalf diminishes dramatically. The person who allows himself or herself to be rushed will bet the worst bargain. You resolve 80 percent of the vital issues of any negotiation in the last 20 percent of the time allocated for the negotiation.
The Law of Terms
The terms of payment can be more important than the price in a negotiation. You can agree to almost any price if you can decide the terms. It is important to never accept the first offer no matter how good it sounds. Act a little disappointed when you hear the first offer, and then ask for time to think about it. Realize that no matter how good the first offer is, it usually means that you can get an even better deal if you are patient.
Action Exercise
Whenever possible, talk to someone who has negotiated the same sort of deal with the same person. Find out what the other person is likely to want and what he or she has agreed to in the past. Forewarned is forearmed!

10 WAYS TO BUILD TRUST AND BUILD YOUR SMALL BUSINESS

You wouldn’t buy a car if you didn’t think it could get you home. And you wouldn’t purchase it from a dealer you thought was robbing you blind on the price and might not stand behind it if the engine fell out as you drove it off the lot.

Before making a purchase from you, buyers need to trust that your products and services will do what they are supposed to. Does your marketing strategy help establish the trust necessary to convince prospects to buy from you? If you’re struggling to attract clients and customers, use the following tactics to convert prospects to clients.

Is your marketing strategy helping you earn as much as you’d like? Does your marketing plan help you generate hundreds of prospects a week and help you convert them to paying clients? Are you getting the results you want from your small business marketing?

Ten Ideas to Build Your Small Business and Get Your Clients Trust

1. Get Testimonials
No matter how great your credentials are or how much experience you’ve had, people pay more attention to what others have to say about you.

Pick up the phone and call your customers to ask what they thought of your product or service, what they liked about it and how it was helpful. Edit their comments, get their permission to use the comments and then feature these testimonials in your business marketing materials.

2. Use Articles Instead of Ads
We have come to distrust ads and to believe what we read in published articles. Invest your time in writing articles to establish yourself as an expert. If you run ads, include testimonials in them.

3. Give Something Away
When you give something to people, regardless of the cost, they are more likely to trust you and return the favour by buying something from you. Use an ebook, article, workshop or free demonstration to build trust.

4. Get Referrals
When you need a new doctor, lawyer, plumber, carpenter or a place to eat you ask a friend for a referral. You trust the recommendations of people you know, and in fact, that’s how the majority of people find jobs. Don’t wait for the occasional referral to come in spontaneously; implement a proactive system to generate referrals.

5. Exchange Endorsements
Team up with a business you trust that also targets your market. Get them to include an endorsement of your products and services in their marketing and do the same for them. While a personal referral is ideal, an endorsement is a close second. This tactic can double your marketing reach at zero cost.

6. Give Examples
Tell a story instead of making impersonal and dramatic claims of what you or your product does. Use case studies to tell what you did for whom and the difference it made in their life or their business.

7. Personalize Your Marketing
It’s a common misconception that to sound credible your marketing should be dry and impersonal. People do business with people. You need to help prospects get to know you and trust you. Let your passion and personality come across in your marketing as well as your professionalism. Include a picture of yourself, with a smile, in a prominent place on the first page of your marketing materials.

8. Reduce Perceived Risk
Buyers’ biggest concern is how well your product or service will perform. Providing a guarantee may help, but in most cases its not going to make the sale. Clarify the value you provide and state your commitment to seeing that your clients are not only happy, but ecstatic about your product and services.

9. Make Contact Easy
If you want clients to get in touch with you, show them how. Put your phone number at the top of your marketing materials and tell them to call. When you call them, give them your phone number again at the end of the conversation and tell them to call. If you have a web site, put a contact form at the bottom of your home page.

10. Stay in Touch
The people you see and talk to on a regular basis are usually the ones you trust the most.Communication isn’t the only ingredient for developing trust, but it is a critical one. If you sell services or high end products, a personal phone call is one of the best ways to answer prospects questions, and to establish trust. Contact your prospects and clients regularly and get feedback on what they are concerned about.

You want to convert prospects to clients and clients to repeat clients. Use these ten small business marketing strategies to build trust and you’ll find more prospects buying your products and services.

DISCOVER YOUR PLACE

I realize that everybody has a place to occupy. The difference is just the time of our manifestation. Because your time has not come does not mean that your time will not come. All is required of you is to keep at it. Your time will come.

I will like to share this story that a friend shared with me. It is an illustration between the fern and the bamboo seeds. When God planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, he took very good care of them. He gave them light, water and other things for growth. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But He did not quit on the bamboo.

In the second year the fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But God did not quit on the bamboo. In third and fourth year, there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But God would not quit.

“Then in the fifth year, a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant..But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall.

Then the question is, why this long? That is the question most of us asked and as a reason a lot of us give up and think that things are not working for me. Let us consider the Bamboo seed again. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots madde it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. God would not give any of His creations a challenge it could not handle.

In is what you are on the inside that determines how you will become on the outside. God is working on you to make you what you ought to be. God will not give up on you so don’t give up on yourself. God said that, “did you know that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots”. “I did not quit on the bamboo, I will never quit on you.”

Don’t compare yourself to others.” He said. “The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern yet they both make the forest beautiful. Your time will come.

NUGGETS

Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you’ll help them to become what they are capable of becoming.