HOW TO LOSE CUSTOMERS, FAST!

A mentor of my wrote to me his experience. "I had an astonishingly bad experience with a major clothing
store this week, and I want to tell you about it. Perhaps it
will remind all of us that perceptions count and integrity
matters.
As a favor to my wife, I agreed to call a major catalog
retailer and order some summer outfits for her. I figured it
would take 10 minutes to call the number, order the items,
bill the credit card, and be done with it. And it might have
-- except for one little thing.
At the end of the call, the order taker asked permission to
"include information about our travel club" in the shipment.
I wasn't interested and vaguely replied that would be fine.
She then repeated the offer and said she needed a specific
yes or no. That got my attention and I started asking
questions.
It turns out that once I agreed to her offer, I was actually
agreeing to let them bill my credit card for membership in
the club unless I specifically declined within 30 days.
Later, a supervisor admitted that almost everyone ignores
the offer and throws it away with the paperwork in every
shipment. Then, 30 days later, the company bills their
credit cards.
I suppose what they are doing is perfectly legal, but I
found it outrageous! For a $39 membership fee they lost us
as customers, forever. In one stupid move, they trashed
their reputation, we no longer trust them, and we won't be
back".
My point? Trust is a vital business asset. Honesty,
integrity, fairness and openness may be the "right" things,
but they are also the SMART things when it comes to
business! Never trick your customers! Never appear to take a
short-cut, and always make the customer glad they did
business with you.

WHO GETS TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS?

Last week I introduced the New Science of Success and talked
about the four components of Who, What, Why and How some
people achieve extraordinary results. There truly is a
science, a formula or predictability to success. This week I
want to talk about Who achieves success.
We have long known that many so-called predictors of success
are totally unreliable. Rich kids end up as failures. Bright
kids end up working for other people. Attractive kids grow
up to be lonely. The most popular kids and best athletes do
no better (and often worse) than the "average" kids.
Ambitious kids flame out, and so forth.
So what does predict success? Who gets to achieve external
success (wealth, fame, power, prestige, etc) and the
internal blessing of happiness? What are the predictors of
success in both realms? Who are the winners who have the
things we want on the outside, while also having peace and
fulfillment on the inside? Who gets that???
There are specific skills and behaviors that highly
successful people share and the good news is that they are
not genetic! You do not have to be born "lucky!" You can
learn or acquire these things. Here are a few of the traits
and skills of highly successful people:
1. A paradox. Success is a "do-it-yourself" project and yet
no one gets there on their own. Successful people LEARN to
be successful by watching and emulating successful people.
Winners attend the seminars, take the classes, read the
books (including biographies) and work with coaches and
mentors. I was reminded of that this week when Vic sent his
special about the Jim Rohn recordings. Jim taught me a lot!
Hanging around him, watching him, learning from him was one
of the best investments I've ever made.
2. Simplicity. This is a very sophisticated concept and
has more to do with balance or clarity than with the number
of appointments on your calendar. I've met famous business
leaders who lead astonishingly quiet, orderly lives. Others
are busy, high-energy, on-the-go, making deals every day.
The outward "style" is not the issue. It's their inner quiet.
Successful people know who they are, keep their feet on the
ground, and are rarely stressed.
3. Focused ambition. Successful people are ambitious, but
their ambition is aimed at a very precise outcome. They work
hard, but they are rarely ambitious for "success." Rather,
they are focused on a precisely-defined result. Their ambition
is not to "be successful" or to "become" anything! Whether
their success is teaching a 5-year old to read or building a
global enterprise, their ambition is focused and specific.
4. Insatiable curiosity. Successful people know there is a
way to achieve their goals and they will try any legal,
ethical technique. They ask for suggestions, borrow ideas,
modify techniques, study and ponder until they find the
solutions. Remember Sir Isaac Newton and his insight about
the nature of the universe when an apple fell from a tree?
Successful people are eager, curious observers.
5. Determination without stubbornness. Again we're back to
a paradox. Successful people never stop. They are hard
working, persistent people who never, ever give up. But,
they can change their mind in an instant. They are open to
new information, a new way, a new solution and when they
find it, they can instantly change direction. No one sees
them as unpredictable or chaotic, but when they find a
better solution, they grab it.
Success is built on skills that can be learned. The skills
come more easily to some than others, but anyone can nurture
their curiosity. Anyone can learn from a mentor. We can all
persist and "stay the course" in hard times. We can all
learn the skills and achieve success in life. So, Who gets
to achieve success? Anyone who will study, learn and use the
skills of highly successful people.

Quotes of the Week

"It only takes one person to change your life -- you." -- Ruth Casey
"God gives talent, work transforms talent into genius." -- Anna Pavlova
"Change cannot be avoided... change provides the opportunity
for innovation. It gives you the chance to demonstrate your
creativity." -- Felice Jones
“Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard.
Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no
regret. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is.”

-- Mary Anne Roadacher-Hershey

7 ATTRIBUTES OF TRULY CONFIDENT PERSON

A lot of people might believe they are confident, depending on how they feel on any given day. But confidence is not a fleeting thing that is here today and takes a holiday tomorrow. Confidence is all pervasive. It shows itself in every aspect of our lives: the way we view ourselves, perceive our world, approach crises, the way we treat others, our readiness to exercise compassion and forgiveness, and, most important, the way we treat ourselves. True confidence is an incredible feeling because it has a few key attributes embedded in it, seven of them, in fact, which are the hallmarks of the truly confident person. You cannot say you are confident unless you score highly on each of those seven aspects. 1. Self Love This is the first crucial attribute. If you have no self-love, you have no confidence because this is at the heart of confidence: self-love and self-acceptance, which then decide our self-esteem. It is not possible to be happy and confident yet dislike our bodies or ourselves. Any lack of self-love is a prelude to misery and dissatisfaction with our lot. Happiness begins from within and when we love ourselves and do not seek the approval of anyone, we are half-way to real contentment and the next key attribute, self-belief. 2. Self-Belief With self-love comes amazing self-belief in what is truly possible. The Universe is our limit, as we become unstoppable and fearless. People who think highly of themselves do not see barriers to achievements or obstacles in their paths. Anything which blocks their journey can be removed because confident people already believe they have the tools to remove those blocks. They can cope with crises too because they believe they can. That is the main difference between a confident and a fearful person: one believes they have the power to affect their life, whereas the other person looks to others to do it for them. 3. Comfort in Themselves Confident people are happy in their own skin. They love who they are, they do not wish to be anyone else and they seek no one's approval to be whom they wish to be. That is a sure sign of a strong sense of belonging and personal security. Even when there is a setback, they know it is only temporary and they will be back in action again because they value themselves and their talents, regardless of what other people think. They tend to do what they please without following the fashion or being lemmings. Being natural leaders, they tend to set the pace for others and to inspire them. 4. Self-Awareness Confident people know their limitations and their potential. That is because they do not sit and dwell on their weaknesses, like people of low esteem. They identify their strengths and nurture them while acknowledging their weaknesses as important to their personality. They are fully aware that the unique beings they are is the result of BOTH their strengths and weaknesses, so they do not dwell on the negative aspects of their personality. They know what makes them happy and sad. Being leaders and optimists, they are more assured in their direction and objectives because they understand who they are and what they want, which is the first key step to boosting achievement and personal development. 5. Fearlessness Confident people tend to be pioneers, fearless in their approach and their actions. It is not that they do not have the usual fears of survival. What they don't have is the limiting and paralyzing fears regarding simply living their life to the utmost which plague insecure and non-confident people. Those with high self-esteem are keen to get on with it so they tend to act first and be afraid later! Willing to take risks and to make sacrifices, they have very little fear in living their life to the max. 6. Experiment Really confident people love to experiment, to try out new situations, innovate and create, They are always pushing the boundaries of their talents because of their self-belief. Unlike people of low esteem, confident ones do not care about making mistakes, because they know that's how they learn and grow. They are not worried about being wrong, but at arriving at a solution or a different result, no matter how many times they have to change their approach. They recognize that mistakes are part and parcel of success on their personal journey. Failure is not in their vocabulary and so they will achieve their desires no matter how long it takes, because they have the tenacity, self-belief and determination to keep trying even when many others have given up. 7. Happiness Confident people are truly happy with their life. It doesn't mean they are never sad. It means that if they are down it lasts very briefly and then they are back up again. They know they can always do something else and change the result. People of low esteem always blame themselves and reinforce that with even poorer thoughts of their abilities, so they stay in the doldrums much longer. They are not truly at peace so they take the knocks badly. Confident people know that setbacks are temporary and all they need to do is brush themselves off and start over again, while keeping their eye on their goals. Above all, being contented with themselves and their bodies, confident people tend to be truly happy, approachable, often cheerful and with a ready smile.

YOUR KEY RESULT

I had a particularly important conversation with a client
this week. He has built a wonderful business that is
approaching $2 million in annual sales, and he realized that
while he works hard every day, he is unclear about what his
MOST IMPORTANT results or outcomes need to be.
Should he focus on sales or leadership? Is he supposed to be
the visionary, or is his most important job to track the
numbers and keep everything under control?
Every task has one or two KEY outcomes and it is absolutely
vital that you know what they are.
In sales, your key outcome is almost certainly the volume of
sales you make during each reporting period. But to make
that number, you have to know what the key factors are!
Over time, do you get more and better results from making
cold calls or from servicing past clients? Are you more
productive when you attend networking functions, or when you
spend time with your biggest customer? Does advertising
work, or are your sales built through long-lasting
relationships?
The answer will vary by industry, by company, and according
to your own skills, personality and interests, but it is
absolutely essential that you KNOW what your key results
are, and the BEST way to achieve them.
Keep records, talk with colleagues, read, listen to audio
programs and take classes, and most important of all, take
time to analyze what works best for you!