The 10 P's of Business: PERSISTENCE

I was watching my daughter play soccer today and I admired all the little 7 year olds on the field. No matter how many times they missed the ball or accidentally kicked it into the other team's goalie - they kept on it. They didn't give up. I am so envious of how much they DIDN'T care about doing it wrong. They tried and tried, over and over again, until they made their goal.

If only we as adults can take a lesson from these kids - who cares if we make mistakes? It doesn't matter if we lose. It doesn't matter if we are told "no." They we try again. We do it better. We learn our lesson. We find a way to get a "yes."

There are so many adages about PERSISTENCE: "If at first you don't succeed - try, try again." Eventually you will get it right.

Persistence is a mindset:

• You must first get over the worry of being blamed. Because you will be.


• You must be brave enough to make mistakes - because there will be lots of them.


• You must understand that there are those who will be jealous of your strength and persistence - because they are not strong, and they are not persistent. (and by the way - they are the ones who are blaming you).


• You will fall on your face many times - but in the end you will be the one who others look up to

Do it over and over again - always finding a way to be better - and success will come knocking.

It is people like this that attract employers and big salaries. True - an employer does not want someone who will be constantly making mistakes. But much worse than this is someone with no drive, no ambition, or who never takes initiative because he doesn't want to be blamed.

By the way - a little hint: Ask LOTS of questions. Find someone who is very good in your field of work and pick their brain. Everyone likes to teach others what they know. Find your mentor and get as much information and advice that you can. It will help you avoid some of the mistakes.

Good Luck!

The 10 P's of Business - PASSION

It's Sunday night. For some it's the last chance to squeeze the last drops of fun out of the weekend. For others, the feeling of dread is overcoming them. The dread of getting up another day to go to a job that they dislike or find boring. But for a select few - it is just another evening that they're spending with their family. They are not plagued with worry, loathing, dread, or anything else. Some might even be making a list of what they're going to work on come morning.

These select few people love their work. They love what they do. They do not have a "JOB" but instead, have a pursuit. A goal. A mission. They're on to something and they're excited about what they are "building." Whatever that goal is they are passionate about it.

The most successful people are passionate about life. They cannot wait to get to the next level. Whether it's in their personal life or career - those who have passion work harder, more often, and are the most successful people I know. But to them it's not work - it is FUN! Yes, I have been accused of "losing my mind" because I could not wait to get back to work. But I love my work because it's exciting, and fun, and I cannot wait to see what I can do next!

If you too think that I'm crazy then you are in the wrong business. It's time for you to start figuring out what drives that passion in you. You've heard it before: Find something you are passionate about and find a way to get into a career that encompasses that thing.

Think about it - if you hate your job then you go to work everyday and clock in and clock out. You do what is required of you and you leave. But.... if you are PASSIONATE about what you do then you are finding ways to improve, do better, and be better. That is the key to success in business and your personal life.

PASSION equals happiness. Happiness equals SUCCESS.

The 10 P's of Business

There are certain rules that you have to live by to succeed in the business world. These rules are what I call the 10 P's of Business. They are (in no particular order):

1. Passion
2. Persistence
3. Performance
4. Perception
5. Presence
6. Presentation
7. Planning
8. Preperation
9. Politics
10. Positive

Over the next few weeks I will explain what these mean, how they affect the way you do business, and how the P's of business affect you.

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Back to Basics Part 2 - Sales

Ok, now that you are taking control and going back to basics in your personal life - it is time to get your sales career back in order. The following is made especially for my sales people friends - but it applies to all of us.

I was in outside sales for more than nine years selling radio. I was good at what I did and I had a great time. But whenever my sales would drop it would ALWAYS be because of the same thing: I was getting lazy. So my sales friends: It is time to get back to the basics. Yes, this is obvious. Yes, this is simple. But what has happened is that we have gotten comfy in our sales careers and our "reliable" clients.

Things have gotten a little tough as of late and budgets have been slashed - so... we have to work a little harder. A few of my friends have called me to get a little inspirational MOJO - and this is what I am telling them. So for all my fellow sales warriors - here are a couple of basics:

#1 The truth is in the numbers!

When you first started at your job - how many cold calls did you make a week?

How many are you making now? (Tell the truth)

Most likely you are making less than half of what you used to. So, your "B2B" is to at least double the number of cold calls. Why?

Because if you are making 20 cold calls they are probably turning into 6 meetings. Those six meetings are probably turning into 2 sales. If you need 4 sales then you better do 40 cold calls. If you need 6 sales / week then you better do 60 cold calls a week.

It is basic math! Do this for one month and see how quickly your sales increase.

#2 - Don't judge a book by its cover

I know your mamma taught you this - and it still rings true. We have all heard the story of the homeless-looking guy who walked into Sears and all the salesmen ignored him. Then the "newbie" asks him if he wants help and he bought 20 refrigerators for the apartment complex that he owned.

Or in my case when I sold cars when I was 19 I was that "newbie." I worked with 14 car salesmen and they didn't want to help the mom who drove up in a beat-up van with her three kids. I wasn't jaded yet so I walked up and helped her. She ended up buying two cars from me - a new van for herself , and a work truck for her husband. I made $2,000 commission from this deal. Then the next weekend she sent her sister over to see me and she bought a car!

We get lazy, we get jaded - and we start judging the outcome before the sale even begins. You didn't do it when you were a "newbie" so don't do it now. Who knows how much money is passing you up when you stereotype the "opp."

#3 - It is time to get creative!

If you sell advertising you better come up with some amazing packages

If you sell services - you better have some amazing customer service

If you sell products to retailers you better package those babies up with GWP's or PWP's or some really amazing packaging that stands out from the rest.

There are a hundred other "yous" out there - what makes YOU so special?

#4 Get Excited!

Derek always makes fun of me because he says that I have a "sales face." When I get excited about a new restaurant in town and I am telling him about it he usually says something like: "Ok babe - you sold me! We'll go..."

He calls it my sales face because my eyes get big, my eyebrows go up and down, my arms start flailing around, my head nods, and my voice gets higher. This is just me - those of you who know me know that I can talk about a new pen that way - but the point is - I'm excited and I am making people want it too!

People are feeling kind of low right now. They are waiting for you to come in and get them excited again! Listen, if they are not buying from you it's becuase their clients are not buying from them. Give them hope. Let them know that their clients will be so excited about your product that they will make room in their own budget for it.

Everyone needs a little spike in their punch right now. Give it to them. Your excitement will wear off on them and they will be excited to do business with you.

Get Back 2 Basics and have FUN!

Getting Back to Basics

Well, I finally finished school - yah! I graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Organizational Innovation. Most new graduates would look ahead to the future and lay out their big dreams. Strangely, I am taking a step back and looking to get back to my roots - the basics.

I have been running around like a crazy person running the marketing and innovation of a multi-million dollar, International cosmetic company while at the same time going to school and raising a daughter. I am feeling exhausted, relieved, and anxious to start a new adventure. At the same time I know that I have been running too fast to get the work done, and forgetting how I got there in the first place.

Sometimes we are so busy running that we forget the little things that make the biggest difference in business and in life. Be courteous, ask questions, take stock of the quality of your work. Thank your coworkers for their help. Commend your employees for their hard work. Send a note to a valued peer/friend.

This came to me while I was reading Sidney Poitier's book - The Measure of a Man. I highly recommend it. It reminded me that the measure of a man (or woman) is not by the education she received, or the talents that he has. It is by the way that they treat others, grasp opportunities, overcome hardships, and learn from their own strengths and weaknesses.

There are several people that keep me on track in my life and help throw me back on course - I am eternally grateful to them. Now that I have accomplished my goal I am able to take a breath and make sure that "track" is a solid one. It's time to start again at the beginning:

1. Take stock of my skills

2. List my opportunities

3. Figure out how I can be better

4. Set a new goal

5. Take on a new adventure!

You can always be better! You can always learn more!

Good Luck out there.....

Innovation and Leadership

Innovation is a new way of doing things. For an organization it is creating or doing something that is outside of their comfort zone. it is taking chances, asking "why not?" or "what if?" It is finding a way to do it better, faster, cheaper, and more exciting than anyone else in the marketplace. This can be a product, service, design, or attitude.The first and most important guideline, I think, to be innovative is to have strong leadership.

It is hard to find a good leader within the company. Many people misconstrue leadership with management. This is very wrong. Management is being able to delegate to the get the job done. Leadership is acting, doing, and inspiring in such a way that people want to follow you. Leadership is a lifestyle. If you have to tell people that they SHOULD follow you or that you are a GOOD LEADER than you are not.People who are leaders are inspiring. They are exciting. They take chances. Others in the organization want to be them.

In order for an organization to be innovative they have to be that leader who stands out front and says "let's figure out, and if it doesn't work - blame me!" Because a leader draws strength off of mistakes. A leader knows that the only way to make it better is to make mistakes - lots and lots of them.The leader will stand out front of a crowd and say "Come on everybody - we can do this!" And everyone will get so excited that they will just say yes. Why? Because you have inspired them. You are willing to take the chance and push ahead, and they are excited to get on that road with you.

Confession time: I feel that I have not been a leader lately. I am finding myself turning into a manager - and I hate it. I am going to go back to the basics and figure out how to get my leader MO JO back. I will check back soon....