Just 2% Can Make a Difference

What could just 2% more effort do for you and your company? Read on to find out . . .

Boost Referrals by Making a 2% Difference - Sales - Remodeling Magazine: "Boost Referrals by Making a 2% Difference
Sales expert Lorna Riley offers tips on building referrals"

Read more here.

A body in motion stays in motion

The universal law of physics applies to both the body and mind. Once an activity is started, it’s easier to maintain momentum.

So how do you get started on a project or activity? Especially one you’ve been putting off?

Start by creating an action plan. Break the project down into smaller tasks. But the real secret is to include easy, less demanding tasks at the start of the project to make it easier to begin. Once the project is started, the tasks become more demanding. By that time, momentum has begun and the law of physics kicks in.

Need to start a project and just haven’t yet been able? Strive to be the body in motion. Start with small tasks and take advantage of the momentum you create.

We live our lives differently when we know the outcome

Ever watch a sporting event on tape when you already know the outcome? Chances are, if you already know your team or player had won, you tend to treat their set-backs in a different way. “It’s ok, better shot next time,” you might say. Or “You’ll turn this around.” And, sure enough, your team or player does. Most likely, you didn’t get upset or mad. You didn’t yell at the tv or berate the player. You remained pretty calm and you were able to enjoy the game.

Now imagine you are able to do that with your own life. You already know the outcome. You know that the steps you take toward that outcome will, in most cases, move you closer. But, occasionally, there will be a misstep and you’ll find yourself having to make an adjustment or re-group in a different direction. But it’s ok because you know that, in the end, you will reach your goal.

Wouldn’t you feel better when life throws you a curve ball? You wouldn’t waste time getting angry or sad or depressed. You wouldn’t waste your energy complaining or wishing for something different. You’d just move on. “It’s ok, I’ll do that better next time,” you might tell yourself.

Truth is we do know the outcome.

As Napoleon Hill said, “There is one quality that one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it.”

With that definiteness of purpose and that burning desire, we know the outcome. We will succeed.

That’s a life-altering change in our thought process.

How would you live your life if you already knew the outcome?

To Your Success,
Annette

P.S. “Where’s John?” some of you want to know. John has been busy selling. But I promise you he will be back this week with a great post. Check it out!

Getting beyond set-backs

Sometimes things just don’t go our way. It’s true in our personal as well as professional lives.

Somehow we need to find ways to get beyond it. It’s tough, though. We tend to dissect the issue. Could we have done something different? Did we make a mistake along the way? Our focus re-directs inward and stays there, sometimes making it difficult to move on. We can begin to feel sorry for ourselves.

So how do we move on? If the issue was caused by you or someone else, forgive. If it’s an issue beyond your control, forget it. To turn your focus outward, begin by helping others.

Problem Solving Leads to Success

I love Brian Tracy. I have read many of his books and continue to listen to his tapes. He is an inspiring and encouraging speaker.

I found this video, Four Steps to Getting Past Obstacles, and thought it is quite appropriate for these times. Enjoy!

A common factor for success

Can you guess what the one common factor in successful people might be?

If you guessed education or experience or money, you’d be wrong.

Give up?

The one common factor among successful people is speed of implementation.

When successful people get an idea, they begin working on it! They don’t run it by their spouse or friends or co-workers. They don’t think about it and mull it over for a couple of weeks.

They begin working on it – immediately.

Multi-tasking is not your friend!

You’re probably a multi-tasker. I know that I am. I write an e-mail while talking on the phone. I switch from task to task as a thought enters my mind.

I thought I was pretty good at it. And I thought I was getting more done. Turns out, I’m probably not.

Switching rapidly from one task to another creates interruptions and down time. Interruptions cause me to not fully finish the task at hand. And then I put it aside for later. Each time I start a task, there is some up-to-speed time. That’s the time it takes me to re-acquaint myself with the task and get myself back into the mind-set needed to finish that task. So if I add up all those little bursts of time spent, it can be much more than if I completed the task immediately.

Better, say experts, to block out chunks of time (usually 1 – 2 hours) to work through and finish tasks uninterrupted. Then take a short break, 10 – 15 minutes, to recharge. Stretch, get a drink of water, eat a small snack. Use a kitchen timer to help.

I’m still a multi-tasker at heart but I’m trying to finish each task I start before going to the next.

High levels of stress require downtime

If you are experiencing high levels of stress in your business (and who isn’t today with the current economic environment), it is important that you create periods of rest and relaxation for yourself.

You probably don’t feel much like resting, but turning our minds away from our problems for awhile can help us to look at the situation from a totally different angle. Many times, we find a solution or an idea that takes us in a totally different direction.

So decide what you like to do to help your mind and body relax. Remember, that your body is feeling the stress, too. Schedule yourself and then follow through.

On The Level Consulting Offers BASICS Business Coaching for your Remodeling or Home Improvement Business

OK, I'll admit right now that this is a shameless plug. This blog is all about our new BASICS Business Coaching for small home improvement and remodeling businesses. If you don't want to read it or you are not interested, you can stop reading right now. Check back with us on Wednesday for another (non-commercial) blog post.

I know from experience that being the owner of a remodeling or home improvement company can be really overwhelming. I wear many hats in my remodeling company's business - marketer, bookkeeper, supervisor, dish washer, file clerk, errand runner, admin assistant. John has even more roles with sales and production.

And I know how easy it is to get caught up in all the day-to-day challenges of running a business. Sometimes you can't see the solutions that are right in front of you. There's just too much going on.

But I also know from experience that you don't have to face these challenges alone. Years ago, I hired a business coach and it was the best money we ever spent! The coaching helped us get clear on what we wanted and how to go about getting it. And, yes, even coaches get coached. I remember our coach back then telling me about his business coach.

Because that coaching was so powerful and so life-changing for us, we know that it can be for others, too.

That's why we created BASICS. That stands for Business, Advertising and Sales Individual Coaching Sessions.

This is not general business advice. This is coaching specifically for the remodeling and home improvement industry. You know that there are lots of little peculiarities in our business. You really need someone who is familiar with this industry.

If you would like to find out more information about BASICS coaching, just click here and sign up for one free coaching session.

And if you've read this far, thanks for doing so.

Take advantage of sales training

Although some manufacturers, like Republic Windows and Doors, are shutting down, others are gearing up for a successful sales season. We recently received an invitation to Home Guard Industries’ Dealer Training and Workshop. Training such as this is geared toward helping us, the home improvement contractor, sell more. Find out what your suppliers are planning this year to help you sell more. If they have no plans, suggest that they provide some training and assistance. After all, it is a direct benefit to them if you sell more.

Happy Selling!
John

Here's a little bit of homework for today

Take some time to think about this past year. And some time to think about the upcoming year. Here are three questions to help you:

What did I do well this past year?

What did I not do well this past year?

What can I do to make next year better?

You can use these three questions to evaluate any area of your life – your business, your family, yourself.

Now take out a blank sheet of paper, go to a quiet room, turn off the cell phone and the computer and start writing. Your answers to the third question are your goals for next year.

Keep Your Selling Skills Sharp

One of the most important things you can do right now to increase your remodeling company’s sales is to keep your own selling skills sharp.

How can you do this?

Practice, study and practice some more.

Read books, listen to tapes, watch videos.

Then practice your own sales techniques on your spouse, your kids, your friends, your dog. Even in the mirror.

Happy Selling!
John

Take Time Off

One of the best things you can do for yourself and your company is to not show up for work! That’s right. Take some time away from the office. I do that on a regular basis and find that I work better when I get back.

Actually I even work better before I leave! Probably because I want to get things done so I can enjoy my time away.

Sometimes I’ll take just an afternoon off. Sometimes a day. I don’t take a week off that often although I could but I find that a three or four day weekend can do wonders for me.

Getting away helps me re-charge so I’m excited about the work when I return. It forces me to do or think about something other than work. It amazes me when my mind is working on a problem and I just stop thinking about it so much, a solution comes pretty quickly. I can do that easier when I’m away from the office.

And I become a more interesting person because I’ve done something other than work. Then when I run into an acquaintance and they ask “So, what have you been up to?” I can respond with more than “Oh, you know, just working.”

Today I’m taking a day off to play golf out of the area with a friend. And I know that when I return tomorrow I’ll be rested and re-charged.

Whether it’s a few hours or an entire week, taking some time away rests the mind and opens it up to other possibilities.

What You Can Learn From Michael Phelps and his Olympic Medal Bid

Michael Phelps came to Beijing with a goal – to earn 8 gold medals in one Olympics. That would put him one up on fellow American Mark Spitz who currently holds the record with his 7 gold medals earned at the 1972 Munich games.

If you pay attention to the interviews with the Olympic athletes you will notice they almost all have something in common. They have set a goal. That goal may be to improve a time or, like Michael Phelps, to win 8 gold medals.

We see the athletes performing in the Olympic Games. What we don’t see is the thousands of hours that go into preparing for that performance. The goal is what gives the athlete the determination and focus to continue to work, even when it may seem impossible.

Start by setting your goals. They may seem impossible at the time. But the more you focus on those goals, the more you will begin to do the things necessary to move toward reaching them.

Book Review: Thought Vibration

Written in 1906, Thought Vibration by William Walker Atkinson, is as current and relevant today as it was a century ago. Atkinson, a somewhat forgotten New Thought pioneer, was also an attorney, merchant, publisher, editor and author of more than 100 books, many under pseudonyms.

Without being preachy, Atkinson explores the ideas of increasing willpower, mastering the real self, living fully, ridding the mind of negative thought, training habits, harnessing emotions, and developing new brain power. His older writing style is still lively and surprisingly refreshing 100 years later.

I love Atkinson’s “in your face” attitude about will power. (If you don’t have any, you’re mentally lazy!) And his thoughts on what he calls “asserting the life-force” or really living and experiencing each moment of every day, call us to stop doing things half-hearted. Take an interest, man!

Atkinson spends a lot of time discussing fear and how it affects our attitudes and, eventually, our ability to succeed. Fear, he says, is an expectancy of the feared thing. To banish fear, start to do some of the things you could do if you were not afraid to try. Assert courage and, eventually, the fear will recede.

Atkinson leaves us with some thoughts on our views of successful people. We imagine successful people to be superior. And if we ever get the chance to meet someone we deem as superior, many times we are disappointed to find that they are the same as ourselves! The difference, Atkinson asserts, is the successful person’s belief in themselves and their ability to concentrate. Resist the urge to undervalue ourselves and overvalue others.

Amazing how the world around us is so different yet the human element remains the same!

Book Review: Fearless Living

I recently read the new book, The Essential Laws of Fearless Living by Guy Finley. Guy says that we have an insatiable desire to be someone in the world. What drives that? The wish for power, he asserts. We think that power will put us above the world of the ordinary. It will move us out of our unremarkable daily lives and into a life of excitement and pleasure. We are running from the fear of being no one. But, as Guy points out . . .”what we resist persists.” So by living in fear and discouragement because we are unable to move away from the fear, we are only bringing more of the same feelings! It’s a vicious, never-ending circle. We try using power to control and possess others – a really bad idea Guy points out because by trying to control another person, we are, in fact, giving our power over to that person. So not only are we not in control, someone else has control over us! Not exactly what we had in mind. So instead of trying to control others, give to others what we ask from them. That is the secret to receiving what we wish for from others

Most of us automatically resist the unknown. But in order to become fearless, we must practice self-liberation. We live in negative states of self-doubt and fear. But if we realize that these states are voluntary, not mandatory, we can begin to free ourselves from their imprisonment. The more we think negative thoughts, the more we sink into negativity. And the more we live in negativity, the more we react negatively. We must realize that negative reactions make nothing better!

So how do we become fearless? By letting go of those limiting beliefs. And how do we find our limiting beliefs? Through self-reflection and thought. Put a question to ourselves – such as, what do I fear? – and really think about the response. Self-awareness puts us in touch with the higher intelligence that already lives within all of us.

Stop trying to change the world that we see. Instead begin by changing the way we see the world. Work on the inner first and the outer will follow.