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MLM Woman Issue 96
January 2005This FREE monthly newsletter is made possible by our advertisers and customers. We thank them for their support!
From the Desk of the
Editor
Welcome to the 96th issue of the MLM Woman Newsletter. This month we feature articles on the top ten tips for getting rid of your telephone terror while doing sales calls, the power of your beliefs, how to develop a marketing strategy for your business, and how to market your business in just 15 minutes a day.
Enjoy!
Linda Locke, Editor MLM Woman
Top Ten Tips for
Terminating Telephone Terror
By Wendy Weiss
1. Make telephone calls
Few things are more terrifying than the unknown. The fear you create
for yourself is far worse than the reality of cold calling. Once
you start making telephone calls and continue making telephone calls,
it gets easier. You overcome fear by doing.
2. Make a lot of telephone calls
If you have only one prospect to pursue, that prospect becomes overwhelmingly
important. If you have hundreds of leads, no one prospect can make
or break you. The more calls you make, the more success you will
have.
3. Prepare
Prepare for cold calling the way you would for any major presentation.
Know what you want to say, how you want to say it and how you want
to represent yourself, your company, your product or service. And
know the goal of your telephone call.
4. Practice
If you are new to cold calling or uncomfortable with cold calling,
practice your pitch out loud. Role-play with friends or colleagues.
Practice various sales scenarios. This way, you will not have to
worry about what you are going to say. You will be prepared, and
you can focus in on your prospect.
5. Start with less important leads
It will be good practice and less stressful. Once you feel more
comfortable, start working on the more important leads.
6. Stay calm
You will, for the most part, be talking to people who will appreciate
your call. If a prospect is rude, remember: This is not personal.
They may just be having a bad day. Move on.
7. Your priorities and your prospect’s priorities
are different
You want an immediate “yes”; your prospect may want to
finish a report, finish a conversation, start their vacation…
Be very careful not to read negative or extra meaning into early
conversations with your prospect or prospect’s secretary. If,
for example, your prospect’s secretary says that your prospect
is “on the phone,” “in a meeting” or “out
of the office,” that does not translate to, “My prospect
knows that I am calling and is avoiding me.”
8. Some things are out of your control
If a prospect does say “no,” ultimately, that is out of
your control—but what is within your control is continuing
to prospect and continuing to make calls. It is also within your
control to improve your cold calling skills, take seminars, read
books or hire a coach—then, fewer prospects will say “no.”
9. Arlene’s Game
The object of Arlene’s game is to focus on rejection. The goal
is to reach 100 points. You get 1 point for every rejection. Give
yourself 1 point for every “no” answer. If your prospect
says “yes,” that’s a bonus! Focus on acquiring points.
The more calls you make, the more points you acquire. When you reach
100—You Win! Give yourself a prize!
10. Have fun
This is not life or death—it’s only a cold call. The fate
of the world does not rest on you and your telephone. You will not
destroy your company or ruin your life if a prospect says “no.”
Loosen up, be creative, have some fun!
© 2004 Wendy Weiss
About the Author
Wendy Weiss, “The Queen of Cold Calling
& Selling Success,” is a sales trainer, author and sales
coach. Her recently released program, Cold Calling College, and/or
her book, Cold Calling for Women, can be ordered by visiting http://www.wendyweiss.com.
Contact her at wendy@wendyweiss.com.
Get Wendy’s free e-zine at http://www.wendyweiss.com.
Scientific
Proof of the
Power of Belief
By Dr Jill Ammon-Wexler
Personal Excellence Mentor
© 2004 All Rights Reserved.
You've heard the expression, "We are what we think."
But is this old saying really true in a scientific sense? Do our thoughts "really" control what we accomplish in life?
I recall a classic study from many years ago. Picture
this:
A teacher comes into a primary-level classroom, and tells her students
that a new scientific study proved blue-eyed children are a lot smarter
than brown- or green-eyed children.
The results are both immediate and dramatic.
The blue-eyed children immediately began to outperform their brown and green-eyed classmates in all aspects of their studies.
Then two months later the teacher calls a special class-room meeting. She tells the students she'd made a serious mistake. She apologized, and said the study had actually proven that brown- and green-eyed children are the most intelligent.
Again the results are dramatic and immediate.
The blue-eyed children lost their edge and began to under perform. The brown- and green-eyed children's grades, on the other hand, immediately soared to the "superior" range!
What does this prove? Simply this:
If you "believe" you're smart, you act smart.
If you "believe" you're creative, you act creative.
If you "believe" you're a success, you act successful.
If you "believe" you're excellent at something, you act (and therefore become) excellent.
We each live up (or down) to the image we hold of our self.
An Important Insight
Earl Nightingale, a prominent success philosopher and teacher, spent a good part of his life studying the wisdom contained in the world's philosophical, religious and metaphysical writings.
Nightingale reported discovering one common belief: "We become what we think about."
It seems Nightingale's finding agrees with what the classroom-study proved: If you *think* you're bright and destined for success, guess what? You'll be smart, and you'll do smart things that will move you along toward success.
But if you *think* you're dumb and destined to fail - you'll do dumb things, and ensure you end up failing.
How This Works
We really are just like those young children in the classroom. Perhaps you remember something like this:
You're 7 years old and want to learn to play ball. But you haven't had any experience catching, throwing or hitting.
So -- you approach some kids playing ball and ask to join. They assign you the position of third baseman.
But by the time the inning is over, you've clearly shown your lack of skill. Then catastrophe strikes when you come up to bat and strike out! That's the end of your "baseball career."
You were dubbed a "stupid dummy," and thrown off the team.
Then suppose you tell your Dad what happened, and he says something like: I'm not surprised Son, you're really NOT cut out for sports.
The ANTs Have Invaded
Do you have some particular areas of life in which you seem to have "natural" limitations? If so -- take a look inside your mind. You'll find some of image-damaging messages from childhood.
These ANTs (Automatic Negative Thoughts) don't just go away on their own. They sneak around in your subconscious mind twenty-four hours a day sending their messages throughout your mind.
If you even consider engaging in an activity that has ANTs attached to it, a whole army will start to march along your neural networks. Suddenly you'll decide to "just forget it" because "I'm not any good at that anyway." Sound familiar?
How to Stamp Out ANTs
To claim more of your TRUE potential for personal excellence, you'll have to move those ant hills out of your subconscious mind. The following exercise works especially well for eliminating negative thoughts.
This exercise is intended to be performed in privacy, while facing a mirror. Look straight into your own eyes and repeat an affirmation. Get as much emotional feeling into it as possible.
If you want to overcome negative feelings about public speaking, for example, your affirmation might be: "I am an excellent speaker."
If you want to stomp out negative feelings about failure, you might say: "I am fearless."
Frequent repetition creates new and stronger neural networks. Don't be alarmed if you begin to look like a different person in the mirror. Done over time, you will begin to get glimpses of a "truer" version of yourself in the mirror.
About the Author
Come visit the exciting Self Discovery Community. Discover
the most interesting, unusual, stimulating and creative methods of self
discovery on the web today! Free sizzling weekly ezine, and the web's
first Brain Gym ezone. http://www.quantum-self.com
Blowing Your Own
Horn - A Key Marketing Strategy for Small Business
By Charlotte R. Farrior
Successful solo entrepreneurs spend quite a bit of time building and expanding their networks. These networks can cover a broad spectrum professional associations, community service, school or alumni networks, virtual communities, athletic groups, neighborhood associations. There are a variety of choices when creating our support system.
What they all have in common is this: we engage in the same activity relationship building. We may meet face to face, over the telephone or online. We exchange pleasantries, information, referrals or resources and in doing so, strengthen the bonds with individuals and the whole organization. What is not quite as common in our exchanges is the use of a personal or business success story. A success story has a double message: it highlights a specific activity that we accomplished or service that we do AND it communicates a distinguishing level of achievement. Both messages serve to build credibility with the listener, which in turn builds trust.
Success stories need not be complicated or lengthy. Here are a few considerations when preparing your own.
Be Proud About It A good success story translates as truly genuine when you feel proud to share it. "I am so thrilled that I was able to save my client $5,000." a Financial Services Representative
Be Prepared Think through your list of recent business achievements, honors, awards or professional certifications that represents something you are proud of and demonstrates an achievement. Then select one or two to share with your contacts at an appropriate time.
Be Specific Describe exactly what product or service that you delivered or the type of honor or certification that you received. "I recently completed the requirements for the Master Certified Coach designation." a Business and Personal Coach
Make It Current Be careful to use situations or events that occurred within the past six months. This keeps it in the category of "news" that your listener may be interested to know.
Keep It Brief A few good sentences about the award or business achievement is all it takes. No need to dominate an exchange.
The next time that you interact with a client, colleague, friend or family member, try blowing your own horn. Humorist Will Rogers said, "It ain’t bragging if you done it."
Copyright 2003, The Coaching Connection
About the Author
Charlotte Farrior of Coaching Connection (www.corporatecoaching101.com)
and Founder/Team Member of Solo-E (www.Solo-E.com)
is a corporate and professional coach. She works with professionals,
entrepreneurs, directors, and executives to define and achieve the
personal and business goals they set for themselves. She coaches in
the areas of goal setting, skill development, priority management
and career transitions.
15-Minute Marketings
by Cathy Stucker, IdeaLady.com
Copyright 2003, Cathy Stucker
Do you think you don't have enough time to market? Here's a solution that can help you get started on marketing, or any other task you've been putting off.
Promise yourself you will spend 15 uninterrupted minutes working on one aspect of marketing. Edit the copy for your brochure. Update your email signature file. Make some phone calls. Revise a web page. Send a letter. Post a message to an email list. Or identify a media outlet and send your most recent press release to them.
You'll be amazed by what you can accomplish in just 15 minutes. Think you can't get anything done in that short time? How long does it take to clean your house? How long does it take if your mother-in-law will be there in 15 minutes? I rest my case!
Set a timer (so you don't watch the clock) and focus on your task for 15 minutes. Don't answer the phone or get distracted by anything else. When the timer goes off, you can stop. Of course, if you are on a roll, you might want to keep going for a little longer, but don't keep at it for so long that you lose focus.
There is nothing magic about 15 minutes. Make it 20 or 30 minutes, if you wish. Just commit to spending that time intently working on the task at hand.
By the way, this technique can work for anything else you've been putting off. Tackle filing for 15 minutes a day and watch the stacks of paper shrink.
Schedule your 15 minutes every day and see how that 15 minutes affects your results!
About the Author
As the Idea Lady,
Cathy Stucker can help you attract customers and make yourself famous.
Get a free tip every Tuesday when you subscribe to Bright Ideas at http://www.IdeaLady.com/.
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Copyright 2005, Regent Press