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5 Tips to Get New Clients for Coaching, Consulting & Training

August 1, 2018 by Jack Canfield Leave a Comment

Business is booming these days for personal business coaches and trainers as more and more people begin to realize the benefits of having an expert help them improve their mindset and more quickly reach their personal and professional goals. Still, as with any business, knowing exactly how to get clients as a coach or trainer isn’t as simple as hanging up your sign and expecting them to come pouring in.

To succeed as a coach or a trainer, you’re going to have to learn how to find and enroll new clients.

To help you with this I’d like to give you five tips for how to find new clients and customers:

You might have heard it said that success is not about what you know but who you know.

And while this is not entirely true, it is very important.

In an industry such as coaching that is driven by personal connections and relationships, effective networking goes a long way in helping you find new clients.

1. Go to Events and Network

Get out of your home and go to events where success-driven people gather and go to events where your fellow coaches and trainers gather as well.

You don’t have to be overtly marketing yourself the whole time, but take time to get to know the people there and forming connections with them.

In many cases, these connections can later turn into new clients in a variety of ways you might not even have anticipated.

My friend Ivan Misner, the Founder and former CEO of BNI, Business Network International, and author of Networking Like a Pro, says that networking consists of three steps or stages: Visibility, Credibility, and Profitability.

First, you have to show up and be seen. Introduce yourself to people.

The second step of successful networking is credibility.

You gain that by contributing something of value to the other person, often by making a promise and keeping it.

Ask people what they are working on at the moment or what their biggest challenge is at the moment, and then later you can refer them to a resource like a good book, or send them an article or introduce them to someone that can help them.

Once you have credibility in their eyes, then you can ask them for referrals for your coaching or training business.

Here’s a great video on networking like a pro:

Join a Mastermind Group

Another great way to network is by forming or joining a mastermind group.

They are becoming increasingly easier to find, and should be an integral part of your business plan for getting started.

These groups and the advice that they offer are able to help you grow your coaching/training business in a number of ways, including finding new clients.

Join one if you have the opportunity, and learn everything you can from it. You can also form your own.

2. Make Use of Advertising

It’s worked for businesses for decades, and now, thanks to services such as Facebook Ads and Google AdWords, it’s more effective than ever.

The advantage that Facebook Ads, AdWords, and a few others bring to the table is that they allow for highly specific targeting.

Rather than paying to send your ad out to the masses, you only have to pay to send it out to those that you have already identified as your target market.

If you’ve managed to carve out any sort of niche with your coaching and training business, this can be especially useful for gathering qualified leads that you can later convert into paying clients.

3. Offer a Loss Leader

My third tip for beginning to build a coaching practice is one I learned from David Wood, a very successful coach and trainer of coaches. It’s amazingly simple and amazingly effective.

You start by making a list of everyone in your life who has contributed to your success in any way—colleagues, teachers, mentors, friends, people at your church temple or mosque, past customers and clients.

Then you call them and say that you really appreciate the difference they have made in your life and that you have just become a coach, and as a way of thanking them for their contribution, you’d like to offer them a free coaching session.

In my experience and the experience of my students, almost everyone says yes, and then many of them, assuming you have provided real value in that coaching call or session, you can ask them if they would like to continue and do some more session, and if they say yes, you now have a new client.

In the business world, this is known as a loss leader. You are taking a loss on the first session or a sale item in a retail store, to gain a future stream of income.

You can also do this if you have a mailing list of any kind by offering a free group coaching call or webinar on a particular topic, such as how to lose weight, or how to become aware of and release the unconscious limiting beliefs you have that are holding you back in life.

The key is to make it available to the first 20 or 30 people that sign up, so you create an urgency and exclusivity to the event with the promise of some individual interaction.

4. Enroll New Clients Wherever You Are

I learned this from one of my friends named Marcia Wieder. I consider her the Queen of Enrollment. Here are a couple of her ideas that I have found useful.

#1: In order to be successful at anything, you need to connect deeply with what you care about.

And then communicate succinctly why they should care about it too. When talking to someone about your work, offer them a compelling invitation for them to join you.

The emphasis is on inviting. You have to offer them something they can participate in. The compelling part usually has to do with a sense of urgency around the offer, — which is usually around timing and a special price and scarcity.

But it always has to be the truth.

She once told me she is enrolling new clients all the time everywhere she is—even at the checkout counter of the supermarket or in line at Starbucks.

She strikes up a conversation with the person in from or in back of her and at some point asks the question: “Do you have a dream that matters to you?”

If they answer yes, she asks them more about it and tells them briefly how she can help them.

If they answer no, she mentions that people with passion and dreams live longer, happier lives, and then enrolls them in wanting a dream… that she can help them find and create.

Obviously, this question will work at any event you might be attending as well.

If you’re attending the right events, networking with the right crowds, and really just interacting with curiosity and a passion for what you are offering people, opportunities for telling people about your coaching practice or training are going to be everywhere.

You just need to be ready for these opportunities and capitalize on them when they do present themselves.

Learn how to Enroll New Clients From Me

I teach my proven methodology for helping others to get better results in my online and live Train the Trainer Program. This is my proven system to help you improve your business and increase your income. Train the Trainer isn’t just for speakers, trainers, or coaches (or people who dream of pursuing one of those options). It’s for anyone who works with others and wants to make a difference by helping people aim higher, achieve more, and get the results they want.

Don’t just take my word for it. Learn how Train the Trainer changed people’s lives from this testimonial video:

Learn more about using my proven methodology to train others and make a difference.

5. Create a Great Elevator Pitch

You need to create a great elevator pitch – a short, 20-30 second pitch of your services that lasts about the same amount of time as an elevator ride.

Practice this pitch, hone away the parts that aren’t necessary, and learn to highlight the parts that seem to get people’s attention.

If you can pin down a great elevator pitch, you’ll be able to spark the interest of potential clients when the opportunity arises and convince them to give you their contact information.

In some cases, you may even be able to get them to sign up for your services right there on the spot.

Never just answer the question, “What do you do?” with, “I am a coach” or “I am a trainer.”

It tells people nothing.

Craft a statement that tells people in a compelling way who you work with, and how you serve them.

You want the statement to cause people to say, “How do you do that?”

My elevator pitch is this:

“I help authors, coaches, trainers, and entrepreneurs double their income while at the same time doubling their time off in two years or less.”

At first, finding new clients can be one of the most difficult parts of running a coaching or training business.

The real secret of how to find new customers and clients is that it takes consistent effort over time, but the effort is worth it because you get to make a significant difference in the lives of many people.

Which one of the methods I’ve shared with you today to get more clients for your coaching business will you try? Let me know in the comments. If you want to learn how you can start your own training business, click the button below to watch my free training webcast.

Filed Under: Business & Leadership, Training & Coaching

How to Become a Professional Speaker & Trainer

July 12, 2017 by Jack Canfield 3 Comments

Learning how to become a professional speaker and trainer holds the power to transform the lives of many people. By building my speaking business and eventually offering books, packaged courses, and live training programs, it has skyrocketed my career over the past 40 years. More importantly, the satisfaction I get from sharing my Success Principles and transformational exercises is unmatched by anything else I do.

First let me tell you about the best speech I’ve ever seen…

The best speech I’ve ever seen was given by the brilliant economist Paul Zane Pilzer at a large chiropractic event in Las Vegas.

Before an audience of nearly 10,000 people, Paul delivered his message, The Next Trillion, about the onset of the wellness revolution, how statistics and pure economic trends prove it will happen, and why chiropractors are so well positioned to enjoy the benefits of this next trillion-dollar trend in society.

He weaved a fascinating mix of his own experience in working with consumer product companies, information he had researched on the medical and alternative healthcare communities, economic facts and figures that are readily available in print, and his own inspirational stories about the subject. It’s no wonder Paul received a thunderous standing ovation.

It changed the thinking of the chiropractors in the room about how they could excel in their practice as “wellness” began trending in their local market.

I was energized, motivated and excited about the future—and I’m not even a chiropractor.

Learn How to Become a Professional Speaker in 3 Steps

Whether it’s a group of teachers and educators, businesspeople, or even cabinet ministers that I’m speaking to, I’ve got to see their breakthroughs in real time and hear about their later successes through the many emails and letters. It’s a great feeling, but it has also built a great career.

Perhaps you, too, have thought about how to become a professional speaker or a motivational speaker in the human-potential arena helping to transform the lives of others. If so, I’ve got some pointers for you based on my work with all kinds of groups – in more than 100 countries!

1. Know Why Your Principles Are Unique

First, content is key. There’s so much information and noise out there, people can get advice almost anywhere.

But, when your content – the principles and insights that you teach – changes people’s thinking and gives them a whole new way of approaching their lives, careers, and relationships, that’s the kind of content that gets internalized and used by your audiences.

It’s not just feel-good stories and great entertainment from the platform – but real transformation taking place.

That’s why content is key: You have to prove you can deliver this result before anyone will hire you to speak in front of their group.

2. Prepare to Market Yourself

Second, you need a way to market yourself as a speaker.

There’s a reason that some people quickly become recognized as the leading expert in their field with all the fame, fortune, and opportunity that goes with it – while others in the same industry struggle to get by.

There’s a reason that some speakers build a great speaking career, but also go on to get book deals, licensing deals, distribution deals, speaking tours, spokesperson contracts – while others wait years to get hired as a speaker or find a publisher for their book.

That reason is marketing.

You have to identify what you know that’s marketable – then identify which meeting planners and groups need that knowledge and are willing to pay you for presenting it at their next event.

3. Take Action Now

Third, if becoming a professional speaker is what you truly want, why wait another second to take action?

You too can have a future as an industry professional, a platform star, and the world’s next motivational speaker.

I’d like you to watch my in depth webcast called the 7 Pillars of True Life Transformation. It explains the process of becoming a speaker and transforming audiences around the world – as so many emerging speakers have done whom I’ve helped launch over the past five years.

In this webcast, I’ll teach you how to quickly remove blocks, fears, and uncertainty in yourself and others. With my proven methodology, I will also guide you on how to make a living as a trainer and how to transform others through training.

If this is you dream, ask yourself: How can I empower others? And what principles can I share with the world? Click the button below to learn more.

Filed Under: Business & Leadership

Here’s How to Make More Money

April 26, 2017 by Jack Canfield 12 Comments

There are really only two ways to make more money. One, you can spend less. Two, you can make more.

Personally, I’m a fan of making more money. I would rather earn more money and have more to spend than always be denying myself things I want.

Think About Earning Money Differently

In our lifetime many of us have been confronted head-on with having to figure out a way to spend less money. In school, you learn how to set and live off budgets.

You think about what you can cut out here or what you can cut back on there. You’re constantly focusing on what you have to “get rid of.”

But what if you thought about money differently? What if instead of focusing on how to cut back, you focused on how to make more?

There are many possibilities to do so.

The first step in making more money is to decide how much more you want to make.

FREE WEBCAST: Discover how you can earn money by training others.

Develop an Idea that Generates More Money

Once you have decided how much more you want to make, ask yourself “What product, service, or additional value can I deliver to generate more money?”

What does your employer, your customers, or the world need that you could provide?

Once you’ve identified that, it’s time to develop and deliver that product, service, or extra value.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

5 Ideas to Earn More Money

1. Become an Intrapreneur

Today, many of America’s biggest and smartest companies are cultivating entrepreneurship amongst their employees and executives. Companies such as Google encourage their employees to spend up to 20% of their work week to pursue projects of their choice.

They are encouraged to “think outside the box” and come up with new ideas and innovations.

Intrapreneurs are the ones who created the Post-It note for 3M, the Java programming language for Sun Microsystems, and even Yahoo’s Search offering.

Does your company have customers it isn’t selling additional goods to? Maybe there’s a piece of machinery, a vendor relationship, or an overlooked marketing idea that your employer isn’t taking full advantage of.

Can you create a plan to turn this asset into cash? Approach your employer with a proposal to work on an asset-maximizing project off-hours for extra pay.

This could even garner you a well-deserved promotion.

2. Identify a Need and Find the Solution

Many of the most successful people throughout history have identified a need in the marketplace and provided a solution for it.

If you want to earn more money, identify a need that isn’t being met and determine how to meet it.

Have you seen ABC’s hit show The Shark Tank?

A panel of five investors listens to pitches for some of the best business and product ideas from some of America’s brightest entrepreneurs. The ideas come from stay-at-home moms and dads to students, to people who want to be their own boss. They present innovative ideas covering children’s products, music, sports, cars, and even the nightclub scene.

Though some of the ideas are kooky (hey, it is television, after all!) there are also a handful of brilliant ideas coming from people who have found a need and filled it.

On a recent episode, two ambitious college students created a successful “coffee of the month” business. They realized there was a market for people looking to sample coffee from around the world. In turn, they capitalized on that using a subscription-based model. They found a need and filled it.

They received the capital to start their company with a successful Kickstarter Campaign and have now solidified themselves as coffee connoisseurs with a taste for unique blends found all around the world. Their company is a “wine of the month” club for coffee lovers.

There are always needs you can find to create a business or service around you.

Many of these former “met needs” are inventions and services we now take for granted.

The fact remains that people discovered something needed in their own life, or others’, then created the gadgets and services we enjoy today.

3. Do Some Out-of-the-Box Thinking

When Dave Liniger, founder, and CEO of RE/MAX, was a successful young real estate agent, he grumbled about paying 50% of his commissions to the broker whose office he worked in.

As an out-of-the-box thinker be began to look for a better way to sell homes and keep more of what he earned at the same time.

He could have rented a desk in an office building for $500 a month. But, that didn’t offer outstanding management, a large brand name, lots of offices, or the ability to share expenses across thousands of agents.

He thought, why not create a hybrid? A firm that offers more independence to agents and lets them keep more than 50% of their sales commissions. But, still, provides more support than going at it alone.

And from that, RE/MAX was born and is now one of the largest networks of real estate agents in the world.

Liniger’s out-of-the-box idea was backed up with hard work, perseverance, and passion, and it met a need for thousands of real estate agents. His dream has grown into a billion-dollar-a-year business.

How far might you go if you were willing to do some out-of-the-box thinking?

4. Create Your Own Internet Business

Today, an internet business is one of the fastest and easiest ways to get started, even while keeping your current job.

You can find a need and fill it for thousands of people with that interest across the world.

If you are creative and artsy, Etsy.com is a fast-growing e-commerce website where people can sell photography, artwork, jewelry, quilts, knick-knacks, and toys to people all across the world.

If you have great information to share with others, you can sell e-books, audio files, training materials, how-to courses, and other informational products online easily, without needing to ship a single box. Website platforms like WordPress.com make it easy to have a website up and running in no time.

If you have clothing or items around the house that you are no longer using, start a small business and sell them through Ebay.com.

If you enjoy bargain shopping, I know a woman who made her entire living off of purchasing children’s clothing and toys from discount stores and selling them on eBay to make a profit.

You don’t need to have a big marketing machine behind you to successfully sell through the internet.

Hundreds of websites, blogs, newsletters, and clubs already have visitors, subscribers, and members who could be perfect prospective customers for you. Talk to the site or blog owners and offer them a percentage of anything you sell to their readers or members.

This becomes a win-win for everyone involved.

5. Join a Network Marketing Company

There are more than 1,000 companies who sell their products and services through network marketing and direct sales.

From health and nutritional products to cosmetics, cookware, toys, educational materials, and phone services there is something for everyone!

I’ve been a consumer, representative, and trainer to many great companies. Companies who not only have amazing products to offer but great compensation plans and training programs to support you. There is an unlimited opportunity for growth and compensation.

The sky’s the limit!

Find a company that has been around for a while and has a good reputation. Try the products and make sure you love them.

If you are passionate about the products and the people, you can earn more money through the leverage that building a downline provides you.

Act on Opportunities That Feel Right For You

Just remember, wherever you decide to put your energy, the key is to become more valuable to your current employer, customer, or clients. You can do this by getting better at solving their problems, delivering products, and adding services that they want and need.

Make it a part of your vision and your goals. Visualize and affirm that you earn more money from your ideas because they provide value to others.

Start reading books and articles about it and talking with your friends about it. You will start attracting all kinds of opportunities and ideas.

Then, act on the ones that feel most right for you. You will earn more money in no time.

Make More Money By Training Others

Are you good at teaching others how to do something? Or leading groups?

Would you be interested in teaching my Success Principles to others to make more money? Could you teach seminars locally? Can you offer a class at the local high school or community college? Could you lead a workgroup at the office to incorporate these principles on the job or in your department?

Or could you boost your existing career as a professional trainer?

If you can envision yourself as a dynamic and powerful presenter you should watch my free webinar The 7 Pillars of True Life Transformation. In it, I’ll show you how you can transform your life and your career, by training others.

You don’t have to be a master of implementing these principles to lead a group, since I’ll help you become a master trainer as part of this immersive professional program.

Imagine the workgroups, clubs, sales teams, women’s groups, entrepreneurs, or companies where people could be working together to support each other in actively living these principles. The results would be miraculous. And YOU can be the person that makes that happen. Click the button below to learn more.

Filed Under: Success & Goal Achievement, Business & Leadership Tagged With: Success, achievement, business success

The Importance of Networking & Masterminding

April 19, 2017 by Jack Canfield 1 Comment

While you may be able to create tremendous success on your own, traveling the path of success through networking and a mastermind group makes the journey more enjoyable. Plus, the added accountability will propel you to success faster and further than you originally envisioned. This is where the importance of networking and a masterminding comes into play.

It’s Not Just What You Know, It’s Who You Know

Success is a team sport.

It’s not what you know, it’s also who you know.

In my career, success in any undertaking has come down to not just who I know—but also who I have on my team.

Along the way, I’ve learned many success principles that can help you build your own network of influencers, mentors, and experts. Developing a business network of people can help you succeed.

Nurture Your Network

One of the most important skills for success in today’s world, especially for entrepreneurs and business owners, is networking.

In my life, this has proven to be true.

The more time I have spent consciously building and nurturing my business network of advisers, colleagues, clients, students and fans, the more successful I have become.

Businesses and careers are built on relationships. Relationships form when people meet and interact with each other in an authentic and caring way.

Effective Networking is Dependent on Trust

Statistics confirm over and over that people prefer to do business with people they know, respect, and trust.

“Effective networking is all about developing relationships.”

In creating your own personal network groups, your job is to seek out people who know things you don’t. These people can help you connect where you can’t.

Developing Relationships Takes Time

Initially, your goal shouldn’t be to make a sale. Instead, it should be to seek advice, connections, recommendations and insights. To the extent that you can provide something in return, do so.

Remember that developing genuine relationships takes time and consideration.

It requires careful thought and a mindfulness for others.

Three Steps to Building a Reliable Networking Group

Think of these three steps:

Visibility
Credibility
Profitability

First show up, participate, and get seen,

Second, ask others how you can help them and then deliver on their requests if you can.

Then, when you have developed a relationship of trust and service, you can ask for referrals and assistance.

Two Heads Are Better Than One

Networking and building meaningful relationships with others brings success quickly.

This is where mastermind groups come in.

We all know that two heads are better than one when it comes to solving a problem or creating a result.

Imagine having a permanent group of five or six people who meet once every week or two to problem solve, brainstorm, network and motivate each other.

This is masterminding.

The Basic Philosophy of Masterminding

The basic philosophy of a mastermind group is that more is achieved in less time when people work together.

A mastermind group is made up of people who come together on a regular basis (weekly, biweekly, or monthly) to share ideas, thoughts, information, feedback, contacts, and resources.

Getting the perspective, knowledge, experience, and resources of the others in the group greatly expand your own view of the world. It can also advance your own goals and projects more quickly.

Find People Outside of Your Field

When you form your mastermind group using your networking skills, consider bringing in people from different professional arenas.

Find people who are “above” or “ahead” of you professionally or financially. These people can introduce you to a network of people and resources you normally wouldn’t have access to.

Though the benefits of masterminding with people outside your field may not seem obvious now, the truth is that we all tend to get stuck in our own field of expertise.

We see through the same narrow lens and do things the same way everyone else in our industry does.

Build Your Own Mastermind Group

When you assemble people from different industries, professions, or fields of study, you get lots of different perspectives on the same subject.I don’t know anybody who has become super successful without employing the principles of both networking and masterminding.

I don’t know anybody who has become super successful without employing the principles of both networking and masterminding.

This is because building meaningful relationships with others both inside and outside of your field of expertise forms valuable connections and expands your resources.

You never know when these connections will come in handy on your journey to success.

Take Action

Make a list of 5-6 people who you know that you could potentially build a mastermind group with, and ask them if they are interested.

One of the most powerful ways to learn anything is to teach it to others. That’s why having a mastermind is so important.

Teaching forces you to clarify your ideas, confront inconsistencies in your own thinking, and more closely walk your talk. But most importantly, it requires you to read, study and speak the information over and over again. The resulting repetition reinforces your own learning. I’ve created a free webcast for people who want to learn to train others, lead mastermind groups, and conduct powerful learning sessions with others.

If training and empowering others is something that inspires you, click the button below to watch my webcast The 7 Pillars of True Life Transformation

Filed Under: Business & Leadership Tagged With: Success, business success

How to Use Your Tax Return to Invest in Yourself

April 12, 2017 by Jack Canfield Leave a Comment

Tax season is right around the corner, which means you may be getting a tax return. It may seem like a good idea to invest your refund into a dream vacation or a shopping spree, something you deserve after all your hard work. Instead, I urge you to invest in yourself, a pay off much greater than a week in the sun.

If you have ever wanted to become more financially responsible, this may be the perfect time to start. I want to discuss the best ways that you can invest in yourself this year.

Change The Way You Think and Act With Your Money

One of the best ways to invest in yourself starts with changing the way you think and act with your money.

The truth is that being financially healthy is an essential part of a well-balanced life.

You may be saving your money for several reasons. Maybe for a dream vacation, expand your business, buy your first home, or simply have peace of mind.

No matter the reason, you first need to assess, diagnose, and cure your financial health.

Take the time to meditate and reflect on the limiting thoughts and beliefs that you have about money. You may experience fear, hopelessness, shame, or even guilt.

What are the attitudes that are holding you back?

Confront, Release and Replace Negative Feelings

Once you have identified the root of your early programming, it’s time to let go.

A very effective technique I teach is to experience the negative feeling, confront it, and release it. Finally, replace it with a powerful affirmation. The affirmation will drive your everyday actions and motivate you to keep striving forward.

It is also very helpful to visualize your dream life with a vision board. Feature images of what your life will look like when you create financial success.

Make a complete and honest assessment of your current financial situation.

Just as your physical health is critical, your financial health is also vital in many aspects. Especially in simply giving you peace of mind!

Identify Where You Are Now and Where You Want to Be

Take the time to identify where you are now, and where you want to be.

If you’re at the beginning stages, maybe you’d like to learn how to set and keep a budget.

You might have already established your net-worth by now. You may need additional resources to assess your business’s financial statements.

It’s crucial to have clarity about the condition of your financial health.

We are creatures of habit. You’ll need to make the conscious decision to change whatever is necessary to achieve your next goal.

Focus on Your Relationship With Money

Use visualization techniques to focus on the relationship between money and you.

This might mean adopting a debt reduction plan, establishing a family savings plan, or figuring out the next steps to reduce your expenses and increase your cash flow.

If you are getting some money back on your tax returns, this may be the perfect time to save it.

This is possibly the most important step of the process to create financial success.

Determine the “How?”

You have determined the “Why?”, the “What?”, and the “When?” Now you have to determine the “How?”

Establish a step-by-step plan to reach your immediate goals.

Ask yourself some of the following questions: What is the next step? How long will it take until it’s completed? How will I monitor my progress? Do I need to seek additional resources to help myself? When will I start?

Don’t worry about getting it “perfect” the first time. It’s an ongoing process and you will undoubtedly make adjustments as you move along.

My good friend Phil Town has a lot of great advice on his blog for beginners interested in learning how to invest. Just be sure to consider all your options, as you decide between investing in stocks, money, or even your time!

Invest in Others to Invest in Yourself

No matter what your goal is, if you drive your results with an attitude of service, you will absolutely receive success.

Acting from a place of service will complete your journey towards creating good and sound financial health. It will also make others happy in the process.

These are the perfect ways to invest in yourself this year.

So I want to leave you with a bit of homework, ask yourself the following: How can I help others? How can my product help others? Could I volunteer my time and help a great cause? What principles am I teaching my children? What will my legacy be?

In order to receive, you must first give.

Answer some of my questions in a comment below, and I’ll be sure to follow up with you! Get my free Daily Affirmations for Success Step-By-Step Guide. Discover how you can use affirmations to change your self-image, replace your limiting beliefs, and achieve success. Use this guide to elevate yourself to new levels of happiness and success in every area of your life.

Filed Under: Business & Leadership Tagged With: business success

5 Ways to Increase Self-Confidence & Self-Esteem

November 16, 2016 by Jack Canfield 3 Comments

Do people with high self-esteem achieve greater success?

“I need to increase my self-esteem” is a statement I hear often from my students. Their belief is that once their self-confidence and self-esteem is higher, they’ll be able to achieve more and become greater successes.

While it’s true that a high self-esteem can assist you in creating the life you dream of, the mistake most people make is how they think about self-esteem. It’s not a thing to be increased or decreased, although that is the common terminology. Instead, self-esteem is a verb; it’s the process of esteeming yourself.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, esteem means “to set a high value on: regard highly and prize accordingly.”

In other words, the process of boosting your self-esteem starts with deciding that you are valuable and treating yourself as such.

Learn how to develop unshakable self-confidence at Breakthrough to Success!

5 Good Habits to Build Great Self-Esteem

1) Believe in Yourself

The first step in creating greater self-esteem is to believe in yourself. It’s your responsibility to take charge of your own self-concept and your beliefs – including belief in your worth, your talent, your abilities, and your potential.

2) Identify 9 Major Successes

Research has repeatedly shown that the more you acknowledge your past success, the more confident you become in taking on and successfully accomplishing new ones. A simple way to start this process is to take an inventory of your major success. Divide your life into three time periods – from birth to 15, 16 to 30, and 31 to 45. The list three major successes from each time period.

Divide your life into three time periods – from birth to 15, 16 to 30, and 31 to 45. Then list three major successes from each time period.

To really convince yourself that you’re a successful person who can continue to achieve great things, keep going with your list.

See if you can identify 100 or more of your life successes.

3) Keep a Victory Log

Recall and write down your successes each day. This will log them into your long-term memory, enhancing your self-esteem and self-confidence. Whenever you need a boost of self-confidence, reread what you have written. Keeping and referring to your victory log keeps you focused on your successes instead.

Keeping and referring to your victory log keeps you focused on your successes instead.

4) Display Success Symbols

What you see in your environment has a psychological impact on your moods, attitudes, and behavior. Surround yourself with awards, pictures and other objects that remind you of your successes. Create a special place in your home – such as a hallway, shelf or even the top of your refrigerator – to display your symbols. This will subtly program you to see yourself as someone who has consistent successes in life.

5) Keep Your Agreements

One of the most commonly overlooked ways to boost self-esteem is to keep your word. Every agreement you make is to yourself, ultimately, even those that involve other people. Your brain registers agreements as commitments. If you don’t follow through, you learn to not trust yourself. You lose integrity and faith in your ability to produce a result. Don’t undermine your sense of personal power – keep your commitments.

Increase Your Capacity to Take a Risk

To understand the importance of esteeming yourself, imagine you were playing poker. If you have 10 chips and I have 200 chips, who do you think will play more conservatively?

You will, of course, because the stakes are higher for you. Two losing bets of five chips each would put you out of the game. I, on the other hand, could lose five chips 40 times before I was out.

Your self-esteem is like a stack of poker chips. The higher it is, the more willing and able you are to take the risks that will lead you to greater success.

Use the ideas shared in this article to create and maintain the high levels of self-esteem you need to get where you want to be.

Self-Confidence and Your Ideal Future is Within Your Grasp

Your ideal future is within your grasp – you simply have to reach out and grab it. I want to give you the tools you need to make that happen.

If you really want to take control of your life and inject it with unprecedented amounts of happiness, financial success, a sense of accomplishment, the ability to help others, and a real sense of purpose and satisfaction — the time to act is now. Join me for 5 days of hands-on training with me during Breakthrough to Success!

During this one of a kind workshop, I promise you one thing… you’ll leave feeling transformed, and ready to make a massive impact on the world. BTS 2017 is 5 days of hands-on training with me, LIVE and in-person. I’ll be there, holding you accountable, and guiding you each step of the way toward your own personal evolution. Click the button below to learn more.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEBSITE?
You can, as long as you include this complete statement with it: Jack Canfield, America’s #1 Success Coach, is founder of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul® and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success. If you’re ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.JackCanfield.com

Filed Under: Success & Goal Achievement, Business & Leadership, Speaking & Writing, Training & Coaching

The Greatest Leadership Trait of Successful People

November 8, 2016 by Jack Canfield 7 Comments

Our lives improve only when we take chances—and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves – WALTER ANDERSON, Editor of Parade magazine for 20 years

I want to really dive into the one common trait that all successful leaders share and that trait is the ability to identify what’s not working and deal with it quickly.

As someone in a leadership position – whether you’re a trainer, corporate manager, MLM distributor with a downline, owner of a small business, manager of a sports team, or parent – you want your team to thrive while working together to generate great results.

That means you need to have a strong understanding of what’s working – as well as what’s not.

It’s sometimes tempting to focus only on the positives and ignore the negatives in the hope they’ll magically resolve themselves. On rare occasions, that actually happens. But, far more often, a negative situation left untreated will fester and grow into something that threatens the health and performance of your entire team.

Great Leaders Deal With What Isn’t Working As Soon As Possible

To create an environment where all of your team members work in complete alignment with each other, genuinely care for each other, and work together to accomplish incredible goals, there’s one incredibly important step you need to take:

You’ve got to face what isn’t working and deal with it as soon as possible.

Do you defend or ignore how toxic your work environment is?

Do you make excuses for your team members’ poor performances?

Are you in denial about a personal conflict between individuals that’s negatively impacting the dynamics of the team?

Has a team member developed a bad attitude that’s affecting others?

Great leaders face these circumstances squarely, heed the warning signs, and take appropriate action, no matter how uncomfortable or challenging it might be.

Great Leaders Pay Attention

Pay attention to the “yellow alerts”.

Yellow alerts are the little signals you get that something’s not right. People aren’t speaking up in meetings. Team members talking in low voices fall silent when you enter the room. When you make a presentation, people looked bored and disengaged. Sales are down for the third quarter in a row. Great Leaders Face the Uncomfortable Situation Head On

Sometimes we choose to acknowledge these alerts and take action, but more often than not, we simply choose to ignore them. We pretend not to notice that something’s amiss.

Why?

Because to face what’s not working in your team, organization, or own personal leadership means you’re going to have to do something uncomfortable.

You might have to confront somebody, risk not being liked, demand respect, let someone go, or maybe even quit your job. But if you aren’t willing to do these uncomfortable things, you’ll end up tolerating a situation that doesn’t work to the point where it causes serious damage.

To learn more about the traits of great leaders, check out my article about the 5 habits of successful people.

You might also enjoy this leadership qualities infographic by Brian Tracy.

Become a More Inspiring and Effective Leader

Keeping this leadership trait in mind, I want to leave you with a bit of homework to complete. Write down at least 5 things that aren’t working in your organization right now. Then, resolve to talk to the appropriate people to get find a solution for those issues. To hold yourself accountable, leave a comment below with 1 thing that you could improve upon from your list. I’ll follow up with you guys to make sure you’re staying on track!

If you are committing to becoming the best possible leader you can be, I encourage you to take my leadership quiz. It will show you your leadership potential and help you identify your talents so that you can strengthen them to higher levels.

You can quickly take it and find out how to become an effective, well-respected and beloved leader who is able to inspire any team or audience to be their best selves and achieve incredible goals. Click the button below for more details.

Filed Under: Success & Goal Achievement, Business & Leadership

How to Stay Focused on Your Core Genius

November 2, 2016 by Jack Canfield 2 Comments

Would you like to learn how to stay focused on the activities that are most essential to your success? I think you’ll agree that sometimes it can be tough to focus on anything. And it can be even tougher to focus on your core genius, which is an essential ingredient in the recipe to success.

Fortunately, there are a few quick and easy ways to do so! You see, I believe you have inside of you a core genius. One thing that you love to do, and do so well, that you hardly feel like doing anything else. It’s effortless for you and a whole lot of fun. And if you could make money doing it, you’d make it your lifetime’s work.

Get My 12-Month Success Planner and Get Ready To Transform Yourself For Success.

What is Your Core Genius?

In most cases, your Core Genius is directly tied to your passions and life purpose.

Successful people believe this, too. That’s why they put their core genius first. They focus on it and delegate everything else to other people on their team.

For me, my core genius lies in the area of teaching, training, coaching and motivating. Another core genius is writing and compiling books. Over my 35 year career, I have written, co-authored, compiled and edited more than 150 books, and I love to do it! I do it well, and people report that they get great value from it.

Compare that to the other people in the world who go through life doing everything, even those tasks they’re bad at or that could be done more cheaply, better, and faster by someone else. They simply can’t find the time to focus on their core genius because they fail to delegate even the most menial of tasks.

How to Stay Focused on Your Core Genius

Delegate tasks that aren’t directly related to your core genius. Delegate completely, which simply means that you delegate a task once and completely – rather than delegating it each time it needs to be done.

When you delegate the grunt work—the things you hate doing or those tasks that are so painful, you end up putting them off—you get to concentrate on what you love to do. You free up your time so that you can be more productive.

And the best part is you get to enjoy life more.

Surprisingly, most people are afraid of looking wasteful or being judged as being above everyone else. They are afraid to give up control or reluctant to spend the money to pay for help. Deep down, most people simply don’t want to let go.

How You Can Actually Save Money By Delegating

Others (potentially you) have simply fallen into the habit of doing everything themselves. “It’s too time-consuming to explain it to someone,” you say. “I can do it more quickly and better myself anyway.” But can you?

If you’re a professional earning $75 per hour and you pay a neighborhood kid $10 an hour to cut the grass, you save the effort of doing it yourself on the weekend and gain one extra hour when you could profit by $65. Of course, while one hour doesn’t seem like much, multiply that by 52 weekends a year and you discover you’ve gained 52 hours a year at $65 per hour —or an extra $3,380 in potential earnings.

Always Stay Focused on Your Core Genius

Unfortunately, most entrepreneurs spend less than 30% of their time focusing on their core genius and unique abilities.

In fact, by the time they’ve launched a business, it often seems entrepreneurs are doing everything but the one thing they went into business for in the first place.

Don’t let this be your fate!

Identify your core genius, then delegate completely to free up more time to focus on what you love to do.

Keeping this idea of delegating tasks so you can stay focused on your core genius in mind, I want to leave you with a bit of homework to complete.

Write down 5 tasks that you can delegate and get off your plate today. Then list the people or person that you can delegate those tasks to so that you can focus on your Core Genius.To hold yourself accountable, leave a comment below with the 3 tasks you plan to delegate. I’ll follow up with you guys to make sure you’re staying on track!

To hold yourself accountable, leave a comment below with the 3 tasks you plan to delegate. I’ll follow up with you guys to make sure you’re staying on track!

Stay Focused With This Success Planner

Always remember that successful people maintain a positive focus in life no matter what is going on around them. They stay focused on their past successes rather than their past failures, and on the next action steps that they need to take to get them closer to the fulfillment of their goals rather than all the other distractions that life presents to them.

If you need a little guidance on planning your days and year, click the button below to download my free Success Planner. It uses my time-tested Success Principles that can transform your life in incredible ways.

How to Stay Focused in the Face of Negativity

The Law of Attraction states that whatever you focus on is what you will attract into your life. This is why it’s essential to stay focused on your goals.

Unfortunately, many people find it difficult to maintain focus in today’s world, where we’re bombarded by negative messages from the media, co-workers, friends, relatives and even clients.

The good news is that you can take action to shield yourself from motivation-sapping, fear-instilling negativity.

Here are 5 easy ways to stay focused in the face of negativity.

Tip #1: Accept 100% Responsibility

The most critical principle to master if you want to create greater success is to accept 100 percent responsibility for your life – including the type and amount of negativity to which you allow yourself to be exposed.

Your job is to take care of yourself. This includes creating environments that are conducive to success. Take note of how negativity manifests in your life, and then consider ways that you can reduce your exposure.

For instance, do you watch or read the news every day? Try abstaining, and trust that if anything major happens, such as a natural disaster, someone will tell you. At that point, you can choose to read an article or two to bring yourself up to date.

Do you have well-meaning relatives who urge you not to follow your dreams because they fear the consequences of the risks you’ll take to achieve your goals? You may want to limit the time you spend with these individuals.

Alternatively, recognize their advice for what it is: an expression of their love and concern for you. The simple truth is that many people are blind to their limiting beliefs and how it colors their view of the world. Simply thank these well-meaning individuals for caring enough about you to share their thoughts, then turn your attention back to your goals.

Tip #2: Release Negative Feelings

To attract what you want in life, you must live in a state of love, joy and gratitude. Negative environments stir up feelings of fear, anxiety and doubt, which must be released so that you can return to a higher state of feeling and vibration.

The Sedona Method, created by Hale Dwoskin, offers a fast and effective solution to the need to release negative feelings.

Start by tuning in to the feeling that is disturbing you. Really feel the emotion – welcome it and let it flood your body.

Then ask yourself, “Could I let it [the feeling] go?” Both “yes” and “no” are acceptable answers.

Next, ask, “Would I let it go?” If your answer is “no,” ask whether you would rather have this feeling or would you rather be free.

Finally, ask, “When?” This is an invitation to let the feeling go now. You can make the decision to release a feeling anytime you want. Repeat the entire process as often as needed until you feel free of that particular feeling.

Most people either wallow in their negative emotions or they try to resist experiencing negative feelings. Neither approach works. Use the Sedona Method to allow your emotions to flow through you, so that you can return to a positive state.

Tip #3: The Evening Review

Whatever you read, see, listen to, talk about and experience during the last 45 minutes of your evening has a huge influence on your sleep and your next day. During the night, your unconscious mind replays and processes this late-night input up to six times more often than anything else you experienced during the day. Use the following process to focus your unconscious mind.

Sit with your eyes closed, breathing deeply. Ask your mind to show you where you could have been more effective, more conscious, more loving, more assertive, or more of any other characteristic you want to focus on. (Note: review only one characteristic at a time).

You’ll see that a number of events from the day will come to mind. Observe them without any self-criticism. Then take each incident and replay in it in your mind the way you would have preferred to have done it. This will help you form the desired behavior the next time you face the same situation.

Tip #4: The Daily Success Focus Journal

Another way to stay focused on your goals and on the positive is to create a Daily Success Focus Journal.

Each evening, identify 5 accomplishments you made throughout the day. Next, identify why each accomplishment is important to you. Then, identify how you can make further progress in the same area. Finally, write down a specific action step that will lead to this progress and enter the to-do item into your schedule.

Tip #5: Create Your Ideal Day

Before you leave work or go to bed, take a few minutes to plan your schedule for the following day. Doing so sets you up for success, as you’ll be able to get right to work as soon as you begin your day.

After planning your schedule, take a few additional minutes to visualize your day going exactly as you want it. See yourself performing at your best in every situation you will encounter. This gives your subconscious all night to work on creating ways to make it all happen just as you visualized it.
Successful people maintain a positive focus in life no matter what else is happening. They choose to concentrate on their success, rather than their failures, and on the next action steps they need to take. Use the tips outlined in this article to stay positive and proactive as you create your ideal life.

Do you find it challenging to maintain your focus?

During my FREE Success Principles 10-Day transformation course I’ll provide you with specific daily actions that will get you closer to achieving your goals so you can reach a higher level of success.

Start now! It’s free!

You May Also Enjoy:

Visualization Techniques to Affirm Your Desired Outcomes: A Step-by-Step Guide

How to Create an Empowering Vision Board

5 Reasons Self Motivated People Win at Life

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEBSITE?

You can, as long as you include this complete statement with it: Jack Canfield, America’s #1 Success Coach, is founder of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul® and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success. If you’re ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.JackCanfield.com

Filed Under: Success & Goal Achievement, Business & Leadership

How to Facilitate Change By Empowering Others Through Coaching & Training

September 12, 2016 by Jack Canfield 3 Comments

Each of us has the power within us to create the life we want, the life we dream about, and the life we were born to live. And you, even as a sole individual, can have a tremendous impact on others through personal coaching and training.

Each of us deserves to reach our full potential and manifest our true destiny. It is our birthright, but it must be claimed. It must be earned through hard work and training. Part of that work is first learning, and then living by the time-tested and ageless success principles that are guaranteed to bring about our desired results.

Most of us did not learn the principles of success in school. Only a few of us learned them at home. Instead, the principles of success have been passed down by mentors, teachers, coaches and more recently in books, seminars, and audio programs.

Learn how to quickly remove blocks, fears and uncertainty in yourself and others during my free webinar.

YOU Have so Much Wisdom to Offer Others

As a student of success, you have much wisdom to offer the people in your life. The greatest gift you can give anyone is a gift of empowerment and love. What could be more loving than training someone you care about get free from their limiting beliefs and ignorance about success, and empowering them to create the life that they truly want from the depths of their soul?

What if everyone in your family gave up complaining, took full responsibility for themselves and their lives, and started creating the life of their dreams?

What if everyone in your company practiced these principles?

What if every man and woman in prison learned these valuable principles before they were released back into society?

It would be a very different world.

Imagine a World Where Everyone is Clear on Their Vision and Goals

Imagine a world where everyone would take 100% responsibility for their lives and the results they produce or don’t produce. Where everybody would be clear about their visions and their goals. Where nobody would fall victim to the criticism and abuse of others. Where everyone would persevere in the face of hardship and challenge.

Men and women would band together in teams to support each other to become all that they could be. People would ask for what they need and want and feel free to say no the requests of others when it is not right for them to respond with a yes.

People would stop whining and complaining and get on with creating the life that they want. People would tell the truth and listen to each other with compassion because they know that peace, joy, and prosperity would flourish if they did.

People would tell the truth and listen to each other with compassion because they know that peace, joy, and prosperity would flourish if they did.

In short, the world would work!

The Greatest Contribution You Can Make

The greatest contribution you can make to the world is to grow in self-confidence, self-awareness, self-realization, and the power to manifest your own heartfelt dreams and desires.

This is why Mahatma Gandhi advised:

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi

As you shift, the people around you will notice and be inspired to model your actions. And as they shift, you’ll find that your little world becomes more of the place you dream it to be, full of support, peace, and love.

Help Others Grow Through Personal Coaching and Training

The next greatest thing you can do is to actively facilitate the growth of others by taking on the role of a trainer or coach. But, they are not the only ones who will benefit by your investment of time and energy in taking on the role of a coach.

Passing along your wisdom forces you to clarify your ideas, confront inconsistencies in your own thinking, and more closely walk your talk. But most importantly, it requires you to read, study, and speak the information over and over again. The resulting repetition reinforces your own learning.

And here’s another major benefit of coaching—the more you coach other people to succeed in life, the more they will want to help you succeed. If you’ve ever wondered why people who teach success strategies are so successful, here’s the answer:

Because they have helped so many people get what they want, those they have helped naturally want to return the favor.

The same will be true for you.

I envision a world where everyone is inspired to believe in themselves, and their abilities, and is empowered to reach their full potential and realize all their dreams.

I want the Success Principles taught in every school and university, and practiced in every small business and large corporation.

I’d love to have you join me in empowering others and changing the world.

I want to leave you with a bit of homework to complete after you’re done reading this.

Make a list of 4 people in your life who you can help coach or mentor and empower to grow. What can you do for someone else to facilitate change in someone else’s life?

Learn The Next Step to Transform Your Life by Inspiring and Training Others

I’m teaching a webcast called the 7 Pillars of True Life Transformation that will teach you how to quickly remove blocks, fears, and uncertainty in yourself and others through coaching and training. I’ll show you how to use my training methodology to speak to all dimensions of a person’s being, earning you instant respect and love in the process.

Join me for my free webinar by clicking the button below!

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?
You can, as long as you include this complete statement with it: Jack Canfield, America’s #1 Success Coach, is founder of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul® and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success. If you’re ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com

Filed Under: Business & Leadership, Life & Spirituality Tagged With: life coach, train the trainer, success priciples

3-Step Total Focus Training Process for Successful People

September 7, 2016 by Jack Canfield 1 Comment

Do you ever have trouble staying focused or feel like you need focus training? This is a problem that plagues many entrepreneurs and successful individuals. Anyone who is successful knows that at any given point, there are about a hundred different activities you could, or should, be working on.

The key to getting the most benefit and “bang for your buck” out of your time is to prioritize tasks and only focus on the ones that will yield the greatest results and propel you towards your goals the fastest.

In addition to prioritizing the tasks that will yield the greatest results, you also want to focus your time and energy on doing the things you are truly brilliant at. These are typically the ones that will also reap the biggest rewards.

Realize all your ambitions with my 12-Month Success Planner. It will give you daily guidelines and inspirational quotes to ensure you live with passion and purpose.

The 3 Step Total Focus Training

To help you clarify what you should be spending your time on and what you should be delegating to others, I encourage you to do the following exercise.

Your goal is to find the top one, two, or three activities that best use your core genius, bring you the most money, and produce the greatest level of enjoyment.

Step 1: List All of the Activities That Occupy Your Time

The first step is to start by listing all those activities that occupy your time, whether they’re business-related, personal, or related to your civic organizations or volunteer work. List even small tasks such as replying to emails or returning phone calls.

Step 2: Choose 2 Things That You’re Brilliant At

Next, choose from your list one, two, or three things you are particularly brilliant at.

These are your special and unique talents, the things very few other people can do as well as you.

Also, choose from this list the three activities that generate the most income for you or your company. Any activities that you are brilliant at and that generate the most income for you or your company are the activities where you’ll want to focus the most time and energy.

Step 3: Create a Plan for Delegating Everything Else

Finally, create a plan for delegating everything else to other people.

Delegating takes time, training, and patience, but over time you can keep chipping away at the low-payoff, nonessential tasks on your list until you are doing less and less of those and more and more of what you are really good at.

That is how you create a brilliant career.

Practice Delegating One Thing From Your List

Create a list of all the activities that occupy your time, choose 3 things from that list that you are brilliant at, then delegate at least 1 thing from the remaining list to someone else TODAY.

Tomorrow, delegate one more thing to someone else. Do this every day until you are only working on the tasks that you do best and that produce the most results.

Leave a comment below and share one task that you are truly brilliant at – whether it be in your personal or professional life! And share one task you are going to delegate today.

Transform Yourself For Success…One Day at a Time

Get my 12-month success planner by clicking the button below. It is a daily, monthly, and yearly planner using my time-tested and life-changing principles. It contains simple “fill-in-the-blank” templates to help you plan exactly how to achieve your goals and tackle daily challenges.

Put it to use to transform your life beyond your wildest dreams!

Filed Under: Success & Goal Achievement, Business & Leadership Tagged With: inspiration, goal setting, training

7 Ways to Boost Your Business Just by Asking

August 31, 2016 by Jack Canfield 33 Comments

One of life’s fundamental truths states, “Ask and you shall receive.”

It’s simple, but it is so powerful…As adults, we seem to lose our ability to ask. But, here’s what you need to understand: The world responds to those who ask. So let’s start using that in your favor! Here are 7 big ways to boost your business using the power of asking that will help you become more profitable.

If you want to learn other ways that you can change your life, click the link and get the first two chapters of my book The Success Principles.

1. Boost Your Business by Asking for Information

To win potential new clients, you first need to know what their current challenges are, what they want to accomplish, and how they plan to do it.

Ask questions, starting with the words who, why, what, where, when and how, to obtain all the information you need. This is called the discovery process. Repeat this process until you have explored this topic as fully as you need to. So practice asking simple, direct questions. Be attentive. Listen well, and learn to read between the lines.

2. Boost Your Profits Asking for Business

Here’s an amazing statistic: After doing a complete presentation about the benefits of their product or service, more than 60% of the time salespeople never ask for the order.

If you want business, you must always ask.

Don’t waffle, or talk around it, or even worse, wait for your prospect to ask you. The point is, just ask. Also, make sure your closing question is designed to produce a “Yes” or “No” answer, unlike your earlier questions in the discovery process, where all you really want is more information.

3. Boost Your Business by Asking for Written Endorsements

Well-written, results-oriented testimonials from highly respected people are powerful.

Here’s what’s fascinating—most people in business don’t do this. That gives you a great opportunity to jump ahead of your competition. All you need to do is ask.

The best time to ask for a testimonial is any time you’ve made your customer really happy. Under these circumstances, people will be glad to praise your efforts. And if you have your smart phone with you, you can record their testimonial right then and there,

4. Boost Your Business by Asking for Top-Quality Referrals

Just about everyone in business knows the importance of referrals. However, the reality is in our experience, only one out of ten small businesses or large companies has a system for gathering referrals.

As all top businesspeople know, asking for qualified referrals is an important part of an overall marketing strategy. It’s a habit that will dramatically increase your income. Like any other habit, it requires that you do it often, and then eventually it will become easier as you do it more often.

5. Boost Your Business by Asking for More Business

This strategy might seem simple but it’s often forgotten.

Many people lose thousands of dollars in sales every year because they have nothing more to offer after the initial sale. Look for other products or services to add to your portfolio. Also, develop a system to determine when your clients will require more of your own product or service.

Remember that business grinds to a halt when you stop asking. When you consistently ask for more business, you rapidly gain momentum.

6. Boost Your Business by Asking to Renegotiate

Regular business activities include negotiation and the opportunity to renegotiate. Many people get stuck because they aren’t very good at this, but it’s another form of asking that can save you a lot of time and money.

All sorts of contracts can be re-negotiated simply by asking. As long as you do it ethically and in the spirit of win-win, you can enjoy a lot of flexibility. Nothing is ever cast in stone. If your situation requires change, ask for it.

7. Boost Your Business by Asking for Feedback

This is another important component of asking that is often overlooked. How do you really know if your product or service is meeting the needs of your clients and customers?

Ask them!

Set up regular customer surveys that ask good questions, and include the tough questions. You could even consider a monthly focus group where you can meet your customers face-to-face.

If you supervise a team of people or run a large organization, ask the people you work with for ideas.

No matter what type of industry you work in, you’re surrounded by people who can give you valuable feedback. All you need to do is ask.

The 5 Secrets to Successful Asking

The first stumbling block for most people is knowing how to ask. Here are five tips to improve the way you ask, so you achieve results:

1. Ask Clearly

Vague or fuzzy questions confuse listeners, making it difficult for them to provide the information or help you desire.

Be precise in your asking. Think clearly about your request, and take time to prepare. Use a notepad to pick words that have the greatest impact. Words are powerful, so choose them carefully. For example, if you throw the “How am I doing?” question out without specifics, it may take time for the other person to understand what you’re talking about.

Instead, try “How is my attitude toward customers? Do you see room for improvement? Where?”

2. Ask With Confidence

People who ask confidently get more than those who are hesitant and uncertain. When you’ve figured out what you want to ask for, do it with certainty, boldness, and confidence. Practice in the mirror if you have to, or write out your question in advance.

Try to have an open mind and heart when receiving a response. (It’s normal and okay to feel intimidated by the experience, but don’t show it.)

Be prepared to hear the unexpected or unwanted. Don’t get defensive if you hear something you don’t like or that makes you uncomfortable. It’s good to get a little uneasy once in a while upon the observations or insights of others.

They will inspire you to stop, reflect, and take steps to make a shift for the better.

3. Ask Consistently

Top producers know that they can’t quit if they ask once and don’t get a good response.

In prospecting, for example, there are usually four or five “no’s” before you get a “yes.” If the approach you’re using doesn’t seem to be working, try a different way of asking and keep asking until you find the answers you want.

For example, if you find a co-worker is reluctant to offer an opinion when you seek feedback about your performance on an important team project, you can ask another team member who is more receptive to the question, or rephrase how you are asking the question and try again. Because people don’t normally go around asking others for opinions on how well they are doing, it’s not a question typically heard.

So be prepared to ask over and over again before you hear a clear—useful—answer.

4. Ask Creatively

In this age of global competition, your asking may get lost in the crowd, unheard by the decision-makers you hope to reach. The way around this is to ask in an unusual way. Use your creativity to dream up a high-impact presentation.

Bear in mind that asking someone to stop and evaluate you can seem awkward or time-consuming. Show respect for them first and find the ideal time to ask the question.

Here’s one way to engage the insights of a superior: “I highly value your opinion and honest perspective, and would love to know what you think I could be doing differently on a daily basis that would make your life easier and make our clients happier.”

5. Ask Sincerely

When you really need help, people will respond. Sincerity means dropping the image facade and being willing to be vulnerable. Tell it the way it is, lumps and all. Don’t worry if your presentation isn’t perfect; ask from your heart. Keep it simple and people will open up to you.

Like speaking a different language, asking takes continual practice until it becomes a regular, reflexive habit.

The sooner you build your Ask Muscle, the sooner you’ll see results you’ve been waiting and searching for.

Remember that asking does not relate only to work-related goals and tasks.

Bring this practice home with you to enrich your relationships with your family members, and your friends. You’ll be surprised and delighted at what you discover about yourself in this process – and at the greater results and satisfaction you’ll gain in all areas of your life.

Who Can You Get Feedback From Right Now?

Keeping these 7 strategies to increase your business by asking in mind, I want to leave you with a bit of homework to complete after you’re done reading this article.

Write down 3 areas and 3 people that you can get feedback from.
Then write down what you will ask them for feedback about, and exactly how you plan to ask them.
Ask them!

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Filed Under: Success & Goal Achievement, Business & Leadership Tagged With: business success, leadership success