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Build Habits
Why wait?
As traffic begins to slow in both retail and trade showrooms and we look to satisfy our commitment to making goal NO MATTER WHAT…we find that relying solely on the door is not a good strategy for achievement.
Relying on the door is a waiting game. And it puts all the eggs in one basket… and it’s not a sturdy basket. It may seem easier to just wait and see what happens, right? But what if the traffic is insufficient to make your goal at your current performance levels? Then what? Can you affo…
Securing Appointments
What secures an appointment is a confirmation call and ALL in-person appointments need to be confirmed. If it's a morning appointment, ask them if a call the evening before or early that morning works better for them. If an afternoon appointment, tell them you will call them that morning (say between 9-11) to confirm the appointment.
A call works better than an email or a text because you want to TALK to them! And if you give them homework (whatever was missing when you met them such that …
Objections to Appointments
When we are committed to the process and the outcomes of making appointments, we need to prepare for the objections that come with them…so that when they happen – and they will!.. we are ready with a response that will turn that objection around to make the appointment.
A few of the most common objections and responses are:
“I am busy and will just pop back in.”
“I can understand that…and what many of my clients/customers/designers have found is that by scheduling a time to meet again, …
Process for Selling Intangibles
Selling intangible outcomes like appointments is different from selling tangible outcomes, like sofas or chairs. Selling an intangible requires a process of introducing the concept when you first realize that it will be the intended outcome of the sales interaction. This is because it is CLEAR that the customer cannot buy today – based on the answers to your questions that were intended to determine that (not your assumptions).
At that point, introduce the concept: “Since we can only accompl…
Recognizing Resistance
Resistance is one of those things that is so easy to see in others but nearly impossible to see in ourselves. Some of that comes from the oft-believed notion that we are ‘open to new things’. How many people read Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson and saw themselves as Haw, the mouse who was willing to try a different way that would produce a better outcome?
Every day, EVERY day, I ‘invent the possibility’ of being willing and open. And I do that every day because it sets my thinking to …
Conscious Consistency
Conscious Consistency. I love the way this sounds. It came up in a coaching call (as so many things do!) and I had to write it down.
Conscious. Consistency. Two related but separate qualities that contribute to making new habits. Cool, huh?
Conscious. Present. Mindful. In the moment. Paying attention. Being focused on the action now. Noticing my thinking and how it impacts my actions.
Consistency. Repeating things that work. And again. Noticing how the action starts to become second na…
Something Bigger
Small changes are easier to make when there is a bigger outcome in mind… one that is sparkly and burning and so much better than the current reality.
If the outcome isn’t big enough, the effort isn’t worth it, is it? Does losing 3 pounds really inspire as much as losing 10? Or WHAT will losing 10 pounds bring to your life (lower blood pressure, knees that are less cranky, pants that aren’t as tight...or the jeans that look fabulous at that magic number) that really matters to you? The goal …
Me, too…
Habits take time and attention to develop. If you haven’t read The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, put it on your list for 2022. It identifies the elements necessary for creating and keeping new habits.
I think I explore and train others and write blogs because I need to hear the message as much as I need to share it. For me, it helps to combine a new action with a reliable one to build a new habit…. like taking vitamins at night when I put the coffee together for the next day. I can’t do …
Ending the First Month in the New Year
Whew! Month one in and done.
Are you off to a good start? Did you start and stop and start again? Did you hit your target for January yet?
This is a good beginning, whatever the outcome. You are starting a new process and you are completing your first milestone. Take a look at your actions and results and find something to celebrate – even it’s just sticking to the program!
You are likely in this for the long run and not just a quick accomplishment, so slow and steady wins the race.
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
Starting new practices and habits isn’t a smooth process. After the initial excitement and inspiration wears off and old habits start to call to us, we feel pulled in a couple of directions: moving toward the future that we envision and desire and being tethered to a familiar way of doing things. We start to tell ourselves that the current reality is not so bad….and maybe we just need to live with it.
Fear. Resignation. Hopelessness.
When we know that breakdowns will occur or we may falt…
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