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Systems

Who you gonna call?

Do you have your customers and prospects in a CRM or accessible and organized format?
Are your contacts stored somewhere that you can get to easily?

If you aren’t using a CRM program, you can get by with putting your contacts in Outlook or in an Excel or Google spreadsheet. You probably have systems in your computer (or the company does) that you can use to get started, so ask before you take on building something that might already be in existence.

For trade showrooms, begin to organize your…

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Priorities…plus….

As we did in the first blog of this series (Problems….), we will focus on one element. One element that when added to the others creates something magical. 

Priorities are those things that matter most. And there aren’t a lot of them, which is what makes them priorities. 

When working with a designer or with a retail customer, ask what the priorities of the project/product are…and limit them to THREE. 

Ask: “What are the three most important elements to you?” Then listen and take no…

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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 …

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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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New Actions in Action

Actions are the only things that produce results. New actions feel awkward at first and sometimes that awkwardness stops us from continuing them.  

When you know this might happen, then it’s not a surprise when it does. That’s why you want to keep actions to a very few and repeatable if possible. Feeling awkward lessens with practice. And how we know we are doing something new IS the awkwardness of it…so that is good news!

Have a reasonable expectation of what new actions will produce. Giv…

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GRATITUDE and ATTITUDE

Gratitude is often in reaction to something happening that we wanted to have happen, such as simple things like a good parking space and more complex things like a good relationship…or being grateful for coming through adversity having gained insight and success. 

I start my day with a prayer of gratitude and a request for patience and willingness. Yes, willingness.

To not let my stubbornness and resistance take over what I am experiencing or expecting. To be open to new ideas, opinions, or wa…

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High Impact Actions

For sales leaders, everywhere

Many retailers use statistics to measure performance and results, and there are some constants that all retailers measure: Traffic, close ratio, average sale.  All are measurable, all matter, and all have specific actions to increase them.

There are retailers who add another statistic – sales per guest/dollars per opportunity/performance index. Whatever you call it, they all measure the same thing: Total revenue divided by total traffic. It is a combination of close…

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Systems for Fulfillment

 

For everyone, everywhere

It’s early in the new year…you might have your bright and shiny goals in front of you, enthusiastic to achieve them and passionate about what you are out to create for yourself, your company, your family. Good for you!!! Now, ask yourself:

“Am I organized enough, with a system that is sufficient for the results I am committed to achieve?”

Take a moment and REALLY sit with that question and the elements it included. For creatives, organization seems boring and uninspiring. …

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