Evaluating Your Associations by Jim Rohn

I’d like for us to take a look at the power of influence in our lives and how it is possible to be nudged off course a little at a time until finally, we find ourselves asking, “How did I get here?”

We should ask ourselves three key questions:

1) “Who am I around?” You’ve got to evaluate everybody who is able to influence you in any way.

2) “What are these associations doing to me?” That’s a major question to ask. “What have they got me doing, listening to, reading, thinking and feeling?” You’ve got to make a serious study of how others are influencing you, both negatively and positively.

3) “Is that okay?” Maybe everyone you associate with has been a positive, energizing influence. Then again, maybe there are some bad apples in the bunch. All I’m suggesting here is that you take a close and objective look. Everything is worth a second look, especially the power of influence. Both will take you somewhere, but only one will take you in the direction you need to go.

Only then can we discuss three ways to handle associations or relationships that are holding you back.

1) Disassociate. This is not an easy decision, nor something you should take lightly, but in some cases it may be essential. You may just have to make the hard choice not to let certain negative influences affect you anymore. It could be a choice that preserves the quality of your life.

2) Limited association. Spend major time with major influences and minor time with minor influences. It is easy to do just the opposite, but don’t fall into that trap. Take a look at your priorities and your values. We have so little time at our disposal. Wouldn’t it make sense to invest it wisely?

3) Expanding your associations. This is the one I suggest you focus on the most. Find other successful people that you can spend more time with. Invite them to lunch (pick up the tab) and ask them how they have achieved so much or what makes them successful. Now, this is not just about financial success; it can be someone who you want to learn from about having a better marriage, being a better parent, having better health or a stronger spiritual life.

It is called association on purpose—getting around the right people by expanding your circle of influence. And when you do that, you will naturally limit the relationships that are holding you back. Give it a try and see for yourself.

To your success,

Ron Finklestein
Business Growth Experience Sales Rainmaker Program

www.businessgrowthexperience.com
ron@businessgrowthexperience.com
330-990-0788

Free Marketing Tip to Bring People into Your Business

I am a member of AmSpirit, a networking and business referral group. We meet at creative source. Creative source does great work and I suggest you check out their website.

My reason for this post is to document Creative Source and how they bring in hundreds of business owner and sales reps into their office each month at no cost to them. Creative Source has a big conference room they allow others to use at no charge. They do not provide coffee or tea. Several networking groups meet there, Toastmasters meets there. I held some sales presentations there before I knew Mike. Mike, one of the owners, feels this is a good way to give back to the community.

By giving back to the community, he has hundreds of business people come to his place of business each month. Each business owner who walks through the doors each week sees his work, reinforcing his brand. He provides a table for others to place their brochures. He is not afraid of competition and some competitor belongs to the groups who meet there. He does all this and it cost him nothing. I am so impressed with his tactics that I writing a blog about his approach.

He is not a client. I am not his client. I just see his approach as a risk free way to attract hundreds of people to his business each  month. I do not know how much business he gets, nor does it matter to him. His primary reason is to give back to the community. The visibility and support he gives the community is amazing.

If you can, try this. It cost nothing. I taught this tactic to a restaurant client of mine and he has groups meeting at his restaurant regularly. He visits various groups and invites them to use his spare room at no charge. They pay for coffee, breakfast or lunch, and his repeat business has sky rocketed.

To Your Business Success,

Ron Finklestein
330-990-0788
ron@businessgrowthexperience.com
www.businessgrowthexperience.com
Improve your people skills and grow sales: www.akris.net

Making the Most of Your Networking Time.

I was facilitating a Business Growth Experience group today and we were discussing the value (or lack of) different networking events.

Assuming the networking event is the right networking event for you, here is how you can make the most of any networking event you attend:

1. Treat it as a job. Be serious. You are not there to eat or drink, you are there to meet people.
2. Set a goal for the event. How many A contacts do you want to meet?
3. When you receive someone’s business card determine if and when a follow-up is required. I do this by writing a A, B, or C on the back of the card. A means immediate follow-up for immediate opportunity, B means follow in the next few days, possible opportunity, and C means I send them a “nice to meet you” email and file the card.
4. After you meet your goal, eat, drink and be merry.
5. Next day do your follow-up.

Ron Finklestein
Business Growth Facilitator
Need high quality, low-cost business training? If so check out http://www.aboutbusinesssuccess.com.

Ten Time Wasting, Productivity Stealing, Resulting Robbing Excuses that Make Life Hard.

As a business coach I work with people who could improve their results and productivity by making simple yet powerful changes in their approach to decision making. If you are not achieving your desired results, here are ten possible reasons why.   As you read, think about what you are doing and why you are doing it. The biggest reason productivity suffers is because of poor decision making. This wastes time and valuable resources. Time is wasted when we confuse activity with accomplishment. Activity is purposeless action. Accomplishment is purposeful action that leads to the results you want.

Getting clear on what is important and focusing on those activities will increase your productivity, save you time, and simplify your life. Take a look at these 10 time wasting, productivity robbing, and frustrating actions people take. How many of these apply to you?

1. Not staying focused. Stay focused on what is important and ignoring any other opportunity that comes along will increase productivity. Jumping from activity to activity will ruin your productivity!
2. Stop Multi-Tasking. You cannot focus and do multiple things well. Your productivity suffers. You think you got a lot done but none are done well and you would have completed more had you stayed focused. Studies show that focused activities allows you accomplish more.
3. If you are a business owner do not discount your product. You are not the Banker. On more than one occasion I wanted to help someone so I gave them some help by discounting my product. The ones that I offered this help to were the ones who valued it the least, who took the most time and accomplished the least.
4. You do not need to be an expert. People will be confused if you explain every detail. They really want to know why it works not how it works. It helps with your confidence level to know this info but you do not have to tell everyone unless they ask. Do not spend time trying to figure out every nuance of your product. Just go do what you have to do. If someone asks you a question you cannot answer, tell them you will find out and set a date and time when you will get back with them.
5. Stop waiting for your family’s approval. They want you safe and many time what you want, they see as risky. It is your life. Live it by your rules not theirs! Decide. Take action.
6. Stop going to networking events. Spend your time where your prospects are, not where it is safe. Most people you meet at networking events want to sell you their product. That is why they are there. I cut way back on my networking because the same people show up. They were becoming more like reunions.
7. Avoid the tire kicker. They want to tell the world they tried everything when in reality they will suck you dry and never take action. Do not waste your energy on tire kickers. On the flip side, work with people who are where you want to be. Be open and coachable. This will shorten your time to success.
8. Why do you do what you do? To be truly successful, spend as much time working on you as you do on your business. Results happen when you change what you do. The best way to change what you do is to change how you think. This could be learning new things, taking different actions, and being exposed to people who think differently than you do.
9. Stop believing the wrong thing. It is not skills that hold us back but our beliefs. Anyone can learn anything, assuming they have the desire and interest. I cannot tell you how many audio programs I listened to and did not implement what I learned. I would then listen to the same program 10 years later and wonder why I did not trust (believe, implement, execute, etc) what I first learned. I think of all the time I wasted.
10. Do not believe your limitations. Those limitations are things you learned as a child and you do not have to have the same beliefs now. It is not your fault if you are not happy with your life as it exists today but you are responsible and you can change it. As Michelangelo once said, “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark.” Aim High  and take purposeful action

Call today for a free consultation. I can be reached at 330-990-0788

Ron Finklestein

Business Coach

ron@businessgrowthexperience.com

http://www.aboutbusinesssuccess.com

This was written by Dan Minick, President of IRN. I asked Dan’s permiission to publish this because I think others need to hear this message. As you read this keep in mind Dan wrote this for IRN members. If you have questions for Dan his contact info is at the end of this post.

THE AMAZING 3%

There is not one person receiving this message that has not been negatively affected by this Economy in some way. It did not take an economist or politician to tell you your customer base was dwindling and it seems like everyone is taking longer to pay you. And telling you not to participate in the recession is a bit unrealistic. You have no choice. You can’t ignore it and it is not going away. So, I am going to tell you to do something different. PARTICIPATE FULLY!! Become part of THE AMAZING 3%.

This is not just a neat slogan to use in my monthly Networking Note, so let me explain. Regardless of your category, there is someone within your area that is not only surviving this economy but actually doing well in spite of it. In fact, there is more than one and the actual number could be 10% of the people in your profession within your own zip code. But, even if it is not 10% or 5%, you can be assured it is at least 3%. How do I know that?

Because, 3% is a magic number. How many times have you heard 3% of the people who attend a seminar actually successfully implement what was taught or 3% of investors in the stock market get rich during the worst of times or only 3% of people set specific written goals or only 3% of you will actually do what I recommend in this message? The bottom line is the number never changes. It is always 3%. And I can guarantee you at least 3% of the people in your category will be successful during this difficult economic period. Becomi ng part of the 3% is never easy but it always starts with the same thing, ACTION.

You are going to have to initiate several of the following:

1. Make your company as visible as possible. Double your efforts to insure everyone you come in contact with knows what you do, what makes you different from your competition and why a referral for you to their customers or those they know makes them look good. This is especially true of your fellow IRN chapter members.

2. Re-evaluate who in your chapter could benefit from YOUR client base. Meet with them at your next chapter meeting and set a goal of giving each other at least two referrals during the upcoming week.

3. At the conclusion of your 30 second commercial in the coming weeks announce the name of the companies you would like to be introduced to or the name of a specific individual in that company you would like to know more about and be referred to.

4. Ask yourself who in your business community could make a significant difference to your business and set a goal of meeting that person in the next 30 days.

5. Re-read the IRN program from the 2006 Annual Conference entitled “Capturing Your Million Dollar Gorilla”. If you don’t have a copy, ask your Chapter President to download a copy from the Forms section of the IRN website and email it to you.

6. Make the decision to attend the upcoming IRN 2009 Annual Conference at Kalahari and register online before December 1 to take advantage of the discount available. This will also position you to maximize your networking results for 2009. We are putting together an amazing ACTION PLAN for you to take away from the event!

Now you know why this group is called THE AMAZING 3%. It is never easy but somebody in your category is going to prosper and you can improve your chances greatly by the action you take. Become a GREAT NETWORKER!!

Thanks for your time,

Dan

Daniel Minick, President & CEO
International Referral Network, Inc.
12621 Leslie Road, Meadville, PA 16335
E-mail: dminick@irnlink.com
www.irnlink.com