Business Book Summaries

Often sales managers make a huge mistake when they require their sales people to make "X" amount of cold calls per week and write down the person they called, what was said and the phone number on a little chart. What ends up happening is fairly interesting and it happens in many industries. Often, the sales people will call when they know most people will not answer and they leave a voice mail. Then they put on the chart; Voice Mail – left message for Mr. Smith.

As an entrepreneur that works late, many sales people would call me on a Friday Evening and expect to get a voice mail, but instead they got me. Then they were not really prepared to talk, or explain what it was they had to offer. They wanted to hurry up the phone call and just waited for me to say I was not interested. After a while I asked these sales people why they always call on Friday and they told me;

"I call on Friday and leave messages because no one is usually there!"

Ever since then, I banned my own sales force from cold-calling on Fridays. Look here is the deal, if you are just going thru the motions because you have too and not because you are hungry for sales, then maybe you should not be in sales at all. The reason I say this is because there are just too many people that are afraid to cold-call, when it is a necessary evil, especially for a newbie. You know that old saying;

"It is amazing how lucky you get when you are working hard"

Well, we all know that's true, but my question to you is, are you working hard or are you just wasting everyone's time, including your own. You do not have to reply to this or leave a comment, but just think on it!

About Author: "Lance Winslow" – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance Winslow's Bio

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, marketing, sales

Who is your perfect client?

What does he or she value? How much money does he or she want to spend? Where does your client go on vacation? How easy is it for your client to make a decision?

As you clarify your vision of your perfect client, you set an intention for these people to find you. You stop and invite perfect clients into your life. You do not have to figure out how they will find you.

When you become very clear on something that you want, isn't it easier to find it? Let's say you want a new computer. How much do you want to spend? What does it need to do? How much memory do you need? How fast should it operate? Does it need to be networked to other computers or your printer? If you are not specific, you know the wide range of products that can come in the door. When you become very clear – your next home, your next car, your next vacation, your next pet – the right choices will come to you in a much easier fashion. You will find it easier to recognize the right choices because you are clear on what you want.

Power tool to attract clients #1: Focus on a client that you really like. Focus on a client for whom you could do no wrong. List the attributes of that client.

Power tool to attract clients #2: Seriously contemplate letting go of clients who are taking your energy. You know the clients I am talking about. You would rather clean the toilet than hang out with these clients. You see the caller ID and you run. These are the clients you need to release.

Power tool to attract clients #3: Become even more clear on the clients you seek — perhaps you sell web site design. Your perfect client seeks a dozen sites designed over the next year and has venture funding to pay you well. He or she wants to give you a lot of freedom, responsibility, pay and respect. That sounds like a great client to me.

Power tool to attract clients #4: Stop looking so hard. Tell all your friends. Tell your relatives. In real estate and MLM businesses, this is called communicating with your sphere of influence. Your haircutter, your mailman. You have no idea if people would love, honor and respect your services if they have no idea you provide those services. Do not close off opportunity by neglecting to share what you are seeking with people you see every day.

Power tool to attract clients #5: Dream about clients calling you out of the blue. This is a funny one, most people cannot really do it. Have a daydream moment where you picture someone showing up in your life, needing your services. Here is an example that happened for me recently. I flew to Seattle to attend a power workshop. My intention was to enjoy the workshop and learn a ton. The night before the workshop, I went to a VIP party and landed two writing gigs that I was not seeking. Just chatting about perfect clients attracted them to me, without even trying.

Power tool to attract clients #6: Be open to new opportunities. Don't be surprised, with this mindset, if your gardener sends you a perfect client. It's crazy what can happen when you open your mind.

Power tool to attract clients #7: Be that which you are seeking. This will help you attract more excellence. The Law of Attraction says like attract like. So what are you like? Do you make decisions easily? Do you stress and analyze forever? As long as you like clients like that, no problem. If you want a change, change yourself.

Who is your perfect client? Is he or she someone who:

• needs your product or service

• will refer your business to many clients a lot like them

• makes decisions easily

• pays for your service on time and with ease

• is friendly and easy to work with

• communicates clearly and lets you know how you can help them

Stop everything you are doing now and grab a pencil or pen. Write a list of your perfect client attributes. Don't worry if you are busy, or if you are not sure really why you need to list what is perfect. You are most likely able to come up with a dozen reasons to not do this right this moment, but do it anyway. Stop and list what would be incredible, awesome, inspiring and true in your favorite customers. What do you want to see? Picture it now.

Are you done yet? No, not yet!

Now that you have a list of at least 10 attributes of your perfect client, let's take this a step further. Picture feelings of excitement, joy, and delight when this person or people come into your life. Picture yourself knowing with certainty that you are meeting all of the right people, all of your perfect clients, right now. Imagine these clients were always around you and you could not see them before.

You are on your way.

About Author: For more inspiring action steps on moving the Law of Attraction into action, order author Erica M. Nelson's book "Prospect When You Are Happy: Move the Law of Attraction into Action" at http://www.EricaMNelson.com You will find an entire chapter on attracting your perfect clients. Or for more personalized inspiration, tele-classes on business success with the Law of Attraction are available from your telephone anywhere. You may contact Erica Nelson at authorEricaNelson@gmail.com

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, marketing, sales

That being said, there are four key tips to better connect with your customers:

1) Use terms your customer can relate to, not industry jargon.

This point is illustrated eloquently by Jay Cross of the popular online marketing blog PronetAdvertising.com. In his article "Speak Your Customer's Language", he stresses that marketers often become so entrenched in their fields that they believe everyone else knows as much as they do.

"As businesspeople we develop tunnel vision regarding our products. The better parts of our days are spent actively working in our fields. We are more experienced and well-read than most ever care to theorize about. This leads us to use super-specialized language that doesn't always click with customers. I was as guilty of this as anyone. When I did anti-spyware I was guilty of calling my product a "data-driven Internet security solution" or "gateway threat prevention." And while these terms do apply in a certain context of knowledge (say, a rival CEO's), they are outside of the realm of a typical customer's knowledge base. Now that I'm out of that market I can see it with fresh eyes, including the much simpler terms the common man describes it with."

The solution to this problem is to discuss your products with people outside your company and outside your market. This is the only true way to learn the outsider's perspective. Once you get an idea of what this is, you can apply it to the packaging and marketing of whatever product you have to offer.

2) Focus on benefits, not features.

This is one of the most oft-made mistakes in all of marketing. To an extent, this is understandable. When you have spent months or years toiling to create a new product, you are naturally excited about all the little things that make it tick and want to describe them to your customers. The problem, as with the last tip, is that the customers do not share this context of knowledge or enthusiasm. So what is the difference, precisely, between features and benefits?

A feature is what something IS. For example, a 50 number speed dial, or a 6 CD changer.

A benefit is why someone CARES. For example, fewer keystrokes and less hassle changing CDs.

Sadly, Entrepreneur.com notes that "not one in ten companies understands the difference" between features and benefits when it comes to preparing marketing campaigns or materials. For this reason, many well-intentioned marketers stress features over benefits and the bottom line suffers as a result. If you want put your marketing efforts into hyper drive, go over everything you put out with a fine-toothed comb and make sure benefits are top, front, and center. You will be amazed at how much of a difference this makes.

3) Write at a fifth-grade level. Really.

This might sound like we are demeaning your customers, but rest assured that this is not the case. It is simply a fact that most buyers respond better to simple language than complex language. In his book "Meaningful Marketing", Eureka! Ranch founder Doug Hall notes a study proving this to be so. "Whether it's the lack of reading done by most adults after high school, the immense information overload people experience, or a little of both, consumers simply shut down when confronted with lengthy tomes. The solution? Read your marketing material to a child in late elementary or middle school. Do they understand your product? If not, what did you need to tell them before they did? Incorporate what you learn into your marketing and you will be astounded at the results."

4) Know whether your customers are right-brained or left-brained

Most of us are familiar with the idea of diving people into categories of right-brained or left-brained. Right-brained people are supposedly more emotional and impulsive while left-brained people are apparently more logical and deliberate in their decisions. In most cases your customer base will be a mixture of both, but one group tends to outweigh the other. You should make it a point of determining whether most of your customers are right-brained or left, as this can significantly amplify your marketing efforts. For example, left-brained customers will expect fliers and copy with lots of facts, product comparisons, and a clear demonstration of value for the money spent. While this is important to right-brainers too, you are more likely to win their business with enthusiasm and energy.

Running a product marketing campaign with these items in mind will help increase conversion rates on most marketing.

About Author: Eric Corl is the Founder and CEO of Idea Buyer, a marketplace for new technology and products that allows inventors to showcase their intellectual property to consumer product companies, entrepreneurs, retailers, and manufacturers at http://www.IdeaBuyer.com

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, marketing, sales

All inventors have, at one time or another, pined for "the right people." Be they investors, programmers, distributors, writers, architects, butchers, bakers, or candlestick makers, personnel is a crucial ingredient to the success of any invention. But getting the right people behind your invention is a road more easily mapped than traveled. In this article, we'll walk you through finding and keeping the personnel you need to make your invention a hit. The task can essentially be divided into two categories: investors, and everybody else.

Investors (and how big a slice of future profits to give up for any personnel)

Some inventors are so desperate for investment capital or key personnel that they offer irrationally high percentages of future profits for those people to come aboard. In addition to advertising your desperation, this is a mistake for standard business reasons. John T. Reed, Harvard Business School graduate and real estate guru, explains why:

"At Harvard Business School, one of the lessons we learned was that one's cost of capital was an indication of one's competence as a businessperson. To put it briefly, if you are paying 50% interest or 50% of your profits to your silent partners, you are an incompetent businessman. Some successful investors would protest that was how they got their start. I don't doubt it. I know some of them. But it was still a dumb move and the investors in question are lucky such terms did not blow up in their face and ruin their reputations before they got started."

If you are a competent, accomplished person in your area of expertise, you should not be giving up half of your future profits for an investor to fund you. The same goes for other personnel you need. Unfortunately, many naïve or beginning inventors fall into this trap because they lack startup capital or believe they must do whatever it takes to attract X person to their operation.

Instead, use a different approach. The best route is normally to forgo outside investors altogether and bootstrap your invention with savings or small loans from friends or relatives. However, if this cannot be done, you should approach investors after you have a proof-of-concept of your invention. If at all possible, you should try to get some cash flow going before seeking outside capital. Try to drum up some kind of sales or progress with whatever you have accomplished so far. The website AntiVentureCapital.com explains why this helps you to attract investors later:

Pretend for a moment that you are a venture capitalist or angel investor. Two founders visit you about separate deals. You ask them each what progress they have made in the 3 or 6 months that they have been working on their respective projects.

* One entrepreneur answers that he has been able to finish his business plan as well as find a means to generate cashflow which is being used to move the main project further along. Now he needs more money to fully capitalize on this developing opportunity.

* The other entrepreneur can only point to the "great" business plan he's polished to perfection over the past 6 months and the "great" opportunity lying before him.

Which entrepreneur would you be more impressed by if you were the investor?

This demonstrates that you have something tangible. It also lets you keep your dignity when negotiating terms rather than begging them to accept half of your future profits.

Professionals with special skill sets

Of course, inventors don't just need money to get their invention off the ground. They also need people with certain special skills to create the invention in the first place. So how do you bring such people into the fold?

The most common response is to promise the personnel in question a share of future profits. While this is acceptable practice (as long as it is not an egregiously high amount as discussed earlier), it is not the most effective way, either. The most effective way to get the right people behind your invention is to pay them to help you.

Not the answer you were looking for? Well, look at it from a realistic standpoint. Pretend that you are an experienced professional with a valuable skill. (If you are inventing things, you probably are such a person.) Now pretend that someone you don't know is asking you to work on a project you've never heard of. That by itself is probably enough to make you a little uncertain. But then, to top it all off, they ask you to work for free, with no base pay, on the hopes that it someday pays off and you can collect when it does. At this point, your well-honed skepticism should kick in and dissuade you from doing the deal. Your time is simply too valuable.

However, imagine a different scenario. The inventor explains his idea to you in a way that sounds persuasive and enticing, and also offers to pay you! It might not be a huge amount, or even what you could get at a salaried job someplace else. But the sheer fact that you will be compensated for your labor will, naturally, make you more confident about the project and being a part of it. When a person sees someone put his own sweat, blood, and tears into something, it just feels easier to trust them.

Therefore, you should either save some money or use a small loan from friends or family to pay the personnel you want. Of course, you can still sweeten the deal by promising them future equity in addition to their base.

When you have some money saved up, it is time to place ads for the personnel you need. The industry you are in will dictate exactly how to go about doing this. If you are creating a new kind of garden hose, for example, you might want to advertise for engineers in a lawn and garden trade journal or magazine. You might try help-wanted ads in the paper, or even Internet resources like Craigslist.com

The idea is to offer something of tangible value to the people you want. This will go a long way toward getting the right people behind your invention.

About Author: Eric Corl is the Founder and CEO of Idea Buyer, a marketplace for new technology and products that allows inventors to showcase their intellectual property to consumer product companies, entrepreneurs, retailers, and manufacturers at http://www.IdeaBuyer.com You can email him at EricCorl@IdeaBuyer.com

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, leadership, management

The 7 Personality Traits that measure Organizational Ability are:

Alertness Structure Order Flexibility Creativity Responsibility Control

Alertness Intelligent, bright, fast learning, insightful, cerebral, understanding. Have higher general mental capacity and are able to think in the abstract. Have the ability to learn quickly and comprehend complex relationships. Able to make good decisions, see alternative or creative solutions to problems, and be innovative.

Structure Meticulous, exacting, precise, definite, perfectionistic, fastidious, exacting, planful. Have highly structured thinking processes. Have the ability to structure their thinking and organize their thoughts effectively. Carefully plan and organize activities, and make few mistakes. This structure, however, may limit their creativity.

Order Methodical, tidy, orderly, neat, clean, organized, systematic. Constantly strive to maintain physical order in their environment, and have a strong dislike for disorder and clutter. For them to be comfortable, their career and personal environments should reflect this physical order.

Flexibility Adaptable, changeable, open, versatile, flexible. Very receptive to change and do not become upset when required to adapt to changes in their career or personal life. Readily accept new ideas and procedures, and let go of old ones when they are no longer productive. May be inconsistent and unpredictable.

Creativity Innovative, inquisitive, artistic, curious, experimenting, theoretical. Have an experimental approach to life, with a strong desire to make improvements and create new ways of doing things. Frequently discontent with the way things are and, spend much time thinking about how they could be improved

Responsibility Accountable, reliable, humble, answerable, possibly self-critical and guilt-prone. Willingly accept total responsibility for the consequences of their words and actions. View criticism from others as a challenge to improve, rather than a cause for anger. Try very hard to meet the expectations of others. May accept responsibility even when not at fault.

Control Deliberate, calculating, analytical, designing, possibly indecisive and prone to procrastinate. Highly disciplined, maintain control over their behavior and do not act impulsively. It would be unusual for them to speak or act without considering the consequences. May be slow to act or hesitant to make decisions in some situations.

It is important to understand all 24 traits to get a complete picture of the person and to understand their potential and capabilities.

About Author: You can also visit http://mindsetbreakthrough.com to sign up now for the FREE Online Personal Evaluation Test, You will also receive 5 Free MindSet Breakthrough Subconscious Training Exercises – Donald Griffith Speaker/Author http://DonaldGriffith.com – Donald Griffith is Available to speak to your company or group. Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, team building, management

BusinessSummaries.com, one of the world’s leading e-commerce sites providing business book summaries, proudly announces the re-launch of its Affiliate Program. This much improved Affiliate Program now offers existing web businesses the chance to earn bigger commissions and maximize profit just by referring visitors to BusinessSummaries.com at no additional cost.

Miami, Florida, February, 18 2008 – BusinessSummaries.com, one of the world’s leading e-commerce sites for business book summaries, proudly announces the re-launch of its affiliate program. Now even better, this program gives web businesses a chance to earn bigger commissions and maximize their website’s earning potential just by referring visitors to BusinessSummaries.com at no additional cost.

“We are aware of the fast growing web business industry that is in a constant lookout for ways to monetize their sites and generate higher income. Thus, we re-open our affiliate program in response to this trend” explained BusinessSummaries.com Marketing Manager Samantha Johnson. “Only this time, we made it a lot easier and convenient for our partners.”

BusinessSummaries.com's Affiliate Program offers web businesses various options to increase their sites’ earning potential. This affiliate program offers partners to earn as much as 30% of gross sales and even up to 50% for top affiliates. Moreover, this program opens recruitment of sub-affiliates– those businesses that sell the same products or potential competitors—and allows partners to earn commissions from their sales.

To help partners in promoting BusinessSummaries.com’s products in a much convenient way, various marketing tools are now provided upon sign-up to the program. This includes white papers, sample book summaries, banners, e-mail promotions, text links and product images. Moreover, tools to monitor sales statistics, conversion rates, and income earned are also made available. An instant notification will also be sent regularly every time a visitor clicks to the site and buy, or sign-up as sub-affiliates.

“With the re-launch of this much improved Affiliate Program of BusinessSummaries.com, we are certain of a positive response from the many web businesses in the online industry. We believe that making this affiliate program a lot more convenient could help web businesses maximize their sites’ revenue and, at the same time, help expand our list of existing partners as well.”

To sign-up for BusinessSummaries.com’s Affiliate Program please go to: http://www.bizsum.com/aff.php or call toll-free at 1-877-358-4208 / e-mail Affiliate Manager Apple Gutierrez, apple@bizsum.com for additional information.

About BusinessSummaries.com

BusinessSummaries.com is one of the leading e-commerce sites for business book summaries that provides corporations, busy executives, and entrepreneurs with a concise summary of the latest business bestsellers in an easy-to-read, structured outline highlighting all the vital information, ideas and concepts.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Jojy Azurin

BusinessSummaries

1-877-747-2969

http://www.bizsum.com/corporate

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, affiliate program, BusinessSummaries

One of the 'secrets' to achieving online business success is to use the right promotional tactics and strategies. As long as you do this, you increase your chances of success dramatically. Shooting in the dark is one surefire way to fail. Here's 7 tips to take your business to the next level:

Surefire Tip #1: Write Compelling Ad Copy

Get some copywriting chops or hire/outsource a copywriter to do your ad copy. Converting visitors into sales is just as important as getting traffic itself. Learn from master copywriters like Joe Sugarman and John Carlton.

Surefire Tip #2: Spend Most Of Your Time Marketing

Marketing is the most important activity in your business, followed by product creation. If you are not consistently marketing your business and getting traffic, you will not be able to make a solid income.

Surefire Tip #3: Create A Central Site

If you have a suite of products, create a central site promoting all the products. In other words, create a 'center' site for your business, where your customers can view all of your products.

Surefire Tip #4: Interact With Your Customers

Interact with your customers by creating a blog and inviting them to comment on your posts. Participate in forums where your target market is and establish a reputation as an expert.

Surefire Tip #5: Get Word-Of-Mouth Marketing

Word of mouth marketing is one of the powerful forms of marketing. If your customers like your products, give them an avenue to let others know. It can be as simple as telling them to forward your email newsletter to others if they like it. You can even ask your customers to participate in your affiliate program. Which brings us to…

Surefire Tip #6: Create Your Own Affiliate Program

An affiliate program allows others to signup and promote your products so they can earn a commission. The benefits: you reward others for marketing your products. You get more traffic.

Surefire Tip #7: Go To Where Your Customers Are

If your customers are participating in forums, you should too. If they are searching for products in your niche on Google, you should be trying to get into the search engines through pay per click advertising or search engine optimiziation.

About the Author: Fabian Tan is the author of the free 51-Page Report: "Murder Your Job: How To Build Cash Sucking Autopilot Businesses In 30 Days Or Less!" Head over to http://www.MurderYourJob.com to get your free copy now before it's gone!

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, sales, marketing

Over the years I've heard the same statements from business owners, "I don't like to ask for referrals, people may think I'm desperate" or "greedy, or pushy…" Sound familiar? If asking for referrals is uncomfortable for you, it's likely restricting the number of referrals you attract.

The easiest way to grow your referrals is to eliminate any discomfort or embarrassment you may feel when asking for referrals. The solution is really quite simple– internalize a referral marketing mindset. Understand and appreciate the win-win benefits for both clients and business owners.

Today your clients welcome and value word-of-mouth information more than ever before. Consumers are bombarded with thousands of advertising messages every day. Most of us simply don't have time to research, test, and experience new products and services for ourselves. Referral information from friends, family and associates has moved up from a convenience to an essential time and money saving tool. Consumers not only embrace, but rely on, word-of-mouth and referrals.

When you adopt a referral mindset, you have more quality time to focus on your clients. You are no longer burdened and frustrated by time consuming and expensive advertising activities. Because you invite referrals, you enjoy the benefits of serving a like-minded community. Be proud of the fact you grow your business by referrals.

Consider the fact that referred clients are more apt to buy sooner and spend more than clients acquired through advertising. Most importantly, referred clients are more likely to refer themselves, which means your business will continue to benefit exponentially over time. Once you feel comfortable asking for referrals, you'll soon find yourself inviting referrals more often. This very effective mindset technique costs you nothing to implement and is the easiest way to grow your referrals!

About Author: © 2008 Referral Marketing Specialist Rita Zamora helps dentists, healthcare providers, and other referral-based businesses grow referrals with creative — yet proven and practical — products and services. If you need to jump start your business or revive your existing referral program visit http://www.tangiblemarketing.com

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, sales, marketing

"I just don't know where the time went." We hear people say that all the time. Time is just another word for life. At the end of your life, can you imagine saying to yourself, "I wish I had more cars, boats, jewelry, clothes?" More likely you'd be thinking "I wish I'd had more TIME — time to spend with those I love, time to enjoy my life more." Getting hold of your time can assure that you not waste a precious moment of your life. Here are 7 tips to help you manage your time-and your life better.

1.Where Does the Time Go Now?

The first step in getting hold of more time is to track what you are doing now. You will need at least a week's worth of data to have an accurate picture. Get an 8×11 piece of lined paper and divide it into 7 columns for each day of the week and block out your waking hours on the left hand side. For that week, you will be writing down what you do with your time. Write when you begin an activity and when you finish. Most important is to be really honest. If you are sitting at your computer, working on a project and take 15 minutes out to play solitaire, write it down. If you lie in bed a ½ hour worrying before you finally get up, write it down. This is a tedious process but well worth the effort. Key word: Awareness

2. Analyze and summarize your time logs.

The next step is the moment of truth. After you have recorded for a week, sit down and look at your log. It is likely that you will be surprised. Develop a key for categorizing your activities, and mark the log with the key and examples would be M=Marketing T=Telephone E=exercise TV=Television P=Personal and so on. Make this individualized for you. You may need as many as a dozen or more categories. Next get out the calculator and see how much time you spend in each category. Write a summary of what you find. Ask yourself, "Is this how I really want to spend my time?" Key word: Analyze

3. Create a New Daily Routine

Now is the time to get over the shock of what the log has revealed and decide what you really want to do with your time. When you look at how you are actually spending your time, does it reflect your highest values and support your life long goals? If the answer is no, this can be a turning point. You can now create a daily routine that fully supports what is most important to you.

First look at what you want to accomplish in your life. Write down your top 2 work and personal goals and under them, list the activities that support their accomplishment. It is best to start off simple here. If you could only work toward three or four goals each day, what would they be?

What two or three actions would you take toward attaining those outcomes?

Follow the natural rhythm of how your work best. If you are a morning person, try to put your most challenging tasks in the morning. Cluster like activities together. If you must be out for a meeting across town, schedule another appointment in that area on that day. Need to spend some time initiating or answering phone calls each day? Schedule a block of time when you are not likely to be interrupted by people dropping by your work place. Key word: Create

4. Utilize Technology

There are so many devices to help us stay organized and reminded of what we need to do. The most obvious is a calendar. Whether you use a paper or electronic version, schedule a time each day to put in tasks and reminders. If you initiate a contact with someone that must be followed up on, put it on the calendar as soon as you complete the contact. Buy a timer. Use it to break tasks down into manageable portions. Set it and forget it as you concentrate on your task at hand without keeping an eye on the clock. Set up reminders on your computer, palm pilot or telephone. Automatic reminder websites will email you with reminders about birthdays, anniversaries and holidays. A word about clocks: Don't try to fool yourself by setting clocks incorrectly to force yourself to do certain things on time. It NEVER works. In your mind, you know you have changed the time, and it only serves to muddle the issue. Key word: Automate

5. Don't Procrastinate

This is one of the biggest problems that people with time issues must face. Procrastination is not a character flaw; it is a logical response to certain activities that cause some level of discomfort.

There can be a number of reasons we procrastinate. Most often it is because we don't know how to do something or we don't think we do it well. None of us want our flaws and weaknesses revealed to ourselves and others. The best way to prevent this painful experience is to procrastinate. In this case, education is the key.

Other times, it is because we find the task boring. This is the time to use the timer. Break the job down into manageable time blocks and then just go for it. When the timer goes off, do something more fun or rewarding, then go back to it later. Some people find that finishing the entire job with a reward at the end is the best way. At other times we don't do a particular job because we don't think it should be our job in the first place. We think someone else should be doing it.

Here we have to get honest. Is it our job, or is it something that someone else can or should be doing? Facing procrastination takes courage, but is liberating. Find the reason and usually it can be eliminated. Key word: Proactive

6. Say "No"

One of the best ways to never do what you need to do, is to always say yes to everyone else's needs and requests. If you are afraid to say no to others and agree to everything asked of you, you are going to be overscheduled, and things will fall through the cracks. It is also likely that you will let things go and people will be upset with you. It is best to under promise and over deliver. You have heard this before, and it is a good philosophy for efficient time management.

Be up front with yourself and others about what you can easily and efficiently accomplish in a day. If you know you can't deliver at the time they ask, let them know it isn't possible and give a best estimate of when you think you can meet their request, or simply say no. People are much happier about a refusal today than a broken promise tomorrow. Key word: Self

7. Nobody is Perfect

Let's say you get a fabulous schedule. It reflects who you are and your goals. It separates personal and work time and honors your deepest values….and you aren't able to follow it 100%.

Honor yourself and the learning process and realize that we are all human and will not always be perfect. Forgive yourself lapses of any kind and resolve to do better tomorrow. If necessary, go back to your original analysis and plan and see if you were realistic in creating your schedule. Everything you do is a learning process. Key word: Perspective

About Author: Louise Abbott is a business coach and owner of Creative Resources Coaching. She teaches self employed professionals and entrepreneurs how to grow their business using proven marketing practices and business development strategies. Louise has programs for business people at all stages of business development. She is the past president of the Tucson Coaches Alliance and past president of a Tucson chapter of Business Network International. You can access more articles and information at her website http://www.crcoaching.com

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, management, success

The guarantee is sometimes an overlooked part of a sales package. Yet it's one of the most important, because the prospect might be completely sold until he or she gets to the moment of the buying decision–and then chicken out. The guarantee's job is to prevent "shopping cart dropout" by removing any and all doubts, reservations, and hesitations the prospect might have.

Here are ten important principles of the guarantee:

1. The guarantee removes all risks associated with the buying decision. If there's nothing to lose, your prospect reasons: why not?

2. The guarantee reduces buyer's remorse, creates peace of mind, and renews the customer's faith in her purchase. If you stand behind your product, she sees you as trustworthy and ethical. And people who trust you are likely to buy from you.

3. Try to anticipate and dispel any misgivings the prospect may have about the product. This is accomplished throughout the copy, so the prospect arrives at the buying decision with few reservations.

4. Don't forget what's in it for you! A satisfied customer is a loyal customer…and a loyal customer is a profitable customer.

5. The stronger the claim, the stronger the guarantee should be. Instead of the standard 15-, 30-, or 60-day guarantee, give a longer time period if the claims made in the offer are a stretch of credibility.

6. The reverse is also true–the more credibility an offer has, the less of a guarantee it needs.

7. There's a point of diminishing returns. An over-the-top guarantee suggests product claims are not believable.

8. Repeat the guarantee throughout the sales package.

9. Restate the guarantee again in the P.S.

10. For a special touch, create a certificate of guarantee. The customer can use it as a return form if he needs to ask for his money back. (But he probably won't.)

Use these ten principles of the guarantee, and your chances of making the sale (and not having to make a refund) increase greatly.

About Author: Lisa J. Lehr is a freelance copywriter specializing in direct response and marketing collateral, with a special interest in the health, pets, specialty foods, and inspirational/motivational/self-help niches. She has a degree in biology, has worked in a variety of fields including pharmaceuticals and teaching, and has volunteered for many causes including special-needs kids and literacy. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading, art, music, outdoor exercise, and all things Celtic and Renaissance.

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, sales, marketing