Maintain a Success Circle in Direct Sales & Relationship Marketing

Archive for the ‘goal setting’ Category

The biggest reason most people fail to reach their goals is a lack of action.  The fact that you have taken the time to write your goals on paper, identified the areas in your life that you would like to see these goals realized, and determined what steps you need to take to achieve them means that the only step left is to take action.

Goal setting can build your self-confidence when you achieve the goals you’ve set and are able to measure the process.  This gives an overwhelming sense of achievement and is a confidence booster because you are now able to quantify what you have accomplished and can conceive reaching for higher goals and perhaps greater challenges.

It’s important to set performance goals rather than base your success on ‘outcome’ goals since achieving them may involve unforeseen circumstances over which you have little or no control.

When you’ve achieved a goal, take time to enjoy the satisfaction to enjoy it, note what worked and did not work for you and continue to learn from every successfully completed goal in your life and your business.

One of the things I’ve had on the wall in my home office for several years is a poem that I found a long time ago.  Every now and again I need to remind myself of why I need to focus on  goals that I’ve set in various aspects of my life and the poem reminds me.  I’d like to share it as you may find that it encourages you as well.  Unfortunately I’ve never been able to find who the author is but if you’ve seen it before and know, please share.

SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE ARE DREAMERS WITH GOALS

Your dreams are you vision of where you’ll be after the battle,
your prize at the end of your journey to success.
Your goals are the steps you take to finally attain your prize.

Unless you’re willing to work hard and establish some discipline in your life,
all of your dreams will be pipe dreams,
little mental fantasy trips that will never materialize.

Make concrete steps toward fulfilling your ultimate dream,
and start with solid objectives and goals.

Your dreams are where you want to go,
your goals are how you get there.

The indispensable first step
to getting the things you want out of life is this:
Decide what you want.

Don’t be afraid to think big and dare to be great.
Dreamers are not content with mediocrity.
They never dream of going halfway.
People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going.

Are you a dreamer or a goal-setter?  Dream big, but set the goal to achieve the dream!

A clump is a knot or tight cluster of people or things.  It’s a natural tendency in humans to want to stay in groups with   whom they feel comfortable – either people you already know or those with whom you share similar interests.

There are times when staying within your clumps or tight cluster may not be a good idea.  Business events like large training groups, business functions and local networking events usually create opportunities for exposure, networking, building connections and, of course, taking advantage of learning opportunities from others.

If you congregate with just your known circle, you are not allowing yourself to make Read the rest of this entry »

People have been known offline to make a big fuss about huge ‘Giveaways’ that turn out to be very disappointing for many customers because the item that was given was of poor quality or of very little value.

What about those of us who work online?  What should we give away, and how can giving away valuable products help to attract more visitors and ultimately business to our website?

The most important thing to keep in mind is that whatever we give away, whether it’s a free report, an e-book, e-course, teleseminar, etc. should be of good quality and value.  Someone may reason that it does not make sense Read the rest of this entry »

The main concern and goal for everyone who markets a business online is to get traffic or people visiting their website.  In most cases that website will be  a blog, but your online business may also promote an e-Commerce website

To keep your visitors coming back to your site so they can get to know you, they need to feel that you are an expert on your topic, or at least that you have a good grasp of your niche and can provide good content and advice.

One place you have the opportunity to demonstrate your expertise and lead them back to your website in at Yahoo! Answers (http://answers.yahoo.com).  Questions on various topics are asked and answers are given.  People are Read the rest of this entry »

In my last post the focus was on making the best use of your time with blog posts.  Today we will look at utilizing our time effectively with articles, creating videos, and other product creation.

Points to note from comments received on the previous post:

(a) Do indepth research on a topic in one sitting

(b) Write a long article and then divide it into two or three blog posts

(c) Write a series on a topic you’ve researched

(d) Use templates or copy and paste your format.

Articles:

(i)  You can re-purpose your post by submitting it to your favorite article directories.  You will need to verify the acceptable minimum number of words as some article directories will accept as low as 250 words, whereas some will accept a minimum of 500 words, and at least one that I know of will not accept less than 700 words.

(ii) Because you have written a series or done research extensively on a specific topic, if your individual posts Read the rest of this entry »

A growing number of men are pursuing successful businesses from home; however, it would appear that the majority of home-based businesses are managed by women. Many of these women are mothers, especially of small children; wives; caregivers for elderly parent/s; involved in social and volunteer activities, and the list goes on. While these are normal, everyday activities and responsibilities, they can create tremendous stress for solo-professionals working from home.

It is important to maintain a proper balance between personal and professional life when working from home:

a) Location: Your office building is your home. Your office may be a desk and chair in an already occupied room. Or you may have a room designated as your office. Can you make and receive phone calls without interruption or background noise? At the start of your day, do you dress as if you were expecting a client in your home, or as if you were leaving for a job outside the home? Nothing excessive, but doing whatever is necessary to make you personally feel Read the rest of this entry »

Today is August 1^st and the start of  the “Ultimate Blog Challenge” coordinated by Michele Scism  and Michelle Shaeffer with the hashtag #blogboost on Twitter.

The last blog challenge I participated in was in June, coordinated by Dr. Jeanette Cates with Twitter hashtag #blog30.  During the challenge I submitted 21 posts; 9 short of the goal and was a little disappointed with myself that I’d not met the goal.  However, I reminded myself that in setting goals, you may fail to reach them the first time but the solution is to pick yourself up and start again.

Before committing to the Ultimate Blog Challenge I debated whether I should participate in another challenge for these reasons:

1)  To meet the goal I am obligated to write and submit a post on one designated blog for 31 days.

2)  I have other blogs that I need to write posts for, two of which I’ve neglected.

3)  One of the goals I’ve set for myself and my business is to focus more on Article Marketing.

4)  Another goal is to increase my online visibility.

Here are the reasons why I went ahead and made the commitment: Read the rest of this entry »

I often quote the statement that a goal is just a dream if you fail to write it down because it’s so true.  In general, most people accept that they need to write their goals as it’s only too easy to get side-tracked, or to lose sight of what you’re working towards.  For others, they may have to change their mindset in order to accept the need to implement setting goals.

A challenge that many people I work with and speak with have is that while they recognize the importance of written goals, they do not know how to write them effectively.

The first step is decide in your mind what the goal is, what the details involved will be, which would include timeframe, current status, where you’d like to be in the short term, as well as in the long term.  You also have to take into consideration any external factors that may affect the outcome.  Once these have been determined, you are ready to transfer you thoughts to paper or your computer.

1.   Always write your goals in positive language. For example, instead of: My goal is to lose 10 pounds in one month; you may consider: My goal is to be 10 pounds lighter at the end of one month. Or, instead of: My goal is to stop being late for appointments; you may write: Read the rest of this entry »

For someone new to marketing on the internet it can be like taking a four-year old into a huge specialty candy store.  There is so much to see and so many appealing and delicious type of  candies for that child to choose from that she becomes overwhelmed! Imagine that the parent said, “Remember, you are only allowed to choose one.” A typical reaction in a whiny voice could be, “I don’t know which one to choose!”

One of the things I struggled with and am still working on is to avoid clicking on emails with a really good subject line. Sometimes it’s nothing new, perhaps an e-book with a catchy title.  I know I’ve heard the topic before, probably have something similar in a binder on my shelf or on my hard-drive, or may even be in a class on the topic, but natural curiosity impels me to take a look to see someone else’s take on a topic.  I may open the document and just scan it.  Five or 10 minutes later I’ve learned nothing new, but that’s five or 10 minutes lost.  That’s time I could have spent doing something in and for my business.  One solution I’ve implemented is to unsubscribe from a number of lists. Read the rest of this entry »