A New Month--Get Excited!!

A New Month It's hard to believe that almost half of the year is gone. We are in the last month of the first half or the last 30 days of second quarter. Since I break down my year into four 90 Day Plans, I look at it as the last 30 Days of the second quarter. By the way, Microsoft did not do a business plan for the full year, and decided to look at 2010 in quarters also. I would love to tell you that they paid me big bucks for this advice, but they didn't. Maybe next year??. "Deal first with whatever is causing you the greatest emotional distress. Often this will break the logjam in your work and fill you up mentally to complete the other tasks"

Brian Tracy 14 Ideas to Implement NOW!! Do you want to have a great June?? How about a terrific month, every month and finish 2010 strong. Here are fourteen ideas that I guarantee will create an incredible year for you.

1. Be honest and observant. Review your life and business plan. Are there gaps that need to be closed up? Looking at your business, are there systems that need to be improved, implemented or shelved? How about opportunities? Are they coming your way? Are you daily time blocking for prospecting, calling on past clients and professional referral sources. Be honest with yourself and evaluate what you are not doing. Make a promise to yourself that you will start focusing on dollar productive activities for your business and close the gaps that are holding you back in your personal life.

2. Give more than you ever have before. Go above and beyond with your customer service. The customer is the boss and he can fire you all the way up to the Chairman of the Board. The goal should be to create loyal customers for life. Satisfactory grades at school comes out as a "C" grade. I hope that is not what you are aspiring to get as a grade.

3. Increase your profit per sale. You might be getting business, but if your margins are thin, so will your profitability. More business with small margins keep people busy, but not profitable. To increase your margins, you have to "up" your services and earn the opportunity for higher profits.

4. Continue to look for more opportunity to add value to your clients and professional referral sources. Keep romancing your relationships or they'll leave you for a better opportunity.

5. Stay financially light on your expenses. Economic factors are showing improvement but I would hold off a bit more and keep expenses on the lighter side.

6. Grow your existing markets. Analyze where increases of revenue could be pursued.

7. Grow your image and market presence. If you don't write articles monthly, I encourage you to start. "Google" me and you can see what I've been able to do through writing. If I took the time to "Google" you, what would I find? Expand your Facebook, Linkedin and other social network pages. Think about this, even if you are being referred by someone, 80% of the referrals will "Google" you before they call you. They want to learn as much as they can via the internet.

8. Grow your pipeline. Grow your pipeline of leads, opportunities, professional referral sources, those that you meet at network events, etc. Put them in your data base and touch them on a monthly basis - minimum with valuable information that they could use or pass on to those who could use it.

9. Grow your inner circle. These would be the 150 close people that you could call anytime for help, advice or to hang out. Sounds like a lot of people? I see approximately this amount of folks in my Rotary Club, Leads Group and a couple of other functions that I attend regularly.

10. Find New Blue Oceans. Look for at least one new market that you would like to expand in. Time block two hours this week and analyze the opportunities that are possible. Seek council with a person who will be honest with you to bounce the market idea of off.

11. Expand your sales force. Script and teach your professional referral sources how to refer business to you. Let your past clients know the importance of referrals and encourage them to look for opportunities for you. Utilize your inner circle to be an extension of you. Just think, if you had 250 people bird dogging for you and they know 250 people, that''s 62,500 possible opportunities.

12. Be a servant. Serve your neighbor, your friends and your community. Join a service club like Rotary. Rotary's motto is "Service Above Self".

13. Be a master in your field. Expand your knowledge. Shut the television off at 8pm and read for an hour or two. Get books on CD for your drive time - feed your mind and gain knowledge continuously.

14. Grow in your character. Become more caring, compassionate and in sensitivity with all that you engage with.

Have a wonderful week!! Tom Ninness is the Vice President/Regional Production Manager for Cherry Creek Mortgage in Denver, CO. He is also the President of Summit Champions, Inc. and creator of the "The 90 Day Journey to Your Sales Success", a powerful 90 day action plan for the sales professional.

To learn more about The Journey and Summit Champions, go to: www.summitchampions.com or contact Tom at [email protected] Office: 303-840-0753.