ATTENTION DECODED

Business slow? Want clients?  You have to start actively looking to solve people's problems. Look around you. Literally. Got snow? What can you do with snow to earn a persons attention by solving a problem? All you need is a shovel.  People who shovel other people's driveways have the right to ask the driveway owners if they wouldn't mind telling their neighbors you are taking on new clients. Then you thank them for letting you burn off some cabin fever. See... You only have two problems. #1 You have to get attention to prospect. #2 You need to get permission to get the right kind of attention. The east is covered in snow so my solution to your problem works today.  But what about when the snow melts?   Could you expect permission to ask for clients if you have no obvious cause to be in front of people? No.  That's why cold pitches don't work.  You need permission first then you can ask for attention.  You need permission before attention  makes s...

Balance Once you start performing well... The recruiters come out.  For those of us in sales, they seem to come in droves and most are shameless. They throw their best and highest offer  at you even if it means interrupting your day.  Frustrating as that may be can you blame them?  Here is the thing... Their best offer may not be anywhere close to what you really need.  So.... When they come you should their advances as both a compliment and a tell tale sign you have surpassed industry average preformance . That realization should be empowering.  If you do decide to entertain their pitches as to why you should jump on their bandwagon I encourage you to think before you jump.  The first thing a company tends to offer an agent is a higher commission split. This is tempting but the reality is... A higher commission split does not necessarily  mean more money. Why? Two rules: #1. Because everything in life weighs itself     out.  #2. Ev...

6 reasons you should buy a home.  An improving economy and steady job market signals an improving housing market. One stimulates a rise in the others. This will remain virtually unchanged by the most recent rate increase in the foreseeable near future. If the average home price is 225k this would mean on a 30 year fixed rate loan the increase would reflect a predicted drift to $26 a month increase on buyers. Not enough to stop people from buying a home when home values are on the rise. Interest rates increasing is actually a sign that the economy has improved and showing no sign of slowing.  When the Federal Government raises interest rates the masses will always shudder.  Here is the reality: #1. Interest rates are still low even after this raise.  #2. Buying a home still makes sense in America. #3. The dollar is strong. #4. Buying property is still one of the safest ways to diversify your money. #5. We have both steady job and economic growth to support our housing...

Long Pitches.  Long pitches aren't the problem. The reason you are not converting prospects isn't the length of your sentences. The problem is connection. Prospects are not short for time. Time can be made if there is more perceived value going on in the current moment than the anticipated value in the next. An elevator pitch was originally designed to spit out the product/service as fast as possible. A fast delivery with the hope that you could speak within a prospects attention span.  A strategy designed so that prospects would be receptive rather than irritated with you. This strategy is all but dead. There are too many options for people to pick from. You won't compel them with the verbal equivalent to a tweet.  Selling today requires you to be compelling. To be compelling you have to hit an inner nerve. Then you have to serve them IMPACT. A "one thought wonder". A reason to dialogue further. This may take longer than an elevator ride... But time matters less ...

2nd gear.  Some people stay in first gear for the duration of their careers. Waiting for someone to tell them when to shift.  Waiting for someone to tell them it is their turn. The truth: You are the driver.  You control the speed.  Your future is under the hood just like the motor in a car. Capable.  Just waiting on the gas. Your ambition be your permission. Let that be your fuel. If you want more. Do more. Hit the gas... Go. #StrikeAmatch

Having a vision for where you want to take yourself is vital for your success today. 40-60 years ago this wasn't necessarily true. Vision then as compared to now meant following a previous path. Young people were to follow the same career path as their elders to ensure their own future and security. The economy supported that lifestyle. Production of revolutionary goods demanded workers for several generations and so there was no need to think outside the box. Now however, we are living in a much different economic system. The laws of how to be successful have changed faster than the masses of workers have been able to keep up with. For the most part people are still following an outdated path for obtaining career safety. Lots of people are discouraged with not reviving a guaranteed path from their employers. These are the employees that are stuck on depending on a system that no longer exists. Here is what has fundamentally changed about how our economy works: Companies used to...

W ithout action, what you believe in can not be seen, heard or physically felt.  Not by the outside world.  To make your mark...we will need to feel something from you. We need to feel that you believe in your work. We need to know by interacting with you that you live and breathe what you do. That it is more than a job. That is how your brand should feel to us. Us the consumer, and us the friend. What you believe in matters because it is a good indication of your future actions. Your beliefs and your morals are the filter through which all situations will pass. And with that filter in place… Your thought process is going to follow suit. The way you think acts like an assembly line machine for new ideas... Your actions are the physical product that are produced by this "thought" machine. In business, these thoughts about what you should do reflect in the actions you will eventually make. Those are the mechanics and the basis for every decis...