Archive for the ‘Tips for Success’ Category

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Internet Business Tips from Amanda Clarkson
Tuesday, January 6th, 2009

Today’s success tip comes from Amanda Clarkson.

Discovering the power of eBay in early 2006, Amanda dove in headfirst, immersing herself in the subject of eBay and soon mastering the powerful online retail platform, becoming a Platinum Power Seller within nine months of starting. This became the basis for her second business, You Won The Bid Ltd, which currently delivers eBay courses all over the world.

With millions of products on eBay at any one time, what are your top tips for making your products stand out from the crowd?

1. Make sure you use the right keywords in your ‘listing/description title’ so that buyers or bidders can easily find you.

2. Make sure your product is listed in the right category. You won’t believe the amount of sellers who get this wrong.

3. Make sure you point out all of the benefits of your product and not just the features.

4. Remember, you’re in the business of story-telling when you sell on eBay. If you can wrap a good story around your product and yourself, you’re far more likely to get more bids. People relate to stories.

5. Become an expert in your category. People love to buy from sellers who really know and understand the products they’re selling. If you do this right, you’ll stand head and shoulders above your competition.

6. Understand that buyers are looking for an experience when they shop on eBay. Don’t copy what 95 per cent of sellers are doing. They’re not necessarily right!

7. Remember: the sale only begins when you’ve made the sale. It’s the after sale service that will make or break your business.

Tune in again next week for more great tips.

Until then,

Allan Poole

Filed under: Internet Business, Tips for Success, Wealth Creation — Tags: , , , , , , — Allan Poole @ 8:26 am
David Straughton with Advice for Employers
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008

Today’s success tip comes from David Straughton.

David Straughton is an in-demand corporate and public speaker. Founder of Think Big and trainer to hundreds of companies on topics such as generating sales, improving productivity and much more.

What advice can you offer about employing Generation Y salespeople?

Focus on what’s important to Generation Y - most want a clear fast-track career path with the opportunity to move ahead.

Offer freedom within boundaries - clearly spell out the house-rules upfront.

Build more trust - make them feel respected and important from day one (think about business cards and impressive job titles).

Assist in their development - help with quality training and development. For example, coaching, mentoring, special project work and the opportunity to learn from mistakes.

Be flexible - when it comes to rostering, time off and your attitude to decision-making, ensure that you consider their input - be an asker, and not a teller.

Provide unlimited praise, support and encouragement - Generation Y might think they are great, but many of them have little resilience. So go easy on the negativity and harsh discipline.

Make work like a game - provide lots of fun and competition. They need work to be like a game with action, a sense of urgency, continuous continual scoring and feedback, challenges and opportunities to access ‘game cheats’ (a fast fast track to playing at high levels).

In the US, Wendy’s Restaurants uses a great model called FAMILY when dealing with Generation Y.

F is for ‘fun’ - make the job exciting and challenging.

A is for ‘applaud’ - recognise your people with rewards and thanks.

M is for ‘model’ - ‘walk the talk’ and set a great example.

I is for ‘involvement’ - ask and use other people’s input.

L is for ‘lead’ - lead, train and develop people.

Y is for ‘yield’ - agree with some requests, especially when it involves rostering.

Remember, you will only receive respect from GGeneration Y after you have given respect to them. They are not cogs in a machine, but rather leaders in waiting. They seek an opportunity, not just a job, and want employers who care about them (and if you pretend to care about them, they will only pretend to work).

I hope you enjoyed this week’s success tip. Be sure to check in next week for the next installment.

Until then,

Allan Poole

Filed under: Tips for Success — Tags: — Allan Poole @ 8:19 am
Advice on Goal-Setting from Andrew May
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008

Today’s success tip comes from Andrew May.

After he founded Good Health Solutions, which is now Australia’s largest corporate health and wellbeing consultancy, Andrew continued to work with professional athletes and is now considered one of Australia’s leading experts on performance.


What are your seven steps for successful goal-setting?

1. Ask yourself the right questions - what do you want and why do you want to achieve it? How much does it really mean to you? What are the benefits of achieving the goal? Who will be affected? Are you prepared to do whatever it takes to achieve the goal?

2. Involve significant others - don’t keep your goals to yourself. Enlist the support of your partner, family, friends and colleagues. This keeps you accountable, while at the same time forming a support group to keep you on track.

3. Get anchored - write your goals down on a sheet of paper, simplify them into point form and then display them somewhere you can view them regularly - your diary, office, car, even on the back of the toilet door.

4. Small bites - George Miller, a 1950s psychologist, believed that we can only deal with seven bits of information at any one time. Any more than this and we need to group things into more memorable, manageable chunks. So when you create your master plan for the New Year, keep goals to a manageable number and group similar areas.

5. Set a plan - after you have written down your specific goals, the next step is to work out a specific plan. Identify the key steps you need to take toward accomplishing your goals and assign specific dates for their achievement.

6. Project the future - review your goals at least every seven days (every day is ideal) - and don’t leave it for another year. This helps activate the Reticular Activating System (RAS). The RAS is an inbuilt goal-setting device that tracks us toward our target and filters the type of information we let into our internal system. Spend time thinking about what it will be like once you have successfully achieved your goals. How are you going to feel? We really do become what we think!

7. Be realistic and reward yourself along the way - it is important to reward yourself along the way as you tick off your achievements. Give yourself a pat on the back for sticking to the process.

And remember, humans make mistakes, so don’t beat yourself up if you lose focus. If you find yourself breaking resolutions or experiencing distractions, sit down and go through the goal-setting process again, starting from step one.

If you enjoyed this week’s success tip, make sure to check back for next week’s installment.

Until then,

Allan Poole

Filed under: Personal Dev, Tips for Success — Tags: , , , , — Allan Poole @ 8:09 am
Customer Service Advice from Audrey Rodda
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008

Today’s success tip comes from Audrey Rodda.

After starting Phonelink Communications in her lounge room, Audrey has grown the business into a leading source of total communications services. Audrey is also very knowledgeable when it comes to referrals and has just started to franchise her business.

What procedures have you put in place to ensure great client satisfaction?

Client satisfaction for many businesses resides in two or three main areas. In telecommunications it’s all about savings and service - clients are satisfied when they save money and receive service.

To ensure savings, Phonelink consultants will contact their clients a couple of months after the sale to ensure that bills are running accurately to our forecast and that they are saving money. This is repeated six months later to ensure the client is still on the best rates available.

When it comes to service, Phonelink staff maintain regular customer service calls with a compulsory follow up to client requests and enquiries. This ensures that positive communication is maintained between Phonelink and its client base.

We are also very big on quality control. Regular surveys and frequent check-ups from territory managers ensure that all staff are consistently performing at their best.

There are some basic rules we have in place to ensure continual quality service:

* All calls are returned by the end of the day.

* All emails are addressed and responded to appropriately.

* Quality assurance guarantees our timeframe of delivery.

* Keep the lines of communication open and ensure that the client is kept informed of where you are at in the process.

Stay tuned for the next installment of success tips and advice.

Until then,

Allan Poole

Filed under: Tips for Success, Wealth Creation — Tags: , , , — Allan Poole @ 8:47 am
Tips on Communicating from Michelle Bowden
Tuesday, September 16th, 2008

Today’s success tip comes from Michelle Bowden.

At 28, with a baby and a huge mortgage, Michelle opened her training business, with AMP as her first client. She is an accredited NLP practitioner and master trainer in presentation and influencing skills. She works with CEOs and their teams to help prepare them for presentations at company meetings, conferences and sales pitches.

What are your top tips for influencing others in a positive and empowering way?

Rapport, rapport, rapport! Before you can influence others you must build rapport with them. My advice is to:

* Understand the person’s personality filters - the way they experience, respond to and manage their environment.

* Make a plan - what do you want to achieve?

* Use pacing and leading - pacing involves being like your audience in your dress, body language, eye contact, vocal variety, style, language, interests and attitudes. Some people call this matching or mirroring. Leading is taking the audience where you want them to go. Your audience won’t follow you or give you permission to lead them unless they feel an affiliation with you. You really can’t ask for anything until you have first built rapport.

* Show them what’s in it for them to change - we know this as the WIIFM or ‘what’s in it for me’.

* Cialdini’s influence patterns help you identify the other strategies to use - for more information I recommend you read Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini.

For more great tips and advice stay tuned for next week’s success tip.

Until then,

Allan Poole

Filed under: Personal Dev, Tips for Success, Wealth Creation — Tags: , , , , , — Allan Poole @ 8:39 am
Business Advice from Amy Lyden
Tuesday, September 9th, 2008

Today’s success tip comes from Amy Lyden.

Amy is the Managing Director of Bow Wow Meow, which today is a leading producer of fun and functional pet tags. Its products are distributed through more than 1,500 pet shops sold throughout the world via the internet.

What advice would you give to an aspiring entrepreneur who wants to get started in a business of their own?

First things first, put together a great support team of other people in business that you meet with regularly and help each other out. Surround yourself with people whom you admire or can learn from. Create your own personal cheerleading squad - people who only want the best for you and who are prepared to help you shine and be the best you can be.

Next, consider what you are going to do. Try to think of things that makes people’s lives easier. Life is getting more and more complicated, how can you make it easier? Also, as a consumer, what are some of the products and services that you want that others might too? This is how I got the idea for my business.

Then, start researching. One of the key areas that I find people need to do extra research in is understanding the financials. This is absolutely essential. Often, new business owners underestimate or don’t understand cash flow. I highly recommend a course called ‘Beyond Survival’. It’s a two-day course put on by the Westpac bank. It is a highly practical, hands-on course designed to help business owners understand a profit and loss statement, balance sheet and the key ratios that determine the health of a business. Numbers do not lie, and if one doesn’t understand what they mean it can be a serious disadvantage.

Many people block themselves in this area by saying, ‘Numbers aren’t my thing’ or ‘I was never good at maths’. This is very damaging talk. It is critical to understand the financial aspects of your business - this is one area that should not be abdicated to the bookkeeper or accountant.

The bottom line is that no one knows your business better than you, even a CPA. I’m not suggesting that you micro-manage the financials, but you should at least understand the financial statements and cash flow of your business.

Until next time,

Allan Poole

Filed under: Internet Business, Tips for Success — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Allan Poole @ 9:06 am
Success Tip from Ari Galper
Tuesday, August 26th, 2008

Today’s success tip comes from Ari Galper.

Thousands of salespeople around the world have adopted Ari’s Unlock The Game program and are generating significantly better results. Ari has also created Unlock The Internet Game which uses live chat to help online businesses.

What tips do you have for salespeople to help eliminate the pressures and pain of selling?

Rejection can only happen if you’re focused on your own agenda - rejection happens when you go for the ‘yes’ instead of the truth. If you focus on your prospect’s issues and problems and whether your solution might be a fit for them, rejection is no longer a possibility. After all, how can rejection result from a conversation that has no hidden agendas?

Take a few minutes to debrief yourself after each call or selling encounter - don’t just make your calls and forget about them; every call can be an important learning experience. As soon as you can, reflect on and evaluate your call - did it go well? How do you determine ‘well’? Do you remember feeling a moment of awkwardness after saying something? Perhaps that was because you slipped back into some subtle form of pushing or exerting pressure? Did you sense any withdrawal or pulling back? Debriefing is a useful way to keep track of how your new Unlock The Game habits are developing.

Don’t think sales script, think conversation and dialogue - I talk every day with people who say that their scripts make them feel uncomfortable and robotic. While scripts may give you a feeling of control, this is an illusion. Conversation and dialogue can be scary because it means you have to give up some form of control. But remember, you’re dealing with another human being. How does trying to control them build trust? I promise you that selling can be a positive and productive experience if you are open to shifting to a new mind-set.

Until next time,

Allan Poole

Filed under: Tips for Success — Tags: , , , , , — Allan Poole @ 8:38 am
Property Tip from Chris Gray
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008

Today’s success tip comes from Chris Gray.

Financially retired at the age of 31, today Chris is a multi-millionaire, and capital growth property investor. He is also a self-confessed lifestyle junkie.

What do you look for when you’re ’shopping for property’?

Ultimately, I am looking for suburbs that will have high long-term capital growth. That means there has to be a lot of employment in the area from lots of different types of industries, plenty of leisure and recreation for the people that live there and good transport links. However there are other things I look for such as:

* Aspect - I always look at light and heat. I check that the main living areas are facing North. No matter how great the property is, if it is not well lit I am turned-off immediately.

* Rent consideration - Receiving rent for your property is very important because it is the rent that will pay the mortgage. As a general rule, the more capital growth you want for wealth appreciation, the less rent you’ll get. It’s a fine line to find the right balance. I’d rather 10% growth and between four and 5% rent, than 10% rent and four to 5% growth.

* Median price - I recommend buying property around the median price so you’ll always have a tenant, there will be lots of comparisons if you want to get the bank to refinance it and there will be lots of interest if you do want to sell.

* Not pristine - I don’t want to buy property that is perfect because the seller will charge a premium if everything’s already done. I look for places that are livable to rent out straight away but may need some work, such as new carpet or a new kitchen. If you have an eye for improvements you can create additional equity, which is the difference between what you pay and what you can make it worth.

* Equal-size bedrooms - If you’re letting out a two-bedroom apartment to two single people you need two equal size double bedrooms.

* Built-in wardrobes - People don’t want to cart around a wardrobe. I check for built-ins or space to potentially add one to the room.

* Toilets, bathroom and en-suite - An additional toilet is always useful, toilets that are separate from bathrooms are good, so is having one bathroom and an en-suite off the main bedroom.

* Lock-up garage - People who can afford $400-plus rent don’t want to park their car in the street. Some people won’t look at your property if it doesn’t have a garage.

Until next time,

Allan Poole

Filed under: Property, Tips for Success, Wealth Creation — Tags: , , , — Allan Poole @ 8:12 am
Tips I learned from Jamie McIntyre at 21st Century Academy
Thursday, July 3rd, 2008

Welcome to my blog. Today I would like to share with you some tips that I learned from Jamie McIntyre at the 21st Century Academy Lifestyle Conference.

* “Lifestyle has more to do with Planning than it does with money.”
I am sure that you have heard it said before that those who fail to plan plan to fail. This is true in every area of our lives!
In regards to the life that we choose, we must realise that we need to plan ahead. For instance, plan that weekend away with the family. Plan a date-night each week with the one you love. Plan to have a family picnic on the weekend. Plan to spend time with the kids. Plan time to relax!

There are so many things we can do in life that involve little or no money. So remember to not stress if money is tight. Make the most of what you have and plan activities that do not need a lot of money!
If we fail to plan then each week will fly by and before we know it another month is ending … then another year!
So remember that planning is important in every area of our lives!

* “The sign of Intelligence is the ability to entertain a new idea.”
It is easy sometimes to go through life with my own preconceived ideas and not being willing to listen to others, but I am learning, as the years go by, that if I can listen to other people’s opinions and learn from them, then I continue to grow as a person and begin to see outside the box of my own life. I am enjoying expanding my thoughts and learning to look for other ways to do things.

* “The most powerful way to learn is to teach.”
I have found personally that once I learn a new concept or idea that if I am able to share this with others and teach them, then I myself learn the concept more deeply also.

Here is a photo of Greg and I with Jamie at the conference.

Until next time.

To your success and fulfilment in life!

Leanne Annett :-)

Filed under: Personal Dev, Tips for Success — Tags: , , , — Leanne Annett @ 3:47 pm
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