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Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

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Sales Tweet #6

by Rick Baker
On Jul 26, 2010
Sales Tweet #6 Try a low-negative-thought diet. Grab your next 3 worries & refuse to let your mind chew on them anymore.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
Napoleon Hill and many others to follow have taught us the value of keeping our mind free of negative thoughts. FYI: Dr. Daniel Amen provides some very useful techniques that he has provided to help his patients. He talks about getting rid of your ANTs...Automatic Negative Thoughts. All of us have them. Few of us have proven techniques for minimizing them.

Tags:

Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude | Sales | Thought Tweets

Sales Tweet #5

by Rick Baker
On Jul 23, 2010
Sales Tweet #5 Who helped or inspired you the most this week? Pick 2 of these people and mail to them hand-written thank you notes...today.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
Many people help us and they know they helped us. Some people help us and they do not realize they helped us or they do not realize how much they helped us. Regardless, hand-written thank you notes - sincere hand-written thank you notes - can deliver a nice little pat on the back. And - who can't use a pat on the back!

Business Premises Statements – The Starting Point for Strategic Planning

by Rick Baker
On Jul 22, 2010
The disciplines of mathematics taught us ‘first principles’.
 
Like first principles, statements of business premises provide a grounded starting point for business planning.
 
Business Premises Statements = statements of perceived truths…the major facts, as we see them, about the marketplace environment we are choosing to work in.
 
Before setting annual goals, we need to make clear statements of our business premises.
 
Business Premises statements describe only our most-important views about our chosen market niche.
 
5 statements, one for each of 5 Business Premises works well.
 
Business Premises statements must be more than descriptions of our business environment. They must explain our perception of the reasons our business makes sense.
 
If you practice Jim Collins’ Hedgehog Concept* then your business premises statements describe why your Hedgehog makes sense. If you practice SWOT analyses then your business premises statements show why your strengths are strengths, why your weaknesses are weaknesses, etc.
 
If you are starting a new business venture then your business premises statements must provide logic supporting your entrepreneurship.
 
If you are working to bring about major change at your business then your business premises statements must support the need for such change.
 
Regardless, do not rely solely on your own perceptions or those of your people. Before you finalize statements of your business premises have them reviewed by people capable of providing sound opinions about big-picture items…and only seek help from people who you know possess that big-picture capability.
 
If you are interested in seeing sample statements of Business Premises then let me know…
 
*Link to a blog about Jim Collins’ Hedgehog Concept.

Tags:

Entrepreneur Thinking | Succession

Sales Tweet #4

by Rick Baker
On Jul 22, 2010
Sales Tweet #4 How about finding Clients for your Clients. Clients' Clients...keys to help you unlock many more doors.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
Jeffrey Gitomer provides some great ideas in this area. For example, he talks about setting up 4-person lunch meetings where your Client brings a referral for you and you bring a referral for your Client. That is, you bring a Client for your Client.

Tags:

Sales | Thought Tweets

Trust paves the path for Passion in the Workplace

by Rick Baker
On Jul 21, 2010
While listening to Stephen M.R. Covey’s CD-book ‘The Speed of Trust’, I was thinking – if we could build trust at our workplaces then that would help pave the path for more passion at our workplaces.
 
I have been keeping my eyes and ears open for ways to build passion at our workplaces ever since a friend asked me – How would we do that?.
 
How can we build trust at our workplace?
 
According to Stephen M.R. Covey:
  1. Trust impacts the ‘economics’ for your business. Trust is not just the warm and fuzzy right thing to do. A workplace with trust is much more efficient than one without trust. And, the economics of improved trust can be measured.
  2. Trust is the #1 responsibility of leadership.
  3. Trust can be learned.
There are 5 Waves of Trust:
  1. Self-trust (give them a leader)...credibility upon which to build trust
  2. Relationship Trust...behaviour
  3. Organizational trust...alignment trust
  4. Marketplace trust...your brand, your reputation trust
  5. Societal Trust...contribution trust
How to Build Trust at your workplace:
  1. Make trust an explicit goal…corporate and for employees
  2. Explain its value in economic terms
  3. Measure it
  4. Implement it: train and apply
For well over 10 years I have told folks 3 things are sacred to me in business. One of those 3 things was and is – Don’t Lie To Me. I have spent some time explaining exactly what I mean. From now on I will not have to do that. I will either simply use the word “Trust” or I will recommend reading/listening to ‘The Speed of Trust’.
 
PS: This Covey book strikes several other chords for me: the father-son ‘chat’ illustrates an example of family business at its best, the trust message encourages us to aim for a better business future, the statement ‘trust can be measured’ is compelling…and more.

Tags:

Entrepreneur Thinking | Leaders' Thoughts

Sales Tweet #3

by Rick Baker
On Jul 21, 2010
Sales Tweet #3 Think about your 7 best Clients...your "bright lights". What do they have in common? Duplicate the bright lights.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
To maximize our success we need to focus on our Strengths. Similarly, when we determine what makes our best Clients stand out as best Clients we have an opportunity to template or profile our Ideal Client…to avoid the trap of commodity-like competition target marketing is an essential.

Tags:

Borrowing Brilliance | Questions?: The Art of Asking Good Questions | Sales | Thought Tweets

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