In This Issue
- Two Minds Tip: Recording Your Workplace Procedures...When You Can't Find Time To Put Them On Paper
- Feature Article 1: The 10 Most Common Fears That People Have from Josephine Thomson
- Feature Article 2: The Deadly Marketing Sins That Should Be Avoided by Darren Stevens
Hi everyone!
Firstly, let us apologise.
We missed sending you an edition of In Two Minds last week due to our very tight schedule.
To compensate we are featuring 3 Success Tips in this edition. One from us (especially on video for you), and two from a couple of wonderful, successful people, Josephine Thomson and Darren Stevens, who share with us absolute gems in our Feature Articles this week.
We hope you get a lot from all 3 Success Tips.
Enjoy your weekend! We'll be enjoying ours with our fellow Million Dollar Masterclass members.
Warmly,
Henry and Marissa
Feature Article # 1
Success Tip from Josephine Thomson
Today's success tip comes from Josephine Thomson.
After beating the odds and surviving cancer, Josephine has gone on to become an award winning coach, receiving the Results Coach of the Year award for three consecutive years and in 2005, she was a state finalist in the Telstra Business Woman of the Year.
What do you think are the most common fears that people have?
There are many things that can prevent people from attaining what they need and want in their lives. Probably the biggest obstacle, which disguises itself in many 'costumes', is fear. Fear can paralyse us, it can prevent us from making decisions, from taking any action, from asking for what we really want out of life. In my experience, there are ten common fears:
1. Fear of failure - traditionally this is the most common reason why people do not try something. It is based around the old idea that we have to succeed at everything we do.
2. Fear of success - believe it or not, some people are afraid of succeeding. To them, success means more responsibility, more attention, more liability and the continuous pressure to perform at a high level.
3. Fear of being judged - as a child we grow up seeking the approval of our parents and peers. Adults are no different, and can create problems by believing that others are constantly judging them. This prevents them from doing what they want or what needs to be done. We need to understand that judging others or ourselves is a waste of time and serves no positive purpose.
4. Fear of being alone or abandoned - some people stay in abusive and miserable relationships (personal or business) because they don't want to be alone. As a result, these people will not speak their true feelings because they fear that their friends, colleagues, or loved ones will turn away from them. The important thing to understand is that if people reject or leave us because we are honest about our feelings then we are better off without those people in our lives. When people build a strong sense of self-worth, the fear of being alone often fades.
5. Fear of rejection - when we take a social or professional risk, we open ourselves up to rejection. For some, this leads to feelings of unworthiness or leaves them feeling like they lack talent in a particular area of their lives. This is not true. It simply means that a person or group has a different view to you. Rather than take it to heart, you should view it as a single incident where what you had to offer was not compatible with what others were wanting. So move on!
6. Fear of expressing our true feelings - it is vital that we are able to and are willing to express our true feelings if we are to be successful in life. Poor communication has ruined more than one relationship before. Honest and open communication, delivered in a non-abusive non-violent manner, is a learnt habit. Once learnt, it is much easier to do, and if practised regularly, it does more to enrich and keep our lives in balance than almost any other thing we can do.
7. Fear of intimacy - true intimacy is made up of unconditional love for the people with whom we share it. Unconditional love is not easy for many to learn and master, but it is essential if one wants to learn to be a tolerant, non-judgmental person who respects both the needs and wants of the other people in their life.
8. Fear of the 'unknown' - life is full of 'unknowns'. The best way to handle these is to know our values, needs and standards and use them to guide us toward what we are willing to spend our time and money on. This includes some risk, but so does driving a car or crossing the street. If we stay in the present moment, fear of the unknown cannot breathe - the past cannot influence us and the 'what-ifs' of the future cannot create needless anxieties in our minds. The unknown can be exciting, but only if we use our commonsense, intuition and values to guide us from moment-to-moment, day-to-day, and project-to-project.
9. Fear of emotional pain - we can only feel pain if we allow it. Life is full of lessons, and within those lessons people make mistakes and experience some kind of let down. These things do not have to turn into emotional pain or suffering, unless we give them the green light to do so.
10. Fear of embarrassment - no one likes to make mistakes publicly, especially if it makes them feel ashamed or depicts them as being 'foolish' to others. Once again, we have the choice to allow these judgements to affect us or not.
When facing fears, remember this: 'Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered, and no one was there'.
Members of Success Uncovered Club Platinum Program enjoy weekly e-coaching from Henry and Marissa as well as unlimited access to over 550 success materials from some of the world's most successful people like Josephine. To access them yourself, join our $1 Trial now.
Feature Article #2
Today's success tip comes from Darren Stevens.
For more than 20 years, Darren has taught internationally, speaking to and motivating thousands of people in over 14 countries on how to create business, personal and financial success. He owns now seven companies in various industries.
What is your list of 'deadly marketing sins' that should be avoided in order for a business to be almost divinely profitable?
Failing to test - if you don't test prices, headlines, advertising copy, radio/television spots and verbal messages, you will not know what the market wants or will pay. In other words, you are just guessing and that can be disastrous. Tomorrow, I urge you to have your salespeople try different pitches and differently priced offers. Afterwards, review each approach against the other. If you find a new approach that performs better have all your representatives use that approach until you can test and compare more, and potentially better, possibilities.
Running institutional advertisements - these advertisements are a sheer waste of money because they don't direct the audience to take action or make a buying decision. Direct-response advertising, on the other hand, makes a complete case for the company, product or service. It overcomes sales objections, answers all major questions and promises results with a risk-free warranty or money-back guarantee.
Not stressing uniqueness - most successful businesses and professional practices are built around a single unique selling proposition (USP). It might be reliable post-purchase service, super-fast delivery or convenient hours. Think about what it is that sets you apart from your competitors, and then make that USP the engine that drives all of your marketing and advertising efforts.
Not having back-end sales - the back end is vital to any business. If you can induce new customers to buy a similar product or service from you within 45 days, then you will double the value of that customer.
Failing to address customer needs - by communicating with your customers (and making sure that your employees do the same thing) you can identify their needs and wants and ensure you satisfy them. If you don't give them what they need or want, your customers will abandon you.
Failing to educate - your customers and prospects won't understand or appreciate a bargain, service or benefit unless you point it out to them. For example, if you are overstocked on widgets, advertise that fact (admit your mistake) and then explain why the widgets are valuable, how they can be used and how you are willing to let them go at a major discount to your best customers, first-time customers or people who are willing to make an additional purchase.
Failing to explain why - whenever you make an offer, ask for a sale or run an advertisement, always explain why. For example, why can your salespeople handle sales better than someone else? Why can you beat your competitors on price? The more believable and plausible your reasons the more compelled customers will be to favour you with their patronage.
Giving up too soon on what works - I find that businesspeople get tired of their advertising and marketing campaigns long before the marketplace tires of them. People who commit this sin often call off an advertising campaign that has been working and replace it with something that hasn't proven itself and might be a flop. Test different concepts and approaches, but never abandon your 'control' (i.e. your best performer) until you find something that pulls better results.
Forgetting who your customers are - always send your sales message to the people who are your primary prospects. For example, if you want to reach people who are over 45 years old, then your advertisement headline should say: 'If you are 45 or over…' Diligently avoid headlines and advertisements that are non-specific or abstract.
Members of Success Uncovered Club Platinum Program enjoy weekly e-coaching from Henry and Marissa as well as unlimited access to over 550 success materials from some of the world's most successful people like Darren. To access them yourself, join our $1 Trial now.