What is the fastest way to have a prospect question your credibility ?  By not using language that is fitting to business.

Case in point: recently I was meeting a new entrepreneur  for the first time, and was discovering what  it is they do. I was hearing  words like; cheap, thing, stuff, guys, and phrases such as; ‘I didn’t bring any cards with me’ ( are you kidding?)  ’you know’, “yah, I drive anywhere”,  ”gotta make a buck”, ” I ‘dunow…maybe” “when I meet people I just give ‘em  some information ( what?)

Gosh, I was stopped in my tracks. Why? because I had little confidence this individual knew how to handle me professionally  if I was to become a customer.

Everyone you speak to needs to hear your own confidence built into the words they  hear.

When is a good time to edit your language? Well, now may be a great time!

Please remove reference to all people as guys; more than half of us are not guys, we are women!

Instead, you can insert words like prospects, clients, customers, colleagues, partners, affiliate.

When referencing your print material for instance, it’s not ’stuff’ , but rather, business brochures, printed information package, reference material, business cards and the like.

When you want to refer to your product, again, lose the temptation to call it ’stuff’. Not too appealing, nor do you do any justice to your product or service. You do want people to purchase it, correct? Then honour yourself by referring in ways like  my/our  product, our promotional item,  line, selection, merchandise, stock, our series, my/our service.

8 Key words and phrases that are sure to engage your prospects:

“I recommend _____”

“your best value is -___”

“may  I suggest__”

“these statistics show ___”

at this low  ( not cheap) price,

our introductory price

absolutely

our guarantee

for a limited time, our service is priced at

“your investment is ”

These are only a few suggestions to help you on your road to words that compel  your prospect into action based on the perception you are the professional who knows your product or service well.

It’s about remaining mindful of the words you chose to share and the relationship you have with words. Step away from slag, it’s not pretty, nor relevant in business. Read books on selling and get comfortable with new phrases in your language . You may not think of yourself as a ’salesperson’ but guess what ? you are! Stepping into the role of entrepreneur is not the same as having a job. You must be the flagship for You!

Cathy recommends  ”The 25 Sales Habits of Highly Successful Sales People“, by Stephan Schiffnam.

For this simple exercise, take a blank sheet of paper, and have a pen or pencil with you. We are going to discover who surrounds you in your business. Call it your   ‘Sphere of Influence’.

In the center of the page print your name, then draw a circle around it. Next, begin thinking of all the people that you can call upon for their expertise. Draw a line out from the center and write their name . Continue to bring to mind people that you use.

Here’s a few to get you started; Financial planner, bookkeeper, printer, web developer, legal, SEO specialist, virtual assistant, computer tech, mentors, coaches, banker, suppliers, graphic designer, marketers and copy writers –  and there may be more depending on your business. Your customers or clients may never know who makes up your Sphere, but you need to be keenly aware.

The point of the exercise is to make  sure you have a visual of all the people who surround you to allow you to run your business smoothly. Most importantly, to bring to the table  what they are good at so you don’t have to attempt to be.

Once you  feel you have completed your ‘Sphere of Influence”, be sure to affirm to each of them how much they mean to you. Send a heart felt card of appreciation- it’ will go a long way. Everyone loves to know they are doing a great job.

DIVE stands for  D-iscover  I-mpact  V-alue  E-magins. Use this simple recipe when speaking to prospects. You are creating a relationship with them in the beginning. By utilizing open ended questions you create good conversation. Engage the W’s ; who, what why where and when. Your conversations will go further with this approach than  ”Can I help you?”  You probably have been asked that killer question when you enter a store by a clerk who has not learned to DIVE yet. What is your most likely response to that question? Mine generally is  ”no thanks, just looking” which ends any further conversation.

Questions need to be powerful, and ones that you sincerley want the answers to.  Avoid questons that have assumptions in them, because that narrows the field. Remember, when you  center your questions on the scope of the problems that you solve, they have impact and at the same time you are giving value. This allows your prospect to e-maigine opening up to doing business with you.

It’s a new year- a blank canvas. I love to see a new year in, and feel good about what I am attracting to me. Did you notice the careful choice of words?

feel, good,  and  I am attracting.  Not  words like; will  can, or should.  I like to stay in the present, and feel the good energy. Remember, the more energy you put out when you are thinking of your desires, the faster your desires manifest. Anything we focus on, put our attention to, or give energy to grows. Use this simple formula for your personal life as well as for your business.

Today I am sharing   10 Ways to See Results in Your Business

1. Get organized – call a professional if you don’t know where to start

2. Set up systems for handling clients or customers- already have a system? review and tweak for improvements

3. Eliminate things that drain your energy- hire it out- or delegate what drains you

4. Find a coach,  join a success team or work with a mentor

5.Raise your standards- expectant excellence and give excellence

6. Stop P-ing- ( procrastinating !)

7. Design an inspiring work environment- make it bright, and organized- even add some art or plants!

8. Develop good energy habits- use your energy well and take a lunch break AWAY from your desk

9. Challenge yourself to learn more-  read new books on business and grow your ‘business library’

10. Expect to be ‘full’ – by that I mean expect lots of business that has you prospering

See 2010 in the best light  possible and focus on your desires for a prosperus year ahead !

“expect the best… and allow it to manifest…”

The term ‘autodidactic’ learners means much of what a person learns is not learned in a formal classroom setting, but rather by using their own way to learn. This includes asking questions, learning from mistakes, doing personal reading and research. And one main difference is that they will surround themselves with people who know more than they do.

They have almost a compelling desire to  up the learning curve  by continuing to improve and enrich themselves.

Want to become a better student of human nature? Make an effort to grow your knowledge and share it with others.

Employees prefer to follow someone else’s plan or ideas, because of self imposed limitations. They lack the desire to be self- motivating. Generally they like to focus on personal security in the form of  a wage, and stick to a comfort zone rather than pushing themselves to have new experiences.

The entrepreneurial mindset offers a take charge approach to have a greater sense of control over his or her life and career. They want to do things their way, and do not make good employees. Submitting to a 9 to 5 routine is not a ‘good time’ in their book.

Business owners love to figure things  out for themselves, and often by themselves. They will assume the risk to make a profit.

Work  or Wealth

Here’s where a fine line exists in the difference between the term self- employed and calling yourself an entrepreneur. Those that refer only to themselves as self employed buy into the concept of  ‘working’ for yourself. On the other hand, those who would refer to themselves as an entrepreneur, fully embrace the concept of  ‘wealth’ creation.

It is systems that make the difference between just having a ‘job’ and having a business.

Author and successful entrepreneur Michael Gerber once wrote, “The entrepreneur is our visionary, the creator in each of us. We’re born with that quality and it defines our lives as we respond to what we see, hear, feel, and experience. It is developed, nurtured, and given space to flourish or is squelched, thwarted, without air or stimulation, and dies.”

Key elements found in a true entrepreneur;

1)They know their weaknesses and will hire experts  on their team

2)Partner successfully with others

3)Learn from their mistakes

Short term memory is our amazing friend. It is said that we can remember things  best in up to four chucks of information.  Here’s an example of what I mean. Take a phone  number, and break it down. Let’s use 866.700.5555

so you can remember the first part the middle part and the last part and perhaps a name associated with that number. That would be four parts. Do you trust it to stick though?

Best bet?   write it down. We have so much to remember, especially if we are in business, that we better not push the envelope.

Get in the habit of writing down your daily tasks or goals, and have that all recorded in one place. Namely a day timer of your choice. Most of us are visual, so writing things down in a place where we can see them is huge. However you may the ‘techy type’ and recoding your tasks in a Blackberry is fine for you. Not for most of us. We need to see the list, and be able to cross of our completions.

Still not writing down important ideas? Memory research tells us that a new idea only lasts 40 seconds! Imagine. Do you have a new project you are ready to embark on, a website for example?

Valuable TIP:  assemble a simple binder together and give it a name; like

Cathy’s Big Book of Website Ideas

record everything in one place. If you don’t, who will?

Ideas are nothing more than thin air if they get away on you!

Why that’s simple: ( only after I had someone explain it to me!)

URL – Uniform Resource Locator

The full unique address of a file, such as an individual webpage, on the internet. An example of that would be my page for this blog- it reads as;

http://www.coachingwithcathy.com/wordpress/

Similarly the word Domain Name is the unique name used to identify and locate computers on a network- the internet or email.

Or, as I call it in plain English, your website’s name.  here’s mine:

www.CoachingWithCathy.com

In my business, I speak with many new business owners, who are not sure of the jargon that lies in the world of the web. It can seem overwhelming. And, to be fair, at time, many people in the technical side of things, forget we don’t all speak ‘web’.

That’s ok. Here’s a place you may want to bookmark;

Jargon Buster is a dictionary that has everything covered really well. Get to know what’s going  in the development of your website, as you work with your designer, so terms won’t  stump you.  It’s like my grade 3 teacher would say “just look it up in the dictionary, Cathy”

As in life, business  life is full of stories. Your business, no matter what it is- is the best vehicle for your own personal growth. Along the way, I’d like you to think of a  story you would like to share with us.

Whenever we learn something we can teach it to others. So what has been a big breakthrough for you, or a huge ‘aha’ moment in your business? Something compelling you want others to know and benefit from. Maybe it’s a lesson learned, and by sharing it, someone else won’t have to learn it the hard way. Here’s a few ideas to mull over…

Maybe it’s a piece around how to deal with not so nice customers.

How has getting a simple system in place been a life saver for you?

What is this amazing system?

What’s the most important part of networking for you?

Do you give to get- or get to give? What advise can you offer around sending cards to your customers?

What’s your why and how did you get into business?

Whatever your story is- please consider sharing it with others. Email me your story at

Cathy@coachingwithcathy.com and allow me to get your story out there!

If you are a service provider, you may have a hard time knowing just what your time is worth per hour. Occasionally I come across folks who after 7 years in business, still insist on doing  their own books. Yikes! Hire that task out! It is a task, and yes, I know you can do it- but why?

You really must be clear on what your time is worth per hour. You may be surprised to learn you are the highest paid bookkeeper, or file clerk  in town!

What a waste of billable hours. This is critical time when you should  be out marketing.

To find out what you are worth, here is an Hourly Rate Calculator, found on the Freelance Switch Rates site. It’s one of the best calculators out there that I have seen.