Build Your Business

The Number One Tip to Avoid Commission Breath

First off, professional salespeople know the most important asset in business is customers. But, before I tell you the top tip to avoid commission breath, I want to share a quick story about someone in the mortgage industry that brought in $60,000 in 30 days without even opening their mouth. How did they do it, you ask? Postcards! They sent a postcard with a quick message letting the customer/prospect know they appreciated and thought of them because interest rates were low. Now for the number one tip to avoid commission breath: develop relationship breath. Stop talking about yourself (commission breath) and start showing you care about them (relationship breath). It doesn’t matter if you are talking with prospects over a webinar, phone, text, or face to face. A prospect/customer can smell commission breath the minute you start:
1. Talking about yourself
2. Pushing your products
3. Bragging on services
Look, if you’re lucky, commission breath might work for a quick one-time commission, but relationship breath builds a long-term, repeat commission built on relationships. You see, relationship breath conveys to customers that you care about them, and you have a solution to their challenge. In this case, the postcards the mortgage lender sent relayed two things to his customers/prospects:
1. He cared about them as a person
2. He had a solution that would save them money
The reason that postcard marketing works so well is that it builds relationships, trust, and loyalty as you increase your referrals. Most importantly, it builds commissions, with long-term repeat business! Now, I can’t promise you $60,000 in 30 days, but I can tell you that postcard marketing opens up the door to make sales fun by building long-term relationships and repeat commissions over time. Don’t take my word for it – connect with me to start experiencing the postcard miracle for yourself. Cheers to long-term commissions, P.S. I look forward to sharing postcard marketing with you, so let’s connect!

Relationships take work but they’re worth it!

It’s a cold, cold world of technology, and let’s face it, the use of technology is increasing every day! One thing for sure, we know technology is never going away, and most everybody would probably agree they want it to stay. However, I believe the challenge here is not the word technology, but the word “cold.” So with that said, how do we warm up our online relationships or even offline relationships and build a rapport that will continue to develop relationships and opportunities in business? Remember, relationship development is so important when making friends, and being genuinely interested is essential! In order to build warm lasting relationships in business, we must find ways to authentically keep in touch and let our customers and prospects know we genuinely care. Here are some ideas for developing lasting business relationships authentically with current customers and prospects:
1. Anniversaries: Show appreciation for a customer yearly on the date they became your customer.
2. Celebrate birthdays: This is one of the most important dates in a person’s life, and everyone loves to feel celebrated on their birthday.
3. Thank you’s: Saying thank you (whether or not someone makes a purchase) is crucial if you ever want future business and referrals.
4. Holiday greetings: Sending holiday greeting cards is a powerful way to remind customers and prospects you’re grateful for and wish them the best in the new year.
5. Nice to meet you: Follow up messages after meeting with a candidate is a great way to stay top of mind and reopen a conversation.
6. Random acts of kindness: Often, we think of someone randomly, and that’s when it’s essential to let them know you are thinking of them.
7. Recognizing challenges: When you see or hear about someone struggling with a challenge, make sure to reach out in support of them, this could make all the difference they may need.
8. Triumphs: A quick phone call, text message, or handwritten note celebrating this triumph will make a positive impact on your relationship.
9. Meeting up in person: Getting together in person builds an understanding of who someone is when you see them and listen to them face to face.
10. Checkups: When someone purchases a service or product from you, checking in with them can make sure their questions are answered and their needs are met.
Most importantly, be genuine and show interest in the people who do business with you; this is how you develop relationships that will grow into other business opportunities.

Perspective is almost always the key

The holidays are in full swing, and the new year is fast approaching! I know that we all could use a fresh perspective on the challenges we faced in 2020. Remember, whatever perspective you tell yourself is the story that will follow you into 2021! “The story in your mind becomes the story of your life” -Kody Bateman So what story are you telling yourself and, even more importantly, conveying to your clients? A: Are you talking about your events and travel plans being canceled? Are you talking about how much you miss meeting people in person and making connections, one coffee and one chat at a time? OR… B: Have you been creative with new offerings to serve your clients virtually and celebrating the new opportunities and possibilities that the challenges of 2020 brought to you? Certainly, with every passing year and every new year yet to come, a lot will continue to change. Indeed, the story you tell isn’t about distorting the facts or glossing over the challenges of the past. It’s more about taking a positive outlook and choosing what to take from your experience. Perhaps most importantly, when framing the story in your mind from this year of unpredictability and challenges, it’s also about being positive and creative in the story you are sharing with your clients. I urge you to take time during holidays to create a story in your mind that will bring happiness and positivity to you and your clients in the coming year and beyond. P.S. If you’re looking for creative ways to develop your business relationships by bringing positivity, happiness, and gratitude, I have some ideas I’d love to share with you.

How to make social media work for you

Social media is a monster in a closet; some are scared to open that door for fear of tackling it! We know we can tame this monster, but where does one start? We know that nearly three-quarters of all Americans and 3.6 billion people worldwide use social media. And it just continues to grow! Mostly because social media helps people:
1. Find and reach new markets
2. Build brand awareness
3. Drive sales in business Now, let’s open that closet door and tackle this monster because it may not be as big and scary as you think. Here are some tips to help out when tackling social media:
1. Have a good social media plan with a clear goal to achieve success.
2. Research which platform your audience hangs out at. You don’t have to use every platform.
3. Pinpoint your audience so you can add value to the right people and market.
4. Build relationships so consumers can get to know who you are and what your brand stands for.
5. Use the right tools to simplify your social media marketing. Believe me, there are plenty out there to help you.
6. Monitor and interact with relevant conversations to keep people engaged and grow the know, like, and trust value. Remember, you can start with a couple of key networks and build up to more over time! Most importantly, social media may or may not be for you. So, whether or not you’re doing brand marketing online or staying offline, it’s about being your authentic self and developing relationships.

Why having a personal brand is important

Building your brand loyalty can be really fun! Ask yourself: who are you, and what do you have to offer? For sure, people in sales understand how powerful the know, like, and trust value is when building and increasing: customer retention, organic referrals, and the bottom line. Believe it or not, increasing all of the above comes down to branding yourself more than the product or service you sell! This doesn’t mean your service or product doesn’t add value; what it means is people do business with people they know, like, and trust! So, how does one build brand loyalty with the know, like, and trust factor? Through your personal branding, of course! Start building your brand by asking yourself these questions:
1. How do people benefit from working with me? This is your emotional appeal.
2. What are the words I would use to describe my work? Determine your description of what you do and who your brand is for.
3. What do I do that makes me stand out from everyone else? Developing relationships so strong that when customers need or hear of someone needing what you’re selling, they think of you.
Next, take a look at your three answers and create a short sentence or phrase to develop your brand mantra that communicates clearly who you are. Most importantly, be yourself, serve others with your value, and keep in touch to stay top of mind! Happy branding!

Not every mountain is worth the climb……

Define what is meaningful to YOU. Just because one coach or trainer says work 24/7 like no one else does so you can play like n one else does later…..doesn’t mean you have to, or that you are not giving it your all if you don’t.

What is meaningful to YOU?For me, my FAMILY has been #1 all my life.I started my journey back becoming self employed in 1993 when I was pregnant w our 2nd child……

Things have been rough, I have had some $10 months, some $100 some $100 months, some $10000 months (and many other numbers over the years……

But my FOCUS was and still is my FAMILY.

If you work so much that you neglect your family, you may be successful one day, but lose your family in the process…..then is that worth it?

I have heard many trainers say “treat your business like a business not a hobby” but in that some also say, if you are not working it 10-20 hours a day you are treating it like a hobby and not serious.

That is their opinion, and I disagree. This world and this life is about relationships…..Even if you are not married and don’t have kids, you still have other relationships in your life.

But everyone is different – you need to figure out what is important to you – and then yes, figure your schedule and WORK when you are working time on your schedule…..

Be PRESENT with your FAMILY and other RELATIONSHIPS when it is that time….

I have not always been perfect, and I have a workaholic mindset…..but I watch myself, and I have learned to schedule myself…..still a work in progress…..every day.

But I work consistently and productively when I am scheduled to work. that is the difference, and one of the big secrets to my success 🙂 <3