No Limits Ladies.com

Talking with serial entrepreneurs, all have the same strategy. They go into a business knowing when and how they'll get out. After all, we have to exit our businesses some time 'cause no one lives forever.

When I first opened John M. Leonetti's book Exiting Your Business, Protecting Your Wealth, I thought it was about selling a business. That is the method I and most entrepreneurs are most familiar with.

There are actually 5, yes 5 major methods of business exit.

They are

1) Selling The Business
This is the one we are all familiar with. The owner gives up control, ownership, in exchange for dollars.

2) Private Equity Group Recapitalizations
Private Equity is hurting right now but in good times, this is an exchange of cash for ownership. As private equity firms aren't interested in running businesses, often the owner stays on to continue to manage and grow the business.

3) Employee Stock Ownership Plans
This is a 'sale' of the company to the company's retirement plan. Again, the owner usually stays on to manage the business.

4) Management Buyouts
Another type of sale, this time to existing management. The challenge with this option is that management usually doesn't have the cash to pay for ownership outright. This means a gradual receipt of cash.

5) Gifting
Exactly how it sounds, the giving of ownership to family or charities. There is no cash given to the owner. For this reason, gifting is usually done along with one of the other options.

Of course, this is the simplified view. Leonetti explains when and why certain options are to be preferred, depending on the situation, the business, the owner's personality and other factors. There are pro's and con's with each option so owners should be aware of all five and even within the five, there are different techniques owners can utilize.

Why put so much work into your exit strategy? Leonetti estimates that 85% of owner-operated business owners only have ONE chance at a business exit. ONE. Ya gotta get it right.

I'm pretty much an open information type of gal. I readily pass along any information I receive (that belongs to me or in public domain – obviously if it belongs to my employer or my best friend or…, I keep my mouth shut). I figure people are going to get that information anyway (the world is a small place), I might as well be the source.

In The Trendmaster's Guide, Robyn Waters points out that there are no secrets.

"By that, I meant that if pink was the color of the season, all of the trend and design departments for every wholesaler and retailer alike would already know that. After all, we traveled to the same cities, shopped in the same stores, and went at pretty much the same time of year for direction and inspiration. We all subscribed to many of the same trend services as well."

What is special is how you apply the information. Ask 30 children to draw a tree and you'll get 30 different trees.

Stop spending so much time protecting your information. Use it to figure out what to do with it.

I was such an independent employee that you would think the transition to entrepreneur would have been easy. It wasn't. One of the issues I had was in the corporate environment, you always have people to give you direction on what is important and what is not. Even CEO's answer to Boards and ultimately the shareholders.

That is the MOST important task a manager does, to focus staff, to cut away the noise.

As Adam Shaivitz says in Selling Is Everyone's Business (the book is co-authored by Steve Johnson but this particular quote is from Adam)

"Early in my career as a sales coach, my coach told me that my job was not to be a manager but to be a simplifier. When I met with my salespeople, it was my job to take all the noise and distractions in their professional lives and funnel that into one or two areas of focus."

In the entrepreneurial space, mentors help fill this manager role. However, they focus you based on YOUR goals (for the business and for yourself). You set them but they keep you honest.

I recently finished up an implementation of FRx, a software that consolidates different accounting systems (in this case, Sedona and Khameleon) into one reporting system. This package cost big dollars. It took time and money to implement. Employees had to undergo training.

The same thing could have been accomplished with software they already owned and were familiar with… Excel.

The client demanded FRx but they really only needed a way to consolidate their reports.

In this case, the client demand worked in the FRx salesperson's favor. But it could have easily not. Especially if the demand is for a hot button like price (price questions are never about price, it is about your product not fully satisfying a need).

Linda Richardson in The Sales Success Handbook advises

"If the customer makes demands, go beneath the demand to get to the need. Why? Because there is usually only one way to satisfy a demand, but there are multiple ways to satisfy a need."

Ask additional questions. Get to the root of your client's problems. THEN after setting up how your product will solve that problem and the value you bring, talk about price.

In High Altitude Leadership, Chris Warner and Don Schmincke cover the top eight dangers in leadership.

What is number one?

Good ol' fear.

"Whether in an office or on a mountain, choosing to stay stuck in the safe world ensures losses of great opportunities to the ultimate strategy killer: fear. It stops staff from making great decisions, stops change agents from disrupting the status quo, and stops leaders from leading."

All of us fear. It is normal. It is healthy. But the doers push past the fear. They 'embrace death' as the authors say. I go into each project knowing it could go terribly wrong. I could get fired on every job. I could be humiliated. I know that. I plan for it to happen (saving my pennies). I accept it. I move forward.

Just because you've done in the past doesn't mean you're a 'doer' now. You can't rest on your laurels. It'll date you quickly.

"We like telling executives that no one wants to be led by a has-been. That really hits a lot of them in the gut. Here they are, business leaders who live in the comfortable world they built for themselves and surrounded by the trappings of success, and someone who has climbed an icy peak is insinuating that they've stopped being the leader they imagine themselves to be. We ask them, 'How often do you take real risks in your career?' 'Are you pushing your team to the limits of your industry?' 'Are you exercising your strengths, so that when a crisis occurs you can act decisively?'"

Take a calculated risk today.

BTW… High Altitude Leadership is, hands down, the goriest business book I have ever read. It is filled with stories of dead bodies and climbers hacking off limbs.

Business leaders are often portrayed in movies as being greedy, unprincipled creatures. With a few high profile exceptions (currently inhabiting jail cells), this is the farthest from the truth. No one follows a leader they don't trust or respect.

As Tony Simons explains in The Integrity Dividend, this trust is built over time with a series of small events.

"Allen Ibara describes the integrity behind small actions: 'If you're serious about timeliness, time management, and great service, and you say you're going to start something on time, it's a personal integrity issue. It's a promise." As an everyday example of his company's values, Allen makes a point of starting and ending his meetings on time because 'you're asking customer service to be on time, you're asking your product people to be on time. If you can't start a meeting on time and end it on time I think you have a gap.'"

At a Fortune 500 company I used to work at, we would talk about 'the shadow of the leader.' The leader sets the tone for the entire company. Everyone is a reflection of that key person.

How does your perfect employee act?

Be that employee.

We all know that changing position too often is a bad thing for a company. The customers, suppliers, employees, become confused, not knowing what the company stands for.

But sometimes re-positioning your company is needed. Not as a nice-to-do but needed to keep the company alive in the long term.

Ram Charan, in Know-How, shares the warning signs

- Nascent industries emerge
- Nontraditional competitors start to appear
- The positioning of a key competitor changes
- The rise of new customers.
- Consumption patterns are being influenced by affordable new offerings from new technologies (think iPod).
- Customers are defecting.
- Loss of market share in select key segments.
- Emergence of new business models and new management models.
- Pressure on profit margins.
- Unexpected decline in cash flow from operations
- Decline in customer satisfaction.

You ARE tracking all this, aren't you? Because if you don't, you won't be able to detect changes. You'll be reactive, rather than proactive.

One of my favorite concepts in Robert Allen's Creating Wealth is the idea of cookie cutters. What are cookie cutters?

"It is a formula, a method that successful investors use over and over again to cut dough out of their particular investment marketplace. This is the characteristic of all wealthy people. They are experts in their chosen fields. They adapt their personalities to the circumstances. And they use these cookie cutters repeatedly."

That is why I say that growing wealth is usually quite boring. If you look at one of the greatest investors in the world today, Warren Buffett, you'll notice that he uses the same 'tricks' over and over and over again. It took him years (decades) to figure out a cookie cutter that worked for him but now he has, making money is relatively easy.

Most of the great investors are one trick ponies. They concentrate on flipping single family homes or trading foreign exchange or some other investment, and they stick to that one investment. They know it. They work it. They make money.

I know that's one of my issues. I tend to jump around too much. I have a couple cookie cutters that make me money but I spend too much time rolling out the different dough. If I focused, I would be more successful (but likely bored silly).

In Ed Brodow's Negotiation Boot Camp, he outlines 20 common negotiation tactics and how to counter them. I know. 20. How many can you name? I didn't get to double digits.

I'll start you out with the most common – the flinch.

You get up enough nerve to walk into the boss' office and ask for a raise.

His jaw drops, his eyebrows raise, and he shouts "What? You're asking for a raise?"

Notice he doesn't say the request was unwarranted but that is the impression you get, isn't it? You feel foolish for asking. You immediately second guess your request.

We've all used the flinch, likely since birth. We use it because it is effective. It allows us to put the other person on the defensive without directly addressing the issue.

As Ed Brodow explains "The flinch works because it contains a hidden message: 'Your behavior is outrageous, your request is so ridiculous that it doesn't even deserve a response, except to dismiss it completely.' The impact of the flinch is emotional and nonverbal. You feel a tight sensation in the pit of your stomach."

The best way to counter the flinch is to deflect it.

"When your boss says, 'You want how much?' you reply, 'Should I have asked for more?' A humorous position like this sends the message, 'It is your position that is ridiculous, not mine.'

Well, that is ONE tactic, only nineteen more to go…

The controller of the company I'm contracted at complained that he doesn't get paid as much as the equivalent managers in sales or operations. Of course he doesn't. Why? Because he is in a cost center. If he does a great job, costs are lowered but they can only be reduced so much. In sales, the revenue is unlimited. As a result, the pay is unlimited.

As Michael Masterson states in Seven Years To Seven Figures "The people who are in charge of the company you work for need to know how good you are. And good means good at making money. No other business skill – not management, not accounting, not production or cost controls or customer service – matters more than the ability to generate sales and profits. If you think otherwise, you are kidding yourself."

I started out in finance but I realized right away that I'd never make the big bucks working there. I spent any spare moment I had assisting sales and marketing. I become such an important part of that team, I started attending department meetings. Eventually I reported informally to both V-P's.

Ironically, as a producer, I also had less job security in finance. It is easy to eliminate a cost, more challenging to get rid of someone launching a successful product or landing a big customer.

Companies are looking to reduce costs. There's a simple solution. Don't be one. You don't have to be a salesperson to bring in clients. You don't have to be in marketing to help promote your company. With the internet, you don't even need a budget.

I recently finished reading Grant Cardone's Selling – The Secret To Success. I loved the section on pricing.

The price being too high is a common objection from prospects. I know. I've used it myself. Often. But it isn't really about the price. Not at all. I would pay a higher price if I were convinced the product solved my problem. Usually I'm unconvinced. No. The SALESWOMAN hasn't convinced me. She hasn't assured me it would solve my problem. Heck, most of the time, she hasn't even bothered to ask what my problem is.

As with any risk taking, I try to mitigate the downside of a bad decision. So I haggle on price. That way if I'm wrong, I'm not out as much cash.

As Grant Cardone states

"Price is almost never the issue for a buyer, even when they say it's the price. More often than not, it is love and confidence. Do I love this product, because if I do then I'll pay whatever it takes. Is the buyer 100% confident that this product will get them what they want? Will this service do the job? If the buyer is head over heals in love with the product and can't live without it, he'll buy it regardless of price, assuming he can find money to pay for it. If the buyer has full confidence that the product will solve his problems and get him a real solution, he'll buy it at almost any price. People will give their right arm for love and they'll give their last dollar for a real solution."

That's why when prospects object on price, Grant suggests showing them a HIGHER priced product. If the current product isn't perfect, odds are the lower priced product won't be.

Just finished What Men Don't Tell Women About Business – Opening Up The Heavily Guarded Alpha Male Playbook by Christopher V. Flett on the weekend. I got this book for Christmas and was thinking to save it for my summer off (as a reward for getting through this never ending contract).

Then I made a beta male cry (the guy made me look like a jack a$$ and I, in a moment of weakness, squashed him). Forget waiting for summer. I needed to feel better immediately (I'm trying to reduce my chocolate intake).

This is the only book I've read where the author actually understands alphas (it is about the alpha male but the goal focused thinking is the same for the alpha female). It tells the good, the bad, and the nasty. That bit about not caring about excuses? Sing it, mister. I don't give a beep what the excuses are. And please don't waste my time giving me that laundry list. Just get the job done.

I love how Flett insists that women don't have to act like one of the guys to gain power. I don't golf. I've joined one football pool in my entire career (that was because I was playing with odds, not out of interest in the actual sport, surprisingly I did okay). It hasn't hurt me (it helps that eating is universal where I do my best bonding).

He talks about not mixing business with pleasure. Too true. Co-workers are not friends. In a downsizing or even a promotion situation, it is every man or woman for him/herself. Like Flett, I don't have work people over to my house for entertaining. I learned that lesson early on in my career. Work is work. Personal is personal. Mixing the two opens yourself up to gossip and criticism.

If you are an alpha (and I suspect that many of my readers are), this book will reassure you that you're not alone in your thinking. If you know (and perhaps love) an alpha, this book will help you understand them better.

Yikes, there's so much left in Ryan Allis' book Zero To One Million to talk about (his section on product vs service based companies, for one) but since I only have this last post left to allocate to the book (so I don't turn this site into a Ryan Allis love-athon), I think I'll go with Partner Programs.

Why?

Because this is one of those rare books that actually discuss them with some numbers associated.

15% of iContact's sales come from partner programs (these include affiliates, marquee resellers and global resellers). Affiliates receive a 25% commission, marquee resellers receive a 30% commission (but have to sign a contract) and global resellers (those with more than 10,000 small business customers) receive a 35% commission.

(Yeah, the entire book is as detailed with solid numbers.)

Allis states that a good affiliate program (with tracking software) costs from $1,000 to $5,000 to launch but more than pays for itself over time. He estimates that within the first few months, entrepreneurs should be able to build at least 200 to 300 affiliates. Once this base of smaller affiliates is built, then it is time to go after the larger resellers.

How to build it?

By contacting the sites/blogs in your same space via personalized email.

I haven't really done justice to Zero To One Million. Allis crams too much information in this 284 page book for me to do so. You'll have to check it out for yourself.

One of my favorite sections in Ryan Allis' book Zero To One Million is Building A Lifetime Value Of A Customer. Why? Because he offers strategies that any size of company, any type of company (service, product, any industry) can use.

He lists 3 Objectives. They are;
Personalize the relationship and build rapport
Make yourself available and answer questions
And
Follow up with your customers

Wait a minute, you say, if I follow up with customers, they might tell me there's something wrong. They might even return my product. And wouldn't that be time consuming?

It would be time consuming without a customer database. You do have a customer database, don't you? With the database, a follow up email is as simple as a mail merge. (BTW… Allis reco's that the President of the company sign his name to the emails, regardless of who actually sends the email).

As for returns, again, Allis gives us a hard number. He says that this follow up will prompt one return per 400 emails but he feels that the added lifetime value of the strengthened relationships will far outweigh the returns.

I know that it impresses me to no end to receive one of these follow up emails (I might not reply to them but I do note them).

As promised last weekend, today I’m reviewing Dale Carnegie’s 1944 book How To Stop Worrying And Start Living.

Pretty darn timely. Especially the chapter on Ingratitude.

Next weekend, there’ll be Mothers out there in the blogosphere (and elsewhere) receiving nothing for Mother’s day. There’ll also be kids receiving no thanks for what they did give their Mom. One of us will have sent her dear Mom the heavily hinted at yellow roses and hear that they were delivered at the “wrong” time, right in the middle of her weekly girls gab (which her loving daughter knows is really the exact RIGHT time).

Maybe there’ll be disappointment because gratitude was expected but, as Carnegie points out, “It is natural for people to forget to be grateful; so, if we go around expecting gratitude, we are headed straight for a lot of heartaches.”

He reminds us of the story of Jesus and the ten lepers (only one of the ten was thankful). He tells us of Samuel Leibowitz, a famous criminal lawyer, who saved 78 men from going to the electric chair and didn’t receive a single thank you. Me, I once spent a board meeting begging for a project team member’s desperately needed job and then listened to the same team member complain about working overtime that evening (if he only knew…). Gratitude is a rare thing, an exception, and while it should be celebrated when expressed, it should never be expected.

This book, as our girl Rich Minx stated, is a bit dated (the helpful housewife hints). I saved it for when I was in a fruitie tootie, nothing can get me down, mood. I also wouldn’t recommend giving it to your hubby to read especially if he’s like mine, singing the new Aaron Lines song “Its Cheaper To Keep Her” (Living with a crazy wife beats an empty bank account) at the top of his lungs, pausing only to dedicate it to you. Nopers, better to give him a heavily edited summary.

If you ever want a good laugh, read this classic 1936 business book on the public bus during the school rush hour. That’s what I did on Thursday, not realizing that the title is…ummm…quite embarrassing. The looks I received were almost an even split between pity and scorn (the teenagers were most expressive and vocal as only teenagers are).

There’s a reason why this book has survived 70 years and it isn’t because its full of fluff.

Sure the examples may be dated. Like…Did you know that in his early days, Lincoln had quite a mouth on him? So much so that he was challenged to a duel. Supposedly that experience was such a shocker that “Never again did he write an insulting letter. Never again did he ridicule anyone. And from that time on, he almost never criticized anybody for anything.” Almost dying would do that for a person.

While the examples are history lessons, the “rules” hold true today (if not more). You still can’t win an argument (the other side usually ends up more convinced than ever that they are right. Arguing merely embarrasses them.). People still like to talk about themselves (be a good listener and you’ll be welcomed everywhere). They still want to feel important (that’s why using a person’s name is so important). They definitely respond better to praise than criticism.

For those moms out there, Dale Carnegie gives example after example of methods to deal with teenagers. Funny how we hear of the good ol’ days when teenagers were respectful and behaved. Well, those good ol’ days weren’t the 30’s while Carnegie was writing this book, that’s for certain. And considering the story about a mouthy young Abraham Lincoln, I doubt those good ol’ days ever existed.

I’m a big fan of Harry Beckwith’s writing. Loved Selling The Invisible and What Clients Love. You, Inc. is no exception. It has short, little chapters jam packed with good ideas.

Ideas like…

“Try to reduce your average sentences to eleven words. If you must write a large block of copy, try to place a short one in front of it and behind it.

While speaking, practice your pauses. If making an important point, precede it with a pregnant pause, which alerts you listener: “This is important.””

Why?

So “your point has time to take root.”

Also…

Audiences “have been conditioned by television. Every twelve minutes a commercial allows them to take a break. This has conditioned them to twelve-minute bites.”

Or…

“We feel we know people who are similar to us because we know something of ourselves. We feel we can predict their behavior and reactions because we can predict our own.

That makes us comfortable.

Because first impressions deeply influence everything that follows – more than most of us realize – you must find common ground quickly. Try to find it before you actually meet.”

I use the last point to great success. The hubby and I love to travel so that is usually one common ground we can find with others. I’ve also worked in many, many different industries. But I try not to talk much about myself (after all, I know all about me), I use our common ground to ask semi-intelligent questions of the other person.

Writers call it writer’s block. However, most creative fields have the equivalent and believe me, being an entrepreneur or an investor is a creative field. Use that big brain long and hard enough and you’re going to hit a wall, drained of all possible ideas and solutions.

When my brain gets zapped, I pull something out of my bag of tricks. My fave has to be breaking into a brand new book, especially one designed for exactly that purpose.

Like It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be by Paul Arden.

This book is small, short, has pictures, white space out the kazoo, not a lot of words and some of those words are upside down or in red or in monster large font.

Which is exactly why it works.

Sure, there are some valuable insights like “Do Not Covet Your Ideas.”
“If you give away everything you have, you are left with nothing. This forces you to look, to be aware, to replenish.”

But the real value is the mental stimulation of merely reading the book. I was thrown out of my comfort zone. My brain had to use muscles it hadn’t exercised in a while. Those muscles, once warmed up, started pumping out fresh, new solutions. Solutions that could make me money.

And I was back.

Now I may not be the sharpest pencil in the box but I’m lucky enough to surround myself with some brilliant people. A friend of mine has to be one of the smartest people around. The man’s solutions could revolutionize the world.

If he could communicate them.

Which he can’t. Which means that either other people scoop up his ideas (which I’ve done with his blessing) or they go undiscovered.

Communication, either verbal or written, is critical for success in life. Recently I read 10 Simple Secrets Of The World’s Greatest Business Communicators by Carmine Gallo. If you can get past the incredibly long title (which ironically flies in the face of Simple Secret #6 Brevity or “Keep It Short. Period.”), the antidotes and examples from communicators like the Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger or Starbucks’ Howard Shultz or Apple’s Steve Jobs are well worth the price of admission (a valid library card).

The 10 Secrets (Passion, Inspiration, Preparation, Start Strong, Clarity, Brevity, Say It With Style, Command Presence, Wear It Well, and Reinvent Yourself) may seem simple but if that was true then why are there so few great communicators? However, Gallo gives colorful examples to punctuate each point.

Examples like…

“Barbara Corcoran turned a $1,000 loan into a New York City real estate empire. Her book, Use What You’ve Got, became a New York Times business best seller. During my interview with Corcoran, I asked her what she considers the one communications technique which sets her apart in her industry. She answered, “I always use stories. That’s what people remember. They remember stories. Also, put yourself in the shoes of your audience. They’re asking themselves, “So what?” The only information they find of value is information they can personally use. Ask yourself what is the practical information of your point. How can they use this information? Help the audience answer the questions “So what?””

I was reading Harvey Mackay’s business classic Beware The Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt and was pleasantly surprised to read, as Mackay talked about how knowledge of self is essential to success, a bit on investing.

“Successful traders and successful investors both will tell you that their single most important asset is self-knowledge, not stock knowledge. They know themselves well enough to understand the level of risk they can live with.

Traders let the market tell them whether they’re right or wrong. They have the self-discipline to turn on a dime with the market goes against them.

Investors have a different test of character: to stay with a commitment regardless of what the market does on a short-term basis. They have the self-discipline not to turn on a dime when the market surprises them.

The surest way to lose money is not to know which breed you belong to: holding on to a loser when you’re really a short-term trader looking for a quick turn or selling too soon, whether it’s up or down, when temperamentally you’re really a long-term investor. Before you make any major commitment, of time, of money, of yourself, you have to be honest enough with yourself to understand how you will react if things happen that you don’t expect.”

The timing couldn’t have been better as I’ve been re-evaluating my position in a company. Right now, the stock price is tanking big time but my thinking still is that a year from now, after the company has absorbed the smaller company it just devoured, the stock price not only will pop up nicely but offer a healthier dividend as it does.

I’m an investor, not a trader and so I’m holding onto it.

When I read Talk Your Way To The Top by Tina Santi Flaherty, I got so ticked off at what the first female vice-president at Colgate-Palmolive was saying that I threw the book more than once across the room (never say that I’m all sunshine and roses). However, each time I picked the book up and continued reading. And when I was done, I gave the book to one of my best friends to read.

The message of how to get ahead as a woman in corporate America wasn’t pleasant, it certainly wasn’t “fair”, but unfortunately it was right.

Her ideas on reading body language was alone worth the cost of the book but my favorite part is her discussion on meetings. She says “It always amazes me that people don’t realize all meetings have a hidden agenda – and that’s really to decide who’s got “it” and who doesn’t.”

Her 10 tips to being a good meeting participant are;

1) Look good (a no-brainer, this is “show time”)
2) Be on time or early (getting there early is a good networking opp)
3) Review the material and notes from the previous meeting (so you can look like a superstar)
4) Pick a seat near the action (again, it’s show time so you want to be on stage).
5) Take the meeting as seriously as you would your paycheck (no goofing around).
6) Speak at the beginning of the meeting so you get noticed (I always do this)
7) Having done #3, bring a prop or visual (like a graph, etc) that makes your point.
8) Take notes (shows interest and that you are a take action type of gal).
9) Make a comment on an area other than your own. Leaders need to straddle multiple departments.
10) When the meeting ends, don’t just leave, make a comment or two to the chairperson.

Her best hint on hosting a meeting is to always, always, always send out notes afterwards. A meeting without notes (showing decisions made, actions to be taken) is a waste of time. I often volunteer to take and distribute the notes (since I’m doing #8 anyway). That puts my name in front of a number of people.

Okay, I’ll admit that I’m no fan of Martha, the show, or Martha, the magazine (not handy at all…I can’t even tie a half decent bow) but I am a big fan of Martha, the businesswoman. Any woman that can go to jail (with grace and style) and still not only have a business to come back to but grow it, has my respect.

And The Martha Rules is a darn good book for budding entrepreneurs.

My favorite chapter is the one titled Take Risks, Not Chances. The difference between the two, risks and chances, is a difficult one to determine but it is possible. I make that distinction every day (I do take chances but I’m fully aware that I’m taking them).

As Martha writes “In business, there’s a difference between a risk and a chance. A well-calculated risk may very well end up as an investment in your business. A careless chance can cause it to crumble. And when an opportunity presents itself, never assume it will be your last.”

It’s all about doing our research and trying to minimize the downside. About not relying on dumb luck (that’s gambling, folks).

Recently, I was presented with an impossible one month placement. Day one, I ensured that all parties involved realized it was highly unlikely that the departing manager would be seamlessly replaced. With lowered expectations and carving the position back to maintenance mode, the downside was minimized.

I also thought through this placement carefully before taking it on. The upside, experience in a different position in a different industry using different software, combined with training (and of course, getting paid), I felt, more than offset the humiliation of failing. Could I fail (not meet even the lowered expectations)? Of course. It is a risk, yes, but a calculated risk.

In life, in business, in investing, take risks, not chances.

What is a sales book doing on an investing site (besides the obvious business building connection)? It's here because sales is a life skill like reading or breathing or…

Everyone sells constantly. Some people sell well. Some people sell poorly. If I do something, I prefer to try to do it well.

A solid base in sales has helped me in every aspect of my life, from selling the concept of “me” to my now hubby (what is a first date but a cold call), to raising more donations for my favorite charity, to getting promotion after promotion on the job.

And Jeffrey J. Fox is the master salesguy. I am a big fan, I’ve read every book he’s written, so when I picked up this latest book, I didn’t expect any lightning strike moments.

Boy, was I wrong.

45 mini chapters (his writing is designed for the busy businesswoman, short chapters that can be read during commercial breaks) crammed full of real life based, call to action, advice.

Gems like…

Calling on the marketing department within an organization. Convincing these not often sold to (and therefore less jaded) people that by using your product, they, in turn, will sell more product. Your product is moved from just another expense to a revenue stream.

Always getting your customer to do something. “Customer participation leads to customer persuasion.” Get them involved. The more involved they are, the more likely they are to buy from you. (Now, that doesn’t mean work them to death but get them to hold the product, to take notes, etc).

Silence is golden. Talk less to sell more. I use this trick in job interviews all the time. The less I talk (even if I’m the one being interviewed), the happier the other person is about the interview. People like to talk about themselves. It makes them feel good. One interview, I said about ten words the entire time. I got offered the job.