The terrorist attacks of 9/11 ushered in a cold reality to Americans. It was the beginning of a period of depression for many. A few weeks later, my Dad asked how I was doing. I painted a dismal vision mixed with anger and fear. He asked me what I was going to do about it. What could I possibly do that would make a difference? With a look of resolve, he said, “son, the best thing you can do is to get back to doing what you do best; working and living!”

That was good advice then and it is good advice now. Today’s battle is surviving and thriving in the current state of the union, a poor economy. But how do you get back to work when you have lost your job or your business is down considerably?

After owning and building BNI of Mississippi for 8 years, Katrina hit. Nearly half of my clients lost their livelihoods and many lost their homes. After a week of watching the devastating scenes on TV, I remembered the words of my father. The best way you can help out is to get back to doing what you do best; working and living!

In the midst of chaos, how do you find your bearings and get headed in the right direction? First, you must know where you are. The 4 Phases cycle is a good starting point.

1-EXCITED: New opportunities and positive expectations describe our outlook.

2-QUESTIONING: Things are not going as planned and challenges are overwhelming!

3-BLAMING: Focus is on the symptoms of the problems, not the causes. Therefore, we blame what we can’t control instead of taking responsibility for what we can control.

4-LOOKING: We all need to win. Many look for ways to change their external circumstances instead of embracing personal growth and working through the challenges.

Without realizing it, people go through this cycle in various areas of their lives on a weekly and daily basis. We wonder why our emotions and results are up and down. We long for consistency but we can’t figure out where to start!

So what must happen for us to spend more time in the EXCITED phase?

1. Set and achieve short term goals in writing. Accomplishment encourages us.
2. Build important working relationships. Becoming equally yoked with others who are worthy, generates greater results and fulfillment.
3. Demonstrate your competencies. Rise to the occasion, be your best and be recognized for your talents, ability to get results.
4. Be proactive. Start now, even though you are hesitant. Fear kills inspiration and motivation. Courage is not the lack of fear. Courage takes action in the face of fear.

Identify which phase you are in. Meditate on the four action steps above. Begin building momentum to reach and stay more in the excited phase by writing out ways you can implement these action steps. Share your thoughts and convictions with a trusted advisor. The new year is upon us. Discipline your mind, body and emotions to serve the wholesome vision and passions that reside within you and are waiting for you to beckon.

A responsible person does what he or she can until his or her destiny is revealed.

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For more helpful information, visit us at www.bdsinstitute.com

Wes Holsapple is the president of BDS Institute which provides professional development, training and business coaching for entrepreneurs, companies and non-profit organizations. His areas of expertise are in sales, marketing and helping people achieve their goals by fully utilizing their potential.

Wes served as a Dale Carnegie trainer and area manager in Mississippi for ten years where he worked with more than 5000 clients ranging from small companies to the Fortune 500.

Wes owned and operated BNI of Mississippi for eight years. BNI, Business Network International, is the world’s largest business referral organization. Wes worked with more than 3000 local business people, teaching them how to grow their businesses through word-of-mouth marketing. He is a contributing author of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling book, Masters Of Networking.

One of my business goals for 2010 is to increase business by 30% in the first quarter of the of the new year. If you have a similar goal for your business, I invite you to listen to this episode on Blog Talk Radio. Wes Holsapple is a longtime friend and business consultant, who really outlines how to get more business …via Word-of-Mouth in 2010. Let me know what you think…

C.J. Hayden, MCC

You’ve heard it many times before: you need to sell benefits to your clients, not features. Whether you are writing copy, talking about what you do, or engaged in a sales presentation, it’s the benefits and results of the service you provide that you should emphasize, rather than its features or how it works. But it’s not always easy to get this right.

A feature is a fact, detail, or description about your services. A benefit is the positive result your client gets as a result of working with you. Read the rest of this entry »

By C.J. Hayden, MCC

All economic indicators say we are in a recession. Consumer and business spending is down; unemployment is up. It’s natural to wonder whether perhaps this is a bad time to be marketing your business.

Since I’ve been self-employed for almost two decades now, I’ve seen several economic cycles come and go. What I notice about these “down” periods is that people who frequently struggle to get clients typically think these are bad times to market. On the other hand, people who have been consistently successful at landing clients seem to believe that there is never a bad time to market. Personally, I’d vote to follow the lead of those who are succeeding. Read the rest of this entry »

A major factor behind the success of Coffee News is that all content is positive and lighthearted, including the ads themselves. Coffee News ads are designed to:

1. promote your top two or three products / services
2. highlight the positive benefits of your business
3. what makes you different from your competitor (or you Unique Selling Proposition) Read the rest of this entry »

Thank goodness that sales is not an easy profession, otherwise everyone would be in sales. Most salespeople have a systematic approach to the selling process, but sometimes you need something more to gain that edge over our competition. Here’s 14 virtues to add to your salesmanship tool bag.

Not that I do a lot of PowerPoint presentation, I know that there are a lot of you reading this that do! Here’s an article from MediaSalesToday.com, that offers some great pointers that you may not have previously thought of.

Perfect Your Presentations By Avoiding Common Mistakes

Sure, we all know the basics of a good presentation: Pre-speech practice, good eye contact, not reading notes and slides word-for-word…But, there are some lesser-known “don’ts” that may sully an otherwise successful presentation:…click here for full article

It’s that time of year, kids are back in school, but will parents be spending on back to school supplies and apparel? Check out this article at Media Sales Today

You may have seen these billboards on your drive to and from work – I know I have. Here’s the story behind these truisms on recession. Enjoy!

by Vicki Lenz

Tracking Results – Ask or Don’t Ask?

Ask? This used to be my response, until I did further research on real-world results – as illustrated by a case in Corbett’s book. He cites the example of a new super lumber-type store. Customers were polled as they entered the store on grand opening weekend and asked, “What brought you in?” Roughly 50% said radio, 30% said TV, and 20% said newspaper. Guess what? The grand opening was advertised only on radio and in the newspaper. Yet 30% were very sure that they saw the ad on TV! “People don’t like not knowing what brought them in and they want to be helpful, so they’ll make things up,” says Corbett. Read the rest of this entry »