Posts Tagged ‘mars venus success coaching’

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Effective Planning Is About What to Leave Out

Monday, January 2nd, 2012

posted by: John Jantsch

Mon Dec 19, 2011

Today my staff and I are taking the entire day to create a strategic plan for the coming year. The process, and its ongoing nature, is something I call Commitment Planning. This is a practice that I highly recommend, but perhaps not for the reason you may assume.

But first, the rules

  • No one has a specific role today
  • Let brainstorming be brainstorming – possibilities and ideas
  • Be present
  • Be judgmental tomorrow
  • Remember, you are planning for the entire year

And, then my requirements

  • Food and drink should be awesome
  • Leave lots of time and space for physical movement
  • Make it easy to capture everything

Lots of companies completely neglect the need for planning and some that do it consistently view it as a way to determine new things they want to address in the year ahead.

To me, the greatest benefit of any planning session is to decide what not to do.

There’s always more to do than you can possibly get done and what happens all too often is that we give a little attention to a lot of things and effectively water down what should be our priorities.

When we plan the right way, we look long and hard at what makes us money and (hopefully) find ways to focus on doing more of that better, rather than thinking up more of something to divert our attention.

I recently hired my own business coach and one of the first things we’re focused on is getting me to stop doing things that don’t make sense and start spending more concentrated time on my highest payoff activities.

This idea holds true for entire organizations as well and one of the best ways to get to the heart of what’s holding you back is planning.

The first planning principle you must embrace however, is that the goal of the process is to help you limit what you are going to do and do well. Instead of creating a laundry list of wants and dreams, your charge in the planning process is to create a very small list of objectives and goals grounded in the overriding purpose of the business. Everyone in the organization then must commit to this list. From your small list you can carve out a requisite number of strategies and tactics that support these business objectives.

In fact, your aim is to create a total plan outline that fills no more than one sheet of paper. (No 6pt type allowed.)

Note also that we’re not spending the day to make a business plan or create a marketing plan – plans aren’t the secret, planning is. It’s the continuous process of planning, acting, measuring and planning that moves the organization in the direction of its goals.

Using and teaching a continuous planning process like this is one of the ways you empower your staff to know they are taking right action on the most important things at all times and knowing this brings a confidence that in itself is a commitment generator.

Commitment planning is a management style that frees your people to be creative instead of forcing them to be bound by a process only system driven activity.

Planning is not a one-day event or even year-end activity. Sure, there may be certain time bound planning periods that occur naturally, say at the end of a quarter, but the real way to keep commitment alive is to live it through a creative process that allows everyone to focus on the things that matter most.

Ben McConnell, coauthor of the Church of the Customer Blog and principal of management consulting firm Ant’s Eye View, has written about a planning process he calls OGST (Objectives, Goals, Strategies and Tactics.)

What I love about McConnell’s framework is that he uses each of these planning words in ways so simple as to actually create a useful set of definitions for these ridiculously misused terms.

Go get this visual representation of OGST and I think you’ll see what I mean.

As you can see, a planning process like this can help the kind of simple clarity that is so often missing in the “what should we do next” business management style. We borrow heavily from McConnell’s framework add some of our own magic to help put the focus on results and bust through constraints.

No matter what exact process you use for planning, with a one page plan full of your committed priorities in hand you can analyze any idea in about two seconds and determine if you should pursue it or dismiss it. Focusing on your strengths and finding ways to turn them into even greater assets is how individuals and organizations realize their potential.

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Strengths-Based Teamwork

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011

Successful business ventures often rely on the communication savvy of everyone involved in the deal. Relying on one person to lead or motivate a group leads to: reduced functionality if that person is absent, a stressful environment, unhealthy communication patterns, and increased conflicts. We all come from different backgrounds and families. What’s amazing is how we come together as a team to produce finished products. Here are 3 ways you can set yourself and your team up for success. They all involve self-reflection, greater self-awareness, and implementation of new skills based on both your and others’communication strengths.

  1. 1. Use DISC Profiling to Rephrase Your Wants

DISC is an inventory that is taken specifically with the work environment in mind. It identifies your adapted behavior in the workplace, as well as your natural style. Bringing in someone to facilitate taking the DISC profile and interpreting the results with your team adds value to how well your team interacts with one another.

One of the fun things I did at the last corporate DISC training was to ask each participant what their pet peeve was (instead of what words to avoid or not to use) in regards to how other’s communicate with them. We also spent a great deal of time on what does work for each participant. We collated everyone’s results in a table for easy reference back in the office. During team training that teaches you communication skills, you learn more than just tendencies or preferences, you get to implement the knowledge right away, which ensures that you retain this information for later use.

It is critical to know that the greater awareness you have of your style and how to adapt how you communicate with others in the group based on their style is what sets you and your team apart from other groups operating by chance alone. Doing DISC as a group allows everyone to see patterns and how objectively to make changes in the way they speak and interact so the strengths of all team members are utilized rather than just the more extroverted or dominant communication and personality styles.

  1. 2. Understand Gender Communication Differences

While DISC identifies your adapted and natural communication styles, going one step further to understand how men and women prefer to communicate leads to even greater results.

  • Men tend to use communication to solve problems.
  • Women tend to use communication to connect.

For example, at work—a woman’s natural inclination to take into account how a decision affects all parties involved both short and long term. Calling on this strength during a sale or when weighing options ensures greater logistical planning than a more single-minded approach. Calling on a man’s inclination to either solve a dilemma, or shelve for later is helpful in keeping negotiations focused with the end in sight.

Mars Venus Coaches in your area can facilitate DISC trainings for your organization and offer free Stress Management Seminars and workshops geared to getting what you want at work and gender differences in selling and buying. If you’re pressed for time you can also read the following online articles or take aneWorkshop too!

  1. 3. Practice Conflict Resolution Skills

It is critical to know that under stress, we tend to do two things:

  • We revert to our natural DISC style—graph II, not our adapted DISC style—graph I. This is because under stress it is harder to mask our natural preferences for communicating.
  • We become more like our gender, because of our physiology and the way blood flows in our brains according to our sex.

Therefore, utilizing an objective observer or a facilitator that interprets how you work as a team is more helpful, then just reading about it or studying these skills alone.

The following are the 3 steps to conflict resolution and what primary DISC gravitates to each of the steps.

1. CREATE SPACE. S’s bring all views, ideas and opinions into dialogue.

–Change location to a neutral place

-Use active listening to explore rather than condemn opposing views

–Take breaks often to cool off during negotiations

2. ADD VALUE. C/I’snaturally use their skills to add value and make sure all voices are heard.

–Cs (Ts) add value by generating logical alternativesto the conflict issues

–Is (Fs) add value by creating options for growthfor all parties so no one leaves feeling empty handed

3. SEEK CLOSURE. D’s ensure an end result.

–agree on decision principles before making decisions (i.e. equal input)

-take one step at a time and define the steps

-once steps are outlined and decided upon, close the book on conflict

The bottom line is to turn what you learn into translatable skills. Learning communication and resiliency skills that focus on your strengths enable you to stay present in the moment. When you are able to operate continually from this place of presence, then you will find there are no fights, conflicts will decrease, and both your productivity and efficiency will improve. If your entire team can identify what best works for them and how to adapt to other people’s preferences, then the climate and culture at work will cease to feel like “work,” and more like play—just like it felt as a kid on the playground at recess playing kickball.

Lyndsay Katauskas, MEd

Mars Venus Coaching

Corporate Media Relations

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How to Overcome Emotional Abuse from Gaslighting

Wednesday, November 16th, 2011

This week I came across Yashar Ali’s insightful article: Message to Women From a Man: You Are Not “Crazy” featured on The Huffington Post from The Current Conscience blog. He describes how men and women alike tend to gaslight women due to the culture we grow up in and not knowing a more productive way of respectful communication.

Gaslighting is a term that mental health professionals use to explain a form of psychological abuse where untrue information is intentionally said or done to make a victim doubt her or his own memory and perception of what happened. It is as simple as an abuser denying any previous abusive episodes have occurred, or an abuser can intentionally stage peculiar events to disorient his or her victim. This occurs daily in our interactions with women when we deem them overly sensitive, emotional, or crazy—both at work and at home.

The term comes from a 1938 play called Gas Light, and it’s 1940 and 1944 film adaptations where the husband uses various forms of trickery including turning gas lights lower than normal to convince his spouse she is crazy. The term became a colloquial expression, and was then used in clinical and research literature. Yashar Ali’s interpretation brings to light the cultural dynamic that our social mores today still allow this type of emotional abuse to occur, predominantly with women.

As I commented on other blogs this week I noticed the cultural dynamic to devalue women and their emotional intelligence. We are still trying to fit women into the mold of how men work and operate, and it is not working can be found on this page. Rebecca Knight on Financial Times also recently wrote about how social identity plays a factor in helping women rise through the ranks at work. Amy Levine-Epstein on CBS News also commented on how a recent study on women finds a drop in ambition, which is also wider evidence of a trend going on right now of the need for a cultural shift to take place within our society empowering women to own their emotions and ability to be flexible…and use them as a strength in both their personal and professional lives.

A woman’s brain is built differently than a man’s. There is more connective tissue between the left and right side of the brain, allowing more cross-talk between the two brain hemispheres. fMRIs show under stress blood is more evenly distributed across the brain allowing women to make decisions using both logic (left side) and creativity/emotions (right side). This is a strength, but in our culture it is often “gaslighted.” When men are under stress blood flow in a male brain increases in the left orbital frontal cortex suggesting a fight or flight response. If the problem cannot be solved logically right now, then men will tend to put off/forget about it until their cortisol levels begin to lower and they think more clearly. How men and women produce their stress-reducing hormones (testosterone for men and oxytocin for women) is also different.

My masters is in counseling. From experience I see the most success with clients when we empower them to change from passive/aggressive/passive-aggressive communication styles to becoming more assertive by teaching resiliency & life skills (proactive take on the unlearning bad habits/beliefs). So I often have people identify which of the 12 listening blocks they use so they become more aware of when they tune the other person out so they can bring themselves back to the present moment.

The quickest way to become more assertive is to take back control & responsibility for staying present in conversations. When we shut down & daydream or talk to ourselves while others talk, we take away our choice to respond back in a respectful manner right then & there. If a woman has been “rendered emotionally mute,” this would enable her to identify when gaslighting is taking place, as it is taking place—so she could then respond/interpret the situation objectively. Assertive communication relies on treating yourself & others with respect.

I tend to agree with Hilde Lindemann Nelson who published Damaged Identities, Narrative Repair with Cornell University in early 2001 that a woman’s ability to resist gaslighting depends on “her ability to trust her own judgments.” By narrating a counter-story (the real events/true information), women that have been gaslighted may be able to retain their autonomy and come to objectively see the psychological abuse for what it is so they can re-establish their concept of self and heal from the exploitation.

This is why understanding listening blocks, and then building upon this awareness with assertive communication skills will help a woman who has and is being gaslighted to identify the unhealthy relationship dynamic. She can then choose safety, to leave, address the situation with appropriate authorities if necessary, and seek professional help. If there are multiple forms of abuse, seeking therapy rather than coaching (skill-based and focused on present/future outcomes) may be more appropriate.

Using a coach who helps you identify assertive communication, gender intelligence, and emotional intelligence will open doors to new skill sets that can help both the victim and abuser to divorce themselves from co-dependent relationships so they can pursue functional, healthy relationships.

Likewise, if someone—either man or woman—is gaslighting they can become more aware of their misconstruction of reality by learning how gaslighting inhibits them from obtaining genuine or true intimacy. They can do this by learning what listening blocks are and how their sociopathic behavior limits them from receiving acceptance, appreciation, respect, and unconditional love if they continue with this form of psychological abuse. They can then work from there to acquire the necessary skill sets to change to healthier relationship behaviors.

Lyndsay Katauskas, MEd

Mars Venus Coaching

Corporate Media Relations

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Staycation Today

Monday, October 31st, 2011

Now that Labor Day is over, school has started, and fall is on its way—are you already craving a vacation? Including fun and play every day in your life—whether it is alone, with your family, with friends, or even colleagues is a necessity. If you’re not doing little things each day, then how you fix this is by writing it down, and then doing it! Planning a daily mini-staycation everyday can do wonders for your health, your self-esteem, your happiness, and your relationships too. Sometimes we get stuck in a rut where we become too bogged down by all the pressure at work and of keeping up our home, and caring for loved ones, that we forget that our bodies need and crave downtime. Creating daily breaks where you relax is not a luxury, even though we sometimes treat it as such. Even with the economy, everyone has time for play. It is inexpensive, keeps you young, and the only thing holding you back is you.

It is not a guilty pleasure to stop what you’re doing and just have fun. The only way to ensure that you have free play time every day is to plan for it. How?

  1. Go grab your calendar, planner, or cell phone—whatever you use to keep track of your appointments.
  2. Block out at least two times every day. How long you ask? Start with 15 minute blocks if you’re crunched for time. Some people can go all out & splurge with an hour or two a day. If you’re not convinced yet that you’re worth this amount of time to have fun, then choose a smaller amount of time, and work yourself up to the 1 or 2 hour option.
  3. During one block of time plan an activity such as:

Dancing,

Running like a kid—key here is to run with abandon, maybe kick a ball around too?

Playing with the dog (or kids)

Tickling the dog (kids or spouse are welcome to join in or be tickled too!)

Sing (in the shower, at the top of your lungs in the woods or in the house)

  1. During the second block of time—be spontaneous.

If you don’t have kids, borrow them! But do something that makes you laugh.

Fingerpaint

Dance to a favorite song

Play Barbie if you have them—or do something you loved to do as kid

Hopscotch anyone?

Recent studies show that even if you feel depressed, or are in a funk—if you can find something that makes you laugh, then your mood will improve. Likewise, if you engage in a physical activity—mood improves as well, because of the hormones and endorphins released in your body.

  1. Use an accountability partner. If you block out your time, and then find yourself fizzling out on following through (even if it’s only after a day of not taking the time for fun), then grab an accountability partner—such as a spouse, best friend, friend, co-worker, family member, or a coach.

Someone that holds you accountable ensures that a staycation everyday will happen. It takes at least 90 days, and often much more time to change behaviors, and then have them become a habit. You can alleviate future trips to the doctor, to a therapist, and fights if you take the time to nurture the part of you that craves fun, excitement, and joy. It’s not just a mood lifter, your spirit is fulfilled too.

Lyndsay Katauskas, MEd

Mars Venus Coaching

Corporate Media Relations

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Mars Venus Coaching E-Workshop; “On a Date”

Tuesday, October 26th, 2010


Does the mere idea of dating make you nervous?
Do you find it difficult to confidently approach the opposite sex?
Is flirting a foreign language for you?
Has it been months (even years) since you went out on a date?
Or has it been months (even years) since you were dating someone special?

Imagine for a moment, that getting a date was easy. What would it look like? How would it feel to be excited about having a date on Saturday night? To be dating someone you were truly excited about, someone that made your pulse race and your palms sweat. This doesn’t have to live only in your imagination. It can be your reality. Dating someone special is within your grasp. That is, if you are willing to learn what it takes to date successfully.

For the First Time Ever!
Now, for the first time, our Mars Venus – “On a Date” eWorkshop is available online. The new challenge of dating is to find a partner who will not only be supportive of our physical needs for survival and security, but will also support our emotional, mental, and spiritual needs as well. It is no longer enough to just find someone who is willing to marry us – we want partners who will love us more as they get to know us. We want to live happily ever after. In order to find and recognize partners who can fill our new needs for increased intimacy, good communication, and a great love life – we need to update our dating skills.

The Mars Venus “On a Date” is a 5-week online eWorkshop designed for singles and dating couples who are interested in finding true and lasting love. Married couples who want to rekindle the romance of dating will also benefit greatly from this practical guide. By reviewing the elements of a great date and putting them into practice, you can once again experience the passion and romance experienced at the beginning of the relationship. The 5-session eWorkshop is presented live by a certified Mars Venus Success Coach, and supported with PowerPoint slides, video clips from some of Dr. Gray’s former sessions or workshops, theory, skills and interactive workshop exercises. You’ll receive strategies, tips, and the tools you’ll need to succeed at dating. You’ll even receive a certificate of completion. You’ll learn:

  • • How to successfully navigate through the five stages of dating
  • • How to attract the right person for you
  • • How to make sure you don’t unwittingly turn off the opposite sex
  • • How to make sure your partner stays interested
  • • Warning signals to avoid getting involved with the wrong person
  • • How to bring out the best in your partner
  • • When and how to create the four levels of intimacy – physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual
  • • How to make up, so you don’t break up
  • • The different reasons men and women decide to get married
  • • How to prepare for a marriage made in heaven

5 weekly sessions for only $298 (that’s just $59.60 per session). Each weekly session lasts approximately one hour.

visit http://marsvenusworkshops.com for more information

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Mars Venus Coaching Launches New E-Workshops!

Friday, October 8th, 2010

We are very excited to share with you a link to our brand new E-Workshops! These are the very Mars Venus Workshops that Dr. John Gray has been delivering globally for the last 25 years. For the first time ever we are now offering these highly effective Mars Venus Workshops online. Now you can experience and learn the Mars Venus Concepts taught by Dr. John Gray in the comfort of your own home.

The site provides an area for you to sign up for more information about the Workshops, in which you will receive an email every five days with tips that relate to the Workshops. It also offers a look at our affiliate program, in which you can sell these E-Workshops and receive a 25% commission.

The Mars Venus Coaching Workshops that are currently offered are listed below:

  • Secrets of Successful Relationships
  • Children are from Heaven
  • Mars Venus on a Date
  • Starting Over
  • How Men & Women Cope with Stress Differently
  • Mars Venus in the Workplace

Mars Venus Success Coaching E-Workshops

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Mars Venus Coach Nadia Ansari

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

Please take a look at our Mars Venus Coach in the United Kingdom; Nadia Ansari

nadia

Hello, and welcome, glad you decided to stop by…

Whether you’re familiar with coaching or it’s a completely new concept to you, I’m pretty confident you will have heard of the book Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus.

I first came across it in the form of Mars and Venus on a Date, when I started dating a particularly wonderful, but equally alien ‘Martian’ male… I’d often find myself pulling out my hair and despairing at the differences between us, at times thinking the relationship must surely be doomed! This was until a dear friend lent me her copy of the book… that was almost two years ago and I’m pleased to say that nowadays the relationship is a much happier and calmer, ever-growing and blossoming one.

So that’s where my enthusiasm for the Mars Venus work came from – because I experienced first-hand how much it worked. I’ve always been fascinated by human interactions despite being originally trained as a Business Analyst after following what others recommended as a ‘sensible degree’ in Information Systems Analysis. Even though I gained a First Class Honours in this, after some time trying to do the sensible thing, I still felt drawn more drawn to humans over computers.

Thus, as you might imagine, when the opportunity arose for me to be the first person in the UK to be trained by Dr. John Gray, said author of the now world renowned Mars & Venus name, I was pretty excited. I am proud to be the first Mars Venus coach in the UK and part of the international and ever-growing Mars Venus team – in fact I’m so committed to the idea of coaching that I have a coach too.

The reason for this is I believe continued education is essential for personal growth, and as such we could all use a coach to help us achieve our best – it is after all the reason that so many musicians and athletes already use coaches… not because they are at the bottom of the well and not sure how to get out, but because they want to continuously improve in order to achieve their best. It is personal development and learning that leads us to the wonderful feelings of empowerment and a ‘can do’ attitude. This renewed sense of understanding and achievement can have a fantastic impact on your personal and business life; as one naturally compounds the other.

OK, so that’s all very nice, but where does my drive to help you set your goals and achieve them come from? Well, just over three years ago I was diagnosed with an auto-immune condition that not only was making me very unwell, but also, as I was repeatedly informed, was ‘barely treatable and certainly incurable’. I went through a period of time feeling very sorry for myself and thinking ‘why me’ – but eventually found that far too depressing not to mention limiting – and so sought out other ways to resolve it. And I did.

Which is really what coaching is about: recognizing you’re in a situation that you’d like to change, then looking at all the various options that could enable you to make that change – then possibly trying a few that don’t work before finding one that does – following it through… and bingo, before you know it, you’re there.

It’s for that reason I’m passionate in helping people actualise and realise their full potential, both at home and at work. To help you to achieve these results, I hold seminars and one-to-one coaching sessions based on the Mars Venus Coaching principles. The focus is primarily on your personal and/or business goals; as well as helping men and women understand, respect, and appreciate their differences in both personal and professional relationships. Whether you have a general feeling that you’re not completely satisfied with life, love, work or play – or you have a very specific idea of exactly what is lacking in your life but are not quite sure how to change it, I can help you figure it out and get the changes rolling in.
So review my introduction from Dr. Gray at the top of the page, take a look at the feedback from a client below… and think about it – why not coaching? Then contact me through the email or telephone numbers listed…. and I’ll look forward to working with you in achieving your goals!

Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement. – Brian Tracy, Eat that Frog

Client Testimonial:

“I found Nadia’s life coaching extremely useful. Nadia’s methods are far more proactive and specific than business mentoring I have had in the past. Nadia understands her clients’ businesses and relationships. She provides expertise in a way that is easy to understand and put into action. She is professional and approachable, and I would highly recommend her for mentoring and seminars. Working environments can only benefit from seeking her advice.”
M. Davies
One-to-one client

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A Word about Coaching

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

Because life coaching and business coaching are relatively new professions, and many people haven’t had any direct experience working with a coach, the question of “how does coaching work?” is something we frequently hear.

One of the biggest misconceptions is that coaching is about giving advice.

Coaching – whether you work with a life coach or a business coach – asserts that all of the answers we seek are inside of ourselves. A good coach will not tell you what to do. The reason to work with a coach is to empower yourself to listen to your own inner voice, and to investigate the full spectrum of possible solutions to the barriers holding you or your business back. Seeking outside help can help you gain the clarity and focus necessary to succeed.
Life and business coaching are about permanent and fundamental shifts in your view of yourself and your business.  Coaching is about helping an individual or organization see a way to achieve a goal, remove a roadblock to achieving a goal, or a combination of the two.

According to Einstein, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” A coach can help you shift your thinking into that new perspective.  A coach’s tools are great, probing, enlightening questions.  And a great coach has enough experience to ask the right, questions at the right time to help you make that shift quickly.

The International Coach Federation defines corporate or executive coaching as “a process for equipping individuals and teams with the tools, knowledge, and opportunities they need to be creatively productive and effective in their commitment to themselves, their organizations, and their work.” We proudly support this definition.

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Avoiding a Deadbeat Sales Attitude by Paul Montelongo

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

It never ceases to amaze me that there are professional sales people that are about as enthusiastic as a sedated mortician is.
Having a deadbeat attitude in the presence of your prospects and your clients is a poison that will kill your sales.
You know this. Most salespeople know this. Yet, they continue to have an apathetic attitude. And they wonder why their sales suffer.

Emotional buying reasons.

Enthusiasm is highly contagious. People buy products and services for one reason only. That reason is that it initiates some sort of feeling, some sort of emotion. Here is a brief list of the feelings or emotional reasons that your prospect will buy from you.

1. They sense a degree of variety or excitement in your product or service. Why else would someone lay down their cash for a skydiving adventure?

2. There can be a feeling of security or assuredness that your product will give them. For example, alarm systems, guarded communities, extended warranty plans and life insurance may fall into this category.

3. Perhaps they get a feeling of possibility or opportunity. The opportunity can be something that translates into more revenue for them or more freedom. Take a look at the stock market and you’ll grasp this point.

4.Your prospect can even buy based on fear. It could be fear of the loss of a good deal. Fear that they will miss an opportunity to save money or fear that their buying choices will not look good to their peers and friends.

5. Your prospect will also buy from you based on their feelings of perceived convenience. For example, when someone buys a new home, a primary consideration is the location of the neighborhood. Is it close to schools, work, church, shopping, gymnasium, relatives and friends? If the answer is yes, their level of convenience is very high.

It is all a perception.

There are many other emotional reasons that people will buy your product and service. The key point is that it is all a perception and your level of enthusiasm about your product and service is a dominant factor in their decision to buy from you.

Once you have tapped into their real reasons for buying by asking a series of quality questions, it all boils down to your enthusiastic attitude about your product. After all, if you are not genuinely enthusiastic about your offering, how can you expect your prospect to get excited?

If it is true that you buy based on your feelings, then why doesn’t every salesperson in the world try to stimulate feelings of happiness and security in the mind of their prospect?
Negative thoughts and emotions will kill your sales. Here are five ways to avoid a deadbeat sales attitude. By the way, if you already are Mr. or Ms. Positive Attitude, you will really enjoy this refresher course and you can testify that these steps really work.

1. Harness the power of your body: Every move that you make with your body sends a direct signal to your brain. That signal tells your brain that you are happy, sad, indifferent, puzzled, inquisitive, certain, stressed, positive, joyous or a zillion other emotions. The happiest, most positive minded people in the world show it all day long with the power of their body. A smile, a grin, a deep breath, elevating your eyes, upright posture and walking with the gate of a prize stallion will help you to increase your sales. As you interact with your prospect, move with confidence and poise. Have a warm, friendly smile. Be pleasant and add a little humor to your presentation. You don’t have to be a Jim Cary jokester, but humor is contagious and laughter creates more oxygen flow to the brain.

2. Check your inner conversation. I read recently that the average human has 40,000 thoughts every day. When I read this statistic, I immediately thought, “Who counted? I can’t imagine how researchers arrived at this statistic. What if it is only half true? Or what if the real number is double? Regardless of the accuracy of this estimate, imagine the implications of this revelation. What are you doing with the tens of thousands of thoughts you have every day? Arrange your thoughts to think of the opportunities that lay in front of you with every prospect. Continuously think of the ways that you can serve your customer rather than what is in it for you. And focus on the long-term benefits of connecting with your prospects in a deep meaningful way.

3. Prepare, prepare, and prepare. Did I mention that you should prepare? Preparation reduces fear. When fear is reduced or eliminated, your thoughts and actions are not hampered or restricted. You can act naturally and comfortably with your customers. You will not be unduly concerned about what you are going to say or do next because you are prepared. You will know your product, the benefits of your product and you will have answers for common objections and questions that your prospect may have. There is no such thing as a lucky sale. A sale happens when preparation meets opportunity.

4. Concentration of focus. You ability to focus on the positive outcomes of your sales presentation will determine your level of sales success. In other words, are you concentrating on what you do want to happen rather than what you do not want to happen? Focus on your sales objectives and goals rather than external influences over which you have no control, like a loose economy or market timidity. The thing you focus on will expand to become your reality.

5. Be authentic. All of the sales strategies in the world will not help you one bit if you are not a genuinely authentic caring person. Your customer knows when you are faking it. Your customer knows who really cares about them and their needs. Your customer knows when they need to wear their boots, because the buffalo fertilizer is getting thick. Be your unique self and your customer will gravitate to you and trust you. The biggest benefit in being authentic is that you will be living your life with self-confidence, high values and integrity. Folks, it doesn’t get any better than that.

Avoiding a deadbeat attitude will help you sell more, earn more and achieve more. Your level of career satisfaction will skyrocket. Happy selling to you!

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The Mars Venus Coaching Licensing Opportunity

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

The Mars Venus Franchise Opportunity
Master Franchise and Coach Franchise opportunities are currently available in select international markets. Master Franchisees are responsible for expanding the Mars Venus system in a designated territory or region through a network of Coaching Franchises within their respective territories.

Coach Franchisees are responsible for offering the Mars Venus Coaching system through the direct coaching of life and/or executive coaching clients. Coach Franchisees also market a range of exclusive Mars Venus products, as well as one-on-one or group coaching, workshops, and seminars to their coaching clients and/or the general public.

The Mars Venus Franchise System

The Mars Venus Franchise system has been created, developed, and refined over many years, and it is the result of the combined efforts of a number of the world’s leading business, marketing, and franchise industry experts. Clearly the Mars Venus system has been designed to not only capitalize on its megabrand status, but to also capitalize on an unparalleled franchise system and support structure.

The Mars Venus system has introduced a structure designed to support Master and Coach Franchisees through a number of key areas including:

  • An extensive support network in major world markets.
  • Marketing funds and programs to ensure availability of marketing resources at all levels.
  • Marketing, public relations, and constant promotion of the Mars Venus brand across the globe, additionally supported and reinforced by the introduction and/or expansion of a varied range of Mars Venus products and services internationally.

The Mars Venus Franchise system offers Master and Coach Franchisees unparalleled profit potential, as the Mars Venus system is not only viable, but also critical to both the corporate and lifestyle markets. Additionally, revenue potential can be realized through the offering of Mars Venus merchandise and products.

Mars Venus Franchisees will benefit from:

  • Unrivaled support in the first year, including an intensive Induction Training of 7-10 days, followed by a 12-week Quickstart program immediately thereafter; a continuing Coach’s Coach assignment; conferences; and regional or territorial training meetings.
  • Ongoing training and support that is second to none.
  • $50 million already spent building the brand.
  • 98% brand recognition across the globe.
  • A feel-good brand that is like no other.
  • Media attention and interest.
  • Involvement with one of the world’s fastest-growing industries.
  • Low overheads with diverse profit potential.

For over 30 years the Mars Venus brand has enjoyed phenomenal growth and success, and it now offers franchising internationally with an unmatched opportunity to capitalize on this megabrand.

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