Bring Back the Passion: Create a Vision that Lights You Up

It’s the beginning of a new year. And with every new year, there’s an opportunity to make a fresh start. It’s time to put what happened or didn’t happen last year to rest, and create a new vision for 2010 that lights you up and brings back the passion.

How do you know you’ve lost your passion and it’s time to create a new vision? If you’ve had any of the following thoughts, then it’s time.

1. You know there’s more you could be doing in your business and your life, but you’re not sure what it is or the steps to take.
2. The day goes by and you didn’t accomplish what you intended to.
3. You have difficulty getting motivated in the morning.
4. You’re concerned about money.
5. The number of clients and sales has dwindled down or stopped.
6. You worry about the economy.
7. The passion you had for your business has disappeared.

So how are you going to bring back the passion and get excited again about your business? It starts with being honest with yourself and taking a realistic look at what you want your life and your business to look like. Here are 9 steps to help you create a vision that lights you up again:

1. Take some quiet time and begin to journal how you’d like your life to look. If you were living your life exactly the way you want it, what would it look like? Don’t hold back—let your mind run freely. This is the beginning of creating your vision. Remember this is about you, so give yourself the time to do this.
2. Your vision should include all areas of your life (Business, Relationships, Well-Being, Finances, Physical Space, Spirituality, and FUN).
3. Write your vision as specifically and vividly as you can. How much money do you want to make, how many clients do you want to have, how many hours do you plan to work, how many vacations will you take, where do you live, where do you work, how do you feel emotionally when you get up in the morning, what does your physical space look like? The more clearly you articulate the way you want your life and business to be, the more quickly it will come to you.
4. Now that you have a vision of what you want your life to look like, write down the action steps to make this vision real. The action steps are key to fulfilling your vision. You can have an amazing vision of what you want, but without being in action, it’s just another good idea. For each action step, write a due date to complete the action step.
5. Create your own Vision Board. Look through magazines and cut out colorful and bold photos, pictures of people, words, numbers that reflect your vision. Display them on a large board so you can see it every day. Every day you’ll see the Vision Board of your new life. This will motivate you to keep your vision alive.
6. Design you own Personal Dream Movie. You can create your own online inspirational movie of what you want your business and life to look like using inspirational words, photos, and music. Seeing your vision of the dreams you want to achieve played out in a movie is an amazing and powerful experience. Throughout the day you can motivate yourself by playing your movie, share with others, post on your website, and even on YouTube. A couple of sites that I found to help you create your movie are http://www.mindmovies.com/ and http://www.animoto.com/.
7. Share your vision with other people. Don’t keep it a secret. Let others know what your vision is. There’s no more playing small for you! It’s time to step out and let others know what your intention is. As you share with others, you’ll feel more and more excited about what you’ve created and it becomes real for you. You’re declaring to the world what you’re committed to accomplishing.
8. Speak it as though it’s happening now. “I am living in a beautiful house by the ocean.” “I am making $$ dollars.” “I wake up each day excited by what’s possible.” As you say these words aloud, you’ll begin to believe it and visualize yourself having it come into your life.
9. Create your own Mastermind Group to support you in fulfilling your vision. Find people like you who have the same level of commitment. Meet once or twice a month by phone or face-to-face. You can brainstorm with one another, give advice, share new ideas and hold each other accountable. I’m in a Mastermind Group because I know it’s the only way I can be sure to fulfill on my vision.

If you would like to use this article on your website, or for your own ezine, not a problem; however, there’s one thing you MUST include: Rochelle Togo-Figa, The Sales Breakthrough Expert, is the creator of the Sales Breakthrough System™, a proven step-by-step sales process that will help you close more sales, sign on more clients and make more money with ease and velocity. To sign up for her free sales articles and teleclasses on closing more sales, visit http://www.salesbreakthroughs.com/.

8 Easy Steps to Eliminate the Non-Serious Buyer (Once and For All)

A client was disappointed she hadn’t brought in any new clients in several weeks. She was frustrated she had set up 8 appointments and hadn’t closed one. She had set high expectations and was upset with the results. We’ve all been there, so we know how it feels to anticipate closing business and then it doesn’t happen.

As she and I discussed the situation, several things started to open up. Although she had scheduled 8 appointments, early on 2 of the people had cancelled and 2 didn’t want to spend the money. These 4 people were non-serious buyers. The good news was the other 4 were definitely interested.

In fact, one of the people she met liked her authentic sales style so much that she was invited to attend a party where she could network with many more potential clients. She may not have closed the sale on the first appointment as she had hoped; however, she gained much more. She still had the possibility of closing this sale and an opportunity to meet many more potential clients.

It’s unlikely you will close most of your sales on the first appointment. There is an emotional process that people go through when making a buying decision. People do business with who they get to know, like and trust. You have to be patient and willing to nurture the business relationship.

To guide the customer through the sales process and create a long-lasting business relationship begins by authentically communicating, being genuinely interested in the other person, and giving up any attachment you have to the outcome.

As we reviewed her appointments, we looked to see what was missing that could be put in for the next time. She thought the problem was she didn’t know how to close the sale. That wasn’t the problem. What was missing was doing the preparation work before the sales meeting to eliminate non-serious buyers. If she had done the preparation work, those 4 non-serious buyers would have been eliminated early on.

If you want to be well prepared for your sales appointment and close sales faster, I have 8 steps to follow that will move the sales appointment to a sales close.

1. Set specific and realistic goals of what you want to accomplish.
2. Go in with the intention of closing the sale, but let go of any attachment to the outcome (and how it should look).
3. Send a letter or email before the meeting outlining what will be covered at the meeting.
4. Call to confirm the meeting. At that time ask qualifying questions to uncover their budget, make sure you’re meeting with the decision maker, and find out how long they’ve been looking.
5. Make a list for yourself of anticipated questions and responses.
6. Make a list for yourself of anticipated objections and responses.
7. Practice your presentation out loud.
8. Practice your responses to the questions and objections.

Golden opportunities are all around us. Sometimes they’re hidden from our view because we think things should look a certain way and when they don’t, we’re disappointed. I invite you to let go of how it should look and turn every challenge into a golden opportunity.

If you would like to use this article on your website, or for your own ezine, not a problem; however, there’s one thing you MUST include: Rochelle Togo-Figa, The Sales Breakthrough Expert, is the creator of the Sales Breakthrough System™, a proven step-by-step sales process that will help you close more sales, sign on more clients and make more money with ease and velocity. To sign up for her free sales articles and teleclasses on closing more sales, visit http://www.salesbreakthroughs.com/.

Ready to Create 2010 to be Your Best Sales Year Ever?

As we move into 2010, now is the time to decide what you want your business to look like. Look at what you have in your business now. If you don’t like what you see, you can change it. If you want to achieve bigger goals, you can do it. It starts by stepping outside your business, looking at how you’ve been doing business, and then creating a new vision of what you want your business to be. You can accomplish much more when you have a clear and concise sales plan.

Let me share a story about my client, Ann. She’s the owner of a growing tile business. Ann came to me because she wasn’t closing enough sales—she was overwhelmed with the details of running a business. Instead of running her business, she felt as though her business was running her. Her lack of focus and direction was hindering her productivity and slowing down her sales growth.

Ann had big dreams for growing her business. She wanted to design a brochure, build a website, and sign on more clients. However, all the details that arise for solopreneurs can often push our dreams into the realm of “maybe someday.” So early in the coaching relationship, Ann and I created a detailed plan of everything that she wanted to accomplish.

We started with Ann creating a clear vision of what she wanted her business to look like. I had her answer these questions, “What is it I really want to do? Am I doing the work I really love or am I doing what others expect of me?” In order to create her vision, she needed to put her business owner hat on, step back, and see the whole picture. It’s not uncommon to get caught up in the “doing” of our business and lose sight of seeing a bigger picture, including all of our dreams and goals.

She then listed and clarified all her goals and indicated next to each goal the date to reach the goal. We then defined action steps for each goal, with a due date next to each action step. We looked at all of the steps and we listed, by priority, which steps she needed to tackle first. Creating due dates for her goals and action steps, gave Ann a clear and specific plan by when they would be accomplished.

Immediately, Ann felt energized and excited. Finally, she was focused and had gained clarity. She was able to envision each of the steps on the way to each of her goals. With her new plan in place, Ann completed her brochure, implemented her new website, and actively began pursuing new clients. She felt a sense of accomplishment seeing all the projects she’d been working on for several years finally being completed. Ann is now running her business with confidence, guided by a clear vision of what she needs to do going forward. By anchoring herself and grounding herself, she became the image of success she’d dreamed of.

I’m sure many of you can relate to Ann’s story. You’re strong in certain areas, but in other areas you’re totally overwhelmed with all the things involved in running a business. When you create a clear, specific plan and stick to it, you cease to be overwhelmed and make tremendous strides towards realizing your vision.

The wonderful thing about having a plan is gaining a sense of control over the direction of your business and life. With a plan, you steer your business in the direction you want it to go. You are no longer caught up in the details of the day-to-day work.

Here are 9 simple steps to create your own comprehensive plan towards achieving your sales success:

1. Create your vision: Take a good look at your business. Maybe it’s time to change your vision. Are you doing what you really want to do? What is it you want to accomplish? What is it you provide? When you begin to answer these questions, you’re creating a clear vision of what you want to accomplish.
2. See the whole picture: Much too often, we are caught up in the every day details of our business rather than seeing the whole picture. Make the time to step back from the “doing” and see the whole picture of what you want to achieve.
3. Clarify your goals: Goals are the pathway to getting to where you want to take your business. Make a list of all the goals you want to accomplish and ensure they relate to your business.
4. Clear and specific goals: As you write your goals, are they as clear and specific as possible? This means projecting sales revenue numbers, percentages, number of new clients, etc.
5. Action steps: To fulfill each of your goals, there must be an action step connected to the goal. The action step is the “doing” part of your plan. Without taking action, the goal is just a good idea.
6. Due dates: To ensure you reach your goal sooner than later, list a due date to reach your goal and do the same for each action step. This eliminates procrastination because you’re committing to a deadline to reach your goal.
7. Prioritize: Take a good look at each goal and list the goals that matter most first. Prioritize the top 3 goals as “A” goals. This means you want to achieve these goals in the next 90 days.
8. Just do it: Now that you’ve created a plan, it’s time to work your plan. Do what you said you would do, when you said you would do it. As Nike says, “Just do it!” 97% of people write goals and never take action. If you want this to be your best year ever, be in the 3% who take action and reach their goals!
9. Persevere: Do not allow anything to get in the way of fulfilling your plan and reaching your goals. No matter what life throws at you, keep your eye on your plan and persevere.

Now is a good time to begin to create your sales plan. Follow the 9 steps and begin to design your plan. With a comprehensive sales plan in place, you’re ready to hit the ground running in 2010!

If you would like to use this article on your website, or for your own ezine, not a problem; however, there’s one thing you MUST include: Rochelle Togo-Figa, The Sales Breakthrough Expert, is the creator of the Sales Breakthrough System™, a proven step-by-step sales process that will help you close more sales, sign on more clients and make more money with ease and velocity. To sign up for her free sales articles and teleclasses on closing more sales, visit http://www.salesbreakthroughs.com/.