8 Winning Ways To Perform Workplace Wonders:

What is your attitude when you are at work?  Are you excited about the workplace culture and the people that surround you?  What is your performance state of mind at work?
Today’s workplace is changing – forcing employees to change with it.

 Click Here to read full article...

From Forbes.com

20 Great Apps for Small Businesses:

From SUCCESS Magazine Online:

"I won’t waste your time discussing basic apps you should have, including Facebook, Twitter, iTunes and YouTube. Instead let’s look at some apps that can: 1. increase your income, 2. decrease your expenses and 3. save time so you can do more of 1 and 2. Here’s my list of must-have apps to help you manage, meet and beat the countless business challenges of the Information Age..."

Click Here for full article...

Say Cheese! The way you talk to customers can say a lot about your business:

The way you talk to customers can say a lot about your business. A great way to sound confident and approachable is to always smile when you speak. It keeps you positive and can help your customers will feel assured they are speaking with someone who is genuine. Try it out – start smiling!

Weigh in: How do you keep your confidence when talking to customers?

http://bit.ly/LS7obv

Meetings Are A Skill You Can Master, And Steve Jobs Taught Me How:

Ho to Have a Great and Successful Meeting. Read the article here:  http://bit.ly/KQr5Pu

How to Focus - via Just Sell®... it's all about sales®

How to Focus - Just Sell®... it's all about sales®

Imagine the incredible results you’d have if you and your team really focused on a consistent basis.
You’d likely…

• contribute more
• waste less time ramping back up
• serve customers better (internally and externally)
• find more customers
• come up with more ideas
• plan better
• be less frustrated and stressed
• help others focus more (by interrupting them less)
• make more money (for everyone… including you)

Nothing’s guaranteed, of course. But it’s a better bet. (And in the long run, you’ll enjoy more.)

If you like these ideas, you might also like my message on commitment called Cross The Line. Use this link to watch the quick little video.
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4 ways to knock out the bulk of distractions

1. Establish focus hours with your team (or company-wide) – chunks of time each day where everyone will allow everyone else to focus (that includes you). No inter-office communications unless it truly can’t wait. At JustSell, ours are from 9 am – 11 am and 2 pm – 4 pm (4 total hours a day). You’ll make mistakes occasionally and break focus hours but with commitment and reinforcement, everyone will benefit. If you’re really SalesTough (see below if you don’t know what this is) in order to minimize outside distractions, let your family and friends know your focus hours (and turn off your cell).
2. Turn off email alerts and commit to checking it at the most minimal level you feel is possible for your particular sales world without having a negative impact on service. If you’re SalesTough, most of your inbound emails are probably important but still don’t need attention for at least an hour (if not longer). Be truthful with yourself and set your interval so everyone wins. If you can set only two or three specific times a day to respond to email, do it. (See below for what we learned by checking it only 3 times a day.) Consider having an auto-responder that let’s people know when you address your email (e.g., "Thanks for your note. I usually check my email three times daily (8:30 am, 11:30 am, 4:30 pm). If you need me immediately, please call my cell/ assistant/ office line.)."
3. Turn off instant messaging services unless your work absolutely requires it to get the job done. Having to phone someone or talk with them live (by visiting them) will make you more aware and respectful of someone else’s time (and yours).
4. Avoid the web during money hours unless you absolutely need it for your work. The distractions are endlessly wonderful for those who’d prefer to avoid making good things happen (which of course, isn’t your goal). If you must open a browser during the money hours (or focus hours), make sure your home page is something that doesn’t have the potential to encourage you down destruction distraction road (e.g., news or email sites, personalized pages, etc.). Search and discover outside your money hours or at lunch.

1 more…
If you’re in an office setting that allows you to face away from distraction (the door or other people – not customers, of course), do it.
Managers: Depending on your team, some or all of these ideas might not go over well (we know firsthand). Involving people in a discussion, asking them for ideas on how to improve internal focus and minimize distractions, might be a good first step. Also, consistently helping people remember the purpose behind what it is you do for customers can help gain commitment to your reasons for focusing. (Make good things happen for other people.).

Workshop Location Survey

 Take our one question survey on where Jeff should hold his next sales workshop:

Click here to take survey

6 Ways Your Business Card Can Still Pack A Big Punch

BY Lydia Dishman | 02-27-2012 | 3:24 PM
From Fast Company http://bit.ly/wVILzV
 

MOO.com pioneered business cards the size of a stick of gum; the company expects to churn out 100 million in 2012. Here's how to leverage that small bit of paper into a big branding opportunity.

Richard Moross wants you to know that business cards are alive and well. As the CEO of MOO, the company that pioneered those clever mini cards with do-it-yourself design options, Moross says the business of printing may be 500+ years old, but it's doing quite nicely, thank you very much.

Since its founding in 2004, the company has a seen its compound annual growth rate exceed 100%. MOO.com now has hundreds of thousands of customers in nearly 200 countries and printed 50 million business cards last year alone. Moross is expecting that number to double in 2012.

Which is why Moross brushes away talk that exchanging cards is going to go the way of the horse and cart. Not only does he order and give out thousands of his own cards every year, Moross maintains, “The more connected to the web we are, the more precious the real world is, so it is important to make a connection.”

That connection comes in the form of a handshake, a look in the eye, and the passing of the card. “It is hard to generate trust virtually and convey your personality through a Skype call,” Moross explains. Though he says, “we sell the most boring products in the world,” Moross notes that business cards are resilient for a number of reasons, not the least of which is simplicity. “You don't need to upgrade the OS. Everyone understands what it is, and it just works.”

For all their genteel simplicity, MOO's cards captured the attention of some pretty tech-heavy businesses. Recent partners include Airbnb, whose hosts are encouraged to use MOO cards to showcase their digs to prospective guests, and Facebook. Moo’s Facebook Cards are personalized featuring any of your Facebook Timeline Cover Photos on the front and a custom quote (or favorite status update) on the back.

These collaborations drive home Moross's fascination with the way design on the diminutive bits of paper can break the ice, build relationships, and strengthen a brand. He sat down with Fast Company recently to discuss how he gets maximum impact from a mini card.

Be Yourself

"I give out thousands of cards but I take a lot, too. I'm an avid collector. I mainly take pictures of places I've been and meals I've eaten and use those on my personal cards. There's a story behind each [image]. For instance, I had octopus raw and shredded in Bangkok once. It looked disgusting but it was marvelous. Those are the things that people find memorable when they rifle through the cards they got that week and they remember you."

Ice Breaker, Not Deal Breaker

"Typically I give my cards out at the beginning of a meeting; that way the recipient can put it in front of them, and, if there are multiple people in the room, no one forgets anyone's name. I like to lay all my cards out on the table and have people pick their favorite. Each one is different and it makes for a really fun introduction."

Make a Useful and Productive Tool
"We mostly print flat rectangles, so it's pretty straightforward at a fundamental level. But there is a very specific reason for the size. When I first designed [the mini card] I did in the shape of a regular business card, but stripping away all the wasted white space made it more personal. Because it is a strange aspect ratio there is some cropping you get to do [when using your own photos]. The fact that you are going through the editing process is quite liberating. You get to really show who you are."
Photos for Everyone!
"There is a camera in every device now and the proliferation of photography stored on the web--Facebook is the largest depository on the planet. To get people to use [their own photography] in business and personal cards is a powerful application. It is almost like a subversion of the cheesy real estate photo, you can suck the photos into MOO's website and do pretty low intensity design work, and it's very memorable and impactful."
What Not to Print
"Other than something illegal, pretty much anything goes. We have had some customers order trials of...offensive graphics, and we block those users. Most of customers are creatively inclined and we are often delighted by the types of cards people make because we hand check everything."
Lasting Impression
"I think business cards will prove more resilient than books. We are in the identity business and the next stepping stone will include the ttransfer of information [from the cards] into devices. There is still something important about real-world tokens, though. MOO's mission is not just to transfer information, but to keep it."

Insider List: Motivating Thoughts & Actions

A quick list of Thoughts & Actions PRO TALK finds motivating:

a future of possibility
a printed copy of goals that can be seen every day
a loved one's courage while suffering through difficult times
seeing my team succeed
accomplishing a difficult task
solving a problem and moving forward
knowing you can’t win if you don’t play
being relentless in seeking positive incremental improvement every day
being outdoors
change of scenery
my children
my family
my friends
my mentors
sunshine & warm fresh air
money
Jim Valvano’s “Don’t Ever Give Up” Arthur Ashe Courage Award acceptance speech
the story of Abraham Lincoln’s life
the sacrifices of Jesus
stories of the police officers, fire fighters and office workers who experienced the 9/11 attacks

What's Dangerous is Not to Evolve

This is a great video about continuing to grow your business.