BEST:
A really good sales (and marketing) system and approach is one that helps people to make life-changing decisions and take action, even if they don’t buy.

LEAST:
Honestly, nothing comes to mind. When I sell, as well as when I teach my clients how to sell, it’s all about getting to what’s best for the prospect. Again so even if they don’t buy, I look at it as a ‘Win’ for both sides. And taking that approach and giving that value does lead to many more closes and happy clients.

But, I don’t want to short-change the question, so I guess if I had to pick one thing as a “least,” it would be the once-in-a-while when I can’t help someone to make a decision one way or the other. I find that generally these people are usually not the sort of people I want to work with anyway.

Sorry… I guess I turned that back into a positive again. LOL

I’m sure there are things I don’t like, but this was just off the top of my head in reponse to an online post.

-> What are your thoughts on the “Best and Least Liked Aspects of Sales”?

First, I would like to say ’Congrats’ on the new business! That’s great that you want to use your gift of mathematical skills to help others.

There are lots of options to drum-up leads for home-based businesses and convert those to sales.

Where are you located, and who do you want to tutor? Those might influence some of what you choose to do. You can have a good mix of in-person, on the phone and online activities such as social networking.

Speaking to classes and providing math and homework tips to students that are your potential clients might be a couple of easy-to-do and effective strategies.

Here is a list of ways that I help my small business clients to market themselves, create marketing and lead-generation systems. Some of these might work for you:

o _____  Networking Events / Meetings / Organizations
o _____  Lead Capturing from your Website
o _____  Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Meetup
o _____  Articles / Newsletters – in hard copy
o _____  Ezine / Blog
o _____  Co-Registration List Building
o _____  Joint Ventures, Affiliate Programs
o _____  Teleclasses
o _____  Email Campaigns
o _____  Speaking Engagements, Workshops
o _____  Referrals
o _____  Media Exposure
o _____  Cold Calling
o _____  Paid/Barter Advertising

I recommend you pick three to five methods that you enjoy the most, come up with a strategy and system for each, and then be very persistent with executing them. You can tweak your strategies as you find what works best for you.

For more in-depth on the Social Networking strategies, here is a step-by-step guide for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Meetup:
http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/social-networking-special-report/

I hope these ideas help!

All the best,
Jason

In the spirit of sharing, helping reverse the recession, and providing sales to those that truly deserve it, I would like to introduce “Testimonial Tuesdays”!

http://snipurl.com/hey43 in the Facebook Group: “Achieve Your Ideal Business Now!”

I think Tuesdays are a great day for us to give a recommendation, testimonial or just kudos for a job well done to anyone we’ve worked with that we feel others could really benefit from.

For my first Testimonial Tuesday post and I want to give props to someone that has saved me hundreds of dollars over the past year, if not more:

I love the professional service and additional coverage she was able to provide at a much lower rate on my home, auto and umbrella insurance. I’ve been very happy with my rep for over a year. Let me know if you want Richele’s contact info to have her give you a great quote! Jason@DistinctiveCoaching.com

Please post your own Testimonials:
http://snipurl.com/hey43 

All the best,
Jason

P.S. Here is a Twitter post for you to ReTweet about Testimonial Tuesdays:

“Testimonial Tuesday”! Let the world know about the awesome service & value of other polished professionals! http://snipurl.com/hey43 Pls RT

@BizCoachJason  http://twitter.com/BizCoachJason

In the spirit of sharing, helping reverse the recession, and providing sales to those that truly deserve it, I would like to introduce “Testimonial Tuesdays”!

http://snipurl.com/hey43 in the Facebook Group: “Achieve Your Ideal Business Now!”

I think Tuesdays are a great day for us to give a recommendation, testimonial or just kudos for a job well done to anyone we’ve worked with that we feel others could really benefit from.

For my first Testimonial Tuesday post and I want to give props to someone that has saved me hundreds of dollars over the past year, if not more:

I love the professional service and additional coverage she was able to provide at a much lower rate on my home, auto and umbrella insurance. I’ve been very happy with my rep for over a year. Let me know if you want Richele’s contact info to have her give you a great quote! Jason@DistinctiveCoaching.com

Please post your own Testimonials:
http://snipurl.com/hey43 

All the best,
Jason

P.S. Here is a Twitter post for you to ReTweet about Testimonial Tuesdays:

“Testimonial Tuesday”! Let the world know about the awesome service & value of other polished professionals! http://snipurl.com/hey43 Pls RT

@BizCoachJason  http://twitter.com/BizCoachJason

Great summary!

I was once, too, temporarily suspended for unknown reasons, and for an unspecified period of time. But I was definitely told not to do “it” again, or else! lol

I couldn’t find in the terms of service what I had violated, and to this day have no idea what happened.

Thanks for sharing these tips. They are more specific and give an idea of what to watch out for and avoid in terms of being Facebook terminated.

All the best,
Jason

Website: http://www.AchieveYourIdealBusiness.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/BizCoachJason
Facebook Profile: http://profile.to/BizCoachJason
Facebook Business Group: http://groups.to/IdealBusinessCommunity

http://www.snopes.com/science/cookegg.asp 

It turns out the video below is a hoax. It was a marketing ploy to sell cell phone earpieces.  One of my friends found the above story and sent me the link.  It also stirred quite a discussion between us.

Many of us have fallen prey to the “alarmist” email forwards, and I am usually not “fooled” by them, at least without doing a web search and checking things out myself.  This one got the better of me, as it was intended to play on fear and pain points (good marketing, huh?)

My friend implied that by sending this hoax warning in am email to friends and family (he assumed I sent it also to clients and prospects), I was going against my very mission of coaching people to build a reputation for integrity, professionalism, attention to detail, marketing, branding, etc.  He asked me in a tongue-in-cheek way, how would I coach someone that sent “false and erroneous information” via email. 

So I responded:

“Yes, we all do imperfect things that impact our goals and relationships, and sometimes sabotage them.

To sum it up: Ooops.  I’m not perfect. Life goes on. And I do coach others that well thought out action is more important than perfect action for the simple reason that we can be paralyzed by waiting and trying to be perfect. ”

There are many lessons to be learned here.
- Don’t always take things at face value
- Always look before you leap
- Be mindful of others’ perceptions and outcomes from your potential actions
- Use well thought out actions

But I still say sometimes taking imperfect actions beats all the above to move you towards success – especially when you are acting from genuine compassion and care.

Life (and business) is a crap-shoot. Be diligent, but don’t be paralyzed or overly pessimistic.

Enjoy the video, but remember, until you try it at home, it’s not proof just because it looks like it’s true.  :)

All the best,
Jason
 
 

————————————————————————-

MY ORGINIAL POST, 2/18/09:

I haven’t seen the popcorn evidence before, but I have been concerned for a long time about us literally frying our brains and other tissues and organs from cell phones.  It’s good to see the physical evidence.

 - Jason

P.S. It’s also good to know what to do if you’re stuck in the wilderness with only popcorn and your cell phone, in order to keep from starving.  LOL

————————————————————————————-

Check this out – scary! 

[dailymotion id=x5odhh]

And we’re supposed to believe
that cell phones are safe? 

http://www.snopes.com/science/cookegg.asp 

It turns out the video below is a hoax. It was a marketing ploy to sell cell phone earpieces.  One of my friends found the above story and sent me the link.  It also stirred quite a discussion between us.

Many of us have fallen prey to the “alarmist” email forwards, and I am usually not “fooled” by them, at least without doing a web search and checking things out myself.  This one got the better of me, as it was intended to play on fear and pain points (good marketing, huh?)

My friend implied that by sending this hoax warning in am email to friends and family (he assumed I sent it also to clients and prospects), I was going against my very mission of coaching people to build a reputation for integrity, professionalism, attention to detail, marketing, branding, etc.  He asked me in a tongue-in-cheek way, how would I coach someone that sent “false and erroneous information” via email. 

So I responded:

“Yes, we all do imperfect things that impact our goals and relationships, and sometimes sabotage them.

To sum it up: Ooops.  I’m not perfect. Life goes on. And I do coach others that well thought out action is more important than perfect action for the simple reason that we can be paralyzed by waiting and trying to be perfect. ”

There are many lessons to be learned here.
- Don’t always take things at face value
- Always look before you leap
- Be mindful of others’ perceptions and outcomes from your potential actions
- Use well thought out actions

But I still say sometimes taking imperfect actions beats all the above to move you towards success – especially when you are acting from genuine compassion and care.

Life (and business) is a crap-shoot. Be diligent, but don’t be paralyzed or overly pessimistic.

Enjoy the video, but remember, until you try it at home, it’s not proof just because it looks like it’s true.  :)

All the best,
Jason
 
 

————————————————————————-

MY ORGINIAL POST, 2/18/09:

I haven’t seen the popcorn evidence before, but I have been concerned for a long time about us literally frying our brains and other tissues and organs from cell phones.  It’s good to see the physical evidence.

 - Jason

P.S. It’s also good to know what to do if you’re stuck in the wilderness with only popcorn and your cell phone, in order to keep from starving.  LOL

————————————————————————————-

Check this out – scary! 

[dailymotion id=x5odhh]

And we’re supposed to believe
that cell phones are safe?