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	<title>Distinctive Coaching for Small Business Success - Oak Park/Chicago, IL and Beyond &#187; business growth</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/tag/business-growth/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.distinctivecoaching.com</link>
	<description>for Small Business Success</description>
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		<title>Text Sells: 5 Steps for Formatting Article and Marketing Copy that Gets People to Take Action</title>
		<link>http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/5-steps-for-formatting-article-and-marketing-copy-that-get-people-to-take-action/</link>
		<comments>http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/5-steps-for-formatting-article-and-marketing-copy-that-get-people-to-take-action/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:22:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jason Rosado</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business owner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[motivating others]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[small business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/?p=1473</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Let&#8217;s face it -
If you&#8217;re like most of us and get tons of email, most of which isn&#8217;t very interesting to say the least, there is a set pattern to what you do. We all do it, because we&#8217;re really busy and time is valuable.
&#8220;Text Sells &#8211; But Don&#8217;t Make Me Look Too Hard For [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Let&#8217;s face it -</p>
<p>If you&#8217;re like most of us and get tons of email, most of which isn&#8217;t very interesting to say the least, there is a set pattern to what you do. We all do it, because we&#8217;re really busy and time is valuable.</p>
<h4>&#8220;Text Sells &#8211; But Don&#8217;t Make Me Look Too Hard For It.&#8221;</h4>
<p>Is the following true for you?</p>
<p>When you get a new email, if it&#8217;s not something that you have been passionately waiting for, here&#8217;s what generally happens:</p>
<p>First you skim it quickly, and usually without downloading pictures, to answer the question,</p>
<p><strong><em>&#8220;Is this relevant to me? Because if it’s not, I’m going to delete it. And if it is, I&#8217;m busy and I might delete it anyway.&#8221;</em></strong></p>
<p>So, is this you?</p>
<p>I bet it is. I know it&#8217;s absolutely me.</p>
<p>And if this *is* you, then it&#8217;s also the readers you are sending *your* emails to.</p>
<p>When you&#8217;re writing articles, event invitations or marketing email announcements to send out to your subscribers and fans, post on your blog, social media sites, or public calendars, you want to make sure you are doing what you need to ensure it&#8217;s something that will be helpful and effective.</p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong>So write your copy so that people will read, get your main message and take action.</strong></p>
<p>You can&#8217;t provide value to them, and in turn get them to hire you if they don&#8217;t read your email.</p>
<p>These easy guidelines can help you create emails that<strong> &#8220;pass the skim test&#8221;</strong> and are effective:</p>
<ul>
<li>Write in short {sound bite} sentences and paragraphs.</li>
<li>Use <strong>bold headlines</strong> a few times within the article.</li>
<li>Use CAPS, ***Asterisks***, ==&gt; arrows &lt;&#8211;, etc. to make emotional positive, negative or curious phrases stand out.</li>
<li>Use a bulleted list within the article to breakdown a main idea, provide steps or list benefits or challenges.</li>
<li>Provide a Call to Action so the reader knows what they should do next to benefit from your knowledge and take it further.</li>
</ul>
<p>As we stated, your readers will skim your article first, so <strong>the main attention-grabbing points need to stand out </strong>in a big way to hook them into reading more in-depth, and also to stand alone in case they don&#8217;t.</p>
<h4>&#8220;Text Sells&#8230; And Practice Makes Perfect!&#8221;</h4>
<p>==&gt; So next time you write, <strong>DO A COPY-EFFECTIVENESS CHECK </strong>by reading just the bolded, highlighted, bulleted, etc. items alone. If the main points come across and there is a natural flow and understanding of only those items, you&#8217;ve probably written a compelling article that people will delve into, read and take action.</p>
<p>If you want to really stand out and grow your business, you can get more <strong>free helpful article, audio and video resources</strong> like this <strong>on marketing, sales and business growth by <a href="http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1104796466543&amp;p=oi">clicking here</a>.</strong></p>
<p>And let me know if I can answer any specific questions by emailing me, posting below or calling me directly.</p>
<p>To your success!<br />
Jason<br />
773.829.1276</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Are you a business failure like me? Good for us. I mean REALLY good for us!</title>
		<link>http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/are-you-a-business-failure-like-me-good-for-us-i-mean-really-good-for-us/</link>
		<comments>http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/are-you-a-business-failure-like-me-good-for-us-i-mean-really-good-for-us/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 10 Dec 2011 19:14:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jason Rosado</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business owner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entrepreneur]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales Training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Speaking Skills]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sales growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[small business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/?p=1411</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We all learn from mistakes and experiences.
As noted in the video below, it takes several, if not hundreds and sometimes thousands, of failures before we succeed.
How has your past failure motivated you?

One of my past failures was public speaking &#8211; A HUGE fear of many, many Americans.
In fact, it&#8217;s the #1 fear of people in [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We all learn from mistakes and experiences.</p>
<p>As noted in the video below, it takes several, if not hundreds and sometimes thousands, of failures before we succeed.</p>
<p>How has your past failure motivated you?</p>
<p><iframe width="500" height="375" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Y6hz_s2XIAU?fs=1&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>One of my past failures was public speaking &#8211; A HUGE fear of many, many Americans.</p>
<p>In fact, it&#8217;s the #1 fear of people in America. Guess what&#8217;s #2?</p>
<p>Death.</p>
<p>Yep &#8211; most people are more afraid to speak in front of people than to die. And to some people, they are basically the same thing!</p>
<p>I, too, <strong>used to get really freaked out, scared to death, and tremble</strong> when I had to speak in front of a group &#8211; classmates, peers, you name it. And this was before I really had anything on the line, or anything that I was personally hoping to get out of giving the presentation, other than a grade or pat on the back.</p>
<p>After that, I did ironically end up in a career as a corporate trainer, speaking in front of groups as large as 500 people.</p>
<p>But even after that and when I was in business for myself, the first time I had to address a packed room of well-dressed business people that on the whole were older and more experienced than me, all those old feelings came rushing back.</p>
<p>Every time I used to say to myself:</p>
<p>- &#8220;Why should these people listen to <em>me</em>?&#8221;<br />
- &#8220;<em>Who am I</em> to tell them how to do this?&#8221;<br />
- &#8220;I wonder if I can get out of this somehow &#8211; fake illness, maybe??&#8221;</p>
<p>Well, I&#8217;m glad I didn&#8217;t. And I&#8217;m glad I found a great way to turn it all around and make public speaking an important part of my life and then my business.</p>
<p><strong>And interestingly, I think you&#8217;ll be glad I turned it around, too. </strong></p>
<p><strong> </strong>Because my success after failure is about to pay off for you too.</p>
<p>Yeah, that was a little bit of a teaser for you.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;re on my email list, you&#8217;ll know what I&#8217;m talking about soon. And trust me, what I&#8217;m going to share will turn your service business around or make it explode to a whole new level:</p>
<p><!-- BEGIN: Constant Contact Stylish Email Newsletter Form --></p>
<div>
<div style="width: 160px; background-color: #ffffff;">
<form style="margin-bottom: 3;" action="http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp" method="post"><span style="background-color: #669933; float: right; margin-right: 5; margin-top: 3;"><img src="https://imgssl.constantcontact.com/ui/images1/visitor/email1_trans.gif" border="0" alt="Email Newsletter icon, E-mail Newsletter icon, Email List icon, E-mail List icon" /></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 16px;">Sign up for our Email Newsletter</span></p>
<input style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10px; border: 1px solid #999999;" name="ea" size="20" type="text" />
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<div style="padding-top: 5px;"><img src="https://imgssl.constantcontact.com/ui/images1/safe_subscribe_logo.gif" border="0" alt="" width="168" height="14" /></div>
<p><!-- END: Constant Contact Stylish Email Newsletter Form --></p>
<p>So make sure you&#8217;re on my list to get the free training that&#8217;s coming in up a few weeks.</p>
<p>You&#8217;ll thank me later :)</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>Quick Example of Social Media Viral Marketing on Facebook and Twitter</title>
		<link>http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/quick-example-of-social-media-viral-marketing-on-facebook-and-twitter/</link>
		<comments>http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/quick-example-of-social-media-viral-marketing-on-facebook-and-twitter/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 19 Nov 2011 21:29:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jason Rosado</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Social Networking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[facebook]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Networking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/?p=1314</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I thought I would send you this cool example of how social media can take your message viral, creating exponentially more exposure for you.
1.) I posted this on our Facebook Fan Page:


LeTip of Oak Park &#38; Forest Park
Thank you, Erica Cuneen at Beyond Properties Realty for her presentation this week, telling us about an exciting new [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I thought I would send you this cool example of how social media can take your message viral, creating exponentially more exposure for you.</p>
<div>1.) I posted this on our Facebook Fan Page:</div>
<div>
<h6>
<div><a href="http://www.facebook.com/OakParkLeTip">LeTip of Oak Park &amp; Forest Park</a></div>
<p>Thank you, Erica Cuneen at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Beyond-Properties-Realty/147906755243901">Beyond Properties Realty</a> for her presentation this week, telling us about an exciting new program that her agency has developed, to help local buyers get the very best prices on incredibly high-quality homes! This is going to change everything. Contact Beyond Properties for more details and give them codename &#8220;LeTip Home Project&#8221;.</h6>
<div>
<div>
<p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.beyondpropertiesrealty.com/" target="_blank"><img class="alignleft" src="http://external.ak.fbcdn.net/safe_image.php?d=AQAKK3xAWczcHoia&amp;w=90&amp;h=90&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.beyondpropertiesrealty.com%2Fimages%2Fpic_home.jpg" alt="" width="59" height="90" /></a></p>
<div>
<div><strong><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.beyondpropertiesrealty.com/" target="_blank">Beyond Properties: A Realty Group &#8211; Oak Park and Chicago Area Real Estate, Ecobroker, Green Homes</a></strong></div>
<p><a rel="nofollow nofollow" href="http://www.beyondpropertiesrealty.com/" target="_blank">www.beyondpropertiesrealty.com</a></p>
<div>A realty group providing exceptional service to help you buy or sell real estate in the Chicagoland area. Eco-broker certified, woman-owned business</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<form action="http://www.facebook.com/ajax/ufi/modify.php" method="post">
<div>
<div>
<p><a title="Send this to friends or post it on your profile." rel="dialog" href="http://www.facebook.com/ajax/sharer/?s=99&amp;appid=2309869772&amp;p%5B0%5D=156726037723788&amp;p%5B1%5D=219923064747907">Share</a> · <a href="http://www.facebook.com/OakParkLeTip/posts/219923064747907"><abbr title="Saturday, November 19, 2011 at 10:08am">about an hour ago</abbr></a> · <a></a></p>
<p>This was posted directly on our LeTip Fan Page, and I used an &#8220;(@) Status Tag&#8221; to make it also show up on Beyond Properties&#8217; Fan Page (now it&#8217;s on two pages with one post.) And I could have added other status tags to add even more pages, but for this one, I just did the one page.</p>
</div>
<p>Now all of LeTip&#8217;s fans and Beyond Properties&#8217; fans will see the post on their news feed.</p>
<p>2.) When I created the Fan Page, I set up an automatic link between Facebook and Twitter (very easy to do), so everything that gets posted on the LeTip Facebook Fan Page also shows up on our Twitter account (<a href="http://twitter.com/OakParkLeTip">http://twitter.com/OakParkLeTip</a>).</p>
<p>3.) Someone on Twitter (BestofIllinois) saw the post, and it intrigued them enough that they &#8220;re-tweeted&#8221; it, sending it to all of their Twitter followers:</p>
<div><img class="alignleft" src="http://a3.twimg.com/profile_images/755744275/picks-logo_normal.png" alt="Illinois Picks" width="48" height="48" /> <a title="Illinois Picks" href="http://twitter.com/#!/BestofIllinois">BestofIllinois</a> Illinois Picks</div>
<div>Buzz for Beyond Properties Realty: <a title="http://schmap.it/ac0faT" rel="nofollow" href="http://t.co/AzB4Bw1H" target="_blank">http://schmap.it/ac0faT</a> &#8211; RT<a rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/#!/OakParkLeTip">@<strong>OakParkLeTip</strong></a> Thank you, Erica Cuneen at Beyond Properties Realty for he&#8230;</div>
</p>
<p>If you click on the link within their Tweet, <a href="http://schmap.it/ac0faT">http://schmap.it/ac0faT</a>, it publicizes both Beyond Properties business info as well as OakParkLeTip twitter profile.</p>
<p>So to sum it up, with one post on Facebook, we ere able to get this message out to hundreds of people all within a few minutes, and it still has the potential to go to thousands more very quickly.</p>
<p>4.) Everything that gets posted helps with Search Engine Optimization, helping your own website and our group Fan Page to get better search engine rankings.</p>
<p><strong>How can you best use this process to support your social media efforts to get more clients and more exposure?</strong></p>
<div>Simple: Go to your Facebook Fan Page (here are a couple that I love: <a title="More clients, more money, less work, less stress." href="http://facebook.com/GrowYourBiz" target="_blank">http://facebook.com/GrowYourBiz</a> and <a title="Oak Park, IL and Chicago, IL local business referrals networking" href="http://facebook.com/OakParkLeTip" target="_blank">http://facebook.com/OakParkLeTip</a>) once a week and post something interesting about one of the following:</div>
<div>- your business</div>
<div>- reply to a post there</div>
<div>- a testimonial</div>
<div>- an article that relates to your businesses or a trending topic of interest</div>
<div>- an announcement for an upcoming event</div>
<div>- a picture that captures or relays an important message</div>
<div>- If you have a Twitter account, Re-tweet others&#8217; posts (takes only a few seconds).</div>
<p>Your Friends and Followers will see it, and the Fans and Followers of the Fan Page will see it. And when they share it, it goes viral!</p>
<p>If you have any questions, please ask away.</p>
<div>Best,</div>
<div>Jason</div>
<div>773.829.1276</div>
</div>
</form>
</div>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Three Sales Lessons to Stop Missing Out on Tons of New Clients That Want to Hire You</title>
		<link>http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/super-easy-technique-to-avoid-lost-sales/</link>
		<comments>http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/super-easy-technique-to-avoid-lost-sales/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 14 Aug 2011 15:16:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jason Rosado</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business owner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entrepreneur]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Networking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales Training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Upgrading skills]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lead generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sales growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[small business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/?p=1266</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I don&#8217;t know if you&#8217;ve experienced this, but it sure happens to me all the time.
This even happened yesterday when I met someone that I was very interested in having speak at one of my networking events for small business owners. But you see&#8230; 
She unknowingly messed it all up in a big way and [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I don&#8217;t know if you&#8217;ve experienced this, but it sure happens to me all the time.</p>
<p>This even happened yesterday when I met someone that I was very interested in having speak at one of my networking events for small business owners. But you see&#8230;<strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong>She unknowingly messed it all up in a big way and blew her chances at getting a lot of business. </strong></p>
<p>And at the same time, she also killed my impression of her.</p>
<p>*********************************************************************************</p>
<h4><strong>Are you closing the door on sales that<br />
you didn&#8217;t even know you had locked up?</strong></h4>
<p>*********************************************************************************</p>
<p>This is <strong>one of the biggest and easiest mistakes to make </strong>for us small business owners while networking as well as during a sales conversation that costs us dearly.</p>
<p>I used to make this same mistake all the time.</p>
<p>Often. And I had no idea I was doing it.</p>
<p><strong>It was costing me lots of clients that would have hired me.</strong></p>
<p>Then I finally figured it out and learned to do the exact opposite of what my instincts were telling me. But that was after years of working with sales and marketing gurus, and I was finally able to connect the dots.</p>
<p>Most small business owners never know they are doing it, and if you&#8217;re one of these people, it&#8217;s costing you clients, time, energy, money and reputation.</p>
<h6><span style="font-weight: normal;">I&#8217;ll explain in detail below how to avoid doing this one thing, and give you</span></h6>
<h6><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span><strong>THREE SIMPLE SALES LESSONS</strong> <span style="font-weight: normal;">to handle the situation </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">and</span><br />
give you a HUGE SALES LIFT <span style="font-weight: normal;">instead</span>.</h6>
<p>*********************************************************************************</p>
<p><strong><em>Does this sound familiar:</em></strong></p>
<p>You&#8217;re at a networking event. Or maybe just met someone at a social gathering.</p>
<p>You&#8217;re having a really good conversation. It definitely seems like they are seriously interested in hiring you, and you go to put it over the top.</p>
<p>Then you hear a &#8216;maybe&#8217;, or more likely &#8220;Ok.. I&#8217;ll call you.&#8221;</p>
<p>And then&#8230; Nothing.</p>
<p>How frustrating is that?</p>
<p>VERY!</p>
<p><strong>You probably have just talked yourself out of a new client, and you didn&#8217;t even know it.</strong></p>
<p>Or maybe you do, but you just can&#8217;t figure out what went wrong. And that&#8217;s even more annoying and upsetting.</p>
<p>And then you start questioning if you are wasting your time at networking events, or if people just don&#8217;t &#8220;get&#8221; what you offer.</p>
<p>Or maybe you figure next time you need to explain your services more&#8230; but it doesn&#8217;t work any better, and you lead yourself into a cycle of doubt, rejection and disappointment.</p>
<p>Like I said, I&#8217;ve been there, done that and bought the t-shirt.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s extremely discouraging.</p>
<p>Not only can this happen easily and often while networking, but it also can happen during a sales conversation.</p>
<p>And when this happens, <strong>you are MISSING GREAT OPPORTUNITIES to get more clients</strong> and move your business forward.</p>
<p><em><strong>Here&#8217;s what I&#8217;m talking about:</strong></em></p>
<p>Human nature is to get excited when someone shows interest in your services, so your natural reaction is to show your expertise, prove your worth, and get them eager to hear more, follow up and to hire you.</p>
<p>And when you see that they really do NEED you to help them, then the adrenaline REALLY gets pumping!</p>
<p>So you go into high-gear, and agree with them, and tell, explain, convince, and set up a time to talk&#8230;</p>
<p><strong>But you don&#8217;t get the sale!</strong></p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p>Maybe they even blew off your appointment or call. But I mean, after all, they were the ones that started it and said they were interested.</p>
<p><strong>WHAT&#8217;S UP WITH THAT?</strong></p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p>Well, when someone shows a lot of intrigue, excitement or says they are curious about what you do or working with you, <strong>the worst thing you can do is go into &#8220;hyper-sales mode.&#8221; </strong></p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p>At this point, it&#8217;s common to automatically throw out every single benefit you can think of and talk about everything that your service can do for them.</p>
<p>And here&#8217;s what you think you&#8217;re doing: agreeing with them, educating them, and driving their desire; being honest, straight forward and helpful.</p>
<p>Sometimes you even start dropping your price right away or bringing up why you are much better or cheaper than your competitor.</p>
<p>Again, you&#8217;re just being of extreme service to them and showing your value. Then they almost HAVE TO BUY.</p>
<p>It makes so much sense. Right?</p>
<p>Wrong. In fact&#8230;</p>
<p><strong>DO NOT DO ANY OF THE ABOVE!</strong></p>
<p>Instead, the best thing you can do is fight that urge and excitement, and<strong>ask a simple question of them</strong>.</p>
<p><strong>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;</strong></p>
<p><em><strong>SIMPLE SALES LESSON #1:</strong></em></p>
<p><em><strong> </strong></em></p>
<p><strong><em>&#8220;AN EFFECTIVE AND CARING SALES PERSON LISTENS<br />
80% OF THE TIME AND TALKS 20%.&#8221;</em></strong></p>
<p><strong><em> </em></strong><strong><em><strong>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;</strong></em></strong></p>
<p>For instance, if your prospect says, &#8221;That&#8217;s interesting. I think that might help me,&#8221; or even, &#8220;Wow.. I need to talk to you!!&#8221;</p>
<p>The best thing to come out of your mouth next is something that<strong> gets you more information, gets them talking and reinforces their excitement </strong>all at the same time.</p>
<p><strong>Do this by asking a question that digs deeper.</strong></p>
<p><strong> </strong>So let&#8217;s rewind and try that again:</p>
<p>You tell them what you do, and they say,</p>
<p>&#8220;Wow.. I need to talk to you!!&#8221;</p>
<p>You reply:</p>
<p>&#8211;&gt; &#8220;What makes you say that?&#8221; or</p>
<p>&#8211;&gt; &#8220;What is it that you find most interesting?&#8221; or</p>
<p>&#8211;&gt; &#8220;How would that be helpful to you?&#8221;</p>
<p>You see, when you go into &#8220;super-over-drive convince-and-close&#8221; selling mode, not only do you seem incredibly desperate and needy, but you also focus on all the benefits of your service <strong>AS *<em>YOU*</em> SEE THEM</strong>.</p>
<p><strong>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;</strong></p>
<p><em><strong>SIMPLE SALES LESSON #2:</strong></em></p>
<p><em><strong> </strong></em></p>
<p><em><strong>&#8220;YOU ARE NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN<br />
YOUR INTERACTION. YOUR POTENTIAL CLIENT IS.&#8221;</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;</strong></p>
<p>Even though you may have been in business for years and &#8220;have seen it all,&#8221; you don&#8217;t know exactly what&#8217;s going on in their mind and what it is about your offering that really piqued their interest.</p>
<p>And YOU MIGHT BE WAY OFF BASE with what you think they see as the benefits, and the low price, and the additional services, and the easy process, and, and&#8230;</p>
<p>You are now <strong>selling all the wrong things</strong>, and what they really want was lost way back there.</p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong>And they feel like you don&#8217;t understand them, and it&#8217;s not a fit.</strong></p>
<p>But, if you stop and ask a question that digs deeper into WHAT THEY SEE as the benefit and how your service solves a problem they have, you are able to:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Get more and better information</strong> on their buying criteria</li>
<li><strong>Let them reinforce the value </strong>of your service from their own perspective and situation</li>
<li><strong>Demonstrate how committed you are to listening and understanding them</strong> &#8211; their concerns, fears, wants, needs and desires</li>
<li>Show that you are<strong> professional and polished</strong></li>
<li><strong>Close the sale</strong> much easier</li>
<li><strong>Get paid what you&#8217;re worth, </strong>without discounting your prices</li>
<li><strong>Increase your value and be a much better service provider</strong> to them as your relationship continues to grow.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>This process is 100 times more powerful</strong> than just feverishly rattling off every reason in rapid-fire fashion as to why YOU THINK they MIGHT be interested, and in the process completely turning them off and killing your closing chances, not to mention your reputation.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s based on this simple truth -</p>
<p><strong>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;</strong></p>
<p><em><strong>SIMPLE SALES LESSON #3:</strong></em></p>
<p><em> </em></p>
<p><em><strong>&#8220;PEOPLE DON&#8217;T ARGUE WITH THEIR OWN INFORMATION.&#8221;</strong></em></p>
<p><strong><em><strong>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;</strong></em></strong></p>
<p><strong><em> </em></strong></p>
<p>So let them sell themselves, with just a little help from you filling some info gaps here and there, and acting as a guide and sounding board.</p>
<p>You&#8217;ll get a much more enthusiastic buyer, an easier close, and a happier, more grateful new client!</p>
<p><em><strong>Jason E. Rosado<br />
</strong>Small Business Growth Coach<br />
(773) 829-1276<br />
Jason (at) DistinctiveCoaching.com </em></p>
<p><em> </em></p>
<div id="_mcePaste"><em><span style="color: #008000;"><strong>Helping small business owners to make the important jump</strong></span></em></div>
<div id="_mcePaste"><em><span style="color: #008000;"><strong>&#8220;from Struggling Service Provider to Successful CEO!&#8221;</strong></span></em></div>
<div><em><span style="color: #008000;"><strong>So you can get more clients and make more money,<br />
while working less hours, feeling less stress, and loving what you do!</strong></span></em></div>
<p><em><br />
</em></p>
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		<title>Because we all need a hand from time to time</title>
		<link>http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/because-we-all-need-a-hand-from-time-to-time-2/</link>
		<comments>http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/because-we-all-need-a-hand-from-time-to-time-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 04 Apr 2011 16:28:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jason Rosado</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[In the Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Leadership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Networking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Upgrading skills]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[avoid burnout]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[improve skills]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Motivation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/?p=1196</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sign up to get these and other helpful articles and announcements  sent directly to you:

 
Running your own business can be really tough.
There are so many things to do, so many people to connect with, so many action items to execute, and so many little things you just don&#8217;t want to fall through the cracks.
And [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Sign up to get these and other helpful articles and announcements  sent directly to you:</em><em><a href="http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1104796466543&amp;p=oi" target="_blank"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1209" title="Join Email List" src="http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/word/wp-content/uploads/Join-Email-List.jpg" alt="Join Email List" width="211" height="30" /></a><br />
</em></p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong>Running your own business can be really tough.</strong></p>
<p>There are so many things to do, so many people to connect with, so many action items to execute, and so many little things you just don&#8217;t want to fall through the cracks.</p>
<p>And keeping up with it all can be really tough.</p>
<p><strong>That&#8217;s why it&#8217;s so important to build your Power Team.</strong></p>
<p>These are the people that you know, lean on, and can easily refer them to others. You know the quality of the work they do or the product they sell and the value of the help they provide.</p>
<p>Because we can&#8217;t do it all alone.</p>
<p>And this is also what networking is all about &#8211; helping others.</p>
<p>Some of us have huge, wide and deep networks, and some of us are just starting out to find these people, get to know them and develop relationships.</p>
<p><strong>Not everyone is there yet&#8230;</strong></p>
<p>I&#8217;ve been fortunate enough to be out and about &#8211; networking, speaking, volunteering, working, playing, and so on &#8211; getting to know literally thousands of people over the past several years.</p>
<p>And every networking event I attend, every social function my family goes to, every conference I speak at, I keep meeting more and more incredible people! And I know that I can&#8217;t keep them all to myself, because that would be doing them a disservice and it would be doing you a disservice.</p>
<p><strong>So I want to share something really special with you:</strong></p>
<p><strong>My own network of high quality, easy to work with, top-notch professionals.</strong></p>
<p>But because I know so many people in different industries and locations, I&#8217;m not just going to list everyone&#8217;s name, website and phone number.</p>
<p>If you have a need, a want or something you&#8217;ve been procrastinating on, I want to make it really easy for you to move forward.</p>
<p><strong>Here is a list of people </strong>(in no particular order) that can help you.</p>
<p>If one or more piques your curiosity, please reply and let me know which category. I will reply to you with all the information I have on those people, and if you&#8217;d like, I&#8217;ll even see about making a personal introduction.</p>
<p><strong>- Mortgage Broker<br />
</strong>Whether you&#8217;re a first-time home buyer or thinking about a lowering your current bill &#8211; right now you can save hundreds or thousands of $$ each month.</p>
<p><strong>- Chiropractor<br />
</strong>Put your body back in a state of pain-free healthy balance, rest and repair.</p>
<p><strong>- Realtor<br />
</strong>Looking for *the* perfect home for you &#8211; based on your tastes, your life, your dreams.</p>
<p><strong>- Handyman<br />
</strong>If it needs fixing, I know the guy (sorry ladies.. don&#8217;t know any female handywomen off the top of my head &#8211; but let me know if you are in that category!)</p>
<p><strong>- Web Designer<br />
</strong>If your business isn&#8217;t online, you don&#8217;t exist to many of your potential clients. Marketing is about adapting. If you can&#8217;t easily make small, fast changes to your site, you probably need some help here.</p>
<p><strong>- Insurance Provider<br />
</strong>Making the wrong call (or no call) can cost you thousands, easily.</p>
<p><strong>- Accountant / CPA / Bookkeeper<br />
</strong>Tax time!! But beyond that, you can&#8217;t know everything, and these sensational people that I know, do!</p>
<p><strong>- Estate Planner<br />
</strong>Waiting to get your or your parents&#8217; affairs in order is a recipe for disaster. And fighting among loved ones is no way to live after someone close dies.</p>
<p><strong>- Book Publisher<br />
</strong>Want to be immediately recognized as an expert in your field? This gentleman can make it happen &#8211; and make you a published author in the process.</p>
<p><strong>- Personal Banker<br />
</strong>This one is very difficult to find a great mix of personal service and capability in today&#8217;s world! My team delivers.</p>
<p><strong>- Health Consultant<br />
</strong>We need to fight off terrible health problems from diabetes, smoking, childhood obesity and so many other personal and environmental hazards. Not to mention swimsuit season is right around the corner. Eeeeek! Start now.</p>
<p><strong>- Financial Planner<br />
</strong>&#8220;Those that fail to plan, plan to fail.&#8221; Seriously, how can you reach your goals if you don&#8217;t have a plan and support from someone extremely knowledgeable and proven in the field?</p>
<p><strong>- Career Coach<br />
</strong>The job market is TIGHT. You need every edge you can get &#8211; resume, interviewing, job search and networking &#8211; they all need to be systemized and in top-noth form.</p>
<p><strong>- Home Inspector<br />
</strong>My wife and I found out the hard way when we bought our home &#8211; ASK FOR A REFERRAL WITH THIS ONE.</p>
<p><strong>- Business Growth and Development<br />
</strong>You can probably guess that I can help you here. Yes, I am taking on new clients this spring, so ask me if you want to explode your business.</p>
<p><strong>- Marketing Consultant<br />
</strong>You NEED to have a marketing system in place if you want sustained, dynamic growth that won&#8217;t stress you out.</p>
<p><strong>- Leadership / Executive Coach<br />
</strong>With tight budges all around, managers and leaders are expected to get more done with less resources. And employees are not always motivated and happy. You need help here.</p>
<p><strong>- Day Spa<br />
</strong>You need to look your best. Feel your best. Be your best! Hair style, color, cut, massage, no-chip nails, health tips and more &#8211; for men and women!</p>
<p><strong>- Property Investment<br />
</strong>There are several people you can work with &#8211; you can find them all over. But how to you know whom to trust? This isn&#8217;t something you want to leave to chance. Ask me about my team of experts.</p>
<p><strong>- Support Staff<br />
</strong>Virtual assistants and interns are great ways to get more done in less time, and without breaking the bank. Let me point you to some fantastic help.</p>
<p>And so many more&#8230;</p>
<p><strong>Just reply and let me know how I can help you</strong> to meet these and other qualified people that will take your business and your life to the next level and beyond!</p>
<p>To your success,</p>
<p><img class="alignnone" title="BizCoach Jason Rosado" src="http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/187564_619976562_7201744_n.jpg" alt="BizCoach Jason Rosado" width="108" height="163" /></p>
<p>&#8220;BizCoach&#8221; Jason Rosado</p>
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		<title>Are you making a HUGE FACEBOOK MISTAKE that can cost your business BIG TIME?</title>
		<link>http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/facebook-fan-page-or-personal-profile-10-reasons-for-a-fan-page/</link>
		<comments>http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/facebook-fan-page-or-personal-profile-10-reasons-for-a-fan-page/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 14 Mar 2011 05:49:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jason Rosado</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entrepreneur]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Networking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Networking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[facebook]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lead generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[small business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/?p=1181</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Recently, I&#8217;ve seen a lot of people setting up a second Facebook profile that they intend to use as a &#8220;professional profile&#8221;, so that they can keep their personal one for connecting with Friends and Family, and their professional profile for business and career use.
On the surface, this makes some sense, especially for people that [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Recently, I&#8217;ve seen a lot of people setting up a second Facebook profile that they intend to use as a &#8220;professional profile&#8221;, so that they can keep their personal one for connecting with Friends and Family, and their professional profile for business and career use.</p>
<p>On the surface, this makes some sense, especially for people that like the way LinkedIn provides a professional presence on one of the top social networking sites, and people want to extend that logic to where many of their current connections are: on Facebook.</p>
<p>But&#8230;</p>
<p>If you are using or thinking about setting up a new profile as a professional page, you might want to consider setting up a Fan Page instead, for several reasons.</p>
<h4><strong>Facebook Fan Pages, also knows as Business Pages, have several advantages over creating a second Facebook personal profile. </strong></h4>
<p><strong></strong>Not that I am the &#8220;Facebook Police&#8221; by any means, but setting up a personal profile is against the Facebook Terms of Service.</p>
<p>I bring this up not because I think we all should abide just as Facebook would want us to, but because Facebook does reserve the right to close your account if you violate their Terms. And I would hate to see anyone slip by for years, build a fantastic business profile and make awesome connections just to have to all deleted out of the blue one day. I know how I would feel, so I don&#8217;t want to see it happen to anyone else, either.</p>
<h4>Top 10 Reasons a Fan Page is Better for Business</h4>
<p>Aside from the above, here are<strong> ten reasons a Fan Page is better </strong>suited to your professional networking on Facebook than a personal profile:</p>
<p>1.) <a title="Small Business Tips of the Day" href="http://facebook.com/GrowYourBiz" target="_blank">Facebook Fan Pages</a> are indexed by search engines such as <strong>Google, Yahoo and Bing</strong>, and will show in search results, sending more visitors to your Fan Page that are looking for just what you provide.</p>
<p>2.) Being listed on the main search engines will boost your own website rankings when your website URL is listed on your Fan Page (ALWAYS list your website link on all your social networking profiles! :) )</p>
<p>3.) Fan Pages can have unlimited connections (&#8220;Likes&#8221;/friends), as opposed to a <a title="Jason Rosado's personal profile on Facebook" href="http://facebook.com/BizCoachJason" target="_self">Facebook personal profile</a>, which only can have up to 5,000 friends.</p>
<p>4.) You can set up webpage interactive tabs and landing pages on your Fan Page, which can attract more &#8220;Likes&#8221; as well as get more people over to your own website.</p>
<p>5.) You can send Facebook &#8220;email&#8221; updates to all your Fans at once &#8211; and your Fans then become an off-shoot of your email distribution list.</p>
<p>6.) Due to the most recent Facebook Fan Page &#8220;upgrade&#8221; (it&#8217;s called an &#8220;upgrade&#8221; even through it&#8217;s free), you now can interact with other Fan Pages on Facebook while posting as your Fan Page instead of your personal profile, which helps attract new Fans and further extends the reach of your marketing message and your networking.</p>
<p>7.) Facebook Ads are still a relatively cheap form of marketing and can be a good source of traffic to your Fan Page or an external website.</p>
<p>8.) You can set up a direct feed from your Fan Page posts to your <a href="http://twitter.com/BizCoachJason"><strong>Twitter</strong></a> account. As a second step, you can set up your <strong>LinkedIn</strong> account to pull updates from Twitter, thereby creating a technological synergy and multiple outlets for your messages, reaching more of your network <em>on the platform that they prefer and use more often.</em></p>
<p>9.) Having a Fan Page will quickly give your visitors a much better understanding of your business and the type of support, ideas, products or services you provide, making their decision to connect much easier.  On a personal profile, visitors usually need to hunt for information to figure out who you are and why they should connect &#8211; and often times cannot find those pieces of information at all.</p>
<p>10.) <strong>Having a Facebook business presence is part of your overall marketing system and client funnel.</strong> Facebook Fan Pages are built with business growth and marketing in mind whereas personal profiles are not.</p>
<p>There are other advantages as well, but those are ten of the main ones.</p>
<p>Please let me know if I can answer anything specific regarding these ideas, or post some of your own experiences and suggestions in the Comments section below!</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s to your success,<br />
BizCoach Jason</p>
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		<title>With economic recovery, should small business owners raise their prices?</title>
		<link>http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/with-economic-recovery-should-small-business-owners-raise-their-prices/</link>
		<comments>http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/with-economic-recovery-should-small-business-owners-raise-their-prices/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 18 Feb 2011 23:22:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jason Rosado</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business owner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[small business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/?p=1168</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I don&#8217;t think there is one overall correct answer, as it depends on so many variables.
Here is the article that sparked this current debate:
 http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20110212/ISSUE02/302129998/the-price-is-right-or-is-it#axzz1E9nDCJMt
I agree with Susan&#8217;s comment in the article that people will spend money if they see the value in what you&#8217;re offering.
Value is measured in three dimensions:
- Price vs. monetary resources [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I don&#8217;t think there is one overall correct answer, as it depends on so many variables.</p>
<p>Here is the article that sparked this current debate:<br />
<a href="http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20110212/ISSUE02/302129998/the-price-is-right-or-is-it#axzz1E9nDCJMt" target="_blank"> http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20110212/ISSUE02/302129998/the-price-is-right-or-is-it#axzz1E9nDCJMt</a></p>
<p>I agree with Susan&#8217;s comment in the article that people will spend money if they see the value in what you&#8217;re offering.</p>
<p>Value is measured in three dimensions:<br />
- Price vs. monetary resources (affordability)<br />
- Risk vs. rewards (investment potential)<br />
- Want vs. sacrifice (emotional gratification)</p>
<p>During the sales process, each buyer makes their decision by assessing and weighing these three dimensions based on their own internal motivations and circumstances.</p>
<p>As a seller, it&#8217;s important to help your buyer get in touch with and weigh these factors, advise them on your product or service, and help them reach the best decision for them.</p>
<p>The best way to do that is to really understand:</p>
<p>1.) Your target client&#8217;s pains, problems and challenges</p>
<p>2.) How your product or service can answer these</p>
<p>3.) The process by which you help guide the prospect to his or her buying decision &#8211; carefully planned questions that help them make those connections mentioned above.</p>
<p>By scripting out and practicing this sales conversation, you will get better at it and also help more people come to their best decision by understanding what&#8217;s at stake if they act or if they don&#8217;t, how well your product or service fits for them, and how the decision should be made along the three value dimensions.</p>
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		<title>How hot (or cold) is your business going to get?</title>
		<link>http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/how-hot-or-cold-is-your-business/</link>
		<comments>http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/how-hot-or-cold-is-your-business/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 21 Jan 2011 22:56:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jason Rosado</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entrepreneur]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Goal setting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Inspiration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Motivation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Networking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Upgrading skills]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lead generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sales growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[small business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/?p=1159</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Buuurrrrrrr&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;..!!!!!
It&#8217;s zero degrees in Chicago this morning.
But the weather is looking up. I checked the daily and monthly averages, because I am getting really tired of this cold. I can&#8217;t wait for it to warm up!
January is the coldest month of the year for my area. And on average, January 20th is the coldest day of [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Buuurrrrrrr&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;..!!!!!</p>
<p>It&#8217;s zero degrees in Chicago this morning.</p>
<p>But the weather is looking up. I checked the daily and monthly averages, because I am getting really tired of this cold. I can&#8217;t wait for it to warm up!</p>
<p>January is the coldest month of the year for my area. And on average, January 20th is the coldest day of the month. So guess what?</p>
<p><strong>It&#8217;s damn cold out, but it&#8217;s all uphill from here!</strong></p>
<p>And even as I write, the temperature just went up 1 degree. We&#8217;re making progress.</p>
<p>The hardest part about getting through the cold winter is that I have no control over whether it will get warmer or colder.</p>
<p>That is really hard to swallow. Even though I&#8217;ve been doing this for almost 40 years, it only seems to get harder &#8211; knowing that I have absolutely no control of my environment.</p>
<p><strong>I&#8217;m so glad that&#8217;s NOT how it is with my business.</strong></p>
<p>Things business-wise are very warm indeed!</p>
<p>And I have the satisfaction of knowing that it&#8217;s due to my own work. It&#8217;s all in my control. Even when it feels like it&#8217;s not &#8211; it really is.</p>
<p>The smarter and more motivated I work, the warmer it gets. (And notice that I didn&#8217;t say &#8220;the harder I work&#8230;&#8221; because in my book, smart and motivated work trumps hard and uninspired work any day!)</p>
<p>If I don&#8217;t have enough clients, I simply go to a networking event, give a presentation or send an email out to my list. And *poof* &#8211; more clients appear. Now obviously, there are certain things I need to do and say at that networking event, during the presentation or in that email. But because I know how to do it, have built my marketing message, my track record of helping clients my brand and what I stand for, it&#8217;s relatively easy to get new clients.</p>
<p><strong>It wasn&#8217;t always that way for me. I had to learn A LOT OF LESSONS the hard way.</strong></p>
<p>And for many small business owners, it&#8217;s never that way.</p>
<p>But it can be! It should be very easy for most small business owners to get new clients. That is, of course, if they are working smartly and are inspired.</p>
<p>So now that winter is starting to fade (thought I still can&#8217;t control the weather myself!), what do you have planned for January 21st through the rest of the spring to make sure YOU ARE IN CONTROL of your own &#8220;warmth&#8221; and your own business success?</p>
<p><strong>Do you know what you are doing &#8211; daily, weekly, monthly &#8211; that will result in &#8211; *poof* - more clients?</strong></p>
<p>Are you confident and proven in your networking conversations and email offers to your list? Do you even have a &#8220;list?&#8221; (This is EXTREMELY important to build your client funnel.)</p>
<p>Are you using technology wisely and leveraging relationships of marketing and referral partners to gain clients?</p>
<p>These are all in YOUR CONTROL. And you should be using them, and using them well.</p>
<p><strong>After all, the weather will get warmer, but ONLY YOU CAN CONTROL if your business heats up.</strong></p>
<p>So, what will it be – bright, warm and sunny, or cold, damp and miserable? It’s up to you.</p>
<p>Want help with this?</p>
<p>I&#8217;m working on a new FREE Special Report that outlines my best secrets <strong>to help you get more clients right now</strong>. That&#8217;s right, I&#8217;m giving away the step-by-step actions to the things you can do right away to get more clients that are eager to work with you.</p>
<p>If you want to get on my email list and <strong>be one of the first to get this incredible, business-changing report</strong>, just sign up for one of my two existing Special Reports:<br />
<strong>- <em><a href="http://www.DistinctiveCoaching.com">&#8220;The Business Success E-Series&#8221;</a></em><br />
-  </strong><a href="http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/social-networking-special-report/"><em><strong>“Untangling Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and More”</strong></em></a></p>
<p>You&#8217;ll be EXTREMELY GLAD you did!</p>
<p>Stay warm :)</p>
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		<title>10 Business Building Holiday Networking Tips to Bring You Lots of Cheer</title>
		<link>http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/10-business-building-networking-tips-for-the-holidays/</link>
		<comments>http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/10-business-building-networking-tips-for-the-holidays/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Dec 2010 06:04:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jason Rosado</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business ethics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business owner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entrepreneur]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Inspiration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Motivation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Networking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business growth]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/?p=1151</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Well&#8230; Here come the holidays, and in full force.
I don&#8217;t know about you, but my schedule is BUSY&#8230; jam-packed, full to the brim. There are networking events, association and chamber meetings, family gatherings, friends&#8217; parties, Facebook events, Evites&#8230; Oh my head!
This can be a very interesting time of the year for many small businesses (and tough for [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Well&#8230; Here come the holidays, and in full force.</strong></p>
<p>I don&#8217;t know about you, but my schedule is BUSY&#8230; jam-packed, full to the brim. There are networking events, association and chamber meetings, family gatherings, friends&#8217; parties, Facebook events, Evites&#8230; Oh my head!</p>
<p>This can be a very interesting time of the year for many small businesses (and tough for some).  So much to do and so little time, lots of running around from this meeting to that event, back to work, downtown to run errands, to the mall for presents, back to that other event that I almost forgot about&#8230;</p>
<p>And if you&#8217;re an entrepreneur, small business owner or sales professional, your sales might slow down as you and your clients gear up for the holidays, unless they sell reindeer feed - like my uncle in Alaska.</p>
<p>I know the feeling.  I&#8217;ve woken up late in the night and cried out for help and a break from all the holiday overload.  But then I discovered the &#8220;rules&#8221; of classy, stylish and easy networking . . . and how to rule all these holiday events instead of having them rule me.<br />
(Yep.. you knew this was going somewhere!)</p>
<p>Well, here are<strong> the best business networking tips, </strong>and I want to share them with you.  They are especially useful during the holiday season to make connections that count, and they will help you keep your energy, sanity and holiday cheer &#8211; not to mention build your network, your referral partners and your client base!</p>
<h3>&#8220;10 Holiday Networking Tips&#8221;</h3>
<p>1.) <strong>Make a good first impression</strong><br />
It counts OH SO MUCH! Be polite, respectful &amp; friendly.</p>
<p>2.)<strong> Get to know others<br />
</strong>Ask lots of questions. Show interest. Find out what common bonds you share. This is how you want to be treated by others, right?</p>
<p>3.) <strong>Maintain a &#8220;giving&#8221; mindset</strong><br />
Just like the holidays, successful networking is all about giving. It should be easy to remember this time of year, but it&#8217;s an important mindset to have all year round.</p>
<p>4.) <strong>Ask for their contact info</strong><br />
So you&#8217;ll be able to get in touch with them if you are interested in talking further.</p>
<p>5.) <strong>Don&#8217;t &#8220;sell&#8221; without permission</strong><br />
If you&#8217;re turned off by someone launches into a 5-minute (or longer) sales presentation about their awesome pens that write underwater, in the dark and without gravity, don&#8217;t assume others are dying to hear about your slick wheel bearings, even if you &#8220;know&#8221; that&#8217;s exactly what they need.  This is a very important step &#8211; maybe the most important of all. You do want to tell people what you do, but in a classy, stylish way that gets their attention and doesn&#8217;t annoy them. If they seem a bit interested, ask them if they would like to hear more.</p>
<p>6.) <strong>Avoid opening with &#8220;So, what do you do?&#8221;</strong><br />
It can kill rapport building before it begins and can condemn the interaction to being nothing more than boring, robotic and mindless chatter without exchanging the truly important information. If you open your conversations this way, you can miss an important opportunity to stand out from the rest of the crowd.</p>
<p>7.) <strong>Don&#8217;t rely on them to contact you<br />
</strong>Just because they said they were thrilled to have met you and learned about your slick wheel bearings, doesn&#8217;t mean they will really call you.  They may have intended to at the time, but life happens and no one is perfect. So get their info so you can ensure the follow up.</p>
<p>8.) <strong>Always</strong> <strong>carry pen, paper &amp; business cards</strong><br />
You never know when a great opportunity might present itself. Yes, even while you&#8217;re fighting for that last &#8220;Cosmic Raymond&#8221; action figure.</p>
<p>9.) <strong>Do not get out of a conversation by dumping them on someone else</strong><br />
Making another person suffer is no way to get a good reputation during the holidays. Kindly excuse yourself, tell them you need another drink, see someone you need to speak with, or even that you have to &#8220;go&#8221; <strong><em>really bad</em></strong>! And don&#8217;t get caught lying as that will kill all of your credibility really fast.</p>
<p>10.) <strong>Enjoy yourself!</strong><br />
Relax and have fun!  When you&#8217;re smiling and enjoying yourself, you are more likable to others, and this can lead to a lot of business. Be kind, considerate and magnetic!</p>
<p>SO&#8230; I hope these &#8220;10 Holiday Networking Tips&#8221; help you as you network your way through all the parties this season. </p>
<p>And in the meantime, I want to wish a very happy holiday season to you, your family, your business, and most of all your networking spirit!</p>
<p>All the best,<br />
Jason</p>
<p><strong>P.S. Speaking of networking and creating a blockbuster 2011,</strong> check out the Facebook Small Business Page that will help you do both:<strong> </strong><a title="Sales, marketing, networking and more - Daily tips for Small Business!" href="http://facebook.com/GrowYourBiz" target="_blank"><strong>Achieve Your Ideal Business Now!</strong></a></p>
<p>And be sure to post an introduction on The Wall &#8211; because we want to get to know your business as well!</p>
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		<title>&#8220;Fantastic 5 Keys to Delivering a Kick-Ass, Sales-Generating Presentation&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/fantastic-5-keys-to-delivering-a-kick-ass-sales-generating-presentation/</link>
		<comments>http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/fantastic-5-keys-to-delivering-a-kick-ass-sales-generating-presentation/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 14 Nov 2010 16:56:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jason Rosado</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entrepreneur]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Inspiration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Netiquette]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Networking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales Training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Networking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Upgrading skills]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[facebook]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BizCoachJason]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[improve skills]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lead generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[linkedin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[motivating others]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Speaking Skills]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sales growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seminar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[small business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[small business owner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/?p=1143</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[One of the single best ways to connect with potential clients in a way that they get to understand how you can help them is to speak to groups of people – a very powerful way for others to get to know, like and trust you.
This can be done in person via speaking engagements, workshops, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>One of the single best ways to connect with potential clients in a way that they get to understand how you can help them is to speak to groups of people – a very powerful way for others to get to know, like and trust you.</p>
<p>This can be done in person via speaking engagements, workshops, classes, networking events; on the phone on teleclasses, teleseminars, etc.; or on the web through webinars, social networking, blogging, newsletters, Fan Pages, and so many more methods&#8230; </p>
<p>Over the years, I have given hundreds of presentations. And I&#8217;ve learned something VERY IMPORTANT that I want to share this with you:</p>
<h4>To make sales from your presentation, just giving a killer speech isn’t good enough.</h4>
<p>Below are my <strong>“Fantastic 5 Keys to Delivering a Kick-Ass, Sales-Generating Presentation!” </strong>as posted on my &#8220;Small Business Daily Success Tips&#8221; on <a href="http://facebook.com/GrowYourBiz">http://facebook.com/GrowYourBiz</a>: </p>
<p>11/8/10<br />
MONDAY “Tip of the Day”: BizCoachJason’s Fantastic 5 Keys to Deliver a Kick-Ass, Sales-Generating Presentation: <strong>Key #1 &#8211; “Make a great first impression!”</strong> How important is this? Our subconscious mind tells us whether we like someone or not based on an intuitive first impression. If it’s a bad impression, it can be overcome but that can be *very* difficult. Get started on the track, right away. And remember to SMILE!</p>
<p>11/9/10<br />
TUESDAY “Tip of the Day”: <strong>Key #2 &#8211; “Make a BOLD promise!”</strong> Grab your audience’s attention in a big way! Tell them what’s in it for them to spend their precious time, attention and energy listening to you. You’ll gain acceptance and enthusiasm, and make it more fun for you and them. And you better deliver on your bold promise!</p>
<p>11/10/10<br />
WEDNESDAY “Tip of the Day”: <strong>Key #3 – “Learn something about your audience”</strong> This is a really important component of your talk to make sure you are delivering value and building the relationship with your audience members. You need to know who you are talking to and what their challenges are, even when you invited a specific group of people.</p>
<p>11/11/10<br />
THURSDAY “Tip of the Day”: <strong>Key #4 – “Involve your participants” </strong>People learn in different ways. Engage your audience members by involving them and making them a part of your presentation. Make it fun for them. Give them an experience, not just a lecture, and they will learn, remember and enjoy it exponentially more.</p>
<p>11/12/10<br />
FRIDAY “Tip of the Day”: <strong>Key #5 – “Provide a Call to Action”</strong> Without this, you can give a magnificent, stellar presentation and GET NO SALES. I’ve been there, done that. I’ve seen too many others fall prey to this as well. YOU NEED TO MAKE AN IRRESISTIBLE OFFER and tell your audience EXACTLY what to do to accept. This makes it a win-win!</p>
<p>Now go out there and create massive value for your target market by giving kick-ass presentations that will serve you and serve them!</p>
<p>Remember, to get even more sales, marketing, social media and other business success tips:<br />
- Go to and &#8220;Like&#8221; <a href="http://facebook.com/GrowYourBiz">http://facebook.com/GrowYourBiz</a><br />
- Introduce yourself and your business on The Wall<br />
- Come back each day to read and comment on the tips. This will grow your skills and your business as well as your own social networking connections and effectiveness.</p>
<p>To your success!<br />
<em>BizCoachJason Rosado</em></p>
<p><em>P.S. For more tips on using social networking to build your marketing and sales funnel, provide huge value to your prospects and build your business quickly, check out the special report <a href="http://www.distinctivecoaching.com/social-networking-special-report/"><strong>&#8220;Untangling Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and More&#8230;&#8221;</strong></a></em></p>
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