Getting creative: Turning nothing into something
Our mindset is critical to our success in business especially when we are going to be faced with rejection, and an untold number of challenges throughout the journey. Often we look at challenges as obstacles, speedbumps, detours or outright rejection while we could be looking at them as opportunities, chances to pivot and avenues to refine. In order to take something negative and turn it positive, one of the best things we can do is to get creative. In this blog we’re going to discuss how we can work on getting creative so we can turn something into nothing. Speaking of creativity! We put together a FREE guide identifying the Top 6 reasons businesses fail and give you actionable steps you can take on every one of these to make sure it’s your competition failing and not you! It’s our free gift to you. Access it here! What are the simplest tips out there to get more creative and turn nothing into something? Get past the symptom When we’re dealing with challenges, especially from our prospects and future clients, we don’t typically have the underlying issues stated up front. Instead, what we get is symptoms. Most people will do their best to solve a symptom, but if you do that you’re not necessarily helping the prospect and you’re definitely not helping yourself (unless your offer is simply to alleviate symptoms)! It is crucial to get past the symptom to figure out what is really going on. If you can do that and start to solve for that you will be well on your way to turning nothing into something! Sometimes this requires creative thinking and question asking. Don’t be afraid to get creative to get past the symptoms! Have the client address the impact Although we want to wave a magic wand for our clients it’s far more effective for them to wave the wand. Client’s take action much more quickly when they are the one that is reasoning through the why. The best way to accomplish this is to have a client fully share how fixing an underlying problem will impact their lives. They will end up moving themselves forward towards a solution. This means getting creative and not working off a script. Every individual situation is different and requires creative problem solving. Be transparent There is no reason to fit a square peg into a round hole. It just won’t work and will hurt more than it helps. By being transparent with people you help them understand that you’re coming from a place of partnership and guidance and not from a place of manipulation. When you incorporate all three of these tips it’s very easy to take nothing and turn it into something. By approaching prospect engagements in this way you’ll have provided more value than 99% of competitors in your respective industries. Regardless of whether you can provide a solution you have earned the right to ask for SOMETHING. What can you ask for? Be creative. Ask for referrals, reviews, testimonials…whatever you need. Remember, you earned it! How have you turned nothing into something? Let us know your thoughts, you can email us at info@jbandthedoctor.com! Did you know we work with professionals and leaders with 2 on 1 coaching that marries the expertise of a Doctor of Psychology and mindset coach with the business savvy of a former Fortune 50 sales executive. We specialize in helping entrepreneurs and professionals like you master your soft skills to evolve you to your greatest potential. To learn more about our coaching you can contact us here! Feel like you need coaching but not sure you can afford the investment in yourself? That’s ok! We have a scholarship available to diverse candidates of need. You can apply for our scholarship for our coaching and our courses here. Not enough time in the day, we get it. Check out our AYOP course, 2x Your Time, right here. We walk through everything from time management and calendar basics to how you can supercharge your days weeks and months through practices and techniques that are grounded in experience and proven by science.
How to Know When You’re Sacrificing Too Much
We all have trade-offs occur every day. No matter what decisions we make there is a trade-off. For example, let’s say we choose to wake up early to get a strong start to the week. We are accepting that our sleep will be impacted to have more time in the day. Some sacrifices we make are greater than others. For example, we might pull an all-nighter of work to hit a necessary deadline knowing that it will have a huge impact on our overall performance later in the week. How do we know if the sacrifices and trade-offs we make are worth the cost? What if we told you there are signs you could look for that will let you know if it’s a healthy trade off or not? In our blog today we look at a couple of signs you can keep an eye out for to let you know if you’re sacrificing too much! This is a trade-off that’s worth it, 2 minutes of your time to receive our free gift to you! We put together a FREE guide identifying the Top 6 reasons businesses fail and give you actionable steps you can take on every one of these to make sure it’s your competition failing and not you! It’s our free gift to you. Access it here! Sign 1 That You’re Sacrifice Isn’t Worth It Sacrifices and trade-offs often lead to short term impact. Staying up late or waking up early for a day? Short term impact. Staying up late or waking up early for a week or longer? Long term impact. When our sacrifices and trade-offs become detrimental to our health it can be a clear ‘caution’ sign that we need to pay attention to. Keep an eye out for any developing, long term negative impacts that stem from your sacrifices. This could be a clear sign that the sacrifices aren’t worth it. Consider, staying up for 24 hours and driving produces some of the same deficiencies in reaction time as drinking and driving can. Sign 2 That You’re Sacrifice Isn’t Worth It You find yourself unbalanced and unhappy. Sacrifice means you’re giving something up, willingly. However, if the extend of what we give up leads to mental illness such as depression and anxiety, we may be trying to take on too much. There is no personal benefit to being a martyr if you can’t enjoy the results of your sacrifice. Pay attention to your mental health as you make sacrifices and be honest about. What signs do you look for to let you know that a trade-off isn’t worth it? Let us know at info@jbandthedoctor.com Did you know we work with professionals and leaders with 2 on 1 coaching that marries the expertise of a Doctor of Psychology and mindset coach with the business savvy of a former Fortune 50 sales executive. We specialize in helping entrepreneurs and professionals like you master your time, sales, and confidence, to evolve you to your greatest potential. To learn more about our coaching you can contact us here! Feel like you need coaching but not sure you can afford the investment in yourself? That’s ok! We have a scholarship available to diverse candidates of need. You can apply for our scholarship for our coaching and our courses here. Not enough time in the day, we get it. Check out our AYOP course, 2x Your Time, right here. We walk through everything from time management and calendar basics to how you can supercharge your days weeks and months through practices and techniques that are grounded in experience and proven by science.
Finding Balance in the Holidays!
If we take the stance that work-life balance doesn’t exist and both blend together, especially during the holidays, it does beg the question: can you have balance during the holidays? We believe you can and want to offer a few tips on how you can find balance this holiday season! 6 Methods To Make Sure Your Business Doesn’t Fail Before achieving perfect holiday season balance, did you know that 70% of businesses will fail? We put together a FREE guide identifying the Top 6 reasons businesses fail and give you actionable steps you can take on every one of these to make sure it’s your competition failing and not you! It’s our free gift to you and you can access it right here. Take Responsibility for your own Balance A lot of people think balance and think 50/50. That’s crazy! First, there is a whole lot more to balance than just 2 things in life! Secondly, balance is what we make of it. By understanding how and where we want to prioritize our focus we can really reduce stress by taking accountability for what we want to prioritize. If that’s 70% of our time on business, 10% on family, 20% on ourselves, that’s ok, just own it! Set Boundaries The holidays are a difficult time to set boundaries. There are a tremendous number of societal pressures and family pressures on hand during this season that we don’t normally face. For some of us there is considerable professional pressure as well. Setting boundaries up front will help communicate our priorities to the people around us and stave off some of the conflict that comes from differing priorities. Find Perspective and Empathy Balance in the holiday season means being aware of more than our own situations and challenges. Almost without exception, everyone is dealing with the burden of additional stress during this time of year. Remembering to step outside of your own shoes will do wonders for many of us to help experience gratitude and fulfillment during the holiday season. How do you find balance during the holidays? Let us know at info@jbandthedoctor.com! Did you know we work with professionals and leaders with 2 on 1 coaching that marries the expertise of a Doctor of Psychology and mindset coach with the business savvy of a former Fortune 50 sales executive. We specialize in helping entrepreneurs and professionals like you master your time, sales, and confidence, to evolve you to your greatest potential. To learn more about our coaching you can contact us here! Feel like you need coaching but not sure you can afford the investment in yourself? That’s ok! We have a scholarship available to diverse candidates of need. You can apply for our scholarship for our coaching and our courses here. Not enough time in the day, we get it. Check out our AYOP course, 2x Your Time, right here. We walk through everything from time management and calendar basics to how you can supercharge your days weeks and months through practices and techniques that are grounded in experience and proven by science.
How to Deal With Uncertainty
Uncertainty is always going to be there. At times we don’t even notice it, at other times it’s impossible to ignore. Dealing with uncertainty can be challenging for a number of reasons, but it’s important to make sure we are prepared so when uncertainty does pop up, we don’t allow it to throw us off track. In this blog we’ll offer some wisdom on some of the best ways to deal with uncertainty to minimize it’s impact. 6 Methods To Make Sure Your Business Doesn’t Fail Hold on! Did you know that 70% of businesses will fail? We put together a FREE guide identifying the Top 6 reasons businesses fail and give you actionable steps you can take on every one of these to make sure it’s your competition failing and not you! It’s our free gift to you and you can access it right here. Uncertainty Hack #1 Step back from what’s causing the uncertainty. Perspective is a great way to remove ourselves from emotional responses and when we deal with uncertainty we are often dealing with our own, or others emotions. Step back, create perspective and you’ll often find that the uncertainty is not necessarily as impactful as you were worried it would be. Uncertainty Hack #2 Plan for the uncertainty. Plan for the worst so that the worst isn’t as bad as it could be. When we have a plan in place for uncertainty it allows us to have a response ready to go. Being able to take action during uncertainty is a fantastic way to minimize the impact of uncertainty in our lives and our business. Uncertainty Hack #3 Know your coping strategies. We all cope with things differently. When uncertainty starts to creep up it may be time to implement one of your coping strategies. This could be self-care, working out, meditation, vacation, therapy or any number of outlets. Find what works best for you and don’t delay. Are you struggling with uncertainty? Let us know in our private Facebook community, the EML! You can join here! Or we can work with you individually and in a group setting with our unique 2 on 1 coaching that marries the expertise of a Doctor of Psychology and mindset coach with the business savvy of a former Fortune 50 sales executive. We specialize in helping entrepreneurs and professionals like you master your time, sales, and confidence, to evolve you to your greatest potential. To learn more about our coaching you can contact us here! Feel like you need coaching but not sure you can afford the investment in yourself? That’s ok! We have a scholarship available to diverse candidates of need. You can apply for our scholarship for our coaching and our courses here. Not enough time in the day, we get it. Check out our AYOP course, 2x Your Time, right here. We walk through everything from time management and calendar basics to how you can supercharge your days weeks and months through practices and techniques that are grounded in experience and proven by science.
Finding and developing context in your conversations AND Asking the right questions
Finding and developing context in your conversations is at the heart of the biggest riddle anyone in sales can face….what are the right questions to ask? Asking good questions is an art form. Speak to any master salesperson and in today’s world, it’s not about slick talk, it’s about meaningful questions. Ask someone a meaningful question that gets them thinking and you may just open their eyes to a problem they didn’t know exist, or at the very least, key in on the true issue at hand and the real problem that needs to be solved. In Humble Inquiry, Edgar and Peter Schein attempt to provide us with a guide to asking good questions. As someone in sales that has always wanted to know what the ‘right’ questions were, this was an incredibly helpful book. After all, how many books out there really train you on how to ask good questions? It’s generally not the most popular topic people are talking about. It may end up being one of the most important books to read as a business owner, however. In a day and age where sales has evolved from being an offensive game to one of collaboration and partnership, asking good questions is the ultimate consultant move. To be clear, this isn’t to say I loved the book, that would be a lie. It felt and read a little too clinical and technical for my taste. Still, there were some tremendous insights in the book that are worth sharing, especially around context. Context is brought up in the book from many perspectives, and, rightly so! Here are the primary areas of context that are especially helpful to a service-based professional or business owner. 1. Why am I asking this? It’s easy to ask questions. We’ve been doing that since we were kids. Asking the right questions that will elicit an informative response from our clients and prospects is an art form. The first step in gaining expertise in the art of question asking is to ask yourself first! Yup, that’s it, right there. The very first question to ask is internally, to yourself. Why am I asking this? If your answer is internal and not external (about you and not about them) you need to pause and re-think whether it’s the best question to ask. 2. Why are they asking me this? What’s really behind their question. Is it what they are asking? Often times the questions we are asked to respond to are not the questions that will address an issue at hand. Technical questions are a great example of this. Most of the time the technical information being asked for is easily accessible, who doesn’t have google, after all? Answering here will still help address something directly, you just need to consider what’s the driving force behind the question and is that really a technical issue or is it something wholly different and greater that needs to be answered. In short, the Schein brothers ask you to ask ‘why?’ In a world where it’s very easy to speak fast and barely listen, it’s time to step back and consider the context of why we are asking a question and why a question is being asked of us. Why? To help you get better at what you do! Serving others and guiding them to make great decisions! If you’re looking for more insights and help with some of your challenges, be sure to check out our podcast! Once a month we offer a podcast where we answer questions directly from members of the Entrepreneur Mastery Lab. You can check out the podcast here! If you aren’t a member of the lab yet and want to join, it’s free, and designed with you at the center of it. You can request access here. Many of the people we work with find us through referrals and our content. If you’d like to contact us directly you can reach out to us via our website at our contact page. Others, want help but don’t feel like they can afford it. Don’t let that stop you…we offer full scholarships to our courses and coaching to deserving and diverse candidates. If you’re on the fence, take a few minutes and tell us about yourself on our scholarship page!
Keys to Resiliency in Business and Sales
Almost all of us sell. If it’s not actively selling a product or a service, it certainly may be to persuade or shift someone’s decisions or behaviors. Don’t believe me? Next time you care about where you eat or how you spend your free time with family or friends, pay attention to how the interaction plays out. Either you or whomever you were planning with sold or were sold on the decision. To persuade is to sell and to persuade is human and natural. To effectively sell, we must be resilient. We’ll talk about some of the keys to resiliency in business and sales today. Key 1: It’s not about you… Seriously. It’s easy to get technical and focus on specific words, phrases, what people respond well to or not. That’s also important. But not as important as remembering that to persuade and to sell is all about the other person. Why would THEY want to do whatever you’re asking of them? When it comes to resiliency and rejection this is one of the most important things to remember! If you’re rejected, if you get a no, it’s not about you. Is this true all of the time? No it’s not true all of the time. It is true most of the time. Often it has nothing to do with you and you end up putting that on yourself. So our key here? It’s not about you so it’s time to stop making it personal. Key 2: No has a short half-life… No is a temporary status. It’s a moment in time. A specific point of rejection based in the present and just as quickly gone as we move forward to the future. We don’t intend to get all metaphysical and it is important to remember that a no in the present is based off of circumstances that will be different in the future, guaranteed. Because life is never static and it’s always changing. It’s easier to be resilient about the ‘no’ when you remember that. One of the best keys to being resilient in business and in sales is to understand that a no in this moment can be a yes in tomorrow’s moment. Key 3: Everyone has a problem to solve… Yep, you read it right. We all have problems to solve. Nobody’s life is perfect, and nobody is eternally happy. Every day life throws at us new challenges, problems, and issues. Some of these are short lived and others are monster issues we need to devote time and energy to solving. Often, when it comes to rejection and developing resiliency it’s helpful to remember that whatever we are offering helps someone solve a problem. It’s a belief and an intimate conviction that what you’re offering is of true value and service for someone else. Failure to keep up this conviction is a certain way to undermine your own personal credibility. Success at reminding ourselves of this conviction leads to sky high levels of resiliency. So how do you apply this when you’re facing rejection? Remember that not everyone is your ideal audience! Not everyone is putting the same weight on the issue that you perceive it to carry (see key 1). Not everyone is ready in the moment (see key 2). Find the right people with the right problem at the right time and you’ll have greater success. We need resiliency when we are looking for the ideal clients we serve and/or are speaking to someone who isn’t a true ideal client. If you need help with resiliency, you’re welcome to contact us about our unique 2 on 1 coaching. We can help change how you perceive and respond to rejection and implement correct process and routines FOR YOU. You can check out our services here. Sure you need help but not sure you can afford for us to help you? Not every investment requires money. We offer scholarships to deserving entrepreneurs and service based professionals. Learn how a short investment in your time could lead to a full ride for our coaching or courses. Check out our scholarship here. Ever wonder where we come up with our topics? Go no further than our most recent podcast with Erich Ko of Hop In Technologies. He and his co-founder Boyd showed true resiliency in how they built Hop In Technologies and our conversation explores how and why this was so important to their success!
Tips To Quickly Shift Perspective
Having perspective is a powerful tool and important to our success in business. Quickly gaining perspective is a skill that will allow you to bring that tool to bear much more effectively and rapidly than your competitors. In a landscape where we are competing globally it’s becoming more and more important to develop and refine skills like this to give yourself an edge. Here are a few tips to quickly shift your perspective: 1. Read more often Research has shown that reading leads to greater emotional intelligence and empathy. Developing EI and empathy will enable you to quickly put yourself in ‘someone else’s shoes,’ or in other words, shift your perspective. 2. Listen more than you speak We are often blind to the fact that we are viewing the world and every situation we are in through our own lenses and interpretations of what is happening around us. Listening gives the people around you an opportunity to share their perspective and will enable you to learn to shift yours much more quickly. 3. Quit trying to be right The more open you are to conclusions that are not your own, the more likely you are to be able to shift perspectives. Putting your ego aside can help you shift perspectives much more quickly. Working towards these tips will give you the capability to adjust your perception quickly, identify other points of views and put you in a position to better understand the people around you. For more ideas on perspective, you can join us in the lab here!