What about an "all right" Christmas?
If words don't come easy
Just a couple of reminders!
Practise the lemon look over summer! 
"Dog Bites Man" Isn't News, But "Dog Shoots Man" Is!
Our seasonal best wishes
A great TV commercial!
Lessons from Dr. Seuss
A bonus Chrissie tune

What about an "all right" Christmas?   

The other day I was out for my customary early-morning run with my dogs and I was on the homeward leg. The sun was just coming up into a beautiful clear blue sky and that early-morning crisp briskness heralded the start of what was going to be a beautiful day.

Absorbed in my thoughts I came out of my reverie as I met a woman walking in the other direction. As is my habit I smiled, said hello and inquired "how are you?"

Without looking at me and with no expression on her face she responded with "not bad!"

As I ran the final half kilometre I'd ruminated on her response.

Here it was... an absolutely perfect day and she was alive and well yet all she could say was "not bad!"

I wondered then whether, when she was wishing friends and family the compliments of the season, she would say "have an all right Christmas and all right New Year"?

And the answer was of course she wouldn't... she would wish people all the very best with enthusiasm and fervour.

So was being enthusiastic and positive just a thing she kept for Christmas? Surely she wouldn't just want to be "all right" the rest of the year so why wouldn't she say, in response to my question enquiring of her health, "fantastic", "sensational ", "terrific" or just a plain old "great".

Learn a lesson from this and make a commitment to yourself.

Keep up the Christmas spirit. Remember that when you wish people a great Christmas and a fantastic New Year you can guarantee the same for yourself all year round by always responding positively whenever somebody enquires about your state of health.

Remember, your brain doesn't know the difference between real and imagined situations. So, when you tell you brain that you're fantastic it will work hard to make sure what that's exactly what you become.

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If words don't come easy   

If you're a two-finger typist like I am and you dream of being able to dictate straight into your computer then the answer to your dreams is here.

For sometime now, I'd been using Dragon NaturallySpeaking so that I can dictate my thoughts straight into a Word document or even an e-mail for that matter. Sure, the software took a while to understand my lazy speech and Aussie accent but now it gets most of what I say right and correcting its (or rather my) mistakes is easy. It certainly has sped up the process of committing my thoughts to paper. The good news is that now, apart from learning to touch type, there's another way you can speed up your typing and that's to turn your talk into typing.

For more information go visit http://australia.nuance.com/

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Just a couple of reminders!    

If you are too busy to read, or missed, my missed my last e-mails for some reason then you may like to have a look at them now or when you're relaxing over the break.

There's one about a special offer of the body language man Allan Pease's material, and another one about the business books that I reckon will make great summer reading.

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Practise the lemon look over summer!   

There's one scary phrase we encounter when we're endeavouring to sell something isn't there? It's when we tell the prospect the price and they look at us and say "Boy, that's expensive."

How do you handle that? If you're like many people you say "Well hang on, let me sharpen the pencil and see what I can do." Then you knock something off the price. You lose a lot of credibility and, even more importantly, you lose a lot of profit.

So what's that answer to "That's expensive?"

Well, when you hear those words, you've gotta look like you've sucked a lemon. You've got to have an expression on your face of extreme distaste. Then you look them straight in the eye and say these exact words, "Is cheap (pause) important to you?" And then you shut up, you just wait for their answer, no matter how long it takes.

You'll be amazed by the answer you get. You see while you're waiting for an answer they're subconsciously pondering what word goes with "cheap." Then they remember what they learnt at their mother's knee. "nasty" is the word that goes with "cheap."

And it means that, 99 times out of 100, they will answer "No, I guess not."

And you then say, "That's right, what you're looking for is value, which means the right product at the right price. Let me explain what your money is buying here". Then you spell out the benefits of your product or service.

Most times you'll get the sale at your price because they'll be buying the value.

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"Dog Bites Man" Isn't News, But "Dog Shoots Man" Is!    

PENSACOLA, Florida - A puppy got his revenge on a Pensacola man who was trying to shoot the litter by getting his paw on the trigger and accidentally shooting back. Jerry Allen Bradford, 37, was shot in the wrist by the puppy with his own .38-caliber revolver. Three of the seven German Shepherd-mix puppies were found in a shallow grave outside Bradford's home. The other four were seized by Escambia County animal control officers. Bradford told deputies he was unable to sell or give the puppies away so he decided to kill them.

The sheriff's report said he was holding one of the puppies in his left hand and had another in his arms when the one in his palm managed to put its paw on the trigger, discharging the gun. He faces animal cruelty charges for the shootings and was being treated for his wound at a Pensacola hospital.

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Our seasonal best wishes   

Well, this is the time when lots of people get together with their families and enjoy the festive season; for many of us we especially recognise the events of two thousand years ago that give light and hope to the world.

All of us here at the Business Growth Centre would like to take the opportunity to wish you and yours the compliments of the season and every possible thing you could wish for yourself for the New Year.

At great expense I have commissioned a choir of 40 Vestal Virgins to deliver our Christmas wishes in song. All right then, they aren't Vestal Virgins but they are the members of my wife's East City Sound Barbershop Chorus, all 40 strong.

By the way we're taking a break from Wednesday, 20th December through until the 15th January next year but someone will always be checking our e-mail messages, web site orders, and telephone messages. So, if you need us, we will not be too far away.

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A great TV commercial!   

Sorry to inflict another beer commercial on you to but golly brewers do seem to have the money to do good ones. This seasonal 30-seconder will bring a smile to your face.

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Lessons from Dr. Seuss   

When I hear some people's presentations or read what they've written I'm often reminded of Mark Twain's comment when apologising for the length of a letter. "If I'd had more time, this would have been shorter."

Being able to express yourself clearly and succinctly is a skill worth developing. Author, Dr. Seuss, whom you'll remember from childhood (or parenthood), developed the skill well.

Because kids were not learning to read, Dr. Seuss's publisher compiled a list of 400 important words suggesting that Seuss cut the list to 250 then write a book using only those words. Nine months later, Seuss completed The Cat in the Hat using 220 of the words. This book was a tour de force - it retained the familiar Dr. Seuss style but because of its simplified vocabulary could be read by beginners. Supposedly his publisher then bet Dr. Seuss $50 that he couldn't write a book using only fifty words. He could and he did. the result was Green Eggs and Ham.

But there's another secret to green Eggs and Ham. What's that? Persistence? Sam-I-Am asks the bigger guy many times to try the green eggs and ham and finally, after twenty-seven attempts, he makes the sale.

How brief are you, how persistent are you?

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A bonus Chrissie tune

You may have seen this but in any event it's pretty clever stuff. I just wish I could play any instrument using anything!

 

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Business Growth Centre
ABN: 96 709 037 261
Postal: 110 Coleman Road, Boronia, Vic, 3155, Australia
Phone: +613 9887 5511   Fax: +613 9887 5581

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