Winston's e-Newsletter - February 2007

“Don’t die daddy, I’m just a kid!”

If you’ve ever admired, or been envious of my beautifully blonde tipped hair, it’s all due to the talented efforts of my hairdresser Terry, who has looked after my coiffure for the last 20 years.

As you do with your hairdresser, you get to know about their family and vice versa. It meant that, amongst other things, I heard about Terry’s marriage problems and subsequent re-marriage and shared the joy of the arrival of his son, the apple of his eye, James.

I’ve also shared in the health problems Terry’s experienced over the last few years, felt for him when he’s had his blocked arteries fixed and been happy for him when he bounced back to great health.

That’s why it came as a great shock when my regular appointment with him a month ago was cancelled because he had been rushed from his salon to hospital.

He was back at work yesterday, with a stent in an artery, and told me what happened.

It was school holidays and he was in the salon with son James filling in some time by accompanying Dad to the business, and that’s when the chest pain gripped Terry. Marian, his wife, and partner in the salon, summed up the situation in an instant and called the ambulance while Terry grimaced as the heart attack gripped him. That’s when James, all of eight years old, took his father’s hand, looked into his eyes and said, “Don’t die, daddy, I’m just a kid!”

Terry had tears in his eyes as he recounted the story and told me of his determination not to die. How could he leave that little boy who was just a kid?

So what’s the point of this story?

Well, it’s simply to remind you that we cannot choose the time of our passing, we know not when our time in this world will end and so it’s up to us to make the most of every minute. To take the opportunity to enjoy life, to spend time with the people we love, and to make a contribution to our community. As I often say in my seminars, none of us know how much sand we have in the hourglass of our life, and because we’re not here for a long time, we’re here for a good time. Good times means spending time with the people we love and not time in our business to the detriment of our family.

 

How to Become a Legend!

No matter what business you’re in it’s important that you establish your position and reputation within the market in which you operate. In a nutshell, that happens by having the right product or service, delivering what you promise and building relationships with your clients, suppliers and the market place.

Gaining the credibility and reputation that is important for a good business can take time and there are ways to make it happen faster. That’s why I’ve produced a program entitled “How to Become a Legend in Other People’s Minds!” which explains the steps you can take to fast-track that process. The process is simple, easy and very effective. You can find more about the program by visiting here

 

Making Phone Messages Really Work

Often your mobile rings at an inconvenient time or it’s after hours and there’s no-one in the office to answer the phone. So what happens? Your mobile goes to voicemail or the office answering machine kicks in.

The message that you give out is a reflection of you and your business. Remember, you never get a second chance at a first impression. So, you’ve got to ensure that your message reflects very positively on you and guarantees that the caller leaves a message. Otherwise, they might go to your competitor.

A standard message, delivered in wooden tones as if being read from the instruction sheet, like:

“Thank you for calling ACME Business, we are unable to take your call at the moment, please leave a message after the tone and we’ll get back to you.”

...does nothing for anybody!

Real estate dynamo Judy Latham’s illustrates how good a message can be. It goes like this:

“Thank you for calling Judy Latham. At the moment I’m helping someone buy or sell a house and I’d love to do the same for you. So if you could just leave your name and phone number… please leave your phone number twice so I don’t miss a digit… I’ll get back to you as quickly as possible. Thanks.”

That message is bright, breezy and different. It tells people about the business and establishes that Judy is switched on, anxious to do business and a great person with whom to do business.

Bubbly fitness industry entrepreneur and very successful businesswoman, Rowena McEvoy, makes sure her thriving business creates the right impression. If you call after hours you’ll hear something like this:

“Hello and thank you so much for calling the National College of Fitness. If you’re looking for an exciting new career in the fitness industry, or you just want some more information about feeling fantastic and looking great, then you’ve definitely called the right number. Please leave us your name, your address and your telephone number so that we can send you some information and can call you back. Please also let us know the best time to call you so that we don’t miss you again… that would be very sad. Now the message for this month is – No person has ever gone blind from looking on the bright side of life. So go out there, look on the bright side, smile at everyone, have a sensational day and we’ll be in contact with you really, really soon. Thank you!”

The important part about these messages is that they have some of the personality of the individual or company in them and give callers a feeling of how it is to do business with them.

What’s more, the messages encourage people to leave the message.

And isn’t that the bottom line? After all, if your message doesn’t get a message in return, you may just miss the business.

 

Never Be Nervous Again: Get Rid of the
“Speaking Butterflies” Forever!

If you are one of the many thousands of people who are absolutely petrified by having to stand up and speak in public here’s some great news! If the thought of having to make a speech, give a presentation or even say a few words at a meeting gives you butterflies then this is a great opportunity for you. In my next TeleSeminar you’ll find out how to be calm, confident and cucumber cool whenever you’re asked to speak. Just imagine how great you’ll feel when you can get your point across to a group and never feel nervous again!

I’ll be explaining “How to be a Confident Speaker” in a 1-hour TeleSeminar on Tuesday 27 February at 11-00 a.m. AESST and if you want to abolish the speaking butterflies then this is for you.

A telephone seminar is a great way of getting the nitty gritty stuff you need without having to waste time driving to a seminar, finding a parking spot, and, even worse, having to stand and speak in front of a whole crowd of people you don’t even know. All you do is make yourself comfortable, relax and listen in over the phone. You’ll know how to hold an audience in the palm of your hand in next to no time. For more details have a look here.

 

A couple of great TV commercials

In my opinion a really great TV commercial will work if you turn the sound off, and both of these commercials get their message across despite the language being other than English. One of them sells insurance, and the other sells tomato sauce.

 

Don’t miss this man’s wisdom!

I’ve always been a fan of Donald Cooper, a Canadian entrepreneur who built his women’s’ clothing store into one of the greatest retail operations in Canada, and who now spends his time traveling the world consulting and speaking to business people. I was delighted when I found that he was visiting Australia for clients and presenting a series of seminars. I hear tell that he may be doing boot camps in Australian and New Zealand that if you are lucky enough to get to will be fantastic value. Get more information here.

 

Adding spice to what you say and write

If you’ve been acquainted with me for while you’ll probably have gathered that I’m a fan of Winston Churchill. He was the British politician who had a huge impact on his country and empire in the first half of the last century, particularly as Prime Minister during the dark days of the Second World War.

You might think that’s because I was borne on his birthday and named after him but that’s not the real reason. It’s because I love his speaking and writing skills (and I do a bit of them myself!).

Whatever your business, it’ll do you a power of good if you copy some of his methods to make your speaking and writing more interesting to the listener or the reader. And, if it’s not interesting, you lose them.

One device he used with great success to spice up what he said or wrote was “chiasmus” which is a reversal in the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases.

Here are a few examples how an otherwise fairly bland statement comes alive and is memorable using this sneaky little trick.

"All I can say is that I have taken more out of alcohol… than alcohol has taken out of me."

"An optimist sees an opportunity in every calamity; a pessimist sees a calamity in every opportunity."

"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

"He has to conceal what he would most wish to make public, and make public what he would most wish to conceal."

When you’re next putting some words together look for the opportunity to use chiasmus… writing like that will be good for you and that will be good for your writing!

 

Get Terry on the job

Every month on Business Marketing, my monthly audio program, Terry Brock provides sensational information that helps subscribers employ technology very very effectively in their business. Terry offers a coaching program and you can get a glimpse of what he does here. If you’d like enrol in his program, simply send him an email for further information. I know how much that’s helped people all around the world turbo charge their business and thoroughly recommend it. terry@terrybrock.com

 

The book all your team must read

The other day I was out with an executive of a Bank and was impressed by him so much so that I thought I should introduce him to some of my clients. That was until I saw his table manners, and I knew that I couldn’t confidently introduce him anywhere. That’s why the complete Business Etiquette Handbook is such a terrific investment for you and your team members. Although it’s written by Americans and therefore some of their cutlery handling skills are different to ours, it’s chock-a-block full of tips to ensure that you have impeccable customer-winning business manners at home and around the world. Normally $55, it’s just $45 for newsletter readers (plus postage & packaging). You’ll see details here.

 

In Business Marketing this month

If you’re not subscribing to my monthly audio program Business Marketing it’s well worth the investment because every month you receive over an hour of inspirational information, ideas and interviews that will boost the bottom line of your business and give you more time to enjoy your success. For example, in our Fe bruary edition, retail whiz Jurek Leon introduced a great idea that makes running team meetings easy and productive, called ‘guided discussion’; Winston got some sensational ideas by visiting a Rabbit photographic booth; top Australian business coach, Robert Gerrish, talked about five ways to be ‘attractive’ in business; and Dale Beaumont spilt the secrets of how to get your business in the media. You can subscribe to the program here, see more details here, or visit the references that support the program here.

 

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

This newsletter is being sent to: email@isp.com

 

If you received this newsletter through a friend and wish to subscribe yourself, go here.

 

You are receiving this Newsletter because you asked to be subscribed, or attended a Seminar, or purchased a product. If you no longer wish to hear from us, unsubscribe here