Check out Shane’s presentation — and contact us if you’re looking for a social media sales speaker for your next conference. (Shane also does in-depth two-day social media boot camps as well).

Dan Waldschmidt (@DanWaldo)  shares a new business intelligence tool that will help you learn more about your prospects: Edgy Technology – Flowtown Takes it Personally.

Anthony Iannarino (@iannarino) talks about: Two Sales 2.0 Offerings That Enable Sales 1.0

Tibor Shanto (@renbor) talks about why finding the customers’ pain may be the wrong focus for sales people: Saturday Sales Tip -21

Bill Rice (@kaleidico) talks about: Lead Management the Secret to Lead Buying

Jim Keenan shares a software tool with us that could be a game changer for many in: More Time for Videos

Cindy King (@cindyking) shares a powerful networking and community building strategy she calls “Twitter Interviews”

Skip Anderson (@skipanderson) reviews a winning Korean Air Ad and talks about why it’s so successful: When TV Ads Work

A community, town, city, region or country is just like a business … it must be marketed and developed from the inside out. How often have we heard or seen great advertising slogans describing a business, community or city, only to arrive there to find out that the “real life experience” falls far short of the expectations set by the advertising.

Media Marketing has value, although we believe it has to be “backed up” from the inside out. Following is the Marketing Your Community From The Inside-Out Model along with a few quick Inside Out Community Marketing Ideas. This information was recently shared with Municipal Engineers in the Western Cape at DPLG conferences.

PowerPoint #1 – Attitudinal Marketing: The backbone and real power of a community starts deep on the inside of the community … it starts with having a marketing and servicing attitude. It is the attitude that politicians, municipal management, municipal employees and even citizens in general have towards business, each other, their services, their community and life itself.

Try the following community attitudinal adjustment ideas.

· Eliminate Us vs. Them – find ways to work together, have a shared vision and look for similarities and respect the differences. Don’t get even … get ahead!

· Incentives Through Wandering – have a person or small committee who wanders through the community giving recognition for positive things people and businesses are doing for the community. Feature a business or social group of the month through the local media.

· Learn From The Winners – utilise local successful people to tell their story to others and demonstrate the possibilities.

· Shop Your Community – engage credible people to give monthly positive and not-so-positive feedback and then act on it, utilise focus groups for the same purpose.

· People and Businesses Go Where They Are Invited and Stay Where They Are Appreciated – have special weeks to create excitement and show appreciation. For example … teachers week, nurses week, civic workers week, construction workers week, Petro S.A. week, Eskom week, tourism industry week, small business week … the list goes on!

· Be a Tourist In Your Own Hometown – the month before tourist season encourage local people to be a tourist in their own hometown or community. Sightseeing tours, special local hotel rates, tourist information and contests that promote tourism knowledge are part of this initiative.

· Have the Media run programs on “Know Your Community.

· Respect Your Community – make a list and promote the positives of your community. I’m originally from Canada and I’ve personally got a list of 25 Great Things About South Africa that most South Africans don’t talk about. Here’s six of them:

o People are being educated in record number

o #3 in the world for drinking water

o #2 in the world for the Least Expensive Electricity

o Longest Wine Route in the world

o Inflation rate at its lowest

o Only country bidding for the 2010 World Cup with 3 Nobel Peace Prize Winners on the team … wow, what a country!

PowerPoint #2 – Face To Face Marketing: This is the telephonic and face to face interaction we have with the public and with each other and how well we interact.

· Set up a Community Marketing Team (could be volunteer) that supports and works with the Community Economic Development Department. The wisest people, the most energetic entrepreneur, the best employer, the most innovative business person, the most community conscious individuals should be on this team. Target them and invite them to help.

· Categorise potential businesses and projects needed in your community under AAA, AA, A, B and C categories utilising criteria. Decide on a few Most Wanted and get several people involved in going after the “Most Wanted” business and projects.

· Select a group of high profile and frequent traveller individuals who love your community and make them Official Community Ambassadors and give them business cards that confirm this. Conduct a training session or guide on how and where to use the cards.

· Have a community “SWAT Team” that can help businesses in trouble with free advice on how to “turn the business around”.

· Run customer care programs for municipal personnel and the community at large … sponsored by local government. Give certificates and “pins” they can wear that says “Hospitality Graduate”.

· Have “Format Touring” when potential citizens and potential business owners and investors come to town so they see the community in it’s “best light”. Without a doubt, they will discover the negatives so make sure they see the positives. Part of the “Format Touring” would be the introduction to “positive”, “optimistic”, “successful” business leaders and community minded citizens. Also tour them to impressive landmarks, historical areas and exceptional facilities.

PowerPoint #3 – Environmental Marketing: How clean our community is, the signage, our buildings, the landscape, our promotional materials, our offices, our municipal vehicles, and the appearance of our “point-of-contact people” are all part of Environmental Marketing. Try these ideas:

· Have an annual community “Trash Bash” that lasts two weeks to a month. This is where government, business and citizens alike pool all their resources to tow away old broken vehicles, repair fences, cut the grass, pick up trash and junk, paint or knock down eye sore buildings and instil pride in the community with clean up incentives.

· Amplify Your Community – create a community mascot that goes in all your advertising or visits trade shows, events and other large gatherings (Person in a costume)

· Erect the Worlds Largest – in Canada one community has the Worlds Largest Fly Rod & Reel, another has the Worlds Largest Ice Hickey Stick and another has the Worlds Largest Moose. How about the Worlds Largest Surf Board, the Worlds Largest Elephant, the Worlds Largest Trout or the Worlds Largest Grape. Small replicas, restaurants, post cards and many other revenue generating ideas could result from your “Worlds Largest”.

PowerPoint #4 – Extended Personal Marketing: It is still personal but it is where you look for ways to extend your contact with many people at one time still through the “personal touch”. This includes sms, direct mail, e-mail, trade shows, workshops and community events. Here are a few more:

· Develop “Speaker Packages” that can help Community Ambassadors and enthusiastic citizens speak on and present the great things about your community and the opportunities available. Also consider a “Community Public Speaking Team”.

· Promote and Advertise “Potential Opportunities” in your community on a monthly basis.

· Conduct Workshops and Publish “how to” pamphlets on such topics as becoming a supplier to government and effectively interacting with government.

· Identify the Types of Franchisees you need in your community and then direct mail or e-mail an “Invitation” to the appropriate S.A. Franchisers to investigate the opportunity.

PowerPoint #5 – Media Marketing: By maximising the first four PowerPoints the experience people will have with your community will more closely match the advertising messages created by your advertising professionals.

· With Media Marketing understand that it is better to reach 5 000 of the right people 20 times with an effective message than 100 000 people only once with a message. Think frequency (repetition) first.

Remember, communities need lots of successful businesses contributing to the tax base to support the infrastructure and community services that help communities grow and prosper. This is a big reason for attracting, developing and keeping good business in your community through Effective Marketing.

The key to ensuring a better chance of success is to plan your business properly while it is still in the concept stage. The better the foundation you lay when setting up, the more likely it will be that you can keep control when trouble hits.

Admittedly there are many variables to take into account, but Gibson says the following four points are vital and should not be overlooked.

1. Know with whom you are getting into business

Spend some time getting to know possible business partners before trusting them with privileged information or formalising business deals. Admittedly, it is difficult to make accurate judgements about people after just a couple of meetings, but it is sufficient to get an idea of their ethics.

“A person’s hierarchy of values is a powerful indicator of how they will react when the pressure is on. Unethical people will ruthlessly pursue their own interests and do whatever it takes to get what they want – even if it means screwing you over. These people also often make sure that they are well protected before agreeing to the terms of a deal.”

“Lack of foresight when starting out is the main reason why promising businesses fail later down the road” – Bill Gibson

2. Take care in drawing up the Articles of Incorporation

The Articles of Incorporation is the most critical document in planning a new company, because it details how the ownership and management of the business are organised.

“You need to be absolutely meticulous in drawing up the Articles of Incorporation, because you never know what is going to happen down the road,” says Gibson.

“Seek out all possible scenarios and try as far as possible to plan for any unforeseen circumstances that could arise. Think about how you would raise capital in a crisis situation or what would happen if a key partner had to leave. It makes people uncomfortable to think about partners walking before they have even opened their businesses, but the truth is all partnerships come to an end at some time.”

Gibson suggests forming a company or a close corporation right from the outset. This prevents crisis situations occurring if one of the partners leaves or switches allegiances should another company be brought on board as a shareholder.

The other thing to look out for at this stage is giving away too much of the business. This can really come back to bite you when your company enters a high-growth phase or if it lands in financial difficulties.

In both cases, you will need capital to either grow the business or keep it afloat. Very often, this means selling shares to raise funds. The problem is that if you have given too much away in the beginning, you could find yourself in a minor shareholder position and ultimately on the outside looking in.

“This does not mean, however, that you are safe as long as you are the major shareholder,” says Gibson. “The business could be set up in a way that a majority vote on the board in terms of numbers can rule even if you hold most of the shares. It really is all about the how things are stated in the Articles of Incorporation and it is vital that business owners do their homework in this regard.”

3. Be realistic when doing projections

Never over-project when selling your concept to potential investors, because this is what you will be held to once the business is up and running.

“If you fail to meet the conditions you agreed upon with investors, you could find that their expectations eventually wear you down. When you suffer emotionally you lose heart, which is extremely dangerous.”

In situations like this where your self-worth has taken a knock you end up agreeing to unhealthy terms out of guilt or because you feel that you do not have a choice. Ultimately, it could cost you your dream.

4. Ensure you have effective financial controls in place

Too often, small business owners wing it when it comes to instituting proper financial controls. This is mostly because these systems can be costly to implement and time consuming to set up. And because time and money are the two things in shortest supply when starting a new business, entrepreneurs do everything themselves and make it up as they go along.

Besides the obvious risks that come with not really knowing what you are doing, unwitting business owners could also fall victim to theft and fraud by employees or partners. Good financial systems also become more vital as the business grows.

“Increasing sales is good, but it is a cost leader because it requires administrative and financial support,” says Gibson

“You need to have implemented strict budgetary controls and debt collecting measures by the time you business enters its growth phase. Otherwise you will grow too fast for your own good and ultimately lose control due to financial mismanagement.”

Bill Gibson of Knowledge Brokers International can be reached on 011 784 1720 or 082 450 9877.

Many years ago I was a top producing local radio advertising salesperson in the Twin Cities market of Halifax and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.

On the East Coast of Canada the harsh winters literally crippled automobile sales. In December, January and February it is not uncommon to have sub-zero temperatures and three snow storms in a month that range from a half metre to a metre and a half of snow. One early November day I called on John Gwynne-Timothy, the new owner of a small car dealership called Twin Cities Plymouth Chrysler. He told me that it did not make good sense to advertise in November, December or January because of the ferocious winters. Chrysler Canada had instructed him to put aside C$100 000 for each of the three winter months, strictly for losses. He was also told to cut back on advertising and save the money for peak season. I could understand their thinking – first you have to find the car under the snow before you can show it that time of year.

The best time to gain market share is in a down economy” – Bill Gibson

My response to John was that with every adversity there is an opportunity and the best time to gain market share is in a down economy. I added that most of the competitive dealerships would also be cutting back on advertising and the buying of inventory during that period. The advertising noise level in the market place was far less in the winter months. This would make it easier to dominate the market with less spending. The other dealers also were not buying cars at the auctions and it would be the best time to buy.
Here was the strategy:

* He went to the automobile auctions and bought at low, low prices. (If you buy right, you can sell right).
* On Friday afternoons at 4 pm we cleaned out his huge service department and decorated it with colourful streamers, balloons and so on.
* We then brought into the service department many of the especially low-price used cars and new ones.
* On the Friday morning we hit with newspaper and radio advertising – all day Friday and all day Saturday. In the weekly and monthly magazines we advertised the Winter Sale Bonanza Friday and Saturday at Twin Cities Plymouth Chrysler.
* We had live onsite radio announcers and upbeat music playing in the service department on the weekends and we sold cars until 9 pm on Friday and Saturday.

The final result was that Gwynne-Timothy profited C$100 000 per month in December, January and February. He budgeted for a C$300 000 loss and instead made C$300 000. In actuality, he was C$600 000 ahead.

“You can gain market share in a tough economy if you take control of your own economy”

In February, the competition eventually tried to counter attack – after laughing at him for what they thought was a waste of advertising money in December and January – but it was too late. He already had momentum. This momentum carried over to peak months from March to October with astronomical sales. He had gained huge market share in the down months that positively impacted the best months.

Within a year Gwynne-Timothy sold his small dealership for a huge profit and bought the largest Ford dealership in Atlantic Canada. Today he is a multimillionaire, simply by being innovative and proactive in a down economy – in Canada during the winter months. The following graph shows that 20% of a smaller market can be larger than 10% of a big market. It is easier to gain market share in a down economy.

A few years later, as a consultant in Canada, I had another client named Terry Straker. At the top of the economy he was grossing C$200 000 a month with his bedding and bedroom furniture stores in Calgary, Alberta. The country went into a recession and competition got stiffer. Eighteen months later, at the bottom of the economy, Terry grossed over C$1 million in one month – a 400% increase.

How did he do it? He got innovative and aggressive. He knew cash was king so he negotiated hard when buying. He then increased his advertising in the right mediums that targeted his market. Through research he knew the best days and best weeks to advertise. He increased sales training to twice a week. He tied in with charities and ran innovative promotions.

Straker once ran a promotion called Mr Money, where he dressed his brother up in a Mr Money outfit, and on Friday he announced to the media that Mr Money was dropping C$5 000 from the roof of his biggest store on Saturday. The plan was to drop C$500 an hour in small bills for 10 hours. Ten thousand people showed up and he got massive publicity. He had the biggest day ever. The reason is that in a down economy people want money.

He used endless creative traffic building ideas. Among them was a promotion with Salvatore (Sal) Stallone, Sylvester Stallone’s brother. Rocky II had just opened in the theatres.

“At the bottom of the economy, Terry grossed over C$1 million in one month – a 400% increase”

Even though the economy was down, Terry increased his sales by 400%. I acknowledge that, yes, with the new credit act, increased interest rates, hikes in petrol and electricity prices and the power crisis there could be tighter times ahead for many businesses in South Africa.

The solution is to believe you can gain market share in a tough economy if you take control of your own economy and get creative, innovative and pro-active. Do not wait for others or external factors to do it for you. Take control.

About Bill Gibson

Bill Gibson lives in South Africa and is the chairperson of Knowledge Brokers International SA (Pty) Ltd. He is the author of the book Boost your business in any economy, and the writer and developer of several sales, marketing and entrepreneurial training systems. As a business and motivational speaker he will be touring South Africa in June, speaking on How to succeed in your own business in any economy anywhere, sponsored by Nedbank Small Business Services. Registration for these free seminars for start-ups will only be from 12-24 May. Call 086 076 3000 during that period. Bill Gibson can be reached at 011 784 1720 or info@kbitraining.com

Bill Gibson reveals how to keep your business afloat during the power cuts Originally Published in: Succeed in business There is no getting around it: the power cuts are a major blow to South African businesses. And unfortunately, among the hardest hit are the little guys running small and medium enterprises.

“We need to get real about this,” says Bill Gibson, chairperson of Knowledge Brokers International. “If your company is barely breaking even every month, the power cuts could put you out of business. Even if you are turning a profit, you need to prepare for the possibility of lean times ahead.”

By nature, smaller businesses are more agile than large corporations. This is the time to exercise your flexibility and out manoeuvre your bigger competition. “Do not wait around for Eskom, the government or your landlord to give you a hand. The truth is that you have to help yourself,” says Gibson.

Analyse your business’s needs and gather as much information as quickly as possible. This empowers you to take action. Businesses that have moved swiftly are capitalising.  “There is a steakhouse in Sandton that was the first to get a generator. While other restaurants are in the dark, it is scrambling to seat the people queuing out the door.”

The secret to making money in any economy, good or bad, is to keep your business lean and keen. In other words, determine how you can keep your overheads down and direct your energies into growing your core business.

“Getting lean is one thing but staying keen requires hard work psychologically,” says Gibson. “The market is still there – even if it is smaller.”

Many companies tend to withdraw and stop advertising in tough times. Never do this. Redouble your efforts. Make more calls and be proactive. Now is the time to advertise, because everyone else is pulling back and it is easier to get above the noise level.

There are a number of aspects to managing your people effectively during a crisis. The first and most important is keeping morale up.

“We all need outlets for our frustration and anger. The trick is not to get bogged down in the negatives,” says Gibson. “Look for good news and make sure you tell your staff. Set aside a certain part of the day for complaining and then concentrate on making the most of every opportunity.”

He adds that in some ways the power cuts have helped to stimulate much-needed dialogue in companies. It has forced people to hold impromptu meetings and to talk about issues that are other-wise sidelined.

Gibson says that losing good people is not an option. He suggests that you work closely with your staff and be upfront about the state of the company. Involve them and listen to their suggestions.

“Try to be fair when it comes to reimbursement. Instead of letting people go, try to find an agreement where you cut back working hours equally. Consider going onto an hourly rate of pay but institute half a day’s pay as the minimum.”
During tough times, the survival instinct kicks in and people tend to look after their own interests. According to Gibson, it is more effective to pool resources and work together with others, especially if you run a small or medium enterprise.
“Try splitting the cost of a generator with other small businesses in your building. It can be a huge expense for one company alone but together it is manageable.”

Dealing with the power crisis may mean adjusting the way you do business. For instance, working hours may need to be revised. Once there is a schedule in place, work around the power cuts or go in on weekends. Try to arrange that activities that do not require power take place during load shedding times, like meetings or training sessions.

If a large part of your business is about calling for sales, print out hardcopies of your client database. Plan your calls in advance and divert landlines to cellphones so that you are able to take calls wherever you are. Better planning with regards to petty cash and petrol is a necessity.

Retailers may have to consider processing credit cards manually. Gibson admits that this is risky but says that it is better than not being able to make any sales at all.

Lastly, consider investing in technology to alleviate the power crunch. Laptops and cellphones work on batteries and can give you a few extra hours. Buy extra batteries and keep them charged. Investigate 3G connectivity for laptops and uninterrupted power supply for other computers.

Realise that although you are not in control of the situation, you can control your reaction to it. “In any given situation you have three choices,” says Gibson. “You can speak out. You can accept it. Or you can exit.”

For many people who own businesses, exiting now is not an option because of the time and money they have invested to grow their enterprises. And because there is only so much talking to be done, it seems that adapting to the circumstances is the most sensible route.

Gibson says that adapting means you have to get real about where the country and your business are.
He adds that while disbelief is a normal reaction under stressful circumstances, you cannot stick your head in the sand and pretend that all is well. “Power cuts are a reality. The sooner you believe it, the quicker you can do something about it.”

Bill Gibson has spoken to over one million people around the world and is the chairperson of and a partner in Knowledge Brokers International SA (Pty) Ltd (KBI), along with Marius Liebenberg. Bill Gibson is the author/developer of the 25-module sales system titled The complete sales action system and the eight-module Managing complex business relationships system. For more information about Bill Gibson as a speaker and the KBI products, contact 011 784 1720 or bill@kbitraining.com

Avoid the blame game

There are many possible reasons why the country is experiencing an electricity supply crisis. And while it is important to figure out the cause, the truth is that pointing fingers is counterproductive. Looking for someone to blame is energy sapping and prevents you from moving forward.

“South Africa is not Zimbabwe, but it is not a fully functioning first world country either. At least now we know what we are up against and this gives us a basis from which we can operate. We are not the only country in the world experiencing an energy problem. China, Brazil and Cuba have found solutions and we can too,” says
Bill Gibson.

Amid the disappointment and the outrage, business owners need to adopt a rational approach if they are to keep on top of the situation. Although it is not possible for the average person to solve the country’s problems, they can solve the challenges facing their own companies. With the right attitude and through honing your tactics, you may even find ways to increase your sales.

What is UPS?

You may have noticed, over the past few weeks, that there has been a less than continuous stream of electricity to everything in your company. But not to worry, spokespeople for the relevant authorities say that it will not continue for more than another seven years. Yes, you may kill yourself now.

However, there is a solution to keep your computer systems running so that production and productivity are not completely decimated – the ever faithful UPS. This translated from tech-speak into English is uninterruptible power supply. What it does is immediately supply power to computers to maintain normal operation during a power failure until a backup generator can be activated.

Except for online UPS, a short transfer time between two minutes to 10 minutes can be expected. Usually, when the blackout happens, the power supply of PC continues for 16 minutes, and therefore most PCs will still work during the transfer period.

According to UPS Direct, there are five criteria to choosing the right UPS:

1.    Understand specifications of all UPS
2.    Consider the requirements of power quality
3.    Understand the current capacity of the UPS and consider expansion in the future
4.    Choose the reputed brands and manufacturers
5.    Choose a UPS based on your requirements

Coupled to this, there are also five important evaluation criteria of which to take note:

1.    UPS reliability and stability
2.    High efficiency and low noise
3.    Suppliers’ reputation and financial situation
4.    International safety approvals such as TUV, UL, CSA etc
5.    Plant certifications such as ISO9001, ISO9002 etc

Bill Gibson

While you are saying this you are in denial and valuable time is passing by. Rather face reality. “If it walks like a duck, and it talks like a duck, it is not an eagle,” says Bill Gibson, director of Knowledge Brokers International (KBI). Succeed asked how he would get out of a cash flow crisis:

Act immediately

Do not waste time and energy on trying to figure out how it happened or who is to blame. You can do that later. Focus all your resources on correcting the short-term cash flow problem.

Be proactive with your creditors

Visit or call them and explain your situation. Ask for a specific payment or non-payment plan over the next 60 to 90 days. It is simply a matter of scheduling payments that both you and the creditors can live with. Get the payments as low as possible with a commitment to increase the payments if things get better. Find out the minimum payments your creditors can accept. Perhaps you can even just pay interest. Tell them you will phone at the end of the month to inform them what you can pay. Ask them to not phone you in the first three weeks. That way you can devote all your time and energy to bringing in the cash, rather than handling calls from creditors which depletes your time and energy. I am not suggesting that you misuse your creditors, but facts are facts. If you owe a large amount of money to creditors it is not just your problem, it is also theirs. They want to see you stay afloat. Swallow your pride and invite them to help. You will be surprised at the solutions with which they may come up.

Be proactive with your debtors

Sit down face-to-face with all clients who owe you money. Offer a discount of 10% to those who can pay much faster than normal.

Negotiate payment advances

Ask for advances of 30% to 100% on jobs that you are doing. This could carry you through the tough period. The last two months before year-end large companies, parastatals and government departments often have budgets they have not spent. If they do not spend the money, it is not carried over to the next financial year and so they often pay in advance.

Do not waste timeand energy on trying to figure out how it happened or who is to blame

Be sales oriented

Every single person who works for the company has to be sales oriented. Reg Wightman, the owner of a building supply dealership, one day accompanied his truck driver on a delivery. He walked around the site and talked to various people working on the job. When he left the site he had a bigger order than when he arrived. It made him realise that the person doing the delivery is also really a salesperson, so he rearranged his whole operation. He delegated a lot of his responsibilities as manager to other employees so he could be on the delivery truck a lot more. His sales increased markedly.

Find innovative ways to sell

Terry Stalker is the owner of a bed company. He decided to place lamps, comforters and sheets in his delivery trucks so that his delivery people could sell them when doing deliveries. Installers were also trained to look around the house and report any needs they noted in terms of furniture. A few days later, one of the salespeople would give the client a call saying, “Well, our driver was at your home and he noticed you seemed to need…” They got a lot of add-on sales that way. When you have a cash crisis you need to find innovative ways to sell.

Last resort moves

* Take your short–term debts, such as lines of credit, promissory notes, credit card balances, income tax and supplier balances, and try and get a consolidation loan. Spread the payments over three years. This frees up monthly capital and lowers your monthly overheads. It might cost more in terms of interest in the long run, but it could be the short-term fix needed to get you out of trouble.
* Consider offering shares in your company to major creditors to wipe out all or part of the balance you owe. Have a good buy-back clause.
* Sell your receivables at a discount to the company that buys receivables.
* Use equity in your home with a second bond to pay off some of the debts.
* Consider a financially sound co-signer for a large consolidation loan. In return, you could put that person on your payroll for an agreed amount until the debt is paid.
* Seek advice from business owners who survived cash flow problems.

In sales you cannot afford to lose your momentum. My gift to you in the new year as a professional in the field of selling is a few proven tips that will help you start 2006 on a high note.

Originally Published in: Succeed in sales

•  See people One way to quickly get in front is to do a large number of courtesy calls, service calls, birthday calls, etc. It is a soft approach to moving to action and getting to see clients and building momentum rather than sitting in the office. •  Go home If your schedule is not booked several weeks in advance, take a few days, go home or find a quiet spot and get on the phone and “book out” your schedule two to five weeks in advance. •  Move your mind Get your mind moving by sifting through your data base or contact lists. This will trigger new thoughts and opportunities. If the mind gets moving the body will follow. •  Avoid only seeing problem clients Getting stuck into dealing with clients who have issues to be solved can slow down even the most senior account executives. Try to see as many “bright lights people or pleasurable people” as possible in January. •  Newness Early in the year, try some new idea, new avenues to find prospects, talk to other salespeople and pick up some new approaches and look for new opportunities and new products. •  Set your goals and targets Having a focus on a self-determined destiny or goal is one of the qualities consistently found in people who are high achievers. Achievable goals create happy people. Set goals for: 1. High self esteem 2. Happy, loving relationships 3. Mental improvement 4. Good health, energy and vitality 5. A successful career and financial security 6. An enhanced spiritual life Bill Gibson is the author of The Business Success Series, The Complete Sales Action System and The Managing Complex Business Relationships System as well as the author of several business books and publications. He is the chairman of Knowledge Brokers International S.A. (Pty) Ltd. He can be reached on 011-784 1720 or bill@kbitraining.com