How many of you are blessed with children, and how many have homework to contend with nightly?  

Growing up you went through school, just like your kids, and came home with homework.  Homework is designed to test, reinforce and condition what you've learned.  It's also designed to expand your knowledge and your belief systems.

Children have homework right through high school for some, college and post graduate work for others.  The fact is, homework is effective at improving your skill sets.  Why then, do you stop doing homework, stop expanding and stop growing, learning and reinforcing the moment you graduate?

It's not because you've decided to stop growing and learning.  It's because you've gotten so wrapped up in the day-to-day minutia of your professional and personal life, that knowledge takes a back seat.  It's also because you've never been given a blueprint to succeed beyond the school systems. 

What we know is from traditional education, and the focus has always been on structured academia.  That works in the school systems, but in the real world, the professional world where you get downsized, laid-off and fired for not performing, this model simply doesn't work.

It's not enough to rest on your laurels any longer.  Great performers get fired everyday, because there's a class of elite professional who constantly focuses on improving their industry and personal knowledge, professional skills, and mastering their relationships.  

These elite members of all professions are safe, because they do their homework.  Daily, weekly, monthly and annually they look for ways to improve.  They're not satisfied with the status quo.  They actively seek out the latest success books, industry journals, and related seminars.  They network effectively, and their constant focus is on moving upward in all ways.  They do their homework.

So, what homework will you do to dominate your company, market and competition? 

Recently I made a major purchase, and I asked the sales representative a question he simply could not answer.  Rather then choose to help me the right way and get back to me, this salesman obviously choose to improvise on the spot.  He not only lied to help the sale along, but he really damaged the credibility of his company in doing so. 


Needless to say I invested my money elsewhere, and unfortunately for him, his boss is one of my Winners Edge subscribers.

So that begs the question - Have you ever been asked a question at a sales meeting you don't know the answer too?  Of course you have.

How do you react to it? Do you fumble your words searching for answers that make sense, or do you lie?  Do you try and fake your way through it, or do you have a plan how to handle such situations?  Well, if you're reading this my money is betting that you're a person of sincere integrity and character. 

Here's the thing, you don’t have to have all the answers all the time. The moment you try and fake it, your prospect or client senses your disingenuousness. Let me say it another way, they know you're lying immediately. 

So what can you do to turn the odds in your favor?   Honesty and candor are always the best approach.


Simply respond by telling the truth.  "I want to provide you with the absolute best service and results possible, and in order for me to do that I'm going to have to research you question further to get you the correct answer."

Your prospect or clients will respect your character and business integrity.  This is true in all areas of life.  So, my point in this week’s article is this:  who do you know that engages in this type of behavior that you can immediately go out and positively influence?  Who's professional life, and more importantly, personal character can you help transform.

Go forth and be a force for good!

Image is everything, and how you present yourself paints that picture.  The best part is you can be your own Picasso. 

I don’t simply mean the clothes you wear.  It’s the whole package that makes up your image:  your professional attire, your business packaging, your social media contributions, and your reputation.  If any of these are out of place or incongruent, you image is in need of a makeover.

Here are 8 steps to creating a successful image:

1. Wear professional attire appropriate to career one level up, i.e., dress for the job you want.  You’ll perform better, be perceived better, and flat out feel better about yourself.
   
2. When you’re not working, still dress better than the norm.  You never know who you’ll meet.
   
3. Polish your shoes regularly. It speaks volumes about you.
   
4. Update your business packaging to reflect and benefit who your real customers are.  Your website, brochures, business cards (if you still use them), and your advertising must deliver a cohesive message that focuses on what’s in it for your customers – not how wonderful you are.
   
5. All your social media accounts need to be linked
   
6. Your LinkedIn profile and photo, should match that of your company website, personal website (if applicable), blog, facebook fan page, and twitter account.  When there’s incongruence, people sense it right away and lose confidence.
   
7. Deliver value messages to your target audience.  Stop spamming everyone with buy now offers.
   
8. Clean up your personal accounts.  If you insist on showing drunken, or inappropriate photo’s and posts, then set your privacy filters with restricted access.  But then again, how professional are you if the message you’re sending your network in private is not G-rated?  That will ultimately transfer to your work life and negatively affect you.  Clean it up.
   

These steps may seem simple, but take a look around.  You’ll find incongruence everywhere you look.  Use every advantage you have.  Image is everything, and you control yours.  What your customer sees, your family and friends and your colleagues is a direct reflection of your level of success.  Control your image and you start taking control of your destiny.

There’s roughly 33 days left in 2011.  What will you do to maximize your results?  Will you fall pray to the holiday laziness, and buy into what your potential customers and colleagues excuses are? 

You know the ones I’m talking about.  Those people that tell you to call them after the holidays, or those that use the holidays as an excuse for their failures. 

Get real, there’s really only two major government holidays left.  Two days out of 33.  Let’s maximize the other 31 days to the best of our ability. 

If you want to increase your happiness, sales, wealth and influence, here’s a 12 step strategy to not only set yourself up for success the rest of this year, but to arm yourself to crush 2012.

1.       Raise your personal standards for how you’re going to live your life and build your business.

2.       Wake up an hour earlier each day. Read something short & inspirational, get some form of exercise – even if it’s just a walk around the block, and then re-write your goals & your daily action plan every morning.  This one will be your toughest, and likely the one most quit following through on.  Huge TIP – it’s the most important one of all!

3.       Stop using 5 different time management and CRM systems.  Pick one, commit to it, and make it work.  You can master one to your benefit, or be a slave and a failure to all 5 – you choose.

4.       Schedule block time for your action items, meetings, prospecting, and so on.

5.       Commit to connecting & building 100 new relationships in the next 30 days.  It’s easier than you think.

6.       Read two books to improve your skills and knowledge base

7.       Go find a sale or relationship you screwed up and fix it, or at a very minimum make peace

8.       List every last conceivable resource you have, and write out a plan to maximize each of them to build your business.  Some of them may seem insignificant to you, but to others they may make all the difference in getting a deal done.

9.       Run a 10/10/10 campaign.  If you don’t know what one is, call me and I’ll walk you through it.

10.   Send out a hand written note to all of your new contacts.  No one else will, and they will never forget it.

11.   Every night before bed, reread your goals and visualize them.  Your brain will come with creative ways to achieve them while you sleep

12.   Finally, while everyone else is out getting drunk and over-indulging this holiday season, do something constructive to improve someone else’s life.  You’ll be rewarded.

Success isn’t hard.  Sales aren’t hard.  Life isn’t hard.  Building effective teams isn’t hard.  Follow this 12 point plan, and you’ll see how much easier it is to win.