MLM Talk Online

by Wendy Weiss

One of my new favorite books to recommend to coaching clients is “The Feeling Good Handbook” by David D. Burns, M.D. This is a book about depression. The subtitle reads: “Overcome depression, conquer anxiety, enjoy greater intimacy.”

So why am I recommending a book about depression to my clients? This book is about a type of treatment called cognitive behavioral therapy. The word “cognition” means “thought” and this book is a common sense look at changing the way people think and thus changing their behavior.

In “The Feeling Good Handbook” Dr. Burns lists “The Ten Forms of Twisted Thinking” that occur when people are depressed. These ten forms also exist when people are not depressed and they exist within many, many sales professionals, entrepreneurs and business owners. If you use any of these twisted forms (and most of us do in one way or another) it will negatively impact your sales. I am listing all 10 so that you can judge for yourself. The following list of “Twisted Thinking” is paraphrased from “The Feeling Good Handbook” by David D. Burns, M.D.

1. All-or-nothing thinking

Everything is black or white. If a situation falls short of perfect, then it’s a total failure. An example of all-or-nothing thinking is dieters who have one cookie and then proceed to eat the entire bag since they’ve already blown their diet. Another example would be sales people who because they do not have the time to make 100 calls in a day make no calls.

2. Overgeneralization

Seeing a single negative event as a never-ending pattern of defeat. People who overgeneralize use words such as “always” or “never.” “Cold calling never works for me.” “Prospects always reject me.”

3. Mental filter

Picking out a single negative detail and dwelling on it to the exclusion of everything else. An example: You receive many compliments from your associates about your presentation. If, however, you receive even one mildly critical comment you obsess about it and forget about all of the positive comments.

4. Discounting the positive

You reject positive experiences by insisting they “don’t count.” If you do a good job, you may tell yourself that it wasn’t good enough or that anyone could have done as well.

5. Jumping to conclusions

You interpret things negatively when there are no facts to support your conclusion. There are two categories here:

**Mind reading: You arbitrarily conclude that someone is reacting negatively to you with no evidence to back that up. You arbitrarily conclude that a prospect does not want to speak with you with no evidence to back that up.

**Fortune telling: You predict that things will turn out badly. Before a prospecting call you tell yourself, “They’re not interested.” “I’m bothering them.” “They’ll probably say ‘no.’”

6. Magnification

You exaggerate the importance of your (or your company or product or service) problems and shortcomings. You also minimize the importance of your (or your company or product or service) desirable qualities.

7. Emotional reasoning

You assume that your negative emotions necessarily reflect the way things really are. “I am uncomfortable making cold calls” therefore “People do not like cold calls” therefore “Cold calling does not work.”

8. “Should” statements

You tell yourself that things should be the way you hoped or wanted them to be. “I should have made that sale.” “Musts,” “ought’s” and “have to’s” are similar offenders. Should statements that are directed against yourself lead to guilt and frustration. Should statements that are directed against other people also lead to anger and frustration. “My prospect should call me back.”

9. Labeling

Labeling is an extreme form of all-or-nothing thinking. You attach a negative label to yourself or to others. Example: You make a mistake and then say to yourself, “I’m a loser.”

Labeling is quite irrational because you are not the same as what you do. These labels lead to anger, anxiety, frustration, and low self-esteem.

You may also label others. When a prospect does not respond as you had hoped you may tell yourself, “He’s a jerk.” Then you feel that the problem is with that person’s character instead of with their thinking or behavior. This makes you feel hostile and leaves little room for constructive communication.

10. Personalization and blame

You hold yourself personally responsible for an event that isn’t entirely under your control. An appointment with a new prospect is cancelled because that prospect has left the company. You think, “If only I was better at prospecting, this wouldn’t happen.”

Some people do the opposite. They blame other people or their circumstances for their problems and they overlook ways that they might be contributing to the problem. Blame doesn’t usually work very well.

Do you see these forms of twisted thinking in yourself or others that you manage?

Dr. Burns gives terrific exercises that one can use to overcome these various forms of twisted thinking.

Copyright 2006, Wendy Weiss

About the Author
Wendy Weiss “The Queen of Cold Calling” Sales Training/Sales Coaching **Gain confidence, reach more prospects, close more sales and make more money. Visit http://www.wendyweiss.com today. E-mail wendy@wendyweiss.com for a complimentary consultation.

What Are the Key Factors for Financial Success in MLM?

1. Choosing a good long-term company to promote that offers products you love and use and feel good about recommending to others.

2. Being honest, patient, persistent, consistent, positive, full of integrity, truthful, supportive, and never - never giving up (you cannot fail if you don’t quit).

3. Promoting your business in a way that other people can duplicate — in other words — creating a system for success that your downline can follow.

4. Choosing a supportive and successful upline (the person who sponsored your sponsor and so on).

5. Choosing a good sponsor who offers continual training and support for their downline. Don’t be afraid to shop around and interview potential sponsors — it may mean the difference between success and failure for you.

6. Having the unconditional support (and hopefully help) from your spouse or partner.

7. Taking personal responsibility for your success. Remember the old adage - “If it’s to be it’s up to me!”

8. Making a commitment to improving your business skills and your attitude through constant study and training.

Linda Locke
Online Profits at the Speed of Light

In Southern California where I live, everyone seems to be in a real hurry these days. People zip by me on the freeway doing 75+ mph and get frustrated by anyone that is foolish enough to try to drive at the 65 mph speed limit. It doesn’t matter what time of the day it is, everyone is rushing around trying to get somewhere else FAST!

I often find myself wondering what all the hurrying is about and if these people rush through everything else in their life as well. I expect that they do and miss quite a lot of the good things in life in the process. Our hurry up culture tells us, “Speed is Good!”.

I find that many people want to hurry up and build their business fast too. And when they come up against an obstacle or a problem, they become very frustrated and want to quit and look for another business that will make them rich faster.

They never realize that because of their lack of patience and unwillingness to allow a business to grow slowly over time, they are actually just going nowhere real fast.

Like a garden, a successful business takes time and attention to grow strong and to yield a bountiful crop. You can’t rush Mother Nature and you can’t rush your life and business either.

So slow down this month, take some time to learn new things and to plant some patience in your business garden. Remember — real success, the kind that lasts, comes from doing the little things right, day after day after day.

Linda Locke
Online Profits at the Speed of Light

Kevin Spacey said “If you’ve done well in whatever business you are in, you should spend at least half your time sending the elevator back down.”

Columnist Tim McGuire has written a fantastic article on why you should be “sending the elevator back down” that you should read.

Here’s the link:

When you hit the top, send the elevator back down

Enjoy!

Linda Locke
Online Profits at the Speed of Light

Don’t forget to update the copyright date on your websites to 2006. Better do that now because you might not be thinking too clearly on New Year’s Day!

Linda Locke
http://www.mlmtalk.com

If you’re like me and have started to set some resolutions for the new year to lose weight, exercise more, get out of debt, get rid of the dreaded clutter in your house, etc, etc… that pesky little voice is probably whispering in your ear right now, “That’s what you resolved last year too– what happened? And what makes you think you’ll do it this year?”

Well, here’s my answer to that: This year, I’m going to concentrate on becoming the person I need to be to achieve those goals. Instead of going on the latest fad diet or wishing that I was less stressed, I’m going to concentrate on being a healthy person who takes care of herself every day, and being a person who is prepared financially and emotionally to handle the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.

The truth is that we are often waiting for someone or something outside of us to change, wishing “If only my boss would give me a raise I could buy a house or if only I had more time I could exercise more or be less stressed etc.” and using it as the excuse for why our lives don’t change from year to year.

I call this the Have, Do, Be method — If I had more money, I could do what I need to and pay off my debt, and then I’d be happy. The problem with this method is that you are waiting for something external to happen to you like winning the lottery or getting a surprise inheritance, and letting the course of your life to be set by wishes which may never come true.

Instead I suggest that this year you turn this around and start by making the changes within yourself first by using the Be, Do, Have method. Be the person you want to be and then you’ll do what you need to do to support that belief and you’ll have what you want in your life as a consequence. And you won’t have to rely on any one changing but yourself.

There are two books that I suggest you pick up to help you on the quest to become who you really want to be and to change the negative thought patterns that keep you from achieving your goals.

The first is The Speed Trap, How to Avoid the Frenzy of the Fast Lane by Joseph Bailey and the second, The Book of Mind Management by Dennis R. Deaton. Both are available from Amazon.com online.

Now, go out there this year and become the person you always thought you could be. You might be surprised about what you can achieve!

Linda Locke
Get your daily dose of inpiration at MLMTalk.com

By Michael Angier

Just as important as setting goals is tracking the goals we achieve.

Have you ever visited a teenage niece or nephew you hadn’t seen in a while? The changes in looks and height were quite noticeable, weren’t they? However, the progress wasn’t as apparent to them and their parents because it was gradual–or so it seemed.

The same things happen to us. We don’t always see the progress we’re making because we’re too close to it. We’re so busy focusing on what we want and what we haven’t yet achieved, we rarely take time to acknowledge ourselves and APPRECIATE what we have.

And when we really appreciate what we have, we find that we have more and more to appreciate.

I find that using a Win List is a good way to remind myself of my progress–and keep me more mindful of what I’m achieving.

It’s just a document in my word processor that I add to often. It’s titled ‘Wins & Events: Good News, Good Decisions, Breakthroughs, Wins and Significant Events.’

Every few days, I update it with things that have happened, breakthroughs, goals achieved, events that impact my life and the many blessings that come my way. Each line has the month (and often the exact date) of the event noted. One line is enough for me to capture the occurrence.

My ‘Win List’ creates a ‘chronofile’ of my life. And it keeps me focused on what’s working. It helps to remind me of how far I’ve come. Reviewing it is a quick pick-me-up–a real confidence booster. It’s also a handy reference as to when and what happened — especially since I’m not always very consistent with my personal journal.

It’s easy to do. It only takes a few moments. And it helps me to be more appreciative. Almost all of the people to whom I’ve recommended this have reported similar positive results.

If you try it, I know you’ll find it helpful–and even fun.

About the Author
Copyright Michael Angier. SuccessNet.org and WorldClassBusiness.com help you and your business grow. Get their free report, 10 Pillars of a World Class Business, by sending an email to wcb@SuccessNet.org No-cost subscriptions, memberships, eCourses, eBooks and more are available at http://SuccessNet.org and InfoPlease@SuccessNet.org

Does your business card reflect a positive image for your business? Does it clearly define what your business is all about at a glance? If not, you may be making some big mistakes in your marketing and need to take another look at the message you are putting out there.

Why? Because if a prospective customer views your business image as unprofessional or confusing, they will simply do business with someone else. You can’t afford to let that happen to you. Are you holding the right cards?

While presenting marketing seminars to thousands of business owners and entrepreneurs, Debbie Allen (sales and marketing expert) discovered a shocking reality. Many of the business cards presented a poor and unprofessional image of the business at first glance. Very few business cards or marketing materials had an effective message that described the business clearly. Most lacked a strong visual logo that defined the business and had no branded image or catch praise that set them apart from their competition.

With this newfound discovery, Debbie began to ask members of the audience to stay after her presentation to receive a free business card evaluation. This intrigued attendees, and many waited for up to an hour to have a chance to talk with her in person and to get feedback on how to improve their marketing message.

Another discovery! Many owners and managers are so close to their businesses that they don’t see the most obvious mistakes. The reason for this is that they don’t look at their business through their customers’ eyes. They view it from a very narrow focus,
their own eyesight. This can be disastrous for a company’s professional image.

Just as people judge individuals at first glance, so they judge a business image the same way. If prospective customers view the business image as unprofessional or confusing, they will simply walk away. Prospective customers will be lost to competitors who do a better job at marketing their company’s image, brand and uniqueness.

The goal of an organization should be to create a strong, immediate message that clearly defines its business. The message must connect an emotional bond with the customers, both
verbally and visually. This same image and message must be coherent on all marketing materials ranging from a company’s business card, advertising, packaging and signage to its
website.

Once organizations recognize the need to improve their business image on their marketing materials, it can be easy to make the changes needed to update and improve. The solution is often a small investment in a graphic artist and a marketing consultant.

Where do you start? A great place to start is to take a close look at your business card as if you were a prospective customer. First compare it with the list of top 10 mistakes below then take the business card ranking quiz online at www.DebbieAllen.com

The 10 Most Common Business Card Mistakes

1. Scrambles messages with inconsistent design elements.
2. Does not clearly define your business services and/or products.
3. Does not make you memorable (in a good way).
4. Indicates unflattering things about your business.
5. Does not generate additional business.
6. Creates a cluttered impression.
7. Omits essential information, or is filled with non-essential information.
8. Looks out of date, or information no longer applies.
9. Is hard to read or confusing to the eye.
10. Lacks a point of interest, image or theme.

About the Author
Debbie Allen is an international business speaker and author of five books on sales and marketing. She has presented before thousands of people in nine countries around the world. Debbie is the founder of ‘International Business Image Improvement Month
(May)’ which was created to help people improve their marketing materials and present a more professional business image to attract more customers. Take her free online business card quiz to see if you’re holding the right cards at http://www.DebbieAllen.com

I want to wish all of you a very happy and safe holiday season! And a prosperous and healthy new year!

Linda Locke
http://www.mlmtalk.com

The 2005 Tax Calendar for Small Businesses and Self-Employed (Pub 1518, Catalog Number 12350Z) is now available. This 12-month wall calendar is filled with useful information on general business taxes, IRS and SSA customer assistance, electronic filing and paying options, retirement plans, business publications and forms, and common tax filing dates.

Each page highlights different tax issues and tips that may be relevant to small business owners with room on each month to add notes, state tax dates, or business appointments.

You can order up to 5 copies free from the IRS website at the link below:

http://tinyurl.com/ao4nw

Linda Locke
Get your daily dose of help and inspiration here: http://mlmtalk.com