“This is the philosophy of Charles Schulz, the creator of the ‘Peanuts’ comic strip.

You don’t have to actually answer the questions. Just ponder on them.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.

2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.

3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.

4 Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.

5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.

6. Name the last decade’s worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies..  Awards tarnish..  Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.

2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier?

The lesson:

The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money…or the most awards. They simply are the ones who care the most!”

”Be Yourself. Everyone Else Is Taken!”

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

“Did you know that there are 4 common obstacles that salespeople face when closing sales? There are several other reasons why the end game of selling is stressful and difficult, but there are a few that are most common. I’ve created a special, free report for you, but first, I want to go over the most common obstacles to closing sales.

Fear of Failure
There are several other reasons why the end game of selling is stressful and difficult. First and foremost is the fear of failure experienced by the prospect. Because of negative buying experiences in the past, over which you could have no control, prospects are conditioned to be suspicious, skeptical and wary of salespeople and sales approaches. They may like to buy, but they don’t like to be sold. They are afraid of making a mistake. They are afraid of paying too much and finding it for sale cheaper somewhere else.

Fear of Criticism
They are afraid of being criticized by others for making the wrong buying decision. They are afraid of buying an inappropriate product and finding out later that they should have purchased something else. This fear of failure, of making a mistake in buying your product, is the major reason why people object, hesitate and procrastinate on the buying decision.

Fear of Rejection
The second major obstacle to selling is the fear of rejection, of criticism and disapproval experienced by the salesperson. You work long and hard to prospect and cultivate a prospective buyer and you are very reluctant to say anything that might cause the prospect to tune you out and turn you off. You have a lot invested in each prospect and if you are not careful, you will find yourself being wishy-washy at the end of the sale, rather than risking incurring the displeasure of the prospect by your asking for a firm decision.

Customers Are Busy
The third reason why the end of the sale is difficult is that customers are busy and preoccupied. It isn’t that they are not interested in enjoying the benefits of your product. It’s just that they are overwhelmed with work and they find it difficult to make sufficient time available to think through your recommendations and make a buying decision. And the better they are as a prospect, the busier they tend to be. This is why you need to maintain momentum throughout the sales process and gently push it to a conclusion at the appropriate time.

Inertia is Hard to Break
The factor of inertia is the fourth reason that can also cause the sales process to come to a halt without a resolution. Customers are lazy and often quite comfortable doing what they are currently doing. Your product or service may require that they make exceptional efforts to accommodate the change or a new way of doing things. They perhaps recognize that they would be better off with your product, but the trouble and expense of installing it hardly seems to make it worth the effort. They see no pressing need or urgency to stop doing what they are doing and start doing something else with what you are selling.

Everyone Buys at the Same Time
The good news is that everybody you meet has bought and will buy, new products and services from someone, at some time. If they didn’t buy from you, they will from someone else. You must find the way to overcome the natural physical and psychological obstacles to buying and then hone your skills so that you are capable of selling to almost any qualified prospect you speak to.
I’ve created a special report to help you overcome obstacles that preventing you from closing more sales and making more money. This report is called 7 Tips to Boost Your Sales.

Download it here–for free!

To overcoming obstacles,

Brian Tracy”

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

There once was a rancher named Molly
Whose Ranch was OK, but she not so jolly
The ranch hands were mad, cattle running amuck
Profit was dwindling, poor Molly was stuck

Inventory, weather, food for the cows
Get it all done, she didn’t know hows
She felt very busy, but spinner her wheels
It seemed like she was always back on her heels.

If I could be more productive, get teams to work
Perhaps the important I’d never more shirk
I’d love to know just how to win
To operate my ranch to bring more dollars in.

She needed a strategy to help her sort out
All things of import, the rest she’d toss out
She looked for some help, these topics to broach
And saw the best was to hire a coach.

The ranch became a team, all personalities tested
All working their strengths, while the others, they rested
When one goal was done another was made
The progress she saw, she never would trade.

It just goes to show when life gets a mess
It hampers your business, and just causes stress
So take home a lesson from Rancher Miss Molly
Hire a coach and make your ranch much more jolly!

Every business owner and executive is just like a rancher… with much to plan and manage.
If coaching can support you or a rancher you know, e-mail for a FREE sample session!

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

You’ve waited long enough. This is the day to take action.

The excuses are quite reasonable and understandable, and yet they have brought no value to your life.

Let go of those comfortable excuses, and step forward into the bright, direct light of achievement.

The hours in this day will quickly pass no matter what you choose to do with them.

So you might as well make full use of them to create meaningful value.

If you’re not sure what to do, take a moment and reach deep inside.

Remind yourself of the things that mean the most, and do what truly strengthens and supports those things.

If the disruptions and distractions erode your focus, reach inside again.

Commit yourself with your actions, over and over, to live true to your highest vision.

This is your life and today is your opportunity to make a difference.

Get busy, because fulfillment is now yours to create.”

Ralph Marston

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

1) Set your “stage” for work. What inspires you, what relaxes you, what brings you joy? Decorate your office with some “art”… some people put motivational quotes or passages, pictures of family, certificates of achievement, photos of their WHY (i.e. working hard to save for retirement at the beach), etc. Having these inspirational pieces make your office more enjoyable to be at and help you to relax. Music, smells (i.e. candles), sounds (i.e. fountains) can also help to make a more relaxing environment. Think about the most relaxing place you enjoy going and try to bring in a few of those attributes to your office space.

2) Keep your office space neat and organized. While some people believe they work better in their piles, it has been studied and proven that piles create more stress, take more of your time looking for things and result in reduced productivity. All of this is related to stress. When you can get things done efficiently, not only do you work at a high performance level but you finish your work quicker. So keeping your office neat and organized will get you out of there sooner and reduce your stress while you are in it.

3) Cluttered space is a combination of the two challenges above. It is important to ‘weed” through your stuff and get rid of things. In today’s digital world with a good computer file system and a strong back up system, you can reduce the paper you have. There is a book on Feng Shi and Clutter that tells the cost of clutter in your office and home… just saving things that can be recycled requires you to have more space, more heating/sq. ft. expense, etc. Clutter can make you feel like you have more to do and make it more difficult for you to “finish” tasks as you get distracted with clutter that you touch trying to complete a task. It is a great practice to at least ONCE a year empty your office and sort as you put it back, returning only things that are needed.

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

A. What tools are you using to raise your level of leadership and, in turn, your effectiveness?
Check out: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership John Maxwell
B. Rate your leadership on a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high) and discuss how you assess your effectiveness.
C. Using this same scale, rate the top 3 people in your organization.
D. Are you willing to invest the time to educate yourself to become a better leader?
E. Do you believe that developing your leadership skills will increase your effectiveness?
F. “The one thing you need to know about leadership is that there is more than one thing you need to know about leadership!”
G. Some laws will expose weaknesses you may not have ever realized you had. Some laws you may already practice. All are tools to help you achieve your purpose and dreams.

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

Now go back and notice the antennas on the cars. While there may be less cars with antennas today, I would get you did not notice the antennas the first time you looked.. As you look again, do you see the antennas?

What we look for is what we see and it becomes our reality. Notice your story and your premises that you are caring on life, people and work. Are they really what you want to be focusing on? Are they what you want to be seeing? In order to see something different, you have to look for something different.

Try to put your premises and stories about others and the world away today, and see what “new” things you notice and see. (my favorite filter is to “put the best construction on everything” as you do that, how does your reality change?)

While everything in life is not positive and a “bowl of cherries”, there is little value that comes from griping, complaining and excuses. Look for the opportunities and silver linings, there is usually one there.

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

What counts is focused effort in the service of a meaningful purpose. Get that, and you’re really getting somewhere.

Just being busy is not going to make you successful. Instead of merely using up time, find a way to create real, desirable value with the time you have available.

Don’t comfort yourself with being aimlessly busy. Challenge yourself to get meaningful results from your time and effort.

Outstanding achievement and disappointing mediocrity are both built from the same twenty-four hours in each day. The difference is not one of time or even effort, but of focus and authentic purpose.

As long as you’re making the effort, as long as you’re using up resources, as long as you’re spending the time, make it all count. Make a habit of doing what really matters, and you’ll enjoy a life that’s really great.”

Ralph Marston

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

• 78% – Lack of a well-developed business plan, including insufficient research on the business before starting it. 
• 73% – Being overly optimistic about achievable sales, money required and about what needs to be done to be successful.
• 70% – Not recognizing, or ignoring, what they don’t do well and not seeking help from those who do. 
• 63% – Insufficient relevant and applicable business experience.

 Financial Factors              

• 82% – Poor cash flow management skills/poor understanding of cash flow
• 79% – Starting out with too little money.  
• 77% – Not pricing properly – failure to include all necessary items when setting prices           

 Marketing Factors           

• 64% – Minimizing the importance of promoting the business properly.
• 55% – Not understanding who your competition is or ignoring competition.
• 47% – Too much focus and reliance on one customer/client.          

 Human Resource Factors

• 58% – Inability to delegate properly – micro-managing work given to others or over delegating and abdicating important management responsibilities.
• 56% – Hiring the wrong people – clones of themselves and not people with complementary skills, or hiring friends and relatives.         

So, what brings people to coaching is to have a strategic partner to THINK IT THROUGH. Your family is not neutral and does not necessarily have the ability to give constructive feedback. You boss, up-line or co-worker are also not neutral and may have the same blindside that you do. Your friends only want to hear so much about your work and few are willing to spend hours planning with you. The most common misconception of coaching is that its for people who are struggling and need help. While coaching can help these people too, We are not talking about people who NEED help. In order to be successful everyone needs to stop, think it through and plan. 

What do you need to think through? What do you need to plan? Take time today to evaluate your business and needs. Consider where you might be at risk and what you want to design to support you to be strategic, proactive and successful!

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN