Motive

What is your motive? Why are you doing what you're doing?

Good Advice

Taking a Successful Person To Lunch
For those of you in the early stages in your career, this article might be worth more than many of the classes you took in college -- if you follow my advice.

And, for those of you who are further along in your career ... frankly, the advice still applies. I can't tell you how many lunches (or coffees) I've been to with ill-prepared, meandering partners. And while some of the specifics of your questions might change, there simply isn't a better way to build relationships with someone who is busy and successful. After all ... they gotta eat!

Go somewhere easy -- and YOU pay.
Nobody has time to meet you for a fancy dinner in the middle of a busy work day. A cup of coffee works because you pay in advance. You don't want that awkward moment where you both wait for the bill to come, or to have the server interrupt you a dozen times.

And yes, you might be young and poor-ish. But if you've chosen your lunch partner properly, it's simply good manners to ante up the $20-$30 (or less) to pay for their meal. This signals your valuing of their time, and it will build up good will.

Ask questions the entire time.
You convened the meal -- so it is your turn to ask the questions, pick this person's brain, and get as much feedback as you possibly can on your topic. I highly suggest that you come loaded with questions, ready to fire out.

Oh and there's one thing about questions that you need to know...

Ask good questions.
Please don't ask for their "best tips or advice". That's insufferably lame and they won't know where to start. So make it a rule to not ask general questions, because you'll simply get vague responses that won't help you much.

So what are some good questions?
Well, that of course, does depend on your lunch mate, and your own goals for the time. But, for general-purpose networking, and learning the stories behind someone's success, here are some good places to start:

• What did you do right after high school? What did you do after college? [You want to see what a successful person has done right after completing their studies. This will usually surprise you.]
• What does an average day look like in your life? I wonder if there's time for video games?
• Who else do you work with? [This way, you can find out the other players involved in making their team work.]
• What would you do if...? Then you present a specific scenario -- hopefully one that you're experiencing yourself.

Don't talk about yourself, unless asked directly.
Or, as The Rock used to say: "Know your role and shut your mouth." This is your time to be all ears and become a sponge for information. Don't give your input on every single comment.

Do some research.
Don't walk in confused or clueless about what this person is all about. It's important that you take some time to do your research and figure out exactly what this person has been working on. This will score you some bonus points. It pays to be interested. People want to know that their work is being taken seriously.

I do hope this will save you some embarrassment, and, even, open some doors for you that will take your career to the next level. Feel free to forward along, of course!

We thrive based on your referrals, and are truly grateful for them. Thanks again.

Warmly,


Rowel Manasan, Esq.
Manasan Law Group PC
433 West Arrow Hwy
Claremont, CA 91711

Questions?

To be a good sales professional you must be good at asking questions.  You might chalk this up to being inquisitive, which may be the case for some, but not necessary for others.  The simple talent of asking great open-ended questions will be the true differentiator between sales people.

How do you ask good questions?

What constitutes good questions?

Good questions seek to understand a person's interests, passions, concerns, priorities and more.  The task is simple, prepare your questions ahead of time and take them with you.  This is a very novel idea...prepare ahead of time?  Research my customer ahead of time?  The task is simple, but it does not happen and it is not done by sales professionals.  I am one of those.  Therefore, this is my public declaration that I will prepare questions ahead of time!

Will you?

Scott

Winning the Day

The battle is win or lost before 9:00a.

Believe.

"I'll believe it when I see it."

Verses...

"I'll see it when I believe it."

Which do you feel you follow? We are what we focus on. If we focus on the car of our dreams, that is the only car that we will see on the road. Has this vet accord to you? Have you ever had anything on your mind that you saw it everywhere?

Think about it.

Vision

"The SIZE of your vision will determine the SIZE of your actions, and the SIZE of your actions will dictate your schedule!

Your schedule is the roadmap to your vision...everything gets scheduled.

Do the Extra Work - Seth Godin

I had to repost...

Do the extra work not because you have to but because it's a privilege.

Get in early.

Sweep the floor without being asked.

Especially when it's not your turn.

Not because you want credit or reward. Because you can.

The industrialist wants to suck everything out of you. Doing extra work as a cog in an industrial system is a fool's errand.

For the rest of us, the artist and the freelancer and the creator, we know that the privilege of doing the extra work is the work itself.

The habit of doing more than is necessary can only be earned through practice. And the habit is priceless.

Scott