SuccessCo

SuccessCo Turns One Year Old

It’s has been an exciting year watching my little blog grow up. What originally began as a “place” to archive some of my company newsletter articles written over the years, has turned into an Internet destination for many thousands of visitors and several hundred subscribes from all over the world, and growing.

So to those of you who frequent these pages, thank you!

What does the future hold for SuccessCo?
As a staunch practitioner of change and innovation, I am excited about some of the changes and improvements on the drawing board. While I am not quite ready to reveal them today, I know you will ultimately agree that year two will be even more successful than year one!

-Jim

More about me

Success Book ~ Become a Marketing Superstar

Excerpt from How to Become a Marketing Superstar by Jeffrey Fox

Own a market, Not a Mill

Mills, (a.k.a. factories, production plants) don't sell things; they make things. If no one sells what the mill makes, and no one buys what the mill makes, the mills stop making. A market is a customer, or any number of customers that buy or borrow or rent or lease things. Markets are the source of revenues. Mills need markets to exist.

Mills don't generate revenues; they spend money. Mills buy materials, parts, labor, energy and services. Mills are immensely important. If they don't make defect-free quality products, on time, at low costs, the owner of the mills will not stay competitive. But mills do not make money; they make things that are sold. If the products are sold at a price above cost, the company makes money.

It is the sale that makes the money! Some mill managers, and some managements, mistakenly think that the mills make their companies money. Mills are often critical to the ultimate making of money, but the money is only made when someone sells the product at a profit, and when the selling company collects the money.

Nike owns a market; it doesn't own any factories. Nike's products are made for Nike according to strict specifications. Nike buys its shoes from the shoe maker and resells the shoes to its markets.

How to Become a Marketing Superstar: Unexpected Rules That Ring the Cash Register

Success Quotes ~ Determination

"Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek."

Mario Andretti

"It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer. "

Albert Einstein

"I knew I was going to be a journalist, and that was it.. full stop."

Suzy Welch

"My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging."

Hank Aaron

Success Video ~ Leave Nothing

To continue the series on "success commercials" here is an adrenaline pumping Nike commercial that reminds us "To Leave Nothing", on the field or in the boardroom.

Directed by Michael Mann, this video stars Shawne Merriman with the San Diego Chargers and Steven Jackson with the St. Louis Rams.

Get out there and score!

More Success commercials
Impossible Is Nothing - David Beckham
Lance Armstrong – Nike
Tiger Woods – Nike
Michael Jordan – Nike

-Jim

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How to say NO and Feel Good About It

In a recent post on the subject of time management I noted that you should never say yes to someone without considering the investment of time involved and have the courage to say no to requests that are unnecessary.

However, one of the greatest challenges to saying “no” is the fear or offending co-workers or losing friends. So I’ve put together some great “transitional” statements to smooth out the process and reduce the stress often involved with using the simple word “no”.

Three step process – Choose one from each step

First:
Acknowledge the request
I appreciate you thinking of me
I see you need help
I understand this is important
I wish I could help you out here
I would if I could
I’m honored that you thought of me
Ordinarily I would love to help you

Second:
Convey your circumstances
After reviewing my schedule / calendar I don’t have the time to ___
After reviewing the specifics of your request, ___
I have other plans ___
I’m already involved in ___
I’m not well-suited to ___
My policy is ___
My situation is ___

Third:
Minimize the No 
Have you considered ___?
Have you considered asking ___?
Here is another option ___
I wish you success
I’m sure you will find the right person
Maybe next time
Thanks for asking

Have a successful day!
-Jim

© 2008 SuccessCo.com

Time Management

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Wisdom From Tao Te Ching

If you realize that all things change,
There is nothing you will try to hold on to.
If you aren’t afraid of dying,
There is nothing you can’t achieve.

Trying to control the future is like trying to take the master carpenter’s place.
When you handle the master carpenters tools,
Chances are you’ll cut yourself.

~

The best athlete
Wants his opponent at his best.
The best general
Enters the mind of his enemy.
The best businessman
Serves the communal good.
The best leader
Follows the will of the people.

All of them embody
The virtue of non-competition.
Not that they don’t love to compete,
But they do it in the spirit of play.
In this they are like children
And in harmony with the Tao.

Lao-tzu

Is Your Sales Presentation a Bestseller?

Here is a new way I’d like you to think about your sales presentations . . .

First, imagine yourself in a bookstore. As you’re walking down the isle of your favorite section, you scan the book titles for something that reaches out and grabs you. This is not unlike your initial sales introduction and begs the question, “does the title grab you?” In your case, does your presentations initial opening statement cause the prospect to want to listen further?

If the book passes the first test by grabbing the prospects attention, they proceed to the inside jacket where its given a cursory read and they ask themselves, “do I like what I read?” (What your prospect hears) Does it prompt them to want to read more or is the content just like every other book they’ve picked up on that particular subject matter?

Bingo! If your book (Sales presentation) passes the first two tests, by grabbing the prospects attention and teases them with just enough information to make the commitment and buy the book, in our case, listen to a full presentation, you are well on your way to having a best seller!

There are a lot of books on the shelf – Is yours a best seller?

-Jim
© 2008 SuccessCo.com

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Secrets to Increasing Your Value and Deserving a Raise

Generate Revenues or Cut Costs. Constantly find way to help your company save money and make more of it.

Be Visible. If times are tight, it may not be the best time to take a vacation or request extended time off. Tough times are the times to stand out and be known.

Cultivate a Great Working Relationship with your Boss. This is just good business, and it doesn’t mean having to kiss ass. If it does, it’s time for a new job.

Toot your Own Horn. This is the time to “add value” to your job or position while at the same time, making sure it is noticed (Without being obnoxious that is)

Improve Yourself. Now is the time to be better at what you do, than you were yesterday. It’s simply not good enough to just be good.

No Whining. Attitude can be everything. If a company needs to “scale back” the team, those that go last are the ones with a great / positive attitude and everyone enjoys being around.

Innovate. Companies are always looking to innovate and evolve. Whether it is into a new product line, or improvements to current products or processes, let your ideas be heard through the proper channels.

Cross Train. Learn other positions within your organization. Should your current position ever be eliminated, you can transition over to the new position. Additionally, if the new skills are ever needed in an emergency situation, you will be the hero by filling in during a crisis.

- Jim

© 2008 SuccessCo.com

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Martin Seligman: What positive psychology can help you become

Martin Seligman talks about psychology -- as a field of study and as it works one-on-one with each patient and each practitioner. As it moves beyond a focus on disease, what can modern psychology help us to become?

Martin Seligman is the founder of positive psychology, a field of study that examines healthy states, such as happiness, strength of character and optimism.

* TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.

Success Book ~ Expect the Unexpected

Excerpt from Expect the Unexpected written by Roger Von Oech

Be willing to be lead astray

When we get off the beaten path, we often find something better or more exciting than what we were originally looking for. For example, physicist Karl Jansky improvised a new antenna to study the effects of telephone static. Instead, he discovered radio waves from the Milky Way galaxy and in the process helped create the science of radio astronomy.

Think of the times in your own life when one thing has led to something entirely different. How did you get interested in your line of work? How about the times you've gone to the library in search of a particular book, and then found something better on the shelf behind you? As writer Franklin Adams put it, "I find that a great part of the information I have acquired by looking up something and finding something else along the way."

How can we prepare ourselves for the unexpected? I suggest that we: 1. loosen out preconceptions about what we expect to find in any given situation. 2. Pay special attention to the anomalous rather than ignoring it: and 3. Use what we discover as stepping stones to something very different. Why don’t we adopt this outlook more often? A major reason is that in order to get things done, we tend to filter out information that strikes us as "irrelevant". Indeed, I find that I’m less likely to find the unexpected when I’m in a hurry or narrowly focused on a specific task. Conversely, when I’m relaxed or playful, there’s a greater probability that unexpected things will flow my way.

In what new direction can your situation lead you?
What might open up if you abandoned your original objective?