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Make down times up TIMES by investing in YOU

Written by: Ian Keightley

Article Overview: Cutting costs is NOT always the solution. Sometimes we need more skiils, more training, a better environment or inspired leadership

Make down times up TIMES by investing in YOU

©Copyright 2009 Ian Keightley. All rights reserved. Feel free to forward and distribute but copyright is retained
Hi and welcome to Ian Keightley's Weekly Insight for Monday 26th January 2009
Invest in YOU in down times and make UP TIMES
Over the Holidays I picked up that great little book, Think and Grow Rich and saw the real title, "Think Positively and Grow Rich."
It reminded me of a sales person I encountered at a seminar late last year who was excited to hear of our ideas and great Audio CD's that would help his business.
As I closed the session with a sales opportunity to buy my CDs at $40 for 2 or $120 for 6 hours of great dialogues, tools and strategies, or my 3 day course for $795 including my 500 page manual. I asked, "Can anyone give me a good reason not to buy this great set of CDs?"
The salesman stood and said, "I love your ideas and words but I have a perfectly good reason not to buy the CDs. I can't afford them!"
I replied, "That's exactly why you should buy them." The salesperson looked at me blankly so I asked.
"How old are you?"
"Forty-three."
"Did you leave school or university with qualifications?"
"Yes I obtained University Entrance and completed a BA."
"Have you worked ever since?"
"Yes I have had about 4 jobs and have been in real estate sales for 6 years."
"Are you top in your office?"
"No, I am struggling."
"So you are telling me you have been engaged in work fulltime for over 20 years and you can't afford to spend $120 on CD's you think are wonderful? That's why you need them - you have not been thinking positively, giving your self the best in skills, the best in activity practice and you haven't yet got rich. If you were, you would have already bought them."
Can I tell you he purchased the CD's and is in touch regularly thanking me for the lesson.
You know, if YOU believe times are bad for you, they will be, because your activity is all about dealing with bad times.
When you believe that ALL times (Yes even now) can be great for you, they will be. This is because your thoughts and your actions create growth no matter what is going on around you.
Some positive thoughts to make this a great week:
1 Take ACTION. Action creates reactions.
2 Remember someone is ALWAYS doing well.
3 Increase your PRODUCTIVITY
4 Stop cutting expenses - focus on PRODUCTION
5 Keep marketing
6 Keep learning
7 Keep positive.
Over the last week I have had the pleasure of working with 3 sales teams who were all back at work early, focused and investing in themselves. Each one of them is a leader in their market place and not only are they well lead, skilled, positive and focused, they are STILL LEARNING. And the results are there for all to see.
INVEST IN YOU THIS WEEK. You deserve it. Do something new, radical, productive, positive, and avoid those who aren't.
Quote for the Week
"The policy of being too cautious is the greatest risk of all."
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964)

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Article Tags: 6 years, audio cd, dialogues, good reason, holidays, insight, jobs, real estate sales, sales opportunity, sales person, salesperson, university entrance, work fulltime



Related Forum Posts
Re: Quote of the Day - "The only people witho - Thanks for sharing this Evan, there are some very powerful quotes in there, I particularly like this one:- You are now at a crossroads. This is your opportunity to make the most important decision you will ever make. Forget your past. Who are you now? Who have you decided you really are now? Don't think about who you have been. Who are you now? Who have you decided to become? Make this decision consciously. Make it carefully. Make it powerfully. regards, Mal.
Re: Make millions with this software - Hi ideasprosperity, Very good post. It is a real challenge. I think we all can benefit doing a '30 day challenge', especially as we face so much distraction. One thing I learned from a Internet marketer, do not read the emails several times a day. It results in responding and consequently wastes the time. Just one point I will raise, life can get in the way. Discipline is very important factor to keep going on without getting sidetracked. We benefit by being on course like Mike Dillard suggested: Make a list the night before for the following day. It is good to read the previous post several times so that it will sink in to make a difference. Be encouraged
Re: Invest in Real Estate or Stocks? - [quote="Commercial Realtor":1be3urw5]You can consider investing in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). Buy and sell shares like stocks so they are easy to buy and sell, diversify and management is included.[/quote:1be3urw5] That sounds good, but I think that whatever one invests in today, you need to do your due diligence beforehand and keep on top of what is happening with your investment at all times. MichelleJ
Re: Franchise 'due diligence' checklist - As a simple bit of advice - approach your franchise search with a clear mindset. On occasion I hear from someone interested in investing in a franchise, and they are simply "so" determined to own/purchase an exact concept - tunnel vision at its worst in terms of investing. There are actually quite a few determining factors outside of just capital, that might help someone differentiate one opportunity from another. I would have to include, just "lifestyle" as being a significant determining factor. Do you like to travel? Are you even willing to travel at all? Do you want to work out of your house? In front of a computer? etc.
Tax returns! - Well, this is new on me. i had no idea you could sell a site off. If it's anything like purchasing a non-internet business then you need to check into multiple things. Will you need to finance to purchase? If so, you'll need to calculate the cash flow. Also, find out if there will be any add backs to the cash flow, for example, are there other workers invovled to keep the site running...perhaps workers you won't need when you take the site over? Their salaries can be added back to the cash flow if you will not need them. You must see the top page of the last year tax return (never go off just the P & L's). Did the seller run anything personal thru the tax returns that you wont? That's also considered an add back to the cash flow. What is the gross sales for the 12 months? What is the net income for the 12 months? Make sure the purchase price is justified. You can calculate a ball park range on this by doing 30 - 50% of the gross sales for the year or 3- 5 times the net earnings. What is the web traffic like? Is it steady? Do you have time to run the site or will you need to hire someone to manage it? Make sure the business is supporting itself and is profitable. Does the seller have an initial business plan from when they bagan the business, so you can look it over?


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