Herb Hunter Rivercrest » Personal Development

Time Management Get Organized.

Rivercrest — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:28:33 +0000

One of the keys to being consistently productive and effectively running a business is organization and the ability to schedule time properly. We all like to think of ourselves as organized, but in reality, is this the truth. Time Management Get Organized.

Have you ever found that in spite of your best intentions, you just couldn’t accomplish everything you set out to do in a given day or week? Is it because you’re trying to cram too many things into your days and weeks, or is it because you just need to work on your organization and time management skills? Do you find that you plan a schedule, and then get distracted with so many other things that you can’t finish your work?

Regardless of the reason, it’s vital to get organized! You’re not going to experience MLM success until you can get your time organized. Once you manage this, you will be able to see what areas you need help in and which areas you can maximize.

Even though some of us think that having to be organized stifles creativity, it really makes it much easier to be creative – you’re freer to create the business and life you want (sounds like fun when I put it that way, doesn’t it?).

So let’s talk about time scheduling. First you need some tools. They don’t have to be elaborate or fancy, so don’t worry. You need a calendar (one with space to write things down) and a diary or journal. Once you have the tools you’ll use, you need to commit yourself to truly making use of them. This is how you’re going to begin to get organized and then stay organized.

The first step to learning to properly schedule your time is to see how you’re using your time right now. This is where you will use your diary or journal. For a week, don’t change your schedule. Just keep very close track of what you do with your time. Record what you’re doing in some detail, how you’re feeling (tired, restless, alert, etc), and write down the time you start each new activity – even if it’s just taking a few minutes to chat on the phone with a friend.

After one week, look at your journal. What can you learn from it? That you are spending a lot of time chatting or day dreaming? Maybe you’re spending a lot of time doing things that should be eliminated from your workday. You might be surprised to see how much time you spend on Facebook or checking email.

Look closely to find areas where there is waste. You don’t have to check your email ten times a day! You can easily reduce that amount to three times. And you don’t have to answer every phone call that comes in – in fact, if you’re working, you should eliminate the distraction of the phone – that’s what voice mail is for. Schedule time each day to return calls – and then limit the amount of time you’re on each call if you can!

Next, look at the work tasks that you need to accomplish each day and throughout the week. Make sure to include time for emails and communicating with downline members and potential recruits, along with social networking, marketing activities, etc. Keep in mind that you also need to have time for your personal life, and your “day” job, if you’re still working outside of the home. Oh, and don’t forget that you have to sleep at some point!

The point is to create to-do lists and prioritize them. Certain things will have to take place at certain times. They can fit into your schedule without any more analysis if you’ve deemed them necessary. Now look at what is left. Large tasks can be broken down into smaller ones – this will help you keep from getting overwhelmed.

Now here is where things get interesting! It’s time to schedule your work time, and indeed your whole life to some extent. If you’ve made notes about the times of day that you’re feeling more alert and energized (and you should have), you can start working your schedule to fit those times. You can use higher energy times for doing certain tasks, and you can also use the information you’ve collected to see if some simple rest or dietary changes might help you find more “energy” time during your day.

As you start building your schedule, keep the following in mind:

l Stay realistic – you only have so much time each day.

l Make sure the things that you absolutely must do are scheduled and that you’ve left enough time to complete them.

l Don’t over-commit yourself.

l Remember to expect the unexpected – leave some contingency time in your schedule for surprises.

Once you’ve built your schedule, do two things: remember that a schedule is fluid – it’s going to move and change, and remember that you can always go back to basics if you need to – it won’t hurt to use your diary to track your habits occasionally to make sure you’re staying organized.

All the best,

Herb Hunter, hunter645@aol.com, 734-285-6792

Motivation

Rivercrest — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 19:40:27 +0000

Here are some view points I offer you on motivation for your business. There is only one thing that you ever need to be successful in life. Some may say it’s money and others may say it’s intellect, but the real key to any success in life is in motivation. Motivation provides the jump that people need to start striving for self improvement. The more they want to do and be, the better off they’ll end up. There’s a reason why people hold the phrase mind over matter so highly. It’s because the mind is what runs the physical world. Your thoughts guide you to success or failure, depending on what they are indicating, so if you have motivational thoughts, you’ll end up reaching the goals that you’ve set forth for yourself. It’s as simple as that.

To be a motivational thinker, you must figure out exactly what you want to do in your business.. Once that;s established, all you have left to do is start setting forth on a plan to achieve those goals. When it comes to network marketing, that means recruiting people to work with you and sharing with them the goals that you have in mind. By showing them how motivated you are about the success of your business, you will inspire them to be that passionate too, thus instilling the values in your people that you already have in yourself. As long as you are all on the same level of determination, your marketing experience will go a lot smoother.

So what does it take to be motivational then? Well, you have to truly show excitement for what you are attempting to do, never once looking bored by or uninterested in whatever it is your;e doing. If you give the impression that you don’t care, then your people won’t care either as they will have no need to work toward goals that someone else is not even wishing to achieve. Show people that you want success more than anything else and let them know how eager you are to get them on the path towards success as well.

Sometimes it seems hard enough to be motivational for yourself, let alone other people. When that time comes, just remind yourself of your goals and try to think positive of how quickly you can achieve them. Remember how eager you were at the beginning and try to emulate that again. As long as your people see that you still care, they will too. Your motivation can lead all of you to great success in the future.

All The Best,

Herb Hunter, 734-285-6792, hunter645@aol.com

Get The Most Out Of Working With Your Sponsor.

Rivercrest — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 20:00:33 +0000

If your sponsor is earning a 6 or 7 figure income from their business, it is usually because they have a clear focus about where they are going, they are committed to taking consistent daily action and they have a good work ethic. How about you? Do you have the same traits as Your Successful MLM Sponsor?

Get the most out of working with your Sponsor.

1) Vision = Action = Income

The Wrong way

Decide that you want to earn “loadsa money” from your business as fast as possible and that your MLM sponsor needs to sit with you to show you exactly what they do (and hopefully do it for you!). It’s their job right? And they do stand to earn out of you don’t they?

The Right Way

You need to have the vision of what it is you want to achieve – simply “wanting to earn some money” is not enough when you get a tough day. Decide WHY you want to do this and what your ultimate goal is. Map out your short, medium and long term goals. Then make a note of the amount of time you have each week to spend on your business and what your budget is and then sit down with your MLM sponsor to work out your daily, weekly and monthly action plan to achieve your goals. Commit to them. Your MLM Sponsor is going to achieve more success either with or without you – make it one of your goals to find out what they do on a daily basis.

2) Take Action

The Wrong Way

Sit down have a cup of coffee with “OK” Magazine and wait for your MLM sponsor to call you and tell you what you’re supposed to do this week – it’s their job isn’t it and Angelina’s dress looks awesome right?

The Right Way

Read books like “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie and “The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People” by Stephen R Covey and “The Four Hour Work Week” by Timothy Ferriss, so that you understand the mindset of successful people and the traits that they have. Don’t wait for your sponsor to call you – there’s bound to be training to look at – get on with it, use your initiative – get out of the “employee” mentality, you have the potential to have an empire like Richard Branson if you put the effort in!

3) Procrastination = Paralysis of Your Business

The Wrong Way

Start complaining to your MLM sponsor when you haven’t made any money the first week and then tell them you really couldn’t do the tasks this week because you have a job. I mean it’s alright for them – they don’t have another job do they? They don’t know what it feels like to have no time – they got a six figure income in six months and they didn’t have to work!

The Right Way

Visualize your success. No superstar MLM Sponsor wants to work with someone who doesn’t believe they can do it. Don’t moan. Your sponsor will help you with any difficulties, but don’t moan to them that you can’t do what you said you could do. Remember that life will always throw you a curveball every now and again, but don’t let it get in the way. Understand that every truly successful MLM Sponsor may have worked days and nights and made many sacrifices to achieve what they have – ask yourself what you are prepared to sacrifice, so that you can do the activities you need to do.

4) Surround Yourself with Success Not Failure

The Wrong Way

Periodically call some of the other members of your MLM Sponsor’s team and talk about the fact that it’s so hard and rejoice in the fact that they can’t do it either. Have a good old moan about your sponsor too because they probably just got “lucky” with who they sponsored. I mean if other team members can’t do it, then there’s no way that you can right?

The Right Way

Create a mastermind group on Facebook or Skype with others that are really achieving what you want to achieve. Discuss success strategies and share what’s working. Discuss other people’s skills and your area of skills so that you may be able to call on each other for help with something you may not understand. Attend live events when you can, don’t ever be negative about where you’re going, stay focused and surround yourself with positive and motivated minds.

5) Persistent and Consistent Daily Action

The wrong Way

Meet up with all your friends who laughed at you when you joined your biz op – heck, they were probably right after all weren’t they……even though they are all broke?

The right way

Apologise to the really negative “friends” who don’t support you and say you will catch up with them soon, but right now you are working on securing your financial future. Your true friends will understand, will be supportive and may even be able to help you (or join you!). Take consistent daily action even if you don’t see results straight away – measure your results and make adjustments, but be persistent.

In summary – be positive, focused and motivated. This is YOUR business and no-one is going to do it for you. Build relationships with other developing and successful people. Give out exactly what you want to receive and be friendly but professional and courteous at all times. Understand this business is about helping others to achieve, and in doing so, success will be inevitable.

Great Success To You,

Herb Hunter, 734-285-6792, hunter645@aol.com

7 Keys To Grow The Action Habit.

Rivercrest — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 18:27:36 +0000

A very good friend of mine passed this on to me sometime ago. Take a look at the 7 Keys To Grow The Action Habit.

1. Don’t wait until conditions are perfect – If you’re waiting to start until conditions are perfect, you probably never will. There will always be something that isn’t quite right. Either the timing is off, the market is down, or there’s too much competition. In the real world there is no perfect time to start. You have to take action and deal with problems as they arise.The best time to start was last year. The second best time is now!

2. Be a doer - Practice doing things rather than thinking about them… Do you want to start exercising? Do you have a great idea to pitch? Do it today. The longer an idea sits in your head without being acted on, the weaker it becomes. After a few days the details gets hazy. After a week it’s forgotten completely. By becoming a doer you’ll get more done and stimulate new ideas in the process.

3. Remember that ideas alone don’t bring success – Ideas are important, but they’re only valuable after they’ve been implemented. One average idea that’s been put into action is more valuable than a dozen brilliant ideas that you’re saving for “some other day” or the “right opportunity”. If you have an idea the you really believe in, do something about it. Unless you take action it will never go anywhere.

4. Use action to cure fear – Have you ever noticed that the most difficult part of public speaking is waiting for your turn to speak? Even professional speakers and actors experience pre-performance anxiety. Once they get started the fear disappears. Action is the best cure for fear. The most difficult time to take action is the very first time. After the ball is rolling, you’ll build confidence and things will keep getting easier. Kill fear by taking action and build on that confidence.

5. Start your creative engine mechanically – One of the biggest misconceptions about creative work is that it can only be done when inspiration strikes. If you wait for inspiration to slap you in the face, your work sessions will be few and far between. Instead of waiting, start your creative motor mechanically. If you need to write something, force yourself to sit down and write. Put pen to paper. Brainstorm. Doodle. By moving your hands you’ll stimulate the flow of ideas and inspire yourself.

6. Live in the present – Focus on what you can do in the present moment. Don’t worry about what you should have done last week or what you might be able to do tomorrow. The only time you can affect is the present. If you speculate too much about the past or the future you won’t get anything done. Tomorrow or next week frequently turns into never.

7. Get down to business immediately – It’s common practice for people to socialize and make small talk at the beginning of meetings. The same is true for individual workers. How often do you check email or RSS feeds before doing any real work? These distractions will cost you serious time if you don’t bypass them and get down to business immediately. By becoming someone who gets to the point you’ll be more productive and people will look to you as a leader.

It takes courage to take action without instructions from the person in charge. Perhaps that’s why initiative is a rare quality that’s coveted by managers and executives everywhere. Seize the initiative. When you have a good idea, start implementing it without being told. Once people see you’re serious about getting things done they’ll want to join in. The people at the top don’t have anyone telling them what to do. If you want to join them, you should get used to acting independently.

Dare To Be Great,

Herb Hunter

734-285-6792

Network Marketing are you a Networker??

Rivercrest — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 14:39:06 +0000

Here is great information I received that I want to share with you titled, Network Marketing are you a Networker ?? Networking is obviously an essential part of network marketing. Every successful network marketer knows this to be true. Although networking is such an intricate part of network marketing, the two terms are not synonymous. However there are many similarities. Both rely heavily on people skills. Both require people to confront their fear of talking to other people. Both carry with them the risk of rejection. Both also carry with them enormous opportunity. And to some people, both are considered dirty words.

Of course people that consider networking as something that is ‘not done’ don’t understand what networking is really about. The same can be said of people that think network marketing is something that is beneath them. Many people think of networking as a way to get connected solely for their own advancement in life. In that respect a person might feel that it is unethical or not noble to network.

This line of thinking stems from the idea that advancement will always come at the expense of someone else, that success in life is a zero-sum game. These people often look at network marketing from the same perspective. They think of profiting from other people’s efforts as something that is negative and not fair to them. In reality, successful networkers will tell you that it doesn’t work that way at all. Networking doesn’t have to be at anybody’s expense and the business of network marketing doesn’t reward anyone for taking advantage of others. It actually rewards people for helping other people to succeed. In that respect it may very well be the most ethical business model in the world today.

A lot of the negativity around networking can be explained by the different types of networkers. Some can be considered ‘hunters’, moving in for a quick kill, after which they move out again.

They often operate without regard of the other persons interest and because of this they will enjoy the fruits of success for only a limited period of time. Often it will not take long before people find out what’s really driving the hunter. Once they see that he or she is only looking after his or her own interests, their willingness to interact with this person will quickly evaporate.

By contrast, truly successful networkers are often ‘farmers’ who spend a lot of time sowing and nourishing their relationships, instead of just focusing on reaping. They invest in their network, they energize their network. They use their network, but they never ever abuse their network! And their network knows this. A true networker will always keep the interests of others in mind. That’s why working with a true networker is so enjoyable. Networkers are often very likeable and as such people like to interact with them.

Networking is a skill that is essential to all businesses not just network marketing. Although network marketing differs in many ways from the more traditional forms of doing business, the importance of networking is just as prevalent. If not more so. A network marketer that doesn’t know how to network will be out of business in no time.

Network marketing is first and foremost a people’s business and this implies that the ability to effectively work with people is absolutely critical. This is why successful network marketers are extremely adept at networking.

Many have found out over time that developing this skill can pay off in many areas outside their network marketing business as well. Business owners who have started a home based business on the side often apply their enhanced networking and people’s skills in their traditional business with great success. For some network marketers this spin-off has earned them more money than the income from their network marketing business itself.

So whether you are in network marketing or in a more traditional type of business, don’t underestimate the importance of becoming an effective networker. And if you really want to master this skill you may find there is a lot to learn from good network marketers. So if you happen to know anybody that fits that description, try and benefit from their knowledge on the topic. It will surely help you network your way to success!

If you have interest in starting a home based network marketing business or you are already working in a network marketing business contact me at hunter645@aol.com to get information on a training call that is a “Safe Place ” to learn – totally generic with no product pushing or company endorsements ! I will be happy to provide it for you!

Dare To Be Great,

Herb Hunter, 734-285-6792, hunter645@aol.com

Overnight Success In MLM.. Well Think Again.

Rivercrest — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 18:26:35 +0000

So you join a company and you expect to have Overnight Success In MLM.. Well Think Again. Have you ever started a job or gone into a new profession without being trained? Did you go down to your local discount store and order a kit to be a lawyer, a doctor, or an engineer? Of course not – to enter those professions, you need specialized knowledge.

What about when you started a job? Did you just walk in off the street and tell them you knew all there was to know about the job and no training would be necessary? I don’t think so. According to most Fortune 500 companies, it takes 6 months of being on the job before the company starts to make any money from an employee. Did you read that closely – 6 months?

Now why is it that people who join a program to earn extra income from home give up in less than 90 days? Could they be missing an important point in life? If just learning a job takes around 6 months to be good at it, then maybe you can start to see why things haven’t worked out for most of us.

Many companies’ training is still coming from ideas that were used 50 years ago. I would suggest you:

DON’T start listing your friends & family.
The MLM “Heavy Hitters” will toast them like a pop-tart.

Do join with a team that offers training from professionals, where there is a winning attitude and great culture to learn in..

In my 15 years in the industry , I have discovered success in MLM is more about who you work with then the company you select! Learn to Become a LEADER.

Dare To Be Great,

Herb Hunter, 734-285-6792, hunter645@aol.com

Enhancing Your Personal Performance by Jerry Clark.

Rivercrest — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 18:26:27 +0000

JERRY CLARK became a self-made millionaire while still in his 20′s. Today he conducts personal and professional development seminars in over 35 countries worldwide. Today’s article is Enhancing Your Personal Performance by Jerry Clark.

1. CLARITY OF OUTCOME: Before you begin any endeavor, know in advance exactly what you expect your outcome to be. By getting clear on your outcome, you will be using the awesome force of what I call the FUTURE PULL…In other words, the future you create for yourself pulls you closer to it and empowers you to take the proper actions in the present…So before you do anything else as it relates to your personal or professional life, take time to get crystal clear on what your desired outcome will be…See it in your mind’s eye until you feel really emotional about it…

2. CONSOLIDATION OF POWER: This is a fancy word I learned in 1982 while taking Martial Arts. It simply means FOCUS…Since you have a certain amount of time, energy, and money to devote towards accomplishing your outcome, it’s important to know which activities you should direct your resources towards. If you don’t take the time to determine which of the multitude of possible activities will provide you with the highest payoff, you may find yourself squandering much of your resources. Thus, apply the 80/20 rule here. The 80/20 rule states that 80% of your results will come from 20% of your activities. Therefore, it’s important for you to CONCENTRATE your efforts on the 20% of the activities that will get you 80% of the results. Most people concentrate on the 80% of the activities that will get them only 20% of the results… In a nutshell, 80% of your time should be spent on the following activities: (a) Using and Sharing your products (b) Exposing people to your opportunity (c) Attending and Promoting events (d) Engaging in personal development and (e) Learning and Teaching the system your company and support team members have set up for you…These are the high payoff or revenue producing activities…You can file your product orders and clean out your desk after hours…I.E., during non-revenue producing time…

3. COMMITMENT TO DISCIPLINES: This is where you actually EXECUTE your action plan…Once you know which areas you will be focused on, you can now get busy by moving ahead in those areas…It’s important to remember that consistency is the key at this stage. By doing the small simple disciplines on a daily basis, eventually the compounded effect will kick in and you will COLLECT YOUR OUTCOME… Every day in every way, you’re either performing simple disciplines or simple error in judgments…Apply this simple three-step process and watch what happens to your personal performance levels…

If you have any interest in starting a home based network marketing business or you are already working in a network marketing business contact me at hunter645@aol.com to get information on a training call that is a “Safe Place ” to learn – totally generic with no product pushing or company endorsements ! I will be happy to provide it for you!

Dare To Be Great,

Herb Hunter, 734-285-6792, hunter645@aol.com

Improve yourself and you improve your MLM business.

Rivercrest — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 14:44:18 +0000

Never underestimate the importance of self improvement in your MLM business. You improve yourself and you improve your MLM business. No matter what product or service you may think that you are selling, the thing that you are truly selling is yourself. In traditional business models this is true during the interview process to get hired, it is true during the day to day work process as you attempt to impress your bosses and it is true when you are with customers and clients as you need them to want to work with you, as you are the face of the product or service you are selling. This is at least twice as true in an MLM business.

The key to success in an MLM venture is to remember that you are not only trying to sell product, you are trying to recruit new people to the organization. Regardless of whether they are enticed to buy a ton of product from you, if they like what they see in you, and want to be like you, they are more likely to sign up with your organization, which has the potential to make you even more money in the long run than a hefty order For this reason you cannot stress enough the importance of self improvement in your MLM business. In MLM, you are the company. How you compose yourself tells potential business associates what kind of business you really have and is how they will decide whether or not they want to join up.

Self improvement is not limited to just how you look though. A great pair of shoes and a sharp haircut are nice, but if you still stumble over your words and don’t use active listening techniques in your presentation, you won’t get very far. The importance of self improvement in the MLM business is that it gives you an opportunity to really be someone that your potential recruits will want to be like. People want to follow other people that are successful. They aim to be around people that are attractive because of the energy that surrounds them. Self improvement is all about having a positive aura that will draw people in.

The importance of self improvement in your MLM business cannot be overstated. By growing yourself as a person, you have the unique opportunity to grow your business as well. Become the person that you have always wanted to be and you will find that other people will want to join you, learn from you and try to be just like you. And that is how, in MLM, you can make the real money.

If you would like to discuss ways to start and build your own business give me a call.

All the best,

Herb Hunter, 734-285-6792, hunter645@aol.com

Business Killer #1

Rivercrest — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 13:36:38 +0000

Here is a great article written by Rod Nichols. As Rod Shares this is Business Killer #1. I really loved how he talks about the fear that so many have and how it will stop you in your tracks. I hope you enjoy this as much as I have.

Having been in the network marketing industry for over 30 years I’ve had a chance to train and coach tens of thousands of people and I’ve heard every reason for failing in network marketing, but there is one that is absolutely #1 killer of businesses and dreams – FEAR!

It’s what keeps people from talking to their friends and family, calling purchased leads, talking with strangers, and following up when people show interest. It’s the number one reason why people fail in network marketing. In fact, the primary difference between the huge percentage who fail and the small percentage of people who make millions of dollars in network marketing is the way FEAR is handled. It’s not that the top income earners don’t have FEAR, they’ve just learned how to fight through it.

Okay, you’re probably thinking that FEAR is natural. Yes, if you were out in the back woods camping and a bear started chasing you, the natural fear mechanism would kick in and cause flight. If someone attacked you, it might result in fight. However, fear over making a phone call or talking with someone about your business is not natural fear. Rather it is:

False

Expectations

Appearing

Real

It’s been scientifically proven that your mind cannot tell the difference between a firmly planted thought and the real thing. So, if you start thinking that people are going to get mad if you present your business or they aren’t going to be your friends anymore and you dwell on that long enough, it becomes real to your mind. However, the truth is that it is a false expectation appearing real. It hasn’t happened and so it isn’t real. Your mind just thinks it is.

So, here’s what the top income earners have done to build a business in fear. When those false expectations try to enter their mind, they take the thought captive, cast it away, and replace it with the opposite thought. For example, let’s say you are getting ready to call some friends about your business and you begin thinking that they aren’t going to be interested. STOP those thoughts and replace them with thoughts that they will be interested. In fact, they will actually be looking for exactly what you have.

This down economy is creating a great deal of FEAR and that is often resulting in interest in ways to make extra money. Your network marketing business is an awesome solution for many people. It may even be an answer to prayer. Start thinking those thoughts and it will make it much easier to make that call or talk with that great prospect.

The other key is to just do it. I remember back in High School and College when I had a horrible fear of speaking in public. I avoided all speaking classes and would even get physically ill the day I had to do a presentation in my regular classes. My stinking thinking resulted in physical sickness in my body. However, years later I started a business and realized that if I was going to make enough money to live, I’d have to get past that FEAR, so I purposely set up speaking engagements. The first few were terrible. Then they were just bad and after awhile, they weren’t too bad. Then they were fairly good; then good, and today I love to speak in public. Is the fear gone? No, I battle it every time I have a speaking engagement, but I’ve conquered it so many times that it doesn’t take long to move past it.

FEAR will keep you from succeeding in network marketing if you let it. Change your thoughts and just do it in fear. The more often you fight through the FEAR, the easier it will get and the greater your success!

If you would like to discuss ways to start and build your own business please contact me…

Herb Hunter, 734-285-6792, hunter645@aol.com

THE EIGHT-STEP PROCESS TO BETTER ASKING by Mark Victor Hansen

Rivercrest — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 19:25:34 +0000

Todays blog is titled,THE EIGHT-STEP PROCESS TO BETTER ASKING by Mark Victor Hansen. Mr. Hansen, co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul Series, has for more than 25 years, uniquely focused on the vital elements of human behavior that most affect our personal and professional lives and has influenced society’s top leaders and the general public on a global scale. Below is what he has to say..

When you begin to ask for what you need and want, you’ve taken control of your life, and are proactively steering its direction. Many wonderful and great things come to you as a result.
But just how do you go about getting started asking? Here are the primary action steps to take:

Act as if you expect to get it. It is of primary importance that your state of thinking contain a solid level of certainty and expectation when you ask. This state of mind will affect everything else – your body posture, eye contact, tone of voice, and choice of words. Think for a moment – you’ve been in situations when you’ve asked and had every certainty that you would receive exactly what you were asking for. Remember how you felt then? Keep that in your mind with every request you make.

Ask someone who can give it to you.

Before you ask someone for something, make an assessment of whether or not they will be able to give it to you. Some people are very qualified and motivated to help. Others just aren’t capable of delivering – watch people and review that capacity. Have you ever seen them capable of delivering what you’re about to ask them, or are you just hoping the potential is there?

Get the other person’s full attention.

Your request deserves that respect! If the person cannot give you his or her full attention, set up an appointment, ask to talk during the commercial break, or ask them to schedule time for you in the very near future.

Be clear and specific.

Be as concise as you possibly can in your requests. Ask for what you want, not for what you don’t want. At the same time, be careful what you ask for – more often than not, you get exactly what you’ve requested!

Ask from the heart.

You can have anything you want if you want it desperately enough! Keep that unbridle passion for your purpose, project or goal stirring in your soul as you begin to ask, and maintain eye contact throughout the entire ask process. This further establishes your integrity, trustworthiness and passion on the subject.

Ask with humor and creativity.

Humor captures our attention and breaks down our defenses. Creativity disarms our resistance and opens our minds to new possibilities.

Give something to get something.

As Zig Ziglar says, “You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” When you’re asking, always be sure to explain what’s in it for them, how they benefit and win because they’ve acted positively on your request.

Ask repeatedly.

If someone says, “No!” you say “Next!” Expect no’s – even on a repeated basis from the same people you’re asking. Your tenaciousness and perseverance will undoubtedly pay off.

So You’ve Asked and They Still Say “No.” Now what?

Don’t lose your cool when you’re faced with resistance! A powerful request can only be powerful if you’re also willing to be declined. Ask with authority, prepare yourself for a “no,” be gracious in receiving that “no,” then make one of two choices:

* Ask the person you just made the request of to help you with a solution. They may know someone who CAN give you a “yes” and, given some freedom and respect from you, they often wander their own way into providing your “yes.”

* Walk away without burning your bridges. You probably just came across someone who feasibly could not help you. The world is much too small and inter-connected to lash out at even one person.

Continued success,
Herb Hunter, 734-285-6792 , hunter645@aol.com