What's your motivation?

I don’t know about you but I love setting myself little goals to complete (or not so little if you include a house renovation). Sometimes it’s about saving money for that holiday, losing weight to get into THAT dress or collecting £xxx from our customers per month.

But sometimes we may falter along the way and find that we don’t want to refuse that big piece of chocolate cake at the restaurant, or simply that we have lost our motivation.

So here are some tips to keep on going if you are finding it tough:

Once you’ve set yourself a deadline make a conscious effort to review your progress a third of the way through or sooner if possible. Look at how it’s going and if there is anything you are struggling with.

Look at what isn’t working and why?

Are there any patterns to why it isn’t working?

Make a small change to what you are doing to get yourself back on track. For instance if you aren’t saving up for that holiday as quickly as you would like is there anything else you can cut back on to save money? If your customers are not paying as quickly as they promised, can you get the sales team involved in talking to the client?

Don’t give up! If you want to get into THAT dress, go look at it, imagine yourself in it. If you want to go on holiday, imagine yourself lying on that sunlounger or taking in the city’s delights. And if you have a project at work that isn’t going as smoothly as you would like, talk to your boss and explain your situation. Ask for help and assistance to get back on track. Discuss the deadline and see if it’s realistic.

Once you made some changes, set yourself another review date, preferably half way through, to see if the changes you have made are working. And when you have reached that goal, don’t forget to reward yourself, even if it’s a cup of tea with a slice of cake.

Helen Mills

How to Win Clients and Influence Referrals

(MoneyWatch) What's the difference between a customer and a client? A customer might be there for a transaction, but a client is there for a special relationship. The term dates back to ancient Rome when citizens would attach themselves to an aristocratic patron for protection and clout. Patrons took care of their clients and they were rewarded for it.

This column is for all of you out there who make your living selling to clients and want to attract more of them. To attract new clients, the best approach is to prove your expertise by giving away valuable information through writing and speaking. Actually, that isn't technically true. You should sell the information if you want to win clients and influence referrals. Here's how.

1. Follow Dale's lead. Unfortunately, many sales and marketing people who learn this truth find the idea of writing and speaking too daunting and even mysterious. Most feel this is only for a select few, but that is a miscalculated view. First comes the problem, then comes research, and finally presentation. Dale Carnegie is the role model to emulate. He wrote the original self-improvement book and was the first superstar of the self-help genre.

2. Do your homework. Carnegie wrote that he had searched for years to discover a practical, working handbook on human relations. He started by reading every scholarly book and magazine article he could find to ascertain how the great men and women of all ages had dealt with people. Then he interviewed scores of successful people to discover the techniques they used in human relations.

3. Speak up. From all that material, he prepared a short talk. He called it "How to Win Friends and Influence People" and it soon became a 90-minute lecture. Then the teacher learned from the students. Carnegie asked attendees to share their stories of how the principles helped them. First, he put the rules down on a postcard, which grew into a leaflet, then a series of booklets, each one expanding in size and scope. After 15 years of experiment and research came the book by the same title in 1937 as that original short talk. Of course, it has been a best seller ever since (if you haven't read it, you really should). The first edition had a print run of a mere 5,000, but the last time I checked it had sold more than 15 million copies.

4. Be the expert. During those 15 years of research, Dale Carnegie became the go-to guy for human relations. Thousands attended his training each year and he prospered. This also resulted in many consulting contracts. He is long gone, but his training company has continued to this day.
5. Make them pay. Those who sell high end services can fill a pipeline with qualified prospects in as little as 30 days by offering advice to prospects on how to overcome their most pressing problems. But don't do it for free. Charge for your seminars and the information will be valued more by your potential clients. The burden is also on you to research great information.

This strategy also helps those people who know, like and trust you enough to refer business to you. You can make these people a special deal: if they know someone who would value what you have to say, then your referral source can offer comp admission to your events on a space-available basis. Look what this does. You make the referral source feel special because they can hook people up. The prospects who attend still value the information more because there is a charge for it, and they feel even better because they didn't have to pay.

Happy Selling

Stephanie Fletcher

This article was written by Tom Searcy, and you can read more at http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505183_162-57415800-10391735/how-to-win-clients-and-influence-referrals/

Public speaking nightmare

You’re preparing to give a presentation to a group of your peers. As the time draws closer you notice your heart is beating twice as fast and your palms are getting sweaty. Your mind is plagued by thoughts of how this is going to go wrong. You tell yourself that your colleagues don’t even care what you're about to say, they’ll be bored of you after the first 30 seconds and all be playing with their phones by the time you reach your conclusion.

A polite round of applause welcomes you to the front of the room. You feel a small bead of sweat trickle down from your brow and you stutter in your first sentence. A polite cough echoes around the eerily silent room. The computer has frozen and isn’t moving onto the next slide. Make a joke about it? Pretend like you don’t need the power point you worked so hard on? People shuffle in their seats, growing impatient as the temperamental soul that is technology brings your whole presentation to a halt.

Panic overwhelms you. You’ve lost sight of where you were and frantically look through your notes that now seem like a language unknown. You start to rush your words, desperate for the ordeal to be over. You care no longer whether your presentation makes sense or conveys the point you intended. You conclude your message half heartedly and the same polite applause accompanies you back to your chair. You sink back, wishing you would fall straight through the chair, the floor and into a place where presentations were not a part of your job.

Any of that sound familiar?

Dale Carnegie work with thousands of individuals who have felt the same worries, anxieties and doubt over their public speaking as you do and seek to develop those skills to ensure they no longer need panic when in front of a crowd. We can work with you to make sure you engage your audience, use positive tone and body language and provide you with confidence that once you’ve finished your presentation, you can sit down knowing the message you wanted to put across, has been received.

We will be running a complimentary preview to one of our Presentations development programmes (High Impact Presentations) on Thursday 10th May. For more information give us a call on 0207 379 4323.

Brett Mills

Stand by your Principles

At the heart of everything we do as an organisation is Dale Carnegie’s thirty human relations principles. These principles have been with the organisation for many years and the Dale Carnegie itself is celebrating its Centenary in October of this year.

Below is a list of the first 9 principles which covers the foundations of becoming a friendlier person.

Don't criticize, condemn, or complain.
Give honest and sincere appreciation.
Arouse in the other person an eager want.
Become genuinely interested in other people.
Smile.
Remember that a person's name is, to that person, the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
Talk in terms of the other person's interest.
Make the other person feel important – and do it sincerely.

At first glance you may think to yourself that these prinicples are common knowledge. This is true, however they are not common practice.

Look at the list and again and really ask yourself:

How many of these principles am I actually applying?
How often do I apply them?
Which ones do I find really challenging and why?

If these priniciples and questions resonate with you I would encourage you to attend the opening session of our Skills for Success course on the 8th May for free.

You can register for this event by getting in touch with any of our consultants on 0207 379 4323

Amar Garcha

The Natural Networker

It has been said and demonstrated for many years that in life and the context of opportunity ‘It’s not what you know but who you know’ and yet on many occasions, I myself have often thought ‘but I don’t really know anyone in that area/field/sector’ etc.

In the past this perception has stopped me and others I know from exploring the art of networking to open new doors or source fresh opportunities. When asked their perception of networking success, people have described many varying versions of a common misconception.

Images such as powerful ‘movers and shakers’ at private members-only clubs tend to come to mind. Smokey bar’s filled with Public School ‘bods’ is another common view, albeit exaggerated somewhat. Conversely people have described quite fruitless events filled with empty conversations and prospectors operating only on their own agenda. Shame really as it can be such a powerful skill for you and others when conducted in a genuine way.

Yet what I have come to find is that venue or event is irrelevant to some extent, as networking can become second nature once you decide to truly listen, engage and take a genuine interest in other people. Seems easy? Well it does become so once you have practiced just connecting people’s needs, wishes, desires and expectations with what others have to offer in whichever way. There doesn’t always have to be a fee either.

What does this mean in practice? Each person you feel you know will have at some point discussed a need or want that they have, be that a work requirement, a personal wish or something that has emerged as a need from a change in circumstance.

For some of us, after practice, we simply engage our Network-thought-process and let our neurons do the work, after all connecting things in this way is a favourite activity of the brain already.

The ‘6 degrees of separation’ soon becomes very apparent. You will quickly find that somewhere along the chain of your family, friends, acquaintances and/or contacts lies a direct route to somebody who could influence a beneficial outcome to that requirement, need, want or desire.

I guess the first step is to put more effort into listening and questioning to understand people’s needs, want etc. That way you are more likely to match a contact much more effectively.

Happy connecting,

Angelina Foden

To trust or not to trust that is the BIG question ?

"Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly and they will show themselves great." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

“If I can’t trust you, then I can’t work with you – end of story.”- Leadership Blogger Dan McCarthy

“Trust is the lubrication that makes it possible for organizations to work.”- Leadership Guru Warren Bennis

So are you a trustworthy leader? Have a look at the list below of 20 postive traits of a trustworthy leader . Sure, everybody may do a few of these now and then. However, if there’s a consistent pattern of multiple behaviors, then I’d say there’s a serious case for you to be seen as a trustworhy leader.

So the BIG question is, how many of these 20 traits do you think your team members would associate with you and what are you gonna do in the next week to use more of them ?

1. You do what you said you were going to do.
2. You under promise and over deliver.
3. You’re predictable and consistent.
4. You always have no hidden agenda.
5. You rarely agree just to avoid conflict.
6. You make time in your diary to have 1 on 1 monthly catch up sessions with team members
7. 99% of the time you finish anything you start.
8. You have a reputation that says you can be trusted.
9. You’re always willing to take a stand.
10. You always have time to listen to others.
11. You are interested in what’s important to others.
12. You shun gossip about other people.
13. You make decisions but explain how and why you came to that decision.
14. You rarely change your plans or mind but if you do, you explain why.
15. You come across as compassionate and empathetic to others .
16. You admit your mistakes or acknowledge your weaknesses.
17. You represent other’s views.
18. You always strive to achieve your objectives.
19. You rarely sugarcoat the truth.
20. You never see others as a threat when they are successful .

Please reply if you have anything to add to the list?

Mark de Stadler

Dale Carnegie Consultant

New Carnegie Success Story

With over 5000 installations throughout the world, Fabric Architecture has been specialising in the design, engineering, manufacture and installation of tensile fabric structures since 1984. They are experienced in both custom design-and-build structures as well as offering a range of pre-designed and pre-engineered Signature Structures. Their main operations are based in the UK and the United States with an office in Abu Dhabi.

“Fabric Architecture is poised for major growth and our partnership with Dale Carnegie will ensure our people have the best skills to deliver the results we need.”

- Debra Drew, Managing Director, Fabric Architecture

Challenge
In order to further grow business Fabric Architecture realised that they needed to change the structure of the organisation.

Solution
Dale Carnegie Training provided a customised solution focusing on leadership, sales and communication.

Results
The sub-contractor work force grew by 70% and the company achieved a 26% sales growth over the previous year. Also, by changing the approach to being customer centric, closing rates on proposals rose by 23%.

Corina Balaneanu

Techniques for Effective Cold Calling

Pre-Approach
The pre-approach gives you the knowledge and power to have informed discussions with prospects. Analyzing prospect data will help you tailor your approach. But don’t let the pre-approach slow you down and become a barrier to making the sale. Sometimes picking up the phone or dropping in on prospect is the best course of action.

Six "must knows" before picking up the phone
1. Key information about the industry, company, and people
2. Specific key issues and needs they are facing
3. Evidence of your past results with similar customers
4. Common ground or contacts
5. Specific call objectives
6. An appropriate call opening

Whether you’re making an appearance or using the telephone, the sales process doesn’t change. But using the phone presents a different set of challenges that you need to be aware of and prepare for. Some of these challenges are:

• It’s easy for customers to avoid you.
• Many people see incoming phone calls as an interruption.
• Attention spans on the phone are dramatically shorter than in face-to-face meetings.
• You can’t see customer reactions.
• Body language, a major communication tool in face-to-face meetings, is eliminated.
• It’s easy for a customer to do something else while talking to you.
• Technology can make getting to the right person challenging.
Develop your cold calling skills and grow your customer base with Dale Carnegie Training's Live Online Training Program.

Taking It in Your Stride

Have you ever wondered why many people take the easy route through life? Let's see if a short story will provide some answers.

Many of you will know that Helvellyn is the second highest mountain in England. Many of you will also have been to its summit. Alfred Wainwright describes many different paths up to the summit from east, west, south and north. The one he reserves as the best is also the most difficult and dangerous.

Julia Bradbury, in the TV series Wainwright Walks, was visibly moved by the exhilaration she felt when having completed the walk by the famous Striding Edge route. The series set about climbing a selection of Wainwrights favourite peaks and to give us, the audience, the best experience possible she chose this, the most difficult and dangerous.

Why, when the objective was the same as if having climbed from Dunmail Raise in the west? The trek up from Thirlemere is quite spectacular for mountain scenery, at least to the novice, but easy. Why, choose that most challenging route? Especially when it was the only one in the series that needed an experienced guide.

There is something about the journey, rather that just the end goal that must appeal. What thrill will we get when we try something difficult and exceptional? Feeling the emotions of fear, trepidation, excitement; the physical exertions, stretching and growing in confidence and capability. How lucky then, knowing that we have a guide on hand to get us through the difficult stuff and developing our skill in negotiating and overcoming challenges.
This then might have stirred your emotions. Perhaps you will be one of the tens of thousands that this year alone will climb Helvellyn or maybe you will be one of the relative few that go via Striding Edge.

Perhaps you will take the more difficult route through your career, take on tough challenges and gain so much more than just getting to the summit.
Whatever you decide you will need a coach and guide to support, encourage, teach and praise very step you take into the unknown and be the first to congratulate your achievement.

I will be on Helvellyn in August, amongst the few crowds, on Striding Edge.

Will you be accompanied by a Dale Carnegie coach on your career path? If so give me a call!

David Pickering

In the last two weeks the London office has had a lovely visit from Stephen Holgate who is a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer and currently residing in New York.

Steve, or Stevo to his friends, is such an inspiring person that I thought I would write about him for this blog post.

Originally from Brisbane, Australia, Steve headed to London when he was a mere 24 years old after graduating University with a Bachelor of Business, majoring in marketing. Having read the book How to Win Friends and Influence People he approached our office for a job. His easy going attitude and unbound enthusiasm along with an available opening, immediately secured him a sales consultant role with us.

From there he headed on to be not only a great sales person forming fantastic relationships with his clients, but also started his path to become a Dale Carnegie Trainer. Once he started training our flagship programme, The Dale Carnegie Course, his sales took off even more.

He was with our London office for 4 years and became a trainer for many of our programmes when he decided to return to Australia to be with his girlfriend and to work within the Sydney office of Dale Carnegie. Again he was successful in building up a business which at that time wasn’t well established in the area and travelled to Asia and other parts of the world delivering many of the Dale Carnegie programmes. At this point (2007) he became a Master Trainer, which may I say is no mean feat, especially for someone so young. You have to be the best and have excellent trainer results to even be considered for this role, and then undertake rigorous training.

Eventually the lure of travel was too much and Steve fulfilled another one of his ambitions which was to work and live in New York. And this is where he currently lives, two years on, enjoying his life there, taking improv classes and generally living his dream. He is the chap in our Smartphone apps as well as being a personal coach for CEO’s.

So when Stevo came back to the UK last week for business and tagged on some additional time to see his friends and pop back to the office where it all began, I decided to ask him what the key was to his success. Because Steve is one of the most likeable, motivated, friendly and passionate people I know. He has goals which he achieves, dreams he aspires to achieve and does all this living the life he desires.

Steve:
I actually feel the need to define "success" as what success means to me. For me, success is about being able to be happy with your life, and have a positive impact on the world ("the world" might include people, the environment, and/or ethical organisations). I know I've got the happiness thing, and would like to hope that I have had some form of positive impact on others.

So then the question is how have I done that?
* Work out what you want to be doing (how you can be happy)
* Set long term, medium term, and short term goals to achieve that
* Persist; understand that it won't happen instantly, and that you'll have many set backs and that they are all part of the process, not the end
* Take time out for reflection; replicate what you're doing well, change what you're not
* Create happiness for others; then others will help create it for you

Thanks Steve for those tips.....and may I say how lovely it was to see you again.

Helen

Run Clown Run!

3 months ago I signed up to take on what seemed like the challenge of a life time, to run 6 miles in aid of Sports Relief. My main aim for doing so was to improve on my health in time for the summer, whilst raising money for a good cause.

The past 3 months have been fall of temptations and procrastinations to do anything but the gym and there have been times when, let’s say, I have let the odd one get the better of me. However with the motivation of helping others, as well as the thought of letting all my sponsors down, I would head down to the gym.

On a gorgeous Sunday 25th March, dressed as a clown and deprived of an hours sleep thanks to the clocks going forward, I joined the first leg of runners at 10:15 to take the challenge on. It was a great atmosphere, with people of all ages running/walking/hopping/skipping for 1, 3 or 6 miles around The Mall – Buckingham Palace. Now in my leg, there were not many people dressed up and being the only clown it was very easy to spot me, so much so I gained a lot of attention from the supporters including the children, one of which asked for my photo as I run past him. I managed to run most of the way and probably could have completed the run a lot quicker if I wasn’t too busy looking at the celebs; I didn’t even stop to talk to my family or fellow runners. The run its self was the best run I have had, and without all the practice I would not have managed to complete the run within my target of 1 hour, or to be a head of my personal target ready for the summer holidays.

I have learnt a lot the past few months, with the biggest being if you want to achieve a goal which looks unachievable set yourself smaller goals which will help you to go beyond your target.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my supporters for their support and motivation over the past 3 months.

Stephanie Fletcher

All Change Please

When it comes to dealing with change we are aware certain critical factors need serious consideration as early in the change process as possible, time permitting of course. Two of these critical factors are the communication and people aspects of change.

Change is an ongoing and often a costly affair. Our desire to become ‘best in class’ and achieve or maintain a competitive edge means investing in new technologies, innovating, and striving to deliver world class service through cutting edge products or people.

Where there is call for such investment, having answers to some fundamental questions can help establish how ‘ready’ our organisation is to handle change and even manage it more successfully more of the time. As we know change is a constant.

You may want to consider the following questions to get the ball rolling:

What are the most critical changes we are/will face now and in the near future?
Of these critical changes which are most likely to impact our people?
On what basis have we prioritised the changes?
Which are likely to have a positive impact on our people in the short/medium/long term?
Which are likely to have a negative impact on our people, in the short/medium/long term?
How are we involving our people in change?
How could we involve our people more in change?
Who are my true key players in implementing change?
Who are my key influencers in implementing change?
Of these people who do I need to commit more time to?
Who do I need to give more responsibility to?
What/Who are my key potential "bottle necks" and why?
Who has a clear understanding of what each change is designed to achieve?
To what depth have any current changes been communicated?
What steps are in place to ensure ensuing changes are communicated?
How has is change communication typically cascaded?
How will we know we have succeeded in effectively implementing change?

When it comes to change it is easy to see how the more we understand the more questions will surface. The questions above are by no means a proven structured approach to managing change but are meant to serve as a glimpse at the scale of readiness of a company and its people.

Angelina Foden