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March 18, 2018 BusinessCoaching

Ties are a key part of your outfit. It means a lot, and we will look through why it makes such a difference. We are getting in the core of your business look. Colors, Shapes, Patterns, Knots. We are going through every step.


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February 12, 2018 CoachingDigital Marketing

before we start talking about client relationship practices. Do you know what is the difference between a customer and a client? Customer is someone who will purchase item or services from a business. Client is someone who will seek advice and purchase goods and services from a business.


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June 8, 2017 Coaching

Now we understood the way to look the part to make the right first impression, and by that I mean a self confident “You”. Now we are going to see what to say, and also what not to say…

First Impression in actions

When you are going to meet someone, the first thing is that you are going to shake their hand. The hand shake is quite symbolic and transmits a lot of values. We have been able to see that in recent political encounters that handshakes are a subject of discussion. Think about a firm handshake, but don’t break your client’s fingers. Those might be useful to sign a check later on. Make sure you look at your client in the eyes, and smile!

first impression handshake

What to say at first

Never thank anyone for their time, it means that their time is more important than yours… Instead tell them you are glad to meet them. You will stay even level with them. Now you need to establish that you are an expert at what you do… and you do that by asking them a question you know they don’t have the answer to… Good way to knock them off their throne, as you know people will research everything they can on the internet to study the subject, so make sure to find something relevant, but precise enough so you know they don’t have the answer to your question.

Asking questions, clarifying their needs

When you face a lot of so called sales people, talking about their products, their benefits, what you can do with them… Did they even bother to ask you what you are looking for? What are your needs? What do you really want? That’s the pit a lot of salesmen fall in. They are so excited about their offer that they forget to listen to your needs. They don’t know how to ask the right questions to learn more about you. Think 50% Listening, 40% asking questions, 10% affirmations.

I would recommend you to read a book by Dale Carnegie – “How to win friends and influence people” – there is a very interesting part about a dinner party and “asking questions”. The rest of the book is great too, and a very quick and easy read.


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May 16, 2017 Coaching

Making a first impression is key in business, as is what people will always remember you for. We are not only talking about how you express yourself, but also looks. In this article I will focus on “men”.

First Impression – the looks

People who tell you that you don’t judge a book by its cover are lying. When you are meeting a new prospect the way you look is very important. The person across from you will qualify you and judge you first by the way you look.

I personally tend to focus on making a strong first impression therefore establishing myself as an expert, solely by the way I look. For a man, the easiest way of broadcasting this is by wearing a suit and a tie. Now not every suit, and not every tie. Different suits, shirts and ties work for different people, there are a lot of details in there, and seeing a specialist is always a good idea. I provide those kinds of services, so please feel free to reach out for consultation.

Don’t neglect accessories

Having the right pair of shoes, and by that I mean the right shape, color and style (matching your suit), the right watch, and accessories such as belt, pocket square, cuff links etc… those things can set you a part the right way, but also the wrong way if the person facing you knows the codes.

Women wear makeup to enhance themselves

Most women spend countless minutes or hours to enhance themselves by doing their makeup and their hair, and what I’m saying is not judgmental, as I appreciate every effort made, so why would men don’t focus as much on that side of the appearance, having a relationship with your barber is really important, someone making sure that your hair is on point at all times, and put youon a schedule that will guarantee it. Skin Care is also very important, as it will help you look your best. The more effort you put on yourself, will show the effort you will put on anything else.

Do you want your client to perceive that you will neglect his interest as you are neglecting your own?

You only have one chance to make a good first impression.

In following articles I will get into details on some of the points above as well as exploring other facets of a first impression.

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May 1, 2017 Coaching

We have looked into the way to communicate with people, the decision making process and the difference between inspiring people rather than influencing them. Now let’s look at getting at how you deal with facts and emotions. Would you rather be looking at facts, or letting your emotions get the best of you?

Facts vs Emotions

Your key to have a positive professional life is based on facts and emotions. There is always different points of view when looking at a subject. Analyzing it, you can look at facts (numbers, proven exemples…) or you can look at it with emotions (how you feel about it). And as much you want to involve your personal thoughts and feelings in any decision making, facts are always the way to go.

Earthquake facts

You build a house, and you have two architects assessing it for earthquake resistance.

First architect tells you: “I have a report that similar houses resisted to an earthquake, as a result your family is safe.”

Second architect tells you: “I strongly feel your house will resist to an earthquake, seems like your family is safe”. They are talking to you about the same house however they presented you their findings two different ways. In the end, which one of those architects are you the most likely to trust?

I personally tend to trust the first architect with my family’s safety, he has some proven data and numbers supporting his claim. He is bringing facts to the table, in opposition the second architect is bringing emotions. Non tangible feelings, that are probably proving the same results but not convincing you in the same way.

Presenting ideas

You are presenting a project to either a colleague, a C-Level executive, a client… Are you going to present it the same way?

My answer is yes, showing proven facts, numbers that show a result is something you can settle your presentation on! In conclusion, facts will always bring a foundation to any presentation making it easier for your audience to understand it.


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April 28, 2017 Coaching

To follow up on the “telling people what to do” article and the “decision making” article. We are going towards the next step of the process. This article is about the difference between Inspiring and Influencing.

Influencing

As we stated with “should”, no one likes to be told what to do. Now when you think of it, being influenced is listening to someone’s point of view and follow them blindly. When you were growing up, your mom always picked out one, or more, of your friends and labelled him as a “bad influence”.

Have you heard “social media influencers”? They are paid to influence trends and get people to mimic their behaviors on social media to reach a goal.

Acting as an influencer can work with younger generations that might need guidance, and follow trends. You are not susceptible towards trends as much as you used to after a certain age, so you are not influenced as easily. An Influencer is simply there to tell you what to do.

Inspiring

Now we are talking about someone who will inspire you to become better. You will be looking at their behavior and adapt it to what you think is right for you and therefore pursue the goals you are looking to achieve. Inspiration is a very positive word. You need inspiration to be creative, this is a fact.

It shows that your mind is working in a certain way which probably boosts your “right brain” cognitive processes. I find it very hard to be creative when you are not in a positive mind frame. On the other hand, you can do very tedious tasks even though you are not feeling your best.

What about consulting

Throughout my years of experience, I have tried to inspire people to become better at what they do and how they do it. I have tried to get people at all levels of organizations to push their envelope and improve. I’m sure you are going to ask me how… It’s actually quite simple. First of all, getting people to see a positive outcome to what they do for work. In conclusion, the easiest one you can pinpoint in our society is monetary gain.

In most organizations, people are there to make money, in addition with everything structured right, the better they do, the more money they make. I’m pretty sure I don’t need to explain more than that. Money doesn’t bring happiness, but I hardly ever saw anyone being sad driving a Porsche.


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April 26, 2017 Coaching

Here is the second opus of the “should” articles. This time we will study the decision making process. You have heard throughout the years people saying “Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda”. In educated language this saying can translate as:

It has already happened, that’s it…

  • Expressing regrets: I should have done this
  • Overthinking the past: I would have done this
  • Seeing what else you might have done: I could have done this

First of all, dwelling over something that has already happened and expressing regrets about it is never worth it. It won’t change anything, what is done is done, then you can just proactively move forward about it.

Learning from your mistakes is great, and surprisingly it is the best way to gain experience and skills. You might not be sure of what works, but at least I would rather know what does not work.

There’s things you just can’t get back

Let me explain, there are different things you can change and get back if your idea doesn’t go as planned.

  • If you lose money, you can always make more.
  • If you lose clients, friends, you can always meet new ones
  • If you lose time… You can never get it back.

Time management is your key to efficiency. Knowing what does not work and X-ing it out from the beginning of your strategic and tactical thinking process, therefore you are not wasting time.

I will develop this in an upcoming article focused on time management.

Now, it’s probably time to get back to our “Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda”…

The decision making process

Decision making, it’s not that simple. To every action, there is a reaction, and this reaction is what needs to be weighed in. Simple decision making process: Two columns “Positive and Negative” – write down the positive outcomes and the negative outcomes that come through your mind while thinking about your idea.

Finally, at the end of your thinking process you will be looking at the column with most entries, and therefore making a decision. Either do it, or don’t, but if you decide to do it then do it right away. If you decide not to do it, don’t bench the idea, just put it away and as a result don’t look back. This is especially relevant as you don’t need to live with regrets.

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