What’s your WHY?  Why are you running your business?  Why do you want it to be successful?

Can I share….?  Do you want to know what my “why” is? 

I want to be the best wife and mom I can possibly be.  I want to be available, attentive, loving, supportive, a good listener, dependable, and a great Christian example.  I want to be a “soccer mom.”  I want to be serving in my family, church and community.

Please know that this sounds so “archaic” to my “old self.”  I was all about Corporate America.  I was on the fast-track to VP of Human Resources and I was all about work.  But then things started to change.

After getting married, my priorities started to shift.  After having my son, they started to shift even further.  And after having advanced breast cancer, they shifted much further.  Deep, deep, deep in my heart and soul I wanted something different.  Even though I feel so blessed to have had wonderful jobs and people to work with, I just couldn’t hush the voice any more that I wanted “to be home!”

But this is so against the grain.  Isn’t it?  Most people accept and expect that women can do it all.  That we can work full-time jobs; have the dinner cooked, house clean and laundry done; that we help our children with homework and help out with the PTA; and on and on and on.

I’m personally saying that I couldn’t do it all!  Or at least I didn’t feel like I was doing anything well, when trying to juggle all those balls up in the air.

Can you relate?  Or no?

But what I’ve realized is that when we can identify our most important roles and priorities and when we learn how to live with these priorities in order, we can start to feel like we’re living our life well.  We can be proud of who we are.

I’m committed to helping other women who feel like I do.  Let’s go “against the grain;” let’s stop hushing our dreams and instead let them come to life; let’s be the wife, mother, and women that we so desperately want to become; let’s have incredibly successful businesses, which offer us complete flexibility with limited hours.  Let’s work our businesses smarter, not harder….so we have tons of time to enjoy LIVING!

What’s your WHY?  I’d love to hear and learn more, so I can cheer you on every step of the way!

Cheering you on,
Clare ~ Accountability Coach
www.dreamunlimited.org

What words come to your mind when you hear “networking?”  Do you think of: the sales pitch; shaking hands; business cards; finding leads and making sales?

Do you avoid networking….or do you love it?

I believe there’s nothing else that compares to going out and meeting people in person. No amount of on-line marketing or social media can ever replace it.  Don’t get me wrong — online networking can be (and is!) very effective!  There’s just something about the personal touch.

But if you resist networking or if you’ve found it ineffective, maybe you’re making some fatal mistakes.  Can you relate to any of these three unproductive networking habits?

1. Are you looking to “sell” at networking events? If so, I’d say that your networking goal is all wrong.  Yes, of course we’re all in business to make money, but our number one networking goal should be to meet people and make connections.

See that other person as an interesting human being (not as a lead.)  Talk with them.  Get to know them.  See how you can add value to their lives (even aside from your products and services.)  There’s no reason to fear networking, if you go into your next event or networking meeting with this goal in mind: make a human connection…..be friendly and kind.

2. Are you more concerned with how many leads you’re receiving than how many leads you’re handing out?  Take the focus off of yourself and put it onto other people.  How can you help them?  Who can you connect them with?

And give these referrals without an expectation of anything in return.  Give for the sake of giving.  You absolutely will get something back in return, but not necessarily from that individual.  And don’t expect it.

When you start connecting people and giving referrals, a crazy thing happens.  Your phone starts ringing. Opportunities start coming in from sources that you could never have predicted.

Ask your heart: “Am I giving referrals and being helpful because I just want them to do the same thing for me?  Or am I giving to be “a giver”?”

3. Are you not actively engaged in the group? Is your attendance half-hazard?  It shouldn’t be!  If networking is a core marketing strategy in your marketing plan, do it all-out and do it consistently.  During your monthly review meeting with yourself, get all your networking engagements on your calendar for the entire month!  Make them a priority.

Not only attend the weekly/monthly events, but schedule time to meet with individual members for one-on-ones to really get to know them.

Building relationships takes time, commitment and authenticity.  But networking is one of the most effective ways to grow your business. You just need to learn how to do it effectively, efficiently and consistently!

If you’re local to the Raleigh, NC area, I’d love to invite you to join Dream Link.  Or if you’re outside the area, check www.meetup.com for local groups around you.

Cheering you on,
Clare ~ Accountability Coach
www.dreamunlimited.org

Spring is in the air.  Flowers blooming.  Blue skies.  Spring cleaning.  Pollen. :( 

How about you take this opportunity to put on some comfy clothes; to open up the windows in your office to get some fresh air; blast your favorite music; and get organized! 

I’ve recorded this 25-minute video for you to bring together the concepts from the last couple of organization e-mails you’ve received.  If you haven’t already, go out and buy, download, or borrow from the library, David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” book! Here’s my interpretation on how to implement David’s wonderful system.  Enjoy! 

Clare, please watch “Stress-free Productivity” now!  (You don’t have to enter a username or password.  Simply enter your name as a guest.)  Let me know your thoughts, questions and/or struggles!

Cheering you on,
Clare ~ Accountability Coach
www.dreamunlimited.org

I can’t believe my sweet boy is turning six years old this weekend! Wow, how time flies by! Since time is so precious, how about we all get organized “once and for all,” so that we can enjoy life and our families more!

But before we jump into the 4th e-mail in this 5-part organization series, I just wanted to check in with you to see if you’ve been joining us for the “Saturday Morning Live” videocasts?

The series is titled “Work Less; Make More; Give Extra.” Here were some of the past topics:

• The #1 foundational piece of your business, which you probably don’t have. Figure out exactly where you want to go in your business (and your life), so you can get there a heck of a lot quicker.
• Gain a winning mindset. Hush your inner critic and unleash your full potential.
• PLAN your way to success. Three new success habits to help make your year’s success vision a “done deal.”
• Success is in your daily actions. Create a killer success routine.
• Say goodbye to your unproductive habits once and for all. Successful people have successful habits. It’s that simple.

If not, click here to instantly watch these 30-minute training recordings!

Step Five: Checking In

We’ve previously talked about the five-step organization strategy.

Our peace of mind and effectiveness of our system will only be as good as our lists. We need to keep them up to date and handy, so that we trust them.

Daily Check-In

A great way to start the work day is with a daily-check in. Get a great inventory of what you have going on for the day. The purpose of this 15-minute check-in is to clear out your inboxes and your mind. Consider doing the following things:

• Do a brain dump. What new things have come to your mind that need to be taken care of? Figure out the actions needed and get them on the right lists.
• Do a purse dump. Clean up, throw out and capture next actions.
  Go through your physical inbox and get it to zero. Remember that I’m not saying to do the work! (Unless it takes less than 2 minutes, and then it’s up to you whether you do it now or not.) Just figure out what needs to happen and get the projects/actions on your master list and get the reference materials filed in the right manila folders.
• Go through your e-mail inbox and get that to zero. Delete junk e-mail, quickly respond to e-mails that only require a quick response and get all the associated projects/actions on the master lists.
• Go through your main capture tool/monthly notebook and look at all the notes you took the day before. Do you need to pull out any actions? Do you need to file any of the pages in your manila folders?
• Take a look at the meetings on your calendar for today and tomorrow. Are there any actions you have to do to be ready and prepared?
• Then it’s time to get to work! Work off your list!

Weekly Check-in

If you’ve been good with doing your daily check-ins, your weekly check-in should just take about 30 minutes. Friday afternoons work great for this. You’ll be able to clear your desk and minds and go into the weekend fresh and relaxed.

• Do the daily check-in for the day (as listed above)
  But instead of just looking at the next day’s calendar, look at the next two weeks. Pull out applicable actions.
• Also, look at the past week’s calendar. Were there any actions that you missed?
• Look around your surroundings. Do you see anything that needs to go into your in-box to be processed? Loose business cards, loose paper, etc.?
• Review your Next Actions list. Delete things which have already been done or which are no longer applicable.
• Review your Projects list. Are there additional next actions to add to your Next Actions list to move your projects forward?

Next week, I’ll record a training video for you to pull all of this together! Please share with my your successes, struggles and questions, so I can make sure to address these in my training.

Cheering you on,
Clare ~ Accountability Coach

Hey Ladies,

Hope you’re enjoying this beautiful weather!  I’m such a “summer girl,” so I can’t wait for summer to be here.

My son goes to year-round school, so he’s tracked out for three weeks.  He’s spending this week with my in-laws on their farm.  What a blessing that is for him; my in-laws; and us! :)  My husband and I are going to have date night tonight at one of our favorite restaurants (Bonefish Grille.)  Coconut fried shrimp….here I come!

Let’s continue our “organization” e-mail series, so that we can all start working less and enjoying life and our relationships (and date nights) more!

Last week, we talked about the high-level, five-step organization model based on David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” book and philosophy.

Today, I want to go further into detail regarding step four: Calendaring and Categorizing.

Remember how we talked about capture tools and getting in the habit of writing everything down which is grabbing your attention?  We said how the key to capture tools is that we want as few as possible, yet we want as many as we need. We want you to have a few central tools, instead of having 3 notebooks or pads of paper going at the same time for example. Yet, we want you to have as many as you need so that you’re always able to capture the thoughts and to-dos that come your way, wherever you are.

Every other day or so, you’re going to empty out your capture tools and make some decisions about what exactly has to happen and put the items in your “lists” and/or your calendar.

On your calendar, put:

• An appointment/event which has to happen at a certain day/time
• A reminder on the day something is happening or due (i.e. if you told Suzie you’d call her back on Thursday, put a note about this on your calendar for Thursday)
• Details about your appointments (i.e. reminders, instructions, etc.)

Put all your other items on your lists.  At a minimum have a Projects list and a Next Actions list.  You’ll want to quickly review both of these lists every day or so.  At a minimum, you’ll want to update your lists weekly (during your weekly review meeting.)

A “project” is anything which will require more than one step to complete.  “Next actions” are the very next tasks which need to happen to bring your actions and projects to completion.

One big issue with many people’s current “to-do” lists are that they are a collection of “projects” and not very next actions.  When we break our to-dos down to the next action, it helps us build momentum and get us going.

For example, did you ever have “redesign website” on your to-do list?  Wow!  Where do you start?  (You probably don’t do anything….but instead feel overwhelmed because you have “so much to do!”)

Instead, put “redesign website” on your projects list and think through the very “next actions” you can take.  Maybe they’re:

• Do a google search and research a list of possible web designers
• Call Krystal at 919-845-5555 to see who she used for her site

Can you see how you’re much more apt to take some action?  This does take a new habit however!  We need to encourage ourselves to always ask, “now what?  What’s the very next step(s) I can take to move this project forward?”

Where?

A key thing to determine is where your master project and next actions list will be housed.  You can handwrite them on paper and keep them in a manila folder.  You can keep the items in Outlook as tasks, which you categorize.  You can keep them in an Excel spreadsheet.  Or, you can save them in Word in a shared desktop (such as Drop Box), so you have easy access to them on your phone, any computer, etc.

Categories?

Once you get in the habit of this, you can start doing an extremely helpful technique that David Allen suggests, which is to break down your list into the context in which you can accomplish the tasks.  For example, you may have the following Next Actions list: @Office, @Phone Calls, @Errands.

Play around with these new concepts and let’s fine-tune them in our upcoming articles.

Just let me know what questions you have!

Cheering you on,
Clare ~ Accountability Coach
www.dreamunlimited.org

Hey Ladies,

How are you feeling this week?  Are you focused and productive, or are you feeling a tad overwhelmed?

As I shared last week, I’m hearing a theme.  I’m hearing that you are stressed out and feeling disorganized.  Your e-mail boxes are overflowing.  You have piles of unfiled papers on your desk and in your office.  You’re not following through on your commitments.  Can you relate?

Let’s continue talking about a solution!  If you haven’t read the first article in this 5-part e-mail series, click here to do so.

We talked about finding the appropriate type and number of capture tools for you.  The purpose of “capture tools” is to clear your head and to collect all the things in life which grabs your attention.

Now we’re going to talk, high-level, about a one-time organization process.  In the upcoming articles, I’ll go into each of these steps in further detail.  We’ll also talk about how to “get yourself organized once and for all” and we’ll talk about how to STAY organized!

Step One: Cleaning up
Step Two: Clearing out
Step Three: Capturing
Step Four: Calendaring and Categorizing
Steve Five: Checking in

Step One:

I bet you there’s a lot of stuff floating around in your head; unfiled papers in your office; and unanswered e-mails and voicemails.

This step is all about cleaning up your un-finished business. At this point, we’re not making any decisions. We’re just cleaning up the key areas where dust and unanswered “stuff” is sitting.

Our Minds.

This is the best place to start. And just this activity in and of itself helps relieve so much stress and anxiety that some of us may be feeling. It’s a great starting place, although not enough. That’s where the other steps will come in.

You may have heard this activity referred to as a “brain dump.” Unload anything and everything that you may be thinking. This may include business to-dos; personal to-dos; large projects you’ve been meaning to get to; your thoughts and opinions about things; and just a various assortment of random thoughts and actions.  Just keep writing things down until nothing more comes to you.

Fill Up Your Inbox.

For this, have some type of inbox receptacle or “in-box area.” In here put your unopened or unanswered mail; loose papers, memos and flyers; notebooks full of notes you haven’t gotten through; loose business cards; etc.

Also, look around your surroundings. What do you see that you want to do something with? For this, it’s handy to have 3×5 index cards to write down items which are too big to go into the inbox, such as “hang the picture on the wall” or “get new carpet.” Look through your drawers. Look in your closet.

Voicemail and E-mail.

Listen to and empty out your voicemail. You can put one message per 3×5 index card, or you can write all of your messages on one sheet of paper and put the paper in your inbox. And your e-mail is probably easy, because your unanswered e-mail is most likely already sitting in your inbox.

Now that we’ve cleaned up a bit, let’s move on to the next step.

Step Two: Clearing Out

Our goal with this step is to clear out our inboxes until they’re empty. We’re going to need a good chunk of time for this step, but it’s so worth it!

At this point, we’re not going to be “doing” the work; we’re just going to decide if anything has to be done.

Note: Have a big trashcan next to you, because you’ll be able to clear out a lot of clutter in this exercise.

Go through each item in your inbox and every item on your lists.

For each item, ask yourself, do I have to do anything with this? Is there an action required?

If “no,” you’ll either:

• Throw it out. [Garbage can] Get rid of your garbage and clutter.
• File it away. [Put it in a “file” pile] We’ll explain the filing process in Step Four.

If “yes,” you’ll put it in your “next actions” pile, if it’s something for you to do (or delegate.)

Step Three: Capturing

Next, let’s make sure we have the right capture tools in place for all the new influx of information which we’ll be gathering today, tomorrow and moving forward. We don’t want to get behind the 8-ball, as we work through all of the items we’ve just sorted.

The key to capture tools is that we want as few as possible, yet we want as many as we need. What we mean here is that we want you to have a few central tools, instead of having 3 notebooks or pads of paper going at one time for example. Yet, we want you to have as many as you need so that you’re always able to capture the thoughts and to-dos that come your way, wherever you are.  (We talked more about capture tools in the first article.)

Step Four: Calendaring and Categorizing

This step may take a little more brain power. In this step we’re going to decide the very next action(s) that have to take place and we’re going to put the item in our categorizing system that will remind us to do it when the time is right.

So how does this work? Before we get into the nitty-gritty, I want to introduce two concepts: 1.figuring out if it’s a “project” and 2. figuring out what actions have to happen.

We’re going to define a “project” as anything which requires more than one step to complete.  We’re going to define “next steps” as the very next things needed to bring this action/project to completion.

This sounds simple enough, but many times we don’t have the discipline to actually do this. For example, let’s say you have a birthday invitation in your hands for your son’s friend’s birthday.

In this example, “Dylan’s birthday party for Joey” can be a project.  And determine what you’re going to do as a result of receiving this invitation. 

• Do you need to rsvp?
• Do you need to put their address into your address book?
• Do you need to check with your spouse first to see if he can drive your son to the party?
• Do you have to buy a present?
• Do you need to file it in your “Letters – Invitations” manila folder?
• Do you need to print out the directions?
• Do you need to put down the birthday details on your calendar (the time, location, etc.?)

So in this example, let’s just pick up this birthday invitation once and write down the project (if applicable) and the very actions on a master “project” list and a master “next actions” list.  You can either keep this master list on paper in a manilla folder; in a word document; in an excel document; etc.  Whatever works best for you!

If the action will take less than 2 minutes, go ahead and do it now.  If it will take more than 2 minutes, get it on your “next actions” list.

Simplifying your files and retrieval process.

Being able to find your stuff quickly requires only a simple filing process. All you’ll need are basic manila folders, a p-touch labeler and a large divider that can fit right into your drawer. Forget about hanging files! That’s just an extra step.

Create a file for anything you want. Find a home for things right away. With a p-touch labeler you can quickly and easily make professional labels.

You’ll file your folders away alphabetically. Start out by trying to use just one section of files for all of your folders. But if you find that one group of files (like the files for each of your customers) becomes too large, you can separate those files and file them in a different place entirely. But again, try to organize all of your files together in one place alphabetically.

The only exceptions would be old files that you don’t use regularly, but you don’t want to get rid of yet. Such as your tax files. You can put these files (alphabetically) in a drawer in a further away area of the room (or in a different room entirely.)

And the other exception would be your active files. These are files for projects that you are working on right now and want exceptionally handy. For those, you can have a wire, graduated step file on your desktop.

What you choose to label the folder is important. Ask yourself, where would I look for this piece of paper? Label the folder based on the more generic topic, versus the specific name. For example, I teach my clients about monthly and quarterly planning and I ask them to have a folder for each.  I’d  encourage them to have a manila folder labeled “Planning – Quarterly” and “Planning – Monthly” instead of “Quarterly Planning” and “Monthly Planning.” This way, all of your Planning folders are together in one place.

Another example could be your customers. Have “Customer – Doe, Jane” and have it filed with all your other “C’s.”

Step Five: Checking in

A very critical piece to this process is checking in with yourself and reviewing your calendar and your lists.

Daily Check-In

A great way to start the work day is with a daily-check in. Get a great inventory of what you have going on for the day. The purpose of this 15-minute check-in is to clear out your inboxes and your mind. Consider doing the following things:

• Do a brain dump. What new things have come to your mind that need to be taken care of? Figure out the actions needed and get them on the right lists.
• Do a purse dump. Clean up, throw out and capture next actions.
• Go through your physical inbox and get it to zero. Remember that I’m not saying to do the work! (Unless it takes less than 2 minutes, and then it’s up to you whether you do it now or not.) Just figure out what needs to happen and get the projects/actions on your master list and get the reference materials filed in the right manila folders.
• Go through your e-mail inbox and get that to zero. Delete junk e-mail, quickly respond to e-mails that only require a quick response and get all the associated projects/actions on the master lists.
• Go through your main capture tool/monthly notebook at all the notes you took the day before. Do you need to pull out any actions? Do you need to file any of the pages in your manila folders?
• Take a look at the meetings on your calendar for today and tomorrow. Are there any actions you have to do to be ready and prepared?
• Then it’s time to get to work! Work off your list!

Weekly Check-in

If you’ve been good with doing your daily check-ins, your weekly check-in should just take about 30 minutes. Friday afternoons are great days for this. You’ll be able to clear your desk and minds and go into the weekend fresh and relaxed.

• Do the daily check-in for the day (as listed above)
• But instead of just looking at the next day’s calendar, look at the next two weeks. Pull out applicable actions.
• Also, look at the past week’s calendar. Were there any actions that you missed?
• Look around your surroundings. Do you see anything that needs to go into your in-box to be processed? Loose business cards, loose paper, etc.?
• Review your Next Actions list.  Delete things which have already been done or which are no longer applicable. 
• Review your Projects list.  Are there additional next actions to add to your Next Actions list to move your projects forward?

We’re going to go into each of these steps in more detail, bit by bit, in future articles.

The key with this organization process is to just try it out and do it! And tweak it as need be. Have only a few central capture tools. Write down everything! Get things out of sight! Learn to embrace and love manila folders. And religiously do the daily and weekly check-in!

Cheering you on,
Clare ~ Accountability Coach
www.dreamunlimited.org

Hey Ladies,

Did you join us at last week’s “Saturday Morning Live?”  Each Saturday at 11:30am, I’ll be leading 30-minute training discussions focused on “Working Less, Making More, Giving Extra.”

Grab your free ticket and receive last week’s training recording, so you can watch it at your convenience.  Last’s week’s topic was “The #1 foundational piece of your business, which you probably don’t have.”  Join us this Saturday to “Gain a winning mindset.  Hush your inner critic and unleash your full potential.”

**Grab your free ticket here!**

Stress-Free Productivity

As I speak with more and more women at networking events, I’m hearing a theme.  I’m hearing that you are stressed out and feeling disorganized.  Your e-mail boxes are overflowing.  You have piles of unfiled papers on your desk and in your office.  You’re not following through on your commitments.

Are you ready to get organized once and for all?  Yes?  Great!

This will be a five-part series and we’ll be using a fabulous book as our guide.  The book is called “Getting Things Done” by  David Allen.   His strategy is incredibly powerful.  To implement it, you don’t need any need tools or skills.  You already know everything you need to know.  You just need a systematic process to put it all together.  After the series of articles, I’ll record a training video for you, to bring it all together.

Step One – Collect
Can you imagine if you always had a clear head?  Just think how peaceful that could be.  Imagine how creative you could be in your business!  Please know that it’s possible.  With Step One, we want to collect all the things in our life which grabs our attention.  This can be business or personal things…big or small.  Ultimately they’re things we think should be different than they currently are.  Let’s get these things out of your head and into “trusted collection tools”!  When you can get in the habit of this, it will be a huge blessing in your life!

Let’s say that you’re in the kitchen cooking and you realize you’re out of sugar.  Where can you write that down?  What about when you’re driving in the car and have a great marketing idea?  What can you do to get it out of your head?  What about right before you go to bed?  You remember that you need to buy your friend a birthday present.  Or, you’re at a networking meeting and you were told about a book you should read.  What do you do with that information?

What most of us do now in these situations, is we either try to keep it in our mind, or we jot it down on some random sheet of paper.

The key to this step is that we want to have as few a number of collection tools as necessary, but as many as we need.  Here’s an example of a strategy:

• Get a monthly 5×8 spiral bound notebook, which fits in your purse.  Use this in your office and when you go to meetings, networking events, etc.  Write down your voicemail messages.  Write down your meeting notes.  Write down your action items.
• Use your smart phone when you’re driving.  Instead of losing the idea or forgetting about what you have to do, use the voice system to e-mail yourself the reminder.  (You’ve got to love Siri on the I-Phone!)
• Have a small bin with index cards and a pen.  Keep this by the side of your bed.  As you’re getting ready in the bathroom and realize you need to get more saline solution, jot that down on an index card.  When you remember something before you go to bed, jot that down on a card.
• Also have a small bin with index cards in the kitchen.  Write down that you need milk.  Jot down the name of the person you forgot to follow up with, which you remembered while you were watching tv.

Let’s first focus on this.  Let’s get in the habit of writing everything down and on finding the appropriate “capture tools” for you.

Next week, we’ll talk about what to do with everything you’ve written down in these tools….  Stay tuned!

Cheering you on,
Clare ~ Accountability Coach

Hey Ladies,

Last week, we talked about how to “end the chase” after new customers.  (Click here to review the blog post.)

Did you already read the books “The Go-Giver” and “Go-Givers Sell More,” by Bob Burg?  If not, what are you waiting on?? :)

One of the things we discussed last week was a “No Obligation Invitation” and I shared a couple of examples of some of mine. I just launched an additional “No Obligation Invitation.”  Not sure if you read about it on our Facebook Page or not.  [By the way, if you haven’t “liked” our Dream Unlimited Facebook page, please do so!]

It’s going to be a 12-week “Saturday Morning Live” series, titled “Work Less, Make More, Give Extra.” You can either join me live (don’t worry….you’ll be able to see me up close and personal, but I won’t be able to see you!) :)  Or, if you can’t make it, you can get free copies of the recorded video training, to watch at your convenience.

**Grab your free ticket here!**

Grab a comfy chair and a big ‘ole cup of coffee!  We’ll have 30-minute training discussions each Saturday morning at 11:30am EST on the following topics:

**The #1 foundational piece of your business, which you probably don’t have. Figure out exactly where you want to go in your business (and your life), so you can get there a heck of a lot quicker.   (March 3)

**Gain a winning mindset. Hush your inner critic and unleash your full potential.  (March 10)
**PLAN your way to success. Three new success habits to help make your year’s success vision a “done deal.” (March 17)

**Success is in your daily actions. Create a killer success routine.  (March 24)

**Say goodbye to your unproductive habits once and for all. Successful people have successful habits.  It’s that simple.  (March 31)

**If it feels “icky,” don’t do it. Build and market your business in a way which feels natural and authentic.  (April 7)

**Create your irresistible “no obligation invitation.” Create a way to easily invite people to learn more about what you have to offer.  (April 14)

**Eliminate the marketing overwhelm. Know which marketing activities you should be doing on a daily basis.  (April 21)

**Networking with ease. Become a “go giver.”  Stop being a “sales person” and have your business explode.  (April 28)

**Time strategies for busy women. Get more done in less time.  (May 5)

**Don’t let things fall through the cracks. Confidently handle all the constant influx of “to-dos.”  (May 12)

**Experience financial peace. Have fun living with a spending plan.  Keep more of what you make.  (May 19)

**Grab your free ticket here!**

Please enjoy these trainings!  I’m looking forward to *connecting* with you on Saturday morning!

Cheering you on,
Clare ~ Accountability Coach
www.dreamunlimited.org

Hey Ladies,

Do you frequently find yourself asking “How do I find more customers?  How do I find more people to buy my products or services?  How do I get my name out there?”

When we run our business from a place of always feeling like we have to find more and more new customers, that can be draining!  Not only may it feel like we’re continually walking on a treadmill, but we may actually be giving off the vibe of desperation….without even realizing it.  And that’s not pretty!

Here are three things to consider, so that we can stop the chase!

1. Create one or more “no obligation invitations.”

This is something that you’ve created specifically for your target market.  It’s a way for you to invite other people to easily “try you out” with so strings attached.  It’s a way for them to be in your space, to gain value and to decide for themselves if they’re interested in what you have to offer or not.

Back when I was in a skin care business, I would have thought that the skin care classes I did would be considered a “no obligation invitation,” but I don’t think it is.  There were some strings attached.  The hostess generally invited friends over, cleaned her house and made some appetizers.  And at the end, I met with each one of them to see which products I could get for them.  Now there’s absolutely nothing wrong with a skin care class….or any other type of party, if you’re with a direct sales company.  They’re an integral part to your business!  But they’re selling appointments, not “no obligation invitations.”

Consider what your “no obligation invitation” could be.  Have fun with it.  Create a couple.  Ultimately, they’re easy ways to invite people to see what you have to offer.

Here’s one example of my “no obligation invitations.”  I can invite women to grab a free copy of my e-book titled “Avoiding the 5 Common Mistakes of the In-Home Business Woman.” www.avoidcommonmistakes.com.

Or, I can invite local women to hear a free training topic at a Networking meeting I lead.http://www.meetup.com/dreamlink There’s no strings attached!  I hope they make some connections, pick up some helpful tips….end of story.

2. Be a “Go-Giver.”

One of my clients suggested two great books: “The Go-Giver” and “Go-Givers Sell More,” by Bob Burg.  They’re such quick reads, so I can’t encourage you enough to go ahead and get them and read them now.

If, as business owners, we could simply get the focus off of ourselves, and onto other people, our businesses would be much easier and more enjoyable.  Sales is about making a human connection.  People are drawn to you (or not) because of how you make them feel.  They don’t simply want to buy your product; they want to be uplifted, encouraged and changed in some way.

It’s about being genuinely interested in them (finding common ground; learning about them.)  It’s about making a connection (having a conversation; being kind; asking them questions.) At your next networking event, ask yourself, “how can I add value to this other person, without expecting anything in return…and completely aside from what my business has to offer?”

Detach your giving from getting something in return.  Do good and give, simply to do good and give.  And when you’re not expecting (or desperately needing anything in return), that’s when the flood gates open.

3. Build your “know, like, trust” factor.

Become known among your market.  How can you make a larger impact?  How can you positively impact MORE people?

Be “likeable.”  Build relationships (i.e. keep-in-touch strategies).  Add on-going value.

Earn trust.  One huge way to do this is to follow through…do what you say you’re going to do. Know that people ask themselves questions about you (whether they consciously know it or not): “Do I like you?  Do I trust you? Will you do what you said you’d do?  Do I really matter to you?”

So how do you get off the treadmill and end the feeling that you have to chase after new customers?  Meet and connect with lots of people.  Take the focus off of you and what you need.  Instead, get to know another human being.  With no strings attached.  Add value to their lives.

Think about how you can approach your next networking or sales opportunity differently.  Read these books and become a “Go Giver!”  I can’t wait to hear about your incredible stories!

Cheering you on,
Clare ~ Your Accountability Coach
www.dreamunlimited.org

Giving you a kick in the skirt to keep you encouraged and on task…

P.S. Stay tuned to my announcement next week.  I’m going to be offering you a free 12-week video series….on how to “work less; make more; give extra.”  It will be my “Saturday Morning Live” program…..all for free!  Can’t wait to fill you in on the details!

Hey ladies!

For those of you who are following along, we’ve been talking about yearly, quarterly and weekly planning.  As you move forward this year in creating the business (and life) you described in your yearly planning (your year’s success vision), here are three overarching concepts to build into how you run your business.

• Declare your Expertise
• Declare your Uniqueness
• Declare your Giving Nature

Let’s talk about that more!  I’ve created an 11-minute training video for you, titled “Three Out-of-the-Box Strategies” which will help you:

• Comfortably position yourself as an expert among the people you are most meant to serve
• Naturally draw your ideal client to you, instead of chasing after people with frustrating results
• Position yourself as an invaluable resource for your prospects and customers

Click here to watch the video!  (You don’t have to enter a username and password.  Simply enter your name as a “Guest.”) 

Talk with you next Thursday!

Till next time,
Clare ~ Your Accountability Coach
www.dreamunlimited.org

Giving you a kick in the skirt to keep you encouraged and on task…