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swimmmusic · 7 years

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Kismet and Crane Boy in Search of the Perfect Mimosa

Kismet! Kismet is fate. Flirtatious. Destiny, dressed in brighter colors. Kismet is the younger sibling of Fate and Destiny. The fun one that was good at sports in High School but drinks a little too much now. A happy drunk though. Thank God, right? Kismet. Like Comet or Kermet. Kismet is goofy and adventurous. Like me! Maybe. I hope. Yes? “Kizzzz meeettt” The way a drunk girl clutching her 4th Whiskey Sour would say, “kiss me” before she bows to vomit all over your Levis 509’s. Kismet is the word my Dad used to describe the story I would like to tell you. And here is how it starts. It is Christmas day. My entire family is together on the beach. It is before noon. For the love of all things orange, spritzy and alcoholic… rain down upon us oh Lord of Mimosa! By the way a ‘perfect Holiday Mimosa' almost always means the ‘nearest Holiday Mimosa’. I decided I would hit the Shell Station across the main highway that runs parallel to the ocean. Now, the way I looked running across A1A in flip flops and my long skinny legs scissoring out of my small swim trunks must have resembled the unnatural way a bird runs before it remembers it can just fly away. A long-legged bird. Some type of Crane that spends its time sun bathing near a Florida reservoir not realizing he is a chip away from some retired Snow Bird golfing his way through retirement. (So many bird metaphors in one paragraph! The Humanity! Or rather, the Ornithurae!) Every so often one of these Jack Nicklaus wannabes takes liberties on a ‘mulligan' and ‘shanks' a ‘divot' right o’er the reservoir, scaring the rusted 9-Iron stem right out of the Crane’s beak, sending it away in a panic! Scurrying as awkwardly as a human, proportioned such as me, to safety in the cattails. This was what my step-mom saw as she happened to be driving by at that very moment. She swerved to the side of the road in excitement. I believe because, at first, she was sure a video of this strange Crane-boy running in broad daylight would go viral. But then she realized it was just a normal boy, her step-son in fact! She tilted her head to the side in a close second to that initial excitement of ‘Crane-boy siting’, and waved. Now this was kismet! I had just told my Dad how much I missed her. (Technically, she is my 'ex-step-mom' so I don’t get to see her much. Also, calling her ‘ex’ doesn’t feel right so she will forever be step-mom!) She has always possessed undeniable psychic ability, so whether it was her or me that manifested this to happen is up to the Gods of, yes… KISMET to decide! We talked about writing and she shared that she had finished the 1st draft of her book, which I absolutely cannot wait to read. And she (as she always has) encouraged me to write. And while the chance meeting above was one of many joyous moments of the Holiday season, it isn’t the only thing that compelled me to take pen to paper. Something of a different 'brand of miracle' happened to me during the same fateful Mimosa hunt! Upon entrance to the Shell Station I expected a Christmas Salutation. I was given none of the sort. The cashier, long shaggy hair, thick goat-tee, adorned with tattoos and a furrowed brow aimed solely at his phone did not even look up from the counter upon which he slouched. I thought to myself, “Ok. That’s fine. I’m going to throw out a wild hunch that he maybe loathes the holidays, is exhausted of all the Christmas songs, is tired of greeting customers with plastic cheer and hates his family.” Hush, Cookie! You needn’t jump to such sardonic conclusions just because his Facebook feed is more important than wishing his customer a Happy Holiday! I went straight for the walk-in cooler. I decided to splurge. I could barely even reach the top shelf to take down the $11.99 bottle of Champagne. But hey, money is just a number and age isn’t real. Or is it the other way around? I don’t know but it was Christmas for Christ’s sake. I approached the counter with two different types of Orange juice. I’m the most indecisive person on the planet and couldn’t bare the thought of choosing between Tropicana or Welch’s. Which is tastier? Which is from concentrate? What does that even mean? The cashier didn’t look up. I placed the items on the counter right in front of him with a semi-aggressive thud. As to say, “pardon feller, not that I need a stuffed Rudolph or a Santa to sit on, but a little eye contact and a smile wouldn’t kill ya on CHRISTMAS!” A few seconds went by and still nothing. Oh you better believe my nose was glowing bright! But then, finally he looks up and breaks into an unexpected monologue! Without even a ‘hello’, or ‘is that gonna be all for you’? He embarks… “You know the producer of ‘Die Hard’ just finally admitted that ‘Die Hard’ is in fact a Christmas movie?!” “Uh. no, I didn’t..” “Yea. I mean, no shit. It ain’t even Christmas until I watch that shit. I even made my girlfriend watch it with me two nights ago. She was like, “Can we fuckin turn this off yet or what?!” And I’m all, “Well Mel Gibson doesn’t give a shit about you either, bitch!” “Wow. Hm.. I think it was actually Bruce…. never mind.” “Of course it’s a fucking Christmas movie. Then we went to her house and she has two older brothers named Jesse and Joey and I’m all, “Good evening, Mr. Tanner!” And she didn’t even get it. It’s a Full House joke. She didn’t even get it.” After I broke my trance of nodding and smiling I thought it best to give relationship advice. “Maybe it’s time to find a more compatible partner?" “Well, she’s 23. So you gotta live with some shit for that, ya know?!” “Ain’t that the truth, brother.” Astonishingly enough, he managed to ring me up for the Mimosas. I gotta give it to him. Some impressive multi-tasking. I gathered my bags and ran like a Crane for the door. Now the point is that this was all very close to not happening. I could have driven and not awkwardly run like a Crane across the street. We could have settled for the un-chilled beer upstairs. But we didn’t. We wanted the Perfect Mimosa. And thanks to kismet, and all of its phonetic and fateful glory, I not only got to see my ‘ex’/ aka my forever stepmom… but I also got to experience the Christmas Miracle of that Shell Station! Yippee-kay-yayyy mother fuckers! -Cookie

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melfeller · 4 years

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About Mel Feller and Who He Is

Mel Feller a Personal Development, Business, Real Estate, Branding, Business Funding and Finance Coach. In addition, Mel Feller has served in a variety of executive leadership roles for medium and large organizations, including multiple Fortune 500’s. He is a charismatic leader who has facilitated change and growth in all sized organizations, including non-profit and Board development. Mel Feller has successfully led organizations in the areas business development, marketing, real estate and Realtors, sales, team building, operations, and the like.

Mel Feller is committed to serving. In the community, he chairs several organizations. Mel Feller volunteers his leadership at two churches in a variety of ways, including serving on council, bible study facilitator, and more. Mel Feller has been a featured speaker for career professional groups, business leaders and continuing education sessions, as well as, aspiring business startups.

Mel Feller had a real estate license the same week he graduated from high school and was a multi million-dollar producer with Century 21 for 18 months after becoming licensed. He held that license for 20 years. He specialized in both residential and commercial real estate. He had a special emphasis in multi-units.

In addition, Mel Feller loves real estate and is an avid real estate investor. He loves coaching real estate. He maintains holdings in several states.

He was a former Chief of Staff for a United States Senator has two Master Degrees in Public Administration and Human Resources with an emphasis in Adult Education and Training. Mel Feller states, “An effective coach is someone who tells you what you may not want to hear, helps you navigate around your blind spots, and helps you identify opportunities…so that you can be who you’ve always known you can be”

When he is not coaching, you can find Mel Feller reading, listening to podcasts, exercising, fishing, or with his beautiful and loving wife, step kids, kids and grand kids exploring the greatness of the family and world God has gifted us all with.

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mel feller

Mel Feller is a business/real estate entrepreneur. He served in the Navy Reserve and is helping and creating business programs & writing grants for veterans.

#Coaching #real estate coaching #real estate investing #mel feller #mel feller mpa mhr #mel feller dallas #mel feller texas #mel feller oklahoma #mel feller oklahoma city #mel feller facebook #mel feller linkedin #mel feller success #success with mel feller

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melfeller · 4 years

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Mel Feller and Multiple Secrets To Success

Mel is the President/Founder of Mel Feller Seminars with Coaching for Success 360, Inc. and Mel Feller Coaching. Mel Feller maintains offices in Texas and Oklahoma.

Like you, leadership expert and business author Mel Feller has seen the word leadership defined numerous ways over the years. Is it charisma and positive thinking? Pinstripes and red power ties? Decisiveness? Is it all about the situation? Is it meant only for the elite who rise to the top? Alternatively, is there a different story?

With over three decades of executive coaching, speaking, and most importantly, real-life, in-the-trenches business experience, his view is radically different. Mel Feller appreciates, and shares with listeners, that leadership is a moment-to-moment choice and not about title, tenure or position. Leadership is for everyone, every day. It is how we should live our life

Mel Feller sometimes referred to as the “Provocateur” for his ability to stir up a group or as the “People Whisperer” for his coaching skill that brings out the best in people, is known for his practical, street-savvy style; Mel Feller’s fusion of real-life stories and his conversational techniques connect with his audience at an intimate, intense and individual level.

He has shared the stage with U.S. Presidents Reagan, Bush and Clinton, U.S. Senators Jake Garn, Ted Kennedy, Robert Byrd, Orrin Hatch, John Glenn and Bob Dole. Hollywood stars such as Martin Sheen, Ben Johnson, John Agar, Royal Dano and Harry Cary Jr., and business greats such as Zig Ziglar, Robert Kiyosaki, Charles Givens, Tom Hopkins, Stephen Covey, Adam Ginsberg and Susie Orman. Mel also hosts his own radio show in Texas called “Multiple Secrets to Success” that focuses on both personal and professional tools in order to excel in life and business.

Mel Feller has over three decades of coaching and consulting experience in diverse industries, which provides a rich framework for his organizational insights and creative solutions. He brings a thoughtful approach to his work, carefully integrating both his coaching and consulting skills and abilities. When consulting, his focus is on “what you are doing” (i.e., goal setting, problem solving, taking action and achieving results). When coaching, his focus is on “who you are being” (i.e., how you are leading, aligning your values and tapping your gifts). As a client, you will become more consciously aware of how paying attention to — and balancing both — are critically important to your success.

#mel feller #secrets to success #mel feller and secrets to success #mel feller mpa #mhr #Success #success with mel feller #mel feller and real estate #mel feller real estate coaching #mel feller in texas #mel feller investing #mel feller in dallas #mel feller in oklahoma #Mel Feller in Oklahoma City #mel feller facebook #mel feller linkedin

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ourmrmel · 4 years

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Mel Feller Recommends Tools for Dealing with Criticism and Rejection in Your Business and Personal Life

Mel Feller who is a successful entrepreneur/educator and online adjunct has been in business for over 3 decades. He personally has gone through personal and business ups and downs. However, one key point is that no matter the ups or downs and the criticism gleaned from those events; we must learn from each and accept rejection with a positive bent.

However, sometimes we're so fearful of being criticized or rejected that we keep our creativity bottled up and we don't let it out. Then there are other times we constantly adapt to what we create, focusing only on our surroundings and reflect on what they seem to be liking or disliking this particular week. Then we end up feeling like we're not ever truly expressing our creative and entrepreneurial instincts.

Mel Feller Defines Tools for Dealing with Criticism and Rejection

First, Mel feller recommends that you always be open. You may be hoping for a specific reaction or response to your work, or a specific result of a business or personal action or decision. If you've done your best and you're rejected or criticized, you might feel that you've "failed", and it's probably hard to see anything positive about the situation. Try to be open to the possibility that this "failure" is actually leading you to something else, usually better than what you thought you wanted. My personal belief is that any rejection is God's protection.

Second, you must be consistent. Keep going, keep doing the little things every day that keep you imaginative and that keep you inspired to people and to your customers. The dramatic moments and big wins and losses will come and go. Have a steady routine you can keep coming back to, and this will help to place any criticism or rejection into perspective. Today is a new day, and it is our today’s that create our tomorrows.

Thirdly, you must remain focused. Always keep your end goal in mind, and always be mindful of why you're doing what you're doing. That will help you focus on the big picture and not get tripped up by each bump in journey to success.

Fourth, you must become and remain resilient. Remember that your sense of self-worth comes from inside of you. When you're able to be confident in yourself regardless of the feedback you get from external sources, you're able to bounce back much more easily from any negative feedback that you may encounter. The bottom line is be true to yourself. You ARE NOT DEFINED by your last mistake!

Fifth, remain positive. Focus your attention on the positive things in life and you'll attract more of it. This is the premise of the "law of attraction", and I've certainly seen it work in my own life. Receive the positive feedback you hear and replay it over in your mind whenever you need to. Constantly be thinking and acting in a positive manner.

Sixth, you must be of clear mind. Continuedly to approach constructive feedback with an accurate perspective, not disarrayed with thoughts from your own inner critic. Make it as a supportive tool for your own growth and remember that ultimately the only opinion that matters is your own – because you need to be happy with what you're actually doing in your life.

Seventh, remain being grateful. Be gracious to your critics, accept all of the feedback you receive, sit quietly and let it sink in. Be grateful to be actively creating, more importantly, to have gotten past the fear and other roadblocks in your daily actions. Be grateful for the opportunity to have your work seen and heard. Most people and entrepreneurs never receive the chance.

Eighth, remain being responsive. Always think through consciously what to do with the feedback prior to responding, instead of reacting with the first thought or words that come to mind. In other words, always think before you speak.

Ninth, you need to be selective. Once you've decided what to do the feedback you've received, be selective and willing to let go of the hurtful feedback. It is not worth taking it seriously. This usually doesn't have anything to do with you anyway; it's a reflection of that person's own happiness, state of mind and comfort with themselves. Generally, they tend to be very unhappy. Like me, just turn your back and walk away from any all negativity. Life is to short to surround yourself with negative people and thoughts.

And finally, remain loving. Be loving of your critic and ESPECIALLY of yourself. Plan some self-care indulgences for the day of the criticism and rejection. Regardless of the outcome, you deserve it! I recommend celebrating with other positive people. People can not control you if you refuse to allow them.

Remember success is built upon your own resolve, it is not managed by anyone else’s opinion. This is why success is never a straight road to the top. None of us would be nearly as successful as we are without the criticism and rejection of the pessimists, the tough rejections or the harsh criticisms. It all depends upon what you choose do with it. To be a standout success you must control your emotional reactions and turn all of the criticisms and rejections to serve as your greatest advantage. Most importantly, see the value in all the criticism and rejection and be appreciative.

Mel Feller’s final word of advice; Success, at the end of the day, is your greatest revenge. Be sure you are the last one standing.

#mel feller #mel feller facebook #mel feller in dallas texas #mel feller in oklahoma city #mel feller in texas #mel feller oklahoma #remain loving #critical thinking #criticism and rejection #rejection #being criticism

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ourmrmel · 4 years

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Easy Creative Real Estate Financing Techniques with Quick Closes as Illustrated by Mel Feller

Mel Feller Loves Creative Real Estate Investments

Mel Feller has been involved in the industry for almost 40 years. He is an active investor across the United States and currently coaches and both real estate investors and Realtors. He is also an online adjunct professor.

Mel Feller knows that many real estate investors’ favorite acquisition technique is with owner financing, but that usually…

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#creative financing wit mel feller #creative real estate financing #creative real real estate #mel feller facebook #mel feller in dallas #mel feller in oklahoma #mel feller in oklahoma city #mel feller in texas #mel feller linkedin #mel feller mpa ma #mel feller real estate coaching #subject to properties

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ourmrmel · 6 years

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How Much Time Are You Spending on Social Media in Your Business by Mel Feller

Mel Feller, MPA, MHR with Offices in Texas and Utah

Mel Feller Seminars, Coaching For Success 360 Inc. /Mel Feller Coaching See www.melfellersuccessstories.com and www.melfeller.com

As you probably noticed, that is an ambiguous question. The reason it is ambiguous is that you do not hear my tone of voice when I say it.

What is my tone? Is it soft or harsh? Am I asking you out of curiosity or concern? Let me make it plain to you: I am asking out of concern.

I have been putting a lot of thought into social media lately most notably of the microblog and network types and what kind of time investment business people and entrepreneurs are putting into it.

I am talking about the Twitters [I use Twitter, by the way, but for reasons you would not have guessed] and Facebooks of the world…

In addition, the slow drift away from serious contact management and meticulous, heavy-duty customer relationship management.

Ten years ago, good data bases and CRM’s were the king of social media camp (it was social media before “social media”): You met people in the grocery store, generated leads from ads, hooked up with prospects at open houses and imported their contact information into a tool like contact management.

You then set them up for systematic contact over a six-month period.

That hard-nosed mindset bent on repeated touches and measurable results has softened.

Social media like Facebook feeds into our normal disposition for the easy way out. The result is that now we have 1,000 friends on Facebook, but no idea if those people are client-worthy…

The result is we consume more information from our Twitter feeds–but it is all of the fluff nature.

Therefore, what kind of time are you putting into social media? Couple months ago Wired Magazine had a good suggestion on how much time you should invest in social media. It boils down to 2.0 hours a day–1.25 for social networking and .75 for Twitter.

That to me still sounds like a lot.

Besides, are you making money in it? That is really the question behind my opening question.

See, the problem with social media in business of any kind is seen in Twitter’s shaky future. If it does not learn how to monetize soon, it may need to plead with the government for a bailout. [That was a joke. Partly.]

Which brings me to the point of this post: When viewing tools to use like social media, it is best to filter it through a simple little test from the book Good to Great:

1. What is your passion?

2. What are you good at?

3. Can you make money at it?

Naturally, out-going people are going to love Facebook. [Not Twitter so much, I've found.] Around the clock conversation with people? Life could not get any better. Extroverts are passionate for people, so in this respect, Facebook passes the first test.

The next question, though, is this: Are you good at it. You may be out-going and friendly, but not have a technological bone in your body. Not to fear, really, cause Facebook is a very-low barrier to overcome. It passes test two.

Here is where the rub comes. Can you make money at it? Well, maybe. Nevertheless, not likely to do so as accurately as other means. Do not get me wrong: I am all for working the intangibles and I think that a tool like Facebook could groom certain prospects for client hood. Do not get me wrong the right Facebook ads will draw great responses but again it is how you choose to nurture them!

However, that is not a given.

So, in the end, use social media sparingly and make sure you maintain a rigid focus on measurable prospecting and conversion rates. At the end of the year, you do not want to have logged in 10,000 hours on Twitter and have nothing to show for it.

Mel Feller a Texas /Utah Personal Development, Business, Real Estate, Realtor Trainer, Branding, Business Funding and Finance Coach. In addition, Mel Feller has served in a variety of executive leadership roles for medium and large organizations, including multiple Fortune 500’s. He is a charismatic leader who has facilitated change and growth in all sized organizations, including non-profit and Board development. Mel Feller has successfully led organizations in the areas business development, marketing, real estate and Realtors, sales, team building, operations, and the like. Mel Feller is in Texas and Utah with offices, staff and investments in both states.

Mel Feller is committed to serving. In the Texas / Utah community, he chairs several organizations. Mel Feller volunteers his leadership at two churches in a variety of ways, including serving on council, bible study facilitator, and more.

Mel Feller has been a featured speaker for career professional is groups, business leaders and continuing education sessions, and aspiring business startups.

When he is not coaching, you can find Mel Feller reading, listening to podcasts, exercising, fishing, or with his kids and grandkids exploring the greatness God has gifted us all.

Mel Feller states, “An effective coach is someone who tells you what you may not want to hear, helps you navigate around your blind spots, and helps you identify opportunities…so that you can be who you’ve always known you can be” Mel Feller

Mel Feller’s purpose is to add tremendous value to those business owners/entrepreneurs by helping them reach their potential.

Mel Feller is an effective, charismatic and powerful speaker, corporate advisor, and best-selling author. In 1998, Mel founded Coaching for Success 360 to help professionals worldwide design subtle changes in their presentation, attitude and leadership style that increases their personal and professional effectiveness and subsequently their financial status. This also includes both

real estate as an agent and/or investor. See www.melfeller.com and www.melfellersuccessstories.com . Now with offices both in Texas and Utah. Therefore, Mel Feller is in Texas and Mel Feller is in Utah!

As a business, executive, personal development, and real estate coach, I work with a wide range of professionals and offer a highly personalized approach tailored to each individual in concert with the organizational environment. In a supportive atmosphere, I work to build trust and support the professional in the attainment of goals and measurable outcomes.

Mel Feller offers sessions, both in-person and virtual. We will start with an initial assessment to clearly define your short and long-term goals, everything from communication skills to personal acceptance. We will use these goals as a foundation to create a strategy and build the path for attaining these objectives. Change is typically a major component of reaching goals and sustainable change becomes more likely in a coaching partnership.

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ourmrmel · 6 years

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Mel Feller MPA, MHR, Looks at Skills You Need to Build a Successful Business

Mel is the President/Founder of Mel Feller Seminars with Coaching for Success 360, Inc. and Mel Feller Coaching. Mel Feller Ministries. Mel Feller is an Innovator and Business Leader, Investor and Volunteer. Mel Feller is currently working on an incubator for young entrepreneurs in Utah with his son-in-law and partner. When it comes to education, he is a firm believer that we NEVER stop learning! Mel Feller currently maintains an office in Texas. Currently an MBA Candidate.

Have you ever compared yourself with entrepreneurs such as Bill Gates, Henry Ford, Warren Buffett, or Steve Jobs? What entrepreneurial skills do these great entrepreneurs possess that you do not? How did Mark Zuckerberg attain a net worth of $16billion in 2017 while commanding a network of over 100 million users on Facebook? How did Aliko Dangote emerge the richest black man in the world? What secrets or entrepreneurial skills are needed to build a successful from scratch? If the answers to these questions.

“I wanted to be an editor or journalist. I wasn’t really interested in becoming an entrepreneur, but I soon found I had to become an entrepreneur in order to keep my magazine going.” – Richard Branson

I hope you know that to be a successful footballer, you must possess the necessary skills of a footballer. The same goes for every other profession including entrepreneurship. In this article, I will be tearing apart, the important entrepreneurial skills that set apart; the great entrepreneurs from others. If building a business is your concern, then you should make the acquisition of these entrepreneurial skills a priority.

“Skills make you rich, not theories.” Rich Dad

Without beating about the bush, below are five important entrepreneurial skills you must develop to build a successful business from scratch.

Entrepreneurial Skills You Need To Build a Successful Business

Personal Skills

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and only five Minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you will do things differently.” – Warren Buffett

The first skill you must develop as an entrepreneur is your personal skill. Now what do I mean by personal skills? Personal skills are simply those skills that are attached to your personality, more like habits. They are the characters possessed by successful entrepreneurs. For instance; if you are a professional proofreader, then it is important you develop a keen eye for spotting errors.

“Great men are ordinary men with extra ordinary determination.” – Abraham Lincoln

When I talk about developing your personal skill with respect to building a business, I am talking about developing your entrepreneurial mindset. You have to be in the right mindset before ever starting a business. Being in the right mindset entails, you have abandoned the get rich quick mentality and above all, you must have integrity.

“The most important thing in your business relationships is your reputation for honesty. If you can genuinely and sincerely fake honesty, you will be a success. Never doubt it.” – The Mafia Manager

If you carefully study the lives of successful entrepreneurs, you will observe they are courageous, passionate about their entrepreneurial calling and most of all, they think outside the box.

“Men of genius are admired, men of wealth are envied, men of power are feared, but only men of character are trusted.” – Arthur Friedman

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak, courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” – Winston Churchill

Communication skill

“The test of a real comedian is whether you laugh at him before he opens his mouth.” – George Jean Natha

The next important entrepreneurial skill you need to develop is communication skill. A famous speaker once said “the fact that you are talking doesn’t mean someone is listening.” I don’t know who made this statement but I know there is an atom of truth in it.

“Your words have the power to start or quench passion.” – John Mason

To be a successful business owner, you must be a powerful communicator. Look at Bill Gates; whenever he speaks, people listen with rapt attention. Steve Jobs successfully launched the IPod and IPad because he was a powerful communicator. Whenever Warren Buffett gives a directive or recommendation, people act.

“If the customer says they are not interested, it means you are not interesting.” – Jeffrey Citomer

Investors scramble for Buffett’s annual letter to his CEOs. Why? They do so because Warren Buffet has taken time to perfect his communication skill. Now how do you develop this communication skill? Warren Buffett; the billionaire investor once confessed in an interview that he took a public speaking course at Dale Carnegie’s academy to improve his communication skill.

Therefore, to get started, I will suggest you read How to Improve Your Communication Skill or better still; attend a seminar on public speaking.

“The more I risk being rejected, the better my chances are of being accepted.” – Rich Dad

Negotiation skill

In the course of building a business, you are bound to negotiate deals. You negotiate with customers and suppliers over goods and services offered. You negotiate with bankers over bank loans terms and conditions, just as you negotiate with investors over equity and stakes.

“If you cannot negotiate, you will end up getting good deals at exorbitant prices or worse still, you will get nothing.” – Ajaero Tony Martins

Bill Gates became the richest man in the world in his thirties because he strategically negotiated a deal with IBM in his early 20s. If Bill Gates lacked persuasion skills, his name may not have been imprinted in the sands of time. Therefore, if you cannot negotiate, if you lack persuasion skills, building a business may just be a dream to you. Negotiation or persuasion is an art that can be learned, all you have to do is to devote your time to learning it and you will become a master at it.

Leadership skill

“In business, leadership skill is not an option. It’s a necessity.” – Rich Dad

Business is all about your relationship with people. It entails uniting people with different backgrounds, beliefs and skills to a common cause. It entails forging people with different skills and ideologies into a business team.

“Good leadership consists of showing average people how to do the work of superior people.” – John D. Rockefeller

I have never seen a great business without a great leader at the helm of affairs. Building a successful business therefore requires you become an excellent business leader. Look at Bill Gates, Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, Aliko Dangote, Steve Jobs and so many others. These men are great leaders in their respective businesses.

“Business is not just doing deals; business is having great products, doing great engineering and providing tremendous service to customers. Finally, business is a cobweb of human relationship.” – Henry Ross Perot

Successful entrepreneurs were not born business leaders; they were made. They became business great leaders because they desired it; they humbled themselves and learned the art and science of leadership. Today, they are leaders in their game with a huge number of followers.

“Everyone has an invisible sign hanging from their neck saying, ‘make me feel important.’ Never forget this message when working with people.” – Mary Kay Ash

It is within your reach to become a good corporate leader or but you must first develop the first three entrepreneurial skills listed above which are: personal skill, communication skill and negotiation skill. This is necessary because these three skills are vital components of effective corporate leaders.

“The ability to deal with people is as purchasable as a commodity as sugar or coffee and I will pay more for that ability than for any other thing under the sun.” – John D. Rockefeller

Sales skill

“If you cannot sell, you will be sold.” – Ajaero Tony Martins

This is perhaps, the most important entrepreneurial skill of all. I decided to list it last so that I can explain its details in full. The reason I regard this as the most important is that I have never seen a business that does not sell one thing or the other. If you are not selling tangible items, then you are probably selling intangible items such as services.

“A man’s success in business today turns upon his power of getting people to believe he has something they want.” – Gerland Stanley

I regard sales skill as the most important because life is all about selling. To get a good job, you must sell yourself to your employers. Even before you get married, you must sell yourself to your spouse, convincing him/her that you are the best partner. Success in business is also all about selling; you must first sell yourself to your investors, next to your suppliers, your business team and employees and then to your customers.

“The best way to turn a woman’s head is to tell her she has a beautiful profile.” – Sacha Guitry

Many people shy away from selling because they are afraid of rejection. Bill Gates sold himself to IBM before he became a billionaire. Steve Jobs personally sold his products such as the IPad in the media. Thomas Edison and Ray Kroc started as salespersons; I am also in the business of selling. The moment I stop selling; I will cease to be an entrepreneur. Therefore, my last note to you today is this “start selling something.”

“The ability to sell is the number one skill in business. If you cannot sell, don’t bother thinking about becoming a business owner.” – Rich Dad

“Skills make you rich, not theories.” – Rich Dad

Mel Feller, MPA, MHR, is a well-known real estate, business consultant, personal development Consultant and speaker, specializing in performance, productivity, and profits. Mel is the President/Founder of Mel Feller Seminars with Coaching For Success 360, Inc. and Mel Feller Coaching, a real estate and business specific coaching company and Mel Feller Ministries. His three books for real estate professionals are systems on how to become an exceptional sales performer. His four books in Business and Government Grants are ways to leverage and increase your business Success in both time and money! His book on Personal Development “Lies that Will Sabotage Your Success”. Mel Feller is in Texas. Visit www.melfellersuccessstories.com and www.melfeller.com

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ourmrmel · 6 years

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Mel Feller MPA, MHR, Looks at How Meetings When People are Disengaged

Mel is the President/Founder of Mel Feller Seminars with Coaching for Success 360, Inc. and Mel Feller Coaching. Mel Feller Ministries. Mel Feller is an Innovator and Business Leader. Visit www.melfeller.com and www.melfellersuccessstories.com Mel Feller currently maintains office in Texas. Currently an MBA Candidate.

Have you ever been in a meeting where one person decided to display a negative attitude? You know the person who starts reading his cell phone, or the other one who suddenly falls quiet, or what about the one who starts to slide down his chair and on to the floor. Well if you are the one in charge of the meeting what is your role in this dysfunction? I recently heard a speaker, who was talking about the culture of accountability say, "You get what you put up with". Bad behavior and rudeness happen because people continually get away with it.

So let us break down bad behavior into three primary categories:

Checked out or disengaged

Negative

Rude

Because of the proliferation of cell phones, I want to specifically discuss the scenario of disengagement. Reading on cell phones and "multi-tasking" have become commonplace in business meetings. Therefore, you are leading a meeting and notice that one or more participants are texting or reading email on their phones. What options do you have now? First, you need to assess if this is a theme or an instance i.e. does the person disengaging have a reputation for checking out and not actively participating or is this something unusual for the team member. If this person has, a reputation for disengaging then it should be addressed within the meeting. As the leader of the team, you have the following options:

You can ignore the behavior, limiting the team to less than high performance and continue the dysfunction by not managing the bad behavior. If this is your choice, you may want reevaluate why you are managing a team.

You have the option of communicating to the person that you recognize that they are not currently part of the meeting. Ask them "Is there something urgent that you need to take care of at this time?" It may be that an emergency has come up which she needs to address. In addition, if this is the case and she is key to the meeting, then reschedule the meeting. If she is not key to the meeting, then dismiss her to her emergency. However, in my experience this usually is not the case.

You can wait until after the meeting and then pull the person aside to discuss what was driving the behavior. If there was not an emergency, find out how they think their behavior impacts the meeting, other team members, as well as their effectiveness in the job.

You can wait for an opportunity to ask her a pointed question specific to the conversation, such as "What do you think of Rick's idea? This will either bring the person back into the conversation and/or will create a moment of embarrassment. Depending on their response, you may need to have a follow on conversation with them one on one.

Alternatively, you can address the whole team and open the discussion to everyone. What are their thoughts about team members checking out? What would their suggestions be to become a more high performing team and have everyone engaged? This option may uncover process or content issues of the meeting that you have not considered may be part of the disengaging behaviors.

So as a leader it is your choice, allow the dysfunction to continue and you may wake up without a job in the future. On the other hand, address the issue and set the tone for more productive meetings that will lead to team success.

However, there are some things you can do to make your meeting interesting. I know that we have all been to those golden meetings full of energy and real productivity. Too many meetings end up being a waste of time where everyone is dozing off or doing other work.

According to a study reported by Fortune, the average employee sends three emails for every 30 minutes of meeting time. Conference calls make it even easier to zone out. Another study found that 43% of conference call attendees spend part of the meeting checking social media while 65% are doing other work.

Why are attendees so distracted? They are bored!

Here are five common but easily fixable meeting mistakes that could be the real reason your attendees are bored.

It is too long.

Because they typically need to meet every day, software development teams often have a “daily stand-up.” It is exactly what it sounds like: Everyone stands and discusses what needs to be done that day and potential blockers.

The idea is that is everyone has to stand for the entire meeting; it will not be a 90-minute talkfest. People will not ramble or get off-track. In addition, nobody will be hiding behind their laptop, appearing pay attention but really checking Facebook. In fact, the daily standup usually lasts no more than 15 minutes.

You can do something similar. Give your meeting a start time and promise your attendees it will not go a minute longer than necessary. Maybe that means it will take the full 30 minutes. Alternatively, you will all be done in 14.

Even if a stand-up format will not work for you, chances are you can still make your meeting shorter and more focused. Here are a few tips:

Cut out unnecessary information

Distill information to the key, actionable points

Only invite truly necessary people

Make sure everyone has relevant information they need for the meeting beforehand

Actively moderate discussions and keep everyone to the point

Narrow the scope of the meeting (try a series of shorter meetings with a clear purpose rather than a long meeting where you try to cover everything)

Prepare more than you think you need to, which brings us to the next mistake

You did not prepare.

There is a saying in the literary world: “Hard writing makes for easy reading.” The more effort you put into drafting your novel, report, or email, the easier (and more enjoyable) it will be to read.

The same is true of your meetings. Do not pull everyone into the conference room or ask your remote team to hop on a conference call if you do not have a clear purpose for the meeting and a plan to get through it.

Prepare a thoughtful and detailed agenda then hone and revise it. An effective meeting agenda includes:

Meeting topics

How you plan to cover them

Who is responsible for each topic

Time allotted for each topic

Questions you need answered

How attendees need to prepare

The ultimate goal and takeaway

You have invited a blowhard.

Some people just like to talk. They like attention. They like to let everybody know how much they have accomplished and to share all of their great ideas. We all know that person.

As you might expect, these people tend to love meetings. Avoid inviting them to yours. However, if you must, do what you can to reign them in. They should be able to contribute without derailing the meeting or keeping others from freely participating.

Start with having a clear agenda that outlines timeframes and do not let the motor mouth hijack the conversation.

Therefore, what?

There is no reason to pull your team into a meeting unless those attendees will be able to take some action on the items you discuss.

One of the fastest ways to guarantee everyone will check out is to start riffing about big-picture thoughts they know they will not be able to do anything about. On the other hand, talking in circles about a problem without ever getting to actionable solutions.

If you want to brainstorm with your team, go for it. However, even brainstorming sessions should have a clear purpose. What kind of ideas are your brainstorming and what will be done with these ideas?

For every meeting, you and your attendees should know what you would accomplish. Is this a knowledge transfer, and if so, what is everyone supposed to with the information? Do you need to come to a consensus and make a decision? Do you need to devise a plan and assign action items?

You have invited your coworkers for a specific reason. Make sure everyone knows why they are there and what you’re going to accomplish.

There is nothing to look at.

Humans are visual. More than 90% of all information our brains process is visual, according to research reported by Inc.com.

Therefore, when you invite your team to an audio-only conference call, you are leaving all that collective brainpower left to wander. This might explain why their computer monitors or their phones distract so many conference call attendees: screens are visual, and voices on the phone are not.

The solution? Host a video conference. Give your team something to look at your screen, their screens, everyone is smiling faces. Make your meeting visual, and you will instantly up the energy and focus.

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ourmrmel · 6 years

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Mel Feller MPA, MHR, Discusses Texas Sized Business Risks for Every Business

Mel is the President/Founder of Mel Feller Seminars with Coaching for Success 360, Inc. and Mel Feller Coaching. Mel Feller is an Innovator and Business Leader. Mel Feller currently maintains an office in Texas. Mel is currently an MBA Candidate.

Your business is at risk. For a lot of money. No matter what type of business you are in, you are susceptible to a patent infringement lawsuit. The worst part about this risk is that there is nothing you can do to protect yourself. You are a victim in a business world horror movie. Unfortunately, there is no one to scream, “No don’t do it. Don’t open that door” and protect you. All the doors are open and the trolls are all attacking.

Why wouldn’t they?

Put yourself in the position of a patent troll. If the laws changed in your industry so that if you filed a lawsuit against any small business in the USA, you were pretty much guaranteed to win or at worst get a settlement, could you overcome you internal greed and walk away from all that money. You, maybe. You might do the right thing. However, we are talking these lawyers about here. There is no chance the legal industry would pass up on a box full of money sitting right in front of them. Its free money to them. They are grabbing for it.

While we often read about the big patent lawsuits with Yahoo, Google, Facebook etc., it is the untold number of mid-size company settlements that are hidden by non-disclosures that we never read about that should scare the hell out of you. Thousands and thousands of companies are being sued or threatened with lawsuits over patents. It is by far the biggest risk that medium sized businesses and corporate America faces today. It is a fungus among us.

In addition, I am not saying that every company is at risk of having one patent lawsuit come their way. Nope. EVERY company in America is at risk of having two, three, five and even one hundred patent lawsuits coming your way. If you have a janitorial service company, you are at risk that the USPTO will issue a patent to someone who says they have invented a new way to optimize the path you should take when mopping a commercial kitchen. Then maybe they will issue a patent on the fastest way to wash kitchen utensils. If you wash spoons first while holding them upside down, you could be at risk. Ridiculous? Not in the current patent environment. The economic problems we face will hurt your business. Patent lawsuits can kill your business.

Oh, and before I move on, will someone please tell the NCAA and the Bowl Championship Series that there is a patent on most configurations of playoffs for a football championship. Our patent office at work.

So what should you do? You should first contact your local Senator and tell them that without protection the only firms that are going to remain in this country are law firms that specialize in patent lawsuits. Ok, maybe that is an exaggeration, maybe.

This problem obviously makes me incredibly mad. When it comes to this issue, Congress is a bunch of cowardly, ignorant pansies on their knees to the IP terrorists of the business world. They will not realize what is at risk until the number of companies in their districts going out of business after being sued for ridiculous patent infringement skyrockets.

Which of course leads to the question of why have not more companies gone out of business from patent lawsuits? Simple answer – because the small businesses that cannot afford to pay for protection or settle lawsuits are further down the pecking order. The lawyers are grabbing the low hanging dollars first. They are going where the money is, which is medium to super-sized businesses. The Googles/Facebook/Microsoft, etc. of the world.

Once they finish there, they will move down the food chain. It will be worse than a science fiction movie where the aliens try to consume all of our resources. In the not so distant future, trolls will go after companies knowing that while there is not cash available from small companies, there are assets that will be available to them once they bankrupt those companies. This is exactly what will happen if laws are not changed.

Unfortunately, for small businesses and start-up companies, some patent owners are becoming far more litigious. Once upon a time small businesses might be able to fly under the radar screen even if they were infringing because the cost associated with going after such folks was prohibitive. Nevertheless, welcome to the brave new world of the patent troll, where certain nefarious bad-acting patent owners seek to enforce dubious patent rights against those who are engaged in a business vaguely related, but who are almost certainly not infringing.

These bad actors, who seek to extract licensing payments with threatening letters or lawsuits if necessary, know that because it can be expensive to fight most will simply fold and pay what amounts to extortion.

Despite the gathering storm, some businesses would prefer to pretend that patent infringement is not a problem for them and they will not be sued. The graph below shows that since 1980 the number of patent lawsuits filed has only gone up, with a record number (4,991) being filed in 2017. Add the frequency of the “dime a dozen” threatening letters sent by those seeking to extract licensing payments to the number of lawsuits filed and you can readily see that patent infringement litigation, and the associated threats thereof, are a growth industry.

It is only a matter of time before technology-based businesses, regardless of size, will find themselves facing a patent infringement issue. As with most things in life, there is are many things you can do that are wrong, incorrect and/or harmful, with a small handful of appropriate things you really need to do. When you get that first threatening letter, or you are sued without warning, you need to know the follow.

True or False — I should contact the lawyer sending the letter or representing the party suing me because if I can only talk to them I’m sure I can convince them I am not infringing.

FALSE! You have been sued or targeted with a threatening letter for a reason. Typically, that reason is be extract money from you, or perhaps to get you to stop doing what you are doing. If you have been targeted by a patent troll the reality that you are not infringing is of absolutely no consequence. Patent trolls sue small businesses to extract payments knowing that the overwhelming majority of patent infringement lawsuits will settle. In fact, upwards of 96% of patent infringement lawsuits settle, many without a Judge ever reviewing any of the merits of any argument. Therefore, the fact that you are right and would prevail is not going to get them to back off.

It is a huge mistake to contact the attorney who represents the party coming after you. You may say certain things that compromise your negotiating position, you could give them crucial information about your business that they can use against you, or you might demonstrate that you are scared to death and willing to do whatever it takes to get the case to go away. None of these things is good.

True or False — I can just ignore the matter because it will go away if I do not respond.

FALSE. Looking the other way or burying your head in the sand are not effective strategies to deal with what may or may not be a meritorious patent infringement lawsuit. Certainly, if the lawsuit or dispute is meritorious, you have to take it seriously, otherwise your business may be in jeopardy. If the lawsuit or dispute is frivolous, you still have to take it seriously because that almost certainly means you are a target of a patent troll who is not going to go away.

When you are sued there is a limited amount of time within which to act, and you absolutely need to act with due speed to address the matter. In fact, you have days to act, not months. Yes, you might be able to get an extension of time to act, but you cannot assume that you can deal with the case when you get around to it.

If you have yet to be sued and instead are being threatened there are some ways to take the offensive and attack, should you be interested in taking an aggressive approach to fighting back. Some of what is available to turn up the heat on the party threatening ceases to be available, or is far less useful, once a lawsuit has actually been filed. So definitely take those threatening letters seriously and become informed of your options.

True or False — I should contact a patent attorney to discuss the threatening letter or federal complaint to understand what my options are and what I should be doing.

TRUE. There are a few things that you never want to really need in life. You probably never want to be in a position to really need a dentist for an emergency procedure, but that does not mean you ignore that excruciating pain in your tooth. Likewise, you never really want to need a lawyer, but sometimes you find yourself in a position where you absolutely need the assistance of someone who has been in the trenches and can navigate the rocky waters on your behalf.

A patent attorney can take the mystery out of what can be a truly mysterious and foreboding process. A patent attorney can also take up the fight, represent you and allow you to the greatest extent possible to continue to focus on business rather than being distracted.

True or False — When I get sued by a patent troll there is little that can be done, I might as well give in, pay and move on.

FALSE. Ultimately you might wind up deciding to pay to make the dispute go away, but make no mistake, there are ALWAYS things that can be done to facilitate a resolution. Even if you care going to give in and pay, you want to make sure that this happens in a way that does not paint a bulls-eye on your back identifying you to all other patent owners as someone who caves and pays rather than fights. If you are, an easy target then expect to be shot, metaphorically speaking of course. Therefore, you need to consider not only this case, but also what of others down the road.

Those who are patent trolls they have little to lose, but they certainly want to keep that patent they are so fond of trying to enforce against you, so you really need to consider trying to strike a blow at the heart of that patent and render it useless. You also need to consider an array of counter-claims that you might be able to bring against the bad acting patent owner who is simply trying to interfere with your business operations enough to get you to pay on a specious claim.

Turning the tables on the patent troll can be an effective strategy, and one that is unfortunately not employed very often. Of course, you probably want to avoid fighting an all-out war, but if both parties fear a long drawn-out battle, there is incentive to come to a resolution. In order to be a party at the peace talk table, however, you need to have leverage of some kind, otherwise you are not a party to talks as much as you are having terms dictated.

True or False — I have been sued and the patent troll is also suing some big companies for the same patent. I can just sit back and let the big companies fight the case, because they have far more to lose. They will fight hard so I do not really have to.

FALSE. Your interest is not necessarily the same as another defendant, so relying on other parties to fight your battle is risky. In fact, large corporations sometimes cave to patent trolls, finding it easier to pay than to litigate, which might not be in your best interest. Still other times large corporations will fight and fight hard, going deep into a case before even considering settlement, perhaps even taking the case all the way to trial. The same way that caving might not be in your best interest, fighting an all-out battle to the end might not be in your best interests either.

There is little generalized legal advice that any attorney can give that applies to everyone who might find themselves in the same or similar situation. The advice you need, and will get if you hire an attorney, will be tailored to your unique circumstances. The facts that are legally relevant to your situation are but one piece of what needs to be considered. Your business reality is unique and clearly far different from the larger or smaller companies that might also be sued in the same case.

Relying on others to do the heavy lifting, which I have heard as a strategy of some who are sued, is an enormous risk. Would you feel comfortable putting the future of your business in the hands of a large competitor? Likely not, so why would you tie your litigation fate to that large competitor?

What can you do as a small businessperson to protect yourself? Honestly, nothing beyond complaining to your Congressperson. The only option I have found is to buy into companies that aggressively sue over IP. It is a hedge against patent law. Put another way, if you cannot beat them, then you have to join them. Sucks, but there are not any other options that I can see.

Mel Feller, MPA, MHR, is a well-known real estate, business consultant, personal development consultant and speaker, specializing in performance, productivity, and profits. Mel is the President/Founder of Mel Feller Seminars with Coaching for Success 360, Inc. and Mel Feller Coaching, a real estate and business specific coaching company. His three books for real estate professionals are systems on how to become an exceptional sales performer. His four books in Business and Government Grants are ways to leverage and increase your business Success in both time and money! His book on Personal Development “Lies that Will Sabotage Your Success”. Mel Feller is located in Texas.

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ourmrmel · 6 years

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Mel Feller MPA, MHR, Looks at the Words to Run Your Business With.

Mel is the President/Founder of Mel Feller Seminars with Coaching for Success 360, Inc. and Mel Feller MPA, MHR, Coaching. Mel Feller is a Texas – Utah Innovator and Business Leader. Mel Feller currently maintains offices in Texas and in Utah. Currently an MBA Candidate.

As an entrepreneur; whether or not you are unemployed and now deciding to go into a business of your own, or that veteran business owner, that has been running their business now for several years; we must all adapt to a changing and fluctuating business climate.

Business climates change in both what is happening in the economy and what is happening in the technology world. We see that many people are now employed and loosening their wallets. We also see that many people in today’s world are also opting to purchase more goods and services on line. However, we have the luxury to be able to change and do things differently.

On the other hand, the good news is that the fundamentals of good business practices have not changed. We as entrepreneurs and business owners possess certain personalities and common skills such as basic business skills, commitment, management, passion and vision for what we desire to do in business.

Nevertheless, in keeping with the topic, there are certain words that we must use in our business in order to ensure that we in fact do become successful. I will offer the first few words in the forms of tips. However, these words or tips will certainly guarantee you success when executed and used correctly.

The first is to create and maintain a written plan. I have always believed that without a plan, it is only a dream. All we need is a few pages, 1 to 5, outlining specific marketing and sales, financing, cash on hand, objectives, and strategies in order to determine the process.

The second is to not be so rigid with your plan that you cannot make changes when needed. Everyone knows that best laid plans sometimes has to be changed due to unforeseen circumstances. Therefore, the key is to be able to constantly being flexible but staying true to the goal.

The third deals with tracking everything including numbers. By establishing and creating systems, you will be on top of one of the best indicators of your business. That indicator is your cash flow. In other words, it will help you determine the initial cash outlay and what is being brought in or lost each month. You also need to track sales and marketing costs as well as employee costs.

The fourth word or tip is to always listen to the people around you. We all need coaches, other business and entrepreneurs who are able to listen and we can bounce ideas off. By listening to the people who are in the trenches we are able to be held accountable and even pushed to new levels by those around us who will then commit to what they have helped to create.

The fifth is to learn to delegate. An entrepreneurs and business owners job is to delegate tasks and not to ride shotgun over everyone. In others, no micromanaging and ant being a control freak. In order to help you avoid this common trap, I would suggest creating and implementing a written training plan. The other thing that most of us over look in the beginning phase of employing people is an orientation and list of expectations for the tasks they are being paid to do. Remember they are employees, they maintain a different mindset than do we as entrepreneurs and business owners.

The sixth is to use the internet as a learning and marketing tool. It is cost efficient, but it takes time and some skill. It is about creating a community, using social media networking such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and blogging to build rapport with your market. You need to do it, because your competitors are.

In addition, it will help you to learn what your competitors are doing and be up to date on the latest trends and issues affecting your business.

Moreover, that brings me to the final tip, because I still have other words to share. You need to stay on the cutting edge and continue to reinvent your business. Remember, it t is net profit, not gross revenue, that you want to focus on. Separate yourself from your history and create a new competitive advantage, be it a focused niche or super service, but not by discounting products or services. Once you start then you will be asked by others to further reduce your costs.

Now the words we truly operate our entrepreneur and business efforts with. Get to know and implement these words each day in everything you do. Nevertheless, please note that these go hand in hand with the above words and tips previously offered.

COMMITMENT: You should know that a mediocre marketing program with commitment would always prove more profitable than a brilliant marketing program without commitment. Commitment makes it happen.

INVESTMENT: Marketing is not an expense, but an investment -- the best investment available in America today -- if you do it right. With strong marketing to guide you, you will be doing it right.

CONSISTENT: It takes a while for prospects to trust you and if you change your marketing, media, and identity, you are hard to trust. Restraint is a great ally of the entrepreneur. Repetition is another.

CONFIDENT: In a nationwide test to determine why people buy, price came in fifth, selection fourth, service third, quality second, and, in first place, people said they patronize businesses in which they are confident.

PATIENT: Unless the person running your marketing is patient, it will be difficult to practice commitment, view marketing as an investment, be consistent, and make prospects confident. Patience is a virtue.

ASSORTMENT: Entrepreneurs know that individual marketing weapons rarely work on their own. However, marketing combinations do work. A wide assortment of marketing tools are required to win customers.

CONVENIENT: People now know that time is not money, but is far more valuable. Respect this by being easy to do business with and running your company for the convenience of your customers, not yourself.

SUBSEQUENT: The real profits come after you have made the sale, in the form of repeat and referral business. Non-entrepreneurs think marketing ends when they have made the sale. True Entrepreneurs know that is when marketing begins.

AMAZEMENT: There are elements of your business that you take for granted, but prospects would be amazed if they knew the details. Be sure all of your marketing always reflects that amazement. It is always there.

MEASUREMENT: You can actually double your profits by measuring the results of your marketing. Some weapons hit bulls-eyes. Others miss the target. Unless you measure, you will not know which is which.

INVOLVEMENT: This describes the relationship between you and your customers -- and it is a relationship. You prove your involvement by following up; they prove theirs by patronizing and recommending you.

DEPENDENT: The entrepreneurs’ job is not to compete but to cooperate with other businesses. Market them in return for them marketing you. Set up tie-ins with others. Become dependent to market more, spend less.

Mel Feller, MPA, MHR, is a well-known real estate, business consultant, personal development consultant and speaker, specializing in performance, productivity, and profits. Mel is the President/Founder of Mel Feller Seminars with Coaching For Success 360, Inc. and Mel Feller Coaching, a real estate and business specific coaching company. His three books for real estate professionals are systems on how to become an exceptional sales performer. His four books in Business and Government Grants are ways to leverage and increase your business Success in both time and money! His book on Personal Development “Lies that Will Sabotage Your Success”. Mel Feller is in Texas and In Utah.

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ourmrmel · 6 years

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Mel Feller, MPA, MHR, Looks at Social Networking Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make.

Mel is the President/Founder of Mel Feller Seminars with Coaching for Success 360, Inc. and Mel Feller Coaching. Mel Feller maintains offices in Texas and in Utah.

The glory of social networking, for entrepreneurs, is that it is a low-cost and an open-ended platform for finding the people who will be interested in your business. From trolling your LinkedIn network for possible VC contributors to blogging about your business as you build a customer base, social networking can, be a powerful and low-cost tool in your business-building and marketing workshop.

However, if you use the tools the wrong way, it is very hard to make something good with it. At best, you will be inefficient. At worst, you will waste a lot of time you do not have and fail to get results at all.

So the question is, are you making these mistakes with social networking?

Spreading yourself too thin.

There are no longer any questions about where the customers are going, so businesses are following, and we all trot merrily off to the Internet. As the Internet continues to expand in volume, it produces more and more specific networking options. There are niche networking sites, endless forums, and online communities for every taste and topic.

All that specialization can be useful for getting in touch with your target market, but it can also be overwhelming. Every new social networking platform offers a new opportunity, and entrepreneurs find it difficult to pick just a couple and focus on those. Nevertheless, failing to focus puts you in the impossible position of trying to keep up with far more than you can. You end up making little or no impact on any of your online networks.

Solution: Pick two or three social networking venues and focus on building your relationships within that network. Once you have established a strong following and developed a routine for consistent interaction at a level you can keep up with, you can consider venturing into new networks. At that point, though, you might not even need to.

Mixing personal and professional social worlds.

There is nothing wrong with having a personal, friendly tone as part of your professional network. There is a problem when you are recounting last night’s bar adventure via your professional Twitter account, or posting photos of your dog, your kids, and your newly stained deck, you are mixing things up too much.

As an entrepreneur, you may not have a boss holding you accountable for what you post online, so you have to set your own standards and stick to them.

Solution: The bottom line? No matter how cute that photo of your dog is, or how funny that joke was, if it is not directly related to your business, leave it off your professional social networks.

Neglecting to offer value.

The purpose of social networking is to connect with people who would be interested in what your business offers and cultivate relationships with them; as you build rapport and trust, they move from contacts to customers. That is what entrepreneurs need to see happening.

The key to cultivating relationships and building trust is to offer something of value to the people you make connections with. Otherwise, you are just so much additional noise in an overcrowded party. Do not be the person hanging around, just making small talk. Be the person who brings a cold drink over, or the girl who turns up some better music and gets everybody dancing.

Solution: Helpful, informative, specific content is, generally, the easiest and best way to offer value via the Internet. Spend far more time creating content than “building a network.” Once you have the content in place, you can start sharing it.

Failing to outsource.

Oh, the entrepreneurial pitfall! You have had to do it all; you are smart enough to figure it out, so why would you pay out your dwindling capital to have someone else do it for you? The reason is simple, and you have heard it before your time is money.

If you are spending hours on creating a Facebook page, a website, a blog, or some other item you could easily outsource, you are spending money on it. It will just cost you in terms of lost profit and lost opportunity rather than in terms of the cash, you already hold.

Solution: Outsourcing the details of social networking does not have to bust your entrepreneurial budget. Hit Craigslist with an ad and you can get a money-hungry student to do in a couple of hours what might have taken you a couple of weeks.

Mistaking “networking” for just plain old working.

Interacting on your social networks – especially with influencers in your target market and potential customers – gives you a great feeling of accomplishing something. Moreover, yes, you are building relationships that can turn into profit and growth for your business.

That is important, but it is not your primary work, and if you confuse the busyness of networking with the productivity of real working, you will find yourself falling behind on your most important to-do items.

Solution: Designate specific times, and time limits, for marketing via social networks. If you find yourself unable to keep up within those time limits, perhaps you have spread yourself too thin. Alternatively, perhaps you need to outsource some of the networking upkeep.

Mistaking peers for clients/customers.

Entrepreneurs are drawn to other entrepreneurs, and it’s fun to swap war stories and anecdotes, give tips, offer advice, and commiserate over the economy or the unique struggles entrepreneurs and business owner’s face.

Your entrepreneurial pals can be valuable peers for many reasons, but peers are not the same as customers, in most cases. While you are investing time into peer relationships, your potential customers are somewhere else, unaware of your existence.

Solution: Save some of your downtime for peer interaction, and stick to building customer relationships during your designated social networking time for business. Reading up on entrepreneurial blogs, sharing stories, and just chatting can be a good way to unwind at the end of the day, in between meetings, or when you’re stuck traveling or at your Aunt Mindy’s 27th annual bluegrass and barbecue hoedown.

The key is to keep your goals for social networking present so you can stay focused on investing your time (and, sometimes, your money) into what will get you the most important results. If you are not sure what your social networking goals are, that is the first place to start: get a social networking strategy in place, and stick to it. If you focus on what matters, and avoid the mistakes so commonly made, you will see a good return on your time while still getting the work done.

The success stories of organizations that are using social network platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Myspace , LinkedIn , etc. to advertise their products is increasing every day. I want to recommend to use social media marketing in lieu of paid media to cut their ad costs and link up with millions of targeted consumers. It is not uncommon to find product launches, links to catalogues, attractive images that link to web stores with your favorite social network website.

The usage of Social media marketing to advertise is spreading virally , with advertisers over the globe, tapping into the buying and viewing habits of the net savvy Generation Y with unprecedented speed.

A higher percentage of the advertising budget of Corporates, SMEs and the smallest of entrepreneurs is being spent on social networks that are comparative to a densely populated online global village. Guidelines and tips for selling your goods and services on social networking websites can be found.

The constant presence of advertisements and pop ups selling everything under the sun, inspires serious regulars to social networks like myself, to install software that blocks unsolicited ads and irritating intrusions. However, the growing popularity of social media as the favorite marketing tool for creating brand awareness and product consciousness cannot and should not be neglected by any business.

Finally, Businesses worldwide are implementing social media marketing or are in the process of doing so. The benefits of implementing this strategy have been widely covered, but how can businesses measure the success of such campaigns?

The cost of the tools to monitor this success may also be as high as $5,000 a month. Here are a few tools that can help in analyzing the performance of a campaign and are for the most part free or have a trial basis.

Simply Measured: this free tool can easily analyze Facebook marketing campaigns. It provides simple graphs and infographics on Facebook Content Analysis, fan page report and competitive analysis. This tool can provide such data for any Facebook page with less than 250,000 fans and for Twitter accounts with less than 10,000 followers.

Hash Tracking: Twitter feeds can be difficult to track with the built in hash-tags functionality but the free version of this tool can track up to 1,000 results for any hash-tag. This will include analysis of the participants and other data.

There are other tools like Hoot Suite, Tweet deck and Crowd booster which open up the options for marketing managers. These tools offer more functionality and detailed analytics than the social networks.

However, an important point to note is that People have been networking for, well, ever. When you want to get a new job and you ask your friends if they know of anyone who is hiring, you are networking. When you need a new dress for a special occasion and you ask people if they know of a good place to get what you want, you are networking.

In real life, you have your own groups of social networks all around you. At work, your school or your kids school, on the playground, whatever. These are all social networks.

The difference between those social networks and the ones online are many though. For one, you do not have to go anywhere to meet people online. Just sit at your computer and click. In addition, you get a personal profile where you can post pictures, blogs and information about yourself, information that you are real like friends probably do not know about you.

What makes Online Social Networking so special is that you can make connections with people all over the world that have the same interests that you have. You both know what each other likes and dislikes before you even make a connection with each other. When that connection is made, you have made a new friend instantly

Now you can have conversations with your new friends, send each other pictures, share music and videos and more. You can get lost in this virtual online world. Remember, you have real life, face-to-face friends to. Do not block them out.

Mel Feller, MPA, MHR, is a well-known real estate, business consultant, personal development consultant and speaker, specializing in performance, productivity, and profits. Mel is the President/Founder of Mel Feller Seminars with Coaching For Success 360, Inc. and Mel Feller Coaching, a real estate and business specific coaching company. His three books for real estate professionals are systems on how to become an exceptional sales performer. His four books in Business and Government Grants are ways to leverage and increase your business Success in both time and money! His book on Personal Development “Lies that Will Sabotage Your Success”. Mel Feller is in Texas and In Utah. Currently an MBA Candidate.

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ourmrmel · 6 years

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Mel Feller, MPA, MHR, Discusses Building the Right Team as a Network Marketing Business.

Mel is the President/Founder of Mel Feller Seminars with Coaching for Success 360, Inc. and Mel Feller Coaching. Mel Feller maintains offices in Texas and in Utah.

Network marketing is slowly becoming a more difficult business to break into, particularly as a sole operator or small business owner. You might have the necessary skill set, and you could be very good at what you do. The problem, with growing frequency, is saturation. There are so many network-marketing startups that it can be difficult to find clients, get off the ground, and establish a reputation for quality, reliability, and transparency.

The solution to this is somewhat complicated, but it starts with a lot of hard work and perseverance. To that end, you need the right team around you to help you get the job done. This is true even as a sole proprietor, which you will see in a moment.

Mel Feller, MPA, MHR, Discusses Building the Right Team as a Network Marketing Business.

As a Network Marketing Business Owner

Establishing a new business is often a difficult and complicated process. As long as you are putting a team together in pursuit of such a goal, you might as well do the job right the first time. The right team members can make all the difference in the world, and will help to determine whether your new business is successful.

Look for Marketers with a Progressive Mindset

Look for people who are forward thinking, and inclined to come up with outside-the-box solutions that may or may not have been tried in the past. Network marketing is all about constant innovation, and coming up with “the next big idea” could put your new business at the front of the pack. Network marketers need to be able to spot trends that are lurking just over the proverbial horizon, and to take into account announced changes in big provider policy (Google, Amazon, etc.) which are going to alter the landscape a few months down the road.

Focus on Leadership Skills

As your business grows, people will come and go. This is natural and healthy, particularly with regard to such a fast-growing and ever-changing industry as digital marketing. Try to focus on hiring people with leadership qualities. A good leader listens to others, as well as considering their own expertise, and implements the best solutions to address a particular issue. Your business will benefit directly from their work ethic, and indirectly from the quality of the employees that list you in their work history.

Hire a Supportive Team

This sounds like a given. However, there is a difference between “providing support services” and literally being supportive. You want to hire people who believe in what you are doing as a small business owner and entrepreneur. They feel like they are a part of something, and they want to see it succeed. This kind of support inspires people to put that extra fifteen minutes of polish into a project, or to come up with that last-minute idea that is going to change everything for the better.

In return, you need to support them as well: provide them with the proper training, listen to their ideas and feedback, and compensate fairly for experience and ability they bring to the table.

Many business opportunity companies like Nu Skin offer support in building a great team. They focus on providing the tools needed for a team’s success. To learn more about how Nu Skin can help you grow your team visit their Facebook page or watch videos on Vimeo

As a Sole Proprietor or Independent Professional

As a sole proprietor, you still have a “team.” It simply comes in a form that you might not be pausing to appreciate every day, at least if you have anything in common with the majority of independent professionals out there today. Your friends, family, and other people in your personal life form a support base and structure that you can fall back on when things get tough.

Friends and family can do a great deal for you. They can suggest ideas off the cuff, which may inspire a little outside the box thinking on your own part. They can also provide emotional and

moral support, remind you why it is you got involved in your business in the first place, and help encourage you to keep going when your own motivation is flagging.

Mel Feller, MPA, MHR, is a well-known real estate, business consultant, personal development consultant and speaker, specializing in performance, productivity, and profits. Mel is the President/Founder of Mel Feller Seminars with Coaching For Success 360, Inc. and Mel Feller Coaching, a real estate and business specific coaching company. His three books for real estate professionals are systems on how to become an exceptional sales performer. His four books in Business and Government Grants are ways to leverage and increase your business Success in both time and money! His book on Personal Development “Lies that Will Sabotage Your Success”. Mel Feller is in Texas and In Utah. Currently an MBA Candidate.

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ourmrmel · 6 years

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Sales Conversation Versus Daily Communication by Mel Feller

Mel Feller & Coaching For Success 360 a Texas-Utah Company

Mel Feller, MPA, MHR with Offices in Texas and in Utah

Mel Feller Seminars, Coaching For Success 360 Inc. /Mel Feller Coaching

See www.melfellersuccessstories.com and www.melfeller.com

Did you know that there is a difference between normal daily communication and sales communication? The difference between selling and normal communication all comes down to process, planning and preparation.

To sell really well you need great communication skills, the big difference between selling and conversation is that with informal communication we communicate without the need to gain something whereas when you communicate in sales there is always a close that requires a positive action of some description. Let’s dig a little deeper into this and gain more insight into this way of thinking about sales and communication. It is these views that I have based my entire career in business on and because of these views that I have experienced most of my success.

Presentation skills, presenting to groups of people is another form of selling that I have great passion for. Presenting and Selling are very closely linked to each other and have little in common with simple communication between people in everyday life. I have found in business the skill of public speaking to be a significant asset and a great producer of sales leads. I therefore urge you all to practice and refine your public speaking skills as part of your sales development.

If I had to identify, outside of the obvious things, the difference between communicating on a day-to-day basis and selling it always comes down to research, planning, preparation and closing! It is these four things that truly differentiate selling and presenting from standard day to day communications.

I feel I should point out to all the old school sales people, no offense intended, that when I talk about closing I am not talking about getting the sale but more reaching your objective, either the major overall objective or one of the multiple steps you may have to take to get there; all of which are objectives in their own right, or as I am calling them here closes.

Note: “The really big difference between conversation and selling is the amount of preparation, planning and research you should be doing before you start to sell.”

If you already have some degree of interaction with the person you ultimately want to sell to, maybe you were introduced to each other through a mutual friend and you want to pick the phone up to talk to them about something in particular, just normal day-to-day social stuff, you would do just that! There would be no need to do any preparation or planning, just say Hi and then tell them what it is that you wanted to tell or ask them. Plain and simple communication. Oh and please, remember it only qualifies as true communication if information is flowing in both directions! Too many sales people fall into the trap of giving mini lectures rather than joining or starting conversations.

If you use social media, and most of us do, you will know to get followers and build your connections you need to join in not just broadcast but receive and react too. Those that I meet who have few followers tend to have either just started or are not engaging. The same these days is true of sales. People are getting used to having conversations on Facebook™, LinkedIn™, Twitter™ and Blogs and they like it, so we should do the same in our sales activities!

We need to be a little bit sensible about jumping in too soon with the familiar conversational style and understand the difference between a conversation between people who already know each other or people who are connected in some way on one of the many Social Media sites and building the first tentative steps in rapport.

If you’ve tried to be too familiar on a new sales journey with someone new, you would soon notice that you were burning all but a few of your leads because you were treating a complete stranger as if they were someone who you’d known for some time. Some would say that approaching a stranger, being able to talk to them as if they were a long lost friend was a demonstration of great self-confidence, and that may be true. However, this skill is not effective on its own and you would do well to remember that before you treat that person with that degree of familiarity you should first break the ice and get to know them on a very basic level. The things you learn about them, from them and share with them will give you the ability and credibility to break the ice and become more conversational.

The only people who can get away with the familiar approach from cold or nearly cold are those that have some kind of celebrity status. They can get away with it because the more famous they are the more you already know about them, it is as if you have already gone through the getting to know you phase of relationship building.

For most of us, we have to put the work in! We have to do our research, preparation and planning and then, with a fair wind loads of hard work and maybe a little luck, we will get the sale. Briefly, that is the difference between standard communication and sales communication.

Sales communication requires more work, before during and after. I want to share with you those skills that will set you apart from the rest, by developing the true sales skills, those that will make you better than the average and with practice as good as the very best. Understanding these skills is vital, the more you know, the more you understand, the better you will be at communicating, selling and relationship building!

Note: “Selling does involve a certain amount of luck. However it is also true to say the harder and smarter you work the luckier you’ll become.”

So to recap the difference between communication and selling starts with understanding that you cannot be a great salesperson with just the gift of the gab, it helps but that is all. What you really need is knowledge based on good old-fashioned hard work and the confidence to use it conversationally at the right time with the right people and to understand the importance of trust; the ability to build relationships based on a sincere desire to help others. If you are in sales now and do not have that natural and sincere desire, you might need to think about a career change!

Mel Feller a Texas /Utah Personal Development, Business, Real Estate, Realtor Trainer, Branding, Business Funding and Finance Coach. In addition, Mel Feller has served in a variety of executive leadership roles for medium and large organizations, including multiple Fortune 500’s. He is a charismatic leader who has facilitated change and growth in all sized organizations, including non-profit and Board development. Mel Feller has successfully led organizations in the areas business development, marketing, real estate and Realtors, sales, team building, operations, and the like. Mel Feller is in Texas and is in Utah with offices, staff and investments in both states.

Mel Feller has been a featured speaker for career professional is groups, business leaders and continuing education sessions, and aspiring business startups.

When he is not coaching, you can find Mel Feller reading, listening to podcasts, exercising, fishing, or with his kids and grandkids exploring the greatness God has gifted us all.

Mel Feller’s purpose is to add tremendous value to those business owners/entrepreneurs by helping them reach their potential.

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ourmrmel · 6 years

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Use Giveaways to Enhance Your Business Brand

Mel Feller, MPA, MHR with Offices in Texas and Utah

Mel Feller Seminars, Coaching For Success 360 Inc. /Mel Feller Coaching

See www.melfellersuccessstories.com and www.melfeller.com

Are you thinking of ways to promote your business and your brand? There is one easy way out to attract the attention of your prospective as well as existing customers. Arrange free competitions and offer some excellent giveaways. Within a few days, more people will come to know about your brand and/or your new product and boost sales for you.

Humans by nature are competitive. You ask a single human being to achieve something within a given time and they may struggle. However, put a whole pack of them together, arrange for a competition, and see how the target is achieved. Therefore, when you tell someone that there are some competitions where they can enter their name and there are excellent giveaways on what you are offering see how many of them line up for the competition. In addition, this is precisely how you increase awareness about your brand or the new product that you have lined up for launch.

There are a few points to consider regarding these competitions.

First, you need to collaborate with someone that knows about arranging such events. There are plenty of websites in both the United States and Canada that do such kinds of brand building exercises. When you deal with them, there is not much you need to do. Thanks to the possibilities of the internet, creating an event for you becomes very simple for such organizers. They will launch the event on their website and then promote it through social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter. Thanks to their marketing prowess and goodwill, word is soon going to spread about your event and this is going to get people entering the competition for a chance of winning that prize that you have declared.

Secondly, you cannot be low class with your prizes. If you are an excellent brand with world-class products and services then the prizes need to befit that stature. If you offer prizes like pens or hats then no one is going to get interested. In fact, your brand will get publicity for all the wrong reasons. Your prizes need to be attractive and you cannot look to save too much money here. Remember that the money you spend on such giveaways competitions will come back to you in the form of newer customers and more business.

Third, if you declare a competition then you ought to honor it. There are several giveaway campaigns that announce the competition, and the prizes but no one gets to know who won in the end. The main promotion happens when the winners are announced in the promotion on your website and the social networking websites. When someone sees the name of a winner and possibly their photograph the credibility of the competition, and in turn your brand, gets enhanced. Moreover, this is your end objective.

Competitions and giveaways are there dime a dozen. You need to create a difference with your ideas and your prizes. This is where an expert website can help you. Build your brand and this will lead to empire building.

Therefore, no matter what your business is and where it is located, you need to differentiate yourself from the crowd. In addition, it is always important, no essential to offer the greatest customer service you can. It does not cost anything to under promise and over deliver.

Mel Feller a Texas /Utah Personal Development, Business, Real Estate, Branding, Business Funding and Finance Coach. In addition, Mel Feller has served in a variety of executive leadership roles for medium and large organizations, including multiple Fortune 500’s. He is a charismatic leader who has facilitated change and growth in all sized organizations, including non-profit and Board development. Mel Feller has successfully led organizations in the areas business development, marketing, sales, operations, and the like.

Mel Feller has been a featured speaker for career professional is groups, business leaders and continuing education sessions, and aspiring business startups.

When he is not coaching, you can find Mel Feller reading, listening to podcasts, exercising, fishing, or with his kids and grandkids exploring the greatness God has gifted us all.

Mel Feller’s purpose is to add tremendous value to those business owners/entrepreneurs by helping them reach their potential.

Mel Feller is an effective, charismatic and powerful speaker, corporate advisor, and best-selling author. In 1989, Mel founded Coaching for Success 360 to help professionals worldwide design subtle changes in their presentation, attitude and leadership style that increases their personal and professional effectiveness and subsequently their financial status. This also includes both real estate as an agent and/or investor. See www.melfeller.com and www.melfellersuccessstories.com . Now with offices both in Texas and Utah.

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ourmrmel · 6 years

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Mel Feller Looks at Real Estate Agents Wasting Time with Their Activities

Let me begin by asking this question. “What are the activities that you are doing that leads you to the results you want?

Any activity where you are face-to-face, voice-to-voice, belly-to-belly with potential sellers, listed sellers and with buyers are activities that lead to results. These are your most important activities.

There are several other important activities such as goal setting, planning, attending sales meetings, etc., but with the exception of attending sales meetings, most other important activities do not have to occur in broad daylight. However, spending as much time with customers who want to buy or sell are ‘daylight’ tasks. The golden rule is to never perform a ‘nighttime’ task during daylight hours.

So how will you get to this enviable position in your business? How will you become “referral worthy”? Is it just a matter of doing a good job for clients when you’re helping them buy or sell a property? Is there anything more to it?

Get into the Right Mindset

You would think that satisfied clients would be delighted to spread the word about your services.

However, that’s just not the way things work.

Sure, you did a terrific job helping a client sell their property and buy a new dream home, but was that months or even years ago?

If so, what have you done for them lately?

The fact is your clients and other contacts would give you referrals if they heard from you on a regular basis. They need to have the ongoing benefit of your expertise. They need to continuously see that you are there for them – not just during a transaction, but also in the year’s in-between.

The service you provide during a transaction is only part of what it takes to be a referral-worthy Real Estate Agent. An important part, yes. But just one part.

Ask yourself this question:

“What have I done for my clients, and other important contacts, lately?” Have I sent them an update on the local market? Mailed a valuable newsletter? Sent a birthday card? Phoned or visited to see how they ’re doing?

Be honest here. The purpose of this exercise is to help you clearly see how often your contacts hear from you, and the experience they have when they do.

Stay in Touch

“Can you recommend a good Real Estate Agent?” asks a friend or neighbor.

That conversation happens more often then you may think.

In fact, studies show that each of your past clients will have the opportunity to recommend a Real Estate Agent possibly two or three times each year. Your prospects, business contacts, and other important contacts also are asked for recommendations regularly.

Do the math. That is many potential referrals for you!

However, studies also show that if you don’t keep in touch with your contacts regularly, you’ll get very few, if any, of those referrals.

Keeping in touch with your contacts is an important key to maximizing the number of referrals you get each month.

If you do not stay in touch, you will not get many referrals. It is that simple.

Ask yourself the following questions:

How often am I staying in touch with my past clients and other important contacts? (Monthly? Yearly? Not at all?)

Do I know the ideal frequency for staying in touch with my clients, prospects, and other contacts?

Add Value

Unfortunately, many Real Estate Agents focus on selling themselves rather than building a professional relationship with their clients and prospects.

Imagine getting a letter, telephone call or email from your accountant each month, in which they continuously pitch their services and brags about all the great work they are doing for their clients. “I’m number one in town!” they keeps writing.

That would tire quickly, wouldn’t it?

The key to building a professional relationship is to use each letter, email, and telephone call or visit to position yourself as the trusted, helpful, knowledgeable expert. That way your clients think of you, when they, or someone they know, needs real estate help.

How do you do that?

By adding value, value in the form of timely updates, helpful home-related articles and tips, and personal messages from you. Also, consider creating a Business Directory so you become the go-to person for recommendations. Offer to do an annual real estate check-up.

When you add value, your clients and other contacts will realize that they are continuously benefiting from your expertise. That builds trust and loyalty, which leads to more referrals.

Make a list of the various ways you have stayed in touch with your contacts over the past three months. For each communication, ask yourself, “Did I add value?”

Use the Right Mix of Contact Methods

These days, there are many ways to stay in touch with your clients, prospects and other important contacts. You can use direct mail, email, phone calls, personal visits, and even social media.

Which one of these methods works best for attracting more referrals? Direct mail is ideal for your most valuable contacts – those who are most likely to give you referrals, such as your past clients. A direct mail piece that is eye-catching, highly personalized, and packed with truly valuable information sends an important message.

Email is an effective way to stay in touch with prospects. It’s also a great way to send timely messages such as hot new listings, sold in the area, local market news, and more.

Chances are, at least some of your clients and prospects are active on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Do you know how to use social media effectively to attract more referrals?

Clearly, you need to get direct mail, email and social media working in tandem.

Answer the following questions:

How am I using direct mail to stay in touch with the contacts that are most likely to give me referrals?

How am I using email to stay in touch with prospects?

How am I using social media to support my direct mail and email marketing?

How am I using phone calls, personal visits, and events?

Do I know the right mix of these contact strategies, and how to get them working together in the right way?

Manage Your Contact Database

There is nothing more important to your business than your contacts. These are your past clients, business contacts (companies in your Business Directory), prospects and other contacts who could potentially recommend you to others.

Maintaining your database using a good CRM is essential to attracting more referrals.

Your CRM should have the following characteristics at the very least:

Be easy to use.

Provide the fields you need to input all important contact information, including birthdays, occupations, household members, property details, original source of contact, referral history, contact groups, past conversations, etc.

Provide activity plans.

Include mass email, drip email and email campaign reporting.

Make it easy to filter and sort your database.

Have an area to manage all your communications with your contacts.

Incorporate a calendar and task list.

Have website lead capture capabilities.

Sync with Smartphones and,

Be designed specifically for Real Estate Agents.

Ideally, it should also be a one-stop-shop for staying-in-touch, building relationships, and managing your day-to-day business.

Answer the following questions:

Is my contact management system up-to-date with all the relevant information on my contacts?

Can I access the information in my contact management system quickly and easily – and from anywhere?

Is my contact management system easy-to-use?

Does my contact management system save me time? On the other hand, is the system cumbersome and time-consuming to use?

Does my contact management system help me build relationships with my clients, prospects and other important contacts?

Have a “System”

As you can see, you need to communicate regularly with your clients, prospects and other important contacts. You need to make sure you are sending the right messages, at the right frequency. You need to use the right mix of contact strategies – direct mail, email, social media, telephone calls, personal visits, and events, and direct them to the right contacts.

That would all be very difficult, if not impossible, to do and manage if you didn’t have a system.

Without an effective system in place, it is too easy for things to fall through the cracks. Opportunities for more referrals will be missed. Worse, you will spend a lot of time – too much time – trying to keep it all under control.

With the right system in place, things work better and take less time. Everything is coordinated. Nothing gets missed. As a result, your clients, prospects and other important contacts will increasingly look at you as the Real Estate Agent to call when they need help.

Although I have told thousands of Real Estate Agents about The Time Trap by Alec Mackenzie and, although I know that many of them have bought a copy, some may have even read it, too few actually follow through and complete Time Logs for thirty days.

I I would highly recommend it and as a benefit. Try this:

If you are currently working for 30 percent of your day on activities that do not produce results and you double that to 60 percent, without working an extra minute, you have just doubled your sales!

Now if that doesn’t convince you to read Alec Mackenzie’s book and to follow his advice, nothing will. Such people drift through their careers, wasting time thinking about what needs to be done next, instead of learning what needs to be done, planning to work mostly on those activities, and conducting a Time Log to see if they are actually doing those all-important activities.

Of course, how you invest your time will always be up to you.

Why Use Mel Feller

Mel Feller is a business coach who helps individuals make the transition from full-time employee to successful entrepreneur. A grandfather now, Mel Feller started his coaching business in 1990 to help other parents, employees and individual entrepreneurs deal with the sometimes-overwhelming prospect of starting a new business while still running a household or a job. Prior to raising his family, as a single father, Mel Feller spent over two decades as Top Producing Real Estate Agent, corporate trainer and workshop leader and Chief of Staff to a United States Senator. Today Mel Feller offers a wide range of programs and services - from individual coaching, to seminars and keynote speeches. To contact Mel Feller, please visit his website http://www.melfellersuccessstories.com

Mel understands how to help people create momentum for change in their life and how to break through the barriers holding them back. He is a big believer in taking concrete steps forward every day. Mel was stuck and more than once and so he knows firsthand how hard it can be to change your life to pursue your dreams, but he is living proof that it can be done.

It is his mission to help you get into the life you dream about, to convince you that you can make a living doing what it is you want to be doing, to help you feel like you are living your purpose and in congruency with your values.

“Truth telling, honesty, and candor: I loved you Mel Feller! You have so much energy and knowledge! I truly hope I get another opportunity to be coached by you. I see myself a little clearer now, and it’s not so bad.”

Lisa Mathews

“Mel Feller you added more value than we can possibly see right now. Mel Feller, you are warm, inviting, and accommodating. Thank you for coming alongside us in this transition!”

Vanessa Cavanaugh

“Mel Feller the best education session that we have attended in many years! Thank you so much — I am very excited to put everything you have taught us into practice!”

Michael Randolph

“Mr. Mel Feller, Thank you, thank you, thank you for giving a marvelous keynote at our Symposium! While we have not yet collected the official feedback, the unofficial feedback was that You Were a Hit! I heard nothing but compliments regarding your presentations. Thank you for making such a positive impact on our attendees! ”

Lyle Cunningham VP

"Mel Feller uses his humor, compassion, and direct nature to help bring out the best in me. Mel Feller is committed to helping me live...I mean, really live, life to its fullest."

Jose Rodriguez

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