MAKING YOUR LIFE STICK WITHOUT YOU BEING IGNORED

Warning!

There is no one-size-fits-all template, thoughts, ideas etc that this class can slap on top of your business and career to make it successful. It’s up to you to figure out how to convert the shared wisdom and insights into the magnetic pull that will draw new customers to your business, make you revolutionary and extraordinary in your career among others. Conversely, no doubt your thinking will be expanded and your muscles will be stretched! Leggoo!! Smiles.

Point to ponder:

I love a well told inspirational and touching story. I love to root for the unsung hero and imagine how I might tackle similar challenges. I love delving into the psychological back story and reflecting on questions that challenge my complacency about who I am and what I stand for. If these sounds like you, then you will love some of the things we shall be discussing today as we open a new world of endless possibilities.

Think about the following traits for a second: empathy, confidence, trust, resilience, courage, grit, persuasiveness, risk-taking, etc. Some will say in their heads...c'mon we know all this things man. But the challenge is we don't act them. And talk is cheap. This is why the world needs men/women who act more than they talk for such a time like this.

Are you one of them?

My Success Mantra:

The only free cheese in the arena of life is in the mouse trap.

If you are self-motivated, wow, this world is tailored for you. The boundaries are all gone. But if you're not self-motivated, this world will be a challenge because the walls, ceilings and floors that protected people are also disappearing with a click and snap of a finger... there will be "fewer limits, but also fewer guarantees". Your specific contribution will define your specific benefits much more. Just showing up, will not cut it anymore, buddies.

The Law of Attraction: Utilising your Magnetism:
1. According to Miriam-Webster Dictionary Magnetic is defined as “possessing an extraordinary power or ability to attract”. Everyone has an inherent magnetism. The magnetism in everything is an unconscious possibility yet to be harnessed. It must be improved upon. It's akin to salvation. You don't just assume you've received salvation because Jesus died on the cross.

It must be accepted, believed and confessed. Likewise, your magnetism must harnessed and improved upon be it in business or life.

2. There isn’t a business anywhere in the world that doesn’t dream of attracting customers as easily as steel pins to a magnet. This is because your business, career, etc will live or die, thrive or struggle, based on your ability to harness the power of your customers to drive new customers to grow your business. You can do this by practicing certain attitudes, strategies and tactics.

3. Make no mistake about it. Every aspect of life endeavours has customers. In your business, life and career you have customers.

4. The first order of your business, career etc, so to speak, is to focus squarely on the needs of your customers instead of your products and services or the administrative needs of your company. Make no mistake, in order to prosper your biz, career etc. you need to be very good at what you do, however you must do so with the single-minded intent to better serve the customer, not to make things simple for your employees or to appease management.

A satisfied customer is more than mere cash-flow for your business; they are the most powerful marketing tool in your promotional toolkit.

Note:

It is practically impossible for you to fail. I repeat, practically impossible for you to fail in life. Don't doubt yourself. Always respond with boldness to the cards of life.

5. The single most important factor in the future success of your business, career, etc is this: what your customers tell people about their experience with you. What this means to you is that, creating positive experiences for your customers is the single most important thing you can do to grow your business. In other words, you reap what you sow!

Farmers and gardeners understand that they will reap what they sow, quality seeds and plants, regular watering and fertilizing, pruning and reasonable protection from harsh elements will ensure a stunning garden and a bountiful harvest.

As a business owner (or whatever field you are in) you must recognize that growing your business, career etc is similar to tending a garden or a farm. Investing time, energy and resources into satisfying each customer that expresses an interest in your product or service will produce a happy customer willing to do business with you again and a bumper crop of goodwill that will be shared with everyone in their network. Failure to cultivate the customer relationship may produce a single sale, but won’t yield a more bountiful harvest over time. You reap what you sow!

Note:

Hard times are not coming to us. A hard time is already here with us. This is why you must be engage in one thing and one thing alone: Go Deep.

6. It astounds me that there are business owners today that simply don’t understand the importance of placing the customer at the centre of their decision-making to ensure they have a positive experience. I recently received lackluster service from a branch of one of the top ranking banks in the country. Whew! It was an experience I had to get off my chest. It's something we've all experienced at one time or another. 

Customer service is a part of most of our jobs, businesses etc to some degree, so how can we give each customer we interact with an exemplary experience? This is not only important, but paramount for a business’s survival, especially in the age of social media where everyone has a platform and a “voice”, and one negative review or poor word of mouth can do irreparable damage to a business’s reputation. It’s simple: go the extra mile to ensure that your customer always leave every interaction with you satisfied. Usually that extra mile doesn’t require much, but it leaves a lasting impression. As we know, it’s so critically important to create those rabid fans who will be an ambassador for your biz etc.

7. Furthermore, of course, no business, career etc can be all things to all people. So, it’s imperative to think hard about what you want your business to be known for and identify what you want people to be saying to others about their experience with you. Let me shock you friends.....do you know all that Starbucks {the giant coffee enterprise} sells is "experience"? This is because it takes the same amount or less to prepare the same coffee recipe in your house.

Why do people troop to Starbucks? Experience!!!  If you constantly sell experience {good experience} you'll attract rabid fans. Apple is another company that sells experience. Apple fans are more than fans...they're Apple believers. So, it's possible and doable to convert your customers to believers by selling experience. But if you constantly sell "revelational experience" you attract rabid believers (converted customers). Examples of believers are Apple users. There are those who can't use any other phone except iPhone.

8. Identify Your Big Three. What are the three rock solid statements about you that, if heard over and over again from lots of people by potential customers, would be likely to drive them to you like steel balls to a powerful magnet? When you hear "Just Do It" what comes to mind? Nike. When you hear "No Alternative to Practical" what comes to mind? BeEmpowered Consult. When you hear "preternatural poem" what comes to mind? Soul'e Rhymez. Lol!

9. Do you want people to rave about your product (s)? Your service? Your staff? Your prices? What specifically about those areas do you want people to be highlighting? The more specific you can be, the easier it will be to find ways to deliver just that to your customers or believers. Still not sure? Try identifying the things you don’t want to be known for and then flipping that around to a more positive experience. You get the picture?

10. Once you’ve picked/identified your big three core ‘what you want them to say’ statements, you need to focus your energy and attention on creating the customer experiences that would generate those types of comments. This requires you to identify another set of threes – the three things you must get right with each and every customer, each and every time, in order to inspire those rock solid testimonials. When you know those ‘big three’, you simplify your decision-making.

You (and your staff) know exactly what needs to be done to wow your customers and make it easier for them to pass along powerful word-of-mouth messages to others.

11. DNA - Do Not Apologize! What? Do not apologize? How does that create exceptional customer service? As business with a magnetic mindset its important you need to aspire to this counter-intuitive way of thinking. It’s not that you actually won’t apologize to a customer if something goes amiss or wrong. It’s rooted in the premise that you won’t be apologizing to customers, because you haven’t done anything that you need to apologize for!

Note:

As a trainer, I see it all the time. People attend workshops, seminars, conferences, etc looking for that one tool or tip that will simplify their life, solve their problems and improve their chances of success personally and professionally. That’s good. I’m pretty confident we read business, personal development and inspirational books for the same reasons – a desire to find some shortcut to doing things smarter, faster, better. I’m not throwing stones in a glass house, I do it too! And, apparently its universal human desire as well. But you must process all information and wisdom shares. This is how growth comes.

 How then can you make your life, business and career stick without you being ignored?

Consider this: "You are a circle, in a square making triangles".

The statement above might not make any sense. But guess what? It doesn't. It is to make or position you to go far, stay long and see deep. You must draw water out of the unseen wells that exist which humanity can't see with physical senses.

To start with.....

Keep Yourself Accountable.

1. Consider the implication of this idea...
What would happen if you were to be followed with a camera crew 24 hours a day 7 days a week for the next 100 days, while you went for your career or biz goals? I bet 3 things would likely happen:
a. You would START doing the things you say you need to do.
b. You would STOP doing the things you know you shouldn't be doing.
c. You would MAKE monumental performance gains and change your life.

2. This is ALL possible through the discipline of accountability. Accountability serves and protects your character, credibility and commitments as it ensures that what you want to accomplish get accomplished. The problem however is that the lack of accountability is one of the biggest constraints you have which prevents goal achievement. You see, throughout every areas of our lives it's important to acknowledge that ALL unfinished goals, projects and relationships are the result of broken promises, unfulfilled commitments, and lack of accountability.

Note:

Don't ever play smart on anybody. The consequences are huge. In this life, you must be deep, and maintain focus on your priority.

3. it’s true. It's easy to get excited about an idea but following through with the nitty-gritty involves work. Planning, investment of time and resources plus all importantly, stepping up to do what you said you would do. It's easy to have ideas in our mind, play around with them, make a few calls, do some researches online, but we have to be committed to make ideas become plans and plans become actions. This is where accountability comes in.

The Power of Career Capital:

Please listen up.....hide this in your heart for 2017.

* If you want to love what you do, abandon the passion mindset (‘what can the world offer me’) and instead adopt the craftsman mindset (‘what can I offer the world’).

* Starting around 1970, the idea of following your passion in your career choice grew in popularity till it became the de facto advice for career planners and seekers.

* This conventional equation of following your passion should not be taken at face value because:
- Compelling careers often have complex origins that reject the simple idea that all you have to do is follow your passion.
- The vast majority of people don’t have pre-existing passions waiting to be discovered and
matched to a job.

* In fact, following your passion can actually make it less likely to feel passionate about the work. What do we mean by that? The passion mindset is self-focused, always asking: What is this job doing for me? Am I happy? Is there something else that I like better?

* The trap of focusing on what you want causes anxiety and uncertainty. Nothing is going to measure up to the mythical idea that this is your passion and you will love it. This is harmful, leading to chronic job hopping and steering you away from a meaningful, satisfying career.

* In contrast, the craftsman mindset asks: How much value am I producing? How useful am I? How can I create more positive contributions to the world?

* The relentless focus on how I can make myself and my output more valuable is significantly more likely to craft a career that is a huge source of passion. People are passionate about their job because they have become so good at it that they are able to choose how they want to work on it, on their own terms.

Thank you for having me. See y'all on the flip side.

About the Speaker:
Akintola Akinsanya is the Principal Consultant at BeEmpowered Consult™, the No Guesswork Branding & Marketing Resource Company for Entrepreneurs and would-be Entrepreneurs. We show our clients practical, step by step marketing strategies to confidently promote & grow their businesses & get them noticed.

Akintola is also a Conference Speaker, Author, Political consultant, Marketing Ninja, Life Coach, Teens Power Ranger, and Business Advisor, who combines his experience of global savvy and creativity ingenuity with his intuitive understanding of people. He engages and entertains audiences (students inclusive) while
providing practical solutions to their daily lives and business challenges. He is known as the "Visionary with Guts" for his persistence in going for his goals and dreams despite apparent obstacles or challenges.

He's also the host of BeEmpowered Book Club™ where we review business and developmental books for practical takeaways etc, Identifying Your Selling Points™ and The Mentoring Mind Show™ - for inspiring, empowering entrepreneurs; would-be entrepreneurs, innovators and nation builders.

Akintola is a graduate of Political Science and Public Administration with staunch passion to seeing people, businesses, and nations thrive. He has over 10 years experience of motivating, inspiring and stirring (MIS Formula) people (youths inclusive), businesses by aligning them to the higher purpose and profit.

He believes every generation has a sound and every business should be tripartite (Spirit, soul & body) by structure. According to him, this sound is the "New Breed" rising to a higher place spiritually, socially, politically, economically, morally, mentally, psychologically and business-wise.

He can be reached on: +2348182939935.

Coordinator:
Samuel Abigail

Editor:

Soul’e Rhymez

Correspondents:

Samuel Abigail

Becky Snyder

Emmanuel Priscilla

Producer:

SRAF Group

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