What's the Difference Between Successful Businesses and Struggling Businesses?
Have you ever noticed how some businesses seem to do extremely well, and go from strength to strength, whilst the majority just seem to muddle along?Since starting my own business I've met many small business owners and what I've noticed is that the vast majority of them seem to just about get by, but few reach the level of success that they're actually capable of. Some of them end up failing altogether, some lurch from project to project, and some d

What is Lean Six Sigma
Lean Six Sigma combines the quality improvements that come from using Six Sigma with the speed improvements that come from using Lean manufacturing principles . Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects in any process -- from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service. Lean manufacturing focuses on improving the speed of a process and the elimination of waste primarily by eliminating non-value a

Credibility - Without It You're NOWHERE
Internet marketers, when making a list of the things they think they need in order to successfully run an Internet business usually include the following:1. A Web Site 2. Ads 3. Articles 4. Money For Promotion 5. A Product 6. An E-ZineAnd the list goes on and on. But 95% of them forget one thing, and it's probably the one most important thing you need to have if you're going to succeed.It's called credibility.lf promotion deserves your attention.

Maybe you feel that it is inappropriate to promote yourself in any way, especially when you meet new people. Have you ever you met someone who asked about what you do, and watched their look of confusion when you gave them a barely adequate answer, all because you didn't want to seem pushy or self-interested?

I imagine you have the most sincere motives for avoiding self promotion, but may I also suggest that you may be confusing modesty with self-protection? It's natural to want to protect yourself against anything short of drooling adulation that you might receive in response to a sales pitch. (By the way, how does that phrase "sales pitch" land with you?) It's natural, but it isn't modest.

It also isn't kind to the other person. There they are, carrying on a friendly conversation, and suddenly you classify them as a threat to your self-esteem. How likely are they to benefit from the interaction?

Until quite recently I thought that the reason I lit up in some sales situations while hanging back in others, was that I was highly sensitive. (I hear th

te answer, all because you didn't want to seem pushy or self-interested?

I imagine you have the most sincere motives for avoiding self promotion, but may I also suggest that you may be confusing modesty with self-protection? It's natural to want to protect yourself against anything short of drooling adulation that you might receive in response to a sales pitch. (By the way, how does that phrase "sales pitch" land with you?) It's natural, but it isn't modest.

It also isn't kind to the other person. There they are, carrying on a friendly conversation, and suddenly you classify them as a threat to your self-esteem. How likely are they to benefit from the interaction?

Until quite recently I thought that the reason I lit up in some sales situations while hanging back in others, was that I was highly sensitive. (I hear th

ything short of drooling adulation that you might receive in response to a sales pitch. (By the way, how does that phrase "sales pitch" land with you?) It's natural, but it isn't modest.

It also isn't kind to the other person. There they are, carrying on a friendly conversation, and suddenly you classify them as a threat to your self-esteem. How likely are they to benefit from the interaction?

Until quite recently I thought that the reason I lit up in some sales situations while hanging back in others, was that I was highly sensitive. (I hear th

on, and suddenly you classify them as a threat to your self-esteem. How likely are they to benefit from the interaction?

Until quite recently I thought that the reason I lit up in some sales situations while hanging back in others, was that I was highly sensitive. (I hear this from my clients a lot. Highly sensitive people keep a lot of coaches employed.)

One day I realized that I wasn't avoiding self promotion out of sensitivity, but out of fear. And it wasn't even fear of a particularly elevated kind. It was the venal fear of not getting what I wanted when I wanted it and as I wanted it. In other words, when I felt confident of getting the result I wanted, I'd reach out. If I thought somewhat might question what I wanted or say, "No," I'd hang back.

Notice that the fear of being denied what you want is not the same as the fear of rejection. Being told "no" in response to a sales pitch does not signal the end of a relationship. It doesn't have anything to do with accepting or rejecting you as a human being. It doesn't even have anything to do with increasing or decreasing your perceived worthiness. All it means is "No. I do not want what you are offering." (Hey, you want a glass of water while I'm up? No. You see?)

You are perhaps a better person than I. But even if your reluctance to self-promote or sell is rooted in the soil of modesty, isn't it time to distinguish modesty fro