Sex May Sell....

Sex May Sell but It has nothing to do with Network Marketing. In other words, don't use a smoke screen as a substitute for leadership and quality work, product or services. When people get beyond the vail, they will see a big fat nothing. I hate to use this cliche since we're probably all sick of it during this political season, but I'll use it anyway: "If you put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig."

Let me discuss a few points on what makes people successful in business.

• Leadership: A strong leader is one who is genuine and interested in helping people, especially through mentoring. Leaders are confident in their abilities or skills. They crave knowledge and are avid readers and takers of courses. No needed book or course is too expensive.  Their life is a relentless pursuit to acquiring knowledge and hoing their skills - Getting to the next level. Leaders are visionaries who can see the opportunity in every problem and love to define a course to a solution. They plot a course via goals and objectives setting. They are not whiners or pessimists. They always believe they can do something if they have the right tools.
• Judgement: People who are wildly successful usually have the gift of discernment. They have an uncanny ability of summing up a person's character, desire, drive and genuineness very quickly after meeting them. If you are not born with an over abundance of discernment, this is something that can be developed. People reveal their true self by the words they speak, the tone of their voice and body language. Physicians are especially good at this. The exam begins when you enter the room and look at a patient. Then if you can be quiet long enough, the patient will tell you what's wrong. In other words, observe every detail and listen well. Discerning people rarely hog the conversation. Is the person smiling or have a flat affect? Is the person sitting forward and engaged or is he slumping and inattentive? Are the hands folded, meaning being guarded or gently folded in the lap? Is the fist clenched when talking whcih may convey being defensive, aggressive, or uncomfortable? Does the person look you straight in the eye, especially when answering a question? Or, are they evasive (or may be untruthful) by looking away each time he or she answers the question? You eventually make the call on choosing winners or losers for your team. Anyone can find the obvious winners. But, can you spot the diamond in the rough?
• Relationship Builders: Watch successful business people. They never sell first. They build realationships first after immediately establishing a rapport. They will see the picture of a child with red hair in a prospects office and will first comment how they like red hair and how a relative or a good friend has red hair. They find out what that prospect likes and what his or her goals are before selling anything.  They will repeat the persons name  several times in the conversation.  They rarely use I  or me or I think. They listen. They rarely pass judgment. They stay away from topics such as politics and religion. They convey an I am here for you attitude.
• Thrifty: You will never get anywhere being wasteful. Successful people are usually the ones who recycle the  paper clips in the office, use the coupons, use the frequent stay and flyer points, and cross the street to get to the cheaper gas. They usually stick to the budget.
• Disciplined: Success doesn't exist without discipline. Successful business people are rarely late. They start the day early and every minute is planned and accounted for. They do not operate on the fly. They do not let other people waste their time. If the meeting is 9 AM, it doesn't meet you get there at 9 AM. It means you start at 9 AM. They usually plan their hair cuts and workout routine. Meetings are accomplished with an agenda that was previously announced to allow others to be contributors to the meeting.
• Researcher: The successful business person is a researcher. These individuals don't make decisions without data. They don't wing it. They have a resource list from which they can tap at any moment. They usually learn from best practices in their industry and seek to improve on those best practices. Remember how people laughed at Toyota! Still, you can't research forever. The successful person will quickly make a decision and stick by it. If he or she was wrong, he will admit and move on. Remember Jack Welch, former CEO of GE. Read his biography.
• Use Technology Well: The difference between making one hundred thousand dollars and one million dollars may be efficiecny. Successful business people use technology to their advantage. Emails, electronic planners and reminders, and the internet are a few. How many unsuccessful individuals are have not developed a quality website with their own domain? How many of these same individuals fail to take advantage of Google Adwords, Ezine Articles, Press Releases, Blogs, Gateway Pages (Squeeze Pages), Online Forums, etc. If you don't know what these terms mean, it's time to start reading and researching.
• Model Good Habits: Successful people model other successful people. They look for those habits formed by others and model those habits. To do this, you must surround yourself with successful people. Remember the old adage: You can't be an eagle if you hang out with turkeys. Always listen when you are around successful people, they constantly drop golden nuggets of information. Why? Because they are givers. They want to see you do well.

More to come. I will have to do a part II. This is getting too long!

Orville Campbell, MD - The Adaptogen Doctor