Guest post by Art Sobczak

Several years ago I started a year-end tradition of posting a list of questions for sales pros to ask themselves as they started their new year.

It was extremely popular, received tons of reprint requests (like this one I got from David!), as well as suggestions to share them again the next year. So now I do it every year.

I suggest you set aside some time, look at each of these questions, and answer them with an action plan.

Follow that plan, and like many others, you will guarantee your own success.

Here we go:

1. What are you going to do to improve your industry and product knowledge in 2013? 
    
2. How many inactive customers will you revive and turn into regular customers again? What do you need to doto make that happen? 
    
3. What will you do to ensure you're protecting your best customers, and adding more value to the relationships? How will you sell even more to them? 
    
4. How many new customers will you bring on this year? 
    
5. How do you plan to do that, specifically? 
    
6. What will you do to improve your physical health in 2013? 
    
7. What, specifically, are your sales and production goals for 2013? How does that break down into quarterly and monthly goals? 
    
8. How much more money will you make in 2013? How will that happen? What will you need to do, today, to take the first steps in that direction? 
    
9. What will you need to do to increase THAT number by an dditional 10%? 
    
10. What are you going to do every day to keep your attitude at a high level? 
     
11. How much time are you going to spend, daily, to improve your own sales skills? What will you do? 
     
12. How many referrals did you get in 2012? How did get them? From whom? What will you do to turn them into sales? 
     
13. Speaking of referrals, will you please forward this post to two others who would also benefit? And invite them to get weekly sales tips at http://businessbyphone.com (OK, that's one of mine.)
     
14. In which areas will you improve your personal, family, and spiritual life? 
     
15. How are you going to maximize the use of your time? Where will you cut out the time-wasters in each day? 
     
16. What have you been putting off that you will take care of within the next two weeks? 
     
17. Who can you help to feel special every day? 
     
18. What challenge, wish or desire--that you've never attempted before--will you finally achieve in 2013? 
     
19. How will you do that? Why? 
     
20. Where are you going to write all of this down so you can review and revise your plans regularly? 
     
21. What will it LOOK like when you accomplish everything you've just been thinking about? 
     
22. How good will it FEEL? 
     
23. What will it SOUND like when you achieve these things? 
     
24. Why COULDN'T you do all of this? 

Any answer to that last one is not a reason, but rather a self-imposed limitation, excuse, or lack of desire or effort. The biggest deterrent to success looks us in the mirror every day. 

Now, go out and plan to have, no, COMMIT to having...

...YOUR BEST YEAR EVER IN 2013! 

________________
About the Author 

For the past 30 years, Art Sobczak’s tips and training have helped others do “rejectionless” prospecting and painless  and profitable sales. Get his free ebook of 501 sales tips at www.BusinessByPhone.com 

1. Fewer resolutions. More resolve.

2. Increase your daily level of optimism. AMAZING things will start to happen! 

3. Be a lamp. Or a lifeboat. Or a ladder. 

4. Mean people suck. Don't become one of them. Not even for a second. 

5. Write more. Journaling, blogging, morning pages, notes to friends and loved ones.

6. Feature and leverage other people. Read this to find out how.

7. Be more gracious and more grateful.

8. Less excitement. More execution.

9. Let it go. Yes, you know EXACTLY what I mean. (Thanks again, Joe Calloway!)

10. Create a mastermind alliance or partnership. It will make all the difference.

11. Write your damn book already.

12. Drink more water.

13. In case of emergency, oxygen masks will drop from the overhead compartment. Secure your own mask before assisting others.  

14. Clean up. De-clutter. De-pile. 

15. Make more lists and use them wisely.

16. When it comes to social media: Post value (not ego); Retweet generously; Shout-out loudly; Thank abundantly.

17. Carry a notebook everywhere. Got an idea? Write it down. With today's date. And a "next action" step. Repeat.

18. Get more sleep. 

19. Do more of what makes you happy. 

20. If you speak or present regularly, your ideas deserve beautiful slides. This might help. And you totally need to read this (PDF) too.

21. If you DON'T speak or present regularly, you are missing out on the #1 way to boost your career, grow your business, and magnify your impact on the world. Want some ideas? I can help you (yes, it's free.) 

22. Nobody buys your products, services or ideas "sight unseen." So go get seen.

23. "If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough." ~ Mario Andretti

24. Read Getting Things Done by David Allen. 

25. Master your inbox once and for all. Massive freedom will follow. 

26. Tap into trends to generate more and better ideas for both your business and your life. Start here or here. (Read this to see how Harvard Business Review connects trend hunting with sales success, too.)

27. Stop worrying about the HOW. Focus on your bigass WHY and a small set of very specific WHATs. The rest will take care of itself. Honest.

28. Become more in tune with the time/space continuum. Seriously. Rather than wanting everything to happen "Now, now, and now" (which only causes overwhelm and frustration) focus more consistently on what you need to do "Next, next, and next." 

29. The three factors to your long-term success: 1. Your Authenticity 2. Your Expertise 3. Your Enthusiasm.

30. Replace "Who's going to let me?" with "Who's going to stop me?" (Hint: Maybe no one?)

31. Reflect on the shortness of life. This slide show of people we lost in 2012 may help remind you. And pack as much goodness as you possibly can (for you and for others) into every single day.

32. Always pick up the check and leave a big tip. 

33. You're pumped... You're peaked... It's game time... Bring it!

Tags: Marketing coach, marketing concept, marketing for authors, marketing for speakers, success tips

Please share this post with those you want to help. And add your own wisdom in the COMMENTS area below... 

Marketing Concept: Writing Page One

Today you are writing the first page of a 365-page book. 

Make it a good one. 

Inspired by my pal Michael Goldberg of Building Blocks Consulting - who wrote this post - here are the Top 5 things to get excited about in YOUR business for the New Year and all of Lucky '13!

1. Books

Reading 'em. Writing 'em. Ebooks. Hardcopy books. All kinds of books.

As you may know, the DO IT! Marketing book is coming this summer from AMACOM and there's lots of cool developments brewing there... but let's talk about YOU... 

• Do YOU want to write a book? 
• Have YOU written a book that's under-marketed? 
• Do YOU have an ebook or information product that you're working on and just can't seem to finish?
• Do YOU have plans to develop a NEW book or information product - and just don't know where to begin?

Don't get stuck - let me help you take your first (or next) ebook, book, or information product over the finish line.

As for books to read - here are five recommendations for YOUR 2013 reading list:

2. Focus

Focus on a specific target market.

Focus on your "secret sauce" of expertise.

Focus on your most fun and profitable projects, prospects and programs.

And...

     Let...

          Everything...    

               Else...

                    Go...

3. Fitness, Toughness, Accountability 

As you may know, I've lost a tremendous amount of weight recently.

Sidebar: OK, my wife Vanessa HATES when I say that to people - it's 18 pounds in 90 days to be exact. (She thinks I make it sound like 100 pounds and she further thinks it makes people feel awkward when they haven't noticed. On the other hand, people whom I haven't seen in YEARS are shocked by my total weight loss of almost 40 pounds since 2008 - so to ME, it IS a "tremendous" amount!!)

The secret? The Charlie Newman hardass eating program plus twice weekly workouts at Nick's Gym.

What's the Charlie Newman program? Three things - all simple but not easy: 

1. No white stuff (dramatically reduce carbs, breads, sugars, etc.)
2. Drink a ton of water daily. More than is comfortable. More than is fun. More than you want to. Like you need to go pee 10 times a day. That is the right amount.
3. No food after 7pm.

The toughness comes at times like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve - when it's EASY (or even expected) that you'll go overboard and do things you should not do. Toughness says you don't go there. 

Accountability is the fact that I live with Charlie Newman - he's my son - and he SEES what I eat, HOW much, WHEN I eat it... and there aren't enough places to hide in our kitchen. 

So consider one of your goals - what's going to fuel YOUR fitness (financial fitness, marketing fitness, relationship fitness, physical fitness, etc)? And which kinds of built-in toughness and accountability mechanisms will you use to ensure your success?

4. Travel + Leisure

Yes, I mean both the concept - and the magazine. We get this magazine and it has opened my eyes to an undiscovered opportunity that YOU have if business travel is part of YOUR work...

In my work as a professional speaker and marketing coach, travel is a given.

How much you enjoy it and exploit it is 100% up to YOU... 

2012 trips have taken me to Columbus OH, NYC, Toronto, Denver, Shelton CT, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Atlantic City, and Winnipeg ("Brrr...") Future trips already planned for 2013 include Atlanta, Vancouver, NYC, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.

But there is a HUGE difference between the two words "trips" and "travel." You can take business trips and they look like this:

• Get to airport in your home city 
• Go through security
• Swallow stale air in thin metal tube for between 1-8 hours
• Land 
• Taxi to hotel
• See inside of hotel
• See inside of conference rooms
• Eat inside hotel
• Eat inside conference rooms
• Taxi to airport
• Go through security
• Swallow stale air in thin metal tube for between 1-8 hours
• Land
• Go home. Hug spouse. Kiss dog. Fall into own bed.
• Repeat as needed to meet your career or entrepreneurial goals

THAT, my friends, is not travel.

Travel is sightseeing, museums, restaurants, cafes, bars, shopping, exploring new places and discovering local experiences.

Question for you: How can you bake more TRAVEL into your TRIPS during 2013? I'll do my best - and hope you do, too.

Let's check in with each other over the next few months to see how we're both doing!

5. Giving away WAY more FREE stuff

Since November, I have made a commitment to sharing MORE experiences of value - for free - and making MORE profit-rich resources available - again, for free.

If you know me at all, you know I've always done this BIG-time. But I wanted to see what would happen if I ramped this UP to near-ridiculous levels.

• Would I burn out? (No)
• Would you? (Not yet - but we're just starting)
• Would anybody come (Yes - see below) 
• Would there be anything left for me to monetize and sell? (Apparently)
• Would people tell their friends and colleagues? (Yes - and thank you!)

Early Results:

In November, I presented the "Marketing Strategy Blueprint for 2013." We had 169 people register for that info-packed training call and it generated $4500 of client work. Good for you - and good for me. 

In December, I presented the "Sponsorship Strategy Blueprint." We had 161 people register for that training call where I laid out my VERY BEST fee-paid advice with no holds barred. That call generated $8100 of client work. Again good for you - and good for me.

Coming up later this week, YOU are invited to "Your Speaking Business in 2013" with my friend and colleague Andrea Gold of Gold Star Speakers Bureau and author of "The Business of Successful Speaking."

Join us - you don't need to buy anything and there's no catch. If we provide value and you want more, you'll know what to do.

Questions for you:

• Are you strategically giving away RIDICULOUS amounts of value? 
• How could you give even MORE? 
• What could you do to AMPLIFY your impact with your target market? 
• Whose HELP do you need? Partners, affiliates, mentors?
• WHEN will you launch your "WAY More FREE Stuff" campaign?
• HOW will you measure its success?

What do you think?

Use the COMMENTS area below to share what YOU are most excited about in YOUR business for 2013 and... 

Your business needs to FLOP.

Truly.

And no, this is NOT another one of those goofy semi-inspirational posts that tell you that all entrepreneurs need to FAIL before they succeed. 

FLOP is an acronym for one of the most powerful marketing concepts you can use to grow your business FAST and EXPONENTIALLY:

FLOP: Feature and Leverage Other People.

Marketing 101: If all you talk about is YOU - your company, your book, your blog, your brand, your programs, your products, your services... people will ignore you, tune you out, and dismiss you for the self-centered schmuck that you are. 

FACT: Experts promote other experts. 

• Experts are NOT insecure about shining the spotlight on others (Shawn Ellis for example)
• In fact, they THRIVE on it (like Damian Niolet)
• Experts ALWAYS work hard to feature and leverage other people (like my hero Tom Peters has done since 1999 with Tom's Cool Friends) 
• Experts are curators and pointers-out-of-cool-things (Another one of my heroes, Guy Kawasaki, built a business on this notion at Alltop.com)
• Experts post business book reviews of other experts' books
• Experts do research and interview other experts on their blog (like my BFF Stephanie Chandler does at BusinessInfoGuide)
• Experts recommend and refer other experts for client work, projects, and media interviews (like I teed up the awesome Derek Sivers for some nice coverage in Investors Business Daily by connecting him with uber-cool business journalist Amy Alexander)

More Examples:

1. As you may know, I'm in the process of publishing the DO IT! Marketing book with AMACOM. Notice I didn't say "my" book. Because it's really not just mine. In the writing process, I asked a dozen of the sharpest, most successful marketing experts I know to contribute a "success strategy sidebar." They did. Now my book is truly "our book." That's FLOP.

2. My pal, Avish Parashar, is not only a top-notch opening and closing keynote speaker... he's also a speaker marketing guru. Hmmm... competition? Nope. FLOP partner. He regularly shares my content with his newsletter readers and I do the same for him. He promotes my programs. I promote his. We're not only friends, we seek each others' professional advice and exchange referrals. That's what you might call FLOPPY.

3. My friend Carol Ritter writes for a Chamber blog and local paper. Her holiday column included these words: "My gifts to all the entrepreneurs and non-profits who are working so hard to be successful is the gift of resources. I work with some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country; their ideas and success will inspire you and give you concrete ideas for 2013..." and she proceeded to list a great sales culture expert, a great video production company, a great marketing resource (from yours truly), and a great motivational speaker from North Carolina. There's FLOP in action again.

Grow up. Step up. Be a real expert and learn once and for all - it's not about YOU.

The more you FLOP, the more YOU will succeed.

What do you think? Use the COMMENTS area below to share your advice, insights and experiences on featuring and leveraging other people...

p.s. Can you find the 2 awesome clients, 2 great friends, 1 respected colleague and a semi-nude woman in the graphic above? Here's some help: 

New Orleans motivational speaker Marvin LeBlanc

Healthcare keynote speaker LeAnn Thieman

Conference Catalyst keynote speaker Thom Singer

Presentation skills expert Laurie Brown

Meetings technology speaker Corbin Ball

Lingerie models (nice holiday savings too)

FLOPPED again!

And then leave a comment below with your questions, thoughts, and advice on the ideas above.

Are you a DO IT freak? Welcome to the club!! Please use the social media buttons at the top of this post to share it with your network. YOU are a rock star!

1. Keep it short. No time to write? Cool - they have no time to read. 

2. Lists rock (like this one!)

3. Shoot a 2-minute video. Post to YouTube. Embed with 3 lines of setup. Optimize title, tags and description with your keywords. Boom - done. 

4. Interview other experts. Three questions max. Post and voila!

5. Interview prospective clients and customers. Promote them and their company. Repeat. Go to bank.

6. Review your favorite books on amazon - both related and unrelated to your main business. Optimize your amazon reviewer page and link it back to your home page.

7. Seek guest blogging opportunities on blogs that target the same topics and readership you are after. 

8. Invite both prominent and up-and-coming bloggers to guest blog for you. Same story, other direction. Genius!

9. Leave constructive, helpful comments on prominent blogs and media sites. Use an abbreviated signature file and link back to your blog.

10. Participate in Linkedin Groups and share your blog content/links in response to relevant questions and discussions. You raise both your credibility and visibility with this one tactic.

11. Don't overdo keywords and SEO on your blogs - people can tell and it makes you look a little creepy, robotic - or both. Write for humans and the traffic will follow.

12. Graphics, baby, graphics. Blogs are visual. Get an affordable account with iStockPhoto or one of the other stock photo sites. Grab unusual and interesting graphics and photos to spice up that wall of text. You'll be amazed. It makes all the difference.

13. Schedule it. Stick to it. Your blog is the command center of your online thought leadership platform. Shoot for 2-3 updates a week and amazing things will start to happen. Now is the time for you to... Get blogalicious! 

Keywords: Blogging for business, marketing expert tips, marketing speaker, marketing coach

What do you think? Use the COMMENTS area below to share your advice, insights and experiences on blogging for business and...

Are you a DO IT freak? Welcome to the club!! Please use the social media buttons at the top of this post to share it with your network. YOU are a rock star!

Two quick things for you:

1. NEW Group on LinkedIn for "Professionals Who Speak" - if you're a speaker, author, independent professional, corporate executive or entrepreneur, the conversations, resources and people you'll connect with here are top-notch. Join us here:

2. There is still time to register for Speaker Liftoff - the program begins Dec. 7 and all the details are waiting for you online here: 

One of the many pleasures of writing a book is writing the Acknowledgements section where you get to thank all the folks who have helped you at every point in your journey, whether it was last week, last year or all the way back to your childhood.

As you may know, I'm finishing up the final edits on my new book being published by AMACOM next summer. The Acknowledgements section has been top of mind for me this Thanksgiving week. 

Personally, I can't understand authors who write a slim paragraph and then end with "I have too many people to thank and their names could fill this book." REALLY? If that's the case, why don't you at least TRY?

I sure did...  and to celebrate this Thanksgiving week, here it is in its entirety - LARGE, LOUD, and PUBLIC!

Acknowledgements

The first acknowledgement has to go to YOU—for buying this book, for reading this book, and for applying its strategies, tactics and tools to grow your business.

After you, it gets harder to count all the individuals, friends, clients, collaborators, mentors, trusted advisors, and supporters who have made this book—and all the rest of my work—so easy, effortless and enjoyable. Unlike some authors who don’t even try… here goes.

First I’d like to thank my parents for not having a stroke when I announced I was leaving the pre-med program at Franklin & Marshall College to pursue a career in theater. Thank you to Dr. Gordon Wickstrom who modeled the highest gift of catalyzing the best in others while making them feel personally important and professionally capable. What do you get when you cross healing with drama? Of course, you get marketing.

My amazing partner, Vanessa Christman, gets a ton of credit for sticking with her lunatic husband through thick (my waistline) and thin (my hairline). Without you, none of this would be any fun at all. Truly.

My two awesome kids, Becca and Charlie, Woofie the Wonder Dog, and Mimi the cat also went to heroic lengths to put up with me long before, during and after the writing of this book. I love you guys like bananas.

Professionally, the list is even longer. Big thanks to my book agent, Michael Snell. He does business the old-fashioned way and it works amazingly well for all concerned. I’m grateful to my pal Gene Marks for sharing Mike’s genius with me. At AMACOM, Ellen Kadin is a rock star. She knows what works and she makes sure I DO IT. Her steady dedication to our shared vision of a “business book with attitude” shows up on every page. Big thanks and kudos to the AMACOM design team for realizing that vision with the bold design of this book.

And for you aspiring or experienced authors – especially those of you who, like me, HATE to be edited – meet my editor extraordinaire, Christopher Murray. Chris “got” this book right from the start and was an amazing collaborator, organizer and advocate for the business-building ideas you are about to profit from. Find Chris online at www.ChrisMurrayEditor.com and put your project in the hands of a supremely insightful editor and the best friend your writing ever had.

I deeply thank Dr. Michael Ray of Stanford Business School for introducing me to the Creativity in Business MBA course that changed my life. The very best advice he gave me was, “Stop starting things and get more into DOING.” The DNA of Michael’s wisdom runs throughout my work, my life, and by extension, this book!

Thank you to my pals from my corporate days: Sandy Frick, Trish Koons, Neal Duffy, Kim Nuzzaci and Benjamin Laden who were crazy enough to hire me, work with me, and recruit me away from one job into the next for a great 10-year run. I don’t know what you were thinking, but I’m grateful for all the fun we had “working for the man.”

Thank you to four very special people who helped me at every point in my entrepreneurial journey including the good, the bad and the ugly – in mind (Terry Fisher), body (Nick Odorisio), spirit (Scott Simons) and career (Ford R. Myers).

My involvement in the National Speakers Association (NSA) and Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS) has been an invaluable source of inspiration, insights and friendships. Thank you to my mentors, role models and friends Laurie Brown, Gideon Grunfeld, Michael Roby, Kirstin Carey, Steve Coscia, Avish Parashar, Michael Goldberg, Todd Cohen, Brian Walter, John Reddish, Marvin LeBlanc, Carol Fredrickson, Tom Stoyan, Toni Newman, Brian Lee, Scott McKain, Alan Zimmerman, Frank Bucaro, LeAnn Thieman, Thom Winninger, Patricia Fripp, Alan Weiss, Bob Burg, John Jantsch, David Meerman Scott, Brian Tracy, Randy Gage and Jeffrey Gitomer.

Thank you to my speaker bureau partners and friends – Andrea Gold, Shawn Ellis, Katrina Mitchell, and Nancy Vogl. You are the sharpest, most dedicated folks in the business and you model excellence and integrity in everything you do.

Thank you to my expert contributors: Jay Baer, Scott Ginsberg, Corey Perlman, Dan Janal, Mark LeBlanc, Barry Moltz, Mark Hunter, Henry DeVries, Tom Searcy, Melinda Emerson, Stephanie Chandler, Mary Foley, Gene Marks and Viveka Von Rosen. You are each superheroes in your own realm and I hugely appreciate your generosity of expertise.

Thank you to my colleagues in Vistage International, the world’s largest CEO peer group organization: Jose Palomino, Gerry Lantz, Chris Farias, Scott Messer, Brian Carney, Skip Lange, Carl Francis, Marcia O’Connor, Michael Gidlewski, Steve Van Valin and Jim Lucas. You’ve shared your insights and advice with me even when I didn’t want to hear it, didn’t follow it, and didn’t want to believe it. However, you were right four times out of five. I’m learning.

Thank you to my Do It! Marketing team members, past and present. Especially the uber-awesome Catherine Bernard, the ultra-amazing Katie Hanna, the super-productive Rachel Rodden, and Liz Crider aka “the one that got away.” I love working with you and appreciate you more than you know.

Thank you to my amazing clients. Man, when YOU work, this program works! I’m continually humbled and grateful for your confidence, your business, your friendship, and the credit that you bring to our work by DOING IT consistently, smartly, bravely, and quickly. You are the embodiment of my mantra that “Only action creates results.” Thank you for the privilege of working alongside you as you create your next level of success. 

Sooo... even if you're not writing a book at the moment, you will experience BIG gratitude if YOU write the Acknowledgements section of your (future) book. 

Let me know what you think in the COMMENTS area below. Happy Thanksgiving!

For your marketing - and in business in general - simple SELLS. As a marketing coach for speakers, authors and independent professionals, I see it time and time again...

You're making it HARDER than it needs to be. Honest.

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction."
-- Albert Einstein

What kind of professional would you be if you specialized in the small, the simple, and the gentle solutions?

Or does your style lean more towards the thicker report, the more complicated answer, the more expensive technology, and the more complex project plan?

Winston Churchill was asked how much time he would need to prepare a talk.

He replied that his preparation time depended on the talk's duration.

When asked about a 2-hour speech, he said he could deliver that immediately.

When asked about a 2-minute speech, he said "I should need a fortnight to prepare."

The short, simple, direct answers are often the most valuable - and take the longest time and the hardest work to prepare!

Question: What could you simplify right now that would make a difference to you and/or the people you want to impact the most with your marketing?

Tip: Whether you're selling your products, your services, or your ideas, the age-old fact is: simple SELLS.

What do you think? Use the COMMENTS area below to leave your advice and experiences on this topic.

p.s. Attention Speakers, Authors, Consultants and Independent Professionals: Enrollment is now open for the next 30-Day SpeakerLiftoff program that blasts off on December 7. Check out the details and info here. Let's work together to create YOUR game plan for simple marketing success in 2013 and beyond.

Bad news: You are 9 days into the month and your website traffic is down 43%. 

Worse news: You don't even know about it. 

Why not? 

Because if you're like most small business owners, (non-web) entrepreneurs and independent professionals, you look at your web stats once a month - and almost always when it's too late. 

So the question for you and your organization is - are you looking at your web marketing game plan as a forward-looking fitness program -- or as a backward-looking autopsy?

The autopsy approach sounds like this: "What went wrong? Where did our site visits go? How come opt-ins dropped? Our bounce rate climbed again..." Sigh, worry, fret, fret, fret...

The fitness approach sounds like this: "It's been 10 days since our last blog post, we have to post more regularly - let's put something up this Tuesday and again on Thursday. Where's our SEO score card? I think we dropped back a few places on two of our keywords and it looks like we're back at #1 again for 'Poughkeepsie laundromat' - woo hoo! We need to load some fresh tweets to drive more traffic to our free report because it looks like opt-ins are dropping..."

DANGER: The fit get fitter. And the autopsy people are dead on the table. 

Where do your website stats stand today?

Please leave your insights, advice and recommendations in the COMMENTS section below...

Keywords: Marketing coach, small business marketing coach