Inspiration Archives - Page 2 of 29

10 jokes that will make you laugh out loud

04/13/2019 by Roy Sutton Leave a Comment

We all need more opportunities to laugh out loud, so I’ve gathered some more jokes by trawling the Internet just for you dear reader.

I cannot be sure who wrote them originally but I’d be happy to credit the authors if anyone can identify them.

In the meantime, here are today’s 10 jokes that will make you laugh out loud. Certainly they made me smile.

What do you call someone wearing a belt with a watch attached to it?
A waist of time.

Did you hear about the guy who broke both his left arm and left leg?
He’s all right now.

Why does Humpty Dumpty love autumn?
Because he had a great fall.

How can you get four suits for a dollar?
Buy a deck of cards.

Why didn’t the melons get married?
Because they cantaloupe.

What’s the difference between roast beef and pea soup?
Anyone can roast beef but nobody can pee soup!

What’s the difference between snowmen and snowwomen?
Snowballs.

What did the bartender say to the drunk who walked into the bar with jumper cables around his neck?
“You can stay but don’t try to start anything.”

What’s the difference between a tire and 365 used condoms?
One’s a Goodyear. The other’s a great year.

Two men broke into a drugstore and stole all the Viagra.
The police are on the lookout for two hardened criminals.

If you enjoyed them, please share them:

So dear reader, was this post amusing and worth a few minutes of your time?

If any of these jokes made you smile then please share them with your friends on social media.

When you share, everyone wins. It’s always a good idea to pass on the smiles.

Put a smile on someone else’s face and you’ve done your good deed for the day. So go on, please share now.

Then perhaps you’d like more laughs? Then just click on the links below.

Money and Work: Which is more important?

04/11/2019 by Roy Sutton

It was never, ever about the money. ~Guy Ritchie

How often are we tempted to do something just for the money?

Certainly I’ve done things for money alone and perhaps you have too dear reader? In my experience it’s always a mistake because no amount of money compensates you for the drudgery of doing something you hate.

And more importantly, if you hate what you’re doing then you’re unlikely to do it very well, are you? It’s hard to feel motivated to do something you hate, surely?

The message today then is very simple really. If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, you won’t do it well. And if you don’t do it well then eventually you’ll come unstuck. And so it’s all going to end in tears, very probably.

Conversely, if you actually enjoy doing what you’re doing then it will hardly seem like work and you’ll be motivated to do it very well.

Do it well and people will notice and, once people notice, you’re career will start moving onward and upward. Every hiring manager wants someone with a track record for delivering results.

So never do anything for money alone. Money is nice to have, of course, and we all need plenty of it. However life’s too short to spend it doing something you hate.

Find a job that’s right for you first and then work hard to master your trade. Get better at it, become more valuable and then get as much as you can in terms of income. When you’re producing results make sure you’re paid what your worth.

It should never be about the money but that doesn’t mean you should ignore your value and sell yourself short. It’s about work and the value you can add first and then it’s about making sure you’re suitably rewarded.

Be a dedicated professional but don’t be a mug.

Polite request:

If you found this article useful then please share it on social media with your friends. When you share, everyone wins.

So please share now. If you do I will be ever so grateful and you’ll be helping a keen blogger reach a wider audience.

Thank you.

13 quotes to inspire you to be better than you are

04/10/2019 by Roy Sutton Leave a Comment

If you’re looking for a little inspiration dear reader then you’re not alone. We could all use a little inspiration occasionally.

I’m inspired by quotes from great thinkers and opinion formers. So I start each day spending a few minutes thumbing through the quotes books in my library.

Here are some of the best quotes to inspire that I came across this morning. Enjoy them all.

Quotes to inspire:

If you’ve learned how to disagree without being disagreeable, then you’ve discovered the secret of getting along, whether it be business, family relations or life itself. ~Bernard Meltzer
Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game one foot from a winning touchdown. ~Ross Perot
Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. ~Booker T. Washington
The toughest thing about success is that you’ve got to keep on being a success. ~Irving Berlin
The man who has done his level best is a success, even though the world may write him down a failure. ~BC Forbes
Life is too short to waste it doing nothing. Make every day count! ~Author Unknown
Self-pity is a losing strategy. It repels others and weakens you. ~Michael Josephson
What we’ve done for ourselves dies with us; what we’ve done for others and the world remains and is immortal. ~Albert Pike
One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others. ~Lewis Carroll
The purpose of education is to replace an empty mind with an open one. ~Malcolm Forbes
When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, never give up then, for that is just the time that the tide will turn. ~Harriet Beecher Stowe
People take different roads seeking fulfilment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost. ~Dalai Lama
Let go of your attachment to being right, and suddenly your mind is more open. You’re able to benefit from the unique viewpoints of others, without being crippled by your own judgment. ~Ralph Marston

Please share these quotes with your friends:

If you found these quotes inspiring and interesting then please share them on social media with your friends. When you share, everyone wins.

So please share now. If you do, I will be ever so grateful.

Thank you.

9 tips for getting the most from your work

04/09/2019 by Roy Sutton Leave a Comment

Do you feel valued by your employer? Now just think about that question for a second dear reader.

I’m sure you’re aware that companies are very good at circulating messages which include platitudes like, “Our employees are our most important asset. We value our employees.“

However you have to ask yourself how many of them really mean it? The answer is few, if any, in my experience.

Now to be fair, many employers probably think they mean it at the time such messages are circulated to the workforce.

Staff in the Human Resources department may be genuine when they issue such statements. Nevertheless the reality is almost always quite different, however right on and trendy your employer tries to be.

Rarely are employees truly valued by their employers.

Most companies regard people as a commodity to be used when they’re useful and then discarded when they’re perceived to be no longer of use.

So what does this all mean for you?

Well for a start it means that you have to look after your own interests.

If you don’t look after your own interests then no one else will, that’s for sure. If you think someone, somewhere is thinking about your best interests then, with the exception of your parents, then that’s unlikely at best.

It’s all down to you to get the most from your job and your career.

You must decide what you want; you must decide where and how you can add the greatest value; you must decide what’s the next logical move for you, in pursuit of your goals; and you must decide on the timing of when it’s appropriate to move.

Occasionally you might get lucky and a great opportunity will fall straight into your lap. However that doesn’t happen often, if at all.

Remember that you are the captain of your own ship.

So you decide where it goes and you must steer it accordingly.

It would be a mistake to rely on others to plan your career, quite simply because they won’t and it would be naïve to think otherwise.

So today I offer you my 9 tips for getting the most from work.

1. Take a pragmatic view:

Now, reading this, you might think that I have a jaundiced view of companies and corporate life.

Actually I don’t; this is simply a realistic and pragmatic view based on many years of experience.

Work is just doing stuff for other people in return for money.

If a company has stuff that needs doing then they are willing to pay good money to get it done.

However once that work’s been done, or is no longer required, then employers see no reason to retain people. Why would they? After all they’re in business to make money.

So be realistic and take a pragmatic view. That way you won’t be disappointed.

2. Recognise the psychological contract:

Let’s be fair, the company’s approach is no different than the one we’d take as individuals. If we need our house painting, we hire a painter and decorator. Our house gets painted and when the job’s been done we pay the painter for the work completed.

We don’t start worrying about the painter’s job satisfaction or career development. The psychological contract between us and the painter ends when the bill has been settled for the work completed. That’s the way it is. Simple.

So why should we expect our employers to be any different?

Companies are not charities or job creation schemes. Commercial companies have to make a profit, if they’re to grow and survive, and costs have an impact on profit, obviously.

The psychological contract we have with our employer is one where we do stuff for them and then we’re paid for our efforts at the end of each month. We’re the hired help and once we’ve been paid that’s where the psychological contract ends as far as our employer is concerned.

Your employer will not spend his or her time worrying about your aspirations or your dreams. Once again, it would be naïve to think otherwise.

3. Accept commercial reality:

Commercial reality whether we like it not is that all companies exist to make money for their owners. It’s that simple. Why would anyone start a company for any other reason?

So if you think that your loyalty will be appreciated by the average employer then I think you’re either mistaken or deluded.

Employers will take everything you give and a bit more besides, but once you’re no longer required they will be as ruthless as they have to be.

If they weren’t able to be ruthless when necessary then that could put the whole company and the jobs of everyone involved at risk. So there’s a good business reason for the way companies tend to operate.

Furthermore we don’t spend our money unnecessarily, so why should we expect a company to be any different?

From time to time you’ll meet leaders of real stature and class who will treat you very well. However they’re the exception rather than the rule.

Most senior executives are driven only by self-interest. Once you’re no longer of use, they will be as ruthless as they have to be. That’s the way the world works, so don’t expect it to be any different for you.

4. Don’t expect loyalty to be reciprocated:

The point I’m making is that you must be ruthless too. You must look after your own interests, constantly.

It’s perfectly reasonable for you to be working with your own agenda in mind. Deliver the results for which you’re being paid of course but always with one eye on your own best interests.

In any job you should make sure that you know what you’re meant to be doing and what you’re meant to be delivering.

What you’re delivering must add value. You should know what that value is and you should be confident that it’s not something that can be done by a machine. If it is, then the chances are that one day it will be and you will be out of a job.

Never do anything out of a misplaced sense of loyalty because that loyalty is unlikely to be reciprocated. At work you have to be very business-like in everything you do.

The name of the game from your standpoint is to earn a living. If it’s not obvious to you what your contribution is meant to be then you should start to worry. If you cannot explain what you’re meant to be doing in a couple of lines then it’s time to move on.

If you don’t know what you’re meant to be doing then the chances are that your boss is wondering too. And once your boss starts to question your role then there is a risk that it won’t be too long before your job is eliminated in a future cost-saving exercise.

5. Look after your own interests:

Remember this: No one owes you anything.

Life is what you make it. As I said earlier, you’re the captain of your own ship. You should be steering that ship in a direction that suits you and your ambitions. Steer the good ship ‘Me’ in the direction you wish to go and not in the direction someone else wants you to go.

You should be working to your own agenda and within the framework of your own plans.

If you think your employer has plans for you then you’re fooling yourself.

You will only figure in your employers plans for as long as it makes good business-sense for them to include you in those plans.

If they can’t see how you’ll add value to their plans then a parting of the ways might not be far away.

6. Take every opportunity to develop your experience:

You may make mistakes occasionally and you may do things for employers which for whatever reason come back to bite you. If you do, don’t worry. Just learn any lessons from the experience and move on.

Lessons learned are far more valuable to you than anything someone else can tell you. That commodity based on life’s lessons is known as experience and it’s a very valuable commodity indeed.

Take every opportunity to broaden your experience and grow. Work harder on yourself than you do on your job. The more you have to offer the more employable you’ll be and the greater will be your financial rewards.

7. Have realistic expectations:

Never expect loyalty from your employer and you won’t be disappointed.

You’re not indispensable and neither is anyone else.

If you weren’t around then someone else would be hired quickly and the business would move on. And in all probability you’ll soon be forgotten.

The chances are that someone else will take the credit for any significant contribution you’ve made but you’ll probably take the blame for everything that’s wrong, including things in which you had no involvement at all.

That’s life, unfortunately.

8. Work to you own agenda:

If you look after your own interests then your achievements will be all yours and you’ll be on the road to success.

You have to carve out the success you want; no one else will do it for you.

Add real value to your employer for as long as you can or for as long as it makes sense within your own plans for you to do so and then it’s time to move on to the next opportunity.

Don’t get overly sentimental; you’ve got to be as ruthless with your employer as they would be with you. It’s perfectly reasonable to work to your own agenda, and that’s exactly what successful people do.

9. Keep reading; keep learning:

Never underestimate the value of reading and continual learning.

The more you read, the more you learn and the more you learn the greater will be your value.

Read one good book related to your work or personal development each week and over a year that’s the equivalent of a PhD’s worth of knowledge gained.

Increase your knowledge by that amount every year and you’ll be light years ahead of your colleagues.

Increase your value and you increase your ability to earn more. And what’s not to like about that?

So what are your views?

Now I’d be interested to hear what you think dear reader. I’d love it if you could share your own experiences with other readers.

If you’d like to add your own views about the world of work then please feel free to add your comments below.

Polite request:

If you found this article useful then please share it on social media with your friends. When you share, everyone wins.

So please share it now. If you do I will be ever so grateful and you’ll be helping a keen blogger reach a wider audience.

You’ll be helping your friends and you’ll be helping me too. So you really can make a difference to the lives of others.

Thank you.

15 Funny Quotes on Friendship

04/08/2019 by Roy Sutton Leave a Comment

If you’re lucky enough to have one good friend then you are richer than you imagine and if you have two then you’re truly blessed.

Friendship is a relationship of equals.

Real friends are people with whom you have a lot in common, especially when it comes to things that make you laugh and those times when you enjoy getting silly.

True friends are people who know all your faults but accept you as you are anyway.

Not everyone with whom you have a friendly relationship is a true friend. Some people are just very good acquaintances.

A real friend is someone you could phone at 3am, when you’re in trouble and know they’d be out to help you in a heartbeat.

Such people are worth their weight in gold and you should never take them for granted. They’re special and you should appreciate them being in your life because not everyone is quite so lucky.

Here are 15 funny quotes on friendship that for me touch on the very essence of what it all means.

Funny quotes on friendship:

Friends are the chocolate chips in the cookie of life!
Friends buy you food. Best friends eat your food.
Friends come and go, but enemies remain and build up.
When our phones fall, we panic. When our friends fall, we laugh.
If you have crazy friends you have everything you’ll ever need.
Never let your best friends get lonely. Keep disturbing them.
You have a problem when your imaginary friend thinks he has a problem.
There’s nothing better than a good friend, except for a good friend with chocolate.
Friends come and go, like waves on the ocean, but the true friends stay like an octopus on your face.
A best friend is like a four leaf clover, hard to find, but you’re lucky if you have one.
Laughing is one of the best exercises. It’s like running inside your mind. You can do it almost anywhere and it’s even better with a friend.
I’d walk through fire for my best friend. Well, not fire because that’s dangerous, but a super humid room. Well not too humid, because you know, my hair.
I love making friends. I usually prefer to make them out of plaster and give them funny looking hats.
Dear Diamond, we all know who is really a girl’s best friend. Sincerely yours, Chocolate Cake.
I hope we’re good friends until we die, then I hope we can stay ghost friends, walk through walls and scare people.

Please share these quotes with your friends:

If you found these quotes inspiring and interesting then please share them on social media with your friends. When you share, everyone wins.

So please share now. If you do, I will be ever so grateful.

Thank you.

9 inspirational quotes you’ll love

04/07/2019 by Roy Sutton

Looking for some inspiration? Perhaps some quotes to inspire and energise you or something that will provide a little impact for the end of a presentation?

Here are nine great quotes which I hope will motivate you for the challenges you face in the days to come.

Inspirational quotes from some of the finest philosophical thinkers ever. They all left me inspired and I’m confident that you will love them dear reader.

Inspirational Quotes:

My mission in life is not merely to survive but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humour and some style. ~Maya Angelou
Your work is going to fill a large part of your life and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. ~Steve Jobs
The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today. ~H. Jackson Brown Jr
Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present. ~Jim Rohn
Kind words do not cost much. They never blister the tongue or lips. They make other people good-natured. They also produce their own image on men’s souls, and a beautiful image it is. ~Blaise Pascal
Don’t be afraid your life will end; be afraid that it will never begin. ~Grace Hansen
A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills and uses these skills to accomplish his goals. ~Larry Bird
If you genuinely want something, don’t wait for it. Teach yourself to be impatient. ~Gurbaksh Chahal
Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success. ~Dale Carnegie

And here’s a bonus quote. “If you’re thinking anyway then you might as well think big.“

Please share these quotes with your friends:

If you found these quotes inspiring and interesting then please share them on social media with your friends. When you share, everyone wins.

So please share now. If you do, I will be ever so grateful.

Thank you.

9 of the best quotes to inspire you

04/06/2019 by Roy Sutton Leave a Comment

Here are 9 of the best quotes to inspire you.

These are quotes from thought leaders intended to make you think.

They are words of wisdom full of inspiration.

Inspiration is energy and if you can capture that energy you can go on to become all you could be. And that should be our life’s purpose, surely? To be all we could be.

If you aspire to be more than you are now then let these words of wisdom be the wind beneath your wings.

Best quotes to inspire you:

Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit. ~EE Cummings
A Number 2 pencil and a dream can take you anywhere. ~Joyce Meyer
Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present. ~Jim Rohn
In a gentle way, you can shake the world. ~Mahatma Gandhi
Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were once only walls. ~Joseph Campbell
It is always the simple that produces the marvelous. ~Amelia Barr
The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper. ~Bertrand Russell
Let us make our future now and let us make our dreams tomorrow’s reality. ~Malala Yousafzai
All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination. ~Earl Nightingale

Please share these quotes with your friends:

If you found these quotes inspiring and interesting then please share them on social media with your friends. When you share, everyone wins.

So please share now. If you do, I will be ever so grateful.

Thank you.

10 great thought-provoking quotes

04/05/2019 by Roy Sutton Leave a Comment

As you may recall dear reader, I’m always looking for great quotes, especially those that really get me thinking.

Just recently I’ve collected a batch of what I think are some great though-provoking quotes and so I thought I’d share them with you.

All of today’s quotes fall within the category of ‘Author Unknown‘ unfortunately but they’re still worth a few moments of your time.

So here’s some brain food to get your day started. I think some of these quotes are real gems, so I hope you find them interesting.

Thought-provoking Quotes:

Life’s tough for everyone but it’s even tougher if you’re stupid
Experience enables you to recognize a mistake every time you repeat it
Profanity is the effort of a feeble mind to express itself forcefully
Don’t mistake activity for productivity
If silence is golden, not many people can be arrested for hoarding?
You’ll never make your dreams come true by oversleeping
Never have a battle of wits with an unarmed man
Never argue with a fool; people may not notice the difference
If quitters never win, and winners never quit, then who is the fool who said, “Quit while you’re ahead?”
If ignorance is bliss, why aren’t there more happy people?

If you enjoyed these quotes do let me know which one you thought was the best.

Personally the one I like is “Profanity is the effort of a feeble mind to express itself forcefully.”

All too often nowadays people use profanity as a lazy and ill-considered form of expression. And rarely does it reflect well on anyone in my opinion.

Please share these quotes with your friends:

If you found these quotes inspiring and interesting then please share them on social media with your friends. When you share, everyone wins.

So please share now. If you do, I will be ever so grateful.

Thank you.

17 positive quotes that’ll leave you feeling energised

04/04/2019 by Roy Sutton Leave a Comment

Do you enjoy positive quotes?

Perhaps you’re looking for something either because you’re in need of a little inspiration personally or because you have an audience to inspire?

Possibly you have a presentation to prepare and consequently you’re in need of some positive quotes to reinforce the points you wish to make?

Words are powerful and positive quotes can have great power.

As a result they can lift you and they can lift an audience too when chosen well. Yet the power of words is not always appreciated in the way it should be.

Therefore here are some positive quotes which I’m confident will inspire you and they will rock any presentation in which they’re used.

So please feel free to quote any of them if you feel they’ll help. However always acknowledge the author when known.

All of these words of wisdom will make you think and they will make any audience think as well.

Life can be hard of course and achieving success can be harder. However it can be done and people do. You just have to believe in yourself. A little help from some positive quotes won’t hurt though.

So read these positive quotes and inspirational words from so many of the great thinkers and they might just propel you in the direction of the success you desire.

If they do help you in your quest, I’d be interested to hear your feedback. Feedback from readers is always appreciated.

Positive Quotes:

Live your life in the creative space and go where others have not yet been; to the fields the grazing cows have yet to find. ~Alan Alda
It is not enough to exist, you must LIVE. It is not enough to survive, you must THRIVE. It is not enough to care, you must COMMIT. It is not enough to seek success, you must seek SIGNIFICANCE. It is not enough to live long, you must LIVE WELL. ~Michael Josephson
Life is too short to waste it doing nothing. Make every day count! We don’t know when we will leave this world, so cherish every moment you have with loved ones. Never regret anything because everything happens for a reason. Enjoy every day and smile. Life is what you make it. ~Author Unknown
What we have done for ourselves dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal. ~Albert Pike
You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere. ~Lee Iacocca
Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts. ~Dan Gable
The greatest advantage of speaking the truth is that you don’t have to remember what you said. ~Mark Twain
The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem. ~Theodore Rubin
What I have learned is that a whole lot of people with degrees don’t know a damn thing, and a lot of people with no degrees are brilliant. ~John Henrik Clarke
The purpose of education is to replace an empty mind with an open one. ~Malcolm Forbes
Self-pity is a losing strategy. It repels others and weakens you. ~Michael Josephson
On days when I don’t work I am working on maintaining my image, just like an athlete. ~Linda Evangelista
Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant. ~Robert Louis Stevenson
One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others. ~Lewis Carroll
Even the greatest was once a beginner. Don’t be afraid to take that first step. ~Author Unknown
We cannot change the cards we are dealt; just how we play the hand. ~Randy Pausch
Whatever age you are, you’ve always got a contribution to make and new experiences still to enjoy. Retire from paid employment perhaps but never retire from life. ~Roy Sutton

Positive Quotes as a Way to Relax:

Being all you can be is a constant challenge. With any challenge, to ensure you don’t burn out, you also need time to relax. If you enjoy positive quotes then here’s a great way to turn that interest into a de-stressing hobby.

Adult colouring books have become a popular way to de-stress. This offering from Jade Summer will allow you to enjoy a series of positive quotes and inspirational words whilst you show what you can do with colour and art.

Inspirational Quotes: An Adult Coloring Book with Motivational Sayings, Positive Affirmations, and Flower Design Patterns for Relaxation and Stress Relief by Jade Summer

You can take a look at this product if you just CLICK HERE now.

DISCLOSURE: Please be aware that there are Amazon affiliate links in this post. So should you make a purchase via one of my links then I will receive a small commission from Amazon. There will be no extra charge to you as the purchaser. These commissions serve only to pay for the upkeep of this website. Your understanding is appreciated. Thank you.

Please share these quotes with your friends:

If you found these quotes inspiring and interesting then please share them on social media with your friends. When you share, everyone wins.

So please share now. If you do, I will be ever so grateful.

Thank you.

How to sell anything to anybody

04/03/2019 by Roy Sutton Leave a Comment

Selling is a subject that often gets a bad name. Some people even look down on those who choose make their living by selling.

However we’re all trying to sell something all of the time. Even if it’s just the skills we have or a service we can provide, if we’re to make a living then we must sell something, wouldn’t you agree dear reader?

Learning the art of successful selling is actually very important and everyone should seek to improve their selling skills, if only to ensure that they can sell themselves effectively.

Selling is a process and by learning a few simple techniques you can improve your ability to sell.

So what are these techniques?

1. Know your product:

Ultimately, it’s all about the product.

If you want to sell anything successfully then you need to know your product really well and you need to believe in your product too.

That product has to be something that you would buy yourself.

You need to know the product in detail, all the features and all the benefits; all the advantages and all the disadvantages.

Then you need to know all about your competitors’ products that your customers could buy as an alternative to your own.

This is important if you are to position your product against that of the competition and to counter any reasons given by your customer as to why they might be reluctant to buy.

You really do need to be able to talk about your product favourably relative to any other options your customer may have.

2. Know the problem your product solves:

Ultimately, every product must solve a problem for the customer. A product must make the customer’s life easier in some way.

If a product doesn’t solve a problem for the target customer, why would they buy it? Why would any customer part with good money unless the product made their life easier?

So it’s simple really. You must have a good understanding of the problem or problems for which your product can be an excellent solution.

And you must be able to explain this is simple, straightforward language.

3. Capture buying intent:

Cold-calling is the most inefficient and soul-destroying sales approach there could possibly be. Phoning or door-stepping people and saying, “Want to buy this?” will have a very low success rate.

The key to successful selling is capturing warm sales leads. In other words, you must capture buying intent.

If a customer walks into a shirt shop then you know they’re looking for a shirt and therefore you have a very good chance of selling them one.

So find ways to engage people who are actively looking for something like the product which you are selling.

To do this you’ll need to ensure that your customers and potential customers have visibility of your product.

You must raise awareness of the product, as well the features and benefits and the value it offers. You must create desirability too.

4. Know the customer’s needs:

Your product should have a target customer. You must know the sort of person for whom the product offers a solution.

In other words, you must know who the product is aimed at and what their needs are likely to be.

To understand the customer’s needs you may need to ask some questions first.

For instance, using the shirt selling example again, a customer may be looking for something to wear for a formal occasion or perhaps they’re looking for something more casual. You want to ensure that the shirt you sell them is right for their needs.

So you must identify the ways in which your product will satisfy the customer’s needs because, if you make a sale, you want the customer to feel they’ve got exactly what they wanted.

You want to ensure that they get a good buying experience. You certainly don’t want them to feel like they’ve been cheated in some way.

5. Sell the benefits:

You don’t sell the product to the customer, you sell the benefits.

In what ways will your product improve the customer’s life? In what ways will your product potentially be an answer to the customer’s prayers?

In what ways does your product offer good value for money?

You don’t have to be the cheapest on the market but you do need to be able to convince a customer that it makes sense to buy your product rather than going for the cheapest.

A customer won’t part with good money unless they believe your product will add value to them in some way.

6. Know why your product is their best option:

Now dear reader, if you’re in business, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that it’s a highly competitive world out there.

Put simply, today’s customers have plenty of options.

You must be able to convince a customer on why your product is their best option.

If you’ve got a good story to tell about your product then you can stimulate the customer’s interest.

And once you’ve got the customer interested then you can gently apply pressure to close the sale.

And don’t be shy when it comes to applying pressure gradually.

Business is business and if you don’t close the sale you can be sure that someone else will.

There’s an art to knowing how much pressure to apply of course.

You shouldn’t push too hard because that can result in a negative reaction from the customer.

It can also leave customers feeling like they’ve been sold something they didn’t really need.

If that happens, you’ve made a sale but lost a customer. That’s counter-productive.

The last thing you want is an unhappy customer because they’re likely to tell a lot of people about a bad experience.

Bad publicity and customers bad-mouthing you can really hurt your business if you’re not careful, needless to say I’m sure.

Conclusion:

No business or individual can succeed without making sales.

If it’s your job to sell then you really have got to sell. And if you don’t sell, you’ve failed. Simple!

If you don’t make sales and meet your targets, then the result is likely to be that you’ll lose your job very quickly.

Business can be an unforgiving environment, as I’m sure you’re only too well aware dear reader.

No company can afford the luxury of having people on the payroll who don’t deliver the results for which they are paid.

And let’s face it, we’re all paid to deliver results.

In order to sell, the question to which you must have a very good answer is, “Why should the customer buy my product?“

If you’ve got a good answer and you’ve targeted the right customer then you’ve got a good chance of making a sale.

You also want to be confident that you can leave the customer feeling that in exchange for the money they’ve spent, they’ve received good value and a good buying experience.

So learn the art of successful selling. It will pay you a handsome dividend.

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