Brian Gosur

Advice and Strategies That Will Take You Out of This World

Category Archives: Marketing

Graduating From The School of Hard Knocks

Many of you out there have a college degree, and probably some student loans to pay off as well. I also received a degree, but mine was free. No loans for me to pay back, but there was a price to pay when you are graduating from the school of hard knocks.

Maybe some of you have taken a few courses from this very prestigious school.  I’ve seen lots of friends there, but it has been some of the hardest training that I’ve ever had to endure.

Graduating From The School of Hard Knocks

Coming out of Ford Motor Company after thirty-five years of successful service, I was looking for a new career. I didn’t want to go back to school, but I eventually signed up for some classes from the University of Hard Knocks.

I want to give you five pointers, that I learned during my time there, so that you won’t ever have to take the same courses that I did.

 

1. Do One Step at a Time

When I left Ford Motor Company and decided to change the direction of my life, the one thing that I didn’t want to do was flip burgers at the local MacDonalds, nor did I want to be a greeter at Walmarts.

I was introduced to network marketing and discovered the power of large numbers, and leveraging through a network. It’s a 120 billion dollar a year industry and many people are starting to discover this, “Business of the Future,” as Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump have labeled it.

But the first thing that happens is you get bombarded with business offers and solutions to help you in your business, and it can be very overwhelming to the newbie, such as I was.

Fortunately, I got introduced to some of the top marketers in the industry and I have learned so much from them.

Focus on one strategy until you master it and then use it in your pursuit of growing your business. Don’t try to spread yourself out to doing fifteen things all at once, like I did. You will just get frustrated and want to quit, it won’t work, so don’t even try it.

2. Pick a Strategy That is You

Find a marketing technique that fits you. One that your comfortable with and you can use to produce results.

Believe it or not, the best marketing strategies are free. Don’t get sucked into paying hundreds of dollars for stuff that you will never use and it will just sit as an empty desktop icon staring at you when you get on your computer.

You will go down this road, I did, we all did, it’s a class that they offer at the school of hard knocks. Learn this lesson well and as fast as you can, because you don’t want to have top repeat this class again, it can become very costly.

3. Put a Plan Together and Follow It

This was another hard lesson for me to learn. I was all over the map, because I didn’t have a blueprint mapped out to follow.

Find your one or two marketing strategies, master them and then put a daily and weekly plan of action into action, and implement your plan to success.

4. Keep Track of Your Results

Another class that is offered at the hard knock school, that I failed over and over, because I didn’t keep track of my results, whether they are good or bad.

You need to know if what you’re doing is working or not, otherwise you maybe walking down the road to failure and not even know it.

5. Make Changes When Necessary

If you aren’t getting the results that are leading you to success, then don’t ever be afraid to make changes. I was always afraid to make changes.

I’m a very patient person, and sometimes I can walk down the wrong road for a lot longer then I should, before I realize this isn’t working. I’m always trying to squeeze out every single drop of use from what I’m doing, before I abandon it.

Learn to follow your results and only do the things that are producing. Don’t be afraid to make the changes when they need to be done.

It’s all a part of the classes offered at the school of Hard Knocks, which are not all bad, as long as we learn and grow from them.

Just because it’s Christmas, I’m going to give you a free strategy that I use all the time. It’s seven videos that will explain free strategies that will get you up and running your business on the road to success, and avoid any classes in the school of Hard Knocks.

Get Your 7 Free Videos Right Here.

God bless your endeavors and have a Happy and prosperous New Year.

 

 

Network Marketers Need Tools

I have a friend who is a carpenter and my son is an electrician. In order for them to do their jobs properly, and make sure everything is in the right place, working the way it’s supposed too, they need the right tools. They have spent thousands and thousands of dollars on tools. They have to maintain those tools also, which ads another expense to their business.

Doctors also need the right tools to perform the delicate surgeries that they do. It costs them in the millions of dollars to operate or lease the complex things they need to perform they’re procedures on us. Would you want your doctor operating on you with old tools that were outdated or haven’t been calibrated in a long time?

Network Marketers Need Tools

1. Computer 

It’s no different when it comes to online marketing. Network Marketers need tools too. You need a computer, and you need a good one. Working on that ten year old computer, is not going to cut it. Technology changes so fast, you almost need to buy a new computer every five years or so. Expect to pay about $400-$600 dollars for a good computer.

2. Auto-Responder

Next, you will need a good auto-responder. I don’t care what business you’re in, you need to build a list of followers or leads, and you need to keep in touch with them. You need to constantly be feeding them the information and value that they’re looking for to help them with they’re businesses. This will generally cost you about $20 dollars a month.

3. Domain Name

You have to have a domain name to brand you. You are the business and you are the company. Get a domain name, preferably with your name dot com. A domain name is like owning a piece of the internet. It belongs to you and no one else. It’s like owning a piece of real estate that you control and build on.  Domain names run anywhere from $10 to $15 dollars a year. There are very inexpensive.

4. Hosting Account

You must have a hosting account in order to put your domain name on it. This hosting server gives you the place top park your domain and keeps it running on the internet. They vary in price, depending where you get it from, but they have come down in price.

You don’t want to get a cheap one either, as they don’t always have the best service or tech support when you need it. The price for a good hosting account can run you about $150 dollars a year.

5. Video Producer

Video marketing is growing every day. If you aren’t doing some type of video campaign, you are going to get left in the back of the room. 52% of people will be more likely to opt in to a site that has a video, then one that doesn’t.

People love to connect with a friendly face, that they can see and hear. It’s almost like being there right in front of them, and I guess you really are, but in video form.

You can do free videos on YouTube and other sites, but beware, as these sites have been known to shut down accounts for no reason at all. If that happens, you lose all your videos and complete access to your account.

The best way to go is to a video hosting site, where all your videos are safe, and you don’t have to worry about getting shut down. There may be some restrictions as to home many videos you can have, and they can get pricey.  The cost for this is around a $100 dollars a month.

Excluding the cost of a computer, your marketing costs will be about $1400 dollars a year, or just under $120 dollars a month.

Remember, every business or profession needs tools. Weather you’re in real estate, electrician, or a doctor, you need tools and you need training to be the best that you can be, and to earn the type of income that you want to earn. There are no free lunches.

I talk to people all the time, who want to come into network marketing and start to market online, but they don’t want to spend any money for tools or for their training. Nothing works like that…I know…I tried it.

I have something for you to use that can get you started on the right track right now, and the cost is free.

It’s got an auto-responder, domain names, hosting, conferencing, video producer, blog builder, lead capture page system, and some of the best training for online marketers, that will get you firing on all cylinders right out of the gate.

Instead of paying almost $120 dollars a month, you get it all for under $10 dollars a month.

That’s not an introductory offer either, that’s what it is every month. As a matter of fact, you can try all the tools that they have for a whole two weeks for free. No credit card needed…it’s free.

Click here to get all this for free.

If you’re ready to get your yourself branded online, and to get your network marketing business off and running, you need the right tools and you can get them all right here for under $10 dollars. I guarantee you won’t find anything better anywhere.

 

Do You Need To Be Empowered?

I remember a cartoon show that my kids used to watch when they were little. I think it was called Power Rangers, but I remember all of these little kids would stand in a circle and put their hands together and reach to the sky, lighting would flash and hit their hands, run through their bodies and transform them and empower them, into these Power Rangers, with super powers and strength. They would go out to defeat the bad guys.

The dictionary defines the word empower as; to give power or authority to. I guess that’s what the Power Rangers kind of did, but to be more realistic, that’s what David Wood and David Sharpe have done. The Empowered Network won’t give you lightening bolts running from the skies into your hands and arms, but it will give you 100% commissions running into your bank account.

The Empower network is doing exactly that, to the tune of over 800,000 dollars so far. David Wood and David Sharpe, just started Empower Network on October 31st…Halloween night, but there is nothing spooky about what their doing, nor of the results that their getting.

Check out this Alexa Ranking on Empower Network.

In just three

weeks the Empower Network has jumped up, and jumped way up in the Alexa Rankings. From the bottom, all the way up to number 435 in the US. That’s viral folks to the emf degree. You don’t get any better than this, and I think that we will be at the top in the next three weeks.

Imagine if your blog was ranked like this? Do you think that you just might get a little bit more traffic to your site? I definitely know you would. Well that’s the power of the Empower Network can do for you.

You get a blog and can write about anything. You don’t have to get a domain, or pay for hosting, and as people come to read about your blog posts, they are going to see everything in the store. You get all this and much more.

See for yourself, right here.

 

Listen to me! Don’t quit! You just need to be empowered! Get empowered right now!

 

 

 

 

Leads Are The Wheels That Make Your Business Move Forward – Do You Need a New Set?

Leads leads leads, that’s all I ever heard about when I came into the network marketing industry. Well it didn’t take me long to figure out why either. I soon realized real fast, that without a funnel of leads, you’re not going anywhere with your network marketing business, especially those trips to the bank. You won’t be making many of those.

Leads are the wheels that make your business move forward. Do you need a new set? If you do, I would like to introduce you to one that will not only take you forward, but will make the trip faster and so much smoother than you ever dreamed of before. It’s the luxury liner of business leads.

The first thing you need to understand is attraction marketing. I get a lot of questions from newbies that are just joining the network marketing arena, and the first thing they want to do is go out and hammer everyone and their uncle about the next best business that there in. After they’ve chased everyone away and they’re left there standing all alone, penniless, they come to the conclusion that network marketing is a scam and they quit. They pass this onto all their family and friends and that’s why network marketing has received such a bad name. Quitters never win and winners never quit.

Next is to get involved with a marketing system that will teach you how attraction marketing works and how you can generate leads, most of them free, when you implement the right strategies. Now I know that there are a lot of them out there and they vary in prices, and I’ve seen quite a few of them myself, but the best one is My Lead System Pro. MLSP will not only give you training from some of the top earners in this industry but,  you will also be introduced and meet some of the up and coming stars. MLSP is by far the best marketing system on the planet.

You have to get the proper introduction and education as to what attraction marketing is all about, from the one who put it all together, Mike Dillard. If you’ve never heard of or seen his explanation of how this system works and how it’s made for him over 7 million dollars, and how it has revolutionized the network marketing industry, you need too as soon as possible. As a matter of fact get seven training videos from Mike Dillard on this subject, absolutely free right here, and start yourself on the right road to leads and prosperity. Listen to Mike himself explain it all to you.

The next step, after you’ve learned some of the basics to attraction marketing, is what I call the grand daddy of all lead system generating tools, LeadNetPro. This is the by far the best that I’ve ever seen in generating leads for any type of business you might have. Once you get your system set up you will never have to pay for a lead again.

Delivering 99% accurate data from some of the top search engines, Google, Yahoo, and more, your business will start to climb very rapidly. You will have more leads than you can handle.

They also have a voice broadcasting system that is just incredible. I’ve never seen anything like it and so easy to do. Once you set it, you can go about your other tasks and come back to leads that want you to call them back, because the system has done all the separating for you. If you’ve ever done cold calling, like I have, you won’t ever have to go through all those hang ups and nasty people again. This works!

Last, but certainly not least, is another favorite of mine and one that I use all the time, IMToolSuite. This is the one stop, has all the tools that every business needs. There is the capture page creator, voice and text messaging, video email, web conferencing, contact manager, fanpage creator, Face book greeter, and nine other tools that are all under one roof. No more having fifteen pages open trying to do everything, this is all at one page for you.

Some of these tools you may have already, like I did, and I was able to save over $100 per month when I could cancel them, because IMToolSuite already had them for me. Kenny Gregg, Cedrick Harris, and Jim Choa, know what it’s like being in the trenches all the time themselves, so who better to put together one of the best business tool boxes that every business owner should have, weather it’s internet or a brick and mortar business, this is a must have for all your business needs.

Leads are the life blood of any business, and without them your business will be heading south real quick. I hope I’ve given you a guide and a road that will help you, and maybe ease all the confusion that is out there.

I know lots of things get thrown at you all at once, but these are the ones that you can hook up too, and will get you to where you want your business to go, and that’s straight up.

God bless

Brian Gosur

Business is People People and People

Remember the song that Barbara Streisand sang; “People who need people, are the luckiest people in the world”. Good thing you are only reading this and not hearing me sing it right now, I would lose you for sure.

Let’s just think about that for a moment. People who need people; who doesn’t need other people? Now I’m a very independent person, but I would be absolutely lost without other people in my life, and so would you. People make the world go round, we need each other whether you want to admit that or not.

I remember an old Lee Marvin movie, “Hell in the Pacific”. It’s a story of an American marine pilot and a Japanese naval officer, stranded on the same island back in 1944 during World War II. They are naturally enemies but it’s very interesting how they finally realize that they need each other if they are ever going to leave the island alive.

People and relationships are what make our lives move and have meaning. A relationship is what got you married, if your married. A relationship with your friend is what got you in trouble, when you egged that house way back on a cold dark evening in October, and it’s relationships that keep your business growing and thriving. The same trust that comes from relationships where we are saying, “I do”, is the same trust that’s going to turn a curious lead into a valuable customer.

Here are four steps you can take to get yourself and your blog out there where other people can see you and come over to read what you have, that will allow you to make that very important connection.

Join Social Networks

More than 80% of Americans use social networks

I don’t mean to just get a twitter or a Facebook account and start sending out friend requests. Join some groups and get to know some people. Talk to them and ask them questions. It’s like the new neighbor moving in, you come down to their house with a pie and introduce yourself to them by being a little neighborly.

That may be the old-fashioned way of doing things but it works, and people will get to know you by seeing you around, and they will eventually ask you about what you do. It happens all the time. Having the right tools in place will give you that extra edge.

We live in a social networking world, even governments can’t get away with doing things without the whole world knowing about it, or even some of our political figures. You have to be careful what you send and say on your cell phone and your face Book account because everyone will read about it.

Join groups where the people have a need for your products. Don’t join weight loss groups when you have a cake decorating business.

It’s Not All About You

This is a big mistake that I’ve learned the hard way. Don’t just write content about you and your business, write about others and those that can contribute value to your readers. Give them content that will enhance them and thus you will be enhanced in their eyes. You will now become that someone who they want to come back for more and pass you onto others.

It’s even good to have guest writers on your blog, something that I’ve not done as of yet, but will definitely do in the future. Forget about yourself, and think about your customers. What are their problems? What matters to them? That’s what you need to be bringing to the table.

There’s nothing more impressive than stopping by the side of the road and helping that person fix their flat tire, and ask for nothing in return. People will remember that and you.

Give Them What They Want

Sometimes we get caught up as the expert in our field, and we know exactly what the customer’s problem is. I don’t mean the symptoms, or the issue that they want to fix right now — I mean the real problem that lies deep down at the root of it all. The trouble is that people don’t always know that, and so they aren’t looking for that solution. Start by introducing them to what they want and then you can deliver what they need later along the way.

Give Them a Call

This is the most important one. More than 80% of your business depends on this one.

I don’t care how many leads you can generate, if you’re not on the phone and connecting with people you will never make a dime in this industry. Even if you don’t make a sale, you’ve made a connection that might come back later to a sale. That has happened so many times.

I’ve talked with people and never closed a sale, but I’ve helped them with something that they may have been struggling with, and they are grateful and are going to remember me.

This was the hardest thing for me to learn to do, was to pick up that phone and give that person a call. I remember doing all those cold calls back when I was in the mortgage industry. I hated doing them, but they were a great training ground for what I’m doing today. It’s like riding a bike, once you learn how to do it, you never forget and it gets easier and easier as you go along. Sure you will fall down and get bruised up, but that’s how you learn.

Just do it and that 800 pound gorilla, we call the phone, will become as light as a feather, and your bank account will thank you.

Get Hundreds of Shares Every Time You Write an Article Without Doing Any Work

A friend introduced me to TribePro awhile back. I have three blogs and I write on HubPages as well. I love to write, and needless to say, article marketing is one of my favorite tools in my arsenal of marketing weapons, but I was not ready for the impact TribePro would have on my articles.

Article marketing is a very effective marketing tool and if you’re not using it, you should really take a serious look at getting a blog or website started.

You need to brand “you”, and having a blog that describes who you are and what you like and what you do and what you have to say about different things, is going to be a big sign that advertizes you.

There is an array of article marketing tools out there, and I do have a couple of them that I have used in the past. Some work good and some not so good, but one thing is common for all of them, they take a lot of your time and a lot of your work and energy to get your stuff out in front of everyone.

Writing an article and getting the right headline and keywords all in place, takes time, but than you need to get your article out to the thousands of directories and in front of your target niche.

Learning how to generate the back links and doing the SEO to get your article ranked on the first page of Google was a lot of work and a skill that required lots of practice, but I have found a new way to do all that. It’s called TribePro.

TribePro is an incredible program that utilizes the buddy system. I used to get a couple of blog buddies and they would comment on my articles and I would do the same for them. That worked good but you had to have a lot of buddies to be able to do that effectively, and it’s very hard to get people to consistently share your posts with others. Not with TribePro.

Once you set up your account on TribePro, you want to connect with other tribe members. The more you have the better this will work. It does take a while to set everything up and to make connections with others, but believe me, it’s well worth it.

Now you write an article, and it is automatically sent to TribePro. All your friends are now sending your posts to all their Twitter, Face Book, Digg, and other social network accounts, and your post is getting in front of hundreds of people. Even comments can be set up as well.

I had a blog that was sitting dormant for a bout a year. It wasn’t even a blip on the search engines radar. The Alexa ranking was 1.8 million. It was no where to be found.

I dusted it off, and got it back up and running. I started posting articles once again and within four weeks my posts are getting on the first page of Google for my keywords, and the Alexa ranking is 428,365. Check it out, Health Hope and Happiness.com.

That’s the difference the the Tribe can make for your articles and your blog or website.

So here’s the deal – if you join TribePro through THIS LINK, upgrade to the top package, and then syndicate me – I’ll syndicate you back automatically, and share all of your stuff with my whole social network.

Sound too good to be true?  Honestly, it is – that easy, it’s like cheating the system to get instant, free traffic on demand, with no work or skill involved, and watch your rankings and traffic go through the roof.

There are easy to follow training videos that will walk you through the set up and they do weekly webinars also with new stuff that they’re working on.

After you’re set up, login, and auto-syndicate me.  Here’s how you do that:

1.)  Click on ‘Members’

2.)  Search for ‘Brian Gosur’

3.)  Click ‘follow’

4.)  Search for ‘Brian Gosur’ (again)

5.)  Click ‘auto-syndicate’

That’s it, you’re done. The next time I login, I’ll auto-syndicate you back and share all of your stuff, giving you instant, free traffic whenever you post.

Just look for the people that are the most active and repeat the steps above, send them a message, let them know you’re auto syndicated them, and ask them to do the same for you. They will reciprocate.

You’re going to see a virtual increase in leads and traffic almost instantly.

This is the best tool for article marketing I have ever seen. I guarantee you will see results.

Get your TribePro account set up today!

Oh, It Will Probably Rain Anyway – That’s Why You’re Still in The Box

Do you know an Eeyore, or maybe even have one in your business? It’s a complete wonder to me, how Eeyore’s would even make an attempt in any kind of  business.

In case you might not know who Eeyore is, Eeyore is one of the Disney characters from the “Winnie The Pooh” movies . If you have children, you’ve probably seen one or more of these movies. Eeyore was the very complaining and negative donkey friend of Winnie the Pooh.

Only Eeyore could walk out into a beautiful sunny day, and utter those infamous words, “Oh, it will probably rain anyway.”

Eeyore struggled to see the good in anything, but he could always point out to you all the negative things that could happen and maybe even just might happen.

He walked with his head hanging down and his ears dropped to the floor. He almost always had a frown on his face and never just walked, but kind of shuffled along.

Do you know anyone like that? They aren’t very pleasant people to be around, as a matter of fact, they usually don’t have very many friends, and you certainly don’t want one in your business.

These are people who belong to the 97% group. The 97% of people who live their lives in the box, and never venture out of the front yard for fear of getting attacked or sunburn, or having a tree fall on them, or any number of malady’s that just maybe could happen.

Fear is a terrible prison to live in. It can control you to the point of total incarceration, and being unable to move through the normal routines of life. People who fear everything have a hard time making the simplest decisions and choices and never ever offer any ideas of their own, just complain about yours.

Eeyore’s are looking at things from the confines of their box. They have to stand on their tip toes just to see over the top, let alone see something way down the road. They look at things through the glasses of pessimism not perseverance.

They are the Debbie Downers of the modern world. When you see them in a business presentation, run from them as fast as you can. They can spread like a cancer in your business and they are not the people you want to build an organization around.

Eeyore’s were around Thomas Edison telling him that his crazy scheme of an electric light bulb will never work. Thank God for his perseverance and his ability to shut their noise out and continue to move forward until his vision came to light.  (no pun intended)

There are no Eeyore’s or Debbie Downers in entrepreneurship. If you are an entrepreneur you are not an Eeyore, at least I’ve never met one.

Some of the most dynamic and down to earth people are entrepreneurs. They are the visionaries of the world. They are the ones that walk out into a cloudy day and say, “I see the sun trying to break through.” They see the glass half full instead of half empty. They say, “why can’t we do that?”

Robert Kennedy said, “some men see things as they are and say why, I dream things that never were, and ask why not.” That’s a visionary.

I grew up in a home of Eeyore’s and Debbie Downers, and even today when we get together for holidays and dinners, I hate to admit it, but it’s so hard to be around all the negativity in the room.

We all go through those times of being a little down and struggling, but we persevere through those times and you continue to move forward. Don’t park yourself there, keep going toward your goals. You’re paving the way for others, and defeat or quitting is not an option.

Always continue to move toward your goals, and don’t listen to the Eeyore’s or Debbie Downers in your life. Don’t quit until you reach what you can see.

Everything About You is Branding Who You Are Where Ever You Go

Some friends were coming over to our house a while back for a visit, and I realized what kind of impression I was portraying to others, and the type of person I was telling them I was when they saw how the outside of my house looked. I take great pride in having my lawn nicely manicured and flowers planted around, it’s a reflection of me.

On the other hand, I call my wife the “Martha Stewart” of the family, because she has to have everything clean and everything decorated and in its place. Our house, on the inside, could be on the cover of “Better Homes and Gardens” magazine.

Now I don’t say this to brag or to elevate us above anyone else, but we live in a small home, about 1600 square feet, but we do work hard at keeping it looking nice.

But it hit me, the way the inside of the house looks, and is decorated, is the finger print of my wife on our home and our life, and the way the outside looks is the my fingerprint on our home and our lives. It’s says something of who we are and what we are like.

Everything about you is branding who you are where ever you go.

Everything that we say and do, and the way we say it and do it,  is a reflection or a branding of who we are. The way we talk, the way we dress, the importance we put on different things, are we organized and disciplined or not, all these and more, reflect a small piece of our personality to the people we are exposing ourselves too.

For example, those of you who follow me and read my posts are learning a little bit about me simply by reading what I write and the way I write it.

Because of all this we should take a pause and see the way we are reflecting ourselves to others, and if you don’t have a plan of action, you should plan on what you need to do to brand yourself. How do your prospects see you? What kind of person do you want to emulate to your world?

I’m not just talking about to your business world, but to everyone, because who you really are will always come out into the forefront. You can put up a mask to hide behind for only so long, and then the real you will come out.

You can put up a mask to hide behind for only so long.

Have you ever met someone who was famous and maybe you saw them running to catch a plane or somewhere behind the scenes, and they weren’t the way you had expected them to be?

I met Ted Lindsay once, hockey legend and Hall of Famer, and he was the most gracious man I have ever met. Here was this great hockey player who was known for the way he took care of business on the ice, and yet he took the time to talk to my sons and sign autographs. It made you feel important that he stopped to take that time to talk with you.

The most successful entrepreneurs are the ones who are just being themselves. The same person you read and see in videos, is the same person that you will meet at a company function or maybe a person that is more personable than you thought.

Branding yourself goes a lot further than just doing videos and writing articles, it’s who you are on the inside, who you are when no one is watching, and letting your market get a little peak at the real you once in a while.

Now I understand, everyone needs the time when you let your hair hang down and you relax with your family and friends, there should always be a side of you that you keep for the very close and intimate people in your life. That’s not what I’m talking about here.

I’m talking about who you portray and how you portray yourself on the business platform, should be the real you, and not a mask to hind behind.

If you need help in marketing you and branding yourself, check out my page here.

How Do You Deal With Negative Hits and Comments?

When I was growing up, negativity was the rule of my home. My father wasn’t home much and my mother was a very negative and critical person, and so children breed in that type of environment will grow up to be negative and critical as well.

My mouth got me in a lot of trouble while I was growing up and it has been a long and hard road to get that tongue somewhat under control. I have greatly improved on that but my wife might tell you otherwise.

Being a network marketer and using the vehicle of the internet to market, I have a couple of blogs where  promote and brand myself and the various businesses that I am involved in.

As in anything, everyone who is in the crowd will always wait for someone else to speak up first, and for someone else to step forward before they and others will come out and divide themselves behind the people or the causes that they believe in. Mark those people out who speak up first, because they are the real leaders and they are the ones others will follow.

It’s always those people who step out and speak up first, that get the most thrown at them. Leaders walk a very lonely road, and there is never a time that you can, or should, please everyone.

But what do you do when those negative remarks and stone throwers come out at you? How do you handle these kinds of people.

There is a friend of mine who posted how she handled a negative person who stood right up against her in the middle of a business presentation she was doing. How would you handle that one?

I played hockey when I was younger, and given the meek mild-mannered person that I am, (not), if you hit me during a game, I was coming after you. I could almost guarantee, that I would get to you before the game was finished.

Just a little hockey love tap

Unfortunately, we can’t operate like that with our businesses and in our society today, we would all be in jail. So how do you handle these people and there objections.

I say this with my teeth clenched and with great trepidation, we should attack with kindness. Yes…kill them with kindness. The old adage, “the customer is always right”, is how we should approach this.

Now I didn’t say this would be easy, but this is what we should practice.

I write a series of articles on HubPages, and I usually write about politically and controversially charged issues, so needless to say, I get a whole lot of attacks and negative remarks about the stand and views that I take. Because it has nothing to do with my business ventures, I am not as nice as I should be but I do try very hard to be. I’ve had to apologize on more that one occasion.

Now there are those people who will complain, argue, and fight just about anything. All they want is the attention it brings, not the truth. They are seeking only self-gratification and nothing else.

These people should be exposed for the frauds they are. Don’t waste any of your energy or time with them at all, as a matter of fact hitting the delete button is usually the best way that I’ve found to deal with them. Don’t even give them a platform to stand on. That usually gets them even more angry, but oh well, it’s your blog isn’t it?

To those who are legit and are really asking and looking for answers, being direct, kind, and helpful is always the best approach. If you can’t answer their requests in a few short responses, take the conversation to the private sector.

Remember you have an audience who is watching how you handle these types of questions, and they may also be having the same thoughts themselves, but are just sitting back of the crowd and waiting for someone else to step forward. It’s just the way human nature operates.

When people see how you handle these objections and these types of people, you will either grow more as a definitive leader in their eyes, or you will be losing some of your followers.

If you mess up and say something that you shouldn’t have said, (like I’ve done before), apologize openly and publicly. This is also a sign of the type of person you are, and the kind of leader you are in your business.

Some of the best coaches and leaders that I’ve had or seen, were not perfect people and they never portrayed themselves as such, but when they made a mistake, they were always man enough to admit it and say they were sorry. Being a real person is always the best format you can take as a leader.

That’s my kind of leader, because that’s the type of person I want to be. I will step forward, I will be the point man, but I know my weaknesses also and, I know how to be open to good solid criticism, so that I can always improve and get better.

A good leader is always improving and will be the first to tell you that,  he or she, is not perfect and doesn’t have all the answers, but together we can walk this road.

Give me some of your experiences in this matter. How do you deal with negative hits and comments?

Communication – The Key To Life and Your Business

There are many elements and qualities that you must possess to be successful in life, but there is none that is more important than communication.

The ability to communicate with other human beings. To be able to convey a thought or an idea to another individual, and through the incredible process of communication, allow them to see what you see. That’s what communication can do for your life and relationships, but it can also work this same magic in your business as well.

Let’s first explain what communication is not. Communication is not the used car salesman type, who sees you coming and chases you down and starts to talk and talk and talk, and never shuts up. That is not what communication is.

Actually, what real communication is, will probably shock some of you, because it’s more listening than it is talking. You do have to talk to have a meaning line of communication, but you will do more listening than you will do talking to have effective communication.

One of my pet peeves about communication, and I see more and more of this going on with so many people today, is the uncanny ability to make you think they are listening to you, when they really aren’t. They’re more worried about the task at hand than anything you have to say.

Have you ever been talking to someone on the phone and you can hear the key board keys clicking away? What do you think they’re doing? They’re not listening to you, that’s for sure… they are typing on their computer and they’re concentrating on what their typing, not on what you’re saying.

The best way to stop this is to abruptly stop talking right in the middle of what you’re saying. Than the only noise you hear is them banging on those keys. They’ll realize you’ve stopped talking, and they’ll stop typing, but remember, they don’t have a clue as to what you were saying to them. They will quickly try to answer you back with some sort of response, and the responses that you will get are so funny.

I remember telling a friend of a tragic event that took place, and I could hear him typing on the key board. I stopped and he did too, but as he fumbled with his words of response to me, all he could think of to say was, “that’s great Brian.” I said, ” what’s so great about my friend’s daughter wrecking their car in an automobile accident?” I had him and he knew it, so he did apologize, but this is something that I see taking place way to much, especially in the business world.

This is the most rude act in communication that we could do, but why are so many of us doing it, and we’ve all done it… myself included. I don’t ever want to convey the message to someone that there are more important things in my life than to be talking to you right now. This is not good for business.

The biggest part of communication is to listen. Ask some pointed questions and than just shut up and listen. First one to talk loses. How can you ever know anything about a person unless you listen to what they have to say? How will you ever know what they need if you never let them tell you.

Listening is a skill that has to be learned and it takes some of us longer to get this part down, than it takes for others, but it is something you must learn and master if you are going to be successful in your business or in any relationship.

I was the king of talking about me, myself, and I. That’s all that existed for me and it took years, and with great trial and error, that I learned the art of listening.

My wife can tell you some stories, but I’ll let her do that the next time we get together.

The other thing that you must do when you are talking with someone is, make eye contact with them. Don’t be looking around at other people passing you by, or birds flying in the trees, focus on them and what they are saying. Asking questions and responding to what they’re saying, will show them that you are listening and you are taking to heart, what they have to say.

Everybody wants to be validated and giving a listening ear to your customers or clients is the best way to do that. Try it and I guarantee, you will be surprised at the results that you get.

If you can master the art of communication and practice this foreign and new aspect called listening into the mix, your business will change and your life will take on a whole new meaning.

So by all means, learn communication, the key to your life and your business, and you will put yourself in a position of success on all fronts.