The Mindset of Success

Reader Marketing Question: Building a Mailing List

I’m going to start answering a reader marketing question each month. Today’s question is about how to go about building your mailing list.

If you have a marketing question (on building your expert status, speaking for marketing, or generating referrals), send it by replying to this or posting it on my blog, and I may choose it to answer. Please include permission to publish your question, your name, and  your company name. I will select the questions that are of most interest to members of this community and that I’m most qualified to answer. If you don’t see yours answered right away, it may be answered in a future month.

Okay, now for today’s question.

Dr. Larina,

I love your new newsletter. .. My question is this “how do you start the process of gathering a marketing list”?  With all the spam laws and people not wanting any more “mail” in their boxes; what is the best way to get started.  To utilize any of the huge email marketing houses, like Constant Contact, you first have to have a list.  How do you go about starting such a list.  I have hundreds of connections, business cards, etc. how do I convert the ones hungry for my material into my marketing list?

-          Robin Harpe, Principal, Navigate Your Life

Hi Robin,

Thanks for the great question. List-building can be an important part of your marketing strategy. It is a longer-term strategy, which means that it may not immediately pay off as well as some active marketing strategies. But most marketers know that “the gold is in the list” and start the process of list-building as an integral part of their marketing strategy.

If you’re starting your list from scratch, the first step is to figure out the format that you’ll use to communicate. Will you send text-only messages as you write them on a sporadic basis, or will you send a regular ezine, such as once every Wednesday evening? Or will you do a combination? As part of this step, also determine what email management system you will use (such as iContact, which I’m thinking of switching to, Constant Contact, Aweber, etc.)

Second, the most important part: What benefit will you deliver? Because as you mentioned, Robin, everyone is inundated with emails, you must deliver something of substantial value to people who need it.

Third, we get into the real crux of your question: How to start building the list. It used to be that we could include a box that says “Sign up for my newsletter” on our websites and people would sign up. No more. Now we need to offer something else of high value to your target market, such as an ebook, special report, audio, and so on. The format of what you offer isn’t as important as the quality of it and the relevancy to those in your target audience. For an example of this, see how I offer bonus items for my two publications Stand Out! and Raise the bar on my main site.

You can create a “mini-site” in which you offer your bonus item that people get when they sign-up for your list, or another way to think of it is that they need to opt-in to your list to get the bonus. Mini-sites are effective for list-building because they only have one call-to-action. On the other hand, your main site is going to have more copy and likely be better search engine optimized. So you could simply include your sign-up on your home page and an interior page of your site.

Finally, you are ready to drive traffic to the page where people can sign up and get the bonus item. Begin with your current networks. You CAN NOT just add people to your list. This is spam. Instead you must extend an offer to them and they can choose to opt-in to your list.

You mention that you have a stack of business cards and hundreds of connections. Email them (yes, this can take a while, but you can hire someone to do it) and let them know about the bonus and give them the url. When they go to the page, if they think it is of benefit to them, they’ll opt-in.

You can also team up with joint venture (JV) partners. The ideal JV partner is someone who already has contact with your target audience. If they think your bonus product is excellent, they’ll want to share it (i.e., share the link to sign-up for it) with their mailing lists.

The last pointer I have is to nurture your mailing list. Even if you have just 50 people, give them great content on a regular basis. If they love it, they’ll forward it on to others who can benefit and you’ll build your list virtually.

I hope that helps, Robin!

The Just Enough Rule in Marketing

Let’s face it: It’s much more comfortable to stay in our offices and get ready than to get out there. We perfect our business cards and brochure. We come up with various telephone scripts. We polish our “audio logo” (your brief introduction of yourself and your business). We write and rewrite the copy for our websites.

All of these things are important-- to a degree. We need to be honest and ask ourselves “Are they as important as I’m making them?” and “Will they bring in business or is there something more productive that I could be doing?”

Time to bring in the “Just Enough” Rule and ask yourself:

“Am I prepared enough to move forwards?”

Make sure that your definition of just enough is an accurate one. If your definition of just enough is perfect, then you’re not effectively using this rule.

Here are some examples of how my clients have recently used the Just Enough Rule to move themselves ahead in their marketing and build their businesses more quickly:

1. Do I have just enough marketing materials to present myself well? My client and I decided that all she needed to go in to local business and present her business were high quality cards and a website. Her website didn’t even need to be complete, just good enough that she had a presence online.
2. Have I practice enough that I’m reasonably comfortable and confident? One of my clients was getting ready to give a free seminar to a group of potential referral partners and was on the verge of over-practicing. If she did, she would come across as over-practiced and not her natural authentic self. If you’re scared of public speaking you’ll be nervous no matter how much you practice and practicing too much can actually increase anxiety and decrease performance.
3. Do I know enough about this marketing technique to start doing it? I recently learned that a client had bought 10 information products on internet marketing. Her internet marketing needs were straightforward and she didn’t need all of this information. Marketing is not rocket science. And it’s not a one-time thing where you learn everything, do it once, and are done. (I wish it was!) It’s a continuous learning process and the only way to really learn is to jump in.
4. Who can tell me if I’m ready for action? It isn’t always a good idea to rely on yourself because you won’t feel ready. Instead, get an outside perspective who can objectively tell you if you’re ready to move ahead. You don’t want to be floundering out there on your own. As long as you have support, you can start taking action and get help as you go.

What is one area of your marketing where you can apply the Just Enough Rule? You’re ready enough to get going, so it’s time to take the plunge. Go for it, you’ll do great!

Learn about our individual coaching programs to help you take marketing action.

What’s More Important - Thinking or Doing?

Jesse is a big thinker. He is creative, perceptive, intuitive, and thoughtful. He’s always coming up with great ideas. He’s not afraid to think big and plan how to make a true difference in the world. Friends go to Jesse when they’re stuck because they know he’ll come up with bright solutions.

Susanna is a doer. She likes to get things done. Nothing is more rewarding to Susanna than checking off the items on her “to do” list. She tends not to procrastinate because she loves the feeling of accomplishing things and doesn’t like to have tasks hanging over her head. People know they can count on Susanna to do what she says she will.

Who’s in a better position to succeed in work and life?

What do you think?

The answer is that both Jesse and Susanna can be in a great position to be highly successful IF they are self-aware.

You see, Jesse’s natural strength is thought while Susanna’s natural strength is action. In my view, the way to raise the bar for yourself and achieve more is to capitalize on your strengths AND to add in some of the opposite.

This means that if you’re a natural perceiver and dreamer, then idea-generation is critical to you, it’s your natural strength. And if you have a natural urgency to get things done, then action is critical to you, it’s your natural strength.

BUT it also means that you need to be aware of yourself including your real motivations and habits.

For example, Jesse thought that he took an adequate amount of action. He believed that his planning was action. In reality, planning is often preparing to take action but is not in itself action.

Are you like Jesse? Could you benefit from moving out of preparation and into daily habits to help you achieve your goals?

And Susanna often jumped into action, thinking that she was ready to do so, when in reality she was not. She could have achieved even more or done so with less stress if she spent some time brainstorming, coming up with alternative solutions, and thinking through contingencies before jumping into action.

Are you like Susanna? Could you benefit from delaying action and spending more time planning and strategizing?

So, what’s more important, ideas or action?

The more important one for you to focus on is the one that comes less naturally to you.

The way to do this is to first be aware of your decision-making process. Then insert the question “Could more thinking/action help me here?” (Select thinking or action based on which one is not your natural inclination.)

Finally, develop the new habit of inserting more thinking or doing where you normally would have jumped to the other.

Enjoy the great results you get - I’ll be that you accomplish more than ever before!

Overcoming fears and phobias is more powerful than you think

Everyone has a fear (or two or twenty). What's yours?

I've worked with clients who are afraid of everything from bugs to heights to public speaking. Some fears and phobias are more subtle-- you may not be terrified but your pulse quickens a bit, you get short of breath, or you magically seem to be "previously committed" at the time when you need to confront your fear.

If your fear is causing major problems, you're probably motivated to overcome your phobia. But what about the subtle ones? Is it worth it to even work on it?

It may be.

Overcoming a fear or phobia is great because it helps you do things that you avoided. It helps you be less anxious.

But there's another potentially more important benefit.

You show yourself that you can accomplish everything you set your mind to... even the difficult things.

You develop much more meaningful self-confidence.

You become a leader in your field.

I wrote about how to achieve true self-mastery in my new book The Confident Leader. The jump-start tip I'd like to share with you today is to increase your self-awareness... Be on the lookout for subtle avoidances, muscle tension, a shift in your mood, a thought that you won't be successful, a drop in your energy... All of these things can indicate a minor fear or sense of self-doubt, and a wonderful opportunity to build confidence and achieve more.

Thanks for reading,

Larina Kase

Larina answers reader's marketing question

Question: I am a motivational speaker. I conduct workshops on Managing Stress, Time Management, etc. In the last three years the no’s from corporations have increased…The encouragement comes when the feedback of the sessions is great EVERYTIME. But what from here?

Regards, Kushal Kumar

Larina’s Answer: Hi Kushal. Thanks for the question as there are many speakers and aspiring speakers in this community. If the feedback you receive is excellent, then it sounds like it’s more about getting your foot in the door with marketing that helps you stand out. There are tons of speakers on stress management and the like, so your task is to show how you’re different.

I’d suggest:

·         Considering refining your target market so your speeches can be tightly focused with clear benefits to that audience

·         Create a couple compelling titles, including subtitles if necessary, to package your talks

·         If you have permission, include some of the audience feedback that you have received.

·         If you don’t already have one, create a high-quality demo tape.

·         Put this all together with your speaker’s bio to a downloadable page (with link to see the video) and get it out to the companies who can benefit.

I wish you the best!

Have a marketing question you want answered? Send it over, and it may be in next month’s ezine.

Analysis of a Seamless Sales Transaction

The other night my husband and I went to a used car dealership. What do you think when you think used car salesperson? Not so nice things, right?

Well, we had an incredible experience and ended up getting a car on the spot. We went in knowing what we wanted and they happened to have it, but I give a lot of credit to our excellent salesperson. I’ll share everything that she did right so you can use a similar approach in your business.

#1 The Speed of Trust

We were greeted by the salesperson as soon as we walked in the door. In many car dealerships a receptionist greets you and then you wait for the salesperson to come over. During this time, your defenses go up as you prepare to get sold to.

She presented herself well and her look was consistent with the product she was selling. This helped her establish instant credibility. She was friendly and laid back which lowered our defenses of being “sold to.”

Another thing the effective salesperson did well was a quick assessment of our needs. It was late in the evening and we weren’t there to chat. At another dealership we went to, the ineffective salesperson asked us about 20 questions. I could tell that he was trying to build rapport and qualify us to see if we were worth his time, and he did neither effectively.

#2 The Product Sells Itself

When you have a high-quality product (which of course you do), the goal is to let the product speak for itself. At another dealership the salesperson went though a ton of features as we stood in the lot. I felt dumb because I didn’t know what half (okay, two-thirds) of them were.

The excellent salesperson put us in the car right away. We learned by doing. The experience was more powerful than a discussion would have been. This shows the difference between educational marketing (what she did) versus interruption marketing (what the other guy did by throwing facts at us).

#3 100% Focus

We arrived at the dealership 40 minutes before closing time. The salesperson acted quickly in coming over to us and getting us into a car, but she also acted as though she had all of the time in the world to speak with us.

She focused on nothing other than us. She did not appear at all pressured to make the fast sale, which reinforced her confidence (and therefore our confidence) in the product selling itself.

What does this mean for you? Don’t wait to return sales calls so that it looks like you’re busy, and when you make the calls, maintain the attitude described in #5 below.

#4 Personal Experience

You’ve probably heard me recommend telling stories whenever possible. How do you tell stories in the sales situation? A great way is by discussing your personal experience with the product. If you can’t do this, then discussing client stories works too.

She happened to have the exact car that we were looking at, so she told the story of getting into the car after a 12-hour shift, sinking into the soft leather seats and enjoying the smooth ride which is so quiet it’s like being in an airplane.

The number one thing that makes a great story is adjectives. You want to paint a picture that people can see, smell, and feel. She did this very well.

#5 Switching Gears

When we got down to numbers and the initial plan was not going to work, she seamlessly switched gears to discuss another option. She remembered our needs and found a solution that fit those needs along with the new parameters.

Consistent with #1 (the importance of speed) and #3 (speed without pressure), she said “have a look at this one,” and got us right into the next car (the one we bought).

#6 A Confident Attitude is Everything

The most effective aspect of the salesperson was her attitude. She showed a high level of faith in the product without being the slightest bit conceited or condescending. From the beginning she assumed that we were excellent prospects by virtue of our being there (unlike the other guy who interrogated us in his qualification process).

Suspend judgment- you never know if a prospect can afford you or is willing to hire you based on their appearance, age, tone of voice, education level, job status, and so on. If they sense the slightest bit of condescension, you’ve lost them.

Instead, focus on the quality of the product. The confidence you give off will be contagious, and you won’t have to “sell” at all.

You may not be a used car salesperson, but remember these principles as you sell your product or service. You’ll find that selling is not a chore, but a joy. You’ll connect with your client and they’ll walk away with something that will add a great amount of value to their lives.

Today (7/10/08) Is International Happiness Day!

My friends and colleagues Eva Gregory and Jeanna Gabellini recently let me know that they're the U.S. Ambassadors for International Happiness Day!

What is it? Have a look here.

There's a great presentation at the bottom of the page that teaches about positive psychology, how happpiness relates to business success, achieving flow, and how the internet creates happiness through connection and relatedness.

Check out the site and happy happiness day!

Cheers,

Larina Kase

Business performance without perfectionsm

Here is a guest blog post by one of my friends and colleagues. I love this idea- it helps us to maximize our energy and productivity, end perfectionsm, and enjoy our work...

Waiting for the perfect wave

By: Terri Zwierzynski

Someone in a class I was in last week drew some parallels between the waves on the beach and your business. And while I’ve forgotten the gist of it now, it made me think about how surfers approach the business of surfing — and how that might relate to how we run our businesses.

Surfers show up at the beach when they can. They paddle out into the waves, looking for a decent wave to ride, and then launch themselves into that wave with abandon, enjoying every second of the experience, and going right back out to try another. There’s no angst about missing the best wave, no trying to save a wave for later. They leave the beach knowing that tomorrow, or the next day, the great waves will still be there waiting for them.

What if we could live our business lives the same way? What if, we showed up to work on our business only when we wanted. And while we are working, we launch ourselves into whatever wave of work feels right, and have fun with it. And stop working when we no longer feel like working — knowing that the work, and the opportunity, will be there when we feel like coming back.

Because these are the truths:

       It doesn’t have to be done today if we don’t feel like doing it.

       There is no such thing as lost opportunity — it’s always there, waiting to crash back into our business/life when we are ready for it.

So, delete those old emails you’ve been meaning to read, knowing that when you need the information they contain, it will appear.

Throw away the to-do lists, knowing that the work you want to do today is what is important.

And work as much or as little as you want today, have fun doing it, and when it stops being fun and interesting, call it a day and go to the beach!

The New Model of Web Entrepreneurship: Membership-Based Businesses

Membership-communities or virtual groups are one of the most exciting things happening on the web. As an owner, you get to connect people from all over the world, make a real difference, and earn ongoing streams of multiple revenue-- all from the comfort of your own home.

My friend and colleague Sheri McConnell has createed several thriving membership communities. I recently interviewed her about how she did it and we can too.

Here you can listen to a 60-minute interview I conducted with Sheri. You'll see- she is the real deal and offers some highly valuabe information.

Download the MP3 here http://larina.audioacrobat.com/download/membership biz.mp3

If you're considering beginning a membership-based virtual business, get everything you need to know with Sheri's new book Smart Women Create Membership-Based Businesses.

Enjoy! Larina Kase

Solutions to the Challenge of Letting Go

What do you need to let go of?

It may be a friendship that has ended. Or a goal that is clearly not coming to fruition. It may be a 15-year-old pair of jeans that you swear you’ll fit back into someday. Or an argument that has reached a stalemate.

Or maybe it is something ongoing that you don’t have any control over: When someone will return your call. Or your significant other’s bad habits that drive you nuts.

Whatever it is that you need to let go of, the first step is to recognize the need to move on. We sometimes get so stuck in pursuing that we don’t stop to ask ourselves if we really should be pursuing. Ask yourself:

1)     Am I getting a return on my energy spent pursuing this goal?

2)     Are there red flags that this is not going to happen?

3)     Is this something that I really do have control over?

4)     Is this something that may be better achieved if I stop trying so hard?

Once you recognize the need to let go, the secret to doing so is wrapped up in one word: Acceptance.

If we haven’t accepted something, it keeps playing over and over in our minds like a broken record. It’s unfinished business. This means that if you’ve been obsessing about something, you have not accepted it.

To accept something does not mean that you have to like it. In fact, it shouldn’t because acceptance is a neutral stance. You don’t love something and you don’t hate it. You accept it. You can certainly look for the good in the situation, but you don’t need to force yourself to be thrilled about it.

There are typically two key factors that we need to accept in order to let go:

1)     Change

2)     Control (or lack of control)

We naturally resist change and attempt to control events in our lives, which is why accepting these two factors is so challenging.

In order to let go of an old friendship, we need to accept that things have changed. To move on from being stuck pursuing a goal that is not going to happen, we need to accept that the circumstances have changed.

To deal with someone’s bad habits that drive us nuts, we need to accept that we cannot control them. To stop obsessing about when someone will get back to you, we need to accept the lack of control.

Interestingly, when we accept change and the lack of control, it becomes easy to let go. AND we find that we start to achieve more of what we want.

When we haven’t yet let go, we keep ourselves inextricably tied to that which we haven’t let go of. This means that we aren’t moving forward and pursuing other things that we value.

When, instead, you practice the art of acceptance and CHOOSE to focus on something else of value, you achieve more of that which you value.

And if you’re trying to control someone else, you keep them linked to the thing you want them to stop. For example, a mother whose son is overweight is tempted to continuously remind him to eat healthier and never allows him a sweet snack. What does the son do? He develops an unhealthy obsession about his weight or he goes out and sneaks junk food whenever possible.

As another example, if I obsess about an old friendshipt that had changed and is no longer rewarding, I take away from my current friendships. When I accept the change, I free energy up to focus on my other relationships.

So, to summarize, the way to let go and move on when you are stuck is to:

1)     Recognize the need to move on.

2)     Accept the situation, especially change and your lack of control.

3)     Choose something of value to focus your time and energy on.

Think about areas where you’ve been stuck in your life and business. And ask yourself if letting go of something can help you not only get unstuck, but propel yourself ahead towards something truly important. I think it will.

Self-improvement lessons from renovating

My husband and I are FINALLY wrapping up several months of renovating a house built in 1939 (part of why I've been quieter on the blog lately). I have to say that it has been one of the most exhausting and exhilerating experiences of my life!

I really enjoyed the process of looking at the potential of a room, envisioning change, and then bringing the vision to fruition.

Here's an example:

Living Room BEFORE we purchased the house:

 

Living Room after minor renovations (wallpaper removal, floor refinish, adding crown moulding, lots of painting, some building materials are left in fireplace in this photo):

I'm in the business of personal development and business building, so why would I write about renovations?

It struck me that the home renovation process is very similar to personal development...

First, you must see the potential. If we never saw the potential in the house, we never would have purchased it. Similarly, you must believe that you have potential to make a change. Now, I don't believe that you must see all the possibilities, just that you have an optimistic outlook about your ability to change. (If you don't have this, developing that is step one).

Second, you must create a vision. In the past, I've often taken a haphazard approach to decorating. This time I chose to pick out color schemes, think about how the rooms will flow together, and really keep an eye on the big picture.

Third, at times, you must forget about your vision. One thing in the process of renovation that was abundantly clear is that nothing goes as planned. Flexibility is key.

Fourth, you must continuously take action, even when nothing is going your way, your patience have been tried and tested, and when you're exhausted and unsure if things'll work out as you want. (In my newsletter Control Stress-Achieve Success [currently in the process of becoming titled Raise the Bar] I've been discussing when to persist and when not to.)

Finally, CELEBRATE your achievements and milestones along the way- not just when everything is done.

How can you make a significant change in your life, just as you'd renovate a house? What steps and considerations have you found to be important?

The changes aren't immediate but they are exciting.

Thanks for reading...

Larina

How to Use the Peak-End Rule in Marketing

In 2002 psychologist Daniel Kahneman won the Noble prize in economics for his Prospect Theory. I admire how he has applied psychology principles to business, and would like to share one theory with you: The peak-end rule.

What’s the Peak-End Rule?

According to research by Kahneman and later others, we tend to judge an event by how it was at its peak and at the end. This means that we look not at the sum of the event, but the intensity of the most pleasant or unpleasant experience, and the ending.

For example, in one study, two groups of research participants had to listen to a loud, unpleasant noise for the same amount of time. One group had to listen to an additional unpleasant noise that wasn’t quite as unpleasant as the first. Interestingly this group (with the longer duration of unpleasant noise) rated the experienced as significantly less unpleasant than the other group, even though the duration was longer.

How Can We Apply This Principle to Small Business Marketing?

Focus on providing a powerful peak or ending experiences for your prospects or clients.

An Ending that Exceeds Expectations

For example, make a habit of completing your work faster or for less cost than you quoted a client. Let’s say you own a painting business. Quote your prospective customer a reasonable price that you feel confident you can beat. The client hires you and is happy to pay you the amount you quoted. You do a great job and end up finishing even faster than you expect so you can give your client a refund.

What is their “end” experience? It’s a wonderful painting job and money coming back to them! That creates a highly pleasant experience and increases the likelihood of them hiring you again and sending referrals your way.

Create Peak Experiences by Focusing on Values

Consider, also, how to create peak experiences for your client. Make efforts to discover the most important factor to them (it’s not always what they say). For example, do they prioritize time, value, quality, price? Once you discover their value, create a peak experience around that.

For instance, one of my clients is an owner of a management consulting company. She hired me to help her with internet marketing for her business, but after one conversation, I realized that what she really wanted was strategy. She’s a big-picture person and all her focus on keeping up with work left her without a strategic direction. She had been uncomfortable in her business and assumed it was about bringing in new business, but in reality it was the lack of strategic focus.

Once I discovered this value, I was able to provide her with a peak experience with an exciting strategy session. On the final day of our coaching, we reviewed her progress, which also left her with a pleasant end experience, in which she focused on her success.

Putting the Principle into Action

How can you improve the experience your clients receive (and therefore, improve your business referral streams) by focusing on the peak or the end experiences?

The psychology of marketing is powerful—these principles will help you achieve more marketing results with less effort. Be sure to customize your approach by the individual needs of your clients, and observe the excellent responses.

Persistence is the Key to Achievement - Or Is It?

According to research, we’re more likely to carry on when we’re losing than when we’re winning. We try to recover our losses. Maybe this isn’t such a good idea.

As a stubborn achievement-oriented individual I have a tendency to be invigorated by a challenge. Failure means keep going, you’re only getting stronger. I sometimes, however, become so focused on the destination that I lose track of the journey.

We become cheerleaders for ourselves (others may do this as well) and get so riled up with “Go, go, go!” that we forget to stop and ask, “Where am I going again?” and “Why is it important?”

What if all of those difficulties along the way are yellow flags? Or even red flags? We ignore them because we are passionate about our goal and want to prove to ourselves and others than we can do it.

Maybe persistence, in some cases, is ignorance. We get goal obsessed and lose track of the bigger picture.

So how do we know when persistence is our most important key to success and when it’s obsession and useless?

Of course the answer to that gets at the real art of decision making and personal achievement, which is tough to cover in a short article. I will, however, share some ideas based on the science of decision-making and perseverance.

#1: Learn From Those Who Came Before

Interview people who have a similar passion and purpose to you. Ask them about persistence: How did you know when something was the beginning versus a dead end?

#2: Take the Fork

The challenges may not be a sign of a dead end, but rather a fork in the road. You may be able to learn from the rocky path you were on and use it take the fork or to forge a new path altogether.

#3: Listen to Intuition

We reason, think analytically, and weigh decisions and future possibilities with a part of a brain called the frontal lobe, and in particular, the prefrontal cortex. This part of the brain is distinct to humans. On the other hand, we inuit with a deeper, primitive part of the brain (the basal ganglia). It’s survived through evolution for a reason. Listen to it.

#4: Proceed Slowly

You’ll be better able to gather information and make decisions about whether or not to persevere if you proceed slowly at times. Don’t go so slow that you get stuck, but don’t jump the gun and rush into action when it may not be the best idea.

#5: Put Your Idea on Hold

Putting something on the back burner to simmer can allow you to come to new conclusions and insights. You know how you remember something as soon as you stop trying? It’s like that.

#6 Persevere in a Completely New Way

Most great inventions have been the product of persistent efforts. But the great inventors were not trying the same thing over and over. Ask yourself, “What additional resources can I use to do this totally differently?” This is like stopping your hike down a rocky path, changing out of your flip flops and into hiking boots, getting a walking stick, getting a guide or a map, and changing your mindset (from “This is horrible!” to “This is an adventure!”).

When you persevere with a purpose, your passion, and a strategic plan, you’ll know whether to stick with it or scrap it and find a new direction.

Need assistance following through with (or quitting and finding a new direction) an important change in your business or career? Learn our approach to change.

Confident Speaking and Some Great Bonuses

Last spring my coauthor Harrison Monarth and I released our book The Confident Speaker published by McGraw-Hill.

Since then we've been thrilled to receive the endorsements and emails about how the book has helped people, and to see our book go onto the New York Times bestseller list.

If you don't yet have a copy and would like one, we're have some great bonuses available for a limited time at www.ConfidentSpeakerBook.com

If you read the book and have a question, please feel free to email me at info@pascoaching.com or post it here. I'd love to receive any thoughts, questions, or comments about confident speaking that you have.

Check the book and bonuses out here: http://www.ConfidentSpeakerBook.com

Take care,

Larina

How to Avoid Mental Biases and Make the Right Decisions

You know that feeling when you’re faced with an important decision, and you can feel your blood pressure rising? You’re nervous about making the wrong choice. The issue is an important one and you don’t want to mess up by selecting the wrong path.

I like to say that fear is often more than “False Evidence Appearing Real.” It is sometimes there for a reason, to tell us to proceed with caution. This is true with decision-making because our minds fall prey to many biases.

For example, noble-prize winning economist Daniel Kahneman and his colleague Amos Tversky discovered a mental short-cut that we tend to take when making decisions, which they called the “availability” heuristic.

We don’t weigh all of our options equally. Instead, we assign greater weight to options that we readily think of, assuming that if we think of them readily, they must be more frequent. For example, if I can easily think of red BMWs I assume that red is one of the common BMW colors.

This is only partly true. We think of options readily if they are dramatic or easy to remember. A red car is easier to remember than a grey car. I may have a neighbor and a client with a red BMW so it’s fresh in my mind.

As another example, if your friend had just told you how horrible a new restaurant is, you would probably decide not to go there, despite reading a dozen positive reviews. Or if someone asked you what the leading cause of death is: accidents or diseases, you may say they are equal or you may say accidents (recalling all those vivid 11pm news programs), when in reality diseases are 16 times more likely to lead to death than accidents.

So what do we do about these mental biases?

First, we need to be aware of them. When making a decision, ask yourself if it’s possible that you are being swayed by a mental short-cut. Ask yourself, “What would be the path of least resistance for my brain to go down?” If a mental bias is present, resist its influence.

Second, realize that everyone has different biases. If a decision is an important one, collect opinions from different people to balance out one another’s bias. A study by financial analyst Paul Johnson showed that group predictions (for who would win an Academy Award) consistently outperform individual predictions.

Third, use thought and memory bias to your advantage. If, for instance, you’re a business owner make your testimonials vivid by filming people genuinely and enthusiastically sharing their stories. This will help prospective clients or customers remember the benefits of your business. If you get my marketing newsletter you know that I’m always advocating for standing out. This is another reason why you want to stand out and be memorable.