Blog

Action plan

Something Bigger 

Small changes are easier to make when there is a bigger outcome in mind… one that is sparkly and burning and so much better than the current reality. 

If the outcome isn’t big enough, the effort isn’t worth it, is it? Does losing 3 pounds really inspire as much as losing 10? Or WHAT will losing 10 pounds bring to your life (lower blood pressure, knees that are less cranky, pants that aren’t as tight...or the jeans that look fabulous at that magic number) that really matters to you?  The goal …

Read more…

Me, too…

Habits take time and attention to develop. If you haven’t read The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, put it on your list for 2022. It identifies the elements necessary for creating and keeping new habits.

I think I explore and train others and write blogs because I need to hear the message as much as I need to share it. For me, it helps to combine a new action with a reliable one to build a new habit…. like taking vitamins at night when I put the coffee together for the next day.  I can’t do …

Read more…

Ending the First Month in the New Year

Whew! Month one in and done.

Are you off to a good start? Did you start and stop and start again? Did you hit your target for January yet?

This is a good beginning, whatever the outcome. You are starting a new process and you are completing your first milestone. Take a look at your actions and results and find something to celebrate – even it’s just sticking to the program! 

You are likely in this for the long run and not just a quick accomplishment, so slow and steady wins the race.

Read more…

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Starting new practices and habits isn’t a smooth process. After the initial excitement and inspiration wears off and old habits start to call to us, we feel pulled in a couple of directions: moving toward the future that we envision and desire and being tethered to a familiar way of doing things. We start to tell ourselves that the current reality is not so bad….and maybe we just need to live with it. 

Fear. Resignation. Hopelessness. 

When we know that breakdowns will occur or we may falt…

Read more…

New Actions in Action

Actions are the only things that produce results. New actions feel awkward at first and sometimes that awkwardness stops us from continuing them.  

When you know this might happen, then it’s not a surprise when it does. That’s why you want to keep actions to a very few and repeatable if possible. Feeling awkward lessens with practice. And how we know we are doing something new IS the awkwardness of it…so that is good news!

Have a reasonable expectation of what new actions will produce. Giv…

Read more…

Get it in Writing

Have you finished writing your goals for the new year yet?

If this is your first time setting goals and putting them on paper, then give yourself a break. Did you get started and distracted? Did you lose your way? Did you need help with articulation but didn’t ask for it? No worries, just sit down and finish it. Even if you only have a couple of things written down, it’s a start. 

If you have written goals before and had good results and still haven’t finished, well…are your goals inspirin…

Read more…

Christmas

Whether or not you celebrate this holiday or share your life with people who do, this is likely to be a different kind of Christmas. From the pandemic to supply chain challenges, this holiday is surely one to be created. 

As store shelves may be emptier than usual, Christmas presents might be replaced with gifts of ‘experiences to be shared’ or home-made treasures or treats from local shops. Maybe we will spend less time on getting presents and more time on being present to each other and to …

Read more…

Prep for the Holidays

I am hopeful that your year has been strong and that your business has been consistently good each month.

And I am also hopeful that you prepared for HOW you would do business at the end of the year as the holidays approached.

One of the benefits of setting yearly goals (broken into quarters and months) is that you can anticipate and predict the cycles of traffic and buying highs and lows. You can manage how your business will be taken care of and your goals achieved during vacations and h…

Read more…

The Last Month of the Year

December is a funny month. 

For retail showrooms, this tends to be a slower traffic month with a lower average sale. And, like November, it also tends to be a good delivery month, with holidays driving making homes lovely for family and guests. 

Residential trade business continues to be strong and retail traffic has started to wane a bit but is still sufficient to hit targets. And trade showrooms can go either way as these are not typical times. 

Given the unpredictability, this is a c…

Read more…

This Equals That....

For sales associates and leaders everywhere

The numbers never lie. When you step on the scale, you know. When you open your bank statement, it’s right there to see.

The same is true for sales. When you look at your sales results, you know whether you are on track to make goal or not. If you are, great. If you aren’t, it’s a function of actions: the quantity and quality of the actions you have already taken.

If you want to get back on track to make goal, you need to take more actions. If you h…

Read more…

Categories