When you think of Thanksgiving, business ownership and entrepreneurship don’t usually jump to the forefront of your mind. But once you learn the hidden history of Thanksgiving we share with you in this 15-minute Thanksgiving message, you’ll:

• Get a big boost to your confidence and motivation
• You’ll be prouder and more thankful for being a business owner
• And you’ll be privy to the hidden history of Thanksgiving that less than 10% of Americans know

Add new meaning, a heightened level of excitement, and an incredible new level of gratitude to your Thanksgiving by listening in on this one-of-a-kind business coaching podcast.

Here’s the MP3 link if you’d like to take this on the road with you as a true business coaching podcast:

The Business Coach shares the hidden history of Thanksgiving

And here’s the quick play buttons if you’d like to listen online right now:

What’s your reaction?

Let us know what you think after listening by leaving a comment below. Were you surprised? Motivated? Encouraged in the role entrepreneurism played in the first Thanksgiving? Use the comment feature by clicking on the link titled “Add your comment here” at the bottom of this post.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving!

God Bless you and yours!

John-Paul Micek is known as the “Click-and-Mortar Business Coach” by business owners around the world thanks to members of the Business Owners Coaching Club™. He’s a published author and weekly columnist for the business section of the Honolulu Star Bulletin, and a managing partner with the international small business coaching company RPM Success Group Inc.®

The © Copyright to all audio, video, images, and text are held by RPM Success Group Inc.® and licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Coach J.P. here cutting in on Deb’s series. In doing some research today I came across a great article with charts that Chris Anderson over at The Long Tail put together. It touches on some of the important points we review in the Business Owner’s Coaching Club on winning big with underserved markets.

Chris talks about things in terms of the “head” and the “long tail” which is very similar to what we coach business owners to understand and take advantage of. That is that the bulk of marketers and business owners will simply act like lemmings and go after the “big numbers” at the head of the curve. The smart business owners will focus on their niche and drill down into the middle part of the curve. This is where there is plenty of demand, lots of money, and very little competition.

Take a look at Chris’s post and share your thoughts in the next Business Owner’s Coaching Club mastermind. (Or start with a comment below.)

Enjoy!

Coach J.P.

John-Paul Micek is known as the “Click-and-Mortar Business Coach” by business owners around the world thanks to members of the Business Owners Coaching Club™. He’s a published author and weekly columnist for the business section of the Honolulu Star Bulletin, and a managing partner with the international small business coaching company RPM Success Group Inc.®

The © Copyright to all audio, video, images, and text are held by RPM Success Group Inc.® and licensed under a Creative Commons License.

(Part four of a seven-part business coaching series on sales strategies that work for small business. ) If you missed the last installment, you can read part three here.

FACT: People buy from people they like. And, people like people who are like themselves. It’s as simple as that.

Target Training International, based out of Scottsdale, Arizona performed a study that proved this basic premise. And, if people truly understood the implications of this fact, the entire sales process would undergo a dramatic 180-degree turnaround. We’ve seen this over and over again with our business coaching clients.

Think about your own experiences. How many times have you found yourself buying something from a store, walking out with a smile, and thinking how nice the sales person was? Think about why this was a good shopping experience.

Using the right words is critical to whether the doorway to communication gets opened, or closed. But it doesn’t stop there. Studies have been conducted that reveal how “words” constitute a mere 7% of the communication process.

This tells us that we must also pay close attention to matching the voice cues, body language, and rate/tone of speech of the people with whom we communicate. With this information, we have the knowledge as to how we must adapt our communication style in order to build rapport.

Adapting to your clients’ preferred ways of communicating will open doors quicker than any other sales strategy (commonly referred to as “matching and mirroring”).

In workshops where we coach business owners on stealth sales strategies, we see time and time again how the exact same words will carry very different meanings when the tone of voice or body language is altered.

Emphasis on using certain words over others has been proven to dramatically influence behavior in small and large crowds. Just imagine how persuasive you can be using the right words in the right way when meeting with a prospective client one-on-one.

Adam Bayless, president of Global Asset Consulting, based in Los Angeles, positioned building rapport as one of “the most important skills that a professional salesperson should constantly improve upon above all others.”

This not only helps the sales professional – but it also makes the entire sales experience an enjoyable one for the client. The client leaves feeling satisfied, and assured that his/her needs were met.

Bayless describes this as the new ideal for sales professionals who are serious about helping their clients get what they want. “By understanding and communicating with your prospects at a deeper level, you are able to create solutions your client needs, as they’ll feel more at ease discussing their real motivation for buying your product or service.

And when this is done correctly, you’ll never have to close another prospect.” Smiling, Adam continues, “Your prospects will literally be asking you for your products and services, then raving about you to all their friends. And that’s enjoyable for everyone!”

In part five of this series of business coaching articles, we’ll expand upon the strategies to use to close more sales.

Deborah Micek is known as the “Business Communication Coach” by business owners around the world thanks to members of the Business Owners Coaching Club™.

Official Life Coach for the Dream Makeover Hawaii TV show aired on NBC, internationally published author and weekly columnist for the business section of the Honolulu Star Bulletin. Deborah is a managing partner with the international small business coaching company RPM Success Group Inc.®

The © Copyright to all audio, video, images, and text are held by RPM Success Group Inc.® and licensed under a Creative Commons License.

(Part three of a seven-part business coaching series on sales strategies that work for small business. ) If you missed it, you can catch part two here.

It’s critical that you choose appropriate words in all of your business relationships, especially sales . Much like with persoanl relationships — the wrong words can can torpedo the relationship before it even gets out of port. The right words will inspire and motivate people to gain trust in you and eventually do business with you. And that means more sales in your small business or professional practice

Case Study:

Joe, a sales person, is talking with Nick. But Joe’s having a difficult time trying to describe the service he offers.

His business coach observes that when Joe tries to determine if he’s getting his point across, he uses the phrase, “Does that click with you?” (This is a phrase that attracts those with a KINESTHETIC Language Pattern, like bells and whistles.)

Since Nick has a VISUAL Language Pattern (as described in part two of this series), his face scrunches up as he replies, “No, I’m not quite sure that I see where you’re going with this.” Nick doesn’t get what Joe is saying because he’s not realting to the words Joe is using.

If you’re talking to someone who has a high Visual Language Pattern, you’ll notice they use words that pertain to “seeing things.”

Once Joe implemented the phrase his business coach advised him to use, he noticed a dramatic change in Nick’s body posture and facial expressions. Under the guidance of his business coach, Joe clarified his question, changing it to, “Can you picture how this works, Nick?”

Here’s the other phrases that Joe’s business coach helped him develop when he’s speaking with a person who listens and learns using a Visual Language Pattern:

• Imagine using this product in your home!
• Do you see yourself using this service?
• Can you see what I’m saying?
• Watch how this image moves.

Once Joe began using words and questions that appeal to the way Nick’s brain works, his sale with Nick closed masterfully. Just by altering the words he used in his presentations, Joe’s sales for the month increased by 33%! Not bad, huh?

I’m sure the gig is up by now and you’ve realized that I am Joe’s business coach, so I can say with certainty that Joe’s sales increased because he began appealing to the Visual Learners who walked in to his shop, people who happened to make up a disproportionate percentage of his customers.

Business Coaching Corner:

Powerful communicators are people who create the best environment for others while stepping out of their own comfort zone. This is the first step to inspire others toward action.

To alleviate some of the challenges you may face as you step out of your own comfort zone, imagine that you are learning another language and visiting another country. Picture the differences in the culture you see around you, listen to the speech patterns, and take note of the mannerisms used by the people around you.

This is the same process you must take with someone who has a different communication style than yours.

In part four of this series of business coaching articles on small business sales, we’ll highlight the most important aspect of the sales process. We’ll show you three aspects of communication that the majority of people are completely unaware of, and how you can get the edge over your competitors by knowing how to apply them.

Deborah Micek is known as the “Business Communication Coach” by business owners around the world thanks to members of the Business Owners Coaching Club™.

Official Life Coach for the Dream Makeover Hawaii TV show aired on NBC, internationally published author and weekly columnist for the business section of the Honolulu Star Bulletin. Deborah is a managing partner with the international small business coaching company RPM Success Group Inc.®

The © Copyright to all audio, video, images, and text are held by RPM Success Group Inc.® and licensed under a Creative Commons License.