Personal Note From Anne:

What Does the U.S, China and Mexico Have in Common?

When the book The World Is Flat came out everyone marveled that China or India was going to take all of America's jobs. So it got me thinking, what happens when a company or country suddenly does take a lead? Do they start to run in to rising costs? Higher demands from employees? Do they retain their edge or lose it?

In 2005 AlixPartners did a study and found that items entering from China were 22% cheaper than those produced in the U.S. By 2008 that gap had dropped to only a 5.5% edge to China. Hmm, is it still worth the trouble to do manufacturing outside the U.S?

Now an even more interesting phenomenon has happened. Mexico is now 20% cheaper for production than China!

So the cycle begins again. I bring this up just to remind you that what is will not always be. You need to constantly re-evaluate your business. Ask yourself, are you giving the best to your customers? Are you unique? Do you make them feel special?

For in the end, there will always be someone cheaper but the question is will there be someone better?

Don't wait for your China or Mexico to come along and put you out of business. Start today to create that unique space that is solely yours.

-Anne

Anne's Outcome Insights

Anne’s Video Blog: "Who Is This Person?"

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Quotable Quotes

“If you believe you are indispensable, your arrogance makes you disposable, but if you think you are disposable you become indispensable because you are constantly working to add value.”

- Anne Warfield

Outcome Focus^® Solution

How do you develop a follow-up plan that confirms that a meeting accomplished what it was supposed to?

Situation:

Anne, I’ve been frustrated lately because people have not been following up and taking care of things assigned to them during a meeting. How do I clearly state follow up plans for my meetings to make sure we keep moving forward?

Outcome Desired:

First you need to determine what the point of the meeting should be before you can ascertain an appropriate follow-up plan. To simplify this, determine if the meeting was a training session, a sales meeting, or an internal meeting.

Other Person's Perspective:

The most important thing is that people can actually do what you are asking them to do. They must also be able to recall the information when necessary.

In a meeting with a sales prospect, you want to close by recapping what was agreed on, what the next steps are, and how you will follow up. Most sales people miss the opportunity to find out from the client how they want you to follow up with them. Some prefer phone calls and some prefer e-mails. If you find out in the meeting exactly how to follow up with them, and agree on when, then you are not pestering the client.

Try to keep your internal meetings short, interactive, and focused on reinforcing the theme, "This is important to you because..."

How to Handle:

Training:

In your training session, pick out the top three to five things you want them to remember, and repeat them often throughout the training.

The second thing you want to do is make sure each participant writes down, in their own handwriting, those three to five things you want them to remember. Information written in one's own handwriting is retained much longer than information simply acquired in a handout.

The third thing you can do is to have them turn to each other and share three things they learned and how they will apply them. Then have that twosome turn to another twosome and share once again. Then bring the discussion up to the front of the room. This will give people confidence to share openly in front of the group because they've already shared with each other. It will also tell you if the information was learned, was misinterpreted, or was completely forgotten by the participants.

Sales meeting:

Make sure you have included all the decision makers if you set another meeting! Notice how we went from a mild follow up of, "Sure, I'll send you information," to a closing situation where you get in front of the decision-makers. The worst thing you can ever do is to merely send a proposal and hope and pray that they buy from you.

Internal meeting:

If you have regular meetings, you can always ask one or two people to recap what was talked about in the meeting and why it is relevant to the group. You can also handle it like a training session, where you have each person share with someone what they've learned and how they can apply it. Or you can simply ask the group as a whole, "What are the top two things we will do based on what we've shared?"

If you are sharing information one-on-one with a person who has a tendency to "forget," raise their accountability by asking them to recap what was agreed to. Then ask them how they would like you to follow up with them to make sure that the action has been taken. Then ask them what you should do if they have not performed as agreed. This way you are putting right up front what the expectations are as well as the consequences, so there is no surprise or anger later.

Use Outcome Thinking® to ensure you have full
agreement, and there will be no surprises!

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Outcome Focus^® Guest Column
Lighting your way with new perspectives!

Are You Confusing Your Brain? How to Program Your Mind to Attract What You Want
by Jack Canfield

We all aspire to be, do and have great things. Yet most of us simply aren’t creating the results we want. We don’t have enough money, romance, success or joy in our lives. But what we need to understand is that greatness exists in all of us. It is simply up to us to pull it out of ourselves. We all have genius. We just need to learn how to apply it.

Decide What You Want
In order to get what you want, you must first decide what you want. Most people really foul up at this crucial first step because they simply can’t see how it’s possible to get what they want — so they don’t even let themselves want it. Don’t sabotage yourself that way! What scientists now know about how the brain works is that you must first decide WHAT you want, before your brain can figure out HOW to get it. Once you lock-in your desires, your mind and the universe can step in. Are you ready to get started?

As soon as you commit to a big dream and really go after it, your subconscious creative mind will come up with big ideas to make it happen. You'll start attracting the people, resources, and opportunities you need into your life to make your dream come true. Big dreams not only inspire you, they compel others to want to play big, too.

Set Goals That Will Stretch You
Another value in giving yourself permission to go after the big dreams is that big dreams require you to grow in order to achieve them. In fact, in the long run, that is the greatest benefit you will receive from pursuing your dreams — not so much the outer trappings of fulfilling the dream (an expensive car, impressive house, loads of money and philanthropic opportunities), but who you become in the process. As I've seen many times over, the outer symbols of success, can all be easily lost. Houses burn down, companies go bankrupt, relationships end in divorce, cars get old, bodies age and fame wanes, but who you are, what you have learned and the new skills you have developed never go away. These are the true prizes of success. Motivational philosopher, Jim Rohn advises that "You should set a goal big enough that in the process of achieving it, you become someone worth becoming."

Service to Others
Something else you'll discover is that when your dreams include service to others — accomplishing something that contributes to others — it also accelerates the accomplishment of that goal. People want to be part of something that contributes and makes a difference.

Turn Your Dreams into Goals and Objectives
Once you are clear about what you want, you must turn each item into a measurable objective. By measurable, I mean measurable in space and time — how much and by when. For instance, if you were to tell me that you wanted more money, I might pull out a dollar and give it to you, but you would probably protest, saying “No, I meant a lot more money — like $20,000!” Well, how am I supposed to know unless you tell me? Similarly, your boss, your friends, your spouse, your brain — God, the Universe — can't figure out what you want unless you tell them specifically what it is. What do you want — exactly — and when do you want it by?

Write Your Goals Down
Write your goals down in detail, and read your list of goals every day. This will keep your subconscious mind focused on what you want. For an even more powerful approach, close your eyes and focus on each goal and ask yourself, "What is one thing I could do today to move toward the achievement of this goal?" Write down your answers and take those actions. To help your reticular activating system begin finding YOUR wants in unexpected places, take time now to decide what you want and start writing! Remember, don't hold back!