North San Diego Business@Large

The Carlsbad Chamber’s First Friday breakfast is September 5, 2008 from  7 - 9 a.m. at the Windmill Banquet & Catering, located at 890 Palomar Airport Rd., Carlsbad. This month our guest speaker will be David Carleton, author of “The Essential Referral Marketing System” and “The Ultimate Lead Generation System.”

As President of Street Smart Sales and Marketing, Carleton has developed sales, marketing and training programs that have helped hundreds of businesses in 30 countries around the world generate leads, increase sales and enhance their overall marketing effectiveness. He specializes in non-traditional, guerrilla marketing techniques that companies can use in highly competitive markets and industries or during economic downturns.

During the First Friday Breakfast, Carleton will present a mini-workshop where you will discover:

• How to cut your advertising budget back significantly, yet bring in more prospects.
• A strategy that statistics show can help your company perform 30 percent better than almost all other local businesses.
• A way to give your company a distinct advantage over your competitors.
• Four different ways to increase your sales by narrowing your focus.
• One simple strategy that can increase your closing ratio significantly and keep current customers for life.
• How changing your mindset about what you sell can significantly increase your sales and profits forever.

Asking 10 Effective Questions is the presentation at

The Meet Market’s

Friday networking luncheon. Join Stacie Marotta this Friday, August 22, 2008 @ 11:30am at Shadowridge Country Club.

Are you asking the right questions in the sales process? Are you asking effective questions to accomplish your business and personal goals? Not sure?

Learn how to ask Effective Questions. These questions are designed to make you and others around you think. Your own answers will surprise you!

* You will look at how you have already been doing things and where you want to go next in your business.
* When you start looking at the answers to these questions for yourself you can see what you need to shift to questions work for you.
* You will learn how to use these questions to look closely at what empowers you and others on a daily basis.

Register today for Friday’s luncheon. You’ll be networking with other solopreneurs and small business owners, so bring plenty of cards and brochures.
 

If, as a solopreneur, you’re struggling with "closing the sale," Eric Lofholm is teaching his two day Close Seminar in San Diego on February 9-10 (Saturday and Sunday). The regular price of the seminar is $695. This is the last year he’s offering the seminar at no charge. He only has a few seats left!

Known for his sales skills and strategies, Eric has words of wisdom to impart when it comes to "closing the sale." If this is an area you decided to work on in 2008, this could be the perfect jumpstart for you and your business. As I understand it, Eric and his mentor will be the only instructors.  The seminar outline is below.

Day 1

9:00 - 11:00 How to Attract Clients to Want to do Business with you
11:15 - 12:00 How to Overcome Resistance to Selling
12:00 - 1:30 Lunch Break
1:30 - 3:00 The Process of Influence - How to Move People to Action
3:15 - 5:00 How to Generate Unlimited Leads, Set Unlimited Appointments, and get Unlimited Referrals

Day 2
9:00 - 9:30 Surprise
9:45 - 10:15 How to Become a Time Management Master
10:15 - 10:45 How to Increase your Results Using Sales Scripts
11:00 - 12:00 How to Close
12:00 - 1:30 Lunch Break
1:30 - 2:00 How to Handle Objections
2:00 - 3:30 Eric’s Mentor - Special Guest
3:45 - 4:30 Goal Setting for 2008
4:30 - 5:00 Most Powerful Story of the Weekend

To register go to http://www.ericlofholm.com/close.php

You, Inc., The Art Of Selling Yourself by Harry Beckwith and Christine Clifford Beckwith is an easy read. I took it on our holiday road trip to Mom’s house. I was able to finish it within a few days. However, being an easy read doesn’t mean it wasn’t full of valuable info for running a small business.

What I loved best about You, Inc. is that in short stories and examples you discover strategies for selling, planning, relationships (which we are hearing so much about these days), and attitudes. They also reinforce the need for integrity in what you do.

One of the things I struggle with is remembering names. There are a couple of great examples of how to develop the ability to put a face and name together. I also enjoyed learning how to strengthen my relationships, and why our relationships are so important to our business success.

I like little books.  Little books that I can keep within reach for that moment of inspiration or motivation that these books offer. This is one of those little books that will always be within reach to help me move past any obstacles that might come my way. Check it out. If you’ve read it, offer up a comment!

Are you ready to make 2008 your best year ever? I know I am, so I took Eric Lofholm up on his offer to attend a FREE Sales and Success Boot Camp this weekend in Newport Beach.

2008 is right around the corner. Now is the time to prepare for the best year of your life. The best way I know how to start the year off strong is to end the year strong. So I’m thrilled to share this great opportunity to do that by attending Eric’s Sales and Success Boot Camp on December 1 and 2 in Newport Beach, California.

Here are 5 reasons you must be there this weekend.

1. There is no charge for the event.
2. My two mentors will be teaching the event with me, Dr. Moine and Tony Martinez. The lowest price Dr. Moine and I have ever offered a boot camp is $995. There is no charge for this event.
3. I will be sharing success ideas I have never shared in a public seminar before.
4. The timing is perfect to help you end the year strong and start of 2008 even stronger.
5. I have hired the best DJ in town to keep the energy high all weekend.

Here is a list of just a few of the topics that will be discussed:

• The goal setting technique that changed my life
• The fastest easiest way to increase your sales results
• My latest thinking about time management that has me more productive and organized than ever
• The new idea I just learned that is going to 4x my business in 2008
• A simple way to get too many leads
• And much, much more!

This event is going to be awesome!

You will be so glad you attended at the end of the event. This is your chance to learn from the "gurus" at no charge.

Reserve your seat by going to http://www.ericlofholm.com/successbootcamp.php

While I was on vacation last week, I read Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Red Book of Selling. What a great book! It’s an easy read, well designed including plenty of additional resources on his website.

I think this is one book every solopreneur should have in their library. You’ll discover what it takes to be number one and, more importantly, stay number one! Add this book to your library today!

Debra