We are living in an age of what many innovation experts are calling “disruption”. What a perfect word to describe what’s happening at this very moment.

This much needed disruption is shaking us out of our comfort zones forcing us to fundamentally re-think what we know about business – or thought we did. Similar to when we moved from an agrarian society to an industrial one, we are faced with a transition unlike anything we’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, some people and businesses are going to struggle with this disruption more than others.

Business owners and sales people must consider how this disruption changes the way they approach the sales process and devise strategies for addressing it. How you get attention with your potential customers when they are so overwhelmed with choices will all start with creating “value” in a virtual world with people you may never actually meet. Creating online relationships that will lead to closing sales is going to require that 3 things happen:

• You have a plan and a purpose for what you are doing.
• You choose the right tool(s) to support your sales goals.
• You LEARN and USE the tools consistently day in and day out.

As you begin to join in on group and online community discussions like you’ll find on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, you will have to understand that you don’t “sell” while joining in on the conversation. Instead of talking about what you or your product does; you will be demonstrating your expertise and industry knowledge as you share your tips, advice, information and helpful hints with others without expecting anything in return.

How sales people will uncover opportunities, research trends, keep on top of their competition and network completely changes the way the game is played. And they must also be realistic in their expectations, because social media is not a “quick fix” nor does it bring you sales overnight. Like great offline selling, it takes time to build the relationships that lead to closing business.

While you won’t get rich overnight as you embark down the social media path, you can’t afford not to get started right now. The train has already left the station, so you need to get moving to catch up!

I am a huge fan of Brian Tracy! Through the years, I have learned so much from him about how to get clear on my goals, priorities my work and use a system that let’s me gets things done quickly and easily. I hope you find his article below as helpful as I did.

Have Everything At Hand
One of the best ways for you to overcome procrastination and get more things done faster is for you to have everything you need at hand before you begin. When you are fully prepared, you are like a cocked gun or an archer with an arrow pulled back taut in the bow. You just need one small mental push to get started on your highest value tasks.

Clear Your Workspace
Begin by clearing off your desk or workspace so that you only have one task in front of you. If necessary, put everything on the floor or on the table behind you. Gather all the information, reports, details, papers, and work materials that you will require to complete the job. Have them at hand so you can reach them without getting up or moving. Be sure that you have all writing materials, computer disks, access codes, email addresses and everything else you need to start and continue working until the job is done.

Make It Comfortable
Set up your work area so that it is comfortable, attractive and conducive to working for long periods. Especially, make sure that you have a comfortable chair that supports your back and allows your feet to sit flat on the floor.

The most productive people take the time to create a work area where they enjoy spending time. The cleaner and neater your work area before you begin, the easier it is for you to get started and keep going.

Assume The Position
When you sit down, with everything in front of you, ready to go, assume the body language of high performance. Sit up straight, sit forward and away from the back of the chair. Carry yourself as though you were an efficient, effective high performing personality. Then, pick up the first item and say to yourself, “Let’s get to work!” and plunge in. And once you’ve started, keep going until the job is finished.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, take a good look at your desk or office, both at home and at the office. Ask yourself, “What kind of a person works in an environment like that?”

Second, resolve today to clean up your desk and office completely so that you feel effective, efficient and ready to get going each time you sit down to work.

Visit Brian Tracy International

As I consult with business owners to help them them integrate social media strategies into their approach to building their business, one question continues to emerge. Aren’t I bothering people online that I don’t even know when I use tools like Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook? And OMG, what if people start to stalk me. Good grief! Please get over that now!

Hey, let me ask you a few questions.

• If I met you at a networking event and then subsequently followed up with you over email or the phone – do you consider that stalking or intrusive?
• Are you afraid to call more than once or twice for fear that you’ll be perceived as too aggressive?
• Is this the same reason you think you should only send your newsletter out once a quarter?

If you said yes to any of these questions then I’d like to suggest you give up as an entrepreneur right now. There. I said it. How can you possibly build relationships that lead to people buying your products or services if this is your mindset? The answer is…you can’t.

And why in the world are so many of you worried about the proverbial stalker coming after you? If you think that someone can’t find you in the local white pages, you are just fooling yourself. What I love about the online world is that if someone does start bugging you – guess what? You can block them. Easy as pie.

Here’s the deal…when you go online – similar to when you go to a networking function (if you do it right that is) – you are looking for commonality.

Take Twitter as an example. If you have signed up to use Twitter and don’t know how to get started, you can simply search for people who have similar interests to yours. For example, I love great wine, so I might search out other wine lovers to follow and in turn might want them to follow me. Gary Vaynerchuk is just such a person. You can check him out on tv.winelibrary.com

As you start following people with similar interests, join in the conversations taking place, you begin to build a relationship with them. In other words, the first step is to say “hello” – to shake hands. This is no different than meeting someone at a networking event and realizing that both of you have an affinity for fine dining and great wine.

People seem “scared” about who might follow them. I say the more the merrier. There is also fear about sharing “too much personal” information, but the idea online just like off line is that you want to let people get to know you – that’s why it’s called social networking. If somebody goes overboard or gets on your nerves, cut them off!

As I said, I think Gary is a pretty hip guy in addition to knowing his wines, so I want to share a video of his from YouTube that speaks to this very topic. Pretty much says it all. Thanks Gary!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfKph3UXcz0

As I consult with business owners to help them them integrate social media strategies into their approach to building their business, one question continues to emerge. Aren’t I bothering people online that I don’t even know when I use tools like Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook? And OMG, what if people start to stalk me. Good grief! Please get over that now!

Hey, let me ask you a few questions.

• If I met you at a networking event and then subsequently followed up with you over email or the phone – do you consider that stalking or intrusive?
• Are you afraid to call more than once or twice for fear that you’ll be perceived as too aggressive?
• Is this the same reason you think you should only send your newsletter out once a quarter?

If you said yes to any of these questions then I’d like to suggest you give up as an entrepreneur right now. There. I said it. How can you possibly build relationships that lead to people buying your products or services if this is your mindset? The answer is…you can’t.

And why in the world are so many of you worried about the proverbial stalker coming after you? If you think that someone can’t find you in the local white pages, you are just fooling yourself. What I love about the online world is that if someone does start bugging you – guess what? You can block them. Easy as pie.

Here’s the deal…when you go online – similar to when you go to a networking function (if you do it right that is) – you are looking for commonality.

Take Twitter as an example. If you have signed up to use Twitter and don’t know how to get started, you can simply search for people who have similar interests to yours. For example, I love great wine, so I might search out other wine lovers to follow and in turn might want them to follow me. Gary Vaynerchuk is just such a person. You can check him out on tv.winelibrary.com

As you start following people with similar interests, join in the conversations taking place, you begin to build a relationship with them. In other words, the first step is to say “hello” – to shake hands. This is no different than meeting someone at a networking event and realizing that both of you have an affinity for fine dining and great wine.

People seem “scared” about who might follow them. I say the more the merrier. There is also fear about sharing “too much personal” information, but the idea online just like off line is that you want to let people get to know you – that’s why it’s called social networking. If somebody goes overboard or gets on your nerves, cut them off!

As I said, I think Gary is a pretty hip guy in addition to knowing his wines, so I want to share a video of his from YouTube that speaks to this very topic. Pretty much says it all. Thanks Gary!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfKph3UXcz0