High-performance people have an inherent tension: the struggle between the desire to lead and the reluctance to let go of the reins. Heck, let’s admit it: some days it’s nice to just follow. Why? Because the price of leadership is high: you have to make big decisions, take big risks, and put your neck on the chopping block on a daily basis.

However, the follower pays an equally high price. Sure, it looks easier to follow, but that can be a fallacy. As they say, followers have the same view until they get up front. And what if you don’t like where the dog sled is heading?

But here’s the key: Every company or social group has a cult-ure (some more “culty” than others). And you need to figure out where you belong in the hierarchy–or if you even belong at all. That’s why, when you join a company, the first thing to do is size up its cult-ure. What are its tribal customs? Its ceremonial costumes? How deep in do you want to go?

It’s great to be part of a company whose mission you believe in, but it’s perilous to give total allegiance to your boss simply because he or she is in a position of power. (I still remember my boss for the Domino’s Pizza gig constantly hectoring me to “be more like Doug”. But in reality, “being a better Christine” was my real path to success.) Be willing to look the part, but don’t buy the whole program if you don’t believe it. And please, please be clear about why you’re making your choices; every compromise has a cost.

The world needs team players and leaders both. It just helps to figure out whether you’re the right person in the wrong position. So this week, look deep inside yourself and ask: Am I a leader or a follower? Because one isn’t necessarily better than the other; you just need to be clear on which role fits you better. And remember – you might fit different roles in different cultures.

If you decide that you’re ready to be a Leader, come work with a group of like-minded leaders (and ME) at my 7 Figure Business Building Summit. The early bird special price ends inTEN DAYS, so click through now – and don’t forget, you can still bring a friend for half price! That’s TWO of you for $1,497.) http://www.7FigureBusinessSummit.com

Christine Comaford, The 7 Figure Business Builder
CEO of Mighty Ventures, Inc.

NY Times Best Selling Author

PS: Come and learn from me, live, in person. Choose to be a LEADER.
http://www.7FigureBusinessSummit.com

Part 1 of 8 – Christine Comaford presents at the Entrepreneur & Small Business Academy on February 3rd, 2010. Her topic was “The 3 BIGGEST Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make that Block them from Building 7-Figure Businesses” and she did a great job!

If ur seriously on the road to your 7 Figure Success and ready to learn from The 7 Figure Business Builder, Christine Comaford, in person, be sure to get your seat at 7 Figure Business Summit is in April. Seats are going fast http://www.bit.ly/5dHdCp and the Early-Bird pricing ends in 20 days!

The Number One Rule of Sales:  The Inner Game of Sales = Perseverance

Step Six:  Last but not least, HANG WITH THE WINNERS, people.  You will be MUCH more likely to find mentors, inspiring friends and yes, even clients when you’re with the BEST of the best.  If you’re seriously on the road to your 7 Figure Success and ready to FIND those winners (and learn from ME, in person), then you MUST be at my 7 Figure Business Summit is in April.  Seats are going fast http://www.bit.ly/5dHdCp and the early bird pricing ends in just a few DAYS.  AND, if you hurry, you can still bring a friend for half price.  (Yes, that’s two of you for $1,499.)

PS:  Here’s the link again to the 7 Figure Business Summit:  http://www.bit.ly/5dHdCp

Way too often, we’ll go rushing in to sell our product or service BEFORE we’ve done our three-step check.  BEFORE You Ask for the Deal:#1 Be SURE you have identified your prospect’s needs. If you’re NOT sure, ASK them. Sometimes the simple approach is the best approach.

#2 Be SURE you have presented a solution to your potential client’s needs.

#3 Feel confident!  You have earned the right to ask them to buy your recommended solution or service … So ASK for the deal! This is where a lot of companies and service providers blow it.  They wait for the prospect to ask THEM. People, we’re not in a bar waiting for an invite to dinner. You’re the one who does the asking here.

A PERFECT example of this three-step check is my 7 Figure Business System CD.

Number one, I identified the PAIN (um, can we say agony) that business builders go through (often, it’s systemization and almost ALWAYS it’s no mentor – or worse, the WRONG mentor).

Number two, I gathered up the 45 “must have” business documents, procedures, templates tutorials and worksheets that I insist my OWN mentees use AND I put them into a free CD for you guys (you pay only the shipping).  THEN, I put together a killer video mentoring project – and with the free CD, you get 2 weeks for FREE to try this mentoring program. Finally I made the program REALLY affordable – no kidding – solving the mentoring CRISIS that many of you go through. (After your two-week trial, unless you notify us, you will be automatically enrolled |in this $97 a month Exclusive Training Program.)

Number three, I put the offer out there!  (You can grab your copy now and ROCK the two-week trial. Supplies are limited and I have no plans to create more. http://bit.ly/97KnyV)  Be sure to get YOUR offers out there in a way that your clients see them.  Whether it be one-on-one in a killer sales meeting, or over the web to your friends, fans and followers.

ROCK your business people!  It’s TIME. 

Christine Comaford, The 7 Figure Business Builder
CEO of Mighty Ventures, Inc.
NY Times Best Selling Author

PS: Grab your copy now and ROCK the two-week trial. Supplies are limited and I have no plans to create more. http://bit.ly/97KnyV

What’s the MOST important part of what your company does? If you answered accountability or responsiveness or even quality control, you’re wrong.  The MOST important thing, every day is: Close the Deal. After all, EVERYTHING stops if you can’t do this.

Remember these four vital ingredients:

#1.  Closing is about confidence. You have to KNOW that you kick butt and know that the rest of your formula (i.e., accountability, responsiveness, QC, etc.) is solidly in place.

#2. Also, if your prospect feels you have confidence in your solution, THEY will have confidence in your solution.

#3. Remember, confidence comes from preparation + a quality product you believe in + using the Confident Stance (if nervous, focus on something you are great at: parenting, a hobby, being a terrific friend, etc. Feel that energy in your body and posture – then have at it). You are holding a solution they NEED, they are in PAIN.  It’s a great match – so no reason to be nervous at all.

#4. If you are nervous – or even if you’re not – role play your final presentation in advance and prepare answers to objections.  There’s NO reason not to be prepared.  This is how you HELP your prospect to work through their process and see your solutions.

For only the cost of shipping and handling ($4.95) I’d love to give you my 7 Figure Business Systems (which includes over 45 “must have” business documents, procedures, templates tutorials and worksheets). AND you’ll get 2 weeks FREE trial to my 7 Figure Business Formula Video Mentoring Program. After your FREE trial, unless you notify us, you will be automatically enrolled in this $97 a month Exclusive Training Program.  Business acceleration is no joke, gang, and finding a rockin’ mentor is a huge part of it.  I’m here and I’ve done this over 100 times. 

trial. Supplies are limited and I have no plans to create more. http://bit.ly/97KnyV

Well folks, it’s 2010.  And that’s no joke.  If you’re still trying to clean up 2009 and haven’t yet defined your needle movers, you’re quite likely already deciding to fail.  So let’s talk about what needle movers are (for those of you who are new to this or need a refresh).

In case you’re new to tangible goal setting, “needle movers” are those two or three achievements that you (and your team) choose and pursue each month / quarter that will move your business forward from zero to 100 miles per hour (or from 10 to 40 mph, or 40 to 90 mph) — you get the picture. Distilling your business to its essence is key here. Needle movers keep you focused on the actions that drive RESULTS. These allow you and your team and your company to stay hyper-focused and move forward FAST! 

Many people struggle with a lack of focus simply because they aren’t defining their needle movers (and reporting on these as well to create super accountability) and working only on those. It’s vital that everyone on your team identify the 3 activities to focus on RIGHT NOW, and that these are defined based upon your most important goals.

For instance, maybe to move your business forward you need to: generate more sales leads, close more sales, train up your team to be self-managed. These would become your three needle movers.  It’s important to distill your needle movers to only 3 is because each of these will have plenty of sub-activities surrounding them, and this is a tool to keep you focused and rockin’ toward REAL success. So stick to three and GET YOUR NEEDLE MOVING!

Christine Comaford, Business Accelerator and CEO of Mighty Ventures, Inc.
NY Times Best Selling Author

PS:  If you have NOT signed up for my 7-Figure Success Summit, WHAT are you waiting for???  The early-bird pricing is still in effect, and you can bring a colleague for HALF of that amount.  Hard to believe?  Well, MY needle mover is to add a dozen NEW MILLIONAIRES to my portfolio of those I’ve helped so far.  http://www.ceofreedomsummit.com

You will create a REAL strategy for success by setting up joint ventures and affiliates. Here’s the difference between the two. Joint ventures (JVs) are partners where the exchange is equal (or close to it). With JVs you’ll extend their offers to your list, and they’ll extend your offer to theirs. You may pay them a revenue share on sales generated from their list, or you may not. If you do you’ll track these sales via an affiliate link, which you’ll set up via your shopping cart or with affiliate management software. JVs are a fast-track strategy for success and create results NOW just because the other party’s list is often already pre-qualified for what you’re selling – believe me, they don’t want to JV with someone who wouldn’t be a good fit for their list.  And remember, whatever creates those results now are the paths we want to focus on.  The end game for all of us is CEO freedom, and that comes only from one thing – results.

Okay, affiliates.  Affiliates are more of an extended sales force. Some solo entrepreneurs make a decent living simply building lists and promoting third party products to them. The goal with either approach of JVs or affiliates is to get your product in front of an audience you haven’t had contact with before. Standard revenue shares for affiliates range, but I often see 30-50% for products, 20% for training, and 10% for consulting services.

Remember, marketing is an ongoing adventure, so be sure you keep this in mind as you build JVs and affiliates.  A large part of marketing success is in testing to find out what is and isn’t effective, so be sure to track and measure these efforts carefully to see which bring results now. 

Christine Comaford, CEO Freedom Fighter
CEO of Mighty Ventures, Inc.
NY Times Best Selling Author

PS: In the spirit of great free gifts with TONS of value, if you haven’t gotten my FREE CD on the “6 SECRETS to Creating More Time, Money, Freedom & FUN In Your Business,” you’re simply leaving money on the table.  Click here and let me help you get serious about living a better life and building a bigger success story.  http://www.bit.ly/iBmuI

As the new year quickly approaches, I wanted to go over one of the most tried and tested online marketing efforts – the irresistible free gift! I’ve used this many times and had great results, and this is one of the best ways to build your list (which is an immediate fix — results NOW, right gang?)

Remember Rule #1 of the free gift — Be Generous! Generosity should be a key component of your brand. By giving a value-added free gift to your web site visitors you’ll educate them regarding your value, provide them with helpful information, and begin to build a relationship. Your free gifts can be either digital or physical. I prefer digital, for the obvious reasons of easy self-serve fulfillment). However sometimes I like to offer a physical gift too to mix it up. This also gives you a reason to collect the site visitor’s mailing address (see http://www.bit.ly/iBmuI for an example of this).

Examples of free gifts include:

• Audio downloads (45+ minutes) (you can find mine at http://www.MightyVentures.com in the about Christine section)
• A white paper (make it 10+ pages in pdf form)
• Assorted documents and other helpful resources on your web site (see the Resources section of www.MightyVentures.com)
• Email communication that is value-added (such as a weekly email we offer on rocking your business and life, see www.MightyVentures.com home page)

To receive each gift the web site visitor must opt in, in other words, join your email list — so you create the do-not-miss value of results now (which of course, leads to CEO freedom). This is a fair exchange, and it is why you must offer super valuable free gifts. I once went to a site of a time management guru. He had all sorts of cool-looking free resources. So I clicked through, only to be asked to fill in a super long form prior to receiving my free goodies. I filled in the form, only to download my gift which ended up being one measly page of about 15 bulleted items. Yuck! Not high value. Needless to say, he damaged his brand and my opinion of him by requiring me to jump through form-filling hoops for a miniscule reward.

Again, be generous!

Christine Comaford, CEO Freedom Fighter
CEO of Mighty Ventures, Inc.

PS: In the spirit of great free gifts with TONS of value, if you haven’t gotten my FREE CD on the “6 SECRETS to Creating More Time, Money, Freedom & FUN In Your Business,” you’re simply leaving money on the table. Click here and let me help you get serious about living a better life and building a bigger success story. http://www.bit.ly/iBmuI

Autoresponders are pre-written emails triggered by a specific event, such as an order being placed. They are a terrific way to build relationships with your customers, follow up on orders, encourage them to use the product they bought from you, give them tips to success, etc., etc. All of this adds up to a more dynamic relationship and of course, results now.  Results “later” are fine for the hobby business builder, but for CEOs looking for CEO freedom, it is results NOW that will create your end game.

When it comes to autoresponders, consistency and tone are key. If you set up an autoresponder series, make sure they go out in a reasonable time range. To remind people of a teleseminar they’ve signed up for, you’ll likely send an email daily for the three days leading up to the event. But to check in on how they are enjoying the product they bought from you, once a week or every 10 days for a short period of time is fine. There are a zillion autoresponder tools out there. Ours is bundled into our shopping cart, which is www.MyMarketingCart.com.

Our model for client communication is:

• Touch (share something cool)
• Tell (share a success story of a client)
• Teach (provide content rich info)
• Sell (yes, only here do we sell— the other three communications are nurturing our list, sharing the love, adding value, not asking for anything). Because even though it’s results NOW that we want, we can’t do that without having a strong foundation in place.

Christine Comaford, CEO Freedom Fighter
CEO of Mighty Ventures, Inc.

PS: In the spirit of great free gifts with TONS of value, if you haven’t gotten my FREE CD on the “6 SECRETS to Creating More Time, Money, Freedom & FUN In Your Business,” you’re simply leaving money on the table.  Click here and let me help you get serious about living a better life and building a bigger success story.  http://www.bit.ly/iBmuI