Nick Ray - Business Coach

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Discovery - Then Persuasion Part I
Part I explores the new selling model which is based on discovery first. Selling is redefined as a process of investigation which treats both buyer and seller as equal partners in the discovery process.
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Discovery - Then Persuasion Part II
Marketing is critically important to any advisor's success. Yet the well-oiled machine generally seen in selling is often matched with a badly planned and poorly executed marketing process.
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Good Ideas Are a Dime a Dozen
Have you often wondered what it would take to move your business to the next level? The answer: it's not working more hours. It's not coming up with a brilliant new scheme. It's not discovering a new product. It is simply this: develop a business plan that you understand - and then follow it religiously.
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The Fact Finder Revisited
The humble Fact Finder is probably the best kept secret for improving your marketing and sales effectiveness. Yet it's not flashy or trendy - it just works. Read this new article, which provides a comprehensive overview on how to use this fabulous form to improve your practice.
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Resolutions: Boon or Bane?
Are you interested in translating your good intentions into effective actions? We've delved a little deeper into what screws up our plans – and have come up with five steps you can take to make your life a little more productive. Please read on...
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Understand Globally - Act Locally: A Broad Perspective on Group Long-Term Care Insurance
Are you active in the Employee Benefit or Retirement Planning markets? Do you have clients who are key executives or business owners? If the answer is yes, then you should read this recently published California Broker article which provides both a broad perspective on Group Long Term Care Insurance and also offers some sound marketing tips to help you provide economical insurance solutions to the ever-increasing number of long term care events.
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Get That Project Done!
How many times have you either heard that from someone else or said it to yourself - but still the project languished. Here are three simple steps you can both understand and implement that will help you do what you want to do, when you want to do it.
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Work smarter and make more money . . . how do you do that?
This recent Ask the Coach column, published in The STATEment, answers the question by describing how prospecting, 3rd party referrals, time management and hiring the right assistant can be dealt with more effectively.
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5 Steps to Building Your Business to the Next Level
Many agents and brokers would love to take their practice to the next level but wonder: "How can I do that?" This article introduces 5 basic and proven steps to help you move your practice to the next level.
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The Fact Finder – The Sales Person's Best Friend?
Fact Finders are often ignored and their purpose unappreciated. This "Ask the Coach" column explains why you should reexamine your attitude about gathering facts – and how your practice can improve by using this invaluable tool.
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Green Light - Red Light - Yellow Light
This article - Green Light - Red Light - Yellow Light - is based on extensive sales experience as a member of a very well trained sales force and my investigation of many currently popular sales systems. Added to this mix are the concepts found in Mahan Khalsa’s book: Let's Get Real or Let's Not Play. The essential point of the article is that we can all benefit by examining our basic attitudes about selling, and how to deal with our clients and prospects in a more efficient manner. Some readers may disagree with my conclusions; some may also view my position as being too harsh. Nevertheless, I hold to my opinion that a modern selling system needs to be built on a new paradigm in order for the salesperson to survive in an increasingly competitive environment. Read this article and see what you think.
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New Year’s Resolutions
Resolutions: Everybody likes to make them and everybody likes to break them. If you find this situation hits too close to home, then read this article. There are some interesting and useful examples and suggestions as to how you can actually honor the commitments you have made.
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Aha! and the Art of Coaching
All coaches live for the moment when the person being coached "gets it." An Aha! or BGO (blinding glimpse of the obvious) is that magical moment. Read how you can work to gain your own Aha!
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Introduction to Change
Much is written about change: that it's critical to be able to change; that it's difficult to change; or the old saw "change or die." What is often missing is how to change. This article, simply titled "Change," offers some ideas as to how to bring change into your life.
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Simple Solutions to Complex Problems
Dealing with those difficult or even intractable problems can often appear to be confusing or even impossible. Yet there is a solution: Break down the big problem into little pieces. Doing this allows you to deal with the real issue, which in turn allows you to come up with an effective solution. This article examines two different problems and illustrates how you can use a similar process to help you solve your own problems.
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Helpful links:
The David Allen Company (Opens in a new window)
Getting Things Done by David Allen - Viking, 2003 (Opens in a new window)
8 Steps to Finding the Work You Love
For many of you, finding the work you love the most is no easy task. Too often we choose a profession because we think we ought to, or because our family influenced us to do so. Yet we long to do what we truly love, but often don't know how to find it. Work, which can be very rewarding, often is not. If you'd like to explore this issue a little more deeply, please click here to investigate the 8 Steps to Finding the Work You Love.
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Helpful links:
The Anti-Career webpage (Opens in a new window)
Creating The Work you Love: Courage, Commitment and Career by Rick Jarow - Inner Traditions, 1995 (Opens in a new window)
Things You Should Know
We all know that prospecting is the key to a successful sales career. Yet this critically important tool is often difficult to implement. In this slightly tongue-in-cheek column, we present a discussion about prospecting, as well as a self-test that can be used to help you evaluate your own prospecting effectiveness. To read more about this critically important subject, please click here.
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Helpful links:
The best website on referred lead prospecting I've seen (Opens in a new window)
The Case of the Recalcitrant Office Manager
We've all been faced with that most difficult of situations: a headstrong employee who is sure of two things:
1. That he or she knows what the job needs are, far better than you do.
2. And consequently, he or she does not need to do what you've requested, even though your instructions are very clear, and you're the boss.
If you'd like to see how the coaching process could be used to help define the exact nature of the problem, then click here to get a better idea of what might be done to deal with this typical and often vexing issue.
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What Business Are You In, Anyway? - Part 1
Sales people will be more effective when they realize that the sales profession really has 3 components: Marketing, Sales and Administration.
In the first of this 3-part series, we discuss some of the pitfalls and concerns that exist regarding the back office (administrative) activities that most sales people must face. Certainly the most daunting task is dealing with personnel issues. If you'd like to read more, then click below to see the full article.
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What Business Are You In, Anyway? - Part 2
Viewing marketing as a separate and necessary activity is often passed over by many sales professionals. For representatives of large companies, the marketing efforts are usually handled by a separate marketing department. For those who are in smaller companies there is no marketing department - you are the marketing department. In the second of a 3-part series, discover just what marketing is all about - and what can be done to make this part of your practice more effective.
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What Business Are You In, Anyway? - Part 3
Having discussed marketing and administration, our attention now falls onto sales. Even though this element is the most familiar to us, it too offers many opportunities for improvement. While no program or list of "to-do's" can replace the unique characteristics that make us effective as sales people, we can certainly examine the sales process in all its components. Doing this allows us to pinpoint those areas where even small improvements can lead to significant improvements in performance. Read the article and see for yourself.
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Morale
Morale may be the most noticed characteristic of any company, team or sales force. Its presence leads to fabulous performance and an all around sense of well-being. Its absence is equally noticed and produces results that are satisfactory to no one. But whether present or absent, the issue of morale cannot be ignored. The dilemma is: What to do? Unless we truly understand the basic characteristics of positive morale, we can certainly do nothing to encourage its return. That issue is discussed in this article, which includes some interesting findings from the Gallup Organization. Read on.
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Training My Dog
This little story regarding my dog Jake can be seen as a metaphor about getting things done. Even though it might appear that this relatively simple task doesn't have much connection to how we live our lives, in fact these small regular and everyday events are probably the best ways to understand how to approach daily living in a more effective manner.
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