It is important that you let them decide for themselves, at every phase of the sales cycle, beginning with whether or not to even hear more about what you have to offer.  Remember, IF YOU DON’T ASK, YOU WON’T KNOW!  If you look at a person and say to yourself, “Nah, she wouldn’t be interested” how can you be completely sure that’s true?

I recently purchased a new 58″ plasma TV from Matt Anderson at Wholesale Works.  Honestly, it was the deal of a lifetime in my opinion.  However, I didn’t go to Matt and say, “Hey, I’m looking for a TV!” because I wasn’t at the time.  But I am very glad that he didn’t assume that I wouldn’t be interested.  He approached me and told me about his special offer, and now his offer is mounted on my wall for my viewing pleasure.

I’m not suggesting your product/service is for everyone in the world, and that you should offer to everyone.  However, I am talking about those people who otherwise fit your target demographic, but for whatever reason you find yourself choosing for them by never approaching them at all.

So, be bold!  If you think someone will tell you no, then prove it.  Ask them and see if you were right.  If you hear the word “No” you won’t melt, and if they say “Yes” then you will simply have to admit to yourself that your initial assumption was wrong.  Don’t worry though, the additional revenue will make that pill easier to swallow.

To Your Success!

-Kip Kint, Success Coach & President, Mission Ignition

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Event starts at 6:30 p.m. at the new Hinckley Bldg on BYU campus

“UVEF Hall of Fame inductees have demonstrated enduring leadership and continuing innovation; both are critical components of true entrepreneurship,” stated Shauna Theobald, chairman of the board, UVEF. “Utah produces great leaders and entrepreneurs who continue to deliver innovative and timely products and services to market.”

As co-founder and former president of MegaDiamond, principle investor and former president of US Synthetic Corporation, and founder of Diamicron in Utah Valley, Dr. Bill Jordan Pope has spent a lifetime of commitment in behalf of the community and entrepreneurs. Dr. Pope’s pioneering contributions in synthetic diamond manufacturing have led to hundreds of high-tech jobs throughout the state.  Winner of the 2002 Governor’s medal for science and technology, Dr. Pope has developed sintered diamond technology for multiple industries from oil and gas drilling to diamond-coated hip implants.  As a professor and mentor at BYU for 20 years, Dr. Pope has inspired the dreams of hundreds of aspiring future business leaders.  Dr. Pope has served in numerous volunteer positions in his community and church including stake president and area authority.

In a survey of over 700 schools just released by The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine, Brigham Young University was distinguished as ranking 12th among top schools for entrepreneurs. Through the BYU Center for Entrepreneurship, dozens of prominent, successful business leaders have educated student entrepreneurs in areas of best business practices, business planning, venture capital, and marketing. Graduates of the BYU Marriott School of Management are responsible for launching such noteworthy ventures as 1-800-contacts, Omniture, Funding Universe, and others.

2007 Hall of Fame inductees included Alan Ashton, founder of WordPerfect, , and Novell, launched in Utah Valley 25 years ago and still a significant contributor to both the state economy and to the development of IT talent.

Founded in 1989, the UVEF promotes the development and growth of entrepreneurial ventures by: providing networking opportunities, promoting recognition of business accomplishments and contributions, sharing business experiences, and by encouraging free enterprise.  Information on upcoming meetings, speakers, and membership can be found at www.uvef.net.

Press Contact:
John Pilmer, APR
PilmerPR
801-369-7535
jpilmer-at-pilmerpr.com
www.pilmerpr.com

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There is tremendous power in laughter.  Human Beings are so-wired that we need to have fun and laugh and smile. In fact, we are hard-wired for this. It is a proven fact that just smiling, even when you don’t feel like doing so, will release a small amount of endorphins in the brain, the very chemical that causes us to feel good. Keep smiling long enough, and eventually you really do feel like smiling. Add laughter to that equation and look out, you’re feeling pretty great before you know it.

So, what if you are sharing smiles and laughter with another person?  What happens when two people are simultaneously experiencing the sense of well-being that comes from laughing?  Those two people are drawn closer together.  Laughing together with another person strengthens bonds, including bonds that are brand new and just forming, and shortens the distance between them.

This applies in the world of business as much as any other part of life.  I know we tend to think of business as “serious stuff” but business is all about relationships, and influence.  We have more influence with those we are close to.  We draw closer to those that make us feel good when we are around them.  The distance is shortened significantly when we laugh and share good humor with one another.

So, lighten things up.  Have a laugh or two with your prospects, clients, and associates.  I can’t think of a more enjoyable way to improve your business relationships and your influence with others.

To Your Success!

-Kip Kint, Success Coach & President, Mission Ignition

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As a “serial entrepreneur” leading two Utah companies onto the Inc. 500 list of fastest growth companies in the US, and landing 4 times in the top 10 fastest growing companies in Utah, Jim Pack has learned to adapt and succeed in an ever changing marketplace.  Among his different business experiences, he has served as CEO of AdvancedMD, CEO of IGS-Cubed, President of Easy Dental Systems, Vice President of Strategy, Sales and Business Development at Dentrix, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for SilverPlatter and a variety of other management, sales, marketing and consulting positions.

Jim has a BS in Economics from Brigham Young University and an MBA from the University of Michigan and several advanced degrees from the School of Hard Knocks.

Please join UVEF on Thursday, November 13th from 11:45 to 1:30 at the Novell Cafeteria in East Bay, Provo. Register today online at  www.uvef.net.  Any questions, email tiffany-at-cedo.org, or call CEDO at 801-226-1521.  No cost to UVEF members.  All others, $25.

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In her book, Get Clients Now, author C.J. Hayden says, “Following Up is at the center of the Universal Marketing Cycle for a reason: consistent and persistent follow up is central to successfully moving a prospect forward to making a sale.”

I have a card that I like to send to my coaching clients, especially those who are trying to improve their marketing and sales.  On the front of the card it reads:

Sales Statistics:

• 48% of sales people never follow up with a prospect
• 25% of sales people make a second contact and stop
• 12% of sales people only make three contacts and stop
• Only 10% of sales people make more than three contacts
• 2% of sales are made on the first contact
• 3% of sales are made on the second contact
• 5% of sales are made on the third contact
• 10% of sales are made on the fourth contact
• 80% of sales are made on the fifth to twelfth contact

Fear is one of several reasons people don’t follow up with their contacts.  On page 181 of Hayden’s book she writes:

“If I follow up that lead, I might be rejected,” reasons the voice in your head.  “So I’ll avoid the pain by not making the call in the first place.”  Or conversely, you may be thinking, “If I place the call, I might get the business, and then I’ll have to do the work, and people will have all these expectations of me.”  But the reality is that if you don’t place the calls, you’re going to fail even more dramatically than in these two imaginary scenarios.

I encourage my clients to remember that ‘fear’ is really an acronym; ‘F.E.A.R’ for ‘False Evidence Appearing Real’.  When you take action in the face of your fear, by following up with prospects for example, you can then expose that false evidence for what it is and move past it, and your fear.

In summary: Following up is king.  Take the time, get organized, and follow up with your prospects, again and again, and again.

To Your Success!
-Kip Kint, Success Coach & President, Mission Ignition

Illustration titled The Universal Marketing Cycle from page 32 of the book Get Clients Now, by author C.J. Hayden

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The annual public service awards are named for Sen. Arthur V. Watkins, who was a former U.S. Senator for Utah. This year is the 30th Anniversary of the Award, and a particularly special event featuring the award of Citizen of the Year to Tye Noorda, who is Ray Noorda’s widow, and a remarkable philanthropist.

Nicke Brown and husband Kurtis Brown together own and operate Let’s Logo, a corporate embroidery and promotions company they started together as a ‘dream business’. An accomplished networker, Nicke is a member of Corporate Alliance, BNI, and the Chamber of Commerce. She credits her emphasis on relationship building and strong focus on customer service as her secrets to success.

Other notable Utah Valley businesses in the spotlight included:

Dexter & Dexter, who received the Business of the Year award.

Culinary Crafts, taking home the award for Small Business of the Year.

Our local Timpanogos Harley-Davidson shop received praise for Business Beautification (which I personally think is well deserved).

The Environmental Quality Award goes to the Utah Flash.

The Businessman of the Year award went to Keith Tintle, CEO of Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Orem.

The Business Education Partnership award was presented to SCERA for their dedication to “Build the body, enrich the mind, touch the soul and unify the family.”

As we have already covered, John Pilmer’s PR group received the best Home-Based Business of the Year award. Way to go PilmerPR!

The Community Service Award went to Kena Jo Mathews for her work as the executive director for Habitat for Humanity of Utah County.

The Chamber Chairman’s Award went to William Sederburg, president at UVU.

And finally. the Entrepreneur of the Year award went to Jeremy Hanks for creating Doba, one of Utah Valley’s most successful companies with growth of over 8,000 percent. Yes, I said ‘eight thousand’. Doba has been ranked No. 23 on the Inc 500 list of the fastest-growing privately held companies in America, and numer one on the Utah 100 list of fastest-growing companies in Utah.

Congratulations to all of you!

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Yang addressed the record group of UTC members and guests at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City Friday night.

Yang noted that Yahoo was one of the groundbreaking companies that was actually conceived and founded because of the needs people had during a period of economic downturn. He co-founded Yahoo with David Filo in January of 1994 as a means of helping provide organization and structure to the information people wanted to find on the Internet.

Likewise, the extreme downturn in 2000-2001, coupled with the tragedy of September 11, spawned a time period in which many thought the tech and Internet industries were dead. Instead, another round of brilliant companies including Google was born.

Yang noted that the United States is a unique environment that has been essential to much of the technology innovation that exists today, and he acknowledged Utah in particular: “The energy, the excitement and the innovation that exists in the state of Utah is spectacular,” he said. “The people of Utah have a spirit about them that is perhaps unmatched, and is absolutely vital to the spectrum of life science and technology companies that make up this region’s ‘Silicon Slopes’.”

Yang noted that he is pleased that to the best of his estimates, there are some 1.5 million Yahoo subscribers in Utah, which would mean that Yahoo provides services to approximately 60 percent of the state’s population of 2.5 million.

At the event, UTC CEO Richard R. Nelson noted the great milestones and progress the technology industries have experienced and also that UTC has experienced over the past decade since the first Hall of Fame event. From an inaugural group of 150 attendees, the 2008 Hall of Fame Celebration welcomed more than 800 people at this week’s event. Likewise, the number of technology companies in Utah has risen dramatically, from several hundred companies in 1999 to more than 5,200 today. Following the keynote address, the UTC formally inducted Dr. Theodore H. Stanley and H. Raymond Bingham to its 10th Hall of Fame, which honors individuals with ties to Utah who have made key contributions to the technology and life science industries.
“We are extremely honored to recognize these two gentlemen for their outstanding achievements and for the impact they’ve made on technology that is relevant throughout the world,” Nelson said.

About Utah Technology Council
UTC exists to foster the growth of Utah’s 5,200 science and technology companies, attract a broader array of funding resources, and ensure Utah has the highest-quality skilled workforce. Members can connect and share insights with industry peers, government and academic leaders, professional service providers and venture capital firms. Visit www.utahtechcouncil.org or call 801.568-3500

Special Thanks to Cheryl Snapp for contributing this article.

# # #

PR Contacts:
Cheryl Snapp Conner
Snapp Conner PR
801.994.9625 or
Cheryl (at) snappconner.com

UTC Contact
Judy Young
801.568.3500
jyoung (at) utahtechcouncil.org

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He said to me, “Kip, I know I have some things I need to improve on personally, but for right now I really need to just focus on improving my business.”

What a revelation! In one sentence he revealed a paradigm that more than anything else was holding him back from being as successful as he could be. There is one principle, one natural law, one fundamental truth that he was not recognizing and applying, and that is this:

No Success, including Business Success, can precede Personal Success.

You see this is the deal, the crux of it all really. The fastest car in the world doesn’t win the race without a highly skilled driver; the finest paint and brushes have no meaningful impact on the canvas without the hand of a talented artist; and successful, highly effective businesses are run by people who are successful and highly effective as human beings. It is a prerequisite. Being an effective, successful person does not come after first building a successful business or career. It comes first!

If Business Success is the chicken, and Personal Success is the egg, then the answer to the age-old question is most definitely and emphatically “The Egg!”, and if you will take the time to nurture the egg (your personal effectiveness) you will find it results in a more robust and healthy chicken (in other words, a great business/career).

Deep down you know this is true, we all do. Yet so many would try to convince themselves they can take the shortcut that no one else has been able to take, that somehow they can have the business success they desire without doing the work on themselves first. Why do so many try it? Why do they skip the part where they work on themselves and work on other things first? T