The Nine Most Powerful Words You Can Utter

"Where do you feel like you are right now?"

When you are working with a new prospect or just following up on a lead, once you have let them talk and tell you all about the deal or their situation, ask them this question.

It might seem redundant - like they just finished telling you the answer to this question - but I assure you you'll get more from asking this question than just more details about the loan request. When you ask someone where they feel they are, they will start to share more of their hurts, pains and frustrations -- leading you that much closer to getting their business.

"Where do you feel like you are right now?"

When you ask it directly (and sympathetically), the responses you get will lay out the path towards winning your prospect's trust and transform them into a client. By asking them their perspective, you've changed from a salesperson to a business partner, moving from across the table, figuratively speaking, to a seat next to them.

Bonus: When people say that they are frustrated with what they have been hearing from other service providers or don't like how they've been treated, the best question is the most direct. Your reply should be along the lines of this: "What exactly have the other lenders said that you haven't liked?" or "What is the other web designer telling you that doesn't make you comfortable?"

Does it sound like you're trying to angle to get their business? Of course it does! YOU ARE! ...and they will appreciate the direct approach more than you might think. Looking for more guidance? Help is on the way! Order your copy of "10 #MonsterTips: How to Sell More and Earn More NOW!!!"

Please leave me your comments so I know how to serve you better!! If this was helpful, forward it to a friend. Talk to you soon! To your success!

Mark Anthony McCray helps people live on PURPOSE, achieve higher PERFORMANCE and experience true PROSPERITY. Be sure to subscribe to this blog so you don't miss a thing and forward this to a friend if you found it helpful. All material © Copyright, Mark Anthony McCray unless otherwise noted!

He can be reached in the following ways:
Mark@LiveBIGDieEmpty.com
Phone: 281-846-5720
Twitter: @LiveBIGDieEmpty
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LiveBIGDieEmpty
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/markanthonymccray/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/103149858138414160703/posts
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/markanthonymccray
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/markmccray/

For more information on Mark as a speaker or presenter check out http://livebigdieempty.blogspot.com/p/about-mark_29.html

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Stop Being Such a Rookie.

Back when I worked in VC, we considered the people who were overly obsessed with "protecting" their ideas to be rookies. It was laughable. In fact, asking someone to sign an NDA was enough to get the meeting cancelled right on the spot!

It wasn't that anybody wanted free reign to "steal" ideas... it's just that good ideas are a dime-a-dozen. Literally. We used to call it the "San Francisco Rule" meaning this: any good idea has eight people thinking the same thing at the same time somewhere in Silicon Valley. If no one else had the idea, it probably sucks.

A lot of people miss important details because they won't talk to smart people about their ideas to make them sharper. They are so secretive that they end of spending months of wasted time when a wise adviser could have saved them all that time.

What's my point? So what someone's copying your idea? Take it as a compliment. The winner will still be the one who builds the best team, creates the best plan and then executes that plan. Focus on execution.

Please leave me your comments so I know how to serve you better!! If this was helpful, forward it to a friend. Talk to you soon! To your success!

Mark Anthony McCray helps people live on PURPOSE, achieve higher PERFORMANCE and experience true PROSPERITY. Be sure to subscribe to this blog so you don't miss a thing and forward this to a friend if you found it helpful. All material © Copyright, Mark Anthony McCray unless otherwise noted!

He can be reached in the following ways:
Mark@LiveBIGDieEmpty.com
Phone: 281-846-5720
Twitter: @LiveBIGDieEmpty
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LiveBIGDieEmpty
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/markanthonymccray/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/103149858138414160703/posts
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/markanthonymccray
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/markmccray/

For more information on Mark as a speaker or presenter check out http://livebigdieempty.blogspot.com/p/about-mark_29.html

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Duh. Pinning!

Great article suggesting that "Pinterest now drives more referral traffic than Google+, YouTube, and LinkedIn combined." Oh, yeah... here's mine! I have to admit. I think it's pretty cool so far! http://pinterest.com/markmccray

I must admit that two days there has done more for me than months on Google+ or LinkedIn. I'm not alone in my thinking. Here is an article showing major brands are closing their Facebook stores and taking up on Pinterest with a high ROI.

‎1. I'm newer to this business than a lot of people and decided to follow some advice of those more experienced. People like Pamela Lawhorne and Pam Perry and Brendon Burchard always talked about how IT IS EASIER TO SELL TO YOUR AUDIENCE YOU'VE ALREADY CREATED than to try to build a new audience from a new product. Therefore, for me, a lot of it is about branding. My approach was to begin to establish my brand and get my name out there before I even had something to "sell" to the market, so to speak.

Tools like Pinterest have helped MORE in two weeks than I could have imagined in terms of increasing my site visitors, blog traffic, blog subscribers and even twitter followers than anything I've done on other social media (LinkedIn, Google+) over the course of months. People STILL do business with people they like, so showing people more about your interests and who I "am" has been interesting, effective and fun for me!

2. I have it linked to my Twitter. It tweets things that I "pin" on my boards. I have my blogs and business Facebook sites pinned, too, and people have picked up on that after seeing some common interests. For example, "This guy likes Arrested Development, too!? Cool. Let's see what else he likes." It has NO DOUBT made my Twitter presence more valuable instantly. More of what I've tweeted has been seen. I like that.

3. The novelty of it! It's new. Soooooo..... in terms I would whisper if we were talking together... it gives you another new excuse to market yourself. Also, when people adopt a new technology because of you, guess who one of the first people they are going to follow is going to be? YOU! So instead of just joining Pinterest, I chose to make it an "EVENT" and tell a lot of people I'm joining Pinterest.

For people in our business, they will tell you that building your permission-based marketing list is what it's all about. These are people I can market to down the line ad infinitum. My lists have increased more in the last couple of days than a month of begging could buy me. Will it last? Who knows? If you listen to people like my friend, Kamau Austin, it's clear that some big pockets are betting that it will.

To your success!

Mark Anthony McCray helps people live on PURPOSE, achieve higher PERFORMANCE and experience true PROSPERITY. Be sure to subscribe to this blog so you don't miss a thing and forward this to a friend if you found it helpful. All material © Copyright, Mark Anthony McCray unless otherwise noted!

He can be reached in the following ways:
Mark@LiveBIGDieEmpty.com
Phone: 281-846-5720
Twitter: @LiveBIGDieEmpty
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LiveBIGDieEmpty
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/markanthonymccray/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/103149858138414160703/posts
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/markanthonymccray
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/markmccray/

For more information on Mark as a speaker or presenter check out http://livebigdieempty.blogspot.com/p/about-mark_29.html

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The Art of Giving Advice

You know how you can tell a judgmental person? Their language includes a lot of "should" and "ought" statements. It's just something I listen for when I talk to people. It doesn't bother me personally. It just lets me know the kind of person I'm dealing with. But do you know who cares? The people listening to you!!

A lot!

Professional "counselors", "advice-givers", "teachers", "coaches", "pastors" and other "experts" might want to be careful about how aggressively they use the terms. Some people shut down when they feel like they are being judged. That's all. People are free to be whomever they are. It's just something to watch for if you're in the business of consulting people.

This is one of those nuggets I learned but rarely drop in public. It applies to relationships, too. My study and well-worn observation is that I would advise my single sisters and married women to use "should" statements sparingly when talking to men. Guys tend to be sensitive and the woman often doesn't know what encouraged him to shut down emotionally.

Here's another free tidbit... so it might be worth what you paid for it...

Instead of "telling" or "teaching" people things, it's more effective to say "Let me remind of you of ....." because it gives them credit for already knowing it. (Even if they really didn't.) They feel more respected as you share with them if you say "Let me remind you that you can blah...blah...blah..."

Please leave me your comments so I know how to serve you better!! If this was helpful, forward it to a friend. Talk to you soon! To your success!

Mark Anthony McCray helps people live on PURPOSE, achieve higher PERFORMANCE and experience true PROSPERITY. Be sure to subscribe to this blog so you don't miss a thing and forward this to a friend if you found it helpful. All material © Copyright, Mark Anthony McCray unless otherwise noted!

He can be reached in the following ways:
Mark@LiveBIGDieEmpty.com
Phone: 281-846-5720
Twitter: @LiveBIGDieEmpty
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LiveBIGDieEmpty
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/markanthonymccray/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/103149858138414160703/posts
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/markanthonymccray
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/markmccray/

For more information on Mark as a speaker or presenter check out http://livebigdieempty.blogspot.com/p/about-mark_29.html

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