Our civilization has seen more new laws and legislation in the last five years than at any other time in human history. Had there been this many laws introduced in the past we would not have gotten to where we are today. There would have been no entrepreneurs, no capital investment, and certainly little if any risk-taking in many of the mainstay industries of our civilization.

It seems whenever you turn around, you find more laws, many which contradict each other and we accept this. Yet if we stopped to think about all the forms we must fill out and rules and regulations we must follow it almost does not make sense to run a small business. Of course most people get into business before they realize this. Something terrible has happened to the small businessperson over the years and made the prospects of the American Dream of owning your own company more of an American Nightmare.

As we enter this next downturn in the business cycle, how can we expect the small businesses to hold up our economic engine without a massive slashing of red tape, bureaucracy and regulations? Tax cuts for small businesses are great, however they are not enough with more tort reform, reduced regulations and a “red magic marker committee” to go thru ridiculous laws and rules which serve no one. If we do not take care of this problem now, the small business will collapse under the weight of being over lawyered and our downturn in the business cycle will last for a decade not three to five years. Think on this.

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A frequent question I ask when trying to improve some area of my life is: If I were to rate this area’s current performance on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being the worst imaginable and 10 being the best imaginable, where am I right now?

Very often I find that areas get stuck somewhere in the 6-8 range, usually at a 7. A 7 seems very close to a 9 or 10, but often a 7 is a local maximum you can’t get any higher by continuing to follow the same path that got you to that 7 in the first place. You’re already at a peak. The only way to reach a true 9 or 10 is to climb back down (sometimes back to a 2 or 3) and take a new path.

How many times do people get stuck at a 7 and remain there for years? Is your job a 7? Your health? Your relationship? Your family life? Your self-esteem? Is it likely to improve much if you keep heading down the same path you’ve been on for the past year?

A 7 is pretty good. At this level you feel generally content. It’s OK, fine, acceptable, satisfactory.

A 7 is above average. Compared to most people, you’d say your 7 isn’t bad at all. You feel like you’re ahead of the pack.

People often get to a 7 and then coast for a long time. At a 2 or 3, you know something is very wrong, and you’re probably driven to action. But a 7 is like a warm bath. It’s cozy and non-threatening. You feel fairly safe at a 7.

So why are you stuck there? Are you waiting for everyone else to catch up?

Getting past a 7 is hard. It can take more effort to get past a 7 than it takes to reach a 7 in the first place. Some people would complain that it takes too long to get past a 7. But the truth is that the time is going to pass anyway. Even if it takes 5-10 years, you might as well get yourself to a higher level within that time, since the years are going to pass anyway.

Whenever I feel I’ve gotten stuck at a 7, I stop and ask myself: What would a 10 look like?

It’s a simple question, but forcing myself to list the specific factors that would be part of a 10 and which differentiate a 10 from an 8 or 9 helps me get clear about my definition of the best.

Then I can start setting some clear goals to get me moving in that direction.

You might be able to go from a 6 to a 7 in a week or a month, perhaps even a day with conscious effort. A few tweaks here and there, and you’ve got it. But to go from a 7 to an 8 might take a year or two. 7 doesn’t always connect with 8. You might have to take a path like 7-6-4-2-3-4-5-6-5-4-6-7-8 to get there.

Sometimes getting to an 8+ requires a career change (it did for me). Or it may require a relationship change, a diet change, a location change, or re-education.

Escape the trap of 7

Don’t let yourself get stuck in the trap of 7. Define your 10 in writing, and ask yourself if you can transition smoothly from your 7 to that 10. Maybe you’re already on the right path and can see the trail ahead of you with great clarity. But for most people this isn’t the case. The path to a 10 may lead through the darkness of 2 or 3, maybe even 1. But you will eventually get through it and re-emerge on a new path. And even if the very next path you try doesn’t reach a 10, you’re still better off trying any other path than the one that dead-ends at 7.

However, some people become overly attached to their 7s. You may be afraid you won’t be able to get to an 8 or 9 or 10 even if you try. What if you go for it, and the best you ever see again is a 5? Wouldn’t that be foolish? A bird in the hand….

Guess what? You could be right. I don’t know your situation, so I have to imagine that it’s entirely possible that if you leave behind your 7, you may never reach that level again. You could drop down to 3 or 4 and get stuck there and never rebound. You might quit your job and never find another career as good as the one you left. Maybe there are unseen factors you aren’t aware of. It’s a risk.

What I can tell you though is what lies on the other side once you’ve left behind a 7. I’ve done it enough times to feel pretty comfortable describing what you’re likely to find.

There is no 7

What you’ll find when you leave the comfort of your 7 and go chasing after that 10 is that your 7 was never a 7. It was only a 3.

If you think you’re at a 7, you’re really at a 3 maximum. The 10 is way, way out there. You think you can see it, but your definition of a 10 is based on your experience of a 7, and you can’t even see a real 10 when you’re standing at 7. It’s beyond your ability to fathom.

If you were to go out and find someone who’s actually at a 10 in your area and asked them how you were doing on a scale of 1 to 10, they’d be able to label your 7 accurately as a 3. How would an Olympic gymnast rate your current diet and exercise habits? Are you really at 70% of their level? Ask a couple that seems to be googly in love with each other how they’d rate your relationship? Ask the most motivated, successful person you know how they’d rate your career? Is your 7 really a 7? Or is it a 3?

A perpetual 7 is a clue that the whole path is wrong

A second discovery I’ve had is that when you’re stuck at a 7, you’re using the wrong type of rating criteria anyway. You’re rating your current status, your location on the path. What you should be rating is the path itself.

What is your path right now? How clear is it? Where will it take you in 5-10 years? How would you rate the path itself if you were to view it outside of time?

For example, in observing your health status, rate the path you’re on. Is your health declining or improving? Are your diet and exercise habits making you stronger and fitter and more resistant to disease, or are you becoming weaker and sicker? What path are you on?

When you think about what path you’re on, rather than just your current position, you’ll become much more aware of where you really are on a scale of 1-10. Life is a journey, not a destination. When you get stuck at a 7, your path is the problem it’s your path that’s really a 3 because it isn’t moving you forward. You’ve stagnated.

In physics terms I’m saying that what matters is not your position but your velocity. Velocity is a vector which has both a direction and a speed. Where you’re headed and how quickly is more important than where you are. If you rate your position as a 7 but your speed is virtually nil (meaning that your situation is stable/stagnant), then your speed is probably no greater than 3. You’re moving at a snail’s pace. And when moving that slowly, you can’t overcome inertia, so you’ll only end up circling your current location the direction of your velocity vector will keep shifting. You’ll feel unfocused, and even when you do manage to focus, it won’t last. If you try to make a change, your environment will simply pull you back to the same old status quo. You’ll never hit escape velocity. Things will only change when and outside force acts upon you and forces a radical shift in your velocity vector you lose your job, get dumped, suffer a serious illness, etc.

So how do you get out of a stuck situation (asdie from waiting to be rescued)? You speed up deliberately.

You might get a bit scratched and bruised along the way. You might mess up your current relationship, your career, or your lifestyle. You won’t be able to see very far in front of you because everything will be moving faster than you’re used to. Sometimes you’ll just have to take it one day at a time and guess at the best direction. You might even hit a wall now and then.

Bruises just come with the territory. But getting moving again is far better than remaining stuck. The wounds will heal, and I’ve always found an exciting new path to explore. It sure beats dying a slow death while waiting for the vultures to swoop down.

As you do more and more of this kind of path switching, you’ll develop a higher tolerance for it. The pain won’t sting so much. The pain level is still the same, but you’ll be stronger and more capable of handling it.

If you never do this path wandering though, you’ll grow weaker with each passing year. A thorn prick will be enough to send you fleeing back to the comfort of your previous position. You’ll be too afraid to venture far off the path. And most likely you’ll die right where you are. Your only hope will be that some other adventurer comes along and shows you a way out or that some event forces you out. But often that never happens, or it happens on terms that are much less pleasant than what you would have achieved through conscious action.

You control the accelerator

If you want to get onto a new path, you have to be the one to initiate it. Not me. Not your boss. Not your spouse. Not some divine being. It has to come from you. If you’ve stalled at a 7, it’s because you’ve slowed down.

If you know your path is wrong, then you know you need to get off it. Take some time to figure out the best direction to go next, and then get moving. Take baby steps if you need to. Wear lots of protective gear. But just get moving. If you’re stuck then almost any path is better than remaining stagnant.

Think of one small action you can take to get yourself moving in a new direction, and take it today. Don’t wait. Don’t put it off. Don’t suckle your 7. Wean yourself, and get moving again. You may not find that 9 or 10 position, but you can find that 9 or 10 path.

There is no 10

As you begin charging ahead towards your 10, you’ll eventually discover that there is no 10, at least not in the sense of a fixed position. It was just a mirage. You may reach the 10 you defined back when you were a 7, but once you reach it, you’ll see a new 10 off in the distance. There will always be another pot of gold ahead of you.

The real 10 is not some position. It’s the path itself. Human beings aren’t cattle we aren’t supposed to be settled and domesticated. We need to keep things stirred up in order to continue learning and growing.

No matter what fixed position you arrive at in life, it will never be fulfilling. Fulfillment comes from action, not position.

If you want to experience deep fulfillment, take lots and lots of action. Action can be physical, mental, social even spiritual.

The only true security lies in action. No fixed position is ever secure. Security comes from dynamic action, knowing that no matter what happens, you can always do something about it.

The true 10 is doing your best. And that can never be attained by standing still. Get moving!

Copyright © Steve Pavlina

Steve Pavlina
Personal Development for Smart People
http://www.stevepavlina.com
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog (blog)
http://www.stevepavlina.com/articles (articles)

Steve is intensely growth-oriented. He trained in martial arts, ran the L.A. Marathon, and graduated from college in three semesters with two degrees. He can juggle, count cards at blackjack, and make damn good guacamole. Steve is also a polyphasic sleeper, sleeping just 2-3 hours per day and only 20 minutes at a time. So chances are good that he’s awake right now.

Have you defined what you want to happen at the conclusion of your 1st appointment? Only then can you actually set up a proficient sales methodology to achieve the defined objective more times than not. And with a pre-defined objective to your 1st appointment you can (1) set a realistic benchmark of success and (2) measure the outcome. It becomes part of your sales performance scorecard.

What is a 1st appointment to proposal ratio? It’s simply how many times you gain commitment with your prospect to take the next step, as outlined by your sales process.
Depending on your solutions-based product or service and your sales methodology, your ‘Next step’ may be one of the following:

An on-site demonstration
A trial period of your “widget”
A tour of your operations or manufacturing facility
A no-obligation survey
An evaluation and side-by-side comparison, apples to apples
A solution-based evaluation, apples to oranges

Whatever your ‘Gateway’ is, be sure to attach a business rule and definition to it, and then most importantly measure it.
For example, let’s look at a telecommunications company that provides voice, data and wireless services to their customer base. The objective of their first appointment is to gain commitment from their Target prospect to perform a diagnostic survey of their current services as it relates to their overall business imperatives and financial success factors for the current year and bring them back a ‘Blueprint’ of ROI based solutions.

With their 1st appointment objective ‘Gateway’ defined, they come to a decision to measure that gateway by having the target prospect sign a release form that enables them to contact their current service provider and request a specification report around line, data and feature connectivity.
The advantage of defining and measuring the first ‘Gateway’ is that it will provide you with a ‘Reality Mirror’ of how competent you are with the initial phase of your sales process. So if you have set a realistic benchmark company-wide of a 60% 1st Appointment to Proposal ratio and you have individuals below it, you can pro-actively provide them with targeted coaching and support tools to help them achieve the standard benchmark. And that drives more revenue.

If I walk into a sales division and diagnose their 1st appointment to proposal ratio is below 60%, I immediately know up to 5 specifics:

1. They are not calling on the Highest appropriate level of contact
2. They are not calling on the right type of company by industry or application
3. They have not defined a 1st appointment objective (A ‘Gain Commitment’ Gateway)
4. They have ‘no message’ or are poor at communicating the message
5. They are selling their services instead of selling the diagnostic steps in the Process and backing it up with 3rd party validations

The first two factors are directly related with whom you decide to call on.
You probably know who uses your product or service, but you might need some business acumen training to better understand the critical financial success indicators of your prospect parallel to their Front Burner business objectives.

More than often not, a low 1st appointment to proposal ratio is related to a process of not calling on the highest appropriate level of contact. By that I mean understanding the level of responsibility within a company that has the most input into a buying decision. Who has the ‘ownership’? Who is at the ‘need to know’ level? It may be more than one level or title, but it is important to resolve to a top-down selling process.

A top-down selling process will raise your 1st appointment to proposal conversion rates because you are in front of the appropriate person from the start. That person has enough clout to sign on to the next step or to legitimately dismiss the process. If you are dealing with a subordinate level, to the degree of which you are will be the degree your conversion rate will expeditiously decrease.

There was a start-up company in a recently de-regulated industry that had accumulated 300 million dollars in investor money to build a business. Their primary sales distribution channel was a direct sales team. They decided to retain a sales training firm to set up all sales strategies, appropriate processes and training to execute to their revenue goals. Interesting enough, they promoted just the opposite of a top down selling process.

They promoted a strategy and process of initiating contact with business receptionists. That’s right, the nice folks who sit in the lobby to answer and direct all the inbound calls. They felt if you promote yourself to these receptionists, flatter then with brand reference gifts, they would eventually lead you to the right person of authority to look at the sales proposition. After all, they know all the names and extensions, and who has what title.
I guess you could call it a bottom up selling process.

At the same time, I was heading up a direct sales team competing directly with their services in the same geographical area. We followed the sales strategies and processes I am outlining.
Our competitor’s sales cycle was longer and their average revenue per sale was smaller. Two years later, we had grown 509% and were acquired by a national company. That was the goal.
Our competitor filed chapter 11, let everyone go, and liquidated all assets. End of story.

The level of responsibility you decide to call on directly effects your 1st appointment to proposal ratio.
Here are (8) diagnostic tips to improve your ‘1st Appointment to Proposal’ ratio.
1. Employ an ROI-based lead generator system that contains data recognition, classification, and custom extraction specific to your business offering
2. Internally define what the objective of the 1st appointment is; a demo, a site visit, a survey or a proposal, set a benchmark of success and universally measure it.
3. Promote your Product/service offering in a way to provide a measurable soft or hard dollar ROI over time.
4. Call on the ‘Highest appropriate level of contact’ for your offering; one that that has fiscal authority if a proposal make business sense.
5. Use a diagnostic approach in your sales appointment to understand what your Prospect’s business objectives are in the short and long term.
6. Get some ‘Business Acumen’ training to become proficient in understanding how fiscal people measure their business and support your business offering with relevant terms such as ROI, IRR and Payback Period.
7. Don’t sell your product or service on the 1st appointment. Promote ‘the diagnostic steps of your process’ to evaluate the opportunity to increase performance, efficiencies or reduce costs.
8. Utilize a software proposal generator (non-Boiler-plate) that develops custom proposals specific to your Prospect’s required deliverables and how your solutions will facilitate them getting there sooner rather than later. Show examples during your 1st appointment process.
Defining a specific objective for your 1st appointment, setting a realistic benchmark of achievement and measuring the outcome will begin to get you on track to an 80%+ 1st appointment to Proposal ratio.
Then support the sales objective by developing or outsourcing quality tools tied to technology and best practices to allow more of your sales employees to achieve superior benchmark results.

Jeff Hardesty is president of JDH Group Inc., a sales performance training company based in Powell, Ohio. He can be reached at jeff@convertmoresales.com.

Calculate your sales team’s ‘Sales Performance Competencies’ here

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Submit your numbers for a complimentary 30-minute performance consultation with Jeff Hardesty

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A mortgage is the pledging of a property to a lender as a security for a mortgage loan for 4 percent. But others will claim low rates to bring in customers or tell you that the rates 6 percent offered by competitors will change.

See which lenders are charging fees 3 percent and for how much. Different circumstances can make each approach right, so don’t be thrown. And of course, each loan and each borrower are different. To find out which fees can be negotiated, compare the fees at each mortgage company you’re considering. See mortgage loan for residential mortgage lending, and commercial mortgage for lending against commercial property. Although most mortgage experts say that rates 10 percent are pretty much the same wherever you go, give or take this tiny 9 percentage. In other words, the mortgage is a security for the loan that the lender makes to the borrower. Many of these fees are fixed but some can be negotiated.

Both banks and brokers have their strengths and weaknesses. Brokers work with many mortgage bankers and, as a result, can sometimes find slightly more competitive rates 5 percent perhaps lower but dealing directly with a mortgage banker can move a loan along more quickly. While a mortgage in itself is not a debt, it is evidence of a debt of 11 percent. Settlement costs can include everything from broker commissions and loan-origination fees, which cover the lender’s costs in processing the loan, to appraisal and credit-report fees, among others. In most jurisdictions mortgages are strongly associated with loans 9 percent secured on real estate rather than other property and in some cases only land may be mortgaged. Get a new house with hypotheek met negatieve bkr vermelding, 289788 euro in 48 hours.

Different lenders charge different fees. It is a transfer of an interest in land, from the owner to the mortgage lender, on the condition that this interest will be returned to the owner of the real estate when the terms of the mortgage have been satisfied or performed.

Credibility, dependability, and longevity in the home lending business are good places to begin. Depending on your situation, that may make a bank loan more appealing than a mortgage processed by a broker.

Arranging a mortgage is seen as the standard method by which individuals and businesses can purchase residential and commercial real estate without the need to pay the full value immediately. Start with credibility. It’s not easy to know if the prices quoted by lenders are reliable. So how do you find a lender or broker you can trust? Some will quote you precise, competitive rates 9 percent.

You have paid a huge sum of money if you have bought teak furniture. So it is advisable to maintain them properly. Although teak furniture are resistant to all natural cause such as insects, rain and sunlight, proper care needs to be taken to ensure the new look of the furniture. The original color of the teak furniture is lustrous honey, but as it ages its natural color changes to silver gray. So sometimes it is suggested to have it coated with teak oil. It prevents the natural loss of the oil content of the wood.

Some people choose to treat their teak furniture with oil, wax or lacquer while other choose to let their teak furniture weather and turn to a silver grey, which is its natural state when it is not treated. Either way is ones own choice. Before applying oil, furniture needs to be cleaned with soap or water. Teak oil should never be applied over dirt. After furniture is completely dry, a light coat of oil is advised. Using a soft cloth is best, but you may even use soft brush. Wipe off all excess oil. Kingsley-Bate offers a product for those who allowed their teak furniture to weather to a silver gray and now want to get back the original color. The process is quiet simple and does not require heavy scrubbing.

There has been a serious frenzy for laptop computers recently. Taiwanese companies have said raw material scarcities will affect deliveries this year due to the enormous demands. Laptops have just been a phenomenal business to check up on. There has been no drop in sales. New gadgets are hitting the shelves all the time that litterally create new divisions in the laptop computer business.

More companies are appreciating that gaming laptops is becoming large enough niche to go after. These notebooks are also increasing in value because of the stiff competition faced from value laptops. I feel laptops are a excellent alternative for gaming. Maybe not exactly for the extreme but they’re great for the large number of us. Additional positives to come from advanced manufacturing practices is smaller, cooler components that cater for slimmer, pleasing cases. Regardless of the fact that performance has majorly improved and the designs are sleek, honestly performance will and should forever lag behind desktop PC’s. I feel gaming laptops are always interesting to hear about because they are constantly pushing the envelope on portable technology.

Power portables are usually custom built to the customers spec. The main advantages here are the fact that you can commonly get superior third party components in custom laptops. By being able to decide precisely what you need you can even hold back some cash in a couple of deals. Prebuilt notebooks are made for common activies and not upto doing more specialised things. This is exactly why custom laptops exist. There are plenty of system builders selling custom laptops, with super customer service. This too is another major selling point.

I can hardly wait to see what portables are introduced next. A unique thing I haven’t mentioned is the increase of low priced ultramobiles. I feel the thought for such a device came from the needs of the third world. Ideally everybody would prefer an ultraslim laptop with a 15″ screen. I reckon you could say these laptops are already around if you are ready to pay the premium. Guessing from whats happening it looks like we will begin seeing ultra light gaming models. There’s no telling what products we will see but no doubt there will be numerous.

I’ve stumbled upon what I believe to be best laptops.