Five Websites that Can Change Your Life

The Internet is a glorious place that can actually help you become successful and finish your projects if you know where to look. Below are five fantastic website that you should be using.

5. LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) - LinkedIn is now the world's greatest networking website. With over 200 million members this is a great place to make new connections. This is not just a website people come to that are looking for a job. This is a website that you can use to connect with customers, follow companies, network with new business contacts, discover new products, follow market trends, and so on. The benefits are almost too great to mention and best of all a basic membership is free.

4. Elance (www.elance.com) - Any task that can be done at least 80% as well as yourself should be delegated. That's where Elance comes in handy. If you have a project you are working on and need a little help why not hire someone else to do the heavy lifting? Elance allows you to post a project you want done and allow freelancers to bid on it. On the flip side Elance is also a great site if you are a freelancer looking to make some extra money.

3. AppSumo (www.appsumo.com) - AppSumo is a great little site that sell various products designed to make your career life easier and make you more successful in the process. You can sign up for their very non-intrusive daily email offer that will send you new product deals. Most of their products are very affordable and very effective.

2. TED (www.ted.com) - TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design. It is a website with a vast collection of video clips from some of the brightest people imaginable on a wide variety of topics. New videos are added constantly and it is guaranteed that you will find something that peaks your interest.

1. Lynda (www.lynda.com) - Lynda is a monthly subscription based website that has in-depth video tutorials for almost every piece of software on the market today. If there is any piece of software you have ever wanted to know how to use Lynda is the best place to go. Reading software books can be tedious and confusing. Instead, save yourself the frustration and watch Lynda's videos of someone using the software in real time.

Axiom 39: Success in the Sales World

"A smart salesperson listens to emotions not facts." -Unkown

"Don’t sell life insurance. Sell what life insurance can do." -Ben Feldman

I've been in sales for years now and have learned a few valuable lessons on what works and what doesn't. The funny thing is that when I started out in sales I felt really uncomfortable with selling and my ability to sell. As time when by my success increased and it became much easier. Much like everything else in life after about 10,000 hours of real world sales experience things started to click.

At one point or another in life you will find yourself selling something. It may be a product, or it may be selling yourself to get a job or an opportunity. No matter what it is that you're selling, here are a few insights about sales that I have picked up over the years:

• Have a positive, confident, "can do" attitude - Customer's want to know what you can do for them, not what you can't do. Take charge and let them know that everything will be alright when they are dealing with you.
• Solve the customer's problem - Every customer has a problem that needs to be solved. It is your job to figure out what that problem is so you can make the sell. In some cases this can mean giving the customer what they need, not necessarily what they want.
• Know what you are talking about - Make sure you know what you are selling. The deeper the product knowledge the more you can leverage the sell.
• Be ethical and honest - Do what you say you are going to do. Don't risk ruining your reputation just to make a sale.
• Streamline your process - Use the resources you have to make sure you respond to your customers quickly. Service with the least amount of effort as possible needed to maintain a strong customer relationship.
• Identify the person with the purchasing power - This goes back to Axiom 16: Talk to the Lion. Don't waste a lot of your time with people that don't have the power to buy from you. Find out how to get to the decision makers.
• Follow through - Always follow up on a potential sell. This separates good salespeople from great salespeople. You'd be surprised how many more sales you can make simply by following up.
• Network - Work to build a network of connections. As your reputation builds your network will begin to sell for you by referring customers to you.
• Every sales call has an ROI (Return on Investment) - Your time is your most valuable asset. Don't waste time with customers or sales where there is little or no return. It is okay to dump bad accounts if you can fill that time with good, profitable customer accounts. Raise the prices on the bad accounts to make them either go away, or make them worth the time and effort involved.
• Measure your results - If you quantify and measure all aspects of your sales process then you can see patterns emerge to help you become a better salesperson.

It is interesting to note that I wrote this above blog post before I became involved in a sales training class from Sandler Sales Training. They teach many of these same concepts above. I would recommend this class for anyone that heavily relies on sales for their career. 

Chocolate Soda Review: Chocolate Coke, Canfield's Chocolate Fudge Soda, and Coco Fizz

I like chocolate and I like soda. It sounded like a good idea for me to put them together and see what the end result was.

Chocolate Coke - I went to the store and got some chocolate syrup and coke. I figured that the flavor of Coke would naturally lend itself to chocolate syrup. I mean it does have the word coca in its name after all. I mixed them together and was underwhelmed by the flavor. The chocolate hits you more as an aftertaste. Overall the feeling is more like a stomach ache waiting to happen. The taste is not overtly bad but not something that I would be ever craving again.

Canfield's Diet Chocolate Fudge Soda - Not ready to concede the idea of a tasty chocolate flavored soda I came across this brand on Amazon. I had gone through the whole process of ordering, receiving, and drinking and entire can of this stuff before I even realized it was diet. As you can see from the picture on the can above the word "diet" is almost invisible, and who would have guessed anyone would even make a "diet" chocolate soda anyways?

That being said I really despise the flavor of aspartame no matter what the brand. I was not a fan of this drink other than the pleasant chocolate aroma it had. I went back to order the "non-diet" version of this drink but it appears Canfield's does not offer one.

Coco Fizz Chocolate Soda - Still not ready to give up I found Coco Fizz by the Durango Soda Company. The flavor of this soda was lighter and more palletable than the first two. The ingredients tasted like they were of a high quality, which makes me curious to try the other soda flavors the company offers. Overall I reached the conclusion that this was probably the best one could hope for in combining chocolate and soda flavors. Still it's not something I would probably be craving ever again.

....but... the story doesn't end there. I was about to write this article and proclaim chocolate sodas a failure when I had the idea to make a chocolate soda ice cream float.

I'm glad I tried it because it was absolutely delicious! The flavor is very unique and was worth the time and trouble of this journey to discover. A great ending to my chocolate soda journey.