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Hiring a wedding consultant can be a big time saver and, in some cases, a money saver also. When some consultants charge a flat service fee, others may charge a percentage of the wedding budget. Make sure to clarify the fees before you make a final decision to hire a consultant. At the same time, it would be quite unwise to base on the fee alone. Consider how much you plan to allow the consultant do for you. Remember that good wedding consultants maintain excellent working rapport with vendors and venues that can transform into opportunities for savings.

Time is perhaps the most vital factor a wedding consultant can save. These days, most couples are working professionals, so are their relatives. They may not find time to plan the wedding in exactly the way they would like; nor do their relatives and friends, who can help them. In such circumstances, hiring a wedding consultant would be a good idea.

Hiring a wedding consultant would not only save time and money of the couples, but can also save their nerves from being worn and torn. Bear in mind that professional consultants have firsthand experience as to how to accomplish a wedding ceremony within a specified budget. So, if a couple is going to hire such a consultant, they should opt for hiring the person before any other vendors. Although couples may come across a host of such consultants, they should keep aside those who can’t work within their budget and seem less concerned with their opinions.

What does a wedding consultant do?

In a nutshell, a consultant can perform all the works that a wedding ceremony may include. Those works may range from planning wedding dresses of the groom and the bride to the decoration of the wedding venue, to guest reception, or to arranging honeymoon for the couples. Most of such consultants are expert in planning and managing all these jobs. However, such consultants can be hired on the basis of the requirements of the couples. For example, they can hire consultants to manage the event partially, or hire them to manage the event fully. To be precise, the couples will get the service what they pay for. It is for sure that a couple who spends thousands of dollars will get more services than those who spend fewer. So, it is up to the decision of the couples to which extent they would allow the consultants to perform.

How to choose a good consultant?

Whether couples are going to choose a consultant for managing the event partially or managing it fully, make sure that the couples have got a list of references. This will help them pick out the right one who can meet their expectations fully. But, whoever they choose, it is necessary for them to examine the claims of any wedding consultant thoroughly. Here is a set of some pertinent questions that can help them select a good wedding consultant.

i) Numbers of weddings in the locality they have planned so far

ii) Their skills in personalizing the style and theme of the wedding the couples are planning on

iii) Offers of discounts with vendors they have partnership with

iv) Expertise in helping the bride shop for a gown and select the bridesmaid dresses

v) Expertise in creating wedding party gifts

vi) Commitment to accomplish the event within the budget

vii) Experience in negotiating vendor prices

viii) Skill in arranging wedding weekend for destination weddings

The answers to these questions will help the couples to get an idea of their skills and experience in wedding consultancy. If they have been dealing with such consultancy for long time, they will definitely have acquaintances with anyone in the neighborhood of the couples or among any members of their family and friends. At the same time, couples may also come across a skillful and experienced consultant, but the consultant may not be popular in their locality for being new. In this case, selecting such a consultant will be an intelligent step. So, whoever the couples are selecting, make sure that they have enquired whether the consultant has working relationship with any of the known vendors of the couples.

Joy Kumar Das wields genuine command over the subjects like tours and travels, scientific discoveries, software development and website design and development industry, online marketing industry. and business promotion and advertisement management, among others. His writings express his thoughts which emanate from thorough analysis. This article is an outcome of his elaborate research.

Throughout my business experience I have found that passion is a key ingredient to small business success. After all, if you don’t have passion about your product, service, company, and most importantly, yourself, it makes it that much harder to achieve personal and small business success.

In my personal business coaching practice I have observed that the clients who have the most passion also have the greatest degree of success.

Keys To Success: Passion About Yourself

You have probably heard that true success is an “inside” job. To succeed you must have passion about:

“Who” you are.
“What” you do.
“How” you do it.
“Why” you do it.

Lack of excitement in any of these areas will hold you back much more than you may realize. The most important area to be passionate about is YOU. If you feel stuck or overwhelmed look at yourself and find something to change that will make you more excited about you.

After all, in business and life, we, so to speak, leak who we are. What are you leaking about you? How do you think? How do you speak? How do you dress? Do you act with respect, kindness and consideration?

The answers to these questions and your passion about them are important keys to success.

Passion Is Your Value Proposition

In answering Who you are, What you do, How you do it and Why you do it you are establishing your value proposition to prospects, customers and client. Too often this is forgotten.

I have collaborated with self-employed business owners, entrepreneurs and solo professionals who had the best technology and efficient systems but who fell short of where they wanted to be.

Once they understood that small business growth was not just about a great product or service and its delivery, but the passion with which it was delivered, their businesses and lives started to move forward and up.

Passion: Look At Your Priorities

In running a small business or starting your own business I see self-employed business owners with passion but lacking clear priorities. This is a recipe for disaster.

Be a person with passion but also priorities. Without the right priorities and taking action on them personal and small business success is more likely to elude you. Make sure that your daily priorities are in alignment with where you want to take your business and life.

With your priorities in alignment your passion will grow and help take you to the personal and small business success you desire. Your success will be in your passion.

More detailed information can be found at http://www.businesskeystosuccess.com/ Created by Steve Scott. The definitive guide to a better business and a better you for entrepreneurs, solo professionals and self-employed individuals striving to reach the top and who are serious about their success.

I often hear reports on the news about scams and cons perpetrated via the Internet. Someone somewhere has been hurt by some untraceable, unscrupulous scum that does not want to put the energy into a legitimate enterprise.

Almost every business has been scared by this negative information. The sad part is the reports are true. However, you can overcome the damage done to you quickly and effectively.

Almost 20 years ago when I started doing traditional business consulting I knew what the first step was to start up a business. And I knew the reasons for it. Besides being the law everywhere, this builds credibility. It makes your business a legal entity. You can also think of it as creating an abstract being. You register with the state you will be doing business in.

How does registering with a state relate to online business. An online business is everywhere. Why should I get the state involved? The answer is credibility. You need credibility. By registering in your state you are demonstrating that you are not one of the con men/women over in Africa or somewhere. You are publicly announcing who you are and what you do.

Getting registered is the first, best, most effective and most important way to overcome the damage done by online scams.

Okay what is registering? It is when a small businesses creates an LLC, S-Corp, or C-Corp. Most companies become LLC’s. LLC means limited liability corporation. Another way is to register as a partnership or sole proprietorship. The LLC is to help protect your personal assets. This can be important if you have a lot of assets.

Okay so you are registered. You are now: Busy Business LLC. What is next. Prominently and proudly state the fact on your website. If possible state it in the site heading as part of the title. Example: Busy Business LLC Vendor Of Delicious Cookies. We are registered in “Our State.”

A large number of brick and mortar companies market products online. Most of them are registered in their home state. However, they don’t state this on their website. It is a good idea for them to state that they are registered.

There are some other advantages to being registered. You can open a business bank account using your company name. You will be able to get paid other ways besides PayPal if you choose. In time you can build a line of credit.

The road to business success is long and straight. Taking short cuts leads to self destruction.

For more information click on: http://websitesalesconsulting.webs.com/

I have 40 years experience in news writing, business management, sales and marketing. I worked in management for three fortune 500 companies.

My experience includes sales, marketing and advertising at a management level.

I have spent the last 20 years as a business consultant. I now specialize in online sales and marketing. I show people how to get their site off and running with little or no cost. And how to increase sales for established websites. Find out who I am at: http://websitesalesconsulting.webs.com/

What do you think is the most important point for someone that wants to purchase a product or service? It would have to be the quality of the service or product that they purchase. Many people have tried out a lower priced product but found that the business did not have a grasp of quality management. Their output may be poor or just inconsistent. Both of these qualities are things that will surely lose business for a company.

This is why having a great quality management system in place is essential for any business. Not only do you need to meet the quality demands of your customers, you must also maintain your ISO certification so that you are still considered one of the top companies in your niche. The prospect of losing customers should be enough to cause a business owner to pay more attention to their quality but if that is not enough, a failed ISO audit will most definitely do the trick.

For many companies, once they obtain the ISO certificate, they simply turn their focus to other items in the business and forget about the upcoming audit that will be taking place. When it is time for the ISO audit, they will try to fix any issues prior to the audit. This is time consuming and is a waste of valuable resources that could be better used elsewhere if more consistent attention was shown to the quality management system.

Hiring an ISO consultant is a great way to avoid these last minute, very stressful, preparations. When you hire a consultant, they will have taken all of the necessary ISO courses and will know what must be done to ensure constant compliance. Each ISO course that they took game them more information that helped them become so good at their jobs. As they review the system documentation in your business, they will be able to point out areas where you can make improvements so that the ISO audit is a success.

If a problem should occur in the quality management system you have in place, the ISO consultant will likely be the first to identify it. They will make swift efforts to correct the problem and get your business back into compliance. If you have someone that is constantly looking out for your quality management, you can use your resources elsewhere and rest assured that you have a team that will notify you if something needs addressed.

When you ask someone that has decided that being an ISO consultant is their dream career, they will likely tell you that they enjoy helping businesses stay in control of their quality management system. They take pride in ensuring that the business is running smoothly in regards to quality management and feel very proud when the passing ISO audit comes back into the hands of the business owner.

Quality @ Works provides you with the most attentive business continuity management consultancy. Find out more about business continuity planning today.

Feel free to publish this article on your website, or send it to your friends, as long as you keep the resource box and the content of the article intact.

The content is our own opinion and does not necessarily reflect the views of Quality @ Works.

What do you want to be doing now so you could be building wealth in the future? This question could be considered at various times in our lives. Taking a step closer to financial freedom involves risks but having a proven system, tools and a team are ways to minimize pitfalls.

We asked Wealthy Business Owners how they got there. Here is what we found out: Wealthy Business Owners have three things in common. One, they all had some type of education or experience. Second, they actually had ownership in some form of business. Third, they understood how business value led to equity and how to leverage it. Are you on a financial path to use equity for building wealth?

Nobody has ever made it big with a job. Especially a government job that does not lead to equity ownership. Sure there might be some stock options in a corporate job and experience gained but usually not equity for leveraging. Even a side business is better than no business. Maybe, finding the right mix of work and a start-up would keep you on the path to leveraging equity?

There are many vehicles that could eventually bring you wealth. Here are some tips to make sure you are on the financial path of leveraging: First, get to know a Business Broker to know what savvy Buyers are looking at in a business. Second, implement an earnings move with your business bringing three times the return over a typical sales strategy. And finally, have the end in mind of “business value”. Since, a business sells on the average of every 3-5 years.

How are you saving your equity? Are you leveraging equity? Or are you following a path that does not lend itself to equity? As these questions with a business consultant that understands how to build business value.

Starting a career as an independent contractor position is like building your own business. Many individuals are interested in a job but fail to understand that there is no equity as an employee. So, look for a situation that you could start with the same hours as an employee but with all the tools and concepts of building your own business. Some people need the day-to-day to reminder to work. Others need immediate cash for bills. It takes careful planning with your money to get into the position to work and an independent contractor. So, starting a full or part-time job while building a business on the side might not be a bad idea. Finding the right mix of your time for income brings equity.You’ll soon find-out other have managed their money and are taking a next step on their path to financial independence.

There are three words that are almost a magical formula for writing effective sales material. The words are features, advantages and benefits.

The following is a guide to writing sales copy that converts prospects into buyers. For some it will be an important refresher. It is a must for people new to marketing.

Coupled with these three words is the fact that the product must satisfy a need or desire your prospect has. A solid understanding of this will make every aspect of your online marketing efforts easier and more effective.

Using these three terms as the basic guidelines for developing advertising copy will increase the effectiveness of any advertising. It is important to evaluate your target market first with this in mind. Your target market must be able to benefit from what you offer.

Depending on what your products or services are, the way you include the basic three in your advertising will vary. The easiest and often the most effective format is to use photos with a bulleted list of statements that cover the features and advantages in a way that ties the benefits of owning what you advertise to the needs and desires of your prospect.

Based on the features and advantages, the benefits statement should show how the product will positively effect the targeted prospect. Your statement should clearly show that buying your product will make the prospect feel a positive emotion. These freelings can be but are not limited to making your prospect feel happy, healthy, safe, proud, wise etc.

The basics should also be the guidelines used in developing your website. Your website itself should have an interesting, eye catching and even a comforting appearance. This relates to store front and signage for brick and mortar businesses.

Many websites slam the visitor in the face with a mass presentation of products. Sites often have a ragged appearance. It is obvious that these sites were not developed following the basics.

The written material on your website should follow through with what you promised in your ads. As an example you advertised a fine, attractive, only special people wear it wrist watch. The sales material on your site must develop naturally from your ad. A statement like, “We can ship your impressive watch to you tomorrow,” will relate back to your ad.

Don’t make your prospect hunt for the item you advertised. Hunting for the item will stop the flow that leads to the sale. The idea that your prospects will find other items and buy them is an error. It is better to ask them to look for other related items after they order the above mentioned watch. And you must include sales material in the package you ship their watch in.

For more information visit: http://websitesalesconsulting.webs.com/

I have 40 years experience in news writing, business management, sales and marketing. I worked in management for three fortune 500 companies.

My experience includes sales, marketing and advertising at a management level.

I have spent the last 20 years as a business consultant. I now specialize in online sales and marketing. I show people how to get their site off and running with little or no cost. And how to increase sales for established websites. Find out who I am at: http://websitesalesconsulting.webs.com/

“It is not enough to do your best; you must know what to do, and then do your best.” – W. Edwards Deming

There comes a time in most people’s career where they cease to become an understudy. After years of early support in our careers, we are elevated to a certain position of responsibility and suddenly this support is cut off. At this point we are forced to change our approach to self-development and instead tend to learn through experience rather than instruction.

The most valuable experiences we learn from are failures.

When we fail, we tend to forensically analyse the circumstances leading up to the tipping point – the point where failure cannot be avoided – so that we can avoid it happening in future. Our self-worth is typically bashed and bruised in the aftermath of a failure, meaning that we don’t always review the situation objectively. Remember though, it is only through understanding ourselves and the circumstances of failure that we can take steps to improve things for the better.

I am reminded at this point, by the 2007 Disney film, Meet the Robinsons. In this animated movie, the young hero accidentally, and somewhat messily, blows up an invention at the dinner table. Rather than being reprimanded for his actions, the rest of his dinner guests applaud him for such a spectacular failure. Remember this next time you get hauled in front of a line-manager for a mistake.

Failure can be good.

In working within critical environments, I have come across a number of statistics that show that anywhere between 80-95% of all failures of critical systems are down to human error at some point. What an opportunity for learning! When a failure occurs, it is essential to understand the contributory factors and behaviors that led to the tipping point so that they can be avoided or mitigated in future. To do this, I suggest behaviors are framed into one or a combination of three categories:

Situational (incorrect environmental and circumstantial decision making)Rational (incorrect reasoning and logic)Dispositional (based on ingrained behaviors and personalities)

Of these three behaviors, the one to look out for is Dispositional thinking. We can always improve the Situations in which decisions are made by strengthening routines and improving understanding. We’re able to train people to overcome challenges in their Rational thinking by providing better decision making tools. Dispositional thinking though requires more effort to overcome and involves better recruitment, team selection and the promotion of self-awareness tools in the workplace.

All failures are opportunities to evolve thinking and routines in future. Whether it is for improving customer proposals, the performance of critical systems or the successful outputs of teams, it is essential to learn. As the Robinsons say in the Disney film, let’s “Keep moving forward”.

Chris D. Payne is a business services professional with experience of delivering savings, improvements and innovations across a wide range of outsourced facilities management, maintenance and critical environment contracts.

At some point, you’ve probably asked a client for a testimonial that (you hoped) would wax eloquent about the great work you did. But getting a client testimonial is a hit or miss proposition: Sometimes, the client provides exactly the enthusiastic stamp of approval you want. Other times, it’s less than useful.

The problem is-we don’t always do such a great job of guiding our clients in writing testimonials. That’s too bad because testimonials are among the most powerful marketing tools. When a prospective client reads, watches, or listens to your testimonials, you have an opportunity to get the principle of “social proof” on your side.

Robert Cialdini, who popularized that principle in his book, Influence, reminds us that people tend to “determine what is correct by finding out what other people think is correct.” More importantly, though, social proof, especially the kind in a testimonial, is most influential with someone who is uncertain or in a situation that is ambiguous.

So, here are some thoughts on how to obtain the perfect testimonial-one that will help clients gain the certainty they need to say yes to your proposals.

The Trouble with Testimonials

Like every marketing tool, testimonials have drawbacks. For starters, clients are naturally skeptical of any testimonial you supply. It’s not that they think your testimonials are total fabrications, but they know that you’re unlikely to offer any that claim you do anything short of walking on water. So most clients discount, at least to some degree, the high praise they read about you.

The second and more common flaw is that many testimonials offer little more than vague generalizations that don’t provide enough social proof to influence client decisions. Fortunately, you can solve both problems by taking an active role with clients in the development of each testimonial.

What Should I Say?

Whether a client offers to write a testimonial or you ask for one, be ready to answer the client’s question: “What should I say about you?” Your answer must balance respect for the client’s time and convenience with your need for something you can use.

These three pointers can help steer your client’s effort to the ideal testimonial.

Keep It Short: To get the most from testimonials, think brevity. If it takes someone more than one minute to read and comprehend a testimonial, it loses power. Prospective clients are looking for concise, engaging statements that explain why others who were facing the same challenges chose you to help them.

As with any writing, it’s harder to write a short testimonial than a longer one. Ask your testimonial writers to aim for two paragraphs, maximum. If they want to say more, suggest that they give the highlights in the first two paragraphs. That way, you will have the option to feature just those paragraphs, and direct readers elsewhere for the complete text.

Make It Real: If you’re going to use a testimonial, resist the urge to make it anonymous. Few things are lamer than praise from a satisfied mystery client. I’m not sure who decided that a testimonial from a “senior executive” at “an international trucking firm,” or a “global medical device company” was a good idea. It’s not.

You can’t expect clients to put much stock in anonymous endorsements. If you want to make a testimonial work for you, be sure that the reader can identify and, if possible, contact the people and companies involved.

You may choose not to publish contact information in your marketing materials or in your proposals. But it is helpful if you can offer clients a way to contact the author of a testimonial if they want to.

Another way testimonial writers can make their words ring true is to express their genuine feelings about working with you. Obviously, you don’t want this to go too far, but it is worth pointing out that a testimonial doesn’t have to be impersonal.

Be Specific: The goal for each testimonial is to show convincing social proof that you’re second to none in your area of expertise. To accomplish that, your testimonial writer should talk about how you worked with others, the value you delivered, and what makes you different or special.

It’s not enough for a testimonial to say something like, “Our work with Empirical Consultants exceeded our expectations for service and flexibility. We’d be pleased to work with them again in the future.” That’s not a bad recommendation, but it doesn’t tell readers much.

A testimonial should focus on the problem or issue you helped address, the results achieved, and why you were the best choice for the work. If readers can’t relate to the situation described in a testimonial, it won’t help them evaluate your capabilities. So be clear about the project objective, delivered value, and a differentiating point about you.

For example:

Our work with Joseph DeLong and his team at Kahana Consultants aimed to reduce our investment in inventory by 12% in three of our regional parts plants. We were thrilled when Joe and his team’s FastTrack implementation program resulted in a net inventory reduction of 17% in the first 6 months. That was beyond our expectations in terms of cost savings and the speed with which we accomplished our goal.

What we appreciated most about working with Joe and his team was their ability to cut through the predictable politics of a project, keep everyone happy, and deliver the expected results and then some.

William Major, Senior Vice President, Tanglewood Integrated Manufacturing

In this example, the testimonial names names, is specific about the project and its results, and tells what stood out about the consultants in the client’s mind. A prospective client can read this testimonial in a few seconds and see the highlights of a successful project.

Testimonials don’t sell projects on their own, but they can bolster the case you need to make about your offer. To make that case compelling, use a few highly effective testimonials, not a slew of anemic character references.

What You Shouldn’t Do

I’ve seen some consultants offer general testimonials about their abilities from former colleagues, mentors, and others who never hired them. Testimonials should always be from people you have worked for in the past. Otherwise, prospective clients will see the comments as irrelevant.

Once you ask for a testimonial, don’t sit back, hoping to get what you need. Work with your clients to make the process easy for them and valuable for you. Just remember the three simple rules for a perfect testimonial: keep it short, make it real, and be specific.

Michael W. McLaughlin is the author of the books, Winning the Professional Services Sale and Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants, which help new and veteran business consultants grow their consulting businesses.

Learn more, find additional consulting resources, and sign up for a free newsletter, The Guerrilla Consultant, at http://www.guerrillaconsulting.com/.

Statistics show the majority of people aren’t enthralled with their work. Interpreting the statistics meaning forces me to come to the conclusion it’s difficult for them to have a great time because instead of excelling they reached a plateau which causes static thinking, worry, stress, or tiredness. One way to break anhedonia is by applying the following peak performance structure to improve your mindset, mood, and motivation.

Home Routine

What are the daily prep items? These items get you to the job or field with the right mindset. For example, take a shower and shave, eat breakfast, have my gear (clothing and shoes) ready the night before, if you have children send them off to school, if you’re married tell your spouse when you expect to be home and talk about evening plans. Modify the list to your liking. Why do this? So you aren’t scrambling looking for your jacket or tennis racquet at the last minute instead you’re heading to work or the court in the right frame of mind.

Pre-game Routine

Once at work have a set routine to get you settled down. This should take approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Make sure to talk with people about whatever they want to talk about. Examples are “I get a safe driver discount”, “My child made the honor roll so I get a discount”, “my child is having trouble with school”, “my daughter is pregnant and not married”, “what did you think of the game last night?”. Although we separate work from our home life, we are social beings and interaction plays an important part in people knowing you and being a part of the workplace. Sure, you may say my routine is to get the most done in the morning and when most of the people are at the water cooler I’m getting it done. Guess what? Get in earlier or take a break and get to the place people are talking (marketing 101). Otherwise, when you head to the cooler at your time there’s no one there. Yikes! It will make work a lot more meaningful and friendly. Then, get a cup of coffee and check the news, plan your day or whatever else you like to do in the morning. Depending on your sport, instead of grabbing coffee, take two sets of five shots right handed from the right block, mid lane, and left block and then two sets of five shots left handed from the right block, mid lane, and left block, 25 free throws right handed, 25 free throws left handed, and two sets of two three pointers right handed and left handed from five spots. Make up your mind you’ll be there for the entire time. Now you’re settled down.

Work

This is the fun part. Here you are focused on producing results and sometime interaction with others is fast and real time. If you don’t know, knowing where to get the information is important. Expect the unexpected here because it’s real time. Be proactive as well as reactive. Be quick and concise. Help yourself and others as needed. Of course, you can take breaks. Be sure to do so. You’ll get more done. Try yoga stretches, go for a walk, talk with a friend, or call time out to regroup. Playing to win is more fun.

Recovery

The late Ray Pelletier had a concept known as the “trust bank”. Ray would call his employees and discuss the progress made. Sure he needed an update but the real reason he was calling is to see what roadblocks or help may be needed and what opportunities now existed because of the work accomplished. You can do this regarding your own work or team up with a colleague. The key here is to be confident if you reach an obstacle no matter how small or large you know you can reach out for help without being reprimanded or your colleague knows this is a time for constructive feedback and solutions (what to do) not a time to criticize. Your team will be a lot better.

Post-game Routine

Here is where you break through the plateau reached. Write the lessons learned and tips picked up. Over time by keeping a post-game notebook your skill level consistently increases. Therefore, it becomes a whole lot easier. This is also a good place to write what you learned about the competition to increase your business winning percentage.

For example, you might write there’s now a new process I can use again and again. Or when shooting the ball see the goal, think and feel natural, and follow through with hand up through the goal.

Regardless of your level, have a great time excelling on the job and in sports structure gives you a renewed purpose, instant energy, and enthusiasm so you can experience a sense of pleasure. Do it for one week and you’ll be hooked. You’ll think could it really be this easy. Your customers will be thrilled. Now your workplace is a team.

Raj Gavurla works with organizations that want more productivity and profitability by improving their mindset, mood, and motivation. He is the author of Winning at Entrepreneurship. Contact him at 404.918.7366, e-mail raj@rajgavurla.com or learn more by visiting http://www.rajgavurla.com/ and http://www.inner-motivation.com/.

When you’re an expert on a topic, people want to learn from you, and if they can, they want it for free. They’ll say, “I want to pick your brain. Let me buy you lunch.”

Worst case, they’ll take you to a fast food restaurant and buy you a $5 meal and get thousands worth of advice. Best case, they’ll take you to a great restaurant, spend $100 and get thousands worth of advice.

While it’s great to meet new people, here’s how can you say, “No, I won’t have lunch with you just so you can get an hour of free consulting” without sounding like a jerk.

Just Say, “No”

If you don’t want to discuss your expertise with them, reply with “Sure, but I have ‘no talking about work’ policy at lunch.”

Just Say, “Yes, but…”

Or say, “I’d love to have lunch with you. But, if you are looking for input on your project, I charge a consultation fee even if we’re dining. Otherwise, I never discuss work over food. What day works for you?”

I Will, If You First…

Get them to do something that shows commitment and shortcuts the process before you accept their invitation.

Say, “Sure! I’m happy to meet with you if you’ll first…” Have them send you an email describing their biggest challenge. Or have them fill out your assessment form. Or, if you’re a content creator, have them first take one of your mini courses.

Guess how many people call to follow up? Very few. Those that do are serious. Those that don’t, aren’t. Do this, and you don’t waste your time on those who aren’t committed.

Send Them to Your Website or Blog

Say, “I’ve got a really full schedule for the next month, so why not check out my blog (or website) that answers many of the questions that I get when people invite me to lunch. So, take a look, and send me a list of questions, and we can then schedule something next month.”

First, Buy My Book

If you’re an author, say, “I recommend that you first read my book. I specifically wrote it to answer the most common questions that I get. Whatever advice I have to give on [your topic], it’s in there. And it’s cheaper than lunch. So, jot down your questions as you read it, then call me and we can schedule lunch.”

Bring a $100 Bill

Say, “Brain picking isn’t free and I don’t eat cheap food. Bring a $100 bill and buy me lunch at a nice restaurant. If you’re not happy with the value of my advice, keep the hundred.”

One of my colleagues does this and he always keeps the hundred.

If they object, say, “I tell you what. I’ll give you three free pieces of advice right now that will make you more successful. Your first free success lesson: never do free consulting. Your second free lesson: free advice isn’t acted on like paid advice. Your third lesson: if you don’t get value in exchange, there is no real value generated.”

And I invite you to pick my brain with free instant access to the questions I get frequently asked when people invite me to lunch. Go to http://competitionproof.com/ now to learn great ideas to sell more, keep more margin, and keep your competitors out of you accounts.