Rick Demko

The Juice Experiment Results

I need to apologize since shortly after my experiment ended, I conveniently (unintentionally) destroyed my intake log and all of my corresponding data.  I will still be able to make my individual results pretty clear without my journal though so please read on.

Ultimately, the result of inundating my body with purely fruits and vegetables did completely the opposite of what I imagined it would.  I still believe that the Juice Diet is a great way to 'cleanse' your body and if you're trying to lose weight, give it a try for a few days.  As an individual with an active lifestyle like mine, it's just not practical.

Remember, my hopes of the Juice Diet Experiment wasn't for a physical transformation but a mental clarity one.  I set out to see what infusing your body with juices would ultimately achieve in regard to personal awareness and mental ability.

During my experiment I had a  fantasy hockey camp, golf tournament, competitive men’s softball league, kickball league, I was cross training, and studying for the Missouri Property/Casualty as well as the Life and Health insurance producer exams.  Probably not the best time to run an experiment on myself.  On top of all that I also had to work ...

When I began the process I wanted to see how long I could go with strictly just blends of fruits and veggies as my sole source of nutrition.  The goal was 7 - 10 days.  With palatable recipes in hand I headed to the market and successfully returned with about $100 worth of food that can plucked off a tree or pulled from the ground for free.

I'll spare you the actual recipes and the details on what I bought but the picture doesn't really do justice to the amount of vegetation involved here.

I discovered side effects pretty early on and had to trick myself into not thinking that I was hungry just because I hadn't really eaten but drank all of my meals.  I quickly figured out that all the fruit drinks were awesome and that beats have some not so flattering side effects later on.  After about a day and a half I was already showing signs of physical weakness and fatigue but I still felt intelligent so I decided to include a multi vitamin and  whey protein powder after two days of veggie detox.

Continuing through the process I began to really dislike my method for preparing and making my fruit and veggie shakes.  I didn't set aside a budget so I was attempting to make good with the equipment I already had.  Although my blender was perfect for making the occasional daiquiri and frozen margarita, when it came to my veggie shakes I still had to chew through my kale.  If I were to incorporate jucies into a regular diet, purchasing an actual juicer (or the Ninja pictured here) would be in my future.

After day four I was noticeably having side effects.  We're all aware that our perception can play tricks on us but after day four I began having speech and vision problems.  During the peak of my problems I had to make three attempts to deliver a simple statement correctly..  I kept arranging the words in a very odd way that didn't make sense to anyone but myself.  A little frightening actually.

Apparently 5 days of juicing is my limit since my girlfriend forced me to pull the plug on the experiment.

I did continue to infuse my diet with fruit and vegetables (I had already purchased them after all) just not as the only staple source of nutrition.  In order to regain my strength I went back to eating solid power foods and other lean proteins.  My body thanked me for the little fat I introduced once I ran out of the $100 in fruits and veggies I bought.

Would a diet like this receive my endorsement?  Simple answer, yes.  However (and there is always a ‘however’ in life) I would only recommend that someone try the Juice Diet on a smaller scale and utilize it as a cleansing process before introducing a balanced full nutrition plan.  Please consult a nutritionist before doing this diet for longer than a day or two!

Stay classy my friends - Cheers!

Use Your Business Card as a Selling Tool

  Just about everybody has one. Your desk has probably is littered with little piles of them. I would be willing to bet good money, that right now you have a few of your own in your wallet or purse. In the past year you have probably handed out and received literally hundreds of these tiny leaflets – an ongoing marketing effort that we don’t often think of as marketing.

Small businesses can spend tens of thousands of dollars with direct marketing efforts that might include mailers, trade show handouts, brochures, door-hangers, coupons, product spec sheets and more. But what we don’t do is treat that little 2″x3.5″ slip of paper with our name and contact info as what it is: the best opportunity you have to market yourself or your business to a truly targeted and captive audience: the person to whom you hand it.

It is time to think of your business card as not just a handy way to share your email address, but as a selling opportunity. Approach the design and content of your business card differently – stop right now to consider what other messaging, information, or purpose your card might include. Here are seven ways you can leverage those tiny slips of paper to spread the word, stand out from the crowd, and make the most of each and every opportunity to market your company.

1. Multitask.  Your business card can serve purposes other than just sharing your info. Creative business people are using theirs to offer discounts, include coupons, and serve as event tickets, note cards, or appointment cards. Clever and fun uses like scratch cards or stickers can be memorable and can encourage the recipient to hold onto that card and jog their memory about you at an opportune moment. Oh, I know – make your card a bookmark so that they will see a reminder of you every time they put down their Jacqueline Susann!

2. Drill-down.  Your card can include your own QR code or SKU and can encourage the other person to come have a look at your site. This way potential leads can view additional information or even receive discounts or other incentives. This is also a great way to track the efficacy of the card – you will know that every user who comes to the URL via that code was someone whom you met at a given event. Not a bad way to measure conversions of a very different sort.

3. Testify.  Another great marketing strategy is to show a potential customer how others like them have benefitted by using your product or service. We do this in other marketing materials; why not use the back of your business card for a short testimonial from a happy customer? Quotes, photos, and links can help to illustrate how others have used your business successfully and can provide the confirmation that a potential customer needs.

4. Educate.  Use your card to teach them something. Little facts, statistics, or other information can make your card fun, engaging, and memorable. Think about how much fun those little Trivial Pursuit cards are and how you can get a bit of that going with yours!

5. Fundraise.  Business cards can have a more meaningful life than just sharing your digits. I have seen cards from several folks that promote something more than just their own business, but also provide information about a favored cause or charity. Good feelings are remembered, and selfless acts admired. Let the person you hand your card to know that you are passionate and caring and they will be more likely to dig out your card when they’re ready to buy.

6. Network.  The exchanging of business cards id probably the most effective networking method there is. Your challenge is to make your card sticky and give it the best chance of converting a prospect into a customer. One effective tactic is to include your photo on your card; this is a great way to help someone remember you as a person. Encourage or even incentivize others to hand out your card for you.

7. Incentivize.  What if you gave each person you meet 5 cards, each with a coupon code? Tell the recipient that if all five coupons are redeemed, they too will receive a discount or something else of value. Heck, if they hand out 100 cards for you, give them a television set! Finally, perhaps it is time for you to be the first on your block to embed a GPS chip in your biz card so you can track how far it travels. Hey if your pet can have one, why not your biz card?

Article pulled from Mike and our friends at CrowdSpring.

Valid Justifications for Poor Sales Results and What To Do About Them

BY S. ANTHONY IANNARINO

Most of the excuses for poor sales performance aren’t valid. They aren’t real, and they have no bearing in reality. Most are rationalizations that attempt to absolve the salesperson of their responsibility (not that this plagues only salespeople).

But there are a couple of excuses, better termed “justifications,” which put the responsibility for poor results where it belongs: on the individual. For those that are brave enough to accept that these are the real reasons for poor performance, their acknowledging their responsibility is the beginning of better sales results. But you must have courage.

You Don’t Know Enough

Selling well is challenging. And, despite all that we now know about how to sell effectively, it isn’t getting any easier. I believe it is getting more and more difficult to sell well. There is much to know, and without the knowledge (especially business acumen and situational knowledge), your results won’t be what they might be.

Instead of making excuses, take responsibility for your own sales results and acquire additional training. This has never been easier, and there are countless resources of which you can easily avail yourself, including free webinars like those listed in my events widget to the right of this post.

You can also take charge of your own personal development. You can read books, listen to audio files, watch videos, and make your own improvement plan. You can shore up the areas where you are weak and improve your personal effectiveness.

You can also find a mentor, hire a coach, or take classes. If you are brave enough to look yourself in the eye and admit that the real reason you didn’t produce the results that you needed was that you didn’t know enough, you have taken the first step towards improvement. Now you have to take some of the actions listed above.

You Aren’t Working Hard Enough

Sometimes the “justification” for poor sales results is that you plain aren’t working hard enough. It’s an act of courage and bravery to admit this. It is also the first step to remedying this shortcoming.

You can dedicate yourself to the tasks that are known to produce sales results.

You can get to work earlier, having gotten a good night’s sleep and having prepared yourself to dig in. You can also make sure your car is the last car to leave the parking lot (though not because you simply waited for everyone to leave—because you were still working).

You can eliminate the weapons of mass distraction, the things that take your time, your attention, and your focus from work. This includes things like checking your email in the morning, the virtual water cooler that is the Internet, and those of your peers who would have your attention.

If you aren’t working hard enough, you can set personal goals and activity goals. You can commit to making so many calls or scheduling a certain number of appointments and work towards achieving those goals. You can also build a model workweek and follow your plan.

You will often compete with better salespeople. The decision as to whether or not you let yourself be outworked is yours and yours alone.

You Aren’t Doing the Right Work

If your results aren’t what you need them to be, and you know enough to succeed and you are working hard, you may be doing the wrong work. There are certain tasks and activities that produce sales results, and there are other tasks that feel like sales work that don’t produce results.

Your results may suffer because you are an order-taker, someone who is willing to work on clients that come to them without having to prospect. You might be waiting for deals to walk themselves into your office. You might be working in operations, and it may feel like you are making a contribution to the organization.

All of these indicate a resistance to the real work of sales and selling.

You can work very hard on non-sales related tasks and produce poor sales results. You can justify your actions as necessary, or you can accept the real “justification” is that you are doing the wrong work because selling well is difficult.

For those who are brave enough to face the truth, you will have taken the first step towards improvement. But it won’t be enough. You will also have to take the second and more challenging step of taking action to change, to make improvements in yourself. It isn’t enough to face the truth without facing the change it requires.

Questions

If you were going to be honest with yourself, what would you attribute as being the main obstacle to better sales results?

Why is it so difficult for we humans to accept responsibility for own actions and our own results?

What do you believe are the real reasons that salespeople produce poorer results than they might?

How much of the responsibility for producing better results lies with the salesperson?

Why is making excuses damaging to the person who makes them?