My best students know that I often mention a Contact Management Software called GoldMine. I’ve used it since 1997 and I LOVE it; it is a very important part to our success. Smart companies know that their client/prospect list is one of the most valuable assets they have. With that being said, I want to talk to you about my friend and our GoldMine consultant Gene Marks. Gene is a very talented man; his consultant Corey has helped Grunder Landscaping Company tremendously and we recommend him and The Marks Group highly….and, no, I am not being paid to say this.

In my upcoming book, “Make Friends Make Sales The Most Effective Way To Sell Your Way To Success,” I talk a lot about “being nice” and trying to “help.” I am trying to help Gene grow his business and chances are if I help him, he’ll help me. The key here is to only try to help people you know, like and trust. I know, like and trust Gene Marks. So this week’s GREAT IDEA has a couple of lessons.

1. Click here for a very informative list of websites Gene has put together. (pdf)
2. Contact Gene if you need help making your office more efficient; here’s his company’s website: www.marksgroup.net.
3. Click here to buy Gene’s book In God We Trust: Everyone Else Pays Cash: Simple Lessons From Smart Business People. I have it and love it. It’s an easy read with hundreds of great ideas. Incidentally, Gene is a very accomplished writer; his work appears in Business Week and business papers all over the country.
4. Who could you help in your network that you know, like and trust?

Just go help. Don’t be worried about getting paid back. In the long run, those who just do the right things will have the right things happen to them.

As you may know, I am a professional speaker. I gave my first paid presentation in 1994 for $200 to a group of life insurance salespeople. I have done hundreds of presentations since then. Today, I am much better than I was when I started, only because I’ve worked hard at the craft. I am constantly reading about speaking, watching other speakers present and bugging my mentors like Mark Sanborn and Mark Mayberry.

Recently, a friend of mine sent a collection of articles and links that he thought I would enjoy. He said that I probably knew all the tricks and didn’t need them but he sent them anyway. Well, I needed them; they’re awesome and I know you’ll find them helpful too. Here are the links and articles:

Beat Stage Fright At Work (pdf)

Public Speaking Tips (pdf)

Public Speaking Links (pdf)

Remember, we all need to work on our ability to speak and command a group’s attention. Speaking is a craft we all should take seriously. Being an effective communicator is one of the best talents you can have. If you’re in sales (and we all are if you think about it), you are a speaker and should be looking for ways to improve. Check out the links and let us know what you think.

If you worked at Grunder Landscaping Co. or you are a friend of mine, you know I like to have fun. I can’t tell you how many hours in the last year I have laughed talking with my friends Bill, Judd, John, and Mike, or my co-workers Amber, Paul, Joe, and Brent. In the last month my son and I have orchestrated numerous jokes on mom and his sisters and have been paid back as well. I learned this from my father. He’s been gone almost 10 years, which is very, very hard to believe.

My message this week is pretty simple. Take some time to laugh, take some time to have fun, take some time to slow down and enjoy some of the pleasures in life, like having fun with family and friends.

Here are a couple of tasteful cartoons from the Optimist Magazine I get.

They made me chuckle; I hope they make you chuckle too. And I hope this week you’ll take my message to heart and have some fun.

Here’s a photo of my Dad and me from September of 2000 at Belmont Race Track in New York City.

As you can tell, we were having fun. Little did I know my father would leave us 2 short months later. I cherish the time I spent with him and I remember fondly all those little jokes he told and pulled on me and my family. He was a funny guy and a good dad to me. Hopefully, in 20 years or so, my kids will say the same thing about me and think my pulling my shorts up to my armpits last week and running about the room screaming “help me” in front of their friends really was funny! (I know, bad visual for some of you. Notice I did not include a photo of that.) My teenage daughters didn’t think it was too funny; oh, well, they’ll get over it…..I hope!

Take care and Have some Fun this week!

Here is a fascinating article I came across in Businessweek about some companies and organizations that are helping their employees buy a home. I try hard not to be political but forgive me for being political in this great idea. I wanted to get a thought and an idea out to you.

Read the article.

Our country is in trouble in part, not all, due to folks being allowed to borrow more money than they can afford to pay back. It’s pretty easy to understand. If you told a kid he could eat ice cream every day, as much as they wanted, they’d eat the ice cream. Sure, it seems silly that you have to have a bank officer tell you what you can afford and what you can’t. I learned early on, if I had the money in my account, I could go buy it; if I did not, I could not buy it. I started Grunder Landscaping Company with nothing. I didn’t have any money; my parents didn’t have any money; and I didn’t have any credit. Banks would not loan money to me because I had no wherewithal to pay it back. Pretty simple lesson and a great way to grow up.

My message and idea this week is that we need to return to some good old-fashioned teaching. We need to teach our kids to save again. We need to give them the responsibility to work for some of the things they want. Not what they need. No child needs a cell phone and, yes, my kids have cell phones.

These companies and organizations written about in Businessweek are to be commended. We entrepreneurs, and the folks who understand the free enterprise system, know what to do to keep our people happy and to have them be productive at work and home. I want my people to stay. I don’t want the government to tell me how to run my business. From my perspective, they aren’t running theirs very well and I think it’s time we entrepreneurs speak up.

Contact your local congressmen and women and senators and tell them you are concerned the voice of the small business owner is not being heard. Cite examples like this one from the magazine as proof many leaders are not money-grubbing, selfish people. We are smart business people are trying to get ahead in life. We don’t want a hand out; we just want them to get out of our way.

What do you think?