Costco Connection

FRESHviews

RHONDA ABRAMS:

STRATEGIES

Gender game MEN ARE MEN. Women are not. This sounds obvious, but in business it’s not always addressed. Especially considering that women make or influence more than 94 percent of purchases. That is the premise of a book by Costco member Delia Passi, with A.B. Aronson. Winning the Toughest Customer: The Essential Guide to Selling to Women (Kaplan Publishing, 2006) explores the differences between gender-based decisions and offers clear advice on building relationships with your female customers. Topics include: • Gender differences and strategy • Effective communication techniques • Relationship building • Strategic positioning • Closing the deal • The added value of brand-loyal women For more from Passi, see www.medelia.com.

Rhonda Abrams’ newest book is Successful Business Research. For more tips, see www. PlanningShop.com.

Spring-cleaning
for your life

IS YOUR SPRING-CLEANING project beginning to look like it’s going to be a summer-cleaning project? If you’re like me, promises to yourself to clean off your desk and get better organized typically slip to the bottom of your “to do” list. Recently, however, I spent a full day cleaning off my desk, and it’s given me some perspective on the whole notion of getting organized.

Neat is not the same as organized. I have piles of papers on my desk, but I know where everything is. So do many other entrepreneurs, salespeople and creative people.

That’s because many of us are the “out of sight, out of mind” kind of people. If I put something in a drawer, I may never remember it.

Get rid of stuff. While clean isn’t the same as organized, messy isn’t necessarily the same as organized, either. If you’re going to keep stuff in files, make certain the stuff you keep is important. Decide as quickly as you can whether you’re really going to need something. Get rid of stuff regularly. Cull those piles or those files.

Urgent is not the same as important.

In your business and your life, you’re going to have many pressing tasks: phone calls, e-mail, crises that have to be responded to immediately. But tasks you have to do now are not necessarily the most important things in the long run. Whether you’re building a business or nurturing a family, important things often take careful attention but don’t have deadlines. Remember what’s truly important.

Set regular times for important activities. Establish a definite schedule for the things that are truly important in your business and your life—whether it’s a staff meeting, sending out invoices, networking with important referral sources, having a date with your spouse, reading

with your kids or exercising. You’re much more likely to take care of these if you have them on your calendar at a set time weekly or monthly.

The key to getting organized is to make sure you attend to those things that are truly important, throw out stuff you don’t need and stop beating yourself up just because you have a pile of papers on your desk! C ARTVILLE/ART GLAZER

Staying positive in a negative world

READ INTERVIEWS with successful people and you’ll find that a common denominator is a “glass half full” type of personality. For those who tend to look at things in a “glass half empty” way, help is available.

In a self-published book,

54 Ways to Stay Positive in a Changing, Challenging and Sometimes Negative World,

Costco member JoAnna Brandi offers simple and entertaining ways to change your thinking.

These examples from the book, hand-selected by Brandi, a writer, public speaker and business consultant, will start you on your way to a more positive attitude.

Expect miracles. Miracles

do happen, but mostly to those who believe in them.

Amuse yourself. Practice the art of childlike-ness. Keep your mind on the cusp of curiosity.

Be blessed. Write down names of people and things that are blessings in your life and read these at night to put you in a positive state for sleep.

Reframe. Look at things in different ways. You might like the view from a different angle.

Dial-a-wallow. When you can’t get out of a bad mood,

make a deal with a friend to listen to a few minutes of your wallowing. You get an allotted amount of uninterrupted time to vent. Your friend provides support with no criticism or

advice. Say thank you and get off the phone. The friend gets a reciprocal turn another time.

Sing happy songs. Make a tape, CD or playlist (for your music player) of songs that elicit happy memories. If you feel yourself slipping into negative territory, play the songs and sing along.

Take a tourist day. Make a list of the great places your town or city has to offer. Now take a day and go sightseeing. Dress like a tourist and bring your camera. It’s an instant vacation.