ASK YOUR OWN QUESTION OF EVERYONE HERE.

I'm leaving this post open for anyone who wishes to as a question of myself or any of the readers. I wish blogs that I read had a question area - because often times I have a question that I know their audience has the knowledge to answer, but there is no formal avenue to do so.

So if you have the need to ask - please do.

Are you 'open' for business?

I had an interesting conversation with Jaimy Weiler, Executive Consultant. Her company's name is One Heart Waking. We were discussing my interpretation of the book/DVD The Secret. Essentially the Secret is the law of attraction. Which I took to mean, positive thinking attracts positive events. Jaimy's position was that my interpretation was too simplistic. I also had to be prepared to open up my inner self to accept positive events. It wasn't enough to just think it possible.

When you visit Jaimy's blog "Light Through The Heart" you will encounter some thought provoking posts. For a business blog - it has very unique commentary. I intend to put her suggestions to work when I encounter business opportunities and see if it affects the reactions I get positively. I found her suggestions for improving my communication skills very profound. She has the ability to identify conflicts deeper in your being. Jaimy has a very intelligent perspective on what is important and what is a waste of time.

Next time I will try to listen to The Secret with my soul, as opposed to my ears.

Wish me luck Jaimy.

Calling all introverts! I need your advice!

If you're in business, chances are you've had to sell something to someone. Maybe it's a product or service. When a lot of people start their businesses and they look forward to building their empire, one thing many of them don't enjoy is selling.

They love to do what it is they do, but selling for many is not a skill they have mastered. They have book shelves filled with books on the subject, have fiddled with sales coaches and taken seminars. BUT, the one thing all of these self-help tools have in common is the assumption that the reader is an extrovert and have no problem stepping up and talking to strangers. NOT SO! Introverts would love to be able to act like extroverts to sell, but have a real struggle even approaching the proper mind set.

THIS IS WHERE I NEED YOUR HELP!

I'm developing an eBook.

I'm looking for great sales stories from introverts, shy people, those of you who struggle to sell.

If you're someone who isn't prone to jumping into the limelight and selling, what have you done to over come your reluctance? Tell the rest of us out there, what successful techniques you've used to jump the reluctance hurdle.

This is your chance to inspire thousands of your fellow business people out there who can finally read genuine tips from real people who are not 'born sales people'.

What's your sales tip?

IAMs what IAMs

Proctor and Gamble have just launched damage control ads in 59 major newspapers explaining the steps that they have taken to ensure their customers that the tainted pet food issue is seriously being addressed. Advertising Age covers this launch nicely.

I hope this effort is successful for Proctor and Gamble, but one issue that alerted me when the event first surfaced was that IAMs wet products were manufactured by Menu Foods. Since I equate Menu with cheap, I was immediately questioning the quality of the IAMs brand. I asked myself, "If IAMs is so superior to other brands, how can that be if it is made by Menu?" Is it just marketing spin? Are all the brands made by one place? I suppose with a little research you could determine where the truth lies. But the bottom line is the superiority of the brand has taken a body blow. Before this event I thought the IAMs brand was the high road, now I view it on the same foot path as every other brand including house brands.

It will be interesting to watch the brand recover. Proctor and Gamble are brilliant when it comes to brand, but this episode is a very serious breach of trust. A perfect opportunity for pet brands NOT involved in the recall. Is your trust in the "premium" pet brands compromized?

Ed