Saturday, August 28, 2010

Results Count

My company’s Atlanta Women in Business unit has awarded “Results Count” to individuals and corporations since 2004.

Companies nominated for the award are recognized for their awareness of the value of the contributions their female employees make to the enterprise, by promoting them to supervisory, managerial and executive positions. Individual nominees are women whose businesses experience growth and increased profitability and who consistently make positive contributions to their communities.

The recipients of the 2010 Atlanta Women in Business Results Count award will be recognized during a January 20, 2011 luncheon.

Contact me for more information.
Lya Sorano
770-455-8088
lyasorano@lyasorano.com


 

Friday, August 27, 2010

"Get Clients Now!" workshops

Since becoming a Get Clients Now! licensee, I conducted my first workshop last week, with seven outstanding students. I can't wait to see their progress, or to do the next workshop.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Mama Grizzlies Speak For Themselves

Thank you, Emily's List, for this campaign. And Pat, for bringing it to my attention.

Opportunity Meets Motivation - The Book

In the interest of transparency . . ., this book is a project of my organization, Atlanta Women in Business, conceived in 2008 and now in print in 2010.

It would not have come into being without the perseverance of Project Manager Angela Durden, whose “hands-off” message to the organization was 100% respected.

Her story, combined with those of Marla Brown, Eleanor Morgan and Peggy Parks, is what makes this book an inspiration, really a “kick in the pants”, for any American woman who has ever dreamed of starting a business of her own and thought there were just too many obstacles in her way. These four women started businesses of their own, creating success for themselves, their families and their employees, and had fun in the midst of lots of hard work. You can do it, too!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Oh, Those Stupid Prospects! -:)

If, in your efforts to sell a product or service, your message to your prospects is that they are stupid not to recognize the benefits and hand over their wallet right away, you have already lost the sale!

This happened to me last night. A bubbly, nicely-dressed, middle-aged woman with a book, some magazines and a stack of brochures in her hands approached me, introduce herself and told me she has this “great new product that all women need, full of anti-oxidants and other anti-aging ingredients”. She handed me a brochure and I asked her: “Is this acai?” “Yes”, she said and turned up the heat on her anti-aging message. I handed her the brochure back and told her “Thanks, but this is not for me.”

At that point she should have moved on.

Instead, she kept talking about “this great product.” And a “great company” – “bigger than Microsoft and (some other companies she named).”

She knew nothing about me. I could have been selling the same snake oil. Or a competitor’s snake oil, or own the factory where the snake oil is made. All she knew was that, by appearance, I was in her target market. “How many fruits have you eaten today?”, she wanted to know. “Two so far”, I told her (not counting the piece of lime in the drink in my hand). “I’ve already had 13”, she enthused, and went on and on about this miracle product. “It’s very fresh; they bottle it within hours of harvesting the berries”. And on, and on, and on, “educating” me on all these fantastic things I knew nothing about (she assumed), that could improve my health and extend my life, if I would only begin using that product – after buying it from her, of course.

Finally, she moved on to her next victim – uh, “prospect”.

Three messages for anyone reading this:
* Do not go to a networking event with the purpose of making a sale.

* Do not attempt to sell something – anything, in any setting – to a person you don’t know and are just meeting for the first time.

* “No” means “no” – move on!

MeetUp in John's Creek

Dan ("Mountain Man") Easton, Judy Harper and I were among some 50 attendees at Dagmar Sands's program in John's Creek last week. Congratulations, Dagmar, with this success; it is not easy these days to hold monthly events to which people return time and again. You ought to bottle and sell the formula!