One of their examples is not sending in rebate offers. We must confess to missing out on this opportunity before. But how long does it really take to fill out the form and send it in?

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Manufacturers know that a lot of us will figure that rebate into the price when we buy the item. However, we’ll never actually get around to sending in the form.

It’s a promotion without a deal!

One behavior may look like another

Have you ever noticed that people who are shy often get labeled “stuck up”? The two can look very similar on the surface.

The author of the article blames this on laziness. We wonder if it could be something else. Using the rebate example, what really caused you to miss out on that rebate?

Was it laziness or disorganization?
Maybe you got home, set down the rebate form and then it got buried underneath a pile of papers. It wasn’t laziness that caused you to miss out, it was lack of organization.

Was it laziness or different priorities?
Maybe there were fifteen other things on your to-do list. The next thing you knew, the rebate period had expired. It wasn’t laziness; it was that other things were more important.

Was it laziness or inertia?
Perhaps you have a routine and filing this rebate in a timely manner doesn’t fit it. Or you’re not good at following up on things in general. The ebb and flow of your daily activities doesn’t allow time for these intermittent events.

Was it laziness or a lack of understanding?
Could it be that you haven’t translated that $50 rebate into dinner out? You don’t see the benefit of filling out the form. If we were talking about something more complex, maybe you just don’t understand the task at hand.

Was it laziness or too much ambition?
It’s interesting that the reason you didn’t fill out the rebate form and mail it in could be the opposite of laziness. You may be so busy pursuing your goals that you really don’t have time for anything else. 

You have to diagnose properly to find the right prescription.

Seek to discover the real underlying reason why you aren’t accomplishing something. Be careful with labels. When you come up with a label, ask yourself if it could be something else in disguise.

Price isn’t the only factor

“Getting the best rate on your savings account” was first on their list. To get the best rate, they advise you to check with online banks because they often pay better rates than local banks.

It’s reasonable advice, except it strikes us that this article was written for entrepreneurs. It makes price (or in this case, return) the only issue.

What about that local bank that supports your local community which supports you?

Doesn’t that count for anything?

Our advice is to build a relationship with a banker so, when you need money to grow your business, you’ll have a place to go.

We understand this mindset of maximizing returns. But you have to be careful not to see the world too simplistically. There are more factors at play.

This doesn’t just apply to local banks. How about local stores and local restaurants? We have nothing against chains, many of which are franchises with local owners.

Local business supports local communities. Shouldn’t that be part of your buying decision?

We’re coming out of a period of time where we put profit above people. Isn’t it time that we all think about our community along with commerce?

If you’re a local business person or just an engaged member of your community, that’s a part of bigg success!

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Thanks so much for reading our post today. Please join us next time when we’ll discuss charging more for your services. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

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Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
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(Image in today's post by svilen001)

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A lot of entrepreneurs thrive on bending the rules so the starting point isn’t always obvious. You have to create the rules – the operating system – so you will have time to work on your business in the future.

You begin to develop those systems that will make delegation to your future employees more effective. To do that, ask yourself three questions:

• What is your vision of the perfect transaction?
  Map out a transaction from beginning to end. Think about what you want your customers to experience during each step of the process. This will include: your advertising, the first interaction, and the closing of the transaction. But don’t forget to include what happens internally to support the transaction and follow-up with the customer.

• What is your customers’ picture of the perfect transaction?
  With your vision in mind, you begin discovering exactly what your customers are looking for. You’ll likely find that your customers focus on much smaller things than you do. For example, they may want to have their change counted back in a certain way as we talked about on a recent show.

But here’s the interesting thing when you bring your customers’ perspective in – every customer probably has one or two little things that they really like. If you can gear your organization to make that one customer happy on that one point, you’ll probably thrill the rest of your customers by doing it! They probably want it, too. They just haven’t vocalized it.

• How can you improve one thing one percent?
  Take your bigg picture and bring in all the things that your customers have told you and begin working on one at a time.

We have a confession to make … these three questions aren’t ours. They come straight out of Ken Blanchard’s Raving Fans. It highlights these three questions through a great story and we highly recommend that you read his great book.

So these three questions will improve your performance, help you develop your operating systems, and keep you focused on the most important people in your business – your customers.

Putting it to work

Now you want to improve one thing one percent. We saw a great example of this in action. A company had their entire process mapped out on the wall of their conference room.

They had all these sticky notes up on the wall. Each sticky note represented something they wanted to test – something that represented a potential one percent improvement. These suggestions had been made by customers and by employees.

They get on board because they can see that their suggestions are being considered. More than that, they may get tested. The test results may call for full implementation!

It makes your employees feel like they’re a significant part of something bigger. They are valued. That leads to bigg success with your employees. 

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Thanks for checking in on us today. Join us next time as we make a special announcement – a new beginning for Bigg Success. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

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Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
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(Image in today's post by tulp)

According to Newsweek (June 7, 2004), the average American loses 55 minutes EVERY day searching for things they can’t find. We thought that particularly appropriate as we prepare to “spring forward” this weekend, here in the U.S. We’ll “lose” an hour this weekend, but you can get it back every day!

Clutter can cost you more than time. You may have to pay late fees if your bills don’t get paid on time. If you miss appointments, relationships can be damaged. In some places, clutter is so pervasive that people have been injured when they tripped over it!

4 clutter-busters to save you time and money!

#1 – Use it or lose it.
If in doubt, throw it out! Many people do the opposite – they keep it unless they know they won’t use it. Apply the six-month rule. Have you used it in the last six months? Do you KNOW that you’ll use it in the next six months? If the answer is “no” to both of those questions, then lose it!

If it’s a document that you need to maintain, consider scanning it. Electronic storage takes up a lot less space!

#2 – Make a place for everything and keep everything in its place.
After the first tip, you should have a lot less to put away now. Find a place for everything you keep. Once you’ve put it there, keep it there. When you use something, put it back immediately after you’re done with it. Make it a habit.

#3 – Call on a pro.
You may not be the “do-it-yourself” type. Or maybe you just don’t have a knack for organization. Check out the National Association of Professional Organizers. You can search for organizers in your area and find some great tips on hiring a specialist.

#4 – Once you get uncluttered, make sure you don’t re-clutter.
Daily maintenance is the key. Create a system for handling incoming items like your mail, newspapers, and periodicals. For example, you may open your mail over your shredder. Sort any mail you save by action date and file it appropriately. When today’s newspaper is here, yesterday’s is gone. Same with magazines.

Clutter may be a symptom of a bigger problem.
There’s one final note we wanted to make about clutter – clutter may not be the problem. It may be a symptom of this bigger problem …

If you find yourself diving right into your next project immediately after finishing your last project because you’re up against yet another tight deadline, you’re too busy!

Start living on human time. Stop expecting too much from yourself.

Being clutter-free is good for your well-being. It helps you think more clearly. It can save you an hour a day! So schedule some time to attack the clutter and prevent it from coming back!

Do you have some de-cluttering tips to share? Leave us a Comment. We’ll gladly accept your help!

Our bigg quote today comes from educator and author, Dr. Laurence J. Peter:

We’d like to come up with a witty comment about our bigg quote, but our mind’s blank!

Next time, we’ll interview a business networking expert who will share his 3 keys to effective networking. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

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Resolve this year to be more than a goal-setter. Be a goal-getter. That’s why Bigg Success has the second “g” – it’s the place for goal-getters.

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There’s a great example of a goal-getter from history – Ben Franklin. He is one of our favorite historical figures here at Bigg Success. What a life he lived! He accomplished so much – inventor, author, politician, diplomat, and much, much more!

He also can teach us something about getting goals. As a young man, he wanted to be perfect. So he developed a list of thirteen virtues that he wished to acquire.

An interesting side note is that he found order to be the toughest virtue to obtain. It’s nice to know that even Ben struggled with organization!

At first he tried to acquire all thirteen virtues at once. He failed miserably. Here’s Ben, in his own words:

“While my care was employed in guarding against one fault, I was often surprised by another; habit took the advantage of inattention; inclination was sometimes too strong for reason.”

Apparently, habits were as hard to break 200 years ago as they are now!

To combat this, he developed a system. Each week, he focused on one goal. He tracked them all, but he primarily concerned himself with just one.

He developed a single sheet of paper for each week. The days of the week were across the top. The thirteen virtues went down the left side. Then he recorded every instance where he failed to live up to his virtue. Each week, each day, he started with a clean slate. If you want to see it, we have a copy of Ben Franklin’s Virtuous System [PDF].

So what can you learn from Ben Franklin?

• You can’t expect what you don’t inspect.

After you’ve set your goals for the year, be sure to use a system that reports your results. You won’t always live up to your plans, but you can see the progress you’re making if you have a system like Ben’s.

• Intention + Attention = Manifestation.

It starts with setting your goals. Then you have to keep your goals constantly in front of you. That’s one of the secrets to making sure you reach them.

• Focus on one goal at a time.

If you try to reach all of your goals at once, you’re sure to fail. So focus on one, and then move on to the next one.

• Don’t beat yourself up.

Ben Franklin started each day with a clean slate. If he didn’t live up to his expectations that day, he knew that tomorrow he would start with no blemishes. Day by day – that’s how you get your goals!

Our Bigg Quote is by none other than Ben Franklin himself:

“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors,
and let every new year find you a better man.”

Resolve to make this year your best year ever.

Next time, with New Year’s Eve coming, we’ll give you a suggestion on how to put your cocktail napkin to good use. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes. 

Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed.

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00034-122707.mp3

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