Are You a Loser?

Good afternoon and I hope life is treating you well on your side
of the screen. Today I have an important question to ask you
that's going to require some brute honesty and much introspection.
Are you ready? OK, here we go:

Are you a loser?

Have you ever heard that little voice in your head that tells
you what a loser you are? That no matter how hard you try, that
you can never hope to win?

With the sad state of the economy and unemployment at all new
highs, it's easy to see why so many people, including myself,
have felt like a loser at one time or another.

I've a confession to make. For me, it starts every morning when
I wait with my kids for the school bus to arrive. As we're
talking about our day, I always look at our home's exterior with
a critical eye.

Mind you, when we moved in 1999 I dropped $150K on external
improvements, but 11 years later it still needs lots of work. To
most people I'm sure my house looks beautiful. It's 4500 square feet
on almost an acre of land on a corner lot with plenty of landscaping
and hundred year old trees. I should be grateful for what God has
given me, but I'm not.

Why? Because when I look at my house, all I can see are the
blemishes -- the areas that are in dreadful disrepair -- the wood
siding that has become rotten and needs to be replaced, holes from
woodpeckers that need to be patched, a leaky roof, a front porch that
needs to be painted, a front door that needs to be replaced, and so
much more.

I see all the bad things and hear the little voice say, "You are
such a loser! You can't even take care of your own house!"

It gets worse when I hang out with my kids in the upstairs
playroom. This is a room we have grown to love as a family, but
lately I've only seen the blemishes -- the cracked ceiling and water
spots from the leaky roof, the nails breaking through the sheet rock,
the stains on the carpet, and most recently, the dead 40 inch, 200
pound Mitsubishi TV that needs to be replaced. It stares at me
incessantly with its one square giant cyclops eye and says, "You are
a loser! You can't even afford to buy a new TV!"

That little voice gets old. But it sure is convicting -- if you
let it be.

The trick is to remember you are not a loser.

Times are tough. Disposable funds are hard to come by. It always
seems you have just enough -- just in time. And it's easy to only
see the blemishes -- in your house, in your business, and in your
personal life.

You are not a loser.

The key is not to let yourself get caught up in the negativity.
A challenge for sure -- but you can do it!

When that little voice in your head starts telling you what a
loser you are, remind yourself of the good things you have done.
Balance the score card and then tip it in your favor.

Now your sensitive spot may not be your house. It might be your
business. Perhaps you've gotten it started and taken it as far
as you can.

Or perhaps you thought you had a good idea for a product or
service, but you haven't been able to make a go of it.

That's when that little voice may be saying you are a loser.

Stop. Don't get caught up the in the self-defeatist attitude or
the misery.

Worrying and anxiety never solved anything, and feeling sorry
for yourself never added another day -- or dollar -- to your life
or anyone else's.

Step back and try to gain a new perspective.

If your business is causing you heartache, then ask yourself why
people are not buying from you.

Be critical but fair. Put yourself in the prospect's place. How
does your sales pitch compel them to learn more, to contact you
for more information, or to make the purchase?

What roadblocks are preventing your prospects from buying your
product or service?

Take it step by step. Walk yourself through the process. Are you
leaving doubts in the minds of your prospects? If so, how can you
remove the doubts?

For some web sites, it's not he message that's the problem. It's
the purchase process.

Do you make it easy for people to buy from you? For instance,
with my electronic publishing business, EbookoMatic.com, a
prospect used to create their account, then make the purchase through
ClickBank, and then return to my site to log in and begin using the
service. Not easy. I know because I tracked the number of people who
abandoned the process midway -- too long and too complicated. So I
made it easier. Now they go to the site, click one button to purchase
their membership with PayPal, and I set-up their account immediately
and send them their login info along with a personal thank you message.

For many other businesses, they never ask for the business. They
just pack their site with product and service info and they never
have a call to action: "Call (xxx) yyy-zzzz for more information
today!" -- "Click here to make your purchase now!" -- "Click here
to schedule a free appointment!"

None of this is rocket science and even the smallest of changes
like these can make a big difference to the success of your
business and profitability.

So the next time you look at your house -- or your business --
or your life -- and you hear that little internal voice call you
a loser, stop and gain new perspective. Remind yourself you are not
a loser. Remind yourself of the good things you have done and
accomplished. Then step back and look for the roadblocks and start
removing them.

You can do it. I believe in you.

And if I can help you in any way, shape or form, please feel
free to reach out by emailing me at info@schneiderman.net.

Until next time,


Steven

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Schneiderman Marketing, LLC, 1811 South Baltimore, Suite 203, Tulsa, OK 74119, United States