OK, stop where you are and say this out loud...

I’m sick and tired of not making the money I deserve, and I’m not gonna take it any more!

Good. Now we have the mindset we need to step out of our comfort zone and make the changes necessary to create professional success. Now right now some of you are shifting in your seats a bit. Did she say step out of my comfort zone. Uh-oh. What does that mean? What does she mean “changes”?

I mean CHANGE, SHIFT, ALTER. Rethink what we’ve been doing. This scares the crap out of many of us. Change is one of the most feared concepts in life. Yet to expect a different result from the same actions is the definition of lunacy. And are you getting the complete results you want? Probably not, or you wouldn’t be reading this.

We all want to make more money, have more clients, get more respect for the value we bring to our work. Well then we need to change a few things.

First we need to be ready to get a realistic view of how others see us in the market place. You need to be tough enough to open yourself up to hear the good and the bad. Honestly, candidly, and objectively. How often do we get a chance to hear what people really think of us. A chance to be a fly on the wall and hear the opinions of others without restrain. Seldom, very seldom. It’s a little scary isn’t it? This is barrier number 1. Are you willing to push past it in order to gain the single most valuable insight you will ever get into your potential for success?

Think about it. When Kraft creates a new food product. They need to test market it. They want to know if people really like it. They don’t want people to sugar-coat their opinions or be afraid to hurt their feelings. This could cost them millions of wasted dollars in production, packaging and advertising if the product doesn’t sell. So why are you willing to go out and sell your services, spending your time and money, without doing the same exercise?

And do you really think your clients and peers will be completely honest if you asked them? Most won’t. There are any number of reasons why people aren’t completely honest when asked for feedback or an evaluation: fear of insulting you, fear of your emotional response to their feedback, laziness (it’s easier to give superficial platitudes than to give thoughtful honest response), just to name a few.

In my 15+ years of using this exercise I have found 3 typical and very interesting results from surveys:
1. The results are often overwhelmingly supportive of good ideas and good people.
2. The negative responses are typically very surprising to the "surveyor"
3. The negative responses are typically exactly what is holding back the product or person from success.

So how do you get candid, honest feedback? You must give the respondent the opportunity to be ANONYMOUS. They have to trust that you won’t know the comments came from them. How can you do this? Corporations use market research groups to conduct surveys. You can too, but they are very expensive for individuals. To help my clients I created an online survey tool that sends the survey via email to your requested respondents and allows them to respond via an online form that provides complete anonymity. It’s only pennies on the dollar of the cost of traditional methods and provides priceless insight into your professional image and products. The more people you send the survey to the more accurate picture you receive and it doesn’t cost you any more to send 100 surveys than it does for 25. The service is as low as $14.95 for a one month subscription. I advise my clients to use the service once a year to see how their efforts are helping to mold their image. $14.95 once a year to give you the inside scoop on your personal assets. There’s no better investment in your time or money out there to generate profits!

Once you’ve unlocked the secrets to your assets, it’s all how you position them and accentuate them to translate into success. You have to start now though. Don’t guess at how others perceive you. Survey. Find out what they really think! And then use it to make decisions that make sense!

Tell me more about how to survey (with or without your tool). Click Here.