On any given holiday take time to reflect on your journey and your secrets to success.

This past week was remarkable (stories immediately below) having learned three important lessons.

1. For the first time in my life, this week, a doctor told me I was at the perfect weight. After so many years battling the problem, my final changes were reading the book and beginning to eat for my blood type followed by not eating anything with preservatives and switching to organic food. As the weight began to shed, exercise became easier and easier and feeling good became a way of life.

2. Ever since the bottom fell out of the economy, I experimented with new strategies to re-position my business, take control and once again attract more sales. I learned with the click of a mouse utilizing social media and appropriate messaging, the world could be at my doorstep. I became focused on attraction and heart-based selling.

3. A recent graduate with no prospects of getting work due to her lack of experience contacted me. We spoke about her frustrations and I coached her on what she could do to turn the corporate objections around. I wanted her to have equal opportunity. My book HIRED! will be published in October so I sent her a copy of my first book “Nice Girls DO Get The Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results”.

It was important for her to understand that sales skills are important in every venue and how to utilize them. Yesterday, she wrote that by my helping her, she was able to secure an incredible opportunity. Her email was testimony to what I had been working on all of these years!

What do all of these vignettes have in common, the lessons learned and tips for your success?

A. Never give up – keep pursuing new ideas that might work
B. Ask for help and collaborate
C. Work for the benefit of others

When you are of the mindset to pursue these 3 tips and find others who operate in similarly – mastermind and collaborate. You will attract more prospects, clients and sales. The underlying marketing-communication message is you are available to help others whether it’s on a job or as an entrepreneur. The road may be a tiny bit slower upfront, but when everything is in place and you build relationships with everyone, your rewards will grow exponentially in terms of repeat business, referrals and testimonials.

Business development becomes automatic and you experience the Smooth Sale!

Are your decisions attracting the right opportunities?

The strategy behind this one endeavor we undertake on a daily basis is so often overlooked yet profoundly affects our outcome. So whether you are seeking employment, clients or a significant other – prior to making a decision, you need to prioritize what is most important before making your decision.

This is true even of how you plan your vacations. I just returned from speaking at a convention in Paris, France (must brag – it was very well received)! My husband and I planned a vacation traveling through Provence prior to the event. While it was great to be away, we quickly realized we no longer can travel as if we are in our 20′s – it was truly exhausting. If we had given thought to our plan, we would not have been as ambitious but rather remained in one or two locations and leisurely enjoyed those areas.

When undertaking career or business decisions, you need to think ahead of what your desired outcome will look like. Then work out a plan for achieving your goals, carefully planning each phase so that no step is overlooked and career or business development is steady.

In this manner you will be more relaxed and feel as if you are on vacation thus attracting additional prospects, clients and sales. Your relaxed communication style will become your marketing message that you are easy to work with.

Planning ahead, being mindful of your clientele and building relationships are what help you to achieve the Smooth Sale!