Sales Training and Lead Generation Marketing

Written by Scott Metcalfe

The Best Kept Investing Secret of 2009

Psst...want in on the investing secret of 2009? Want to know where to invest your hard earned dollars for superior returns? Want to know the one area of investment you have complete control over? The one area where you are nearly guaranteed to have an above average rate of return?

Well guess what? This secret investment doesn’t involve Wall Street, publicly traded companies, bonds, hedge funds, derivatives, real estate or any of the other investment vehicles that have drained money from your pocket while putting a big smile on the face of CEOs who have moral and ethical compasses that are more than just a little off-course.

The secret investment area of course is YOU and your company! Surprised? Well you shouldn’t be. Think about your “retirement account”. Makes you sick right? If you’re like most people, 2008 saw your 401k transformed into a 201k by “investing”.

The meat grinder

Imagine what would have happened to your hard earned money if you had invested a portion of it in developing your skills and in lead generation marketing for yourself and your business instead of letting it evaporate in the market or in real estate? Yeah, that’s right you would probably have seen a 10, 20, 30% or greater return on investment.

So why is it that you consider things like training and lead generation an expense while you let total strangers evaporate (I mean “invest”...Ha!) your money for you?

Doesn’t make much sense Einstein, does it?

So what’s holding you back on making an investment in yourself? Why are you not investing in the one thing you have total control over? Are you looking for a guarantee? Oh don’t make me laugh! Did your 201k come with a guarantee?

Maybe things are a little tight right now. Is that it? Let me get this straight... after all you’ve seen, after all the money your “investments” have lost you would rather leave what’s left of your money in the hand’s of the Wall Street wizards than INVEST a portion in yourself?

Hello...do you realize how stupid that sounds?

Your Investment Doesn’t Have to Break the Bank

You don’t necessarily need to invest a lot of money to generate a nice return on your business, especially if you are willing to leverage your monetary investment with time and effort. That’s always the trade-off right?

Three Low Cost to No Cost Ideas:

1. Buy a book on selling (or go to the library), read it and implement what you’ve learned. A quick scan through Amazon will reveal literally thousands of titles. Read some of the reviews and grab one that your peers love. One book I’ve recently read that really opened my eyes to the power of optimism is a book called Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman.

2. Subscribe to selling and marketing enewsletters. You can have a wealth of expertise and knowledge delivered to your email box every week, probably everyday if you care to, absolutely free.

3. Attend teleseminars and webinars. Again many experts hold free or low cost teleseminars and webinars (this author included) on a monthly or quarterly basis. You’ll be pleasantly surprised just how much practical knowledge is being shared during these educational events.

Of course, if you don’t have a lot of time and effort to use as a lever you can always invest more money and have a professional deliver the results for you.

Are You a Winner or a Wimp?

2009 holds tremendous promise and potential for winners. Those individuals and businesses that realize that the first investment they should be making is in skill development and lead generation even if it means that they don’t invest in their “retirement” accounts.

So while, the wimps wallow in the negativity pablum that is overflowing the media trough, the winners will be grabbing market share, closing sales and having a banner year.

Oh, about that guarantee... When you are investing in yourself you are directly involved, maybe even directly responsible with how well that investment performs. If you’re someone who isn’t comfortable being held accountable for decisions and performance then this may be a little disconcerting. However, if you are a “winner” then I’m sure you’ll agree there is no better place to invest your hard earned money than in yourself or your business.

Scott Metcalfe -
	Scott Metcalfe, President of Empire Consulting. Scott began his professional selling career in 1988 going from salesmen, to Vice President of Sales and Marketing, to entrepreneur and business owner. Along the way Scott has received numerous selling and marketing awards and conducted business in the United States, Canada and Europe. Lately, Scott's energy has been focused on developing and perfecting cost effective lead generation strategies for small to medium sized businesses. Visit www.marketingprofits40.com Read More >>
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