With the stock market fluctuating over 300 points in a day, inflation fears on the rise and oil at an all time high, it is not surprising that companies are beginning to feel the impact of the struggling economy.  If you’re a service provider you will likely feel the effects of the economy’s woes.

How hard your business is hit by this current economic downturn will be, in part, dependent on three critical components of your practice: the relationships you have with your clients; the strength of your relationship system and your personal brand.

How close are your relationships with each of your clients? In this tough economic environment, your clients are probably experiencing some difficult issues. As one of their trusted advisors, they need to know that you are truly on their team.  That means, stay in touch with them. Take the time to simply pick up the phone to see how they’re doing regardless of whether you’re currently doing work for them.  Go out of your way to provide additional value—without charging for it. Clients will remember your efforts and typically reward you with greater opportunities when things start to turn around. 

In a struggling economy, competitors are hustling harder. They hope to find a potential client who is dissatisfied with his current advisor. A client who is happy with your services, and enjoys the strong personal relationship, will not consider moving to another provider.

How strong are your key business relationships? Most service providers depend on referrals for business. As the economy tightens, you’ll need to rely on your key relationships. Networking and collecting more business cards won’t do the trick. If you have 10 or 15 people who can help you with one significant business opportunity over the year, you’re likely to keep your business on a positive track.

What we call a “Level I” relationship is grounded in a strong personal relationship. That person must be working in your market and market segment and they must be as passionate and committed to their business as you are to yours.  It is critically important that you have an explicit agreement to help each other with one significant event over the course of a year. Don’t assume anything.  Agree to meet once a month for a quick cup of coffee to brainstorm opportunities. A face-to-face meeting enhances your commitment to help one another.

How well are you known in the market? You need to be able to stand out from the crowd—especially in a down economy. During troubled economic times, some service professionals panic and lose focus. In an attempt to increase business, they try to be all things to all people.  The result? They lose their “personal brand” and it becomes difficult for others to remember them as experts.

To stand out from the crowd, you must be closely aligned to the market segment you serve. Become an expert in the market and market segment in which you serve by writing and publishing an article, giving talks, being on panel discussions or sending a monthly e-mail offering constructive information. As the expert, people will think of you first and will want to get you involved early on.

There is no question that a down economy presents challenges.  The key to your success is going deep with your clients, having key relationships which will create predictable results and developing your personal brand so that you are top of mind in the market you serve. 

If you are in a service business providing services to clients more than likely your clients have the relationship with you and not necessarily the firm you represent.  People will always do business with people that they feel good about and trust.

As a professional service provider, you are a brand. You probably operate in a highly competitive environment with many competitors all around you.  So why will a client do business with you as opposed to those rest of the”thundering herd”?  Doing excellent work merely gets you to the starting line.  In most cases, clients will choose a service provider that they feel clearly understands their issues and has the ability to supply not only the solutions to those issues but more importantly, will take care of them no matter what circumstances arise.

If you think about it, don’t we all want someone who cares and makes us feel special?  Whether we are dining at a nice restaurant, engaging a lawyer to handle a difficult legal issue or working with our accountant to get our tax returns completed we want to feel special and to feel good about the experience. The only way for that to happen is for the service provider to take an active role in making sure that we not only receive what we bargained for but, that the service was provided in a special way for us without any surprises.

So how can you position yourself as a quality brand? First, make sure that you always do your best work for each and every client.  That tenet is never compromised.  Second, be very clear on who your market is and more importantly, the market segment in which your services and resources are properly matched. Third, be very active in staying on top of the issues that impact your clients and potential clients in which you serve.  Fourth, take an active role within that community by getting involved in industry related organizations. Fifth, work diligently to understand each of your clients and what their personal needs are relative to the services that you provide.  Sixth, communicate clearly and often with your clients to make sure that they are comfortable with the services being provided.  The absolute worst situation is to surprise a client with bad news because of a lack of communication.  Communication can overcome many obstacles.  Lack of communication sends a message that you do not care or that the relationship is not special.

The personal relationship that a service provider has with a client will determine whether that client remains a client in the tough times.  If the client does not believe that you are looking out for their best interests and that you are not treating them as special, that client may move on when the slightest issue arises.  Those issues could include rate increases, fee increases for your services or potentially worse, negative market forces impacting on your firm.  Conversely, if the relationship is strong your client will overlook these issues (within reason) and remain loyal to you.

A case in point was illustrated in a recent article in Businessweek involving the Bear Stearns debacle.  One of the top brokers, Doug Sharon, immediately resigned and sought refuge with Morgan Stanley in order to protect his clients and their assets.  To Mr. Sharon and his clients this was a crisis of epic proportions. Many of Mr. Sharon’s clients remained loyal to him because they were struck by his coolness during such a difficult period.  One client indicated that a competing brokerage firm tried to get him to leave Mr. Sharon and Bear but that he decided to stay with Mr. Sharon because he “handled an uncertain and tumultuous period at Bear Stearns extremely well…He often reminded me of the sanctity and security of my funds”. The client has now moved his account to Morgan Stanley because of Mr. Sharon.  In doing so, he stated “Now I am with Morgan Stanley.  But really I am with Doug Sharon”

Building yourself into a quality brand is good business. What about you? Are you a brand that your clients will stay with not only in the good times but in the more difficult times as well? Review all of your clients and their needs and make sure that you are on track with each of them. Every time you meet with them ask them how you can improve the relationship to give them the best possible service to meet their needs. In all probability they will not be able to come up with anything but they will appreciate that you care and want to give them the very best.

Talent alone will not make you successful and take you to the top in what you want to accomplish. So, what is the difference between those who achieve their goals and those who do not?

One word: Passion. Take one of the world's most accomplished athletes, Tiger Woods, where you can feel his passion for golf and his quest to be the best. I am convinced that all of us have it within us to be great. Whether that greatness is in being a top performing golfer, business owner, service professional or caregiver it is about approaching whatever one does with Passion. Passion is about Preparation, Action, Stretching, Soaring, Inspiring, Opportunity and Now.

Preparation – Those who are committed to what they do study and practice hard to be the best they can be. They understand that it is about “Kaizen” – continuous improvement. Commitment starts with really liking if not loving what you do. When you have that level of interest, you will not only work hard to prepare you will enjoy the experience. Do you love what you do? How well do you prepare? Are you continually looking at ways to improve your offering?

Action – To achieve the greatness within ourselves requires us to take purposeful action. With action, we learn about what works and what does not. It helps to have a clear understanding of where you want to go and how you will get there before you act. Are you clear about your direction? Do you have a plan? Do you take action? Can you measure your success?

Stretch – None of us know how much we can achieve unless we are willing to go outside our comfort zone.  Giving ourselves permission to experience the unknown empowers us.  While it may produce brief anxiety, the exhilaration of experiencing new territory makes it worthwhile.  Remember learning how to ride a two-wheel bike? That was certainly a stretch at the time; but think of how good you felt when you succeeded. Are you willing to take a risk to stretch and allow yourself to experience opportunities which could have a profound long-term impact on your quality of life?

Soar – Being prepared, taking action and pushing our limits allows us to soar to higher levels of personal freedom and thus success.  We exude a sense of assuredness in the way we think and communicate. The higher we soar, the greater likelihood we get the energy we need to accomplish our goals. Often, we will accomplish results beyond what we had originally anticipated.  Do you feel energized?  Are you attracting the high performing people who can help you soar?

Inspire – When you get up every day and love what you do, you create a level of energy that has a positive impact on others. Your actions provide leadership that motivates and encourages others. They want to help you and support you.

Peter Drucker said: “Leadership is not a magnetic personality - that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not making friends and influencing people - that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person's vision to high sights, the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.”

Have you ever been in the presence of an individual who gives off that type of energy?  They make everyone around them better and as a result great things happen.

Opportunity – Opportunity comes to those who prepare for it. All of the preparation and action taken to achieve a specific goal or destination creates enormous opportunities.  It opens doors that we don’t even realize are there. Ability alone will not allow us to take advantage of the opportunity. It requires the energy and determination to succeed. Every window of opportunity that comes our way must be opened by us.  No one will do it for us. 

Now - The power of now is the critical component of passion.  No matter where we have been in our lives we have the power to change and there is no better moment than now.  There are those who wait for things to happen.  Unfortunately, they go through life uninspired and whatever they were waiting for never happens.  Taking action today, doing it now is really the only control we have over the life we want.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said “Nothing is worth more than this day” once it is gone is gone. What about your day?  Is it special?  If not, what can you do today to make it special?

So there you have it. No matter how talented any of us are we need a big dose of passion to be able to set ourselves apart.  Passion is all about loving what you do and doing it the best that you know how each and every day.

Branding is a critical element in differentiating yourself from the rest of the thundering herd.  The elevator speech, which says what you do in 30 seconds or less, is an important component of your overall branding strategy.  None of us get very much time to be memorable and when we get the opportunity, we must be able to deliver.

If you’re a service provider such as an accountant, attorney, or investment banker to name a few, your answer is very important and you only get one shot to be memorable. Every individual is a potential client or referral source so you had better be prepared to say in a memorable 30 seconds or less the service and value you provide.

To do that, take the time to develop your optimum “elevator speech”. Why is it called an “elevator speech”? If you got on an elevator in a 20 story building it would probably take you 30 seconds or less to go from the first floor to the top floor.  If someone got on the elevator with you and asked “what do you do?” you would need to be able to describe creatively and informatively the value you create and who you do it for so that it is long remembered after they depart the elevator.

Your “elevator speech” must be impactful and must be clearly understood in a way that even your grandmother would understand. There are many professionals who do what you do so how can you differentiate yourself in such a short period of time?  The answer is very simple.  It is important to have a memorable “hook”.

For example, if you were a turnaround consultant who helped troubled companies you might respond “I breathe life back into sick companies” or “ I am a doctor for sick companies which need to get better fast”. Typically, a person will probably want to know how you do what you described in your “hook”. You then have the opportunity to share very specifically what exactly is the service and benefits you provide.

It is important to write out your “elevator speech” to get it down to the fewest possible words that will have the most impact. I would suggest that you initially get something down on paper  and then just let it sit for a day or two. When you come back, you will probably make some changes to tighten up and create more focus.  You might repeat this exercise two or three times to make sure that you have it exactly the way you want it.

Writing your elevator speech is only half of the equation.  The way you deliver your elevator speech is critical to making it memorable.  You must be able to deliver it in a way that is effortless and natural.  It must reflect your personality and it must be sincere.  Projecting passion for what you do sends a clear message that you are not just working to make your mortgage payment but that you truly enjoy making a difference for your clients. When you project passion, you will come across as confident, friendly and enthusiastic.  People typically make decisions based upon emotion and what they feel.

Make sure the people you meet throughout your day get what you do and leave you feeling like they want that service from you or want to refer you to someone who needs you---all in 30 seconds or less.

2008 has begun with stormy weather in the economy.  The cyclical change could have a negative impact for many service professionals who have thrived in a growing vibrant economy because they were simply riding the wave of prosperity.  Once the wave recedes, their business quickly dwindles and they are at a loss as to how to continue the success in a tightened market.  Typically, this occurs as a result of a lack of structure. The individual has no plan and therefore has no destination.  Whatever happens… happens. This can be very stressful since it is a complete feeling of being out of control.

So, what are the keys to maintaining a steady course in an uncertain economy?  For that matter, what are the keys to maintaining a steady course in any economy? First and foremost, it is having a written plan that serves as a blueprint for what you want to achieve.  It is clear that those who have a written plan have a much higher chance of success than those who do not.  In a 1979 study by Harvard University of a graduating MBA class they found that 83% of the students had no goals. 14% of the students had goals but had not written them down.  3% of those students had specific written goals.  About 10 years later, the study showed that the 14% who had goals but did not write them down, on average, earned twice as much as those who did not have goals.  The 3% who had written goals earned an average 10 times what other 97% earned.

The study obviously makes a very strong argument for having written goals. But, it is important to note that it is not just written goals that make a difference, it is the vision one creates when the goals are created and written on paper. The key here is that you focus on the things that you want to happen instead of the things that you don’t want to happen.  That is a major difference.  In the absence of written goals your mind will create negative thoughts of things that you do not want to happen.  Inevitably, those negative thoughts will become self-fulfilling prophecies.

To be successful in any economic environment one must act and be SMART in the conduct of their business.  Being SMART is the following:

S = Specific Goals

A written plan must have specific focused goals which provide a description of what you want to accomplish and how you intend to do it which are in line with the vision and the mission of your business.  The goals must state exactly what you intend to accomplish in what markets and what market segments. The description of what you want to accomplish must be easily understood so that you can convey the goals to those who will help you accomplish them.

M = Measurable

A goal is only a goal if it is quantifiable and measurable. Is not a goal to say that you want to “capture manufacturers as clients”.  That in itself is not quantifiable.  To say that you want to capture “15 manufacturers of food products who are doing between five and $50 million in revenue as clients” is a goal which is quantifiable and measurable. It is a target where your progress can be measured during and at the end of the time period you established. Having measurable goals also help you stay the course in the market and market segments that you have chosen that reflect your strengths and the resources you bring to bear.  Those who do not have specific measurable goals typically end up wasting a lot of time. They will grab at anything and as a result, they end up wasting time or they get involved with clients who are not a good match and probably do not contribute margins necessary to be profitable.

A = Achievable

As your goals are developed, it is important that they are attainable over the period of time that you have set to achieve them.  That does not mean that the goals should be easy, quite the contrary, they should be challenging but yet realistic.  The goal should reflect your tenure in your marketplace, the macro-economic environment, the strength of your relationship system and the relative strength of your current book of business. By setting your goals with these issues in mind, your goals will properly reflect where you are in your development and will give you the incentive to push forward. Those who set unrealistic goals quickly abandoned them and revert to what they always have done.

R = Relationship System

A predictable relationship system is a key component to helping you achieve the goals that you have set forth.  None of us can acquire the clients we need to achieve our goals without others making the appropriate referrals. It is very important that you have a focused relationship system which includes key relationships who are operating in your market and market segments and where, there is an explicit agreement to help one another over the course of a year. Those who simply rely on having a lot of people in their contact management system leave their business to chance and typically are disappointed in the results they get.

T = Team

Team stands for “together everyone achieves more”. No matter what the state of the economy is, it is clear that none of us are as strong alone as we are working with others to achieve our respective goals.  It is important to surround yourself with like-minded people who are purposeful and intentional and you understand the benefit of helping each other through each other’s experiences and common purpose. Having others challenge you and motivating you help you not only stay the course but pushes you to go beyond what even you thought you could accomplish.

Success in any economy is about making the right choices.  In a down economy the pie is smaller but there is still a pie and you have the ability to capture your fair share. Competition is fierce and none of us can afford to leave our businesses to chance.  It is critical that you focus on the things that you want to happen not the things that you do not want to happen.  So, where are you?  Are you prepared and on the path to making 2008 a successful year? If you are being SMART in the conduct of your business you give yourself a high probability of success!

I have always found the New Year to be an exciting time for self rejuvenation.  Let’s face it, we all get into a routine during the course of the year and before we know it we are running hard on that hamster wheel of life.  At the end of the year, we have a tendency to look back and say “woulda, coulda, shoulda”. Many times, it is driven by just trying to stay up with everything going on in our lives as opposed to, creating the life we want based on the vision for our life.

Vision plays such an important role in almost everything that we do.  If we can visualize what we want we have a much better probability of achieving the life we want.  As we enter this New Year, think about the things that you really enjoyed and felt good about in terms of what you achieved this past year.  You should also take a look at those areas where you know you were held back and kept you from being fulfilled in living the life you want both in terms of your career and your personal life.

A fulfilled life is about balance.  If we put too much emphasis on either our career or our personal life it will take us out of balance and create unnecessary angst.  The exciting thing about starting a new year is that we can begin again to create a fulfilled life that will give us a sense of accomplishment as well as enjoyment.

Each year many of us make New Year’s resolutions and before we know it we are back to doing what we always do.  Whether it’s promising ourselves we will eat better, exercise more or taking our working lives to a new level, we quickly find ourselves going back to old habits.  It’s not that we don’t want to stick with it, but, things and life get in our way. Many times we are unable to stick with our New Year’s resolutions because they are not part of a grander plan. 

By creating a vision of what we want our life to look like in the New Year and being committed to making that vision a reality, we have a better chance of actually achieving all of our New Year’s resolutions! We are not just taking one part of our life and saying we need to make that change without understanding how it impacts our entire life. Having a vision helps us understand how we want our total life to be and how all the parts fit.  It gives us purpose and understanding and helps us stay committed to our objective.

To create a vision, think about all the parts of your life that are important to you for both your mental and physical well being.  Once you identify all of the parts that are important visualize a scenario that would make you feel very good so that this time next year you can look back and say “I saw, I created, I experienced”. Interestingly, when you are able to live the life you want stress levels dissipate and the endorphins move you into a state of fulfillment.

Once you have a vision for the life that you want in the New Year, you can now begin to identify specific goals and objectives to help you achieve the vision.  Life is not about taking giant steps once in a while, it is about taking small baby steps consistently. Make sure that your goals (New Year’s resolutions) are manageable and specific. As an example, if you have decided that in order to feel fulfilled, you must improve your overall health then look at specific ways that you might be able to accomplish that goal.  It might include an exercise program that is manageable as well as managing nutrition. Remember, your goal is not to make a huge change in a short period of time but rather, to build and sustain a program that will give you long term fulfillment. As you establish your goals make sure they will work for you and help you create the life you want.

In conclusion, I am sure that you will agree the New Year creates wonderful opportunities for all of us! We are afforded the opportunity to wipe the slate clean and to put the pieces in place that will allow us to live the life we want.  Since we are all here for such a short period of time I believe, we need to live life to its fullest.  We must take personal responsibility for our own happiness. How about you? Are you ready to live the life you want?  Can you see it?

May you have a wonderful and exciting 2008!

The only thing that is constant is change. What changes are you looking to make in the upcoming year?

To master both internal and external change in today’s fast-paced world you need to have the right attitude. When you’re willing to face and embrace what’s new and different, then change can be exciting and rewarding. But when you resist, you’ll find yourself fearful and intimidated about how to handle the ever-changing unknown.  The truth is, how you handle change is really up to you.

As we look to the New Year, what changes can you make that will give you that sense of accomplishment and achievement to take your life on the road to self actualization?

To answer that question, we first need to understand what change is all about.  There is a difference between being ready for change and ready  to change. What is the difference? 

Being ready for change simply means that you will accept the changes that someone else has made and assimilate those changes into your life. If company policies change or you are asked to deliver higher expectations you typically brace yourself and deal with the changes that are requested of you. In that case, you have conditioned yourself to be ready for change and accept it because it has been mandated to you. 

Making a commitment to change is very different. It involves taking personal responsibility for your life and what you want to achieve.  It is a mindset and a commitment to yourself that you will do what is necessary to achieve your goals.  It is an understanding that the path to achieve your goals will be bumpy at times, but because of your commitment you will stay the course. Along the way, you will experience failure.  That is a good thing!  It means that you have taken action and that as a result of that action you have learned.  The education will allow you to make better decisions to give you even more strength to achieve your goals.

Once you reach the top of the mountain you will look back and say “it was worth it”. If you haven’t experienced that feeling, then give yourself permission to live the life that you want. 

Life is about learning from your failures and capitalizing on your successes. To do so requires any of us to reflect on where we have been and where we want to go.  What the mind perceives the body can achieve.

So where are you?  In 2008 will you be ready for change or will you be ready to change and achieve a life you deserve? It is your decision and yours alone. Good luck and I wish you the best in 2008!

What Is Your CPI Index©?

I hosted a breakfast recently and one of the attendees was Mark Goulston M.D., a highly respected psychiatrist and author of the best-selling book, “Get Out Of Your Own Way”.  During the breakfast, Mark shared many insightful thoughts on dealing with people and situations.

As part of the discussion, we looked at what it takes for an individual to be successful.  Mark identified three values that he says are consistently present for people who are successful or aspire to be successful.  They are: (a) Clarity (b) Preparation (c) Integrity. As I thought about it, it was clear to me that those who have been successful in our coaching program over the years have developed a high “CPI Index©”.

Individuals who have clarity are neither confused nor confusing when it comes to who they are and what they want.  They are very clear in the goals they have set for themselves and understand what they need to do in order to make those goals a reality. If you have ever had the chance to do business with or work with an individual who has that clarity, you would probably agree that they are self-assured, exude positive energy and make great team members.  On the other hand, if you’ve had the misfortune to do business with or work with an individual who is confused and/or confusing in terms of what they want, they tend to waste people’s time as well as their own and as a result command little if no respect. Typically, that type of person stands for nothing and you probably moved on from having any type of relationship.

Individuals who properly prepare do not shoot from the hip. They think long and hard about what they want to accomplish and how they will get it done.  They have a plan and they execute. By doing their due diligence on the front end, they are better prepared to create a positive result whether it is in a business relationship, as a member of a team, or an employee within an organization.  By being properly prepared, they understand that even if they get knocked off course they will be able to get back on and pick up where they left off.  Those that are not prepared have no idea what their course might be and as a result when they get knocked off, they simply cannot come back because there is no destination.  Prepared individuals bring solutions to problems.  Unprepared individuals seemingly “whine” without a constructive solution. Individuals who are prepared are self-assured, exude energy and are the people that most people want to be around.

Individuals who have integrity are the type of individuals we all want to be around!  These are the individuals who do what they say they are going to do.  They are the individuals who stay the course no matter what the circumstances might be because they are committed to their business, their family or their cause.  We all have come across those who talk a good game but when the “rubber meets the road”, we find that their substance is weak or nonexistent.  In life, we all have opportunities and challenges.  It is easy to stay the course when things are going good.  It is when we hit a pothole in the road that throws us off course that really tests our commitment to ourselves and to those around us.  Most people want to know that we will be there when the chips are down.  Our integrity is everything!  We spend a lifetime building it and it only takes one situation where we did not live up to our commitment to tear it down.  Any of us who are in business and particularly those of us who are service providers know that our reputation and integrity are the foundation of the services and value that we create for our clients and customers. We, who hold that dear, will not tolerate anyone who lacks integrity.

Now that we have defined clarity,preparation and integrity, how do you stack up?  What is your “CPI Index©”? On a scale of one to 10 measure you on each of these values.  One would be” negligible” with 10 being “outstanding”. After assessing where you are, identify one or two things that you could do each and every day to live these values to their fullest.  None of us are perfect.  All of us can improve because we are all challenged each and every day. My experience suggests that those who make the conscious effort to live these values are the professionals who are attracted to our ProGrowth TEAM Community. What about you? Are you clear about what you want? Will others say that you have a strong CPI Index©? If so, you are tracking to a highly successful career and I wish you much success!

I spent some time with a 2 year ProGrowth TEAM member the other day and together, we reviewed his relationship system. He was proud of the fact that he has developed 10 Level I relationships over the last 2 years but was lamenting that he is not getting the results he wants.

The relationship system for a service professional is the distribution system. It exists and overlays on top of the business objectives. The only reason it exists is to capture the clients that have been identified in specific markets and market segments.

The member and I reviewed each Level I for the purpose of determining if the Level I relationships he developed were on point with the markets and market segments he was focusing on to capture the needed clients to achieve his revenue and income goals.

After a careful analysis, he concluded that only three of the 10 were actually going to be able to meet the plan needs. The other seven were really not on point with the clients he wants to capture. His comment was “I have some work to do”! The good news is that he now understands where he needs to focus his efforts in developing his relationship system.

The moral of the story is; just because you have a great personal relationship with another professional and they are purposeful and intentional like you, do not assume or hope that they will be able to be a Level I relationship. The person must be in your market and market segment (“playing in your sandbox”) to qualify. Do not rush the Level II process. Make sure the person has all the tickets to be a true Level I relationship before you attempt to convert to a Level I relationship.

I am excited and confident that with the recent launching of ProGrowth 2.0 you now have all the tools at your disposal to help you create, develop and execute a plan to achieve the two primary goals we all have; (1) How much personal income do I want to make (2) How much revenue must I produce to achieve my income goal? You have your own personal “Command & Control Center” which will help you stay on track; stay connected with your TEAM and the community at large.

A Harvard Business School study found:
• 83% of the population does not have any clearly defined goals.
• 14% have goals but not written down.
• 3% of the population has goals that are written down.

The study concluded that the 3 percent that did have written goals were earning an astounding 10 times that of the 14% percent group. Our experience working with service professionals just like you over the last ten years have shown that individuals with written goals also tend to have better health and happier personal lives than those without goals. Written goals create personal commitment.

All of us must be responsible for our own success but the good news is that we do not need to do it alone. We have 14 others who are willing to help along the way. In order for you to participate fully on your TEAM and for the TEAM to count on you, your commitment is very important. Commitment means that you have a plan for yourself, that you are committed to executing that plan, that you will faithfully participate and find ways to help TEAM members accomplish their goals.

The TEAM meeting is a “business” meeting not a “networking “meeting. That is what makes this program different. It is about 15 people coming together each month who trust in one another and are willing to “put it out there” to help one another. It requires that all members are committed to the TEAM and are also committed to their individual success.

Starting in August, we will be conducting a monthly webinar for all new members and any existing member who would like to learn the ProGrowth System better in order to get the best possible results. I will be sharing little ideas and experiences that will enhance your ability to build and manage the practice/ you want. I will also be giving additional advice on things like getting the most from your relationship system and how to manage it properly.  Look for an announcement in the next week for the webinar date.

As always, I look forward to your comments and suggestions to make our community better!

Wishing You Much Success,

Ken Potalivo