I remember being in 9^th grade algebra class and having to learn lots and lots of formulas.

I absolutely HATED it! To me it was a total waste of my time.

Why?

Well, for one thing, I couldn’t see for the life of me how that stuff was ever going to help me.  I couldn’t see myself ever actually using a single one of those formulas in my everyday life.  I saw no benefit to me whatsoever.

I guess I was just too practical for my own good at the time…or maybe not.

But…here is a formula that is easy to learn and has a great benefit.  I used it when I owned my pest control business to get lots of new customers.   

AFR + RI = MNC

ARF = Ask For Referrals            RI = Referral Incentives        MNC = More New Customers

If you will learn this formula and practice using it, it will put more new customers on the books and more money in your pocket.

If you want to grow your business, you need to do everything you can to enhance your ability to generate referrals…especially from your current customers.

FACT:  If you do good work, a certain number of people will refer you.

ANOTHER FACT:  If you ask for referrals and reward people for giving them to you…you will get more referrals…period.  No rocket science here.

Make sure everyone in your organization is conscious of the importance of asking for referrals. 

And make sure your customers know how important referrals are to you and your business.

And, when someone refers a new customer to you, make sure you reward them well.

After all…there’s a lot of money riding on it.

Now…go get’em!

Hal

PS. I want to show YOU over 67 EASY WAYS to get LOTS MORE REFERRALS and MORE NEW CUSTOMERS for your small business!

Click on the link below and check out the seminar,

http://www.TheNetworkingNinja.com/seminar

Here’s a great customer service tip for you!

Remember when you first fell in love or had your first big crush on someone? 

Remember how excited you were?

Remember how perfect they seemed?

Remember how perfect YOU tried to be?

You dreamed how wonderful it would be spending the rest of your life with that person.

And then…you got married!

And remember how the flaws and imperfections began to materialize as you began to see another side of that person…and they of you?  Some of you were able to make adjustments and move forward into a successful long term relationship.  Others were not.

Here’s what happens (of course I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know):  A darker side begins to emerge…and with it comes the doubts…followed in many cases by frustration, regrets and dissatisfaction.  

In many cases it ultimately leads to separation and divorce.

At first, when we’re dating, we only show the other person our good side…the absolute best we can be.   We are selling and selling hard.  We are doing everything we can to insure that we are loved and accepted.

But…a person can only do that for so long.  After a while, we begin to relax and reveal more of the whole package.  Bits and pieces of our darker side begin to emerge (and yes, everyone has a darker side of some sort).

Once we are married, we have a tendency to stop dating and we begin to assume permanency. When we stop dating…we stop working!

Well, that same thing is true with your customers.  We work extremely hard to get them. And then, once they are ours, we have a natural tendency to assume permanency.  And that can set up the eventual downfall of the relationship. 

Always remember…You must NEVER STOP DATING YOUR CUSTOMERS.  The minute you do…you are headed for trouble.  

The point I’m trying to make is this:  You cannot afford to E-V-E-R take your customers for granted.  You must court them, romance them and praise them continuously.  You must re-win their love and devotion each and every time you have contact with them.  You must never stop working on the relationship.

Never think you are married to you customers.  If you do, you’ll end up losing half of them. They will divorce you in a heartbeat as soon as someone else comes along and whispers the right thing in their ears at just the right time…and YOU…will become an X!

Just think about that.   

And thanks for reading this letter,

Hal

PS.  Want to know how to  generate more referrals and get more new customers in your community?     Be at The GNFCC OFFICE in Alpharetta, Ga. on Tues. Jan. 17th!

Click on the link below and see it is right for you.    

http://www.TheNetworkingNinja.com/seminar

I’d say, without a doubt, that one of my biggest frustrations in life is this:  Seeing people who are struggling, offering them a simple solution, and sitting back and watching them do absolutely nothing with it!

Could this be you?  Has it ever been?

I’ll tell you right now that it certainly has me at times.  I’m not ashamed to admit it.  I’m human!

Fact:  As human beings, we often have a hard time taking action on certain things that affect our status quo.

Why?

Because taking action brings about change…and the subconscious mind (I call it Elmo) hates change.

Elmo perceives change as a threat to us and he wants to protect us from it.  Therefore, he will trick you, deceive you, manipulate you, even stab you in the back… whatever he has to do… to keep you from changing.  

Here’s a prime example of my frustration:  Awhile back I was in a local hardware store.  The owner was complaining that business was slow. He mostly blamed it on the economy and Home Depot.

He whined, “People drive right past my store to go to Home Depot when they could buy it cheaper here.”

I said, “Do you mean to tell me you’re cheaper than Home Depot?”

He answered, “We sure are …on lots of items.”

I asked, “Do all of the people driving by your store know that?”

He said, “If they would just stop and check our prices they would.”

(Once again, here’s an example of a business owner who somehow expects customers to just show up as if by magic.)

I said, “Listen…why don’t you put up a sign out front…or on your vehicle (he already had a sign on his vehicle with the name of his business on it)… or in your store window…that reads something like this:”

We Beat Home Depot’s Prices!  Or   Pay Less Here Than Home Depot! 

He said, “Well, I guess I ought to do that.  It would probably help.”

I said, “Do Ya Think?”

And…you guessed it. That was 6 months ago.  He has done nothing as of yet.

My point is this:  (Einstein said it best) “Nothing happens until something moves.” Don’t whine and complain about the way things are.  Instead, get off your butt, roll up your sleeves and go do something about it.

Waiting for change, hoping for change and praying for change is not a good business strategy.  Going out and creating change is!

Now…get moving and go do what YOU need to do.

And thanks for reading this letter,

Hal

PS.  I’m going to show 15 small business owners  how to generate lots more referrals and get more new customers and grow their businesses.  I hope you will choose to be one of them.

 Next seminar, Tues. Jan. 17^th in Alpharetta, Ga. Seating limited to 15 people.

Click on the link below to find out more and to reserve YOUR seat before it’s too late and you miss out on this opportunity.  You have absolutely nothing to lose. (See my guarantee on the link below)

http://www.TheNetworkingNinja.com/seminar 

I have a friend whose family owns a very successful pest control business. They’ve been around for many years. 

I one day asked him to share with me what he considered to be the single most important secret to their company’s success.   

His response was immediate. “There’s no doubt about it.  It was my grandfather’s ability to go out into the community and build great relationships with all the right people. ” 

Networking in your community is a powerful way to build your small business…no matter what business you’re in.   

 But…there is more to successful networking than just going out there and standing around with a cup of coffee in your hand, smiling and handing out business cards…a lot more.  

I’ve been an active networker for many years. I attend lots of networking functions.  I document what goes on and record the information in my notes and in my memory.  I see the successes and I see the failures. I even wrote a book about it entitled, The Networking Ninja Handbook (available at http://www.TheNetworkingNinja.com .)  

FACT:  Very few…far less than 10%…of the folks out there at those meetings are great networkers.   

They’re mostly just great SOCIALIZERS.   

And the problem with being a great socializer is this:  You leave a ton of easy money on the table for the other guys.  Socializers fail to focus on the strategic message and this leaves the prospects confused. 

Great networkers practice not only the ART (socializing) of networking. They also study and understand the SCIENCE (selling) as well.  They understand what makes a person decide to buy something in the first place.  They also understand why that person buys one product/service instead of another. And what makes them buy from one particular person or company instead of another. 

You can go out there in the community and meet and greet and mingle all day long but, when the clock strikes midnight and the people around you don’t know exactly what it is that you do and how you can help them solve some major problem or alleviate some pain in their lives, your great sales opportunity turns into a big fat pumpkin! 

This is the reason why most of the people I interview and speak with about their networking efforts are frustrated and they freely admit they are NOT getting nearly as much business from it as they feel they should.    

FACT:  Most people simply have no powerful, compelling, dynamic, seductive, hypnotic, bullet proof system that is carefully constructed and designed to psychologically funnel total strangers down the pathway to their door.  

Their message is confusing and contains stumbling blocks that literally trip up the process and allow potential customers to veer off course and land in the lap of their competition. 

Focusing on the ART of networking and neglecting the SCIENCE of networking is a serious mistake that costs you tons of new business that you never even knew was there to begin with. 

Food for thought. 

Thanks for reading this letter. 

 And please don’t hesitate to call on me if I can ever help YOU in any way, 

Hal 

PS. In my seminars I show you 15 BIG REASONS why YOU are allowing lots of potential customers to slip right through your fingers every year…and land right in your competitor’s lap…and what you can do to easily. 

 http://www.TheNetworkingNinja.com  

I’ll bet that subject line made you automatically want to click on this email and read it.

Why?

Because we want to know what other people think and say about us.  It’s important, especially as it relates to our business.  It is our REPUTATION.

 Plus… it’s just human nature.  We’re curious about how others perceive us.

FACT:  What someone else says about you is a thousand times more powerful than what you say about yourself.  

When people talk about you and your business, things are going to happen.  If the talk is good…good things will happen.  And if the talk is bad…well…that’s not good.

Example:  Let’s say I move to a new town and decide to go out to dinner at Luigi’s Italian Restaurant.

 If I call and speak with Luigi and ask him, “Where’s the best place to eat Italian food in this town?”…what do you think he will tell me?    “Why, it’s Luigi’s of course!”  Duh. 

I would expect no other answer.  It is a rather meaningless recommendation.

But…let’s say I’m in the local bank opening my new checking account and I ask the bank officer, “Where’s the best place to eat Italian food in this town?”, and she tells me, “ It’s without a doubt Luigi’s”…now I am inclined to be excited about dining at Luigi’s.

She has no vested interest in telling me anything other than the truth. Therefore I am inclined to believe her and make my decision based on what she told me.

Make sense?  I hope so.

Testimonials are powerful marketing tools, no matter what business you’re in.  People pay attention to what other people say.

 If someone says something good about you or your business, you certainly want other people to know about it.

And the more powerful and direct the statement, the more impact it will have on the psyche of the other person.

 You should be gathering testimonials at every opportunity and using them to promote your business.  They should be included on your website, your ads, your brochures, your signage, your business cards, your flyers, and  certainly in your sales presentations and proposals.

Testimonials are one of the most effective buying response triggers that cause people to make a decision to buy from YOU instead of your competitor.

If you’d like to know some really easy ways to get lots of great testimonials and how to use them to grow your business, just give me a call at 770-993-0004 or email Hal@HalColeman.com and let’s talk about some ways I can help YOU.

Thanks for reading this letter, and I hope you have a great day!

Hal

PS.  Find more FREE Marketing Tips, Strategies and Techniques on my website at http://www.TheNetworkingNinja.com  Subscribe to my online newsletter (on the website) and I’ll send you “10 Things You Absolutely Must Consider If You Are Serious About Growing Your Business”…and I’ll keep on sending you great marketing  tips and  ideas.

The other day I was watching a baseball game and I saw all of these commercial signs in the background. They were all attached to the outfield fence. And I began thinking about those signs.

When I’m riding up and down the roads and highways I see signs posted everywhere.  I see signs on buildings, in front of building, on windows, and on the sides of vehicles.

 I see billboards and banners.  When I’m sitting in a restaurant, I look around and see signs.

Let’s face it folks, we live in a world of signs. 

Did you know that the #1 most effective advertising media is signage? 

The FACT is…you can stick a sign up in front of someone’s face almost anywhere and at any time and force them to read it.  In most cases, they can’t help it. It’s just the way our brains work. 

And here’s another FACT:  If the sign doesn’t say something moving to the person viewing it, it is probably NOT going to move them!

Now, I want you to go back and read that last sentence five times…and then stop and think about it.

And in order for a sign to be moving, it needs to be emotional.  And in order for it to be emotional, it needs to touch something…some issue… in someone’s life or business that they are dealing with. 

A sign needs to say something.  It needs to tell a story.  It needs to trigger a reaction in the mind of the viewer in order to generate a buying response.  It needs to move them to action and cause them to pick up the phone and call you and do business with you.

Example:  Vote For Fred Johnson  vs.  “Vote for Fred Johnson and LOWER YOUR TAXES NOW!”

Make sense?  I hope so.

Now, let me ask you this: Do you use signage to promote your termite and pest control business?  I’m sure you do.

Actually your business card is a sign. It is a small little sign you give to someone. They view it, and then choose to either keep it or throw it away.

Why would they want to keep it? 

Why would they choose to throw it away?

Which would you prefer they do? 

You want them to keep it of course.

Well, ask yourself the same question about you other signage.  Do you want them (actually their subconscious mind) to save it…or delete it?  What I mean is…do you want them to remember your sign or forget about it?

Of course you want them to remember it.  But for what?  Aha….that is the big  question!

Advertising agents are fond of saying, “We will get you noticed!” 

My question to them is always, “Noticed for what?”

You see, it’s very important WHY someone is noticing you.  I’m confident I could put on a pink thong and run through the shopping mall and get noticed.  But for what? 

A brightly colored vehicle will get noticed.

 But, once someone notices it, what does it say to them? 

What compelling message does it deliver? 

What irresistible offer do they find there? 

After someone notices the vehicle, what else does the vehicle do to convert the viewer into a new paying customer?

Getting noticed is only half of the equation that leads to more new business.  The other half is the FOR WHAT?

If your signs don’t contain the FOR WHAT…in a clear, concise, compelling, message….YOU ARE LEAVING A LOT OF EASY MONEY ON THE TABLE…thay you could  be putting in the bank.

And that also is a FACT!

If you’d like to know more about how to increase the effectiveness of your signage and/or your ads for your business, give me a call at 770-993-0004 or email Hal@HalColeman.com and I’ll be happy to help you.

I’d love to come to your office and show you, your staff and your sales team how to use proven, effective buying response triggers to increase your sales and your closing percentages.

Thanks for reading this letter, and I hope you have a great day,

Hal

E=mc2 

Can you explain this formula ? 

I didn’t think so.  Neither can I.  If we could, we wouldn’t be in the termite and pest control business, that’s for sure.  We’d probably be teaching math and/or physics at some prestigious Ivy League University.

All I know is that it is Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.  I know the E stands for Energy, m is mass, and c2 stands for the speed of light squared, which equals 300,000,000 meters per second! (Wow, that’s faster than a customer will cancel your contract for accidentally killing their pet goldfish!)

I can tell you what the formula is but I can’t explain it?  Not in a million years.

But here’s a formula I can explain, and very easily:  GCS=MNC 

GCS stands for Great Customer Service.  MNC stands for More New Customers.

Unlike Einstein’s Theory, this one is a well-known FACT.  It has been proven over and over again since man (or woman) first sold something to someone else and then tried to sell to them again.

Here’s another FACT:  Satisfied customers don’t go out of their way to refer people. Amazed customers do. Shocked customers do. Awed customers do.  Wow’d customers do. 

Example: If I stop at a fast food restaurant and pull up to the drive-in window and order a $3.39 hamburger, and I get a $3.39 hamburger, I’m satisfied.  I got exactly what I paid for.  I don’t think twice about it. I drive away, eat the burger and that’s it.  I don’t tell anyone about my experience.  Why would I?  It’s meaningless.  It would be of no interest to them whatsoever. I was hungry and I ate a hamburger. End of story.

But…on the other hand…if I order a $3.39 hamburger and I get a thick, rich, juicy, hot, half pound hunk of grilled, ground 100% choice western beef, smothered with hot, melted aromatic old-country hoop cheddar cheese, nestled in a piping hot, fresh, lightly toasted sesame seed bun, with FRESH, juicy tomato, lettuce and onion, and a whole, FRESH crispy dill pickle on the side, and fries so hot I can hardly even touch’em…..now I am impressed. 

Now I’m saying to myself, “Wow…this is amazing!”

And, if the person at the drive-in window smiles at me and tells me how much they appreciate me stopping by for lunch, and asks if there is anything else I need (and acts like they really mean it) and thanks me and tells me to please come back soon…well…you get the picture.

And, when I remove the food from the bag and find a coupon thanking me for my business and giving me $1.00 OFF my next order, just to show their appreciation……you can bet your sweet Einstein I’m coming back there to eat again.

And do you think I’ll be telling other people about that restaurant?  Of course I will.  I can’t help it.  I’ll probably be taking some of them with me the next time I go.  And they will be impressed too….and so….they will start the cycle all over again….and the restaurant will have lots of customers!

My point is this:  When someone does something nice for us and treats us special and we perceive that they have gone above and beyond to give us more than what we paid for, we try to show our appreciation by giving them something back.

This is known as The Law of Reciprocity.  It is extremely effective when it comes to selling things and getting new customers.

If you want more referrals from you current customers, you MUST find a way to Shock & Awe them. You must find a way to AMAZE them. You must Wow them.  You must find a way to put a big smile on their faces each and every time you have contact with them. 

If you will do that, they will tell all of their friends and neighbors and associates about you. 

And that means more new customers!

But…if you only give them what they paid for…they will tell no one.

Food for thought (No pun intented).

Thanks for reading this letter, and I hope you have a great day,

Hal

PS. If you’d like for me to bring my Customer Service Seminar to your office and show you, your staff,  and your sales team how to get and keep more new customers, just give me a call at 770-993-0004 or email Hal@HalColeman.com.  I’ll show you over 25 ways to “Shock & Awe” your customers and start them talking about YOU and YOUR BUSNESS!

 PPS .  If you want more FREE Marketing Strategies, Tips and Techniques, just go to my website, http://www.TheNetworkingNinja.com  and subscribe to my FREE Online Newsletter.  As soon as you do, I’ll send you “7 things you absolutely must consider if you are serious about growing your  business!”

Let me ask you a question. Which type of website do you have…..a pretty website or a website that is specifically designed to convert viewers into paying customers?

You probably have a pretty one. That’s what most people want. But, what you don’t understand and most worldclass internet marketers DO understand is this: Pretty doesn’t sell. Shiney doesn’t sell.

VALUE and MESSAGE sell.

For the past several years I’ve spent a lot of time hanging out with and getting to know some of the world’s best internet marketers. Some of them make more money in one week….or even in one day….than most people make in a whole year.

And all from what most people would consider ugly little websites!

Why? Because they understand how to recognize and use the psychological response triggers in the subcoscious mind that cause people to buy things.

They understand that there is a proper psychological sequence in the flow of information and, if you interupt that flow, or create confusion or questions, the flow stops…..and the buyer won’t buy.

They understand that fancy graphics, especially moving ones, tend to be major interuptors and stumbling blocks.

It is painfully obvious that the vast majority of web designers are completely clueless about this.

I see it every day. The graphics on most websites are like barricades on a one lane road. They simply stop people in their tracks and cause them to turn around and go elsewhere. 

 And the sad part is, they spend lots of money on SEO to drive traffic to a website that, once someone lands there, they don’t do anything except leave.

The site itself drives viewers away like a scarecrow in a cornfield….and nobody realizes it is happening!  (Example:  Build a house that is beautiful on the outside and looks great from the street, but has no doors leading inside, so in order to enter it, you have to crawl in throught the window…..and put the toilet in the middle of the bedroom floor…..and see how many people want to buy that house.   The answer is NOBODY WILL.)

Our minds are programed from infancy to process black letters on a white background, left to right, top to bottom. The farther away you get from that sequence, the more you are in danger of losing your viewer.

So, which type of website do YOU have…..a pretty website or a website that is consistently and effectively converting total strangers into paying customers and making you money?

Which type would you rather have?

Do you really know the difference?

Food for thought.

Now, get out there and grow your business!

Hal

PS. You can learn tons of easy ways to get new customers …online and offline….from my Book and Audio CDs.   You can find them at http://www.TheNetworkingNinja.com

If you’d like to find out how to get more new customers from your website, just give me a call at 770-993-0004 or email me at Hal@HalColeman.com

PPS. I’d love to speak at your next banquet, convention or luncheon. And I’d love to bring one of my seminars into YOUR OFFICE and show YOU and your SALES STAFF some really simple, yet deadly effective ways to CLOSE MORE DEALS and SELL MORE STUFF!

So….let’s spend a day together.  It’ll be a day you’ll never forget…….GUARANTEED!

(Mention this blog and I’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse)

I was having coffee with a small business owner the other day and he told me he was considering doing some direct mail marketing.   He was thinking about a post card campaign.

He said, “Whaddayathink?”

 And so I asked him this important question:  “Why should anyone want to do business with you instead of your competition?” 

 Well, to be honest, he just sat there looking like a deer in the headlights.  That question left him rather dumbfounded. I actually think he was slightly insulted that I would ask such a question.

He began glancing upward and to the left (which means he was searching) and stammering for the right words and phrases to answer me.  Which means he really had NO ANSWER.

I said, “Never mind.  You really don’t know!”

To which he replied, “Well yes, I do know….I just don’t know quite how to tell you.”

Bad answer.

Until you have clearly defined how YOU are DIFFERENT from your competition…..and exactly what great benefit someone would receive by doing business with YOU instead of your competition…..you are going to be wasting a lot of money on advertising. 

Sorry, but it’s true.

 I’m speaking directly from experience here, as well as from years of observation.  There were many times in the past, when I owned a pest control company, that I allowed over zealous advertising agents and sales reps from newspapers, radio and magazines to talk me into advertising with them.  They would come up with my ad.  It would be “pretty”.   And it was.  So what?  It didn’t make people call me and sign up for pest control services.

 And, knowing what I know now, it’s crystal clear why my ads were not very effective.  I had no clear, powerful, seductive, irresistible USP (Unique Sales Proposition).  There was nothing in my ads that clearly set me apart from my competition…..but they certainly did set me apart from a lot of my hard earned money!

 My ads were just like everyone else’s.  They consisted of the name of my company, my telephone number and contact information, and a list of features I offered, the organizations I was a member of,  and some generic graphics of people and homes, etc.  that were totally unknown to me or anyone else.  The were classic examples of sterile, commercial “business card” type ads. 

 So what?  Big deal.  Who cares?

 The fact is, nobody cares about that stuff.  Not one bit.  They only care about what you can do for them.  How can you make their life better?  What major problem can you solve for them?  What pain can you alleviate?

 You must be able to identify these and explain them in your add.  Otherwise you’re no different than all of your competition.  You’re simply a commodity, which means you’ll be beaten by a lower price almost every time.

 So…..before you go spending a bunch of money on advertising, you’d better makes sure you have a great message.   If not, you be wasting $$ on something that isn’t going to work very well.

You’d better make sure you understand how to use psychological response triggers in your ad that will generate a buying response in the reader and cause them to pull the trigger and do business with you.  If you just allow the advertising agents and sales weasels to design you ad, your making a big mistake.   

Your advertising is an extension of you.  It speaks.  And…..if you pay money for it to speak….you’d better make sure it says something powerful worth saying!

Just food for thought.

Now, get out there and grow your business!

Hal

PS  I’d love to personally help YOU  grow your business.  I offer one-on-one coaching and training.  I can bring my seminars and/or workshops right into your office or location of your choice. 

I can teach YOU this stuff in a way that you NEVER FORGET IT……and that will be worth a fortune to you for the rest of your life!

I stand behind my no risk, no bull, 100% Satisfaction Guarantee:  If you hire me, or attend one of my seminars, and at the end of the day, you are not 100% Happy and thoroughly convinced you got your money’s worth…plus a lot more….I will promptly and politely refund every penny of your money and you can be on your way.  Period.

So, give me a call at 770-993-0004 or email me at Hal@HalColeman.com and let’s talk about what we can do to create a whole bunch of new customers for YOU this year!

Have you ever attempted to do something that seemed simple at the time, but turned out to be a to be a lot more difficult than you thought?  Actually I’ve done lots of things that turned out that way.  And one of’em was fly fishing!

Let me tell you about my first fly fishing experience and you’ll see just how difficult (and dangerous)  it can be….especially if you happen to be standing behind the fly fisherman.

The first time I ever actually witnessed someone attempting to fly fish was on Lake Lanier.  I was about 10 years old.  My friend’s family (I’m not gonna tell you here who they are…..but in private I’ll tell you) had one of those big new-fangled pontoon boats and they invited me to spend the day with them on the lake.  We towed the pontoon boat on a big trailer and launched it at a boat ramp. Then we drove it about a mile, over to a secluded area of the lake, and pulled up onto a quite, sandy beach. 

My friend and I were gonna fish while his mother and daddy intended to just sit on the beach, drink beer and relax. 

Well, His momma a daddy were sittin’ out on this little beach area, side by side, in their fold-out chase lounge chairs.  His mother was reading a magazine and his daddy was alternating drinking beer and sleeping.

That’s when my friend brought out the fly rod!

He said, “Let me show you how to fly fish.”

He tied what looked just like a giant Guinea wasp on the end of the leader. Then he began stripping off line and whipping that thing back and forth in the air like a giant bull whip. 

I could see right off that this was not a safe way to fish.

All of a sudden his mother sat straight up and let out a blood curdling scream that made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. You could’a heard it a mile away.  My friend had accidentally snagged her in the ear with that artificial wasp. 

He thought it was hung on a tree branch, and he just kept jerking on it.  The more he jerked, the louder his mother screamed.

Well, she was swatting at it trying to get it off her ear. She was screaming, “Get it off me, get it off me!!!”

His daddy woke up and saw what was going on…and he thought it was a wasp stinging her on the ear….so he grabs a newspaper and rolls it up and started swatting her upside the head. 

The more he swatted, the louder she screamed.

Finally the hook came loose and the wasp was gone. 

His dad just closed his eyes, laid back down, and passed out again. 

And his mother, up until her dying day, still thought she was attacked by a huge giant bug that tried to drag her from the lounge chair and carry her away!

Of course, we never said a word.

Actually my friend went on to become a very good flyfisherman.  I don’t know if he actually snagged anyone else along the way.

My point is this:  Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly until you learn how to do it well.  Their might be a few bloody earlobs and some high anxiety at times, but, if you keep plugging along and don’t get distracted, you’ll be successful.

Don’t be afraid to just start stripping off line and casting.  You’ll get it right.  

Plus, it helps if you have a good instructor……like me!

I tell all my secrets, strategies and techniques for getting new customers and more referrals on my Audio CDs.  You can find them at http://www.TheNetworkingNinja.com, and they’re only $19.97 ea!!!