You are so right. Those social marketers do everything they can to get you on their list. Wonder why??

And using only social media leaves you totally at the mercy of those social sites that you have no control over. With the recent changes at Facebook it is a good time for you to remind everyone.

We have your list building product and it’s great. Thanks for all the knowledge you have shared with us!

Thank you for sowing your seeds and sharing this great story. The qualities I see in Jim, I see in you…my ISS CEO. You are greatly appreciated! Big Hugs!

Gail Seignious

Okay…I should have worn waterproof mascara before reading this…it really brought the waterworks. SMILE

It reminds me of a story….sorry for the long post.
A lesson to learn…

I had been in sales for several years. My new job covered the entire United States. To gain new clients, I would call top buyers all over and start a conversation with them. After a few months, I was beginning to develop many powerful relationships. One of my favorite calls was to a buyer named Tom. He was in Texas. We talked almost every week.

I had several people I was talking with in Texas and thought it would be good to fly out and meet all these voices I had relationships with. Tom was the one I was most looking forward to meeting because I felt we had an amazing connection.

He was one of my first appointments and I knew this would be a great kickoff to a week long meeting marathon with over 20 people.

When I finally got to meet Tom face to face I almost jumped up and down with excitement. Tom was as cold as ice. He was frozen. His face was as withdrawn and lifeless. It was awkward.

We started the meeting and I began asking questions. I was receiving one word answers. With each answer I was becoming more and more uncomfortable. At one point I said, “You know Tom, if I came at a bad time, I can come back, I will be here all week and I can reschedule” He said, “That is okay. I am glad you are here”. His mechanical and robot response confused me even more.

At this point I could feel myself start to sweat as if I was being interrogated. I thought to myself “How do I get out of here?” I wanted to run out there as fast as I could. Somehow I held it together and finished the way you would if you were eating an unpleasant meal at a favorite relatives. I was hoping that my half smiles, sweating and being uncomfortable wasn’t too obvious.

Finally the meeting was over and Tom thanked me twice for being there. When I got to the car I started to replay the events in my head. “Had I met with the wrong person?” What in the world happened in there? Where do I go from here?

Then I could hear one of my mentor’s words in my head. No matter what, look for the lesson and ALWAYS, no matter how bad the meeting is, write a thank you card. I started to think about what I had learned.

Come to think about it. I had just gotten into a plane and flown in to meet a top buyer and didn’t even have an agenda. I thought about how the meeting might have went if I had asked those questions before I got there and then had an agenda. In fact, I thought about all my appointments and how much of a difference I could make with that simple strategy.

I wrote my thank card and it went something like this:

Tom,

Thank you for one of the best meetings ever. You gave me such a powerful lesson today. I realized I could have really made an impact by having an agenda and sending my questions to you prior to the meeting. I want to let you know what an amazing difference you have made in my career with just that lesson. Each time we talk on the phone I seem to gain another valuable piece of information. Thank you so much for giving me so much. I am excited about working with you now and in the years to come.

Respectfully yours.

In all honesty, when I sent the card, I wasn’t really sure what would happen. I had put a follow up call in my schedule for 3 weeks from the meeting.

2 weeks later, I was sitting in my office and my phone rang. It was Tom. He seemed more like himself. I immediately said, “Tom! What a great surprise.”

He said, “You know, I have been wanting to call you for the past two weeks to apologize. The appointment we set was the highlight of my week. Before you came, I was really looking forward to meeting you. When you showed up I had no idea that you would have eyes that look just like my son. You see, 3 months before you came here, my son committed suicide. It was all I could do to keep it together during our meeting. You remind me so much of him and just having you there gave me joy. I was so close to bursting into tears. When you left, I figured you would never want to speak to me again. Then, your thank you card arrived. I have read your card over and over again. The days that are particularly hard, I read it a few times. It has brought me such hope. Thank you.

As you can imagine, I was speechless. I could not speak through my tears. This experience taught me something so powerful that I will never forget:

You never know what is happening for another person or what they are going through.

Sometimes we get in such a hurry to make things happen, we forget to take the time to enjoy the process. Had I rushed through this or blown this appointment off, I may have missed out on making a difference in my life and Tom’s life.

Always look for the lesson in everything you do. Take time to enjoy the process.

By the way….

* The story is a true story.
* It happened to me……Sabrina Gibson

I love this story – thank you so much for sharing. I would love to share this with my community. It think so many people are wanting to have “get rich quick story”….and many give up before they really learn how to grow themselves. My grandma use to always say “No matter what look for the lesson”.

I agree with Albert….honesty is the best policy….and can sometimes be the harder choice initially….in the long run….you always win!!

Hugs to you….and thanks for the motivation.

Sabrina

Lets face it most of what people are trying to sell you is a dead seed and a waste of money.

It hit home with me on several different levels.

As usual you have shared a golden nugget of wisdom. A great life’s lesson. One’s Internet Business is a reflection of who you are in life.

For me, like you, I always take the path of honesty and integrity. It’s not the easiest path, but it is the only way.

Thanks.
Albert Grande

ISS = Internet Success System

Info at: http://Internet-Success-System.com

I recently heard a different version of this story where a king sent his sons out in the world and chose his successor by virtue of what they brought back to him.

I love that story and I try to live by it as well. Honesty is always the best policy. I have heard it before many times, but sometimes it just comes back at the right time.

Thank you for sending it.

Have a great day
Jerry Goodwin

Thanks for sharing that story. It is one that we have shared with children and grand kids. The seeds of honesty, integrity, character and values take many years to come to fruition.

Sometimes what you do will not be harvested for generations.

Good luck in your journey,

Judy H. Wright
http://www.EmpowermentWithJudy.com

Yes, it will work on both html and blogs too.

Mark

Ok, for those of you who are reading this and don’t know what BOSS is, let me share with you. BOSS stands for Blind Online Success System. It is an Internet marketing coaching and training program specifically designed for the blind and visually impaired, and I am one of its founders. So if you know of anyone who is blind or visually impaired, then I urge you to send them by to check it out by giving them this address below.

http://www.blindonlinesuccesssystem.com/infopackage.html

Ok, enough about me. Mark, this is truly spectacular that you’re offfering a 30 day free peak into this program. I am definitely going to have a look for myself. I think that this is well worth it if anybody is really serious about marketing online. Mark Hendricks is indeed the real deal here. He is the personal friend of my mentors Jeff Wark and Lori Steffen, who are also founders of the Blind Online Success System program. Believe me, anyone reading the post that Mark has just put up offering this 30 day free peak would be crazy to skip this fantastic offer! Like Mark has said, the ISS program is not comprised of thrown-together PLR products. It is a real, bonified, serious Internet marketing system. So do yourself a huge favor, and go and check it out for yourself.

But if people don’t take you up on this awesome deal, they are cracked nuts.

I am a member and can attest to all of the great value that Mark puts out.

Tate