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The Top 12 Best Books Every Business Owner Must Read

December 7, 2017 by Lisa Mininni 4 Comments


Shopping for the busy entrepreneur or business professional in your life can be a challenge. You may have scrolled Amazon only to come up empty handed. Over the years, I’ve come across books that have nourished one aspect of being an entrepreneur: physical, spiritual or business acumen.

From one business owner to another, I recommend these Top 12 business books that would be valuable gifts for any entrepreneur or business professional in your life:

  1. 5 Steps to Becoming Your Own #HealthHero for Longevity, Well-Being, and a Joyful Life by Dr. Partha Nandi.

Your health makes everything else possible.  Dr. Nandi gives you the tools to become empowered and take ownership of your health choices.  I enjoyed his attention to nutrition, fitness, and disease prevention while incorporating both Eastern and Western medicine.

  1.  Pop! Create the Perfect Pitch, Title, and Tagline for Anything – by Sam Horn.

This is a perfect book that will stay on your book shelf forever. It’s always within my read. Through the clever exercises and examples, this book helps any professional craft names, pitches, and slogans for anything in your business.

New York Times Best Selling Author, Seth Godin endorses it saying, “…Halfway through, you’ll realize she’s teaching you enough to do it yourself. Words matter, every one of them, and this book will revolutionize the way you use them.”

  1.  All Marketers are Liars: The Underground Classic That Explains How Marketing Really Works–and Why Authenticity Is the Best Marketing of All– by Seth Godin

Legendary New York Times Best Selling Author, Seth Godin, shows how the best marketers don’t talk about the features and benefits of their products but succeed when they tell us an authentic story.

While you’re checking out his book, subscribe to his blog. While you can’t purchase his blog for your favorite entrepreneur (because it’s free), it’s one that you subscribe to stretch your critical thinking skills.

  1. Risky is the New Safe – The Rules Have Changed – by Randy Gage

New York Times Best Selling Author and Visionary, Randy Gage, expands your thinking. You’ll learn which jobs and business models will disappear, how to position yourself despite tumultuous changes taking place in business, and the skill that will allow you to create wealth.

  1. Me, Myself, and Why? The Secrets to Navigating Change – by Lisa Mininni

Okay, I’m bias. Yet, business leaders share with me how they keep my book on their book shelf and refer to it each time they are navigating a significant change in life. They particularly enjoy learning about their unique human wiring, the framework for creating their life in alignment with their wiring, and the self-reflection questions at the end of each chapter to focus on what’s most important.

  1. Soul Cyphers – Decoding a Life of Hope and Happiness – by Robert Clancy

International Best Selling Author and regular contributor on Los Angeles KABC Radio’s Late Night Health Radio Show, Robert Clancy includes effective practices you can incorporate into your daily routine to lead a joyful, balanced life.

Inspiring stories are artfully applied throughout this book to cement your learning.

  1. Mass Influence – The Habits of the Highly Influential – by Teresa de Grosbois with Karen Rowe

Influence is a skill that will change how you do business. Learn from the most influential people across the globe and avoid the top mistakes when connecting with the influential.

Endorsed by New York Times Best-Selling Author of Twitter Power, Joel Comm, he says this about Mass Influence, “…A modern-day “how to Win Friends and Influence People,” this book is not to be missed!”

  1. Twitter Power 3.0 – How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time – by Joel Comm

Speaking of  influential professionals and New York Times Best Selling Author, Joel Comm, he penned an update of Twitter Power 3.0 with a forward by Guy Kawasaki. Twitter Power 3.0 is a guide with up-to-date information on trends in social media, branding and competitive research.

  1. Picture Your Prosperity: Smart Money Moves to Turn Your Vision Into Reality – by Ellen Rogin and Lisa Kueng

When it comes to financial planning, it’s easy to put off your own retirement or skip over deeper questions of what you want from your money both now and for your future. As New York Times Best Selling Authors, Rogin and Kueng write, “Your money is important, but money is meaningless if it can’t be connected to the rest of your life. Who cares what the totals on your balance sheet or in your bank account are if you can’t use them to build the kind of future you want?”

  1. Living Happy to Be Me! – By Dr. Valerie Sheppard

Dr. Sheppard shares an interesting historical pursuit of happiness and walks you through exercises to deepen your connection to you. This book is a thoughtful pairing of guidebook and consciousness-raising exercises and tools. This book works well for the entrepreneur to find their uniqueness and for young adults finding their way in life.

  1. Finding Grace & Peace In Spite of Trials & Tragedy – by John and Joann Ashley

This book chronicles the life and times of one family and how they found grace and peace in spite of many life challenges.  You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll be spiritually inspired. You will not be able to put this book down. It’s a raw, real-life story of triumph over tragedies. This book is filled with wise insights for living life powerfully in spite of your circumstances.

Beware – your heart will be forever touched by the story of Johnny Ashley, who came into the world with multiple congenital malformations. Despite the many challenges he faced, he was inspiration to all who knew him.

  1. Do You Speak Lease? – by Lynn Drake

This book is a must read for any business professional who wants to understand the process of how best to find and negotiate a lease for their business.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: 12 top business books, and Why, business mentoring, Excellerate Associates, Lisa Mininni, Me, Myself

Dealing With Sales Rejection: Biologically Overcoming No

November 30, 2017 by Lisa Mininni Leave a Comment


If you’re in business, you have something to offer. You offer an idea, a product, or a service. When that idea, product, or service is rejected, it can stop business leaders in their tracks.
Being stopped may take on the form of:

  • Overthinking what went wrong
  • Getting upset or making yourself and/or your team wrong
  • Stopping communication or action

Let’s face it, nobody likes rejection. However, there is a biological reaction that occurs when you hear the word no.

If your biological wiring measures higher in autonomy, the more the word no motivates you to get more sales. The lower the autonomy the more no discourages you. It is just what is happening in the background. Just notice it and understand it.

Couple that biological dynamic with how no’s take on many forms. An outright verbal or written no is easy to recognize.

More often, no shows up when your calls aren’t returned, they unsubscribe, or they tell you, they’ll do it later. Sometimes these no’s are disguised as no but are no’s for now. Sometimes these no’s require consistency on your part and sometimes something is missing.

It can be mind boggling to figure it out. If you’re getting stopped by no, consider two things:

1. Reframe The No

Consider that a no is a powerful catalyst for moving your business ahead. It’s better to get a no from a prospect rather than endless calls that go nowhere.

During your first conversations with your prospect, set up a mutual agreement on how the final decision will be communicated. Words like, “we’ll get back to you” are vague. Set a clear expectation that the meeting is designed to simply identify their final decision regardless if it is yes or no.

By setting clear, specific expectations at the beginning of a relationship on the communication that you expect on their decision whether it is a yes or a no, you clear the way for completion or next steps.

2. Ask Yourself What’s Missing

If receiving consistent rejections, consider that something is missing. You may be missing a system or an integration of your processes.

When processes are missing or misaligned, you spin your wheels. You may not be pre-qualifying them or talking with them too early in the buying process. Additionally, if you’re unclear on your sales process, your product and services offerings, or your ideal client, this incongruence gets in the way of a yes.

If you’re playing a big game, then there will be no’s. Embrace the no and ask yourself what’s missing. A resilient leader knows that a no can also clear the way for new opportunities.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: business mentors, Excellerate Associates, hardwiring, Lisa Mininni

How to Create an Exceptional Customer Service Culture

November 2, 2017 by Lisa Mininni Leave a Comment


Imagine you are walking up to the counter at your local bedding, cookware and cutlery store to pay for that new cast iron pot. You hand over your coupon, and just as you completed your purchase, your significant other rushes up with a last-minute item. You look at the teller for options and she says, “Well, you can always come back.”

You don’t have to imagine it, this scenario actually happened. I’m sure you’re thinking about your own experience where a store lost out on a sale all because their staff didn’t make it convenient for you.

“Every sale counts. You should always look at how you can serve the customer,” says Lidia Michalak, an Assistant Store Manager at a large retail appliance and clothing store. There were a number of options available, such as reversing the sale, applying the coupon, and ringing it up again with the new item.

This customer-centric approach is especially true for small businesses. To build an exceptional customer service culture as you scale your business, remember to:

1. Define Your Company’s Customer Service Vision. Your customer service vision doesn’t need to be long to be effective. As the business owner, you may have beliefs or ideals about customer service so it’s important to communicate them to your team. USAA has a simple vision that includes: Service. Loyalty. Honesty. Integrity.

2. Continuously Train Your Team. Training is not a “set it and forget it” task. Remember that you have both internal and external customers. Everyone needs to know how their role impacts the internal or external customer. Set a time on your monthly team meeting to review a company standard and the specific behaviors the employees are expected to deliver that’s consistent with your vision and culture.

3. Celebrate Wins. When you notice a team member performing well, acknowledge and recognize it. Your team needs to hear when things are going well.

4. Model Your Standards. Treat your team the way you want them to treat the customer. If you want your team members to treat the customer well, you need to treat your team members well. If you’re seeing an incongruence, ask yourself if you’re modeling the very behavior you want to see and if you have adequately trained your team members.

5. Ask your customers for feedback. The most valuable feedback comes from your customers. Use real life scenarios to identify what was done to standard and what was missing that would make a real difference in the customer experience. This is a great way for you to connect with your clients, too, by calling them to see how things are going for them.

6. Empower Your Team. Identify what is specifically allowable so the team member understands all of the possible options that are available when working with the customer. When they know the options, they can pull out one of these options when working with the customer. It’s also important to roleplay with them while being trained so they recognize the scenario and know which option to provide to the customer.

As your business grows, you will need to rely on your staff. A well-trained and frequently trained staff ensures your company retains every single sale and cultivates an exceptional customer service culture.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: business mentors, culture, customer service, Excellerate Associates, Lisa Mininni

One Highly Effective Habit for Productive People

October 26, 2017 by Lisa Mininni Leave a Comment


Thousands of books have been written on highly effective habits to make people more productive. You may have even tried a few of these habits. You may have even tried excessive amounts of caffeine or purchased the latest organizing binder with mixed results.

With over 14 years teaching business leaders a systems approach, there is one habit that makes a real difference in accomplishing what matters most. It’s so simple, but is often completely missing in your processes, communication, requests, or when giving directions.

What is it?

A date.

It might sound overly simplistic but think about it.

Does your every day language sound like this?

• “Let’s have lunch!”
• “I look forward to hearing from you.”
• “Please get back with me asap.”
• “Sounds interesting. I’ll call you.”
• “I will host a …workshop, webinar, or teleseminar.”
• “Get back with me when you’ve reviewed the proposal.”

Most people can’t and don’t work well with vagueness. Be exact to attract results by grounding requests, directives, or communication in a date.

• “Let’s have lunch, what’s your schedule look like for (DATE)”
• “I look forward to hearing from you. Let’s schedule a follow up conversation on (DATE)”
• “Please get back with me by (DATE)”
• “Sounds interesting. I’ll call you by (DATE) to get that scheduled.”
• “I will host a workshop by (DATE)”
• “Let’s schedule a (DATE) to finalize your decision about the proposal. How long will it take to review it?”

Notice that all of the requests were grounded by a date. The habit doesn’t stop there. Round out your dates with an action. Remember to log the date into your calendar and send a calendar invitation.

When you implement this highly effective habit, you’ll become known for being one of those productive and reliable people others can trust. You’ll also notice that you have improved focus, intentionality, and outcomes.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: business management processes, business mentoring, Excellerate Associates, Lisa Mininni, productivity, systems approach

Combine These Two Strategies to Sell More Products (Including Your Books)

October 19, 2017 by Lisa Mininni Leave a Comment


As a consumer, you may have noticed that when it comes to buying, there are certain times of the year to purchase that will save you money, such as clothing, appliances, and computers. As a business owner, have you considered using this same strategy to sell more of your products?

If your company sells products, consider your customer’s buying habits at times of the year or days of the week. Certain times are best for buying certain items for the consumer.

For example, one of my mentoring students of the Best Seller Profit System Workshop, found it interesting when I shared with her that more than 40% of all books sold during the year are purchased between November and January.

Whether you’re selling a hard cover book, paperback book, or children’s book, all of these types of books are great gift-giving ideas. As a self-published author, we created several strategies for her marketing plan that included ways to position her book and related products during this time of year to maximize her long-term sales.

Most importantly, don’t let the time of the year be your only consideration. According to Harvard Business Review, “84% of business to business buyers are now starting the purchasing process with a referral, and peer recommendations are influencing more than 90% of all B2B buying decisions.”

With this in mind, combine strategies. At the most optimal time of the year or week, collaborate with your referral sources to spread the word about your product.

Make it simple for your referral partners to share your products or services. Create a page of marketing copy that they can cut, paste and share with their communities through email or social media.

Remember to also reciprocate. Where appropriate, ask your referral sources to share marketing copy for their products or services that you could cut, paste and share with your community.

When you combine these two strategies, you’ll sell more products, including books. You’ll also find it easier to grow your reach and revenue.

 

►To learn how to become a Best Selling Author and profit long term from your book, join us for the Best Seller Profit System Workshop Nov 2-3, 2017.

 

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: business mentor, combine strategies to sell more products, Excellerate Associates, how to sell more books, how to sell more products, Lisa Mininni, sell more products

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