Learning and Direct Marketing Techniques

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Thank you for joining us to the journey into my implementation of learning and direct marketing techniques. To keep you safe please put your tray table up, your seatback into its upright position and buckle your safety harness as you delve into the deep recesses of my mind.

Use waiting time

I attend about three to four meetings every day. While waiting for these meetings to start I pull out my textbook and read the assigned text for the current lesson.

Use a regular study area

My primary location for studying is at my mom's place where I have two rooms to myself. The first of which is a study den and the other is an office. The study den contains a comfortable chair, excellent lighting and a writing surface to take my notes. The office contains high-end office equipment and a comfortable chair.

Learn to say no

In my nine almost ten years as an adult leader in the Boy Scouts of America I served as both a volunteer and a paid employee. When I first started I took on about eight assignments. I soon realized I was in over my head and I started to fail at those assignments. After my third unit fell apart, I cut back on the assignments. Now, when I am asked to run a project or a program and my plate is just about full I politely say no and direct the person requesting assistance to the proper resources.

Get off the phone

When I study I turn the phones off and let the voicemail system pickup. During my break sessions I check the voicemail and only return the phone calls that pertain to my work. All other phone calls must wait until I am finished studying for the day.

Ask: is this a piano

I have learned in the past that there is a balance between perfect and great work. As I was able to save on the time it would have taken to create the perfect work I was able to save the customer a bit of money and myself a bit of time.

Ask: would I pay myself for what I'm doing right now

Everything I do I assign a dollar amount to. If there is a service that is lower than my time and materials or if the reverse were true, I would choose the lower cost option. The same goes with everything else in life, you have to calculate the cost of materials as well as the time it takes to be able to see how much something is really worth.

Ask: can I do just one more thing

As things come up I have to look to my calendar and look for an opening. Many times I find that I have to reschedule an appointment to make one fit. I purposely schedule sleep for eight hours with two of those hours set for flex-time. I also have to schedule in work and meals. With all this in place I am able to ask myself that particular question with an honest answer.

Ask: can I delegate this

Working in management positions in the past eight years I have learned that I can't do everything myself. As such I hand tasks that do not need my direct attention down to other people to handle. I have learned that there is, "no me in team" and in everything that has to be done in this world has to be done in a team environment. As a team leader I will assign tasks to my team members and give them deadlines on the task(s) at hand.

Ask: how did I just waste my time

I found in the past that I used to spend hours reading news sites on the Web and I accomplished nothing. As I grew aware of this issue I learned ways to catch myself. The simplest was a to-do list attached to my monitor. As I begin to read page after page of information, my eyes hit the right side of my monitor and I see the to-do list and I move onto the next item on the list.

Ask: am I willing to promise it

In the Boy Scouts we have a law and the first point of this law is trustworthy. As I live by this law in my everyday life I am constantly thinking to myself, "If I say this, am I able to hold myself up to my end of the bargain". With this in mind, I am extra careful when I say something to anyone as they will hold me to whatever I say.

I am continuously modifying these techniques. They have taken a long time to develop, and they are constantly being refined. Please remove your safety harness and thank you for taking this journey into my implementation of learning techniques.

Visit Success in 10 Steps to better understand personality types!