“And Moses said unto the people, Fear not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will show to you today….”  Exodus 14:13

Believe it or not, there really is a time to stand still — to bring our physical body into a state of peace. Moses wanted the children of Israel to get out of fear and see the salvation that God was about to bring, but first he had to bring them to a place of rest.  Suppose you have a small child who is afraid and is running around the yard in a panic. To help them get control of their emotions, you must not only calm their fear, you need to get them to stop running around and stand still so they can receive the next instruction. As long as they are running around the yard in fear, they will never be able to receive their deliverance.

Try this today. At some point in the day, simply stop what you are doing, bring your busyness to a standstill and commune with the Father. Stay long enough to see His salvation. Experience the exponential impact of bringing your whole spirit, soul and body into alignment with God. Many of you are gripped by fear, paralyzed by depression, riddled with guilt and see no way out. But there is. And it begins with stopping. Stopping your fear. Stopping the continuous motion or activity that keeps you from hearing the still, small voice of God.

And when you have come to a stop… when you have come to the end of yourself and you stand at the precipice of faith, open the eyes of your understanding and see His salvation. See the hope of his calling, the riches of the glory of his inheritance in you and the exceeding greatness of his power toward you who believe. Then lift up your rod (the Word of God) and declare with everything in you the outcome you know God has for you. Fully express with every fiber in your being what you know God wills for you.  Then walk confidently into the future, trusting God to make a way where there appears to be none. This is not theory. I have walked this path and experienced His great deliverance and so can you!

Look to God. Change your self-talk. Declare a different outcome. Set a new expectancy. What have you got to lose? Now, what are you doing that is equivalent to running around the yard in fear? What action or movement is keeping you from coming to a place of self imposed rest so you can see the salvation God has for you? That’s what you need to stop today. Selah.

P.S. On an unrelated but important note, David Johnson of Epiphany Marketing has a very few openings remaining on his calendar for the free 30-minute consultations he offered. If you haven’t heard it yet (or if you’d like to hear it again), listen to last week’s call here and take advantage of this unique opportunity!

Hello Friend,

If you, like so many others, were unable to catch one of the meetings that I held last week with David Johnson from Epiphany Marketing, then I’ve got good news!

For the next few days, you can catch a replay of one of the calls from last week.  We’ve had an overwhelming response from businesses who are interested in filling their pipelines with new leads and prospects, so I wanted to make sure you had a chance to hear the information.

Also, listen closely to the end of the call to find out about how you can get a free 30-minute consultation with David.  You and he can talk all about how you can make sure your future customers find you instead of your competition.

Listen to the replay here.

I hope you enjoy it.  We had a lot of fun doing it!

Blessings,

Michael

Before I turn things over again to David Johnson from Epiphany Marketing, I want to make sure you’ve reserved your spot on this week’s conference calls.  They start tonight!  (And for those outside the US… in just a matter of hours!)

Both Michael and I have written recently about the economy.  Obviously it’s been on the minds of a lot of people, and certainly some industries and regions have been more affected by it than others.  Either way, the battle is definitely heating up — regardless of external economic conditions — especially for those of us who are believers and whose work and purpose is about expanding the Kingdom of God and not just “making a buck.”

I’m not certain (although I do have a few guesses) where this notion came from, but somewhere along the way in the Church, we got this idea that if God is “blessing” your life and/or your business, things will be easy.  You’ve probably heard it.  There’s a “flow.”  Things are “smooth.”  Doors open for you.

Listen, friends.  I don’t want to deny the supernatural power of the blessing — not even in the slightest.  But one thing I’ve learned is that while we may have seasons where there is less pressure, the notion that things will be easy is absolute garbage.  Don’t get me wrong — we can and should experience greater levels of peace and greater freedom from stress, especially in our interior life.  And we can walk in confidence, knowing that we are being led by the Holy Spirit and carrying out the purpose of God for our lives.

But take a look at what Jesus said Matthew 11:12.  Here it is from the Amplified Bible:

“And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force [as a precious prize--a share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense exertion].”

Let’s face it, if God has called you to the marketplace, then you are on the front lines of taking territory for the Kingdom.  That’s where the battle is the hottest.  Be encouraged today that you are operating in a sin-cursed world system dominated by powers that do not want you to be fruitful nor succeed.  There is and there will be resistance — just like swimming upstream.  But friends, we have access to all the resources of the Kingdom, and we can put them to work today.  If the battle is hot where you are right now, remember the “ardent zeal” and “intense exertion” is par for the course in this fight.  All who take territory will do so because of intentional effort at times when it would be easier to give up.  Take a moment and reach out for help from heaven!

Now, I’m not someone who believes that more revenue is necessarily the answer to every business challenge.  But, if you’ve taken a hit because of changes in the economy or in your business, then here’s a fact: you won’t succeed at fulfilling your purpose (in business or otherwise) unless you connect with those who you are called to serve — those who need what you have to offer.  I urge you to join Michael and I are on our conference calls this week so we can share with you some tools to help you do exactly that.

In the meantime: be encouraged!

“In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides].” (Ephesians 6:10)

Friends, as you can tell, David is as passionate as I am about advancing the Kingdom.  There are 4 opportunities to participate in this week’s conference calls.   If you haven’t already done so, choose your best time.  We’ll talk to you then!

My fellow marketplace warriors…
Here is the invitation I promised you to join me for a meeting this week.  If you’ve been with us for a while, you’ll recall that we held a meeting with David (whose marketing thoughts you’ve probably been reading recently) just a few months ago and had an overwhelming response.

If you’re a newer subscriber, you may not yet be aware that our mission is to help believers worldwide build successful businesses so they can in turn (with their profits and influence) make a significant and lasting impact on the culture within which we live. How you make that difference is up to you. Helping you succeed in that calling is our privilege and our mission.

20-Fold Increase…
Recently, I was evaluating some statistical information related to our business.  It seems like it wasn’t all that long ago (in fact, it was just a couple of years ago) that I was getting excited about the 1,000 or 2,000 visitors coming to our website every month.  When I saw the more recent information, I found out that we’re averaging 10,000 visitors to our site every single week!  This has been due, in large part, to the efforts of David Johnson from Epiphany Marketing, who we retained just over a year ago to help us expand our reach.

Even more than multiplying the number of visitors, what has excited me is when I found out why they’re finding us… David showed me how to view the terms that people are typing into search engines like Google in order to find us.  Wow!  It’s amazing how well-targeted the results are.  We are connecting more than ever with the people who need what we have to offer.

David wants to share information with you…
…about how you can experience similar results.  And, more importantly, how to apply timeless marketing strategy to every facet of your business so that you’re best prepared to create relationships with the people you are reaching out to.  In fact, David would also like to introduce some of the people he’s been training for the last couple of months so you can hear directly from them about what they’ve been learning.

David and I have set aside several time slots Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to discuss specific strategies to help you experience similar results. This is not for everyone, but if you want to grow your business using 21st-century strategies, you are welcome to join us. Register here now so you can be sure to reserve your spot on one of these conference calls. (As always, we are limited on the number of callers we can have on each conference call, so it’s a first-come, first-served basis.)

Warmest regards…

Michael Q. Pink

P.S. I know you probably checked your calendar previously, but I urge you to choose your best meeting time now… these calls will fill up quickly!

Here’s the next in a series of messages I’ve asked David Johnson of Epiphany Marketing to write for you. I hope you enjoy the thoughts on strategic marketing as much as I do…

Did you ever stop to think about the fact that “marketing” is happening all the time in your business — whether you want it to be or not?  Here’s an example to illustrate what I mean…

Picture yourself walking into a restaurant for dinner with your spouse.  It’s a reasonably nice restaurant with an energetic atmosphere.  There’s plenty of activity… you might even say it’s “alive” with excitement.  You’re looking forward to a nice meal.  After a friendly greeting and a brief wait, you are shown to your table where you sit down to look over the menus.  “At any moment,” you think to yourself, “someone will come by to take our drink order and tell us about the specials.” But you wait…

You chat with your spouse and even comment on how unusual it is for you to wait this long.  10 minutes go by.  A large group at a nearby table is served their piping hot meals.  Everything smells good.  People are talking and laughing and having a good time.  Your stomach growls.  You and your spouse exchange small talk and odd looks as you wonder aloud about the service.  You consider going to find someone to ask about your server, but you don’t want to ruin the evening for your spouse…

Ever had this happen to you?  Isn’t it frustrating?  At that moment when you’ve waited for 15 minutes and even tried to get someone’s attention, what message has that restaurant sent to you?

“You’re not important.”

“We don’t care.”

The business owners reading this are probably getting antsy.  Despite our best efforts, sometimes we inadvertently treat customers poorly and send them the wrong message.  We don’t intend to do it, but it happens sometimes.

This is one example of how we are always marketing in business.  In hundreds, perhaps even thousands of small (and big) ways, our business is constantly sending a message — to our customers, future customers, referral sources, and even partners.  My point — and one that my clients and students will tell you is one that I harp on — is that if you don’t intentionally design this message and execute a strategy for communicating it, then your chances of sending an undesirable one go way, way up.

What message is your business sending?

Registration begins today for the conference calls that David and I will be conducting this week.  I’ll send you a link a little later so you can sign up, but for now, check these time slots in your calendar (times shown in US Eastern Daylight Time — click for your time zone):

• Tuesday at 9pm
• Wednesday at 1pm
• Thursday at 7am
• Thursday at 4pm

Good morning friends… One of the ways we’ve been getting practical and helping folks grow their business revenue is through the internet. I’ve been relying on David Johnson of Epiphany Marketing for our internet marketing expertise for the last year and the difference has been quite substantial. Our site use to get a few hundred unique visits per week. Now we are in the five figure range each week, and we’re ramping up for quite a bit more in the near future. I’ve asked David to share a few posts with you to give you some practical help. Hope you enjoy!

How to Drive Off Your Customers

Too busy at work?  More than enough revenue?  Here are some ways you can keep those pesky customers and prospects away…

 

#1: Make Sure Your Marketing is All About You
After all… people who want to spend money with you want to understand how your products & services benefit them, so if you focus on you, your company’s history, your features, etc., you’ll be sure to keep people from bugging you.  Whatever you do, don’t use pictures of the people most likely to actually buy from you, and avoid connecting their needs and wants to aspects of your business most likely to appeal to them.  Instead, just subtly communicate the notion that you’re in business for your own benefit and that you really aren’t interested in customers.  They’ll smell this a mile away and bug someone else instead.

#2: Ignore the Web
If your website hasn’t changed since the Clinton Administration, you’re on the right track here.  Even better: no web presence at all!  If you must have a website, make sure it doesn’t show up in any search engines… and whatever you do: don’t add fresh new content on a regular basis!  You should convey to visitors that you might already be out of business just by the aged look of your site.  To support this notion, hire a neighbor’s kid to build it — especially if he/she has no design experience whatsoever.  Websites that have that “we don’t care” feel do wonders at keeping people away.  If you’re still having response from your site, just bury the information that your customers want to find and add some contact forms to your site that do nothing and go nowhere.  If you can get them to generate an error message, it’s even more fun!

#3:  Keep Your Marketing Efforts Unfocused
If people have a clear idea of who you are and what you’re all about, they’re much more likely to pester you.  So, make sure that there’s no unifying theme to your marketing.  Buy ads at random, and always let whoever who sold you the ad design it for you.  This way, all of your ads will come out looking different from each other.  Make sure that your marketing doesn’t target any one type of customer, and stick with the “shotgun” approach.  Otherwise, your marketing might actually connect with someone, and then they’ll show up or call, expecting service from you.

I hope these tips are helpful for you.  We’ll continue this on another blog entry soon.  And… Michael and I will be holding another marketing teleseminar next week!  If you’re already busy enough and don’t want any new customers, don’t join us!  It could be dangerous!!

Michael here… watch your inbox on Monday morning for dates/times for next week’s event!

Today’s message is a guest entry from David G. Johnson of Epiphany Marketing, LLC.

Folks, today I participated in one of the most amazing conversations of my entire life.

Michael asked me if I would jot you a quick note to tell you about it and also to invite you to hear the recording at no charge.

First of all, you’ll recall from Michael’s recent messages that Pastor Sunday Adelaja has established something called Club 1000 in Ukraine. Its stated purpose is to produce — from his congregation — 1000 millionaires within 10 years. They thought it would take from 2-5 years on average to turn someone into a millionaire.

Well… things didn’t go according to plan.

Pastor Sunday told us the story of a 21-year-old girl who, in just over a year, has gone from making a few hundred dollars per month to millionaire status! She’s now making over $50,000 per month, and what’s interesting is that she still only actually lives on $300 per month! In fact, she just bought her first car last week!

Friends, what Pastor Sunday is doing is pouring into these people in Club 1000. But he has also put some things in place that are mechanisms that actually produce accelerated results in the people that are participating. You need to hear what Pastor Sunday shared with us about what they are doing and what he and others are teaching his people.

Michael and I were so blown away by this conversation that we decided to make it available to you right away. You can hear the conversation on a teleseminar next Tuesday, April 22nd at 1PM US Eastern time. It is being presented by ChristianBusinessDaily.com and would normally only be available to members, but we’ve arranged for you to get a free pass to attend this event.

Sign up right away using this link to get your free pass.

You’ll want to try to make it to this event. There will not be anything for sale. Pastor Sunday isn’t promoting a product. (I can assure you that you’re going to want to read his book, Church Shift, but that won’t even be available for purchase. You might out to grab it from your local Christian bookstore or from Amazon.com as soon as you can).

However, this 1-hour event will afterward only be available to ChristianBusinessDaily.com Gold & Platinum Insider Members or by purchasing the recording. So… this is your one chance to hear it absolutely free if you’re not a member of that website.

Click here to get your free pass.

This is quite frankly a paradigm-shattering conversation that Michael and I both believe is very important for those in the Body of Christ who are interested in advancing the Kingdom of God. Please don’t miss it.

Blessings,

David G. Johnson

Today’s message is a guest entry from David G. Johnson of Epiphany Marketing, LLC.

“AND THERE was a famine in the land… and Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines. And the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I will tell you. Dwell temporarily in this land, and I will be with you and will favor you with blessings; for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.’” (Genesis 26:1-3)

We’re hearing so much this year about the economy, the housing market, the falling dollar and business conditions in general. Hopefully, your business and family are not being affected by it personally, but whether you are or not, hearing about it frequently can have a mental, emotional and even spiritual impact.

With a variety of industries suffering in the local community here, I’ve had this passage from Genesis 26 on my heart quite a bit lately. Isaac found himself and his household surrounded by difficult conditions, and it’s hard to imagine how that may have weighed on his mind. As casual readers, we sometimes forget that his household was most likely substantial, with a lot of mouths to feed and a lot of people looking to him for answers. Today, he might be the owner of a small company — perhaps with 50 employees or more.

What to do?

What’s interesting to me is that when Isaac heard from God, the instructions he received were very counter-intuitive. Egypt would’ve been a safe haven for a nomadic family like his to go and find trading partners. But God instructed him to essentially start a business in a failing industry in an economy that was suffering, and in physical conditions that would not support his new venture. When there’s a famine, it’s generally not the best time to go into agriculture!

But when you have instructions from God, you have hope that others do not have! We’ll pick this subject up again in the next message, but in the meantime, consider this question: Are you getting instructions from God in this season, or are you allowing the conditions around you to shape your thinking?

Have you ever noticed how we automatically and subconsciously put up our walls when a person comes across in a prideful or arrogant way? Just the opposite seems to be true when a powerful force comes across in a humble package.

I am beginning to think that this thing about being created in the image of God may also include carrying some of His preferences. I know we are fallen people, redeemed by Christ. I know we have a sinful nature, but I also think that we still have built in us, at least the potential to appreciate and value and be drawn to the virtues God values. Even if we don’t know the Lord. There is something in most, if not all of us, that wants the character of God. There’s a hunger for His authenticity. The video link I sent you last week of Paul Potts was a great picture of that truth as the audience was enthralled with an authenticity that lacked glitz but carried power.

As if you needed further evidence of the pure touching even the heart of the most calloused, take a look at this 6 year old hitting the national stage in Britain.

To me it speaks of how much people at some level want something pure, something good, something wholesome. It’s another picture of what happens when you combine talent with humility. Something wonderful happens. Let’s humble ourselves while mastering our gifts and watch where God takes us!

Important Note: This is the last day for you to get in on the Spring Training with David Johnson for marketing and growing your business. If you missed the teleseminar, you can listen online or download it here. Call 877-254-3047 or email appointment@sellingamongwolves.com with any questions.

A while back I wrote a blog on soft skills, chief among them humility. I well remember the time I went to hear a lineup of speakers at the 1993 Super Stars of Selling in Nashville, TN. The one speaker that stood out the most and the only one to receive a standing ovation was a man who, it seemed, was speaking before a large crowd for the first time. He was rather monotone, not at all flamboyant, cocky or arrogant and yet he held the audience in rapt attention. Sure, he had earned $3,000,000 in commissions and that was why he was invited, and sure, he had a good message about what he calls the five “F’s” of faith, family, friends, finance and fitness. But what carried the day was his profound humility. He was not boastful, arrogant or proud. His talk was the least exciting and lacked humor but it dripped humility. And the crowd was mesmerized.

There’s just something about humility that God seems to like and quite frankly, so do most people which is why when you combine humility with great talent, you get an overwhelming response. Consider Paul Potts, the cell phone salesman in England. He is not the picture of confidence, but as you will see if you watch this 4 minute video clip, he is immensely talented and genuinely humble. It’s his talent that got him on the program, but his humility that got the crowd to their feet.

What’s the lesson? Develop your gift. Follow your dream. Excel at it. And always, carry that gift with humility. Your gift will get you in the door. Humility will seal the deal. God resists the proud but exalts the humble. Don’t know about you, but I need all the help I can get, so I will choose humility while striving to always do my best and improve my gift.

Important Note: Our conference call for marketing and growing your business in the 21^st century was one of our all time best attended. (If you missed it, you can listen online or download it here.) In that call we offered a 90-day mentoring program which begins this week. It has received our best response ever for this type of program. The door closes on that offer this week, so if you have a business that is in need of more business or a website that needs a lot more traffic, be sure to check it out. A lot of folks had some specific questions about the suitability of this program for their business and David Johnson agreed to extend his availability to discuss your unique situation through Wednesday of this week. You can either call Toll Free (877) 254-3047 or email him at appointment@sellingamongwolves.com to get your specific questions answered.