One of the biggest dust bunnies I see in business is hanging onto prospects for too long. A lot of us HATE prospecting – you know who you are!

For a variety of reasons you have decided that prospecting is a horrible task, so you grudgingly find a few prospects or perhaps they stumble across you. However it happens, you hang onto those prospects forever, waiting for them to buy. Because as long as you are focused on waiting for an answer from them, you do not have to find other prospects. Because if you do, and they all buy from you, how will you ever manage all that new business? (I actually had a business owner say that to me.)

STOP! This is a deadly practice for many reasons. First, you look desperate for anyone who falls onto your plate, making your business look small. When you have to turn people away, you create an aura of having a large business, with the ability to select the cream of the crop clients. Second, to survive in business today, you must get rid of the clutter of old prospects who are hanging around tying up your time and energy. For every old one you hang onto, you are missing the opportunity to find a customer that is likely to buy from you. Show me a business owner who is not making money and I will show you someone who is doing very little prospecting. Act like a leader – dust off that prospect list – clean off those prospects who are dragging their feet on buying. Focus your time and energy on finding ones who will. That’s what business leaders do.

I get asked to speak on how to be successful often – one of my favorite presentations is “Getting What You Want in Business & Life”. And the question always comes up: “What is the most important thing I need to be successful?”

My answer is always the same – confidence. You have to be confident about your ability to do the job, to get the promotion, to build your business. You may not know exactly how to do all these things, but you do need the confidence and belief in your self that you will be able to figure it out. This confidence makes you enthusiastic to tackle new stuff and it is that enthusiasm that makes people want to promote you or buy from you.

I see too many highly talented women out there who don’t give themselves permission to be confident. They hold themselves up worrying about what they don’t know, thinking that they need more education or other credentials, or staying where they are because they don’t know exactly how things are going to turn out if they try something new.

Ask any super successful person you know if they always felt they were in control, if they always knew what they were doing when starting a new venture. The answer will be ‘No!’ Those who succeed in life are those who act confidently. Make 2010 your year to be confident!

Fiona Walsh, CEO, FM Walsh & Associates Inc., WWW.FMWALSH.COM

Larry Farrell, author of “Getting Entreprenurial” identifies having a big vision as a key trait for success in entrepreneurs. They have to be rock solid in knowing what they want to build. Highly successful business owners dream, think, plan what they want their company to be. They have a clear vision of what they are working to create and don’t get sidetracked by what other people think. It’s a business basic.

Lately I keep meeting women in business who do not have this vision locked down. They are bright and work really hard, but they struggle with a lack of confidence, which leads them to ask other people for input all the time. And then they get conflicting opinions, which makes things even harder.

You cannot build a highly profitable business, or sell your products successfully if you do not have strong confidence in what you are doing. People will sense when you are not rock solid during your sales presentations. Your reputation will suffer, especially if you seesaw back and forth on making decisions. Decide what you want to accomplish in your business. Sell more? Introduce new products? Go after different markets? Then go after it with confidence.

Fiona Walsh, CEO, FM Walsh & Associates Inc., WWW.FMWALSH.COM

I recently had the pleasure of speaking to a woman’s group on the 5 Deadly Sins of Business Development. It was clear from the reaction in the room that it was sin number 5 that resonated with these women the most – Not asking for what you want.

The truth is that most women do not ask for what they want – for many reasons. Fear of imposing, not wanting to bother people, not wanting to appear selfish. They ask for what they think they can get, after doing a complex mental equation in their head about what they think the other person is willing to give them! Why not ask for the whole thing? Get clear on what you need, ask for it and then let the person you are asking make their own decision about what they are willing to give. If you do only ask for a part of what you want, no one is going to read your mind and throw in everything else you want – they are just going to give you what you asked for. So put aside your fear, your prejudices and your worry about appearing selfish and simply ask for what you want. You will be pleasantly surprised by the results.

Fiona Walsh, CEO, FM Walsh & Associates Inc., WWW.FMWALSH.COM

I love this post on Extreme Leadership by Drew McLellan. A lot of people think that leadership is a label that some people are born with or that leadership just come naturally to some; but as McLellan points out, extreme leadership comes with great responsibility and effort. An extreme leader is never done; no matter how great a leader you think you are, there is always room for improvement. To really truly be considered a leader, you must create more leaders, or else there is no legacy. Although leadership does take effort, anyone can do it – it comes straight from the heart, you can’t buy it or fake it. This tip is my favourite: leadership is an action verb, not a label; leadership is all about doing rather than talking, real leaders are getting it done rather than posing and wearing the leadership label. You can read McLellan’s full post here. So, are you an extreme leader creating other leaders, or a just poser?

Fiona Walsh, CEO, FM Walsh & Associates Inc., www.fmwalsh.com

“Be very, very careful what you put into that head, because you will never, ever get it out.” – Cardinal Wolsey

This quote by Cardinal Wolsey caught my eye today while reading the newspaper, and it got me thinking. As women we are so security-conscious. Keep your eyes open in underground parking lots. Walk in well-lit areas at night. We have locks on our doors and windows to keep us secure. We rarely let strangers into our homes. We are cautious when answering a stranger’s knock.

I am not suggesting that we not do any of these. But what I find interesting is that we so carefully guard the security of our home, yet we are often so careless of the thoughts we entertain in our heads every day. “I’m not attractive enough. I’m not thin enough. I should eat less and exercise more. I shouldn’t have said that. I shouldn’t have gotten angry at that person. I’m not bright enough to take that promotion. Who am I to ask for what I want? That client won’t hire me – I don’t have enough experience.” And on and on. I hear this stuff coming out of the mouths of women all the time.

We entertain these nasty thoughts as permanent houseguests. Why? What if we practiced the same level of security on the thoughts that we allow into our heads, as we do for strangers coming into our homes? Now I am not suggesting we all become Pollyanna-like. We are all going to have our dark moments in life. But what if we all gave up on the ceaseless self-criticism that chatters through our heads every single day? What could you accomplish if you didn’t entertain those kinds of thoughts? What would you go out and try today? What kind of role models would we become for the next generation of women following us?

Opportunities are only worthwhile if you act on them. Otherwise, they are like puffs of smoke – they just disappear into the sky. Too many times, I see business owners get presented with a great opportunity and instead of seizing it, she sits on it ‘because she’s not quite ready’ or she gives herself all the reasons why they won’t want to buy from her. And the opportunity turns out to be a big zero.

The key to success is to ACT ON THE OPPORTUNITIES AS THEY ARISE! Don’t procrastinate. Don’t put it off. If you want to grow your business, then act like it. Follow up on leads as they come in. Don’t worry about failing. Don’t hesitate because you are not exactly sure how things will turn out. The biggest difference between those who make a lot of money in business and those who don’t, is follow up. Successful people grab onto opportunities when they come along. even when they don’t know exactly how things will work out. So if you have been foot-dragging, make yourself a new rule to follow up on all the opportunities as they come along.

Fiona Walsh, CEO, FM Walsh & Associates Inc., www.fmwalsh.com

I am a big believer in giving back and interestingly, some of my most amazing business opportunities have come to me through my volunteer work. Yes, the volunteer work has given me great contacts and access to some amazing people, which have helped me grow my business. But even more importantly, I only volunteer for projects that I am deeply passionate about and that passion motivates me every single day. It makes me feel good about myself and my ability to make a difference. It makes me step out of the business whirlwind and focus on something way bigger. Volunteering for something you are passionate about builds your confidence and credibility and it makes you a better business person. So if you find yourself flagging, not as excited about things as you would like to be, step out there and fill a volunteer opportunity. You will be surprised at how many doors it will open!

Fiona Walsh, CEO, FM Walsh & Associates Inc., www.fmwalsh.com

Ever been in the situation where you’ve called a sales prospect over and over with little or no response? We’ve all been there and we’ve impatiently written off the prospect as dead because we didn’t want to face another non responsive call.

Next time you are prospecting and this happens, think of this: its a well known fact that sales people give up on sales prospecting calls far too early. A few more calls and the sale is likely to be yours. Also consider the fact that being diligent in following up will prove your commitment to the sales process and gain respect from your prospective buyer.

With a little patience and perseverance that opportunity you are about to write off as dead could turn into a sale. Go dial that number, smile and think of the closing the deal. Here are some pointers that will help: 7 tips for turning cold calls into hot leads.

Fiona Walsh, CEO, FM Walsh & Associates Inc., www.fmwalsh.com

There are tons of opportunities all around you to build your business. In the local newspaper, on business blogs, at networking events, in the shape of the person in line next to you in Starbucks.

The key is to be curious and talk to people. Every day. Ask them what they do and listen to their answers. And if you see a potential solution you can offer, then do it. Don’t start giving yourself all the reasons why they won’t be interested.

Finding new business opportunities is not some deep, dark secret. Neither is it complicated. Know what you do (the solution you provide), know who you do it for (your target markets) and then go out and start contacting people. That’s how you build successful business. One contact at a time.

Fiona Walsh, CEO, FM Walsh & Associates Inc., www.fmwalsh.com