3 Sales Tactics That Transformed My Confidence As An Entrepreneur
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This sales script and process has made the sales process more enjoyable and effective.
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As a weekly contributor to Forbes for nearly the last two years, Lelia regularly shares her insights into career fulfilment, negotiation, and workplace dynamics for women. Her work had been translated into 6 languages and published in 13 countries.
Interested in a specific area? Check out the topics below.
Dreading A Difficult Conversation? These 4 Strategies Can Help
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Whether you're dealing with a difficult client, colleague, or employer, these 4 strategies can help you say what you need to in a way that's compelling, authentic and more comfortable to you.
Read MoreWe Can’t End Sexism Without Addressing Racism and Inequality
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Accessible, meaningful and realistic next steps to take action
Read MoreGender Bias In Law - What The Florida Bar Is Doing About It
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The Florida Bar just swore in its 6th female president in its 70 year history. Here's what she plans to do.
Read MoreConflicted? These 4 Unexpected Steps Can Bring You Clarity
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Ever say "part of me feels this way, and part of me feels this other way"? This process can help you make sense of your thoughts and reach a decision.
Read MoreThis Conversation Made Me Check My White Privilege (Again)
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A friend tried to share a worrisome experience with me, and in my attempt to connect, I almost forgot to listen and made her experience worse.
Read MoreHow Your Racial And Gender Identities Can Overlap And Affect Your Career
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Everyone has multiple identities. Find out how some of yours may impact your career.
Read MoreSurprising Research Shows How Gender Helps Us At Work
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Being a woman is in many ways beautifully aligned with being a successful professional. Here's how to make that work to your advantage.
Read MoreThe Unconscious Bias Women Have Against Women
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Regardless of your gender, your subconscious is telling you about how a “leader” or “successful professional” is supposed to look and behave – like a dude.
Read More3 Simple Tools To Make The Most Of Your Blog
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If you write online, these three tools will be invaluable when you're next asked to provide quick turnaround on a new article, send over media clips, or share resources on a particular topic.
Read MoreFeel More Confident When You Name Your Value At Work
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There’s a lot of great content about how to research your market value and understand your worth, but just having the data isn’t enough. You have to believe you’re worth it.
Many of us struggle with feelings of self-worth, asking ourselves, “Do I really deserve what I’m asking for?” Personally, it took me years to get comfortable naming my speaker fee without immediately discounting it.
Here are three key tools to get comfortable with naming your value:
Read MoreTurn Your To Do List Into A ‘Ta-Da’ List
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When I was a teen making to-do lists, “Make to-do list” was always the last thing I included so that I could immediately mark something off. It was the free space on my to-do list bingo card.
I still rely on to-do lists to get stuff done, but it’s complemented by a list I like far more – my ta-da list, comprised of all the things I accomplished that day.
Read MoreHow To Write A Great Out Of Office Email
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A few weeks ago, I received an automated out of office (OOO) email reply that was so good I immediately wanted to work with the sender. A colleague had e-introduced me to Kristine Sloan, the CEO of StartingBloc, and Sloan’s automated reply was my first communication with her.
Next time I write an OOO, instead of just giving the dates by which people can expect a reply, here are three ways I’ll try to use Sloan’s model to up my game.
Read More3 Steps To Create A Personal Brand (And Why It Matters)
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Last week, public speakers from across the country assembled in Phoenix, AZ for Brand Lab, a retreat the National Speakers Association designed to help attendees hone their personal brands.
After two and a half days of workshops and feedback sessions, I identified three common themes among industry leaders who are effectively using their personal brand to connect with clients.
Read More3 Tips to Make The Most Of Conferences (Without Feeling Awkward)
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Going to a conference can feel a bit like the first day of high school. You’re nervous about what to wear, you expect to absorb a ton of new information, and you really hope people like you.
Whether I’m there to give a keynote or cover the event as a writer, a big part of my job is attending conferences. Fortunately, I like them.
I recently attended the National Speaker Association (NSA) Brand Lab in Phoenix, AZ and noted some of my favorite strategies to make the most of conferences and make them feel less awkward.
Read MoreHere’s What Negotiation Advice Doesn’t Tell You
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A client recently reached out to tell me she was “in a pickle.” She’d gotten a job offer with a salary that was 43% more than she’d made in her last position and she felt torn about whether or not to negotiate for more. She texted me, “My gut says NEGOTIATE and make Lelia proud, but my head says the salary is awesome and appropriate.”
This kind of “pickle” comes up often for my clients. There’s a tension between being happy with the offer and the feeling that they “should” negotiate.
As she worked through her feelings, she realized she felt a responsibility to negotiate. Even though this was a fantastic salary offer, campaigns telling her to “lean in” and “#ask4more” made her feel guilt and self-doubt about accepting the role as offered. These well-intentioned campaigns can make women feel like gender bias and ending the wage gap are their responsibility to fix, when they’re actually systemic problems we have to navigate. Here’s how we should approach it instead.
Read More4 Steps To Prep For (And Ace) Your Negotiation
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When negotiating at work, it helps to practice. You don’t want the first time you say the words out loud to be in a high stakes meeting with your counterpart. If you haven’t prepared, you run a high risk of negotiation word vomit. Role play with a trusted friend, partner, or advisor to help you find language that is comfortable, authentic – and will make your case more convincing.
There are four types of practice negotiations to try with your role play buddy, each of which will help you ace the real deal.
Read MoreThe Surprising Benefits Of An 'Imperfect Action Plan'
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Recently, I’ve felt stuck. This wasn’t paralyzed-by-self-doubt stuck or even exhausted stuck, though those happen to me too. This time, I felt stuck in a whirlwind with so many potential next steps to choose from. I was left overwhelmed and unsure where to begin.
Here’s the thing: if I think all of my next steps need to be perfectly crafted, I end up paralyzed with perfectionism, reluctant to take any steps at all. Here's where the Imperfect Action Plan comes in.
Read MoreDo You Suffer From The 'Need To Please Disease'?
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A recurring theme at women’s conferences is the narrative that “women just need to be confident.”
If confidence were a switch in our brains that we could flip on, this well-intentioned advice would be transformative. Since it’s not exactly a binary system that we can activate – confident vs unconfident – it’s worth considering why women’s professional confidence might be a little shakier than our male counterparts’. (Hint: it’s not just you.)
How To Get (Or Be) A Good Accountability Buddy
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You’ve probably heard of accountability buddies (people who help one another stay motivated and on track) but what do those relationships look like in action, and how do you become a good one?
Based on experience with two of my favorite accountability buddies, here are three steps to developing these somewhat magical symbiotic partnerships.
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