Increase sales is the mantra from Fortune 100 companies to the smallest of the small businesses. The U.S. economy is growing with the Dow over 12,000 point and everyone is looking for more business results. So what is keeping you from achieving more business success? Even though we know that there is no magic pill to increase sales, there may be one secret or key that may help you to achieve more in 2007.

How many times in our search to improve our businesses, do we seek solutions from the outside and fail to look within ourselves? Have you considered assessing your own tenacity and looking within the word tenacity? Did you see the word ten – 10 - within tenacity?

Tenacity has many definitions, but I like the simple ones such as Chuck Norris who states tenacity is the ability "to stick to it when things get tough. " So, how many times will you stick to it? Are you discouraged after a couple of times and give up? If you had a minimum benchmark before stopping and this thresh hold would keep you going forward, would those difficult times be less challenging?

From our childhood experiences, we are told to "Count to 10" before allowing our temper to guide our behaviors or taking other types of action before we think. This paradigm is a great way to reinforce our own tenacity as we overcome those obstacles that are keeping us from securing personal success to business success.

To increase sales begins by finding prospects. Thousands of voice mails are left every day and not returned. Do you give up after a couple of tries when your calls are not returned? How much would your sales increase if you made a decision to call this person at least 10 times before you even called her or him the first time? Would your phone voice be consistently positive?

Another way to find prospects is by speaking at local meetings such as civic organizations, associations or chambers of commerce. If you made a conscious decision to give at least 10 speeches every 3 months, how would that affect the results from your marketing plan?

Referrals are one of the best ways to increase sales. If you would contact 10 current or past clients and then contact 10 centers of influence and asked each for at least 2 referrals, how would that affect your business success?

Just imagine all of the results if you consistently applied the Tenacity Power of 10 to all of your business activities?

* How much more would your business grow if you made 10 more calls each days?
* How many more clients would you have if you meet with 10 more prospects each week?
* How much more marketing results would you receive if you mailed 10 more introductory letters each month?

The Tenacity Power of 10 automatically creates a self-fulfilling prophecy by strengthening your own personal resolve because now you are in control of your own destiny. Years ago, Henry Ford penned these words: "Whether you think that you can, or that you can’t, you are usually right."

Business success or personal success is a matter of choice. Being tenacious is also a matter of choice. You can choose to be tenacious towards success or to be tenacious towards failure. For me, there is only one choice and failure is not an option.

Leanne Hoagland-Smith, M.S. is a business coach and executive coach with offices in Indianapolis and near Chicago. She writes, speaks and coaches people in businesses to quickly double or triple results through the creation of an executable strategic plan along with the necessary leadership skills "to pull it off."

One quick question,if you could secure one new client or breakthrough that one roadbloack holding you back from success, what would that mean to you? Then, take a risk and give me, Leanne, a call at 219.759.5601 to experience incredible results.