Success-Communication

Communicator

What type of communicator are you?

The best leaders are communicators and most of them aren't born that way. The best communicators are listeners, they truly listen to others and learn how to process information and then communicate that information with others.

If you want to become a better communicator become a better listener it really is that simple. A communicator understands listening skills are the most important skill because they show you care, that you are paying attention. Make sure you are really listening because people know when you aren’t and that is a turn off. When you listen your clients and your staff will come to appreciate your listening skills and in turn will communicate with you better.

Do you expect your clients or staff to reach out to you or are you proactive about communicating with them? It is very important that you set the meeting with prospective clients, exiting clients and your staff but instead of getting in front of them and speaking to them ask questions. Questions create answers, answers create solutions and solutions make clients and staff happy which leads to better communications for all.

A strong communicator understands at the end of the day that listening not speaking and is the key to a satisfied client and staff!!

irs tax rates and tables 2015

IRS 2015 Tax Brackets, Standard Deduction Amounts And More
Individual Taxpayers

Married Individuals Filing Joint Returns and Surviving Spouses

Married Individuals Filing Separate Returns

Head of Household

Trusts and Estates

Standard Deductions

Personal Exemptions.
The personal exemption amount also goes up for 2015. The personal exemption for 2015 is $4,000, up from $3,950 in 2014.
Phase-outs for personal exemption amounts (sometimes called “PEP”) begins with adjusted gross incomes of $258,250 ($309,900 for married couples filing jointly); they phase out completely at $380,750 ($432,400 for married couples filing jointly.) And now, onto more updates!
Family Related Tax Item Updates:
• Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). For 2015, the maximum EITC amount available is $3,359 for taxpayers filing jointly with one child; $5,548 for two children; $6,242 for three or more children (up from $6,143 in 2014) and $503 for no children.
Phase outs are based on filing status and number of children and begin at $8,240 for single taxpayers with no children and $18,110 for single taxpayers with one or more children.
• Child & Dependent Care Credit. For 2015, the value used to determine the amount of credit that may be refundable is $3,000 (the credit amount has not changed). Keep in mind that this is the value of the expenses used to determine the credit and not the actual amount of the credit.
• Kiddie Tax. For 2015, the threshold for the kiddie tax – meaning the amount of unearned net income that a child can take home without paying any federal income tax – is $1,050.
• Adoption Credit. For 2015, the credit allowed for an adoption of a child with special needs is $13,400, and the maximum credit allowed for other adoptions is the amount of qualified adoption expenses up to $13,400. Phase outs do apply beginning at taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) in excess of $201,010 and completely phased out for taxpayers with MAGI of $241,010 or more.
Education Related Updates:
• Hope Scholarship Credit. The Hope Scholarship Credit for 2015 will be an amount equal to 100% of qualified tuition and related expenses not in excess of $2,000 plus 25% of those expenses in excess of $2,000 but not in excess of $4,000. That means that the maximum Hope Scholarship Credit allowable for 2015 is $2,500. Income restrictions do apply and for 2015, those kick in for taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) in excess of $80,000 ($160,000 for a joint return).
• Lifetime Learning Credit. As with the Hope Scholarship Credit, income restrictions apply to the Lifetime Learning Credit. For 2015, those restrictions begin with taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) in excess of $55,000 ($110,000 for a joint return).
• Student Loan Interest Deduction. For 2015, the maximum amount that you can take as a deduction for interest paid on student loans remains at $2,500. Phase outs apply for taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) in excess of $65,000 ($130,000 for joint returns), and is completely phased out for taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) of $80,000 or more ($160,000 or more for joint returns).
Health Care and Fringe Benefit Updates:
• Flexible Spending Accounts. The annual dollar limit on employee contributions to employer-sponsored healthcare flexible spending accounts (FSA) edges up to $2,550 for 2015 (up from $2,500).
• Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefit. For 2015, the monthly limitation for transportation in a commuter highway vehicle and any transit pass is $130. The monthly limitation for qualified parking is $250.
Federal Estate and Gift Tax Updates:
• Federal Estate Tax Exemption. Estates of decedents who die during 2015 have a basic exclusion amount of $5,430,000, up from a total of $5,340,000 for estates of decedents who died in 2014.
• Federal Gift Tax Exclusion. The annual exclusion for gifts remains at $14,000 for 2015. The exclusion from tax on a gift to a spouse who is not a U.S. citizen is $147,000, up from $145,000 for 2014.
Miscellaneous Updates:
• Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. For 2015, the foreign earned income exclusion finally hits six figures: it’s now $100,800, up from $99,200 for 2014.
• Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) Exemptions. The AMT exemption amount for tax year 2015 is $53,600 for individuals and $83,400 for married couples filing jointly. That compares to $52,800 and $82,100, respectively for 2013. In years past, the AMT was subject to a last minute scramble by Congress to “patch” the exemption but as part of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA), the AMT is permanently adjusted for inflation – that’s why you now see it in this list.
Retirement Updates:
• Elective Contribution Limits. The elective deferral limit for employees who participate in 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans, and the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan increased from $17,500 in 2014 to $18,000 in 2015. The catch-up contribution limit for employees aged 50 and over who participate in 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans, and the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan is increased from $5,500 in 2014 to $6,000 in 2015.
• IRA Contributions. The limit on annual contributions to an Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) remains unchanged at $5,500. The additional catch-up contribution limit for individuals aged 50 and over remains at $1,000.
All together, the IRS posted more than 40 updates. You can read more about them at Revenue Procedure 2014-61.

Qualities of Sucess

Qualities of Success

Have you ever considered what makes you successful?

Common sense. First and foremost being successful requires some form of common sense. The ability to understand what is going on around you and put it to good use. Common sense can be like a sixth sense allowing you to understand before most the scenario playing out around you and allowing you to utilize your skill set before someone else does.

Strive to be the best. As I mentioned above you must have common sense however common sense without expertise makes you as good as the next guy. Most successful people are very good at what they do, and they know they are very good. Successful people study, listen and learn. They achieve through learning and using for the betterment of their clients until they are recognized by their peers as being among the very best in their fields. This quality of being the best is an absolute prerequisite for achieving success.

Have big shoulders. Successful people have big shoulders. They understand that they control their own destiny and are self-reliant and do not look to other for the solutions to their problems. Blame and excuses are for others and do not fit into their vocabulary when things go wrong. They are always first in line for the tough assignments, and they take charge when something needs to be done.

Smart, not necessarily book smart. For successful people being smart is another personal quality that helps them succeed. Smartness seems to be a key requirement for success in any field. However, smartness it is not necessarily measured in terms of test scores. Actually many of the more notable men and women alive today did poorly in school obtaining low grades or no grades, and many of them did not even complete college or high school. Their smartness was not reflected in their grades but in their ability to transfer what they understood into something they could use.

Be results-oriented focused. Don’t daydream! Successful individuals complete more tasks in a short period of time than the average person. These individuals have the ability to identify the important stuff and focus their energy into becoming results-oriented. This means accepting the task of achieving the results for which they are responsible for. Did you ever notice successful people seem to have that ability to achieve more and still have time to be at their children’s events, take better vacations or just take an afternoon off? These highly respected men and women are recognized as being the kind of people who can get the job done, whatever it may be. They are decisive, focused results-oriented people. They have sense of urgency about their jobs in which they have trained themselves to be extremely capable of doing whatever is required. Consequently, bigger and better jobs and responsibilities seem to flow to them. If you want to achieve the success you desire you must become like these individual by adjusting your mentality and getting in tune with your best personal qualities. You need to create a results-oriented focus by identifying your goals and then taking the steps needed that will lead to your success.

The keys to being a successful Person in Business or Sales

1. Be a salesperson! As a salesperson your objective is to help people, to be a trusted advisor, and to educate and lead people down the path they need to go. For example, if you are talking to a qualified prospect with a young family and you don’t convince that person to protect the family with life insurance and something bad happens, it’s your fault that person’s family is not protected. Own that feeling it will make you a better person to believe that.

2. Think like a business owner! Selling is an exciting field with unlimited potential. I probably would never have said that at 22 or 23 however today I believe it is the only place to be. There are only three activities that will ultimately make you money: prospecting, closing and servicing accounts. Those three activities are where most of, if not all of, your prime selling time should be spent. If you want to be successful in sales you must always be prospecting.

3. Customer Service Customer Service Customer Service!!! Success comes from service. The better and more service you provide the more people will do business with you. Keeping a client happy in today’s world is not always easy but needs to be a priority. Happy clients refer more clients and a successful business needs new clients.

4. Work hard, work harder!! The one thing I have learned the harder I work the luckier I get. Hard work creates a good feeling. It makes you feel better you smile more when you smile more people want to be around you. Soon success follows you!

5. Take responsibility for your actions!! Everyone has a bad day don’t feel bad when you do. If your sales numbers are dismal, own them, take responsibility for them. See your results as a warning sign that you need to make some changes in your activity and your approach. Don't make excuses or blame anything outside of yourself, such as the economy, the market you’re in or the people you work with. You are completely responsible for your success or failure.

Are you mentally strong!!

How to be amazing!!!

If you want to be amazing then creating the ultimate customer service is what will set you apart from all others and give you that competitive edge, it’s that simple. Everyone sells the same materials, products or services, what sets you apart? Customer service is what tips the scales in your favor. Most clients will drive further, wait longer and even be willing to spend more for superior customer service. Sales people that deliver a higher level of customer service are, in a word, amazing. Amazing customer service is not an over-the-top level of service it is just a little better than average and consistently given as if it was expected and ordinary. It’s that consistency that makes the difference and that drives client loyalty. A little bit better than average is within the grasp of every sales person. Sure, some individuals will have the opportunity to wow their clients with over-the-top service, but that extreme level of service is impossible to sustain. When you study the best sales people, what you will find is that they are a little better than average and do it consistently. That is why they have clients and not customers. Every company and sales person wants clients because clients they stick with you even if there is an error with their account, they refer others and most of all they continually bring you new business. Quite often, superior customer service is an occasional experience. Usually, this type of service only happens when it is prompted such as when an employee goes the extra mile to fix a problem or react to a situation. However, the best sales people don’t wait for an incident to happen they proactively make sure it doesn’t happen. So how does this happen? Everyone has a role in delivering great service. Everyone can become the role model that others look up to and want to emulate. Customer service is not a department, it’s a philosophy and it’s everyone’s job. If you incorporate it into your daily routine then it becomes part of your daily culture and becomes part of your entire life. So, here’s the bottom line: If a sales person wants to be known as amazing, then you must be committed to being consistently better than average. This takes focus and constant attention to detail. If you can deliver this level of service, clients and prospects will go out of their way to find you. Vincent Ferrara