Did you ever notice people become more serious at the beginning of September? Gone are the lazy days of summer and in front of us are four important months before year end. I call this the “Back to School Mentality”. I see it as much amongst adults as I do amongst kids. In the corporate world, vacations are finished, meetings that didn’t happen over the summer are now on the calendar and decisions are being made. Why are corporate people more serious during the last four months of the year? Here are a few reasons. Executive decision makers have until year end to make things happen before their reviews.

Since it began six years ago, Leading Women Entrepreneurs has showcased successful female entrepreneurs and business women so that their stories might inspire others, and that their lessons can be passed on.

“The whole mission of LWE is to showcase success and position women entrepreneurs in the limelight,” said Linda Wellbrock, chief executive officer and founder of Leading Women Entrepreneurs. “We want to position them as leaders so they can grow their business by positioning themselves as authorities and inspire the next generation of woman leaders.”

Why waste the month of August cleaning your office? Make the most of your summer by seizing new business opportunities
while your competition plays miniature golf! Most business owners and salespeople assume making prospect calls in August
is pointless because decision makers are on vacation. While it’s true that most people do vacation in August,
I don’t know anyone who goes away for 4 weeks straight! What does this mean for you? It means people are at their
desks, often in good moods and are more likely to pick up their phones to speak with you.

A seminar attendee once said, “If a prospect cancels a meeting, it obviously means he/she is not interested. Further, if the meeting is rescheduled and the prospect cancels again, he is not only uninterested, he is also rude and unworthy of my attention. Ever.? Really? Wow. Whatever happened to giving someone the benefit of the doubt? That attitude will assuredly result in lost relationships and missed opportunities. Here are my thoughts on this subject.

A prospect canceling once, even twice, does not mean he’s not interested or rude. What if the decision maker had something that came up at the last minute that held a higher priority and therefore had a good reason to cancel? What if it was an emergency and he would have canceled on anyone, including his boss? A few weeks ago,

At the Fortune Magazine Scaling Up Conference in Atlanta, Verne Harnish, author of Scaling Up, Founder of Gazelles and Entrepreneurs Organization called me to the stage. He asked me to share a sales tip with the audience of 1000 growth-focused business leaders. As I took the microphone I considered which of my top tips would be most valuable for them. I could have gone with “sell something people will pay to have,” or “inbound marketing alone doesn’t always get you meetings with your wish list prospects but the right sales strategies layered on top of these marketing campaigns will get these meetings,” or “if you really want to get in the door with the right prospects, stop spending time on all the wrong ones.” I can go on. I opted to share a tip based on a recent trend amongst business leaders, their sellers and their prospects which is fast becoming one of the primary reasons why sales don’t close.

It is common for taxpayers to donate property to charitable organizations. There are many important rules to be aware of when making noncash contributions – an area that the IRS is scrutinizing with greater focus.

Regardless of what type of property has been donated, the taxpayer is generally entitled to a deduction equal to the fair market value of the property at the time of the contribution. The most prevalent property donation involves clothing and household goods, whether donated to national organizations such as The Salvation Army and Goodwill Industries, or to local thrift shops and religious institutions. In order to claim a deduction for donations of clothing or household goods they must be in good used condition or better.