============================================================
Monday Morning Motivators – March 31, 2007
============================================================
Enjoy your java with an eclectic collection of tips and ideas to use today and to get energized for the week ahead. Subscribing and unsubscribing at www.mondaymorningmotivators.com
"Customer complaints are the schoolbooks from which we learn.”
--Unknown
============================================================
Table of Contents
============================================================
1. Customer Service Wrap-up – Linda Fayerweather
2. Presentation Savvy: The Right Foot - Rebecca Booth
3. The Law of Polarity – Pat Altvater
4. How Do I Build My Business In a Slow Economy? – Paula Frazier
5. To Do This Week
6. Fine Print
============================================================
1. Customer Service Wrap-up ============================================================
After four weeks of fun stories about customer service, let's end with some tips you may find helpful. I, like many, cringe when I do evaluations of myself because I am drawn to the negative comments and sometimes forget to enjoy the positives. But I know to get what we want in business (profit) we need to give others what they need and that includes customer service. As leaders of departments, businesses, As leaders of departments, businesses, teams or companies, we need to regularly do several things.
1. Contact a random sampling of customers to find out “how did we do?”.”
2. Track complaints AND solutions.
3. Empower staff to solve problems.
4. Reward staff for solving problems before they spiral out of control.
5. Do postmortems for the benefit of all on what did work and kept a customer.
Although these sound simple, they do require putting procedures in place, testing those procedures and making sure that all staff members are following them. Consistency works best when everyone on the team knows that asking for feedback from customers -- either on a specific call or in general -- is perhaps the best way to assess their performance.
To wrap up this month of customer service, remember your company’s core values are being tested each and every time a complaint happens. Making sure everyone knows these values will surely help 2008 be great.
Copyright 2008 Linda Fayerweather
"What do your customers teach you this week?”
Changing Lanes LLC
www.ChangingLanes.biz
The Customer Service Rules
http://www.changinglanes.biz/index.cfm?p=page&ar77=Y&id=89&blog_cat_name=Getting%20and%20Keeping%20Customers%20-%20Marketing%20and%20Sale
============================================================
2. Presentation Savvy: Starting Off on the Right Foot
============================================================
Do you hate to stand up in front of a crowd and speak? What about sitting there and listening to someone else drone on and on about something you really don’t care that much about. Well, here’s some good news: the power of presentation success is in your hands! When you’re getting ready for your next speech be sure to:
• Use questions to jump-start the audience. Get their input as to what they’d like to get out of the day’s discussion. For those of you who have to listen – go into the meeting with a list of questions you’d like to have answered.
• Keep your presentation to 20-30 minutes. By the end of a 55-minute speech, no one’s in the mood to ask questions that might prolong the meeting. So keep it short in nature and break off into groups so that people can discuss what they’ve learned. This period of reflection and sharing often yields more productive questions. Those who are listening: get involved. Share your thoughts and don’t be afraid to play devil’s advocate.
• Avoid death by PowerPoint. PowerPoint is often over used. You don’t need to have every talking point listed in your presentation. Limit your slides to 10 or less. And don’t completely darken the room – those who are reading this have my permission to fall asleep if the speaker doesn’t follow the rule of 10.
• Be creative! If part of your mission is to get people thinking in new ways, ask them to draw their goals, role-play or do free-form writing about plans, goals and struggles. Opening up the right brain in your audience elicits unique insights and solutions. For those who are stuck listening, doodle!
Copyright 2008 Rebecca Booth
Marketing Goddess
Imagine That!
419-855-3399
www.rebeccaboothmarketinggoddess.com
===========================================================
3. The Law of Polarity
===========================================================
Have you ever pondered the fact that everything in the Universe has its opposite? This is the result of the Law of Polarity which states that anything can be separated into two opposite parts, with each part having its own essence.
This law is essential for defining objects; for example, white and black, up and down, right and left help us be clear. However, this law is also crucial to helping us fully experience our lives. If what we perceive as bad did not exist, how would we know when we are having a good experience? If failure did not exist, how could we know success?
Both sides always exist simultaneously. So consider this, the polar opposite of a question is the answer. By law, you couldn’t have an idea without the way to do it also being present. If it were not possible, you couldn’t think it. So in your business, know that if you have a creative idea but don’t know HOW to bring it to life, there is an answer or you wouldn’t have thought of the idea. Just move forward with confidence and slowly the HOW will unfold.
Pat Altvater
Certified Law of Attraction Practitioner
www.thesecretofpermanentweightloss.com
www.permanentweightlossebook.com
www.transformationsinstitute.com
===========================================================
4. How Do I Build My Business In a Slow Economy?
===========================================================
Dear Monday Morning Motivator Readers,
So many folks are tossing around the “r” (recession) word. I wanted you to benefit from this (partial) article from Dr. Ivan Misner. When it comes to referral marketing, he is a world’s leading expert, my mentor and my friend. My best to your success…Paula Frazier.
When the economy is slow, new business is harder to get. What can you do to build your business in a recessionary economy?
It’s been about ten years since our last recession in the United States. For the most part, the U.S. economy has been strong and business has been good. However, the fact is that the economy goes through cycles and business has slowed down for many people. Unfortunately, every time it takes a downturn the fallout is felt strongly by salespeople, business owners, and professionals alike.
Successful business professionals learn from the past. For many of us, this will not be our first recession. So, what did we learn from previous economic downturns? While you cannot control the economy or your competition, you can control your response to the economy.
If you want to do well in business, you must understand that it does absolutely no good to complain to people about tough things are. When you complain about how bad business is – half the people you tell don’t care and the other half are glad that you’re worse off than they are!
Referrals can keep your business alive and well during an economic downturn.
During the last recession, thousands of business people grew and prospered. They were successful because they consciously made the decision to refuse to participate in the recession. They did so by developing their networking skills and learning how to build their business through word of mouth.
Don’t let a bad economy be your excuse for failure. Instead, make it your opportunity to succeed. It’s not “what you know,” or “who you know,” it’s “how well you know people” that counts. In a tough economy, it’s your social capital that has value. Make good use of it and you will thrive while others struggle.
By Ivan R. Misner, Ph.D. & Contributed by Paula Frazier
To learn more about Dr. Misner, read this article in its entirety and weigh in on the subject visit http://NetworkingEntrepreneur.com.
Dr. Ivan Misner is the Founder and Chairman of BNI, the world's largest business networking organization, which has more than 4,900 chapters in 37 countries. Dr. Misner is also the author of several books, including the most recent addition to the bestselling Masters Series—Masters of Sales (www.mastersbooks.com), and the New York Times bestseller TRUTH OR DELUSION? (www.truthordelusion.com); and he is the Senior Partner for the Referral Institute (www.referralinstitute.com), a referral training company with operations around the world.
===========================================================
5. To Do This Week
===========================================================
Last day of March, make sure your back-ups are working.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Customers - Rules - Expand - Ask
============================================================
Monday Morning Motivators – March 24, 2007
============================================================
Enjoy your java with an eclectic collection of tips and ideas to use today and to get energized for the week ahead. Subscribing and unsubscribing at www.mondaymorningmotivators.com
"Treat every customer as if they sign your paycheck…because they do." --Author Unknown
============================================================
Table of Contents
============================================================
1. A Customer has Needs and Wants – Linda Fayerweather
2. 11 Rules for Living – Part 3 of 3 - Rebecca Booth
3. Don't contract - EXPAND!! – Pat Altvater
4. What is Selling and How Do You Keep It Relational? – Paula Frazier
5. To Do This Week
6. Fine Print
============================================================
1. A Customer has Needs and Wants
============================================================
This may shock some of you as it did me, but apparently there are people that prefer their dress pants with no crease down the front. Learning this the hard way - my pants would come back with side creases that gave a very "clownish" image - I went to the cleaners personally, asked to have my trousers repressed, and explained my preference. I learned 50% of women want their trousers pressed that way. Well, I'm not one! After a few months the creases began to show up on the sides again. Being a fixer by nature, I created a laminated tag attached to the laundry bag that states:
CUSTOMER is requesting that this pair of trousers and ALL trousers be ironed/pressed with a CREASE DOWN the FRONT. That means I, the customer, want ALL my trousers with a CREASE that goes OVER THE KNEE, DOWN the FRONT.
Seems pretty straightforward? Well, two more trips to the dry cleaners, one letter to the owner and I've been free of side creases for 8 months. Normally, I would have been like most customers and just disappeared and found a new dry cleaner. Convenience is a strong motivator as all I do is leave the clothes in the hamper and magically they disappear and return clean. Actually, my husband handles this through his employer's drop-off service AND he has NEVER gotten his pants back with side creases.
In this case the customer had needs that were not out of the realm of reason. If I was that difficult of a customer, they should have told me with my first complaint they couldn't meet my needs. As business owners, when we take a customer's business we are agreeing to a level of service we provide to our favorite customers. Nothing less should apply to any of our customers.
Copyright 2008 Linda Fayerweather
"What do your customers really need?"
Changing Lanes LLC
www.ChangingLanes.biz
The Customer Service Rules
============================================================
2. 11 Rules for Living – Part 3 of 3
============================================================
We end our mini-series on the 11 Rules for Living for with the following 4 rules. Please use this article as an example of how you can touch your target market in an honest and innovative manner. Thanks needs to be given to New Accountant for featuring this article by Charles J. Sykes.
Rule #8 – Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not. In some schools they have abolished failing grades; they’ll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule #9 – Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.
Rule #10 – Television is NOT real life. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule #11 – Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.
Copyright 2008 Rebecca Booth
Marketing Goddess
Imagine That!
419-855-3399
www.rebeccaboothmarketinggoddess.com
===========================================================
3. Don't contract - EXPAND!!
===========================================================
I gave up watching or reading the news years ago but as an avid Internet user, I can’t help but be bombarded by that nasty “R” word – recession. It’s important to protect ourselves from all the negativity surrounding our economy right now because we can actually be influenced by the news and not even realize it.
It only takes the slightest hint of a suggestion to trigger an old belief in our subconscious, a belief that says for example, "business goes down in a recession." Often we don't even know the little seed of doubt has slipped in, but it gets in our mind and grows slowly, yet persistently. We actually give way to lack, limitation and failure a little at a time and before we know it, we’ve become one with the problem.
Instead, stay conscious to this by adopting a new belief that states “my business expands every year.” Succeed and grow, regardless of what "they say." Just keep moving forward, by putting yourself out there more and more each day and you’ll attract the customers you need to grow your business this year.
Pat Altvater
Certified Law of Attraction Practitioner
www.thesecretofpermanentweightloss.com
www.permanentweightlossebook.com
www.transformationsinstitute.com
===========================================================
4. What is Selling and How Do You Keep It Relational?
===========================================================
What is selling? According to Dictionary.com it’s a verb (an action word) that means “to persuade or induce someone to buy something; to cause to be accepted.”
When people commit to building their business by referral they get so focused on being relational that they forget that at some point a transaction, a sale, must take place. In many cases, people confuse marketing with selling. Marketing has become more widely defined as the commercial process of promoting a product or service for the purpose of selling and distribution -WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Simply said, we market to get the word out. The primary goal is create visibility within your market. Here’s a reminder of the 4 ways to market your business: advertising, public relations, cold calling and word-of-mouth.
Once you’ve begun your marketing efforts, it’s time to start selling. Referral marketers focus much of their efforts on the prospecting part of the sales process. Relational prospecting is about purposefully and strategically doing the right things at the right time with the right people to create credibility to connect with your target market. Based on your own strengths and weaknesses you could:
a. Activate Key Referral Sources
b. Arrange Speaking Engagements
c. Write Articles/Publish Newsletters
d. Maintain a Blog
Prospecting activities (like the ones listed above) will generate interest. People will want to learn more about you and your products/services which means it’s time to move forward in the relationship and in the sales process. Arrange a face to face meeting to:
a. Learn about their business goals, industry accomplishments and personal interests.
b. Identify specific needs that you can help them with through your products/services. Be aware that you may be standing in the middle of a referral. Connect them with others in your networks that can help them through their products/services.
c. If you determine that you can help them, overcome objections. The most common concerns are time and money.
d. ASK FOR THE SALE!
The big question – How do you keep selling relational? Here is the key:
It’s the intent behind the techniques and sales tactics you employ that determines your ethics. In order for others to believe in the benefits of your products and services, you must believe in them first. When is the last time you used your own products/services? Share your success story.
Copyright 2008 Paula Frazier is a Master Trainer for Referral Institute and an Executive Director for BNI, the world’s leading referral marketing organizations. To learn more about Relational Selling visit http://www.bniswva.com
or http://www.referralinstitutevirginia.com
===========================================================
5. To Do This Week
===========================================================
Wash Your Car – it will give you a new outlook on the week!
Monday Morning Motivators – March 24, 2007
============================================================
Enjoy your java with an eclectic collection of tips and ideas to use today and to get energized for the week ahead. Subscribing and unsubscribing at www.mondaymorningmotivators.com
"Treat every customer as if they sign your paycheck…because they do." --Author Unknown
============================================================
Table of Contents
============================================================
1. A Customer has Needs and Wants – Linda Fayerweather
2. 11 Rules for Living – Part 3 of 3 - Rebecca Booth
3. Don't contract - EXPAND!! – Pat Altvater
4. What is Selling and How Do You Keep It Relational? – Paula Frazier
5. To Do This Week
6. Fine Print
============================================================
1. A Customer has Needs and Wants
============================================================
This may shock some of you as it did me, but apparently there are people that prefer their dress pants with no crease down the front. Learning this the hard way - my pants would come back with side creases that gave a very "clownish" image - I went to the cleaners personally, asked to have my trousers repressed, and explained my preference. I learned 50% of women want their trousers pressed that way. Well, I'm not one! After a few months the creases began to show up on the sides again. Being a fixer by nature, I created a laminated tag attached to the laundry bag that states:
CUSTOMER is requesting that this pair of trousers and ALL trousers be ironed/pressed with a CREASE DOWN the FRONT. That means I, the customer, want ALL my trousers with a CREASE that goes OVER THE KNEE, DOWN the FRONT.
Seems pretty straightforward? Well, two more trips to the dry cleaners, one letter to the owner and I've been free of side creases for 8 months. Normally, I would have been like most customers and just disappeared and found a new dry cleaner. Convenience is a strong motivator as all I do is leave the clothes in the hamper and magically they disappear and return clean. Actually, my husband handles this through his employer's drop-off service AND he has NEVER gotten his pants back with side creases.
In this case the customer had needs that were not out of the realm of reason. If I was that difficult of a customer, they should have told me with my first complaint they couldn't meet my needs. As business owners, when we take a customer's business we are agreeing to a level of service we provide to our favorite customers. Nothing less should apply to any of our customers.
Copyright 2008 Linda Fayerweather
"What do your customers really need?"
Changing Lanes LLC
www.ChangingLanes.biz
The Customer Service Rules
============================================================
2. 11 Rules for Living – Part 3 of 3
============================================================
We end our mini-series on the 11 Rules for Living for with the following 4 rules. Please use this article as an example of how you can touch your target market in an honest and innovative manner. Thanks needs to be given to New Accountant for featuring this article by Charles J. Sykes.
Rule #8 – Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not. In some schools they have abolished failing grades; they’ll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule #9 – Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.
Rule #10 – Television is NOT real life. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule #11 – Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.
Copyright 2008 Rebecca Booth
Marketing Goddess
Imagine That!
419-855-3399
www.rebeccaboothmarketinggoddess.com
===========================================================
3. Don't contract - EXPAND!!
===========================================================
I gave up watching or reading the news years ago but as an avid Internet user, I can’t help but be bombarded by that nasty “R” word – recession. It’s important to protect ourselves from all the negativity surrounding our economy right now because we can actually be influenced by the news and not even realize it.
It only takes the slightest hint of a suggestion to trigger an old belief in our subconscious, a belief that says for example, "business goes down in a recession." Often we don't even know the little seed of doubt has slipped in, but it gets in our mind and grows slowly, yet persistently. We actually give way to lack, limitation and failure a little at a time and before we know it, we’ve become one with the problem.
Instead, stay conscious to this by adopting a new belief that states “my business expands every year.” Succeed and grow, regardless of what "they say." Just keep moving forward, by putting yourself out there more and more each day and you’ll attract the customers you need to grow your business this year.
Pat Altvater
Certified Law of Attraction Practitioner
www.thesecretofpermanentweightloss.com
www.permanentweightlossebook.com
www.transformationsinstitute.com
===========================================================
4. What is Selling and How Do You Keep It Relational?
===========================================================
What is selling? According to Dictionary.com it’s a verb (an action word) that means “to persuade or induce someone to buy something; to cause to be accepted.”
When people commit to building their business by referral they get so focused on being relational that they forget that at some point a transaction, a sale, must take place. In many cases, people confuse marketing with selling. Marketing has become more widely defined as the commercial process of promoting a product or service for the purpose of selling and distribution -WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Simply said, we market to get the word out. The primary goal is create visibility within your market. Here’s a reminder of the 4 ways to market your business: advertising, public relations, cold calling and word-of-mouth.
Once you’ve begun your marketing efforts, it’s time to start selling. Referral marketers focus much of their efforts on the prospecting part of the sales process. Relational prospecting is about purposefully and strategically doing the right things at the right time with the right people to create credibility to connect with your target market. Based on your own strengths and weaknesses you could:
a. Activate Key Referral Sources
b. Arrange Speaking Engagements
c. Write Articles/Publish Newsletters
d. Maintain a Blog
Prospecting activities (like the ones listed above) will generate interest. People will want to learn more about you and your products/services which means it’s time to move forward in the relationship and in the sales process. Arrange a face to face meeting to:
a. Learn about their business goals, industry accomplishments and personal interests.
b. Identify specific needs that you can help them with through your products/services. Be aware that you may be standing in the middle of a referral. Connect them with others in your networks that can help them through their products/services.
c. If you determine that you can help them, overcome objections. The most common concerns are time and money.
d. ASK FOR THE SALE!
The big question – How do you keep selling relational? Here is the key:
It’s the intent behind the techniques and sales tactics you employ that determines your ethics. In order for others to believe in the benefits of your products and services, you must believe in them first. When is the last time you used your own products/services? Share your success story.
Copyright 2008 Paula Frazier is a Master Trainer for Referral Institute and an Executive Director for BNI, the world’s leading referral marketing organizations. To learn more about Relational Selling visit http://www.bniswva.com
or http://www.referralinstitutevirginia.com
===========================================================
5. To Do This Week
===========================================================
Wash Your Car – it will give you a new outlook on the week!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Needs - Rules - Clear Mind - Doodads
============================================================
Monday Morning Motivators – March 17, 2007
============================================================
Enjoy your java with an eclectic collection of tips and ideas to use today and to get energized for the week ahead. Subscribing and unsubscribing at www.mondaymorningmotivators.com
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."
-- Jeremy Kitson
============================================================
Table of Contents
============================================================
1. Customer Needs and Wants – Linda Fayerweather
2. 11 Rules for Living – Part 2 of 3 - Rebecca Booth
3. Clear Your Mind Daily – Pat Altvater
4. Put Away the Doodads & Stick with the Basics – Paula Frazier
5. To Do This Week
6. Fine Print
============================================================
1. A Customer comes to us with Needs and Wants
============================================================
If a customer has needs or wants, we are charged with filling them and often our customers come back after the sale for help or service. How we handle these requests will impact future sales and referrals.
This week’s shopping adventure again involves my 4x4 only now I’m driving a 4 year old Toyota Highlander. After refilling my wiper fluid reservoir, the following morning on the interstate, I noticed the hood was vibrating. My mind envisioned it ripping off and much assorted damage. Not liking that outcome, I pulled off the road and attempted to reclose the hood but the thingamajig that grabs the hood loop was uncooperative. Being only 2 miles away from the dealership, I headed there at 7:45AM realizing I was missing my 8AM meeting and probably my 9AM, too. Arriving without an appointment, the service manager found a tech to take a look, diagnose and report a spring had sprung and they could replace it for $89. Before finishing, they informed me that a tail light was out and did I also want that fixed for $24. Gosh, they did a safety check, too (although some may call that up-selling – I call it keeping me from talking to state troopers!).
I was on my way by 8:45, only a few minutes late for my 9AM meeting. I was on my way by 8:45, only a few minutes late for my 9AM meeting. Rouen Toyota confirmed why I bought my truck there and why I will return. They knew what I wanted besides getting my truck fixed – I wanted to be on the road again with little lost time!
Copyright 2008 Linda Fayerweather
“What do your customers really want?”
Changing Lanes LLC
www.ChangingLanes.biz
The Customer Service Rules
============================================================
2. 11 Rules for Living – Part 2 of 3
============================================================
Last week we started a series on 11 Rules for Living (written by Charles J. Sykes) which is perfect for any parent of a teen or college student. It’s an example of smart marketing by New Accountant magazine. Here are rules 4-7 for you to enjoy:
Rule #4 – If you think your teacher is tough, wait until you get a boss. He doesn’t have tenure.
Rule #5 – Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping; they called it opportunity.
Rule #6 – If you mess up, it’s not your parent’s fault, so don’t whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule # 7 – Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes, and listening to you talk about how cool you are. So before you save the rainforest from the parasites of your parents’ generation, try “delousing” the closet in your own room.
Copyright 2008 Rebecca Booth
Marketing Goddess
Imagine That!
419-855-3399
http://www.rebeccaboothmarketinggoddess.com/
===========================================================
3. Clear Your Mind Daily
===========================================================
Meditation is one of the most effective ways to quiet and focus your mind so you can be more creative in attracting your goals and dreams.
Try meditating each morning for five minutes and increase the time as you get more comfortable with it. Find a quiet location where you won't be disturbed. Then close your eyes and breathe slowly and deeply focusing only on your breath. It's okay to notice any thoughts that arise, just don't spend any time with them.
When you feel complete, read your major goals or just your goals for that day. When you focus on what you want to create with a clear, quiet mind, you will find that your days begin more peacefully and you will carry that calm throughout the day. Most importantly, you will see your desires coming to you effortlessly!
Copyright 2008 Pat Altvater
Certified Law of Attraction Practitioner
http://www.thesecretofpermanentweightloss.com/
http://www.permanentweightlossebook.com/
http://www.transformationsinstitute.com/
===========================================================
4. Put Away the Doodads & Stick with the Basics
===========================================================
I must admit that I’m definitely not technologically savvy. I used to invest a pretty penny into making sure that I had the latest and greatest toys and that I kinda sorta knew how to use them. I test drove gadgets before some folks even knew they existed:
1. I had a phone that gave me internet access, sent/received emails and beamed Excel/Word documents to others of its kind. It would even call people on its own . . . without me knowing. Apparently there was some kind of voice command that I was activating. I can only image the conversations people heard sooo I gave it to my husband. Now it calls me without his knowledge. Very handy!
2. I had one of those ear bud thingies that looks like a big roach resting on your ear. People asked me if it was a hearing aid. I wish! The sound quality wasn’t very good in the first generation of wireless headsets.
3. I also had one of those fancy PDA’s before they were in vogue. It took me six months to trust it enough that I didn’t duplicate everything in my Franklin Planner. One week later it slipped out of my hands, hit the floor and I lost everything. When I called the company they said something about “sinking” and a “dock”. Those are two words that don’t seem like they should go together. They sent me a brand new one that’s still in its box.
I understand they have one thing-a-ma-bob that does it all now. I know this because my children have them. I choose to equip myself with the essentials that typically stay in the car (or on silent) while I’m with a prospect or client:
1. Cell phone that rings
2. Laptop with air card
3. GPS - I’ve learned to tolerate this one. I am directionally challenged so “she” yells at me a lot! If I could make Sam Elliot’s voice come out of it I’d make it yell more often.
Most business people aren’t interested in being wowed and amazed by your flashy, expensive doodads. Quite frankly they can get the product or service they need from a plethora of sources. When they gift you with their time it’s to determine – why you? Of all the people that do what you do – why you? The best answer won’t come from technology. It will come from YOU!
Copyright 2008 Paula Frazier is an Executive Director with BNI and part of a select team of Master Trainers for Referral Institute. To learn more about identifying your most unique selling position visit http://www.referralinstitutevirginia.com
or http://www.bniswva.com
===========================================================
5. To Do This Week
===========================================================
Wash Your Car – it will give you a new outlook on the week!
Monday Morning Motivators – March 17, 2007
============================================================
Enjoy your java with an eclectic collection of tips and ideas to use today and to get energized for the week ahead. Subscribing and unsubscribing at www.mondaymorningmotivators.com
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."
-- Jeremy Kitson
============================================================
Table of Contents
============================================================
1. Customer Needs and Wants – Linda Fayerweather
2. 11 Rules for Living – Part 2 of 3 - Rebecca Booth
3. Clear Your Mind Daily – Pat Altvater
4. Put Away the Doodads & Stick with the Basics – Paula Frazier
5. To Do This Week
6. Fine Print
============================================================
1. A Customer comes to us with Needs and Wants
============================================================
If a customer has needs or wants, we are charged with filling them and often our customers come back after the sale for help or service. How we handle these requests will impact future sales and referrals.
This week’s shopping adventure again involves my 4x4 only now I’m driving a 4 year old Toyota Highlander. After refilling my wiper fluid reservoir, the following morning on the interstate, I noticed the hood was vibrating. My mind envisioned it ripping off and much assorted damage. Not liking that outcome, I pulled off the road and attempted to reclose the hood but the thingamajig that grabs the hood loop was uncooperative. Being only 2 miles away from the dealership, I headed there at 7:45AM realizing I was missing my 8AM meeting and probably my 9AM, too. Arriving without an appointment, the service manager found a tech to take a look, diagnose and report a spring had sprung and they could replace it for $89. Before finishing, they informed me that a tail light was out and did I also want that fixed for $24. Gosh, they did a safety check, too (although some may call that up-selling – I call it keeping me from talking to state troopers!).
I was on my way by 8:45, only a few minutes late for my 9AM meeting. I was on my way by 8:45, only a few minutes late for my 9AM meeting. Rouen Toyota confirmed why I bought my truck there and why I will return. They knew what I wanted besides getting my truck fixed – I wanted to be on the road again with little lost time!
Copyright 2008 Linda Fayerweather
“What do your customers really want?”
Changing Lanes LLC
www.ChangingLanes.biz
The Customer Service Rules
============================================================
2. 11 Rules for Living – Part 2 of 3
============================================================
Last week we started a series on 11 Rules for Living (written by Charles J. Sykes) which is perfect for any parent of a teen or college student. It’s an example of smart marketing by New Accountant magazine. Here are rules 4-7 for you to enjoy:
Rule #4 – If you think your teacher is tough, wait until you get a boss. He doesn’t have tenure.
Rule #5 – Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping; they called it opportunity.
Rule #6 – If you mess up, it’s not your parent’s fault, so don’t whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule # 7 – Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes, and listening to you talk about how cool you are. So before you save the rainforest from the parasites of your parents’ generation, try “delousing” the closet in your own room.
Copyright 2008 Rebecca Booth
Marketing Goddess
Imagine That!
419-855-3399
http://www.rebeccaboothmarketinggoddess.com/
===========================================================
3. Clear Your Mind Daily
===========================================================
Meditation is one of the most effective ways to quiet and focus your mind so you can be more creative in attracting your goals and dreams.
Try meditating each morning for five minutes and increase the time as you get more comfortable with it. Find a quiet location where you won't be disturbed. Then close your eyes and breathe slowly and deeply focusing only on your breath. It's okay to notice any thoughts that arise, just don't spend any time with them.
When you feel complete, read your major goals or just your goals for that day. When you focus on what you want to create with a clear, quiet mind, you will find that your days begin more peacefully and you will carry that calm throughout the day. Most importantly, you will see your desires coming to you effortlessly!
Copyright 2008 Pat Altvater
Certified Law of Attraction Practitioner
http://www.thesecretofpermanentweightloss.com/
http://www.permanentweightlossebook.com/
http://www.transformationsinstitute.com/
===========================================================
4. Put Away the Doodads & Stick with the Basics
===========================================================
I must admit that I’m definitely not technologically savvy. I used to invest a pretty penny into making sure that I had the latest and greatest toys and that I kinda sorta knew how to use them. I test drove gadgets before some folks even knew they existed:
1. I had a phone that gave me internet access, sent/received emails and beamed Excel/Word documents to others of its kind. It would even call people on its own . . . without me knowing. Apparently there was some kind of voice command that I was activating. I can only image the conversations people heard sooo I gave it to my husband. Now it calls me without his knowledge. Very handy!
2. I had one of those ear bud thingies that looks like a big roach resting on your ear. People asked me if it was a hearing aid. I wish! The sound quality wasn’t very good in the first generation of wireless headsets.
3. I also had one of those fancy PDA’s before they were in vogue. It took me six months to trust it enough that I didn’t duplicate everything in my Franklin Planner. One week later it slipped out of my hands, hit the floor and I lost everything. When I called the company they said something about “sinking” and a “dock”. Those are two words that don’t seem like they should go together. They sent me a brand new one that’s still in its box.
I understand they have one thing-a-ma-bob that does it all now. I know this because my children have them. I choose to equip myself with the essentials that typically stay in the car (or on silent) while I’m with a prospect or client:
1. Cell phone that rings
2. Laptop with air card
3. GPS - I’ve learned to tolerate this one. I am directionally challenged so “she” yells at me a lot! If I could make Sam Elliot’s voice come out of it I’d make it yell more often.
Most business people aren’t interested in being wowed and amazed by your flashy, expensive doodads. Quite frankly they can get the product or service they need from a plethora of sources. When they gift you with their time it’s to determine – why you? Of all the people that do what you do – why you? The best answer won’t come from technology. It will come from YOU!
Copyright 2008 Paula Frazier is an Executive Director with BNI and part of a select team of Master Trainers for Referral Institute. To learn more about identifying your most unique selling position visit http://www.referralinstitutevirginia.com
or http://www.bniswva.com
===========================================================
5. To Do This Week
===========================================================
Wash Your Car – it will give you a new outlook on the week!
Monday, March 10, 2008
Customers - Rules - Mindfulness - Sources Created
============================================================
Monday Morning Motivators – March 10, 2007
============================================================
Enjoy your java with an eclectic collection of tips and ideas to use today and to get energized for the week ahead. Subscribing and unsubscribing at www.mondaymorningmotivators.com
“The purpose of a business is to create a customer.”
--Peter Drucker
============================================================
Table of Contents
============================================================
1. The Customer Does Not Depend on Us – Linda Fayerweather
2. 11 Rules for Living – Part 1 of 3 - Rebecca Booth
3. Use Mindfulness to Cope with Stress – Pat Altvater
4. Do Your Referral Sources Know? – Paula Frazier
5. To Do This Week
6. Fine Print
============================================================
1. The Customer Does Not Depend on Us
============================================================
This shopping adventure takes us back to 1988 and my desire to have an Isuzu Trooper, the 4X4 truck of the year. I wasn’t willing to spend full price, so I was seeking a 1986 Trooper and found one in great shape with 26,000 miles. The salesperson that approached quickly learned I had cash in the bank; we test drove the truck; and I was ready to buy. So, what could possibly go wrong? Well, apparently this salesperson didn’t realize I was the customer because he told me he wanted my husband to drive this truck before he would sell it to me. Not the right thing to say! I must admit, I did stomp my foot like a petulant child and loudly said “I guess you don’t want a commission because I really want this truck right now!” This minor tantrum did cause another salesperson to help out and in less time than it takes to change a tire, I had a bill of sale and my truck. I often have wondered if he asked all women this question, what if they weren’t married, would their fathers have to test drive the truck? Just a simple reminder of a business’s dependency on customers and your customer is the person that has the money to pay you. Oh yes, I’m not sure how long I had the truck before my husband got to drive it as I was very busy getting it muddy!
Copyright 2008 Linda Fayerweather
“Did you thank a customer today?”
Changing Lanes LLC
www.ChangingLanes.biz
The Customer Service Rules
============================================================
2. 11 Rules for Living – Part 1 of 3
============================================================
As you may recall, I absolutely LOVE thumbing through magazines that I’m not the target market for. Not only do I learn what the real reader’s concerns are, I usually learn something of interest. And did I ever discover a gem of an article in New Accountant magazine last month. This article was originally written by Charles J. Sykes and reprinted in New Accountant. What I find most interesting is the honest, no-holds-bar tone that the article presents to its target market of college students who are studying accounting.
The article reads as follows:
Here’s a list of 11 things that many high school and college grads did not learn in school In this feature, we talk about how feel-good, policitally-correct teachings created a full generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.
Rule #1 – Life is not fair; get used to it.
Rule #2 – The world won’t care about yourself-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule #3 – You will NOT make $40,000 a year right out of high school. You won’t be a vice president with a car phone, until you earn both.
Copyright 2008 Rebecca Booth
Marketing Goddess
Imagine That!
419-855-3399
www.rebeccaboothmarketinggoddess.com
===========================================================
3. Use Mindfulness to Cope with Stress
===========================================================
During a high stress situation, it's natural to feel pulled toward something that distracts you and makes you feel better fast and often that something is consuming food or engaging in other addictive behaviors! Instead try mindfulness.
Mindfulness is simply finding awareness in the present moment and listening to your inner wisdom without judgment or expectation. It's a way of restoring your internal balance no matter what else is going on around you. It is your true state of being.
When we are mindful, we are better able to recognize the choices we are making and adopt healthier, more constructive behaviors if we don't like what we see.
So make a list of all of the other things you could do to cope with stress in a way that makes you feel good about yourself and reduces your stress. Your list could include walking, calling a friend, meditation, etc.
Make your list today and the next time you are stressed, do the first thing on your list!
Copyright 2008 Pat Altvater
Certified Law of Attraction Practitioner
www.thesecretofpermanentweightloss.com
www.permanentweightlossebook.com
www.transformationsinstitute.com
===========================================================
4. Do Your Referral Sources Know?
===========================================================
I recently had the opportunity to meet Jack Canfield. You know . . . the Chicken Soup for the Soul guy. Motivational is an understatement! At one point he looked at us and said, “You are the average of the five people you spend most of your time with”. It applies in life and it definitely applies in referral marketing.
I was inspired! I couldn’t get home fast enough to share my new epiphany with my clients at our regular weekly workshop. I asked them to write down the five people that they’d spent most of their time with in the last four weeks and then posed these caring questions:
1. How many of them are active referral sources?
2. Do they know that you’re counting on them to help create referral revenue for you and your business?
3. How many times have you met with them in the last month to develop the relationship and educate them as a referral source?
4. What have you proactively done for them to motivate them to refer you?
5. When is your next scheduled meeting?
The reality is that most of us want to receive referrals but we’re not spending enough time with our referral sources. When we do manage to get face to face, we don’t typically have purposeful, productive conversations. It’s been so long since you’ve seen each other that you’re busy catching up on what’s new.
BLINDING FLASH OF THE OBVIOUS: Many of us complain that there isn’t enough time in a day. There’s plenty of time! When it comes to your referral marketing efforts, are you spending it with the right people?
Copyright 2008 Paula Frazier
Master Trainer for Referral Institute and an Executive Director for BNI, the world’s leading business marketing organization. To learn more about motivating your referral sources visit http://www.bniswva.com or http://www.referralinstitutevirginia.com
===========================================================
5. To Do This Week
===========================================================
Test your back up system by making sure you know how to restore a file.
Monday Morning Motivators – March 10, 2007
============================================================
Enjoy your java with an eclectic collection of tips and ideas to use today and to get energized for the week ahead. Subscribing and unsubscribing at www.mondaymorningmotivators.com
“The purpose of a business is to create a customer.”
--Peter Drucker
============================================================
Table of Contents
============================================================
1. The Customer Does Not Depend on Us – Linda Fayerweather
2. 11 Rules for Living – Part 1 of 3 - Rebecca Booth
3. Use Mindfulness to Cope with Stress – Pat Altvater
4. Do Your Referral Sources Know? – Paula Frazier
5. To Do This Week
6. Fine Print
============================================================
1. The Customer Does Not Depend on Us
============================================================
This shopping adventure takes us back to 1988 and my desire to have an Isuzu Trooper, the 4X4 truck of the year. I wasn’t willing to spend full price, so I was seeking a 1986 Trooper and found one in great shape with 26,000 miles. The salesperson that approached quickly learned I had cash in the bank; we test drove the truck; and I was ready to buy. So, what could possibly go wrong? Well, apparently this salesperson didn’t realize I was the customer because he told me he wanted my husband to drive this truck before he would sell it to me. Not the right thing to say! I must admit, I did stomp my foot like a petulant child and loudly said “I guess you don’t want a commission because I really want this truck right now!” This minor tantrum did cause another salesperson to help out and in less time than it takes to change a tire, I had a bill of sale and my truck. I often have wondered if he asked all women this question, what if they weren’t married, would their fathers have to test drive the truck? Just a simple reminder of a business’s dependency on customers and your customer is the person that has the money to pay you. Oh yes, I’m not sure how long I had the truck before my husband got to drive it as I was very busy getting it muddy!
Copyright 2008 Linda Fayerweather
“Did you thank a customer today?”
Changing Lanes LLC
www.ChangingLanes.biz
The Customer Service Rules
============================================================
2. 11 Rules for Living – Part 1 of 3
============================================================
As you may recall, I absolutely LOVE thumbing through magazines that I’m not the target market for. Not only do I learn what the real reader’s concerns are, I usually learn something of interest. And did I ever discover a gem of an article in New Accountant magazine last month. This article was originally written by Charles J. Sykes and reprinted in New Accountant. What I find most interesting is the honest, no-holds-bar tone that the article presents to its target market of college students who are studying accounting.
The article reads as follows:
Here’s a list of 11 things that many high school and college grads did not learn in school In this feature, we talk about how feel-good, policitally-correct teachings created a full generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.
Rule #1 – Life is not fair; get used to it.
Rule #2 – The world won’t care about yourself-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule #3 – You will NOT make $40,000 a year right out of high school. You won’t be a vice president with a car phone, until you earn both.
Copyright 2008 Rebecca Booth
Marketing Goddess
Imagine That!
419-855-3399
www.rebeccaboothmarketinggoddess.com
===========================================================
3. Use Mindfulness to Cope with Stress
===========================================================
During a high stress situation, it's natural to feel pulled toward something that distracts you and makes you feel better fast and often that something is consuming food or engaging in other addictive behaviors! Instead try mindfulness.
Mindfulness is simply finding awareness in the present moment and listening to your inner wisdom without judgment or expectation. It's a way of restoring your internal balance no matter what else is going on around you. It is your true state of being.
When we are mindful, we are better able to recognize the choices we are making and adopt healthier, more constructive behaviors if we don't like what we see.
So make a list of all of the other things you could do to cope with stress in a way that makes you feel good about yourself and reduces your stress. Your list could include walking, calling a friend, meditation, etc.
Make your list today and the next time you are stressed, do the first thing on your list!
Copyright 2008 Pat Altvater
Certified Law of Attraction Practitioner
www.thesecretofpermanentweightloss.com
www.permanentweightlossebook.com
www.transformationsinstitute.com
===========================================================
4. Do Your Referral Sources Know?
===========================================================
I recently had the opportunity to meet Jack Canfield. You know . . . the Chicken Soup for the Soul guy. Motivational is an understatement! At one point he looked at us and said, “You are the average of the five people you spend most of your time with”. It applies in life and it definitely applies in referral marketing.
I was inspired! I couldn’t get home fast enough to share my new epiphany with my clients at our regular weekly workshop. I asked them to write down the five people that they’d spent most of their time with in the last four weeks and then posed these caring questions:
1. How many of them are active referral sources?
2. Do they know that you’re counting on them to help create referral revenue for you and your business?
3. How many times have you met with them in the last month to develop the relationship and educate them as a referral source?
4. What have you proactively done for them to motivate them to refer you?
5. When is your next scheduled meeting?
The reality is that most of us want to receive referrals but we’re not spending enough time with our referral sources. When we do manage to get face to face, we don’t typically have purposeful, productive conversations. It’s been so long since you’ve seen each other that you’re busy catching up on what’s new.
BLINDING FLASH OF THE OBVIOUS: Many of us complain that there isn’t enough time in a day. There’s plenty of time! When it comes to your referral marketing efforts, are you spending it with the right people?
Copyright 2008 Paula Frazier
Master Trainer for Referral Institute and an Executive Director for BNI, the world’s leading business marketing organization. To learn more about motivating your referral sources visit http://www.bniswva.com or http://www.referralinstitutevirginia.com
===========================================================
5. To Do This Week
===========================================================
Test your back up system by making sure you know how to restore a file.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Customers - Facebook - Journey - Listening
============================================================
Monday Morning Motivators – March 3, 2007
============================================================
Enjoy your java with an eclectic collection of tips and ideas to use today and to get energized for the week ahead. Subscribing and unsubscribing at www.mondaymorningmotivators.com
“If we don’t take care of our customers, someone else will.”
--UNKNOWN
============================================================
Table of Contents
============================================================
1. The Customer is the Most Important – Linda Fayerweather
2. Facing the Facts New Media - Rebecca Booth
3. Enjoy the Journey – Pat Altvater
4. Good Listening - Good Networking – Paula Frazier
5. To Do This Week
6. Fine Print
============================================================
1. The Customer is the Most Important
============================================================
I’m going to take you on some shopping trips at local stores this month for some true stories. Feel free to send me your experiences – linda@changinglanes.biz.
Story 1 – Buying shoes. I wear comfortable shoes and my favorite brand is only available at one local store. The sales staff at this store receives commission and on the weekends, I dress garden-casual. So in my jeans, sweater and cowboy boots, I went to see if the storewide shoe sale included my brand. The shoe department was a mad house of bargain hunters and the sales staff was well . . . hard to find. Alas, my shoes were not on sale (they seldom are) so I picked up a sample and waited near some other customers hoping for some help. After being overlook several times by sales staff choosing to help other more stylishly attired customers, a young man from the “fragrance” department came over and asked if I needed help. I told him my size, he returned with the shoes, I tried them on, and was ready to buy. Instead of making me wait at the shoe cash register, he took me over to his department and rang up the $140 purchase. Now, he saw a customer in need, holding one of the most expensive shoes in the department and made the decision to aid that customer. He understood the first rule of customer service “The customer is the most important person”. Next time I shop there, I’ll stop at the fragrance department first to see if Brad is there to help me.
Copyright 2008 Linda Fayerweather
“Did you thank a customer today?”
Changing Lanes LLC
www.ChangingLanes.biz
The Customer Service Rules
============================================================
2. Facing the Facts About Today’s Reliance on New Media.
============================================================
Facebook is here and it’s sticking around. What can a business owner do to embrace this new social networking media online? For those of you who are unfamiliar with the new medium, Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and other who work, study and live around them. Brand messages are spread virally (from person to person) on the web. Some people use Facebook to gather insights into the activities of other users. The smart marketer will embrace Facebook and will encourage visitors who visit your page to form groups in those areas related to your business. For an example, if you’re an online movie retailer, allow your Facebook friends to compare their favorite flicks on your site. Or if you’re a photographer, you might want to start a group that discusses photo tips and tricks. When you’re creating your Facebook page, make sure that you have a detailed (if not exhaustive) profile that distinguishes you as someone in the know. Also include links to landing pages on a website that you build especially for your Facebook friends so that you can target offers more effectively. And please, please, please, contribute to the conversations that people are having on your site. Soon, you’ll find yourself flooded with new friends and hopefully new customers!
Copyright 2008 Rebecca Booth
Marketing Goddess
Imagine That!
419-855-3399
www.rebeccaboothmarketinggoddess.com
===========================================================
3. Enjoy the Journey
===========================================================
You’ve got written goals, stated as intentions and also have the belief that you will achieve your goals. There’s one more important ingredient in getting to goal achievement and that’s your approach.
Forget about using willpower to force yourself to get up early or make phone calls. You'll need to work, sure. But you'll never make it if that's all you've got going for you – willpower is hard to sustain in the long run. Instead, take the time to embrace the process that's going to get you there.
How? By examining the essence of what you want to achieve. This means going deeper than the superficial reasons you want to achieve the goal – like to make more money or become thin. Instead, connect the intention to what it really means to you and what you might find is that the process is the JOY! Enjoy the journey to goal achievement!
Copyright 2008 Pat Altvater
Certified Law of Attraction Practitioner
www.thesecretofpermanentweightloss.com
www.permanentweightlossebook.com
www.transformationsinstitute.com
===========================================================
4. Good Listening - Good Networking
===========================================================
Good networking takes good listening. Unfortunately, most people spend their time talking! What good is word of mouth if nobody is listening?
Think about the last networking event that you attended. Was everyone quietly listening, maintaining eye contact, asking valuable questions, and responding to you with more than just “uh huh”?
Listening is one of the most important parts of effective networking. It allows you to learn what others are trying to accomplish, hear others express needs they may have, and strategically connect them to other people in your network.
Here are 5 tips to help you become a better listener at your next networking event:
1. Maintain active eye contact. Don't look over the persons shoulder as if there might be someone better coming into the room.
2. Ask open ended questions. Again, people love to talk about themselves! You can ask them about what they do, why they choose to do it and how they get into their business.
3. Take notes whenever possible. Jot them down on the back of their business card. Be sure to include how you intend to follow up. Meeting 10 new people can test your memory…now is not the time.
4. Honor the person by staying engaged in the conversation. Most people are busy thinking about what they are going to say and not hearing what is being said.
5. Let them know your were listening! At the end of the conversation give some feedback. Emphasize something you may have heard or learned from that person.
Just remember . . . God gave us 2 ears and one mouth. Use them proportionately. Listen twice as much as you speak. It’ll take you far in your referral marketing efforts and in life.
Paula Frazier and Hazel M Walker are Master Trainers for Referral Institute and Executive Directors for BNI, the world’s leading business marketing organization. To learn more about increasing your referral revenue visit http://www.bniswva.com or http://www.referralinstitutevirginia.com.
===========================================================
5. To Do This Week
===========================================================
Look for your Brilliant Idea!
Monday Morning Motivators – March 3, 2007
============================================================
Enjoy your java with an eclectic collection of tips and ideas to use today and to get energized for the week ahead. Subscribing and unsubscribing at www.mondaymorningmotivators.com
“If we don’t take care of our customers, someone else will.”
--UNKNOWN
============================================================
Table of Contents
============================================================
1. The Customer is the Most Important – Linda Fayerweather
2. Facing the Facts New Media - Rebecca Booth
3. Enjoy the Journey – Pat Altvater
4. Good Listening - Good Networking – Paula Frazier
5. To Do This Week
6. Fine Print
============================================================
1. The Customer is the Most Important
============================================================
I’m going to take you on some shopping trips at local stores this month for some true stories. Feel free to send me your experiences – linda@changinglanes.biz.
Story 1 – Buying shoes. I wear comfortable shoes and my favorite brand is only available at one local store. The sales staff at this store receives commission and on the weekends, I dress garden-casual. So in my jeans, sweater and cowboy boots, I went to see if the storewide shoe sale included my brand. The shoe department was a mad house of bargain hunters and the sales staff was well . . . hard to find. Alas, my shoes were not on sale (they seldom are) so I picked up a sample and waited near some other customers hoping for some help. After being overlook several times by sales staff choosing to help other more stylishly attired customers, a young man from the “fragrance” department came over and asked if I needed help. I told him my size, he returned with the shoes, I tried them on, and was ready to buy. Instead of making me wait at the shoe cash register, he took me over to his department and rang up the $140 purchase. Now, he saw a customer in need, holding one of the most expensive shoes in the department and made the decision to aid that customer. He understood the first rule of customer service “The customer is the most important person”. Next time I shop there, I’ll stop at the fragrance department first to see if Brad is there to help me.
Copyright 2008 Linda Fayerweather
“Did you thank a customer today?”
Changing Lanes LLC
www.ChangingLanes.biz
The Customer Service Rules
============================================================
2. Facing the Facts About Today’s Reliance on New Media.
============================================================
Facebook is here and it’s sticking around. What can a business owner do to embrace this new social networking media online? For those of you who are unfamiliar with the new medium, Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and other who work, study and live around them. Brand messages are spread virally (from person to person) on the web. Some people use Facebook to gather insights into the activities of other users. The smart marketer will embrace Facebook and will encourage visitors who visit your page to form groups in those areas related to your business. For an example, if you’re an online movie retailer, allow your Facebook friends to compare their favorite flicks on your site. Or if you’re a photographer, you might want to start a group that discusses photo tips and tricks. When you’re creating your Facebook page, make sure that you have a detailed (if not exhaustive) profile that distinguishes you as someone in the know. Also include links to landing pages on a website that you build especially for your Facebook friends so that you can target offers more effectively. And please, please, please, contribute to the conversations that people are having on your site. Soon, you’ll find yourself flooded with new friends and hopefully new customers!
Copyright 2008 Rebecca Booth
Marketing Goddess
Imagine That!
419-855-3399
www.rebeccaboothmarketinggoddess.com
===========================================================
3. Enjoy the Journey
===========================================================
You’ve got written goals, stated as intentions and also have the belief that you will achieve your goals. There’s one more important ingredient in getting to goal achievement and that’s your approach.
Forget about using willpower to force yourself to get up early or make phone calls. You'll need to work, sure. But you'll never make it if that's all you've got going for you – willpower is hard to sustain in the long run. Instead, take the time to embrace the process that's going to get you there.
How? By examining the essence of what you want to achieve. This means going deeper than the superficial reasons you want to achieve the goal – like to make more money or become thin. Instead, connect the intention to what it really means to you and what you might find is that the process is the JOY! Enjoy the journey to goal achievement!
Copyright 2008 Pat Altvater
Certified Law of Attraction Practitioner
www.thesecretofpermanentweightloss.com
www.permanentweightlossebook.com
www.transformationsinstitute.com
===========================================================
4. Good Listening - Good Networking
===========================================================
Good networking takes good listening. Unfortunately, most people spend their time talking! What good is word of mouth if nobody is listening?
Think about the last networking event that you attended. Was everyone quietly listening, maintaining eye contact, asking valuable questions, and responding to you with more than just “uh huh”?
Listening is one of the most important parts of effective networking. It allows you to learn what others are trying to accomplish, hear others express needs they may have, and strategically connect them to other people in your network.
Here are 5 tips to help you become a better listener at your next networking event:
1. Maintain active eye contact. Don't look over the persons shoulder as if there might be someone better coming into the room.
2. Ask open ended questions. Again, people love to talk about themselves! You can ask them about what they do, why they choose to do it and how they get into their business.
3. Take notes whenever possible. Jot them down on the back of their business card. Be sure to include how you intend to follow up. Meeting 10 new people can test your memory…now is not the time.
4. Honor the person by staying engaged in the conversation. Most people are busy thinking about what they are going to say and not hearing what is being said.
5. Let them know your were listening! At the end of the conversation give some feedback. Emphasize something you may have heard or learned from that person.
Just remember . . . God gave us 2 ears and one mouth. Use them proportionately. Listen twice as much as you speak. It’ll take you far in your referral marketing efforts and in life.
Paula Frazier and Hazel M Walker are Master Trainers for Referral Institute and Executive Directors for BNI, the world’s leading business marketing organization. To learn more about increasing your referral revenue visit http://www.bniswva.com or http://www.referralinstitutevirginia.com.
===========================================================
5. To Do This Week
===========================================================
Look for your Brilliant Idea!
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