Are you fishing in the right hole?

I was reading a book on Rainmaking and the author suggests that sometimes being a Rainmaker is as simple as fishing where there are fish. He notes that people spend lots of money and time on the right fishing rod, bait and tackle. They work on their technique. They spend their day wondering why the fish aren't biting, only to realize there aren't any fish. Do we do that when we are out marketing and selling our wares?

Do we know our niche? Who are we selling to? Do we know where they hang out? Do they have the money to buy? Are we speaking their language? Do they understand our fit? After all what good is walking into an assisted living facility with play equipment for children. Are we networking at a Manufacturers Association when we need to be speaking to Human Resource Professionals.

Go where the fish are and then carry use the right bait.

Have you found your voice!

I had a delightful Mother's Day weekend which included a Family Movie Night. The movie we watched was Happy Feet. It was a delightful story and for me the take away was "Find your voice and be the best you you can be - In other words, Be Authentic." I have seen this lacking in the business world. Especially when it comes to Entrepreneurs who go from one project to another depending on which way the wind blows or where the money is. I have come to understand that it might make sense to slow down to speed up and find your self. Your True North as Covey says. Then, and only then, can you know what your fit is in the world. That will be the passion you bring to the marketplace. Then the money will flow and it will never feel like work for you will be honoring who you are.

Coming of Age

It sounds silly, I have been in business for over 14 years, yet this week I did something that was way out of my comfort zone and made me feel "grown up." I had a professional picture taken. It seems like a little thing, but for me it was huge. At first it felt somewhat self indulgent. Then I realized this is all about business. I teach my clients to put their best foot forward, after all you only get one chance to make a first impression. So I decided it was time to have my first impression a lasting one.

So take a look at your pictures, are they professional, are they outdated? If you answered yes, consider meeting with a photographer and getting it updated. And by the way, they can work miracles.

Press Releases

I am always looking for ways to help my clients. I recently stumbled across an online Press Release service that is easy to use and pretty affordable. It is PR.com. What is cool is about it is that you can create a press release and send it to a specific target audience. For example: I created one that I wanted to get out to the business community. I used the general category of Business. You get one category for free, so it was free. In one day it came up on a search engines! With just a little budget you can get more exposure. Check it out.

Drip, Drip, Drip . . .

Have you heard the term "Drip Marketing?" I intuitively knew what it was, but just learned the term. What it means is to continually keep a client or prospect taken care of by touching base with them on a regular basis. This is called "customer intimacy." I love the concept of creating a schedule of events that you implement on a monthly basis so that you can let your clients and top prospects know you are there. It is as simple as once a month sending items like a relevant article, a thank you card, a survey, a referral request/card or a holiday card. The key to making this work is a good contact management system so that you can automate the process. So don't forget to drip on your customers, or they won't grow with you!

Birth of a Gym

After some market research and some conversations with clients and friends, the Business Marketing Gym was born. What is the Business Marketing Gym? It is a mastermind group for business owners who want to build their businesses and create a lifestyle not a job. In the Business Marketing Gym there will be a training session and then there will be a mastermind session. During the mastermind session the group will problem solve and create together. It is very exciting. What is more exciting is that I get to work with the people I already love to work with and help build their businesses. I will partner with some of the brightest minds in the area to bring real value to the group. Stay tuned to hear more. And to check out more about the Business Marketing Gym got to www.businessmarketinggym.com.

Are you Referable?

As I help my clients with building not only a business development program (new revenue) but a retention program, I am struck by the concept "are you referable?" After all the best way to get new business is to work referrals, but that asks us to assume that we are worth referring. Is that always true?

I recently sat in on a meeting to help hire an administrator for our school. As the parents sat in a circle grilling (interviewing) the candidate, it became very clear that there was a clear sense of unhappiness amongst the ranks. I am relatively new to the school so I had not formed an official opinion one way or the other. My needs are being met. However, my kids are young, still in the pre-school and lower-school. Clearly it becomes more critical as they move their way up the school system. So I started to hear the rumblings of unsettled and unheard parents. What struck me came from a marketing standpoint. Retention was an issue. And clearly it was not being addressed to the satisfaction of the parents. So I asked myself the question, if we cannot retain our families, how are we going to get referrals.

Even in a school environment, customer service is critical. In fact, it is the most important thing. Yes, the kids getting a superior education is important. Yet if we don't treat the families being served by the school with respect (which include the parents and kids), the school cannot expect to grow.

This is a good lesson to learn as I help my commercial clients to take care of their customers before they are asking to be taken care of. When you do that, the business will come.

Sharing the Love - Love of Customers!!!

Have you ever thought of doing something special for your customers? After all it is Valentine's Day and we love our customers, right? So try something different to stand out from the crowd. Take your top 20% and send them chocolate and tell them how much you appreciate their business. If there is a gatekeeper you have been trying to get past, send her a stuffed bear holding a heart and say "I've been trying to win you over, Happy Valentine's Day." Use this time to think outside the box.

Tell me a story . . .

I just mentioned my 5-Minute Networking experience. While I was there one of the participants sat down in front of me and asked me to tell her a story of what I do. I was taken back. And then I realized how easy it was to give a testimonial through a story. In those 5-minutes I shared more and learned more with her just because we each told stories. We were both excited and proud to share our experiences. It felt more like I was talking to a friend.

The next time you are out at a networking event, try using a story to make your point. In fact, start collecting your stories now and have them ready to use when you need them. It works!

5-Minute Networking

I just experienced a new form of networking. Our local Chamber held it's first 5-Minute Networking event. There is a web site that explains more about it: http://www.5minutenetworking.com/. I was not sure what to expect at first. After all, what can you get done in 5 minutes. It's amazing how nice it is to have minutes to truly talk to someone and hear what they do and share what you do. It was a fun event, and beneficial.

When I think back on the Business After Hours, I realized you don't even get that much time and no one wants to hear your sales pitch then. Here we were in a focused meeting to just give our sales pitch and we had 5 minutes to do it. Brilliant. I cannot wait until the next one.

Goal Setting on Steroids

Ok, I know that sounds a bit crazy, and maybe it is. I am so excited that I wanted to share with you an article I found about a goal setting program that is so amazing I am convinced that I will hit new marks this year! I hope you enjoy it.

How to Set Personal Goals That Inspire You to Take Action
Remember when you thought you could do and be anything? The innocence of early childhood is perhaps the last time you were unencumbered by perceived limitations and labels. Personal goal setting was simple, and there was no doubt you could achieve anything.

When asked, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” you would have responded with whatever struck your fancy that day, whatever you were “in to.” You did not concern yourself with how you would do it, if you could do it, or if you should do it. Your dreams were based on what you wanted, pure and simple. You set personal goals based on wonder and curiosity, not practicality.

The dreams of childhood were big dreams. Travel into space, win a medal at the Olympics, become a rock star. Soon enough the dreams become modified to reflect what is practical and expected of us. This is precisely when most people start having trouble setting personal goals. The dreams are no longer larger than life, so why take steps to achieve them?

Big dreams inspire big action. When you set personal goals, they need to have huge payoffs for you in order for you to take consistent steps to achieving them. You need to feel excited – even giddy – at the prospect of seeing your dream come true.

When you aspire to something that is less than what you really want, procrastination sets in. With a big dream in your sights, procrastination is a lot less likely to occur. You may have heard of making a “life list” of places you would like to see, things you would like to try, and dreams you would like to see realized. Instead of making a list of goals based on what you think is attainable or would fit into your life, start your personal goal setting with a life list of the big stuff that really gets you going.

Here again, draw on the feelings of childhood for inspiration as you set personal goals. Remember the annual letter to Santa Claus? Even if you did not celebrate Christmas, you can imagine the wish lists sent to the North Pole were not full of realistic, practical requests. They included the biggest, best gifts a child could think of, because there was always the possibility that Santa would bring you exactly what you wanted.

Dreaming big has the added benefit of inspiring others to come to your aid in your pursuit of the goal. If your personal goal setting is limited, or “small,” why would anyone want to help you achieve them? People want to be part of something special. Big goals motivate friends, family, and even complete strangersto help you reach them.

When you set personal goals, go back to those childhood aspirations. Sure, you may not want to be an astronaut anymore, but the old dreams can spark new life goals. Perhaps you would like to go to a grown-up space camp or become an amateur astronomer. Whatever goal you set, make it big. As the ancien temperor Marcus Aurelius said, “Dream big dreams; only big dreams have the power to move men’s souls.”
Copyright © 2006 Vic Johnson

Vic Johnson is a popular motivational speaker, author and Internet Infopreneur who has created some of the most visited personal development sites on the Web. To learn more about the power of big dreams in goal setting, download a free copy of 13 Secrets of World-Class Goal Achievers

A Time of Renewal

I have been so busy in the last month that I have not updated my blog. In fact, I was so busy, I didn't even remember I had a blog. So today I took a deep breath and decided it was time to reflect and regroup. Here I am at the computer, just me and my thoughts. As I look back on 2006 and look forward to 2007, I am amazed at what a difference a year can make. I think everyone should take a few minutes to review and refocus. It is a time of reflection, a time to purge and time to cleanse. As it relates to business, it is a time to set goals, eliminate distractions and to slow down to "smell the roses" while you plan the year.

With planning in mind, I recommend developing a plan that looks out and then focuses in. For example:
How much money do you want to make in 2007?
How many sales a year will that be?
How much is each average sale?
How many people do you need to see and how many will you close?
How much vacation do you want?
When you obtain that goal, what will be your reward?
How will you reward yourself along the way?
How will you know when you are successful?
What is success to you?

These are just some of the questions I ask myself as I develop my annual plan. Good luck, and I will look forward to great new things for all of us!

To Blog or Not to Blog . . .

I have just stumbled across several articles about why businesses should add blogging to their marketing activities. I do it because I just love to blog. It gives me an outlet for my creative side and a chance to stand on a soapbox or two. Yet, according to these articles there is a practical side, one that will enhance the bottom line. Blogging will drive traffic to your site, be a revenue generating profit center and adds a human side to your site. I have to agree. As I blog and share my stories or those of my clients, I find that I process outloud (online), and I have revelations that I share with the world. Okay, only those few people who chance upon it. Now imagine promoting it and actually being proactive about your blog. Millions of people could be reading your posts. Pretty cool.

As a business owner and coach, I suggest to my clients to add a blog to their sites and use it as an online newsletter. A way to add fresh content to their web sites. Now I have proof and validation that I am right. Read the article for yourself. Cool Blog Article!

Showing Up Can Be Half the Battle

It's amazing the stories I hear about customer service, or the lack of it, from my clients. I am starting to believe that if you just show up you can get the job. The question is what do you have to do to keep the job. Well, I think good old fashioned work ethics and ingenuity will get you there.

1. Show Up
2. Be Fair and Honest
3. Do what you said you would do
4. And, follow-up.

Seems almost too simple, but if you do these simple things, you will have more business than you can handle.

Mom's and Business

I work with a lot of "momprenuers," and I love doing that. Not only can I help them with their businesses, but I understand their world. I just ran across a nice article that talks about how to juggle both and keep balance. Enjoy it if this is something you want to know more about. It's called: 10 Tips for Balancing Work and Motherhood.

How can you qualify a prospect on the web?

Have you ever wondered if someone who clicks on your website is really serious about your product or service? I have! Then I ran across an awesome tool that I added to my website, an assessment. It is there to help me generate leads and qualify suspects from prospects. I just set it up today, and I already see what a valuable tool this might be. I think with a little time and tweaking, you can create really good assessments that will allow you to pre-qualify clients that are a good fit, and one's that are not. Check out my assessment (which only took me 5 minutes to create and 5 minutes to put on my website). Marketing Assessment

Entrepreneurial Mom's - A breed of their Own

I just read a great article about mom's who want to have it all and are finding ways of doing it. They create businesses so they can have the flexibility to raise a family, bring in an income and maintain their professional side of their lives. Clearly when women have children they don't stop being the individuals they were they just add a new role. Read this article to see how some are doing it. I find it fascinating and not surprising. After all I am one of them. Working Mom Shift

A Moment of Pause

Last month was a whirlwind. I really enjoyed what I was doing. As I sat down today to work on my business, I realized that I had billed 49 hours for just one client. I remember feeling tired, now I know why.

Today, I enjoyed writing press releases, working on business cards and doing some research. It was great. I had no appointments. I was on my schedule. For me it was a moment to recharge my batteries and re-group. I forget how important it was to do. I certainly suggest it to my clients, but you know how that goes.

Tomorrow, I am back to usual hectic schedule. I am ready and energized to face the day. I am grateful for my moment of pause.

Remember - It's not about you!

I was doing research for a client on customer service and came across a good web site that talked about the definition of customer service and the mindset you need to hold. I thought I would share it with you.

"Customer Service"
From Susan Ward,
Definition: Customer service is an organization's ability to supply their customers' wants and needs.

Customers and business managers alike like to talk about what good customer service is (and isn't), but I think this definition by ACA Group sums up what excellent customer service is beautifully: "excellent customer service (is) the ability of an organization to constantly and consistently exceed the customer's expectations."

Accepting this definition means expanding our thinking about customer service; if we're going to consistently exceed customers' expectations, we have to recognize that every aspect of our business has an impact on customer service, not just those aspects of our business that involve face-to-face customer contact.

Improving customer service involves making a commitment to learning what our customers' needs and wants are, and developing action plans that implement customer friendly processes.

So remember, you are not the customer. So if you want to provide "good customer service" why don't you find out what the customer wants.

Time Management . . . I think Not

Okay, I know I have probably been on this soap box before, but it's worth going there again. How can you manage time? The truth is there are only 24 hours in the day and you have to sleep and eat. So really, when all is said and done, the only thing you can do is manage behavior or the things you do with your time.

As I do research for my clients on marketing tools and resources they can use, I run across all kinds of articles on time management, and I become frustrated with the term. Call it what it is, Behavior Management! Now the question becomes what do you want as the outcome, and what behavior will help you attain that goal.

For example: If you want more clients and you set a goal of getting one new client in the next month, then you can say to yourself, "self, what do I have to do to get that new client?" Then you create the list and implement the plan. Yes, time is involved in so much as you have to schedule activities on a calendar and you have to coordinate schedules with other people. Other than that, you are managing the things you do. Once you do that, the time falls into place and the results are a given.