4 MUST HAVE FOUNDATIONS TO GROW YOUR SOCIAL NETWORKS

Social media is an ever-growing marketing platform. With new users joining daily and new marketing angles emerging all the time there are so many possibilities right at your fingers tips. The most exciting part is really connecting with your target client and making meaningful connections that you wouldn't have had to opportunity to do so otherwise.

So with all the changes going on all the time and new possibilities how can you continuously grow you network affectively? We'd like to share 4 foundations that ring true in any network you join and no matter what changes they make.

1st Foundation: Always be yourself and represent your branding.
In reality this means two things. First, stay true to your branding. This means colors, logos, pictures all that fun stuff. You want to have a consistent appearance online, this helps people remember and recognize you across multiple platforms.

Second, be yourself. We have a saying we like to use "Be Personable, Not Personal." You want your interests and passions to shine through at all times so new connections can see who you are and get to know you more.

In being personable you can still keep your personal life private. Let's give an example, if you went out to the movies with your kids and during the movie you had light bulb moment use this in your content. People will love it! This creates a connection point between you and your readers, gives them something to relate too...and often times the message you're teaching is conveyed much easier.

To keep your family private you could say something along the lines of "This weekend I wanted to a break from the busy office with my family and watch a good movie! Lo and behold during the movie I had break through. Doesn't it seem like when you relax and let loose that the best ideas come to you?" That is a great introduction or lead in for a blog, your readers will connect and want to hear more.

2nd Foundation: Give credit where credit is due.
This is so important. Doesn't it feel really great when you log into to Twitter and see that people have shared one of your blog posts with their audience? Everyone loves having this feeling! One key to growing your social media presence is by sharing useful content from thought leaders, or others, with your community. In doing so you'll also build your relationship with that person. We share our mentors' content all the time. We learn a lot from their content too! Here's a few tips to make the most of sharing other's content:

Give them credit:
On Facebook, tag their Facebook Page name. Your post will then show up on their page and their audience can see your post.
On Twitter, @mention them. Your post will now be right in front of the person so they'll see you're acknowledging them - and more often than not they will acknowledge you, great exposure!

Leave them a comment:
If you're sharing a good blog with your audience post why not leave a comment on the blog? You can share how you relate to the post or your opinion on the topic. This will also help your visibility with their audience.

3rd Foundation: Always seek out new connections.
Social media is online networking. When you attend networking events in person you walk around and introduce yourself. You might comment on their business card and ask questions about their business to get the conversation going. The same thing happens online. If you find someone really interesting that you want to spark a conversation, check out their website. Then send them a Tweet or post on their Facebook page. Start the conversation.

One of the most popular questions we get is "How do I find new people to connect with?" We have created a really effective process for connecting our clients with their target marketing. Let's look at a few things you can do every week to grow your network with valuable connections:

Facebook:
Visit communities where your target clients "hang out" Think of thought leaders and networks that you can go to and start connecting with people. Join the conversation and share your insights. Be sure to post from your business page if you have one. This will greatly increase the awareness of your page.

Twitter:
Use tools like Twellow and ManageFlitter to find people in your niche. Another key activity is to monitor who your connections are talking to and check out those people. Common interests are key in connecting!

4th Foundation: Nourish existing relationships.
Building new relationships is an important piece, but don't forget about everyone you're already connected with. Keeping up with people is really important and without a good system in place this could become a full time job. It's a really good idea to think long term when growing your network. Here are some ideas to put into place right now and keep your networks clean. Your schedule will really appreciate these!

Create Facebook Lists:
The lists we see most helpful are Family, Close Friends, Thought Leaders, and Industry News.

Create Twitter Lists:
Here's some ideas to organize your Twitter followers: Retweeters (people you want to Retweet), Thought Leaders, Colleagues, and Inspirational.

We have lists on our personal accounts and honestly we would be on Facebook and Twitter all day if we didn't have these in place. We reserve time on our calendars every day to visit our lists and engage. We have focused engagement time without having to worry about digging through the entire social feed to find exactly what we're looking for.

By putting these foundations, and a few of your own too, into place you'll be ready to build your networks no matter where you're at.

Have fun and happy networking!

RECRUITMENT NIGERIA: ARE YOU INTERESTED APPLY NOW!

1. Etisalat Customer Care Job
N60k per month, medicals (includes spouse and kids if married), N15k airtime monthly, 7hrs shift daily, 5days a week, staff bus
-- Call centre location; Agege motor road Around Oshodi/Ilupeju Lagos
-- Receiving CVs now plus one passport U-Connect - Road 12, NO 5 OGBUNIKE STREET, Lekki phase 1 (1st round bout), Lekki, Lagos.

 

2. Enterprise Bank is recruiting marketers at various levels of experience! Interested?

 Please forward your cv to: Nelson.Ochonogor@entbankng.com or ochonogornelson@gmail.com

DEVELOP A GREAT CHARACTER

A person's character is the degree to which they live their life consistent with high, life-enhancing values. A person who lacks character is one who compromises on higher order values in favor of lower order expedience, or who has no values at all.
Your adherence to what you believe to be right and true is the real measure of the person you have become to this moment. Think about it. How would someone describe your character?

Define What "Excellence" Means to You

Let us say that one of your values is "excellence." Your definition of excellence could be, "Excellence means that I set the highest standards for myself in everything I do. I do my very best in every situation and under all circumstances. I constantly strive to be better in my work, and as a person in my relationships. I recognize that excellence is a life-long journey and I work every day to become better and better in everything I do."

Organize Your Actions

With a definition like this, you have a clear organizing principle for your actions. You have set a standard by which you can evaluate your behavior. You have created a framework within which you can make decisions. You have a measuring rod against which you can compare yourself in everything you do. You can continually grade your activities in terms of "more" or "less." You have a clear target to aim at and organize your work around.

Decide What You Want for Your Family

It's the same with each of your other values. If your value is your family, you could define this as, "The needs of my family take precedence over all other concerns. Whenever I have to choose between the happiness, health and well being of a member of my family, and any other interest, my family will always come first."

Keep Focused

From that moment onward, it becomes easier for you to choose. Your family comes first. Until you have fully satisfied the needs of your family, no other time requirement will side track you into a lower value activity.

Shape Your Own Character

The wonderful thing about values clarification is that it enables you to take charge of developing and shaping your own character. When your values and goals, your inner life and your outer life, are in complete alignment, you feel terrific about yourself. You enjoy high self-esteem. Your self-confidence soars.

When you achieve complete congruence between your values and your goals, like a hand in a glove, you feel strong, happy, healthy and fully integrated as a person. You develop a kind of courage that makes you completely unafraid to make decisions and take action. Your whole life improves when you begin living your life by the values that you most admire.

Action Exercises

Here are two things you can do to put this ideas into action immediately.
First, create a clear, written description of your values and what they mean to you. From that point on, resolve to live consistent with your own definition.

Second, discipline yourself to live in complete alignment with the values, virtues and qualities that are most important to you. This is the key to character.

 

THE GREATEST LESSON OF 2012

We are nearing the end of the year and one of the
most important (and profitable) investments you can make is
to review the past few months very, very carefully.
Humans are creatures of habit. We are great examples of
Newton's law that, "a body in motion tends to remain in
motion." We tend to plunge ahead, repeating yesterday's
mistakes and failing to learn from experience. We take great
pride in the fact that we "can" learn, but my observation is
that we rarely do.
We tend to assume that what worked last year will continue
to work next year. We know that we should be innovative,
creative and original, but in our daily work it's easy to
get trapped in old habits, whether they still work or not.
When Jack Welch was the head of General Electric,
he insisted that half the company's profits come from
products and services that were less than five years old.
Why? Because he knew that yesterday's methods won't fit
tomorrow's world.
Take time to review the following questions:
1. What worked best this year? What surprised me, inspired
me or taught me something new for my work or my life?
2. What did not work, or is working less and less well? What
was less profitable or effective than I expected? What
should I drop in the new year?
3. What's new in my field? What are my colleagues doing that
I should apply to my business?
One of the BEST things any professional, business owner or
manager can do is invest in seminars and conferences. The
chance to "see the forest for the trees" is incredibly
valuable. Conferences generate new perspectives, and new
ideas create vast new opportunities! Invest in yourself!

WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH 86,400 SECONDS?

If you had a bank that credited your account each morning with $86,400—with no balance carried from day to day—what would you do? Well, you do have such a bank...time. Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it rules off as "lost" whatever you have failed to use toward good purposes. It carries over no balances and allows no overdrafts. You can't hoard it, save it, store it, loan it or invest it. You can only use it—time. Here's a story that drives the point home. Arthur Berry was described by Time as "the slickest second-story man in the East," truly one of the most famous jewel thieves of all times. In his years of crime, he committed as many as 150 burglaries and stole jewels valued between $5 and $10 million. He seldom robbed from anyone not listed in the Social Register and often did his work in a tuxedo. On an occasion or two, when caught in the act of a crime by a victim, he charmed his way out of being reported to the police.  Like most people who engage in a life of crime, he was eventually caught, convicted and served 25 years in prison for his crimes. Following his release, he worked as a counterman in a roadside restaurant on the East Coast for $50 a week.  A newspaper reporter found him and interviewed him about his life. After telling about the thrilling episodes of his life he came to the conclusion of the interview saying, "I am not good at morals. But early in my life I was intelligent and clever, and I got along well with people. I think I could have made something of my life, but I didn't. So when you write the story of my life, when you tell people about all the burglaries, don't leave out the biggest one of all... Don't just tell them I robbed Jesse Livermore, the Wall Street baron or the cousin of the king of England. You tell them Arthur Berry robbed Arthur Berry."  Here are six terrific truths about time: First: Nobody can manage time. But you can manage those things that take up your time. Second: Time is expensive. As a matter of fact, 80 percent of our day is spent on those things or those people that only bring us two percent of our results. Third: Time is perishable. It cannot be saved for later use. Fourth: Time is measurable. Everybody has the same amount of time...pauper or king. It is not how much time you have; it is how much you use. Fifth: Time is irreplaceable. We never make back time once it is gone. Sixth: Time is a priority. You have enough time for anything in the world, so long as it ranks high enough among your priorities.

INSPIRING YOUR TEAM TO PEAK PERFORMANCE

A good leader has an intense desire to lead; they possess the mentality of a role model who has a clear vision of a better future and steadfast ambition. A good leader inspires their team to peak performance and motivates others to achieve their goals. They have a clear picture of the kind of future they want to create, and they have the ability to communicate this vision to others in an exciting and inspiring way. There are three laws of leadership you must learn in order to become an inspiring leader and an excellent role model for your team.

The Law of Superb Execution

The Law of Superb Execution states that a good leader must commit to achieving peak performance. A good leader knows that excellence is a journey, not a destination. They constantly strive to be better in their key result areas and become a role model of excellence for everyone who reports to them. They are ruthless about weeding out incompetence and poor performance. Leaders demand quality work and insist that people do their jobs well. The leader sets the standard of excellence. No one, or no part of the organization, can be any better than the standard that a good leader represents and enforces. For this reason, leaders are committed to personal excellence and achieving peak performance in everything they do.
People are most inspired when they feel they are working for an organization in which excellence is expected and they have a role model to look up to. The very best way to motivate and inspire others is for you to announce your commitment to peak performance in your field or industry. Then, continually benchmark your performance and the performance of your organization against the very “best in class” in your business.
Leaders identify their core competencies, the vital tasks they do that are responsible for them being in business. They continually look for ways to upgrade these core competencies to assure that they maintain a competitive edge in the marketplace. A good leader or role model thinks ahead and identifies the core competencies that will be required for peak performance. They then develop plans to acquire those core competencies well before they will be needed to compete effectively in the marketplace of tomorrow.

The Law of Integrity

The Law of Integrity states that peak performance comes to you when you choose to live your life consistent with your highest values and your deepest convictions. Great business leadership is characterized by honesty, truthfulness, and straight dealing with every person, under all circumstances. This Law of Integrity requires that you be impeccably honest with yourself and others. Integrity lies at the core of leadership, at the heart of the leader.
Perhaps the most important thing you do as a good leader is to be an excellent role model. Lead by example. Walk the talk. Always carry yourself as though everyone is watching, even when no one is watching. A good leader is an excellent role model because they are completely reliable. People can take them at their word and trust that they will do what they say. A trusted role model makes promises carefully, and always keeps their word.
A key mark of integrity in human relations is consistency, both internal and external. The best leaders are consistent from one day to the next, from one situation to the next. Because of this internal consistency, these leaders are trusted. People know what to expect. There are no surprises.

The Law of Ambition

The Law of Ambition states that since a good leader has an intense desire to lead; he has a clear vision of a better future, which he is determined to realize. Vision is the one common quality that separates leaders from non leaders. A good leader or role model has a clear picture of the kind of future they want to create, and they have the ability to communicate this vision to others in an exciting and inspiring way.
Leaders have the ability to visualize, to see the big picture and then to inspire others to work together to make it a reality. The true leader sees leadership as a tool he or she can use to bring about a result that is bigger and more important than any single individual. A true leader can inspire and motivate others to peak performance.
You become a good leader when you set a goal, make a plan, and then throw your whole heart into making it a reality. You become a leader when you develop an inspiring vision for yourself and others.
A good leader or role model can explain clearly to other people what it is they are trying to accomplish, why they are trying to accomplish it, and how they are going to bring it about. They are excited about what they are doing, and as a result, they get other people excited as well. Leaders have goals, plans, and strategies that they are working to implement every day. They are in a hurry. They have a lot to do and they feel that they have too little time.
Perhaps the most important part of The Law of Ambition is clarity on the part of the leader. A good leader or role model has a clear vision, clear values, a clear vision, and clear, written goals, plans, and strategies for his or her department or organization. Most of all, leaders want to lead, to be in charge, to be responsible, to encourage others to peak performance. They are willing to endure the risks and the sacrifices that are required to make a real difference in their worlds.

THE SECRET TO LIVING IS GIVING

Mac Anderson said,"One of my favorite things to do is waking up early on Sunday morning, getting the Sunday paper, making a hot cup of coffee, and kicking back to read about what's going on in the world. It's my quiet time...my time to reflect and relax. One Sunday morning about halfway through my little ritual, I spotted a headline that caught my attention, "Graduating Student Credits His 'Angel'"...and I began to read. A young man who was graduating from college told the story about how Oral Lee Brown was his "Real Life Angel." In 1987, Brown, a real estate agent in Northern California, saw a young girl in her neighborhood begging for money.

When she went to the school the girl had claimed to attend, Brown couldn't find her, but that day she made a decision that would change the lives of many other children forever. She adopted an entire first-grade class in one of Oakland's lowest performing schools, and she pledged that she personally would pay for anyone who wanted to attend college. This would be a great story even if Oral Lee was independently wealthy; however, it is a much greater story considering she was a former cotton picker from Mississippi, making $45,000 a year and raising two children of her own. Brown lived up to her pledge. Since 1987, she's personally saved $10,000 a year while raising donations for her "adopted first-grade kids." And because of her tremendous act of unselfish love, children who could have been "swallowed by the streets" are now graduating from college to pursue their dreams. We all seek our purpose in life. Most of us wonder how we can make a positive difference during our brief time on this earth. But Oral Lee Brown discovered the simple secret...GIVING. Arthur Ashe said it best,

"From what we get, we can make a living. What we give, however, makes a life."

There's an amazing paradox of giving...you can never help another person without helping yourself.

4 FUTURE PROOF INTERNET MARKETING STRATEGIES

If you've ever tried to promote your website using Search Engine Optimization (SEO) you'll know that it's an ever increasing challenge to keep up with all of the algorithmic changes that Google implements on an almost daily basis.

Every year, Google makes around 400 changes to its different algorithms in order to produce the most relevant organic search results. Some of these changes are very minor and go unnoticed; others can have a greater impact and in some cases remove a site from the search results, never to be seen again. For many webmasters, getting to the top of the organic rankings can seem like an almost impossible task.

Long gone are the days where a little bit of keyword research and a touch of link building would see you rank for your desired keywords. Many of the classic SEO techniques have become almost obsolete and there can be no doubt that many of the current techniques that produce good results, will head the same way; as a part of SEO folklore!

So as a business, what can you do to make sure that your site continues to get the exposure it needs to bring in regular business and at the same time, make sure that you do not fall fail of Google's algorithmic updates and get handed a penalty in the process?

Let's take a look at four of the most important promotional activities that you should be undertaking for your website that will help to produce greater visibility, engagement and conversion.

1. Blog Posting
With literally hundreds of millions blogs being indexed by the search engines, if you are not part of the blogging crowd, you are most definitely missing one of the best ways of promoting your business.

Search engines like Google and Bing love blogs as they produce fresh information that is more likely to rise to the top of the search results. By creating rich textual content via a blog, you allow your site to potentially rank for many more relevant search terms (keywords).

By writing a keyword rich and attractive title, filling the content with well written user focused keywords and including good call to action, you give your content a great chance of making it to the top of the search results with very little conventional SEO work.

Your focus needs to be primarily on providing content that answers the questions and addresses the concerns of your potential customer. I can guarantee that if you do this regularly, your traffic will double of treble in no time at all. As an added boost, make sure that you always include sharing buttons such as AddThis so that your readers are given every opportunity to share your content with their friends.

2. Social Media
It's very hard to ignore the potential of social media when it comes to promoting your website. There is no doubt that when used correctly, the likes of Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and Twitter can be a great asset in promoting your brand.

Every day, hundreds of millions of users interact, share and engage with individuals and businesses via social media sites. If you are not using social media, you are missing a golden opportunity to listen to and engage with, your potential customers.

Word of mouth marketing is perhaps the best form of marketing available today. With social media websites, your social circle is no longer confined to your own geographical location.
By creating something of value, sharing great content, listening and then engaging with your prospective (and existing) customers, you can steadily build lasting relationships and build a community of loyal followers.

As an added incentive, Google and Bing are both using social signals more and more in order to help improve organic search results. So it stands to reason that you want to gain more visibility in this area.

3. Usability Testing and Conversion Optimization
One thing that many people forget is that driving visitors to your site is only part of the overall equation. Converting those visitors into loyal, paying customers is another matter entirely. It's not enough to go to the trouble of creating great content, special offers, videos and free software only to find that users hit your site and leave in a heartbeat, never to return.

Usability Testing means analyzing your analytics data to find out which of your pages are causing users to leave your site and which pages are providing a better user experience. So which pages have a high bounce rate, which pages have a high exit rate and which pages are preventing your users from completing that all important sales funnel?

One great way of testing your site is to get around six people to look at your site and carry out pre-arranged tasks, such as purchasing a product of finding a particular piece of information. Many online services allow you to record both the browsing and the audio so that users can give you a real insight into where your site is not up to scratch and where important changes need to be made.

Research has shown that by testing your site with just a handful of testers can help to identify around 90% of issues.

This one technique can potentially save you thousands on lost conversions. Get your usability and conversion optimization right and watch your revenue soar to new heights!

4. Video Marketing
Every day, thousands of videos are uploaded to video sharing websites such as YouTube, Vimeo, Daily Motion and Meta Café. Everything from "How to string a guitar" to "Beginners Origami" can be found online. In fact, if you can think of a subject, you will most likely find a video of it on the Internet somewhere.

With an ever increasing improvement in bandwidth coupled with the fact that everyone is working harder, so have less time to read reams of text, video has become an excellent medium in which to promote your products and services. Video has also been shown to improve conversion rates when selling online!

One great thing about video marketing is that you don't need to be the next Steven Spielberg in order to make an impact; nor do you need to use expensive equipment.

Many of the most successful videos to have gone viral were created using cheap video cameras or in some cases, smart phones. Video editing software is also readily available with many applications costing very little and in some cases, totally free.

So, if you sell a product, try making a video of somebody demonstrating usage of that product. If you provide a service make a video with testimonials or someone describing the benefits of your service over the competition.

So there you have it. Four great future proof and penalty free ways of promoting your website.

THE FOUR P's OF PERSUASION

Did you know that there are effective ways to enhance your ability to persuade others in both your work and personal life?
There are four "Ps" that will help you do this. They are power, positioning, performance, and politeness. And they are all based on perception.

Develop Personal Power

The first "P" is power. The more power and influence that a person perceives you to have, whether real or not, the more likely it is that that person will be persuaded by you to do the things you want them to do. For example, if you appear to be a senior executive, or a wealthy person, people will be much more likely to help you and serve you than they would be if you were perceived to be a lower level employee.

Shape Their Thinking About You

The second "P" is positioning. This refers to the way that other people think about you and talk about you when you are not there. Your positioning in the mind and heart of other people largely determines how open they are to being influenced by you.
In everything you do involving other people, you are shaping and influencing their perceptions of you and your positioning in their minds. Think about how you could change the things you say and do so that people think about you in such a way that they are more open to your requests and to helping you achieve your goals.

Be Good At What You Do

The third "P" is performance. This refers to your level of competence and expertise in your area. A person who is highly respected for his or her ability to get results is far more persuasive and influential than a person who only does an average job.

Commit to Excellence

The perception that people have of your performance capabilities exerts an inordinate influence on how they think and feel about you. You should commit yourself to being the very best in your field. Sometimes, a reputation for being excellent at what you do can be so powerful that it alone can make you an extremely persuasive individual in all of your interactions with the people around you. They will accept your advice, be open to your influence and agree with your requests.

Treat People Politely

The fourth "P" of persuasion power is politeness. People do things for two reasons, because they want to and because they have to. When you treat people with kindness, courtesy and respect, you make them want to do things for you. They are motivated to go out of their way to help you solve your problems and accomplish your goals.

Being nice to other people satisfies one of the deepest of all subconscious needs, the need to feel important and respected. Whenever you convey this to another person in your conversation, your attitude and your treatment of that person, he or she will

LEARNED ANYTHING NEW?

We constantly hear that we live in the information age and
that what you know and who you know are the twin paths to
success. I believe that, and yet I’m constantly amazed at
how little people invest in up-grading their skills.
I try to practice what I preach and so far this year, I've
spent time at three different conferences to learn more.
We’ve looked at best practices for marketing, for attracting
traffic to our websites, and for cross-promoting each other.
There's always plenty of networking and fun, but the key is
to learn more about building our businesses by getting
better at what we do.
Periodically I hear frightening accounts of how few books
the average person reads, or how few classes they take after
they leave school. I remember once hearing a friend say that
if her employer wanted her to get more education,
"they’ll have to pay me for it." What a tragic attitude!
The keys to success are being able to do more, and do it
quicker and better than your competition, and most of the
time that means KNOWING more than the next person. It means
knowing more about language and culture, knowing more about
your industry, and having better contacts. It means learning
how to learn, and using that knowledge to your advantage.
As Brian Tracy has said for years, read the books. Attend
the seminars. Take the classes and expand your world. Jim
Rohn puts it this way: "Work harder on yourself than you do
on your job." Obviously, learn more about your work and
career, but also expand your vocabulary. Study history and
culture, language and the arts. I love Buckminster Fuller's
observation that, "You cannot learn less!"
To make more, you’ve got to know more than your
competitors. This week, sign up for at least one seminar.
Check a book out of the library. Plant the seeds for a
brighter future.

7 KEYS TO AN AWESOME BRAND

Today, branding isn't optional. You are a 24/7 walking, talking billboard. Every day, in everything you do -- how you interact, how you dress, what your website looks like, how you speak -- you tell the world about yourself.

People are buying only one thing from you -- the way the engagement (hiring you, working with you, learning from you, using your product or service, etc.) makes them FEEL. And the only way to be considered awesome is to earn a piece of valuable real estate in your potential clients' hearts and minds.

We are inundated on a daily basis with more information that our brains can possibly handle. In order to stand out and be memorable, you've got to make an emotional connection, using your passion, personality and personal story.

Here are the seven keys that will move you from just alright, to downright awesome:

CLARITY: You've got to get crystal clear about your WHO, WHAT, WHY and HOW. If you aren't clear about who you are, who is your target market, what you offer and the value you provide, how can you expect your ideal client to be clear about you, and most importantly, buy from you?

CONFIDENCE: In every moment and in every interaction you are teaching others how to treat you and how to interact with you, and whether they should view you as a leader or a follower. If you make a conscious choice to be at the top, then ultimately, that's what you're going to get. Embrace who you are, what you stand for and why you do what you do. Step into your power and clients will seek you out. Give us your Awesome.

CONVERSATION: Effective communication is not a one way street -- it's a conversation, a back and forth, a natural flow. What works now is engagement, not the megaphone approach. The conversational depth of so many professionals today is one-dimensional. All they can talk about with any degree of complexity is what they do for a living. Bo-ring! Engage, ask questions, give examples, tell stories, show genuine interest and ignite a relationship.

CONTENT: One of the best ways, hands down, to position yourself as an authority is to create and re purpose great content that your target audience finds valuable. Notice that I didn't write what YOU find valuable. Remember, it's not about you. You have to create content that your potential clients actually want to consume and consider valuable. When you consistently create and distribute valuable content, you create a perception of value in the eyes of your target market.

CONNECTION: In the online marketplace, it can be easy to get trapped behind a monitor and keyboard. You have to remember that business is about people, not numbers. It's about relationships, not computers. In our rapidly evolving business environment, the entrepreneurs who are going to thrive are the ones who engage their clients and build long-term relationships. So get out there and develop your cheer-leading squad, refer business to others, join a group and create joint venture partnerships.

CARE: An Awesome Brand cares about its tribe. How much are you showing you care about your clients and potential clients? Most brands have only one intention: to sell their product or service. This puts you at a HUGE advantage if you spend some time showing your community how much you care. As we all know, great customer service is rare. Simply by offering excellent service and consistently showing how much you care puts you ahead of the pack -- it makes you awesome.

CONSISTENCY: Does what you say, post, tweet etc. align with your brand? Is what comes out of your mouth consistent with how you dress, how you interact with others and what's on your website? Branding should be a part of your DNA. Everything you do -- every phone call, meeting, blog post, social engagement and personal interaction -- is a unique representation of YOU. Awesome Brands know exactly who they are and present themselves consistently across all platforms.

The foundation of an Awesome Brand is built on these seven C's. You are unique. You do have something important to offer. And whether you help ten or ten thousand people, being an Awesome Brand allows you to MOVE people in a much more compelling way.

GETTING ACCESS TO THE DECISION MAKER

 

In sales, what it all comes down to is this: If you can’t get the meeting, you can’t get the sale. And that meeting needs to be with someone who can influence the final decision to buy.
It’s logical reasoning, but, whether you’re new to sales or a veteran, you know that it is tough to get through to that person in the corner office. Unless you have the password.
Yes, there is a password.
That password is your Valid Business Reason (VBR) which defines the purpose of the meeting. For example, you’re trying to get a meeting with the Senior Director or Vice President of Human Resources in Company ABC who has been wrestling with high employee turnover.
A compelling VBR might sound something like this:

I understand from speaking with Joe Jones and other members of your team, that ABC Company is struggling with its employee retention rate. My company has worked with other organizations with similar challenges and we were able to significantly reduce this problem. Our suite of assessment solutions can dramatically reduce turnover rates while improving hiring, placement and retention rates. I would like to schedule a meeting with you to further understand your situation and discuss some options that might meet your needs.

To secure high-quality meetings, if you don’t know or are unable to get coaching on a specific issue they are facing, you need to hypothesize on your prospect’s business realities and develop meaningful statements that address those critical challenges.
Your ability to state a persuasive VBR hinges on your preliminary research to identify possible challenges key contacts may be facing. Researching also allows you to articulate the value your organization has provided to clients who have had similar issues in the past. Taking the time to formulate a contact strategy that includes a specific issue the client is facing can get you in front of – or on the phone with – the one who can say yes.

SUCCESS IS REPEATABLE SMALL VICTORIES

Sometimes winning begins by understanding what game you are
actually playing!
As long-time subscribers know, I'm a huge fan of "baby
steps." Wonderful over-the-fence home runs are spectacular
and we all love them, precisely because they're difficult
and rare. What's unspectacular and more profitable are
repeated base-hits, that lead to scoring runs, which leads
to victory.
Baby-steps are safe. Baby-steps are easy, virtually without
risk, and in the end, extremely profitable.
The only bad part is that baby-steps can also be boring.
They don't have the glamour or drama of home runs, and few
people applaud. Some, like the grizzled old-timers in the
movie, fail to see the significance.
In building a business, or a life, repeated baby-steps can
feel like we're making progress so slowly that we'll "never
get there." There's not much adrenalin in repeated, daily
baby-steps. Base-hits rarely get the fancy endorsements or
the big promotions. They rarely lead to stardom. But they do
make people rich.
In the movie, the Oakland A's set an all-time record of 20
consecutive wins, which I believe still stands today.
In the book, "The Millionaire Next Door," Stanley Danko
talks about his research on self-made millionaires. One of
his famous quotes is from a wealthy businessman who notes,
"I drink two kinds of beer. Free and Budweiser." Very
practical, very down to earth, very do-able!
Brian Tracy was famous for his observation that the most
reliable business for creating self-made millionaires was
owning a dry-cleaning shop. Not very glamorous, but very
profitable over time!
I'm convinced that the key to wealth is to get very good at
what you do, and then do lots of it. Whether you are a dry-
cleaner, a school teacher, a truck driver or an attorney,
the keys to wealth are your income, and more importantly,
your discipline to save, invest, leverage your skills and
get rich over time.
Persistence pays dividends! Very few people will invent the
next iPhone™ or write a best-seller. But anyone can find
ways to make a bit more in 2013. Anyone can spend a bit less
and invest the difference. Whether it's buying a second home
while interest rates are low, or starting a business on the
side, or attracting a few more customers to your current
business, the keys to wealth are patience and persistence.
This is true in every area of life. A romantic weekend can
create a few great memories, but a great marriage takes
years of daily work. A hole-in-one takes a few seconds, but
becoming a great golfer takes practice and thousands of
rounds of golf.
Clarity about your goals, a reasonable strategy for
achievement, and consistent performance over time is the
"secret" to success. And, of course, anyone can do that.
We are a society that loves instant gratification. We want
speed and drama. We celebrate the "over-night sensation,"
and it's wonderful when that happens. But in real life, it's
actually quite rare. For most of the winners in life,
success is the culmination of multiple, repeated small
victories. Typically, this takes time. It takes Patience.
Endurance. And Persistence.
The good news is that with a good plan and daily victories,
you can absolutely do this!

3 EASY STEPS TO INCREASE YOUR INCOME

Have you tried to manifest a windfall of cash without success? It's easy to glamorize dramatic change like winning the lottery, but the truth is that change that really sticks begins in your mind and is realized through step-by-step action over time. In this article, we'll explore why that is and three simple steps you can take to increase your income with greater ease and much less struggle.

Even changes that seem like big leaps are made possible by a series of preparatory steps. The reasons for this are two strong tendencies etched into the survival mechanisms of our brains. Knowing these tendencies can help you make financial changes that work and really "stick."

First, our bodies and brains are programmed for the "status quo." We are conditioned to return to a familiar reference point, especially if that reference point satisfies an emotional need such as feeling safe. Unless something dramatic happens to push us to a new place, we'll tend to fluctuate around a comfort zone. For example, we'll stay in a familiar body-weight range, maintain the same relationships, keep the same type of jobs, and maintain a certain level of wealth. Our present reference point has a strong anchoring effect.

Second, from this reference point, we have a strong "aversion to loss" and a weaker attraction to gain. For example, when negotiating a contract, receiving "anything less than where we are at" is tremendously undesirable. We will fight tooth and nail not to lose something that we already have. On the other hand, we have much less energy to gain something we don't already have. This tendency to "avoid loss at all costs" keeps things heavily weighted toward the status quo. Your present reference point, even if it isn't all that desirable, is a known, you consider it "yours," and you're unlikely to give it up without having a very powerful reason.

So how does knowing "the heavy weight of the status quo" and your "strong aversion to loss" help you increase your income? Well, it may help you realize what it really takes to change your financial status. Here are three things you can do right now to work with those conservative tendencies and make the financial changes you desire.

1. Establish a New Wealth Reference Point.
If you want to improve your finances, get real clear on exactly what that means to you. Get a clear vision of where you'd like to be.

For example, what would you like to be doing, where would you like to live, what would you like to enjoy, and who would you like to share that with? Imagine your vision in full sensory detail, including the significant feelings and sensations of doing what you'd love to be doing, the specific positive qualities of the environment you are working and living in, and what it feels like to share this with specific people. Get a vivid image of the most meaningful details in your mind and imagine what it feels like to step into that scene and live it.

Spend a little time imagining and stepping into your vision every day. In this way, you establish a New Wealth Reference Point for yourself and practice what's it's like to live there. This primes your mind and body to have those experiences in real life and helps you make good decisions to get you there.

2. Once you have a New Wealth Reference Point, imagine the steps that take you there.
It's effective to do this in reverse order. Begin with your vision of where you'd like to be and then ask yourself, "What was the step that I took just before that moment?" Write that down.

Continue to imagine the steps in reverse order until you arrive at the present moment, where you are now. The present step you imagine needs to be something you can do today that feels very doable right now. When you take that action today, it will set you on your way.

Write all these steps down and then play them forward. If any of them seem too big or challenging, break them down into smaller steps. Now you have an Action Plan of small, doable steps, beginning today, to get you where you want to go.

Remember if you take huge leaps, you are likely to rebound if you don't get the results you desire right away. If you have even a small setback, loss aversion will likely pull you all the way back to where you started. When you take small incremental steps, you generate "small wins" which positively reinforce what you are doing and slowly familiarize you with living toward your New Wealth Reference Point.

3. Have a Back-up Plan for facing specific potential setbacks.
Understand that your Action Plan is just a starting point to get you going. Life is not going to work out exactly as you imagined. You will face challenges, so mentally prepare for them ahead of time. Then, when those challenges arise, you'll be ready for them. The inevitable bumps in the road are then less likely to knock you back to ground zero--your previous financial reference point or worse.

You can prepare your Back-up Plan in advance, by imagining potential pitfalls and set-backs.
For example, if you plan to lease a new space to open a new business and find that it takes longer than you thought to find the right one--have a plan for what you will do in the mean-time to move your business forward. Could you begin to work from home, or meet people at their location, or...? Have a Back-up Plan, so you can keep moving forward when any one of your planned action steps doesn't work out exactly as you imagined.

To encourage you in the face of setbacks, I've found that when one of my planned action steps doesn't work out as I imagined it would, Life is showing me a better way. Stay open to learning better ways to do any of your planned actions.

So, to summarize, be aware of the tendency to "maintain the status quo" and "avoid losses," and act against these by taking three steps:

1. Set a new Wealth Reference Point, a new vision for your life, and imagine yourself there.

2. Establish an Action Plan of small, doable, steps to get you there.

3. Imagine potential setbacks and have a Back-up Plan for what to do in case those happen.
With these three strategies in place, you'll be on your way to increasing your income with greater ease and much less struggle.

Enjoy your practice.