I get the same questions from many aspiring business people every.single.day. and THIS program offers answers to all of them. And it’s free. FREE I tell you! Thus, we invite you to take a short educational journey into “The Land of Awesome” with a clip from the program. This “Sneak Peak” has been brought to you by 30 Days to Profit! Get access to the full course by filling in the form on our home page here: vertu-marketing.com
Here’s what our class members have to say:
“Loving the modules so far, thank you, never been so clear about what my business does and who it serves. It has made me realize I have been marketing the business wrong.”
And, “I love the way you explained target audiences with day 2, it has always been something I have struggled with…”
This program is designed for no other purpose than to SERVE YOU. No strings, no pitches, no bull. It took me multiple screw-ups to learn what works and what doesn’t — wouldn’t it be easier to avoid many of those mistakes to begin with?
Customer loyalty is much more than customer service, and it is not about enticing people to patronize your business multiple times. Loyalty is built through connection, a sense of comfort and community. And, in the same way that people are loyal to friends who they love and trust, people are drawn to companies that are honest and focused on the needs of customers.
The loyal patronage of customers is a critical component of longevity in the business world, especially for businesses with a daunting amount of competition. Effective marketing is important, but loyalty has very little to do with how well your commercials or Facebook ads connected with a potential customer — it has a lot to do with how you make people feel. Simply put, if you can make people feel good about the outcome they are receiving from your business, there is a greater chance of return business. Care about what people want, and help them get it.
In a world full of entitled individuals and social media whining, the thought of simply “giving people what they want” may make you bristle. It’s okay. This is not to say that you must bow to the whim of every client demand, but you must have a strong focus on achieving positive results for clients. In today’s world, many people want relationships and results more than they want tangible goods and products — worry less about the sale and more about the person to whom you are selling. This is the most effective way to build customer loyalty in a saturated market.
Be an expert in finding workable solutions. Study the art of finding positive solutions for every customer. Care about the value that the client will receive from the transaction. Dominate a competitive market and build customer loyalty by following this simple rule: put people first.
I had a fabulous conversation about leadership yesterday, and it got me to thinking that, although the subject of ‘leadership’ is part of my day-to-day conversation, I rarely write a training article on it. So today, I want to tell you what I’ve learned about leadership over the last few years. Most of you will have heard these things before, but hearing and doing are two very different things.
Leaders make the world go round, but bad ones make it go round the wrong way.
They’re in everything; every church, every company, every school, every home and even every prison yard.
But here’s the thing, there’s a fine line between good leadership and well, Hitler (eek). That’s why it’s important to know the difference between what makes a good leader good — and why bad leaders are bad.
I figured out, truly via trial by fire, that even though I have a natural drive toward leadership, I am NOT skilled in handling all the aspects of leadership in a business environment.
It took me a few years, but I finally learned that, to be really good at leadership, I needed to admit that there were things I simply didn’t do very well. One of those is managing the day-to-day needs of my staff. I 100% care about my people, above anything else, but because of my visionary mindset and the necessity that I focus on the “big picture” in order to grow my business, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t give people the individual attention they deserved.
Once I admitted that I was sucking at it, it was easy to see the solution.
A manager.
I hired arguably the best manager ever – he’s absolutely perfect for his role and he is WONDERFUL at doing the thing I was doing so very not wonderfully.
There are a few things that make a good leader:
The willingness to see the gaps, absent abilities, and deficiencies in oneself/one’s business/one’s world.
The drive (and the humility) to admit that it might be time to fill the gaps with someone else.
The ability and willingness to let great people do what great people do WITHOUT micro-managing and trying to turn them into your own personal mini-me.
The desire to give people both praise and credit for being who they’re called to be.
A willingness to get in there and get one’s hands dirty.
An encouraging and optimistic perspective.
A profound sense of gratitude.
Whether you’ve been thrust into a leadership role, or you’ve come into one organically, you CAN be good at — it may take some mental renewal, but you CAN. And good leaders inspire epic change and epic change is the stuff beautiful tomorrows are made from.
Meetings, in all their various forms, are one the main components to doing business. Whether it’s a conference call, lunch meeting or staff gathering, it’s important to use valuable face-to-face time effectively in order to establish connections and pass along pertinent information. If you don’t do meetings well, it could likely impact how well you do in other areas.
Fortunately, it’s possible to improve communication skills in order to make the most out your opportunities for personal interaction from others. Whether you are outlining new strategies with your staff, trying to make a sale over lunch or hosting a teleconference, be intentional and be smart with your time and theirs — better meetings lead to better business. Implement the following when trying to improve this area:
Be very clear about your intentions from the very beginning of the meeting — tell people what you hope to accomplish
Set an agenda — know what you need to say and have an idea of how long you need to communicate your point
Give others time to express their concerns and ask questions
Set meetings in advance — try to give people ample notice before you demand a portion of their time
Ask for and do not disregard feedback from all participants — don’t shun negative feedback; use it to improve
It takes discipline to change your approach and mentality when it comes to meetings, but it is always beneficial to improve communication skills whenever possible. Improved sales and better time management and more are just a few of the beneficial byproducts of better meetings. There is no room in your business plan and entrepreneurial goals for disorganized, last minute or poorly run meetings. Improve the way you do this one thing, and you will find that improvement is added in multiple other areas, including your bottom line.
Facebook is good for business, and it can be very good for YOUR business. This social media platform is a valuable channel to market your business, generate leads and connect with your potential customers — BUT, only if you use it the right way. For most businesses, it’s necessary to have a separate account, one that is not connected to your personal page. Using your personal page for all things business related has the potential to annoy your friends, and it will likely get you “unfollowed”. Instead of marketing to no one or to an audience that is no longer listening, launch a page that is specifically for your business.
Keeping your personal life separate from your business is not only healthy for you, it’s better for your bottom line. Facebook business accounts are specifically designed for use by corporations, small businesses, entrepreneurs, and salespeople who are attempting to increase exposure for their business and increase website clicks. When used the right way, these Facebook accounts can reach thousands of people, even if they don’t “like” your page.
Keep the personal stuff personal. In most cases, politics, controversial subject matters and other such topics should be left for the reading pleasure of people who are friends with you on your personal account. Special sales, information about your products and other business-related posts are for your business account. With a professional approach and a bit of coaching regarding when and how to post on your business page, you will amazed at how far your posts can go and what they can do for your business.
With a business account and the right content, Facebook may just be the best thing that ever happened to your business. Let us help you use it the right way and educate you on how to leverage social media for growth and profitability — you cannot afford to leave this valuable tool on the table.
Do you ever skip lunch? Do you ever find yourself scarfing down a sandwich at your computer while you frantically try to catch up on email? For many of us, the lunch hour is optional and often used as an extra hour to squeeze in more work when we need to catch up.
You may think that you are saving time by working through that hour of the day, but it will eventually catch up with you. Your body is designed with a need for rest, and not just your physical body, but the mind as well. The lunch hour should be a mental retreat from work, not a time to squeeze in even more work. If you feel stressed, are navigating a particularly stressful or busy phase in your career or simply function better when you are mentally refreshed, keep your lunch break to what it is meant to be — a break.
Not everyone has an hour to devote to lunch, but, chances are, you have some time that you can set aside for a meal and a break. If you aren’t able to completely get away from things during your lunch break, at least attempt to treat yourself to a small, 15-30 minute escape as close to halfway through your work day as possible. Take a walk. Read a few chapters of a book. Eat your lunch in peace and quiet. Make a phone call. Go to the gym. No matter how busy you are or how much you have on your to-do list, you must protect your mental, emotional and physical well-being.
The habit of taking a real lunch break may be hard to start, but it is a worthwhile and valuable practice. You don’t have to escape to the islands or quit your job to get away, you just need an hour and commitment to a better, more productive you.
In our busy culture, it seems everyone wants to know how to work less, but still get everything done. By now pretty much everyone I know has either read, or at least heard of 4-Hour Workweek. When I work with clients concerning productivity, they often ask me whether or not I can teach them how to work less and help them achieve a 4-hour work week — or anything close to it.
The short answer is ‘yes,’ BUT not for every client, and even for those who get the ‘yes,’ it comes with a few caveats that must be explored before they get all gun-ho about working a handful of hours and somehow making more and accomplishing more than ever. There is so much more to it than that.
What are the caveats you ask?
Well, the truth is that very few – very, very few successful people can earn the income they want and only work four hours a week. Why? Because not everyone works in a field that allows self-management of time and resources, not everyone is called into a career that lends itself to automation, not everyone WANTS to be an entrepreneur or to run their own business, and certainly not everyone is only in it for the money —
I’m not.
In fact, I usually speak against it in full support of figuring out your calling and your passion and working in it as long as it remains your calling and your passion. I believe God designed us all for something specific (which may or may not be career related, but will still have a huge bearing on task management).
As much as I appreciate some of the ideas in the 4-Hour Workweek book, I am not a 4-Hour Workweek advocate for a number of reasons. But that’s neither here nor there. Today we’re going to talk about how to work less and accomplish more, the practical way — the way that will work for EVERYONE — by calculating our most productive time of day, and restructuring our ‘lists’ to ensure we’re doing the tasks that NEED to be done during our most productive hours.
Let’s start with the math (I know, I know – math, ugh. But, I promise you that you won’t have to do the math. I have included a pretty cool little tool that will do it for you).
The math we’ll tackle involves ultradian rhythms. An ultradian rhythm is a 90-120 minute cycle that occurs inside a circadian rhythm (or a 24-hour circadian day). Science has revealed that our days are driven by these cycles and that the cycles determine our level of alertness and productivity at any given moment in a day.
Early in a cycle, we have heightened energy and ample focus, but by the end of a cycle, we are likely to feel scatterbrained and fatigued. The end of these cycles (or valleys if you look at an ultradian diagram)
Image reference: MentalHealth.com
You can calculate your ultradian rythyms in the day the same way you would at night. Hyper-dedicated people will appreciate that, to truly do this the right way, numbers should be tracked for 4 full weeks, or 30 days – one month). The reason it is recommended we track these rhythms for a month is because circadian days and ultradian rhythms can compile into something called infradian rhythms (in humans, this refers to cycles that are longer than a day that can impact the ultradian and circadian experiences within the body). Infradian rhythms can included hormonal changes that occur in cycles over a certain period (obviously, of particular interest for women) or even season changes and the impacts they have on the body.
It’s especially helpful to start this process on a day that you’ve been able to wake up on your own, unassisted by an alarm clock and unpressured by an early appointment. To get started with the tracking process, note the hour you wake up on your own, on your day of choice, and make note of the hour you went to bed the night before. Your daytime rhythms will be influenced by your sleep patterns and if you’re not getting good sleep, you could experience fewer peak performance hours in the daytime.
Using a spreadsheet (in fact, you can find loads of these online – one of the best I’ve used can be quicklydownloaded for free courtesy of Chris Bailey) rate your energy, focus and motivation, on a scale of one to ten, at the top of each hour in your waking day (meaning, while you’re awake – don’t get up earlier or wake up in the night just to do this, duh). The spreadsheet will calculate your averages and allow you to pinpoint your most productive time of day.
Remember, your numbers will be skewed if your sleep patterns are off your norm, so do your best to get adequate sleep, normal amounts of sleep during the rating time. Don’t over do it, and don’t under do it.
Don’t take more than 30 seconds to record your numbers. This should be an insta-record of your feelings; no agonizing over the rating, no overthinking it, just pick and move on.
If you’re dedicated to the process, you’ll have a daily score, a weekly score and finally a monthly mathematical score based on your personal assessment of your energy, focus and motivation during each hour of the day.
You can use the averages to determine what time of day, what day of week and what week of the month you need to schedule specific tasks and projects in order to get more done and you’ll also learn what times of day you SHOULDN’T work. To wit, you’ll learn how to work less because you’ll be working when you’re good and working and not working when you, well, suck at working.
Trying to work through your LEAST productive times is usually counterproductive. I personally walk away and do something relaxing or restful during those times, because I know anything I did produce would be total crap.
But, there’s also a balance to consider. When you’re feeling the most energetic, you might be less focused. Finding some middle ground in your averages will give you your true sweet spot.
Consider filling your most energetic times with things that require less focus, like cleaning house or working out.
When your energy, focus and motivation are all humming (but not too high), you’re in the zone. The zone is a very good place to be when you’re trying to get more done, make more money, and have time left over to enjoy your life.
I’d love to hear about your experiences with this experiment and answer your questions on this subject. Reach out to me on social media and tell me all about it. And if you have any tips on how to work less that you can share with the rest of us, we welcome your wisdom!
Offline Marketing seems to be a thing of the past. Everything is online these days. From networking to ordering your groceries, it’s all at your fingertips on your phone, your tablet — even your watch. For some, this is ideal, even exciting, as more and more aspects of our lives and businesses can be managed from a computer.
For business owners, the last few years have seen enough changes in the way that social media and the internet are used for marketing and business growth that it makes your head spin. While learning to tap into the benefits of search engine optimization and online marketing is a key component to growth, there are many who long for the days of offline marketing, where a handshake and face-to-face meetings were still the best ways to get things done.
Yes, there has been a distinct and undeniable paradigm shift in the area of marketing. However, there are still plenty of offline and “old fashioned” ways that you can grow your customer base, connect with potential clients and network effectively. For the times when the internet is just not enough, the following suggestions are still beneficial and effective:
• Distribute business cards
• Set up in-person meetings when possible
• Go to events, meet people, shake hands
• Send mail-outs
• Revamp your branding; boost your company’s visual appeal
• Make phone calls
• Participate in community events
• Run in-store specials or set up at local events as a way to meet people
In today’s world, you simply cannot ignore the benefits and practicality of online marketing, but this is not your only option. A carefully maintained balance of the internet and a personal touch is not only a way to humanize your marketing campaign, it will boost appeal and visibility across a wide range of age demographics.
The “old ways” of marketing worked for our dads and granddads, and they can be just as useful today. Use all tools at your disposal to build positive growth and exposure, whether it’s a smile and a handshake or your Facebook account.
Image reference: MentalHealth.com