I have always maintained that the best way to market is by word of mouth. Communicating with your network is the most powerful and important marketing vehicle you've got. I was so pleased to read Seth Godin's blog last week, because he validated this marketing approach and labeled it, the secret of new marketing. In his blog, Seth states: Find ten people. Ten people who … [Read more...]
Person, Brand Thyself
‘Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.’ – Dr. Seuss Wise words from another children’s author. Yet in this age of branding, of social media, of digitisation to the extreme, how are we to know who we are? Rather than staying at home and pondering their choices, people go around the world to ‘find themselves’, when the … [Read more...]
What Do I Wear?
Going to work presents a dilemma. Obviously everyone is nervous on their first ever day in the office, but no one expects you to have qualms about going to work the rest of the time. Yet looking in your wardrobe, standing in front of the mirror, hopping on the bus in the morning, do you ever experience a flutter of apprehension? Wonder if you’re giving the right impression? … [Read more...]
Do We Need to Be Selfish to Be Successful?
When we first came into this world as infants, we were very focused on having our immediate needs met. Life was simple. With more "socialization", we began to respond to those around us and our thoughts turned outward. Our parents, friends, and teachers were more interested in finding ways to have us please them than to have us please ourselves and we lost touch with whatever … [Read more...]
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Unlike George Bush, who famously cited The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle as one of his favourite books from his childhood despite it having been published when he was 23, I was born after its publication and have very fond memories of reading it as a child. This year marks its 40th anniversary, and it is still a much-loved classic. Yesterday also marked the beginning … [Read more...]
Do You Have a Fear of Selling?
I am always amazed at how many people are traumatized when it comes to selling their product and/or services. When I looked up the verb "sell" in the dictionary, I found these definitions. to transfer services to another in exchange for money. (OK. I can live with this definition.) to persuade or induce someone to buy something. (Used car salesman approach.) to … [Read more...]
How to Increase Sales Tomorrow: A Step by Step Agenda
If you’re like me, you’ve got to be thinking about increasing your revenue stream for the short term. I mean, I have the long term under control—strategy, business model development, cost management. But nothing else works if you don’t keep the income side generating new sales. So I’ve designed a one-day agenda focused totally on sales, and I invite you to try it! Here … [Read more...]
How to Love Your Job
Allison’s excellent post on being a good boss left me thinking about employees and their place in a company. Having a good boss is a great starting point, but if a business’ employees mope around feeling lost and miserable, the whole thing will fail. As an employee, it can be difficult to muster up enthusiasm for a job you’ve possibly ended up in out of desperation, … [Read more...]
The Importance of Networking in a Down Economy
I think by now we have all accepted the fact that our economy is in crisis and there is not an immediate panacea to catapult us back to financial stability. Every day we hear of more businesses going bankrupt and laying off employees. Perhaps you are lucky enough to be employed or own your own business. Even if you are currently unemployed, now is the time to get out there … [Read more...]
Grow Your Business in a Culture of Abundance
In a growing company, it is very easy to be afraid that you will not have enough—not enough money, not enough staff, not enough time, not enough customers. I call that the culture of scarcity. And in today’s tough economic times, we are being bombarded relentlessly by scarcity messages in all media. But in order to grow your company, you must cultivate a culture of … [Read more...]