Opportunities

Get your life back! Calendar Control for Busy People

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Start well – Reinvent now

 

When I launched my current company in 2002, one of the best business strategies I employed to accelerate my launch was to create an advisory board. This scared me to death because I felt ill equipped to afford each professional’s expertise but I desperately wanted to succeed with my new idea. You see, after a failure in my first business launch I’d built my second organization to 1/2 million under the umbrella of a national brand. You know the deal, for myself but not by myself.

 

 

Here I was , launching my third venture, I was now a company of one. My assets were my experience, tons of leadership training, my ability to overcome challenges, my first book under my belt, a strong network and personal brand, a few coaching clients, and a strong belief in my big vision but NO significant cash reserve. All I had to lose were my time and pride and yet everything to gain.

 

I’d read Napoleon Hill’s Keys to Success: The 17 Principles of Personal Achievement and discovered I had a few keys working for me with my positive mental attitude, applied faith, and definiteness of purpose. The power of the mastermind alliance was a new concept especially as it described the application related to an advisory board. Again, with nothing to lose I made my requests.

 

Here’s how creating a board of advisers can work, guerrilla style:

 

  • Get clear on your objective. Exactly what do you want your advisers to do for you? Help you vet your idea? Give you their professional feedback? Point out the blind spots? i.e. In 2002, my objectives were to have the leaders I selected point out my blind spots with a program I wanted to license. (If what you want is professional services you really should be paying for them.)
     

  • Make a target list of advisers you feel would add the most value. You don’t have to know them well. Plan on a diverse group to get a broad spectrum of ideas.
     

  • Set a date for the advisory board session(s) far enough in advance so those who decide to participate can plan.
     

  • Contact each person individually and make the request. Plan for coffee or a get acquainted call. Be as concise as possible and share your objective clearly.
     

  • Follow up with each person. Thank them for their time regardless of a yes or no. For those who said yes, email a detailed thank you with logistics for the upcoming session(s). Reiterate your objective and desired outcome. Ask if there is anything you can do to reciprocate.
     

  • Do your homework. Prior to scheduled session, prepare a presentation as you would for an investor. Make it clear and concise with specific requests.
     

  • Lead the advisory board session with confidence. Introduce each of the players and share why you selected them. Watch the time so you can dismiss in the time you promised. Make your case. Share what you know, state your assumptions, and ask for feedback.
     

Rinse and repeat, as needed.

 

Note: I provided lunch, once a month, for 6 months. I kept the meetings to 90 minutes. You could duplicate this or any variation. I targeted a banker, attorney, business development consultant, international entrepreneur, and a CPA.

 

Why am I bringing this up now? Over the past 3 years I’ve been watching small business after small business drink the Kool-aid, buying into programs, hiring experts who’ve made a million (or 6 figures) doing what they want to do. (Yes, I will admit, I’ve bought into some of those same programs too.) The problem is…those leaders are not YOU and I. As a result, it’s likely you’ve added many processes that are superfluous to your core offering, detracting from that brilliance your prospects are hungry for ending up with an over complicated model making it hard for you to reach those who truly need you.

 

Picture trying to build the Titanic when you only need a small speed boat to reach your destination.

 

So the question becomes, “How do you course correct when you are mid-game?”

 

My answer: Pretend you are starting over. What would you do if you didn’t know what you think you know? You’d ask for help. [Read that sentence again slowly.]

 

My question for you, “Are you done struggling yet? Are you anxious to step away simplify, streamline, and remain agile? Are you ready to try something different?”

 

If your answer is yes, let’s go!

 

Stop going round and round trying to see into the crystal ball to predict the future. End your frustration with “what isn’t working” today. Create a focus group or assemble an advisory board, and be willing to have your presumptions shot down so you can simplify,

 

Sure, brutal honesty it isn’t fun but yields incredible results. There is a market waiting for you to show up and do what you do best!

Marketing YOU! 10 grass roots outreach activities that really work

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Are you tired of investing in marketing that just doesn’t seem to pay off? Every time my calendar needs a boost I pull out these tried and true grass roots, low cost, high impact marketing tactics.

 

Strategically Network

 

1. Set up 3 appointments with providers who serve your ideal clients. This could be a phone call or coffee. Just be sure the time is used to your mutual benefit.

 

Be prepared with survey* questions and information or connections that could be of value to your partner. Let them know what kind of projects and goals you are working toward.

 

2. Contact 3 of your past clients. Repeat activities in #1.

 

3. Review your past proposals. Contact each by phone even if they’ve chosen another provider. Repeat the activities in #1.

 

4. Review the business calendars in your local paper and online. Find 2-3 new events to attend in the next 30 days. There are always new events, professional development, and happenings that would add value to your own business, expose you to new audiences, and add value to those you are contacting in steps #1-3. (Stop attending anything that is not producing value.)

 

Make a Name for Yourself

 

5. Start speaking. Consider everywhere you go a “mini-stage”. From your introduction to an informational presentation to a keynote, find places to share your insights and secret sauce.

 

6. Host your own event. Invite your top prospects, strategic partners, and/or past clients to an informational event. Plan to provide valuable information, insight, or introductions. If hosting an event on your own seems daunting, find a strategic partner who could benefit and share the load of producing. This doesn’t have to be costly.

 

7. Start writing. Your audience wants to know what you know. The mistakes you could help them avoid, the pitfalls, debunk the myths and lies they’ve been fed, give them the secrets to success…YOU know these things. Share them. Don’t let the fact that you had a teacher in your past tell you writing was not for you get started making lists, share your ideas, and do what works for you. Just get writing.

 

8. Join the conversation. Find others who are talking about what you want to talk about. This might mean you have to leave some of the groups you are currently involved in. Ask questions. Add your insights. Don’t worry about the competition. There is more than enough to go around. Get Grounded

 

9. Slow down to speed up. Shift your attachment and value from being “busy” to becoming “intentional”. Evaluate how you can create more impact from less effort. This takes reflection, evaluation, assessment. That won’t happen if you have no margin in your life or business.

 

10. Get out of your office. Connections are made when people see you. This can happen virtually if you are in a forum where you can be heard but will most likely be in your own back yard. Attend an event that interests you for no other reason than that it interests you. Do something fun. Learn a new skill. Take a class. You are a whole person. Your business will not fail if you walk away from the helm to renew your energy and add some fun.

 

*Survey questions I typically ask. What are the changes going on in your industry? How are they impacting you locally or personally? What are your key initiatives for 2012? Based on your experience in your profession/industry, what short or long term impact do you see on your business?

 

**Value add resources are anything of high value to the person I am speaking with. This could be events, books, insights I’ve gained from reading books or attending conferences, connections I can make for them, etc.

 

Grass roots’ marketing is organic. It builds trust. It lets your audience get to know and experience YOU. The bottom line is that this type of outreach really works. Apply for 30 days and see what you get…then do it again.

 

Do you have some suggestions to add to this list?

 

Want more Monetize Me! Expertise? Check out our Monetize Me! Expert Series. 

 

Rear View Mirror – the Power of Vision Driven Results

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Your ideas, insights, gifts, skills, and experiences are money.

 

Uniquely being you delivers value to others. In a business environment, they (your customers) give you money for that value exchange. I refer to this as the fuel that runs your economic engine. Cash and profits are essential to the health and operation of your company. But how easily you make money, quickly you build a company, magnetically attract customers, and gain credibility all depends on you.

 

In this metaphor, you are the driver of your high performing entrepreneurial vehicle. Ultimately you are responsible for how and when you arrive at your destination. When it comes to significant goal achievement I find the “rear view mirror” technique to be highly effective for three reasons. It is future focused It engages your RAS (Reticular Activation System) Here is an excellent article on what RAS is and why it matters in goal setting.

 

Repeated use of the ‘rear view mirror’ technique will reveal self sabotage and detours that delay arrival at your destination. Here is how it works.

 

Let’s take a one year view and work backwards.

 

Based on your income or revenue goals, picture yourself and ask yourself.

 

“What do I see in my rear view mirror? What are the significant benchmarks that contributed to my goal achievement?”
 

  • If you are a service professional you might be celebrating sustainable marketing outreach that fed consistent prospects converting to clients you love all year long and a work/life balance with income that keeps you motivated.
     

  • If you are a consultant, speaker, or expert you might be celebrating new book sales, successful speaking engagements, new products released, recognition by peers, etc.
     

  • If you are an entrepreneurial rainmaker (you are building a company that depends on others labor while you attract and convert new business opportunities) you might be celebrating key people on your team, their achievements and contributions, your market penetration, recognition by peers, new product release, etc.
     

Next bring the view back to the short term. Picture yourself out 90 days or at the end of a quarter. What benchmarks do you see in your rear view that needs to be met this quarter to significantly move you toward that celebration?

 

Now, bring the view into this month and next week. What benchmarks do you need to see in your rear view next week and next month?Identify and make SMART commitments to the key activities that create forward movement.

 

Hindrances and helps for using the rear view mirror technique.
 

  • Master your motivators. Learn the people or activities that distract you and align with those who inspire, encourage, and accelerate you.
     

  • Find the juice in your future. When you are looking back on the benchmarks, achievements, and celebrations invest in feeling the full impact of emotions. Ask yourself, “What does this look like? How do I feel? How do others see me? What are they saying about me? What am I saying about myself? What is the financial impact of achieving this benchmark?”
     

  • Keep your head up for pot holes, road blocks and detours. What would you like to see in your rear view mirror next week? What’s going to keep you from accomplishing it? Strategize to work around them, avoid or eliminate the obstacles.

 

Key to monetizing your talents is creating practices that allow you to work in your sweet spot most of the time. Practice the future focused “rear view mirror” technique to get more juice in goal achievement process.

 

The ultimate business strategy is leveraging YOU! 

 

Faith, Fear and Balance

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What gets dreamers going? Faith.

 

What holds dreamers back? Fear.

 

What is faith? The gut-wrenching belief in something you can see, feel, taste, and touch in your minds eye but hasn’t actually happened yet.

 

What is fear? The doubts. inadequacies, and internal messaging that shows up while we journey the contradiction of the current reality. Fear is multiplied when we get around other “unbelievers” or those who don’t share faith in you or your dream (the ability to believe in something that is unseen).

 

What does balance have to do with this equation? The myth we buy into that balance is a worthy aspiration on the way to making big things happen is just that. A BIG FAT MYTH!

 

What if…
 

  1. your belief about balance is the very thing that is holding you back?
     

  2. the time you spend with those who don’t share your vision impedes your rate of growth?
     

  3. not being grounded

 

Pursuit of your dream or any business venture requires you to be fully committed, doing whatever it takes to make things happen. Does this mean you need to sacrifice your life or the very things you value in the process? No way!

 

According to Motivational Guru Jim Rohn, you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. If that’s the case, shouldn’t you be choosing your friends wisely? You can afford to be hanging around naysayers.

 

Instead aspire to:

 

  • find harmony as you journey the contradiction until you arrive at your destination. Harmony represents the ebb and flow, the subtle dance, a person centered, grounded in their values, their vision, and the value they bring to the world.
     

  • jump in with both feet. Work when you are working. Play when you are playing. Fully commit and let faith guide the dream in your heart.
     

  • make fear irrelevant. Hang out with other “believers”. Leaders who live in the space of faith. If it’s true that you are the average of the 5 people you hang around with, what’s the average you want to be? Find your peeps.
     

  • forget balance. Above all, be present and let your vision change your reality.
     

Surprise yourself. Pursue the outrageous to discover more than you could ask or imagine*.

 

*Excerpt from “I Want What She’s Got! The Secrets to Creating an Outrageous Life”.

 

 

Making Changing Times Work for You

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These changing times are forcing most of us to figure out how to do more with less. This means we are adopting new ways of doing things. Not only to save money but also to adjust how we serve our customers on a consistent basis. We are doing this while maintaining an insanely rapid pace in an environment of uncertainty. It is no wonder we are working harder and longer to stay on top of our game!

 

I will confess I am a big-time multi-tasker…always have been. The current environment has me in hyper drive. I recently came across a study that shows multi-tasking drops your efficiency by 44%. This stopped me in my tracks. I immediately internalized and asked myself, “Can I afford to have my efficiency reduced by 44%?” The answer is a big NO! Can you?

 

This got me thinking. Can anything be done to change this trend? I optimistically and emphatically say YES! Since I am in the middle of this personally and coaching clients who are adjusting as well, here is what I know.

 

Changing this trend boils down to three things:

 

  • Determination

  • Time

  • Desired outcomes
     

Determination

 

An overused but nonetheless valid quote from Einstein defines insanity as doing the same thing over and over yet expecting different results. Are you ready to stop the insanity? This requires determination. This is the point when you commit to change and say to yourself, “I determine that I will make the necessary change to shift my mindset and the activities that are producing the current result.”This is both an internal and external commitment. This level of personal change only occurs when you are willing to be brutally honest with yourself.

 

Take a moment right now and ask yourself the following:

 

  • What is the mindset or belief system that contributes to my current state? i.e What do I say to myself when I think about what is going on in the world? Or with my customers? Or with the opportunities available to me?

  • What are the activities I tolerate that sabotage my desired outcomes? i.e. Do I know my highest payoff activities to move me toward my desired outcome? Is this where I spend my time? Do I make excuses or blame the situation, environment or other people for my current state?
     

Time

 

A recent survey by Microsoft shows most people actually use 60% or less of available work time. This means out a 5 day work week, we have only 3 productive days. I find this statistic a little scary!

 

A truth that has had tremendous impact on my own calendar philosophy is from Brian Tracy’s 101 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business. He states, “Every minute spent in planning saves nine in execution.” Once I began to practice leveraged time scheduled around my life strategy I began to experience balance for the first time. Interestingly enough it was also while I experienced explosive growth in my business.

 

It has become apparent with this year’s economic environment that how you leverage time requires fresh evaluation when major change occurs. When this first came to my attention I said to myself, “OK. I know what to do now. This is the logical next step.” But, what I found is that the speed at which I operate in the current environment increased the challenge to make the time for this tremendously high payoff activity. And, don’t kid yourself. It takes quality time to reflect at the level that truly shifts our perspective.

 

Here is a “behind the curtain” peek at what’s going on in my operation right now. Connectworks has been growing as we adapt our offerings to the market and dig deeper in our niche. We’ve added new people to the team. It is crystal clear that if my calendar doesn’t change I will wear myself out and not reach my desired outcome. While it is fun and exciting right now, this is not going to serve me, the team, or my customers in the long haul. And I am in this for the long haul.

 

I am asking myself the same questions as I challenge you:

 

  • What are truly my highest payoff activities? These are the activities that give me the greatest return on my time investment and only I can do. After all, can I afford to be 44% less efficient?
     

  • Have my core values changed? In addition to my commitment to delivering over-the-top service to my clients, I value my family, friends, continuous learning, and fun. Fun for me translates to a variety of activities from gardening to travel to watching movies.
     

  • What values and outcomes are compromised by my current mode of scheduling? My goal is to translate this to a cost either in dollars and cents or relationships to increase the pain of knowing I am continuing a behavior that no longer serves my desired outcome.
     

  • If I had an ideal weekly or monthly calendar, what would it look like? What filters would I put in place to keep the non-productive tasks or activities at bay?
     

Desired Outcome

 

It is no secret that when times change we are forced to adapt. The daily grind keeps us in denial that the only constant…is change! Now is the perfect time to stop, reflect and update your desired outcomes. What do you REALLY want? What matters most to you, right now? What is your vision of success in each area of your life? We are whole people, not just our job. It is important to view our calendar and goals from a holistic perspective. Take into account that how we do anything affects everything personally and professionally.

 

Ask yourself in light of these changing times, what are my desired outcomes?

 

  • Professionally? What are the desired outcome(s) for my work/career

  • Relationally? What are the desired outcomes from my relationships, both at work and at home?

  • Personally? What are the desired outcomes for me in the personal arena, financially, environmentally, etc.?
     

At the end of the day, these changing times prompt us to re-evaluate what matters most. What matters most to you? Your determination will create a focus that gets you out of your own way…because your time is your life. When we are on the other side of this economic cycle, what would you like to observe about yourself when you look back? Make it count.

 

Reality Sucks When Networking Doesn't Work

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I overheard a conversation this past week at a networking event between two business professionals. The comment that drove this post was “None of my networking in business organizations paid off”. (I always cringe when I hear that.) The woman continued to share what did work for her; social networking, specifically “meetups. Her profession? Interior Design. His profession? Realtor.

 

This sounded like a brilliant conclusion. If you are trying to meet consumers who will buy interior design, they are not typically at business networking events AND unless you are networking at “partner rich” events (i.e. realtors, contractors, window coverings, etc.) you will not likely make as many quality connections. There is nothing more frustrating than attending networking with the hope of making good connections and walking away empty handed.

 

It made me wonder, are we simply swallowing the “how-to’s” hook, line and sinker without evaluating our own business model, personality, sales style, and target audience? I hope not! Here are a couple of things to think about as you personalize your networking efforts.

 

If you are networking for lead generation and getting less than desired results, ask yourself:

 

  1. Is it the group? Not rich enough in prospects, partners or opportunties? Are you fishing in the wrong pond?
     

  2. Is it you? Are you not asking the right questions, engaging the right people, and following up?

 

If you’ve invested dollars in membership and time in an organization, be sure to evaluate the above. Before jumping ship, make sure it isn’t you. If it is, you will take your troubles to the next organization.

 

Suggestions for face to face social networking

 

http://www.meetin.com/

 

http://www.meetup.com/

 

http://www.biznik.com/

 

Google “meet up” and your city. Happy Networking!

Cold Calling Secret

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Cold calling is not my favorite thing. If you’ve heard me speak my stance on cold calling is, Why? Why cold call when you can network your way into warm leads.I attended a workshop put on by the Institute of Management Consultants here in Portland and gained some insights from Cold Calling expert, Kathy Maixner of Selling Smart that changed my mind.Now I know why I’ve always liked Kathy! Her fresh perspective on cold calling is very similar to my take on networking. I came away with 5 simple insights about cold calling.

 

1. Cold calling is just a contact. It is not the sale.

2. Be crystal clear on your target.

3. Be prepared. Do your homework on the company you are calling.

4. Have a script. Create a vocabulary that works for you. Make it meaningful.

5. Get over yourself.

Cold Calling

 

I realized some people feel about networking the same as I do about cold calling. When I took the “sales” out of networking, contacts were easy. Kathy showed me, when it comes to initial contacts, whether cold calling or networking, it is just a point of discovery.

 

If cold calling is in your future, back up and rethink your objective. First to learn more, then to get an appointment to explore mutual benefit.

 

Happy Selling!