Proactive Blogs Lead to Business Growth
Being proactive in your public relations, marketing and online networking is critical to your business growth, relationships and revenues. I’m hearing great feedback on my free webinars next week from people who are also beginning to understand the concept of how quality blogs are building online relationships and showing value. Your presence affects your prosperity.
Check out the free webinars on August 5 & 6. I promise the 30 minutes will be packed with amazing story ideas and nuggets to help you grow your organization. Join me on either August 5th or 6th (different content and story ideas for you each day! ) at 12:00 pm Central, for an opportunity to learn how to create compelling, consistent and timely blogs that directly connect back to your organization, customers and prospects.
Professionals are “tweeting” about my concept and programs. They are spreading the word..they are registering for the preview webinars on “Building the Buzz that Builds Your Businesss” because they know they have to be proactive. The world and technology are leaving too many of us behind. Social Media is not a fad. We have to learn and grow with the new tools we have available. It’s all here for you. Commit to learning and using them, one at a time. If you don’t, your competition wins.
Your blog is an untapped vehicle to drive traffic to your website. Learn how to use it as an integral part of your business development.
I invite you to register for the preview call now and spread the news!
Business Growth Strategy for the Summer: Go Outside
In 2006, 60 billion e-mails were sent worldwide every single day. That’s according to the School of Information Management and Systems at the University of California at Berkeley.
In our busy worlds, networking and face time are rare commodities. Regardless of your industry, you probably find yourself using more gadgets and technology that saves precious time and helps you to operate more efficiently. That may be true, but nothing a can replace a handshake, smile or our human communication. Are you hiding behind technology instead of connecting face-to-face with your fellow humans?
As the summer unfolds and our frenetic paces slow down, try this exercise.
Look through your database or Rolodex and call several former clients, colleagues, networking acquaintances and others that you have not heard from in at least six months. Spend a few days meeting with each one for an early cup of coffee or breakfast at 7:30 or 8:00 a.m. This helps you to make sure your face time doesn’t interfere with normal business hours and it allows you to catch up.
Here are 3 tips:
1- Go to the meeting with the sole intention of reconnecting and nurturing relationships.
2- Use your good listening skills to truly hear what the other person has been doing.
3- Fill them in on your latest projects and accomplishments as they may be able to connect you with new opportunities.
Together you can help one another to cultivate new business and enrich each other’s lives. Take the time to build rapport and invest in human communication. Repeat this exercise once or twice a quarter.
A cold computer keyboard will never replace a warm handshake. Happy networking!
Improve Your Communication with Vocal Vitality
Making your words come alive is an integral component of your communication.
Many of you know I was an on-air radio news anchor and reporter for many years. In my college broadcasting classes, my favorite professor taught me that radio is “theater of the mind.” He then showed me and my classmates the importance of using our voices and vocal vitality to capture the essence of our words so we could create mental images for our listeners. After all, on the radio, there are no visuals or body language to fall back on. It’s all in the voice. We had to make our words come alive with vocal vitality. Give it life!
Your ability to use your voice to enhance your overall communication is essential. Even if you’re not on the radio, you probably still have to speak to people on conference calls, voicemail messages, in sales meetings, and for presentations. You don’t have to sound like a blustery game show host to have a vibrant and energetic voice.
A strong voice exudes confidence, authority, integrity, passion and enthusiasm. It builds instant credibility. A weaker sounding voice can diminish all of the above. The actual sound of your voice, which includes the timber, is something you are born with. Even with coaching and training, the true sound of your voice probably won’t change a great deal.
The good news is that you can learn how to improve your delivery and vocal habits and work with what you have. After all, you are the message.
Here are five tips to improve your vocal vitality and delivery:
1. Avoid timidity. If you sound nervous or unsure of yourself, your professional credibility will be diminished. Be sure to drop your voice down when completing a sentence. If your voice goes up at the end of the sentence, you sound as if you’re asking a question, not stating a fact. Be strong and confident.
2. Listen to yourself. For the sole purpose of learning, tape record a few casual conversations in your home and on the phone. Let your answering machine record your conversation. Pay attention to your inflection, pacing, tone of voice and vocal habits. Critiquing yourself can be a real eye-opener.
3. Emphasize important words. By stressing a key word or phrase, you truly drive your point home. Conversely, emphasizing the wrong word can add to confusion for your listener.
4. Take advantage of silences and pauses. These are especially powerful in business and sales. Many people feel uncomfortable with quiet. Silence is critical in sales meetings when you drop the gauntlet and ask your prospect the golden question, “Are you willing to give it a try?” or “Are there any concerns you have that are stopping you from signing the contract and getting started right now?” That moment of silence can make or break the deal.
5. Express passion in your voice. If you sound bored, dull or monotone, the people listening will be bored as well. If you are excited and truly believe in your words and message, you have a great shot at capturing their attention. Enthusiasm is contagious.
The two cornerstones of success are excellent communication skills and self-confidence. Improving your vocal viality will help you to succeed in these areas.
Quality Questions Reveal Quality Information
In 1970, Barbara Walters wrote a book titled “How to Talk to Practically Anyone about Practically Anything.” She says it was intended to help people start conversations and break the ice. These days, the questions can apply to networking, sales and casual conversations.
The book ended with a chapter titled “When All Else Fails-Twenty Sure-Fire Conversation Starters.” Walters, a pioneering woman in broadcast news, knows plenty about asking quality and thought-provoking questions. She says she still uses the following timeless questions in her interviews today. Consider your own responses.
1. If you were not doing the work you are doing now, what would you most like to be doing?
2. If you could live in any time in history, when would you have wished to live?
3. If you could be any person in history, who would it be?
4. If you were suddenly given a million dollars and told you had to spend it just on yourself, what is the first thing you would buy?
5. If you were hospitalized for three months but not really too sick—whom-and it can’t be a relative- would you want in the next bed?
You can gain insight into people’s personalities, interests, values and challenges by asking quality questions. On the list above, I thought my answers were pretty good, until I heard my husband’s responses.
10 Do’s & Don’ts of Working At Home
Setting up your home office and developing boundaries for productive days are important for entrepreneurs. Working from home demands a strong discipline and mindset. Paying attention to the small details can help you to better manage your time and be more successful.
My public relations and communications training company, Get in Front Communications, is now nine years old. I’ve worked from home with virtual support/assistants and I had an office suite with several employees. I’m offering you some tips to spare you from the frustration I have encountered. Lessons learned:
1- Do have a separate area (preferrably a room with a door) that’s dedicated solely to your work.
2- Do have your own computer so when you log on, “Dora the Explorer” or “Sports Illustrated” don’t pop up.
3- Do guard your time carefully. Avoid taking personal calls or visits from friends or neighbors during work hours.
4- Do have a website and business cards that are professionally designed. Top notch marketing is critical to your success.
5- Do set your work hours and adhere to your schedule. You probably don’t have to be available 24/7. It’s called voicemail.
6- Don’t use your home address. For safety reasons and a professional touch, rent a PO Box or office address.
7- Don’t answer the phone with barking dogs, noisy children in the background and chiming clocks.
8- Don’t invite clients or prospects into your home. Meet at a local coffee shop or restaurant.
9- Don’t create professional video’s with “homey” backgrounds that may be cluttered with family pictures, toys and papers.
10- Don’t schedule repair men or personal appointments in your home while on conference calls or on a client’s watch.
11- BONUS! Don’t turn on the TV for background noise.
These tips can apply to new entrepreneurs as well as seasoned professionals. Look, after nine years, I often have to remind myself of a few of these too, especially #5. Good luck!
Develop Your Personal Brand for Networking & Business Growth
Whether you’re a business professional, work for a nonprofit or are looking for a job, your personal brand is essential to networking and growing your business (making more money). It helps your self-confidence too.
Consider yourself a special commodity. People who meet you and those who know you should be able to repeat your personal branding statement on your behalf. This leads to word-of-mouth referral network for you. It’s a beautiful thing.
In developing your own branding statement, consider the following points:
1- What makes you special? What do you do better, different, cheaper, faster than your competition?
2- Identify your DNA- dynamic natural ability.
3- What value have you gotten for clients that have helped them to grow and be more successful?
4- Weave in your personality and accomplishments in a charismatic and friendly way without sounding pompous or arrogant.
5- Come up with a 6-8 word “catch phrase” or one-liner that addresses the above points. You may have to begin with a longer sentence and start editing!
6- Use punchy words and think in “sound bites” like newscasters. Go for the golden nugget that will compel someone to say “tell me more…”
Creating your own special brand that is relevant, distinctive, valuable and memorable can be fun…and it affects your bottom line.
Bridging Communication Gaps with NLP
One of the greatest and most exciting discoveries in business, communication and psychology in the past 30 years has been Neurolinguistic Programming. NLP was developed in the 1970’s at the University of Santa Cruz in California. The founders of NLP, Richard Bandler and John Grinder, began discussing how some people are able to “get through to difficult people, and others can’t.” That’s how NLP was born.
It examines the relationships between thought, communication, and behavior. This methodology is used by top business leaders, politicians and athletes around the world. There are connections with Emotional Intelligence, but NLP goes beyond EQ (empathy, compassion, assertive communication and self-awareness).
NLP focuses on four key areas: rapport, sensory awareness (modalities), outcome thinking and behavioral flexibility. NLP teaches us how to bridge communication gaps, looking for similarities rather than differences. It helps us to become aware of how others understand and process information so we can communicate with them more effectively. It includes the secrets of nonverbal communication, influence and trust-building, limiting self-talk and modeling human behavior. It’s fascinating.
The core of NLP is based on our sensory modalities. If we listen carefully when others speak, they will drop cues and clues as to which modality they prefer. The three main modalities are:
• Visual – Most people are visual. They learn by seeing. They need to actually see how something is done in order to comprehend it. They use expressions like “I see”, “I get the picture” and “That’s crystal clear to me.”
• Auditory – Others learn by hearing. They can hear something explained once or twice and have a full understanding of the subject. Auditory people tend to use phrases like “That’s music to my ears”, “That sounds good to me” and “That rings a bell.”
• Kinesthetic – These folks learn best through touch and feel. Artists and creative people are usually kinesthetic. They may say things like “I get the point”, “I can embrace that idea” and “I have a bad feeling about that.”
If you tend to be more visual and you are disagreeing with someone who is an auditory person, it’s as if you are speaking Spanish and they are speaking French. It’s extremely difficult to communicate. When you identify someone else’s prime modality, you can use it to bridge the gap, build rapport and engage them. The outcome will be quite different than if you were butting heads and feeling frustrated.
Take time to learn more about Neurolinguistic Programming and how it can be used in all areas of your life. Having this skill set can enrich your relationships.
12 Tips to Successful Networking: Build Relationships
Whether you own your business or work for someone else, effective networking will add to your success. It will also help to build your self-confidence, speaking skills and interpersonal relationships. In the end, networking leads to new relationships and referrals. It will help you make more money.
Use these 12 strategies to sharpen your networking abilities and widen your business circles. Don’t collect business cards; build relationships!
1- Arrive in a good mood. If you go to a meeting, event or trade show with a positive attitude, everyone you encounter will notice. Decide ahead of time that you will have a great experience and meet your ideal clients. If you think you’re wasting your time, you’ll probably have a negative experience. If you had a bad day, skip the event and attend another when you’re in a better mood.
2- Set a goal. Consider why you are attending this specific event. Know your ideal client. If you do business in the real estate industry, determine where the decision-makers spend time and which events they attend. Go find them. Travel in their circles.
3- Stand by the door. Arrive early and hang around by the entrance to the room. When people register and begin moving into the room, you will be one of the first people they see. This is especially helpful to others who may attend alone and could be looking for someone to chat with and break the ice.
4- Forget the food and drinks. Do not focus on your appetite; you are there to mingle and do business. Food can easily become a distraction. Celebrate at home after the event with a drink—having met your networking goals and ideal clients.
5- Sit with people you don’t know. It may feel awkward at first but introduce yourself to new people with a smile and friendly demeanor. Find a table that has an empty chair and ask if it’s ok to join them. Remember your goal is to meet new people, not spend time commiserating with people you already know.
6- Be aware of your body language. Avoid “darting eyes” and stay focused on the person you are speaking with. Stand tall, strong and proud.
7- Prepare your “30 second commercial.” This should be a quick description of the results you get for clients. Dump the cutesy catch phrases that may confuse people. Structure your commercial by this example that I use for my public relations company: “I work with businesses and nonprofits to increase their publicity, credibility and revenues.” Position yourself by concept, not title. This is extremely important for business growth.
8- Make small talk. Even if it’s simply the weather, a local sports team or vacation plans, be sure you are able to strike up a light conversation with strangers. Avoid touchy topics including politics, religion and jokes. Try to stay up-to-date on current news stories. Also, don’t fall into the trap of adding to a conversation that’s filled with complaining and negativity. It’s poison; try and gently move the conversation onto something more positive.
9- Ask good questions. Steer conversations towards the other person, their business, challenges and needs. When someone asks you what you do, answer in a quick line or two and suggest, “I can share more about my business in a minute but I’d really like to learn what your company does.” Listen closely and you’ll soon be able to determine if this person could use your expertise. Dig deep.
10- Work the room. If you are in a conversation that seems to be a dead-end, politely excuse yourself to use the restroom, make a call or find an associate in the room. Spend a few minutes with each person instead of an hour with one individual.
11- Bring plenty of business cards. Remember, the reason you are attending the event is to meet people! If you forgot your cards, you may seriously want to consider going back to get them or skipping the program. Be prepared. Also, don’t feel obligated to give your cards to everyone you meet. Hand them to people who request them.
12- Dress appropriately. Wear business attire and look polished and professional. Check the mirror and brush your teeth as needed…and ladies, only touch-up makeup, including lipstick, in the restroom.
Bonus: During sit-down programs, do not check your calendar, messages, or texts. Use good manners and pay attention to the speaker and those around you. People are watching. Be congruent –from the inside, out.
Business Writing:Keeping it Simple & Clear
One of the most critical skills in business communications is your ability to express yourself in a clear and concise manner. Keeping things simple in our busy worlds, where we are inundated with information overload and too much information (“TMI”) can be a challenge. If you think it’s difficult to say it simply, writing it can be even tougher.
Here are five tips to help simplify your writing:
1- Clarify in your mind. Before you begin to write anything, whether it’s a letter, memo or a short e-mail, your message must be clear in your mind. If you are confused or overwhelmed with the information, it will be difficult to express it in writing. Before you begin to write, ask yourself: what is the main reason for my correspondence. What is my point? What is my goal?
2- Draft an outline. Remember your 8th grade Social Studies report? If you’re like me, you had to put together an outline with topics, main headings and supporting details. By using this proven system and including only key phrases and a few punchy words, you will quickly be able to make your point. Topics and details will flow logically and seamlessly.
3- Tell the reader what to expect. If your correspondence is long, introduce the format you will be using in your opening lines. For example, if you’re a bank manager and you are writing a two page memo on new security measures, you may want to begin by stating: “The purpose of this letter is to inform all bank staff about new security measures adopted by the Board. The first two sections will address Topics A and B. The remaining three sections will cover Topics C, D and E.” This format will help to mentally prepare the reader for what’s to come. They will know there are five issues and will have a broad idea of the information that follows.
4- Use bullet points. Bullet points help to provide white space for the reader and break down separate thoughts and information. They also help to keep your writing concise and on track. You can limit each point to a few sentences. This will force you to choose your words carefully and include only relevant information. We are a society of “skimmers”. Make it easy on the reader.
5- Write to express, not to impress. Your reader will appreciate it when you use easy-to-understand language and short sentences. I write the way I speak, conversational, concise and direct. I don’t want to send people to the dictionary or confuse them. Be yourself and be simple. It’s a winning formula when it comes to writing.
Finally, review your letter or memo before sending it. I like to print things out prior to sending them. Reading on a computer screen is somewhat different than holding a document in your hand and reading it. I tend to make changes and catch errors when I’m reviewing a hard copy. Regardless of whether you read your letter on a screen or on paper, be sure to re-read it.
Candor in Communication
Manners, honesty, and candor can make for confusing communication.
When we were kids and spoke our minds (remember that phrase “from the mouths of babes”?), we were often told by our parents and teachers to be careful of other people’s feelings. After all, we didn’t have to say everything that floated into our little heads. As a child, weren’t you told, “If you can’t say something nice about someone, then don’t say anything?” Sometimes we unknowingly said embarrassing or rude things.
At home, I used to remind my kids (now ages 15 and 13) that it’s not good manners to shriek and make weird faces with a fake smile when Grandma asks if we like her new haircut. A conversation my daughter and I once had when she was 12 years-old revolved around why she shouldn’t tell her friend Samantha that she (Samantha) wasn’t invited to Katie’s party. My daughter wanted to tell Samantha it’s because “Katie doesn’t like you.” Ouch.
Brutal honesty can sometimes put a damper on relationships and conversations. I call it editorial judgment. I prefer to follow the advice of my wise old Grandma from Brooklyn who had an interesting approach to communications. “Know when to speak up and know when to shut up.” A beautiful little gem of communications wisdom. Would you dare tell your boss or project leader that the report he put together is horrible and a third grader could have done a better job?
How many times have you tried to linguistically dance around the real truth and wound up avoiding the truth? Sparing someone’s feelings in a social situation may have different consequences than not being candid when working on a project in the office.
In the business world, candid communication is vital to success. In his book, “Winning,” Jack Welch, former General Electric CEO, devotes a whole chapter to “candor.”
He says candor allows for the exchange of ideas – no matter how good or bad. The point being that the more you engage your staff into the conversation, the bigger pool of ideas you have to draw from. It also allows for a more rapid exchange of thoughts and suggestions. In today’s highly competitive environment, the faster we move, the better our chances of beating the competition or winning.
Welch also believes that candor cuts cost. Getting to the heart of the matter eliminates unnecessary meetings, reports, and boring presentations that merely regurgitate the problem, but offer no solutions. How can we be productive and forward thinking if everything we talk about at the conference table is based on something far from the truth?
Welch notes, “You can’t afford to not have candor.” There are consequences to withholding and/or manipulating the truth. It comprises your integrity and trustworthiness – with your customers, the public, and the media. From a media and public relations standpoint, being anything less than candid with reporters is a recipe for disaster. The #1 rule in communicating with the media is to be honest. If you don’t know something, it’s ok to say you don’t know and then offer to find out.
Candor in communication. What a concept.
