Icons — do not touch
The heat is on…
July 21, 2011Kathleen here.
As in many parts of the United States, we in Minnesota have been dealing with hot weather – and a lot of it. Temps of 100 degrees F (38C) seem to suck all the energy out of you, even if you’re just moving in and out of your car on the way to meetings. Not only is it physically stressful to deal with the changes from hot-and-humid outside to cold-and-dry inside air-conditioned buildings, but let’s face it: It’s hard to feel and look professional if you’re sweating like a farm animal.
This challenging weather got me to thinking: What kind of an environment am I creating for my prospects and clients? Do I ever come across as the business equivalent of energy-sucking heat and humidity?
Much as it pains me to admit it, I realize I am not the most important thing in my clients’ lives. I’m actually a supporting actor in their major production, and they definitely have the starring role. Still, background events and the people around us absolutely impact how we feel and act. I get to always remember: My job is to make life better for my clients, not create conditions that are stressful for them.
How can we all help our clients stay cool and calm, despite other challenges around them? Often, even little things can have a big impact.
- Communicate with them for reasons other than trying to make another sale.Ask them what they would like to see you do differently.
- Don’t assume you already know what they like and find valuable.
- Send business and referrals their way whenever you can.
- Remember to express your thanks and appreciation for being allowed to contribute to their business success.
- Confirm in the midst of any project that you’re on track with the expectations they had of you.
- If there’s a problem, fix it fast.
- Actually follow the classic advice to “under-promise and over-deliver”.
So…What do you do to create a calming, cooling breeze when your clients are on the hot seat?
Leave a commentMirror, mirror, on the wall…Do you have a clue? Because apparently I don’t.
June 30, 2011Kathleen here.
I was widowed at a very young age (36), and I went through counseling to help me deal with the loss. After I’d worked my way through the most intense of the grief work, my trusty shrink and I began to talk about some family-of-origin issues.
One day during a session, I had this great epiphany: ”I have a stubborn streak!” This was not stubborn-pigheaded, mind you, but stubborn-determined. Since I had not, up to that time, viewed myself as being particularly determined or forceful, I was very excited by this “discovery” of a previously unsuspected strength.
Since my family has always been one for celebrating achievements of all sorts, I called my sisters to share the news with them. ”Hey, guess what? I’ve got a stubborn streak!”
Dead silence.
Followed by raucous laughter.
Once everyone got themselves under control, the comments went something like this:
You’re just realizing that now? Honey, we’ve known that since you were an infant!
My father did not descend to this level. He just gave me an owlish, disbelieving stare. (Apparently I had rendered him temporarily speechless.)
I often reflect on this little interlude. On the one hand, I’m glad I learned about my stubbornness-determination for myself – you’ve gotta love that thrill of discovery! On the other hand, I realize that, had I been open to getting input from my family earlier, I might have been better able to use this awareness intentionally. I could have kept a look-out for inappropriate uses of this characteristic, just as I could have reminded myself during challenging times, when I was tempted to throw in the towel, that stubborn-determined people don’t give up so easily.
There’s no way we can always see ourselves clearly. After all, we’re inside our own skins – it’s impossible to look back at ourselves unless we have a mirror. That’s why it’s so important to have trusted resources we can rely on to reflect back to us things that we’re doing that may be counterproductive. It’s also wonderful to have someone whap us upside the head when we’re beating up on ourselves; when we’re focused on all the things we haven’t done, a good mirror will remind us of everything we’ve already accomplished.
What do you think? Have you had some eye-opening experiences with the mirrors in your life?
Tagged determination, determined, resources | Leave a commentI really have no clue who you are. Can you promote me?
June 27, 2011Yup…got one of “those” emails in my inbox.
Instead of, “Hey Cindy!” or “Hi Girlfriend!” or even “Dear Subscriber”, the marketing message might just as easily have said, “Hey You! If you are inhaling and exhaling, I have something for you…and oh, promote it for me to your friends, too!” Ok, ok…I am being harsh because I’m in a database due to an encounter I had at a meeting. I think.
What’s that saying? “If you can’t be a good example, at least be a good warning.”
After raising three people to adulthood and being an outside salesperson for years, there are fewer and fewer things that cross my path that warrant an “Are you kidding me?!” response. I feel it’s my obligation to use that particular email as a “what not to do” example in order to save those who endeavor to promote their businesses from this kind of blunder.
Here’s the stripped down version of what I opened in my email inbox (not my spam folder):
“Hello. We had the pleasure of exchanging business cards at a networking event and I am following up to invite you to [attend my seminar] so you can [learn this concept].
Who else do you know who would like to [learn this concept]? Please help me spread the word and share this email with them.
[Signed],
[Author]“
Seriously?
I kept the writer’s exact wording, making only changes between the “[ ]” to illustrate my point. The original content doesn’t matter.
Almost immediately, I was taken aback enough by the author’s untimely presumed close. Only because I decided to write this warning, I further investigated the rest of the page and clicked on the consultant’s website. In theory, what a simple tactic for conversion! – have the reader scroll down and even click to another site, right?
In all fairness, the email went on to nicely describe the event in the lower part of the note, which I never would have read given the opening attempt at engagement. Now on a mission, I clicked onto the website link to see the person who was hosting this seminar promotion, seeking a clue to how or where our theoretical connection may have happened. I was finding myself eager to forgive this upside-down approach if there was some connection. “Work with me here, people! Throw me a bone! I’m working at how I know this seminar provider!” No recognition of the face on the website, either. Bummer.
Granted, I am the first to admit I don’t have the steel-trap mind that my writing partner, WQ Kathleen, does for remembering names and faces, yet….really?! The recipient of a marketing promotion should not have to work this hard!
Summary: Both the promoter and the prospect lost in this case. Like many of you who get “pitched” on all kinds of ideas and solutions in a day, I am not the only one that has to work on not having the attention span of a paramecium, when it comes to discerning where to allot my time. Some rendition of, “Hey! You with the face! You’re in my data base. Read this!” is more likely to have the “delete” key be the next button of choice.
New prospects that don’t already at least know of you do not give a rip to be exposed to your wonderful solutions or ideas, unless they feel valued, significant, heard or even recognized. Your product or service might be the perfect answer to their prayers or calm for their nightmares, yet your reach will only be as long as your ability to make them feel what they seek to feel: important. It’s not about you, it’s about them. Caring matters.
Tagged caring, conversion, engagement, marketing message, marketing promotion, promote, seminar, value | Leave a commentLittle goofs, big consequences.
June 27, 2011Kathleen here.
My hubby and I just had an interesting experience. Joseph had offered to pick up some more boxes of my book, Net Profit: Business Networking Without the Nerves, from the warehouse. I called said warehouse and arranged everything.
Everything except ensuring that they had the right books waiting.
It was only after Joseph brought the boxes home that we realized about half of them contained my books and the other half contained someone else’s – totally wrong title and author. I’m looking on the bright side, and it still feels like a hassle to have unnecessarily unloaded those wrong boxes – not to mention the fact that they’re now restricting traffic flow in my garage.
I think what happened was that someone in the warehouse got moving a little too quickly and was a little sloppy in reading the codes on the boxes (the ISBN codes for the two titles are very similar). A lack of attention to detail, boxes get mixed together on a palette, and the warehouse now has a cranky customer. I’m not quite cranky enough to go bad-mouthing them online, but I’m certainly going to have a negative recommendation if anyone asks about their services in the future.
Which prompts me to ask myself: Am I getting sloppy anywhere? Am I paying attention to the details, like proofreading the copy WordQueens writes? Am I meticulous on the bigger things, like following up promptly with clients and prospects? Or do I sometimes take the easy (read: lazy) way out?
My Love Language is Words of Affirmation. (Haven’t yet read Gary Chapman’s book, The Five Love Languages? It’s great from both a professional and personal standpoint.) How can I reap kudos if I don’t deliver a high-quality product/service? The answer: I can’t. So my recent warehouse experience is a good reminder: I don’t have to be perfect, but I’d certainly better be damn good.
Tagged attention to detail, consequences, mistakes, quality | Leave a commentThe Evolution of Terminology
June 22, 2011WQ Cindy’s storytime…
Once upon a time, long ago and far, far away when I worked in Corporate, there was a term called “constructive criticism” that was used by would-be leaders (who were called managers, yet that’s another subject) for attempting to bring attention to certain behaviors they wanted changed. Personally, I never found anything constructive about criticism and found that the command/control model of this attempt to alter behavior to be less than effective.
As time went on and I jumped into the world of coaching, it became more effective to “neutralize” the concept of bringing to awareness certain behaviors/actions by using the word “feedback”. That was easier for me to grasp. Feedback is simply feedback based on what one does or doesn’t do. If I don’t put gas into my car, I’ll stall on the side of the road. Using the saying my daughter loathes when it passes my lips, “All actions have consequences”; it’s simply a concept of feedback.
Today a genius new term has come to my attention. John Hope Bryant’s Quote of the Day on his website: “It is useful not to offer advise [sic], as wise men don’t need it and fools don’t listen. I would prefer to offer an observation, a recommendation, or loving counsel.”
Loving counsel! As a WordQueen and “wordie” (similar in concept to “foodie”), trained in distinctions as both a coach and a salesperson, I found this evolution in terminology from “constructive criticism” to “feedback” to “loving counsel” to be valuable.
The intent of the message will be relayed and received by the intent of the messenger – even if the intent is subconscious on both ends. Yes, you can read that again. Be careful of not only your words, but also the intent behind your message in order to elicit the response you seek.
The next time you consider offering advice to someone for whatever reason, ask yourself, “Am I choosing to be critical, neutral or loving?” Universal Law and moral of the story: You Get What You Give.
Tagged behaviors, concept, constructive criticism, evolution, feedback, intent, messenger, Moral of the Story, quote of the day, storyteller, terminology, Universal Law, wordie | Leave a commentWhen you communicate, does the real “you”
come through?
June 21, 2011
Kathleen here.
I received a wonderful compliment today. I was talking with a prospect who became a client [insert happy dance here], and she said one reason she was looking forward to our working together was that we’re real and authentic. In other words, there was no hiding behind masks, no putting on airs, no trying to be someone other than who we actually are.
It got me to thinking: How often during written or spoken communication do we try to “spin” who we are and what we do?
I’m not talking about putting our best foot forward and claiming our legitimate strengths; that’s simply our right and our responsibility as business owners. I’m talking about choosing to fudge the truth, withhold opinions, or squelch our natural personality in order to present the face we think the prospect is most willing to buy from.
There’s no doubt that, if we want to stay in business, we get to be respectful of different values and perspectives. However, at the same time we need to be genuine in portraying who we are. That’s being respectful of ourselves.
It might be an interesting exercise to monitor yourself during your next meeting with a prospect. Listen for the mental back story that’s (perhaps) running on an endless loop in your brain. You know what this irritating, strength-sucking voice sounds like:
“Oh, jeez – I wonder if I sounded dopey when I said that.”
“I wonder if she thinks I laugh too much.”
“Maybe I should have said I’d be willing to give him a discount, even though my past clients have told me my service would have been worth twice the price.”
“Does she think I’m too casually dressed?”
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this – I don’t think we’d work together well at all. But maybe it would be okay. I can put up with a certain amount of hassle…”
And on and on, ad infinitum.
When you don’t let your real self come through, whether in your writing or your speech, you’re not only introducing stress into your own life, but you’re actually doing kind of a bait-and-switch on your prospect. What happens when the real you finally makes an appearance? This is not likely to be an enjoyable surprise for anyone.
On the other hand, being authentic actually conveys a sense of personal power that is typically very attractive to the right kind of client, and it’s a great stress management strategy. You don’t have to manage your actions or try to manage anyone else’s perceptions; you get to just focus on how you can best serve the client.
So my question for you is this: How do you show up in the world? Are you essentially the same person with friends as you are with your clients? (And, no, I’m not talking about wearing your flip-flops and hole-y jeans to a client meeting.)
As my brilliant WordQueen partner says, “How you are anywhere is how you are everywhere” – so dump the masks and let the real you breathe.
Tagged authentic, powerful, real, spoken communication, written communication | Leave a commentDo or do not.
There is no “try”.
June 16, 2011
Master Yoda strikes again.
I love the scene from The Empire Strikes Back in which Luke tells Yoda he’ll try to raise his downed ship from a swamp. Yoda zings back with the above comment.
Ouch.
I know I’ve gotten way better at “doing” or “not doing”. At the same time, I realize I get to be ever-vigilant to avoid slipping into the easy-but-counterproductive habit of saying “I’ll try” or otherwise not committing to step into action.
In fact, I was nearly busted for that today in my Mastermind group. As I was setting goals for next week , I said I would “identify” likely prospects for a new service I’m rolling out. Before anyone could call me on that wussy goal, I corrected myself and declared that I would identify and call those prospects.
How often do you get sucked into doing some activity which only masquerades as forward progress? How often do you feel virtuous for accomplishing “something”, only to be forced to admit that it was not the right something?
When you take time to hone your marketing messages – whether on your website, your blog, or in your “elevator speech” – do you truly challenge yourself to dig deeper for the real value you provide your client, or do you settle for just tweaking your message?
Remember: Easy is not the same as effective.
When you realize you’re “trying” to wear every single hat in your business, perhaps it’s time to remind yourself to “do or do not”. Either commit to doing the activity or – a far better choice if said activity is not something you shine at - not doing it. The joy of outsourcing it to someone who is skilled in that area is that the task gets done and you don’t stress yourself over having a half-finished project hanging over your head.
Running a business is challenging enough without setting up unrealistic expectations and stressful “should”s. Be courageous enough to admit what you know in your gut you won’t do, and off-load that job now.
Do or do not. There is no “try”.
- Kathleen
Leave a commentHow do we “just know” when even our labels are confusing?
June 14, 2011While ironing my pink non-iron shirt, Silly Me presumed that “non-iron” meant it would be easy, convenient and non-wrinkled. Automatically. I began thinking of how perfectly our friend, Rebecca Metz, named her company: Modern Inconveniences. Rebecca is genius at helping to best use the very tools that are meant to make one’s technology life easier in a way that may not be automatically “just known”. Is what is supposed to be easy and convenient, really what is promised, or do I/we just make that up? Do we really “just know” things because we, well…”just know”? My shirt should have read its own tag.
WQ Cindy here with a situation of “just knowing” that used to get me crazy. Years ago when my kids and their friends would play Nintendo’s Mario for hours, I recognized their addictions and thought it might be fun to see what the interest was about – from a player’s (vs. observer’s) perspective. I was pathetic. I could kill off Mario, with his 3 allotted lifetimes, within 15 seconds. Yes, that is 15 seconds total…not 15 seconds for each lifetime. The kids would explain that I would have to make Mario “jump up” at certain points as he bopped along to the obnoxious repetitive music (which I still can recall, even though the boys are out of college now) in order get more coins.
During my attempts at keeping Mario alive, I would get directions screamed to me to make Mario hop up to bump his head, which would turn, magically become coins. Coins were good. Mushroom-looking things were not. I could never keep poor Mario alive to even approach a tube to climb into to get to another level like my young teachers easily could. I would ask, “How do you know that Mario has to do make coins by bumping his head, know that he needs to enter a pipe, etc.?“ and the ongoing response was, “You just know!” I really despised that I didn’t “just know” and didn’t want to invest the time and energy to overcome my level of ignorance. That pretty much ended my video gaming experience which I’m guessing eventually crippled me for setting up the backroom of a wordpress.org site, which is also deemed to be mysteriously “easy” for any newbie to understand. There weren’t even tags like on my shirt for me to misinterpret!
As days and months fly by, we are courted with an onslaught of newer, better, faster, user-friendly ways to simplify our lives, find us additional minutes or hours, save dollars, accomplish more. Yes, my pink shirt doesn’t take as long to iron as 100% cotton or linen might, yet it the promise of non-iron on the collar was false, if I wanted it wrinkle-free.
The same concept applies for our skill sets. We can lessen the time taken on something once we perfect it, yet sometimes the upside of learning the skill – even if we are good at cooking, painting, gardening, speaking, writing, art, music, carpentry, building websites, driving, entertaining – takes time and attention to perfect our genius. Some of us “just know” what to do, while some of us will never improve much because we really don’t care to put in the time/effort into a project, cause or relationship that neither interests us nor seems too difficult.
When you run into your challenges (also disguised as non-interesting or seemingly insurmountable), do you simply give up, like I did with attempting to keep Mario alive for at least 30 seconds? In contrast, would you call in an expert to do for you what is as natural as breathing for them and save yourself time, money, headaches? Or would you simply iron the pink shirt because that’s what makes you happy to wear that day?
Tagged content writing, copywriters, easy, energy, happiness, marketing copy, priorities, skill sets | Leave a commentProductivity – Through the Back Door
June 14, 2011It’s a basic truism for most entrepreneurs: Our work lives and personal lives are intimately intertwined. Sometimes this is a bad thing: Our spouse feels chatty when we’re on deadline, the dogs can’t cross their legs for one minute more, the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream in the freezer seductively whispers our name…
On the flip side, there are unexpected benefits. Take today’s adventures in KathleenLand. Joseph, my hubby, had started organizing some household files and wanted my input. Now, anything to do with filing just barely ranks ahead of a root canal without anesthesia on my list of fun activities. However, I’d ignored this task – and Joseph’s request for help – for long enough.
It took us about an hour to agree on how we wanted to handle the files and where we wanted to keep the various papers that had accumulated – an hour when I could have been contacting prospects, doing some professional development studying, or blogging to stay in touch with folks.
The very interesting thing was this: After addressing that filing task, which had been hanging over my head and sneering at me, I found I had such a burst of energy. It felt like the stereotypical weight had been lifted off my shoulders, so I was emotionally lighter and mentally more energized. The result? A mondo productive day once I started digging into my To Do list.
I tackled the “big rocks” first, since these high-impact activities are what deserve my attention before anything else. I cut through e-mails, because I set a timer to keep myself focused. I worked on the marketing strategy for a new service coming out this fall. And I felt good about taking time away from my desk to have a healthy lunch and take a break for some light reading.
My lesson from all this? For a home-based entrepreneur like me, productivity is not just about setting up rules in Outlook to handle incoming e-mails, or using HootSuite to manage social media. Sometimes it’s a matter of looking at everything in my life that’s affecting my energy and dealing with it.
What’s sucking your energy today? And what are you gonna do about it?
Tagged energy, priorities, productivity | Leave a commentAh, If Only Copywriting Were All It Took…
May 11, 2011As I sit here in my office-away-from-home (AKA Caribou Coffee) with my sister WordQueen, Cindy, I’m struggling to keep my brain from exploding.
I’m typically not an early adopter of technology, so I tend to move slowly into the use of social media – except for those times when Cindy drags me forcibly forward at full speed. But I’m being good and learning all this stuff, because it’s in the best interests of both my clients and my business. My challenge is to figure out how to go about learning and applying the knowledge in a way that’s effective, fun, and non-damaging (I already know the potential for shooting myself in the foot is substantial).
I see a whole slew of benefits to becoming a savvy social media user: I share valuable information with fellow business professionals; build relationships with people I may or may not ever meet face to face; practice my writing craft; expand my comfort zone; and develop a gazillion new synaptic connections in my brain (as long as I can keep it from exploding…).
While I may be a copywriter by trade, I’m also a lifelong learner by choice. It would certainly be more comfortable for me to stay in my comfort zone and just focus on being a wordie, but I know it’s more beneficial for me to stretch the envelope a bit, to learn and do things that aren’t naturally in my skill set. I just hope I don’t inadvertently rupture the envelope one day. 