Mary Cravets

Lazy Successes

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For those of you who know me, it won’t come as a surprise to learn that I am a very driven person. I actually love working, and believe the harder I work, the more results I will get. I’m sure this is no great revelation to anyone.

But for the past two weeks, I’ve had a series of minor maladies. Things like this really annoying irritation going on in my left eye that feels like I have sand or an eyelash in it all the time. Not painful, not life-threatening, just an aggravating distraction.

As a result, I seriously don’t want to work. At all. I feel like I’ve been doing the bare minimum for a few weeks now. But the weird thing is that I’ve been seeing more results – people scheduling appointments, more clients, and new events. Puzzling.

Upon reflection, I can think of three reasons why this is happening:

  1. I’ve focused on getting only the essentials done, and have left the “fluff” behind.
  2. I’ve said no to taking on new things.
  3. I’ve relaxed and taken care of myself.

Many of you who read my blog have experience with developing a “less is more” strategy, so please share your wisdom with everyone here. I’d write more, but I have to go take a nap and put a warm compress on my eyes.

Avoiding the “Ick” Factor in Networking

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Recently I was at a Speed Networking event, and just as I was about to sit down in front of a new networking partner, I watched her lick the first two fingers of her right hand and to pick up one of her own business cards.

Now, most of us do this kind of thing from time to time in order to dislodge a topmost piece of paper. But at a networking event? Ick.

As you can imagine, I really didn’t want to shake hands with this woman, but I also didn’t want to make her feel bad, so I handled the situation the best I could. I sat down, put my hands in my lap and leaned forward – effectively trapping my hands under the table. Thankfully, my body language diplomatically said it all, and she made no move to shake my hand.

Here are a few tips on ways to be considerate and hygienic at networking events:

  1. Don’t lick your fingers to pick up paper. Obvious, but it had to be said.
  2. If you sneeze, avoid sneezing into your right hand. Best option is to sneeze into a napkin. Second best is your left hand or crook of your elbow. And if the sneeze takes you unawares and you do cover it with your right hand, go wash it right away. Also applicable for coughing.
  3. If you are sick, courteously decline to shake hands (or stay home!).
  4. Get hand sanitizer that fits in your pocket. Better yet, bring several with your logo on them, and hand them out to fellow networkers!
  5. When munching on finger food, use your left hand. At these events you tend to shake hands a lot, right? The majority of the people you meet haven’t read these tips, so you never know what you’re picking up when you shake hands with them!

Is this stuff important? For your health, yes, but also for your business.

Because as I got to know the woman I mentioned who licked her fingers, I found she was nice enough. But my very first automatic reaction to her was to cringe – not the most positive impression. In networking, you have precious little time to make a positive first impression, so anything you can do to keep people focused on your good qualities, the more successful you will be.

3 Sales Tips (none from a used car salesman)

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SALES. It’s treated like a curse, and yet anyone who is in business for themselves must to be familiar with salesmanship. So, we’ve come up with a more acceptable word – “conversion”.

Conversion means to take a prospect and to convert them into a client. Again – convert. There’s something that still seems forceful about this word.

I suggest a different sales concept: conversation.

First of all, I don’t believe that “sales” is a bad word. We must sell in order to move ANY business forward – even a non-profit organization. But the meaning that we tend to assign to the word generates the mental image of a used-car salesman in a plaid suit, desperate to sell you a lemon.

My version of sales is about conversation, being genuinely interested in people and finding out IF they can use your services. The worst thing to do whether you’re at a grocery store or a professional networking event is to start selling to someone BEFORE you find out if they have a need for your product. At best, it’s irritating and at worst it’s insulting.

For example, what if I interrupted someone who is talking to me about their business and said, “Well, I work with entrepreneurs like you, and I can help you fix your business”? Best case: they are secure in their business and are only mildly annoyed at being interrupted. Worst case: they hear what is implied – your business is broken – and make an excuse to leave the conversation to complain about me to someone else.

Here are a few tips on sales through conversation:

  1. Ask questions. What interests them? What do they do? What kind of client are they looking for?
  2. If they never get to asking about you, don’t worry about it. If they aren’t going to be interested in asking about you, it’s unlikely that they’ll want to buy from you. It’s better to wait and sell another day than to sell too soon.
  3. Go for the referral. This should actually be number 1. Whenever you’re talking to people about your business, would you rather be talking to one person or 250? When you ask, “Would you like to buy?” – you’re  talking to one person. When you ask, “Would you be willing to refer to me?” – you’re  getting that person to open up their mental address book to consider the 250 people they know.

So don’t be afraid of sales, just pace yourself! Make connections through conversation, establish rapport, create referral partners, and find sales opportunities when the time is right.

Out of Your Mind (how to get there)

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I’m back to the topic of being busy, aren’t you glad?

Busy starts in the mind with a feeling of chaos, clutter, and overwhelm. When you’re in this head space, then everything in your world will appear to be chaotic, cluttered, and overwhelming. You know this what this feels like – going a hundred miles an hour in your head, and getting nowhere fast.

Here are seven ways to get out of your mind when the internal busyness has you spinning in circles.

Do it. What are you avoiding? Avoiding projects, whether big or small, can actually drain more energy than just taking care of it. For instance, obsessing over your taxes can drain your ability to focus on work, or enjoy your personal life – so just do them and get on with life! To get yourself into the frame of mind to take action, close your eyes and imagine how great you will feel once the task is complete, and your mind is free from the obsession!

Is this mine? Ask yourself this question. The busyness in your head may be – at least in part – someone else’s problem. Take the time to identify who should actually own the thoughts you’re entertaining between your ears – you may find they’re not even yours!

Take a hike. Get out into nature, or simply walk around the block. Especially for those of you work from home, this is a great way to shake your brain out of a frantic, locked-up pattern.

Write it down. If you’re hashing and rehashing thoughts in your head, writing them down takes away a lot of the fear and worry. It brings them into the realm of reality, and the power they have over you is significantly diminished.

Talk it out. Sharing what is bothering you gets you out of the spinning in your mind, and out into the open. Letting someone else in on the process can give you new, fresh ideas. Be careful, though. If you’re talking about the same story over and over, then you’re falling into the trap of just complaining, rather than actually looking for solutions.

LAUGH. Go on YouTube and type “funny cats” into the search bar. A little silliness goes a long way to shifting gears in your mind!

Yippee File. Write down what you’ve done right today. Include every little thing, and appreciate yourself for what you’ve done. I created a “Yippee File” that I write down my good deeds for each day.

What else helps you get out of your mind, and into action?

What do you care about?

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Contributed by guest blogger, Candy Sugarman of PlayBig Online Marketing.

One of the best things about Social Media is how easy it is for people to share information about causes and events that are important with others.

One of the worst things about Social Media is how easy it is for people to respond to shared information about causes and events.

Why is that bad? Many times people will blast out their beliefs and opinions as if they were fact, belittling others, calling names, and generally doing things they probably wouldn’t if they were in a room full of potential clients.

Here is the thing, when you post on any Social network you are letting your prospects and even potential partners see how you conduct yourself. I’m not suggesting that you stand for nothing and never voice an opinion. What am suggesting are a few rules of conduct.

What Are Your Beliefs Worth?

When I do Social Media training, I always ask this question. I generally give this example.

“I am a big conservationist, environmentalist, animal lover, tree hugger, or granola eater – whatever you want to label me. On my Social Media Networks, I will repost, comment and generally share my beliefs about these things. If a potential client sees these things and thinks ‘I don’t want to work with someone like that!’ I’m good with that. I’m okay to lose that person as a potential client. My beliefs in these areas are very important to me.”

Do I have other beliefs that I feel strongly about? Do I see posts that I want to add my two-cents to? Absolutely. But I stop and ask myself, “Is it worth losing customers over?” Then I act or don’t act accordingly.

If you need to express your opinions and beliefs, consider some of Candy’s Rules of Behavior Online:

  1. Be polite, no name calling and no writing that someone’s beliefs are wrong
  2. Better to be for something than against something
  3. Read what you wrote, read it again, read it again. Would your mother (or kids or religious leader, etc) feel that you were being rude?

With the upcoming political season remember — before you post something, before you like something, and before you comment on something, ask yourself if you are you willing to lose customers over it. If the answer is yes, go ahead and take action.

Candy Sugarman is a Social Media guru who always shows her clients stay ahead of the curve with their Social Media strategy and knowledge. To view her original article, click here.

Personal Branding with Expert Katy Goshtasbi

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Guest blogger Katy Goshtasbi is a Personal Branding expert who works on translating your personal brand to your business brand in order to increase revenues, productivity and morale. Learn more about Katy on her website, www.PurisImage.com.

What is “personal branding”? Personal branding is the process of distinguishing your relevant attributes and communicating them consistently to your audience and then it is how your audience takes in this information. In short, personal branding is about your perception value to your audience.  People buy people before they ever buy your product or service.  So what are you “known for” or what do people say about you when you are not in the room?  That is your personal brand.  In a sea of people all doing the same thing (doctors, lawyers, accountants, sales people), how are you unique and different?  To be effective it has to stand out and be memorable.

How does that fit in with your product or service? No one buys your product or service. 50% of what you do is your substantive work (ie, your product or service). The other 50% is what I perceive of you and your product or service.  Personal branding is about relatability and making a personal connection with others so they “get” you, a genuine YOU. Then they’ll buy anything you sell them.

Is it different than internet marketing? There is no comparison at all between internet marketing and personal branding. Personal branding has to be done first, as it is the foundation for your business brand and internet marketing.  Only when you have established a strong personal brand (knowing who you are, staying true to who you are and relaying that consistently and concisely to your target market) will you be able to effectively translate that into internet marketing. Otherwise, internet marketing comes across as scattered, vague and non-descript and blends into the background.

How do you know when you have a good personal brand? You know your personal brand works when you look good, feel good and produce results for others genuinely.  I want for others what happens to me as a result of my strong personal brand:  people come up to me and want to do business with me because they sense that I am self-confident, put together well, and know my “stuff” and “own” it.

Can you have a personal brand even if you work for another company (and should you?)? You can absolutely have a personal brand and work for others. We work with lots of employees in corporate America.  The key is: 1) knowing who you are and what your personal brand is, 2) knowing what the corporate/business brand is and 3) blending your personal brand well to represent the corporate brand well.

Katy Goshtasbi, JD
Founder
Puris Image
Read our Blog: http://purisimage.com