“This offer is good but can you guarantee it.”
Why write a guarantee for your product or service? It reduces the risk in the eyes of your customers, enough to turn a cynical customer into a convinced customer.
So, what makes a good guarantee? Besides the obvious, “I guarantee it,” strong guarantees include elements that not only ease the customers’ fears but also reinforce your offer. Before you put your guarantee in writing, here are some tips to keep in mind.
* Emphasize the benefit in each guarantee. Say you’re selling an energy supplement. Write a statement saying, “If you’re not drinking less coffee, skipping down the street, or simply more energetic after thirty days, just ask for your money back.”
* Offer objects other than money. If you simply can’t afford to return your customers’ money or hesitant to offer that type of guarantee, offer to correct the problem at no additional charge. Send them another product. Contribute to the charity of their choice, in their name of course. Use your imagination and think of ways you can ease your customer’s fears.
* I’m sure you’ve heard of the 30-day guarantee. Have you ever considered giving a 60-day, 90-day, or even a 1-year guarantee? When you offer longer terms, you take on more risk. When you take on more risk, your guarantee becomes stronger. A strong guarantee = Confident buyers.
* After you’ve finished laying out your guarantee, don’t forget to restate your main offer. This is also a great place to include write another call-to-action phase. Ask for their business right after you’ve dissolved their reluctance.
Now, let’s think about what type of guarantee should you have. Before you decide which guarantee is right for you, think like your customer. Why aren’t they buying? Are they worried about price? Afraid the product isn’t exactly what they’re looking for? Afraid the project won’t be completed on time?
Guarantees fall into five very overlapping categories:
1. The Money-back guarantee – This ensures that you customers won’t waste their time or money. It also protects customers if the product breaks or fails. You can also offer a prorated money back guarantee after the originally guarantee’s terms have lapsed.
2. The Satisfaction guarantee – This ensures that your customer will be and remain happy with your service or product. This promises your customer happiness with the benefits your services.
3. Price protection guarantee – This can either lock in the price, ensuring the price and payment terms won’t change or increase -- think life insurance. Alternatively, ensure that they won’t find a lower price – think office supply superstores.
4. On-time guarantee – This helps subdue the fears in time-crunched patrons. Businesses like printers, car repair shops, and cable companies could benefit from this type of guarantee.
5. Absolutely No Question Asked guarantee – This can be applied towards anything. A major problem: You’ll probably never learn your weak spots, if you never have the opportunity to ask questions.
Include a guarantee in your next copywriting project. Whether you’re writing web copy, a brochure, or a sales letter, a strong guarantee will dissolve your customers’ reluctance and help spur sales. I guarantee it.
Vanessa Selene Williams is an independent writer for businesses and corporation. To learn more about her, visit her online at http://corporate.vswilliams.com or email her at info@vswilliams.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vanessa_Selene_Williams
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
How To Make More Money
The biggest crime in small businesses today goes unnoticed by most outsiders. It is not reported in the media. There are no police reports filed and companies do not even mention it on their websites. People don't talk about it on the street and employees often overlook it. Even though this crime is rampant among small businesses, it's presence is so subtle that many business owners fail to recognize when it is happening! Unfortunately, this crime is the same one that is most likely to kill a small business. It is not stealing by employees, burglaries, trivial lawsuits, or industrial espionage.
The biggest crime in small business today is the crime of being forgotten. Think about it-you can recover from most other crimes by installing an alarm system, filing patents, or buying insurance, but if your business falls victim to the crime of being forgotten it is on the fast track to failure. There are opportunities every day for your business to be forgotten by existing clients, potential clients, your best employees, surrounding businesses, your neighborhood, vendors, the media, and your potential investors.
SIGNS OF THE CRIME
Have you fallen victim to the crime of being forgotten? Here are some of the signs of being forgotten:
• Lowered top line sales
• Few people visiting your website
• Less customer inquiries
• Losing large accounts
• Losing long-time accounts
• High employee turnover
• Inability to attract top candidates to help run your business
• No "new" news
• Fewer repeat buyers
• Less revenue
STEPS TO SOLVE THE CRIME
There are many things you can do as a small business owner to help people remember you. I am not of the opinion that hiring a big PR company is the only solution. Here are some things you can implement today:
1. Focus on the question that every customer and client wants to know: What's in it for me?
At the end of the day, every client is selfish. With so many things out there vying for their time, attention and money, they have become more and more cynical and self-centered. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but more a self-protective measure.
Your job as a small business owner is to tell them what your service can do for them personally and remember-they do not want to spend time looking for the answer. The answer to this question must be one of the first things your clients see on your website and in your company-wide communications. If your clients are going to remember you, you must first answer the question "What's in it for them?"
ACTION STEP: List everything your client receives from your service or product. Closely examine all of your corporate communications with a critical eye. How accurately and consistent are they in answering this question to your clients and customers?
2. What differentiates your service or product from everyone else?
If you believe there is nothing new under the sun then you must recognize that for every product or service you provide, chances are very good that someone, somewhere else does almost exactly what you do.
Then the question becomes, not WHAT do you do, but HOW you do it. In other words, what is your U.S.P.-your "unique selling proposition"? What can a client get from you that they cannot get from anyone else? Perhaps it is your broad-based expertise or that every solution is completely customized to meet their needs or your company's 100% satisfaction guarantee. You must determine what differentiates your business from anyone else and market that point.
When defining your U.S.P., one of the keys to being remembered is to not use either of these two characteristics: quality or service. The reason is that EVERY business says they provide quality and service (even though we know they don't). Therefore quality and service have become meaningless when it comes to differentiating your service because every customer EXPECTS quality and service and will not do business with any company that doesn't have both already. Your U.S.P must be creative, yet accurately reflect who you are and what you offer that no one else does.
ACTION STEP: Set aside a few hours this week to brainstorm with your partner and employees on what your company offers that other companies do not. Do some research to find out how other companies in your field are differentiating themselves. Be sure to develop a U.S.P that your clients will not confuse with your competition's.
3. All of your communication must be emotionally impactful.
Anyone can quote statistics or develop an advertisement on a cognitive level, but the most effective way to ensure an impact on your clients is to communicate with them on an emotional level. You must find their "pain." What is it about their business, life, family, time, or environment that is causing pain? Are they not working or working too much? Is their business growing too fast or too slow? Is their family falling apart? Do they feel too old or overweight? Do they have a hard time tracking their projects or employees? Find their pain and communicate with them on an emotional level about how you can help heal their pain and make their business, life, family, time or environment pleasurable.
ACTION STEP: List all of the things you want your customer to feel when they think of your company: excitement about the future, feeling younger or prettier, more balance, more fun, more time, closer to their friends, better organized, safer, etc. Evaluate how well your current communication creates this feeling and specific areas where you want to improve.
4. Distinguish your benefits from your features and communicate them clearly.
Features are what your product or service does. Benefits are why your client needs your product or service. For example, a famous company advertises "our servers allow your website to be up and running 99.999% of the time." That is a feature, but you must also tell your client what the benefit of this is to them. Well, if their on-line business sells $200,000 worth of product every day, then being on-line only 98% of the time will cost them serious money in lost sales. For every feature you have, you must tell your client what the benefit is. Is your product better, faster, cleaner, guaranteed or longer-lasting? Will your service create more clients, decrease turnover, or increase margins? These are all great features, but you must tell your clients how this benefits them specifically.
You must get in front of your potential market and detail your specific benefits. Build value into what you do and how you do it. If you fail to clearly communicate what your benefits are to customers, rest assured-your competition will.
ACTION STEP: Take a piece of paper and draw two columns on it. Label on side "Features" and the other "Benefits." List all of the features of your service or product and for every feature state what the benefit is to your target client. Integrate these statements into all of your communication efforts on a regular basis.
5. Reduce the risk of working with you.
Many entrepreneurs have products or services that are similar to what much larger, more established companies have. Why should your potential customer buy your product over the big company's product? Are they taking a risk with a company that may not be around 5 or 10 years from now? Will your 10 year guarantee really mean anything in 10 years?
While no one can predict the future of your business, the smart business owner recognizes the need to develop creative ways to reduce the risk of their clients in working with them.
ACTION STEPS: List what your company is doing to reduce the risk potential customers see in working with a small, entrepreneurial business. Do you offer a written guarantee? Will you stand behind it? Do you offer a trial period? How have you achieved success with other clients? Will you provide them with case studies on previous clients? Do you have a strong reference list?
6. How effective is your cheapest form of advertisement-your business card?
Examine your business card as if you were one of your target customers. Does it tell them succinctly who you are, what you do and how you can help them? If not, perhaps it is time to redesign it.
ACTION STEP: Ask several of your existing clients what they think of your business card. What does it say to them? Is it memorable? How could you improve on it? Thank them for their suggestions and implement them in your redesign.
7. Can people find your product or services on the internet?
Near the beginning of the internet age only Fortune 500 companies had websites. It was seen as a sign of being on the "cutting edge." Today that perception has changed. More and more consumers perceive a website as a sign of legitimacy. Many consumers now believe the lack of a company website to be a sign of a questionable business. With an increasing number of ways to create a decent website on a small budget ($2000-$5000), lack of money is not an acceptable excuse any more. Not every business will benefit from having a web presence, but most will. The question is not, "how long can I get away with not having a website?" but, "how many potential customers am I loosing without having a website?" A good website can be a great source of passive income.
For those of you who already have a website, how many of you regularly profit from it? How many people are visiting your website every week? What is your conversion rate for these visitors? What percentage of your existing customers found you from your site? How can you better serve your existing clients on your website? What are you doing to increase the visibility of your site on search engines?
ACTION STEP: If you do not have a website you should have several REALLY good reasons why not. If you can't come up with several reasons then you should commit to getting one. If you do have a website, ask the company who hosts your website to site down with you and explain all the statistics about your site (how many unique visitors, how long do they stay, what page do they leave from, how do they find you). After that, sit down with your web designer and talk strategy: how can you increase your search engine rankings, what can you do to covert more customers, does your current site accurately reflect who you are and what your benefits are to your target audience, etc.
Stephen Fairley, M.A., RCC is the President of Today's Leadership Coaching, a premier executive coaching and training firm, and a Registered Corporate Coach (RCC). Today's Leadership Coaching focuses on “Developing Leaders Who Deliver Results.” You can contact him at 630-588-0500 or at Stephen@TodaysLeadership.com
© 2001 by Stephen Fairley. All rights reserved. Please contact author for reprints
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephen_Fairley
The biggest crime in small business today is the crime of being forgotten. Think about it-you can recover from most other crimes by installing an alarm system, filing patents, or buying insurance, but if your business falls victim to the crime of being forgotten it is on the fast track to failure. There are opportunities every day for your business to be forgotten by existing clients, potential clients, your best employees, surrounding businesses, your neighborhood, vendors, the media, and your potential investors.
SIGNS OF THE CRIME
Have you fallen victim to the crime of being forgotten? Here are some of the signs of being forgotten:
• Lowered top line sales
• Few people visiting your website
• Less customer inquiries
• Losing large accounts
• Losing long-time accounts
• High employee turnover
• Inability to attract top candidates to help run your business
• No "new" news
• Fewer repeat buyers
• Less revenue
STEPS TO SOLVE THE CRIME
There are many things you can do as a small business owner to help people remember you. I am not of the opinion that hiring a big PR company is the only solution. Here are some things you can implement today:
1. Focus on the question that every customer and client wants to know: What's in it for me?
At the end of the day, every client is selfish. With so many things out there vying for their time, attention and money, they have become more and more cynical and self-centered. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but more a self-protective measure.
Your job as a small business owner is to tell them what your service can do for them personally and remember-they do not want to spend time looking for the answer. The answer to this question must be one of the first things your clients see on your website and in your company-wide communications. If your clients are going to remember you, you must first answer the question "What's in it for them?"
ACTION STEP: List everything your client receives from your service or product. Closely examine all of your corporate communications with a critical eye. How accurately and consistent are they in answering this question to your clients and customers?
2. What differentiates your service or product from everyone else?
If you believe there is nothing new under the sun then you must recognize that for every product or service you provide, chances are very good that someone, somewhere else does almost exactly what you do.
Then the question becomes, not WHAT do you do, but HOW you do it. In other words, what is your U.S.P.-your "unique selling proposition"? What can a client get from you that they cannot get from anyone else? Perhaps it is your broad-based expertise or that every solution is completely customized to meet their needs or your company's 100% satisfaction guarantee. You must determine what differentiates your business from anyone else and market that point.
When defining your U.S.P., one of the keys to being remembered is to not use either of these two characteristics: quality or service. The reason is that EVERY business says they provide quality and service (even though we know they don't). Therefore quality and service have become meaningless when it comes to differentiating your service because every customer EXPECTS quality and service and will not do business with any company that doesn't have both already. Your U.S.P must be creative, yet accurately reflect who you are and what you offer that no one else does.
ACTION STEP: Set aside a few hours this week to brainstorm with your partner and employees on what your company offers that other companies do not. Do some research to find out how other companies in your field are differentiating themselves. Be sure to develop a U.S.P that your clients will not confuse with your competition's.
3. All of your communication must be emotionally impactful.
Anyone can quote statistics or develop an advertisement on a cognitive level, but the most effective way to ensure an impact on your clients is to communicate with them on an emotional level. You must find their "pain." What is it about their business, life, family, time, or environment that is causing pain? Are they not working or working too much? Is their business growing too fast or too slow? Is their family falling apart? Do they feel too old or overweight? Do they have a hard time tracking their projects or employees? Find their pain and communicate with them on an emotional level about how you can help heal their pain and make their business, life, family, time or environment pleasurable.
ACTION STEP: List all of the things you want your customer to feel when they think of your company: excitement about the future, feeling younger or prettier, more balance, more fun, more time, closer to their friends, better organized, safer, etc. Evaluate how well your current communication creates this feeling and specific areas where you want to improve.
4. Distinguish your benefits from your features and communicate them clearly.
Features are what your product or service does. Benefits are why your client needs your product or service. For example, a famous company advertises "our servers allow your website to be up and running 99.999% of the time." That is a feature, but you must also tell your client what the benefit of this is to them. Well, if their on-line business sells $200,000 worth of product every day, then being on-line only 98% of the time will cost them serious money in lost sales. For every feature you have, you must tell your client what the benefit is. Is your product better, faster, cleaner, guaranteed or longer-lasting? Will your service create more clients, decrease turnover, or increase margins? These are all great features, but you must tell your clients how this benefits them specifically.
You must get in front of your potential market and detail your specific benefits. Build value into what you do and how you do it. If you fail to clearly communicate what your benefits are to customers, rest assured-your competition will.
ACTION STEP: Take a piece of paper and draw two columns on it. Label on side "Features" and the other "Benefits." List all of the features of your service or product and for every feature state what the benefit is to your target client. Integrate these statements into all of your communication efforts on a regular basis.
5. Reduce the risk of working with you.
Many entrepreneurs have products or services that are similar to what much larger, more established companies have. Why should your potential customer buy your product over the big company's product? Are they taking a risk with a company that may not be around 5 or 10 years from now? Will your 10 year guarantee really mean anything in 10 years?
While no one can predict the future of your business, the smart business owner recognizes the need to develop creative ways to reduce the risk of their clients in working with them.
ACTION STEPS: List what your company is doing to reduce the risk potential customers see in working with a small, entrepreneurial business. Do you offer a written guarantee? Will you stand behind it? Do you offer a trial period? How have you achieved success with other clients? Will you provide them with case studies on previous clients? Do you have a strong reference list?
6. How effective is your cheapest form of advertisement-your business card?
Examine your business card as if you were one of your target customers. Does it tell them succinctly who you are, what you do and how you can help them? If not, perhaps it is time to redesign it.
ACTION STEP: Ask several of your existing clients what they think of your business card. What does it say to them? Is it memorable? How could you improve on it? Thank them for their suggestions and implement them in your redesign.
7. Can people find your product or services on the internet?
Near the beginning of the internet age only Fortune 500 companies had websites. It was seen as a sign of being on the "cutting edge." Today that perception has changed. More and more consumers perceive a website as a sign of legitimacy. Many consumers now believe the lack of a company website to be a sign of a questionable business. With an increasing number of ways to create a decent website on a small budget ($2000-$5000), lack of money is not an acceptable excuse any more. Not every business will benefit from having a web presence, but most will. The question is not, "how long can I get away with not having a website?" but, "how many potential customers am I loosing without having a website?" A good website can be a great source of passive income.
For those of you who already have a website, how many of you regularly profit from it? How many people are visiting your website every week? What is your conversion rate for these visitors? What percentage of your existing customers found you from your site? How can you better serve your existing clients on your website? What are you doing to increase the visibility of your site on search engines?
ACTION STEP: If you do not have a website you should have several REALLY good reasons why not. If you can't come up with several reasons then you should commit to getting one. If you do have a website, ask the company who hosts your website to site down with you and explain all the statistics about your site (how many unique visitors, how long do they stay, what page do they leave from, how do they find you). After that, sit down with your web designer and talk strategy: how can you increase your search engine rankings, what can you do to covert more customers, does your current site accurately reflect who you are and what your benefits are to your target audience, etc.
Stephen Fairley, M.A., RCC is the President of Today's Leadership Coaching, a premier executive coaching and training firm, and a Registered Corporate Coach (RCC). Today's Leadership Coaching focuses on “Developing Leaders Who Deliver Results.” You can contact him at 630-588-0500 or at Stephen@TodaysLeadership.com
© 2001 by Stephen Fairley. All rights reserved. Please contact author for reprints
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephen_Fairley
Marketing 'Gurus': Do You Need One?
It's become fashionable to bash marketing "gurus" nowadays.
There are some for whom the prospect of even looking at someone as a "guru" is a sin. They believe in being free-thinkers, unfettered by the bonds of guru-dom.
Then there are those who try to score points by "proving" gurus wrong. They think they have achieved a new high in their field just by proving that a "guru" made a false statement.
The problem with such people is that they refuse to understand "gurus" for what they are.
So just what IS a guru (marketing or otherwise)?
To put it simply, a guru is someone who has "been there, done that."
A guru is not one who is meant to be followed like a sheep, nor one whose every word is written in stone.
Of the letters in the Sanskrit word "Guru ", the letter 'Gu' stands for darkness or ignorance; and the letter 'Ru' stands for the one who removes it or dispels it.
A guru is one who imparts knowledge that clears the path of the seeker. Knowledge that helps the seeker gain a better understanding of himself.
Unfortunately many people see gurus - and marketing gurus in particular - as successful, over-bearing, conceited boors.
Trust me, if a person was successful in this field, he'd never have got there by being over-bearing and conceited.
Why? Because to be a success, you need other people to help you get there. And no one is going to do business with you if you're an over-bearing, conceited boor.
So just why do you need a guru?
For the same reason you need a parent - to guide you when you are young and still learning the ways of the world.
For the same reason you need a teacher - to introduce you to new concepts and ways of thinking you may never have conceived of.
For the same reason you need a football coach - to teach you the rules of the game.
For the same reason you need a mountain guide - to take you through treacherous terrain to a safer place.
Sadly, people only perceive gurus as someone to look up to with fear and disdain, or as someone to pull down so that one can feel important.
They can never understand that a guru (or mentor, or teacher, or whatever you choose to call them) is just someone who can help cut their learning curve.
Someone who can help you NOT re-invent the wheel, but continue where they left off.
Someone who could share with you a new way of doing things that could benefit you in ways you could never imagine.
Few 'real' gurus - at least those worth learning from - will ever want to be called that.
The ones who do are usually cocky, self-professed types, full of their own importance - and you'll learn more by avoiding them like the plague.
The gurus to watch (note, I didn't say follow - as in sheep) and learn from, are the ones with a long track record of success.
The ones who have repeatedly proved that their methods are legitimate and that they work.
Not the flash-in-the-pan types, who come and go faster than you can say "bestselling ebook."
Not the ones who jump from one opportunity to the next and try to take you along for the ride.
Not the ones who endorse everything from lunar real-estate to miracle cure-alls.
And certainly not cocky little teenagers, who have never cut their teeth on real marketing.
Don't expect your chosen guru to know everything about everything. Even gurus specialize in different areas of expertise.
Just to give you an example, I respect Corey Rudl highly for his pioneering knowledge of marketing. But I would never take advice from him on getting high rankings in search engines.
For specialized knowledge like that, I would learn from someone who is a true expert in that field, like Dan Thies or Michael Campbell.
Whether you're a newbie starting out on the internet, or an experienced marketer who has honed his skills to perfection, the one thing you can always benefit from is an open mind.
And a willingness to be taught.
So when you do choose a guru, guide, mentor or coach, pick one whose insight can help you see yourself - and what you have to offer - more clearly.
One whose knowledge can show you how to bring out your own latent talents.
And one whose guidance can help you grow into a seasoned and successful entrepreneur.
Copyright 2003 Priya Shah
_______________________________________________
Copyright © Priya Shah
Priya Shah is a partner in the online publishing firm, Connect10 and blogs on internet marketing and self-improvement.
This article may be reprinted as long as the resource box is left intact and all links are hyperlinked.
_______________________________________________
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Priya_Shah
There are some for whom the prospect of even looking at someone as a "guru" is a sin. They believe in being free-thinkers, unfettered by the bonds of guru-dom.
Then there are those who try to score points by "proving" gurus wrong. They think they have achieved a new high in their field just by proving that a "guru" made a false statement.
The problem with such people is that they refuse to understand "gurus" for what they are.
So just what IS a guru (marketing or otherwise)?
To put it simply, a guru is someone who has "been there, done that."
A guru is not one who is meant to be followed like a sheep, nor one whose every word is written in stone.
Of the letters in the Sanskrit word "Guru ", the letter 'Gu' stands for darkness or ignorance; and the letter 'Ru' stands for the one who removes it or dispels it.
A guru is one who imparts knowledge that clears the path of the seeker. Knowledge that helps the seeker gain a better understanding of himself.
Unfortunately many people see gurus - and marketing gurus in particular - as successful, over-bearing, conceited boors.
Trust me, if a person was successful in this field, he'd never have got there by being over-bearing and conceited.
Why? Because to be a success, you need other people to help you get there. And no one is going to do business with you if you're an over-bearing, conceited boor.
So just why do you need a guru?
For the same reason you need a parent - to guide you when you are young and still learning the ways of the world.
For the same reason you need a teacher - to introduce you to new concepts and ways of thinking you may never have conceived of.
For the same reason you need a football coach - to teach you the rules of the game.
For the same reason you need a mountain guide - to take you through treacherous terrain to a safer place.
Sadly, people only perceive gurus as someone to look up to with fear and disdain, or as someone to pull down so that one can feel important.
They can never understand that a guru (or mentor, or teacher, or whatever you choose to call them) is just someone who can help cut their learning curve.
Someone who can help you NOT re-invent the wheel, but continue where they left off.
Someone who could share with you a new way of doing things that could benefit you in ways you could never imagine.
Few 'real' gurus - at least those worth learning from - will ever want to be called that.
The ones who do are usually cocky, self-professed types, full of their own importance - and you'll learn more by avoiding them like the plague.
The gurus to watch (note, I didn't say follow - as in sheep) and learn from, are the ones with a long track record of success.
The ones who have repeatedly proved that their methods are legitimate and that they work.
Not the flash-in-the-pan types, who come and go faster than you can say "bestselling ebook."
Not the ones who jump from one opportunity to the next and try to take you along for the ride.
Not the ones who endorse everything from lunar real-estate to miracle cure-alls.
And certainly not cocky little teenagers, who have never cut their teeth on real marketing.
Don't expect your chosen guru to know everything about everything. Even gurus specialize in different areas of expertise.
Just to give you an example, I respect Corey Rudl highly for his pioneering knowledge of marketing. But I would never take advice from him on getting high rankings in search engines.
For specialized knowledge like that, I would learn from someone who is a true expert in that field, like Dan Thies or Michael Campbell.
Whether you're a newbie starting out on the internet, or an experienced marketer who has honed his skills to perfection, the one thing you can always benefit from is an open mind.
And a willingness to be taught.
So when you do choose a guru, guide, mentor or coach, pick one whose insight can help you see yourself - and what you have to offer - more clearly.
One whose knowledge can show you how to bring out your own latent talents.
And one whose guidance can help you grow into a seasoned and successful entrepreneur.
Copyright 2003 Priya Shah
_______________________________________________
Copyright © Priya Shah
Priya Shah is a partner in the online publishing firm, Connect10 and blogs on internet marketing and self-improvement.
This article may be reprinted as long as the resource box is left intact and all links are hyperlinked.
_______________________________________________
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Priya_Shah
Give me a Referral any Day - the Power of Networking
I nearly panicked recently! Well, maybe a slight exaggeration but here was a situation I had not been in for some time. The freezer had broken down and the dilemma I faced was – a speedy solution was necessary BUT I did not know anybody who repairs freezers. For the first time in some years I nearly reached for the Yellow Pages – a pristine copy that never sees the light of day – but sense prevailed and I consulted my wife. She rang her friend who works in a local hospital. They have an internal communication system for the employees to ask questions or post messages and within 30 minutes we had the choice of three prospective service engineers and one name had been suggested by three separate people. The choice was simple and – yes Mr Freezerman turned up and was superb!
The point is that we prefer to buy from traders who have been recommended and preferably from people we know and trust. Business networking is all about trying to address this situation by ensuring that business owners meet each other frequently and build relationships and trust first, long before any deals are struck. Networking is fast becoming the primary way of sourcing new business, but and this is a big BUT – you have to go about networking with the right attitude or it will not work for you.
I have been a member of BNI (Business Networking International) for nearly three years and know first hand that it can work for you as I have had many thousands of pounds worth of business as a direct result of being a member. And yet I did not get one meaningful referral for the first few months and was about to give it up as a bad job. I have also seen many new members give up in the early days saying it wasn’t for them. The thing is that we were all making the same fundamental mistake – we were too concerned with what was in it for us – and not thinking how can we help our fellow members.
The strapline of BNI is ‘givers gain’ and the moment I adopted that as my focus everything changed. If I give business to you will want to give me business to me is the message, but the emphasis is on the giving. Referrals are the currency and actively seeking help and support for fellow members becomes second nature after a time. It’s simple - it works.
Now, BNI is not for everyone and I can understand some of the reasons. The procedures are quite rigid and attendance and time keeping are essential. How many times have I heard new members say it is like being back at school. The vast majority though accept and understand why this disciplined approach works.
A newer breed of virtual networking is emerging on the Internet and although there are quite a few large networks, Ecademy is emerging as one of the best business to business websites. It is even more important that the right attitude and approach is adopted if you want to achieve anything for your business through using Ecademy.
Ecademy members are encouraged to put 50 keywords describing themselves, write a profile and to submit a photo. The mistake many make when they first join is to use their keywords and profile simply as an advert for their business. The successful networkers have interesting profiles about themselves, their interests, travels, family and amusing anecdotes. Are they missing out by not pushing their business interests? Not a bit of it as there is a link to their website – what is the point of another sales pitch. People buy from people they like and trust and the social side of the Ecademy is the important additional ingredient on offer.
Within Ecademy there are hundreds of special interest clubs and regionally based groups that give the opportunity for physical meetings to be arranged. It is incredible to be able to go to a meeting with people that you already know a great deal about before you actually meet them. It all leads to a much more honest and open relationship from the off.
I can’t see how the Yellow Pages can survive in the long run. Give me referred, trusted traders any day. Networking rules – and works.
Keith Watson has been designing websites for nearly 11 years and is the founder of Creative Eye - http://www.creativeeye.co.uk
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Keith_Watson
The point is that we prefer to buy from traders who have been recommended and preferably from people we know and trust. Business networking is all about trying to address this situation by ensuring that business owners meet each other frequently and build relationships and trust first, long before any deals are struck. Networking is fast becoming the primary way of sourcing new business, but and this is a big BUT – you have to go about networking with the right attitude or it will not work for you.
I have been a member of BNI (Business Networking International) for nearly three years and know first hand that it can work for you as I have had many thousands of pounds worth of business as a direct result of being a member. And yet I did not get one meaningful referral for the first few months and was about to give it up as a bad job. I have also seen many new members give up in the early days saying it wasn’t for them. The thing is that we were all making the same fundamental mistake – we were too concerned with what was in it for us – and not thinking how can we help our fellow members.
The strapline of BNI is ‘givers gain’ and the moment I adopted that as my focus everything changed. If I give business to you will want to give me business to me is the message, but the emphasis is on the giving. Referrals are the currency and actively seeking help and support for fellow members becomes second nature after a time. It’s simple - it works.
Now, BNI is not for everyone and I can understand some of the reasons. The procedures are quite rigid and attendance and time keeping are essential. How many times have I heard new members say it is like being back at school. The vast majority though accept and understand why this disciplined approach works.
A newer breed of virtual networking is emerging on the Internet and although there are quite a few large networks, Ecademy is emerging as one of the best business to business websites. It is even more important that the right attitude and approach is adopted if you want to achieve anything for your business through using Ecademy.
Ecademy members are encouraged to put 50 keywords describing themselves, write a profile and to submit a photo. The mistake many make when they first join is to use their keywords and profile simply as an advert for their business. The successful networkers have interesting profiles about themselves, their interests, travels, family and amusing anecdotes. Are they missing out by not pushing their business interests? Not a bit of it as there is a link to their website – what is the point of another sales pitch. People buy from people they like and trust and the social side of the Ecademy is the important additional ingredient on offer.
Within Ecademy there are hundreds of special interest clubs and regionally based groups that give the opportunity for physical meetings to be arranged. It is incredible to be able to go to a meeting with people that you already know a great deal about before you actually meet them. It all leads to a much more honest and open relationship from the off.
I can’t see how the Yellow Pages can survive in the long run. Give me referred, trusted traders any day. Networking rules – and works.
Keith Watson has been designing websites for nearly 11 years and is the founder of Creative Eye - http://www.creativeeye.co.uk
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Keith_Watson
The Silver Bullet For Success: Revealed
Looking for the magic formula or the whiz-bang approach that will unlock your business success? Are you willing to pay hundreds for it? How about thousands?
Guess what, you are not alone. Just as people, for ages, have searched for the fountain of youth, entrepreneurs and small business owners around the world are looking for the silver bullet for success: that one sure-fire way to achieve the success that they want without doing a thing. This demand for this magic "success" pill has grown even more desperate and confusing. This need, especially for entrepreneurs, is understandable; time is limited, budgets are not yet created and... lives are at stake... yours.
Well you can rest easy. Your search is over. Are you ready for the answer? There is no silver bullet.... or is there?
While speaking at seminars around the country with dozens of other experts in their field, I'm amazed at the amount products that can... and will...help business owners create more successful businesses. I mean we're one of them. The plethora of information available today is astounding and often... overwhelming.
This hit home a few weeks ago while I was speaking at a multi-day seminar for small business owners. I was honored to be among a select few outstanding experts speaking about marketing for small business owners. I watched the confusion grow in the audience as program after program (mine included) was rolled out throughout the three days, as the business owners tried to determine which product best served their need at that particular moment.
I watched them. No, I studied them. And, my heart went out to them... mostly because I'm just like them. I'm just like you-- a small business owner with a vision for my business and looking for help to accomplish it. While some people at this seminar invested in a product that met their biggest problem at that specific time, some didn't at all. Often these purchased products are listened to for a short period of time; some are even applied... for a short period of time. These tools are often relegated to a closet or bookshelf-- abandoned for another new tool at another seminar at another time. Thus begins a vicious cycle that leaves the purchaser feeling empty, without the business power they were looking for in the first place. I refer to this to as "shelf-help"--serving only the shelf that these products sit on. Watching and talking to these business owners... no wonder they wanted the silver bullet.
And even though my business success tool, BrandU, breaks down the powerful brand development process into a easy to follow step-by-step system, once in a very blue moon one of my students finds themselves sitting with the power they got from creating their brand asking "Is this it?" "Am I done?" "Where's my success?" While they carefully chose, and found value in, BrandU what they really wanted was... yep that's right... that darn silver bullet.
The bottom line is no matter how much external work you do, learning and application, emulating and testing, there is no single silver bullet to assist you reaching your success goals. Success is more like silver buckshot-- a shower of focused impact full hits. These focused efforts can be distilled down to four major "pellets" or keys of success:
• Deliver Value.
This may sound overtly obvious for most of you, however you must always think of your customer first and be sure that you are delivering the most helpful and valuable content.
• Consistency. Consistency. Consistency.
You just can't get away from this key-- and you shouldn't. Everything you say, write, show and do must support your vision and your... brand. In your presentations, your e-mails, your web site, your content, your marketing materials. The ability for your customer to completely experience your brand depends on consistent communication from you. Only then, will they value you.
• Finish What You Start.
Once you commit to yourself, a partner, your staff, a client or customer always follow-through-- to a fault. The corollary of follow-through is under-promise and over-deliver. Set and keep expectations where they belong-- calm, reliable and consistently in-favor of the other party. You will be rewarded. And finally,
• Own Your Power.
Now for the most misunderstood key. You've heard it stated in a number of ways. To us it means know your power and own the path you travel on and the results you get from it. If your "inner house" is built on a solid foundation, it is imperative that your own the power you know you have. No confusion, no avoidance, no 'victimhood' and no excuses. Be a voracious learning sponge. Stand strong, watch for helpers, take bold steps, lovingly adjust and stand ready to reap the rewards!
With these pellets in your shell, your silver buckshot is sure to hit your target.
Come to think about it, the four keys do have one thing in common: they are all completely in your control. Could that mean there really is a silver bullet for success after all? There is one true, fail-proof thing that you can depend upon for all your business success and that thing is... you. Weld yourself wisely; your success depends on it! Make a plan that is supported by your vision, surround yourself with the right people and tools that specifically support that plan and put the silver bullet that is you in action. You will experience all the success than you can imagine. See, it all comes down to... you.
Written by Kim Castle, the Co-founder of BrandU™ — the home of only step-by- step process for developing your business as a brand from the inside out!
To get information on upcoming BrandU one-day workshops: http://www.whybrandu.com/Public/events/workshop/index.cfm?semID=13 ">http:// http://www.whybrandu.com/Public/events/workshop/index.cfm?semID=13 Get your Why You?!(sm) monthly ezine for easy-to-read tips and informative insights on branding. To subscribe: http://www.whybrandu.com/
“BrandU™ — Big Business Success No Matter Your Size”
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kim_A._C
Guess what, you are not alone. Just as people, for ages, have searched for the fountain of youth, entrepreneurs and small business owners around the world are looking for the silver bullet for success: that one sure-fire way to achieve the success that they want without doing a thing. This demand for this magic "success" pill has grown even more desperate and confusing. This need, especially for entrepreneurs, is understandable; time is limited, budgets are not yet created and... lives are at stake... yours.
Well you can rest easy. Your search is over. Are you ready for the answer? There is no silver bullet.... or is there?
While speaking at seminars around the country with dozens of other experts in their field, I'm amazed at the amount products that can... and will...help business owners create more successful businesses. I mean we're one of them. The plethora of information available today is astounding and often... overwhelming.
This hit home a few weeks ago while I was speaking at a multi-day seminar for small business owners. I was honored to be among a select few outstanding experts speaking about marketing for small business owners. I watched the confusion grow in the audience as program after program (mine included) was rolled out throughout the three days, as the business owners tried to determine which product best served their need at that particular moment.
I watched them. No, I studied them. And, my heart went out to them... mostly because I'm just like them. I'm just like you-- a small business owner with a vision for my business and looking for help to accomplish it. While some people at this seminar invested in a product that met their biggest problem at that specific time, some didn't at all. Often these purchased products are listened to for a short period of time; some are even applied... for a short period of time. These tools are often relegated to a closet or bookshelf-- abandoned for another new tool at another seminar at another time. Thus begins a vicious cycle that leaves the purchaser feeling empty, without the business power they were looking for in the first place. I refer to this to as "shelf-help"--serving only the shelf that these products sit on. Watching and talking to these business owners... no wonder they wanted the silver bullet.
And even though my business success tool, BrandU, breaks down the powerful brand development process into a easy to follow step-by-step system, once in a very blue moon one of my students finds themselves sitting with the power they got from creating their brand asking "Is this it?" "Am I done?" "Where's my success?" While they carefully chose, and found value in, BrandU what they really wanted was... yep that's right... that darn silver bullet.
The bottom line is no matter how much external work you do, learning and application, emulating and testing, there is no single silver bullet to assist you reaching your success goals. Success is more like silver buckshot-- a shower of focused impact full hits. These focused efforts can be distilled down to four major "pellets" or keys of success:
• Deliver Value.
This may sound overtly obvious for most of you, however you must always think of your customer first and be sure that you are delivering the most helpful and valuable content.
• Consistency. Consistency. Consistency.
You just can't get away from this key-- and you shouldn't. Everything you say, write, show and do must support your vision and your... brand. In your presentations, your e-mails, your web site, your content, your marketing materials. The ability for your customer to completely experience your brand depends on consistent communication from you. Only then, will they value you.
• Finish What You Start.
Once you commit to yourself, a partner, your staff, a client or customer always follow-through-- to a fault. The corollary of follow-through is under-promise and over-deliver. Set and keep expectations where they belong-- calm, reliable and consistently in-favor of the other party. You will be rewarded. And finally,
• Own Your Power.
Now for the most misunderstood key. You've heard it stated in a number of ways. To us it means know your power and own the path you travel on and the results you get from it. If your "inner house" is built on a solid foundation, it is imperative that your own the power you know you have. No confusion, no avoidance, no 'victimhood' and no excuses. Be a voracious learning sponge. Stand strong, watch for helpers, take bold steps, lovingly adjust and stand ready to reap the rewards!
With these pellets in your shell, your silver buckshot is sure to hit your target.
Come to think about it, the four keys do have one thing in common: they are all completely in your control. Could that mean there really is a silver bullet for success after all? There is one true, fail-proof thing that you can depend upon for all your business success and that thing is... you. Weld yourself wisely; your success depends on it! Make a plan that is supported by your vision, surround yourself with the right people and tools that specifically support that plan and put the silver bullet that is you in action. You will experience all the success than you can imagine. See, it all comes down to... you.
Written by Kim Castle, the Co-founder of BrandU™ — the home of only step-by- step process for developing your business as a brand from the inside out!
To get information on upcoming BrandU one-day workshops: http://www.whybrandu.com/Public/events/workshop/index.cfm?semID=13 ">http:// http://www.whybrandu.com/Public/events/workshop/index.cfm?semID=13 Get your Why You?!(sm) monthly ezine for easy-to-read tips and informative insights on branding. To subscribe: http://www.whybrandu.com/
“BrandU™ — Big Business Success No Matter Your Size”
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kim_A._C
Mission 'Statement' Impossible
Dant dant da da dant dant da da. Dant dant da da dant dant da da. (That's the theme from "Mission Impossible"...)FADE IN.
Your mission, should you chose to accept it is to create a fail-proof proclamation, a road map, that not only serves ALL your business needs but also provides you an endless source of fuel so you can thrive in your business. Beware of the well- intentioned imposter called "the mission statement." Should you choose to accept this mission... this article will self-destruct in... you get the point.
If you've been is business in any sort of formal sense or have come out of a MBA or business school, no doubt you have been told to "write a mission statement" to assure that your business achieves the success that you want for it. So as any good success-orientated business owners would do, you did as you were told and wrote one; only to find yourself with a hard earned paragraph (or a page) that's not giving you the power you thought it would. Well no wonder, you sent the wrong agent to do the right job.
The inherent problem with writing a business mission statement is that it's an external communication of what your business is about and what it could do. It's used to communicate your business' mission to someone else. This power-zapping situation has been created because you either:
a) you wrote it because someone told you that's the way business is done,
b) OR more often than not you wrote it to prove to someone else that you deserve to get something, usually money or some other assistance for your business. This type of purpose is easily manipulated to paint a certain picture. Any picture you chose.
Some may teach that doing a mission statement is about communicating your choice to others, therefore giving you the 'illusion' of power. Where's the power in the 'illusion'? Certainly not in you, where it should be!
The mission statement communication point is focused externally on the receiver so in essence you are giving the receiver the power of your communication. That's marketing! Which is all said and good if and only if your internal communication, to yourself and your team, is built and is solid. If it's not, creating a mission statement only is like throwing a huge party in your penthouse when you haven't even laid in the concrete foundation of the building.
Don't worry. It's an easy fix. It's as simple as calling that 'mission statement agent' back in, saving it for the right job, and training a new agent for the job.
The first and the most important part of developing any business with a big business vision (a brand) is developing a solid, and I mean bullet-proof, brand statement -- which is your business' internal reason to be.
in_ter_nal adj
1. located within or affecting the inside of something,
2. involving or existing within the mind or spirit
rea_son n
1. an explanation or justification for something
2. a motive or cause for acting or thinking in a particular way
3. a cause that explains a particular phenomenon
Your brand statement must be concise & clear, anchored in your passion & to your vision of what you are bringing to the world. It is so completely anchored internally that it actually becomes the ruler by which you measure every business decision. (Important distinction to note is that your brand statement is an internal communication and is not for public use.)
Without your business' core internal brand statement firmly in place, every time you communicate your well-intentioned mission statement, verbally or in-print, you will essentially be giving your power away. No amount of re-phrasing or creating catchy 30-second elevator speech or "round-robins" will change that.
Makes sense doesn't it? Without really knowing your business' brand statement, even shouting your mission statement off Mount Everest will still feel... empty.
I receive dozens of e-mails every day from people who've personal and business lives have changed by working solely on this amazing statement.
So, you can begin today. Focus on your brand statement before of wondering why your mission statement is serving you. You will be astonished at the power, clarity and financial success it will bring you.
You and your business will experience the phenomenon known as financial success when your "internal" house is in order and it provides the foundation for ALL your external communication.
Good luck on your new mission!
Written by Kim Castle, the Co-founder of BrandU™ — the home of only step-by- step process for developing your business as a brand from the inside out!
To get information on upcoming BrandU one-day workshops: http://www.whybrandu.com/Public/events/workshop/index.cfm?semID=13 ">http:// http://www.whybrandu.com/Public/events/workshop/index.cfm?semID=13 Get your Why You?!(sm) monthly ezine for easy-to-read tips and informative insights on branding. To subscribe: http://www.whybrandu.com/
“BrandU™ — Big Business Success No Matter Your Size”
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kim_A._Castle
Your mission, should you chose to accept it is to create a fail-proof proclamation, a road map, that not only serves ALL your business needs but also provides you an endless source of fuel so you can thrive in your business. Beware of the well- intentioned imposter called "the mission statement." Should you choose to accept this mission... this article will self-destruct in... you get the point.
If you've been is business in any sort of formal sense or have come out of a MBA or business school, no doubt you have been told to "write a mission statement" to assure that your business achieves the success that you want for it. So as any good success-orientated business owners would do, you did as you were told and wrote one; only to find yourself with a hard earned paragraph (or a page) that's not giving you the power you thought it would. Well no wonder, you sent the wrong agent to do the right job.
The inherent problem with writing a business mission statement is that it's an external communication of what your business is about and what it could do. It's used to communicate your business' mission to someone else. This power-zapping situation has been created because you either:
a) you wrote it because someone told you that's the way business is done,
b) OR more often than not you wrote it to prove to someone else that you deserve to get something, usually money or some other assistance for your business. This type of purpose is easily manipulated to paint a certain picture. Any picture you chose.
Some may teach that doing a mission statement is about communicating your choice to others, therefore giving you the 'illusion' of power. Where's the power in the 'illusion'? Certainly not in you, where it should be!
The mission statement communication point is focused externally on the receiver so in essence you are giving the receiver the power of your communication. That's marketing! Which is all said and good if and only if your internal communication, to yourself and your team, is built and is solid. If it's not, creating a mission statement only is like throwing a huge party in your penthouse when you haven't even laid in the concrete foundation of the building.
Don't worry. It's an easy fix. It's as simple as calling that 'mission statement agent' back in, saving it for the right job, and training a new agent for the job.
The first and the most important part of developing any business with a big business vision (a brand) is developing a solid, and I mean bullet-proof, brand statement -- which is your business' internal reason to be.
in_ter_nal adj
1. located within or affecting the inside of something,
2. involving or existing within the mind or spirit
rea_son n
1. an explanation or justification for something
2. a motive or cause for acting or thinking in a particular way
3. a cause that explains a particular phenomenon
Your brand statement must be concise & clear, anchored in your passion & to your vision of what you are bringing to the world. It is so completely anchored internally that it actually becomes the ruler by which you measure every business decision. (Important distinction to note is that your brand statement is an internal communication and is not for public use.)
Without your business' core internal brand statement firmly in place, every time you communicate your well-intentioned mission statement, verbally or in-print, you will essentially be giving your power away. No amount of re-phrasing or creating catchy 30-second elevator speech or "round-robins" will change that.
Makes sense doesn't it? Without really knowing your business' brand statement, even shouting your mission statement off Mount Everest will still feel... empty.
I receive dozens of e-mails every day from people who've personal and business lives have changed by working solely on this amazing statement.
So, you can begin today. Focus on your brand statement before of wondering why your mission statement is serving you. You will be astonished at the power, clarity and financial success it will bring you.
You and your business will experience the phenomenon known as financial success when your "internal" house is in order and it provides the foundation for ALL your external communication.
Good luck on your new mission!
Written by Kim Castle, the Co-founder of BrandU™ — the home of only step-by- step process for developing your business as a brand from the inside out!
To get information on upcoming BrandU one-day workshops: http://www.whybrandu.com/Public/events/workshop/index.cfm?semID=13 ">http:// http://www.whybrandu.com/Public/events/workshop/index.cfm?semID=13 Get your Why You?!(sm) monthly ezine for easy-to-read tips and informative insights on branding. To subscribe: http://www.whybrandu.com/
“BrandU™ — Big Business Success No Matter Your Size”
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kim_A._Castle
# Looking for Sky In All The Wrong Places
Ever sit with a single puzzle piece of clouds and wonder how you will ever put the entire sky together? Life as an entrepreneur is often just like that-- lots of the little pieces, creating products, taking care of clients, wrestling with computers, finances, taxes, etc.-- and a whole lot of sky. The big open space where you create a successful and enjoyable business. There were many pieces of 'puzzle sky', I was drowning in an ocean of sky blue. After over a decade of struggling with my own company to fit all the 'pieces' together, I have finally put together the big business puzzle-- and it's not what I thought it would look like.
As a sponge for knowledge, I would constantly search for information to help me grow. Emblazoned in my mind was a quote that I stumbled upon by accident while researching William Shakespeare in the old, smelly, humid junior high library (thank goodness for the Internet). "Information is power" insightfully said by Sir Frances Bacon. At thirteen years old, I didn't exactly know what power was but I knew I didn't want to be a 'dork' or a 'druggie', like so many of my friends. So, I wanted power. So... I needed knowledge. I lived for it.
I became a "knowledge" junkie and didn't 'know' it. How ironic is that? I graduated from college with over twenty more credits than needed because I kept taking classes. A habit that carried into adulthood, waaay past college, anytime I tackle a new endeavor or head in a new direction... I take a class. A class-- the perfect place to get knowledge right? Yes, though I found I gave up something for that knowledge. And I didn't know it.
For me, every pursuit of knowledge was a piece of "puzzle sky." I was excited with the opportunity to learn something new. Exhilarated by the threshold of my un- dorkiness being expanded. Enamored with the teacher teaching me! Yet at the end of each 'learning' experience, something felt-- wrong. Yes, I had gained a piece of knowledge but felt empty and unattached. So, I would throw myself into another class, another learning opportunity-- ever on my quest for power. I had no idea that with each learning experience, I was instead seeking permission for the new undertaking-- and was sidetracked by the high I got from the experience of learning. (Gosh, I hope I'm not the only one.)
With more and more people leaving their cushy corporate job, there's an explosion of entrepreneurial workshops and seminars teaching you how to be more, make more, more, more, etc. With all these portals of power, how do you know what's valuable information? Every one of these workshops and the information they offer are a benefit to you-- ONLY IF it is part of your larger picture. So let me help you now... you don't need permission to "see" exactly what is inside you daring to come out.
To be successful you must dare to learn, surround yourself with knowledge, savor each individual learning experience, HOWEVER always hold it in relationship to your big picture-- your success sky.
You must have a clear vision of the sky... your sky. No one else's. You get to establish if it's blue or green. You get to establish is it's clear or cloudy. You even get to establish if it's up or down. The important thing is that you "see" it, establish it, create it by surrounding yourself with knowledge to supports that vision.
The next time you are considering taking a course or workshop for your business, ask yourself these three simple questions:
1. What is my sky?
2. Which piece of my "sky puzzle" does the course fulfill?
3. Can this knowledge help me "see" my sky better or help me create it faster?
Knowing the answers will ensure you get actually what you need.
After all my years of knowledge hunting, I'm amazed to find I am now in the knowledge-sharing business. Of course, I learned how in an incredible workshop :) (Email me at info@whybrandu.com I'll tell you about it!). I know you can accomplish whatever you want. It just takes the right individuals to remind you and expand your knowledge. I'm honored to have the opportunity to be one of them.
© Castle Montone, Limited All Rights Reserved.
Written by Kim Castle, the Co-founder of BrandU™ — the home of only step-by- step process for developing your business as a brand from the inside out!
To get information on upcoming BrandU one-day workshops: http://www.whybrandu.com/Public/events/workshop/index.cfm?semID=13">http:// http://www.whybrandu.com/Public/events/workshop/index.cfm?semID=13
Get your Why You?!(sm) monthly ezine for easy-to-read tips and informative insights on branding. To subscribe: http://www.whybrandu.com/
“BrandU™ — Big Business Success No Matter Your Size”
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kim_A._Castle
As a sponge for knowledge, I would constantly search for information to help me grow. Emblazoned in my mind was a quote that I stumbled upon by accident while researching William Shakespeare in the old, smelly, humid junior high library (thank goodness for the Internet). "Information is power" insightfully said by Sir Frances Bacon. At thirteen years old, I didn't exactly know what power was but I knew I didn't want to be a 'dork' or a 'druggie', like so many of my friends. So, I wanted power. So... I needed knowledge. I lived for it.
I became a "knowledge" junkie and didn't 'know' it. How ironic is that? I graduated from college with over twenty more credits than needed because I kept taking classes. A habit that carried into adulthood, waaay past college, anytime I tackle a new endeavor or head in a new direction... I take a class. A class-- the perfect place to get knowledge right? Yes, though I found I gave up something for that knowledge. And I didn't know it.
For me, every pursuit of knowledge was a piece of "puzzle sky." I was excited with the opportunity to learn something new. Exhilarated by the threshold of my un- dorkiness being expanded. Enamored with the teacher teaching me! Yet at the end of each 'learning' experience, something felt-- wrong. Yes, I had gained a piece of knowledge but felt empty and unattached. So, I would throw myself into another class, another learning opportunity-- ever on my quest for power. I had no idea that with each learning experience, I was instead seeking permission for the new undertaking-- and was sidetracked by the high I got from the experience of learning. (Gosh, I hope I'm not the only one.)
With more and more people leaving their cushy corporate job, there's an explosion of entrepreneurial workshops and seminars teaching you how to be more, make more, more, more, etc. With all these portals of power, how do you know what's valuable information? Every one of these workshops and the information they offer are a benefit to you-- ONLY IF it is part of your larger picture. So let me help you now... you don't need permission to "see" exactly what is inside you daring to come out.
To be successful you must dare to learn, surround yourself with knowledge, savor each individual learning experience, HOWEVER always hold it in relationship to your big picture-- your success sky.
You must have a clear vision of the sky... your sky. No one else's. You get to establish if it's blue or green. You get to establish is it's clear or cloudy. You even get to establish if it's up or down. The important thing is that you "see" it, establish it, create it by surrounding yourself with knowledge to supports that vision.
The next time you are considering taking a course or workshop for your business, ask yourself these three simple questions:
1. What is my sky?
2. Which piece of my "sky puzzle" does the course fulfill?
3. Can this knowledge help me "see" my sky better or help me create it faster?
Knowing the answers will ensure you get actually what you need.
After all my years of knowledge hunting, I'm amazed to find I am now in the knowledge-sharing business. Of course, I learned how in an incredible workshop :) (Email me at info@whybrandu.com I'll tell you about it!). I know you can accomplish whatever you want. It just takes the right individuals to remind you and expand your knowledge. I'm honored to have the opportunity to be one of them.
© Castle Montone, Limited All Rights Reserved.
Written by Kim Castle, the Co-founder of BrandU™ — the home of only step-by- step process for developing your business as a brand from the inside out!
To get information on upcoming BrandU one-day workshops: http://www.whybrandu.com/Public/events/workshop/index.cfm?semID=13">http:// http://www.whybrandu.com/Public/events/workshop/index.cfm?semID=13
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