How to Create A Compelling Introduction

How to Create a Marketing Message in 30-Seconds

The most important skill you must possess if you are looking for new clients is the ability to market your business.  Marketing is the ability to tell people why you.  You must be able to tell someone in 30-seconds or less why they should be interested in your services and why you are the best person to help them.  Below are 5 ways to get peoples attention and how to create a compelling introduction.

Five 30-Second Marketing Introduction Ideas

Below are five step by step ways to deliver your marketing message that gets people wanting to know more about you and what you do.  Review them and practice creating your own personal marketing message using the examples of an outline.

Basic Marketing Greeting:

Greeting, Name, Business Name, I am … (Connector, Resource, , Facilitator, Educator etc.)

Example: I am a Connector, Resource and Educator for Business owner

I  (verb) with (noun)

Example:  I teach business owners/sales teams how to increase their annual income up to 50%

This does (what) for them. (Be specific and meaningful)

Example: It allows them to spend more time doing what they want to do when they want to do it.

I am looking to connect with…

Example: Decision makers who need to increase their sales in the next 90 days._

A good lead for me this week is…

Example: A business owner who is disappointed in what they earned last year.
_______________________________________________________
 

Did You Know?  Marketing Greeting:

Did You Know?… Example: 95% of small businesses fail due to lack of planning and undercapitalization?

How I can help…. Example: I teach business owners/sales teams how plan for success and create the resources they need to succeed the first time.

Give an example. (Be specific and meaningful) Example: I have a client who was redlining in her business and in one year not only helped her create more money by showing her profits and windfalls she didn’t even know she had. Helped her catch up with her past due debts and created a step-by-step plan for her success.

I am looking to meet this week: Example: Business owner’s who are frustrated and tire of “winging it” They know they need to make a change but are not sure where to begin

____________________________________________________________
  

Three Things You Might Not Know About (Me or My Business)  Marketing Greeting

Example:

• I spent a month in Armenia (My grandparent’s homeland) and cared for war orphans for a month
in 1995 after I was injured in a car accident in 1994 and lost my business due not being able to
walk or work.

• I danced at Lincoln Center with the World renowned Antranig Armenian Dance Ensemble in
1999. I trained for three years while being in Physical therapy during that time to recover after
that car accident. Doctors doctor’s told me that was not possible

• I use those experiences as coach to help other people realize their dreams in the face of
overwhelming and what seem to be “insurmountable” obstacles.

_____________________________________________________________

Three Things You Should Know About__________________.

Example: Growing Your Business

There are only three ways to grow your business

• Increase the # of clients you have
• Increase the amount of each sale a client buys
• Increase the frequency each clients buys from you

 

______________________________________________________________

Client Testimonial/Case Study Marketing Greeting

Example: Genius entrepreneur who had no clue how to run a business

• A client who is an inventor/technology genius came up with an idea, set up a business and had a
few people run it for him while he stayed at this day job.

• Upon leaving his day job, he found resistance from his employees having him take control back
as CEO. He was frustrated and thinking he had the wrong people.

• Through our assessment we discovered he needed leadership training and a strategic plan.

• In doing so he created a 4 million dollar windfall and developed employees who worked with him
in growing the company.

Now  Create Your Own Idea for a Compelling Marketing Commercial and Get New Clients!

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3 Ways to Achieve Success

Success Is Your Birthright

 

You may have heard this somewhere before even if it was in a  fortune cookie at your favorite restaurant.  From my personal life experience I know this to be true.  It took a couple of serious knock downs to finally do what I am sharing with you but I am so glad I did and you will be to.

Let talk first about what stops you from doing what you love…Your “reasons”.  You know the “reasons” why you can’t.  You tell yourself you can’t do this BECAUSE…

• I don’t have the time
• I don’t have the money
• I have kids/older parents to take care of
• I need to get “this” done first then I can think of that
• I am too old/to young
• I have too much on my plate right now.

 

These REASONS prevent you from receiving success and enjoying the money your desire and deserve.

They are not necessary true but they are real to you and these circumstances have become the reasons you can’t rather than the WHY and reason you can.  They have now become your obstacles to your success.

The immediate way to attract success is to:

 

Here is how:

 

Make a list of what is FUN for you.

It may have been a while since you have thought about fun never mind having some.  Fun is a powerful tool to create success. Make the list of 10 things that bring a smile to your face and joy to your heart.  Just making the list begins to build the energy that you require to create the success you seek.  Include on your list some small fun things and some large fun things.  So no matter what your budget or time restraints are you have something fun to do every day.

Commit 30-minutes a day to do something you enjoy.

Putting yourself first is the first step to achieving long lasting success.  You have 24 hours everyday and you deserve to enjoy 30 minutes of it.  The first thing I have my new clients do is make this list and spend their first week of coaching re-connecting with themselves and enjoying life.  This creates the motivation and commitment to achieve their bigger business goals.

Focus on What You are Good At.

Once you have created the adequate energy to show up to success you are ready to do what you do and do well.  The fastest way to create success is to focus on what you are good at.  People who do things well have a confidence that attracts success and the resources they require.  People invest in people who bring them value and have gifts they need.  Focusing on what you are good at and promoting your value dramatically increases the value for those around you and make you the “must have” they cannot do with out.

Doing what you love and focusing on what you are good at will allow you to achieve success and enjoy the journey.

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Networking: Finding People Who Want to Do Business with You

The Ins and Outs of Networking  Effectively

When it comes to effectively networking and building your business relationships with people have you ever felt like a “Starvin Marvin”?  “Starvin Marvin’s” are people who are really talented and have  lots of value but struggle to get enough clients. You know you have something great and the market place is your banquet place but you seem to have lost your card to get in.  When  you have have effectively built your network  you have an access  card to the “all you can eat” buffet of referrals  and you get anything your heart requires.

Below is a step-by-step action plan to creating your own networking strategy and how to create connections with people who WANT to do business with you.

1. Make a List

The first step is to make a list of everyone you know.  You can make a physical list to start but eventually I recommend you use software like Cardscan.net, Linkedin, Plaxo or Aweber.com. These programs allow you to customize your lists and stay connected to your network in a professional yet effective way.

Your next step is to identify your top 20 people on the list who can help you or introduce you to someone who can… Include everyone you know, (Business contacts, friends, family, social contacts, organization members etc.).  Do your best to not to prejudge who can help you.  Begin with the people who know you best and desire to see you succeed.

2. Call Them/Make an Appointment

Call them up or send them an email explaining what you are doing and what you need.  Systematically begin to with the people on your list.  Tell them that you value their opinion and need their advice.  Offer them an opportunity to share what they need with you and find out how you can help them too.

This has been my MOST successful tactic getting referrals.  Everyone loves to feel important and give their opinion.  I have never been refused when I have offered a sincere opportunity to meet with someone to help.  You gain something valuable from every appointment and you will have developed a deeper connection with someone in your network that will eventually refer you.

3. Develop a Networking Plan/Marketing Strategy

Before you meet with someone, develop a plan to let others know what you are doing and how they can help you.  Have a set of questions to elicit information.  Implement this plan and expand your circles of influence.  Join chambers, networking organizations.  Build a presence in your community.

Build relationships with people. People like to do business with people they know and LIKE.  Think of your self as a resource for everyone you meet.  Not just as a prospect for your self.  My best strategy early in my career when I didn’t have a strong network was to have coffee and meet people to find out what their problems were and how I could help.  I would make it a point to find the resource they needed.  The outcome was they felt supported and they in turn felt compelled to look out for me and find me the resources I needed.  Imagine having a free army of people acting as your personal sales force. That is what an effective networking system can do for you.

Ask as if you expect to get help. When it comes to networking or building strong relationships your attitude and mindset is EVERYTHING.  The main reason why people struggle to be successful is that they are unwilling or unable to ask for what they want.  We fear rejection,  worry that we aren’t good enough or fail to ask because we are afraid to l appear pushy, greedy etc.  Remember this old adage…”the squeaky wheel gets the oil?”  Well it is true and to receive success you must first ask.

Here is how you can do it effectively:

Ask clear and specific. Ask for what you REALLY want.  Most people ask for what they think they can get. The BIGGEST MISTAKE is asking for “someone” or “anybody” I personally have never met a “someone” and I don’t refer just “anybody”.  Speak in a way that creates a mental picture and opens up my brain to a specific person.”

Tell me who specifically you would like to meet.

Ask from the heart. This is SO important.  Networking is about sharing.  Sharing resources and sharing trust. Remember the main reason why people do business together is because they like and trust each other.  Tell people why you want to work with them.  Why you feel that you are a good resource to share with their network of people.  Sincerity speaks louder than any sale pitch.

Ask with humor and creativity. Create a compelling commercial or way of remembering you and what you need.  In networking groups a common thing to have is a 30-Second Commercial or memorable tag line.  Creativity and humor connects people faster that professional talk.  Make people laugh and they will remember you.

Give in order to get. Always remember givers gain and relationships are an investment not an ATM machine (At least not right away).  It takes time to build trust.  With that said the best way to cultivate that feeling and get people to help you is to help them solve a problem they have first.  My best referrals have been from people who never bought from me but appreciated how I helped them solve a problem.  They always remembered that and went out of their way to grow my success.

Ask repeatedly. One of the biggest networking mistakes that I see salespeople and business owners make is not asking enough.  They make one call and then they don’t follow through.  Networking studies have been done that show most people fall short of a sale not because the prospect is not interested but because the sales person failed to follow up.  If you need sales quickly follow your competition around.  I promise they are leaving a trail of breadcrumbs right to your prospects that they have gotten all excited about your product but failed to close the deal.

Don’t be Afraid of the No’s. Rejection is not personal.  When someone says no they are not saying no to you.  They are saying they are not interested in the product or opportunity at this time.  Today’s no is really a maybe. A maybe is really, give me more information. Keep in touch and stay involved.  Look beyond the no and build the relationship. Find out what they need and help them get it. This is the fastest way to build your networking strategy that attracts people who want to do business with you.

Networking is one of the MOST EFFECTIVE and LOW COST ways to market your business you just need to know where to start

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5 Things That Create More Time In Your Day

Banish Time Management to Get More Done

 

Do ever feel that you have more “to do’s” than you do day?  Is overwhelm feel like a place that you reside rather than a temporary state of mind?  Do boring time management techniques make you feel like a boa constrictor is squeezing the life force and creativity right out of you?  If you are finding it difficult to cram your life in to the time management techniques you have, let me introduce you to your new secret weapon/time creator energy management.  When you feel pressed or behind the “eight ball” or you are about to fall under the wave of overwhelm these are the five things you can do to create more time, get more done and have fun.

 

Get in the Present, NOW!     

 

The first thing you need to do is breathe.   Breathing, especially deep breathing allows your mind and body to connect. It also connects your “spirit” and energy so you can begin to harness that part of your self.  We are human beings not human “doings” and we all run on energy.  Breathing and focusing on what is happening right now in the present is the same as filling your car with a full tank of gas.  When you are in the now or “being present” you naturally focus on what is important.  You have access to power and the ability to harness as much energy as you need to get the task you need done.  Being in the now takes you out of time management and connects you to your power.  Remember the present is perfect that is why it is a gift.

The power to get things done is in the NOW.

When you find yourself in overwhelm or feel really stressed or frustrated that is a clue you are not in the NOW.   Overwhelm occurs when you focus on the all the details of a task at once.  When you get too focused on the details or the “how” things get done you are focusing on the wrong thing.  The key is to take you out of the valley and focus on the end.  Go to the mountain top and take a look at the view and see the big picture.   I promise it looks completely different and it feels much better.  You see things on the top that you can’t in the valley.  You can see the ENTIRE picture and ways to get things done in ways that you could not imagine.   When you focus on the end you are taking yourself out of time management and traveling to the future where the task has been completed successfully.  Remember success always leaves clues.   The how to get things done is always available when you focus on the end.

Make Time to Put Your Self First

This is difficult for many people, including myself.  My natural instinct is to put everyone else first including my “to do’s”.  Do you find yourself saying you don’t have time?  I have found this is true for many of my brother and sister “human doings” who live in time management.  This is the wrong strategy to implement when you have a busy to do list.  The opposite works much better and allows you to get more done in less time.

Let me explain.  Time management focuses you on time and no matter what you do there is only 24 hours in a day and 168 hours in a week.  We can do our best to cram as much as we can into time but like house or computer it has its storage limits.   If you put too much stuff in, it is going to get crowded and feel overloaded.  Have you ever had your computer crash?  Why did it crash? Information overload, you put too much in too little of a space.  The same thing happens with time management and human beings.

Time Management is Finite…Energy Management is Infinite

 

Have you ever heard the terms “crash and burn” and procrastination? These are symptoms and natural outcomes of time management.  Even great time management techniques create these outcomes when pushed beyond its limits… With energy management there are no limits.  You can create as much as you need.  Energy management focuses you on creating energy and the way to do that is to put yourself first.  The principle is simple.  The more “to do’s” that you have to get done the more energy you need and your time is best served putting yourself first and fueling up.

How do you create energy?  Great question!  You focus on your energy centers.  Eating, sleeping, exercising, having fun, feeding your creativity and passions.  You might be thinking right, how am I going to fit that in?   Energy management requires this because putting your self first allows you to focus and manage the fuel you need to skyrocket your mindset outside of time and space to harness the power of energy.

Give Yourself Room to Breathe and Get More Things Done

Energy is your natural state of being and allows you to get more done with less and still have time for fun.  The more you need to get done the more energy you need.  You can create as much as you can handle.  Even if you don’t get EVERYTHING done on your list you are energized, focused and motivated to find ways to have everything accounted for and you avoid the familiar “crash and burn” syndrome and familiar procrastination patterns.

Manage Your Big Rocks

You may have heard me saying this before in a previous post. Your big rocks are the FIVE things that when properly managed keeps everything else moving forward and takes care of the small things.  Have you ever read the book “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff”?  If not read it because it is a great book and explains energy management in a great way.  It teaches you to focus on the big things because the big things naturally take care of the small things.  Strategy always dictates tactical action.  When you choose to focus on the small things and details you tend to get buried or lost in them and never find your way back to the top where you need to be.

The way to get things done and have time for fun is to manage your big rocks.

The challenge with time management is that it leads you down the slippery slope to what time managers call “busy work”. Busy work is what you tend to focus on when you are overwhelmed, tired or unsure of how to tackle the big stuff.  When you manage your big rocks you naturally show up to what needs to be done and have time for fun too.

Commit to the Six Most Important Things to Do

 

If you have made it this far you are definite interested in energy management.  If you are a die hard time manager you may feel like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, saying “I don’t think we are in Kansas anymore, Toto”.  Well, true but we are not that far away either.  Here is a technique that you will recognize it just has a new look and twist.  Your list.  Most champion time managers have a “to do” list.  Sometimes your list is longer than Kobe Bryant’s leg.  That is fine keep it but call it a data dump list.  Put everything on that list.

Choose the six most important things that need to be done in the next 90 days.

Choose the six most important things that need to be accomplished in the next 90 days.  You read it correctly, 90 days.   Not today or this week.   Focus on the end.  Once you have your horizon list (that is what I call it) break down your to do’s in to steps.  Tiny steps and it is these steps that you incorporate into your daily/weekly to do list.  Each list whether it be a daily, weekly or Monthly to do list keep to only six things.  If you get tasks done ahead of time you can cross them off and add another task to your six most important to do list.  Keeping only six in front of you rather that the entire data list will help you focus and implement the above steps.  Even if you fall back to the familiar land of time management you will feel energized and empowered and ready to battle the boa called time.

Banish old time management techniques, embrace energy management to get more done and have time for fun.

 

To learn more about how to release the constraints of time and embrace  energy management subscribe to our free news letter at www.facebook.com/successgenie

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Are Women Better at Marketing Themselves Than Men?

Are women better at marketing themselves than men?

I have found that women are MUCH MORE WILLING to “put their money where their mouth is” when it comes to marketing themselves or their services. Is it possible they feel a greater NEED?  Why is there such a difference?

Okay, guys, don’t take this the wrong way, but I think it comes down to how boys and girls are raised and the male ego. We all know the differences between men and women are ENDLESS! (Thank goodness, for the most part.) But I have found that women accept that they often have to work harder and pony-up for greater marketing exposure than the average man. Men are raised to be naturally self-promoting. They learn early in life to stand up for themselves and to be more aggressive. Their egos carry them through battles unlike anything women have to deal with.

Is it natural for women to become better at marketing themselves?

Women, as little girls, are often raised to be gentle and delicate. When those women grow up and enter the workforce, they find that they must speak up and tell the world that they count, that they are smart, and that they can do the job (whatever that job may be). These qualities are expected from men. But, if a woman doesn’t take control of the necessary marketing for herself, who will? Women often feel the need to tell the world about their strengths.

Women have also been found to be better at NETWORK marketing because they are better at building relationships.

Women take business more personally, which may not always be a good thing, but it does result in deeper, more personalized business connections.

A study by Copernicus Marketing said that women are better listeners, more collaborative, they understand the importance of developing an emotional connection with a brand (or themselves), and that they have been socialized as “influencers,” whereas “men tend to demonstrate managerial qualities that reflect a more military-like command and control.” It’s just natural for men to EXPECT to ascend to leadership (or managerial) positions. Do men become leaders because of their expectations?

I offer motivational speakers many marketing opportunities. The women who sign up outnumber the men by as much as 3-to-1 most of the time. Are there other explanations? Perhaps men prefer to handle their marketing by working with other men, instead of working with women. Do you find that you are more comfortable working with the same sex when marketing your business?

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Do iPads kill….?

Will iPads kill the laptops as primary business device?

Especially with the brand new iPad 2 just out, many are wondering if the iPad or other slate / tablet computer are a full replacement for the laptop. And if not, what is it? And what are the consequences for the IT organization? I tried answering the question originally on the “new leadership” site http://www.nofear-community.com and repost my updated thoughts here. Follow on Twitter: markMEberstein

Will these devices only be used to consume information? Likely some form of input will be necessary. From not talking to quick communication via email or Facebook updates or Twitter. There will still be a need for “specialized” devices or extensions for devices, like a keyboard for the writers of long texts or designers of complex graphics.

But the vast majority of our communication will be short and succinct and many of the input mechanisms of the latest mobile devices are already fully sufficient.

As the amount of information and tasks we try to squeeze into a device; screen size will be a factor for the usability. On the other hand, it is the weight and the size that impact mobility.

The “new devices” are not “replacing” the PC, but often fulfill specialist functions that in the past a PC would not have been used for. Anybody carrying a 2 kg laptop as a phone?

But because now these devices can also do some of what only PCs could do in the past, the need for PCs is decreasing. Not going away, but decreasing.

Like with Social Networks (or the PCs for that matter) we discover (usually the Digital Cowboys discover it first) what other functions the devices can perform.  And the newly discovered uses go often far beyond what the original invention or design was intended for.

Like with the IT capabilities of an organization; it is important to look at the capabilities and functions the end-user device is performing.

Let’s look at the iPad from Apple as an example. Looking at some of the functions it performs, its functional “capabilities” (or use), and how it compares.

• Mobility: More mobile than a laptop, but less than a phone
• Weight: lighter than a PC
• Screen size (usability): more than a phone but less than a laptop and far less than a flat-screen TV
• Note taking: nearly as easy to use as paper, but far easier to share and further use of the notes
• Data access: near universal, similar to PC and phone also in speed. But less manageability and security than a managed PC
• Entertainment: better video than phone, but inferior to TV; heavier than iPod for music
• Reading: inferior to Amazon’s Kindle or printed documents in readability and battery life but color
• Pictures: similar quality to phones (not as easy to handle); inferior to actual digital cameras.

While it is easy to find a better solution or device for a specific capability, for the user the iPad doesn’t compete with their TV or PC.  It simply adds opportunities, e.g. to watch a movie when on the road, to have a video conference when sitting in the park and to read a magazine while reviewing pictures from a photo shoot.

And there is no doubt, that people are utilizing their iPad for heavy business use; both when looking around in meetings as well as e.g. following some of the discussion here on LinkedIn. Many claim they can do between 50-90% of their work on an iPad today. Sure an interesting shift.

And there are large organizations that are exploring to replace at least some significant percentage of their laptop population with iPads or other slate devices.

But will the iPad replace all the other devices, including the laptops? Surely not. But it adds capabilities to situations where we didn’t have them before and opens new usage scenarios that have an impact on the “traditional” devices and solutions delivering a capability “traditionally”.

Will any device in the future be the “one fits all”? Highly unlikely in the next decade. Maybe when we achieve Singularity and have a device directly implanted in our brains… The iPad experience gets us closer.

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