Printing is Alive

Yet another all-time favorite. I also work with a lot of commercial printers and grew up around them so this video hits close to home. All the little comments and examples make perfect sense. Check it out and get a good laugh. And don't forget to do your printing exercises today!

Redesigning the Stop Sign

This video has made the rounds by now, but it is still one of my all-time favorite parodies. I work with a lot of ad agencies and this is exactly how the majority of them do business (no offense if you are an ad agency, but it's the truth). Check it out, get a good laugh, and let me know if you agree.

3 Things to Make You an Expert in Your Industry

People love to buy, but hate to be sold to. For this very reason, when your customer is ready to buy, you better know what the heck you are talking about. This is why you need to be an expert in your industry or field. If someone calls me up and asks me the difference between an organic t-shirt vs. a regular t-shirt, and I sit there looking clueless, more than likely they are going to my competitor to buy. Here then are 3 things that I think make you an expert in your field and a little explanation about each:

1.) Be knowledgeable on current industry trends and what's "in".

- Do you attend trade-shows on a yearly basis to stay up to speed?

- Do you read trade magazine and journals to know current trends?

2.) If there is higher education or certification available, set a goal and obtain it.

- Pretty much summed up that if you can get letters after your name in your industry, go get it. Whether it's a Professional Organizer becoming a Certified Professional Organizer® or in my case, currently striving to get my CAS then my MAS, (Certified Ad Specialist / Master Ad Specialist).

3.) Charge what you think you time is worth.

- If you are marketing and basing your business model on being the cheapest or least expensive in your industry, that isn't a good thing in the long run. It may get you that "one-time" transaction, but I am personally looking for that "long-term" relationship with my customers, and not a transaction.

- Sit back and think about what an hour of your time is worth. Me personally, an hour of my time is worth about $100. It's okay to turn customers away if they are leeching and stealing all your time. (This is a whole different blog topic I'll tackle at a later date.)

The Big Three in Detroit (Incompetence at it's Best)

I'm a big fan of Rich Dad (Robert Kiyosaki). If you haven't read his books, you need to get to the bookstore right away and get reading. Rich Dad writes the straight+talk column in Entrepreneur Magazine as well. As I was flipping through my new March 2009 issue, I came across his article, which is normally one of the first ones I read in the magazine. This month he truly hit the nail on the head. I got so fired up after reading his article I was thinking, why doesn't everyone think like this, especially people in Washington (or Detroit for that matter)? I'm not going to summarize the entire article, just the biggest thing that jumped out at me:
1. Leaders should be on the same compensation plan as the sales staff.
-Rich Dad goes on to say that if only the Detroit leaders were paid for the number of cars they sold, then they might be better businesspeople. He talks about how they all have their private jets, huge benefits, luxury outings, etc., all of which are not related to the sales or company health. The main point here that I love is...If my company is not profitable, I should not get paid! Period, end of story.
So why is it that the Big Three are losing so much money but they keep getting bailed out? Are we in a socialist society where the government should come to the rescue of every business that has made stupid business decisions? One more thing..why are we still seeing auto commercials all over TV? These cost lots of money, so is the government bailout money going to more advertising that obviously isn't doing crap?
When it all comes down to it, let them fail. Big corporate CEO's have a responsiblity, and it isn't to just sit back and wait for the government to help them. They have to have an entrepreneurial mindset to be cutting edge, ahead of their competition, finding out today what the consumer will want 2-3 years from now so they can start developing it (it's called R&D). These aren't difficult things to do, but for some of the incompetant it is very difficult.

Facebook vs. Twitter

I was fortunate to be one of the first waves of Facebook when it first came out. I was sort of in the middle, not ever having a MySpace page, but hearing about Facebook and starting a profile. This was back in '04/'05 and I remember in college being in a bar and hearing people talk about Facebook. It was wild. You couldn't go anywhere without someone talking to you about Facebook. Don't get me wrong, I love Facebook, but when I recently discovered Twitter and started posting, I didn't see how anyone was comparing the 2 avenues of social media. Now that I have been Twittering for a few weeks I have realized the benefits of it. Let's take a look at a few of the main points I think are important about each and what I personally use them for:

Facebook
1. See what's going on in people's lives that you either haven't seen or talked to in awhile. You're able to do this passively by checking out their Profile. (This is also known as "Facebook Stalking", but I wouldn't go to the extreme of saying I "stalk" on Facebook). It's just good to see what folks are up that you haven't seen since high school or in years.
2. Get the word out about events. I like how you can set up an event and invite all your friends. This is the easiest way to send out to a mass list of people without taking the time to find email addresses and such.
3. Facebook has some good advertising tools that are very niched.

Twitter
1. Get great advice on business and life from a variety of people from all over the world.
2. Become friends with people who share common interests and "tweet" back and forth about current events and subjects.
3. It's much more involved. I might not check my profile on Facebook for days at a time, but sometimes I feel like if I don't have TweetDeck in the background of my computer I might miss something. (Much more addictive than Facebook).

This being said, I have found myself the past few weeks forgetting to check my Facebook profile and messages daily like I used to, because I am more involved in conversations on Twitter. There are a ton of great people on Twitter that offer some great insight can really help you out.

What is your opinion? Do you prefer Twitter or Facebook? Do you like one for personal use and one for business use? Do share, I look forward to hearing everyone's responses.

BNI

I've been a member of Magic City BNI in Birmingham, AL for close to 4 years now. It is without a doubt one of the greatest advertising and marketing tools for my business. If you aren't familiar with BNI, its an international networking group (stands for: Business Network International) and there are chapters all over the world that meet on a weekly basis. There is only one person per industry allowed in each group, and the motto is "Givers Gain". The idea is that if you have a Chapter with 30 members, each week when you meet you tell them what you are looking for in terms of a referral and you have 29 sales reps that go out and help you drum up business. The more specific the better. One time I asked for a specific name at a large company I was trying to get a meeting with, and someone in our group was good friends with them. Now if I had just asked to the marketing director at that company, I probably wouldn't have gotten the referral since the company name and title wouldn't have clicked in their head, but when I mentioned the name, it clicked immediately. Here's a fun clip of a guy that made a song out of his 60-second, and it's pretty catchy. If you aren't currently a member of a BNI Chapter in your area, I would encourage you to find a few and go visit. What do you have to lose??

Desperation Isn't Referable

Nurture an abundance mentality instead of a scarcity mentality and you can have an unlimited supply of referrals.

There's truly an unlimited supply of referrals. This may surprise you because most people who're new to referral marketing or who've had trouble getting referrals tend to think they're in for a struggle to gain access to a limited supply of good referrals. This mind-set is known as the "scarcity mentality," and those who have it often appear desperate to obtain business, which is not a good way to present yourself when you're trying to sell your products or services. Desperation is not referable.

It's true that you must compete for business, even within a referral-networking group. You may come in to such a group thinking all the other members will automatically refer all their business to you. What you have to realize, though, is that joining a referral group doesn't automatically entitle you to referrals--you have to earn them. For starters, you have to work to create relationships where none existed before. Fellow members must get to know you and your work, and be able to trust you to carry out your commitments and provide outstanding and memorable customer service to anyone they might refer you to. They've established relationships of their own, and they don't want to risk those relationships by referring them to someone they don't know.

But having to compete with established relationships doesn't cut you off from potential referrals. Suppose, for example, that you're the new chiropractor in your group and you want to get referrals from other members. You learn that one influential member has a long-established relationship with a chiropractor who's not in the group. Does this obligate the other member to stop doing business with her chiropractor and start doing business with you? Of course not, and if you try to make this happen, you'll quickly gain a reputation as a relationship assassin--not a good image.

If you nurture an abundance mentality rather than a scarcity mentality, you'll realize there's plenty of business out there for you and many other chiropractors. There's also a way you can compete and, at the same time, collaborate with another vendor.

First, you know the other member likes chiropractic. This is a point in your favor because it means there's a strong chance that she'll advise friends and acquaintances to seek chiropractic help as well--perhaps from you--after she gets to know you better. When you talk with her, ask her what the other chiropractor does that she finds especially effective. Does the practitioner specialize in certain therapies?

Ask to be introduced to her chiropractor. Find out what kinds of cases your competitor likes to tackle. Back problems? Joint pain? Neck problems? Tell your competitor that you prefer to specialize in a different area and offer to refer cases in his chosen specialty to him. Suggest that the two of you could refer overflow patients to each other and help with each others' patients during vacations.

In other words, you can be genuinely helpful to each other and still be competitors. You can help each other build a customized practice with the kind of patients you prefer. Suppose he likes accident claims and you don't. You can begin the process by referring a flood of accident business to him--so much of it, in fact, that he may feel the need to send some of his other patients to you.

Even if the other chiropractor and you specialize in the same areas, you can benefit each other by referrals. His practice may be in a completely different part of town from yours. You can collaborate with him on joint screenings at intermediate sites, such as at natural foods co-ops, and give new prospects a choice of chiropractors. Many will choose on the basis of personal rapport or location.

I recommend Kim George's book Coaching Into Greatness. She writes about how a successful, healthy networking activity is what leads to having an abundance mentality. There's a ton of business out there, she points out, and all it takes to cultivate an abundance mentality is to become an active networker, build relationships and provide benefits for your networking partners. Joining a networking group because you expect it to immediately result in referrals, without any effort on your part, is lazy networking. It produces few or no referrals and leads you to believe that the number of referrals available is limited--the scarcity mentality.

There's also a way to make the flow of referrals predictable and adjustable. You and a referral partner can set up a system in which your partner sends you referrals as you need them--regularly, predictably, on request and on time. Creating such a structured system is like building a pipeline for referrals.

Think about it. What if you knew at all times when your referral partners were going to refer you, whom they were going to refer you to and how they were going to refer you? What if you knew in advance which product or service your next new customer was going to want to buy? You could plan ahead. You could schedule business to come in when you most needed it and were best able to handle it. You could select the kind of customers you wanted. You could project your cash flow and manage your inventory.

Selling with traditional marketing methods is like fishing with dynamite: You light a few sticks, throw them into the water and hope that something comes up. Structured, programmed referral marketing is more like fishing with the latest high-tech gear: You've got a boat that lets you move to where the fish are most likely to be hanging out; you've got sonar that lets you see where the best fish are; and you can say, "Forget those carp over here in the shallows. I'm going to catch those 30 big brown trout down at 18 feet."

How do you build such a structured, predictable referral system? First, you have to establish a close, mutually rewarding relationship of trust with your referral partner. In our program at the Referral Institute, we've found the best approach is to start off with some relationship-building activities to get to know each other better based on your behavioral styles and other factors. Next, determine how many and what kind of referrals you'll need each week to accomplish your financial sales goal. Then, one by one, you and your counterpart discuss the people in each others' databases and identify those you'd particularly like to contact. Once this is finished, you can decide when, where, and under what circumstances you'd like to meet each contact, and if your referral partner agrees, that contact goes into the pipeline. After contact is made, the results are evaluated and shared with your referral partner. It's about as detailed as you can get with a target market, and the timing couldn't be more precise.

The kind of proactive referral system we're talking about here is not intended for use with everyone you know. It's designed for key relationships you've already formed--that is, relationships of trust, in which you and your partner know each other well, along with the level of service each of you provides. The predictability comes from knowing that your partner is a trustworthy and skilled networker who can be relied upon to provide a steady stream of high-quality referrals.

Called "The Father of Modern Networking" by CNN, Ivan Misner, Ph.D., is a New York Times bestselling author. He is the Founder & Chairman of BNI, the world's largest business networking organization. His latest #1 bestseller, The 29% Solution, can be viewed at www.29PercentSolution.com.com. Dr. Misner is also the Senior Partner for the Referral Institute, an international referral training company. He can be reached at misner@bni.com.

Promotional Refrigerator Magnets - Market the Old Way

One of the oldest ways to promote a business is through promotional refrigerator magnets. This method has been around for so long and is actually one of the most common ways to market a business. Perhaps you have all sorts of magnets on your refrigerator. The truth is that most individuals have promotional refrigerator magnets as the main type of magnet on their refrigerator. Very rarely will you find a refrigerator that has store bought magnets on it. Most of the magnets have business names and logos on them and these magnets are holding up something such as notes and school papers.

The importance of the refrigerator magnet can't be expressed enough. At one time they were just for decoration, but now they do so much more than that. They are functional in so many ways. One of those ways is in promoting your business to a large number of people.

People love magnets!

People have an obsession with magnets and the fact that the refrigerator is the prime place to put them. Instead of using a phone book, people rely on promotional refrigerator magnets. If they need something, they simply find the magnet on their refrigerator. If they need information about your business, they look at the promotional refrigerator magnet that you gave them to find that information.

Another thing that is great about promotional refrigerator magnets is that many businesses enjoy receiving magnets from other businesses that they correspond with. This takes away the need to have to remember phone numbers. As a matter of fact, business people enjoy putting magnets on their file cabinets. If they need to call that business, all they have to do is look at their file cabinet.

Those are all great reasons to ensure that you invest in promotional refrigerator magnets. There is literally no better way to promote your business to the masses. If someone sees your magnet and their only other choice to find the product or service you offer is to look for your competitor in the phone book, they're going to choose you. Even if you charge more, you are the one that is sitting there right in front of their face. For the sake of convenience, they're going to contact the company they know more about. How do they know more about your company? They know more because they have your information right in front of them. You have made it easy.

Give them to everyone!

So give promotional refrigerator magnets to everyone! Everyone who walks through your door should get one because they're going to place that magnet on their refrigerator and be constantly reminded of your business. They will attach notes to their family to their fridge with your magnet and they're going to also attach pictures and test papers from their kids sporting good grades. Most of all, they're going to know how to get your phone number when they need to contact you. What you've done with promotional refrigerator magnets is provided a whole different doorway into your business.

-MF

Marketing Your Business for FREE!

Okay, I have a little secret. It actually is not a secret to most, but some just don't get it. In an economy like we are in right now, (a very crappy one), you need to continue to market your business. I hear so many companies tell me that they are cutting back their marketing and their budgets are shrinking, and blah blah blah. It isn't always about spending money. If you don't read anything else, read this:

BE PROACTIVE IN THE MARKETING OF YOUR BUSINESS RIGHT NOW

This is not just me trying to sell more imprinted pens and t-shirts. I think the most important thing right now is to continue to be proactive. History has shown that market share is gained the most in a down economy by those who continue to work hard and market their business.
One thing that I have found that has worked great for me and my business has been networking. Now don't get me wrong, I've been networking since I started my business 4 years ago. But here lately, I have really seen a big boom in people who traditionally weren't into networking getting involved. Here's what you can do, and it doesn't cost anything...or if it does cost its very minimal:
-Become active in your local Chamber (go the the luncheons, after hours events, before hours events, become an Ambassador, volunteer)
-Join a local BNI (Business Networking International)...now this is a little more of an investment in terms of time and money than your local Chamber, but as a BNI member of 4 years, I can promise this group works, and there are chapters all over the world.
-Forget trying to sell your products and services...Help others

You're probably thinking..WHAT? How am I supposed to make money if I don't try to push my product? Well, let me tell you, if you forget about yourself for a second and focus on others, it will come back to you in the end. Zig Ziglar said it best, "You can have anything in the world you want if you’ll just help enough other people get what they want."

Make it your goal to go to networking events and truly engage others and make lasting relationships. Talk to 3 or 4 people and make a point to follow up after the event with an invite to lunch or coffee. Get to know them. Find out what makes them tick, what a good referral for them is, how you can help their business, etc. If you help them grow their business, they are going to turn right around and do whatever it takes to help you grow yours. Simple enough, and it's free. Good luck and happy networking.

What Does a "Billion" Actually Mean?

How many zeros in a billion? This is too true to be funny.

The next time you hear a politician use the word 'billion' in a casual manner, think about whether you want the politicians' spending YOUR tax money.

A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of its releases.

A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.

B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.

C. A billion hours ago our ancestors were
living in the Stone Age.

D. A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.

E. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.

While this thought is still fresh in our brain...let's take a look at New Orleans ....It's amazing what you can learn with some simple division.

Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D) is presently asking Congress for 250 BILLION DOLLARS to rebuild New Orleans . Interesting number...what does it mean?

A. Well... if you are one of the 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man, woman, and child) you each get $516,528.

B. Or... if you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans , your home gets $1,329,787.

C. Or... if you are a family of four...your family gets $2,066,012.

Washington, D. C <> Are all your calculators broken??

Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL License Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Tax
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service charge taxes
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax (Truckers)
Sales Taxes
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Tax
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago...and our nation was the most prosperous in the world.

We had absolutely no national debt..We had the largest middle class in the world...and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What happened?
Can you spell 'politicians!'

And I still have to
press '1'
for English.