Success
Introducing “Three Weeks to a Better Life”
Today, we begin “Three Weeks to a Better Life” as my new blog category and new way to lead an Extremely Productive and as the title suggests a Better Life. Today is not only Sunday, but it is someday! Think about it, have you ever said, “I want to be that kind of person someday?” Or “Someday I will quit this bad habit”. Well, today can be your someday. I would like to invite you to join me on the journey to “Begin To Enjoy an Extremely Productive and Better Life.” Do you want to enjoy an extremely productive life? Sure you do, that is because inside of us is a desire to succeed and strive to have a better life. So, why do so few actually stick to their resolve and enjoy the sweet victory of success? There are many reasons, such as those like sickness and death that fall into the time and unforeseen occurrence category. With that said, other than “time and unforeseen occurrence” most people are stopped like a deer staring at headlights, because of our own inclination to procrastinate and a lack of desire or the “why to make you cry”. Nike’s “Just Do It” advertising campaign resonates with so many of us, because we really do want to win the internal fight. Do you? Wanting to win the battle against procrastination and self-doubt is the first step. Having a big enough desire to win and the “fear factor” then come into play. Think about it, why don’t more people “Just do it”? Well, fear of failure and not a big enough “why” will hold most back from ever getting started. So, we need to slow down and get a clear picture of our “why”. Let me illustrate: Why would someone want to quit smoking? I was able to quit smoking when my why made me cry. Smoking had been against my religion and was on a list of bad habits that I formed when my life no longer centered on pleasing my creator. He gave me the gift of life and wanted me to take good care of the body that he gave me. By focusing on “why” I needed to quit that bad habit, it made it easier to “just do it” and I have maintained my resolve for over 10 years. “But until a person can say deeply and honestly, “I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday,” that person cannot say, “I choose otherwise.” ― Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change In my next blog, you will learn more about habits and the 21 day...
Read MoreLet My Nerium Journey Begin!
Just got back from the Nerium Spring Bash! What an encouraging and fun weekend in Nashville, Tennessee at the Opryland Resort. Why did I drop everything and go to Nashville? Well, as a single Mom pushing 50, I was not very happy with the fine lines, extra wrinkles, redness, and other signs of aging on my face and neck. So, like many other busy Mom’s and professionals, I was seeking a simple to use product that would give me REAL RESULTS. I had been dreading the discovery of my next new wrinkle and my inevitable trip down the escalator at Macy’s to face a sea of beautiful and intimidating cosmetic professionals. That is why I was open to a product that my friend was sharing. Can you relate to my story? Well, I will never make that trip again! I am on a new journey and that is the story that I want to share with you today. My good friend Kathy Myers, shared NeriumAD with me. It is a blend of some of the most effective ingredients in the skincare industry, already known to show age defying benefits. Added to that blend is the revolutionary NAE-8 extract, which has been clinically proven incredibly effective in reducing the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, discoloration, texture and helping the skin look as silky and smooth as possible. Do you want to look your best? I do!! As an busy Mom and business owner the REAL Business Opportunity offered by Nerium also appealed to me. My clients are all great, but I am caught in a trap of trading hours for dollars. Trying to please everyone and getting very tired in the process. Can you relate? For the last few years, it has been up to me to keep my business up and running. A few month ago my Father had a heart attack and then a stroke. I went back and forth to Chicago over the weeks to follow and was there when my Dad died. This was the most painful experience of my life and I am still recovery from losing him earlier this year. He was a wonderful person and we had a very close relationship. My life will be forever changed. Not having my Dad as an active part of my life is challenging, yet I am blessed with the memories and his words of love and inspiration. In my last blog I shared, “There are many things in life that we have no control over, yet we do have a powerful capacity to change ourselves and to make healthy choices every day that will make us happy, successful and that are in harmony with our long-term goals.” I am a Mother of a wonderful son with high-functioning autism or Asperger’s syndrome, the condition presents daily challenges. I want to be able to spend quality time with my son and it is part of my “Why”. The leadership team at Nerium International are devoted to supporting their sales representatives (called Brand Partners… like me ), providing us with resources to help our businesses grow. That’s because Nerium Brand Partners are the heart of the company, and their success is the success of Nerium, as the company continues to improve people’s lives through breakthrough products rooted in REAL SCIENCE. My friend, Kathy Myers that invited me to the Nerium Spring Bash, has been my friend for a long time and I saw her enjoy real success in another “Network Marketing” company years ago. She had enjoyed success and had the freedom to pursuit her love of helping people by going back to school to become a nurse. Being the overachiever that she is, she got her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree (B.S.N.) from UCF in record time. After being back to trading hours for dollars, she began to miss the money and free time she had when she was in the “relationship marketing” industry (new way to say “Network Marketing”) . Well, as a busy nurse that was seeing the signs of stress on her face. Her Sister Sharon gave her a bottle of NeriumAD and she not...
Read More7 Steps to getting started on Twitter
Thanks for stopping by to learn how to Get started on Twitter today or to learn how to improve your profile and tweets! To get started you MUST first create your professional profile for yourself and then start following your clients, friends, family and those that are your referral partners with hope that they will follow you back. 1) Create your Professional profile: If you are New to Twitter the first step is to create an account. Use your Real Name or Company Name. 2) Choose a professional user name that is 15 characters or less. Twitter will give you suggestions based on your name. You a can use an underscore (_) between words, use Upper and lower case letters and this will help to find an acceptable user name. AVOID using numbers in your user name. 3) Start Following: Now you will be led through list of ”recommendations” these are famous people or organizations that twitters suggests that you follow to get started. Then you can add your personal contacts by way of your email list. After you go through the prompted steps you can look for your friends, clients and prospects by using the search feature on twitter. Note from twitter: Choosing a service will open a window for you to log in securely and import your contacts to Twitter. You’ll only find users who have allowed their accounts to be found by email address. We won’t email anyone without your consent, but we may use contact information to make Who To Follow suggestions. You can remove your contacts from Twitter at any time. 4) Introduce yourself: You will have 160 characters to introduce yourself in a description about you. Include your company name, top key words and your tagline Use capitals at the beginning of sentences. Keep it professional but add some of your personality. You can also share your inspiration in a personal quote. Brag about yourself in your Bio! Use the words: Official, Founder, Speaker, Expect and Guru. Tell people that you are worth following. Sales Expert | Key words | Quote | Role in Life (Marketing Guru) | Role at work (official rep of my company) | Bears Fan 5) You should add an image that is either your logo or a professional picture of YOU. Your description and picture is how you will be judged by those that find you on twitter. People do not follow eggs … they follow interesting people and companies. Now you will also need to ADD a design your twitter page. 6) Type your fist tweet in less than 140 characters: I recommend only using 100-120 characters so that your content is sharable. (When someone on twitter shares your status update on twitter it is called a retweet – RT. Your user name which can be up to 15 characters and the letters RT will appear in their “stream”.) You are able to upload pictures, URL’s, and the user name of someone that you want to highlight in your message. 7) 10-10-10 rule for twitter: Spend 10 minutes reading, responding and writing tweets in the morning, on your lunch break and in the evening. This will make you an active part of the twitter community. Now, you are in a better position to start working your prospecting lists from the comfort of your office, the beach or anywhere that you can take your laptop, tablet or mobile phone. Happy Tweeting!!! If you have any questions, feel free to call me at 407-962-9160. I would love to help you to gain from being an active part of the twitter...
Read MoreWho Else Wants to have a Retweetable Blog?
Do you have a Blog? Have you wondered: Why is having a blog such an important part of a profit generating online presence? Wouldn’t be great if more of your Twitter followers, Facebook friends and Linkedin connections shared your blog? Sharing insider tips, news worthy information, product releases, deals and information about your monthly specials are ideas for writing a sharable blog article for your website. In this blog, I want to help you to create great content that others will want to share. To write a great blog you will need to sit down at your laptop, dig deep and share a great story about how your company helped a client, got involved with the community or tell your readers what is remarkable about the service they will get from you. What is in it for the reader? Writing for the benefit of your target audience is the key to a successful blog. Compelling stories in articles or as they are called online “blogs” have the power to build trust and move prospects, clients, partners and brand advocates to action. So, the saying goes… if you can’t tell it, you can’t sell it. What is “it” that you are trying to “sell?” Is it a vision, dream, cause or simply your products or services? Purposeful storytelling can motivate and engage our target market to “buy-in” to whatever “it” is that you are selling. Speaking of selling, let’s change that word to “investing in”. That goes along with the Everybody B.U.Y.S philosophy. On the contrary, most people do not like to feel that they are being sold. Is that also true of you? That brings us back to creative story telling that touches the mind and heart of the reader. The oohs and aahs of relating to another person’s experiences, insights and recommendations offer us the opportunity to overcome strongly entrenched reasoning and gain a competitive advantage in our marketplace. For example, I am the queen of “Cold Calling”… Would you like to know how I originally earned that title? Here is my Story: When I was thirteen years old, I started my first business. It was one of the worst winters in the history of Chicago “The blizzard of 1979.” (Now you can figure out my age and understand what I mean when I say I have 20+ years of sales and marketing experience.) Well, cars were buried and people could not even open their front doors. The glistening snow, was as beautiful as it was a crippling reality to the frustrated parents, professionals and political representatives of Chicago. As I watched the snow fall, I saw the need of a “Snow Removal Business” and called a couple of my friends: hard-working boys from my neighborhood. With shovels in hand, scarves on our faces and determination in our hearts we approached our first door. As the natural-born salesperson of the group, I rang the doorbell and asked the homeowner if he wanted us to shovel for him. He asked “What areas are you going to shovel and how much more would it cost to clear out my car?” This was my first “Cold Call” and I learned an important lesson. At that moment, I learned the importance of a marketing plan and that there was more to going into business than just knocking on a door with a shovel in my hand and a smile on my face. Therefore, I replied “Well sir, what would you like us to do for you and what do you think is a fair price to pay?” Since he knew me, he offered some neighborly business advice on pricing and how to approach the other neighbors. He said to offer three options and prices and then “be quiet” as they pick one of your options. Great advice, don’t you agree? That is why I have it as part of my current pricing and marketing strategy down to today. So, that is my story and I’m sticking to it. Some people have had to travel rocky roads, but mine began on a snowy road to a sales and marketing career. And that is why I can say that I’m the “Queen of Cold Calls.”...
Read MoreWhat are people saying about you on Twitter?
What exactly are people saying about your small business on Twitter? Letting your online reputation go unchecked can be a huge mistake – especially if there are unaddressed negative reviews about your business that are ranking well in search engines or gaining a lot of attention on Twitter. A negative online reputation can cost you customers. So, instead of wondering what people are saying about your business on twitter, make sure to conduct a regular online reputation analysis so you can discover the negative and address it while focusing regular efforts on asking happy customers to share reviews about your business to build the positive buzz about your...
Read MoreSeven Steps to Launching a New Company
Here are seven steps to launching a new company that will have lasting success. “First impressions last the longest.” Do you agree with that statement? If you do, than as an entrepreneur ready to go into business for yourself it is important to build your business on a solid foundation. “When I started out in business, I spent a great deal of time researching every detail that might be pertinent to the deal I was interested in making. I still do the same today. People often comment on how quickly I operate, but the reason I can move quickly is that I’ve done the background work first, which no one usually sees. I prepare myself thoroughly, and then when it is time to move ahead, I am ready to sprint.” Donald Trump After over 25 years of gaining general business, public speaking, sales and marketing experience, I began to take on clients as their Business Marketing consultant. This has been a real learning experience. Now, with a more clearly defined direction it is time to take my business endeavours to the next level. More on that in upcoming blogs. Meanwhile, with the earlier quote from Mr. Trump in mind, here are the 7 Steps that I am taking to launch my new Company this spring. Step 1: Find Your Niche What can you do better than anyone else for a defined target market? Start researching to discover a niche market that has a need that you can address better than anyone else in your market. Finding that right niche market that is being under-serviced can be a goldmine for a hard-working entrepreneur like you. Step 2: Make a game plan. Do your homework to find best practices and write your Business Plan for your first three years. Determine a budget, CRM, bookkeeping, marketing plan and then put that plan into action. Over 90% of entrepreneurs do not start out with a 3 year plan and most of them fail as a result. Michael Gerber is the author that all entrepreneurs need to be familiar with as a mentor. In his book The E-Myth Revisited and his other insightful books he stresses thinking and acting like a business person. This means having systems and processes in place as part of your business plan to keep you organized as you grow your business. Step 3: Name your Company. Get your domain name before you register your business. Find a .com name that is available and brand yourself around that name. This will save you from confusing your target market and frustration later. You want prospects to find you easily online. Step 4: Create a Website with a blog. Google is now a verb. Your prospects will “Google” you and your business. As we begin 2012, relevance and “Social Sharing” are vitally important to SEO – Search Engine Optimization of your website. This means that your website needs to be an online hub that is part of your interactive web presence. Maintaining a website with a blog that you add content to monthly is no longer an option for someone that wants to to have a thriving business. Being found, “liked” and trusted by your prospects begins many times with online search of you and your business. You need to be in control of “relevant” content that they find! Step 5: Engage online Tap into Social media to interact with clients and prospects in your market. Configure your Twitter, Facebook Business Page, LinkedIN Business and personal profile. Find out where your target market “hangs out online” and become a part of that community. Listen at first and make positive comments on other people’s blogs. Step 6: Network to gather your CoDreamers Share your dream, vision and game plan with your family, friends, Networking partners, vendors and suppliers. They will then become your CoDreamers and provide the support you need to be successful in life as a business owner. Network with non-competing professionals to learn about business opportunities, share best practices and work on your public speaking skills in a friendly environment. Join a...
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