-
Upon reflection… what connects us
Today is such an incredibly historic day on so many levels. It’s inauguration day for the next President of the U.S. – Joe Biden. Plus, the first woman of color and biracial descent to be the Vice President – Kamala Harris. I’ve watched and read so much about the day. I wanted this email to be a little different. I got up early to watch all the inaugural festivities, which, to be honest, I’ve not ever done before. Well, the last one, let’s just say, “he was not my president.” Plus, I think I was traveling that day. And before that, I caught glimpses of Obama’s, yet I was working…
-
Coming Out at 37: A Short Story
I stared down at my coffee, swirled it a bit to mix the cream in with the coffee, and sank into my chair at the hip coffee house. It took me a whole minute before I could look up at my new friend and answer the question he just lobbed across the table to me. To anyone paying attention to our conversation, it might have looked like an innocent exchange. Yet, to me, it rocked me at my core. I kept thinking about his question over and over again in my head – “Shannon, you sound like you’re deeply in love with her. Have you told her how you feel?”…
-
Attitude, Balance, Blogging, Challenges, Clients & Customers, Coaching, Communication, Entrepreneurs, Goals, Implementation, Marketing, Motivation, Overcoming Obstacles, Procrastination, Productivity, Taking risks, To Do List
The Productivity Secret That Will Change Your Life
One of the things I’m constantly struggling with: my plate is incredibly full. I just have way TOO many things on that proverbial plate and it’s constantly weighing me down. I’m a Strategic Marketer & Product Launch Manager, I help people get things done, and here I am, revealing to you my own challenges with getting things done. Well, I’ve actually invested good money with experts to help me “organize” my office, my computer, and my life, as well as I got a new desk, bookshelves, and on an on. The interesting thing is after that expert gave me this “system” it wasn’t mine. So I had great difficulty in…
-
The 3 Most Horrible Product Launch Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make and How You Can Avoid them!
Back in 2007 when I met Jeff Walker at his first ever PLF (Product Launch Formula) event in Denver, Colorado, I was amazed at what he’d done to make money with his products by turning his selling of them into a value added, value laden, fun and entertaining “event.” He actually created a product about these launch events and called it “Product Launch Formula.” I’ve been doing tons of product launches for my clients since then, and I’ve amassed a ton of information on how to be successful with your launches. I’ve also amassed just as much info on what not to do so your launches don’t turn into flops…
-
Balance, Blogging, Clients & Customers, Coaching, Communication, Entrepreneurs, Goals, Implementation, Motivation, New Year, Procrastination, Productivity, Risk, Taking risks, To Do List, Website
5 Goals to Achieve This Year
If you’re up for it — I am going to push the envelope a little today and actually give you five goals to try to achieve by the end of the year. Remember you are never going to know if you are capable of something if you don’t take that first step. 1. Go small This may be a big one to start with but here goes-Downsize. Look at all aspects of your business whether that includes employees, vendors or service providers. If you find that there is a way for ONE provider to handle multiple jobs than cut back. This may sound strange but sometimes less is more when…
-
Blogging, Clients & Customers, Coaching, Communication, Implementation, Marketing, Motivation, Procrastination, Productivity, Risk, Taking risks, To Do List
How to Take Bigger Risks This Year
Something fascinating happened to me a few years ago that was worth repeating. I had this experience that totally changed my perspective on how I would think and do things in my business and my personal life. Here’s what happened— I had decided to go to the DMV, yes everyone’s favorite place to make jokes about. I had been putting it off for almost a year and I had to finally deal with getting a new title. I actually wanted to cross if off my to-do list! (I had paid off my car loan—yeah, and needed to get the lien holder name off my car title.) I had a phone…
-
The Simplest Secret to Getting More Clients/Customers (AKA More conversions :-)
Being in marketing for what feels like a lifetime, the ONE things all my clients struggle with is how do they get more new clients/customers? And– how do they get more people to convert on their websites and get into their marketing funnel? I’d like to tell you that the REAL answer is incredibly sophisticated and complicated. But, it’s really not, it really IS simple, what I’m about to reveal to you. And you have to understand that this is not rocket science and it’s something you probably already know. .. The SECRET to getting more Clients/Customers- is you HAVE to BUILD a RELATIONSHIP with them FIRST– BEFORE you ask them…
-
What Do Your Customers Really Desire?
I wanted to continue my blog from last week where I discussed “What Your Customers Want to Buy,” followed up by this week where the focus is on “What Do Your Customers Desire.” These questions are incredibly similar because a lot of the focus is on the outcome, not exactly a product or service. Remember people buy on emotion and then they rationalize with logic AFTER they purchase. That’s why what I’m about to tell you is REALLY cool and important. If you’re a student of Direct Response Marketing or a copywriter or a student of marketing, you’ve probably heard of Victor Schwab. If you haven’t, get on Amazon now…
-
Challenges, Clients & Customers, Communication, Entrepreneurs, Motivation, Prospects, Survey Tips & Techniques
What Do Your Customers Want to Buy?
I’ve been asked this question over 1,000 times— what do my customers want to buy? And another question I get is– how can I figure out what product or service to create so they will buy it from me? And I get a million more. Here’s the real scoop on what people want to buy, and I want to give you as much information as I can so you can be incredibly successful in creating the best products and services for your clients and customers. I stumbled upon this book years ago—7 Steps to Freedom II: How to Escape the American Rat Race, by Benjamin Suarez. It’s a rather dated…
-
Discovering How to Add Some Disney “Mouse” Magic Into Your Business
Here are my two favorite quotes from Walt Disney: “Think beyond your lifetime. If you want to do something truly great. Make a fifty year master plan. A fifty year master plan will change your look at the opportunities in the present.” “If you can dream it, you can do it!” These quotes do an awesome job of giving you a birds eye view into Walt’s psyche and how he was able to accomplish so much in a given period of time. He was the epitome of driven and going after his dreams. After reading his book, “How to be like Walt,” I certainly was able to view how when…
-
Attitude, Challenges, Coaching, Communication, Entrepreneurs, Goals, Implementation, Motivation, Overcoming Obstacles, Taking risks
What’s Holding You Back From the Success You Deserve?
This question I’ve been asked countless of times from coach’s, mentors, therapists, and many an event speaker. In fact, I just got back from listening to Larry Winget speak at the Glazer Kennedy Super Conference in Dallas and his approach was more like a baseball bat to the forehead, but I think it worked. I know I GOT it- what he was saying… let me explain… If you don’t know Larry he has several best-selling books out there- one called- Shut Up, Stop Whining & Get a Life, my other favorite is- You’re Broke Because You Want To Be. He has an interesting no holds bar approach to success and…
-
Clients & Customers, Communication, Entrepreneurs, Marketing, Product Launches, Survey Tips & Techniques
The Anatomy of Creating a Survey
Over the last couple of weeks, we have gone over steps on how to know what your clients/customers want through creating surveys and writing out our questions. Today, I want to put all that information together and show you the anatomy of a survey. Other people might try to make this process really complicated or complex, yet the process is REALLY simple. And if you follow this process, I promise, you will discover EXACTLY what your customers want and then all that’s left to do is to create it! So after you’ve created your survey- here’s what you need to think about and plan: Survey Time Frame In order to…
-
Clients & Customers, Communication, Entrepreneurs, Product Launches, Questions, Survey Tips & Techniques
How to Ask Questions in the Right Order
You know the whole chicken-egg theory, what came first? Well when you’re creating your questions for a survey, this can also be true. Experts argue whether you should ask demographic information upfront, in the end, or not at all. Then others argue about whether they should be optional to answer or not. What I know after doing surveys for over 20 years, is that the right order of your questions does matter. And the best order I’ve found is to: Ask easier questions first Move into more complicated questions that flow End with asking easier questions again. For example, do they get your newsletter, will they want the product as…
-
Attitude, Balance, Challenges, Clients & Customers, Coaching, Communication, Entrepreneurs, Goals, Implementation, Marketing, Outcome, Productivity, Prospects, Questions, Survey Tips & Techniques
It’s All About the Questions
There is quote by Albert Einstein that says “If you can’t explain it simply, then you don’t understand it well enough.” This quote says it all when it comes to the topic of this week’s blog. It’s ALL About the Questions! This is actually STEP 2 – AFTER you figure out your goals and outcomes of what you want from doing your survey. Creating questions for your survey products is incredibly important because it will shape the answers you will receive and ULTIMATELY what you will be able to do with that information. Through this questioning process, you will step closer to finding success in your business. Step # 2…
-
Attitude, Balance, Blogging, Challenges, Clients & Customers, Coaching, Communication, Entrepreneurs, Goals, Implementation, Marketing, Motivation, New Year, Outcome, Overcoming Obstacles, Procrastination, Productivity, Questions, Risk, Taking risks
Are You Hard Wired To Fail?
Do you ever set important goals and then find yourself really struggling and not being able to meet them? I used to have MANY sleepless nights when I first started my business. I would freak out about where my next dollar was going to come from or how I’d finish a project or what to do about x, y and z, it was endless. Worry was taking over my life. Until I was able to read some terrific books on worry and learn about ways that really helped stop me in my tracks and enabled me to push past my worry and fears to create more success for myself. The…
