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You are Who You Hang Out With…
Have you ever heard this before? I didn’t start hearing this until after I hired my Executive Coach, 12 years ago. The concept of hanging out with people and becoming more like them was a total foreign idea to me. I had really paid no attention until my coach and I started talking about it. And it’s funny, once I started paying attention to it I got it and knew I had to make some changes in my life… There were some very negative people in my life who were totally zapping my energy, (My coach called them “Negative Norberts.”) not too mention the ones who were more like time sucking…
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Blogging, Clients & Customers, Coaching, Communication, Entrepreneurs, Implementation, Marketing, Testimonials
The positive side to negative testimonials
When it comes to customer testimonials, there will come a time when you receive a negative testimonial. Now if you are new in business or even a veteran, the way you respond will determine whether it can turn positive. The worst thing for a business to do is to post only customer testimonials that are positive. Nothing in this world is perfect, so portraying perfection will turn potential customers away. There are three simple steps to remember when dealing with negative customer testimonials. Remember, how you handle these negative customer testimonials will speak volumes about your business character and integrity. 1. Never Over-React By you posting this negative customer testimonial,…
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Blogging, Clients & Customers, Coaching, Communication, Entrepreneurs, Implementation, Marketing, Testimonials, Website
Creativity + Testimonials = Results
In a fast pace world of marketing, one of the best ways to stay ahead of your competition revolves around one word: CREATIVITY. So today I am going to show you how combining a little bit of creativity with your testimonials yields great results. No matter where you are using your customer testimonials, you want to present them in a way that pops out to the reader. Be honest – how many of you have visited a website selling a product and you find at the bottom of the page a BUNCH of writing and small pictures? Now be honest again – because it is in a format that seems…
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The four types of testimonials that get results…
In my previous blog, I gave you a simple overview of testimonials. Today we’re going to dig a little deeper. In fact, I am going to let you in on a secret that most people don’t know: There are four types of testimonials and each are used to overcome different objections that potential customers may have. 1. Benefits: Apprehension to trying a new product/service is a normal reaction, especially in this tight economy. Many people have to watch how and what they spend their money on, so often they stick with what they know. With this type of testimonial though, people are not only seeing others buying your product/service but…
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Clients & Customers, Coaching, Communication, Entrepreneurs, Implementation, Marketing, Testimonials
The Best Way To Get New Clients —
Testimonials are THE best way you can sell yourself and sell your business AND ultimately get new clients. And the beauty is you are not the one doing the selling, your customers are. And believe me there is no better way than to have other people sell you. Why? Having testimonials will build your credibility and your believability. They create support for you and your business. And if you have a great product or a service you totally deserve these kudos from having testimonials. What are testimonials going to do for you? Let’s say you have a prospect that is hesitant to buy or they’re nervous about giving you their hard-earned money. A…
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Blogging, Clients & Customers, Coaching, Communication, Entrepreneurs, Implementation, Marketing, Survey Tips & Techniques, Technology
Commit to Your Plan to Create Success
I was recently listening to a panel discussion made up of several well known marketing experts and one of the panelists said something that really jumped out at me. The panelist was Jay Conrad Levinson who is known as “The Father of Guerilla Marketing.” He said that he believed “…a mediocre marketing program with commitment will always prove more profitable than a brilliant marketing program without commitment. Commitment makes it happen.” As soon as I heard that I knew he was right… but I was not really sure why. So I thought about it for a while and came to a conclusion. Commitment is when you— Create a marketing program…
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Blogging, Coaching, Communication, Entrepreneurs, Implementation, Marketing, Survey Tips & Techniques, Technology, Website
Whose Shoes Are You Walking In?
Your customers, (this includes those that have not bought anything from you but who have read your blog and subscribed to your newsletter or visited your website) look to you for help, motivation, advice, entertainment, and valuable information. To really do this effectively you have to walk in your customers shoes. Everyday I encounter businesses that really miss the mark on this. One way to really get this is to BE your customer. Go to your website, cruise it like a potential customer, sign up for your optins. Even better, get your friends, colleagues, and those that work for you to do the same. Have them document what they see…
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Are You a Guest Blogger?
Let’s take a step further and talk more about a terrific technique for developing content – it’s guest blogging on other sites and inviting guest bloggers to your site. This technique allows you to get fresh content for your site without taking up a big amount of your time. It’s all about leveraging other peoples content. At the same time if you are guest posting on another blog you can repurpose a post or article from your archive. You are in front of a new audience so to them it will be a brand new post. Guest posting shows that you are connected to other experts in your field and also…
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What’s all the Fuss About EzineArticles.com and Content Anyway?
Having a blog should be a key part of your strategy to drive traffic to your website. Search engines love blogs because they are so timely and are constantly adding things to keep folks informed and up-to-date. Yet, here’s the deal: if your content isn’t any good, all the search engine results in the world will not help you. You really have to develop your valuable content first. High quality content is crucial to fuel your business and increase traffic to your website. Content alone can entice the reader to check out your website and return for more. Therefore the content you deliver must be valuable, giving helpful tips and…
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Blogging, Coaching, Communication, Entrepreneurs, Implementation, Marketing, Product Launches, Technology
You created a blog… Now What?
The beauty of blogs is that you don’t need to invest in software to maintain it. Blogs are maintained online and so you can access them anywhere and at any time, as long as you have an Internet connection. You just sign in to your blog account and you can create a post, edit post, change blog template, customize your blog and change blog settings easily. It is also very easy to add a lot of cool tools to your blog like an opt-in or subscription form so if you don’t already have a list it is a great way to start. If you already have a list it’s also…
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What is a blog, really?
I’ve had this blog for 4 years now, which is totally hard to believe… and it’s been a terrific tool for me and my business. So I thought it would be helpful to give you some tips about what a blog is and how to best take advantage of it in your business.. Blogs have gained a lot of notoriety in this techno world we live in because in an instant you have access to information on almost any subject or question you might have. And I know you can’t believe everything you read on the Internet but it’s all about adding value and giving terrific content. What is a…
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The “Oprah Factor” and how you can create your own “ X Factor”
In last week’s blog post I shared with you how Meredith and I were so very fortunate enough to attend a taping of one of Oprah Winfrey’s last shows. (Here’s the link: Are you giving your customers/clients and Oprah experience?) It was so exciting to be a part of that experience. I also talked last week about why Oprah is so phenomenally successful and popular. It is because she focuses on giving her audience what they want. She goes out of her way to create an experience that will get her audience excited and make them feel good. Oprah as an entrepreneur is worth billions and she continues to operate…
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Are you giving your clients/customers an Oprah Experience?
I’ve always wanted to be in the audience for the Oprah show, but it just was never the right time. In fact, I’ve been in the audience for a lot of shows since I live so close to New York City. I saw Phil Donahue way back in the day, and he even posed for a photo with me and my mom who of course asked a question and was on camera! I’ve seen David Letterman (when he was at NBC), Rosie O’Donnell Show, Saturday Night Live (when Ellen Degeneres was the host), Ellen Degeneres Show (when I was out in LA celebrating my 40th birthday), Tyra Banks, Jane Pauley…
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Oprah’s Not the Only One Who Can Have Fun While Working…
It’s true you know, Oprah’s not the only one who can have fun while working. You can too! Yes, I know, I know, it wouldn’t be called work if it was fun and all the other dreary sayings. Listen, you have a choice when it comes to work. The choice is in your attitude and how you view it. Yes, for some work is simply the thing we dread that we must do in order to make money, pay the bills and live. Sounds dreary and boring yet as I said earlier, it can be fun, it’s your choice. In my last blog, which I got a ton of great…
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How Firing a Client Will Set You Free…
This blog may be a bit unorthodox and I might even get some negative comments about my headline… However this subject has come up in conversations, no lie, with at least 5 people in just the past 3 days! What’s going on here? I think what’s happening in this “new economy” business owners, coaches and consultants alike are just incredibly thankful to have work and have clients that they are just taking anyone who shows up. Now I’m not saying this is a bad strategy, in fact I did this when I first started out. It actually helped me develop and shape my business into what it is today. By just saying…