The World's Worst Boss

This post is courtesy of Seth Godin.  We all need to take note!

The World's Worst Boss

That would be you.

Even if you're not self-employed, your boss is you. You manage your career, your day, your responses. You manage how you sell your services and your education and the way you talk to yourself.

Odds are, you're doing it poorly.

If you had a manager that talked to you the way you talked to you, you'd quit. If you had a boss that wasted as much as your time as you do, they'd fire her. If an organization developed its employees as poorly as you are developing yourself, it would soon go under.

I'm amazed at how often people choose to fail when they go out on their own or when they end up in one of those rare jobs that encourages one to set an agenda and manage themselves. Faced with the freedom to excel, they falter and hesitate and stall and ultimately punt.

We are surprised when someone self-directed arrives on the scene. Someone who figures out a way to work from home and then turns that into a two-year journey, laptop in hand, as they explore the world while doing their job. We are shocked that someone uses evenings and weekends to get a second education or start a useful new side business. And we're envious when we encounter someone who has managed to bootstrap themselves into happiness, as if that's rare or even uncalled for.

There are few good books on being a good manager. Fewer still on managing yourself. It's hard to think of a more essential thing to learn.

Seth Godin [blogmailfromseth@yahoo.com]

Management Tips - For Better Or for Worse

Management Tips

For Better or for Worse...

Management and marriage might not seem to have much in common, but signing up for both means abiding by the commitment to stick with it “for better or for worse.”  As either a manager or a spouse, when things are going well, it is easy to stay positive and perform well, but really it is only when the inevitable challenges in life arise that our resolve and our capabilities are properly tested.

In the world of management, much can come along to test our skills.  Staff members can be an endless source of strife, company reorganizations can throw everything into disarray and the expectations of senior leaders can sometimes take a 180-degree turnaround overnight.  It is not how we deal with things in the more stable times that will dictate how we are perceived and whether we are given the opportunity to move up the career ladder though, but how we perform when the going starts to get really tough.

Although it might be tempting to simply relax and enjoy the periods when it is all smooth sailing, this is actually the perfect opportunity to be preparing for the stormier seas that might be ahead.  Without the immediate stress of the situation, you will be able to think more clearly and plan more effectively. 

Nothing is ever smooth sailing all the time, so never be complacent, but instead use the good times to prepare for the bad.       

Success Secrets of Mobile Marketing - Registration Form

Below is a registration form for the Mobile Marketing event on Oct 28.

“Your Customers are Already on Mobile … And
Guess Who They Are Waiting For? You!”

“YES, Raleigh! I want attend the “Success Secrets of Mobile Marketing Superstars” Training.  Please reserve my seat:



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Questions? Email raleigh@promoteyourself.com or call 480-488-4840.



Fax your registration to 480-393-4816



Get started now, achieving mobile marketing success by joining us on October 28th  from Noon to 4 pm for our live training


“Success Secrets of Mobile Marketing Superstars”

In this training you will learn:



·        How to determine your best mobile marketing strategy.

·        How to build a big mobile marketing list of perfect prospects and buyers.

·        10 specific mobile marketing traffic strategies to increase traffic for online and offline businesses.

·        How to create and send text messages that generate sales.

·        Strategies and secrets for selling products and services successfully through mobile marketing — including 2D barcodes.

·        Mobile marketing offers to create amazing results and fill businesses with buyers.

·        Mobile marketing mistakes to avoid that make you look stupid.



Plus, receive these FREE Bonuses:



·        The actual mobile marketing formula PROVEN to drive traffic and increase sales (a $500 value)

·        Mobile marketing call-to-action copy that creates proven results
(a $300 value)

·        How to build your mobile website so it works on 5,000+ mobile phones (a $250 value)


Success Secrets of Mobile Marketing Superstars  is limited to 20 people.



Normally this result-producing training is $497. Chuck asked for a VERY special offer just for you of $247. You save $250, PLUS you receive the complete training and $1,050 in bonuses … FREE.


Money-Back Guarantee: If after the first two hours of training, you don’t feel you’ve received your money’s worth, let us know. You’ll receive a prompt and courteous refund.


                                                                                                                           

Retain Talent Without Blowing Your Budget

Competitive salaries and good benefits will help you hire the best employees. But it takes more than money to keep them. You need to make your organization too good to leave. Try these tips for persuading good workers to stick around:

• Tell them what the company is all about. Employees want to know what their company is trying to do, where it’s going, and what it stands for. If you think you’ve already communicated this information, try asking a few workers to outline the company’s top three priorities. If you get several different answers, you haven’t done your job.

• Say “thank you.” People are hungry for appreciation. Yet employees often complain that their bosses never even say “thanks.” It costs nothing, and the return is significant.  Recognition is a huge motivator.  Make a plan to give recognition to employees doing a good job.

• Keep training them. One of the common reasons employees leave a company is they don’t feel they were developing professionally. Training costs money, of course, but the investment is less expensive than the high costs of turnover.

The Art of Delegation

It might sound easy, but delegating to others is one of the hardest things for many business owners and managers to master.  Failing to learn this particular art, however, has two major downsides.  

First of all, if you don’t empower your team members, not only will they never develop their skills to the extent that they are able to produce spectacular results, but they are also likely to become dissatisfied with the lack of challenge in their work and so will be less likely to stick around.  

Second, if you spend your working life doing things that you already know how to do well, you will not give yourself the opportunity to learn new things and grow your own skills and income.

So, how do you overcome what are often the control issues that lie at the root of poor delegation?  Simply be consistent in following these five straightforward steps:

1.    Choose someone who has already proven him- or herself in smaller ways.

2.    Rather than immediately tasking your delegate with something very challenging, start off slowly and increase the level of work progressively.

3.    Ensure that the delegate has both the right knowledge and the right tools to complete the assignment.

4.    Be absolutely clear about what you expect in terms of end results and deadlines.

5.    Let your delegate know that you are available for questions, but hold him or her accountable for the task.

Remember, failure to delegate can damage your business!

Dan Kennedy's Wealth Magnet #9 - "Be Somewhere"

Hi Folks,


Dan Kennedy has been my marketing "hero" for years.  Here is an excerpt from his latest book, "No BS Wealth Attraction in the New Economy", available at Amazon and most other booksellers.

When You Meet Money

On Its Path, It Means

You're Walking In The Right Direction

by

Dan S. Kennedy

"Motion beats meditation."

- Gary Halbert

In the midst of one of his dark periods, when the news was filled with stories of his financial demise, Donald Trump talks about feeling like just staying hidden at home but instead strapping on his tuxedo and going to an important gala - because he knew he could not possibly gain by staying home. At a time, some 30 years or so ago, when I was captain of a company everyone in its industry knew to be in deep and dire financial circumstances, I considered skipping that year's convention. But I didn't. It might have been less stressful, less embarrassing, more comfortable to stay home. But I couldn't possibly gain doing that. I went. I put myself in a place where it was at least possible good, productive, profitable things could happen - and they did.

Hopefully, you aren't in the upside down financial condition I was, or Donald Trump was, at the above-mentioned times. But regardless of your circumstances, you have to make a point of putting yourself in places where opportunity can occur. My father passed on a pair of cuff links to me with the letters: YCDBSOYA. They stand for: You Can't Do Business Sitting On Your Ass.

While this refers to personal movement and placement, such as the meetings and conferences and cocktail parties and community events you attend and make yourself visible at, it also goes far beyond that. As example, consider this book, and the other 14 books I have written and had published. For the more than 18 years, I have been on bookstore shelves without interruption. I have worked hard to make that happen. Why? I can assure you, not for the royalty income paid to me as an author; that represents less than 1% of my income. I want to be on those bookshelves because people discover me there, who might never discover me otherwise, and become newsletter subscribers, attend seminars, become private clients, or bring me other opportunities. Being there, on bookstore shelves, has both directly and indirectly enriched me by millions of dollars. For me, Being Somewhere, and Being In Motion includes being on bookstore shelves, including this book, which is now in your office or home.

That does not mean you must write a book. It is example of the wealth attraction power of being somewhere. Because the most important words in the above paragraph are "discover me" and "sought out." This is marketing by attraction.

Being Somewhere for the local insurance agent or financial planner, for example, might mean speaking to local groups of dentists, chiropractors, M.D.'s, and other high income professionals; creating and mailing a good, informative, expert position enhancing newsletter on financial matters to a targeted list of such prospects every month; appearing regularly on a local radio show; serving on the board of an important charity. Almost any entrepreneur can be somewhere via speaking, writing, publishing, networking, even serving, with it all carefully chosen to facilitate the right people taking notice and ultimately seeking him out for advice and information or bringing him new opportunities.

This gets us to the subject of "place."

Enormous wealth --- and fame --- often comes from re-location, net necessarily in the geographic sense, but in terms of media or market space. Comedienne Joan Rivers, with whom I did some writing and consulting work some years back, created an immensely prosperous business and a career renaissance and new fame by moving from stand-up comedy and regular TV to QVC, the home shopping network. That prominence and reputation as entrepreneur even led to her gig in the 2008 Celebrity Apprentice - which she won.

Several years ago, Harley-Davidson began focusing aggressively on women riders and buyers, and moved that sales activity out of their regular dealerships and showrooms to "garage parties" ala Tupperware.

In place strategy, there are obvious and non-obvious choices, and often the big breakthroughs come from the non-obvious.

One of the things I try to get every entrepreneur, marketer, and professional to think about is being in more places than anyone in their category of expertise or services typically puts himself. Most people are very limited, get comfortable with only a few places, and stay there. My advanced version of the "Be Somewhere Wealth Magnet" is: Be everywhere that's relevant, everywhere your ideal customer or clients are, and be omnipresent in those environments.

I hope you enjoyed this excerpt.  Would you like to see more?

Chuck

The Truth About GKIC Phoenix Marketing Meetings

I received the email below from one of our members who attended our September chapter meeting and marketing discussion.  It illustrates that value we provide to our members and the support our members give each other.  Please take a minute and read it.

Hi Chuck,

I just wanted to thank you for last night’s GKIC meeting.  The information that Tami presented in writing copy was fantastic. On the drive home I was rehashing some of the evening’s meeting in my mind, and it got me to thinking of what a difference GKIC has made in the direction of my business. As you know the chance encounter we had at a networking event already a couple years ago was where the road forked for me, and I was able to start charting new territory. 

It is probably quite common for entrepreneurs in their own businesses to almost feel a little lonely at times and wish they had someone to bounce ideas off as well as come up with new ideas that someone else has already tried and found to succeed.  This is what I’ve found at GKIC.  The people at these meetings are some of the finest, hard-working honest people who love business and strive for success. They are not your ordinary “sheepwalkers” as Seth Godin defines, but they are willing to stick their necks out and try new strategies. They have determination; they’ve fallen and picked themselves up continuously over and over again until they’ve seen success.  They are not afraid to try new and outrageous ways to attract business, and the bottom lines of business show this.

This is what keeps me coming back to the meetings month after month. I love exchanging ideas, and it seems I’m always given a little extra “lift” to my step by the time I leave the meetings.  (Besides that, I kind of enjoy the dry humor that is often passed around during the course of the sessions.)

So, Chuck, thanks for making a difference in my business.

Make it a great day!

Susan Raisanen
General Manager
480-652-9212
www.bythenumbersroofing.com

Thank you, Susan, for the kind words.  I am so pleased we have made a difference in your business.

Chuck Trautman 

Was It Spam?

Although it rarely happens, occasionally someone opts out of one of my marketing lists and reports me as a spammer.  A huge insult!

This week it happened again.  Someone who e-signed a form to get a free gift and has received and opened 6 emails from me over the last 5 weeks , opted out (that's OK) and reported my content as spam (asshole!).  Hell, there wasn't even an offer to buy anything in the email.

I usually do not respond to anything like this, but when you accept a free gift and then report something as spam, you need to get a life.  Just opt out and be on your way!  Henry, you know who you are!

Chuck

Election Day Rant

In AZ, the primaries are today.  The media is reporting a 25% voter turn-out for the Aug 24 primary.  I am saddened and appalled.  I mean you can vote by mail if you wish! How convenient is that?  The same people who did not vote will be complaining about the choices we have in November.  If you were one of the 75%, why the apathy?  I believe that our elected officials, as a group, are the most self-serving bunch of hypocrites that I have seen in my lifetime, but our only chance for change is to elect better ones and hold them accountable.   If you did not vote, please go to https://recorder.maricopa.gov/ and sign up to receive an early ballot.  Then voting will be easy in the future.

www.Fiverr.com - A Very Cool Resource

Recently I co-hosted an information marketing product creation seminar with two sharp marketers, Robert Stanley and Kevin Koop. In Kevin's presentation he recommended www.Fiverr.com as a resource to outsource small projects for $5. Yep, you read it right - 5 dollars!

Since then Fiverr has been recommended in two newsletters I subscribe to. You can get just about anything done. It is a site where people meet to share things they are willing to do for $5.

Examples:

• Power Point Slides - 5 for $5
• Caricatures of you
• Designing CD / DVD Cover
• Convert an Article to Podcast
• Research Vacation Spots
• Design a Postcard
• Or Post What You Want Done for $5

It is kind of like a Dollar Store except the price is $5.

Check it out.

Chuck Trautman
480-773-7490