Archive for September, 2009
YOU’RE KNOWN… BUT ARE YOU BEING NOTICED?
Tags: email marketing, Facebook, Marketing, Twitter
How easy it is for your business or organization to be known… but how frequently are you being noticed? In an era where there’s more work to be done than time to accomplish it… when the term “business” should more appropriately be spelled “busy-ness,” it’s your job to make sure that you’re not getting lost in the white noise of the marketplace.
QUESTION: If you’re looking for a plumber… where would you start? You might have answered Google, Yahoo, Bing… or perhaps the Yellow Pages (online of course.) But you’d be wrong. The first place you’d check would be your memory. Your prospective clients and customers will hop on the search engines if and only if they don’t have a quality resource readily stored in their minds. Your customers and prospects are busy, convenience is everything. If they have a need or problem, your name should be on the very tip of their tongue.
Make sure you’re being noticed. Are you regularly staying in touch with your existing customers? Are you utilizing tools like email marketing, Facebook, Twitter… and other social media tools? Are you advertising? Your customers and prospects start forgetting you within minutes of their last interaction with you. If you don’t stay connected, noticed… your competitors will.
And I don’t encourage you to start SHOUTING your name from the rooftops either. Find ways to gently remind people you’re around and eagerly waiting to serve their needs. For example… send a hand-written notecard, or call to wish someone a happy birthday. Giving back is a great way to be noticed. Provide tips to your audience on how to save money, or how to avoid a business pitfall… how to be more efficient, or how to grow and market their business. Tell stories that inspire and motivate them. Let us know when you’ve made a difference in someone’s life. We’re willing to listen when you have something valuable to say… valuable to “US.”
ARE YOU A LEADER OR A FOLLOWER?
Tags: Andrew Carnegie, Leadership, Napoleon Hill
I am reading a book right now entitled “Think And Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill, at the request of Andrew Carnegie. Whether or not you’d like to grow rich… Napoleon’s classic addresses the differences between a leader and a follower.
Decide at the outset of your career/ministry/path whether or not you’d like to remain a follower, or become a leader. The difference in compensation and influence is vast. The follower cannot reasonably expect the compensation to which the leader it entitled… although many followers make the mistake of expecting such pay. While it is certainly no disgrace to be a follower… it is no credit to remain a follower.
Most great leaders began in the capacity of followers… and they became great leaders because they were intelligent followers. With few exceptions, the man who cannot follow a leader intelligently cannot become an efficient leader. The following are the important attributes of an effective leader…
1. UNWAVERING COURAGE based on one’s knowledge of self and one’s occupation. No intelligent follower wishes to be dominated by a leader who lacks self-confidence and courage. No intelligent follower will be dominated by such a leader for very long.
2. SELF CONTROL: The man who cannot control himself cannot effectively control others. Self control sets a might example for one’s followers, of which the more intelligent will emulate.
3. A KEEN SENSE OF JUSTICE: Without a sense of fairness and justice, no leader can retain the respect of his followers.
4. DEFINITENESS OF DECISION: The man who wavers in his decisions shows that he is not sure of himself. He cannot lead others successfully.
5. DEFINITENESS OF PLANS: A successful leader must plan his work and work his plan. A leader who moves by guesswork, without practical definite plans, is comparable to a ship without a rudder… sooner or later he will land on the rocks.
6. THE HABIT OF DOING MORE THAN PAID FOR: One of the penalties of leadership is the necessity of willingness upon the part of the leader to do more than he requires of his followers.
7. A PLEASING PERSONALITY: No brash or careless person can become a successful leader. Leadership calls for respect. Followers will not respect a leader who does not grade highly on all the factors of a pleasing personality.
8. SYMPATHY AND UNDERSTANDING: The successful leader must be in sympathy with his followers. Moreover, he must understand them, and their problems.
9. MASTERY OF DETAIL: Successful leadership calls for mastery of details of the leaders position.
10. WILLINGNESS TO ASSUME FULL RESPONSIBILITY: The successful and effective leader must be willing to assume the responsibility for the mistakes and shortcomings of his followers. If he tries to shift this responsibility, he will not remain a leader. If one of his followers makes a mistake and shows himself to be incompetent, the true leader must consider that it is “he” who may have failed.
11. COOPERATION: The successful leader must understand and apply the principle of cooperative effort, and be able to induce his followers to do the same. Leadership calls for power, and power calls for cooperation.
My next post will highlight the 10 major causes of failure in leadership. See you there.
ARE YOU A RAINMAKER?
There’s been a lot of discussion around our office lately around the topic of being a RAINMAKER. The term RAINMAKER is more strictly defined as one… specifically someone in sales, who consistently brings in large clients and significant streams of revenue.
Clearly this term is also used more loosely to describe those that seem to rise to the top, as opposed to those that settle for mediocrity. I’ve taken a few of hours this morning to run a comparison analysis… on the differences between a RAINMAKER and an AVERAGE EMPLOYEE. The following comparisons are based solely on my own experiences and observations.
A RAINMAKER: does whatever it takes to get the job done right & on time.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: settles for delays, poor performance and inferior standards due to justified obstacles and personal setbacks, and typically cloaks their laziness with the appearance of virtue.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: identifies problems.
A RAINMAKER: introduces solutions.
A RAINMAKER: measures success by the progress itself.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: measures success by an honest effort towards progress.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: says… “I hope we don’t fail.”
A RAINMAKER: says… “Failure is not an option.”
A RAINMAKER: has a spirit of urgency, and says… “Let’s get to it now.”
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: has a spirit of hesitancy, and says… “There’s always tomorrow.”
A RAINMAKER: strives to “give” first, and “gain” later.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: wants to define “gain” first, and then decide whether to “give” later.
A RAINMAKER: learns and executes the goals & priorities of the company, over those of their own.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: ignorantly executes his personal goals and priorities first.
A RAINMAKER: takes leadership and initiative without being asked.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: waits for a directive, title or personal gain before acting.
A RAINMAKER: is passionate, enthusiastic, insatiably positive winner.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: is defeated, un-energetic and chronically negative.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: sees the obstacles.
A RAINMAKER: sees the opportunity.
A RAINMAKER: constantly evaluates his performance, tactics and strategies for the purpose of improvement.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: chooses to blindly walk through life, neglecting to evaluate… for the fear of discovering or acknowledging that he might be flawed.
A RAINMAKER: says… “We can!”
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: says… “Can we?” or “We can’t!”
A RAINMAKER: can’t wait to cross the finish line.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: can’t wait for the whistle to blow, and the work day to end.
A RAINMAKER: offers no excuses, and takes full personal responsibility for his actions for his mistakes and losses.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: offers excuses, justifications, and takes little to no personal responsibility.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: takes more than he gives.
A RAINMAKER: gives more than he takes.
A RAINMAKER: inspires others.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: meanders about virtually unnoticed.
A RAINMAKER: can seem to accomplish the impossible.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: will sometimes fail at that which is easily possible.
A RAINMAKER: effectively manages large sums of stress.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: can barely manage small to moderate sums of stress.
A RAINMAKER: sees the prize.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: sees the price.
A RAINMAKER: lives for tomorrow’s successes.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: chooses to relish in yesterday’s victories and rest on their laurels.
A RAINMAKER: insists on having and being the very best.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: believes “the best” is unattainable.
A RAINMAKER: is an asset, and is sought after by others.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: is a liability, and is warned about to others.
A RAINMAKER: is a speeding blur, viewed by his competitors from behind.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: typically has his view impeded by the “Rainmakers” that are racing past, and that are in front of him.
A RAINMAKER: embraces challenges and overcomes.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: is resentful and defeated by challenges.
A RAINMAKER: craves freedom, and a higher financial ceiling.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: craves financial security, and a higher guaranteed floor of income.
A RAINMAKER: embraces change.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: is threatened by change.
A RAINMAKER: asks… “What can I do for my company?”
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: asks… “What can my company do for me?”
A RAINMAKER: chooses progress over pain.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: chooses comfort over progress.
A RAINMAKER: speaks with his actions.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: speaks with empty promises.
A RAINMAKER: serves his team and those around him.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: waits to be served by others.
A RAINMAKER: seeks wisdom and knowledge.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: is intimidated by those more wise and knowledgeable than himself.
A RAINMAKER: leads others.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: is typically led by other “Rainmakers.”
A RAINMAKER: measures themselves against the best, even when it hurts.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: inflates their self-worth & value, and personal accomplishments, due to insecurity… and the inability to see themselves as they actually are.
A RAINMAKER: will surround himself with others that are better, smarter & more talented than himself.
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: will surround himself with only those that are inferior.
A RAINMAKER: says… “I could do more.”
AN AVERAGE EMPLOYEE: asks… “Haven’t I done enough?”