In this 2 minute video you will learn three tips that will definitely help you in tough times.

If you found this helpful I hope you retweet

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As you surely know the downturn in the economy has made times are more challenging for the entrepreneur.  But not for Guerrillla marketers.

Any savvy marketer knows that developing powerful partnerships can be the key to surviving any economic storm.  So in this post lets look at how you can successfully connect with influential marketing partners in your industry.

Before choosing a JV partner make sure that you:

•  Know exactly what they want most from the venture… It may not be what you assume.

•  Are fully aware of your own goals… and that you’ve communicated them to your would-be partner.

•  Both feel that you can better achieve your objectives working with each other

The Platinum Rule

We’ve all heard of “The Golden Rule” – Treat people the way you would like to be treated.  And while the concept is sound, it becomes problematic because it assumes that everyone has identical desires and perceptions.

Authors Tony Alessandra and Michael J.O’Conner rephrased the tenet and renamed it “The Platinum Rule.” It goes like this, “Do unto others as they’d like done unto them.”  This requires a real understanding of others and what motivates them… and there’s no better way of learning that than by asking them. Otherwise, we risk offending others by incorrectly presupposing the answer based on our own sensibilities.

Following are some quick tips for developing healthy joint venture partnerships…

•  Do your research ahead of time… make sure they’re the type of person you like and their business is healthy and respectable.

•  Approach them with a “what’s-in-it-for-them” stance…  not how great you are.

•  Be specific…don’t leave things “squishy” regarding anything – this is how misunderstandings begin.

•  Respect their time… let them know you value theirs as much as your own.

•  Develop simple deals… especially ones which don’t require either of you  to “look over the others’ shoulders”.

•  Give before you get, particularly if you’re just starting out… people are understandably more leery of opening up their hard-earned business resources before you’ve proven yourself.

•  Avoid using a “sales pitch”… it’s no way to begin a give-and-take partnership.

•  Don’t obsess over who’s getting more out the deal… make your best deal and forget about it.

You will find that solid  partnerships can be the key to thriving in a challenging economy. Go out an find one today!

Mitch Meyerson, author of 9 books including: Mastering Online Marketing, Guerrilla Marketing On The Internet, Success Secrets of The Online Marketing Superstars, When Is Enough Enough and Six Keys To Creating The Life Your Desire. He is currently working on his newest book, Success Secrets Of The Social Media Marketing Superstars.  You can find his books at www.MitchMeyerson.com

Become A Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach: www.GMarketing Coach.com Starting Soon.

This is a song and video I created recently.  I hope it inspires you to follow your passion and create the life you desire.

If you have any trouble viewing the video try a different browser or listen to the audio version on the right hand column.

(check out the guitar solo!)

For more of my songs visit www.MitchMeyersonMusic.com

I hope you will sign up for my Facebook music fan page!

If you know someone who will enjoy this I hope you will forward or retweet it.

by Craig Valentine, 1999 World Champion Of Public Speaking.  He is the co creator of the World Class Speaking book and Certification Program.   Get Your Free World Class Speakers Audio Toolkit

If you want to drastically improve your very next presentation, it is important to understand 4 of the pitfalls that keep most speakers in a ditch out of which they can never seem to climb. If you see where these traps are, you can easily avoid them. As a result, you will clear your pathway to a powerful and persuasive speech.

Here are the 4 costly mistakes:

They close their speech with the question and answer session

Never close your speech with the Q&A session, because people remember best what they hear first and what they hear last. If you end with the Q&A, you lose control over the last message your audience receives and much of your hard work is undone. It is still a good idea to have a Q&A session, but it is not a good idea to end your presentation with it. Instead, hold the session about 80-90% into your speech and then close the speech in your own powerful way.

They open their speech with a whimper

Most speakers open with statements like, “I’m so glad to be here. Thank you for inviting me to speak at this prestigious occasion. First I’d like to thank Bob…” What is wrong with that kind of opening? Frankly, it’s boring. It’s boring because it’s expected. Instead, come out in an unexpected way by jumping right into your message. Take the “sitcom” approach and start the show first and then transition to the opening theme song.

One good way to do this is to immediately dive into a story. That will catch your audience off guard and you will have their attention. Another effective way is to ask a question. For example, I start some speeches with the following question: “What do you think is the number one thing that stands in the way of most people living their dreams?” This immediately gets my audience’s attention and prompts them to think and to get involved with the speech. Questions work extremely well because they take your audience members from passive spectators to active participants and that definitely raises the energy. Once you finish your planned opening, it is then fine to go back and thank the people who brought you there.

They lip-synch

I once had a CFO of a biotech company say, “Craig, we need you to coach us with our presentation. We already have the presentation, but we just need to know what to say.” That might seem confusing but I knew exactly what he meant. He meant that the company already had a slide presentation but they needed to know what to say between those slides. Once I worked with them, they came to realize that they had to look at their major points first and then determine if slides were even needed to reinforce them.

Most presenters who use slides simply verbalize the same points that are made on the slide. The key to understand is this; if you say the same thing as your slides, then one of you is not needed! You are doing the equivalent of lip-synching your presentation. The best time to use slides is for real visuals such as charts, graphs, and diagrams that help clarify what you say verbally.

They don’t master the essence of public speaking

Bill Gove, the first President of the National Speakers Association, once said that public speaking is being able to “tell a story and make a point.” That indeed is the essence of public speaking. If you want to become the kind of speaker others line up and sign up to see, then make an effort to master storytelling. People make decisions with their emotions backed up by logic. Stories reach those emotions and get people in a frame of mind to take action. When you become a master storyteller, you help other people see new stories unfold for their own lives. Like the old saying goes, “Facts tell and stories sell.”

If you avoid the 4 pitfalls that trap most speakers and you work on the suggestions above, you will find yourself far ahead of most of the people who ever stood up to say anything.

Craig Valentine is  starting a brand new Coach Certification Program for Speakers and Entrepreneurs September 21 For the Full Story–>  World Class Speaking Coach Certification Progran

If you are like me you have heard about the 80/20 rule for years. You know it, it’s called the Pareto Principle – 20% of your activities account 80% of your results.

Well as Bob Dylan said about 40 years ago, “the times they are a changing”. In my opinion the more accurate reality of this notion is the 90/10 principle. Why?

Simply this… Technology has seduced us all into many new activities that didn’t exist a few years ago (creating websites, watching videos on I pods, viewing webinars on our computers). It’s endless and very very addictive.

While cool and exciting, it has also turned us into culture of multi-taskers. I think we are developing what I call “technological ADD”. You know it — you live it. You listen to teleconferences while you are checking your email and IM’s, scan through hundreds of channels on your TV while eating and talking, talk on the phone while cleaning, text while driving (I hope not) …this list goes on and on. You may even get restless just doing two things at once because we are so addicted to these new forms of stimulation.

How Does This Affect Your Business?

Big time. Your audience is distracted too and they are hardy even listening when you talk (remember they are multi-tasking). And with Twitter and other social media platforms thousands of people are all talking at the same time!

So if you want to get results you must be more specific and strategic than ever about what you focus your time on. I propose we change the 80/20 principle to the 90/10 principle.

What does this mean for you? Become much more intentional with how you spend your work time. Ask yourself: What 10% of my activities account for 90% of my results? Then focus on these everyday and learn to say no to distractions!

It isn’t easy, but as they say in the recovery world “one step at a time”. If you do you will be surprised at the results.

Place a comment and let me know if you agree or not.

by Mitch Meyerson, Founder of Guerrilla Marketing Coaching

www.MitchMeyerson.com

Last weekend I was invited by Keith Ferrazzi, author of Who’s Got Your Back? to a private dinner with him and about 20 other successful entrepreneurs at the NSA Convention in Scottsdale, AZ.   Hosted at the Tuscany Restaurant at the Marriott this dinner was all about really connecting with others, something that is becoming less common in today’s rushed world.

Keith stood up before dinner and set the tone for authenticity, purpose and fun.  There were stimulating conversations on the trends in social media and even political discussions on how we got into this recession.

During this dinner and Keith’s presentation at NSA I really experienced on a deeper level how important it is to have key people in your life that you connect with on a very real level.  People who “have your back”.

Here are a few key points in his presentation.. But I encourage you to get his book — it is excellent. (Click here)

1) Relationships are the “secret sauce”,  the key to success in business and life.  Develop a small group of 3-4 key people (he calls this a lifeline group) who are really there for you for support, encouragement, feedback and accountability.  Take safe risks and stretch with these people.

2) There are 4 mindsets for cultivating deep and meaningful relationships:   1) Vulnerability  2) Generosity  3) Candor and 4) Accountability

If you think about each of these concepts you can see they chart towards more connected relationships that will ultimately combat the superficiality that often exists in today’s fast paced world.

3) These are not just principles, you need to “walk the talk”.  The thing that struck me about Keith that evening was that he doesn’t just write about relationships he builds them on a daily basis by giving, engaging and raising the bar on living a big and fulfilling life.

What can you do today to take you relationships to the next level? Who’s got your back?

Mitch Meyerson  is the Founder of Guerrilla Marketing Coaching and Author of 9 books

In this 3 minute video I will explain the guiding principles that allowed me to become the featured expert on the Oprah Winfrey Show and how you can use them to create bigger results in your life.

For more info on my books and programs visit:

www.MitchMeyerson.com

Commitment is the attribute that divides winners from losers, and keeps some people moving when others stop dead in their tracks. It is the characteristic that keeps successful people optimistic in the midst of crushing disappointments. It is the quality that allows champions to learn from their losses and move on. Commitment keeps victors energized when the newness wears off.

How do you recognize committed souls from others? Simple.

People who are committed keep their promises. They do what they say, long after the moment they said it in has passed.

People who are committed are in it for the long haul. They are willing to exchange short-term luxuries for a brighter future.

People who are committed have their eye on the finish line, but enjoy the ride there.

People who are committed demonstrate a minute-after-minute, day-after-day, month-after-month, and year-after-year attention to ensuring that “mundane” tasks are accomplished, because they know that excellence isn’t in the details, it is the details.

People who are committed don’t build walls, they learn how to surpass them.

Yet, while most businesspeople agree that commitment is an admirable trait, they may not know exactly what it means to put into action – especially as it relates to Internet marketing. If you don’t believe this, go online and take a look. You’ll find gobs of abandoned and/or poorly maintained websites and blogs all over the place. Then, consider how much time, energy, know-how, and money their owners wasted, because neglected websites and blogs do not generate income!

Unfortunately, this is and all-too-common fate for entrepreneurs – who by their very nature, are generally much more action-oriented than others. So, why do some many well-intentioned and intelligent small businesspeople lack the commitment needed to grow and maintain a profitable business? If you’re assuming that the answer to this question is that these folks lack solid work ethics, you couldn’t be more wrong. Rather, it’s usually just the opposite. That is, many entrepreneurs become paralyzed because they’re overworked, over committed, and overwhelmed!

For example:

They’re eager to take advantage of new opportunities, so say “yes” to more than they can handle.

They’re reluctant to delegate tasks to employees or outsource work because they’re convinced that their product or service quality will suffer – or it will cost them a fortune.
They grossly underestimated how much time and energy it would take them to run their businesses smoothly.

They fail to document key processes and systems, which makes it very difficult for them to train others to take over.

And the list goes on… Yet, even if you don’t identify with entrepreneurs who suffer from these, your plate is probably still full and you haven’t a clue where you’ll find the time to add more responsibilities to your burgeoning to-do lists. All of us have times when we want to shout, “Will somebody please help me?!”

That’s just the point. You can’t. And even if you think you can, you shouldn’t try. Yes, guerrillas accomplish many things using only their time, energy, and know-how, but they also know when and how to get help.

Are you a Guerrilla?

The preceding excerpt was from Guerrilla Marketing On The Internet by Jay Conrad Levinson, Mitch Meyerson and Mary Scarborough

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Become a Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach.  Get the full story here:

Mitch Meyerson

For 20 years I was a psychotherapist in Chicago and had a successful practice fueled by 3 books on personal growth. In those years I literally worked with thousands of clients who had goals and dreams that were not realized.

In my book Six Keys To Creating The Life You Desire I analyzed 6 underlying issues that were there root cause of their stuckness. In future posts I will examine these six keys but in this post I want to discuss a very common block for many entrepreneurs — conflicting intentions. The following excerpt comes from Chapter One of my book Mastering Online Marketing. Perhaps you will see yourself or someone you know…

Have you ever heard someone referred to as “their own worst enemy”? Do you wonder why many of us often seem to interfere with our own success? If so, you probably recognize that in spite of our constructive intentions to “do” something – become a successful online marketer, lose weight, call a relative, get that promotion, etc. – we don’t always follow through.

And in many instances it is not a simple case of procrastination. Rather it is more insidious… an often unconscious choice to achieve two opposing goals – ones that essentially make it impossible to accomplish either, because they cancel each other out.

Conflicting intentions are equal opportunity blockers… they come in every imaginable form. And during my many years consulting with entrepreneurs, I’ve seen so many variations of this pattern. Here are just a few:

• “I want to earn $500,000 a year but have loads of free time.”

• “I want to get rich even though my gut tells me that’s a selfish goal.”

• “I want to get married but still be free to do anything I want to do”

• “I want to be successful but I don’t want to do things that I don’t like.”

So what happens? These folks feel trapped and confused. Their dreams seem futile. Their results are second-rate or average at best.

Tips for fixing. First, you must acknowledge the existence of your conflicting intentions, even though they’re usually far more emotional than logical and may be buried deep in your subconscious. The good news is that you do have the power to change them. Try this:

1. Create a goal for yourself and write it down. For example, “I will mail my email subscribers every single week with valuable content to position myself as an expert in my industry”.2. Underneath your promise, list all of the things that can stand in the way of you keeping your pledge. For example:

• I don’t want them to opt out of my list because I over mail to them
• I don’t think my content is original enough
• I don’t have enough time to do this
• It won’t really earn me money

Numbers 1 and 2 actually represent your conflicting intentions… Number 1 is encouraging you to act differently – to change in a meaningful way. Conversely, the items you listed in number 2 are convincing you that your goal is not worth the price you’ll pay and urging you to let it go.

3. Now, go back to the list you’ve made in number 2 and write down your supporting belief for each one. For example, under “My subscribers will opt out of my list if I mail once a week” you put, “My content is not strong enough.” If you dig even further you might come up with, “I feel to pushy or intrusive when I mail to them.”

Once you’ve identified these, you can begin challenging their veracity and begin to make positive changes.   i.e. Is it true that my content is not strong enough? Is it helpful material?  What can I do to improve it if necessary?  Am I really being intrusive or is that “my issue” from my past?  So what if they opt out?  – that will leave people who really are interested.

This type of internal assessment will be invaluable as you build and maintain your online business. Begin by defining your own positive intentions – what you want to happen. Then ensure that you are willing to embrace “the journey.” Delve into your own conflicting intentions – face them, challenge them and work hard to gain mastery over them.

[If you know someone who could benefit from this article, I hope you will forward this to them]

Mitch Meyerson is the author of eight books including Mastering Online Marketing, Guerrilla Marketing On The Internet, Six Keys To Creating The Life You Desire and World Class Speaking. He had been a featured expert on the Oprah and has trained and certified over 300 coaches in his Guerrilla Marketing Coach Certification Program. He can be reached at www.MitchMeyerson.com

The next 12 Week Guerrilla Marketing Coach Certification session led by Mitch will be starting soon. Hold your spot here.

Over the last few years I have refined and improved my system for getting more accomplished in a shorter time period.

For example in 2008  I published four books. Mastering Online  Marketing, Guerrilla Marketing On The Internet, World Class Speaking (to be released this year) and Guerrilla Marketing On The Front Lines.

How did I get this much done?   It comes down to these five principles:

1)  Strategy –  Know exactly what you are trying to accomplish and why.   If you want to have a financially successful business it is very important to focus your time on your most important revenue-generating activities. This could be teaching group telecourses like my  Guerrilla Marketing Coach Certification Program or create or resell  products that people really need like online shopping carts.

My online sales strategy has two essential parts. 1)  encouraging visitors that come to my website to signup for an irresistible offer 2) converting subscribers into paying customers with a great offer (mine is often a course).    Do you have a strategy and system  for building your mailing list?   Do you  sell something people really need in this environment?  If not  it is time to look at your strategy and improve it.

2)  Leverage  your time and intellectual property –  To work less and make more  it is critical that you create, repackage and repurpose your content.   If you’ve written an article, consider repurposing it as an audio, video, live  presentation or mini course  that you can deliver in the real world and online.   You can also leverage your time  by teaching courses to groups instead of just single individuals which of course will allow you to make more money per hour and also create a lively interactive environment.

3) Develop Powerful Partnerships.   Find people who are energetic, focused and positive.   I have  had the  good fortune to partner with some of the top names in our industry  through Guerrilla Marketing,  Traffic School, Product Factory,  Master Business Building Club,  and soon-to-be released world-class speaking programs.
Each of my books had an excellent proactive partner and saved me a lot of time.

Working with great partners can inspire you,  get you thinking out of the box  and of course allow you to increase your  exposure by marketing to multiple mailing lists.  You may find someone who has a following in a niche  that would be perfect for your product or service.   You can offer them a commission or affiliate fee and you can both share the profits.

Ask yourself:   Who your industry would be a great partner  for you?  What do they bring to the table?  What do I bring to the table?  Be specific. What  is a win-win partnership?   If you don’t have a large list  to offer,  be a  guerrilla  and see what you can offer in terms of time energy and imagination.

4)  Implementation.  The key to success in any business is not only having a great strategy  for finding powerful partners  but  taking action on a consistent basis.  The challenge with being an entrepreneur  is that our time is largely unstructured, which means it is up to us to stay proactive.

To create systems of structure and support,  I like the concept of the “accountability partner” and have one myself.   This is someone you can check in with on a regular basis to see if you are staying in action with your goals.   With my guerrilla marketing students  we are starting to set up  buddy systems and  accountability days were people check in on the hour  on the completed tasks.    Who can you enlist as an accountability partner?

5)  Automation –  This is probably my favorite of all  because allows me to get my website to work for me  when I’m not even paying attention!   Consider this: There are people all over the world constantly visiting websites.   If they come to your site wouldn’t you like them to join your mailing list?  If so  set up an opt in box with an irresistible offer and  increase your visitor to opt in conversion dramatically.  Here is an example.   My Easy Web Automation system  not only  makes this optin easy  but allows me to sell products on my website and have the money funneled right in my bank.   What can you automate on your website?

Now more than ever,  it is essential that you use your time wisely,  develop a sound strategy,  build powerful partnerships,  automate  and take action on all these ideas.   If you do, you will be in the 15% that not only has a growing business  year after year but you will get a lot more done in less time!

Mitch Meyerson

Interested in our next Guerrilla Marketing Coach Certification Program. Learn Low cost, high impact marketing strategies perfect for challenging times.

Get the full story here: www.GMarketingCoach.com