• Mug
• Milk
• Chocolate powder
• Real whipped cream
• Cookie of your choice
• Dark chocolate shavings
• Top it with a marshmallow (lightly toasted with a propane torch)

Then enjoy!

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A pay as you go SIM card can help you stick to a budget to reduce the risk of unexpected high cell phone bills. If you have an unlocked mobile phone that’s compatible with a network in the country you are traveling to, you simply swap out your cell phone’s original SIM card and use the prepaid SIM card to make calls back to the U.S. When you return home, put the original SIM card back into your cell phone and hang on to the prepaid SIM card until you travel again.

Prepaid SIM cards are a great benefit for those who travel overseas and need to call back to the U.S. to stay in touch with family and loved ones. Examples:

• Business travelers
• Vacation travelers
• Members of the military
• Parents give to sons/daughters studying abroad
• Volunteer workers

Perhaps it’s right for you. Learn more about this offer:

• GO-SIM Offer Page
• GO-SIM and podcast network RawVoice: Press Release

Full disclosure: I’m helping the marketing team with this promotion. It’s a legitimate offer and one that will benefit people in a variety of situations.

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Shouldn’t they be warm and inviting and give me a sense of confidence? Shouldn’t they make me feel comfortable talking to an enthusiastic and knowledgeable floor staff who can demystify some of the techo-babble? Instead (in my opinion) they appear angry, condescending and don’t want to be bothered.

First impressions count. Whether you’re the size of Sears or a solo-preneur, your business needs to make a good impression from the top all the way down to the front lines.

So when was the last time you observed how your customer facing employees present themselves to prospects and customers? Not lately? Then why not conduct some secret observations to check how your business comes across to those who want to do business with you? Make some some blind calls or inquires through the website. Evaluate common points:

• Time to respond
• Enthusiasm
• Knowledgeable
• Attentiveness
• Was your problem solved to your satisfaction?

Document it. Share the results (and your expectations) with your staff. Then do it again next month.

What else would you suggest?

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I don’t care if you have the most amazing offer, you’ve place doubt in my mind about your credibility as a real business. So I delete your messages, unopened.

Why? Simply put, I don’t have the time. Nor do many others like me.

Here’s what you need to do:

• If you managed to register a domain name and build a website, there’s no excuse for you not to have an email address with that same domain name.
• Contact your registrar for help.
• Search for do-it-yourself solutions like Google Apps and follow the instructions.
• Hire a consultant who can have you up and running in a few hours.

Your professional email address is an extension of your personal and business brand. While it is one minor piece of your overall marketing effort, it’s part of your first contact with a prospect. Get it right and reduce one more barrier to a great conversation.

Thoughts?

Related posts:

1. HSCS-009 – Get Your Act Together. Challenge Bad Behavior.
2. HSCS-010 – 9 Cheap and Easy Ways to Energize Your Marketing

1. Get in sync.
   Lay all your promotional materials out in front of you — business card, fliers, mailers, website, online ads — and take a good, long, hard look at them. Do they make sense? Is it confusing? Do they look consistent?
2. Develop some interesting stories that tell how you helped clients succeed.
   Sounds better than tooting your own horn.
3. Play to your strengths.
   If 90% of your business is selling a particular service, then lead with that message instead of confusing prospects with a menu of services. Get your foot in the door before you cross-sell.
4. Experiment with something you are uncomfortable with.
   You might be surprised how you may connect with new prospects.
5. Get out and meet new people.
   I’m shocked at how many people I invite to networking events will not come, ever.
   You can’t afford not to!
6. Smile and dial.
   Dust off all those business cards you’ve collected and reconnect with those business contacts.
7. Become news worthy.
   Share an *interesting* human interest story that the Media might pick up on.
8. Build your Linkedin and Facebook contacts.
   Strive for quality, not quantity. Regularly let your contacts know what you’re doing. Ask for introductions, testimonials and opinions. Treat them as an advisory panel.
9. Spy on the competition.
   Okay, maybe that sounds a bit sneaky. But you should know what your successful competitors are doing right.
10. BONUS TIP: Hire a consultant.
    Seriously, find someone who can either do the work for you or teach you what you need to know to do it in-house. If you can’t afford it, suggest bartering for services.

Okay I know someone will say, what, why didn’t you include Social Media in the list. Truthfully, for newbies, I only advocate investing time in Linkedin and Facebook. Over time, as comfort level and experience increase, then there’s plenty of opportunities (e.g. Twitter) to experiment with and add to the marketing mix.

Thanks for listening/reading!

What do you suggest?

Please join this conversation and leave feedback at:
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Music: “Apple Chunk” by AjT found on the Podsafe Music Network:
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Check out other great podcasts at Blubrry.com

Related posts:

1. HSCS-009 – Get Your Act Together. Challenge Bad Behavior.

That’s right, 14″x10″, 100-page, full-color glossy coffee table books.

Imagine the wasted tens of thousands of dollars for:

• the designer
• the writer
• the photography
• all the reviewers
• the printing
• the mailing list
• the postage

Couldn’t all that wasted money and time have been used more wisely to actually help make someone’s life better?

It’s a frivolous waste of money at a time when companies should demonstrate fiscal responsibility.

Am I right? Please share your opinion. Thanks.

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This parody video just made me sick to my stomach…. because it’s spot on. I’ve heard every one of these excuses so many times during my career. It’s incredibly frustrating and demoralizing how some people undervalue the expertise of others.

• “I want the highlights. But can only pay for the trim.”
• “I don’t want you to work for free. It’s just a test. You can roll the cost over next time.”
• “I’m not making any money either. You gotta work with me.”
• “We’ll make it up on the next one.”
• “I can cover your hard costs. But that’s as far as I can go.”
• “We need you to show us how you make it so we can do it in-house next time.”

My advice is to stick firmly to your position and don’t give it all away. Sure there are times you may want to barter or there could be some tangible benefit. But there’s no reason to be bullied into giving your skills away especially to someone who obviously has no respect for you.

What are your thoughts? How do you combat this behavior in your day-to-day business relationships?

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This 12 minute presentation covers immediate steps you can follow to start your business and personal branding online.

It covers how to define what you want want to be known for, evaluating the competition, planning, where to create your online profiles, building your professional networks, participating in online conversations.

This was originally presented to a small business networking group on 04/24/2009.

Did you like this presentation? Was it helpful to you? Have additional tips to share? Then please leave a brief comment on this blog post. Thanks in advance!
-Roland

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I get a call from someone I met at a recent networking event. (Typically when I meet someone interesting at a networking event, I follow-up within 24-48 hours with a email re-iterating our conversation and how we might be able to work together.)

Caller: “Why did you send that email to my personal email address.”
Me: “That’s the email address you gave me when we met.”
Caller: “Please resend the info to my business email address.”
Me: “Okay, please tell me the email address to use.”
Caller: “I’ll email it to you.”

Later that day I get an email from the caller’s personal email address with the business email address. *Sigh*

This week we’re talking about Getting Your Act Together. Examples of annoying things that can make you look extremely unprofessional and tick off the people you do business with.

Example #2

I got 4 calls in the last two weeks from people offering to mount a recent article about me that appeared in the business section of the local paper. The worst one sounded like this:
Me: “Hello, this is Roland. How can I help you.”
Caller: “Yeah, you were in the paper recently?”
Me: “Yes.”
Caller: “You wouldn’t want that mounted on wood, would ya?”
Me: “No, thank you.”
Caller: [Hangs up abruptly.]

The caller didn’t identify himself, his company or why I would want such a service. On the flip side of the scale, one of his competitors did an amazing job of greeting me, buttering me up about the article, how attractive the mounted article would look in my office for my prospects and customers to see.

Example #3

I got this email:
“I’ve uploaded a flyer for a workshop on estate planning for families with a special needs person. If you know anyone that might find value in this, please pass it along. On our home page, go to the Files tab on the left side.”

Perfectly fine and I appreciate that they didn’t send a massive file attachment. But how about providing a URL in the email. This particular business has their company website on a completely different domain name than the one they use for sending emails. (A completely other confusing faux pax).

Example #4

When a customer walks into your front office, what to they see? A disorganized mess? Physical obstacles that people have to maneuver around to get to you? Stupid looking things that you find cute but are hideous to the rest of us.

There was a show on A&E last fall called “We Mean Business.” Similar concept to Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. Lot’s of great examples of business owners who are not thinking about the first impression made when a potential customer walks into their store.

Example #5,6,7…

• That client who never shows up for your scheduled phone calls.
• The guy who shows up unprepared to every single meeting.
• The girl who misses every deliverable deadline.
• The client who pays late.
• The prospect who keeps asking for freebies yet has never returned the favor.
• The soul sucking leech who can never find a positive word to say about anything and just wants to drag you down to his/her black lagoon of misery.

My challenge to to you is to start paying attention to things about you that irritate the people you meet and do business with. Get your act together, now!

Similarly, I challenge you to do something about the way other people disrespect the value of your time. Tell someone (politely of course) that you are unhappy with their bad behavior. Otherwise, you’re doomed be on the receiving end again.

Your time is too valuable to deal with nonsense. Stop the bad behavior around you so you can focus on what will make you and your business successful.

Share some examples of things you vow to become better at. Or examples of bad behavior that get under your skin.

By the way, last week I issued a “Comfort Challenge” asking everyone to try something new to promote themselves or their business. If you missed that, please listen to episode #8 and send in to tell what you are doing to improve your business.

Thanks for listening/reading!

Please join this conversation and leave feedback at:
http://www.HateSomethingChangeSomething.com

Subscribe using the RSS feed:
http://feeds2.feedburner.com/HateSomethingChangeSomething

Download to your Apple iPod using this iTunes Store link:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=303998043

Download to your Microsoft Zune using this Zune Marketplace link:
zune://subscribe/?Hate%20Something%20Change%20Something=http://feeds.feedburner.com/HateSomethingChangeSomething

Music: “Apple Chunk” by AjT found on the Podsafe Music Network:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/HateSomethingChangeSomething

Check out other great podcasts at Blubrry.com

Related posts:

1. A Professional Email Account Adds Credibility
2. HSCS-010 – 9 Cheap and Easy Ways to Energize Your Marketing

Welcome friends. The theme of this show is simple. If you hate something about the way you do business, let’s figure out a way to change it for the better. Don’t accept as an answer: “Well that’s the way we’ve always done it.” That excuse no longer flies. We have access to so many new tools, thought leaders and big ideas. If you hate it, then change it. If you don’t want to be part of the solution, then you’re just part of the problem.

Each week we look at simple strategies and tactics that may have been overlooked by you and your team. Sometimes we forget. Sometimes we get lazy. Perhaps we never heard of them before. Point is we’re hear to share information to do business better and become more successful. I’m not trying to sell you anything. The only thing I ask in return is your feedback. Comment on the blog. Record a voice message. I’ll repeat it at the end of the episode.

Thank you to all the repeat listeners. And welcome to those who are listening for the first time. At the end I tell you all the ways you can have this show automatically delivered to you for free.

Listener Feedback

Comment came in from Keith from Birmingham. He wrote:
“Listened to all the episodes. Great thoughts. Before I figure out what I want to be known for, I need to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.
I like your direct approach. Keep up the great work.”

Thanks, Keith. I agree, I still don’t know what my first, best destiny is. Until then, I’ll keep sharing what I know to anyone who’ll listen.

Step Outside Your Comfort Zone.

What do I mean by that? We’re creatures of habit.

• We have formed opinions and can be stubborn about change.
• We can be apathetic towards opportunities and people that could benefit us.
• We fear that which is difficult or outside the realm of experience.

So apply that to the tasks of a small business owner:

• Opinion – “The yellow pages is the best place for people to find my business.”
  Maybe, maybe not. A 2008 study indicated that less than 30% of Internet users still report they use their paper phone book (white pages/yellow pages). (SOURCE) What about the untapped potential — are you doing anything to reach the other 70%?
• Apathy – “Networking groups are not for me. I’m too busy.”
  Yet those who actively and consistently participate in groups benefit from building professional connections, get their name/offerings known, find opportunities to collaborate and give/get business lead referrals.
• Fear – “I don’t need a website. I’m not on ‘MyFace’ and such. That’s a waste of my time.”
  So how will people find you online? As your older customers age out, how will the more digitally-connected younger generation find you?

I’ve really embraced the face-to-face business networking. In fact I’m scheduled to attend 5 relatively local events this week. (Usually I attend 2-3 minimum.) So I started inviting colleagues who’ve been laid off, small business clients and some of the people I’ve advised. I’m surprised how most hem and haw and find an excuse not to attend. I realize that it can be intimidating. But the very idea seems to paralyze some people.

I was advising an IT business owner recently with a really great niche. He’s ready to deliver services, but weeks away from having his marketing strategy ready. So I tried talking him into coming to a big event that week. Free entry. Within 10 miles. Only investment is time and bring business cards to hand out. His reaction: “Oh no, I can’t. That’s not for me.” I’m telling him he can’t afford not to. So I go alone and that night I connected with: A doctor, an entrepreneur scouting locations for a new retail business, the owner of a title company, the owner of a law firm, the owner of a CPA firm and a few PR folks. Good for me. Lost opportunity for someone I know.

Online social networking for professional purposes should definitely be part of your marketing mix, but you have got to get out and shake hands too. Stop hiding behind the computer and get out for air.

Comfort Challenge

Here’s my challenge to you: Find a way to step out of your comfort zone next week. Here’s a few suggestions:

• Go find a networking event to go to next week. If you’re afraid to go alone, invite a business owner you know. Or go with your spouse. Point is, get out there. All the people there are looking to make connections. No one wants to see you fail. You never know who you might meet to help propel your business to the next level.
• Start a professional blog. Just pick a topic related to what you do, create a free account on Wordpress.com or Blogger.com. Then start writing – opinions, observations, tip lists. Just do it and demonstrate your subject matter expertise.
• Start building your professional online network. Go on Linkedin.com, Facebook.com, Plaxo.com, Biznik.com and start searching for people you went to school with or worked with in the past. Invite them to connect with you.

Thanks for letting me share that with you. Please let me know what you did or will do to step outside your Comfort Zone.

What are you thoughts? Agree? Disagree? Want to add something?

Add a comment to the blog post or record a voice message that I’ll play in a future episode.

Tell a friend. Send a link to someone and say hey, check this out.

No go out and shake things up a bit. Go make some noise!

Thanks for listening/reading!

Please join this conversation and leave feedback at:
http://www.HateSomethingChangeSomething.com

Subscribe using the RSS feed:
http://feeds2.feedburner.com/HateSomethingChangeSomething

Download to your Apple iPod using this iTunes Store link:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=303998043

Download to your Microsoft Zune using this Zune Marketplace link:
zune://subscribe/?Hate%20Something%20Change%20Something=http://feeds2.feedburner.com/HateSomethingChangeSomething

Savage Chickens Irrational Fear #12 displayed with permission of Doug Savage. Visit SavageChickens.com

Music: “Apple Chunk” by AjT found on the Podsafe Music Network:
http://tinyurl.com/ajtpodsaf

Related posts:

1. HSCS-009 – Get Your Act Together. Challenge Bad Behavior.
2. HSCS-010 – 9 Cheap and Easy Ways to Energize Your Marketing