Not Marketing on Facebook is Often a Selfish Decision
Online marketing can be very effective, especially on Facebook.
Most customers and prospects don't care for traditional marketing, often referred to as direct selling. But Facebook marketing, when done correctly, is a kind of non-direct marketing in that it employs subtle selling techniques such as the "incidental credential" and a concept called "social proof."
Think of it this way. Traditional marketing takes its cues from the once popular door-to-door salesman, who knocked on your front door with his sample vacuum cleaner or a set of encyclopedias. Salesmen only came to the front door of the house. Today, that man is no longer welcome in your home.
Metaphorically speaking, Facebook marketing visits the ...
Read more |
comments
5 Cool Ideas for How to Manage Time
Time was in the news last week when the sequestration deadline caused massive cuts to the Federal budget. Also last week, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder decided that time had run out for the City of Detroit and declared the state’s largest city’s finances to be a financial emergency.
Both instances remind us that time is a precious resource.
I have no timesaving ideas for you. Time, in fact, cannot be saved. Hyrum Smith, founder of the Franklin Planner time management system, tells of a man who approached him to say, "I wish I lived a hundred years ago when they had more time."
Indeed, everyone has the same amount of time and people who manage their time always have enough time. Here are 5 Cool ...
Read more |
comments
Why your Boss Determines your Paycheck
Automotive Pioneer Henry Ford
About a hundred years ago, Henry Ford had a serious problem.
Employee turnover at his Ford Motor Company automobile manufacturing plants was around 400 percent. He was paying workers $2.34 for nine hours of work. In an effort to stem employee turnover and pay Ford employees enough money to buy the cars they made, Mr. Ford raised workers' salaries to the unheard of sum of $5 a day.
Although the higher wage seems a pittance by today's standards, the offer was actually quite generous at the time. The idea worked. Over 10,000 people soon showed up at the company's Highland Park, Michigan facility to apply for jobs.
The $5 per day offer set the tone for our compensation model today. In most modern day ...
Read more |
comments
The Six Levers of Influence
Persuasion is part science, which means that by studying the data, you can become more influential and even a better salesperson.
Robert Cialdini, author of Influence, has studied the concept for decades and has identified six ways that you can leverage your power of persuasion.
They are Reciprocity, Authority, Social Proof, Commitment, Liking and Scarcity. To remember them, think “RASCLS.”
1. Reciprocation
This tried-and-true method of persuasion is as old as dirt. It’s completely transparent to the recipient, meaning everybody knows the trick is being used, yet they engage almost every time. Think about the nice lady in the supermarket who offers you a piece of meat or ...
Read more |
comments
5 Cool Ideas for Becoming a Better Speaker
We live in an age of instant gratification, don't we?
When acquiring a skill, it's best to immerse yourself in the discipline and allow yourself to grow into the new skill set through dedicated study, trial-and-error, and by monitoring feedback loops.
But when your boss asks you to assemble an awesome presentation for a major client in just a few hours, you may want to skip that whole growing and discipline part.
Want to be a great speaker, like, tomorrow?
Here are 5 cool ideas that will help you become a better speaker quite quickly.
1. Search YouTube.com for speakers in your line of work. Focus on people who are better presenters than you so you can learn from them. If you happen ...
Read more |
comments
The Weaker Person Controls the Relationship
It would be nice if relationships with people were always easy and fun like on Mayberry RFD, but they are not.
Psychology, back-stories, and poor communication often complicate friendships. Couples face more serious challenges.
It seems like the Official Relationship Guidebook must be a million pages long. Some strategies only work with some types of people. Some concepts only work once in a blue moon.
A few guidelines are even counter-intuitive.
So why does the weaker person usually win?
One relationship tenant has proven particularly difficult to grasp: The weaker person usually controls the relationship.
How can this be?
Well, for starters, strong individuals do not feel the need to ...
Read more |
comments
5 Cool Ideas for Remembering What You Read
Time is valuable. Good information is valuable. That’s why we need to be better at comprehending and remembering what we read. The Information Age assures us that information is readily available but most of us would rather not have to read stuff more than once in order to have it stick. Here are 5 Cool Ideas for remembering what you read.
1. Ask yourself questions as you read.
My brothers and I played cops and robbers when we were young. When play-acting, the “dying” person used to utter the phrase, “All the money in the world is in the ...” just before expiring. This tantalizing phrase prompted the question, “Where is all the money in the world?” When reading, prepare your brain ...
Read more |
comments
5 Cool Ideas for Dealing With Difficult People
They service us, we work with them, we commute with them, and some of us even live with them. Difficult people are everywhere. In my seminars, I teach people how to deal with specific types of difficult people, which I name after animals because they have animal traits. Here are 5 Cool Ideas for dealing with difficult people.
1. Understand and accept your personal power.
Predatory personalities will often try to leverage their influence on you. Bosses will try to leverage their position power. Large people may try to intimidate you with physical power. It's important for you to remember that you have a huge amount of personal power, which can trump all other types of power, if used strategically ...
Read more |
comments
5 Cool Ideas for Developing Relationships
Heinz Prechter, the man who brought the sunroof to the American automobile industry, died a while back. He was a tremendous person and I learned a lot from him. In honor of Mr. Prechter, here are 5 Cool Ideas for developing relationships.
1. People love for you to be proud.
The five most effective words you can use to build a relationship with someone are "I am proud of you." If you do not use these words every day, you are not telling people what they want and need to hear. "Tell me more about yourself," runs a close second. Be proud of everyone. Be proud of your employees and your co-workers and your boss. Be proud of your customers, your vendors, and your associates.
...
Read more |
comments
5 Cool Ideas for Dealing With Critics
When I was young, I toured the country in a rock band. Although our band was popular, we endured the wrath of critics. It seems that everyone has an opinion on music, and I experienced critics that worked in the media, critics in our audiences, and even critics in my neighborhood. As a professional speaker and published author, critics are still in my life. Here are 5 Cool Ideas for dealing with critics:
1. Patterned criticism can be more valuable than isolated criticism.
Isolated diatribes may contain useful information, but consider it an education when the same types of criticism arrive from different sources. One episode of criticism in February may not be as important ...
Read more |
comments
5 Cool Ideas on How to Be More Credible
Being more credible means you will be more persuasive. You'll be more influential in getting people to do what you want them to do. This will be helpful if you are in sales, management or if you are the parent of a teenager. Here are 5 Cool Ideas on how to be more credible.
1. Read and listen to good information.
Carry a professional development book with you for three weeks. You don't have to read the book, just be seen with it. People will almost instantly find you more credible. I actually read the books I carry. Every year, I process over 30 books, reading 15 and listening to 25 audio books. Recent titles include Good to Great (good is the enemy of ...
Read more |
comments
5 Cool Ideas on Why Coaching is Better Than Bossing
We tend to coach the people who are most important to us. Sometimes we coach the people on our work team. Sometimes we are coaching our teenagers or other members of our family. Coaching, an informal method of teaching, benefits both parties. Bossing can be an adversarial arrangement whereas coaching is most likely a relationship based in advocacy. Here are 5 Cool Ideas on why coaching is better than bossing.
1. The “dialogue method” of teaching is fun.
The “dialogue method” has been traced back to Aristotle. The Harvard Business School adopted the “dialogue method” of teaching in 1924. Less lecture-oriented than traditional teaching, ...
Read more |
comments
5 Cool Ideas for Sucking Up to Your Boss
If you want your boss to notice you, you must distinguish yourself from other employees. Volunteer for work that no one else wants to do. Send thank you cards. Share information and continue to improve. Here are 5 Cool Ideas for sucking up to your boss.
1. Continue to make yourself unique and distinct.
All employees have value, but some employees have more value than others. Find strategic ways to create more value in your communication skill set.
2. Always be the first to volunteer.
Heroes do what no one else wants to do. Always be the first to volunteer. Volunteer for any and all duties. Remember that heroes do things that no one else is willing to do. Constantly ...
Read more |
comments
5 Cool Ideas for Becoming a Professional Speaker
Professional speaking is a rarified occupation. In what other line of work can one get paid to travel, create your own work schedule, and be treated like royalty at every engagement? It's like being a rock star without the drugs. Through the years, I've helped many people get started in the speaking business. Here are 5 Cool Ideas for becoming a public speaker.
1. Every gathering is a speaking opportunity.
Start speaking now. Speak everywhere. Speak in your doctor's waiting room and on crowded elevators. Don't be weird about this. Just get used to engaging people in a variety of settings. Be the voice that offers a toast, and be the first person to ask questions in a group setting.
...
Read more |
comments
5 Cool Ideas on Why to Listen to Audio Books
Ask the average person why they don't read more and he or she will probably say that they don't have the time. Audio books obliterate the time issue because you can "read" while doing other things. It's a great way to learn and a guaranteed way to become a more interesting person. Here are 5 Cool Ideas on why to listen to audio books.
1. Audio books save time.
If you don't have enough time to read, audio books are for you. The average person spends about 42 minutes per day commuting back and forth to work, which averages out to about 175 hours per year. Even if you're not big on reading or learning, "175 hours" begs the question, ...
Read more |
comments
5 Cool Ideas to Improve Your Vocabulary
There are 500,000 words in the English language. The average person knows less than 5,000 words and tends to use only about 500 on a regular basis. Fifty words, like "basically," get used way too much. Basically, you can remove that word from any sentence and the sentence will retain its meaning. Here are 5 Cool Ideas on improving your vocabulary.
1. People judge us by the signals we send.
Many schools and churches teach us to not judge others, yet we all judge. On a simple level, a judgment can be a decision like "I am not safe with this person." People often judge us based on the signals we send. The words we use are signals. It stands to reason, therefore, that if we know ...
Read more |
comments
5 Cool Ideas to Improve Listening
5 Cool Ideas to Improve Listening
Listening is a powerful communication tool because it builds trust. The more you listen to another person, the more he or she trusts you. Here are 5 Cool Ideas to improve conversation.
1. Pausing makes you a brilliant conversationalist.
An artful pause has many benefits. First, it keeps you from interrupting. Second, you show that you are giving careful consideration by not jumping in with your own comments at the earliest opportunity. A third benefit of pausing is clarity, because you will better understand what the other person is saying.
2. Show interest in others and others will show interest in you.
Another ...
Read more |
comments
5 Cool Ideas on How to Spot a Liar
The truth has become an elusive commodity in business. A pervasive pattern of wide-ranging lies indicates that deception is a popular hobby for business people, sports figures, celebrities, politicians, and even journalists. Here are 5 Cool Ideas on how to spot a liar.
1. There are many types of lies.
Indeed, there are many ways to misrepresent the truth. Lying by omission, for example, is a form of passive deceit because a person is withholding information or not volunteering the truth. It’s interesting to note that the Fifth Amendment allows someone to refuse comment if such testimony will incriminate him or her, which means that the law allows one to lie by omission. Plagiarism is a form of ...
Read more |
comments
5 Cool Ideas to Get Teams Started
The first step to assembling a team can be challenging when team members have different backgrounds, unique personal agendas, and unrelated methodologies. If it is difficult to get busy people to sit at the same table, it can be much more challenging to get a team emotionally centered. Here are 5 Cool Ideas to get teams started.
1. A meaningful quote can provide solidarity and purpose.
We know that a picture is worth a thousand words, but what is a word worth? Well, a word can be invaluable if it helps center a team on a theme. A special word can unify and educate. Introduce a word every day and over time, people will increase their vocabularies. Share a combination of words like a quote or a song ...
Read more |
comments
5 Cool Ideas for the First 5 Minutes of Any Speech
Effective speakers accomplish certain things at the beginning of every speech. In fact, the first five minutes set the tone for your message. I’ve always thought it ironic that most speakers are distracted with nervousness and anxiety during the first critical moments of their presentation. Okay, settle down. You have a lot to do in the opening moments and your task list should be achieved in a certain order. Here are 5 Cool Ideas on the first 5 minutes of any speech.
1. Offer your credentials in the first five minutes.
Tell people in simple, human terms why they should care about you. Don’t merely repeat the person who introduced you. Don’t recite from your written biography. Quickly tell the ...
Read more |
comments
Up to the Minute
Subscribe to this blog
facebook
digg
twitter
linkedin
