More Than A Few Words

I bet you didn't know that you're sitting on a gold mine. but according to my guest Mary Henderson, you are. As human beings. we experiences built over a lifetime, and those experiences are currency.   This is particularly true of former corporate executives who are exploring entrepreneurship.  The skills you build over your career   can be worth millions if you can systemize your knowledge, wisdom and skill set, transforming that into a solution   Too often, however these would-be entrepreneurs make the mistake of starting with the hunt for customers when they should be working through a four part process  of defining their brand, their process, creating digital assets and then their website and sales tools.    About Mary  Mary is an internationally recognized Personal Branding & Online Business Specialist. Mary helps Service Industry Experts systemize, digitalize and commercialize their knowledge, wisdom and skills into a scalable & profitable online business and a brand so they become an authority

 Words have power to move, motivate, inspire, frightened and cheer, what you say and how you say it can have a strong impact on another person. Some words, called power words have more impact than others. These words have strong meaning, which can trigger a psychological or an emotional response. They're persuasive, pushing people to action. Using these power words in your web copy, email communication, social media, will grab the attention or your reader and move them to action. There are three kinds of power words seductive, emotional, and sensory, seductive, emotional and sensory. Seductive words actually override logical reasoning and compel people to take action. Words like new, free, how to, and because seduce people to action.  Emotional power words, tap into emotions that drive people to action. Fear, jealousy, curiosity, joy, surprise and anger are just some of the emotions you can tap into as you write your headlines. The final category are the sensory power words.  These words paint a picture in yo

Whether you're trying to hire a new person, work with an agency or close a sale, the very first step is really figuring out if you're sitting across the table from the right person. The problem is that people don't come with scorecards telling you exactly who they are and whether or not they're a good fit, or do they?  Social engineer, Benjamin Bressington says there is a scorecard, if you look for it.  In this episode, he boils down people into four  main types, each with a set of communication patterns that give you insight into how they think. Listen to this conversation to understand if you are an Eagle, Dove, Peacock or owl.   

What if you could improve the amount of traffic that came to your website, the amount of conversions and the lifetime value of  customers by 26% each?  My guest Michael Buzinski developed the Rule of 26  to help busy business owners understand we do not have to dive into the complexities of digital marketing to get revenue from our websites. He believes many business owners think of their website as an expense and not a revenue generating tool. To help change their perspective, he shows them how to double the revenue coming from your website  by focusing on just three objectives; web traffic, conversion rate and lifetime value of customers coming from your website. About Michael Buzinski Michael Buzinski is a lifelong entrepreneur, digital marketing thought leader, and best-selling author. Dubbed a “visionary marketer” by the American Marketing Association, Michael’s sole mission is to  reduce the prevalence of entrepreneurial poverty in the US. Buzz, as most call him, has simplified digital marketing succe

Wouldn't it be nice if we all just got along. That might seem like a good idea but it really isn't. You can't eliminate conflict completely. and you shouldn't. Well-managed conflict actually cultivates discussions and create opportunities to uncover new and innovative solutions. Accept conflict as a natural part of your relationship with employees and with all of the people in your life. It isn't necessarily good or bad.  It can be very healthy if the conflict occurs when people have different ideas on how to solve a problem and they feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas. The conflict resolution process leads to open and honest conversations often about more than just the issue on the table. It can be messy and it might take time to work through some of the conflicts but the end result is going to be a great solution.  

All work and no play makes Jack or Jill very dull.  As a business owner you work really hard but you also need to find ways to get away and take a vacation.  Guest Carol Clegg shared great vacation preparation tips from working ahead, to finding co-working spaces along the way to get things done.   You have to prioritize and focus on those things which have to get done to keep your business.  But you may not have to be the person to do the work.    About Carol Clegg Carol Clegg, is the owner of Classic Exec Marketing, a marketing consultant and a goal achievement coach supporting global women entrepreneurs in midlife to get organized, streamline their strategies and use time-saving tools to optimize the things in your business that YOU want.  

Why should I buy from you? That's the question we have to answer if we want to grow our business.  My guest, Rich Brooks thinks the answer needs to be remarkable.  And he has developed a formula to help business owners find makes them remarkable.   It starts with the four "F's" - find, focus, fashion and frame.  About Rich Rich Brooks is founder and president of flyte new media, a digital agency in Portland, Maine, that’s been in business for over 24 years. He is a nationally recognized speaker on entrepreneurship, digital marketing, and social media. He founded The Agents of Change, and annual conference and weekly podcast that focuses on search, social & mobile marketing. He is also the author of The Lead Machine: The Small Business Guide to Digital Marketing  

Let's go on a buying journey. Think about the last item that you bought, where you spent more than $100. Maybe it was something for your business or home. Write down the item you bought and work backwards through your buying journey. Describe why you chose that particular product. Did you see an ad? Did someone recommended it? Was there information on social media which made you curious? Write down all of the things you remember related to that purchase. For example, we recently installed new windows in our house. Before we bought the windows, we talked to a few of our neighbors, checked. Angie's List, and then we went to the company website. Do this exercise two or three times for different types of purchases, so you get a better picture of your typical buying process.  What information sources to you rely on and what influenced you? Next, build your customer's buying journey the same way. Evaluate your marketing based on  your typical buying process. If you were a customer for your product or service, would

If you're like a lot of people you may be under the misconception that you have to make a choice between doing what you really love or making money but that doesn't have to be the case.  Guest Joel Salomon doesn't believe you should have to make that choice.  It starts with transforming limiting beliefs into empowering beliefs and creating affirmations to shift your mindset. Use present tense, not future tense language.  Saying the affirmations out loud to start your day.  You don't have to jump all at once to your new career, start with baby steps.  Carve out time each day to work on your passion, until it generates enough money for you to make the leap. 

Do you have a super toolkit for your business? Also called standard operating procedures (SOPs), when created correctly give business owners freedom to work on their business.  This week, our guest Kris Ward explains that many business owners make the mistake of creating  static SOP's to cover liability.  The narrow definition and inflexible design will actually hold you back. A super toolkit will grow and change along as the business grows and changes.   About Kris Ward Kris Ward is an author, podcaster coach, and speaker. She is a team building and system strategist and a leading authority in building your business by building your team. She is the founder of Win the Hour, Win the Day day philosophy and she helps entrepreneurs create their WIN team. Learn more at:  Winthehourwintheday.com

When it comes to marketing, there are three simple truths. The first is that marketing hasn't really changed in 50 or 60 years. The basics of marketing are about what they were half a century ago. What has changed are the tools. And that's the second truth, there are always new tools on the horizon, new ways of doing things. And the third truth is that the most effective marketing is marketing that is authentic and unique to your brand, your business and to you. And so if you want to be successful, remember those three truths. Get very familiar with marketing basics, Learn the fundamentals and the strategies that drive everything. Keep up with what's new and what's changing. And finally, to turn inward to discover your voice. Define what's unique about you, and use that to guide your marketing.

If every morning is an adventure and you're not quite what you should do first, Ryan Cote suggests you begin your day with a morning routine.     Interestingly, one thing many highly successful people do is start the day off with a morning routine. In this conversation, Ryan shares his morning routine, and things you can do to build a habit of investing in yourself.  

This is a marketing story about personal branding that took place about 30 years ago, I had just started working for Lennox industries. At that time, Lennox Industries was a male oriented business. With men in all the senior roles, this company was trying to change their boys club image. It was also, surprisingly a personal, family run, $750 million business. It was a personal family business. Three weeks into my job, we had a party for one of the men on our team. He'd been there for 20 years, and we were having cake and coffee to celebrate. There was an executive meeting and they all came down to personally congratulate Roger. My boss thought this was a great time to introduce me to the president of the company, and his entire staff. As I walked over to meet them  I had a cup of coffee in my right hand.  It is a simple maneuver when you have a cup of coffee in your right hand, pass it to your left, and you extend your right hand. Somewhere between pass and extend I lost a cup of coffee.  It would have been o

Many business owners think closing the sale is the end of customer journey.  Guest Wayne Mullins doesn't agree.  He sees the act of attracting the customer as only half the process.  The other half should be focused on keeping the customer engaged so they become an evangelist for our product. As a salesperson he discovered  when he nurtured those relationships, checking in after the sale the customers would be more likely to tell  friends, family members and coworkers about the product or the service he was selling Today, as the author of Full Circle Marketing he advocates taking an objective look at the experience your give your customers from start to finish. Ask them, what they value, why they choose you and what you can do to improve.  

We make buying decisions because we've been influenced by someone or something. Many companies are trying to cash in on this trend, hiring influencers to promote their brand.  But our guest Jason Falls focusing on the influencer is not the right strategy. When you focus on the personalities there is  really no substance to it. If however, you the "r" off and focus on what you're trying to achieve, which is persuade an audience to take action now you are likely to have much better results.  And you won't be glued to Instagram or Youtube or Tiktok  as you realize you can use offline people to influence an audience to take action too  

Everyone likes to be right and to see their ideas put into practice but sometimes your ideas are not the best it. If, as a leader you are more focused on proving you're right and winning every argument people around you will acquiesce.  You will have a solution but it won't necessarily be the best solution. This is tough, because it means you have to give up control. If you've hired the right people they will have good opinions about projects and about the way the company is run, so you need to be prepared to listen and let others win.  When multiple viable solutions are proposed to a problem choose the one suggested by a passionate team member. Why? If it's their idea they're will work to ensure it is implemented properly and it sends a strong message that you are serious about finding the best alternatives. If you want to find the best solutions to every problem my advice is to sit back and listen to others.

Great content helps small business owners build trust and compete with businesses significantly larger, by establishing authority and credibility.  Guest John Hinson explains it is a cost effective strategy saving you potentially thousands of dollars every month because you are driving traffic without paid search. In the legal field, like many industries there are great evergreen topics. Information every customer and prospect needs.  Content that answers those typical questions has along shelf life as prospects are likely to return to it again and again.    About John Hinson John is the Editorial Director for Spotlight Branding, a content marketing company helping lawyers and other professionals increase referrals and attract better clients. John is also the host of two podcasts, The Law Firm Marketing Minute and Center Stage, where he dives into various aspects of marketing and business development.

The stories that we tell ourselves really are our most important stories. Our guest, Bridget Cook-Burch shared her thoughts on stories and how stories drive our destiny.  It is less about what is really happening and more about how we frame the situation. There are stories of opportunities and stories of limitations.  As entrepreneurs we got to capture the beautiful stories and learn to reframe others so we  actually write a new chapter of where we're headed in our lives so that we are ultimately in charge of our own destiny.   About Bridget Bridget Cook-Burch’s clients call her “The Book Whisperer”. She is a New York Times & Wall Street Journal bestselling author, mentor, trainer, mamma-bear humanitarian, and speaker known for riveting stories of transformation. Her powerful work has been showcased on Oprah, Dateline, CNN, GMA, The History Channel, NPR and in People among many others. She is the CEO and Founder of YourInspiredStory.com. As a successful entrepreneur, Bridget has also owned and operated a

If you're a business owner, you are probably  always looking for ways to widen your circle and networking is certainly a great way to do just that. In this conversation with Ryan Hansen, we talked about a slightly different approach to networking. Often called a professional extrovert he loves talking to people about their business ideas and then helping them act on it. So it was a natural fit  to start a podcast as a way to open the door to interesting conversations, with people he was hoping to connect with.  The episodes are are win-win-win.  The guest get publicity, the audience learns something, and Ryan has a chance to get in front of a prospective customer in a casual, conversational way.  

I love running my own business, getting to do things “my way” … most of the time. But I learned that to be successful, I need to also listen to the opinions of others. Who are these “others?” They are people who compliment my weaknesses and have skills to fill my blind spots. They are the Yang to my Yin. What Is Yin-Yang? With roots dating back to China in 1300 BCE, Yin-yang refers to a concept where opposite forces are seen as interconnected and counterbalancing. Together the two halves make a whole, and while one is mostly dark and the other is mostly light there is a little bit of each in the other. Yin, represents darkness, passivity, and the earth. Yang represents light, activity, and the heavens. Do you have a Business Yin-Yang? Whether it is your next hire or a member of your advisory board, expand your input by bringing people into your circle who brings a fresh perspective and different set of skills. Remember even someone who seems to be your complete opposite, should share some common ground with y