Another sad truth is that no-one will simply achieve success in business by just working really hard! Your own definition of working hard might not be same as a successful entrepreneur’s idea of working hard. She may be working hard making the right strategic decisions, you may be working hard servicing and juggling your existing clients as well as doing the back office tasks, networking, lead generation, looking after sick children, older relatives as well as supervising the builders.  All in a day’s work you may think and many women accomplish such a lot! But at what price?

In one of my previous blog posts I wrote about the importance of showing your business who’s boss. A person in charge of their business will happily be spending time ‘on’ the business, rather than ‘in’ the business because they tend to think further ahead than today, tomorrow or next week.

They may also find it easier to unravel the causes of overwhelm and take action accordingly.  But when you’re caught in the ‘busy-ness’ trap it can be hard to know what to do first. Plus, busy women are often not good at taking time out whether for themselves or the business, unless- for whatever reason- they are forced to do so.

For some women taking time-out is the only way to take control and indeed it can have a very energising effect!  It’s great when it makes you more productive afterwards but whether it helps you to be more effective in the long run, I’m not sure!

Most microenterprise owners or freelancers ARE the business- if they are not taking time-out that’s spent on the business, then they won’t be making time for success!

ME-time, or time-out for you is different from ME-time for the business and ideally you will have some of both. Spending quality time to help you identify what REALLY matters in your business can have huge benefits: a clearer direction and doing more of what works- the high impact tasks-  whilst also letting go of low impact, time wasting activities.

This is an efficent as well as a proactive approach and much better than the reactive way of dealing with whatever requires attention right now- often a zillion seemingly urgent tasks.

All successful people invest time in themselves as well as in their business and this seems to be a key aspect that differentiates them from less successful people.

So as you are reading this why not schedule a Business- ME-Time slot in your diary right away?

Time is precious, it cannot be recycled, and the time you value, will equally be valued by your business!

Ute Wieczorek-King is an experienced trainer, mentor and business coach who specialises in helping busy women be more efficient, productive, visible and profitable in business.  Founder of the Inner Circle Business Clubs she is also the author of “How to Write a Simple 12 Month Plan” and co-author of “From Contact to Advocate (TM)” .  She has written a number of free inspirational articles for women in business. For more information please browse this blog or visit http://www.successnetwork.org.uk/articles/
*Image from Gewn.org (Georgia Executive Women’s Network)

My main task was to learn the CMS of their websites, and then write training manuals for them. But hey, wasn’t I doing that with Fairy Blog Mother? Of course I was, and now I have had the opportunity to learn a different CMS than WordPress, and understand what facilities are used when coordinating over 30 websites (B2C) and their sisters (B2B) from Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Writing the training manuals has also been good experience. Even without the benefits of Photoshop to hand, I still continued to make them very visual. Done via power-point, I created what could be a slide show, moving through each step as they generated on the page, with previous text greyed out once it had been read.

Explaining something that is generally considered complex is a challenge. It was up to me to make it seem simple, continuous and obvious. Even so, I received some very interesting queries about aspects of the CMS I didn’t realise could cause a problem. It’s exciting when a quandary materialises from nowhere and gratifying when a solution is produced that results in consumer satisfaction. I delight in watching the penny drop when comprehension happens, and the relief flood over them once the black cloud of uncertainty has been lifted.

Another venture I undertook was to write reactionary training presentations. To me it was clear that one exposure of a training module doesn’t make a person an immediate CMS expert. And anyhow, there is only so much you can fit into a training exercise. So I started to break down the ‘modules’ into bite-sized pieces, taking each subject on their own, carefully presented as a ‘How to’ for quick and easy reference.

I also composed answers to frequently asked questions, especially those that weren’t able to be covered in the training sessions. Sometimes it’s the tiniest of little things that cause the biggest barriers, but unless you know the answer, it can seem like a marathon to be endured before the solution is found. And if I can give a hand in solving those problems, then that is a job well done.

As the new year unfolds, it is so easy to dismiss the ‘old’ and welcome the ‘new’ without stopping long enough to take a breather.

Events can change very quickly, just like the weather: this morning we had gale-force winds, followed by torrential rain, which in turn was followed by glorious blue skies and sunshine. I found it easy to admire the sunshine and appreciate the good weather after the gloominess of the storm but without that strong contrast, would I have really taken notice of the good weather or would I have taken it for granted?

When the media is full of doom and gloom, when business colleagues say that it’s best to ignore the bad stuff so as not to be influenced by it, it may seem easier to switch off to avoid seeing what’s there. We can so easily become desensitized until a real tragedy touches us or someone we know, and forces us to stop us in our tracks.

Today as you read or hear the news, trail through your email inbox, scan your social media feeds or review your to-do list for the week, why not pay real attention to all of it – the good, the bad and the ugly?

Without exposing ourselves to bad news, dealing with the uncomfortable tasks we usually procrastinate on, or learning from the mistakes we all make from time to time, we deny ourselves the opportunity to appreciate the positives.

So when something doesn’t go quite as you expected in your business and you feel disheartened, if it feels strange at first to be grateful for the ‘learning’, try to find something else to feel grateful for – even if it’s just the sunshine or the blue sky.

You may be amazed by how good it feels to apply an attitude of gratitude in your day-to-day work. As William Arthur Ward said, “Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.”

Ute Wieczorek-King is a Success Coach, Trainer, Mentor & Owner of Success Network. Co-author of From Contact to Advocate™ – The authentic approach to generating referrals through win-win relationships. She helps busy women to be well connected, visible, effective and profitable in business.

If you would like to talk to Ute about your business, please email to arrange a complimentary 30-minute mentoring session.

Connect with her via Twitter, the Success Network Community on Linkedin, or Success Network Recipes on Facebook. Or sign up to her monthly newsletter on the Success Network website.

But now it is the occasion to give thanks for the year, and celebrate the wonderful times you have had since the last Yuletide. Unless you have been unfortunate to have a truly awful time (which I very much doubt), there will be many things to remember, relish and recount. Look through your diary to remind yourself of past events (certainly as you get older, aide memoirs are vital for this), and compare how far you have come since last Christmas time.

Concentrate on all the successes you have achieved and the fantastic friends/acquaintances/contacts you have made. Look back at how you have developed, how much you have learned, and how much better you have become. Surround yourself with the glowing fact that you will have benefited from these experiences, and this can only be a good thing.

Now go forth with these positive feelings, aspirations and forward thinking, all of which are perfect building blocks for an absolutely fantastic New Year!

This is a simple marketing ploy that is often neglected, misunderstood or even misapplied. And it’s all down to a terrible affliction: assumption.

Why do marketers assume their customers know what to do, understand their product or will be elbowing their way towards buying their services?

Why are campaigns and adverts forcing their unsuspecting public onto inappropriate and irrelevant webpages that do nothing to further their marketing activities?

Why do some online e-commerce systems become so complicated, require too many clicks, and present a maze of confusing webpages to wade through?

Why are there not enough instructions, persuasive wording, worthwhile incentives, relevant landing pages, inviting buttons to click on and exciting prizes to be won?

Why don’t marketers take more heed of the ‘What’s in it for me?’ syndrome when they think up a new marketing campaign?

Why do marketers spend time and money on a fancy Flash presentation that contains no call to action and is unable to be indexed by search engine spiders?

Why do people fail to communicate their marketing campaign further afield in social networking and other collaborative and interactive media?

Why do people create a campaign, upload it and then forget about it, without bothering to promote or optimise it?

Why don’t marketers have that desire to understand their customers or give them something to DO?

For those of you who are experiencing a slowdown – if you have been listening to the news of further doom and gloom, you may be forgiven for wanting to go into hiding. Please rest assured, I know lots of businesses (not just seasonal ones) that are busy, growing even, regardless of what we are told about the economy.

For me – whether it’s quiet or busy- this is the season to celebrate, have some fun and meet people!  My diary has filled nicely with leisurely one-to-ones and seasonal events that replace the formal networking events.

I tend to spend more time and money on networking at this time of year than at any other – why, you may ask?

I find that this is the one month where people seem more relaxed and happy to get to know each other in a less work-oriented atmosphere.  This represents a great opportunity to join in, particularly for those who don’t usually enjoy networking. I have learnt over the years that networking in a social way at this festive time will pay real dividends in a few months.

So if you’re considering slowing down your networking this month – especially if your diary is also crammed full of family commitments – please think again. Don’t write this time off just because you are too busy – try to think of new and imaginative ways to put yourself out there.

And another myth I’d like to dispel for those of you who are wondering, please don’t write off this month for social networking either. Not everything stops and not every decision maker goes on holiday, even if it may seem that way to you.

If you want to connect or stay in touch, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter will be there to serve you, as usual. This year some of my best leads and referrals have come from being visible and eager to connect with people during traditional, and supposedly quiet, holiday periods.

If you would like to keep a step ahead of your competitors, always try to be flexible, and open to new ideas and new ways of doing business. You never know, this could be your mantra not just for the festive season, but for the whole of 2012!

Best wishes for a wonderful festive season

Ute

PS If you would like to have a chat about your business just email me to arrange a complimentary 45-minute mentoring session.

Ute Wieczorek-King | Success Coach, Trainer, Mentor & Owner of Success Network. Co-author of From Contact to Advocate™ – The authentic approach to generating referrals through win-win relationships.

Ute helps busy women to be well connected, visible, effective and profitable in business. Connect with Ute via Twitter, the Success Network Community on Linkedin, or Success Network Recipes on Facebook. Or sign up to her monthly newsletter on the Success Network website.

I was talking to an independent contact lens fitter the other day. Since working at Johnson & Johnson Vision Care I have met a lot of interesting people, and of course my overactive brain is conditioned to transform any scenario into a marketing or blogging perspective.

He was explaining how he overcame the limitations of the contact lenses he has at his disposal. Even though JJVC have a very large product collection, there are always customers who don’t conform to match what is available. I fall into that category.

He ignored my negative comments about not being able to wear contact lenses because of my eye prescription. Instead he started questioning me. His initial purpose was to find out in which scenarios I would wear contact lenses. From that he deduced what problems needed to be overcome with what he had available. And from this information he then offered his solution.

Even though I wouldn’t take up his offer (it was far too expensive), I was impressed by his tactics. He didn’t immediately start selling his products. His questions, carefully delivered, pertinent in their information gathering and relevant to the cause, provided him with what he needed to state his conclusion. All this was achieved without pressure, hassle and even an awareness of his procedures.

In marketing and selling, the question is king. Those who gang-rape their potential customer with hype about their product or service, without any consideration for their situation or needs, will fare badly. Whereas those who take the time to question, listen carefully to the answers, assess the responses and draw a conclusion from the results, will have the advantage.

It takes confidence in yourself and your business to be able to stand back and view the situation from a different perspective. Being pushy to get a quick sale, regardless as whether it is suitable for the customer, is immaterial and inappropriate. Analysis of needs, desires and practicalities will win you brownie points, prevent alienation and provide a more conducive environment to work in.

Wasting time as you turn a penny over and over, looking at it to change things, worrying about what people would say about you or your advertising will not bring in the sales.

You know that you have a good product or service so what right do you have to keep it to yourself? Why won’t you let people be in on your secret? Speaking negatively to yourself only brings on self destruction and poverty.

So I ask you, how does “I can’t do this’, or ‘it doesn’t work’, serve you?

How does this move you into a position where you are marketing to the audience who wants your product or service?

Unless you have a time machine to go back to the past, then let go of all past pain which makes you feel self conscious and detach from the worrying need to predict the future. Detachment is the ability to let go of concern or a need for certainty about the unknown.

The point is to be present in the moment, enjoying the journey and the experience and doing what is necessary to move to the next stage. Learn to give up worrying about what people think about you, you can’t control this. Learn that you can’t fix the future nor return to the past but you can learn from the past and build a vision of the future. Stop being miserable or making yourself upset, rather, focus on your dreams, exercise humility and acknowledge your efforts.

As you move through your fear of criticism and the need for control you grow in confidence. Understand what you can influence and which circumstance you can change. As you promote your product or service to an audience who is seeking the solution you offer, focus on your commitments especially when life becomes a struggle.

Reach out to others and serve. You don’t have the right to withhold marketing your offering.

If you would like a complimentary 30 min session to find the confidence to put yourself out there, please email Jen Joseph at info@eecoaching.co.uk

Jen Joseph (Chartered MCIPD) works with senior level executive women who feel overwhelmed as a result of experiencing significant personal or professional change.  She helps them  to regain their inner strength and peace of mind, leading to a desired promotion, fewer conflicts in teams or relationships and greater life balance.

Website:  http://www.eecoaching.co.uk  – Twitter: http://twitter.com/EECoaching – LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/jenese-joseph/b/348/32b – Facebook: facebook.com/Releaseyourconfidentwoman

What do I mean by a keyword? ”A word or phrase that your prospective customers type into a search engine when they are looking for your product or service”.

Just in the past three weeks I have been asked the following question by two customers: ”Is it true that Google doesn’t take much notice of keywords anymore, so you don’t need to worry about putting them on your website?”

The facts are that there is a keyword meta tag available in your website HTML code, and Google used to take note of what you put in it many years ago. But people stuffed it full of keywords that were not necessarily relevant to their website content, so Google made the decision to ignore it in determining search engine rankings. See this post on Google’s Webmaster Central blog a couple of years ago: Google does not use keywords meta tags

My customers’ question was a result of a misunderstanding of the fact that Google doesn’t take much notice of the keyword meta tag. I don’t know if it was their misunderstanding or if it was passed on by an SEO Quack!

So remember – Google very definitely takes notice of keywords!

However, I do recommend that you put a small number of relevant keyword phrases into the keyword tag for 2 reasons:

• There are some directories that use the keyword tag content to determine how to index your entry.
• Some SEO experts think that if you stuff your keyword tag with 50 repetitions of the same keyword, or with dozens of irrelevant keywords, Google will spot that in a bad way! So you may as well make sure it is used properly to avoid accidental misuse.

If you would like any advice about this, call Jayne or Calum at the Adword Adviser on 0800 634 6529.

I’ve been watching a marketing campaign unfold her at work. Actually, I’ve been cringing too, as many things are done which I know are not quite right. There are many facets of a campaign that can be overlooked, and this includes the methodology of how you manage to combine your expectations with what your customers want.

It’s all down to your objective, what do you want them to do? Are you looking for increased website traffic, more sign-ups to your newsletter list, participants of a survey or competition, downloads of incentives like an e-book or voucher, purchasing a product or hiring your services?

This is only going to happen if the journey there is as easy, smooth and trouble free as possible. All stumbling blocks and extraneous procedures should be eliminated. The path should follow the method of awareness, education, example, reassurance, testimonial, call to action, function and gratification.

That sounds complicated, but it isn’t. If you want your potential customers to do something positive towards your business, provide the result in as few steps as possible. Always think what your customer would want and expect, from the beginning with their awareness and desire, the middle as they find out more and are convinced it’s a good thing, and the end when they click that button and finish the transaction.

I’ve always harped on about simplicity, and this is the magic ingredient that should be focused on towards the final destination. And to achieve this, present your campaign with one concept, product or prize. Dress it up to make it irresistible and immediately recognisable, use the words your customer understands and would use themselves, be constantly positive and remind them how much their lives could be improved.

And don’t forget the final element: added value. If there is anything you can throw in ‘for free’, then do so. Customers are always suckers for additional stuff, especially if they think they’re getting more than what they’ve paid for. Usually it’s no skin off your nose, and beneficial for them. It puts you in a good light, raises your reputation, increases the chance of word of mouth (or mouse) publicity, and places you in a better position should you wish to repeat the whole process again.

Meditation is the activation key which allows you to say that you can do, have or be anything while you feel uncertain. Susan Jeffers from ‘Feel the Fear and do it anyway’ said that when you put yourself in the position to feel your fears, you will begin to understand the messages they bring.

As you understand the message you become more resourceful and can analyse the content and context of the situation you encounter by asking:

• What was happening at the time?
• What was there that should not have been?
• Where were all of the significant elements?

You can evaluate the possible directions on impact for the long and short term if nothing is done to address the situation by asking:

• What do I want?
• What did I want?
• Where would I like to be now?

Now you are in a position to generate clear workable options or choices with a new focus by statements such as:

• If I do A, then B or C could be the outcome;
• If I do D, then C could be the outcome;
• If I do E, then A or F could be the outcome

The drive to perfecting your confidence and understanding is also a key drive to the how which makes your service better. As you can see it raises your awareness and in so doing you begin to TRUST yourself. A pay-off for this is an increase to your customer base and your profit margin even when the financial environment is in turmoil.

Confidence is the evidence that you can overcome any barriers. Meditation allows you to enter a state of gratitude which when engaged and expressed is the key to accessing your goal. As you do this you get closer to becoming the leader you envisaged.

If you would like to develop greater confidence, email Jen Joseph for a confidential complimentary 30 min coaching session at info@eecoaching.co.uk.

Jen Joseph (Chartered MCIPD) works with senior level executive women who feel overwhelmed as a result of experiencing significant personal or professional change.  She helps them  to regain their inner strength and peace of mind, leading to a desired promotion, fewer conflicts in teams or relationships and greater life balance.

Website:  http://www.eecoaching.co.uk  – Twitter: http://twitter.com/EECoaching – LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/jenese-joseph/b/348/32b – Facebook: facebook.com/Releaseyourconfidentwoman

Copyright 2011 Sophia King

I question that statement on two accounts. Firstly, how do you know that you ‘know’ people enough to not have to deepen the connection? And why would you ever not want to deepen that connection? If you build your network outwards, you’re not unlike a spider that keeps growing a web in the hope of increasing its chances to catch prey.

But just like a spider web, a network grown outwards can also be quite fragile. In fragile relationships you may not know enough about how you can help your contact, whether they would help you if you asked or who their connections are – and, importantly, whether they’d allow you to access those connections.

By diluting your efforts you may miss something crucial: the glue that holds relationships together and that creates the “know, like and trust” effect that leads to referrals and people helping each other generously and willingly.

The only way to achieve this is through deepening the connection!

Don’t keep making the mistake I see so many (not just new) business people make: spreading themselves thin, like a butterfly moving from one networking opportunity to another.

Let me share a secret with you: even if one-off and new business seems easy, it is never as personally rewarding or financially successful as business that comes from strong, long-term, business-generating relationships which are far more likely to lead to repeat business!

One of the key themes from our new book “From Contact to Advocate™” is how to assess your existing network and what to do to make it stronger. In fact we have built a referral system on the principle of Building Inward rather than Outward and know that it works!

Our concise, comprehensive and practical workbook “From Contact to Advocate™” outlines 7 easy steps to increasing the number and quality of referrals. Learn the secrets of generating business by clarifying your marketing message, networking with authenticity both online and offline with the people who matter and working with a simple and consistent structure. http://www.fromcontact2advocate.co.uk/

Ute Wieczorek-King is co-author of “From Contact to Advocate™” and an experienced trainer, mentor and success coach who specialises in helping busy women to be well connected, visible, efficient and profitable in business. Connect with Ute via Twitter, the Success Network Community on Linkedin, or Success Network Recipes on Facebook. Or sign up to her monthly newsletter on the Success Network website.

*http://web.hbr.org/email/archive/managementtip.php?date=091611

How do you get to a point where you can invoke confidence and trust that what comes is to serve a purpose? Does being confident mean that everything goes smoothly? Does exercising confidence remove all worry, confusion? NO.

Confidence grows in the face of adversity! It’s seen in your behaviour, your ability to show compassion (charity) and mercy (forgiveness) through which you can experience happiness and joy. Confidence allows you to envisage the future you are entitled to and minimises the potential impact of adversities.

But how do you evoke confidence when doubt, confusion or worry are beginning to create anxiety for you?

1. As destructive emotions arise, face them head on by taking action.

2. Adopt a position of gratitude to understand the lesson the emotions bring, as this approach will strengthen you.

3. Push your ego out of the way. Notice when you are becoming inflexible. Stop being right, exercise humility by taking responsibility. In this way you will become more powerful.

4. When you are made angry or you are reminded of a vexation then try to make peace with the person or yourself. Anger says that your standards have been violated and need to be reinforced.

As you practice these principles, your confidence will assure potential clients, reducing the doubt and anxiety they face when a provider is unknown. The more confident you become the greater your ability to create what you need. As your mind and emotions are freed of the clutter of downward pulling emotions, your profitability will increase in line with the level of your self-assurance.

Confidence has to be worked on consistently to grow. As your confidence grows you learn how to influence your belief systems and the state of your mind.

If you would like to develop greater confidence, email Jen Joseph for a confidential complimentary 30 min coaching session at info@eecoaching.co.uk.

Jen Joseph (Chartered MCIPD) works with senior level executive women who feel overwhelmed as a result of experiencing significant personal or professional change.  She helps them  to regain their inner strength and peace of mind, leading to a desired promotion, fewer conflicts in teams or relationships and greater life balance.

Website:  http://www.eecoaching.co.uk  – Twitter: http://twitter.com/EECoaching – LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/jenese-joseph/b/348/32b – Facebook: facebook.com/Releaseyourconfidentwoman

I work for a large corporate, with a many marketing departments all concerned with different areas of business, and it is amazing how busy everybody is to get a marketing campaign ready and rolling.

Of course, the bigger the organisation, the more complex the system becomes. The scale is much bigger than I have encountered before, so therefore the methods need to match the expectations. Of course it’s all very well creating the exercise, but there are many facets involved that aren’t available to an small business.

There’s a process the needs to be followed, from concept to completion, that arrives at a profitable conclusion, or the project would never get off the ground. The main objective is to raise enough awareness so that participants take advantage of a competition, respond to an affiliate and email marketing campaign, download a money-off voucher, cash it in at a specific participating retailer, continue with the product over several years, and spread the word amongst their friends and associates.

By performing within this venture, our participants are providing us with their contact details, statistics about the product and who use it, which retailers also participate, demographics and other popular statistics, and assisting with viral sharing of the company and its product.

But the main crux of this post is that much of the marketing activity is accomplished out of house. Agencies are employed almost at every point in the proceedings, with the corporate merely coordinating and channeling the strategic outcome. They use the expertise of other businesses to fulfill the specialised work, thus maintaining the high value and quality of the campaign. It isn’t worth their while to hire personnel for specific jobs that aren’t needed all the time, when outsourcing certain projects is far more profitable.

This is a far cry from my little business. I did absolutely everything, because I felt I had to. Not only could I bear the thought of outsourcing, I also felt I could do it better myself. Perhaps in a way I could, but it didn’t do me any good. Thoroughly burnt out, my collapse resulted in confusion, disconnection and ultimately failure. If I had had the forethought to use external expertise and outside help, I might still be practicing – but there again, I wouldn’t have learned all my skills that got me my present job in the first place…

Forgive us for blowing our own trumpets, but we can’t help feeling a little excited by the results we have personally achieved as a result of applying just a few key principles when networking.

Business can be a challenge for many of us particularly now in this tough economic climate.  It can be so easy to get drawn into the gloom and doom of it all but as someone who is more of a glass half- full than glass half-empty, I would like to encourage you to seek projects where you can collaborate with like minded individuals.

Yes, there are many of us in similar fields of business, but hey guess what, if you’re still open to learning and expanding your knowledge base, then I encourage you to do so.  Who knows where it might lead?  What opportunities may arise as a result of collaborating?

As a result of this collaborative project I have learned much more about referral relationships and unexpectedly more about me too.  I’ve learned what does and does not make the difference when it comes to building successful business relationships.  I’ve learned more about the value I can add to a project.  What I’m good at and what I need to improve.  In fact there’s probably enough material for an additional book but I think I’ll save that for another day!

In the meantime why not check out ‘From Contact to Advocate™’, the result of our collaboration? Please visit www.fromcontact2advocate.co.uk to see more.

This is a guest post from Mary Fraser at Fraser HR. Mary is an experienced HR professional and personal development coach with a passion for learning and helping individuals and small to medium sized organisations achieve their development goals.  She also runs Poppyfields, a new coaching service for children which gives children a space to express themselves.

It doesn’t necessarily mean having lots of friends and acquaintances. But it does mean being widely known for what you do, and this can be achieved by being understandable, memorable, likeable and attainable.

As part of my digital marketing diploma studies, we have been looking at affiliates. Don’t get me to explain them, I’m still learning! But what I have gathered is that they do depend on popularity. It’s no good placing a banner or advert on a blog or affiliate website if the traffic to these sites isn’t up to scratch! You need to have a dependable supply of interested people regularly passing by in order to have a chance of making money.

Another side of popularity is continuous presence! There are plenty of Twitterers and Facebookers who seem to be always there, tweeting, posting, commenting and making a general noise. But this needs to be full of added value and well worth listening to, or otherwise you’ll find yourself being ignored.

Providing influential material and valuable content is a guaranteed path towards popularity. Altruism helps greatly, but don’t let yourself be taken advantage of! What can you give others that will make a difference to their worlds? What valuable goodies can you share, not only to promote yourself but others, that will enrich everybody around you? Web2.0 today consists of interaction, sharing, communicating, conversation, providing added value and a worthwhile experience.

And Web3.0 is gaining momentum now! What can you offer on the back of what you already provide? What is relevant that will enhance your superb marketing skills, show forth your thriving business and expand your company’s potential? How easily can you provide this added value, so it will make your customers’ lives better? What is the availability of your goods and services within new and exciting virtual and technological capabilities?

Being popular is due to what kind of service your business provides, whether it delivers what is claims, and how wide-spread you’ve managed to publicise it. This also depends on the message, delivery and attitude you portray, not to mention the quality and functionality of your products. Do you thoroughly understand your customers, and have gone out of your way to make life easier for them? Are you giving them what they want, as well as what they need? Does your reputation go before you, to benefit from Word of Mouth and advocacy?

Popularity is a fascinating subject – it’s really worth having a think about it…

How much are you worth? How do you re-appraise your valu£?

The VALU£ of you.

Everyone of us has a £inancial set point.

If you’ve been used to an income of £30k and suddenly your income goes to £50k or above your natural inclination is to get rid of the excess £20k because it doesn’t match your internal map of your valu£.

Likewise if you’re use to an income of £80k and your income drops to £20k the discomfort will force you to find solutions to recover the missing £60k.

But what do you do when your set point is £60k and that is what you earn? How do you break through? How do you revalue yourself?

A millionaire is just as habit driven as a person who is constantly broke. But the millionaire has habits (actions driven by a certain mental attitude) that empowers them, where as the broke person’s habits drain them. The movement starts with the ability to see yourself earning at a higher level and to experience it internally. Build a vision and place yourself in it as though it were real. Get into the emotional state you would be feeling at the higher level of £arning. Adopt the thoughts you would entertain and behave the way you would at that higher level.

As you do these exercises intuitive thoughts of things you could do differently, people you could connect with; activities you could get involved in come to mind. When these occur to you TAKE ACTION. A bi-product of taking action is an increase in your joyfulness and less stress.

To accelerate the rate of increase or the flow of income the action of contribution will indicate to the subconscious that there is plenty. Increasing your service and contribution in any form as an expression of acknowledgement or gratitude for your accomplishments goes a long way to lift the psyche and your valu£ set point. Imagine if everything you did, every thought, look and touch was made through an act of service. What sort of world would you experience? where would your valu£ be set? Who would be drawn to you?

To reset your point, email Jen for a chat at info@eecoaching.

Jen Joseph (Chartered MCIPD) works with senior level executive women who feel overwhelmed as a result of experiencing significant personal or professional change.  She helps them  to regain their inner strength and peace of mind, leading to a desired promotion, fewer conflicts in teams or relationships and greater life balance.

Website:  http://www.eecoaching.co.uk  – Twitter: http://twitter.com/EECoaching – LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/jenese-joseph/b/348/32b – Facebook: facebook.com/Releaseyourconfidentwoman

The trouble is, they get so wrapped up in what they’re doing, the technology and the objectives, the jargon and the statistics, the products and the profits, that they stop seeing the wood for the trees.

It seem the larger the organisation, the more cocooned in their technological bubbles they become. The marketing lingo is almost like a foreign language, acronyms are bounced about like rubber balls, the bigger picture is adhered to without any consideration for the ‘now’.

Therefore it is a good thing to deliberately put yourself in the place of the customer, and try and analyse exactly what is going on, what decisions have been made, what the promotions actually mean, how understandable are they, and how easy is it to perform online what the company wants to be done.

This is a common problem in such a fast moving technological world, where new methods are constantly created and objectives, opportunities and outcomes change. The personnel inside the organisation adapt to maintain the status quo, but do their customers? So much new knowledge is absorbed, implemented and monitored, that they forget outside world is struggling to keep up.

So sometimes the words that are used, the message that is put across, the way the company communicates with their customers, seems to have lost touch with the ‘real world’. They are so proud of their products and the technology behind them, this sometimes clouds over the real purpose of promotion: you need to use the same words the customer would use, empathise with their problems, and provide a solution with real added value.