Category: Strategic Communication

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This appeared in the Courier Post on March 13, 2016…

Proposals are both a sales document and the basis of what’s going to be your contract or agreement. So, you need to entice the customer without misrepresenting what you are going to be able to deliver. In summary, here’s how:

• Be clear on the client’s needs
• Ask if the client has a budget in mind
• Create a proposal template
• Cut and paste “boilerplate” content
• List all deliverables
• Be absolutely clear on fees and payment terms
• Consider a brief PowerPoint presentation

“Finally,” Abrams says, “be brief and make your proposal look good. Most proposals for consulting work need only be one to three pages long, and make your proposal and supporting documents look professional and polished. The quality of your proposal should reflect your quality of work.

To comment: larry at larry litwin dot com]

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This week’s blog comes from:

Dale Carnegie Training Newsletter

By Anita Zinsmeister, President — anita.zinsmeister@dalecarnegie.com
Dale Carnegie® Training of Central & Southern New Jersey 

If you’ve had the privilege of being supported by an amazing mentor, what was it about this person that made such an impact?  Perhaps their guidance enabled you to set and achieve goals much more quickly than had you tried without their wisdom.

With Valentine’s Day around the corner and in the spirit of ‘paying it forward,’ I challenge you to consider becoming a career mentor to someone in need. Many researchers agree that mentoring can be associated with a wide range of positive outcomes including facilitating career development among employees¹.  In addition, self-confidence grows commensurately with professional mentoring. 

Once you’ve decided to mentor, follow these steps to make your mentorship more meaningful.

Partner up and set expectations.  Both you and your mentee will set yourselves up for success by setting clear expectations from the get-go.  You can easily learn what the mentee hopes to derive from your mentorship by asking questions.  Dale Carnegie’s 15^th Human Relations principle is to, ‘Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.’  Once you’ve actively listened to the mentee’s responses, you can set expectations including how frequently you meet and how you will track activities and goal attainment.

Pursue on a personal level.  Mediocre advice is meaningless.  To maximize your mentor/mentee relationship, you must show a sincere interest in your mentee.  Dale Carnegie’s 4^th principle is to, ‘Become genuinely interested in other people.’  Getting to know your mentee on a deeper, personal level will reinforce her trust in you and deepen the relationship.  If the mentee says her presentation went well, don’t stop there.  Ask what she thinks she did best and what she would do over if she could.  Then, applaud her for a job well-done and give advice for how to improve upon where she fell short.

Push pause when appropriate.  Just because you have more experience than your mentee does not mean you must always have all of the answers.  Be honest when you do not and commit to procuring the information; then deliver it.  Be aware that sometimes, people just need to vent—especially if they applied a new skill and struggled.  Put yourself in their shoes so you are more cognizant of when to offer advice vs. when you need to sit back and listen attentively.

Practice empathy and act accordingly.  Strong mentors have high emotional intelligence levels.  Scientists Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer first coined “emotional intelligence” as, “a form of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and action.”  One aspect of emotional intelligence is being self-aware which enables you to manage your own negative emotions so that you forgo projecting them onto other people.  Knowing thyself first will enable you to better understand how your mentee’s experiences have shaped her, and how best to frame solid advice that will last a lifetime.

This post is brought to you by the good folks at Dale Carnegie Training of Central & Southern New Jersey. We would love to connect with you on Facebook and Twitter @CarnegieJersey.

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[To comment: larry at larry litwin dot com]

[To comment: larry at larry litwin dot com]

This week’s blog comes from:

Dale Carnegie Training Newsletter

By Anita Zinsmeister, President — anita.zinsmeister@dalecarnegie.com
Dale Carnegie® Training of Central & Southern New Jersey 

 

By Steve Cody

Co-founder, Peppercomm@RepManCody

Like many of you, I receive an absolute avalanche of unsolicited sales inquiries from companies large and small. In nearly every case, the entreaties badly miss the mark. In the case of the small fry who pitch me, I tend to let it go since they’re so resource-constrained to begin with.

But considering the marketing budgets of big companies, I have no second thoughts whatsoever happily deleting their e-mails, videos, and e-newsletters, as well as tossing their snail mail in the circular file.

Years of bombardment by misguided marketers has given me one thing, however: the knowledge to list the top nine marketing mistakes most large companies make in attempting to sell their wares to me:

1.) They talk at me. One insurance company bombards me weekly with digital advertisements telling me they have a passion for protecting my business. They then proceed to tell me I really should set a first meeting with a local representative. Why would I do that when the company has done absolutely nothing to convince me they know my needs or wants?

2.) They don’t understand my role. I’d be a rich man if I earned a dollar for every piece of mail or spam from large providers asking me if I’d thought about my firm’s copier needs, back-end web architecture, or HVAC requirements. Happily, I have very competent professionals handling those areas. If you don’t take the time to figure out my role, don’t bother contacting me.

3.) They butcher my name. Calling me Scott, Sam, or Shirley earns a salesperson an immediate one way ticket to Palookaville. It’s not only insulting; it foreshadows the type of attention the larger organization will pay to my needs (were I foolish enough to engage their services).

4.) They don’t do their homework. Large commercial realtors routinely bombard me with amazing new spaces that have just come on the market and are absolutely ideal for Peppercomm. Had these eager beavers only conducted due diligence, they’d know we’re at the front-end of a 10-year lease and have no interest whatsoever in looking at new space.

5.) They don’t personalize their pitch. This is especially true of car companies who try to connect with me in every conceivable way and on every possible channel. None, though, bothers to address my wants and needs as the owner of a 100-person business, or why as a small business owner I should consider buying their auto over a competitor’s. Haven’t these large marketers heard of one-to-one marketing?

6.) They make false assumptions. Many large trade organizations often invite me to attend their amazing workshops, seminars, or conferences. Sadly, I’m not interested in project management, business opportunities in emerging markets, or gleaning insights from rock stars in the world of telephony. Why invite the head of a marketing communications firm to any of the above without first knowing if I even care?

7.) They use the wrong channels. If a large company really wants to connect with me, they’ll take the time to find out where I consume information. Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn where I’m quite active and react to one of my tweets, blogs, or columns with additional thoughts. Or share an article I might enjoy. If you build trust, you’ll earn my consideration.

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8.) They aren’t transparent. I recently received an engraved invitation from a well-known mutual fund company. They were inviting me to an “educational” dinner at a five-star Manhattan eatery for free! They were also quick to add that the mailer was not a sales solicitation of any kind. Yeah, sure. And, Barry Bonds never ingested steroids. Be upfront. Tell me you’d like me to consider your services and intend to explain why at an upcoming shindig. Maybe I’ll attend as opposed to dumping your two-faced mailer in the garbage.

9.) They never offer to help me. After my firm was named best workplace by Crain’s New York Business, I was deluged by e-mails and letters that began: “Congratulations on being named the single best workplace in New York City. Since you want to stay on top, we know you’ll want to know more about our (fill-in product or service).” Had these very same firms come to me and offered to, say, help me network within their influential circles, I’d definitely take a first meeting (and maybe even consider buying their product or retaining their services). Alas, big companies don’t like to invest their time in nurturing relationships with smaller organizations.

As everyone knows, the entrepreneurial market is white hot at the moment. And like sharks circling prey, large companies are trying to figure out how best to connect with us. There really ought to be a tutorial for these predators because most are missing the mark by a mile. If a shark was half as sloppy in its hunting, the poor thing would die of starvation.

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

[To comment: larry at larry litwin dot com]

[To comment: larry at larry litwin dot com]

These tips from strategic counselor Rhonda Abrams first appeared early last year. They bear repeating. Abrams contact information appears below:

What do you want to achieve in 2015 for your small business? The beginning of January is the time for New Year’s resolutions, so here are my top 10 resolutions for small business owners and entrepreneurs.

1. Focus on recurring revenue.

You may be thrilled to find any source of income, but some types of customers contribute more significantly to your long-term financial well-being. Focus foremost on customers who have the need and capacity to buy from you repeatedly rather than one-off purchasers.

2. Limit your time on social media.

Social media can eat up your day even when it’s for a business purpose. Establish a time limit—I’d say 30 minutes maximum—schedule it for a specific time each day and then click off and get back to work. To limit your time on social media, schedule your social media posts in advance using a social media management tool. We use Hootsuite. Others are Buffer andTweetDeck.

3. Put your electronic devices away.

Recent studies have shown that using an electronic light-emitting device (such as a tablet or smartphone) before you go to sleep at night significantly reduces both the quality and quantity of your sleep. You need your rest to be at your best. So if you want to relax before bed, pick up a good old-fashioned print book. (You remember those, don’t you?)

4. Get more help.

Your business may not growing sufficiently because you are trying to do too much yourself. It’s difficult to find good employees and contractors, but a great worker can truly help you grow your company significantly. Examine your operation for routine tasks that take too much of your time, and look for areas of business growth you need outside expertise to achieve.

5. Fully fund your retirement.

Sure, we all think we’re going to sell our small business one day and have enough to buy a beach house in Hawaii. But don’t bet everything on that. Instead, every year make sure you put as much money as you can in a retirement account—certainly the full amount that you can shelter from current taxes.

6. Take care of your health.

Health is basic to all our other endeavors. If your body and mind are not healthy, you won’t have the energy or capability to achieve business success. Make sure you carve out enough time to exercise, eat healthfully and get enough sleep. These are business necessities, not just personal indulgences.

7. Keep learning.

Attend conferences and workshops. Take classes. Watch instructional videos. Read. Your business depends on your brain, so make sure you are continually expanding it. The world is changing, technology is improving and your industry is evolving, so you need to know what’s going on to constantly improve your skill set.

8. Check your financial statements regularly.

In the crush of work—or from the fear of finding out bad news—many entrepreneurs hesitate to look too deeply and regularly into their financial reports: profit and loss, cash flow, aging accounts receivable and payable. Every week, perhaps on Monday or Friday, spend at least 30 minutes reviewing your financials.

9. Plan your day.

Every morning make a “to do” list and keep it in front of you. Keep it reasonable and (mostly) achievable. Use a project management tool to stay on top of your tasks. In our office, we use Asana; others use Basecamp. Use these tools not only to track your tasks, but the progress of your staff and consultants.

10. Send out your invoices.

You can’t get paid if you don’t send a bill, yet many self-employed consultants are too busy to get their invoices out on time. Better yet, accept credit card payments at the time of service or sales to eliminate invoicing.

Here’s wishing you and your small business a happy, healthy and prosperous 2015.

Copyright, Rhonda Abrams, 2015

This article originally ran in USA Today on January 2, 2015

[To comment: larry at larry litwin dot com or Rhonda Abrams, CEO Planning Shop newsletter@planningshop.com]

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From the Courier-Post on Jan. 17, 2016 and CareerBuilder’s Deanna Hartley.

Here are some tips for getting back on your feet after a rejection:

• Don’t take it personally
• Maintain a positive attitude
• Turn your weakness into a strength
• Think, reflect and talk it out
• Don’t give up on the employer that rejected you

To learn how you can brand yourself, check out Larry Litwin’s books via www.larrylitwin.com. All have gotten outstanding reviews.

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