Coaching for Entrepreneurs, Executives & Employees

Whether you are an entrepreneur, executive or an employee, you are an individual human regardless of the type of business you’re in. As an individual, you possess characteristics, beliefs and habits that you have developed from the time you were born to the present day.  It’s these beliefs and habits that make up our personalities and who we are. Some of these beliefs and habits support our goals and make us great leaders, and others don’t. The beliefs and habits we have determine the decisions we make, our attitudes, how we treat others and how we respond to situations.

For an individual with the desire to grow and achieve success, situations and challenges occur that are common in life and business. How we handle these moments, even when they appear negative, dictates how we respond, the actions we take, and our attitude toward them, which determines the outcome. Does the outcome of these situations support your growth, your goals and the direction you desire to go in? These situations, also referred to as “key moments” can be big, but oftentimes it’s the small key moments that are more frequent that are often overlooked and not given thoughtful consideration.  As a result, these small key moments we encounter continue to shape us over the course of our lives and are a bigger factor in our success than what you may think. When our behaviors, habits and beliefs, shaped from these small key moments, are not supportive, they hinder our success more than the obvious significant moments. Our response to the smaller, more frequent key moments during our lives will determine how we respond to the bigger defining moments.

As an individual with the desire to get more out of life, a career or business, how do you change these beliefs, habits and the paradigm from which you live to support your future growth? Changing habits, behaviors and beliefs as an individual can seem an insurmountable task; it’s the reason there are thousands of self-help books. If it were an easy feat, and with all the information readily available to us on how to change, why is it that many of us don’t?

Where you are today is a result of the choices and the,

conscious and unconscious, decisions you’ve made in life

Coaching has been proven by many individuals and organizations to be a valuable catalyst to help a person or organization shift directions and change habits, behaviors and perspectives that will alter the outcomes of their future decisions to support their goals, dreams, and the direction they choose to track.

Does coaching work? Is coaching valuable? That depends on how important success is to you. It depends on your level of desire andcommitment to change and grow to achieve more out of life. If the desire to achieve more and to change is absent, then coaching will be of little value to you or the organization. However, when desire and commitment are present; coaching has been proven to be a viable catalyst for great growth and success where many realize exponential results.

Why do some people succeed and others don’t? Simply put, people that succeed have desire, commitment and discipline and choose to live with intent and focus on the right things that get them the right results, thus achieving success.

For many individuals and organizations, their belief system and perspectives see coaching in life and business as something nebulous, and, as a result, they grossly under value coaching as a catalyst for change and growth and continue down the same path of limited or backwards growth. Continuing to do the same activities and expecting different results is a misalignment between realistic goals and actions. Oftentimes this can be seen as competing priorities or a lack of focus, ultimately resulting in little or no results and frustration.

Coaching and achieving results or success is a process. If you look at it from the perspective that it is nebulous or mysterious, then how would you ever develop a plan that allows you to achieve repeatable and predictable results?

What does a coach do?

There are many professional coaches today that an individual or organization can hire as catalyst to support change and growth. Coaches are all unique and come with their own sets of experiences and approaches and specialties.

Your coach operates as your trusted and impartial partner to support you in your efforts through the process, to challenge you when needed, to acknowledge and celebrate your wins, to hold you accountable to the goals and priorities you’ve defined, and to be your thinking partner, asking powerful questions that provide you with insight and clarity to overcome challenges and fears while on your path to growth, leadership and success.

What is the coaching process? Some of the areas the coach may explore with you to create, clarity, focus and balance for growth and leadership are but not limited to:

Assessing the current – Understanding the current situation and concerns is an important consideration during the coaching process, as it gives insight into the behaviors and beliefs that created the undesirable conditions that are inhibiting growth. When there is clarity and awareness of the issues, it can be taken into consideration during the discovery and planning phases of the coaching process to free up what’s holding you or the organization back.

Developing alternative perspectives and a winning mindset – The perspective on where you are today and want to be in the future will determine the decisions you make. Making intelligent decisions involves looking at circumstances and the future from a different viewpoint, one that provides an avenue to other alternatives and approaches. A healthy winning mindset supports positive attributes, opens the mind up to fresh ideas and possibilities and achieves growth.

Discovering possibilities - Each person and organization has their own definition of success and an idea of what they would like to achieve. The coaching process helps you flush out the ideas through discovery and why those ideas are important to you or the organization and your growth.

Identifying and clarifying realistic goals – What are the important goals in your life or the organization? If there is a lack of clarity in the direction and goals, it creates competing priorities and a lack of focus, leaving little or no results. This is a chronic problem that triggers frustration and conflict individually and within organizations and strips away confidence, positive attitudes and enthusiasm, which are replaced with fear and doubt.

Designing and planning actions & priorities – Designing and planning actions and priorities that support the realistic and meaningful goals defined for the individual or organization is a key factor to getting results. When actions and priorities are not in alignment with the goals, the expected results are not achieved.

Executing, staying focused, progress and accountability – One of the biggest challenges we have is the ability to stay focused and to apply consistent effort over time to achieve the results we’re looking for.  Regardless of the goals and actions defined if you or the organization cannot execute the plan with focused and consistent effort results will not be realized. Your coach is your accountability partner to help keep you focused on things you’ve identified will create progress for you or the organization by helping you stay focused and hold you accountable to the actions.

What causes a lack of focus?

Lack of focus or clarity is one of the reasons people seek coaching. The belief is that when a person or organization can increase their focus the results will change, which is not always true. A lack of focus is a symptom to an underlying issue. If the underlying issue is not addressed, then just increasing focus on the same things oftentimes will not generate the expected results.

Approximately 10,000 to 60,000 random thoughts go through our minds each day. Managing these thoughts and ideas while pursing your goals can be a real challenge, and when you’re an organization with multiple employees, and each has thousands of thoughts and ideas, it’s no wonder organizations lack focus, have competing priorities and conflict, all of which inhibit growth. To effectively manage these thoughts and increase focus requires clarity and alignment of  your purpose, your strengths, your core values and beliefs, and your goals and actions. When this is achieved, you shift yourself into a mode where you are moving forward with intent and deliberate action, which is recognized as being “focused.” Not moving forward with clear and meaningful intent means that your mind is in an idle position and more susceptible to the 10,000 to 60,000 random thoughts we have, thus creating distractions, which show up as a lack of focus. It’s the lack of focus that is more easily recognized as the problem, because it’s at the surface level, but oftentimes it will go unresolved because the real ailment is never addressed. As this cycle continues, frustration, doubt, fear, and stress continue to build from expending energy without getting results. The phrase “spinning my wheels” has been used to describe this state, which strips away your confidence and energy and leads to a point of major frustration also referred to as a WTF Moment as described in Mike Brenhaug’s book WTF Transform what appears negative into a positive to become unstoppable!.

How do I gain more confidence?

Confidence is a state of mind and is based upon previous experiences, failures, beliefs, skills and knowledge. When a person is clear on who they are, their passion, beliefs, strengths and mission are in complete alignment with their goals and actions. This cathartic process shifts a person into what I call the “Core of Success.” It’s operating from the Core of Success that produces confidence, perseverance, a positive attitude, enthusiasm and other characteristics associated with success and replaces the attributes that create the undesirable. A person virtually becomes unstoppable when living from the Core of Success, which is recognized as confidence, drive and determination.

How do I overcome fears?

Your coach will work with you to identify what’s causing the fears to create a plan of action. Many times fear has set in as a result of lack of clear purpose, planning and goals. Just creating awareness around the fear won’t necessarily eliminate the problem. Fear is an emotion and a symptom, not the problem. You overcome problems, which can reoccur. Symptoms are indication that something is wrong, which needs to be diagnosed to solve the real problem, thus eliminating the symptom, which in this case is fear. When the real problem is solved, fear is replaced with confidence, a much more positive and desirable emotion that supports strong growth and leadership.

How does training fit in with coaching?

Coaching and training oftentimes are separate, as there are coaches that specialize in coaching and trainers that specializes various training topics. The two go hand in hand like sales and marketing. You can operate them separately, but they are extremely powerful and effective when utilized together. Which comes first, coaching or training? It depends on the situation, but for many, engaging a coach comes first because it’s the coaching process that will assist you in assessing the situation and planning the future and will allow you to determine what, who and how much training is necessary to support the future direction. Training alone, without clear purpose as to why, or not addressing the real problem, will result in a low ROI. If you’re not certain which to do first, then it’s a pretty good indicator that you should choose to work with a coach to bring clarity to what your desired outcome is.

How long will I need to work with a coach?

There is no definitive answer. It depends on what you want to get out of your life, business and the coaching engagement. If you’re looking for a quick fix, then coaching most likely is not the answer. Coaching is a powerful collaboration partnership to guide you to greater growth and leadership. Some coaches offer short-term packages and others choose to work with individuals and organizations that are committed to greater results. In any case, coaching and training should not be viewed as quick fixes, as this will set you up for false expectations and disappointment. Quick fixes are a temporary solution until the real problem can be resolved. This works in some areas of our lives, such as when our car is broken down and we need a quick fix to get us to the professional to diagnose and fix the real issue. Growth, leadership and success are achieved from decisions that are made from commitment, and a “quick fix” mentality is not supportive of long term, “all-in” commitment. Do you begin toward growth and your goal and then stop at some point, or are you committed to the end? It raises the question: when considering personal and organizational growth, is there such a thing as a “quick fix?” Our life and success is not a destination but a journey.

How do I know if coaching will work for me or my organization?

Three key attributes are necessary for coaching and training to be effective and are good indicators if coaching will work for you:Desire, commitment and discipline. If desire is absent, then the willingness to be open to fresh ideas, to look at things from a different perspective, the willingness to change behaviors and develop habits is absent. When that is absent it’s extremely difficult to be committed to growth, leadership, and success. Without commitment, the discipline to follow through on necessary actions that create positive habits for change that support growth won’t occur.

At the end of the day, the question still exists. How valuable is coaching for me and/or my organization?

Well, that is up to the value you place on growth and success as an individual or leader as well as the organization. Only you can determine how valuable your future is to you. Do you value your future success enough to invest in yourself and/or the organization?

To help clarify the value of coaching, ask yourself these questions:

If you as an individual or organization had a clear purpose and goals that were in complete alignment, that allowed everyone to be on the same page and were living each day with intent, clarity, focus, balance how valuable would that be to you and/or your organization?

How would that change your life and/or business?

How would that change the life of those around you, your employees or your clients?

How much more valuable or effective would you be to yourself or others?

How much more time, balance and happiness would it bring you?

What are the cost to you and/or your organization in time, happiness, results, and revenue if you continue as you are today?

Your answers to these questions will allow you to determine how valuable coaching is to you and/or the organization. You either choose to live life with intent and move forward or not. There is no in-between.

Live from the Core of Success, Be Unstoppable, and Win The Future!

Mike Brenhaug

Mike Brenhaug is a professional business coach and author of the bestseller WTF: Transform what appears negative into a positive to become unstoppable! Mike coaches and speaks with entrepreneurs, executives and organizations on focus and shifting into the Core of Success, where results will be realized.

www.BlueRockCoaching.com

As an entrepreneur and person interested in realizing success in life, I experienced many wins and challenges. The one thing that frustrated me more than anything was doing all I could to win. Putting in the hours, making the calls, literally doing everything I could to make it happen, but not getting the results I wanted. I felt like there was something holding me back or some ceiling of success that I had reached. I couldn’t make sense of it or figure it out and it became extremely frustrating for me. I read many self-help books, most likely the same ones you read. To be honest, I still felt like something was missing. I needed something that could pull it all together and allow me to create successful and consistent habits, something that I could put my hands on to help me focus on the right things that would get me results. That’s what I was looking for. I wanted to know what kept Thomas Edison going, trying over a 1,000 times when he wasn’t getting results. I wanted to know how someone like Fred Smith, founder and CEO of FedEx, could find the energy and persistence to forge ahead when he encountered challenges like meeting payroll or the bank coming to take his planes. I wanted to know what a 20-year-old Debbi Fields, founder of Mrs. Fields Cookies, had that allowed her to succeed despite others telling her she couldn’t build a business from only making and selling cookies. I wanted what Colonel Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, had that, at the age of 65, living off social security, allowed him to endure rejection over a 1,000 times. What is it that these entrepreneurs have that allowed them to succeed? I know they must have experienced challenges along the way. How did they overcome these challenges? I know they must have had a vision, belief, and confidence, and certainly they persevered to achieve their goals. But how do you create all this, how do you put it all together to where it makes sense? How can I create that same burning desire or unstoppable power within me so I can reach success? That’s what I wanted to know. I knew it had to be more than just having goals or being positive. I have both and still hadn’t reached the goals I really wanted to. As I started coaching other people in business, it became apparent that I wasn’t the only one who had these thoughts. I realized that success is not driven from just having goals or having a purpose or taking action. There is a Core of Success that brings it all together and makes it happen; it’s the core that provides the unstoppable power within us. It’s that unstoppable power that allows you to overcome, to push through and forge ahead when life is happening. Not engaging the Core of Success leads to lack of results, disappointment and frustration. Live from the Core of Success & Win The Future! By Mike Brenhaug From the book WTF Transform what appears negative into a positive to become Unstoppable! Mike Brenhaug is an entrepreneur and founder of BlueRock Coaching Group, author of WTF, speaker and business coach for Entrepreneurs, Executives and Employees. For more information on the Core of Success and how to shift into the Core of Success visit www.WTFmomentbook.com

What is a WTF Moment?

I was on a coaching call one day with a new client who was extremely frustrated with the lack of results he was getting from his efforts. He asked, “Mike, I’m doing all I can to grow my business. I get up early in the morning, I make sales calls daily, I attend networking events, I blog regularly. On top of trying to get more business, I have clients to service. What’s going on? What more can I do?”

This wasn’t the first client that had come to me with similar feelings of frustration, experiencing what I refer to as a “WTF Moment.” This is a very real moment that we experience in life and how we respond to this moment will determine our level of success.

The type of WTF Moment I’m referring to happens in business and in life when you are doing everything you possibly can to succeed, yet things are just not clicking. You feel major frustration, you become discouraged, and you lose confidence and faith in yourself and your abilities. It’s something that has you so frustrated that it distorts your perception of the situation; your emotions and adrenalin are at a peak and cause you to literally think, WTF? It’s at this moment that you feel like you’re stuck, your wheels are spinning and you can’t seem to move forward. You lack focus and energy because your mind is occupied with all these other feelings that are uncomfortable and negative. Your confidence, positive attitude and willingness to win have been stripped away. You feel like you don’t have any other options, so it’s natural, when you see “WTF,” to perceive it as a negative, because that’s exactly how it feels. You throw up your hands because you’ve done everything you possibly can, and you’re just not getting the results you expect. You think to yourself, “What is going on? What more can I do? I’m doing everything that I can. I just don’t know what else to do.” What can you do at this moment? How do you respond? How do you shift from this WTF Moment into a different mode that will produce positive feelings of happiness and joy, and give you an abundance of energy and confidence that moves you forward?

The very WTF moment that you’re experiencing and perceiving as a negative is the very moment that is a catalyst for change when you look at it from a different perspective. A negative feeling is just an emotion. We perceive it as a negative, because it feels uncomfortable and we don’t see a way out because frustration and doubt have overwhelmed you. Who made it a negative? Who says it has to be a negative?

As humans, we’re the ones that take it as a negative. Now, think about this. That same feeling is a catalyst for change. If life never challenged you, what would cause you to grow? You wouldn’t. When you’re comfortable, there’s nothing to motivate you to change. A WTF Moment is a positive; it’s life’s way, or God’s way, of motivating you to change. When you make a WTF Moment a positive, you open your mind up to new ideas and possibilities. When you judge your feelings and accept them as negative, you close your mind, which creates stress and worry. You were born to succeed and life wants you to succeed. Life and God are on your side and nothing is more gratifying than you living a successful life with joy, love and happiness.

When your view changes, your mind will see that there are other definitions for those three letters: WTF.

Where’s The Focus?

When you can focus on the right things that will produce the right results, you’ll transform your WTF Moments into positives and become unstoppable.

Are you focused on the things that will bring good into your life or are you focused on the wrong things that will bring the bad?

Are you focused on the right actions that will get the right results?

Are you focused on the right clients?

Are you focused on what fires you up and gives you real internal energy?

Are you focused on your strengths?

Are you focused on a positive attitude?

As you read this book, I invite you to look at your WTF Moments as positives rather than negatives. Do you know what’s causing those frustrating moments? The methodology covered in this book will help you transform what appears negative into a positive for success. You’ll

learn how to change your perspective and focus to get positive results and get what you want out of life and business. Great things are happening in your life, and change is good. When you’re changing, you’re learning and growing.

For more information on how to Transform what appears negative in your life and business into a positive to become unstoppable! visit www.WTFmomentbook.com

By Mike Brenhaug author of  WTF Transform what appears negative into a positive to become Unstoppable!

Mike Brenhaug is a transformation coach for executives, business professionals and entrepreneurs.

www.BlueRockCoaching.com

I could recommend a hundred books on setting goals but if you’re not reaching your goals then what’s the point? Anyone can set goals! What’s important is reaching the goals you set.

If I could share one important thing about goals it would be, make it meaningful. We can set goals all day long, create an action plan, and even want it. But at the end of the day, if that goal really doesn’t have a deep meaning for us it’s not going to happen.

When you think about your goals ask yourself the following questions.

1. What does reaching this goal mean for me?

2. How will my life and those close to me be different?

3. Why is this goal important to me?

4. Does this goal excite me and give me the fire, passion and energy to make it happen no matter what?

5. Am I okay with not reaching this goal?

The key is getting beyond setting goals and actually reaching them. Sometimes we get caught up in having a list of goals, but having a list of goals that really doesn’t have any meaning for us, can actually cause feelings of overwhelm and discouragement because we’re not reaching our goals. There’s a reason you’re not reaching your goals. Could be you have too many goals and not focused on the most important ones, could be the goal really isn’t meaningful to you. Focus on fewer goals, make them meaningful and make it happen no matter what!

Mike Brenhaug

My regular readers know that when it comes to evaluating the sales force or assessing sales candidates, I have no use for personality assessments.  If you’re a first time or new reader, look no further than here for documentation and proof.  Regulars also know that I sometimes reprint emails received from sales candidates who have been offended by a potential employer’s request to take an assessment.  Many of these uninformed, unprepared, emotional candidates refer to the assessment as a personality test - the assessment it least resembles.  There are personalities in sales, but the various traits do not predict performance and there isn’t a personality trait that translates into sales because the traits are discovered in social contexts, not business or selling contexts.  That said, there are diverse individuals that you will have to manage and they aren’t really personalities as much as they are characteristics.  You might call them one or two word descriptions of people instead of characterizing them as personalities.  Following are 10 Sales Characters and how you can manage them more effectively.

PETE THE PERFECTIONIST - Pete won’t begin anything until he is sure he can do it perfectly.  Symptoms are procrastination, failure to implement your suggestions and ferocious rewriting of his notes (because the first set wasn’t perfect).  Your job, should you decide to accept it, is to provide Pete with permission to fail.  Assign a goal that you both know he can achieve.  Tell him to get some “no’s” and it’s not only OK to bring back some “no’s” but you would prefer it to a “think it over” or a “maybe”.  Read more

NICK THE KNOW IT ALL - Nick is easy to spot because he drives you nuts.  He knows everything, as evidenced by his willingness to say, “I know!”  You can’t tell him anything new and he will always defend the way in which he has always done things.  His lack of flexibility and resistance to change is his downfall.  Your job, and in this case, it’s too much fun to call it a job, is to challenge or dare Nick.  Tell him what needs to be accomplished, but tell him you don’t think he can do it.  Tell him you’ll have to get someone else to do it.  Enough said.

ORSON THE OVER ACHIEVER - Orson is always busy, always striving to break the record, out-earn his latest paycheck, set the new company record for most miles driven in one day, etc.  While you may have the urge to take some of the burden off Orson’s shoulders, he actually functions best when over burdened so leave him completely alone.  He doesn’t need to be managed with a heavy hand.  Just tell him what you expect and he’ll get it done.  It never occurred to him that he could find a way not to do it!  Read More

LOIS THE LOYALIST - Lois is like a puppy dog, always following you around, sucking up to you, learning from you and even idolizing you.  In fact, she’d love to have your job if it meant you would be getting a better one!  The only thing you have to do with Lois is tell her what to say, who to say it to, when to say it, what will happen then and what to do after that.  Make sure she has it down exactly and then have all the confidence in the world that your own personal groupie will get the job done exactly as you would have done yourself.

CONTENT CARL - Carl has sales know how but isn’t using it as aggressively as he once did.  His sales are probably flat and his calls for new business are dropping every year.  He has a good existing customer base and services it well but you still want him to be more than a $100,000+ service man.  Have a very serious, extremely strong meeting with Carl, in which you tell him how terribly unhappy you are with his performance.  Tell him exactly what you expect from him, by when, and what will happen if he doesn’t perform.  Read More

NEED FOR APPROVAL ALICE - More than anything, Alice needs for you to like her.  Her need for approval will cost you both a fortune in lost business in the field but you can play her like a fiddle in the office.  Just tell her you are losing respect for her.  Tell her she isn’t measuring up to the others in the office.  Tell her that she is disappointing you.  She’ll do whatever it takes to get back in your good graces. Read More

UNSTABLE URSULA -  Ursula needs to get her head on straight, might come from a dysfunctional family and is used to being yelled at.  In fact, it’s the only thing to which she seems to respond.  Ask her nicely to do something and she blows it off.  Lose your cool with her and it’s done in a New York minute. 

MIKE THE MAVERICK - Mike plays by his own rules, is difficult to manage, won’t take direction and drives you nuts.  The only reason he still works for you is that he outperforms everyone else on the sales force including you!  Managing Mike is easy.  Tell him you respect his need for independence and his desire to do it his way.  Tell him to stay away from the office as much as he likes, avoiding sales meetings and keeping away from the other salespeople.  You’ll continue to let him write his own rules as long as he continues to out-produce everyone else.  If his production ever drops below a certain level, then he will have to follow the same rules as everyone else.

MISERABLE MARVIN - Marvin complains a lot.  He has more excuses than hooky playing high school renegades.  His performance is always below acceptable levels and despite that, everyone thinks he has potential - except that he’s never approached it.  Marvin is the easiest of the bunch.  Create an exit plan that fires him for non-performance and a lousy attitude. Read More

INSECURE IRENE - Irene only needs her daily dose of confidence medicine from you and that’s enough to keep her going until tomorrow, sometimes the day after.  She’s always making a big deal of the calls she’s going on in order to get your attention so that you can give her the boost of confidence she so desperately craves.  So first thing every morning, give it to her.

It is the beginning of the week for most and the most important day of the week.  How you start your Monday determines how successful your week will be.  Make sure you start your week off right and ask yourself the three most important Monday questions and give it serious thought and answers.

1. What is my goal for the week?

2. What are my most important activities this week that I must get accomplished to help me reach my goal?

3. What are the things that are keeping me busy but not important and preventing me from reaching my goals that I need to stop doing?

Ask yourself these three simple questions every Monday morning you will be on track to set your week up for success and get results.

Have a productive and successful week!

Mike Brenhaug

Business Growth Expert

www.bluerockcoaching.com

Kevin shared a few marketing insights from his new book which is a business fable.  I like Kevin’s unique approach in his book as he shares marketing insights from a 3,500 year old process. 

Kevin shared with the listeners giving customers the Awesome Experience is the key to long-term growth of your customer base.  Kevin defined the Awesome Experience as the convergence of Need, Entertainment, and the Unexpected.  Kevin made a very good point on the show when he said that many businesses don’t take the time to create the Awesome Experience because it does take some work.  You need to create a value proposition that truly differentiates you from your competitors which is shared in his book Roar! Get Heard in the Sales and Marketing Jungle. www.awesomeroar.com

I’m big on working with business teams and entrepreneurs to create alignment between their goals, team, customers and actions – Alignment creates success.  What I love about Kevin’s book and what you’ll gain from it is alignment with your sales & marketing objectives, your goals and more importantly your prospect & customer base.

You can hear more of what Kevin Daum shared from his book Roar! Get Heard in the Sales and Marketing Jungle by listening to the playback on Fast Biz Growth Radio. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/fastbizgrowth/2010/06/03/roar-get-heard-in-the-sales-marketing-jungle

If you’re tired of getting the same results tune into Fast Biz Growth Radio where we bring you expert solutions and fresh ideas to help you achieve Fast Biz Growth. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/fastbizgrowth Remember, if you continue to do the same old things you’ll get the same old results.  Do something different!

Mike Brenhaug
Business Growth Expert
www.Fastbizgrowth.net

If you’ve ever said to yourself, “My Marketing Isn’t Working and I Don’t Know Why???” then you’re not alone. Most business owners are confounded by the changes occurring in buyer behavior in 2010.  They complain, “Why aren’t my ads working?  Why am I spending so much on marketing with little result?  Why can’t I attract the right kind of buyers?   The answer is in the huge shift in buyer behavior.  Eric Keiles explains how we have quickly moved from mass media to Reality Marketing™ and how business owners can take advantage of this change by building a new kind of Marketing Machine™.

On the show I asked Eric to share his “One Thing” that is the most important take away.  Eric’s “One Thing” he shared is the importance of having a Remarkable strategy.  Put your marketing strategy before marketing tactics and ask yourself “how can my company be remarkable?”.   Companies like Disney, Apple and Zappos.com are truly remarkable.  To begin building your remarkable strategy, consider the following key points discussed on the show.

1. Identify your goals and what results you want from your marketing objectives.
2. Understand and really get to know your buyers shopping behavior and pain points. 
3. Target the buyer and align your marketing tactics to address the pain points and the buyer’s behavior.  Don’t tell them how great you are.  Be the solution to their pain or as Erick & Mike state in their book “Cure your customer’s pains” chapter 10.

 You can hear more of what Eric Keiles shared from his book “Reality Marketing Revolution” by listening to the playback.  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/fastbizgrowth/2010/05/27/transform-your-business-into-a-money-making-machin

I’ve shared with you in the past that I’m a big fan of business solutions that are proven to get results.  What I like to call “Business Recipes”.   As business owners and entrepreneurs you don’t have time to figure things out on your own.  You’re in business to make money from your product or service and to make more of it.  Reality Marketing Revolution is a great marketing “Business Recipe” that will get you results! 

Listen weekly to Fast biz Growth Radio where we bring you Expert Solutions for Fast Biz Growth!http://www.blogtalkradio.com/fastbizgrowth

Mike Brenhaug
Business Growth Expert
www.Fastbizgrowth.net

I love the fact that companies have video available to make email and Internet communication more personal; to deliver a more compelling visual message; to say with emotion what can’t be said in an email; to introduce themselves or their companies; to tell a story; and yes, to sell in a way that can’t be done with text.

But before you go crazy and decide to include or increase your use of video, let’s talk about the mistakes to avoid.  While the mistakes on my list may be in the domain of marketing, in my opinion they are glaring Sales 101 mistakes.  It seems to me that “stars” of their own videos have forgotten that First Impressions are Everything!  I am horrified by some of the video sales pitches I have seen lately starring “Professionals” (CEO’s, Presidents, Entrepreneurs, VP’s, Sales Managers, and Salespeople:

1. Talking about their unique expertise while in tee shirts instead of suits.  There is a reason that broadcasters, emcees, guests and analysts dress up when on camera - it looks better!
2. Driving their cars, acting cool, believing that recipients will be impressed that they can shoot a high def video, drive on the highway, look in the mirror, and talk, all at the same time.  I’m impressed too, but only with their ability to multi-task, not with their credentials!
3. Sitting in front of a $5 green backdrop that makes it obvious it is an undersized, incorrectly hung, poorly positioned piece of crap.  Might as well take it down and let us see the real crap behind their chairs!
4. Reading from a script.  I know they don’t want to stumble through their message but if they don’t know their stuff by now, why should we watch them read it?
5. Failing to look at the camera.  If they aren’t going to look at us, they might as well just read the message and send us an audio file!
6. Using video because it’s there.  If it can be effectively communicated with text, then communicate it with text!
7. Compressing the video to make it portable.  If the resolution is horrible, it is horrible!
8. Emailing mini-videos. If the finished video is so small that you need a magnifying glass to see it, well, we won’t see it!
9. That are Boring.  Give us a break.  If your message isn’t valuable, interesting or thought-provoking, change your mind and don’t share it!
10. Don’t Speak Well.  If you don’t pronounce your words correctly or have a speech impediment, we won’t hold that against you but for crying out loud, have somebody else deliver your message.  We won’t know the difference.

It should go without saying that your videos should be professionally produced and directed. The do it yourself videos made on the fly are prone to all ten of the mistakes listed above.  Unless you are in the marketing, advertising or videography business, you have no business doing this yourself unless you want to give people reasons not to buy from you.

Posted by Dave Kurlan on Tue, May 18, 2010 @ 08:01 PM