by Rex Richard | Sep 26, 2012 | Business, Personal Development
Did you know that gratitude can be used as a way to grow your business? When you consider that the definition of gratitude is: a positive emotion that acknowledges a benefit that one has received or will receive – and in business, even if your clients are paying you a fee, they are still probably grateful for the service you perform. The reason for their gratitude is that, without you performing that service, they will have to search for someone else to do it for them and the service you provide likely helps them concentrate on their core competencies.
Here are some actions you can take to express gratitude toward your clients:
- Saying thank you goes a long way. These two words benefit you both in and outside of business dealings. Thank them for their business. Thank them for referrals. A “thank you” is a true customer-building tool.
- Be willing to take the extra step. There are times you feel you can’t offer anything more, but if you’re willing to go the extra mile, your willingness to serve will be remembered.
- Positivity counts. In any situation, you should look for the positive. There are times this is difficult but if you’re calm in the face of an angry customer you can easily diffuse the situation.
How do you practice gratitude with your clients?
by Rex Richard | Sep 12, 2012 | Business, Social Media
It’s hard to concentrate on doing your best and taking care of your clients if you’re losing sleep at night worrying about money. While money is crucial to daily living and while it’s likely you do have bills to pay, there are some simple steps you can take to alleviate the worry and allow your mind to relax and free itself to focus on taking care of clients.
Here are my three rules for alleviating money worries:
- Make certain you have a true grasp on how much money you need on a weekly or monthly basis. Additionally, you need to know exactly how much money you are bringing in. Having these figures will help you get a true picture of your finances.
- Be consistent in marketing your business. Be consistent in serving your clients. Be consistent in following up and following through with clients. Don’t take current clients for granted — they are your bread and butter. Check in with them consistently, even if it’s just to say “hello.”
- Plan your marketing three to six months (or more) in advance. Marketing takes time and effort and you likely can’t put together a marketing plan on Monday and hope to see results on Friday.
What are your best tips and advice on taking money worries out of your daily business equation?
by Rex Richard | Aug 28, 2012 | Business, Customer targeting, Personal Development, Renewing The Mind
Your parents likely tossed around cliches and their “words of wisdom” which, chances are, you didn’t pay much heed to. When I think back though, my parents were the first teachers I ever had and as I get older I realize that some of their words ring true in both my business and my personal life.
Here are a few of the old adages I remember:
- If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well. There is no denying that this should be true in your dealings with clients and people with whom you interact
- You catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Surround yourself with positive people and be positive yourself. Even when you’re having a bad day, try not to “share” it with others.
- Everyone has something to contribute. While not every person in your organization is a good fit for every task that needs to be completed, chances are, every person on your team brings his or her own unique take to a project — tap into his unique talent.
Do you have any mottos or words of wisdom that you live by on a daily basis?
by Rex Richard | Aug 21, 2012 | Business, Personal Development
Are you a reader of self-help books? Do you find they truly help you or once you’re done reading them do you think, “I already knew that!”? Here are some thoughts I have had about my reading of self help books, so much of it is common sense and this is what I have gleaned in my years of reading:
- Set realistic goals. If you’ve had a “bad” habit for years, you won’t be able to change it overnight. Not achieving a goal may make you get disenchanted and stop your forward momentum.
- Commit to your goal for at least 21 days — that’s the length of time that the experts tell us it takes to make a new habit stick.
- Believe in yourself and the goal you’ve set. If you’re simply setting a goal because you feel you need to, your heart isn’t in it.
- Find a friend or trusted colleague in whom you can confide your goal and help keep you accountable.
- Break your goal down into manageable chunks. If you have more than one goal to reach, take baby steps to get there.
What is your next goal and how will you achieve it?
by Rex Richard | Aug 14, 2012 | Business, Personal Development
You’ve heard the adage that if you love your job you’ll never truly work a day in your life, right? Do you love your job? Do you have a passion for what you do? If so, chances are you look forward to getting up in the morning and pursuing your career or entrepreneurial path of your dreams.
Here are five tips for finding your passion for the job that you’re in:
- Be an expert at what you do. The more you know about your job, the better you will perform it and the better you will feel about what you do. Be an expert in your field.
- Incorporate your hobbies into your career, if possible. If you can’t, then make certain you pursue your hobbies and passions outside of the office as a way to make the rest of your life more enjoyable.
- If you’re not in the career of your dreams, then make the time you spend there about the journey. For example if you want to be an editor or business coach, learn what you can from your current position and surround yourself with people who can help you realize your dream.
- Uncover what you do enjoy about your current position and work that into more hours of your work day. See if you can offload or trade work duties with a fellow co-worker and maybe both of you can balance out the tasks you love with the tasks you don’t.
- Change careers if necessary. In some cases, you will simply find a job that isn’t a good fit for you and vice versa. If this is the case, you need to look into changing career paths until you find a job that lets you follow your passion.
Do you love what you do?
by Rex Richard | Jul 31, 2012 | Business, Social Media
Regardless of the type of business endeavor you’re involved in, you need to harness the power of social media whether it’s Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ or industry specific social media sites. Simply building the page isn’t enough; you need to gather quality followers, but how do you do that?
We offer these tips to help you grow your social media following:
- Include links to your social media sites in your email signature. This simple action could garner you more followers.
- Include your social media “handles” on all of your collateral materials. Include words such as: Like us on Facebook, Follow us on Twitter, etc./
- Make a video. You’ve likely heard the term “going viral” and what this means is that you make a video that captures enough attention to your social media sites.
- You only have to ask! It doesn’t matter where you are or what you’re doing, you will need to simply ask people to like and/or follow you. Harness the power of suggestion and return the favor.
- Grab a QR code for your business, put it on your business cards, advertisements and your collateral materials. This may garner you more likes and follows.
- Make it easy for people to like you! Put a box on your website that is easy to find and extremely visible. Don’t make people search around for Like buttons.
- Make certain you produce quality content. Your followers and friends won’t want to read constant advertising pitches. Offer news they can use and relate to.
What tips do you have to grow your social media followers?
