Conferences are being planned and with them being in-person again after more than three years of virtual events because of coronavirus. It’s a great way to meet like-minded people, find new clients and learn new skills. We have put together 3 ways to get conference ROI — if you’re spending the money to get to and from the conference, stay in a hotel and the fee from the conference you do want to ensure you see a return on that investment.
Regardless of whether you travel cross country or even day a day or two out of your office to attend a local networking event, you want to ensure you’re getting value from it. If you’re not, then why did you take time away from growing your business?
3 Ways To Get Conference ROI
Know who will be speaking, what they will be speaking on and whether it’s content you need to help with your business growth. Note the sessions you want to attend and what you hope to get out of it. Know what questions you want to have answered and how those answers will impact your business.
If there are pre- and post-conference events, plan to attend. Most of the best networking occurs in these more relaxed settings. You will also be able to connect with other attendees and you just might bump into a speaker with whom you want to connect.
Follow-up is key to conference ROI. If you collected business cards or connected with people, email them when you get back. Remind them what you talked about and why you’re connecting. Take the information you learned and blog about it, share on social and tag the person who shared that info.
If you are attending any in-person events, how will you measure your return on the investment you’re making?
Ooommmmm. Whether chanting or mantras or yoga are ways you relieve stress or if you need a brisk run or a long back, we have 5 ways to relieve stress. Entrepreneurs, parents, employees… almost anyone can experience stress and finding healthy ways to cope with it can help you live a longer, happier life.
Self-medicating with alcohol or other self-destructive behaviors is not the way to go or to cope. Let’s face it because life happens, and stress happens. In every life, there is a chance for stress. If you have a friend who is never stressed out, I’ll be that person has coping mechanisms which he or she deploys and that help alleviate their stress.
The way in which you deal with stress can make a difference in every aspect of your life, health and productivity.
Here are my tips for dealing with stress in both work and life:
5 Ways To Relieve Stress
Get out of the house or the office. Simply being in nature alleviates my stress. It doesn’t matter if you sit and look at water, take a hike, walk a dog or sit on the grass and relax, nature brings clarity. Get out of those four walls. Also, if you’re out and moving you’re giving your body and mind a dose of a healthy habit.
Take a deep breath. When people are stressed out they take shallow breaths and that leads to more stress. If you can’t get out of the office, stand up, and breathe in deeply. Breath in for the count of five, then slowly out for the count of five. Pay attention to whether your shoulders are relaxed or up around your ears. Relax. Breathe.
Eat good foods. A healthy diet will benefit both your body and your mind. Stress may not be alleviated by eating kale but eating potato chips when you’re anxious will certainly not be any kind of benefit for you either. A healthy diet boosts your immune system and can help you deal with stress better.
Get a hobby. Don’t scroll through Facebook (called doom scrolling) because that will make you more anxious. Find a hobby that relaxes and challenges you. Train dogs. Swim. Crochet blankets. Get away from the television and get involved in something else.
Stay connected. Isolation was a literal killer for those during the pandemic and it even made illnesses worse for many. Talk with friends. Go for a coffee. Zoom with out-of-state family. Just pick up the phone and connect — don’t just rely on texting. with your friends. When you’re in a highly stressed state it is tempting to isolate yourself but that will make your stress worse.
If you find your stress continues at all time high levels, talk with your doctor or a professional.
Do you ever feel like no matter what you’re doing, you’re just not moving the needle to keep your business growing? You may have heard dieters say they have “plateaued” in their weight loss efforts and that means that no matter what they try, they just can’t lose those pounds. If you’re feeling the same with your business, Rex Richard has 3 tips to move your business forward.
If you know you’re not in a business slow period — like a swimming pool contractor who naturally slows down in December in Northern New York — then it might just take a couple of tweaks to get you moving again.
How can an entrepreneur know whether the business has peaked and why? What steps can you take if you know you can go higher, but you just don’t know how to get around that roadblock?
Here are tips for breaking free of those plateaus:
3 Tips To Move Your Business Forward
What is your vision and has it changed? If it’s not as clear as it was, then you want to pivot. If your original vision changed, but you haven’t changed your marketing strategies or other growth metrics, now is the time to do that.
Are you networking and continually connecting? I know the pandemic put a stop to in person networking events, and some are still slow to resume, but you can do zooms, pick up the phone and have a socially distanced meeting if you’re not comfortable in public. You need to spend part of your day — every day — marketing.
Is your marketing message selling you and your services? Is your marketing messaging pointed at helping a potential client fix a specific pain point? Is your marketing so clever that a potential customer scratches his head and asks, “is this really something I need or that would help me?” then you’re being too clever. Be succinct. Be clear.
Remember networking events? You’d meet other entrepreneurs or like-minded business owners and you’d have coffee or a lunch meeting or even a drink in a bar or a workshop session? We all know that COVID-19 put so many networking events on the back burner or canceled them entirely, and who knows if they will return, but we have tips on how to network like a pro.
If you get to meet in person, these will help and if you’re continuing to meet on Zoom, these tips help you connect and potentially grow your business. But remember, you’re making connections, not going in thinking you’re going to make a sale. That may make you sound desperate.
There are effective ways to network and ways your networking efforts crash and burn. I have seen both and I cringe when I see the person at a networking event who is just trying too hard and isn’t interested in building a relationship first.
You’ve honed your elevator speech, shaken hands and exchanged business cards… now what? Do you talk politics, weather, how much they liked the coffee, what about that coronavirus, huh… or do you say, “hey want to buy my stuff?” You’re better talking politics and religion than saying that — believe me.
How To Network Like A Pro
Why are you attending? Most people attend to find new clients or a new job. A few attend networking events just to get out of the office. Know why you’re going, then make a plan.
If you’re having a one-on-one is this person prepared to buy? Is this your first meeting? Are you just feeling one another out to see if you’re a good fit? No matter the reason, have a few ice breaker conversation starters. You can also — and you should — pay attention to them and and take a genuine interest in what they say.
Listen as much as you talk — maybe more. Conversations are give and take. Don’t monopolize the entire conversation and have the connection go home thinking, “wow I never got to say a word.”
Have a follow up plan, then follow through.
What are your best tips for making the most of networking events?
Rex Richard of Peak Dynamics has been quoted as saying, “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, knowledge, or skill, but rather a lack of will…” Willpower in work and life matters and there are ways to “get more” willpower. We’ve been told that our willpower is a limited resource and we only have so much of it to work with every day.
We know that willpower or lack of willpower comes when your self-control is ebbing and when you’re emotionally and mentally exhausted.
Can you improve or regain willpower and self-control? Yes!
Willpower In Work And Life
Rex Richard has compiled his top three ways to improve your willpower in work and in life
Know your triggers. What makes you lose self-control? Stress? Boredom? Because your self-control is limited and you deplete it daily, you need to save some or bank some for later in the day when you may need it most. If you know you have a challenging day or event ahead — or at the end of the day — you need to “save” your self-control until then. For example, if you’re hungry or angry or bored, don’t grocery shop — this is especially true if food is your trigger.
Keep yourself out of tempting or stressful situations if you simply don’t have the reserves to control yourself or harness your willpower.
Strengthen your willpower through exercising it. Willpower and self-control are muscles and the more you work it, the stronger it will be. What can you do to improve your willpower and self-control and find reserves of it when you need it? These may seem odd, but they work.
Watch a movie that makes you cry and don’t let yourself shed a tear
Watch a movie that always makes you laugh, but don’t laugh
Solve a hard puzzle — crossword, Soduko or others
Control your emotions when you’re in a situation that tries your willpower. Shop when you’re hungry and resist the urge to stock up on junk food
Drink juice. Whip up a green drink (kale, spinach, fruit juice). The glucose in the fruit juice will help restore your brain and get you back in balance and in control. Feeding your brain can strengthen your willpower and self-control.
When it comes to business tools, we still say and believe that blogging is one of the most effective marketing tools an entrepreneur can have in his or her arsenal. Whether you’re doing your own blogging or hiring a professional writer, your blogging should be bringing in ROI — if not, why are you doing it? If you’re wondering how to make your business blog work for you we have advice.
If you have a business website, the biggest benefit of regular blogging is that every time a new blog post goes live and Google takes notice. Google loves good, new, valuable content and your blogs can be just that and they could help your business rank and get found online.
How To Make Your Business Blog Work For You
Try these tips for your blogging efforts.
Cluster your topics. If you have a LONG article or blog post, consider breaking it up into a series. Google, and readers, love a series. When you do a series you can specialize on the topic and it truly shows your expertise. When you write a series make certain you’re linking back and forth between all parts of the series and make it easier for your readers to find. Also, when doing a series, make sure you’re not making the reader wait weeks and weeks for the next part — they will lose interest.
Be authentic and yes, personable. Regardless of the niche in which your business is, you can still have a personality, right? Do you have to be so staid that you don’t have hobbies? A sense of humor? A story to share? Readers and potential clients will connect with you more readily if they see that you are a “real person” not just a business name with an unknown entity behind it.
Don’t forget the CTA (call to action). What do you want your reader to do after he or she has read your article? Do you want them to call you? Sign up for your newsletter? Buy something? Follow you on social media? If you don’t ask for or prompt a reader, chances are they will read your article and walk away. Don’t let them go until they have been prompted to action.
Keep in mind where your audience is. Are they at the 101 level or are they more advanced? Why do you think they Googled and found your site and are reading your articles? Do your readers understand complex topics you’re sharing? Sure, they may need that complex information BUT you may want to lead them along before you jump right to the highest level. Meet them where they are and nurture them along.
