Teamwork is Important

Nobody made a greater mistake than he or she who did nothing because one could do only a little.

In the days of yesteryear most organs were in churches and had to be "pumped" by someone behind the scenes. Once a talented soloist was giving a concert in a church and was extraordinarily well received.

Careful What You Leave

“The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration but its donation.”  Corrie Ten Boom

I love the story told by Glen Van Ekeren in his book, The Speaker's Source Book.  It was a hot, humid day in the middle of Kansas City.  The eight-hour shift seemed especially long for the veteran bus driver.

Leave Something Behind

Each of us has been left a lot by preceding generations. Dr. Thomas Gibbs, Jr., says, “Every man has leaned upon the past. Every liberty we enjoy has been bought at incredible cost. There is not a privilege nor an opportunity that is not the product of other men’s labors. We drink every day from wells we have not dug; we warm ourselves by fires we have not kindled; we live by liberties we have not won; we are protected by institutions we have not set up. No man lives unto himself alone. All the past is invested in him. A new day is a good time to say, ‘I am under obligation to accept my share of the world’s grief, my share of its opportunities.”

Employment Security

In his newsletter, Potential, Mr. Glenn Van Ekeren of Sheldon, Iowa, emphasizes that each one of us needs to understand that we are self-employed, and once we take ownership for our performance we become more effective. He states that although someone else might sign our paycheck, we fill in the amount and are responsible for our productivity.

Teaching or Reproducing?

A wise person once said that we teach people what we know, but we reproduce what we are. The prophet of long ago taught that the student is not above the teacher, but that the teacher has not taught until the student becomes as the teacher. Yet another person says that "people will not always believe what you say but they will always believe what you do.

Leadership that Leads

Danny Cox's book, Leadership When the Heat's On, has some exciting and very valuable tips on leadership.  Here are just a few of them:

Number one, employees get better as their manager does and they really don't care how smart or talented you are.  What people care about is your attitude towards them.

The Secret Weapon!

Once you have identified past referral sources, you now have a profile of potential referral sources. You have a reward system in place. Now it’s time to make a visit to their office or store. There is one secret strategy that will do more for your referral relationship program than anything else.

The Value of Becoming a Phenomenal Networker

To build a phenomenal referral marketing system, you need to understand networking and how to build rapport quickly.

First, dress well. Did you know that people make 11 important assumptions about you in the first 30 seconds of meeting you? Most of this happens before you even open your mouth! First impressions last, so you want to make it a good one!

My personal view is that this is an area where many small business owners and professionals are failing.

Top 10 Reasons Referral Marketing is so Effective

My Definition of Referral Marketing: “The process of building a network of sources that will refer multiple clients to your business.”

Top Ten Reasons Referral Marketing is so Effective

Your Network is Unlimited. As you begin to build relationships with powerful referral sources and you get your clients to refer you, the network continues to grow with no end in sight.

Leadership: It Ain’t No Birthday Party!

As the day approached, I grew a little more panicky of what to expect.  I had signed up to join the navy the summer before my senior year in high school. Ten months had passed and, although I knew I was leaving for boot camp two days after my 18th birthday, I had put being a sailor on the back burner and just enjoyed my senior year.

Sharpen the “Hook”

The first rule of successful communications is that you must immediately win your audience’s attention, capture their imagination, engage them, and answer their “What’s-In-It-For-Me” question. In other words, hook them into giving you their attention.

The 5 Point Marketing Message

In a previous article, I shared with you the five points of experiential marketing. Here are the five points again:

1. Reputation. There is one primary “unspoken” question that every prospect has about every person or company they do business with.