Clean Language is a great tool for helping people to understand themselves
Last year I had the pleasure of interviewing – and then meeting in person – Marian Way, who came all the way from England to teach a class on 'Clean Language' with my good friend Bev Martin. And I've just learned that she's returning in May this year and that she and Bev are offering a free teleseminar this coming Thursday to give people a chance to find out about this amazing, holistic coaching / therapeutic tool – and to 'meet' Marian in advance of the training itself.
The FTC changed the rules-they may affect your website.
Most of us use testimonials on our websites and recently the FTC changed the rules. I wanted to share today was the power of the testimonial and recommendations from trusted sources, such as customers and clients (and the occasional boast by your Mom.) Study after study shows that word of mouth, referral and testimonial carries the most weight with consumers. They bring credibility through a third-party endorsement. It is no longer you alone saying that you and your products / services are amazing. It is actually consumers saying that you are the answer to their problems.
So, it's understandable why most of us choose to use them in our marketing. Yet, too many unsavory types have spoiled the testionmial so the "BIG BOYS" aka the FTC has some new guidelines that took effect in December (2909) and they are confusing at best.
Now, I'm not a lawyer and I don't even play one online. If you use testimonials or endorsements in any way in your business… then these new FTC rules may apply to you. We have a great white paper report on using testimonials that I just updated with how I understand the guidelines to work (remember, this isn't legal advice nor is the report legal advice.) Go get the report now: it's at http://www.impressionengineers.com/testimonials-work/
Almost forgot… can you believe it is the first of February already, where did January go? (I know, I was holed away writing a book.) But that just means I have to speed up to catch up with the rest of my 2010 goals. How are your 2010 goals going? I recently gave a talk on getting your goals done called "A Human Being or a Human Doing." The notes are up on the website too, when you pop-over there to get the report of Getting and Using Testimonials to Get and Keep Clients you can download the notes too if you are interested….As always have a great day whatever your adventure.
To Success! To Life!
Sharon
p.s. The FTC has new guidelines if you sell your products through affiliates or you sell other people's products as an affiliate, too. Our latest report doesn't address affiliates, if you need help complying for your affiliates or affiliate products please contact us. OR read all the new FTC guidelines for both testimonials and affiliates at the FTC website:
http://www.ftc.gov/multimedia/video/business/endorsement-guides.shtm
I have a favor to ask, if you enjoy the ramblings and rants of Best Impressions would you encourage others to join? I am trying to grow our community and the best way is to ask those that know and like you to ask their friends… hopefully they hang out with like-minded people right? Ways to join the community are on the left hand side of my blog
http://www.sharonsayler.com/blog where I always post these notes to you as well.
Our Radio Show Beyond Lip Service welcomes the Coach Davender Gupta for a great disucussion titled In Case Of Emergency: How To Avoid A Project Disaster. If your project or your business is heading towards disaster, what can you do to get it back on track? In this discussion, Coach Davender Gupta will show you a simple process to take control of the situation and steer it back onto the path to progress.Davender Gupta is a business leadership coach and Certified "Book Yourself Solid" Coach whose mission is to guide passion-driven solopreneurs, professionals and people with Big Ideas to accelerate their Vision from Passion to Profit. Join the discussion on his blog http://www.frompassiontoprofit.com and his main site http://www.coachdavender.com. He welcomes your questions by e-mail at coach@davender.com or by phone, toll-free, at 1-888-788-8844.
Join me this Tuesday 1:00 PM Eastern/10AM Pacific for Beyond Lip Service at
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/beyondlipservice
In memory of Shadow
We lost our office shadow…
our loved pooch Shadow on December 23.
Your happy-go-lucky, enjoy the moment attitude will be missed.
.gif "In memory of Shadow")
That’s not what I said!
Communication is at the heart of all good relationships. But, it’s more than just the heart, it’s the lifeline to have things flow smoothly and stay connected. Sometimes what we say is a complete success where everybody is on the same page, we all feel good about the interaction, and have achieved our goals. Other times ending in total disaster—hurt feelings, confusion, anger, and, worse yet, tears or ruined relationships.
Communication is something we all know is necessary to keep any relationship strong and connected. If we put positive communication at the heart of what we say, then being a trusted, influential communicator requires a shift in thinking about how we view our verbal and non-verbal messages.
Mole hill misunderstandings risk becoming mountains.
Consider this scenario: Once again, Amy was bent over the bath tub washing Dick’s dog. Dick had promised to wash the dog, but instead he was watching TV. From the living room Dick yelled, “Let’s get an outside dog-tub with running hot water, it will make it easier to wash him.” The words had barely left his mouth before Amy was screaming, “He’s your dog; why don’t you wash him…and while you’re at it, who’s going to come up with the money to pay for a stupid outside dog bath!” Dick was dumbfounded. “It was just a suggestion,” he said.
Probably. But consider what Amy heard (and saw). Dick was watching TV while Amy was doing what Dick promised he’d do. Dick was yelling to be heard over the noise from the television. What Amy heard from the bathroom was Dick shouting, issuing a command. If you get a response that doesn’t match the message you think you sent, then you didn’t send the message you thought you did.
Too often, the message heard is different from the message sent—especially when emotions are involved. It is how each person perceives the context of the message, the emotions of both the listener and the speaker and their intentions that change the perception of the “rightness” or the “wrongness” of the message. As the example shows, both the speaker and the listener have their own unique filters that delete, distort and generalize what was said and heard. Accepting that the original message may not have been received in the way it was intended is essential to keeping the lines of communication flowing.
The first step in achieving communication that will really say what you mean, is to take a look at what is it you want to communicate and what is the best way to do it both verbally and non-verbally.
It’s too easy to point and say it’s the listener’s "fault." Maybe it’s true, but since we can’ control the other person’s emotions or response, take the responsibility for reviewing your own actions and communication first. Communication is not about who is right or wrong, but instead about helping each other see things from the other’s perspective. Many of these misunderstanding can be cleared up by simply acknowledging that there was a misunderstanding.
Are you an Influential and Inspirational Leader?
Influential, inspirational leaders are made, not born. It’s really a mindset dedicated to continual learning, understanding, and adjusting. This leadership mindset influences the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive through knowing what is expected.
Great leaders —
- Take risks. Be willing to CHALLENGE the status quo.
- Have a PASSION for what you do.
- Share your passion – Let them see, hear and FEEL your vision.
- Be transparent. SHARE your reality with those you lead.
- Empower others with the tools and COURAGE to create it.
- Walk the walk. LEAD by example.
- Share the glory. There is enough SUCCESS to go around!
A manager tells others what to do; a leader shows that they can do it too.
Handout for Ted Behr Interview
Download your Worksheet here for today’s call!
The prolific Garrison Keillor is known to say, "Be well, do good work, and keep in touch." Simple, right? We should be well, do good work and keep in touch. It even sounds like the recipe for a bountiful business chock full of high-paying high-value clients. One problem: When most of us are creating our business masterpiece we often skimp on one of the essential ingredients–keeping in touch. Oh, we do it, sometimes, when we really want something from someone, but that’s just not enough.
In fact, the keep-in-touch strategy may be the most important marketing strategy you’ll ever use. You know you need to connect with potential clients many times before they feel comfortable hiring you or purchasing your products. You know you need to build rapport with colleagues and potential referral partners before they’ll recommend you to others. And if you don’t have a systematized and automated keep-in-touch strategy in place, you don’t have a keep-in-touch strategy. You’ll leave so many opportunities on the table, and most importantly, you’ll be missing out on the opportunity to serve your ideal clients–the people who energize and inspire you.
The lack of a solid keep-in-touch marketing strategy is where most businesses fail. Either they bombard you with too much information and too many offers that turn you off (I’m guilty of that from time to time myself), or you never hear from them at all, which leaves you feeling unimportant and irrelevant.
Learn how to develop a Keep-in-touch strategy that will help you book yourself solid. Please join me on December 16 at 12:00 EST for a conversation on “Keeping in Touch: The Most Important Marketing Strategy You Will Ever Use”.
To register for this call, go to http://getbookedsolidnow.com/
Three low-cost ways to “Get Known”
1. Have an effective web or blog site and exposure on social media. Today most people at least research online before buying, if not, buy online. You can do a site your self or hire a designer. Effective doe not have to be expensive. Just spend a little time learning about the technologies and decide if you want to do it your self. Either way be sure to use:
* a custom URL
* a email address with your URL e.g., jane(at)customurl.com and a custom email signature
create a unique page title for each page
* search engine optimization (SEO.) You can learn more at http://www.impressionengineers.com/p77
* promote using article writing, social media and discussion forums
* create an opt-in box to develop leads. Most sites provide an incentive such as a free chapter of your book or a free report to gather the contact information for leads.
To get Impression Engineers free report of the 5 Key To Great Websites + several other great resources go to www.impressionengineers.com and opt-in at the bottom of the page.
2. Create agreements for cross promotions. Sometimes these are called joint ventures, but that term isn’t really accurate term. This is a way to stretch your advertising and promotion dollars. Find complementary companies to what you offer with the same target market and develop a promotion that will be mutually beneficial.
You could add:
* bonuses to each others offers
* bundle your classes, products or promotions
* pool your marketing dollars to create a campaign….
This works best when written agreements are in place and expectations are managed. A common agreement would have details on:
* Specifications of project including promotion and advertising
* Each person’s or business’ set of duties for each specifiation
* Timelines and how you would know when there is service completion
3. Develop online free and paid teleseminars and webinars. They are cheaper than doing in-person workshops. Record these events and add the audio and/or video to your website or even turn them into products or home study courses…. Create publicity and press releases for your events to promote your events on social media such as Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin to create free publicity and drive people to your website.
Most important though no matter what technique you choose is know who your target market is, develop a who you are and what you do statement along with messages that resonate with that audience—then IMPLEMENT.
The best marketing advice we can give you is IMPLEMENT.
Have a great day whatever your adventure
To Success! To Life!
Sharon
p.s. I have a favor to ask, if you enjoy the ramblings and rants of Best Impressions would you encourage others to join? I am trying to grow our community and the best way is to ask those that know and like you to ask their friends… hopefully they hang out with like-minded people right? Ways to join the community are on the left hand side of my blog
Our Radio Show Beyond Lip Service welcomes the unstoppable Frankie Picasso this coming Tuesday December 8th. The Unstoppable Frankie Picasso is a Professional Certified Life, Business and Master Coach Trainer and member of the International Coach Federation, and the Canadian Association of Journalists. Frankie is a full time Radio Host, Author, Solution specialist and Social Justice Activist whose specializes in the Impossible. She is Mission Unstoppable and is leading the charge as a Champion for Change. —it’s going to be a great interview.
Join me this Tuesday 1:00 PM Eastern/10AM Pacific for Beyond Lip Service at
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/beyondlipservice
Isn’t it time to make the right impression online too?
Twitter, Facebook, Google, HTML, SEO… confused yet? With so much technology available today it can be overwhelming for you and your customers. We focus on website makeovers that make your website more profitable and simple to use. Let us show you how easy it can be by signing up for our free website makeover introduction. Your success is, our success.
www.impressionengineers.com to learn how quick, inexpensive and easy it is to get an impressive website and blog to market and monetize your passion.
Can I do “it” for 24 hours?
Today’s rant: Would you want to do "it" if you could?
I had a friend say the other day they have been trying to go through just 24 hours without making a judgment. He said he had not been successful. I told him he had to define judgment… before he could have success at it and maybe that not making a judgment over the course of a day is not truly doable.
That got me to thinking is it doable and if it is, do I want to do it? I looked up the definition of judgment and found—the ability to make a decision, or form an opinion objectively, authoritatively, and wisely. Since the word opinion is in the judgment definition I looked it up too— a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty. Curious, with the above as a framework, why does common usage define judgment as a negative?
I suppose, if others are of the mindset that judgment and opinion must be negative to discuss, then one just has to come to terms with the fact that it is their own insecurities and not whether I or others have shortcomings or not.
Judgment or Opinion — Criticism or Evaluation
I can free myself of the need to be part of negative judgments. Yet, sorry, guys, I know this isn’t “PC” but for me, I’ll fine having judgments. I’ll always have an opinion and I’m comfortable with the fact that I don’t want to be judgment free.
I can acknowledge the right for others to behave however one chooses (we won’t go into all the judgments/opinions of legal, safe, sane…) AND know that acknowledgment is not the same as acceptance.
Share your thoughts on can you or even do you want to….
Simple Ways To Influence & Inspire Others
Last Wednesday I had a great interview with Thomas Mangum on his Virtual Coffee Radio!
I just love his style, intelligent questions and converstation – to learn more about Thomas and his show go to: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Virtual-Coffee
This what he wrote about the interview–
What do you offer the world? Stop giving lip service to everything you want changed in the world. Be bold. Take action. SPEAK UP! Influential & persuasive communication is vital. You know what you want to say now learn to speak and present to be remembered…with your WHOLE body!
The most important way to be remembered is to make sure your body language is saying the same message as your mouth. Sharon Sayler, MBA, business consultant & a highly accomplished expert in marketing, presentations, and body language, is joining us today as she is completing her latest book to be published by John Wiley and Sons, What Your Body Says (And How to Change the Message) Inspire, Influence, Build Trust, and Create Lasting Business Relationships, in stores June 28
Sharon’s no-nonsense style is attractive to me because she gives you the straight-up "how-to" on unifying what you say with what you do with your body, allowing you to better connect so message really lands. She gives you a clear and simple process to follow with language that impacts people’s lives and emotions. Connect at www.impressionengineers.com/blog and on the show "Beyond Lip Service," at www.blogtalkradio.com/beyondlipservice
Tailor Your Message
Pam’s communication secret is to "Tailor Your Message." Communication happens regardless of whether we think about it or not—why not tailor the kind of information they want. An example Pam uses is if your boss says "Just the facts," then honor that request with giving them just the facts. Learn to create an awareness of what you are trying to accomplish
Whether your objective is to be a more effective as a leader, gain a promotion, or secure a new position, your ability to communicate credibly with others is a key factor in achieving a successful outcome, so listen in to this informative 30 minute interview.
Pamela S. Harper, founder and president of Business Advancement Inc., professional speaker, and author of the critically acclaimed book Preventing Strategic Gridlock®, discusses “The Keys to Credible Communication.”
For over 20 years, Pam Harper has helped companies going through gut wrenching change to accelerate progress toward their objectives. She has been featured in a variety of popular media outlets, including Business Week, Entrepreneur, and Investor’s Business Daily, and her articles have been published in a wide range of trade and professional journals. In addition to writing, Pam is a professional speaker. She is an honors graduate from Northwestern University, and is featured in Who’s Who of American Women and Who’s Who in America.
http://www.businessadvance.com — website
http://www.pamharper.com — blog
Author: Preventing Strategic Gridlock: Leading Over, Under & Around Organizational Jams To Achieve High Performance Results (Cameo Publications) Available through online outlets and neighborhood bookstores
On Beyond Lip Service we focus on taking Action in your life. Go beyond just giving lip service to what you want to do! Every Tuesday at 10am Pacific join Sharon Sayler as we go beyond lip service.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/beyondlipservice
