Today’s business leaders are taking notice of the impact that Google, You Tube and Face Book are having on their company and their customers.  Google owns You Tube.  Their purpose is to share unlimited information on any subject with the click of a mouse.  Face Book is better at connecting people than anything that’s come before it.  To stay connected with your friends and to build you friend list focus on Face Book.  To build your business focus on You Tube.  You can tell you story.  Or even better, your customers can tell your story and their experiences with you.  Want to increase sales?  What’s your new media strategy?

I just listened to a podcast interview with Seth Godin shared via MarketingOverCoffee.com, an internet radio website.  I picked up the link off the Pendulum blog post.  In Godin’s new book, “Icarus Deception” he talks about the Connection Economy and the impact that new communication communities are having on our society as they explode exponentially. Hyperconnectivity with smartphones, tablets and all access points to social media are changing the way our society thinks and acts.

Have an idea?  Start a conversation.  Build an online community.  Be relevant.  What are you passionate about?  Passion follows commitment.  Everything starts at the beginning.  The genesis of new ideas is part of the connection economy. What do you have to say? What action are you going to take?

In “CALL TO ACTION” written by Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg, they define the relationship between design and the website visitor experience.  According to Eisenberg, information architecture is “the design of organization and navigation systems to help people find and manage the information they are seeking successfully.”  Persuasion architecture is the uncovery, wireframing, storyboarding, prototyping, development and organization of your content in alignment with your site visitors goals.  Frequently Asked Questions or FAQ is a helpful asset because 80% of site visitors want to know the same information.  Make this easy for them to find and you’ll satisfy their search.  Persuasive design links the user buying experience to your companies sales process.

Why do people do business with you?

The time has come when print and media companies no longer control content and publishing distribution.  With smartphones and tablets we can all use social media to educate others.

“Preparation and the way you prepare, combined with the desire to be great is what separates the average from the great.  The separation is in the preparation”.  Russell Wilson

Wizard Academy celebrates commitment; the kind that
puts everything on the table and then says to Life,
“I’m all in. Deal the cards, bitch.”

Yes, the bitch will deal you disasters,
break your heart with betrayals, and ambush you
precisely where you are weakest when you least expect it.
Even so, “Deal the cards.”

After 30 years as a consultant to dreamers and schemers,
plotters and planners, insiders and outliers, the wizard has
determined that commitment is the attribute
most indicative of success.

Talent and intelligence,
money and education,
experience and passion
are overrated.

Talent and intelligence play the game in their mind,
rarely bothering to take action.

Money and education are satisfied with the appearance of success
before it has ever been attained.

Experience assumes that nothing has changed since the last time
the game was played, a dangerous assumption indeed.

When passion has faded, commitment shines bright.

Commitment happens when something is more important to you than yourself.

COLUMBINE STUDENT’S FATHER 12 YEARS LATER !!
Guess our national leaders didn’t expect this. On Thursday, Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colorado, was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee. What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful.

They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received well. It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man as a voice crying in the wilderness.. The following is a portion of the transcript:

“Since the dawn of creation there has been both good & evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers.

“The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used.. Neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain’s heart.

“In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA – because I don’t believe that they are responsible for my daughter’s death. Therefore I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel’s murder I would be their strongest opponent

I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy — it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best.

Your laws ignore our deepest needs,
Your words are empty air.
You’ve stripped away our heritage,
You’ve outlawed simple prayer.
Now gunshots fill our classrooms,
And precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere,
And ask the question “Why?”
You regulate restrictive laws,
Through legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand,
That God is what we need!

“Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation’s history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact. What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine’s tragedy occurs — politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts.

“As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge every young person in America , and around the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain. Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him. To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA — I give to you a sincere challenge.. Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone!
My daughter’s death will not be in vain! The young people of this country will not allow that to happen!”
- Darrell Scott

Do what the media did not – - let the nation hear this man’s speech. Please send this out to everyone you can.
God Bless

Selling Power Magazine is one of the foremost publishers of great sales training information.  This is a great article that highlights all the factors that come into play in the complex world of professional selling in 2013.  There’s a reason not everyone is an accountant, an attorney or in sales.  These are difficult professions that require lots of education (school or street) and lots of continuous learning.  To understand is to know and to know is to do a ton of research.  Where does it all begin?  By reading this article for starters.  Google is the ultimate indexing tool.  CRM can be beneficial when used correctly.

Don’t bog down your sellers with time wasting data dumps that are of no value and never used to analyze how to help the prospect and the seller.

The only media that goes everywhere, anytime with your customers is mobile media.

We launched mobizmedia to help companies connect with their customers at a price point that any business owner can afford.  As low as $1.79 per customer with 100 downloads in year one.  As low as .03 per customer with 500 downloads in year two.

This is incredible.  Reach your customers with news, special offers, product information and events while delivering your message right into their pocket or purse.  Then reward them for shopping and sharing your app to create increased loyalty and bounce back merchandising offers.  Link to your website and social media channels to further increase your online presence.  Get the competitive advantage today and start building your mobile customer base.  mobile media = mobiz for you.

In “Pendulum” by Roy Williams and Michael Drew, societal trends throughout history repeat themselves.  The historical perspective is fascinating and thoughts on how to apply this theory are even better.

“Pulling people into a positive relationship through positive attraction as opposed to pushing them” towards into a decision through analysis and justification is a better approach.

Society is driving the transparent information gathering that is being fostered by Google, Facebook and Wikipedia.  Giving up your privacy in exchange for information is all the rage.

So then how does a business owner apply this knowledge of “pull marketing” to create better customer relationships and the related increase in sales?  By understanding your audience well enough to create a messaging strategy that’s relevant to them and transparent in a way that reveals both your strengths and weaknesses.  This can also be stated as the complete and unbiased truth.  This is who we are, this is who we are not.

Are you interested in reviewing your marketing and messaging strategy to position your company for the next upswing into the “We” period that will shape our history and your customer relationships?  Contact me to schedule a time to talk.  We are positioned to help you gain a competitive advantage by building better customer relationships.  We are not an expensive ad agency with lots of overhead and inexperience.  We’re a marketing firm that is focused on helping small business owners increase sales.