50 One-Minute Tips to Better Communication

Crisp: 50 One-Minute Tips to Better Communication, Revised Edition : A Wealth of Business Communication Ideas (Fifty-Minute Series Book) (Paperback)


Author: Phillip E. Bozek
Paperback: 136 pages
Publisher: Crisp Learning; 2 edition (December 29, 1997)
Released: December 29, 1997

Average Customer Review:

Price: $8.74 (new), $7.99 (used)

Why you should be using "Collaboration Marketing" to grow your business quickly

By Christian Fea

What is Collaboration Marketing?


Collaboration Marketing is an abstract mind-set used to describe a business building process that involves two or more entities (with similar, but non-competing products, services or ideas) that agree to contribute their existing assets (people, time, money, processes and resources) for the synergistic betterment of a newly formed relationship, business, or process.

What?

Ok, here's a better way to understand "Collaboration Marketing".

Collaboration Marketing

Collaboration Marketing, (CM) often referred to as a Strategic Alliance (SA), Joint Venture (JV's), or Corporate Partnering (CP) can be defined as "a mutually beneficial relationship between two or more parties". Collaboration Marketing can range from being very simplistic, quick, informal one-time events to very formal, long-term projects, relationships, or even the creation of a completely new company or company division. The power and possibilities that you can accomplish from a well-planned "Collaboration Marketing Process" are numerous, exciting, and (can be) quite profitable.

In this article, I'll focus primarily on giving you some high level examples on the benefits of using an informal Strategic Alliance for getting new clients quickly.

The underlying principle that makes a Strategic Alliance so powerful is that they work on the basis of a "trusting relationship". Trust among the participating parties, trust between the network of clients, members and any other circle of influence you or a potential Strategic Alliance partner may have. Trust that in most cases has taken you or your future Strategic Alliances partner months and even years to develop, cultivate, and nurture.

Ok, stay with me while I give a you an example of "the reason why" Strategic Alliances work...

Think about how you make your buying decisions. What's the first thing you usually do when you need to make a product or service purchase that you've not used or consumed before. In most cases you'll ask your a family member, friend or business associate for a referral. Are you asking for a referral because you don't know were to find the product or service you're seeking? Unlikely, the Internet, Yellow Pages, and 411 information services are overflowing with invasive ads for products and services (this is also another reason to use Strategic Alliances, but we'll talk more about penetrating the "Noise Barrier" in a future Collaboration Marketing article) More then likely, your asking someone you "trust" because they have already gone through the sales experience with a particular vendor and can possibly save you time, money, and frustration based on their experiences.

Let's take an example of how a start-up company used a Strategic Alliance to generate new clients within one week with little to no marketing and advertising cost.

Simon opened his Web Design Company with a passion for creating websites, logos, and custom graphics for his clients. Simon was a skilled graphic designer, but his sales and marketing skills were based solely on theory and what he learned from a few books he had recently read. Simon wanted to do a promotion offering 25% off his services for new clients. Simon and I had a conversation about this promotion and asked me my advice and thoughts on this type of promotion. His objectives were to find new clients quickly without spending a lot of money on marketing. I told him that he had two primary objections to overcome since his business was new, he currently had only one client and his competition in the Web Design space was fierce and while competing strictly on a discount price point may work, I suggested he use a Strategic Alliance to keep his prices at a competitive market rate to obtain new clients, while creating a "leverage switch" with a complimentary business owner that already had the a trusting relationship with the exact type of clients Simon was looking to provide service to. I suggested Simon call local printers, illustrators, and web programmers in his area. I had him pick local vendors (so he could actually go meet these other business owners, which builds rapport and trust) that work in complimentary, not competitive businesses. Simon contacted a local print shop, introduced himself and offered to provide a "Web Design" division to the print shops existing base of over 300 clients. Within one week, Simon and the owner of the print shop wrote an email letter to his existing clients announcing the new service. Within two weeks Simon gained an immediate influx of client requests with an acquisition cost of zero!

The reason this relationship worked is based on the established trust the printer had with his clients and the trust that Simon built with the printer. By showing him his portfolio, proving to the printer that Simon was capable and skilled, meeting him in person (not necessary, but it's an added way to build trust and rapport) and offering the printer an added profit stream opportunity to open a new "web division" with minimal to no out of pocket costs. This was clearly a win-win Strategic Alliance. The printer was able to provide a profitable service (that his clients were asking for) and Simon was able to position himself in front of an established "warm market" of prospects.

What Strategic Alliance opportunities could you use to expand your business this quickly?

About the Author:
Christian Fea is a
Collaboration Marketing Specialist. He educates business owners on Strategic Alliances, Joint Ventures, and Corporate Partnering Tactics. Specifically, he shows you how to implement, strategize, and align yourself with others that can get you to where you want to be in your online and/or offline business in the shortest amount of time. He can be reached at http://www.christianfea.com

Copyright (c) 2007 Christian Fea

8 Ways Travelers Waste Money On the Road

Fodors has a nice article on ways we, as travelers, waste money on trips. Whether for business or pleasure, these mistakes can help us all avoid spending more money than we should on our next trip.

Always...

• Read the fine print on that credit card
• Visit hotel Web sites prior to your trip
• Look for alternate travel during the off-peak or "low" season
• Research alternate transportation methods such as trains and buses
• Consider alternatives to hotels
• Balance eating in pricey restaurants with eating in less expensive establishments
• Have a budget and stick to it
• Know your destination

Read the full article and in-depth info on each of these 8 mistakes that we all make, and how to avoid them. [via Fodors]

3 Warning Signs That Procrastination Is Stealing Your Life Away

by Creative Catalyst

According to the dictionary, procrastination is defined as “to put off intentionally and habitually, or to put off intentionally the doing of something that should be done”.

If we break that definition down, we see that there is personal and deliberate knowingness in our delaying the doing of something that should get done and that delaying can become a pattern, or habit, over time. For purposes of this forum, the “should” get done is presumed to be something you want, could, need or should get done, and is not the “should” of false obligation (as in, don’t should on yourself!).

In other words, we intentionally negate action on something we should get done that would ostensibly improve the quality of our lives in some way. When we are not enjoying an optimal quality of life, our life force energy is not being fed. Even more, when we internalize the delay as being a negative reflection of who we are, our life energy is literally being taken from us (or, more clearly, we are just giving it away indiscriminately!).

One key warning signal that procrastination is stealing your life force energy is that your “to do” list never gets done. There is a difference between healthy stress and something that is hanging over your head waiting for attention. It takes your mental energy to not look at it, and the thing itself will grow in proportion until it gets handled. It’s like never-ending homework. And avoidance strategies may include staying really busy, being in overwhelm, focusing on everybody else, creating drama and handling distractions vs. being productive – all of which are sabotage in the most insidious ways. (Insidious because they are disguised as being really productive, or kind, or engaged with lots of activities – they are socially acceptable but not truly productive for you.)

Another warning signal that indicates procrastination is stealing your energy is that the sense that you can’t get ahead. Procrastination keeps you stuck in the past by keeping the “it” you are delaying front and foremost in your mind as something that you should get done. After all, who would you be if you were moving forward easily and measurably instead of living from your past?

The most damaging warning signal is when your self-esteem drops as a result of not handling “it”. There is a sense that you never measure up because you aren’t handling “it”. There are a number of reasons why you might not be handling “it” that are completely unrelated to your self-esteem, but your self-esteem doesn’t know that. All your inner being knows is that you aren’t getting it done and, if your programming runs like most people’s, it must be because you aren’t good enough somehow to get it done.

When procrastination is a big enough factor in your life to be robbing you of your quality of life, it is time to do something – NOW.

Lynn Scheurell facilitates positive transformation for her clients using both intuitive and linear thinking. Her company, Creative Catalyst, is a leader in initiating dramatic change for independent professionals and decision-makers. Download your own free report right now to learn Your 6 Power Points for Personal Success – and How What You Don’t Know Can Cost You Years of Hard Work!…… at www.mycreativecatalyst.com

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Document collaboration inefficiencies waste up to 25% of employees' time

CBR Online published a nice article today on inefficiencies in document collaboration.

The document collaboration market is growing fast, and I expect we'll see some major initiatives this year and in the near future.

Here is an excerpt:

Documents, in whatever format they may exist, are an integral part of every business and institution, and organizations that cannot manage the production of documents effectively and efficiently risk a great deal more than poor business performance. Organizations cannot exist without documents, and therefore, the efficacy with which documents are created, revised, and published should be of utmost importance to business managers.

We at StreamLogic Inc. excel in this area. Let us help you design a document collaboration and management solution that is right for your business.

Read the full article here [via CBR Online]

- Curtis H.

Creativity: Why aren't You Creative Enough?

By Mario R. Churchill

Creativity, in its general sense is truly a vague idea that requires compartmentalization of ideas before one can actually arrive to a more concrete concept.

In its primary sense, creativity is one facility that man has. This helps him to create or to reproduce something out from his own interpretation or from the ideas that were copied from another person's concepts.

The possibility of using creativity is endless. We can use this factor on virtually everything that we can think of. Persuasion is one type of creativity. One must use his proper faculties in creating a desired response from a person. Art is full of creativity. As we know it, without the drive to produce something, art would be turned into mere nothing. Music is creativity. Literature is one form of creativity along with others.

However, even if one seems to be creative for very long periods, there are times when he can't help but sit with blank stare. In such moments, creativity is sapped. What could be the reasons? Are there things that we must consider so as to determine what truly affects one's person's ability to create something out from his innate capacities?

These are some of the common ideas that hamper the materialization of creativity in us.

Fatigue and Lack of Inspiration - This actually does not deal on the physical fatigue but on the mental and emotional aspects. This normally roots from the lack of satisfaction in things that we do. When one no longer find sense on what he is doing, the capacity to create suffers. Or say, when the inspiration is redirected towards obligation.

Artists are not meant to be obliged to produce something the inspiration must come from natural environments which were crafted from a necessity within the scope of inner drives and not from outside motivations such as profit, fame and etc.

Stoppage of an activity - Start is never good enough unless it is pushed through to its end. For one reason or another, a person may either stop right after the idea pops out of his mind or stop right before he finishes his project. It may be stranger but there seems to be a common denominator to all those people who practice doing this- they all loose interest eventually after accumulating unfinished stuffs. Thus, as a philosopher once said- all things that were started must be finished, no matter what the consequences may be.

Cluttered thoughts - Especially in writing, it is crucial that thoughts are organized in such a way that they are presented systematically towards the readers. Often, if this is the problem, the artists may either find himself at loss with his thoughts while trying to reorganize stuffs and ideas or it may also be that the onlookers would find his work confusing.

It is observed that cluttered working space is also a great contributor to the gradual gnawing of your creativity. While it is an artist's nature to be disorganized, he must still secure to it that things are put into proper order as this evidently affects the mind.

The inner wisdom - It is the ultimate source for inspiration, some people would even call this as the Divine Guidance. Whichever name you prefer, this seems to be the pipe from which we draw our inspiration to be creative. Most people find this inner self on accident. This does not negate the fact though that it can be outsourced through guidance; say a saying from a book or a teaching from a guru. Nonetheless, this must be nourished and should be well regarded so you would have a continuous supply of creativity in you.

The last thing is to never say no to your calling, you must always be alert that you entertain your thoughts and drives. Say for a poet, when one line of thought passes your mind, you must be eager to write this right away before the moment passes.

Mario Churchill is a freelance author and has written over 200 articles on various subjects. For more information on business ideas or brainstorming checkout his recommended websites.

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How Much Time Do You Spend On the Phone?

By Erin Blaskie

As business owners, we spend a fair amount of time on the phone speaking to different people: potential clients, existing clients, virtual assistants, web hosting companies, etc. If we allowed each conversation to be unclear and unfocused, we could be spending additional time on the telephone and less time on our work and the things that we need to do to build our business. So, ask yourself - how much time do you spend on the phone?

Spending less time on the phone is easy if you know how. Here are a few tips to get back some of that lost time:

(1) Before You Call, Get Clear and Focused

If you place a call to someone without being clear and focused on what it is you need to talk about, you can spend a lot of time trying to remember what it is you wanted to talk about and / or discussing things that weren’t on the agenda. Before you make your call, list the items you need to talk to that person about so that once you are on the phone, you can be clear, concise and quick! What I do is keep my appointment in Microsoft Outlook and when I think of items I want to bring to the conversation, I open up that appointment and make a note in the notes section of the appointment.

(2) Bring the Discussion Back

A lot of phone conversations go on for longer than anticipated because a lot of social banter and idle chat occurs. While this is normal and helps build relationships, you should also be aware of it and bring it back to the reason for the call. Socializing is wonderful but there has to be some sort of time limit or you’ll never be able to get any work done! If you notice the conversation veering off and you want to bring it back, just say “So, going back to the ‘x’, what are your thoughts on that?”

(3) Schedule the Calls in a Strategic Manner

Choose one or two days (depending on how many calls you are on) in your work week to have your calls. By doing so, you’ll save the other workdays for uninterrupted work. You’ll start to get into a routine and when that particular day hits, you’ll be prepared for your telephone call and you’ll stay focused and on task. Schedule the calls far enough apart to give yourself some time to discuss your items but don’t give it too much time. By having a deadline, you can keep the call within a set amount of time and not go over that.

This should help cut down the amount of time you spend on the phone and give you more time to focus on the “good stuff”...

-- About the Author --

Erin Blaskie is the owner of Business Services, ETC (http://www.bsetc.ca). BSETC is a virtual assistance company that gives freedom to small business owners, coaches and speakers by managing the BS, etc.

-- For More Information --

Erin has a blog located on the main page of her website in which she provides advice on small businesses and running a virtual assistance company. She has recently started a free bi-weekly telecall for virtual assistants where they can come together with other VAs and get support. You can find out more on the website at http://www.bsetc.ca

If you want to know more about our services, please contact Erin at erin.blaskie@bsetc.ca.

-- Copyright Information --

All rights reserved. This publication or any part thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system or otherwise, unless this notification of copyright is retained.

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7 Quick Tips To Simplify Your Life

By Thea Westra

Avoid being road-kill on this super charged super highway called life in the 21st century. There is an increase in the amount of information and activity that bombards us on a daily basis and there is no sign of a slow down. In fact, we can feel its exponential growth. It is time to take charge of our lives again and do it in a way that does not add to the current of overwhelm.

Get a crystal clear view of where you want to take your life. Know which activities move you toward your end goals and which ones actually side track you. For example, if more clients is a goal then, with each work activity ask yourself, "Will this activity directly increase my number of clients?", and change the task if the response is no.

Look around for all that you really can do without. These can be tangible objects, people who take down your energy, activities that are time wasters, or thoughts that leave you feeling disempowered. Now start weeding, a little day-by-day.

Get determined to simplify everything. When you actively choose it as a goal, you will be amazed at what you suddenly see and become aware of, as you move through usually routine activities.

Segment your days and plan for deliberate inclusion of those things that you want to see happen. Set aside deliberate email reading and writing time, for example. When you do that, your tasks will have predetermined deadlines and you will find yourself more focused on the task at hand, increasing efficiency.

Get more picky and choosy. Select your television viewing for the week ahead of time and only watch the selected programs. Turn the television off at all other times. Say no to requests from other people if they involve activities that you would rather not do. Know what you like and what you do not like, then live to it.

Organize distinct systems for dealing with incoming information and requests. When someone gives you new address or phone details, have somewhere that you can immediately enter that information for ready retrieval when you need it. If an idea comes to mind on which you might want to take later action, have a place to record those brilliant ideas until you are ready to review future projects.

Get up earlier in the mornings to give yourself some precious alone time, just for hanging out with yourself. It is a time that is free from phone calls and busy-ness, an opportunity to get clear and let thoughts settle before interruptions from outside begin to speed up your day. So many of us jump out of bed and hit the ground running, before we even get into the real nitty-gritty of the day.

Your life is under your control. Accept that as fact and begin living each day as though that is fact. Never mind everything that is bothering you, what are you going to do about it? I am sure that you have many ideas of your own about reducing the clutter in your life. Take action on those ideas that you know you could, the ones that will make a huge impression on your current experience of life and truly living it.

©Thea Westra is an international life coach who resides in Perth, Western Australia and publishes a free, monthly e-zine at http://www.forwardsteps.com.au

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