12 Days of Christmas 2012

Welcome to the Twelve Days for Christmas for 2012.  

Maybe you don't celebrate Christmas, maybe you are more a Haj, Chanuka or Bodi day kind of person. It doesn't matter, this applies to everyone.
Last year I put out the 12 Days Challenge and it got a great response so here it is again.

Here is your challenge for the next twelve days.  Don’t forget, that they are cumulative, just like the song.  That is, on the first day, you give the first thing. One the second day, you give the second thing and then the first thing.  On the third day you give the third thing, the second thing and then the first and so on.

Your Twelve Days and their challenges:
On the first day of Christmas I gave to my partner or best friend, an extra long and extra firm hug.
On the second day of Christmas I gave to a person on the road, 2 moments to cut in ahead of me.
On the third day of Christmas I gave to the person on the street $3 for a coffee treat.
On the fourth day of Christmas I gave to a member of my team, 4 minutes to tell me what they thought of me.
On the fifth day of Christmas I gave to myself 5 minutes of mediation.
On the sixth day of Christmas I gave to my family, six minutes of singing silly songs.
On the seventh day of Christmas I gave to my kids, seven minutes of undivided attention.
On the eighth day of Christmas I searched my memory for eight things I learned from this year.
On the ninth day of Christmas I wrote in my diary, nine goals for the coming year.
On the tenth day of Christmas I gave to my friends, ten minutes of non-stop praise.
On the eleventh day of Christmas for my sanity, I gave myself an eleven minute bath (Frankincense and Myrrh is optional).
On the twelfth day of Christmas I committed to the community twelve hours of my time as a volunteer.

It is ALMOST singable to the original tune!!  Don't be discouraged if you don't get it perfect but do act on as many as you can.  Carry the spirit of Christmas and giving with you as you do.

PS I know that the 12 Days of Christmas don't officially start until the 29th of December but I thought I would get in early! Have a fabulous festive season and here is to a magnificent 2013

How Good Is Your Call To Action?

I spoke to a school group this morning. On the way there I saw a delivery van covered with signage on their products. There was lots of colour and pictures but the sign that stood out was words saying 

"Book with me Now!"

My initial response was 'Book what?'

You see their signage got attention but you could not tell at a glance what it was for. With signage on a vehicle that moves at somewhere between 40 and 100 km/h you have to be able to understand it in a single glance.

This is a principle that I share with clients in my Exhibiting work. Can you tell at a glance what your stand is about?
It is equally applicable to the action line on an email. If the recipient cannot understand what you want from them at a glance, then you need to rework your call to action.

Are you getting the response you want with your "Call to Action?"



PS Be careful with abbreviations too. This sign was taken by a friend of mine in the USA and I don't think it says what they want it to!

Are You Trained?

Are You Trained?

I spent three days last week locked in a room with other similar minded entrepreneurs. Well maybe not locked but you get what I mean. We were looking at how to transform our businesses and take them to the next level (or even the one beyond that). The final day was planning and commitments for 2013 with an action plan to help get us there
.
As a business owner it can be hard to dedicate this kind of time for additional training and development.

As an employee as well, there is always too much to do to spend time off getting training and development.

I have heard it said by many business gurus, "Too many managers say What if I train my employees and they leave, but what if you don't train them and they stay!"

By the way, don't wait for others to pay for or approve your training either. If you really want it or need it, be prepared to finance it yourself, after all, you get to keep it!

So what training do you need? What skills do you need to develop? What will you do TODAY to make that happen?

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PS Tomorrow night (Tuesday 4th December) we will be hosting the 5 Keys to Successful Exhibiting training from 6pm in Doncaster. Be my guest and use the promo code EASCOMP for your ticket at my expense. To register or find out more details, visit EASInstitute.Eventbrite.com

Are You Protecting Your Assets?
In business and life it is important to protect your assets. Sometimes our most important assets are not "things" but "skills." 

For example, as a Master of Ceremonies and Event Strategist, my most important asset is my ability to talk. Unfortunately I did not protect that asset and I have lost my voice! (The good news is that for the first time in a long time, my wife can finish her own sentences without me interrupting!)

I was speaking at a gig on Thursday last week - it was pretty warm and I was drinking ice water before I spoke. At the end my voice was a little strained but I thought it would recover. I was then MC at a wedding on Saturday night. I had spent the day chatting with a friend who had come down from Queensland and then the wedding venue was noisy so you had to shout to talk. The PA was poor quality so I strained the strain. As you may expect, the best thing to do is to not talk and let it recover. But Wifey and I had lunch and dinner planned with two sets of friends on Sunday. I tried not to talk but I can't help myself. 
This morning I have a very sore throat and minimal voice.

This all started with the Ice Water. If you are a performer, you must only drink room temperature water as it keeps your vocal chords flexible and ready to work. I know this but still I did not protect my assets.

What about you? What assets do you need to protect? How will you do that?


If one of your assets is to Sell or Generate leads, then let me help you look after your asset. On Tuesday 4th December in Melbourne we are running a 2 1/2 hr workshop on 5 Keys to Successful Exhibiting and Event Sponsorship. I would love you to be my guest. Simply use the Code EASCOMP when you register here and there will be no charge for you to attend. See you there!

Want More Sales?

Want More Sales?
There seems to be so many people out there spruiking the short cuts to more customers and more sales. Let me be honest with you, there is no short cut!

The best way to increase your sales and customer based is with focussed attention on the key methods that work and measuring your efforts and results in the process. The Centre for Exhibiting Industry Research found that Exhibiting and Event Sponsorship has one of the lowest costs per lead when compared to traditional marketing methods.

Now as you will know from previous posts, I am also a huge fan of Exhibiting and the results it brings but it is easy to get it very wrong!

THE BIGGEST MISTAKE

The biggest mistake people make is that they have no idea why they are exhibiting. They may know in loose terms but they have no idea how to measure it. As the adage says, "What gets measured gets improved." So when you next exhibiting, you MUST know your why and how you will measure it otherwise you are wasting your money.

My joint venture business The Exhibiting and Sponsorship Institute is just about to launch our new product, the Exhibit Like A Pro 12 Disc pack. We are launching it by running a 2 1/2 hr workshop on how to Exhibit Like A Pro on Tuesday 4th December. We are starting in Melbourne and next February we have a tour of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. To find out more or to register, click here. I would love to see you there.

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Warwick Merry - The Get More Guy, is your high energy, results focused, action oriented, no holds barred tour de force MC, keynote speaker and Exhibiting Specialist. He ensures your attendees Get More from your event. His MC work is like insurance for your event. It guarantees things will run smoothly and on time. As a speaker, he is like a dose of Berocca – a bubbling, burst of healthy, sustainable energy for your attendees.  If you need a burst of inspiration, cogitation and celebration at your next event you MUST book The Get More Guy, Warwick Merry.

What Is It For?
The wife of a good friend of mine died on Friday. It's sad, tragic and many other emotions AND it is also a good reminder.

What is this life for?

Many of us are madly trying to be better at business, keep customers, bosses and colleagues happy, achieve goals, make money, raise kids, help others, advance ourself and deal with life issues. The death of someone close to us is a great reminder to question, "What is my life for?" Then look at your own life and see if you are on track. If not, change something.
So for you, what is it for?

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Warwick Merry - The Get More Guy, is your high energy, results focused, action oriented, no holds barred tour de force MC, keynote speaker and Exhibiting Specialist. He ensures your attendees Get More from your event. His MC work is like insurance for your event. It guarantees things will run smoothly and on time. As a speaker, he is like a dose of Berocca – a bubbling, burst of healthy, sustainable energy for your attendees.  If you need a burst of inspiration, cogitation and celebration at your next event you MUST book The Get More Guy, Warwick Merry.

Are You Flexible?

OMG! Can you believe it? I stuffed up. 

I live in Melbourne and didn't realise that I had scheduled my How to Create and Deliver a Great Introduction webinar smack bang in the middle of Melbourne Cup Day. Naturally I only found out about this just after I had sent the newsletter to over 1,500 people!

So a few quick tinkerings of the system and voila, it is now on this Wednesday at 1pm Melbourne time. If you want to be part of it, the webinar detail and registration is here 

What about you? When you find out about a problem can you let go of control enough to be flexible? Can you release the idea of what you wanted to happen and come up with a solution that will suit? From a cancelled meeting to a cancelled contract, anything can happen. As has been said so many times, it is not what happens to you but how you deal with it that counts. So are you flexible enough to deal with what happens to you?

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Warwick Merry - The Get More Guy, is your high energy, results focused, action oriented, no holds barred tour de force MC, keynote speaker and Exhibiting Specialist. He ensures your attendees Get More from your event. His MC work is like insurance for your event. It guarantees things will run smoothly and on time. As a speaker, he is like a dose of Berocca – a bubbling, burst of healthy, sustainable energy for your attendees.  If you need a burst of inspiration, cogitation and celebration at your next event you MUST book The Get More Guy, Warwick Merry.

What About Me?

One of my personal bug bears is when an MC says, "And now for a person who needs no introduction..." and then spends five minutes introducing them! Most of us have been to meetings or networking functions where people are introduced by their resume (at least it feels like they are reading their resume.)

Here is the secret of a brilliant introduction: the introduction is NOT about the person you are introducing. What people forget is that the introduction means more to the AUDIENCE that the presenter.

That is not just for presentations either. Think about when you are introduced to someone at a networking event. What has more value to you?
"This is Jill Jones she is the CEO of Jones International"
OR
"This is Jill Jones. Her business specialises in graphic design and branding. I recall you saying you were looking at yours recently."
In the second introduction you will love the context you get about Jill and Jill loves the referral the introducer is giving her.

So how are your introductions?

If you want better introductions, join me on Wednesday 7th November for a complimentary webinar on How to Create and Deliver a Great Introduction. If you can't make that time, no worries, simply register and you will get access to the recording.

To register click here 

By the way, this is not a normal webinar where I talk and you listen. This is a hands on workshop where you will create an introduction and we walk through what will make your introduction better.

What Are You Up To?

One of the most common questions around the work place is "So what are you up to?"It's usually the boss, a colleague or a friend just asking what is happening.
When it comes to work, there would be 4 key answers I would be looking for:

1. I am servicing the client and providing what they have paid for or assisting someone else in the firm to do that
2. I am getting more prospects to consider us
3. I am converting a prospect to a sale
4. I am looking for ways to increase the sale to a customer - maybe a repeat sale or maybe an increase in the sale amount or maybe building a product to sell.

Anything else is just busy work.
If what you are doing does not related to one of these four things I would have to ask why are you doing it.
So what are you up to?

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Warwick Merry - The Get More Guy, is your high energy, results focused, action oriented, no holds barred tour de force MC, keynote speaker and Exhibiting Specialist. He ensures your attendees Get More from your event. His MC work is like insurance for your event. It guarantees things will run smoothly and on time. As a speaker, he is like a dose of Berocca – a bubbling, burst of healthy, sustainable energy for your attendees.  If you need a burst of inspiration, cogitation and celebration at your next event you MUST book The Get More Guy, Warwick Merry.

Can You Negotiate Successfully?

Negotiation is such a core part of what we do, but I am not a guru on Negotiation. Luckily I have a very good friend that is. I asked her to give me the secrets to mastering negotiation and she was happy to oblige.
Tanya Edlington has negotiated everything from wages deals worth millions of dollars to car parking arrangements where she lives because she knows EVERYTHING is negotiable. She has learnt everything she knows by doing it and learning from her mistakes. Tanya believes the art of conversation is important to all kinds of relationships. She's a mediator accredited through LEADR, and is a sought after facilitator. Tanya uses her skills as an actress to help everyone from doctors to corporate managers develop their face to face communication skills.
Here are Tanya's Top Tips to Negotiate Anything!
If you follow these every time, regardless of what you're negotiating or who you are representing, you are bound to have a successful outcome.  

1. Know what you want.  It seems obvious, but it's also often the thing that people neglect.  If you don't know exactly what you want, you're not ready to negotiate.
2. Know how what you want can be packaged.  Sometimes it's easy to miss a great opportunity to settle because it looks a bit different from what you were thinking.  Be creative and open minded as you consider offers made by the other side.  Think about how offers can help you get what you want, rather than focussing on the shortcomings.
3. Make sure the people with authority to settle or reach agreement are in the room.  There's nothing worse than putting in the hard work and reaching a great outcome, only to find that the people you've been talking to aren't the decision-makers.  I only negotiate with decision-makers.  If the other side can't do this, then they're not committed to negotiation.
4. Spend some time agreeing on the rules of engagement before you start negotiating on substantive matters.  Apart from being useful to set up rules of engagement, this helps everyone practise talking to each other.  If I'm negotiating with several people, I look for clues about communication styles, power relationships, thinking preferences and the dynamics within the group.  I include issues of confidentiality (where relevant) and also communication with stakeholders (who, what, when and how).
5. Don't leave the room without a written agreement.  Whatever I am negotiating, the last thing I do before anyone leaves the room is to write down what we've already agreed.  I write this summary together. I'm not talking about a fully drafted document!  I'm talking about an agreed written record that reduces the risk of people walking away with different interpretations or an intention to wriggle out of something.   Electronic whiteboards are really handy for this.  If there isn't one I take a photo and email to everyone.  Once everyone agrees on what is written down, I then distribute copies.  I include the date, time and names of everyone in the room and who they represent.  This process is also clarifiying and can often flush out anything that isn't really agreed between the parties.  

Putting it all together, approach your negotiations with your creative problem solving muscles flexed and view the other team as useful collaborators with expertise to contribute to the solving of the problem.  I find that this approach means the relationships with the people remain intact - sometimes even grow - and people are more willing to keep going when it's tough.  
Lastly, I make sure that my thoughts, words and deeds are in alignment so that I am operating with integrity, regardless of who I'm working with and what we're trying to achieve.  

If you need help with your negotiations, please contact Tanya. She is sure to help you achieve the outcome you want.

• blog: www.divacultura.blogspot.com
• twitter: @divacultura
• email: tanyaedlington@gmail.com
• m: 0418 285 732 

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Warwick Merry - The Get More Guy, is your high energy, results focused, action oriented, no holds barred tour de force MC, keynote speaker and Exhibiting Specialist. He ensures your attendees Get More from your event. His MC work is like insurance for your event. It guarantees things will run smoothly and on time. As a speaker, he is like a dose of Berocca – a bubbling, burst of healthy, sustainable energy for your attendees.  If you need a burst of inspiration, cogitation and celebration at your next event you MUST book The Get More Guy, Warwick Merry.

Are You Ready?

I had a big weekend. 2 1/2 day as MC of the Super Conference in Melbourne (from Thursday to Saturday), a 1 year old party, MC another function on the Saturday night and then 6 hours reviewing the upcoming video product I am creating.

Phew!

The recurring theme seemed to be "Are You Ready".  At the Super Conference, one of the speakers arrived late, was foofing and fluffing around with AV, running back to his room, forgetting something else and had no introduction. We delayed the start but it got to the point that I had to fill in for about 10 minutes while he got ready. For some a 10 minute fill is not easy (lucky I like the sound of my own voice!) Other speakers arrived the day before to check the room, had their AV all tested and loaded on our machines two presentations prior. True professionals that were a delight to deal with.

On the Saturday night, there was a little more stuffing around trying to get the hotels projector working. Luckily the client was patient because it took the hotel awhile to find the person who knew what was going on (apparently the projector always goes to sleep automatically - that would have been nice to know up front!)

What about you? Are you ready?

Are you ready to start your meetings on time? Do your minutes get done promptly after the meeting? Do people have all of your requirements, introductions and contact details when you are on site? Have you practiced the difficult meeting with your staff member? Do you have the correct documentation when you get on the phone to talk to a service provider? When you are running an event, are you ready to stall for five minutes if you need to (because you know it will happen!)

When you know you have something significant happening, make sure you are ready. It makes a massive difference!

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Warwick Merry - The Get More Guy, is your high energy, results focused, action oriented, no holds barred tour de force MC, keynote speaker and Exhibiting Specialist. He ensures your attendees Get More from your event. His MC work is like insurance for your event. It guarantees things will run smoothly and on time. As a speaker, he is like a dose of Berocca – a bubbling, burst of healthy, sustainable energy for your attendees.  If you need a burst of inspiration, cogitation and celebration at your next event you MUST book The Get More Guy, Warwick Merry.

Are You Treating the Cause or the Symptom?

Too often people treat the Symptoms and not the Root Cause.

A case in point is the current issue with Alan Jones, the Australian shock jock who made some questionable comments about our Prime Minister and her father.
There is a lot of talk and social media chatter about boycotting the advertisers. So much so that the advertisers are no longer playing any adverts on his show.

Let me predict the future - The radio station will continue to receive money from advertisers, they will just be played at different times meaning more adverts on other shows.
Alan Jones' show will probably be advertised as "3 hrs of Ad Free breakfast" or some such thing. In a couple of weeks when the next thing gets our interest, the radio will start playing adverts again and life will go back to normal.

People are focusing on the Symptom, and not the root cause. If they truly want to get Alan off the air they need a different cause of action. The advertisers love Alan Jones because lots of people listen to him. It means they get great exposure and the radio station charges them a significant amount of money for this exposure. So to get the advertisers off Alan's show permanently, the focus needs to be to get people to stop listening to his show and that radio station at all. Will decrease revenues, the radio station will be forced to make permanent changes, such as fire Alan Jones.

The bigger issue is that the people listening to Alan Jones are of the demographic that love his vitriol and diatribe. The people complaining about him typically do not listen to him anyway. So how do go get people who like listening to a person, who probably are not offended by his comments to completely stop listening to the radio station? I can't answer that one.

Again, are you treating the Cause or the Symptom?

Managers in attempts to cut costs will typically cut costs that don't matter. For example, no more Tim Tams, cheaper coffee, less staff, or cheaper decorations. That just treats the symptoms of a lack of sales. Successful managers will look at the root of the problem. Basically, what does the customer want (both now and in the future), how do they want it and when do they want it. Lets look at ways to provide this. In Australia, Myer and David Jones are playing catchup with online sales because rather that thinking how do we go down that path (when customers started heading that way) they chose not to, and have suffered!

Small business have a lull in sales and think "Better make more sales calls" rather than considering alternate ways to bring continual prospects in. Too often we fall for doing more of the same action rather than looking at whether it is the right action to take. It is not just a matter of doing things Right but also about doing the Right things.

In a relationship, I have seen people buy their partner a gift or flowers to make them happy rather than considering why they were upset in the first place. What is the root cause. Is it a bad habit, was it a conflicting belief or simply a mistake. Too often the same mistake keeps recurring and it has significant impacts on the relationship.

What about you? In all areas of your life, are you addressing the Cause or just the Syptom?

What's Driving You?

Doh! I had to learn this AGAIN!

Too often I let my email and my phone drive me. I get into a reactive role of responding to whatever lands on my desk.
That is NOT how a successful business operates.

As I teach those in my sessions, there are three key things that need to be focussed on that can easily magnify sales.
1) Number of Prospects
2) Percentage of Prospects who convert to sales
3) The value of the sale

You don't grow these factors by being driven by your email. They are increased by a strategy with actions in your calendar.
Don't get me wrong, you can't ignore your email and phone calls, but you can choose when it suits you best to respond to them and let your focus be on business building activities as per your strategy.

What's driving you? Is it your email or your strategy?

Are You Adding Value?

Are You Adding Value?

As I type this I am on the lovely Gold Coast of Australia. I am here for a client's conference and Expo. They have asked me to host the expo floor and work closely with the exhibitors. Naturally I said yes.

Then they said, "Would you mind dressing up for the welcoming function?" I thought they meant dressing up into a formal outfit. But no, my job was to be outside the confessional (photo booth) and absolve people of their sins dressed as a religious figure.

I am sure I could have said no. But my theory is always to look for how I can add value to my clients. What can I do that is one step further? Not only does it make them happy, it also means I am more likely to get the gig again next year.

So how are you adding value? It doesn't mean simply dressing up or working longer hours. What are the things you are doing for your customers (both internal and external) that add value to them and make their experience more enjoyable?

What's the Best Marketing?

I was asked recently "What is the most cost-effective way of marketing our business?"

The short answer is to go back to your existing clients and say, "Hi, you loved the xxxx you bought. Just letting you know we also have yyyy and as and existing client here is the bundle deal we will do for you." The commonly spouted figure is that it is 5 times cheaper to sell to an existing client than it is to get a new one. Most of us will have heard that before and still not act on it. So in terms of sales, I would start with existing clients.

I am sensing that the question was focussed on getting NEW clients, so let me address that. There are so many ways to choose and so many others to get sidetracked with. I also love how you said "cost-effective" and not cheapest. There are too many people who look for "cheap" without measuring the results and cost effectiveness. Social media streams (free outlets) are clogged with people saying, "buy my stuff, buy my stuff, BUY MY STUUUUFFFF!" All they are doing is screaming desperation, annoying their fans and not getting the sales they want.

So to answer the questions, marketing is not about a "Way" but about a "Campaign" so you actually need to shift how you look at it.

Start with the very basics. Who is my target market? What do they do, where do they live, what do they eat, where do the shop, what do they drive, what do they wear, how big is their family? Get incredibly specific. Too many home based businesses think, "I can sell my stuff to EVERYONE!" No you can't. Even if they need it, EVERYONE won't buy it. So get specific. Who is your ideal target market client?

Now you know who they are you will know where they hang out the most and where they will be open to marketing most. You can then build a campaign around that.
The campaign is made up of different touch points or steps to take action. The goal of the campaign is to get additional sales. Everything you do in the campaign is focussed around how do you get the prospect to buy from you. It may not be a direct sale, it may be get them to take action into your sales funnel that will ultimately end in a sale. It is important to maintain the focus that the intent of your campaign is ultimately to increase sales.

Here is an example. Let's say your business is Freddy's Family Photos. You take family photos of younger families. Typically mum, dad and kids under the age of 10. So your target market is families, not singles, not seniors, not couples, not weddings but families. If the other work comes to you then you do it, but it is not the work you seek out. You like to do work in your local area, so you really are marketing to young families with kids under the age of 10 that live within 10km of your home based business.

As part of Freddy's marketing campaign, they do the following:
1) Sponsor the local Little Athletics by taking action shot photos of the finals. Families can then get free copies of some of the shots by entering their details.
2) The email address sends the photos (with Freddy's water mark on it) as well as subscribing the family to the newsletter.
3) A week later they receive a letter with a small poster on regular paper. The poster is an image in the local park with the image of parents and kids blanked out so it can be coloured in (it alsy has Freddy's logo and contact details on the bottom) - There is an accompanying message saying "Hope you enjoyed the Little Aths photo. Here is an image for your kids to draw in your family. We would love to see the finished results on our Facebook Page"
4) 2 Weeks later send an email with a message saying "We love kids art but sometimes it doesn't catch the situation like a photo does. Here are some recent photos we have done and what the families have said about working with us. (insert 2 testimonials and some photos). If you would like to know more about having some family photos done, simply hit replay and one of our team will be in touch."
5) 2 weeks later send another email - As one of our Little Aths family, we would like to give you this special offer xxxxx. Simply hit reply and one of our team will be in touch to make an appointment

This is a simple example of a targeted marketing campaign. As well as the marketing campaign, Freddy also sends out a monthly newsletter with stories of families getting their photo's take, Photography tips and testimonials. This newsletter is a constant reminder to the recipients of what is available without saying "Buy my stuff!" It also adds value in terms of some tips, stories of the families (including when photo shoots go bad) so there is some entertainment. Every now and again it may contain a special offer.

The campaign works on building trust with prospect by slowly introducing yourself and what you do. It builds awareness by providing desired images with branding on it. It also showcases the quality of Freddy's work.
The cost? One day every couple of months taking photos at Little Aths. Some postage and printing for each prospect (no more than $5 per prospect) and some time managing the emails and database. Not a great deal in comparison to the value of a photo shoot.

By the way, there are other business where this approach WOULD NOT WORK!! It is centred around the target market. You need to appeal to them in a way that inspires them into action.

So your action is to define the following:

Who is my target market?
Where do they hang out and what do they like to do?
How can I get them on my database?
What 5 to 7 step process can I put in place to know me, like me and trust me?
What is the irresistible offer I can make to them?

Love to hear any thoughts?

Enjoy the day

Warwick

Best Advice EVER!

This is THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECE OF BUSINESS ADVICE EVER!!!

Whatever your business is, you have to have fun.

The Minister of Fun once told me the secret. If it's not fun, don't do it. If you have to do it, make it fun.

Too many business owners lose track of this. I constantly come across WAHMs (work at home mums/work at home men) who decide that now the kids have grown a bit, they want to start a business.

The business starts and is low key for awhile. Then it starts to grow. All of a sudden they don't have time for the stuff they used to do. Coffee with friends falls by the wayside. They start working late into the night. Weekends become a distant memory. The business is doing ok but still needs a lot of hands on work to keep it going. It is becoming a real burden and the fun left months ago!!

Familiar?

It MUST be fun!

When I am working with my Exhibiting clients, they seem to think that when exhibiting it is all about business and you have to be serious because I am spending serious money, doing serious marketing and seriously wanting this to work. The best thing to do when exhibiting? Smile!! It is so attractive. Have fun with the visitors, have a bit of a joke and they will relax a bit and be open to your offering.

How can you make your office, your business, your life have more fun? We all know what it's like. Sometimes we are hit by such challenges that if we didn't laugh we would burst into tears. Most of these challenges, when reflected back on 6, 12 or 18 months later were not as important as we thought. So have a chuckle and look for the fun side. We are only human after all.

Too many business owners don't give themselves permission to relax, enjoy and have fun. It is like they are waiting for some authority to majestically grant them permission. Well if that is you, then here it is:

I, Warwick Merry - The Get More Guy, by the power granted to me by the Minister of Fun do solemnly, seriously and sillily give you the everlasting permission to have fun, laugh and play in all that you do. Should anyone question your permission, simply state that the Minister for Fun and the Get More Guy said you had to Get More Fun.

Whew!! Now it is safe to have fun. I am yet to find a situation where it is not ok to have a little fun. Think about a funeral. As you are at the wake chatting to others and reflecting on your friend, what is better for you? The time you are all serious, considering how sad it is or when you are laughing as you recollect the silly things that they said, did or enjoyed? It doesn't mean it is not sad or tragic but you can shift your perspective to the blessings they brought into your life.

Ooops, that's a little dark, but you get the point.

So how can you make your work fun? One of my business partners sends frog lollies with all of her invoices (her customers now fight over who gets to open the invoice). Others put one liner jokes in their news letters. Some share their stunning photos with their business network. Others simply smile as much as they can. When I am chatting to people and they ask "How are you?" I reply, "Delightful!" These are only little things but they make a huge difference.

I am committed to having fun in all that I do and I tell you, it makes things so much more bearable and enjoyable. What will you do?

Enjoy the day

Warwick

PS Did you know that smiling releases endorphins into the body? Did you know that endorphins are essentially human made morphine? Did you know that the body cannot tell the difference between a fake smile and a real one? So basically, if you start smiling (real or fake) your body will start to feel happy and your mind can only follow it. 

Here are a few smiles if you need them   

Can you Make It Easy?

Arrrrr me hearties, its International Talk Like A Pirate Day www.talklikeapirate.com/

To get in to the spirits me buccaneers, Oi have put on me pirates gear so's I have.

Aaaaany way, to prevent further pain I will stop typing like a pirate!!

Today's method to Get More Clients is to Make It Easy

I am stunned by the way so many stores make it hard to be a client. 
Myer seems to have fewer and fewer service assistants. It is not uncommon to have to walk a big chunk of the floor to find someone to help you, let alone a person at a register to help you buy the item.
Coles and Woolworths have put in new self serve checkouts all over the place. It saves them a lot of staffing costs. While some of us techno friendly people love it, I have seen non-techno people tormented by them and the assistant not be able to tolerate the customer not getting it.

What about for us as home based businesses, how do we make it hard for people to be our customers?

I love to buy resources off the internet but if it is a multi-stage process, it just gets too hard. If I have to re-enter the same information over and over again, I have cancelled sales. I find it very annoying to enter all my details and then be sent to PayPal or some other payment gateway and have to enter them again. It is a lost sale if I like what you have and then have to ring between the hours of 10am and 2pm to order it over the phone. At Trade Shows, if we make people fill out forms to enter a prize rather than just put their business card in a bowl, we can miss a prospect.

Are you getting the idea?

Too many sales are lost or prospects missed because we are considering what makes things easy for me and not for you.

The cracker in my mind at the moment is ordering movie tickets on-line from Village. They spend a lot of effort telling everyone how easy it is to order on-line or on your phone. No waiting in line, pick your own seat, all nice and easy. Yet when you go to do it, there is an additional fee of around $2 for each ticket you buy on-line. Why would you do that? To my mind, having people order on line or on the phone will save staff costs, paper cost (no issue of tickets) and increase customer satisfaction. I would make it $1 cheaper and people will flock to it. Plus you then get all of their ordering details as they have to sign in to order. You can then do direct marketing to them. Surely that is worth something?

So how can you make it easy for your customers to deal with you?  Here are some thoughts:

• Accept credit cards
• Give a rock solid guarantee (mine is a 200%, money back guarantee)
• Have a single step check out
• Smile when dealing with customers
• Have accurate signage (don't laugh, some business signage is ridiculous)
• Under promise and Over deliver 
• You pay the postage (increase the price to cover it if you need)

What will you do?

Arrrr.... enjoy talk like a pirate day ye land lubbers and Oi will see you on the ocean of business

Warwick One Eye Merry
Arrr

Got Synergy?

John Donne, a 17th century English author famously said, "No man is an island." Then why do so many of us try and deal with our businesses, our lives and challenging situations on our own?

I have been to several weddings where the celebrant says, "A problem shared is a problem halved" or "A joy shared is a joy doubled" and still we don't get it.

Synergy is where the energy from the whole is great than the energy from the sum of its parts. To maximise the synergy, the part has to truly commit itself to the process. For us, that means we have to be willing to be vulnerable, to listen, to be accepting, to share, to wish the best for each other.

I have just had one of the most amazing, synergistic weekends from a personal and professional point of view. My belief is I got so much out of it because I was willing to put all of myself into it.

Have you got synergy? If not, what are you willing to do to get it?

New Monitor Stands

I have been running my computer system in the office with two monitors for quite some time. After prolonged periods at the computer I struggled to stand up comfortably. I was in a hunched lack of comfort zone - so to speak!

I had read before that monitors are better off the desk and higher up. (To find out some ergonomic guidelines for your desk, check out what Swinburne University says.) Like all good geeks, I went to eBay to find a flash, sexy and cheap monitor stand for two monitors. Unfortunately I have non-standard monitors and they are different to each other, so that was not going to work. Also, these stands were about $120 and got way more expensive from there.

In a flash of brilliance, I have raided my paper reserves and created these two monitor stands for less than $30.

How is your monitor and desk set up? Do you need a bit of creative application of ergonomics to make it work better for you? I am feeling better about my set up already!  Check it out

What Promotional Product Is Best?

One of the questions I get asked frequently by exhibitors is “What is the best promotional product to give away at Trade Shows?” Of course the answer is “It Depends.” Massive amounts of money are wasted on poorly thought out, poorly made and even pointless promotional products every year.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a big fan of promotional products. Like all business decisions, a little bit of strategy makes all the difference on the return that you get. As with a great deal of marketing, businesses seem to forget that the promotional product is not about them or about what they think is “cool” but it is all about their customer and their prospect. It has to meet their needs and be something that they want and will use.

Here are five of the key factors to consider when planning promotional products:

1 - What is the Outcome you want?

If you are just giving your visitors a gift then you will give them something different than if you want them to buy from you. Too often exhibitors tell me “Oh it’s just for branding purposes”. Unless you are a massive firm like Coca Cola, Apple or Ford, let go of the “branding” band wagon.

The outcome maybe that you want your existing customer to feel appreciated and show them you value their patronage. If that’s the case a branded Frisbee is not for you! Another outcome you may want is that that prospect see’s your logo frequently and is reminded of your services so that when the time is right they come to you.

Understanding the outcome or purpose of the promotional product is essential. So what is the Outcome you are after?

2 – What is the Value of the Gift?

What is the perceived value of the gift? This is different to what you have spent; it is what the gift means for the recipient. For example, elegant cufflinks with no branding may be seen to be far more valuable than a branded drink bottle.  For others who may be in to exercise, the drink bottle will be of more value.

To understand the best value, you need to first consider who is your target market and how will they perceive the gift. Everyone will place a difference value on the gift but it is your target market or gift target and the purpose of the gift that will best define its value.

3 – Do you need Two Tier Gifting?

Some of the most cost effective use of promotional product that I have seen is two tier gifting. That is, depending on the quality of the visitor you determine their gift. Trade Show visitors are renowned for their lust for “freebies” and many of them seem to arrive early and run around collecting anything that is free. They can be managed using the Two Tier approach.

The first tier is a relatively inexpensive gift that meets your outcome needs and that you don’t mind sacrificing for low quality leads. These items are given freely to any who ask for them.

The second tier is for a high quality lead. The conversation may start when they claim a first tier gift and as your continue the discussion you find out that they are exactly the customer you are after. In return for getting further information about them you can then give them the second tier gift. A higher valued object suited to your ideal prospect.

The two tier approach ensures you are financially responsible with your marketing spend and getting the best return on that spend.

4 – What is the Cost per Impression?

This is one of the least considered but most important factors when choosing a promotional product. Too often companies spend significant money on funky items that are either single use or their prospect then turn around and give the gift to their kids, never to be seen again.

If you are putting your logo or contact details on an item, make sure it is an item that your client will see time and time again. Give your details a chance to really embed into their psyche. This is why items such as branded shirts and office equipment are so effective.

For example, if you give a prospect a branded polo shirt they may wear it on many different occasions, and then as it starts to show wear and tear, continue to wear it around the house or garden. Over a prolonged period, your cost per impression or cost every time they see your brand is very low.

Another good item for this is a branded USB key. The continual use of the key with your brand on it can work out to a low cost per impression. But if you are giving out a USB key, maximise the opportunity and load it with a PDF detailing your products and services, a short video or even a personalised message saying thanks for coming to that particular show.

What is the cost per impression of your gift?

5 - Brief your Booth Attendants on How to Distribute the Gifts

You have spent thousands of dollars on promotional items, you have a strategy for distribution, you have a specific outcome you are after when they are given out and if you don’t brief your team on what you are after, you have just wasted all of that time, effort and money. It is heart breaking to see people on the stand just distributing the products at random.

Some of the most important time you will spend on the booth is the time you spend briefing your team on what you want from the stand, your objectives for the day, how you will measure your success and how they are to use the promotional items as a marketing edge.

If you consider these five factors you are well on the way to maximising the value of promotional products when you next exhibit.

Warwick Merry is the Get More Guy, an expert in how to Get More results. He is also the Co-Founder of The Exhibiting and Sponsorship Institute.

For further information visit www.warwickmerry.com or www.EASInstitute.com

Have You Broken The Habit?

Have You Broken The Habit?

After a month of travelling, a couple of weeks of Man Flu (it was tragic) and a couple of weeks of pretty average excuses, I finally got my body back to my personal trainer.

I have to say, those first two sessions nearly killed me - but they hurt more later the next day.

It is a bit like the habits you have around the house and around your work place. They are so much easier to break than they are to make. Yet once you get into them, they seem to have a life of their own.

Be it making daily sales calls, writing daily blogs, keeping yourself OFF facebook, regular walks around the team to check how they are or simply putting the rubbish out when you need to, maintaining the focus on the your habit and it's outcome is far easier than breaking the habit and starting again.

What habits are you willing to maintain today or have you Broken the Habit?

Image: John Picken - The Habit with the Habit

How Good Are You?

Ok Tall Poppy Hackers, get your swords ready! It's time to talk about how good you really are.I think it is sad that the Australian culture is one that really is quite supportive but once you stand out too much, we find a reason to cut you down.

That is NOT how I operate.

In fact, how I operate probably needs a look at too. I love to support others, praise them in what they are doing and acknowledge their achievements. I think it is amazing what some people can do with their time, effort and resources. But when it comes to my own achievements, I down play them or don't acknowledge what it is I have achieved.

So today is all about being out there and bragging - not full of ego but full of acknowledgement of your skills, efforts, persistence and commitment to yourself and your goals. What have you done that is awesome? It doesn't have to alter everyone's life, maybe it was just the life of one person that has been improved. Did you get high marks on an exam, did you pick someone up when they fell, pay someones car parking when they weren't looking, be the best in your field, maybe you are an awesome parent?

Whatever you did, today is the day to acknowledge it. You are better than good, you are great. Someone, somewhere, for some reason is enormously grateful for you and what you do.

For today you have permission to share with someone how good you are, even if you simply email me.

So How Good Are You?

What Are The Numbers?

It is often said in business "Cashflow is King" but there are other numbers you need to know as well.
Some of the key foundation numbers you need are:

• Marketing Cost
• Cost per lead
• Cost per customer acquisition
• Conversion rate
• Average profit margin
• Average sale value
• Lifetime value of a customer

There are others as well but these are the key ones. These figures help you understand the key factors of your business and if you are on track.

So what are your numbers? Are you on track? What needs your attention?
These foundation numbers are just some of the things we will be talking about and going over in detail at the Exhibit Like A Pro which is on in Melbourne this Saturday. If you want to be able to significantly improve your skills at Exhibiting and Sponsoring corporate events, you can't afford to miss out.

Special Deal
As a special deal for my blog readers, simply put "Get More Goer" in the How Did You Hear About Us field and get over $300 worth of bonuses!
Find out more and register here 

How Can You Stretch Yourself?

I have just completed the three day "Bucket List Xperience" with The Bucket List Guy - Trav Bell.
As part of the Xperience we Rap Jumped down the side of a six storey building. While I had abseiled before, going face first down the side of a building was incredibly confronting! Yet after the third time, it was far less so.

This was part of the message from Trav. How can we step up from an "ordinary life" and stretch ourself. Not just in fun adventures but in all aspects of our life. 

The Bucket List we create builds a driver for what we do and what we want to achieve so large that it can't be ignored. It also allows us to stretch ourselves to live a waaaay beyond ordinary life.

So how will you stretch yourself?

What is Your Result?

What is Your Result?
For those that know me, they know that I am not a sport junkie. But you cannot help but admire the athletes for their amazing effort and commitment to their sport in the recent Olympics.

To the delight of many, Usain Bolt won the 100 metre sprint in an Olympic record time (9.63 seconds). To achieve this he has had a very strict diet and exercise regime. No doubt he starts his training very early and would spend most of the day on his training routine. A quick scan on the internet refers to his Plyometric Training which consists of a lot of weights being pushed and shoved as well as a significant amount of running. His diet is 60% protein, 30% carb and 10% fat which he consumes by eating six times a day.

This is what you have to do to get the gold medal in the Olympics.

It is also what you have to do to come Fifth.

Ryan Bailey came fifth in the final and got a personal best of 9.88 seconds. You better believed he trained just as hard (if not harder) to get that time. In fact, most athletes will have trained hard for many years and not go home with a gold medal. Australia's own Mel Breen competed in the ladies 100m and got a near personal best of 11.34 seconds (Gold was 10.75) and she was thrilled with the results.

I was talking with someone yesterday about Steve Bradbury winning Gold at the winter Olympics. Many think it was "Luck" that he won with the other two competitors falling over. I know he did the hard work, was focussed on the end result and took the opportunity that came out of no-where when it presented itself.

What about you? Are you working and living at your personal best? Are you taking opportunities as they come? Do you have a strategy that you are working on? "Luck" is not a strategy to live by.

What is your result? 

Image: Nick J Webb