Even with great gut instinct, you can imagine how overwhelming it can be to make critical decisions in isolation. When you turn to a manager or employees for feedback, they often have their own agenda and are not equipped to view these decisions from a bird’s eye view.

More often than not, as a small business owner, you are the only one who has 100% of your skin the game. Your decisions span every aspect of your business. These decisions have a ripple effect throughout your entire company and beyond.

How do you bridge the gap between getting feedback internally and getting the support you need to look holistically at the problem and the solution?

What if you could get the support you need at the same time as accessing your own experience, knowledge and personal insights? Just imagine you were asked a series questions that would provide deep clarity and insights. Questions that empower you to make decisions from a new perspective which is completely in line with your own values and vision.

This is the power of solution-focused business coaching. This type of coaching puts you in the driver’s seat through a facilitated process that gives you access to the parts of your brain that transcend fight or flight thinking. Through strategic inquiry, you gain the opportunity to access the newest, most powerful and creative part of your brain, the neocortex. Once you tap into your neocortex though this solution-focused approach, you will become more resourceful and skilled at highly effective decision-making.

Although this may sound rather abstract, solution-focused coaching is a proven and tangible process. It invites you to take full ownership of your decisions with the support of a skilled and certified business coach, so you can focus on accomplishing your key objective and achieve your desired outcomes.

Over the past 19 years, I’ve run my own thriving marketing strategy business. One of the best decisions I’ve made is to offer my clients the opportunity to experience solution-focused business coaching. It is my mission to equip small business owners with the benefit of being able to move away from making decisions in isolation and towards making decisions with full confidence, competence and credibility.

Book your fifteen-minute coaching consultation with Jen DeTracey by sending an email to info@liftstrategies.com.

The post How to Avoid Making Business Decisions You’ll Regret appeared first on Lift Strategies.

For the most part, I think we are aware of when we step into procrastination mode, whether it be intentional or not.

It starts with the little things like hopping on to Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Just for a few minutes, of course. But then we get sucked into the vortex. Thirty minutes go by. How did that happen? You check the time, come back to the present moment and realize you now only have twenty minutes to finish the quote you promised a new customer.

This wasn’t the first time today you pivoted toward procrastination.

As you entered your office in the morning, you immediately reviewed your list of key priorities for the day.  You noticed this feeling of dread wash over you when you got to item number two. Prepare for client meeting. With that client. The one who zaps your energy. Since there was no one to pawn this off to, you procrastinated by spending too much time on the first task on your list. What would normally take five minutes ended up taking an hour. First it was getting another coffee, then it was the bathroom, and finally cleaning of the computer monitor.

You tell yourself, this is just today. But when you think about the past week, you realize this is a recurring and persistent problem.

Let’s explore where procrastination grows roots.

As a business owner, you most likely wear many hats. During your day to day activities, you recognize that there are aspects of what you do that you choose to focus on and others you avoid. Yet both areas are essential to the success of your company.

This is when procrastination can take hold. Once it does, it can be difficult to shake off. It becomes an undesirable habit that lives inside of you. Eventually it can even become a massive distraction from the work you are most passionate about doing. At this point, no matter what systems and processes you have in place, the tasks you dread to do most are the ones that linger the longest.

How do you pivot away from procrastination?

First, understand the three factors that can keep you in a procrastination loop:

1. Getting Stuck
2. Lacking Focus
3. Lacking Vision

Getting Stuck

Over the past 19 years, business owners have come to me for help because they have hit a plateau in growth. They want to move their revenues forward faster. Often the reason for the stand-still or drip growth happens because they are stuck: they don’t know what to do next.

Feeling stuck breeds procrastination.

Lacking Focus

When you lack focus, you feel scattered. You start one task before finishing the previous one. You see a shiny object and abandon everything to follow it down a rabbit hole. That’s how lack of focus leads to another layer of procrastination. With lack of focus it’s more difficult to feel, sense and get rooted in your company’s vision.

Lack of Vision

Lacking a vision can block your energy and limit opportunities. It can lead to the other two causes of procrastination. Without a vision of where you want to go, you don’t know what to focus on or what to do next, which gets you stuck in a rut.

Refreshing your vision so it is crystal clear is a game changer. Once you have that vision, you can focus on the steps you need to take to get there.

So what is the root cause of procrastination for you?

Once you identify it, you will move your business forward with more ease.

Whether it’s stepping into and solidifying your vision, determining a clear plan of action so you can focus, or getting unstuck and moving forward, all of these challenges can be solved through solution-focused business coaching.

Solution-focused business coaching is a powerful tool that taps into the resourceful part of yourself. When this takes place, your brain will find the answers you’ve been looking for all along.

Solution-focused coaching is one of the best ways to pivot you away from procrastination and towards achieving your greatest goals.

Book your fifteen-minute coaching consultation with Jen DeTracey by sending an email to info@liftstrategies.com.

The post Pivot Away from Procrastination appeared first on Lift Strategies.

The post Crack the Code Presentation – TEC Canada appeared first on Lift Strategies.

This is the last tip as part of the series – How to Create Credibility without Content.

Love it or hate it, Twitter is a social media platform that allows you to get exposure without having much in the way of content. If your customers are on Twitter, then that’s where you need to be.

Tip five shows you how to build a following and credibility on Twitter without having to create content on other digital platforms.

Review the other tips this series:

• Part Four
• Part Three
• Part Two
• Part One

Start applying this technique to your business so you can start building a following. This approach allows you to establish credibility faster and with more ease.

==> Comment below, like or share on Facebook, Tweet and have fun!

If you are looking for help to position your business as an industry expert, we can help you.
Contact us today:

1. Hire us to complete a marketing assessment of your business.
2. Apply for our one-on-one Master Your Market Program
3. Call us 604.255.2098 or email us info[@]liftstrategies.com
   

Full Transcript of Video

Hi, it’s Jen DeTracey, the founder of LIFT Strategies, one of Canada’s Top Marketing Strategists, and the creator of the online program Crack the Marketing Code.

I’m so excited, today is the fifth and final tip to do with credibility without content.

That’s right- without content. Today we will talk about Twitter.

I’m not an expert at Twitter, yet I watch what other people use it effectively. I see how they build their numbers and how they engage. This is what I want to share with you today. Now, as I’ve recommended in past tips under this topic, basically you can share other people’s tweets and comment, which is great.

How do you take it to the next level though in terms of dialogue?

You start by reply to their tweet (not as a message but a tweet). Be sure their handle shows up first and then you make a comment about what it is that you want to engage them in conversation about.

Let’s say they are talking about digital marketing. They have said something about Snapchat being the great way to go for a certain reason.

You could tweet, “You say Snapchat’s great yet it has some limitations. Tell me more about this.” Then they will respond with their own tweet to your comment, “Snap is more for fun then for business. It’s demographic reach is not my target market.”

Comments can go back and forth like ping-pong. The beauty of this – if your followers are curious to see what the person has said, your followers will go to the other persons twitter account to read their tweets. The same applies to the other person’s followers wanting to read your tweets.

You grow your fan club that way and you assist somebody else in growing their fan club too. Plus at the same time, you engage in a conversation and build a relationship with another expert on twitter.

What a great way to create credibility without having existing content. I’m going to wrap up this series at this point.

Who knows what the marketing tip will be next, but until then..

You can do this!

The post How To Create Credibility Without Content – Part Five appeared first on Lift Strategies.

This is week four on how to create credibility without creating your own content.

If you already have a LinkedIn profile, you can dive right into applying this tip to your business. If not, I suggest you create a free account now.

LinkedIn is a powerful marketing and connecting tool that many thought leaders and experts use as a way to establish credibility and position themselves as experts.

The problem is, what if you don’t have time to write the blog posts or articles on your area of expertise? This tip tells you the best work-around solution.

Start applying this technique to your business so you can start building a following. This approach allows you to establish credibility faster and with more ease.

==> Comment below, like or share on Facebook, Tweet and have fun!

If you are looking for help to position your business as an industry expert, we can help you.
Contact us today:

1. Hire us to complete a marketing assessment of your business.
2. Apply for our one-on-one Master Your Market Program
3. Call us 604.255.2098 or email us info[@]liftstrategies.com
   

Full Transcript of Video

Hi. It’s Jen DeTracey, the founder of LIFT Strategies, One of Canada’s Top Marketing Strategists, and the creator of the online program, Crack the Marketing Code.

We’re on tip number 4, around a very specific theme of Credibility Without Content. Today I want to use LinkedIn as the platform we focus on today. If you have a LinkedIn profile, great. Then you can move on to looking for a group that’s in an area of expertise that you have, where other people may be interested in your expertise, as well.

Look for a group that has a healthy number of members. I would say you want a group with ideally a couple hundred members or more – all the way up to many thousands.

The key thing is that that this group is active. If the group is smaller, that’s fine, as long as there are a lot of discussions happening within that group.

When people post, you can comment and dialogue with them. Again, it’s a great way to create credibility without having content, and it doesn’t take much time. You can go onto LinkedIn  once a day and look, and see if there’s activity happening. If you’re not seeing a lot of activity over the course of one week, it’s not a good group to join. Unless you decide that you’re going to start engaging and getting that conversation happening. Likely, if there isn’t a lot of conversation happening to begin with, it’s probably better find another group.

That’s this week’s quick tip. Become a part of a Linked In group, and actively be commenting on other people’s posts, and post your own posts, not promotional stuff. Make it relevant, make it useful content that is going to be beneficial. It could be just starting a thread of conversation about a particular theme or topic that is relevant to your industry.

You can do this.

The post How To Create Credibility Without Content – Part Four appeared first on Lift Strategies.

If you are struggling to find the time to write your own blogs but don’t have the funds to pay someone else to do it for you, I have a solution.

It starts with using other people’s content without hacking or stealing it. In fact, other experts will love that you are sharing their content while promoting your own. It’s a win-win situation.

Start applying this technique to your business so you can start building a following. This approach allows you to establish credibility faster and with more ease.

==> Comment below, like or share on Facebook, Tweet and have fun!

If you are looking for help to position your business as an industry expert, we can help you.
Contact us today:

1. Hire us to complete a marketing assessment of your business.
2. Apply for our one-on-one Master Your Market Program
3. Call us 604.255.2098 or email us info[@]liftstrategies.com
   

Full Transcript of Video

Hi, it’s Jen DeTracy, the founder of LIFT Strategies, one of Canada’s Top Marketing Strategists, and the creator of the online program, Crack the Marketing Code.

We are focused on credibility without content theme and this is tip number 3. This is not a big departure from last weeks tip. Each week, I build on the previous week’s tips.

This week I want you to look for people that have blogs that are experts in a field that ties nicely with what your business does and your expertise.

If you can find great content and write your own comment under a specific blog post with your own opinion piece. It doesn’t have to be long. It can be 3 or 4 sentences. Type it up and put it in the comment area. This will establish you as a credibility leader in this field as well.

Then you can take that blog post, if you want to, and share it through LinkedIn and Facebook if you are using these social media platforms. .

You can, of course have your own personal comment as your post introduction which should be different than the comment that you wrote within the blog itself.

In a sense you’re creating two tiny little snippets of content for something that’s a bigger body of work that somebody else has created.

If you don’t have time, pay someone to research 20 blogs that would be appropriate for you to use as leverage for specific blog post comments. Then you can just focus on comments and sharing. This approach can create a lot of impact and awareness for your expertise.

That is this weeks quick tip. I’ll see you next week.

You can do this.

The post How To Create Credibility Without Content – Part Three appeared first on Lift Strategies.

Last week I shared part one of how to create credibility without content.

This video is part two. If you want to start getting social media exposure without having content, be sure to watch this short video. Then apply what you learn. If you would rather read the transcript, I’ve included it below.

Start applying this technique to your business so you can start building a following. This approach allows you to establish credibility faster and with more ease.

==> Comment below, like or share on Facebook, Tweet and have fun!

If you are looking for help to position your business as an industry expert, we can help you.
Contact us today:

1. Hire us to complete a marketing assessment of your business.
2. Apply for our one-on-one Master Your Market Program
3. Call us 604.255.2098 or email us info[@]liftstrategies.com
   

Full Transcript of Video

Hi, it’s Jen DeTracey. The founder of LIFT Strategies, One of Canada’s Top Marketing Strategists, and the creator of the online program Crack the Marketing Code.

Here’s tip number two about creating credibility without content. Last week I talked about sharing a comment from another social media platform on your social media platform, and writing a comment when you share it.

Here’s part two. If you go to a piece of content that you really like, whether it’s Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter, then you want to not only like it, you want to write a comment in the thread of comments. You want to comment on other people’s comments. You’re all of a sudden creating a presence amongst people reading your comment, AND those that are writing comments,  replying to comments and writing their own comments. This is taking place all within somebody else’s post.

It’s going to be a post on Facebook or LinkedIn. Twitter, it’s a little harder. You can dialogue. On Twitter, you can write a comment to someone’s post after you re-tweet it, and you can create a conversation with that person.

That is possible, but in this tip, I’m particularly referring to using this technique for posts with on LinkedIn and Facebook where your commenting and replying to other people’s comments.

The next step is to share the post. When you do this you make your own comment. That approach is going a little deeper.

That’s part two on creating credibility without content. See you next week.

You can do this!

The post How To Create Credibility Without Content – Part Two appeared first on Lift Strategies.

If you are a small business owner, you understand the importance of using social media to get your message out. Your job is to establish credibility. So how do you accomplish this if you don’ t have content (blog posts, videos, and podcasts, etc)?

Watch the video or read the transcripts to find out a work-around to this dilemma. Start applying this technique to your business so you can start building a following. This approach allows you to establish credibility faster and with more ease.

==> Comment below, like or share on Facebook, Tweet and have fun!

If you are looking for help to position your business as an industry expert, we can help you.
Contact us today:

1. Hire us to complete a marketing assessment of your business.
2. Apply for our one-on-one Master Your Market Program
3. Call us 604.255.2098 or email us info[@]liftstrategies.com
   

Full Transcript of Video

Hi, it’s Jen DeTracey, the founder of LIFT Strategies, One of Canada’s Top Marketing Strategist, and the creator of the online program, Crack the Marketing Code.

Today I want to talk about how you can be credible without content. That’s right, without content.

Not having written, audio or video content is a stress that many solo and small business owners face when they want to use social media, but they don’t have their own time to get their own content out there.

Here is a quick fix, but it’s one of many strategies that I will cover over the following five weeks of quick tips. The first is to find content that you like from a content provider that you love and share that content, but not only share it, write a comment in the top part or the bottom, depending on whether it is on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter.

Be sure to have your own commentary. That’s your own expertise. It’s like putting your stake in the ground and saying, “Hey this is my opinion on this subject.” That is a credibility piece. It’s a great way to create content for yourself with great deal less effort than writing your own blog post or creating a video.

Your content has to be relevant to your ideal fans, your customers, and your ideal prospects, so keep that in mind. I’ll see you next week.

You can do this!

The post How To Create Credibility Without Content – Part One appeared first on Lift Strategies.

Master Your Master Your Market Podcast#1

This podcast is a first of a series of podcasts about why marketing fails.

In this podcast Jen DeTracey addresses one of the biggest issues business owners face when it comes to marketing their business most effectively. That issue is “accountability.”  Who are you accountable to as a business owner? Who is holding your to your commitments?

It’s difficult to move your business forward when you are operating in a silo. This is why I have developed the  Master Your Market Mastermind Group – LEVEL ONE program.

It’s amazing how two calls a month can be life-changing for both you and your business. During your first month, you’ll set one key objective you want to attain within 5 months.  On each bi-monthly call, you’ll commit to actions that will be  implemented before the next call.

Get the details – Sign up NOW! – Only 6 spots available.

==> Comment below, like, share on Facebook, Tweet and have fun!

Full Transcript of Video

What is today’s theme? It’s why marketing fails?

There are a ton of reasons why marketing fails. Today, we’re going to look at one of the major reasons why marketing fails and believe it or not, you’re not going to like to hear this because — it’s you.

I just spent a couple of hours today on the phone talking to a number of business owners that have completed the Crack the Marketing Code Program, my proven marketing process.

Most of these folks completed it in the summer time. They’re already in motion with their marketing for the fall, which is really exciting. However, I’m not surprised that several people that have gone through the program and completed it, which in itself shows dedication and commitment, yet they have not started applying different aspects of what they’ve learned to their business.

They get it. They understand it. Some of them say, “I knew some of this stuff already, but now I’m doing it,” which is really what it’s all about. It’s about taking action in your business. Ideally in a strategic marketing way to have a structure in place, a plan. Great, you have a plan. Are you allocating time every single week to marketing your business? If you’re not, that’s one of the pieces that is highly problematic. You need to schedule and commit the time to marketing your business every single week. It’s vital to the existence of your company.

The other piece is accountability.

Who is holding you accountable as the business owner?

Often, you’re doing many different things in your business to keep your business running. Along with working on the business, you are working in it in most cases. Who is holding you accountable?

That is the piece that I think really stands out for me in the phone calls that I’ve made and also over the last twenty seven years that I’ve been doing marketing and the last sixteen that I’ve been doing marketing consulting is that in order to stay on track, having accountability is so vital.

That’s why I created the Master Your Market Mastermind Group, which is virtual. It’s two calls a month for five months. That’s straight forward, you focus on one goal, then you come up with marketing strategies with the support of myself and the other five peers that are on the phone with you twice a month.

The last piece and most important piece is accountability. The commitments that you’re going to make twice a month that you’re going to focus on to move your business forward in a marketing capacity. You’ve got six people listening to your commitments and looking to you to commit, complete, and take action. Then you have your report back in two weeks. Yes, that may take you out of your comfort zone, but you can imagine over ten calls how much you could accomplish if you have to come back twice a month and say what you’re going to accomplish. I think that that is the key.

If you want to know more about this program, definitely click here. It will take you to all the details that starts October 4. That is coming up really soon. Be sure that you at least scanned through and see if this program is going to work for you and remember that staying on track and committing to it does often require accountability.

If you know you’re one of those people then take advantage of this program. I’m offering incredibly special pricing on it. You do get the Crack the Marketing Code Online Program, which is valued at $397 right now. It’s actually going to go up in price by a hundred dollars soon, so take advantage of that. There’s no extra cost to the program. That’s the bonus you get when you make the commitment to sign up for this mastermind.

I look forward to sharing another reason why marketing fails with you next week. Until then, click on the link and I’ll see you next week. You can do this.

The post Why Marketing Fails – Podcast One appeared first on Lift Strategies.

During the event #StartupChats on Twitter, a panel of experts including myself were asked to answer a series of questions.

In this week’s Quick Video tip, I address the following question:

Question #6 – How do you measure your digital marketing to make sure that it’s effective?

The beauty of digital media is that you can track results. If you are sending emails you can see what the open and click rate are.

With social media, you can see if people are clicking on your links and how many impressions were made yet is this really enough? The answer to this question provides an insight about how you will know if your efforts are giving you a good outcome. Be sure to watch this video to discover this insight.

If you are looking for help to develop your digital marketing strategy as part of your marketing mix, we can help you.

Contact us today:

1. Start Cracking the Marketing Code
2. Apply for our one-on-one Master Your Market Program
3. Call us 604.255.2098 or email us info[@]liftstrategies.com

==> Comment below, like, share on Facebook, Tweet and have fun!

Full Transcript of Video
Hi, this is Jen DeTracey, the Founder of LIFT Strategies, One of Canada’s Top Marketing Strategists and the author of the book, Lift Strategies – Quick Tips to Engage Customers and Elevate Profits.

This week’s question, question number six. It’s the final question of this series of video blog posts. That question is: “How do you measure your digital marketing, to make sure that it’s effective?”

As we know with digital marketing, there are tracking! You can track everything. You can track your emails in terms of open and click rates. Ideally, you want people to click, right?

You can track clicks in various other social media platforms. You can see how many followers you have. You can see who is liking what, who is sharing what, who is re-tweeting or commenting. Those are all powerful. It’s great to get likes. Yes, it’s great to see people opening and looking at your content. If you can get people motivated enough to watch your video, and click to you blog post, that is amazing.

I think the power is, though, is in the engagement. Often, people will see that you’ve clicked or re-tweeted on their content and they will come back to you and say thanks for sharing, what did you find most effective about this article, or this tip?

They re-engage you, which is very, very powerful. I think re-engagement is a very important method, because when you re-engage and people respond, you’re building relationships.

How can you take that to that next level of engagement, beyond thanking them? I’ve seen experts that have big followings do this, and do it successfully. This something that you can apply to your digital marketing plan.

That ends the six questions, and next week I will talk about how you can get exposure through social media without having content of your own. Stay tuned for that. See you next week.

The post Digital Marketing 101 Q&A – Question #6 appeared first on Lift Strategies.