Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with Joy or Postcardmania, and receive no remuneration or compensation for telling you about them.

Because my company and many of our consultants depend on direct mail for marketing to our prospects and for providing support to our clients, I was interested in what Joy’s email had to say. So I clicked on the link that would take me to the message she wanted me to read.

When I clicked on that link it took me to another link which brought me back to the first link that I clicked on, and I never was able to see the message that Joy wanted me to see. So I took the time out of my schedule to make screen captures of what I was seeing, added some comments about what I was experiencing, and then sent it to her so she could be aware that if others were experiencing the same problems I was, they would not be seeing the message that she thought was important enough to send to her clients and prospects, and she could be losing sales and credibility.

I consider Joy to be an excellent marketer and I refer her website and her work to our consultants on a frequent basis, but I was not prepared for the response I got back from her. In fact, it surprised me that someone who is so expert at what she does would respond the way she did.

I debated for six weeks whether or not to write an article about this because I respect Joy and the services and benefits she and her excellent company provide for her clients. And I certainly don’t mean any harm or ill will towards Joy or Postcardmania. But in thinking about it, the lessons that can be learned from this experience are too valuable to pass up.

Keeping that in mind, I will show you what I wrote to her and her response back to me. Then I’ll ask you how you would feel if you were me, having just alerted her to a situation that could have frustrated her clients and potential clients and cost her some business. Please understand that I give Joy and her company the highest respect for quality work, and I am using this example purely to demonstrate what can happen if you don’t pay close attention to the details of your communications.

My sincere request to you is that you please do not judge Joy or Postcardmania by what you are about to read; she really is a good person and they are a good company. Instead, study it, learn from it, and make sure what you send makes sense, any links you provide take you where they are supposed to, and recognize the people who give you honest feedback with the intent of helping you.

Here is the e-mail that I wrote to Joy:
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Joy…

I follow you and your marketing ideas pretty closely, and have been pretty impressed with what you do. However, this one really makes me wonder where one of us (you or me) have gone wrong. Here’s part of an email message I got from you. Being interested in the “marketing campaign [you] recently did for [yourselves]”, I clicked on link #1

 It took me to: http://www.postcardmania.com/products-services/landing-pages/?contactID=25305159&gwkey=TIGJR2GS7X  where I got an invitation to call an 866 number and watch a video about a real estate company… nothing about YOUR campaign.

So, I clicked on link #2, and got here: http://www.postcardmania.com/marketing_articles/article/articleID/154?contactID=25305159&gwkey=TIGJR2GS7X

 So I find myself interested in your free report, and click on the link you provide. Sure enough, it does take me to the page you reference in the link (…/getmore), and I get back to the same page as before… an 866 number and real estate video… no “free report.”

Eventually, with a little searching (and a lot of frustration), I get to this page… http://www.postcardmania.com/marketing_articles/article/articleID/154?contactID=25305159&gwkey=TIGJR2GS7X 
I get this message from you…

 Notice the link… once again (…/getmore). Where is the “simple call to action” and the “free report” that you promised? So I keep reading, and farther down the same page, I get this promise…

Thinking that I’ve finally hit the info form to get the free report and see the “Thanks Page” that you promised, the link takes me right back to the (…/getmore) page.

Joy, I don’t normally take the time to make this kind of response to poorly designed marketing pieces, but I refer our more than 1,250 consultants to your site on a regular basis to order your products and to see what you are doing in your own marketing. But this sequence is so poorly thought out that it’s an embarrassment for me to send it to my consultants.

I know you can do better… and as the owner of your company, I thought you’d like to know what your clients and customers are seeing. Before (and this is SO basic) you make links in an email or a web page live, you gotta test them yourself to make sure they work.

Don’t let this blunder go to waste… use this experience as an “Oops” message to your list. Let them know what went wrong, show them that you’re human and make mistakes, and then give them the correct links to get your report and Thank You page, and some kind of additional bonuses as an “I’m sorry for your inconvenience”. You just may find that you’ll get an increased number of downloads because of it.
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Here’s Joy’s response that came four days later:

Subject: Oops we goofed…

 
Oops we goofed…

I see you clicked on the article in our latest newsletter “Online vs. Direct Mail: Do They Work Together?” It was brought to our attention that the landing page that it refers to has since changed, and the report we mentioned is no longer on it.

How embarrassing! If you are still interested in reading that report – Here it is!  Click here to download.

Thanks to the person who pointed this out to us! Our apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Sincerely,

Joy Gendusa
Founder and CEO
PostcardMania

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Okay, what did you think? Was I right to point out an oversight that could cost her sales and income or put her credibility at risk with her clients or potential clients who may have become frustrated because they couldn’t find what they were looking for? I didn’t just point out the problem, I offered a solution… a follow-up “oops” email with a “bonus gift” for causing their frustration.

Teaching Point: When you see a business that runs an ad or promotion that contains a mistake or oversight, or you see something that could be improved to get them a better response, what do you do? Do you take the time to let them know about it and offer a suggestion that will help them correct it and maybe even boost the response they would otherwise get? Sometimes giving away (for free and with no strings attached) what you know (and normally charge for) that can help someone and can come back to you in unexpected ways. Quite often, consultants let me know how this exact principle has worked for them and a paying client has resulted. In my case with Joy, I had no hidden agenda and did not expect for anything to come of it. It was just my way – as one CEO to another – to offer some help.

How about Joy’s response? What did you think? Good? Okay? Poor? Here’s how it hit me…

Her email was sent to everyone… no thanks to me for pointing out the problem or offering a solution… just everyone on her list. In fact, in the first paragraph, Joy wrote, “It was brought to our attention…” Really? WHO brought it to your attention, Joy? Then in the last paragraph, she states, “Thanks to the person who pointed this out to us!” Yeah, “the PERSON”.

Question for Joy: Just who is that “person”, Joy? You know, the “person” who saved your tail? The “person” who pointed out that if he (or she) wasn’t able to get access to the report that you put together to benefit them (and to create sales for you), that everyone else who got the same email with the faulty links couldn’t access it either? Please understand… I’m not looking for any credit or for her to tell everyone on her list about me, but it wouldn’t have hurt to send me a personal note (takes about 2 minutes) to thank me. But to be referred to as “the person”… kinda, sorta doesn’t make me feel too good.

Teaching Point: What difference can it possibly make if you offend or make just one person out of thousands you have on your list feel bad or unappreciated? Not much, I guess. Unless that person tells the world about their experience with you and how you made them feel. What if out of the thousands that can read of the experience (remember, the Internet connects with many more than are on your personal list) just one decides not to do business with you… not just in a one-time sale, but in accumulated lifetime value? How much can that cost? Isn’t it worth a couple of minutes of your time to acknowledge someone who goes out of their way to bring a potential income loss to your attention? Again, I’m not offended with what Joy did or didn’t do to or for me personally… I’m just pointing out how others may feel if you don’t properly acknowledge and thank them for their help.

Look at the second paragraph of Joy’s email… “If you are still interested in reading that report…” What? What did she mean by, “if you are still interested…” Of course, they should be interested. After all, she wrote the report to provide value for her clients and prospects, shouldn’t they be interested? If not, why write the report in the first place? Wouldn’t it have been better to say something along the lines of, “I’m so excited to get this report to you because I know you’re going to get some great information that  can be of tremendous value to your business. If you’ll look it over and let me know what you think, I’ll see that you get [bonus report, CD, PDF download, etc.].”

Teaching Point: In my email to Joy, I suggested that she offer “…some kind of additional bonuses as an ‘I’m sorry for your inconvenience’ gift. It’s always a good thing to acknowledge your goof-up, but if you make some kind of “peace-offering” in addition, it can go a long way in reducing the pain or disappointment that someone might have experienced. Another way to turn a mistake into a positive is (as I mentioned in the above paragraph), offer a gift or bonus to those who respond about the value they’ve gotten from your report. It not only forces them to read it, but to respond, creating a dialogue or conversation between them and you, rather than a one-way monologue of you speaking to them.

So What About You? How Does This Apply?

I hope as you read this article you didn’t come away with the idea that I was bashing Joy; that was not my intention at all. I merely wanted to point out some mistakes or oversights that she made with the links in her initial email, how I offered her some simple and viable solutions, and how (in my opinion) she botched it.

So what, you say? Who am I and what gives me the right to be concerned? The simple answer is, “I am a customer, or perhaps a potential customer. I am a person who can choose to give my money to Joy and her company or to someone else. I’ll tell you who else I am; I am a person with a voice and can spread good or ill about those whom I either do give, or can give my money and business to, and I can influence others to do likewise. Show me respect and concern for any frustrations or inconvenience you have (or may have) caused me, and all will be forgiven. Treat me as “the person” and I’ll not only take my business elsewhere, but I’ll influence others to do the same.”

As you’re consulting with your clients, or are looking for clients to work with, pay close attention to what they are doing. How are they communicating their message to their market? What are they doing exceptionally well that you can compliment them on? What things are they missing that might be improved? What can you do to give them – without cost – that can help them be better at what they do. Don’t be afraid to give something (in fact, your very best stuff) for free.

When Debbie Fields started Mrs. Fields Cookies, she she stood outside her store and gave out samples of her cookies. Some people passed by without taking any. Others took a sample, thanked her and walked on. And some ate the sample and went into the store to buy a bag of cookies. “Sampling” or giving away some of what you do for free is a great way to catch the attention of your prospects and create a desire in them to want to know more. Think about how you can use that principle in your own business… it’s very powerful.

As always, I’m very interested in your comments. Please let me know your thoughts.

Martin Howey, CEO
TopLine Business Solutions

In Steve’s e-mail, was a link to a video that talked about “entitlement” and gave the viewpoints of various college students and what they expected from potential employers or from the marketplace as a result of their educations. There were also comments from employers or business owners and what they expected from the people they hire to work for them. I found the video and the viewpoints expressed by both sides very interesting and revealing.

Capitalism and the free enterprise system is what keeps our economy moving. When businesses are successful, meaning they have more money left at the end of the month than what they spent to develop, purchase, and deliver the products and services they sell to their customers, as well as the operating expenses that it takes to run the business, they’re considered to be profitable. Profits are the name of the game in business.

Business Profits Are Not Only Desirable, They’re Necessary

When a business is profitable it can do things and provide benefits that business that are not profitable cannot do. For instance, profits can enable a business to hire top-level employees, pay its onboard employees higher wages, provide improved working environments and conditions, and offer better benefits. With profits a business can upgrade its equipment and production facilities, increase the number and/or the quality of the products or services it offers to its buyers, and enable the business to spend more on advertising and promotions so it can generate more clients and better quality clients.

When a business shows an increase in profits, or the money it has left after deducting all expenses and operating costs, the stockholders, shareholders, and owners of the business can be paid more for the investment or interest they have in the business enabling them to get a positive return on their investment and provide a better lifestyle for themselves and their families.

It’s a big risk for someone to give up a paycheck and perhaps position or seniority from a job and invest their life savings into a brand new business with the hope of bringing needed and desired value to a market, providing jobs, improving the economy, and enhancing their own personal lifestyle. When someone embarks on such a project they have every right to expect that if they do things right and what they have to offer is what the marketplace not only needs and wants, but is willing to pay for, that they should receive a fair price for their offering and a positive return on their investment.

Notice that I said if they “do things right. Among other things, that includes hiring the “right” people; people who rightfully believe they are “entitled” in the proper way. The “proper way” means that they “give an honest days work for an honest days pay.” In other words, they don’t believe they’re entitled to something (a job, a particular level of income, or certain working conditions) just because they have an education, have student loans to pay off, or that the workplace owes them a living. They believe they are entitled because they are able to provide value to the marketplace that is equal to, or greater than the amount of money their employer compensates them for the work they do.

Entitlement “Just Because…”  Can Kill A Business

The idea of entitlement “just because…” can make life miserable for a business owner and the employees and customers of the business, and can kill profits that could otherwise be used to provide more and better benefits and value for the employees of the business, it’s customers and clients, stockholders and investors, and for the person or persons (i.e., business owners) who have made the investment in the business in the first place.

TopLine consultants, such as Steve Clauson, help business owners find ways to improve the profits of their business owner clients by helping the businesses run more effectively and more efficiently by cutting costs and increasing revenues resulting in an increase in profits.

The Two Ways To Grow Business Profits

In reality, there are only two ways to grow the profits of a business: you can spend less, or you can make more. If the revenues of a business stay the same, but costs and expenses are reduced, the result is an increase in profits. And conversely, if the costs and expenses remain the same, but there is an increase in revenue, the result is also an increase in profits. Good consultants can oftentimes find ways to both decrease spending and increase revenues. And when that happens the profit increase can be exponential, business can be more fun for everyone, working conditions can improve, and the prospects of job continuation can improve.

So what about you? What kind of value are you providing the marketplace you serve? Are you being appreciated and compensated for what you contribute? If so, how can you enhance or improve it so your rewards are even greater? If not, what steps do you need to take to make it so, and when are you going to do something about it? There’s no future in just thinking about something… you have to take action. Your future is up to you. If there is anything I can help you with that will enable you to assess your situation and provide value that the marketplace wants, needs, and is looking for, please let me know. I’m more than willing to help in anyway I can.

As always, I am interested in your comments and thoughts.

Martin Howey, CEO
TopLine Business Solutions

We didn’t expect much; after all, it was Applebee’s. A nice place to go for lunch with good service, but not a restaurant known for exceptional service. Our waiter came to our table and said, “Hi, my name is Matty, what are your names?”, and then he wrote them down. That caught both Steve and me off guard, so after telling him who we were, I asked Matty why he requested our names; it was the first time either Steve or I had ever had a waiter ask for that information.

Matty went on to explain why he did that, and gave us some great insights into how he gets bigger tips than most other wait-persons, and how he gets people to come back and request him to be their server.

Well, after placing our order, Steve and I got thinking about what we could do for Matty. So when he came back, we gave him some additional ideas about how customers think and what he could do to offer even more or better service to increase his tips and repeat customers.

We referred him to Robert Cialdini’s great book, “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion” for even more ideas.

It’s interesting how many ideas are floating around that are ready to be captured and implemented in almost any kind of business, but go unnoticed and unsused because so often we aren’t aware of them.

Steve and I asked Matty if it would be okay if we did a quick, very impromptu video interview of him so he could show it to others that he knows, or that he could put on a website or burn to a DVD to let others know what he does. In addition, we wanted to be able to show our readers how easy it is to capture quick video clips of exceptional service so you can use them on your websites as examples, or in your marketing efforts.

So take a look. Then see what you can do to use this idea in your own business. And of course, please let me know what you are doing so we can share it with others.

Martin Howey, CEO
TopLine Business Solutions

Rather than write a long, detailed blog post or article about it, I sat down at my desk, turned the camera on, and recorded a few comments. You can see the video here.

As always, I’m very interested in what you have to say, so please feel free to comment or let me know.

If you are interested in learning more about the special sponsorship program for our next TopLine training, you can schedule a one-on-one phone call with me by clicking here.

Martin Howey, CEO
TopLine Business Solutions

Yesterday was one of those special times. Steve Clauson, one of our top consultants, flew  into Phoenix at noon. I picked him up at the airport and we went to lunch and caught up on what’s been going on in his life and practice. Then we went down the street to the hotel where we hold our consultant’s trainings, got a conference room and talked about his business.

With all the pleasantries out of the way at lunch, Steve was ready to go. He pulled out his notebook and we took each of his concerns and questions and worked through them one by one until we had some workable ideas fleshed out, a time table for implementation, and an action plan on how to put them into play as quickly as possible.

It was a great session, and I got Steve back to the airport at 4:00pm. It was amazing what we got accomplished in those four short hours. This is not an unusual ocurance for Steve. He makes the two-hour flight from Sacramento at least 3 times a year to spend a half-day with me and get new, fresh ideas, make some tweaks to what he’s currently doing, and find ways to tap into new markets.

For years, Steve’s main market has been working with various kinds of contractors. In one of our previous meetings, Steve wanted some ideas on how he could get more clients in the “professional” market… doctors, dentists, chiropractors, CPAs, etc. So we worked through some strategies to help him do that. Again, in just four hours – start to finish, including lunch – we created an entire new market for him… which is turning out to be very profitable (many professionals, while they are very good at what they do, don’t know much about the actual running of a successful business).

Before Steve left, I set up my camera and did an off-the-cuff interview with him… no notes, no scripting, no prior preparation. I just sprung some questions on him and he responded. And he did a pretty good job. Then back at my office this morning, I loaded the video on my computer, made a couple of edits, added some music and captions, and created a marketing piece for him that he can put on his website or on a DVD and hand out to prospective clients.

Is it perfect? No, of course, not. It wasn’t meant to be. Slick, polished, and perfect is not what you’re trying to convey. It’s much better to have it look, sound, and be “real” rather than to perfect. Steve wasn’t wearing a coat and tie… just a Tommy Bahama shirt and jeans. No make-up, no fixing of the hair… just Steve as Steve was at that moment.

The point is… it doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be good, and out there. Knowing what you know won’t help anyone unless they take advantage of it. And they can’t take advantage of it unless they know about it. And there’s no way anyone will ever know about anything if you don’t tell them about it. Now Steve has something he can use.

So what about you? What are you doing to let people know what you do? What you have to offer? Or how what you have can help them? As I mentioned at the beginning, I really enjoy meeting with our top consultants in our one-on-one’s and helping them generate more success… more revenue… more spendable income… and have more time to enjoy it with their families or doing other things they’re involved in.

Part of our next training will be spent on how to do interviews such as what you see we did for Steve. It’s easy, it’s quick, and it can help you generate interest and a positive response from people who need and can benefit from your help.

As always, I’m very interested in what you’re up to, your comments about what I’ve written, and what you need help with. So please let me hear from you.

Martin Howey, CEO
TopLine Business Solutions

Getting an actual, physical letter in someone’s hands may take more time, a little more effort, and will be more expensive than email, but if your message arrives and gets opened, the time, effort, and expense may be well worth it. Once your letter is dropped in the mailbox there’s not much you can do to see that it actually gets delivered. But keeping your envelope from getting trashed before it gets opened is another story… you do have some control over that.

Companies for a long time have been using “teaser copy” on the outside of their envelopes to try and intice you to look inside. You’ve seen these many times… messages such as, “How To Pay $0 In Taxes… See Inside!”; “Exclusive Offer for Serious Tennis Players Only!”; or “Get Two Months of Psychology Today… FREE!”

So how effective is teaser copy? Does it work? Does it actually increase the open-rate of your envelopes? Of course, the answer is, “It depends.” It depends on a number of things… who your audience is, how relevant your message or teaser copy is to them, what other things are going on in their life or business that may make them either more or less receptive at the moment they get your letter, etc. So what kind of copy do you use that will entice or motivate your audience to open your envelope so you can get your message noticed, read, and acted on? The answer is simple… the more personal, the more relevant, and the more timely your message is to your audience, the more likely they will be to pay attention to your copy and open your envelope.

Watch this short video and see how easy it is to use technology to create a personal-looking message that will enhance the chances of getting your envelop opened. Then please let me know your thoughts. More importantly, please tell me how you’ve used this and what kinds of results you’ve gotten.

A week or so ago, I received a hard copy book in the mail from Harvey MacKay’s office. It was Harvey’s new book, “The Harvey MacKay MBA Of Selling In The Real World,” along with a personal note from Harvey asking if I would be interesting in supporting him by recommending his book to people I know possibly in an article or interview. Well, having read all of Harvey’s previous books, having interviewed him in the past, having appeared on the same speaking platform with him, and knowing the value his books, articles and quotes have provided us over the years, I had no hesitation. But in EVERY case – Harvey being no exception – I have to read what I’m going to recommend or endorse.

In Harvey’s letter, he said that Cathy, his business manager, would be in touch with me in the coming weeks. So knowing Cathy from previous interviews and having an idea of what she would be asking me, I dug in and began to read Harvey’s book. A few days later when I spoke to Cathy, I told her that I couldn’t read Harvey’s book… at least not the way it was laid out… from beginning to end. There are 82 chapters in the 335 pages… most of which are 2 to 3 pages long, and each chapter contains a unique idea, quotes or concept that can be easily implemented. The chapters were so interesting that I found myself flipping forward and backward through the book, reading whatever chapter title caught my interest.

I also told Cathy that I thought the book had as much to do about life as it does about selling, and that anyone can use the principles in just about any aspect of their life or business. So, Cathy got me hooked up with Harvey and we scheduled a time for me to, once again, go to his beautiful home and ask him some questions about his book so I could put together this article.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Harvey about his previous book, ”Use Your Head To Get Your Foot In The Door: Job Search Secrets No One Else Will Tell you,” so I knew it would be a great time being with him once again.  When I walked in the door, Harvey told me that it had been 20 months since I was last in his home and asked me several questions about what we discussed during our last visit. This blew me away. What I saw in action – first hand – was Harvey using his own system for what he calls humanizing the experience so that it endears your customers to you. The system I’m referring to, he calls “The MacKay 66″… something everyone who has any contact with other people should be familiar with and use. You can find it in Harvey’s best selling book “Swim With The Sharks”.

So back to Harvey’s new book. As I mentioned, this book is difficult to read front to finish. The chapter titles jump out and grab you, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll find yourself skipping around to the chapters and articles that catch your interest at the time. Take a look at the video interview I did with Harvey, then get this book. It’s one of the best I’ve read, and I have no hesitation in referring or endorsing it. And if you’ve followed me for any length of time, you’ll know that I don’t make a penny for any endorsement I give for any product, service, or person. I simply (and only) endorse things that I firmly believe in and use myself.

Now… a couple of very nice bonuses from Harvey. First, in the back of the book is Harvey’s unheard of (for a book) Money-Back Guarantee.

And, if you order Harvey’s book he’ll send you, free of charge, a hard copy of his goldmine book, The Harvey Mackay Network Builder. It’s filled with an article from Harvard Business Review and other excellent ideas, and is not available in stores.

Please let me know if you buy this book and what your thought are regarding it and the value you receive from it. As always, I’m very interested in your success!

Martin Howey, CEO
TopLine Business Solutions

Aee fter returning home after several days in the San Francisco area spending time with a consultant who is putting together an awesome program that I know will help a number of people in some very significant ways (more about this in another post), the first thing I opened in the large stack of mail on my desk was a package from Nina Hershberger, another consultant who attended our training several years ago.

Nina has been a wonderful friend for a long time, and is one of the brightest marketers I know… always coming up with new ideas, but more importantly, putting the ideas into action. (I’ll share more about what she does and how it works for her in future writings.)

One of the things that immediately jumped out at me in Nina’s package was a copy of her new book, “30 Minute Marketing: 101 Ways To Wow Clients, Customers, And Patients In Less Than 30 Minutes.”

I thumbed through the book’s pages and found a treasure trove of ideas that any business can use to increase their lead flow, improve their conversion rates, and keep their customers and clients happy, buying more, and referring their friends, colleagues, and associates to them.

Each tip is short, to the point, and readily implementable with very little time, effort or money involved.

As I filed through the pages and got to the front of the book, I saw the note that Nina wrote to me giving me credit for helping her get the idea to get her book written. (Very nice, Nina… thank you!)

This is Nina’s own, original book… not a rewrite of the book that our consultants get in their TopLine training. I immediately called Nina to thank her and learn more about how she came up with the idea for the book, how she put it together, and how she got it printed. 

To Nina’s credit, she did the whole thing on her own, inspired somewhat by our conversations and what she learned from working with me, but in actuality, I had nothing to do with the creation of the book.

That’s what I mean by Nina taking action and getting things done. No extensive research, no trying to figure it out, no reinventing the wheel, no excuses; Nina just gets an idea and goes to work on that ONE idea (not a dozen ideas at the same time), gets it done, and moves on to the next idea. She’s a real inspiration to me and to the consultants who know her and work with her.

You can learn more about Nina and some the services she offers by visiting her website at www.MegaBucksMarketing.com. (This is not an affiliate link, and I do not receive any compensation or payment from anything Nina does or sells. I am merely providing this information so you can get ideas from what other consultants are doing, and if you are interested in learning more, how to get in touch with them.)

So what about you? How are you doing? Do you have your book done yet? If you’ve been through the TopLine training, you have gotten a book that has been ghostwritten for you.

All you have to do is make a few changes to it, rewrite part of it or add your own examples to it if you like, and get it printed. It’s so easy, and is one of the best positioning tools you can have to establish your credibility with your prospects and clients.

If you need help with your book (or with any of your other marketing or client development processes), please let me know. I’ll personally work with you to help you get things on a path that will produce quick results for you and enable you to start bringing in newfound revenue and profits for your clients, and personal income for you.

Martin Howey, CEO
TopLine Business Solutions

The other day I was watching, with interest, a video by a colleague who teaches people how to get more clients for their business. They had attended a seminar where the Dali Lama was one of the presenters.

This marketer, whom I both respect and admire, quoted the Dali Lama as saying, “The western woman will save the world.” Then the marketer said that she thought that the Dali Lama was “off” in his comment, and said that she thought he should have said, “The western entrepreneurial woman will save the world”… that it was women in business who would turn things around.

Understanding that that marketer’s main market… the people she sells to… are mostly women entrepreneurs, it makes sense that she might think that way. There’s a good argument for positioning yourself to be in alignment with a “higher” or established authority. I have no problem with that.

What I do have a problem with, however, is what so many people do… and what this marketer did… insert her personal opinion into what that “authority” said and then make it appear that her new statement is the “gospel truth.” Personally, when it comes to marketing and business advice, I believe that personal opinion should be kept to oneself, and not mistaken with fact. And there is no evidence or factual basis that it’s “entrepreneurial women,” or as the Dali Lama said “women” in general, who will “save the world.”

I have absolutely nothing against women being in business. Many of them contribute much value to business and society in general. In fact, TopLine Business Solutions has several women consultants who do very well… and I’m very proud of them. That’s not the point.

Another, contradictory point can be made to what the marketer said and that would support the Dali Lama’s statement, perhaps even more accurately. And that is, that women (moms) have a greater influence on young children than dads do. In the “traditional” family, moms spend more time with their children (getting them up, fed, and off to school in the mornings; being there when they come home, helping with homework, etc.) while the (again, “traditional”) dad goes off to work during the day.

Of course, we all know that what we refer to as the “traditional” family is not necessarily the norm any longer, but the fact is, that moms… both stay at home moms, and working moms… have a great influence on their children, and if those children are taught correct principles (about life, relationships, community involvement, etc.) either through specific teachings or example, the Dali Lama is right… “women”… not just entrepreneurial women can have a major impact on the world.

I believe, and this is my personal opinion (I’m violating my own principle here), that it is wrong to hijack what a perceived authority said, then insert one’s personal opinion into their statement to make it fit your needs. If there was incontrovertible evidence or proof that it was, indeed, “entrepreneurial” women who would “save the world,” that’s one thing. But to change what someone said to benefit your position is, (again, in my opinion) not the right thing to do.

Let me again state that I have nothing against working women (or moms). Many of them bring much value to the marketplace and to society. And many of them do a good job of raising their children while being involved in the working world. But I also know several working women (marketers included) who have full-time (or nearly full-time) nannys who pretty much take care of the kids so mom can go off to work and “save the world.”

Raising and positively influencing children so they can be well-adjusted and valuable, contributing members of society is not an easy thing to do… it’s serious business. Just look around and see how many maladjusted young people are walking around looking for a handout or a place to plug their umbilical cords into to receive what they think they’re “entitled” too. The Occupy Wall Street movement is just one example.

Giving business advice should be based on fact… not on someone’s personal opinion. If we as consultants do anything less than provide time-tested, in-the-trenches proven strategies and systems to our clients, we are doing them a disservice no matter what our intent is. To maintain your credibility, you have to deal in truths, which oftentimes, differs from opinions.

The TopLine program has been tested over nearly 46 years on hundreds of people in more than three dozen countries. It’s stood the test of time. It produces measurable, quantifiable, and predictable results, and can generate some very significant incomes for those who use the program as outlined.

If there is anything I can do to help you move forward in your business and achieve even better results than you’re now getting, please let me know. I’m very interested in your success!

Martin Howey, CEO
TopLine Business Solutions

In the Los Angeles airport a couple of days ago waiting to return home from a weekend seminar I attended, I observed people and wondered about their lives, what they did, where they were going, and what they spent their time on and what their possible concerns, problems, or worries might be. Everyone has a story to tell. Some are more interesting than others; some are downright sad. But for each person, their story is their own and has meaning.

Several years ago, Earl Nightingale wrote an article titled, “The Fog of Worry (Only 8% of Worries are Worth It).” It resonated with me when I first read it, and it does even more today, some 40 years later. Here’s what Earl wrote:

According to the Bureau of Standards, “A dense fog covering seven city blocks, to a depth of 100 feet, is composed of something less than one glass of water.” So, if all the fog covering seven city blocks, 100 feet deep, were collected and held in a single drinking glass, it would not even fill it. And this could be compared to our worries.

If we can see into the future and if we could see our problems in their true light, they wouldn’t tend to blind us to the world, to living itself, but instead could be relegated to their true size and place. And if all the things most people worry about were reduced to their true size, you could probably put them all into a drinking glass, too.

It’s a well-established fact that as we get older, we worry less. With the passing of the years and the problems each of them yields, we learn that most of our worries are not really worth bothering ourselves about too much and that we can manage to solve the important ones.

But to younger people, they often find their lives obscured by the fog of worry. Yet, here’s an authoritative estimate of what most people worry about.

1. Things that never happen: 40 percent. That is, 40 percent of the things you worry about will never occur anyway.
2. Things over and past that can’t be changed by all the worry in the world: 30 percent.
3. Needless worries about our health: 12 percent.
4. Petty, miscellaneous worries: 10 percent.
5. Real, legitimate worries: 8 percent. Only 8 percent of your worries are worth concerning yourself about. Ninety-two percent are pure fog with no substance at all.

As the article mentions, and as I’ve experienced in my personal life, as I’ve gotten older I worry a lot less than I used to. I’ve learned that there are things that are “controllable” and things that are not. There’s not a lot (if anything) we can do about the economy, the weather, gas prices, what Congress or the president does, or what our neighbors do. For the most part, those things are beyone our personal abilities to control; they’re what we might call the “uncontrollables.”

What we do have control over, however, are things like our diet, our exercise, our attitude, the way we treat others, the value we provide the marketplace, and our faith; those are the “controllables.”

Far too many people spend way too much time worrying about the uncontrollables… the things they can’t change. But what about those things we do have control over?  Is their any benefit to worrying about them? According to point five in Earl’s list, only 8 percent of our worries are real and legitimate and worth being concerned about. But personally, I’m not convinced that worrying about the controllables is a profitable or wise use of our time or our energy. There are things we can do to get and maintain control… and a little planning can make it much easier and less stressful.

Some time ago, I attended a workshop that walked the attendees through a planning process that helped us identify what is most important to us so we could get more focused on how to spend our time and energy. I thought you might like to see the process yourself.

Step 1: What are three physical or material things that are REALLY important to you?

    1. ______________________________________________

    2. ______________________________________________

    3. ______________________________________________

Step 2: What three experiences would you want to feel if you possessed those three things?

    1. ______________________________________________

    2. ______________________________________________

    3. ______________________________________________

Step 3: Using the three experiences from above, construct what you would consider to be an “ideal” day. Use the following as guidelines:

    If I lived _________________________________________

    ….with a home (or family) like _________________________

    ….with a schedule like _______________________________

    ….and a business like ________________________________

    ….then I would (describe your ideal day) _________________

        ________________________________________________

        ________________________________________________

This exercise is very simple, but working through it helps you get clear on what is and what isn’t important to you, and enables you to think about what an ideal day would be like for you. String seven ideal days together and you have an ideal week. Put four of those together and you have an ideal month. Continue doing that and (ideally) you’d end up with an ideal life. Of course, there will always be interruptions or disruptions… things that aren’t in your plan. But having a vision, a plan and a focus can make dealing with the unexpected much easier when they do arise.

So what about you? How are you doing? What do you worry about? Are you happy with the results you’re getting from your consulting practice? If you haven’t transitioned into full time consulting yet, why not? Are you doing well with your current job? What about the future? Are you secure with it? Is your company providing you with a guarantee of a position? What about your retirement, or your children’s educations… are you secure with how you’re doing there?

Right now, in this very economy with so many businesses hurting, our consultants are doing better than ever before. If there is anything I can do to help you move closer to your goals, please let me know. As always, I’m very interested in your succes!

Martin Howey, CEO
TopLine Business Solutions