They don’t call me back?!!?
How many times do you leave messages for people? In today’s day and age of caller ID, probably more times than you would like. Do you ever wonder if anyone listens to those messages or reads your emails? Especially when they don’t get back to you.
Well I am here to say YES they do.
Saturday, I took my kids to a birthday party at one of those bouncing house/climbing gym (you know the places where we all cringe and think PLEASE DON’T GET HURT and WASH YOUR HANDS!) I brought a book with me, thinking I am just going to hang out in the corner and read for an hour while they play.
As I was getting my kids signed in, a woman came up to me and said…”Louann! I thought that was you. I’m so glad you are here, I’ve been meaning to call you back.” t wasn’t the environment to talk business…so I simply said, it’s hard to talk in here as it’s noisy and the kids are all over the place. But I do want to talk. So let’s set up an appointment. We did and then we continued on our conversation about kids and schools (getting interrupted every 5 minutes by our kids)
10 minutes later, another woman came up and said the same thing…again, I set up appointment with her to.
I didn’t plan on meeting these ladies there, but I had planted seeds to both of them in the past.
So YES they do get your messages and emails. Just keep sharing.
I’m going to be a certified trainer for Send Out Cards
I am really excited about this. I have always trained my team, supported my customers in the past, but now SendOutCards is offering a certified training program so I will be paid for doing what I already do!
The best part is I always had this vision. I always saw myself standing up, sharing and training new customers and distributors. And now it’s real. I am looking forward to the upcoming months and I hope to see YOU at one of my classes.
Act on your promptings
Last night at 8pm, I got an email from my friend asking me if I’d like to be a guest on her radio show. She had an opening for TODAY at 11am. I thought to myself…there is no way I can possible be ready! I started thinking, my website is not ready, I don’t have the right materials in hand, I have some new programs that I haven’t quite finished tweaking, etc etc… But then I remembered my promise to myself. No excuses for 2012.
Because in all honesty…my website will never be perfect…I’ll never have my office perfectly organized…etc etc. But what I do have is a passion to share what I do and love.
A door has opened for me today, and I’m excited and ready to walk through it. It’s new, something I’ve never done before and sure I have butterflies in my stomach…but when you are talking about a business that you love…the rest is easy.
So I said YES I’d be happy to. I’ll talk from my heart and share Send Out Cards with the community. Gotta run…the show starts in just a few hours.
Social Networking is like going to a bar on a Friday night
You never know what the bar will be like or who you are going to meet. There are millions of places to network and market your business online, just like there are millions of bars. The key is finding the right combination of location, people and atmosphere.
Here are some tips.
1. Start with the reputable bars.
Would you just go to ANY bar in the city, or would you start with the ones that are well known? If you were looking for a date, you would probably have more success with the bar that is packed and everyone goes to, rather than the place down the street that may have 10 people on a Friday night. Start going to a site that is well known or ask a friend where they go. Then as you meet people you will find new places to go.
2. Check out the atmosphere.
It doesn’t matter how busy the bar is, but if it is not your style, you are not going to have fun. There could be 1000 people there, but if you don’t like the crowd, the music or the décor, you are wasting your time. You probably won’t meet anyone like you or that has similar tastes. The same goes for online. If you don’t like the layout of the site, the topics being discussed or the people you meet, then you should find another place.
Get involved. If you stand in the corner of the bar with your drink in hand, what do you think the chances are that anyone will talk to you? Pretty slim. But if you get out on the dance floor, start talking to others and introducing yourself, you are more likely to make some new friends or get a date. Online, you should introduce yourself and start engaging in conversations. Answer questions that others have had and make sure to welcome others as they arrive.
3. Conversation Etiquette.
You wouldn’t walk into a bar and say, “Hi my name is Louann and I’m looking for a date.” No one would pay attention to you. The same holds true to online networking. While you want to promote your business, you also want to promote yourself. Take part in the conversations, give advice, share your stories, become their friend. Once you do that, you’ll have their trust and these new friends will be more likely to become your customers, become business partners and refer their friends to you.
4. Go Back
While you might meet the man of your dreams on the first trip to the bar, more than likely it will take several trips. As you go each week and participate, you will become recognized, trusted and others will think…I want to get to know her. Online networking is the same way. If others see you and your ads over and over, you will be trusted and recognized, which is vital to any business.
5. Stay away from Gossip
Even at our favorite places sometimes we meet someone we don’t like. It is tempting to gossip about them! But all to often this backfires. I’m sure this has happened to you at least once in your life! If someone is getting out of hand at the bar, you’d get the manager or bartender to step in and help.
When communication online, stick to the topics at hand. Refrain from talking about others. And if things do get out of hand, ask a moderator for help. Moderators are people who can delete posts, ban members and keep things running smoothly.
6. Look at the costs
If your favorite bar has a expensive drinks and a high cover charge, does that mean you shouldn’t go? Of course not. You probably recognize you are getting more for your money. Better entertainment, better quality of food and nicer people who attend. When looking for advertising online, the same thing applies. Just because is it expensive doesn’t mean it is not good. Ask questions. Why is the price higher? Is there a bigger audience? Does the website get lots of hits? Are there great articles and advice on the site? If you look at it and enjoy it, then others will to making the money paid worth while.
Keep these tips in mind when marketing and posting online and you will be successful at online marketing too.
Dream Big, Dream Often and then surround yourself by those who believe in you!
Louann Cormier
Organize your family with a $5 tool.
We have a rule in our house…if it is not on the calendar, it doesn’t happen 
It’s the only way we can keep track of who is doing what when. If someone needs a rides somewhere…it needs to be listed on the calendar.
And you need a calender that is large enough to fit it all! Staples has simple desk blotter calender that is about 15″ x 24″ and each square is 3×3 plenty of room for my family to write it all in.
It’s displayed on the wall in the office. Where everyone can see it.
Teach your family to put their events on this master calender and to check it. Anyone in my family can see at a glance who is doing what when.
Since I work from home and my schedule changes every week depending on what else is scheduled, each Sunday night, I take my marker and write in when I will be working.
The Key points to success with this is
1 – Buy a calender big enough to fit all the stuff we do
2 – Put it where everyone can see it and write on it
3 – Teach everyone to USE it
It’s a simple thing, but can make a huge difference in your life…
Oh…I just checked my calendar…tonight I’m going to a personal development training seminar with a bunch of girlfriends! We are going to meet up for dinner before hand. It’s on the calendar so my family already knows, my husband will put the kids to bed and I’ll enjoy a well deserved night of training with friends.
Til next time
I can do it to…but will I?
I was having dinner with my family at the grandparents house and we got to talking about my Greeting Card Business. I was
sharing how I am learning so much from my mentors Alethea Anderson and Jackie Ulmer and how nice it is that they are showing me the ropes. And then I said…
If she can do it so can I
Then my husband (who has been listening to me talk alot lately about the power of influence, law of attraction and word choices) says…
Yes you can do it, but will you?
I stopped dead in my tracks. Not because he was questioning me…I knew he meant it in jest, but because I realized that he was right! I have not been saying and thinking the right thing.
I hadn’t made the “conscious” choice to do what it takes…
Sure I have thought to myself many many times…If she can do it so can I…but I realized I was missing a critical step! You see…when I said that, part of my SUBCONSCIOUS would start fighting with me by saying
no you can’t…you don’t have the knowledge, experience, talent (pick any word and insert here) to do it.
I didn’t realize it until just that moment when my husband said, “Yes you can, but will you?” that I needed to change my words and thoughts. So
now I’ll say…
If she can do it, I choose to
do it too!
It’s a very subtle difference but a VERY powerful one. I am now making the choice to make it happen. And anytime any “negative” thought comes
in, I can simply respond by saying…I choose to do it, so go away! I can learn, improve, change and develop anything.
Make the choice and go for it!
Louann Cormier
The 20 minute timer
Focus for 20 minutes
Today I came home from the grocery store, unloaded the car and must have started at the groceries willing them to fly into the fridge and cupboards by themselves. I went and got the mail, put a load of wash into the dryer and checked my phone messages.
Guess what…the groceries were still there!
I have a bad habit of starting a task and getting sidetracked very easily. But one thing I have learned over the years is when I start to think this way, I set my timer for 20 minutes and FOCUS on the task at hand.
So my daughter and I started unpacking the groceries, putting them away where they belonged. We even opened the family pack of meats and divided it into smaller meal sizes. I unwrapped the 2.5 pound block of American cheese and put it into the cheese container in the fridge. I unhooked the Gatorade bottles from the plastic holders and put them in the cupboard so the kids can just grab them in the morning for their lunch box. I even opened the bag of fig newtons and pretzels and put them in snack size bags so we can grab them on the run.
Total time – 17.5 minutes
And it’s done. Now I can focus on the next task…which happens to be coloring with my daughter. I’m setting the timer again for 20 minutes and she will have my undivided attention and I’ll get some very much needed mommy/daughter time.
I love my timer…it really helps me stay on track and keep the focus.
I wonder if I can convince my husband to use it and give me a 20 minute back rub
Dream Big, Dream Often and Surround yourself by others who belive in you
