Trying to advertise like the big guys

There is a big difference between the advertising strategy you would adopt for marketing a large multimillion-dollar company and that for a small business. You see, the big guys have got big budgets and with big budgets you have more options.

The biggest difference though is that large companies are often focusing on building their brand and getting their name better known. As a small business, you will be more interested in creating direct response. In other words, you want your advertisement to generate leads that you can turn into orders. You want to be able to see a direct return on your investment and as quickly as possible.

So when you are planning any type of advertising, think about how you will measure the response and what response you expect, rather than building a brand.

- Keith Banfield

To stay young drink more water

Dehydration is believed by experts to be one of the major causes of ageing. Not only will you look old if you don’t drink much water (your skin becomes wrinkled), your kidneys will be less able to eliminate impurities efficiently.

Even brain cells are affected by dehydration. According to longevity expert, Professor Stanislaw Talalas, the average person loses about three litres of water a day. So drink at least two litres of water – the rest can come from water rich foods like vegetables and fruit.

Not using the Internet to generate leads for you

The Internet is such a powerful tool yet most businesses don’t realise how to utilise this powerful resource to generate leads for them. Some have pretty looking Websites but have no idea how to capture the traffic that visits their Website.

If you are serious about building your business, it is essential that you understand how to utilise the power of the Internet, capture the traffic that visits your site and learn how using cost per click campaigns you can drive targeted traffic to your site. You might want to check out https://adwords.google.com/select/ where you will discover a step-by-step process for setting up a ‘cost per click’ campaign.

If you haven’t seen this before, it is essentially like paying for an advertisement where you only pay for the responses you get. Imagine what it would be like if all the major magazines conducted their advertising programs in this way.

- Keith Banfield

“Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.” ~ Buddha

We’re several days into the New Year, and many of us are still basking in the glow of a fresh start.

Every year, January brings renewed optimism for change, for a better life, for a better you. And that’s a wonderful thing.

It’s wonderful, because this fresh start gives us a chance to reinvent our lives and ourselves. It allows us to reinvigorate ourselves, to shed the baggage of the previous year and do anything. Anything is possible!

That is a gift, my friends, and I suggest we make the most of this gift. Not just by creating and sticking to resolutions (here’s my guide for doing that), but by reinventing the way we live.

Here’s how.

1. Let go.

Many times we are held back by the tangled web of previous failures, commitments, emotions, barriers. We cannot change careers because we’re used to what we’re doing and it’s too hard to change. We cannot find time to get healthy and fit because we have all these other things to do. We cannot find time for our loved ones because we have too many commitments.

This is all old baggage. A fresh start demands a clean slate. Let everything from the past go (easier said than done, I know). Clear your plate and your palate.

Let go of attachments to what you’ve been doing for the past year, or years. Let go of failures. Let go of fears you’ve built up. Let go of reluctance. Let go of your ideas about what your life has to be like, because that’s the way it’s evolved so far. Let go of long-held beliefs and habits.

You have a fresh start. Let go of last year, and start anew.

2. Decide what matters most today.

Forget about your goals for all of this year. Instead, decide: what do you want to do today?

What matters most to you, to your life? What are you most passionate about, right now? What excites and invigorates you? What would give you the most fulfillment?

Often the answer is in creating something, making something new, helping other people, becoming a better person, working on a project that will be an accomplishment to be proud of. But whatever your answer, have it clear in your mind at the beginning of the day.

This might be something you work on all year, or it might just last a month, or it might last a week or a few days, or just today. It doesn’t matter. What matters is today — that you’re going to work on this with all your heart, today. Tomorrow … we’ll decide on that tomorrow.

3. Clear away distractions and focus.

Clear away email and Facebook and Twitter and your favorite blogs and news websites and social forums, clear away the iPhone or Blackberry or Android or cell phone, clear away all the little nagging work and chores and errands that pull at your attention, clear away the clutter that surrounds you (sweep it off to the side to deal with later).

In fact, if you can, shut off the Internet for awhile. You can come back to it when you take a break.

Now, find focus. Even if only for 15 or 20 minutes at first, but preferably for 30-60 minutes. You can take a break and check your email or whatever after you’ve focused. Focus on the thing that matters most. Do it for as long as you can, until you’re done if possible. Feel free to take breaks, but always return to your focus.

When you’re done, focus on the next thing that matters most, and so on.

4. Find happiness now.

Don’t look at happiness as something that will come when you’re done with this goal, or when you’ve attained a certain accomplishment or certain amount of wealth or material goods. Don’t look at happiness as a destination, something that you’ll get later.

Happiness is possible right now. Always remember that. When you push it back until later, it’ll never come. When you learn to be happy now, it’ll always be here.

When you’re doing whatever you’re passionate about, whatever matters most, whatever you decide is worthy of your time and heart and focus … be happy! You’re doing what you love. And that is truly a gift.

5. Reinvent yourself, every day.

Every day, you are reborn. Reinvent yourself and your life, every day. Do what matters most to you, that day.

It might be the same thing that mattered most yesterday, or it might not be. That isn’t important. What’s important is today — right now. Be passionate, be happy, right now.

You’ll have a fresh start every single day — not just on January 1. And that, my friends, is the best thing ever.

If you liked this guide, please bookmark it on Delicious or share on Twitter. Thanks, my friends.

Be clear about what you value in life
Do you value health over success? Family over career? Business over friendship? Spirituality over social life? What are your values? Most people don’t have a clue.

As a result they live wishy-washy lives, devoid of clear direction and power. As Confucius once said, ‘He who aims at nothing… is sure to hit it!’

Take half an hour to think about these areas of your life, and then list them in order of importance: Business, family life, social life, health, spirituality. Which is number one in importance? Which is number five? Once you’ve worked out what you value most, ask yourself whether you are currently living your life in accordance with that values ladder. If not, change your life.

Living a life according to your values is truly one of the great secrets to happiness.

The key really is in: Apply, Rinse and Repeat.

Your Well is in your Words

They have a better mindset because they asked better questions. Because they used better words.

-Richard

To find our well of wealth, we not only need to Ask the right questions… we must also use better words. Next time you have a conversation with someone, stay alert and notice how people react differently to these words: “should” “could” “would”, then try replacing them with “shall” “can” “will”.

Learning is a game after all, so make this one of the many games in life!

Your Well is in your Words

Not telling potential customers what they want to know

Since we were talking about business cards in the last example, let me continue on the same subject, since virtually all businesses have a business card. At least 50% of all business cards that I am handed miss out the vital information that’s important to me, the person receiving the card. Take a look at the business cards that you’ve received and you’ll see what I mean.

They have a persons basic details on, a pretty logo and in most cases that’s about it. Oh dear, that will be costing that company money in lost business, lost opportunity and ultimately lost profits.

So what is the vital information? The answer is, what can you do for them? So your business card needs to clearly state on it what the receiver will get if they contact and work with your company. If you think about it, isn’t this really the only thing that they are interested in?

As well as telling someone what they will get from being a customer of yours, the second thought is to remember that you want someone who has your business card to remember you. Now we all remember names to a degree, if however you really want a potential customer to remember you, put your photograph on your business card. Do you remember faces more than names? I know I do.

Finally, make sure that you use the back of the business card too. This is a place where you could add a powerful marketing message. How many do you see that are left blank?
- Keith Banfield

The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.
- Charter for Compassion

Certainly, the data shows that the market ‘cooled’ by 3.8% from its peak in February 2008 to its trough in December 2008. But the results for 2009 are clear – despite (or perhaps because of) the uncertainties surrounding the world economy, Australian house prices continue to grow robustly.
- Investor Finance

What we should all learn from this is that the media does not tell us all the facts, and that we should never bet on the future =)

Novembers Success Tips issue is now available here.

Check it out and have a peek at what Chris Gray looks for in buying property.

By nature, leaders are decision-makers. The more influential the leader, the more consequential their decisions will be. Leaders are out in front because they have proven their ability to choose the appropriate course of action when faced with big decisions.

However, when a leader begins to rely solely on personal observation and intuition, that leader is headed for trouble. Even the wisest among us has a limited perspective, and we will miss important decision-making clues if we become entirely self-reliant.

In this edition of LW, I am indebted to the brilliant thought of Dr. Saj-nicole A. Joni in her book, The Third Opinion. An extremely well-written text, The Third Opinion makes the case for the value of outside insight to the performance of a leader. In her book, Dr. Joni identifies four signs that the time is right to consult decision-making advice.

• When multiple decisions need to be made, and you don’t have the required amount of time to focus fully on each one.
• When the implications of the decision are far-reaching, and you know your organization will be in serious trouble if you don’t do the right thing.
• When you lack the expertise to tackle the issue on your own, regardless of whether you have the time.
• When you are capable of taking action, but you know the decision will be better off if you consult the experiences and insights of someone else.

As a leader, once you’ve determined to seek advice, how do you go about doing it? How can you most effectively glean insights from the thinking of advisors?

To Successfully Engage Others to Gain Insight Requires …

1. The Security of the Leader
2. The Credibility of the Process
3. The Quality of the Questions
4. The Ability of the Team

The Security of the Leader

“Advice is seldom welcome, and those who need it most like it least.”

– Dr. Samuel Johnson

Leaders can be stubborn when it comes to seeking advice. Insecure leaders who worry about their status, position, or power tend to reject the ideas of others, protect their turf, and keep people at bay. It takes a secure leader to admit their assumptions may be wrong, or to defer to the expertise of another.

© Copyrght CreateOne Pty Ltd. 2008

www.createone.com.au