business

Building A Culture of Confidence

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I do alot of speaking, all over the country.  I speak to small groups, big groups, and every size in-between.  And one thing is always true no matter who I am speaking to:  I get nervous.  It’s true.  I have been a speaker for a very long time and talked to literally tens of thousands […]

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Providing the Ideal Client Experience

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The other day I went to a local business that provides a service.  When I entered the lobby the individual behind the desk stood up and shook my hand, smiled, and greeted me.  They asked me if I wanted something to drink while I waited and asked me how my day was going.  From the […]

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Use Twitter Like A Boss

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It was July 2nd, 2007.  That was that day I joined Twitter and my life changed.  Well, perhaps I am over-exaggerating because it wasn’t that dramatic.  But looking back I can see now what a game-changer Twitter would be.  I still believe that Twitter is the best business-building tool ever created, if you are willing […]

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This is what your clients think of you

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I was listening to the radio the other day in the car driving to work and a song came on that I had not heard in over 30 years. It was one of those one-hit wonders that I knew all the words to, and I instantly smiled thinking back about where I was when I […]

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The secret to creating deep customer relationships

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I was frustrated. I had been communicating via email back and forth all day with a tech support rep at the company who makes the product that I wasn’t very happy with. It wouldn’t work and the tech support person was trying to give me possible solutions to remedy the problem. At the end of […]

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Drinking From the Fire Hose

When I was a kid we would sometimes see the fire department come by and test the fire hydrants in our neighborhood.  They would turn on the hydrant for a little while to make sure that the water flowed like it was supposed to, and of course the neighborhood kids got the chance to play […]

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The Art of the Conversation

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I am thoroughly convinced that most people don’t know how to converse with others.  And that’s a shame because I am also convinced that the most successful people in the world are the ones who understand the art of the conversation. I don’t suppose I can place blame too much.  Advances in technology that make […]

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My 2014 New Year’s Resolution For You (and me)

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So my first article of 2014 is about something that is very personal to me.  I spent the majority of 2013 in a slump. I can’t sing ‘woe is me’ too loud because alot of people were much worse off than me in 2013.  But it was one of those times… maybe you know what […]

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Your Brand Is Dying: Here’s How To Save It

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I remember not too long ago when Facebook rolled out new ‘like’ pages that looked like and acted like personal profile pages. I remember the cries of ‘What is Facebook doing?? This is disastrous. Facebook is trying to kill businesses in Facebook.’ What we know now is that Facebook was trying to set businesses up […]

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Make More Money by Having Fun

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She said “I tried what you said about having fun.  So I started to post fun questions and silly pictures, and it worked.  Suddenly people started talking to me and paying attention to what I was saying.  I am engaging with my customers like I never have before!” It’s comments like this from my customers […]

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5 Ways To Promote Others

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One of the things I am fond of telling my audiences during my keynotes is that when it comes to social media you need to follow the ’10-to-1′ rule.  That means for every 10 times that you talk about someone else, you get to talk about yourself once.  But that doesn’t just work in the […]

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Twitter: The Greatest Business Development Tool Ever Created

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I kept hearing about it and quite frankly, was a little annoyed by all the hype.  You know what I mean, like when you hear that same song over and over again on the radio? Eventually you get fed up with it and start to just make fun of it. That’s what happened with me […]

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Big Footprint, Small Footprint

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For the past 5 years we have recycled at my house.  I bought some of those big plastic tubs at Walmart and we began to collect the standard stuff… cardboard, glass, cans, plastic, and paper.  Honestly, I didn’t do this out of an overwhelming concern for the environment.  I mean, I don’t like wasting anything […]

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How Technology Can Make You A Better Leader

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Today I spoke to a group of dynamic leaders who are learning how to be even better leaders.  I shared with them some leadership traits that make a good leader, and some technology tools that can help them enhance that trait.  Every leader has their own personal style, so hopefully one of these tools will […]

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The Rear View Mirror Is Smaller… For A Reason

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When my wife and I bought our first minivan about 5 years ago we discovered an interesting feature. I won’t talk about how hurt our feelings were that we had to buy a minivan in the first place… that’s another post for another day. But I will tell you that it was a welcome feature […]

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It’s Time To Give Back

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I have been humbled.  There have been numerous times in the past several weeks that I have been taken down a notch when presented with the good works that others are doing.  My father calls it ‘gettin too big for your britches’.  I call it laziness and arrogance.  Just when I think I am doing […]

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How Not To Screw Up At Work

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Looking back over the jobs that I have had ever since I started working, I can see some valuable lessons learned. I learned some things from some very wise people, and I learned alot of things the hard way, because I was hard-headed. So I was asked the other day by some college students what […]

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Small Talk: The New Sales Pitch

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Selling is not easy. Every successful salesman has their own formula, their own secret. And certain things work for some, and not for others. I have a good friend named Michael Angelo Caruso who is an established expert on selling, and he has trained thousands of people over the years on the art of selling. […]

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5 Ways To Manage Your Business On Social Media

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So you jumped into social media with various networks, and you are overwhelmed.  Am I right?  You were pretty excited in the beginning but now that the firehose that is social media is hitting you in the face, you need some way to save you from drowning. Here are 5 ways that you can get […]

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Using Your Smartphone For Business

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For better or worse, my smartphone is an extension of just about every aspect of my life, including my business. It’s my camera, my communications lifeline, my calendar, and my organizational tool. And I am sure many of you would say the same thing. So I wanted to share with you how I use my […]

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