Audio feed[audio:http://www.polepositionmarketing.com/emp/blog-audio/success-quiz.mp3]
We all want to know if we have what it takes so succeed. Let’s find out by answering these three simple questions:
1) Are you happy?
When was the last time someone received a thank you note from you? Been a while? Don’t assume that people know you appreciate them or their help. Tell them. You know yourself how much a thank you means — and how good it makes you feel when someone says it. Take the time to thank people no matter how busy you are.
There are countless articles and business tycoons that swear by the mighty thank you note. Management guru Peter F. Drucker, honorary chairman of the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management, attributes much of his success in life to his early habit of writing 10 to 12 thank you notes a day. Ken Langone, VC and Home Depot Founder states “The two most powerful things in existence: a kind word and a thoughtful gesture.” Southwest requires it in their hiring criteria, “We look for listening, caring, smiling, saying ‘Thank you,’ being warm.”— Colleen Barrett, president, Southwest Airlines.
There are countless occasions that merit a thank you note such as, a nice to meet you note, a new project from a current client, a vendor that has recently done a great job for you, an employee for a job well done or a presentation they assisted with, for people who refer others to you, etc.
Audio feed[audio:http://www.polepositionmarketing.com/emp/blog-audio/social-media-branding.mp3]
Think of all the ways that companies use branding to build awareness of themselves or to promote their social awareness and customer service values. A few things come to mind such as greeters at the entrance of your my favorite store, go-green awareness issues, charity drives that “give back” to the community for every purchase made, TV screens playing music videos or news as you wait in line, and the list goes on.
None of these things lead directly to conversions but they do lead to higher company awareness and the good old fashioned fuzzy-feelings we get when we know that that we are valued as a customer. Most times we are probably not even be aware of these things on a conscious level. But the effect shows as we have a tendency to patron these companies more frequently than the other alternatives.
As a small business owner I’m often looking for business documents. Over the years we’ve put together an employee handbook, process manuals and confidentiality / non-compete agreements among others. For the most part, we’ve pieced these together from friends who have their own businesses, or by looking for the documents from free or paid online resources.
I recently came across .docstoc.com, which is an incredible resource with hundreds of business documents available for free download. One of the first things I noticed was a confidentiality agreement in the featured documents area. I’ve noted it to check it out later and compare to the one we are already using.
Audio feed[audio:http://www.polepositionmarketing.com/emp/blog-audio/finding-employees.mp3]
Finding good employees can often be difficult, especially in an “employees market”. Currently it seems it’s harder for employers to fill a job than it is for job seekers to find one. That means it’s incumbent upon us business owners and managers to get a bit more creative in how we find candidates for open positions. And then, like any good marketer, you’ve got to persuade your top candidates that you not only want them, they want you too.
Audio feed[audio:http://www.polepositionmarketing.com/emp/blog-audio/reno-i-love-you.mp3]
A couple of Saturdays back I had to spend the day at the office to get caught up. You know how that is, come Friday you realize that you haven’t gotten to all the tasks on your plate so you have two options: 1) Get to the office over the weekend and work a few extra hours, sans distractions, or 2) wait until Monday to get caught up. Of course we all know the latter doesn’t ever really work because come Monday you start the process of getting behind all over again. Stupid Mondays.
So the other Saturday while putting in a few extra hours I had left to grab a burger with the King. All was going quite well until I headed back to the office and saw this:
It’s been said that only the most egotistical of people could ever run for U.S. President. I believe that. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad thing either. It takes thick skin and a very strong desire to succeed to run a legitimate presidential campaign. There has to be something truly special about a presidential candidate. Not so much in doing what it takes to get enough votes to win, but simply in thinking one has the strength to succeed in run the country effectively.
Running a successful presidential campaign and running a successful company and running a successful personal life are all very much the same. They all take someone with great personal strength. Weak people need not apply to a successful, satisfying life.
What do you spend most of your (work) time doing? Things you’re good at? Things you’re terrible at? Or do you just spin your wheels doing things that just don’t matter?
Developing yourself personally and professionally means that you have to do things with a purpose. You can’t just let life carry you forward, blowing you wherever it leads. There is no virtue in doing whatever comes your way. You need to take control of your actions and move forward with a purpose.
So what do you spend your time doing? Well, let me give you some food for thought…
Everybody wants to succeed. Success, though, rarely comes easy. Nor does it happen overnight.
We often hear about overnight success stories, certain companies or individuals thrown into the limelight, having made millions from something or another. What we fail to realize, or rather the people calling them an “overnight success” fail to realize, is that there is usually a pretty substantial history building up to that success. Long hours, lots of money invested, family, goals or desires sacrificed, etc.
Sure, that “overnight” success might have come from an abnormal popularity surge, but that surge stemmed from a lot of hard work that few every truly understand.
I love Reno, but we’re not exactly a hub of technological excitement. The tech industry here is growing, but I can’t say we have a substantial pool of SEO-savvy job candidates to choose from. This makes hiring experienced Reno search engine optimization specialists a bit tricky. My standard joke about this is we have one interview question: “Do you know what SEO means?” If they answer yes then they’re hired!
Before I go any further, let me say that Pole Position Marketing has one of the most spectacular teams of marketing professionals in the industry, making us the go-to Reno SEO firm for local businesses.
(Don't wait for the movie!)
E-Marketing Performance: Effective Strategies for Building, Optimizing & Marketing Your Website Online
