The “Twitter” of Video: 12seconds.tv

I know a lot of people are looking into cheap and easy ways to market your business in a rough economy. You don’t want to spend a lot of money, but you want to attract a lot of customers.

Did you know that one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy, especially now, is Internet sales? This doesn’t mean that you must have an online store to stay in business, but it sure does indicate that you should be available to your target market online. Information, advice, marketing and advertising should all be available online. Even something as simple as posting your store’s address to every listing site out there can go a long way to bringing you more traffic.

As you probably found my blog by researching online, I am assuming you had somewhat of a suspicion that this is true.

I’ve got another thought to throw at you now…

Video is the hottest thing on the Internet right now. Did you know that? Does that freak you out a little bit? It freaks me out a little bit. I love writing but I’m not so much of a camera hound. But experts everywhere are saying that if you want to improve your search engine rankings and get noticed, you’ve got to have video.

Alright, so there is YouTube, Slideshare, embedding video into your website, etc. These are all fantastic and you should be doing all of them. But…

I want to tell you about the “Twitter” of Video. Take a minute to visit http://www.12seconds.tv

Twitter allows you 140 characters per Tweet. How long do you think it would take you to read out one of those Tweets? Less than 12 seconds probably. So, why not get yourself a web cam or digital camera, and read out your Tweets. Then you can upload them to 12secons.tv and voila, you are participating in the video revolution!

The nice thing about 12 seconds is that people probably aren’t going to notice if you aren’t physically in the shot. If you are tweeting about a new cash register you bought to make your business more efficient, show us some buttons! If you’ve got a new employee, film them instead of yourself.  If you have just added a new product line, tell us about it while showing us! If you conduct your business meetings at a great restaurant, show us the food. If you’re camera shy, no fear!

Now, I want to add two little caveats. First of all, I have not yet done this myself. I am sorry, I will be taking my own advice, I just haven’t had a chance to set up my “equipment” yet. Second, this site is not yet very business oriented. Does that mean you should ignore it? Heck no! This is the perfect opportunity to overhaul it before your competition catches wind of the opportunity.

After you have posted your 12 second video to the site, you can share it on all your social media outlets: Facebook, Twitter, and many more, I believe.

Share it here too, just add the link as a comment. I can’t wait to see what you all come up with!

@MoniqueNelson

Are you Running a Communist Business? Part 2

Read Part 1: Are you Running A Communist Business? Part 1

Read Original article by Perry Marshall: http://bit.ly/18rssE

In Part 1 of this post, I discussed the issue of presenting your business in a honest light through marketing and advertising, without using propaganda and false hype. Today I want to bring the idea of propaganda into the workplace. In order to really drive the point home, I want to offer a direct quote from the original article:

The name of the game in a communist government is information control, yet it is no different in a big corporation.

Think about it:

At a large company, is it OK to talk about religion?

At a large company, is it OK to voice politically incorrect views?

At a large company, is it OK to send emails that say what you REALLY think about the company’s new product line or CEO?

Of course not. There may be…

…unpleasant consequences for such things.

So if you ever wanted to know what it’s like to live in a communist country, you may already be working for one – except only 8 hours a day.

Does this ring true for your businesses? Perhaps some of the businesses you have escaped from in the past?

Obviously, each business will have their own policies, and I am certainly not about to try and correct them or even challenge them in the slightest. I do, however, want to call attention to the incredible opportunities awaiting companies who ask / allow a little bit of controversy into their businesses.

Marshall touched down on religion and politics, which I am going to avoid like the plague (that is too much controversy for this girl!). But I want you to think about that last point: Is it OK for you and / or your employees to offer honest feedback on the business?

In my opinion, employee feedback is one of the business world’s most valuable, untapped, resources. Management doesn’t typically spend as much time face-to-face with their customers as the sales staff on the floor does. Paperwork, schedules, ordering and many more important daily tasks will keep you off the floor and out of reach of your clientele to some extent. Your sales staff though…

Have you ever done a survey of your sales staff to find out what the top three items people come to them asking about? Do you think that would be valuable information?

Have you ever asked your staff what they think of the store layout, and if they have any ideas on how you can make it more accessible to your customers? Remember, the staff you have on the floor are privy to a wealth of information simply by being the person who gets to answer the questions like “where do you keep your paper/ coffee/ blackberries?” If you knew what your customers were asking for, you would know a) what is popular, b) what is hard to find and c) most importantly, what is popular that is hard to find.

There are many other ways that you can improve your store, simply by asking your staff to tell you what they think could be done better. If you are willing to allow fresh ideas, your business will always be new and appealing.

I’d love to hear your feedback, and learn ways that you have encouraged the sharing of fresh ideas within your business. Please, leave comments!

Are You Running a Communist Business? Part 1

I have just finished reading a post from Perry Marshall titled “Epiphany in Communist China.” He made a few very interesting comparisons, which I wanted to share with you, adding my two “sense” of course.

First of all, he likens Chinese propaganda (“In the newspapers, the only thing you can be sure it true is the date”) to business press releases. Secondly, he draws attention to interesting parallels between communist government policies and business policies.

Which encourages me to pose a question for all the movers and shakers in business out there: are you running a communist business?

While Marshall only mentions press releases, propaganda can be found in advertisements, websites, articles and many other sources. Are you telling the truth when you talk about your products and service?

When we are dealing with other business people, it is not uncommon to wonder if we are “being had.” Our first instinct is to never trust a salesman, because you just know they are trying to pull something over on you. If this is your first impression of the people who you deal with, it begs to question how other feel when they are dealing with you as a business leader.

I work for a company called Flexible Solutions that manufactures a liquid solar pool cover. We often come across customers who are worried that we are offering a ’snake oil’. Honestly, if you can’t see it, smell it, taste it or feel it, who’s to say that there really is a liquid pool cover protecting a pool from heat loss and wasted energy? Trust me, I am not a stranger to skepticism. And I know I am not the only one out there.

We have based our company image as the Liquid Pool Cover Experts who actually provide proof. We offer test results, testimonials, safety data and 15 years of accumulated experience. Still, people are not always sold. Why? Because there are others out there making claims that they cannot support.

Are you having this problem? When you offer premium support, service and products, do your customers waver because they have had less than satisfactory experiences in the past? How do you combat a reputation that is not yours? How do you present an image of truth, trust and reliability? How do you prove that you are not just spouting propaganda?

I’d love your feedback and stories, so please leave comments and / or send me a message.

In Part 2 I will talk about the parallels between Communist government policies and some business policies.

If you’d like to read the original article, you can find it here: http://bit.ly/18rssE

Are you quitting smoking? I’d like to help!

First things first: I am not a smoker and can’t really say I ever was. I want to put that out there for all to read right up front so that you cannot accuse my of being a hypocrite. I know I don’t really know the difficulty involved in quitting smoking. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to help.

There are people everywhere smoking and it makes me want to scream. Seriously, even if you won’t quit for yourself, I am certain that there is someone out there who loves you and doesn’t want you to die a horrible death.

My boyfriend still thinks (or at least says he thinks) that smoking makes him look cool. It doesn’t.

My father has smoked for about 2 of my lifetimes and is convinced that if he has made it this far it can’t be that bad for him. It is.

My sister has asthma, and so does her 9 year old daughter, and she has a skin condition, yet she thinks that smoking is what calms her down. Wrong.

All these people I love are killing themselves and making excuses that are just plain ignorant. And I haven’t even brought up my friends!  So, even though I am not a smoker, I have, undoubtedly, had experience with smoking.

For that reason, I would like to help people quit. I am just not sure how.

Johni Louise of socialPOPstars, one of my favorite sales, marketing and social media gurus, is trying to quite smoking. She is making it public. I once thought about telling everyone about my endeavor to lose a few pounds. I never did, because I was worried that I would then be accountable for actually losing a few pounds. I think Johni Louise is remarkable for quitting smoking, and I want to help. I also think that she took a huge vow of dedication by telling people (really, the whole world) that she is quitting.

The best thing that I could come up with in the 30 seconds it took me to decide that I want to help, was to write about it. So here I am. Writing a post about it.

I know I am not the only person who wants to help. I am sure there are other people out there who with their loved ones who smoke didn’t. Or perhaps people who have survived without cigarettes for X period of time and want to help give others the motivation required to do the same. Perhaps there are professional health experts or hypnotists or fitness coaches who have ideas. Whoever you are, if you have suggestions, no matter how crazy, PLEASE OFFER THEM.

Comment on this blog. Write to me or Johni Louise on Twitter (@MoniqueNelson / @JohniLouise ). Check out Johni’s post about her decision and leave comments there: I’ve Had It Dammit!

Whatever you do, leave your 2 cents before signing out today. Quitters around the world with thank you for it.

TweetaLink: A Marvelous Way to Get More out of your Tweets!

One of my new favorite Twitter Tools is Tweetalink.com.

If you are out and about searching the web, reading sales materials, marketing research, or just about anything else you find interesting, you can now tweet that page with a single click of a button. And, a huge bonus, you can get recognition for the page and direct people seamlessly to your website or twitter account!

Does life with Social Media get any better?

All you have to do is visit Tweetalink.com and enter your Twitter Account name and password. It will refresh and ask you to drag and drop a link into your toolbar (of your web browser) and then you are set for life.

The next time you are reading something that you would like to share (even if it is your very own writing or webpage) simply click the Tweetalink bookmark that is now in your browser toolbar and a screen will pop up with the title of that webpage and the shorten url. Just click Tweet This and you’re in business.

If any of your Tweet Followers click on a link generated by TweetaLink, on the top of the screen that they visit (the page you recommended) will be a banner with your Twitter Profile Picture, and links to your website and Twitter Account. They can even retweet right from the toolbar.

Fabulous or what?

Join up today and start getting more out of your Tweets and your valuable time!

If you want an example, here is a Tweet generated by Tweetalink for me:

Monique’s Opinions: The Value of a Little Competition « MoniqueNelson’s Blog: http://bit.ly/KiAX3

Yours Truly, @MoniqueNelson

Thank God Even Crazy Dreams Come True

I am a firm believer that music communicates with people on a level which cannot be reached by any other media or medium. It follows, then, that music is able to elicit an emotional response from listeners better than just about anything else out there. Why do you think all of our favorite commercials, advertisements, TV shows, movies, etc all have great music incorporated into them?

Well, whenever I am in just about any sort of mood, I find that music is the best way to increase / decrease my emotional state. I have also found that music can be incredibly inspirational whenever I am trying to come up with a new marketing plan, and new sales pitch, or just trying to get through a week day without having a complete breakdown.

One song that I have heard perhaps a thousand times has recently caught my attention as being very motivational, so I thought I would share it with you. Just about anyone who is working with social media marketing will be able to relate to Carrie Underwood’s song “Crazy Dreams” because, let’s face it, there are always times when what we are doing seems like a shot in the dark. It is new, it is different and it is just a little bit crazy. But, it works. You just need to have faith and determination.

The lyrics are below, thanks to Lyrics.com. I also snooped around YouTube until I found a video I liked, which I’ve included here for you. The reason I chose this video over all (there isn’t an actual, produced video available) was because it epitomizes her song. She is a winner of American Idol, for any of you who aren’t familiar with Ms. Underwood, and what is a more crazy dream than that?

Enjoy and become inspired!

“Crazy Dreams”

by Carrie Underwood

Hello you long shots, you dark horse runners

Hairbrush singers, dashboard drummers

Hello you wild magnolias just waiting to bloom

There’s a little bit of all that inside of me and you

Thank God even crazy dreams come true

I’ve stood at the bottom of some walls I thought I couldn’t climb

I felt like Cinderella at the ball Just running out of time

So I know how it feels to be afraid

And think that it’s all gone and slip away

Hold on

Hold on

Here’s to you free souls,you firefly chasers

Street climbers, porch swingers, air guitar players

Here’s to you fearless dancers shaking walls in your bedrooms

There’s a lot of wonder left inside of me and you

Thank God even crazy dreams come true

Never let a bad day be enough

To go and talk you into giving up

Sometimes everybody feels like you

Oh, feels like you

Just like you

I’ve met some go getters, some difference makers

Small town heroes and big chance takers

I’ve met some young hearts with something to prove

Oh yeah

Here’s to you long shots, you dark horse runners

Hairbrush singers, dashboard drummers

Here’s to you wild magnolias just waiting to bloom

There’s a little bit of all that inside of me and you

Thank God even crazy dreams come true

Thank God even crazy dreams come true

Monique’s Opinions: The Value of a Little Competition

I read a very short blog post today, written by Michael Wade. The title summed up the post quite nicely: “Let us Thank our Competitors.”

I strongly recommend you all visit this post and read it: Let us Thank our Competitors. It is short, don’t worry. I would then recommend reading all the comments below. It is very insightful to find how many other businesses value their competitors for some reason or other. You will even find a comment from yours truly.

I decided that this idea of competition merits a bit more of a contemplation.

Wade believes that our competitors bring value by showing us our flaws and encouraging us to continuously provide our best because if we don’t our competitors will beat us. I believe that we should continuously be searching for our own flaws in order to fix them and offer our customers our best because that is the mark of a superior company.

In a comment that he wrote below this post, he also mentioned that “if we didn’t have competitors, we’d have to invent them, or we’d become slugs.” While this is undoubtedly true for many folks out there in the business world, it is too depressing to contemplate and I would prefer to believe that any of you pro-active enough to be reading blogs about bettering your business do not need such negative motivation to keep you from becoming a drooling, oozing, sloth-paced, worm-like creature.

My comment sounds more like this: if you have competition, than that means that the product or service you offer is worth imitating, duplicating, improving or otherwise competing against. Therefore, your customers will see value in your product or service because other companies obviously find your product / service smart enough to want in on your playing field.

Another realization that is depressing when you think about it, but undoubtedly true, is the fact that people want what other people want. Just like sheep, we all flock together. If no one is imitating you, why should your customer want what you’ve got?

Competition is a value in and of itself. Not to mention we live in a capitalist society built on the foundation of competition. If you live in North America you should fairly idolize competition, so why do so many people cry over the injustice of someone “stealing” their business?

If you are losing your business to a competitor than you should figure out why. Once you have discovered that they are beating you on price, proving a superior product, offering better service or whatever the reason may be, MAKE YOURS BETTER.

Competition breeds quality which is a wonderful, fabulous, and very important part of our business world. As a customer, you want the best product for your money, right? Well, as a provider you better be willing to offer the best product for the customer’s money.

As far as I’m concerned, when I hear people whining about competition it’s usually because they are too lazy to win back their customers. You can’t get something for nothing!

I hope you enjoyed this tough love session and I wish you the best of luck—yes, even you, you competitors of mine!

I update all my Twitter followers when I have new posts, so you should start following @MoniqueNelson for more goods!

TwttrList: Growing your Social Media Presence

Those of you currently using or investigating the benefits of using Twitter for your business endeavors are probably also looking into other Social Media Marketing opportunities.

It can be quite intimidating; the prospect of having to update your Facebook Status, write posts to your blog, monitor your Linked In account and, of course, stay active with Twitter, certainly seems like a significant amount of time that you could otherwise be spending doing things like, for instance, selling! Well, life has just gotten a little bit easier.

I am going to assume that you have already read all the Twitter techniques I have offered to help make Twittering easier and less time consuming (particularly writing a Tweet Plan, using Tweetlater and TweetDeck).

Now, you are able to expand our Social Media reach without really spending too much time creating new and unique content. If you have not been introduced to Squidoo.com yet, this is a great introductory method to become active in a new outlet.

Squidoo.com is very similar to blogging sites, except that there are templates available and many, many more widgets to make use of. (Take two minutes right now to visit the site. You can view one of my lenses here: 27 Ways to Become a Better Salesperson)

I will freely admit that creating a Squidoo Lens (page or post) takes a heck of a lot more time than quickly writing up a blog post. However, it has enormous potential because it has a very far reach.

Enter TwttrList.com. (Take another 30s to visit this site, right now)

Since you are already on Twitter, all you have to do is pick your favorite Tweets, Twitterers, or Tweet Topics and follow the easy fill-in-the blank guidelines on Squidoo and voila, you are now extending your social media reach.

Not only will your Twitter followers thank you for the extra publicity, but your Tweets will now be available to a whole new audience with only 10 minutes or less time investment. Finally, your Twitter Name is automatically added to the bottom of the lens, thus creating an outlet to gain you many new followers without you having to actively search and woo them.

I strongly suggest, however, that you do spend a few minutes creating a Squidoo Bio page, because that is the most important part of any social media outlet. People want to know who you are and why they should be reading your stuff.

So, what are you waiting for? Make a Top Twenty list of your favorite tweets and start making yourself just a little bit more famous!

If you’d like an example of a TwttrList lens, here you go: Best of Cold Calling Tips from Wendy Weiss

Start following me on Twitter, if you haven’t yet, and maybe some of my Tweets will make your future lists! @MoniqueNelson

PS: This just in, there is even a contest where you can win prizes just for doing something you should be doing anyways. Check this out: Make a TwttrList. Win a Kindle.

PPS: Seth Godin is promoting TwttrLists, so they MUST be a good idea.

Monique’s Opinion on Dave Brock’s “Is There Real Value in Your Value Proposition?”

Dave Brock of Partners in EXCELLENCE, excellenc.com, has published a White Paper titles “Is There Real Value in Your Value Proposition?”

The first thing I am going to say about Brock’s business is that I LOVE all the free material avaiable on his site, http://excellenc.com/articles.htm. For me, it is very important to get a very good idea about what a sales and marketing coaching / training company offers before I commit my hard earned cash to them.

Now, as for the White Paper… I chose this particular white paper because I want to talk about the notion of accountability. More particularly, the idea that you, as a business, should be accountable to your customer. You should offer Value to your customers ESPECIALLY if you are feeling the effects of a recession. By value, I mean more than simply quality products, I also mean quality service. But, I digress…

Brock speaks very eloquently about providing value to your customer. In fact, he lists several issues to consider:

• Is your product something your customer actually needs?
• Are focusing on the benefits to your customer, or the features of your product?
• Do you make it obvious that choosing your product or service is the best solution for your customer—better than any competitor and better than doing nothing at all?

Did you notice that I emphasized the recurring phrase “your customer” each time I used it? That is because that is the most important issue to focus on in your business: YOUR CUSTOMER! Gear everything towards them, instead of trying to puff yourself up, pair it with a great product or service, and you can’t lose.

Brock, the gentleman that he is, also provided a list of tips and tricks for illuminating the value in your proposition.

• “Value is in the eye of the beholder!” No two customers are the same, so your pitch, so to speak, should be very flexible and tailored each and every time to appeal to what your customer finds valuable
• Very closely related to this: you don’t want a stale product or service. Often, a very easy way to add value to a product or service is to make it ‘new’ or ‘updated’, changing instead of static. Keep the foundation, change the décor.
• Your product must actually be the best on the market in order to maintain the title as such. Undercutting pricing, emphasizing new features, and otherwise focusing on the features instead of the benefits will only encourage a battle between you and your competitors. While change is imperative, your groundwork needs to be quality that can never be challenged. Keep in the forefront of your customer’s minds by adding little updates, but make sure that no matter what, it is the quality that stands out above the rest
• There is more to a sale than simply a product or a service bought and paid for. In many instances a customer will decide on a specific product or service based on the fact that the relationship they have with Company A is better than the relationship they have with Company B. Or, it was easier to find your product on a shelf than your competitors. Perhaps, they liked the music better when put on hold with Company A than Company B. What I am saying is that there is innumerable points of value that range in importance depending on your unique customer. Find out what makes the biggest difference in your line of work, and make sure that you offer value. Comfortable waiting rooms, happy customer service reps, colorful packaging…whatever you can do to ensure a phenomenal visit, do it. But also keep in mind that you CANNOT and WILL NOT ever please everyone.
• One of the best things you can do to increase your own value is a salesperson is to take some time and learn to read people. If you only sell over the phone, pay extremely close attention to phrasing and inflections in voice. If you meet with your clients in person learn how to pick up nuances in their body language. If you can distinguish how they are responding to your message, you can better decide what the WANT to hear and what elicits a positive response from them
• Marketing cannot be forgotten. It is the job of the marketer to find a unique selling position for the product or service that creates interest and qualified leads. It is the job of the salesperson to then take that interest and those leads and use the unique selling position to rake in the sales. Teamwork. On this, your whole team should be on the same page. The delivery can be tailored to the customer’s needs, but the message should be agreed upon
• Part of your unique selling position, if not all of it, should indicate how you are different, and why you are a better fit for your customer’s needs. You should not be lumped in with your competitors, but distinguished from them in a positive light
• Perhaps one of the most important points to mention: if you are promising the BEST value for your customer…you need to DELIVER the BEST value to your customer All in all, I think Brock and the folks over at Partners in EXCELLENCE put together a wonderful white paper.

Personally, I find that the best techniques are the ones that are so obvious that you forget to think about them.

Really, if I promise value I should deliver value? Really I should focus on making the customer happy? Really?

Really.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my Opinion. If you are interested in reading more from me, I have another Opinion about Colly Graham’s Blog. I have a few reviews lenses over at Squidoo, as well. You can find a list of all my lenses off my Bio, Monique_Nelson. If you want to keep updated for new and exciting information, the best way is to follow me on Twitter: @MoniqueNelson

Monique’s Opinion of Colly Graham’s Blog Post “Sharpen your sales skills – Selling in a recession”

Colly Graham’s most recent blog post, to date, is a strategy for playing out a recession without losing your shirt..or, more importantly, your business.

Personally, I find Salesxcellence.com, Graham’s company website, a bit frustrating, but that is mainly because I like a lot of free material whenever I am being wooed by a new coaching / training company, and this website doesn’t offer too much up. If I am being fair, however, that is probably good practice and may even imply that his stuff is worth paying for.

At the very least, his blog is worth a short dissection.

First of all, he tells you to get yourself together and make a plan, or a sales strategy. Decide what exactly your goal is. He breaks it down into 4 parts, but I think it is just as easy to tell you to make a plan that includes acquiring new business and growing your company. You should have strategies and tactics and though he defines a few tricky business terms for you, he never really outlines how you are to come about said strategies and tactics.

Graham tells you to “stop being a hunter and become a farmer.” This is the heart and soul of his post, and he goes on to talk about cultivating, watering, weeding and harvesting.

I have a previously acquired ebook written by Colly Graham, titled “Building a Sales Force that Sells”, and it offers the following explanations:

Hunter: New Business Development

• Lead Development
• Problem Solving
• Qualifying
• Willingness to Work Long Hours
• Closing Skills
• Opportunistic

Farmer: Major Account Maintenance

• Goal Orientation
• Desire to Increase Business
• Willing to work the System for the Customer
• Commitment to Explain and Clarify Customer Issues
• Customer Relationships
• Willingness to Respond at any Hour

What I take from this is that Graham is encouraging a move away from lead generation tactics (cold calling, mass marketing, fax / email blasting, Google adwords, etc) and start focusing on developing the leads you already have.

I think it is imperative that businesses focus on strengthening the relationships they have with their current customers and potential clients, in addition to having the desire to increase business. (Farmer)

I also think that it is always important and even more so that they develop strong problem solving skills within their organization in order to continue to offer their customers the best service possible. (Hunter)

Truth be told, I think most businesses are omnivorous…we need a heaping helping of our lovingly cultivated, highly nutritious farmed goods, right along side our meat and potatoes.

In other words, I fail to understand how Graham intends for businesses to really build upon their desire to grow if they do not stay dedicated to their lead generation tactics.

His analogy of hunters and farmers is a good one, indeed, but in order for any society or business to succeed, you need a balanced formula of both. Therefore, I would like to suggest that the heart and soul of this opinionated post is to learn how to become a very efficient Hunter / Farmer.

Good luck to you and your business!

If you would like to read more of my sales and marketing Opinions, I have more goods on Squidoo. You can find all my lenses listed on my bio, Monique_Nelson. I would also recommend you follow me on Twitter, as I always announce any new information coming your way: @MoniqueNelson

Please, leave comments! I would love to hear what your take on Colly Graham’s blog may be and feel free to dissect mine as well.