Tag Archives: time

E-mail Responses and the Perceptions they Hold; Especially in Istanbul

Originally posted at Pro/Vision Coaching.

There are times in one’s life when decisions just have to be made. What decisions, you ask? Life. Altering. Decisions. These are the decisions that change the course of your life – the ones that once are made, will forever change your direction and ultimate success.

One-ply or two-ply? Margarine or butter? Boxers or briefs? Ok, these are all very important decisions that need to be made, especially the two-ply issue, though I couldn’t imagine why anyone would choose one-ply; that’s just crazy. What I am talking about is deeper than that, one that affects the very core of your existence and the perception of everyone you meet. Inside the world of business, it becomes crucial. What type of email responder are you?

This is a bigger issue than when Constantinople changed their name to Istanbul! Which, since we’re on the topic of Istanbul, is why you should never make a business decision based on a pretty girl; it’s just not thinking clearly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=IqJXxHi6RwQ

Anyway, the matter of your response (and response TIME) is hugely important in the business world. Who do you want to show yourself to be? Listed below are a few potential options for response times and the perceptions they hold:

1. Immediate | How needy do you want to look? If you’ve been invited out for coffee after a networking event and you jump in the car before they tell you where to meet, you might find yourself in for some disappointment. The issue of time is one to be respected, and if people know they can grab you whenever they want, they will never be around when you want.

2. Within 24 Hours | Short-term responses can be incredibly powerful. Once you have given enough time to process and understand the request, a timely response goes a long in way showing that you respect their time, which in turn should grant you the same favor. People in the business world will already assume you are busy, so getting back to them quickly will show you care about their time as well.

3. Within 24 Weeks | This strategy can be very helpful, especially when working in post-apocalyptic times. Since zombies have already established themselves as the ruling class, it is to be expected that one can go weeks without an internet connection. In fact, if it’s been a while since zombies took over, 24 months can be considered a very timely response.

4. Invisible Responses | Originally created and popularized by The Acme Corporation in the late 1920s, invisible emails were all the rage. You could write whatever you wanted and no would ever see it because they couldn’t see it! The problem was that the un-invisibility potion was not created for another seventy years, thus rendering the ability to communicate impossible. Simply put, if you don’t reply, you lose all ability to communicate.

How and when you respond to a person goes a LONG way in the ability you will have to influence, befriend, or sell to that person. Take the opportunity to consider their needs before replacing the statue you took from them with an obviously worthless replica. If you respect the time and effort they put into communicating to you by doing the same, they will notice.

Why Knowing Your Target Audience Truly is the Bull’s-Eye

Originally posted at Pro/Vision Coaching.

I got into the sport of archery in high school. Led by a friend of mine, I found the sport fascinating, and I followed with stars in my eyes all the way to the store. The place I purchased it at had a full size shooting range in the back and tools to help their customers pick the right bow and accessories while trying them out. In the process of setting myself up with the perfect bow, I got into the challenge of archery, and learned that I actually had a bit of talent.

It has been a while since I regularly made it to the target range, but my love for the sport has never waned. The photo below was taken after a few recent practice rounds, and shows my grouping, and though overall it is nothing to be excited about, it was nice to see a few arrows right on top of each other.

The reason I tell you my background with archery is because of how much it has to do with successful marketing. Here are a few key lessons I have learned about marketing from my time in archery.

1. Practice is Mandatory | During my senior year of high school, all of those arrows would have been touching. The more I practice at hitting the center of the target, the more often I would succeed, and that success would come in groupings (consistently hitting the bulls-eye with each arrow). If you don’t keep at it, the ability you once had will fade away over time.

2. You Must Aim at the Center | If you only try to hit the target, your arrows will be scattered all over the target, with many missing it completely. The only way to consistently hit the bulls-eye is to “aim small, miss small” (The Patriot movie). In other words, the tighter your focus, the better your hit.

3. Know the Target and its Environment | In order for complete success, you need to know everything about your target. How big is it? Are you outside? What’s the wind going to do? How far away are you standing? Is there a vertical change between you and the target? The more you know about your target and its environment, the easier it will be to hit the center. Knowing your target also means that you know how to speak to that target, or in other words, craft that perfect message.

In the language of the business world, I am referring to your target audience. So that you can succeed with your marketing plan, you will have your best success when you treat your target audience like the bulls-eye. Who is your perfect target? What is that person’s environment? And so on…

You will find that if you follow these three rules in marketing, you will see significant growth in the number of prospects knocking down your door. You will find an engaged audience and have the right tools with which to get them interested in your product or service. Happy hunting!

Dangerous Distractions | Small Business Owners and Technology

Originally posted at Pro/Vision Coaching.

Since we are a firm of business coaches, I feel a burden of responsibility to warn you all of potential threats to your business. Our goal is to ensure the longevity and success of each small business owner with whom we work, and because of that, there is a vital news item that I must warn you about.

I have become convinced recently that the game Connect 4® is evil. You may think I have completely jumped off the cliffs of reality here, but do you know how many grams of carbohydrates are in each piece of that game? Ok, seriously, it is evil, and not just for the carb content. The effects of that game pull itself out of the fun and light-hearted past and into the scary present of the adult world in which we live and work. Take the story below about a guy named Rod Jones-Swatrzburg from West Spencer, Virginia, as published in the Secret Adult Gamer’s Monthly Circular.

“The online app version of Connect 4®, known to smartphone users as link4® has become quite a crazed sensation. With the ability to play games against live opponents any time of the day or night, countless people have succumbed to its temptations. At the center of our story is former business owner Rod Jones-Swartzburg. He started a fly-fishing business five years ago, specializing in fancy lures. His business was surviving, despite his self-admitted ability to market, and he was even getting close to being ready to hire his first employee. That is, until he downloaded the link4® app on his phone. Though the games only last a minute or so, he found himself losing hours at a time on his device. Hours turned into days; days turned into weeks; and unbreakable habits formed. Before long, no more lures were being made, supplies dwindled, and his store closed down. When interviewed next to the cardboard box he currently calls home, his only reply was, ‘May I borrow your phone for a minute?’”

This is obviously a tragic story of senseless over-obsession is a smart phone, but the temptation is real. The scariest part is that game is known as a “gateway game”. In other words, people that participate in the link4® world very easily find themselves deeper than they ever imagined, some even going all the way to the World of Warcraft® stage. According to a local gaming-health expert, “If a person walks through the online gaming door, it is rare that they are able to go back. There is a reason why the gaming community is growing exponentially (and gets used), while gym memberships grow exponentially, but never actually get used.”

Time is a precious thing, and it’s only worth spending in the right ways. It’s not renewable (such as money, carpet stains, and Charlie Sheen’s temper tantrums) and therefore must be treated with respect. Guard yourself, keep a constant watch on your profits, and never turn down a free apple pie. For these are where the rewards come.

That’s interesting, I just got a notification on my phone that someone wants to play a game…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Oyfvj5rkteE

Being Organized is for the Birds

Originally posted at Pro/Vision Coaching.

A crumpled piece of paper sits quietly on the floor, its jumbled words holding a message of deep significance, yet silenced by a single hasty act. My dastardly scheme is succeeding; as long as it can survive in its spot until 5 o’clock, the paper’s message will be forever destroyed at the hands of the night-time clean-up crew.

Who am I? I am disorganization, your single greatest enemy to profitability. It is my goal to keep your business down, your efforts up, and your profitability in complete disarray. I keep you from putting away your files, from cleaning up your workspace, and from systematizing your production. I work alongside my good friends distraction, hurried, and anxious. The longer you keep from paying attention to the growing pile of stuff sitting in front of you, the stronger I become, and the longer it will take to put me down.

I thrive in environments of low accountability, low visibility, and low commitment. And it doesn’t take much to get me started. All I need is for you to leave that one item un-dealt with, giving me just enough space to flex my muscles. Oh, and no one is immune. I can break into any safe or any system you put up to protect against me. Why? Because I already live inside you.

I have one weakness and one weakness only – constant vigilance. A plan that you are completely committed to that does not allow for one thing, item, or piece of information to be left out of place. You may think you are a “natural organizer” or admit to obsessive compulsive behavior – but both of those are fallacies – obsessive compulsivity may lead you to clean up a lot, but that has nothing to do with organization. Good organization is not needing to constantly clean up your desk, as it stays clean through continual acts of organization.

I’m not worried. Very rarely do I come across someone who has the will to defeat me, which is probably a good reason why many small businesses fail, they just don’t do what it takes to stay organized. And how can they? They are probably taking too long looking for stuff, too busy catching up on work they under quoted, or too frayed because they are trapped under a pile of junk.

You think you want to fly? I keep you from walking. Besides, I can’t imagine why anyone would want to fly anyway; leave that for the birds. They don’t have to be profitable.