Averted Disaster is Microcosm of Today's Business World

"I just wanted to let you know I thought your presentation was very good last night. I know that having to go home to get the presentation had to be very stressful and for most people, it would have affected the quality of doing it. You were able to put that aside and present the information as if nothing had happened. It was very impressive and a tribute to your professionalism. I left the meeting enthused about improving my presence on LinkedIn and I also came away with a couple of leads for my photography services.  I look forward to participating in future networking meetings. Great job!"    Ed Taube, Taube Photography

"Great job, Pamela and my head hurts - whew!  But I'm anxious to apply my new knowledge."  Deb Lasch Arizona Masonry Guild.  Last night was the second One Byte at a Time class. The meeting was held at Westar's beautiful showroom in Scottsdale. The reason I had to "go home to get the presentation" as Ed mentions was that I brought the wrong laptop with me!  My presentation was left at the office. I had to rush from Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd to Tempe and back in 1 hour on the 101!  I'm not going to talk about how many traffic laws I broke.

Instead I want to talk the class. I was stressed. On the way back to Westar, I had a serious conversation with myself about how I could handle the problem. I could stay upset and rattled or I could let it go and get on with the evening. It wasn't easy for me to let it go. I really felt like wallowing in the misery. But I was able to convince myself that the audience deserved better. So I made one apology when I arrived and got on with it.

As I was traveling, Nancy Hugo who came up with the One Byte at a Time idea, stepped up and made the lag time valuable. She involved the group in a Q & A session  supplemented with design horror stories that kept people interested and laughing.

The whole situation made me think about doing business now. We need to learn new things. We need to step out of our comfort zone. We need to help each other. We need to do new things. And we need to do them quickly. Business today doesn't allow you to sit around and cogitate for months before taking action. You need to analyze options and move.

And, of course, you're going to need back up plans! Next time you see me doing a presentation, there will be at least three back ups around!

Including social media in your marketing plans

"As companies decide where to invest their limited marketing resources, there is a distinct opportunity to focus on investing in relationships: with their customers, prospects, employees and business partners. Social media engagement helps build relationships with consumers and influencers as well as social web savvy journalists."

from Lee Odden, CEO at Top Rank Online Marketing

Direct Mail Marketing

Though I'm a proponent of email marketing, there are circumstances where direct mail is the better tool for the job. Here is a well written article I received as part of the American Family Business Accellerator Program that I wanted to share with you.

• Average response rate is 2.6% but can go as high as 5% with a targeted list.
• Carefully preparing your mail piece is crucial.
• Know your audience.
• Repeat mailings increase the success rate. (Remember the 7 touches I'm always harping on!)

http://www.amfambusinessaccelerator.com/e-tips/etips.php?ID=24

Social Site Users Depend on Their Networks

eMarketer article about the increase in social networkers using their networks to make decisions.

social-site-users-depend-on-their-networks