An Executive with Heart

Transformational Intuitive Life Coach

THE QUEEN OF DREAMS

life coach personal coaching

Imagine a world filled with people who experience peace, purpose and prosperity on a daily basis. Wouldn’t that be great? I think so! You are a beautiful child of God. You have a divine right to enjoy abundance and joy each and every day.
Do you believe it?
Do you realize that you can have everything you can imagine and more?
It’s true!

It’s also simpler than you think and nearer than you realize. Begin today to allow all that is yours. Begin by seeing all the abundance already present in your life today – beauty, joy, nature, experiences, relationships.

I want you to know that you are divine! You are so loved and so supported, there are no words to begin to tell you how much you are thought about and cared for in this world! There is virtually nothing you could ever ask for that would not be met with resounding enthusiasm and joy.

Schedule a Session Today…Monthly Specials

Intuitive Life Coaching Program Testimonials

Hello Beautiful Tina … I have been meaning to drop you a note of  thanks for our last class and the gift of all your teachings … so now I will also add my thanks for this beautiful call tonight . I honor you Tina for bringing such incredible peace, love and wisdom to all those you speak with! Bless you bless you bless you!
With Love
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As I sit here and watch the snow, I’m in awe of how wonderful my life is, in spite of how quickly things change! Even though January has been a horrible month for me (I’ve been riddled with an illness that has left me really fatigued), I have still kept up my attitude, continued to bill clients, have touched based with new prospects and managed to continue working on my writing. I owe a lot of that to you. I just wanted to drop you a line of thanks! Through your wonderful work, I have persevered and maintained my passion for adding a new aspect to my business, and honing this new skill. You are truly wonderful!

I hope that the years are everything you hope, and deserve, which will be nothing short of wondrous!
Best Wishes,

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Dear Tina,

Over the past 30 years, I have had the pleasure of working with outstanding

Teachers. Some known world-wide.
May I share that your material is excellent, but that is not what makes you stand out.

You are indeed special. But that is not what puts you in the forefront.
Your listening skills and information is focused and clear. But that is not what makes you, “uniquely unique”.
It is your vibration, your empowerment and your genuine sincerity and humble acceptance of the Divine. It rings through the telephone with, “soul power”.
May all our journey’s be filled with glory.
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Hi Tina,
Had to record this——unbelievable—-at 5:00 a.m. today, energy was pushing both me and my furry friend out of the bed. Neither one of us could stay in bed no matter how hard we tried—–we were literally tossed out. I/we were amazed- could you do this every morning please!!! And I had tons of energy at work today. Thank you, I was 20 min. early for work.
There is a P.S. to this—–the energy I feel is truly amazing.

You should/must be very pleased with your work-you truly have mastered this technique-rather all techniques. You are the Grand Master and when you say that gratitude is the fastest way to increase the vibrational levels, all I have to do is think of you and study your e-mails and I am most grateful that God put you in my life……how truly loving he is to let us walk with you for a while.
With love,
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“Words can not express my appreciation for you and for the help that you have been.”
The advice today was right on for me.
Much love
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“Just a note to let you know I just landed my first website copy writing job today. Thanks so much for all you have done for me!”
Kindest Regards
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“When I first started working with Tina, I was lost. There wasn’t a single area in my life that was going the way I wanted it to. She helped me get focused and grounded so that I could start digging myself out of the hole. Each day I made a small change in my thoughts and my outlook and those thoughts began to manifest into reality. With the tools Tina has given me, I’m able to meet new challenges without getting bogged down and mired in the abyss I used to “live” in. I can never thank her enough for guiding me back to myself. So far, I’ve lost over 50 pounds, increased the daily “gifts” that come my way, and have more joy than ever in my life.”

D. Magazine Owner
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“I had already experienced one business failing that resulted in bankruptcy and was facing another one when I met Tina at a conference. She offered to help me free of charge. I knew something good was going to come of our meeting, I just didn’t know what. After six months, my struggling publication that was about to shut down, grew 50 percent larger, I increased my revenue 300 percent, and attracted some of the most well-known names in our industry. I can’t believe all of this happened so fast. I know without a doubt that without her guidance I would not be in this place today.”

How Partnerships Can Save Your Business in a Recession

United we stand divided we fall! Nothing could be more true in the current state of the economy. As business grew during the last part of the 20th century everyone got the Gordon Gekko mindset of more is better, especially if it is more for me. I think that was the biggest downfall of our economy. It caused companies to cater to shareholders, and their own bottom lines instead of thinking that there is enough to go around. Enough that is to pay the people of the company, give the shareholders some sort of return while delivering a good value to the customer. Sounds pretty simple but in reality it is very hard to achieve and takes a certain mindset in and of itself to say this much is enough.

Now with the current economic downturn people are being forced to say I think this is enough for several reasons; because their customers cant afford as much of their product or they are unable to get lines of credit to float inflated business success.

So, what is the answer in the current market that can help you make it through the tough times while setting up your business for success when we come out of the recession?

The answer is very simple. Partnerships.

part·ner·ship   (pärt’nər-shĭp’)  Pronunciation Key

A relationship between individuals or groups that is characterized by mutual cooperation and responsibility, as for the achievement of a specified goal: Neighborhood groups formed a partnership to fight crime.

This is one of the key beliefs we have here at rapid success partners. We believe that there is enough for everyone as long as we work together on a common goal and vision.

How do you start the partnership process?

• First you need to decide what you or your company is good at – List as many things as you can to start with.
• Now start narrowing down the list to what you are really really good at. Usually you want to pick no more than 2-4 things that your company or you are the best at. – We owned a marketing agency for 9 years so we would have all the tactical things on our list as well as our strategic skills. Then number the list High to Low.

Your list may look like

Marketing Plan – 4

Company Branding -3

Leadership Development -1

Business Concepts – 2

etc.

• Now that you have a core list, you need to take your top 2-4 and segment them into areas that you could form partnerships in. If you want to go wide with your product you can build referral partners for the stuff you use to focus on. Normally you would charge a 20% fee for the business.

Using leadership for an example since that is something so near and dear to our heart, would look like this.

Leadership – Partner 3

Corporate Leadership – Partner 2

Sales Leadership – Partner 1

Small Business Leadership – US

Entrepreneur Leadership – Partner 4

Individual Leadership – Partner 5

Executive Coaching – Partner 6

Group Coaching – Partner 7

• Next you need to start filling in the partner names. Think of everyone you have every worked with that you believe shares similar values as you and would fit well with being part of your partner group.

If someone you contact believes in competition just mark them off your list and keep moving on to find individuals that believe it is easier with a village. If you don’t know of anyone you can use linkedin, yahoo groups, and google to find people that share your vision. Don’t be afraid to cold call or send cold emails. Just make sure you really could help each other. I have sent emails that just say , I don’t know why I am sending this email to you? I just believe that we share similar values and there may be a way for us to support each others goals and vision. I usually get a response…

• So now that you have your list filled in you need to go over who should focus on what part of the business. For example if you are the small business expert you need your partners to refer small business owners to you and the same goes for your partners that are good with teams or individual CEOs etc.

The process I have outlined here is a little simpler than the full process but the process is basically the same. The purpose of the process is for you and the people you do business with to huddle together and just let the people who believe enough is never enough and business is WAR fall by the way side.

To everyone who reads our BLOG I wish success and happiness in this time of fear.

PS. It is always warmer when you are cuddled up to other people who share your goal and vision than when standing alone.

Mark Ferguson – The Kind Hearted Executive – COO Rapid Success Partners

Do Corporate Organizational Officers Play Games Like Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo

Well I can’t speak for all Corporate Organizational Officers in the world but my answer is simple, yes. It may be because I am a generations-X COO that grew up on Pong, Then Atari, Arcade Games, then PC Games, and later XBOX, PlayStation, PSP, WII and Nintendo DS. My son is only 8 years old so I have a variety of systems now and am aided by the fact that my wife also loves to play games. If I had to rate my top games on the systems that I still have they would be.

XBOX – Have the old xbox not the new xbox 360 because they didn’t have any kid games really. When you have a child you have to usually share electronics and games whether you want to our not.

• Rally Sport Challenge
• Rally Sport Challenge II
• Dr. Muto
• Gauntlet Dark Legacy
• Original SSX Tricky

PlayStation – Have the old one as well since no real kid games and actually not a lot of games I like on the PlayStation 3.

• Champions of Norrath
• MX VS ATV Unleashed
• Gauntlet Seven Sorrows

PSP – Wish they would come out with something good after all these years. I wish they would match the PSP screen with the DS Lite. I would be in heaven.

• Grip Shift
• Ridge Racer
• Burnout Legends

Nintendo DS Lite – I play my ds lite the most since as a COO I like to keep my brain fit and love the touch screen

• Big Brain Academy – My wife and I play this against each other
• Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare
• Call of Duty World at War
• Brother in Arms
• Clubhouse Games
• Civilization Revolution
• Lord of the Rings Conquest
• Grid
• Monster Truck Racing
• Metroid Prime Pinball

Nintendo WII

• Wii Sports
• Carnival Games
• Tiger Woods Golf
• Big Brain Academy
• Metroid Prime
• Top Gun – Old Gamecube game but my favorite arcade fighter jet game of all time.

PC – Don’t play those anymore. Having been around for the beginning of wolfenstein, carmageddon, mechwarrior II, Doom, Doom II, Quake, and my all time favorite Duke Nukem 3D…I have been ruined forever and compare all games to them and well just can’t find anything as fun. For the rest of you executives out there that don’t play games; my advice is to never grow up and find the joy and innovation once again in your life.

Recession – TOP 16 MYTHS ABOUT BANKRUPTCY

Written By John. T. Orcutt

Myth 1: Under the NEW bankruptcy law, there’s no more
bankruptcy and no more help (or it’s too late to file).

Not True. In fact…nothing could be further from the truth. Sure you heard it in the press, but it’s just not true. The news media overcooked the whole story. The truth is that you can do almost everything under the NEW law that you could do under the OLD law. In some ways, the new law actually increased the benefits of filing bankruptcy.

Myth 2: Everyone will know you have filed for bankruptcy.
Unless you’re a prominent person or a major corporation and the filing is picked up by the media, the chances are very good that the only people who will know about a filing are your creditors and the people who you tell. While it’s true that your bankruptcy is a matter of public record, the number of filings is so massive, that unless someone is specifically trying to track down information on you, there is almost no likelihood that anyone will even know you filed. However…telling someone that someone else filed bankruptcy is good gossip…just like telling a someone you heard so-and-so is getting a divorce. So…if you don’t want everyone you know to know you filed bankruptcy….you need to keep the information to yourself. As for newspapers…my experience is that most papers don’t include information about who filed bankruptcy…. and even if they did…think about it….who would be interested enough to read that stuff.

Myth 3: You will lose everything you have.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is….most people who file bankruptcy don’t lose anything.
First….while laws vary from State to State, every State has exemptions that protect certain kinds of property. Using Texas as an example…..there are exemptions to protect such things as your house, your car, your truck, household goods and furnishings, IRAs, retirement plans, the cash value in life insurance, wages, and personal injury claims.  In the rare situation where there is more property than can be protected by available exemptions…there is Chapter 13. In Chapter 13…you can even keep this property by paying a higher Chapter 13 plan payment.
Second…..as mentioned above (Myth 2)….filing bankruptcy does not generally wipe out liens. Therefore…if you want to keep a car, truck, home or business equipment that serves as collateral for a loan….you need to keep paying on the debt. If you make these payments and have exemptions to cover any value above what is owed….you can rest assured you will be able to keep these items.

Myth 4: You will never be able to own anything again.
A surprising number of people believe this….but this is completely false. In the future…you can buy, own and possess whatever you can afford.

Myth 5: You will never get credit again.
Quite the contrary. Filing bankruptcy gets rid of debt….and getting rid of debt puts you in a position to handle more credit….and this makes you look more attractive to would-be lenders. In my experience…..unfortunately….it won’t be long before you’re getting credit card offers again. I say “unfortunately” because I don’t want you to get right back in debt again. At first…the would-be lenders will want more money down and will want to charge you higher interest rates. However….over time….if you are careful, and keep your job, and start saving money, and pay your bills, and do things that will put good marks on your credit report….the quality of your credit will get better and better. Generally…in my experience…if a client has not re-established good credit in 18 to 24 months…sufficient to buy a car or even a house….it’s not because they filed bankruptcy. It generally means that something else has happened after the bankruptcy to hurt their credit.

Myth 6: Filing bankruptcy will hurt your credit for 10 years.
Not true. You are getting 2 completely different concepts confused with each other. You are getting the fact that bankruptcy is reported on your credit report for 10 years mixed up with the effect that reporting will have on your credit. Just because something is reported on your credit report does NOT necessarily mean it will have a negative effect on your credit standing.
First…let’s get one thing out in the open. By the time you need to make an appointment to see a bankruptcy attorney…..your credit is already messed up or maxed out…or both. This being the case….you have no credit for bankruptcy to hurt.
Furthermore…as I mentioned above…in my experience…if you have not re-established good credit in 18 to 24 months after you file bankruptcy…..most likely….it has nothing to do with the fact that you….once upon a time….filed bankruptcy…and it certainly has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that your credit history still shows an old bankruptcy.

Myth 7: If you’re married…both you and your spouse have to file for bankruptcy.
Not true. In many cases…where both husband and wife have a lot of debt….it makes sense and saves money for them to both file….but it is never a requirement under the law. We have many cases where only one spouse has filed. The good news is that generally….if it makes sense for both spouses to file together….they can both file for the price of one filing.

Myth 8: It’s really hard to file for bankruptcy.
No….it’s not….at least not in the hands of an experienced bankruptcy attorney. In the hands of an experienced bankruptcy attorney…filing bankruptcy is easy. The decision to file may be hard…but once the decision is made…the filing part is easy.

Myth 9: Only deadbeats file for bankruptcy.
Not true. Most of the people who file bankruptcy are good, honest, hard-working people…just like you and me….who file as a last resort….after months or years struggling to pay the bills that left over from some life-changing experience, such as a divorce, the loss of a job, a failed business venture, a serious illness, or some family emergency…or because they honestly and mistakenly fell into debt at a young age before they knew better…before they knew anything about budgeting or how to manage money.

Myth 10: Filing bankruptcy means you’re a bad person.
Not true. There’s a reason over 1,000,000 Americans file bankruptcy each year…and it’s not because they’re bad people. Lots of good, honest, hard-working people fall on hard times. Let’s face it….life can be brutal….and sometimes…the money’s just not there. The bankruptcy law were created with this in mind…to make sure you have a way….if need be….to get free from the burden of debt…so that you…and your family….can have a second chance at a “fresh start”.

Myth 11: Filing for bankruptcy will hurt your credit.
That’s not true. Think about it. By the time you come to a bankruptcy attorney….your credit is already either messed up or maxed out. And if it’s already messed up or maxed out….how can bankruptcy hurt it?
The big surprise for my clients is when I tell them that filing bankruptcy can actually help them re-build their credit. Bankruptcy gets rid of debt….and getting rid of debt puts you in a better position to handle new credit….if only someone will give it to you. Therefore….bankruptcy is the first step in the process of re-building your credit.

Myth 12: Even if you file for bankruptcy, creditors will still harass you and your family.
This is NOT true. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. The minute you file bankruptcy, the Bankruptcy Court issues an order telling all of your creditors to leave you alone. No more phone calls. No more collection letters. No more lawsuits. No repossessions. No foreclosures. Nothing. This order has a name. It is called the “automatic stay”; and it is issued pursuant to 11 United States Code, Section 362. The automatic stay prohibits you from any and all collections actions. After you file bankruptcy, the creditor is not even allowed to talk to you. In addition, the creditor must stop any collection attempts already started. The automatic stay is very powerful, and puts the full weight of the United States Courts to work for you, to make sure your creditors leave you alone. If a creditor violates the automatic stay, you have the right to bring the creditor before the Court for Contempt of Court, and to be compensated accordingly. Believe me, Bankruptcy Court Judges do not take kindly to creditors who ignore the automatic stay, and these Judges have been known to punish creditors severely. Very simply, once you file for bankruptcy, creditors must leave you alone or suffer the consequences.

Myth 13: If you file for bankruptcy, it may cause more family troubles and may even lead to divorce.
This is NOT true. Usually, it works just the opposite. Filing bankruptcy is not the problem. The problem is not being able to pay your bills. All good, honest, hard-working people feel a strong need to pay their bills, and not being able to do so, causes them to feel tremendous stress. Unless you do something to relieve this stress, the stress can quickly build to the breaking point….the marriage breaking point. Bankruptcy is designed to get you out from under the burden of debt, to protect your property and to lower your stress level. If your experience is like that of other couples, you will find that filing bankruptcy… and lowering the stress level…. can be a crucial first step in bringing the love and caring back into your relationship….which…..in turn…..gives your marriage a fighting chance.

Myth 14: You cannot get rid of back taxes through bankruptcy.
We get rid of old “income” taxes for our clients all the time. By “old”…I mean income taxes more than 3 years old. Under the law…there are 3 or 4 qualifications that have to be met….but once these are met….these taxes are gone. Please note: Filing bankruptcy does NOT get rid of withholding or sales taxes…no matter how old they are.

Myth 15: You can only file once for bankruptcy protection.
The truth is….you can file and get a ‘discharge’ under Chapter 7 once every 8 years. As for filing a Chapter 7 after filing and getting a discharge in Chapter 13, the wait is 6 years, computed from ‘date of filing’ to ‘date of filing’. As for filing a case under Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code….the wait is only 4 years after a prior discharged Chapter 7 or 2 years after a prior discharged Chapter 13 case, computed from ‘date of filing’ to ‘date of filing’.
There is no required wait time between bankruptcy flings, if the prior bankruptcy case was ‘dismissed’, as opposed to ‘discharged’, unless there is a specific court order to the contrary.

Myth 16: You can pick and choose which debts and property to list in your bankruptcy.
I’m sorry…but you cannot. Doing so would be against the law. Under the law…when you file bankruptcy…you have to list all your property and all your debts. Most people want to leave out a debt because it is their intent to keep paying on it. The good news….on this score….is that you can achieve the same goal, even though you have to list the debt. If you want to keep paying on a debt…after bankruptcy….you can. After bankruptcy….you can go back and pay anybody you want. In fact…after you file bankruptcy….there are some debts you have to keep paying on. For instance….if you have a car, truck or house loan….even though you list the debt in your bankruptcy….if you want to keep the car, truck or house….you have to keep paying on the debt. More importantly….you need to know this. As long as you stay current on the loan…and keep the property properly insured….you are protected under the law …. and you get to keep the property….because…under the law…the creditor is stuck with you and can’t do anything about it.

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Why Santa’s Marketing Works Better Than Yours!

Santa Claus Inc. is well and profitable, right through recessions, depressions and just about any economic scenario. The reason why his marketing strategies work better than yours, is because he uses solid, dyed-in-the-wool psychology. He knows he doesn’t have to use new fangled techniques, when his simple marketing has stood the test of time.

If you don’t believe in Santa, you’d better change your mind, because the fat man from the north pole rocks on and you too can do the same if you stick to the basics. Find out if your product or service matches up by reading the article below.

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle All the Way…

If you go to the heart of Santa’s marketing, the one word you come away with is ‘consistency’. Generation after generation have been exposed to one brand, one message, and the same powerful imagery.

Just like Mercedes own the term ‘luxury’ and Volvo owns the term ‘safety’, Santa owns the word ‘hope’. Every kid worth his Nintendo, hopes he’s got enough points on the goodness scale to justify a mountain of gifts.

Yet, most companies get tired of their own brand. They chop, change and pour thousands (if not millions) of dollars into a bottomless pit of mindless change. Take a look at McDonald’s advertising, for instance. McDonald’s own the word family outing yet their ads have been straying down the teenagerpath.

Does It Make Sense To Consistently Occupy One Niche?

You bet it does! Families go out with their kids to McDonalds. These kids sprout into budget-conscious teenagers that hang out at McDonalds. They have kids and grandkids and guess where they all end up. At the big yellow ‘M’, that’s where!

Santa doesn’t waver. His customers are kids. Like several marketers, he might have been sorely tempted to enter the gift market. With bad advice, he would have tried to get to teenagers, adults and everyone. Can you see the magic still working? Even the tiniest of niches is huge and niches have a way of expanding by themselves.

At the end of the day, it’s the consistency that takes the jingle all the way to the bank. Too many companies lose focus and give you seven reasons why you should buy from them. Santa sticks to one: Be a ‘good’ kid or you can keep hoping!

You Can Spot Him in the Middle of a Crowded Sky

Do you know anyone who comes to visit on a sleigh in the middle of the night? With reindeer and gifts? The reason why Santa stands out so vividly in our memories is because he’s different. The postman does the same thing, but leaves without the flourish.

It’s Really Important To Work Out How Your Marketing Message Differs

Santa’s core marketing term is not built solely on consistent branding but also on a very hard-nosed differentiation. Too much communication out there fits in with what’s safe. Customers have just one slot in their mind. You have to enter that slot at such an obtuse angle that they remember you for life.

Rose Richards runs Office Doctor. What sets her apart from all the rest of the administration crowd is the term, Small business pain relief. Can you imagine your reaction when you hear something like that?

The human mind is intensely curious and a marketing statement like that is pure bait. You want to know what pain relief she brings and how she goes about it-specially if you’re the one in pain. That’s only half the story. The construction of the message elevates her from simple number crunching to brain surgery and makes her unique.

If you want differentiation you need look no further than the guiding light of Santa’s sleigh– Rudolph, with his shiny nose. Can you even remember the names of the rest of the eight reindeer?

One very important point, however, is that the marketing message isn’t just different, but also customer-oriented. Rose takes the clutter out of administration and Rudolph provides a beacon for clearer navigation.

If you don’t have a benefit for the customer, just being different is going to get you nowhere.

Give and You Shall Receive

How many of you are out there networking like crazy? Trying desperately to fill in your steadily depleting bank reserves? You want, want, want! Take a look at Santa’s style.

He’s into giving first. If you probe deep into your mind, you’ll find the people you like best are those who have given you their time, their money or their knowledge. You trust them, and it’s very hard to say no when they ask you for a favor in return.

The deepest core of human emotions is fear. Every single product or service, without exception, is sold on the basis of a problem. The only known antidote to fear is TRUST. When trusts struts upwards, fear banishes itself to penguin land. The more you pile up the trust, the more you can do business.

Wouldn’t Santa be able to sell you just about anything? Would he be able to cross-sell and up-sell product? Santa could knock on your door next summer and you’d be more than happy to have him join your barbeque.

It’s up to you to build up the trust one Lego block at a time. Identify your clients and see what you can give them. It could be information, time or even a chocolate covered scrumptious cookie. It’s the old ‘What’s in it for me?‘ theory. If you can’t find something calorie-ridden for their minds or bodies, they won’t want to see you.

Play Santa. It works.

He Knows if You’ve Been Bad or Good…

Heck Santa knows his customers. He even knows when you are sleeping, or awake.

Then, there’s you. Look at your biggest customer. What’s her name? When is her birthday? Does she like Indian curries or sushi? In curries can she handle hot or medium? What does she think about you? What doesn’t she like?

You’re guessing for sure. You can’t be dead certain because you’ve been so busy looking at dollar signs that you’ve missed the plot completely.

The reason why Santa’s marketing works is because he intimately knows your individual needs. If you want a drum kit, you get one. If you want a Barbie, you don’t up sulking with a xylophone.

Santa knows because he’s interested in giving. To give, you have to know exactly what the receiver wants or your gift is not worth the packaging it’s wrapped in.

Some people worry about invading personal privacy. Hogwash! When was the last time you got upset because a supplier turned up with a big chocolate cake (your favorite) for your birthday? or with rare stamps for your son (because he loves collecting stamps)?

Santa’s invades our privacy gently and uses it to give, not to take. That’s why we don’t mind it. The tax department on the other hand, uses our information to take and therein lies the principal difference.

Once a Customer, Always a Customer

Santa Doesn’t Lose Customers. Period.

One of the primary reasons why he’s able to achieve this amazing feat is because he thinks of his customer’s customer. His customer is the kid, who in a few years gets a little wiser about Santa and his customer’s customer is the parent who has the amazing power to get their children to be nice notnaughty, if only for a short while.

Since the concept works in their favor, they do all the advertising. Without TV, radio or the Internet, Santa’s message gets a grip on millions of kids around the planet. These kids grow up and the marvel of Santa is handed down through the generations.

While It’s OK For Santa, How Would This Work In The Real World? Say, If You Sold Jeans.

Jeans West, a jean retailer, has several of the answers. I needed one pair, but Stephanie (the sales girl) sold me two–not by hassling me, but by gently reminding me I would get $20 off the second pair.

Then, with my purchase, she gave me a gift voucher of $10, for my use or to pass on. They, also signed me up for a loyalty program that offered to give me a 10% discount if I purchased over $250 worth of product in the next 6 months.

This Is Effectively What Jeans West Did to Make Me a Permanent Customer.

Step 1: The sales person asked the right questions to find out my need.
Step 2: She up-sold the product giving me good value for money.
Step 3: A gift voucher with a validity date, ensured an additional purchase. Or even better, the chance for me to pass it on to another person thus ‘creating a customer’ for Jeans West.
Step 4: Tying my fickle consumer head into a loyalty scheme. They wanted me to stay with them forever.

Santa’s steps may vary, but in essence he ties you into a solid loyalty program that is near impossible to get off. It’s ‘customer get customer’, rather than ‘advertising get customer.’ It’s cheaper and it works!

In conclusion here are the main points why Santa’s customers keeps coming back. These concepts may sound old, even trite, but have been proven time after time to work well. Test them against your company and brand to see where you can learn from the man from the North Pole.

1) Solid branding:We’re not talking lease here. Consistency is the key. This applies everywhere from networking meetings, advertising to any sort of communication that goes out. Keep hammering home the same unique message and put it up front. The weather changes all the time which is why we can’t trust it.

If you must change, it’s because your old message isn’t doing a complete job. I changed our first baseline from ‘Recession proof business principles’ to‘Reactivating dormant business clients.’
The proposition was the same but the second line got 10 times the response.

2) Differentiation:Santa knows he can be a courier with a difference. You, too, can create your own legend. Nike used Just Do It. Coke threw in the concept, Rum and Coke, indelibly burning the word classic into our consciousness. Sameness is in your mind. No matter how many brands exist on the market, your product has a fingerprint of its own. You just have to dig deep to find out.

3) Build trust by giving first.Life is all about sowing, then reaping-but sowing comes first. If you don’t give first, you will only get limited results. The more you stop thinking of yourself and focus on what the customer needs instead, the more you are trusted. Business is all about trust. If you don’t have it, you’re yesterday’s soup.

4) Know your customer… Like you know the hair on your head. Data collection and its optimum usage will get you right into their minds and keep you permanently rooted in. Every time they see you, they should think you are Santa coming to town.

5) Reactivate dormant clients They are all volcanoes. Sitting there with the power to erupt mightily. Figure out who they are and how you can work in tandem with them. Forget your product or service. That’s a given– It has to be good. Find out the ‘everything else’ factor and you will keep them for life.

Like Santa does…

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©2001-2008 Psychotactics Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Wouldn’t you love to stumble upon a secret library of small business ideas?Find simple, yet electrifying ideas, on copywriting, public speaking, marketing strategies, sales conversion, psychological tactics and branding. Head down to http://www.psychotactics.com today and judge for yourself.

Marketing You Can only Buy With Your Heart – Illinois firm thanks loyal workers with huge bonuses

By CARLA K. JOHNSON – Associated Press

Nov. 28, 2008, 6:53PM

CHICAGO — Even though employees at the Peer Bearing Co. no longer work for the Spungen family that recently sold the Waukegan-based ball bearings maker, they still received a turkey each this Thanksgiving in keeping with tradition.

But even better was the gift that came in mid-September, when the Spungens threw a party to celebrate the company’s acquisition by a Swedish company.

They gave away $6.6 million in year-end bonuses to Peer’s 230 employees, decided by a formula based on each worker’s years of service.

“My grandfather was always charitable,” said Danny Spungen, grandson of Peer founder Nathan Spungen. He said Laurence and Florence Spungen and their four children decided on a bonus formula a year before the acquisition closed.

He said the decision was “a gamble that we would come out OK as well.”

Family members signed two thank-you cards to each employee, one in Spanish and one in English, expressing gratitude for “the loyalty and hard work of our employees over the years.”

“They treated us like extended family,” said Maria Dima, who works at the company along with her husband, Valentin. “We won the lottery.”

On the day the checks were distributed, Valentin Dima watched as co-workers broke down in tears over their bonus checks. He drove home first, then opened his envelope: $33,000. His wife received a check for a smaller amount, and the two Romanian immigrants have since taken a Caribbean cruise to celebrate.

“This company gave us stability, so we dare to spend some money on such a thing,” Valentin Dima said.

While neighbors and friends faced new financial strains, the bonuses have helped Peer employees breathe easier.

“I know people who work for corporate America are not going to get treated like that. And most of the family-owned businesses are not going to treat you like that,” said Dave Tiderman, who received $35,000. “This is something that just really doesn’t happen.”

Tiderman, who started at Peer in 1985 and worked his way up from the warehouse to assistant product manager, said most of his bonus will stay in the bank because of the uncertain economy.

“I do have to put some tires on my truck,” he added.

Jose Rojas, who works in Peer’s customer service department, said he plans to save his $10,000 check for his son’s college education.

Peer made $100 million in sales last year and was acquired for an undisclosed amount. The new owners intend to operate the company based 40 miles north of Chicago as a wholly owned subsidiary. Workers have been told that most will keep their jobs.

Free Marketing Strategy Help During the Recession

Written by Mark Ferguson (trueyoumarketing.com)

Like most of you I have been reading the news and seeing how bad many of the businesses are getting out there. To try and help we have offered 1 hour free Marketing Strategy sessions on a first come first serve basis to our readers. We started offering the help many many weeks back and even though we have many thousands of readers each month, only one firm called for free help. They were very nice and sent us a much appreciated thank you card for taking time out of our lives to give back.

This brings me to the question, “Is it really bad out there? or Are our readers doing better than most? Or is it the fact we were trying to help for free with no strings attached that caused only 1 out of 40,000 readers since the special started to email for a session?

Maybe it is the free part. You know to good to be true so it probably is thing… I am here to tell you it is true. There are no strings attached. No contingency. Just two very caring marketing strategy experts trying to help ease the pain that we see around us and read about every day on Forbes.com and Money.Com.

So for the last time this year I will give our readers a chance to email and schedule a session. You can email using the contact form on the site. It does not put you on a list or anything in case you were wondering. Remember it is on a first come first serve basis.

Wishing you great success.

The Kind Hearted Executive

The Number 1 Thing You Need to Know About Information Product Marketing

You have spent thousands of dollars developing your new information product and website. All you need now is the waves of people on the Internet to show up and variously consume what you have created for them. You know, so you can retire in two weeks. Oh if it were just that easy… From people who sell get rich quick on the Internet you would think it is just that easy. Build it and they will come! The truth is however it is not that easy. Yes, that’s is right. I have just spoken the words that you hate to hear, the truth that most people on the Internet will only tell you when you read the fine print after you have purchased their marketing product.

You know:

• Your Results may vary
• Your Results will vary
• Results Not typical
• Example Profits are for demonstration purposes only and not reflective of the results you may achieve (My Personal Favorite)

Now you may be sitting there going great, I wish someone would have told me this before I spent my life’s savings. Now what?

Here it is. The number one thing you need to know about online information product marketing is,

It takes a village.

It is who you know not what you know. Basically just like it was in high school, college, work, and every other thing you have ever participated in.

Here are three categories information product developers fall into and ways to market your information product…

Mr. or Ms. Money Bags

If you have loads of cash or open credit, one of the fastest ways to build your village is to buy your membership to the village. What’s the price of membership? Well, that depends. The top tier with super guru types like Dan Kennedy could be $100K or more. Downline from Dan, you can get in for as little as $19K with mentees such as Alexandria Brown. You can also gather at places such as the Info Product Summit to network with other up and coming info product marketers. Attending conferences, seminars and other places where information product marketers gather grants you access to multiple JV opportunities.

On a Budget

Not as sexy as attending a live event, but can get the job done. Once you locate other people who serve your target market and who offer a complementary product, dial them up or send an email. If you’ve purchased their product and you are a raving fan, all the better – let them know you appreciate what they are doing. Offline, the idea also applies. Network with like-minded companies and professionals, and get to know where you can help them market, and how a joint venture would escalate sales.

Spent All My Money Developing My Product

First, let’s hope that you did some market research before you spent all your money developing your product! Creating a product in a vacuum is a sure recipe for failure. So, you’ve developed your product and there’s no money left. What do you do now? First, focus on what you want. Think about how many of these products you want to sell – focus very hard on this for about five minutes. Then write down all the ideas that come to you. Don’t eliminate any ideas… just be the scribe and write them down. Next, take a look at the list, and consider which ones you can do right now with just time and effort. Let your mind fill in the blanks of how you could accomplish any of the other ideas. Pick one and get moving. As your mind comes up with other ideas, add them to the list.

Beware the get-rich-quick, opportunist mindset that is all-or-nothing. This is a surefire way to go broke and blaze a trail to failure.

If you have questions or are ready for a marketing strategy to accelerate your business success feel free to use the contact form on our blog site and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

The Connected Strategic Mind

The other day a client was talking with me and was wondering how my wife and I are able to pick up systems, new businesses, and more so easily. And is there a way that they can become better at what we are able to do.

The connected mind is a mind that knows it is part of a spiritual, universal, and above all else human connected system that is partially based on perception. From a very early age I knew we were part of this grand connected game called life and everything, and I mean everything has a life chain (like biological systems in science) and the human life chain like some other animals has a perception based component to it. I know these are some deep thoughts so I will try to visually describe it to you as best I can. This way maybe just maybe you will be able to move in and out of the different planes of this game and take your life and business to the next level.

In a typical mind that has been forced into focus by the way we teach in schools around the world there are set options. You are taught about things, and some cause and effect, but only to a very narrow degree. Meaning if you throw a ball off of a building, it will fall down because of gravity for example. You never take it to the next level by merging the norm with the interaction to the world, you, the people around you and even the universe.

In a connected mind every time something happens you start to see patterns kind of like the matrix and everything is connected in this weird fabric that we call life and I am part of it. Now my wife and I both hatted school because we never thought there was one way to do something.

So in the example above. If I were asked to drop a ball in science class, since I have no set rule ,I can do the action, but my mind is free to move through emotion and association. So I might notice the ball in my hand, I may ask why am I doing this experiment because I know it is silly, or the ball may remind me of a bolder, and then a planet, then a meat ball, and then I may smell it, and then notice the people around me and how they are acting in the same experiment etc. or is there someone on another planet doing the same thing right now having the same thoughts, how many people will talk about this later in a good way or make fun of the teacher. Much of this is called associative thinking. The main difference is you are not trying to connect the points like with a therapist, you are allowing what you know to fill in the connections while being open to find out what you don’t know.

Have I lost you yet… LOL

Have you every heard you can’t see the forest for the trees, well imagine being able to see the forest, the trees, the sky, the ground, the planet, the streams, the people in it, the outside perspective of the world from space and on and on. If you were able to do that, do you believe you would be able to have an advantage over your competition in business This is why most people look for us to help them with their marketing and business strategy.

How you can start to become more connected.

1. Ask what if whether you are invested in a belief or not.

What if I were Christian, Muslim, Hindi,New Age, non believer…..just what if. What if my parents were? I used this one quiet a bit in college when people would say these people or those are going to hell or whatever. I would say, “what if you were born in a Muslim country?” You would most likely be Muslim until you had discovered yourself and were old enough to decide what is right for you Muslim or not. My favorite one was, I never met a baby that popped out and said I am Christian or whatever. FYI I am a happy graduate of Dallas Baptist University.

2.  Learn Learn Learn

Be a life long learner watch people, watch educational TV, read on the Internet, Great blogs, Newspapers, religion, and look for the connections in things, thoughts, and always ask why or why not. If a politician says you should vote this or that way ask why and learn. Please don’t say I am a this or that and not have a real answer why…

3. Pretend that the world is all connected (IT IS) until you start to feel it automatically.

Play the chain game. Like the story of the butterfly that flapped its wings and started a hurricane. Find something that you know in your business or other wise and look at it like a game and track it forward and back and then out

Example:

I sell Marketing Strategy

It is a Service

It helps people get their message out

The message helps people find this product

The product is making their life better

They are spending more time with their family

My client is less stressed

They are able to be themselves

They have more money

They give a lot to charity

I am helping them make more money for charity while helping their customers have a better quality of life.

I am giving more to charity by helping them be more successful

The people that are being helped by the charity are having a better quality of life

I am helping the world be a better place

etc…

4. Be an actor

Let your thoughts go into whomever you want to experience. If you want to be a fireman or sell a product to them, let your thoughts go into everything you know about it, and write the story as far as you can in your mind. DREAM BIG, YOUR MIND KNOWS NO DIFFERENCE! Think about going to school, taking the exams, putting on your clothes the first time to go to work, seeing the firehouse for the first time, feel the experience. This is what method actors do and why they are so good. Then see how this job makes a difference in so many peoples live, see the people you save, the property you save, the hope you provide, the fear you may have for your own life, or how your product can address all these things. If you do this even a few times you will never look at a profession, or experience the same.

5. Related all of these experiences to your business

I know right know you are probably going how does this relate to business. Well you will be amazed by doing just these few things how much you really have seen and know about the world, people, and business that you didn’t have a clue was there. You will flush out who you are, who your customers are, how you relate to the world and double or triple your revenue.

I am no the best writer so if you are still lost shoot me an email or just hire us to help you have the business, clients, or life you always dreamed of.. SMILE

Incoming search terms for the article:

• My wife & I have Connected Minds

Why Do We Have So Many Marketing Sites

The other day I had someone that was a researcher like myself look around follow some of my links and come up with a quick question.  Why do you have so many sites? I thought to myself for a bit and decided it would be nice to give a little background on our sites 87 to be exact even though only a few are in production at any given time.

The site that most people read is www.TrueYouMarketing.com This site was my first custom WordPress site and is the official site for our small business article blog. We have about 5-10 thousands readers each month that come to find good business information from ourselves and other sites that we read who love for us to share their content.

Our corporate site which is our company name the one80group www.one80group.com  This site has been in production for 10 years or so and is where most people know us from. It is a static boring site listing all the wonderful clients that we work with and some of what we do for them, the same clients that you see on the client pages on our blogs.

The two newest ones that you may see links to from my postwords seo stuff are www.billiondollarmarketing.com and www.bignobody.com I created these two sites to help with SEO and give me a place to play around with SEO, WordPress plugins, and other fun things without fubaring my site www.trueyoumarketing.com  that is part of the FORBES blogging network etc. These two sites automatically get their content from the main site through the WordPress syndication plug-in and use a modified version of the wp-seo plug-in so that each one points to the next one creating a circle. Now before anyone goes what about the duplicate content thing…..well lets just say that is something for myth busters to look into.

Right now you might be thinking ok that is three sites, what about the other 84. Well they are for many different things, but most just have 1 page that links to www.one80group.com so that we stay first page for marketing strategy experts and strategy experts.

If you get really bored and want to know more shoot me an email at mark (at) one80group.com. Sorry had to do that because of the email spiders. On another note since we love small business I will be donating 1 hour a day to help someone with their business starting Monday October 6th. It will be first come first serve. Send me an email if interested. Just trying to do my part to help business owners impacted by the recession.

Have a great day.