3 Phrases To Stop Saying Now!

If you look up any marketing or PR strategy, you will notice that visibility seems to be priority number one. Well, yes. Visuals do help any cause but content is always going to be king. With this said, what you say is important and it can harm you, your reputation, your company, or cause major turnover within your company!

So, what are the top 3 phrases you must stop using ASAP?

1. "I need you to be more like..." Wow, so much for treating people like individuals. People are not the same... not even twins. So, why are you expecting certain individuals to live up to the expectations of others? Don't drag other people into the conversation when you're having a one-on-one with anyone. Be specific and be direct.

2. "How do you think you're doing?" This is a set-up. The person on the other side of this question will become defensive and this will turn into a game that you don't want to play personally or professionally. Instead of asking someone how they think they are doing, tell them how they are doing at a job or as a client regardless if the news is good or bad.

3. "Hopefully, soon." This is not a commitment to anything and a waste of words. Again, be direct with people, employees, and clients. Don't give a rough and round about way of when someone is going to get started on something. It is OK to say, "I don't know when but my eventual plans within the next (months, years... whatever) are to have you...." If you can be specific, do so. If you can't, say so.

Until tomorrow,

Twyla N. Garrett

Wasteful Spending & Social Media

I was recently asked if spending money on buying book reviews or social media followers was worth it. My immediate answer was "no"! There is no reason I could ever justify spending money to get numbers or fake reviews for the purpose of promotion. Think about this, who are you promoting to? Buying fake book reviews is the worst thing anyone can do. Here's why, the people buying your book really don't like it. They are getting paid to write nice things. And, while you can have all the fake nice things written about your book, 80% of people buy books on Amazon based on a combination of the cover and the summery- not the reviews!

Buying fake social media followers is also a waste. If you load up your Twitter page with 100,000 followers- it seems impressive, but it doesn't equate to actual engagement - which is the entire point of social media. Think about it like this; I go into a store and I pay everyone in the store a dollar to try my new food product and like my Twitter page. So, the people in the store like me on Twitter with a follow and take a bite out of the food product. Maybe, just maybe, .05% actually buy the food product that day. Now, in two weeks I send out a promotion for that product to the people who followed me on Twitter. Do you think I will have a return on investment from that campaign? Nope! I paid people to be engaged. They actually don't like or care about my product and, chances are, will unfollow me in the near future. So, I just wasted a bunch of dollar bills and my time!

I can't tell you about the clients I see who actually buy promotions on Facebook. Yes, their numbers skyrocket, but they never see an actual conversion when it comes to brand loyalty or actual sales. My point here is that paying to get a customer to like your page or like your book is a simple waste of money. You have better chances of turning a paid event sponsorship into real ROI vs. converting a paid social media lead.

Until tomorrow,
Twyla Garrett

Social Media Mistakes

I wanted to start this Monday out talking about social media. I get asked about this topic often, and I don't feel the basics are covered. I read article after article online that discuss HTML5 coding and the SEO debates, but hardly nothing exists on the basic mistakes associated with social media use.

First, let's talk about your profiles. All of your social media profiles should link to one another and they all need to list your basic biography / boiler plate. Make sure you have both your phone and email contact information visible too. If you have a maiden name or nick name, list them within the confines of your profile's content to ensure searchabilty. Publishing an incomplete social profile is a major mistake and yet it happens a lot.

Pitching products through your social media accounts is also frowned about. Think of using Twitter like a walk down a virtual street. If someone jumped out at you and screamed "buy this product now", you would be annoyed! Instead, if someone walked up to you and said, "Hey, I see you're reading ABC. I loved that book so much that I wrote a more indepth version dedicated to the research of C. Here's some more info. if you want it," the sale would go smoother and you would create a REAL connection.

Finally, don't have an autoresponder do your work for you. Social media is about posting and joining live conversation in present time. I don't know how you can schedule present time two Sundays from now, but I see companies doing this all day long. Post to your own social media accounts or hire a live person to write them (and engage people) for you!

Until tomorrow,
Twyla N. Garrett

Direct Mail Campaigns are Still Alive.

Someone recently asked me if direct mail is still an option. Of course! We aren’t 100% stuck on the Internet all day, every day. The problem with direct mail marketing campaigns is they can be costly and you have a lot of other junk mail to compete with. You need to get noticed between the second someone peeps in their mail box to the time it takes to trash (or recycle) what hasn’t been requested.

If you are planning a direct mail campaign, keep reading. There are some tips and tricks you can do in order to stand out and get noticed.

I highly recommend using the shock and awe method. Marketing writer and genius Craig Simpson recently wrote “This marketing method is an elaborate package that you send to people who have specifically requested information about your products and services, and/or have already placed an order with you. The idea is to exceed their expectations, engage their interest, and build their loyalty--and perhaps even a sense of obligation to you--by sending them a package of materials and goodies that's unexpected and so impressive that it takes their breath away.

These packages should include as many items, and as wide a variety of items, as possible. You want it to be exciting to go through and look like there's a lot going on there. Whatever you put in your package should be branded with your name and logo. You want the recipient to think of you every time he or she uses your mug, looks at your imprinted calendar or reads through the materials you sent.”

Some people do believe in sending out letters that look like money is included or creating envelopes that look like they have been hand addressed. I don’t like using these tactics because it is almost a bait and switch tactic that may anger some people. Instead, use vivid colors and rely upon a strong message and a compelling image to make your case up front.

Happy mailing,

Twyla N. Garrett

Phone Calls, How NOT to Hate Them.

I met this one woman who was in sales. The problem was that she dreaded cold calling. I first questioned why she would pick such a field if she hated cold calling. Next, I tried to figure out a way to help her. I thought about her problem, my company, and what is often needed to make a cold call. Here’s what I came up with – it helped her so I’m hopeful the pointers will help you;

Like anything in life, have a plan. The more prepared you are (in any aspect of life or business) the less scary something is. If you spend time developing a plan for your phone calls, they will be easier to make.

You have to feel successful, too. Envision success. Don’t anticipate all your phone calls going poorly. Instead, visualize the calls going well and a percentage of failures. If you have a visual number of ‘no’ phone calls or hang-up calls in your head- when they happen it isn’t going to be devastating to your ego.

Finally, don’t worry about a script. You should plan an outline of what you will say but don’t be stuck like glue to it. I hate scripts because the person on the other end of the phone is unaware of the script and will not stick to what you have thought out in your head.

I truly think these three easy pointers will give you a strong start in the field of phone sales or phone calls in general.

Until tomorrow,

Twyla N. Garrett

Color and Your Website

People tend to use blues, black and shades of red when designing corporate-based websites. While this may be a nice way to design a website, research shows the use of color is changing when it comes to ROI.

In a peer reviewed journal article, Satyendra Singh determined that it takes a mere 90 seconds for a customer to form an opinion about a product. And, 62-90% of that interaction is determined by the color of the product alone. So, boring and corporate based websites that all look alike will not stand out!

This doesn’t mean you go out and start throwing wild colors on your website. There has to be a right way, the right time, and color catered to the right audience. Yellow is associated as a kids’ color. Unless you sell services or products aimed at kids and their parents, yellow would be a wrong choice of color. Orange is associated with discounting products and services. Does this fit your demographic. There is something to be said about the color of psychology. So, it isn’t just about using color but what colors you use and how you use it!

Targeting women? In a survey on color and gender via Inc.com, 35% of women said blue was their favorite color, followed by purple (23%) and green (14%). 33% of women confessed that orange was their least favorite color, followed by brown (33%) and gray (17%).

My suggestion if you are getting ready to spring clean your website, consider color use. Do a web search on the phrase ‘psychology of color’ and really think about who your website sells to and what colors you should incorporate. For some companies the use of color is a bad thing, even with the popularity of color and social media being high. Risk management companies shouldn’t ever use color. It defeats their purpose.

Still have questions? Connect with me on Twitter!

Twyla N. Garrett

Assistants Slow You Down

Everyone knows by reading my blog that I am a huge promoter of delegation. This said, I do want to address what happens when you hire your first assistant. There is a sense of relief and almost a feeling of less responsibility on the business owner or director. Don’t let hiring an assistant provoke a sense of “freedom” from work or responsibility. In fact, with an assistant you should be taking more on!

For example, controlling your own calendar is crucial. Many people let their assistants set up their appointments. Well, this is great if you want to be in hour long meetings or phone calls all day long. You need to control your calendar, period! Your productivity will go down when your assistant starts making meeting after meeting after meeting. Don’t delegate this task- ever!

Do you really need an assistant to book your travel plans? Is this cost-effective? No! Technology has made it so much easier to book your own flights, travel plants, etc. that paying someone to do this for you almost feels sacrilegious. You can mind five minutes in the day to book your own travel plans or dinner reservations. You don’t need to pay someone to do this for you.

You see, assistants can provide some benefit for you as far as performing actual work towards a goal. However, when it comes to booking meetings or travel for you personally – they are not needed. In fact, they hinder you.

Until next time,

Twyla N. Garrett

Data Is Great ; Instincts Are Better

You’re either born a business person or you’re not. It is this simple. I’ve encountered two types of entrepreneurs in my life. Those who know business and those who know how to repeat facts and review data.

While data and facts are great, they will not help you when it comes to the instinctual decision making skills needed to survive in business. You have to know how to read people, read between the lines when considering business trends, and understand the profit potential associated with gut instinct.

Allowing data to navigate your company’s operation is like driving drunk. You’re somewhat aware of what is going on, but you’re not fully capable of operating a vehicle. In fact, operating a vehicle while impaired is dangerous (often fatal) for so many reasons. The applies to using data to pivot your business or business ideas. It’s fatal if not dangerous.

So, this Monday ask yourself if you run your business relying solely on data or mixing statistics with personal feelings. If you’re doing the later then you are in good shape. If you rely only on numbers and figures then ask yourself how business is. I’m willing to bet not as great as it can be.

Until next time,

Twyla Garrett