Urgent and Important Matters

In Stephen Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, he has a graphic called the “Time Management Matrix.” Therein, he says that things that are both urgent and important are generally problems – usually a result of improper planning. However, in Robert Greene’s best-selling book, The 33 Strategies of War, strategy number four is Create a sense of urgency and desperation: Death-ground. This strategy recommends that you place yourself where your back is against the wall and you have to fight like hell ot get out alive. The conquistador, Hernan Cortes, did this by boring holes in his ships and burning them so that his men HAD TO fight the Aztecs and go deeper into Mexico.

The reason I bring this up is to ask you how your business resolutions for this year are going. It is the 26th of January now so let’s do an enthusiasm check. Are you still excited and motivated to accomplish your business/career goals that you set for yourself? If you truly are, you should be pursuing them aggressively. If you’re not pursuing them aggressively, why even bother in the first place?

I’m just saying…

Thanks for reading this post.

The Colors of Your Contacts

For the purposes of this post, there are three types of people in the world: Grays; Browns; and Purples.

Gray people are those who look up to you. For whatever reason, they hold you in high regard and view you as being a higher-up on the socio-economic totem pole. Don’t get cocky about your standing with them. You’re always a misstep away from losing your credibility. Be kind and supportive to them. You never know when one of your fledglings will evolve into a mover and shaker that you’ll have to answer to one day. Hey, stranger things have happened.

Brown people are your peers. I was told that the color brown represents humility and you certainly have to be humble around your peers. They know you in a “Clint Eastwood Kinda Way” — they know the good, the bad, and the ugly about you. You have a similar background to them be it your political views, religion, income level, neighborhood, and/or artistic tastes. You can generally gauge the character of a person by seeing whom he/she hangs out with. You know the old saying, “Birds of a feather flock together.” Your success or failure is heavily influenced by with whom you associate.

Purple people are those that you look up to. Purple is the color of royalty. This is an appropriate color being that these ladies and gentlemen are king makers and queen makers. We tend to look up to them because of the wealth they have accumulated, the fame they have, the power/influence they exert, or the special skills they possess. They tend to be centers of influence and they are true connectors. A recommendation from a purple can truly put the wind beneath your wings and send you soaring to new heights.

What I’ve learned over the years is that all of your success and failures will be dependent on your relationships with other people. Be kind to all those you come into contact with be they gray, brown, or purple. If you do or say the wrong thing, you can end up black and blue.

All the best.

How to get your next job

Cutting right to the chase, below are 7 things I did to get my current job. Please note that this is not a gimmick. All of my words were sincere. Sincerity is a prerequisite for long-lasting success.

1. Get your mind right and be prepared
   My good friend and coach, Ciro DiSclafani (aka, “The Dream Job Maven”), told me that I have to realize that I am a linchpin. According to dictionary.com, a linchpin is something that holds the various elements of a complicated structure together. Best-selling author, Seth Godin, wrote a book entitled Linchpin. It is a must read. With knowing what a linchpin is and realizing that my skill set qualified me as one, I went looking for a company that was to my liking rather than looking for a place where I could fit it. I decided to be an agent of change rather than a conformist. When you are prepared, success tends to happen.

2. Tell others that you’re looking for a new job.

   Platinum rap artist, Jay-Z, said it best when he said, “A closed mouth don’t get fed.” You can’t keep your job search a secret. You have to go tell it on the mountain and then go down into the valley and shout it loud there too. Don’t forget all the places in-between. The funny thing about how I got my current job is that a subordinate is the one who gave me the lead. Don’t judge people. You never know who they know.

3. Research your target company/companies

   Remember, it is all about you. You should not be trying to fit it. Seek a company that fits you – where you see yourself prospering. It is like getting married. You have to know who you are partnering up with. One thing I really liked was that the CEO calls himself The Chief Happiness Officer. How cool is that? I learned that he actually pioneered the onsite outsourcing concept and got back in the game to right the ship as he is displeased with how his ideas are being presented by other companies.

4. Be and intrapreneur

   According to Wikipedia.com, In 1992, The American Heritage Dictionary acknowledged the popular use of a new word, intrapreneur, to mean “A person within a large corporation who takes direct responsibility for turning an idea into a profitable finished product through assertive risk-taking and innovation”. Intrapreneurship is now known as the practice of a corporate management style that integrates risk-taking and innovation approaches, as well as the reward and motivational techniques, that are more traditionally thought of as being the province of entrepreneurship. Being an intrapreneur is what shows people that you are in fact a linchpin.

5. Be a squeaky wheel

   A lot of people submit resumes via job search engines, but you just end up being what Pink Floyd sang about – Just another brick in the wall. What I did was submit my resume through the company’s website then immediately sent a hand-written greeting card to the company’s CEO. Here is what I said in the card:

   Dear Mr. Weiner:

   I know you keep a busy schedule but I was hoping that you could squeeze me in for an interview.

   I recently submitted my resume via email for consideration as an Experience Manager but I wanted to send you a quick note so that you notice me.

   Hey, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, right (smile)?

   I really like what I’ve seen and heard about your company and I think we would be a good match.

   Please review my LinkedIn profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/tyroneturner.

   I have been fortunate enough to receive recommendations from clients, peers, supervisors and direct reports.

   After reviewing my resume and recommendations, I think you will agree that I am a good candidate for joining your team.

   “We should all be concerned with the future because we will spend the rest of our lives there.” ~ Charles F. Kettering

   I hope to meet with you soon.

   Kind regards,

   Tyrone Turner

6. Follow-up with a phone call

   I followed-up my greeting card with a phone call. That showed the prospective employer that I was really serious about getting this new job. The human resources contact told me that most people never call. They just email.

7. Make your mark

   As soon as I started working for my current company, I looked at the way my operation was working and I followed the legendary Bruce Lee’s advice: “Absorb what is useful. Discard what is not. Add what is uniquely your own.” The operation already had a lot of systems in place, but I have been using my powers of persuasion and my knack for dealing with difficult people to improve moral and overall performance. The future with my current employer looks bright!

The point here is folk, that going about getting the job or career you want needs to be approached systematically. Be prepared, be honest, and be focused and committed to get a company that YOU can hire.

All the best.

What kind of athlete are you?

The diagram to the left is called the Diamond of Dispositions. This information was discussed in my book entitled THE WHOLE 9 YARDS.

To be successful in business, you must learn to speak the language of those you encounter while being true to yourself. Don’t label yourself as one type of personality or another, and don’t label others either. This is to be used a a guide to get a quick read on people. Most people do not fit 100% into one category, but their dominant personality type is usually dominant.

Goalies have an open, indirect disposition. Generally their strengths are that they are approachable, affable, patient, easy to talk to, and are very good listeners. They tend to be your better counselors, teachers, and caregivers. They are the best team players and their motto is, “Got to take one for the team.” Their main challenge is that they tend to take too much poop from others as their fuse is very, very long. They are not cowards but are adverse to conflict.

Street Ballers have an open, direct disposition. Generally their strengths are that they are very friendly, funny, daring, and sociable. They tend to be your better promoters and comedians. They are always the life of the party and their motto is, “I like to get my party on!” Their main challenge is that they miss details and they miss information because they talk a lot and are easily distracted.

Golfers have a guarded, indirect disposition. Generally their strengths are that they are very analytical and knowledgeable in the area of specialization. They are experts. They are very detail oriented and methodical. They tend to be your stereotypical accountants and engineers. Their motto is, “Haste makes waste.” Their main challenge is that they tend to be over analytical and slow to make decisions. They may also come off as cold and unemotional at times because they are always thinking.

Cage Fighters have a guarded, direct disposition. Generally their strengths are that they are very mentally tough. They are aggressive and extremely competitive. They tend to be leaders of most organizations and are your stereotypical drill sergeants. There motto is, “Move out of the way so I can get this done!” Their main challenge is that they can be impatient, insensitive, and abrasive.

I hope that you found this information useful.

Give them your business card, and THEIR business card

This is a simple tool to help you follow-up with folks that you meet or bump into.

Ever been out networking and you meet someone that you want to keep in touch with but they don’t have a business card?

Well, here is are prospect follow-up cards that you can use to hand them to fill out.

You’ll need Avery labels #8376 for this (business cards).

Here is the link to the template: CLICK HERE.

Go get ‘em, tigers and tigresses!

You Become Your Thoughts

My last post on the lotus code inspired me to write this poem. Please take note of the unique style of this poem. There are 13 verses in the poem and each verse is in haiku style; three lines where the first has five syllables, the second has seven syllables, and the third line has seven syllables. As is my custom, the last line of the poem will contain the title of the poem. I hope that you like this poem.

“You Become Your Thoughts

It starts in your mind.
That million dollar idea
YOU can change the world.

Get a check-up from
the neck up is Zig’s advice.
No stinkin’ thinkin’!

Kind words are sweet song.
Honey attracts more bees than
Bitter vinegar.

Sticks and stones break bones.
Harsh words scar minds forever.
Please holster your tongue.

The very first step starts
the journey of a thousand
miles. Get moving now!

There is a law called
intertia. Things at rest tend
to remain at rest.

Healthy habits bring
success in uncommon hours.
Master the mundane.

Bad habits enslave.
They waste money, energy,
and rob you of time.

When adversity
shows his ugly face, kick him hard.
Never, ever quit.

Most people will fail
because they believe the hype.
Do they fear success?

Plan your work then work
your plan. That is the best way
to know where you’ll be.

If you do not know
where you want to go, any
road will get you there.

Thoughts are seeds planted
in our minds. Be careful, friends.
You become your thoughts.

Use the Lotus Code to Achieve Your Goals

The Lotus Code is a 2,500 philosophy that lays out a blueprint to achieve success. It has six parts that build upon and support each other.

Here is an overview:

1. Thoughts: Thoughts are things – well at least they can become things. Everything begins with a thought. Books that have really helped me get my head right and attract the people and situations that I want are The Secret, The Power of Positive Thinking, and Think and Grow Rich.
2. Words: Words are powerful. They can make or break people. This is the power of prayer and affirmations. T. Harv Eker’s, The Secrets of the Millionaire Mind talks about making declarations and Anthony Robbins’ books like Awaken the Giant Within are heavily influenced by neurolinguistic programming.
3. Actions: Nike’s timeless slogan is “Just do it,” and that is what is necessary. You have to do something. Books like The Science of Getting Rich tell us step by step what to do to achieve desired results. Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People is also an excellent read on things to do to achieve success.
4. Habits: Stephen Covey reminds us in his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, the right actions to make habitual so that we can achieve success in uncommon hours.
5. Persistence: Persistence, particularly in the face of adversity, is what helps of earn our desired outcome. The universe must be paid in full, and this debt must be paid in advance. Feeling pain and fear and doing it anyway is what turns us mere mortals into the champions that we aspire to become.
6. Result: Everything that we do or don’t do will lead us to this outcome.

Remember, the universe is neutral so this roadmap can lead us to our goal or to a very sad and desperate state of affairs. As it has been said, “We become what we think about.” Truer words have not been spoken. I hope that you found this information helpful.

Kind regards,

Don’t close sales, open them

When I started my corporate sales career in the late 90s, I remember my sales manager saying that to be successful you must close” the deal.” I disagree with that phrase – “closing the deal.” When you meet with a prospect that becomes your customer, you must open the door to new opportunities.

You see folks, this person has given you their hard earned money and in a world of endless choices, they decided to do business with YOU. You should feel honored and treat this new relationship with reverence. When you treat your customers right, they will be your best advertisements. You will be in a great position to receive loads of referrals.

My advise is stay away from the old-school, hard selling ways of the past as shown on this video by Alec Baldwin the the movie Glengarry Glen Ross

Selling is simple – not easy, but simple.

Here is the simple formula to success:

1. Sell a product or service you believe in
2. Ask your ‘suspects’ what they need and what they want – they may become prospects
3. Once the suspect becomes a prospect, give them a simple overview of how your product or service can help them save, time, energy, or money, or just make them happier

It is kind of like being a waiter. Just make sure not to bring the customer pork chops they asked for chicken marsala.

All the best to you in your endeavors.

Baker’s Dozen (3 of 3)

#10
Pay rewards for the results you want

Overview:

Online customers waste time in search of buyers and sellers for their time-sensitive transactions. ReferQuest increases e-commerce’s efficiency by providing incentives for referrers to match buyers & sellers. Clients post referral fees on ReferQuest to provide incentive for uncovering the connections they seek. Visitors refer the requests on to their own contacts. ReferQuest brokers the messages and tracks the dealings between the parties. ReferQuest updates and publishes star ratings of participants, supporting mutual accountability. When transactions close, ReferQuest collects the commission the client had posted, disbursing it to the person who provided the successful referral, and taking its own commission.

Using ReferQuest as a client:

ReferQuest allows you to post notices regarding what you’re looking for, and how much you’re willing to pay when someone (a “connector”) helps you find it. The referral fee you post will attract connectors to assist you as you seek or sell a service or item.

ReferQuest doesn’t take any payment upfront; when you’re satisfied that you’ve found what you’re looking for, the site trusts you to pay the referral fee you set. You can indicate that the transaction is closed by clicking on the status update button that appears next to the record of your posting in your Dashboard.

Paying the referral fee when you’ve finished a transaction will help you gain and maintain your standing as a highly-starred requester. A high rating will help ensure that highly-starred participants will want to work with you. It’s up to you to decide how much you’ll pay as a reward to find what you’re looking for.

ReferQuest does not charge fees to post. It does charge by taking a 20% commission of the commission you post. For example, if you post a $20 reward, ReferQuest will take $4, leaving $16 for the connector. If you want the net fee you offer a referrer to be $20, you would commit to pay $24.

Working with ReferQuest as a connector:

Anyone can make referrals on ReferQuest. Connectors (people who make referrals) don’t have to be professionals. If you see a posting and know someone who could fulfill the request, you can send them a message through the ReferQuest system. Your friend will then have a chance to contact the requester via ReferQuest. If the requester chooses your friend, they will be expected to report the transaction as closed, at which point they will be prompted to pay you the reward they promised.

All members of ReferQuest are on the honor system, and honest participation helps members gain, and maintain, higher star ratings. When the requester closes the transaction (that you helped to set up), you are due the referral reward that they offered . It’s easy for the requester to pay the reward through the site. If you’re the connector and want to make sure you get paid, or if you were referred, and want to make sure the friend who connected you got paid, then you can send a note to the requester through the site, prompting them to pay. Keep in mind that ultimately, however, ReferQuest can’t force the requester to pay… so, when choosing among requesters whose requests you can serve, check to see that they have a good rating.

Getting paid as a connector:

Payments on ReferQuest are made through PayPal.

To learn more about ReferQuest, visit their website @ www.ReferQuest.com.

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#11
Store your files in your own “cloud”

As per the Justin James’s review on Tech Republic’s website, with a huge feature set and a number of different ways to access files, FilesAnywhere has something for everyone that needs offsite file storage.

FilesAnywhere combines online file backup and online file storage into one convenient package. With a huge feature set and a number of different ways to access the files, FilesAnywhere has something for everyone that has a need for offsite file storage.
Who’s it for?

Highly mobile users who are frequently using computers that are not theirs will appreciate being able to access their files from a single location and not worry about synchronization issues.

People who are looking to backup documents (but not entire file systems) will also appreciate FilesAnywhere, especially since they will not need to worry about hardware. In addition, anyone who is looking for a way of storing important documents offsite will want to take a look at FilesAnywhere.

What problems does it solve?

Most users do not backup their local systems. FilesAnywhere makes it easy to perform backups (both scheduled and real-time synchronization) to a location that is not dependent upon a particular piece of hardware. In addition, with FilesAnywhere, you do not need to worry about whether or not you remembered to put the right files on a Flash drive, since you can download them from just about any client imaginable.

Set up a free account today.

www.FilesAnywhere.com

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#13
Type now, post later

From one single interface, you can schedule future-dated posts on all your blogs, as well as your microblogging accounts.

If you run more than one blog, you know what a chore it is to log on to each one and schedule your posts. With Hoot Suite, you can schedule entries to be posted on Twitter and any microblogging site that is based on the Laconi.ca software, such as Identi.ca.

With our support of Ping.fm, you can schedule entries for all the microblogging and status update services that they support.
Recurring scheduling is optional, but it’s extremely easy with Post Later. You select the start date, how frequently the entry should be posted, the number of times that the entry posting should recur, and Post Later does the rest for you while you spend your time on more important things.

To learn more about this wonderful service, go to the following site:

www.HootSuite.com

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#13
All-in-One Messaging

Being true to being a baker’s dozen — 13 instead of 12, I just had to share this tool with you all.

Increase response rates, brand awareness, and return on investment using a single web-based software that integrates every popular messaging channel. For the same price others charge for just email or mobile marketing alone, you can upgrade to a service that integrates it ALL.

You see Mobile Keywords all over TV, radio, magazines, and Fortune 500 websites. People text your Keyword to 69302 to join your mobile list. You can then send direct response campaigns for promotions, coupons, sales alerts, and important news!

To start your 15-day free trial, visit the Trumpia website today to get started.

www.Trumpia.com

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Fellow Entrepreneur, I hope that you found this whitepaper helpful.

If you haven’t already please take a few moments to complete the questionnaire @ www.TyroneTurnerWantsToHelp.com.

When I have a better understanding of what it is that you’re looking to do, I may be able to put you in touch with people and resources to help you reach your goals and help you save time, energy, and money.

Please give me some feedback on this report. You know, things that you liked, you didn’t like, and things that you picked up along your journey. I am certainly open to new ways of doing things.

If you know someone else that may be interested in this information, please feel free to forward this report to them.

Thank you so much for your time, and may the universe shower its infinite abundance upon you.

Baker’s Dozen (2 of 3)

It has been a while but I’m back. Here is the second installment of the 3 part series.

Let’s get right to it…

#6
Send Video Email

mailVU provides the ability to record a video email at any time, and send it to recipients where they can open it at any time. There is no need for the sender and the recipient to be online at the same time.
mailVU video mail is private. Video emails are sent directly to recipients, with the sender having read notification and self-destruct options.
The sender can decide at any point in time to immediately delete the video email, even if they didn’t put a self-destruct setting on the original message.

It’s easy to get started. There’s no download, so all you need to get started is an internet connection and a webcam. mailVU works with a Mac or a PC and in any browser. Video is even viewable on smart phones!

How cool is that!

Go to their website to set up your free account today. However, you don’t even have to set up an account to use this service.

www.mailvu.com

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#7
Video Chatting

Paltalk gives you the best multi-person video chat experience on the web! With voice, video and text chat, Paltalk can make sure you are seen and heard. You can conference with up to 9 other people – yes, 10 people on a video conference.

Just go on ahead to their site and download the free software and get started today.

www.PalTalk.com

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#8
Broadcast your announcements
to 25 people simultaneously

Trust me when I tell you that this is a service that you absolutely must have. It is free and it will certainly help you get the word out about what you’re doing. The service is called PhoneVite.

When should you use this service?

ORGANIZATIONS

* Send Important School Updates * Send Absence notifications * Remind colleagues of Conference Calls or Sales Meetings* Announce Company News * Broadcast Emergency Alerts * Provide Appointment Reminders * Confirm Orders and Product Delivery Statuses * Recruit Volunteers / Substitutes

EVENTS

* Send Phone Reminders of Events * Broadcast Weather-Related Cancellations * Inform New Venue or Time Changes * Provide Last-Minute Directions * Recruit Substitute Fill-ins
* Replace Calling Trees * Obtain Quick RSVP Counts * Find out Who Can Bring What * Make Quick, Instant Thank You Calls * Call for Lost & Found Notifications * Announce
Event Follow-ups

PERSONAL

* Provide Hospital / Health Updates* ‘New Baby’ Announcements * Update Family while on Overseas Duty * Plan Parties and Family Get-Togethers * Send Prayer Requests * Provide Encouraging Words * Recommend New Product / Service to friends * Broadcast Urgent Notifications * Tell people New Contact Details

This is a great service that you can leverage to get the word out to your contacts be they business or personal.

So click on the link below to set up your free account today:

www.PhoneVite.com

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#9
Automate your Email Follow-up

Autoresponders can make your life a lot easier, folks.
The following information is an excerpt taken from www.AllAboutAutoresponders.info:

*** Excerpt Begins ***

Building An Opt-in Mail List

Just as a brick-and-mortar business loves to build a happy clientele that keeps coming back to buy again and again, so online business want to build relationships with visitors as well as customers so they will keep coming back. Physical stores may ask their customers to provide their name for a store mailing list which alerts them to special sales, etc. The online mailing list is even more important than the physical counterpart, because there isn’t an online equivalent to driving down the street and noticing a “Sale” sign in the window of your favorite store. For an online business to compete and survive, it is virtually necessary for the owner to build an email list of people who have willingly given their names, with the expectation that they will be advised about things they are interested in. Building this list can be done several ways, but an autoresponder or email list program with autoresponder functions is usually the tool of choice. You need to be careful, of course, in selecting the autoresponder for this purpose. Some are much better suited to do it than others.

Following Up With Visitors

So you have an opt-in email list started. What do you do with it? A list of names isn’t much good unless you follow up with them about your product offerings. Obviously the basic autoresponder function of responding to e-mail messages isn’t of much value here. You need a function that can send follow-up messages to addresses you already have. And that is one of the additional functions of a good autoresponder or an e-mail list program. It is often called the ‘broadcast’ function for obvious reasons – a message is broadcast to all the addresses in the list at once. Again, not all autoresponders allow this function, and some do it better than others.

Multi-part Courses

Offering multi-part courses is one of several methods to attract visitors to your site. The course establishes you as an expert in some field – even if you aren’t! Any good information source can be broken down into several parts and placed in autoresponder follow-up messages, to be sent at whatever interval you choose. This approach is often used as a sales tool. When the student gains confidence in you through the information you have provided, you can then present your product (hopefully related to the course material) and hopefully gain a sale. You can advertise your free course anywhere on the Internet. Included in your instant or follow-up message would be an invitation to join your opt-in list. Do you get the idea of the power of offering a free course?

Basic Sales

Studies have shown that you need to present your product before a potential customer several times to increase the likelihood of making a sale. To do that, you want to give the potential customer a good reason to send his/her e-mail address. Since he/she may not have enough interest simply to ask for more information about your product, you will want to offer some incentive, like a free gift or service. Whatever the method, you want to get the potential customer into your autoresponder message sequence, then, in those messages, send your customer to your web site to make the sale.

Customer Support

This is a large topic. If you are selling information products, you may want to use autoresponders as the product delivery method. You can provide after-sale support information such as FAQs (frequently asked questions), thank-you messages, request for testimonials, etc. There is really no limit, other than your imagination, to the uses that autoresponders can provide in supporting your customer.

*** Excerpt Ends ***

There are some pretty darn good autoresponder services out there, but personally, I like GetResponse. Check out their site:
www.GetResponse.com

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Okay, see you guys with tips 10 through 13 in a week or so.