Five Keys To Authentic Marketing

by Andrea Costantine

For a long time, I struggles between doing what I thought other people thought I should do and with what was really important to me.  Lately, I have been seeing all the signs that authentic marketing is the best and only marketing.  So today, I want to give you permission to be yourself.

1.  Always be your best self. In addition to not only being authentic in everything you do, be your best. Give people your all and if you cannot for any reason, then let them know immediately. You will get a better response from people if you are honest about your true abilities than if you pretend you are something you are not.

2.  Don’t be afraid to show the real you. If you are really silly and quirky – show it. If you have a side of you that no one knows about it – tell people. If you have children, talk about them. People want to know you. Remember people buy from people and building relationships are the only way to move ahead. When you show your true self, whether it is pictures of your cats or stories of your vacation, people want to know about it. Don’t be shy; share your message with the world!

3.  Stay the course. You will come across some people who may not connect with you, and guess what? That is completely okay. I learned this lesson early in life and it is an important one. You won’t do business with everybody and everybody is not going to do business with you. We need to connect with people. That’s why there is so much abundance in the world. One person can’t have it all, because there is plenty to go around.

4.  Always give more in use value than you get in monetary value. This ties in with giving your best self, but it is much more than that. Go a step above for people, go with the intent and mindset who can I serve, who can I give to and move away from the thinking of what can I get and what can I take. People can smell a rat and they will run the other way. Give, give, and give some more!

5.  Know your core values. What do you really value in life? Sometimes many people don’t even know the answer to this. They just go through life unconsciously, not even knowing what is important to them. I guarantee that what is important to you is important to your target market. Start expressing your values to others in what you do. Work with integrity and never waiver from that. You will quickly gain respect!

Be yourself, be authentic, act with integrity. When you work in these ways you will attract all that you desire into your life. But if you are going around trying to be someone or something you are not, life will be hard, it will be a struggle, and you will never feel fully aligned with your work and life.

(c) 2010 Behind The Moon, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Feel free to share this article in its entirety and include the Bio information below along with live link back to this blog post.  Thank you.

Andrea Costantine is a writer, speaker, and wanna-be artist, focusing on the good things in life.  She is a perpetual optimist, lover of nature, yoga, travel, and new experiences.  Learn more about Andrea at www.andreacostantine.com.

 

Sprinting for the 2010 Finish Line

By Sabrina Risley

Santa’s elves, sugar plums, stocking stuffers… celebrations, shopping, stress.  With the holidays fast approaching, this seems the perfect time to take a break, right?  WRONG!!  The fact is that December is a month where a great deal of momentum can be lost or gained, making it the perfect month to continue working to better ensure a strong start in the New Year.  But if you are like me, adding holiday obligations to an already busy day of work, can serve to add a great deal of stress.

 To have the best of both worlds (stay on top of work and enjoy some much needed downtime), here are a few things to consider on the work front to keep you ahead of the curve when January 2, 2011 rolls around.

 Focus on Income-Producing Activities.  Don’t shy away from making phone calls to prospects and clients, setting up appointments, reaching out to potential power partners, etc.  If you think people are “too busy” and you wait until January to reach out, you will already be behind the 8 ball.  Call now but set appointments for the first week in January if your contacts are not available to meet or have conversations this month.

 Prioritize Tasks & Activities.  Plan your day the night before by writing down the four to six most important items you need to complete the next day. When you start your day, hit that list before you get distracted by anything else (emails, phone, filing, etc.).  This helps you feel a sense of accomplishment and fuels you to keep going.

 Get Creative with Holiday Cheer.  Utilize the holidays as an opportunity to reach out to your clients and partners.  Consider sending a New Years card to be received mid-January when recipients least expect a greeting.  Send a simple gift or quote that resonates with your contacts.  Create a special coupon or promotion with an expiration date in the near future.  Plan a client appreciation event in the first quarter of 2011. 

 Catch Up On Reading.  If you are like me, it’s hard to find time to read the many business books in the queue.  Take time this month to focus on reading the books you’ve been wanting to tackle but haven’t found the time.  Some of my favorites include:

The Go-Giver and Go-Givers Sell More by Bob Burg and John David Mann

The Referral of a Lifetime by Tim Templeton

The Purple Cow by Seth Godin

The Power of a Positive No by William Ury

Raving Fans by Ken Blanchard

The Million Dollar Rainmaker by Ed Robinson

Love is the Killer App by Tim Sanders

Work On Documentation. Unless you love to do it, business documentation of policies, procedures, processes, etc. often gets pushed aside for “more important” tasks.  If this has been on your back burner, bring it to the front and get some much needed writing completed this month.

Say “No”.  Incorporate “no” into your vocabulary more often this month.  This will help you avoid feeling of overwhelmed and overloaded.  Say yes and take on only that which you feel you can manage and doesn’t take you away from important and impactful assignments.

 Kick Your Heels Up. The last thing you want to do is feel exhausted as you start 2011.  Be sure to take time to nurture yourself and feed your spirit, get exercise, meditate, make time for your favorite hobby, or even sleep in or get to sleep early a few extra days this month. 

Don’t let Scrooge bring your work to a screeching halt this month.  Implementing just a few of the ideas above will help keep your momentum going strong and set you up with the confidence and results to have a strong January 2011, right out of the gate.

 (c) 2010 Behind The Moon, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 

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Feel free to share this article in its entirety and include the Bio information below along with live link back to this blog post.  Thank you.

Sabrina Risley founded Behind The Moon, Inc.® in 2003, a Colorado-based networking and referral group organization that sets itself apart with its motto “grow your business by helping others grow theirs.” Behind The Moon offers several networking events across Colorado’s Front Range, as well as referral groups that attract professionals who network to give rather than get.  You will find Sabrina speaking to audiences about effective networking techniques, the power of partnerships, and principles of service and giving as a means to grow a business.  To learn more about Behind The Moon, please visit http://www.BehindTheMoonInc.com. 

 

From: Sabrina Risley [mailto:sabrina@behindthemooninc.com]