Mid Week Marketing Motivation Quotes and Action Guide

Monday Motivation Quote and Action Guide

Jack Schwartz

Jacob T. “Jack” Schwartz was an American mathematician, computer scientist and professor.

According to Wikipedia, his research interests included: the theory of linear operators, quantum field theory, time-sharing, robotics, and a variety of other high-level software techniques.

Marketing Slogans and Emotional Responses to Back To School Sales

We’re surrounded by Back to School sales this time of year and I can’t help but feel a slight sense of dread.

I hated going back to school and leaving all my summer fun behind.  I’ve been out of school all these years and the words back to school still produce an emotional response.

Not to worry, I’m sure I will experience a new emotion to relate to this phrase when my daughter heads of to kindergarten next year!

It has brought to mind the use of slogans in business.  The good ones just become a part of our culture, our history.

What kind of slogans are you using in your business? Can it be associated with a time of year?  A specific campaign?

As we head into the fall and new marketing campaigns think of yearly or monthly slogans you can brand and use to market your business.  Come back and list your success stories.  I’d love to hear from you.

Living The Dream

I can not believe how fast this summer has gone.

Shortly after the devastating floods in Nashville, we headed north to visit with my family.  While we were away we got word that someone was interested in renting our house… so we took them up on it!

A few weeks later we packed up and moved to Savannah GA.

We have spent the last month playing in one of our favorite cities… and of course on the beach!

Working from home has allowed us to take an opportunity and follow a dream.

How does working from home help you?

6 Days On The Road and I’m Gonna Make It Home Tonight

Thank you Dave Dudley for writing the theme song of the day!

I’m in Moncton, NB on the way to my home town in Halifax, Nova Scotia and although I’ve been lucky enough to take advantage of the Memorial Day weekend I have been stopping at cafes and staying at hotels with internet so I could work along the way.  This is our great advantage to me working from home… I can work from anywhere!

Check out our map!

My “to go” office includes my laptop and cell phone and little else.  I keep a zip drive on me so I can quickly download a file I need printed and ask the front desk to help me or find a local office store and print it there.  Staples is by far the cheapest and they’ll print it for you!  Working from home (ie cafes on the road) is a great way to meet locals.  Some of our best off the beaten path adventures have been discovered while chatting with locals at the various coffee shops along the way.

If you have any tips on how you keep it all organized while you’re on the road I’d love to hear them!

Monday Marketing Motivation and Using The Law of Inertia

The first law in Newton’s laws of motion state that a body at rest tends to stay at rest.  Which brings up the very important point of getting started!

It takes a lot of energy to get started.  One of the challenges of working from home for me was creating pockets of focused work time.  Unfortunately, my office is in the main traffic area of our house so creating this time involved support from the entire family.  Some days it can feel like I’m always in a state of trying to get started, but most days we have a plan.

The goal is to create a pocket of focused time that allows for continual forward motion.  Remove the obstacles, such as email, telephone, and maybe the television that act as a wall to stop your ball from rolling.  Have you ever heard that express “I was on a roll”?  Success means creating a daily habit of getting on a roll!

ACTION PLAN

1.  Pick ONE activity that will increase your success: cold calling, attending networking meetings, dropping in on current customers, increasing blog post, etc

2.  Set a goal on how many and how often per week, I recommend breaking your goal down into daily bites so you’ll be attacking it with consistent daily activity

3.  Book appointments with yourself to accomplish the goal

4.  Manage the “appointment” by setting yourself up to get into the zone, remove distractions and have everything you’ll need at your fingertips.  If your activity requires sending follow up information, I recommending making a note of it and doing that activity at the end of your appointment.  Stay on task and stay focused on your goal.

5.  Tracking your results will help you organize your day effectively

6.  Once you’re comfortable with your weekly goal add another activity working through the same process.

Create success with daily activity!

Family Fun Friday – Nature Wands

It seems like the last year has been all about dress up, make believe and princesses.  My daughter especially loves “magic” wands.  A few weeks ago she was yelling a spell to make me disappear at the top of her lungs, with her eyes closed…  I tiptoed out of the room and couldn’t keep from laughing when she opened her eyes and thought she had actually made me disappear!

With the idea for a wand in mind, we spent a few hours hunting through the back yard for fallen sticks, leaves, flowers, pine cones and anything else that caught her fancy.  My daughter ran around with a basket collecting items, but sometimes make an eye spy game of it.  I’ll describe what I want her to find and she’ll go hunting for it and bring it back to me.

From there you’ll need:  Yarn, Ribbon and Scissors

Our favorite kind of sticks are the Y’s.  A sturdy stick with a “v” open that will allow you to create a bit of a nest to add fun items.  Tie a piece of yarn to the bottom of the stick.  We like thick yarn, but anything will work.  Depending on how much you have on hand wrap the yarn around the stick.  You can completely cover it or leave gaps as you see fit.  When you get to the “v” wrap the yarn tight enough to hold found items.  This is a great place to weave in ribbon and leaves.

This is a fun backyard or destination project and it’s always fun to see how the seasons change the look of the wands.

Monday Marketing Motivation – How To Talk About Your Business

“A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue.  That’s why there are so few good conversations: due to the scarcity, two intelligent talkers seldom meet. ~ Truman Capote

The “elevator” speech  gets a lot of attention but it’s seldom used as a marketing tool.  How often has someone asked you what you do for a living and you respond with your professional category?  How far does that get you?  If your goal is to qualify a prospect or initiate a potential sale you want to create a dialogue that will lead you down that path or at least give you the information you need to know if you’re barking up the right tree.

According to Michael Port, in Book Yourself Solid creating that dialogue can be broken into 5 parts that summarize your target audience, identify problems they face, solutions you provide, and includes results and benefits to your customers.  Depending on the situation and length of time available, you can share what you do while standing out from the pack.  Knowing the 5 elements allows you to improvise your delivery and expand your networking into memorable conversations.

Try starting off with a question like You know how businesses are looking for a way to recognize and thank their customers and employees? And fill in the information when they answer.  Here I may say, Well, what I do it show my customers how to turn their giving dollars into marketing ones with custom made to order gift baskets that are enhanced by the their own branding and delivered in a way that creates referral opportunities.

This is much more of a conversation starter than I own a gift basket company.  But maybe you’re in a situation that requires a shorter introduction.  I could easily turn the above into You know how business people seem too busy these days?  Well, what I do is set up a simplified gift giving process so they thank their employees and clients with a custom gift, by sending me a quick email.

Again, the point is to create a natural dialogue.  Try it with your business and drop me a line with your results.

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Family Fun Fridays – Tea Set Painting

Tea sets are a quintessential toy for young children.  Not only does it encourage make believe play it is also a great way to teach what my mother called “table” manners.

Although tea is said to have been discovered in China during the San Huang period (3000-2700 BC), the very thought of tea makes me think of 4 pm and Royal Albert tea sets.  How is that for branding!

As a busy Mom I’m always looking for fun projects that my daughter can play with on her own; so I was thrilled when I came across a paint-your-own tea set at The World Market.  I’ve since learned that you can find them at various times throughout the year at Hobby  Lobby and Kids R Us.  You can also find them online.  Amazon usually yields a few choices ranging between $8 and $15 plus shipping.

However, this was so fun it became a Family Fun activity.  The World Market kit came with paint and a paint brush so Peyton and I took turns painting our designs.  The paint was a little different than the water color paint Peyton usually uses so we layered it on and generally got it everywhere.  Once everything is painted, wait 24 hours to let the paint fully dry and then bake the set to cure the paint.

My daughter loves that she has an art project she can actually use and is always serving up diet coke tea!  Yummy!  On side note diet coke tea goes extremely well with pink feather boas.

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Mid Week MLM Review – Scentsy

About

Scentsy was founded in 2004 with a mission to create safe alternatives to burning candles.  www.scentsy.com

Products

Scentsy products include wax bars, aromas, electric heat bases, and light bulbs used in conjunction with Scentsy Candles, the core product manufactured by Scentsy. In addition to Scentsy Candles and accessories, the company also produces car fresheners, room sprays and travel tins.

Compensation Plan

Scentsy uses a ranking system for all its independent contractors.  Consultants need to maintain sales levels required for their rank to qualify for available benefits.  All commissions are based on the sales of individual Consultant’s and range 20%-30%.  Titles are reached based on sales efficiency and provide a different set of benefits which increase with the rank.

MLM Rank

Scentsy is currently ranked #5 on mlmrankings.com (May 2010) and is a member of the Direct Selling Association.

Overview

The main marketing focus of the Scentsy business model is women interested in earning extra income usually through house parties and similar gatherings.  House parties are a great way to start a MLM business because it gives you an inherit ability to meet new people and extend your market.  To maintain an online presence Scentsy offers a replicated site (free for the first 3 months) that offers personalization opportunities to tell “your” story and encourage newsletter sign ups.  The newsletter is run and managed by corporate and a great marketing tool.

Through google searches I’ve been able to locate independent websites.  I personally like companies that encourage individuals to reach out to the public in a way that fits their lifestyle and family schedules.  Independent websites or blogs are a great way to brand yourself and reach out to potential customers in a way that introduces you first and the product second.

Scentsy has a relativity low start up cost with the starter kit priced at $99 and is available as a work from home business opportunity in both the US and Canada.  Candles are a product destined for re-orders and with consultant numbers in the 35,000 (Scentsy website 2009) there is room for growth.

For more information on the Scentsy business model please check out their website here and contact a business consultant in your area.

As with all Work From Home opportunities the key to success is a solid marketing plan.  Remember to ask yourself why you want to start a business and how you are going to market it.  This will help you start a business that fits both your needs and your ideal marketing skill set.

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