p.s. Wish more speakers followed these 50 rules? Join me for the America Talks Business Conference in Philadelphia on July 25th. It's a living laboratory for the principles above. And a chance for YOU to take part in something very special indeed. Early bird tickets are active so you can register for ridiculously affordable rates right now.
What do YOU think? Please use the COMMENTS area below to share your advice, insights and recommendations on this topic and join the conversation...
Unless you're brand new to me and this blog... you know that my new Do It! Marketing book is about to be released.
You may also know that we hit Amazon #1 bestseller status not once - but TWICE already - and the book isn't even out yet.
What you may not know is that I had help. Amazing help from amazing people. Gurus and friends and colleagues and people I consider my personal and professional heroes.
Some helped a little. Some helped a lot. Some helped WAY above and beyond my wildest dreams...
If you're interested in marketing success, business success, and life success - well, there are a lot of so-called experts out there.
Many are called. Few are chosen.
I've made the choosing easy for you...
Here are 37 super-smart, generous, prolific, sometimes contrarian, and always fascinating people worth following...
p.s. The best thing about them - none of them would CALL themselves a "guru" - they simply consider themselves lucky to be sharing their insights with others who can benefit.
Here they are in no particular order (although each of them is truly #1)
Bookmark this blog post - stay connected with these people - implement their big ideas - and you WILL profit, prosper, and succeed.
What do YOU think? Please use the COMMENTS area below to share your advice, insights and recommendations on the people who have made the biggest impact on YOUR professional success...
Stop being put off by objections that stall your sales – and your income.
Join my pal Mike Brooks for this NEW sales webinar on June 12 (free, of course), where you'll learn – word for word - how to overcome these common stalls:
During the Call:
"We're not interested right now."
"Could you email me something?"
During the Close:
"I'll show this to my regional manager (boss, partner, etc.)"
"We're still looking at a couple of different options on this right now"
Plus a NEW voicemail script for prospects who are stalling you by NOT calling you back!
And please do share the registration link with other folks in your network who are tired of losing sales to the dreaded "stall" - you can point people directly to:
These strategies could make all the difference to help YOU sell more products, services, and programs. Mike's content-rich webinars always fill up, so register now to avoid missing out.
Here are the top 7 things that entrepreneurs, business owners, and independent professionals must do every single day:
Revisit your goals, milestones, and metrics for the day, week, month, and quarter (financial, marketing, sales, operations)...
Ramifications if not done daily - you lose sight of the big picture and get pulled off your game by distractions, trivia, and grunt work.
Put new prospects on your radar via strategic outreach...
Ramifications if not done daily - your sales and marketing start to slip and you suffer from the feast-or-famine small business sales rollercoaster.
Thank your team - whether in-house, outsourced, full-time, or virtual...
Ramifications if not done daily - your team loses their motivation, momentum, and mojo. Once that's gone, they're halfway out the door.
Offer value - in terms of content, your blog, a video, a resource, a referral, a favor, a gift... Ramifications if not done daily - you become just more marketing noise and customers and prospects tune you out and see you as a peddler, not a partner.
Invite engagement - online, offline, in-person, by phone or Skype; ask and answer questions, solicit feedback, invite comments, send a survey...
Ramifications if not done daily - your business becomes isolated as you talk AT your customers and clients rather than talk WITH them.
Recharge your batteries - just like the airlines say, "secure your own mask before assisting others"... Ramifications if not done daily - entrepreneurial burnout, stress, drinking, drugs, and divorce. Don't laugh - you could be next.
Be gracious and grateful - take a moment to appreciate what you have, what you've built, and who you get to serve each day...
Ramifications if not done daily - instead of becoming more and more fulfilling, your business success becomes a trap, a race, and a never-ending contest that you can never win. Stop and smell the coffee!
What do YOU think? Please use the COMMENTS area below to share your advice, insights and recommendations on this topic and join the conversation...
As you may know, my loyal Labrador Retriever, Woofie, works part-time as marketing dog here at Do It! Marketing HQ.
Her website attracts a LOT of traffic and she gets some very nice inbound traction via email (at least for a dog!)
Here are nine secrets to Woofie's online success - and perhaps some good ideas for YOU, too:
Post regularly. She posts updates annually on her birthday (4/29) but the point is that her audience has come to EXPECT that. You should post more often - but with the same dogged consistency.
Don't ask for much. Woofie shares her updates with enthusiasm and authenticity. She never sells. She never begs. She never whines. How about you?
Be cute and relax. Woofie's main job with her web marketing is to be herself. Share what's interesting and important to her and her like-minded followers. Bacon. Cheese. Wagging. Tennis balls.
Let people come up to you first. Woofie has lots of ways to interact with her on her website. You can email her. You can follow her on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. She makes herself approachable and then lets her fans be in charge of getting in touch.
Photos - visuals sell. Her website is 80% photos and 20% text. As my pal Jay Baer, author of the great new book Youtility, likes to say, "Text is going away. Everything online is moving to photos and video."
Let other people help you. Since Woofie has no opposable thumbs, she needs people to answer her email for her. That's where I come in. Folks email her. I respond, pointing out the fact that I'm responding on her behalf because of the whole thumbs problem. Generally, you'll do much better in business if you FLOP (Feature and Leverage Other People.)
Make people feel better about themselves after engaging with you. 'Nuf said.
It's OK to be silly. Especially if you're a Labrador Retriever! And it's OK to be funny, human, and kind if you happen to be funny, human, or kind.
10 kisses, one bark - keep it positive. Nobody like growling, barking and whining. Not from a dog. And not from a blog. And certainly not from an online expert, thought-leading professional, or entrepreneur like YOU.
What do YOU think? Please use the COMMENTS area below to share your advice, insights and recommendations on this topic and join the conversation...
Over the past few weeks, I've come across way too many complainers, whiners, goofballs and goobers telling me how broke they are, how hard it is to be an entrepreneur, and how much they are struggling.
Are you kidding me? QUIT NOW because...
If you want to make an EVEN trade of hours for dollars - get a JOB.
If you want to be ASSURED of a paycheck - get a JOB.
If you want OTHERS to define your work and your value - get a JOB.
However...
If you want to MULTIPLY your own paycheck - be an entrepreneur.
If you can PROVE your work has worth - be an entrepreneur.
If YOU want to define your work and your value - be an entrepreneur.
So you should QUIT right now...
Quit whining
Quit complaining when your ideas and projects "fall apart" (HINT: It's YOUR job to pull them together!)
Quit saying lack of money is your problem (HINT: Lack of tenacity and creativity is your problem)
Quit going it alone
Quit hanging out with losers
Quit freeloading
Quit expecting "zero" investments (time, money, effort) to pay off
Quit following the herd
Quit relying on social media (it's the sauce, not the meat)
Quit believing your own negative self-talk
Quit playing the victim
Quit jumping from one hare-brained scheme to the next
Quit putting tactics before strategy
Quit under-spending and over-hoping
Quit blaming others
Quit blaming yourself
Quit congratulating yourself on "the struggle"
Quit bragging about how hard you work and how little you sleep
Quit bragging (yes bragging!) about how little money you earn
Quit telling yourself you're doing your best, when you're not willing to do what needs to be done
Quit quitting when things seem impossible
Take a step back - breathe - think - regroup.
This is no time to wimp out.
Quit doing this destructive, dumb, demoralizing nonsense.
And start turning things around.
Today. Right now...
Don't make me come down there and slap you upside your head!
And then leave a comment below with your questions, thoughts, and advice on the ideas above.
Are you a DO IT freak? Welcome to the club!! Please use the social media buttons at the top of this post to share it with your network. YOU are a rock star!
Prepare, don't memorize.
Here's another in my series of marketing and business book reviews - but not just any old business books.
Here are the top 7 things that entrepreneurs, business owners, and independent professionals must do every single day:
As you may know, my loyal Labrador Retriever, Woofie, works part-time as 
DECIDE is the most powerful word in marketing.
Good!
