Show Your Gratitude

A few years ago I worked with my friend Elizabeth Varian on a website for a wonderful lady named Lori Saitz. Lori’s incredible products were truly an amazing concept to me at the time, and I knew that she would be successful…not only because of the product, but also because of her attitude and professionalism.

Since that time her business HAS grown, and just recently – March 24, 2009 – one of her products (Zen Crunch) was featured on the Rachel Ray show as the “Snack of the Day”!

The absolute best part of Lori’s business-Zen Rabbit Cookies, is that it’s built around the concept of expressing Gratitude. No matter what you need to show your appreciation for, or to whom you need to show it, she’s got a product for you! It’s a great way to say “Thank you!” to your customers or clients! Why not pop in over at Zen Rabbit and show your gratitude for all your VA does to help make your business successful?

Choosing A Browser Safe Font

It’s a frequent discussion when designing websites…

Why can’t I use a really cool looking font everywhere on my site?

The answer is simple…You can, IF you make everything an image, or you go with an all Flash website (not recommended for SEO). Why is this? Again, simple, but not widely understood….Not every computer in the world has those cool fonts installed on it.

Scenario: So let’s say your using a really neat handwritten style font you have called “Ex Ponto Pro” because you want your site to look like a handwritten letter. On your machine it looks fabulous! However, you decide to check out your site on your son’s laptop, and then you see it….a substitution! His laptop doesn’t have “Ex Ponto Pro” installed on it, so it’s substituting that font with something it has…and boy is it UGLY! The whole idea of your site is completely moot because the font’s not right!

Solutions: There are two ways to fix this issue. They can and should be combined.

(1) Create Images. You can make every page full of textual images, increase your load time and lose all your Search Engine Optimization, or you can choose certain sections that you really want to stand out, and change those text areas into images. Keep in mind that images do not carry the same “weight” with the search engines as text (even with detailed alt tags), so you should make every effort to only use non-keywords (or keywords that you repeat frequently) in your textual images. (example for me would be: design, graphics, purchase, contact, about, email, etc.).

(2) Use Browser Safe Fonts. Using these commonly installed fonts will mean that your site content will look the same no matter who is browsing, and what type of computer they are using (PC or Mac).

List of Browser Safe Fonts:

Arial
Book Antiqua/Palatino
Comic Sans
Courier New
Georgia
Lucida Console
Tahoma
Times New Roman
Trebuchet MS
Verdana

Verdana happens to be my personal favorite, because there is a very significant difference between bolded and normal…why bother to bold something if it’s not going to stand out?

Once you understand this very important aspect of web design, you’ll be able to make the decisions necessary to create your “killer” website!

Your tagline…text or part of your logo?

I’ve written before about using your tagline (or slogan) in your logo, so most of you know that I’m against it in the logo in the first place (The Memorability of Your Logo). But another good point to bring up when it comes to the internet is whether to use a text tagline, or an image.

It’s actually a very easy question to answer. Does your tagline include any of your keywords? If that answer is yes, then your tagline should be text and should be placed in your website header.

This was a lesson I learned early in my internet career. When I went online in 2002 with my Stationery shop, I decided that my creativity meant that I could design and implement my own website. I had a logo for “Classic Creations Stationery & Gifts” and so I used it. Within 6 months of starting my website, I had learned a lot about keywords and SEO. I realized that “Classic Creations” could be anything and while it was important to my current catalog customers (for finding my site), my crucial keywords were “Stationery and Gifts”. Thus, I made the decision to use them as a text tagline in my page header. Of all the things I did back then, that was the smartest! My traffic tripled within the days and weeks following that change!

If your tagline is something akin to “Your One Stop Shop”-there are two issues at play here…

ONE: it obviously is not important to your SEO, so use an image with a cool font.

TWO: WHY aren’t you using keywords in your tagline and taking advantage of the benefits it will provide to your Search Engine Optimization??? Just adding one word would make all the difference: “Your One Stop Stationery Shop”. And suddenly the text “stationery” is on the top of every page of your site.

Something very important to consider…

Empathy for Your Clients is Key

I am often asked what is the one communication skill small business owners need to have to be as successful as possible. The best advice I can give is to be receiver-oriented, which is the fancy communication way of saying stay focused on your clients’ and prospects’ needs and wants. Sure there are techniques for all sorts of communication skills like becoming more confident; boosting your “know, like, and trust” factor; putting together a presentation; and rules about email etiquette. Certainly learning more about all these areas will improve your professional communications.

 

But what’s most important to remember is to always keep in mind your client or prospect. If you pay more attention to your clients and prospects and put yourself in their shoes, you’ll be practicing empathy. And empathy is the most important communication skill a person can have at work or at home. By putting yourself in the other’s place, you’ll get a sense of how it feels to be bombarded with 20 emails in a week from the same person trying to sell you something, for example. You’ll understand how it could take a little while to make a sale until the other person knows you and your business and feels you and what you have to offer are trustworthy.

 

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Develop Your Interpersonal Communication Skills

for Success at Work and at Home

As communication teacher, I am often asked by students why the skills I teach are important. A lot of what I present in the classroom relates to interpersonal skills in the lives of the college student: with friends and family. However, many students are taking college coursework to prepare them for a professional career. It’s important to realize that communication skills are easily transferable. Just how are the interpersonal skills someone learns useful at both home and work? It’s not that big of a stretch, really. 

Look at the job postings in the paper or at one of the online career search sites. What is the ONE skill required of almost every job? GOOD INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS. What is the one skill that will make a marriage great? It’s not being a fantastic cook or a fabulous lover (although both could be benefits!). It’s GOOD INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS. It’s no accident that it takes the same skill set to be successful in marriage and at work. 

With good, solid, interpersonal communication skills, you will be more likely to succeed in both your marriage and in your career. What are some of these skills? Take a look at any basic interpersonal communication book and read the titles of the chapters. You’ll see perception, listening, language, emotions, non-verbal communication, self-disclosure, communication climate, conflict resolution, and others. Being excellent at these skills will make you excellent at being a good friend, good spouse, and good employee, boss, co-worker, or business owner.

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Public Speaking as a Powerful Tool to Get Business

Believe it or not, I have met dozens of business owners who have avoided opportunities to present their products or services to potential prospects because they were terrified of getting up there in front of an audience. When I hear that, I want to both hug them and shake them at the same time. It’s ok to be nervous, but one of the fastest ways to grow your business is by public speaking and avoiding it is like cutting off your nose to spite your face. It’s so simple to develop a great presentation. Once you get out there and present it a few times, you’ll see how great speaking can be to help you get more people wanting to do business with you.

If you are the person in the front of the room sharing important information that your audience wants to hear, they will be excited to learn what you have to teach them. You have instant credibility just by being the person asked to speak as an expert on a particular issue. Further, when you finish, many in your audience will want to hear more. People will line up to talk to you because they want to know what you think about their personal story. Or they have an example they didn’t want to share in front of the group. What a perfect opportunity for you to start developing a business relationship!

Not sure where to begin? Here are some tips to consider as you develop a presentation that will wow any audience and get them interested in doing business with you.

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E-Mail Etiquette for Effective Business Communication

Questions Answered

As a communication coach and consultant, I often receive questions from folks in all areas of business who want to know the best way to handle certain situations. Usually people want to know the best way to approach someone about a particular issue. The issue that draws the most interest is e-mail communication. Clearly many people we interact with don’t know the rules of etiquette for business e-mails. When someone breaks those rules, responsible business people want to know how to deal with that situation tactfully and professionally. Here are several questions I’ve recently received along with my answers:

1. A group email is sent out by a new business announcing their Grand Opening. No RSVP is indicated, but should we reply to the person with an e-mail response?

Felicia Says: Although there was no request for a response about your attendance, if it was me, I would still reply to the sender with my warm congratulations on her Grand Opening. When you reply to a group broadcast message like you received, whether it is a direct invitation to attend a ribbon-cutting or simply an announcement that the business is now open, you are taking the opportunity to communicate with that business owner in a positive way. The more chances you get to connect with someone, particularly if that person is a prospective client, you’re sending an general message that says that person matters to you. People like and appreciate being acknowledged and will remember you down the line when and if they are in need of your product or service.

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Don’t Let Your Why’s Become Your How’s

It’s so easy to do. You have a home-based direct sales business. I’m sure you had great reasons to start your own direct sales business. You wanted more time your family, you needed some extra income, you wanted to meet new people, etc. Remembering those “why’s” can be a powerful motivator to keep your business on track for where you want to go.

But, there’s also a great temptation to let those “why’s” become your “how’s” – and before your know it, you’ve hopped right off the track.

Here are a few examples…

• Why: More time with family and working on your own schedule
• How: You try to squeeze working your business into the nooks and crannies of your family’s hectic schedule. You promise yourself you’ll sit down and make some calls when your kids are occupied and not hanging on your leg. You run out the door with sticky handprints on your shirt and the chaos of the day written all over your face.

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Appearances Matter

OK, you’re getting ready for a party.  It’s been a long day with the kids, and you have to pry them off of your leg to get out the door.  Or, a crazy day at work, and you just can’t wait to shed the heels you’ve had on all day.

Sure, you’re looking forward to an evening with women who you’d love to be your girlfriends.  You want to set a casual atmosphere where your guests are comfortable and having fun.  You want the guests to look at you and think “I could do that” and feel that you are just one of the girls.

So, it’s very tempting to throw on your capris and t-shirt and run out the door.  And hope that the grease stains from those little hands won’t show.  After all, this is your “fun” job and just a great chance to get out for a night.

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The Biggest Lie in Direct Sales

You’ve heard it – whether in your company’s training or in a recruiting pitch. My company says it, too. “Our (insert product here) is so great, it sells itself.”

What do you think of when you hear the word salesperson? Or sales? If you’re like me, the classic used-car-guy image pops into your head. Words like pushy & manipulative get lodged there.

About 6 months after I started my Direct Sales business, a group I’m in did a little activity where each of us wrote things we liked about one another on slips of paper. They were anonymous, and it was just one of those feel-good activities. One of mine said, “She’s a great salesperson.” I bristled. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be that!

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