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A couple of months ago, I wrote a short post in my personal blog entitled You Choose How People Interact with You.  In this post, I cover a process that will train the people around you to respect your time and honor your requests.   

Stage One - HEALTHY

• Honor - Benefit of Choice
• "Can you do this for me please ________ by this time on this day?"

Stage Two - WE MIGHT HAVE AN ISSUE

• Lost Honor - No longer a request, it is now an expectation
• "Produce the result or give me an explanation of why the task wasn't completed"

Stage Three - THIS IS THE ISSUE

• Face-to-Face - And you don't want to have more than a couple of step three face-to-face conversations with me
• "This is the issue - what is your take on it? - and this is what needs to happen for us to move forward" 

This process is easy to implement, and it will lead to healthier and more productive relationships.

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Here is another installment of my draft visual for my upcoming post in the jiveSYSTEMS Blog.  The top visual is a screenshot of The Definitive Book of Body Language book cover. 

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This is still a draft image.  The image is for a post I am writing for the jiveSYSTEMS Blog.

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[This article is written for my fellow entrepreneurs; it is merely a journal of my raw thought stream on this afternoon of the Fourth of July.]

What is freedom? For some it is something they continually strive for, while others realize freedom is simply a state of being. Freedom starts in the mind as a thought. That thought has the potential to become our reality. In this rudimentary sense, freedom can be defined as one’s ability to actualize thoughts. In business, freedom follows the same process. Bearing the previously mentioned in mind, personal and business freedom appear very similar, but under closer observation they should diverge. This is because a business is about collaboration. As the leader of your business, you will always have to lead. When you are not there, your company may struggle to find direction or even fall. This is where the concept of building the leaders around you becomes a critical step toward attaining freedom, and personal and business freedoms converge. The first step to attaining personal freedom could therefore be considered the last step in attaining business freedom. [By building the leaders within your company, you set in motion a system for growth. As you let go of the reins and trust, you liberate yourself from the daily grind. At this point, you can begin your journey to attaining personal freedom.]

Can you merge personal and business freedom? Yes, I believe you can if you are willing to accept that a paradigm shift is needed. The previously mentioned strategy for attaining personal and business freedom seems to have some roots in the old school mentality of work first and then play later. Retirement to me is an antiquated concept, it is being phased out. By merging your personal and business passions, the concept of retirement becomes obsolete. If you are doing what you love, day in and day out, why would you want to retire? “Son, figure out what you can do day in/day out for the rest of your life, then sit down and design a way to make money from it.” said my Dad. That is exactly what I have done. Yet, I began this thought stream with personal and business freedoms as separate agendas? This means I need to redefine what freedom means to me.

The heart of the message We can consciously create our reality; this simply means we can change reality for ourselves and others. Attaining freedom isn’t about working hard to save money and retire. Freedom is a state of being. What is your ideal state of being?

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Find those who are standing in fertile soil and plant your seeds. Create an environment for them to germinate, and then give the seedlings nourishment so they can grow.

A drip campaign is a type of automated marketing. The ultimate form of automated follow-up marketing is done with Nurture. The key to generating B2B sales in an efficient and effective manner is finding a need and filling it. This can done by connecting with executives [much like I am doing now]. By helping others achieve their goals, you will create a community that will help you with your B2B sales efforts. Review your target businesses [the ones you want as clients] and identify people and companies that operate in and around them. Once you have done this, look for patterns [isolable groups]. After which it can be as simple as reaching out to those people via email and phone, or better yet meeting them for a luncheon when possible. Don't try to sell them your products and services; all you need to do is enter into a mutually beneficial exchange of: vision, goals, and talents. At the end of the meeting, ask if you can remain in contact with them. This is where you plug-in your automated educational drip campaign(s). You can craft a series of letters and mail them every few weeks. Your goal is remain on their mind [you can do this by educating them]. I hope this helps.

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If people are cold, build a fire; they will come and find comfort. As the fire dwindles, the people will replenish it. This is the fundamental principle of ecosystem driven marketing. You can spend a lifetime telling people they should do something, and they never will. The key is to find a need and fill it. One way to effectuate this goal is to build a funnel-to-the-funnel. The basis of which is founded in establishing a conversation with your market, preferably on neutral ground. The internet is like an elite hound. One waft of abused vested interest and you are dog food. Businesses can often spend a large part of their day focused on generating new clients. They can do this under the commonly perceived concept of marketing. Why? Did you know that repeat and referral business is much easier to generate, and a great deal more profitable [at least for every business I have encountered]. Before you invest in building a full-fledged marketing effort, focus on turning your current customers into raving fans. This will enable you to capitalize on the new customers your marketing dollars yield. It will also drastically increase the amount of money you can spend to acquire leads. Here are some ideas on ways you can make your customers happy:

1. Make your products and services easy to use. This can be as simple as authoring a couple of educational eBooks or tutorials. These can be used for both prospects and clients.
2. You can also create a system to ask your customers for referrals. The best sales consultants you can hire to help you grow your business are your customers. Have a customer support representative dedicated to calling your customers and asking for feedback. They should listen assiduously and take detailed notes. In a week or so, you send a letter to that customer asking them if they know anyone that could “benefit from the benefits” of your product(s) or service(s). An incentive to mail the return envelope back always helps. A third step can also be included to conduct a follow-up call and ask the customer for feedback a week after the letter.
3. Stop sending boring plain text emails. Take off your mask. Send a video email instead. Our technology is affordable and it’s easy to use. One could motion that I have a vested interest in referring you to my company [and I do]. However, that doesn’t change the fact that video sells! Don’t believe me? Listen to the jiveSYSTEMS Success Stories>>
4. Deploy and utilize an online blog, just like this one. If you want to learn how to establish a global conversation about your products and services, download my complimentary eBook>>

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Your life may be moving fast. For others it may be moving slowly. One way to show kindness, compassion, and appreciation is to match the beat of the drum. An entrepreneurial spirit is one that is full of life, fast-paced, and action packed! From this place it can be easy to overlook the little things--the building blocks of life.

• Rather than the building, appreciate the brick.
• Before rewarding big achievements, give praise for small ones.
• Forget the glory and remember the journey.

Little things are the building blocks of life. Happiness is found moment by moment. It can be as simple and looking and feeling.

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