Social media is a great tool to build credibility

Social media is an excellent tool to build your credibility. On Facebook you build credibility through content, on LinkedIn you build credibility by your connections, on Twitter it's your conversations that count.

GoogleReader: The 1.6 Trillion Dollar Waste of Time http://bit.ly/z6QJF

Booked Solid Friday with Trish Lambert and Lou Bortone: Brand Or Be Damned! (July 24)

Why Communicating Your Personal Brand Is More Important Than Ever

Date:	Friday, July 24, 2009
Time:	2:00pm - 2:30pm Eastern
Location:	DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN: http://bit.ly/JFj9O

Description

Do you have a brand? Do you know what it is? Can you clearly communicate your brand?

Join Certified Book Yourself Solid Coach Trish Lambert and personal brand expert (and Certified Book Yourself Solid Coach) Lou Bortone as they talk about the importance of a strong personal brand. They will go from soup to nuts as they establish what exactly is a personal brand, then go on to discuss how to get that brand out into your market FAST through strategies that include social media and online video. It will be a value-packed half hour, no doubt about it!

Lou Bortone grew up in the TV industry and has been involved in all aspects of the entertainment business for more than 20 years. After working in television and radio in Boston, Lou landed his first entertainment industry gigas National Promotion Manager for E! Entertainment Television in Hollywood. Later, Lou rose up the ranks at the Fox Kids Network, eventually becoming a Senior Vice President at Fox Family Worldwide, then a division of Fox. Today, Lou is a writer, producer and online branding consultant who teaches entrepreneurs how to build breakthrough brands on the Internet, with services such as online video branding, brand coaching and creative support. Lou also produces a weekly unique and light-hearted videoblog called LouTube. www.LouTubeVideos.com

Lou’s website is at: www.OnlineVideoBranding.com

This episode is hosted by Certified Book Yourself Solid Coach Trish Lambert, whose site is www.successinsweatpants.com

DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN: http://bit.ly/JFj9O

Or listen by phone Friday 2PM Eastern: Call-in Number: (347) 327-9030

Join this spirited discussion about how the Book Yourself Solid system can help you achieve business success, even if you hate marketing and selling!

Book Yourself Solid Radio is a webradio show inspired by the bestselling book by Michael Port, focusing on helping you get more clients than you can handle... even if you hate marketing and selling!

Hosted by Certified Book Yourself Solid Coaches Trish Lambert and Davender Gupta, they interview fellow Certified Coaches to help you succeed in filling your business.

The show takes place every Friday from 2PM to 2:30PM Eastern

Check out the latest guests, listen to the show or download podcasts of past episodes at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bookyourselfsolid



Event Facebook page:
http://www.new.facebook.com/event.php?eid=113029006462


(Also check out the new Facebook Fan page for Book Yourself Solid Radio at
http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Book-Yourself-Solid-Radio/100307116509

Perseverance

"Never declare yourself beaten. If you fail at something, it is okay. That may be out of your control, but never voluntarily throw in the towel. Always keep fighting! You never know when there is another chance or another great opportunity waiting right around the corner."

- Donald Trump

Are you taking one giant leap?

"That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind"
- Neil Armstrong, July 20, 1969

Forty years ago today, a human set foot on lunar soil. Whatever the motivation for the whole enterprise, it was a leap of faith given that even though the goal was clear, the means were far from certain when the goal was made. Take a look at your goals: are you setting targets beyond the scope of your experience? If not, how do you expect to grow beyond your zone of everyday results?

See video of the first steps on the moon:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMINSD7MmT4

Get off yer butt

"The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It's as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer."
~ Nolan Bushnell

As quoted by Robert Baines

GoogleReader: Welcome to the social network, where your privacy has to be flexible http://bit.ly/4OUmB

GoogleReader: You Think ‘Free’ is Only About the Price? It’s Not. http://bit.ly/v45aY

Booked Solid Friday with Davender Gupta and Ted Behr- Developing your Brand

How do you want to be known in the world?

Date:	Friday, July 17, 2009
Time:	2:00pm - 2:30pm
Location:	DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN: http://bit.ly/bysradio20090717

Description

Join Certified Book Yourself Solid Coach Davender Gupta as he discusses "Developing Your Brand" with Coach Ted Behr.

Certified Book Yourself Solid Coach Ted Behr works with newly self-employed service professionals to help them get all the clients they can handle and give the world an opportunity to receive their talent. Ted recently went through an extensive process to help develop his branding as "The Uncommon Success Coach", and will share his insights on the branding process to help you get noticed and attract better clients.

Meet Ted through his websites http://www.uncommonsuccessco.com
and http://www.getbookedsolidnow.com

This episode is hosted by Certified Book Yourself Solid Coach Davender Gupta, whose site is http://www.getmoreandbetterclients.com

DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN: http://bit.ly/bysradio20090717

Or listen by phone Friday 2PM Eastern: Call-in Number: (347) 327-9030

Join this spirited discussion about how the Book Yourself Solid system can help you achieve business success, even if you hate marketing and selling!

Book Yourself Solid Radio is a webradio show inspired by the bestselling book by Michael Port, focusing on helping you get more clients than you can handle... even if you hate marketing and selling!

Hosted by Certified Book Yourself Solid Coaches Trish Lambert and Davender Gupta, they interview fellow Certified Coaches to help you succeed in filling your business.

The show takes place every Friday from 2PM to 2:30PM Eastern

Check out the latest guests, listen to the show or download podcasts of past episodes at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bookyourselfsolid

It's our duty to obsess about our own vision

“I believe we’ve evolved as a species BECAUSE of the collective obsessiveness of individuals.”
- June Cohen

I don't understand people who don't like what they do for a living, or worse, who are indifferent. I can't stand those who are simply "killing time" until their pension.

Passion is the force that results from being obsessed with my vision. Passion powers me to overcome my fears, break through my "zone of everyday results" and change the status quo around me. And that is the prime directive of leadership, to change the status quo so that the present evolves into the vision we want.

Is what you're doing now creating the future you really want? Is that focus the full expression of "Who You Really Are?"

This spring, for a while, I lost my passion - actually, no. I lost my obsession with my vision. The vision was there all the time, but I no longer was focusing on it. What happened? The momentum of my project slowed and my problems became bigger than me. I got lost in the forest and my income came to a halt.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, thanks to surrounding myself with people who are thinking bigger and taking action, my obsession with my vision has been reignited. And with it, new opportunities are appearing that are totally in line with the Big Impact I want to create.

I now realize that I cannot see my business project as just a job... it must be a crusade. I can never let myself put my dream on cruise control. The intensity of my obsession with my vision must be so strong that it becomes like a black hole, drawing towards me all of the resources, ideas, tools and people to make it happen. My obsession must be so strong that anyone who comes in contact with me thinks that either my vision is inevitable (I want those people around me) or that I'm crazy (goodbye to those losers).

Life without passion is a life of mediocrity. If we all settled for mediocrity, we would still be sitting in cold, damp caves, munching on roots and berries. I'm so thankful for that first caveman (or cavewoman?) who decided it was time to heat things up a bit and figured out how to make a fire. That started a whole chain of changes that lead to the wonders of technology and society we enjoy today.

Every step we make in our evolution, is due to someone who is obsessed with changing the status quo, the way things are at the moment. The obsessed person burns the boats, cuts the bridges, blows up any possibility of a Plan B that could compromise progress.

Forget balance, forget being satisfied with what I have. I want to change the world. And by choosing to focus all my energies on one vision, I can break through the barriers of mediocrity and create the future I really want.




The quote is from Tara Hunt's blog, see the full text here:
http://www.horsepigcow.com/2009/02/06/summary-of-amazing-ted-quotes/

Book Yourself Solid Radio (Friday 10 July 2PM East) Davender Gupta and Monique Gallagher: Why do people buy what you sell

Why do people buy what you sell? Join Certified Book Yourself Solid Coaches Davender Gupta and Monique Gallagher as they discuss how the Book Yourself Solid System approaches the dynamics of the sales process.

Date: Friday, July 10, 2009
Time: 2:00pm - 2:30pm EASTERN
DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN: http://bit.ly/bysradio20090710
or Call-in Number: (347) 327-9030


Monique Gallagher helps women with home based businesses who hate marketing and selling think more confidently, productively and bigger and what they offer the world so they get booked solid. Monique uses the "Book Yourself Solid" System to connect with their ideal clients and stop hiding from their destiny. She helps them get unstuck so they can move forward in all areas of their life.

In addition to being a certified Book Yourself Solid coach, she is also a certified Cybernetic Transposition coach, which simply said are brain engineering strategies that her clients use to literally release their history and overwrite it with a version in alignment with who they desire to be. Monique brings a unique perspective to coaching ensuring that each of her clients are equipped with the tools to build their life from the inside out ensuring congruency with who they are and their business.

Meet Monique on her free "Taking the Brakes off" teleseminar at www.highestpotentialtraining.com

This episode is hosted by Certified Book Yourself Solid Coach Davender Gupta, whose site is www.getmoreandbetterclients.com

DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN: http://bit.ly/bysradio20090710

Or listen by phone Friday 2PM Eastern:
Call-in Number: (347) 327-9030


Join this spirited discussion about how the Book Yourself Solid system can help you achieve business success, even if you hate marketing and selling!

Book Yourself Solid Radio is a webradio show inspired by the bestselling book by Michael Port, focusing on helping you get more clients than you can handle... even if you hate marketing and selling!

Hosted by Certified Book Yourself Solid Coaches Trish Lambert and Davender Gupta, they interview fellow Certified Coaches to help you succeed in filling your business.

The show takes place every Friday from 2PM to 2:30PM Eastern

Check out the latest guests, listen to the show or download podcasts of past episodes at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bookyourselfsolid

Burt Dubin's Definition of an Expert

Burt Dubin helps Speakers get booked. Here is a gem of wisdom from one of his articles:

An expert is not someone who knows what he knows.
An expert is someone who is known for knowing what he knows.
- Burt Dubin

I recommend that you sign up for his Speaking Biz Strategies Letter because even though the focus is on professional speakers, the ideas he shares apply to helping any solo professional get noticed and booked.
Link to article on Burt Dubin's log: http://bit.ly/euVJn

GoogleReader: 10 Traits of the Ultra-Talented Leader http://bit.ly/92Lsm

HuffPost: Are You A Victim of the Big Investment Con?

GoogleReader: Dan Solin: Are You a Victim of the Big Investment Con? http://bit.ly/ZidfE

Build your credibility by becoming a content creator

As a solo professional, you probably understand the importance of demonstrating your competence in order to build credibility. So on your website you post a description of who you are and what you offer. And if you are particularly detail-oriented, you have a link to your current resumé and a list of customers, selected showcase projects and even some testimonials from happy clients. This should be more than enough to convince your prospect of your qualifications for the job, right?

But what if I told you that all this information has but a minor influence on the opinion your prospects make of you ... what would you do?

Let's be frank: your prospective customers attach little importance to testimonials, client lists and sample projects, because they know that you show only the most glowing reviews (that is, if you didn't invent the whole thing from scratch, or so they might believe).

Remember the old saying: "Don't tell me what you can do for me, show me!" The most effective way to establish your credibility and to attract clients who recognize your value and who are willing to commit, is to demonstrate your expertise.

Photographers, graphic designers, filmmakers, painters and other creative professionals know the value of a portfolio. They accumulate examples of their work to demonstrate their expertise to potential customers. But in professional services, when your products are intangible, how do you accumulate the evidence that establishes your credibility?

Any professional who wants to develop and demonstrate their credibility must become a content creator. By generating articles, videos, photos and other types of content, you make your experience more tangible. Quality content that makes you credible is much more attractive than slick advertising or vague promises.

There are five types of content you can create to present your expertise:

1. "Education": lessons and recommendations that emerge from your experience with your customers (for example, case studies);
2. "Demonstration": Describe how to do something related to your specialty (for example, this "how to" article);
3. "Opinion": Your comments on situations or the news, always related to your specialty and how you want to be known. Your opinion demonstrates how you interpret situations and propose solutions. Be careful to remain respectful and politically neutral;
4. "Recommendation": Provide resources (books, articles, videos, contacts) related to your specialty;
5. "Information": Communicating news about your specialty, passing along items from the media demonstrating various aspects of what you do (example: a tax specialist passing along news of changes to the law).

There are various ways to deliver your content. Keep it simple, choose media and communication styles that come naturally to you, for example:

- Writing articles;
- Short online videos (YouTube) or audio (podcast style through BlogTalkRadio);
- Record your presentations, speeches, seminars, Toastmasters speeches;
- Photos or illustrations, etc..

The important thing is to create content that communicates your ideas with your communication style and your voice.

Develop a steady pace in generating your content, whether monthly, weekly or daily. Your content need not be extensive: it is better to be short and precise. It's the frequency that matters, so if you want more prospects, increase the pace of your output.

Establish a central location to display your content, even if it is distributed to several locations. Your business blog is the preferred place to store your information. I also recommend that you host the best content on your main website, either in whole or through hyperlinks. The more often your content is refreshed, more search engines will locate it, and you will be easier to find.

The time, effort and money you invest in generating quality content to build your professional portfolio will result in a strong positioning and loyal customers. By demonstrating your expertise, you will be able to power your Vision from Passion to Profit!

NYTimes: Street Farmer - How a visionary sells and executes his Big Idea

In the Sunday NYTimes.com, a wonderful story about a visionary inner-city farmer who is inspiring his neighbors and community to grow and eat healthy food:

Link to article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/05/magazine/05allen-t.html

And direct link to the Growing Power project: http://www.growingpower.org/

A candid letter to a marketing consultant who wants me to hire her

Dear Miss Marketing Consultant:

I witnessed the awesome work you did to help an entrepreneur friend of mine get her story in the newspapers, on the TV and on the radio recently. I'm very impressed with what you achieved. This is why I called you to see if you could meet with me. You see, I also have a great project around which I want to create a lot of media buzz.

I liked our first meeting. You asked a lot of questions, took many notes. I get your youthful enthusiasm and your love for what you can do for your clients.

But here is the problem. I feel a distance between us. At the end of our meeting, you said you would come back with a proposal outlining your process, with a couple of recommendations and a detailed quote. I expect that to create this proposal it would take some of your time (one or two days). I'm concerned about creating a situation where I might feel guilty about all the work you have done to date, and if I say no to moving forward now it will mean the end of any future relationship, and conversely if I say yes, I will lose control of my project.

I like you. I really do. And I want to find a way to incorporate you into my project, this baby of mine in which I have invested so much of my time, energy, money and emotion.

Which is why I decided to write this note to you, so you can understand my current state of mind and how I feel about the potential of us working together.

Please read these notes as simply my current thoughts, so you are aware of where we really stand.

- If I ask you to meet with me, it's not necessarily to write a cheque to you right now. I'm curious to meet with you, judge your suitability, and see what you think about my project. Consider this a first date.

- Give me some ideas or point me to some resources right now to demonstrate your credibility. They don't have to be the final answers, or even right ones. Be open with your ideas. I'm not paying for you to learn about me, or for you to demonstrate your ideas to me. I'll pay (well) for the execution, for results.

- You asked me what is my budget for this project. I don't know (and if I knew would I tell you at this stage of the relationship?) What is the magic number you are looking for? Of course I don't want to pay for media. Tell me how you can make my investment in you pay for itself, plus a substantial return.

- I don't want you to go away and come back with ideas. Co-create them with me, please!

- At this stage I'm not interested in a detailed report with a pretty cover and my name on the front. You're wasting your time. Meet with me a couple of times, let's brainstorm. Don't worry, I'm not going to act on the ideas in your place, I'm too busy with what I'm working on. But I do want to have some kind of ownership stake in the process. After all, this is my baby we're talking about.

- Don't tell me what you'll change, tell me what you like about my current branding/positioning/logo/name and what aspects could be retained or emphasized. Don't make me throw away ten years of emotional equity in my business. I already know that I will reject any ideas for logos, names, that I have not participated in brainstorming with you.

- Don't treat me as if I don't know anything about marketing. (You're not saying it, but there is a little bit of that tone in your approach). After all, I've been in business much longer than you have. What I like about you are your contacts and how you connect with them to get your client's stories out.

- Ask me questions, check out my sites, have a couple of coffee dates with me before sending me a quote. Draw up some ideas, quick sketches or storyboards. Invest some time and effort in me. Schmooze me.

- Propose ideas that are in alignment with my approach to business. I'm not interested in Search Engine Optimization of my sites, I want to create an active Tribe around me. Do you know authors like Seth Godin, Michael Port, Tim Sanders, Tom Peters? Whose ideas inspire you?

- Teach me what I need to know, don't make me dependent on you.

- Don't ask me to send you my materials. Do as if you were to look for me. Give me feedback on how easy (or not) it is to find me, and what your impressions are (good as well as points to improve).

- Please don't interpret a "no" as in forever. I want help, but I will act on my own time. The more accepting you are of my "no", the sooner you will get a "yes". It's a paradox, but since we are dealing with affairs of the heart, that's the way it goes.


I hope with these points you understand better the frame of mind that I'm in. I really want to make this work, I really do. Now do you want to sell your services to me, or become a long-term co-creating partner in a Big Project that is making a long-lasting impact in our community?


Sincerely yours

-davender