Ideas 4 Life

A Weekly Series by Teresa Morrow

I’m Teresa Morrow, Founder of Key Business Partners, LLC and I work with authors and writers by managing their online promotion. As part of my job I read a lot of books (and I love to read anyway!). I am here to offer a weekly post about one author I am working with and one book I have put on my reading list. The books will cover topics such as social media (Facebook and Twitter), organization, career building, networking, writing and self development and inspiration.

Upbeat by Rajesh Setty

This week I would like to start off with a book I have read and have worked with entitled Upbeat by Rajesh Setty.

This compact book is filled with wonderful ideas and strategies to help any business owner or entrepreneur get out of the “jam” they may be filling at the time.

Here are a few tips from Upbeat I would like to share with you:

1) Be Accountable to Yourself - “Recession time is hard on everyone but that does not mean that you should go into a state of inertia, waiting for the times to pass.”—>The time is now. Take inspired action to do something today to get to where you want to be. Sitting down and doing nothing will get you just that…nothing.

2) Be Grateful - “Yes, you are frustrated, things are not going well, and most of it is not your fault. However, do remember that in the general scheme of things you are lucky enough to have the opportunity to think and do something about it.” –> Take some time to embrace the blessings in your life. Write them down even and you will be amazed at how many things you have in your life to be grateful for. When you are grateful, the positive energy comes out of you and into other people’s lives.

3) The Discipline - “Like any good idea, discipline is very easy to grasp an an idea but has no value unless it is implemented–and well. Quote by Jim Rohn “Every disciplined effort has multiple rewards”. –>things take time to come together and become successful. However, if you don’t start creating action to make those things happen, it won’t.

See, and those are just a few golden nuggets from Rajesh’s book, Upbeat.

About the Author:
Rajesh’s mission in life is to bring good ideas to life. With love!

Rajesh is involved in a few companies in some combination as a founder, operating executive, board member and/or an investor. Apart from that, he has written a few books and is working on a number of them. His first book was published at the age of thirteen. While he is not building companies or writing, he enjoys speaking at conferences and company events.

You can read his latest thoughts on his blog Life Beyond Code or on Twitter at UpbeatNow. If you are really curious to know the events that shaped his thinking, you can read his story so far here.

Rajesh lives in the Silicon Valley with his wife Kavitha and son Sumukh.

You can pick up your copy of Upbeat at Amazon.

Masters of Sales

Secrets from Top Sales Professionals that will transform you into a World Class Salesperson

Now is time for me to showcase a book I have not read but it is on my reading list. This week my choice is Masters of Sales by Ivan R. Misner, Ph.D and Don Morgan, M.A.

Bursting with valuable advice from Jack Canfield, Anthony Robbins, Keith Ferrazzi, Tom Hopkins, Al Lautenslager and more than 70 other masters of the art of selling, this exclusive compilation of the best sales strategies ever known puts you on the fast track to sales success.

Just a short but poignant business lesson of what I read by just picking up the book once:
This is a excerpt about Janet Attwood (speaker, trainer,author)–
“A persistent attitude is mandatory for success in any endeavor, including sales. You may need to stop banging your head against the wall and change directions, but don’t stop too early–you might be closer to success than you realize! Listen to your intuitions, and you can make a lot of money!

About the Authors:
Dr. Ivan Misner is the Founder & Chairman of BNI, the world’s largest business networking organization . BNI was founded in 1985. The organization has thousands of chapters throughout every populated continent of the world. Each year, BNI generates millions referrals resulting in billions dollars worth of business for its members.

Dr. Misner’s Ph.D. is from the University of Southern California. He has written nine books, including his New York Times best seller, Masters of Networking and his #1 bestsellers, Truth or Delusion, and Masters of Success.

You can pick up your copy of Masters of Sales on Amazon.

Who Does the Work? Who Benefits?

I’ve been a freelance writer, an online publisher, and a strategic consultant. I’ve handled a multi-state whole sale consumer products accounts, selling to big chains and to mom and pop stores. I’ve presented huge educational programs to state boards of education and made deals with publishers on four continents. I’ve built a successful conference and convinced big brand sponsors to partner with us. I led the strategy that turned around a failing company. Most of what I know about getting folks to work with me I’ve learned the hard way, by doing things wrong and adjusting out when those things didn’t work.

But I pay attention … especially to one question that makes a working relationship actually work.

Working relationships work because an exchange of value occurs. Value can be currency, time, resources, risk, or sharing a network. Somehow in the best working relationships a balance seems to keep itself, without any party too closely monitoring the score.

So if you’re looking to start a new working relationship, you might want to do a little more work before you event start.

• Know what you offer to the partnership. What can you bring that I don’t have, but would help me to my goals?
• Know what you ask of it. What could I offer in return that would do the same for you?
• Make sure the two are balanced, aligned, defined, and limited in scope. “I”ll do X. What I ask is you do Y. Those two things should move us both forward. Would that work for you? We could try it once as a proof of concept to see whether it works.”
• Then consider that a promise, a pact, a contract made in your words so that you work your butt off to keep to it.

Investors call that “share risk, share the benefit.”
Working partnership might think of it as “share the workload, share the win.”

It’s a great way to get everyone working at what we do well and still get everything done. It’s also a great way to make an offer to a new client.

What makes your great working relationships work?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Gotta Be Visible Authenticity

The entrepreneurs and brand managers I work with both often start by asking how to use the social web. Their goal is to promote their business or their brand. The worry that seems consistently common in every first question is that they appear professional and helpful. No one wants to appear to be too aggressive in social web space.

How to Promote Your Business Without Being a Seen as Smiling Shark

When the wrong kind of promotion comes our way, it feels like we’re not being seen as people, but more like prey. Who wants to do business with someone that comes at us like a shark? No one in a marketing or sales role wants to be perceived like that.

I’ve found that the key to elegant and authentic promotion is being fully present in the conversation. Too often we start talking before we listen. Too often we haven’t fully considered what brought us to be interacting. Knowing who we are, what we offer, and how it fits our reader-customers before we even start a conversation can make promoting a blog, a business, or a brand as seamless as talking to a friend about how our day went.

These questions can get us to that information.

1. Are you truly passionate and excited about it? If not, go find out how you can be. Be clear on what drives you.

   “Can I tell you why I’m so excited to be working with big companies on big ideas that connect people and change lives in ways that really mean something.”

2. Can you articulate that passion and excitement? What words explain why you are willing to invest the time of your life building that blog, business, or brand? Be able to tell the story that connects you to what you’re sharing. People will identify with that.

   “Every day people I work with tell me that they think that what we’ve put together to connect with new business is going to be so much easier and so much fun.”

3. Can you name and claim what you offer so that folks can attribute it you? Can you explain how your blog, your brand, or your business will change people’s lives in a clear and specifically good way? Give that a name so that the idea stick. Draw a picture with words and name that. Become the person who is the only one who provides that.

   “Folks who know how to talk about their unique value attract amazing people who want to be part of what they’re doing. Knowing what you offer is powerful.”

4. Do you call folks to action and offer them an easy way to talk about what you’re building? Can you show them how joining you will make what they do easier, faster, and more meaningful? If you don’t tell folks how to join, be a part, they could think you don’t want them to. Gotta invite them.

   “If want to talk about how to do that, it only takes about 45 minutes.”

5. Do you invite people offer their experience? Do you ask folks how you might reach more people who could benefit from your brand, your book, or your product? If they offer suggestions, do you follow through?

   “If you were me, what would you differently to offer folks like more value in faster, better, more meaningful ways?”

6. Do you ask people to talk about you? Do you give them ways they might do that, ways that make them feel proud for helping you?

   “So glad you found value, would you tell your colleagues about our work together? I’d love to help them too. We can all grow together.”

Not every questions fits into every conversation. The thing is that when we know ourselves, our business goals, how to partner and how to extend an irresistible offer, promotion gets to be as passionately authentic as the other parts of the work we do.

How do you make sure that your promotion is authentically you?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

by Guest Writers Suzie Cheel and Des Walsh

In the 5 or so years of walking up and down the beach at Rainbow Bay we have never seen such a unique surfboard as we did yesterday morning.

Creativity Rocks!

Do you put your creativity into what you’re living?

Suzie Cheel & Des Walsh

and the right to call themselves
Successful Blog SOBs.

I invite them to take a badge home to display on their blogs.

---

---

---

---

---

They take the conversation to their readers,
contribute great ideas, challenge us, make us better, and make our businesses stronger.

I thank all of our SOBs for thinking what we say is worth passing on.
Good conversation shared can only improve the blogging community.

Should anyone question this SOB button’s validity, send him or her to me. Thie award carries a “Liz said so” guarantee, is endorsed by Kings of the Hemispheres, Martin and Michael, and is backed by my brothers, Angelo and Pasquale.

Want to become an SOB?

If you’re an SO-Wanna-B, you can see the whole list of SOBs and learn how to be one by visiting the SOB Hall of Fame– A-Z Directory . Click the link or visit the What IS an SOB?! page in the sidebar.

–ME “Liz” Strauss