January 2020 • Issue 3 •action
SUCCESS CHAMPIONS Goal setting sucks Be An Action Hero with Your Marketing Top 5 Ways to Up your Sales Technology Game in 2020
90% of Action is Getting your Ass off the sofa!
“Our biggest obstacle was when we started reading that 1.5-million-dollar contract and realized it required 5 million dollars in insurance.” Stacey Magovern Resources for Outsourcing
Success Champions
Contents 4 Action Strategy is for Badasses Who Change the World
24 Top 5 Ways to Up your Sales Technology Game in 2020
Lauren Di Franco explains how aligning and taking the right action can make all the difference.
Kevin Snow gives us five strtaegies for upping our sales technology game!
6 The Importance of Taking Action
28 resources for Outsourcing
Wendy Babcock focuses on going beyond visualizing action to actually doing it.
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Lorianne Vaughan Speaks drops a valuable list of awesome resources to help you outsource.
Goal Setting Sucks
30 TAKE DAILY ACTION ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Donnie Boivin busts through the myth of goal setting and shares how you need incremental growth to evolve into that next level version of yourself
Sarah Ankney provides insight on Social media and how it is a long-term investment all about action and consistency.
14 Choosing Action Brandy Holloway reveals how we make choices everyday to act, but we often make the wrong kind of choices.
32 90% of Action is Getting your Ass off the sofa!
16 Taking point with Stacey Magovern
Donald R Dodson, Jr. explores the struggles we face before we take action and provides some strategies to help get you moving forward.
Stacey Magovern shares how she became the owner of of a multi-million dollar company.
20 Be An Action Hero with Your Marketing Lori Lyons reminds us that we have to look back and reflect on our actions so we can be more effective going forward
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Welcome to the New Year!
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elcome to the New Year or just another day when you’re a business owner. The New Year is not a new start rather a continuation of momentum. As a business owner you don’t wait for x to happen so y can happen. You make it happen by taking consistent action. Showing up and doing the things that grow your business.
and ask did I take the action that will drive my business forward? Am I proud of the actions I took today? Am I excited about the actions I will take tomorrow? If the answer is no to any of those, it may tell you everything you want to know. Donnie
I also don’t believe in massive action, taking crazy gigantic leaps. I believe it taking regular action and letting them compound overtime. Having that big vision and then moving towards it and doing the things that others won’t do. In this issue you’re going to read a lot about action. Why to take it, how to take it and how to make it work for you. This is about getting you off your ass and creating that business freedom you set out to create in the first place. Look for videos through the magazine we have some cool things in here and I don’t want you to miss out.
Click for Video Content
At the end of each day look back
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Success Champions
Action Strategy is for Badasses Who Change the World By Laura Di Franco
A “If you’re like me, you’re already an action taker. It was the kind of action I was taking that was a problem.”
ction is the difference between success and failure. The only real question is how much action are you willing to take and how far are you willing to go to win in this game of life and business? It’s not action, it’s how much action. You already know you can’t get anywhere without action. But have you created an action strategy for yourself that helps you build momentum and actually enjoy results? There were many years I had no strategy but action. Guess what? That worked. Because…ACTION! I didn’t wait for the courage, the confidence or the motivation to take action. I just took action without those feelings. And low and behold…I actually came away with more motivation, courage and confidence as a result. And that made me want to take more action. But what I’d like to suggest is a
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more strategic way of throwing your spaghetti at the wall and hoping some of the noodles will stick. An action strategy ensures a couple things: consistent seed planting, and an eventual bountiful harvest. Too bad we can’t just plant the super-sticky spaghetti seeds, right? Well, you sort of can. You can ensure results if you’re consistent with your action. Consistency is the key. Mindset is the sustainable fuel behind that. And probably some sleep. Yeah, you need that too. If you’re like me you’re already an action taker. It was the kind of action I was taking that was a problem. When I figured out the strategy of consistent, aligned action I took my action taking game to a whole other level and things began to get super interesting. I made connections. I was invited to speak. I received podcast interview requests. I was commissioned to write a poem for a business owner. It was like the floodgate opened. But I had always taken action. So why the floodgate now? My theory is that when I aligned my gifts and passion with the right amount of action instead of doing all the things I learned I was supposed to do, the Universe opened up this magical portal and I started getting more opportunities that felt perfectly aligned with where I was and what I wanted to do. And if they resulted in a dead end, or not as perfect as I’d hoped they would always help me feel more
ACTION clear on the next step to take. It didn’t matter if the action resulted in a mistake, a failure, a re-direct or whatever… because those all became stepping stones, on which I’d learn something new. Complete five to ten actions a day that align with the biggest vision of where you want to be. This means that you’re living your dream now. That’s a simple action strategy that most people can get behind. Problem is when you tell people this magic secret, they may get excited for a bit, but then they fizzle out. Why? It’s hard. It’s hard to stay consistent. It’s hard to be motivated when you feel like crap, you’re working hard, nobody is supporting you like you thought they would, or you just rather sit on the couch in your fuzzy pants and drink your Mojito. And here’s where the warriors are separated from the others. Here’s where the people who succeed actually make something happen. They take action, get their ass out of the house, make the call, set up the lunch, and actually show up to the meeting, whether they feel like it or not. The warriors are clear about their big, fat mission. They know what actions they need to take. And they
don’t miss a day. They reach out, make new connections, and follow up, every single day, no matter if the voice in their head tries to keep them paralyzed with fear, doubt, worry or uncertainty. It’s action that will help you feel the courage, motivation and confidence you’re looking for. You must find a way to take those actions without feeling that way at first. Get over that hump and the momentum you’ll feel as a result will change everything. Laura Di Franco, MPT won’t let you settle for a mediocre life. Your health, wealth and happiness is one Brave Healing book, poem, workshop, strategy session or moment away. With almost three decades of expertise in holistic physical therapy, six published books and a third-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, Laura’s energy and method are contagious and unlike anything you’ve experienced. Check out her newest book, Brave Healing, a Guide for Your Journey, her podcast, her badass programs and free Facebook group for healers. http://YourHighVibeBiz.com or www. BraveHealer.com
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It didn’t matter if the action resulted in a mistake, a failure, a re-direct or whatever…because those all became stepping stones, on which I’d learn something new.
Success Champions
The Importance of Taking Action By Wendy Babcock
I “It’s easy to get caught up in the moment where we are visualizing the results.”
n a world full of people wanting to manifest new business, quality leads, the perfect client, and of course, more revenue; the most logical step is the one that is grossly underutilized. It’s easy to get caught up in the moment where we are visualizing the results. We are natural gatherers of information, expertise, and new trainings to point us in the direction we want to go. How many times have you purchased an online program or subscribed to the Holy Grail of expertise of whatever your niche market is? Likely you started the program with gusto or enthusiastically opened the emails from the new subscription. But let me ask you this, did you finish that program? Did you continue to open the emails as they poured in? Did you implement what you learned? Did you get to work right away? Did you take action? Or did you move on to the next best source of information, training, book or expertise hoping
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“that” would have all the answers? This can be a vicious circle of informational death. You can keep gathering, learning, and buying all the programs and books in the world, but if you repeatedly fail at taking action – then you are repeatedly failing at moving forward. The moment you decide to take action is the moment you’ll see all the difference. Taking action can be scary. It means you’re putting yourself out there for the world to see. You are setting your plans in motion. Action is creating a schedule you intend to stick to no matter what. Action is cold emailing or cold calling your ideal clients. Action is sitting down and actually writing or typing words on a page and starting that book that’s been whirling around in your head all these years. Action is going to the loan officer at the bank or applying for that grant to start your business. Action looks like putting one foot in front of the other and moving forward with purpose. Action is doing all the things you need to do to succeed. Don’t get me wrong, I love all the woo-woo stuff like meditation, vision boards, visualization, raising my vibration and all the great feelgood laws of attraction stuff to help us manifest our dreams. I practice a lot of that daily. But don’t get stuck on only that part of it. That’s where most people start and stop on their journey. They ask the universe to show up and give them everything they desire, but then never take
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the time to actually open their eyes and “see” what is then showing up so they can take action. You can squeeze your eyes as tight as possible and envision that brand-new car all you want. That doesn’t mean tomorrow morning you’re going to open your eyes and magically see that new ride sitting with a pretty red bow on it in your driveway. Instead, when you open your eyes and pay attention, you’ll see an opportunity appear or you’ll be in tune to a conversation or a phone call that will lead to an opportunity – if you pay attention. When you take action on that opportunity – that is how you’ll be on your way to buying that dream car you envisioned. Maybe you’ll even make enough money to buy the pretty red bow to put on top.
Read. Then implement. Dream. Then open your eyes. Buy the program. Then take massive action. To get the things – you must do the things! In 2006 Wendy left an abusive marriage and set out on a new journey to discover who she was. Along her path she found her passion for speaking and teamed up with Will Bowen to help share his vision of A Complaint Free World. As the only active Certified Complaint Free Trainer in the world, Wendy loves to bring humor to everyday examples of complaining. She has since been appointed the Director of Certified Complaint Free Trainers. Wendy is also the founder and creator of The Kindness Bucket Brigade and Warrior Unchained: Live women’s event.
The point is, whether you’re the guy reading all the “How To Succeed” books or the woman in the yoga class manifesting the shit out of her dreams – the only way either of you actually obtains the results is by taking action.
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Taking action can be scary. It means you’re putting yourself out there for the world to see. You are setting your plans in motion.
Success Champions goals.The problem is I didn’t reach a lot of them - well most of them. I could tell you all the excuses in the world as to why, but it comes down to this. For me, goals just do not work.
Goal setting sucks
So, I had to figure something else out that would keep me inspired to act and it’s called milestones. I figured this out one day while working with a young sales guy.
By Donnie Boivin
G “I had to figure something else out that would keep me inspired to take action and it’s called milestones.”
oal setting sucks. There I said it. I know I know you’re supposed to love setting goals and they are key to you finding success in life and business. But they suck and, in my opinion, they don’t work for 99% of people. There is that 1 % that crush their goals, and I applaud them. For the rest of us, there is a way to find success without goals. Crazy right? Let me give you a little background. I grew up in the self-help world. Since the age of 22, I have devoured books, tapes, CDs and now podcasts on everything I can get my hands on. I love listening to inspirational stuff and learning how to better myself. In all that learning everyone said you must set goals. So, I did. Time and time again. I’ve set so many goals that my middle name should be
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This salesperson had just wrapped up their first year in sales and had a decent year. They sold almost $120k of goods when a top rep would average a million in sales. When we talk, I asked him how he felt about the year he said he felt awesome and was excited to get the next year going. I asked if he had an idea of how much he wanted to sell next year, and he did not skip a beat when he blurted out 1 Million dollars. He enthusiastically exclaimed “I will be a million-dollar rep and be a top rep in the following year.” I said awesome, that’s amazing! How are you going to do that? How are you going to sell a million dollars next year? His response was “Work Harder” See that’s what most people think, if I just work harder, I will accomplish that goal. It’s not that simple. Although it does help. We started talking about why he wanted to sell a million dollars and he talked about how he would spend the money and
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Click for Video Content how his peers would see him. He went on about how proud his family would be and that he would get the respect from his brother. I was excited for him.At that moment I could tell he already saw himself cashing the checks and enjoying the accolades. I asked him a harder question what do you work harder on? He said I don’t know whatever gets me more sales. That’s when I knew he didn’t believe he could hit a million dollars. He didn’t know how to get there. Like best ideas do, a thought popped into my head. He doesn’t need a goal he needs the next steps. I look at him and said, “What if we don’t aim at a million dollars next year, we aim at a million dollars in 5 years?” He said, “ok I’m listening.” “Last year you sold roughly $120k or around $10k a month. Next month can you sell $11k? He smiled and said, “sure I can do that”.
“The next month after that can you get to $12k?” Laughing he said, “I can do that.” “Each month increase by $1k and by the end of the year you will have sold almost $200k. Then the next year I want you to increase by $2k a month then year 3 $3k per month.” “By the time you get to year 4 increasing by $4k per month, you will be selling almost $1.3 Million per year and adding almost $3 million in revenue for the company.” He laughs and said, “that’s completely doable.” Almost every rep I showed this to embraced it and went on to find great success. The point of this story is simple it’s not goals you need its milestones. You need incremental growth to evolve into that next level version of yourself. See when you set a goal (especially a Big Hairy Audacious Goals) in your head you already think “I can’t hit that.”
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You need incremental growth to evolve into that next level version of yourself.
Success Champions You’re setting yourself up for failure. Then the self-sabotaging sets in and you find yourself not going for it because what’s the point. By setting milestones in every aspect of your life you trick the mind to grow and go bigger.
“Set a big vision that others want to go through and help with. Then set your milestones to make it happen.”
I believe we must go through it to become it. We must face what life throws at us and keep stepping forward. Ninety percent of success is mental the other ten percent is action. When you set a milestone that is the next level you need to get to - you set yourself up for success. Subconsciously your mind knows you can do whatever that next step is, and you can get to work. Imagine if every day you grew a little bit more you would evolve to that version of yourself that people already think you are. Over the years
people would tell me they had X amount of years in sales. They had X amount of years of experience. But looking at their life and what they had done. They had year one repeated X amount of times. They were not growing, they were not evolving, and they were not putting themselves into a situation where they must learn. When you mentally beat yourself up before you even get started (Goal Setting) then it’s a tremendous mountain to climb. Set a big vision that others want to go through and help with. Then set your milestones to make it happen. What areas in your life do you need to evolve in? How can you set a milestone to get you to incremental growth.
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Success Champions
Choosing Action
By Brandy Hollaway
L Because the truth of the matter is whether you like where you are right now, you did in fact choose it.
et me say this first so it can sink in as we proceed. If you are thinking, moving, doing...you are already taking action! The issue for so many of us is that we have signed over to Autopilot or often move through life in our metaphorical comfy pants free of labels and attached strings. We have made our bed in the comfort zone and burned the boats on the wrong damn side of our passion! Now, don’t start beating yourself up, that’s not what this is about. This is a moment of clarity proceeding action or its 10 minutes of your time.
now, you did in fact choose it. This is where we want to muddy the waters and look for all the reasons we haven’t or can’t take action right now, but it is all bullshit! If you have the ability to choose right now, there is no reason you can’t choose action, so let’s discuss why you don’t. Complete the following sentence: I am not taking action the way I know I should to achieve ___________ because of ____________________ _____________.
You choose.
The first blank is what you want, the second blank is what you are committed to. I know: it fucking stings, doesn’t it? Take a deep breath. We all do it to some extent.
Because the truth of the matter is whether you like where you are right
Choice is a tricky thing. Action extinguishes the tricks. Choice allows
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ACTION mistakes but action reveals them. Choice reveals possibilities, action eliminates them. The problem is most of you get so scared the first time we fail that we decide to focus on the choice. To think. To worry. To examine. To... well whatever it is that you allow yourself to do instead of taking a deep breath and just doing the damn thing! This is why I teach The Phoenix Factor Method of Action to my clients. Ignite, Burn, Rise and Soar. Once we accept the cycle of the phoenix, we can move and create massive action because we now know there is always an upside, a rise from the ashes.If you rolled your eyes, keep filling in the blanks until you can’t ignore it anymore. And if you felt that little singe of truth in the corner of your brain, I am telling you to redefine the plan and then burn the fucking boats. Stay focused on your desired outcome and take action daily. No, it won’t be perfect. Yes, it may cost you time and money. But sitting on the corner of complacency and confusion will cost you everything! So as a former professional fixer and expert bullshitter, I want to introduce you to a few burning facts. 1. You’re scared. I get it. But walk yourself through the entire scenario you have begun in your mind to the very end result, good or bad, and realize you will be OK.
3. Redefine your actionable steps so that they inspire you. And if you’re not inspired then that’s probably the real reason you’re not taking action. 4. Failure is a momentary life lesson, not a life sentence. Let that shit go and keep moving. 5. When you are allowing that little voice to hold you back from taking action, take a moment to create awareness around the fact that the voice comes from who you WERE, not who you ARE and it’s damn sure not who you want to be! Stinking thinking prevents action. Burn through the bullshit excuses and stories. Take action. Fail forward. And take smarter actions towards your ultimate desired outcome. Brandy Hollaway is known as the Firestarter Mindset Coach, and she has risen from the ashes many times in life and business. After surviving traumatic events in childhood and throughout her adult life, she discovered her true calling to help others burn through limiting beliefs. Brandy’s expertise is within mindset coaching, personal branding, marketing and networking. She has made it her mission to to help solopreneurs and sales professionals create an inferno of success in their brand, their business and their network.
2. Action is a verb. It means movement not thinking. Stop thinking, start doing.
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Action is a verb. It means movement not thinking. Stop thinking, start doing.
Success Champions
featured Champion
Taking point with Stacey Magovern
What is your story?
“However, I believed in this idea and I believed in myself, so I never gave up.”
I
’m a small-town girl, born and raised in Abilene, Texas. My story is really all about believing in yourself and never giving up. Everyone in my family owned retail clothing stores so I grew up thinking that was my destiny. However, going to college was not a choice it was mandatory. After earning my BA in Communications, I bought my first retail clothing store Chantilly Lace a lingerie store in my home town. After running my store for a
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few years, I realized I could never compete with the lingerie store chain that opened in every shopping mall across the country. I learned many things during my time as a store owner, the foremost being I hate retail. Yes, the career choice of my parents, my grandparent and my aunt and uncle just weren’t for me. It was soon after I was contacted by a recruiter and introduced to outside sales. This was a huge game changer for me. I spent many years with a cellular company as an outside sales person. I won many awards and set several unsurpassed sales records. I was continuously told if I was that successful in Abilene, Texas what could I do in a bigger market. This really stuck with me as I always wanting to get back into business for myself. In 2005 I met and later married the love of my life Michael Magovern, a police officer. We moved to DFW not knowing what my next adventure would be. Becoming a police wife was eye opening. I learned that these amazing people that put their lives on the line every day in many departments are paid very little. They rely on off duty work to make ends meet and some make more working off duty than they do in their department. I watched my husband work off duty jobs like traffic control and security with no guarantee of work and very random opportunities. A market place for off duty work for police officers. A place where officers can schedule their off-duty
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work and know exactly how much additional income they would have each month. This became my next big idea and I dream big. It made perfect sense. My husband had all the police contacts, and with my sales experience I could get the clients. I did it. I started a company, Point Blank Safety Services. I formed an LLC, purchased a website and created a business card. Now What? Well, I spent the next two years, while working a full-time job, raising two boys, running a household reaching out to construction companies that use police officers for safety on highway construction projects. Keep in mind this was a very slippery slope because you can’t really get a contract until you have a staff of police officers and you can’t really get police officers until you have work. However, I believed in this idea and I believed in myself, so I never gave up. Those two years were very difficult, but I knew it wouldn’t be that hard forever. Two years in: I will never forget what happened next. It was a normal morning in August 2014. I was getting ready for work and the doorbell rang. It
was FedEx with a package for Point Blank Safety. Remember at this point my company didn’t get packages. I opened it to find a 1.5-million-dollar contract to use Point Blank Safety police officers for traffic control on the 35E managed lane project in Dallas. I did it! I believed I could, and I did. The next few weeks are really a blur. There is a saying be careful what you wish for because you just might get it. That was so true in this case because they wanted us to start work in two weeks. Well with allot of prayer and support from family and friends we were able to make it happen. This wasn’t just life-changing for my family, but also for all the officers we were now able to provide steady off duty work. Since 2014 Michael and I have been able to grow our company to a level of success I could have never imagined. We now have a pool of 200 officers that work multiple projects all over Texas. Due to all our success in 2017 Michael and I decided we wanted to do more or pay it forward. We founded Blue Family Fund, Inc. a self-funded 501c3 nonprofit that provides
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My Mom was the original badass. She ran 5 retail clothing stores for 44 years in Abilene Texas.
Success Champions scholarships for dependents of first responders and financial aid to families of fallen or injured officers.
How did you become a Badass? Don’t be Humble Unleash!!!
I started my business because I wanted a life where I didn’t have to worry about being able to pay the bills.
My Mom was the original badass. She ran 5 retail clothing stores for 44 years in Abilene Texas. I can remember wrapping gifts in the back room as young as 8 years old. She taught me work ethic, commitment and that you are the only person that can change your life. She was very successful and an Abilene icon. With my entrepreneur mindset I went to my mom with many business ideas over the years and she was ALWAYS supportive, positive and confident I could do it. This encouragement is the reason I have my never give up inner drive.
What has been your greatest failure? I have tried many businesses over the years, and they weren’t successful. However, I don’t see them as failures. I learned from every mistake and every business that didn’t make it. I also believe life is allot about timing. I run Point Blank Safety completely different than I did my other business because I learned what not to do. If you learned from it then it’s not a failure.
What are your likes and dislikes around common things? I love all things Texas. I like summer, hanging by our pool or our lake house, cheese, potatoes, dogs, work, making money, giving back,
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shopping, gambling, country music and Coors Light. I dislike winter, snow, cleaning, negative people, traffic, laundry and filling my car with gas.
What motivates you to keep moving forward when you face an obstacle? My biggest motivation is knowing we have 200 police officers that rely on Point Blank Safety for off duty work. I am also motivated by the fact that I like nice things. My Mom always said money won’t make you happy, but the lack of money will make you miserable.
What do you do for fun? In the summer I spend all my free time either in our pool or at our lake house. In the winter I spend my free time at the casino.
What do you do and how can you potentially help another person in the group? I am great at connecting people. If there is a client you are trying to contact, or business connection you are seeking - reach out to me. I would love to help. I also have over 20 years business-to-business sales experience if you are struggling with sales, I can help.
How did you start your business? Why did you start your business? I started my business because I wanted a life where I didn’t have to worry about being able to pay the bills. I spent many years where there were more bills than money. The
ACTION amazing thing is how much more fun life is when bills don’t matter.
What obstacles have you had to overcome? Our biggest obstacle was when we started reading that 1.5-million-dollar contract and realized it required 5 million dollars in insurance. That level of insurance is almost $15,000. Some people would have just given up at that point. I didn’t give up; I wasn’t going to let $15,000 stop me from changing so many lives. I sold everything we owned and borrowed from credit cards and made it happen.
What would you do differently when it comes to how you have moved forward with your business? The only thing I would have done different in my business is, I should have switched from an LLC to a corporation much sooner.
starting your endeavor? My why is freedom.
What are you going to do when the shit hits the fan? Our business continues to grow year over year. We continue to evolve and expand offerings to ensure stability. We recently added Active Shooter Response Training to our product offerings.
What is your 10-year vision for your business and life? In 10 years, I hope our nonprofit Blue Family Fund is well known, thriving and able to help every family in need. As for Point Blank Safety Services, my vision is continued growth and expansion into more markets. I would love to be the “go to” brand for all thing’s safety related.
What is your succession plan? I’m not thinking about a succession plan yet I’m having too much fun. I love what we do, and I love working.
What is your favorite money growth tip? Cash back credit cards! It is FREE money. Of course, this is only if you can pay the balance in full every month. Last year I made $2680 in cash back on my credit card just by using it to pay my regular bills for my business.
What is your true WHY for Unleash Your Inner Badass 19
“Our biggest obstacle was when we started reading that 1.5-million-dollar contract and realized it required 5 million dollars in insurance.”
Success Champions
Be An Action Hero with Your Marketing By Lori Lyons
T Re-defining and evaluating your target market/ideal client/ avatar is an often overlooked action step business owners tend to neglect or forget entirely.
he best way to move forward is to look back. Wait… what? I want to move forward and not spend time on what didn’t work! Exactly!! This is the perfect time for reflection and for planning. It’s a new year and decade so what better time to reflect and change? It’s time for action - be an “action hero!” We’ve created vision boards and made lists.We’ve put off evaluating and planning as long as we can. But, evaluating our marketing strategy from the previous year(s) will give us insight and direction into the next few year’s marketing strategy. The following are simple action steps you can and should take on a regular basis:
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1 - Assess your Target Market. Has your target market changed and how has it changed? What is your target market’s primary interest now? Is your message still reaching your target market? Re-defining and evaluating your target market/ideal client/avatar is an often overlooked action step business owners tend to neglect or forget entirely. Audiences change and we have to change with them. Sometimes they only change very slightly - your demographic has gotten a few years older. Perhaps they have moved to a different social media platform. Perhaps they are starting to retire? Life changes happen and your marketing plans have to change as your audience changes.
2 - Evaluate your branding. Branding is the perception people have of you and/or your company. Take a look at the assets in your “branding folder.” Assets that can use an update are: Headshots. Headshots should be refreshed at least every other year by a professional photographer. Selfies are not allowed. Hairstyles and hair color changes. We age. We change. Make sure your headshot reflects the current “you.” An out of date headshot implies your business is
ACTION “outdated” and you don’t want that! Refresh your colors. I’m not suggesting a totally new branding overhaul. A simple tweak can make all the difference. Go brighter or lighter on that blue. Go deeper on the gray. Change the orange to coral. It’s a simple tweak but will give your brand a new updated look. Voice. Make sure your brand voice is still reflective of your business. Are you talking in the customer’s language or yours? If it’s your language then change it. Does your voice and tone seem “stale?” Find new action words that reflect your brand and start using them.
3 - Evaluate your digital marketing strategy. When was the last time you updated your website? Did your social media numbers grow over last year? Are you getting engagement? Do you have a way to move your social media followers off of social media and into your control? Do you have an email op-tin and funnel? Evaluating your digital strategy can be daunting but establishing a good digital base will serve you well over the next several years. So much is coming down the pike in the form of AR (Augmented Reality) and/or AI (Artificial Intelligence). It is especially important to determine and solidify
your marketing base - which is your website. Your website should be where you drive your prospects. Social media is sound bites - websites are the full story. You own (or should own) your website while social media is at the mercy of the platforms and their algorithms. The next action step is to evaluate the effectiveness of your social media strategy. Compare the numbers for the last twelve months to the previous. Are you getting more engagement? Are your ideal clients on the platform where you are spending the most time? If not, then a move is in order to new platform(s) and a new strategy will be in order. Look at your content from your follower’s eyes. Are you telling more than selling? If not, adjust. How are you capturing your followers? Are you giving them a great gift in exchange for their email address? Do you have an email automation or funnel? If not, why? What can you do differently and
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Look at your content from your follower’s eyes. Are you telling more than selling?
Success Champions better? How can you keep giving value and stay in touch with your followers?
The fun and beauty of marketing is that it is always changing. Be proactive and honest with your current strategy and your pipeline will be full
Today’s marketing has so many moving pieces and the goal is for them to work in sync with each other. The fun and beauty of marketing is that it is always changing. Be proactive and honest with your current strategy and your pipeline will be full, you’ll have more business and ultimately retire to Fiji and drink fruity cocktails on the beach! Can you say “ahhhh!?” Lori is a non-technical person living in a technical world. As a marketing strategist and owner of a website design company, Lori has over 30 years as an entrepreneur and marketer. Her program, Make Your Marketing Simple, is helping confused and
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overwhelmed entrepreneurs navigate today’s marketing maze. During her career, she has been an entrepreneur as well has been fired, downsized and laid off twice in the space of 2 years. She is currently writing a book for entrepreneurs that are looking to profit from their experience. She loves her Atlanta Braves baseball, football and Angel’s Envy bourbon.
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Success Champions
It’s time to get off the porch.
Tech corner
Top 5 Ways to Up your Sales Technology Game in 2020 By Kevin Snow
T “Adding sales technology into the mix is one of most common way’s companies try to scale their sales program.”
he New Year always brings with its new sales goals for businesses and everyone always wants to sell more, but not everyone succeeds. Adding sales technology into the mix is one of most common way’s companies try to scale their sales program. But with so many sales tools available, growing companies find it hard to identify the tools that help from the tools that are just shiny distractions. They end up wasting time, money, and resources searching for a holy grail. Here are the top five ways companies will be focusing on sales technology in 2020.
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If you haven’t made the jump into sales technology yet, you are at risk of getting left in the dust. The gap between early adopters of sales technology and those that still haven’t fully dived in is widening fast. Companies that understand that “how you sell” is as important as “what you sell” are beginning to dominate their competition. If you are one of the companies that has been slow to adopt new sales technology, don’t worry, there is still time. But you must understand that you can’t just skip ahead to using all the advanced technologies, you must start laying the foundations, so you don’t fall further behind. Identify specific areas within your sales process that you want to improve and create priorities to determine which tools you need and which you can live without.
CRM becomes a necessity, not a luxury I don’t care who you are, every company has leads, prospects, and customers. Spreadsheets were the time-honored method for recoding interactions with leads and opportunities. But we all know that’s not the most efficient way to streamline the Sales process. Your CRM (customer relationship management system) does more than managing your contacts and crunching your sales numbers. It is
ACTION a tool that helps you track your sales activities, your outreach campaigns, your daily tasks and the customers’ journey inside your sales pipeline. It helps manage the process that enable you and your sales team to push the deals as smoothly and as quickly as possible towards a close.
Chatbots initiate the sales process Chatbots aren’t just a tool marketing uses to build lists anymore. Buyers now expect an on-demand experience and that can be provided through chatbots Chatbots are now acting as the first point of contact in the sales process and engage with customers on an introductory level – answering their queries, registering complaints, etc. Sales teams may take the conversation further ahead from there. Chatbots provide an “always on” source of consistent information for visitors, help companies better qualify and track new leads, and help prospects make a smoother transition from top of the funnel interest to interaction with a salesperson.
Top salespeople make their brand personal. It’s not enough to have a strong corporate brand anymore. Successful sales people now need to be part influencer. While it sounds cliché, people buy from those they know, like and trust. And today, the best way to get to know, like and trust someone is by consuming their content online. Clients are now mobile, always connected, and
using technology to share and ingest massive amounts of data. Look for more salespeople to start publishing articles, appearing on podcasts, creating videos, and finding innovative ways to share their ideas online, establishing their subject matter expertise and building their brand for their core audience.
Better Customer Experience Today’s consumers access data on multiple channels and expect a seamless interaction with your brand as they move from device to device. The answer? Integrate customer information from internal systems such as loyalty programs and content management systems with automation platforms to create user profiles based on data from multiple channels, collected in real-time. This data can then be used to draft messages for each segment to reach different audiences wherever they are in the funnel no matter what device they are on. How companies collect and use personal data is a topic that is becoming more and more important to customers. To maintain consumers’ trust while still encouraging them to share personal data requires marketers to implement interactive experiences that make their prospects feel safe sharing information and that they’re receiving a fair exchange of value for the data. 2020 is the beginning of a new
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“Today’s consumers access data on multiple channels and expect a seamless interaction with your brand as they move from device to device.”
Success Champions
“2020 is the beginning of a new decade and it is going to be a decade of change as a new generation is starting to exercise their buying power along with changes in buying behaviors and technology.�
decade and it is going to be a decade of change as a new generation is starting to exercise their buying power along with changes in buying behaviors and technology. The sales programs that adapt to evolving customer expectations, while leveraging tools and technology to increase productivity, will gain a competitive advantage over those that remain stuck in their ways.
of prospects selling. You can reach Kevin at kevin.snow@time-on-target.com.
Kevin Snow is the founder of Time On Target, a digital marketing agency that helps businesses effectively use technology to grow their business. Kevin has helped companies all across the United States shorten their sales cycle and increase their closing rates by utilizing sales automation to increase the time sales teams are in front
Click for Video Content
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Success Champions
The outsourcing corner
Resources for Outsourcing By Lorianne Vaughan Speaks
O
h, my goodness (or as Donnie would say – Holy Fuck) it’s 2020! We have a new year to take action to grow and scale our businesses; and create the business we envisioned when we opened our doors. This is MY year for risktaking and scaling!
“You can’t scale yourself – so create a team that works for your business.
In this column, I am going to give you some actual resources to outsource the things you hate to do…or don’t do well – so you can do what you do best. A plumber should not be doing his invoicing. Hire someone at $10 - $15 per hour so you can do your high priority income producing activities at $75 - 150 per hour (here is Los Angeles). This is so easy to do – and here are some places to find your virtual assistant or part-time worker. Local Junior College – If you want someone local, Jr. Colleges they have job boards. There are people of all ages trying to better themselves with education who may not have the time to work 40 hours a week – but
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would love to get 5-10 hours. If you are looking for bookkeeping help – go in and ask the department chair if there are students, they think highly of…that they could refer to you. Interns: Depending on your business, especially trainers, coaches, etc. – many colleges have internship opportunities. Talk to the department you would want a student from, and see if they allow this type of exchange. Many times, this can be free IF you are teaching them something in return. Freelance/Gig workers job sites – be careful and do your due diligence…ask for references. They include: Aquent…Digital creative and marketing professionals can find work around the globe through Aquent staffing agency. You can choose from remote or on-site opportunities, and even look for contract-to-hire positions. The company also offers practical skills training through its free online courses, which can give freelancers a significant edge in the marketplace. College Recruiter…Most college students could use more cash — and what better way to earn it than freelancing while at school? College Recruiter allows students and recent graduates to search for part-time work or a possible career in various industries. You could post your needs here. Crowded… Simultaneously recruits independent workers and aggregates freelance job postings from hundreds
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of on-demand platforms to solve the supply-and-demand problems on both ends of the freelance equation. For freelancers, Crowded helps gather a wide variety of opportunities in one place, making it simple to find a steady stream of jobs. CrowdSource… This is one of the largest freelance work teams on the market, specializing in content creation, review and moderation for retailers, online publishers and media companies. The company breaks larger editorial tasks into microtasks. Qualified freelancers can choose to work on these tasks through the website’s WorkStation platform. This may be a good place to post your needs. Fiverr… This is a little different from your average freelance joblisting website. Instead of having companies post their projects so freelancers can apply, this site has
freelancers create “gigs” based on what they’re best at. That way, freelancers sell their services to the companies that find them. You can categorize your gig by keyword so it shows up in multiple searches. Freelancer.com…The “world’s largest outsourcing marketplace” offers freelancers several options for work, including project-based jobs, hourly work and contests. Members can browse jobs that match their specific skill sets and apply to their chosen openings directly. Guru…Like many freelance job websites, Guru displays a freelancer’s portfolio, which includes reviews, past jobs and how much that person has earned through the site, so companies can verify the quality of a potential worker. Upwork…Formerly known as Elance-oDesk, Upwork is a robust platform that connects companies with more than 10 million freelancers
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Any way you decide to grow your business using outsourced talent, be sure to have a conversation with them first to understand if there is a personality match.
Success Champions who are looking for contract jobs. Freelancers in knowledge work industries such as Web and mobile development, writing, sales and marketing, design and consulting can chat with potential and current clients, and accept or decline job opportunities directly within the Upwork mobile app. Any way you decide to grow your business using outsourced talent, be sure to have a conversation with them first to understand if there is a personality match. Also learn how to communicate with each other and be clear on your needs, processes and deadlines so you don’t set both of you up for failure! If you want to have many virtual assistants based on skill sets – that is an option to consider.
Make 2020 your year of growth – and take the action necessary to provide the best service.
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Make 2020 your year of growth – and take the action necessary to provide the best service. You can’t scale yourself – so create a team that works for your business. Lorianne Speaks is an expert in the area of Speaker/Author/Podcaster support. She amplifies the visibility of Authors/ Speakers/Messengers while they do what they love - SPEAK! Lorianne has helped spearhead multiple best-selling book campaigns - editing, proofing, through to launch and social media marketing to help authors create buzz and momentum throughout the social media platforms and increasing their message World-Wide. Lorianne and her team have made it their mission to empower these messengers to deliver their message by handling the rest of the details! https://www. LVSConsultingServices.com.
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Administrative Support for Speakers, Authors and Podcasters We are the DETAIL people! We provide support so you can do what you do best!
LVS Consulting Services
LVSConsultingservices.com lorianne@lvsconsultingservices.com | t: 818.689.1824
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Success Champions
Sassy Social Media
TAKE DAILY ACTION ON SOCIAL MEDIA By Sarah Ankney
“Posting daily doesn’t always have to be about business. It can be about you, your hobbies, things that you find funny, things that inspire you, things that you support, or asking engagement questions.”
S
ocial Media in general is a long-term investment in your business especially when using it organically. Success and sales do not happen overnight when you are using social media overnight. Success and sales require daily actions and consistency. This is not a one and done task that will gain you followers and sales. It is something that builds awareness, followers, and eventually sales over time. When I first started using social media in a business, I thought if I post when I have a sale they will come. Boy was the laugh on me. It doesn’t work that way. It takes daily and consistent action. The actions are not just posting but I will get to that in a few moments. Posting irregularly doesn’t work for several
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reasons: dang algorithms, showing up as an expert, and your audience wants to get to know you. You often don’t buy something seeing a commercial a few times. It takes time to build in the expertise and trust factor when something is new. That is the same thing for social media. Social media algorithms are a bitch. They decide whether you are being seen or not. Guess what - your post isn’t going to remain in the feed for very long. In order to get the most out of your actions, you take steps daily on social media in order to be seen. The more you take steps to interreact the more you will move your business forward in the direction you wish to go. Post daily at least 1 time so that you can get seen and heard effectively. Posting daily doesn’t always have to be about business. It can be about you, your hobbies, things that you find funny, things that inspire you, things that you support, or asking engagement questions. My top tip is always include an action step for them to do. It can be read, buy, answer, or do something so that you are interacting with your audience in a meaningful way. These daily actions help you to show up as the expert that you are. It has taken 3 years and lots of fine tuning in my business, to get where I am today. I started learning social media 3 years ago and along with a degree, I now know it well. But it still takes time learning as it changes frequently. Just like all marketing campaigns, they are designed for the long haul not just
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for immediate results, but they all start with action. Another action step you can take on social media is to interact with your audience as well as those who are in your niche. This can be done in several ways, but it takes interaction again daily and consistently on your part to build your following and audience. It is also one of those things that happens, when you interact, and they interact. Your audience wants to be seen and heard, just like you do. Here are some action steps you can take daily on social media: • Post • Interact
As you know as an entrepreneur, it requires consistency in order to be successful. Success doesn’t happen overnight for most and it takes hard work and often changing course when things aren’t working. The same is true for social media. People notice it even when you don’t realize they do. I get messages from people who have never said a word on one of my posts. Lurkers are there and eventually others will follow. Take a moment and think hard about the last time you lurked. You appreciated the hard work, action and consistency that those who you have watched have put in even if you did not realize that was what was going on. Social media is a longterm investment all about action and consistency. Sarah Ankney of Sassy Pinterest is a Pinterest Account Manager. She wants to empower your business with a bit of magic to help you get visible. Sassy Pinterest creates graphics and descriptions as well as manages your Pinterest account so that you can do all the things you need to do and drive traffic to your business. If you need assistance in your business to get traffic to all your sites, please contact Sarah Ankney to add another powerful marketing tool. linktr.ee/sassyempower
• Connect • Create conversations • Show your expertise • Most importantly be you and who you are meant to be
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“Posting daily doesn’t always have to be about business. It can be about you, your hobbies, things that you find funny, things that inspire you, things that you support, or asking engagement questions.”
Success Champions
90%
to look like things you shouldn’t do, I’m going to offer some tactics that will help you (and me) do a better job of getting our collective asses out of the chair, sofa, or other horizontal object of posterior rest.
of Action is Getting your Ass off the sofa! By Donald R. Dodson, Jr.
S When it comes to taking that first step, a great deal of our problems are in our brains
eriously! One of the biggest struggles is actually taking that first step -- initiating that first action. Most folks do okay once they are moving. It might not always be the best possible solution, but at least they are doing SOMETHING. Honestly, I am not going to get into that in this article because there are tons of strategies out there (some are in this issue) on what to do once you take action. You see, I have a great understanding of all the reasons why we fail at taking action because I’m so damned good at failing myself! If there is a way to self-sabotage, over-think, or procrastinate; I have probably tried it. But in the spirit of putting out positive actions steps and the urgings of my editor who doesn’t like the fact that all of my pull quotes seem
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When it comes to taking that first step, a great deal of our problems are in our brains. Sure, there are some physical factors involved, but primarily the reasons why we struggle to overcome the inertia is a problem of the mind. Let’s dive into what I like to call (cue deep booming voice and echo effects) 6.7 Tactics for Getting off your Ass!.
Take care of yourself. Yeah, the first one IS physical. You need to be healthy, well-rested and well-fed (or at least caffeinated). You need to get a sufficient amount of sleep for you. I know some of you are out there saying “Oh I’m one of those people that doesn’t need a lot of sleep.” I am one of those people too, thank you very much. Merely getting an adequate amount of sleep isn’t going to be helpful. You need to be a peak performer as an entrepreneur. That means that you might need to exceed what you feel your standard four hours of sleep after binge watching something on Netflix while chugging Rum and Coke is. Diet is important too. Eat and drink enough to keep that bodyengine running. I personally find taking a break for a snack is one of my biggest time wasters.
Preparation. Being prepared to start your day
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is key. Having things laid out or having your task list prepared the night before is a game changer. It eliminates having to re-think through things and make decisions (again). That’s just another barrier to getting started. At the end of the day, you have been steeped in your work and it’s usually a only a matter of minutes to assess and decide the next steps for the following day. So, in the morning you know exactly what you must do! You just get up and go!
Be decisive. A big part of being successful (and tied to preparation), is having a clear path of action. Otherwise you are just spinning your wheels while you decide which action to take. Do your due diligence, then decide and move on! The relevant point is, that when we are indecisive, we get stuck in a cycle of analysis. And take no action.
Positive attitude. Remember when you were young, and you were going to the amusement park the next day or
going to do something exciting? You had little trouble springing out of bed and getting on the road to do whatever it is that you needed to do, right? It should be the same for you in your business. If you’re looking forward to your day it will make a big difference in giving you that initiative or motivation to get your day moving.
Eliminate Barriers and Distractions. This one is huge! Too often we have poor routines and get easily distracted with things that we “have to do.” Granted, sometimes these ARE part of our actual job, such as posting and interacting on social media. But those can easily get out of hand unless you create limits.
Develop good routines. Developing and maintaining a good routine or schedule is a key factor in order to accomplish what you need to do. Routines give us a scaffold through which we can hang all the different things we have to do during
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Having things laid out or having your task list prepared the night before is a game changer. It eliminates having to re-think through things and make decisions (again).
Success Champions the day. It helps reinforce habits and provides a structure to our day. Routines can also protect us from unwanted distractions, by sticking to a schedule and only doing those activities that are needed - at the appropriate time.
Purpose. If you do some simple things, like get some decent sleep, follow a routine and decisively plan out your actions for the next day, you’ll be outta that couch in no time.
It’s much easier to take action when you have a greater purpose behind what you’re doing. Some people call it vision and others refer to it as their “why.” Whatever you want to call it, having that greater sense of purpose is a great motivator that keeps you moving and helps you to take action. If you do some simple things, like get some decent sleep, follow a routine and decisively plan out your actions for the next day, you’ll be outta that couch in no time. Donald Dodson, owner of Dodson Designs, has been involved in artistic pursuits for as long as he can remember. Starting at age 16 as a sign painter
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assistant, and after high school, he pursued a career in graphic arts, finding his home in graphic design and web design. After an eight-year stint as a teacher, Dodson, a combat veteran, longed to return to his passion for the arts and, at 49, started a full-time leather working business. He crafts handmade, creative custom leather goods and accessories near Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
