Something that has been on my mind over the last week or so is vulnerability… I am constantly noticing that as soon as someone is able to be vulnerable not only with themselves, but also those around them their success rate increases as does their ability to relate to people.  What do I mean by this?

Whether it is in your business, worklife or love life I can’t help but notice that if you give yourself permission to slip in a bit of vulnerability then you are suddenly open to a whole rafter of new possibilities…. new customers, new opportunities and maybe even new love.  Why is this?  I believe it is because you are finally allowing people in to see what you are all about, offering them an insight and the ability to get to know you.  Don’t get me wrong, I also understand how challenging this can be – especially when it comes to letting people see the inner most workings of your business or heart, but what if… what if… this may simply be the key to success?

This got me thinking about whether or not I could be a little “ambidextrous” with my vulnerability and bring it also into my marketing both for my business and the marketing for our clients.  I think that this has merit simply because of the “theory of same”… if you constantly see the same dreary stale marketing campaigns then how effective will they and can they be?  If you had some emotion, some vulnerability and an aspect of “realness” I firmly believe that your target market will not only sit up and pay attention, but may also get a little vulnerable with you – and perhaps start to build a long lasting rapport that is mutually beneficial.

Now I am not saying “go out there and start hugging your clients” or anything… unless you can get away with it – but being open to sharing some commonalities through marketing could be the key that you are missing in your marketing strategy…

just saying!

Cheers

N

On Monday I had a really great conversation with someone who I would have to say is probably of the same “mindset” as I am… ambitious, driven, goal orientated and not willing to let anyone tell them “it isn’t possible”.  When I asked him what his “dream job” was he came back without hesitation and said “CEO”.. referring to the large company he works for.  This excited me and made me look at him with respect… unfortunately this isn’t always the case with people.

More often than not, if you tell people a goal you have, a dream, an aspiration that they believe is “lofty” they will do one of two things… they will either a) laugh as though you have made the funniest joke ever, or b) say “come on really… be realistic” – these people are those that I refer to as “Nay Sayers”.  They are the people who have boundaries blocking them from thinking big, from dreaming what they want to dream and they are the people who are responsible for “tall poppy syndrome”.

When I first started Nexus, the Nay Sayers said to me “why would you do that… why don’t you go back to a corporate job… less risk”… now those same people say to me “wow you are so lucky that your business is successful”… lucky??? no no… I gave myself the permission to think big, I had conviction of thought, I was unshakeable in my belief and ultimately I got rid of the Nay Sayers from my life.  There was no luck involved… just pure belief.

No matter how successful you get, no matter how many goals you achieve these Nay Sayers will always be around… it’s up to you whether or not you choose to have them in your life and it’s up to you to choose how to react to them.  This is what I call leadership.

I used to always think leadership was simply motivating people towards a common goal and it is… and more.  Leadership for me now is having the conviction of thought, control of emotions, an unwaivering belief in my abilities and ultimately being able to say that “oh so powerful” word NO.  NO to the Nay Sayers, NO to staff and even NO to customers.

I suppose I never got taught the art of saying NO… but it is the usage of this word that will either help you grow into that leader who inspires or simply.. not.   Saying NO to the people around you takes courage, takes strength, takes clarity of mind and most importantly it takes giving permission to yourself to think big.

If you are one of the Nay Sayers… think before you speak and judge… you may think the person in front of you will never make CEO… but that is your issue, not theirs- maybe instead of laughing or telling them to be realistic, ask them “ok, how are we going to get you there?”

Be part of the dream… not against it.

Cheers

N

Recently I embarked on the trials and tribulations of internet dating… can’t believe I am actually blogging about it … but ah well! lol – hopefully this is a judgement free zone?!?! yeah right! lol…  Anyway, I joined up at the same time as a friend of mine and so we have been “doing this thing” together which has been great.  I have started to the notice the similarities with internet dating and some approaches to marketing.

You see, I am all about conversion rates and getting the best possible outcome for your efforts… for example, the best marketing conversion rate I have seen (consistently) is our offline marketing campaigns which returns anywhere from 10-30% (big in terms of marketing)… so I spend most of my time finding ways to make these campaigns for our clients – then there are other marketing efforts… like the ones that information and internets marketers teach that convert only about 0.5-2%- ho hum!

So how does this relate to internet dating… well… when I first joined the service I was absolutely bomabarded (pretty sure all girls are… not just me) with flirts or kisses or whatever you want to call them… so then came the fine art of tactfully, and respecfully rejecting these people that clearly have not read my profile…. or that I just don’t think it will work with.  Then finally we have a list “or database” of a select group of potentials that I may see some similarities with – so starts the communication trail… first build rapport, a connection, then maybe start texting and speaking on the phone, and then maybe… when I’m are ready – I will meet with them.

During that meeting, it is obvious from the outset whether there is a connection or not… More often than not there may be a slight connection but there is something missing… and for me that thing that is missing are those moments of getting to know someone consistently – and coming together because of a common interest or goal.  The it makes me think, whether the people on internet dating sites are purely just not understanding how to market… because of hundred and thousands of people that are dating over the internet, how many are successful?  I only know of a handful.. so what that as a conversion rate I wonder?

So I do know that  internet dating can be successful (or at least I am told… haven’t discovered it myself yet) – but how is it successful – how do the handful of people I know that have made it work gone about their approach to internet dating?  You need to be on it consistantly, otherwise you rank further down than other girls, you need to communicate often (they even measure your communication rate), you need to be really really specific about what you want don’t want, and you have to be willing to take a few risks.

How is this not EXACTLY like marketing?

If you are struggling with your marketing (or finding that special someone online), then maybe have a look at how consistent your marketing efforts are, look at your target market, are you being specific enough, and most importantly are you taking calculated risks to ensure you are trying something new. If not…. that could be the problem… for both your marketing and dating efforts!

As soon as you don’t have all the elements above in your marketing (and dating) plans then you are moving into “lazy marketing”… this means that you are more than likely throwing mud up against a wall and hoping it will stick!.. very rarely will this work.

So ditch the mud throwing… and try planning consistancy… you never know what you mind find… a great new customer – or maybe even love!

Cheers

N

How has 2012 been treating you so far?  Broken any generational boundaries yet?  I certainly hope so….

One of our fave clients at Nexus sent me an email this afternoon… she wanted to show me what one of our competitors is doing to attract clients to them… and I have to say it started to make me think about how genuine some of these “self acclaimed” information marketers are…

Why do I say this?  Because some of the claims I see information marketers “create” make me cringe…  This particular one was saying that a specific industry is doing really badly and they are the only people who can help!  Is this clever marketing or is it unethical… as it is completely incorrect?

It seems to me that information marketers know how to make money through only one means…. RAMP UP THE PAIN AND INCREASE THE FEAR.  Ethical marketing and selling tells us to stay away from these tactics and utilise creative ways to capture the attention of our clients, and this, my friends, will help build long lasting relationships that will have your clients coming back to you time after time.

Now obviously not ALL information marketers are like this… there are some exceptions… not many but they do exist… how can you tell the difference?  Simple… as soon as they add a whole load of fear into the mix – walk away very quickly… as they have yet to learn the right way to sell and market and therefore what are they really going to be able to teach you?

Remember there is no “magic pill” or “quick fix” in business… hard work, clever strategies and preparation is what makes a business successful.

There are some great marketers and sales people out there – spend the time researching and separating the good from the bad, and invest wisely… these core competencies are crucial for your business, why wouldn’t you work with people who genuinely get it, and are not simply after “stuffing their pockets” with money?

of course I could be completely wrong… would love to know your thoughts!

Cheers

N

Happy New Year!

You know what I love about the beginning of a new year…. the ability to start a fresh, and this year is going to be no different.  What is going to be different, is how I am going to start a fresh for 2012…. fear not, this is NOT a blog about by new years resolutions, but more of something that I have noticed as a young entrepreneur running a business with multiple staff from different generations.

It’s interesting that up until maybe 5 years ago, the different generations didn’t have nearly as much focus as they do today – the focus on the differences in the generations has been very helpful in many ways… it’s allowed us to understand our fellow peers and it’s allowed us to be more understanding when working with different generations than ourselves, but it’s also helped us to do something else…. it’s allowed us to make excuses for bad behaviour, laziness, lack of learning, and a common disregard of basic human kindness.

What do I mean?

Simple… the more we understand about our own generation, the more it seems that we (as a whole, and yes I am generalising) have allowed these common traits to define the reasons behind us not living up to all that we can be.  ”I am a gen Y and therefore you should know I don’t want to start at the bottom, I want to be CEO by month 3 of employment, you can’t blame me for it, it’s my generation” or “I can’t help not liking the Gen Y’s, as a Gen X I believe in working hard for what you get… and the fact they don’t get it isn’t my fault… I am a Gen X after all” or even this, ” I am a babyboomer and you need me…soon you won’t have anyone with the experience that I have, therefore I am indispensable”.  No matter who you are, just because you happen to fit into a nice neat generational group, doesn’t mean you can blame your faults or lack of success, or arrogance on your generation, or the generation of others.

You see I have had examples of those who use their generational label as a “crutch”, but then I have witnessed those special few who have well and truly ignored every aspect of their label and become exceptional people in spite of the excuses they could have used.

Recently, we hired a marketing intern Christie.  She has been magnificent.  She is a 24 year old female, working hard to start her career.  She came to Nexus understanding that the 8 week summer internship was unpaid… but she recognised that she would get a load of experience, and the opportunity for a permanent paid internship at the end.  Christie was unique – the others that were interviewed all pulled out… the first few because they didn’t want to complete the interview task I had set, and the remaining few because they didn’t want to “work for free”.  Christie on the other hand, not only produced the best proposal for her set task, but now she is working for us – I don’t know what we ever did without her.  A Gen Y, willing to start at the bottom and work her way to the top… breaking all the rules!

We also have a babyboomer, who is breaking all of the babyboomer rules…. Lynne, our HR Manager who at the age of 53 has embarked on an adventure of a lifetime, moving to Australia from the UK to help us in the Nexus office… this is a major learning curve for her, and she has also thrown aside the “babyboomer characteristics” and is completely open to learning… and learning from her younger peers.  She has learned how to use a MAC OS, MYOB the Australian lingo and has yet to lose her mind.

I am so very proud to be surrounded by people who are choosing to “do away” with the labels of their generation and ensure that they are a success no matter what.  I personally get offended when others offer me excuses for my ambition, my drive, and my passion to succeed… “Naomi you are a typical Gen Y”…. am I?  Or am I someone who is willing to give it a go, irrelevant of my age, gender, generation, or others perceptions of me…

I wonder how many of you are as brave as Christie, or Lynne… and are willing to shed the badge of honour you call your generational gaps and try something new this year… be you… the successful version minus the excuses.

Happy 2012… generations without boundaries!

Cheers

N

One of my absolute favourite topics is the theories around Spiral Dynamics and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.  I was sitting with two colleagues having lunch yesterday and we got onto the topic of the difference between the two theories and how society can fit into to either one of them.  We then started to question the sales technique of using (in particular) spiral dynamics to convince people to part with their money and give it to the seller.  This got me thinking…. should something as important as understanding human dynamics and behaviour be used to manipulate people into buying – or is it simply “smart selling”?

For those of you who don’t know what Spiral Dynamics is – here is a brief overview…. Spiral dynamics argues that human nature is not fixed… and that humans are able, when forced by life conditions, to adapt to their environment by constructing new, more complex, conceptual models  of the world that allow them to handle the new problems.  Then each of these models transcends the previous model allowing them to “move up” through the levels within spiral dynamics – and these levels are based on a core value system that is sometimes referred to has vMemes – don’t get thrown by that – just see it as a value system.

So Spiral Dynamics is used to explain where culture, societies, people and even mindsets are situated –  and the only way to move up through the  7 levels – or 9 (depending who you listen to, or read about) is to learn new skills and develop your mindset.  The levels look like this:

Level 1 – Instinctive – Needs are: food , water, shelter, safety etc – i.e survival

Level 2 – Animistic – Needs are: Social, family, tribe, honour, respect elders, ancestors, spirits i.e lives for past

Level 3 – Egocentric – Needs are: Pschological, power driven, exploitative, priviledge i.e lives for now.

Level 4 – Absolutistic – Needs are: Abstract, purposeful, authoritarian, dualistic, dogmatic i.e lives for future

Level 5 – Materialistic – Needs are: Entreprenuerial, strategic, growth and success. i.e Lives for gain

Level 6 – Humanistic – Needs are: Community, harmony, liverty, equality i.e lives for cause

Level 7 – Systemic – Felxibility, spontaneity, competence, balance i.e lives for Synergy.

Levels 8 and 9 are about targeting the “greater good” and those in these levels are living entirely for others… i.e the Dalai Lama.

So how are people using this as a sales tool?  There are people in todays market place that use this theory as a way of selling products and programs… and they do it like this….

They start of by explaining Spiral Dynamics, and they talk about examples – this is a direct quote from something that was said in a room I was in once… “The average australian employee mindset is at level 3 – but if you want to be successful in business you need to be level 5, I can only see and recognise 3 level 5s in the room (this was a room of about 100 people)” this then went on futher when this person was selling from the stage and used “I don’t want to spend my time with the employee mindset or level 3s – I want to spend my time with level 5s” and this where those in the room who are desperate to have successful businesses convince themselves that the only way to get to level 5 is to buy the product or program… almost the “blue pill to level 5 thinking”!

Now I am all for using NLP, human behavioural understanding to ensure that you are able to talk about services or products in a way that you can align with your customers or potential customers… however, I am not sure how ethical it is to utilise something that is a conceptual theory to manipulate a crowd to believe that if they don’t buy something they will never progress or develop… I personally believe that anyone can work their way through the levels as every human can adapt to situations and evolve their own thinking…

I know this is a heavy blog… but would love to know your thoughts…

Should Spiral Dynamics be simplified and reduced to a common sales tool?

Wow it’s been a while since my last blog.. things have been happening here at an amazing rate of knots.. The biggest thing to hit has been the Nexus CG 2 year birthday… which is TODAY.  I am so proud of everything that we have built here at Nexus, I am equally proud of the team that make Nexus great, the clients who are always in our corner and the support we get from so many other businesses.  This ride has definitely been worth it…

Reality is though, the ride hasn’t always been smooth.  It has been bumpy, dirty, challenging and down right painful at times…. The one word that came to me as I was reflecting about Nexus, whilst in the shower this morning, was lonely.

Lonely can be such a “taboo” word to use in society.  No one EVER wants to admit they are lonely, because loneliness evokes the feelings of lack of friends or not being popular etc… but I have chosen to think about it differently.

I was lonely in business… because everytime I took a step closer to achieving my goals I started to leave more and more peers behind.  At first this really saddened me, but then I got used to being lonely, I got so much done being by myself, I had products written, CDS recorded, youtubes filmed…. and suddenly I was becoming more and more successful… not only in my business… but also in my loneliness.

I thought that this was how it was meant to be… everytime I thought of other super successful women in my industry I was always consumed by how lonely they seemed… so for me – I was almost modelling… who whacked is that?!?!

I then realised that maybe it was ok to be lonely in my business in the beginning as it allowed me to focus on what I needed to create and what I needed to achieve…. but then I needed to not be so good at being lonely anymore and start hanging out with some amazingly beautiful friends.

I have to say, the friends I have today are very different to the friends I used to have…. I think maybe it is because I gave myself time in my loneliness to get clear on not only who I wanted with me in business, but also in my circle of friends.

I think my initial loneliness is one major aspect to the success in at Nexus… and I am revealing this because I know how hard it is to be lonely when you are first setting up your business… but I also wanted to let you know that the loneliness doesn’t need to last forever… and those really super successful women in my industry are no longer modelled by me… as I choose to have a better experience in my life.

I can’t believe I am sharing all of this with you… but as its our 2nd birthday so why the hell not eh?!?

I am starting to feel a little nervous that I am the only one who has ever felt this way in business….. so please post and let me know that I am not a complete freak lol

Off to eat cake and drink champagne…..

Cheers

N

I have been getting quite a few phone calls and emails about how you are all enjoying my blogs… and I am thrilled – who knew that my strong opinions would ever serve me well…

Many of you don’t know that I have the ability to speak 5 languages… English (probably my worst language), German (fluently), French, Japanese and Persian Farsi (my newest and not quite mastered yet).. language is something that I have had a long lasting relationship with.. it fascinates me, intrigues me, encapsulates me and more importantly fills me with utter enjoyment.  Simply understanding how a language is spoken… and not just what the words mean really “floats my boat” – I see it as understand the “art of the language” and not just “what word means what”.

I think this is an important distinction in most areas of life… the “how” versus the “what”… and it so neatly brings me to the 4th thing that I really wish mentors, coaches, and so called “experts” understood… Business owners want the tools of HOW to do things… not just theory (what)…

For example I could learn the word for “love” in German…. “liebe” – but if I wanted to tell someone I loved them then suddenly I would go into overwhelm as I wouldn’t know “how” to construct a sentence to be able to express myself properly… but as soon as I learned the grammar, the nuances, the tonality and where to place the emphasis I would know exactly how to tell someone I loved them…”Ich liebe dich”, or “Ich liebe Sie” (dependant on the person and the relationship)… then what happens if I turn it into past tense “Ich liebte Sie”.  So as you can see, just having the word “liebe” doesn’t get you very far.

Just like being told “go and do online marketing”, “go and sell into corporates”, “come up with a new offline marketing campaign”, “sell it from stage”… is great information – but is worth didlisquat unless you know HOW to do these things.

I so often see business owners who have all the theories, all the “what” the “liebe”- have been to the seminars, taken the courses but never been shown the “HOW” – they don’t have a system in place to complete all of the action items and quickly, but very surely, they enter into the state of overwhelm… where they get lost, disalusioned and quite frankly… peeved at all the money they spent on hearing more theories…. and as I have too been put in that position… I say it’s time to take a stand…..

It’s time for these mentors, coaches and so called “experts” to take a very long hard look in the mirror and stop spouting “liebe” and start educating their clients in “ich liebe dich”….

So folks… stand with me… post a comment to show these “WHAT” sayers that we are ready to hear the HOW… the art of business….

Cheers

N

I am feeling a little out of sorts today… firstly I am writing a blog on a Monday (odd) and secondly it is day 1 of a 28 day “Beta Testing Program” for weight loss that I am embarking on with my trainer.  This Beta programs includes no coffee (possibly why I am out of sorts already), no alcohol (what do i do at Happy Hour?!?!), very healthy food and a whole heap of exercise…. I suppose it seems a little daunting, but I am committed to giving this a red hot go – because I know that the food has been tailored to my needs as has the exercises…  so clearly my trainer knows me (his market) well enough that he knows the best way to get results….

That got me thinking… isn’t that what we should all be aiming for with our marketing?  This is step 3 of the things I wish Mentors, coaches and so called “experts” understood… Understand when online marketing works… and more importantly when it DOESNT!

If my trainer had said to me, “ok Naomi, we are going to work at getting you to lift some super heavy weights, because strong people live longer”… I would have probably 1) laughed, 2) ignored him and 3) walked away… because that’s not what I wanted, or how I wanted to go about my fitness regime…whether he is right or wrong… it’s not what I WANT.

You need to know your market well enough that you instinctively know that if you were to embark on the online marketing strategy whether or not your clients would respond well to it.  There are markets and industries out there that do not search for services online, they don’t use social media (shock horror) and they work entirely from an offline marketing perspective which include, networking, referrals, quirky lumpy mail, coffee meetings etc etc…  This sounds so very simple and makes sense..

So why do these mentors, coaches and so called “experts” insist that all marketing needs to be online?  It makes me wonder if they suggest online marketing simply because there are formulas out there to help you get started online marketing – which makes life really easy… offline marketing takes a lot of creativity, a sense of fun, and of course massive ACTION…  You can’t generate leads through offline marketing whilst you sleep.. so I guess it is a “harder sell” to their clientele.

Reality is, if they are not offering you leanrings and suggestions around offline marketing, and your crowd does not search online for your services, then really…. what are you paying them for… and have you EVER asked them that question?

Another question just popped into my head… do they tell you about online marketing because they 100% believe in it… or because they don’t know how to guide you into creating an offline campaign… or is it a bit of both?

Please don’t take this the wrong way… I 100% believe in online marketing, for the RIGHT markets… I simply am questioning if the coaches, mentors and so called “experts” are doing their due diligence around creating the right marketing campaigns for the RIGHT markets…

Am off to eat a tin of tuna…

Cheers

N

I have just got into the office after a gruelling hour in the gym with my PT.  During my torture session he was quizzing me on sales copy and marketing techniques… the techniques he was specifically referring to were tear sheets, faxes, long form sales letters and sending random emails… also known as spam.  He was asking me if they work… here’s the thing… all marketing works, as long as you target it to the RIGHT market and not the wrong market.  Sounds simple right?  Wrong….

This is the 2nd out of 7 steps that I really wish mentors, business coaches and so-called “experts” understood…“Don’t give them a whole load of rehashed american concepts that have NOT been tried and tested in this market”

The amount of times I have been to a “business workshop”, a “mastermind class” or even had a conversation with an “expert” who has tried to resell me the concepts of some of the great Frank Kern’s or Ryan Deiss’ marketing techniques has been phenomenal… and the best part is – they never change.  There is always the same formula for sales copy, there is always the process of landing page with a special report followed by autoresponders then there is the free stuff you give away… then the social proof then finally you sell something… I have to say, I get this process… most of us do… then the question that begs to be asked is… why is it not as successful as when the Americans do they same thing?

This is something I have thought about, tried and tested, and watched others in the market place do… not very successfully I might add… and the answer was staring at me in the face… for the same reason that American Sales techniques don’t work here in Australia…. we are a completely different breed.

So if this is the case, surely I am not the only one to notice that these methods are having limited success here in Australia… then why do the people we go to for expert advice keep rolling out the same rehashed version of marketing techniques….  Why can’t they come up with an awesome and rocking Australian Sales Copy formula… keep the sequence… but “Aussie it up” a bit.  Why do these “so called” experts recommend sending tear sheets out… when the Aussie market are known sceptics and “why oh why” are there people out there suggesting to their clients to send faxes to cold leads?!?!?   Seriously guys… lift your game!

Marketing to the Aussie market can be an absolute blast… all you need to do is think outside the box… have a little fun and be really comfortable and most importantly proud of what you are sending out to your list… and remember – have an open mind with different forms of marketing online, offline and social media – you will always have the best outcome when you employ all three in your marketing strategies.

So… Aussie it up folks… be proud of our quirky sense of humour, our healthy scepticsm on overall our ability to laugh at ourselves.

Cheers

N