It’s OK to be lonely in business….

Hi All..

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

All Together Now… 1, 2, 3…. HOW!?!?!?

Morning Everyone…

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

NEWS FLASH: Online Marketing Doesn’t ALWAYS Work…..

Morning Folks…

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

 

American marketing will be the death of small business in OZ

Morning everyone…

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

Sick of hearing…”No… that’s not a niche!”

Happy Friday Everyone…..

I absolutely love Fridays… for it means that I can complete the admin stuff for the week, have a 5.30pm meeting with the girls at Happy Hour at the wine bar next door, and of course… take some time out to write a blog.

Last week I started talking about what some mentors, business coaches and so called “experts” are saying and doing to their business owner clients… and quite frankly, its not all good!  I also highlighted 7 areas in which I think I have discovered what the Australian Business Owner truly wants from their chosen “mentor”…  Here is a reminder…

1. Someone who is willing to understand them and their business – not create a business for them that they don’t actually feel connected to. For example…. instead of being dismissive and saying “NO…that’s not a niche”… work out how their passion could be a niche!  Sounds simple right?
2. Don’t give them a whole load of rehashed american concepts that have NOT been tried and tested in this market
3. Understand when online marketing works… and more importantly when it DOESNT!
4. They want the tools of HOW to do things… not just theory…
5. They want you!  That is why they signed to be with you, to learn from you, to find out the strategies that worked for you and most importantly they want the systems that you have… so give it to them…. That’s what you are being paid for!
6. They want you to deliver what you promise… if you promise small classroom sizes and access to you… then don’t put them in a room of 35 and give them a “bees dick” amount of time with you… they want someone who “means what they say, and says what they mean!”
7. Their business isn’t just about marketing…. they want your professional opinion on all areas of the business… this means they want you to get a little more in-depth than just “What is your ideal day”

I wanted to have a closer look at point 1… “Someone who is willing to understand them and their business – not create a business for them that they don’t actually feel connected to. For example…. instead of being dismissive and saying “NO…that’s not a niche”… work out how their passion could be a niche!  Sounds simple right?”

It is very rare that a person will wake up one morning and say “I am going to start a business today!”… normally it has been on their mind for sometime, it has been a small urge that has manifested its way through the skin until it bursts out and says “Yup… I am finally going to do it…” – which means it is also very rare, that someone doesn’t know what kind of business they want to run.  It may be a cafe, it may be a coaching service it may be a software development company… whatever it is, that person has been thinking, contemplating, dreaming and weighing up the risks about owning this business for a while – that in itself deserves respect.

I have had too many people come to me recently and say “my last mentor said…NO… that’s not a niche, find something else”… which I can understand to a point… but definitely do not endorse this disrespectful behaviour.  Sometimes business owners do get overly excited with their passion, or an idea… and forget to do their due diligence and find out if there is a market for their actual business idea or not…. Please note…. just because your idea may not have a market… doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea for a business… you may just need to tweak certain elements, talk about certain topics and pain points and hit the right markers to find the market you are after….

What I see next is the most concerning of all…. once these “mentors” have disrespected your feelings, trampled on your ideas, and squashed the passion out of you… they then recommend a few niches that you should go into to make money.  Great… go into a new business idea with no passion, no sense of belonging and no real connection to the new business…. how do you think that is going to work for you??  Not well at all…. then comes the inevitable confusion.  ”I thought I wanted to run my own business, but I don’t really like what I am doing”..”I’m not sure I really have a clear vision of what I am doing…”…”I am completely confused as to where to start” – ring a bell with anyone out there?

This is what happens when a business idea or niche gets forced onto someone.. You don’t need to be someone else in order to have a successful business.  All you need to do is work to your strengths, think about what it is you love to do, then find what the market wants as a solution and provide it….

It seems so logical and simple, yet this is something I face nearly everyday with people coming to me for help in their businesses…

I am curious, what you your opinions are on this subject?

Have a great day all

Cheers

N

What business owners really want….

Afternoon folks…

My two last blogs around mastermind groups have certainly got people talking, people calling, people reblogging and most importanting people THINKING about what it is that they actually want as business owners.  There seems to be common themes running throughout, and that’s why it has baffled me somehwhat that there are still business coaches, mastermind groups and the likes there of… that still don’t get it!

I recently had a client come to me from a business coach, who was advised to change their whole branding to become a character that simply isn’t them…. they were advised to have the word “chick or gal” in their business name, even though this person is a mature woman who wants to approach corporates…. ummm mismatch much?  It seems that these coaches and mentors are forgetting the fundementals here… your clients wants you to understand them, work your magic around their businesses and not create a business or brand that fits your needs and agendas….

So lets take this a step further… what is it that business owners want from a business coach, a mastermind mentor or “an expert”?

Here is what I have found that they want….

1. Someone who is willing to understand them and their business – not create a business for them that they don’t actually feel connected to. For example…. instead of being dismissive and saying “NO…that’s not a niche”… work out how their passion could be a niche!  Sounds simple right?
2. Don’t give them a whole load of rehashed american concepts that have NOT been tried and tested in this market
3. Understand when online marketing works… and more importantly when it DOESNT!
4. They want the tools of HOW to do things… not just theory…
5. They want you!  That is why they signed to be with you, to learn from you, to find out the strategies that worked for you and most importantly they want the systems that you have… so give it to them…. That’s what you are being paid for!
6. They want you to deliver what you promise… if you promise small classroom sizes and access to you… then don’t put them in a room of 35 and give them a “bees dick” amount of time with you… they want someone who “means what they say, and says what they mean!”
7. Their business isn’t just about marketing…. they want your professional opinion on all areas of the business… this means they want you to get a little more in-depth than just “What is your ideal day”

I think these 7 items have been the most requested and complained about in regards to mastermind groups and business coaches… so what I thought I would do, is over the next week – is write a little bit of information on the importance of all these areas…

If you think I have left anything out, please let me know… dead keen to give as much info to you business owners out there… and who knows, maybe even some coaches and mentors!

Cheers

N

Making Mastermind Groups Brilliant!

Morning all….

I have to say I have been blown away with the response and the amount of readers to my last blog about “Are mastermind groups worth the time and money?” – it is clearly a very hot and contentious topic at the moment.  We had some fantastic responses ranging from those who have had bad experiences, to those about how mastermind groups should be run…

This topic is very close to my heart, as we at Nexus run a similar concept group called Sales Club, which is why I guess, people feel comfortable coming to me and talking about their experiences with other mastermind groups… now I wouldn’t be congruent with myself if I didn’t follow up the last blog with a “what makes mastermind groups brilliant” type of post… because there are some fabulous groups out on the market and it is unfortunate that they get “over looked” simply because of their unethical, uncaring, profit hungry compatriots..

So if you have been in a mastermind group, sales club or other organisation that has really “floated your boat” and allowed you as a business owner and entrepreneur to learn, get motoivated, ensure your success then we want to hear from you…

What made your group, club or organisation absolutely brilliant?

Cheers

N

Are masterminds groups really worth the time and money?

Afternoon all……

As a small business sales and marketing expert, I am always surprised at the amount of people the come to me complaining about mastermind groups around the globe… which made me think… are “mastermind” groups really worth the time and money you spend on them?

I think in order to answer this question we need to first explore a) what a mastermind group is and the objective of being part of a group, and b) what are the complaints?

In my opinion, and from others  I have spoken to, the term “mastermind” originally started as a way to hang out with someone who’s really successful, has the key to help other to be successful, is willing to teach their success strategy as well as having the ability to around a small group of other business owners in similar circumstances.

So if this is the case… then the complaints that I am hearing are making a load of sense…”there were over 30 people in the group”, “I didn’t feel I got any of the mentor’s ‘mind space’”, “It was clearly just a money making strategy that had very little ethical standards”, “the mentor didn’t have my best interests at heart”, “the program was over sold and under delivered” and finally.. and probably the most concerning of them all “participants seem to have quick success and not necessarily sustainable success”.  These are all people who have paid upwards of $25,000 a year for the privilege.

Does this mean that business owners and entrepreneurs who are ready to take the next step and be as successful as they choose to be, are now left in the lurch as there are so many poor mastermind groups out in the market place that they are all getting a little sceptical about the concept?  Or does it mean that mastermind groups need to wise up and get a little more “ethical and user friendly” about the way they deliver these programs…. surely they are a great idea when executed properly?

Would love your thoughts…

so close to Friday champers…. woohoo!

N

100 Brands in 100 Weeks – so it begins!

Afternoon!

Hope you all have had a great weekend and looking forward to the cup just as much as I am…. I have a feeling “So you think” will come through with the goods and so that’s where my money is going.  He has been consistent, elegant, successful and has never let Bart Cummings down – wouldn’t it be great if all brands in Australia were that reliable!

We have had so much feedback about the new campaign that ist’s almost taken us all week just to get through and answer all the emails, posts, phone calls and questions coming our way – what a great sign.  It means we are all wanting the same thing…better customer service in Australia!  I have also been approached by some media outlets for interviews so this could get “interesting”.

I wanted to give you a brief outline of how this is all going to work as we are starting with our first brand NEXT WEEK!

We have decided that in order to be as fair and unbiased as possible, that we need to look at ALL areas of each brand including; telephone sales, commercial sales, corporate sales, consumer sales and even support to get a really good overall view on what is happening from an organisational culture – because we don’t want to base it all on something that one person has said once to a client…. get my drift?

We are also going to do this from a National level – we know from experience that customer service and sales differs state to state in our “land of plenty”, so it’s only fair to ensure we are capturing the full picture.

As the head of this campaign I have also made an executive decision to protect my team, no one from the Nexus team will be named whilst completing this exercise – so if there is any fall back, it will lie solely on my shoulders.  Hope you, as my readers, can understand why.

On Monday of every week I will be announcing to the Nexus team the brand in which we will be investigating, I will also divide the task up and give each member a role to play.  They will be given a “character, questions, objectives and objections to present to the brand” – and they will report on their findings.  On the Thursday of every week I will collate the details and write a blog stating who, where, how and what went down.

To be completely fair, I will also send a copy of my report to the brand themselves and give them an opportunity for “right of reply”.

If you think I have missed anything, please post or send us a comment – we are always happy to receive feedback.  Of course, we are also still accepting nominations to add to the list as well!

I am off to have lunch outside before heading to the gym….

Have a good one everyone!

Cheers

N

The GOOD the BAD and the UGLY of Sales in Australia

HI All

We are nearing the end of the year, and the dreaded Christmas shopping is rapidly creeping up at a very nagging pace.  There are so many great aspects of Christmas but the crowded shops, the irate sales assistants and the endless cues at the toilets are not them!

I think Christmas “Cheer” has dissappeared over the recent years alongside friendly and helpful customer service, whether it is a telecommunications company, a clothing store, a cafe or a bank reality is the friendly, helpful sales assistants are very few and far between.  And quite frankly, I have had a gut full.  As a sales trainer I am constantly dissappointed by the service I have received – and I am really easy to sell to if you simply show me some care and consideration… but that doesn’t seem to be part of the sales training these people are receiving.

To really understand what is going on here – I have decided to run a new campaign… “100 brands in 100 weeks” this will see me and some very eager and enthusiastic members of the Nexus team go undercover to one top name brand every week and assess their sales capabilities, the friendliness and their overall customer service.  oooh  and we are going to write all about it right here in this blog!  Yes we are going to name and shame a few, but we are also going to give praise where deserved.

The names on the list will be kept top secret until after they have been assessed – and then the information is there for you to read and do with what you please.

We are currently in the process of drawing up the list of names – and there are some on there that make me more than a little nervous, but excited all at the same time – BUT WE NEED MORE!

We want to hear from you as to who you would like us to investigate – it could be a large retail business, it could be a large car dealership or it could be your energy company – whoever it is we want to know about it.  Post your requests here and we will decide whether or not to add them to the “list”.

This campaign probably won’t earn us any friends, but it will get the truth out there about customer service and sales in the Australian market place…. oh and this will be written about in a large business magazine as well! – So keep following us to get all the juicy info here FIRST!

Have a great day, and I look forward to seeing all of your “100 brands in 100 weeks” requests!

Cheers

NA