Yes, business person: your work is creative

Photo by Alice Achterhof on Unsplash

I am talking to you, the accountant. And you, the attorney. I am talking to you: the realtor, the banker, the writer, and the art hanger.  Everybody reading this, all of our work is creative.  It is the core idea in my interview on Jessica Matthews’ How I Create Me podcast.  Creativity is transformation When…

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Don’t tell me: show me

Raise your hand if you do not sell a quality service.  Hmm, it doesn’t look like anybody is participating. I suppose everybody here does offer a high-quality service.  And that’s exactly the problem.  If it is true for everybody, then it means nothing to anybody.  There is no such thing as quality Because if it…

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The formula for happy employees

One of the top three challenges that new employees have is unmet expectations: the job is not what they expected it to be.  That means difficult conversations where they are telling you that they expected something different, and what are you going to do about it. Or even worse: they quit.  One simple fix will…

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Why you should have a website

Just start

I received my first garlic crusher in my later 30s. Garlic is a common ingredient in my cooking, but I could never purchase a unitasker gadget like a garlic crusher. Then I received one as a gift, proving that thoughtfulness is not about price, and not only do I crush garlic on the regular, I…

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Fix your marketing: add your brand

Pretend, for a moment, that you are in the business of pens.  Now pretend that you are planning your marketing efforts for your pens.  And you come up with the message you want to get out there: We sell pens With that message, what makes somebody buy your pens rather than somebody else’s? Price, proximity,…

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Unique Value Proposition or Unique Sales Proposition

What is the difference between a unique value proposition and a unique selling proposition? This question has come up several times in the last few months.  And the truth: there are varying views on this.  But the most common consensus is:  A value proposition is about your client A selling proposition is about you Unique…

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Why You Have To Always Sell Three Things

What you do is all about customer context, how you sell is all about customer buying habits.  But at some point: you do have to talk about yourself.  Once your prospects are moving through that buyer’s journey, they will want to know what to expect when working with you.  They already know – at least…

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Are you making your brand work for you?

What’s in a brand?  More specifically: what is a brand?  The varied definitions you will find always describe how people know and recognize a company. Whether it is a logo, a slogan, or a design, the visual brand is a symbolic representation of your company.  But humans are complex beings, and to every symbol, we…

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Which piece of the pie are you?

Your client’s desire to buy from you hopefully knows no bounds.  But the thing that does have limits is budget.  Your clients can make more money, or move money around, but there is only a finite and specific amount of it available at any one time.  It is a set pie.  Which piece of that…

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