by Kirby Hasseman
I was on the phone with our web designer, Eric Dingler, the other day and I realized something. Eric just finished a new web design for a client and we were talking about re-designing our own site as well. He was listening to my ideas on things I wanted to include and making suggestions. Then he spent some time telling me about website podcasts he listens to, and their advice on the matter. He excitedly told me about a new “tricks and tips” he could work into our site. That was when it hit me.
The best people to work with are the ones that are constantly learning and honing their craft.
Always. It never stops.
Then I looked around my office and noticed the same thing with our designer Josh. He is always looking at design. Sure, he went to school for design and he has the background and the chops. But he follows designers, he studies their work, he enjoys the conversation. He is honing his craft.
The question is…what are you working on? What do you want to become great at? If you will or if you won’t can be answered by whether or not you are continually learning or studying your craft. Want to be a fitness expert? Yes, of course you have to put in the work. You have to work on your own diet and your own fitness. But are you reading the latest blogs? Are you up on the latest workouts?
Want to stand out in Content Marketing? It’s not just about creating content (though that is super important). It’s also about studying other masters to see what is working and what is not? Want to lead in sales? It’s not just about making the sales calls (though that is where it starts). You need to continually be reading articles, books, and blogs on the topic. You have to get re-inspired and re-imagined to continue to be the best.
Do you want to be great at something or are you just saying it? A simple self-audit will tell you the truth if you let it. You are passionate about what you work at and study. Look at your calendar and study your time. That will tell you the truth. Make sure you never miss an update! It’s a great time to become a VIP! Sign up here for our weekly email with all of our content.
by Kirby Hasseman
Okay, so maybe that was a bit of reverse psychology. If you are reading this, though, it must have worked. But I promise there is a point to this exercise. Many of you know that we have been creating content for quite some time now. I have created hundreds of podcasts, probably over 300 videos, and well over 500 blog posts.
I have committed to the idea of creating value through content, because it’s the right thing to do. (And it’s working). But one thing I have yet to REALLY learn is what will work. I talk about this a bit here.
What I mean by this is that sometimes I write a blog that I think is really good. I am excited about the topic and I think it will add value to a lot of people. I am fired up to push publish…and…nothing. Often, those sure-fire hit blog posts don’t seem to resonate. Then, especially as I was committed to writing a blog every day, I might crank out a quick one with very little thought and BOOM, that article takes off.
When I blogged about this in the link above I got quite a bit of feedback that I needed to see what my audience was passionate about, and stick with that. So I tried. I noticed that sometimes I wrote specifically about a marketing topic, and that did well. For example, this blog about how to deal with Haters online was read quite a bit. So I decided to write another article like that. Here is a one that discusses treating social media like a cocktail party.
The results? Meh.
Okay…maybe it’s about “real” stories and authenticity. This is a word everyone throws around a ton, so that must be true! I wrote this article saying “I am NOT for everyone” and it was one of the most read blogs of 2018. It was written out of a moment of frustration.
So what if I shared those moments more? I wrote this blog about being overwhelmed and…well…the results were okay. I have had the same results with video. I am excited about my Day in the Life videos. For example, this one where we lost our Drone got over 500 views pretty quickly. But we have others in this series that (it feels like) no one watches.
Just currently, I am excited about this video we created that’s a little more inspirational. It’s gotten some great feedback, so I am thinking of creating more things like that. The point of all of this exercise is that it’s a work in process. Even the best content creators have pieces of content that flop.
It happens in Hollywood all of the time! The best studios, producers and actors team up on a project…and no one cares. So if it happens to the best, don’t worry when it happens to you. It’s important, I think, to just keep showing up. Keep pushing out your message and your value into the world. You probably won’t know when something will flop.
But you also might be delighted when something really takes off and makes a difference. Oh…and the same is true for sales too. You never know if THIS will be the sales call that helps you break through. Go get it.
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by Kirby Hasseman
I have heard Twitter called the Cocktail Party of social media. Though I think that has merit, I don’t think it takes it far enough. I think Social Media is the new Cocktail Party. “Ok,” you might be thinking. “Why does that matter?”
It matters, because I think it really does give us a roadmap for how to behave online. The more I have the chance to speak to groups and organizations around the country on the topic, the more I am convinced. We hear all of the time that social media is different. It’s making people act differently. And, certainly, in some cases that is the truth.
There are the “keyboard activists” that you hear about all of the time. There are trolls. But those people are around us every day…not just online. My contention is social media is VERY much like the three-dimensional world. We try to make it different. But if we treat social media just like real life, we would be better off! Here are a few similarities I see between social media and a cocktail party.
Don’t Lead with Politics: If you just moved into a new neighborhood, and you were invited to a cookout, you would probably not introduce yourself to your new neighbors with political vitriol. You might not like the current President (or the last one), but you probably would not LEAD with that. And even if you did, you would not continue to say it all night long. We all know that person that posts 8 times per day about his or her political rants. I guess you might do this, but you would not be invited back.
Less Mean…More Good: If you (and the rest of social media) communicated as if they might see people later that day, we would all get more civil. Here’s the thing, we might still have the same opinions, but we would say them differently. What your mom told you years ago is still right. “It’s not what you say, but how you say it.”
Don’t Sell ALL of the Time: I am looking at you businesses and salespeople! You would never walk up to every person at a cocktail party and try to sell them your product without knowing anything about them! Sure, you might want to sell to them…but not at hello! But businesses do this all of the time! You go to their pages and all it says is “Buy from me. Buy from me. Buy from me.” Just like it real life, people are saying “I have to go over here” to get away from you.
Make People Laugh: People who are fun to follow online are very much like people you want to hang out with in real life. They make you laugh. They make you feel good about you. They inspire you. In a world where everyone seems to be all about snark and cynicism, make people smile. That transcends any platform. So if you (and your team) want to be better on social, stop treating it differently. Start treating it just like your next networking event. You might be surprised with your results.
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by Kirby Hasseman
There is a powerful story from 7 Habits of Highly Effective People where Steven Covey was speaking to a group. After the talk, a man came up to Mr. Covey and said “My wife and I are close to a divorce. We just don’t love each other anymore. What should I do?”
Covey told the man, “You need to LOVE her.”
The man was confused. “But you don’t understand,” he said. “We just don’t FEEL that way anymore.”
Covey explained, “That’s the problem. Love is not a feeling. Love is an action.” Covey went onto explain that the husband needed to get back to taking action in consistent with love. He needed to do things for her. He needed to serve her. He needed to LOVE her. It’s an action.
I was reminded about this at a church service recently when our pastor declared that “Compassion is NOT a feeling. It’s an action!” I agree. Way too many times in life, we feel things and hope that is enough. It almost never is. It is imperative, in nearly every area of our lives, to take more action. The thing that is holding most people back in their work, dreams, relationships, fitness and more…is action. Most of us dream about what we want. We think a lot about what others have that we don’t. We might even take the extra step and write down the sincere wishes we have in our life. Heck, we might even meditate or pray in hopes the universe will bring them to us!
What we don’t do is take action.
If we are not seeing enough change, we are not taking enough action.
So if you want your spouse to know that you love them…LOVE them. If you want your team to know you have compassion for them…SHOW them. If you want your community to know you care about it…GIVE something. It’s not about thoughts. It’s not about dreams. It’s about action. Take some.
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by Kirby Hasseman
It’s Monday. Many people start off the week with a feeling of dread. But it doesn’t have to be that way! How can you get your Monday (and ultimately your week) off on the right foot? Here are a few simple tips that will help you start to love Monday!
Own the First 60 Seconds: The fact is, most of us start our day living in the past. We wake up and are immediately worried about the actions of yesterday or the problems coming up. That’s no formula for happiness or success. Take a deep breath and bring yourself into the now. Read more about this here.
Have a Good Routine: We all have routines that govern our life. Studies will tell you that between 60% and 70% of the decisions you make each day are on auto-pilot. So spend some time to create routines that serve you. Drink water. Exercise. Read. Whatever feeds your brain and your soul. Make that a part of your every day. Put IN Some Good: Which leads you to get some sources of inspiration that help to feed that brain first thing in the morning. My sources include Gary Vaynerchuck, Seth Godin, Ed Mylett and more. But if you need another, check out my Youtube Channel and subscribe. Our goal is to provide some education and inspiration as well!
Push Out Some Good: Another great way to get your mindset kicked off in the right direction is to simply do some good first thing. For me, it might be writing a blog post. My creative juices get flowing and I hope to affect some positive change. It might be sending a thank you card or email or text. Push out some good…it will make you feel great!
Chart a Course For Action: Now it’s time to be intentional. Don’t just let the day happen to you. Spend some time and chart a few things you want to get done today. Creating a short list of “must do’s” can help keep you on track when the whirlwind of the day hits! It’s time to take Monday back! Try a few of these simple steps to get you off on the right foot to attack your week! Now…let’s go do this!
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by Kirby Hasseman
Let’s address a “hypothetical situation” that happens all of the time.
You have taken the time to create a social media presence. Your Facebook page is solid and you post valuable content regularly. You are providing good information and engaging with the growing audience. You are killing it with your social media marketing.
Then one day, you get a negative comment. A customer came to your location and had a bad experience. They might have had an actual bad experience…or maybe they are just a difficult person. Their coffee was cold. Or their server was slow. Or their customer service representative was rude. Whatever the reason, they have decided to let the entire world know via social media!
What do you do now?
If this does not sound familiar yet, it will. The reality is, with the internet, everyone has a voice. And when people feel they have been wronged, they want to share that experience. The thing is, this is not a new thing. People have always shared their negative opinions. Now, everyone just has a larger audience. So what do you, as an organization, do when you get one of these negative comments online?
There are a couple steps to take (and they are outlined in detail in the GREAT book by Jay Baer “Hug Your Haters.“) But before we get to the simple steps, let’s reframe the discussion. We need to look a bit differently about the feedback. As I mentioned above, these conversations have always happened. But now you get to be a part of them! You get to address (the sometimes) very real issues with your service so that future customers don’t have the same experience. This is incredible intel to make your organization better! You need to start by looking at it that way. Don’t get defensive…get pro-active to fix the issue.
Now onto the simple steps.
When you receive a negative comment about your company, product or service, I recommend you respond to the comment by doing three things. Apologize. Empathize. Take it offline.
Apologize
Regardless of the issue, you don’t want your customer or prospects to have a bad experience, right? So apologize for it. “I am so sorry you had this experience.”
Empathize
This is when many of us feel the need to “give a reason” why this happened. This “reason” often comes off as an “excuse.” No one wants an excuse. They want to know they are valued.
Take if offline
I recommend you give them a number (to a real person) to call to discuss their issue. First, this shows you really want to handle it. Second, it keeps you from getting into an argument online…NEVER a good idea. This can be an incredibly effective technique. Often, you won’t ever get the call from the person. They just wanted to vent. But by responding, you not only responded to that customer, but everyone who knows them SEES that you responded. It shows you care enough to try and fix the issue.
And as customers, we know that caring can go a long way.
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