by Kirby Hasseman
Tis the season for holiday parties!
Your reaction to that statement probably reflects a few factors. First, it might depend on how you feel about getting together in public. It also might depend on how you feel about the holidays. But maybe the most powerful indicator about how you feel about holiday parties is what kind of festivities you have been to in the past.
Last night I attended one that was great. And it got me to thinking…what makes a great holiday event? Here is a quick (and likely incomplete) list.
1. Socialization: I love it when I get the opportunity to meet and greet with great people. The holidays can be a time when you are so caught up getting ready for them, that you don’t take time to enjoy them. The best parties allow the time for you to connect with good people.
2. Food And Drink: Whether it’s finger foods or a full meal, then best holiday gatherings offer the chance to enjoy something good to eat and drink.
3. Laughter: For me, I love any event when I get a chance to laugh. Whether you create that opportunity for your guests, or it happens naturally, laughter is the best holiday song. Create an atmosphere where everyone can have some fun.
4. Appreciation: The holiday season is a great time to show your gratitude. Whether it’s for your team or for your customers (or both), a cool holiday party gives you the chance to say “thank you.” Last night I attended a party where the leaders got up and personally expressed gratitude over the microphone, then they gave each attendee a gift on the way out. It was simple and classy. So if you are planning a holiday event, those are a few simple keys to keep in mind. But as I said, this list is likely woefully incomplete. What makes holiday events for you? Let us know!
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by Kirby Hasseman
My awesome wife (yes my wife is the best) bought me tickets to go see Garth Brooks in concert for Christmas. So I was lucky enough to be among the thousands of fans to see him in Pittsburgh recently. The show was truly outstanding. Whether you are a fan of his music or not, Garth puts on a show to remember. What an entertainer!
But it got me thinking, “What can I take away from this? What can I learn?” So here is what I came up with…5 Lessons to Learn from a Garth Brooks Concert!
The Power of the Wink: Gary Vaynerchuk actually talks about this concept. Garth understands that there is a huge amount of power in making each person in the stadium feel special. He runs around the stage so he spends time really singing and engaging with each section. He waves at individuals, slaps hands, and spends real moments that will create raging fans for life.
Lesson: Each customer matters…do you make them feel special?
Do More: The show was amazing. At the end of the event, I was tired! We had gone on a journey and stood and sang along. We had laughed and cried and screamed. And all I could think was, “He is going to do this again…tonight!” Garth scheduled two shows at 6:30pm and 10:30pm. Now that is ambitious.
Lesson: Want to grow your business? Do more than most people think is reasonable.
Bring The Energy: The reason I was so amazed that he was going to do this twice was, the level of energy he brought to the show was off the charts! He ran around and sang and screamed and (it seemed) had a great time. The audience responded to his passion by screaming louder (which I am sure fed his energy again).
Lesson: Your energy can really be contagious…is yours worth catching?
Play The Favorites: Garth actually talked about this during the show. He said when you come to see your favorite entertainer, it’s okay to hear the “new stuff.” But you bought the ticket to hear the old favorites. He’s right. The same is true for your customers. If you won them over with fantastic service, don’t change that model if you grow. Do what you do best!
Lesson: Don’t lose sight of what makes you special.
Let Your Team Shine: Around the middle of the show, Garth brought out his wife Trisha Yearwood to the stage. She is a talented entertainer in her own right and she did several great tunes from her career. In addition, both Trisha and Garth took the backseat as they welcomed one of their back-up singers to to front of the stage. She had written one of the songs Trisha was performing so they let her sing lead (and she was awesome). It was a cool moment for her and it made you like Garth and Trisha even more.
Lesson: Don’t be afraid to let your team members take the spotlight sometimes! It makes you look good.
What a show! If you get the chance to see it, I recommend it. And if you do (or if you have already seen him) let me know what lessons I missed! Remember…Sail Your Vessel!
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by Kirby Hasseman
One of my favorite quotes is, “The greatest distance in the world is the distance between “I know” and “I do.”
It’s a quote I use all of the time. Why? Because most of the problems or challenges in our lives have simple answers.
They are simple…not easy.
We know that if we want to lose weight we need to eat less and work out more. Simple. We know if we want to write a book we need to write one page a day. We know if we want to make more sales, we need to make more sales calls. Yep…still simple We “know” the answer to all of these. We just don’t “do” them.
On the other hand, most long-term changes in our lives don’t come from sweeping, huge, wholesale changes. Often, they come from making small changes that we are able to maintain. I see people all of the time make huge dietary changes in their life. They might even successfully lose a bunch of weight in a short period of time. It’s exciting and it’s impressive. It takes a huge amount of energy and discipline. Then they stop. The choices become too big. They become too hard. So make one “slip up” and they slide back into old habits. They gain the weight back and are incredibly frustrated with themselves that they could not keep up the “diet.”
That’s why I often advocate for small changes. You don’t have to start training for a marathon. Start by taking a daily walk. Create a routine that you can maintain and maybe (God forbid) enjoy! You can create a foundation of success that you are excited to build upon.
The same is true in sales and business. So often we think we need to make sweeping changes to improve. They are great…but can you maintain them? What if you just: Made one more sales call per day? Answered the phone one ring faster? Sent out one thank you per week? Wrote one helpful blog post?
Create small changes in your business and they can make a big difference down the road. Then you can decrease the distance between “I know” and “I do” just a little bit each day.
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by Kirby Hasseman
Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, many people look up from their turkey filled haze and realize that we have officially entered “the last minute” for Corporate Gifts! You want to say “thank you” to your best clients and employees (to fix the appreciation gap), but you know you have to hurry! We get it. We do the same thing! So here is a quick list of “last minute” gift ideas that will leave a lasting impression!
Presidio Backpack: If you want a gift that is stylish and functional, this might be right fit for you and your team. The Presidio Backpack is vintage inspired with modern day features and it comes in denim or black. Very cool. To learn more go here.
42 Can Coleman Cooler: I love this cooler so much I wrote an entire blog about it! You can check that out here. But the fact is, this will be the only cooler you need! It’s a good size to hold all you need…and it will keep ice 36 hours. Learn more here.
12 x 18 Year At A Glance Calendar: This is simple. Functional. And we print this in house! If you want to get your contact information up all year long on your best customer’s wall…and provide them value…this might be the answer! Oh…and we also have a new 12 x 18 Calendar product that is nearly indestructible. It’s water proof and so tough to tear. This is THE product you want to have on construction sites, manufacturing, food, healthcare and more. Let us know if you need more information!
Pyramid Copper Vacuum Insulated Tumbler: This piece has a cool design, a great quality and a quick turn around time! It’s all you need in a gift for the holidays. Check out colors and details here.
Urban Peak Drinkware Gift Set: This has plenty of “wow” factor because of the great packaging and the different styles of drinkware. Oh…and did we mention you can do a really cool imprint on it? Learn more here.
So those are 5 quick ideas. Need more? We can help! But time is of the essence. Please email us here and we can help move you in the right direction! Make sure you never miss an update! Sign up to be on our VIP list here!
by Kirby Hasseman
How does your day start? What are the first things you think about? What are the first things you do?
If you are like most people, you start your day thinking about the yesterday. You might be stressed about the work you did not get done…or the bills you did not pay. You might be mad about a conversation with a co-worker or a spouse. Or you might be worried about things coming up today or tomorrow. You are thinking about all you have to get done. You worry about the meeting you will have or the project that is nearing it’s deadline. You are stressed that there will simply not be enough hours in the day to get it all done.
Either way a few things are true;
1. You are not living “in the now.”
2. You have started your day in stress mode.
Dr. Joe Dispenza talks about this phenomenon in his book Becoming Supernatural. It’s no wonder, he says, that we feel like we are living the same day over and over again. We start each day in the past! By the way, I totally get it. I struggle with this a ton too. My natural state is “go, go, go.” That means when I wake up, my brain is ahead of me. I struggle to not start my day “on the wrong foot.” It’s a daily struggle. So what do I do? Each morning, especially on those days where I can feel my stress taking over from the start, I do three quick things.
1. I Take a Deep Breath: The whole goal here is to slow my heart rate down. There is no sense in starting the day in stress mode. I know that intellectually. But this simple exercise helps me take control of my physiology.
2. I Make a Quick List of Things I am Grateful For: I talked about the power of this yesterday. The fact is, you can’t be upset or negative when you are grateful. So by re-setting my mindset to gratitude, it helps me to get back on track, mentally.
3. I Get Up and Start Taking Action: For me, a ton of the anxiety I feel comes for worrying about the problem…whatever that problem is. Once I get up and start working on the project, I feel better. For me, nothing cures worry like taking action on the problem. So on this week of Thanksgiving…gratitude wins again. Let me know if this helps you…or share with me your “go to” morning strategy!
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by Kirby Hasseman
If you read this blog at all, you know I read quite a bit. But rather than just giving you a list like “Hey, here are some books I read,” I wanted to break them down into audience. For example, if you are in sales, I wrote a list of books that you might want to read. In addition, if you just want to grow personally, here is a foundational list of books I want my daughters to read. Today I wanted to focus on 10 books that I recommend for entrepreneurs.
There are a ton of great books out there that can help you grow as an business person…but here are a few that have inspired me!
E-Myth by Michael Gerber: This, my friends, is THE entrepreneur book. It starts here for me. I have read this book 10 times, and every time I read it, I am in a different place in my entrepreneurial journey. It’s an easy read and it’s powerful.
Profit First by Mike Michaelowicz: For me, this book was a game changer. I listened to this book the first time, and I was honestly wondering if Mike was following me around! We changed the way we did accounting in my business because of this book…and we are glad we did!
Finish by Jon Acuff: If you are like most entrepreneurs I know, you don’t have a problem starting new things. But do you finish? Jon Acuff gives tips and tactics for moving things to the “done pile.”
Content Inc by Joe Pulizzi: Yes…this is a marketing book. But I think this book has great meaning to entrepreneurs trying to tell their story in the world today. How can you become a “media company?” Start by reading this.
SCRUM by Jeff Sutherland: This book helps to answer the question, “how can my team and I get more done?” The SCRUM methodology is incredibly interesting and allows you to think about project management in a totally different way.
The Automatic Customer by John Warrillow: This one got me thinking about how you can make ANY business a subscription model. I love books that make me think! This one had me running new ideas in my mind for weeks.
4 Disciplines of Execution by Chris McChesney and Sean Covey: If you have ever gone to an event and come back inspired, then watched your ideas get lost “in the whirlwind” of business, this is the book for you. It greats down the 4 steps to implement “wildly important goals.”
The Go Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann: We always here that you need to be a “go getter” to be successful. I love this take on giving first.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*$k by Mark Manson: I loved Mark’s take on life. And once you get through the f-bombs, it’s pretty zen. My favorite concept had to do with the idea of “what are you willing to suffer through?” I love that.
Hustle by Jesse Warren Tevelow: This is not the deepest book…but I really dug it. The concept is he wrote the whole book in a week. It inspired me to think of what I could do if I just got out of my own way.
Hopefully these inspire you as much as they have me! Oh, and I am always looking for new books to read. Feel free to let me know your favorites!
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