Self-Promotion That's Fun

This is a picture of me at the Hubbard Glacier!

I have been working with individuals who have no idea how to market themselves. They even seem a little embarrassed that they have to "do it" at all. In the past many relied on referrals from professionals who have been long standing friends as well as colleagues, but as people move on, change jobs, or retire sometimes those referrals dry up and it's hard to relearn how to network and, well...basically sell themselves and their services.

This article below gives an insight to self-promotion. Many of my clients are already on FaceBook, Linkedin, Twitter, Pinterest and Plaxo among other social networking sites but those venues are just the tip of a very large Internet iceberg!

Feel free to contact me with any questions regarding your own marketing issues. Simple and affordable solutions can be found at
http://lamotheservices.com/

Sharon LaMothe

Self-Promotion That's Fun

by Will Craig

Do you have as many clients as you want? Are you "landing" the type of clients that are absolutely fun to work with? Okay, here is one more question... Are you promoting yourself?

The reason most of us get into coaching is to coach. Few of us -if any- get into this business to promote ourselves (and wouldn't it be great if we didn't have to). The sad fact is, we do.

Here's why:
Unless people know about you they can't hire you. It's easy to think that others who enthusiastically market themselves are, in some way, "fly-by-night hucksters." In some cases this may even be true. The fact is, if you don't promote yourself your potential clients may end up hiring those less qualified individuals instead of you. You've given them no choice because you haven't promoted yourself to them as an option.

If you think about it you have an obligation to promote yourself so that the clients that really need to work with you have a way to reach you (and not someone else). The good news is this doesn't have to be an obnoxious task.

Here's how:

The professionals that are successful at selling their services aren't really selling at all. They are promoting themselves in subtle, yet convincing ways. They are allowing their prospects to get to know them. They are building rapport and trust. In a nutshell, they are just being themselves.

If you put yourself in situations where you allow people to experience you, you will have your pick of clients. And they'll be the best clients for you! Feel good about promoting yourself by recognizing that marketing your professional services is nothing more than relationship building.

Mainstream sales and advertising has given the marketing of professional services a bad rap. When self-promotion is done right, it's fun and rewarding, PLUS you can feel good about it. Go out and be yourself with as many people as possible. The ones who are attracted to you will work the hardest for themselves. They will also be the most fun for you to have as clients.

Sharon LaMothe
LaMothe Services, LLC http://lamotheservices.com
LaMothe Surrogacy Consulting http://lamothesurrogacyconsulting.com
Infertility Answers, Inc. http://infertilityanswers.org

How To Increase Your Blogging Productivity by John Chow

Whaaaat, don’t tell me you didn’t… are you for real?! Well, what happened? Are you sick?…


Did you ever have a similar conversation with your boss? I’m sure you did. We all experience the unproductivity beast at times. In case you don’t recognize it, try this for size. You just spent a whole day procrastinating about your lack of productivity and go to bed a frustrated person, ready to do another day of … doing nothing.

When We Have To Stop Kidding Ourselves

It’s OK to be a master procrastinator from time to time, but not most of the time! Interestingly though, a lot of people who claim they can’t make money online are exactly that! They busy themselves with meaningless tasks such as reading blogs, eBooks, tutorials, email, and the countless other tasks we do each day. Oh, I did forget Twitter, chat and other social media.

If you don’t see growth in your business, look at what you DO each day to help your business grow. Do you actively:

• Market your business?
• Work your business to earn money? 
• Brand your business?  
• Network with people who can bring you new business?  

If you said no to all of the above, then you need to do some major renovating and restructuring of your working habits. In fact, you NEED to get proper working habits, because you clearly don’t have any.

 

Admission Is The Key

When we are unproductive, we usually are for good reasons. We could be: 

• Exposed to constant distractions.  
• Unhappy about our working environment.  
• Unclear about directions.  
• Resenting our boss.  
• Unmotivated.  
• Experiencing a lack of passion/drive.  
• Or we could simply suck at self-management.

If you do, then don’t worry. Not everyone is born a productive guru. Most of us have to unlearn bad habits and learn good ones. Whatever the reason for your lack of action, as long you admit to yourself that in fact you do suck at being productive, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Be honest about your lack of productivity and don’t kid yourself about doing the things that don’t matter to your bottom line. Checking email a dozen times a day won’t put money into your pocket. Neither does chatting on instant messenger.

 

Once, and if you have reached your daily target, you can indulge all you want into the pleasure side of business/a job.

 

Setting Benchmarks

  A great way to beat unproductive habits is by setting benchmarks. I like to work with daily income goals myself. If I haven’t reached a certain income target in a given day, I simply don’t rest. I work when I’m sick, angry, frustrated and happy. To me, all these personal states of being don’t matter as much. What matters is my business and going forward. 

 

Is it easy? Heck no. At times it is the hardest thing I do, especially when I work with the worst cold, or fever. But as long as I can work, I usually do.

 

There is much satisfaction in finishing a day, knowing I’ve done all I could that day. It is the one reason why I’m successful and not wishing to be!

  

How you too can become a productive person, in charge of your destiny

 

The step from major procrastinator to major achiever is often smaller than you think. The secret of the whole concept lies in the step.

 

It’s the action, or the lack of it that ultimately makes the difference in your day. If your head is filled with things you need to do, then you should try to prioritize your priorities first.

 

The quickest way to stop procrastinating is to ‘just do it,’ in the true Nike sense.

 

Reclaim your life by facing the unproductivity beast head-on. It’s not going to be easy while you retrain your habits, but I can almost guarantee you that it is possible to become a very productive person by following the tips below:

•   Work in short productive bursts. The burst is determined by your concentration span. For some this relates to 20 minutes at a time, while others can last a full 45 minutes.  
• After each productivity burst take a short break to refresh your mind and body. 
• Drink lots of water. Try to avoid too much coffee (yeah, I now it’s my vice too.)  
• Opt to work in a no distraction zone whenever you can.  
• Make sure your office is well lit and has fresh air.  
• Start the day with the most complicated task.  
• Work out a system that works for you, forget what the gurus say.

 

Enjoy the ride!

Feel free to add your tips on becoming more productive.