Here's the little guy being eaten by the dinosaur. Will his friends and family remember him? Well, that depends on what he did in his short life. Did he only hunt and eat (and hide)? Did he try to collect trophies from all his kills? Maybe the furs to show off to his buddies? Did he have a REALLY NICE upper class cave decked out in the latest stone furnishings and with a water view? Did he have a leadership position in his community? (I'm guessing he didn't, otherwise he would have delegated someone else to get eaten.)

Or was he the kind of guy who helped others? Did he try to solve problems of others? Help build things for his friends? Did he carve thank-you tablets to people he knew going through tough times? Did he deliver wild flowers to people who needed cheering up? Did he share his food when the hunting was good? Was he a family man? Did he only club his wife and drag her into the cave once a month or did he do that more frequently? Did he ever help her with cleaning the cave?

What am I trying to say here? Well, even though this guy is a gonner, either he's just a footnote in the history of the tribe or he's going to be remembered in stories told around the campfire and maybe even have a monument erected in his honor. His kids (if they didn't get eaten, too) will learn from all that he took the time to teach them and pass on his legacy to others. His wife will remember him fondly while she's being clubbed by her next mate.

What has this all got to do with you? I'm glad you asked me! Times haven't really changed all that much, you see. We are not so much remembered for our accumulations as we are for what humanitarians we are, or should I say, "were." While the people in your legal will may appreciate the stuff, eventually the stuff will get used up, spent or maybe sold. But your LEGACY, that's a different story. This is what lasts through the ages. This is what people, perhaps even those who never knew you personally, will remember and tell others. And that's really what life is all about isn't it?

He who dies with the best legacy wins!

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Now the key here is not to just be blabbing your sales pitch. As I’ve discussed in other articles, you must be attentive to the other person, ask questions, take notes if necessary and generally be interested in helping the other person. But let’s say you’ve done all that and now they ask you what you do? You begin talking and after a few minutes you notice that they are looking over your shoulder, or looking at the floor or the ceiling, or worse still, at your chest (you women know about this, right?). Perhaps they’re fidgeting. Maybe looking at their watch. Tapping their foot. Maybe they keep interrupting you.

Hey! These are CLUES!

So what does this mean? Well, it could mean that you are a boring talker. It could mean that they are rude and impatient. It could mean that you have a remarkable chest. (sorry, couldn’t resist that one) It could mean that they have a medical condition. The problem is, what do you do about it?

First, ask someone you can trust if you could improve your speaking skills. Quite possibly you could develop a standard “sales pitch” that doesn’t sound like your reading from a script. Make it interesting. Phrase it in such a way that it prompts questions from the other person. Second, if your speaking skills are good, perhaps you can just call the other person out and say something like, “Am I boring you?” Now that’s kind of harsh but sometimes a person needs to be made aware of how they’re acting. You could also say, “It really bothers me when you….” You could politely excuse yourself and just walk away from that person. If you’re in Texas you could pull out your concealed .38 and say, “You’re really making my day.” Or you could just signal the Networking Police and have them hauled away.

The point here is to be attentive to people you’re talking to. You may discover all kinds of things that will tell you what’s really going on with them and perhaps you can tailor your discussion to be more meaningful to them so that they will feel pleased and gratified that they talked to you. After all, that’s what networking’s all about – relationships. Hopefully the ones where people feel good about knowing you and not the ones where they’re looking down the barrel of a gun.

To your business success!

Please visit businessnetworkingmistakes.com to get a free report about how networking mistakes can cripple your business.

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A priest, a nurse and a mechanical engineer were in some foreign country and about to be executed for some political infraction. They were to be executed by guillotine. They drew straws and the priest was to go first. He was asked, “Do you want to be executed face up or face down?” The priest replied, “Face up.” He was put in position and the lever was pulled and the blade came crashing down, only to stop just inches from his neck.

The crowd stirred, and a voice was heard to say, “It must be a sign from God. Release him.” The crowd took up the chant, “Release him. Release him.” And so the priest was let go.

Next was the nurse. She was asked, “Face up, or face down.” “Face down,” she answered. When she was in position, the lever was pulled and the blade came crashing down, only to stop just inches from her neck.

This time the crowd oooooh’d and aaaahhh’d. Together they yelled, “It must be a sign from God! Release her!” And so she was let go.

Now it was the engineer’s turn and when asked if he wanted to be face up or face down, he said, “Face up.” As soon as he was put in position he looked up and pointed, saying, “I see the problem!”

What is the moral of this story? Well, it’s that you sometimes become so focused on the problems that you forget to see the big picture. Do you have a plan for working ON your business instead of IN your business, but you find yourself caught up in the day-to-day activities and before you know it, months have gone by? And your business is still stuck where it was? No growth. No streamlining. No new customers. No systems in place. No quality control. No employee training. No delegating. Where is that business plan, anyway? Stuck in some file cabinet or safe? Under that pile on the dining room table? Do you even HAVE a business plan?

It’s easy to find yourself putting out fires all day or week long, but you absolutely MUST make a schedule that gives you time to work ON the business. Do whatever it takes and stick to the schedule!!! Now you can create systems that take the pressure off you and your employees. Now you can begin to grow your business while confident that the problems will be fixed by the appropriate people. I mean, someone, somewhere has to manage the business, right? Where is it written that it has to be you?

One of the things you can do to help systemize your business is to use a business tool that AUTOMATICALLY gets you referrals, does follow-up, creates deeper relationships with your customers/clients and employees, remembers important dates and such. This tool will give dramatic results while saving you time, money and effort. “What is it,” you ask? Well, if you email me at steveblu1@gmail.com  you can try it for FREE. The FREE TRIAL doesn’t show you how to do all that I mentioned, but if you will contact me for an appointment, I can do a complete walk-through with you over the phone.

So! Are you willing to spend a few minutes to try something you’ve never seen before but can help your business? Or are you so afraid that I’m trying to sell you something that you pass up an opportunity to look at a tool that benefits YOU? You wouldn’t be reading this if you were not open minded at least a little bit. Most people never become successful because they live defensively all their lives and in their businesses as well. Don’t let this be you!

See the big picture and not the “problem.”

To your business success!!

Please visit businessnetworkingmistakes.com to get a free report about how networking mistakes can cripple your business.

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It has also been said that, “It’s not what you know, but who you know.”

What has not been said is, “It’s what you know about who you know.”  But, depending on how you use that information,  you may get in trouble with the law.

Now with all that in mind, what’s true is that it certainly helps to know the right people. However, just knowing them isn’t enough. What if you recently wrote a book, met Oprah and all you could say was, “I’m your biggest fan.” Would she remember you or mention your book on her show to all those vapid, screaming women? What if you had invented a new soup. You just met Mr. Campbell himself at a networking event, and all you could think of to say was, “I love your ketchup, Mr. Campbell!” Perhaps you’re an aspiring actor and at a Hollywood party you actually get to meet Steven Spielberg, but all you could sputter was, “I’ve seen all your movies!”

No, just knowing or meeting the right people isn’t enough, is it? You have to have the right conversations.

So where am I going here?

You HAVE to be prepared! You HAVE to have a compelling description when asked, “What do you do?” You HAVE to make yourself stand out from the crowd and be remembered!

YOU SIMPLY HAVE TO!

You may ask yourself, “How do I make myself stand out from the crowd? Should I dress funny? Should I talk loudly? Maybe cut my hair into weird styles? Do I create a funny walk?  (John Cleese of Monty Python did this) Whatever shall I do? (spoken while placing the back of the right hand to your forehead and looking upwards. Then heave great sigh)

Hey, I don’t know! You think I’m the expert here? Why don’t you try all these things?

I know that facing a celebrity or someone you’ve admired can be daunting and perhaps make you gush or become speechless or at the very least, nervous and forgetful. In those chance meetings you’ve got to maintain your composure as much as possible. That’s where preparation comes in. If you’ve practiced this stuff a lot, it tends to come out naturally and habitually.

But wait! You could also do something memorable, like…oh, I don’t know, maybe sending a greeting card that says something unusual in it? Maybe with a picture that’s unusual and funny on the outside? Maybe with pictures of you or the object of your gushing on the inside. (to do this, you have to get a picture of you, the gusher with them, the gushee. So always carry a camera around)

“How can I do this,” you ask?

Well, guess what?  You can go to www.sendoutnow.com and learn how for FREE. There is NOTHING else out there like it! This is a one-of-a-kind tool that can help you to set yourself apart from all other businesses, I kid you not! And if you wish, you can even make some extra money using this wonderful tool!

That’s me and my wife Sara on the card.

So why not check it out? What have you got to lose? Maybe 15 minutes of your time? Small price to pay for potentially taking your business to the next level.

Stop gushing. Stop dressing funny and walking funny. Try this instead.

To your business success!

Please visit businessnetworkingmistakes.com to get a free report about how networking mistakes can cripple your business.

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Good Lord, how many times have you heard that one from your mom? In high school this   was my mom’s mantra!
I wanted to fit in, like everyone else my age, and so I tried to mimic the kids in the “in” crowd. It never dawned on me to do my own thing, to stand out in the crowd, to follow my heart, to think outside the box, to have my own bag, to make a name for myself, to….you’re getting this, aren’t you?

Kids at that age usually don’t know any better. Problem is, we take this with us into adulthood. And into businesshood. We follow the crowd. We become sheep-like. “Everyone else is doing it,” we say. We’ve been stuck in a democracy so long that we think that voting indicates what’s right and what’s good. And how has THAT worked out for us? You know, even the T.V. commercials tap into that mindset. They tell me how many people are using their product. If 2 million people are using their product, it must be good for me, too, right? I mean, could there actually be 2 million idiots in this country? (Don’t answer that! We all know that of course WE are not members of the idiot club!)

Now, it’s common knowledge that to be successful in business, one of the things you have to do is to “stand out.” What does that mean, exactly? Is it like Mattress Mack of Gallery Furniture jumping up and down saying, “…saves you money!” Or is it Gallery Furniture’s “Buy It Today, Get It Tonight” ethic? No other furniture company delivers on the same day. Can you imagine the logistics nightmare to ALWAYS, WITHOUT FAIL, deliver on the same day?
How about Hyundai? They were the first to offer the 10 year, 100,000 mile warranty. Lately, they were the first to introduce the “If you lose your job we will buy back your car” option.
Now, Kentucky Fried Chicken is offering Kentucky Grilled Chicken. I bet Colonel Sanders struggled with that one for a while.

What’s my point?

Well, what do you think it is?

This begs the obvious question, do you do what everyone else does? You know, billboards, phone book ads, T.V. commercials, emails, those sorts of things?

Or do you stand out from the crowd?

When was the last time you saw a company send out greeting cards? When was the last time you saw or heard of a company doing customer/client appreciation, other than the standard, meaningless, corporate-speak letter that begins with “Dear Appreciated Customer”? When was the last time you saw or heard of a company sending gifts or gift cards to their employees, customers/clients, vendors, business associates? I’m not talking about a slush fund here or some contribution, although that can have value.  When was the last time you sent a personal greeting card talking about your employees or your family ? Imagine calling your employee, or your aunt, and telling them how valuable they are to you or thanking them for something they’ve recently done for you? Now instead, imagine bringing them up on stage in front of 500 other people and thanking them, acknowledging them or congratulating them. Would that make a difference to your employee or aunt? Is that more powerful than just calling them or shaking their hand? You bet it is!!!

So, here’s an idea. Take a picture of your outstanding employee or your aunt, make a greeting card out of it with the caption, “Bill Smith, Employee of the Month” or “Aunt Mary, My Favorite Aunt.” On the inside tell why they’ve impressed you so much. Now, send this out to EVERYONE at your company or your entire family. Do you feel the difference? You can do this with vendors, suppliers, customers. The only limit is your imagination. And you can do all this with an automated system while only spending $.93 per card + postage!! Can you imagine sending 200 cards in less than 3 minutes with the push of a computer key? In this system you can do this.

What about follow up? What if you could create a 5 card series, each with a different message, whereby each card goes out every month, or every 3 months, AUTOMATICALLY to your customers or prospects. All you had to do was create the cards and tell the system how often to send each one. Then, press the computer key. The system does the rest. AUTOMATICALLY. For as little as $.62 per card + postage!

This is not jumping off a bridge with your friends. In fact, I’ll bet none of your “friends” or business competitors are doing this. You want to stand out? You want to make a name for yourself, think outside the box, DOUBLE YOUR REFERRALS? This is the tool to use. Email me at steveblu1@gmail.com to experience this tool for yourself. For FREE.

To your business success!!!

Please visit businessnetworkingmistakes.com to get a free report about how networking mistakes can cripple your business.

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So…off to the store I went.

I saw that when it came to filler valves and float devices (called ball cocks), there was a larger variety to choose from than there had been the last time I did this. I felt adventurous, and chose something more modern than I’ve used in the past.

It took me about 6 minutes to drain the tank, remove the old valve and replace it. Voila!! My years of experience had finally paid off! Then I washed my hands in one of the two sinks we have in that bathroom. These sinks have a joystick type handle on them for turning on and off the water. When I attempted to turn the water off, it wouldn’t.

O.K. no problem here, I’ve changed out stem valves on sinks before. Probably a bad O-ring. I shut off the water supply under the sink and proceeded to dismantle the faucet. Uh,oh! I couldn’t get the valve out of the fixture. I couldn’t see how to do it at all, as I’ve never seen a set up like this one. I’m familiar with the two valve fixtures. I figured this would be a good time to replace both 48 year old sink faucets.

So….off to the store I went.

I found a couple inexpensive and good looking faucets that actually had two knobs on them, one for hot and one for cold. I checked out and headed back to the house.

Now, if you’ve ever changed the hardware in a bathroom or kitchen, then you know that for an hour’s job it’s 50 minutes to get the old hardware off and 10 minutes to put on the new. Or, it’s 3 hours to get the old hardware off and 10 minutes to put on the new. Or, it’s 5 hours……O.K. you get the drift. It took me only 1 hour to remove the old. And guess what? The water line from the wall valve under the counter to the new faucet didn’t reach the new fixture.

So….off to the store I went.

I made sure I knew what size fittings were needed at each end so I wouldn’t have to keep coming back to the damn store. I bought the 4 hoses that I needed for the 2 sinks, and checked out and headed back to the house. I jokingly told my wife that I was NOT going back to that store again!

Unfortunately, I didn’t check what KIND of fittings were needed at one end. I needed compression fittings and that’s not what I bought. Now I told my wife that she was going to have to do without water in this bathroom until tomorrow because I wasn’t going back there today, dammit, and when I did, I was going to a DIFFERENT store so I would not embarrass myself any further. She told me that I HAD TO go back there to exchange the parts. Crap! She was right. I took a break and had something to eat. I felt a little better.

So….once again, off to the store I went!

By now, it took only the 10 minutes required to install the stuff for both sinks. They look great and there was no blood involved. Well…just one cut on a knuckle is all. For me that’s a record. The bathroom looks great and is fully functional. No leaks anywhere!

What I learned:

Even though I have previous experience at doing things, the older I get, the more I forget. I have other age issues, too.

I even wrote a limerick about one of them. It goes like this -

There once was a man from Algiers

Who was getting along in his years.

On his head, hair was sparse,

But it grew on his arse,

And now it comes out of his ears.

As someone once said, getting old is not for sissies! They must have had me in mind.

I know that this post has nothing to do with the website topics, but if you could imagine sending a greeting card to friends or family with a picture of you fixing a toilet or a car or something that was funny or mildly amusing, and having that picture on the front of the greeting card or even several different pictures IN the greeting card, then you should visit www.sendoutnow.com to see for yourself how this is done. Then imagine sending these cards or post cards with pictures of your company staff, or logo, or building. How cool would that be? And what if you could do automatic follow-ups with these cards? It turns out that you can.

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