Ok Future Mr. President McCain or Obama, we’re watching you. And your body language says a lot about the type of person we are electing. Body language is critical to the way in which we market ourselves. Human beings are constantly taking cues from one another’s tone, expressions, and body language.

Which brings me to Man Hugs. The hug is muscling its way into the culture of the American male. You can read more about the Art of the Man Hug on a post I wrote last year: Males Learn the Art of the Man Hug

And then I saw some man hugging going on with our presidential candidates. I’m curious to know your thoughts on what their body language says about Obama and McCain. What do you think of how they hug and who they hug?

There’s a whole lotta political lovin’ going on. Check out these images:

McCain Hugs Bush

McCain hugging Arnold

McCain hugging Kissinger

McCain hugs Lieberman

Obama Hugs Ted Kennedy

Obama Hugs Al Gore

Obama Hugging Kerry

Obama and McCain Share a Moment

Do you ever sit down to write your next ezine article or blog post and find yourself utterly and completely stumped? You have plenty of expertise in your field. And, you can always find things to say to your clients. But there is something about sitting down to create new content that can leave us at a complete loss of what to write.

Here are 7 tips to relight your creative spark and allow you to easily create content:

1. Answer a question. Pick a question that your clients frequently ask. Answer the question in a short article. You can keep a running list of FAQs and refer to this whenever you get stumped. The great thing about answering client questions is that you know you are providing information that is useful and will help showcase your expertise.

2. Respond to hot topics in your industry. Review your industry publications, ezines, and blogs for what people are talking about and offer your opinion on the subject. Don’t be scared to be controversial or disagree with the majority. This is what will set you apart. Your readers want to know what YOU think.

3. Comment on a statistic or study. There is always ongoing research in every industry. Look up some recent statistics in your field and write an article or blog post about it. For instance, I wrote an article about keeping in touch with customers because a study showed that most salespeople give up after one or two contacts even though most sales are made after the fourth contact!

4. Use a numbered tip list. This article you are reading right now is an example of this format. You can pick a topic and then share a number of points on the subject. Try headlines such as: “Top 3 Ways to…” and “5 Secrets on How to…” and “11 Ways You Can…” and so on. Magazines often use these type of articles because they are easy to read and quickly disseminate information to the reader.

5. Interview someone in your field. Pick a few questions to ask someone who is well known in your industry. I like to use this type of article to highlight an expert who has complimentary knowledge to mine or deep expertise on a topic that will be very useful to my audience. For instance, my expertise is in marketing but I might choose to interview an authority on publishing a book or on public relations.

6. Share your latest gem. To stay at the top of our business game, most of us read industry publications, attend seminars, and/or listen to teleseminars. When you learn something new that will help your clients, write about it. Your audience will be grateful to you for teaching them about the latest and greatest. You can also offer a review of an event or resource as well. I have done several book reviews for my blog audience.

7. Use Your Success Stories. People learn quickly from stories. So, use a client case study to demonstrate how a particular challenge can be overcome. Then, you can use the success story as a launch pad for more general advice. This type of article will teach your readers and reinforce your position as the expert.

Action Item: Keep a running list of article ideas - jot these down when they come to you. Keep it near your computer. By taking a look at it the next time you are in a pinch, you’ll have quick ways to develop story ideas or your ezine and blog.

Ready to boost the marketing for your business? Then order a copy of the Maven Marketing Home Study System! It’s everything you need to know to attract the best customers for your business. You’ll learn how to describe what makes your business remarkable, how to get new customers calling YOU, and lots of other valuable strategies to help you fill your sales pipeline quickly. (Why struggle with your marketing anymore?)

I’ve been keeping a secret from you.

I’m pregnant! This is our first child. Nathan and I are both tickled about becoming parents. I am having my baby shower next weekend with lots of great women friends to support me. Nathan is inviting a bunch of his biking friends up for Labor Day weekend for a pre-baby hard-core cycling weekend.

Our son (yes, it’s a boy - we saw the parts on the ultrasound) is due on October 17th. I have been slowly setting up the nursery with lots of cool wall hangings and I even painted a crazy cat picture for him. I’ve also been doing a lot of strategic thinking about how this baby will affect my businesses and family dynamic. I’ll be sharing more of my process in future issues.

Best, Wendy

Ok consultants and designers…I just KNOW you have had a client like this one. I could completely relate to this video:

A couple of days ago, Ian Chapman wrote a post on Facebook that I found intriguing. He starts it off:

At The Cutting Edge
I think one of the greatest things about facebook is how quickly you can discover the people who are at the cutting edge and leading the way in the world of Web 2.0. You can instantly have access to their wisdom and experience through their profile, fan page and blogs and begin to develop a real relationship through the communication channels that are available.

The Aztec Warrior Queen
Yesterday I was accepted as a friend by Nancy Marmolejo, She came highly recommended from a number of my Facebook friends. I found a treasure trove of great information on Nancy’s profile page and one of her blog posts inspired me to write this article.

Women Leading The Way
In Nancy’s Blog post she explores why Women Are Leading The Way in Social Marketing. She gives a number of reasons based on the obvious differences in approach. Men tend to adopt an aggressive hard sell, pushy, combative way of relating to people whereas women are more prone to the softer sell, attraction marketing and passive ways of building relationships based on a real heartfelt desire to connect to people in a genuine way.

Masculine And Feminine Styles
Not that all men and all women fall into these two neat categories but rather there is a masculine way of doing things and a feminine way. Women who have had to fight to get to where they are now in the business world are having to unlearn the masculine habits and internet sales training that they previously adopted as they enter the new WEB 2.0 World of Social Marketing.

You can read the rest of his post on his FaceBook Notes section.

Here is my response to him

As a marketing consultant, one of the things that I notice between the genders is that most women tend to naturally gravitate toward having conversations and building community. Thus, creating dialogs on Social Networking sites is an easy extension.

You wrote that “Men tend to adopt an aggressive hard sell, pushy, combative way of relating to people whereas women are more prone to the softer sell, attraction marketing and passive ways of building relationships based on a real heartfelt desire to connect to people in a genuine way.”

I think you are right.

What’s interesting is that I find that both men and women as buyers actually have similar preferences. No one really wants to feel like they are being aggressively sold-to. And yet, there are so many sales and marketing books, courses, and seminars that teach that this is the right way to do it.

The point that I want to make is that my male clients have a desire to have the conversations and embrace relationship marketing. And yet, they seem to have a belief system that the “old school” selling style is what works the best. And it’s hard for them to shake.

So my question to you (and any other readers who care to answer) is this:

Is it in the male DNA as Jim Turner asserts? Or is it a learned trait that has been passed down a lineage of “dog eat dog” salesmen (think Glengarry Glen Ross: “Put the coffee down. Coffee is for closers….Always Be Closing.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TROhlThs9qY or check out this scene in Boiler Room: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbIRedOqDwE - love the scenes, hate the selling style).

What do you think?

Best, Wendy

http://wwww.GoMarketingMaven.com

I am very excited about my upcoming teleseminar, “New Marketing Secrets to Accelerate Your Business Success”!

For those of you who know me, you understand how passionate I am about marketing and helping entrepreneurs attain a new level of success. If you don’t know me, well then…I look forward to learning more about your business and marketing goals!

In this call, I’m going to be giving out some juicy info! I am also celebrating the launch of my best-selling Maven Marketing System. I’ve spent the last year expanding it from 175 to 300 pages! It’s a very cool program.

If this is something you might be interested in, you can read more and sign up here:  http://www.gomarketingmaven.com/products/mms_call.html

(even if you can’t make the live call, you’ll get the recording if you register.)

Best, Wendy

P.S. Feel free to invite your friends and colleagues to this teleseminar.

People don’t buy things. They buy solutions to problems; they want to fulfill a desire or meet a need. To market your business effectively, you have to KNOW your target audience and what problems they face. In your marketing efforts - whether written, online, or in person - you should be able to provide your audience with a solution that is specific and directly benefits them…AND you should care about their problem. Examples of powerful motivators include making money, saving money, having more time, reducing effort, decreasing stress, increasing comfort, good health, being fit, losing weight, romance, and praise.

So, what are your customers trying to figure out, overcome, fix, heal, or prevent? What is their biggest concern on a daily basis? How are they feeling about their problem? And what unique solution do you provide to their problem? Don’t get sidetracked by describing your service or product - stay focused on solving their problem.

How do you want your target audience to feel when they purchase your services or products? Trust? Motivation? Inspiration? More knowledgeable? Begin to think about the emotions you want to evoke in your target audience and the lasting impression you want make. What will they experience after they’ve hired your company?

Let me give you an example to show you how you can begin to develop this type of strategic thinking. Let’s pretend you are a financial planner who focuses on working with new parents to invest money for their infant’s future college tuition. You determine that their primary problem is not having enough money right now to pay for their child’s education. They feel worried and scared that they won’t have enough, confused about how to make the right investment choice, and committed to sending their child to a good school. You are going to help them to create a secure future for their child without exorbitant tax consequences. With your planning services, they will feel more in control, confident, and relieved.

By focusing on this part of your marketing planning and thinking strategically about your message, you will begin to understand exactly what motivates your target audience. You know they problems that keep them up at night. This will make all of your marketing efforts easier because you can explain the outcome your customers get as a result of working with you (and how your products and services will solve their specific problems).

It’s easy to get the inside scoop on your target audience - simply ask them about their specific problems related to your industry. Talk to your current and past customers. Take them out for coffee and ask for their assistance. Most people are flattered to be asked for their opinion. Ask them questions such as: Why did you need my services? What were you struggling with before you sought my help? What was the biggest improvement in your business since we worked together? How did you feel as a result? (By the way, if they give you fantastic feedback, this is a perfect time to also ask if you can use what they said as a testimonial!)

Interview several people about their particular challenges, needs, and problems. Try to get enough data to help determine the trends among your target audience. You may be surprised at what you find out. In fact, you may even come up with an idea for a new product or service because you uncover a need you didn’t understand prior to your interviews. By tailoring your marketing to solving your customers’ problems, you will position your company to be magnetic to your audience.

There are two common business problems that entrepreneurs often face.

The first is that they don’t have enough clients - they are struggling to keep their sales pipeline full. Often they are so busy one month that they don’t take the time to market themselves and as a result, their business declines drastically. This feast or famine cycle is one of the primary reasons why people don’t enjoy having their own business. It’s exhausting!

The second problem is one of capacity. In this situation, an entrepreneur has a steady stream of business but feels overwhelmed, exhausted, and stressed. You are trying to do everything on your own and there are many things that slip through the cracks. It’s a constant juggling act.

If you fall into either one of these scenarios, rest assured that you are not alone. There are many entrepreneurs who are in the same boat. The good news is that there are solutions you can incorporate into your business to solve either of these problems. The answer to these issues involves creating systems - these systems leverage your time and your knowledge. By implementing systems in your marketing and operations, you will attract an ongoing flow of clients into your pipeline and serve more of them with less effort.

Here are some specific tips to help you systemize your business:

1) Delegate, delegate, delegate: Are you still doing your own books, running your own errands, or organizing your own files? If so, ask yourself, “Is this activity my highest pay-off business activity?” Or is there something else you could be doing with your time to bring revenue into your company? Be ruthless with your time and delegate the busy work to an assistant. You can also outsource to graphic designers, copywriters, bookkeepers, and website programmers to save you money, time, and energy.

2) Document your processes: Take the time to write down the specific way your company does things (or better yet, delegate the documentation). You should have a specific method for closing sales, storing your files, developing proposals, pricing your services, and communicating with your clients. By creating “How-to Guides” for all of these activities, you begin to standardize these processes. This makes it simple for an assistant or other person to step in and take over these tasks. It also makes it easier for you to repeat and refine these actions so that they improve over time. When a system works, it will lead to the same positive results over and over.

3) Cluster your activities: It takes a lot of energy to switch gears. And when you switch gears constantly, you lose time and money. Therefore, the best solution is to be ruthless with your time. Group like activities together and then create a schedule on your calendar and stick to it. For instance, if you know that a high payoff activity for you is to make phone calls to your clients, then set aside blocks of time to do this each day or each week. During this time, do NOT answer e-mails or begin other project work. Commit to these activities and follow through without fail.

4) Put it on autopilot: Look at your business to see if there are any activities that you can automate. For instance, when people sign up for your ezine, you can set up an autoresponder to thank them. Another example is placing a page on your website that answers all of the questions your prospects typically ask. You can direct people to this page instead of spending time on the phone answering the same questions.

By creating systems for your company, you’ll have more time to do the things you enjoy and you can focus on the activities that bring in revenue. Instead of spending your day scrambling to get your daily tasks completed, you’ll be able to focus on the high payoff activities that will make your company more successful. You’ll also be able to reap the rewards of having more time to market your company, leading to a steady stream of clients. Begin the systemization process today and you’ll enjoy the rewards for years to come.

Maven Action Tip: Start by making a list of your daily activities. Just keep a piece of paper next to your desk for a week and make a note of every task that you do and how long you are spending on it. Once you’ve done this for a week, notice how much time you are spending on technical (busy work) aspects of your business and how much time on business-building/revenue-generating activities. Then add to this list everything that is not getting accomplished because you don’t have enough time. Once you have this list completed, begin to develop strategies to delegate, document, cluster, and automate.