December 2003

Laura's Letters: December Newsletter

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Circulation: 1700, give or take a few

Vol. 4, Number 12 - December 2003

Publisher: Laura Benjamin

http://www.laurabenjamin.com

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Quotes of the month...

"No man is rich enough to buy back his past." (Oscar Wilde)

"If you have to be in a soap opera, try not to get the worst role."

(Boy George)

"Don't work for my happiness, my brothers-show me yours-show me

that it is possible-show me your achievement-and the knowledge will

give me courage for mine." (Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead)

Find more Leadership Quotes at www.laurabenjamin.com

New on the site: Teamwork Quotes

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In This Issue

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1. Marketing Tips

2. Management Tips

3. Useful Resources

4. Shameless You Know What (always at the end)

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1. Marketing Tips

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3 Stages of Connectedness

(From Dave Savelsberg, Leadership Training Manager for Wells Fargo and adapted to

marketing and business development applications by yours truly)

Un-connected: you're just getting the "lay of the land" and aren't quite

sure yet who you need to know. This is the information gathering phase.

Your job is to listen to others and pay attention so you can learn how to

focus your energy and channel your efforts.

Connected: you're hanging out with the right people. You know who the

movers and shakers are and you're doing a lot of the right things to make

the sales and move the business forward. People know who you are and what

you do. (That can be good or bad!)

Inter-connected: you are helping others get where they want to go. It now

occurs to you that by referring leads, looking for opportunities to promote

clients, colleagues and the competition (yes, you've read that last part

correctly) that the focus shifts. It's no longer "all about you" and

once people sense that, they are more willing to help you. It's the

"what goes around, comes around" concept in it's purest form.

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Women Owned Businesses Grow at Twice the Rate

The number of women-owned businesses is growing at twice the rate of all

U.S. businesses. Women are owners in more than 10 million businesses in

the U.S. , account for 35 percent of all businesses, employ 27.5 million

workers and generate $3.6 trillion in revenues.

Entrepreneurs project modest startup costs for most new ventures,

according to a study released last month by the Office of Advocacy.

Solo entrepreneurs expect median startup costs of $6,000, while the

median cost expected by team ventures is $20,000. More than 80 percent

of the entrepreneurs studied expected to cover their startup costs without

bank loans, although on average they had saved only $2,000 towards that goal.

Source - http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs232tot.pdf, conducted by Blade

Consulting with funding from the Office of Advocacy. Data from more

than 800 individuals in the process of starting a business was gathered

over a two-year period.

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New Year Marketing Ideas:

- Give your best clients a gift certificate good for $200 or so towards your

products or services; make it transferable!

- Ask each client if you can submit an article for their in-house newsletter,

intranet, or magazine. It's better than an ad because it shows what you know

and it's much cheaper too!

- Become an informal mentor. Teaching others is a very good way to reinforce

your knowledge, restructure your thinking, and generate new ideas. It's also

a great way to build a reputation as a "giver".

- Visit websites. Start with your "competitors" and follow their links to see

who they partner with, what they recommend, products they use, and services

they offer. Pay attention to the language and design of the site, then decide

how you want to be different. It's better than visiting a bookstore for

getting new ideas.

- Pick up on new trends from your kids' and their friends. Want to know what

the future will bring? They typically have a handle on it before we do.

- Review the previous year's records and track where you get most of your

business. Is it good enough? Is it time to shift your focus, research a new

market, or develop a new specialty?

- Give yourself a theme for the upcoming year, then use it as a way to stay

focused on: creativity, connection, education, risk, etc. If you'd prefer to

multi-task, give each month a theme.

- Analyze the investment you make in professional associations. Why do you

continue to join? Is it because it's what you've always done, or are there

real benefits in terms of education, friendships, referrals. Just be clear

that you're getting what you pay for when you sign that check and renew. Seek

out organizations that fulfull your needs in those 3 areas above.

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2. Management Tips

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Highlights from a recent Presentation Skills workshop:

1. Develop your presentation with the "spoke and wheel" model: your main

idea or outcome is the hub and your key points are the spokes. For each

spoke, include the following components:

- a story to capture the imagination and keep people awake

- data or statistics to give validity and offer proof

- case models, "how-to's" and benchmarking to generate ideas

- visual aids that must be interpreted vs read to engage minds

- interaction to reinforce learning and give voice to your audience

2. Deal with the "Show Stoppers"

- Don't allow one troublemaker to consume all your focus. Balance your

attention among all audience members. Stay calm and stay in tune to what

the rest of your participants need from you.

- Validate their right to have an opinion and show respect for their

willingness to "contribute".

- Show Stoppers want attention, even if it's negative. Saunter down the

aisle to where they sit, pause next to them, draw all eyes toward you and

they will get the attention they were hoping for. If this doesn't settle

them down, then...

- Call a break and have a sidebar conversation with the offender. Ask them

how you can help them focus and maximize learning. Gently, but clearly state

that you will not allow them to continue disrupting the class or distracting

other learners.

- If they must leave to make it possible to continue the class and it's

mandatory training, be sure to let their supervisor know the reasons why

the person could not remain in your class. Stay objective: your focus

should be on your ability to deliver results and this person impeded that

outcome.

3. Don't become a slave to Power Point

Technology is a wonderful tool, as long as it doesn't become the "master"

of your program. Limit slides to what must be shown to be interpreted, like

graphs, photo's, statistics, etc.

4. Use light backgrounds on your slides because you can keep the house

lights up. This tends to keep people awake!

5. Add an "appendix" to the back of your handouts to include all the data,

case models, learning points, that you'd like to include in your program but

won't have enough time. If you do end up with more time, you can ask them

to flip to the appendix and cover a key point. This will save your bacon if

you have a tendency to try to cram in more information than anyone could

possibly absorb.

6. Avoid cramming in more information than any one person can possibly absorb!

We're all guilty of wanting to give them so much, that we end up with

people who are so "brain dead" that they can't remember a thing. Err on

the side of leaving them wanting more as long as you cover your topic

appropriately.

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Article Reprints

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4 years of articles and newsletters at www.LauraBenjamin.com

You have permission to reprint with attribution and please send a "tear sheet"

to: Laura Benjamin Int'l, 2135 Austrian Way, Colorado Springs CO 80919

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3. Useful Resources

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Word Trippers (www.barbaramcnichol.com) A quick free guide to over

190 word combo's like "further or farther" and "except or accept"

that can trip you up. For anyone who wants to communicate well and

choose the right word when it matters most.

Ready, Aim, Specialize! Create Your Own Writing Specialty and

Make More Money, by Kelly James-Enger

For freelance writers, small business owners, sales and marketing

managers, and public relations folks. Writing is just as powerful

as professional speaking as a way to attract clients and market

your knowledge. This book will help you focus more effectively.

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4. Shameless You-Know-What...Always at the End

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Popular Programs:

- Marketing Yourself (and your business) in a Down Economy

- Turn Your Service Contacts into Sales Dollars

- Call of the Wild: Taming 'Godzilla' and Other Difficult People

- Behavioral Styles: Achieving Your Highest Potential and Personal Growth

- Employee Retention: Dare to Be Different

- Getting to Constructive Outcomes with the Conflict Lens

- Presentation Skills 101

- Teamwork: There IS an "I" in Team!

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Laura Benjamin is Past-president of the Colorado Springs Society for Human

Resources Management, serves on the Board of the National Speakers

Association Colorado Chapter and is a Meeting Professionals International

"Platinum Speaker". Her work has been featured on radio and television,

and her freelance articles are published internationally. Her newsletter

reaches subscribers worldwide.

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Laura Benjamin International

Phone: 719-266-8088

http://www.laurabenjamin.com

Colorado Springs , CO USA

(C)Laura Benjamin International 2003