Excerpt from The 100/0 Principle, by Al Ritter

What is the most effective way to create and sustain great relationships with others? It’s The 100/0 Principle: You take full responsibility (the 100) for the relationship, expecting nothing (the 0) in return.
Implementing The 100/0 Principle is not natural for most of us. It takes real commitment to the relationship and a good dose of self-discipline to think, act and give 100 percent.
The 100/0 Principle applies to those people in your life where the relationships are too important to react automatically or judgmentally. Each of us must determine the relationships to which this principle should apply. For most of us, it applies to work associates, customers, suppliers, family and friends.
STEP 1 – Determine what you can do to make the relationship work…then do it. Demonstrate respect and kindness to the other person, whether he/she deserves it or not.
STEP 2 – Do not expect anything in return. Zero, zip, nada.
STEP 3 – Do not allow anything the other person says or does (no matter how annoying!) to affect you. In other words, don’t take the bait.
STEP 4 – Be persistent with your graciousness and kindness. Often we give up too soon, especially when others don’t respond in kind. Remember to expect nothing in return.
At times (usually few), the relationship can remain challenging, even toxic, despite your 100 percent commitment and self-discipline. When this occurs, you need to avoid being the “Knower” and shift to being the “Learner.” Avoid Knower statements/ thoughts like “that won’t work,” “I’m right, you are wrong,” “I know it and you don’t,” “I’ll teach you,” “that’s just the way it is,” “I need to tell you what I know,” etc.
Instead use Learner statements/thoughts like “Let me find out what is going on and try to understand the situation,” “I could be wrong,” “I wonder if there is anything of value here,” “I wonder if…” etc. In other words, as a Learner, be curious!
Principle Paradox
This may strike you as strange, but here’s the paradox: When you take authentic responsibility for a relationship, more often than not the other person quickly chooses to take responsibility as well. Consequently, the 100/0 relationship quickly transforms into something approaching 100/100. When that occurs, true breakthroughs happen for the individuals involved, their teams, their organizations and their families.

Networking Tips – 10 top tips to increase business with the effective use of offline & online networks

Networking tip 1 – Get comfortable with how networking works “All things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business to those people they know, like and trust.” (Bob Burg). Business Networking is about finding other business people who operate in similar markets to you. Then helping them and building relationships to earn that trust so don’t expect instant results. Like anything worthwhile, networking takes time and application. Take the time to develop relationships and create a network. Don’t expect to walk into a room of strangers or simply post a profile online and come away with business – it just doesn’t work like that! Networking tip 2 – Develop a plan “It pays to plan ahead it wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark” If you don’t know where you are going with your networking how can others help you? Answer the following: – what is your target market? – what are the problems you solve for them? – how much business are you looking to generate via word of mouth? – how much time can you devote to your networking activities? Identify others likely to have access to your target market – how do you get to know them? – how can you help them achieve their goals? When you can answer these questions you are have the basis of a networking plan which you can begin acting on right away. Networking tip 3. Identify the people you already know, like & trust The cornerstone of your networking activities should be the people you have already done business with. Colleagues, Customers and Suppliers. Invest time in these important relationships. Meet up with them and find out if there is anything you can do to support them. Networking tip 4. Identify the offline networks to join If your existing network is not big enough to generate enough word of mouth to achieve your plan then find a couple of networks to join. Ask yourself who else is likely to have access to and influence with your target market. Then find where they network and join those groups. Take the time to get to know the members and the ways you can help – support, information & introductions. When asked present your proposition confidently & consistently – your target market, the problems you solve and your stories. Networking tip 5. Show a genuine interest in other people “You can close more business in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you.” So said Dale Carnegie – and it’s true. Become an active listener and see how you can help the people you meet. By being aware of their needs you can connect them to people in your network. This will involve asking open questions. People usually find the most interesting subject is themselves! Make it easy for them to expand their answers rather than just replying with a “Yes” or “No”. For example “That’s interesting, how do you do that?” They will remember you for listening attentively to them! Be prepared to talk to strangers and have an interesting story. Networking tip 6. Always follow up contacts When you meet someone at an event follow up with a simple e-mail or telephone call confirming where you met and what action, if any, was agreed. Connect them to others & any helpful information. Prompt follow ups are essential! Find out which online networks they use and connect with them if you are also a member. Networking tip 7. Identify the online networks to join and start a blog Your blog is the cornerstone of your online presence & is the place you build your reputation. It can be on your website or a free service like blogger, wordpress or similar. Use your blog to share your stories, hints, tips, & insights and use twitter to share these too. Find out which online networks your influencers and target market use and join a couple. Use the network tools to find the people you already know and connect with them online. Post a profile that is consistent with your personal brand and contribute. Networking tip 8. Make online contacts and build relationships first Contribute to online conversations and share your knowledge and connections. Make contact with like minded professionals. Networking is not about selling – it’s about building relationships. The best business is developed when both parties know, like and trust each other. So take the time to get to know them and establish rapport. Networking tip 9. Arrange contact meetings You’ve established rapport with someone you’ve met at a networking meeting or had good online interactions. It looks as though they might know your target market. How do you take things forward? Simple, meet with them for a coffee and start getting to know them. What makes them tick, what are their successes, their aspirations, their skills and experiences. what they are looking for? See if you can connect them to one of your contacts? Networking tip 10. Develop Networking Advocates A networking advocate goes out of their way to recommend your goods and services without being asked or expecting anything in return. Take time to develop the relationships with key members of your network. Go out of your way to connect them to key members of your network and introduce them to people who might benefit from their services. Become an advocate for them. And, guess what? What goes round comes round. People will eventually become advocates for you – and this is where the networking dividend really pays out! Finally, in the immortal words of Woody Allen: “80% of success is showing up!” Please visit our website  www.Business400.com  for more information on our exciting Business Association.

Belief System

“Be the change you want to see in the world” — Mahatma Gandhi
Before you will see a change in the world, you need to make positive changes in yourself and your own life. Your personal beliefs mold the person you are, and you can mold your personal beliefs….here’s how: It is because of your belief system that you are where you are in life right now. You have created your success or failure with the beliefs that you have established within yourself. Most people would be astounded to know how many of their beliefs are based on lack, limitation, and shortage – and that these thoughts reproduce themselves directly into their life experiences. You owe it to yourself to think only of unlimited prosperity, because abundance IS reality. There is no lack, no shortage. There are no limits except for those we impose on ourselves. Prosperity doesn’t start with someone or something outside of you.
Get the picture yet? Your success or failure begins and ends with you.
Wow! Think about that for a minute. What you think and what you believe determines your success or failure. Your conscious mind is a powerful thing. What you concentrate on comes back to you -multiplied. Your mind is a source of unlimited, overflowing abundance – and its manifestation into the physical world depends on your thoughts and beliefs. Your belief in the possibility or impossibility of a situation determines the outcome. If you don’t believe in the possibility of success, it’s just not going to be possible. So, how do you replace your old, self-defeating belief system with a new, prosperity-focused belief system? Start from within. Delete any “can’t-do” beliefs you may have lurking deep inside, and start believing that you CAN. But simply eliminating old beliefs is not enough. You have to replace them with new positive ones, because something must occupy that empty space. Remember, the Universe abhors a vacuum, so choose something positive to take its place. The second step is to stay away from the “can’t do” people in your life. If you can’t avoid them totally, then don’t get infected with their negativity. Give yourself a “prosperity booster shot” by remembering that the beliefs and opinions of other people do not have to become your reality. Someone is always going to try to tell you it’s not possible. You have to train your mind to block out these negative words. Every time you hear a “you can’t – it’s not possible” – say “NEXT!” to yourself and flip back to your new way of thinking. Tell them that you have moved forward, and that old, negative way of thinking has no place in your life. If they can’t accept the new you simply stop discussing your goals with them. Stay focused in your new mindset and become a joyful example of what happens when you believe in yourself and what’s possible. Think big and prosperous and you’ll get big, prosperous results. Think small and lacking and you’ll achieve just that. The choice is yours.
“Our inner image of ourselves and what we want to accomplish in life makes us become what we were meant to be.”
- Mark Victor Hansen

Networking to Win in 2010

As an business person, one of your primary goals is to continue to fill your pipeline with new business. One of the most cost-effective ways to do this–particularly for a smaller business–is through networking. Before you can begin to be an effective networker, it’s important to identify some of the strengths and skill sets that you bring to the table as a business professional. Are you a people person? Do you enjoy public speaking? What kind of professional background did you have before starting your business? How long have you lived in the area where you do business? What other natural skills do you have (such as time management, organizational skills or keeping clients focused) that may not fall directly into your business expertise but are valued by people? One of the biggest roadblocks to networking is the fear that being more of an introvert impedes any successful attempts at networking. In fact, it’s a question I get quite frequently: “How do I network if I’m not a naturally outgoing person?” Go ahead and breathe a sigh of relief, you don’t have to become Mr. Man-About-Town, to be a successful networker. Most business people, over time, naturally develop a certain level of comfort from dealings with customers, vendors and others in their day-to-day transactions. So even people who aren’t gregarious or outgoing can form meaningful relationships and communicate with a little practice..
Become a trusted source for quality referrals and contacts.
Another way to ease into networking is to provide a referral or contact. This could be a direct referral (someone you know who’s in the market for another person’s services) or a solid contact (someone who might be helpful down the road).Let’s say you’re networking, and you run into a person who owns a printing shop. You talk for a while, you hit it off, and even though you don’t know of anyone who’s looking for this person’s selection of print services right now, you’d like to help him out. So you say: Jim, I don’t know of anyone who’s actively in the market for printing services right now, but I do have someone who I think could be a big help to your business. Her name is Jane Smith, and she’s a marketing consultant. I know a lot of her clients need business cards, flyers and things like that printed, and while I don’t know if she has a deal on the table right now, I think you both would really hit it off if you got together. You see how easy that was? You stated right up front you don’t know what will come of the contact. But you then followed up by saying you do think this person could help and briefly described how. Chances are this will sound like a good idea to your new contact.
Business 400 will be hosting the monthly networking events at the beautiful Metropolitan Club in Alpharetta, Georgia on the first Tuesday of each month from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. There will be hundreds of dollars in cash prizes and hundreds of new people to meet. Please visit our website at www.Business400.com to learn more about Business 400 and all the exciting events that have already been planned. Our next monthly networking event will be on February 2nd. We are networking together to win in 2010!

Why Search Engine Optimization is a Great Investment For Any Company

How much money do you pay to have a sales person sell your services or products? How many hours does that sales person work each day/week/month? Did you know that your website is a sales person that works for you 24/7? Having an optimized website is the single most powerful marketing tool that every company should be aware of and implement into their business.

Here are 5 reasons why SEO should be implemented into your marketing strategy before your competition beats you out.

Absence of risk
Search engine optimization is free of any risk. In many cases, paid advertising (banner ads, pay-per-click) is subject to click fraud risk. There are people that that use software to click on their competitors ads, which cost you money each time it is clicked. Google AdWords has protection against this, but it isn’t 100%. Nothing can stop a competitor from clicking your link a few times, costing you money.

Reliability
Banner ads and pay-per-click campaigns work great until the marketing budget for these campaigns depletes for the month. When this happens, your website is no longer listed and customers can’t find you anymore. SEO obtains an organic listing and your company’s website will always be found by your customers. Consumers are more likely to purchase from a site ranked high in the search engine results rather than from a pay-per-click ad.

Brand Awareness
A website that is ranked high means that more people will see the name of your company and become familiar with it and it’s products or services, even if they haven’t made a purchase. Consumers recognize businesses ranked in the top 3 in search engine results compared to those appearing in banner ads. With so many people using pop-up blockers and banner blockers, many people don’t even see the banner ads that are being displayed.

Targeted Traffic
SEO brings those paying customers to you. When a consumer is looking for a specific product or service and you rank high, they will enter the key words/phrases that they are looking for. When they find your site, they are a target lead and more likely to purchase from you. How much money do you spend on sales people getting you targeted leads and sales?

Affordability
In comparison to banner ads and pay-per-click advertising, SEO is a much more affordable service. With banner ads and pay-per-click, you set a budget and when that budget is met, the ads are gone. This could happen a week into your campaign. This means you would go three weeks before your ads appear again. With SEO, your website will stay listed on the search engines and won’t drop off.

As you should be able to see, search engine optimization is vital to your business. If you have a website and people can’t find it when entering keywords of the products or services that you sell, then why did you pay all of that money to have the website built? Remember, your website is a sales person that works day and night and has a global territory. Can you afford to pay your sales person to work day and night?

Bass Ackwards Business

Living & Working Bass-Ackwards!
Living & Working Bass – Ackwards!

A book review accents use of FORM acronym & value of the Golden Rule

David Greene of Greene & Greene, Inc., in Atlanta, sent me Steve Beecham’s book, Bass – Ackward Business: ‘ The Power of Helping Without Hustling’, published in 2009 by Home Town Publishing. I didn’t get many pages into it before recalling similar personal and business relationship cultivating (as in ‘promote the growth of’) styles learned and lived over the years.

“My helping without hustling strategy is bass – ackwards when you compare it to everything I’ve been taught about building a business” – “it’s not about you or your sales; it’s about helping others.” Pp. 9 & 14. (Emphasis added. GFA)

Beecham quickly identifies three components to implementing the bass – ackward ‘helping without hustling’ mindset:

1. Get out of the office
2. Focus on relationships
3. Find a way to help people p.24

And through these steps, Steve emphasizes ‘discovering the person and not the business’, earning – by – serving, rather than expecting or demanding, ‘the right to sell’.

No further into the book than that, I reflected on how some of his principles applied – or should apply, to the way I’m ‘doing business’. That thought stirred the memory of cleaning out a vacant office, 30 years ago, and finding a set of AMWAY cassette training tapes. As I listened to them while driving, I learned the FORM acronym, an effective personal networking guide. Letters were for Family, Occupation, Recreation, & Message; or, a reminder to set a date for next Meeting. How’s it work? Simple. Walk up to someone, anyone, – in this case in a group setting, and introduce yourself, with a Smile on your face and a friendly, but not fierce or wimpy, handshake. Then, after exchanging names, strike up a conversation, by asking about Family (may be single, married, whatever). After talking ‘families’ for awhile, segue to Occupation. Might be a student, stay at home parent, or otherwise. By now, both parties should be fairly comfortable conversing, so ask about Recreation – what do you do ‘for fun’? Then, near the end of the conversation, and depending on what seems appropriate, decide on when to next Meet and continue the friendly conversation; or, if fitting, ease into one’s Message. I’ve been using the FORM technique ever since – and it works! *1

Gotta admit, there’re a couple things in Bass – Ackward Business that gave me pause, since I hadn’t run into them before; like this piece non – footnoted advice @ p.39

“Look people in the EYE. Yeah, and by ‘eye’, I mean their left eye. Typically, when you’re talking to someone about serious matters or business affairs, you look into their right eye. Looking into their left eye communicates sincerity – they feel like you care.”

My immediate reaction: “Who sez?” But, until I can ask the author that question while looking him in the right eye, I think I’ll give it a try next time I’m in conversation with a friend or associate! Hmm. Maybe it’s because the left eye is closer to one’s heart…

Then there’s the Ritz –Carlton illustration. After a few superb guest service experiences during a second visit to a hotel in that chain, Steve asked the front desk receptionist what she thought made the Ritz so special. Her response? “We have a card we all carry in our pocket when working that reminds us, ‘We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen’. Now that’s pretty nifty. In fact, it reminds me of a similar experience YOU too can have, by dialing (941) 721-0046. The phone will be answered every time, usually on the second ring, by someone ‘with a Smile on their face’, offering this Greeting after Thanking You for calling, then identifying their firm: “How may I Serve You?” Seriously. Place the call to prove it to yourself; better yet, think how You might implement the Ritz-Carlton & Newby Management’s superb customer service techniques as part of your firm’s resident relations program!*2

As I continued to read Bass – Ackward Business, my thoughts turned, time and again, to this writer’s practical application of the Golden Rule, being ‘Do Unto Others as You Would Have Them Do Unto You!’, to the way we ‘do business’. Frankly, too many firms focus on the antithesis Gold Rule; you know, the one that goes like this: ‘He or she who has the gold, makes the rules!’ Sorry to say, we can probably identify more contemporary businesses that appear to ascribe to that scheme (e.g. Predatory lending and Ponzi schemes are just two of society’s present day poster children for that selfish and greedy mindset) than those practicing the Golden Rule in personal relationships and during business dealings. To underscore this truth, the author cites a fairly well known reminder to ‘Use things and love people, not love things and use people!’ Amen.

OK, so how do you get your copy of this pithy little book (97 pages)? Contact Steve Beecham directly at 11855 Haynes Bridge Road, Alpharetta, GA. 30009 or via steve@hometownmoney.com or via www.bassackwardsbusiness.com

Five Reasons to Start a Business Blog

Five Reasons to Start a Business Blog

In a competitive environment where businesses are hard-pressed for advertising dollars but anxious to reach and impact a finicky consumer base, savvy businesses have turned to blogs.

Five reasons businesses find blogging beneficial are

1. Economics
Dollar for dollar, blogs are less expensive to create and maintain than traditional ad campaigns. They are convenient to utilize and can generally be launched and maintained at a fraction of the cost and effort of yesteryear’s advertising venues.

2. Infinite Branding
Blogs are “tagged” with key words and “linked” back to a business’s social media and website to build a digital footprint that builds upon itself. While many traditional ad campaigns can fizzle out over time, a properly maintained blog will build momentum and gain “advertising speed.”

3. Intimate Exposure
Blogs are an ongoing journal that share a company’s history, value system, announcements, progress, and new products and services. Companies use blogs as a forum to collect readers’ opinions, invite feedback, and educate people about their products or services. Blogs are a strong tool in relationship-building and allow consumers to do business with people they can get to “know,” like, and trust without traditional face-to-face pressures.

4. Consumer Trust and Confidence
What if you could build a sales force of people who represented your company just the way you wanted them to, 24/7? That is in essence what a blog can do for you. You construct your message and it reaches people intact without being diluted by other factors.

5. Outlast the Competition
In the past five years alone, there has been a strong, (startling!), and measurable shift in the way companies reach their customers. While blogging has become an advertising triumph for those in the know, those who cannot or choose not to enter the digital media ring to compete will soon find themselves knocked out.

Questions? Contact ShellyKent@comcast.net

Attitude

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of Attitude on life. Attitude, to me is more important than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company…a church…a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the Attitude we embrace for that day. We cannot change our past…we cannot change the fact that people act a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play the one string, we have, and that is our Attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you…we are in charge of our ATTITUDES.

Author of “ATTITUDE” Chuck Swindoll

Reasons to Keep Your online photos up to date

Reasons to keep your online photo presence professional and up to date
Posted by photographeratl on December 17, 2009

Dec 1, 2009, Atlanta, GA—On Time Photos is pleased to announce an added convenience for its customers, on-site photography for corporate headshots.

This “Professional Picture Day” allows business people to update their head shots for their business cards, print materials, and website profiles. “The advantages,” says On Time Photos owner Jerry Morris, “are the overall cost savings for the individuals and less time away from work to update their portraits.”

Today, business photos are more necessary than ever due to business’s increasing utilization of social media and website advertising. “Businesses have burst onto online forums such as LinkedIn and Facebook. You simply cannot leave the online profile photo blank and be taken seriously,” Morris explains.

Indeed, studies indicate that consumers find a business person more trustworthy and likable when they see who is serving them, and out of touch or irrelevant in the competitive marketplace when their photo is severely dated.

To maintain a professional image, Morris suggests that professionals update their photos every three years or anytime they experience a noticeable change in appearance such as hair color or style.

The idea to hold “Professional Picture Day” for organizations came as one of necessity when individuals would pull Morris aside during companies’ group photo sessions and ask for individual photo sessions after the shoot.

Morris says there are certain things people should be mindful of in their business photo. “Keep styles basic and classic,” he says. “A head and shoulders shot is appropriate for business cards and printed materials, while a closer shot works well for an online profile photo.”

On Time Photos also offers a great solution for corporate gifting: gift certificates for a family portrait. Morris photographs family and corporate events, weddings, holidays, maternity poses, and tasteful intimate portraits to gift that special someone.

Networking Comfort Zones

The temptation in this atmosphere is to get very close to another person so they can hear you and you them. This can result in being too close to another person sometimes making them very uncomfortable. This discomfort is heightened when we have been consuming alcohol and the person we are talking to have not.

Each of us has our own comfort zone boundary. This is a space around us that when another person enters we begin to feel uncomfortable. A good way to relate to this is to remember if you have ever had an argument where someone got right up in your face and possibly even pointed their finger very near to it. Remember how that made you feel? In most cases it makes a person feel more angry.

In a networking environment it is important to maintain a distance from a person that you are talking to. This distance should be almost an arms length. Most peoples comfort boundary is about the length of their arm. If you find yourself getting very close to someone in conversation, imagine if you raised your arm and that is the distance that you should be from the other person. If they move closer to you in the course of conversation, it is acceptable to them to be closer. If it is acceptable to you then continue with the conversation at that distance.

You can sometimes tell if you are standing too close to someone if they seem to be moving back while you are talking to them. If they appear to be getting further away from you, do not move to be closer to them. They will stop when they reach the distance that they are comfortable with. If they turn and walk away of course it is time to find someone else to talk to.

To be most effective in your attempts to build relationships with others, it is most important to keep these things in mind. Remember that it makes no difference what you say to a person if they are not engaged in the conversation. Good observance of boundaries can give you the edge you need to make networking work.

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