Are You Worth Investing In?

Written by Lorraine Pirihi


Do you realise that if you're green you're growing and if you're ripe you're rotten? So says Winston Marsh, Business Marketing Guru in his recent newsletter.

Here's and excerpt from it ...

"Overrepparttar last week or so I have been presenting a series of seminars for MYOB throughout New Zealand and I have made an amazing discovery.

Most people would rather service their car than service their brain!

Now what do I mean by this? Well, quite simply, nobody gives a second thought to putting their car in for service or to get it fixed. They might moan and groan aboutrepparttar 103984 cost but they'll still do it.

Why?

Because they need their car to get around! They rely on it and have become dependent on it. So, no matter whatrepparttar 103985 cost, they getrepparttar 103986 car serviced or fixed or whatever. They might have to beg, borrow or steal to pay for it but they front up withrepparttar 103987 money and get it done.

But, it's a whole different scene and set of feelings when it comes to an investment inrepparttar 103988 most important piece of machinery--- that money making, good time creating piece of machinery called themselves.

So many people have truckloads of reasons and excuses as to why they can't spend some time or money to get better at what they do... and some ofrepparttar 103989 reasons are pathetic."That'srepparttar 103990 night that Who Wants To Be A Millionaire is on" or "I'm too tired after work" or "I went to something like that once and I didn't like it" or "I can't afford it" or whatever arerepparttar 103991 reasons that they don't invest in their brain.

How to Really Benefit from Associations (Part 2 of 3-Part Series)

Written by Diana Barnum


This is Part II in a 3-part series. For your convenience,repparttar entire series is online here:

· Part I: “How to Develop Industry Contacts” http://movingaheadcommunications.com/associations1.html

· Part II: “Tips For Improved Networking in Associations” http://movingaheadcommunications.com/associations2.html

· Part III: “Researching Associations in Your Industries” http://movingaheadcommunications.com/associations3.html

Part II: TIPS FOR IMPROVED NETWORKING IN ASSOCIATIONS

1. Give people a break - - as much as possible! Association folks are just as busy or more so than any other business people. Many are doing double-duty with volunteer work on top of their regularly paid work everyday. So, for example, if someone said they’d call & didn’t, open your next call to that person with something like, “You’ve probably been super busy, so I just wanted to touch base for a sec….”

2. Membership Directory – Two words: USE IT. Call people from it, email them, send them postcards. Jot notes inrepparttar 103983 margins. Write notes from meetings & other group events inrepparttar 103984 margins to help describe members; like: “the gent withrepparttar 103985 cowboy hat who sat next to me.”

3. Participate – join in discussions, introduce yourself at meetings, ask questions, etc. Don’t leave allrepparttar 103986 “thinking and planning” up torepparttar 103987 Board members. Share any resources, suggestions and ideas that you have that may help group members.

4. Reach Out - Not only volunteer, but reach out to fellow group members. Everyone goes through job stress, family situations, “bad hair” days, etc. Don’t just be a “good time” friend or contact only.

5. Lemons into Lemonade – Reach out; make lemonade out of lemons. For example, don’t be a gossip. It’s easy in a group situation to get caught up in an issue and be opposed to another member. Remember to be fair and allow others to voice their opinions. You don’t always have to agree with everyone. And you won’t. But disagree in an agreeable manner. For example, if someone else’s idea is voted in instead of yours, don’t cop an attitude & drop out or quitrepparttar 103988 group. Giverepparttar 103989 other person’s idea a try and maybe write up a report on it for a future presentation and include your suggestions for improvements.

Note: If you did happen to mess up and inadvertently cop an attitude and insult someone or something, take a time out. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, apologize / make amends and move on. No one is perfect. And no one expects you to be. Kindness and apologies are always welcome. That “Do Unto Others” Golden Rule works wonders and is appreciated in groups worldwide, regardless ofrepparttar 103990 industry.

6. Grow / Joint Ventures (JVs) – Generally groups have a Nationwide affiliation and affiliations with other states / regions. Get involved (slow and steady) with their overall concerns. And stay abreast of their issues when possible. Reach out torepparttar 103991 other affiliations and network, too. They often offer educational and other industry opportunities, and often with an outlook that can enhance your own, coming from another point of view. When possible, seek joint venture (JV) opportunities.

JV tips:

·Don’t be afraid to ask.

·Put your request in writing (forrepparttar 103992 general public, unless you’re in a hi-tech field).

·Treat your request like a proposal & include past work you’ve done in this field, samples, references, additional resources, your credentials, etc. with your request. Prepackage info into autoresponders http://presssuccess.com/AutoPilot so it can be sent upon request.

· Be flexible. For example, others may have already asked similarly, so you might be offered a “group” project instead. Or maybe a Board member has a totally different idea but with your same guidelines, so maybe you could slant your proposal a little differently. ·Have patience & follow up in a professional manner. Reaching a “Board-approved” decision can take awhile to get through channels. So sit tight and touch base every once in awhile.

·“No” doesn’t mean forever. Maybe your idea could work next quarter or next year. Or maybe your proposal could be altered and resubmitted. No’s are not personal in nature. So treat them like regular business proposals and follow up for feedback and suggestions. Maybe there is something else you could do that would be a much better fit.

·Refer to "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People," by Stephen R. Covey. And focus on Habit 5, “Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood.”

·Keep up. Keep educating yourself and your helpers. For example, inexpensive company subscriptions to a monthly ebook club http://presssuccess.com/wholesale andrepparttar 103993 jvAlert Perpetual Learning Series www.jvAlert.com/LearningSeries.aspx?id=1805 help to catch up withrepparttar 103994 latest scoop -- what works and what doesn’t work from top-level marketers & industry leaders.

SPECIAL

This is Part II in a 3-part series. For your convenience,repparttar 103995 entire series is online here:

· Part I: “How to Develop Industry Contacts” http://movingaheadcommunications.com/associations1.html

Cont'd on page 2 ==>
 
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