Lady with a Purse

Posted on February 21, 2012 by

colorado social media companiesElizabeth Alexandra Mary, born April 21, 1926, is better known as Elizabeth II, or the Queen of England.  Following her father, George VI, her coronation in 1956 was the first to be televised, and it was a foreshadowing of what her life would be, played out in the public arena.  She has branded herself as an unshakable queenly personality, never showing irritation or a ruffle of her royal feathers, but her more obvious identifying mark is her handbag.  The Queen, whether reading to school children or launching a ship is never seen without her purse, which always matches her hat and shoes, and blends perfectly with her suit.  She may be marching off to war, in camouflage and combat boots, but she will not be without her short handled, over the arm, top clasp purse, which most likely carries a delicately embroidered hanky and her powder compact.  The Queen is who she is and as the world watches, she remains so – unshakable, appropriate and properly accessorized.  Proof that ruling a good portion of the world does not make one’s need for personal identity any less important.  So it begs the question – when the buying public thinks of you what do they remember?  Is it your good taste, your smile, your great shoes, your way of listening like they are the only people in the world?  Identify yourself distinctly and capture it for your website, your brochures, your business cards, and your social networking.  Photographic images are what the world knows of you – be sure they are getting the right impression.

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Advice of the Week: Edification

Posted on February 17, 2012 by

sales tipsThere is no measuring the good that can come from positive encouragement given to a colleague.  It is called edification, and it is an underutilized, highly motivational tool that any business leader or sales person should master.  The key is doing what you can to make your client feel that they are the most important person you will see that day, and if truth be told, at that moment there should be nobody more important to you.  The art of sitting down with a person, turning your focus entirely on them and their needs, understanding what matters to them, is an unendingly powerful method of making a sale, and one that will create a relationship that will last the life of a business.  And it is indeed an art, no faking allowed, it has to be the real thing.  If you can see your customers and potential customers as people whose needs you can meet in some way, rather than a means of raising your commission, your sales will not only grow, they will skyrocket, and you will be a professional in every sense of the word.

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The Truth About Your Future

Posted on February 15, 2012 by
Česky: Logo Facebooku English: Facebook logo E...

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We are surprised every time, but we still run into business people who are running scared from social media.  We are never sure if they are afraid of what they don’t know, or if they are afraid to admit they don’t know, or if they just can’t believe that technology can do what it actually does.  If you are in business and you are still trying to avoid the move to social media marketing you can plan to be left soundly in the dust over the next year.  Print advertising and promotional marketing are still important, but they should be used literally as a means to drive traffic to your social media platforms where your real marketing is done.  Think of your blog as the cog in the wheel around which everything else rotates.  This is where you tell your story, speak plainly to your audience, give your readers a chance to know your core beliefs and the quality of your product.  Your fan page, Facebook profile, twitter, linked in, are all meant to draw readers in, build relationships, and ultimately lead them to do business with you.  Social media marketing isn’t a mystery, it is an opportunity, one that could change your business and your life.

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Cup of Sanity

Posted on February 13, 2012 by

surviving MondayWhen you’ve tried everything you can think of, the fact still remains, it is Monday and there is no getting around it.  It happens every week, usually just once, but that is enough, and one truth seems to remain unchanged over the years.  If Sunday happens, that day of afternoon naps and dinner with family, then Monday is certain to follow, and nothing but creativity and true grit will get you through it unscathed.  It is the day of the week when it just seems easier to beat someone up than hear them out, but there is a remedy that will help you check that rude demeanor at the door.  Make Monday your special coffee day, not just coffee, but a coffee drink with foam and perhaps a drizzle of chocolate, and add a muffin, and eat it at your favorite coffee place, where everyone is happy to see you, even though it is indeed Monday.  When you wake up on Monday knowing that this indulgence lies ahead of you it will make your first day of the week feel like a regular, lots to do, get it done kind of day, so your week will not even have a Monday but rather a “coffee treat” day.  Now that is worth getting up for!

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A Hand Please

Posted on February 9, 2012 by
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's compositions charact...

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When you think of classical music one of the names that immediately come to mind is Mozart.  Perhaps you don’t actually think about classical music, ever, yet you are familiar with the name of Mozart, because his is synonymous with music genius.  So why is it that this man, known for his brilliant contribution not only to music but culture through the ages, and who was even known in his day as a musician of the highest caliber, died a pauper, deeply in debt, to be buried in a potter’s field reserved for the least of society.  Because Mozart had the problem that so many business owners have.  We are very good, exceptional even, at our craft, but we are not good at business.  Mozart had a gift that was sought after by kings, but he had no sense of how to market himself, no concept of how to turn his music into an enterprise with which he could earn a living.  Mozart, like many of us, didn’t follow the first rule of profitability. That is to pursue your gift vigorously and engage the services of another to turn it into a business venture.  Believing that you have to do it all yourself will keep you from doing any of it for very long and marketing, being the most ambiguous part of your business, but also the most important, needs to be handled with care.  You’re a business owner, which means you’ve invested in your future.  Are you investing in a way will pay the best dividends?

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The One Who Talks Loudest Wins

Posted on February 7, 2012 by

small business marketingCalling all small business owners to listen up!  Whispering does not get a business noticed.  It takes even more than loud talking.  If you believe in your business and what it has to offer, you better be ready to shout it, and not just on the second Wednesday of every month.  Your marketing should be something that stops people dead in their tracks, makes them read and look then page up and run through it again.  Subtlety is lost on the masses, so go bold.  Make your statement with gusto and passion and do it often, because amidst the din of commercial enterprise your voice has to rise above the rest to get the slightest nod.  We tend to come at business from the wrong direction, creating our product, opening our store front, stocking our shelves, then wondering what we might do to get the word out.  Get the word out first, build the anticipation, be bold and brave and go forward into everyday with your story, and then when it comes time to close the sale, you’ll have an audience waiting for you to launch.  If you’ve been in business for a while and are realizing that the marketing train has left your station, fear not.  Think of this month as your first month in business and plan your marketing as if nobody has ever heard of you.  Spend the money to make it right, use the expertise of the people who do this sort of thing, then dive in head first and don’t come up for air.

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The Definition of Small

Posted on February 3, 2012 by

small business marketingVoices from all corners of Washington DC are discussing what to do about small business.  Small business is what will ultimately rebuild the nation’s economy, they say.  “How can we give small business owners the leg up they need to make a success of their enterprise?” they ask around the tables and across the Board rooms.  We will assume their intentions are good, that their hearts are in the right place, but the question itself is misplaced, by the sheer definition of small business itself.  When Washington bureaucracy discusses “small business” they are speaking of companies employing 500 people or less.  When the real world, the one that we all live in, talk about small business we are generally thinking of companies employing fifteen people or less.  That difference is at the heart of what makes XandrePress tick.  Every new development in technology, every new connection the Internet has to offer, is said to be done with an advantage to small business in mind, yet, almost as quickly as it peers over the horizon, it is taken over by bigger business and priced right out of reach of the shop owner who does the books, stocks the shelves and runs the cash register by themselves.  These are the businesses who hold our future, who with some vision and ingenuity will grow into businesses employing 5-15 employees, many of whom will be inspired to branch out and start their own businesses.  Truly small business stimulates the economy in a sustainable way that functions without union dues or corporate mergers.  XandrePress believes that affordable marketing will contribute to the difference that small business will make in our economy.  We are a small business ourselves and proud to be in such good company.

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