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Don’t make a “Goal” instead make a “Promise”

January 15, 2012 By

This is the time of year that many of us start to think about ‘setting goals’.

I try to pull out my “Goal Plan” (a sheet of paper I wrote them on) to see where I am on their achievement on a regular basis.

I end up ‘hitting’ some and not others.

I started to give this more thought and study this month in anticipation of the New Year (Resolution). I came across a Bill Bateman video on iLG where he was talking about his “10 Step Goal Setting” process. It was all really good information – much that I had already learned, but it was good to revisit. He said ‘one thing’ that completely changed the way I’m looking at my personal and business ‘goal setting’.

He said to replace the word ‘Goal‘ with the word ‘Promise‘ when we go about this task. He offered up a study by Harvard that indicated that people “miss their Goals” 76% of the time – but “achieve their Promises” 98% – and that got me thinking about how my own mind interprets the difference between the two words.

First off, I am rare to make ‘Promises’ – I completely understand on a very “Conscious‘ level what that means and I always remember both Mom and Dad teaching ‘how you never make Promises you can’t keep’. Which explains on my subconscious level how I feel about this same word… It is to be taken very seriously!!!

As to ‘Goals’ – for some reason I seem to have an entirely different internal perspective about that word. I’ve made them most my life and if I did not achieve them I would refine either the goal or the time frame and simply forgive myself – or hit a mulligan (do it over).

This year I intend to do this one simply thing; I intend to create my ‘Promise Plan’ for 2009 and in it I intend to make some real ‘Promises’ on what I ‘will do’ both Personally and Business wise this coming year. So far the list is already much shorter as it forces me to ‘filter’ things better and interestingly it also ended up covering the ‘most’ important things.

Maybe this will help you as well. Best to you and yours in 2009 – I ‘Promise’ :)
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The Golden (Platinum) Rule = The Social Networking Rule

January 14, 2012 By

We speak of it and we try to live by it – “treat others as you would like to be treated.”

To me it’s the main rule one needs to follow within Social Networking.

The Golden Rule was a common principle in ancient Greek philosophy.

A few examples:

“Do not to your neighbor what you would take ill from him.” (Pittacus)

“Avoid doing what you would blame others for doing.” (Thales)

“What you wish your neighbors to be to you, such be also to them.” (Sextus the Pythagorean)

“Do not do to others what would anger you if done to you by others.” (Isocrates)

“What thou avoidest suffering thyself seek not to impose on others.” (Epictetus)

A couple snippets from different world views…

Christianity:

Matthew 7:12
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

Luke 6:31
“Just as you want others to do for you, do the same for them.”

Judaism:

“That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn.”

Buddhism:

“One who, while himself seeking happiness, oppresses with violence other
beings who also desire happiness, will not attain happiness hereafter.”

Confucius:

“Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself.”

Hinduism:

“That man who regards all creatures as his own self, and behaves towards them as towards his own self, laying aside the rod of chastisement and completely subjugating his wrath, succeeds in attaining to happiness.”

Islam:

“Woe to those . . . who, when they have to receive by measure from men, exact full measure, but when they have to give by measure or weight to men, give less than due”

Taoism:

“Regard your neighbor’s gain as your own gain, and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss.”

The “The Platinum Rule” adds a nice addition to the “Golden Rule”…

“The golden rule is a good standard which is further improved by doing unto others, wherever possible, as they want to be done by.”

You’ll see lot’s of “Top 10 Rules of Social Networking” – pick any of the above and I think you’ll have it covered.
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Give Your Bottom Line a Boost with Gift Cards

January 14, 2012 By

There are two ways to increase revenue: Acquire new customers and motivate existing customers to spend more. Turn gift cards into powerful marketing tools that increase revenue, promote your business and expand your customer base through innovative and proven techniques.

Leverage Traditional Gift Cards

A gift card is a great word of mouth marketing tool to gain new clientele. It’s a personal endorsement – from the gift card giver to the recipient – to patronize your business. The recipient, who otherwise may not be familiar with your business, has a chance to become a new, loyal customer.

When asked for donations for a charity, give a gift card. It’s better than cash and if you give product the recipient never sees all you have to offer. With a gift card the winner will need to come in to your establishment in order to redeem their prize.

Restaurants can have off days when they are understaffed because of illness, etc. This is a great time to give a gift card! Should the food not be the quality one would ordinarily expect or the service is slow, offer a gift card to the diner explaining the situation and the gift card will bring them back to enjoy the experience that you usually offer.

When retail items are returned to your store, keep that money in your store by offering a gift card for the value of the item instead of returning their money. Especially if they have taken a long time to return the item.

Develop a Loyalty Program

Use gift cards to generate loyalty by rewarding customers….and motivate them to return. Turn your gift cards into stored value cards and offer customers incentives that entice customers to continue loading money onto them. When customers invest in your business this way, they commit to spending more money with you.

Market your business through promotions.

Leverage relationships with other local merchants who can refer business. Target locations your potential customers frequent. For instance a photographer could display preloaded gift cards in a bridal shop, children’s store, jewelry store, caterer or bakery.

Preload several cards and pass them out at neighboring businesses or networking events to attract new customers. When the card is redeemed toward the purchase in your business ask the customer if they enjoyed their experience and suggest they load additional money on the card for someone else that would also enjoy shopping or dining at your establishment.

Everyone’s Blog Posts – inSide239 Business Network

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