The Group of 8

How is your presentation

I recently attended an errors and omissions insurance seminar that featured a power point. Jealous? I was shocked that people still create power points that are word for word with what the speaker is saying.

Please never do that.

The minimum standard has been set by Guy Kawasaki. The next presentation of yours will be vastly improved by following Guy's advice.

If you need some creative motivation, view the entry's in Guy's World's Best Presentation Contest.

Rob Clark

Helping those in need

The term pro bono simply means "for public good". More than likely, you have heard it to describe a lawyer who will provide counsel for group or individual in need. Many times, pro bono works as a benefit to the one doing the work.

How would your world look if everyone you knew did one job pro bono every year? A car mechanic who fixes the young college student's old beater for free. The florist who sends an elderly couple in the neighborhood a beautiful arrangement at no cost.  The web designer who builds a site for a non-profit organization to give them a voice on the world wide web.

If your career does not allow you to do a pro bono act, use one of your other talents. I am legally bound to charge a specific price for specific amount of insurance coverage, therefore pro bono insurance can not be done. Yet I also design web sites and study the art of marketing, especially internet marketing. This skill can be used pro bono.

If you know of a non-profit organization that is wanting to have their own place on the web and to get their important word out to the people, please contact me at [email protected]. I will provide my skills and passion pro bono.

What are you doing pro bono this year?

Rob Clark

Don’t Let Those Lower Rates Fool You

Did you house hunters get excited this morning when you reached for your cup of Joe and the Star Phoenix to see that the Royal Bank dropped their mortgage rates? Did you start to think…gees those nice guys at the bank must know that home prices are skyrocketing and they want to give me a bit of a break on my new mortgage payment? If you did, then stop reading, have a shower and wake up.

Truth be told, we haven’t seen this type of inflationary pressure in years…sure core inflation was only 2.2% in April….within reason….but what about energy and food costs? What about the effects of this labor shortage?  Is that coffee kicking in yet?....Rates are going up. If I were you, I would jump at a lower five year rate right now if you are looking for security, because it is probably a pretty good deal. The Bank of Canada will be making a decision on the spot rate on July 10th and if you can find me a person who tells you that rates are going down, I will find you a great piece of real estate in Climax….(sorry to the fine folks of Climax, I just don’t know about the  real estate forecast in this pinnacle city). 

I run a mortgage investment company, we are an alternative lender providing financing for families that the banks and conventional lenders pass up. These short term spikes in interest rates don’t scare me because I know it could really slow down the real estate market, making housing more affordable for everyone.

Al Zack

Know Thy Customer

I was trying to put a notice in the paper on behalf of a client to promote their latest accomplishment.  I know that my client works with business people and I wanted the business community to know what my client had done.  When I called the paper to place the ad, the salesperson told me that I should place the ad on the second page of the first section.  “Everyone reads that page,” he said.  Test:  What was on the second page of the paper this morning?

In one company I worked for, our target market was women 25-45.  Other people bought our products, but in every sale a woman 25-45 either purchased or influenced the purchase.  When the local television station came to sell me advertising, they suggested Prime Time would be best.  I asked for demographics on their viewers during Prime Time and the sale rep proudly told me that they were #1 with 18-35 year old males (and #1 meant just 17% of the total male population in that age group).

In both of these situations, if I hadn’t known my target market, I would have made costly investments in promotions that would never get my message to my target market.  If you don’t know your customers, who will?

Jill Sauter

Feel Better vs. Get Better

The next time you get injured, sick, stressed out, or have a crisis of some sort, evaluate how you choose to deal with it. In today’s busy world our sense of health has dramatically changed. We have shifted from a society who wants to get better to a society who simply wants to feel better. Instead of honoring our bodies and trying to figure out what caused the injury, or problem, we find ourselves searching for a quick fix. We don’t have time to let anything stop us from our chaotic schedules. So, we go to the doctor and ask for the “magic pill”, or go to the chiropractor hoping for the “fix-all adjustment”, or to a massage therapist for the “one hour miracle treatment”. Our animal instincts kick in and we will do whatever we can in order to survive and continue. We want immediate feel better results because getting better would require too much time.

Today I challenge everyone to use a different approach. Next time you have a spasm, headache, cold/flu, pulled muscle, depression, etc. challenge yourself to get better. Take the time to evaluate your life and figure out what chain of events has lead up to your setback. Chronic pain is no coincidence!! Your body and mind provides us with numerous warning signs (small injuries and setbacks) and when ignored long enough, will lead to something more dramatic. Chronic pain, full out depression, burn out, etc. don’t happen overnight. Your body has been screaming for help and you’ve simply masked it with Advil, ibuprofen, sleep aids, etc.. If you continuously choose to feel better, eventually you won’t be able to get better!! It’s your choice, choose wisely for you only have one body and one chance!

Nicole Poirier, RMT

Please & thank you

When we take three kids out in social situations, we are constantly teaching the value of good manners.  “What do you say?” we ask when our kids get a gift or extra ice cream.  How good are we at using those basic manners in business? 

Those words are forgotten so often, but when you remember, you set yourself apart.

Do you ask for referrals from satisfied customers?  Do you ask for the name of your friend’s friend so that you can follow up?  A simple “Please” can open doors that you never imagined.  I notice that when asking for help from others, “Please” is the grease that gets the wheel moving much faster.

Last fall, I received a referral from someone for a contract that resulted in more revenue than I made all last year.  I sent her a $50 gift certificate and a hand written card to show my appreciation.  I have also purchased a handful of $5 coffee shop gift cards that I send to people who give me advice or help me find some information.  I even sent handwritten thank you cards to every one of my clients for supporting me in my first year in business.

When someone hands you a great tip or some valuable business, “What do you say?”

Jill Sauter

Make things better

The hip companies now sport mantras. Small insightful sayings that focus a company on their ultimate goal. For example, Starbucks has "rewarding everyday moments". This mantra allows them to sell wonderful coffee but also cds, books, and even promote movies. Scott Bedbury talks about this idea of mantra in his book A Brand New World.

We all should have our own personal mantra. What is your purpose in business? Do you even have a job description? I struggled creating a personal mantra that covers all of my duties, but also encompasses my desires and passion. Seth Godin helps shape that mantra with an insight from a visit to a book trade show in New York.

Make things better.

Sounds easy, but how many times do you think about making things better in your daily routine. This mantra can apply to all aspects of life. Do you make things better for your clients by being the best in your industry in their world? How do you make things better in your marriage? How do you make things better for your children?

Making things better goes beyond punching the clock and bringing home the bacon. Who's life are you going to make better today because of what you do or what you say?

Rob Clark

reposted for test purposes

Don't Forget the Ones Who Love You

I once worked with a client who was very excited about finding thousands and thousands of clients for his business.  In the end, he got lots of new clients, but those were just enough to replace the dissatisfied customers who decided not to buy after their first miserable experience.

How well do you look after your current customers?  They’ve already told you that they want what you promised them.  They want it so badly that they’re willing to hand over their hard-earned money to get it.  They’ve bought in!

Did you deliver on your promise?  Did they get what they thought they were paying for?  Were they just satisfied or were they amazed?  Will they buy more?  Will they buy more often?  Will they pay more next time?  Will they tell their friends?

You need to care about these clients.  You need to know if they thought they got good value for their dollar.  You need to know what they tell their friends about you.  Whether it’s formal research surveys, registration cards or just a phone call to a paying customer, you need to know what they think.  Blogs and online surveys have made seeking feedback cheaper and easier than ever before.

By the way, getting current customers to buy more, buy more often, or pay a higher price is 7-10 times cheaper than finding new customers.  Where are you investing your marketing money?

Jill Sauter -  Jill Sauter Marketing & Consulting

Procrastination

The main reason people fail to achieve financial independence is procrastination.

They do not:    

    set financial goals.
    have a cash management system.
    pay themselves first.
    have a tax savings strategy.
    plan for unexpected events.

It’s not that they plan to fail -- they simply fail to plan.

So if procrastination is our enemy, how do we overcome it? The hardest part of financial planning seems to be in just getting started. What is easy to do, is also easy not to do! So we look for something or someone to motivate us. A book, a quote, a persistent friend, or an advisor jolts us into action.  I want to share a story about motivation that changed how I use it.

I was at a leadership seminar, when the presenter John C. Maxwell, while discussing personal growth, talked about motivation. His message was clear:

“Don’t wait to get motivated”

He went on to discuss an excerpt from a medical magazine…

“We hear it almost every day: sigh, sigh, sigh.
I just can’t get myself motivated to…(lose weight, test my blood sugar, etc…) And we hear an equal number of sighs from diabetes educators who can’t get their patients motivated to do the right things for their diabetes and their health.

We have news for you. Motivation is not going to strike you like lightning. And motivation is not something that someone else – nurse, doctor, family member – can bestow or force on you. The whole idea of motivation is a trap.

Forget motivation. Just do it. Exercise, lose weight, test your blood sugar, or whatever. Do it without motivation. And then guess what, after you start doing it, that’s when the motivation comes and makes it easy for you to keep on doing it.  Motivation is like love and happiness. It’s a by-product. When you’re actively engaged in doing something, it sneaks up and zaps you when you least expect it.

As Harvard psychologist Jerome Bruner says, ‘You’re more likely to act yourself into feeling than feel yourself into action.’ So act! Whatever it is you know you should do, do it.

So there you have it. Wherever you are on your financial odyssey, know that I am ready and willing to help. And the motivation will follow…

Jay Stark - Sutton Financial Group