Archives for December 2012

Does Your Business Give Holiday Gifts?

12/10/2012 By Jayme Soulati

Please Send Me Lou Malnati's

Every year during the holiday season, I strive to send thoughtful gifts to all my clients. And, it gets tougher each year not to spend a fortune while being thoughtful. Gifts can be to employees, clients, bosses, or vendors/contractors. There are so many ways to acknowledge your business partners; while it doesn’t have to happen during the holidays; it’s the time of year for me when I do it.

The Internal Revenue Service only allows $25/gift as a deduction. At the end of the day, it’s because of your clients that you actually have any income, so staying within that paltry limit is not feasible or generous.

For my clients with whom I’ve had a long-term relationship (average 8-10 years), I spend about $100. I begin shopping months in advance, and when something strikes me in a catalogue, I tear out the sheet and keep the page until it’s time to send a gift. (I also send a referral thank you gift to peeps who send me prospects who become paying clients.)

I like to send the deliveries to arrive any time in December so people can enjoy the foodstuffs or flowers or something prior to leaving on holiday.

This year, I’m torn about what to gift my clients. I’m looking at:

Heifer International – I can purchase a few chickens or a lamb or even a quarter sheep or cow so people in underprivileged regions in South America can use the animals for their livelihood.
Wolfermann’s – I gave these astonishing muffins last year, and everyone snarfed. For families and larger offices, this is perfect.
Coffee, wine and cheese – I always look at these types of baskets, but I have to say, I received one once, and it was done up so prettily with a lot of empty colored boxes and tape. The items inside were cheesy.
Fruit from Harry and David – In the past I’ve ordered these (Fruit of the Month), but I was disappointed because the fruit didn’t match the order form. They were forever switching out the really good fruits for pears.
Kiva – I have been on the receiving end of Kiva, and what a great gift. You put money into micro-loans around the world, and the business owner slowly pays back the money with interest and you reloan the money. I have probably financed 10 business owners across the world. It’s a really cool service.
Personal items – If you really know your client well, you can get a little more personal. I know one of my colleagues loves good tequila. She is also a fanatic for Himalayan salt. So, I found Himalayan salt tequila shot glasses; she thought they were candle holders and when I told her what they were, she nearly dropped the phone in excitement! That was worth it!

What do you gift your clients? Anyone have any good ideas, please?

How Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Teaches Social Responsibility

12/06/2012 By Jayme Soulati

Region 1 DVD cover (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ever watch it…”” How many times? If you’re over 30, you better tell me about a dozen. If you haven’t seen it in awhile, crank it up…’tis the season.

My dear best BFF Jim Faris inspired this post, and he was struck by how significant the themes coursing through this were akin to today’s lifestyle moments. Let’s see, how many lessons and teachables can we glean from this 45-minute program produced by innovators Rankin/Bass in 1964?

Anti-bullying
Heroism
Friendship
Love and family
Athleticism and popularity
Misfits or unique individuals who don’t fit the mainstream
Teamwork
Career pathing

Bet you didn’t realize just how many of those themes were buried in this “children’s” movie, did you? Good thing there’s a happy ending as this little program is chock full of in-your-face mean to anyone who doesn’t conform.

Now that we’ve grown up, we can see deeper into hidden meanings within these scripts and still watch alongside our innocent children. When you write and add hidden meaning into your works, do you think readers get it?

Next time you’re sitting in front of a show your kids pick out (or a young person) and you really don’t want to watch it, try to change up your viewing experience.

Look at the set; listen to word choices; look at hair styles and accessories; watch for fashion faux pas; determine whether they have the blonde acting dumb or the heavy-set kid being clumsy.

When your kid laughs, tune in to what makes them howl and join in the fun for a bit of ‘raderie.

Same goes for blog writing — stick a bit of humor and fascinating stuff in the post and impress the community…or, just be yourself and let the you shine through. Just like the writers of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, the creativity and hidden message are yours.

How Do You Listen?

12/05/2012 By Jayme Soulati

Conversation by Patrick Bohnen (Photo credit: Kraemer Family Library)

Those without hearing impairment can hear, but are they listening? Ear buds allow the outside world to be ignored and an entire new world of escape to tune in.

When you speak with someone face to face, you can tell if they’re listening or distracted. It’s pretty easy, and then when the phone vibrates in the pocket, that instant intake of breath and dart of the eyes take focus from a conversation and onto a device. Onlookers can see the internal question posed by brain waves — who’s calling, emailing, texting, pinging?

How do you listen?

Can you hear a conversation on the phone and tune in without multi-tasking? Do you focus entirely on the caller and give him or her undivided attention? How do you listen to your kids’ stories from school — the drama among BFFs or the playground battles that are so critical to the kidlets?

Listening to clients means you can provide better services and deliverables and work product. Listening to conversation means you can create blog fodder like this (inspired by a phone conversation). Listening intently means you listen with purpose, and what that breeds is respect.

Next time you’re having a meeting or gathering with anyone and you’re face to face, please give that person your undivided attention. They deserve that courtesy and you deserve to be respected.

Listening is the product of communication. We’re creating a society of non-communicators especially amongst millennials and teenagers. Parents are to blame, and today’s youth are this nation’s business future.

When you listen, do this:

1. Shake hands to get the tactile going. If you’re not IRL, then ask a question about the caller’s well being to personalize.

2. Look people in the eye when speaking.

3. Keep all hands on deck and out of pockets or purses; that iPhone is not going to sprout legs and run away.

4. Hear what people are saying by tuning in.

5. Respond in kind and with meaning; and I mean FOR REAL.

6. Erase all invasive thoughts from that moment and focus.

7. End with a smile and a thank you.

What think? Resonate?

Fixing The Social Media Plateau

12/03/2012 By Jayme Soulati

Pinterest featue in Metro - 27th February 2012 (Photo credit: Great British Chefs)

There’s a social cultural shift on the ‘sphere and the ‘webz; have you felt it? More’s the question…are you experiencing a social media sea change plateau yourself?

Many in my community have been on this social engagement and blogging journey for an average of 18 months. For me, it’s almost four years.

When you look at that timeframe doing almost the same thing day in and day out, it’s time to grow or die.

The signs below may be an indication it’s time to step up your game, take it to the next level, and grow or remain complacent. See if these strike a chord and whether you might add a few of your own:

10 Indications You’ve Hit a Social Media Plateau

1. Learning new things becomes more rare; another 20 ways to use Pinterest blog post isn’t providing new insight over what you know now.

2. Your favorite bloggers seem to be echoing the chamber more frequently, and there’s a reason you’re spotting that — you’re ready to grow because you know.

3. Posting wit and banter on the channels is more of a chore and you find yourself sharing posts without reading to keep your Klout score up.

4. Facebook’s continued alterations and altercations have you yawning as you realize other channels may be a better fit.

5. You read some of the posts and shake your head at the nonsense.

6. When you find a new blogger with some awesome content and you write a comment saying so and get crickets in response.

7. When you see a favorite blogger MIA or changing it up so drastically you can’t follow whose writing you’re reading.

8. When whining becomes more the rant and a feeling of morose amplifies emotions in posts.

9. When the Triberr stream is populated with content that boils down to limited scope, repetition and topics you’ve seen already a dozen times.

10. When the road ahead is a question mark.

How To Fix The Social Media Plateau

Not saying you need to feel all of these or any, but when you begin to question your purpose and experience a few of those listed above, consider these possible solutions to fix The Social Media Plateau:

1. Take a hiatus and refocus on your core business. You’ll buy back tons of time; yet, your social brand will suffer.

2. Reduce the time spent on the channels that don’t return much to you. That way, you’re not spread as thin.

3. Guest post on national blogs or other more high-traffic blogs (only after you engage and make a connection with the bloggers’ community, of course).

4. Tackle a whole new area, which can be any or all of the following — web design, analytics/big data, content marketing and lead gen, podcasting, webinars, passive income, affiliate marketing, speaking, e-books/books, and, and, and…

OMYGOSH…look at #4 — there’s my laundry list to push the envelope and avoid a social media plateau! What about you? Did any of that tickle the pink?