Life Lesson

An incredible friend of mine refuses to share any data or ideas or evaluations without action steps after them.

She believes that if we’re just talking to talk, then it’s not going to move a brand forward.

She’s right.

So, I write this merely to point out that action steps can feel annoying because they’re work.

But remember that the work we do gets us the change we seek.

Adding action steps doesn’t set you back, it propels you forward–which is scary–which is why we feel annoyed with action steps.

Consider requiring an action step for every data point you share or promise you make.

You’ll be amazed at the number of actions you can actually take, how little they will annoy you and how big of a difference you can make when you take them.

Stay Positive & Step Step Step

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Some may look at their reach of a social post and think they connected with 22,359 people.

Some might see the impressions the magazine gets and think they connected with each reader.

Some likely consider a purchase or renewal to be a connection with their customer.

But is that really how we want to define connection? Or is there a more powerful, empathetic, personal and ultimately rewarding way we can define – and carry out – connection with others?

Stay Positive & Keep Raising The Bar Of How We Define Connection

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What if, today, every dollar you have been putting toward raising awareness of your brand, you put behind nurturing those who are already aware of it.

What if you promoted your social content to only your customers, subscribers, policyholders, fans.

What if you took all your newspaper and magazine advertising and did a 100 Day Giveaway to those who already follow you.

What if instead of running a discount for those who enter the door, you buy a fruit and donut assortment for those who were already on their way.

Notice how each of those options weren’t questions.

You CAN flip the script on how you market your brand.

Your one decision away.

And if you haven’t already thought of the beauty of this–investing in those who already engage is no doubt going to raise your brand awareness with others.

Stay Positive & Win Win

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Your pitch isn’t worth much unless you’ve connected with the board of decision makers.

Your value of your work will go unseen unless you’ve connected with the heart of the target.

It’s hard to feel supported when you haven’t connected with others to help you when the going gets rough.

It’s difficult to get a thousand readers on a blog when you’ve put no effort into making face to face connections with those in your community.

If you’re trying to find friends, the fastest way is to be one.

If you’re trying to succeed alone, it’s simply not going to happen.

And if you feel stuck or slowed down on your journey, there’s nothing like having coffee with a few new people to remotivate you to move forward.

Stay Positive & It’s All About Connection

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For most new endeavors, simply being new gets you the attention of those in your target.

You don’t need to spend much on awareness to get people in the door for the first time.

This is counter to most businesses pre-opening advertising budgets and, actually, it’s counter to most advertising strategies, too.

The basic math is that increased awareness means increased sales.

There’s truth to the equation, but only for the short-term.

The real long-term equation is that increased affinity means increased sales.

Building affinity requires a different kind of mindset than building awareness. It’s a mindset of what will get a person back a second or third time – not just the first.

It’s the difference between a buy-one-get-one deal to get people in the door and placing a few stickers and a chocolate in the bag along with the item that was purchased.

It’s the difference between shouting that you’re now open and shaking someone’s hand as you thank them for coming to your venue.

The beauty about affinity tactics is that they are awareness-generating, too, so they become a win-win.

If you think about it, people talk more about what they’ll go back to than what they’ll never try again.

Are you building a brand around that?

Stay Positive & Assess Yourself On Repeats More Than Unique Visits

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A good gauge of productivity is that we’re doing more output than input.

But rarely do we evaluate what the output is.

Is the output hours or is it generosity?

Is it money or is it trust?

Is it a script or is it connection?

Stay Positive & Above All, Are We Consistent

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The other day I wrote about 17 prompts to hone in your dream and ensure success. I felt a little preachy that I shared them, but not my answers.

So, here they are. They’re also proof that it doesn’t take days to answer them. Spit out what you can now in this moment and then revisit your answers a few months from now.

• My product is for people who believe
  • that beer brings them closer to others.
• I will focus on people who
  • want an escape, but also want to increase their status.
• I promise that engaging with what I make will
  • help you get an experience, conversation or beer to remember.
• Who loves what you do?
  • Positive-minded craft beer drinkers.
• Who tells their friends?
  • Those who have craft beer fanatic friends.
• Who waits in line?
  • The crazy (awesome) beer geeks.
• Who buys the lot?
  • ^^
• Who can you help?
  • Beer drinker or not – we’re here to lend a hand (sometimes with a beer) to the community around us.
• Who makes you care?
  • The people. Especially the ones who doubt their own potential. 
• Who has the problem you can solve?
  • Craft beer drinkers without a cellar.
• Who is your muse, your right customer, your reason?
  • Pouring a perfect experience for people who care, too.
• I made this because
  • I wouldn’t be able to look myself in the mirror if I didn’t leap.
• People need this because
  • they strive for increasing their status and escaping the world (in the most positive sense).
• I do it this way because 
  • I believe that it will never get easier, but it will always be worth it.
• I want to appeal to this customer because
  • I was once the customer and didn’t have the experiences I thought I deserved.
• This is the right thing to do because
  • it’s too late to be the wrong thing 😉
• Our company exists because
  • I give a damn.

If you didn’t know, I’m working to open a craft beer bar – which is the perspective from which I answered the questions.

Stay Positive & Here’s To Your Success

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