Live By Your Values (WT411)

Live By Your Values (WT411)

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by Shirley Dalton | 11 May, 2018 | Blog, Business

WT 411 Live by your values

You’ve most likely heard the term “Vision and Values” in reference to business. For years this term remained a mystery to me. I just didn’t get it. 

I couldn’t see what the big deal was about having a list of words on a wall that we could point to and say, “These are our values”. 

That was until I read or heard, (I can’t remember the source) of the question, “Would you rather read it on the walls or see it in the halls?” 

Seeing it in the halls means we behave in line with what we say is important to us, i.e. our values – what we value. 

This week I was having a conversation with my hair stylist who mentioned that whilst she was away recently, her team did an excellent job of looking after clients, however, they forgot to look after each other. 

This sparked a great conversation about what she values in behaviour and attitude for her business, team and customers. One of the things she values is authenticity. It’s important to her that people are genuine; that includes staff and customers. Playing around with words and phrases, draft one included “Authenticity of People and Service.” 

As we were talking, I shared with her another of my colleague’s values for his bakeries. Each and every day he and his team live by these values. They determine the behaviour and the attitude of the baking teams in his business. 

Thanks to Tony Kaye for allowing me to share his core values with you: 

  1. Pay It Forward 
  1. Quality over Quantity 
  1. Forever and Constant Improvement 
  1. Help Everyone Learn New Skills 

“Pay it Forward” means that when you’ve finished your work, you help the next shift. This could include weighing ingredients and having them ready for the next shift to bake.  

“Quality over Quantity” means we bake well. We don’t strive for a huge production run, rather we bake products of good quality. 

Tony finds that having these values and referring to them on a daily basis helps him to ensure his team know what is expected and as a result they can come to work and succeed in their roles.  

Your values guide your behaviour. 

Having your values also makes it easy for you to hold people accountable and have “those conversations” because you have a reference point. 

Your task this week is to think about your values. What’s important to you? Do you have these written down? Are your team aware of them? If not, I encourage you to work with your team to determine the values that will guide the behaviours and attitudes of your workplace. 

And let’s not stop there. How do you want to live at home?

If You Don’t Tell Them, They Won’t Know (WT406)

If You Don’t Tell Them, They Won’t Know (WT406)

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by Shirley Dalton | 6 Apr, 2018 | Blog, Business

WT 406 If You Don't Tell Them They Won't Know

This week we’re not talking about giving feedback; we’re talking about marketing your services and letting people know the value you are providing.

I was sitting at the traffic lights and in front of me was an SUV style of vehicle. Underneath the back window on the body panels I read “Sizes 10-26”, a phone number and address. I presumed it was for a clothing retailer. I also presumed it was for women and yet nowhere could I find the name of the shop or what the sizes were for. I was intrigued, so I found a way to pass the vehicle and to my amazement the sides of the vehicle did not show the name either.

If you don’t tell them; they won’t know.

The same theme emerged as I was working with one of my coaching clients this week. We were working on his messaging to showcase his credibility for the work he does.

Initially reluctant, he was concerned about the “Tall Poppy” syndrome. He didn’t want to appear arrogant or egotistical.

I shared a story that one of my employees told me years ago. She was purchasing taps for a renovation and the salesperson seemed to get annoyed with her because she didn’t appear to appreciate what he had done. Eventually he blurted out, “You don’t seem to realise what I great deal I have just given you” and proceeded to tell her about all the discounts he had factored into the price. She explained to me that until he told her, she had no idea; she just thought that was the price.

If you don’t tell them; they won’t know.

And just yesterday I was working on marketing messages with participants in the next Powerful Marketing Video Event and a similar thing occurred. They weren’t aware of the special attention they were receiving so I mentioned it. 

Marketing is all about getting your name known and attracting customers. It’s your responsibility to let them know the value you bring.

Don’t be shy about this. It doesn’t mean you have to be arrogant. It doesn’t mean you have to be resentful, it simply means, “If you don’t tell them; they won’t know”.

Your job this week is to look at the value you bring and ask yourself whether your clients or prospective clients know this. In fact, you could even extend this to your inner circle at home. Are you sharing the value you bring or are you feeling resentful because they aren’t showing appreciation, when in fact, they may not know.

Here’s a simple example – in a few weeks we’ll be celebrating eight (8) years of Weekly Thoughts. That’s amazing to me that I haven’t missed a week in all these years. Starting at number 1, we’re now up to 406. When we get to 416 we ring the gong and perhaps will celebrate with a few surprises.

If I didn’t tell you, you might not have known.

Is Your Marketing Message Clear? (WT404)

Is Your Marketing Message Clear? (WT404)

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by Shirley Dalton | 23 Mar, 2018 | Blog, Business

WT 404 Is your marketing message clear?

I just finished presenting a masterclass – How to Generate More Leads with Video. 

One of the things I’ve found is that many entrepreneurs and small business owners have huge difficulty articulating what it is they do. 

I thought I’d share my formula with you for crafting a Marketing Message to attract your Ideal Client (IC). 

Firstly you need to identify your Ideal Client. 

Who is he or she? 

Think about your best clients that you work with now or have in the past. What are they like? What attributes do they have? Describe them. Give them a name. 

What are their pain points? What are their Fears, Frustrations, Challenges and Doubts?  

What do they want and need? What do they desire?  

How old are they? Where do they live and work? How much money do they earn? 

Spend some time on this because you will use this to craft your message. 

What credibility and authority do you have for doing what you do?  Is it length of time or experience? Maybe you’ve won awards or have other accolades, for example my TV show is consistently rated number 1 or 2 for viewers on the Empowered Connections channel.  

What is your offer or invitation and finally what is your promise? 

Now that you have all this information, put it together and edit it so that it takes no more than 1-5 minutes to say. 

This is your script for your Personal Branding Video. 

Check out my Linked In profile (www.linkedin.com/in/shirleydalton) or www.themarketingvideoagency.com to see my examples. 

This is something we help you create when you join us for the Powerful Marketing Video Event and it’s something you can use to market yourself 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

It sounds easy and the formula helps to simplify it, however what I’ve found is that you can’t see the label from inside the jar and participants tell us that one of our biggest points of difference is how we help them to craft their message. 

Your task this week is to have a go at crafting your message. Use the formula above and see if you can create a script. If you do, send it through and I’ll personally have a look at it and give you feedback. Email it to shirley@themarketingvideoagency.com.

Go Ahead and Join (WT401)

Go Ahead and Join (WT401)

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by Shirley Dalton | 2 Mar, 2018 | Blog, Business

WT 401 Go ahead and join

This afternoon I am flying to Brisbane to speak at the launch of the audio edition of the book “Broken to Brilliant”. 

This is a big deal for me. 

I will be on stage with Karen Jacobsen, better known as The GPS Girl, Aussie Karen (who can be heard in over 400 million Garmin GPS devices as well as being the voice of Aussie Siri).

The reason I get to speak is because I introduced Karen to Kate Smith, director of the charity Broken to Brilliant. 

Kate’s mission is to help survivors of domestic violence to rebuild their lives, hence Broken to Brilliant.

I first heard about Kate and the work she is doing a few years ago, through the Amasssing Ladies Leadership retreat. We raised money to help publish the book. At the time I had not met Kate, but through my membership with Amasssing, it wasn’t long before I met and interviewed Kate for my radio and TV shows. 

When Ross and I were leaving to go to America, we donated a heap of office furniture to Kate as they prepared to establish their first headquarters. 

Not long after we arrived in America, Kate asked me if I could recommend anyone to read the book to create an audio version. 

Having just interviewed Karen for my TV show, I immediately thought of her. 

It was easy to make the introduction and they took it from there. 

However, this is background information because the message I really want to give you today is to “go ahead and join”.  

I met Karen through my friend and mentor from the National Speakers Association, Lou Heckler. 

As a member of the association, I attended a training with Lou and then did some one on one coaching with him. We became friends with Lou and his wife Jonellen and met up with them a few times when we were in America. 

On one visit, years ago, when we were heading to New York, I asked for some introductions through the Speakers Association. Lou introduced me to Karen via email and she graciously invited me and Ross to afternoon tea at her apartment in New York. 

I was so excited to be seeing a real life New York apartment, that it wasn’t until a few hours before our meeting that I looked up Karen on the internet. OMG! I was so intimidated. She was famous, she was so successful, what could I offer her, why would she be interested in me? 

Of course Karen and her husband Tom and son Hayden were gracious and we enjoyed a fabulous afternoon together and from there kept in touch and over the years caught up whenever Karen had time in Australia or we in America. 

Now to the punchline – if I hadn’t joined the Speakers Association nor Amasssing Ladies, I would never have met Lou, Karen or Kate not to mention many other friends. 

I’ve coined the phrase “Networking Ancestry” because it’s your network that enables you and others to collaborate and help each other.  

If you don’t join and become part of a network, you’re missing out on friendships, business and who knows what opportunities. 

So my message today, if you have been invited to join a group of some sort is “go ahead and join”.  

You just never know who you will meet and how beneficial that membership might be.

It’s Not Until You Do It That You Learn How to Do It (WT400)

It’s Not Until You Do It That You Learn How to Do It (WT400)

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by Shirley Dalton | 23 Feb, 2018 | Blog, Business

WT 400 It's not until you do it that you learn how to do it

Each week there seems to be a theme that presents itself a number of times. I guess that’s the universe making sure I get it.

This week, the theme was all about taking action and getting feedback in order to learn how to do it better.

Working with a long term client, I flew to Canberra to provide some training for their managers and sales reps. 

Together we created the content for the program and delivered it as a pilot to ensure we had it right before rolling out across the company. 

Remembering last week’s thought – Plans are Useless but Planning is Essential – we had certainly planned for the training. 

And now that the training has been delivered, it’s easy to analyse what worked and what didn’t work. 

Little things like the start and finish times for the program could have been changed to suit the hours the team were used to working, rather than the hours I generally do for the leadership program. 

Having the materials couriered ahead of time would have saved me some excess baggage fees with the 17kg of folders and books and resources that flew with me. (Thank God my bag didn’t get lost or I would have been in a real pickle.) 

It was only through delivering the material that I could determine the right amount of time to allow for different activities. The participants seemed to catch on to some concepts really quickly which means I can shorten the amount of time allowed for future participants. Other concepts that I thought would be completed fairly quickly actually took a lot longer because the participants were totally engaged in discussing how it applied to them. 

It’s not until you do something that you learn how to do it. 

Another example; our makeup artist for The Powerful Marketing Video Event allowed 60-90 minutes per attendee. We were all pleasantly surprised to find we only needed 45-60 minutes. This feedback makes a huge difference when we are planning for future events and the number of people we can comfortably film to help them market their businesses. 

And just yesterday I joined an exercise club. This morning I was quite anxious about using the equipment without having been trained. Again, it’s not until you do something that you learn how to do it. Tomorrow will be easy! 

Thinking about you and your business; how does this apply to you? What are some of the things that you might be procrastinating on because you think you have to figure it out first before taking action? 

I encourage you to simply take action. In fact, one of the games we played demonstrated this concept beautifully. The instruction was “No thinking is required – only action”. All the participants had to do was listen to the feedback. They received a clap for taking the right action and silence for the wrong action. No thinking was required. 

What will you take action on this week? Are you open to the learning and the feedback?  

The quickest way to learn is to do it.

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