Yvonne DiVita of Lipsticking wrote a post about Networking in the Social Media Age. Debbie Weil of BlogWrite for CEOs who did a short video with Seth Godin and he talked about the TRUE way to network. So to the point. It isn’t about quantity it is about QUALITY and GIVING. Thanks Seth and Debbie!
So poignant. So true.
Also, found this article on Friday from Business Week on Seth. Profile of a Marketing Guru. Enjoy.
This week I am “mixing it up” again and found blogs in honor of some special days for September. Innergize Day (September 23rd) and National Women’s Health & Fitness Day (September 25th).
In celebration of National Women’s Health & Fitness Day, I would like to showcase I few ladies’ blogs:
Pam Archer of ArcherFitPress and she did a recent post about 5 ways to Avoid Back Pain . In her post she mentions about not bending and twisting at the same time. Also wear comfortable shoes…great tips!
Gina Loree Marks of Embody Grace – where she shares about how to keep your life in balance. Her latest blog post titled Breast Cancer? Breast Health! is a book review of Susan Weed’s book on breast health.
And one more stop. We will go to Jill Nussinow’s blog called Veggie Queen Adventures. One of her lastest posts was about how more people are eating soy. Well, I would be one of those people. I recently started drinking soy milk instead of skim milk. I also tried a GenSoy bar the other day – pretty good. When I am in a fix for some food but running around too much to stop…I will have these on hand to give my body nutrients.
This next one is for the Innergize Day: The Phenomenal Entrepreneur radio show is about every day people who live their passion. People who have come to know what lights their fire, sets them apart, and have moved into a space of fulfillment by doing what they love to do and making money at it. This week she has Lynn Scheurell, Creative Catalyst, works with soul-driven entrepreneurs to create a living from who they are, because that kind of alignment allows tremendous abundance and enhanced contribution to the world at large.
I really liked listening to this 30 minute show because it focused on FOCUS. And knowing your life purpose. And sometimes your life purpose isn’t what you think it is but what it right for you. She explains her 4 D’s and the GEENA system. LOVE it! Very moving , motivational and inspiring.
And speaking of living your passion and sharing it with others – I have the honor of being a guest on Katherine Reschke’s Blog Talk Radio show called The Passion Project today at 12pmEST. I truly enjoy my work with authors, speakers, and writers and Katherine will be asking me questions about how I came to do what I love and find my passion.
One final note: Another lady who lives her passion and is always in my corner, Heidi Richards, Editor in Chief for WE Magazine for Women. I wanted to celebrate the Fall 2008 edition of WE Magazine for Women
Full of great articles, tips and resources for you, your life and your business.
I have the pleasure of interviewing Donna Cutting regarding her 1st book, The Celebrity Experience: Insider Secrets for Delivering Red Carpet Customer Service. I hope you each will take the time to pick up this book as it has some very concrete ways to help every business owner really show their customer (I mean their celebrities) red carpet treatment.
Please give us a bit of background about you (where you grew up, where you were born, and if you have any siblings) I was born in Stoughton, MA but grew up in Westport, Massachusetts, a small community outside of Fall River and New Bedford, and just on the other side of Tiverton, Rhode Island. I have a sister named Julie and a half-sister named Melissa. Mom is a nurse, and Dad worked in construction and later owned a deli called Phil-a-deli (his name is Phil). The whole gang lives in Tampa Bay, Florida now – where I also live with my husband Jim and our Maltese, Snowball.
For those whom are beginning writers (or those whom wish to write but are apprehensive, what is your advice? The hardest part is sitting down. Just write – don’t worry about how well you’re writing, or what the outcome will be. Write first and edit later.
When did you start writing? To be honest, I didn’t start out as a writer. I have been speaking about customer service and employee engagement for years and as my career has developed I’ve published several articles on those topics. People seem to respond to my writing, so I guess I found a talent I didn’t know I had. I’m simply writing what I know – what I’ve experienced or learned from others.
Please let us know your inspiration for the book? It hit me one day that people who serve celebrities know how to deliver true red-carpet customer service. I wondered what we could learn from them about making non-famous people – our customers – feel like stars! One interviewed led into another, and the book took shape from there. People who read The Celebrity Experience are getting a real insiders’ view on how to make others feel like they’ve received the star treatment.
Can you share a few tips from the book?
Sure.
· Roll out the Red Carpet by finding creative ways to use your customer’s name – verbally, on signs, on menus, on your website.
· Be Unforgettable by remembering details about your customer and Wowing them with your recollection. Did they tell you they are expecting their first grandson any minute now? Send a Congrats to the new grandma card. Do they have pets? Send toys for their four legged friends as a thank you gift.
· Master the basics of customer service…and then some! It’s in the “and then some” that you are giving extraordinary service.
So, what is on the horizon for you and your writing? Nothing definite yet, but I anticipate my next book to be more about the process of managing The Celebrity Experience. The first book tells you what it is, and gives concrete ideas that readers can use. The second book will give you a step by step process to implement The Celebrity Experience in your company.
As a speaker, do you have advice for others who would like to get involved in a speaker career? Yes. Get involved in your local chapter of the National Speakers Association – http://www.nsaspeaker.org. If your state doesn’t have a chapter, or the chapter doesn’t allow guests to attend, get involved in the National Association by subscribing to their magazine, signing up for their Academy, and attending their conferences. Practice so you become a better speaker, grow your expertise, learn as much as you can about the speaking business – and apply what you learn. It’s not an easy career by any means – but it’s a wonderful career if you really work at it.
What do you like to do when you aren’t speaking or writing? Spend time with my husband Jim and our dog Snowball, as well as with my friends and other family. My husband and I love to travel, kayak and spend time outdoors. We hope to visit every National Park in the US someday. I love movies, theater, music, and I’m almost always up for a new adventure.
Here is a question just for fun—what is your favorite food and why?
The answer to that question is YES! LOL!
It’s hard to pick one favorite. I love clamboils, which were a tradition in the New England town I grew up in. Occasionally my Dad will order clams from up North and we’ll have one here. Steamers in a pot with onions, Portuguese sausage, corn on the cob, hot dogs….yum!
I love donuts from Butlers Donuts – a small donut shop in Westport, MA – you haven’t tasted heaven until you’ve had one.
When I visit different states or countries, I enjoy eating the food they are famous for. I like to immerse myself in the culture – especially the food!
How can others get in contact with you and purchase your book? You can reach me via my website at http://www.donnacutting.com.
This interview is part of a blog tour.
You can visit blogs on the tour from yesterday Sept 20th:
Michelle Waters / Watersweb Solutions
Terri / Pop Art Diva
Dawn Goldberg / Write Well Me
and Today
Dr. Sally Witt will conduct a book review on her blog.
And Tomorrow on the blog tour:
Betty Lynch / My Country Kitchen will showcase a book excerpt from Donna’s book.
Phil Gerbyshak / Make It Great who will run his own interview with Donna.
Becky Wyatt / Becky Wyatt Online where she will showcase Donna Cutting’s book.
The Celebrity Experience is available on Amazon.com and anywhere books are sold. If your bookstore has sold out of it, they can order a copy for you.
Well, I would like to share with you what I learned what celebrities have to do with customer service from reading Donna Cutting’s book, The Celebrity Experience, Insider Secrets for Delivering Red Carpet Customer Service.
The first lesson I learned was to say YES when you can instead of just being okay with saying NO. Say Yes when you can. Figure out how to say yes to your clients. And get the others in your company to join in this effort for your clients.
How many times have you heard, “Sorry, that is not my job.” Well, how about if everyone in your company has the thought process of, “What can I do to make our customer feel special?”
What kind of customer experience can you give your clients that would be similar to those who work with celebrities?
One story in the book was when you go to libraries many times you will be met with signs that say, “No food or drink”. And there isn’t just one but many throughout the library.
She talks about how places like Borders and Barnes & Noble looked at the customer structure and realized that by providing a cafe people would grab a drink and bite to eat and stay longer to look at the books, magazines and music thus creating the opportunity for the customers to purchase more and increase revenue.
To go deeper into the understanding of the “special” treatment is to relate it to how the celebrities are treated when they arrive at a special event. We have all seen it…the limos, the velvet ropes, the glamour dresses and suites, fancy jewelry and of course…the red carpet. So, how can you give your clients the “night of the lives” when they become your customer? I love the real life examples that Donna writes about in her book. There are so many great ways businesses came up with to give their customers specialized Celebrity Experience when dealing with their company. Find ways unique to your company to deliver your own brand of red carpet customer service.
This book has been a great resource for me to find new ways to extend my own representation of Celebrity Experience for my clients. Thanks so much Donna!
This post is part of a blog tour and today you can also go to the following places to read about Donna’s book:
Phil Gerbyshak / Make It Great
Melody Campbell / The Small Business Guru- Sept 18th -
Beverly Mahone / BAM Enterprises
Terry Booth / Nashville Real Estate Blogger
Denise O’Berry / All Business Operations Section
And the blog tour continues tommorrow:
- Sept 20th -
Michelle Waters / Watersweb Solutions
Terri / Pop Art Diva
Dawn Goldberg / Write Well Me
I highly recommend you purchase this book: You can purchase it here—> The Celebrity Experience
I am thrilled to be a part of the celebration and spreading the word about Donna Cutting’s book The Celebrity Experience, Insider Secrets to Delivering Red-Carpet Customer Service
To allow you to follow along, here is the schedule for the Donna Cutting blog tour blitz!
Of course we are starting here today. Also, today you can read more about the book at the following blogs
- Sept 17th
Dr. Sally / Dr. Sally Witt’s Blog, where Dr. Sally conducts a video interview with Donna about customer service
Carol Deckert/ Run Lancaster
- Sept 18th -
Beverly Mahone / BAM Enterprises
Terry Booth / Nashville Real Estate Blogger
Denise O’Berry / All Business Operations Section
- Sept 19th -
Phil Gerbyshak displays a book excerpt from Donna’s book
Melody Campbell / The Small Business Guru
- Sept 20th -
Michelle Waters / Watersweb Solutions
Terri / Pop Art Diva
Dawn Goldberg / her blog.
- Sept 22nd -
Betty Lynch / My Country Kitchen will showcase a book excerpt from Donna’s book.
Phil Gerbyshak / Make It Great who will run his own interview with Donna.
Becky Wyatt / Becky Wyatt Online where she will showcase Donna Cutting’s book.
- Sept 23rd -
Wendy Piersall / CEO of Sparkplugging, will be hosting a guest blog by Donna about how to be a A-list customer.
Heidi Richards/founder of WECAI and WE Magazine for Women
Carol Deckert will be interviewing Donna LIVE at 7pm on her Ladies In Business Today
- Sept 24th -
Sandra De Freitas / Tech Coach for Coaches
Dawn Goldberg / Write Well Mewill be doing her own book review.
Pam Archer / I Do Weddings to showcase Donna’s guest post about tips for brides to be A-list customers
- Sept 25th -
Judy Davids/ Guitarist of the Mydols and author of Rock Star Mommy
Claudia Meydrech / Ebook & Book Reviews
Carol Deckert / Run Lancaster
- Sept 26th -
Mary Eileen Williams / Fiesty Side of Fifty
Kirsten Harrell / I Pop In
Pam Archer / I Do Weddings
- Sept 27th -
Karen Putz / Karen Putz.com
Debba Haupert / Girlfriendology
Glenda Watson Hyatt / Author of I can do it Myself – Do It Myself
- Sept 28th -
Heidi Caswell / Get Your Cards Here
Jenn Givler / Create a Thriving Business
Melodiann Whitley / Wealth Together
Andrea NierenbergThe Nierenblog
At anytime, you can purchase Donna’s book, The Celebrity Experience, Insider Secrets to Red Carpet Customer Service by going to Amazon
I wanted to address the question – Do you know what others see when they look you up on Google or other search engine sites?
Here is another edition of Free for All Friday:
Beverly Mahone Blog talk radio Show: Passions every Monday at 12pmEDT
This week, Beverly had Susan Gunelius, author of Harry Potter, The Story of a Global Business Phenomenon in a session Beverly calls Kick Butt and Take Names Later.
It was a great interview where Susan & Beverly talked about how social media and blogging has gotten Susan from going on to searching for writing jobs to where she is today, author of this book and 2 more business books. She gave some great tips to new beginners: choose a platform and start writing. Visit other blogs and actively comment (don’t just say, “Nice post”). Add to the conversation.
Susan also started an online blog community called Women On Business.
Liz Straussis one of those ladies who I have been following through twitter and her blog. On Twitter this morning, she posted her latest blog post, Hurry Up, Slow Down and Take your Time. Well, that made me think about something my dad always says, “Take your Time But Hurry Up!”. The post contemplates the very notion can we slow down when we need to speed up. Or is that we should go faster in some things but we need to slow down? Very nice post. I took away from the post, live your life at the pace that works best for you.
Also, I like the SOB Cafe. A collection of posts about business of blogging.
And from this I found a new blog called T+D (Training and Development) Blog. They had a recent blog post called Creature of Habit…Fear of Change. That is true that sometimes people stay in their current situation even though they may not like it because of fear of changing it. They get comfortable within the misery.
I have to say I enjoy putting together the Free for All Friday posts, because I find some inspiring, conversational, and insightful posts that lead me to connect to something else.
For instance, the blog post at T+D Blog made me think about something two friends of mine, Katherine Reschke and Jenn Givler are doing for a new coaching program based on changing mindsets and coaching your brain.
Something new I haven’t done before but I am recommended this newsletter and if you don’t wish to subscribe you don’t have to put I wanted to at least share the following article in Bob Burg’s newsletter Winning Without Intimidation
* Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and Six Degrees of Separation
By Dr. Ivan Misner
What do Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and Six Degrees of
Separation have in common? The answer is – people all around the
world believe in them. But, since I don’t wish to do an exposé on
Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny, I’m going to leave those icons
alone. I want to talk about the Six Degrees of Separation idea.
This is the widely-held belief that we are all connected to each
other through, at most, six intermediary connections or people.
I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings, but it’s just not true.
In fact, it is a widespread urban legend. I know, I know – you’re
thinking, “What? That can’t be! It’s common knowledge that we are
all separated by six connections to anyone in the world.” Well, I
hate to burst your bubble, but the idea that we are all connected
through Six Degrees of Separation is rooted in myth – not in fact.
The legend originally stems from several “small world experiments”
conducted by Stanley Milgram in the 1960s and 70s. These
experiments involved sending folders or letters from a group of
people in one part of the country to a specific person (whom they
did not know) in another part of the country. The people were told
to get the material to someone who might know someone that would
know the individual to whom the material was to be delivered to.
This process formed a chain of connections linking the people
together.
It was, in fact, found that the letters or folders which eventually
arrived in the right person’s hands took, on average, between five
and six connections or degrees. This part is true; however, if you
look closer, you will discover the problems that exist within the
blanket statement that “we are all connected by six degrees.”
First off, though the average number of links for people who got
the material through to the final contact was five or six
connections, the majority of the connections that were made ranged
from two to ten (the average was five to six). This means that
roughly half took more than six and roughly half less than six.
Well, you say, that’s the average and I would agree that there’s
nothing wrong with addressing this concept by the average, but
there’s one small problem. The overwhelming majority of people in
all of Milgram’s studies never got the material to the intended
recipient at all!
In Milgram’s most successful study, “217 chains were started and 64
were completed – a success rate of only 29%.” (*) That’s right – a
success rate of less than 1/3 of the participants!! So, what this
means is that 29% of the people in Milgram’s most successful study
were separated on average by six degrees from the final contact
person. However, that means that 71% were NOT CONNECTED AT ALL!
But wait, I’m afraid it gets worse. This was Milgram’s most
successful study. In another of his studies, only 5% of the
participants completed the chain, which means that 95% of the
people in the study never made the link to the person they were
supposed to connect to at all – ever!
Don’t shoot the messenger, but I am afraid to tell you that we are
not “all” connected with everyone in the world by Six Degrees of
Separation. We’re just not … not all of us.
So, why would I, someone who has devoted most of his professional
career to business networking, be telling everyone about the
Achilles heel of this iconic concept upon which a lot of networking
pros hang their hats?
Well, there are two reasons. First of all, I believe this myth
creates complacency. The thought that everyone is absolutely
connected to everyone else on the planet by six degrees gives some
people a false sense of expectation and thus lulls them into a
sense that the connection is bound to happen sooner or later, no
matter what they do.
Secondly, and most importantly, the studies’ findings indicate
clearly that some people are better connected than others. I
believe that’s important because it means that this is a skill that
can be acquired. With reading, training, and coaching, people can
develop their networking skills, increase their connections, and
become part of the roughly 29% of people that are, in fact,
separated from the rest of the world by only six degrees.
Milgram’s work was revolutionary. It opened up a whole new world of
discussion and understanding. It has, however, been romanticized.
The mythical version of his findings does no good for anyone. It
gives people a false sense of security or an erroneous world view
of the networking process.
I believe we do live in a “small world” that is becoming smaller
and smaller; and I also believe it is possible to be connected to
anyone in the world by only six degrees. I just don’t believe that
“we are all” connected by six degrees and Milgram’s own findings
support that.
The good news in all of this is that it is possible to be part of
the 29% through education, practice, and training. We can be
connected to anyone through the power and potential of networking.
In fact, by understanding that, we can set ourselves aside from our
competition by knowing that being able to make successful
connections is not an entitlement. Instead, it is a skill that only
some actually develop.
As for the 71% of people who are not connected and yet still
believe in the Six Degrees of Separation concept – keep the faith.
You’ll always have Santa Claus.
—–
Called “the father of modern networking” by CNN, Dr. Ivan Misner is
a New York Times bestselling author and Founder of BNI
, the world’s largest business networking
organization. His latest book, The 29% Solution can be viewed at
. Dr. Misner is also the Senior
Partner for the Referral Institute, an international referral
training company . He can be
reached at misner@bni.com.
—–
Footnote in above “Could It Be a Big World After All? The Six
Degrees of Separation Myth”
by Judith S. Kleinfeld, Forthcoming, Society, 2002
—————————————–
“When you’re nice to people, they want to be nice back to you.”
– Jack Canfield
—————————————–
* Copyright Notice/Reprint Policy
In order to get the “Winning Without Intimidation” message into the
world’s consciousness as quickly as possible, feel free to share
the complete contents of this publication with as many people as
you’d like (However, no changes may be made to its content without
written permission). Whether sharing the entire issue or one
article, proper credit by way of the following is required:
Bob Burg is co-author (with John David Mann) of “The Go-Giver”
and publisher of the online newsletter,
“Winning Without Intimidation”.
Do you know someone who’d like to fine-tune his or her Winning
Without Intimidation or Networking sills? You can subscribe by
sending any email to mailto:wwi@aweber.com.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
And here is information about the Grow A Million Dollar Business Summit
Join us for our first event of the season ~ How to Grow a Million Dollar Business Summit ~ September 18-20, 2008
When you join us for the Grow a Million Dollar Business Summit you have the chance to meet and learn from some of the leading experts on wealth creation and management to get YOUR BUSINESS on the path to building a million-dollar enterprise.
Our Mission is to “Empower You to Achieve and Exceed Your Financial Goals”
Here is the lineup of Star-studded Speakers who want to help you reach (and even exceed) your financial goals:
Tom Antion, President of Great Internet Marketing ~ From Small Town Kid to Internet Multi-Millionaire
Loral Langemeier, The Millionaire Maker ~ Building Leading & Protecting Your Business
Andrea Nierenberg, President The Nierenberg Group ~ Million Dollar Networking: The Sure Way to Find, Grow and Keep Your Busines
Kim Lavine, Inventor and Author of Mommy Millionaire ~ How to Build an Empire from Your Kitchen Table
Margaret May Damen, Founder of Institute for Women and Wealth ~ Be the ECO of your Philanthropic Plan: Give Meaning to your Money
Nicola Cairncross, President – The Money Gym ~ How to GROW a Million Dollar Business with a Wealth Mentor
Annie Jennings of Annie Jennings PR ~ The Mindset, Making & Marketing Of The Million Dollar Expert
Heather Juma of Wealth, Success and Women ~ How to Become a Millionaire Diva: Helping Women Create Riches in all Aspects of Their Lives
Elizabeth Gordon, Author of The Chic Entrepreneur ~ How to Grow a Million Dollar Business, The Chic Entrepreneur Way
Joyce Bone, Founder of Millionaire Moms ~ How Millionaire Moms Achieved Financial Independence ~ and You Can Too!
Melanie Benson Strick, Entrepreneur Success Coach ~ How to Build a 6- and 7 Figure Business Using the Power of Virtual Teams
Chris Ramey President, Affluent Insights ~ How to Market to the Affluent
Diane Keohohou, CEO – Direct Selling Women’s Alliance ~ How to Grow a Million Dollar Direct Sales Organization
Marilyn Jenett of Feel Free to Prosper ~ How I Attract Million Dollar Clients Using Prosperity Principles – and You Can Too!
Maria Marsala of Elevating Your Business ~ How to Grow a Million Dollar Business With a Mastermind Team
Sheri McConnell, CEO of Sheri McConnell Companies, Inc. ~ Why Creating a Membership Based-Business Is So Smart – The Millionaire’s Business Model
And MORE!
Read about the Speakers, learn more about the Program Topics and REGISTER for the event. Save $20 when you register before September 7th!
Well, I hope you enjoyed this edition of Free for All Friday. I welcome your comments, ideas and suggestions.
