Take Control of Your Day

What's the first thing you did this morning? I bet it was reading messages on your cellphone. The question is why?

 

by Mel Robbins

 

SUCCESS.COM If you looked for texts, realize that it’s rare to hear a ping in the middle of the night. What kind of text would likely be there, after all? Is there a joke from a drunk buddy partying in Vegas? Did your spouse who left the bed earlier text you something lovely to wake up to? Doubtful.

Next you open your inbox. Why? Is there something so important you must do it this instant? Is there an email you need to send before you wipe the sleep from your eyes? No, because you would have sent it last night. But you open your inbox anyway.

You aren’t alone. Recent studies suggest almost 80 percent of cellphone users sleep with their phones in their bedrooms. Among entrepreneurs, I bet that number is even higher. So why is reaching for the phone first thing such a problem? Because how you start the day sets the tone for the rest of your day.

If your first act is to check for texts or emails, then someone else sets your priorities before you’ve had breakfast. And those emails seek your time, attention, help and brain space. You start your day being reactive to other people rather than proactive about your goals. You have surrendered control—which is crucial to your well-being, success and happiness—to others.

Think a second: You’re lying in bed reading emails that arrived while you slept. Emails from marketers, colleagues, vendors and bosses flood your brain. Before you’re even vertical, someone else’s needs come before yours.

If your phone doesn’t receive emails, you aren’t off the hook. I guarantee you either fire up the computer as soon as you leave your bedroom or as soon as you arrive at work. That means you check your inbox before you even get organized.

Do not ever do that again.

Before you read about a 25 percent off sale, before a reminder alerts you that a PowerPoint is due, before a colleague turns you into her errand boy, take control of your day.

Instead, do a “brain dump” for five to 10 minutes without opening that inbox on your phone, laptop or other computer. This consists of dumping all your projects, to-dos, reminders and priorities onto a piece of paper. Then highlight the top three things on the list that you need to deal with today, things that matter most to you.

This starts your day by focusing on what’s important to you. I make my notes in a 3-by-5-inch notebook that I carry everywhere so I can continue brain-dumping all day.

Next—still without visiting that inbox—open your calendar and find a 30-minute block in your day when you can focus on your top three things uninterrupted. It doesn’t matter when that block happens. It can be the first 30 minutes at work, waiting in the car for your child’s soccer practice to end or after you watch a ball game tonight. Find the time and schedule it.

Winning Awards

We are proud to announce that we have been named one of Infusioncon 2012's Industry Innovators!  The winners of this award were chosen for the way they are "using Infusionsoft to blaze new trails in their industry."

We entered this contest by telling our company story and how our contact management software, Infusionsoft, has helped to revolutionize our business. Our unique need of integrated contact and affiliate management is organized masterfully by Infusionsoft's capabilities.

Infusioncon 2012 takes place in Phoenix, Arizona in April and we will be there to continue learning, to network with hundreds of other small business owners, and to receive our award and the $1000 cash prize.

Smart Talk for Fast Times: 5 Rules

In the business world, no one has time to listen to chit-chat. Use these tricks to get more out of less in conversations.

Adapted from Tom Searcy's article on inc.com

INC.COM Who has the time now for long conversations? I hope you make time for them with your family and friends–but in the workplace, we tend to avoid people with the reputation for being long-winded.

So when you get the ear of someone you admire and want to connect with, how do you make the most of the moment? Use these tips to be more effective when talking with that busy professional.

1. Think in 30-Second Increments

Half a minute is forever in a boring conversation. Studies indicate that on the phone, the listener is considering whether to exit or stick around every seven to 11 seconds. In face-to-face meetings, you get a little more grace–say, all the way to 30 seconds. If you are not constantly generating someone's interest, you are losing him.

Successful business people seem to have their own form of attention disorders.  They are constantly trying to come to a decision about any interaction: “Do I delegate this, avoid this, deny this or run away from this?” You are fighting that internal dialogue in small battles. Keep it interesting.

2. Watch for Signs of Boredom

We know the signs, right? Checking the watch, looking over your shoulder, fidgeting, glassy eyes. On the phone, it’s the prolonged pause, the “email launch” sound in the background, the vague “uh-huh, uh-huh ...” That's your "uh-oh" moment.

Really effective sales people respond to those moments. They interrupt the conversation with an honest interjection. It might be, “The bottom line is ...” or “The thing we need to decide right now is ...” The pattern interruption brings the conversation back to point and gets engagement.

3. Ask Permission for Stories

Stories are very important in conversations, to set points and ideas in context. Without context, it is hard for your listener to integrate your issues into all of their circumstances. However, when a person launches into a story, the instant reaction is resistance: No one wants to be trapped for who-knows-how-long in a pointless story.

If you need to tell a story, get the permission for extended attention. Just ask, “Can I tell a quick story to illustrate what I mean?” This shows respect to the listener and it prepares them for a sustained attention period.

4. Know What Your Point Is

Do you have a point? This is especially critical when talking with successful professionals, but the truth is that it should be a general rule for all business conversations. You are asking for action, input, a decision, or support. To honor someone's time and get to the next step, you need to know exactly what you want.

A compliment I hear from professionals and clients about their best suppliers is: “I really appreciate that they don’t waste my time. Whenever they need something, they come to me–and we take care of it and move on.”

5. What's in it for Someone Else?

Sales people have joked for a long time that everyone has the same radio station playing in their head: WIIFM (What’s In It For Me). By no means do I believe that every interaction has to be a selling conversation, or that there has to be something for your listener in every conversation. However, if you want to hold their attention, it’s good to keep it in mind. What is in it for the listener to be having this conversation with you?

Get to the point and everyone will benefit.  And let me know how it goes.  If you find these tips helpful, post your experience in the comments section.

Power Networking in Rochester, MN

Monday, February 27, 2012

Asian Kitchen, Barlow Plaza

Dinner                        7:30 - 8:00pm

Power Networking     8:00 - 9:00pm

Social                         9:00 - 9:30pm

Cost: $12 (includes tip)

Beer and wine reasonably priced!

Power Networking - How It Works

It's quite simple.  At 8:00pm, participants will pair off and spend 9 minutes conducting a one on one.  

A new pairing will occur every 10 minutes.  

By the end of the hour, you will have Power Networked with 6 new people.

RSVP now to reserve your spot!  Only 40 spots available.

This event is sponsored by the Master Networkers Chapter of Master Networks

Marketing 102 Expo in Rochester, MN

Yesterday we all cleared out of the office early to man a booth at the 1st annual Rochester "Marketing 102" Expo. It was an ideal atmosphere to meet and talk to a bunch of new people and connect with our members who attended. We are glad to have been involved!  Nothing can replace the value of meeting people and connecting face to face.

Our table is set up and ready to go

Co-Founders Chas and Ed

Found this magazine at the expo and voila! it applied to us!

One of our members, Patty Thompson, sets up a mini exhibit and talks about
how Master Networks has helped her business

Dr. Ed, Vice President and Co-Founder

How to Sell Yourself as an Expert

INC.COM  One of the best ways to drive business is to become an expert or thought leader in your field online. Of course, you need some expertise first. (That part is up to you.) But once you have it, you need to let the world know about it.

...Keep in mind that even a whiff of self-promotion can backfire terribly, so you need to strike a delicate balance between being helpful and blatantly selling your own services/products.

The best approach is to treat the person asking the question as you would a friend or acquaintance. Here are a few things to keep in mind, using the example of contributing to online forums:

• Be a clearinghouse for information. Put links in your answers that take readers to a great article or blog post. Most times, these links shouldn’t go back to ones you’ve written yourself. You’ll build trust with your audience if you act in a way that isn’t self-serving. If you do link back to your own material, be doubly sure the information is relevant to solving the problem.
• Give away free and useful advice. Offer specific and detailed answers as to how to solve the problem presented by the questioner. Give away some trade secrets that demonstrate your industry knowledge.
• Never give a partial answer or a “teaser” that requires the reader to get directly in touch with you. Writing something like, “We deal with that all the time—give us a call” doesn’t offer readers a compelling reason to trust you. If your answers are truly helpful, you won’t need to ask for business; it will come to you.

New Byron, MN Chapter Forms

Congratulations to our newest chapter: A.M. net-WORKS in Byron, MN!  President Gail Nelson is a banker at First Alliance Credit Union and brought Corey Kispert (Insurance Brokers of MN) and Gwen Maxson (Isagenix) onboard to help lead the new chapter.

They meet on Wednesdays at 7am at the First Alliance Credit Union at 1011 Tomkins Drive NE in Byron.

Leadership: When It's All About You

By Brian Evje

INC.COM  Unfortunately for leaders everywhere, “positive intent” is not enough.  Simply wanting to do something the right way, or even a certain way, becomes harder and harder the higher up the ladder you go, as you perceive yourself as more “central” to the organization. For entrepreneurs, this often means it becomes harder to lead appropriately as your company grows.

The psychology is clear, and well-established.  Starting in the 1940s, sociologist Ron Westrum studied the practices of pediatricians and noticed a pattern of behavior in doctors who failed to diagnose serious conditions, such as child abuse by parents.  He found that well-intentioned doctors were hampered by their own sense of “expertise” and overlooked clear signals that something was wrong. They convinced themselves that if parents were abusing their children, the doctors (as experts) “would surely know the phenomenon if it actually were taking place.”

Westrum called this “the fallacy of centrality” – the assumption that because one is in a central position, one automatically knows everything necessary to exercise effective leadership.

In practice, that means CEOs often think, “If something serious is happening in my organization, I know about it, because my role is central to the organization.” And who is more central to an organization than its founder, especially at the early stages? The fallacy of centrality can also apply in the negative sense: “Because I don’t know about an event, it must not be going on.”

Robert Sutton, a professor at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, notes that this problem causes leaders to narrow their focus on their own needs and wants, to the exclusion of others and the organization.  This is a fine insight into the all-too-common habit of leaders acting as if written and unwritten rules that others are expected to follow don’t apply to them.

So, how does a leader minimize the fallacy of centrality?

• Be aware of the dynamic.  Once you acknowledge the nuances of “centrality,” you can ask all kinds of questions about your personal patterns.  Awareness is the first action for change.

• Discuss with others.  Many leaders fail to grow simply because they do not reflect on and talk about elemental issues of leadership.  Reflection and discussion are essential steps for change.

• Decide how and what to refocus.  Ask yourself: How will I pay more attention to others in the organization?  How do I embrace situations and perspectives that differ from my own?  What do I do daily to discover organizational “bad news”?   And when I learn things in the organization that are not as I assumed, what will I do differently to address them?

Who is Talking About You?

We all know that word of mouth marketing is one of the most powerful tools we can use as small business owners.  Having a third party endorse your product or service is a surefire way to establish your brand's positive reputation.

The question is: who is talking about you to their friends?

Being a part of a Master Networks chapter means that you have all those professionals plugging you and your business each week.  They are like your own sales force.  Because they are taking the time to get to know you in the weekly meeting, it gives them an extra edge to promote you from a personal level, which speaks to people the loudest in this age where too many businesses are becoming large and faceless.

Ready for Relationship-based Business Growth?  Consider joining one of our chapters, check the map to get in touch with a chapter president in your area today!

Relationships are Key for Growing Businesses

By Nell Merlino

OPENFORUM.COM  Are you involved in your community outside of work? Are you the go-to person for your PTA, local farmer’s market or church? What kind of relationships have you built from those connections? I’ve built an organization from relationships I’ve developed through different circles that have been invaluable for my business and social life.
Professionally, people tend to confuse networking with relationships. Networking is the act of finding out who’s around. You go to a networking event to meet people with which to build relationships. And you build relationships by doing things with people. Talking on the phone does not constitute as a relationship if you never interact with that person face-to-face.


...Relationships are key. I can’t stress this enough. They are what organizations are built from. People tend to be unsure about how to expand their universe, but it’s something you will do for a lifetime.