Can I share a pet peeve of mine? (One of many, hehe…)

I get annoyed when I purchase something and then continue to receive emails saying “hey, buy this thing!”

This happened to me over the past couple of weeks. I purchased a program on October 13th which started on October 27th… and I’ve received an email every 2 or 3 days since then continuing to promote that same program.

I already bought it – so why do you keep asking me to buy it again? Seems like a little thing in some ways, but it is really frustrating to me. And I know this is frustrating to other people, too.

Now I get why people do this – they aren’t being strategic with segmenting their list. Segmenting a list means that you send emails only to a specific group of people. For example, you might “promote Product A to people who have bought Product C”. Or you might segment a list into “everyone on the ezine list LESS those who have already made a purchase” <– which is exactly what I’m talking about here.

Part of what comes into play here is the technology you are using to send your emails - in some systems it is easy to segment, and in others it may not even be doable.

Here are step-by-step instructions on how to do this with the two most popular systems that people use.

[Beware - this part is a bit techie. if you aren't the techie one in your biz, pass this along to your VA/OBM.]

• If you are using Infusionsoft this is super easy to do (gotta love Infusionsoft!).
1. Do a search of people who are tagged on your main list (ezine).
2. Then in the second drop-down box, pick the option “Doesn’t have any of these tags” and pick the tag/s for those you don’t want to send it to (the people who have already purchased).
• If you are using 1ShoppingCart (or some reseller version of that system), it gets a bit more tricky, but it is doable with a little bit of autoresponder “magic.”
  1. Set up a new autoresponder specific to your promotion, i.e.: it could be called October 2011 Promotion.
  2. Do a search for all contacts on your main list (i.e.: ezine), scroll to the drop-down box at the bottom of the search results, choose “Subscribe to Autoresponder,” and add them to the new one you just created.
  3. Wait a few minutes for that to process… then bring up all the people in that new autoresponder, go to the drop-down again, and this time choose to “Unsubscribe from Autoresponder.” Choose the autoresponders of people who have purchased – this will remove all the people who already bought the program.
  4. Every time you send out a promo, run step 3 again to remove new buyers.

Now I’m not sure how/if this works in other systems – if you know, go ahead and post here in the comments.

Are you clear on what you should be spending your time on in your business?

And more importantly, what you *shouldn’t* be doing anymore?

At our Mentorship Retreat back in May, I had everyone do a really simple exercise – create a Yes List.

To do so is simple:

• Grab a big sheet of paper – preferably something you can hang on the wall in your office – and a Sharpie.
• Write down all the things that only you can do in your business (and that you enjoy!). This could include things like: marketing activites, following up with a potential client, writing an ezine article, planning out a project, calling someone as a JV, spending some time brainstorming new ideas, etc.
  [Keep in mind that you want to focus on those things that are the fastest path to money]
• Do only those things!

Once you have your Yes List then throughout the day you simply ask yourself:

“Is this something on my Yes List?”

If yes, do it… and if not, you need to pass it on to someone else.

The gals who did this exercise back in May have reported that it literally changed their business. In a span of a few short months, they went from “doing everything and on the edge of burnout” to “doing the stuff that matters, that they love and pays well.”

Imagine your life if you only did the stuff on your Yes List?

I’d love to hear what’s on your list, please share, k?

I remember last year when I was coaching with David Neagle as part of his Mastermind program, and he issued us a challenge:

“Make more money this month than you ever have before in your business.”

At the time that was one of the biggest challenges I had ever been given by a coach, and it quite honestly scared the crap out of me. It became an inner roller coaster ride of thoughts, fears, obstacles and such before I was able to accept the challenge.

Having just issued the same challenge to the ladies in my coaching groups this week, I was reminded of my own personal journey – what I like to call the cycle of accepting (or resisting) a challenge from your coach.

So here is the sequence of thoughts that I went through with that first challenge, and yes – this essentially happens to me pretty much every time I look at taking my next big step. Perhaps you can relate?

Thought #1 – “There is no way I can do this now!”

“I have too much going on already, the timing is totally wrong. If you had asked me last month, or maybe next month, then I would be in a better place to do this… “

I like to call this first phase the “I can’t” phase… because it never feels like a good time to tackle a big challenge. And whenever I find myself faced with a big challenge or opportunity, my mind first goes to all the reasons why I can’t do it. Be it timing, money, energy, other commitments, etc. (It’s amazing how many excuses my mind can come up with!) And yes, I feel a bit angry/annoyed in this stage.

In the example with David last year, I was in the middle of creating a brand new program and planning a big launch for the next month – and was essentially planning for it to be a lower income month. And then he issued that challenge, how dare he! Totally threw me for a loop.

Thought #2 – “But I would really love to do this…”

“The timing totally sucks but I would really like to do this. Hmmm, what if it was possible? I hired my coach to push me, and if I’m not going to accept these challenges then what the heck am I here for.”

Once the initial shock calms down a bit that gives some space for desire to sneak in. And for me it becomes a matter of really acknowledging that yes, if it was possible I would REALLY love to be able to achieve this.

With my challenge last year, I had already had some really great 5-figure months. And my brain started to wonder – “what if I could have MORE great months and continue to increase my income? Why the heck not!?”

Thought #3 – “What if I try and I fail?”

“I don’t know if I can do this… yes, I would love to, but I really don’t know if I can. What if I suck? What will people think of me if I don’t reach my goal?”

The anger/annoyance has settled, desire has crept in and now fear rears it’s ugly head. This is where I really start to doubt my ability to make stuff happen. This is where I start to worry about what other people might think of me. This is the point where I want it, but it all seems impossible. Basically this part sucks… and it is REALLY easy for me to get stuck here for a long time if I’m not careful.

Thought #4 – “I’m going to make this happen”

“Alright, enough is enough. I refuse to be ruled by fear, so I need to just suck it up and decide that I’m going for it.”

This may sound weird, but when I’m in this stage, I always get a vision in my mind of standing on the edge of a cliff and falling backwards. I have to trust that someone/something/someway will show up to make it happen. This part is all about faith – in myself, in my coach, in my team and in God.

Thought #5 – “So how could we make this happen?”

“OK, so if I’m going to operate on the belief that I can create what I want in my life, then that means there must be a way. I wonder what some options might be?”

Curiosity creeps in and this is where the challenge starts to feel lighter, more fun and actually possible. When I shift from “I can’t do this for A, B, C reasons” to “I’m going to do this now – how can I make this happen?” then the entire thing changes.

I can tell you, with that first big challenge last year we did find a way. I reached my goal of making $25K that month and we did it in a way that would have NEVER occurred to me had I not been issued the challenge and accepted it. In fact, it’s still something that we do today and has made a big impact on the business overall. (Curious what it is? Just ask me and I’m bound to tell you. )

Oh, and as a final note. I believe that a coach should really stretch you… and throw down a challenge every once in a while that really makes you go “eek!”. If you are a coach to your clients, what are you doing to really stretch them? If you are being coached, do you feel like you are being stretched enough?

(And I’m happy to say that we are only half-way through this month and a few of the ladies in my coaching program have already met their goal of making more $ in a month than they ever have before. Woo hoo! So we upped their goal even more. )

I had a really ick situation happen earlier this year. I was asked to be part of a telesummit, and of course with my inclusion as a speaker I agreed to do some promotion for the event – including some solo email blasts to my list.

After sending one of these promotions to my list I got a response from a lady who essentially said:

“I don’t believe in what you are promoting here, and so I’m unsubscribing from your ezine [which I totally get and respect] and I’m also unsubscribing from the ezine of the person who connected me to you in the first place [eeek! this person lost a subscriber due to me!].”

Now I get that I can’t please everyone, but the thing is, you guys, is that I KNEW that this was not something I should have promoted. It just wasn’t my “thing” – and no offense to the telesummit folks themselves, it just wasn’t my style, my target or my message.

All of these things I knew the minute I was asked to participate and commit to promoting. BUT I still did it anyway.

Why? I was on automatic “yes” for being asked to speak. I’d fallen prey to the say-yes-to-everything-no-matter-what-it-is syndrome… not sure if that is an actual syndrome, but you get my point.

And because of this I sent something to my list that:

1. Was not something I actually believed in or agreed with. (If i’m honest I actually cringed when I saw someone promote this series the year before.)
2. Cost someone else – a biz colleague and friend whom I know and respect – a subscriber. That’s the part that hurt the most… I’m OK with me paying for my mistake but someone else also had to pay for it. Ouch

This one person spoke up, and who’s to say how many others didn’t speak up and simply hit the unsub button?

So from now on I’m committed to recommending ONLY stuff from people or companies that:

1. I know and like/respect what they have to offer.
2. I have had a positive experience with (either knowing them personally, as part of a program or having used their software, etc.).
3. I know would be useful to the folks on my list.
4. feel *right in my gut* – this has to be the final check cause it’s never wrong.

Oh, and it’s worth mentioning here, too, that affiliate commissions aren’t that important to me. If someone is offering an affiliate commission on something I want to recommend, then great… I’ll take it. And if not, that doesn’t stop me from making a recommendation on something I know you will find valuable.

How about you? What is your criteria for promoting/recommending stuff?

This simply makes me so sad.

We work so hard to build our list of leads and get new clients – which is of course important – but we don’t focus enough on what happens once we connect with these people. The stuff that goes on “behind the scenes” in the business.

This is what I call the Leaky Bucket Syndrome – when we focus so much on getting more “into the bucket” but neglect to make sure that that bucket itself is whole.

You can get all the clients in the world, but if your systems aren’t set up properly to engage and serve those clients, they will end up leaking right on out over time. A highly frustrating, painful and ultimately avoidable scenario.

It all comes down to systems… I just heard some eyeballs roll. Yes I know, the word “system” may make your eyes glaze over. Systems are so boring right? I disagree, not when you understand what a system actually is.

You can essentially break down a system into 3 parts:

• The process – documented steps to accomplish X
• The technology – what tools can be used to automate parts (or all) of the process?
• The people – who does what can’t be done by technology?

In other words:

Systems allow you to create a business that functions smoothly, effectively and freely – so that you (and your team) don’t have to spend all of your time putting out fires and trying to keep up.

Here are some examples of what happens to you and your team when you are suffering from Leaky Bucket Syndrome – perhaps you can relate?

• You have those middle of the night moments, waking up in a cold sweat thinking “omg, did X get done? yikes! I don’t think it did…”
• A client emails your team saying “hey, I just bought X but didn’t recieve it… what’s up with that? I think I might want a refund…“
• You realize that a team member didn’t do something that you emailed them about a few days ago - and now YOU have to scramble to get it done on time.
• There is simply so much work to be done – little things like booking clients for coaching calls – that the important stuff falls to the bottom of the list.
• You feel like you don’t know what everyone on your team is working on, and wonder if stuff is getting done at all?
• You have a certain way that you want things to be done – but it seems like everytime someone else works on it that they do it wrong.
• There are things that you do on a regular basis, but it feels like every time they come up again you have to reinvent the wheel and figure it out from scratch.
• So many to-dos keep coming up at the last minute in projects, and your team is starting to get seriously frustrated with a seemingly constant flow of “urgent, need this now!” requests.

These are all examples of holes in your bucket – and they are truly draining. Mentally, emotionally and financially.

The thing is you guys – ALL of these things can be solved with the right systems in place. And let me say up front, this isn’t about fixing people – 9 times out of 10 something can be fixed by tweaking the system vs. blaming a person.

So what to do about Leaky Bucket Syndrome? Never fear, in Part 2 of this article series I’m going to give you some concrete solutions you can implement to start plugging up those holes.

It’s official – my mind has entered summertime mode.

So yes, I plan on taking it easy-ish this summer – outside of a couple of weeks of scheduled vacation I am working through the summer, but I got to thinking… what else can I do to make the summer more fun in my biz?

A few things i’m going to “treat” myself with this summer:

• get my office painted. I’m not sure if any of you have ever noticed but (ahem) the wall behind me in all of my videos is only half painted. I had an office built in my basement over 3 years ago now and at the time I said “just put primer on the new wall, i’ll paint it myself”…. what was I thinking? Needless to say it’s still not painted, time to fix that.
• along those same lines, was thinking of getting an interior designer or a feng shui type person in here to spruce things up – rearrange some stuff, new pics on the walls, etc. maybe even a new desk? make my work environment super cool. hmmm…
• get new headshots. my current headshots are only 2 years old but my ‘do is totally different now. to the point where when folks meet me in person they are like “woah, that’s not your hair!”

Alright, i’ve made a public declaration now I have to do these things.

How about you? What can you do to treat your biz this summer?

Arg! Technology… as much as we love it there is an equal amount of frustration when it doesn’t work. Just got off the phone with a business owner re: this and felt inspired to “rant” a little bit on this topic… (can’t believe I actually said “boo hiss!” in this video, LOL)

What is your biggest technology frustration or challenge? Do tell – post your comment here on the blog.

It’s time to come clean. social media marketing confuses the heck out of me.

Now this might seem funny to you right? Given that i’m the Online Business Manager “expert” out there, you would think that I know this social media stuff inside out.

I get that social media is a key business building strategy these days and I understand the key components – but I feel like there are so many options, ideas and tools out there that it is hard to know what to do at times.

• What to do/not do?
• What is worth the time/effort/money?
• What could potentially harm me and my reputation?

And so I reached out to my friend and noted social media expert Lena West for help. Not only has she agreed to answer my social media questions, but she has also offered to tackle some of YOUR burning questions & challenges around social media too (woo hoo!)

Click Here to submit your biggest question, challenge or headache around social media.

Starting the week of June 6th we’ll be answering the top questions in a “myth-busting” free video series. Super hot stuff folks, I for one can’t wait for these videos to start.

Until then, let’s gather up all your questions via the link above.

And if you are curious… why Lena? She is an award-winning social media consultant, blogger, speaker, journalist, technologist and the Founder of Real Women Do Social Media and the Authentic Influencer Braintrust. She is smart, savvy and direct – the real deal when it comes to actually making social media work and not just be a waste of time and money.

I remember about 2 years ago now when I decided that I was ready for the next level in my business. Up until that point I had pretty much been a DIYer – I literally did everything there was to do in my business (and quite honestly enjoyed it – I’m a tech geek and I love doing stuff.

Then my coach said to me “Tina, if you want to walk your talk then it’s time you hired your own team…. get help for yourself”

That was literally a bop over the head for me (or a ”duh” moment quite honestly.) And yet I knew he had hit the nail on the head. Not only was it impossible to do everything I wanted to be doing moving forward, it simply wasn’t the best use of my time to be updating websites and sending broadcasts and such.

And so I started proactively building my team… and i’m at the point now where I simply couldn’t imagine doing it without them (nor would I want to quite honestly.) These guys rock, and so I wanted to brag on them a bit here today.

Tiffany Johnson – she is officially my Online Business Manager which means she takes care of “all the day to day nutty stuff that goes on around here.” And she’s darn good at it. Not only does she make sure stuff gets done but she gives me a slap on the wrist from time to time, ie: “No Tina, we can’t launch 8 things at once”…. hehe.  Tiffany also LOVES being an OBM and loves supporting the OBM industry at large, which means the world to me and to the folks in our programs as well. Together we are our own grand experiment of what it means to grow a biz and support each other in our roles/responsibilities. We have lots of fun together and actually look alot alike too.

Ana Hillis – our VA “behind the scenes” extraordinaire. Ana works directly with Tiffany and helps to get stuff done. She takes care of alot of the things that keep our engine running for various programs, making sure stuff gets sent out on time, chasing folks down for info, etc. Plus she has a knack for product creation (one of her specialties) – so if you need someone to help create various products and such Ana is your gal. Note that I’ve never actually talked to Ana – believe it or not – she has only ever worked directly with Tiffany (one of the benefits to having an OBM!) and yet I feel totally connected and supported by Ana. She rocks.

Marki Talley - web techy gal and ezine producer. I’ve actually known Marki for many long years now, since we met working together at CoachVille circa 2002. Marki has been around these halls for many years now, once upon a time as my “helping out with a bit of everything” gal and has since shifted her focus to more techie/wordpress work. However I wouldn’t let her go away totally, so she agreed to stay on to help produce/send out my ezine… phew! I have yet to throw a techie project at her that she couldn’t figure out, love that.

Tanya Watson – video recording & production. She records, edits and produces all the video recordings for our various trainings and programs (including our week long OBM Certification program.) Once upon a time I used to record my own videos, now i’ve “slapped my own wrist” and Tanya is the one to do it all from A to Z. End result? We get complete recordings for all our stuff loaded up and ready to roll.

So how about you? Who are the awesome folks that make your engine run? Do tell.

There is an aspect of being in business for ourselves that can be a hard pill to swallow… especially when you are in a business that is very “personally” focused. My business is very much a part of me and who I am (which I think is true for most of us in this day and age of social media – our businesses come from who we are and are a reflection of ourselves as individuals).

When you step out into the “limelight” of your business there are people who won’t like you.

Now it may not be that they don’t like you as a person per se – it might be that they don’t like what you are offering, they may not like an article you wrote, they may not like that you did A, B or C. Regardless of what it is that they don’t like it can feel like “they don’t like me.”

I remember this being a big part of my decision a few years back when I decided to officially “step out from behind the curtain” and write my book Becoming an Online Business Manager. Up until then I had been working as an OBM, I was a behind the scenes gal who wasn’t directly out there in the spotlight. But when considering writing a book, part of what came up was “what if they don’t like the book… what if they don’t like me?!”

And yet I know, if you want to do something big or bigger in your business, this is necessary. My friend and former biz partner Andrea Lee calls this your BOP – taking a Bold, Outrageous and Provocative stand in your marketplace. Being willing to step into, talk about and represent stuff in a way that maybe others won’t like… which on the flip side is part of what makes you *really* attractive to folks as well.

Almost like you can’t have one without the other – if you want to make a really strong impact/connection, you need to also be willing to potentially turn off people in the process.

Being a people pleaser at heart, this is a toughie… if you are going to step out in any big way, you are going to have to accept and find a way to be OK with the fact that not everyone will like what you do, what you offer and who you are. Not fun imo.

How to handle this? A few things that I do when I get negative feedback or comments from people:

• My first reaction is to feel sad - I will admit it. I’m certainly not in the place where I can automatically let these things roll off my back without a second thought. Yes, I initially feel ick/sad/bad about whatever it may be. I allow myself to feel that and then I move on to…
• What is valid in this feedback? Sometimes there is something to be learned from negative feedback – something you can do differently or better in your business. I believe this is an opportunity to consider that. OR in some cases it might just be that someone doesn’t like you and/or your stuff – which you can’t really do much about (nor should you try). My gut usually comes into play here, it tells me if I need to “step up” in some area or if this is more about the other person and not me. Then I give myself permission to…
• Not take it personally. As much as it might feel like a personal criticism, or even in some cases a personal “attack,” it’s really not about you. Especially when things are overly negative or harsh – that is about the other person and whatever painful place they may be in themselves. As one of my mentors says “You can be responsible TO someone but you can’t be responsible FOR someone”… in other words, you can’t make someone like you or not, it is ultimately up to them.

How about you? What do you do when people “don’t like you?” OR how do you let your fear of people not liking you get in the way of what you want to do in your business? Oooo lala, interesting to consider…