11 Things to Stop Wasting Your Time On

1. Stop wasting your time … advertising.
If people always hear FROM you instead of ABOUT you, you’re doing something wrong.

AS OSCAR WILDE SAYS: The only thing worse than being talked about is (not) being talked about.

2. Stop wasting your time … trying, in general.
If someone uses the word “trying” a lot, he probably ISN’T.

AS YODA SAYS: There is no try. Only do or do not.

3. Stop wasting your time … trying to prove yourself.
If YOU know you’re good enough, that’s enough.

AS BUDDHA SAYS: He is able who thinks he is able.

4. Stop wasting your time … trying to convince people.
If they don’t “get it” right away, they probably never will.

AS SETH GODIN SAYS: If you can’t explain it in 8 words or less, it’s not a good idea.

5. Stop wasting your time … trying to be better than the competition.
If you position your value correctly, you won’t HAVE any competition.

AS SCOTT GINSBERG SAYS: The best way to eliminate the competition is to not have any.

6. Stop wasting your time … dealing with people who can’t sign the check.
If they’re not the economic buyer, save your breath and move on.

AS ERIC MAISEL SAYS: Playing to the wrong crowd is dangerous.

7. Stop wasting your time … selling to people who just aren’t going to buy.
If they’re just there to kick tires, that’s cool. Greet them warmly and move on to someone else. They’ll come when they’re ready.

AS SCOTT GINSBERG SAYS: If they want you, they’ll find you.

8. Stop wasting your time … selling to people who don’t know how to value you yet.
If they’re not ready for you, they don’t deserve you.

AS DAVID ALLEN SAYS: Saying NO to the wrong person leads to saying YES to the right person.

9. Stop wasting your time … following up with people who never, ever call you back.
If they wanted you, they would have hired you already. You can only call so many times.

AS LAO TZU SAYS: Any over determined behavior produces its opposite.

10. Stop wasting your time … making people happy who aren’t in your target market.
If they’re not your ideal customer, who cares if they don’t like you?

AS MY DAD SAYS: Focus on pleasing the people who PAY.

11. Stop wasting your time … sending prospects your hideous brochures and literature.
If they get it, they will immediately store it in the circular file cabinet.

AS JEFFREY GITOMER SAYS: Your literature is puke!

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What are you (no longer) wasting your time on?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For a list called “66 Questions to Prevent Your Time from Managing YOU,” send an email to [email protected] and I’ll take care of ya 😉

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
www.nametagTV.com

Always about approachability.

Never the same speech twice.

Hire The Nametag Guy for your next meeting!!

12 Ways to Get Customers to Open Your Email FIRST

Want to know the secret to email follow up?

TWO WORDS: Subject line.

Because that’s the only thing customers see.
Because that’s the only thing customers have the time to read.
Because that’s the only thing customers will use to decide whether or not to open it.
Because that’s the only way you can immediately differentiate yourself in their inbox.

So, it has to be engaging, interesting, curious and funny.

It has to appeal to their ego and emotions. Capture the interest. Make their head tilt to the side like a curious dog.

And you only have about 50 characters to do that.

The good news is, most of your competitors are titling their email with unremarkable, unengaging and uncreative titles like:

o Hi! (This sounds like spam.)
o Hey there… (This sounds like pornography.)
o What’s up? (Come on, you can do better than that!)
o Check this out… (Yep, more spam.)
o (No subject) (This is lazy and annoying.)

So, here’s your chance! Check out this list of 12 enticing subject lines for unforgettable follow up, along with a reason for why each of them work:

YOU WRITE: Have you seen this article about your company yet?
THEY THINK: Wait … there was an article about my company? Sweet! I hope it was positive!

YOU WRITE: I saw something that made me think of you…
THEY THINK: Really? Hmm … I wonder what makes other people think of ME?

YOU WRITE: Man, I sure hope you’ve already seen this…
THEY THINK: Eep! Did I miss something important?

YOU WRITE: I thought of you when I read this…
THEY THINK: I wonder if I’ve already seen it…?

YOU WRITE: I thought of you when I saw this…
THEY THINK: I wonder what this is…?

YOU WRITE: I was thinking about you the other day.
THEY THINK: Really? Cool! Tell me more. I like being thought about…

YOU WRITE: I was thinking about your business the other day.
THEY THINK: Ooh! This could be good…

YOU WRITE: Someone paid you a compliment yesterday.
THEY THINK: Hooray! Let’s see who loves me…

YOU WRITE: I blogged about you the other day…
THEY THINK: Link love? Awesome! Let’s have a look-see…

YOU WRITE: When I saw this, I immediately thought of you!
THEY THINK: Gotta love mindshare…

YOU WRITE: Your ears should be ringing…
THEY THINK: Yes! My evil plan for market domination is totally working!

YOU WRITE: Your name came up in a conversation recently…
THEY THINK: Sweet! I’d like to hear more about this…

– – –

OK. One final note about email follow up…

Don’t bait and switch people.

Give customers a valid reason for your persistence. Make sure your subject line ACTUALLY has something to do with your message, and isn’t just some trick to get them to open your email. People hate being duped like that.

Ultimately, it’s all about engagement, curiosity and emotion.

It’s about making the subject lines of your email fun, creative, memorable and attractive.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
If your customers receive hundreds of emails a day, what’s going to make them want to open YOURS first?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
What are your Top Five Best Email Subject Lines? Share them here!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
[email protected]

Who’s telling their friends about YOU?

Tune in to The Marketing Channel on NametagTV.com!

Watch video lessons on spreading the word!

NametagTV: Behind the Scenes

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Join the online discussion in The Nametag Forum about this video here!

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How are you taking your customers behind the scenes?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For a list called “10 Ways to Help Your Customers to Know YOU,” send an email to [email protected] and I’ll show you the way!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
[email protected]

Satisfaction not enough?
Customers not telling their friends about you?
Want to learn how to deliver unforgettable service?

Buy Scott’s new book and learn how to get your frontline IN line!

Pick up your copy (or a case!) right here.

Golden Rule, Schmolden Rule

You know The Golden Rule.

THE QUESTION IS: How, specifically, do you practice it every day?

The bad news is, most people don’t.

The good news is, if you’re stuck, here are a few suggestions:

ACT like the kind of friend YOU’D want to turn to at 2 AM.
ANSWER the kinds of questions YOU’D want to ask.
BE the kind of salesperson YOU’D want to buy from.
BEGIN the kind of movement YOU’D want to be a part of.
CREATE the kind of group YOU’D want to join.
DELIVER the kind of value and service YOU’D want to receive.
DESIGN the kind of website YOU’D want to keep going back to.
GIVE the kind of speech YOU’D want to listen to.
PUBLISH the kind of blog YOU’D want to subscribe to.
SELL the kind of product YOU’D want to buy.
SPEAK to the kind of people YOU’D want to listen to.
START the kind of company YOU’D want to work for.
TEACH the kind of ideas YOU’D want to learn.
WRITE the kind of book YOU’D want to read.

– – –

You know, sometimes I wish it wasn’t called The Golden Rule.

Because that doesn’t really cover it.

See, I think we can only influence people in four ways:

1. Influence through … what we BELIEVE.
This has (minimal) influence. You could call it The Golden Rule.

2. Influence through … what we SAY.
This has (some) influence. You could call it The Golden Word.

3. Influence through … what we DO.
This has (significant) influence. You could call it The Golden Action.

4. Influence through … who we ARE.
This has (maximum) influence. You could call it The Golden Existence.

– – –

They all work.

So, whichever way you choose to influence people, just remember to keep some gold at the heart of it.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What’s your version of The Golden Rule?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Share a specific example of how you practice The Golden Rule here!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
[email protected]

What’s YOUR approach?

Join The Nametag Forums! Share stories, best practices and connect with a like-minded community of business professionals who stick themselves out there!

Be SO good that customers can’t even tell

Walk into any Lush store around the world, and most customers will have the same response:

“These guys are SO good, their soaps don’t even look like soap!”

When was the last time YOU took a picture of SOAP?

Probably never.

But the people at Lush are just THAT good.

Tune in to The Ace of Cakes on Food Network (Staring culinary arr-teest Duff Goldman), and most viewers will share the same thought:

“That dude his SO good, his cakes don’t even look like cakes!

When was the last time YOU took a picture of a CAKE?

Unless it was a wedding, probably never.

But Charm City Cakes are just THAT good.

LESSON LEARNED: As Michael Cane said, “The art is hiding the art.”

That’s great advice.

And I think you can apply this principle to a variety of situations:

CREATE marketing that’s SO fun, SO cool and SO participative…
That your fans don’t even realize you’re marketing to them.

SELL your stuff with SUCH passion, SUCH comfort and SUCH service…
That your prospects don’t even realize you’re selling to them.

PERFORM sp effortlessly, SO naturally and SO emotionally…
That your audience doesn’t even realize you’re performing for them.

WRITE so engagingly, SO well-architected and with SO much personality…
That your readers don’t even realize they’re reading.

BUILD community that’s SO organic, SO authentic and SO inviting…
That your members don’t even realize they’re members of an organization.

NOTE: This doesn’t mean tricking, duping or manipulating people.

It just means being really, really good and doing what you do.

That’s what being That Guy is all about.

So good that people get lost in your brilliance and don’t even realize you’re doing what you do.

Never let ‘em catch you acting.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Who do YOU know that’s so good at doing what they do, people can’t even tell?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Share your best example here!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
[email protected]

How are YOU making the mundane memorable?

Tune in to The Frontline Channel on NametagTV.com for video lessons on creating and keeping ~~satisfied~~ insistent customers!

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11 Things to Stop Wasting Your Time On

12 Ways to Get Customers to Open Your Email FIRST

NametagTV: Behind the Scenes

Golden Rule, Schmolden Rule

Be SO good that customers can’t even tell