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What 4 words should every leader say? Is it the latest buzz words in Corporate America like:  take that conversation offline, there's low hanging fruit, let's bubble this up, I'll loop you in, my one ask is...(and so many more)? Is it management sounding words like accountability, crowdsource, deficiency, facilitate, etc? Is it words that require a special dictionary? NO! It's much simpler than all of that.  The 4 words are "I made a mistake." Nothing is more frustrating than having a leader that cannot admit he or she is wrong. People make mistakes.  And if you do not show your team that not only is it ok to make mistakes, it is vitally important to own the mistake! The worst thing you can do is create a culture of…

Ok, so that sounds kinda harsh.  But you know you have been around a sales person or business owner that won't hush.  They talk and talk and talk about the stuff they want to.  About the stuff they want you to know.  But they don't close their mouth and open their ears. They never ask you what you want.  They don't ask about your problems, your concerns, your issues.  They don't ask you what you know about the industry. I don't know if they don't care or just don't know better. I'm leaning towards just not knowing better because I HAVE BEEN GUILTY OF THIS.  When I was first in sales, I was the 'show up and throw up' because (GET THIS) corporate America still teaches this.  They teach scripts.…

Instagram has evolved from a photogenic, cool kid’s app to a more sophisticated, brand driven arbiter of visual content. Instagram business accounts know the basics of the game: know your audience, tailor content to the audience, post quality content frequently, and engage with followers. This falls short of the business storytelling aspect that humanizes a brand to its followers. Furthermore, on November, 21 2016 Instagram introduced Live video and the lead generating game changed. Like its cousin, Facebook Live, Instagram Live enables live content broadcast from an account to the followers. However, unlike Facebook the content is not permanent, Instagram videos disappear after their broadcast. There’s also the algorithmically curated Explore page of the best Instagram Live videos happening on the app at any given time. The ephemeral video on…

I see it all the time.  And I have been guilty of it as well.  Entrepreneurs decide they want to offer a product.  They spend countless hours (and dollars) developing and marketing the product. And do you know what they DIDN'T do?  They never asked the market if they wanted the product! They didn't find out if their market would actually pay money for this product. I am often called in when things are in dire straits.  The owner says "I need help marketing.  I am just not selling anything."  My first question is "are you sure this product is viable?"  I usually hear "oh yes, I asked 5 different people, and they liked it." HUGE MISTAKE! First of all, do those 5 people know you?  They are probably just…

  WHAT IS A HUGE HEADACHE FOR BUSINESSES? HIRING! And more and more quality candidates are looking to social media to find their next job (ADP).  73% of employers have hired a candidate using social media. Even better, 42% of employers said the quality of the candidate improved through this virtual hiring process. SO, WHAT DOES FACEBOOK DO?  Facebook announced it is offering a hiring feature on Facebook business pages NOW! SIMILAR TO REGULAR POSTS, Facebook allows you to post a job for free or pay to make it an ad.  It will show up in the Newsfeed of a potential applicant. And the employer and candidate can communicate using Facebook and messenger.  The applicant can click “Apply Now” button on the job opening and the application will be prepopulated…