Stage a Special Event to Stand Out and Shine

Stage a Special Event to Stand Out and Shine
A friend of mine recently held a launch party on Mother's
Day for her new book. Another is about to celebrate being
in business 5 years by holding a cocktail party. I
overheard a conversation about holding a networking
breakfast to inform potential clients about a new service.
And I too am currently organising my book launch. So what's
this got to do with you? Well these "special events" come
under the umbrella of public relations and are a great way
to promote your business. Staging an event is good PR for
you and your business. If it's done well you may gain media
coverage, raise the profile of your brand and increase
awareness of your products or services. If nothing else it
is a great way to get clients, prospects and influencers
together to help spread the word about you and your
business. Here's a look at how to manage an event, from
the largest scale to the smallest. It could be a networking
event, a media conference, seminar or workshop, fashion
parade, open day, product launch or even a cocktail party.

The Beginning

Paying attention to every detail creates a professional
image for your business. Begin with the basics by
developing your message and branding, choosing the venue or
site, date, start and finish times. Organise the legalities
- check council permits, contracts, letters of agreement
and insurance - if it is something as large as a community
event. Set budgets, organise sponsors, suppliers and venue
facilities.

Entrances and Exits

Give detailed instructions to your guests on how to get
there - public transport options and parking stations. Be
aware of emergency exits, disabled access, location for
unloading of equipment and equipment storage areas,
ticketing, queuing, registration and name tags and event
site map.

At the Event

Staging - design and decoration. Power, audiovisual,
lighting, video or PowerPoint presentation, speakers or
entertainers needs. Marquees, tents or stalls, toilets,
waste bins and water. Administration, information and lost
children area. Ambulance or first aid, security, crowd
control. Contingency plan for wet weather and crisis
management plan. Include a manual and run sheets for all
personnel. Event tool kit - consider things like blue tac
for posters, blank name tags, first aid kit, torch and
gaffa tape.

Production

Book speakers, entertainment and accommodation. Food and
catering, kitchen and bar facilities, hospitality, dressing
rooms, hair and make up, media area, alcohol and beverages
and any licenses needed. Money collection and float. Table
settings or seating arrangements. Merchandise and
souvenirs. Signage including t-shirts or uniforms.

Communication and Promotion

Contact the media for publicity. Organise media releases,
photographic images for press usage on television, the
internet and in print. Have a photographer and/or video
producer at your event. Letterhead and invitations printed,
newsletters and emails issued or mailbox drops. Flyers,
posters and programs with telephone numbers and website
addresses. Contact numbers in your event manual of
organisers, staff and entertainers. Send letters to confirm
details. Walkie-talkies for instant communication or mobile
phones. Have research and evaluation strategies in place.

The End

Pack up equipment and organise staff to "bump out". Have a
clean up plan in place. Arrange collection of equipment.
Analyse research and assess budgets. Have a debrief to know
what worked and what didn't for next time. Send thank you
notes.

An event can create "buzz" and goodwill for your business,
product or service and perhaps result in extra sales and
profits.

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Sue Currie, the director of Shine Communications
Consultancy and author of Apprentice to Business Ace - your
inside-out guide to personal branding, is a business
educator and speaker on personal branding through image and
media. Sign up for free monthly tips on personal and
professional PR at
http://www.shinecomms.com.au/contactmanager/default.cfm
and learn more about how you can achieve recognition,
enhance your image and shine.

Cold Calling For New Sales

Cold Calling For New Sales
In the world of sales, few tasks will turn the stomach of
an entrepreneur as much as the thought of cold calling. It
is often perceived as the the most difficult, most feared
activity in their day. Why is that? For men, does it
conjure up awkward memories of teenage years, asking for a
date? For women, might it be the now-fading societal rule
that women do not make the first move or initial call? For
whatever reasons that I will leave for psychologists and
social behaviorists to explain, we are often uncomfortable
with making that first move, that cold call.

We often tend to make almost any excuse for not picking up
the phone. It sits on our desk as an immovable, heavy
weight. We will busy ourselves with any task at hand,
justifying to ourselves that we are simply too busy to call
now and will do so later. Procrastination is not in the
dictionary of the winner. The successful entrepreneur takes
action now, even when it is uncomfortable. As Mark Twain
once said, "Do that which you fear and the death of fear is
certain." A more modern vernacular is "fake it until you
make it."

We must learn to work through our fears and move forward.
Often, simply visualizing what the worst possible result
could be and then rationalizing that the reality of the
situation is far more acceptable, may be enough to spur you
to action. It does get easier too. Every call is easier
than the last. You will actually reach a point where you do
not associate any negative emotion with cold calling.

As with any activity, practice and exercise will improve
performance. There are also some simple, logical steps that
contribute to the ease at which you will progress in your
cold-calling efforts. Consider the following three-phased
advice from Geoffrey James the next time you plan to make
cold calls:

Step 1. Remember the goal.

What is the purpose of this call, depending upon the your
sales process? Take a few seconds to refocus on exactly
what you want the customer to do.

Step 2. Consider the prospect.

Review what you know about your prospect, your prospect's
company and industry. Determine the "hot buttons" that will
cause that prospect to consider taking the action that's
the goal of the call.

It pays to do your homework up-front, so that you are
familiar with the company, its industry, their products,
markets and personnel. A simple web search will often yield
enough information to get you started.

Step 3. Differentiate yourself immediately.

On the typical cold call, you have fifteen seconds (more or
less) to communicate to the prospect that you're somebody
worth talking to. To do this, touch one of the "hot
buttons" that you researched.

I would like to contribute one helpful additional step:

Step 4: Act like you are already doing business there.

If the company is small to medium sized, ask for your
prospect by his first name. Mention the last name only if
the operator questions you. Be as comfortable with your
prospect as well.

Cold calling can be an exciting adventure yielding great
results and experiences or one that leads you to the
medicine cabinet for some antacid tablets. It actually is
your choice. Either way, it may make or break your
business. You will learn to overcome your fear if you begin
taking action today. Utilize these simple steps to your
advantage, thus eventually eliminating any apprehension
concerning cold-calling. Believe it!

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Daniel Sitter, author of both the popular book, Learning
For Profit, and the highly anticipated book, Superior
Selling Skills Mastery, has extensive experience in sales,
training, marketing and personal development spanning a
successful 25 year career. http://www.learningforprofit.com
Experience his blog at http://www.idea-sellers.com

A Star, A Story, and a Solution: Creating (and Maintaining) an Extreme Competitive Advantage

A Star, A Story, and a Solution: Creating (and Maintaining) an Extreme Competitive Advantage
Look around you at any successful business. The common
denominator is that they found a way to make a profit on a
solution to someone's problem or need. Quite simply, a
successful information product is a result of a person
confronting an obstacle, finding a way to overcome it, then
showing others how they did it.

As we look at the factors of creating and maintaining an
Extreme Competitive Advantage, let's look at those three
essentials of a business: A Star, A Story, and a Solution.

You are The Star. You bring to your business what you have
created, accomplished, or overcome. You are the reason your
business exists, whether you are selling a service,
information, or a gadget. If you aren't in the equation,
your business won't exist.

Your brand is Your Story. Years ago, just out of college in
my first writing job, a colleague was lamenting that she
would never be able to write a book because all of the good
ideas had already been written about. While there is some
truth to that, everybody's story is different, and how you
present it will be different, too. Your story, your brand
will be unique because you are unique. So when you start
thinking about your brand, look at your story. What makes
it different? What makes you different? Bring that to your
business and you will see your brand develop.

Your product or service is The Solution. Creating and
maintaining extreme competitive advantage involves weaving
the star and the story together to support the solution; it
requires looking at several levels of your business, from
branding and marketing to product development and R&D,
budgeting your resources and staying nimble in your
decision-making---in short, developing your Extreme
Competitive Advantage. Here are six things to consider as
you bring your Star, Story, and Solution to life:

1. Have a profound reason for your business. The fact is,
like a book theme, there aren't a lot of segments in
business that need more offerings. As a result, you will
need to look for either a trend-related reason to be in
business or for a service advantage that you can provide.
What do you know that someone might need or desire that
they can't find anywhere else? What service do you provide
that sets you apart from anything that is currently
available? How can you position yourself to be distinct in
your market?

2. Create Strong Positioning. Stand out from your
competitors. Be clear and dramatic, dynamic and different.
What sets you apart? What do you offer that makes people
take notice of you and your business? How do you present
this to the world? Everything you do establishes your
brand. Look at companies with strong brand appeal. You
notice them because they offer something different, or they
say it in a way that the market notices.

3. Develop and Continue to Create Unique Assets. We're all
very familiar with the iPod. It's revolutionized how we
listen to music, added another tool to share information,
and changed how people view Apple as an innovative
technology company. For a short time, Apple relied heavily
on this unique asset to give them a competitive advantage.
However, within months, many mp3 players became available
from other companies. So, they came out with other models
to cover more of the market; they added new features; they
continued to develop new products. Now they've developed
the iPhone. What Apple knows is that although they have a
unique asset, their competitive advantage will go away over
time. They need to continually develop new ones to maintain
their competitive advantage.

4. Maintain an Economic Advantage. This is a key area that
too many businesses lack. You must be able to outspend your
competitors and still maintain profitability. Pricing is
important, as is perceived value to the customer. The more
unique your offering, whether it is service or a product,
the more ability you'll have to offer products for premium
prices and bigger margins, ultimately attracting customers
for whom price is not a factor.

5. Build Complex Business Systems. Systems are very
important for the flow of your business. Another way they
are important is that the more complicated they are, the
less likely it is that your competition will copy them,
allowing you to maintain your competitive advantage.

6. Use Speed and Agility. You must be mentally, physically,
emotionally, and financially agile to maintain your
competitive advantage. Staying a step ahead of your
competition requires you to be at your best in all areas.

As you build your business, support The Star, Story, and
Solution with these six aspects of creating and maintaining
a competitive advantage and you will move ever closer to
the Success Phenomenon.

Copyright 2007 © Marilyn Schwader

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Getting your information from concept to marketplace? Visit
author/coach Marilyn Schwader at
http://www.clarityofvision.com . Looking for an accelerated
information products education in an affordable,
easy-to-use format? Go to
http://www.jumpstartyourwealth.com .