Dig it, and Dung It! - by guest blogger Scott Carely

How healthy is your referral landscaping?

When we built our home in Lubbock back in 98, landscaping wasn't in the bid….so I got to do that!  Flowerbeds, a hedge, monkey grass trimming the driveway, moguls and a grassy front lawn.  Part of my dream house included a lawn without stickers.  Weeds brought stickers.  Weeds had to go.

I went back to the nursery and told the owner I needed "weed killer".  Instead…he suggested fertilizer.  I clarified the issue: WEEDS.  He clarified the solution: FERTILIZER.  He taught me something really powerful.  "Fertilize your grass.  Water it.  Aerate it.  Strong, healthy grass will choke out all your weeds."  He was soooooo right!

Interesting story in Luke 13:6-9  Read it.  It's good business advice.  I'm just saying…..

Luke 13:6  And He began telling this parable. "A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. 7  Then said he unto the vineyard keeper. 'Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?' 8   And he answered and said unto him, 'Lord, let it alone this year, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer (dung); 9  and if it bear fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.'" (NASB)

 Here is what we learned:

1. Three years into this project, the owner isn't happy with the crop return.

How long have you been into some projects and you're not seeing the return you want?

2. The dresser wants time to execute a strategy

Time isn't always the answer….unless it is accompanied by a plan or strategy.

3. He is going to Dig and Dung it (fertilize).

Digging simply means that you need to work your prospect and referral connections.  Sort out your contact base. Make some calls.

Dunging means…. you need tofertilize the referral connection with things that are a value add!  Give them something.  Recognize their efforts. Invite them to an event.  Offer something complementary.

If you want fruit (results)… Dig it and Dung it!

My clients use a 7-7-28 plan.

• 7 New connections to their data base per week
• 7 Personal notes or cards out to their A and B client list per week
• 28 Personal phone calls to A and B clients or Prospects.

Last week….one of my clients closed a $5600 proposal…..Digging and Dunging.  Contact me and I'll get you a shovel and some Miracle Grow!

Scott Carley, Coach512-470-0570

Coach@GrowthDynamic.com

Click HERE to test your Networking Proficiency

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A BIG THANKS for this excellent post to Scott!

#RoadToThinkingWell - 3

I consider the success of my day based on the seeds I sow, 

not the harvest I reap - Robert Louis Stevenson 

(quoted in Law of Contribution)

Day 12 - 15 days of 15 minutes per day on the 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth

Journal: busy week. Lot's of attraction/sowing with seminars/classes and masterminds. Platform blog went over 60,000 hits a few days ago and had 194 hits on Tuesday (2nd highest day).

Pondering The Law of Contribution this morning. In the book, Maxwell gives the following tips:

Making the Right Contribution Choices

#RoadToThinkingWell - 2

When a man has put a limit on what he will do, he has put a limit on what he can do
- Charles Schwab

 

I'm nine days into 15 days of spending 15 minutes per day on the 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth and it has been profound. During this time I've also participated 4 masterminds on the same subject and it has all be good.

My original thought was that by this time I would be stretching. But, more than anything, I'm realizing how much I must

move beyond my self-limiting beliefs.

To that end....

Is it bragging if it's the truth? Yes.

While much of my marketing needs improvement, this measurement speaks loud, clear and well.

To that end...

Sync Your Lips with Your Feet

What you do speaks so loudly that what you say I cannot hear

- Anonymous

Stephen M.R. Covey states "trust is one thing that changes everything. Trust is common to every individual, team, family, nation and organization." Mr. Covey continues with building an excellent compelling business case for Trust and how it is something you can get better at.

Having become a student of Covey's brand of trust the past 7 years, I've used his teachings in my daily practice of coaching, training and life. The one factor that stands out higher than any other is his 2nd core of credibility -

Read more....

#RoadToThinkingWell - 1

You've got to think about the big things while you're doing 

small things, so that all the small things go in the right direction 

- Alvin Toffler

Beginning yesterday and over the next 15 days I'm spending 15 minutes each morning on the 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: one-per-day.

My desired purpose is to get a better grip on my practice of these laws/principles/characteristics/disciplines.

Last night I went through all 15 laws, as quickly as possible, and wrote down a question I had about each law.

The law and question that hit me the most was

• The Law of Expansion: Growth always increases your capacity
• Stop thinking more work and start thinking what works?
• Question: what's working?

My thoughts and actions lately have been heavily slanted towards marketing and sales. In the world of MarketSmarterNotHarder, we measure marketing results by profitability. So, as I ponder my growth activities in the marketing area of my mortgage business, I ask

• What's working?
• Where have the profits come from?
• Are they traditional, or is something different?

John Maxwell suggests asking these questions

• What am I required to do?
• What gives the greatest return?
• What gives me the greatest reward?

To that end...testing limits!

Realtors - what do you do about all the different 

languages your websites need to be in?

With my eProperty sites, you have 59 languages,

all on one site - available with a single click!

Click here to read more

One Word Growth Strategy

The first thing I do when I'm coaching someone
who aspires to stretch, grow, and go higher in
life is have that person select the one word that
best describes him or her - Kevin Hall in Aspire

What one (1) word would you use to describe yourself? Not two, just one. What is it?

Ponder that word over the next few days. Are you living it? Does it continue to resonate? Ask others what one word would they use to describe you to someone else.

Is there a gap?

To that end....

You will never outperform your self-image

Most of us want to move to the next level, become more than we are, want things to change.

What is your current self-image? How do you see yourself? What do you say when you talk to yourself.

You will be same 5 years from today, as you are today, except for
- what you listen to and watch,
- what you read and
- who you associate with.

What are you doing different today to change your self-image, to be better 5 years from today?

To that end...

What is marketing?

Read What is Marketing? at Market-Smarter-Not-Harder

Learner - applies to everything

The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who 

cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, 

unlearn, and relearn - Alvin Toffler

This quote (above is from Stephen M.R. Covey's Speed of Trust; chapter on "Behavior #7: Get Better."

Things are changing, we all know it, and we must PURPOSEFULLY learn or we'll grow into something we don't want to be.

Learner is one of the 9 Essential Behaviors of Marketing-Smarter-Not-Harder. I write this under the my leadership blog because leaders must market well.

What did you learn yesterday?

What do you want to learn today?

To that end....

#MarketSmarter's 9 Essential Behaviors

You can't talk yourself out of a problem you've

behaved yourself into. - Stephen R. Covey

 

No, but you can behave yourself out of a problem

you've behaved yourself into...and often faster

than you think. -Stephen M.R. Covey

In our Guerrilla Marketing / Market-Smarter-Not-Harder workshops we focus on Behaviors. Behaviors, as explained by Covey (2), are what flows out of our agenda. Agenda flows from our intent.

The Nine Essential Behaviors to Marketing-Smarter are:

1. Learner
2. Takes Action
3. Creative
4. Evaluates and Corrects
5. Sensitive
6. Strong Ego
7. Generous
8. Aggressive
9. Patient

These behaviors are a combination of character and competence. As we remember that marketing is everything we do before and after getting the check, we want to practice these essential behaviors.

A recommended read on behaviors is Stephen M.R. Covey's The Speed of Trust.

To that end.....market-smarter-not-harder.

Danny

ps..for more marketing info and tips, go to the Market-Smarter blog

pss..pay attention to my social media feed for dates and times on free Webinars

Don't let criticism crush your creativity

Thanks to Tim Hetzner, President of Lutheran Church Charities

 for his article that prompted my thoughts on this matter.

"In A Closer Walk Catherine Marshall writes, 'One morning last week God gave me an assignment for one day. I was to go on a "fast" from criticism. I was not to criticize anybody or anything. 'For the first half of the day I simply felt a void, almost as if I'd been wiped out as a person. This was especially true at lunch. I listened to the others and kept silent. In our talkative family nobody seemed to notice.

Bemused, I noted that the Federal Government, the judicial system, and the institutional church could apparently get along just fine without my personal observations! But still I did not see what this "fast from criticism" was accomplishing - until mid-afternoon. 'In the afternoon God gave me a new vision for my life. And it had His unmistakable hallmark on it - joy! Ideas began to come to me in a way I hadn't experienced in years.

Now it was apparent what the Lord wanted me to see. My critical nature had not solved a single one of the multitudinous things I had found fault with. What it had done was to stifle my own creativity.'"
 

Creativity is a huge part of marketing smarter and when we're cynical and critical about our competition, ourselves and well...., it stifles our energy and thoughts.

To that end....stay focused on your competitive advantages!

(this is a re-post from 1/14/12 in my Market-Smarter blog page)

#TwitterTips - for Realtors (and others)

#1 Social Media Rule for Realtors: use Twitter

#2 Social Media Rule for Realtors: do NOT tweet listings

“The reason why people shouldn't be tweeting their listings is the same as why they shouldn't post them on their Facebook page. It’s annoying and it’s borderline spam,” says Eric Proulx, RealEstate.com's social media manager in Stop Tweeting Listings.

Ok. I've given some #1 and #2 social media rules before, but these are mine for today.

Plus, there's speculation Twitter has yanked some Realtors' accounts for "selling" on Twitter. That sounds far-fetched but some are claiming it.

Twitter posts should tell a story, or at least have a theme. I started reading a new fiction author a few years ago, saw he had a Twitter handle, and started following. Along the way I posted something about liking his book. Shortly afterwards I had a guy start following me and re-tweeting some of my stuff. I began reading his tweets and soon realized this "guy" was the main character in the author's book.

The author was using his character's Twitter name to continue a story line between books! How AWESOME is that! The author ended up getting rather raunchy along the way and I stopped following him, but what a great practice.

You'll notice many top bloggers with similar practices but with "themes." For instance, this week, my theme was on John Maxwell's "Law of Magnetism." I posted, at random intervals 4-7 posts a day on Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin (I use Hootsuite to schedule the posts and it takes me 5-7 minutes a day).

So...if you're a Realtor, don't Tweet listings! If you're a marketer or salesperson, don't Tweet to sell. "Tweet-to-market" by drawing good attention to YOU. Draw attention by drawing people to click on your Twitter profile where they can then click onto your website where your listings are available. 

To that end....

#ThinkingAbout the Pictures is Our Head

Doug Sherman, in his Bible Study Your Work Matters to God, states "we believe that the workplace is today the most strategic arena for Christian thinking and influence. Moreover, until we become godly workers, we have little hope of becoming godly husbands, wives, parents, or church members. For unless Christlikeness characterizes the 60-80 percent of our lives spent at work, we simply are not living Christlike lives."

The most strategic arena for Christian thinking......hmmm. Have you ever thought much about your thinking being strategic? How about your thinking, do you think about your thinking? Thinking about thinking is not something most of us today think about. Think about it for a minute or two.........hard to do isn't it? How about talking about your thinking, or another's thinking?

How dramatically is your thinking influenced by what's going on around you? Think about how much your thinking is influenced by the thoughts of others, because the mind is hungry for more information and is looking to be influenced. Are you aware of how your thinking is changed? How critical is your thinking?

Prior to the invention of radio, tv, internet, and even the mass production of newspapers, the spoils and triumphs of what flowed from another's thinking a much more celebrated event. In reality, the recepient was much more aware of the absorbtion and how his thinking might be changing. He or she had time to be critical about it.

Thinking about thinking - talking about what we think - arguing about thinking is something philosophers have done for thousands of years. It wasn't that many years ago when people would travel for miles and miles to hear a simple speech and then stay to discuss their thoughts in local bars and meeting houses. Today, we get our information in bits and pieces, yet, as if from a fire hose; there is more information coming in one week's worth of the New York Times than the average 19th century American had available to him/her in a lifetime.

Thinking, critical thinking, and getting one's message across to others has always been an important part of those intent upon critical thinking. Ben Franklin would write letters to his own newspaper under fictitious names just so he could express his thoughts about what he thought and he would then write the rebuttals to further spin the thinking. He claimed years later that he did this in part to develop opinions within his readers' thoughts.

So what does this have to do with life, work and being the right person in the right place? Everything. Everyone is bombarded with news and information they don't ask to receive; from emails randomly read to story lines of favorite tv shows, but received and processe it is. How you handle that information, purposeful or otherwise, helps determine the thinking that leads ultimately to who you are in the future. What do you say when you talk to yourself? What you take in will mold what you say to yourself and that comes out in your behavior to others.

Close your eyes, right now and think about the pictures in your head.

Writer, journalist, and progressive thinker Walter Lippmann, in the mid 1900's, wrote extensively about the tendency of journalists to generalize about other people based on fixed ideas. He argued that people—including journalists—are more apt to believe "the pictures in their heads" than come to judgment by critical thinking.

The pictures in our heads is what we tend to believe and these pictures are formed from what we watch, hear, and read. And what most of us watch, hear, and read, is accidental; not purposeful.

So, what does this have to do with our influence, Christian or otherwise? Everything. If we are not purposeful about what we watch, read, and hear, our thinking will not lead to practicing Christianity and if we aren't practicing Christianity, we aren't influencing others towards God's glory.

And if we aren't influencing others towards God's glory, then what are we influencing them towards?

What do the pictures in your head look like today, and what are they going to look like in 5 years, in 10 years? Are you purposefully drawing those pictures or letting others?

To that end....

Note: this is a edited re-post from http://godandworkmatters.blogspot.com/ on 11/06/2010

Reading "Shrewd and Innocent" by Steve Collier - the Intro

Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

Jesus in Matthew 10:16

It's Spring Break week in my part of the world and many of my clients have taken the week off. Thus, I'm attempting to take a breather from the norm, not going on vacation, but hoping to get some things done that have been pestering me for a while.

But, if I were going on vacation, I'd read a good book or two. So pretending a bit I am (on vacation) I'm embarking on a book from my "got-to-read" stack; Shrewd and Innocent by Steve Collier.

Steve is an architect by trade and was recruited, as a running back, by Texas, the same year as Earl Campbell.

Couple the author's background with the title of Shrewd and Innocent and I'm expecting a very purposeful trip this week.


Expect, and work at, a good week!

Being Personable and Wearing Blue Shirts

Being personable has always been a trait I've wanted to be known for, though many think the scowl on my face is an indication of my attitude and aloofness (it's just the way my face looks and I practice grinning sometimes. Never mind).

Being personable is important. After a meeting on Monday (I'll call him Doug) I followed-up with Doug by email to let him know how much I appreciated his time and would get back with him on his proposal. I also mentioned how good a job I thought he did in the presentation and attention to my concerns.

Doug replied back via voicemail thanking me for the compliment. He later emailed to let me know he was shocked that I complimented him, how unusual for him to receive compliments but wanted me to know how much he appreciated it.

I've done previous business with Doug over the past 8 years and have always found him to be credible, a good communicator, personable and pleasant to do business with. Maybe I'm doing a better job of practicing what I preach.........being more personable myself.

Just rambling this morning. Again.

This is the first day of the rest of your life. Make it a great one and compliment someone!

Danny

And while I like wearing white shirts, Cathy tells me a blue shirt softens my scowl and makes me more approachable. (Love you Babe)

(maybe she'll hear I mentioned her and actually read my blog!)

Danny L. Smith

Sr. Mortgage Loan Officer
Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach^TM
Impact Leadership Coach
NMLS #138873
Phone: 512-773-6528
Fax: 512-551-0006
Danny@DannyLSmith.com
www.DannyLSmith.com

"Communication Connection" by Guest Blogger Gary Seale.

Welcome Guest Blogger, Gary Seale. Gary provides sales outsourcing services and is the author of the book Business Principles from Proverbs.

Recently I have been reading a John Maxwell book called “Everyone Communicates, Few Connect.” One of Maxwell’s premises is that we have to know our audience and their level of understanding to truly communicate. It is all too easy to deliver information on our level of comfort and miss the intended audience all together.

I first learned this concept in a Toastmaster’s International program in the early 1990’s. The impact of their philosophy and receiving feedback on my speeches made this an important concept to keep in mind. This is true no matter what level or size of audience you speak to. From a six year old to a Phd from MIT, we all need to position our choice of words and illustrations to truly communicate.