It’s all in the flossing!

28/1/12

Standing out from your competition is so very important to the success of your business. And to that end companies and their marketing agencies spend a great deal of time and money trying to do just that. There are some great examples around; I expect that we have all seen the Virgin James Bond parody, but sadly we don’t all have the budget of Virgin to do that sort of thing ourselves. On a more modest amount of money I think the Entrepreneur’s Circle video is good – it’s simple but different.

However, in our BNI chapter it is made easy for us as there is no competition for our services in the room, but, and it is a big but, we still need to stand out. We need to be visible; we need to be remembered. And, one of the best ways to do this is to have a great 60 Seconds.

I was at the Tudor Chapter (Teddington) recently where there were three stand-out 60 seconds. The first was from a new member, Alex Mason, a graphic designer: she stood on her chair and put on a t-shirt. On it were the words, “You’re not normal”. Obviously everyone laughed but she then explained that one of the members had told her that her designs weren’t normal and that was her point – what was the point of being the same as everyone else? You have to be different!

Then there was Nikki Keeler of Essential Admin. She asked who had a ‘To Do List’. Most people put up a hand. She then asked if it looked like this, and held up a toilet roll and let it fall to the floor holding the first sheet. It said, ‘Things To Do’ and all of the other sheets were numbered. She then told us how to prioritise our lists. Number three was jobs that anyone could do: yes, you’ve guessed it – out-sourced to her.

But best was Mike Deasy, the Chapter’s dentist. He explained how we would all have better dental hygiene if we flossed every day. But people have no time is the excuse he hears constantly: it’s too hard. With that he took a box of dental floss from his pocket, cut a length, and flossed all of his teeth in front of us. Yes, in under a minute! He even stopped for time checks every few teeth. That was pretty impressive and no one could leave that room with an excuse not to floss.

So, what’s my point? Well, they were all different, they all stood out, and none cost much money. Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive, and anyone can do it, you just have to be creative. Then more people will remember you, talk about you, resulting in more business.

What’s more you are now reading about them.How good is that? All because they were different.

Who do you watch?

5/1/12

Lee Evans? Michael McIntyre? Gabby Logan? Sir Richard Branson? Jack Dee? Russell Brand? Tina Fey? Kelly Holmes? Jimmy Carr?

Whoever it is you can learn a great deal about presenting by watching them closely. Think about who you like to watch. What is it that they do? How do they use their voice? What expressions do they make? How do they use their body? Do they have props? It may be just a glass of water.

You can learn a lot by turning the sound right down so that you can’t hear them and just watching. Can you still understand the story that they are telling? How do they stand? What do they do with their hands?

What makes each different? Why is it that you like them so much? It certainly won’t be just what they are saying!

Watch closely and study what they do and then incorporate it into the way you present. Little things can make a big difference. But you aren’t looking to do an impression: you are looking to learn the skills of presenting and improve what you do.

Have fun. And, maybe even do an impression. A 60 Seconds in the style of Lee Evans!

NOTE:  I must give credit to Phil Berg my Managing Area Director for this idea.

A BRILLIANT One2One!

4/1/12

This blog only needs one line - please watch this brilliant video - A Cup of Tea!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmYXv1n6-KA