The word “social” in social network can be a bit misleading when building an online brand for your company.  Social networking was born out of the concept of sharing one’s personal life and not professional endeavors.  Today, people as well as companies are using social media to drive personal and professional branding.  Social networking is still a format that is deeply embedded in personal…

To build your personal brand that attract prospects and referrals, gain customers by beating out the competition and ultimately increase yours sales; you must differentiate and stand out.  Here are three focus areas that will help you build your own personal brand: 



Under Promise, Over Deliver.  Many sales people will do less than they promise while chasing a sale.  Their…

Sales letters are important tools for effective interactive marketing, lead generation and sales opportunities.  Often, the first impression made upon a customer is from a sales letter.  Selling is like dating.  Imagine you are on a first date, would you present your best one-size-fits-all-everyone-is-the-same-generalize-for-the-masses romance package?  The only impression you would leave on that date…

Most dads’ have a toolbox.  Some fathers actually use their toolboxes and other toolboxes collect dust.  Some fathers have giant roll around toolboxes and others have small handled boxes.  When you open up a father’s toolbox, the variety of tools varies from father to father.

As salespeople and management, we all have a toolbox so we can “fix” things. Our toolboxes may…

There are forks in the road in everyone’s lives.  The pathway we choose when faced with at fork can sometimes dramatically alter our journey.  I stood at one of those forks when I was invited to participate with The Landmark Forum.  I heard about the cult rumors about this organization, but participated anyways.  I was born, raised and…

Hold your horses!  We might just be in jeopardy of a recovery breaking out!!! 

After two years of struggling and scratching, there is a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel for the automotive industry as the Seven Horsemen of the Recovery have been spotted in cities and towns across the United States.  Below is a brief description of each of the Seven Horsemen of the Recovery.  Be…

If the world was devoid of you, what would it be like and contrast that with if you were the whole world?  Which do you think would be the better place?

The above question was something that passed through my busy brain one night as I prepared for duty the next day at the office.  It seemed like an interesting way to…

IIt does not happen often, but sometimes I find myself bored.  This week I find myself working remotely with my toes in the sandy.  Without the distractions of the office, I am actually finding myself completing my normal task list with time to be bored.  So how does someone who is usually as busy as a bee handle boredom?  I have learned to embrace this simple and rare luxury as a gift to take a…

As an invited guest to the NAS Pensacola National Naval Aviation Museum, I had the honor of attending the "winging" of a group of young aviators.  Rear Admiral Mark Vance was the guest speaker to address this assembly of recently graduated Navy and Marine aviators with a welcome to the fleet speech.  I found myself feeling like I too was being given a "charge to order on the tip of the spear".  The…

This year, I made a trip to Japan, which was a year long adventure in coordinating and planning with a group of college buddies.  Despite a tragic earthquake and tsunami followed by a real nuclear threat, we continued to plot and chart our big adventure.  It was during all this adjusting, forecasting and…

In real estate it is location, location, location.  In the retail sales world, it is perception, perception, perception.  Every one of your consumers wants to have a individualize experience when doing business with your organization.  I like to call it the “Disney” experience since Disney has set the benchmark in customer service.  It might be a…

The newest keeping up with the Jones’s marketing trend is Social Media Marketing.  Social Networking has found a home in American Capitalism as the twenty-something crowd has become a strong demographic in today’s enterprise.  Business hours have been replaced with 24/7 virtual access to your dealership.  Social Media Marketing has become a channel for customer support, service and satisfaction. …

Social Media is not kids play any longer.  Social Networking has found a home outside of the college dorm and into main stream capitalism.   More and more businesses globally are adopting Social Media Marketing Plans.  Social Media is one of the newest tools available to the global economy, but how does it affect your business?  Why should you invest some of your marketing resources in the…

Below is one of my favorite tales of two dealerships. It is a favorite story because I believe both dealerships had the best of intentions, just one made a positive impact and the other a not so positive impact on how one woman in a vast world of consumers experienced buying her first brand new car.

The ink on the divorce decree was nearly dry and I was out to make some big changes in my…

When a friend posted this picture on Facebook, first I laughed and thought back to those crazy college days with pranks and practical jokes involving duct tape.  Then my thoughts wandered into the humor of my adult life, where I joke about things being held together with duct tape and Popsicle sticks.  Then it dawned on me there is another meaning to…

I never question the freshness of a candy bar when I buy it.  If the candy bar is not up to my standard, I toss it.  It would “cost” me more in effort than what I spent on the candy bar to report my dissatisfaction.  When it comes to big ticket items, there is a lot more at “risk” and customer satisfaction becomes a turning point in the decision making process.  So how can a salesperson narrow the gap…

While enjoying the warmer weather with my buddies this weekend, I made a new car enthusiast friend out of a complete stranger.  The conversation got started when he asked me if I had ever heard of the Nissan GTR.  I looked at him and exclaimed, “Of course!  I have a near meltdown every time I see one.”  We both go on and on about where we…

“Deliver on your ideas.  Nothing silences critics like success.  Raise the bar for yourself and project a greater vision for those around you.”  When Tony Paragas shared this statement with me, I felt challenged to seize the moment and share a…

There are good days and bad days.  Just ask the basketball team from Butler University during the 2011 NCAA Men's Division 1 Basketball Tournement.  I am sure they prepared and practiced for "The Big Event" but…