Posted by Vicki Moulton on June 17, 2010
I received some unexpectedly enthusiastic feedback from a new client today. I didn’t count the number of exclamation points after the word “spectacular,” but there had to be at least 10. Now that’s a happy client!
As I was posting that nice comment on my Testimonials page, it got me thinking about how hard it can be sometimes to believe it–to truly accept it–when someone compliments your work.
We women tend to downplay compliments in general, and that can spill over into our business lives. It’s never smart to walk around like a proud peacock 24×7, bragging about how awesome you are. And neither is it smart to disagree with someone who takes the time to tell you that you’re awesome. It’s always better to make an attempt at accepting compliments graciously–even if it doesn’t feel right, act the part.
Take a moment to think of yourself as worthy of a nice compliment. Allow yourself to let that feeling wash over you. Remember it the next time you hear someone says something nice about you, and be gracious.
Posted in communications, MarComm, marketing | Tagged: accepting compliments, client, communications, customer service, enthusiastic feedback, happy client, proud peacock, relationships, small business, Testimonials | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Vicki Moulton on April 16, 2010
What’s the difference between an excuse and an explanation? The answer depends on what you’re trying to achieve. If you need to buy more time, maybe build up a little sympathy for your situation, then that’s an excuse. If you need to clarify misinformation with a matter-of-fact statement, then that’s an explanation.
My excuse for not blogging recently has to do with a whole host of changes happening in my life, which have turned my attention away from the blog as a business marketing tool… but only temporarily. (Fear not: I’m still here, ready to work!)
When changes started happening about a month ago, I originally intended to take just a few days off from blogging, Facebook, and Twitter. A few days turned into a week. One week turned into two. And now here it is, mid-April already, and I’ve let myself fall out of the loop entirely. My good intentions were completely dashed to hell. Clearly I wasn’t coping well with the changes happening around me. And while all of this was going on, I had two computers crash and burn, culminating in the loss of three weeks’ worth of data and email. (Insert angry, frustrated expletives here.)
Sprinkled throughout these weeks filled with challenges were emails and phone calls with potential clients, meetings with colleagues and collaborators, and successfully completed projects for steady clients. So actually the work didn’t stop–just my means of communicating with the wider world.
Where does that leave me on this warm Friday afternoon? Feeling motivated to get back into the groove, glad to have posted something new here and on Twitter before the weekend, and intending to embrace those life changes instead of letting them derail me. Change is good. (Yes, it is.)
Posted in communications, MarComm, marketing, networking | Tagged: back in the groove, blog, change is good, client, communications, computer crash, coping with changes, excuse vs explanation, Facebook, fall out of the loop, good intentions, MarComm, momentum, motivation, relationships, small business, Twitter | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Vicki Moulton on April 1, 2010
If you’re having the kind of year I’m having so far, then you’ve probably been struggling a bit trying to find the right kind of client for your business. You know, the kind that appreciates what you have to offer, wants to work with you right away, and remains loyal for the long term. In other words, the absolute ideal.
I found this article by Angie Segal of Action Coach very inspiring. It’s reprinted here (in edited form) with permission.
“What Kinds of Customers Are You Attracting?”
How do you get the customers you want and deserve? Are you randomly stabbing at the marketplace, or do you have a plan for getting the type of customer you want to work with?
Here are some tips for planning to attract the ideal client:
First, decide who your ideal client is and write it down. What size are they? Where do they operate? What do they look like?
Next, describe this ideal client to everyone in your sphere of influence. Communicate this clearly. Then ask your partners and alliances to describe your ideal client. How they answer this question will tell you whether you’ve been specific enough.
Find out where you can interact with people who fit your description of the ideal client and attend those functions.
Finally, look at yourself and make sure you present yourself in a fashion that would attract those people. In other words, dress for the job you want.
Clarity is a key element in finding your ideal clients. Once you are clear on whom you are trying to meet, and your actions are in line with that, it’s easy to find your ideal!
Posted in communications, MarComm, marketing, messaging, networking | Tagged: Action Coach, Angie Segal, attracting ideal clients, audience, client, communications, dress for the job you want, law of attraction, marketing, networking, planning to attract the ideal client, relationships, small business, sphere of influence, strategy, target | 1 Comment »
Posted by Vicki Moulton on March 11, 2010
Ever have one of those medical tests that takes a few days or weeks to produce results? That’s nerve-wracking, for sure. It’s also completely out of your control. If you’re anything like me, giving up control of a situation is unpleasant at best and impossible at worst.
While you’re waiting and waiting–for those test results to come back, that business proposal to be accepted, that check to come in the mail–how will you spend your time? Obsessing over how many days have passed without an answer? Anxiously biting your nails until it’s too late for a manicure? Distractedly pacing the floors during conference calls? Snapping at your spouse for no reason?
Here’s a radical idea: literally imagine getting the result you want. Picture yourself opening the mail and finding that long-awaited check, answering the phone and hearing the doctor tell you that everything’s fine, receiving that accepted client proposal in your morning email. Close your eyes and see the result you want, playing in your mind like a scene from a movie.
It can be a cliché, the power of positive thinking–and yet this very practice is proven effective to reduce anxiety, stress, and discomfort. (Think guided imagery for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, hypnosis for smokers trying to quit, pain management therapy.) But who’s to say that putting yourself in a positive frame of mind doesn’t have some kind of butterfly effect on the universe, bringing your desired outcome?
Whether you believe in karma or not, what does it hurt to throw a little positivity out there? You might be happily surprised at the result.
Posted in communications | Tagged: anxious, butterfly effect, desired outcome, distracted, envision, everything's fine, giving up control, guided imagery, karma, nerve-wracking, obsessing, picture yourself, positive outcome, positive thinking, positivity, reduce anxiety | 1 Comment »
Posted by Vicki Moulton on February 25, 2010
It’s not just people working in traditional office environments who must navigate the snarkiness of colleagues and clients. Those bad attitudes can exist–even thrive–in the faceless, expressionless, contextless world of email.
Take the example of a vendor of mine who emailed me to complain that one of her competitors had been invited to work with me on an upcoming project. The message contained words and punctuation–no images, video, or audio to simulate a face-to-face conversation–but the attitude was palpable. “Is this an official plan now, using both of us? It’s fine… I just need to be kept in the loop!”
First of all, I wanted to shout at the email on my laptop, whom I decide to work with and how often I work with them is entirely my decision. You don’t have an exclusivity clause in our verbal contract. Dial back the attitude, missy.
Of course, I did not type this into an email reply. I want to maintain professional communications at all times. But my initial reaction to this brazen display of bad attitude got me thinking: how would I have handled this confrontation if it had happened in my office instead of on my laptop?
Protecting the reputation of my company is a priority, and so is maintaining civility in any discourse with vendors and clients. No matter how rattled I might get on the inside, it’s important to keep a cool exterior. My professionalism demands that I show everyone at least some measure of respect, even when they misbehave. Having the veil of email between us actually makes it easier to think before responding… something I might not have done so effectively had that vendor been standing in my office whining about not being chosen first.
Deep breath. Count to 10. Engage brain before speaking. This is all good advice–for both the personal and the professional in all of us.
Posted in communications | Tagged: bad attitude, brazen display, civil discourse, client, colleague, communications, confrontation, contextless, cool exterior, count to 10, engage brain before speaking, expressionless, faceless, kept in the loop, maintain professional communications, measure of respect, rattled on the inside, snarkiness, veil of email, vendor | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Vicki Moulton on February 17, 2010
Ever have one of those days that just feels “off,” right from the moment you open your eyes in the morning?
I had one of those days yesterday. And even though I’m aware that some of the folks I met at a networking event last night might be reading this today, I just have to be honest: I wasn’t in my usual rah-rah-let’s-go mode. In fact, I almost didn’t show up.
It would’ve been so easy to just stay home, avoiding the crowds, the hand-shaking, the quick room-scanning, the u-turns to avoid running into certain people. But I knew I’d regret that decision eventually. I also knew that this was an opportunity I could not afford to pass up, even if I was in the wrong state of mind to begin with.
As a small business owner, I’m particularly susceptible to feeling overwhelmed with a long to-do list and crossing stuff off just to give myself a break. There are no staffers to send to networking events on Movick Marketing’s behalf. I am my company’s chief ambassador. I can either accept that responsibility, and all the gripping-and-grinning that goes with it, or I can go take a nap and let my company drift away.
Pushing past that feeling of near-paralysis–getting yourself out there, keeping your commitments, honing that elevator speech–is critical to keeping the momentum going, especially for small businesses just getting started with word-of-mouth marketing. It’s never okay to give up just because you’re not in the mood.
After about 45 minutes at the networking event, I woke up and started to get into the spirit of things. By hour 3, I met some really interesting people, gathered some promising business leads, and wondered why I’d ever felt like staying home.
Posted in communications, marketing, networking | Tagged: communications, elevator speech, marketing, momentum, networking, networking event, not in the mood, off day, small business, small business owner, word-of-mouth marketing, wrong state of mind | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Vicki Moulton on February 11, 2010
I’ve been snowed in for several days, and fortunately it’s resulted in a lot of productivity for my business. So, in the interest of tooting my own horn (after all, that’s what blogs are for), here’s the latest news from Movick Marketing:
**********************************
…Created a new page on the website–Featured Biz–listing and linking all woman-owned local “biz of the day” daily shout-outs from Twitter
…Added new social media package: Ghost-Blogging Special, for those folks who are ready to admit they need a little help writing a blog (you know who you are!)
…Got a whole bunch of new Facebook fans–enough to finally get that vanity URL! Now located at facebook.com/MovickMarketing
…Inserted AddThis sharing button on all pages and into most blog posts
…Now advertising social media marketing packages on three different websites: Market Mommies, Melissa Meman Designs, and Melissa’s blog
Posted in communications, MarComm, marketing | Tagged: AddThis, biz of the day, communications, Facebook, Facebook fan page, Facebook vanity URL, Featured Biz, Ghost-Blogging Special, Market Mommies, marketing, Melissa Meman Designs, Movick Marketing news, productivity, promotion, small business, social media, social media marketing, social media packages, tooting my own horn, Twitter, website, woman-owned business | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Vicki Moulton on February 8, 2010
Using the Twitter bully pulpit, Movick Marketing is now featuring woman-owned local businesses!
I started last Friday with the first tweet to promote Melissa Meman Designs, and today I tweeted for Lisa Koehler’s Singer Source.
Look for a new section on this website with a complete list of links to all featured businesses. I’m starting local, with people I know well and/or businesses that I have patronized, to show how the social networking community gives back to its own. In the case of Melissa’s jewelry business, we are old friends and I wear the jewelry myself, and Lisa is my friend and professional singer’s agent.
But beyond that, I really admire what these two dynamic and talented women have done with their business ventures–while simultaneously raising their families.
If you’d like for your business to be featured, email me or comment on this post. Come on, let’s give back to woman-owned small businesses! And don’t forget to become a fan of Movick Marketing on Facebook. The more fans I get, the more value I can add to the fan experience!
Posted in communications, MarComm, marketing, networking | Tagged: bully pulpit, Facebook fan, feature business, give back, Lisa Koehler, Melissa Meman, Melissa Meman Designs, networking, promotion, Singer Source, small business, social media, social networking, tweet, Twitter, woman-owned, woman-owned local business | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Vicki Moulton on February 3, 2010
I came upon Mikelann Valterra’s Savvy Women Earning blog in a kind of roundabout way this evening, and after looking at her recent posts, I found one about pricing and couldn’t stop saying, “That’s so true!”
Here’s a little taste:
So when you tell prospects what you charge and the type of results they may gain from your work, this is not about justifying your price. You are helping them make an educated decision. You are looking for a win-win.
If you’ve ever hesitated before setting a price for your services or products, you absolutely MUST read this article: How can I justify my price?
After that, you can join me in becoming her follower on Twitter. This woman is definitely onto something.
Posted in communications, freelance, marketing | Tagged: blog, client, justifying your price, looking for a win-win, marketing, Mikelann Valterra, pricing, Savvy Women Earning, setting a price, small business, Twitter | 1 Comment »
Posted by Vicki Moulton on January 30, 2010
After spending the past couple of months crafting some quick-and-easy social media marketing solutions for clients (and prospective clients), I finally decided to start using my Twitter account.
Yes folks, it’s true: you can find me on Twitter @movickmarketing! I figure it’ll be much easier for me to convince my clients that Twitter can help with business promotion if I actually use it myself.
Yesterday I placed an ad at marketmommies.com for the social media marketing packages–in partnership with Fern Carbonell of Exemplus Virtual Assistant Services (tweeting @Exemplus_Fern)–which I’m cross-promoting through my Facebook fan page and Twitter, and on this website… look at the top of the left rail!
It feels like something great is right around the corner. Maybe it’s just as simple as finally taking my own advice.
Posted in communications, MarComm, marketing, messaging | Tagged: @movickmarketing, client, Exemplus Virtual Business Services, Facebook, Fern Carbonell, Market Mommies, marketing, online ad, partnership, promotion, prospective clients, small business, social media, social media marketing, social media marketing package, Twitter, website | Leave a Comment »
