Speaking to many local business owners, the general theme I seem to hear when I ask them to source their best customer lead channel is referrals. Yet, many businesses do not have a system in place to adequately identify, reward, and cultivate these incredible relationships that exist with their "fan base"!
Ivana Taylor shares some simple steps to take to organize your best referral sources in her post below.
What say you? Do you think it's worth the effort to establish a system as Ivana suggests?
Recently I had the distinct honor to participate in the commissioning of the US Navy's latest combatant ship class, the USS Independence LCS-2. What made this ceremony even more personal for me is that the commissioning officer of this super cool warship was my college roommate from my NROTC days at the University of New Mexico! It's amazing how he has come full circle in his career with the Navy. The first ship he stepped aboard was the USS Independence CVA-62, the former aircraft carrier, and 20 years later, I proudly stood (in what appeared to be a monsoon in Mobile, Alabama in January!) and watched him commission this state-of-the-art, XBox gamer looking ship of the same name.
Enjoy the video below. If you think it's incredibly cool, feel free to leave me a post below to voice your comment!
Also, if you are interested in footage of the actual ceremony, click on the link titled "Ceremony".
Egbert
The New Year is upon us...2010, not only another year, but a brand new decade to explore. If you're like me, you cannot believe that we are already 3 days in and I still haven't written down my goals. Heck, I still have my Christmas tree up and I'm just happy that all our activities with family and friends went off without any major blowouts or trips to the emergency room for stiches (I have many young-uns!)
I have been reading Chris Brogan's blog for some time now, and he continually impresses me with the clarity of his messages. It's the simple things that you can do to connect with people that, if done with regularity, provides you with the opportunities to provide value first. This post Chris put up helped me focus on the 3 big things that I need to concentrate in the 2010. I found that last year I was spending too much time moving pebbles (small projects or tasks) around but instead, did not leave as much time to move my boulders (the things that make the most impact) and really succeed at my goals. Check out his blog post on the link below.
My 3 for 2010 are Family, Value, Community.... What do you think yours will be? Please take a moment to comment below how you think 2010 will be different.
Cheers,
Egbert
Everyone loves good music. But to find it so close to home and in a church, no less, are you kidding me? Eastlake Community Church held their semi-annual concert recently and it was bumpin! (I'm over 40 so I don't know if that's the correct term to use; in my day, we used gnarly!)
Here's a short clip I captured on my iphone (3GS of course) of a new song by San Diego's own Marcus Jones.
He just released a new CD and its available now at the link or on iTunes.
Totally worth it.
Egbert
PS. Do me a favor and comment on this post below! Love to hear your opinion.
Getting ready for the New Year? 2010 is rapidly approaching! During the Christmas holidays, depending on your type of business, it may be your busiest time of year or your slowest. It only makes sense that no matter the case, your marketing plan for 2010 should include all the elements that produced a Return On Investment (ROI) for you. But where should you re-allocate the dollars to replace the elements that did NOT yield you a return?
Maybe it's time to give Social Media a try! I highly recommend this book from Erik Qualman. This could be the year your business breaks out in front of the pack!
Egbert
PS. I value your opinion! Please take a moment to make a quick comment below.
