Continue To Be Mr. Lazy But Be An Asset To Your Company

You are Mr. Lazy but you have big dreams on your career front. When you discuss these dreams with your colleagues or others, you face ridicules because the general conception is that those who are lazy and are not ready to put in hard work can never succeed. Are they right? Or can you achieve your career goals despite being lazy? The answer is: You can achieve success even if you are lazy. This answer may surprise everyone. But there are a few strategies by which you can ensure fructification of your big dreams. Now, what are the strategies? This post provides you with the details.

You can help your company grow by leaps and bounds.

The above statement may surprise you. You may think "I am lazy and I hate doing any work. How can I help my company grow? The answer to your doubts is: You can become a hacker. You may again think that hacking is a dirty word. True. Everyone considers hacking as unethical. And rightly so. What we are talking about is growth hacking. 

How can you do hacking and help your company grow?

You can create more and more demand for the products or services your companiy offers. This statement may not surprise you but may shock you. You may start thinking "Should I do door-to-door campaigning or become a sales person and create demand for what my company has to offer?" No. You need not become a sales person or do door-to-door marketing. On the contrary, you can create more and more demand by providing great ideas for advertising the products or services your company has to offer.

What is the purpose of advertising? It is to make more and more people, and especially potential customers know about your products or services. This is what marketers also do. So, in conclusion, advertising is also marketing. Andrew Chen, one of the top tech essayists, says in an article “Growth hackers are a hybrid of marketer and coder, one who looks at the traditional question of “How do I get customers for my product?.”

If you come out with innovative ideas for advertising the products or services your company has to offer, your company need not spend heavily on traditional marketing methods. But chances of getting spectacular results are high.

So, please continue to be Mr. Lazy but come out with great ideas for advertising a.k.a. marketing your company's products or services. This means without doing any actual or visible work, you can be a great asset to your company.

How to Become a High-Performing Employee?

Do you know a journey that never comes to an end? Yes. There is a journey that never comes to an end and it is the journey to high performance in your workplace. In fact, "high performance" is a subjective term. Further, there is always ample scope for improvement. But the skill of performing to the best of one's capability and that too, on a consistent basis is acquirable. Unfortunately, not all employees give a thought about their performance. They consider carrying out their official tasks as a boring ritual. Of course, they like the remuneration their employment gets them. Employees must realize that they can derive a number of advantages by being a high-performing employee on a consistent basis. If you become a high-performing employee, you can climb the rungs of your career ladder faster when compared to your peers. Your remuneration will keep moving northwards rapidly. You will have plenty of other opportunities in the job market as well.

The question now is how you can become a high-performing employee. According to experts, if you focus on three areas, you can certainly improve your performance significantly.

Daily actions.

High performance needs daily efforts. While making these efforts, you should particularly concentrate on your physical and mental fitness, being well-prepared and punctual for meetings, fulfilling your commitments, and so on. More importantly, you should ensure that your actions are perfectly in alignment with the targets of your company. You should embrace the dictum of accountability as well which means you should not shirk your responsibilities. 

Self-Reflection and Introspection.

You have to carry out the "self-'reflection" exercise daily. At the end of every day, try to recollect all that you did at your workplace during the course of your day. This includes how you have carried out the tasks, how you communicated with others, your behaviors, actions, and the mistakes, if any, you might have committed. This exercise provides you with excellent insights as to how you can improve your performance.

Similarly, you have to introspect at least once a week to know your shortcomings as well as strengths. While you can make optimum use of your strengths, you can overcome your shortcomings by taking appropriate steps. Consulting an expert in your areas of weakness is the best way to surmount them.

Learn, Learn, and Keep learning.

This is the most important step you should not ignore if you want to become a high-performing employee. You have to keep expanding your knowledge not only in the area in which you work but in other areas as well. Never forget the fact that the top brass of the present day companies are bullish over recognizing and rewarding employees with complementary skills. By expanding your knowledge in various fields including marketing, finance, HR, and Administration, you will be able to have a macro-level perspective encompassing all the areas. This helps you come out with unimaginably appropriate solutions for any situation. 

These are a few tips to become a high-performing employee. Embrace these tips and catapult yourself to a top position in your company.

When will Your Employer Consider You a Highly Valuable Employee?

As an expert puts it, "employers are always skeptical." This means they do not easily believe their employees. To put it differently, they view employees with suspicion. According to them, employees will not put forth their fullest efforts if they are not prodded, employees will while away their time if they are not supervised constantly, and they will commit blunders if they are not guided properly. Though this opinion of the expert has to be taken with a pinch of salt, the fact remains that it may be difficult for employees to earn the goodwill of their employers. This is perhaps one of the reasons some employees try to over-deliver, though whether they succeed in their efforts to impress their employers or not is a debatable point.

If you are an employee and if you, in the cockles of your heart, have a feeling that your employer views you with suspicion, you are likely to wonder as to how to enter the good books of the employer. Remember there are several employees who are like you and who want themselves to be considered valuable by their employers. Let us find out if this is possible and if so, how it can be accomplished. 

You may be a marketing executive in your company, you may be a supervisor who manages the shop floor, or you may be working in the accounts or audit department or in the HR section. Regardless of your position in your organization and regardless of your productivity levels, the management is likely to quickly forget all that you have delivered, however big your accomplishments may be. As an employee helming the marketing department, you may have brought in more business and increased sales to a significant extent. As the Head of the HR department, you might have played a key role in recruiting the right candidates for the company. Be informed that the company will not always remember these things. "People's memory is short" is the saying. Similarly, management's memory is short also. In this context, how can you make your management put you in the list of highly valuable employees?

"All the world's a stage. And all the men and women merely players," said Shakespeare. Your life and the role you play in your workplace is also similar to that of an actor. As an employee, you may encounter various types of situations at your workplace and this may include tricky ones as well. Let us assume that the company is facing such a tricky situation. Just imagine that you have authored a drama in which this situation occurs. How will you handle it? Or how will you give a twist to the story so the issue gets resolved and the situation becomes normal? In short, you are advised to put your creative muscle to work.

What is the inference of all these? You should try to become an idea machine or an idea-generating machine for your company. If you consistently provide great ideas for the company, your employer will certainly consider you a highly valuable employee. This is because it is ideas that can make or mar a business. It is ideas that can take a company to the next planks. It is ideas that can out-smart the competition. Therefore, if you become an idea-generating machine for your employer, you will not only be a valuable employee but will be able to climb the career rungs faster as well.

Put the "No Entry" Signage for Failure in Your Copywriting Career

You may be struggling to succeed in your copywriting career and during the process of investigating the possibilities available to you, you suddenly stumble upon a client who is equally struggling to promote her business. You justifiably assume that if you utilize this opportunity, it will be a step upward and will restore your confidence and career. You offer your services to the client by convincing her that you will craft sales copies for her and improve her business. 

Though you get a nod from the client, you are not very much sure as to how to go about this. At the same time, you believe that this approval from the client can turn out to be the straw that can firmly put you on the path to success in your copywriting career. Remember that no desultory ways will provide you with any clues as to how to proceed with the task on hand. The following few tips will help you. Read on.

1. Be restrained but be clear.

It is not necessary that you should show the breadth of your knowledge in the copies you are trying to create for your client. The language you use should be simple and should just be representative of the business of the client. Prospects who read the copies should get valuable insights and get persuaded so chances of they becoming loyal customers for your client are high. 

Of course, you may be tempted to use a flowery language for mouthing the details you have gathered from your client. Avoid this tendency. Of course, being a creative person that you are, you may not be able to parrot exactly what the client has told you. Further, the contents should not sound awkward and the ideas should not turn out to be a jumble of words.

2. Be truthful.

Make sure that the contents of your copies fill the minds of the prospects with excitement. The excitement should result from the expectation of enjoying the promises you make in your copies. 

At the same time, remember that customers have no patience for deceit and are not likely to be amused if your words ring false. In fact, prospects who read your sales copies will understand that with your charades, you are trying to rationalize the empty promises you are making. So, their reaction may turn out to be sardonic. Your words may repel them also. This means that the righteous wrath of these potential customers will make it difficult for your client to win them back.

3. Be unique but be authentic as well.

You will have a tendency to have a look at the copies of the competitors of your client before trying to craft copies for her. If you are not careful, your mind will unconsciously pick or borrow ideas from those copies. The main danger is that these ideas can replace the buoyancy of your own original ones and can spoil your creativity by their conformity. Of course, you can gather insights from those copies or the ideas in them can help in triggering your creativity. Never forget that your aim is to get your client better results than what her competitors are able to get from their copies. So, the contents you create should be original, unique, and really authentic which means they should be unsullied and your own.

4. Be unafraid. 

If you always keep your focus on helping the client realize her dreams, you will work with determined practicality and try to come up with unique ideas in your copies. In fact, you will have your own perception once you discuss with your client and gather all the details you require for creating copies for her. Having a perception of your own will liberate you from whatever inhibitions you may have about the brand and the products of your client. You need not hesitate to use this perception in your copies nor you need to worry if you will be startling or shocking the prospects of your client with the candor or bluntness that has grown from your perception. 

Your aim is to touch the emotional chord in the prospects and so, a little bit of bluntness while you discuss the issues they face is good. But avoid being overly sentimental. Do not also sound defiant while countering the apprehensions you assume these prospects may have.

5. Be sincere.

Try to eliminate the suspicions the prospects may have. Ensure also that the prospects know the truth about the industry or the field in which your client operates, the real truth, not the competitors' truth that may be ridiculous or false. But you should reinforce your statements with proper, satisfactory explanations because emotions such as fear and suspicion will never atrophy in the minds of customers regardless of the fact that not all the providers and suppliers are insincere and deceitful. 

6. Be purposeful.

Your intention is not to invade the minds of these prospects and unsettle them. But your aim is to make sure that that the brief of your client is so well explained in your copies that these prospects are completely convinced. The details should get recorded in their minds so they are able to retrieve and pluck your name from their memory especially when they need the products your client has to offer.

7. Be confident and firm.

You have voluntarily chosen the copywriting career and this client has assigned to you this task of preparing sales copies for her. Of course, you have gathered all the inputs you require from the client. You have to now use your brain and its creative power for crafting these copies and cannot expect that some extra minds will supplant your mind. You cannot afford to falter also because the client has relied on you and entrusted the task to you. Therefore, find out the barriers that stand between you and the task of crafting a great and effective copy and try to eliminate them.

8. Be wise.

Nowadays, customers are unsentimental and almost all the marketing professionals are aware that there is an increased barter mentality in customers. The general question almost every customer asks is: "What is in it for me?" Your copy should therefore make potential customers be aware of what they will get by opting for the products your client is offering.  So, regiment your thinking process suitably and sort and choose the right words wisely so your copy achieves this aim. 

9. Get ready for success.

The best way to become super-qualified so you can achieve guaranteed success and prosperity in your copywriting career is to keep learning on a continuous basis. You should never allow yourself to get complacent. You should also be open to new, unique and innovative ideas. If you adopt this approach, you will not only be able to enhance the quality of your copies but will inspire more and more clients to approach you for promoting their brands and businesses.

Give a Boost to Your Marketing Efforts by Adopting the Right Strategies for Customer Retention

A number of business owners commit the mistake of focusing more on expanding their client base rather than on retaining their clients. In other words, for them, adding new clients alone is synonymous with marketing. They should realize that retaining their existing customers is as important as acquiring new clients.

A study by Bain & Company reveals that on an average, the expenses incurred for attracting new customers are seven times higher than what is spent on keeping them. Not only that, if you are able to retain only 5% of your existing customers on an annual basis, your profits will increase by 125%. In short, retention efforts do yield results even in the long term and you will be able to build your business more efficiently.

This means you must create smart retention strategies for retaining your existing customers and also for converting your new clients into loyal and long-term customers. In short, right strategies will help you earn more by spending less. 

The following suggestions may help you put in place an effective customer retention program.

1. Have an efficient CRM system

By having an efficient CRM system, you can track the effectiveness of your communications with your customers. Though an automated CRM system that consists of customized messages pertaining to issues, product information, etc. may be preferable, things should be manually monitored also because you may have to address the specific issues many of your customers may have. In other words, an efficient CRM will help in customer retention.

2. Move up retention in your priority list

You should accord more priority to retention than to acquisition. This means you should increase your budget for communicating effectively and purposefully with your existing customers. Hesitating to hire competent copywriters for crafting high-quality emails, messages, ads, press releases and other forms of communications may prove to be an expensive mistake. Copywriting professionals alone will understand the needs of your customers and craft contents suitably. Your marketing team should also be educated suitably for focusing on the existing clients with an aim to retain them as loyal customers.

3. Have a system for measuring customer value

You should have a system for measuring the lifetime value of your customers. This means instead of focusing on individual sales, use your database for measuring the total sales you get from every customer. Details such as frequency of their purchases, the monetary value of the purchases they make, etc. will help in determining their lifetime value. But at the same time, do not commit the mistake of ignoring the value of small customers. Remember that the present-day world is highly connected. Dissatisfied customers can spread about it through word-of-mouth as well as word-of-mouse.

The purpose of knowing the lifetime value of customers is to determine how much you must invest in your retention efforts for those with high lifetime value.

4. Customer service is very important

Customer retention is possible only if you focus on customer service. You and every employee working for you should have powers to make on-the-spot decisions for ensuring customer satisfaction. Employees should not delay handling the problems of customers. Remember that by delaying action on the issues faced by customers, you will be sending them away to your competitors.

5. Communicate frequently with your customers

Keep in constant touch with your customers. Send them messages about upcoming sales, offers, etc. You can also send “thank you” notes along with coupons for ensuring you get repeat business from them. Again engaging the services of a competent copywriter is very important for communicating effectively. But do not commit the mistake of irritating them by sending unsolicited emails.

6. Make the best use of social media

If you think that social media is just for pushing your messages or sending your likes, you are wrong. You can engage your customers and communicate with them effectively through social media. By sharing, commenting and thanking people, you can use these platforms effectively. It is not necessary that you must be on all the platforms. Be choosy but make the best use of them.

7. Every issue is an opportunity

Every issue you may face may have a kernel of opportunity in it. So, delve deep into every issue and find out the ways to improve yourself, your business and your products and services.

If you keep your focus on customer retention, you will get several ideas. You can implement the most suitable ones and derive the best benefits of your online marketing efforts.

How to move to the next income level

Brian Tracy uses this oft-quoted truth while advising how you can move to the next income level. The quote goes like this: “Whatever got you to where you are today is not enough to get you any further.” This means your current knowledge level and skills are just enough to get you the income you are earning now. 

This again means your current skills or knowledge are not enough for increasing your income. So, if you want to improve your living standards, you must acquire new skills and apply them to your profession or job for earning more income.

In other words, you do not have any other option except to acquire new skills or knowledge for getting better in your profession or career and moving to the next income levels. In short, you should remember the rule “for life to get better, you must get better” and work towards it. 

Here is a good news and that is there is no limit for getting better and better. But for accomplishing this aim, you must firstly have determination and unshakable faith in yourself. Of course, determination and unshakable faith in yourself also not enough. You must be disciplined also. You must take action every day and must not miss even a single opportunity. You must keep looking for the right ways to acquire new skills and improve your knowledge.

How to ensure that your skills will help you move to the next income levels?

Just acquiring skills is not enough. Your resolve should be to acquire such levels of skills that you move to the top 10% in your field. But if you have apprehensions if you can move to the top 10% in your field, remember that those who are now at that level might have had very minimum knowledge when they started. They resolved to acquire the required knowledge and disciplined themselves suitably for reaching to the top 10%. 

Remember that you are smarter and better than anyone else and that you have tremendous potential within you. You have all along been oblivious of this potential. Since you now know that you can set your eyes on very high levels, you can easily bring about phenomenal changes in your life. This means it is you who will be placing limits on using your potential.

How to be the best in your field?

Experts point out that every field consists of 5 to 7 areas that require key results. You must acquire expert levels of knowledge in these areas and keep updating your knowledge as well so you can accomplish your tasks incomparably well. 

The weakest among these skills will limit your results as well as your income. So, how fast you can move upward is determined by how resolute you are in improving this particular skill. In other words, if you get better in this area, you can easily move ahead more quickly than by focusing on other areas in which you are already strong. 

Learning style

Everyone has a unique style to learn things. You must know which style can lift the learning potential in you. If you practice that style, you will find it easy to absorb new information and acquire more skills in your field. 

So, the key question you should ask yourself should provide you with the answer as to which skill area will help you grow rapidly in your field. You should set a goal to develop that particular skill area. Don't worry if your knowledge level in that area is weak. You should then prepare a list of the books you must read, the courses that can impart the required skills in you, the CDs you should listen to, the experts whose advice you must seek and the specific actions you must take daily for learning and mastering these skills. Of course, you should consistently follow the routines till you are confident of applying the skills in your profession or job.

Don't commit the mistake of focusing on all the skills at the same time. By working on a single skill, you can have a laser-like focus but make it a point to choose the most important one that can lift your career or profession immediately.

Experts point out that the amazing result of this approach is that you will be getting better in almost all the skills simultaneously because you will learn to dig deeper and deeper into every task for performing them better than others. 

So, remember that it is possible to acquire all the skills and this includes business, sales and money-making skills. These belong to the category of " mechanical skills" because even those who are novices in these skills can acquire them by putting forth efforts with determination and discipline.