Here at In Touch Today we recently asked our employees to list the things they were grateful for regarding their work and our company. Across the board, our employees are grateful to be able to work with wonderful teammates, as well as being able to work for a company that values personal growth and development. These statements are posted in our break room as a daily reminder to all who see it that there are many things to be grateful for.

Equally important, we are grateful for clients like you who have supported us through these many years. The current economy has been hard on you, we realize, and we are constantly striving to develop new products, services and educational materials to help you thrive in it. We remain strong and believe the coming year will be an amazing one because of the loyalty and perseverance of our amazing clients. You have not given up on us, and we will not give up on you. So…thank you!

Now, what are you doing to show your gratitude to your friends, family, and clients? Let them know that you are grateful for them, you care about them, and you are still there for them when needed. Send them a card, an email, or make a phone call…just make sure they understand how important they are to you. Show your “feeling of thankfulness and appreciation” in the weeks that follow and we guarantee you will see a difference in your business relationships.

Again, thank you for your continued friendship, we are very grateful for each and every one of you.

Happy Holidays!

Question:
Kristina N. wants to know how to market effectively.

Marketing effectively starts with your marketing strategy. People that have been unsuccessful in their marketing efforts in the past most likely did not develop a strategy ahead of time, or veered away from their strategy with changes in their time or budget demands. If you are completely honest in your analysis of your business and desires, your strategy will become the most effective marketing tool at your disposal; it lets you know what marketing resources to spend money and time on and will keep you on track. This is not to say your marketing strategy cannot change. Minor adjustments are acceptable, but try to stick to your plan as much as possible for a year to fully determine its effectiveness. At the end of the year, analyze your results to see if anything needs to be changed for the upcoming year. Most importantly, do not stop marketing in down times! According to the Marketing Sherpa, those businesses that cut back on their marketing in a downturn are hurting themselves, and now is the time to remain consistent with (or even increase) your marketing so you have a greater voice in the marketplace when things turn around.

Since I know you are busy I thought I would give you the “CliffsNotes” version so you can get an idea of how awesome this book really is…

Mr. Harding (the author) teaches professionals the importance of knowing how to market themselves, both for their own career advancement as well as for the business success of their company. Case examples of marketing development are plentiful, and are taken from actual professionals like architects, consultants, lawyers…even the author’s own career. The book is broken down into three parts:

1. marketing tactics and how professionals can generate leads,
2. sales tactics and how professionals can advance and close sales, and
3. creating a marketing strategy that works.

There is also an appendix with some in-depth coverage of specific business-building activities, like creating a powerful presentation.

Rain Making is easy to read, well-organized, and filled with simple marketing solutions any professional can implement. Best of all, Mr. Harding explains why some marketing techniques might work better for different personalities; however, he is a strong believer that any professional can excel at most (if not all) of the techniques he describes with enough practice and patience.

For a more comprehensive review of Rain Making, including condensed coverage of each individual chapter of the book, please visit our “Book in Brief – Rain Making” article here. I’m sure you’ll agree…what a great marketing guide!

If you have questions or have read this book, let me know how I can help or what YOU thought of it!

Read Rain Making Book in Brief Here

I felt like I should have been in one of those V8 commercials… where the person gets knocked in the head for not eating their vegetables. (If you don’t know what I am referring to, search “V8 Commercials” on YouTube). I am in the middle of a marketing consultation when I hear myself tell our client clever ways to add a “personal touch” to help build relationships with their past clients and referral sources. I give this advice out on a regular basis and realize…that’s a good idea!

I suggest to people all the time to cut out articles or make notes about articles they read and send them to contacts who might benefit from reading such literature. I often suggest that if one of their business contacts writes an article or does a radio spot, email or hand compose a letter to that person mentioning that you read it or heard it. It’s just a nice gesture to show you care. I often get some rolls of the eyes or a comment about finding time to do this, but I continue to tell people how it doesn’t take any time at all. And yet… gulp… I haven’t found the time to do these things myself!

After this realization I went to work looking through the stack of magazines and papers I have littering my desk and indeed found some things to write about and send to MY contacts. After all, I had to prove myself right! And how much time did it take me? 20 minutes.

Since then, I’ve been setting a reminder (thank goodness for the Outlook calendar) to make an extra effort for my clients and professional contacts and it has been noticed! I’ve gotten responses from the folks I contacted with tid bits of information and it makes me feel good (and them too)! I’ve done something for my business and for someone I know. In a time where I hear far more negative than positive, it’s nice to know we have the ability to make a positive impact on others.

Not crazy – realistic. You have an opportunity in this down-turned market. We all do. The opportunity is to pause, to reflect; and to become remarkable.

At In Touch Today we depend solely on the home buying and financing industry. 95% of our clients are lenders or Realtors. Like everyone else, we were hit hard. The first thing we did, of course, was tighten our belt. Staying in business was job one, of course. But once that was done, we sat back, and thought…

How could we become remarkable?

We wanted to weather the storm, but more importantly we wanted to get into the heads of our clients and figure out how we could be better at what we did. A funny thing happened on the way to that discovery… we fell more in love with what we do.

(And I may be wrong, but I think loving what you do is the first step to becoming remarkable.)

We asked our clients, “What do you want? What do you think? Who do you want us to be?”

And we got back a lot of great feedback. Many of our clients love us (which probably has something to do with our loving what we do… or maybe it is the other way around?) We also got some great suggestions.

So we are making some changes. (I really hope it helps make us remarkable.) We are:

• Building an awesome new online technology so you can view and/or manage your database online
• Creating an online designer so you can create custom products yourself
• Automating ordering to be able to eliminate minimum quantities required (for postcards and newsletters)

And lest this sound like we are all about automating and becoming less service-oriented, never fear… we are also:

• Offering more Marketing Assistant Services like creating flyers and personal brochures, updating your database, marketing coaching & consultations, sending birthday cards, closing gifts, etc.
• Expanding our educational services with Marketing Coaching calls & podcasts
• Offering “one contact shopping” at In Touch Today – you can choose to work with one and only one person for all your marketing services

The fact is, everyone is remarkable. Some of us uncover it and some of us don’t. The current market is an opportunity to talk with your past clients, professional partners and co-workers. It is a time to brainstorm new ideas, set up systems and plans. It is a time to hone your skills. It is a time to become remarkable.

What are you doing to become remarkable?

You are either remarkable… or invisible. ~ Seth Godin

Then I got to thinking – if this many people responded to my email thanking me, and asking me more questions, how many others are out there that need a step-by-step plan like this to fit their exact budget and marketing goals? I suspected many.

So, we have launched a new service to help you get your marketing plan started, step it up a notch, or really reach for the stars. We are now offering Marketing Consulting Services to help you in anyway we possibly can. You can talk to us for 30 minutes ($20) or 1 hour ($35), and the nominal fee you pay for the consultation will be applied to your next order if placed within 30 days.

I know these consultations work. Why? I just spoke to a gentleman the other day about his current marketing plan (that he happened to be doing with a competitor of ours) and by the end of the call, we had a plan mapped out for him that was
a. saving him money,
b. contacting his clients more, and
c. sending value-added information his clients will keep so they will return and refer business.
Clearly, this quality time spent we spent together made a world of difference for his business (and his wallet).

You want to Chit-Chat about Marketing? Check out our Marketing Consulting Services

Happy Marketing!

Gwen Buehler
Marketing Manager

Since the number one question I get when I talk to professionals is “What would you do?” I thought it would be wise to map out the exact marketing plan I would use if I were them.

I sent this Marketing Plan to our house list last week and within 5 minutes, I got a response from one of our clients that was ready to order RIGHT NOW!

Check My Marketing Plan out and let me know what you think, and if you have other ideas too!

My Marketing Plan

Happy Marketing!

Gwen Buehler
Marketing Manager

Yeah, yeah, yeah we have all heard a hundred times about what it takes to be successful in our business – marketing, knowledge of the industry, a good database, networking, etc. But why is it that some professionals are doing all of these things and are still not successful?

And others are doing outstanding business despite the dismal market. Cases in point (from a recent issue of Mortgage Originator Magazine):

Daniel Lado, New York - 2007 Loan Volume: $326,333,000
Dan Milstein, Michigan - 2007 Loan Volume: $282,014,532
Trent Annicharico, California - 2007 Loan Volume: $265,228,581
Lance Dickson, Arizona - 2007 Loan Volume: $83,804,014
Rodney Anderson, Texas - 2007 Loan Volume: $165,353,280
Shawn Portmann, Washington - 2007 Loan Volume: $242,759,238
Lori Donnelly, Minnesota - 2007 Loan Volume: $71,841,312

So what haven’t you heard?

OK, what gives? Some people would call it luck. Personally I don’t believe in luck. I believe there are reasons for every single thing in the universe, and that we literally create every last little detail of our lives. Consciously, or not (unfortunately, for most of us it is not – hence the appearance of luck or lack thereof).

And why haven’t you heard this before?

We are on an evolving planet. And similar to when people here thought the world was flat, or that blood-letting was a way to cure disease, little by little we are growing and understanding who we are and the amazing power each and every one of us has at our disposal to literally change our realities.

The first question to ask yourself…

Before you take a look at the secrets of success, answer this question: what IS success to you? “Money, lots of money!” some would answer. But upon further reflection, most would say success means more than money. So what is success to you? How will you know when you are successful?

For me…

When I define success, money has little to do with it. Ironically, the way the universe works, is that by focusing on these things the money comes as a natural byproduct. So what is success to me?

Success to me is having fun at work. Success is being uber creative. Success is expanding my visions and dreams and continually reinventing myself and my company. Success is (I have to say this again because it is so important to me) having a great time when I’m working. Success is adding value to the lives of others as a result of what I do and how I do it. Success is being profitable. Success is exciting.

How do I know when I’m successful?

I feel excited. I feel prosperous. I feel creative. I feel joy. I have fun. I change, and my company changes too. Others tell me I am having an impact on them.

And what is the first secret to (real) success?

You can feel successful NOW. And that feeling will literally magnetize success to you!

If you notice how I know when I’m successful, it has little to do with what I receive. They are almost all feelings that are generated in ME. You don’t have to wait. Decide what success means to you (emotionally) and begin generating those feelings. It is the feelings that will bring the natural side benefits to success – the money, the resources, the connections, the opportunities, the inspirations to take action and the synchronicities.

So what do you DO?

Even though creating the success is about being, not doing, techniques help. Here are a few easy steps to begin creating a business you love:

1. Begin with writing down your intentions. What do you want? And how do you want it? Don’t be too specific regarding what, when, how or why. These are not goals, but intentions. A goal is something YOU have to do. An intention is an order for the UNIVERSE to fulfill. You help it manifest, but more by being a certain way than doing. For example:

I intend to triple my current sales easily, elegantly and joyously.

I intend my work days to be filled with ease, laughter, fun, creativity, joy connection and excitement.

I intend to draw people to me who could benefit from my expertise, my services and my products.

I intend to work fewer hours and make more money.

I intend to create ___ new prospects a week with ease and elegance for myself and my staff.

I intend to allow prosperity in its various forms (human resources, money, opportunities, etc) to flow into my life from all arenas, easily, elegantly and with harm to none.

2. EVERY day, spend some time reading over your intentions WITH FEELING. This step is critical. If you are reading through your intentions for your business just trying to get through the list as fast as you can you are actually doing nothing much to manifest your desires. If you read them with as much feeling as you can generate, allowing yourself to feel the “joy” when you say the word “joy”, and so on with every word, you will be literally strengthening that order you placed with the universe to make those intentions a reality.

You are a magnet. The attractor is your emotions (generated by thoughts). The more positive thought and emotion you can connect with your desires, the faster your reality will change. Of course, every negative emotion you feel around your business will slow down that process. So watch what you think about and how you feel about your success, your future, and the ease and fun with which it could play out.

3. Keep track of what happens in your world. You will begin to see your business world changing. A few new prospects, a really fun meeting with that referral source, a friend or college who lands a huge deal. These are all signs that you are getting closer. At the end of each day, write down what has happened that would indicate success – even the tiniest hint of success (finding a penny on the sidewalk tiny). By doing this one little thing, you will take several GIANT steps towards your goal:

a. You are giving your subconscious mind the message that you are serious about receiving your intentions. How many times have you said you wanted something and then dropped it? Your subconscious needs to be re-trained that you DO intend to receive, are WILLING to receive and EXPECT to receive. This exercise will accomplish that with ease.

b. You are strengthening your intentions. With every success you strengthen the belief you can have what you want, that you will get what you want, and that it is actually happening. Your success journal can become a powerful energy to add more power to your intentions, simply be reading it before you read the intentions.

c. You are staying conscious. Paying attention to your thoughts, feelings, and your reality in general takes practice. Being alert as to what is happening around you that may be a very personal sign for you as to whether you are sending out energy in alignment with your desires forces you to pay attention. And if you are paying attention to your reality, you are likely paying attention to your thoughts and feelings around this success too, keeping them more positive, which will in turn create more success.

Meanwhile…

Remember the point of your job and your life – to enjoy it. Choose to enjoy every minute of every day. Narrow your focus down to the immediate task at hand… sitting comfortably in your chair, soft music in the background, warm sunlight on your shoulder, doing the best job you can do on that little bit of paperwork, or filing, or client call. Add love and joy to all you do. Success isn’t the point, it is the byproduct. Joy is the point. Be joy.

PS

I would love to hear from you about your successes and your challenges. If you would like to learn about the other secrets to real success, check the In Touch Today blog regularly. I will be posting more secrets soon. (more…)

I am the president of In Touch Today. I started the company nearly eight years ago in a spare bedroom of my home. My total investment in the company was just $50. At the time the fee to incorporate an entity was $100 and my partner and I each put in half (I bought her out six months later, for far more than $50!).

I grew the company from that day on with the proceeds from sales. Except for financing equipment when I brought production in-house, and a mortgage on my building, the entire growth from nothing to a $5 million company was funded from sales.

At that time in my life, I had just filed for bankruptcy after a messy divorce left me in a state of emotional and financial ruin. It was scary – starting a business from scratch with absolutely no money and no experience running a company.

I think times for many in our industry now, are just as scary. Some have left the industry, others are paralyzed with fear, doing nothing to change the fact that the phones are not ringing. And yet others are having their best year ever.

How can that be? How can some be enjoying tremendous prosperity and others abject scarcity?

Well, I supposed different people would have different answers. Some would say they are lucky. Others would say they continue to do the right things (market, network, educate themselves, etc.).

I would say, it is because of the way they think. It is because of what they focus on, and it is because they have a belief system that supports their success, no matter what.

Of course it is not that straightforward or simple, but it is learnable. One can reprogram their subconscious mind. One can change their beliefs and what they focus on and as a result, their reality changes.

I know, because I consciously created the success with In Touch Today. Step by step, I made it my mission to learn how to do that. Then I also took action. I was inspired to market, I was inspired to create products that people wanted and that worked.

And my little spare bedroom company morphed into a 40+ employee business with a mission to add value and have fun.

I share this with you because I know the power each of us has to change our world lies in the way we think and feel. If any of you have seen or read The Secret you know what I mean.

There are lots of “Insider” secrets to success. I hope this blog inspires you to reach beyond what you have been taught about what creates prosperity and abundance and find your own formula for a successful and fulfilling business.

InTouch Insider will be a forum for us at In Touch Today and you, our clients and friends, to share success and marketing best practices of all types.

Please feel free to comment, share and inquire. We thank you for helping us succeed and wish you a year of success and joy in all arenas.

Best wishes,
Boni