Keeping an eye on your online reputation is essential in the modern digital world. Your personal or company brand can be greatly impacted by your reputation, which also affects public image and trust. It’s critical to keep a positive and consistent presence on all of the platforms that are available. Why Managing Your Online Reputation is Important? Online reputation management is important across platforms because it helps determine how others perceive a business when they search for it online. It’s important because: Impacts Public View: Your internet reputation affects credibility and trustworthiness by influencing how other people see you or your brand. Impacts the Success of Businesses: A good internet reputation can boost sales, build loyalty, and inspire customer trust. On the other hand, unfavourable comments and reviews may discourage prospective buyers. Effects on Employment Prospects: A person’s internet reputation can either positively or negatively impact their ability to get employment and make professional relationships. Boosts the Value of the Brand: An effective online reputation management strategy enhances your brand image and sets you apart from the competition. Stops Reputation Disasters: Active reputation management assists in averting possible problems and dealing with unpleasant circumstances before they get worse. How Build a Strong Online Presence Across all Platforms? Consistent Branding: Keep your image the same on all channels, including bios, messaging, and profile photos. This contributes to creating a trustworthy and polished appearance. Provide Useful information: Publish interesting, educational, and audience-relevant information on a regular basis. Blog entries, social media updates, and industry insights might all fall under this category. Actively Network: Interact with both your audience and colleagues in the field. To increase your reach and make relationships, take part in conversations, join groups that are relevant to you, and go to online events. Display Your Expertise: List your accomplishments, licenses, and accolades. By offering insightful commentary and showcasing your knowledge, you can improve your standing as a thought leader. Seek and Share Testimonials: Motivate pleased customers or associates to provide gratifying evaluations and testimonies. Distribute these recommendations to establish confidence and trust. How to Address Negative Reviews and Online Criticism? Recognise and React Resolve the reviewer’s problems right away by expressing your gratitude for their comments and demonstrating that you value their opinions. Address Particular Problems and Offer Solutions: Clearly explain or rectify the difficulties brought up, and if necessary, suggest a fix or remedy (such a refund or replacement). Move the Discussion Offline and Gain Knowledge from Comments: Transfer delicate or in-depth conversations to private channels to efficiently address the problem and utilise the input to enhance your offerings. How to Protect Your Online Reputation Proactively? Don’t just react to negative feedback. Here are some ways to build a positive reputation: SEO Matters: To guarantee that your positive material appears at the top of search results, optimise your website and online profiles for relevant keywords. Promote favourable Reviews: Request that pleased clients post favourable evaluations on the appropriate websites. Verified endorsements from contented customers increase your trustworthiness. Take Charge of Your Privacy: Make sure your social media accounts have the proper privacy settings in place to limit who may access your posts and information. Conclusion   You may create a strong online presence on all platforms by being proactive and putting into practice a comprehensive plan for managing your online reputation. Recall that maintaining your online reputation takes time and effort; it is not a quick fix. You can make sure your online reputation accurately represents you by continuously producing insightful material, interacting with your audience, and skilfully handling both favourable and negative comments. Considering Professional Help While establishing a solid online reputation is doable, Jamal Prime Inc’s top ORM services can provide helpful resources and in-depth knowledge to make the process go more smoothly. With the aid of these services, you can keep an eye on your online mentions, spot possible problems, and create plans of action to deal with them.  

I was raised in an area that is seen as being in the middle class. We never had trouble paying the rent or buying groceries. Every school year, we changed into a new set of clothes. In the driveway, there were two automobiles. It was only after a few years, on a vacation to Jamaica, or a trip to Mexico (which is not far from my house in Southern California), that I told my dad we were wealthy. It would not go unheard. mostly because there were others who possessed substantially greater riches than we did. At the high school I attended, the seniors had their own parking lot with pricey trucks and fancy automobiles like Porsches. It gave the parking lot of the teacher a sorry appearance. All of this is to explain that, despite the occasional instance in which I thought we were fortunate, the majority of my childhood was spent feeling as though we were impoverished. I felt it even though we weren’t, as I wasn’t operating a Porsche. All you desire is money when you feel poor, or at least poor in contrast. Growing up, money was something I thought about a lot. How I would use it if I had it. What I desired to purchase. and even what I had to accomplish to get it. The solution is not money. In actuality, it frequently only produces new difficulties. One of those difficulties is that spending money is quicker and easier than earning it. Money feels illusive in this way. I want to share with you today a perspective that was given to me when I was first starting out in the workforce. And it completely altered the way I perceived money. It also altered my perspective on work, career, and my job. It has to do with your valuable move skill. Dennis Hall, my tutor at Berkeley Lab, was an extremely intelligent man. He really pulled me out of the work I was doing at the Lab and brought me over to his group to invest in me.; I’m not sure what he saw in me or why he did it. Everything changed for me as a result. However, it all began with a conversation about my most useful ability. What he said to me was this: “Your ability to add value is your most valuable skill. People are going to have to pay for that. ” To understand it, I would need to think about it and talk about it for hours on end. Now that I’ve spent decades thinking about it, though, and the world has made this easier and more true than ever, let me try to explain it to you simply. We all want to work smart, not hard, is what most of us say. However, we then put in many hours of hard labour. Correct? We expect to be paid for our hard work. However, we are compensated for manual labour in that reality. We don’t consider it that way because we are in air-conditioned offices or our own homes. Furthermore, we associate manual labour with ditch digging. However, we work and are compensated for the hours that we put in. To make money, we are investing our time and energy. Value creation is our greatest asset. Since people will foot the bill for that. It might be a thought, written down. It might be an algorithm, that gets patented. It might be a course, that teaches skills. You might create a conference. When you produce something of value—that is, something that other people find valuable—they are willing to pay for it. Moreover, customers are paying for the product rather than the labour. My mother used to go to work if we needed anything extra when I was a child. She would find employment and use the additional cash she made to cover our expenses. That is how things were done. But now, I can add value if I need more money. and market it. I can launch a new course, write an ebook, or offer coaching. since adding value is my most valuable skill. I am not working at my best when I forget that and exchange hours and effort for money. After realising this, I saw a shift in myself: I started to worry about money less and less. Rather, I was concerned that I was not maintaining the necessary skills to continue adding value. since I was aware of its significance and is to create value. You don’t need money. You need a way to create value.  

Your brand is the core of who you are to your customers; it’s more than just a logo or a product. Good brand management influences how customers view and engage with your company. It supports the upkeep of your brand’s goodwill, relevance, and memorability. You can protect your brand’s identity, gain the audience’s trust, and set yourself apart from rivals in a crowded market by actively maintaining it. Let’s examine brand management in more detail and why it’s important. Along with some brand management advice, we’ll also go over some of the resources and platforms used by brands to control their image. Are you prepared to find out more? Now let’s get going. What Is Brand Management? Brand management involves building and sustaining a strong, positive brand image to make it recognizable, trustworthy, and appealing to your target audience. Here are key resources to help manage and enhance your brand’s presence and reputation. What Tools and Channels Can I Use for Brand Management? Here are some essential brand management tools: Social Media Platforms Engage your audience and build brand awareness with Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, and LinkedIn through regular posts and targeted ads. Content Management Systems Manage website content and ensure consistent brand messaging with platforms like WordPress. Analytics Tools Use Google Analytics and Mention to gain insights into performance and online reputation, adjusting strategies as needed. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems Manage interactions and boost loyalty with tools like Salesforce and HubSpot. Email Marketing Software Keep your brand top of mind by sending newsletters and offers with Mailchimp or ActiveCampaign. Design Tools Create brand assets with Canva and Adobe Creative Suite to reflect your brand identity. Surveys and Feedback Tools Collect customer feedback and improve your brand strategy with SurveyMonkey and Qualtrics. Why Is Brand Management Important? For brand managers to increase brand recognition and awareness, brand management is essential. The only way to get people to know and recognise your brand is through brand marketing. Putting money into brand management will help you develop brand equity, or worth, over time. This indicates that your clients and audience think highly of you. This motivates: a favourable reputation for the brand Word-of-mouth advertising Customer Loyalty Maintaining your competitive edge also requires regular management of your brand’s perception. By monitoring trends and competitive insights, you can keep up with changes in the market and consumer preferences. What was the outcome? a robust, long-running company. Principles and Measurements of Brand Management Let’s take a closer look at the core pillars of brand management.   Brand Equity Represents your brand’s value and impacts audience behavior and financial performance. High brand equity boosts customer preference, even at higher prices, and provides stability in market fluctuations. Brand Recognition Enables your audience to identify your brand through logos, colors, and slogans, distinguishing it from competitors and creating positive associations. Customer Loyalty Measures the frequency with which customers choose your brand over others. Strong loyalty indicates emotional connections and trust, driving word-of-mouth advocacy. Customer Perception Shows how consumers view your brand based on their experiences and opinions. Use surveys, social media analysis, and reviews to gather insights and refine your brand strategy. Financial Performance Evaluates your company’s financial health through revenue growth, profit margins, and ROI. These metrics help assess branding effectiveness and guide profitability and growth adjustments. Additional Options to Boost Your Brand Image Here are some bonus ways you can boost your brand image. ·         Partner With A Brand Management Agency ·         Use Mention For Brand Management ·         Build Quality Backlinks ·         Leverage earned media Key Takeaways Building your brand assets and a good reputation requires sound brand management techniques. Maintaining a unified brand across all channels, such as social media, your website, and consumer interactions, helps build brand recognition and reinforces your identity. Using social media tactics increases visibility and fosters deep connections with your audience. Maintaining a current understanding of industry trends enables your business to stay innovative and current. You can ensure your brand’s long-term growth and health by concentrating on strategic brand management, which will help it maintain its reputation as a reliable and significant brand among your target audience. Do you need help getting there? Jamal Prime Inc is able to assist. To your success, I say!  

Enhancing your website’s search engine rankings is a crucial aspect of digital marketing, and if your small business wants to take full advantage of all that SEO has to offer, you should make it a primary marketing strategy. Recent research shows that over 68% of online experiences start with a search, and that over 50% of website traffic originates from organic search results. In other words, if your website isn’t optimised for search engines, you’re losing out on a substantial amount of potential traffic and revenue. Effective SEO Techniques and Strategies So how do you get value from your SEO strategy? The following tactics and strategies can help you get the most out of your SEO strategy. Perform keyword research Researching keywords is a necessary step in creating a successful SEO plan. Finding the terms and phrases that members of your target market use while looking for goods or services in your sector is known as keyword research. By understanding the search terms used by your target audience, you can produce content that helps them throughout the buyer’s journey. Finding high-priority keywords and phrases for your website is another benefit of conducting keyword research. By focussing on these keywords, the content on your website will become more relevant and authoritative for these terms. Your chances of appearing higher in search engine results pages grow as a result. Create an SEO content strategy Although content optimisation is crucial, you must first develop a content strategy before you can begin writing any content. Don’t just get material written. You must concentrate your material on subjects that matter to your intended audience if you want to succeed. You can make sure that the material you produce is seen and relevant by incorporating SEO into your content strategy. It must benefit your intended audience in some way. Since Google aims to show users relevant material when they search, high-quality content helps your website rank higher in search results. However, it also makes your brand an expert in your field and promotes interaction and sharing on social media. Conduct on-page and technical optimization On-page SEO involves optimizing the content and structure of your website to make it more search engine-friendly. On-page optimization includes optimizing your website’s title tags, meta descriptions, headings, and content for relevant keywords. Technical SEO involves optimizing your website’s technical structure to make it easier for search engines to crawl and index your pages. Technical optimization includes creating a clear site structure. You want to be sure it is free from technical errors. You also need to ensure your website is mobile-friendly and has fast loading times. Optimize your entire web presence Improved exposure, awareness, and brand recognition are achieved through web presence optimisation, which applies search engine optimisation to all of your online assets. Building high-quality backlinks from other websites Creating engaging social media profiles Ensuring that your business information is consistent and accurate across all online directories and listings.   Backlinks are essential to off-page optimisation because they are links pointing to your website from other websites. They aid search engines in evaluating the authority and relevancy of your website. The search engine rankings of your website can be considerably raised by high-quality backlinks from reliable and pertinent websites. Improve website user experience UX, or user experience, is a vital part of SEO. Websites that offer their users a good experience are given priority by search engines. You should concentrate on optimising your website’s navigation, layout, and design in order to enhance the user experience. You should also make sure that the pages on your website are responsive to mobile devices and load rapidly.   Optimize for local search Optimising your website for local search is crucial if your company caters to customers in your area. Optimising your website and online presence to appear higher in local search results is known as local search optimisation. In order to maximise for local search, pay attention to: Creating and optimizing your Google Business Profile Optimizing your website’s content and metadata for local keywords Building high-quality local backlinks   Monitor and analyze results It’s critical to track and evaluate your SEO results in order to determine what is and is not working. You can determine whether techniques are producing the desired results and make any adjustments by keeping an eye on your website’s traffic, conversions, and search engine rankings. You can keep an eye on your results with the aid of tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console. They offer information about the traffic, conversions, and search engine rankings of your website in addition to other crucial metrics like engagement and click-through rate. Conclusion In the current digital environment, the importance of SEO cannot be emphasised. People are using the internet more and more to find products, services, and information. Neglecting SEO puts businesses at risk of lagging behind their rivals and missing out on important chances to engage with prospective clients. All things considered, SEO is valuable when it comes to helping businesses: Improve their online visibility Attract more traffic and customers Establish themselves as credible and trustworthy authorities in their industries Businesses may create a strong online presence that will benefit them in the long run and contribute to their business growth by investing in SEO. Keep in mind that SEO is a long-term approach that needs persistent work and commitment. Even if effects could take some time to appear, SEO can have substantial and enduring advantages.  

We’ve All Had That One Conversation You’ve probably had conversations when the other person isn’t looking at you if you’ve attended conferences or networking events. They’re scanning the space. Is there someone more significant with whom they ought to get in touch? Do you recall the sensation? Horrible, do you think? Even if it wasn’t intentional, it’s probably not hard for us to recall a similar incident from the past. We lose focus while we are mid-sentence in a conversation. It’s difficult to be really present, let’s face it. You’ll Differentiate Yourself Quickly It’s okay if you find it difficult to be totally present; everyone does. Alerts, red circles with numbers inside of them, Slack, Twitter, and other social media platforms have made us increasingly distracted. However, you’ll soon set yourself apart if you can learn to be totally present. Envision having in-person interactions, phone talks, or Zoom calls with someone who was entirely focused on you. without becoming sidetracked. It would be adored by you. And if you were skilled at it, others would feel the same way. You would be different from all of your rivals. But you’ll need to put in some effort to accomplish that. To Be Fully Present Requires Some Discipline As I’ve already mentioned, being totally present requires a lot of work. It does, however, also call for discipline. I want to offer you three disciplines to work on today so you can develop into the kind of person who can participate completely in any conversation. I refer to them as tips, but let’s be real. These are the several disciplines. These must be completed repeatedly, not just once or twice. Tip One: Place your phone in your pocket or in a different room The mobile phone is the greatest communication instrument ever invented. The mobile phone is the worst communication device ever invented. Understand what I mean? We are constantly betrayed by our phones. They take our attention even while we’re in very important conversations. Most of us carry our phones with us at all times. or beside us on our desk. Always accessible. Because of this, you become distracted when your phone rings or blinks while you’re on a zoom call. Put your phone aside if you want to be really present in every conversation you have. In a place where it’s invisible (or barely perceptible). It might be in your pocket. or your bag. The idea is to safeguard oneself against the distractions that come from your own devices, should you let them to. Tip Two: Arrange Your Distractions   I adore Twitter. I also enjoy Slack and email. I occasionally even enjoy going to ridiculous websites that have articles like “Actors and the films that changed them forever.” You must, however, let any of this to stand in the way of your being truly present. They must not divert your attention. However, you can set apart time to enjoy those activities without interfering with ongoing discussions. I advise scheduling time each day for when you: Process emails (two or three times a day) Process Slack messages (two or three times a day) Watch YouTube (once s day) Read silly articles (once a day) This method has the advantage of allowing you to focus when you’re not doing this stuff and of giving you your “fix.” This is what I would advise against. It’s not necessary to disclose to others that you check your email just three times a day. Simply respond when you set aside time to do so. Those who comment, “I only check my emails twice a day,” are, in my opinion, essentially saying, “I’ve created a scenario to manage my focus because I can’t manage my life.” However, trust me with your assignment. I believe that to be an error. Tip Three: Practice Active Listening   I think the hardest discipline is the last one. Naturally, I have a tendency to interrupt others frequently. I’ve improved over the years, but only because I’ve engaged in active listening exercises. According to the verywellmind website, it’s as follows:   It is the process of listening attentively while someone else speaks, paraphrasing and reflecting back what is said, and withholding judgment and advice Very Well Mind Website These are the behaviours that are identified as detrimental to active listening when someone else is speaking in their description of the practice: Interrupting people Not making eye contact “Topping” the story Asking about unimportant details The secret to both active listening and being totally present in any conversation is to learn when to stop doing each of them (as well as the other things they list). I See You. I Hear You. All of this is ultimately about maintaining concentration so that the person you are speaking with (and listening to) feels heard and noticed. It’s the gift you offer to every discussion. You’re giving them that gift when you’re able to give them your whole attention.  

I Bet This Story Sounds Familiar I was working on adding a new function to this website earlier in the year. It’s the contents table located in this post’s (and all of my blog entries’) right sidebar. Before choosing LuckyWP Table of Contents, I examined a number of table of contents plugins. I truly enjoy it, and it does the job well. Next, I received a message on Facebook Messenger from my friend Joost, who founded an SEO tool. He asked if I had checked out the tool’s TOC feature. Hear me out: I genuinely like Joost. Since I first began using WordPress, I have been using this tool when it was available. In addition to other add-ons like the WooCommerce add-on, I also own the premium version. Furthermore, I was unaware that his plugin had a table of contents. That’s what I told him. And we both laughed (though I imagine he was a little hurt), because creating features is difficult, but selling them is even more so. Adding a New Feature is Always Easier Since the late nineties, I have been developing software features and products. I recall being the one in the room making the suggestion for a brand-new, awesome feature that would attract more clients. It is always simpler to add a new feature than to market it. Since I work with software, it’s something I can manage. I am able to ascertain the personnel, architecture, and scope. I also have control over how the interface is designed. It’s not the same in terms of marketing. Yes, I have control over the copy and the creative, but I have no say over who sees it, when, where, or how they respond. You chose things you can control when you’re a control freak. Here’s What Damon Says This was stated on Twitter by my friend Damon. It is most definitely not a feature that can fix every issue if your revenue stays the same. Go ahead and use paid promotion, blog writing, cold outreach, and tweeting! Avoid writing code at all costs. 👊 — Chen Damon The funny thing about this is that I was just telling a friend of mine who lives in Europe about all the new features he was introducing during an early-morning phone call. He pointed out that I wasn’t as excited. “Do anything except adding a new feature.” More Meetings, Same Challenge Later in the day, I had more of the same encounters. A few of us gathered to discuss the innovative products we’ve developed but haven’t yet commercialized. Why? Because it takes effort to convey the right story. When I next visited with our LearnDash team, things remained mostly unchanged. Next week, a tonne of new features will be released. It’s fantastic. However, we have a tonne of features already, and we haven’t done a good job of telling their tales. So Here Is My Question to You My query for you is quite straightforward. Are you neglecting your marketing in favor of packing your product with additional features? Here’s what I recommend if it describes you. I take it that you’re already rather adept at sharing your clients’ stories? You do a wonderful job of introducing your new features as well. Just take a look at your editorial or blog schedule, and every eighth post, turn it into a promotional piece showcasing a feature that isn’t brand-new. One post every two weeks if you blog every day. Posting once a week equates to one post every two months. It won’t appear to be a consistent promotional dynamic either way. In any case, I advise you to develop the storytelling skills necessary to convey the tales of your elder characteristics, regardless of the time frame you decide on. You’ll be surprised to learn that many of your current clients will be unfamiliar with them.  

Have You Heard Me Talk About Product Roadmaps? I may have told you in a previous conversation that I would never provide a product roadmap. I reiterated the statement during a meeting today. It’s possible that you’ll conclude that I detest roadmaps, but that’s not accurate. It’s also possible that you believe that I believe a product plan should never be shared or published, albeit that is also partially untrue. Before we begin, there is a question we need to address. What Kind of Product Roadmap Are We Talking About? We must be clear about our intentions before posing a “do you” or “don’t you” question. Typically, when one discusses a roadmap, two elements come to mind:   A list of features Delivery dates of those features If you mean something like that when you talk about a product roadmap, then I would advise against sharing that kind of roadmap. Why do I advise against disclosing that information? I can personally attest to three of the following reasons: If your list doesn’t include their request, customer may become irate Giving clients the option to express their wishes to you is a terrific concept, but if that feature disappears off your roadmap, you may have a significant problem on your hands. It doesn’t take long for complaints, rage, irritation, and cancellations to surface. Competitors may anticipate your moves and outmanoeuvre you. It is never a good idea to tell your rivals where you are headed rather than where you have been. Product roadmaps are among the tools that seasoned rivals can use to guide their own efforts, much like job postings or available positions. . Prospects see something is in the future and delay their purchase A public roadmap’s objective is frequently to engage and entice new users to register. However, if your prospects determine that they’ll just come back later, it might occasionally work against you. keep in mind that this does not even account for the possibility of missing your date, which might occur and affect any of the above situations. What Kind of Roadmap Do I Suggest Publishing? Although I oppose the publication of characteristics and dates, I am amenable to something alternative. When I informed you about roadmap themes, you saw this picture. It isn’t precisely the same, is it? It appears to be a product roadmap, for sure. However, there are no dates listed. It is mostly a representation of quarters. There aren’t any features either. Rather, it presents topics. You can more clearly communicate your focus on upgrades, differentiators, and other things by using product roadmap themes. (You’re free to utilise themes I didn’t use.) However, it does not prepare you for those annoying dynamics mentioned earlier. So sure, I’m all for sharing it if you’re talking about a theme-based roadmap without any deadlines. nonetheless, it’s not your typical product roadmap. Those have the potential to harm you more than they do good, in my opinion.   That is, of course, the experience of one individual. Your mileage might be different. Roadmaps are a team sport, as I stated previously. Thus, involve your group and choose what is most effective for you.    

Is Your WordPress Site on Shared Hosting? You probably expect me to advise switching to managed hosting if you have a WordPress website hosted on shared hosting. However, I’m not. Today, I’d want to discuss a plugin that is, hands down, the simplest way to speed up your website. Well, that’s a hefty assertion. The simplest way to increase the speed of your shared hosting WordPress website. What is Cache? Customers can avoid waiting for the server to retrieve slow resources (like databases) by using caching (and caching plugins), which make copies of the content that is most frequently visited and store it for use in future requests. When a new visitor requests a page from your website, WordPress typically processes their request using PHP and SQL to assemble the content for the user to see. The HTML that was previously built is stored in a cache and is made accessible to subsequent requests. Response times become extremely quick as a result. Why Use a Caching Plugin? Why is using a caching plugin recommended? It’s easy. to make your website faster. One of the quickest ways to improve the speed at which your website loads is by caching, aside from image compression. Better Google page speed scores follow from this. It is sure to excite consumers and might even boost the ranking of your content in Google search results.   Most Caching Plugins Are Complex The problem with shared hosting is that the resources you can use are frequently restricted, and some cache plugins aren’t very reliable. The fact that caching plugins frequently have five to ten configuration pages full of settings you need to adjust in order for caching to function presents another difficulty. The issue with that is that you might not even be aware of what all the settings and choices do if you’re not an expert on caches. It’s been known that some plugins can slow down your website only because you configured it wrong.   If You’re On Shared Hosting, Here’s What You Need The WordPress repository contains an enormous number of caching plugins. But keep in mind that I promised to share the simplest one at the beginning of this essay. Recently, Surge was released by a seasoned WordPress developer. It’s free. It is fast. It works on shared hosting. It’s not the simplest way to speed up your WordPress website on shared hosting, though. That’s because there are absolutely no settings! As I’ve already mentioned, I love Nitro. It’s not free, though. It also contains settings; you can still access the settings page even if you choose to have only one option handle everything for you. Surge is not like that. You’re done after installing it and turning on the plugin. To make it function, there is nothing else you need to do. I think that’s quite remarkable.  

Difficult Conversations Aren’t About the Words I don’t know about you, but I get sweaty during tough talks. They aggravate me. However, I’ve encountered enough of them over the years to be aware of three things:   They’re going to happen. They’re never about the thing being discussed. You can actually get better at them.   What is is the first truth. However, it’s worthwhile to pause and investigate the second. That exchange when a client wants to dispute the charge because they don’t agree with it? Money is not the main concern. Money is never the main factor. They eventually started to feel ignored, undervalued, and irrelevant, which made them miserable. That’s the main idea here. Icy reaction or cold shoulder? It might have nothing to do with the previous exchange. Alternatively, it could have to do with recently found facts or a feeling that the truth was concealed. It’s rarely, if ever, about what you first believe it to be or what they claim it’s about. Fortunately, you can improve your ability to handle challenging interactions and avoid being frozen, locked up, or retreating within yourself. Pause on the Facts, Emotions are Key One fact that relates to what I said in my last paragraph is that most difficult talks don’t truly centre on the facts. We’d like to think so. Frequently, we rely on the facts in the hopes that they will support our position. However, facts have little to nothing to do with a difficult talk. It’s not simply about feelings. They are the main force. After all, it’s simple to assume good intent when there is no disagreement. It starts to be helpful when there is a real obstacle. And accepting that challenge means trying to emotionally connect in addition to assuming good intent. Did you try to walk in their shoes? Have you considered what might have actually injured them? And how examining the murkier side of the equation might help you earn respect and trust. Eliminate Blame and Embrace Narratives Working with clients in the agency business may lead to discussions about that latest bill. or the subsequent milestone payment. All of a sudden, you’re having a discussion about how your employees haven’t performed up to par. Most of us, of course, have anecdotes about all the missteps our clients have made. Now is not the moment to assign blame. Rather, concentrate on the aspect of their story that you can accept. More context is always helpful. The majority of circumstances are significantly more intricate than the short story we tell ourselves. So delve in and learn more about the background. This will assist you in converting your basic 2D representations of their “side” into accurate 3D representations of what transpired. Steve, my friend and Zeek’s owner, is really gracious about this. He will enter a meeting with one goal in mind: to comprehend the circumstances and any previously unknown portions of the narrative. He approaches with the working hypothesis that there’s more for him to learn, and then he uses that to serve his customers better. Remember, That You Can Improve at Tough Conversation My buddy Jennifer Bourn is one of my favourite people in the world because she’s had so many difficult talks. She stays out of their way. Similar to Steve, she approaches every encounter with the intention of improving rather than winning. The other day, we were discussing this in relation to agency owners and the difficult talks they must have—almost every day. I then made the decision to interview her. Additionally, you can register (it’s free) to hear me ask her all the hard questions regarding difficult talks and to receive access to the scripts she has prepared so you won’t be caught off guard. This Thursday is the webinar, titled “Why didn’t I think of that?” and it’s everything you, as an agency owner, wish you had known how to say when things became bad.    

There Are Two Kinds of People The tweet that reads, “If you bought something that’s normally $1,000 and you paid $750, you didn’t save $250, you spent $750,” is probably one you’ve seen. Perhaps now you wouldn’t use the $750. But you could be caught if we tamper with the numbers. Because the majority of us persuade ourselves to spend the 65% or 75% when we notice a significant discount (such as 25% or 35% off). Why? since we are inspired by the presentation. Not only does it grab our interest, but it also activates the neural pathway that persuades us to accept the offer. But here’s the catch. After reading everything, you might have said to yourself, “That stuff never tricks me.” You would also be correct. because different people have different motivations. There are some who are “away” and those who are “towards.” Either you’re driven towards a goal or you’re driven away from an outcome. Furthermore, since there are two types of people, it is unlikely that one presentation strategy will be accepted by all. How Can You Tell Who is Who? Consider yourself speaking with a potential client as a freelancer or agency owner. It’s conceivable that you’ll wonder, “How would you define success?” You take that action as a result of years of experience teaching you to always match your work to the objectives of your clients. However, it’s also possible that you’ve heard—and perhaps even internalized—that your prospect was an away person or an approach person. just by the way they responded to the query. Towards answers sound like this: We want to be the market leader We want to drive growth by double digits We want to eliminate the competition Away answers sound like this: We need greater efficiency in our ad spend (stop wasting money) We need to lower our attrition / churn (stop customers from walking away) I don’t want people putting us in that category (stop being compared to xx) You are being told where one individual wants to go. They’re heading in the right direction. The other is expressing to you what they hope to eradicate or cease to exist. They’re fleeing (thankfully) from something. One has the drive to accomplish something. The other is attempting to prevent anything from occurring. Why Is This So Important? This is significant for more than simply independent contractors and businesses that offer services to clients. It’s also intended for those in product marketing. since they desire interesting stuff for all users. It is a fact that each of us has a default perspective on things. Our internal strategy (towards or away) guides our thought process while creating new items. However, you’ll probably lose half of your audience if you let your marketing strategy dictate how you go about things. It Matters How You Say Things Assume you are discussing your recent achievements with someone or draughting case studies. They could be expressed as follows: 75% Year over Year (YoY) increase in traffic 15% Revenue increase YoY 50% Increase in Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) We would probably consider all those outcomes to be fantastic. However, some people can be wary of accepting whatever they see that seems to solely be positive. They may use greater caution. So how could you modify the same outcomes? Eliminated 80% of website performance issues (driving high traffic growth) Streamlined delivery process, driving 15% savings to the bottom line Reduced ineffective marketing channels (increasing ROAS by 50%) Though fashioned differently, the story is the same. That’s what I’m arguing today. There are two types of individuals. They have distinct ways of hearing and listening. You still have the ability to access both of them, though. All you have to do is master two distinct storytelling techniques.