Relationships are hard work. Two people making a life long commitment to each other, what could go wrong? Add kids to the mix and we're all doomed. 

We share a few of our experiences and thoughts on making the best go you can at marriage and parenting. We are not professionals. We are nominal parents. 

Perhaps one of the most important keys to parenting is realizing that you and your partner are different. You already knew this but nothing brings out what you love and hate about your partner like marriage and especially parenting. 

How we work through our differences is key to our long term success. How we disagree is more important than when we agree as the process of working through that is what makes us stronger. 

More videos HERE

We see the commercials where the individuals on screen are reported to be "real people," and surprisingly enough all real people in commercials are very complimentary of the product that they are really learning about and all of their responses are totally real? Take a peek at this commercial from Zebra Corner that is embedded in our article. 

"What is initial quality? Initially it's ok and then it's a piece of crap? Is that what you're saying here?" The commercial spoof both puts so many common practices on blast - the concept of ambiguous rewards that sound good, the sheep staring at a new gate positive responses to the message and method of revelation in commercials with real people and the lack of reality in the whole presentation. What is a reward for "initial quality"? As questioned by our protagonist, "Did you rent this whole building just to show off all the cars that you didn't sell?" There is so much that is funny about this commercial but much of the humor comes from someone simply asking the questions that we all are or should be asking. If your business is convincing people that you are the best, there may be an issue with your service or product. Billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks and gritty entrepreneur Mark Cuban writes in his e-book How To Win, "Rather than trying to convince people you are the best, let the quality of your work do the talking." Your messages should come from your vision and be an extension of your values, the most effective marketing or branding messages flow from who you are as an organization because they are authentic and will be supported throughout a client's interaction with your business. Too much time is spent on relevance that companies fail to just be relevant (read more about this HERE). 

​Connect. Collaborate. Conquer. 

Do people know your company exists? 

If the answer is no = you have a lot of work to do. A LOT. 

If the answer is maybe = smack yourself and refer to "If the answer is no." Being lazy will hurt you more than having bad ideas or taking risks. 

If the answer is yes = you still have a lot of work to do, but at least someone knows you are out there. 

The reality is simple, before anyone can or will do business with you they need to know you are in business (they need to know you exist).

Who are you? 

Sales is selling yourself first. Who are you? What do you bring to the universe or at least to the marketplace you are trying to serve? 

What is your business? 

Your business is an expression of you, it has a purpose, can you describe that purpose on the spot with as few words as are needed (get to the point). 

You know yourself and are confident in who you are + you understand your business and can explain it to others = you are prepared to make yourself and your business known. 

What problems are you trying to solve?

Whether you sell products or service, you are solving a problem or fulfilling a need in the universe, what is that for your business? How does your business alleviate a barrier, simplify a process or solve an issue in the marketplace? 

Who are the people that have the problems you are trying to solve? 

You know who you are, you can pitch your business quickly to anyone that wants to know and you know what problems you are working to solve, now it's time to find the people that would pay to have you assist them in those needs. One of the most effective questions in relationships and business is - how can I help? 

Identify those people and get yourself in front of them. Initially your only purpose is to establish that you exist. If you get the opportunity to discuss more than the fact that you exist, make sure you listen for needs that your potential customers share that you could potentially assist them with that they would potentially pay you for. 

Once potential is established move from the world of the possible into the world of business, the world where good work is affirmed with good dollars. 

Who are people that you don't want to work with?

Another important aspect of this phase of establishing existence is to identify those from your list of potential clients who fit into two key categories - A) those that you would like the opportunity to do business with and (just as important) B) those whom you do not want to do business with. While this listed of unwanted clients should not be a published list, it is an important distinction for long term successful working relationships. We want to be a company that people trust and we want to work with clients that we trust. Some relationships are not a good fit, that is fine they will find someone that is a good fit (maybe even with our help if we know someone that could work well with them). Some relationships are dangerous, these we want to avoid. 

There is no substitute for meeting people and sharing who you are and what your company does. Listen for opportunities. Observe those whom you do and do not want to do business with. 

Set a goal for how many people you will meet every day and build your book of business on introduction at a time. 

@iz_fnb