© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

Issue No. 20 May 22, 2013

Raising the Barr Weekly Memo: Know Thy Customer

Raising the Barr is a weekly memo, which is always pithy, powerful and succinct. It focuses on innovative ideas by maximizing your life and business while leveraging strategy, content, technology and the web, to help you transform the success.

This week’s reflection point: What would driving be like without my SiriusXM radio in the car? There is nothing like blasting the speakers, while cruising in my convertible and admiring the beautiful scenery of lush green around me. And that is where my story begins.

Last year I replaced my BMW with my new Maserati — a great move. I quickly called SiriusXM to inquire if they can transfer my plan from one car to another. They told me that I had to cancel my plan for the one car and start a new plan for the other. So I did.

Shortly thereafter, I started getting promotional mail from them offering substantial discounts to renew the plan for the car I returned. At one point, I called to let them know I no longer own that car and to see if they can apply the promotion to my new car. No such luck and apparently my call had no impact on their marketing plans and the offers kept coming for a car I no longer own.

As I was reflecting on this, it was obvious that SiriusXM made two mistakes. First, they should have used the opportunity, when I called, to inquire about my satisfaction and offer something else of value. It would have made me, as a consumer, feel great. Second, they should have updated their database to reflect the fact that I no longer own that other car and to stop wasting trees for their constant snail mail promotions. In fact, it would have been wise of them to use the opportunity to update my product and mail preferences in their system.

Are you leveraging your technology to store important information about your clients to improve the service and value you provide them? Are you updating it when necessary to reflect their true needs and preferences?

This week’s tip: When communicating with your customers, why not store important information about them in your easily accessible system?

You may subscribe and encourage others to subscribe by clicking here.

Privacy statement: Your email address is never shared with anyone for any reason.

Check out my podcast series called Raising the Barr on iTunes.

If you’d like to reach me email: chad@cbsoftware.com
or call my direct line: 440-394-8004
http://www.chadbarr.com

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

Issue No. 19 May 15, 2013

Raising the Barr Weekly Memo: Move The World

Raising the Barr is a weekly memo, which is always pithy, powerful and succinct. It focuses on innovative ideas by maximizing your life and business while leveraging strategy, content, technology and the web, to help you transform the success.

This week’s reflection point: For quite some time I have been suggesting that remarkable, provocative content is the critical aspect of one’s thought leadership. And to clarify, by content I mean, articles, position papers, audio books, booklets, eBooks, books, videos, audio recordings, teleseminars, webinars, workshops and so on. Content is the manifestation of your knowledge, experiences, track record of success, advice and wisdom, in a variety of offerings.

To achieve and increase success, the other dimension is the concept of leveraging the content. Leverage, is all about getting your audience to discover your content, consume or use it to improve their lives and businesses, to share it with others and request more of it.

I have created the visual below to further illustrate my point. If you are:

• Low on content and low on leverage, you may be perceived as an empty suit.
• Low on content and high on leverage, you may be perceived as an Impostor.
• High on content and low on leverage, you may actually be the best-kept secret out there.
• High on content and high on leverage, you are a thought leader or on your way to become one.

It was Archimedes who in 230 BC said: “Give me a lever long enough and a place to stand, and I will move the world.” Allow me to suggest that your remarkable content, leveraged well, can also move the world.

This week’s tip: If content is the king, provocative content is the ace. Leverage it well and you’ve got the winning hand.

You may subscribe and encourage others to subscribe by clicking here.

Privacy statement: Your email address is never shared with anyone for any reason.

Check out my podcast series called Raising the Barr on iTunes.

If you’d like to reach me email: chad@cbsoftware.com
or call my direct line: 440-394-8004
http://www.chadbarr.com

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

Issue No. 18 May 8, 2013

Raising the Barr Weekly Memo: Let Me See Your Calendar

Raising the Barr is a weekly memo, which is always pithy, powerful and succinct. It focuses on innovative ideas by maximizing your life and business while leveraging strategy, content, technology and the web, to help you transform the success.

This week’s reflection point: Of all the projects you wish you had accomplished and have not yet, how many have you placed on your calendar to execute?

When talking with many of my clients, we often discuss the projects they want to accomplish in the immediate future. These projects fall into several categories such as: writing a book, creating a teleseminar series, writing the content for the launch of the new web site, or creating a new offering, to name a few. Many of these projects have been on their radar for quite some time but have not yet been started. When I ask them to show me their calendar and where these projects are, a sheepish grin appears on their face and then the light bulb goes on.

The key realization I have observed is the lack of a system to help move these projects forward. The solution, I believe, is quite simple and straightforward.

My recommendation is that you take your top three priorities, break them into action steps and then place these steps on your calendar. That’s assuming that you are prepared to use your calendar as your digital accountability partner. Once on the calendar, you must commit to execute each.

This week’s tip: Calendars are not just for remembering birthdays and anniversaries. Leverage yours wisely.

You may subscribe and encourage others to subscribe by clicking here.

Privacy statement: Your email address is never shared with anyone for any reason.

Check out my podcast series called Raising the Barr on iTunes.

If you’d like to reach me email: chad@cbsoftware.com
or call my direct line: 440-394-8004
http://www.chadbarr.com

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

Issue No. 17 May 1, 2013

Raising the Barr Weekly Memo: Pick One

Raising the Barr is a weekly memo, which is always pithy, powerful and succinct. It focuses on innovative ideas by maximizing your life and business while leveraging strategy, content, technology and the web, to help you transform the success.

This week’s reflection point: I’d like to bring to your attention one of the most irritating Internet ploys, which pretends to position itself as a benefit to its members. I’ve been a member of LinkedIn, the business social networking platform, and for years have leveraged it to build genuine connections with colleagues and clients worldwide. Several moths ago I noticed a new trend through LinkedIn, which is their “endorsement” feature. Unlike testimonials, which increase our credibility and enable our clients to genuinely share their experience of working with us, endorsements enable others to “categorize” our areas of expertise.

Seems innocent, right? The fact is that such endorsements are coming from connections that have never done business with us and do not know us, or the quality of our work. So in sense, LinkedIn has created a feature that artificially boosts up our ranking, pretends to position us as experts and often in areas that have nothing to do with our core expertise.

This, like an amateur digital stamp collection is worthless.

This week’s tip: Beware: Not all shiny objects are as bright as they seem. Closer inspection is required.

You may subscribe and encourage others to subscribe by clicking here.

Privacy statement: Your email address is never shared with anyone for any reason.

Check out my podcast series called Raising the Barr on iTunes.

If you’d like to reach me email: chad@cbsoftware.com
or call my direct line: 440-394-8004
http://www.chadbarr.com

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

Issue No. 16 April 24, 2013

Raising the Barr Weekly Memo: Pick One

Raising the Barr is a weekly memo, which is always pithy, powerful and succinct. It focuses on innovative ideas by maximizing your life and business while leveraging strategy, content, technology and the web, to help you transform the success.

This week’s reflection point: Earlier this week I spent a day working in my studio with one of my clients on the creation of new video content. While taking a short break we talked about the value videos creation provides:

• It pushes you to formulate new content and advances your creative thinking process.
• It enables you to use a media that is not used by many.
• It helps you think quickly on your feet and prepares you to answer questions in front of buyers, in presentations and TV interviewers.
• It helps you create valuable content, which may be leveraged for a variety of purposes such as: strengthen pages on your site, in your newsletters, weekly or monthly video series, various products, promotions of eBooks, books and workshops, and online training to just name a few.
• It strengthens your thought leadership.

When done right and with the help of an expert, not only will you be able to create wold-class content, but you will be amazed of the content revealed inside you.

This week’s tip: Schedule your next video shoot, prepare your thoughts, bring your A game, and use an expert. The results will amaze you and your clients.

You may subscribe and encourage others to subscribe by clicking here.

Privacy statement: Your email address is never shared with anyone for any reason.

Check out my podcast series called Raising the Barr on iTunes.

If you’d like to reach me email: chad@cbsoftware.com
or call my direct line: 440-394-8004
http://www.chadbarr.com

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

Issue No. 15 April 17, 2013

Raising the Barr Weekly Memo: Pick One

Raising the Barr is a weekly memo, which is always pithy, powerful and succinct. It focuses on innovative ideas by maximizing your life and business while leveraging strategy, content, technology and the web, to help you transform the success.

This week’s reflection point: When talking with most of my clients, I’ve observed a key attribute that is both exciting yet alarming. They love to think big, be stimulated with new and innovative ideas, and even prepare to take action. However, they then get overwhelmed with what needs to get done or sidetracked by other new tasks and priorities. The sad part is that nothing gets done and the excitement is replaced with frustration.

I call this The Entrepreneur Addiction. This addiction is no different from other addictions. The solution to this phenomenon is rather simple. Pick One! That’s right, focus on selecting the single most important task, get it done and only then should you move to the next priority. But for goodness sake, do select one and get moving now.

This week’s tip: It should be quite obvious what this week’s tip is. That’s right, pick one and go do it.

You may subscribe and encourage others to subscribe by clicking here.

Privacy statement: Your email address is never shared with anyone for any reason.

Check out my podcast series called Raising the Barr on iTunes.

If you’d like to reach me email: chad@cbsoftware.com
or call my direct line: 440-394-8004
http://www.chadbarr.com

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

Issue No. 14 April 10, 2013

Raising the Barr Weekly Memo: The Magic Wand

Raising the Barr is a weekly memo, which is always pithy, powerful and succinct. It focuses on innovative ideas by maximizing your life and business while leveraging strategy, content, technology and the web, to help you transform the success.

This week’s reflection point: One of my favorite questions I often ask clients and myself is: “If you had a magic wand to change one thing, what would it be?”

The answer gets into the core issue or issues that one needs to review and change. Unfortunately, most do not ponder such question or take appropriate action once they figure it out.

Sadly, there are no magic wands. The magic happens when we take the time to seriously reflect and explore the elements of our life and business that need the magic touch.

This week’s tip: So let me ask you: “If you had the magic wand to change one thing, what would it be?” Write down your answer and let me then ask you: “when will you start?”

You may subscribe and encourage others to subscribe by clicking here.

Privacy statement: Your email address is never shared with anyone for any reason.

Check out my podcast series called Raising the Barr on iTunes.

If you’d like to reach me email: chad@cbsoftware.com
or call my direct line: 440-394-8004
http://www.chadbarr.com

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

Issue No. 13 April 3, 2013

Raising the Barr Weekly Memo: Time to Reenergize

Raising the Barr is a weekly memo, which is always pithy, powerful and succinct. It focuses on innovative ideas by maximizing your life and business while leveraging strategy, content, technology and the web, to help you transform the success.

This week’s reflection point: Spring is here!

I am looking outside my office window, admiring the beauty of nature and another seasonal rebirth. The sun is shining, the birds have returned looking for their food and there seems to be that buzz again in the air.

It was only a couple of weeks ago, when another snowstorm found its path thorough our region leaving us with much of that white stuff followed by several grey days. I remember driving around with my wife and suggesting that there is certain beauty in that as well.

When a client approves a project it always creates great energy within me. I use that energy as a springboard to immediately reach out to other clients and reinvigorate them. Even when a client rejects a proposal for a new project, it ignites the same kind of energy that I continue to use in a positive way and share my value with others.

I’ve come to realize that we have the ability to control what we allow into our mind that shapes our thoughts and emotions. Each day is a gift that holds great opportunities for us to discover. Unfortunately, too many of those I meet, struggle through their days and the challenges the day brings. Instead, why not wake up each morning with the mindset that this is going to be another “great day in paradise” and focus your energy on making it a reality.

This week’s tip: Whether an approval or a rejection from a client for a new project, immediately contact other clients and offer them your incredible value. Positive energy is infectious; spread it around to achieve great results.

You may subscribe and encourage others to subscribe by clicking here.

Privacy statement: Your email address is never shared with anyone for any reason.

Check out my podcast series called Raising the Barr on iTunes.

If you’d like to reach me email: chad@cbsoftware.com
or call my direct line: 440-394-8004
http://www.chadbarr.com

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

Issue No. 12 March 27, 2013

Raising the Barr Weekly Memo: Enslaved to What?

Raising the Barr is a weekly memo, which is always pithy, powerful and succinct. It focuses on innovative ideas by maximizing your life and business while leveraging strategy, content, technology and the web, to help you transform the success.

This week’s reflection point: Monday morning, my wife and I were on our way to Orlando to celebrate the holiday of Passover with our children and grandchildren. These last two nights, along with families and friends all over the world, the story of the Hebrews’ exodus from Egypt was told in many languages, in dining rooms everywhere, just as it has for centuries.

While we are celebrating our freedom from Egyptian bondage and servitude, we were commanded to do so among guests, strangers, Jews and gentiles. We were instructed to let all who are hungry come and eat. At a time when so many of us enjoy luxuries as we fill our physical selves with delicacies, we are reminded that there are so many for which their next meal isn’t going to happen at any certain hour on the clock. For them, hunger is real, not a mid afternoon stomach growl as we reach for a snickers bar.

While we are celebrating our release from servitude from hard labor in the land of Egypt thousands of years ago, today, so many are still enslaved in other ways. Freedom is not always a choice but often we have constructive ways in which we can become disentangled from that which holds us captive.

As we were reflecting we started to discuss what we may be enslaved to and on the other hand how fortunate we are to have the choices of freedom.

To what are we enslaved?

• Money or material wealth?
• Poor choices regarding our health?
• Physical or emotional pain?
• Unhealthy relationships?
• Technology and the Internet?
• Finances?

We have the freedom to:

• Make our own choices.
• Spend time with people we love.
• Choose the clients we love to work with.
• Elect our government.
• Travel globally.

It was only two thousand years ago when Moses summoned up the courage and stood before Pharaoh and demanded: “Let my people go!” Are there things in your life that you are subjugated to and therefore should let go?

This week’s tip: Summon up your courage and pick out one item that by this time next year you are no longer enslaved to. I already have.

You may subscribe and encourage others to subscribe by clicking here.

Privacy statement: Your email address is never shared with anyone for any reason.

Check out my podcast series called Raising the Barr on iTunes.

If you’d like to reach me email: chad@cbsoftware.com
or call my direct line: 440-394-8004
http://www.chadbarr.com

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

Issue No. 11 March 20, 2013

Raising the Barr Weekly Memo: Capture Their Bragging

Raising the Barr is a weekly memo, which is always pithy, powerful and succinct. It focuses on innovative ideas by maximizing your life and business while leveraging strategy, content, technology and the web, to help you transform the success.

This week’s reflection point: One of the most convincing and effective ways of influencing others to do business with you, is to demonstrate the great results of your work and credibility, through the use of client testimonials. If you were to tell your prospective clients how great you are, they may perceive it as fluff, boasting or lack of humility. Yet if your clients were to share how they have successfully benefited from your work, that’s substantiated proof.

The best time to ask for testimonials is when your clients brag about results achieved by virtue of working with you. I also suggest you remind them at times of successes they’ve achieved from using your advice. And of course another great opportunity to ask for a testimonial is during your speaking presentations.

Keep the testimonials pithy and focused on results achieved. I also suggest you use them in text, video and audio which can also be transcribed. I realize that getting video testimonials may be slightly challenging due to distance, but technology such as Skype and other similar applications have made it much easier.

Here is an example of a testimonial request I use: “Thank you for sharing your recent success with me. It would be quite meaningful to me if you’d be willing to provide me with a testimonial that describes the impact on your business of our work together.” Also, and during my speaking engagements, I often like offering my book to those who are willing to share their key take-aways on video after my presentation.

As far as your web site and blog are concerned, I suggest you incorporate these testimonials on dedicated written and video testimonial pages. Also insert them on your various pages and feature them both in the body of the page and its margin. Present the best on your home page by rotating them with different clients. Showcase them in your newsletters and on your blog and your products. The applications are limitless.

I realize that if we don’t ask, the answer is always no. So if I may, I would greatly appreciate if you’d be willing to email me your testimonial about this newsletter and the value you receive. And you may even want to brag a bit. It never hurts. Thank You!

Chad

This week’s tip: Don’t walk, run, and go and get YOUR client testimonials, now!

You may subscribe and encourage others to subscribe by clicking here.

Privacy statement: Your email address is never shared with anyone for any reason.

Check out my podcast series called Raising the Barr on iTunes.

If you’d like to reach me email: chad@cbsoftware.com
or call my direct line: 440-394-8004
http://www.chadbarr.com

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

(3:50)
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© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

Issue No. 10 March 13, 2013

Raising the Barr Weekly Memo: What Matters Most

Raising the Barr is a weekly memo, which is always pithy, powerful and succinct. It focuses on innovative ideas by maximizing your life and business while leveraging strategy, content, technology and the web, to help you transform the success.

This week’s reflection point: Two weeks ago, while attending the Growth Circle, an extraordinary developmental experience with Alan Weiss and nine of my trusted global colleagues in Naples, Florida, I received an anxious call from my niece in Israel. She reported that my father had just suffered a brain aneurysm, was in a coma and was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery.

I boarded a plane to Israel and 26 hours later I arrived to his nursing home to see him and comfort him. I just returned from my rushed visit with him and my family and here a few of my reflections that may resonate with you as well:

• Life is precious and fragile. Whether it is a family member, a friend or a client, have you seized the moment and reached out to them now?
• Family and friends are our core support system. Are you nurturing yours?
• Technology is the great enabler. While traveling, I was able to stay in touch with my family back home, friends and family in Israel, my clients and my team. We often forget how valuable our technology is. Is yours the latest and most up to date?
• Life often takes control of us instead of us taking control of life. What steps can you take to gain control of what matters most?

I am glad to report that my dad is stable and is out of the coma. Sadly, he has lost a lot of his cognitive and physical abilities. Needless to say, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to spend time with him, valuable time, that we often forget to create unless an emergency arises.

This week’s tip: Make time for the most important things in life, especially family and friends; so you don’t end up wishing you had.

You may subscribe and encourage others to subscribe by clicking here.

Privacy statement: Your email address is never shared with anyone for any reason.

Check out my podcast series called Raising the Barr on iTunes.

If you’d like to reach me email: chad@cbsoftware.com
or call my direct line: 440-394-8004
http://www.chadbarr.com

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

Issue No. 9 March 6, 2013

Raising the Barr Weekly Memo: Delight Your Customers

Raising the Barr is a weekly memo, which is always pithy, powerful and succinct. It focuses on innovative ideas by maximizing your life and business while leveraging strategy, content, technology and the web, to help you transform the success.

This week’s reflection point: We all want loyal clients that are exciting to partner with and are a pleasure to work with. It is apparent to me that the key to attracting such clients depends on our ability to thrill them. Here are some of my ideas on how to delight your clients:

• Deliver as promised. Have you delivered what you promised from the start and along the way?
• Provide them with ongoing value, do something unexpected and raise the bar when possible. Why not share your best practices with them and offer your existing clients your best prices? Consider inviting them to a special event to improve their business or conduct a year-end business growth strategy session.
• Be responsive. How quick are you addressing their ongoing and evolving needs?
• Strengthen your trusting relationships. Are you recommending what’s in their best interest?
• Challenge them. Are you coaching them to push the envelope while pushing your own?
• Send them business. Help them increase their business by suggesting new potential clients.
• Help them achieve dramatic results. Be an integral part of your client’s team and help them reach the dramatic outcomes and results they desire.

I suggest that following this list is not as easy as it looks. But doing so will gain clients for life, which in turn, will enrich you, your business and help create and strengthen some amazing friendships.

This week’s tip: Contact each of your clients and provide them with one new idea that will immediately help them grow.

You may subscribe and encourage others to subscribe by clicking here.

Privacy statement: Your email address is never shared with anyone for any reason.

Check out my podcast series called Raising the Barr on iTunes.

If you’d like to reach me email: chad@cbsoftware.com
or call my direct line: 440-394-8004
http://www.chadbarr.com

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

(39:35)
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© Chad Barr 2013. All rights reserved

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

Issue No. 8 February 27, 2013

Raising the Barr Weekly Memo: Collective Wisdom

Raising the Barr is a weekly memo, which is always pithy, powerful and succinct. It focuses on innovative ideas by maximizing your life and business while leveraging strategy, content, technology and the web, to help you transform the success.

This week’s reflection point: I am here in Naples, Florida, spending a couple of days with a group of 10 successful business colleagues from around the world. While here, we examine our businesses, share best practices, brainstorm and challenge ourselves to improve our lives, businesses and of course, that of our clients. Remarkable things take place when a group of smart people gets together and each raises the bar for the rest.

Here are a few of the concepts we discussed yesterday:

• Create a powerful, captivating and irresistible first impression message that you may use in discussions with clients and prospective clients. Mine may be that rather than focusing on your web site first, the most successful have outlined their business and Internet strategy first, then identified what their remarkable content should look like. Then, start focusing on their site as one of the platforms to engage their customers.
• To create these powerful impressions, provoke with value, support with visuals, push back on conventional thinking and clarify with metaphors.
• This may sound obvious but to reduce labor intensity, stop doing so much. A high percentage of projects’ labor intensity is for us and not for the clients.
• Create a scarcity mindset. It is ok to be hard to get. Clients prefer to with highly successful people who are experts in high demand.
• Create unique assessments around your brand that become the baseline to measuring and improving success in your area of expertise. This assessment will enable your clients to measure themselves and determine where they are in comparison to others and chart their way to improved success.

I have come to realize that surrounding myself with extremely successful and exciting people enables me to stimulate my thinking, become a better businessman, and improve myself, which translates into improving my clients.

Show me your friends and I will tell you who you are.

This week’s tip: Why not start by approaching a few individuals you admire and create a mastermind group that meets with regularity, challenges the members of the group and holds each other accountable?

You may subscribe and encourage others to subscribe by clicking here.

Privacy statement: Your email address is never shared with anyone for any reason.

Check out my podcast series called Raising the Barr on iTunes.

If you’d like to reach me email: chad@cbsoftware.com
or call my direct line: 440-394-8004
http://www.chadbarr.com

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

(1:02:26)
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© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

Issue No. 7 February 20, 2013

Raising the Barr Weekly Memo: You Look Marvelous

Raising the Barr is a weekly memo, which is always pithy, powerful and succinct. It focuses on innovative ideas by maximizing your life and business while leveraging strategy, content, technology and the web, to help you transform the success.

This week’s reflection point: Attractive book covers get people to open them and glance inside. The same applies to your web site. Attractive, professional and intriguing home pages do the same, which is why I recommend that my clients position them and make them look as world-class as possible.

In my previous Get Noticed! memo, I discussed the importance of your interior pages since many visits to your site may actually start there. However, assuming your visitor gets to your home page sooner or later, ask yourself the following. Does it:

• Come across as professional, world-class and represent a wow factor?
• Let the visitor clearly know what you do in a few seconds?
• Intrigue the visitor to stick around a bit longer, learn more and perhaps even interact with you?
• Offer easy ways to contact you?
• Contain strong calls to action?
• Provide the visitor with ways to access high value and address what is in it for them?

Remember Billy Crystal’s “You Look Marvelous” line? Would your visitor say the same about your site?

This week’s tip: Review your home page and while you are at it, your interior pages, and make sure they follow the bullet points above.

You may subscribe and encourage others to subscribe by clicking here.

Privacy statement: Your email address is never shared with anyone for any reason.

Check out my podcast series called Raising the Barr on iTunes.

If you’d like to reach me email: chad@cbsoftware.com
or call my direct line: 440-394-8004
http://www.chadbarr.com

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

(4:28)
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© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

Issue No. 6 February 13, 2013

Raising the Barr Weekly Memo: The Cost of Doing Nothing

Raising the Barr is a weekly memo, which is always pithy, powerful and succinct. It focuses on innovative ideas by maximizing your life and business while leveraging strategy, content, technology and the web, to help you transform the success.

This week’s reflection point: Every once in a while I come across a colleague or a prospective client who is interested in implementing a new business idea. Some examples are: hiring a mentor, starting a speaking career, implementing a new web strategy, or writing a book. After an enthusiastic conversation, they seem to go into mental hibernation.

I acknowledge that when it comes to key decisions, we all have to set the proper priorities. However, in follow up conversations, it often becomes apparent to me that these individuals are getting ready to get ready. Unfortunately, they rarely are.

So whether missed opportunities, exciting new growth directions, strengthening your thought leadership, increased revenues and profits, and reaching out more of your clients with value, what is it costing your business to do nothing?

This week’s tip: Evaluate your dormant opportunities and select the one that represents the highest potential to impact your success. Then go and start executing and bring it to fruition.

You may subscribe and encourage others to subscribe by clicking here.

Privacy statement: Your email address is never shared with anyone for any reason.

Check out my podcast series called Raising the Barr on iTunes.

If you’d like to reach me email: chad@cbsoftware.com
or call my direct line: 440-394-8004
http://www.chadbarr.com

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

(26:38)
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© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

Issue No. 5 February 6, 2013

Raising the Barr Weekly Memo: Targeted Value

Raising the Barr is a weekly memo, which is always pithy, powerful and succinct. It focuses on innovative ideas by maximizing your life and business while leveraging strategy, content, technology and the web, to help you transform the success.

This week’s reflection point: What would your reaction be if you got the following note via email? “During our last conversation, you shared with me that your key challenge is how to grow your business and thrive rather than simply survive. Hoping it is of great value to you, I am attaching an article that discusses the top 9 pragmatic ways to significantly grow your business. I would love to get your feedback on this and share two other ideas that may be of help to you. How about Thursday at 10AM?”

When it comes to my clients, the reaction to such an email from me is always positive and often leads to a stimulating conversation that may even lead to business. However, I would qualify that the intent here is to engage in genuine conversations that help the client and not to position this as marketing or selling calls.

I encourage you to do the same with your clients.

This week’s tip: Select three of your clients and “touch” them with genuine and helpful value.

And here is my gift to you, the reader of this weekly memo.

You may subscribe and encourage others to subscribe by clicking here.

Privacy statement: Your email address is never shared with anyone for any reason.

Check out my podcast series called Raising the Barr on iTunes.

If you’d like to reach me email: chad@cbsoftware.com
or call my direct line: 440-394-8004
http://www.chadbarr.com

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

• When given the opportunity and logistically possible, invite your clients to your videographer’s studio.
• During speaking engagements offer a copy of your book for those willing to give you a video testimonial. If you brought a videographer with you, have them do it, otherwise an iphone or such device is just fine.
• During meetings with clients ask for video testimonials and use an iPhone or such.
• Use Skype to do this or have someone else do it for you.

And when this magic moment takes place, make sure it is short and the focus is on the impact you have provided their business and life.

© Chad Barr 2013. All rights reserved

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1. What is/are your biggest take-away(s) from today’s conversation?
2. What action will you commit to taking after this call?
3. Let’s open our calendars right now and schedule our next follow-up call.

© Chad Barr 2013. All rights reserved

© Chad Barr 2013. All rights reserved

Issue No. 4 January 30, 2013

Raising the Barr Weekly Memo: Get Noticed!

Raising the Barr is a weekly memo, which is always pithy, powerful and succinct. It focuses on innovative ideas by maximizing your life and business while leveraging strategy, content, technology and the web, to help you transform the success.

This week’s reflection point: How often do you look at individuals and make an opinion about them in the first seven seconds or less? How often do you browse new books and select one based on its cover? According to Roger Ailes, who was a media consultant to republican presidents Nixon, Reagan and Bush, it only takes seven seconds for such an opinion to be formulated. I would like to suggest that your web presence and the impression it creates are no different. That’s right, seven seconds or less for your visitor to decide whether to stick around or possibly be gone forever.

Your visitors may enter your site by first visiting your home page. Yet, what complicates this further, is the fact that the entry point for many may not be your home page. Let me explain. Some may discover one of your YouTube videos and when clicking on one of the links you have provided, may end up on your blog. Others may enter your site through one of your articles or other product pages when forwarded a copy by a colleague, or stumble upon it through a web search.

To help you gain immediate attention and significantly strengthen your brand effectiveness and its influence, I’ve created the GET NOTICED acronym. The components are as follows:

Gravity. What are the effective marketing activities that you should engage in to attract visitors to you? Some examples may be: your blog, speaking engagements, videos on YouTube and breakfast business meetings.

Enhance. Do you provide significant and irresistible value to positively impact your visitor’s life and business? These could be how-to tips, checklists, and discussions with provoking and interesting experts.

Thought Leadership. What are the distinct or breakthrough ideas you have that position you as a sought after, successful thinker and leader? How are you communicating such ideas to demonstrate your consistent track record of success with many raving fans?

New. When was the last time you updated your web site or blog? Do you often share innovative ideas that demonstrate your new thinking or are you possibly coming across as stagnant or complacent?

Offerings. Does your site communicate a variety of products and services that are complemented by vast and remarkable content and effective language?

Tactics. Have you developed a roadmap to follow that contains the action steps you need to execute to implement your business and Internet strategy? For example: your monthly and weekly newsletters, biweekly videos and podcasts and monthly webinars.

International. Have you positioned yourself for global reach through agility that enables you to eliminate borders and operate globally? Some ideas may be video conferencing tools such as Skype, live streaming of events or creating global communities.

Constructive. Is your mindset that of serving a useful purpose and helping as many as possible or that of increasing revenues quickly? Use the former and thrive or the latter and barely survive.

Expert. Does your site position you as an expert in your field while clearly communicating such expertise? Does it demonstrate why you stand out above the crowd?

Design. Is your web presence coming across as a world-class “wow” factor with the utmost professionalism?

Since first impression is critical, what does your web presence say about you in the first few seconds? Do you come across as a nonprofessional or a respected and affluent thinker? Do they think of you as an amateur or a class act? Are they intrigued to explore further or exit and disappear?

That is why I say: “show me your web presence and I’ll tell you who you are.”
Since your web presence is a manifestation of who you are, step it up and get noticed!

This week’s tip: Listen to 11 Tips for Creating Provocative Content and select one technique you can use today.

You may subscribe and encourage others to subscribe by clicking here.

Privacy statement: Your email address is never shared with anyone for any reason.

Check out my podcast series called Raising the Barr on iTunes.

If you’d like to reach me email: chad@cbsoftware.com
or call my direct line: 440-394-8004
http://www.chadbarr.com

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

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© Chad Barr 2013. All rights reserved

And here is what Lisa had to say about us:

Click on our portfolio page collection to view other sites and strategies we have created.

Issue No. 3 January 23, 2013

Raising the Barr Weekly Memo: Are You Content With Your Content?

Raising the Barr is a weekly memo, which is always pithy, powerful and succinct. It focuses on innovative ideas by maximizing your life and business while leveraging strategy, content, technology and the web, to help you transform the success.

This week’s reflection point: While attending a stimulating business development meeting recently, all of us around the table were discussing ideas and routes to improve each other’s business and life. Some perhaps more animated and even passionate than others. It occurred to me that not all entrepreneurs are committed to their business growth or their intellectual property development. They are simply content with where they are.

Although I don’t like to pass judgment on others, (I guess I am about to start), and respect people’s choices, this has never made sense to me. If one of the objectives of becoming an entrepreneur is to help improve our clients’ lives and businesses, how could we do that without demonstrating consistent improvement in ours? And if you buy into my argument, how can one do that without communicating these improvement ideas through their creation of content such as articles, podcasts, videos booklets, books and more?

So are you content with your content? The answer to this question may be as profound as the difference between surviving and thriving!

This week’s tip: Ask your clients to share with you their top three challenges. Then create content that addresses these challenges with ideas on how to resolve them.

You may subscribe and encourage others to subscribe by clicking here.

Privacy statement: Your email address is never shared with anyone for any reason.

Check out my podcast series called Raising the Barr on iTunes.

If you’d like to reach me email: chad@cbsoftware.com
or call my direct line: 440-394-8004
http://www.chadbarr.com

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

And the reasons I am sharing this:

1. Illustrate the power of the social media platforms to create powerful genuine connections.
2. Give a shout out to Michael, a great guy with great valuable offerings.
3. The importance of “giving.”
4. Demonstrate the power of an unsolicited video testimonial:

(4:25)
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© Chad Barr 2013. All rights reserved

© Chad Barr 2013. All rights reserved

Issue No. 2 January 16, 2013

Raising the Barr Weekly Memo: Silence is not golden

Raising the Barr is a weekly memo, which is always pithy, powerful and succinct. It focuses on innovative ideas by maximizing your life and business while leveraging strategy, content, technology and the web, to help you transform the success.

This week’s reflection point: Do you remember the song Silence is Golden by the British group the Tremeloes? I am a bit apprehensive asking you this question out of fear that it may reveal my age. Although I acknowledge that there is a place for silence, I would like to suggest that the last place you want to consider going silent is in the creation of your content.

Several months ago, I was introduced to a successful entrepreneur, which led to several fascinating conversations. To my pleasant surprise, I realized that I had read one of his books that describes how to uncover great ideas simply by writing. Looking to learn more from him, I clicked on his site and then his blog. Oh boy! His last entry was from almost two years ago.

Unfortunately, I run into this situation with several of my clients as well. They are all thrilled to have us help them implement a new blog where they plan on sharing their ideas and wisdom with their clients. A fabulous start demonstrating their newfound journalist spirit is often replaced with writer’s block and then an empty blog.

When you go silent, what does that say about you? Are you no longer golden?

This week’s tip: Make an immediate commitment to look around you and pick out one thing that piques your curiosity. Then draw a business analogy or conclusion and write about it. Speak up, don’t be silent.

You may subscribe and encourage others to subscribe by clicking here.

Privacy statement: Your email address is never shared with anyone for any reason.

Check out my podcast series called Raising the Barr on iTunes.

If you’d like to reach me email: chad@cbsoftware.com
or call my direct line: 440-394-8004
http://www.chadbarr.com

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

(3:25)
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© Chad Barr 2013. All rights reserved

• Don’t entrepreneurs eliminate trivial tasks and decisions that are taking them off their goals? Because it’s easier and it takes commitment and discipline to focus on their goal.
• Is common-sense so uncommon? Because perhaps it is an innate trait that can not be learned or taught.
• Do so many so-called thought leaders and thinkers mostly quote others rather than develop their own unique quotes? Because it is the easy and lazy thing to do.
• Do I have to enter my name and email address when a social media connection offers me their so-called “free” gift? Because their true intent is to add me to their contacts database.
• Aren’t they doing something special for me and my guests when my restaurant reservation is delayed? Because it is cheaper and they don’t understand customer-focused mindset.
• Would a successful client email me that she is emailing her assistant to schedule our meeting, which then almost took a week to schedule rather than look at her calendar and schedule the meeting right there and then? Because she needs to justify the existent of her assistant and have not realized the bureaucracy she has created.
• Are some afraid to pick up the phone and call a prospective client? Because of their lack of self-esteem and strong belief in the value they provide.
• Do some professional speakers tell stories that are way too long, are self-serving and provide no value? Because they are egocentric and oblivious to their impact on others or actually lack of.
• Do some blame everyone and everything for their lack of success rather than pause for a moment and get introduced to the person in the mirror? Because they first need to create success for others before they can create success for themselves.

What are the questions you are pondering?

© Chad Barr 2013. All rights reserved

© Chad Barr 2013. All rights reserved

Issue No. 1 January 9, 2013

Raising the Barr Weekly Memo: The Big Bang

Raising the Barr is a weekly memo, which is always pithy, powerful and succinct. It focuses on innovative ideas by maximizing your life and business while leveraging strategy, content, technology and the web, to help you transform the success.

This week’s reflection point: Happy New Year! Have you started your year with a bang? Newton’s law states that objects at rest tend to stay at rest while objects in motion tend to remain in motion. The most positive impact you may have to your life and business is to develop your marketing plan and put it immediately into action or motion. I would actually recommend that you break your plan into weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly marketing tasks and accomplishments. Each weekend set up the time on your schedule to review the prior week accomplishments, what has worked and what has not. Make the necessary adjustment and then verify that your commitments to next week are all set. This plan needs be organic in order to take advantage of opportunities or remove items that do not make sense any longer. So is your plan in motion? Do so, and you are sure to start your year with a bang and perhaps have it become your best ever.

This week’s tip: Make sure your calendar is sacrosanct. Once you place an item on your calendar it must be executed.

You may subscribe and encourage others to subscribe by clicking here.

Privacy statement: Your email address is never shared with anyone for any reason.

Check out my podcast series called Raising the Barr on iTunes.

If you’d like to reach me email: chad@cbsoftware.com
or call my direct line: 440-394-8004
http://www.chadbarr.com

© Chad Barr 2013. All Rights Reserved.

(2:45)
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© Chad Barr 2013. All rights reserved
 

© Chad Barr 2013. All rights reserved

Alan Weiss and Chad Barr will be joining Mitch Jackson on Spreecast to talk about their new book “Million Dollar Web Presence- Leverage The Web To Build Your Brand and Transform Your Business”.

According to the New York Post, Alan is “One of the most highly respected independent consultants in the country.” He is one of those rare people who can say he is a consultant, speaker and author and mean it. His consulting firm, Summit Consulting Group, Inc. has attracted clients such as Merck, Hewlett-Packard, GE, Mercedes-Benz, State Street Corporation, Times Mirror Group, The Federal Reserve, The New York Times Corporation, and over 500 other leading organizations. You can learn more about Alan at  http://www.summitconsulting.com/

Chad is the founder of CB Software Systems, Inc. and The Chad Barr Group was/is a software developer and consultant to many different global organizations and industries. Chad also happens to be the international technology genius who is responsible for Alan’s many sites, blogs, and forums. You can learn more about Chad at http://www.chadbarr.com/

Make sure to RSVP for this FREE Spreecast. The date is January 3, 2013. The time is 11am PST (2pm ET). Details at http://www.spreecast.com/events/million-dollar-web-presence

So why not start your year with the ultimate motion which is your commitment to execution? What are the top three things you are committed to take action on this month?

Happy New Year!

© Chad Barr 2013. All rights reserved

For the past several weeks and over the next few week, I am working with my clients to help them create their own roadmap. I am also glad to report that I have put myself through the same process that I am putting my clients through. The outcome and insights have been absolutely remarkable.

Here are some of the questions I have been exploring with my clients:

1. Review this past year. Come up with a list of what has worked and what has not and why? What are your biggest accomplishments and your key learning?
2. Identify your buyers and their geography (regional, domestic, international). What do they read, listen to, watch and attend? How can you best reach and attract them to you?
3. What’s your value proposition? (How is your client better off by virtue of working with you?) What is the (remarkable) value you offer your clients?
4. Next year, at this time, how would you paint a picture of that amazingly successful future? What does that future look like? You are also about to receive an award for your remarkable accomplishments. What would that award be for and what are these accomplishments?
5. Review the marketing gravity visual and make a list of the items you need to implement next year that will push you to think bigger, provide outstanding value to your clients and reward you.
6. What is necessary to (significantly) strengthen your thought leadership?
7. What does your marketing blueprint / action plan look like? Break it down into weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly action plans that are bold yet realistic.
8. How will you hold yourself accountable?

Here is to a healthy, successful, prosperous and rewarding year. A year of peace.

All the best,

Chad

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

• Create powerful relationships with other thought leaders.
• Attract thoughts leaders and those on their way to achieve that status or as I would call thought leaders -1.
• Have my next book accepted by a publisher.
• Strengthen my local exposure, brand and social media exposure.
• Increase my being quoted by others (bloggers, media).
• Delegate whatever possible and leverage our great team.
• Reduce my labor intensity (discard, delegate, take action, schedule).
• Move 3 key projects or goals consistently forward.
• Hold my calendar sacrosanct.
• Remove debt.
• Generate key successes with marketing gravity.
• Commit to execution.
• Reinvent myself and my clients.
• Increase my prolific publishing of great content.
• Engage speaking gigs (1 – 2 per month).
• Increase our marketing efforts.
• Improve life balance, health and exercise.
• Improve responsiveness.
• Read a book a week.
• Reach inbox zero.
• Stay focused on our strategy and implementation.

How about you? Would you share your list with us?

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

• The audience to listen to you only and not interact with you.
• To allow audience interaction, and there is a very small group of people (say 10), and they all use landlines, and they know how to keep a quite surroundings. Otherwise there is way too much noise during such interactions. And if the group is large, just forget it.

Use a webinar when you want:

• The audience participation and you have a large group of people (say more than 10).
• To show images during your presentation. You may show a process visual, or a photo or even use drawing technology to draw one on the fly just as one does in workshops on the flip chart.
• To conduct quick polls during your webinar to gauge the audience.
• To video stream yourself (real time) so people can actually watch you just as they may watch you on Skype.

Use a live video streaming when you want:

• To simulate a live workshop with live global attendees.

Finally, and when it comes to webinars, you could try and facilitate yourself but I would encourage you to have someone else facilitate for you. This way you can focus on your content and delivery and let your facilitator handle the behind the scenes work.

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

Are you relentless in giving away good stuff? You should be, according to Chad Barr. Chad creates software and internet solutions to help businesses find online success.

Chad is soft spoken, low key and modest. But when he spoke at the CAPS convention, everyone paid close attention. And his workshop was jammed. Here are just some of his tips:

• Get an iTunes channel. iTunes is quickly becoming the largest repository for content. Put your podcasts on it
• Get a Youtube Chanel. Put your videos on it.
• Build your database. Get it up into the thousands.
• Be consistent and relentless in putting out free content through videos, blogs, newsletters, books, CDs, podcasts, webinars, teleseminars.

Online marketing expert Chad Barr with Halina St James

Barr says we should stay current by packaging some of our material in video books. After you’ve written an eBook, insert clickable video segments in the table of contents. When the client clicks the chapter heading, they see a video with you explaining what they’re about to read. Barr suggests making a couple of the chapter videos free to encourage people to buy the rest of the book. Of course, you can also insert videos into the body of the book.

Barr says we should always remember content is king on a website. But we need to remember that people consume information in different formats. So give them great content, repurpose it into different formats and let them choose their delivery method.

© Halina St. James 2012. All rights reserved

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

• Negative titles are a great way to grab attention. For example: “5 ways to guarantee your business is eliminated in 12 months or less!” or “Why is your marketing plan extinct as the dinosaurs?” I suggest you use these at times.
• Select a key question your clients are asking you and then start you paragraph with: “The last thing you want to do is….” So for example, if a client ask me how to select the right web master, my answer would be: “The last thing you want to do is select a web master. What you need to consider doing is choosing an Internet business strategist. Here are the key distinctions….”
• Another option is to start with: “This may be counterintuitive yet….” So, in order to be somewhat contrarian and when someone asks me about overcoming writer’s block, I would respond by saying: “This may be counterintuitive but the best way to overcome writer’s block is to actually sit down and start writing!”
• One of my favorite ways to respond when someone asks me about developing a web site is to say: “You are thinking about thus completely wrong. Rather than thinking about creating a web site what you need to start focusing on is how to develop your ultimate repository of great and remarkable content. Your web site then is one of the vehicles (among others) to drive and engage your content to and with your audience.”
• Select a company you respect that you would like to partner with and then create a piece of content that discusses what they do great as well as your thoughts on what they can do better to further improve dramatically.
• Similarly, pick out an article from a respected and established publication, such as the wall street journal or business week, and then provide additional ideas to improve further.
• Create a reverse logic. So for example instead of talking about how to drive your products to your clients, why not describe how to drive your clients to your products.
• Name your products, services and your models in a unique way that grabs attention. For example: “The Internet Strategic Profile” or “Digital Empire Creation” and so on.

So there you go. One more step to strengthen your thought leadership. You now have the tools to start creating your provocative content. And when you do, please share your provocative soundbites here.

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

Consumers consume content in a variety of formats. Some like to read, others prefer to listen while some enjoy watching. I would actually like to suggest that one may prefer all three methods at different times.

So with platforms such as Google (many others exist) available for years now, while audio and video technologies becoming omnipresent and economical, there should be no excuse for you not to incorporate such on your site and as part of your Internet strategy.

And while you are at it, keep them succinct, valuable and get to your points quickly.

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

So here are my recommendations whether you are a speaker on or off the stage, or perhaps simply speaking to your prospects or clients:

1. Get to the point quickly.
2. Tell stories that would help illustrate or substantiate your point.
3. Engage the audience with thought provoking ideas and questions.
4. Provide value that would greatly help the recipient.
5. Create a message that mobilize them to take action.

And by the way, asking the “how many of you have been to ….” type question, is a lazy way to engage an audience.

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

Information about my presentation and the great lineup of speakers at this event.

My Keynote: Million Dollar Web Presence

My breakout session: Building Your Digital Empire

1. Be willing to walk away
2. Negotiate terms not fees
3. When true trusting relationships have developed, and the prospect is enthusiastically ready to move forward to gain the proposed value, it never feels like negotiation, but a partnership!

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

Testimonial from Alex Goldfayn, CEO of Evangelist Marketing Institute:

Testimonial from Dr. Sally Mounts, President of Auctus Consulting Group:

More about the digital empire creation program.

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

You’d be amazed of the great conversations that often evolve from asking such a simple question.

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

1. Invent and create new offerings
2. Refine my language
3. Publish
4. Leverage
5. Improve my marketing and sales skills
6. Create trusting relationships and communities
7. MTB = Meet The Buyer (and a lot of them)
8. Gentle assertiveness
9. No fear of rejection
10. Focus on increasing clients successes
11. Have fun
12. Rinse and repeat

Please share yours.

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

1. Is it possible to build a million dollar web presence?
2. What are the factors for a successful web presence?
3. How do you create provocative and compelling content?
4. How to build your web strategy?
5. And more.

Click the play arrow button below:

(24:54)
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© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

We’re in a business world that’s evolving faster than ever. It’s never been this easy to launch a business and propel your brand to new heights, almost overnight, thanks to the Internet.

For example, two pals videotape themselves performing some crazy stunt, it goes viral and within days they’re a YouTube sensation. Or a small florist promotes her knowledge of flowers through social media and ends up doubling her sales in less than a year.

The web is like the wild-wild-west with its non-existing boarders, and where there’s always the risk of damaging your brand if you don’t have a plan. However, there’s also risk in inaction, or simply sitting on the sidelines, thinking you can do business the old way, experts warn.

“Don’t be shy about promoting yourself. Some people are too quiet about their products and services,” says Chad Barr, author of “Million Dollar Web Presence,” (Entrepreneurs Press, 2012). “The most successful entrepreneurs are unbelievable marketers. They do it relentlessly and they have the utmost discipline to do so all the time. They don’t stop.”

In “Million Dollar Web Presence,” Barr provides success strategies and practical how-to approaches entrepreneurs can use to leverage the Web to achieve their business dreams online. Barr co-wrote “Million Dollar Web Presence” with Alan Weiss, a management and organizational development consultant from Ohio. Barr is president of The Chad Barr Group, an Internet consulting firm and also leads CB Software Systems Inc., both in Shaker Heights, Ohio.

Barr urges entrepreneurs that want to succeed to promote themselves shamelessly on the web. The Internet has made it easier for people to promote their businesses inexpensively, while enabling them to grow practically overnight.

“Where it took months and years to launch a brick and mortar business, it now takes 24 hours,” he said. “If you leverage the web to its highest potential and do so ethically, the results are amazing.”

Nevertheless, many small businesses and entrepreneurs don’t even scratch the surface of the tools and resources available on the web to help them reach new audiences and potential customers. Those who are doing so, are diving into blogs, online videos, podcasts, E-books and online workshops and webinars.

What are the most important steps to creating a successful web presence and achieving your business goals online? The following factors are critical, says Barr:

You need to develop a “wow factor” that attracts people to your website and keeps them coming back.

“You want to impress your visitors with a website that says you’re a world-class act,” says Barr. “Whether you’re an architect, technical developer or the owner of a flower shop, you want to make the entry point to your website or any platforms that showcase your expertise, to come across as professional as possible.

Create remarkable, provocative content that portrays you as a leader and expert in your industry.

“One of the things I like to share with people, rather than think about creating a website, think about creating the ultimate repository of remarkable, provocative content that manifests itself in articles, videos, webinars, podcasts, etc., a body of work that represents a vast amount of knowledge of your showcasing,” he said.

Identify your business strategy before launching your website. “Once you understand the strategy, only then can you start to think about the Web,” said Barr. “ Don’t just put up a site and think people will automatically come.”

Avoid stagnation. Make sure you’re continually offering fresh, new content that intrigues visitors to return to your web pages.

If you’re not so lucky to have been born with marketing wisdom, read books that can help you gain knowledge and solicit help from the best people in your network.

“Focus on your key expertise, learn some new thing and bring in the best to help you get to the next level of success,” said Barr.

Keep in mind, that there’s no silver bullet approach, it takes hard work, focus, and innovation to build a strong community of supporters and quality clients that can help accelerate your company’s success.

“It boils down to your energy, your commitment and resources, says Barr. “The most successful entrepreneurs I’ve seen have the utmost discipline to execute. They do so consistently.”

Let us hear from you. What are some strategies you have employed to achieve your business dreams on the web?

Here is what Aviv had to say about us:

“Chad helps you bring all the pieces together. He is going to help you discover pieces that you did not even know were there for you. He will be the weaver, the enabler, the artists that will put together your jigsaw puzzle, in terms of your content, web site, online presence, digital empire, the whole Gestalt. He will put it together in a very brilliant way that is impactful and directly prepared to address your clients and the value you are here to provide for them.”

1. A challenge your clients are facing.
2. The top three ways of resolving this challenge supported with examples.
3. The action you want them to take right away.

That’s it. No need to complicate it.

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

1. Visit with my kids and grandkids in Orlando.
2. Attend the Society for the Advancement of Consulting  meeting and the Common Sense Consulting workshop in New York and got to see The Best Man fabulous play on broadway with great friends.
3. Attend our annual Million Dollar Club meeting with my wife, Alan Weiss and the outstanding and stimulating group. This one was held in Monaco, and then,
4. My wife and I continued our amazing week in the south of france, followed by another great week in Paris.
5. We then spent a long weekend in New York and got to see the Broadway play War Horse (highly recommended).
6. I then attended the Thought Leadership Symposium in Naples Florida which was absolutely remarkable.
7. My wife and I were just in  Las Vegas where I surprised her with tickets to see Barbara Streisand’s concert, Cirque du Soleil – Love, and Jersey Boys on Sunday.
8. I just returned from a week in San Francisco attending developmental experiences and meeting with clients.
9. Enjoy family, friends and life.
10. Expand my learning, knowledge, appreciation of the world around me. Interact with great minds, meet new interesting people and engage in fascinating conversations.
11. Gain new experiences.
12. Work with outstanding existing and new clients.
13. Create new content and start developing new offerings.
14. Conduct business almost as usual and secure new business.
15. Have my team implement many exciting projects.
16. Expand my team with brilliant new minds.
17. And of course, my new Maserati!
18. And much more.

Why am I telling you this?

1. I did not imagine this 5 or 10 years ago.
2. Are there areas in my life and business that need improvement? Of course and I am committed to go there.
3. The lines of demarcation between work and pure enjoyment for me are very foggy. Although I see it mostly as a blessing, it is also a curse.
4. Life is short. Seize the moment.

Happy Thanksgiving!

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

Laurel and I threw our bags into our rented convertible with the sun pouring down and the GPS set for the coast. Driving the coastal highways was exhilarating as we carefully peered at the sea while hugging the narrow cliffside lanes.We arrived at Eze, an exclusive old village carved into the mountainside with its uneven stone walkways replete with artisans displaying their wares, cafes and a frescoed church where a bride and groom were posing for their paparazzi.

Our journey continued on toward the town of Ville French sur la mer; a quaint village as its name suggests, on the sea. We enjoyed a fresh fish lunch mere feet from the water as we watched locals tugging their bobbing fishing lines and grabbing the last bit of Mediterranean summer fun in the water and sand.

The evening brought us to the Imperial Hotel Garoupe in Antibes.  Reminiscent of Tuscany, we checked into our room where the balcony terrace overlooked lush manicured lawns, flowering bushes and trees, dotted with roses bursting with color. This quiet, still oasis was a sharp contrast to the blaring and high rolling Monte Carlo where the rich and famous play loud and hard.

We capped off our magical day with candlelit dinner served by skilled waiters and highly accredited sommeliers who not only explained wine pairings but water pairings for each course as well. Though Laurel’s still a tap water girl, it was quite enlightening to us both. And now, Bon soir, good night until tomorrow’s adventure.

(stay tuned for photos shortly)

Here are just a few of the highlights from our first meeting day:

• Is your business focus on your methodology or on creating successful client results?
• The key to increasing fees and lowering labor intensity is your brand power.
• We often act as we can’t turn down business.
• If you had 20 extra hours per week, not allocated to work, what would you do? The answers to this question would outline what you are denying yourself of.
• Paying off debt is as important as raising money and as important as reducing labor intensity.
• When you reach a level of success, get used to it and act it!
• High tech today is one of the keys to creating high touch.
• Explore ways to combine your efforts to reduce your labor intensity.
• Validation is a critical aspect of consulting and mentoring clients.
• Buyers are afraid of you rejecting them as well.
• Ask your prospects: “How could you create your desired success without investing in yourself?”
• How to raise an additional $200,000 in 21 days.

And here are some pictures of the local scenery:

The morning view outside my window

The gorgeous skies

This defibrillator is situated right outside the casino and the stairs to the garden. How convenient is this?

So there we were on the quick flight from Cleveland to Toronto, followed by the  just over 6 hour segment from Toronto to Paris where we landed next.

Do you know this dreaded feeling when the conveyor belt stops moving, all the passengers on your flight are already gone and you are the only one left and your luggage is nowhere to be seen? That’s right, alone we stood looking at each other when my wife said: “I think they’ve lost our luggage!” to which, me, the optimist Chad said: “perhaps it is on its way to Nice saving us the shlepping of the luggage.” A quick check with the Air Canada agent confirmed that my thinking was right.

Several hours later we landed in beautiful Nice and the Paris experience seemed to repeat itself. That’s right, no luggage there as well. So we filed our lost luggage report with the Air France agent who assured us that they will take care of us.

I’ll spare you the details, but neither Air France nor Air Canada had any idea where the luggage was or able to track it. The experience of attempting to contact them was unpleasant and what I found most surprising was the fact that in our age of great technological advancement, they could not report the progress to us.

Luckily, after exhausting my patience, energy, and that of the hotel concierge, I decided to call the AmEx global assist program. They could not have been any nicer. They immediately took control of the situation, started the process of contacting the airlines, tracking the luggage and most importantly, staying in touch with me to advise of the progress. I give AmEx my complete endorsement for this great service and could not thank them enough for bringing this to a happy conclusion.

In the end, we have no idea where the ball was dropped and where our three bags spent the last 36 hours.  We were just happy to receive them, intact, with all their contents.  Now, let the vacation begin!

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

These individuals, whether athletes, artists, musicians, entrepreneurs or innovators, have certain traits in common. They:

• Study
• Prepare
• Practice
• Review
• Create
• Improve
• Repeat
• Raise the bar

How about you?

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

If you are a talented speaker, why not showcase it on your site? Create a place on your site that becomes the repository of your videos as well as include them throughout your various and applicable pages.

If you are a gifted writer, why not create a large body of work? This way you may share your knowledge through your writing in various formats and attract others to you.

If you are an effective networker, why not start creating an online community around your brand?

Now, if your weakness is in an area that is critical to your success, I’d suggest you either learn to do it, attract that talent or delegate to someone else. Otherwise, it is time to exploit your strengths.

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

1. Take your site seriously because if you don’t, why should others?
2. Keep adding great content to avoid stagnation.
3. Engage in conversations with your clients and prospective clients through your site, your blog, the communities you belong to and the ones you create.
4. Attract interest to you through Internet marketing gravity.
5. Deliver remarkable value by sharing your insights, wisdom, experiences and relationships with others.
6. Push your value to your target audience.
7. Mention, refer to your content during your conversations and speaking engagements.
8. Create visuals to use it as diagnostic tools.
9. Position audios, videos and testimonials for increased credibility.
10. Clone yourself virtually so the web extends your global reach without your involvement.

So leverage away.

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

I hope you enjoy this signature piece from my wife, Cantor Laurel Barr’s CD, Modim – Grateful.

(2:08)
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© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

(1:42)
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and now also on iTunes

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

Get your copy of Million Dollar Web Presence on Amazon.

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

(2:10)
Download MP3

and now also on iTunes

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

Click on our portfolio page collection to view other sites and strategies we have created.

1. Strengthen your credibility, image and reputation.
2. Increase your revenues, profits and the number of clients you attract.
3. Make it easier for your clients to conduct business with you.
4. Enable you to leverage it as an effective tool to consistently push value to your clients.
5. Engage in conversations with your clients.

If your site does that, congratulations! Make sure you sustain that success. If not, perhaps it’s time to kick it up a big notch.

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

• Reduce domestic economic volatility. Create a balanced portfolio not dependent on a single economy.
• Increase expansion opportunities. There are emerging, high-growth markets all over the world.
• It’s not labor intensive. The point we’re making in this chapter and book is that it’s easily done with little investment, creating great potential ROI.
• Learn continually. You’ll be exposed to diverse people, cultures, backgrounds, and opinions.
• Increase selectivity. You have the flexibility to pick and choose your clients.
• Stay in the game. Your competition is already doing it or considering it.
• Recreate. Take your family to travel in countries where you have contacts, information, and even repute in advance.
• Gain renown. A global presence makes you far more attractive to local audiences and as a “sole source” to RFP (request for proposals) competitive bidding, circumventing the hoops you’re asked to jump through.

This is an excerpt from my new book Million Dollar Web Presence - Leverage the web to build your brand and transform your business, which I coauthored with Dr. Alan Weiss and published by Entrepreneur Press.

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

Here are my recommendations:

Keep the testimonial short (preferably 90 seconds or less). If there is one key question you want your client answering it is: “What was the biggest impact on their business or life as a result of your involvement?”

If you can keep them short, have the customer also:

1. Introduce themselves by stating their name, title and organization.
2. Mention what was the key challenge they were facing that caused them to hire you.
3. Articulate why they have chosen you.
4. Discuss the impact or outcome on their business as a result of your involvement.

What have you found effective in order to solicit testimonials? Please leave your comment here. 

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

I am often times being asked….
Ever wonder….
Imagine….
Did you know that….
I was talking with a client of mine when she said….
Here is what I want you to do….
Let me now list the 7 top steps to success….
82% of CRM solutions fail prior to….

My question for you: What are some of your favorite openings? Please leave your comment here. 

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

That is why I came up with the acronym of MTB or Meet The Buyer, to keep you focus on the primary objective.

My question for you: What are your best activities to get in front of buyers? Leave your comment here. 

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

I have written before on how to develop new ideas but today I would like to quickly demonstrate how easy it is to come up with further interesting topics to write about. Each time you write a sentence or a paragraph ask yourself: “how can I further articulate this?” or “what would be the potential impact of this for the client?” or “how do you do this?”

Here is a bullet point from my previous post: “My most successful clients repurpose their content often.” I can simply take this one point and further articulate my thoughts or answer exactly how to do this. In another post I wrote: “You would probably agree with me that the key to impacting the success of our clients is to provide them with consistent high value.” I can show examples of how to do this, interview clients and thought leaders and do much more with this one sentence.

To overcome your writer’s block all you need to do is dive deeper. Your content contains hidden ideas and gems that you can easily exploit. All you need to do is mine it.

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

Their content:

1. Is created often and prolifically.
2. Gets noticed by others engages them.
3. Is shared by others with their connections.
4. Is provocative, which means that it forces the recipient to think, agree or disagree.
5. Mobilizes the recipient to take action toward their success.
6. Manifests itself in a variety of formats: Articles, podcasts. images, videos, process visuals, audio books, ebooks, booklets, books, teleseminars, workshops and so on.
7. Brings great value to the recipient.
8. Gets repurposed often.
9. Enables them to successfully monetize their offerings.
10. Attracts the media and a variety of offers.
11. Positions them as thought leaders worth following.

My question for you: Please share your content best practices examples / stories by leaving your comment here. 

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

Click on our portfolio page collection to view other sites and strategies we have created.

• Do SEO spammers resort to spam solicitation emails rather than using their energy to attract clients with effective SEO techniques?
• Do most focus on tactics rather than identify their strategy first and then execute?
• Are so many wasting their time on various social media platforms rather than develop their own content and various offerings?
• Do entrepreneurs say they will do it but they don’t?
• Do most claim that their best way to gain new business is through referrals yet they never ask for them?
• Are courageous individuals afraid to perform basic and risk-free tasks?
• Are smart individuals resort to doing stupid things?
• Are most stagnant rather than push the bar and innovate?
• Do some blame everything in site rather than accept ownership and responsibility?

Are you asking “why” questions of yourself, your team, your organization and your customers?

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

There I was, at the Apple store nine days ago, after following their expert recommendation to purchase Final Cut Pro and to reserve another One on One session.  Deja vu! The first tech assigned to me was absolutely clueless and when he brought another expert, that one had no clue as well. They kept making excuses that their top “expert” is no longer with the company,  and they hadn’t had enough hours to train properly.

Once again, I asked for the store manager. Tim comes out telling me that although his team has been certified, I may be too advanced for them. He then proceeded to tell me that I am the only customer who has ever complained about their service. I was flabbergasted. He promised that he will research some possible remedies and will call me within a couple of days. I have received no return calls from him to this date.

So what could Apple do better?

• Make sure there is a true product expert available for more than just the basic questions
• Read the online registration comment box where I specified exactly what I needed help with while requesting a non-beginner level person
• Train the manager on call on the attributes of great customer service or replace him immediately
• Follow-up as promised and return customers’ calls
• Stop sending meaningless online surveys

Am I still an Apple fan? Of course I am. Would I recommend One to One to my clients again? Absolutely not.

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

Where do you find them you ask?

• Ask your contacts
• Attend events they are attending
• Attend events they are presenting in
• Read their books and web content and drop them a line
• Touch them with value
• Find the ones you want to connect with and then search for mutual connection that would introduce you
• Join communities they belong to
• Create google alerts
• Search them on the web
• Connect with them through social media

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

Different buyers have different content consumption preferences. Even one unique buyer may have different preferences at different times. Personally, there are times I like to read, other times I like to listen (especially in my car, during air travel or my walks) and other times I like to watch videos and process visuals (diagrams) and such. Podcasts and videos, from my perspective, are simply a different and effective flavor of delivery of content.

Finally, and probably most importantly as I’ve been saying this for years, I highly recommend you start thinking about leveraging your content beyond your own site. So the obvious for example are videos not only on your site, but on YouTube and other possible platforms such as Vimeo, Viddler and others. And of course audio podcasts on iTunes, which has become one of the largest repositories of remarkable content. This increases your body of work AND the potential for others to “discover” you first on these platforms.

And finally, finally, I rather read a blog that has good content with a variety of interesting media options (text articles, podcasts, videos, process visuals, and images) rather than lengthy text only.

Question for you: What do you do to make your content interesting and worth reading, listening to or watching? Please leave your comment here. 

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

Click on our portfolio page collection to view other sites and strategies we have created.

• Thinking strategically rather than tactically.
• Rather than focus on social media, start thinking about building your own communities.
• Rather than thinking of writing articles, I suggest you expand your body of work through publishing, while getting quoted and noticed.
• Stop thinking about creating your web site and instead focus on creating the ultimate repository of remarkable content or intellectual property.
• It’s not just about your web presence but your web dominance.

Please share your ideas and examples by leaving your comment here. 

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

While attending meetings, workshops or events where new ideas and intellectual property are being shared, I see most (self included) take copious notes. One concept that has been effective for me for years is listen carefully and letting the ideas I am hearing springboard new ideas and concepts for me to implement, explore, innovate and execute.

During our meeting today I have picked up a profound new idea that I want to share with you. Let the ideas you hear stimulate your thinking to immediately and in the moment innovate and come up with new models and processes. This is different from simply taking notes, or letting idea A, B and C trigger idea D. What I am referring to is letting idea A, B and C immediately trigger a complete new process or blueprint that can be used by you and your clients.

Question for you: What do you do to make sure the events you are attending are yielding the highest, quickest and most powerful results? Leave your comment here. 

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

This free tool enables you to get emails notifications (alerts) anytime Google find results for the items you are interested in.  If used correctly, this tool enables you to get notified when anyone on the web mentions the names, company names, brands, products, services and stories about:

• You
• Clients
• Colleagues
• Partners
• Competitors
• Thought Leaders
• Journalists
• Bloggers

So if you ever wanted to become your own Inspector Clouseau or play one, this is your chance to do so. And if done right, the rewards may be significant.

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

Quickly, I started the setup process but something seemed odd. I could’t seem to get used to Apple’s fancy new keyboard. I was staring at the keyboard and wondering what the strange symbols and characters were.

Curious, I picked up the phone, and called Apple Care. After some research, Mike, the representative says: “This is very odd but I think you got a Spanish keyboard, sir!” Although I like enchiladas, this was no fiesta.

I am glad to report that today this was corrected at the Apple store and thankfully I now have a new laptop with the correct keyboard. They admitted that this has never happened before and suggested this should be my lucky day to play the lottery.

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

I realize that this thread “shouts” monetary focus and success. But let me share the following with you:

While taking my wife and son out for a drive, to enjoy the beautiful weather and the new Maserati, I stopped at our favorite sushi bar for our pick up order. My wife told me later that while I walked into the restaurant my son said to her: “He deserves this car. He is truly self-made.” I then reflected that 34 years ago I came to the US with $200 in my pocket. I’ve been blessed with a loving and supportive family and great friends, colleagues and clients.

What an amazing journey it has been and what an amazing country we live in.

And my son made me proud!

So next time you are worrying about revenues and cash flow, I’d suggest you look at your marketing plan and in the event you don’t have one, I recommend you create one immediately.

Question for you: What do you find to be an effective marketing plan? Leave your comment here. 

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

“This is exactly the kind of call I love to receive. May I ask a favor of you?” “Of course,” she answered. “Since one of the keys to the success of my business are stories like this one, would you be willing to provide me with….” and before I could finish my sentence, she said, “It will be my pleasure to send you a testimonial, Chad.”

You would probably agree with me that the key to impacting the success of our clients is to provide them with consistent high value. Let me suggest that providing high value can be achieved with either high touch or low touch. High touch usually means close and trusting client relationships, high energy, with greater access to you. It could also mean speed of access and response. Crafting provocative questions, coaching my clients and creating effective content and speeches represent high value to the client combined with high touch. Yet asking a client for a testimonial represents low touch with a potential high value.

Take a look at the process visual below and let’s then examine additional examples. As you can see, I have placed most computer technicians or the so-called social media experts in the high touch and low value quadrant. Then in the low touch and low value quadrant, I have included the automated telemarketing calls that raise our blood pressure and the influx of spam emails.

Now take a look at your operation and review your various offerings and activities. Which quadrant do they fall into? Do most appear in the high value quadrants? If so, you are in good shape and should think about sustaining and increasing this. Otherwise, you sure have some work to do.

So how do you create high value with the proper touch? Remember the popular British group, The Who, with their popular song, “See Me, Feel Me, Touch Me, Heal Me?” It occurred to me that the title of this song is the perfect companion for my business illustration:

See Me ­– Be recognized and get noticed by your clients.

Feel Me – Create and nurture trusting client relationships.

Touch Me – Provide clients with consistent value.

Heal Me – Impact clients with great outcomes and results.

With these concepts at your fingertips, you are on the road to creating the highest value with the proper touch.

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

They:

• Surf the net way too long
• Get involved in too many activities on the various social media platforms
• Are distracted often with emails, phone calls and unnecessary tasks
• Have no focus or suffer from what I call the entrepreneur ADHD
• Occupy themselves with fun and risk-free activities such as: gardening, talking with friends and colleagues
• Complain often and blame others
• Are afraid of success or failure
• Get involved in easy marketing activities perhaps even lazy

Instead, they should:

• Leverage the internet to showcase their value, help others and research
• Limit their access on social media and use it connect with buyers
• Focus on one key goal at a time and bring it to fruition
• Hold themselves accountable
• Engage in important elements of marketing
• Take responsibility for their success and action
• Take risks and are hard workers

These are your choices and the ones you make have a direct impact on your success.

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

The exercise is then to attempt and respond with at least three powerful answers to these questions. I do the same when I talk with my clients, prospective clients or colleagues. I ask them for their top key challenges and I use the opportunity to quickly suggest effective solutions to these or I end up adding them to my database of ideas to write about.

This has created a remarkable phenomena that enables me now to quickly respond to any question or challenge I am being asked or face while stretching my mind and helping others and of course  myself.

And as you have probably noticed, many of these become articles and blog posts (such as this one) as I have now stretched my mind to come up with at least 10 ideas for each question.

Do this and I assure you, that your mind will get sharper while helping increase the success of your clients.

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

(4:32)
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and now also on iTunes

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

The solution to this situation requires a serious mindset shift. So instead of getting into the worrying habits, I’d suggest you immediately change your thinking and start focusing on how to provide immense value to your clients and prospective clients and who to contact next. That’s it! As simple as that!

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

Q: How to get out of the rut?
My Answer: I am not a psychologist but play one at home. I suggest you figure out ways to substitute the negative behavior with a positive one and do so consistently. So when you recognize the pattern, force yourself to engage in another positive behavior and then reward yourself!

For example: Start to create new good content and then engage a prospect or a client. Have a stimulating discussion with a colleague. Take a walk with your dog or open a great bottle of wine. You get the idea.

Q: Do you ever get down anymore?
My Answer: Rarely and when I do, I know the necessary behavior pattern to change it immediately!

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

• What are some of your clients key challenges?
• For each of these challenges, what are three best practices to resolve them and can you provide examples?
• What do your best clients do that others don’t?
• What are the distinguishing factors between you and others competing in your market space and what makes you unique?
• Share with us a client’s success story you are most prod of.
• What’s your value proposition or in other words, how is your client better off by virtue of working with you?
• I am ________ ? For example, if I were asked this, I would say: “Internet business strategist.” Call this your thought leadership focus. Now answer the following: What are the 3 key mistakes organizations or entrepreneurs make when it comes to your thought leadership focus?

Can you answer these questions quickly, eloquently, decisively and persuasively?

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

Get Million Dollar Web Presence on Amazon.

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

When I first started my career, 25 years ago, I used to engage in the following marketing activities to attract my prospective clients:

• Referrals
• Networking
• Purchasing databases of my target clients
• Cold calling and mailing
• Alliances
• Word of mouth

Over the years, as the success of my business grew and with it: my global brand, number of clients, credibility and thought leadership, I’ve found the following to be my most successful marketing activities:

• Speaking
• Publishing (Articles, Blog, Books, Content)
• Referrals
• Alliances
• Internet strategies
• Monetization of products and services
• Building communities

So the answer is that although I do identify the profiles of the clients I want to work with, I then engage in marketing activities that get these prospects to contact me or get referred to me.

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

1. How well is your web presence working for you?
2. How can doctors leverage Internet strategies to attract and communicate with their clients?
3. Offering medical advice vs. helpful information.
4. How to Choose the right web partner?
5. The importance of story telling and sharing.

And many more. Click the play arrow button below:

(34:41)
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© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

So I have just created the following acronym to help you develop your own killer podcasts that your listener will love. SMACKED means:

Smile while you talk, which will make the podcasts fun and demonstrate that you are enjoying it as well. If you are having fun, there is a good chance your audience will.

Mobilize your listener to take action after the podcast, which will increase the chances of their success, which will entice them to want to come back and use you.

Assist your listener by providing powerful tips, ideas and best practices from your proven track record of success.

Converse with the listener in a way that makes it come across as a conversation and not an academic speech or script reading.

Knowledgeably demonstrate your competence to position yourself as an expert and a thought leader.

Enthusiastically speak your words to engage the listener and keep them excited.

Decisively deliver your message to create short powerful messages that generate powerful and definite results.

So when creating your podcasts, simply ask yourself: “Have I SMACKED my listener in a good way?”

© Chad Barr 2012 All rights reserved.

Chad Barr
President
CB Software Systems, Inc.
Tower East
20600 Chagrin Boulevard #801
Shaker Heights, OH 44122
Office: 216-991-2277 x 112

Site: http://www.cbsoftware.com
Blog: http://www.chadbarr.com
Portfolio: http://webservices.cbsoftware.com/portfolio.php
Million $ Web Sites: http://www.themilliondollarwebsites.com

Create your Digital Empire: http://bit.ly/sv7B2d

“Chad is a technological genius and a technological strategy expert.
He is the most brilliant technical guy in the world
and that’s why I work with him!” — Alan Weiss, PhD

My new book Million Dollar Web Presence hit #3 on Amazon.com
in its first week! http://amzn.to/rGKxYL

“In the business of Web sites and content, Barr stands alone as THE thought leader
to those looking to leverage high technology to build their brands.”
Alex Goldfayn, CEO, The Evangelist Marketing Institute

“This is the best book I have read about creating a web presence
in the professional services marketplace, bar none.”
Tom Schramski, PhD, President, Salience Consulting Group

“I give this book my highest recommendation. This is a must buy. You will be blown away.”
Geoff Ronning, President, Geoffrey Ronning Group, Inc

1. Create Your Contact List – Collect and assemble all possible contacts you have, such as: current and past clients, prospective clients, colleagues, friends, family, and partners. Load them all into a database such as Excel. You should also export and merge your email database (outlook or such)  and then upload all these contacts into an online email marketing program. Consistently and constantly keep adding to this database.
2. Add Contacts – Allow your site and blog visitors to easily add themselves to your contact list. Also enable visitors to register to your blog via RSS and/or email.
3. Leverage Your Content – When you are exchanging valuable information with individuals you meet, mention your site and the fact that you are excited to share with them some of the remarkable and valuable content you have created. I’d say something like: “You’ve mentioned that one of your key challenges is how to increase your global reach. May I email you one of my article and diagnostic tools that will show you how to do that?” This is why I keep pushing my clients to constantly create great amount of content. The more you have, the more you will be able to leverage it.
4. Almost Permission Marketing – I know that some have made their fame  promoting the Permission Marketing concept. Although I loath spam or being added to a list without permission, I do have an exception. When I meet someone or speak to an audience, and provide them with genuine value, and they give me their business card, I do add them to my contact list. When I do this, I use the language described in How to Grow Your Email Distribution List? article. Let me share with you that not only do people rarely unsubscribe but often I get a note thanking me for thinking of them, staying in touch and providing them with value.
5. Push Value – Each time you create new content, not only do you dramatically increase the chances that your audience will consume it but it then gives you the opportunity to leverage it. Why not send an email to a client or a prospective client saying: “Cindy, attached is an article (or podcast or video) I have just created which I believe addresses the issues you have shared with me. I know you’ll find this of value. How about if we connect Thursday at 10AM so I may get your feedback and also share with you two other ideas I have for you?”
6. During Speaking Presentations – I’ve come to realize that I have two main objectives when delivering my speaking presentations. The first is to “touch” the audience with great value and mobilize them to take action. The second is to be able to stay in touch with them after my presentation. This is a prime opportunity to leverage the content on your site. For example: You may want to show a slide of a process visual that allows the audience to diagnose themselves, or show an example of an effective video testimonial or have them quickly listen to a powerful podcast. Also, I’d suggest you listen to this podcast, if you want to know how to Stay in Touch After Your Speech is Over.
7. Become a Guest Contributor – I highly recommend you approach: trade associations, successful bloggers and colleagues, thought leaders, famous blogging sites (such as HBR, Fast Company) and suggest you contribute your content. This is a great way to expose your content and sites to a large audience. When you do that, make sure to embed genuine helpful links in your content that point to effective landing pages on your site including your bio and attribution at the bottom.
8. Attract Guest Contributors – Why not attract successful contributors to your site and blog which will add value to your audience and expose you to theirs?
9. Interviews – Similar to the concept of guest contributions, why not interview successful thought leaders or CEOs, such as the interview Chad Barr Interviews Gail Goodman, CEO of Constant Contact. Then feature on your site and offer they feature on their site. It is a winning proposition to all. While you at it, and to even create a better exposure for you, why not have others interview you, such as Chad Barr Interviewed by Dan Janal and then feature on your site and theirs.
10. Media Interviews – Whether on TV, radio, web radio, webinars and such, these are great opportunities to share your message and value with the audience. What you want to also do is refer them to important landing pages on your site and use some of the ideas mentioned in point number 6.
11. Collaborate – Approach successful individuals and suggest partnering on writing together helpful content that can then be shard with your audiences. This way you both get exposure to each other’s contact list. This can easily and exponentially expose your site and its content to new audience groups.
12. Publishing – The prime opportunity you have to announce your site and its content is actually each time you develop new content. This means including the content and referencing interesting links to landing pages on your blog, newsletters, audio podcasts, videos and such. So for example, during your podcast you may want to say: “for additional helpful information and tips visit my site at www…” or “I have written about this extensively on my site and blog.” Also, make sure to insert interesting links to various landing pages on your site in your YouTube videos.
13. Ask to be Shared – If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. So why not ask your visitor to share your content with others?
14. Social Media – Leverage the various platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+ and others, to share your content and announce it. I’d also recommend you interface your blog with these various platforms from automatic population of your blog content.
15. Repurpose – Most of your visitors are busy individuals. The likelihood of them reading older posts is not that likely, unless they arrive there from search engine results or other links, which is a topic for another article. I therefore recommend you repurpose older content such as I am doing in this article by embedding interesting links on these landing pages.
16. Google Analytics – Use this free tool to analyze the activity on your site and measure how your site is received and progresses. Which pages are popular and which are not. Where are visitors coming from or not.
17. Google Alerts – This free tool from Google will allow you to get email alerts each time your chosen keywords have been used on the web. I’d recommend that the keywords you choose are: your name, company name, URL, various brands, client names and their brands as well as key colleagues and competitors. So for example if someone mentioned one of your article, you will get notified by Google at which time you may thank them and perhaps suggest other content. You get the idea, right?
18. PR Leads – My colleague and friend, Dan Janal, runs this great company that when you subscribe, allows you to get daily reports of journalists looking for experts, like you,  in order to quote them in their publications. It’s a great way to get quoted and mentioned in serious publications and then leverage it by mentioning it on your site (Media tab, what’s new or blog) and your other correspondence.
19. Press Releases – There are various services available for you to choose from that would enable you to announce various items you feel are worthy of such announcement. Although there are many free services, the two I would recommend are: ExpertClick and Press Release Sender.
20. Email Signature – Don’t underestimate the power of your email signature where you may feature (at the bottom of your emails) your site, blog and other important items.
21. Additional Resources – The key objectives of your site are to: attract visitors, clients and potential clients, increase your credibility, provide them with value, engage them, get them to stay longer, have them come back often and create conversations around your brands. Yet, the ultimate results are to have them purchase your products and services and contact you. In addition to all that has been discussed above, I recommend you incorporate additional resources on your pages such as I am doing at the bottom of this page.

Additional Resources:

• Growing Your Emails Distribution List
• Creating a “sticky” web presence
• Repurpose and Improve Your Published Content
• My Book – Million Dollar Web Presence
• Create Your Digital Empire

Question: What other ideas have you found to be of value when promoting your site? Please share your comment with us.

© Chad Barr 2012 All rights reserved.

For a brief moment I feel sorry for them since they are not going to benefit from the results generated from working with me.

I then take the following action:

• Decide who among my clients or prospective clients may now benefit from the great value I have to offer. I then get them on the phone or email them.
• Use the opportunity to develop some new content and offerings.
• Reward myself. Perhaps a Skype call with my grandkids or a drive in the convertible.
• Add them to my contact list.

How about you, what do you do?

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

As you can see in the “accelerant curve” illustrated above, your offerings should range from low barrier to entry (free downloads, inexpensive books) at a “competitive” position, through distinct (teleconferences, workshops), and on to breakthrough (individual coaching, trademarked approaches), and finally your unique vault (retainers, licensed intellectual property).

“Bounce factors,” such as books or online forums, allow your buyers to accelerate their relationships with you. When you have a strong brand, “parachute business” may enter directly into the right side of your curve, where higher fees and lower labor intensity actually coincide!

This is an excerpt from my new book Million Dollar Web Presence - Leverage the web to build your brand and transform your business, which I coauthored with Dr. Alan Weiss and published by Entrepreneur Press.

Additional Resources:

• Million Dollar Consulting® Accelerant Curve – From Alan’s Blog
• The Accelerant Curve (Episode 47)

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

(5:43)
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© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

The columns at the top indicate competitive (only as good as most of the competition), distinct (contains distinguishing features), and breakthrough (leading edge and state-of-the-art). Now take a look at the marketing gravity categories I have included on the left hand side. There are three things I would like you to do now:

First, review each of the rows on the left and then indicate where you think you are today, by placing the letter “T” in that box. So for example, is your content or intellectual property competitive, distinct or breakthrough? Where would you rank the design and navigation of your site and then, where would you rank your web site, your blog and the rest of the categories on the left? When you are done, you will have a vertical line drawn, diagnosing and indicating where you are today.

Second, for each of the rows on the left, representing the various categories, place the letter “F” indicating where you think you need to be in the future, in other words, where you need to be in the next 2 years. There are a couple of points I need to clarify. Although most may want to become “breakthrough” in each category, it is completely unrealistic to do so and would require unimaginable amount of energy. And stagnation or not doing anything, creates the gravity which actually moves you to the left. Obviously, not the desired direction to move in. Once you have completed this step, you would then have one line representing where you are today and one where you need to be in the future. That is your call to action. Start focusing by moving each of the categories.

Third, how would you rank some of the top, most successful, thought leaders?

Finally, when I present this diagnostic tool to my clients or to the audience during my speaking presentations, it is not uncommon to see them diagnose themselves somewhere between competitive and distinct with the majority of categories falling in the competitive side. Yet, they rank most thought leaders somewhere between distinct and breakthrough, which is also where most want to be in the future.

So here is to your remarkable transformation.

© Chad Barr 2011. All rights reserved

The secret to building a strong community of quality supporters on the web is to engage in as much of the market gravity as you can. Our advice is to begin with those “spokes” most within your comfort zone, and drill down. For example, if webinars are your passion and expertise, then find the right firms, create the right content, and market to the right audience.

Move on as you implement each tactic to those outside your comfort zone by gaining expertise and resources. You needn’t use all the spokes (though many do), but if none of them is attractive to you, then you need to get a real job, because this one isn’t for you!

There is a powerful dulaity present in market gravity—you attract new clients and customers but also educate existing customers about the varying ways to do business with you. This works for both wholesale clients (corporations where one buyer can write a check that provides for projects engaging many people) and retail clients, where the individual consumer/user pays for himself or herself.

The more diverse your marketing efforts, the wider (and “stickiest”) your web. Some people enter becuase they want to purchase attractive products; others because they learn best through downloading teleconferenmces; still others becuase they read interviews; more because they popoulate YouTube.

Note that you draw people to you via both web-based and non-web based options, because you never can be sure about which buyer is more influences by which kind of gravity.

This is an excerpt from my new book Million Dollar Web Presence - Leverage the web to build your brand and transform your business, which I coauthored with Dr. Alan Weiss and published by Entrepreneur Press.

Additional Resources:

• Marketing Gravity (Episode 48)

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

What in the world are you thinking?

The client has hired you. You have relationship with them. They trust you. They expect results. They face various challenges and have needs. You have great ideas, proven track record of success and value to offer.

What are you waiting for?

© Chad Barr 2012 All rights reserved.

And here is the generous offer I’ve made to readers of this blog.

They:

• Are prolific publishers of provocative and great content.
• Publish their content in a wide variety of formats such as articles, checklists, podcasts, videos, eBooks, books, process visuals and more.
• Have a large active offerings of products and services.
• Are in demand and attract global followers.
• Create communities around their brand.
• Are quoted and are interviewed by others and the media.
• Provide consistent value that manifest itself through their unique intellectual property.
• Effectively productize and monetize their offerings.
• Leverage technology to strengthen their credibility, increase their global reach, deliver value and increase their revenues.
• Create outstanding results for their clients.
• Don’t stop or become stagnant. They constantly create and reinvent themselves.

So what are you doing to strengthen your own thought leadership?

© Chad Barr 2012 All rights reserved.

• Spending more time attracting strangers as new clients instead of conversing more with existing clients on ways to improve their business?
• Mindlessly surfing the Internet instead of contributing our knowledge to an online discussion attracting our peers and clients?
• Collecting more ideas for future potential use instead of executing a few right now?
• Letting our prospective client choose us instead of making it a collaborative evaluation process.
• Proceed with what is in our best interest instead of the client’s best interest.
• Perfecting a piece we wrote instead of releasing it less than perfect while using the additional time to engage in another productive or enjoyable activity.
• Worrying about where the next piece of business will come from instead of consistently engaging, helping and providing our clients with value.

So before selecting your next activity, simply ask yourself: “Is the activity I am about to engage in, is going to improve my success or that of my clients or the people I love?” If so, do it. Otherwise, don’t!

© Chad Barr 2012 All rights reserved.

• They know you and trust you.
• You have already created great relationship with them.
• They have seen your work and are open to discuss new work.
• You may easily approach them and ask for referrals to others.
• They are happy to provide you with testimonials and case studies.
• You have created track record of success with them.
• They have new and changing needs and you are the one they will discuss it with.
• You come up with new ideas, products and services and they are the easiest group to approach and most willing to accept.
• They are loyal to you.
• You share with them your best and most desired value.

What are your thoughts?

© Chad Barr 2012 All rights reserved.

“Chad is one of my favorite people but he is also one of the most effective people I’ve ever worked with in helping you build your business. Chad is great at getting out of your head the best of what you’ve got. You will be amazed of the questions he asks you and the words that come out of your head. I’ve never felt so smart in my whole life!”

I admit, I’ve never been a fan of the long sales letters. I am sure you know those pages I am referring to. The ones that scroll down the page forever, with lengthy text that would take you longer to complete reading than reading War and Peace. The choice of colors combination is sure to make any rainbow envy, and as you scroll down the page, you see a bunch of video testimonials that make you wonder who in the world those people are, and what manipulation techniques have been used to get them on those videos. You also often get to see fictitious photos of their castles and exotic cars.

“But wait, there is more!”

Of course, they all promise you the decoder ring, the key guarantee to your future success, and all of this for a discounted price, if ONLY you were to act today!

For quite some time, I was hoping that we’ve seen the last of TV infomercials. Not only have I been disappointed but I have come to the conclusion that these sales letters are some web life permutation of these infomercials and another life form of spam.

So who do you think buys these pathetic offerings and who has been successful selling them? The answer to the former is the poor desperate consumer that believes there is a quick silver bullet approach to success or the affiliate wanna-be that hopes for a quick buck and offers this on his or her site. The answer to the latter are the few charlatans preying on these poor souls.

And by the way, do you know what is worse that these sales letters? The ones that incorporate videos to manipulate your emotions, and share with you how they overcame their terrible misfortune and built their success from ruins.

© Chad Barr 2012 All rights reserved.

Chad: “How are you doing?”
Client: ”Not good. Business is way down and unless I get a new project quickly, I will be broke at the end of the current project!”

Chad: “What are some of the previous effective marketing methods you’ve engaged in?”
Client: “Speaking, networking, reaching/touching clients with ongoing value, and following up.”

Chad: “Have you done any of these consistently?”
Client: “No!”

During Alan Weiss’s outstanding Thought Leadership Symposium in Naples Florida last year, I have heard David Maister say: “We all know what needs to be done, we just don’t do it!”

If you want your phone to ring with qualified inquiries, I’d suggest you engage in effective marketing activities. Sitting by the phone, waiting for it to ring, is not one of these effective marketing strategies.

© Chad Barr 2012 All rights reserved.

1. Carefully listen to what your clients and prospective clients are saying and asking you. I look at these conversations as a treasure of where to generate ideas for products, services and new published content.
2. Ask your clients and prospective clients to share with you their greatest concerns and challenges. Example: “What are the key concerns and challenges you are currently facing that you wished you could eliminate or reduce significantly?”
3. Same as above but simply ask: “What topics would you like to see me write about that would be of help to you?”
4. In each of your speaking presentations why not pause and ask the audience: “What are some of the key challenges you are facing that you would like me to talk about? The kind of challenge that you would like to see eliminated?” I then suggest you write these on the flip chart, provide your answers, and at the end of your presentation take a quick photo of that page so you may blog about it later or even use it as the new idea for your next product and service creation.
5. I believe it was BASF that said: “We did not invent it but we make it better!” Whether your clients, colleagues, partners, competitors and other innovators, see what they are creating and publishing and push your own envelop to do better and improve. And wasn’t this mindset the start of Microsoft Windows operating system or Steve Job’s key to reinvention?
6. The reason most hire a trainer to work out with them at the gym, is because they need an expert, who becomes their accountability partner, who can push them to do things they can’t do themselves and can bring them to a higher level of success. That is exactly why finding an expert who can challenge you intellectually, in order to pull out of your head the amazing content you never realized is there, is critical to create remarkable content to increase your success.

And finally, if you’d like to further get ideas on where to get fresh new ideas, check out my article I think I’ll invent something new which I wrote some time ago.

So go now and create some great and remarkable content.

© Chad Barr 2012 All rights reserved.

In my continued quest of decoding success and uncovering these attributes, I have recently come to realize that there are four primary pillars to reaching and increasing our success and that of our clients:

Develop Relationship – This is the first pillar and the backbone of of the process of maximizing success. The key here is to actually build genuine trusting relationships with your clients, so you may provide them with help that would dramatically transform the success of their lives and businesses. You can not rush this process and the more you spend on it and nurture it, the stronger the relationship created. When done right, the client will share with you  confidential information and constantly ask for your opinion.

Provide Value – This is where your products, services, wisdom, experience, advice and published content comes to life to impact your clients. Craft and expand your extensive ways (offerings) of being able to contribute and help others. When done right you would hear the client say: “Wow!” or “This is a fabulous and I need it.”

Demonstrate Enthusiasm – How often do you purchase for someone who is boring, uninspiring or lethargic? Enthusiasm is contagious and people love to work with successful people who are passionate about their craft, who have a purpose and do so with enthusiasm and gusto. When done right, you would hear the client say: “I can’t wait to see your proposal and get started” or “How quickly can we do this?”

Reach Agreement – The best individuals I’ve seen are great at reaching strong mutual agreement with their clients. They do so by asking powerful provocative questions, properly framing the issues that need to be resolved, and reaching a win/win agreement that is best for all parties involved. When done right, you would hear the client say: “No one ever asked me this question” or “This is a great question” or “I am ready. Let’s do it!”

Simply examine your process and success level and if it is not where it should be embrace these pillars to maximize your success and that of your clients.

© Chad Barr 2012 All rights reserved.

His passionate new book, No Storm Lasts Forever, is available starting today.

And a great introduction from Dr. Wayne Dyer:

1. What do million dollar producers do that others don’t?
2. Where do great ideas come from and what do we do with them?
3. How do you leverage the web to dominate your niche expertise?

And many more. Click the play arrow button below:

(56:16)
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© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

What are three things you believe are most important, as it relates to websites, when it comes to attracting candidates to your organization?

1. Credibility – The site must to come across as credible and also by portraying it to be the place of a world-class organization. This starts with effective design and navigation and continues with the use of written and video testimonials by staff members making it obvious that this organization is simply remarkable to work for.
2. Technology – Make it obvious that your corporate site strongly conveys the fact that your organization is committed to advanced technologies and the use of the web and social media. This will help attract candidates who want to associate themselves with such organizations.
3. Ease of use – Your site should make it extremely easy to inquire about jobs, easily search and find the individuals to contact  and submit such requests digitally. I’d be remised not to mention that your reply responsiveness makes a huge impact on the way your are being perceived by your candidates.
4. (bonus point) Build a database of candidates that makes it easy for you to stay in touch with them and keep them aware of opportunities within your organization.

What are some common mistakes you see companies make when you view their websites? Please respond to this question from the point of view of a company trying to attract workers.

1. They jump into random implementation of tactics before identifying their strategy first.
2. Old and outdated – Site comes across as one from the dinosaurs age.
3. Lack of dynamic interaction – Asking candidates to mail or fax their resume and supporting documents rather than allowing such to be submitted digitally online.
4. No Human Resource focus – Does your site have a strong section devoted to attracting the right talent? Most organizations have no such section or if such exists, it is extremely weak. On the other hand, imagine visiting a site that is exciting to navigate, dynamic and vibrant. Where opportunities are posted in a language that is enthusiastic and inviting. Where videos of management and various team members invite the “right” candidate to join this amazing team. Where it is obvious that the site is the “face” of the current and future place to be and the place to belong.
5. The organization is not committed to the use of social media, blogs and other tools. These tools, if used properly, become the dynamic interaction between the organization, its staff, customers, partners, media, and such. If you aren’t taking your site seriously, why should others?

Where does SEO come into play? Does it really matter or is your time and money best spent on a quality website and new content?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is only one aspect of marketing, which is used to create the proper attraction of the right candidates. If should be evaluated with other marketing elements and complement the overall business and Internet strategy.

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

I am delighted to feature the site (bilingual German and English) and strategy, which I have partnered with Guido to develop for his company.

Click on our portfolio page collection to view other sites and strategies we have created.

(4:05)
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© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

• Would you describe the profiles of your best clients, what markets are you targeting, and what may be some of the best ways to reach them?
• What are the key distinguishing factors between you and others competing in your areas of expertise and what is the remarkable value you bring to your clients?
• How would you describe your brand and articulate your strategy?
• What are the key challenges your business is facing, why have you contacted me and what were you hoping I can do for you?
• Who are some of the thought leaders that you respect and why?
• How are you planning on re-inventing yourself and how would you raise the bar?
• If we were to work together on this project, what are the exceptional results that would thrill you?
• What if this project failed and what if it was extremely successful?
• What does this project mean to you personally and what legacy would you like to leave behind?
• Do you have the courage to do what it takes to be successful?

I do acknowledge that although these are some (there are others of course) of my favorite questions, there is nothing like being in the moment and asking powerful, effective and provocative questions. When you do, you are likely to frame the real issue, gain trust, and help your client rapidly reach higher success.

I would love to hear what are your favorite provocative questions?

• Unveils the key issues that need to be addressed
• Helps expedite the process of reaching a strong conceptual agreement
• Helps establish trust yet is uncomfortable at times for the person to answer
• Stimulates the discussion and forces the person to think hard and dig deep
• Eliminates the junk which but that I mean the superfluous stuff that should be ignored or eliminated
• Positions you as an object of interest and as an expert
• Causes the person to say: “wow, I’ve never thought of it that way” or “that’s a great question!”

Although I recommend you collect such questions and store them in a system for easy retrieval, the ones I find most effective are the ones I come up with in the moment.

So what are you waiting for?

(3:01)
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© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t come up with ideas to improve my life or my business as well as those around me, whether family, colleagues and clients. What I am referring to are such ideas as: improvement, innovation, new product development, writing and content creation (articles, process visuals, audios, videos) and more.

I immediately then jot the idea down to enter later into a digital file system or directly enter it into my system. I happen to use Evernote as my software tool of choice to easily organize all these ideas which can then be easily retrieved anywhere and anytime on all my devices (desktop, laptop, iPad, iPhone and such).

Not only will this guarantee that your next best idea does not go to waste, but once the ideas go into this system, they become a goldmine that can easily be mined and retrieved. Do this and you will never have a shortage of great ideas.

Some of the amazing content creation (podcasts, videos, articles, process visuals and blog entries) is also a great demonstration of the content creation and collaboration I have with Constance through my Digital Empire Creation service offering.

Click on our portfolio page collection to view other sites and strategies we have created.

Here are some examples of provocative title or topics for your content creation:

• Instead of: “Are all customers good customers?”
• Provoke with: “Before firing your team, start firing your customers!”

• Instead of: “How to grow your business?”
• Provoke with: “Forget your margins and start with top line growth!

• Instead of: “Differences between Google and Yahoo”
• Provoke with: “Google and Yahoo – Same companies, 3 key differences”

• Instead of: “Best business practices”
• Provoke with: “From failures to victories – The importance of setbacks to success”

• Instead of: “Why you need a web site?”
• Provoke with: “Why the last thing you need is a web site?”

So before posting your next blog post, or creating your new product or even naming your teleseminar series or your upcoming book, are you making people stop and think, are you controversial and provocative?  If not, what’s holding you back?

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

If you were devoting less than half those 13 hours, say, six hours, to other professional marketing pursuits, I estimate you could do any one of the following during that week:

• Write two to three chapters of a book.
• Create and post 10 to 12 position papers on your website.
• Call, at a moderate pace, to follow up with 30 past clients and/or warm leads.
• Send out a dozen press releases.
• Engage in a full day of self-development or a workshop.
• Create three speeches or a complete multi-day workshop.
• Create a new product to be sold on your website.
• Create, and develop a marketing plan for, a teleconference.
• Create and record three podcasts.
• Create and tape a video.
• Contact 30 prior clients for testimonials, referrals, or references.
• Attend two networking events.
• Create and distribute two newsletters.
• Complete at least half of a professional book proposal for an agent.
• Respond to 50 or more reporters’ inquiries on, say, PRLeads.com.
• Seek out two high-potential pro bono opportunities.
• Contact and follow up with five trade associations for speaking opportunities.

You get the idea. Don’t forget, in my unscientific analysis, I’ve halved the hours I think are really being invested in full-fledged social media activity based on an already conservative estimate of what they truly are. And I’m not even counting other networks or platforms, just the four I’ve mentioned.

And over the course of a couple of months, you can easily do ALL of the bullet points, if you have a mind to do so. I’m just allocating six hours a week, just over an hour a day.

This is an excerpt from my new book Million Dollar Web Presence - Leverage the web to build your brand and transform your business, which I coauthored with Dr. Alan Weiss and published by Entrepreneur Press.

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

1. Lack of effectively using technology to communicate with their customers, partners and staff
2. The need to constantly balance between implementing cutting-edge technology vs. using outdated technology
3. The need to continually improve the skills set of their technical team
4. The need to effectively train staff on new technology (hardware & software) and find the balance between lack of proper training vs. too much training
5. Do it in-house vs. outsource domestically or even internationally
6. Figuring the “right” technology to implement vs. going on a goose chase to accommodate someone’s limited knowledge or subjective preferences
7. Leveraging technologies for dramatic success vs. a time drain for all
8. Minimizing or eliminating inside or outside vulnerability
9. Making sense of too many options
10. Knowledge management to make sure it does not evaporates when someone steps out
11. Technology is not an enabler to support business growth and the strategy
12. High tech, low touch
13. Letting technology replace the human touch
14. Letting humans perform tasks better suited for technology
15. Not planning for the future

What have you seen as the top challenges out there?

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

(2:53)
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© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

He then said: “Your ability to quickly frame the issues and ask us provocative questions is remarkable. Why don’t you create a new offering that allows you to partner with your clients, so you may pull out of their heads their amazing content, wisdom, experience and expertise? This way you’d be able to create a variety of offerings for your clients such as: articles, podcasts, vidoes, booklets, books, process visuals and other products and services. By doing so you’d be able to improve their business, your business, their clients’ business and the world. This could be your legacy!”

“Wow!” I said.

I’ve thought about this for quite some time as I have come to realize that the most powerful and successful global thought leaders do the following:

• They are prolific publishers of powerful content.
• They have their content presented and available in a variety of formats such as: articles, position papers, checklists, surveys, process visuals, audio and video options.
• They have products available such as: eBooks, booklets, books, CDs, audio books, teleseminars, webinars, workshops and more.
• They provide remarkable value that manifests itself through their unique intellectual property.
• They productize and monetize their business.
• They leverage many aspects of technology and the Internet to the highest level of success.

So back in July of last year I launched the Digital Empire Creation program to help my clients strengthen their thought leadership. The success has been remarkable and I will shortly start to share with you some examples of the amazing content creation I am doing with my clients.

Stay tuned!

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

This project is a great demonstration of the Million Dollar Web Site partnership I have with Dr. Alan Weiss. It also showcases the repository of  the vast and extraordinary creation of Phil’s phenomenal content as demonstrated on his blog, articles, newsletters, videos, podcasts, process visuals, products and services. Some of the content creation is also a great demonstration of the content creation and collaboration I have with Phil through my Digital Empire Creation service offering.

Click on our portfolio page collection to view other sites and strategies we have created.

We’ve been able to do this by leveraging technology. Here’s what we recommend from the distillation of our successful experiences, a list of “best practices” for the new professional global services provider:

1. Use email to deliver information with brevity and speed. Try to respond within four hours during your work day.
2. Use your website to offer free resources, creating word-of-mouth and repeat visitors.
3. Utilize video conferencing tools such as www.Skype.com or www.oovoo.com, among others, to conduct business meetings and/or implementations of projects. Both of us use Skype extensively to work with global prospects and clients. Skype can support ten concurrent users as we write this, and we’d guess 100 by the time some of you are reading this!
4. Instant messaging is highly effective with subcontractors, employees, and clients. Tools such as iChat can delegate and monitor projects on a real-time, frequent basis.
5. Webinars can provide interactive presentations with audio and video support. You can use tools such as www.gotomeeting.com, www.mikogo.com, or www.fuzemeeting.com, to name a few current, popular alternatives.
6. You can quickly coordinate group meetings and schedules among multiple participant calendars by using something such as www.doodle.com.
7. A site such as www.liveperson.com provides flexible tools for interaction between your customer service team and visitors.
8. Teleseminars can provide both marketing reach and income, and are now usually free to mount, using www.totallyfreeconferencecalls.com or www.instantteleseminar.com.
9. Live streaming of events you host locally to a global audience is now an easy reality with resources such as www.livestream.com.

To effectively obtain global business, begin by strengthening your brand locally, regionally, and domestically. Start with as strong a base as you can. Leverage your existing clients’ referrals to introduce you, proactively, to international contacts.

Publishing a book is enormously helpful in international work. Alan has had his books translated into ten languages so far, and had one published, with co-author Omar Khan, a Pakistani, in Singapore. It’s a good idea to approach editors in other countries via the web, and always let them know if you’ll “be in town.” Act like you’re a global provider, don’t just talk about it.

This is an excerpt from my new book Million Dollar Web Presence - Leverage the web to build your brand and transform your business, which I coauthored with Dr. Alan Weiss and published by Entrepreneur Press.

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

This was quite an undertaking which has finally come to fruition which I know you will enjoy and gain amazing ideas to increase and accelerate your success. Here is my gift to you, the reader of my blog. If you order Million Dollar Web Presence through my web site and enter the coupon code of MDWP, I will completely waive the price of the book ($15) and will ship the book to you and charge for shipping only ($7) wherever you are.

The entire globe is buzzing. Here are some of the many reviews:

“In the business of Web sites and content, Barr stands alone as THE thought leader
to those looking to leverage high technology to build their brands.”
Alex Goldfayn, CEO, The Evangelist Marketing Institute, USA

“We don’t have a website any longer—we now have a web presence that is focused, bi-lingual, interactive, and full of value.”
Dr. Guido Quelle, Managing Partner, Mandat Consulting Group, Germany

“This is the best book I have read about creating a web presence
in the professional services marketplace, bar none.”
Tom Schramski, PhD, President, Salience Consulting Group, USA

“Implementing Chad and Alan’s ideas have helped me generate six figures in new business and put me on track for seven figures!”
Phil Symchych, President, Symco & CO., Canada

“Chad Barr and Alan Weiss don’t just write about it—they’ve done it. Read and discover how to build a powerful, global marketing presence.”
Suzanne Bates, CEO, Bates Communications, USA

“Every consultant or professional services firm can have a global presence if they use the right web-based marketing tools. Alan and Chad know what tools to use and more importantly how to use them.”
Rob Nixon, CEO, Nixon Advantage, Australia

“I give this book my highest recommendation. This is a must buy. You will be blown away.”
Geoff Ronning, President, Geoffrey Ronning Group, Inc., USA

“What is amazing about the thinking and the practice of Alan and Chad is that they actually walk their talk. Thanks to the direct input of Alan and chad, I now have clients in the UK, Scandinavia, Saudi Arabia, and the US.”
Rurik McKaiser, Attorney, South Africa

There are many books on the market that will tell you how to develop a web site that works, and others that touch on how to leverage your web site as a spoke on your marketing wheel. This book is different. It distills knowledge about how and why you should use specific techniques to create not only a high impact web site –but also a world class brand. I think I’ve got about 1/3 of the book’s pages dog-eared –the tips and insights are readily deployable. I’ve worked with both authors for several years now, and what they share in this book is nothing less than best practices for leveraging your web site presence to create and reinforce yourself as a thought leader in your area of expertise. Apply the techniques to your benefit; even if you just use a few you’ll see results.
Kelli Richards, CEO, All Access Group, USA

“My business has been truly transformed since I became a client of the authors of Million Dollar Web Presence. My focus productivity, and global reach have flourished. I have tripled my income working with clients on fine continents, and my output of intellectual property has mushroomed.”
Patrick Daly, Managing Director, Alba Consulting Group, Ireland

(4:18)
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© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

1. What is the most common challenge your clients are facing and can you give me three ways of resolving such challenge?
2. Why is it a huge mistake to promote your best sales person to the VP of sales and what are the other viable options?
3. How do you recommend organization avoid competing on price and can you share some of your clients’ best practices?
4. What are objections represent? How do you best overcome them?
5. What are the biggest sales mistake managers make and how do they stop making such mistakes?

Too many I meet, when asked such questions, seem to be like deers caught in the headlights. Unless you are able to quickly and confidently answer such questions, I’d recommend you either invest in yourself and transform your ability to do so, or you step aside. I know I am a bit harsh here but I can’t imagine running a successful business without the ability to articulate your explanation regarding issues that are supposed to be within your areas of expertise.

So, can you quickly and persuasively answers these questions? I can, and that’s my final answer!

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

• Realize that success is not some silver-bullet approach or formula but it takes hard work to reach.
• Have the discipline to execute and do what you say you will do.
• Develop the utmost accountability to mobilize yourself either by find doing so yourself or create the support system around you to do so.
• Sustain and increase a high left of self-esteem so you have the confidence to walk your talk, act as a peer to others and push back when necessary.
• Learn to say no when it does not make sense or does not feel right.
• Discard the items, opportunities, business in your life that you should let go of.
• Invest in yourself and your development consistently.
• Learn to seize the moment, recognize and act on opportunities around you.
• Unless you’ve been fortunate to be able and delegate all of that stuff you hate, learn to do it first.
• Learn to deal with adversities, be light on your feet to quickly bounce back form set backs.
• Find your true passion so work becomes play and play becomes work. When these lines of demarcation have become blurry, you’ve made it!
• Commit to doing what’s right, giving back and improving the lives of your family, friends, clients, colleagues, partners, you, your community and perhaps even the world.

Life is way too short. So while you are at it, why not make it the best?

How would you answer this question?

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

Click on our portfolio page collection to view other sites and strategies we have created.

1. When asked to articulate what your strategy is? can you do it? Your site is only one marketing component (out of many) to support your overall strategy. Answer the following questions: What is your strategy? Paint a picture of the future and identify what you want your company to be, look like and be known for and why. What is the geography you are going to cover? Who are the audiences you are attracting and where do they hang out? What is your value proposition, which means how are your clients better off by virtue of working with you?
2. Now that you have identified your strategy, start thinking about your tactics. What are your tactics and how do they support your strategy? Should you publish and/or create a community around your brad? Should you leverage the media and your speaking presentations? What about using social media, creating powerful alliances with others and developing your own video and audio channels?
3. Next are your actionable action steps to support each one of your tactics. The easiest way to think of these is to answer the how question, which means how would this action support my tactic. For example: if one of your tactics is publishing, your action steps could be blogging daily, attracting guest contributors to your blog and site, submitting your content to be published elsewhere, get involved in podcast interviews and start writing your eBooks and books.
4. Determine the platforms you should use to exploit and further push your content? Think about other platforms as launching pads to exponentially increase your content reach. Becoming a guest contributor for others’ blogs will quickly introduce you to their audience and increase your reach exponentially. Placing many videos on YouTube and other video related sites will enable people to find you easily while strengthening your thought leadership in the process. The same applies to linking your content (audios and videos) on iTunes which has become one of the largest repositories of amazing intellectual property or blog talk radio and such platforms.
5. Who do you currently know, who knows you and who should you know? Nurturing powerful relationships is one of the keys to word-of-mouth referrals, viral marketing and therefore increased success.
6. One of the toughest question my clients struggle answering is: “what is and how would you describe your brand?” Perhaps a topic for an upcoming podcast, article or video and until then, can you answer this?
7. What is your marketing plan? Should you speak, create products, write a book, blog often, use affiliate relationship? Which items are you focusing on right now and which should you focus on next?
8. Rather than thinking of creating a web site, I recommend you start thinking about creating the ultimate repository of your remarkable content or intellectual property (IP) that is well leveraged to engage your clients. When thinking of your IP, start identifying and creating the various products and services that you should offer to your target audiences in addition to the ones you are already offering. What I am referring to is the creation of workshops, teleconferences, webinars, booklets, eBooks, audio books, video books, books, communities, charts or process visuals, podcasts in both digital and non-digital formats.
9. Can you clearly answer the question as to why you are going to do this? Does the answer make sense and outlines a strong return on investment? Are you partnering with a strategist who brings a great track record of success that is easily substantiated? If so, you are ready for the last evaluation point.
10. Only when you have gained complete clarity of the items above should you start thinking about the creative direction, look and feel, navigation style, and aesthetic components of your site. Don’t fall into the trap of letting this become your first step or you too may end up with just another pretty web site!

So rather than thinking about hiring a web designer to create a new site, start first by clarifying your strategy, tactics, action steps and then the creation of the ultimate tools to effectively connect with your clients to provide them them with consistent and remarkable value. Do these and you will accelerate your success.

© Chad Barr 2012. All rights reserved

We arrived Israel in the evening and after a quick stop at our hotel in Tel-Aviv, we decided to take a ride and dine at one of our favorite places, the Abulafia restaurant in Yafo.

Abulafia Restuarant - Yafo Israel

Salads selection to start

Yafo at night

Next day, we had to make a decision between visiting some of the museums of Tel Aviv or shopping on Disingof street. We quickly found ourselves investing in the local economy and somehow never made it to the museums. After watching the beautiful sunset, we visited the old train station, which has been transformed into a beautiful area with nice shops and restaurants and then ended up at a fine restaurant at the Tel Aviv Port, which was loaded with people enjoying life.

Shopping on Dizingof Street

Tel Aviv Sunset

Tel Aviv - The Old Train Station

Dinner at a fine restuarant at the Tel Aviv Port (The Namal)

We started our next day at one of our favorite places, Nachalat Benyamin, which is the place for the weekly art & craft fair. A lot of fun.

Nachalat Benyamin - Art & Craft Fair

Nachalat Benyamin - Art & Craft Fair

And then, we were on our way to Haifa to visit with my friend from childhood, Eitan, and attend the beautiful wedding of his son Alon to his new wife, Doris. Here is the movie I shot during the wedding, which captured the spirit quite well:

My wife and I at the wedding

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the party hall had a WiFi connection. So, while the band was playing and my wife and I were dancing, we decided to Skype with our kids and grand kids from Orlando. What a blast it was to be able to video share the moment and watch each other while my 2 year-old granddaughter was dancing with us thousands of miles away. Technology, when it is working, is a marvelous thing, isn’t it?

During our three days in Haifa, My friend, Eitan, has graciously hosted and treated all the guests arriving from outside Israel. He hired a tour guide and a bus and arranged for exciting tours around Haifa, combined with colonary delights. Our last spectacular gathering was in Acko at the Uri Buri restaurant,owned by interesting character, Uri Yirmias. (Photo below):

Owner/chef Uri Yirmias or Uri Buri Restaurant

Beautiful Acko

Acko Sunset

We were then on our way to the Golan Heights to spend the last few days with my Dad, my sister and her family. It was Friday afternoon when we got to visit my Dad at his nursing home in Teveria, overlooking the beautiful Sea of Galilee. We spent some great time together, when we realized that we had the rare opportunity of celebrating life, while welcoming the Sabbath, and bringing the enjoyment of music and spirit to him and the residents there. My music background, sure came in handy. I grabbed the Accordion (I know this is rare) and started to play, and my wife, a gifted Cantor with an extraordinary voice, started to sing to everyone’s great enjoyment. How cool is that?

It's music time, Chad's style

My wife, Laurel, welcoming the Sabbath

And just before our departure to Spain, we had the opportunity to visit and witness Agmon Hula, the 8th wonder of this world. It is a paradise of birds and people. When you visit Israel, I couldn’t recommend this enough. Let me leave you with some photos and sounds from this amazing place:

Our ride to see the birds.

A small display of many more

Amazing birds' view

Le it ra ot

Upon my arrival to the US (34 years ago) and during one of my college lunch breaks, I wanted to impress my American buddies with my new idioms. Being so tired from studying the night before and while they were having their lunch I sat down and said: “I pooped!” Their reactions and face expressions made me realize that I may not have been as clear so I yelled again: “No seriously, I Pooped!” “Well … good for you Chad!” I heard them say.

When arriving home later that evening and when realizing that my new idiom has not been as effective and impressive as I thought it should have been, I decided to run this by my wife who was / is the source of many of my exciting idioms. “You said WHAT?” she yelled. “No you didn’t!” she continued. “Honey, You forgot the apostrophe as it should have been I’m Pooped!” she exclaimed.

A huge difference an apostrophe makes, eh?

Here is what Betsy had to say about our work and influence on her success:

• Thought leadership, for me, means being sought after by clients and the media to help improve my clients’ businesses and live. It also means high degree of self-worth.
• It’s not about credentials and education but how smart you leverage your applied intelligence.
• Stop worrying about what people think. Instead, lead them and tell them: “here is what you need!”
• When writing a book, the most important part of that book is the conclusion.
• Develop a vast amount of intellectual property that is manifested in a variety of formats such as: books, booklets, audio and video, workshops, seminars and such.
• You have to create the environment that others see you as a thought leader.
• A firm can be associated with the thought leadership of a concept such as: McKinsey in leadership.
• You may build the future credibility as part of your organization. For example: “Here are The Chad Barr Group strategic Internet growth ideas.”
• When examining my Internet Strategic Profile process visuals, I rank thought leaders between distinct and breakthrough.
• Create a library of great ideas. Move on some quickly while letting others age and ignore the rest.
• Help my clients establish their web dominance.

Summary of David Maister Presentation:

• Trade organizations are very powerful. Publish there.
• The regularity of your articles is the real power.
• The biggest issue with thought leadership is the discipline of it. Find someone you trust that will hold you accountable.
• We all know what we need to do and we just don’t do it!
• The key is to get your clients to rave about you and refer you to others. Otherwise, you have a quality problem and not a marketing problem!
• Take your articles and convert them to books and eBooks.
• Being a thought leader does not mean that you originated the idea but that they want to talk with you about it.
• Develop a powerful questionnaire (assessment) that helps diagnose your clients. In order to get the answers, they have to enter their name and email information.
• Consider doing a pro-bono speech if they give you the email list of the participants.
• Most of your business should be your existing clients. Everything else is gravy.
• Don’t make a promise for something you are not going to do, or scale back your goal.
• Turn down work you don’t need or should not do.

Final points:

• Meet your deadlines and hit the mark!
• Show up at the right time and the right place.
• Remove these items that hold you back or that are clogging your life.
• Take some prudent risk.
• Take action. Move!

In order to be a thought leader remember this:

• It’s all about resolve!
• Decipher what you are going to do and do it!
• You gotta want it!

Growth ideas:

• Reinvent yourself often.
• Become the catalyst to help reinvent your clients.
• Build and strengthen relationships with clients.
• Hold yourself and help hold your clients accountable.
• Consistent personal touch.
• Share best practices.
• Ask for referrals.
• Make sure your passion and enthusiasm is demonstrated through your work.
• Build communities.
• Build on your strengthens rather than correcting your weaknesses.
• Focus on creating new offerings to existing clients and then focus on existing and new offerings to new clients.
• The key to monetization of your intellectual property is to build and strengthen your brand.
• What action will you take right now? It’s all about execution!
• What opportunities exist that you may capitalize on?
• What apps should you consider developing and what is the value to your clients?
• Deliver “just-in-time” knowledge to your clients.
• Securing cash reserves to sustain your operation for many months will have a dramatic affect, which will free up your mind to focus on your business growth and vision.
• Explore new markets all the time.
• Create a powerful support system of people you trust.
• Does your team meet, don’t meet or exceed expectation? Reward those that exceed your expectations.
• Get rid of low margin business.
• Create rain makers.
• Create remarkable content and get it into the hands of buyers.
• Rather than interviewing people as podcasts, videos or articles, why not call them “conversations” which allows you to inject your own intellectual property and position you as a peer.
• To grow your business, get the right clients!

And some photos:

Stresa, Lake Maggiore, Italy

Left to right: Guido Quelle, Susanne Quelle, Suzanne Bates, Drew Yarro, Maria Weiss, Alan Weiss, Chad Barr, Stuart Cross, Phil Symchych, Kerri Symchych, Wendy Nour, David Nour

Chad Barr and Alan Weiss at the poolside reception

Chad, Stuart, Phil, Kerri, Guido, Susanne.

View of lake Maggiore

View of Lake Maggiore from my room. Doesn't get any better than that.

Click on our portfolio page collection to view other sites and strategies we have created.

• Anyone requesting to connect with you who has initiated such request. However, they must be genuine and credible. A quick look at their profile should help determine such.
• Clients.
• Past clients.
• Prospective clients.
• Executives in organizations.
• Journalists.
• Colleagues and professional business acquaintances.
• Interesting individuals in groups you belong to and others asking and answering questions.
• Popular bloggers and thought leaders.
• Competitors.

• Create a dramatic new look. I have to admit that this is one of my favorite sites we have developed. You probably hear me say this about all the sites we create, but this is the one!
• Implement various aspects of marketing initiatives and gravity.
• Implement a dynamic interface to better showcase Stuart’s ongoing content development of his remarkable evolving intellectual property.
• Enable Stuart to easily change his own content.

Here is what Stuart has to say about the results we have help create for his business:

(2:56)
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For example, my blog name is hosted under www.ChadBarr.com which is registered and owned by me. What if someone decides to register one or all of the other extensions, such as the .net which would then make www.ChadBarr.net available for them to populate with their content. This could and would create a situation that when my clients search for me, they would most likely find the other domains that are actually not associated with me and my company.

So the primary reason you want to consider this, is to avoid others from trying to take advantage of your success and then registering and owning the other domains associated with your company name or brand names.

One final point of consideration is that once you have registered and own all these extensions (URLs) is to redirect all of them to your .com domain so when one tries to type the others, they will end up on your main domain.

© Chad Barr 2011. All rights reserved

A strategy is the framework that helps you identify where you are taking your company and what you want it to become. It is all about answering the “what” and the “why” questions while tactics are the detailed action plan that answer the “how” to achieve these type of questions.

Answering these questions will provide the clarity necessary to then develop your tactics or action plan:

1. What do you want the site to do and why?

• Create credibility?
• Deliver value?
• Educate the visitor?
• Diagnose the visitor through process visuals or surveys?
• Convert visitors to prospects and prospects to clients?
• Enable products purchasing for passive income?
• Leverage marketing effectively?
• Promote your products and services?
• Create a community?
• Promote your books?
• Capture visitors’ information?
• Become the hub and the repository of your intellectual property?
• Help you gain as many clients as possible while reducing your labor intensity and increasing your responsiveness significantly?
• Visitor to have fun?

2. Who is your audience(s)?

• Identify all groups.
• Where do they hang out and what are their geographic areas?
• What do they read?
• What trade shows do they attend?
• Where are they on the web?
• What are they looking for?
• What is their age group and sex?
• Do they search on search engines?
• Do they use social media platforms and which ones?
• Should journalists be targeted?

3. What do you want to become?

• Thought Leader?
• Consultant, author, coach, speaker?
• All or others?
• What are you known for?

4. What is the outstanding value you bring to your clients and your offerings?

Let me finally suggest that no technology should be discussed or design executed prior to the strategy being clearly identified followed by the tactics. As you’ve heard me say: “Strategy first, technology second!”

This is an excerpt from my new and upcoming book Million Dollar Web Presence - Leverage technology to build your brand and transform your business, which I am coauthoring with Dr. Alan Weiss and which will be published by Entrepreneur Press.

© Chad Barr 2011. All rights reserved

1.     Leveraging your sites and technology to increase your credibility.

2.     Incorporating the accelerant curve in your overall strategy of products creation.

3.     Recognizing that your site is the ultimate repository of your remarkable intellectual property.

4.     Effectively leveraging social media platforms and connections to build a community around your brand. Then, nurture this connections and your community.

5.     Incorporating a blog to drive content and interactions as part of your web strategy.

This is an excerpt from my new and upcoming book Million Dollar Web Presence - Leverage technology to build your brand and transform your business, which I am coauthoring with Dr. Alan Weiss and which will be published by Entrepreneur Press.

© Chad Barr 2011. All rights reserved

What I like about this site:

1. World-class design and navigation to help Kelli strengthen her thought leadership and brand.
2. Outstanding content in the form of articles, podcasts on site and on blog talk radio, videos, newsletters, updated blog and social media interaction.
3. Focused strategy and tactics to create credibility, deliver value, effective marketing leverage, promotion of books, products and events, capture of visitors’ information.

1.     Using a link that takes the visitor to your home page and not to a targeted landing page. This is a huge mistake. Instead, formulate unique pages that are clear to understand with effective calls to action and direct your visitor there.

2.     Not attempting to capture your visitor’s information and not offering free valuable content in return.

3.     Trying to do it all yourself. This applies both to your site and strategy as well as content creation. Hire an expert and partner with others for your content.

4.     Evolving your content slowly or not at all or inconsistently. A great analogy that comes to mind is the one of athletes and the grueling practices the engage in to fine-tune their skills in order to get to the level of success they desire. Your practice manifests itself in the format of creating and publishing.

5.     Ignoring additional effective aspects of marketing gravity and expecting your web site to be the only tool to bring in business and possibly overnight.

This is an excerpt from my new and upcoming book Million Dollar Web Presence - Leverage technology to build your brand and transform your business, which I am coauthoring with Dr. Alan Weiss and which will be published by Entrepreneur Press.

© Chad Barr 2011. All rights reserved

This is a podcast interview you must listen to. So click the play button and enjoy.

(29:06)
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and now also on iTunes

Click Here for entire podcast series table of contents

This is where this story gets interesting. One of these very well-known thought leader wrote me back that he is interested and that all such engagements are handled through Tom (a made-up name) with his speaking bureau whom he copied on the email. I immediately contacted Tom who wrote back to tell me how busy he is during the entire week and that he needs more details before we talk. Tom finally wrote me back that he is available to connect all day Thursday. I wrote back suggesting 9AM. Tom replied later that he has a meeting at 9AM (don’t forget, he said he was available the entire day) and suggested 2PM. I replied, agreeing to 2PM only then to get a reply back from Tom’s assistant who wrote that Tom has another meeting and suggested 2:45PM?

That’s when I’ve lost it. I wrote Tom letting him know that this is getting absurd and my time is as important and busy as his. He did write back apologizing and commenting that he just needed to change his schedule. I wonder how many other possible speaking opportunities did this well-known thought leader miss because Tom just needed to continually change his schedule?

• Thinking of taking surfing lessons later this week. Been watching them and I think I can do it!
• Eating healthy, went for a brisk walk.
• Missed my flight this morning for the first time in about 9 years..
• Oooommm …. “I love my life.” “I love my life.” “I LOVE MY LIFE!” Repeat this all day long to yourself & out loud to others. Wishing you a peacefully & delightfully glorious Tuesday.
• Do something amazing today!
• This quote hit me between the eyes so I have to share it…
• “He that would live in peace and at ease, must not speak all he knows, nor judge all he sees.” – Benjamin Franklin
• View from my coaching room – Just counted 19 bunnies!
• Marketing contest is underway. The votes are fascinating. I love seeing the numbers and what people think. Check out my blog or search on FB.

On the other hand, here is a quick sample of some of the posts from Chad Barr and Alan Weiss:

• Language controls discussions, discussions control relationships, relationships control business. Watch your language. Below is an example of how this thought has stated to generate a discussion.
• Confront, don’t enable, poor behavior: “You’ve cancelled 3 meetings at the last minute. I can’t work with you if you do that.”
• Effective Podcasting. Ever wonder? Listen now: http://bit.ly/qq5eKt
• In first 2 minutes of your speech, audience determines to what extent they’ll listen to the rest.
• Changing Your Small Talk to Big talk http://bit.ly/n5VG3H
• Requisites for newcomer to consulting: High self-esteem, six months of expenses in bank.
• How to Handle Objections: http://t.co/qFtm3XZ
• Requisites for veterans in consulting: Building brand, becoming IP, thinking big.
• Viral marketing incorporates exponential power by leveraging the web, people & your outstanding content
• How easy is it to contact you? Just had to call a colleague but no phone # on his site or email signature!
• How frequently do you have something new to say? Increase your success by saying something unique & often.

Our recommendation is that you ought to consider how unique, qualitative and provocative your posts are. Notice also our incorporation of powerful hyperlinks to the proper landing pages on our sites. And finally, if you are attempting to strengthen your thought leader position, why not demonstrate original thoughts and quote yourself and not others.

This is an excerpt from my new and upcoming book Million Dollar Web Presence - Leverage technology to build your brand and transform your business, which I am coauthoring with Dr. Alan Weiss and which will be published by Entrepreneur Press.

© Chad Barr 2011. All rights reserved

Rule #1: Tell them what they need to know, not everything that you know.

Most writing is far too prolix and verbosity has become endemic to our society. But less IS more in writing, so how do you control your propensity to open the verbal floodgates?

Put yourself in your readers’ shoes. Ask what they would need to know on any given topic to be able to pragmatically apply useful techniques immediately. Newspaper articles are written in an “inverse pyramid” style, so that the most important information comes first, and the less important can always be edited out at the end for space limitations.

You have no such luxury in a newsletter that we’re advocating be confined to about a screen or 800 words or so. (An average magazine page, without advertising, has about 800 words.) So ask yourself merely this: What are the three or four most vital points and how can I express them with a minimum of verbiage.

Which leads us to rule #2.

Rule #2: A picture is worth 1,000 words but an example is worth 1,000 pictures

People relate best and most immediately to situations with which they are familiar and/or in which they’ve found themselves (or could readily imagine themselves). Consequently, use personal stories and examples to make your points, which will both dramatically shorten your article and also bring life to it.

For example: “Have you ever been in a classroom where the professor tells you everything he or she ever learned but doesn’t respond to a question and rarely looks up from the  notes? How effective was that learning compared to the professor who wades through the room interacting?”

You’ve been there, and so have we, and you can see (visualize, remember) immediately what that was like and why the point is so valid. There’s no need to try to translate a conceptual theme using thousands of words.

Try to describe a spiral staircase with your hands at your side. At best you’ll say that it’s a continuing 360-degree, ascending stair which revolved back upon its own central axis.

That’s nowhere as effective as saying, “Picture a corkscrew….”

Rule #3: Don’t use no bad grammar

Don’t fall victim to the debasement of the linguistic currency.

The Internet is largely informal, to the extent that you can readily find obscene and scatological references on Facebook and YouTube (which is the web at both its best and its worst in terms of what’s posted there).

Keep your content civil and intelligent, as if you were conversing with acquaintances you’ve met with, but not family or friends at a hockey game. You’re not talking to insiders, but to those with whom you may do business some day. You don’t want to offend, you want to impress.

If needed find an editor or someone who will simply read your newsletter before publication for obvious errors. For example, the correct phrase is “between you and me,” not “between you and I,” even though the latter may seem more refined. You don’t have to know that the reason is “between” is a proposition which takes the objective “me” and not the nominative “I,” but you do have to get it right.

If you’re grammar is isn’t correct, and you’re not smart enough to find someone to correct it, why would your products and services be any better?

This is an excerpt from my new and upcoming book Million Dollar Web Presence - Leverage technology to build your brand and transform your business, which I am coauthoring with Dr. Alan Weiss and which will be published by Entrepreneur Press.

© Chad Barr 2011. All rights reserved

Click the play button and find out.

(30:27)
Download MP3

and now also on iTunes

Click Here for entire podcast series table of contents

It’s insufficient to merely attract people, you need to retain them. Not for hours or days, but fore minutes and for repeats visits. We call this a “sticky” web presence, because people don’t want to leave (and, yes, we make it difficult for them to leave—to get rid of us—because we’re offering so much value, so many options, so much interest).

Here are a different type of “sticky keys”:

a.    Site must be responsive and quick to load and display pages. Otherwise visitor will quickly grow impatient and leave. We once say a site with the “floating head” of the owner, which took over a minute to make its message and clear!

b.    Interesting, fresh and dynamic content, such as diagnostics and self-scoring tests and challenges for the visitor.

c.    Make sure the landing page answers what they came there to do with minimal amount of clicks or clutter. In other words, what are the typical results for the client or customer?

d.    Reduce stagnation. Three strikes and you are out.  Keep it fresh and review your content for timeliness and relevance. If there are three things that are dated, the visitor is probably out.

e.    Enable visitor interaction though email, contact forms, comments, sharing with others. Don’t play hide-and-seek, or protect yourself more from prospects than you do from spam. For goodness’ sake, list your physical address in case someone wants to mail you something!

f.     Community connections with peers and successful colleagues. Demonstrate that you’re connected to the profession and the community.

g.    Others’ recommendations.  Include video and print testimonials and not merely on a “testimonial page.”

h.   Ability to subscribe to newsletters, email notification alerts and RSS feeds.  Allow people to gain a continuous access vial other platforms.

i.     Create incentives such as: “You will receive instantly… Let people download text, audio, and video.

j.     Promote your best content “The best of …” This can often be a list of Twitter posts you’ve made on common subjects, recycling and repurposing your intellectual property in new ways.

k.    Show them additional resources on each page and what other visitors have liked. Amazon is great for this: “Others who read this book have also purchased….”

l.     When people leave comments, respond as quickly as possible and also thank them for stopping by and for their feedback. No inquiry should go unanswered for more than 24hours.

m.  Create a continuing series (sequels) that builds on interest, suspense, and more intense future knowledge. Such as episode #1, #2, #3 …  or Part 1 of 3.

n.   Repurpose older content by adding new life to it. Include videos, or graphics, or case studies of how you’ve since applied it.

o.    Easy way to access the latest announcements, what’s new and upcoming events. Margin real estate is quite effective for this.

p.    Upsell products and services during the checkout process by offering related items and other bundles.  This is the checkout line at your local Staples or Best Buy with all kinds of impulse items for sale as you stand on line.

Customer engagement and relationship building should continue long after a site or non-site purchase. Keep them aware of current and future promotions. We capture every single book, video, audio, workshop, and related buyer and mail to them once a month. Here’s an example below.

One of the slippery slope, stickiness removers, is overly complex design and difficult navigation. Also, too many “orphan” pages, which require no action at all, and go nowhere, tend to turn visitors toward the door. Make sure the visitor is compelled to do something. But keep it local. We generally use no links directing the buyer elsewhere (to another site). We want our sites to be cul-de-sacs where the buyer can stay put.

This is an excerpt from my new and upcoming book Million Dollar Web Presence - Leverage technology to build your brand and transform your business, which I am coauthoring with Dr. Alan Weiss and which will be published by Entrepreneur Press.

© Chad Barr 2011. All rights reserved

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• What is your key business focus and the value you deliver to your clients?
• How would you describe your target audience(s) and the profile(s) of your perfect client?
• What are your key product and service offerings?
• What great results have you seen from your web site and its strategy?
• What are some of the key issues / challenges you are facing?
• What would you want to be known for?
• if we were to work together, how would you describe the possible outcome from your site and its strategy that would absolutely delight you?

These questions are provocative and would typically start great conversations. I have to also admit that I am surprised at times how many entrepreneurs struggle answering such questions. So next time you meet a prospective client, ask them such questions but make sure you come across genuine and friendly and not interrogating. And also, how quickly can you reply to such questions when asked and what would be your answers?

© Chad Barr 2011. All rights reserved

• Tenacity to get what she wants. A “no” is simply a slight delay in her strategy. She would then resort to plan B. There is no such thing as rejection in her vocabulary.
• Tremendous self esteem and confidence.
• Zest for life. Every moments counts and is an intense quality interaction.
• Intense desire to learn new things and an astonishing curiosity.
• When bored, find another point of interest and quickly.
• Fearless about trying new things.
• Loves the exploration, fun and discovery of new things.
• Life is about having fun and a lot of it.
• Remarkable memory and focus.
• Creativity level that would have made Edison wish he had started innovating much earlier.
• Trusting relationships with individuals unless proven otherwise.
• Great love for nature and animals.
• Love of hearing  great stories even if read each night.
• Mickey Mouse and her grandfather are very cool.
• Life is great and I am blessed and fortunate!

How about you? What are some of the lessons you have learned from your kids and grand kids? Please share.