"I ALREADY KNEW THAT" AND "TOP 10 OTHER 'WOW' TAKEAWAYS"

Submitted By: Michelle Villalobos

Setting objectives at the beginning of ANY meeting is essential. So I’ve decided to put 10 of those epiphanies in one place - the WOW Takeaways Top 10. As you read, you may think "I already knew that"
and chances are, you're right. But that's a very dangerous attitude (that should've been WOW Takeaway #1!). The real question is, are you actually applying it?

WOW Takeaway #1. All of us together know more than anyone of us alone. Remember that the next time a "lowly assistant" or an outsider makes a suggestion. Sometimes the best ideas come from unexpected places! Creating a "Referral Wheel" is a great way to identify hidden opportunities for referrals

WOW Takeaway #2. Many of us spend more time and energy chasing brand-new business instead of focusing on existing clients, getting old clients to come back or pursuing referrals (all of which are generally more profitable than new biz). On whom are you spending your efforts and $$? On the left is a "referral circle" that identifies new ways to go after referral business.

Wow Takeaway #3. The elephant in the (board)room for almost every single service based business I worked with was... drum-roll, please... PRICING! Price determines profit because once you're covering costs, each additional dollar in revenues equals a dollar in profits. Problem is, most of us struggle with setting price, and then maintaining price integrity. If this sounds like you, here's a link to a great slide-show: Pricing For Profit.

Construct a Price-Value Matrix to determine if your prices are too high, too low or just right

WOW Takeaway #4. If you're not email marketing, you're missing out on an amazing opportunity.... Problem is, 95% of email marketing is SPAM (okay, I made this statistic up, but I'll bet it's actually more like 99%...).

WOW Takeaway #5. Almost everyone is trying to use social media to drum up business in some form or another. Corollary: Most of it is a big, fat waste of time.

WOW Takeaway #6. For the vast majority of us, word-of-mouth marketing and referral marketing is the single most cost-effective way to drive sales.

WOW Takeaway #7. Most of us don't develop cohesive strategies around word-of mouth marketing and instead wait for it to "happen."

WOW Takeaway #8. Strategy isn't a once-a-year effort.

WOW Takeaway #9. When developing our marketing messaging, most of us focus on features, efforts and efforts, or PROCESS, instead of RESULTS. Remember, most people don't care how you do what you do, people only care about what you can do for them. AKA: WIIFM - "What's In It For Me?"

WOW Takeaway #10. Why do what you do? You'd be surprised at how many people don't have an answer to this question.

Hope to see you soon, perhaps at one of our upcoming workshops...

Michelle Villalobos
(vee • ya • low • bos)

Speaker. Writer. Trainer. Marketing & Sales Consultant. Personal Branding Expert. Co-Author of "Badass
Business Women: The Manifesto," Creator of "How To Communicate Powerfully (Without Being A
Bitch)," and "Why Women Play Dirty"
www.MichelleVillalobos.com

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