Cavalletti Communications

Who are you?  I am passionate about…

Regular readers of my blog have heard me (well, “read me”) talk about passion in the past. A lot, in fact.

Passion – and the excitement of getting right into it, getting my hands dirty, give whatever I do intense focus and the best I’ve got – sits at the core of my personality.

Enthusiasm for and commitment to a person, an event or subject is something I cannot do with less than 100%. Whether I talk about a book I love (as a copywriter, words are my passion, of course), revel in the glow a beautifully shot film can evoke, share my passion for my sports (diving, martial practice and holistic exercise) – or talk about and work in my business.

It’s catching!

And I find that passion is infectious: I converted a number of girlie girls to try krav maga, a full-on self defence style. Without trying hard I managed to get a better price with a vendor because he saw my passion for my work. And my clients are regularly repeat clients (and that’s the type of client all us entrepreneurs and business owners like best!) because, as one of them put it, I show “passion and care for their business, as if it were my own”.

Passion = Success

I am not telling you all this because I like to blow my own trumpet, but because it took me a little while to distill that passion breeds success. And you do not have to be an extrovert to show passion: quiet enthusiasm and commitment to your interests, work and clients works just as well.

Get it back! It’s worked so hard for you.

But even the most enthusiastic person has an off-day every now and then and finds it hard to muster the passion for what they do, and usually love. Be it that you have the ‘flu that’s going around (again!), your kids have turned the house into a right royal mess when you need some quiet time, or you simply need a break from the daily grind. Take it.

Take out some time for yourself to reflect on why you started that fitness programme that you are now neglecting, remind yourself why you took that job, or what motivated you to started your own business. Get your passion back!

Simon Smith from Southern Cross Coaching put it well in his recent blog post on passion and success. He says:

“The first point is that no matter what you do, you can – and people do – lose the passion for it. We forget the whole reason why we’re doing it. We forget what we love about it all. It slips away from us. At some stage, we all need to stop & make time to realise what we do, why we do it, & how much we really do enjoy it, and how much it really means to us – despite what might be some seemingly tough times.

The second point is that passion sells! Passion is contagious. People buy passion. Be it in your business, an interview, at home. And they will often buy your passion & enthusiasm over & above the most polished, unpassionate product or presentation. So, before any important business or sales meeting, before that interview: Stop! Think. Smile. You will make more sales, you will have better client relationships and better clients, you will do better business. And you will be a happier business owner!”

I couldn’t agree more.

How do passion and enthusiasm influence what you do?
How you see the world, your relationships and the work you do?
I look forward to your thoughts.

Until soon,
Daniela

“A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.”
Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com

Like a person’s reputation, a business’s brand takes consistency, creativity & diligence to build – and is easily damaged or lost if not constantly nourished. How do you communicate with your clientele?

What are you doing to develop & maintain your brand and company’s reputation?

As a consumer or client, we all can get riled at bad service or a product that looked oh-so-enticing but fails to deliver what it promises.  And we all appreciate getting a good result when buying a product or receiving a service.

But what about those businesses, services and items that surprise us, that deliver extraordinary experiences? Those are the ones that stick in our mind, that we recommend and which we will go back to over and over again.

I live by the belief that it is the extraordinary  – experience, service and reputation – we should aim for. As employees, service providers or manufacturers, no matter which.  Putting in that extra bit of effort, passion, care, quality and professionalism will set you apart from the crowd, distinguishes us from our competitors and makes our business or career flourish.

Marketing “guru” Seth Godin talks about the disproportionately positive effect of the last ten percent of effort here.

Until next time,
Daniela

My good friend Seth Godin (ok, so he does not actually know me, but I have read so much of his writing, it feels like he is almost part of the family) has posted a great article on his blog.  It’s close to my heart for a couple of reasons: It’s about the value a good editor can add to your business, but it’s also describing one of my core business principles.

I believe in giving my clients the best possible, professional service and advice when it comes to their brand, message and communications. Most of the time, this means writing engaging business and marketing material for them that gets their brand or product message across to their intended audience and buyers – spot-on, respectfully and easy to understand.

But sometimes that good service might mean a tough call:  advising the client to scrap that brochure or mail-out altogether. Even if that means one less job (and fewer $$) for me, because it just does not add anything to what they want their audience to know. It does not fulfill a need on both sides, just on one.

And in order for sales and happy, satisfied customers to happen simultaneously, both your company and your communications audience need to have at least one need fulfilled. Simple.

Until next time,
Daniela

First there was the Website…

You own a business and have set up your website. It’s informative, it looks fab and it gets a lot of hits.
But does it get you customers, clients – and sales? Hmmm….

So, you start spreading the love, trying to find your potential clients elsewhere and keep in touch with your existing clientele.  These days, your next step is entering the world of social media: you get a facebook page, spruce up your LinkedIn account and you are Twitter-ing away.

But what next? How can you use your social media presence to grow your business, spread your ideas and create a following – all while contributing something valuable? Is it only looks that count, to be seen to “do the social media thing”?

Content is King

Potential clients are people, not just an abstract construct. And people want substance, something useful and not just a sales spiel. Getting your product, brand and marketing message across in a way that is valuable to you as well as your target market gives everyone something to be happy about.

Taking without giving or contributing does not work in 2010. Content, value and sharing is what your target audience – your “tribe” – needs and wants. Write a blog, offer some free resources, share your thoughts. Your readers want substance.

Give it to them

Find 10 tips on website content and social media strategy here.