Tumgik
#I guess??? I feel like those work best for organizational purposes
forgetful-river · 2 years
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I have to be honest with myself, I'm not gonna finish this, so here
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kumoriyami-xiuzhen · 3 years
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Hakuoki Yuugiroku 3 drama: Please teach me, Yamazaki-san! English translation
Special thanks to @nollatooru​ for extracting text again since there’s no way this would have been translated anytime soon since the majority of drama translations that I’ve found as videos only are near the very bottom of my to-do list.
This is my translation of the 薄桜鬼 遊戯録 隊士達の大宴会 店铺特典「教えてください山崎さん!」, the Yuugiroku 3 (too much of a hassle to look up the actual name) drama: Please teach me, Yamazaki-san!
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Ended up doing a bit more research that I would have liked to translate this since the names of the positions in the Shinsengumi’s organization for spies didn’t translate well from Japanese into Chinese (huzzah for google translate and for biographies that list names in Chinese and Japanese so I was able to find the information I was looking for in English)... Also, i didn’t look up the gameplay for anything since I had to uninstall KW and EB for space when I was taking things off my damaged passport, not that it would have made much of a difference since I can’t recall a point when the “Watch” was actually voiced... so I might not really be consistent with a few things in this translation since I only did research during the latter half of this...? 
oh well. i don’t know Japanese and don’t do the editing for my subtitle videos until I compare everything to the audio later so I can claim ignorance. i suppose that’s an odd benefit of not understanding Japanese hahaha.   
Anyway, as always, my translation not be 100% accurate since I translate from Chinese. final edits will probably take a bit longer (in comparison to the other things i’m still sitting on) to do since im still debating about what im do with all the Watch-related words since I really don’t like it when the things I translate aren’t consistent....
PERSONAL RECOMMENDATION: I HIGHLY ADVISE AGAINST READING THIS AND WAITING FOR MY SUBTITLE VIDEO.
Hakuoki Shinkai Yuugiroku, Please teach me, Yamazaki-san! Drama CD
Translation by KumoriYami
Yamazaki: (I think that since there haven't been any large manhunt operations lately [reword later? tl can also mean "to hunt and arrest"], things have been quiet.)
(However, what is that guy doing/is that guy's purpose?)
The one out there, I'm not going to run.
So come out and tell me why you're spying on me.
~wind blows~
(Not planning on coming out...?)
-grips sword-
Then, I'll take the imitative to attack.
(movement in bushes)
Souma: Ah, please wait a moment!
Yamazaki: Oh. You are... Souma-kun?
(movement in bushes again) Saito: Sure enough, I was immediately found/discovered/I was detected immediately. As expected of Yamazaki.
Yamazaki: Based on just the breathing, I thought there was only one person, yet Saito-san was also still here. Exactly what are you doing?
Souma: Sorry! I didn't mean to do anything strange.
It's just that I wanted to observe Yamazaki-san work.
Yamazaki: Observe me work?
Although it's fine if you want to watch, but aren't you the Chief's page?
Saito: I recommended that he try this,  But he was immediately found. Still it's better to ask the person himself directly.
Yamazaki: You two, what are you talking about?
Souma:...Um, Then, Yamazaki-san, please show me how to [/you] work! ----
Souma: Hakuoki Shinkai Yuugiroku, Store Bonus Drama CD, Please teach me, Yamazaki-san! ----
Yamazaki: In other words, you now understand the duties of a page, and still want to know what sort work the other warriors do, and want to try monitoring/surveillance/doing the Watch's work? 
Is that how it is? Souma-kun.
Souma: It's just as you said. As the chief's page, I work hard every day, but I still don't know a lot about the Shinsengumi.
That's why I went and asked Saito-san [about this].
Saito: I know that Souma is working very hard. Though that will naturally be [more/become] obvious as time goes by/Though as time goes by, that will naturally be understood/Although this has been said for a while, this will naturally be understood. [check audio]
Yamazaki: But you don't want to wait for/until then, and want to be of use as quickly as possible?
Souma: Yes. Can you help me with this, even if it's [for] just a little bit?
Yamazaki: Hm.
Souma: Yamazaki-san.
Yamazaki: No, I was just reminiscing the past/thinking about the past.
I used to be as anxious as you are.
Alright, if I can, permit me to teach you.
Souma: Thank you very much!
Saito: Then can I also accompany/join you?
Yamazaki: Saito-san also wants to? That won't be a problem.
Saito: I also have experience following people while on patrol
I'm very interested in how the Watch [im pretty sure it's the Watch here and in the earlier instance. tho i can't say for certain since CN doesn't exactly do capitalization and ive never played the game in Chinese] fulfills its duties.
Please allow me to learn again. [check audio]
Yamazaki: In that case then, I'll ask you to please look after me.
----
Yamazaki: Although it normally referred to as the Watch,
the Watch is actually divided into two sections.
Souma: In terms of how it organized, sorry but please review it for me again.
Saito: The part of the organization for spies which acts by itself to gather external intelligence is called Shoshi shirabeyaku ken kansatsu*, and within that, those who are responsible for investigating/monitoring the conduct of [the/our?] members/the investigators whose duty is to supervise the conduct of/our members are known as the Kansatsugata**
* Shinsengumi's organizational post for investigating movements of the opponents and keeping the Shinsengumi members under control. (source: https://japanese-wiki-corpus.github.io/person/Kuwajiro%20OISHI.html)
**  had to look this up on the Shinsengumi wiki.samurai-archives
Yamazaki, who holds both positions/is capable of accomplishing both duties, is at the core of the Kansatsugata.
Souma: Shoshi shirabeyaku and Kansatsugata...
After hearing this again, I really feel that Yamazaki-san is quite amazing.
Yamazaki: Uh, do-don't say that out loud. I'm not used to it.
Souma: But, monitoring/investigating/supervising the conduct of the other members...
Saito: It's to secretly investigate whether or not members are conducting themselves in a manner that is befitting as members of the the Shinsengumi, and whether or not they have done anything improper.
Souma: In other words/That is to say, that also includes my actions so far.
Yamazaki: At the moment, you have no problems [there are no problems with you?].
Souma: Is-Is that so...
Yamazaki: There are almost two hundred members. Among them, there will be people who do not abide by the regulations, and those who clearly show their dissatisfaction/obviously dissatisfied or are treasonous/or even rebellious.
Souma: I see. Indeed there are people who obviously show that.
Saito:  It these people incite trouble within the team, it would be very troublesome.
That's why the Kansatsugata are needed to investigate people like this.
Yamazaki: Having said that, the three of us have been quite noisy so it would be helpful if we quickly correct that here. Ah. The two of you, over there.
Saito: Say who is there [more like "name" i guess? probably more "identify who is over there" ]
Souma: That is... Nagakura-san? There are several other people [He's with some other people/several others].
Yamazaki: This is a rare opportunity to train one of the basic skills for spying/[needed] as a spy. I'll give you a demonstration. Afterwards, you'll eavesdrop on their conversation without being discovered.
Souma: Yes, I'll do my best.
--------
Saito: Almost 15 minutes have passed. But it's really bold for you to have come up with this practical training, Yamazaki.
Yamazaki: For his first time attempt at doing this, Nagakura-san is suitable [to practise with]. As long as one isn't murderous [being bloodthirsty? think of something later], he'll basically ignore you.
Saito: Nn. If it was Souji, he would immediately draw his sword for a harsh/ruthless interrogation.
Yamazaki: No, Saito-san would do the same thing, and immediately get rid of your pursuer [not sure if this is in the "dispose of" sense though the tl i have can be translated that way lol].
Saito: Well, it doesn't feel good to be tested when I obviously haven't been disloyal.
Yamazaki: It's as you say, but this is my job.
Souma: AAAHHHHHH!!!!
Saito: Uh. [That’s] Souma. Why is he being hunted down [chased/pursued]?
Yamazaki: By whom/Who is it? Ah, Okita-san, at this time?
(frantic steps) Souma: Sorry! I didn't mean to do anything else!
This was just training for surveillance work!
(sword swung) Souma: AAAHHH!!
Okita-san, please forgive me!
Saito: An unexpected situation.
Yamazaki: He needs help to get away/escape from that situation, he isn't his opponent at all/he's no match for him.
Saito: I'll figure out a way to deal with Souji. You escape with Souma/You take Souma and run away. --------
Souma: Truly thank you for just now. Okita-san was already behind me before I realized it I really thought that I was going to die/I was dead.
Saito: Dying is a bit of an exaggeration.
But I'm certain he would have stabbed your neck with his sword and left you half-dead.
Yamazaki: I didn't expect Okita-san to be nearby, but there was way of knowing that you'd encounter him/but nothing can be done about meeting him [check audio].
Well then, change your mood for the next training [reword later]. The target is that room. Remain quiet from this point onward.
Souma: What's next?
Yamazaki: Take this letter and swap it with the letter in that room. But, in the next room, there is someone you must not be detected by.
Saito: Training for intelligence work? If this goes well, then it's possible that the other party won't even notice you.
Souma: That would be good, so it's just this letter? Then, I'll be right back.
Yamazaki: Ah, be very careful.
---------
Yamazaki: He entered the room without any problems.
Saito: Ah. So, who is the person in the next room?
Yamazaki: Well, it shouldn't matter since that person is asleep during the day.
( door slides open, then frantic steps)
Souma: Saito-san, Yamazaki-san! I'm sorry! I couldn't do it!   As soon as I entered the room, I felt that someone was staring at me through the door of the next room! There was also this creepy laughter/ing!
Saito: Laughter? The eyes staring at you, were they red?  [i swear this is going to become fanart one day lol. for both the spying and souma talking about what happened]
Souma: Yes! they didn't look like human eyes at all!
(door slides open.... slow creaking footsteps)
Saito: Does that mean that one over there was...
Yamazaki: Ah, damn it! He's awake!
Saito: Yamazaki, you go first! I'll deal with this!
Yamazaki: Sorry! I'll leave the General Secretary [so... i don't really like the English localization translation of Sanan's position being  a "colonel" so i looked up what it said on wikipedia and used that] to you! Souma-kun, come here!
This training/Training ends here!
Souma: Eh, eeehhhhhhhh?!
Saito: I'm sorry that it was noisy while your rested [that this noise disturbed your rest?], this was as a result of... --------
Souma:  What the hell that just now...
Yamazaki + Saito: It was just your imagination.
Souma: Eh. But, "General Secretary" was clearly said...
Yamazaki + Saito: You imagined hearing it [tl is more "it was an illusion" and one that is heard... maybe "you're hearing things"?. kinda gave up on thinking about that right now. ]
Souma:  Is, is that so... uh. That being said...
Saito: What's wrong/What is it?
Souma: Although the Kansatsugata feels quite unremarkable, each individual/everyone posses outstanding abilities, and I've been made aware of that again. [However] I 'm incapable of doing this sort of work.
Yamazaki: Hm. It can be said that you're not talented at this.
Souma: Eh?
Yamazaki: In the first place, not everyone can do this.
All of us within the Kansatsugata are constantly working on improving our skills.
We're always fighting in the shadows for the Shinsengumi.
What you think of being outstanding abilities is the results of our hard work. [remarkable capabilities?]
Souma: Truly, Yamazaki-san is amazing. I understand why everyone trusts you!  
Yamazaki: Th-That's why you shouldn't look at me like that. But for you, I think that you're better suited to doing honest work [tl can basically mean "honourable," "not devious" or "out in the open" in the straightforward sense] and not this secret monitoring work/surveillance in the shadows [reword later].
Saito: Indeed, compared to secretly taking covert actions in the shadows, you are better suited at working in the open, Souma.
Souma: I-is that so...
Thank you very much for this/that. If it's possible, I hope to still learn some things from you.
Yamazaki: There will be opportunities for that. Then, we'll end today's training here. Souma-kun, is there/do you have anything else you want to ask?
Souma: [Something] I want to ask.... ah. then, Yamazaki-san, may I ask you one last question?
Yamazaki: Ah, if I can answer, I won't hold back [will/do so].
Souma: What sort of technique is the "Tatami flip"?
Yamazaki: Ta... Where did you hear that name from?
Souma: Just now during this investigator training/spy training, Nagakura-san mentioned it/Nagakura-san mentioned it while doing the operative training. It is said that it is Yamazaki-san's most powerful technique.
Yamazaki: That guy said something unnecessary! No, Souma-kun, that's.... It's not something amazing like a secret technique..
Saito: Why are you being modest? That move is indeed capable of being referred to as/called  a secret technique. If it's possible, I'll ask you to please teach me it. Perhaps I will be able to apply it to kenjutsu.
Yamazaki: Even Saito-san, what are you saying? [Even Saito-san is saying this? check audio]
Souma: Please, Yamazaki-san!
Saito: I'll be requesting the same of you, Yamazaki. [tl is more "i'm also requesting (you) to do so/asking"]
Yamazaki: Bo-Both of you, please raise your heads. I-I get it! I'll teach you.
Souma: Really?!  Thank you very much!
Yamazaki: But, you can't tell anyone else about this.
Saito: Nn. Understood.
Yamazaki: Then, please get behind me. Aoyi***, Tatami flip!
This is the literal Mandarin pronunciation of the tl without tones. CN tl can mean “profound argumentation” (in Chinese), tho it's also used to refer to some of the highest level of martial skills in JP (so says a baidu search on the term). 
The English google translate of that page puts this phrase as "Ogi," and after reading this page that mentions "ogi" (http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-9948.html#:~:text=Yielding%20is%20called%20%22ju%22%20as,an%20open%20heart%20without%20ego.), so i will probably change this to either "Secret move" or "hidden technique" based on what it mentioned there
Souma: Uoh!
Yaamzaki: Ju-Just now, that was the Tatami flip.
Souma: Amazing, that was amazing, Yamazaki-san! How were you able to do that without any tools [check audio]? Please tell me how to do this!
Saito: This can be used indoors while fighting defensively/can be used as a defence when fighting indoors. It can also be used to hinder an enemy's movements.
Yamazaki: Yes. This requires focusing your strength into the centre of your palm, and within a single breath, smack/slap the edge of the tatami, and then lifting it up when the edge bounces.
Souma: So it's like that? Hoh.... tatami flip! Uh. Areh? It didn't bounce at all.
Yamazaki: Haha. It's not something you can master right away. It also took me a long time to do it. Concentrate/Focus a bit more strength into the palm of your hand.
Souma: Ha! Ah! Yah! It-It's not moving...
Saito: Practise makes perfect./Won't practise make perfect [check audio]? Alright, I will challenge this. Should the position of my hand be around here?
Yamazaki: Yes. [Though] It's better to have it moved a bit forward [moved up a bit]/ if the if the center of gravity is moved forward.
Saito: Understood. Then, I'll be going. Secret technique: Tatami flip!
Yamazaki: No way...
Souma: Uoh.
Saito: Nn. That happened naturally [reword later...? tl is is basically "letting nature take its course was achieved"] .
Souma: Sa-Saito-san, that was amazing! You actually succeeded in one go!
Saito: No, there's no guarantee that this will succeed every time. The accuracy and speed can be further improved upon.
Souma: Really, the Shinsengumi has assembled some amazing people. I can't fall behind and have to work even harder.
Saito: Ah , work hard. I am always willing to practise kenjutsu with you.
Yamazaki: Ah, but, to have it actually done it so easily, my confidence...
Saito: What is it, Yamazaki?
Yamazaki: No, I just feel that need to train a lot more. Let's improve together, Souma-kun.
Souma: Yes! Please look after me!
Souma Kazue, Kaji Yūki Saito Hajime, Toriumi Kōsuke Yamazaki Susumu, Suzuki Takayuki
-end-
sorry but this is the only souma thing i have scheduled for april. 
also i wanted some Yamazaki content translated, but i unfortunately don’t remember if i ever found Yamazaki’s route from Yuugiroku 2... so I settled on translating what I hope is a certain complete chapter (as viewed via the extras menu) of Souji’s route with him in it... sorta. scheduled for july!
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image from suruga-ya
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cheerystarlightwish · 4 years
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Millionaire Detective Balance: Unlimited Episode 10 Thoughts
Hi guys! Episode 10 was such a gift. With everything that is going on, I feel quite down that the coming episode might be the last one. The show has such a great fandom and wonderful potential that it definitely would be saddening once it ends. I sincerely can’t wish enough for  there to be more seasons, what a joy that would be for all of us. Moreover, I don’t mean to sound repetitive or ungrateful but, it really still feels as though we just started. Neither of the thoughts, theories, and analyzations I did from episode 9 were validated nor nullified. I’m not quite sure what to think of that yet but I guess, it would mean that I was thinking too much about it. Even though I have quite a lot of questions as of now, I feel like a lot of those will be put to rest once the next episode comes out. As such, I really can’t wait for this coming Friday (the day it is released in my country). Anyways, For those who haven’t watched the recent episodes yet, there are spoilers ahead as I share my thoughts so please be cautioned! Thank you, have a nice day, and stay safe!
(Disclaimer: Any similarities with other posts are purely coincidental. Moreover, if that does happen, I am glad that there are many who think so too because that increases the probability of the statement, thought, analyzation, or theory being somewhat true.)
______________________________________________________________
Episode 10 provided several insights about Haru’s trauma, Daisuke’s stance or sentiments about the whole case, and the relationship between the former and the latter. I may not have the answer to all of the questions I had like “who were purchasing adollium?”, “what is adollium’s true purpose? Is it that versatile?”, “are other Kambes in on this side of the business?”, and “why do the higher ups not want to get involved?” but, what we got was beyond my imagination. It’s interesting because compared to other animes, the action scenes were not as “explosive”. It gave the episode an overall touch of reality that grounded me as I continued watching with bated breath. It made me realize that there are only two of them against a whole group of enemies, a very dangerous situation one can find themselves in. Even if it is not as “colorful” as other animes’ fights, I can’t help but feel the adrenaline with every punch they throw and narrow escape they pull off. In their own right, they were such iconic and noteworthy aspects which deserved the attention and praise they got. 
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Another thing I got fascinated with are the struggles of both Haru and Daisuke. Haru’s trauma is not exactly new news to us. We already knew from previous episodes just how badly the past event affected him but episode 10… episode 10 gave us a whole new perspective on the real extent of the damage it did to him. They were in such a precarious position, life or death for both of them, and yet he still hesitated. Haru obviously wanted to help and save Daisuke but his fear was just too great despite his effort to overcome it. He needed an extra push and boy am I glad the former gave it to him. If it weren’t for Daisuke’s encouraging words, a touching wake up call, the situation would have gotten so much worse. Additionally, I liked how Daisuke picked his words during that moment. He reminded Haru that he’s always been a hero and that he should stay true to his beliefs about being an officer and uphold justice. I feel like that was exactly what Haru needed to hear after losing his confidence to “take charge” ever since that hostage incident years ago. I am glad to see him revert back to his old self, and arguably an even better person which is a combination of both his old and new self, after succumbing or resigning to the limitations of his job with all the “listening to higher ups because we are merely below them” attitude.  
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Throughout all that development with Haru, I was pleased to find out that Daisuke was not left behind. His development was no doubt scattered among all the episodes but this episode highlighted just how far he has come. It’s especially evident on how he kept on protecting Haru, his wake up call to him, his compassion towards the enemies on board who were trying to escape the sinking ship, and his confrontation with his father. To be honest, I expected him to lash out at Shigemaru and become quite “cold-hearted”. Surprisingly for me, that is not what we got at all. Instead, we get this Daisuke that calmly approached and arrested his father not on the account of his mother’s murder whose case was deemed closed 19 years ago, but on the murder of Cho-san and Takei-san. Those seemingly little details provide such a clear perception that he did not only do this for himself, his mother’s case which was his main priority, but for the others he cared for as well, Cho-san and Takei-san’s case which affected their department hard. It was such a pleasant turn of events that I can’t help but feel complete fondness for his character. 
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Lastly, I adore how they showed and revealed where the two main characters’ relationship is at. For the past few episodes, we see them arguing and evidently looking like they are on different sides. Fortunately, episode 9 hinted that that may not be the case and episode 10 completely refuted it during that scene where Daisuke tried to arrest his father. They’ve come so far and it was such a treat to find and notice that subtle and not so subtle changes in their relationship. From their first case together which ended in Haru falling from a bridge, to that hostage incident in an airplane, and finally to their current dynamic in the recent episode. They fit together so well that I bet once this case with Shigemaru is over, their duo will be one of the best there is. Together with the whole MCPTF team? They will be such a badass department.
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Predictions:
Though I love episode 10 with all my heart, I can’t help but feel a little sad with the notion that the whole business with adollium and weapons ended just like that, with a sinking ship. It was more than 19 years in the making and the company involved is one of the biggest in the world so, I find it quite difficult to believe that there is nothing more to it after that. Even though I feel that way and with the realization that I might be looking too much into it, I wanted to tone down and step back a little with regards to my thoughts, theories, and predictions for the show. Therefore, I would only be playing with the idea of it’s possible continuity. Given the audiences’ positive reception of the anime, it would not be so far out of the blue for the staff to continue it. What I'm trying to say is what if Shigemaru going back to laboratory 3 and Daisuke and Haru’s future confrontation with the so-called final boss is not really the final? What if they pull a Tomb Raider (2018) type of ending? We are all aware that Shigemaru is part of Laboratory 3 but if you look at their organizational chart, there are a lot more divisions. What if the end is that Shigemaru wanted Daisuke to find out about the dirty dealings within their conglomerate out of his sense of guilt and regrets about his own actions? Now, I do not mean to “soften” his character but really just, what if he wanted the latter to realize that there is a much bigger threat and it’s hiding within their enterprise? Not only would that be an amazing follow up, but it would also ensure that there are future works to come regarding the franchise. A girl can dream, can she not?
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(P.S Screenshots from Ani-One youtube account)
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gregnas-the-grouch · 3 years
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Lending a Hand 3
The hours passed on as the two were locked in a deep discussion. For once, Whisper seemed to be as genuinely serious as Eudai was. A welcomed moment for Eudai as the two bounce ideas off each other. “It seems you have quite the list. Seems you’ve been falling behind on several objectives” Eudai mused, perusing over the list Whisper made as the corpse merely grumbled. “Such is the pain that comes with moving. Doesn’t help I’m basically starting from scratch. Having lost most of my previous followers due to an… unfortunate incident” Whisper coughed lightly into her hand as Eudai stared at his elderly sister intensely. “You mean after you tried to take over the world?” Eudai stated bluntly. “It was an honest mistake! Besides, it’s not entirely my fault. If that decrepit bastard, Sinaldo, never possessed me. None of that would have happened in the first place” Whisper huffed, crossing her arms. Eudai remained silent for a moment before returning his attention to the paper in his hand.
“More than anything, it seems you suffer from organizational issues. Not surprising, given your chaotic nature. I’ve compiled a list of-” “Ugh, no lists! I hate that shit” Whisper yelled, her annoyance practically palpable. “Just break it down for me in more biteable pieces”, the corpse chuckled. Eudai merely shook his head for a bit. “Fine. For starters. You’re sorely lacking in resources, be it material, financial or personnel. Forget compensating me with my own resources, you barely have enough to keep this town running for more than a few months, at best.” Whisper seemed insulted by this, about to raise her voice, before reconsidering. “... Eh, fair enough.”
“Second: Your town is in rather poor shape itself. No doubt a product of the poor leadership it once fell under before your crazed vision held sway over it. Being demented is no excuse for lacking a backup plan”, Eudai stated explicitly, Whisper narrowed her eyes at the younger sibling, but let him continue. “Aside from your followers and that disgusting creature I see skulking around the pier. Do the rest of your inhabitants have any sort of formal training in melee or ranged combat? What of tube buildings? They are frail, I can practically hear the structures heaving in agony under their own weight. If your enemies find you, which they likely will in due time. You’ll have to start over. Which only delays your progress with your own personal goal. One simply can’t hijack smaller settlements forever. People will notice. You may be immortal, but you’re certainly not invincible.”
“... Anything else?” Whisper asked, her usually cheery and sadistic tone had been swept under by something more bitter and spiteful. “Well, in regards to that creature I mentioned before. Atakapa, you called it? Where did you find such an amalgamation of species? This certainly isn’t your handiwork. The genetic splicing and craftsmanship is peerless, almost as if it were natural in its own right” Eudai commented, his hand raised to his chin as he could only admire the quality of the work. Even if it resulted in such a loathsome beast. “Oh, it? I found it not too far away from a crashed vehicle a couple months back. Poor thing was hungry, so I had to offer it some warm food and a place to stay. It certainly doesn’t seem to mind guarding the peer. But the appetite on that one. It’d make Yemir blush with how much it feeds… Though, if I were to guess. Atakapa was simply a present left behind from our mutual benefactors. I’m sure you know who I’m referring to” Whisper chuckled ever so slightly as Eudai’s eyes narrowed. “The Cadavers? Are you so certain it’s a good idea keeping one of their projects within your town? We have no idea how’d they react to you kidnapping it” Eudai retorted, brows raised high as he tried to contemplate Whisper’s logic. Incomprehensible as it may seem at times. Whisper merely smiled, tapping a cheek bone with an index finger. “Ah, but you know as well as I do that if our unseen friends truly had a problem with this. There would be nothing to stop them from simply coming over here and kicking my ass” Whisper cackle, as if being roughed up by these mysterious entities was more amusing than anything else. “No, I feel like they’ve left me Atakapa on purpose! For what reason, I have no clue. Gotta say, adopting more murderous experiments to my little cause leaves me tickled pink”, Whisper laughed, making Eudai scooch away from her ever so slightly.
“Well, even if you do manage to sway more of those mutants to your cause. You still have one last concern to deal with. Your vendetta with Fenris”, was all Eudai could say before Whisper hissed at him. Her withered tendrils suddenly twisting and writhing with life. “I’m well aware of that project, Eudai. Or have you forgotten he’s the one responsible for my condition in the first place?!”, Whisper snapped, the ichor dripping from her mouth more vigorously. “I have not. I’m simply pointing out that your progress behind such an endeavor is sorely lacking. Especially for a wraith born with a thirst for vengeance for said deity.” Eudai’s statement was blunt, but to the point. Something ever Whisper could not deny as her eyes softened a bit.
“Fine, you want to know the truth? It’s been more difficult to track him down than I thought. Let alone learn anything about him. Nothing but nippy zombies and abandoned mining towns”, Whisper growled, her face devolved into a grimace as she pressed her bony claws into her decayed face. “Rather difficult to track something that originated from a completely different dimension”, Whisper grunted, her annoyance palpable as Eudai nodded his head.
“You would be correct. However, just because he’s not natural to this world, doesn’t mean his presence doesn’t leave an impact as well. Everything leaves a trace, including us”, the Mismanoir stated plainly. “In the end, which path you choose to follow is ultimately up to you. Makes no difference to me. For your goals ultimately serve mine as well.” Whisper froze, her eyes widened as she stared at Eudai. His face cold and robotic as he glared at her from underneath the shadow of his mask. Both eyes had become glowing orbs, piercing into Whisper’s mind.
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kaellecappuccino · 5 years
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Chase Devineaux/Carmen Sandiego. Dance. Please.
Carmen Sandiego / Chase Devineaux, CarChase.
We have it bad.
Carmen re-adjusted her hoodie and settled in the train seat she was on.
-So, Player ? Where are we heading now ?
In the seats in front of her, Ivy and Zack were sleeping peacefully (almost peacefully, considered that Zack’s face was smashed against the train window).
-Well, in a few hours, the three of you will be in one of the most beautiful city of Europe : Venice ! According to the informations we stole from VILE, there is an important meeting of the descendants of some of the most wealthy and famous families in Italy : they will especially give away some precious jewelries to charity.
-Hum, no wonder why VILE wants to be there.
-Yes ! You gotta be very careful : this is probably the most securised event in the whole country.
-Nothing will stop VILE from getting what they want.
-Except maybe us : I hacked into their system of reservations and got you three tickets. But you’ll have to do some shopping before.
-And why so ?
-The meeting is a bal, and not just a formal bal ! The them is “carnival”, and I guess you already know that Venice’s carnival is one of the most famous in Europe !
-Yes, you mean the one with the masks and the extravagant dresses ?
-Yup, that’s the one.
-Then I think we’re good for some shopping. Ivy is so not gonna like this.
Ivy, indeed, was not pleased :
-I mean, seriously, is it that necessary ? The dress, okay, I can bear it. The jewelry too. But the mask ! Carmen, the mask !
Carmen laughed softly, trying on a magnificent hat :
-It doesn’t need to be very fancy. Just pick a simple black.
-Ugh. Black is depressing. I’ll just take the blue one.
Zach joined the girls, showing off a superb mask with a long nose that almost reached his chest :
-Hey, look at that !
-Not very elegant, don’t you think ? sighed Ivy
-I don’t care. I’ll take it.
Carmen take off the big hat with feathers and rubans, and picked up a delicate red mack embroidered with thin black pattern. She put it on and looked straight at her reflection :
-Dress lightly. With VILE hereabouts, this is going to be a rough night.
Chase Devineaux had his fingers so tightly  wrapped around the wheel of his vehicle that his knuckles were going white :
“You missed the exit. Take the next one, then turn to…”
-I know I missed the exit, you stupid technologie !!
He sighed. Miss Argent had stayed in France to do some paperwork about the case Carmen Sandiego. The thief had succeed to get away from them at the last minute, again.
This time, it was in the small town of Bayeux, in Normandie, where the red woman tried to steal the world famous tapestry.
He cringed at the memory of her sweet smile when he had entered the tapestry room :
-Chase Devineaux, she had said. Why am I not surprised?
-This time, Miss Sandiego, you’ll not escape, he had answered with his smooth half-smile.
God how he dreamed to handcuff her! He had chased her all around the building, only to get close to her the moment she managed to get away :
-Au revoir, Chase! She playfully exclaim,a devilish smile on her delicious red lips. À la prochaine fois!
And then he could do nothing but to watch her slender silhouette disappearing into the night, her long red coat floating behind her.
Well, next time would be soon. ACME had good information about a very important meeting, where expensive jewelry will be sold for charity, in Venice. Miss Argent had to stay in France but he had been sent to Italy to hopefully catch la femme rouge one for all.
He had to admit to be rather thriller at the idea of seeing her again. To purchased her. To catch her. He let that half-smile of contentment he always had in front of her reached his lips. This time, no escape mademoiselle, you’ll finish in the back of my car, handcuff and…
“You missed the exit. Continue on a few miles…”
-ARGH !
He really had to stop thinking about his nemesis. That was what she was, wasn’t it ?
Carmen stepped out of the bathroom :
-Wow, Carm, you’re serving looks !
-Thanks Ivy. You too look beautiful.
She did : she wore a simple, yet very elegant blue dress, that fell fluid from her waist, with a slit that go up to her thigh. She held the simple mask in her hand : they had added some gadgets they owned to each of the masks. Carmen put on her own : it complimented very well the long red dress she wore, a very light dress, with several cut that go almost up to her waist, all in scarlet muslin.
-Are you girls ready ?
Zach was waiting for them in the corridor, already in his best suit, his mask in hand.
-Off we go !
They arrived shortly after to the palace where the bal was taking place.With one glance, Carmen could see the heavy security the organizators had put into place. With a little luck, it will be enough for VILE to not try anything tonight. But still, they had to be very aware.
They entered the building with no difficulty, and once inside, decided to split up. With the little modifications they had made to their masks, they would contact each others easily in case they spotted a VILE agent.
Carmen went her way, scanning the room behind her mask, until she saw a familiar figure :
-Well, well, well, look at that. Isn’t my dear Chase Devineaux ? she muttered to herself with a half-smile.
If she was being completely honest with herself, she was somewhat happy to see him. Everywhere she went, he was on her track. It was almost reassuring.He looked out of place here, with his grey suit and three-days beard.
-You should not talk to him Carmen, said the little voice of Player in her ear. He’s always trying to put you in jail.
She shrugged :
-Don’t worry, I got this.
She made her way to him :
-Hello, Inspector.
He turned promptly to her, his surprised face quickly transformed into this half smirk he always had around her, when he recognized her behind her mask. If she didn’t know better, she could almost believe he was flirting with her.
-Carmen Sandiego. Here to steal some charities donations ?
-Actually, not at all. Here to improve my dancing skills. And you ?
She leaned on the bar and noticed with a devilish smile how his eyes flickered to her breasts, just a fraction of seconds.
-To arrest you, of course.
-But I am not doing anything illegal ! I could even show you my invitation if you want.
-Really Red ? sighed Player.
She ignored him. Devineaux looked suspicious, but when didn’t he ? She laugh softly :
-Common’ Chase; Aren’t you going to ask me for a dance ?
-I am a terrible dancer, i have to admit. But give me those hands, I’ll have the pleasure to handcuff you for good.
-Oh, really, is the handcuffing really necessary ?
-Red, I think I’m gonna grab a sandwich, call me when you’re… uh, finished, I guess ? Player sounded like he was trying to hold back a laugh. She turned off the headset.
She took Chase’s hand and stepped closer to him, to whisper in his ear :
-You know you just have to ask…
Oh she liked the way he swallowed hard, the slight twitching of his fingers, as if dying to touch her. She knew the sexual tension between them was getting higher and higher with each new chase, each half-smile, each trying-to-outsmart-each-other-thing. She didn’t dislike it to be fair. She wasn’t a teenager anymore and Chase Devineaux was indeed an awesome man, not very deft, but charming.
He grabbed her waist and draw her even closer to him than before : their noses were almost touching :
-One dance Miss Sandiego. Not more.-Challenge accepted Mister Devineaux, she answered, putting her other hand on his shoulder.
And off they went, on the dance floor, swirling and twirling, but always so close she could feel the hardness of his body through their clothes.
-I could arrest you for kidnapping, you know ?
-You purposed the dance if I recall.
-You know what I mean.
She did know, but talking about it made her uncomfortable. It was her fault. She should have been more careful : VILE should have never linked her to the inspector.
-So. Those were the persons you work with?
She looked right at him, offended :
-I do not work with them!
He raised an eyebrow.
-Oh really? I don’t believe you.
-No, you don’t understand…. She sighed. I don’t work with them. I came there to save you.
-To save me really?
He made her turn around his hand, not leaving her eyes.
-Yes… Those people… They wanted to hurt me…
-So they kidnapped me?
-They thought we were working together.
-They must be stupid to think such a thing.
She laughed openly :
-Well, don’t you follow me everywhere?
He blushed. He actually blushed. She felt almost proud of herself
.-I have to arrest you!
-For which crime since I obviously didn’t kidnapped you ?
-You are a thief Mademoiselle!
They parted and then reunited, chest against chest.
-That what you say. Any proof?
She pushed him slightly and they turned around each other slowly.
-Do you want a list ? It would be quite long.
-Don’t worry Inspector.
They were close again, almost brutally. She looked at him, winking under her red mask :
-I have all the night, she whispered against his beard.
A tear of sweat rolled down his forehead. Why did he have to be so… sensitive to her charms ? The way her mask married the curves of her face. Her bluish eyes shining archly in the golden light of the room. How her dress hanged from her chest, displaying a lovely view of the top of her breasts, and then hanged loose around her legs, open on the matte skin of her leg.
She was playing with him, he knew that. Toying with his weakness like a cat with a mouse. He could sense, he could tell, by the way she pressed herself to him, by the way her supple lips curved into a terrible smile, that she knew the effect she had on him.
But did he dislike it ? The fact that this terribly beautiful woman that keep escaping him dared to lay her eyes on him, who constantly tried to arrest her, to let her hand rest on his shoulder, right into the crease where his neck begin ?
Since the first time he saw her plainly, on the top of that house in Poitiers, where he laid his eyes on her young, beautiful and playish face, she’s been haunting his dreams. At first, it was nothing, just a silhouette in the increasing light of the dawn.Then, when he started to chase her for good, it became more : her face, all mockering smile and beauty, whispering to him with her calm voice : “Come and get me Inspector… Or do you not run fast enough ?”
He believed he was just a sore loser then. But now, with her supple body pressed to his, he came to realized that if he get to actually catch her… It would probably not for handing her to the authority…
He looked at her as he made her twirl once again, the light fabric of her dress lifting and revealing the high heel she was wearing, her long calf and the hint of a round and delicious thigh.Dieu. He had it bad.
Suddenly, a green light started to flash on the right of her mask. Ivy was calling her. Carmen looked up : on the ceiling, Zach was facing a dress up Le Chevre. She sighed. She didn’t knew why, but she had hoped for a moment, only a moment, that there would be no VILE tonight. That she could dance with her Inspector until the end of the evening.
She looked back at him. His grey eyes were very intense and he was staring at her, the mouth slightly open. The warmth of his hand on her waist made her want things… Imagining things… They got closed once more, the green light still flashing urgently in a corner of her vision. His eyes went to her lips, then back at her, then again her lips, with some starved shine lurking deep in his pupil.The piece of music was coming to an end. He put both hands on her hips and bring his head closer to hers. They were almost… almost… She could feel his mint-scented breath on her lips, her arms wrapped on their own around his neck. 
He was just the right amount of tall, the right amount of large, the right amount of… of…hard ? She felt herself blushing and smiling of her evil smile she learned from him. The green light was more than insistent.
She let her hand slid slowly to his rough cheek and whispered :
-I’m sorry Chase, but this place is  about to get robbed and I’m this only one who can stop them.
His eyes widened :
-What ?
But the time he snapped back into the present from the lusted daze she put him into, she was gone.
He felt anger rising again, until something fell on his head. He grabbed it : it was a paper.
“ See you around Inspector. I heard that the Faro Verde was beautiful at dawn. Wanna check ?”
-Wanna talk about what just happened between you and Devineaux ? asked Player, openly tweeting now. 
Carmen shrugged as she snatched away from Le Chevre’s hand the precious ring. 
She really had it bad.
Soooo here it is. I know… I took a long time. Hope everyone can read it. Hope it’s not too long. Anyway, next to come : RedCrackle 😉😘
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Getting Off That Crazy Wheel
"Enlightenment must come little by little - otherwise it would overwhelm."  -- Idries Shah
Most people I encounter these days feel as if they're always trying to do too much, that the world moves too fast, that they're always on the edge of falling behind and going under. We're a chronically overwhelmed culture. Now, get ready for a radical statement—part of the reason for this is that we ARE trying to do too much! When the sum total of everything you could be doing in any given moment is infinite, as it is in this age of "convenience," including 24/7 access to nearly all information ever collected, we suddenly need amazing focus and time management skills. And guess what? No one ever formally taught us any of these unless we grew up in a monastery, or with a parent with insanely effective natural organizational skills, in which case maybe we were lucky enough to have had mentors in these areas. Of course that's an exaggeration; you may have learned some excellent tidbits along these lines from any number of sources throughout your life, but it's a rare person who has been able to cobble together an effective set of strategies from these random references.  The rest of us have to deal with the outrageous fortune that dumped an endless glut of opportunity in our laps, but with no way to turn off the fire hose when it all gets to be too much.
Since feeling chronically overwhelmed and ineffective doesn't feel like living a fulfilling life, we must find ways to do better.  If you want to take back your life, it's time to get friendly with the concept of focus. There are two aspects I want to mention here: Inward focus and outward focus. The inward version is the one we practice in meditation when we observe our breathe or keep returning to a mantra—it's the ability to place our mind's awareness on, and continually bring it back to, a subject or a feeling of our choosing. Building this internal skill allows us to hone our capacity to spend time living in the calmest, best parts of ourselves, and therefore to have access to an ability to make the best possible choices, with the greatest possible sense of peace, in each moment. This is called sanity!  Getting better at holding onto yours grants you a kind of personal power that's hard to describe, but imagine how great it would be to be able to choose your internal state more often than you react, automatically and without choice, to whatever assails you from your mental and emotional worlds.
The outward aspect of focus is the ability to deflect, in real time, distractions that bombard us from the outside world. Being able to do this efficiently all day long takes clarity (about your values and your purpose), intent, and relentless determination.  While willpower is involved, a lot less of it is required when you've taken the time to write down your goals and priorities, and you remind yourself of them often so that in a moment of stress you can remember WHY a choice is right or wrong for you. Being clear about why you're choosing what you're choosing serves to inspire and galvanize you when you start to get confused. However, this constant decision making can still be exhausting when you have to do it all day! It's important to simplify where you can and find times each week when you can be restfully free of constant sifting and value judgments. This ability may also be hard to imagine, but I bet you've come across someone who seems able to stay functional even in the face of a whole lot of chaos, showing you that it is possible.  If you have, think of that person as a model in this regard.
We also need those pesky time management skills mentioned above if we're going to succeed in getting things done when we choose to. These may include accurately estimating how long tasks will take, scheduling your time but not overscheduling yourself to the point where you burn out, transitioning between tasks in ways that assist you in refocusing, balancing your physical needs throughout the day so you don't crash, planning anew when things change so you can stay productive, managing your emotions when things aren't going your way, and others. Some of these you might already be good at, and some less so. When you think through the kinds of things that tend to stop you when you're working toward something you want, you'll probably be able to come up with your most likely challenges.  Like all acquired skills, these take time to build, and you are a complex and ever-changing thing, so this work is never done. Choose just one or two of your personal challenges and start practicing improving your skills around them.
As you work, be patient with yourself. It's always annoying to feel like a beginner at something, but as I remind myself often, we've all been through the learning process many times. What feels painful and unlikely inevitable turns into something you can easily do on autopilot with practice. Over time, our capacities increase, and we can achieve heights that seemed vertigo inducing from former vantage points.
Whatever skills you think need your attention, there are probably lots of emotions, as well as habitual thoughts and negative self-talk, that come into play when they are challenged.  This is where Tapping is absolutely brilliant in helping you to move through what's holding you back and come out the other side relieved—and often with new and revolutionary insights about why this thing has been hard for you and how that can change for you now. Humans are hard-wired to resist too much novelty because we have come to associate it with danger.  You will always be working against the tendency toward caution because self-preservation is one of our most powerful drives.  Dealing with the resistance that comes up when you attempt to make a change is a constant, never-ending process, so you might as well master techniques that can help you to do this quickly and with a sense of enjoyment and adventure.  When you become comfortable with releasing unnecessary fear and immobility, the feeling of empowerment that results is amazing.  I and my clients find this to be one of the best things about EFT/Tapping.  Knowing that you can reduce your fear, overwhelm, and feelings of being stuck whenever you need to is truly something to be grateful for.  
If you continue to work on your skills and your emotional management, you will eventually make progress.  It may not be as rapid as you want, and it make take trials, errors, and seeming failures, but really, what's your alternative?  We are evolutionary beings.  We like to grow and test boundaries, even when doing so is scary.  And human progress relies on our following this impulse.  Failing to focus means that you will spend all your energy on recovery, and ultimately, that's not a lot of fun.  This week, think about the ways in which you can work inward and outward focus, as well as better time management strategies, to create more available energy to feed into your goals and passions.
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peoplesolutions1 · 3 years
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Assessing and Developing Culture, Engagement and Wellbeing in Organisations Webinar
Earlier in the year, Director of People Solutions, Mark Greenwood and colleague Georgia Nedkoff ran an online webinar and took a deep dive into assessing and developing culture, engagement and wellbeing in organisations through a number of case studies.
  Webinar Agenda
Introduction
People Solutions, who we are
Case Study Overview
People Solutions Approach
Case Study 1 - Well-being Diagnostics – Mining
Case Study 2: Organizational Health Check
Case Study 3: Focus Groups for Engagement - Disabilities - Not-for-profit
Lessons Learnt
Questions & Final Thoughts
  Watch our webinar, or read the transcription below
  [00:03]
Mark: Thank you everybody for joining us. Other people may drop in as, as we go along. Great. If you need to shoot off or anything, that's fine too, but thank you for your time this afternoon. And for taking the time to listen to a couple of case studies that we have for you. My name's Mark Greenwood, I'm a Director of People Solutions and a registered Psychologist. My colleague here is Georgia Nedkoff. Georgia is a Consultant with the Business Center, registered Psychologist too. What we're going to do today is talk you through a bit of a slide deck of information, but also, we are going to talk through some specific case studies. The purpose of this webinar is actually to try and inform you about some processes that we use that you can use as well. So, it's to give you some ideas and hopefully give you some different thinking in terms of ways of approach a diagnosing culture and different issues within the business. As Georgia mentioned, if questions as you go along final off to us in the chat box, and we'll make sure we answer them at the end. Anything from your end Georgia?
[01:11]
Georgia: No, that's all good. I'm just going to start sharing our slide deck. Hopefully, it's not going to be death by PowerPoint. We will spend most of the time talking about the case studies there as well. So, I'm just going to share that with you all now.
  Slide Content: People Solutions
• Perth-based Organizational Psychology consultancy with predominantly WA customers, as well as a national and global customer base • Strong track record in utilizing individual, team, and organizational diagnostics in the provision of organizational development services • Our purpose: “Helping People Succeed”
Mark: Okay. Just a quick introduction to People Solutions for those of you who don't know us. As a business, we've been around for over 20 years in Perth. Perth's our primary office, of course. We're organizational site consultancy and a lot of the work we do is in Western Australia, but of course these days with the internet and the sort of work that we do. We do work for national and global customers. We do work for the large corporates in oil and gas, mining and other areas right down to non for profits. So, and you'll see from the diversity of case studies that we talk about today, some of that range of different industries that we work in. We do work psychometric testing, assessment development centers, career transition outplacement services, but we also do organizational development work where the focus is really on looking at individuals, teams, and organizations, and coming up with the right sort of diagnostics for them. Our purpose helping people succeed, whether that's individuals, teams, or organizations, that's pretty much the focus of what we do. You get that wrong.
[02:50]
Slide Content: This Session
This Session
How do you assess culture, engagement, and wellbeing in a way that meets the needs of your business and its people?
Mark: This session, we're going to talk about how you assess culture engagement and wellbeing in these case studies. The case studies that we're using, they're not so big. So, I guess large that you'd look at them and think, well, I just can't do that myself. In fact, a lot of what we're going to talk about is stuff that you can apply within your own organization. We're looking very much at three different case studies, one that looks at culture, another one that was, is about engagement. And then the other one, which is looking about, more of the wellbeing overview for an organization. So, the first that Georgia is going to talk us through is with a mining company. I mean, to a mid-tier mining company they were interested in having a look at wellbeing across their operational workforce and came to us saying, how can we communicate to our workforce that this is something that's been talked about?
Slide Content: Case Studies
Well-Being Diagnostic Survey and Focus Groups • Mining Organizational Culture Survey • Oil and Gas Focus Groups for Engagement • Disabilities Not-for-Profit
[03:52]
Mark: But then also, what can we actually start doing about that? The second one is Oil and Gas company. Where they wanted to have a look at the culture of their business and the way they brought two businesses together. And the third is in a Disabilities Not-for-Profit area where they wanted to very much have a look at the engagement of the people within the business. What brought people to their business and kept them there. So, we're going to keep the information very focused on these case studies. And as I say, how you can apply these sorts of processes potentially within a new organization where you feel it's appropriate.
[04:26]
Slide Content: Step 1: Understand what success looks like
Step 1: Understand what success looks like
Clarify the reasons and expectations around outcomes. For example, to assess or understand: • Successful integration of new best practice • Minimal disruption to employees • Continued development following previous interventions • To maintain current success
Georgia: Okay. So, just before we jump into the case studies, I'm not going to spend too much time talking through this sort of backend process or setting up the scene. A lot of you on the webinar OD or HR professionals so it's quite likely that you have a really good understanding of diagnostics anyway. But in terms of people's solutions approach to overly simplify it, it's sort of a three-step approach when it comes to rolling out diagnostics within the business. The first step is in relation to understanding why. So, why it is that you are looking to assess certain areas. There could be something coming up in terms of some new research that's available for yourself within the business. There could be change going about within your organization, potentially there were some interventions that were put forward and you like a bit more understanding around that, or, maybe things are just going pretty well. And you sort of want to understand what are the things that are working well, and how can you look at retaining that or keeping that going as well. So, that's really brief. It’s really just about clarifying the why.
[05:37]
Georgia: So, you understand why we're doing this process and that can be clearly communicated to the employees as well. And that will also help you work out what it is that you're actually going to be looking for and who it is that you need to talk to in relation to this. So, this brings us on to our second step, which is about understanding what it is that you're going to be assessing, looking for diagnosing and who it is that you're going to be talking to in this process as well. Now, depending on that, we'll depend on the process that you take, whether it's customized diagnostics and off-the-shelf diagnostics, and whether your approach is going to be a survey, a focus group, or an interview as well.
Slide Content: Step 2: Ask the right questions and involve the right people
Step 2: Ask the right questions and involve the right people
Customized Pros: specific to needs and circumstances, evolve over time, face validity – better received Cons: time to develop
Off the shelf Pros: tried and tested, quick and easy, recognizable and marketable Cons: non-targeted to needs and circumstances, face validity
Surveys Pros: large numbers, quantitative data, anonymity, time and cost, All employees Cons: depth of information
Focus Groups Pros: medium numbers, qualitative data, discussion, cross-section of employees (mgmt. separate) Cons: time and cost
Interviews Pros: smaller numbers, qualitative data, one-on-one, all employees Cons: time and cost
[06:23]
Georgia: So, all the case studies that we are talking through during the session today, these are customized solutions. What people solutions do is we provide bespoke diagnostics. There may be situations where it could be more beneficial to put forward an off-the-shelf option. And this would be in the case of dealing with very large numbers and sort of just assessing where things are at initially as well. In the case studies that we talked to today, we will go through each of these different survey options in terms of surveys, focus groups, and interviews. So, you have a really good understanding in terms of what those different areas look like, and in your situation, which one may be most beneficial for yourselves as well. It is important with each different option you choose. They're obviously all going to have their pros, cons as well.
[07:18]
Georgia: So, it's important that you really define that why quite clearly, as this will help in terms of deciding what's the best approach for this two. The last step is to provide feedback. Once you've rolled out the diagnostics, it's really important that you do feedback that information to your employees as well. The amount of times, Mark and I have gone in to meet with organizations and the employees have thought, oh, here's another couple of consultants that are just going to come in, talk to us and then leave again without finding out what the outcomes of that are. It's really common. It is very important that you do feedback that information that's been gained from the diagnostic, what it is that you found out, any recommendations based on that within reason, that's going to be effective for your company to put forward and any timelines around those recommended as well.
Slide Content: Step 3: Feedback, respond, reassess
Step 3: Feedback, respond, reassess
Feedback within the organization should be: • Cascaded to involved parties • Timely • Align to team/Organizational goals • Focus on strengths as well as development areas.
Periodic reassessment enables identification of outcomes following OD interventions
[08:21]
Georgia: Aligning it to the organizational goals are great because that really helps to highlight to the employees how their role and how their feedback ties in with a broader organizational picture as well. Reassessing is really great in terms of, it gives you that benchmark when you initially do the diagnostic assessment, and then reassessing a year to a couple of years down the track can be really helpful in terms of understanding how those interventions have gone and how those changes have been made as well. So that's really brief in terms of defining why you're running out the diagnostics. What it is that you're looking for? What's going to be the best approach to that? Who you're going to ask? And ensuring that you're feeding back that information in a timely fashion as well. So we're going to spend more time through the case studies as this will help highlight that three-step approach a little bit more. Mark and myself have been to lots of webinars before.
Slide Content: Case Study 1: Well-being Diagnostics - Mining
Case Study 1: Well-being Diagnostics – Mining
The Brief:
Due to the release of finding into mental health and well-being of FIFO employees; the company requested feedback on current research to be delivered to employees.
Clarify:
Remote site had recently been re-staffed, and the organization requested an analysis of employees’ perceptions around maintaining and improving well-being.
The Goal:
To develop timely and effective targets and recommendations for action around the well-being of FIFO employees
[09:23]
Georgia: And we find talking to the case studies probably the best way to learn information and to take on board any information that's provided as well. So, our first case study is with like Mark mentioned a mid-tier mining company. They approached us on the back of some new research. There was research that was commissioned by the mental health commission around the mental health and wellbeing of FIFO employees. On the back of this, this organization requested Mark and myself to come in and present that information to employees, but they also wanted to understand, based on that report and the findings that came out of it. Where their employees sit in relation to that, and what are their perceptions in relation to FIFO areas that may impact mental health. So, these are things, a lot of us understand FIFO can impact mental health.
[10:22]
Georgia: That's things like swings, rosters, camp facilities, connections with their team, and also connections with others as well. We looked at sort of a wide range of factors in relation to that. Our goal for this project was to develop timely and effective targets and recommendations for this company, for actions around the wellbeing of their FIFO employees as well. How we went about this? Mark and I actually got the privilege of flying out to the site. So, this was pre-COVID days. And what we did was we presented the findings to employees prior to run rolling out the wellbeing diagnostics. By having this initial communication at the start with the employees at their pre-start meetings, this helped kind of prepare them and set them up that, Mark and I will be walking around on-site that will be putting forward surveys or running focus groups and really so that they could start thinking about their own wellbeing or areas of their own FIFO lifestyle that may impact this, or maybe quite positive as well.
Slide Content: Case Study 1: Well-being Diagnostics
Case Study 1: Well-being Diagnostics
The Diagnostics: • Cross sectional focus groups • Site wide wellbeing surveys
The Process: • Communicate FIFO Mental Health and Wellbeing Findings • Experience the work environment • Focus groups and surveys
[11:36]
Georgia: In terms of the approach, we took for this because it was a mid-tier organization so relatively large. What we did was roll out a sitewide survey. We had a pretty good response rate on this. So, all employees, including leadership participated in the surveys, and then we also ran some cross-sectional focus groups as well. With these focus groups, it was very important for us to keep the leadership or management team separate from any sort of operational staff as well. That way we find that the operational team feels more comfortable speaking about areas of improvement without feeling like they may be punished for speaking up as well. Not that they would be, but it does create that atmosphere of psychological safety as well. So, the reason we went for the survey and the focus groups was we found the surveys were really beneficial at looking at wellbeing from an individual perspective.
[12:41]
Georgia: For these surveys, we looked at things like employee satisfaction in their roles. The survey also included the depression, anxiety, stress scale, or DASS, which can help to look at certain areas where wellbeing may be impacted due to FIFO lifestyle as well. So, the surveys very much gave us that quantitative information that we were able to feedback to the employer. Then the focus groups were a nice add-on to that information. As these allowed us to delve a little bit deeper into areas that were identified within the survey as well. Now, the focus groups they were semi-structured. So, we would start off with some open-ended questions and ensure these questions tapped into those areas that were identified around FIFO wellbeing, such as camp facilities, connections with others, swing, and roster as well. These focus groups really just allowed people to have a chance to communicate, talk, share their ideas and perspectives as well.
[13:42]
Georgia: And because Mark and I were there facilitating them, we were able to bring in people that may be a bit more quiet and really relay that information in a way that people could understand and so that they felt comfortable putting full or their ideas as well. So, our process was first, we communicated the outcomes of the firefighter's mental health and wellbeing report. We advised our role and why we'd be there. We also got to experience the work environment by going out onto the site as well and seeing things firsthand in terms of the camp facilities. And then we had that survey and focus group combination as well. So, in terms of the outcomes from this, here are just some brief snapshots from the report that we provided. But essentially what we did was we used findings in the quantitative information from the surveys we'd present that in tables or graphs. And then that focus group information so that qualitative data were able to pull out themes from that and make connections with what was found within the survey summaries.
  Slide Content: Case Study 1: Well-being Diagnostics
Case Study 1: Well-being Diagnostics
The Outcome: Eighty five percent (85%) of participants were ‘moderately’ to ‘very’ satisfied with their job.
The majority expressed a preference for 12:9 or 2:2 rosters but few had thought of implications of changes.
Quote “Everything is good out here.”
[14:49]
Georgia: For example, within the surveys looking at that DAS scale or depression, anxiety, stress, the area around feeling tired and having fatigue was the lowest area that was found for these FIFO employees. Based on that, and based on our discussions from the focus group, it was found that transitioning from day to night shifts, employees tended to find these as more effective than the transition from the night to day shifts as well. We are able to provide some recommendations based on that as well. When feeding back information you know, most companies and most people tend to focus on the and negatives. We all have that negative confirmation bias. It is really important that you still include that positive information within there. For the most part, 85% of these FIFO employees were moderately to very satisfied with their role. A lot of them did communicate that they really enjoyed the organization. They appreciated working there, but hey, here are some suggestions on ways in which things can be done more effectively as well.
[15:59]
Slide Content: Case Study 1: Well-being Diagnostics
Case Study 1: Well-being Diagnostics
The Outcome:
Recommendations 1. Research does suggest that even time or shorter time rosters are best for wellbeing. Implications for increased business costs should be weighed against workforce wellbeing, costs and productivity. A cost benefit analysis could be carried out regarding roster change, the strengths and opportunities changing rosters may provide as well as the threats. Employees should be educated as to the potential gains/losses if switching to a different roster. 2. Given reported fatigue surrounding transitioning from night shift to time off site, wellbeing and health consequences versus the safety aspects of this shift change should be investigated. Use of shift work specialist and/or shift work/fatigue modelling software can be of great assistance here, particularly if reducing shift times is a business option.
Quick Win: Prepare and educate workers to manage day to night transitions, as well as night to day transitions when they fly out, to optimize health and provide adequate recovery time between day and night shift transitions.
Georgia: When providing those statistics that quantitative and qualitative information, it's also important that you put forward some outcomes as well, based on that data. So, the data's all well in good, but what can we actually do with that? What are some suggestions and things that could be put forward as well? With recommendations, not all of them can be implemented that's why it's important to have a discussion with the company in terms of what's reasonable. And having a look at that research out there as well in terms of what is best in relation to this. For example, for this group research did suggest that, even time or shorter rosters are more effective for wellbeing. That's what the research suggests. However, there are business and personal costs based on this. A lot of employees, they wanted those shorter rosters or those even time rosters, but they didn't consider that, that would then impact their remuneration as well.
[16:57]
Georgia: There are things to consider when putting forward recommendations as well. Along with these sorts of recommendations that require a bit more longer-term thinking and longer-term planning, quick wins are always fun, and they're always things that organizations can implement straightaway. When reporting these findings, we do find the quick wins really helpful for businesses. For example, this one is just about preparing and educating workers to manage the day to night transitions. So, any information that can be provided to them a little bit more can help in terms of reducing that fatigue as well.
[17:36]
Slide Content: Case Study 2: Organizational Health Check - Oil and Gas
Case Study 2: Organizational Health Check – Oil and Gas
The Brief: A non-operational oil and gas investment business acquired an operational business. The business had attempted to amalgamate two very different organizations with two explicit cultures.
Clarify: Uncover and analyze current operating culture: what is working, what is not working, and how has culture changed since the amalgamations.
The Goal: Run an organizational ‘health check’ to assess the current operating culture – what is currently working, and how might the organization build upon this into the future.
Mark: Alright. Thank you, Georgia. I'll talk you through case study number two, this is a project we run. In fact, we've done a couple of surveys with this company, one a few a year or so ago, two years ago, almost and another more recently, just as a bit of a follow-up. The organization came to us and said, look, we want to do an organizational health check. And we said, what is that exactly? Because a health check can mean anything from physical to wellbeing and many other things. So, what they wanted to do was to get a snapshot of the organizational culture in a sense. Now, what’s this organization, there was a, they amalgamated, or they'd acquired recently an operational business. So, they had gone from a non-operational investment house to a having an operating facility within their organization. In that, they have two very different cultures.
[18:38]
Mark: So, they've got cultures that are in some respects, just totally at odds with each other. And what I mean by that is, one's very much focused on the investment side of their business. The other is producing operational results. The first thing we did, we want to clarify, so what do you really want to get from this organizational health check? What they wanted to understand was what was their current operating culture: what was working and what wasn't working, and how would that potentially have changed since the amalgamation of the two businesses. The organizational health check was to have a look at that operating culture as it currently exists. What was working and how it might build on that into the future. The information that can get now, they thought we can use this to bring together a more cohesive culture that works despite the amalgamation of these two businesses.
[19:30]
Slide Content: Case Study 2: Organizational Health Check - Oil and Gas
Case Study 2: Organizational Health Check
The Diagnostics: • One-on-One interviews, organizational health ‘check’ • Organization wide
The Process: • Engaging with People Solutions as a third party to communicate the rationale along with the executive team • Create an environment where all employees were able to share their perspectives • Clarity of in scope/out of scope!
Mark: The diagnostics. It was quite important when we discussed with the organization that the executives in the business, they said, we want everybody in the organization to have a voice. Now, as Georgia mentioned before, if you are talking an organization with thousands of people doing one-on-one interviews, isn't going to be pragmatic. Not unless you want to pay a consulting team, a lot of money, and a lot of time to do that for you. So, they said, no, we have a business, which is of a size where we can get you to do one-on-one interviews because we want everybody to feel like they've been heard so that they have it, an ability to put forward their ideas, and then their opinion. That's what they wanted by way of the organizational health check. And they wanted everybody in the business to participate.
[20:19]
Mark: They didn't mandate it, but they did say we'd like everybody to be involved. We said, yes, great. We can do that for you. We put together a structured interview. When you're going into these sorts of situations, you do want to have an understanding of what are the sort of factors that we're going to be trying to measure here? It’s really important. We said, okay, first of all, we need to be clear with the executive team as to what we're trying to achieve here. But also, we need to talk to everybody in the business and communicate what this is about. We got them to organize a town hall meeting, where everybody was, came along, they put on a light lunch and said, here are some people we're going to do this project. They'll explain to you who they are and how this is going to work.
[21:06]
Mark: So, we introduced ourselves and we provided information on, this is what's in scope. This is what this organizational health check is going to do. What we're going to be asking about? What we're going to be talking about? We made it really clear about what's confidential. Confidentiality is really important to get people to speak clearly, and then honestly, about how they feel. We communicated those messages. We said, look, here are our business cards. If you want to contact us independent of the business, just discuss more about what we are doing, happy to do that. We wanted to create an environment where everybody could share their perspectives. We made sure that people understand what's in scope and what's out of scope. And as Georgia mentioned before with the mining company, I mean, if you go and talk to people and say, well, hey, tell us what your problems are.
[21:56]
Mark: Everyone's going to think about, well, what do I don't, what don't I like? What should I talk about? They're going to always give you feedback. But you've got to make it clear. Well, if one person says, I don't think I'm remunerated fairly, that doesn't add up to an organizational or cultural problem. That's one person. It's clear, important to say, look, we're not here to advocate for you to get more money. We're here to get a snapshot of the organization. It's important for both with the organization and with the people that you are talking to, to make sure that they understand what is in and what is out of scope when you embark on these sorts of projects. Now, there's a bit of detail here. It's probably a little hard to read for you. But just to summarize it, when we did this overview in 2019, some of the things that we found and are pure by having these structured interviews, as I say. First of all, the organization culture and vision almost 60% of the employees didn't actually know the future of the business.
Slide Content: Case Study 2: Organizational Health Check
Case Study 2: Organizational Health Check
The Outcome 2019:
Four main themes emerged from the interviews as areas for improvement:
Organizational culture & vision • 58% of employees want to know more about the future direction of the ABC business. • Those who were aware of the future direction only understand it from a broader sense. • Those who were not aware would like more clarity on ABC’s vision and direction. • Differing cultural business approaches (top-down vs bottom-up decision-making) are creating confusion between employees and managers.
Organizational structure • 54% of employees identified a need for more open communication between departments. • Most respondents described ABC as siloed • Employees feel they are rarely asked for their feedback or involved in decision-making (decisions are made from the top-down). • Employees felt their career trajectory with ABC is limited by a ceiling in the structure. • Perceived disparity with ABC, ACD and contractor employment.
Communication • 57% wanted leaders to communicate more openly with employees. • Since the integration there has been little concerted effort to communicate across departments. • Perceived lack of transparency from Senior Management regarding vision and pipelines. • Most feel that changes are communicated abruptly and post-hoc, rather than consulting or informing staff throughout the process.
Processes & Systems • 60% felt the current processes and systems hamper their ability to work effectively. • The different systems and contracts for ACD versus ABC creates confusion and extra work, especially for Finance & Admin staff. • Issues with the Document Management System and financial systems are impacting productively, efficiency, and accuracy. • Having inconsistencies work processes is impacting role clarify for staff in some roles.
[23:02]
Mark: What they meant was, they, although the business had been brought together successfully in terms of communication, there wasn't a broader vision painted for them as to where are we going? Are we going to grow the organization? Are we going to be pursuing new projects? Are we going to be pursuing alternative energy sources or whatever else? So, a lot of people in the business had this feeling. We don't really know where it's all headed. It's a problem. The org structure a lot of, almost half or a bit over half, in fact, said there's a need, the business is siloed. We need the opportunity to have better communications across the business. We're not working finance, isn't working with operations administration, isn't supporting these other areas as effectively. There was a disconnect in that sense.
[23:55]
Mark: They wanted to get out of the silos and work together more cohesively. 57% wanted their leaders to communicate more openly. They had a feeling that our leaders potentially know where we are going, but we don't. In relation to things like performance, in relation to how different parts of the business are working with each other, there wasn't clarity. And 60% said, the current processes, the systems happened, their ability to work effectively. And if that was two businesses bringing together two sets of processes and systems. We made some recommendations on that. I mean, just, and a really simple recommendation was like, is that we suggested the CEO, the exec team should, is that implementing a town hall process. And what we mean by that is bringing employees together and saying, this is the vision of the business. Trying to create some clarity for people so that they understand, what, where is the business going?
[24:52]
Mark: Talking about the org structure, how can we change the org structure? So, there is more communication. Implementing communications processes internally, but also even things like implementing social activities so that people get to know other people in the business and then communicate more freely. Simplistic recommendations. When we did this, we repeated the process for the business in 2021. Yes, the improvements in morale and team spirit had improved significantly. A majority of the people are now near the future direction of the business. They, like all of us, had gone through the whole COVID lockdown process. And they said, look, that had been really well managed by the leaders. 87% knew the standards required of their team. 86% said their manager encouraged them to give produce, give the of ideas for improvement. We'd seen a significant improvement in terms of the way the business was working and that people understood each other more.
Slide Content: Case Study 2: Organizational Health Check
Case Study 2: Organizational Health Check
The Outcome 2021: Highlights & Improvements Since 2019 • Improvement in morale and team spirit since 2019 • A majority (75%) of respondents know the future direction of ABC
People and leaders perceived to have managed the COVID-19 lockdown well
87% Know the standards required of their team • 86% said their manager encourages ideas for improvement • 70% said people work well together at ABC (up from 50% in 2019)
Organizational Direction • Participants identified Project A, a focus on energy transition, and growing as an operator in industry as future directions • The medium to longer term vision was not as clear and employees want to understand the longer term plans better 27% still do not feel that they know the company vision
Trust & Communication • Participants said townhalls had been effective and expressed a desire to continue these and social events • Slight decrease in level of trust in team and leader to deliver on promises since 2019 • There is still a lack of communication between departments • 53% did not feel that management actively solicit input from employees on major decisions
[25:56]
They were clear on the vision. There was good, greater clarity. The organizational direction, well, there had been a project that the business was now focused on pursuing, of course, a common per project brings people together. But people knew a little bit more about, okay, where are we going in terms of certainly this project. But there was still some desire to understand, what's the longer-term future. So, there were still issues there. Trust and communication. Some of these things like town halls, people said that have been very effective. But there were still some issues in terms of the trust. Where's our leader going in terms of promises and where's the communication. How can we continue to improve on that? But there'd definitely been some improvements. Again, an interesting way of gathering data in terms of where's the culture at within an organization.
[26:51]
Slide Content: Case Study 3: Focus Groups for Engagement - Disabilities Not-for-profit
Case Study 3: Focus Groups for Engagement – Disabilities Not-for-Profit
The Brief: This organization experienced frequent turnover of one employment group within their staff. Is it the money…?
Clarify: Further discussion advised the company want to better understand the motivators/demotivators of their staff.
The Goal: Provide information that would allow to organization to shape the teams’ roles and ensure ongoing engagement. Recruitment – attraction and retention.
Mark: The next case study I'm going to talk about is in the disabilities non-for-profit sector. In this particular assignment, we decided focus groups were the best way to go. Rather than sort of individual interviews or an organizational-wide survey. This organization, when they contacted us initially, they said, oh, look, we've got turnover. In a particular part of our business, an important part of their business. And of course, their question, I guess a lot of people ask the question, is it the money? And we said, okay, well, let's think about it a little bit more. What do you want to get out of us trying to find out more information on this? So, the company wanted actually to find out, what is motivating or demotivating their staff? Are people leaving because of the money or are there other reasons potentially involved here?
[27:47]
Mark: And they wanted to focus this on the specific area that people were leaving from the business. It wasn't a, let's talk to everybody. It's these particular skills, disability skills workers. They are the focus of where what we want to have a look at. They're an important part of our business. So, when we talked to them a little bit more, we said, okay, well, let's, we can gather that information on what motivates and demotivates your people, but this information can be useful to you on an ongoing basis in that. It would allow them to think about how the teams work and the roles that they have, but also it can be used in attraction and retention. If you can find out what keeps people, what attracts them, what motivates people to join the organization, and then what keeps them here. You've got information that can add to your attraction and retention processes.
[28:35]
Mark: This organization, not a huge organization in disability services had differently at geographic locations. So, we went to each of these locations and conducted a focus group with the skills workers. The part of that process was sitting down with the group of skills workers, myself in Georgia, in an open environment in sort of the back of the warehouse type of thing. We said, look, we don' want management to be present. Only because we want people to be able to speak honestly. If they were all saying, look, we think we've really poorly paid and it's not worth staying here. We don't want them to feel pressure from management if they're speaking openly like that. We had a particular motivation survey that we developed and this wasn't highly complex. It was just saying, what are some of the motivators that keep you engaged in your work?
Slide Content: Case Study 3: Focus Groups for Engagement
Case Study 3: Focus Groups for Engagement
The Diagnostics: Focus groups with each team [location-based], assessing engagement and motivation [Motivations survey]
The Process: Communicate and translate the importance the employees role played within their organization and the community • Ask open ended questions to better understand what attracted them, what they enjoy about their work, and what keeps them engaged and motivated in the role
[29:34]
Mark: We got everybody to fill that in. That was a sort of five-minute, 10-minute process. And then we had an open discussion with them. Again, what's in scope, what's out of scope? Again, we're here to gather this information. We're not telling you that everything's going to change because we're involved and we're gathering this information, but legitimately, what are we going to do? We're going to give direct feedback to the leadership saying these are the issues for you as to what keeps you here and what doesn't. So, the process of communicating and translating the importance of the employee's role and played within their organization. And the business said, we want you to tell our people, we tell them anyway, but we want you to tell them we're doing this because we do value your opinion. They are important to us as a business.
[30:16]
Mark: The actual focus group itself. If you're running a focus group, it’s very easy for people in a focus, particularly the more vocal members to drag a conversation in a particular direction. Part of your facilitating that focus group, you have to make, keep people onto a bit of a track in terms of what they're talking about and if they're deviating or departing from that. If it's important and everybody's sort of agreeing, then you can let them go down that track a bit, but you've got to try and keep one person who might just be continually banging on about their particular gripe. Is that a gripe that's consistent with everybody in the business or is that just them, their particular issue? So, yes, for us, it was getting those open-ended questions, but keeping to attract, keeping to some focus on those motivations. What they enjoy about their work and what keeps them motivated.
[31:13]
Slide Content: Case Study 3: Focus Groups for Engagement
Case Study 3: Focus Groups for Engagement
The Outcome: Overall themes • Work-life balance and flexibility were identified as top motivators, followed by helping others, personal growth and learning opportunities. These also helped to keep people engaged in their jobs. • Effective leadership from middle management at each depot was described as supportive, transparent, helpful, and approachable, which helped keep employees engaged. • Friendships and connections made amongst the employees were seen as beneficial. • Limited or ineffective communication from senior leadership was a key demotivator across depots and Skill Trainers would like greater transparency around ABC’s goals and direction.
Recommendations • Leverage key motivators and engagers in recruitment strategies • Review available technological systems and OHS process – provide training where gaps exist • Review induction process and include more support and training during onboarding (mentor/shadow) • Run bi-monthly ‘Town Hall’ style meetings with employees and senior managers to increase transparency • Implement clear Key Performance Indicators • Clearly communicate roster changes in a timely fashion • Provide realistic job preview during recruitment and review job descriptions to fit requirement of role
Mark: Really interesting in terms of the outcome. The people who worked in this disability services group. For them, they did the work because of work-life balance and flexibility. It was really important to them. They actually weren't there for the money. Very few. In fact, in all of these exercises that Georgia and I have talked about, these case studies. Money came down as very low in terms of what was a motivator for people to either stay or leave. They, people in this industry also had an enormous amount of satisfaction they fill in, that they're helping others. They like the work-life balance. I can go, I finish early. I can go to my doctor. I can go shopping, pick up the kids, whatever the case might be. But they also got a really strong sense of intrinsic satisfaction of what I do is important because I'm helping other people. They told us that the leadership in terms of their immediate management was effective. It was beneficial. It was helpful to them.
[32:15]
Mark: The friendships and connections they made amongst their colleagues, but also with the people with disabilities was really important to them. A lot of them were socialized after work. They'd go to the local quiz night, these sorts of things. So, those social connections in their work were really important. They explained to us that really, they didn't know who the next senior leadership was within the business and effectively they didn't really understand the sort of greater, I guess the purpose of the business they saw the purpose was to help these people gain skills. Now, the recommendations I might talk through all of these, but it was really interesting. The thing we noticed was there was a nexus here or a disconnect. And that is that the people in the business, the skills workers were there because they enjoyed their work. They really liked helping people. That was a really important priority to them.
[33:10]
Mark: A lot of them knew they could get more money in other industries, but they said, we're here because we want to help these people. That's really important to us. And yet the business is saying to them, we need you to work more quickly. We need you; we've got to finish this project because we need the money because the business was very focused. The leadership was very focused on the commercial aspect of what they do. So, what I'm saying, there is one part of the business is saying to them, we need the commercial outcome. And yet the individual's delivering the service and thinking, no, we're here for the people who need the help. So, what the problem is there is that they don't understand the vision of why is the leadership pushing for this and the leadership doesn't effectively understand? What's really motivating our people in the work they do.
[33:56]
Mark: We spoke to them about that. First of all, the thing that we came up with from doing this is we identify these are key engages in terms of the potential in recruitment. So, when you are looking for people in business, work-life balance, and flexibility are going to be really important. Appealing to individuals, intrinsic desire to help others is going to be important in your advertising or your sort, your attraction and processes. We talked to them about the technology, we suggested, well, again, it's time for Town Halls. And what we mean by that is again, your leadership coming down and saying, the reason we're focused on the commercial outcome is it allows us to help more people with disability. But how do we do that? And allow you guys to feel like you're really providing a service. So, really important messages.
[34:43]
Mark: There were other things about communicating roster changes, which was sort of annoying to individuals. These would happen at the last minute and making sure simple things like making sure when people were coming into the business, the recruitment, the induction process was developed more effectively. They found that a lot of people would join wanting to help others, but would be dropped into it. And within a week they're feeling overwhelmed. Working with people with disabilities is more challenging, their felt than they thought. But if you had somebody who could mentor you, shadow you, and engage you a little bit more and how to deal with some of those challenges, they felt that the outcomes would be more effective. So, that's a quick overview. As I say, focus groups, the right solution, smaller focus groups, sort of what we had about 10 to a dozen people in each one of them. And people, they put on morning and afternoon teas that always keep people engaged. They were about two hours, no more than that. But it allowed us to get some really good information and provide that feedback to the business. Lessons learnt. That's Georgia and I on a site with our high beast gear. Georgia is going to talk to a couple of points on the lesson learnt, and then I'll finish off. Over to you.
Slide Content: Lessons Learnt
Lessons Learnt How do you assess culture, engagement and wellbeing in a way that meets the needs of your business and its people?
[36:00]
Slide Content: Lessons Learnt
Lesson Learnt: Challenges and Limitations • Information collected must be analyzed to develop specific, realistic, actionable recommendations which should serve to meet the needs of a business and its people • Employees need to be brought on board to feel invested in the process and that it will be worthwhile • Employees need to feel confident in the fact that their speaking up won’t result in negative outcomes or that their input remains confidential • Business need to communicate the outcomes to employees in a time-efficient fashion
Georgia: Cool. Those are our case studies. With everything that we roll out and as psychologists, there's always limitations to things that you do and things to be mindful of and lessons learnt from the process as well. I suppose, in terms of rolling out processes like these, a lot of the time in what Mark and I experienced a meeting with these organizations is the Senior Leadership or HR team tend to know already what the problems are, or what are the areas of focus. However, that doesn't mean that the reasons for those behaviors or the reasons for those complaints or things could be based on the information that you can see. There could be deeper things going on for these people as well. And that's where even though you may know that information, it can be really important and really valuable to have these confidential diagnostics. Whether they're an interview survey or focus group, that can help you understand a little bit deeper as to the reasons behind the behaviors or the reasons behind the comments from employees as well.
[37:14]
Georgia: Getting this information, having data, and having that quantitative or qualitative information can help to then guide actionable items or actionable recommendations that are pragmatic and aligned with your business goals as well. So, although you may already know, the issues or the reasons going on, actually rolling out diagnostics can help gain buy-in as well to any recommendations that come about and can help provide a deeper meaning. It also helps employees feel that they listen to and that they can trust being open and honest in these situations as well. So, employees also need to be brought on board to feel invested in the process and that it's worthwhile. So, having clear communication upfront and having clear communications at the end can really help employees feel that the process is worthwhile for them too. Obviously, doing things like interviews or focus groups that engagements there whereas surveys, you may tend to find that the completion rate is a little bit lower and that's quite common as well.
[38:12]
Georgia: Employees need to feel confident in the fact that they're speaking up won't result in any negative outcomes. So, this is the reason why we tend to keep management or leadership-focused groups separate from that of other employees, not to say that it will, but employees can feel a lot more confident speaking up if they feel, there's no leaders listening as well. And whenever we run these things, it is very important to let employees know that their responses are confidential and that all responses are presented as an aggregate. So, as a group. No individual is kind of pinpointed. Specifically, because as Mark mentioned before, we are looking at common themes that come about. If one employee mentions that they'd like a better coffee machine in the office, but the rest of the group hasn't then that's information that you don't put into those reports as well. And then lastly, and I mentioned this before businesses need to communicate the outcomes to employees in a time-efficient fashion. This is very important. You do need to ensure that you sort of communicate that information quickly in time efficiently just to keep employees warm and to keep them trusting the process as well.
[39:41]
Slide Content: Lessons Learnt
Lessons Learnt: How do we create success? • Targeted information gathering strategies (e.g. focus groups, interviews, diagnostic assessments) • Tailored- not generic! • Base recommendations on data derived from your people • Tailor recommendations/interventions • Build pragmatic/timely solutions • Communicate findings/timelines • Maintain/create trust
Mark: Cool. Alright. We'll wrap up because we're getting close to time, but just the lessons learnt. Target your information. Think about what's the right process to apply, not every process and you can have a combination of these things as we suggested. Tailoring them, if it's an organizational survey across 3000 people, well again, the degree to which you're going to tailor that to specific areas is going to be different. But if you are looking for smaller diagnostic processes within your organization, targeted particular areas, you can tailor them. Based on your recommendations on data from your people, with all of these assignments, we produce an A4 infographic that we give to the business and say, look, here's what you can release to your people, which explains the outcomes of what came from these surveys or these focus groups or whatever else.
[40:35]
Mark: That, and for some businesses, there might be challenges in that, for the example, the oil and gas business that case study, they said, yes, we want you to tell our, communicate this back to our people. So, we stood up in front of the group and said, well, look, yes, these were the findings. 58% of you don't understand what the vision is, and the leadership said, yes, that's something we're going to work on changing. So, that sort of feedback proves to people that they've been listened to and that it's something happening. Tailor your recommendations and interventions. Not all of them have to be complex. They can be relatively simple and an easy win as Georgia just said. But understand and make sure people understand what's in scope and what isn't. Build pragmatic, make the solutions timely and the feedback timely too.
[41:22]
Mark: As I say that that constant feedback, we get is another consultancy or another cultural survey or another survey, nothing ever comes in these. When you can start implementing just some basic timely solutions, easy wins, then people start feeling their sum response. Communicate the findings of timelines. And by doing all of this, you maintain, create trust in the people in the business that they're being listened to. That's probably enough from us. We've run to 45 minutes. Thank you very much for your time and attention. We appreciate that. I hope there's been some interest as Georgia mentioned. We are happy to share slides with you. If there are any questions please fire away.
[42:10]
Slide Content: Questions?
Questions?
Georgia: So, we do have a question here that says, what are some factors that you consider when recommending realistic actions?
Mark: Good question. Thank you, Greg. Look, the factors in terms of, there are some things that obviously it's really important to make sure that people understand what's in scope and what's out of scope. Now, with the mining example that Georgia spoke about. The employee said, oh, look, you know, what would we'd do ideally. And if you ask her, I guess, a lot of people in those five arrangements, we'd love to go to an even time roster. Now, a realistic action for the organization and communicating that back and say, everybody wants to go to an even time roster. Is that realistic to the business? And the business were very clear. they said, no, it can't happen. Because number one, from an operational point of view and a whole range of other reasons from, I'm sure there were financial perspectives in there that, no, we can't do that.
[43:12]
Mark: But also, they said to the employees in the business that we can do that. But you know that if we go to that sort of roster, there will be an, there will be a financial implication for you as well. It's not just the business saying, well, we want to make more money or save money, but realistically, if we go to an even time roster, your remuneration's going to potentially decrease. Now, when people consider that that's an I can’t will know. So, in terms of thinking about those realistic actions, it's creating an understanding of what's in and out of scope, but then also communicating back to people. Well, there are some things here that we can do, we can act upon immediately like under getting you to understand the vision. But there are some things in terms of what everybody's wanting here that are longer term prospects that have to be thought out at a more strategic level. And we're going to have to take time to think about and get back to you on. So, I hope that answers your question there, Greg, but it is very much making sure people understand what can and can't be achieved within that scope.
[44:20]
Georgia: Any other questions? Anyone will give maybe just another minute or so? That all sounds pretty clear. Obviously, as I mentioned before, this session is being recorded. We can pop those slides up as well and send those through to you. And if any more questions do come up around that as well. We do have another question here. What if the staff doesn't agree that management are coming up with realistic actions, i.e. the more fluffy approach to the more strategic?
[44:52]
Mark: Yes. Realistically, you know, there are going to be things that the staff look at and say, look, we don't agree with this, you know? So, the staff doesn't agree that, we don't agree with there's a particular approach that we are suggesting. I'm just trying to think of an example. So, the recommendations that we made in the non-for-profit group, the staff, one of them was, there's, the staff need to be trained up more in terms of the use of some technology. Now, if the staff say, we don't really agree with that. The management then would say, look, this is the reason that, you suggested there's some, this is something that you want to do. Sure. It's going to make, take time for you to actually get up to speed with that.
[45:39]
Mark: But if this is something that's impeding you in your job, then we think it's important. So, I guess the basis comes down to, how are the management going to communicate what's required of people in terms of those sorts of changes and what's required of them not, it's not all about, well what's management going to do to solve all the problems here. It's very much about, what are we going to do that? The more fluffy approach to the strategic, I think, I guess what I'm saying, what I think there is the strategic stuff, and that will take time. It's very difficult for an organization to say, hey, we are going to make a strategic change overnight. It's trying to think about, within all of the recommendations that we might provide or within the information that you get from your focus group. You've got to take that back and say, there are some small wins here that might be easily implemented in terms of providing some extra assistance to people or providing them some training and development. But we've also got to step back and think of some of the bigger picture stuff here.
[46:46]
Mark: How does it, what we are thinking about doing time with our strategic direction? So again, for the Non-for-Profit that I spoke about, what's their way overall strategy in terms of continuing to grow the business so that they can ensure they provide services to people with disability. So, they've got to think about the strategy, how they can do that, and yet maintain these people who are delivering the service for them. Yes, absolutely. It's something that has to be considered. I don't have all the answers there.
[47:16]
Georgia: Cool. Great. Thanks, Tracy. Doesn't seem like we have any more questions here. But like I did mention just previously, we will send out the recording once that's uploaded and the slides that'll be from myself or Mark. So, feel free to come back to us with any questions. If anything does come up as well, more than happy to provide that advice and insight as well. Thank you so much for your time, everyone. I really appreciate it. Hope your stomachs aren't grumbling as much as mine is as well. But really do hope you enjoy the rest of your day and we'll chat to you soon.
Mark: Thanks for joining us.
Georgia: Thanks, guys.
Mark: Take care.
Georgia: Bye.
This article Assessing and Developing Culture, Engagement and Wellbeing in Organisations Webinar is republished from: https://www.people-solutions.com.au/
Source: https://www.people-solutions.com.au/blog/assessing-and-developing-culture-engagement-and-wellbeing-in-organisations-webinar/
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http://dramarising.com/post/165416083621
Reading this post just made me… want to take a moment to talk about what I think the actual dom standings are and how I rank them. Hopefully it’s a bit more objective. I keep out mentioning drama, although a few incidents have affected my rankings if I have the suspicion that they may have prompted organizational changes or affected flight participation.
Here’s a link to my personal push tracking and the following are my current standings.
Light (30133 pop; most placings)
Earth (9357 pop; 2nd most placings)
Plague (34159; beat Water ‘16)
Nature (30786; beat Ice '16)
Lightning (32796 beat Fire '17)
Fire (19866; beat Water '17)
Wind (35721; beat Water '16)
Water (21262 beat Ice '17)
Ice (32166; beat Fire '15)
Arcane (44016; beat Shadow '17)
Shadow (47084)
Without a doubt, Light is currently the top dom flight. With 28 rankings in the top three up to this point in time (from the start of the year), as well as a well-known culture of profit pushing, Light has long solidified this title. I think their best course of action at the moment is to have event pushes that more fully engage other flights. By advertising an active user base, Light could build (or rebuild) a better reputation and continue being known as not only the dom and money flight, but also a flight that offers more involvement for those leaving less dom oriented flights. Unfortunately, it’s lonely at the top, and until other flights feel confident, Light won’t get any challengers any time soon.
Earth is a strong second, with the second most placings in the top three at 20. Although a planned Earth vs Light match needs to happen. Personally, I think this bout would make it more apparent that small flight size is a disadvantage when two flights with established dom cultures are pitted against each other. I assume Light would win this match just due to the manpower they could muster for it. They should be able to overwork Earth even with large oof help going to Earth.
There’s always a possibility that Earth could do it with a stronger dom culture than Light and a more attractive reputation however. I think Earth’s best course of action is to improve dom programs, participation, and continue to encourage dom participants to move to Earth. Likewise, with Light, I doubt Earth will receive any challengers anytime soon.
The battle for third place, typically reserved for a “dom powerhouse”, is a bit more dubious and may even be a moot point at the moment. “Historically” speaking, this slot has been juggled between Earth, Plague, and Ice for a long time now, but because of Ice’s recent losses to Water and Nature, I feel it is clear that that is no longer the case.
Water did lose to Plague in August of 2016, however, but the question is then, who is third, Plague or Nature?
Both flights tango with Light, which makes them courageous and competitive. But for me personally (and this is my personal opinion), Nature would now rank higher than Plague due to the recent performances of both flights.
Plague doesn’t seem to be the same Plague I witnessed when I was in Ice during IvP. Plague was the flight that never quit and never backed down. The flight that flipped with Light and helped raise the fodder floor to the highest it ever was.
Plague was competitive, took defeat like a champ, and were the fighters/survivors as described in their lore.
Fighting Earth was going to be a hard fight, and anyone who challenged Earth had a lot of courage. PvE was a dream match, but it fizzled out very quickly after its start. While many may argue that Plague could have been just one dragon behind, I’d argue fodder prices told a different story.
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And let me reiterate that yes I am primarily basing my opinion mostly on this one fight and surrounding information. It is ok to differ in opinions on this – especially if you are in Plague with the power to change things for the better. I do feel that Plague should focus on inflight events and dom programs and could probably show its strength again from existing programs.
Nature, on the other hand, I’m waiting for the day to call them a new dom powerhouse, but it is contingent on one of two things. One: If they can manage to beat their sister flight Plague and take the title from them (a dream match for many), then they would be accepted by most people as a dom powerhouse. Or two, if they can increase their amount of pushes to be as frequent as Light or Earth’s, then they would stay on people’s radar enough to be considered a powerhouse. I do feel that if any other flight besides Light or Earth challenges Nature, that Nature would most likely win.
After defeating the old powerhouse of Ice, Nature should go on to challenge their sister flight Plague to take their crown. If that never happens and Nature is ready for a challenge, then taking on Earth’s numbers or a Light vs Nature 3 would be a wonderful fight I’d love to guess who might win. At this point in time, I have no idea! Until then, Nature can also continue increasing profit pushes and offering challenges to other flights to increase their competitiveness.
Lightning being this high on the list will surprise most. Infrequent pushing causes Lightning to be further down if factoring total number of placings and weighing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd proportionally. However, judging by track record, victories over Arcane, Fire, and Wind, Lightning could belong here. There may be bias here of course, as I am part of Lightning flight and involved in its dom scene. The victory that primarily places Lightning here is its victory over Fire in February as opposed to Water’s loss to Fire in November of last year. However, it does beg the question, in a fight between Lightning and Water, who would win? Whoever wins this match would most likely be the 4th ranked dom flight.
With a good balance of increased push frequency and improving on our dom culture and programs, Lightning could eventually have a modern rematch versus Nature. In 2015, Lightning beat Nature, but for the purposes of factoring in changes in dom culture and keeping data up to date, those numbers aren’t used in these deductions.
Fire is next primarily for being sandwiched between Water, who they scored a victory over, and Lightning who they suffered a loss from. Fire is in a similar case to Lightning, though more so. Fire does not seem to have much “background exalting” outside of conquests, and finishes near the bottom of the dom board. That being said, it’s recent victories over competitive flights point to it being competitive itself. Fire further brings up the question on if placings in the top 3 make a dom flight competitive or its track record of recent victories. As the case with Lightning, increasing pushes and dom prowess would do Fire some good. A rematch versus Lightning may be a proper goal, though for something fresh, Wind versus Fire may be even more interesting.
My gut says that Wind and Water rank similarly. Water has recently tangoed with Ice, Fire, Plague, and even Earth in Battle of the First Four Prt2. While I am impressed with Water being courageous in challenging the likes of dom giants, I personally feel the sum of the attempts and successes have yet to surpass those of Wind who has done the same thing. Wind was also in Battle of the First Four Prt2 and took second place from Wind. Wind also went against Earth solo as the only flight to accept its challenge for a father’s day conquest. Wind also has victories over Shadow and Arcane, which may not be competitive, but may have been what the flight needed to gain more confidence in dom - helping to establish a stronger base for programs and participants. This is all my opinion however. Water has recently beaten an old powerhouse in Ice, and Wind has just come from a loss from Lightning, so differing opinions make sense here. That all being said, a fight between Wind and Water would be interesting! I think both flights need to work on their strategies and programs to get a leg up over similarly placed flights.
Ice put up a good fight versus Water, make no doubt about it. But I’ve got to say, and I feel others may share the same sentiment, I didn’t think Ice would lose to Water. I also didn’t think we’d lose to Nature when it happened though (I was in Ice during that time), so there’s that. And it’s ok to lose. Losses will happen. But as far as my ranking is concerned, Ice unfortunately is nowhere near the top 3. All I can really say is that I think Ice should focus on its internal dom programs and increasing its participants. I felt that members over-relied on the dom team when I was there – to the point that without them it felt like the cornerstones of operations were gone – causing everything t fall apart. This may not be the case now, and I feel like this is also something that has affected Plague this year, so it’s not an isolated phenomenon. Dom participants should both know and have the means to execute their own gameplans to help the flight win dom. And that’s a combination of encouraging autonomy and encouraging as many participants to understand how dom works as possible.
Now, there is also a chance that I am very very wrong, because ranking Ice here means that I assume any flight above them (given the current track record) should be able to beat or at least flip with Ice in a conquest battle. I don’t think it will be easy, but I would bet on it with a certain degree of confidence. As I’ve said before, differing opinions are fine and I could be wrong.
Aside from its win versus Shadow, Arcane has not won a conquest since 2015. And I’m as disappointed about it as I am with Ice and Plague. Before the decline, Arcane had one of the first themed profit pushes I had seen. Or at least I think that was the case since I can’t actually find what I’m talking about. It was before March, but I still can’t find it. In any case, interactive events such as the Houses from their push versus Lightning had me shaking in my boots at the time. Despite that, there weren’t many flips that push, even though as an outsider I felt I’d participate in Arcane more than Lightning because of those events.
My personal opinion is that because of surrounding information on dom organization and participation, Arcane may need to refresh and regroup to prevent being known as not a dom-oriented flight. And to also not be known as the flight with dom participants who don’t want to participate in dom – for various reasons. I’m not sure if this is still the case however. I think Arcane should definitely focus on more event pushes to build up a better reputation with not only oofers, but more importantly, in-flighters as well. I’ve seen Arcane’s potential in the past, and still think they could eventually give other flights a run for their money.  
Shadow does have a steep hill to climb. Being the largest flight isn’t a guarantee of losing a dom match, but having a reputation of being known as a non-dom flight does. This doesn’t mean that Shadow needs to start making non-dom people feel unwelcomed or call them “dead weight,” however. That’s the very last thing a big flight would want to do – discouraging potential participants from participating. Small flights need to focus on outsourcing a lot of their manpower, while Big flights should be making use of their own potential participants (in addition to outsourcing their manpower). A non-dom person who logs in at least once in the two weeks prior to the last day of a push is still counted as an active participant. You are better off making your dom programs simple, fun, and social to encourage that one person to exalt at least 1 dragon than you are in telling them that they are useless. And yes, it’s true that a non-dom person might not even look at the forums or know you’re even pushing – but it’s the same for other flights. Also keep in mind that a person who moves to your flight to not participate in dom, most likely knows what dom is and thus most likely sees the forums. Changing their mind about dom is the way to go.
I feel that encouraging those already participating in dom in Shadow, to establish an energetic base would be a good starting point for Shadow. I also feel that reaching out to other flights, especially flights that don’t receive pushes often like Light or Earth for event pushes that may have joint exalting challenges, foddart, and of course events for those oof would be a perfect joint opportunity to make dom appear more inviting and exciting.
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ourmrmel · 5 years
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Know Your Client for a Successful Sale by Mel Feller
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Know Your Client for a Successful Sale by Mel Feller
Mel Feller & Coaching For Success 360 a Texas-Utah Company
Mel Feller, MPA, MHR with Offices in Texas and in Utah
Mel Feller Seminars, Coaching For Success 360 Inc. /Mel Feller Coaching          
See www.melfellersuccessstories.com and www.melfeller.com
 I have always called this phase of the sales process the ‘Know your Client.’ In my first sales job, the company made the mistake of turning this phase into a form filling exercise. This was partially due to the need for compliance with new regulations and the need to make sure the entire sales force kept on brief, as the recruitment was not that fussy. I thought at the time, still think this was a cheap alternative to quality selection and training of personnel, and may well be one of the things that motivated me to design and launch a search and selection model for businesses of all shapes and sizes, with a specialization in sales and marketing.
  The problem with that system was the business would provide the sales person with a form to complete. These were never that well constructed and invariably did not leave enough space for all the information, worse still they almost encouraged an interrogation with a series of closed questions that did little in the way of building the relationship and knowing the client. I guess this could have worked if the sales team had been trained and coached to only use the form as a guide and still invested time in making the process conversational. The adviser was more interested in keeping the management happy by completing the form than building rapport with the potential client.
  The purpose of this stage of the process is for the sales person to get to know the prospect through a series of open and closed questions delivered in a conversational way. The rule I want you to remember is; to get you have to give first and therefore you should make a point of not just taking but giving information too. This should be done as part of a two-way conversation. At this stage it is important to avoid the temptation to give product related information, which will sound more like a pitch than a conversation, running the risk of losing the prospect along the way; because as a rule people hate to be sold to, although they do love to buy.
 Your primary aim should be to gather as much information as you can about all aspects of the individual insofar as it is relevant to the job in hand. That job is the building of a relationship and the eventual sale. This is achieved through a combination of open and closed questions and a bucket full of active listening. A word of warning, do it because you want to learn about them so you can do the best job possible, do it because you want to help, be sincere in your actions and your motivation. Never just go through the motions, you’ll get found out and let potentially great opportunities walk out of the door into the arms of your competition.
 Let’s briefly talk about some of the core things you will want to know about your prospect. There are two fundamentals to this, first there is the personal facts that will give you all you need to build rapport and get to know the person, which after all is the backbone to the sale. You need to know what makes them tick at every level.
 Then there are those facts that let you understand how and why this person buys. This is the same kind of information any marketer would want to know, in order to design a focused campaign. Here are pointers to the information it would be useful to understand:
 When do they buy?
What do they buy?
Why do they buy?
Where do they buy?
How do they pay?
What do they pay?
 During this phase open questions should be used wherever possible, they promote conversation and get the potential client talking about the things that motivate them, things you need to know. An open question is one that requires your prospect to give a detailed open answer. In other words, not just a yes or a no. A typical open question might be:
  “Tell me about your family?” You can see how a question phrased this way will encourage the respondent to give a wide-ranging conversational answer, making conversation rather than conducting an interrogation. This is a important part of the relationship building process, which is what selling is all about.
 “Tell me about your family?” Will start a conversation, whereas “Are you married?” “Do you have children?” Feels like an interrogation.
 The closed question does the exact opposite of the open question. The closed question is posed in such a way that it generally only requires a yes or no answer. Like the example already given. Asking, “Tell me about your family?” Is so much better than; “Are you married?” “Do you have children?”
 You can also see from this that you would have to ask far more questions that were closed to get the result you would from one well-placed open question. However, the closed question does have its use when you need to collate key facts. My personal preference is to always mix them up, open and closed and that way you can keep the meeting conversational and control its pace by using the occasional closed question. I do also use closed questions at the end of a meeting just to tie up any areas where I may need additional information. Closed questions are good for taking control of important moments and changing the pace of the conversation.
 Control should be used with care, remember this is not about power it is about building relationships, remembering they, the prospect, are the most important people in the room.
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 Mel Feller a Texas /Utah Personal Development, Business, Real Estate, Realtor Trainer, Branding, Business Funding and Finance Coach.  In addition, Mel Feller has served in a variety of executive leadership roles for medium and large organizations, including multiple Fortune 500’s.  He is a charismatic leader who has facilitated change and growth in all sized organizations, including non-profit and Board development.  Mel Feller has successfully led organizations in the areas business development, marketing, real estate and Realtors, sales, team building, operations, and the like. Mel Feller is in Texas and is in Utah with offices, staff and investments in both states.
 Mel Feller is committed to serving.  In the Texas / Utah community, he chairs several organizations.  Mel Feller volunteers his leadership at two churches in a variety of ways, including serving on council, bible study facilitator, and more.
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 Mel Feller has been a featured speaker for career professional is groups, business leaders and continuing education sessions, and aspiring business startups.
 When he is not coaching, you can find Mel Feller reading, listening to podcasts, exercising, fishing, or with his kids and grandkids exploring the greatness God has gifted us all.
 Mel Feller states, “An effective coach is someone who tells you what you may not want to hear, helps you navigate around your blind spots, and helps you identify opportunities…so that you can be who you’ve always known you can be” Mel Feller
 Mel Feller’s purpose is to add tremendous value to those business owners/entrepreneurs by helping them reach their potential.
 Mel Feller is an effective, charismatic and powerful speaker, corporate advisor, and best-selling author. In 1998, Mel founded Coaching for Success 360 to help professionals worldwide design subtle changes in their presentation, attitude and leadership style that increases their personal and professional effectiveness and subsequently their financial status.  This also includes both real estate as an agent and/or investor. See www.melfeller.com  and www.melfellersuccessstories.com .  Now with offices both in Texas and Utah.
 As a business, executive, personal development, and real estate coach, I work with a wide range of professionals and offer a highly personalized approach tailored to each individual in concert with the organizational environment.  In a supportive atmosphere, I work to build trust and support the professional in the attainment of goals and measurable outcomes.  
 Mel Feller offers sessions, both in-person and virtual.   We will start with an initial assessment to clearly define your short and long-term goals, everything from communication skills to personal acceptance. We will use these goals as a foundation to create a strategy and build the path for attaining these objectives.  Change is typically a major component of reaching goals and sustainable change becomes more likely in a coaching partnership.  
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Worm Liveblog #8
UPDATE 8: It’s Officially the First Day with her New Friends
Last time Taylor had officially turned into a member of the Undersiders. She may still plan to betray them by giving information to heroes, but for now she’s okay with staying with them. So let’s continue! Today we start the third arc of this story – Agitation – so let’s get going!
Alright, the first thing here is a descriptin of more of Taylor’s routine. She had realized that she’d need stamina to be a hero, and after three hand half months she had managed to make quite some progress on that. Not that she’s going to reduce her current efforts in any way, just because she’s doing well it doesn’t mean she’s going to stop. “I didn’t aim to just jog, though.  I steadily increased my pace with every block I ran as I headed towards the water.  By the fifth block, I was running.” Hm, seems like a decent way to exercise and build stamina. It’s always nice when things like these are rooted into reality, instead of expecting any random person to have excellent stamina once they start their hero careers. In general, Worm has proven to be fairly down-to-earth about many things. It’s something I’m grateful for.
Today, her exercise takes her to the Boardwalk, where he encounters Brian. ““Hey, you’re right on time,” Brian said.” Oh, so it was a planned encounter, and with only Brian. It doesn’t sound like anyone else is supposed to come. Taylor ponders about Brian’s clothing and receives breakfast, surprised they can afford things like Worm-Starbucks. Then again, this is a team of villains that receive cash by the truckload thanks to their work. Maybe part of Taylor’s character arc in the near future is getting used to the thought of having a lot of money within reach, seeing if it affects her morality, all that! Right now she’s reluctant to indulge in that money: “I wasn’t willing to spend the money, knowing where it came from, so it was just sitting in the cubbyhole I kept my costume in, nagging at me” Will that change in the future, I wonder?
Looks like Dad didn’t notice the stitches. Alright then. But yeah, it isn’t like Taylor was going to wave her injure in front of Dad’s nose, either way.
Brian apologizes for Rachel’s actions and delivers some very valuable exposition about Rachel’s life, which fits what Taylor read in the wiki. ““She’s kind of a special case,” Brian said, “I think that growing up the way she did kind of messed her up.  No family, too old and, uh, not really attractive enough to be a good candidate for adoption.  I feel bad saying that, but that’s the way those things work, you know?”  He glanced over his shoulder at me.” You know what people say, human behavior is a combination of natural personality plus their environment. Rachel was dealt a very bad hand during all her life, it’s no surprise she’s, hm, antisocial.
I don’t think she’s the type of person that’d allow a lot of people get into her life, and who despises changes. After all, if things are going okay, why to change it. she may think. Taylor’s arrival to the time is a big change, not only the amount of money she’d receive will be less than before, she’ll also have to deal with a stranger getting into the very core of her life: the team. I can’t say I blame her for lashing out. I don’t like her actions, but it’s something I’m not surprised about. I don’t sympathize with them, but I kind of understand the motivation behind them.
The reason Brian is telling Taylor all this is as a way to ask Taylor to stay on the team, I’d say. ““But if you can at least tolerate her, you should see we’ve got a pretty good thing going with the team.”” He’s not mistaken about that, Taylor is going to be a good addition to the team. Things should go more or less well as long as there’s no more in-fighting. When will Taylor meet the big boss, anyways?
“I spotted a crab scuttling across the beach almost directly below us.  I reached out with my power and stopped it in its tracks.” Poppycock, crabs aren’t insects, yet she manages to control it. Thankfully for my sanity, this isn’t Mr. Wildbow having a grossly mistaken definition of ‘insect’. ““I used to think I could control anything with an exoskeleton or shell.  But I can control earthworms too, among other things, and they don’t have shells.  I think all it takes is that they have to have very simple brains.”” Neat! Impractical and kind of useless, if you think about it, but neat! It’ll take a strategic mind to be able to use earthworms, snails and other similar stuff. Crabs are too slow to be of much use, I’d say, but who knows...Taylor already proved to have decent organizational and strategic skills, maybe she’ll be able to think of something at some point.
Turns out the teenage misfit supervillain team don’t do everyday things like ‘school’ and ‘studying’. Who’d have guessed! Well that’s not entirely true. Brian takes courses online, and Lisa, well, her power pretty much gives her a quick way to succeed at academics, that’s for sure.
Taylor receives a key for the hideout and is told she’s welcome to be there anytime, plus she can do anything she wants. The reason why Brian was here is because he agreed to meet Taylor during her morning runs, you know, to talk and keep her updated about recent developments. Also Taylor likes Brian the best. Lisa is alright, but “just being around her made me feel like I had the Sword of Damocles hanging over my head.”.  Anyone would feel like that, given her power, but Taylor’s potential betrayal plans are another reason to not spend a lot of time with Lisa.
Say, I wonder if Brian’s darkness powers can hinder Lisa’s power...hm...
Now that the friendly meeting with Brian is over, Taylor returns back home to get ready for another tortuous day at school, featuring bullies sans lice and other petty mishaps people less patient than Taylor would have inflicted on them already. It doesn’t help that recent events have made Taylor’s grades slip, what with not going to class and also not delivering her homework – even though none of that is completely her fault. Could it be possible for her to stop going to school, without her father knowing it? If things start getting tougher I wouldn’t be surprised it that happens! And if Dad finds out, there’s some potential conflict! I’m not wishing it to happen to Taylor, but it’d be interesting to watch.
The situation is bad, but not as bad as it was before. “The worst days had been back in my first year at high school, when the wounds of Emma’s betrayal were still fresh and I wasn’t yet experienced enough to anticipate the variety of things they could come up with.  Back then, it had been terrifying, because I hadn’t yet known what to expect, didn’t know where, when or if they would draw the line.” It doesn’t seem like they’re drawing the line at any point. The way Taylor copes with going to school is by focusing on the little times where she can enjoy herself, as well as giving herself rare treats once it’s all over. And now there’s one incentive more: spending time with the team! “Or, I thought, maybe I could just look forward to hanging out with Lisa, Alec and Brian.”
Hmmmm... “I wasn’t forgetting what they were, but I rationalized that I had no reason to feel bad about spending time with them when we were – for all intents and purposes – just a group of teenagers hanging out.  Besides, it was for a good cause, if it meant they relaxed around me and maybe revealed secrets.  Right?” You know, I’m not sure how Taylor will rationalize this all once she starts losing her will to tattle on them. Worm is a very long story; I doubt she’ll spend all of it with the same mindset of someday betraying them all. Will she start feeling ‘one with the team’, like a villain?
The day’s plans include going to class and also talk with the art teacher so try not to get a big fat zero in her midterm project, but all this is derailed when Sophia...uh, give me a momet to copy paste what she did: “As a group of students entered the room, I saw Sophia looking at me.  She made an exaggerated pouting expression, drawing one fingertip in a line from the corner of her eye down her cheek like a mock tear.  One of the other girls noticed and chuckled, leaned closer to Sophia as Sophia whispered something in her ear, then they both laughed.” And that’s enough for Taylor to turn around and get out of school, for the third day in a row. Sigh.
Okay, Taylor, I know it’s tough, and you’re very unhappy at school, but...somehow that this was enough for Taylor to scrap her plans and just leave school again doesn’t mesh well with me. I know she’s berating herself for doing it, too, but still...that was a tad too thin-skinned. I fully sympathize with her plight, and I know she’s more than capable to defend herself, but that kind of makes this bother me more. She can defend herself, but at the first sign of antagonism from the bullies she folded and just walked outside. I know she felt humiliated and all, but still...this can’t keep going like this. At some point she’s going to have to do something other than just retreating. It’s a much better choice than, say, sending a colony of wasps towards anyone, but it can’t be possible running away at the very first sign of mockery is the best solution.
And that’s the end of the first part of this arc. It was...an okay start. Nothing to write home about, but it wasn’t bad.  Just average. So to the next part.
Taylor’s destination was the loft, of course. Along the way, she imparts exposition regarding the social state of the Boardwalk. There’s a lot of trouble hiding in plain sight, people from gangs, people who keep order through the use of force...but it’s all peaceful so the tourists relaxed and gave a lot of revenue to the merchants and the city. Hm, alright, I see! So the Boardwalk is more or less a safe area in the town, that’s what it sounds like. Good to know. Also explains that Brian took the time to dress like he did earlier.
Taylor barely has time to think how she should get into the factory when Brian opens the door. Turns out Lisa’s powers warned Taylor was coming. Huh. How’re you going to counter that, Taylor? She’s going to see your betrayal coming before you even take a step towards the heroes’ place. Taylor goes inside, being received warmly. Alec and Brian were sparring. This could be a chance to see those two in action! Who knows, maybe learn a thing or two about physical moves. Taylor seems to agree, choosing to watch them spar.
Alec isn’t taking it seriously. In fact, he doesn’t seem like a physical fighter at all. Wonder what’s his role in the team and during their jobs, then? Brian sounds like he actually knows what he’s doing, but Alec’s interest is very low. He’s complaining when Brian tries to teach him stances.
““Well fuck this then,” Alec said, “If you’re going to go easy on me and still kick my ass, I don’t see the point.”
“You should learn how to fight,” Brian said.
“I’ll do like I have been and bring my taser,” was Alec’s response, “one poke and they’re out cold.  Better than any punch.””
Aha, I see! So that’s how he deals with the foes! Using the taser, I see. He’s going to be doomed if he’s against someone who isn’t affected by the taser. Taylor is a lot more receptive than Alec, seeing the chance to maybe learn a thing or two through Brian’s knowledge.
““Make two fists.  No, don’t wrap your fingers over your thumbs.  You’ll do more damage to your hands than you will to the person you’re hitting, if you do that.  That’s better.” I’m pleased to see that such fists are imparted. Doing it like Taylor was doing it risked breaking their thumbs. Really, if I didn’t know this team has a boss, I’d have thought Brian was the leader.
Say, I notice that, for a wound that was keeping Taylor awake at times, it’s conveniently unmentioned during this fighting learning. I’d have thought that punching and moving her arm a lot would cause quite some pain, but there’s nothing.
Brian doesn’t stay on one topic for long, he changes topics to try to encourage Taylor to improve, and also to help her. Balance, stance, it all is touched at least once. Taylor is by no means a good fighter yet, but she’s showing willingness to fight, and that’s great.
“From there, we changed topics to the mental side of things, both for me and my opponent.
“So I throw a punch like I’m aiming to put my fist through them?” I confirmed.
“Right,” Brian said, “Instead of just trying to make contact with the point where your hand meets their body.””
Hm...I have to ponder if this is a real mental technique. Mr. Wildbow already showed signs of doing some good research, after all.
Taylor wonders how Brian is so good at teaching, asking if he’s formally trained in anything. Good question, that’d explain all this.
“Ehhh,” he hedged, “Some.  My dad was a boxer when he was in the service, and he taught me some when I was little.  I moved on to other stuff on my own – Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Krav Maga – but nothing really held my interest.  I only took a few weeks or a month of classes for each.  I know enough and keep in shape, which is enough to hold my own against anyone who isn’t a black belt in whatever, which is the important thing, I think.  Keeping up with the more serious martial artists is a full time job, and you’re still going to run into people who are better than you, so I don’t see the point in stressing too much over it.”
Huh. Interesting philosophy. I’m not sure if Brian has enough skills to fight against some of the big heroes around, but what he knows should be enough for people like underlings, police officers, and common criminals. Someone like Lung may not be as affected as them, but perhaps a good strike or two may be useful? It all depends on the foe, really.
Taylor is quickly taught about weak points to attack. There are actually more than I had considered. On the head hit anything that’s squishy or potentially fragile – the temples aren’t as strong as the rest of the skull, I think? – and underneath the neck attack the joints and obvious places like the groin. Simple enough!
Since Taylor doesn’t have much upper body strength – and trying to improve on that regard was a major hassle – she says she’s considering a weapon. Hmmm...a small dagger, perhaps? Something like a stinger she can grab with ease! Yeah, bug theme! Brian doesn’t mind Taylor having a handy weapon, but she’s going to tell the boss. Lisa is talking to him right now. The problem here is...
““So who is this boss of ours?”
Brian and Alec exchanged a look.  When they didn’t immediately say anything, I wondered if I’d pushed it too far.  Had I been too nosy?
“Figured you’d ask,” Brian said, “Thing is, we don’t know.”
“What?” I asked, “We have an anonymous sponsor?””
Hohoh! Now this is fun! This is the kind of mysteries I love: the mysterious sponsor! In this type of enigmas there’s a lot of space for shocking reveals. Wow, it could be anyone! I’m guessing this sponsor of them is somebody who hasn’t been shown or mentioned yet anywhere, but fiction dictates their name will be at least mentioned at some point. Hmmmm...the jobs they send the Undersiders to do may be a valuable clue to deduce a couple things, I’ll make sure to pay special attention to them once they arrive. Wouldn’t be a surprise if it’s a hero, though. Now that’s the kind of surprise one would expect here, but it’s so fun and can create so much manipulation and misdirection even if it’s a hero I’d be very happy.
““Lisa knows, I think,” Brian grumbled, “But she says that when she joined the Undersiders, she made a deal that she was going to keep quiet on the subject.  I’m not sure if that means she knows who he is or if it’s just to keep her mouth shut if her power tells her.””
And that’s even more interesting. If Lisa knows right now –not confirmed, but play along with me for now ---- who is the benefactor and doesn’t tell anyone, there are...three possibilities, I think: one is that the benefactor has influence on her, which I find a bit unlikely. Trying to blackmail someone who can find information? Two is that Lisa is an accomplice of him, if this is all a long-term trap or something. Maaaaaaaaybe that could be it, but right now I don’t think so. Then again, I don’t know Lisa that well yet. And third is that she has no problem with who the benefactor is. If it was someone they had to watch out for, she’d tell the rest, but she hasn’t said a thing. Even if the benefactor is, say, Armsmaster, what does it affect them? So what if Armsmaster feels like sending a bunch of teens to perform crimes? It’s not like anyone in the Undersiders would be against that.
I guess it’s possible she simply doesn’t know yet, but yeah. Speaking of the benefactor, he finished the conversation with Lisa, and it’s playtime. As if Lisa had been waiting nearby right for this moment, when Taylor asks what kind of jobs they do, Lisa comes in and announces the next plot point:
“Lisa’s voice just behind me startled me, “This.  Pull up your socks, boys and girl, because we’re robbing a bank.””
Awesome. Brian, you’re up. This is pretty much a job where you’re going to contribute in significantly, Mr. Darkness Generator.
So, given that now there’s going to be a bank heist soon, I think I should stop for now and leave this for next time. Cool, action time!
Next update: next time
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glenmenlow · 4 years
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3 Factors Shaping New Consumer Behaviors
When we’re not sitting on Zoom calls, foraging for supplies, or fretting about health or finances, our thoughts turn to what life will be like when the madness subsides. We’ll probably witness significant changes in how we relate to others (no more handshakes?), how we work, how we play, and certainly how we consume.
The pandemic will change our world for years after the virus disappears, causing consumers to rethink their purchase decisions (both large and small). Marketers will need to respond to life in The New Normal.
No one has a crystal ball to tell us what the future will hold. However, we can make some educated guesses. After all, while for many of us this is the biggest disaster we’ve ever experienced, the world has seen many others. And we know that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. 
So, at a minimum we know for example that U.S. cities that enforced social distancing during the 1918 influenza pandemic emerged stronger afterward than those that didn’t. And, when we look back in the near past to the Great Recession, it seems reasonable to predict that many consumers will switch to value-priced brands for a period of years.  You don’t need a crystal ball to expect a lot of very public wrangling about materialistic values and priorities for some time to come.
But we can also look at several fundamental human motivations that are likely to drive preferences and behaviors in The New Normal. We know that deep-seated values change over time in every culture, and these in turn influence the products and services we seek – even though at times this is like turning a battleship.
Here are three very basic dimensions I believe businesses need to consider as they rebuild.
1. Gratification. When the day comes that we’re released from our quarantine cages, we’ll experience what pent-up demand feels like very personally. Cabin fever just fuels the fire as millions of bored people yearn to have fun again.
But what will this look like to many of us who will be hurting financially long after we get the all-clear? It’s hard to engage in an orgy of consumption when you’ve lost a big chunk of income. As I’ve read the recent prognostications of so-called “futurists,” it’s been interesting to see that some predict a huge splurge in discretionary spending, while others speak in dire terms of a huge retrenchment.
Who is correct? I believe both are. During last decade’s recession, we saw sales of guilty pleasures like premium ice cream increase dramatically. The key is to provide affordable indulgences that allow people to treat themselves without breaking the bank. For example, luxury marketers may not sell as many high-end items, but their customers will look for smaller purchases that gratify their desires to keep acquiring designer names. Can’t afford a bottle of Blue de Chanel parfum for $155? Well, try that bar of Chanel bath soap for $26 instead.
Likely success stories in The New Normal:
·     Cannabis/alcohol
·   �� Meditation/mindfulness/wellness
·     Gaming and e-sports, Board games
·     Gardening supplies
·     Home fitness/Peloton
·     Smaller packages
·     Publishing
·     Online education
·     Streaming video/5G
·     Online cultural events (music, religion, art, travel, etc.)
·     Virtual makeovers
·     Athleisure styles
2. Agency. In uncertain times, we worry about losing control over our lives. Consumers value products and services that reassure them they still have agency – the ability to make our own choices. This is one explanation for the “irrational” hoarding of toilet paper and other necessities we’ve witnessed; “I don’t know what will happen over the next few months, but at least I’m able to build up my stash.”
An obsession with hygiene and building emergency stockpiles is a route to restoring agency. Already, almost 90% of U.S. shoppers are expressing a preference to shop in contactless stores.
We can expect more focus on the need to measure and maintain supplies to help us face the next crisis. Look for “inventory awareness” in the form greater interest in smart refrigerators that track when items are depleted, or perhaps dashboards that help us to keep track of our medical, social and financial health.
Likely success stories in The New Normal:
·   Telemedicine
·   Disinfectants
·   Organizational products (containers, etc.)
·   Contactless shopping
·   Bulk purchasing
·   Drones & self-driving vehicles
·   Contact-tracing apps
·   Pre-packaged snacks (no more communal bowls)
3. Stability. In chaotic times, we yearn for predictability. Unfortunately, this tends to open the door for authoritarian regimes to exert greater control over their citizens as privacy takes a back seat to public safety.
To consumers, the need to restore a semblance of security is likely to translate to a preference for lower-risk brand options. Brand experimentation takes a back seat to tried-and-true solutions. Loyalty to established brands may recover some of the luster it lost (so long as these offerings hold the line on pricing). Comfort foods rule the roost; already makers of stalwarts like mac and cheese, Slim Jims, and Campbell’s Soup are reporting elevated sales. Fast fashion’s focus on cheap items that we discard after a few uses will give way to “investment dressing” choices that encourage us to prioritize quality over quantity.
More importantly, we can expect brands that contribute to our social welfare to prosper. A recent survey reported that a majority of consumers believe brands are more powerful than governments when it comes to addressing social issues. CSR (corporate social responsibility) was already a crucial component to many consumers (especially younger ones). But now in addition to concerns about environmental practices, people will be more mindful about how a company treats its workers – especially those on the frontlines when they deal with the public. But, an important caveat: If you talk the talk, you’d better walk the walk. Consumers have a very sensitive B.S. detector, and baseless grandstanding will come back to bite you!
Likely success stories in The New Normal:
·     Comfort foods
·     Nostalgia appeals in advertising
·     Brand communities/brandfests that emphasize collective identity
·     CSR champions that prioritize workers’ welfare
Nobody has a crystal ball to predict the future. But, at a minimum when we examine the pandemic in light of basic consumer drives, perhaps we can adapt to The New Normal by stepping on the GAS: Gratification, Agency and Stability.
Contributed to Branding Strategy Insider by: Michael Solomon, author of “Marketers, Tear Down These Walls!.”
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hballou · 4 years
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How Speakers And Experts Can Write And Publish A Book For Social Impact
How Speakers And Experts Can Write And Publish A Book For Social Impact Interview with Jeremy Jones
Jeremy C. Jones, a proud military veteran, is also a family man and entrepreneur who lives in Paradise Valley, Arizona. His accomplishments include being a four-time #1 Best-Selling Author on Amazon, hosting the popular podcast “Ideas & Impact,” and founding and serving as CEO at Jones Media Publishing.
    Read the Interview
Hugh Ballou: Greetings, it’s Hugh Ballou. Welcome to this episode of The Nonprofit Exchange. This little interview will be packed with some ideas we hope will be useful to you. Today, we have Jeremy Jones, who comes to us from north Scottsdale, Arizona. Jeremy, welcome to The Nonprofit Exchange. Tell folks a little bit about you, why you’re doing this, and your passion.
Jeremy Jones: Absolutely. Thank you so much for the introduction. I appreciate it. A little bit about my background. I grew up in southern California and went into the military at the age of 18. I was stationed on an aircraft carrier for four years. Just to give your audience a reference of time, when I was getting ready to get out of the military was during the September 11 attack, 2001. I was a part of Operation Enduring Freedom. I was in the military during that time and shortly got out after, which was March of 2002. I moved here to Arizona, where I have been living and working of about 17 years now. Over time, I got my Bachelor of Arts degree. I started working of a company, working for myself. At the point where I had transitioned to fully working for myself, I was looking to get an edge on not only just the competition, but to set myself apart because I felt like I was really good at what I did. I authored a book and saw how it helped open up doors for me to get speaking engagements. I helped one of our clients be able to publish a book as well. That is where I developed a specialty of what we do with book publishing. Right now, I currently have that program. It’s all we do. It’s my primary business. Jones Media Publishing is the top rated book publisher for coaches, consultants, speakers, and experts to help them publish a book that can be used as a tool to get speaking engagements and new clients.
I am so passionate about this because a book can be a tool to help an expert share their message that is impactful, share the story of the charity, nonprofit, or organization, to share the reason why they do what they do and the principles behind it, to help them reach an audience that are outside of their sphere of influence.
Hugh: That’s really great. I published my first book in 2007. It’s called Moving Spirits, Building Lives. It’s a church musician as a transformational leader. It’s how I pivoted from being a conductor into organizational leadership. The conductor takes a bunch of singers and transforms them into a choir, transforms the choir into an ensemble, transforms people’s lives. In church work, in the orchestra, it’s the same kind of thing. I teach people how to build high-performing teams. I self-published and went to a church music conference. Nobody knew me. I had a bunch of books. There were 600 people there, and I sold 100 books. All of a sudden, people were quoting me, and I was a celebrity because I was an authority on a topic. Now, it took me 40 years to write the book, 30 days to put it on paper. So I sent myself a daily regimen and outlined it and wrote it. Miscellaneous chapters. I wrote the ones that flowed easily. The fist chapter I wrote was “Managing Time.” I wrote about it, so I have to do it. I can tell you that was a business card. The book was an open-door business card. People are really impressed that you have a book. I have had several other people quote my books in other books on the topic. That was my basic premise on transformational leadership. I have done other books and courses. It was really me putting on paper. The process was clarifying for me.
What do you find is most helpful? We’re talking to clergy and nonprofit leaders and their teams. I do experience they have lots of stories to tell, but they don’t know how to get them out there. We think we published a book and it’s a bestseller, so we’re going to be filthy rich. That’s not exactly the purpose, is it?
Jeremy: No, not necessarily. So we always start with the foundation. A lot of times, when someone is referred to us, they come to us for three primary reasons. One is for contribution. They have a message that is important to them; they want to get it out to as many people as possible. The second reason is to have it be a tool to get clients for their business or speaking engagements, which furthers the message about what they do. The third reason is for credibility and authority. The book serves as a purpose to position you as an authority, a specialized expert at what you do.
Whenever someone comes to us and says, “I have a book, but I feel like I’m stuck,” which is common, we start with the main purpose of the book. What is the purpose of the book for you? The whole structure and the outline of the book can be determined to serve that purpose if we know the reason why the author is writing the book, and who they are writing it for. You’d be surprised how many people don’t think through that process. That’s what we’re very good at. That’s what we work with each of our authors on. We develop a profile of who the book is for, what we need to cover within the book. We help them structure and outline their book properly.
I will give you an example here based on your question. We had one author who wanted to be a public speaker. Inside of her book, she didn’t mention anything about her having the ability to speak, or that she has even spoken. And she had spoken. What I recommended to her, because she was pretty far along, is within the book, rather than telling a bunch of random stories, she told a very specific story how she went to go speak somewhere, what she said impacted the people in the audience, and what happened as a result. A real quick story. Doesn’t need to be very long. Only needs to be a couple of paragraphs. Because she told that story, it illustrated the point that she is a professional speaker. It demonstrates that she speaks, and people get a positive response by her speaking. Guess what a meeting organizer wants when they want you to speak? A good response from the audience, and for the audience to do something with what they learned. They want their speaker to perform to their audience and bring value to their audience.
There are certain things we can do with the outline based on the purpose. You asked your question about stories. Depending on the purpose, depending on the structure and outline also depends how much of those stories or what stories even to make sense to include.
Hugh: Before people melt down and say that’s too much work, let me unpack a couple things. I found it very empowering laying it out in writing. I had cleared a month to write my first book. Those other books were written piecemeal through blog posts or other things I had put together. You have to be careful if you do it randomly so it has continuity. Having a good editor.
The thing that occurs to me is a lot of churches and nonprofits don’t consider branding. What you’re talking about is your branding. Who are you? Who is your audience? How do you show up with that audience? What is your brand image?
I had a brander publish a book called Twist. Her publicist contacted me and wanted an interview on my business podcast. During the interview, I had her book out. We were talking about putting a twist on your brand. I asked her, “How did you find me?” She said, “Your brand really stood out: the conductor that teaches leadership. That sets you out above everybody else.” If you’re having trouble in your charity raising money, getting volunteers, maybe your brand isn’t clear. If people aren’t coming to your church or synagogue, there may not be a clear brand image on what they can expect or who you’re marketing to. What are they going to experience when they get there? Why should they come? Any of those things, do you help people sort that out? Or do they need to come in with a brand ready? Do you help them decide who they are and how they want to show up in the world?
Jeremy: That’s what we help each of our authors and clients with. It starts with the structure and outline of the book first. Determining what is included in all of the chapters. We do a lot of research on book titles. The title is an important component of the book because that is the first thing that potential readers or audience members at an event see. When they see you’re the author of X book, that’s a determining factor to represent who you are. If you have a book about purpose, like Purpose-Driven Life, you know that’s what the author is representing and talking about in their book. If you have a book called Family History Secrets, they are all about the secrets of their family. The title of the book does represent the message and what the author is all about. All of those things need to be considered with the end in mind. That’s why I reference quite a bit with our members, because we coach our members through the entire process, from a blank Word document to published book, is we always do what Stephen Covey said in his famous book, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, is begin with the end in mind. We always look at the end in mind for the purpose and the title.
Hugh: It sounds awfully hard. I did everything myself. I went and found a printer. Actually, I had pitched my first book. Instead of making a dollar, it cost me a dollar, and I made $13 selling the book. They said clergy wouldn’t buy it, but most people had clergy. I put music notes on my cover. My name was big on the cover. I don’t know if I would redo it. If I feel like I want to do that, I would redo another type of book.
All of that stuff. I am looking back and thinking, I wish I’d had somebody like Jeremy Jones guide me through the process. It was difficult. I had somebody proof it who didn’t do a good job. My first printing was full of typos. That is a credibility issue.
Jeremy: It is. What we do is we have the entire process outlined in three phases. That’s how we are basically a guide, guiding people through the process so it doesn’t ever feel overwhelming. We have divided our unique publishing process into three primary phases. Phase one is what we call the create or foundation phase. That’s everything related to who the book is for, the purpose of the book for you, getting the book structured and outlined properly in a simple and systematic way, getting the book written in a time-effective manner because we know most of our authors or members are not writing the book three hours a day. They have a certain window of time they can allot outside of their business or profession. We are sensitive to that. We realize it does take an amount of time, but we want it to be as efficient as possible for each of our members. We have some programs in order to do that to help keep the writing efficient, providing editing along the way to provide feedback and insight for the author. That’s all phase one.
Then it goes to our team of editors to edit it properly so that the author doesn’t have to deal with any of what you just mentioned. Where we have had people come to us and say, “I tried to do this myself. It’s full of typos. I need to get it done right.” Our model is that traditional publishing house level of quality, but each of our authors retains full rights to their book. Everything I just mentioned is in phase one.
Phase two is everything related to what we call packaging it. Packaging it as a product. Professional book cover design. The layout for the paperback book. Amazon and Kindle ebook formatting. Those are the primary three book formats.
The third phase is the book release. When we first start our authors and they are thinking about their release, what we do is help guide them. Let’s do phase one first. Then we move to phase two, then phase three. That’s what we do is help facilitate each of those steps along the way so there is never any guesswork.
Hugh: That’s important. My clients in launching and growing an organization, people don’t know what to do next. They do things randomly, which is not productive. It sounds like what could be a complicated process, you have streamlined what to do next. Is there a lot of I think what holds up a lot of people is they say I have to carve out time to do all this writing. I’ll do that next year. It’s the I’m going to wait until the perfect time. I will do it when… the famous excuse. Why should people wait? Can they get started? Is there a different way to put words on paper? Can they dictate them and have someone transcribe them? Are there options?
Jeremy: There definitely are options. When we are in the writing phase, if the author wants to dictate what they have written, we have a unique process around doing that. It all starts with making sure everything is organized properly. If we have a book structure in place, if we have the outline in place, when the author is dictating something, it’s not random. What creates a high expense for editing, the editing process completely multiplies itself and becomes expensive, when the editor has to go in and restructure and rewrite the developmental edit of everything. What we recommend is to do it in bite-sized chunks. Chapter one is typically broken into about three or five subparts. If the author is going to speak their book and transcribe it, they only focus on chapter one, point one. Then chapter one, point two. Then chapter one, point three. They are only talking about this one thing for a short period of time. That can be transcribed and cleaned up because it’s focused, and it doesn’t need this entire reworking. That piece dramatically deceases the time.
Another thing is the reason that most people take a lot of time to write their book is because they don’t have everything structured from the beginning. What a lot of our authors do is prior to them working with us, is they get an idea and are excited about turning it into a book. They get committed to it. They are on fire about it. They see the impact. They grab their laptop and start pounding away at the keyboard, writing that story and this story. It’s a bunch of stuff they are typing out. Then they get to the point where they go, “Wait a minute. Should I include this in chapter one or four? Maybe this should be later in the book and this should be earlier.” They find themselves for five hours taking this and moving it here, taking this and moving that there, and rewording it. That process is frustrating and time-consuming.
Our unique process we have developed is to help the author develop a proper structure for a book based on industry publishing standards to get it all structured first and then fill in the gaps. The way I like to illustrate this is when you think about a sculptor that is sculpting a big heavy sculpture. If it’s big and heavy, they don’t take a giant glob of clay, plop it there, and start doing fine detail. That’s what people do with writing a book. They don’t write it immediately in fine detail. What a sculptor does is they develop a wire frame of the body of the sculpture, and then they build the mesh. The mesh represents the body of it. Then they put on the clay, which forms the fine detail. If you do the same process when writing a book, first you look at the structure, which makes up all the chapters. Then you look at the chapters, which makes up each of those components for a properly published book. But you get to the writing once that is developed. You are cutting your writing time by a fifth; you will have a fifth of the time it takes to write in my experience.
Hugh: There is always this fear of the unknown. I’ve had people tell me that they have done a series of blog posts and written the book and build excitement as they launch the book. People have read the blog and still buy the book because it’s all in one place instead of strung out into a series of articles. That sounds like a good way to lay it out and think through it and get some real-time response. Do you have a reading on that?
Jeremy: Sure, we’ve had authors who have done that. We’ve had authors who have done that with writing. If your style is you’re more comfortable with writing, that’s a great way to do that. Get to the exercise of writing and putting out blog posts and getting feedback. That’s a great way to start. We have had another author as well who does it through audio forums, the course of a podcast. We’ll have a chapter he wants to talk about, stories he wants to share, through the course of the podcast verbally. He is talking through the content that he wants to include in the book. That is a great exercise as well to speak out the story. Then you relisten to yourself telling the story, and you can very easily type it out, have it transcribed and cleaned up. Sure. Doing that process is a great exercise because you can get some feedback from people. See the response, the engagement, who leaves a comment. That’s a helpful way to do that.
Hugh: One thing I notice is you talk about the title. The title makes me stop when I go in the bookstore. All these books. What first catches my attention is the title. Not only the words in the title, but how it’s laid out. Then I pick up the book, and I look for an index and the contents. If it’s just a bunch of boring copy, that’s a downer for me. I respect books that are laid out with some highlights, some images. I had mine with some little breakout highlighted paragraphs with tips throughout. I look for specific things that say to me it will be an interesting journey when I read this book. The titling is wordsmithing, but the rest of it, the cover appearance, the appearance of the title, and the book, what are the factors that encourage people- I’m talking about a physical book now. What are some of the things that make the book attractive so a person would want to pick it up and buy it?
Jeremy: That’s a great question. The first thing is the book title. The primary title, and the subtitle. I always encourage authors to create a compelling subtitle. The primary title should basically encompass the main thing the book is about. The subtitle should give the readers some additional information to help clarify what the book is all about. That’s the first thing. The image of the book should be simple. Some of the best-selling books are simply all typography. Typography means it’s all text. The title of the book should be clear and easy to read. In most cases, no script. Real scripted fonts are a bad idea because of readability. You want it at first glance to be easily read. Then the cover has pleasing design.
The very next thing, you imagine if you are in a bookstore, is you flip the book open. The book should have a well-written book description on the back of the book, which teases or creates curiosity for the potential reader to let them know what’s inside the book. That’s on the physical book. On the Amazon book listing, we recommend to most of our authors who want to include it is you want to tease to the potential reader what’s potentially in a variety of chapters in your book. Topic #1 would be chapter one. You would let them know what they would get out of each chapter in some bullet points. Giving those bullet points to that potential reader is giving them some insight as to what is in the book. The nice thing about Amazon as well is they have the ability if you are getting the book online to do a Look Inside and see the table of contents.
What we find in most cases is the first line of defense is the book cover. Then it’s the back, which is the description on the back of the book or in the Amazon book listing description. Then once when they are inside the book, it’s the table of contents. That right there also lets you know you need to have a well-written table of contents that also informs the reader as to what is in the chapter. Those should also be well-written. They are almost like many titles of your book. They are titles of your chapters. That’s what I recommend.
Hugh: I threw up a cover. This is my fourth book. It was one of the imprints for the United Methodist Publishing House, which has since closed. They did this attractive cover. It was an anthology, so I had famous people on the front and endorsements from the back from two authors of Chicken Soup. We made it to the second print. What was a mistake was the cover doesn’t have the subtitle. It was Stories of Transformation by Leaders. I didn’t realize until after I had released it that it didn’t have it there. That was a liability. To your point, it looked interesting. They had an artist do it, so I went with it. I do find that I look for what it’s really about.
The other thing is picking the right categories. With Moving Spirits, Building Lives, it’s #2 in the transformational leadership category. I don’t know how it got there because that was mostly by accident. I tried intentionally to get this one to bestseller. Just wanted to say I did it. I didn’t make a lot of money, especially if you go through a regular publisher, you don’t get paid until you get that advance back. Speak more about the artistry of design and how, this subliminal message and attraction thing that goes on to entice them to grab it. Once they grab it, that’s half the battle, wouldn’t you say?
Jeremy: I would say so, yeah. Grabbing their attention first, yes. Once you have their attention, then it’s the book description that takes them to the next piece. The title leads to the subtitle leads to the description leads to the table of contents, which leads them into the book. If they feel like the book would bring them value, that’s when they make the decision to buy the book. Nonfiction books, the value in most cases is something they would learn to improve their life. About 80% of the books we publish are nonfiction. The value to the reader for fiction books is entertainment. Getting them outside of their own reality and their mind to imagine this outside world as entertainment. That is the value you bring to them. A lot of fiction authors don’t consider that, but they have to market it that way when they are looking at writing their book description. How can you paint the picture of the value you will bring to this reader, which is capturing their mind and imagination?
Hugh: I’m positioning a book as part of the overall marketing program for a nonprofit. Is that okay? It’s a marketing tool. There are lots of reasons, but for the purposes of where I’m going with this. It’s part of the awareness. It doesn’t differ for an entrepreneur running a business. Like leadership, the principles are the same.
I’m a speaker, too. Speaking itself is not a sustainable revenue source. You get paid, and it’s gone. What we want to do is have back of the room material. You want to have books, courses, and other things you can offer people, which is a secondary flow of revenue. A lot of nonprofits have a lot of resources, their own and those of others who provide value in the space they are operating. Talk a minute about how a 501(c)3 can use a book to monetize, to bring in revenue.
Jeremy: That is a great question. To answer your question, the way we have seen this work best, because of our model, we have a traditional publishing house level of quality. The author retains full rights, and they earn 100% of the royalties, minus the printing cost of the book. In that situation, where we’ve had two paths here, number one is the expert or influencer would write the book from their perspective, teaching something, sharing a message, and the nonprofit is mentioned within the book. The sale of the books would go to raise funds for a 501(c)3. You could sell a bundle of books to a company. When they buy books, the profit of books goes to the nonprofit. That is one way.
Another way we have seen several of our authors do is the author runs a business themselves, or they are a speaker. But the nonprofit is the sponsor of the book. The nonprofit is mentioned on the back of the book. A portion of the proceeds go from the sale of the books toward the nonprofit. When the author is promoting the book, they can say, “A portion of the proceeds are going toward this nonprofit.” People like to contribute to causes or businesses that contribute to causes. There is a lot of joint venture opportunities that could come from that as well. The 501(c)3 could have donor lists. A list of all people who have donated. They could send a message to the donors saying, “We have partnered with this author. The proceeds are going back to our nonprofit. We think our audience would love this book. If you buy this book, proceeds go.” There are different types of things you could do within the marketing to split the proceeds or all of the proceeds because the author gets paid to speak or a back-end to the book where they are not so concerned about the profits of the book. This can be good. But they get paid on coaching clients, business services, things like that.
Hugh: I have also said there are purpose books that teach people about particular things, how to get out of poverty, topics like that that explain to constituents. I live in Lynchburg, Virginia, where we have a high poverty rate. There are lots of initiatives about poverty. Getting them food, housing, and clothing does not raise them out of poverty. It’s the mindset. The mindset takes us to a very different place. My material is helping people reframe their thinking. I spend a lot of time reframing the thinking for nonprofit leaders. I have seen occasions where a sponsor buys the back page. It’s a helpful book for a certain segment or purpose. They give it away. But it has the sponsor message. They will buy 10,000 books. The company itself uses it for a marketing tool, and there is a mass distribution. Is that a scenario you see much? Does it really work?
Jeremy: To a degree. I would say the most important thing is the sponsor, or the one representing, is in complete alignment with the audience or the reader and the values of the company. With your example, we publish quite a few books for health and wellness professionals or health coaches. I would never recommend they have a big soda company for obvious reasons because they can’t condone drinking soda.
Hugh: Different brands.
Jeremy: And the purpose of the product as well. Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper, they are not bad companies. It’s just a drink. But it’s not ever recommended by that particular person. If a health and fitness trainer wrote a book and they wanted to have a dietary supplement be a sponsor, perfect alignment. The supplement provider could email or promote or Facebook ads, whatever they choose to do, to promote the book, and it also tells them in the book how to take the supplement, which the trainer recommends. There is consistency happening there. I always recommend looking at, in most cases, there is, there is some sort of consistency you could create, and there is a company out there that would see that as alignment for their brand.
Hugh: It’s the principle I was trying to illuminate there. If their brand is compatible with your brand, and there is value for both brands.
Jeremy: I’d say so.
Hugh: It’s not magical finding someone who wants to do that.
Jeremy: On that note, I also do recommend to not make obvious blatant advertisements on the book. When someone normally gets a book, you wouldn’t see a blatant advertisement. But marketing is something that we’re very focused on with the book. We help with the launch. We are focused on joint ventures. There are easily things you can do to give the reader more value and subtly promote the other company. Using the example of the fitness trainer. Within the book, the fitness trainer talks about using this particular protein supplement. The company is mentioned several times. The author could mention a guide that talks about 50 smoothie recipes to use this supplement with, and they download this guide with these recipes. That company is mentioned, and there is a link you can go to to order this supplement. There are things you can do to not make it an advertisement, but an added value for the reader.
Hugh: It’s only fair. You have several books. Book Publishing on Demand, Power Authority, and Lead Flow. Those are on Amazon?
Jeremy: Yeah.
Hugh: You can also find them on JonesMediaPublishing.com. Then you have a podcast. AskJeremyJones.com/Podcast. What kind of things do you talk about on your podcast?
Jeremy: The podcast is a lot of fun. We just published our 169th episode. The show is called Ideas and Impact. We interview authors, speakers, and subject matter experts about three big ideas you feel could be really impactful for people if they applied them into their lives, either on the personal side or on the business side. We have interviewed people about relationships, marriage, parenting on the personal side. On the wealth side of things, business growth, marketing, sales, things like that. And on the health side, we have talked about health and fitness, weight loss, all things. It’s similar to like a TED Talk. You go there to listen for something insightful that you can immediately put into action with your life. It’s been a lot of fun.
Hugh: I am sorry I didn’t know about your podcast, but I do now. Is there anybody on the horizon that will be exciting?
Jeremy: John Nemo is on the line-up. He is a LinkedIn expert. Teaches people how to optimize their LinkedIn profile. We mention John David Mann, who is the co-author of The Go-Giver and also Bob Berg, who co-authored it. We interviewed Ivan Meisner from BNI, the largest business organization in the world. That was an incredible interview as well. We’ve had a few high-level celebrity-type people. We have Hugh up and coming. That’s a given, Hugh.
Hugh: I have been having back problems, but I had a shot today, so I’m a new man. Which new man I am. I am eager to find out more. I am going to listen to it.
Jeremy: You can get all the episodes at AskJeremyJones.com.
Hugh: Jeremy Jones, you are a real wealth of information. We had an author last week, Scott S. Smith, who has written 1,800 leadership articles for Investors Business Daily of all places. Leaders want to know about leaders. It was a powerful interview. I look forward to sharing some things with your audience. This has been helpful. I am reliving my journey of writing a book. I will say to people I spent 40 years in church music ministry. One time, I did a pivot and said, “I am a transformational leader.” I repositioned myself. I went from having my back to the audience as a conductor to facing the audience as a speaker. That was a physical 180-degree transformation. The book was a way for me to be clear on my message. Once I started writing, I found out I knew a whole lot of stuff that was valuable to people. We are in the third printing. To keep the price down, I bought a whole bunch. You can have a print book, but you can do it on demand. You can print a few. You can print a bunch. What are some of the options when you publish a book?
Jeremy: We recommend to start with the print on demand option to get the process going until the author has enough established where they can hold some books on hand, which is a good idea to have some on hand. In most cases, because we run a printing and distribution facility, we can print on demand pretty quickly for our authors. We have one author just recently about a week and a half ago did an event with 200 people. She let us know, “Hey, I am doing an event with 200 people. I am going to need 200 books at this address.” We print them, package them up, ship them to her event. Within about five business days, they can be printed. We can fulfill and do that on demand. For higher quantities of books, make sure there is a good reason to have a higher quantity. You can get some price breaks. We can do that as well. Typically, what we do is start with the paperback. That’s established. The author knows their printing pricing. We can work with that as well. Then we have the e-book version. There is no hard cost there. Once we finalize the paperback and do the release, a few of our authors like to have a hardback version. We do have printing facility capabilities to do that version with a dust jacket, which looks really nice. The printing cost is a little bit higher, but we have worked it out where we can do it on fairly low quantities. We can do a couple hundred books for a reasonable cost.
Hugh: Good to know. There is the paperback, the hardback, the e-book, and the Kindle book. What about audiobooks? Are those valuable?
Jeremy: Those are valuable. We provide some training and resources of how to get that up and going. We don’t provide the services to do that. There is three options. Some of the authors want to speak the book themselves, which we usually recommend as the best option. But they have to have capability to go to a studio, record the audios, and have it cut properly for Amazon ACX, which is Audible’s program for audiobooks. The second option is you can hire a voice actor and pay them up front. You still retain your side of the rights, and you get the royalties from Amazon directly. The third option is you can hire a voice recording artist and split the royalties with them. That’s all built into there. You can choose the royalty option you want. We provide some resources. If the author wants to do an audiobook, we guide them on what is the best option and how it works.
Hugh: That was the audiobook from Barefoot Winery. They were our guest a few weeks ago. They had a whole drama team that did the book. It was stunning. They didn’t spare any cost. They sold the winery. They are marketing experts who accidentally got into the winery business. I never thought about getting a drama team to produce the book. It was a story. That was powerful. They helped nonprofits raise money through their activity with the winery. The book was out there to say this is an idea for you. It’s been a bestseller for quite a while.
Jeremy: I like that. It makes sense.
Hugh: A lot of people do creative things. Books are not dead. I was talking to somebody the other day about how good leaders read. People at the top of their game read. There is no variance to that. They read the same books again over time and mark it with a different color marker because you will see different things when you go back. On my bookshelf, I have a lot of Kindle books, too. Somebody was telling me a physical book, you absorb better. Do you have an opinion on that, whether physical books are better than e-books?
Jeremy: I am of the view that everybody learns differently. When some people learn something new or when they relax, they like to look at the words on a physical paper. I like to do that, too. I like to look and jot notes in the margins or write things down as I’m going. Total focus. If I have a book I want to totally focus on, I will get a paperback. I find that’s the case with most people. When you just want to take a book with you, I have a Kindle app as well on all my devices, I like to have e-books as well to have books I can reference. E-books are great for that, to have a library of books you can carry around with you everywhere. Audiobooks are popular right now. We are starting to get more involved with that, with our clients. That’s a great medium for when people are busy. A lot of business owners listen to audiobooks now. When you’re driving and commuting places, you can listen to audiobooks. You can’t read while you’re driving until we all have self-driving Teslas, which I don’t know how many years that’s out. For right now, we’re not reading while we’re driving, so audiobooks are a great option for that. I think it depends on how you consume information. I agree with you. I don’t think paperbacks, even though we have all these capabilities in different mediums, I really don’t think that they’re going anywhere.
Hugh: I agree. *Sponsor message from Wordsprint* Jeremy Jones, what do you want to leave people with?
Jeremy: For anyone watching or listening, if you have had a dream and a desire to write a book, we have many people say, “I just wanted to write something, to inspire people, to share a message with people.” A lot of people think that contacting a publisher too early in the process. I need to get further along. I need to write out my ideas. I need to get to some point before I explore that with anyone. I think the earlier, the better. That’s what we’re here for. On the foundational process, of making sure all the things work together to meet your objectives for a book. Some people, I say, “Hey, I think this is a great idea for a book, but not now. With where you’re at and what you’re doing, wait until you have this set up or this timing is better.” A lot of it is timing. That’s what we do. We do a free book strategy session with anyone who would like to explore the idea of a book, how it can integrate with your organization, how that could work. We’d be happy to explore that. Also, I run a free Facebook group for the podcast called Ideas and Impact. If you go to AskJeremyJones.com, there is a Facebook icon at the top. Click on that, and you can join our free group. I am happy to answer any questions you have or explore the idea with you.
Hugh: Jeremy Jones, this has been a delight. I have published lots of books, but I have learned a lot of new stuff today.
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kaescarribean-blog · 5 years
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week two
sunday, august 18
I’m writing this a bit far advance so I’m losing details of what has happened already, but I’m going to do my best! On Sunday, my two friends and I were just going to head down to Brewer’s beach to hangout and see what was going on with this Chili cookoff we had heard about. We assumed it would be a food truck or two, but when we got there, we couldn’t even recognize the beach we’d known for the last week! There was probably around 15 food trucks, a huge stage where a band was playing, and multiple boats pulled up to the beach. We recognized some people who we had hitch-hiked from earlier (...for a very short distance and with three friends, we made a judgment call and figured it was safe, thank god it was) on a boat, so we said hi and they invited us to come hang out! The rest of our NSE group saw us on the boat and came over to hangout too, the people were really gracious hosts and were excited to have so many people hanging out. We stayed down at the beach for a long time, and after we showered, ate, and met up at me and Blanca’s suite to hangout with some of the basketball team. We ended the night here, but it was a packed and extremely fun day, all without leaving campus!
monday, august 19
First day of classes! I only had one, which was swimming and snorkeling. It takes place at Brewers beach, but technically at the marine science building which is right down on the beach as well! I thought it was very lucky for the marine science department to have such a set up -- but it was incredibly difficult to find this building from campus because you had to take some sort of side road that is not marked and there are no signs on any of the buildings anywhere. We didn’t do anything in class besides talk about the semester, but afterwords since we were already down there some of my friends who were in the class and I decided to just stay down by the beach. It was pretty lowkey and I didn’t really go in far, but it was nice to get my time in the water due to class. I can’t remember much else happening today. 
tuesday, august 20
The official first week of me landing in Charlotte Amalie! Time had already passed so much, and it feels like it could have been months since my arrival. This is my big day of classes, where I have Self Management: Wellness and Risk, Basic Design, World Lit, and Disparities in Health Care. Four classes a day definitely takes a lot out of you, and made it decently harder for me to keep up my streak of going to the water everyday. Two things that struck me today: one of my classes is a conference class, and another is a hybrid, which they did not tell me when registering. Conference classes are pretty common here since the St. Croix campus is so small (smaller than St. Thomas for me is hard to believe). It utilizes video chat, and we have cameras and microphones in each classrooms, and there is only a teacher in one of them. This is actually okay since the teacher is in the St. Thomas classroom, but it was so foreign to me and seemed so simple and everyday to everyone else. Hybrid classes exist for essentially the same purpose: lack of teachers. My World lit class AND history of the Virgin Islands class ended up being converted into hybrids, so you only meet once a week and then have the rest of your work online. This I really don’t like since I don’t do well with a lot of online classes, but I figured it would be good because I could have more time to do what I want and do work later. Anyways, I ate dinner and called it an early night due to the amount of schoolwork and stress I had to deal with during the day, and I was reminded that I will actually need to be doing some sort of studying while I’m here. Tragic. I’m also becoming more and more familiar with the idea that NO ONE in the Virgin Islands has any organizational skills or sense of urgency no matter the occasion, and to reallyyyyyyy stop expecting much when it comes to these things. Ex: paying tuition or registering for classes. Who cares, right? I guess not them!
wednesday, august 21
On Wednesday, I slept in very late and appreciated the lack of classes I have. The History class is the only thing I had to report for, so I organized my laundry and my room, and relaxed for a bit. At night, we went downtown into Red Hook, which is a very decent hop over to the other side of the island, and hung out at a view local dives with almost the entirety of the NSE group. Incredibly fun. One thing worth mentioning is the night time transportation. There’s not much to do for nightlife near the University, so to do something at night, we’re going to need to get into a car. The problem is that none of us have cars, clearly, and that the $1 safaris stop running at 6pm. So, we are forced into using the overpriced and tourist-targeted taxi system. They charge you for distance as well as per head, and they are always trying to rip you off and tell you prices far above what is reasonable, because they know they can take advantage of tourists. However, once you give a little pushback and show any general knowledge of the island, the usually loosen up and get you an okay price. This night, to get there and back per person was $12, but there were 14 of us in the van, so he made $168 dollars off of a 20 minute drive. And he wanted to charge even more! The point is, people always think we are tourists, and we’re constantly having to practice self-advocacy in order to not get taken advantage of. 
thursday, august 22
I only went to one class today due to a combination of myself not making it to two and another getting cancelled (but me sitting in the class alone for 30 minutes). Then, I have no idea how I spent my day and there’s nothing in my camera roll to help remind me. I wish I did these daily instead of whenever I have time, I really want to do a better job about taking everything in! Some days are just mundane and I’m too tired by the end to recount all the happenings. Today must have been one of these days. 
friday, august 23
No class - so, I think I may have gone into town, and come back and watch the sunset? One interesting thing that I’m not sure if I’ve noted is that the sun sets extremely early here, which I am a little bummed about. At home, because it was summer we were squeezing out daylight until around 9pm, but here, the sunsets at a very premature 6:45. I hope it doesn’t get earlier. That’s all I’ve got!!
saturday, august 24
Finally a day I remember! We got up early (8 am...but felt much much earlier) and one of my friends roommate has been going to school here for all of her 3 years, so she offered to lead us on this hike we always have wanted to go on! When you sit at the beach, you can see these rock/cave structures in the mountain, and we always talked about going. Today, we did! Though it took only about 30 minutes total, it was one of the hardest hikes I’ve ever been on. To call it a hike even seems disrespectful, it was literally an uphill mountain climb -- as in, you couldn’t be holding your phone or water bottle in your hand because you usually needed all four limbs to get your body up and over enormous rock structures. At one point, it literally seemed like the trail was at a 90 degree angle, and there was a rope on the side of a tree we had to hold onto to hoist ourselves upwards. Insanely challenging, but so breathtakingly beautiful once we got to the top! I don’t think I’ve ever sweat so much in my life. After this, we went home and took a breather for about an hour, showered, and then headed down for the beach. The school was throwing a cook out type thing, which meant lunch was served at the beach, which was fun. They also had many obstacle courses and games set up, but we were all far too worn out from the hike to participate in any of that. They had some kayaks for use which we did take advantage of, except the guard didn’t tell us we had to stay within the buoys, so we headed out way too far and they had to come get us in the rescue kayak and tell us to turn around, which all of our friends are still laughing about. One cultural thing that I don’t think I’ll get used to is how loud simply everything is. The music, the volume of people’s voices, their tvs, everything. So, the entire time the school was throwing this event they had music blasting louder than I’ve ever heard, and even at the most distant point we reached on the kayaks it was still too loud for all of us. When I’m at the beach I personally much prefer listening to the ocean or some sofftttt music in the background, but the locals do not seem to share this preference. For dinner, they clearly were serving the leftovers from lunch at the beach, and everything tasted stale and old. I don’t mean to leave this day on a bad note, those are just some observations I have that fit in here. This day was still amazing!
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endenogatai · 5 years
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A Q&A with Multiple, the quiet agency behind many a startup’s success story
When Multiple first started in 2015 the concept of an agency specifically geared to the strategic branding and culture of startups was definitely not new, but the fact that it was starting in Europe definitely was. At the time, I remember startups in Silicon Valley having access to, literally, multiple ways of scaling up their concept, from growth hacking partners to branding agencies, to many different types of assistance. Plenty of those mountains of VC cash wasn’t employed by the startups only internally, but also externally, on helpful agencies. In London and Europe the attitude was different: “Don’t spend it on agencies, spend it on building the product”! But as soon as Multiple appeared, I realized this was a sign that the European ecosystem was in fact maturing to be able to support this more sophisticated approach.
Part of the reason Silicon Valley has become so powerful is that it supports a wide variety of these wider ecosystem players, and doesn’t just dole out cash to raw entrepreneurs who often are pretty experienced in company and brand building. Europe, it seemed, was finally growing up.
Four years on and, I decided it was time to find out from Multiple co-founder Katy Turner, as a former entrepreneur and VC herself, to discuss what she and her cofounder Gabbi Cahane have learned form dealing day in and day out with high-growth startups. After all, here at least it an organization that has seen it all in terms of company building…
The timing is opportune. After several years in the market it’s also launching it’s “Scale Partners network”: A crack team of experienced players from the UK and European tech ecosystem to extend its capabilities and help their client companies grow faster.
The network includes names such as Laurence Bret-Stern (former CRO at Pipedrive); Tracy Doree (founder at Kindred Capital); Dhiraj Mukerjee (co-founder, Shazam); Alicia Navarro (President, former CEO and founder at Skimlinks); and Rabin Yaghoubi (former CCO at Babylon Health, Director of Strategic Partnerships for Google EMEA, Doubleclick); among others.
Mike Butcher: How did Multiple start?
Katy Turner: Gabbi and I originally met each other through the network of Seedcamp mentors. We had a lot in common, having been investors, operators and (in Gabbi’s case) founders, and we recognized that having access to experienced external expertise is really valuable. We’d also been non-technical people working in and around tech companies and understood the power of brand, culture and growth when it comes to company building. Multiple originated from these conversations and we founded the business in 2015.
MB: Multiple isn’t just an agency is it? You look at a startup pretty holistically. Can you explain that?
KT: We try to supercharge a startup’s progress through both brand and culture. We support progressive companies to build the capabilities, culture and communications that will enable them to take out the competition, take a big exit or, in the classic phrase, take over the world. We’ve worked alongside the founders of companies such as Pipedrive, WeTransfer, Unbabel, Kalo, Aire, beryl (formerly Blaze), Verve, Drover, Favro and Trouva; and the Partners of funds such as Kindred, Connect, Whitestar and Albion. Often founders need help with clarifying their purpose, shaping their vision, positioning, strategy, you name it. That’s what we’re good at.
MB: What are the biggest lessons you’re learned from advising startups?
KT: We’ve found there’s huge value in being fully aligned around a clear purpose, mission and vision. These are the strategic foundations which provide the platform for success. Purpose is ‘the why’, the mission is ‘the what’ and vision is ‘the where’. Codifying these drives the fundamental alignment of the startup which then goes on to supercharge their progress.
MB: Is there such a thing as a founder who is beyond help? Do they personally need something special?
KT: It’s hard to help a founder if they don’t want help. Ideally, founders are coachable and willing to learn, versus having a fixed mindset. In our team, we’ve been founders, operators and investors —so we always remember how it feels in those everyday scenarios, stresses and situations that founders may face. It’s easier to empathize when you’ve done it yourself!
MB: When should startup founders bring inexperienced “operators”, if they don’t have any, or can they grow into the role? When do find that you guys get asked into the picture?
KT: We find we get asked to come in at the point at which real scale is needed with experienced heads – either inside or outside the business. This can, obviously, be extremely valuable. However we absolutely believe that founders can grow into the role of CEO, and we often see it as part of our job to help them do that.
We typically get involved at key inflection points in the lifecycle of the business. For example, when you need to lift your head up from building the product and start to build the company. Or perhaps it might be during a significant fundraise; international expansion; a rebrand; a desire to codify and refine the culture ahead of a key hiring spree etc. It’s about achieving the next stage of progress as effectively as possible. Everyone goes through that, as I guess we have the advantage of having been on that journey many times with many different kinds of founders at all sorts of stages.
MB: Everyone always says ‘leadership is key’ but what have you found are the best kinds of leadership?
KT: Obviously, different leadership styles are appropriate for different companies depending on the culture you want build and steer. But we’ve found there’s no singular leadership style that is ‘right’, really. Leaders can have styles that are charismatic, transactional, situational or participative. They can all work, depending on the context.
In a startup and scaleup context, we’ve experienced that ‘transformational leadership’ and ‘servant leadership’ styles can produce highly-effective organizations.
MB: What do you mean by those terms?
KT: A transformational leader is the visionary who leads their team with enthusiasm and energy, whereas a servant leader is driven by the need to have a deep impact and to help others.
In both cases, these leaders create highly collaborative, innovative and autonomous cultures, through their ultimate desire to facilitate the success of others.
MB: What have been the worst kinds of leadership?
KT: We’ve seen a few examples in our time, given we deal so closely with entrepreneurs, but for the worst I’d say “transactional”. It’s just very non-motivating to feel that someone who is in charge is only ever dealing with their team on a transactional basis, as in “did you do this?” Or “you must do this in order for this to happen” etc. The other one is “situational”. Dealing with things on a situation-by-situation basis, where there’s just no obvious, overall strategy, shows a lack of consistency and will ultimately undermine the confidence of the team in their leadership.
MB: How much can you plan ahead in high growth companies?
This is highly stage-dependent. The earlier the company, the shorter the time horizon for forward planning. Having clarity over your mission is critical to the planning process. The mission is the master ‘OKR’ (Objectives and Key Results) https://ift.tt/1Jszcfe
in the business. It has to be trackable and measurable. For a high growth company, a 3-5 year mission makes sense. Then you can build shorter-term plans which act as staging posts along the way – so for example what’s the plan for the next 12 months if our 5 year mission is to become the market leader in our category or enable a billion people to access education?
MB: What are the organizational structures you’ve seen which work best with tech startups?
KT: To paraphrase Ben Horowitz, “the first rule of organizational design is that all organizational design is imperfect”. Structures that allow for small, multidisciplinary, cross-functional teams delivering against clearly defined objectives work extremely well. The use of DRIs (directly responsible individuals) and OKRs help to keep the team on track, enabling clear ownership and priorities so that individuals can do their best work.
MB: Is there such as thing as transitioning from startup to “scaleup” or is that just another funding round?
KT: In our experience, the moment of transition comes when a product has established validation and traction in its market. And when the organization requires the systems and processes to enable it to retain and grow its customer base. In essence, it comes after product-market fit, where you need to deliver the product and revenue in a measurable and repeatable manner. We’ve found that from a funding round perspective, Series B is when the journey towards real scale is being tackled.
MB: What are the best ways to establish Product/Market Fit?
KT: The route to product-market fit is highly dependent on the kind of product you are building for the market you are serving. Product market fit needs to happen repeatedly at every stage. At early stage, people are willing to pay for your product even when its imperfect, because it’s the best or only way to address the problem they have. And what constitutes product-market fit at Series A might change as you scale beyond Series B. Product market fit = solid and sustainable unit economics and a product that your customers can’t live without. At every stage, ongoing customer development, obsession and experimentation are critical.
MB: Have you assisted in fund-raising? What are the lessons learned? Especially in the UK.
KT: The short answer answer is yes. We’ve contributed to our companies’ fundraising at every key investment stage from seed to Series C. What we’ve learned is that like all human beings, investors respond positively to powerful stories that illustrate the ambition of the organization and the ‘ ent’ it wants to make in the universe. The fundraising narrative must also be shot through with the personality of the organization. Investment decks that don’t reflect the brand will not cut the mustard. Investors in the UK are like investors anywhere else – they want to believe in a team with a strong sense of purpose and a big vision.
MB: What is some of the hiring advice you give?
KT: We find it’s best to ensure you have enshrined values and practices that are imperative or directive, that can be used as a guide to hire against. Then build out a hiring process that tests whether the individual’s personal goals and ambitions marry with those of the organization.
MB: When should startups think about branding?
KT: Branding is often thought of far too narrowly. We believe that brand is everything you make, say, do and provide. Your tech, your code, your pricing, and of course your positioning and personality are all elements of your brand. So even if an organisation hasn’t been intentional about building out their brand, they will have one anyway. The earlier you can be intentional, the greater chance you have of being consistent and coherent in your execution.
MB: Can you fix a bad tech brand?
KT: Yes. However, it takes an investment of time, resource, capital and desire to ensure that it’s fit for purpose. We always go back to the foundation stones of purpose, mission and vision as the starting point for this work. Everything builds from these strategic assets that direct the why, what and where.
MB: Is a relaunch the kiss of death?
KT: If it’s done badly and built on weak foundations then yes. However, if you are thoughtful and intentional about why you are doing it, then it can be successful. Are you simply painting the hallways, or are you rebuilding the house from the ground up i.e. infusing the brand with clarity around its positioning and personality that expresses genuine meaning and benefits which add value to the team, the business and your customers?
MB: Should you build a company culture or a cult?
KT: You should build a culture. Cultures adapt and evolve, survive and thrive. Cults ultimately self-immolate, let’s face it…
MB: Here’s a list of 18 startup mistakes from legendary startup guru and investor Paul Graham. What would be your 19th?
KT: Number 19: The inability to sell. Selling is existential – in the broadest sense. You always need to be selling whether bringing on board a co-founder, selling a story to the market, convincing a customer or raising funding. We sometimes joke: “I sell, therefore I am…”
from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8204425 https://ift.tt/2KlowsN via IFTTT
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bunnyyumyum · 5 years
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Culture Codex-Some Insights
To lead people, walk beside them... As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. The next best, the people honor and praise. The next, the people fear; and the next, the people hate... When the best leader's work is done the people say, "We did it ourselves!" (Lao-Tsu).  
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L = Listen
Definition of Listen - to give attention with the ear; attend closely for the purpose of hearing; give ear
How can you be a good leader if you have no idea what is going on with your staff? So the first port of call for you today is to sit back and really listen to what your people are saying.
The type of listening is not what you expect. You have to be listening for all potential around you. Do not have any judgments about what you hear. These are your beliefs, which can get in the way of really listening to your people.  You may want to check out employee engagement for more.
Practice active listening. This is a communication technique that requires you to feed back what you hear to your employee or team member, by way of re-stating or paraphrasing what you have heard in your own words, to confirm what you have heard and moreover, to confirm the understanding of both of you. The ability to listen actively demonstrates sincerity, and that nothing is being assumed or taken for granted. Active listening is most often used to improve personal relationships, reduce misunderstanding and conflicts, strengthen cooperation, and foster understanding. It is proactive, accountable and professional. It sits very well as the first step to grow as a leader.
E = Encourage
Definition of Encourage - to inspire with courage, spirit, or confidence; to promote, advance, or foster
Remember as a child competing in a sport activity at school and the encouragement you received from your parent, teacher and peers. What did it do for you? It allows a person to dig deep and find that extra strength to do a "great job".
As a Leader it is imperative that you give encouragement to your team. This is one of the basic human needs - being significant.
Think about the response you get when you go out with a carrot compared to a big stick. Whenever you can, 'catch people being good' and make sure they and others know about it. Give recognition and appreciation to everyone at every opportunity. For example: "Sam, I appreciate your organizational skills and the way you organized your team today to ensure we moved the waste material safely." "James, thank you for staying back an extra shift. I really appreciate your positive, can-do attitude." When verbalizing appreciation try to make it as personal as possible. Rather than just saying something vague like "good job", be specific about the personal quality or skill your team member brought to the task. Recognizing excellent job performance and attitude, and showing appreciation and encouragement for these things will go a long way towards making your staff members feel that they are a valued and respected part of the team.
A = Anticipate
Definition of Anticipate - Guess or be aware of (what will happen) and take action in order to be prepared
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As a leader it is important that you understand what possible outcomes may occur within your area of control. The distinction between good and bad leadership becomes apparent after the fact. But what distinguishes between bad and good leadership is the anticipation involved in all aspects of a leader's work. Excellent leaders anticipate problems and position themselves to arise to the occasion.
D = Decision
Definition of Decision - the act or process of deciding; determination, as of a question or doubt, by making a judgment
Have you ever had a Supervisor or Manger that couldn't make a decision? How did it make you feel? Frustrated? Irritated? Directionless?
A leader has to take charge and make those decisions even though they may be hard. This makes an exceptional leader stand out. Possessing the right set of attributes and having the courage to make a decision does not mean the work is all done. As a leader you should have your own decision-making process that must take the change management process, your employees, and the stakeholders into consideration. There must be a set of steps to incorporate the above elements into a process. There are some things that a leader needs to think about before making that decision. Research a situation thoroughly -- analyze all the components -- think of all the people who will be effected by your decision -- think everything through using innovative and strategic thought processes -- have the self-confidence to make a short or long term decision and the fortitude to stand by it -- communicate it to all your employees - and have the ability to overcome the conflict that may arise from the decision. Never forget evaluation once you have made your decision and implemented a change.
E = Execution
Definition of Execution - to perform or accomplish something, as an assigned task
A good leader has to have many attributes =. One of these is the ability to execute a plan. A leader has to be able to turn words into action and inspire others to give their best every day. They need to know the strategy of the company and execute it every single day.
Some leaders are in roles of authority and they lack the execution skill. This can be extremely costly to an organization. It has been said that "many people regard execution as detail work that is beneath the dignity of a business leader. That's wrong- it's a leader's most important job."
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There is research out there that shows that 70 percent of strategic failures occur due to poor execution, according to a survey of global top-tier firms in the USA. I have a feeling that this is an issue across the world. Excellence in execution and consistent execution are two very big challenges to any aspiring leader.
Execution-focused leadership encourages and enables employees from all levels of the organization to work together to meet specific, measurable, and unified goals. This shared sense of purpose better aligns individual efforts with strategic goals, increases employee engagement, and helps create a culture of excellence that spans the organization.
R = Review
Definition of Review - Examine or assess (something) with the possibility or intention of instituting change if necessary
Great leaders are the ones who purposefully seek out opportunities for leadership development. By continuously developing their management skills, great leaders ensure that they always have the resources they need to supervise their teams effectively, review their progress regularly and keep them moving in the right direction.
A good leader must review performances and a great way to do this is to use the goal setting tool as there is a step that ensures the process is reviewed.
SMART - specific, measurable, agreed upon, realistic and time-based.
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lawrenceseitz22 · 5 years
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Weekly Digital Marketing Q&A – Hump Day Hangouts – Episode 205
youtube
Click on the video above to watch Episode 205 of the Semantic Mastery Hump Day Hangouts.
Full timestamps with topics and times can be found at the link above.
The latest upcoming free SEO Q&A Hump Day Hangout can be found at http://semanticmastery.com/humpday.
  Announcement
Adam: All right. We are live. Welcome everybody to Hump Day Hangouts Episode 205. Today is the 10th of October 2018. We’ve got the whole gang here as well as our special guest, who I will get to in just a moment. But real quick, we’re gonna take a minute to say hi to everybody, get through some quick announcements and then we will dive right into it.
Actually, I’m starting to realize, and it only took me 204 episodes to realize, that I think you guys are lined up the same time every single time on my screen, which is interesting. There we go. It only took almost four years. Chris, how are you doing good, man?
Chris: Doing good. Excited to be spot number one here all the time. Love it. How are you doing?
Adam: Can’t complain. This is like one of those shower thoughts. It’s just this revelation that means absolutely nothing and I feel stupid for having realized it. But, yeah, it’s good to know. Hernan, how are you doing, man?
Hernan: Good. I’m excited to be after Chris all the time. Yeah. I’m really, really excited for what’s coming. I’m really excited to have our guest today. Also for POFU Live 2018, it’s gonna be amazing too.
Adam: Good deal. Well, I’m not trying to skipper on purpose, but I’m not sure if you guys can see we have Lisa Allen as our special guest. We’re gonna circle back around to her in just a minute and introduce her a little bit more properly. Marco, how are you doing, man?
Marco: What’s up, man? It’s great to see Lisa Allen here. She’s a good friend of Semantic Mastery. We’ve had her around before. She does some awesome automation. I’m not gonna take your spotlight, Lisa. You can go ahead and toot your own horn. But it’s really good to have you here again joining us. It’s always fun to have you on talking about what you’ve been up to. Thank you for joining us.
Lisa: Thank you for inviting me.
Bradley: Awesome.
Adam: Good deal. Last but not least, Bradley, how are you doing, man?
Bradley: Okay. I think I just figured out why they’re always lined up the way they are. I think it’s by alphabetical order by the name in the profile. So it’s Adam, Chris, Hernan, Lisa, Marco, and then, for me, it says “you,” Y-O-U. I think it’s always alphabetical.
Adam: No, on my screen, you’re Semantic Mastery. Yeah, this is a train wreck. Thanks, everybody for watching us. This is what we do every episode.
Bradley: Anyways, I’m glad to be here, glad that Lisa is here. We’ve got an exciting week ahead of us because POFU Live is next weekend. We’re really looking forward to that. I’m actually preparing for that now. That’s what I’ve been doing all day. POFU Live members, I’m really excited about it. I’m excited to have Lisa here. It’s been a long time since we had her here so it’s good to catch up with her again. She’s always got a lot of great insight about the SEO industry and marketing in general. So happy to be here, man.
Adam: Cool. Well, we got a couple quick announcements, like Bradley just mentioned, POFU Live next weekend. If you can make it, we still do, I think there’s two or three tickets still available. I’ll pop the links on there in a little bit after we get done talking here. But you can still grab those kind of the last chance to do that before we go to shut things down lock in the numbers and all that good stuff.
Also, if you’re watching us for the first time, thank you. We’ve obviously been here. We didn’t make up the number. We’ve been here for 205 episodes. We hope we’re here for another 205. Thank you for watching. We really appreciate it. If you wanna ask questions live, that’s great. If you’re watching the replay, that’s fine too. Check us out on YouTube or wherever you’re watching us and feel free to ask questions. You can join us live at semanticmastery.com/hdquestions every week.
Bradley: By the way, make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Adam: Yes, which would be right here. So, yeah, subscribe. Also, if you’re looking for the place to start with us, the Battle Plan, I’m gonna pop the links on the page for you. This is good for anyone starting, anyone who wants a repeatable process, who’s been in the game for a while. It covers a lot of really good aspects of SEO, digital marketing, things for keyword research, working with a new domain, aged domains, all that stuff. Then, if you’re ready to take it up a few notches, of course, we do have our Mastermind and we invite you to also check out that and see if that’s the right fit for you.
One last thing before we get started, I believe, Marco, that the MGYB store has had some updates, right?
Marco: Yes, sir. We got CORA, we’ve got Syndication Academy up and running, and since we’ve been talking so much about Local Lease Pro press releases.
Adam: Yeah.
Bradley: Which, by the way, there’s still two lessons missing out on Local Lease Pro, one is for citations and one is for Press Releases. Part of the reason those lessons weren’t there was I was waiting for our order page to be done on MGYB for me to be able to demonstrate how to order Press Releases through that, guys. The citations stuff, honestly, I’ve just been really slammed this week. I haven’t got the lesson done. But I’m hoping as soon as I get done with Hump Day Hangouts today to record a quick lesson on that. It’s very simple. Hopefully, I’ll have that up within about 10 or 15 minutes after Hump Day Hangouts today, guys. Any of you that were inquiring about that missing lesson, it will be there shortly. Trust me, it’ll be worth the wait.
Adam: Good deal. Any last minute announcements, you guys, before we dive into it?
Hernan: Let’s do it.
Adam: All right. Cool. Well, like we said, Lisa Allen is here with us. We appreciate Lisa, you coming on and hanging out with us. Again, for people who haven’t seen us over maybe for, about a year I guess was the last time we talked, man, that’s crazy.
Lisa: Yes.
Adam: Anyways, we talked to Lisa about a year ago. Instead of telling everyone about you, if you don’t mind, just kinda get everyone up speed where you came from and what you kind of do online. I think that’d be the best way for people to kind of find out about you.
Lisa: Well, I’m one of those people who always kinda have my hands on everything. I see something that looks interesting and I kinda go that direction. It’s just kinda how I got into online marketing, it’s how I got into the internet. It’s just I see something interesting and I think I could do that, so I go off and I kinda explore what’s going on. I really got into the internet first after a divorce, a few, probably like 15 years ago, 20 years ago. Gosh, I’m dating myself.
Adam: Just a couple of years ago, it’s all right. I’ve started seeing the same face.
Lisa: Anyway, I started hanging out. Do you guys remember when AOL was king and there were like all these little local systems with local bulletin board system?
Bradley: Yeah.
Lisa: [Inaudible 00:06:43]
Chris: Until last year?
Lisa: Well, no, I mean, it’s been quite a while. Anyway, that’s just kinda where I really hit the internet really hard was after that. Got into working for a company doing web mastering for a while and that kinda flung me off into doing coding. Then I’ve had an online store, a couple of different online stores, and so I was kind of using my coding along with some of my organizational skills to do that. Then, of course, I ran afoul with Google, and who hasn’t done that at least a couple of times? So they kicked me off their ad platform, so then I had to figure out this whole SEO thing.
Adam: What was the timeframe on that? When did you start getting into SEO stuff?
Lisa: I would say that was about 2011, 2012 really because I was running a store for about five years before that and, like I said, I got kicked off. They decided they didn’t like the product that I was selling and they booted me off, all my stores got booted off.
Bradley: Lisa, you said 2011 or ‘12ish, which is crazy, because I remember specifically buying a product that you launched with Peter Garety’s help about …
Lisa: Yeah.
Bradley: It used IFTTT and it was for triggering syndications through Google Calendar using IFTTT. It would resyndicate because you could set calendar events in the future, they would cause it to re-syndicate the video again out to the network. It was amazing training. It was right after I had learned about IFTTT, David Cossack or whatever. It was amazing training. I’ll never forget that. That was around 2011, 2012, if I remember correctly.
Lisa: Yeah. I think that was probably 2012 or maybe early 2013 because I had launched something else with Peter about Pinterest. It was how to get traffic using Pinterest which was my first real product.
Bradley: That’s with Peter Drew or where Peter Garety? It was Peter Garety, right?
Lisa: It was Peter Garety, yeah.
Bradley: Right.
Lisa: We worked for a while. Yeah. That was actually a lot of fun. I think that may have actually been an add-on to that product, like an extra bonus training. It’s funny, the thing I remember about that training is the bonus and not the original training.
Adam: I was just looking around, what’s Peter Garety up to? This is a total tangent, but that’s just … Yeah. He was coming out with stuff like that.
Lisa: Yeah. I think he decided that he wanted to spend a little more time with his family. As far as I know he built himself his own little shopping cart platform, kinda like Shopify. He runs that and he gets recurring from that. So you see him pop up every once in a while, in JVZoo groups and stuff like that just to say some things, but he’s not really promoting really hard anymore.
Bradley: Yeah. I think before he went off the grid he was doing a lot of heavy ecomm, promoting ecomm products and stuff, so I’m assuming that that’s what he went into.
Lisa: Yeah.
Adam: That’s right. DashNex. Okay. I was looking this up while we were talking. Okay. Cool. Okay. So sorry about that. We just totally went off the grill there. Okay. We’re up to like 2011, 2012, you start getting into the SEO side of things, how did it go from there?
Lisa: Well, I was SEO and things so that I could get traffic for the online store that I had, I was selling jewelry parts. The stuff that I learned while I was trying to rank for things got turned around into products. So we did a curation traffic blueprint where I was teaching people how to curate content and get traffic from that, because that’s so much easier than writing original content. You can do it just snap, snap, snap.
So we did that and then I started doing some keyword tools. I just sort of, actually, I think before we got to the keyword tool, the RSS authority sniper strategy that we do, that was something that we had started doing manually. My sister was acting as one of my VAs. It took a long time to do that manually. I mean, it was really effective but it took 15, 20 minutes, sometimes an hour to do that, to look up all the different feeds and then go and do all the copy-paste to put it here, put it there, all that kinda stuff. She started complaining about that, just really, she was really like …
Adam: That’s a very real pain point when your sister was complaining to you.
Lisa: Yeah, I know. I’m like, “Okay, I better go code something.” That was where RSS Authority Sniper came from.
Bradley: Which, by the way, that was a great product. I was gonna say you still have Rankfeeder going right now, correct?
Lisa: Yeah, I do. I’m actually just been rewriting the whole feed generation so that I can add more features in. I’ve got something really neat coming out in the next month or so with Rankfeeder and then a rerelease of RSS Authority Sniper to go with it. It’s gonna be the way it targets local places very, very specifically.
Bradley: Oh, man, now you’re speaking our language, Lisa. Honestly, guys, we promoted Lisa’s Rankfeeder before because it’s the co-citation tool using RSS feeds. It’s amazing. It’s super, super powerful. It’s very, very effective. I stand by that statement. Anything that you’re gonna be doing that’s gonna address local specifically, Lisa, certainly reach out to us. We will get behind that in a heartbeat because about 60% of our RSS is local.
Lisa: I think you’re gonna like it because, like I said, we’re gonna … Some of the stuff that I’ve already added in after I finished rewriting the feed generator is I’ve added the categories that you get to pick into so that they’re actually inside the feed and all the tags also get treated as categories inside your feed. I mean, you’re getting a lot more power to really target with the feed on an SEO basis, that kinda thing. Yeah. I think you’re really gonna like what comes after that.
Bradley: Very cool.
Adam: Sounds awesome. Well, I wanted to make sure we have enough time to cover this. The next question I had, and I love asking this to people, is where do you see, in terms of, I’ll leave this really broad, not just SEO, but where do you see either SEO or kind of online digital marketing going in the next couple of years? Then a side question of that, or somewhere else you can go with this, is what’s the most important things you see happening?
Lisa: Well, this is a really interesting time for online things. You’re seeing a lot of movement, different places, and you’re seeing a lot of things happening that people don’t necessarily like, you’re seeing a lot of censorship, you’re seeing a lot of kinda misrepresenting what people are saying and that kind of thing, and you’re seeing Silicon Valley really go and start trying to basically meddle in society that they wanna be the … It’s like the government isn’t big brother anymore, but they wanna be.
I think you’re gonna see, and I’m already kind of seeing movement, this is outside of Google’s control and outside of Facebook’s control. I think as marketers and SEO is we really need to be monitoring those additional places that are coming into the marketplace and start using those platforms and start seeing them because I think that censorship and …
I mean, Google tries to censor SEO people all the time. They try and say, “Well, we don’t want you to backlink,” and “We don’t want you to do this,” and “We’re in control of whether you rank for anything or not.” I don’t know any SEO person who actually says, “Yeah, you’re right. You can have total complete control over everything I do and say.”
It’s like, we find a way around. I think you’re gonna see that there’s gonna be as they’ve kinda spread out from just kind of controlling, trying to control SEOs to try and control the wider society. I think you’re really gonna see that there’s gonna be a lot of movement outside where people are gonna go, “Well, I think that’s a little bit too far.”
Adam: Yeah, definitely. It’s funny, I think me and Marco came across that article at the same time, but there’s one about Tim Berners-Lee working on like a decentralized kind of protocols. I think it’s called Solid through MIT. Have you heard about this?
Lisa: No, I haven’t heard of that one yet.
Adam: Yeah. Just check it out afterwards. It’s an interesting idea, but it’s that idea of saying, “Yeah. You know what, no matter what happens, if this turns into a monopoly, which it quickly is, then that doesn’t really benefit anyone.” So it was meant to be decentralized in the first place so I think, anyways, I don’t know if this is gonna work, but something like that I think appeals to a lot of people.
Lisa: Yeah. You’re already seeing movements. A lot of people are moving away from them as their search engine when they’re doing their own personal things. I mean, I haven’t used Google as my search engine when I’m actually doing research for years. I mean, I’ve been using DuckDuckGo, and you have places alternatives to Twitter like Gab coming up, and there’s a several new video platforms coming up that now that YouTube is really kind of just really been stomping on people. Yeah. I mean …
Adam: I’m just curious, what are some of the new YouTube-, sorry, new YouTube, that’s showing how well ingrained it is, what are some of the new video platforms?
Bradley: Well, Amazon Video has got to be one of them, right?
Lisa: What’s that?
Bradley: Amazon Video has to be one of them, right?
Lisa: Yeah. Amazon video is a pretty good one, although they also, I don’t know, I kinda think that they also have that risk of becoming more of a bully in the future.
Adam: Well, they’ll just take over what you’re creating and create it themselves.
Lisa: Yeah. Just like they have, like all the little online stores and that people would find a little niche and they would sell something, and then Amazon goes, “Boom. They’re selling a lot of that. Let’s start our own.” I mean, they’ve kinda done that, kind of the same way Walmart has done that to the mom-and-pop stores. Amazon is kinda doing that to the online stores.
But the one that I discovered the other day that I actually thought was pretty good was called Real Video. It’s real.video. That’s not real.video.com. Just the video is the root domain.
Bradley: Real like R-E-E-L or R-E-A-L?
Lisa: R-E-A-L.
Bradley: Okay.
Lisa: It’s started by a guy who got deplatformed by Google. It’s not a fully developed platform yet, but it seems pretty good for what he’s already worked through. You have to get an invitation from them. You have to actually request to be on there, kinda like you did with Pinterest in the beginning. But the player is really nice and they’ve got kinda sharing capabilities and some other things. I think that’s someplace that really you should look into, particularly if you’re running content that maybe Google’s not gonna like very much.
BitChute is another one, although I think that one’s kind of not that good yet.
Adam: BitChute, got that.
Lisa: Yeah. BitChute and, I remember some of the other ones that I’ve looked at. As far as like Facebook, there’s a really interesting new social media place called … What is it called, Minds? Minds.com.
Adam: Interesting. I have not heard … Have you guys heard of this?
Marco: Yeah, I like Minds. I’m in Minds. It’s over 100 million people right now.
Adam: I should have known that, Marco.
Marco: It’s basically over 100 million people. Come on.
Lisa: Yeah. They’re kind of integrated with some of the blockchain payment methods and things like that, so that you can actually pay people for their content in a way that you can’t really be tracked and can’t really be blocked from making your payment. So there’s a lot of interesting things that are going on where people are just kinda going, “I’ve had enough.” People are starting additional things. It’s kinda like people never really thought that MySpace would ever die, but it did. I think you’re probably gonna see a little bit more of that movement, away from big consolidated platforms.
Adam: Yeah, that’s an interesting-
Bradley: It’s gonna happen anytime … I mean, I can see some of the shifting as well, Lisa. I agree with that. Some movement, especially with the Silicon Valley stuff, which you mentioned. I mean, when Facebook and Twitter execs are being dragged up on the Capitol Hill and quite repeatedly for hours and hours and hours, you can rest assured, you can bet your ass that there’s gonna be some movements, some changes made.
Lisa: Yeah. I’ve been shadow banned on Twitter. It’s like you go and you post something that’s relatively innocuous and you go and search for it, you can search for the exact text of the whole thing and it never comes up in search. That’s when you know you’ve been shadow banned. They never tell you anything, they just want you to just assume that your message is getting out there, but they’re not gonna … So, anyway.
Bradley: Yeah. Well, I think it’s something that will happen. We, as marketers, are kind of on the cutting edge or of like what the shifting is, but I think the general population is much slower to react.
Lisa: That’s true.
Bradley: I think we still have plenty of time to exploit what we can from the big sites.
Lisa: Absolutely. I’m just saying you gotta kinda keep your heads up and be aware that people are starting to move around a bit.
Bradley: Yeah.
Adam: Well, in terms of what’s going on right now, we touched on a little bit, so if you’ve got some big stuff coming out in like a month, I don’t want or expect you just spill the beans right now, but you can you tell us, and if you can’t, that’s fine, but what it is that you’re kind of working on there in a little bit more detail?
Lisa: Well, right now, most of what I’ve been doing for about the last six to seven weeks is really working hard on the upgrades to Rankfeeder. Now I’m doing RSS Authority Sniper 3.0. This is going to be considered a major release because it’s gonna have some really nice extra features in there. That’s mostly what I’m working on. Then I have some other plans for some other products after that either re-imaginings or new ones. But that’s most of what’s right there.
Adam: Good deal. Well, I know, like Bradley said, we’ll definitely keep our ears open or rather our email inboxes open for letting us know when you got that ready. That’d be awesome because we got a lot of people who are really interested. Actually, we just had one comment here real quick. I just wanna read it to you because this is pretty awesome. Greg just said, “Hey Lisa. Nice to have Lisa here. She’s one of the greatest people as far as support and products go. A big thank you.”
Lisa: Well, thanks.
Adam: That was a very nice comment from Greg. Yeah. I mean, it’s good. Obviously, we promote products and services that we like and use. Definitely, yours is up there, not in our minds only, but everyone that we promoted it to has had a lot of good things to say.
Lisa: Great.
Marco: Before we go, I have a question for Lisa. Something that I’ve been going back and forth with other people. It’s more on the coding side and how you see things. The thing is that I’ve been asking people whether they think that Google is broken, because as you know they just write code on top of code on top of code on top of code. Now what you just said, which just struck me as very interesting, is that you’re doing a complete rewrite. So would you agree or disagree that right now at that level Google is broken?
Lisa: I’m not sure that I would say that Google is broken. I mean, you gotta remember they have thousands and thousands of engineers on staff. I’m doing a total rewrite because I didn’t like some of what was done by the people who wrote some of the code for me that I paid to write code for me. These are guys who were supposed to be professional and they just, there’s things in there that I’ve just never liked and just thought, uh, that just really bothers me every time I’m in there. But to rewrite it would take so long.
But no, I don’t really think Google is broken so much. It’s just philosophically they’ve kind of shifted out of the, do you remember when their motto used to be don’t be evil? Well, they seem to have totally and completely forgotten about that. I think it has really become more of a reflection of the fact that they have decided that they have some hatchets to grind and then they really just kinda wanna dominate the market and they’ve decided that the market also means information and what people think and-
Bradley: And they wanna control and manipulate information, which is what they do.
Lisa: Yeah.
Bradley: Absolutely.
Lisa: It’s absolutely what they do.
Bradley: Yep.
Adam: Well, good deal. Real quick, I just want to say I noticed a little bit of a delay on this, if anyone’s watching, if you have any specific questions for Lisa, please pop them in there and then we’re going to get into the Hump Day Hangout questions.
Jay says, “I like Rankfeeder. Lisa, would love to know if you have any new creative ways on how to use it.”
Lisa: Well, like I said, new features are coming. You’re gonna like them.
Bradley: So hold your breath is what you’re saying?
Lisa: Yeah.
Adam: Stay tuned. We’ll definitely be asking her the same question in what sounds like a month.
Lisa: Yeah. I think you’ll really, really gonna like how you’re gonna be able to be getting really, really specific with locations.
Adam: Awesome.
Lisa: Yeah.
Adam: Well, cool. Lisa, thanks again. Like I said, hang out if you want to, if you’re busy and got a run, we understand, but we’re gonna kinda switch over and we’ll do some Hump Day Hangout questions.
Lisa: All right. Well, I’ll hang out for a little while.
Adam: All right. Sounds good.
Lisa: Great.
Bradley: Guys, I’m gonna grab the screen and we’re gonna get right into it. Lisa, I emailed you the event page URL in case you want to check out the questions so if you want to check out the event page URL. But I’m gonna grab the screen and get into it.
Is There A Need To Put A Summary For The Full-Text Option For The RSS Feed Output Of A Self Hosted WordPress Website?
Okay. Nexxus Designs is up first. He says, “Hey. I have one question, it’s very important to me. With the RSS feed output of a WordPress self-hosted website, should we put out a summary for the full-text option?” That’s up to you, Nexxus Designs. It’s entirely up to you. It’s a personal preference. I don’t think it’s an issue to post the full text only because, well, for two reasons.
Number one, we have the attribution link that is either provided by the plugin or you can code that into the IFTTT applet yourself. Either way, if you followed our training, you know that the attribution link is critically important if you’re gonna be syndicating the full text of the post. Number two, is if you’re using our standard Syndication Network setup, there’s only three blog sites that we’re syndicating to. So there’s only three sites to get the full-text post anyways, right? That’s Blogger, Tumblr and WordPress. So it’s not an issue.
Essentially, I always like to leave full text posts because, again, it’s only being syndicated to really three sites that will republish the entire post anyways. The key is to be using the internal link from within the post itself from your main blog to be linking to the pages of the landing pages that you’re trying to rank. By publishing the full text of the post that internal link from within the body, the post body of the blog post itself, will also be published on the blog sites. Right? So Blogger, Tumblr, WordPress. So you get a little bit of additional links, in other words, built back to your original post and also to the page that you’re promoting within the post, if that makes sense.
However, if you want to just go summary, that’s perfectly fine. I prefer the full post method. But you can go with the summary method, just know that you will lose a little bit of SEO value to your internal page that you’re ultimately trying to promote. Because when you syndicate just the summary of the post you will get a link back to the post itself but you won’t get any of the internal links that we’re within the post body, if that makes sense. Which is still fine because now you’re funneling link juice or link equity back to that post, the original post, anyways, which will contain the internal link up to the page that you’re trying to promote.
Again, it’s 6 and ½ dozen in the other really. I prefer the full-text post because it looks less spammy on the blog sites. Think about it, summary posts on blog sites, guys, look spammy because it’s just usually a paragraph or a set number of characters and then it’s just a dot dot dot or read more or whatever. So in my opinion, on my branded blog syndication sites, which would be Blogger, Tumblr, WordPress, I want the full text post so that it doesn’t look spammy. I want it to look nice, right? That’s part of the reason why I like the full text post. But again, it’s a personal preference, it’s not gonna hurt you either way.
Can We Connect DFY IFTTT To GMB RSS Following The Local Lease Pro (LLP) Posting System?
Anybody wanna comment on that? Okay. Peter’s up. He says, “Hey. Can we connect Done-For-You IFTTT to GMB RSS following the LLP posting system?” Yes, you can, Peter. I may be doing an additional training video on-, well, not maybe, at some point, probably after or after POFU Live, I’m gonna be doing some updated training for Local Lease Pro members. I’ll probably just host a webinar, guys, and invite all the Local Lease Pro members. I’m gonna be talking about some other stuff. I’m working on some other methods right now to push the GMB Maps listings into the 3-pack if they don’t appear in there initially from just the initial set up, which is really what the Local Lease Pro method is all about: finding those easy opportunities and securing them with little to no work.
However, there are gonna be some that you’re going to attempt that aren’t going to rank right away. But don’t abandon those, you can certainly get them to produce results or generate leads, but they’re gonna need a little bit of additional work. So that’s some of the stuff that I’m gonna be covering in update webinar. It will likely be in November before that’s available though, guys, because we got a ton other stuff we’re working on at the moment.
I’m still testing some new methods too. I can tell you one thing I’m really excited about. Lisa’s product coming out because I guarantee you Lisa’s product would work very, very well with this Local Lease Pro method since we’re gonna be able to use the RSS feeds from the GMB Autoposter to connect with Rankfeeder and create co-citation. I can see that being very, very powerful. So when Lisa’s product is ready, I will certainly look into that as part of the Local Lease Pro method as well. Okay.
Nexxus is up again. He says, “Edit. Thinking in terms of duplicate content here, if I am thinking correctly, RSS output is the summary only, then that’s good against duplicate content.” Okay. Nexxus Designs, I’m gonna stop you right there. Stop with the duplicate content stuff. Duplicate content is a myth on other sites, right? It’s only a problem if it’s on the same domain. If you’re publishing the same article over and over again on the same domain, then it’s a duplicate content issue that can create Panda penalties. But when it’s republished on external domains, it’s not a duplicate content issue, especially if you have an attribution link which points back to the original source. Okay?
Again, guys, I don’t mean to be hard on you, Nexxus Designs, but that comes up all the time. We cover this extensively in the training as well as in our frequently asked questions in our knowledge base at support.semanticmastery.com. All of that is covered because this question comes up a lot. Don’t worry about duplicate content. If duplicate content were a thing on external domains, Press Releases wouldn’t work. We all know that Press Releases work incredibly well, so explain that. Right?
Can You Look At My IFTTT Network?
Okay. Chris says, “Support question from Judd. I saw there was a forum where you can manage my IFTTT network. Also, I have two other companies that need SEO services. My request is, can I pay you to look at my IFTTT network?” Well, I mean, here’s the thing, Judd, if you bought it from us, sure, we’ll take a look at it. If you bought it from someone else, to be honest with you, I’m not gonna spend the time looking at it and I don’t think any of our builders or anybody on our team or support staff would. Because if it wasn’t built to our specifications, it’s basically should be canned and rebuilt anyways, like start all over, back to the drawing board, so to speak. I don’t know. If you bought it from us and you’re having issues, just contact Support.
“Also, for other companies that need SEO services.” No, we don’t provide SEO services. We provide Done-For-You services. However, you could always post your request in one of our groups that you’re a member of and see if there are any takers that you could chat with about potentially providing SEO services for you.
Hernan: Yeah. Actually, in our Mastermind, there are some people that have their own agencies. So if you’re part of that, you can post there and some Mastermind units will actually pass on work from one to the next and to each other because they’re either swarm or that’s not their style, there’s something else that they’re doing and whatnot. So that’s a pretty cool community over there.
Bradley: Yeah. I mean, even on the free group, Facebook group, you could still post and there will be … Just be aware that we are not vouching for anybody that you communicate with. In the Mastermind, that’d be a different story, but in any of our other groups, you have to vet anybody that responds to your request. You have to vet them on your own, okay? There’s nothing that we can do to help you with that and I apologize.
But, yeah, again, for IFTTT network stuff management, SERP space has a manager. It’s a basic manager that basically monitors the networks to make sure that properties aren’t down, it’ll alert you if RSS feed stop detecting new items, things like that. That’s over at Serpspace.com. That’s the network management. You can check that out too, if you’d like. Again, that’s just a very simple service. It’s more of a monitoring service than a management service. It’s beneficial when you’ve got a bunch of networks to maintain.
What Changes Should We Expect To The IFTTT Method Once Google Plus Shuts Down?
Chris Hayes says, “What kind of changes will happen in the IFTTT method once G+ shuts down? Can you guys make a video update?” Yeah, of course, we do. But I mean, it’s just one channel that gets shut down. It’s not really gonna affect much at all. I mean, G+ is being terminated. We see more evidence of that now than ever. Almost daily we’re seeing more and more evidence of that. I just saw an article posted recently in one of our groups about even more steps that Google’s taking to remove or to completely shut down Google Plus. But it’s only one property, Chris. Don’t worry about it. It’s one property out of what, two dozen? It’s not that big of an issue. I wouldn’t sweat it too much.
Will we create an update video? Yeah, sure. I mean, we do update webinars, although we’re gonna be probably shifting or changing how that’s handled too. But anyways, in one of the upcoming update webinars, we will discuss that a little bit more. In fact, I’m gonna make a note of that right now.
Marco: Yeah. While you’re making a note, let me just say that there’s plenty more Google properties that we can abuse besides Google Plus, which we do. If you’re a part of RYS Reloaded you know just how many properties we go into and just totally hammer away at Google.
When Will You Add Citations Lessons In Local Lease Pro?
Bradley: Yep. Okay. Peter says, “Hey again. When you’ll add citations lesson in LLP Local Lease Pro?” I’m hoping to add that today. If it’s not done today, it’ll be done tomorrow, Peter. It’s just a quick lesson, very, very simple. I’m just gonna point you to a resource that’s affordable for monthly citation packages, which is what I recommend. But I’ll create a quick video explaining it too, okay? It should be there today. If not today, it’ll be there tomorrow for sure.
Will The Video Power House And Network Management Subscription Services Be Moved To Mygb.co From SerpSpace?
Chris says-, or excuse me, Ritchie Inman posted: “We have a video powerhouse subscription and a network management subscription currently at Serpspace. Are those moving to mgyb.co?” No. Those are gonna stay in Serpspace. “Are we able to get an update as to what is going to be where?” Well, I mean, pretty much just check out mgyb.co often because we’re adding more and more products. Again, three were just added to it today, Press releases, what else?
Marco: CORA and Syndication Networks.
Bradley: Syndication Networks. All I would recommend, Ritchie, is just go check MGYB often. But, yeah, video powerhouse, maps powerhouse, network management or monitoring, that’s all staying under Serpspace. Okay.
Is It Still Worth The Time To Keep Using Rank Feeder For Co-Citation Now That Google Plus Is Shutting Down?
Next, Kay Dee says, “Hey guys, with Google Plus shutting down, is it still worth in the meantime to keep using Rankfeeder for co-citation or will this be wasted effort? Thanks.” Well, Google Plus shutting down doesn’t affect Rankfeeder unless you’re using Google Plus RSS feeds as part of Rankfeeder. Does that make sense? Lisa can talk about that too. But Rankfeeder is about combining feeds together or adding multiple feeds to create a feed which creates co-citation. Unless you were using Google Plus RSS feeds, which there are a few online services that you can generate a Google Plus feed-, or an RSS feed from Google Plus, then it shouldn’t affect that at all. Right?
I mean, there’s still plenty of other RSS options out there. Remember, with Rankfeeder, those of you that are familiar with it, you can also add sticky items which aren’t even RSS feeds, they’re just singular-, excuse me, single URLs and you can add those as sticky items to blend in with the overall feed to create that additional co-citation. Again, Google Plus is just one of many different things that you could include into Rankfeeder.
Lisa, do you wanna mention something about that?
Lisa: Yeah. Actually, if you are using some of the Google Plus feeds in some way, what happens when a feed disappears is that Rankfeeder just starts ignoring it. If it ignores it a certain number of times, like for a long period, then it will just be removed. But since you can go in and edit your feeds, they’re not one-shot and you’re stuck with whatever you put in there, you can also go and replace the missing Google Plus RSS feeds with other things.
Bradley: There you go.
Lisa: You can completely update it and you keep them fresh and relevant with the same URLs that were generating power for you up till that point.
Bradley: Kay Dee, a couple of options would be Google Plus-, or excuse me, Google sites, also the GMB, if you’re using Google My Business stuff, it’s for local, if you’re using our autoposter, which generates a RSS feed from the GMB posts, that’s something else that you can include. There’s a lot of snazzy stuff that you can do with it. So Google Plus, G+ was just a one piece of many that go into that. I wouldn’t worry about it, guys. Google Plus is not that big of a deal that it’s shutting down. That’s the nature of the internet marketing world, right?
Lisa: Yeah. I think it’s really a relative nothing in terms of never really … I know a lot of people hopped on there to try and get SEO benefits from it because, as we all know, that Google favors their own properties. But as far as being a real social network, I don’t think it ever really caught fire and really caught on. I think that’s why they’re dumping it. I’m kinda surprised they didn’t dump it sooner because it just didn’t do that well.
Bradley: Yeah. It’s interesting. I remember all the way back in, I think 2010, '11, when I started my career in digital marketing that Google Plus, I remember articles coming out all the time, the big curated SEO sites like Search Engine Journal and all those sites, and also like social media examiner and all that, all the time I remember articles coming out saying, “Google Plus is dead,” “Google’s killing Google Plus,” this and that.
For years I’ve seen articles like that. I used to laugh at it because for a while there Google Plus was so integrated into all of Google’s products and it was really as part of the onset of the semantic web. When Google started to adapt semantic web technology and I think they were using Google Plus as kind of a identity validator. Right? It was a way to associate a profile with an individual, like a Google account with an individual, and then that way it would attach that profile or identify that person as being real because that Google Plus was now integrated with all of other Google’s products. I think it was a way to, originally, was to kind of reduce spam, believe it or not.
I didn’t think that they were ever going to shut it down. But apparently after just being beaten to death in the social media world by all the other platforms for so many years, Google finally decided to remove it. They’ve been taking steps for, what, the last year and a half, two years. I think it really started when they pulled Google Plus out of YouTube, when they disintegrated or when they pulled Google Plus out of YouTube. Remember, guys, in order to have a YouTube channel, you have to have a Google Plus account. I think when they separated those two is really the start of the demise of Google Plus. Anyways, that was a good question.
Does A Google Site Created Through The GMB Profile Show Up In The Organic Search Results Or Is Only Accessible Via The GMB Profile?
Gordon says, “Hey guys, thank you very much again for your help on Hump Days, it’s greatly appreciated.” You’re welcome, Gordon. He says, “Does a Google site created through GMB profile show up in organic search results or is it only accessible via …?” No. I’m not sure I understand, Gordon, what you’re saying. You’re saying “is a Google site,” now are you talking about sites.google.com or are you talking about GMB website?
In either case, they’re available and they’re both indexable which means they’re public. Publicly viewable to anybody, right? GMB websites as well as Google sites, sites.google.com are both indexable so anybody can see them. You don’t have to be logged in through a profile to see them, unless they’re just not indexed yet. But just be patient, the windex provided you guys some content on there and they’ll be fine.
Marco: The business site indexes within an hour.
Bradley: Yeah. The business site index is really quick, yeah.
Marco: And it does rank.
Bradley: Yep.
Marco: There’s things that you have to do to make it rank, which is taught in Local GMB Pro or you can just go and ask me in Local GMB Pro how to get that website to show up and rank. But I mean, it does. It’s a great asset.
Bradley: I’m curious because I haven’t worked on this project in months. Yeah. Right there, it’s Mario’s-, excuse me, right there, it’s the business site for, this was the case study I did for Local GMB Pro and that’s the business site right there. That’s the GMB website right there, guys, and it’s ranked number two for the brand search. See that? Yelp outranks the brand search, that’s crazy. But there you go, business site right there. So, yes, it will rank.
Does Google Ranks Mobile Responsive And Stand Alone Mobile Specific Site Differently?
Number two, “For ranking purposes, does Google look differently at mobile responsive site and a standalone mobile-specific site? If you’re targeting mobile searches only, can you rank in standalone mobile-specific site without forwarding a desktop site?” Yeah, you can. I don’t know. Marco might know this. But does Google look at differently between mobile responsive and standalone mobile specific sites? I don’t know. I know that a lot of responsive sites like WordPress themes that are responsive WordPress themes are coded really shitty. They suck and they’re terrible for the mobile algorithm, a lot of them are. They might say that they’re mobile-friendly, but they’re just coded really poorly. Again, I’m not a coder so I don’t understand any of that stuff, I just know that some of those mobile responsive WordPress themes suck in the mobile first index, they don’t perform well.
In the past, I would create just an HTML landing page as a mobile and put it on an M-dot subdomain and then use a redirect script, a PHP redirect script to point any mobile browsers to the HTML mobile page. But I’ve even stopped doing that because, honestly, I’m not even really building, I’m doing everything in GMB now, which is all GMB code and it’s all mobile responsive and mobile-friendly and everything else. I’m not even building WordPress sites at the moment.
Marco, what can you say about that?
Marco: I’m with you. I haven’t built a WordPress site in quite a while. Mobile responsive versus standalone, I would think that there would be no difference as long as they’re mobile responsive. Check it and make sure that it is actually mobile responsive and that it validates. Right? Other than that, I’m sorry, but dude, we’re doing everything inside the Google My Business-
Bradley: Or Google, period. Like sites.google.com, those are mobile responsive now, especially the new ones. They look great too.
Marco: The classic were also responsive. All you had to do was take a box while you were working on it to make it mobile-friendly.
Bradley: Yeah. That’s it. Guys, I’m not trying to discourage you from creating WordPress sites. I just, honestly, I’m building my business completely within Google right now, just because they’re free, number one; number two, it’s easy and fast. As long as it’s working I’m gonna do it. I can always go back to WordPress as needed. There’s a lot of headaches that come along with working in WordPress, like all the stupid updates and hosting issues. It’s just a lot of stuff that I’m so glad I’m not having to build a bunch of WordPress sites right now. It’s been refreshing.
Is It True That Google’s Recent Change On Mobile First Indexing Affects Ranking?
Number three, he says, “If it does not appear-, excuse me, if it does not appear that Google’s recent mobile first indexing changes affect ranking, can you please clarify?” Gordon, it should. I mean, it really depends. What they’re saying is the mobile, they’re basing desktop and laptop search results now off of the mobile index. Unless you’ve got sites that just don’t respond well at all for mobile, for example, they’re not mobile-friendly, the text is too small and you can’t click on menu navigation links and that kind of stuff, then that kinda stuff can actually pull now your rankings down because it’s based upon the mobile first index or the mobile index first, essentially.
But if you’re using stuff that is responsive and it passes like that, there’s even a tool that Google has for testing that, then you shouldn’t really have an issue. Right? I mean, at least that’s what I found. What I found was really interesting is you said it doesn’t change the fact rankings, it doesn’t change or affect ranking much.
But what we’ve been finding, especially because of the GMB stuff that we’ve been doing inside of Google My Business, is that we’re really speaking directly to the mobile algorithm with GMB posts and all the stuff that we’re doing with proximity and geolocation and all of that stuff is speaking directly to the mobile first algorithm, which is awesome because we’re able to get results even if they’re ranking, and I’m using air quotes, doesn’t show that we’re ranking well, we’re still able to generate clicks to the website and calls, generate leads essentially, from stuff that the rank trackers are showing aren’t ranking well. So explain that.
Well, that’s because we’re tickling the mobile-first index. That’s what Marco calls “the google tickle.” Right? That’s one of many that we have. But that’s exactly what we’re doing, is because we’re using geolocation and proximity and all of that stuff to be able to serve our content directly to mobile searchers in the area where they’re searching. Again, that has to do with the mobile first index.
Guys, this has opened up so much opportunity, in my opinion, since the end of July when this was really rolled out. We’ve been reaping the benefits of these opportunities for the GMB Pro method and Local Lease Pro method now for the last few months, last couple of months. It’s awesome because, as I’ve mentioned on previous Hump Day Hangouts, guys, I used to always just target my primary keywords for local stuff plus local modifiers. In other words, it would be whatever the service or product was plus the local modifier.
That’s always how I optimize for everything up until this summer. Now I’m optimizing for just the general product or service keywords and I’m getting crazy results. I’m generating more leads now than ever because we’re able to get those short tail search queries, we’re able to get results and get traffic from those because we’re talking directly to the mobile first algorithm.
People that are searching for mobile, typically, unless they’re searching for a product or service outside of where they’re located, like in another area that they’re going to be going to, typically, people when they start to search for a product or service from a mobile device, they’ll start typing their query and then they’re just gonna hit whatever the suggested phrase pops up that Google suggested to them that’s closest to their intended query. Most of the time Google is going to suggest without local modifiers. So that’s what they’re tapping on now and that’s what our content is optimized for those terms without the local modifier because of where we’re publishing the content is within close proximity to that searcher. Right?
Again, it’s a little bit more advanced than what we typically cover on Hump Day Hangouts, but it works really, really well. If you’re basing any of your tracking now on any desktop, laptop search result stuff, guys, stop it. Okay? Stop it. Just be paying attention to mobile stuff. That’s why part of the reason I always talk about using Google Ads ad preview and diagnosis tool because then you can go in and actually set a location. Within Google, you can specify a location and then do a search there and you will see what the search results should look like to somebody in that specific location. You can’t really do that with rank trackers anymore.
Okay. Anyways, that was a good question, Gordon. Go ahead.
Marco: Let me just add that we keep seeing a direct correlation between activity in the Google My Business listing through everything we do through Local GMB Pro. Everything that we teach inside Local GMB Pro, there’s a direct correlation with activity, and then even in organic, it brings up the organic rankings.
Bradley: Yeah.
Marco: I mean, you can see it. You’ll see the amount of keywords that you’re ranking for blow up in search console. To the point where you’re ranking for hundreds of keywords that you never thought would be attainable and all of a sudden that’s right there. If you just look at organic, you would never know how that was done, but we know that we’re doing all of the work in the Google My Business listing.
Bradley: Yeah. One of the other things I wanna mention is, and we’ve kind of talked about this in some of our other groups, guys, but I don’t want to give out too much, but this is a nice little nugget. Guys, go into your GMB Insights. For those of you doing local, which again it’s most of you, go into GMB Insights and take a look at the search queries that have brought engagement to your listing, and extract those search queries that are relevant, which most of them will.
By the way, you’re gonna see a lot of near me and near my location and stuff like that type of keywords right now. I mean, that’s why it’s all mobile stuff, guys. It’s all mobile search stuff. If you extract those keywords from the GMB Insights report that are relevant and start promoting those in GMB posts and content, then you’ll start getting more and more traffic for those. It’s crazy. It’s like Google tells you which keywords are bringing you traffic and then you promote those keywords and it brings you so much more. It’s crazy. It’s just like Google’s giving you the keys to the kingdom right now, guys.
Amazon SEO
Again, I don’t know how long it’s gonna last, but while it does exploit it. Okay. Jordan. What’s up, Jordan? He says, “Is anyone here an Amazon SEO guru?” I am not. I don’t think any of my partners are either. “Needing help with a potential client, either white-label or we’ll give them to you for finder fee, and I don’t wanna learn that mess.” I don’t blame you, Jordan. “It’s not our wheelhouse nor do I want it to be. Staying large regional and national focused. Hit me up [email protected].”
Hernan: Isn’t Jordan on the Mastermind?
Bradley: I’m sorry?
Hernan: Isn’t Jordan on the Mastermind?
Bradley: No. He’s in Syndication Academy but in Mastermind.
Hernan: Okay. Well, I mean, in the Syndication Academy group, maybe you can find somebody.
Bradley: Yeah. I was going to ask Lisa if she had any advice on ecommerce SEO or Amazon SEO.
Lisa: Well, just make sure you’re in a cart that is friendly to SEO URLs. Also, one thing that I found when I was doing my store, now I’ve sold my store several years ago to somebody else, but one thing that I did find is that the RSS for products actually will help boost the products quite a bit. So if you have, make sure you get a cart that has the ability to have RSS feeds for product categories. Then go and submit those feeds to all kinds of different aggregators, you’ll get quite a boost. I mean, it was really amazing what we found when I had a VA doing that for me.
What Is The Best Way To Index Press Releases?
Bradley: Jordan, looks like Greg might have also replied to your comment on the event page. I suggest also maybe getting through that. Greg’s question is: “Hey, I purchased a monthly subscription of Press Releases service after your webinar three weeks ago. First, two PRs went out last week. For each, I received a list of 100 plus pickups. However, when searching in Google for the title or a sentence in quotes, only the PR services, PR and digital journal show in Google. What is the best way to get all those other indexed? Or just simply wait for Google to notice and index them over time?”
Greg, first of all, don’t worry about it. Most of them are probably indexed, they’re just in the supplemental index, because that’s the nature of Press Releases. Because it’s the same content, right? Guys, don’t associate duplicate content penalties with this, with what I’m talking about here because that’s not the case. But if a press release which is republished word-for-word across hundreds of sites, Google will take those and many of them and put them in what’s called the Supplemental Index.
I’m going to show you exactly what I mean here to demonstrate. Okay? Right here, this is press release title that I just had published for the project that I built out for the Local Lease Pro training. Okay. This was just published, well, just a few days ago, anyways. You can see that I just did a search for the title, which is showing digital journal here, right? So this was just published, I don’t know, just a couple days ago. Anyways, you can see that that’s the full title of it, right? That’s what’s showing digital journal. It’s the only one that’s indexed on this page.
But if you look down at the bottom where it says “In order to show you the most relevant results, we have omitted some entries very similar to the six already displayed.” Well, I don’t see six displayed, I see one, unless they’re talking about five images here, which they might be. Yeah, I guess they are, because the rest of those are ads.
But if you take a look and click on the Supplemental Index, all of a sudden here it shows up, there’s five of them that are showing as indexed. By the way, that’s why, this was just published 12 hours ago. That’s why not all of them have even been indexed yet. So if we were to come back and search this again in another 24 hours, it’s likely that there will be dozens and dozens of results. They’re probably still gonna be hidden behind the Supplemental Index, you have to click that link at the bottom to see all of them. But what happens is you end up with most of that.
Now again, don’t worry about getting them indexed, Greg, you’ll drive yourself absolutely crazy if every time you submit a press release you go collect all the links from the report and then submit them to indexers. That’s a lot of additional work. Don’t worry about it. Those news sites get crawled often by Google, they will get indexed. Whether they show or they’re put in the Supplemental Index, it doesn’t matter, Google knows about them. Trust me. So don’t worry about that because you’re just adding additional work, you’re over-complicating, which you don’t need to.
Okay? I’m not picking on you at all, Greg. I understand why you may worry about that. But a lot of people have asked us questions about Syndication Networks and the links not being indexed. But if you go in the search console and you look at links to your site, you’ll see WordPress, and Tumblr, and Diigo, and all the sites within the syndication network do have backlinks pointed to the site, and Google knows about them. Whether they’re indexed or not, it doesn’t matter, Google knows about them and is giving you credit for them. We’ve even tested no index PBNs, guys, and it’s worked. It’s given us boosts.
Again, don’t worry about that, you’ll drive yourself crazy, Greg. All right. We’ve only got about five more minutes, guys. I do have to leave pretty much on time today. So we’re gonna try to roll through just a couple more questions.
“Can we get a recorded webinar link from Monday, from Marco’s webinar?” Yeah. Guys, it’s coming. Everybody relax. It’s coming. We promise you the replay will be made available as soon as possible. Marco, do we have an ETA on that?
Marco: It’s not only the replay, I’m putting everything together. Right? I have to put together all of the training, the video that I did showing, well, you know what it does, from S3 to CloudFlare. I’m also giving them tutorials for CloudFlare and S3 buckets. I’m trying to put everything together. It doesn’t help when I have people reaching out to me. The video was still, I think I told you guys, it was rendering and people were already reaching out to me for the replay webinar. It doesn’t help, guys. It’ll get done when it gets done. As soon as it gets done, it’ll be made available.
Bradley: Scott. “Finally got a plumbing client onboard for GMB account that was set up with your service. The account was sitting just outside the 3-pack when it was first verified. Now in the 3-pack with just a small amount of effort after week one. Location population for a city of 125K. Thanks, guys.” That’s freaking awesome, Scott. I love that you posted that. That’s amazing. Guys, I mean, it’s crazy, even the site that I just was showing you guys, the press release for Mustang 3 pros, I just set that up last week, and 12 hours ago, the press release was published and I’m sitting in the number four position right now, if I do a localized search, like I said, using …
Anyways, my point is, guys, it’s sitting in position number four and I still haven’t done citations to it yet, I haven’t really done any GMB posts other than the original post that I did. So I mean all the stuff that I teach in Local Lease Pro, guys, hasn’t even been applied to that yet and I’m already in the number four position in maps. So think about that. Scott is just validating what I’ve been talking about, guys. You do the research properly on the front-end and then you optimize the profile when you first set it up, or get it back from us if you’re using our service.
So far, about 60% of the time, for me, that’s all it takes to get into the 3-pack. Doing the other stuff that I’m doing right now, which is the GMB posts press releases, and then monthly citations, I’m seeing like almost, out of the remaining 40%, another 15 to 20% of those within the first seven days get pushed into the 3-pack. The remaining ones that aren’t pushed into the 3-pack, it just requires a little more of the same. Just more of the same, so more GMB posts, perhaps another press release, perhaps another month of citation building, something like that. Right? That’s all it takes.
We’re also working on some additional methods right now, guys, for pushing those listings that aren’t popping into the 3-pack. Yeah. I’m working on some other methods too and I’ll update you guys on that probably in November. All right.
Is There Any Limit On The Number Of Links You Can Throw At An RYS Project And Not Get Penalized?
Okay, guys. I guess I’m gonna answer Jeff Sass’s question and we’re gonna wrap it up because we’re at the 5 o'clock mark and I have to go and I’m sure others do as well, Jeff says, “Question regarding RYS project done for a client through Serpspace. Is there any limit that you’ve seen with regards to links you can throw at it and not get penalized?” Marco can answer that one, but we haven’t seen a limit yet. Have we, Marco?
Marco: No limit.
Bradley: Okay. Number two, “Also, even though my client already has one RYS project produced, is there an additional benefit to doing another and another or should we just be beating the shit out of the one that’s already done?” No. There is benefit, Jeff. It just depends. It really depends on what your setup is and your configuration, your site structure, all that kind of stuff. Marco, what would you suggest?
Marco: I would suggest that, if he’s a member of RYS Academy Reloaded, that he reaches out to me in there because we did a webinar telling you exactly what you need to do with that one drive stack and how to power it up to get even more power out of it, and just continue getting power out of that same stack.
Bradley: There you go. The last thing, he says, “If you haven’t pimped your research service yet, do so now. It rocks.” I’m assuming he’s talking about the keyword research service yet. Is that available? That’s live in MGYB now, isn’t it?
Marco: Keyword research? No, it’s not live yet. We’ve done sales of it. I mean, we could try doing another one, maybe next Hump Day. For you guys attending live, we’ll have a few keyword research projects available that you can take advantage of. But, yeah, it’s coming. It’s just getting hooked up into the marketplace-, excuse me, the MGYB store.
Bradley: Yep. Okay. I just saw Eddie said … Thanks for that, Eddie. “I’m not an SEO or a CEO, but the way Bradley teaches makes it easy to understand and great for newbies.” He’s talking about Local Lease Pro. “What is the best way to bill or charge the business?” I’m pretty sure that’s covered in the training, Eddie, but I’ll double check when I’m in there adding the citation lesson. If it’s not, then I’ll make a note to add another lesson specifically about how to bill or charge a business. Honestly, I just use PayPal for that, but you can get as creative with that as you want. Anyways, I’ll make a note of that if it’s not in there and I’ll add a lesson for it. Okay?
Everybody, I wanna thank you guys for being here. Lisa, thank you for sticking around even for the additional time.
Lisa: It was awesome to be here.
Bradley: Awesome, guys. Thanks everyone else. We’ll see you guys next week. Lisa, please keep in touch with us and let us know about the updates.
Lisa: I will. I definitely will. I think you’re gonna love them.
Bradley: Great. Thank you guys. Bye.
Hernan: Bye guys.
Lisa: Bye.
Marco: Bye everyone.
Weekly Digital Marketing Q&A – Hump Day Hangouts – Episode 205 posted first on your-t1-blog-url from Blogger https://ift.tt/2yheB2c via IFTTT
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