Reflections of a Square Peg

26 Experts on How to Make Money Not Cold Calling

I don't know many people who like to cold call, I know it has never been that successful for me. Not only is it so impersonal and intrusive, but it just doesn't work, how many times do you put the phone down or screen the telesales call at home? For every 50 cold calls you make, only 2 will result in an appointment.

My friend, Leesa Barnes, hates cold calling. She relied on cold calling to get clients for her web development business in 1997. Two years later and heavily in debt, Leesa gave up on self employment and got herself a full time job.

When she was laid off in 2004, Leesa decided to try self employment again. But this time, she did things a little differently. Leesa decided to use social media to find new clients and make money.

Four years later, Leesa has published a book, is a recognized expert in podcasting and has tripled her income in just 12 months - all without cold calling.

If you think Facebook, MySpace, blogs and podcasts are only used by teenagers, you're missing out on one of the easiest ways to find new clients.

If you want to learn how to use social media as a business tool and do it right the first time, I invite you to check out a virtual event taking place this month that's hosted by Leesa.

It's called the Social Media Telesummit and it features 26 amazing speakers who will teach you
how to use social media for business.

There's no fluff at this event. Each speaker will teach you a specific tip based on their practical, in the trenches experiences.

So, if you want to say goodbye to cold calling and use a fun and profitable way to find new
clients, click on the following link to read more about how this event will help you:

Social Media Telesummit

Lost for words? - Well I am just in the pink!

How do you get 70+ MBA students and a room full of alumni talking if its not immediately about jobs?

Hold a networking event where there are 4 chairs like this that are sold for $10,000 each!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to work with one of the current Ivey MBA classes on personal branding , time just flew by as we talked about personal brands and how they might start to look at the way they are communicating and portraying their brands differently. I feel that we shifted, I was certainly energized by the students interest and enthusiasm for the subject and certainly the feedback was positive - many liked the fact that the presentation included references to pop culture and related to them much more.

It was then enhanced when we got to spend a few hours in the evening at Ultra Supper Club on Queen Street in Toronto where they had just taken delivery of the Verve Cliquot loveseats designed by Karim Rashid. The full story on the chairs can be read in this Globe & Mail article.

A fun conversation piece, an ice breaker even - it just went to show that sometimes you do not have to worry aobut what you are initially going to say when you have a fibreglass chair in the room!

What Street Entertainers Can Teach You About Personal Branding

This coming weekend in my home town of Dundas is Buskerfest. Its a 2 and a half day street entertainment event that sees the main street closed and various international street performers plying their trade up and down the town - it is one of the best small town events I have been to.

Street entertaining is all about personal branding - knowing what your unique value is and communicating it effectively - standing or falling (and getting directly rewarded) on being your very best - you are truly on stage to perform your very best - EVERY TIME.

I have just returned from a three day trip to Montreal for a Mastermind Group meeting, 10 coaches from the UK and North America coaching each other on the development and direction of our businesses.

Chris Barrow is one of the coaches and he wrote some great blog articles about the three days - including this one about a street performer called Raphael - a pure an example as you will find of a street performer who gets personal branding - see the post by clicking here.

Chris rightly points out the following about Raphael;

• Proud of himself
• Good at what he does
• Knows he makes a difference
• Knows what he expects
• Not afraid to ask
• “Over it” if you don’t pay
• Doesn’t suffer time-wasters
• Doesn’t give discounts

Perhaps Raphael's 8 steps should be a new personal brand mantra!

(Cross posted at Career Hub and Branding Personal blogs)

What Do Cows, Pigs, Horses & Hermit Crabs Have in Common?

Answer: They were all at the Royal Agricultural Show in Toronto today!

I took the day off to take the family to The Royal - as its known. This is an annual agricultural extravaganza that has now become the biggest in North America. The kids love the day and last year we came across a stall selling hermit crabs!

I guess if you cannot take home a pig a hermit crab is a great substitute!

They were back again this year, selling crabs and acquariums and doing a roaring trade - who would have guessed it? But they must have done their homework looked at the demographics and taken a gamble which is paying off handsomely - no direct competition either!