Whenever possible, always say yes to an invitation to do just about anything – a lunch, a meeting, anything with anyone.  It is always a great way to grow your network.  Speaker and author Craig Price took me up on a Facebook invitation posting and ended up on this podcast. www.speakercraigprice.com

Click here to listen: Speaker Craig Price

In the September 2010 issue of Southwest Airlines Spirit magazine, there is a great tidbit of information about cows. I know because I have read it six times this month already.  Seems that cows with names produce 68 more gallons of milk every 10 months than cows without names.  Farmers who referred to their cows by name saw a spike in production. That made me think of Martha…..who is not a cow by the way.

I walk into the same post office in the same small town at the same time and say hello to the same cleaning woman almost every weekday morning.  It wasn’t long after I started this routine that I introduced myself and asked the woman her name. Martha. Her name is Martha.

This morning ritual had been going on for almost two years when I decided one holiday season that I needed to get Martha a Christmas present. Excited to be playing Santa Claus, I arrived, as I had done for hundreds of mornings, unable to find Martha. This went on for a couple of days and I got worried. So I rang the package doorbell which is there to be rung for packages but inevitably always makes whoever has to answer it disagreeable.  But I digress.

A postal employee, who has been at this particular post office longer than I have been checking my P O Box, ‘cheerfully’ opened the window and said “what do you want?” I inquired as to where Martha had been the last couple of days to which Ms. Happy replied, “who’s Martha?” I explained that Martha had been sweeping around her feet for the past few years as the post office cleaning lady. “Oh, well I don’t know her name. And I think her car is broken. She should be back tomorrow.”

Martha returned, I was able to play Santa Claus and I have since told people in my neighborhood this story, many of whom pick up their mail at the same post office and now give a cheery hello to Martha, by name, each time they go.

The moral of the story? Is there a Martha in your office or somewhere in your life? Do you know his or her name? Well, what are you waiting for? 

By the way, I’ve always wondered if Martha ever wonders how all these people know her by name.

There’s a story on CNN.com today about internships –  not for college students, but for workers 50 and over. Brilliant. Why should it be any different for anyone, age or otherwise?  It all comes down to networking, finding a way to get your foot in the door, then working hard and proving the company needs you, showing your value.

I’ve heard several ‘older’ workers lately lamenting the lack of jobs, worrying about their futures.  However, when I ask the questions below, the answers are usually the same – no.  Didn’t have time. Been meaning to do that. Planned to do that next week.

Need a job? Need to change jobs? Looking to advance where you are?

Ask yourself these questions:

Do you have a mentor?
Do you have a specific goal?
Have you called anyone to make contact today and offered them something instead of just asking for something?
Have you followed up with at least one person you met this week – with a call, a note, info you promised?
Have you gone to an event this week and met new people, networked new relationships?
Have you asked for what you need?

That’s what these ‘older’ workers are doing in the CNN story. Making the call, asking for the internship, learning something new with a mentor, networking and finding a way to keep working. Hustle folks, hustle.

And, answer the questions with ‘yes.’

Kill’em with kindness.  You get more flies with honey.  Engage the customer.

All strange things to be thinking while sitting stage side in the Hustler Club on Bourbon Street in New Orleans but that’s how I think. The first five dancers to hit the main stage starred at a spot on the wall, never smiled and went through the motions to do their routine. Then a dancer smiled and made a little effort to actually look at the audience. A few more dollar bills started to magically drop on the stage. Then SHE came out. SHE hit the stage with a huge smile looking directly at her audience. SHE went straight to the people and engaged them. Smiling, talking “Hey, where y’all from?” The dollar bills were flying fast and furious and SHE hadn’t even hit the pole yet. SHE had the audience in the palm of her hand until her money bag was full. SHE gave the customers what they had been looking for all night. A smile, welcoming conversation and eye contact. That’s all it took.

Which now poses the question – why was I in the Hustler Club on Bourbon Street in New Orleans? Isn’t the saying “what happens in New Orleans stays in New Orleans”? Well, it should be.

Gene Simmons of KISS was asked a few years ago what was the one thing he attributed his success to?  He said, without hesitation,  ”I read everything I can get my hands on.”

I loved that answer.  I am who I am and I do what I do because I read and I’ve never stopped learning.

Early on, I devoured the entire Nancy Drew series.  From that, I believe I learned to research and solve.

A friend of my grandmother’s, Mrs. DePhillipi, traveled the world and brought me several books.  From those books, I traveled the world without ever leaving 6738 Hendon in Houston, Texas.

In high school, because I actually read the curriculum requirements, I figured out I could graduate early and head off to college at 16.  In my teens, I had a college ID, an apartment and a boyfriend in a band.  Because I read, life was good.

In college, I discovered my passion for radio.  And, I’ve always said that I really didn’t play Stairway to Heaven or Freebird any different than anyone else and I gave the same weather forecast.  What I did do that was different was read and continue to learn.  And because I read, I always had something to talk about.  I also recognized opportunities to grow my name which was my “brand”.  I was successful in Houston radio for over 20 years. Because I read, I was paid (handsomely) to play music and hang out. I read the industry trade papers and learned how to network with the right people to succeed.

In the 90’s, I began to read and learn about this new thing they called email and the Internet eventually starting my own e-commerce operation.  I sold The Space Store for a half a million dollars in 2000, the same month Newsweek declared the dot.com boom dead.  I apparently ‘didn’t get the memo.’

To this day, I read and continue to learn.  I wrote a book to pass on what I had already read and learned.  That created a successful motivational speaking career.

I began to read and learn about Social Media a couple of years ago.   I now get paid to hang out on Facebook and Twitter and teach others how to use social media.  This is a good job.

Ahh but, the times, to quote an old rock star, they are a changin’.

I still read and learn.  But differently.

I said I could never give up my newspaper and cup of coffee in the mornings.  The cup of coffee remains but the newspapers were replaced long ago by apps on my phone for CNN, the Houston Chronicle, AP Newswire, local TV and more.

Then I said I could never trade the feel of a real book in for a Kindle.  We now have two Kindles in the house and I may have to buy a third if no one learns to share.

The future?  Apparently I’m getting an iPad for Mother’s Day to put on the coffee table with all our favorite magazines, newspapers, photos and books loaded onto it.

All along the way, from Nancy Drew to the latest Apple gadget, I have continued to read and learn.

Reading has rocked my world.  Daily.

How about your world?

Read and rock on!

As long as the work gets done, gets done in a timely manner, is quality work and keeps the ledgers on the profit side – do you care where your employees are or when they work?  If so, why?

Despite the fact you really couldn’t call what I do “playing golf,”  it is what I set out to do with a long time girlfriend yesterday. A quick nine holes to catch up on the last twenty years or so.  I have a golf bag filled with clubs I have no idea how to use, plenty of balls to donate up to the lake gods and my entire productivity suite with me – my iPhone.   In between fishing balls out of the lake and wandering through the high grass, I could check email, tweet on Twitter, post and comment on Facebook, link up on LinkedIn and answer to all the needs of my clients and family.

Except one.  So, I picked up the phone and called Allen Caudle, COO of Vollmer Public Relations, my biggest and ‘bestest’ client.  Explaining that “my hands are freezing on the golf course and I can’t type that many letters right now,” I responded to his query verbally (what a concept.)  He laughed, we discussed his question and decided a course of action, and I went off to hit more balls in the water with a satisfied client back at the office.

Heading home from the course, I called my managing partner to see how speech bookings were coming for the next couple of months (fine, thank you for asking.)  It was obvious she was outside and not somewhere quiet.  ”I’m at the zoo. I needed to see the seals.”  I told her I would call back or email later.

As I hung up, that exchange made me smile and laugh.  Sometimes you just need to see the seals or find your golf ball. Clear your mind, smile and laugh, relax a little – and then go back to the grind.  We’re all better for it.

So, I repeat my initial question – as long as the work gets done, gets done in a timely manner, is quality work and keeps the ledgers on the profit side – why do you care where your employees work or when they work just so long as they work?

When is the last time you sent your employees to the zoo?

Reposted from original Vollmer Voice post January 8, 2010

Stuff happens.  It just does.  And we all know how these things can really be blown out of proportion and drag on for days, months, sometimes even years.  (Hello Balloon Boy Dad.)  However, if you handle whatever mistake has happened correctly and quickly, the ‘event’ will most likely fade into the sunset with nary a problem.

Mariah Carey’s acceptance speech at the Palm Springs Film Festival for the Breakout Performance award was rambling, breathy and just downright odd.  Oh how the tabloids and even mainstream media have speculated.  Already the story is dying down because she immediately addressed the situation and told the truth.  She had been celebrating and drinking champagne.  Maybe a little too much champagne.  OK.  Raise your hand if you’ve never imbibed just a little too much and done something stupid.

Then there’s Domino’s Pizza.  Yuck.  So said a collective consumer voice from around the country.   The pizza chain recently acknowledged that the quality of their product had gone downhill, in an ad campaign no less, and has said they will fix the recipe, keeping the customer happy and getting free press all at the same time.  The jury is still out on the new pizza.  If this turns out to be that “New Coke” thing, hopefully Domino’s will admit this mistake and fix that as well.

And now we get to me.  I recently put together the January 2010 issue of Vollocity, the e-newsletter for Vollmer Public Relations.  I included links to three excellent posts CEO Helen Vollmer had written for PRWeek US but I attributed PR News.  Helen and PRWeek San Francisco Bureau Chief Aarti Shah worked hard to get those posts written, edited and posted prior to the holidays.  And I gave all the credit to another publication.  I am so sorry!

So, what do we learn from all of this?

• Admit the mistake happened as quickly as you discover it.
• Do what you can to fix it, just as quickly.
• Give a sincere apology.
• Learn from the mistake so that it doesn’t happen again.
• And if you are the other party?  Be gracious, accept the apology and move on.

Perhaps I could tell PRWeek US I drank too much champagne?  Or at least buy Aarti a bottle…

Reposted from original Vollmer Voice post January 8, 2010

So what do you do when Campus Activities Magazine names you a Hot Choice for speakers in their Nov/Dec 2009 issue?

Well first you blush…

…then you jump around the office….

…then you thank your amazing agent Craig Newman at APA…

…then you try to figure out how you ended up in the same category with the Soledad O’Brien from CNN…

…then you think about all the things you wish someone had said to you when you were in college…

…that you had actually paid attention to….

..and then you write a thank you note!

As most of Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota celebrates the Minnesota Vikings victory last night; I am in my hotel room preparing to speak on the second day of a travel conference to a group of travel agents at the St. Paul River Centre.

To so many, a conference means endless hours of travel, crammed airplanes, confusing rental cars and GPS directions, sessions on things we already know and, let’s not forget, chicken and rice and/or beef tips and asparagus.

However, a conference should mean learning new things, meeting new people and opening many more doors to success.  Here are a few things you can do to take advantage of the conference experience and continue to build a stage for success in anything you do:

• Utilize social media and all it has to offer.  Prior to leaving for your conference, join Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.  Get familiar with all three.  And find out if the conference has a Twitter hashtag associated with this particular event.  Learn what that means and how it works.  You don’t want to miss any chance to network in business.  You’ll also appear forward thinking instead of totally out of touch.
• Take plenty of business cards.  This is not the time to leave them at home or back in your hotel room.  And remember, don’t force that card on people but have it available if a connection is made with someone and both of you would like to keep in touch to share information.  Have that card readily available so you’re not digging in the “goodie bag,” through your purse or in your pockets.  Nice, neat business cards – nothing bent and crammed into a pocket.  *If you can have something a little different as a business card, all the better.  I use a guitar pick – definitely gets attention.  Peter Shankman uses a poker chip.  Houston clothing designer Bob Stover uses a card with pop-out collar stays.
• Traveling to the conference?  Take that time to pick up a magazine or newspaper at the newsstand while waiting for your flight or train – but pick up a periodical on something you know nothing about or could care less about.  For me that would be NASCAR.  No offense guys, but I just don’t get the whole car sport thing.  However, NASCAR does brand better than any business, anywhere, hands down.  I picked up some great marketing ideas from a NASCAR publication.  Reading something you don’t know anything about opens up your mind in new ways and will make you more open to new ideas and ways of doing things.
• Sign up for at least one session that is totally out of your field, which has nothing to do with your expertise.  You just may find a new expertise to add to your resume.  Never stop learning.  Never stop trying new things.  This is the place to do it.  You are here, you have the time and the experts are here with the information.
• Sit with strangers at lunch.  Don’t gravitate to the people you already know.  This is not high school, this is an excellent opportunity to meet and network with others in your field of business and form new relationships.  And, by the way, relationships are EVERYTHING.
• This is not the time to be shy.  During sessions, in the hall, at lunch, at the cocktail party.  Again, relationships are everything.  You are here to learn AND to network.  As someone once told me, “you’ll never get a date sitting on the couch at home.”  Or in your hotel room watching Friends reruns.
• Do your homework and find out as much as you can about the conference before and during the event.  Look over the event website before you go and read everything in the conference giveaway bag when you get there.  Most of it you probably already know and really don’t need, but you won’t know that until you look at all of it.  Familiarize yourself with who is at the conference, the facilitators and speakers, and all the sessions.  Something just may catch your eye.  The worst thing you can do is wait to read it all when you get back on the plane and realize you missed a great opportunity to see a speaker or attend a session.
• Last but not least, don’t forget the follow-up.  Take those cards you have gathered and send a brief note saying “it was nice to meet you” and “hope we can work together in the future” or, even better, “let me know if there is anything I can do for you in the future.”  Emails, a Facebook post, a tweet on Twitter, a message on LinkedIn – all are good ways to follow-up.  The best way though?  A handwritten note.  That will make the biggest impression.

Despite the travel hassles and the same food across the country at the lunch and/or dinner, a conference is still one of the best ways to keep up with your industry, network with like-minded individuals and form relationships and, open your mind to new ideas and new ways of doing things.  You are away from home and loved ones.  Make it worth the sacrifice and make that stage for success even more secure!

Tweet?  Friend? Recommend?

Twitter? Facebook? LinkedIn?

As social media has become a regular part of my day, networking with business associates for more speeches and appearances as well as discovering what my friends’ latest antics are, I wonder if it is really worth the time sink it has become.  Or the ‘time vampire’ as Charlie the Wonder Husband refers to it.

The answer?  Yes!

As a news junkie, I am able to keep up with breaking news and interesting stories on Twitter as well as make professional connections with other speakers and meeting planners.

On Facebook, I can connect with friends and former KLOL fans and let them know I am now a professional motivational business speaker, traveling the country to help others “Find Your Inner Rock Star.”

And LinkedIn?  Well, that was the one I was ready to drop, just for the sake of time.  Before I hit the delete button, I thought I would ask my social network what they thought.  Last Thursday I tweeted “Reasons to stay on LinkedIn?”  Answers poured in on both Twitter and Facebook.  The consensus?  Split right down the middle:

• I’ve reconnected with some very important professional contacts over linked in. You never know who you will find! I don’t do anything social over there, but I do keep my resume up!
• None I can think of other than it is just one more way to connect but at some point the connections overwhelm and complicate more than they help
• It’s all about the groups. There is a great book publishing professionals group.
• I haven’t found any reason yet for LinkedIn. All the connections I have already know me and my business. I take my FB seriously as a business tool and use it for that; I’ve made many more connections and referrals both in and out from here.
• LinkedIn is too boring for me!
• Linkedin’s entire thing is professional networking vs. social networking, and although you can certainly do some of the former on FB, I don’t know too many people who post their resumes or have the ability to search by keywords in resumes or have professional recommends on FB. I’m in my current position because a recruiter saw my profile on Linkedin
• I use it to keep up with where my peeps are working since the economy tanked. There’s been lots of movement and this is the best way I know to stay on top of the career side. Other than that…nada.
• Too many to count! Many more contacts, easier search and even by job title. Events search in your area or others. Love Linkedin
• Not unless you’re a recruiter or involved in recruiting
• LinkedIn’s most valuable feature for me is the discussion groups. I do wish that they didn’t attract so many spammers, though.
• ‘cuz there is no cost…and ya never know.

Not two hours after I considered ending my relationship with LinkedIn, I got a call from a friend’s sister.  I had not talked to or communicated with this woman in a couple for years.  Seems her company was working a huge government project and they were looking for a PR firm with specific requirements and capabilities.  She looked me up on LinkedIn and saw my affiliations in my profile including the fact that I work as a consultant with a large PR firm in the Southwest.  She called, I could confirm this PR firm met the requirements they were looking for and made the connection.  All because I had my professional affiliations listed and spelled out on LinkedIn.

So, yes, I will stay on LinkedIn for now.  Social media is time consuming but so was email and American Idol at first.  I have just had to learn to balance it all and still get the job done.  And an important part of that job is maintaining relationships.

Relationships are everything and all three – Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn – give me the ability to keep up with those I know, meet new people and keep up with the world.  Nothing will ever beat good old-fashioned, face-to-face meetings and personal phone calls, but none of us have the time to meet and talk that much.  Social media keeps me, well, social.

So, follow me on Twitter and I’ll follow you.  Be my friend on Facebook and post interesting things.  (Remember, I don’t care if you eating yogurt or walking the dog.  That is not interesting or helpful.)  And, post your professional profile on LinkedIn “cuz ya never know.”

Oh and by the way, be sure to Digg this from the share bar below.  You don’t Digg?  Well, it is another thing to add to your list….