Want to know why some people are more successful?


Want to know why some people are more successful in business than you?
by J. Brett Abbey

Do you ever wonder why some people are more successful in business than you? Why they generate more leads and have more sales?

Is it because they are smarter than you? Do they work harder? Are they better looking? Wait a minute. What am I saying? Who could be better looking than you!

In most cases, the reason you’re not doing as well as you should is because you are not sending the right message to potential clients. Have a look at this statement below.

A well thought-out plan for your financial future is an integral part of building the life you want for yourself and your family.”

I pulled this statement from the home page of an Investment Advisor for a national, financial planning company. This statement is basically the first thing you see on the Investment Advisor’s website, immediately after their name. And if you Google this statement, you will see that it appears on many other Investment Advisors’ websites from the same company.

Now ask yourself what value does this statement have? Does it interest you in wanting to know more about this advisor and the service they offer? Does it reveal what value this advisor offers you as a potential client? Does it even make you want to do business with this advisor above all others?

Sadly, no! The only thing this statement does is state the obvious. This statement does little to add value or provide a potential client with a reason why they should be interested. And chances are any potential client reading this statement is going to “click off” to another website and (dare I say) another Investment Advisor who has a value proposition that satisfies their needs.

Give your message value.

Marketing effectively is not rocket science. You simply need to help potential clients see the value you bring to the table and why they should choose you over others. They want to know that you are the right person (or better yet, only person!) who is going to help them solve their problems or fulfill their dreams.

You only have one opportunity to get it right. Having the right value proposition is paramount to your success. A good value proposition will practically, pre-sell your potential clients and they will want to know more about you. It’s what we call a hot, hot lead.

So whether you are a financial advisor, entrepreneur, real estate agent, accountant or business person, creating the right value proposition, can help you become the envy of your competitors – with more leads, more sales and more success.

Keep your eye tuned to www.messagemasters.ca for details on how you can create a value proposition that can practically double your sales!

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About the Author

J. Brett Abbey is an award-winning speaker, author and messaging expert who can help you generate more leads, increase your sales and enjoy greater success – simply by creating the right message to the right person, the right way. Contact Brett today to see how you can turn your words into profit and get business to come to you.
Visit
www.messagemasters.ca or email web@messagemasters.ca to get started.

 

Exhibit at or Sponsor the 2015 Toronto Entrepreneurs Conference & Tradeshow Events


TorontoJobs.ca presents two Toronto Entrepreneurs Conference & Tradeshow events in 2015:

 

-          May 13th - Mississauga Convention Centre

-          November 4th – Chestnut Conference Centre (Toronto)

 

These are unique events and an excellent opportunity to reach your target market of small to medium business owners.  Participating in these events is an opportunity for your company to have direct access to key decision makers across the GTA.

 

Last year’s events had over 100 exhibitors and 2,000 attendees.   Previous exhibitors and sponsors have included:  Bell Canada, Purolator, Yellow Pages Group, Hewlett Packard, Paytrak, Canada Post, Costco, Mars Discovery District, Porter Airlines and many more.

 

Key Points:

 

- The trade show is free at the events with concurrent speakers.

- There are sponsorship or exhibitor package available for any budget.

- Speakers present on a wide range of topics.

- Past keynote speakers include:

 

-          Robert Herjavec - Dragons’ Den and Shark Tank

-          Bruce Croxon - Dragons’ Den

-          Mark Breslin - President of Yuk Yuk’s

-          Alex Rechichi – President of Extreme Brandz (Mucho Burrito/Extreme Pita) 

-          Christine Magee - President, Sleep Country Canada

-          Robert Deluce - President and CEO Porter Airlines

 

Here’s what you can get as an exhibitor or sponsor**:

 

-          Booth

-          Admission tickets for your clients

-          Breakfast and Lunch

-          Social Media Mentions

-          Advertisement in Show Guide

-          Logo on all marketing materials

-          Speaking Opportunity and/or Introduction of a Speaker

-          List of attendees

-          Mention in media releases

-          Email blast to the Toronto Entrepreneurs database

-          Postings on TorontoJobs.ca

 

**Note packages depend on level of exhibiting/sponsorship

 

**New for 2015 – the “Start Up Exhibitor” package starting at only $295 plus HST.

 

For complete details on the event, as well as sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities and registration information, please visit:


 

If you are ready to book your package, please complete the registration form found on the last page of attached media kit and either scan/email to marc.belaiche@torontojobs.ca, or fax to my attention to 905-566-1179.

 

Feel free to contact me should you require any further information.

 

Happy holidays and best wishes for 2015!

 

Thanks,

Marc

*************

 

Marc Belaiche, CPA, CA



160 Traders Boulevard East

Suite# 101

Mississauga, Ontario

L4Z 3K7

 

Phone: 905-566-JOBS (905-566-5627) x2873

Fax: 905-566-1179

Cell: 905-783-1777
Toll Free: 1-866-486-JOBS (1-866-486-5627)

Direct Mail Comes to the Rescue in an Era of CASL

Businesses are singing the blues – the electronic marketing blues, that is. CASL (Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation) has disrupted certain business promotion models by requiring that all recipients of such messages have given prior consent or fall under implied consent. Gone are the days of the email blast, the commercial text message and the unsolicited social media promotion – no minor blow to legitimate businesses especially entrepreneurs and  small companies with limited budgets that have relied on the electronic media to promote themselves and to prospect for those all-important new customers. While CASL’s goal to reduce unwanted messages is laudable, the legislation is forcing a change of direction and a re-evaluation of methods including a return to an old stand-by  ̶  Direct Mail.

Direct Mail can fill the gap caused by CASL

Your email marketing list continues to be a legitimate way for your business to communicate with those who have an existing commercial relationship with you, who have given their explicit consent, or who have implied consent.

The problem is: How do you find new customers? How are new prospects made aware of your very existence and the wonderful things you can do or provide?

Yes, there are options such as links in online ads or the use of blogs on social media. But ads are more impersonal and blogging requires someone with that set of skills and constant attention. These methods while useful may not reach the person who does not read blogs or skips the ads.

Direct Mail is a proven method – with the right preparation. Arguments against it are the cost. However, if carried out properly Direct Mail can successfully broaden your reach, can bring in new prospects and even enlarge your email contacts by inviting prospects to sign up to your communication. It has worked for the businesses as diverse as a musical instrument dealer and a long distance company. The key elements for success are:

  •  Precise targeting,
  • Addressed mail (name and address), and a
  • An attractive, inviting or enticing insert
Precise targeting is important in order to reach those most likely to be interested in your message. It avoids waste. Which types of people are buying from you? Your own customer list can provide much of that information. If it isn’t clear then a professional analysis of the list will reveal the kind of customers already engaged with you. Using that information those types of households dominant in particular geographic areas can then be targeted. In the case of the instrument dealer, he wanted to hold a one day sale. He knew he had to target families with children, at a certain level of income. He sent invitations to the households in areas that exhibited those characteristics

Targeting gets you into the right geography but so far it’s still junk mail. The key here is to personalize your message. Use the name and address of the householder on the mail piece. This technique recognizes that there is a person on the other end and separates it from other mailings. Canada Post has found that there is a high propensity for individuals to open addressed mail.

With personalization you have increase your chances that you have their attention and that they will actually open up the envelope. Now you must reward them. From here on in your insert must speak for you. It has to be attractive to the eye, offer good information, perhaps the opportunity to take advantage of a sale or a coupon. The instrument dealer took it one step further. Confronted with a large ethnic segment in his target areas, he chose to send the invitations in their language. He was speaking their language – recognizing who they were. He had a great sale.

Now that you have their attention and their interest invite the prospect to sign up to your email – for a reward. This could be the start of a long relationship.

If you need to reach beyond your customer base Direct Mail is an alternative worth looking at. When precisely targeted, personalized with name and address and rewarding the prospect for their willingness to investigate who you are, Direct Mail can connect you with new prospects and fill the gap of electronic marketing.



Hilde Reis-Smart is the owner of SM Research a company that generates targeted Consumer and Business lists and uses Analytics to mine for customers.

Success in Life is About progress not Perfection, Understand the Difference.

As I’m sure you all know, life seems to be getting more and more complicated.  Between running a business, kids, trying to stay fit, aging parents, looking after the house and trying to save a bit of money along the way, it’s not an easy battle!  Many entrepreneurs think about the idea of creating a “simpler life”, but most are not even sure where to begin.

I feel very fortunate to be able to participate in Dan Sullivan’s Strategic Coach Program.  This is an amazing program built for growth minded entrepreneurs to assist them in building self-managing companies.  There are a number of breakthroughs I have experienced through participating in their sessions.  One of these breakthroughs was experienced after I read Dan’s book, Learning How to Avoid the Gap.  This book depicts the undermining strategy for building lifetime happiness through taking a different look at the measurement of progress in life.

There are a number of things that we measure in our lives.  Some of these include: physical appearance, wealth, intelligence, relationships, possessions, etc.  Many of us have a vision or an ideal around what life would be like if we were more confident in any of these areas. Personally, I have fought with my weight for a number of years and often think about how I would feel at the perfect weight.  These visions are often the inspiration for goals.  In my case, to eat healthier or to exercise more frequently.  The excitement then begins!

Most significant goals take time to accomplish. When developing goals, most of us start with a review our current situation.   We then figure out what our target is and what success looks like.  We begin moving forward with an action plan and making progress.  We then typically hit a few road blocks and progress slows down.  This is often the point when we review progress compare it to the desired end result.  In my personal example above, let’s say my goal is to drop my weight from 220 to 200 pounds.  I’m one month into my new healthier regime and I’ve lost 4 pounds.   Only 16 more to go!  I then begin thinking about how tough it was to lose the first 4 pounds?  How am I going to be able to do this for the next 6 months?  What about my upcoming vacation?  How am I going to stay on track at an all-inclusive resort?  The conversation then goes on and on.  This often leads to unhappiness, a lack of confidence and may result in you even abandoning the goal itself.  Dan Sullivan calls this type of thinking “getting stuck in the GAP”.

If we take a different approach to measurement, we can often change the feelings and confidence around progress.   Let’s say we focus all of our progress measurement against our starting point.  We know that getting to 200 pounds (loss of 20) is our end goal but let’s try to forget about that for a moment.  Our starting point was 220 and now we are at 216! This is something to be celebrated.  Think about all the new health habits you have changed to get there.  Think about how many times you have exercised in the last month.  The point is that this style of measurement is much more fulfilling.  It helps build much more confidence and is much more likely to keep you focused on the eventual achievement of your end goal. 

Throughout life we will set thousands of goals.  Some as small as getting to work on time to goals as large as paying off our mortgage or having enough money to retire comfortably.  The sooner you begin measuring progress from your starting point vs. the end result, the sooner you will begin building confidence and will become happier in life. 

In the event you need additional assistance in simplifying your life, we also offer our Simple Life Vision Session. This is a free, 90 minute, one-on-one session where we help you come up with your own Simple Life Vision and a starting point for an action plan to achieve it.  Please feel free to visit our website for any further information.  www.simpleplanprogram.com

We appreciate your interest and hope this information was of value to you.  If you happened to miss our Top 10 list, please let us know and we will be sure to send you a copy.  Have a fantastic day and always remember to keep things simple!


Mark Landers is the creator of The Simple Plan Program and has been helping entrepreneurs simplify their lives for over 10 years.


Five Signs You’re Ready to Start Your Own Business

Five Signs You’re Ready to Start Your Own Business
 
Contrary to what you may have heard, you don't need an entrepreneurial spirit to start your own business. All it takes is desire, planning and a belief in your skills and abilities. Yet taking that leap can be intimidating for many. So for those who are still not sure, here are five tell tale signs you're ready to call yourself boss. 
 
1.            You've hit the corporate ceiling. It's either the end of the line, or a promotion will only bring more stress and headaches. If you're going to experience stress in your career, at least make sure you're the one who benefits from it.
 
2.            You can do things better. You find yourself staring at your boss, shaking your head knowing you could do his job better than him. Regretfully you'll probably never get the chance. So open up across the street and show him how things are really done.
 
3.            You have big ideas. Your employer views new ideas as inconvenient or too much effort. Or even worse, your manager will just take the credit. The only people who will really appreciate your ideas are your own customers.
 
4.            You're bored. Your skills and talents are not used or appreciated. Your knowledge and experience is being wasted. Even the unpaid intern doesn't want your mindless job. Maybe it's time to create your own position as CEO.
 
5.            Signs from "above". You get passed up for a promotion, transferred to the satellite office, or laid off. Take this as a sign it's time to go out on your own. And you may not have a choice anyway, so go for it.
 
Cheers,
 
Marc Gordon
marcgordon.ca

________________________________________________________________________________
 
About Marc Gordon
Marc Gordon is a marketing expert and professional speaker.  His articles have appeared in over 100 publications, journals, and blogs throughout North America. His online show, marctv, has been rated one of the top 25 B2B video blogs on the web.
 
Marc Gordon c/o Fourword Marketing
Tel: (416) 238-7811


Visit marcgordon.ca or fourword.biz for more information. Watch the newest episode of marctv.

Thanks for coming to the 2014 Toronto Entrepreneurs Symposium & Tradeshow!

On behalf of all of us at TorontoEntrepreneurs.ca we'd like to thank everyone who was at the Second Annual 2014 Toronto Entrepreneurs Symposium & Trade Show presented by TorontoJobs.ca this past week.
 
Highlights
 
There were lots of highlights of the day.  Here are just some of them:
 
- A great trade show featuring exhibitors such as zipcar, Mississauga Board of Trade, Proforma Laser, Liquid Capital and many more!
- Colin Sprake's keynote presentation on Maximizing Growth, Sales & Profit
- An amazing panel including Claudia Harvey, Co-Founder of Dig It Apparel Inc.
- An inspiring presentation by Ann Kaplan, a 9 time winner on Canada's Profit 100 list! 
- A breakfast co-sponsored between TorontoJobs.ca and Mississauga Board of Trade
- An afternoon sponsored by Canada Entrepreneur Organization (CEO)
- Lots of prize draws including the book "Tales from the Recruiter"
 
Check out the many tweets about the event at:
 
We'd like to thank our major sponsors for this event including TorontoJobs.ca, Mississauga Board of Trade, Canada Entrepreneur Organization, BizNetworkNews.com, GoToMeeting and zipcar. 
 
 
Stay In Touch with Us!
 
There's no reason you can't stay in touch with us! Here's what you can do:
 
Website:
 
Twitter:
 
Facebook:
 
Linkedin:
 
Blog:
 
 
Exhibit at or Sponsor the 2015 Toronto Entrepreneurs Conference & Tradeshow - May 13, 2015
 
Want information about exhibiting at or sponsoring our next event on May 13, 2015?  Email marc.belaiche@torontojobs.ca
 
 
Want to Speak at a Future Event?
 
Deadline extended to make a speakers submission for our 2015 Toronto Entrepreneurs Conference & Trade Show to Friday November 21st!  More information at:

 
Submit an Article
 
Interested in submitting an article for one of our upcoming TorontoEntrepreneurs.ca newsletters? Email marc.belaiche@torontojobs.ca for submission guidelines.
 
Have any questions about anything above?  Please contact us at info@torontoentrepreneurs.ca. You can always tweet using #TECONF!
 

 
 
Sincerely,
 
TorontoEntrepreneurs.ca
905-566-5627x2260

Boss bashing is becoming an epidemic


“The average American spends fifteen hours a month criticizing or complaining about their boss.”

–Recent research from DDI

I learned this factoid from Marshall Goldsmith’s book Mojo: How to Get it, How to Keep it, How to Get it Back if You Lose it.  As Marshall explains:  “I initially chose to believe that this research was wrong, but when I conducted a similar study of two hundred employees, my results were exactly the same.”  He elaborates:

Many of us bash the boss at work, after work, even on weekends when our only audiences are our partners or captive family members.  That fifteen hours is more time than Americans devote to watching baseball which suggests that our real national pastime is bashing the boss.

A little bit of boss bashing may be understandable, in the same way that stepping outside to scream at the top of our lungs releases some of our pent-up frustrations.  But whatever therapeutic benefit we derive from this form of complaining is far outweighed by the negatives.

For one thing, it’s not particularly attractive.  Trashing the boss when he or she is not in the room to put up a defense makes even the most eloquent whiner appear small and cowardly.  People wonder why you don’t say it to the boss’s face.  They may also wonder what you are saying about them out of earshot.

It’s futile to critique people who aren’t even in the room.  They can’t hear you talking or respond to what you are saying (although trust me, through boss’s intuition, he or she senses your disdain).  Nothing constructive will come out of it.  You won’t build a better boss with your jibes.  You’ll only tarnish your own reputation, plus risk that the boss may hear about you through office gossip (or overhear you when you think no one’s listening).

More than anything, boss bashing is unproductive.  Imagine what you could accomplish if you dedicated those fifteen hours to something of consequence (like going to night school or being with your family)?

The next time you start to bash the boss, think about what you may be doing to yourself and those around you. If you really have a problem with your boss, talk to him or her about it.  If you feel that you cannot talk with the person, leave.  If you cannot talk with the person, and cannot leave, accept the situation and make the best of it.

Thanks, Marshall, for showing us how better to channel a common work frustration!  Read more on Marshall's website.



Bob Nelson, Ph.D.

President, Nelson Motivation Inc.

Multi-Million Copy Best-selling Author

1501 Ways to Reward Employees



Based in San Diego, California USA
Named as a Top Thought Leader for 2013 by the Best Practice Institute

Emails do not create a fixed-term contract


With the increasing use of email during the recruitment process, it is possible that certain terms of an employment relationship will be first discussed, if not finalized, over email before they are ever (ideally!) put into an employment contract. So, can the items discussed over email constitute terms of employment if they do not make it into an employment contract?

This was the key question in a recent Ontario case.

The facts are brief: the plaintiff was appointed to a position that was understood by the company to be for a temporary period. Three months into the appointment, another individual was appointed to the position on a permanent basis and the plaintiff’s appointment was terminated. The plaintiff sued for, among other things, wrongful dismissal. During the trial, the plaintiff sought to present email evidence setting out pre-contract discussions leading up to the appointment in order to suggest that the contract between him and the company was for a fixed three-year term.  Specifically, he sought to enter into evidence emails in which he committed to a three-year engagement with the company. The company called into question the authenticity of the emails, and their witness, from whom the emails were purportedly sent, denied ever sending the emails to the plaintiff.

Faced with a “he said/she said” situation, the Court’s conclusions were based on credibility. The Court found the plaintiff’s late disclosure of these emails troubling and, coupled with the company’s evidence challenging inconsistencies and errors in the emails, held that the emails were inaccurate. Without the email evidence, the Court concluded that there was no discussion regarding a fixed-term for the contract and thus none existed.

The Court went on to assess the nature of the plaintiff’s services, which it found were contemplated and discussed to be of a temporary nature. The Court went further and held that, based on the fact that the plaintiff invoiced the company for his services, the relationship was that of an independent contractor, disentitling the plaintiff to any reasonable notice of termination.

Had the emails in this case been found to be accurate, they could have been read in as terms of the contract and provided the plaintiff with damages of $262,800 representing the three-year term the plaintiff was claiming. The Court was clear that “correspondence engaged between parties is admissible in evidence regarding the issue of formation of a contract” even where the correspondence is contrary to the employment terms set out in a subsequent contract.

While email correspondence can speed up the recruitment process, it can just as quickly be utilized as a written record against the interests of a company. For this reason, recruiters, human resources professionals and employers in general should exercise caution when relaying proposed terms of a contract to a potential employee online. It should not be assumed that discussions (verbal or via email) prior to the provision of a written employment or independent contractor agreement do not count in defining the relationship between the parties.

Byline:

Parisa Nikfarjam is an employment lawyer with Rubin Thomlinson LLP, a Toronto-based employment law firm. She supports both employee and employer clients with legal counsel in all areas of employment law and workplace human rights. http://www.rubinthomlinson.com/  pnikfarjam@rubinthomlinson.com

Bio:

Parisa Nikfarjam is an employment lawyer with the employment law firm Rubin Thomlinson LLP. Parisa assists clients with challenging workplace issues including: recruitment; accommodation; employee discipline; workplace human rights; workplace harassment and violence; and termination.

 

Register Now: Only 1 Week Remains until the Entrepreneurs Symposium


 
Don't Miss Your Chance to Attend the Toronto Entrepreneurs Conference & TradeshowDon't Miss your Chance to Attend the Toronto Entrepreneurs Conference & Tradeshow
 
 
November 5th, 2014 | Chestnut Convention Centre | In the Heart of Downtown Toronto | Event Time: 7:30am - 5:00pm
Don't Miss your Chance to attend the 2014 Toronto Entrepreneurs Symposium & Tradeshow taking place Downtown Toronto on November 5th, 2014.
Ticket Prices Starting at $15.00.
This year's Symposium will feature an incredible day of networking, interactive seminars & presentations and a Tradeshow area featuring over 30 of the GTA's most innovative organizations.
The Tradeshow area will be open to the general public from 7:30am - 4:00pm
Meet our Speakers:
Marc Belaiche, CPA, CA, President, TorontoJobs.ca
Colin Sprake, President & CEO, Make your Mark
Chris Hokansson, Managing Director, One Red Bird Marketing Inc.
Jonathan Brindley, CPA, CA, President, Liquid Capital
Ann Kaplan, CEO & President of iFinance Canada Inc.
Andrew Peek, Technology Advisor / Investor, Big Tree Capital Partners, LLC
Meet our Afternoon Panelists:
MC / Host:  Mira Sirotic, Senior Advisor of Canada Entrepreneur Organization
Josh Singer, President, Kognitive Marketing
Ryan Austin, Founder & CEO, In.Acuity
Susie Pan, Founder, Science Expo
Hyunbin Lee, Co-Founder & President, DrawSplash
Claudia Harvey, Successful Entrepreneur, Motivational Speaker and Strategic Advisor
For more information visit us online at www.TorontoEntrepreneurs.ca
Register Now to Attend!Register Now!