October 11, 2007

Reality TV Myth Revealed... How My Greatest Failures Have
Led to My Greatest Successes... The Value of Trust; Part 2...
More Tips for a Well-Oiled Money Machine... and More.

** Reality TV Myth Revealed
By Adrian Newman, Founder of e-Wealth Daily

Recently, I was chatting with a friend of mine who was involved in a reality TV show.

We talked about the whole phenomenon and how it is still the most popular form of programming on television. She talked about her experience and some future projects she was working on.

Finally, she said, “95% of the content in a reality show is either scripted or staged for content.”

Now the fact that some of the content was staged didn’t come as a complete shock to me. What did come as a shock was that 95% of it was bogus.

So, I asked another friend of mine whose brother is on a well-known reality show. She confirmed everything, from the fact that there are script meetings prior to shooting to the fact that the participants, while using their real names and vocations, are essentially playing characters.

Heck, she even revealed that the location of the show isn’t even where it implies it is.

So do these scripted moments in reality TV make it less appealing to the viewer? Well, the simple answer is no and it’s the same premise in marketing either yourself or your new business.

You see, it’s the basic marketing concept of “selling the sizzle.”

Let’s face facts: Reality is boring. And if you were to watch reality TV that didn’t have some sort of script or planned outcome, the genre would have gone the way of the dodo bird by now.

So you have to sprinkle in a little excitement. And that’s a basic marketing tool. I mean if you drink a certain brand of beer, are you going to be surrounded by beautiful women all the time? Or what difference does it make to you if Tiger Woods, Jimmy Kimmel or Kelly Ripa drives a vehicle with “OnStar?” Do you honestly think that your floors will shine that bright if you clean them with “Mr. Clean?”

Every business needs to market itself in the best possible light. They accentuate the positives and eliminate the negatives.

It’s not deception; they’re not misrepresenting themselves. What they are doing is creating an attractive scenario that will appeal to your senses.

The best example of this is in print advertising. Next time you see a clothing, jewelry or perfume ad in a magazine, look at the model. Are they your average Joe or Jane? Not likely.

Or take a look at a food advertisement. Chances are good the food used in the photo shoot is either fake or not what it appears to be (did you know when advertising ice cream, they substitute it with mashed potatoes? They don’t melt under the lights!)

Like I said, it’s not deception, it’s promoting the positives.

So if you’re advertising your business or going to a job interview or looking for a bank loan, remember to put your best foot forward, hide your warts (although disclose them if asked or necessary) and market yourself in the brightest light possible.

You’ll be able to get the response you’re looking for.

To many people, the words “rejection” and “failure” have many negative connotations attached to them.

It can mean losing a job, a sale, the chance at a salary increase, or going bankrupt. It can result in feelings of frustration or perhaps not being able to provide well enough for the people you love. It can be a vicious cycle for some people. They get discouraged by something and this starts a cycle of disappointment in their life. Their outlook on everything turns negative.

To others, failure can mean something quite different. It can mean a second chance and a new beginning. It is an opportunity to redo something, to try again, and perhaps take their lives to a whole new level.

Now, while I am not entirely sure how you view rejection and disappointment, I do know this:

How you look at the failure and frustrations that will inevitably come your way will determine your success at dealing with them.

If you view your failures as the end of something, then they will be just that for you. If you simply view failure as a setback, then that is exactly what it will be, a minor setback.

The truth is that nobody ever wants to fail — nobody ever sets out with an end goal of not succeeding. Not to mention, every single person hates to be rejected — no matter what they are being rejected for, be it a loan, a grant, a job, or a date. Rejection hurts, plain and simple.

Getting turned down for something can not only leave you feeling inadequate, but it can also add a pretty serious blow to both your ego and your self-esteem. But, this is only true if you let it. It is up to you to decide just how rejection or a setback will affect your life.

On Monday, I’ll tell you about my own personal story of rejection and how it changed my life forever.

** The Value of Trust; Part 2
By John Hurd, Chief Wealth Researcher

Yesterday, I told you about an interesting new policy adopted by a grocery store chain in Norway.

In case you missed the article, this chain of grocery stores is now offering a no-questions-asked refund policy on everything they sell. Sure, clothing retailers and bookstores have been doing this for years. But most people wouldn’t even think that you could return a bruised apple.

What this chain is doing is attempting to create a relationship with their existing customers by having a unique service not offered by their competition. Only time will tell if this works for them and they keep customers coming back week after week.

Today, I’ll expand on how you can help build trust in both your customers and your other business relationships.

We all know that trust is a very valuable asset to have. Many of us won’t set foot in a store we don’t trust and would never make a large purchase from someone we feel isn’t trustworthy.

I’ve seen colleagues walk away from seemingly incredible deals. All they had to say to me was, “I just don’t trust them,” and everything else didn’t matter.

Why then do we value trust so much? I’d say it’s most likely because of an experience we had early on. Someone who we thought was looking out for our best interests may have done us wrong. This could have been something we experienced trading cards on the playground or maybe with the first used car we purchased.

It’s hard to forget the sting of feeling “ripped off” and that makes us become a little more cautious in the future.

So what then can we do to show other people that we are worthy of their trust? Here are three things I always do that could help you build trust right away:

** More Tips for a Well-Oiled Money Machine
By Michael Newman, the "Money Finder"

Yesterday, I wrote about the importance of having the people working with you all on the same page, focused on the same goals. Today, I’m going to talk about something that works in with that topic.

When you’re working with others, you want to make sure that they are reliable. If they aren’t, it can have detrimental effects on your business and your reputation.

Sometimes, nothing is worse than working with a computer that has erratic behavior. I’ve been there many of times. I’ll be sitting at a computer updating my records and drafting a letter and it just shuts off on me. That’s it. All my hard work is gone and I can’t do a thing about it. Of course I try to save my work as often as possible, but I usually end up having to repeat something I’ve already done when it happens; and it’s so frustrating. I often have to restrain myself from throwing the monitor against the wall!

Well, when a computer isn’t reliable, all is not lost. However, when you’ve got a partner or a colleague that consistently fails to live up to their end of the bargain, you’ve got to figuratively throw them against the wall. Meaning, you should stop working with them.

If someone is unreliable, they can consistently leave you doing extra work — work that you shouldn’t have to worry about — and risk your reputation as a good businessperson. Failing to deliver on promises in business is essentially the equivalent of digging your own grave. So be sure the company you keep is trustworthy, hard-working and reliable.

If they aren’t, try talking to them about the importance of keeping promises and accomplishing the tasks they say they will. If you find yourself having the same conversation again and again, let the person go or discontinue a business relationship with them.

Of course, it’s always easy to point the finger at someone else, but you have to make sure that you are in fact a reliable businessperson. If you’ve found yourself missing deadlines or coming up short, you will be hurting yourself.

To become more reliable, start setting attainable goals. Recognizing how long it takes you to accomplish a task and scheduling around it can help with your goal setting. Also, don’t make promises you can’t keep. When you do this, it weakens your reputation and lessens the faith other have in you.

If you want success in the business world, you must be reliable. You must be able to adequately fulfill the needs of your customers on deadline and do your best to ensure they will repeat as customers. By doing this, you will gain a good reputation and have the potential to build a strong business.