Recession Oppression = Reputation Opportunities

Change doesn't stop in a recession!

You may already be overwhelmed and oppressed by the amount of change, restructuring and cost-cutting you're going through. But the global recession is only going to exacerbate that!

Is there a silver lining in the cloud? Yes! Where there is danger, change and gloom, there is also opportunity, innovation and transformation.

Where people lose money, people can also make money.

Despite what you see, hear and read, people and companies are thriving and growing in the downturn.

Dictionaries defines 'opportunity' as a favorable or advantageous circumstance or combination of circumstances'.

So the question is, how you can turn what's happening to your advantage? By working on your personal reputation! Remember it's easier to see the light in the dark! Anyone can claim to be a world-beater when the bar is low and everyone is making money.

Not everyone can be seen, noticed and heard when times are dark, gloomy and negative.

Here are four ways to take advantage of oppression of the recession to enhance your reputation:

1. Keep your profile high. if you're still open for business, keep up your writing, your networking, your PR, your marketing to let people know. Make your conversations count with stories of sales made, examples of projects worked on and testimonials of delighted customers.
2. Work on yourself. Downturn = downtime. That means you have extra time when you're not dealing with loads of potential customers beating a path to your door. This time should be spent working on you. Self-development, learning new skills, getting good mentors, reading good books, listening to great audio courses...all will make you better. Forget where you are now - what kind of a state do you want to be in when all this is over?
3. Be 'extra open' to ideas. When times are tough, it's a perfect window to be more open to various joint ventures, alliances, co-operatives, initiatives and partnerships. So do a lot more exploring with people that serve your target market but doing something different to you. What could you do with others that you couldn't do alone. Even your competition may provide a partnership opportunity for you - it's you and them against your target market!
4. Change what you sell and how you sell it. You've done okay in the good times - most people do. But now is the time to be better and different! How can you change, beef up or modify you proposition, both as an individual and as a company, to make you more attractive and more compelling? There is no better time to do it than now!

Seven Reputational Recession Busting Tips!

My friend Andy Todd said this today:

"1 in 8 people do better out of a recession. If you work out how the ‘1’ does it you’ll do better. If we all work out what ‘1’ does…. No more recession."

Put another way, you have to make sure you're doing the things the next 7 people around you are not doing.

Seven is a great number. It's a magic number! So here are seven top tips to busting this recession:

1. Trim your network. Some of the relationships you have now are holding you back. In fact, many of them have landed you in the mess you're in. You must move on! To do that, you need to trim the fat of the old network. Get rid of some deadwood. Let some of those losers, wasters, tyre-kickers and nobodys go!
2. Rebuild your network. To move onwards, upwards and to the next level, you need a higher level network. How can you network at a higher level? You need some door-openers. Some influencers. Some marquee clients and contacts who can introduce you to their higher level contacts.
3. Exploit your network. Ask for help. Be more open to alliances, joint ventures, exploring mutually beneficial opportunities. Reach out to new people. Rekindle relationships with older contacts and see what brought you together in the first place. Go to people you like and trust, and ask this question: "could we be doing business together?"
4. Define your reputation. What do you want to be known for? By whom? You can be anything but you can't be everything. You can be loved and revered by someone but not by everyone. Set your sail and decide what you want to be the 'go to choice and trusted voice' for. Once you do that, charting your course is easier and more likely to get you to your destination.
5. Raise your profile. Get yourself known. Put yourself out there! As I often say, "it ain't no good being the best kept secret in the world!". The strategy for survival is visiblity. Get your head up and get you, your personal brand, your insight, your thoughts, your products and services, your advocates - get them all out there!
6. Apply your learning. Believe it or not, you already know 95% of all the thing you need to know to be successful. Being a millionaire, a record-breaker, the top of your tree... it's all within you now. So what's missing? Application of your knowledge. You don't do the things you know you should do!
7. Be courageous. Nobody's pretending this is going to be an easy ride. Nobody's saying it'll be over in a few weeks. This is tough stuff. It's not a time or a place for the faint-hearted. If you've got a faith, press in. If you've got a belief, keep feeding it. Have courage!
   

There you go. Seven tips to ensure you're not the unluck seven people out of eight who will struggle and perhaps fail in this recession. Now will you apply any of them?

Professional Development = Strong Reputation

Anyone can be successful when times are good. Anyone can look good when the mood is great. It only takes an average person to make an above average living when everyone is making money.

The problem with that is that it's hard for you to stand out. In the daytime you can't see the lighthouse!

When times are tough, it's actually easier to stand out. Greatness shines through the gloom and mediocrity. How do you do that? Here are four ways using the wisdom of business philospher Jim Rohn.

1. Develop Yourself Professionally. As Jim Rohn says, 'The book you don't read won't help!' You've got to read, listen to audio cds, mp3s and podcasts. Immerse yourself in learning.
2. Welcome Problems. They make you better! Back to Jim: 'To solve any problem, here are three questions to ask yourself: First, what could I do? Second, what could I read? And third, who could I ask?'
3. Chase the Right Things. It's not about the money. It's about the things and the people you spend time on. That's what builds a compelling, authentic reputation. Jim says: 'Time is more value than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.'
4. Have a 'Can-Do' Attitude. Bad times will cripple some people. They'll demoralise others. But you can shine through if you actually try more things, take more risks adn open yourself up to more opportunities. Over to Jim: 'The worst thing one can do is not to try, to be aware of what one wants and not give in to it, to spend years in silent hurt wondering if something could have materialized - never knowing.'

If your competition can out-learn you, they can out-compete you. Professional development is your key to a professional reputation, especially in these tough times.

Depending on how you intend to make yourself the number one choice for what you do, I can help coach you to build an authentic, magnetic reputation!

Email Rob for an informal chat through how a coaching arrangement might work for you...

Reputation: Reality vs Perception

"I think you have to have core skill first. No point in setting yourself up as a brain surgeon without the skill to operate. Results speak volumes and whilst reputation can be built on thin air, it's a bit like that biblical chap who built his house on sand - no longevity." Ian Davison

Why a Reputation Cuts Through Competition

If you have competitors, my message to you is clear. All business is personal.

Even the biggest deals, orders, projects, funds, sales and contracts come down to two or more people making a connection.

If your ‘profit’ is more influence, respect, clients, support, challenge, reputation or excitement, you must go through other people to get it.

Your reputation and standing with these people is vital to your success.

Your reputation is your personal share price on the individual stock market of business.

It's the opinion others have of you. It's what they're saying behind your back. It's all that's left of you when you've gone and they're holding your business card wondering what to do next.

If you understand relationships, you'll begin to understand reputation.

RELATIONSHIPS = REPUTATION

Challenging times call for challenging strategies! While tough times come and go, tough people remain, which is why you need to work on the four things your competitors cannot duplicate or replicate:

1. Yourself.
2. Your reputation.
3. Your network.
4. Your relationships.

Now for a plug, just in case you don't quite know what I do when I'm not writing my blog!

My dynamic, motivational presentations, unique insight and energetic style will give you nuggets of instantly usable tips, scripts and strategies to help you mine the richest resources you have – your relationships and your reputation with others!

Call me on +44 (0) 115 846 2127 or email Rob if I can help you in any way.

Good Reputations Are Built in Bad Times!

They say tough times come and go, but tough people stay!

It's easy to build a GOOD reputation when times are good. But it's harder to build a GREAT reputation!

When times are good, business is easy and you don't have to be too clever, too good or too signposted to do well. In short, the bar is lower.

When times are tough, business is hard, and you can't afford to lie back and wait for it to all blow over. Here are five reasons why you should build your reputation in the rough and tough times:

1. A bright light shines through darkness. When it's light all around, it's hard to stand out. When the outlook is darker, you shine through like a ray of hope through a sea of gloomy mediocrity!
2. You come out faster. Working on your skills and your good name means the recession ends sooner for you than everyone else.
   
3. You come out stronger and better. The personal and professional development you undergo in tough times makes you stronger and further ahead than your competition.
   
4. You steal market share. While everyone else is floundering, waiting and dawdling, you can attract a decent share of your competitor's business by simply being 'out there' and open for business.
   
5. You maximise your time. Most people are filling their 'down-time' with admin tasks while the market is quiet. Not you! You're working on your relationships, your reputation and yourself!

Whether you read my books and pocket guides, or somebody else's, your discipline will give you a seriously strong platform of networking and professional development on which to raise your game.

Sow seeds of training, development and learning NOW while you have the time. Sink time into reputation and relationship building strategies NOW while you have the space.

When the good times come back around, you'll be overflowing with opportunities, not scrambling to gain a foothold in the rush, like everyone else.

Top Reputation Tips for Tough Times

It seems hardly anyone in business is immune to what's happening in the world today.

Author Neil Devine was recently telling me how he likes the recession:

"When everything is sunny, it's hard to see the light from individuals. However when it gets dark, people start looking for those who shine."

Having written the bestselling book How to Build Your Reputation, I know there is no better time for action than a global recession. The light shines through!

With a huge number of job losses, career realignment, vulnerability and saturation of talent in the labour force, you need to leverage the FOUR things your competition cannot duplicate or replicate:

1. YOU!
2. YOUR NETWORK!
3. YOUR REPUTATION!
4. YOUR RELATIONSHIPS!
   

That means:

• Defining your personal value proposition
• Crafting your personal brand
  
• Positioning yourself properly with the right stakeholders, markets and influencers
• Raising your profile with strategic networking
• Building high-trust relationships with the right people
• Networking a level above what you currently need
• Planning the job after your next job NOW!
  
• Making yourself the obvious and standout choice for what you do.

If you're not thinking of these things, you're either dumb, complacent, immune or ignorant. Take your pick!

I'm certainly working through these things. I'm not immune. What I do is brilliant! But it's a discretionary spend.

So I'm giving people reasons to choose me, book me, talk to me, engage me, pay me and at the very least, not forget me.

If you want to set up a coaching call with me for NO FEE so you can talk through your challenges and get my insight on them, there is a way!

Email me and I'll tell you how.