Magic in Manhattan

Posted on June 18, 2015 by MarleneMB

Buckets of rain kept pouring down as we drove through the streets of Manhattan. My nephew maneuvered in and around the traffic to get me to my book signing event at Sister’s Uptown Bookstore. He was determined to get me there on-time for my “Special Event” as he called it.

The torrential rain was just another obstacle I had to face on Tuesday. The day started with me arriving at the airport only to be told that my flight. This was cancelled due to some difficulties at the arriving airport. My heart almost stopped! I told the valet that there is no way I will miss getting to New York that day. I had my book signing after all. He instructed me to go to the main reservation desk.

Wheeling my bags frantically and praying unceasingly, I found one of the JetBlue personnel who directed me to the front of a line. She told me someone would be able to help me. When I approached the counter the young man said there is a seat available at the same time to JFK instead of Westchester, my original destination. I told him I would take it. A little over an hour later I was on my way to New York.

Knowing that I made it to NYC on-time gave me the strength I needed to be optimistic that folks will turn out for the book signing despite the rain. This faith proved to be true. When we walked into the store, I was greeted by one of my sorority sisters. She came all the way from Sheepshead Bay to support me. This was more than an hours ride on the train.

Not long after, others turned out for the event. My heart was filled with joy as my friends and family came out to support me. I saw folks I hadn’t seen in years, including my brother that lives in the United Kingdom. This will be one of my favorite moments in this journey called “Life!”

If you are faced with obstacles today, here is what I recommend:

Don’t give up.
Take a deep breath and believe that it will work out.
Have faith in yourself that you are strong enough to handle it.
Enlist the aid of others that will take some of the burden off you.
Push forward and see the magic unfold.

It was a thrill to be able to conduct one of my book signing in one of the few books stores left in Harlem. I am so grateful to the owner, Jenifar (I even like the way she spells her name), and her assistant in being such wonderful hosts. If you are in Harlem, check them out at 1942 Amsterdam Ave. They were a part of my Magic in Manhattan.

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Marlene M. Bryan is a Distinguished Toastmaster, DTM. She is a certified speaker and leader by Toastmasters International. She is currently the District 47 Public Relations Officer, and leader of the Public Relations Team. She provides her services to over 3800 members throughout the district. Marlene is the owner of Marlene M. Bryan, Corp and Small Biz Evolution, LLC. She is a speaker, an author, and a coach.

Open for Business – 5 Tips for Starting Your Own Business

Posted on February 4, 2015 by MarleneMB

Have you ever dreamed that you would do something that made a difference? So did I. One of my aspirations was to start and operate my own business. I had a stable 9-5 job but lacked fulfillment and wanted to pursue my DREAM! How about you, do you desire to have your own BUSINESS? If yes, the following are some tips to help you on your way!

The Internet has lots of information about starting your own business. Perhaps too much. As you search you find that the rules vary from state to state, province to province, country to country. It can all be overwhelming.

Here are some basic steps that I find work for me after starting a few businesses or helping others to start theirs:

1) Choose the Right Name: Creating the right name for your business is one of the basic steps for creating a successful Brand Name that others can easily associate your business for its expertise, products and services. If your business is part of an established industry, I suggest that you include something about your offering in the name of your business.

For example, if your target market is small businesses, you may want to include something about small business or some word associated with small business in your company name.

In an episode of the CNBC series “Profit,” one of the companies featured was called “Green Tea.” Most people polled thought the company was selling tea. It was actually an ice cream company. This didn’t cause the business to fail, but it may have slowed the growth because of the lack of name association to the product it was offering.

2) Corporate Structure: Structuring your corporation requires a little more thought and homework; if you are not familiar with setting up a company. Deciding whether your company will be a sole proprietorship, S-Corp, C-Corp, Limited Liability Corp, etc. is very important for not only decision making process, but taxation purposes, liabilities and any future sale of the company.

The rules surrounding these various types of corporate structures are different based upon where the company is established. In Florida, the definition of the Managing Member of a Limited Liability Corporation has been modified with huge implication on who has the authority to make decision in such entities. Do your homework and/or consult with a corporate attorney to help you understand the rules.

3) Virtual Presence: Today, if you are do not have a virtual presence (website, social media page, etc.), most folks, at least in the USA, would question your business validity. If you are reading this article, I presume that you are in an area where people have access to the Internet.

Having a virtual presence will help you reach an audience outside of your local area, if this is one of your goals as an entrepreneur. It gives you the appearance of being an established company just like the larger corporation. It gives you access to a wider marketplace with more buying power.

4) Brand It: When you think about your company name also think about things such as:

What should the company Logo be?
What are the color schemes for the Logo?
How about the company other marketing materials and virtual sites?
What should your tag line be?
What do you want your company to be known as or for?

Create marketing materials that support these aspects of your business. Include them on your business cards, virtual cards, brochures, letterheads, videos, podcasts, etc. You don’t have to do all of these, but even if it is only your business card, make it count. Brand your business to standout from the crowd.

5) Give It A Heart: In your Vision, Mission and Values statements, give your company a heart. I call these three your companies Heart Statements. Put the things that you envision your clients would experience from purchasing your products, services and ultimately you and your employees! Then live this heart. Don’t just state it. Live it.

I find that I am willing to purchase from companies that live their Heart Statements. There are arguments abounding whether a corporation is a person or a thing. I won’t get into them. My views about it is that someone creates a product or offers a service for another person to purchase and use. When a company makes it all about the money and nothing else, I’m not willing to share my hard-earned dollars with this type of business. Many of my friends and colleagues feel the same way. Again, give it a Heart by offering products and services that benefit others.

I hope these tips help to guide you in your steps towards becoming an entrepreneur. There are more to these as you may expect. Take it one step at a time and before you know it, you can hang the “Open for Business” sign literally, figuratively and virtually!

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Great Leaders Need Great Coaches

Posted on November 24, 2014 by MarleneMB

Do you want to be a great leader? Include great mentors and coaches in your life. Having mentors and coaches that can sharpen your leadership skills is imperative in your growth. I had two great coaches, Pete Fasulo and Russell (Russ) Remy, early in my sales career. Their titles may have been trainers, but they were truly two of my best coaches, my Diamond Cutters. The lessons they taught me helped me as a manager and a leader.

Pete Fasulo was my very first sales coach. When I started my two-weeks of training as a telemarketer at Sprint, I had no idea what telecommunications entailed. Pete bounced into the training room with so much energy and a big smile on his face. He immediately captivated us, his trainees. He skillfully took a subject that is technical and at times boring and made it exciting to learn. Pete also taught us how to be successful at selling a product over the phone.

Here are a few pointers I got from Pete:

Telemarketing sales is an art – Be polite, be confident not rude.
Put a smile on your face – People can hear you smiling on the phone. I kept a mirror at my desk to remind me to smile before I dialed.
Give them value – You’ve got to give them a reason to listen to you or they will hang up the phone.
Learn to listen well – By listening to your potential client you will hear her objections; then, respond to each objection with your product knowledge.
Don’t take it personal – If someone says no or hangs up the phone, shake it off. It is not a personal matter. Move to the next call. The more “No’s” you get, the closer you get to a “Yes.”

Pete’s instructions to us, helped me to realize that although sales is a numbers game (there is no magic in sales) being personable, being emphatic towards the client, belief in myself and the products and services I sell are parts of being a successful sales person. The first day I stepped onto the sales floor, I made a sale using Pete’s methods. In fact, his tutelage allowed me to be successful enough to get a promotion with a higher salary into another department!

While Pete was a bundle of energy, Russell Remy was a easy going trainer that had a quick sense of humor that disarmed you. Russ was my trainer when I started at MCI as a Customer Support Consultant. My duties included providing customer service to existing clients and up-selling them more products and services. I met with these clients mostly on a face to face basis. This required different skills than being a telemarketer.

Russ shared with the group the importance of learning good body language. Your body language says more than you thing. Good body language starts with how we behave in the sitting area while waiting to meet with the client. Russ demonstrated the proper way to shake hands with our clients. He videotaped our interaction with mock clients and then had us review the videos. Russ instructed us on what we did correctly and what we needed to improve upon. He also showed us how to read our clients’ body language.

Russ taught us about the products and services that we needed to master in order to be effective at our jobs. Russ included the LEAR (Listen, Explore, Acknowledge and Respond) method as a part of the training program.

This is what Russ taught us about the LEAR method:

Listen – Don’t just walk into the client’s office and start speaking. Let him tell you about the company, his role in the company and the goals that he has to meet.
Explore – Learn to ask probing questions and genuinely listen to your client. Ask permission to write the answers down before you start to write.
Acknowledge – Let her know that you hear her. Repeat what she tells you. This will give her the opportunity to clarify any misunderstanding at this point.
Respond – This is the time that you would share how your company’s products and/or services that meet the requirements of your client.

These are just a few of the beneficial information that helped me in my leadership roles. I believe one of the best take aways I got from Russ is to FOLLOW UP! While you are with the client ask for the next appointment. Strike while the iron is hot. When you get back to the office, follow up with an email – give a recap of the meeting. Often time, your client will welcome this. Not many people use follow up as a tool to help them gain and retain customers. This will give you a great edge against your competitors.

By adhering to Russ’s guidance, I went out and upgraded quite a number of my clients on a new product the company was offering. I did so well that I won a contest I didn’t even know the company was conducting. My mother called me at work wondering why MCI sent me a big SONY television. I asked my manager about it. She said I was the top Customer Service Consultant for the quarter. The TV was one of my rewards.

To say that I appreciate the lessons Pete Fasulo and Russell Remy taught me is beyond words. These coaches imprinted their knowledge and talents on me. After the training sessions ended, they continued to be accessible for me to ask questions. They were always pleasant and patient with me. In this week of Thanksgiving, I am truly thankful that they were a part of my development as a leader. Thank you Pete and Russell for being two of my best Diamond Cutters!

As mentioned above, great leaders need to include great mentors and coaches in their lives. If you have great mentors or coaches, appreciate them. Learn from them. Most importantly apply the lessons they teach you.

If you don’t have a mentor or coach, learn about finding great ones. Pick up a copy of my book Live a Diamond Life, A Life of Purpose: Diamond Cutters.

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Until next time, keep Living a Diamond Life with much gratitude on Invincible Monday!

Wisdom Wednesday – Leadership by Fear

Posted on November 12, 2014 by MarleneMB

“The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.” ~ Kenneth Blanchard

Have you ever had a leader that led by fear? Throughout my career, I encountered a few managers/leaders that led their teams by bullying, screaming and intimidation. What I observed is that the results were not positive ones.

Some of the team members would lie to them. They would say what the leader wanted to hear. Instead of telling the truth, they fabricated stories in order to avoid the backlash from this person. Or the team member would not go above and beyond what was required of him or her. He would simple do just enough to keep his job. This often resulted in poor performance of the team, marginal productivity and sometimes low sales results.

Fortunately for me, these types of supposed leaders were few and far between. A majority of the leaders I had the pleasure of working with allowed their employees/followers to grow. These leaders:

1) Shared the visions and goals of the teams

2) Outlined roles and responsibilities of each team member

3) Encouraged them to think outside the box

4) Showed them respect

5) Empowered them to get the job done

One of my managers/mentors led us in this fashion. The results he got were: team members were willing to work longer if necessary; helped other team members to get the tasks done; were more loyal to the manager and the company.

The managers/leaders that by fear often fell from grace. They were either fired or demoted, because of the bad results they attained from using intimidation instead of positive influence.

Many of us are called to lead. Practice using your power of persuasion, sharing your vision and empowering your followers to reach new heights. This is part of Living a Diamond Life, a Life of Purpose on Wisdom Wednesday.

Get your copy of Live a Diamond Life, Live a Life of Purpose: Diamond Cutters, today. Find out how my mentors and coaches helped me to be a better person, and how to apply these principles to your life.

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Wisdom Wednesday – Consistency

Posted on October 15, 2014 by MarleneMB

“It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. It’s what we do consistently.” ~ Anthony Robbins

Good or bad what you consistently do or think plays a big part in where you are today. Recognizing that I have to consistently eat the right food and perform the right exercises will would lead to a healthier life, moved me to be consistent about developing these habits.

Knowing that if I wanted to increase my income, I had to make more phone calls, knock on more doors as a sales representative in Corporate America. This resulted in my earning a 6-figure paycheck and awards for my efforts. Anthony Robbins statement above rings true in many situations.

Consistency helps to form our habits. Here is what I recommend:

1. Assess what you are doing that works well for you, keep doing it.

2. Recognize what isn’t working and drop that habit and/or thought.

3. Learn what the successful folks in your field are consistently doing to help them achieve their successes.

4. Determine whether this will work for you also. If it does go for it.

Sometimes you may break being consistent, don’t beat yourself up…just start again.

While developing consistency remember to stay true to yourself and your purpose. Use consistency to take you to the top of Living your Diamond Life…Your life of Purpose.

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