#76 - Want to Give Your Team Perspective and Appreciation for Each Other? Try Role Swapping.

Think about your team and the roles each person plays. Does everyone fully understand what each others’ responsibilities are and the unique pressures, time, and skills they entail? Is there any mystery, uncertainty, or even (eek) jealousy between the team members? Perhaps switching things up will offer some perspective, understanding, and mutual appreciation amongst your team.

Role swapping can take many different forms, and you’ll need to give it some thought to make it work for your company. It most likely will never take the form of a complete job switch, but something more like a single assignment, a couple of hours, or a full day of new responsibilities. You could make it subtle or a full blown team building activity.

Not only will this help all of your employees understand and appreciate the various moving parts of the company, but it could also spark innovation and offer a fresh perspective on how things work and possibly bring big improvements.

Have you done this before? Let us know about any ideas or results in the comments.

#75 You can either talk to or listen to your clients. We recommend learning to listen; otherwise, there will be nothing to talk about.

We spend so much time preparing to talk. We plan to wow our clients with our brilliance, stories of our qualifications, case studies, images of our earth shattering portfolio, and the list goes on. But in preparing your presentation, did you allocate time for listening? I mean really listening. Have you researched questions to help you have a meaningful conversation? One that allows you to learn about your client and give them the opportunity to talk – so you can listen?

By asking the right questions and carefully listening to the answers, you can gain the trust of your clients. Clients want to feel like you are someone with whom they can share their story. And if they do, you will be a keeper of that story – one who is not only trusted with it, but also responsible for telling its next chapters.

But telling the right story is key. The right story will connect your client with his or her potential customers. The wrong story will alienate them. So how do you know the difference? It comes down to taking the time to getting to know your client. So next time, before the meeting, make some observations and ask some questions. Then put down the pen and just listen. And when you are done with the meeting, ask if there are any other things they want to ask you or tell you. This is a discipline, only to reach full potential and power once it has been practiced and turned into a natural part of how you interact.

For a further tip of hot to foster great communication, see a little tip from the one and only Ken.

So is this you? Are you only sort of listening? What do you do to listen to your clients?

#74 Don’t dread the cold call; own it by being prepared, strategic and ready to promote yourself. It’s an opportunity. Get ready to nail it.

The next several tips will talk about those things we all hate to do or tend to avoid. The one we are focusing on today is the dreaded cold call. First things first: if you are just calling companies with no plan in mind, STOP. You are wasting time. Cold calls are your lowest percentage of new business, so you have to be prepared. Here are some simple tips:

1. Do your research - See if they are a client that you are interested in. Do they seem to appreciate creative, or do they need a lot of help? Either way, is there an area you can capitalize on and show your experience? Like their web, social media, or upcoming tradeshow?

2. Have reasonable expectations - You are not going to “close the sale” on the phone. What you want to do is get a chance for a meeting in person or some sort of follow up. Focus on getting a meeting. Statistically it takes the majority of us five or more points of contact to get a project (if there is one). Don’t get discouraged.

3. Be ready with your calendar - Be prepped with days and times you are available to meet, and always be ready to jump on an opportunity.

4. Gatekeepers are your amigos - Too often I hear of people trying to do battle with someone’s gatekeeper. Remember, though, they are called gatekeepers for a reason…have good manners and be honest with them. Being professional with a sprinkle of charm usually gets you some great feedback and the information needed to get to the next level.

5. The greeting of success - Have an opening statement ready. Practice it as many times as it takes for it to sound natural. Think about what they may be looking for and have information that reflects the research you have done. In your prep time, think about any questions or objections they may have, and be ready to answer.

These are just a few cold calling thoughts - what are some of your tips? Any horror stories or success stories you want to share?

#73 If you’re not sketching enough, start collecting images or ideas on your phone. Visual reminders are just as important.

I’ve sketched or doodled as long as I can remember. But, as the busyness of  life, work, etc. has built up, my sketching has decreased. I have always felt very strongly that nothing is better then pen to paper, and when I don’t have time to sketch, I get frustrated.

But then along came the iPhone. I never thought I would use a camera phone. It has decent resolution but is often blurry, lacking a flash for low-light scenes. However, as I started taking shots to remember well-designed stuff, funny scenes, and various people or places that inspired me, I found myself stockpiling mounds of inspiration. And then I realized that it wasn’t just a resource, but a visual sketching of sorts.

So, if you get bummed out that you don’t sketch more, buy some cool photo apps, shoot whatever you can, and have fun with them. It still doesn’t bring me the same feeling as when I can actually sketch, but it is equally as cool in a different way. Here are some apps we are currently digging:

ShakeIt Photo: shakeitphoto.com
CrossProcess: crossprocessapp.com

There are also some great sketching apps that you can get crazy with if you do have some time or don’t have paper nearby. Plus with the new iPad coming out, it makes apps like brushes even more exciting to try. Go to this site and see what can be done with brushes - pretty amazing.

Brushes: brushesapp.com

What are your favorite photo habits, apps, or other ways to capture inspiration?

#72 Want to be better at conversations or more interesting in meetings? How to talk about things other than the weather.

Not everyone is a great conversationalist, and even the best have a tough day now and then. Plus, we’ve all had a client that is challenging to talk to. So, what sort of things can you do to make better conversation? Here are four ideas:

1) Be interesting by doing interesting things
“Interesting” can be simple or complex. Great conversations can come from things as simple as going to a gallery opening, book reading, or going to a concert. Or for more extreme conversation topics, try running a marathon or sky diving, running with the bulls, or inventing the next great micro brew - I think you get the idea. Talk about, blog about, and share your interesting experiences.

2) Talk to yourself first
Sometimes I go though the steps of an upcoming meeting in my office or in the car. I work through possible questions that may arise or topics I can bring up if there is a lull. This exercise helps me visualize my presentation as a whole as well as prepare for any surprises that come to light. Doing this makes me more comfortable, which makes my presentation go better and keeps the conversation flowing throughout the entire meeting.

3) Read interesting stuff
I have found that my conversations with clients, or anyone in general, improve when I set time aside to read. It doesn’t have to just be books. Read up on your favorite blogs or magazines, and suddenly you’ll have a lot more to talk about. Plus, being up on current trends, technologies, etc. has led me to more work as it results in deeper conversations and better relationships.

4) Do your homework
Nothing beats research before a meeting. Reviewing your clients’ materials, their competition, or learning a little about their industry simply adds to the understanding and depth a meeting can have. Sure, this is a no-brainer. But if you are like me, it’s easy to lose track of time and never get around to doing it. With the ability to Google anything, getting the latest about your client’s industry or company is easy, so make sure it doesn’t get brushed aside.

So, what do you do to interact better with your clients?

#71 Busy or bad day? Like Grandpa said, your response is your responsibility.

Your Grandpa may not have said that to you, but it’s true. All too often we get going so fast that we tend to not see too far past ourselves. This often leads to us being a bit short, forgetful, or just obviously not present in a conversation or meeting. If you are having a crazy or even a bad day, YOU are in control of how that affects your interactions, whether they be with co-workers, clients, strangers, family or the FedEx guy. Does it really take that much extra energy to smile, write a simple greeting with your message, take a breath or be cordial? On the flip side, if you don’t take the time to be polite, the damage control could be way harder to deal with.

We are all guilty of this from time to time, so here are three things to think about:

1) At work, tell your co-workers if you are stressed out or having a bad day, mainly so your bad juju doesn’t mess with the environment and people know you’re aware of your ‘tude. Oftentimes, letting people know helps you relax and get over what’s bugging you.

2) Even if you are in a hurry, you have time to add a friendly greeting or signature to your emails. In fact, you could make a couple templatized greetings or signatures to help you stay in the green.

3) Smile. Look at someone in the eyes. Put your iPhone away. Just take a minute to really listen, hear and cordially respond back.

I’m not saying you can’t have a bad day, but treating others with respect is always the right thing to do.

#70 Today, stop and look at something differently.

Everyday we wake up, hit the snooze, workout…well, maybe…and make our way to our job. We go through whatever routine gets us going in the morning. Tea, coffee, check the email, and so on. We may have had this routine for several months or several years. So my question is, when is the last time you switched things up? Taken a different way to work? Went in early, or late (or on time)? Switched from coffee to tea, had pie for breakfast, pulled over to watch the sunrise?

If we think about it, routine permeates our lives. Sure, we may have crazy schedules that change from day to day, but we’ve developed certain ways of responding that have become habits. Maybe trying something new would change our the way we live and work for the better. Do you ever look at your work upside down?

Try these things for a new view: dust off your sketchbook. Or, sketch with crayons instead of pen or pencil. Actually take a lunch. (Some of you may, and for that you get a high five.) Share a project with someone. Take a walk. Work at Starbucks for a part of the day. Or, to look at your day upside down in a literal sense, lay on the floor to sketch or brainstorm. By doing these things, you’ll get an outsider’s view on your work life, and you’ll see much more clearly how you can improve things.

For starters, try this exercise. we will be posting more like this, so stay tuned!

It looks like a scribble. With a blank piece of paper and a pen or pencil, close your eyes and scribble all over the paper. Make the scribble as random as possible and scribble for as long or as little as you like. Open your eyes and look at what is on the paper. Now comes the fun part! Turn that scribble into something recognizable. Look at the positive AND negative space. Identify the shapes within the shapes. Recognize repeating patterns. Use you imagination and have fun! Thanks to pal Stefan Mumaw for exercise help - see more here.

What do you do to switch things up? We want to hear.

#69 Have you done a personal inventory lately? Have you asked if there is something you want to do, change or learn? What is stopping you?

We think the hardest thing to do is the strive for balance: balance of your time, desires, dreams, work, friends, family, and the list goes on. In the day-to-day onslaught of life, it can be hard to even think clearly enough to see where you can improve. The sheer fact of the matter is that nothing will improve, though, unless you take some personal time to look at your life make a list of things that you would like to learn, change, or add.

Set aside some time this week to make your list. We recommend writing it down so you can visually see what you feel you’re missing. Then you can take a realistic look at those items and see how hard they would be to integrate into your life. Some may be be easier than you think to incorporate, while for others you may need to make some tough decisions. For those, you’ll definitely need to work out a plan for change, but in the end it will be worth it.

We tweeted recently ” The future you see is the future you get.” - Robert G Allen. So this may seem trivial, but make your list and start planning where you can work on changing or growing.

#68 Utilize your social media outlets for research. Ask your connections via LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter. Also, think about Twitter as a search engine.

For some of you this will be old news. Or perhaps you have thought about it, but have yet to utilize your networking resources in this new way, as a research tool. Let’s say you’ve built a small (or large) army of connections on various social networking sites. Use them! Ask them a question or throw out an idea to see what kind of response you get. Your network will hopefully give back some honest opinions, insights, and other thoughts to consider. To make the most of it though, remember: be honest with what you’re looking for, participate if someone else asks you, and don’t get carried away. (No one wants to be your personal opinion survey).

Also, consider Twitter’s search function as a powerful tool to find live trends on any key word. To search, go to search.twitter.com. Type in your word and get ready for real time thoughts of what the masses are thinking. For more on this concept, read this article from Tech Crunch.

For more great Twitter thoughts, check out our last post on Twitter here.

How are you participating in your social networks? How are you using them? New business? Research? Or what else?

#67 Taking time to rest is an essential part of your day. Do you take time to unwind, kick back and enjoy your day? If not, start now.

I don’t know about you, but the current economic climate is not exactly conducive to getting consistent full nights of rest. Trying to stay on top of details, getting clients to pay in a reasonable amount of time (or just to pay at all), and staying motivated, inspired and creative can be very draining. Pile on that any other parts of your life, such as family, hobbies, etc. and you are worn out.

So how do we balance everything? Well, it doesn’t matter if we can’t keep our eyes open, so this tip is very simple - GET REST. That’s right, rest. Take some downtime every single day. Nap at lunch if you have to. Go to bed before 11pm. Take your vacation days. Take walks. Being refreshed and energized makes anxiety easier to handle and invites inspiration to come out and play.

What do you do to relax or chill out? Try one of these bad boys -they really work: http://tr.im/ppyO