‘Cause every little thing, is gonna be alright…

by Martha Phelps
May 14th, 2012

“Everything will be alright” is not the same as “Everything will stay the same.” Seth Godin

For me, this translates quite succinctly into “you can’t stay the same if you want to be alright.”
The world we live in is moving fast. The tools (call them whatever you like) we’re using are also changing fast. None of it is actually that overwhelming when you keep in mind that one doesn’t necessarily have to be as fast or adopt every single new tool in order to thrive, but honestly – you can’t just stay the same and expect everything around you to also stay the same.

‘Everything will be alright’ is an attitude, and it’s a confidence in yourself.
The only things that remain the same in life anyway are your relationship to your self-awareness and your awareness of others. Everything else always changes anyway.

‘Everything will stay the same’ is a living in the past. It’s something people who live in fear try to hold on to. Many of us equate “sameness” with “security.” And who doesn’t want some of that? Right? But consistency is different than ‘everything will stay the same’ when you have the attitude that everything will be alright.

Knowing everything will be alright is having a connection to clear faith. It’s knowing that this life we’re here to live is going to work out just the way it’s going to work out  – whether the road is slick, bumpy, non existent or perfectly paved and down a sweet slope. Our lizard brains think that everything staying the same is some sort of protection against scarey stuff happening. Our lizard brains subscribe heavily in the belief that the big unknown is potentially negative and must be avoided.

How many times in life do we think “if I could just do this one thing this one way, then everything else would be great.” Ha! By the time I get to that plateau – or “one way” – and have accomplished that special “one thing,” then some other issue pops up. Forget it. Life doesn’t happen that way. If you truly want to thrive, the long term cost of lizard brain avoidance tactics may be much more expensive and detrimental than embracing the energy of everything is ALWAYS going to be alright and it’s a wonderful challenge.

This is a great concept to apply when qualifying your customers. Which attitude do they have? Are they living in that space where they want to keep things the same? Are they afraid to make shifts? Do they recognize that the world is changing and therefore, so should we all? Are they settling for “just good enough for now” rather than confident evolution?  How do you help your clients adopt the ‘everything will be alright’ way of being?

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Human Resources

by Martha Phelps
April 30th, 2012

These days, we’re all about “Linking In, ” “Following,” “Liking, ” and “Pinning,” but how often do you ask straight up ask your clients for referrals, recommendations and feedback? Do you recognize that your clients are in fact, Human Resources who stem from a possibly deep and rich vein of golden potential?

At Dotcomjungle, when we consider our various “resources – it is the human variety we value most.  Human Resources are highly prized, respected and beloved. Like favorite books that have literally (pardon the pun) changed your life – our most cherished Human Resources are those who help us learn and become better people.

These days, consumers often choose what their friends have chosen, or we purchase based on reviews and recommendations, and if we return to shop again – it’s generally because of a positive first interaction. When a business is truly treating clients like the worthy resources they are, consider how much is a client referral could be worth to that business.

If you are continually engaged in open communication and available to support and assist your clients in realizing success – from the day to day level to the greatest opportunities – then chances are your clients will be willing ambassadors of your goods and services. If you are taking the time to get to know what your clients’ values are, listening to their ideas, and offering them more than just what the contract reads, then they will be better than any television commercial, more genuine than any newspaper ad, and much more believable than any web site pop up when they tell others about the great work your business is doing with – and for – them.

Establish a process for identifying your Human Resources. Make a plan for offering clients referrals and recommendations and then asking them to do the same for you. If you are successful in giving and receiving excellent referrals, and those referrals in turn become the source of more referrals, how much business could you handle?

Are you ready to strike the mother lode?

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Satisfied Customers. It’s Simple.

by Martha Phelps
April 23rd, 2012

It’s been said that “ A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all.” It’s also important to remember that every client has the potential to become dissatisfied with your products and services, especially if you drop the ball and ignore client feedback. In a world where there are so many choices available, one of the ways you can make your business remarkable is simply by paying attention.

Keep your commitment to be tuned into not only what your clients are saying, but also what they may NOT be saying. Don’t be afraid to ask them what their changing needs are, and be ready to respond with your services and products or with those of a strategic partner whom you believe your client will benefit from. (Yes, being willing to say “we can’t offer that, but here’s someone who can” actually does create satisfied customers who will return to you in the long haul.)

Start now. Walk out on the sales floor, or log into Twitter, or pick up the phone and listen to what’s being said. Find out how to make your happy clients that much happier. It will be worth the effort.

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What’s sweet in our tweet?

by Martha Phelps
April 16th, 2012

Another glimpse into some of the sweet tweets offered up by Dotcomjungle staff members in the past month:

From DCJ President, Steve Rice (@dcjsteve) -

“You know you love little league baseball when you are coaching in a whiteout!”

“You don’t need to read Seth Godin to know that good customer service trumps ‘SEO’ every time. In fact, it is the only good SEO there is.”

From our Designer, Jamie aka JMe (@dcjjme) -

“For those who need advice on their Facebook Timeline for Brands

“This has nothing to do with anything, but if you’re feeling anything but happy, this flash video will make you happy.”

“Social Spam – what it is and how to avoid.”

“Good article: How to follow up when someone mentions your brand on Twitter.”

From the Executive A.K., Martha (@dcjmartha) -

“American Express Program Offers Discounts for Tweetshttp://mashable.com/2012/03/07/american-express-twitter/ via@mashbusiness And so it begins…”

“Be bored. Be bored right now.”

From our SEO/SEM Intern, Matt (@dcjmatt) -

“Check how content is performing on Pinterest. View backlinks to see if Pins continue linking to YOUR site.”

“Been using @duckduckgo for the last month or so. Awesome for research! Try the !Bang feature to search specific sites easily.”

“Nothing like a great site with top notch content. http://inbound.orgbrings amazing marketing articles from all over the web.”

From our Project Manager, Jamie (@dcjjamie) -

“40 minutes is very well-spent when doing something that will save countless hours in the future. I LOVE streamlining!”

“For the last two days all I’ve used are red pens. As a result, my workspace is becoming increasingly alarming.”

“Looking forward to learning about this extension. Could Joomla and Magento play nice together?”

From our lead Programmer, Evan (@dcjevan) -

“Don’t be afraid of the PDO object! Convert your legacy mysql_{} code for security and brevity!”

“Understanding how a language operates at a low level can be hugely helpful when optimizing scripts. Hint: PHP refs don’t save memory.”

“The MySQL function GROUP_CONCAT can simplify the act of retrieving many records as one. Have a look.”

Who do you follow on twitter?
We’d love to hear about some of your favorite 140 character contributors out there.
Business, music, fun and games, quirky humor, technical geeky stuff… please share!

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On Habits and Quick Fixes

by steverice
April 9th, 2012

We hear a lot about the habits of successful people. (Thank you, Stephen Covey.)  It’s as if – in order to be measured a bona fide superstar, one must claim a particular “habit” as the key to their triumph.

In my case, the notion of embracing a particular daily habit is something I have struggled with. I’ve never been the kind of person who gets up every morning at 5 AM to run 6 miles or ride my mountain bike. I’ve just never been dogmatic enough about my own lifestyle to choose to do these sorts of things. I find structure my life is dictated by the things that I’ve chosen to get involved in – whether it’s coaching Little League, or marriage, or children, or clients who have inspired businesses and unique needs.

It has been suggested to me that it may be that this very part of my personality (lack of habits) has led me to have the successes I’ve had. The absence of dogmatism helps me handle my own life trials as well as clients’ questions and business issues with a beginner’s mind.

Just as I’m at ease with lack of habits, I’m pretty comfortable with the notion that it’s not always necessary to have pat answers and quick fixes. I believe that when there’s a problem or issue that needs to be dealt with – it is usually best to ask lots of questions, admit it when one doesn’t know the answer, and be comfortable knowing that finding proper and sustainable solutions may take more time and effort.

Coincidentally, the blog-o-sphere has a lot of interesting information about habits for success. The five suggestions made by Life Optimizer have more to do with values and qualities than actual behaviors.  And Destructive Habits of Incompetent People, takes a different twist on the topic with some great examples of what (and who) we’d all like to avoid.

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