The speedy way to a successful business is by watching and learning from your competitors.  With taking the time to investigate what has made their business work, you will be able to discover the best methods and improve upon their model.  Here are a few ways to examine your competition:

Watch and Ask: Observe your competitors both online and offline, or through word of mouth.  Don’t hesitate to ask others about your competitors.

Study and Search: Look at your competitor’s website and search other sites to see what they are doing and how they are doing it.  Find out what they are saying about their products and services.  This will help you to see how they use the Internet for advertising and as a marketing tool.

Socialize and Mingle: If you run an online business, consider joining social networking sites to follow or befriend your competitor.  If you primarily conduct business offline, consider attending like-industry seminars.  Either way, this will afford you opportunities to learn about your competitor in a non-threatening environment.

Reputation and Integrity: Learn if your competitor lends a helping hand when needed or does he/she bully their way around.  Good character is something to mimic and will promote your business quicker than being nasty or having a negative attitude.

By understanding your competition, you are essentially creating a successful business plan.  Therefore, don’t reinvent the business wheel.  Just watch what your competitors are doing and then do it better.

Trying to produce your own voice over demo is like hitting the accelerator with the emergency brake on. I get inquiries on a daily basis from eager students who want to get into voice overs that think they can produce it themselves. Take it from someone who recorded his first demo into a Panasonic boom box. Don’t do it!

It is more important than ever that you have your demo produced by a professional voice over coach who knows the industry inside and out and what kinds of voices are being hired. A coach that can hear what you’re doing wrong and help you make the necessary corrections. A coach that can select the right scripts that match your particular voice and style.

One of the main reasons this is so important, is because agents and producers always seem to remember the lousy demos they receive. If you make the decision to do it yourself and then decide a couple of years later to get it done professionally, you may not always get a second chance. It’s imperative that you don’t waste your time and theirs.

I know what you’re thinking. “I thought only people that wanted to get into voice overs take voice over classes. Not true at all.

When I was teaching classes around the country last year, I had all kinds of wonderful people take my class. Priests, CEO’s, Managers, Poets, etc. Were they there because they wanted to get into voice overs?

Maybe a few but most were there because they wanted to learn how to become a better speaker. How to take hold of a room full of clients. How to be a more effective Minister or Priest.

Voice over classes aren’t just for voice talents. In my classes, I worked with students on how to become a more efficient speaker by looking your audience members in the eye and connecting with them. Smiling as you speak and using your hands to help illustrate a story or point.

One most of the most important things you’ll learn in a voice over class is how to warm up your voice before you speak. I always did tongue twister and breathing exercises with my students. During the breathing exercises, people would walk by the classroom and think it was a yoga class.

So, even you’re not an aspiring voice talent, I would highly recommend taking a voice over class or get some kind of voice coaching over the phone. Especially, if you’re a CEO or Manager. You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish with your voice when you’re done.

Let’s face it, the Internet has opened the door to sell just about anything online. Whether it is producing your own product, offering a service, or selling goods on eBay, you need to market yourself effectively. So, what do you do to get noticed online?

To honestly answer that question, you need to stand out from your competition. If you own a Virtual Assistant business, what do you do differently than the hundreds of other VA services out there? You need to have a unique marketing strategy.

Many businesses go broke because they try to be all things to all people. Define a niche that you enjoy and think of ways to incorporate that into your business. If your business is in gardening or landscaping, consider offering organic fertilizer as a defining niche. Focus on your niche and become an expert in your field.

Let’s take GEICO for example, their unique marketing strategy is the gecko and the caveman. Regardless if the silly commercials make you sick to your stomach, the fact is they are brilliant. The commercials are entertaining and immediately upon hearing them, you think of GEICO and auto insurance.

If you have digital products, such as eBooks, one way of setting yourself apart from the millions of other eBooks on the market is to add audio. When you add audio as part of your information product, you are offering an added service to your customer. Not only can they read your eBook but now they can listen to it and possibly better retain the information that you’ve shared with them.

Take some time to think of creative ways to be unique in your marketing. When you offer something different, you have an edge up on your competition.

Thanks to technology, I was able to upload my late Uncle’s album to my hard drive.  It had been over 20 years since I last heard his music.  His name was Terry Powell and he was known as the “King of the Barrelhouse Piano”.

A modern day honky tonk pianist who had continued the tradition of lively improvisation and driving rhythms in his music travels.  Incorporating extreme speed into his unique style, he channeled his power into a percussive style of piano that hearkens back to the honky tonk roots of African drumming and thimble thumped minstrel banjos.

Terry Powell died in 1989 of Lukemia but his music will always live on.  I’ve always known where my musical tastes of classical jazz and bluegrass came from.  I remember seeing him live and not being able to sit still all the way to the last number.

He left this earth too quickly at the age of 58 but I am happy to share some of his music with you today.  Click on the audio slide above to hear a sample.  Thank you for taking the time to listen.

Everyone talks about resolutions for the new year so I thought I would list mine from a business perspective.

1. Put in an extra hour a day working toward your goals.

2. When talking with a client on the phone, talk with a smile. It will make a world of difference.

3. Never settle for mediocrity. We’ve all done it. “Ah, that’s good enough”.

4. I’m going to steal this one from Yoda. Do or do not. There is no try.

5. Smother a troubling client with kindness.

6. When you say you’ll call someone back on Tuesday, call them on Tuesday.

7. Eat healthy foods that give you energy and make you feel good.

8. If you can, light candles around your work area to give you a sense of calmness.

9. Show your appreciation for a client by going out of your way to do something extra for them.

10. If you feel yourself getting upset and becoming impatient, step away for a few minutes and then reboot your brain.

Have a safe and happy new year!blog-ny-resolutions

I was honored to have been chosen as the voice for a series of commercials for the YMCA in Ohio.  These are the campaigns us voice talents are always hopeful will continue forever.

Recently, I was honored to narrate a business leadership book called, “What Really Counts for CEO’s” by Gal S. Borenstein. It was a pleasure narrating it but the education I received was second to none. It’s a down to earth approach to marketing and geared toward entrepreneurs and small businesses.

We’ve all made mistakes in our marketing. Gal points out some easy ways to correct those mistakes. It was amazing to find that a lot of CEO’s do not even track their marketing dollars.

My favorite thing about providing the narration was how conversational and non-pretentious it was. Gal isn’t trying to prove to the world how smart he is. What he is trying to prove, is that his methods of marketing work.

Here is his latest interview from CNN.

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In the past few months, I started getting more inquiries about providing voiceover for podcast intros and outros.  Having a professional voice talent record these adds to the professional presentation of the show.  It works the same way with audio books.

One voice talent provides the “about the author” section and another voice talent narrates the book.  This has also become very popular in teleseminars and webinars as well.  It’s all about the presentation of the entire program.  Click the audio slide above for an example.