Cuil is the name of the newest search engine that has trained its guns on Google (www.cuil.com) Are they big enough to take on mighty Google? Do they have what it takes? How can you benefit from knowing what they can do?

Watch this video to see what is available and how you can use it as a competitive advantage in your business. Leave your comments below and I’ll look forward to hearing from you.

You’ve heard the buzz…. social networking is the “wave of the future.” Well, it is a great way to connect with people but how can you get business with it? Listen to this (mercifully short) audio and discover what is working and what doesn’t.

You can also see this subject covered on the following video.  It was shot while on location in Savannah, Georgia where I was speaking about this topic.  You’ll love the scenery here and the message—well, it’s terrific!!

Here is an audio about being relevant. You’re gonna’ love this one!

By Terry L. Brock

The dismal economy has given you and me, as small business owners and salespeople, a real gift. Yep! You might not initially think of it as a gift but this really is.

Before you pop the champagne, let’s look at what is going on and what we can do about it. Yes, times are tough now. Just look at the recent collapse of Indy-Mac, the massive problems with Fannie Mae and Freedie Mac, daily increases in the price of oil, problems in the housing sector, the auto sector and other areas of the economy. And if that weren’t enough—- Budweiser is going to be owned by a bunch of Belgians! Is nothing sacred???

Yet, in the middle of all this bad news, you and I have a special opportunity that we didn’t have in earlier, better times. You know the metaphor I use in building and maintaining relationships. I think of it much like farming. You have to study the soil, till the soil, plant the crops, nurture them and perform many other tasks to produce a good harvest.

There is another important part of farming. It is called pruning. You have to cut back on the things that aren’t producing.

This is the same for you and me in our businesses. We have to be relationship farmers. You have to prune activities, tasks and yes, people in your life where results are not in line with your goals. During thriving times it is easier to just say, “Let’s grow the business more. We have plenty so it is easy to avoid the tough decisions.”

Serious marketers and relationship farmers know there is a time to cut activities, tasks and yes, even relationships that don’t work. This is hard and requires serious thinking. You also don’t want to cut the muscle when cutting the fat. Use your best judgment here.

Jack Welch helped us when he talked about his annual 10% cut. He would annually cut the bottom 10% of people, activities and tasks that were not producing optimal results. This required serious thinking in terms of what is right for the business. It is a big part of Relationship Marketing and Relationship Farming.

In Relationship Farming, you have to decide which “crops” are not giving you the desired results you need to keep the business going. What activities are you engaged in which could be delegated or divested? What vendors do you have who could be eliminated or replaced?

It is also imperative to focus on those relationships that are not productive and based on value-for-value. In the real world we all know people who are takers, not givers. Successful relationship farmers practice lots of giving and value-providing before they expect to get anything. You have to prime the pump with water before you get any water from the pump. Life works like that.

Therefore this is a special time and it is a gift for you and me. You have the opportunity to step back, pause and think about what can — and should — be eliminated from your business and personal life. What activities are a drain to you and your productivity? What relationships are not producing, have never produced and probably never will produce any serious business benefits? Remember — cut the fat, not the muscle.

You’re probably familiar with the Pareto Principle — the 80/20 rule. 80% of what you do accounts for 20% of the benefits. Also 20% of the sales produce 80% of the profits. More recent studies have shown that it is probably closer to 90/10. The moral for you and me? Focus on value-producing, quality activities, tasks and people in life and let the others fall by the wayside. Yes, it is time for pruning. It is time to cut. It is time to step back, think and revise what you’re doing.

A question you should continually have on your mind — “Is this is the best thing for me to do right now?” Are you wasting your time on frivolous, tension-relieving activities rather than serious, bottom-line results? Now is the time to eliminate the unnecessary. Focus on value-generating activities. Think as a Relationship Farmer who invests in quality results with people and activities.

Shedding the frivolous and those people who don’t embrace value-for-value frees up time so you can cultivate quality relationships with those who do. You only have 24 hours each day. Invest your time, money and effort into those people and activities where you get quality returns on your investment of time, effort and money.

Tough times are a gift for us. That gift is the ability to prune as never before. Take some time as you read this and decide what you are NOT going to do. Get serious about the relationships in which you’ve been investing. Would they be better off being merely part of your newsletter vs. a luncheon and hours of your time? Don’t spend time on the phone with people just chatting away. Make sure there is value-for-value in the relationship.

Pruning time is part of Relationship Farming. After the pruning we can focus on what matters most and spend time on those activities, tasks and people who provide the best results. And that is worth a toast to celebrate. You can even use a good Belgian beer – Budweiser!

Terry Brock is an international marketing coach and columnist who helps businesses market more effectively, leveraging technology. He shows busy professionals how to squeeze more out of their days using time-honored rules and practical technology tools. He can be reached at 407-363-0505, by e-mail at terry@terrybrock.com or through his website at www.terrybrock.com.

A couple of days ago I was visiting Salem, Oregon (beautiful place!) and had the chance to have lunch with my buddy Tim Patterson. Tim helps people, like you, to be better public speakers. He gave us 3 importance tips for anyone who is doing public speaking. If you’re new or scared about public speaking, invest a few minutes with this video of Tim and you’ll do a better job.

Here’s the video. Let me know what you think.

Terry – Terry@TerryBrock.com

Connecting with good people in a positive way is what Relationship Marketing, or what I call R-Commerce, is all about. All successful businesses are built on the concept of establishing, building and maintaining profitable relationships in business.

When economic times get tougher it is natural to cut back in any areas where you can save money. This is a good pruning strategy that every organization should go through— even in the best of times.

Business relationships have to undergo the same scrutiny. There are some relationships that your business will have that just don’t make economic sense. Some prospects never turn into customers. Yes, they are all people and we care for all people. Let’s get that one right out of the way! However, from a business point of view, you have to focus eventually on those business relationships which are going to be more profitable. In your personal life, you can focus on other non-business relationships for other purposes. But when it comes to business, this is serious.

So what criteria do you, as a successful businessperson use to cull through the masses? How do you treat people right no matter what, and still retain a profitable business? How can you differentiate from a host of possibilities and focus on those areas which are most beneficial for you in business?

Well, I don’t have all the answers. Sorry. However, here are some brain droppings that I have on this (to borrow from the late great George Carlin’s book title). Let me know what you think but here are my thoughts:

1. Determine What Your Goals Are. This is always the most important first step in business. Stephen Covey taught us how important is it to “Begin with the end in mind.” How are you going to derive profits in your business? Who is the ideal customer for you? If you can clearly identify the people that are most likely to purchase your product or service, you can filter all those you meet through to the right category. And that leads us to the second step to…

2. Develop Categories For Customers. I’ve read many good business books about database marketing. All those I have read state it is important to put customers into categories. Some of these are often called, “Hot, Interested, Met and Discard” or something like that. You can’t be everything to everyone. So, you have to focus your attention on those business relationships which involve the most likely prospects to purchase what you have. Think about it— in personal relationships you can’t have 1,000 really close friends. You couldn’t keep up with all of them and be good friends with everyone. Yes, you can have acquaintances and be friendly with everyone. But only a limited number of people can be very close. The same principle applies with business relationships. You can only have a given number of top-drawer customers. You have to determine the criteria and how many based on your business model. This is one of the most important considerations you’ll make in planning your business.

3. Allocate Your Resources. You have to be choosy with how you deploy those assets you and your business have. How much time are you going to allow yourself at select activities? Given tough times you have to make hard decisions about where you spend your time, money and effort. You can’t go to every seminar or convention. During tough economic times, you have to prune some relationships. Focus your time on those that provide the most value for value. This is true in business and in life.

A word of caution: Don’t throw away customers who aren’t profitable today just because you don’t think they ever will be in the future. They could be at some point and you don’t want to lose out on that option. Also, they have friends and can influence others. You want to have a category for “everyone interested” where you send them a Blog update, audio, video, etc. Give them value to stay in touch but focus your face time with those who will bring the greatest benefit.

Tough economic times require a fresh review of your financial and economic priorities. This is good for business overall. Like a farmer has to let a field lie fallow every so many years, you have to leave some markets. After you leave them for a while you could come back in the future or redeploy those assets. Just know this is the way of nature and it works in relationships as well.

Most important, remember to hang onto those relationships that are best for the long-term. Cherish them and nurture them. They are the relationships that keep a business strong and healthy.

So, what do you think? I look forward to hearing from you. Drop me a note at Terry@TerryBrock.com.

Terry Brock is an international marketing coach and columnist who helps businesses market more effectively, leveraging technology. He shows busy professionals how to squeeze more out of their days using time-honored rules and practical technology tools. He can be reached at 407-363-0505, by e-mail at terry@terrybrock.com or through his website at www.terrybrock.com.

Stop it already!! I don’t have time for yet another Blog, news story, article, podcast, video on the Net, social networking meeting, blah, blah, blah. Yikes! I am inundated with so many choices that it drives me nuts.

Maybe you can relate.

We’re all swamped with so many things going on. Your customers are in the same place. They are swamped and can’t keep up with all the new information. Then you, as an aspiring new vendor of theirs, come bouncing in the door with your new “Wonder Widget” and they can’t handle anymore. You call it rejection. They call it, “Dealing with yet another pesky salesperson.”

So how do you become relevant and build quality, profitable business relationships today? How do you get someone’s attention in an age of overload? How can you stand out in a favorable way?

There are lots of techniques that work and we only have a short time here so let me share some of what is going on and some solutions to help you.

Today it is imperative to be relevant. That means you have to appeal to my interests. Don’t tell me about you. Ugh! I want to know about how you can help me. This is the old story of what everyone’s favorite radio station is… WII-FM (What’s In It For Me?). It is your job as a successful entrepreneur, salesperson (aren’t we all today?) and business leader to actively find out how to help the other person. This is the best way to insure your own success.

The rage with video on the Net is a good example. Today we are swamped with so many choices that we often feel overwhelmed. We can’t keep up with it all. As I talk with entrepreneurs, I find most interested in how they can produce video and send out their video to the masses. However, with everyone producing video and sending it out there — who is watching this stuff? Are we a world of producers only? Does anyone consume this stuff?

Think about it. The world is not just sitting around waiting for you to produce your video. They are interested in their stuff and what is going on in their lives. Chuck Reaves, a professional sales trainer from Georgia, shared an important insight many years ago. He said, it is revealing when in a conversation with another to monitor how much they ask about you. Be the one asking the questions and listening. When the conversation ends, pause and ask how much you know about that other person and how much they learned from you. Successful salespeople ask and listen more than they talk. It’s the old “Two ears, two eyes and one mouth—that’s the proportion you use them” adage.

So, what do you do to be relevant? How does this increase your Relationship Marketing? Here are some points that can help.

Be relentless in being relevant. Never stop thinking about how you can profoundly and positively impact others for their betterment. The more you can do to help them achieve the goals they want, the more will flow to you. It is the way of nature. It is the way of successful Relationship Marketing.

How to Remain Relevant:

1. Think Them, Not You. Find what is bothering them. Where is their pain? Hey, we all have pain. Find out what is the most painful, challenging thing they are enduring now. If you can fix it, make it so. If you can only listen and empathize, do that. They’ll at least know you care and that is a big step forward.

2. Stay Current. If you don’t know what is happening in our world, you can’t be relevant. However, we don’t need to watch cable news 24/7 (please!). I find reading news.google.com gives me a quick overview of popular news stories I need to know. Then I go in-depth with Business Journals online for relevant business news (yes, shameless plug here). I also enjoy the Wall Street Journal and the Drudge Report to get a good overview. I avoid TV as it is so enmeshed with needless emotionalism and frankly, I don’t have time for all the senseless drama. Also podcasts are powerful for getting relevant information for business today.

3. Be Hungry For Solutions. Aggressively use your mind to soak up all the relevant information from a wide variety of sources you can. Then trust your marvelous subconscious brain to piece things together and come up with new ideas that are relevant problem-solvers. This builds relationships in business like nothing else. And while you’re hungry for solutions, provide tasty, delicious tidbits for others that will bring them back. Been only offering text? Try video. Try audio. Try teleseminars. Do something beneficial to others to break out of the mold. Do something radically delightful, which will make customers “giddy with glee.”

Being relevant is one of the most powerful ingredients in building successful business relationships. If you become —-here’s that horrible word — boring, you are toast in today’s world. Stay alive. Be relevant for others and find ways to make their lives better.

Doing this will insure your own future success. On top of that – you’ll have a boatload of fun!

Terry Brock is an international marketing coach and columnist who helps businesses market more effectively, leveraging technology. He shows busy professionals how to squeeze more out of their days using time-honored rules and practical technology tools. He can be reached at 407-363-0505, by e-mail at terry@terrybrock.com or through his website at www.terrybrock.com.