Over on my “Excels Blog” I have just posted my 50th video blog. The fact that I have accomplished this in less than 2 months still amazes me!

I had a vision for posting short video tutorials on MS Excel topics. Frankly, I couldn’t imagine demonstrating a software program without incorporating video! It would be too dry and dull.

Of course, most of the things that we do today on the Internet are incredible. Technology advances so quickly. What I accept today as “state of the art” will be considered “old school” in just a few months.

So, dear readers, I will start to add some video and audio posts to this blog. The written word will remain in place. I am simply going to add a few new media elements when appropriate.

Meanwhile, I invite you to visit the two Video Blogs that I now have up and running:

• The Company Rocks Excels
• The Company Rocks PowerPoints

Thank you for your continued patronage. I welcome your feedback.

I have loaded many of my Excel Training Videos to YouTube. Here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/DannyRocksExcels

YouTube is a powerful resource with a very wide reach. Many viewers enjoy being able to access and share YouTube content with their friends and other members of their community. I want to give them the opportunity to view and share my Excel Training videos the way the they like to do so.

There video experience on my The Company Rocks Excels site and on my YouTube site are different. Let’s celebrate the difference!

Let me know what you think. Take a minute to add cour comments below.

 When you have a toothache, you call your dentist? Right? When your drain won’t drain, you call your plumber? Correct?

But what if you don’t have a dentist or a plumber? Who would you call? Why would you call them? How would you know if they were reputable? That they could do the job?

Would you call a friend and ask for a recommendation? Would you consult an on-line service such as Craig’s list or Angie’s List?

If you have the time, yes. But if your tooth aches badly enough…? Or if your drain is overflowing and you are knee-deep in…?

Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters?

Seth Godin has, as always, a very good post on this topic - “My tooth doesn’t hurt.”

Plumbers and dentists usually don’t have trouble attracting customers - as long as there are lots of “aching teeth” and “overflowing drains.”

“…On one hand, dentists have no trouble whatsoever getting business from people with toothaches. They hardly have to try. Just show up, I’ll find you. On the other hand, when my teeth don’t hurt, you’re invisible. No amount of signs, service and wonderful marketing is going to get me to pay you to drill my teeth when they don’t hurt. ” - Seth Godin

 

Increase your visibility

Are you invisible? If you sell a product or offer a service, how do you gain visibility? How do you let potential clients know about you and what you offer?

• How do you gain “top of mind share” with your target audience?
• How do find ways to stay in front of customers and clients when they don’t need you?

If you are visible enough, you will increase your value.  And the probability that customers will call you when they need you. But… your visibilty must offer value. Visibility, alone, is not sufficient.

• Billboards and radio ads? - Not enough value. Recognition, perhaps.
• Yellow Page ads? I doubt it. I throw mine into the recycle bin as soon as they are delivered.

Can you create new products or services - for those times when your customer’s teeth don’t ache? Or when their drains drain? Seth Godin cites the “Teeth Whitening” services that dentists now offer. 

What additional services can you offer? 

What services can you offer? How can you get clients to come into your store or to visit your website? At times when they don’t need your products or services?

Blogs are one way - to get customers to leanr more about you. And for you to offer something of value to your customers and potential customers.

As I develop my training and speaking business, I am finding that offering short, free, and focused video lessons is a great way to build awareness of what I offer - and how I offer it. I have also started posting these Excel video lessons on YouTube. I’ll also open up MySpace and Facebook sites soon.

People ask me, “Why are you giving away something for free?” Because I believe that by doing something good to others (offering something of value with no expectation of repayment) you will end up doing good for yourself.

Increase your value. Increase your visibility! 

Here are links to the articles that were read the most during the Month of July, 2008:

Communications / Body Language

• “Don’t Point Your Finger!”
• “Learn to control your finger pointing”
• “What is your speaking rate?”

Career

• “The Best Career Advice - Ever!”
• “How to move forward in your career”

Thank you for visiting my blog!

I invite you to visit my new website offering “Tips and Time-savers for MS Excel”

“It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”

- John Wooden

I remember my mother telling me, “You have to go to college. You need to acquire the knowledge that will last you for your lifetime.”

That’s the way it used to be. When you left school, you stopped learning. You started to work. And you worked for the same company until you retired. And then you _____.

Not today.

Learning for a lifetime will not equip us to remain vital - and employed. Rather, we need to invest in ourselves - committing to a lifetime of learning. Well, at least a significant part of our lifetime!

But - here’s the key - learning doesn’t stop. We can decide to stop learning. But economic forces, a global economy and a rapidly changing world demand that we continue to learn new skills. To reinvent ourselves periodically. To adapt to change.

I have been devoting some time to developing my new website - filming short video lessons of MS Excel tipsand time savers. During development, I have asked several friends and colleagues to review the videos and to give me feedback. Many write back to say:

“Wow! I didn’t realize that you could do that. I’ve been wasting a lot of time doing it the wrong way.”

“If only I knew this sooner. I could have saved two hours preparing my last report.”

“I didn’t realize what I didn’t know.”

“I knew that I needed to improve my Excel skills, but I didn’t know where to begin.”

I gain a lot of satisfaction from my career as a trainer and speaker. I love to see someone in my class have an “A ha!” moment. I love to see the light bulb of learning flash on. I enjoy helping people to learn.

And… I enjoy learning. I try to live my lifetime learning - and growing.

How about you? What are your thoughts on the topic of continuing education and professional development?

Please share your comments with our readers. Add a few words in the comment box below. I no longer require you to be registered in order to add your comments.