When these moments happen, it reassures me that I am where I am supposed to be, doing the things I am supposed to be doing.

This week my moment was about – of all things – making phone calls! And yes, it can apply to you too.  It all started with a phone call of my own.

1. Last Thursday I called a past client and was very happy when she was ready to start another series of consulting calls with me.

2. The next day my handyman called to tell me he didn’t have any work, and what should he do.  I often coach him on business practices, and I often tell him he needs to reach out to past happy clients – those clients are your best source for new work or new referrals.  I asked him how many past clients he had reached out to (this is an ongoing discussion with us, so I knew the answer) and yep, not one.  I told him I wasn’t going to talk to him anymore until he called 3 past happy clients. I also told him this call was easy to do – ask about their past work, and ask if they have any new work.

3. Jokingly he says to me – So Mrs. Larsen, I know you love your backsplash, do you have any other work around the house, cabinetry, handyman, painting that you might want to have done?

4.  And I DID – I had been meaning to call him for several weeks about some cracks in my ceiling – and had totally forgotten so I lined up some work for him that weekend.

5. About 30 minutes later he called me back and said - it worked, it worked! The very first client he called said she didn’t know he did all those things, and she had a whole list for him to do.

6. Then one of my consulting clients called for her weekly call.  I asked her what she had done since our last call to try to get some work and she said – you mean besides pull my hair out? So we talked about the fact that she has never not once in her 6 years of business – beyond initial follow up right after a project – called a client to see how they were doing and was there anything she could do for them or was there someone “just like them” that they would introduce her to by facebook or email to see if she could help them.  I told her the handyman story for encouragement.

7. All of these things took place between Thursday and Tuesday.

8. And Tuesday morning I received a marketing newsletter from one of my favorite marketers - Art Sobczak – titled “Here’s the Best Time to Call a Prospect.” I swear I burst out laughing. A list of the BEST TIME to call someone.    Talk about reassurance that I am in the right place, doing the thing I am supposed to do!  Here is a link to his newsletter – you might want to check it out for even more ideas. And here’s a little secret – the real answer for calling a past great client is any time – because you need to take action to make action happen in your business.

9. My favorite tip from his list – A buyer wishes they could find a vendor (replace designer for the word vendor) who “gets it right the first time”. Ah, I love that!!!

So.  How long has it been since you CALLED a past client? How long has it been since you reached out rather than waited for someone to call you?  Don’t overthink it -just pick up the phone and call. Really. That simple.  And comment below and let me and everyone else know how it goes – I’m confident it will be great.

Here’s to Designing Your Success,

-Mary Larsen

I am very pleased to say that I was recently featured in the latest issue of Window Fashion Vision magazine.  It was on my favorite topic – helping women in the design field make more money – and not just give all of their talents away.

This was one of those great articles where I was asked to submit the article, went to bed that night, and woke up with a whole LIST of things that can be done.  I love it when that happens.

In fact, that was one of the reasons I went into consulting with people in the design field.  I started having ideas about how to make my business better and more profitable show up  in the middle of the night - and -those ideas worked. It’s very cool.

Just click HERE to enjoy the article in full – I know you’ll like it.  And please leave me a comment and share what you think!

Here’s to Designing Your Success,

-Mary Larsen

This has been an incredible week!

Surely it was the amazing vacation last week – and maybe it’s because I’m taking another vacation NEXT week (not to an exotic island but to Idaho – a very different and good destination!) – but things have just been flying along and man does it feel good!

I’m a big believer that when things are cranking you need to GO with it – and that’s what has been happening today.  I still have to finish up some tiny details for the EXPO in Atlanta next week, but other than that everything I am working on is fun and exciting.

I have a big SAVE THE DATE for you!

Please mark Wednesday, May 27th at 7pm for a f*r.e.e teleconference call “7 Steps to Kick Up Your Earnings THIS Summer” The call will be done in the same format as my Designing Your Success Mastermind Program that starts in June!I hope you will be so inspired by what we share and what you learn that of COURSE you will become a part of the program. Plus, I will give you a great “monetary” incentive to join on the call, so please join me.  I know you will love it.  I’ll have more info out to you soon, but please save the date!

And if you are not yet offering custom window treatments to your clients I am also hosting a webinar about adding Window Treatments to your decorating business - Wednesday May 20th at 4pm - it is going to be a great topic -  learn more about it and register HERE. We’ll also have a couple of great prizes for registrants from Window Vision Magazine and Minutes Matter Studio - you don’t want to miss it!

Because I will be at the Expo next week, today I am going to talk about one of my favorite topics – how to get the most out of a conference.  Enjoy and see you there!

Here’s to Designing Your Success™,

-Mary Larsen

You are attending conferences, right? Nothing can replace continuing education – and nothing can replace taking that new knowledge and putting it into action. Here are my top favorite tips for you to use the next time you attend a conference.

1. Meet the people sitting next to you.  Every time you sit down. Just stick out your hand, say hi, I’m Mary Larsen (okay, use your name)- it’s that easy! Everyone wants to meet new people – you can put everyone at ease by starting the conversation with your own introduction.

2. Take copious notes! There is a direct correlation between writing things down and the ability for the brain to recall the information – even just writing down key points will benefit you later.

3. Every evening review the day and write down the 2 things that you WILL do when you return home. Again, writing things down will keep you connected.

4. Ask your favorite speaker to lunch – you just never know what great things could come out of that relationship. And the speaker will appreciate it, too.

5. Go home and DO at least TWO of the things that inspired you at the conference. Take action. Knowledge coupled with INaction leads to frustration – so don’t get frustrated – DO something!

BONUS #6 – CONTACT the people that you met by e-mail or phone – again, relationships are everything!

Have a GREAT action packed week!  And don’t forget to come by and say hello!

WE Magazine for Women named me as a “Top 101 Women Bloggers to Watch” in 2009 – and I was really thrilled to receive the honor. If you haven’t read my previous blog posts – you should. Lots of helpful information here from me AND your peers – good stuff!

What was funny/not about this honor is that WE Magazine caters to women in their 40s – and I don’t turn 40 til NEXT WEEK! HA! But really, just like everyone else, I am looking around saying – how did 40 happen already???

At the end of May I am hosting a webinar in conjunction with the ADE on “The Art of Window Treatments: How to Add a Proven Revenue Stream to Your Staging, Redesign and Decorating Business.” This will be a great introductory look at adding window treatments to your business if it is not something you are doing already. I’ll keep you posted with more details as they develop.

Don’t forget I will be at the EXPO in Atlanta May 13-16! Here is a little blurb about the redesign class I am teaching – you might want to check it out.

And I have big plans for a retreat this fall for a lucky handful of you – and the topic is “money.” As in “how to make it work for you, and how to make more of it.” Just getting started on the details, but will keep you posted.

And for today’s Marketing Minute I am going a bit off of the beaten path – I am hosting 19 of my family for an Easter/Big FOUR-OH (before the big trip with my siblings to the Dominican Republic to REALLY celebrate) dinner and I thought these tips from Southern Accent Magazine on how to host a dinner party were really helpful - and beautiful, too.

Happy Easter!

Here’s to Designing Your Success™,

-Mary Larsen

Leadership Matters
By Nancy McGuire, McGuire Consulting, Inc
(Be sure to contact Nancy by clicking above if you need any help with leadership development!)There is no one way to be a perfect leader, but there are many ways to be a great one. If you have leadership responsibility, even simple actions can mean the difference between outstanding and poor results. Here are the first five of 10 of the most basic ways to ensure that you’re being an effective leader:

6. If you love somebody, set them free. When you have terrific people who have great developmental opportunities elsewhere, you need to let them move on. This can be especially hard when they are your top performers. What’s worse, you sometimes have to do this knowing you won’t be able to replace them in the short term. Still, you need to do the right thing and let them move on to their next opportunity. Trap: Some managers will hold on to their best people under the guise of “the needs of the business.” Although in the short term this can appear to be a good justification, it hurts you and your employee in the long term. Your organization will gain a reputation for being a trap; your good people may leave anyway, and the best people from other organizations will be reluctant to join your team. Tip: When you take a short term personnel loss, involve the rest of the team in handling his or her responsibilities until you have the ability to bring in a replacement. You may find a diamond-in-the-rough out there who was overshadowed by this top performer.

7. Take a look at yourself: Do people get you?It is essential that your team members understand you. So, your written word and verbal word must be equally clear. Trap: One of your responsibilities as a leader is to give performance feedback. If your feedback is too general, the recipient has a low probability of getting the message. Tip: Listen more than you talk. [Mary's Note: This is always a tough one for me, but it is so worth doing!]Ask your team members for their impressions of a person’s contributions.

8. Look at your team’s progress: Are they still storming when they should be performing? Teams often remain stuck in formulating plans rather than implementing them. [Another one of my favorites! Decide and DO!] Trap: Teams that continue to argue or follow competing or disconnected objectives are not likely to meet the end game. Look for warning signs such as continually re-visiting old decisions, missed deadlines, and lack of esprit-de-corps. Tip: If the team isn’t moving past the storming phase, consider changing the power structure or leadership within the team.

9. Get out of the way. As the leader, you need to keep an eye on the big picture. If you’re nitpicking small details and “adding value” where none was needed, your team will slow down. Trap: Many leaders think they need to add something. After all, isn’t that why you’re in charge? In fact, unless you need to alter significantly the direction or decision, you’re better off leaving well enough alone. Tip: Ask questions of the team concerning outlook for completion, rather than auditing progress at each individual step.

10.  Say thank you. And mean it. 

I am sure you found some inspiration here for you and your business – Which tips are you using now or will start using in your business today???

Have a great rest of the week!
-Mary

I am so proud of everyone who jumped on board twitter last week – and you might have noticed – I haven’t done any tweeting! Turns out I am new at it too!  But we will all get there.

I have had a ton of ideas this week for the Marketing Minute, and decided to share a version of my sister’s newsletter – she is a corporate consultant on leadership and her stuff is good (she’s really funny too, but it probably doesn’t show up here.)

Even if you are only leading yourself, there are a lot of tips you can put into practice – in fact, the article was filled with so many great tips today you are only getting tips 1 -5 – you’ll have to wait til next week for the rest.

Leadership Matters

By Nancy McGuire, McGuire Consulting, Inc
(Be sure to contact Nancy by clicking above if you need any help with leadership development!)

There is no one way to be a perfect leader, but there are many ways to be a great one. If you have leadership responsibility, even simple actions can mean the difference between outstanding and poor results. Here are the first five of 10 of the most basic ways to ensure that you’re being an effective leader:

1. Ensure everyone knows why you are there. Whether you’re running a meeting or leading a large organization, make certain that everyone knows your purpose. Say it aloud. What do you want to accomplish? Trap: Don’t become so fixated with your objectives that you don’t recognize when they need to change. Evaluate your environment and assess whether the objective needs to be altered. Tip: When things run off-course, which they invariably will, use your objective as a means of getting the team re-focused.

2. This is work — expect people to do something. If someone has agreed to do something, hold her to it. Trap: If you are working with people from other organizations, you may not be aware of their own workload and priorities. However, if your project is dependent on their contribution, you still need them to deliver as expected. Don’t let that work dump into your lap. Tip: Check on the status of the work, and reinforce its value. People actually enjoy sharing their progress and seeing how they contribute to the end result.

3. Don’t just simply track progress — offer help. When your team hits stumbling blocks, help to overcome them. Trap: This doesn’t mean you have to determine all of the potential solutions. Part of your role as a leader is to help your team members find their own answers. Tip: When the solution requires you to help (get funding, gain executive decisions, hire additional resources), make it clear that you own that action.

4. Be known as someone who actually makes a decision. Teams need direction and decisions to be made. Trap: Consensus management isn’t always the best leadership style. Many decisions need to be made by the leader alone. Tip: To facilitate your decision-making, encourage your team to provide alternatives with associated pros and cons. This increases the chances of buy-in on the team, even if the members didn’t make the decision themselves. [Mary's Note: I think you all know how strongly I feel about decision making - make the decision - and move on!]

5. Follow up and follow through. Track progress. Deliver what you say you will. Trap: Many projects fail because milestones weren’t measured along the way. Look at your own deliverables to the team, and ensure that you are making your own commitments. Tip: Reflect back on the history of the project. Are there areas where deadlines are repeatedly missed? These may be areas where you, as the leader, need to intervene.

The truth of the matter is – I love all of these tips!  Which tips are you using in your business today???

Have a great rest of the week!

-Mary

Twitter is everywhere – everyone is talking about it! But what I want to know is – can it work for OUR industry?

Since it is everywhere – today’s Marketing Minute is going to explore it a little bit – enjoy.
Twitter – For You and Me

Let’s get right to the details!

1. Twitter is – a micro-blogging platform. It is a cross between a blog and a public “instant message.” You have 140 characters to “tweet” your message.

2. You have followers. People sign up to “follow you” and get your tweets. They find you by searching for you on twitter.com, or by someone else forwarding your tweet – “re-tweeting”.

3. You only need a computer. When twitter came out I was sure you needed a blackberry or some kind of handheld – turns out you just need a computer, and be logged in to twitter.

4. What it’s good for. The idea is to directly connect with your customers and clients. Think “conversation” not sales pitch.

5. Why it might help your business. Your “brand” is being seen everytime you tweet – helps expand your network beyond your current friends – you can pose a question to get realtime feedback if you are doing research for products, etc – you can notify customers of sales and promotions or having new pix up on your portfolio

6. Is it worth it? Like all social media – this is a “try it – you just might like it” situation. It is SIMPLE. Go to twitter.com and sign up – it is that simple. Sign up to follow a couple of people and see what THEY tweet about – that will help you get ideas.

7. Follow ME! I have just started tweeting – and am not a regular by any means – but I plan on giving it a try and will keep you posted.

So what do you think? Are you going to try it? If you do – follow me and I will follow you – that’s how to get things going! You can find me at twitter.com/marylarsenor search for me at twitter.com under the name marylarsen
.
Let me know how twitter works out for you!

So I am not totally sure of the best way to do this, but I wanted to share with you my favorite inspirational story to date. It was in the Dec 2 ‘08 Sports Illustrated and was written by Phil Taylor.

Here is a direct link to the article, but I have also included it in its entirety below. Don’t forget – every day is another opportunity!!

The Old Man and the J – by Phil Taylor

It’s gratifying to Ken Mink that he has received hundreds of e-mails telling him what an inspiration he is to older people, not to mention younger ones. It’s thrilling to him that he has been interviewed by media outlets from across the country as well as from France, Italy, Japan and Portugal, all fascinated by the story of the senior (citizen) who’s also a sophomore (shooting guard). It’s mind-boggling to him that movie producers have offered to buy the rights to his life story.

But Mink wasn’t in search of flattery, fame or fortune in September, when he became the oldest college basketball player ever in the U.S. He doesn’t drag his 73-year-old body home from a 2 and a half hour practice every day at Roane State Community College in Harriman, Tenn., aching so badly that he can barely open the door of his 2004 Ford Wrangler, just to get a little publicity. So why is he doing it? Truth is, as hard as it is to keep up with players who are young enough to be his grandchildren, answering that question is even harder: “The best way I can put it is, did you ever have that feeling that you left something unfinished?”

That feeling had been with Mink for 52 years, ever since he was booted out of Lees Junior College in Jackson, Ky., after his freshman season. Seems some prankster had soaped up the coach’s office furniture and put shaving cream in his shoes. The coach and the school president believed that Mink was the culprit, an accusation he denies to this day. “It was a crock,” he says. “I wasn’t above pulling a joke, but they had the wrong man on that one.”

After being expelled, Mink dropped his dream of playing at a four-year school. He did a hitch in the Air Force, spent 38 years as a newspaper reporter and editor in Kentucky and Tennessee, raised three kids and played lots of pickup basketball. He had always been a gym rat, so addicted to hoops that when he broke his right collarbone diving for a loose ball as a teenager, he kept playing lefthanded and never missed a day on the courts. Fast-forward to a year ago, when Mink was shooting baskets on the driveway hoop at his home in Knoxville. Always deadly from long range, he made 20 jumpers in a row from three-point distance and started thinking crazy thoughts.

“I’ve still got it,” he told his wife of 10 years, Amelia.

“Still got what?” she said.

Still got game, Mink might have said, if he had been about 50 years younger and 50 times hipper. He also had that half-century-old itch left unscratched, that sophomore season that he still had coming to him. So he sent e-mails to the coaches at eight nearby small colleges, and about two weeks later he received his one and only reply, from Randy Nesbit at Roane State. “I’m the kind of guy who cries at movies real easy,” Nesbit says. “His story just kind of got to me. I figured, why not?”

Although Mink has kept himself in good shape, at six feet and 192 pounds he’s a guy with wispy white hair who sprints about as fast as his teammates jog, whose game is not only below the rim, it’s below the net. He often skips the most strenuous conditioning drills, and on defense he’s pretty much incapable of keeping anyone from driving past him. As the 12th man he plays only in blowouts, of which there had been two at week’s end, and he has scored two points, which came when he pump-faked a whippersnapper into the air, deftly drew the foul and dropped in both free throws. The fans in attendance celebrated as if Roane State had just reached the Final Four. No wonder the screenwriters keep calling. This is Rudy meets The Bucket List. (Mink won’t sign any deals until after the season because he doesn’t want to jeopardize his eligibility.)

Mink’s teammates love him like a grandpa. They teach him hoop slang — who knew dish the rock meant pass the basketball? — while he teaches them history on bus trips. A game against Bryan College in Dayton, Tenn., prompted an informal lesson on the Scopes Monkey Trial held there 83 years ago. But Mink doesn’t have to say a word to enlighten the Raiders about other things, such as seeking new challenges, testing the limits of their abilities and finding as much satisfaction in the effort as in the result.

The only item left on Mink’s quest for basketball closure is to do a little detective work and get to the bottom of the shaving-cream incident. He has no illusions about extending his career beyond this season, though when he read a suggestion on a North Carolina message board that the Tar Heels should offer him a scholarship, he couldn’t resist replying. “Don’t bother,” Mink wrote. “I’m going pro.”

– Phil Taylor

So get your inspiration here!!

Have a great rest of the week!

-Mary

For the past several weeks in my Marketing Minute Newsletter that goes out to members of the design field (click HERE to sign up for your own copy) I have been talking about the importance of sending online newsletters to your clients.  However, even after speaking about this topic at conferences and teaching classes on how to do it, designers have told me they are just not going to WRITE a newsletter.  No matter HOW effective it is for gaining and keeping clients.

So – finally – I have written them FOR YOU!!! YAY!  Click below to learn more.

Every week I stay in front of my group of peers through a weekly newsletter, and I suggest that you do the same with your clients.  And to help you through that process I have written one years worth of MONTHLY articles that you can take and use for your own. 

I have also segmented the newsletters, so if you are a Redesigner, there is a set just for you – if you are a Designer or Decorator, that is a set just for you, if you are a Drapery Designer there is a set just for you, and if you are a Real Estate or Home Stager there is a set just for you.  (Click HERE to learn more and to place your order now!) 

I also suggest that you use the online email service that I use – just click HERE here to get started.  And research has shown that the most effective templates for you to use from this service (you'll know what I mean when you start) is crisp, contemporary ii, or professional.

So to give you a taste of what you will find when you purchase your set of newsletters, the following is a sample newsletter – I know you will like it, and will easily see how helpful your clients will find it – so that they think of YOU the next time they want to launch a project.  Oh!  And did I mention that I will also send them FOR you if you want???  Really! 

So here is the newsletter below – enjoy!!

Refresh and Renew

It only takes one weekend of being stuck in your home due to cold weather to realize that spring – and therefore spring cleaning! – is right around the corner.

As a designer who does a lot of custom work for clients, spring cleaning tips can take on quite a different feel. Just how do you clean a pair of draperies that hang from ceiling to floor in a double story room? Following are some helpful tips for your special spring cleaning.

Custom Window Treatments

As you might have guessed, never for any reason should you take down your custom window treatments and run them through a washing machine or even take them to a dry cleaner. These type of window treatments are not intended to be taken down and manipulated in any way. The good news – many fabrics that are used for window treatments have a special finish that resist any type of soiling. And it is not as though these treatments are being handled or walked on – typically they are just doing their job, dressing your windows and accenting your surroundings.

There are three things you can do if you are feeling the need to freshen up your window treatments.

1.  Febreeze is a wonderful product that really does remove lingering odors in fabric, and can make a world of difference if you feel that any scent has been trapped in your fabrics.

2.  You can use a vacuum cleaner with a hose attachment with low suction to run lightly over your treatments to remove any surface soil.

3. Contact a local interior designer to have a professional window drapery and blind cleaner out to your home to do an in-home cleaning using static-electricity technology.

Upholstered Furniture

Ideally, upholstered furniture should have a finish applied that resists soiling even before the piece is put to use in your home. These finishes have a come a long way, and application does not change the feel or hand of the original fabric. Interior designers can bring these specialists into your home to finish furniture as well as rugs. Or you can try a  retail product such as Force Field. If your furniture does not have a finish, spot cleaning with a very mild cleaner is helpful.  Try your dish detergent as the cleaner. Because it is designed to have your hands soaking in it, it is non-acidic and neutral – good for both upholstery and rugs.

Glass and Mirrors

Have you ever heard that urban myth that washing your windows and wiping them down with newspaper will leave a streak-free finish?  Myth, it is. Using newspapers to wipe down your windows actually allows ink residue to apply to the surface causing smears. Try microfiber cleaning cloths – with water only. Use glass spray only on dirty areas – actually cuts down on your cleaning time!

Saving Time

Don't let spring cleaning overwhelm you. With great products on the market today, you should actually be able to save time. My favorite all-purpose cleaner is SimplyWow. And that is exactly what it is. Not only will it get out ANY stain that EVER existed in your silk clothing (yes – even that red wine stain that has been there for four years) it does wonders on carpet stains and anything that is remotely related to grease – clothing stains, kitchen cleaning, and rug and upholstery cleaning. Go to http://www.simplywow.com/  to check out all of their products.

Lastly, another great time saver is Wrinkle Release from Downy. It does wonders on taking out wrinkles – from your clothing to your comforter covers – quickly and easily, without dragging out the iron and ironing board. Perfect for quick touch-ups on items from your linen closet, too.

So don't let these gray days of winter get you down. Just think – after a little  bit of spring cleaning – you will have a refreshed home with crystal clear windows that will let that sunshine pour right in!

For more tips on how to get your home ready for spring, contact insert your name here at your number here or visit your website here.

I hope you are loving the idea of using newsletters for YOUR clients.  Feel free to contact me with any questions and click HERE to learn more and order! 

Have a GREAT WEEK!

-Mary