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Like probably everybody else I’ve been doing a lot of Zoom “meetings” lately and they really can be productive. The way Zoom has removed the barriers to sharing your screen and also see the reactions of people has been an absolute game changer, especially if you’re in any kind of sales whatsoever. The fact that Zoom has really enabled virtually anybody with an internet connection and a half-way decent computer, smart phone or tablet to become a video conferencing pro is just another plus.
But I’ve noticed that a lot of people are just bad Zoom callers. So here are tips to make your Zoom calls so much better.  “Why are your emails so plain?” It seemed like a simple question but from someone whose emails are pretty snazzy. Well, sort of. Their emails are a series of graphics and pictures. The question came in a few weeks ago in response to their having received my Monday Morning Marketing email.
Today you have to assume that a lot of people are using their phone to read emails. If they’re reading them at all. So what? Those fancy graphics and snazzy style that might look great on a computer monitor suddenly becomes unreadable on a smart phone screen and even some tablets. Where would you rather go - a party or a funeral? The answer is probably pretty obvious so why would you host a funeral when nobody died? Confused?
I actually attended a brunch this past week where we all kept our distance, wore masks and even had our temperature taken as a component of being allowed in. We are certainly living in interesting times though it was really nice to see a small number of my friends and the food was fantastic. Plus I got to bake a cheese cake which is a point of pride for me.  What motivates you? As we’re all facing a very different reality with changes in the world around us and our place in it I’ve noticed that some of you have really thrived in this environment but others are languishing. Having recently sat through hours of an on-line workshop, one of the biggest takeaways from that is finding your “why.” What is your “why”?
People are all motivated by different factors. For some it’s family, others it may be religion. Nowadays with things changing some people are motivated by the avoidance of starvation or living out of the back of their cars. Unfortunately this sad reality is closer than we may think for some of the people in our lives. What if your team does not want to come back? What if you threw a party and nobody showed-up? You worked hard, planned well and just sat there. Waiting. And waiting.
This could be what some employers do after people starting opening up again following the shelter in place orders in many areas. There could be a party of none, although it’s doubtful. But certainly something to consider.  While it might not seem so at the moment, there is another side to our sheltering in place during this pandemic. At some point in the future, we will all be back to some form of normalcy with the ability to hug one another, shake hands, have boring meetings and walk the streets. I don’t know when. I don’t have the slightest idea.
But I’m sure the people in the last pandemic in 1918 also thought that the boredom and shelter wouldn’t end either. But here we are, 100 years later, with virtually no societal memory of the last time the entire world ran for shelter.  Mr. Okra was a singing vegetable seller in New Orleans From challenge comes opportunity. And boy do we have challenges. So that means we have some pretty great opportunities.
This blog has long been about seeing opportunities and making them happen. Working with you over these years I have seen a lot of opportunities and watched as many of you have taken ideas and run with them. And now here is another one. Right now we’re all sitting at home. Some of you are able to do whatever you did from the same address as where your blender is. Some of you are completely out of work. Some of you are worried. And some of you are serial entrepreneurs.  I have written about backing up your computer and smart phones in the past. In fact, this is one of the more popular articles on this site and is also something all businesses need to think about.
But there is another form of back-up that might be even more important. Recently I created a new web presence for a client and they had a very, very legitimate question: what happens to our URL (the name in the address line of the browser such as www.nerdsfornormals.com) if something happens to me.  I have been working from home for a very long time with a few brief breaks. As such I feel qualified to offer some tips to all of you who are new to this experience.
Of course many of us are now finding ourselves working, sleeping and cooking under the same roof with our cars sitting in the garage getting several months to a gallon. Suddenly a trip to the grocery store is exciting rather than a drudgery until we get there and see the empty shelves.  While I’m sensing an underlying drum beat of people starting to get restless with staying at home and sheltering in place, especially from a lot of my friends who own businesses, pandemics don’t care that you’re restless. No matter how bored we all get with the current situation, fast-spreading viruses could thrive as a restless world decides that enough is enough and then we’re really in deep water.
So, instead of grumbling about the situation that we are not in control of, here’s an idea to take advantage of it in an unprecedented opportunity to make things better. |
Tony BarthelTony Barthel is passionate about great marketing for small businesses Get Free Weekly Marketing TipsCategories
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