lance cashion: remote control

Unintended Success Story from a Lowly Blog

One of our partners was offering a service I needed. However, the price was not within our budget on this particular project. So, our partner said they would give us a discount if I shared my experience with their service on my blog. Done and done!

Like I’ve said before, I like awesome products and excellent customer service. I like people/companies whose actions and service match their words. Therefore, you’ll be hearing about our partner in the coming weeks. Perhaps they provide a service you can use as well.

Over and out!
Lance Cashion

Has the new iphone changed the way we communicate?

I should be receiving my new iphone 4 in the next few days.  Let’s be realistic, these are not phones.  These devices are super-computers with phone capabilities.  Just 6-7 years ago, I was not alone in thinking; “Phone’s with built-in camera, how stupid!”  I was wrong.  Today, I am intrigued by the video capabilities of the new generation smart phones.  I can more easily and effectively communicate using video chat and over the web using video in conjunction with my keyboard.  Personally, I don’t think we’ve scratched the surface on the creative ways we’ll be communicating using these devices or the new platforms that will emerge to support them.

Currently, I’m preparing to shift the way I communicate with my team, clients, prospects and future talent away from heavy email to video laden communications.  Sure, email will remain a major communication form.  However, if a client asks me a question about life insurance, I can reply with a short video rather than reply to their email (and possible blog the answer using traditional means).  Within a few minutes I can answer an important client question, upload it to youtube, my blog, and broadcast it to the world.  There by serving others who may have similar questions.  Now, imagine when I post my answer 5 other people post new questions/comments using video.  Suddenly, the conversation on the web becomes more ‘human’.  Maybe I could host a video webinar meeting with just a phone?

Are these devices going to change the way you communicate?  (Before you answer that, remember my comments about “camera phones being stupid”)

What ways are you going to take advantage of this technology?

Lance Cashion

American Health Underwriters

Intel: Your Personal Brand (Article Linked)

After reading the Inc. article, I decided to write about it...

 When most people think “brand”, images of Apple, Google and Nike usually come to mind.  However, we must recognize the importance and power of the faces, values and personalities that are brands in and of themselves. Think about the personal brands of Dave Ramsey, Billy Graham, Steve Jobs, The Grateful Dead. Donald Trump and Prince.  These are strong brands.  You know them.  You know what they do.

I learned the importance of the personal brand several years ago when I was building a brand around my music career as a DJ and producer.  Over the years, dedicated fans, music enthusiasts and potential customers would see (or hear) my name or my company name (Slow Motion Music) on print ad, flyers, message boards, radio, or word-of-mouth and know that the event, record or product was of the highest quality possible. I held myself and the people I chose to work with to the highest standards possible.  After four years of hard work, our brand was the standard on which all others were measured in Austin, Texas.

Today, technology has given each of us an opportunity to brand ourselves and our products cheaply and effectively.  You must leverage these powerful tools and communication platforms to build your brand. 

Below is an article from Inc. Magazine entitled; How to Build Your Personal Brand- With traditional publicity vehicles and the Web’s resources at hand, making a name for yourself is easier than ever. Author: April Joyner

Article Link Here

This article is packed full of useful information and links of further research.  I highly suggest you read it, digest it and implement some of the strategies.  I have published an article about defending your brand here.
 
Keep on, keepin’ on

Lance Cashion
American Health Underwriters

Taking Care of Your People: The Art of the Referral pt 1

It feels good when a client sends family or friends to me for help with their health or life insurance.  What does it say about me and my work when this occurs?  It tells me that the work, product and service I provide matter.  Over the last several years, a brand has emerged around what I do and the service I provide.  This is not an accident.  When people in my network think “insurance” my face and name pop into their minds.  Many have Google or MSN set as their default homepage on their PCs.  My people have 'Lance Cashion' set as the default in their minds when it comes to insurance.  I’ve built a reputation for serving people and helping them navigate the sometimes expensive, always confusing world of insurance.

Staying in constant, but non-intrusive contact with my clients is essential in solidifying and growing my brand.  Here are a few things I do to keep this process going and growing.

Thank You Cards: I hand write one to each of my clients when their policy issues.  It is a short note in sincere gratitude for the trust they have given me and the commission that will feed my family.  I always include a couple business cards and a refrigerator magnet.  As of late, I have been including a $5 Starbucks gift card (insurance agents are limited by regulations of how much we can give to an applicant).  In the note, I always ask them to share my information with anyone who could use my service.  more here...

Birthdays: I record each of my clients and children’s birthdays into my Outlook Calendar.  I set a reminder 5 days before their birthday.  My clients will receive a card and email from me.  Their kids will receive a $10 iTunes gift card or an age appropriate gift card on their birthdays.  Have you ever received a call from one of your client’s kids thanking you for something?  I have!  In today’s world, who does this stuff?  I do.......  And it has made all the difference.

Referral Reward Program: I have set up a reward program for my clients who send customers my way.  It’s very basic and very effective.  Imagine sending your brother to me for insurance help and you get a $50 or $100 Gift card in the mail.  I don’t care how much money you have, this is effective!  I’ve now sent my client and their family to dinner or paid for groceries.  Again, I always send the gift card with a Thank You card and remind them that I am here to serve anyone they may know.

To be continued….

It’s taken me several years to develop a system where MY people know they are taken care of and want to share my service with the world.  At one point, I wanted to keep my system to myself.  Now, I see that by sharing it, I can have a positive effect on the world around me.  Send me a referral and see what happens!

See you next time and let me know if you have any questions.
 
Lance Cashion

Burj Al Arab (Dubai) Music Score by Lance Cashion

As a member of the Multi-Dimensional Design team, I am responsible for the audio production/editing and scoring for the animation sequences created by our design artists.

Below is a animation and audio sequence created for the Jumeirah Group. The Burj Al Arab is one of the most recognizable assets in the world.  We hope that you enjoy our work. 

For more information about our services please contact me here... Note: Quicktime version is available on YouTube Channel page 

Please stay tuned!

Thanks

Lance Cashion

http://www.multiddesign.com/

intel: defending your brand

As the one responsible for my organization’s online presence and brand, I must employ tactics and measures to ensure that our brand, our message and our reputation is protected.  Recently, I found a sponsored link on Google that mentioned my organization’ name (American Health Underwriters).  After clicking on the link, I found that I was directed to a landing page that contained some of our content but the page belonged to competitor.  Essentially, one of our competitors was using our brand and web content to market their products.  Needless to say, I was taken by surprise.  Fortunately, I contacted the organization and they promptly moved toward clearing up the problem before I escalated it to our legal team.  Had I not been monitoring our brand, they would have continued to use our brand to advertise their products.

Ferris Bueller’s famous quote:

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it” should be modified to “Information about your brand moves pretty fast…..” 

This brings me to an important and informative article by Michael Hyatt from September 4^th entitled “Defending Your Brand Online”.  I think you’ll find it useful in understanding how to monitor the online conversation about your brand, products, etc and what steps to take if the conversation turns against you.  After reading the examples Michael uses… you’ll begin to understand “why” defending your brand is essential.  I have shared this article with leadership within my organization.  I suggest you do the same.  Thanks to Michael for allowing me to share some excerpts from his site. I recommend you visit.

Below is an excerpt from the original article.

“It takes years to build a brand. Unfortunately, there aren’t many shortcuts. You build a brand—like a reputation—one impression at a time. Every encounter with a customer results in either a “deposit” or a “withdrawal” in your “brand account.”

Twenty years ago, if a customer had a bad experience with your company, it didn’t matter quite as much. Sure they could tell their friends, and if enough people had bad experiences, they could tell their friends. Eventually, it would catch up with you. But it didn’t happen overnight.

But today, things are different. Digital communication has changed everything. If a customer has a bad experience, he can email his friends, Twitter his followers, or blog about his experience. In the blink of an eye, one bad experience can cascade into thousands—and even millions—of impressions. Brands can be damaged in a few days.” (Michael Hyatt)

© 2010, Michael S. Hyatt. All rights reserved. Originally published at www.michaelhyatt.com

Michael Suggests 7 steps to defending your brand (Click on link to Michael’s blog entry is provided below for more information.)

1.       Build an online presence

2.       Monitor the conversation

3.       Respond quickly to criticism

4.       Admit your mistakes

5.       Understand the lifetime value of the customer

6.       Empower your employees to solve problems

7.       Exceed your customers’ expectations.

 

Link to this article: http://michaelhyatt.com/2008/09/defending-your-brand-online.html

There it is.  Simple and effective. 

Lance Cashion

Entreleadership 1-Day event take away

I took my team leaders to Dave Ramsey's Entreleadership 1 day event in Dallas Thursday.  I was a bit apprehensive about their reactions to Dave and the material when I decided to invite them to join me at the event.  I ended up asking them to buy their own tickets.  This added more pressure but they now had a vested interest in getting their money's worth.  I believe in the material and Dave's delivery always get's the point across.

Nearly 48 hours later, I have had an opportunity to get feedback from each team member.  I found that each of them got something completely different from the lessons.  One of our top managers, who is in a leadership position said that the goal setting and section on business plan basics resonated with him.  In fact, we had a 20 minute discussion about how we all need to sit down and write our small business plans and KRAs (Key Results Area).  This also led to an important discussion about goal setting and the importance team members' personal budgets.  Our team is on commission, if we partner with them in their personal financial walk, we can help them avoid financial crisis that would affect their production.

During the live lesson, I noticed our head recruiter and director of marketing was making notes like a madman on the Delegation and Time Management sections.  We've since sat down to discuss strategy modifications going forward.  These are minor course corrections in the process we currently employ.  We both agree that some people need to "get off the bus". 

Another of our team who is one of our top managers and in-house team motivator is tweaking our current goal-setting process.  He noticed the significance that Dave placed on goal-setting while I was reminded that goal-setting is essential to winning. 

I believe our next leadership meeting will be extremely productive.

At the end of the day, Entreleadership 1 Day event is a solid product (as is the Master Series).  Similar to when the iphone was introduced, I promote great products that improve lives.  I like buying great products.  When I was a DJ, I sought out quality music and introduced it to the masses.  When I sell insurance, I make sure it is the highest quality and I make sure to sell it to as many people as possible.  When I build a team, only the best will do.  That is why I brought them to Entre 1 Day Event.  I care about improving their lives and that of my the folks in my organization. 

You can read about my experience at Entreleadership Cancun (6 Day Event) here...

It's a culture thing.

Lance Cashion

kudos to kia: Sorento Commercial

I know very little about Kias but I know that their newest Sorento commercial is one of the best I have seen in a while.  The Sock Monkey has made a huge comeback and Kia capitalized on it with a clever play on well, playing like a kid.  Kia successfully branded the Sorento as "fun" using Sock Monkey and his stuffed animal crew wrecking house while car owners are away...  Its a Vegas bachelor party for stuffed animals and those of us who have "been there, done that".  I would like to mention that the use of The Heavy's "How You Like Me Now" is a stroke of brilliance.  

Let's see who they resonated with:

1. Current Kia owners

2. Children (use of toys)

3. Young single adults (party scenes)

4. Young families (kids toys and kiddos in the car)

5. The "cool" band clique (use of a song from a lesser known group)... Note: "cool" people won't buy sorento, b/c they are too cool.  The Heavy may lose a few fans due to the commercial.  But, they probably gained massive amounts of new listeners (itunes downloads/more attendees at gigs)... maybe another record contract and we all know Kia did not pay them in Monopoly money ;)

In the end, I think it is an effective and fun commercial to watch... I still won't buy a Sorento.  I may buy the album tho ;)

Note: If you would like to see/hear some of my audio work with Multi-d-design animation please click here...

Until next time planet earth... over and out.

Lance Cashion

ps. Link to The Heavy's "How you like me now" music video... Its pretty good.

Don't paralyze your customers

A take away from the book "Switch" and business application to health insurance sales: Below is the body of the email I sent to my team earlier today.

Decision Paralysis:

-More options, even good ones, can freeze (a customer’s) ability to make a decision. (from Switch)

-A condition of not being able to decide on a matter when there is no clear cut best option. It leads to an ever longer period of gathering more information in the hope that more information will guide the decision maker to an option that is clearly better.

Providing too many options (while well-intentioned) actually harms the potential customer you are trying to serve.  Having ONE lead-off plan is the most effective way to close sales.  Remember, you are the expert.  They depend on you to decide.

Decrease options, increase potential sales.  We lead the customer through the process of buying a plan versus giving them several plan options and pushing them to make a decision after we’ve just paralyzed their ability to decide with too much information.

At the end of the day, all of my customers walk away with EXACTLY what they need.  I serve them well and they give my contact info to their family and friends.  I become a part of their world b/c they respect me enough to allow me to work for them and know that I will do a good job for them.  My clients call me throughout the year just to chat.  I love it!  Unless you are an expert, self-serve health insurance not a good idea. 

Lance

iPad: Will I buy one? Or will Apple send me on for free?

Dear Mr. Jobs,

I'm thinking ipads are pretty cool.  I also think the ipad gives us a glimpse into the future of personal computing.  Once voice recognition applications take a bigger chunk of the market.  Keyboards will be a thing of the past (no more carpel tunnel).  You'll need a touchscreen and that will be it. Sweet.

I'm thinking I'll wait for the 2nd generation iPad.  I got a 1st generation iphone and it still works like a charm but I wished I had a later model.  However, I'm ole skool with my beat up two tone 8 gig iphone. 

Maybe Apple's evil genius marketing has not really dug its claws into the materialistic, techy side of my American psyche. 

Maybe the price tag is a little tough to swallow.  Wait, the ipad commercials have not really begun running yet... nor have I been on a plane sitting next to someone with an ipad.  (I know how you people work... and I like it)

Ok, I'm just another victim of Apple's evil genius...  How long can I last?  The Self-control tank eventually runs out of gas.  Maybe Apple will send me one due to the fact I have had Apple computers since 1993... I've gone through 4 Macs (impressive b/c that 4 macs equals 8 Dells... and one of my MacBooks was stolen from me).  I'm a AAPL stockholder...

Mr. Jobs, please send me a ipad.  Thanks buddy!

Lance Cashion