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The Luxuries People Can't Live Without (Infographic)

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From Wi-Fi to domestic travel, there are some things we can’t even think about living without. However, what if you had to choose between Netflix or Spotify? Turns out, most people would give up Spotify.   How This Private Aviation Startup Found Its Niche in the Luxury Market A recent survey of more than 1,000 people asked what luxuries people could and couldn’t live without. Unsurprisingly, the first thing people were quick to give up was nice towels. However, when it came to travel, food delivery, Netflix, coffee and more, decisions became more difficult.  Overall and without much surprise, people categorized Wi-Fi and their smartphone as the top two “have to have” items. Coming in close behind were pets, a dryer and a nice mattress, which also ranked in the “have to have” category.When it comes to health and wellness, people also prioritized eating out and buying lunch over going to the gym. Between coffee or alcohol, a majority chose coffee. Related: Why T...

How to Write Product Descriptions That Sell

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Infinity Freedom “Committed to create your bright future” At one point or another, your company will need to craft product listings, and they need to be as persuasive as possible. At one point or another, your company will need to craft product listings -- whether it’s for a menu, merchandise items or services. Since these product descriptions will be featured on your website, your app, Yelp, Google and/or Facebook, they should be as persuasive as possible. You might be wondering, what’s so complicated about product listings. You simply write a product description that describes your product, right? Wrong. It’s actually a lot harder, because product descriptions need to sell your products. While it’s often considered the last resort for conversions, if properly written, the product description can be a powerful persuasion tool for boosting sales. Does your product copy entice readers to click “add to cart”? 1. Focus on your ideal customer Don’t try to please everyone w...

Instantly Inspire Teamwork When Unity Is Lost

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Infinity Freedom “Committed to create your bright future” Your employees are tired. They look down and overworked. They've even started operating on their own and have lost focus on the company mission. But you are so close to reaching your next goal. You just need motivation, and you need it fast. At the same time, you know that a few words and a slight shift in your employees' mindset could make all the difference. So, a solution: Find a good quote. Send the right quote at the right time, and it must might turn your staff’s day around completely. Here are 17 quotes you can use to motivate your team, and maybe even yourself, when you need unity fast. 1. “Individual commitment to a group effort: That is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” -- Vince Lombardi Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi knew the importance of teamwork. He recognized that the success of a team is dependent on every team member working toward a com...

Don't Assume Employees Can't Handle Tough Decisions

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Infinity Freedom “Committed to create your bright future” Too often, managers become paternalistic toward employees, falling into the wrongheaded belief that they know what's best for them. Managers often make tough decisions that affect the careers of their direct reports. It just goes with the territory. Some of those choices involve confidential, financial and legal considerations that just can’t be shared with an employee. But all too often, with the best of intentions, we default to our assumptions of “what’s best” instead of consulting with the individual in question. It’s scary how often this happens and how many of us are guilty without realizing it. Case in point: You assume that because a woman has expressed a desire to lead her current department one day, she may not be open to a transfer to a different team. In fact, she might not be, but if she’s earned your consideration, hasn’t she earned the right to weigh in on her own career? What about the ace salesp...

How to Help a Struggling Employee Get Back on Track

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Infinity Freedom “Committed to create your bright future” Employees aren't just the skills you hired them for. They are people with all the baggage that entails. Do you have an employee -- or multiple employees -- struggling with output and productivity? Or perhaps you have a recent hire who hasn't been living up to expectations, and neither one of you knows what to do. These cases are extremely frustrating: People who appeared capable of producing high-quality output for your team aren't living up to your expectations. You're stressed, and your employees are stressed. Despite the challenge of the situation at hand, not all hope is lost. We all get in a funk from time to time, and it often takes someone else to help us pull ourselves out. You can also do that for your employees -- it will make them more valuable to your company, strengthen your relationship with them and enhance their job satisfaction. Here's what it takes to lift a struggling employee ...

Actions Even the Least Confrontational Managers Must Take to Hold Employees Accountable

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Infinity Freedom “Committed to create your bright future” Few people enjoy confrontation, and nobody likes the few who do, but it's your job to speak up for the good of the company. I have worked with leaders, managers and supervisors across the country. One of most common liabilities they share is an inability to hold their direct reports accountable. Shockingly, in my career, I have worked for several managers who never held me accountable. Ever. Bill Owens, attorney, author and former governor of Colorado, once said “True leadership lies in guiding others to success. In ensuring that everyone is performing at their best, doing the work they are pledged to do and doing it well.” Why don’t leaders hold others accountable? In the programs I teach, managers and supervisors say: “I don’t want the conflict.” “I want them to like me.” “They will do a good job if I hired the right person.” “I don’t know how" If you are in a leadership role, the work needs to get do...

Take Advantage of Marketplace Cultural Changes to Grow Your Business

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Infinity Freedom “Committed to create your bright future” As the U.S. cultural landscape continues to evolve, smart business owners need to learn how to address a changing marketplace. The following excerpt is from Glenn Llopis’s book The Innovation Mentality. Buy it now from Amazon | Barnes & Noble Recognizing the distinction between your different target audiences and what makes them special is what you need to understand to connect with them or any “cultural shift” population. Does your organization know how to answer these four fundamental questions about your employees and customers, which directly connect to the six characteristics of the innovation mentality? How does cultural upbringing (i.e., heritage) shape their mindset? What strengths and capabilities fuel their desires? What are their ultimate goals and ambitions (i.e., what matters most to them)? How do their core values and beliefs (i.e., what they stand for) affect their lifestyle choices? Today’...

Embrace Your Employees' Differences to Become a Stronger Business Leader

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Infinity Freedom “Committed to create your bright future” Today's employees want more from a job than a paycheck and benefits. The following excerpt is from Glenn Llopis’s book The Innovation Mentality. Buy it now from Amazon | Barnes & Noble Today’s employees want more from the workplace. They need their leaders to have their backs. But too many leaders are operating in survival mode and thus don’t share enough of themselves to protect their own domain. Without leaders to sponsor and mentor high-potential employees, many are reckoning with the changing terrain on their own, which puts their organizations at risk. When brands don’t invest in and retain the right people intelligence, they lose marketplace opportunity. And with a workplace and a marketplace that are becoming younger, more diverse, technologically savvy and globally connected, leaders should become more intent on seeing what lies around, beneath and beyond what they seek for their businesses as a g...

Why Exceeding Expectations Is Essential to the Long Term Success of Your Business

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Infinity Freedom “Committed to create your bright future” If you really want your business to be around for the long haul, you've got to do more than meet your customers' expectations. The following excerpt is from Glenn Llopis’s book The Innovation Mentality. Buy it now from Amazon | Barnes & Noble Editor's Note: With competition growing increasingly harsh, business owners can no longer offer “bare minimum” customer service. Find out why “exceeding expectations” is the new order of the day with customers everywhere. Leaders and employees are trained that the most important person in their ecosystem is the customer or client, and they strive to have a team that’s reflective of the guests who walk into their stores or want to do business with them. But even when they aren’t reflective of that guest, they can evolve to see their job as more than just a responsibility to do what needs to be done and instead have the expectation to get their hands dirty an...

Steps to Repair A Client Relationship

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Infinity Freedom “Committed to create your bright future” In mid-January, I received a surprising early morning email from a content client. The email read, “Hi there. How should we handle this?” I immediately started to wake up from my sleepy fog and was a mix of interested and scared to see what came next. The message was followed by an email conversation between my client and a well-known stock-image company. The company claimed that an image used in a blog post was protected by copyright and damages needed to be paid to compensate the photographer for their loss of revenue. My client tried to apologize to the company, and the apology was followed by a response informing them that the only apology fit for this situation was cash. The stock-image company requested a settlement amount of several hundred dollars to “repair the damage. My heart sunk. Not only was this a tough situation for my client, but it was also completely my fault. Now a client of mine was faced wit...

Have You Made a Big Mistake? Here's Why That's Good News for Your Company.

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Infinity Freedom “Committed to create your bright future”    Don't just say 'oops' and move on, because fixing a flub can be a prime opportunity for engendering customer loyalty. March 2018 was a lousy time to be a Facebook executive. As the Cambridge Anaytica data fiasco unfolded, the world held the social media giant under a microscope. Time and again, Facebook’s reactions failed. Stock plummeted. Zuckerberg landed in front of a congressional committee. And what America got to watch as a result was textbook bungling by a major corporation. No executive wants to experience a public failure of such catastrophic proportions. Yet bad things happen to practically every company -- more often than leaders might like to admit. Ironically, though, those executives can turn that bungling into some of the best, even amazing, opportunities to connect with people. When handled well, mistakes can actually create customers for life. Turn your frustrated customers into lo...

Tips to increase your conversion rate in digital marketing

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Infinity Freedom “Committed to create your bright future” Conversion is pretty much the Holy Grail of digital marketing, that utopian goal we all strive for, but only the best achieve. Increasing your conversion rate is fundamental to increase your return on investment and make the most of your digital marketing budget.  Luckily, we are constantly given more and more information on how to convert more. Today I would like to give you 10 tips to increase your conversion rate in digital marketing, and tell you when and how to use them to optimize your results.  1) Test like there’s no tomorrow If you want to convert, you have to dig up your most scientific self and get to work. Think of every element of your campaign and their possible variations: email subjects, images, copies, etc. Then, subject them to rigorous and controlled testing with A/B and A/B/C tests. With some rigour and consistency, you will be able to make your digital marketing efforts more and m...

Bring Your Community into Your Marketing

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Infinity Freedom “Committed to create your bright future” These days, the competition for audience attention is fierce, and nonprofits often don’t have the resources or time available to compete with 7 to 8 figure big-brand marketing budgets. Marketing teams at budget-conscious organizations have another asset that they can rely on— their creativity. Instead of aiming to  reach  potential members or donors through expensive advertising, why not aim to partner with them and build an online community instead? After all, word of mouth is one of the most powerful, genuine, and authentic marketing channels. It’s also dramatically cost-effective: when audiences share your content and talk about your organization’s work, you’re getting free exposure. But strong ‘word of mouth’ marketing campaigns don’t happen by accident. You need a careful strategy in place to ensure that you’re reaching the right audiences. Turn “I” to “you” in your marketing—Her...