Originally printed in the TwitterQueens.ning.com blog:

I have spoken to Rocky Turner a couple of times over the past few weeks, and to say that her strength is an inspiration would be an understatement.
To say that I am blown away by how she (and her husband) manage to raise six children (hands on- I have heard her helping with homework) and spend time in Africa acting as a surrogate mother to the girls of an orphanage would be an understatement.
To say that I am impressed to the bone by the level of integrity with which she runs her non-profit organization Mothers Fighting For Others – well, that would be a huge understatement.

This is an older video. It tells a little bit about the work Rocky and Ashley Saunders are doing in Kenya, and there are even more girls that need help now.

I like the starfish story that Rocky tells. I like it because it only begins to tell the story. A kindness done spreads by ripple effect (as many of us have seen here on TwitterQueens)- toss that starfish in and literally you change the course of the world. Teach a group of young women about unlimited potential and you unleash power that not only changes lives- it will change the lives of their children and their children’s friends. Can you imagine it?

Rocky will be on TQ Radio on Monday November 2. I liked what she had been doing before I had spoken with her- but listen to this. I was curious about how this had all been put together. Except for an average of $20 per month in administration costs, every cent of money raised has gone to the children. Not only do the women completely forgo any salaries- Rocky has paid for her own transportation and nearly all of the associated expenses of traveling there. She told me what that cost for the past year. Incredible.

So this is what I was thinking. I know that we are all busy, but I think some small calls-to-action would literally change the world.

1. We are “adopting” Mothers Fighting For Others as our choice for any gift-giving. Have an extra $5 at the end of the week? Click the PayPal button that will be on the front page and donate. If we all donate pocket change it will add up in a hurry.

2. Through the season, we wanted to start TQ Holidays for MFFO. Kind of a clunky name, but we can call it TQHMFFO if that is better ;). This means two things. a) SPREAD THE WORD! MFFO is really operating on a shoestring- in fact, they have borrowed to pay for the shoestring. By spreading the word we may end up with more individual sponsors, and also come across corporate sponsorship. b) Donate the cost of a gift to MFFO. I am going to do this with my youngest daughter Jenny. We will talk together about how much a present would cost and donate together.

3. Write a blog post about MFFO.

4. Consider asking any corporations you are involve with to sponsor MFFO- either by matching dollars donated by TQ members, or in a more broad sense.

5. See if your school would like to donate to support this cause. This could be as simple as seeing if your child’s class would set up a “Quarters for Kenya” jar prior to the holiday break and donating the proceeds through the PayPal button here.

Little things. But like with the starfish in the story, the little things are everything.

Rocky Turner will be speaking about her work on Monday 11/2 on TQ Radio (www.blogtalkradio.com/jckc . TwitterQueen Jeff Turner is Rocky’s husband.

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Just when you thought it was safe to answer the phone...

Do you want to know why some sales people are struggling?  Because they are believing all the whiners, sales snipers, and so called gurus who like to “talk” sales instead of “make” sales.  These “big talkers” are filling everybody’s head with junk!

I’ve had enough of hearing people talk about how “prospects like to buy, they don’t want to be sold”.  I’m tired of hearing that sales is “all about building relationships”.  I’m sick of hearing that “cold calling is dead,” intrusive, and whatever else!- Doyle Slayton in SalesBlogCast

Beginning with a quote from another blog- a sales blog.

First, read his entire post. Then, here are a few of my thoughts, for what it’s worth.

I agree about the relationship part. You don’t go to a dentist because of your great relationship with him; you go because he/she does a good job while imparting the least amount of pain. I think that the “friendship” part came in when the way the sales world works was dissected, and the effectiveness of types of leads was quantified. Word of mouth/referrals were the best qualified leads for a salesperson, and one way (easy/effective) to be remembered is to create a friendship relationship.

And while this is easiest- sending birthday cards, holiday notes- I for one HATED it when it happened to me when I was a consumer. Don’t send me a card telling me how to carve a pumpkin. For god’s sake, get my house sold. That will keep you top of mind.

But regarding cold calling:

If you are in sales, does this method work for you? I am particularly interested in RE sales, but I am curious generally. I don’t think cold-calling should be confused with follow-up, because they are two different animals.

If you are a consumer- and we all are- have you purchased anything as the result of a cold call in the last year? If you have, what was your motivation- price, unique product offering, getting off the phone with the sales person, or something else? Did you regret the purchase later?

Knowledge is power. If you are in sales, you need to know what works, and will work for the long term.

And as a consumer, yes, I have made purchases online because of pressure and not wanting to seem impolite, and I have regretted it. I won’t anymore.

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What would it take to get you into a new car today?

For your information:

“The study found that 42 million women in the United States (roughly 53% of the 79 million adult women in the United States who use the Internet) participate in social media at least weekly. As they spend more time with social media, women are spending correspondingly less time with traditional media: 39% less on newspapers, 36% less time reading magazines, and 30% less time watching TV.” - Small Business Trends

“Women purchase 65% of all new cars and 53% of used cars...” - Road and Travel Magazine

“According to J.D. Power and Associates, women purchase 60 percent of all new and used automobiles, and influence 85 percent of all car purchases.”

Why, then, was this said to me the last time I went to buy an automobile? “What will it take to get you into a car today?” Let’s see- how about a car with features that I want, at a price that I know is reasonable because I have done the research?

Or, even better, why on earth would two separate dealerships (one Chevrolet, one GMC) be condescending to a woman intending to make an auto purchase, one calling her a control freak because she wanted to make sure that the auto had enough power to tow her boat?

1964 Buick Rivera Commercial Sexist

It is not the sixties anymore, and the only place that the above scenario existed was in some ad exec’s mind anyway. A car isn’t something that a woman “can admire and enjoy to the fullest, but only a man can really understand.” Automobile companies claim to have in-depth training for their salespeople. Are the salespeople all not listening?

These are the facts. Women make up your largest client base, generally, in auto sales. Are women less knowledgeable about price and function of automobiles?

A study from 2007, which states that women are most likely to shop “with their heads” as being influenced by the heart also mentions: “No Condescending Salesmen Allowed Another sign of the changing times is that women are increasingly knowledgeable about cars. As a result, men and women indicate that they are equally satisfied with the automotive sales experience, at least according to the most recent J.D. Power Sales Satisfaction Index… (italics and bold mine).

Good enough. I don’t mind being classified as someone who is knowledgeable, and because of this knowledge looks for what she wants. Does that make me and my sisters control freaks? Yes- and I hope my brothers are as well. I want control over my decision-making when it comes to MY purchase that I will likely be paying for over at least 4 years. I will not give that power up to a salesperson who has known me for maybe 10 minutes and whose paycheck is derived from my purchase. Any salesperson who tries to wrest that control from me will see me vote with my feet.

Realize that we are heading into your dealership with our homework done. We know what we are looking for, and whether the largest factor is price, safety, reliability or environmental impact, we have done our homework. We are the people that you want as repeat customers. We will tell our friends if the experience was good, and we will blog about it if it is not.

Change your sales tactics.

For a post by the original “control freak” click here

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Yesterday on our radio show there was a lot of discussion (some on air and quite a bit in the chatroom which unfortunately isn’t transcribed) about transparency.

Transparency?

I had originally heard this term used to describe a real estate transaction, but lately it has been used more broadly to describe a person’s actions, both online and off. It makes no sense to me.

When I am at a party, I behave differently than I would at the office, yet I am still me. I don’t wear my swimsuit to church no matter how hot it is, but it is still me sweating inside those clothes. That’s what human beings do; we are taught to observe those around us and interact appropriately. Given this definition of humanity, how can “transparency” be applied as a characteristic of human behavior?

My voice – how I speak to people both online and off – is naturally going to shift depending upon who I am speaking with. Is someone who chooses to downplay last weekend’s revelry while attending a Policemen’s Ball duplicitous or sensible?

Or is it polite to not want to offend others, and sensible to not expose others who wish not to be spoken of?

I think transparency- in the sense that it is used here- is probably something the world could do a little less with. Although they say the road to hell is paved with good intentions, I am inclined to think that the pavers instead are unbridled honesty. We have all encountered honesty that, really, was not useful in the course of life- whether it is cloaked in the guise of constructive criticism, or tossed out there with the sentence, “You want me to be honest, don’t you?”- there is no place for it.

No, I don’t want you to be honest. I want you to be nice.

So I agree that transparency should exist in transactions and courtrooms. But in human relations? I am championing translucency- be yourself, but put it through a filter. And this goes for whether you are engaging online or offline.

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Another one to add...

Well, I am happy to be heading home, but we had a great time in Delaware. Ignite was very cool! Met a lot of people and saw some old friends. Thanks to Bill Lublin for coming to see us- he had to leave early for BlogWorld the next day, but was there to show support.

Our classes at DAR convention at Dover Downs went well too. We realized after the feedback the first day that we needed to simplify the content, so we revamped our class prior to the second go-around, and made it more relevant.

You know what I wish, though? Online relationships are great, but I wish that I lived closer to Lesley and Maya. I would never have met them had it not been for twitter- Lesley is outside of my service area, and Maya is so far away from me. But they are both brilliant, and I love being with them. We are very comfortable with one another.

So your scope enlarges with a social media presence, but there are more “good-byes” to deal with. Trying to figure out where to plan another TQCamp- Chicago? Florida? The face-to-face meetings are energizing and we are ready to do anything.

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This was when it wasn't that bad

I came across this old post of mine while searching for something else today. It is funny how that happens; I had nearly forgotten about the ice storm that we had, and how everything was brought to a standstill around here. Several local high schools were commandeered as emergency shelters for people without water, heat and electricity. I still have trouble with one zone of my heating system because of the extended time without heat.

Reprinted from January 2009:

I live in Eastern Massachusetts, where we have been hit hard with an ice storm. The exquisite beauty that the storm brought us also tore down trees, and many places have been without power for days, with more of the same to come.

Still, at least as far as I am concerned, it could be worse. Here is my Top Six List. I tried to come up with ten, but apparently the caffeine hasn’t kicked in.

1. You have to appreciate the Pilgrims. Can you imagine landing here, looking around, and saying, “We are about the same latitude as England- how bad can winter get?”

2. You burn more calories when you are cold. I’m wearing my “skinny” jeans right now.

3. I have been able to leave my business card at all of the places I’ve showered. Note on back: “Your bathroom really looks wonderful with the updating! Have you ever thought about listing?”

4. You have no choice but to get at least 8 hours of sleep if you have no contact with anything that will keep you awake.

5. You give thanks for water, light, and the children’s ADHD medication.

6. On a serious note, emergencies bring out the best and the worst in people. You really see a lot of the best. Emergency crews have been out around the clock. All manner of people have been extending the hand of friendship to each other.

Just a note: If there are any people in need because of the storm, or if you have people who you need to be checked on in the area, please call us. We have a network of people who can help.

I was not happy without heat- we never left the  house for warmer digs. But like everything else that seems horrible at the time, it ended and you learn. And the kids still talk about it as if it was one big adventure- which, I guess, it was.

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Do people still say “psyched”? Because I am- we are starting an online radio show on October 19th and I couldn’t be more excited.

really- I couldn't

TQ Radio is a collaborative effort between the TwitterQueens founders themselves, great guests, and the audience. We are hosted by BlogTalkRadio, and are one of the jckc shows. Our “big brother” show is The “M” Files- hosted by the wonderful, funny Mike Mueller. His show is on Mondays at Noon PST.

Our show will precede that by a bit- we are Mondays at Noon EST, for an hour! The anticipated setup will be that we will have a brief introduction, bring our guest pretty much right out, and spend most of the time talking with him/her/them. At the end of the program, we will talk with our “TwitterQueen of the Week”- someone that we have chosen randomly from our online group.

Any suggestions for guests? Add to the comments here.

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Tonight’s the night.

After having compiled a list of 20 of the worst songs ever, I am going to have a blipfest.

First of all, what is Blip? It has been described by at least one (see link above) as twitter for music. and while this is a little true, I would say it is even more specific. DJs (that would be anyone who signs up) do so with a minimal amount of information. You don’t need much more than a DJ name and an email address that is fresh to the system. Indeed, you can’t add a heckuva lot more. You can add a pic, age and location, website, and that’s about it. But it is amazing how connecting pure music can be. So check it out.

But second- why a Top Worst Songs playlist? This has historic roots. On my first meeting with @realtyman- a broker whose home base is a couple towns away- we met up at the Mango Grill. Nice place, he was the broker and I was the agent, so I believe that he picked up the check. Pretty good food.

Then the music started. It was the playlist from hell, and I am sure that they cranked up the volume as the night went on to give us some incentive to leave. Cross dentist office music with the music backdrop to every political campaign prior to Bill Clinton’s, run it through tinny speakers, and you have a close approximation. But you know what? I never laughed so hard in my life.

So tonight is #MangoMonday over at blip. I presume I will lose a few listeners, but they probably need the extra time to rinse the starch out of their underwear anyway. Pop some popcorn to throw at the speakers, and listen sitting away from your computer. You don’t want to spray beer on the keyboard.

I am @HeyAmaretto on blip.fm. Danced your first dance to Muskrat Love? Check out tonight’s playlist- and add your own suggestions in the comments.

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Lists of good follows for twitter have been floating around lately. There have been many discussions about the validity of these lists, whether a list of followers does anyone any good, and even the motivations behind creating a list. And it is funny how twitter has evolved to be so different from Facebook; I looked to see if there were any lists of suggested followers, and could find none. I understand the difference in protocol, but I wonder if FB lite ever gets going if this will change.

One thing is true: when you are new on twitter, it takes a toll on you to wait to build up a list of friends. It’s like going to a cocktail party where everyone knows everyone already. The conversations, laughter and champagne are flying all of over the place, and you can’t even get the waiter’s attention. Not only that, but so many people have crashed this party that people are a little suspicious of newcomers. You aren’t really sure of the rules of the party- and they don’t seem to be posted anywhere; you can see bouncers all over the place and they are quick and blunt in pointing out if you screw up. I mean, for a long time my list of followers was @realtyman, one other person, and someone whose avatar was o_O.

A list seems like a lifeline.

I had been planning to make a list of TwitterQueens just because it would be that much easier on #FollowFriday. Most of the most engaging and interesting people that I know are there, and a lot of these people are newish themselves, and can remember what it’s like to be the new one at the party.

Then I saw another one of my followers doing the same thing on #FollowFriday- and he had an interesting looking list, too. A lot were people that I was already following, but there were some who looked like fun. *Click*

Here are a few lists that I think are interesting. There will be overlap, and that’s to be expected. But first, if you are new: consider why you are on twitter. Is it for fun? Are you here to improve your business? If the former, that makes it easy.If the latter is your reason, then be wise. This is work. You would not make up a business plan and engineer it around your hobbies. You need to build a list of followers around your target consumer.

• Roost has a monthly list of 50 interesting RE people who are, well- interesting. Good mix, good people; list is put together by @doverbey, who is a great follow. There have been 3 lists so far for a total of 150 people.
• Twitterholic publishes a top 100 list. These are mostly celebs and newsfeeds, and I follow maybe 3 or 4. @Mashable I really like- lots of good info, but this list is made of users with a large number of followers. You aren’t likely to get any engagement here.
• Into Wordpress? Here is a Wordpress-centric list; it is from last year which is eons ago in twitter-years, but still has some good picks. Add your name to it.
• @donttrythis – Adam Savage from MythBusters, just because if he jumped off a bridge, yes, I would probably try it
• Out of work, or looking? Check out Resume Bear’s 50 People on Twitter Job Seekers Should Follow. Also see The Ultimate List of Employers Recruiting on Twitter by @twitjobsearch, and 150+ Experts on Twitter ALL Job Seekers MUST Follow on Career Rocketeer.
• MommyBloggers by @bendtheweb.
• Need a laugh? Funny People by @skinbro

And my absolute favorite list. One of the first lists that I had ever heard of, by one of the best follows on twitter: @alex.

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