Sobering global #MeToo outcomes show why gender equality will take 4-20 generations By: Dr. Kathleen Brush

Hollywood actresses emboldened to share #MeToo stories that haunted their lives inspired a global movement. Women all over the world joined in, and for many or most, their lives got worse, sometimes a lot worse. #MeToo inadvertently revealed why gender equality is estimated to arrive in the 24 th century in the United States and the 27th century in Iran.

Sometimes women used #MeToo and sometimes they created new hashtags. In Japan, many #MeTooers were shamed to a point that was seen as dangerous. Japanese women switched to #Wetoo and #Withyou to show support for the movement.

At first, government censors in China kept a lid on #MeToo. Undeterred women began using virtual private networks. #MeToo was labeled as a hostile force using Western feminism to interfere with the government. Some #MeTooers believed their lives were in danger. Minimally some were in danger of being sued. In China, more accused sue than victims, and they often win. Male-dominated judiciaries can be very powerful for reinforcing the status quo that silent women are better off.

In South Korea, women filing lawsuits alleging sexual assault have faced shaming and taunting as gold diggers. The message sent was the real victims are men. In Slovenia, #jaztudi took a more cautionary route to protect alleged victims. Stories were posted anonymously by an NGO. Instead of women facing threats, the NGO has.

In Latin America, women tired of violence, which too commonly takes the deadly form of femicide, launched #NiUnoMenos, which means not one less. Peru’s highest religious leader, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani, said, “[They tell us] there are many abortions among young girls, but nobody has abused these girls. Often it is women who put themselves on display, provoking men.” Another response: well-known women supporting #NiUnoMenos have been murdered.

Russian #MeTooers have not been murdered, but murder inspired a Russian #MeToo-type movement #янехотелаумирать, which means I didn’t want to die. According to the Russian government, at least 12,000 women die from domestic violence every year. What’s being done about it? In 2017 Russian President Putin signed a law, originally proposed by a female legislator, that decriminalized violence against women unless it is so severe, they require treatment in a hospital. Regarding #MeToo, Putin said he doesn’t support the movement, and like the Chinese alludes to a western conspiracy. In Russia, there is a saying, “if he beats you, it means he loves you.”

France shared something in common with Russia; influential women opposed to the premises of #MeToo, or in France #balancetonporc which means squeal on your pig. Hollywood icon, Catherine Denueve and others saw #MeToo as a puritanical movement, and men sexually pestering women as "essential to sexual freedom." France obviously sees issues of sexual harassment and abuse differently. In 2020, highly feted “literary genius” Gabriel Matzneff found his acclaimed writings about sex with young girls were being re-examined. Millions around the world responded in disbelief asking how this could happen? Perhaps, it’s because a previous open challenge to Matzneff’s sexual deviance was rebuffed. How can a nation hailed as a leader in gender equality not protect young girls from sexual abuse?

In sub-Saharan Africa, according to the UN, violence against women is second to Latin America. Here #MeToo barely made inroads. Equal rights advocates suggested the fear of backlash was too high. In India, women in Bollywood joined the #MeToo movement, but lawsuits against alleged victims, exoneration of perps, and men battling back against false complaints drowned out #Metooers. False complaints are a tiny fraction of accusations everywhere, but they have become a potent weapon in the arsenal of men to silence women seeking equal rights. Outside Bollywood, Indian women have stayed silent for two reasons that are similar to reasons in sub-Saharan Africa. It’s a better alternative and many females (and males), sometimes most, see intimate partner violence (IPV) as justified in some situations, like burning dinner, or refusing sex.

#MeToo didn’t gain traction in small Pacific island nations. One reason is, because here too there is a widespread belief that IPV as justified. The problem, or not, depending on your view, is not, limited to intimates. One study found 27% of men in Papua New Guinea admitted to raping a female non-partner, and 14% admitted to multiple rapes of female non-partners. In neighboring Australia, #MeToo had problems catching on. Some pointed to strong anti- defamation laws as the reason. In one case an Australian actor won more than a $600,000 in an anti-defamation suit. That would be enough to cool the heels of any media source or alleged victim going public with a story.

In some Muslim-majority countries, estimates for gender equality reach 20 generations or 500 years. Iran is a 500 year-to-equality country. Iranian women have struggled with #MeToo because they are up against a government that insists Islamic traditions prevent harassment. But interviews with unnamed women in Iran disagree. “If you ask 10 women about this, nine of them will say, yes, they have suffered harassment.” There is a correlation between gender equality and IPV, which would indicate that this 9 of 10 might not be far off in a 500 year-to- equality country. Laws passed in some Muslim countries are often unenforceable because they violate religious laws. Under sharia law, there is no marital rape, and a husband can justifiably beat a disobedient wife. For unmarried intimates, sexual harassment and assault are not illegal. Sex out of wedlock is what is illegal. An unmarried intimate reporting rape would be self- reporting a crime, so would a non-intimate without four witnesses. Being illegal is anyway a technicality that the potential global population of #MeTooers knows too well. In the United States, 1% of victims will see perpetrators jailed.

Religious institutions like political institutions are male-dominated, and their leaders often see women creating their own problems. In 2018, authorities in Thailand warned women “not to dress too sexily” during the New Year holiday. The thinking was if women get sexually harassed, it’s their fault for dressing like sluts. Thai women created #Donttellmehowtodress, which has been adopted in other parts of the world. Another Thai movement has been launched to teach women about consent in a culture where men don’t ask, because it seems apparent that they don’t need to. Around the world, girls don’t know there are age-of-consent laws that range from 9 to 21. But should a 50-year old man, like Matzeff, be free to have sex with a fourteen, let alone nine-year-old girl, because she said yes? In male-dominated governments, that’s not for women to decide.

There is plenty of evidence that very powerful political men can see nothing wrong with sexual harassment. The president of the Philippines, President Duterte’s regular sexist comments spawned #BabaeAko, which translates into #Iamwoman. Duterte has made jokes about rape and referred to a second wife as a “spare tyre” in the trunk of his car. What hope do women in the Philippines have to escape the most heinous form of discrimination if the leader of their country perpetuates the notion of women as men’s sexual playthings?

US President Donald Trump was a catalyst for #MeToo. Like Duterte, online logs are kept of his sexist comments. In office, they haven’t been as crude, but that’s a tempered outcome similar to the evolution of #MeToo in the United States. In the US, #MeToo has tempered sexual harassment but increased gender harassment. For victims the results are similar: the ambitions of degraded women decreases and many leave the workforce. Who leaves? Not sure, but senior women face higher levels of harassment. They are, after all, the ones that pose the greatest threat to male-dominated institutions.

#MeToo challenged powerful men all over the world, and they have responded to let women know that power in this world is securely in the hands of men, and they won’t be letting go anytime soon. Sexual harassment and abuse has been and continues to cement the inferior position of women in society. Harassment and abuse isn’t about sex; it’s about keeping women subordinated all over the world. Gender discrimination is blind to color, religion and wealth. The latter simply causes biases to change forms, and to offer legal remedies that are more likely to haunt victims than deliver justice.

Without generating global outrage that compels lawmakers and business leaders to address a scourge on half the world, harassment and abuse will continue to reinforce gender inequality. The estimates of 4-20 generations to equality and a global survey of #MeToo outcomes reinforce this won’t happen anytime soon. Women fear reporting acts of sexual violence, females have been raised to see it as justified, male political leaders promote women as sex toys, handfuls of falsely accused men drowned out millions of female victims, incidents are censored or swept under the carpet. When allegations are formalized, judiciaries send unsupportive messages.

There are other problems too. In many governments, data is not reported because the actions are not illegal. Where it is illegal, data can be censored, unprioritized, or used for purposes that obviously aren’t having much of an impact. The World Economic Forum produces the gold standard for measuring global gender equality, but it doesn’t find the most blatant and egregious form of gender discrimination relevant to evaluating equality. There is an adage that what gets measured, gets improved. If NGOs tracking gender equality don’t see a problem and neither do male-dominated governments, there is a problem without a solution. We certainly can’t rely on female heads of government. Today there are fourteen (7% of countries), up from one, fifty- eight years ago. But, even females as heads of government doesn’t automatically mean progress for women. A forecast for gender equality spanning centuries makes sense. The bigger question is, how do we bring this forward? More senior women leaders that accept part of their charge as ending gender discrimination could work.

BUY HER BOOK: The Power of One: You're the BOSS

13 Reasons Why I Ditched My Title of DIETITIAN by Megan Pennington

Becoming a Dietitian made me fat, stressed, and miserable.

Before I explain further, let me be clear that I have NOTHING against Dietitians. What I am about to say is in no way meant as a discredit or disrespect to those Dietitians who are out in the world helping others and doing a great job.

That being said, the Dietetics profession was not for me.

As young as 13 years old I became enthralled with nutrition and health. I began doing my own research, read all the different diet theories at the time, and encountered an enormous amount of conflicting information. I decided to learn the “truth” about nutrition, and pursued it as a career.

When I started my degree in Dietetics and Human Nutrition at McGill, I was ecstatic. I wanted to help others (and myself) feel alive and well and to live a long and healthy life.

I was eager to learn and it felt pretty amazing to be studying my passion at one of the best schools in North America.

However, things didn’t quite work out the way I had planned.

I gained 30 pounds.

I became obsessed with food and eating “healthy”.

I was constantly thinking and stressing about my next meal, trying to get all the nutrients I needed without consuming too many calories.

I implemented the low fat, low calorie eating plan I learned for weight loss, which only resulted in major food cravings, mood swings, fatigue, and a very poor relationship with food. I didn’t even lose weight!

Food became my enemy – something that was causing stress in my life and making me feel awful about my body. The more control I tried to have over my food intake, the worse things got.

In a nutshell: it sucked. And worse, I felt there was nothing I could do about it. I mean, I was following the guidelines set out for me by experienced Dietitians! My teachers! If this wasn’t working, then I guessed nothing else would….

After a few years I decided to take a completely different approach. I went on a 4 month backpacking trip across Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, and came back with an interesting revelation:

When I threw everything out the window, everything I “thought” I knew about nutrition and healthy eating; when I stopped counting calories and stressing about my diet, I felt 100% better and lost all the added weight, effortlessly!

After my trip, I worked as a Clinical Dietitian in long term care for about 5 years. During this time I performed nutritional assessments, devised meal plans, provided advice in the management of various diseases, yet never felt that I was having a very big impact on my clients’ wellbeing. There was something lacking; something important.

I tend to view the Dietetics profession as I view the western medicine profession. Everything is broken down into parts, which is great for detail, but often makes it difficult to see the big picture.

For example: let’s say you have body pains. A doctor may give you painkillers, or refer you to a specialist. If the specialist can’t find anything wrong with you, then what? When you have no one looking at you as a WHOLE, things get missed. Such as the stress, sugar abuse, depression and food intolerances all contributing to that body pain!!

Sure, there are exceptions. Some doctors are amazing at taking a full assessment and considering all the potentially relevant factors. But generally, they will focus on treating your symptoms and not necessarily address the underlying cause.

Similarly, a Dietitian will often focus on managing your symptoms with a diet, because this is what they are trained to do. For example, someone with heart disease will likely be shown how to decrease their salt and cholesterol intake, and will be encouraged to lose weight and exercise. HOWEVER, it is well known in the scientific community that inflammation plays a huge role in heart disease, so what’s causing the inflammation?

Diet can only go so far when there are other underlying factors contributing significantly to your current state of health.

I have found much more success in taking a holistic approach, which does NOT focus on a single area such as food or nutrition. This approach allows for a broader view of what’s going on, and the opportunity to bring everything together to create a truly effective action plan. One that also looks at root causes and contributing factors unrelated to food.

SO HERE ARE THE 13 REASONS I CHOSE TO DITCH MY TITLE OF DIETITIAN:

(Note that these are generalizations – certainly there are exceptions, but this was my experience…)

1) A Dietitian’s main role is to create a diet for a patient. I personally found that regimented diet plans don’t usually work over the long term, and can result in eating disorders, poor body image, and control issues.

2) As I touched on before, Dietetics offers a very limited approach to health. No amount of organic broccoli is going to help someone who is depressed. We need to look beyond salt, fats, calories and portion sizes.

3) Dietitians are generally advised to follow the US and Canadian Food Guides. While these have dramatically improved in recent years, they are still influenced by lobbying food industries. These guides are still a balancing act of science and politics.

4) And yet, Dietitians are held to a standard of practice which includes best practice guidelines based solely on scientific literature. Interesting

5) A Dietitian’s recommendations are based solely on current guidelines based on the scientific literature. The problem with this is, there are limitations in terms of what HAS BEEN and what CAN BE studied and proven, thus the Dietitian is in turn limited by these same boundaries. This is to protect the public, but to think that one century of science should be the sole basis for our treatment plans, at the exclusion of thousands of years of traditional, alternative, or anecdotal evidence, seems a bit ludicrous to me.

6) Formal training in Dietetics concentrates primarily on calories, macronutrients, and micronutrient quantities in isolation. This is highly beneficial for tube feeds and IV calculations, in addition to some other clinical situations, but makes it difficult to translate into practical information for the general public.

7) Since so much emphasis is placed on nutrient quantities, there tends to be a focus on specific intake levels according to the Recommended Daily Intakes. This can be problematic because we don’t eat nutrients; we eat food. Too much of a single nutrient, for example calcium, can cause more harm than good.

8) Dietetics offers minimal training in food sensitivities, allergies, and the laundry list of symptoms that so many people are suffering from (headaches, indigestion, bloating, weight gain, body pains, autoimmune disease). If Dietitians, traditionally THE nutrition experts, aren’t trained in these food related issues, who is?

9) Dietetics offered minimal training in the psychology of eating (I remember only receiving one class in general psychology). Yet psychology is a HUGE driving factor in many dietary issues and general eating habits.

10)  Dietetics offered minimal training in counselling. For example, how to be a good listener, show compassion, build rapport and trust, provide a safe space for the client to share their struggles, and how to guide them in such a way that feels supportive and will encourage change.

11) Dietetics focuses minimally (if at all) on the mind-body connection in relation to food and overall health. Even the impact of the microbiome was not widely discussed when I was in school.

12) Dietetics trainings are infiltrated by politics. I attended several annual meetings and workshops for continuing education provided by the association, and these were often funded by the Canadian Sugar Institute and PepsiCo. As attendees we received little gifts with the logos of such companies.

13) The Dietetics profession seeks to monopolize the skillset. As a student my teachers would regularly preach “YOU are the trained professionals. YOU are the only nutrition experts. Everyone else lacks proper training”. There are laws and regulations to back this sentiment. My question is: why is a newly graduated Dietitian with NO experience automatically “better” than a nutrition coach with 30 years of independent study and practical knowledge? Were soldiers who learned surgery in the field less competent or worthy than those who studied in a lab? I believe it is extremely close-minded to teach students that they know best and are the most qualified in their field, while disregarding the competence of other modalities and practitioners.

So that has been my experience in the Dietetics world.

Again, I know MANY Dietitians who are FANTASTIC and do an amazing job. They are open-minded, compassionate, and extremely supportive. The above 13 reasons are generalizations from my own personal experience.

I feel that the Dietetics model as a whole is lacking in some very important areas, and thus I have chosen to move away from that modality and approach. Currently I am a Certified Holistic Health Coach and LEAP Therapist (Lifestyle Eating And Performance), specializing in food sensitivity reactions, inflammatory conditions, weight management, and disease prevention.

I work with the body mind connection and energetic field. I have learned that there is much to be discovered about the human body and I will never discredit any healing technique or modality that brings my clients relief or improved wellbeing.

I would like to encourage others to search out a health practitioner with whom you resonate with and feel supported by. And NEVER give up on your path to health. Don’t let anyone tell you “there is no cure for that” or “there is nothing else you can do”. There is so much waiting for you J

Megan Pennington is a Certified LEAP Therapist and Holistic Health Coach with a BSc in Dietetics and Human Nutrition.

Piling on the unconscious bias against female doctors By: Dr. Kathleen Brush

Some languages, like English, are androcentric. The he pronoun can refer to he and she or just he. The word doctors refer to male doctors, or male and female doctors. You can probably see the problem here: androcentric languages fuel bias by making the male gender the de facto gender. In the case of a doctor, sight unseen the assumption is they are male.

A patient is waiting for the doctor. In comes Doctor Smith. It would not be uncommon for the patient to think, wait a second, I want to see a doctor, not a nurse. When the patient finds out this is the doctor, he or she unconsciously decrements her competence but increases expectations that the doctor will be warm and friendly.

Most languages distinguish between male and female professions. The male version of a word refers to males or males and females, and there is a special word for female professionals, for example, in Italian il dottoreand la dottoressa,respectively. But this may not help perceptions of competence for female professionals, like doctors. Studies in Poland and Italy have shown that when women use the feminine form of their occupation, like la dottoressa in Italy, their patients decrement their perceived competence in advance of an appointment. If instead, they used the male and sometimes androgynous word, their situation resembles Dr. Smith’s common mistaken identity as a nurse and a competence downgrade. They do receive a consolation prize in the form of an unconscious increase in perceived warmth. That is a crummy tradeoff; the primary criteria used to select a doctor is perceived competence.

Whether a female doctor uses a gender-neutral doctor title or not, mistaken professional identities should not be occurring with the frequency they do. In some countries, people unconsciously assuming a doctor is a man would be wrong more than right. In Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Spain, and the United Kingdom, there are more female doctors than male. (I’m sure there are many other countries too.) In the United States, there are almost as many women doctors as men, and data on medical students indicates that women doctors will soon be a majority.

Some researchers have inferred that when women dominate male professions, unconscious bias and all the discriminatory outcomes, like decrementing competence that accompany bias will decrease. This may be optimistic. Patriarchal societies have existed forever, and men are not going to relinquish power easily.

Challenges for female doctors do not appear to be decreasing. A survey conducted by InCrowdfound that the number of female doctors that said being treated respectfully was a problem surged from 10 percent in 2018 to 36 percent in 2019. Their sense of inequality in the profession rose from 8 percent in 2018 to 34 percent in 2019. And in spite of near equality in numbers, the belief that medicine was male dominated rose from 4 percent to 15 percent. These are outcomes of increasing not decreasing bias.

Even though female doctors are ubiquitous in the United States, look at how unconscious biases are working in medicine to preserve the status quo. Arecent studyfound that while women introduced male and female doctors using their title 96.2 percent of the time, when men introduced female doctors, they were more likely to use their first name. If a man was introducing a male doctor, 72 percent of the time they introduced Doctor Male Name.

What’s in a name, right? Turns out a lot for female doctors. Honorifics, like Dr. Somebody confer confidence, competence and respect that Didi does not. In medicine the title doctor confers a high-status position, Didi broadcasts a subordinate. The Dr. Didi Smiths of the world already faces a host of women-specific challenges working in a traditionally male-dominated profession. This includes bias against her competence, sexual harassment, and more difficult marriages. Add to this a bias that results in being introduced as a woman in a white lab coat, while a bias against her male nurse results in being mistaken for a doctor.

In spite of some evidence indicating female doctors deliver higher quality care, female doctors have been unable to escape biased assessments of their competency, and the unconscious bias that assumes they are distracted by domestic responsibilities even when working equivalent hours to their male colleagues. These biases have been shown to influence pay and promotions. Female doctors are on average paid less – a lot less. According to a Medscape survey conducted from October 2018 to February 2019, female doctors on average worked 8-9 percent fewer hours than male doctors, but compensation for female general and specialty practitioners was 25 and 33 percent less. Another survey by Merritt Hawkins in 2018 found that on an hourly basis female doctors were paid about 40 percent less.

When it comes to who gets promoted, the situation is strikingly unequal. Even though women make up 80 percent of the workforce in medicine, they have only 20 percent of key leadership positions. Compared to Germany where women make up 11 percent of leadership positions in medicine, the United States seems progressive. It’s not. It would be progressive if it was 80 percent – certainly at least 50 percent. Imagine if this were the case. Women would be dying less frequently because treatments and prescriptions they received would probably be devised for women, rather than men. A 2019 study published by the Medical Journal of Australia said that: “Historically and consistently across a broad range of health domains, data have been collected from men and generalized to women.” Dr Janine Austin Clayton for the US National Institutes of Health said: “We literally know less about every aspect of female biology compared to male biology.”

It’s known that women in male-dominated professions face more unconscious bias than in other professions, but when women face more bias in formerlymale-dominated professions this is one more sign that patriarchal societies that subordinate women are not going down without an unconscious fight. This will include diminishing a woman’s professional confidence and competence by calling her Didi when she is Doctor Diane Smith.

“First they ignore you. Then they ridicule you. Then they fight you, and then you win.” Mahatma Gandhi.

BUY HER BOOK: The Power of One: You're the BOSS

Oprah’s new horizon becomes a reinforced glass ceiling by Dr. Kathleen Brush

Two years ago, Oprah galvanized the Golden Globes with her #metoo speech. She declared a new day was on the horizon. For men - time was up. Oprah threw down the gauntlet on gender equality. Hollywood elites roared in appreciation. People implored her to run for president. With Oprah Winfrey as CEO of gender equality, how could a new day not be on the horizon for women?

Let’s face it, Hollywood and MainStreet share little in common. Oprah’s speech, in combination with millions of #metoo tweets and the newly launched Times Up movement, sounded to many like women declaring war on men – all men – from abusers to allies. With men holding the vast majority of senior leadership positions in the public and private sectors, heeding a call to arms to protect their own was inevitable. What were the prospects women would prevail? In 2019, Forbes 75 most powerful people included five women. Time’s 25 most influential leaders of 2019 counted four women. Biography’s 100 most influential people of all time included two women. In 2019, 11 out of 100 of the richest people in the world were women. In 2019, 25 female CEOs were leading S&P 500 companies and 23 women were leading 193 sovereign nations.

Women have not prevailed. In the past two years, the path to gender equality has gone backward. In 2017, the World Economic Forum predicted it would take 170 years for economic equality, in 2018, it rose to 202 years and in 2019, to 257 years.

Look at some of the subtle ways men are halting the progress of women. The number of male managers consciously avoiding one-on-ones with female subordinates has skyrocketed. Harvard Business Review reported in 2019 that 27% of men said they were avoiding one-on- one meetings with women colleagues and 21% said they were leery about hiring women where a job required close interactions. A survey in 2019 by Lean In and Survey Monkey found that 60% of men are uncomfortable mentoring, socializing, or working one-on-one with women: a 32% increase since 2018. Meetings with women have been characterized as unknown risks and something to be avoided.

Women already face a host of unconscious biases in the workplace. A heightened fear of interacting with women is bound to increase them. How can women dispel biases held by the male gatekeepers of their career if they’re excluded from interacting with them? The giant gap between male and female leaders will never be closed with increased segregation and people and organizations will never experience the validated benefits of sufficiently representing the other 50% of the population.

One good news outcome for #metoo is that sexual harassment in the workplace appears to be on the wane. The bad news is, it’s being countered with increased gender harassment. Gender harassment is like sexual harassment minus the sex. Things like insulting the competence of women, belittling their professional presence, or making crude comments about women in general. Men are altering behaviors that cast them as sexual deviants to ones that paint them as chauvinists or garden-variety sexists. This turn of events is similar to the change that took place when overt discrimination against women was made illegal in the sixties. Discrimination in an unconscious and ambiguously legal form skyrocketed (Noe: according to the EEOC, gender harassment in “serious” forms is supposed to be illegal). Sexual or gender harassment has the same impact on women. Confidence takes a hit, perceptions of suitability for senior leadership are decremented again, and women exit the workforce. You could say the mission of letting women know who’s in charge is accomplished with either form of harassment.

There have been some positive #metoo outcomes. Company leaders have stepped forward with measures to strengthen policies against sexual harassment and have made commitments to promote more women into senior leadership. It’s still unclear if the walk is matching the talk. Some nations have also strengthened laws against sexual harassment, but enforcement remains a question mark. There are always problems implementing unpopular policies or laws, particularly when people believe they were motivated by politics or public relations. There is also the reality that while most agree on what constitutes sexual assault, agreement is missing when it comes to sexual harassment or serious gender harassment. How could there be agreement? Northeastern University’s Dr. Judith Hall, an expert on forms of sexism, which include actions of sexual and gender harassment, said these actions can “literally look welcoming, appealing, and harmless" to some women -- but not all women. It seems reasonable that men could be confused and angry by being cast as a sexual predator for something many women see as harmless or even a positive endorsement of their attractiveness.

Women should never be declaring war on men, and not just because men are in the catbird seat. Wars have winners and losers; the goal is win:win equality. To make progress toward this goal, women need a lot more than Oprah. Women leaders need to be at least 25% on all of those top-powerful-people lists. With critical mass, women leaders can get beyond the stigma of tokenism and can leverage their positions of power to influence others to accept that moving toward equality is in everyone’s interest. How women get there won’t have the glamour of Hollywood. Instead, it will have lots of women that understand why #metoo backfired, why and how discrimination against women, including sexual and gender harassment, is perpetuated, and what women can do to rise above socially-baked-in biases to land positions of senior leadership. Then we can talk about a target for a new horizon of gender equality, and it needs to be a lot less than 257 years.

BUY HER BOOK: The Power of One: You're the BOSS

"Ten PC Tips for Communicating with a Diverse Audience" by Simma Lieberman

By learning to speak to a diverse audience, you can broaden your client base transfer the learning to more people. We need to be more "PC". Were not talking "political correctness", were talking "Positively Conscious", of who is in our audience and understanding how to make people feel included. The more people feel included, the more they will listen to you, use your information and come back for more. If you offend people they will shut down and you will lose them.

1) Use words that include rather than exclude. While some women don't mind being called ladies, in a professional setting the word women is more appropriate. Be "positively conscious" of pronouns when discussing hypothetical cases. I have been inn workshops where the facilitator spoke as though all managers were "he" and all administrative support were "she". Metaphors are very effective. Remember to mix them. Don't use only sports metaphors. Have a balance. In Europe when they think of football they think of soccer. Be aware that people have different abilities. Instead of telling everyone to stand, you might say everyone who is able please stand, and have a way for others to participate in the exercise. 

2) Learn the demographics of the audience before your presentation, and prepare. 

3) Do not assume everyone shares your religious beliefs. 

4) Look at everyone in the audience and smile at them. Speakers can have a tendency to visually relate to people who look more like them. Assume everyone wants to be valued. 

5) Do not use humor that puts down any particular group. If you are not sure, get feedback from others. 

6) Examine your assumptions about people who are different than you. Be open to letting go of those assumptions. 

7) Do not be afraid to ask for the correct pronunciation of someone's name. 

8) If someone has an accent and you can't understand them, ask them to repeat what they said slowly, because what they are saying is important to you. 

9) Use methodology in your presentations to accommodate different learning styles. Visual Auditory Kinesthetic 

10) Be comfortable with silence. In some cultures that can mean respect and attention. Be comfortable with direct interaction. In some cultures that can mean respect and attention. Be comfortable with saying, " I don't know."

"Marketing vs. Sales" by Anna Lieber

"You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do." – Henry Ford. 

Business owners often confuse marketing and sales. But the distinction is really simple. Marketing is communicating what you do to generate prospects and increase visibility. Sales is converting prospects into clients. You need both. Here’s why. 

First, we all know commitment takes time. Before you marry, you date to get to know one another. Doing business is similar. It’s what we call the “know, like and trust” factor. 

Second, marketing is an ice breaker that warms up your leads. Prospects can be confused because they don’t understand how to judge your expertise. Sometimes they don’t even understand what you are talking about. Your knowledge base is simple to you but it’s a foreign language to them. 

Marketing educates prospects and helps take the fear and uncertainty out of a buying decision. It moves them from a flying leap to a more comfortable leap of faith. It’s that trust factor. The discount clothier Syms says “an educated customer is our best customer”. And we’ll add an educated customer guarantees a better experience for all. 

Third, marketing attracts new prospects. A company which markets all the time, via traditional, viral or guerrilla techniques, in good economies and bad, slow times and busy times, has the edge. Marketing generates brand awareness leading to a larger pool of warm leads and greater success.

Strategic marketing provides a select audience – you attract interested prospects instead of needing to track them down. Attracting rather than chasing – what could be better? A known brand is the comfortable choice. It makes decision making intuitive and creates raving fans.

Sales or converting prospects to clients is the next part of the process. There are various sales methodologies but most use a variation of these steps: qualifying leads, approaching them, presenting or demonstrating, probing for needs, answering objections and closing the sale. 

Sales skill is essential in moving prospects from stage to stage but marketing ensures prospects feel good about the decision. Expert selling is consultative and meant to create lasting relationships. And marketing continually communicates your expertise. 

The bottom line: Sales success is facilitated by good marketing. Marketing plus sales is the winning equation.

"Ideal Client Profile" by

Every business needs to generate referrals to new clients. So it’s imperative to know who we want as clients. A prospect is someone who has a need, ability to pay and the authority to make a decision to buy. But to design a better business, one which is more profitable and enjoyable, we want to be aware of first-class prospects, those who are likely to be our very best clients.

A ideal client is one you most enjoy working with, who is receptive, committed and can successfully use your product or service. They understand what you do and appreciate the value you bring. They may have purchased your type of product or services before and therefore require less time and education.

The most qualified leads come via referrals. Therefore the more specifically you can define your ideal client, the more likely you can communicate to get the right referrals. And the more focused your target, the easier to determine how and where to market. 

Develop your ideal client profile. Analyze your best clients using the following criteria:
€ gender, age 
€ income, education
€ position, industry 
€ type, size of of company 
€ need or problem
€ professional organization 
€ trade magazines, newspapers 

Use the profile in your conversations. Let others know the kind of people you want to work with and how to recognize them. Once you’ve determined your ideal client, you’ll find it’s a lot easier to find them. 

"Design: the Ultimate Brand Booster" by Anna Lieber

It’s no coincidence that products and services with high design values become household names. FedEx, Nike and IPod are a few examples. 

Tom Peters in his excellent book “Re-imagine!” says: “Design is the NO. 1 DETERMINANT (his caps) of whether a product-service-experience stands out–or does not.” 

Peters also quotes Fortune magazine: “Design is treated like a religion at BMW.” Hey, doesn’t everybody want a well-designed car? If the design is slipshod, what about the safety? It’s ironic that many of us will spend a premium to equip our offices with well-designed furniture and our kitchens with beautiful appliances. Yet, there is a disconnect when it comes to our business brands. Small business owners have a difficult time making an investment in good design. Rarely is it valued as the most critical brand component. 

And just as often corporations fail to manage their valuable brands. Time and resources are wasted as different departments produce materials which don’t even resemble each other. Lack of consistency is the ultimate brand killer. 

Our recommendations: appoint a brand leader, create brand guidelines, integrate your materials, educate your staff. Use great design to set your company apart. 

Some of you run creative businesses; others are business owners or corporate managers who work with design firms, writers, web developers, etc. In any case, to ensure a positive outcome, you need to manage the design process. Here are a few tips:

€ START WITH A PROPOSAL AND A TIMELINE 
Determine the project scope in a signed agreement. The proposal needn’t be extensive but it must outline the project parameters, deliverables, work process, fees and payment schedule, usage (if it applies), preliminary timeline and cancellation policy. An agreement will help prevent problems.

€ SIGN ON THE DOTTED LINE
The larger the project, the longer the commitment and the more extensive the documentation. A contract prevents miscommunications which disrupt the relationship and derail the project. Sign the contract before work begins. It’s a lot harder to negotiate after a fallout occurs. 

€ AGREE ON WHO DOES WHAT
Agree about the number of design choices, number of revisions, how you will handle printing or computer programming, and who supplies content (copy, images). Agree also on the client’s responsibilities and time frame on approvals, especially if there is a tight schedule created by an event or other deadline. 

€ MANAGE THE RELATIONSHIP
Many clients don’t fully understand the design process and what’s required of them. The client is concerned with being satisfied with the results, finishing on time and not going over budget. The designer’ is concerned with creating a great product, making sure the client is happy and charging for time spent. Sometimes these concerns conflict. Most disagreements occur when services additional to the proposal crop up. If they do, be sure to discuss it before proceeding. The designer’s role is to educate the client, manage expectations, schedule and budget, and charge fairly. And the client needs to communicate their needs, make timely decisions and agree to pay fairly for all services rendered. 

€ DESIGNER’S ROLE
Design firms can help projects go smoothly by creating a simple but structured work process. Create a welcome package to walk your client through the way you work. Get a deposit before beginning work. Get additional payments as the work progresses. Make sure you are buttoned up. If things do go wrong, be honest and correct the problem quickly. Clients hate surprises.

€ CLIENT’S ROLE
Clients can help projects go smoothly by educating yourselves about the design process. Practice due diligence in choosing a designer whose work you like. Realize good design takes time to percolate. Be reasonable. Handle the project professionally as you would with an attorney, accountant or doctor. And if you negotiate a lower fee, understand what you will be giving up. Know what’s included, what’s not—before beginning a project. Do your homework and ask the questions. 

Most important, remember design is a partnership between client and designer. Each shares responsibility for the success of the final design. 

"Are You A Commodity Or A Brand?" by Anna Lieber

Business owners often tell me they are frustrated when their service is seen as a commodity, virtually interchangeable with others. So how do service providers get out of this quagmire? And how can purchasers distinguish one designer from another, one accounting, technology, construction firm from the rest? 

We all know it’s not always how much something is worth but how much people think it’s worth. Consider the beauty industry where cosmetics companies put $3 worth of skin cream into $10 worth of packaging and charge $100. And if you had told people twenty years ago that we would all be paying for bottled water, they would have laughed. 

Why do we pay a premium for brands like Starbucks and Perrier? One answer is that their product is better, they give us a better experience and ... because they’ve told how they are better. 

So first, realize that your clients want to understand the differences but find it confusing. Second, understand it’s your responsibility to show them how you are different and better. And third, recognize that image and perception are everything. 

Rather than emulating competitors, figure out what you possess that they do not. What sets you apart? Is it your special capabilities, training, patents and trademarks, industry knowledge, access to resources, proprietary processes or just plain know how?

Now how do you change perception? In plain English, toot your horn. Once you’ve developed a clear and sustainable competitive advantage, drive it home with the right brand message. Communicate frequently with clarity and consistency. 

We trust companies we know and so to create value make sure others know you. A recognized brand is worth more. That’s what we mean by brand equity. 

"10 Marketing Mistakes: Are You Guilty" by Anna Lieber

1. YOU SPEND TIME ON SALES, BUT NOT ON BRAND BUILDING
Sales flow more easily, once you’ve built a brand with a point of view. 

2. YOU SPEND MORE TIME SECOND-GUESSING YOUR CREATIVE TEAM THAN SELECTING IT
Once you’ve selected a great team for their expertise, let them do their job which is to make you look good. 

3. YOU DON’T HAVE A CREATIVE TEAM
If you wouldn’t let your nephew fix your car or your teeth, why would you let him mess with your company brand? It’s just as important. 

4. YOU HAVE NO STRATEGIC VISION
It’s essential to develop a shared vision, with all members of the team pulling in the same direction. 

5. YOU HAVE NO MARKETING PLAN
If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there. Creating a dynamic, actionable plan is the foundation for control over your marketing. And planning is not a one-time event, it’s a process. You don’t know where to begin? Call me quick.

6. YOUR POSITIONING STATEMENT IS WEAK 
You don’t have a positioning statement? You don’t know what a positioning statement is? Check the Q & A above.

7. YOU HAVE NO SPECIALIZATION
A specialist will usually win over a generalist. Find a special niche and communicate it convincingly. Passion plus experience attract clients. 

8. YOU CREATE DIRECT MAIL FOR THE CIRCULAR FILE
If you have no strategy, no position, no call to action, no contact information, it’s pointless. Take 5 steps back to strategic vision. 

9. YOU HAVE NO MARKETING SYNERGY
What’s that? A mix of marketing initiatives will get your pipeline flowing. 

10. YOUR BRAND IS DULL 
You have no brand personality. Don’t take it personally. Change it. 
Strategize. Then add some snap, crackle and pop. 
     

"5 Social Media Mistakes Businesses Make" by Sherrie A. Madia PhD

Ready to jump into the social media world? Great! But before you do, know that being a user of social media, and understanding its strategic applications for your PR, marketing, and communications initiatives, are two dramatically different skill sets.

Some mistakes to avoid:

Mistake #1: Diving in without a strategic plan.
Don't start podcasting, blogging, tweeting, friending on Facebook, and posting YouTube videos until you know what your messages are, who will manage them, who your audience is, and how they and you are going to benefit from the content and relationships.

Mistake #2: Not having a social media policy.
Your social media policy needs to outline how employees behave in the online universe during and outside of work. It should include education on style preferences and confidentiality. All messaging coming from employees should be aligned with your company's values and brand.

Mistake #3: Failing to tailor the plan to your target audience.
Hone in on sites, tools, and applications your target audience is using. Is your audience out walking in the park most afternoons, without so much as a cell phone? Or are they technology lovers who are never parted with their BlackBerry or iPhone? Research your target market to find out who they are and how to reach them

Mistake #4: Producing weak, unfocused, or unhelpful content.
The same messaging rules that apply to classic public relations and branding apply to social media. Create strong, smart, well-thought-out content that adds value to your customers' lives. Don't waste their time with self-serving promo. Give them something they can use -- tips, incentives, product information, new ideas, fun, and inspiration.

Mistake #5: Allowing your social media efforts to stagnate.
Gone are the days when companies could put up a website that sat on the screen like an electronic business card. Social media is about maintaining a dynamic conversation between you and your customers. Equip your content for the RSS-share-save-post-to revolution so it gets out there in multiple places. Answer blog, Flickr, and podcast posts; respond to tweets; engage "friends." Remember: Social media, done right, is not a one-off campaign by a handful of staff; it's a long-term corporate commitment.

BUY NOW!!!! The Social Media Survival Guide: Everything You Need to know to Grow Your Business Exponentially with Social Media b

"Tis the Season" by Wendy Weiss

 Wendy Weiss

The holidays loom. Office parties, family celebrations, religious celebrations, celebrations with friends. Meetings are cancelled. Decisions are postponed. Too much to do, no time to do it. The sales process turns to sludge.

The holidays can be a frustrating time for sales professionals. Telephone prospecting calls end with no appointment the prospect instead saying, "call me in the New Year." Proposals languish. Decisions are on hold.

During that time from Thanksgiving through the end of the year, how do you keep from losing your momentum and how do you keep the sales process moving forward? If you are not able to keep the process moving, January can feel almost like starting over. Instead of leaping into the New Year with prospect meetings and starting new customer projects you are busy following up with all of the prospects who said, "call me in the New Year." Here are two steps that you can use to keep your sales process flowing, not only over the holidays, but also year round.

1. When prospecting by telephone for new appointments do not tamely accept the standard response, "call me in the New Year." Instead, suggest to your prospect that you schedule a meeting in the New Year and promise to call to confirm that meeting. (In the "old days" prospects would frequently say they didn't have their New Year calendar. In these days of palm pilots and contact management software that doesn't fly. After all, January is only next month!) At least 50% of your prospects will go ahead and schedule the meeting leaving you with 50% less follow up calls to make in January.

This is what you say:

"Let's pencil in a date and time for January. It's not carved in stone, I'll call you to confirm and if it doesn't work out we can always reschedule. Is early January good or is later in the month better?"

This way you'll have a series of prospect meetings already lined up for January!

2. When a prospect asks you to submit a proposal, then and there set up a meeting time with your prospect to go over that proposal. Ask your prospect when they want the proposal. When they give you a date or time frame say:

"Let's set up a time for me to come by and go over the proposal. Is (fill in date) good or is (fill in date) better?"

It does not matter if your prospect wants to meet in December or in January. The point is that you have kept the process moving forward, you have an appointment to discuss the proposal and you do not have to spend time in January making calls to follow up to schedule the meeting or get a response on that proposal.

And remember, on the appointed day, make sure to bring two copies of the proposal, both signed and ready for your prospect's signature.

Happy prospecting, happy closing, happy holidays!

BUY HER BOOK: Cold Calling for Women Opening Doors & Closing Sales

"'Power Language for Appointment-Setting" by Wendy Weiss

1. Use power language: "The solution is." rather than, "I believe the solution is."

2. Never use the word "appointment" when trying to set one. Instead, use the word "meeting." "Meeting" sounds more professional and more important. "I would like to meet with you."

3. Use directed words to reach your prospect. When you ask to speak with your prospect, say, "Jane Jones, please," and not, "May I speak with Jane Jones?" The first sentence conveys authority; the second asks permission.

4. Use directed words (and open-ended questions) to gather information. Ask, "Whom should I speak with?" and not, "Do you know who I should speak with?" The first conveys authority,  and whomever you are questioning, if they know, must answer with a name. In the second sentence, the response could simply be "yes" or "no."

5. Whether trying to ascertain a good time to call your prospect back or trying to schedule a meeting, it is a good idea to give alternate choices. "Is this afternoon good, or would tomorrow morning be better?" It is much easier for your prospect to decide "when" rather than "whether."

6. "I'm just calling." Eliminate the word "just" from your vocabulary. That little word "just" is an apology. It says that your call is not important and that what you have to say is not important. Simply tell your prospects and customers why you are calling. That is enough.

7. ".we will hopefully achieve." Hopefully? No one pays you to "hopefully" do something. They pay you to actually do it! Tell your prospects or customers what they will achieve or should expect to achieve.

8. Be clear and to the point. You are telling your story to a stranger who has never heard it. 

BUY HER BOOK: Cold Calling for Women Opening Doors & Closing

Empowerment byline: Carol Drinkwater

The Oxford Dictionary definition of empower is : give (someone) the authority or power to do something.  Make someone stronger and more confident, especially in controlling their life and claiming their rights.  The noun is Empowerment

What fascinates me about empowerment, particularly as a writer, is how we can create our own power, how through the experiences of loss or grief, learning or challenge we find the inner strength to grow and move forward with a broader and richer understanding of ourselves and the world in which we live and function.   

I believe that no experience is worth having if it does not takes us further. What have I learnt? What can this teach me about myself and the my relationship with the world about me?

In the OLIVE trilogy I am writing, stories about buying a delapidated villa in ten acres of land in the south of France and transforming that ruin and its Mediterranean terraces into a glorious olive farm that produces first class olive oil, there are numerous examples of challenge and loss, some painful, some very funny. Each of the books recounts some of these challenges and how they can be transformed into rich and uplifting and often humorous experiences.

In THE OLIVE SEASON, the second book in the trilogy, I find myself pregnant. The news is joyous to myself and my husband, Michel, because I had a history of miscarriages. Unfortunately, I lose the little girl at seventeen weeks into the pregnancy. The devastation is compounded when I learn from my gynecologist that I will never be able to carry a child full-term. For almost any woman this is a profound tragedy and one that takes a great deal of courage to face and move through. For me, personally, there were two issues that took my grief way down. Firstly, my husband has beautiful twin daughters from his first marriage and though I love them to bits and they love me I will never be their mother and, secondly, I am an actress and and as such my life is sometimes lived in the public domain. On television I have been described as 'womanly', 'attractive', 'feminine' etc and now here I am childless. Being denied the quintessential female experience. How was I to go forward ? How was I going to come to terms with such a deprivation? 

Running alongside tales of the rich and colourful world of life in southern Provence, this loss, these questions and their answers, is one of the themes of THE OLIVE SEASON. I believe that I allowed myself to go through the grieving and, slowly, as the seasons changed on the olive farm, as winter turned to spring, as a new harvest of olives was gathered and pressed, as sapling olive trees are planted, I began to find strength in nature. I began looking for what was good in my life.

What makes my cup half FULL and not half EMPTY?

The olive tree is considered to be the Tree of Eternity. It lives sometimes to a thousand years. It does not begin fully fruiting until is about twenty-five years and its finest fruits can be harvested when it has reached a century or more.

We have recently planted another two hundred small trees. Sometimes, these days, I stand on our farmland and I look about me and I thank Life for all that is wonderful. I will never have children in the physical, the conventional sense. But we have young trees that will be fruiting long after Michel and I have passed through this life, I have my books to write, roles as an actress to take on and we are creating a farm that will be there for many future generations to come.

Of course, I remain sad that I don't see that little girl at my side on the farm, that I don't hold her hand, but she is there in spirit and I am stronger and richer as a woman now because I have learnt to celebrate what I have. 

I have been empowered - been made stronger and more confident - by the facing of my loss and I have discovered joy in the everyday world around me. 

© CAROL DRINKWATER, France 2003

Choose Acceptance byline: Debbie Gisonni

It’s so easy to accept the good stuff when it happens to us. We savor those fortunate moments, like a piece of Godiva chocolate slowing melting in our mouths. But when we’re faced with bad news or unpleasant feelings, we fight, ignore or deny them like the plague. We dig in our heels and think, 

“Not in my lifetime is this going to happen!”

There is a generation of people who experienced more than the usual death and loss, while they struggled through WWII and the great depression. Having gone through so much pain, they seem to be more accepting of what happens in their life. My parents were part of that generation. After my mother became disabled, she would often say, “I never imagined I'd be living like this.” Then in the same breath, she'd follow with, “I guess it’s God’s will.” Whether it was God’s will or not, the acceptance of her uncontrollable misfortune helped her stay sane through ten consecutive years of chronic illness, disability and near death experiences.

Now, I'm not suggesting you roll over and play dead when life deals you a bad set of cards. You should always attempt to change and improve whatever you can. But sometimes, a tornado sweeps into your life without cause or warning. While you can't prevent it, you can certainly live through it. That means acknowledging it and adjusting your life to accommodate and embrace it--without anger or guilt. Major setbacks are often lessons that help you change your life for the better. 

Death is one of the most difficult events in life for us to accept. Often family members choose to deny a terminal diagnosis or worse, assume they’re doing the dying person a favor by not telling him. Then the person dies without the opportunity to say good-bye, make amends or get his affairs in order. Afterwards, the remaining friends and family are left with an even larger burden --sorting out the mess and all their emotions of denial. They may never accept their loved one’s death, which can cause a domino effect of emotions from anger to hate to depression. On the other hand, had they accepted the impending death, they might have been able to make that person’s last days more joyful and their own less frustrating.

By accepting the events in your life, you accept life itself.  You become more tolerable of others and more content with your personal situation, whatever it may be at the time. You realize that every event in your life--trivial or life changing, fortuitous or tragic, eventually comes to an end. 

Life will always be a series of ups and downs. For some of you, it’s a roller coaster ride. For others, it’s just a few bumps on a rather flat road. Either way, you'll be happier if you hold on, pay attention and embrace every bit of the ride.

Five ways to choose acceptance in your life: 
1)   Say and believe each morning that you are open to whatever the day brings.  
2)   Consider death a natural part of life--talk about it, work through it.
3)   Remember that unhappy events and emotions are temporary--don't deny them, they'll come back to haunt you.
4)   Embrace misfortune; it will make the good times feel that much better.
5)   Don't worry or blame yourself for things out of your control--go with the flow.

BUY HER BOOK: Vita's Will: Real Life Lessons About Life, Death & Moving On

Who Should I Call? by Wendy Weiss

Over the past several months, I have received e-mails from readers who are starting to make introductory calls. They ask how they can pinpoint whom to call. They are really asking two questions. The questions are: "Who should I call?" and "Who is most likely to buy?"

Part of sales is simply numbers. If you open the telephone book at random and simply start dialing, if you stay at it long enough, eventually, you will reach someone who will say "yes." This would take a long time and not be particularly productive—but it would happen.

A better approach is to create an "ideal customer profile." And here you need to be very specific. You are creating the model to which you will match all of your prospects. I call this "prequalifying." The more specific you are, the easier it will be to find the best prospects—the ones who are most likely to buy. Look at all the demographics; location, revenues, number of employees or specific industries. If you are in the consumer market, look at age, income level, interests...

If you've been in business for a while, take a look at your top 10 customers. Plot out what they have in common. Look for similarities—you can assume that businesses that are similar might also need your products or services. What are the industries? Do the decision-makers have similar titles? Take the time to fully break down all of the similarities in your customer base. The more clearly you can define your potential customers, the easier it will be to find them.

Another good place to look when creating your "ideal customer profile" is at your competition, because your competition's customers are potentially your customers as well. Call your competition and ask for their marketing materials or visit their web site. Generally, these will list past and/or current customers. You can analyze this list in the same manner that you analyzed your customer list.

Look also at why your customers buy your products and/or services and why they buy from you. Understanding the need and understanding the benefits to your potential customers will go a long way to help you target whom to call.

Once you have your "ideal customer profile" (and by the way—you could have several different "ideal customer profiles"), go to the library and tell the librarian exactly what you are looking for. She should be able to tell you exactly where to find lists of prospects—for free. At the library, they have association directories, trade journals, business directories…

Also, join associations in related industries where you might find prospects. This will provide you with valuable networking opportunities along with a membership directory. If you do not want to join an association, contact them anyway—sometimes they sell membership directories. You can do the same thing with trade publications in related industries. They sometimes sell subscriber lists. Your local chamber of commerce is also a good place to look for leads.

Lists of prospects are everywhere. All you need to begin is the company name and main telephone number. Everything else—the name of the decision-maker, the correct company address, etc.—you can find out in your telephone call.

Once you have your list, divide your leads into "A," "B" and "C" according to the priority you give them—"A" being highest priority and "C" the lowest. You can move leads from list to list as you gather new information. Concentrate on your "A" leads. They are the ones with the most potential. If, however, you are a beginner, are not yet comfortable and/or are trying out a new approach, start with your "C" list. It will be low priority, low anxiety, and you will get some practice and more than likely some "yes's."

Wendy Weiss © 2003

BUY HER BOOK: Cold Calling for Women Opening Doors & Closing Sales

The Wasted, Unproductive Follow Up Call by Wendy Weiss

I received a telephone call yesterday. It was someone I'd met at a networking group months ago. She reintroduced herself, mentioned the group where we'd met and said she was calling to follow up. She did not say about what. I asked the question for her, "Why are you calling? What did we discuss?"

She told me that she makes customized covers for laptops. I thought that was nice, but I didn't need one and still didn't understand why she was calling me. She then told me she makes other types of customized covers too. I said, "Oh."

We had now been on the telephone for a couple of minutes. I still really didn't understand why she was calling me. She seemed to want me to lead-but she was the one who had made the call! 

I try to be nice, I always talk to people who call me-it's my business. Other people are not always so nice or willing to give time to strangers who call for no apparent reason. 

Finally my caller asked if I was developing products that might need covers. I'm currently developing a new product that will go in a binder. I told her about that. She said they also could do customized packages for products. She continued to point out that the work was customized and I could get "whatever I wanted." Now what I wanted was binders, I could get them in Staples or some internet discount site or from a vendor who specializes in these types of products, so telling me I could get "what I want" doesn't make a lot of sense.

I asked if she could give me an example. She had no samples to send and no brochure or catalogue with appropriate examples. She had a web site, which only showed laptop covers. The caller kept reiterating that her creations are "customized" and that I could get "whatever I wanted." She kept reiterating this as if it was important. It wasn't.

She was selling features, "It's customized," rather than benefits, "It will make your product unique and it will make it stand out. It will add value. It will help with your brand and image. You will sell more because of the way it is packaged." These are benefits. What a better outcome to the conversation if she had only mentioned one of them!

Think also what a better outcome if she had suggested, "Let's get together and talk about your product. We could do some brainstorming as to how it might look and what you want to accomplish with the packaging and I could make some recommendations." I would have gladly met with her. Who knows what might have followed that meeting?

At that point it was time for me to get off of the telephone. I had a coaching client calling in 5 minutes and I needed to get ready. As we ended the phone call she said, "I'm here if you need me." That's nice, but she had never given me a compelling reason to think that I might need her.

I was annoyed. She was probably very frustrated.

So what are the lessons learned?

1. Understand your sales cycle and the goal of your telephone call. This caller had no agenda beyond calling to "follow up." After that, she expected me to lead. 
2. Focus on the benefits not the features! Imagine your prospect thinking to themselves, "Why should I be interested? What will this do for me?" If you want your call to succeed, you must answer those questions.
3. Ask for what you want. (See #1.) Once you know the goal of your phone call, you must ask for what you want.
4. Keep asking for what you want.

BUY HER BOOK: Cold Calling for Women Opening Doors & Closing Sales

"Warm Calls vs. Cold" by Wendy Weiss

Recently, a participant in one of my public seminars gave me a “warm” lead, the name and telephone number of the training director of a company with a large sales force. She told me to call. She said she knew that they needed help, and she told me to use her name.

Wow! A “warm” lead! I was excited! I called!

Once I reached the prospect, I introduced myself and then mentioned the name of the participant who had given me the referral. 

The response was not what I expected. “What did she say?” he snarled. “How do you know her?” It seems the two of them were not on very good terms, and he didn’t think very highly of her. What had just happened to my “warm” lead? (Why this woman gave me this lead is perhaps the subject for a different article.)

Does this type of scenario happen all of the time? Let’s hope not! But the point is that the difference between a “warm” call and a “cold” call exists only in your mind. Whether or not you have a referral, when you call your prospect, you must have done your homework. You still must be able to represent yourself intelligently and articulately on the telephone. If you cannot do that, you will not move to the next step.

These arbitrary distinctions of “warm” and “cold” actually make it more difficult for you, because you assume that the “cold” call is harder than the “warm” call. That is not necessarily true. Frequently, people avoid making “cold” calls, assuming that they will be more difficult and yield fewer results. Conversely, they don’t always do their homework on a referral, assuming that it is some how “in the bag.” The truth is that “cold” calls quickl become “warm” calls when the caller has done her homework and is able to introduce herself in a clear and succinct manner. Don’t limit yourself with artificial distinctions of “warm” vs. “cold.”

Whether or not you have a referral, you are calling to introduce yourself, your company and product or service. Forget “warm” calls and “cold” calls.” Think “introductory” call.

So, what happened with my “warm” call turned “cold?” I stayed calm. I got the appointment anyway. The rest I’m still working on. 

BUY HER BOOK: Cold Calling for Women Opening Doors & Closing Sales

"Warm Calling" vs. "Cold Calling" Rant" by Wendy Weiss

Had another conversation with yet another entrepreneur who told me he does not "cold call," he only does "warm calls." 

I continue to be baffled by those who cut off possibilities with a semantic twist. "Cold call, warm call," it's simply a state of mind. Your mind. Your prospect does not make those distinctions. Just because you have designated a call to be "warm" doesn't mean that the person you are calling thinks it's "warm." This "warm call/cold call" concept is a smoke screen that covers the real issue.

The real issue is controlling your message. The real issue is being able to communicate with a prospect so that they understand and resonate with what you have to say. The real issue is about having the skill necessary to communicate with a prospect under any circumstance.

Prospecting by phone, introductory calling as I prefer, is a communication skill. Like any communication skill it can be learned and it can be improved upon. The idea when introductory calling is to contact a qualified prospect and entice them with your message. You have a brief amount of time on the telephone to catch and engage your prospect. If you are not able to do that, the call ends without achieving your desired result. If you have the proper skills, however, it is possible to have extremely productive conversations with prospects no matter how you choose to categorize them, "warm" or "cold."

The idea of a "warm call" is that you've had some prior contact with your prospect and that you have somehow "warmed up" the call. The prior contact might be with a letter sent before your call, it might be that you have encountered the prospect elsewhere it could also be that you have a referral.

All too frequently callers who use the "I only warm call" approach do not adequately prepare for their calls. Instead, they rely on the appellation "warm." If you are one of these callers, stop right here and ask yourself these questions:

--> How many "warm" prospects have said "no" to me over the years?

--> Would those calls have been more productive if I had been better prepared and more in control of my message?

Although you may have sent a letter, you have no guarantee that your prospect has read it. Although you may have met previously, your prospect may not recall that. Although you may have a referral that is no guarantee that your prospect will meet with you or have any interest at all in your products or services.

When you are on the phone with a prospect you must deal with them, where they are, at that particular moment in time. If your prospect hasn't read your letter, doesn't remember the person who referred you, or is simply having a bad day, that's out of your control. What is within your control when prospecting is to have honed your skills so that your message is clear and so that you can respond in any situation. 

When you have skills, you know how to catch a prospect's attention, you know how to keep their attention, you know how to respond to questions and objections and you know how to ask for what you want. When you have those skills it's no longer about a "warm" call or a "cold" call, it's about communication, conversation and results. 

BUY HER BOOK: Cold Calling for Women Opening Doors & Closing Sales

Volunteerism—Before you say NO, consider this:

Volunteerism is Good for Your Career,
 Good for Business, 
and 
Good for the Community

Have you noticed your mailbox at home and at the office swelling with dollar-seeking pleas from non-profit organizations? Are organizations knocking at your door, asking you to volunteer your time? 

More and more, fund-raisers and volunteer-dependent organizations are targeting career women, entrepreneurs, and small business owners, as they compete for your time and money. 

Volunteering for a cause in which you believe provides the important satisfaction of giving something back to society, helping your community, and helping disadvantaged citizens. But if that doesn’t warm your heart, consider this—volunteerism is also good for business, and good for your career! Businesses large and small, as well as individuals and entrepreneurs, are all learning the value of being good citizens, or “Corporate Citizenship.” While many small businesses owners and self-employed individuals cannot afford large, or even moderate, dollar donations—volunteerism provides a great opportunity to or deep pockets. Moreover, just like the corporate giants, small business owners, entrepreneurs, and career women should take note that it does not diminish your good deeds by sending out press releases and getting more than just a little publicity about your efforts.        

Before you toss the literature and letters in the wastebasket, take a closer look! Simply put, in order to gain community or professional visibility, or to sell a product or service, people have to know who you are, and they have to feel good about you. AND you have to feel good about yourself. Volunteering for a cause you believe in provides both professional and public exposure, as well as the personal and important satisfaction of giving something back to society. One does not preclude the other—if you choose your charities wisely. Carefully consider where you will have the most impact helping others, and gain the most exposure.  Building a career or a new business does take time and energy, and it is easy to feel there is little left to donate. This is a mistake! And for two reasons: (1) there is nothing so satisfying as helping others in need and really being part of the community, and (2) it will help you and your company! There is nothing wrong with doing good deeds and getting the public and professional recognition that go with it.  

Women business owners certainly have caught on. Volunteerism has been integrated into their lives and businesses. According to the National Foundation for Women Business Owners, “nearly six million women business owners volunteer, making significant contributions to the fabric of their communities.”  Nearly eight in ten women business owners spend time volunteering and encourage a majority of their employees to do so as well. Half volunteer for more than one charity.  Overall, nearly two-thirds or 65 percent of women business owners spend time helping a community-related charity; other charities include education-related (35 percent), religious (28 percent), health or disease-related (21 percent) and the arts (19 percent). There are lots of opportunities! 

Now let’s get down to the nuts and bolts. Keep in mind that volunteerism, if not done carefully, can be an unfocused activity that is nothing more than recreational at best. But carefully thought-out, it can be a powerful professional opportunity as well as a worthwhile community service. Below are guidelines for deciding which national or local organization to join, or which charity will be the recipient of your time and money.

Jot down how much time and money you are willing to spend on the organization and its activities.

Choose a committee that fits within that budget.

Look for the activities that will get recognition.

Don’t bite off more than you can chew. This is a responsibility and a commitment that you must fulfill.

Corporate “giving” has additional considerations. If you are considering corporate, as compared to individual sponsorship of a charity or organization, take your thinking a bit further.

Does your company’s philosophy mesh with  the organization’s mission?

Is the charity a group that is well-respected in the community?

Does it have a IRS tax-exempt status?

Is the group audited by a public accounting firm?

members and vendors or other companies? 

"Does the group have active directors, or are they in name only?

Be sure to get an annual report, financial statement, budget, and copy of IRS not-for-profit filings.

If all this sounds very calculating, IT IS! After all, we are talking about your time and dollars—as well as making a difference in people’s lives. Just because you are providing a service to a worthwhile cause by serving on an organization’s board or committee, helping the disadvantaged directly, or providing dollars or an in-kind service, doesn’t mean you should not use the experience to further your business or career. 

Not only will you get publicity and recognition, but you will be giving publicity to the charity as well. This is a part of building your professional image, and it is an important part of doing business in your community.

Copyright © 1999 Marion Gold & Company Marketing Communications

Will people think you’re bragging? Will you look foolish waving your own flag? They might. But with careful planning, a public or professional image can be created without losing credibility and self-respect. Think about the image you want to create, explore your own comfort level with public exposure, and assess the communications   potential of your efforts. This is part of “positioning,” and it is the basis for all good marketing efforts—whether you are marketing yourself or your company.

BUY HER BOOK HERE: PERSONAL PUBLICITY PLANNER:  A GUIDE TO MARKETING YOU