My Lock down Learning in 30 Days..

It is hard to believe that we are nearing 70 days of Lock down.

Initially it felt just like another holiday. The prevailing thought was I can relax and complete my pending domestic chores. Somehow the repeated extension of the lock down, though expected by all came to me like a bolt from the blue as I was not mentally prepared. I began to worry about future if this continues. Will I end up cooking, sweeping and wiping the house?

A New Journey Began!

Honestly, the thought landed in my mind quiet suddenly. I felt the urge to do something new apart from usual routine work. I wanted to up skill myself. I wanted to be well versed with Social Media Management and Digital Marketing which I thought I could learn easily, at this age, without even going out or seeking a mentor or coach

Social Media Management

Though learning has no age, but I still feel out of place if I have to go out and learn anything new. With my sister and son’s guidance I opened Twitter and Instagram account. I slowly learnt and began to post something relevant. I was not even aware of Hash tags which I am slowly able to capture. Believe me it is really interesting. Though I have not learnt fully, but I am sure, with some more time I will.

My key learning has been not in opening social media accounts but in identifying the theme I wanted to associate my learning and online profile with – Go Digital!

Design

I learnt Canva and prepared a Twitter cover page saying exactly that – Go Digital.

Template from Canva

I prepared slides of a presentation that had to be uploaded in YouTube. My confidence slowly began to soar.

The first one I did was a face book poster with content provided – This was to test my aesthetic sense. Learning indeed!

Content Writing

I had to write 750 words content / script for a YouTube video based on which I made the Canva Slides.

 Voice Over

After a few revisions of the draft, I had to do voice over for the final script. This was the easiest learning, just to read it aloud, but of course it took me more than an hour for just a five minutes voice over. You know why, I was just stammering in between, missing out lines etc.

Portfolio

I created a resume template in WIX which was a single page. I am yet to learn WIX properly and create sub-pages to establish my work portfolio and persona doing justice to my decades of experience in various capacities.

Mail Campaign

I watched YouTube on Mail Campaign done by another intern from this learning community, created account in Mail Chimp. I just sent a test mail and I have not done any campaign practically. Unless I do it for a real time project, I just cannot confirm if I have learnt it right. I have started though

Blogging

The first draft of this blog was terrible. I received 650 words feedback which is longer than the length of my blog. Phew!

I was supposed to write about my 30 days digital internship experience so that others benefit from reading it. What I did instead was repeat the content of YouTube script, rephrased some sections explaining how I did quality check for a white paper which was all about learning  just one task – Quality Check through web research

I missed the main aspect of blogging- the sequence of content. It was rightly pointed out to me that the video script would go with images and my voice while the blog has just words and therefore to retain attention span of target readers, the themes had to be presented differently.

In the second draft I wrote my personal journey in a conversational tone, created sub headings and wrapped up that draft in 553 words. The word count of the final blog is over 1000 words.

After edit when I do the Maths of final count of words, I can see the feedback got incorporated.

Story board

Writing content for two separate output format - video and blog makes this learning the most important – Story boarding - how to sequence, emphasize key themes, and ensure each reader has a take away. 

Track Changes in Word

I always used to think, I can type with utmost speed in word document. In fact I can challenge anyone for Typing speed, but had my vanity fairly bruised when I did not know the simplest thing in Word called Track Changes which I learnt during this lockdown, while preparing content for video script

Virtual Meetings

I conducted virtual meetings through Zoom. In my professional career I have provided secretarial and executive assistance to senior official and organized several offline meetings. Conducting virtual meeting was a great learning for me to invite others for meeting/ learning sessions/ discussion through a link, at the switch of a button, regardless of geography.

I prepared minutes of the meeting for my future reference.

Online Research

This one was live project for my Kinesthetic learning with definite time frame – 48 hours. I had to research and quality check content of a whitepaper that was supposed to be submitted to the Ministry pertaining to financial sector which was nowhere close to my domain. I had to self-learn from Google. At first, I was clueless what am I supposed to quality check, but I was determined to complete the assignment within the stipulated time.

I had issues in understanding the scope of work, working in laptop, unable to highlight, copy the links etc. however when I received a positive feedback, it was like Wow, I can do this easily provided you had the will.

Reading

For the past couple of decades, my reading was limited to spiritual books only. Now I read all kind of blogs pertaining to digital marketing, women empowerment, business and I personally think that is a giant leap forward. However I should still begin to effectively use the knowledge I gather by reading.

 Habitual Changes

During weekends or any holiday during pre COVID times, I used to never sit with a Laptop to learn or read, but during this Lockdown, I have consciously made these habitual changes, sitting with the Laptop on or before 10 am, just like office goers, to read, learn or do something new.

Forum Posting

I have identified blogs, proposed hash tags and posted in a face book page dealing with shelter, livelihood and construction.

Instagram

Here I am just a beginner with merely four posts. In June I intend to focus on this and LinkedIn                    

Humble Beginnings

The simpler things I learn which is more important in the long run

1.     The big picture - What all this learning will tantamount to?

2.   Practicing brevity in writing mails because the most precious commodity today is people's attention span and one cannot afford to waste one's concentration with lengthy unnecessary details

3.   Time management  and work balance between home chores and learning productivity 

4.   One does not have to step out to add to our skills - Only a strong will counts

5.   Acknowledging mails, to keep the project leader posted about learning update

6.   How to appreciate the good work being done by different social media teams of large organization by liking, sharing and re tweeting effectively

A few things, I am yet to learn

1.     Self- learning or independent learning as I had to depend on my son

2.   I was not proactive and always needed external push, follow ups and validation for each work. In short I was not exactly self-driven. I needed reminders.

I am hoping this will change over time

After all this is just the first month – Have a heart!! When are you starting your learning journey?

Lastly, I would only like to say if I can, everyone can.

Author: Corporate Professional, Mother, Home Maker, Drape connoisseur

Do Not Pick My Brain

This is one question I receive quite often from beginners - who are new to online income and in their learning mode still, eager to acquire clients for their skills and execute orders

Should we share samples of our work with prospects who ask for it?

I would like to ask the following first. Do you understand what these mean?

Intellectual Property

Content Exclusivity

 Non-Disclosure Agreement

If you don’t, please google

And one final question – Do you have client approval to share the work they paid for? It is definitely not your property, after you sold it (Think of any three dimensional product to get the point)

That is precisely my point. Enough said.

Then how do we handle this question from clients?

I do business plans, pitch decks, learning modules, content strategy, storyboard, web content or whatever.

Someday I even plan to expand my services and do the following from the comfort of my home

Bid management: Create multi million dollars proposal. Why not?

Stakeholders Management: Handle 18 to 20 stakeholders of a company  -Pricing, Technology, Operations, Transition, Applications, Risk office, Training, Human resource, recruitment, leadership, solution expert, external consultant and this list is really long to create that winning proposal. I had a win ratio of 25% and a conversion ratio of 45% in my corporate career - Seriously, why not?

Now the point is, once I am done, do I share sample of this proposal and toss it around to prospects for similar orders? It is not about ethics or legal implications anymore - It is not about common sense either. It is just - You. I consider it blasphemy

Here is a solution:

Please provide paid sample which means let them pay you for a sample of your work. Do a dummy project for them and let them keep it. If they do not like it, do a quick gap analysis based on their review and feedback, do your mathematics if you can accommodate those revisions in the same quote  - I would recommend you do because it is not about just an order, it is about your learning, and building a fruitful business relationship.

Getting quotes and samples to test the market is not new. It has been there since sliced bread.

I also see a trend now where a few buyers probably ask samples because they cannot afford you however they need your thoughts so that they can get a cheaper version of it from someone else. 

The fact is, I would be more than glad to share a sample if the content (Say, a business plan) was pertaining to my own business and not a client's. Because I know, any one can read the plan, imitate the plan, capture the same headings however cannot meet the objectives of the plan unless the line of research is based on the same thinking as mine. 

Here is a conversation with one of my prospects

Style and approach? Yeah right

Here is my response:

Now can you guess if this prospect ever returned and ordered from me? Why would he? It was just a futile attempt to pick stuff from my brain. All samples are just that - a give away of your thinking horizon. 

Now it is your call how you want handle this question in future.

Click here to know more.

How Are You Branding Yourself Today?

How many of you receive mails from job consultants seeking these inputs?

• Your current Salary
• Expected Salary
• Joining Period if selected
• Have you applied before directly or through any consultant?
• Are you a permanent employee?
• Are you open to relocate?
• What is your current location?
• How many years do you have in

1. Leadership Role
2. Team Management
3. Project Management
4. Stakeholders Management
5. Client relationship Management

And the laundry list can be longer. There was time I used to think, these questions in my inbox reflect interest in my profile for an opening, possibly. Now I just delete such mails whispering to myself – What audacity! What a pathetic way to build database? How immature!

• It is perfectly okay that you do not have time to read my online profile
• It is not okay that you demand sensitive information, just like that.
• How can one trust your credibility to fill positions, if you lack basic ability to draft a decent introductory mail?

Content impacts your branding

Image Credit: Shutterstock

CEO,  Ventures

Over a year back, when a young job consultant spoke at a stretch and ended saying “Since you are not associated full time with any corporate now, I suggest you take this opportunity for whatever you are getting” I smiled and said politely “I will keep that in mind”. What I wanted (trade time, skills, both or neither) was not her scope to know, what she wanted was all that mattered.

• When you treat profiles like products to push and fill roles, you most often forget the resource here has a mind of their own.
• Your choice of words and under researched ways speaks volumes about your desperateness to meet targets than do justice to employers and aspirants.

Communication impacts your branding

There are a few people I know who are running their own firms for almost five years and yet their social/ professional profiles highlight their former roles with big corporate names.

• Which entity do you think needs to be branded now – the firm you worked for a decade or the firm you created and associated with now?
• How do you want people to remember you – for what you did in the capacity of former president or for the service you provide now and what you represent today?

Company impacts your branding

The young consultant and many others like her are yet to know large corporation is good platform to test and develop skills for a few years. The Future of Work is to trade your niche skills to multiple buyers across geography from the comfort of your home, without trading your time. Are you branding yourself today to suit/ meet that future?

To know more about Future of Work, click here

Based on BECKON Framework, the evaluation and learning road map are first to support your outcomes (income stream) and then assist you to transfer that to others, if you want to scale and build an enterprise or brand as an independent BECKON coach

Part 3: For Leaders, Communication Is Not Just Communication

The credibility you have built as a leader goes a long way in supporting your communication agenda. A prolonged silence could be taken just as seriously as a simple instruction or a long lecture.

Conflict: Ask yourself if questions from audience or key members confuse and baffle you? How you conduct yourself when you are caught off guard by a question or when you are not prepared with a ready response actually gives insight of your overall personality and nature. Whether the occasion is one to one or one to few or addressing a large group, leaders ideally ought to use every opportunity to communicate with greater goals in mind than to defend personal ego or individual interests. When the intention is beyond safe guarding petty ego or personal agenda, the communication is not just exchange of ideas but also transfer of conviction.

Choice of Words/ methods/ Pace: What went well when you were a college graduate cannot probably suit things now. A joke that appeals to a young crowd might not necessarily create the same ripple with business unit heads. Even with best of intentions, your communication as a leader can be a disaster if you do not work on your language and study your audience. If you are being fed or self-taught reflects in what words you use, methods you adopt and pace you maintain during the communication. If you are fed by external source regarding what to talk, you are likely to fumble; the presentation method will make it evident if communication is knowledge based or situational dressing up. Most pseudo intellectuals and self proclaimed leaders miserably fail in this arena.

Content: You do not necessarily have to create material as the research part is often done by support functions. In a presentation with over – say twenty slides including audio, video, reports and reviews; you can remember the storyboard and the sequence if you were involved in its creation. It always helps a great deal if you create material instead of just checking and approving slides done by others. Share you pointers as the listeners not only get a glimpse of your strategic thinking and competitive intelligence, you speak with more conviction as the ideas are original, yours and you know exactly what you are talking.


In a few months I can come up with another ten C’s however that is not the whole point. The takeaway here is, each of these factors is internal – cannot be changed externally. “You” are the reason and “You” again are the solution.

For leaders, communication is definitely not just communication – it is the overall executive presence. Assess yourself by answering the BECKON Qualifying Questionnaire. You can command attention and carry yourself well when you leaders consider communication as a powerful tool to sharpen your image and impact business

Are You Alive Online?

If your marketing road map is still about finding the ideal customer, creating a campaign and surveying your customers for a possible lead and your advertising channels are still broadcast and print, the action items below are for you:

Build Target Audience: How can you reach out to your target audience (Someone who needs what you offer) if you are not following them on social media channels? In all possibility they will follow you, even if they do not need your services right away. Each time you post about your company products, share a relevant article or event; it reaches the right people and the interested ones will subscribe to your newsletters to know more.

Soft Sell: Just keeping them in the radar is not enough. At regular intervals, get the experts and researchers of your company to reflect their knowledge about the industry through blogs and feed the same audience. Would a customer like to do business with someone who knows the market and is well informed about current industry trends? Would he wait for the blogger to call him or reach out to the company, when the need arises?

Experience Centric: Target not just the customers but aim to impact their overall experience. When this becomes company’s primary agenda, the focus is not just about product quality, delivery timelines etc it is about influencing client’s mind with each sale and service. That builds loyalty. If you can handle client’s negative feedback in record time speed for minimum customer impact, that will not only restore faith but build trust many fold.

There are many small and medium enterprises, outlet owners, high value product dealers, exporters and institutes who still run their business without being alive online, as the myth is, the Social Media exercise requires a full time resource and if not done right, it can impact existing business.

To break that myth and know more, contact advocating.outcomes@gmail.com. We will do a session with your employees who can contribute to your company’s content strategy and be part of the learning to achieve business outcomes. Serious business is not done just with a handshake anymore.

Are You New To Paid Online Writing?

‘Content is king’ sounds cliché somehow that is the buzzword of the era. You have a flair for writing, even if it is standard diary entries and you thoroughly enjoy the exercise. Then you probably can assist others find something of value in those scribbles. The standard diary bit was an exaggeration to encourage you. When you write about subjects that can provide useful information to thousands who read that, you could as well be paid for it. Here are just a few acronyms that you will need to know before venturing out in this field and submitting a writing sample

MLA/ APA etc – Most writing portals want to know if you are acquainted with different styles of writing and include a few questions to test your understanding on these. This is mandatory for research-based articles to address citation, sources, references, notes, bibliography etc. It is always advisable to refer a reliable source each time you attempt to write with these mandates.

SEO – It is not enough to know its full form and understand how keywords work. Developing the skill to write such articles, which has a count, rule and a desired impact is an art that comes more with practice and less with knowledge. You cannot over do or under do while attempting SEO article and yet should be able to draw traffic.

POV – First person point of view entries are discouraged and your writing sample is likely to be declined. It works to maintain a neutral tone or stick to “You” just the way I am doing it here.

PLR –The stack of articles that you write on a specific subject, which is within your scope of expertise and comfort zone with your Private Label Rights on them, can be purchased and reused by those who need it.

An aspiring author or thought leaders or even work from home moms in their freelancing journey find writing as a decent outlet for all their ideas and experience drawn over the years. Are you ready to try the BECKON Questionnaire to find out if you can really write? BECKON Consultant will review your initial drafts and share neutral perspectives and tips to improve, guide you till the outcome is achieved.