Posts

How To Connect With People During A Pandemic

/0 Comments/in /by

Guest Post By Cynthia Battino, BHSP, Transformational Healing Life Coach, Energy Worker, Happiness Expert, Certified Vistage Speaker and Host of Sterling Women

How has connecting changed due to COVID-19? A LOT! Right?

Many of us were doing some virtual work, selling some of our products online, but many of us were stuck in face to face meetings, having an office, and shopping at brick and mortar shops. I think all of those things are still great, however, during a pandemic they may be a bit risky and unnecessary.

I had an office in Middleburg, Virginia. I traveled around the country to give workshops for Vistage. I had 1:1 meetings at the Salamander Resort & Spa. Then came COVID and quarantine. It all stopped.

Our lives turned quickly into a really bad B Movie. Shortly after the beginning of quarantine I KNEW I had to change a lot about my business. I had to change the way I connect with my people.

As a Happiness Expert, people hire me because they were referred by a trusted friend or relative, we had a 1:1 and were intrigued enough to do a welcoming session, or they saw me speak at an event and decided to give me a shot as their coach.

How do you connect and create trust if not by meeting face to face? How do you make true connection via the internet?

I found out quickly that the first thing I had to was get rid of my office. Working virtually was a sign of the future. I signed up for Zoom and watched hours of tutorials. I took my live Sterling Women Events and made them virtual. I did my three-hour Vistage Workshop via Zoom instead of flying to Boston.

Connecting online is a strategy.

You must be a bigger than life personality. You must be engaging, funny and charismatic. You must have a plan for your meetings and make sure you bring value. There is nothing worse than having a sore butt from 5 Zoom meetings that day and wishing you had chosen to attend one because only that one was worth your time.

Make your 1:1 meetings about THEM. Not you. Take notes. Find out how you can help them. Use active listening and be curious.

How else can you connect during a pandemic?

VIDEO! I decided to create a daily video blog during quarantine. I started them alone and decided to bring my husband into them. I kept them SHORT – no more than 2 minutes.

With my husband as a part, he made them funny. Each post had good information (me) and humor (him). It’s a good recipe while the world is going to hell and scared to death.

Together we made 75 videos. They checked off many boxes for surviving a pandemic quarantine. It gave me purpose. Made me know I was helping someone who needed it. Made me laugh (my husband always  makes me laugh). The best part was people actually watched them! See some of these videos at www.transform-heal.com. You can even follow us on YouTube.

Shift your offerings and pricing.

I wanted to help as many people as I could during quarantine. I knew I wasn’t the only one struggling with over the top emotions and having my finances dry up in a day. I started offering coaching sessions on a donation basis.

This did two things for me. It allowed me to connect with people that normally wouldn’t have hired me, because I was too expensive AND it kept money coming in my bank account.

During a pandemic gratitude and good karma are the recipe for success after the pandemic!

I am not recommending anyone change their business model to a strictly donation basis. I am not even recommending anyone lower their prices. I did and will continue with lower pricing until 2021. Why? Many people right now aren’t focused on happiness, they are focused on surviving. Those are very different needs. I’ll take it one step further. Happiness is a Want. Survival is a Need.

The last way to connect during a pandemic that I’ll talk about in this blog is partnering with other like-minded individuals. Using their platforms and their lists brings you more opportunities.

Writing blogs for professionals who have that forum – like me writing this for Jill Kurtz. I was invited to be on people’s virtual events. I have been interviewed on many podcasts. I was recently asked to be on a virtual conference for people who have experienced trauma.

Trust me. You know A LOT OF PEOPLE. More than you think. Reach out to them and ask to share your wisdom. You have A LOT OF THAT TOO! Again, when on these virtual forums use all of your best qualities and knowledge that make you unique and engaging.

I used to have a sign in my office that said: “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” The pandemic isn’t ending anytime soon – so it’s time to learn to dance in the rain. Connect with others and help them dance too!

Blessings

About the Author

Life coach, energy worker, speaker, author, certified Vistage Speaker, host of Sterling Women and happiness expert; these are just a few words to describe Cindy Battino. Her coaching comes from her intensive study to become a Brennan Healing Science Practitioner. Previously she graduated from George Mason University with a degree in Economics. In 2011 she founded Transformational Healing in Middleburg, Va. Cindy is a teacher by trade and teaches relationship and life skills. These skills are the tools her clients use to transform their lives from a lack of happiness and success in one area of their life to happiness and success in ALL areas of their lives. She specializes in working with high level executives, business owners, entrepreneurs and much more.

How To Create An Online Event That Brings Value To ALL Attendees

/0 Comments/in , /by

Guest Post By Cynthia Battino, BHSP, Transformational Healing Life Coach, Energy Worker, Happiness Expert, Certified Vistage Speaker and Host of Sterling Women

COVID-19 made us shift, pivot, and bob and weave to keep our businesses up and running. Many of us worked virtually and found a new friend, Zoom.

There are other online platforms out there, but what I like about Zoom is 1) it’s free or relatively cheap, 2) it’s easy to use, and 3) it has some great tutorials on how to effectively use the platform.

Shifting from live events to online events can be complicated. Here’s what I have done that make our Sterling Women virtual networking events successful:

  • I make sure that my email blasts are easy to read, and they have a larger than life “Register Here” button. All sponsors are listed on the emails with links to their websites.
  • I send frequent email blasts starting at one a week and then more frequently up to the day of the event. I send one out the morning of the event and give them one last opportunity to sign up.
  • At the events they are given a program in pdf format, plus tips from some of our sponsors. (I always give a business, marketing and happiness tip – since most of the people who attend are business owners). This program also lists the sponsors and has space for them to take notes from the speaker.
  • I have someone helping me with allowing people to attend the meeting (I make them wait in the waiting room when they log on). He/she and the speaker become co-hosts. This way they can share their screen, unmute people and let attendees in after the meeting has begun.
  • We have a speaker who tells their inspiring story to motivate us to keep our doors open and do our best to be profitable – pandemic or no pandemic. This talks to the tenacity and strength of the human spirit.
  • I use the breakout rooms feature and let the attendees be chosen randomly by the software. They have 10-15 minutes to share their elevator speeches and give their contact information on the chat board.
  • I choose two people to give their elevator speech to everyone on the Zoom meeting call. I usually choose someone new to Sterling Women and someone who has been attending for years.
  • I give out some door prizes at the END of the event. This way attendees don’t leave early, and they have something else to look forward to.
  • After the event I send the names, business names, phone numbers and websites of all attendees (no email addresses are shared). They are also sent a survey they can complete so that we can receive important feedback about the speaker, format and event itself. I encourage everyone to schedule a 1:1 with at least one person from their breakout room in the next week.
  • Finally, I keep the core values of our live events the same as our virtual events. The Core Values for Sterling Women are: inclusivity, having fun while doing serious business, a sisterhood (sisters helping sisters), and making sure I give value to our sponsors and everyone that attends one of our events.

Just like I am giving you this information to use as you like, I had someone who taught me about events, and I have an assistant who has been doing events for years for non-profits. I love being the “bridge to abundance” for others. Whether it is connecting people or sharing what I have learned. We all deserve to be as successful as we can (and choose) to be.

About the Author

Life coach, energy worker, speaker, author, certified Vistage Speaker, host of Sterling Women and happiness expert; these are just a few words to describe Cindy Battino. Her coaching comes from her intensive study to become a Brennan Healing Science Practitioner. Previously she graduated from George Mason University with a degree in Economics. In 2011 she founded Transformational Healing in Middleburg, Va. Cindy is a teacher by trade and teaches relationship and life skills. These skills are the tools her clients use to transform their lives from a lack of happiness and success in one area of their life to happiness and success in ALL areas of their lives. She specializes in working with high level executives, business owners, entrepreneurs and much more.

 

The Value of Unhappiness

/0 Comments/in /by

Guest Post by Cindy Battino, BHSP

As a Happiness Expert I am constantly stymied when I meet people who obviously not happy and yet are not ready to make changes to improve their lives. Over the last ten years I have found that humans have an enormous capacity to tolerate grief, pain, complacency, anger and fear in their lives.

Over and over I have witnessed people who wait until their tolerance level has hit its maximum capacity, their lives are turned upside down, and they are in emotional paralysis before they reach out for help. They wait until they feel broken inside, so depressed they consider suicide, and their marriages so broken no one can fix them.

Why? What is the value of unhappiness? And, what is your tipping point?

Don’t need a Happiness Expert in your life? You should. You are imperfect. No guilt or shame. You are created that way. That means you have bad habits (due to fear) that you can work on and move up that happiness scale in all areas of your life. No?

Who wouldn’t benefit from

  • Learning new communication skills
  • Learning how to do conflict in a healthy way (versus avoidance or war) that brings two people closer together rather than further apart
  • Having healthier boundaries – knowing when to bring people into their lives and when to exit them out
  • More self-worth, self-confidence and self-love
  • More happiness, giggles, laughter and gratitude

You don’t have to wait until life is so grim you can’t do it anymore. When do you say: “I deserve more. I deserve better?” What is the value of your unhappiness and what is your tipping point?

As a wise woman once told me: Happiness is your Divine right. You DESERVE to show up in a fierce way in all areas of your life. You DESERVE to have a happy marriage. You DESERVE to love yourself to the best of your ability.

I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here when you are ready to garner your courage and reach toward happiness versus accepting and tolerating complacency and unhappiness. I’ll be here when you realize that any new skill you learn to improve your relationship with yourself and others can only make your life better and easier.

I’ll be here when you realize that YOU are the common denominator of your unhappiness, therefore, YOU ARE THE COMMON DENOMINATOR IN YOUR HAPPINESS. Take what is supposed to be yours…happiness.