Success Point Consulting

Hi, thought I’d do something different today and do a Video Blog (or Vlog as they are called).

Enjoy!

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Every Moday morning, right to your cellphone, you’ll get a short marketing tip that you can use right away to market your business.  How fun is that?  Subscribe today!

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One of my tasks as a small business consultant is to keep up with best practices in different fields, like online marketing, so I can better advise my clients on what they might consider doing.  So this week, I’ve been studying Twitter, trying to figure out how the best of the best make it happen.  So I began following Ashton Kutcher and CNN.  And I have to admit, I have been amused, intriqued, and entertained far beyond what I was expecting.  I also started checking out all the Twitter analysis sites, like Twitter Grader, Twitter Analyzer, Tweet Stats, Twitter Stats, Twitter Counter.  I put in all kinds of queries, and viewed a lot of Twitter feeds, both personal and business.

I can’t say this is definitive, but as I review my notes, I think I have identified seven things businesses, both big and small, should do on Twitter to make it a more successful platform.

1.  Target a niche, talk to that niche, develop a niche.  So I started research this week at Dell.  I was fascinated by fact that Dell has 34 Twitter accounts, each aimed at a specific market.  Now that’s smart marketing. And each account only follows other Dell accounts — Dell Twitter managers do not read anyone else’s Tweets, except other Dell Tweets.  But between all the accounts, they have over 1.5 million followers.  Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t need to know what coupons Dell is offering on what accessories every day, but apparently a lot of other people do.  But each Dell Tweet account manager develops their own following and interacts with their own audience.  They are all different.    

2.  Another lesson from Dell is to use Twitter as a customer service tool.  A lot of the Dell Twitter managers (most of whom are happily pictured on their account pages) have running dialog with customers about back-ordered inventory, end dates of sales, how to special order items, and other customer service issues.  It’s very much like a public live chat.  But it does demonstrate Dell’s willingness to engage and reflects well on their customer service philosophy.  I definitely have a stronger feeling of trust in Dell after reading their Tweets.  That’s an effective use of the platform. 

3.  Have a mix of offers, information, replies, and personal Tweets.  Don’t just Tweet “about” your business, throw some offers out there.  Don’t just send people to other blogs or articles, Tweet about your own business and send them to your own website or blog.  If a customer or client asks a question, respond.  Ask your customers questions and ask for feedback.  It’s OK to have some personal Tweets (just got off the plane in Orlando) but there has to be more if you are presenting yourself as a business.  Mention other people, reTweet, reply.  The more you mix it up, the more engaged your followers become in you and  your brand.

4.  Do not use one of the standard Twitter backgrounds — make your own.  Make it professional, make it reflect your brand and your personality.  I find it odd that I’m recommending this, because really, you mostly see your Tweetstream’s Tweets, not their pages, but as I was researching, I could almost tell if I was going to be impressed by their Tweet activity the second I pulled up their profile.  And most of it was the first impression of the page background. And of course, it goes without saying that you MUST have a photo or logo, not one of the ugly Twitter default icons.

5.  Include photos and videos. The most influential Tweeters use a lot of photos and link to a lot of videos.  It adds interest, it gives the reader a fuller idea of who and what you are about.

6.  Make your profile description match your activity.  If your profile says you are a small business consultant, your Tweets should be about small business things — not ceramics.  If you say you are a mortgage banker, I expect to see Tweets about the financial markets, or home sales, or government regulations, not puppy housebreaking.  Oh sure, throw a couple Tweets out there about your personal struggles with the next Marley, but if that’s all you are going to Tweet about, then make it a personal Twitter account and don’t expect to drive business.

7.  Mention your Twitter handle in all your other online activities and drive people to Twitter to follow you.  Once I found some Twitter accounts I liked, I went to their Facebook, their LinkedIn, their websites, anywhere I could, to see how they were promoting their Twitter activity.  And it turns out that the ones I liked were promoting it a lot.  SO, you can find me on Twitter as @SuccessPointer.  Go ahead, follow me.  I’ll try to engage some of you in conversation. 

That’s Twitter.com/SuccessPointer.

It’s pretty clear that there are no hard and fast rules to using Twitter as professional networking tool, but I think incorporating these 7 characteristics into your Tweets will help make it as effective as possible for your small business.

Here’s to your success,

Trina

P.S. 

  Heather Tapia’s Why2 How2 Abundance Marketing series starts TONIGHT at 6:00 p.m. at Raisin Rack in Westerville.  For more information and to register, go to http://AbundanceMarketingPro.eventbrite.com

P.S.S.  Registration continues for SPEED NETWORKING, coming May 18th at The Meeting Place.  Go to Gemstone Partners to officially register.  It’s going to be fun.  Also, if you have a book, a discount, a do-dah of some sort that you would like to donate as a Door Prize for the event, let me know!  I love to promote my friends and their businesses.

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Like it or not, if you want your small business to be successful online, you need to have an understanding of Search Engine Optimization and you need to take steps to get listed in the organic search results of the major search engines, especially Google, Yahoo, and Bing. 

One of the ways you get noticed by the search engines is to develop backlinks. Backlinks are exactly what they sound like — they are links which directs others towards your site; they are also often referred to as inbound links (IBL’s). In the world of search engine optimization, the number of backlinks your site has is an indication of how popular or important it is according to your peers (other site owners). These are especially important because search engines such as Google will give more credit to those sites with a good number of quality backlinks. So they will then consider these sites more relevant than others in the results pages of a search query and will show your site higher on in the rankings.

Most search engines will want websites to have a level playing field, and so will more often than not look for natural links that have been built slowly over time. Although it can be fairly easy to manipulate the links on a web page in order to achieve a higher ranking in the short term, it is a lot harder to influence a search engine with external backlinks from another site. This is why these count so highly in a search engine’s algorithm.

One of the best ways to achieve quality backlinks to your site in a fairly short time is Directory Submissions.  Why don’t more small business owners do this?  I know it may have been some years ago, but you actually had to buy an ad to be listed in the  yellow pages, or at least buy a telephone line.  It’s no different online.  You actually have to DO something to be listed in a directory.

 It takes time, it takes effort, but it gets results. Believe it or not, you actually have to submit the link for your site to directories in order to be listed. Many directories allow free submissions. There are dozens more that want you to pay for the privilege of being listed. If you can afford it, DO IT. There are many sites around which offer a service where you can submit your site details to numerous sites. Do a search, you’ll find them. In some industries (like legal, for instance) there are well over 2,000 potential directories your business can be listed in. Every one of those listings then becomes a backlink.

But another benefit of submitting to directories, in addition to creating backlinks, is getting a boost in traffic. Imagine, some people actually use directories that they know to search for businesses instead of just Google search. The key to getting a traffic boost from directories is to actually write out a good description of your product or service and use your targeted keywords. I know, it begins to sound like a broken record, but if you use the same targeted keywords on your site, in your LinkedIn, Twitter & Facebook posts and profiles, in articles that link back to your site, and also in business directories, you will start to become associated with those keywords in the eyes of the search engines. You will start to rank higher and be seen as more relevant. Isn’t that what you want?

I almost feel like the directories I tell clients to submit their site to are a closely guarded secret, but they really aren’t. This isn’t my complete list, but here are some ideas to get you started. You should make sure your business is listed in: Local.Yahoo.com, Google.com/maps, MerchantCircle.com, Brownbook.net, Cityslick.net and if you can afford it, PR.com.

There, now don’t tell me I’m not helping to make you successful online. I don’t get paid to advertise these directories (though occasionally clients pay me to help them listed on all of them ). But because you are friends of mine, I feel like I need to at least give you a hint.

Here’s to your success,

Trina

P.S.  We’re only 10 days away from the How to WOW! Now Seminar.  Have you registered yet?  HowtoWOWnow.eventbrite.com

There’s now a discount for friends of mywebWOW!com, which I would be glad to share.  Just let me know that you are going to attend and I’ll get you a discount code for 50% off the ticket price.  What are friends for?

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As a small business consultant dedicated to helping my clients succeed, I am always on the lookout for resources.    One of the places I always turn to are online forums.   I was looking for a source of photos or art for blogs, Squidoo lenses and other uses, and went to the Work-at-Home forum (http://www.work-at-home-forum.com).  A lot of people there seem to be using Photobucket.com instead of Google Images.  So I checked it out.

I spent WAY too much time last night browsing. Any photo that made me laugh out loud, I downloaded. Any photo that I thought could be used in other contexts, I downloaded. I now have a catalog of about 85 photos and images, like the one to the right here, ready to be uploaded whenever I need them.  And since they are submitted to the site by users who agree to share, I don’t have to worry about copyright infringement when I use them.  Nice.

I surf forums all the time.  I think I belong to something like 34 of them at last count, in several different industries.  I still look at some of the legal discussions from time to time, but I spend a lot more of my time these days on the work-at-home, working mothers, small office/home office forums.  I find they are great places to find out information about what’s new and happening.  You also get a sense of what the issues are and can craft a stronger marketing message to those particular audiences.  The tips and techniques that get shared are incredible.  Who needs to buy an ebook?  Someone out there will tell you what they’ve learned, and if you don’t see it readily available, just ask and someone will answer.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

WAIT!  I have to interrupt this blog for an

SPEED NETWORKING is scheduled for May 18, 2010, at The Meeting Place.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Anymore, I never buy a new piece of software or advise a client to use any online service without first browsing a couple forums to see what the positive and negative reports are.  The Warrior Forum is a great place for all things internet-marketing related.  If it doesn’t work, if the provider promises a money-back guarantee and they don’t honor it, if their upsells are too aggressive, you’ll find it discussed.  Or, if the product exceeds everyone’s expectations and they get 20 ideas on how to grow their business, you’ll see that discussion, too.

I’m using the forums mostly for information gathering, not to sell my services per se, which is good because most forums frown on blatant selling.  But I do get business.  It’s just a more subtle approach.  I answer a lot of questions and try to give people honest answers.  I refer them to my blog, or to other resources I know about.  In return, I get inquiries from people who want to know more about me.  Those inquiries often lead to connections on LinkedIn or Facebook, and new followers on Twitter.  Sometimes, those inquiries lead to sales of my content-writing packages or consulting services.

And don’t forget that other nugget that comes from being involved in forums, especially the more active ones — that precious backlink to your site that Google loves for search engine optimization purposes.  If you write your forum profile using your targeted keywords, and your “about you” box has the link to your website or blog, Google will find you and give you credit in the page rankings and search results.  Win-win for everyone.

Depending on the target audience, I encourage clients to get involved in one or two forums, in addition to LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.  If you are active on the forum, you will develop a following and start to be recognized as a expert.  That’s not a bad thing.  But sometimes, you don’t need to be active.  Just sign up, go out and observe.  Read the discussions.  See what resources people like.  See what they don’t care for.  There is a wealth of informatioon about your potential customers out there just waiting to be discovered.

For my list of favorite forums, email me at SuccessPointConsulting@hotmail.com.  Please put “Favorite forums” in the subject line.

Here’s to your success,

Trina

P.S.  We’re only 3 weeks away from the How to WOW! Now seminar.  Seating is limited, so reserve your spot NOW.  RSVP to http://howtowownow.eventbrite.com.

P.S.S.  My good friend, Heather Tapia, is running a series of classes entitled “Why2How2 Abundance Marketing” starting Monday, April 26.  Get more information and sign up at http://abundancemarketingpro.eventbrite.com

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Okay.  First things first.  You ARE getting Google Alerts every time your small business is mentioned on the web, aren’t you?  If you’re not, get with it.    It is an awesome tool that can make increasing the online visibility of your small business online so much easier.  (Side note: I’m talking about the real Google.com/alert, not the commercial googlealert.com.  I don’t know the commercial version, only the free Google service.) Basically, you ask Google to troll the web for you, looking for specific keywords or your company name.  Every time a Google bot finds what you requested, it captures the page and sends it to you.  You can choose to have it sent “as it happens,” which means immediately upon the bot finding it, once a day, or weekly.  Your own site isn’t included in the results, nor are Tweets or Facebook mentions at this time, but those will be coming soon. 

Google Alerts are great for finding out when you are mentioned on someone else’s blog, or in an article, or in an Answer in LinkedIn.  If you are submitting press releases to dozens of press release services, Google Alerts can give you exactly which services are distributing your releases, and which aren’t.  You’ll know what sites are promoting you.  It’s the easiest way to create a file of your online press clippings I’ve found.  It’s also a great tool for monitoring who is talking about your competitors, what blogs are actively talking about your areas of interest, and catching any negative reviews or bad-mouthing before it goes viral.

But what I have found with many small business owners that I consult with is that they set up Google Alerts, they get the email from Google every day or every week, they open it up, say, “Oh goody, my press release was published,” and go on with their day.

Wrong.

You got the information, now DO SOMETHING with it.  For instance, if a press release about your small business’ upcoming event was published by one of the online news agencies, go to the site, capture the URL, and send a tweet announcing you’ve been mentioned.  Don’t stop there.  Submit the URL to Digg, Redd It, StumbleUpon, and every other social bookmarking site you participate in.  Go to a couple forums and say, “Hey, PRNews just published our press release.”  Update your wall on Facebook, submit a little news items to each of your LinkedIn groups.   

I suggested this plan of action to a client and she responded with “Why should I promote their blog?  Aren’t I just sending traffic to them instead of to me?”  I had to pause for a second.  But really, why wouldn’t I want to promote a blog that is talking about my business?  Sure, I’m making an effort to make that blog successful, but I think that’s OK.  If that site publishes a mention about your small business, and their site viewership increases, what are the chances they will be interested in publishing the next release you send, or mentioning your small business again?  Pretty good, I’d say.

But Google Alerts can be used for so much more.  For instance, if you are a graphic designer looking for a new project, you can set up a Google Alert to look for “graphic designer wanted.”  You’ll get an Alert that has combed through Monster, Careerbuilder, Elance, GoBig, and other sites and condensed it down to a daily digest of potential projects.  so much easier and more convenient that going through each site separately.  It can work for just about any job or project search.  I’ve used it to identify companies who are actively looking for an online marketing consultant. 

Think about the topics you want to know about on a regular basis and create an Alert.  You’ll be amazed at how much information you get so easily.  I have found in my small business consulting practice that my topic research for certain clients has been cut to almost nothing because Google is doing it for me and delivering it right to my inbox.  It’s like having an intern doing your research and just presenting you with a summary of the latest news.  How cool is that?

I’m curious about how you use Google Alerts.  Please leave your comments below.

And as always, if I can help you create an online or offline marketing plan or help you get your business growing and moving toward your success point, please call me at (614) 753-5979 or email me at SuccessPointConsulting@hotmail.com.  I would be honored to help.

Here’s to your success,

Trina

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Okay, okay, yes, I admit it.  I have been slow in getting on the Facebook bandwagon, but with small business clients and friends seeing FANTABULOUS results, I’ve been forced to take another look.   

And I’m here to tell you — Facebook advertising is the real deal.  You can target demographically and geographically, it’s cheaper than Google, there’s less competition, and small business owners are seeing results.  I just ran a little ad myself — I had a simple landing page offering a FREE Report and asked the respondents to fill out a short survey about their current online marketing activities – and got 6 very high-quality business leads in about 36 hours, for less than $100 ($82 to be exact).  I’m excited.

Facebook Ads provide two ways to advertise on the pages of Facebook. You can create an ad campaign that links to a landing page within your Web site, or you can advertise something on Facebook, such as your new Business Page or an application you have developed. You can also employ a Social ad. This shows your image and text alongside the social action you take on Facebook pages.

The targeting available for Facebook Ads is awesome.  You can choose  the location, gender, interests, relationship status and other demographics of your target audience.  For my test, I chose to target women, in Ohio, who were business owners and involved with service professions, like attorneys, accountants, insurance sales, etc.  And sure enough, every response I got was from a woman, from Ohio, and all but one is in an industry I was targeting.  And my guess once I dig a little deeper into her background, I bet I find she is or was connected somehow to a law firm.

In creating a Facebook Ad campaign you will need to decide which type of ad you want to run and provide the link the ad will lead visitors to.  The link does not appear in the ad — it’s behind the scenes.  The entire ad is a hotlink to the URL you select.  The ad title is restricted to 25 characters while the  text (body) must fit in 135 characters. If you choose to include a photo (which I recommend), it needs to be 110 by 80 pixels.  And like any good ad test, you should run at least 2 versions, if not 3 or 4 versions, to make sure you are getting the absolutely best response rate you can.

Very similar to the Google model, Facebook Ads can be run on a Pay for Clicks (CPC) or Pay for Views (CPM) model. During the ad creation process, you set your daily ad budget and the maximum bid, which is the most you are willing to pay per click. CPC ads are displayed in Facebook’s Ad Space, Home Page (or both), while CPM ads are shown only in the Ad Space. Facebook selects the best ad to run based on the cost per click or impression and ad performance.

After creating the ads you want to run, Facebook will approve your ads for use and suggest a max bid if you have bid too low.  This seems to take anywhere from 4 hours to 24 hours, which is very comparable to Google.  Through your Ad Management Page, Facebook provides ad data so you can track your progress, change the audience, or adjust other metrics as the campaign progresses.

And here’s a little tip for the day (you’ll never be able to say I didn’t help you out after this) — do a search for FREE Facebook Ad Credits and you’ll find several companies out there willing to give you $50 to $100 in Facebook advertising credits.  I did it — I took a $50 credit to test with — so my $82 campaign only cost $32 — and it would have only cost me $0 if I had shut it down a little earlier.

So go ahead, try it.  You just might find a new PPC platform that really performs for your small business.  If you need help coming up with a strong headline or ad copy, just ask me.  I’ll give you three or four versions for you to test for a very reasonable $80.00 — I’ll even do the set-up for you, if you want.  Call me at (614) 753-5979 or email me at SuccessPointConsulting@hotmail.com and I’ll do what I can to help you succeed.

Here’s to your success,

Trina

P.S.  Plans for Speed Networking at being finalized.  May 18 is the target.  Stay tuned!

P.P.S.  If you’re in the Columbus Ohio area, make plans to attend the How to WOW! Now seminar on April 29, 2010.  Local celebs like Gabe Speigel, Ryan Bauer, Bruce Heinemann, Shelley Moore, and Andrew Catapano are going to talk through the process of going from having a dream about owning a business to starting a business and then promoting your business online.  A portion of the proceeds from the night is going directly to Junior Achievement.  Make your plans now — it WILL sell out.

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We lost an hour this weekend because of the switch to Daylight Savings Time.  If you are like many small business owners, you need more hours every day, not less. 

Here are a couple ideas on how to get that hour back and build a more successful small business while doing so.

1)  Learn to use the tools and systems you have to their full capacity.  Whether it’s Word or Excel, or HootSuite, so many small business owners could save themselves so much time and effort if they would just take the time to learn how to completely utilize the tools and systems they already have.  I am constantly amazed when I talk with small business owners who have trouble keeping track of appointments, deadlines, and heavens! billing, and yet they have the software that could make it a breeze.  They just don’t know how to use it, or they don’t know what is available.  

One such tool is Microsoft Outlook. It is so much more than an email management system (though it’s good for that).  My good friend, Bob Cich, of Priority Management will actually come to your office and train you and your staff on how to use all the bells and whistles of Microsoft Outlook.  How awesome is that? 

2)  Another area of Bob’s expertise is organization.  He does a seminar titled  “Organize or Agonize” which basically says it all.  Spend the time to get organized today and you’ll save that lost hour over the next few weeks just by being able to access your resources quicker.

3)  Make a list of all the tasks you should perform weekly and daily and SCHEDULE them on a calendar.  I can’t stress enough how important it is to actually schedule time — and stick to your schedule.  But WAIT — before you put them on your calendar, take one more step:  Sort these tasks into “like” activities.  For instance, in my business, I typically have these weekly tasks:  client writing, client research, client promotions, client consultations, new client prospecting, online business promotion, telephone calls, new business development, business writing.   When I sort them, I have the following activities: research, writing, telephone calls, promotions, and prospecting.

When I first take on a new small business consulting client, I create a list of all the tasks I plan to complete for that client.  I used to schedule my work based on each client.  For instance, for many clients I have to conduct research into a client’s product or service and then write blog posts or articles to support their business.  I also need to promote their business by creating listings in directories, posting comments in forums, sending Tweets and such.  I also help them with offline promotions, so I sometimes design flyers or brochures for them.   I used to pull out my client task list and do all of that day’s tasks for that client, then go to the next client and do that day’s tasks.  What I discovered was that I was doing the same activities over and over again.

I had a productivity break-through when I switched from client-based to activity-based scheduling.  I can get two or three times more work done in the same amount of time by focusing on the “activity,” not the client.  For instance, I will now block out a couple of hours to do nothing but research.  I will do research for all of my clients at once, not just one.  While I’m researching, I’m not checking my email, I’m not randomly surfing the web.  I’m focused on finding information and downloading or saving it for reference later.  After the research is done, I’ll schedule a block of time dedicated to writing the blogs and articles.  During my writing blocks, I don’t chat with friends on Facebook, I don’t make or answer phone calls.  If I have done my research thoroughly, I have no reason to go online until my writing is done.  For me, when I’m on a roll, I can write fast and furious and if the research is already done, I can zip through client work.   

Activity-based scheduling has been proven to be one of the most efficient methods to increase your productivity. I highly suggest you try it.  You may be amazed at how much more work you can get done in  day.

Sometimes, fresh eyes can see where you are wasting time.  I recently met with a gentleman who was complaining about not having enough hours in a day to get everything done, yet during our one-hour conversation, he pulled out his iphone and texted at least 3 people.  Not only was it rude, but it was telling me exactly why he’s not efficient.  If that’s you, you may want to consider only checking messages once an hour, not every 5 minutes. If you need someone to help you organize your tasks and suggest some tools and processes that could make you more efficient, let me know.  I would be glad to help.

As always,  here’s to your success,

Trina

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On Saturday, I was in a meeting with a small business owner and three of her key staff members in Grandview Heights, a neat little suburb just west of downtown Columbus, Ohio.  Wearing my small business consultant hat, I was leading the group in a brainstorming session on new offers we could create to generate more revenue for their fledgling small business.  We were in an office suite on the second floor of a, no offense to those who work there, but non-descript, rather run-down-looking office building in the midst of the industrial area of town.

To our surprise, we were interrupted by two young women, complete strangers. “Excuse me, but can anyone tell us how to get to the convention center?”  For those of you who are not from Columbus, you may not know that this past weekend was The Arnold Classic, an international body-building and health & wellness convention started by none other than Arnold Schwartzenegger himself a dozen or more years ago.  These two ladies were from out of town and had gotten lost.  They had zigged when they should have zagged.

We gave them directions, pointed out where the restrooms were in the building, and scratched our head as to how or why they would have chosen this building to come in and ask directions.  We marveled a bit at the gumption of these two travelers, pulling into the parking lot of an office building on a Saturday, going in the door, climbing the stairs to the second floor until they found an office with the lights on and door unlocked.  Finally, one of the ladies in my group said, “Well, I guess they were thinking outside the box.”

Exactly.  They were thinking outside the box.   On that street there are no fast food restaurants nor gas stations.  There are a couple small retail stores, office buildings, industrial warehouses, and apartments.  These two ladies had a need for directions and the usual suspects were nowhere to be seen.  So they thought a little differently and came up with a solution.

If you run a small business, you need to occasionally think outside the box. Determine what outcome you want first (directions) then open you mind up to all the possible ways you can achieve your outcome .   If they had been closed to all possibilities but getting directions from a gas station (which we speculated would have been the case if a man had been driving, but that’s another topic lol), they could have been driving around lost for quite a while because there aren’t many stations in Grandview and they are hard to find.    But they were focused on their outcome, not the method of getting there.  When they saw a group of cars parked outside of this office building, they took the calculated risk that someone inside would be able to help them.

Turns out, it was a successful endeavor because we did indeed know how to get to the convention center, they got to use a clean, uncrowded restroom, and we got them in the right direction quickly.

You will find that there are so many more paths to small business success if you will just be willing to think outside the box and try a different approach on occasion. Sure, tried and true methods still work, but so can new ways.  You just have to be open.

If you ever need someone to facilitate a marketing brainstorming session, or need help coming up with creative and innovative new ways to promote your product or service, especially utilizing the internet and social media, give me a call at 614-753-5979 or email me at SuccessPointConsulting@hotmail.com and I’d be glad to help.

Here’s to your success,

Trina

P.S. Mark Your Calendars.  SPEED NETWORKING Coming MAY 18, 2010.  MORE DETAILS TO FOLLOW.

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In talking with small business owners who are struggling to find success, I am often struck by how strongly they resist change.  In my role as small business consultant, I seem to have to bite my tongue at least twice a day so I don’t blurt out that Dr. Phil one-liner, “So, how’s that working for you?”  I try to listen, give constructive suggestions, and try not to over-promise on how I can help their small business grow, but it’s so hard when I see what great potential there is with offline relationship-building techniques complemented by online social networks and online marketing techniques, and so many small business owners don’t.

Take the insurance agent I recently met.  He has been a small business owner selling property/casualty/health insurance for almost 12 years.  The past 2 years have been the hardest of his career.  He is struggling to find new business.  Where does he currently get most of his clients?  The majority of new business comes from a half-page ad he runs annually in three yellow page-type directories, but the phone doesn’t ring as much anymore.  The other main source of new business are leads he gets from his parent insurance company.  Where do those leads come from?  Those leads are people doing online searches, of course, not people looking in the yellow pages.  Lightbulbs coming on, anyone?

Does he have a website?  Yeah, the one the company put up for him almost 5 years ago – and it’s never been updated, at least not by him.  Does he promote it?  Not really.  Ever think about a blog? No, too time-consuming.  ”Are you on LinkedIn?” I asked.  ”I think so,” was the reply.  I looked him up.  Yeah, he has an incomplete profile and only 12 connections.   Facebook? That’s for kids.  Twitter?  Doesn’t get it.

“So what steps are you taking to encourage your current clients to refer more business to you?” I asked.   Nothing systematic, it turns out.  I didn’t have my laptop with me at Panera, but if I had, I would have made him sit through THIS VIDEO right then and there.  Ah, live and learn.  He got a follow-up email from me AND a thank you greeting card is on the way, so he’ll be exposed to the information that can literally turn his current customers into a dynamic referral machine.  Will he take action?

“What networking events do you regularly attend?”  None.  He used to be involved in the local Chamber, but not now.  I suggested a couple groups that he may want to check out, but he has young kids so evenings are spent at home.  Some of these groups meet in the morning or over lunch.  No enthusiasm.  I don’t want to say the guy was negative, but I think all he could see was the desperation of shrinking business, not the excitement of growth.  But he’s not willing, right now anyway, to hire me to help him.  The pain isn’t great enough — yet.

On my way home from my meeting with him, I was listening to a CD I had gotten a couple years ago from my good friends, Dave and Linda Brincks, of ActionCoach International, entitled 6 Steps to a Better Business, featuring ActionCoach founder Brad Sugars.

One of the things Brad talked about was overcoming resistance to change.  (Sidenote: I once said I wanted to be like Brad Sugars when I grow up.  I still do.  He imparts a lot of common sense.)  Turns out, there’s an actual scientifically-proven mathematical formula that governs when an organization – either an individual, small business, or even the largest corporation or government in the world — overcomes resistance to change.  It was actually introduced back in the 1970s by corporation efficiency expert Peter Drucker and then mathematically proven by the team of Gleicher, Beckhard & Harris in the late 1980s.

Anyway, the formula is stated something like this:

Dissatisfaction + Vision + Action > Resistance to change

Basically, in order to overcome the resistance to change, there has to be a certain level of dissatisfaction, often rising to the level of actual pain, the small business owner wants to alleviate. But pain is not enough.  The small business owner will continue to do what he or she has always done despite the pain unless there is also a vision of what their business can look like after the pain is removed.  That’s where a business consultant like me can help.  I help refine, or maybe even completely define, the vision.  But envisioning the result is not enough.  There has to be action.  Meeting with me may have been my insurance agent prospect’s first step.  But he doesn’t yet have the vision.

I have my work cut out for me with him.  Only when all three elements are in place: 1) enough pain, 2) a clear vision, and 3) action will he be willing to let go of his current ways to doing business and try some new things.

I am convinced that building relationships is the way to build a successful small business today.  Whether it’s offline relationship-building activities, like consistent communication strategies like SendOutCards, or newsletters, or even one-on-one personal networking, or it’s online relationship-building activities like email, blogging, and social media strategies, no small business owner is going to be able to really experience the success he or she seeks without embracing a new vision and overcoming  resistance to change.

If you are dissatisfied with your current business, and are ready to seek out a new vision, then take that action and call me at 614-753-5979 or email me at SuccessPointConsulting@hotmail.com.  I’m ready and excited to help.  A more successful small business is in your future.

Until next time,

Here’s to helping you reach your Success Point,

Trina

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Research has shown that it can often take seven or more contacts before a prospective customer will buy from your small business.

Are you doing enough to convert each contact into a buyer?

Sometimes you meet a prospect when it’s the         wrong time for them.  You give them a business card, or a link to a website, and hope for the best.  But they never call, they never respond.  But eventually, they will be in the place where they need or want the service your small business provides. That’s why it is so important for every small business to have a prospect contact follow-up plan in place.

Let’s use a financial planner as an example.  Everyone needs a financial planner in their corner.  They need that extra set of eyes looking at their financial situation, helping them make good financial decisions.  But many people do not.  There are many reasons:  some people say that financial planners are too expensive, or they don’t have enough money to make it worth their while, or financial planners only want to sell them insurance – they’re not really interested in doing what’s best for the consumer.

For whatever the reasons, the market for financial planners can be resistant to hiring a new planner.  But then the prospect loses his job and now has to make a decision about his IRA.  Or the prospect receives an inheritance and doesn’t know how to invest it.  Or the prospect has a new baby and wants to set up a college fund.  He vaguely remembers meeting a financial planner a couple months ago, but doesn’t remember much about him.  He turns to an internet search or asks his brother-in-law at church and that financial planner never gets the call.

So what’s the smart financial planner to do so that he does get the call instead of his competitor?

Create a prospect contact follow-up plan.

For most service-related small businesses, every prospect you come in contact with should receive at least three contacts from you within the first month of the initial contact.  This reinforces the initial information on what your services are and what sorts of situations you can help with.  It could be two letters and a telephone call.  It could be two telephone calls and one letter.  It could be two emails and a telephone call.  It could be a letter, an email, and a telephone call.  You decide what works best for you.

After the initial month, you need to decide whether you want to keep in touch with these potential clients monthly or quarterly.  Do not go more than four months without contacting them again.  Work out a plan.

For instance, your follow-up contact plan may be something like this:

Initial Contact – Day 0

Follow-up Letter with a Free Report on why Retirement Planning is more complicated today than ever before – Day 3

Follow-up Telephone Call, did you read the report, can I answer any questions? – Day 10

Follow-Up Letter, Touching Base – Day 30

Letter or email, Financial Topic of Interest – Day 60

Postcard, Special Offer – Day 90

Telephone Call – Checking in, Can I assist you in any way? – Day 120

Letter or email, Financial Topic of Interest – Day 150

Survey (print or online) – Day 180

Postcard, Special Offer – Day 270

Unexpected Greeting Card – Day 360

Your ongoing contacts should not be overbearing or needy.  They need to be warm and friendly.  They need to be informative.  All you are trying to do is stay top-of-mind with these people so that when they or someone they have frequent contact with needs your services, they will think of hiring you first.

There are several tools on the market that can help you make your prospect contact follow-up plan easier to manage.  I personally use iContact for email marketing.  They provide great templates for newsletters, they have a decent autoresponder system, their survey platform is easy, and they are affordable.  Plus, they offer a 15-day trial to start, so there’s no reason not to try them.  Check them out.

For real reach-out-and-touch someone relationship-building, I personally use SendOutCards.  Check out a great video on how their service can really boost your business at http://NewReferralGrowth.com You can send out 3 customized greeting cards for free on me.  I highly recommend it to anyone in personal or professional service industries where competition is high and relationships mean the difference between success and struggling, especially realtors, financial planners, insurance agents, accountants, attorneys, day spas, hair salons, and the like.  It’s also terrific for everyone in direct sales and even companies like Mary Kay, Pampered Chef, Tastefully Simple, Tupperware, and other similar programs.  Plus, it’s great to never miss a family or friend’s birthday or anniversary again.

There is no “right” way to stay in touch and there is no secret formula that will guarantee success.  But set up a follow-up contact plan, follow it consistently with every prospect you meet, and in time you’ll reap the rewards.

If you need assistance in creating a prospect follow-up contact plan, or other marketing ideas, please let me know.  I would love to help.  Email me at SuccessPointConsulting@hotmail.com.

P.S.  If you are in need of a financial planner in the Columbus, Ohio, area, give Augustus, aka A.W., Abel a call at 614-389-2075.  Check out his website at awabelfinancial.com.  I’m working on some changes for him so check him out now, and then again in a couple weeks!

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