As a small business with little content, can I benefit from marketing automation?
This question is a part of my Free Q&A Series where I answer questions posed by entrepreneurs around the world on sites like Quora, Clarity, and various freelancing forums. ABOSLUTELY! In fact, utilizing marketing automation is likely to result in some great benefits for your company that will allow you to create more content and further improve the business. The thing about marketing automation most business leaders fail to recognize, is that it is not “set it and forget.” It is a constant evolution and improvement to your systems. Additionally, it does not need to overtake your entire sales and marketing process at once. You can automate a piece at…
Negative Reviews Are Opportunities Many Entrepreneurs Miss
If you deal with clients or customers, chances are high that someone will be upset or displeased with your service. Not only that, but they will leave a negative review on every platform they can think of. The web has given a platform for user reviews on a scale that businesses of yesteryear did not need to concern themselves with. Recently, one of my clients had negative reviews left on Google, Facebook, Yelp, and an industry forum. The review was scathing and the reviewer held no punches. The problem? They were not even a customer of my client. The reviewer had the wrong business. As I was coaching my client through…
What Separates a Good Salesperson From a Bad Salesperson
Sales is a cutthroat business! Yet a necessary one. Some of us may be naturally gifted at closing the deal, while others battle an internal voice telling us we cannot sell. Being “good at sales” is actually “being good at people”. People have needs. We have solutions. Since mankind has existed, we have been in some form of trade (or, “sales”). Whether we’re dealing sheep, berries, airplanes, or software, we exchange what we have for what we want. “You want sheep to better your farm and produce wool for your family? I have an excess of sheep. Let’s make a deal.” Standardized currency drastically changed the game; no longer did…
You Want to Buy It?
Over and over, I hear of salespeople getting frustrated. Discouraged that they cannot hit their sales goals. Frustrated that they cannot get a new client to commit. Anxious about the lack of monthly revenue. Yet over and over, I don’t hear them asking the question that changes it all. Freelancers, cupcake shops, consultants, coaches, headband makers, or photographers – to generate revenue and make a difference in your business, you must be willing to close the deal. You have to take the risk, take action, be uncomfortable. You must ask the question: “Do you want to buy it?” – Photo by rawpixel.com on Unsplash
How to Talk to People
Step 1: Don’t talk to people. Don’t talk at people, either. When we talk to or at people, it presumes we will be doing the talking. Instead, talk with them. Listen to them. This is especially important in difficult conversations. Instead of trying to win the argument, listen and share your story. When we listen first, our verbal posture changes to become more welcoming for a conversation instead of a defensive argument. – Photo by Jason Rosewell on Unsplash
Honing Your Brand Voice
It may seem funny to think of your brand having a “voice.” But the language- the words, terms, phrases- you use in professional communication says a lot about your brand. Those intentional choices provide a consistent feel for your customers. Does your doula service say moms, mothers, or mommas? Do you have clients or customers? Do you have employees, partners, team members? Do you sign your correspondence Sincerely, Respectfully, All the best, xo? Do you provide photography services or capture meaningful moments? While these examples may seem subtle; our goal is a consistent “voice” for your brand. Think back in high school civics when we had to draft resumes. They all started with some…
What is Engagement Bait
[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Medium-styled Post Title and Meta” background_color=”#fbfcfd” _builder_version=”3.0.89″][et_pb_row admin_label=”Post Title and Meta” _builder_version=”3.0.89″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_post_title admin_label=”Post Title and Author Information” categories=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.89″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_text_align=”center” title_font_size=”28px” title_text_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.8)” title_line_height=”1.3em” meta_font=”||||||||” meta_text_align=”center” meta_font_size=”18px” meta_text_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.8)” meta_line_height=”1.8em”] [/et_pb_post_title][et_pb_post_title admin_label=”Featured Image” title=”off” meta=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.89″ title_font=”|700|||||||” title_text_align=”center” title_font_size=”28px” title_text_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.8)” title_line_height=”1.3em” meta_font=”||||||||” meta_text_align=”center” meta_font_size=”18px” meta_text_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.8)” meta_line_height=”1.8em”] [/et_pb_post_title][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.89″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.89″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Blog Post Body” _builder_version=”3.0.89″ max_width=”800px” custom_margin=”|||10%” background_layout=”light”] Recently Facebook announced their improved efforts to reduce the spread of “engagement bait” — the act of using reactions, comments, and shares to trick algorithms into showing content more frequently and to a broader audience. This has some marketers concerned. Understandable, since Facebook’s organic reach (the number of…
How to Choose the Right Digital Marketing Mix to Grow Your Business
Social media, SEO, content marketing, email marketing, PPC — the list of digital marketing tactics go on and on. And on top of that never-ending list, it always seems like there are new marketing strategies popping up every month. With all the different choices, how do you know which form of digital marketing is best for your business? To help you decide, we’ve taken four different scenarios and recommended the best digital marketing tactics. While there are many different ways to accomplish each goal listed below, we’re just going to focus on one or two digital marketing methods that have worked for us in the past. [Tweet “You don’t need…
How to Manage Unpaid Invoices
Being your own boss is one of the biggest perks of freelancing. However, that also means you have to do the not-so-glamorous work, like being your own contract manager and accountant. While you’ll spend the majority of your time in your element, you’ll inevitably be faced with the uncomfortable situation of asking your clients to pay you on time. This is when you have to put your small business owner hat on and take action right away; the longer you wait, the harder it will be to continually get paid on time. Here are four ways to manage unpaid invoices: 1. Be Persistent In the beginning of my freelancing career,…
How to Create 8 Pieces of Content in 2 Hours
You don’t need to forgo a night’s worth of sleep to create quality content. Nor do you need extra caffeine or superpowers. The secret to creating a ton of quality content in a short amount of time is to repurpose existing, successful content. This saves you time and effort, allows you to reach new audiences, and makes your content stretch even further. [Tweet “Repurpose existing, successful content to reach new audiences and save you time.”] Repurposing is about taking a published blog post and breaking it up into smaller pieces of content in new formats. In order for your repurposing efforts to be successful, we recommend that you have a…
The Best and Worst Ways to Generate Leads
There are the best and worst ways to do everything. There’s the best way to write subject lines, there are the worst ways to use Facebook, and there’s the best way to design a homepage. But what are the best and worst ways to generate leads? It’s easy to invest money in social media, email marketing, and content marketing, but do they really work and are they worth the money? [Tweet “Lead generation is a pot of gold for every digital marketer; but we must avoid fools gold.”] Here are three of the best ways and three of the worst ways to generate leads: 3 of the Best Ways to…
23 MORE Industries That Can Benefit From Content Marketing
A few weeks ago, I wrote a list of 23 industries that can benefit from having a strong inbound or content marketing strategy. Since then, I’ve thought of 23 more that should have been included in the first list. If you think you cannot benefit from a plan that attracts the right people, at the right time, with the right information, you’re sorely mistaken. Without further ado, here are 23 more industries that can grow and attract new customers through content marketing: Tradeshow Hosts / Promoters Freelancers Educational Institutions Accommodation & Hospitality SaaS Long-term Health Care / Retirement Home Debt & Credit Repair Personal Assistant Organization DIY Services Warehouse, Storage, and Distribution Employee…
Understanding Customer Personas
Understanding customer personas, sometimes called ‘buyer personas‘ or ‘buyer personalities‘, is an important first step in the inbound marketing process. Knowing the overall personality of your customer, where they live, their age, their interests / hobbies / likes / dislikes, makes marketing to them much easier and relevant. It allows you to add contextual relevance to their needs. Customers Come First Connecting with your customers is the single most important thing to your business. And without it, your products don’t sell, and you lose your customers to your competitors, more often than you care to admit. Now that we’ve gotten that out in black and white, it’s time to talk about how…
3 Major Reasons Your Marketing Efforts Are Not Successful
NOTE: This is written to the forward thinking marketer who has overcome the first hurdle of getting stuff done: the excuse. “It didn’t work.” “We tried that already.” “Our previous web guy / consultant / designer / gardener didn’t understand us.” Congratulations, you’ve made it through the hardest part. Kudos for accepting a level of responsibility for a previous marketing campaign failures and your genuine interest in seeing the fruits of your labor and improving. Now, my people, let’s get to the nitty-gritty! Here are 3 major reasons your marketing efforts are not successful: 1. Not Consistent Consistency in marketing wins the race. Look at megabrands like Coca-Cola, Ford, Budweiser,…
3 Scripts: Asking Clients for Referrals
You can spend hours Googling the best tips, tricks and best practices for asking clients for referrals, but one thing is missing from all those articles – the actual words that are supposed to come out of your mouth. We’ve all been in that situation, whether professional or personal, where we spend hours researching how to do something, but when it comes to go-time, we just can’t find the right words to say. Or, we never really knew what to say in the first place. That’s especially true for asking clients for referrals. Many of us are shy or feel too pushy when we essentially have to ask current clients…
Someone Referred You…Now What? How to Turn Referrals into New Clients
Everyone talks about how to get referrals — the ways to get your existing clients to refer you to a new pool of people. We’re guilty of this, too. We’ve written about how to build your agency through referrals, the wrong ways to ask for referrals, and how to do the work for your clients so they’ll be more likely to refer you. Well, that’s all great to know, but what the heck do you do once you actually get a referral? There’s not a lot of information out there about how to turn your referrals into new clients. It’s like everyone is more focused on getting names and contact…
The Wrong Ways to Ask for Referrals
There’s a right and wrong way to do just about everything. With client issues, the right way is always to vocalize concerns and solicit feedback. The wrong way is to ignore issues until they go away. With missed deadlines, the right way is to communicate ahead of time and warn your client that the project will be late. The wrong way would be to avoid the client and scramble to get the work delivered, even if it’s sloppy. And, just like every other facet of business, there’s a right and wrong way to ask for customer referrals. And, it’s especially important that you ask for referrals the right way, as…
How Top Producing Real Estate Agents Use Blogging [Quick Tip]
The key to using a blog to attract new customers is to identify the burning questions your customers are asking — and answer them. “But what about giving away all of my trade secrets?” “What if my competitors read what I’m writing?” You will never cannibalize your business by providing valuable information to your prospective client; in fact, just the opposite. The more you share, the more trustworthy and credible you are in the eyes of your visitors. Hint: if you can give away all your knowledge, you are 1) not continually learning, 2) not an expert. [Tweet “Hint: if you can give away all your knowledge, you are 1)…
8 Tips to Build Your Business With Referrals
If you want anything in life, your best bet is simply to ask for it. You may be surprised at how successful this easy (yet bold) approach can be. I’ve seen it work in dozens of scenarios, from being upgraded to first class to receiving a higher salary to getting free samples at a bakery, all from simply asking. The same goes in our professional lives. Do you really want to work with a certain company? Do you want more referrals? You guessed it; just ask. In the business world, client referrals are one of the most lucrative sources of growth. People are more than 30% more likely to trust…
The Perfect Pitch: How to Excite Customers and Close Deals
As Don Draper of Mad Men once said, “You are the product. You feeling something. That’s what sells.” When you pitch potential clients, you embody your agency and the services provided. Your confidence, manner of speaking, body language, and personality can build long-lasting relationships or come off as a sleazy sales pitch. [Tweet “When you pitch potential clients, you embody your agency and the services provided.”] Not all of us can be as smooth as Don Draper, with his immaculate suits and Old Fashioneds. But, we can learn how to excite potential customers and close the deal: How to Excite Potential Clients Case studies Customer success stories and case studies…
The Invisible Link Between Social Media and Sales Conversions
For modern marketers, simply being on social media is not enough. There are too many gimmicks; too much noise; too much drama. Instead, ask yourself, “What are we going to do with social?” The answer is to introduce call to action to drive intentional outcomes. Using social media with measurable purpose is the invisible link between social and sales. Without a purpose, and a way to analyze your efforts, you are adding to the noise and drama. — About the Daily Marketing Minute The Daily Marketing Minute is my project for the last quarter of 2014. Each day, I will deliver bite-sized, fat-free nuggets of sales and marketing insights. In an increasingly noisy…
How To Solve The Biggest Problems For Your Ideal Customer
“How Have We Helped You, Today?” That is the question I ask each time I see these faces. They represent our customers. The people we exist to connect and help. It’s a big mental shift to adjust marketing from “about us” to “about them.” The customer. More specifically, your ideal customer. Consider challenging yourself for 6 weeks to look your ideal customer in the face each day and become obsessed with making their biggest problems disappear. The transformation will be evident in both your organization and theirs. How have you helped your ideal customer today? Have you defined your ideal customer persona? If not, join my free email course to do just…
S is for Social Listening – Part 2
Just the other day, I encouraged brand leaders to look at social media as a listening platform. This is an area that many small businesses think larger, more established brands can outperform them. Quite the contrary. As if on cue, I witnessed the following transpire in real time, and was disappointed at the (lack of) response by a national brand. Exhibit A: [email protected] lost a lot of respect 2day. Took today off, scheduled service repair never showed up. Called 800 # & no one can help either #fail — Bryan Kramer – Keynote Speaker (@bryankramer) October 22, 2014 https://twitter.com/adamf2014/status/524743162347008000 @bryankramer @SEARS they also seem to pay a lot of attention to their…
S is for Social Listening
Interruptive sales strategies suck. No one wants to get your generic, unsolicited email or phone call. You don’t need to wish for a way to gauge interest in your product or service. Social media was made for listening. It offers a gold mine for sales people to listen for folks who need their services. Prospective buyers are taking to social media to talk about their interests, pain points, frustrations, wants, and needs. Start listening for leads. — About the Daily Marketing Minute The Daily Marketing Minute is my project for the last quarter of 2014. Each day, I will deliver bite-sized, fat-free nuggets of sales and marketing insights. In an…
How To Reach Twitter Users Who Need You
Twitter is a great prospecting tool, but how do you use it to connect with new customers without coming off as spammy? According to a late-2013 study, 67% of customers were more likely to purchase from a brand they followed on Twitter. But what about connecting with those customers who are not following you? In a sea of noise, sometimes it is hard to stand out and not turn off prospective customers. Still, business owners seeking to build relationships can take advantage of the 271 million monthly active users on Twitter. This week, I’ll share some keys to reaching new, qualified prospects using Twitter. Service Over Sales The first key to reaching prospective…
How to Convert Your Sales-Oriented Pipeline to a Customer-Oriented Pipeline
Today’s consumers are entering the buying process much more educated and from a number of entry points. Some will come to your brand based on the recommendation of a friend, others will see a sponsored social media post, others will come in “cold” from a generalized search engine query. Your sales process must be able to accommodate these various entry points and anticipate the needs of these folks. The hardened sales process of yesterday will not work for today’s buyers, and certainly not for tomorrow’s. With some simple steps, such as defining your customer’s buying process, behavior monitoring, and measuring; you can begin to create a sales pipeline that is more…
How to Generate Business Leads from Pinterest
Pinterest is one of the more popular social media platforms today. In fact, if you are not careful, you can find many hours of a lazy Saturday afternoon consumed by it…. not that I am speaking from experience. Pinterest is popular because it gives users the ability to quickly and visually categorize things they like. The psychological cues are powerful and will help keep the social network pinned to the top of our minds for quite some time. Who Should Be Using Pinterest Both B2B (Business-to-Business) and B2C (Business-to-Consumer) brands have struggled with how to use Pinterest in their social media and online marketing strategies. Rather than trying to shoehorn…
Why I am an Unapologetic, Raving Evangelist for Inbound Marketing
I don’t just like inbound marketing. I believe in it. I’m a raving fan of it. An ambassador. When I started Never Mind Marketing, the now-pillars of inbound were only loosely connected. We knew web design and layout were important, we knew search engine optimization was important, and we knew that social media was important. Beyond that, there was no formal name for what we were doing, it was just called “internet marketing”, which many people thought was scammy affiliate marketing garbage. I’m pretty sure my mom thought I worked for Google. In The Beginning I started in the wild wild west in internet marketing at the age of 13.…
Time Management Tips for Social Media Brand Managers
One of the top concerns with any brand owner or manager is the time suck that is social media. It seems that any “quick update” on Facebook results in the loss of a week’s worth of productivity as you mindlessly check out pictures of cats, food, and your friend’s children. That said, social media is critical for the overall success and expansion of your brand, so we cannot ignore it completely. For that reason, I have made a list of time management tips that we use internally to keep social media from taking over our lives on a daily basis. Time Management Tips for Social Media Managers Be Intentional From…
How To Use a Buyer’s Journey to Increase Sales
It pains me to see sales professionals doing the right thing, yet missing the mark when it comes to their monthly or quarterly sales goals. I’ve watched as brands dump money into their sales and marketing budgets to expand their brand awareness, increase sales, and decrease the workload of these departments only to be met with disappointing results. The problem is not the level of their effort, it is the efficiency of their effort. This is often evident by the sales team wasting their time (and your business dollars) continually following up with leads that are unqualified or otherwise not ready to make a purchase. How do you know? Answer…
