Archive for sales
An Easy Way to Get More Links Back to Your Website
Posted by: | CommentsHaving links to your Website from other relevant, well-ranked sites is one of the best ways to improve your search engine rankings and drive traffic to your site. An easy way to do this is by blogging.
Even if you don’t have a blog, you can use the power of other people’s blogs to promote your own. All you need to do is find a couple of blogs that are frequented by your ideal clients and post helpful comments regularly.
The keys are to post more than just “thank you for the article”. Instead provide a useful tip or interesting tidbit. Then make sure to include your Website address in your signature with the http:// in front of the www.
This automatically creates a link back to your site. And if people are interested in what you had to say they may follow that link back to your Website to learn more.
How has this worked, or not worked, for you? Please do share by leaving a comment below…
Are you putting the sales cart before the marketing horse?
Posted by: | CommentsJust the other day I was on the phone with a potential client. We’d met at a recent seminar in San Diego, and I’d admired her can-do spirit, energy, and desire to help others by sharing what she had learned. On top of that, based on a quick peek at her Website, it seemed she had at least some idea of how to market herself on the Web.
Our conversation got off to a great start as we talked about what she’d need in place to launch her own teleclass series. But I could tell as I started listing all the different parts and pieces (marketing plan, sales page, thank you page, follow up autoresponders, promo emails, and more), and people she’d need to get it all done (copywriter, Web designer/Virtual Assistants, etc.) that she was totally overwhelmed.
That’s when she revealed a few, key facts…
1) As a retiree she was living off—and funding her business with—her retirement pension…And that wasn’t huge.
2) While she had her Website set up to grow her list, she didn’t really have a list to speak of yet. Plus she was struggling to get enough traffic to her site.
3) She’d tried doing some live speaking events but hadn’t had much luck getting people to attend her talks.
4) She didn’t have a plan in place for marketing her events, her Website, or her business. She was just winging it then wondering why nothing was working.
Right away I knew she was putting the sales cart before the marketing horse so to speak.
Sure, running a multi-part teleclass might be a terrific way for her to reach more people and grow her business. But she didn’t have the skills to do it herself nor the money to hire others to do it for her.
On top of that, since she didn’t already have a list of subscribers she regularly communicated with, she was going to have to build her list while selling her class. This is doable, but harder, more time consuming, and more expensive.
Finally, if she wasn’t able to get even handfuls of people to attend her live events, she probably wasn’t ready to invest in a bigger venture like these teleclasses. Instead she needed to take a big step back and work on her marketing basics.
My recommendation was that she stop worrying about launching something so big and complicated. Instead she should work on
getting out and doing more live events and growing her list. That way she could test different topics, titles, talks and marketing tactics to see which ones get the best response.
Then, once she had a decent following, and all the marketing materials for that talk, she could easily tweak it to deliver via teleseminars. Then later launch the full teleclass series. By then she’d already have a list of people who know, like and trust her and enjoy receiving her words of wisdom.
Of course, to do any of that she really needs to put together a marketing plan. Just like any other product or service you have to do effective marketing if you want people to show up at an event…Even a free one! Because they’re still giving you their time, and these days that is a precious and limited commodity.
The same is true with most everything in your business. If you’re having trouble selling one thing you need to figure out why or you’re likely to have just as much trouble selling something else. That requires at least a simple plan complete with goals. Otherwise your’re always guessing.
Listen, it’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of the latest Online craze or business idea. Yet if you want people to buy your new product, service, program, package, or whatever…You have to have your marketing basics in order. Winging it rarely works, especially in a down economy when people are holding tightly on to their wallets.
Can you put together events, programs and product launches quickly and have great success? Sure. But if you don’t already have a solid track record, a list of followers, and marketing systems in place, you’re going to have to spend more money hiring experts to make it happen.
If that’s not in your cards, it’s best to set a big goal then work backwards to figure out how to get from here to there in small, doable steps that set you up for success. As your revenue and list grows you can launch something more ambitious.
In the case of this prospective client, since she couldn’t afford to hire me to do it for her, I suggested she grab a copy of my 2-page marketing plan guidebook “Putting Your Business on the Road to Success”.
That way she can put together a simple yet effective plan for marketing her events that makes sense given her budget and skill set. Then she can track results and figure out what’s working.
Plus, she can send her finished plan to me for a complimentary critique and get access to my marketing expertise at no additional charge (a $300 bonus that comes with this $67 product!).
You can do the same by going here: http://www.2pagemarketingplan.com
Got questions, thoughts or suggestions on this topic? Please do share by leaving a comment below…
Want to Get More High-Paying Clients Without Doing More Selling?
Posted by: | CommentsWanna learn a proven effective approach for attracting your ideal (and highest-paying) clients, without feeling like a slimy, pushy salesperson?
Or how ‘bout systems for running your business that let you consistently make more money—without running yourself ragged?
Who wouldn’t, right?!?
For most small business owners, the two hardest jobs are:
1) Getting new clients in the door
2) Finding time to get everything done
The thing is, once you know how to attract your ideal client, you really don’t have to do much selling. In fact I’ve found it’s easier to target my ideal client, and get paid what I’m worth, by using “Pull” style marketing focused on helping and building relationships instead of “Push” style marketing that’s focused on making sales.
Pull marketing draws your idea clients to you like bees to honey, instead of forcing you to chase them like a lion on the hunt. And it’s especially easy to do these days thanks to the Internet.
You don’t even have to do all the work yourself (nor should you)! That’s one of the beauties of attracting clients instead of going after them—especially on the Web. You can automate or outsource a lot of it.
While I’ve learned a good bit about all this by doing it myself over the past few years, I’ve found someone else who’s actually developed an entire “Client Attraction” system—Fabienne Frederickson. This month I’m going to be interviewing her on my regular Small Business Success Teleseminar!
Join us for FREE by going here to reserve your spot on the call:
http://www.success-stream.com/teleseminar-17.htm
Fabienne has promised to share her secrets and system for:
- How to break down the marketing process into easy steps
- Using the secrets of PULL (versus push) marketing to get clients effortlessly
- Getting clients who happily pay you what you’re worth
- Delegating, automating and systemizing every aspect of your business (so it runs without you!)
- Your chance to ask Fabienne your own Client Attraction questions live!
Fabienne has a reputation for turning her clients on to resources they’d never even heard of in their fields. And those solo-entrepreneurs that follow her advice end up standing out in even overcrowded marketplaces and snagging the best clients and customers.
The teleseminar calls are no-charge, but phone lines are limited. So be sure to reserve your spot right now while you’re thinking about it:
http://www.success-stream.com/teleseminar-17.htm
Got any specific questions about client attraction you’d like Fabienne to answer? Leave your question as a comment below and I’ll make sure we cover it on the call.
Is Your Small Business Selling to the Largest Market of Buyers…Women?
Posted by: | CommentsDo you have a small business that sells to women?
Here are some interesting stats, courtesy of Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero at http://www.redhotcopy.com, that you should consider when marketing your business, products or services:
- 85% of all household purchases are made by women (not just food either but ALL purchases)
- Most family incomes are dual, but the female spends 85% of the COMBINED money
- Women buy 66% of all small consumer electronics
- 65% of all new car purchases are made by women
- In 2006, 3.9 million more women lived alone than men…Among this group, women were 9% more likely than men to own their homes
So if you’re not already focused on marketing and selling to women, you probably should be. Keep in mind, women do have different buying habits then men, and tend to focus more on the emotional side of buying and selling. That means the hard sales are out, and authenticity is in.
How have you changed your products, services or marketing to better appeal to women?
Thoughts on this topic in general?
Please do share by leaving a comment below…
10 Pieces of Business-Building Wisdom I Wish I’d Known Years Ago
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s sad to say but true…Most of what you learn about starting and running a small business before becoming an entrepreneur is dead wrong! You can spend years figuring this out on your own (like I did), or you can read this article and benefit from my mistakes…
No matter what, you learn more by doing than by just about any other method. And after 12 years of doing the entrepreneur thing in 5 different businesses (naturalist trainer, veterinary software trainer & management consultant, copywriter and marketing consultant, real estate investor, and now SuccessStream) I’ve definitely learned a thing or two.
While I’d rather learn from my success, there’s no doubt I’ve learned the most from my mistakes. So I’d thought I’d save you the struggle and share 10 of my top business-building lessons. Some were told to me, others I learned the hard way. Enjoy!
1. Owning a business and being self-employed are two entirely different things. When you own a business, you make money even when you’re not working. And you can go on vacation without everything grinding to a halt.
When you’re self-employed you’re it. If you aren’t working nothing gets done and you don’t make a dime. It’s more fun, and more secure, to own a business than it is to be self-employed —even if it does take a bit more planning and effort to get there.
2. Do at least one marketing activity each day. And do it at the start of the day so you can be sure it gets done. This could be writing an article or blog post. Calling a client to
check in. Sending a card. Updating your social networking page.
Whatever it is just do it, and you’ll be one more step ahead of most of your competition.
3. Test the market before you create the product or service. Too often people spend months, or even years, perfecting their book, seminar, widget or whatever. Then they launch and discover hardly anyone is interested. In the beginning it’s best to create your promotions first. Then produce on demand if anyone buys.
4. It’s your business, so you make the rules. If you don’t want to work nights and weekends…Don’t. If you don’t like answering phones or emails…Don’t. These days, there are almost as many business models as there are businesses. And with the introduction of Virtual Assistants, you can always hire out the tedious parts without having to actually hire an employee.
5. Change is difficult, but almost always worthwhile. And often the changes that come with bad news or hard times are the most worthwhile ones of all. Just remember, the first time you try something new it’s probably going to be hard, scary and uncomfortable. But it always gets easier.
6. Personally pulling in every client one-by-one is a long, slow road. When I first launched my old copywriting business I didn’t go after clients one at a time (it would’ve taken forever to build a business that way on my budget).
Instead, I connected with other marketing consultants, Web designers and graphic designers because their clients needed my services. That way any one connection might result in 5-10 new clients.
Public speaking and writing/publishing (online or off) are also great ways to attract many prospects with one action.
7. Focus on your strengths. When I was younger, I spent a lot of time trying to work on my weaknesses. And I still do in my personal life. But when it comes to my business it only makes sense to work on what I’m best at and leave the rest to someone else.
8. Outsourcing is like dating…You have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince. Overall, I’ve found it easier (and cheaper) to hire independent business professionals versus employees. Mainly because their work has a direct impact on their own business success.
That doesn’t mean finding good people is going to be easy, but don’t give up. They’re out there. And when you find someone stellar you’ll be thrilled you didn’t give up the hunt.
9. Never go it alone. It’s much easier to build a business with support. That doesn’t mean you need to bring on a true partner. But strategic partners, mentors, mastermind groups, coaches—even just someone else you can call on the phone periodically for an exchange of ideas—are invaluable.
10. Schedule time to work on your business, or you’ll always end up working in it. Set aside at least one hour per week to work on your marketing, write a business plan, create a promotion, find new service providers…Anything other than putting out fires, answering emails and servicing clients. It’s the only way to move your business forward.
[tags] Marketing, Small Business, mistakes, growing, business-building, self employed, outsourcing, virtual assistants, Grow, attraction, new clients, new customers, repeat, sales, sell, lessons [/tags]
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