Successful Blog

How to tame social media’s sound and fury

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“Out, out, brief candle! Social media’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” (almost) Macbeth Quote (Act V, Scene V).

You’re building a business, right?

That means you should be spending most of your time making your product or services as amazing as they can be. You need to focus.

single black dot on red field

Social media is one little piece of your marketing puzzle, so it shouldn’t be absorbing large chunks of your day, even if you’re a solo entrepreneur who’s running everything.

“But I’m getting alerts across my screen all day long,” you say.

In the immortal words of Chef Gordon Ramsey: Shut. It. Down.

If you truly are building a business, you must create space for innovation, planning, face-to-face contact with customers, and other things that take you away from a computer screen.

Tips for Putting Social Media Back in its Place

  • Don’t let social status updates absorb time throughout the day. If you’re going to curate content, use scheduling tools like Buffer or Hootsuite, so that you can stay focused.
  • Start your marketing planning with your actual business goals, not with a new tool you just heard about.
  • Don’t get caught in the social media echo chamber. Be sure you read widely, on a variety of topics that support your business.
  • For each social network you use, have a reason why you’re using it. And be sure that reason is related to your business plan.
  • Stop saying social media is “free.” It’s not. Your time is worth money.
  • Dedicate blocks of time to your social media strategy, and the rest of the time shut off the alerts, close the Facebook tab, and set your phone to vibrate. You really don’t need to see the notification that Joe and Stacy are talking about Zac Efron on Twitter.
  • Remember that nothing is set in stone, particularly when it comes to social media tactics. Trust your own gut more than some “guru” who doesn’t know your business.
  • If you have a choice between Tweeting a customer and talking on the phone, choose the phone. Better yet, meet for coffee.

Above all, keep it in perspective. It can seem as though everything revolves around social media, but your customers just want your fantastic product/service, delivered with a smile. Everything else is just “sound and fury.”

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Photo Credit: http://heretakis.com via Compfight cc

5 Resources To Help You Pitch Like a Pro

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On the AMC series The Pitch (watched by advertising nerds like me), the pitching team strides into the conference room with a steely confidence that’s equal parts John Wayne and Kanye West. They are super prepared, they’ve done their research, and they have shiny boards prepared by the design team.

Most of the time, you will not have any of these items when you get the chance to pitch. When you’re starting your own business, you need to take advantage of inexpensive tools that will help you “spread your ideas,” in the words of Nancy Duarte.

Pitch with Purpose and Structure

#1 Nancy Duarte’s TEDxEast talk about structure

This little 16 minute video will change the way you think, every time you talk. Although on the surface, it seems to be about making speeches, it’s really about storytelling. A pitch is a story.

#2 Duct Tape Selling by John Jantsch

You can’t tell a story without another person listening. There’s no pitch without a “pitchee.” And John Jantsch is someone who truly understands that successful marketing and sales is all about relationships. Read this excellent book, and arm yourself with the power of becoming a perceptive listener. Sounds counterintuitive, but it’s not. A crucial aspect of the successful pitch is the ability to listen first.

Pitch from Anywhere

#3 Join.me

Join.me has a free and premium service that allows you to easily share your screen (with audio) with anyone, anywhere. Share your personal URL or a special code, and the other person simply has to click the link. Audio can be done via Internet or via a call-in number (and they do have International numbers available). It’s well worth paying for the premium service, as you can then record sessions, make notes directly on the screen, and change presenters on the fly.

#4 Pinstriped

Have you ever been in the middle of a pitch or presentation when your IM pops up with a random message from your colleague? Or you need to browse past your Grumpy Cat photo collection to get to that image you need to pull in, in front of your prospect? Pinstripe is the elegant little solution to this problem. After you install it, you can present a clean, controlled desktop behind your deck or screenshare. You can even put up a logo/branded image instead of the clutter you usually have on your desktop. Pinstriped is in free beta right now.

Know Who You’re Pitching To

#5 Nimble

I’ve spent a lot of time researching CRM platforms, and Nimble has consistently impressed me. Its “secret sauce” is the 360 degree view of each contact’s social streams, pulled into one interface. If you’re about to meet with someone, you can easily pull up their profile and see what they’ve published recently. If you integrate your email account, you can also have a consolidated viewpoint of all past communications with that person. There is a free personal option, as well as premium business accounts, well worth the investment.

Pitching is an art form that requires practice and discipline. Surround yourself with tools and resources that will help you become a pro and close the deal.

What’s your favorite resource for pitching clients?

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

The Secret of My Success

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Moving into a new home is a major undertaking.

Once the boxes are cleared and the new neighbors start bringing over key lime pie, you invariably have to start calling contractors of various stripes.

moving is hard

Lawn guy, handyman to fix the screen door handle, pest control, air conditioning repair, you get the picture. Making all of these calls over a compressed period of time gave me a true education in “who gets the business.”

You know who gets the business?

The person who answers the phone. If everyone fails that test, then it’s the one who returns the call the fastest.

Woody Allen has been often quoted as saying “showing up is 80 percent of life.”

When asked later about the quote by William Safire in the New York Times, he elaborated:

“My observation was that once a person actually completed a play or a novel, he was well on his way to getting it produced or published, as opposed to a vast majority of people who tell me their ambition is to write, but who strike out on the very first level and indeed never write the play or book. In the midst of the conversation, as I’m now trying to recall, I did say that 80 percent of success is showing up.”

Do you have an ambition to start a business, or are you actually doing it? Doing it means answering the phone when it rings.

Businesses hanging out a shingle, getting that Google places listing, polishing up their SEO to get a good search engine rank, and hoping for good word of mouth are truly only 10 percent of the way to the sale.

If all of those things happen and you don’t answer the phone, you’re dead in the water.

Yes, this same imperative applies to online businesses, consultants, writers, and everyone else.

Three Keys to Answering the Phone

  1. Manage your time effectively. Make answering the phone a priority. Yes, it’s probably more important than posting on your Facebook page.
  2. Create a system so that nothing slips through the cracks. Whether you’re using a notepad or a sophisticated contact management system like Salesforce or Nimble, put a mechanism in place that will remind you to follow up.
  3. Practice active listening when you do answer. Don’t launch into a pitch; wait and let the person on the other side tell you what they are contacting you for.

If you show up and answer the phone, you’ll come out ahead every time. (But let’s keep it our little secret, ok?)

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

How Amazon Became the “Default”

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When I need to buy something, whether it’s a set of s’mores skewers or the latest bestseller, I click on over to Amazon.com first.

It’s taken me a while to recognize this behavior, because I was doing it very unconsciously.

Amazon.com logo

How did this happen?

Amazon.com is my “default” place to buy things. They have simply removed every trace of friction from the shopping experience. To the point that other factors like price and diversity of selection take a back seat.

You may not have the resources of Amazon, but you should aspire to be the “default” provider of whatever service or product you offer.

Remove Purchase Friction:

Answer Questions

Amazon has to sell you things that you can’t feel or touch, so it has to provide you with every single bit of information you might want before buying. Consider the lessons of Marcus Sheridan, “The Sales Lion,” who saved his pool company (and built an empire) by answering every single question right on his website.

Establish Trust

As an entrepreneur, you may not have a recognized name. But Amazon started somewhere too. They incorporated a ratings system for their shopkeeper program so that you can clearly see reputation as a buyer. Look for ways to build trust with your prospects and customers– whether it’s social proof, testimonials, or being maniacal about follow-through.

Remember Your Customers

One reason why Amazon is the default is that they store my credit card information, and they remember everything I’ve bought since the site went live. I hate having to go find my purse, pull out my credit card, and type in those numbers. Have you thought about ways you can streamline invoicing for your customers? Do you offer different options for billing, discounts for annual payments? When your customer contacts you, can you pull up a record of their purchase history?

Offer White Glove Delivery

Recent news items about drones, food lockers, and other innovations coming from Amazon make it obvious that they are very focused on delivering as fast as possible. How magical is it that you can, with one click, have a book delivered to your device in seconds? What parts of your product or service can you deliver for instant gratification? Perhaps you can make sure that the customer receives some component of the service immediately, even if the whole transaction can’t be instantaneous.

Be Proactive

Amazon will sometimes offer me recommendations, remind me of family birthdays, and provide other proactive information as I need it. When you see an opportunity to add value to your customers, do it! If you see an article that is directly relevant to your prospect’s challenges, go ahead and send it. Be proactive and be useful.

Reaching default status is the Holy Grail of sales. Think about it…when was the last time you switched toothpaste brands? Do you get all confused when your favorite product changes its packaging?

All of the key points above relate to one thing–considering the customer’s thought process and experience first.

Focus on removing any trace of friction from the customer’s buying process, and you might earn a spot as the “go-to” provider.

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Do You Have Designs on a Mobile App?

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asuccess 52114As a business owner, what were your top goals coming into 2014?

Some may say lowering their budgets, while others may point to making better hires. Still others might have focused on becoming more adept at social media.

No matter what your primary objective was when the calendar turned to 2014, thinking about how you can improve your business model should be a never-ending focus of what you do.

With that said, how mobile is your business? Specifically, does your business offer a mobile app?

If you don’t think about the following information from j2 Global and eMarketer:

  • Barely 13.5 percent of small businesses noted mobile marketing was a top priority for them;
  • It is projected that more than 45 percent of Americans will use the mobile Internet at least once a month this year;
  • Nearly 70 percent of those individuals running small businesses state they have used or will use Facebook mobile apps in their marketing efforts this year. Meantime, nearly 43 percent have used or will use mobile Twitter apps, while just over 34 percent have used or will be using mobile YouTube apps.

Don’t Wait for a Mobile App, Get it now

With those numbers in mind, what are some reasons you need to get with the right mobile app design company and push forward with a mobile app this year?

Among the reasons a mobile app can be beneficial to your small business:

  1. Consumers are on the go – Face it, many consumers are shopping while at work, running around doing errands, or from the comforts of home. Yes, many people still shop in person, but there is a growing block of people that can increase your revenue stream when they can be mobile shoppers. The bottom line is mobile apps, tablets and smart phones have revolutionized how Americans shop. Even if someone doesn’t buy a product or service from you, having a mobile app is crucial in order to provide customers with product and service information (see more below on marketing), directions to your business, your hours of operations, contact details and more;
  2. Your competitors likely have one – While you can’t be fixated 24/7 on what the competition is doing, it is a rather safe assumption that your competitors have mobile apps. In that case, they’re already one step ahead of you if you don’t offer one;
  3. Data gathering – Although some businesses still rely on a paper trail of information to see what customers shop for, purchase etc. more and more are finding mobile apps can serve as a treasure trove of data. In a day and age when money is tight and time is of the essence, having key data with which to rely on is important. When you target current and potential customers with ads, knowing what their likes and dislikes are via mobile app data gathering saves you time and money;
  4. Affordable marketing – With a mobile app, you can spread the word about the products/services you have to offer. By utilizing the incoming data that you can receive by having an app, you can target your marketing efforts towards those most likely to buy from you. When you find relevant people, you focus in on them, allowing you to drive more sales.

Now that you can see all a mobile has to offer, take the time to find the right product.

Yes, there are countless app designers to choose from, but which one is best for your brand?

First and foremost, find one that comes with high recommendations.

Along with word-of-mouth, be sure to visit the designer’s website and check their social media action on Twitter, Facebook etc. Look to see what kind of social interaction it is they have with consumers, along with how often.

Also do a Google search of the company’s name, looking for any flash points.

If they’ve received a number of customer complaints, have had issues with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) or have stability issues with their finances, those are all red flags.

In a day and age when mobility is key, is a mobile app on your priority list for 2014?

Photo credit: KROMKRATHOG / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

About the Author: Dave Thomas writes about a variety of subjects on the web, including small business, social media and finances.

Word Choices That Sell

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By Deb Bixler

In the world of sales, the successful sales professional is always trying to close a business deal.

The problem that some inexperienced sales associates run into is that they appear to be pushy when trying to close deals and that turns off the client. Instead of going in for the obvious close at all times, you should use smart word choices that make it a done deal by the time you are done.word choices

Never Offer Yes Or No Questions

Successful sales professionals practice their presentations constantly and one of the things they practice is avoiding yes or no questions. You never want to ask a customer a question that can be answered yes or no because that opens the door for a no answer. Instead, you want to use positive word choices that push the client for an answer that commits to a product sale.

For example, most sales professionals would simply ask the customer if they want a product in the color white. This is a question that can be answered with a no and it can kill a deal. Instead, you should ask the customer if they would like to see the product in white or blue. No matter what color the customer says, it enhances the idea that a sale is imminent.

Avoid Questions That Start With The Word “Can”?

Can I interest you in a better way to close sales? Questions that start with the word “can” will always be yes or no questions.

The better way to ask the opening question of this section would be to say “Would you like a better method to close sales or the secrets to make more money?” Remember, yes or no questions kill a deal and the word “can” is the most common way to create a yes or no question.

Learn To Love The Word “Or”

The simplest way to put it for sales professionals that want to learn how to push a customer to a close is that this or that questions mean money. Choose your words wisely and give your customers a choice, but never give them the chance to say no.

Positive word choices mean everything in sales!

Author’s Bio:
Deb Bixler retired from the corporate world using the proven business systems that made her a success working for others by incorporating them into her home business using a party plan business model. She now provides education and services for work at home professionals at the largest party plan training center on the web: CreateACashFlowShow.com. Find her on Twitter: @debbixler.

Deb Bixler retired from the corporate world using the proven business systems that made her a success working for others by incorporating them into her home business using a party plan business model. She now provides education and services for work at home professionals at the largest party plan training center on the web: CreateACashFlowShow,com. Find her on Twitter: @debbixler.