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Small Business Marketing Monthly “Simple, affordable, practical small business marketing”
September 2018
The Secret to Lead Conversion It’s All About the Relationship
wisdom about relationships. If you want to nurture and convert your leads, you’ll want to instill Carnegie’s principles into your sales team. Considering how many quality leads get away, there’s always room for improvement in developing relationships. How can you start building that lead relationship today? It’s all about the follow-up — or lack of follow- up, if you’re wondering why your leads aren’t converting. You’ve probably experienced it yourself: You have a great interaction with a company and express interest in their product, but then you never hear from them again. That company just lost you, a hot lead. You can’t buy if you’re not presented with the opportunity to do so. Make it easy on your consumer base by implementing a follow-up system. The habit of nurturing leads stems partly from company culture and partly from systems and processes — it’s something of a chicken-egg situation. If you don’t have systems in place to make follow-up part of your sales process, it’s not going to be a priority for your team. And if you don’t have a culture of determination and relationship-building in place, the systems and processes don’t matter. Entrepreneur and business transformer Robert Clay recommends a five-no strategy — follow up with a lead until you’ve heard no at least five times. IMPLEMENT A SYSTEM FOLLOW UP, FOLLOW UP, FOLLOW UP
Let that sink in. That means 98 percent of sales happen sometime after that first touch. In fact, ample research supports that 80 percent of sales happen after the fifth follow-up. If your sales team isn’t following up past that first touch with a prospect, there’s a slim chance they’ll convert. With the direct correlation between touches and conversion, it’s clear how important it is to follow up and nurture relationships with leads. We can look back to our good friend Dale Carnegie and thank him for sharing his
In the business classic “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” Dale Carnegie showed us that the secret to sales success builds on showing a genuine interest in other people and rests in the relationship that develops from there. The concept may not be much of a secret anymore, but it’s as important as ever in the sales cycle — and too many people aren’t following through on it. It turns out that Carnegie was onto something.
Did you know that just 2 percent of sales happen during the first touch? Two percent.
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Awesome Recruitment Strategies Small Businesses Can Actually Afford
BeMysterious
Winning customers over from industry giants is the eternal struggle of small business. But once you do get those customers and need to grow your company, an even bigger challenge becomes apparent: recruitment. You want the best and brightest employees representing your brand, but winning over top-tier recruits from big business can be daunting. The good news is that getting your business to stand out against multinational conglomerates with enormous recruitment budgets is not impossible! By getting a little creative and leveraging the qualities that make your company unique, you can generate buzz and win over excited new teammembers. Here are a fewways to stand out in the job market. Why not tap into recruits’competitive sides? Designing a contest around the skill sets you’re looking for can be a great way to garner publicity and attract a pool of talented, eager candidates. The ad agency Ogilvy & Mather made waves by issuing a challenge over social media: Sell us this brick and win a chance to be part of our sales team. Video submissions answering this quirky call to action flooded in from around the globe, and Ogilvy got their pick of the most creative, outgoing sales candidates on the market. Run a Competition
Some of the best recruitment campaigns leave room for the imagination. When you implement ways to pique the interest of your hiring demographic, qualified recruits will do the work to search you out! Tech companies as large as Google have run enigmatic campaigns by disguising URLs as equations, daring tech-savvy minds to decode the message and end up on their recruitment site. One restaurant took a less mathematical approach and published an ad stating,“I fin al avvv won moh befaw ah go ome.”The ad then asked any experienced bartender who could understand this sentence to apply. Company culture and work-life balance are huge selling points for modern candidates, making small business an attractive option over stuffy, corporate gigs. Small businesses with vibrant cultures and personalities have leaned into this with their recruitment strategies. Entrepreneur Amy Rees asked her employees to create 6-second home videos of themselves performing their“dumbest talent ever.”These were then cut into hilarious 15-second ads that ran at a local theater, ending in the tag,“What Is Your Elite Talent?”and directing moviegoers to her URL. Rees’company didn’t just talk about their culture; they found an affordable way to show it! EmbraceYour Quirks
When You Can’t Say Yes 3Ways to Say NoWithout Losing a Customer
Has a client ever asked you for something you didn’t have the resources to provide? Have you ever had a request to do something that’s against company protocol? Do clients want you to bend over backward on a task that isn’t worth the ROI? On these occasions, you are perfectly justified in saying no. But clients rarely like being turned down, so it’s important to learn to say no without losing a paying customer.
OFFER ALTERNATIVES
Maybe a client has asked for something you don’t traditionally offer. Unless this is a rare opportunity to branch out and begin offering a new service to all clients, it doesn’t make sense to run yourself ragged fulfilling a niche request. Avoid the fear of letting your client down by referring them to another place where they can get what they need. This way, you get to say no while still being the person who helps the client get what they want.
reason behind the change, if possible. Clients can be more accepting when they understand something better.
MAKE CLIENTS FEEL HEARD
In every interaction, people want to feel listened to. Even when you have to say no to a client, making sure they feel heard and respected can go a long way toward maintaining that goodwill. Acknowledge the issue they are having, empathize with their frustration, and make sure your client knows you are listening by using their name and saying,“I understand.”You can’t say yes to every request, but you can remind clients that you value their support and appreciate the effort it took for them to contact you. Saying no is not bad customer service. When you take the time to say it the right way, you’re actually doing the client a favor because it means you aren’t wasting their time.
ASK FOR CLARIFICATION
If you have changed anything in your company, be it the software interface on your website or your pricing structure, you may have frustrated clients who demand things go back to the way they were before. Since that’s not an option, try to determine exactly what they are upset about. By asking a client why they prefer the old way, you might learn that they are having trouble accessing important information in your new software or that the new price increase is beyond their budget. Armed with this information, you can hopefully find a solution for what’s really troubling them. This is also a good time to explain the
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Why You Must Use Email Marketing in Your Business
Contrary to what you may have heard, email marketing is not only not dead, it still has one of the best ROIs of any marketing tactic you can use.
-91 percent of US adults like to receive promotional emails from companies they do business with (Marketing Sherpa) -Email is almost 40 times more effective than Facebook and Twitter combined in helping your business acquire new customers. (McKinsey) -59% of B2B marketers say email is their most effective channel in terms of revenue generation ( BtoB Magazine) . -80% of retail professionals indicate that email marketing is their greatest driver of customer retention (the next closest channel? Social media, identified by just 44% of those same professionals) (eMarketer). -For every $1 spent on email marketing $44 is made in return, according to (Campaign Monitor)
This month, I’m writing an article that I shouldn’t have to write. I shouldn’t have to tell local business owners that they need to use email marketing, because it should be so obvious that it simply goes without saying. I mean, what business owner would pass up the chance to instantly send an important message (and in many cases, do so for free ) to anyone who has ever expressed interest in doing business with their company? The answer, unfortunately, is that a surprisingly high number of small businesses pass up this chance. In fact, according to a survey by inbound marketing firm Blue Corona, in 2017 only 26% of small businesses reported investing in email marketing.
surely one marketing tactic by itself isn’t enough to save a failing business—and in cases where the business is failing due to poor planning, bad management, inferior products, etc., you’re right. However, when a business is failing due to a lack of leads because of bad or non-existent marketing, this one tactic really could make the difference. Don’t believe me? Consider these statistics about email marketing:
In my opinion, this is nothing short of a tragedy. When you combine the high failure rate of small businesses (about 50% of businesses with employees fail within 5 years of starting) combined with the overwhelming amount of data showing the effectiveness of email marketing, you have to wonder how many failed businesses would still be open today if they had been effectively using email marketing. Now, you’re probably thinking to yourself that
The Duct Tape Marketing Network is a worldwide network of small business consultants specially trained to deliver the famous Duct Tape Marketing system. To learn more visit www.ducttapemarketingconsultant.com.
My name is Kevin Jordan, and I’m a Master Certified Duct Tape Marketing Consultant and the owner of Redpoint Marketing Consultants, a small business marketing agency based in Christiansburg, VA. I publish and distribute the Small Business Marketing Monthly to help keep local business owners up to speed about topics related to marketing and management. I hope you find the content informative and useful.
With summer vacation season over and schools starting up again, this is a time of year when many people’s routines are changing, even those that don’t have school-age kids. It’s a great time to think about how this fact impacts your business and your customers, and whether there is a way you can take advantage of that in some way when it comes to marketing.
a study by Campaign Monitor). I could go on and on, but I only have so much space in this column, so hopefully I’ve made my point: email marketing works and the data proves it. That begs the question—why are so many small businesses not using it? The answer I hear most often from business owners that I talk to is some variation of this: I get SO MANY emails from all kinds of companies, and I hate it! The last thing I want to do is clog up my customer’s inbox with even more emails that they don’t want to get. That’s just going to annoy them and make them dislike my brand. Now, I’ve already given you a data point that proves this isn’t the case (91 percent of US adults like to receive promotional emails from companies they do business with). But let’s take a look at the deeply flawed logic of that argument on its face. The business owner who makes this statement is essentially saying that they themselves are customers of many companies who use email marketing. The fact that they are still getting emails from those companies means that they haven’t unsubscribed from whatever email lists they are on. In fact, I am willing to bet that the same business owner who makes that statement will, sometime in the next few months, knowingly sign up for another email list . So, essentially, a business owner who says they don’t want to use email marketing because they themselves get too many emails already is essentially conceding that email marketing does, in fact work— because it works on them .
The really funny part is when those same business owners tell me that they want to buy TV, radio, newspaper, or online advertising because “We see our competitor’s ads on platform XYZ, so shouldn’t we be there also?” What they’re essentially saying is that they want to buy expensive advertising because they’ve seen other businesses doing it…while at the same time saying they don’t want to do email marketing (which, by comparison, is practically free) because too many other businesses are doing it. When I bring up this point, the next response (or should I say, excuse) from the business owner is that they “never open emails” they get from other companies. I’m sure that they think this is true, but it isn’t. They do open emails they get from companies they do business with. In many cases, I know this for a fact because they are on my email list and have opened my emails. The bottom line is this: there is no valid reason for you, as a business owner, not to be using email marketing. I suspect the real reason most businesses aren’t using this tactic is because they are so disorganized that they don’t have a system for collecting email addresses from their customers, and even if they do they don’t have time to do anything with it. There is a very simple solution to that problem: hire me to do it for you. For less than $200 a month, I can get you started with email marketing so that you can stop making excuses and start reaping the benefits of this valuable and still-underutilized marketing tactic.
“We have worked with Kevin Jordan on a number of projects over the years for client work and he has been incredible to work with. He takes the time to really understand our client's needs, messaging, and story. He is reliable and a huge asset to our network.” -Sara Nay, Duct Tape Marketing
“ Kevin is one of the few marketers that I really trust. He is committed to marketing as a process. And, he gets results for his clients. Highly recommended .” Dean Heasly, Nashville Marketing Systems
3 Steps to Retirement
The Road Map Every 55-Year-Old Should Follow
If you’re age 55 or older, it’s time to get serious about planning for your retirement. In fact, most industry experts recommend far longer lead times of 20 years or more! But don’t be discouraged! Even if you’re a late planner, there are steps you can take to ensure you get the most out of your retirement. Here are the three most important steps you need to take to secure your future. GETYOUR FINANCES IN ORDER The first place to start when preparing for retirement is your own checkbook. By gauging your overall financial readiness, you can identify whether your spending and lifestyle habits are in need of a course correction. You’ll need to consider all of your finances as well as your income tax rate, the rate of return on your savings, and any benefit plans you may have from your employer. If your financial readiness falls short of the income you expect to live off of in your retirement, it’s time to make some adjustments. Cutting back on day- to-day expenses, working a second job, and increasing your contributions to salary deferral programs are all great ways of boosting your readiness ahead of retirement. KNOWYOUR PORTFOLIO The stock market is a tempting gamble for those looking to jump-start their nest egg. However, investments with the highest returns also come with significant risk. The last thing anyone wants is to end up losing their principal right before retirement. That’s why most financial planners recommend investment strategies
that growmore conservative as you age. If you are thinking about investing—or have been doing so for some time— it’s a good idea to check in regularly with your portfolio and ensure that you are comfortable with the amount of risk you are incurring. SETTLEYOUR DEBTS Debts, especially ones with high interest rates, can chew through your retirement savings. If you can’t get it all paid off before retirement, consider moving your credit card debt and other loan balances to accounts with a lower rate to ensure you are paying as little in interest as possible. These tips provide a general road map to a more stable retirement. Your own goals and financial situation may provide unique challenges and opportunities on the path to your post-work life. To understand your best options, reach out to a trusted financial advisor.
Have a Break
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“Simple, affordable, practical small business marketing”
THIS ISSUE INSIDE
1
The Secret to Lead Conversion
Simple Recruitment Strategies That Wow Candidates
2 3
Can You Say No to a Client?
Jump-Start Your Path to Retirement
4
Entrepreneurship Library: A Guide to Workplace ‘Essentialism’
GregMcKeown’s ‘Essentialism’ Will Help You Declutter Your Workload
actually matters, rather than filling their days with meaningless busy work.
“If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will,” writes Greg McKeown in “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less.”When he set out to write the book, McKeown wanted to know what keeps skilled, driven people from achieving as much as possible. What he found was that many people suffer not from being lazy, but from allocating their time ineffectively. The impulse to “do it all” keeps folks from spending their time on the things that actually matter. The book, then, serves as a guide to cutting out the extraneous and focusing on the essential. “Life is not an all-you-can-eat buffet,” McKeown says. “It’s amazingly great food. Essentialism is about finding the right food. More and more is valueless. Staying true to my purpose and being selective in what I take on results in a more meaningful, richer, and sweeter quality of life.” This metaphor can be applied to your work life as well. There aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish every task. The essentialist works to spend their time diligently by pursuing what
Early in the book, McKeown uses famed Braun designer Dieter Rams as an example of an essentialist. He notes that Rams’ design philosophy can be characterized by three simple words: less but better. This, in essence, is what essentialists believe. Doing your best work where it matters and cutting out the superfluous will allow you to better manage your time and increase your performance. As McKeown puts it, “It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at your highest point of contribution by doing only what is essential.” Instead of having their energy spread out in a million different directions, essentialists channel it into what really matters. McKeown also advocates for defining your purpose in order to accurately assess what’s essential and what isn’t. The more a task
contributes to your purpose, the more essential it is.
Many business owners and leaders struggle to let go of tasks that are best left to other employees. If you’ve ever found yourself struggling to manage a massive workload while resenting the fact that much of what you do is needless, then it’s time to pick up a copy of “Essentialism.”
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