Let’s start this week’s wrap up by wishing my brother – Joseph – a very Happy Birthday. He spent the last week with us on the Gold Coast and returned home to Melbourne on Thursday. It was great to catch up with him as we don’t get to see each other very often and a lovely surprise for mum on mother’s day.

This week I’ve been reading a few different stories and here they are:

Would you pay to have posts highlighted?
Facebook is looking and introducing paid status updates which means brands could pay to have their updates in the news feed (instead of on the side). The article mentioned that the the paid highlights would be a different colour – and hence people would know that they were ‘paid’. I don’t think that makes a difference, however, what will make a difference is if the content isn’t relevant to the user. Users will only click on, read and interact with content they are interested in – paid or not. Read the rest of the article here

Exercise For Entrepreneurs
I know myself that exercise always gets moved to the bottom of the to-do list. This article points out 5 reasons why it should be moved to the very top and never cancelled. What ideas/tips do you have to make exercise a priority? Read the rest of the article here

Is your website mobile ready?
This brief article is discussing how the increased use of Smartphones in a Australia and in particular how it’s effecting the retail market. Many businesses don’t have a website that is optimised for smartphones. If you are using WordPress it’s just a matter of getting a plugin that will assist with this process. Have a look at your website today on your smartphone. Read te rest of the article here

Facebook Timeline
In light of Facebook’s recent IPO, this article points out some significant changes Facebook has made on how users interact online. Changes include: email, websites and sharing. An interesting read.

See you next week

[image credit - Sky News]

This week I’ve again managed to read several great articles and here they are:

Is Free Advice Free?
Of course everyone loves getting free advice but you really need to make sure that you are getting advice from the right people, otherwise it’s not really free and of course can end up costing you a fortune.

5 Companies that Bootstrapped and Beat the Odds
Under 30 CEO blog always provides an interesting read and this article is no exception. A case study of five companyies who beat the odds, were tight at the beginning but made it work.

Who is your target market?
I really love taking about target market because when you get it right everything in your marketing and business just falls into place. This article is by my business coach Melanie Miller and she shares her insight on target market and provides a great diagram. I’ve been know to share this diagram in my workshops from time to time.

The 14 Most Powerful and Effective Words in Marketing
I was emailed this article this week by Michael Hansen from Video Labs and this is what he had to say:
“This is an older post (2010) that we came across this week. Pretty safe bet that this will be evergreen material. Before clicking through – try to write down your guesses as to what words are on the list.”

Get Off Your Ass & Make Some Money
Sometimes you want something so much but just don’t get it done. This article provides some insight into why you might not be taking the actions you should and how to take the actions and get the results you deserve.

Enjoy and I’ll see you next week

[image credit - who is your target market?]

Each week I send out a newsletter to my database and at the end I ask them to share their thoughts on that week’s particular topic on my Facebook page. Generally I just link directly to my page, however today I decided to link to a particular post. This way readers could join the conversation which we had already started on Facebook. When I was looking to get the link, it took me a few minute to get remember how to find the right link. I thought if I had forgotten surely others had also – or didn’t know about this feature, so I created a quick video to show you how. You can watch the video below and if you think one of your friends would also enjoy seeing this – please share it with them.

Each Friday I’m going to bring a wrap up of what I’ve been reading, listening to and viewing during the week. Depending on what’s going on in the Internet World will depend on what you see in this review, however I aim to bring you information and resources which help you get the most from using online marketing and social media to grow your business.

As entrepreneurs and business owners we all need some inspiration and motivation to keep us going and this article shows 47 songs and the one line which is inspiring. My favourite song is Lose Yourself – Eminem (Explicit)

“Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity. To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment. Would you capture it or just let it slip?”

You can read the rest of them here: 47 Inspirational Songs For Young Entrepreneurs

Which one resonates with you? Share with me on Facebook.

I was also re-reading a great article by Lisa Larter on why FREE is too expensive. I know it’s hard when you are starting out in business and everyone wants to meet you for coffee – but unfortunately coffee meetings don’t pay the bills. I remember a few years ago when we were selling websites I had a four hour coffee meeting about a new website and the person then went off and created their own website using all my strategies. This article outlines a similar story and how we need to be strict with our time and what we are prepared to give away for free. I believe that free should only be highly leveraged things – such as social media, webinars, ebooks or speaking – where you can reach groups of people. You can read the article here: Free is Too Expensive

Have you had situation where you have given too much for free?  Share with me on Facebook.

This month I’ve also decided to participate in the #photoadaymay on instagram. The one I’m joining is from Fat Mum Slim and she has provided a list of topics for each day. Challenges and group exercises like these are a great way to build your following and interaction with people, as each time you tag your photo with the hashtag #photoadaymay other users can search for this term and see your contributions. For more detail see the Fat Mum Slim post and make sure you follow me on Instagram at @nalaimo (Instagram is an iPhone app so get it in the app store)

And finally this week I’ve been listening to podcasts from Derek Helpern from Social Triggers. Social Triggers has heaps of great articles on how to increase conversion and marketing results using psychology. What I really love about this information is that he is using research to back up claims. There is a great podcast where they are talking about cake mix and how they increase the sales of the product and another one where they are discussing why people purchased the white iPhone when they wanted the black. Powerful and insightful information. Here are the links to the posts and podcasts I’ve listened to this week. I found that I can listen to a whole podcast whilst walking – combining exercise and education.

Why People Bought The White iPhone—Even When They Wanted The Black One

The #1 Sales Killer On Your Site—And How to Get Rid Of It For Good

Why People Buy What They Can Get For Free

I would recommend you listen to them or at least read the blog posts.

Until next week – catch me on Facebook.

[Image credit - 47 Inspirational Songs For Under Entrepreneurs]

I have an iPhone 4. A very sad iPhone 4 as it has a little yellow mark (I think it’s a stain but let’s not tell my phone that) on the left side of its screen. So I booked into the Genius Bar at my local store. The Genius Bar is the Apple in-store support and tech station, where you can book in (at no charge) to speak to a technician who can assist you with your Mac related issue.

Whilst at the Genius Bar I ran into a guy, let’s call him John, who used to work with my partner Dean. After I got all fixed up at the Genius Bar, John and I were chatting and catching up when he told me some really cool Apple stuff. I think this information is very important for all business owners.

Most people would know about Apple’s customer service and the extras they provide when you purchase an Apple product in terms of education and support – it’s really outstanding and something that all businesses should be striving for.

Here is what John was telling me.

The Apple store is divided into two areas: The Red Zone and the Family Room. I’m like – oh ok – the support area and the sales floor. But no – The Red Zone is where the Specialists start the relationship with customers. In an Apple store the relationship with a customer starts when they purchase an Apple product.

The Family Room is where people who already have product come to get support for their products and in his words – they are mending broken relationships if there has been a breakdown with one of their Apple products. In this area you can get training, support and education for your Apple products.

John was also saying how they are encouraged to build relationships with their clients to ensure the happy and positive continuation of the relationship. We were then discussing how Apple aren’t just selling and supporting products they are really building those long term relationships with their clients.

This is something that we as business owners should be striving for with our own customers. We all know that it’s 6 times easier and more cost effective (I don’t like the word – cheap) to market to and retain your existing clients compared to finding new clients and this all comes down to building relationships with them. Nothing is ever going to replace face to face contact, however this is why I really love social media. You can build relationships with people from all around the world from your lounge. It makes attracting and retaining new clients and building relationships super easy and cost effective for business owners like you.

What do you think of the Apple Experience? I would love to hear your feedback in the comments below.

Image Credit: Genius Bar

One of my coaching clients recently set up her own Facebook Ads and then asked me to review them. I thought this would be a great opportunity to create a video which you could also learn from. Here are the main tips covered in the video:

• Separate Ads into different campaigns – ideally aim for 2 – 3 Ads per campaign to allow you to test and measure more effectively, plus it will stop Facebook favouring certain ads over others.
• Crystal Clear Targeting – targeting needs to be defined down to smaller sub groups. All Australians over the age of 21 is too many people!
• Set Individual Bids for each ad – instead of setting a bid for the whole campaign, each ad should have their own bid price
• Separate Ads into campaigns based on their destination – don’t mix ads which link outside of Facebook into the same campaign with ads to Facebook Pages.

Bonus Tip: Images of young pretty women convert better than other images

For more details and full explanations watch the video below:

Along with my own trial and error on Facebook Ad’s, I found Victoria Gibsons – FB Ad Queens course excellent value for money with heaps of tips and trick plus access to ask live questions – which is really worth the admission price alone. Find out more here: www.nataliealaimo.com/fbadqueen

Last week I was sick and hence spent a fair amount of time on the couch catching up on my favourite TV shows.  Once I’d made my way through the usual Greys Anatomy, Revenge, Ringer and Criminal Minds, I stumbled across Tabatha Takes Over.

Tabatha is a tough, talented Australian business coach who helps struggling businesses (mainly salons) make major turnarounds to their bottom line.   I love her no nonsense and to the point attitude that really get results.  Many of the episodes I’ve seen focus on the salons where the owners has all but given up and their teams are running amuck.  Some of this season also included a Yoghurt Bar where the yoghurt was off, a gay bar where patrons can’t have drinks on the dance floor and a doggy daycare where the owner seems more concerned about her appearance that looking after the dogs.

At the end of each episode Tabatha returns to the business 6 weeks later to make sure that everything she implemented ihas stayed the same, and for most of the businesses everything is better than before and the businesses are firing.

There was one salon that didn’t fair as well.  When Tabatha returned, three of the staff had walked out, were working elsewhere, and overall the business was still failing.  So far this had been the only business I had seen not to continue their improvements after Tabatha left and I was wondering what make this one different and then it hit me.  And it’s a great lesson that we can all learn.

In every other case it has been the business owner who had called Tabatha.  They were in debt, having staff issues and just couldn’t do it on their own.  They were asking for help.  In the one case in which the changes didn’t stick it was the staff who asked for help.

The owner – who also ran a full-time stockbroking business – had only opened a salon because his father owned the building and the father felt safer with his son running the business.  This however isn’t the point.  The point is that the owner hadn’t asked for help – he wasn’t committed to making the changes.  It was the staff who had asked for help and hence nothing changed, even though the owner was in over $80,000 of debt.

I have spoken in other blog posts about how your clients are always better when they find you instead of you hunting them down and convincing them that they need your product or service. If you move to an attraction model – where potential clients move systematically through your sales funnel – they are convinced that they need your help and happily accept it.  This results in a better client for you – with less headaches and better results for the client as they are the ones who want to change.  They are committed to get the results they desire.

Using this process over the last 2 years I have managed to build a successful business where I get to work with only clients I love who are getting outstanding results (one of my current clients has increased her Facebook fan base by 750% – now that’s an outstanding result).  If this is something you want for your business make sure you join my upcoming webinar series – Social Media Blueprint – 9 Steps To Getting Results FAST Using Social Media – starting Tuesday 1st May at 9am.    For details and bookings click here.

Image Credit: She Wired

I want you to think about some of your previous (or current) clients. Think about one particular good client and one you didn’t enjoy working with or didn’t end up working with.

Mine looks something like this:

Good, Great, Favourite Client

To date I have run two custom workshops and one round of private coaching, so not only are these clients an excellent income stream, they are easy to deal with, pay on time and generally don’t present me with any issues. Overval a very pleasurable experience.

Not So Good Client (didn’t quite happen)

Some how this client got my mobile number (which isn’t easily available) and basically wanted a proposal over the phone on the first phone call. I suggested, based on our limited conversation, that we would need 3 – 4 hours at my usual hourly rate of $440 and his comment was: “I’m thinking 3 hours and at that price really”. In the end, clearly, we didn’t go ahead. This didn’t bother me as we probably weren’t a good fit. As a side note I just checked out their Facebook page and nothing has changed – oh well! (hehe)

Now the major difference between these two clients is the process in which they found out about me and their process through our sales funnel.

The first client was referred to us by one of their clients who saw me speak at an event (speaking is an instant credibility builder). They subscribed to our newsletter, attended on of our courses and then we opened the discussion to run custom workshops for them. By the time we were discussing higher priced custom workshops or private coaching they had already experienced the value our company provides through our newsletter, website, courses and lower priced products. This client didn’t have to question themselves about our services or their investment. They knew it was right.

When we compare the first client to the potential client we can see that the potential client, who had no experience with us, didn’t understand or couldn’t see the value. They hadn’t been to our website, received our information or attended a course and hence they didn’t have the same level of belief in us as the other clients. It is difficult to experience this belief in a 10 minute phone conversation, particularly when your business model isn’t set up for phone consultations. They just believe that we were the stock standard consultants who provided lots of free information over the phone – well sorry – we aren’t!

This is why it’s imperative to your business success that you have a correct, proper and functional sales process and sales funnel set up. Then you need to ensure that everyone makes their way through this system. The beauty of this is twofold:

Firstly, it’s a self selecting process, where potential clients can very easily see if they are a good fit for your business. They can decide for themselves if they like your style, tone, approach and of course you. This way when they are ready to purchase (especially for private coaching) you can determine if you are a good fit for them and if you want to proceed.

Secondly, you are building your expert status and value each time they see something from you. Providing you are giving outstanding information that will be of interest to your clients and potential clients, you are building your BelieveMe bank (See Social Media Blueprint for more info on this) and your ability to charge appropriately for your products and services. So when it gets to the stage of discussing higher end products (such as selling your time for dollars) it’s not a question of value, but a question or times, dates and payment options for your services.

So, what is the sales process in your business? What is the step by step process people need to work through to be able to purchase from you? Are you providing value each step of the way? I would love to hear how this works in your business. If you aren’t sure where to start sign up for a copy of my free book and ecourse – Social Media Blueprint – 9 Steps To Getting Results Fast on Social Media – this will get you started.

If you like this article please click the like button below and of course click on the share button and tell your friends.

Many business don’t have any systems. They think they are for “big business”, but I think that every business, small or large should have them.

Why systems? Systems allow a business to be run with consistency, and almost on automation. They give owners, manager and staff guidelines as to how each operation and task is to be performed. Now I understand that many business owners won’t like this idea … “we know what to do”, “we don’t need it written down”. That is most probably the case. Most small business owners do run on automation, but what happens when “you” can’t be there, or want the day off, or “let’s hope it doesn’t happen” you end up in hospital for a week or two? Oh, you’ve probably always got family or close friends you can call on, but how much easier would the job be for whoever you get in to take over, if you had the simplest things written down. And that’s all systems are.

One of the businesses I have is building websites. I’ve had customers phone our support asking about things (that have nothing to do with what we do for them) like “Peter can’t get his emails”. We always try to help whenever we can and give them suggestions, however I’ll bet that when the new staff member comes up with the same problem some months down the track, they’ll be phoning us again. That’s simply because they don’t have systems.

Empower your staff to write systems. In the example above it would not have taken too long for the staff member dealing with Peter’s emails to write a system on how they dealt with the problem. And it’s then there for next time it happens.

They are really quite simple to create and you don’t have to spend a lot of time of them.

A simple way is

Write down your departments:

• sales
• production
• accounting
• administration

then put sub-headings under each of these:

• sales

1. how to create an order
2. telephone script

• production

1. how to print business cards
2. how to bind on the DC10

• accounting

1. how to create an invoice
2. checklist for monthly tasks
3. how to do a bank reconciliation

• administration

1. what happens each day when the mail is collected
2. how to handle email enquiries

You get the drift?

As they’re created keep them in a folder. They’re also a great tool to have whenever you have a new staff member. So you’ve got Mary starting work today and you’re going to teach her what to do when the mail arrives. Just get out your system for Mail and there will be the step-by-step guide.

I’d love to hear about the systems you have in your business and how you use them. Please leave a reply here.

So you’re not that “computer literate”

“Sure I can use a computer, but don’t give me that hard stuff to do!” Sound like you?

There are many people both young and old who don’t want to get onto the “computer bandwagon”. Are you one of them? Well it’s completely your choice. But if you’re in business, regardless of what your business is, you’d be better off if you did have some computer literacy.

Now you know, I’m not unique in using the computer to seek out information when I want to purchase. Your customers probably do exactly the same thing as I do. So how do I use the computer when I’m ready to purchase?

Look up opening hours of a business

Just yesterday I was at a conference at Q1 in Surfers Paradise, Queensland. Natalie and I were going to have breakfast before the conference started and use that time to go over our notes, so I looked up the Crema Expresso http://www.cremaespresso.com.au/our-locations at Q1 to see what time they opened. They opened at 6.30am. That was early enough for us. Would they have lost my business if their times were not on their website. They certainly would have. We would have chosen a place that was in the vicinity which we knew would be opened so we knew that we would be able to have breakfast before starting our work day. Are your opening hours on your website?

Check address of a business

Many of us remember the Yellow Pages slogan … “let your fingers do the walking”. I’m not sure if it’s still used, but …. well I guess people still let their fingers do the walking, but it’s on a keyboard now. Yes I will check the address of a business that I’m going to for the first time if I’m not sure where it is. It could be a doctor’s office, a shoe shop that someone has recommended to me, a shop where I can purchase specialty spices, the place where I”m going to park my car when I’m travelling interstate or overseas, etc. Is your address, and a map, on your website?

Check out the Menu of a Restaurant

My family and I love to eat out, and we’re always trying different restaurants, so we’re always going online to check out the menus. Do you have your menu on your website? You don’t have to be a restaurant to use this tip. Your menu could be a list of the brands you stock if you’re a clothing store or an electrical store. It could be a list of your services and how they could benefit your customer, or it could be a list of the speciality items you stock. Think about how you can help your customer or potential customer find you because of the goods that you sell.

Specialty Business

Optometrists – they’re all over the place. In every shopping centre. It’s easy to get an appointment and have a check-up. Well that’s true. I wear contact lenses and found that I was becoming unhappy with my lenses and what I was able to see. I booked in for an eye examination and the practitioner gave me a trial pair of contact lenses to see how they worked for me. They weren’t too bad, except my distance vision was annoying me. I’d sit at a table in a restaurant and the waiter, one table away, well his face would be blurred. Very annoying. I went back to the optometrist and told him of my discomfort. He suggested that the problem could be fixed with hard lenses. He told me that he could help with those, except that I would have to “sit in the chair” a lot because his company didn’t have the expensive equipment to get the perfect reading. I thought about this for a a few weeks. I decided that I would give hard lenses a try even though they have their drawbacks (expensive, difficult to adjust to, etc.) But should I be going to the company who didn’t have the proper equipment to test my eyes. The optometrist did assure me that I would end up with the correct lenses because he would continually get trial lenses until we found the ones that were right for me   … oh, really?

I needed to do a bit of investigation into this. So where did I go. The internet of course. I searched for a contact lens specialist, then I did a search for a contact lens specialist in my area. I would have travelled to get the right person, but fortunately I found him about a 15 minute drive from my home. Why did I choose this company. Well their website told me that they were independent so they were “able to choose the very best lens system for our patient’s needs, from whichever company may make it”. They had been practicing in the same location for over 20 years. There was information on each staff member and when I read about John Boyce (www.boyceoptometry.com/staff.html), it sounded like he had the expertise and the experience, and it explained how he keeps on the cutting edge of the industry.  I made an appointment, and John Boyce tested my vision and tested the overall health of my eyes. Then he explained it all to me, including the fact that hard lenses weren’t the best solution for me. I now have the best contact lenses I’ve ever had had. My expectations were well and truly delivered. Are you talking about your speciality on your website?

So what’s the lesson in this. People are out there looking for you and your business. They want the products you have, the service you offer, the expertise, the location, the unique opening hours, or the extra quick turnaround time …. or something else. You have to tell your story. You have to be in the places they are searching. Are you?

Have a good look at your website and read through each page to see how you could improve it. Organise to have a brainstorming sessions with your staff to discuss how you could make improvements. Ask your current customers what they would like to see on your website.

I’d love to have your feedback on what you have found works to bring in new customers to your business.