Here are 5 pitfalls that many business owners and solo professionals fall into which can severely hamper their  productivity and cost them profits.  Do any of the following sound familiar?

1. Trying to do it all  The days of multi-tasking are long gone. Studies now document what many people have known for years: trying to do it all slows you down and increases mistakes. Just because you know how to do it doesn’t mean you should. If you start using the excuse “it’s easier (or faster, done better, etc.) if I do it myself”, then you know you’re in trouble!

2. Not having systems in place The reasons for having systems range from making it easier to delegate (see pitfall number 1), keeping your business running if you need to be away, to maximizing your return on your time investment. Look at the following areas and see if you have the systems in place to make your efforts more effective: marketing, customer service, bookkeeping/accounting, and order processing.

3. Being busy but not productive  When you’re busy doing a lot of things: making phone calls, checking email, and putting out fires you can fall into the trap of thinking you’re actually being productive. However, if you’re just engaging in “busy work” and working without a plan then you’re wasting time. Being productive means accomplishing something, using your available time to its best use.

4. Interruptions and distractions It doesn’t matter whether you work at home or in an office interruptions and distractions are a common problem. First, determine whether these annoyances are welcomed or initiated by you or not. Procrastination’s two best friends are interruptions and distractions! If you’re the problem, then you need to deal with why you’re avoiding certain tasks.

5. Technology  We’re being inundated with tools and technologies to improve our lives and instead they’re complicating them! Email has long been a big time waster, there are tools to help you manage it and whole chapters in books discussing it. Now we have “smart” phones so we can check email (can’t get away from the inbox), check the news, text, IM, surf the web, play games, the options are almost endless! Learn to manage these tools and eliminate the ones that are becoming time wasters.

Tomorrow’s post will offer some solutions and resources to help you eliminate (or at least time) these time bandits.

[tags] time wasters, time management, productivity pitfalls, multi-tasking, process managment, maximizing time, accomplishing more, getting things done/tags]

• Experience ( as I mentioned above, you must have done this before)
• Good contacts in some of the following fields: public relations, financial planning for businesses/entrepreneurs (good topics include tax issues, budgeting, cash flow, etc.), public speaking, and branding.  You do not have to have contacts in ALL these areas but it will help if you know people that you can contact as speakers for the teleconference.
• Excellent organizational skills
• Pro-active and a self-starter
• Web design/wordpress experience (to set up the pages for the event)
• Audio editing and set up experience

This is just a basic outline of what I’m looking for.  The teleconference series will be free with an upgrade for transcripts and audios of the event.

If you, or someone you know, is qualified, please contact me at: Merlyn (at) smartbusinessowners.com.

Thank you!

Merlyn Sanchez

As a student of people and ideas I have to admit that what two guys are doing in a Northeast Florida Starbucks is absolutely genius.

The other day as I tried to pay for my green tea at my local Starbucks the cashier said, “Don’t worry about it sir. Those guys over there are paying for it today.” She then handed me their business card from a stack by the register. Turns out the guys were wealth management / financial planners who once a week, at different times, will spend a few hours at this Starbucks and buy customers their coffee or tea. Most people, like me, will walk over and thank the gentlemen and walk away with their business card in our pocket.

I thought about how brilliant this was. For many the coffee shop experience has become a right of passage that helps them take on the day. It’s become an emotional experience that makes them feel good. It’s become a bond of love. These financial planners brilliantly connected something people love with a service they offer. Not surprisingly I found out that these men do receive a good number of calls from the Starbucks customers interested in planning for their financial future.

It is said we remember one third of what we read, half of what people tell us and 100 % of how feel. Whether we are watching a commercial, listening to a teacher, or talking to a sales person it is how we feel that impacts us the most. We can’t remember what we ate for lunch a week ago but we can remember where we were on 9-11. We remember how we feel and when it comes to investing our money, buying a product, purchasing insurance or real estate, or choosing a restaurant we will make our choices based on these feelings.

This leads us to the greatest sales strategy ever-but it doesn’t involve coffee. While the Starbucks idea is brilliant it isn’t the best way to build a business. There is a far more powerful strategy to create an emotional connection and foster an emotional memory. It’s so simple and it doesn’t even cost a dime. It’s to love and care about your customers. Caffeine is temporary but a positive emotional experience lasts forever.

Customers do business with people they like and trust and who care about them. When customers feel like they matter and feel cared for they love back with more loyalty, more business and more referrals.

So if you are in sales, and we all are, I encourage you to make loving and caring about your customers your top priority. You don’t have to buy them coffee to connect your product or service with something they love. You can be the connection. You can be the bridge that connects your customer with your product or service. After all, no matter what we are selling, people are always buying our energy and making decisions based on how our energy makes them feel. And while coffee is an energy source that makes people feel good it doesn’t compare to the power of our positive energy. Look out for your customers interests. Show them you care. Do your best for them. Share the love and you’ll be so successful you’ll be able to buy your own coffee shop and give away all the coffee you want.

How do you show your customers you care?

Stay Positive!
Jon

About the Author

Jon Gordon is a speaker, consultant and author of the international best sellerThe Energy Bus:

10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work and Team with Positive Energy and The No Complaining Rule: Positive Ways to Deal with Negativity at Work. Jon’s latest book, Training Camp: What the Best do Better than Everyone Else, released in mid May 2009.

The message in Jon’s books and speaking presentations is such that NFL coaches such as Jack Del Rio, Mike Smith, the PGA Tour and the FBI have called on Jon to inspire and benefit their teams. Jon and his books have been featured on CNN, NBC’s Today Show and in Forbes, Fast Company, O Magazine, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Clients such as The Atlanta Falcons, Campbell Soup, Northwestern Mutual, Publix Super Markets and JP Morgan Chase also call on Jon to bring out the best in their leaders and teams. For more information, please visit:

 http://www.jongordon.com

Technorati Tags: Sales strategy, prospecting strategy, customer service, emotional connection with customers, client prospecting strategy

Join us for one of our upcoming webinars on “Perfecting Your LinkedIn Profile”:

Wednesday, June 24, 2009 - from 12-1 pm Eastern Time (GMT-5)

http://tinyurl.com/profdevelopjun24

Tuesday, July 7, 2009 - from 12- 1 pm Eastern Time (GMT-5)

http://tinyurl.com/profdevelopjul7

You’ll learn:

• Why your LinkedIn profile is so important and how to craft a compelling one
• How to customize your profile with symbols and special characters
• How to use keywords to improve your “findability”
• Why having recommendations is important and how to effectively request them
• Why joining groups can help improve your visibility and set you apart from other users

You’ll also receive:

• A profile template (in MS Word) that you can use as a guide
• The 28 page IA LinkedIn Profiles Guide by Mike O’Neil which contains all the “How To’s” to build your very own highly effective Search Engine Optimized (SEO) profile so that you can be found on Linked, Google and the Web in general (the guide sells for $29 on the IA website).
• PDF handouts of the powerpoint presentation

The cost? This webinar and all the materials are available for only $39!

SMART Business Owners has teamed up with Integrated Alliances as authorized trainers for their cutting edge social networking programs and we’ll be offering live and web programs on different social networking platforms such LinkedIn, FastPitch, Facebook, and much more!

Technorati Tags: LinkedIn, LinkedIn training, LinkedIn profile development, LinkedIn webinar, LinkedIn profiles guide, LinkedIn SEO profile

First of all, you need to understand what Twitter can do for you.  It isn’t a panacea but rather a tool in an already well defined marketing strategy.

Twitter can:

1.  Assist in brand building  You have the opportunity to offer valuable information and assistance delivered in the spirit of your brand.  Customizing your Twitter “landing page” offers you another opportunity for continuing your brand theme.

2.  Provide a venue for relationship building  Building familiarity is key to gaining your prospect’s trust.  Tweeting regularly (and relevantly) allows your potential clients begin to feel as if they know you and the way you do business.

3.  Be a valuable tool for gathering information  This is very useful and far reaching aspect of Twitter.  You can learn about potential clients, partner, and competitors.  You can conduct market research and gauge interest in services and products.

4.  Help you promote yourself  Tweeting about your latest projects, seminars, and special offers will assist you in being seen as the authority in your niche.  It can also help you drive an audience to your newsletters, blogs, and free or paid programs/products.

The key to successfully integrating Twitter into your marketing efforts is to keep your followers listening.  And the easiest way to do that is to make the majority of your tweets about them NOT you. Unless you’re a very well known person that people are just clamoring to know, your tweets need to be informative, useful, and relevant to your audience.

About the Author
Merlyn Sanchez, Business Coach and Marketing Consultant, teaches small business owners, consultants, and other solo professionals how to attract more clients, make more sales and have more time to enjoy their lives. For a free report outlining the “”8 SMART Strategies that Successful Business Owners Use to Attract More Clients™ and more tips on how to create a successful business, visit http://www.smartbusinessowners.com.

Technorati Tags: Twitter, social media, social media marketing, using Twitter for business, Twitter tips, marketing with Twitter

1) Google Video
2)Yahoo Video
3 You Tube
4)Photobucket
5)My Space
6)Vimeo
7)VSocial
Blip.tv
9)Daily Motion

Of course, there are other ways to get the word out:  include a link in your email signature, write about it on your blog, tweet about (and get others to tweet it for you as well),  and mention it in your e-newsletter. 

]]>

Join us for one of our upcoming webinars on “Perfecting Your LinkedIn Profile”:

Tuesday, January 20, 2008 - from 12-1 pm Eastern Time ( we will answer all questions, even if we go over our allotted time)

http://tinyurl.com/profdevelopjan20

Tuesday, February 3, 2009 - from 12- 1 pm Eastern Time ( we will answer all questions, even if we go over our allotted time)

http://tinyurl.com/profdevelopfeb3

You’ll learn:

• Why your LinkedIn profile is so important and how to craft a compelling one
• How to customize your profile with symbols and special characters
• How to use keywords to improve your “findability”
• Why having recommendations is important and how to effectively request them
• Why joining groups can help improve your visibility and set you apart from other users

You’ll also receive:

• A profile template (in MS Word) that you can use as a guide
• The 28 page IA LinkedIn Profiles Guide by Mike O’Neil which contains all the “How To’s” to build your very own highly effective Search Engine Optimized (SEO) profile so that you can be found on Linked, Google and the Web in general (the guide sells for $29 on the IA website).
• PDF handouts of the powerpoint presentation

The cost? This webinar and all the materials are available for only $39!

We’ve teamed up with Integrated Alliances as authorized trainers for their cutting edge social networking programs and we’ll be offering live and web programs on different social networking platforms such LinkedIn, FastPitch, Facebook, and much more!

This video brings back many, not so pleasant memories, of the smile and dial approach in my former corporate life.  Cold calling rarely works and most people hate doing it, so why does this approach continue to be a staple in so many marketing efforts?

SMART Business Owners know that building relationships is key to attracting quality clients.  And there are so many ways to approach prospective clients and build relationships that there’s no reason to have to cold call. 

Here are the lyrics to the song, enjoy!:

“Oughta Know Inbound Marketing”
By HubSpot’s Rebecca Corliss

If I make one more call
I might go punch a wall.
No one understands
That this doesn’t work.

They hang up cause I’m a creep.
The mail I send they don’t read.
They always find a way to
Ignore me.
I’m interrupting their lives
So they threaten me with knives.
I didn’t think that marketing was like torture.

Cause the calls, direct mail
TV ads, they all fail.
And they aren’t getting me anywhere. They don’t work.
No!
And every time I try to sell
‘Didja know that I’m told I should go to hell?
Then I cry. Then I cry.
And you wonder why.

I want leads
To come to me.
Fix our SEO
Get some inbound links.
RSS
Let’s get blogging.
Why don’t we just use inbound marketing?
You. You. You. Oughta know.

Get my page rank up.
Tag my content.
Fix my landing page.
Let them come to me.

Now I can blog I can tweet
Publish things you will read.
Won’t have to bug you in the middle of dinner.
Google me organically
Search results one two and three.
You need my products? Uh huh. Yeah you’ll find me.

Cause the calls, direct mail
TV ads, they all failed.
And they weren’t getting me anywhere. They don’t work.
No!
And every time I tried to sell
‘Didja know I was told I should go to hell.
Then I cried. Then I cried.
And you wondered why.

Now my leads
They come to me
Fixed our SEO
Got some inbound links
RSS
Now we’re blogging
Thank god now we use inbound marketing.
You. You. You. Oughta know.

Thanks to my friends at Zee2A in England for posting this on their excellent blog, http://zee2a.wordpress.com/ (check them out if you want great content on marketing, branding and customer service geared towards professional service firms.

And thanks to HubSpot for creating this and allowing readers to share it with others.  Their blog post which features this video is here:http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/4437/You-Oughta-Know-Inbound-Marketing.aspx . 

They also offer the music and lyrics under Creative Commons License so you can attempt your own version!

• Why your LinkedIn profile is so important and how to craft a compelling one
• How to customize your profile with symbols and special characters
• How to use keywords to improve your “findability”
• Why having recommendations is important and how to effectively request them
• Why joining groups can help improve your visibility and set you apart from other users

You’ll also receive:

• A profile template (in MS Word) that you can use as a guide
• The 28 page IA LinkedIn Profiles Guide by Mike O’Neil which contains all the “How To’s” to build your very own highly effective Search Engine Optimized (SEO) profile so that you can be found on Linked, Google and the Web in general (the guide sells for $29 on the IA website).
• PDF handouts of the powerpoint presentation

The cost?  This webinar and all the materials are available for only $39!
 
We’ve teamed up with Integrated Alliances as authorized trainers for their cutting edge social networking programs and we’ll be offering live and web programs on different social networking platforms such LinkedIn, FastPitch, Facebook, and much more!

Today’s post is by my colleague and friend, Amy Hoppenrath of AH Marketing.  She is the consummate marketing professional who has also joined me as an authorized reseller for Integrated Alliances.  We partner on LinkedIn training webinars, including one which is geared specifically towards perfecting LinkedIn profiles.  Here’s her insightful and timely article on how online and offline networking can be used together to achieve more powerful results.

SUPER-CHARGE YOUR ROLODEX

In our ever-changing world some things remain constant. This is particularly true of successful professionals who tend to have rolodexes filled with contact information on a large number of connected professionals. We use our rolodexes to find resources, make connections and build our businesses.  In fact, more than 90 percent of business comes from networking and referrals. Now imagine being able to super-charge your traditional networking.

Social networks, such as LinkedIn, Plaxo and Twitter are changing the way professionals are building relationships and transacting business. Social networks are business tools not to be ignored.  Based on trends, professionals must learn to embrace new tools. Otherwise they will find their competition gaining a distinct advantage.

Professional networking sites such as LinkedIn are growing by more than one million members each month.  Today, there are more than 25 million members on LinkedIn world-wide - at least 64,900 of whom are in Kansas City. If you use a professional networking site, you could be just one connection away from a new client or a strategic relationship.  On LinkedIn alone, the demographics of the typical user are strong:  46 percent are business decision-makers, their average age is 41 years and their average household income is $109,000.

Here are just a few ways that you can use social networks for business:

Manage Your Online Image & Increase Your Visibility

In a recent report by AC Nielsen, 96 percent of people use the Web to conduct research before making a phone call, visiting a company, or deciding what to purchase.  Social networking sites allow you to build your business profile and your brand online.  When you spend time developing a profile that explains the benefits of working with you and back it up with solid recommendations from past employers, collogues and clients - you immediately increase the level of trust with your prospects.

LinkedIn also helps you to improve your “Google Page Rank.”  As a result, your product or service has a greater likelihood of being found online. Since LinkedIn profiles receive a fairly high Google ranking, in many cases your profile may appear higher than that of your web site.

Enhanced Knowledge

When used properly, social networks can enhance your knowledge by allowing you to tap into the collective wisdom of your network. For example, you can quickly obtain information or advice that might help you solve a business problem; research a company; seek insight on a company, product or service when developing a proposal; or even get “real” references on someone who you’re considering to hire.

An Ever Expanding Rolodex

Connecting is a basic human need. Humans by nature are social creatures.   We have a need to connect based on our profession, interests or even by the college that we attended.  For most of history, connections where limited to the geographic area in which people lived.  Today, social networks allow us to connect with people who we know, re-connect with former classmates or colleagues, and help us find those who can best support us in achieving our goals.

As a professional, staying in place in our ever-changing world means falling behind.  I encourage you to embrace this change by understanding how to build your virtual image, and grow and successfully manage your business relationships through social networking.

http://www.integratedalliances.com/Public/Home/Miami/index.cfm

Here’s a photo of Mike O’Neil, Founder and CEO of Integrated Alliances and I signing our agreement in Denver, this past summer:

Integregated Alliances (IA) is the premier business social networking company offering training on LinkedIn and other social networking platforms.  This training helps you integrate your on-line networking and your face-to-face “off-line” networking efforts for maximum impact.

What does this mean for you?  Well,  we’ll be offering training via live events and webinars so that our subscribers can learn to supercharge their networking efforts.

Why did we decide to join forces with Integrated Alliances (IA)?  I decided to learn more about social media this past year and enrolled in several of IA’s webinars.   Prior to the training, I had a presence on LinkedIn for 2 years and nothing came of it.  After rewriting my profile and growing my network following IA’s strategies, I started seeing results.  

Since then, my presence on LinkedIn has resulted in newsletter subscriptions, one new client, an opportunity to host a blog carnival, and an offer to become a writer on a blog with a large volume of targeted traffic.

My off-line networking has also improved as I’ve contacted people in my region and been able to meet with them in-person.  I probably would never have found them unless I’d searched on LinkedIn.  

We will be offering several special offers for blog readers and newsletter subscribers in the next week, so please stay tuned so you don’t miss out! 

So, if they aren’t worse off now than they were a year ago, why all the gloom and doom?  Simply put, it’s fear.  Fear of the unknown, or fear of what they anticipate COULD happen. 

What happens when business owners and independent professionals react to fear?  They start cutting back.  Where?  Often it’s in the very area they can least afford to do so:  their marketing budget!

However, SMART Business Owners know that this is the worst possible thing they can do.  That’s why their businesses flourish even while competitors flounder.

Here are some interesting statistics from Go-To-Market Strategies (which I encourage you to subscribe to) (http://www.gtms-inc.com/tip_marketingrecession.htm)

• 1970 recession year– American Business Press (ABP) and Meldrum & Fewsmith study showed that “sales and profits can be maintained and increased in recession years and [in the years] immediately following by those who are willing to maintain an aggressive marketing posture, while others adopt the philosophy of cutting back on promotional efforts when sales appear to be harder to get.” (1)

• 1974-1975 recession years– ABP/Meldurm & Fewsmith 1979 study covering 1974/1975 and its post-recession years found that “Companies which did not cut marketing expenditures experienced higher sales and net income during those two years and the two years following than those companies which cut in either or both recession years.” (2)

• 1981-1982 recession years
  • McGraw-Hill Research’s Laboratory of Advertising Performance studied recessions in the United States. Following the 1981-1982 recessions, it analyzed the performance of some 600 industrial companies during that economic downturn. It found that “business-to-business firms that maintained or increased their marketing expenditures during the 1981-1982 recession averaged significantly higher sales growth both during the recession and for the following three years than those which eliminated or decreased marketing. (3)

   

  • Cahners and Strategic Planning Institute (SPI) produced their report, “Media Advertising When Your Market Is In a Recession.” It disclosed, “During a recessionary period, average businesses do experience a slightly lower rate of return relative to normal times. However, expansion times do not generate a higher level of profits than normal periods as might be expected.” This phenomenon was explained by an analysis of changes in market share.

   

  • “During recessionary periods,” said the Cahners/SPI report, “these businesses tended to gain a greater share of market. The underlying reason is that competitors, especially smaller marginal ones, are less willing or able to defend against the aggressive firms.” The study then pointed out that businesses that increased media advertising expenditures during the recessionary period “gained an average of 1.5 points of market share.” (4)

• 1990-1991 recession years – Management Review asked AMA member firms about spending during the 1990-1991 recession. “Fortune follows the brave,” it announced, noting that the data showed that most firms that raised their marketing budgets enjoyed gains in market share. Among the magazine’s sample, 15 percent reported “greatly decreased” ad budgets. Advertising was “somewhat cut” by 29 percent. “The keys to gaining market share in a recession,” concluded Management Review“ seem to be spending money and adding to staff. Firms that increased their budgets and took on new people were twice as likely to pick up market share. (5)

• Beyond the statistics, why might it be more important than ever to market despite economic downturn? Strong consideration should be given to the idea that marketing plays a more critical role now than it did during previous recessions. While marketing’s role was once more informational than brand identity building, and considering that never more than today has the clutter factor been so great, relationships between customers and brands are critical. Relationship marketing has surged to the top of effective marketing campaigns as a means to keep an appropriate level of share of mind for purchase loyalty. Marketing serves to foster and maintain consumer-brand relationships. (6)

• The effect on profits. From the Harvard Business Review, “Advertising as an anti recession tool,” comes the effect of cutting advertising on the bottom line. “The rationale that a company can afford a cutback in advertising because everybody else is cutting back [is fallacious]. Rather than wait for business to return to normal, top executives should cash in on the opportunity that the rival companies are creating for them. The company courageous enough to stay in the fight when everyone else is playing safe can bring about a dramatic change in market position.” In addition, the article points out “Advertising should be regarded not as a drain on profits but as a contributor to profits, not as an unavoidable expense but as a means of achieving objectives. Ad budgets should be related to the company’s goals instead of to last year’s sales or to next year’s promises.” (7)

• REFERENCES:
  1. “How Advertising in Recession Periods Affects Sales,” American Business Press, Inc., 1979
  2. ABP/Meldrum & Fewsmith study, 1979
  3. McGraw-Hill Research. Laboratory of Advertising Performance Report 5262 New York: McGraw-Hill, 1986.
  4. Kijewski, Dr. Valerie. “Media Advertising When Your Market Is in a Recession,” Cahners Advertising Research Report. The Strategic Planning Institute, 1982
  5. Greenburg, Eric Rolfe. “Fortune Follows the Brave,” Management Review, January 1993
  6. Khermouch, Gerry. “Why Advertising Matters More Than Ever,” Business Week, August 2001
  7. Dhalla, Nairman K. “Advertising as an anti recession tool,” Harvard Business Review, Jan.-Feb. 1980

This data was compiled for you by our friends at Demand. Demand works with clients to help them attract new customers, retain existing customers, increase marketing effectiveness and reduce marketing, operational and administrative costs.

Technorati tags: marketing in a recession, smart business owners invest in marketing, B2B marketing, the importance of marketing