Here’s a conundrum:  some small businesses work very hard to get leads and they spend precious dollars to “boost posts” and “buy ads”, etc., yet they often fail to put a contingency plan in place for prospective clients who say “Yes”. 

Ever heard the term: “The sale begins when the customer says ‘yes’?”
It's true.  Start planning for the outcome of your success by answering questions about your goals, your expectations and what you are  anticipating from your efforts.

Of course, if you are a street vendor, then sales from people passing by could be your only objective... hopefully you have loftier goals.   
 
Although the specifics are unique to  each  business, no matter what path you take,  it’s a journey of many steps.   Remember our conversation about the  12 “touches”?  Then you’ll need be prepared for each touch to be the “magic touch”.  Your contingency plan should have several “side roads” or contributory inlets and outlets to take your prospective client to the next level.
 
Creating your plan can seem a bit overwhelming if you are not prepared, but there are also lots of tools to put into play.  You'll hear terms like “sales funnel” and CRE (Client Relationship Expectancy), or CLV Customer Lifetime Value; and so on ... literally dozens and dozens of ways to create plans for “what happens after they say ‘YES’.
 
Here are three important areas that we've discovered, all having to do with good old-fashioned passion for your business:  

• Keep “relationship building” in the foreground.  Let the quality of your “product/service” stand for itself.   Believing in your product/service will allow you to concentrate on the relationship.
• Stay focused on a single CTA.  Concentrate on your journey of stepping, from one “touch” to the next.
• Keep your goals in mind along with your written plan on how each “touch” relates to your final objectives.  Remember ..."If it's not in writing, it's not real".

We are ready to help you plan the outcome of your journey to more productive follow ups.  Like every other journey, the more times you successfully make the trip, the shorter it seems. Soon you’ll be getting CTAs answered and you’ll be growing your business.  
 Schedule your strategy call today!

So far, we’ve coached you on the significance of having a system in place to make following-up with your contacts routine and easy. Now we need to stress the importance of not allowing that same system to rob you of opportunities. Especially in the "virtual world",  the Human Component is critical to various aspects of successful relationship building.  

Growing your business is about growing relationships and while systems can assist you on every step of your journey, they cannot form a bond with your prospective clients. In other words systems are just tools. People don’t build relationships with tools (at least not typically) people build relationships with people.

“Diligent follow-up and follow-through will set you apart from the crowd and communicate excellence”.  - John C. Maxwell
 
Notice Mr. Maxwell said “YOU” not your “system”.  This advice may not apply if you are a personal services provider,  however, if you are providing services online, (virtual services) it can become all too easy to rely too heavily on your systems. This can be doubly true with really small business owners and triply so with part-time business owners.
 
Fortunately, it is easy to avoid this hazard. All it takes is planning for your follow ups. Each business has its own plan and a small business trying to communicate effectively with large numbers of individuals needs to put a plan in place.  Otherwise, Things can fall through the cracks and those “things” can be people.
 
You’ve heard the phrase: “Don’t sweat the small stuff?”  The optimum word is “small”. If the small stuff is not “sweated” at some point, a small business could end up being a small used-to-be business. It’s the small stuff that can bring a business to its knees.
 
Keep in mind it can take up to 12 attempts to get an individual to follow the action that you want then to take. We call those attempts “touches”. A touch can be any action or interaction available to you as it relates to the contact and it can be virtual or actual.
 
We can’t depict exactly what actions will occur in every situation, but here’s an example of 12 possible actions or “touches”:

1. Thank you
2. Invite to online/offline event (Could be several touches via FB, IG, LI, YT, etc.)
3. Check-in Call
4. Check in Coffee (if local)
5. Invite to Social media
6. Newsletters
7. Update
8. Invite to Complimentary Call
9. Invite to Webinar
10. Invite to Survey
11. Invite to Video
12. Ask for Referrals

 
Were you able to see all of the openings for opportunities to interact on a personal level?

In closing let me say ... WE LOVE SYSTEMS!! It's having a balance that could make a big difference, so If you are looking for ways to design a follow-up strategy that allows for more “human touches”,  please reach out to us.
Your complimentary call is waiting and there's a "human" on the other end...guaranteed! 

Keep your letters short and action packed.  Try to pack your most important information into just three or four short paragraphs. Let customers know they can access your web site for much more detailed information and be sure to place links to all of your social networks.  We've got you covered with all of the major connections ...plus we'll add any others that you desire!

Make your letter as personalized as you can. This is the secret to good marketing and selling. Take a look at many big time ad campaigns and you'll see that they produce different versions of the same commercials for six or more sub groups in their audience. Your email letters can do the same thing.
We assist you in setting up A/B Split Tests. See how well  different versions of your letters perform with your target audience.

Adding your recipients name is like a handshake.  Whenever possible use the recipient’s name in the subject line, in the salutation at the beginning and later, in the body of your email letter.   Using their name instead of “Dear Customer” can easily strengthen your relationship. Your reader’s ears perk up when they see their own name.  We help you gather names, create powerful letters and interesting messages with your clients name integrated through-out.

Remember also. Don’t concentrate on making a ton of money, but rather on becoming the type of person or business people want to do business with.  Connect with us and I guarantee you'll come away with new ideas on building relationships with new and current clients. 
 
I hope you got some valuable info from this article.  Thanks to my friend's Patricia Fripp and Ken Varga for this reminder

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EliteConversations.com
Darrell C Spears

Capitol Heights MD
(301-) 257-5792
Category: Business Education, Business Consultants, Business Resources
Email: mycommunity@eliteconversations.com
Website: http://www.eliteconversations.com/
Description:
We help entrepreneurs and owners expand their business knowledge, so that they can expand their business net worth. We realize the importance of having information, and we also realize the importance of getting to the information fast and efficiently, which is our service. Our goal is to make the process for obtaining business information and knowledge an afterthought for all of our clients.

What Kinds of Businesses Are Benefiting from Webinars?
All sorts of businesses use Webinars to reach a larger population of people, spend less money to promote their brand and ideas, and deliver presentations that are very appealing to the general public for varying reasons.  Your small business can enjoy the same benefits and more.

We are always excited to speak with you about tools that can help you grow your business! Webinars are especially valuable for coaches, educators. authors, instructors, ministers, mentors, trainers and any nonprofit organization.

Put your sales, training, tutoring & presentations on auto pilot with Automated Webinars.

Have you been thinking about using automated webinars to grow your business...but just don't know how to get started?  Connect with us and learn dozens of ways to customize a marketing system to work just for your business!

We enjoy spreading the word about your business through-out our Circle!

Weddings by V and T
Ramona Hunter - Lead Designer
Pensacola FL 32505
(850) 582-4770
Category: Event Planning, Private and Corporate, Wedding Planners, Event Planning
Email: weddingsbyvandt@gmail.com
Web: www.weddingsbyvandt.com

Planning, Transforming,and Executing Weddings, Corporate and Private events. Providing clients with resources and expert advice on how to create budget friendly events that will "Wow" your guest. Weddings by V and T; Creating Forever Beautiful Memories

Sharing letters - Campaigns that are successful for a team in one location can be successful in other locations.  You need a system that let's you build on your success and not start from scratch with each campaign.

Sharing media files  -  Social network videos are great, and even necessary at times, but how do you handle the videos that you want to keep private ...just for your team and your groups?

Sharing Banners and Graphics - Images are powerful ...however they can be time consuming and expensive to produce.  Being able to share media is important.

The Privacy of Password Protection - Controlling access to the gateway for your teams/groups and adding/removing members with ease.

Affordability and Scale-ability - Your system must work with your small business budget and work well with grow spurts as your company/organization gains momentum

CRM cohesiveness - Customer Relationship Management features to manage all of your contacts in one place, recording when they connected, how they connected and how they relate to multiple programs inside your organization.

Bulk Email communications - No matter the business category, numbers matter.  The number of people you can easily communicate with on a daily basis can make all the difference between success and failure.  Being able to communicate with one, some or all of your assets in an automated system allows more freedom, flexibility and growth.

Connect with us  - Now that you know a little more...why not take the time to connect with us and discuss some of  your many options? Maybe the one you're using now is working just fine for you and maybe you could be saving time, money and energy by looking at a system that's better suited for you. There are lots of  systems available (I'm not going to drop any names here) but I promise you'll benefit from a free consultation. 

November 14 - WOMEN IN NEED Charity Social - This is a networking event for women entrepreneurs and women-owned startups for a worthy cause. We will be collecting personal items to distribute to homeless women on our city streets. More Details in the Humanity Buzz Mobile App

November 16 - Eat Wings, Raise Funds  - Help our Homeless Heroes. Get a coupon in the App and . On October 19, 10% of your Buffalo Wild Wings bill goes to help Veterans. More Details in the Mo's Heroes  Mobile App

November 18 - Charity Water - a nonprofit organization aimed at bringing clean and safe drinking water to developing nations.  Learn how clean water means health, income and education - especially for women and kids. More Details in the Humanity Buzz Mobile App

November 23 - Face-to-Face in DC - Charity Water, a nonprofit organization aimed at bringing clean and safe drinking water to developing nations.  Learn how clean water means health, income and education - especially for women and kids. More Details in the Humanity Buzz Mobile App

Do You Know How Many Ways a Customized Mobile App Can Help Your Business?

Your Customers Are Never More Than Six Feet Away From Their Mobile Device...

Is YOUR LOGO There Yet??

...."The really big companies tend to move more slowly. The online world moves far too quickly for them to always respond in the best way. A big company has an entrenched corporate culture that it has to convince. The regular person does not. The internet still has a certain feel about it and is in a constant state of change. Slow moving companies can be left behind.  Even companies that seem to move quickly in the brick and mortar world can be slow to respond to changes happening online. Again, the sole proprietors who can make instant decisions and take a "see what happens" attitude are the ones who are poised to do the best.“...IBOToolbox Associate, Myrtis Myles

Tracking and Reporting - In order to manage your communications and benefit from your efforts, you must be able to track activity and measure the outcome. 

  Get your touchPRO Express customized Mobile App and you'll get a great feature to help your business grow.  GeoFencing is included in your App and will allow you to create some cool marketing and advertising strategies.

Here are just a few thoughts on the benefits of GeoFencing and how it can work best for you:

1. GeoFencing can help you engage local shoppers. It is a location-based service that sends messages to smartphone users who enter a defined geographic area. Some companies send promotions to customers' smartphones when they enter a store, mall or neighborhood.

2. Deals can be hyper-local. Knowing that customers are nearby lets businesses tailor offers based on local events or holidays.

3. It leverages your location. By sending a targeted offer to a customer in a parking lot, you may be able to steer them away from competitors.  Companies can also work with businesses that offer complementary products.

4. Collect customer data that you can really use and offer rewards accordingly. When you know where customers are and how they behave, you can not only customize offers but also give them rewards and a personalized experience. Neiman Marcus is piloting GeoFencing in its stores so salespeople can see when VIP customers are in store, look at their purchase history and provide more personalized service.

Thanks to http://www.cio.com/

1. Fish where the fish are. Build GeoFences where you believe your customers are, not necessarily where you want them to be. If you business is located near a highway or thoroughfare, alerts may not reach them in time to take an exit ramp! 


2. Big fences do not work. By definition, a GeoFence can be any size or shape. But want to attract them when they are near by your retail store.  Construct GeoFences that are small and thus more relevant. Use this rule of thumb: the distance should equate to approximately four minutes travel time to your doorstep. 
If your store is in a mall, that is a four-minute walk. If along the road, that is a few blocks. Anything larger and you are reducing relevancy in your “local messaging.”

3. Bland messages do not work. If your message is an ad versus an action, you will not drive the customer behavior you desire. You are not alone in your GeoFence aspirations. Today more than half of U.S. mobile ad spending is local. Your message must be brief, be locally-relevant and prompt action.  And money always drives action: do not be cheap.

4. Make it important. The Starbucks latte coupon message magically appearing on your iPhone has been cited as the Holy Grail of location-based services for a decade. Technically, the capability is beginning to emerge with some – albeit spotty – location sources, but persistent handset location on the handset is too costly in terms of its toll on battery life.  Besides, which customers want to receive dozens of coupon texts as they stroll through the mall? If you build a GeoFence, have it trigger an important action.

Saving a quarter on a cup of coffee is not important, but redirecting a high roller away from a competitor’s casino is important.  Choose your GeoFence purpose wisely.   

5. Watch the clock. A GeoFence is not just a place on a map, it is also a place in time. When you take action on a trigger and when you notify a customer to do something is just as important as where. 

6. Measure everything. Even if you are unsure of how certain metrics directly impact your campaign ROI, record them anyway.  A GeoFence combines the physical world with the data world, which adds up to a brave new world for marketing analytics. Insight from the data comes from surprising places.   Do you know what time of day marks the highest propensity for spending among your customer segments? You should.

Thanks to: Rip Gerber is CEO of Locaid Technologies, San Francisco.

Video is no joke.  I can be a game changer, but you should not think that you need a Hollywood production to be effective.   Here's my recommendation;…"create a great message and wrap it around the best quality video you can produce…and then go for it!" Here are some reasons to consider adding video to your Web site

If you are working hard to achieve higher search engine rankings or paying for SEO services, don't overlook this tip.

When you first created your page, you were probably given a long, funky-looking URL (aka, Web page address) that looks similar to this: http://www.facebook.com/pages/YourFanPageName/857469375913?ref=ts

Once you have 25 or more Fans on your page, you can then claim a “more friendly” URL similar to this: http://www.facebook.com/CustomName

It’s called a “Vanity” name (or Vanity URL), but there’s much more than vanity involved when you use this feature. Here are just 3 of the benefits:

1.     Shorter URLs are better when you place a link in your communications, making it easier for your audience to read, remember and share.

2.     Your custom URL can act as an extension of your brand, service or product name.

3.      and here’s something many folks may not know: Facebook is indexed by search engines quicker than most websites and therefore your Facebook Business Page could appear in the search results quicker than your website! (So of course you'll want to have your Website URL in a prominent place on your Facebook Business Page.)

So if you are working hard to achieve higher search engine rankings or paying for SEO services .....you can actually use your Facebook Business Page to help reach your goal! (Just be sure to have great content in your Web presence that motivates your audience to take action.)

There are lots of articles written by Facebook experts to guide you through the process, and you’ll want to take some precautions BEFORE getting started.... So if it all seems a little daunting to you, or if you need help getting to that mandatory 25 Fans in order to qualify for your Vanity URL, connect with me for a complementary consultation ….and I’ll share some valuable tips with you!