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! 

If you are not blogging, start right away … I said blogging not jogging!  There may be some reasons physically and mentally why you are not jogging, but with blogging there are no boundaries and no excuses!  
 
If you are looking for ways to increase your traffic and your potential conversions, consider starting a blog. You’d be hard pressed to find a more economical and effective way of attracting interest in your business and bringing more visibility to your brand.

It’s true that in the beginning, blogging can take some work and time, but like all good actions it has good  rewards and there are tool sand systems to make it easy for you to take advantage of all blogging has to offer.

There are so many positive reasons to blog, any negatives simply boil down to lack of knowledge about the benefits.  That’s right if you are trying to grow your business and you are not blogging then you need to ask yourself …why not?
 
Every excuse (and notice I did not say “reason”) you can muster up would be lame; including not enough time, not enough stuff to blog about, no audience, can’t write, and on-and-on.
 
So get started now… create a content schedule and start blog consistently. Once a month is better than nothing, bi-weekly is better than monthly, weekly is great if you can manage it and daily will be SUPER!  

Soon your business persona will have the appearance of a champion and the cape of a super-hero!
 
If you need inspiration to get started, we'd love to help!    Schedule a complimentary strategy call now!  Let's discuss what’s best for you and your business.  

Wow! Build a content distribution strategy!  That sounds pretty heavyweight ...right?

Well it's not heavy, but it is important it takes only three primary steps to get started:

1. defining your ideal audience
2. finding out where they like to congregate online as well as offline
3. choosing your communication channels accordingly

You'll find that when you send the right message to the right audience, at the right time, in the right place, you will experience more success in reaching your goals.

Let's take a more in-depth  peek at each step:

  Defining your ideal audience -  According to Inc.com this is the formula:

1. Look at your current customer base
   
2. Check out your competition
3. Analyze your product/service
4. Choose specific demographics to target
5. Consider the psychographics of your target
6. Evaluate your decision
7. Use Additional resources as needed.

If you are any like me when I read that list I was ready to close up shop!  But then, I took a deep breath and began to di-sect each of the components. I soon realized that what they are describing are parts of a business plan.  So don't let the terminology frighten you.  Yes I do recommend that you learn more about any elements that you are not familiar with, but overall the more you know about each element and how it relates to your business goals the more likely you will be to succeed.

Finding out where they like to congregate online as well as offline
Well needless to say if you know who your looking for it will be easier to find them!  Still there can be some challenges here, so let's say your target audience loves to hang out at the country club and for some odd reason you don't have membership ... I'd dare say that many of the other vendors for the club are not members either, but that doesn't stop them from making business relationships and it shouldn't stop you either!

Choosing your communication channels accordingly
We know that communication is the key to most great relationships, but if we use the "Country Club" crowd as an example, how can you realistically build communications channels with them?
A Forbes.com article describes ways to overcome this challenge very nicely with:
The 7 pillars of connecting to anyone:
1.    Be genuine
2.    Provide massive help
3.    Pay ridiculous attention
4.    Connect with people close to the people you want to connect with
5.    Persistence wins most battles
6.    Make real friends
7.    Remain unforgettable

These may seem like lofty goals, but they are necessary building blocks Content Distribution Strategy!  Whether you are aiming to pitch to your neighbors or preparing your curtsy for a meeting with royalty, if you want to strategize about it, let's do it!

Think of a valuable incentive for your audience (e-book, info-graphic, white-paper, etc) and provide it for free. One might think that any of these great items would have people signing up like crazy ... right?  It all depends.

Research shows that the right message, to the right people at the right time can bring the right results, but getting these three planets to align can be very challenging., so offering a freebie can sometimes be the deal-maker! 

Take a close look at your free offer:

• Have you accurately stated the perceived value
• Are you being honest about any "catches" (avoid bait and switch)
• Are you presenting it to people who can really use it
• Are you presenting it to people who can afford any subsequent subscriptions
• Have you accurately estimated the time and cost to produce it
• Is it easy for people to use (If it's a download can it be easily accessed)
• Can they get the same offer elsewhere (how does the competition stack up)
• What will it cost you (consider time, effort and money)
• Does it need to be shipped (consider all costs)

Patience is truly a virtue in the small business world.  Consumers are very savvy and the competition is very stiff.  If you think you have an excellent freebie and your befuddled that no one wants to take advantage of it, connect with us. A complimentary consultation can possibly expose gaps in your promotional plans! 

As a small business owner, I don’t need to tell you how many emails your potential Clients might receive in a day.  But I do want to remind you to make sure your messages stand out from all the rest!
 
Just because you are promoting to your target audience, you must know that you are not the only one!   
As a matter of fact, you may have already done some research to see what sort of information your competition may be providing to your potentials and that’s a good thing.
 
You have two challenges 1.) making your promotions stand out to attract potentials and 2.) keeping your messages engaging to retain those that you have attracted!  That can seem like a tall order.

I'm not going to make light of the challenge, it can be daunting and at the same time it can be  extremely exciting to create stand-out communications and watch them work!  Of course if you have the right SYSTEM and tools in place, and  take the right actions, then the daunting part can be minimized:

• CAPTURE data using mobile and responsive forms. Making it easy for your visitors is critical.
• KISS (Keep it Simple Sweetie) Don’t try to give or get too much information  at one time
• FOCUS stick with ONE goal and one CTA (a confused mind takes not action)
• FOLLOW best practices. Avoid things like the poor subject lines, using spammy words, to many images, too many links, big images ... on and on.  These practices have all been studied and solved by big businesses that spend millions to get it right. This info is provided to you at no cost. USE IT. See what they are doing, how it works and then replicate the parts that best  fit into your plan.  
• ANALYZE:  After you have invested time, money and effort into a certain process, step back and examine, inspect, survey, study, scrutinize the outcome.  Use that information to make your continuing efforts even more noticeable to your target market.
  

Making your promotions and messages stand out is critical to cutting a path through the "white noise" made by your competitors. If you need help creating affordable,  distinctive promotions and mail-outs please connect with us.

When setting up your contact forms to gather people's contact information, ask only for information that you really, really , really need to make connection! A good rule of thumb is that less is more — the shorter the sign-up form, the higher the chances someone will fill it in! 

Of course there are times when a long form or survey asking for more details,  will be applicable, but longer forms usually come AFTER you have established some trust and credibility with the contact.

We understand that your goal is to attract the RIGHT people into your system and that you don't have time to "fool around"  with  people who aren't serious ... however building relationships is a step-by-step process. Rushing the process can turn people off!

There's another point to make here: If you are promoting your products and/or services  to your TARGET audience, (as you should be) then you must take confidence in the fact that you are reaching out to people who have some interest in your messages.

As a rule of thumb, we stress the "4MTs" , (4 Magic Touches)

• First Name
• Last Name
• Email address
• Phone number

As you grow, you will find occasions when not even  all four of these "touches" are needed  to start a connection.   Sales Statics and research has shown that it can take 7 to 12 "touches" before a potential client will take your CTA (call-to-action).

There should be no rush on your part to gather lot's and lot's of information about a person in the very first "touch, because when you have the right system in place, you will be learning about them and gathering more information as your relationship grows! 

While this approach does not apply to every CTA, it does apply to many.  Even street vendors, selling to tourists that they may never meet again can benefit from collecting the 4MTs.  Why? Because chances are they will not want to be street vending forever!  At some point they may want to develop an on-line store and one day, even a brick-and-mortar establishment ... after all it is the natural progression of business and the American way ... right?

So try think of new people you meet on and offline as the start of a new relationship. Asking too many questions (in a online data capture form) can be creepy and it can diminish  trust.  Once lost, trust is something that's difficult to regain.

If you don't believe the 4MTs can work to satisfy your needs,  you should definitely contact us. 
We can help you create a system that will convert your 4MTs into paying clients. 

As you begin to track the activity that is being produced by your forms, no doubt you'll see significant patterns develop. These patterns will be related to what people like about your business and what holds their interest.  You'll also see how well people take your call-to-action.  From there, you'll begin to associate actions with outcomes!

Many email marketing software packages can give you the tools you need to grow your contact list, however there a certain features that if missing, should throw up a red flag for you.

What's our best advice to you for selecting a great CRM, Email Marketing and Database System? Look deep into your business practices and your ultimate goals.  Match each of your communication requirements to the features provided in the form app. 

A few of the must haves are:

• Ease in creation
• Easy to integrate with your website and social media
• Stand-alone forms with QR codes for events and offline data capture
  
• Automation to start, track and build  "drip" campaigns
  
• CRM to help build business relationships
  
• Mobile and Responsive templates
  
• Segmentation for testing best practices
  
• Dependable deliverability
• Distinctive tracking records
• Affordable
  
• Scalable

Yes, I'm sure you'll find applications that claim to do EVERYTHING will cost more money than your budget allows, but don't be discourage, there's no need to miss-out on anything, We are here to help. 

If you need guidance or more recommendations in setting up a communications system with data capture features that allow you ease and affordability while offering  your visitors a user-friendly experience , connect with us for a no pressure no sell strategy session.

If you've ever been in a conversation with me about marketing your business, then you've probably heard me mention Alignable®.

Alignable is a fast growing, non-nonsense business networking platform...very much like  LinkedIn®, the Alignable platform is very bright on the horizon today.  Every part of the platform offers ways for you to bring more visibility to your business or organization. My philosophy is ..."they have to see you in order to connect with you"; and Alignable helps you get seen in the community.

With hundreds of networking platforms available, it's difficult sometimes to see why one sticks out from another and time constraints for many small business owners don't allow for managing dozens of platforms. Your business should be enrolled only in the platforms that can clearly help you reach your goals. So let's dive into it.

First out of the gate...your Alignable profile should be perfectly in place.  The platform has a Profile Completion Meter, so you can easily see what's needed to complete your profile.Please don't go in thinking that you can omit your profile pic and half-way fill in your profile data to get great results.  You won't. Your completed profile means you are there to do business. A profile with no logo or profile pic, no Web site, no products or services, only indicates you are not seriously looking to network with others...but even more critical, your lack of information can bar others from networking with you!

As a part of your set up, keep in mind that Alignable is a local centric platform. If you have a national business, you'll want to build your profile on your headquarters and then spread  out from there.  Watch this 2 min Video from me to see just one of the ways I use Alignable.  I'll show you how the "Ask and Learn" feature can help you build business relationships!

Now that you watched, my recommendation is to just browse the "Ask and Learn" section to see how others are using it and benefiting from it. Then set aside about 15 mins once a week to become an active participant. You can take longer if you'd like (it is seductive), but you don't need to spend lots of time there to reap the benefits.

My best advice:
When posting questions in Alignable, you'll be notified when a member responds to you...try to visit the responders profile BEFORE you reply to them. Send your reply ASAP with a "thanks"  and a "nod" that you have visited their profile.  Add an invitation to take the next step in connecting with them ...especially if it seems appropriate, and mutually beneficial.

When answering questions Alignable, again FIRST visit the profile of the person who is asking the question. In your answer try to stay on point, be honest, be helpful, be positive and open for further business discussions.

In all, it's a business platform where people want to network and share business ideas, resources and ultimately make referrals and sales!

Sure you may meet a few people who only came to "test the waters" but that's okay too!

The DonPaul Business Directory Has Joined Alignable!
We'll help you spread the word about your business through-out our Network!

(Social)  Wingman (According to Wikipedia) is a role that a friend will take... when you need support with finding and approaching a potential romantic  encounter.

(Business) Wingman (According to DonPaul) is a role that we will take... when you need support with finding and approaching a potential client.

The job of the Business Wingman is similar to that of the Social Wingman...to get you to the goal...to open up a window of opportunity for you to "make your move".

Small business owners can benefit by having a Wingman, but there's a little more strategy involved with business than what may be required in a local pub meet-up. With business, it can be unclear when you, the business owner, should step in and take over... that is ...to "seal-the-deal", so to speak.

In a Social scenario it may take only one encounter to "score" and hit the "target", but in business it can take seven to twelve encounters to "score" and get the "target" to take action.

It’s not easy, but it is simple…and we'd like to show you how it works; how to engage with more clients and how to develop more successful business relationships. 

We've got the role of Business Wingman all wrapped up into a twelve step plan that you can use to "score" with your target audience. Get started today!  Let us be your Business Wingman and start being more successful at reaching your goals.