Month: September 2012

Categories
Operations

5 Strategies for a Super Follow Up System

Having a super-duper follow-up system in place is a critical, if not the critical, system you need to grow and build your business.

Let me ask you…

When you have a client consultation and you ask the client to work with you, and they say something like:

I need to think about it;

Not yet;

Can I get back to you?

What system do you have in place to follow-up with them and turn them into a paying client?

This is where you need a super-duper follow-up system in place so that you can continue to connect with them and, when they’re ready to purchase, you’re top of mind. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a consultation with a potential client for them not to say yes right away. But when I’ve stayed in touch with them and regularly followed up with them, when they were ready to purchase they became a client. Sometimes this process takes a week or two, sometimes several weeks, and sometimes several months.

So it’s really important that you have a system in place so that you can stay in touch with both potential clients and past clients. Here are my top 5 strategies for creating your follow-up system.

1. System that you use. There are many CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems available, from using Outlook to using a dedicated CRM system such as Salesforce or AddressTwo. Choose the one that’s right for you. I’ve tried several over the years and have finally settled on Salesforce. I like it because I can customize it to my exact needs, making it easy for me to use. And, most importantly, because it’s easy for me to use, it’s easy for me to keep up-to-date. So find a system that is right for YOU and YOUR business.

2. Categorize each contact. Every contact you add to your contact management database needs to have a category so that you can easily find particular groups of clients. I categorize my contacts by where they are in the sales cycle process, and as they move through the sales cycle I will re-assign them a category accordingly.

3. Create simple templates. As I’ve discovered over the years, templates are a huge timesaver! So it’s important that the contact management system you use has a template feature. I’ve used a couple where it wasn’t possible to do this and, for that reason, I’ve looked for another system. Templates can be used for quick check-ins, missed calls/appointments, informing of new programs, or providing updates in your business. It’s great to have a library of templates created and ready to go, which makes doing your follow-up really quick and simple.

4. Utilize the tasks feature. This is a HUGE one for me! I need a system that allows me to add a particular activity or task for a client, let me assign a date it needs to be done by, and then pop up and alert me when that task is due. If I didn’t have this feature, then quite simply I’d forget to connect with the client.

5. Update it regularly. So now you’ve got this super-duper contact management system in place, it won’t be worth a hill of beans unless you keep it updated regularly. You may choose to update your system at the end of each day or on set days of the week. For me, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings are my follow-up focus time. This is when I connect with clients, and update my system.

Now that you’ve got some simple strategies for creating your follow-up system, and you know how critical this system is to your bottom line, what tweaks are you going to do to improve your follow-up system? Follow these five steps above, and you’ll soon see an increase in getting more clients, and therefore increasing your profits.

Categories
Success Attitude

5 Strategies to Work Positive at Labor Day

It’s the day after Labor Day. You’re back at work. Or, are you?

Millions of Americans have yet to find work. You’d think the ones working would be satisfied to at least have a job, right?

Worker surveys report about the same number of us are dissatisfied—more than 55 percent—as when employment was higher.

So how do you move from job dissatisfaction to Work Positive career?

Here are 5 Strategies to Work Positive today:

Perceive the Positive

Business is not the way it used to be, and probably never was.

Find one positive aspect of your job and focus on it every morning.

For instance, did your last payroll check clear and make your mortgage payment?

Some days it seems like Murphy’s Law rules. Discover one positive factor in play at work.

Focus on it.

Conceive the Positive

Every business has negative people. Call them customers, clients, employees, or bosses.

Or, call them Eeyore Vampires. Nothing ever works for them and they’ll suck you dry of every bit of time, energy, and attention you’ll give.

Avoid them. Like they have the plague…because they do. They will infect your morale, productivity, and profitability with negativity if you let them.

Run from them to the positive people.

Believe the Positive

Ever find yourself so mired down in the minutia of the mundane that you neglect to look up and see in which direction your business is headed?

Imagination is the jet fuel of your rapid growth of profits. Do you fill your business tank with this high-octane propellant?

Take a few minutes weekly to ask yourself, “Am I going where I want to go?” and “How do I get there from here?”

Engage your imagination to see yourself there.

Achieve the Positive

Your business has a GPS that will lead you to the pot of gold at the end of your rainbows.

You simply “recalculate” often.

Your customers help you recalculate as you listen to their problems you can solve.

Your team members recalculate you from their mistakes.

Failure is an experience, not a person.

Make a U-Turn when legal and drive your business to increase sales with greater productivity so you can leave the office early to be with your family.

Receive the Positive

The two most powerful words in any language that leverage more business are “Thank You.”

Be specific in describing positive behavior.

Be special in delivering gratitude to your community.

Be old school and handwrite a thank you note. The pen is mightier than the sword…and the email or text message.

Want to be more than just grateful to have a job and Work Positive at Labor Day?

Employ these 5 Strategies today to Work Positive in any job.

About the Author: 

Dr. Joey Faucette is the #1 Amazon best-selling author of Work Positive in a Negative World (Entrepreneur Press), coach, and speaker who help professionals discover success in the silver lining of their business and achieve their dreams. Discover more at www.ListentoLife.org/speaking.

Categories
Online Business

5 Costly Mistakes Small-Business Websites Make, and How to Avoid Them

Your website is the face of your business. If used well, your site brings many potential clients via search engines and other sources, and once they get there your site ideally draws them into your sales and marketing funnel. But if your site is not well designed and effectively constructed, most of these visitors will leave before they get the chance to give you their contact information. This could translate into hundreds of lost opportunities every day.

When my clients tell me they don’t think their websites are bringing in as many clients as it should, I always urge them to look at their site with a critical eye. If anything about your site isn’t working, it’s important to identify the problem and make a change. To help in your assessment, here are some of the most common website mistakes small-business owners make.

1. Out-of-date design. Take a look at the websites of some major companies you admire, and make note of things like their design, layout, and navigation. Without directly copying those sites, think about how to bring your own site up to their design standards. You may not have the website budget that these companies have, but there are things you can do to make your site more visually pleasing. And when it looks like you’ve put a lot of thought into creating a sharp and professional site design, your potential clients will be more likely to work with you. Your image is important.

2. Off-putting design elements. There are a few site design elements that too many small-business owners think make their sites look flashy, but which actually just annoy people. Pop-up windows, music and videos that play automatically, animated menus, and long intro screens are just a few elements that most web users could live without.

3. No About or Contact page. Your potential clients want to work with someone they can trust. When they visit your website, they want to know you are an actual person (or group of people) with a real, physical address and live contact information. They want to be able to pick up the phone and call you if need be. You don’t have to put all this information on every page, but at least have a link to a Contact or About page visible throughout the site.Personally, I LIKE contact information on every page. My thoughts are that if you want to reach out to me, I want to make it as easy as possible for you to do it.

4. Not sharing results. It’s very easy to buy a generic website template and put up a basic description of your business and services, but these websites aren’t going to get people excited to work with you. Your website should share the results your clients will get from working with you.

5. No purpose. When people get to your website, what do you want them to do? Do you want them to order something? Do you want them to take your irresistible offer and share their contact information? Whatever you want them to do, don’t be shy about it. State explicitly what action they should take.