Author: Pamela Swift

Categories
Newsletter

The Art of Successful Conferencing

Article Contributed by Rob Stretch

Well attended conferences, such as the ongoing South by Southwest Interactive events in Austin, are excellent opportunities to network. But going to a conference unprepared might have you leaving without fresh digits in your phone or crisp business cards in your rolodex.

Getting ready to network is simple. Here are a few tips to prepare for the conference:

  • Meet and greet – When you meet people, keep it short and sweet. Of course, include your name and what you do, but make sure you emphasize why you’re at the conference.
  • Cards are still hip – Business cards are great branding tools. Even in the digital age, handing out cards give industry colleagues a tangible way to remember you. Keep them in a safe but accessible place at all times.
  • Learn something – There’s no point attending a conference and skipping every session. Peruse the conference’s schedule and circle all the workshops and lectures that pique your interest. Be prepared to watch, listen and ask questions at the few sessions you attend.

Great, now you’re eager and ready to meet people, but the conference is packed. Follow these guidelines and you’re sure to meet people with whom you can develop a symbiotic relationship:

  • Focus on individuals – Not all conferences are long, and even when they are, meeting everybody there is useless. Narrow your introductions to individuals rather than groups. Go out of your way to meet speakers, competitors and conference organizers. Always think quality over quantity.
  • Make meals social – When possible, eat whatever the conference provides rather than dining with pals. Sit with strangers and engage in conversation. Should you meet somebody worth the time, take them out to eat and talk about more than business. It’s OK to get a little personal. When the bill comes, pay for it (after all, it’s a business expense).
  • Stay young – So after parties at conferences aren’t the same as your 21st birthday, but they’re still worth attending. Talk to people in quieter spots, offer to buy drinks and chat. Don’t cajole information out of people, despite their blood alcohol, and don’t gossip about everything you see and hear. This isn’t college.

With the conference over, a stack of fresh business cards and regret from only two Jack and Cokes from the last after-after party, what’s left to do? Follow up with everybody you met. The key to a successful relationship is communication, so be the first to initiate it. Otherwise you’ll get nothing out of all those smooth introductions and card exchanges. If somebody doesn’t respond, don’t bombard them with calls and e-mails.

About the Author

Rob Stretch is currently a marketing student at the University of Missouri. Professionally, he primarily markets financial services for competitive niches. Right now, he focuses on VA loans.

Categories
Networking

Socially Networked, But Still Lonely

I’m curious, as you know, in the interplay between human psychology and social media, so I wanted to share some research with you about social networks and loneliness.

Sparked from this article, this post will deal with being highly socially networked, but still experiencing loneliness.

The research cited is interesting, because it finds that there is a whole group of behaviors (including happiness, smoking, and obesity) which are seen as “contagious” within your social network. This means that the behaviors and attitudes of those in your social network have direct impact on your choices in these areas.

It’s a powerful statement of how influenced we are by those we are closest to.

Loneliness is defined as a perception of social isolation, regardless of how many relationships a person really has. People who have high quality relationships, even if they are few in number, tend to experience less loneliness. John Cacioppo, a psychologist at the University of Chicago, has studied how loneliness is transmitted within social networks.

His findings suggest that if a direct connection of yours is lonely, you are 52% more likely to be lonely. If the connection is a friend of a friend, 25% more lonely. If the connection is 3 degrees out (a friend of a friend of a friend), it’s 15%.

While this research looked at offline social networks, it may have some implications for online social networking as well.

If someone in your online social network is angry, lonely, or hostile, and takes it out on you, you are more likely to ‘transmit’ this mood yourself. This means that, even though you may never have met this person, or interacted with them in real life, their “bad behavior” can still influence yours.

As we become increasingly networked and involved with each other, it’s going to be more and more crucial to monitor our own influences and reactions. We are already prone to increased social decision-making with the growth of social media- we might also be more prone to social media moodiness, depending on who we are spending time with and paying attention to within our social networks.

While social media seduction is enticing, it’s important to remember that we need to cultivate real life friendships too. We need to be aware of separating our thoughts and emotions from those we are in contact with, and making sure that our reactions or feelings are truly our own before we engage in behaviors we might regret.

If you find yourself feeling frazzled, hassled, overwhelmed or stressed out by too much social networking, it might be time to turn the computer off.

RachnaJainPhoto.jpgDr. Rachna Jain is Chief Social Marketer at The Mindshare Corporation. Rachna works with speakers, consultants, authors, and small business owners to develop and execute effective social media marketing strategies. Her proprietary persuasive social media process focuses on building influence, credibility and visibility online. This translates into greater recognition, increased website traffic, faster lead generation, a shorter sales cycle, and more opportunity for her expert clientele.

Categories
How-To Guides

How To Create A Business Plan in 3 Simple Steps

There comes a point in every solopreneur’s business where they need to sit down and plan … and I mean, really plan! Not just write down a few ideas on the back of an envelope and hope for the best, but really map out a long-term strategic plan for their business.
Creating this kind of business plan is so important as, for one reason, it immediately eliminates a lot of the overwhelm and frustration that you’re probably feeling, but it also allows you to:
* See where you’re going;
* Know how you’re going to get there; and
* Lays out exactly what you need to do along the way to get from Point A to Point B
How do you know when you’ve reached this critical business planning point?
Well, there are a few indicators:
* You have LOTS of ideas swimming around in your head but don’t know how to pull them all together (lack of a Big Picture Vision)
* You offer several different programs/products, at different price points, but get very few or no sign-ups (lack of a strategic Marketing Action Plan MAP)
* You get feedback from your clients and/or customers letting you know that they’re confused and not sure which program is right for them (lack of a clear Product & Marketing Funnel)
Today I’d like to share with you three basic steps to business planning success so that you can start the year off on the right foot!
Step 1 – Create Your Big Picture Vision
This is the really fun part; it’s where you get to let your imagination run away with you. You want to sit down somewhere quiet with a pad and pen (writing is much better for this exercise as you can let your ideas flow) and start to write! Write about what you want your business to look like, the type of clients you want to serve, the sort of products and programs you want to offer – in fact write down anything and everything that pops into your head about what you want your business and life to look like.
Important: You want to write your Big Picture Vision in the present tense, as if you already have that business and lifestyle you’re writing about. Use terms such as, “I have, I own, I run”.
Remember that every part of your should say “YES” when you read your Big Picture Vision out loud!
Step 2 – Take Inventory
The next part is to take a look at where you are now and where you want to go. What needs to change in order to take you from where you are now to where you want to be? Is it:
* More/less clients
* More/less billable hours
* Offering more programs/products
And then create a timeline for making these changes. Put down dates of when you want the changes to have been made by, and set about implementing!
Step 3 – Plan Your Funnel
Now that you know what you want your business to look like and what you need to do to get there, start and map out your different income streams. The Product & Marketing Funnel is the perfect model for this exercise as it allows you to create different products/programs/services at different price points within your business. This way clients can move from free (your ezine and articles) to your paid info products, and eventually through to your high-end programs.
Follow these three simple steps above and you’ll instantly create a business plan that will guide your business to continued success this year … and beyond!
TraceyLawtonPhoto.jpgOnline Business Manager & Virtual Assistant, Tracey Lawton, supports professional speakers, coaches, and authors to operate an efficient, organized, and profitable business. Learn how to create an efficient and organized office in 7 EASY steps, and receive free how-to articles at http://www.OfficeOrganizationSuccess.com.

Categories
How-To Guides

How To Shorten Your Sales Cycle & Win More Clients, Faster!

salesbattle.jpg
Article Contributed By Coach Jeremy J. Ulmer
As a sales professional, entrepreneur or business owner, being able to effectively establish new client partnerships and increase sales results quickly is vitally important. When sales are going great it can be very exciting! When you have a great month you are filled with sales motivation!
But, after a while, things slow down and you hit a wall. You find yourself chasing after prospects and wondering why it is taking so long to convert prospects into clients.
You’re stumped!
You start exploring different techniques and try to find a solution. But, no matter what you try, the results are the same and the sales cycle is a much longer process than what you would like.
So where do you turn when you are stuck in sales quicksand and can’t get your prospects to move forward?
Here’s How You Can Shorten The Sales Cycle and Win More Clients, Increase Sales and Profits with 2 Simple Strategies:
1. Determine, Uncover & Clarify Challenges
If a prospect is not clear about their challenges and the impact of these challenges, this will greatly slow down the entire sales cycle. This is because the client does not yet believe their challenge is significant enough to take action, and guess what, because of this, they won’t take action! It is a waste of time for you to give information before understanding their needs, goals, challenges and problems. You are presenting a “solution” to someone who doesn’t believe they have a “problem.”
So, what do you do about this? Ask a lot of questions! Ask open ended questions. Get curious and don’t assume you understand their problem or challenge no matter how long you have been in the industry. Dig in and really find out what is going on, and ask follow up questions that focus in on the greater impact of their challenges. Uncover the impact of the current challenges on both the organization and the individuals or groups you are selling to. Your questions will help them understand and verbalize that they have a challenge or problem. Now you have the information you need to explain how you can help solve their challenge.
If you find yourself talking more than 20% of the time during your sales meetings with prospects, stop yourself, and ask a question!
2. Always Set A Clear Next Step
Have you ever heard this before? “Thanks for your time today, your product looks great and we will get back to you soon.” Yet, you never hear back, and end up having to chase, follow up, and make multiple calls, send multiple emails to no avail. That is not fun for you, nor is it fun for the prospective client.
How do you solve this?
Well, if you are a great salesperson or great sales minded business owner, you don’t need to chase. You don’t need to pressure. You don’t need to persuade. Really. You need to set up a clear next step, and if your prospect is not ready to take the next step, they will tell you, and you will determine if they are a serious prospect or not, on the spot.
Remember, give your prospects an option to say, “No.” When you do this, all the pressure is taken off of you, and more importantly off of your prospect. That way, they do not feel like they are being “sold,” nor do they feel any pressure from you. Many of the sales coaching programs and sales coaches still are teaching the same old techniques developed decades ago that involve pressure and persuading. You do not need to do that anymore and it does not work.
Simply set up the next step at the end of your meetings. The next step could be a follow-up face to face meeting or a scheduled phone call for example. However, make sure the next step is moving the sales cycle forward and has a scheduled date, time, and location.
Map out your sales cycle and know what steps need to take place. Here is an example of a 5 step sales cycle: 1. Initial appointment, qualification, discovery, 2. Agreement to conduct an in-depth analysis, 3. Demonstration of service or product, 4. Contract review meeting, 5. Signed agreement.
At the end of each meeting, you should be setting up the next meeting and next actions. Explain the next steps you both will need to take to start working together. Map it out for them and provide them with a simple document that explains the next steps with clear time lines. Ask them to commit to the next steps along the way. Guess what happens if you do this effectively? You don’t need to “close” or persuade, the sale will be made, faster, naturally, and more effectively.
These 2 steps will help you shorten your sales cycle and experience dramatically improved sales results. Don’t wait to make these changes, take action now, and make a commitment to yourself.
About the Author:
Sales Coaching & Business Coaching Expert, Jeremy J. Ulmer, has helped hundreds of sales professionals, sales leaders, businesses and entrepreneurs overcome sales and business challenges to achieve breakthrough results. Jeremy has been ranked a #1 sales performer in the U.S. for 4 years at two Global Fortune 500 Companies, is the former Director of Sales at the #1 Outsourced Sales Company in the U.S., and is a Featured Presenter on Sales Skills and Entrepreneurship at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. If you are ready to dramatically increase your sales or business results then subscribe for your Free Tips or request a Free Coaching Consultation at: http://www.CoachWithJeremy.com.

Categories
How-To Guides

How to Ensure the Success of a Food Delivery Service Business

pizza-delivery.jpg

Article Contributed by Joe McVoy

After initially setting up your Food Delivery Service Business, you can not expect everything to just start working and clicking. You would need to do some actions and draw up a restaurant food delivery business plan to be able to ensure that it would be a successful business venture.

The very basic steps could be these five things: Knowing your target market, Ensuring that you have a complete list or menu from their best-loved restaurants, promoting your business properly, getting the right location and starting small.

1. Knowing your customers.

Knowing your market would mean understanding the people which your food delivery service business caters to. These would mean doing preliminary research and learning their eating habits. You should be able to know the times that they would order their food, the food types that they would like to order and other things related to your business. Having this information would enable you to properly plan how your run your business.

2. Ensuring you offer a complete menu from their favorite restaurants.

The next step would be to ensure that your food delivery service business offers a complete menu guide from their favorite restaurants. By creating a complete menu guide from all these restaurants, would mean that the food that you would be serving to your clients are coming from a list of restaurants you have carefully studied and chosen that offers good food, has good value for its price, and a favorite restaurant chain. You may take an extra effort of getting an initial survey just to make sure your menu guide consists of the best restaurants in your area.

To ensure you make a good impression you must really make a point to serve their food hot and fresh and that their orders arrive on their doorstep without delays. Investing in improving the quality of the service that you provide for your clients would truly help in ensuring that you would be able to maintain an active and continuing customer base.

3. Promoting your business the right way.

Lastly, you should also try to promote your business. No matter how excellent the quality of your food service is, it would be useless if the people are not aware of its existence. You could try traditional fliers, promotions and even online means through email and websites to try and make people more aware of the food delivery service business that you have.

You may need to extend all possible marketing materials and even give out fliers, ref magnets or cards containing your menus.

You also need a restaurant delivery service marketing plan.

4. Getting the right territory.

In setting up your own food delivery business, you must need to make sure that your location is not that small that you would not be getting a decent number of delivery orders. And not that big that you would not be able to handle all orders coming. Picking the right place can be a very crucial factor in setting up your own restaurant delivery service.

5. Start your food delivery service business small.

One good thing about this type of business is that you do not have to start that big. It is even recommended to start your business from small to medium scale. Start with around 3 to 5 restaurants first. If you are starting to get a good customer base, that would be the time to add a few more restaurants on your menu. By testing the waters first, you can ensure that your restaurant delivery service business will keep rolling slowly but smoothly.

Of course, these five are merely basic steps, you should always try to find more ways on improving your business to be able to ensure its success.

For more information and to get your free report on how to ensure the success of your food delivery service business, visit http://www.dine-in-delivery.com/dine-in-delivery-free-report/.

About the Author:

Joe McVoy is the VP for Marketing of Dine-In Delivery Inc. For more information about starting your own Restaurant Delivery Service, visit Dine In Delivery. Dine-in Delivery provides you with a proven system and shares with you years of experience and expertise to help you set up your own restaurant delivery service business.