by Kelli | Dec 19, 2016 | Business Strategy
With only days left in 2016, there is still time left to create some quick wins in your business! If you act quickly and make a concentrated effort to focus your attention to “on the ground marketing” techniques, you’re sure to get some last-minute deals on the books before the clock strikes midnight!
Follow these tips for some quick successes:
- Focus on low-hanging fruit.
It’s time to pick up the phone and/or send out personal messages to hot and warm leads. I’ve defined both categories below. You should always have a list of these leads.
Hot Leads
These are leads who are in the purchase stage, and are likely to make a purchase with just one more contact from you. To identify your hot leads, make two lists:
- Leads that fit your ideal client profile
- Leads that have shown past interest through discovery calls or free trial downloads
The names that appear on both lists are your hot leads. Reach out and set up a call with them today; they are your likeliest quick wins!
Warm Leads
These are leads that are close to being in the purchase stage. To identify these leads, make the following lists:
- Leads that have downloaded a lead magnet
- Leads that have shown a high level of engagement via social media and e-mail open rates
The names that appear on both lists are your warm leads. To move them to the purchase stage, create compelling content that will further convince them of your value!
- Hold Discovery Calls
One of the most important things that you can do to increase conversions is get your potential customer on the phone. The goal is to listen. Most people get this wrong. They spend more time talking at the customer and outlining their own offers versus actually listening to what the person and needs. You want to ask questions to uncover your potential customers’ pain points. That is, you need to find out what they need and what problems they need solved. Then, you need to convince them that you understand their problem, and ultimately, that you can help them solve it. The potential customer needs to understand what’s in it for them to hire you. How do develop that deep understanding? By using the “5 – Why Method”. Have you ever had a five year old ask you multiple times, “But why?”? They are fully committed to the process of understand. You have to show that same level of interest (just less annoying). So, summon your inner five year old and keep asking WHY until you feel you have reached the right answer.
Uncovering pain points is done through discussions and relationship-building. Pay close attention in your discovery calls to the things your leads say about their goals and needs. Then map your solution to their needs.
- Ask for Referrals
Reaching out to current or past clients to ask for referrals is an excellent way to grow your business. Clients who need your products and services likely know others who need you, too! And there is no better marketing than a referral. It takes so much of the selling pressure off of you as they already have social proof and see you as a potential trusted advisor. You can incentivize referrals by offering your clients discounts, commission, or bonuses.
- Create easy content
Depending on where your prospects are in the buyer journey create a quick piece of content that will move them to the next level. That could be a one-page checklist, a blog or a vlog that will guide them through the funnel. No need to recreate the wheel..you can repurpose old content. Maybe you have 4 cohesive blogs that you can turn into a quick eBook. Take a quick inventory of what you have and see if you can update any of it to re-engage some prospects that may have gone silent at some point. Timing is everything.
The bottom line is to TAKE ACTION…get those prospects on the phone, find some new ready-to-convert leads. Here is a Quick Win Workbook that you can use to work through finding which leads to reach out to.
Need a fairy godmother to help you? Sign up for a Cinderella Session through the end of December.
Want 2017 to be your breakout year? Join the 2017 Mentorship Mastermind.
by Kelli | Nov 22, 2016 | Business Strategy, Entrepreneurial Lifestyle
It’s hard to believe that 2016 is almost over. For most people, these last few weeks of the year are filled (for better or for worse) with holiday preparations and family relations. As a business owner, though, it’s also time to prepare your 2017 strategic plan. Don’t worry; it doesn’t have to be as stressful as the holidays themselves, especially if you include joining a mastermind group as part of your plan.
A mastermind group is a form of peer-to-peer mentoring where group members share their particular knowledge and advice to other group members who would like some help. Its benefits are many, but here are a few of the best:
- Experienced Mentors. Mastermind groups let you meet up with entrepreneurs who have been exactly where you are now. They faced the same problems you face now and successfully overcame them and will have tips and advice to help you do the same.
- An Exclusive Community. Great mastermind groups limit their size number so they can better focus on everyone getting the help they need. Made up of diverse-minded people, they are a great resource to tap into without getting overwhelmed or simply annoyed.
- Collaboration. Moving your business forward often includes strategic collaborations. A mastermind group helps you easily find those fellow entrepreneurs that will be mutually beneficial to work with.
- Girl Power! Female business owners have their own (awesome) business sense that really sets them apart. Get a group of them working together and the creative power is unstoppable.
- Personal Development. Not just a source of great advice, mastermind groups also help you learn new skills to grow as an individual. Many groups also have opportunities for outside training.
- Resources. When you need to seek outside resources (i.e. a graphic designer), mastermind groups save you time and trouble. In other words, instead of starting from scratch and searching on your own, you can safely rely on recommendations from your trusted colleagues.
2017 will be here soon, but you don’t have to face it alone. Facing it as part of a mastermind group is not just great strategic planning, but a fabulous way to grow your business as well as your personal self.
I have teamed up with Jamie Palmer of Outlier Marketing Group and we have created a Mentorship Mastermind called Modern Female Entrepreneurs. It is a six month Mentorship program. In addition to the benefits of a traditional Mastermind Group, MFE will offer the following:
- Two-hour content creation calls each month (in addition to the weekly calls)
- Monthly training webinars with highly profile women business owners already killing it in their area of expertise.
- Two-day LIVE retreat in Boston, Ma (travel and hotel not included)
Fast Action Bonuses
First 10 registrants receive:
- 10 Hours of technical support (website creation, sales pages, course creation) (Value: $1,000)
- 90 – minute 1:1 private coaching session ($500)
Sound awesome? It is!
Click below to learn more.
by Kelli | Nov 13, 2016 | Business Strategy
Effective Elements of a High Converting Sales Page
It’s no small feat to get people to look at your website, as many a business owner will tell you. And when the ultimate goal of your website is to turn viewers into paying customers, all the hard work you put into attracting visitors will be for nothing without a great high converting sales page. Converting a skeptical viewer with a short attention span into a long-standing customer takes exceptional effort, but it can be done by using some proven key tactics.
Go for elegant simplicity. A hideous website isn’t going to sell your product–and an overly-designed one won’t, either. The same is true for sales pages. It’s important to keep things simple so that your viewers don’t get overwhelmed or distracted. Potential customers often make snap judgements about your business based on what they see within the first few seconds, so stick to the basics with a clean layout.
Hit ‘em with a headline; back it up with benefits. Your sales page headline is the first thing your viewers will see, so make an impact! An ideal headline should grab attention and prepare the reader for what’s next–a concise, targeted list of your product’s benefits. The eye-catching headline and the product’s selling points support each other to convince viewers to make a final purchase.
Use a clear call to action. People are often skeptical about clicking virtual buttons when they aren’t sure where they will lead. To clear up confusion and increase conversion, tell your customers precisely what will happen when they make an action. For example, instead of simply stating “Buy Now” with a button to click on, state exactly what it is the customer will be buying when they follow instructions. Making these buttons clear is every bit as important as making them stand out.
Be trustworthy. It never hurts to show that your company is made up of real, good-intentioned people behind the screen–and that other people have trusted your services in the past. To boost your credibility, include a section on your site for customer testimonials or reviews so viewers can browse what other people think about your business. Another great thing to add are third-party verifications, or logos of other businesses that recommend your business and use your product. Lastly, be sure to use security seals and advertise that consumers’ personal info will be protected on your site.
The end result of a good sales page is definitely, well, sales, but those sales can’t happen without first creating a great rapport with your potential customers. By keeping things simple and 100% transparent for your potential (and current) customers, you can cut through the noise and help guide people through the sales funnel more efficiently.
by Kelli | Nov 6, 2016 | Business Strategy
In today’s business world, capturing consumer attention via engaging content (newsletters, blog subscriptions, or advertising) is a priceless tool to help you close sales. But, as you can imagine, getting website visitors to volunteer their contact information in order to send them that content is tough. Today’s consumers are wary of giving our their information–and for good reason. We have all had the experience of opening up our email inbox or physical mail box, only to find it crammed full of unsolicited spam from companies we have no interest in.
So, in order to grow your mailing list, you need to make sure that you are creating irresistible opt-ins. Here’s how to do it.
- Know Your Ideal Client
There is no point in having a big following if no one is engaged or interested enough to click on your call to actions. Before you set up your mailing list or ask people to subscribe, know exactly who you want to market to. Then, tailor your communications to meet the specific wants and needs of that population. The entire purpose of a mailing list or a growing social media following is to help you cultivate relationships that ultimately benefit your company, so make sure you are focusing your efforts on building rapport with the right people.
- Give a Winning First Impression
Make sure that your communications are high-quality; they should be error-free, eye-catching (but not too visually distracting), and should ideally offer something the consumer wants. Use your opt-in to give a great first impression of your professionalism and high-quality communications that customers can expect from you. Show that you value the opportunity to reach out to your subscriber base and that you won’t waste it with amateur content or low effort. Always provide value. I give a lot of valuable content away for free that most people would charge for. I do that because I always want my potential client base to walk away with an experience that actually helps them to move the needle on their business. It gives them the confidence that when they ultimately hire me, they will be receiving top notch service and a positive return on their investment.
- Cut the Sales-y Jargon
People can smell desperation and sales-y language from a mile away, so it’s important to keep your opt-in messaging authentic and low-pressure. Clearly, succinctly and conversationally lay out what your customers can expect to receive from you when they hand over their information. Additionally, put potential customers at ease by letting them know that you won’t give out their personal details to anyone else. Your messaging has to address their pain. If it doesn’t, they aren’t going to take the next step. You should focus on how you will address their pain and the value that means to them. Don’t expect people to hit the “buy now” button right away. They need to be nurtured through the sales journey. You can learn more about lead nurturing strategies here.
- Create Unique, Valuable Content
Can you distinguish your content from your competitors’? If not, your customers can’t, either. Stand out from the crowd by making sure you are offering something special — something they can’t find anywhere else. Nobody wants to trade their personal contact information for content they can find for free on another site, or for information that is not truly engaging, useful or actionable. What about your angle or voice sets you apart from the rest? What kind of articles, blogs, white papers, PDFs, or infographics can you create that will add value for your potential customer? To make your offer irresistible, make sure that your opt-in page promises unique, interesting content in exchange for their email address–and that you truly deliver on that promise.
Crafting a truly effective opt-in can be a tough nut to crack. As with any marketing efforts, try out multiple opt-in messages and validate them with A/B testing, using the above tips as a guide. Good luck, and happy info-gathering!
If you need some help creating your own opt-in, I’m holding a workshop on How To Create Your PDF Ebook And Attract Your Ideal Client. Click on the image below for details.
by Kelli | Oct 4, 2016 | Business Strategy
Every business, regardless of which industry it is in, wants to be successful and achieve its annual goals. As the holiday season and the end of the business year approaches it can be easy to run out of steam. Ending the year with less-than-satisfactory stats is damaging to the current year’s profits, as well as negatively affecting the climate for the imminent new year. Consider these three tips to grow your business considerably in the next 90 days. End your 2016 strong and set yourself up for success in 2017!
- Pursue Your Hottest Leads
Wasting time with ice-cold leads can bring productivity to a stand-still. Start pursuing your hottest leads first. Existing, satisfied customers are a great place to start. Reaching out to past clients not only makes it more likely that you will maintain the original client for future product and service sales, but they will offer word-of-mouth advertising for your company, potentially referring new customers to seek you out. Offering an existing customer a referral reward or commission of some kind is a perfect incentive tool.
- Streamline Content
Plan out any and all remaining content for your business for the rest of the current year, such as blog posts, email newsletters, and podcasts. Keeping your eye out for any content that can be effectively recycled is ideal to save time. Content creation is a wonderful opportunity for setting your business up for collaborations that can boost your business as well. Invite guest bloggers to write for you or facilitate shared services that both companies can partner on.
- Social Media Marketing
Social media presence is paramount for marketing and therefore, for business growth. Map out all social media content for the next three months. Consider the upcoming holidays, important events, culturally days of significance and assign posts that will coincide with them. Engaging large groups of your audience where they are spending their time is quick, efficient, and cost-effective.
Get Your Copy Of The 90 Day Business Breakthrough Guide
by Kelli | Sep 25, 2016 | Business Strategy
Do you know that feeling of getting your first client? It’s one of the best feelings there is. Getting your first client not only validates your business idea, it also validates you as a professional.
Getting your first client also means that you are on your way to getting your second client. And that means you can get hundreds of clients. For most of us, getting that first client is really, really challenging. And the harder we try, the more frustrated we become.
Don’t worry if you don’t even have a website yet. I landed my first few clients before my website was even finished. There is a great benefit to landing clients first as this will help you to outsource pieces of your website creation.
If you’d like some help in getting your first client, take a look at the three tips below:
Fall backwards into your first client
Many people get their first paying client by falling backwards into a situation. For example, perhaps you love to create videos. As you create more and more videos, your friends come to you with questions on how to produce and edit them. Then a local business owner asks you to help him create videos. Boom! Now you have your first paying customer!
So the formula can be applied to you, right now, at this very moment. Look at your interests, begin helping others, and then find the intersection of where those two meet. That’s where you can begin to advertise your services as a professional.
Be helpful
Always look for areas where you can be helpful and provide value. People will smell the desperation from a mile away if you first approach them with an offer to purchase from you. Build up your credibility in Facebook Groups by answering questions and when it’s needed, by providing good feedback. Once others see your skills and your willingness to help, you can make the natural transition of turning them into your paid customers.
Call friends and prospects, BUT…
Instead of asking for work, make them a partner in your first client search. An example would be to send an email that says, “Hey Valerie, I have something really neat going on and would like your assistance. Who do you know that may benefit from (insert service) that would really enjoy working with someone would could really wow them?” When you use this technique, you’re being positive, providing value, and including them as a helpful partner in your search.
By using these three techniques, you can eliminate frustration. You’ll get your first paid client quickly and before you realize it, you’ll be rolling ahead with your business.
Please contact me for more business strategies that you can implement to get your business going in the right direction.
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