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How to Generate Leads and Sales

September 7, 2011 by 4 Comments

What is marketing? Marketing is about sharing value with new and existing customers. It’s not about being pushy or manipulating potential customers into purchasing your products and or services. Its’ not about treating people as if they’re cats; waving sparkly, razzle dazzle marketing campaigns in front of them won’t work. They’ll see through the ‘smoke and mirrors’ and walk on. Follow the strategies below to generate fruitful leads and sales.

10 Lead and Sale Generation Strategies

1. Partnerships. Form partnerships with ‘like-minded’ business owners that have the same target market as you do. There’s strength in numbers! You could combine resources and opportunities. Hold events and maximize your expertise. You can grow your business by strategically working with others.

2. Speaking engagements. Most people would rather have root canal than speak in front of an audience. But it will pay for you to get over your fear of public speaking. Speaking allows an audience to experience your passion first-hand; they’ll be able to see and get a ‘feel’ for you. They’ll be able to assess your sincerity and knowledge. People like and feel comfortable working with people they know. More importantly, the best form of advertising is word-of-mouth. All it takes is one person to tell someone else about you and before you know it, the word will spread that you’re an expert in your field.

3.  Content writing. This includes article and blog writing; eBooks, newsletters, press releases and other writings. Provide unique and timely content to your target market. Build relationships with your target audience by providing relevant and useful tips, tricks, tutorials, newsletters, eBooks, etc. Customers and potential customers should be able to implement your information straightaway.

4. Networking. Attend various networking events and get to know people in your field or those who compliment your business. Build relationships and ask, “What can I do for you? How may I help?” You’ll be surprised by the reaction you receive.

5. Link exchanges. This is a great way to increase your visibility. Make sure you exchange links with those who complement or match your target audience.

6. Referrals. Ask current clients/customers for referrals. Most business owners don’t like to ask for referrals; however, it’s in your best interest to ask for them. Let’s face it; if your customers are happy with you and your products/services, why wouldn’t they want to refer you?

7. Social media. Focus on two to three social networks and stick with them. The top three are Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. However, you may find that Tumblr, StumbleUpon, Bebo, Flickr, Digg or another network works better for you and your business. Keep your ‘target audience’ in mind when you utilize social network sites. For example, did you know that 72% of Facebook users are ages 25-54? If your target audience is teenagers, they may prefer Tumblr to Facebook because their parents want to ‘friend’ them on Facebook and they don’t like that.

8. Teleseminars and webinars. If you decide to conduct a teleseminar or webinar, please provide attendees with substantial information, not 60-90 minutes of a fluff and sales. I’m speaking from experience. I’ve attended many, many teleseminars and webinars and thought, “I wasted 60-90 minutes of my time for this; I didn’t learn anything. Why did I sign up? What was I thinking? I was hooked, line and sinker. I’m not the target market. This was nothing but a ‘sales’ fest.”  Potential customers will be turned off if your teleseminars and or webinars are nothing but a sales promotion.

9. Direct mail. If you’re new to an area, introduce yourself to local businesses. They won’t know about you unless you tell them you’re available to solve their problem. You may consider holding a promotion that’s specifically for the businesses in your area.

10. Podcast and or video series. Have you ever wanted a career in radio or television? Creating a podcast (you could use Blog Talk Radio) or video series could do wonders for you and your business. You can use programs such as Audacity to quickly and smoothly create valuable podcasts. You’re probably familiar with YouTube. Keep podcasts under 15 minutes; videos between 5-10 minutes. Some people want to get the most out of a podcast/video in the shortest amount of time. If you’re podcast or video is too long, you may lose customers.

Rebecca

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Filed Under: Freelance Writers, Freelance Writing, Networking, Overcoming Obstacles, Social Media, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

What Doesn’t Attract Clients and Customers

September 2, 2011 by Leave a Comment

This is a reprint from Barb Wade, M.A. who specializes in teaching Coaches to create thriving, 6-figure practices in under 20 hours a week!  For a FREE “How To Get Clients” BUSINESS BREAKTHROUGH KIT just for Coaches, visit BarbWade.com today and tomorrow gain new clients and customers.

Please note: Even though this post is targeted to coaches, every business owner needs to market their business. Remember, “You’re in business to solve a problem and market your business.” If your web content, blog posts, articles, newsletters, marketing materials, etc. aren’t working, perhaps it’s time to evaluate your target market and analyze if you’re targeting the right market. You may need to ‘tweak’ your market, even if it means losing Twitter followers, Facebook fans, etc. Think about the long-run versus the short run.

Some coaches just don’t like marketing. They don’t like to promote themselves and they may even find it distasteful! In fact, until I learned that marketing was nothing more than letting others know how I could help them with their biggest problems, I thought marketing was a “necessary evil” at best.

On the other hand, there are some coaches and entrepreneurs who have no problem with marketing – or so it seems. BUT they use it as an excuse for not moving forward or to “hide out.”

Do you know what I mean? It’s the endlessly tinkering with your website.

Or taking forever to craft your “elevator pitch,” and then never actually using it!

Or spending tons of time, energy, and money getting just the right logo… or business card… or… well, you get the idea.

Of course, doing this comes from good honest intentions. Those things do help support spreading the word about your services. But it’s all too easy to get stuck in an endless loop of tweaking and fiddling with the minutia.

The truth is, doing so can actually keep you from getting clients!

Here’s the big news: your clients aren’t attracted to your coaching practice because of your business card, logo, website, or any other collateral. Even if they are really beautiful and elegant and “cutting edge.”

Yes, those things can help get your potential client’s attention, but that’s not what holds them or compels them to come back.

Ultimately, your clients will respond to the connection you create with them. Those people that you are meant to help will resonate with your authentic and unique brilliance. It is you being willing to share your experience and expertise – in the way that only you can – that makes an impression on people.

Your clients want to be seen, acknowledged, heard, understood and helped by you. And the more they get to know the real you, the more they will want to continue to work with you.

This is the concept behind the “Know, Like, Trust” factor you may have heard of. It works like this. First, your potential clients hear about you somehow – on the Internet, at a live event, on a tele-seminar, etc. And the more they get to know you, they more they begin to “like” you (note: this is not a popularity contest. Instead think of “like” as “appreciate” or “value”) And the more they like you, they more they begin to trust you as a teacher, advisor and friend.

And what I have found is that when you cultivate that kind of connection with your market, it actually accelerates your ability to attract clients and it makes your work so much more joyful!

So, if you find yourself spending too much time “crossing all the T’s and dotting all the I’s,” try adopting this mantra that was taught to me by one of my mentors: “Completion Not Perfection.”

Get into action and get it done – perfection is highly over-rated!

Barb Wade, M.A. who specializes in teaching Coaches to create thriving, 6-figure practices in under 20 hours a week!  For a FREE “How To Get Clients” BUSINESS BREAKTHROUGH KIT just for Coaches, visit BarbWade.com today and tomorrow gain new clients and customers.

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7 Benefits of Hiring a Ghost Writer

August 29, 2011 by 3 Comments
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Let’s face it; some people don’t enjoy the art of writing as much as others do. Some find writing to be a tedious and time consuming process; they’d rather be golfing. Hiring a ghost writer could work for you because you hire a person who loves to write. Most writers (me) find writing to be second nature — it’s like breathing. If you have an idea for a book or eBook, consider hiring a ghost writer today. Tomorrow, you could be selling and earning income on Amazon.com

Benefits of hiring a ghost writer

1. The pressure if off of you to write and produce a book.

2. You’re able to spend time on other things such as setting up a website/blog, social media sites, email campaigns, etc. However, a ghost write that’s skilled in marketing and social media can assist you with these business endeavors.

3. You receive a well written book or eBook.

4. You take all the credit. However, some ghost writers are given credit because they’ve worked with a client numerous times. It’s important to work with a ghost write that’s checked their ‘ego’ at the door.

5. A ghost writer loves to write and will probably finish your book ahead of the scheduled deadline.

6. A ghost writer understands the importance of marketability and can give you objective feedback on your book’s subject matter.

7. Hiring a ghost writer means you don’t have to through the process alone. Perhaps you considered writing the book yourself but didn’t want to work alone; the writer’s life isn’t for you. However, working with a ghost writer may inspire you to co-author your next book. It could happen.

When you hire a ghost writer, it can feel as if a burden or weight has been lifted off of you. Your time can be spent on the business side, i.e., developing your web presence, scheduling interviews and speaking engagements, building a social media platform, connecting with the ‘right’ people, etc. You don’t have to worry about your book because it’s in good hands with your ghost writer. You can now breathe a ‘sigh’ of relief.

Rebecca

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The Secret to Twitter Retweets … Choose Characters Wisely

August 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment
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Question: I’d like to increase the amount of ‘retweets’ on my Twitter stream. What can I do? I adhere to the 140 characters or less. This can be tricky because Facebook allows 420 characters. I receive some ‘retweets’ but not many. Help!

Answer: Forget about tweeting 140 characters … Tweet 100 characters!

Remember, Twitter is about content and Facebook is about developing relationships. If you provide great content along with cleverly written ‘tweets,’ you’ll see an increase in the amount of retweets you receive. However, it’s best to post a tweet that’s 100 characters or less. This leaves 40 characters and allows another person the opportunity to add verbiage to your tweet such as, “Read this now; Check this out; and Visit this link.” It allows followers to provide their input to the conversation. On the flip side, if you’re ‘tweet’ is too long, followers may have to edit it. They may not want to spend time editing your tweet. They’ll find something else to retweet.

How to write the perfect tweet that gets retweeted

1. Write eye-catching tweets that will be retweeted. Put your ‘reporter’ hat on and think about the story. Remember the importance of who, what, where, when, how, and why. Peruse newspaper headlines to get a ‘sense’ of how readers are ‘hooked’ into reading a story.

2. Share valuable content.

3. Stay under 140 characters.

4. Shorten the URL before you post it. FYI: Twitter is now shortening links.

Tip: It’s important to write attention-grabbing and concise tweets. Of course, you may not have enough time to spend on social media management. You can hire a freelance writer to manage your social media sites. Communication is their business.

Before you post a tweet read and reread it. Is it eye-catching? What makes the ‘tweet’ unique? How informative and pertinent is the content? More importantly, is it 140 characters or less? If you’re tweet is 140 characters, revise it. Edit it until it’s 100 characters or less. Once you develop this habit, you’ll never go back to using 140 characters. Before you know it, your tweets will be retweeted. Go forth and tweet!

Rebecca

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Freelance Writing Clients Build Websites on a Budget

August 19, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Clients and potential freelance writing clients often ask me, “Are you a web designer?” Some clients have viewed my resume and noticed my graphic design experience. They automatically link this to web design — they do go hand-in-hand. I’m interested in web design; however, I’m waiting for the day when web coding becomes more streamlined. Until that day, I’ll do-it-myself the best I can or hire a web designer.

If you’re a freelance writer with a graphic design background, tell clients they could build their websites on a budget. Most companies use WordPress which is a user-friendly content management system that’s easy to customize. You don’t have to get fancy (advise against it) with a website. Keep it clean and user friendly, offer unique and informative content (hire a freelance writer), and enjoy the web traffic.

How freelance writing clients build websites on a budget

1. Sign up with Weebly.com. Offers a ‘drag and drop’ platform, making it easy for you to customize your website. Weebly is free; however, you can purchase a domain through Weebly (uses Registrar.com) or transfer a domain. Weebly offers over 100 templates which can be customized to fit your needs. You can add media such as audio, video, and graphics; create a photo gallery. You can also create a ‘customized’ contact form specifically tailored towards your target audience.

2. Hola! Actually, it’s Yola. Choose a free plan or purchase one from $99 to $499 per year. Yola offers customers over 100 themes which can be customized to suit your business needs. Features include premium styles, site hosting, and analysis. Both plans include advertising credits for Facebook and GoogleAdWords. The $499 per year plan includes a consultation with a professional web designer.

3. It’s hip to be square with Squarespace. College kids created this platform in 2004 from their dorm room. Go figure! Squarespace costs $12 to $36 per month and includes hosting, a content management system, design tools, widgets, and add-ons; you can use your own domain. The Business Plan ($36/month) includes priority support, unlimited bandwidth, pages, and storage; management staff, and access to features such as FAQs, SSL, form builders, and member registration.

4. Snap to it with SnapPages. Like Weebly.com, SnapPages is a ‘drag and drop’ website platform. Choose a free plan (doesn’t include the use of your own domain) or the Developer plan at $30 per month. The latter includes features such as premium themes, 10 GB of storage space, use of your own domain, CSS control, project management tools, SEO settings, and much more.

5. Buildor Pro or BuildorLite. Obviously, the ‘pro’ has more features than the ‘lite’ version of Buildor; offers a 50-day free trial. Most website development companies have a 10-day or 30-day trial period. You build and design your website ‘in the cloud’ as opposed to a WYSIWYG environment. BuildorPro costs $10 per month and is billed through PayPal. BuildorLite is free. It may be helpful if you have an ‘intermediate or advanced’ knowledge of web coding.

Building a website doesn’t have to be a lengthy process. With the ‘click of a button,’ you can have a professional looking websites that attracts customers. Don’t overload your website with graphics and multimedia because it will look cluttered. Avoid bombarding customers with paid advertisements because this could deter them from visiting your website. If you like DIY projects, consider using one of the above website platforms. The alternative is to hire a web designer. Happy web designing!

Rebecca

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