Beth Devine, Author at Web Savvy Marketers

This Week’s Adventures

January 20, 2012 by Beth Devine Leave a Comment

It’s been a week filled with exciting adventures! On Monday, I went to CCAT in East Hartford. I know, it doesn’t get better than a trip to East Hartford. But, the cool thing about my trip was that I met with other members of the Outreach Committee for CT Dream It Do It! For more information about the organization, go to ctdreamitdoit.com.

Next it was off to South Windsor. I tell ya, these long drives really wreak havoc on my vehicle! There I met with the board of the CT Women’s Alliance to plan the annual conference. Carolyn is on the board and they do amazing things. Check out ctwomensalliance.com for more information about the organization and the upcoming conference in March.

Finally, today I was off to Glastonbury. There I attended the B.I.G. meeting. Very few us like to refer to ourselves as BIG women, but it’s okay when you know it stands for Believe, Inspire, Grow. I was definitely inspired today and left with a renewed focus on the business. For more information about BIG go to http://www.justthinkbig.us/event/id/138842/B.I.G.-Introduction-in-Glastonbury-CT.htm

So, between my adventures above, sales calls, projects and dodging snow storms, it’s been an exciting week all around. Please join me next week when I’ll travel all the way to Canaan, CT. All I can say is thank goodness for GPS!

Filed Under: Where in the World is Beth?

When to Launch?

November 18, 2011 by Beth Devine Leave a Comment

We’ve been working with several clients recently who have been reluctant to launch their websites. Most often they will tell you it’s because it’s not done yet. Technically, a website should never be done. You should be constantly adding to the site. Whether it’s using a blog or adding to a press page, the more often you update the site, the more reasons your customers and prospects have to come back to your site. It’s also the best way to improve your search engine ranking.

People tend to view launching their site like it’s going to print. Once it’s up it can’t be changed. When the fact is that it not only can but should be changed. The trend towards content management sites such as Word Press are in response to the need to update frequently.

When deciding to launch ask yourself, Is it better than what’s out there now? If it’s a new site, the sooner you get it launched, the sooner your prospects will be able to find you. It will also get you indexed by the search engines sooner. If it’s a new site, Does it look and function better than the old site? If so, get it launched and add to it later.

A few years back, you would see “page under construction” and know that the site wasn’t complete. This is no longer the practice. If you don’t add a page until it’s ready, no one but you will know the site’s not “done”.

Filed Under: Beth's Posts

Do a Little House Cleaning Before You Invite Guests

October 12, 2011 by Beth Devine Leave a Comment

Most of us wouldn’t invite people into our homes unless it was clean. Well the same can be said for a social media campaign. If you’re planning on a campaign to get fans, communicate to your customers/prospects or announce a special promotion, be sure that all the tools you’re using are up to par.

I recently had a customer who wanted to get more fans on their FaceBook page and then drive them to their website. The problem was that they hadn’t finished creating a FaceBook profile and their site was sorely in need of an update. We worked with them to update these tools before the social media campaign to ensure the impression they wanted to leave was consistent wherever the viewer went.

Here are some pointers when planning your on-line campaign…

Website

Make sure it’s easy to contact you – a phone number up front would be ideal
Provide good content that your “audience” would be interested in
Make sure the navigation is clear and information can be easily found
Use imagery that gives the impression you’re going for – this applies to design and photos
Update, update, update – give people a reason to return to your site

Social Media Page (Facebook, Linked-In, etc.)

Create a company page to separate your personal page from your business
Make sure your page reflects the rest of your branding
Keep communications professional
Don’t sell at people – establish yourself as an expert or give them an incentive to try out your product or service
Update, update, update – give them a reason to become a fan or follower

The bottom line…before you invite people to “like you” make sure there’s something to like.

Filed Under: Beth's Posts, Tools & Tips

Sales for the Non-Sales Person

July 26, 2011 by Beth Devine Leave a Comment

I was recently on a panel discussion called “Sales for the Non-Sales Person”. In preparation for the panel I was asked to come up with my top 5 selling tips. This was a challenge. Although I now embrace the role of sales, this wasn’t always the case and since I’m not a trained sales professional, I wasn’t sure what to say. Especially since my sales style is about as casual as them come.

It was when I embraced my casual selling style that I was able to clearly define what works for me. My top five selling tips are…

1. Don’t make sales calls

If you make a call thinking “I’m going to sell you something”, you’re already sunk. Think of it as an introduction to see how you can help. I changed my calling approach to this a few years ago and was amazed at how much more successful it was. The bottom line is no one wants to be sold to but are always willing to listen to someone who wants to help them out.

2. Research

Make sure you know exactly who will be interested in your product or service and be ready to explain to them why you thought of contacting them specifically. The more knowledge/interest you have in them, the more inclined they’ll be to listening to what you have to say.

3. Follow-Up

It’s imperative to follow-up with the people you’ve spoken with. Even if you call them once every three months, you’ll keep your name in front of them. If your list gets too large for a personal phone call, use social media as a way to contact customers/prospects.

4. Believe in what you’re selling

If you truly believe in your product or service and feel it’s a fantastic solution for your prospects, this will come through when you reach out to them. It’s a matter of viewing each call, visit, communication, etc., as a way to help the person you’re contacting. I know from experience that enthusiasm is contagious. Make sure you have it.

5. Be Yourself

This may be the most important of all the tips. There are many sales strategies that professional sales people use. Make sure the ones you adopt are the ones you’re comfortable with. If you’re uncomfortable making a cold call, the person on the receiving end will sense that. Perhaps networking is more your forte. Know your comfort zones and work within them.

I had to stretch my comfort zone by cold calling to get my business off the ground. For me it was the most efficient way to contact my prospects. I was terrified at the concept but when I think about it, there’s rarely a missed opportunity to speak with a stranger when I’m out in public – was this really so different?

Filed Under: Beth's Posts

Web Savvy Marketers at the CT Business Expo

April 7, 2011 by Beth Devine Leave a Comment

We will be at the CT Business Expo on June 9, 2011. This is an expo that The Hartford Business Journal holds each year. We did a walk through last year and were so impressed that we decided to exhibit this year. Come see us at booth #416. In addition, I’m on an educational panel called “Sales for Non-Sales People”. It’s a 45 minute interactive presentation to be held from 2:30-3:15. As many of you know, I enjoy selling – even the dreaded “cold call”. Stop by and see if we can inspire you to embrace your inner sales person.

Filed Under: Press Releases, Tools & Tips

Social Networking IS Your On-Line Referral

December 27, 2010 by Beth Devine Leave a Comment

I had a meeting last week with a potential client that sells to consumers. We spoke a little about social networking (ie: FaceBook, Linked-In, etc.) He made it very clear that he had no interest in doing anything in that realm. He then went on to tell me a story about a customer that would only purchase his product once they found someone they knew who was using it and happy with it. They had checked the company’s references, and although they were all very good, it wasn’t until they spoke with someone they knew that they decided the product was good for them.

This is an example of social networking, except that it was done over the phone instead of the computer. Now, imagine you could create this kind of referral that would go out to many people instead of just the person on the other end of the phone. That is what social networking can do for you.

Filed Under: Beth's Posts, Marketing

Networking Isn’t a Dirty Word!

December 23, 2010 by Beth Devine Leave a Comment

I remember when I first started my own business and began attending networking events. I was so overwhelmed by the number of people who would tell me that I needed what they had for sale in spite of the fact that they hadn’t taken the time to find out anything about me and what my needs were. On occasion, I would meet someone who would ask me what I did, tell me about their company and talk about a way we could work together. They are the people who I still work with today after several years because we have a relationship.

The same problem occurs with on-line networking. Some people see it as another place to advertise their business. Too often, people use social networking groups to promote their business when they should be building relationships. It’s like any networking group. If people are genuinely interested in helping each other succeed, everyone wins. However, if everyone is just selling at each other, the group won’t last and no one will benefit.

Remember, no matter how you network, be it on-line or in-person, the important thing to remember is that people want to work with and buy from someone they trust and with whom they have a relationship. Approach it any other way and although you might get the initial sale, the chances of retaining the customer are poor.

Filed Under: Beth's Posts, Marketing

Do I really want to be Linked-In to that person?

August 26, 2010 by Beth Devine 2 Comments

For those of you not already Linked-In, this is a fantastic free networking site that is focused on professional networking as opposed to a more social focus such as Facebook. I have found it to be very helpful in keeping up with colleagues and associates. What I find most interesting, though are some of the people requesting that I link-in to them. You know, the people you barely remember meeting that seem to have hundreds of connections on their account.

This leads me to my question, who should I be linked-in to? At first, I was pretty exclusive, only friends and colleagues with whom I have a close professional relationship. Next, I expanded to the people I met at networking events and my best clients. Then I moved on to all prospects I meet. But do I really want to be linked-in to the person I worked with 15 years ago and never cared for?

There are two trains of thought on this. The first is, if you don’t care for the person, would you really want to network to their network as the people in their network could be similar in quality. On the other hand, if that person has a large number of contacts, over 500 in my case, should I link in to them? I don’t really have an answer; it’s just food for thought.

Filed Under: Tools & Tips

If I Build It They Will Come…

January 19, 2010 by Beth Devine Leave a Comment

This is a common misconception about websites. Your website is like a store. If you build a store on a country road and don’t advertise, you’re not going to get much business. Oh sure, you’ll get the occasional passer-by but not much more than that. Similarly, if you create a website and put it on-line, you’ll get the occasional visitor but people won’t be coming in droves.

So how do you get people to your site? A combination of practices will increase the number of visitors. The first, of course is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). I know I’ve mentioned this before (more than once) but it’s essential for driving traffic to your site. The key point here is that SEO is not a one time deal but a continuous process. You need to constantly review your site stats, determine what is and isn’t working and adjust accordingly.

Another method to get people to your site is simply let them know you’re there. When creating a new site, you should send out an announcement. This is something that we did in the 90’s but got away from. For some reason we began to believe that people would magically find us if we uploaded our site. We know this isn’t true, so by all means send out a notice to everyone in your address book once your site is on-line. This is something you should do every time you have a change to your site that the viewers may be interested, which will be every time because why make a change to a site if no one’s going to be interested?!

Finally don’t omit social media! It is probably the single most useful and cost-effective tool available today to spread the word about your business. Tweet about it, mention it on your Facebook page, post a YouTube video, and let everyone in your Linked-in account know about it. Your social media strategy may vary from business to business, but every type of business can use social media to communicate with their client base.

If I Build It They Will Come…But Only If They Know It’s There!

Filed Under: Beth's Posts, Contributors, Marketing, Tools & Tips

How is SEO like a college degree?

December 7, 2009 by Beth Devine Leave a Comment

I know, I know, another blog about Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? Well it’s a hot topic with our clients and often an area of confusion. SEO is simply optimizing a site to ensure that it is found when doing a search on Google, Yahoo or other search engines. Now the term ensure may be too strong because although SEO is important, there’s no magic to guarantee placement. A site that ranks third on the first page on Google one day may be at the bottom of page two the next day due to changes in the way in which the search engine looks at the site. And it may also vary form person to person–but that’s another story.

Although this can be a bit frustrating we do know that there are a few things we can do to make sure a site improves its ranking. First and most important is content–making sure that the keywords used in a search are in the content of a website is essential. The more comprehensive the content of the site, the more likely it will rank well on search engines.

The second way to improve search engine rank is to make sure that the keywords used in a search and in the content are included the meta and title tags . The most important terms should be included in these 2 tags. This is also important because the title and meta description may be what the search results will show and you’ll want to make sure that it correctly conveys your message.

Also important to SEO are incoming links. The more links you have from other sites to yours, the higher you may rank. The key here, however, is QUALITY links. You’ll often see ads to get you 15,000 links. Most of these won’t be applicable to your site and can even hurt your ranking. Quality links would be regional, industry directories, etc.

The bottom line is…SEO is a continuous process. Since search engines constantly update their way of looking at sites, SEO is not a one time fix and although there are no guarantees, it’s not something you can ignore.

How is SEO like a college degree? With a degree you’re not guaranteed to get the good job, but without it, you’re not likely to get it. Similarly, SEO doesn’t guarantee a first place search engine rank, but without it, you’re not likely to be found.

Filed Under: Beth's Posts, Marketing, Tools & Tips Tagged With: search engine optimization, SEO, SERP