Our client had a process that they wanted to show but could not accomplish through straight video. We were able to combine video, photos and 2-D animation to fulfill their need. Adding copy and voice over allowed them to highlight the points and products most pertinent to their customers. Although the piece was created to use at meetings and sales presentations, the addition of music allowed them to use it at trade shows as well. View the presentation
This morning I came across a post offering the top things not to do when optimizing your site for Google search. See “Search engine optimization Elite Review On Google Prime ten NoNo’s” The points are all valid and a well optimized site should follow all the rules if they want to have their site rank as high as possible. The problem I see with many customers is their laser-sharp focus on getting a good search engine rank while neglecting other marketing and possibly even the website itself.
This hyper-focus may have been enhanced by the glut of SEO experts telling people how vital SEO is to their success. But, web site owners would be wise to remember that the only thing good SEO will do is have your site show up in a site search. It’s not a silver bullet to sales. It will only improve the odds or bringing customers to your website. After that it’s up to you and your website to impress potential customers with amazing content–content that’s current, clear, accurate, informative, and attractively designed.
So while you’re reviewing SEO strategies (because I’m not discounting the effectiveness of a well-optimized site at getting people to the door) don’t forget to review your website. The stuff that customer’s actually see is as important as a good SEO strategy. Here’s a brief checklist of things you should be looking at:
Always focus on building a website that benefits your clients and potential clients. If you keep that in mind as you optimize your site and your content you may find that customers are not only finding you, but they’re also buying from you. And that’s really the ultimate goal isn’t it?
Our client was hosting a large event that had more than 30 different presenters. Although each attendee could choose which break-out session they wanted to go to, the client wanted to provide them with information on all the sessions and the presenters. Since the theme was “Going Green” the paper route was not an option. We created an interactive CD that allowed them to view all the information at their leisure. Note: the image used was provided by the client.
The client wanted a presentation that could be used as both a trade show presentation and also as a sales CD. We created an interactive CD with a high-end intro. The CD could be given out on sales calls and at shows. We also provided the client with a show master that would loop the introduction until used to walk a customer/prospect through the rest of the CD. After a minute, if the presentation wasn’t used, it would go back to the looping introduction. View the presentation introduction
It’s 6:49 am and I’ve been scanning my Twitter feed with CNN on the TV in the background.
I use Twitter to primarily follow web designers, application developers and SEO experts, with a small dose of news sources and random other hobbies and interests. By scanning through my Twitter feed I learn of new tools and techniques in my industry.
Here’s what I’ve learned from Twitter:
Here’s what been on TV this morning:
Gadhafi’s dead, Gadhafi’s Dead, Gadhafi’s dead… Jackson’s doc on trial. 7 billionth baby
Who do you follow? What’s in your Twitter feed?
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
Social Media Page (Facebook, Linked-In, etc.)
The bottom line…before you invite people to “like you” make sure there’s something to like.
We worked with the client to create a presentation to be used on a 60” plasma screen. The presentation not only spoke to their many markets but also informed them of the company name change. We chose a combination of Royalty-Free and Client photos to emphasize the copy created. Since their customers produce consumer products, we chose images that reflect those markets. View the presentation.
I imagine when the dementia starts to set in a few years down the road, I’ll just start blithering passwords. It seems everything I do is password related. Email, Twitter, Facebook, online accounts, pin numbers. Sometimes it gets to be too much, and like most people, I occasionally get a little lazy and use a weak password.
Earlier this week, I realized that someone was posting as me on my Twitter account. Unfortunately, instead of posting valuable information, they were posting links to material I didn’t want to promote, so I deleted their posts and changed my password. And hopefully anyone who follows my Twitter account didn’t really think I was promoting get-rich work-at-home schemes. The incident forced me to re-evaluate my password strategy. So now, my passwords are longer and have more *&%^ characters and will be changed more often. Below are some other practices I will follow and recommend.
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…
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
I’ve never thought of myself as a control freak but for most of the past 10 + years I’ve pretty much ran the show as the solopreneur of cgwebhelp. That means I created designs, wrote code, managed web hosting, talked to customers, troubleshot problems, marketed the business, quoted jobs, paid the bills and sent the invoices. But in the last year or so, and especially since partnering with Beth to form Web Savvy Marketers things have changed and I don’t have to do everything anymore. It’s a luxury… and a challenge.
It’s a complete luxury to have partnered with Beth. She freakishly loves to do the stuff I hate to do and hates to do the stuff I like to do. She loves to make sales calls! Who loves to do that? She likes to write quotes. What’s that about? She’s also nicer to the customers than I am. That should be good for business. I like to write code and troubleshoot problems…Beth, not so much. It’s a business marriage made in heaven.
In fact, partnering with Beth has created the need for us to bring on more help in order for us to keep up with the workload. Quite the feat in these questionable times.
I’m now delegating the technical stuff–my stuff–the designing and coding. Therein lies the challenge. I find myself hesitating to delegate the choice technical jobs to our able assistants and sub-contractors. Will I lose my identity? Maybe they won’t need me anymore? Wow, sounds kind of insecure.
My friend Henry brought up the book The E-Myth Revisited recently. For those of you unfamiliar with the book it’s about how most people who start small businesses, start from the area of their technical expertise. They’re good at baking pies, carpentry, or building websites, but they have no concept of running a business. So eventually they wear themselves out by trying to be the technician while running the business. I realized that I, like most small businesses, came from a place of technical expertise. I liked building websites. So I started a website business.
Fortunately, I really do like running the business as much as building the websites, so I’ve done alright. But there comes a point in time where there are only so many hours in a day. Delegation has to happen if you want the business to grow. So although I occasionally have trouble letting go of the technical stuff, I know that I must override my technician’s insecurities and let go, move forward and delegate. And I’ve found that when I let go and delegate…the job might be done better that I would have done it! Isn’t that great?
So while David writes code and sets up websites; while Iris updates websites; while Henry programs web applications; while Jonathan and Sue design; and while Nancy writes copy, Beth and I get to create a business. And fish. It’s a wonderful life.
In June, the team made it possible for me to take a leisurely fishing trip. Thank you Beth, Iris, Nancy, Sue, David, Henry, Jonathan and to everyone else who made it possible!