Sales & Marketing Authority, Bestselling Author & Business Motivational Speaker

I know firsthand that a lot of small business owners are struggling. The economy is heading southward, and politics are seemingly deadlocked yet again. Ye there’s no reason that 2012 shouldn’t be your most productive year ever. The key is simply learning how to effectively tell people how great your business truly is.

All Work, No Play

I personally know a lot of small business owners and freelance contractors out there who are working day and night, producing excellent products and services, but they simply don’t have much to show for it. This is because they are not communicating with clients effectively enough.

There is an ancient Chinese proverb, that “he who rises before the sun 360 days per year cannot fail to make his family rich.” Yet many small business owners are in violation of this proverb, simply because they don’t know how to advertise themselves.

Leverage Social Media

Fortunately, the rise of social media provides small business everywhere with a way to advertise, (almost) totally free of charge. It would be a crime not to take advantage of this opportunity.

Actually putting together a social media campaign goes way beyond the scope of a simple blog post. My purpose here is just to get you started on your way.

If you haven’t already, set up a Twitter account, a Facebook page, get LinkedIn, and create an account on YouTube. Then start engaging. Engage with thought leaders in your industry. Learn from them, and re-share their information.

Then start sharing information of your own. Just remember that the key is looking at things from your customer’s point of view. Only engage them with information that you think will benefit them, and information that you think they will want to re-share.

For instance, don’t just put up a YouTube video that talks about how great your product is. If I wanted to see another dull advertisement, I would turn on the television. Make a video which is humourous, informative, or both. Maybe mention your product briefly, maybe just use it to promote you name. But definitely don’t just upload 5 minutes of satisfied customers talking about your product.

The best thing about social media is that fakers get weeded out fairly quickly. When you are communicating with your customers on a daily basis, it is much more difficult to pretend that you know what you’re talking about.

On the other hand, though, if you’re confident that you provide the best service in your industry, then a social media marketing campaign will make this shine through, and new customers will come flocking to you.

Happy marketing!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert - Motivational Speaker 

At this point in the year, many businesses have already spent the bulk of their marketing budgets.  However, if you have a little bit left to spend, you should consider a flyer campaign.  Every advertising method has different benefits, but when you are looking at cost versus return a flyer is a great way to continue your advertising efforts with very little expenditure.  They are inexpensive to design and print, and they are easy to get out to the general public.  A flyer can make the difference between meeting your sales goals and missing them by five per cent or so.  They may not have the market penetration of television or radio advertising, but they are certainly a great option for local consumers that would not otherwise consider your store.

How to Design a Flyer

The largest part of making a flyer campaign successful lies in the layout and design of the flyer.  A flyer is very limited in scope and must be targeted specifically to make it a worthwhile advertising effort.  You only have one page to convince people to come through the doors at your store.  This means that you must show off sale prices, incorporate visual interest and demonstrate your expertise, all with the minimum amount of text.  A flyer that is a block of text will not have the same impact on consumers as one that uses pictures to convey concepts.  In order to be successful, a flyer must generate interest, which means that it must be eye catching. When designing your flyer you must:

• Use images where ever possible.  Images convey much more than words, and draw attention.  A thoughtfully chosen image can convey as much as pages of writing.
• Consider colour.  Colour printing is more expensive, but it is also more effective.  A nice glossy sheet is much more appealing than a print in black and white.  The extra expense may or may not be out of your price range, but if you can afford it, colour is an excellent choice.
• Do not give everything away.  A flyer should be designed to draw interest rather than explain everything about your store.  Only provide enough information to pique their interest and lure them in the door, do not give them all of the details up front.

Distributing Flyers

Once you have your flyers, distribution is the next step.  They do not do you any good sitting in a stack.  There are several options with flyer distribution.  You can have employees hand them out on busy street corners and leave them at local coffee shops.  You will need to carefully monitor the number of employee hours you set aside for distribution, but even a couple of hours can be enough to pass out hundreds, if not thousands, of flyers.

Happy marketing!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert - Motivational Speaker

Cross referrals between two professionals is a solid way to build a larger client base.  Often solicitors will recommend financial planners and financial planners will recommend bankers and so on.  This model for expansion works because each professional maintains their own client base, and also encourages cross referrals, which actually help improve their reputation.  For example, if one of your clients asks you to recommend a business professional, and you provide them with an excellent referral, then their trust in your ability increases.  LinkedIn is the best way to build a cross referral network online.

Using LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the social media site for the networking professional.  The site focuses on recruiting only professionals, and only those that are looking to build additional business connections.  On LinkedIn you build a network of different providers that you can go to for different things.  Building a broad network that can allow you to help anyone that asks for a referral can be difficult, but it is worth the challenge.

How Network Building Works

The first step to building a big network of disparate professionals is to ask everyone you know to join.  Instead of simply pulling from your email address, contact anyone with which you do business and ask them to join your group of affiliate clients.  Many will do so as long as you include a brief reminder about how or where the two of you met.  By continuing to pursue new additions to your network and asking others to mention your name, you will gradually expand your existing network.  Do not rush this process, quality connections are worth much more than quantity. Once you have an expansive network, it is time to start leveraging it to bring in more clients.

How Cross Referrals make you Money

In the business world, what goes around definitely comes back around.  Cross referrals work, because the more people you refer to others, the more likely you are to be their go to guy for your services.  For example, if you offer bookkeeping services and recommend the same firm for legal advice to everyone that asks, with the request that they mention your name, eventually, the firm will do the same for you.  After all, if you bring them a lot of business and they do not return the favour, you will simply start recommending a firm that will.  Of course, you will need to be cautious and ensure that any company you refer offers excellent service, because in a way your recommendation is then tied to your reputation.  Only refer the best, to keep people coming back for advice time after time.

Happy marketing!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert - Motivational Speaker

You may be suspicious when someone tells you about a fabulous service or product you can have at absolutely no cost, but with video marketing it is true.  Video marketing is an essential part of any online marketing campaign.  Video is now one of the top search engine results and it is highly preferred by many Internet users.  You can not afford to ignore the potential of video marketing.  However, many business owners are intimidated by the potential cost.  Creating professional video content is expensive, right?  NO! Creating convincing online content does not have to be expensive, and in many cases can be absolutely free.  Below are three ways to obtain quality video content without spending anything.

1. Promote video testimonials.  Many customers are more than happy to write a product review or provide a brief testimonial for your website.  If they are willing to offer a written testimonial, why not a video instead?  Offering incentives to customers that upload video content expressing their satisfaction with a product or service is a great way to get content for your site that really sells the products.  Testimonials from other satisfied customers are more convincing than any amount of advertising.
2. Offer free video hosting.  Allow your audience to contribute videos to your site.  Spend some time viewing user content to ensure it meets quality standards and is on topic, but otherwise let the content come to you.  When you encourage other industry professionals to post videos on your site, you benefit with increased web traffic.
3. Create in-house corporate and/or product videos.  It is easier than ever to make quality videos in-house for online posting.  The only things you need are a video camera, microphone and good lighting.  Clear sound, a defined message and succinct wording will allow you to create a video that works to drive sales.  Complex products and services often sell better when there is a video offering a demonstration or explanation.  Take advantage of the opportunity to give consumers the next best thing to hands on with video.  Keep them short, below two minutes whenever possible, but pack them full of information.

Technological advances and free hosting sites make video marketing a free advertising method that really delivers results.  Internet users are more likely to view video than any other form of online marketing.  Do not wait to take advantage of this free advertising method, start implementing the tips listed above and watch as your sales dollars increase in direct proportion to your video use.

Happy marketing!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert - Motivational Speaker