Sales & Marketing Consultant, Bestselling Author & Business 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

Twitter is a great social media site for cross marketing.  By itself, it is not enough to build consumer sales, but when combined with a complete marketing campaign it is a very powerful tool. Twitter offers the immediacy that many people are looking for in today’s constantly linked in society.   The short posting length and the easy access from mobile devices makes Twitter an ideal way to communicate with potential customers throughout the day.  Many business owners may be at a loss regarding what to say.  After all, how many important business facts can you provide in a single day.  Below are five things to keep in mind when composing Tweets.

1. Never go for quantity over quality.  Fewer tweets that provide quality information are much preferred over spamming your feed.  Keep your tweets on point, current and informative to gain a growing network of subscribers.
2. Tweet regularly, not constantly.  It is important to distinguish between regular and constant.  If you are constantly posting new tweets, it is highly doubtful that all of then contain unique and useful content.  Tweet at least once per day, and as often as three or four times a day, but use the minimum number of tweets to post the most current information.
3. Concise is the way to go.  Tweets are designed to me very short, 150 characters or less.  That is often only enough to write a phrase and post a link.  Write out your tweets ahead of time to ensure they will meet the character requirements, and play with the wording.  Try to say as much as you can with as few words as possible.
4. Expert and informative is the tone to take.  Provide valuable industry information to consumers, and they will be back time and again to get your take.  Demonstrate your expertise and maintain a professional tone while doing so.
5. Never fear a bit of controversy.  The really nice thing about social media is that it allows an opportunity to be social with potential customers.  Consumers would normally never have a chance to get to know you personally, rather than the corporate façade.  Allowing people to see you take a stand on issues can generate conversations that will gain you additional followers.

When you tweet, make sure to include plenty of links to other sources.  Post a link to longer articles or blog posts that you have written or a link back to your store.  Twitter can be used to successfully announce new sales or product lines, along with other industry information.  The subjects are endless, so it is usually not a problem to find quality information to post for consumers.

Happy marketing!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert - Motivational Speaker

Social media is the newest marketing trend, and it is not going away any time soon.  Social media has revolutionized the way that people interact in modern society.  For many people, what shows on social media sites is more real than real life.  Relationships have broken up because of a failure to promptly update an online profile.  There are websites devoted to simulating daily life.  This change has opened up entirely new marketing avenues.  Now, marketers and company professionals can interact directly with consumers.  One of the best social media sites for relationship building and conversation is Twitter.

Twitter allows more immediacy, which is the goal of all social media. The small post size and easy mobile access makes this an ideal way to stay connected with your customer base all of the time.   Unlike traditional marketing methods, Twitter requires more interaction and more consistent effort.  With traditional marketing, the campaign would be planned months in advance, launched and then tracked.  With social media, the campaign is an ever flexible piece of interaction.  Below are some great strategies you can use to maximize your Twitter success.

1. Increase your Subscribers – The key to success on Twitter, is the size and quality of your network.  Simply getting huge numbers of followers is not enough.  You need to ensure that your followers are actually interested in the subject matter and industry in which you work or pursue sales.  Uninterested followers do not add real numbers to your network.  Getting quality follower is all about knowing where to look.  Find groups dedicated to your industry, and start interacting with them.  Yahoo Groups, Facebook, blogs and many other social media forums are a great place to start.
2. Be Active – The more active you are online, the more followers you will get.  People will see that you offer value to discussions on subject matters in which they are interested.  This will push them to follow your tweets.  The more value you offer to others, the more likely they are to respect your position as an informational authority and the more they will recommend you and your company to others.
3. Tweet Conversation Starters – When posting in response to other people, you are merely responding to their information.  One of the best things to do using Twitter is generate discussions.  To generate conversation, ask questions, make slightly controversial posts or ask for opinions.

Social media advertising/marketing takes more time committed than any other method, but the results are well worth it.  No other marketing method offers you free access to millions of people and groups with narrow group focuses.  Enjoy all Twitter has to offer, and start tweeting today.

Happy marketing!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert - Motivational Speaker

With Remembrance Day come and gone for another year, it was fantastic to hear that this year’s Poppy Appeal had set a target of raising £40 million for our service men and women who are currently serving abroad, as well as for the veterans of past conflicts and their families.

Last year the appeal raised £36 million but this year organisers are hoping to smash this record by applying some very modern techniques to help boost the Poppy Appeal tradition.

To mark the 90^th anniversary of the Poppy Appeal, the charity has moved full throttle into the modern age of online interaction and are hoping to appeal to younger generations through their involvement with social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.

The Royal British Legion, who are behind the Poppy Appeal, have this year decided to enhance their traditional campaign of selling poppies in places such as big shopping centres and on the streets of our towns and cities, by moving online into the virtual world in an attempt to raise more money and awareness for the cause than ever before.

Supporters can now purchase their poppies online by logging on to the RBL’s interactive forum “Shoulder To Shoulder”, uploading a photo of themselves to the site, purchasing a virtual poppy to pin to their picture and adding a special message to their image. This option seems to have really appealed to the public, as the site has had nearly 18,500 pictures uploaded of people with their virtual poppies to date .

The public can now purchase downloadable Poppy Appeal wallpapers for their computers and add support buttons to their websites which link back to the RBL Poppy Appeal homepage. 

The RBL has also taken their Poppy Appeal into the realm of social media and now have a Facebook page, a Twitter feed and a Youtube channel where supporters can gain to-the-minute updates on the campaign and share and contribute with each other in this online space. The campaign is even fronted by a virtual blogger called Poppy, who is the face of the appeal online and posts regular blog articles to the “Legion Live” forum for supporters to read, share and contribute to. 

With over 11,300 Facebook likes, nearly 12,000 Twitter followers and well over 520,000 views of their videos on Youtube it seems like the campaign has taken on a whole new lease of life. Although official figures for the total amount raised by this year’s Poppy Appeal have yet to be confirmed, it is obvious to see what a huge impact this first outreach via social media and other online platforms has made to the campaign.

It’s great to see such a well-established and long-serving organisation as the RBL looking to more modern and interactive methods to engage with the public and help raise awareness and funds for their cause. Personally, I feel this really shows just how important and influential social media interaction can be when you want to get your message out there and ensure that it is heard on a massive scale. The internet and social media is the way forward, so ensure that you are not missing out on its benefits when it comes to your business’ next big campaign.  

(Image by Paul Simpson)

Happy marketing!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert - Motivational Speaker