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what do you do for business freelancer

Small business lead generating is a big deal over here in our marketing world! We are really good at helping you fill your sales funnel, but if these leads never follow through to a conversion and a sale then it is a wasted effort.

While working with  small business clients, we often hear that they have gotten “no leads”. Huh, that is weird since I see leads coming across the email, in blog comments and as requests for info on Social Media. I think what they are saying is that they have gotten no “sales” or new clients. This can happen because of a breakdown between leads and sales.

Today we are going to look at all the pieces that go in making a successful lead to sales transaction.

What is a sales funnel?

A sales funnel (also known as the sales pipeline) is the term for the process by which we add A LOT of leads into the top of the funnel and sales come out of the bottom, losing some along the way. The parts of the sales funnel can be called a lot of different things including prospects, suspects, and customers; leads, visitors and pre-qualifications.

We are going to look at some of the normal sales-funnelly things, but then we are going to talk specifically about where your process may be failing your conversions. It can be VERY easy to get caught up in the labeling and not look a the practical aspects of going from propects to sales.

The Practical Sales Funnel

Leads – Opportunity

Leads can look like many things. They can be a message sent through Facebook asking about your services, an email info request, a response back to your email newsletter, basically any time someone talks to you about the goods or services that you sell. THE FIRST THING you should do after getting one of these messages is to add this person to your database, CRM (customer relationship management software), or spreadsheet of prospects. Make sure to note what kind of service or product they were interested in.

This is the first step of your sales funnel and just consists of collecting their contact information so that you can communicate with them on an ongoing basis.

Sales Call – Connection

The first time that you contact this prospect (whether it be by email or phone), your goal should be to set an appointment. An appointment for a formal phone call or in-person meeting where you can talk over your offerings at a time that is convenient and when the prospect will be receptive to listening to you.

I think that this should be over the phone as you have not pre-qualified this person enough to know if they are a good fit. Can they afford your product or service? Are they ready to buy within the next 30 days? Have they researched any of your competitors?

These are all vital things to know and you are just wasting time meeting with someone who is not ready, willing and able to buy your product or service.

Follow Up – Timing

I am going to tell you something that you may find shocking. Most prospects do not buy right away, gasp. Honestly, I have asked some of our clients how many times they followed up on a sales lead and they say that they never followed up because the person did not buy after the first contact. This is what we in the business call BURNING LEADS. The prospect raised their hand and said they were interested, but probably did not have enough information to take out their credit card and buy.

You should follow up a phone call with an immediate personal note or email, thanking them for their time. You should then reach out with offers of additional info at least two or three times more over the next couple of weeks (put it in your calendar). After that, make sure they are on your newsletter list so they receive ongoing communications from you, which could remind them why they called you in the first place!

If you are a typical small business owner, you are probably a TERRIBLE salesperson. If this is the case (as it is with me) you are going to need to hire someone to follow up for you. You can pay this person a fixed rate or “spiff” them an amount for each appointment they set for you. DO NOT skimp on this, a good salesman can make you more money than you ever imagined possible!

Conversion – Obstacles

Okay, you have a lead and they want to buy BUT they have not pulled the trigger (ie paid you yet). This is the most frustrating part of the sales process and one you need to look at very closely because it is probably your fault that the sale is not moving forward!

First off, make sure it is VERY easy for your prospect to pay. Just this week we had a lady call and say she had been waiting for us to send her a link for payment. Now I KNOW that we sent that link over a week or so ago, BUT what matters is that we re-send it to her right away while she is paying attention to us.

Another great example about how a process can fall apart is one of my bookkeeping clients. She takes her prospects, sends them to her salesperson to follow up, gets them excited about her services, they say they want to buy and then…NOTHING. In my opinion, the sale is falling apart because she expects them to gather their receipts, bank statements and other financial documents together themselves. To me it feels like, if they could do all that themselves, what would they need her for?!?!?! We suggested that she make a part of her services a two hour, holding-your-hand and getting your documents together startup meeting. This way, she will get the client on board AND she will be losing less of them due to the fact that they are terrible at accounting tasks.

Sale – Persistence

Overall, sales takes persistence and can be absolutely, soul-killingly hard if you are not geared to enjoying being a salesperson. BUT, if you make it a game to see how many people you can move down your small business lead generating sales funnel, removing speed bumps along the way, you WILL make more sales. This in turn will make it much more likely that you will want to do it again and and again! www.marketingartfully.com

Join branding/spiritual business expert Ellen Melko Moore and social media specialist Amber Irwin as we help you create a brand that speaks for itself and a social media structure that allows everyone to talk about you.

Whether you’re just starting a new venture, or considering a renovation/revolution for an existing or established business, this uplifting yet extremely practical series will set you on fire with the knowledge and tools to burn brighter, stronger, and truer than you have ever dared before.

You are about to Become Visionary.

Dates: June 8th, July 13th, and August 10th

Time: 8:30-11am 

What Is a Visionary Brand? 

By its purest definition, a visionary brand is a brand that inspires people to act.  It inspires devotion and communication in its audience, clients, or consumers.  Its customers speak and act and advertise for the brand, spreading the word because they love associating with its power, possibility, heart, or “sexiness.” In some way, large or small, those who participate feel transformed, and they want to share that transformation with others.

If you are part of the “tribe” interacting with a visionary brand, you want to talk about it, to share it, to debate its merits or flaws with others who care about it. You take pleasure in introducing it to the uninitiated.

A visionary brand can be big or small, profit or nonprofit, can be a large corporation or a single person.  Some famous examples of visionary brands that have changed our lives might be Facebook, Starbucks, Tom’s Shoes, Oprah Winfrey, Netflix, and The Susan G. Komen Foundation.

How Does a Brand Become Visionary?

Big brands and big names can inspire us.  But it’s also important to look at the inspiring people and companies all around us.  If you think about it, you can probably identify several visionary brands in your own circle, your own neighborhood.   

 It might be a painting company who donates a free paint job to a neighbor facing foreclosure, a bakery who celebrates Wednesdays with free éclairs, or a friend who rallies a community to serve a returning injured veteran.

It may be an artist whose paintings take our breath away, a computer store whose top priority truly is the customer, or a garage band who collaborates with a tattoo artist to clean up the local skate park.

Whether large or small, traditional or totally unprecedented, commercial or compassionate, an emerging visionary brand compels us to look, to notice, to talk, and to act.  And most importantly, to spend our money!

 And you can bet your boots that with a good strategy of playfulness and perseverance, that brand won’t be a beginner for long.

Build a Killer Brand and Give it a Voice.

So, a visionary brand inspires action, and that inspiration begins with you. 

Are you inspired by your own idea, your own business, your own way of showing up in the world? Are you so excited that you can’t stop talking about what you are doing, learning, selling, experiencing?

 Or is it perhaps time to open the doors of your mind and soul and let some fresh air down the corridor?

Our three part workshop focuses on the three essential ingredients of the visionary brand: the Creators, the Participants, and the Collaborative Process (otherwise known as the brand, the customers, and the sales relationship!)

In each session we will devote equal attention to BOTH the visionary spirit of our brands AND the powerful tools of technology that allow us to share that spirit in unprecedented ways.

Ellen will lead us as we create, pitch, and examine the Inspirational Ingredients of all who play in the sandbox of our brand.   Amber will guide us through the exciting (but often intimidating) waters of Facebook, Twitter, Twello, and Hoot Suite.

Between sessions, we will support and inspire each other in small groups using our new-found social media skills (gaining first-hand experience with innovative email, free conference calls, YouTube, and Blog Talk Radio!)

Our Vision for You.  And our Promise.

 

No matter where you begin, whether as a first-time entrepreneur or a seasoned veteran, by the end of session 3 you will take home:

*a recipe and road map for your own visionary brand, including new pathways for money to come to you

*a support team who believes in your dream

*a tribe that loves to talk about you

*a working knowledge of the most important components of social media and a system for using them powerfully

*a rejuvenated sense of your life’s purpose and a renewed enthusiasm for getting out of bed, even on Mondays

You could pay thousands of dollars and spend hundreds of hours for this coaching and training.  Like many of your friends may be doing.  Just think how jealous they’re going to be when you say you did it in two months for $147! That’s okay, though.  Next time they’ll know where to go to Become Visionary.

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/1597505181

This was a great post from HubSpot.com

Social media and blogs are a key part to any inbound marketing strategy. Here are 6 ways they help grow your business:

  1. Quick to Start. You could launch a Facebook page today or get a blog going in a few days.
  2. Low Cost. You can get started in social media and blogging for very little or no money. They are among the most cost-effective methods of reaching your audience.
  3. Instant Interactivity. Both blogs and social media can give you nearly instant market feedback – good or bad. We get all kinds of feedback through the comments on our blog; people also leave reviews and other comments for us on Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media channels.
  4. It’s the Search Engines, Silly. Surveys indicate that 90% or more of people begin their purchasing process in search engines. Blogs and social media make it more likely that your prospects will find you online when they search.
  5. Inbound Marketing. If you read our blog, you know that we’re big fans of inbound marketing at HubSpot. Outbound marketing is telemarketing, direct mail, cold email blasts (not lovely nurturing emails like this one to you), TV and print ads – all the things that buyers tend to block out more and more.  Social media and blogs are essential inbound marketing tools.
  6. First Mover Advantage. For blogs and social media, there is an advantage to moving first. If you don’t jump into the conversation, your competitors will (if they have not already) and then you’re fighting an uphill battle to become influential in these online conversations. Start now to claim that first-mover advantage.

How are you using social media today? Learn how you can build a successful inbound marketing strategy that combines social media, blogging, lead conversion, and marketing analytics. Get a complimentary Inbound Marketing Assessment from HubSpot.

Have you been holding off including videos in your marketing mix?

If you want to generate more visitors to your web site don’t just rely on written content. Not all people like to read content online. Many are attracted by learning visually. This is why video marketing is so powerful. You now see Google video ads, video newsletters, video sales letters and so on.

Top 7 benefits of video marketing

1. Attract a large audience

Video enables you to capture people who like to watch rather than read. This extends the reach of your content because you can appeal to visual learners.

2. Engages the senses

If a picture is worth a 1000 words, then video does even more because you can create live movies with sound. This engages more senses than written text which only uses one medium.

3. Access at any time

You can view videos with all kinds of devices these days eg ipods, cell phones, laptops, etc. allowing you to access video content anywhere at any time.

4. Achieve top rankings in the search engines

Google recently introduced Universal Search. This means videos now appear in the search results pages. For example if you Google “Mustang” you’ll see video listings of mustang cars on the first page of Google.

5. Become known as an expert in your field

If you consistently create high quality video content that your visitors want and need you will soon become recognized as the expert in your niche.

6. Repurpose content

Convert your written content to video by talking about it in a video clip or creating a slide show then upload it to video sharing sites like YouTube. The beauty of this method is that you don’t have to create fresh content and there’s no need to worry about duplicate written content.

7. Easy to create and publish

All you need is a video camera (or just use a digital camera), windows movie maker software (already on all windows’ computers) and a YouTube account.

Now you have no excuse for not creating your first video then marketing it on YouTube and other video sharing sites. It will take some time to get it right the first time, but with practice you’ll soon be generating more traffic to your web site.

http://www.drostdesigns.com/video-marketing-top-7-benefits/

I can help you with creating videos also, if you do not have a good camera. I do 4 videos for $125, email me if  you are interested yourmarketingvoice@yahoo.com

This Denver Boulder Small Business Marketing Seminar is going to be a HIGHLY interactive, goal oriented session on how to get a laser focused vision for your small business!

The Three Squares are a way to look at what you are trying to achieve for your small business and what you should put your attention on to succeed. We will be going through YOUR business goals, strengths and helping define concrete tasks to do for the coming year!

Small Business Marketing Benefits:

  • Laser focus your tasks so that you know what to do to grow your business
  • Find out to how to (gracefully) tell people what you can and cannot commit to so that your time is your own
  • KNOW, without a doubt, what your company goals are
  • Figure out what your product offerings should be and learn how to sell them effectively

Small Business Marketing Features:

  • Get a 10 page, laminated workbook that you can use to help define your business and stay on track
  • Cost is just $47 (including the workbook!)
  • Learn which marketing ideas will help you grow, and which you are throwing away your money on


please make sure to use your billing address when signing up

When:
February 18, 2011

Where:
Egg & I
8025 Sheridan Blvd
Arvada, CO 80003

Cost:
$47

because of the interactive nature of this class, seating is limited to the first 20 signups

In the age of the internet, marketing has been truly transformed. Social networking and blogging strategies that use search engine optimization (SEO) are the most typical methods of marketing online, but there are other creative ways to market your website or business on the web, including video. YouTube is the web’s top site for streaming user-generated video content, and has been used as a springboard for many successful entrepreneurs and businesses. You can find a video for just about anything on YouTube.

YouTube has viewers from every walk of life; it’s an extremely effective way to get your content seen by a wide array of people. When you do blogging and social media people are just seeing your picture and reading your posts, when you do video people can truly connect with you. Some videos become so popular so fast, they’re more commonly called “going viral”, people who aren’t avid internet users have heard about them. Viral video marketing is a great way to get yourself noticed by a huge amount of people in a very short amount of time. This is great news for any freelancer or business that is looking to get its name out there!

The art of viral marketing is a tough business, and not easy to crack. With a rumored 50,000+ uploads each day to YouTube, it’s difficult to get your video noticed right away. Some videos become viral naturally through great content, and even more still become viral through detailed planning and effort. With the help of blogs, forums, social networks, email, and word of mouth, videos can become viral rather quickly. This is not without work, however.

The benefits of Internet Marketing along with Video Marketing are never ending. Not only will you reach a large amount of diverse people, but your company’s name can become the topic of many conversations overnight. If your video becomes viral, chances are people will discuss it with their friends and family who they think might find it interesting. Thus, viral video marketing is a highly effective way to get your brand name into the world, or keep it there.

With the resulting traffic that is sure to head to your website, your business is sure to grow as people become more acquainted with your products. Fact; I have had over 5 people I have personally done videos for and put up on YouTube and their social media and they have seen results right away. Either it was purchasing of a product, sign up for an event, or new client in the door. You can see how important it is for your business so now I challenge you to start with your video blogs and YouTube channel. It is so much fun trust me! Please let me know if you have questions about videos I would love to assist you in this new journey!

This is my sales pitch! I am looking for businesses who need help managing their social media or would like a 2 hour consultation for $50. Here is a fun video I created with Animoto. Enjoy!

Have you been struggling with goal setting? Or even wanting to know what you REALLY want in your life, both business and professionaly? I ready this book The 7 Rules of Achievement By: Tom Terwilliger and it has changed my life! Check it out, just click on the book below:

The Achievement Bootcamp is a high impact, experiential 2-day training that will have you using the 7 RULES with military like precision to achieve even your most outrageous goals.

Viewing this content requires Silverlight. You can download Silverlight from http://www.silverlight.net/getstarted/silverlight3.

Top 7 Tricks to a Great Presentation:

1) Have an Outline of what you want to talk about

  • List the top 3-5 topics you want to address
  • Have 3 bullet points on each topic
  • Make sure if you are giving stats you mention where they came from.

2) Know how much time you have and rehearse your talk

  • Being respectful of your time shows the group you respect them
  • Leave about 5 minutes at the end for Q&A

3) Know your audience

  • Age, Gender, Types of people (Businesses, moms, singles, etc.)
  • Be able to address ideas to them according to their industry

4) Have good material

  • Create a Power Point if needed
  • Always have handouts
  • Bring a sign-up sheet to collect emails with permission
  • Make sure you spell check everything
  • Have someone else look over your materials to make sure everything flows and sounds right

5) Be CONFIDENT

  • When you are speaking about yourself or a topic you want to show that you have confidence in yourself and your topic.
  • People will judge you and can hinder business opportunities if there is no confidence there

6) HAVE FUN!

  • A presentation needs to be fun and exciting
  • Engage the audience, even if it is 2 people, ask questions, give prizes, be creative
  • Be positive and energetic when speaking, have good posture and MAKE EYE CONTACT WITH EVERYONE

7) Call to Action

  • Have some type of call to action such as visiting your blog or website and enter for a FREE prize
  • Have them sign-up for your mailing list
  • Give a special that ONLY lasts a week
  • Ask if they want to meet with you and do a 1-on-1