How To Build a Small Business – Without Wrecking Your Credit Posted on August 29, 2017October 13, 2022 by Guest Author A guest post by Beth Katz, contributing writer at Credit.com. Every business owner wants their company to succeed and their brand to soar high. But in order to grow and become self-sufficient, it usually takes some additional financial capital. Many business owners may find themselves tempted to commingle their personal and business accounts so that they can access more money – but this is a dangerous path to follow. Keeping your individual and your company finances separate will not only make tax and reporting requirements easier to fulfill, it will also guard against the possibility of any potential business mishaps leading to personal insolvency. Here are several steps you can take to increase the capital you have available without putting yourself at too much risk. Looking for a Loan? Proceed with Caution If you’re thinking about getting financing from an institution, it’s best to proceed slowly and explore all your options before committing. The Small Business Administration offers loans that may be superior to what traditional lenders can provide. Your local credit union may be able to deliver a tailored package and friendly service that puts others to shame. Be wary of business loans that require personal guarantees because this torpedoes the entire purpose of separating your own money from your enterprise’s money in the first place. Any loan you accept will have an ongoing impact on your company’s finances, which is why it pays to do your homework first. Consider Incorporation Many entrepreneurs start up their organizations as sole proprietorships because this is the easiest way to begin, and the initial paperwork comes as a breeze. But as begin to grow your company, it will become more appropriate to incorporate at some point. This will enable you to better keep your work-related and private accounts apart, and it may also confer tax benefits. It might cost a little bit to consult with your lawyer and accountant to set up an S Corp., C Corp., or LLC, but the long-term advantages make it a worthwhile investment in the future of your firm. Let’s say that you want to know how to start an LLC in California, you can expect full guidance as well as a smoother registration process if you tap professional LLC formation services. Deploy Business Lines of Credit Lines of credit allow you to more flexibly manage your obligations and smooth out the variance involved in your weekly or monthly bills. They also serve as a way to build up your business credit history, which will help you in many ways, like allowing you to secure financing at lower rates of interest. Of course, this will only work if you actually pay what you owe in a timely way. Otherwise, your business credit score could actually become worse in addition to your personal credit score if you do not separate the two. Some lines of credit can be called in by the bank at any time for immediate repayment, so don’t go overboard by relying on them too heavily and make sure you have the right startup business credit card. Use Your Financial Roadmap If you don’t know where you’re going and how, you’ll never arrive at your destination. With a well-designed business plan, you can anticipate likely problems and how to deal with them in advance. You won’t have to improvise as much and will be able to think things through beforehand. Similarly, with an accurate budget, you won’t find yourself caught short and having to scramble to meet your expenses. Break your budget down into fixed costs, which you cannot realistically change, and variable costs, which offer opportunities for savings so long as you review your situation regularly. Keep an Eye on Cash Flow Even if your overall prospects appear sunny, it’s critical that you attend to the details of day-to-day cash flow. An inability to meet your regular expenses could scupper your enterprise before it has even really gotten off the ground. In a poll a few years ago, 29 percent of failed startup founders cited inadequate cash reserves as a reason for the demise of their businesses, highlighting the importance of this factor in eventual success. Create an Emergency Fund Even if you prepare a reasonable budget and make thorough plans, like we recommend above, unforeseen events could mean trouble. If you’re spending just as much as you’re taking in, you’re leaving yourself very little margin for error. You can divert a preset percentage of revenues toward an emergency fund that will give you some breathing space when the unexpected occurs. If necessary, cut back on your salary and devote this money to your fund. This may sting a little bit in the short run, but it’s much better than having to put emergency expenses on a high-interest credit card. Choose Cost-Effective Marketing There’s no need to go all out with expensive advertising packages, especially if your company is still on the smaller side. Start off with the basics. Your website might well be the first contact a prospective client has with your organization, so take the time to make it attractive and informative. Email marketing is a tried-and-true method of customer acquisition, and a 2016 report from the Direct Marketing Association found that it has a return on investment of 122 percent. Social media and paid search are a couple of other worthwhile marketing avenues to explore. You can implement all of these strategies with simple, inexpensive tools. Small businesses have it tough – ensure that yours defeats the odds by taking the initiative and precautions necessary to secure both your personal and business finances.\ About the Author Beth Kotz is a contributing writer to Credit.com. She specializes in covering financial advice for female entrepreneurs, college students and recent graduates. She earned a BA in Communications and Media from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, where she continues to live and work.
4 Tips For Creating Effective Marketing Videos Posted on August 28, 2017May 29, 2024 by Jeanna Barrett Viral videos. It’s becoming a trend for brands looking to win in content marketing. This is not surprising, as over 79 percent of senior marketers say video’s role will increase in overall visual content strategies and gets three times the engagement of other content. While going viral should never be the objective of your video marketing campaign, the term itself has really garnered a lot of attention each year as brands like Dollar Shave Club create videos that reach thousands — sometimes millions — of people. But, to produce an effective video, and before you can focus on the outcome of the video, you need to ensure you’re using the right tools. Walk Before You Run After concepting and determining the “big idea” for your brand’s video, think about your next steps before you start recording: scriptwriting and storyboarding. This will give you, your team or your client a graphic representation of how your video will unfold, shot-by-shot. Storyboards can really smooth out the post-production process when it’s time for editing, as well. It also makes recording a snap, so you don’t waste precious budget on multiple video drafts. There are plenty of tools to use to help the process, such as FrameForge or Toon Boom Storyboard Pro. Small Budget? No Problem Don’t discount your iPhone! With the quality of iPhone cameras and editing apps, using your device is becoming a popular choice — even with big brands such as Bentley or Fabletics. Look into cheap help. Contact a college or university and request the services of students or interns with video editing experience. Try screencasting. This inexpensive alternative is a digital recording of computer screen output, also known as a video screen capture, often containing audio narration. Screencasting is commonly used for tutorials, video lessons or SlideShare presentations. DIY video studio on your own. I once worked with a brand who held a video shoot in their office and used the office gym as their recording room. By choosing the location, they were able to set up a backdrop, bring in their own lighting, control their sound and leave their setup as-is until they were completed with the shoot. Online platforms. See below! Which Online Platform Fits Best for Your Video? Twelve years ago, the first video was uploaded to YouTube, and since that day, the video industry as a whole has changed. There are a variety of different video platforms and depending on the type of video you’re trying to produce could impact the format you’re delivering it in. Let’s focus on online video platforms. Online video ads experience a higher click-through rate than any other digital ad formats. Marketers are shifting more and more of their advertising resources towards placing video ads programmatically. YouTube is still the number one video platform and could overtake TV as America’s most watched platform. (It’s also the second biggest search engine next to Google! Wowza) However, because the service has been around for over 10 years, it’s much harder to build a new presence today. YouTube is still largely accessed via desktop, which means HD-sized frame rates and resolutions are a great option. A typical video length is more long-form, ranging from 1 – 4 minutes. Instagram allows the user to post videos that last up to 60 seconds. This avenue lets you build a story and integrate real human connection with your followers. Try varying the perspectives of your shots to make it more enjoyable. Facebook is another avenue for videos — and not just traditional video. It allows users to use video ads, but their videos autoplay in the news feed on both desktop and mobile. This means you have three seconds to convince the user to watch your video. You need to engage people immediately. A few things to note — videos in Facebook’s news feed are designed to be viewed with the sound off. You should spend extra time when creating Facebook videos to ensure they are visually stunning and can be understood without sound. Even consider posting a video with subtitles. Results, Results, Results Don’t just record a video and post it and expect to understand what video format and length works best for your brand. Instead, try using a video analytics tool, such as Wistia. This platform is a professional video hosting platform with analytics and video marketing tools. You can secure your videos, generate leads, improve your SEO and understand your data. Improving your video SEO is very important, and Wistia videos use JSON-LD to ensure your videos rank for pages on your website, not just YouTube. Win-win! With all the different platforms, devices and resources to consider it’s important to remember to keep it all simple. Don’t overcomplicate production. Backgrounds and the way you deliver your information can be simple and consistent once you establish an overall strategy. And finally, don’t focus on the word “viral,” but if you’re lucky, your video just might circle widely around the web!
5 Must-Have Elements For A Valuable Ebook Posted on August 25, 2017June 14, 2018 by Allie Wolff “I barely have time to write blog posts. Now you’re telling me I need to create e-books?” If this is your reaction to the blog title, your frustration is valid. Writing an ebook takes time. Writing a valuable e-book takes time and effort. That said, nothing good ever came easy, and ebooks can do a great deal of good for your business. Authoring an ebook sets you up as an authority within your industry, strengthens your brand and can sometimes evolve into a new revenue stream. Even if you don’t sell your ebooks, they can indirectly bring you new business. Building an email list or phone list is easier when you can offer something as valuable as a free ebook. Prospects are willing to fill out an online form that asks for their job title and email address if they’re getting something useful in return. As a result, you can use the data from these forms to strengthen your buyer persona, segment your email campaigns or reach out to potential customers. Feeling a little more excited about writing that ebook? We thought you might be. But before you rush off to get started, here are a few things to keep in mind while writing your business’s magnum opus. Lead With a Powerful, Active Title Any ebook, especially one produced by a business, has to offer value or there’s no purpose for reading it. The difficulty is conveying that value as quickly as possible to someone who may close the tab. What you need is a powerful title. What’s in a powerful title? Easy. Your title should be descriptive and specific so that it is clear and stands out among internet noise. Let’s use a fictional business owner named Mona as our case study. Mona opens a flower shop called Blossom, and she is particularly interested in becoming the go-to source for flowers at special events in the city, so she decides to publish an ebook that she’ll offer for free in exchange for a reader’s name, email address and phone number. Bad Ebook Title: Flowers for Special Occasions Good Ebook Title: How To Find Beautiful Wedding Floral Arrangements on a Budget The second title is active (“find”), specific (“wedding floral arrangements”), and adds value (helps readers who want to be cost-effective). A prospect knows exactly what they’ll get out of reading this ebook, and once they’ve read it, they’ll be inclined to visit Mona’s flower shop in person or online to apply the advice she’s outlined. Create a Table of Contents Even if your ebook is relatively short, include a table of contents. Organizing your ebook makes it easy for readers to skip to the sections that are relevant to them and read those chapters in detail. Why is this important? Well remember that the point isn’t to get prospects just to download the ebook. The hope is that they will read it, find it valuable, and either visit your store or share it with others who will visit your store instead. If they download the ebook only to find dense, disorganized text, they are less likely to spend time with it. Don’t let all that hard work go to waste – include a table of contents, and of course, page numbers. Incorporate Visuals Throughout The Ebook Pictures are your best friend for two key reasons: They reduce reader fatigue. We don’t read things off a screen the same way we read things off paper. A page full of text is a tempting invitation to put the ebook aside and return to it later. Breaking up pages with a bright image lightens the mental load. They reinforce concepts. If you’re writing an ebook on HVAC maintenance for homeowners, you’ll be dealing with technical topics. Photos and diagrams help readers follow along with your tips and reinforce lessons. One thing you should be mindful of is the licenses of the images you choose. Fortunately for business owners who don’t wish to spend money on stock images, websites like Pexels and Pixabay offer free, high-quality images for any use. Case Studies (Use Examples If You Don’t Have Case Studies) Customers are always looking for social proof. They want to know that someone has taken a risk on your business and survived before they take the plunge themselves. Case studies are an easy way to provide this social proof. Outline a situation with a previous client and don’t be shy about talking about the challenges (so long as your company addressed them well). Depending on your industry, customers expect complications and are curious about how well their chosen company will handle them. Demonstrate your competence, adaptability and professionalism through your case study. If you don’t have case studies, don’t lie. Instead, use hypothetical scenarios and examples to outline what customers can expect from a given situation. Through storytelling, you can help people insert themselves into the role of “your customer” and imagine how seamless the process of working with you can be. Provide Specific Takeaways Don’t let your reader miss out on a shred of value in your ebook. At the end of each section or chapter, reiterate the key lessons and takeaways, so that readers are regularly reminded of what they learned. If you’re going to write an ebook, do it right. A sloppy ebook wastes your time, offers a poor return on investment, and runs the risk of damaging your brand. A well-written, nicely organized ebook can raise your company profile and bring in more customers, especially if you follow these best practices.
6 Ways To Make The Most of Mobile Advertising on a Small Business Budget Posted on August 24, 2017July 10, 2024 by Jessica Lunk Desktop is dead. Mobile is now king. Sixty percent of U.S. digital media time is spent on smartphones and tablets while 52 percent of that engagements happens via apps. Evidently, consumers are moving toward entertaining and informing themselves through mobile devices, so how can you keep up with this new trend on a small business budget? Yelp For Business Yelp is a straightforward way to market your business locally. Head over to the site and create or claim your Yelp Business page. Once you’ve claimed your company name, spend some time optimizing your Yelp Business Page. Upload photos of your products, restaurant, or space and add your company site’s URL. After completing your profile, encourage customers to leave reviews to raise your business’s ranking. In addition to building positive reviews, be proactive about your negative reviews by replying to them in a helpful way. Consider offering discounts to customers who check in on Yelp. Checking in lets their network know that they visited you, increasing your business’s visibility. You can also advertise on Yelp, but this can be pricey if you’re trying to work within a strict budget. Engage in SMS Marketing Guess what the open rate for an SMS is? Not 40 percent. Not 60 percent. Not even 90 percent. The open rate for SMS is almost 98 percent. It gets better. Nearly 90 percent of SMS recipients open a message within the first three seconds of receiving it, allowing you to market time-sensitive or thematic promotions like lunch specials or happy hour deals. Your messages should be short and to the point. Customers aren’t interested in reading lengthy text messages from a brand. Additionally, include a call to action. It won’t be as fancy as the ones on your site, but you should include a link to your site so customers can take advantage of a specific promotion. Small business owners can find apps that provide user-friendly platforms for SMS marketing. A hair salon may use SMS to send appointment reminders, and one of these platforms can help automate that process. Of course, you’ll need to have a contact list large enough to justify this cost, since these services do come with a monthly fee. Moreover, small businesses may consider leveraging their efforts with messaging apps for Android and effectively promoting your offerings. SMS marketing can be a powerful, budget-friendly tool, but there is a catch. It comes with limitations, most notably the fact that the anti-spam rules around unsolicited text messages are strict. Your business can face heavy fines for sending messages to people who never signed up for them, so make sure your texting list only consists of individuals who have specifically opted in. Preparing content for “micromoments” “Micromoment” is a term developed by Google to describe those instances where searchers want a quick, bite-sized answer to something. For example: “Where is the best Indian food in St. Louis?” In these cases, consumers aren’t looking for long essays or graphs and charts. They want quick info that will help them perform a specific action (i.e. satisfy their craving for Indian food). Anticipate the sorts of questions your customers may ask and prepare content that responds to these micromoments. This makes SEO extra important. Understand what the popular search terms related to your industry are and make sure your company’s content answers those questions. You may need to prepare varied content for different times of day. For instance, if someone lands on your site while you’re closed, a landing page with helpful resources or a contact form that promises a call within 24 hours can help keep your business running even when you’re not available. Use QR Codes Effectively If you choose to use them, make sure your QR codes are working strategically. Ensure each code takes the visitor to a landing page specifically designed for that QR code. If you sell summer apparel, but your QR code is located on a poster advertising a promo for swimsuits, ensure that code leads directly to a landing page about that promotion. If it leads to your website’s homepage, your customer is forced to go hunting for the deal and may grow frustrated or lose interest. Remember to use a good QR Code Generator, and Uniqode’s QR Code Generator is one of the best available in the market. Engage in Hyperlocal Marketing Consumers no longer conduct extensive research in advance the way they used to because they know they can simply whip out their smartphone and find a fun activity or nice restaurant. Tweak your content to rank for location-specific terms so that your business stands out if someone conducts this sort of search. This means you shouldn’t just optimize for your city but for street names and neighborhood nicknames as well. Optimize Your Marketing For Mobile Devices Your web page should be compatible with mobile devices. Period. This is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. Sites like WordPress make it easy for your website by using responsive design which adapts to whichever device the site it is being viewed on. Ditch any doubts about your ability to effectively market in a mobile-centric world. These tips will help you establish a solid foundation that you can build on as your knowledge of mobile marketing grows wider.
How To Make Your Value Proposition Stronger Than Your Competitors’ Posted on August 23, 2017June 14, 2018 by Jonathan Herrick What makes your company valuable? This isn’t an easy question to answer. No matter your industry, you have numerous competitors—many of whom will outshine you. They might have more monthly website visits, higher-ranking search results, a bigger social audience or more monthly sales. The point is, they’re out there. And the only way you can stand out is by focusing on your value proposition. In the simplest terms, your company’s value proposition is what makes your company stand out. It comprises your most convincing reasons for why people should use your product or service. Should you buy second-hand camera gear from Amazon or eBay? Amazon might argue that their fast delivery and partners make them a better option. eBay might counter that their prices are generally lower and their seller-review system has a stronger reputation. Whichever you choose will depend on your own values—which aspects you’re looking for in an online retailer. For your own small business, your value proposition could be a fast turnaround time, a vast selection of products and services or lower prices than your competitors. But to sell it, you’ve got to understand how to market it. Ask Yourself: What is Your Value? The first thing to establish is what your biggest value proposition really is. If you’re not immediately sure, this will be somewhat of a brand-building exercise for you. If you’re compelled to say your small business is the best at everything, here’s some news: it’s not. You probably specialize in a few areas and get bested by other, larger competitors in other areas. Look at Apple’s website, and you’ll see their value proposition throughout–from their products pages to a tab called “Why Switch”—a direct bump up against Google’s Android OS. They have headlines such as “Why is iPhone so fast?” and “What makes Messages so great?,” completely designed to convince an on-the-fence consumer to lean toward Apple. Apple’s value proposition of customer-centric design impacts every product they sell and every part of those products including their camera—something they double down on in their “Shot on iPhone 6” billboard advertisements. So in Apple’s case, they’re banking on security, unique features, the camera and customer service as selling points. But all of those differentiators have one thing in common. A radical pursuit of their value proposition—a customer-first product design. You notice they won’t mention price—there are dozens of Android alternatives that are half the cost. Nor will they mention the battery life or compatibility, since Apple is notorious for creating its own hardware that you have to buy into to stay with Apple. To start arguing that Apple is inferior to Android in those regards is totally beside the point, anyway. Such arguments are endless among techies, since their values are different. Apple isn’t trying to win over people who won’t spend more than $500 on a phone. If you’re able to spend the money, Apple wants to convince you that it’s the platform for you. If battery life isn’t important to you and camera quality is, then you’re already a lead for their product. Different companies will market to customers differently, and that’s fine because consumers have different preferences. Explain what makes your brand great and the right people will find you. This will require deep market research and product testing since you’ll want your claims to be honest as well as strong sales points. Explain Your Value Proposition Saying your company is the best at something without explaining it is fairly useless. How would you respond if we told you that you should use Hatchbuck because it’s the best CRM software available—and ended our pitch at that? You might roll your eyes thinking it’s just a fluffy claim. And you’d be right to do it. Establishing your value proposition is harder than just tossing out your tagline. Your website should clearly establish the ways in which your value proposition is stronger than your competitors’—to do this, you might want to showcase your past clients with quotes, case studies or testimonials. Hatchbuck’s homepage proves its value proposition with client testimonials. Specifics are a good call here—think faces and numbers. Empty phrases and corporate-speak won’t sell customers, but real arguments will. Steer away from clever phrases and instead focus on language that’s immediately clear and easy to understand. If you have any statistics or numbers—think “Trusted by hundreds of brands worldwide”—then you’re off to a good start. Get in touch with past or current clients with whom you have a good relationship and ask them for a testimonial or quote to add to your site. You can punch up the offer by offering a backlink to their site or social media help—a particularly helpful situation for small businesses working together. Bottom Line: Make it Honest and Loud One last tip: Don’t be modest. Marketing can seem modest sometimes, but value propositions should be loud. If your product is 50 percent more affordable than your leading competitor’s and just as good in every other way, state that. Be bold and aggressive when staking your claim. Just look at Dollar Shave Club. They built a thriving business in a crowded, commodity-driven industry. How? Their value proposition fueled everything: Delivering quality razors for less, backed by an unforgettable customer experience. Once they had their value proposition nailed down, they created bold marketing campaigns that drove home what they value. Dollar Shave Club’s launch video took a bold stance—delivering on their value proposition. This kind of bold marketing is not as hard as it looks. Once you decide what you stand for, it makes it so much easier to reach the right audience and deliver your message. So if you want to separate your brand from the crowd, select the parts of your company that shine the most and showcase them for the world to see.
The Important Social Media Stats You Might Be Overlooking Posted on August 22, 2017June 14, 2018 by Jeanna Barrett Every year, there are endless amounts of statistics released from all of the major social media sites — from Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat — it can be overwhelming to keep up with the changes in users, demographics and how marketers are supposed to utilize each platform. In the mix of too many statistics, the important social media stats are being lost. We’ve gathered a collection of social media statistics that are important to pay attention to because they give essential direction to your marketing strategy that could change the way you think about and execute your marketing campaigns. Here are 4 important social media statistics you might be overlooking: #1 59 percent of Americans who have a social media account agree that customer service via social media has made it easier to get questions and concerns resolved. Why This is Important: If your brand is not utilizing social media as a customer service platform, you’re late to the game. Social media has become the go-to platform for customer service because a number of users know they’re going to get a guaranteed quick response. And with mobile and technology being the norm, it’s often easier for a customer to shoot off a quick Tweet rather than attempt to make it through a confusing phone tree to get to the right department and wait on the line for a customer service agent. To ensure your brand is utilizing social media as a customer service platform, you should use call agent software that integrates social media conversations, and ensure that your social media manager is meeting with and collaborating closely with your customer service team. Make sure that every month there is a review of customers’ complaints on social media, so everyone in your company is informed about how your customers are utilizing the platform and common feedback that is shared. It’s also important that you have processes in place to adhere to a “within 24 hours” response time. A couple hours is even better. #2 Facebook remains the most-used social media site among all ages, used by 64 percent of Americans 12 and up, with 40% of users aged 40-63. Why This is Important: I’ve often heard brands and business owners claim that they don’t use Facebook because they don’t believe their customers use the platform. The idea that the “older generation” doesn’t use Facebook is dead. All people of all ages are using Facebook, so your brands needs to have a Facebook presence. The best way to reach your perfect target audience member on Facebook is to utilize Facebook advertising within your digital marketing playbook. Facebook advertising has a complex, detailed way of targeting their users on everything from age, birthday, relationship status, location and likes. This makes finding your perfect customer on Facebook really easy. #3 Twitter has more than 310 active monthly users, and 79 percent of accounts are outside the U.S. Instagram has 400 million active monthly users, and 75 percent are outside the U.S. Why This Is Important: It’s important to note that while major social media sites are boasting large user bases, a huge percentage of these users are outside the U.S. If your brand is not interested in international users, then this is certainly a statistic that matters. Perhaps it means you shouldn’t be focusing on the platforms that have a large international user base. If only 20-25 percent of their users are located in the U.S., does it make sense for you to target Instagram and Twitter as platforms for your business? Also, when estimating the total amount of Americans your business could reach on platforms such as Twitter and Instagram, you need to subtract the amount of users who are from other countries. This number is the true capable reach for your brand on these platforms. #4 Instagram has the highest per follower engagement rate of any of the major social networks at 2.3 percent, and a whopping 68 percent of Instagram users engage with brands regularly. Instagram has 58 times more engagement per follower than Facebook, and engaged Instagram followers are worth more than those on Facebook, with an average order value of $65 versus $55. Why This Is Important: We grouped together several Instagram statistics to show how important this platform is to your brand. Facebook is not the number one kahuna anymore. Brands who have centered their digital strategy on Instagram are seeing much more return for their dollar and time. If you haven’t started thinking about Instagram as part of your digital marketing toolbox, this year is the year to start. These four social media statistics should help steer your social media strategy this year, so your brand is more targeted and focusing on the right social media platforms to reach your customer. No longer is it about signing up for everything and trying to manage it all: it’s about finding the few social platforms that will be the best return on your investment.
10 Traits of a Wildly Successful Salesperson Posted on August 18, 2017July 15, 2022 by Jonathan Herrick The success of a salesperson is ultimately measured by one thing—results. However, if you take the time to listen to a high-performing salesperson, it is clear to see why they’re consistently at the top of their game. It’s more than their mannerisms, their attitude, or the way they talk – it’s a combination of a number of different traits that all work cohesively to produce stellar results (and stellar customer service). Not everyone is cut out for sales, but if you possess even some of these traits, you’re off to a good start. Responsible A great salesperson accepts responsibility and does not try to pass the buck. If there is a problem, they are accountable and will dig in to find the root cause of the issue. They don’t pass the blame on to their organization or their manager either. Rockstar salespeople feel a sense of responsibility for their company, team members, and their customers—meaning they’re not just concerned about closing the deal and walking away but are focused on how it impacts the team around them. Empathetic Empathy is an important trait for anyone to possess. To become a successful salesperson, you must have deep desire to understand the concerns that a prospect might be facing and find an ideal solution to their problems. The ability to establish rapport quickly and easily is particularly helpful in reducing relationship tension with new prospects. After all, people don’t care what you know until you show them that you truly care. Focused Individuals who are focused are more driven and self-motivated. In fact according the Harvard Business Review, 84% of top performers tested scored very high in achievement orientation. They are laser-focused on their goals and what that need to do to maximize performance. Another bonus of salespeople who are locked in on the prize is that they don’t need the constant supervision or direction that others do, and they are excellent at multi-tasking not easily distracted by issues that don’t serve their long-term objectives. Resourceful The ability to think outside the box is the mark of a strong sales team member. That means using imaginative techniques and different approaches in order to close a sale. The truth is that when it comes to a sales superstar, a ‘no’ can mean a ‘maybe.’ Therefore, being able to interpret the client’s needs and switch up methods under pressure to close a sale is desireable trait. Optimistic Optimism is a critical trait, particularly in the face of rejection or failure. It is so easy to become frustrated and feel helpless when things go wrong, or you go through that proverbial “sales slump.” The ability to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and try again is required in sales. Continual persistence means that a successful salesperson doesn’t let a negative situation affect their overall performance. For them, the glass is always half full. Confident Who wants to buy from a salesperson who doesn’t believe in themselves or their product? No one, that’s who. A successful salesperson knows their product or service inside and out and can clearly demonstrate the benefits to potential customers. But being confident doesn’t give a sales rep the green light to be arrogant or cocky. It’s about knowing who you are as a person, what you stand for and the expertise you bring to the table. Insightful In sales, it’s important to be flexible and willing to move away from the standard approach-offering customized solutions that fit a client’s needs. Strong salespeople are not afraid to veer from the written script to solve a problem in a unique way. Today’s customers are better informed which means that the solutions and insights provided from sales must be over and above the vanilla specs they can get from a simple search on Google. Honest Honesty truly is the best policy when it comes to salespeople. Unfortunately, some traditional sales roles carry the “stigma” of being dishonest, which means salespeople have to work twice as hard to demonstrate they are trustworthy. In sales, it’s all about coming across as sincere. The most successful salespeople know when to admit they don’t have the answers and don’t make empty promises just to close the sale. Bending the truth, even on a small scale, burns bridges with that customer and kills any chance for a referral in the long run. Passionate Great salespeople don’t just love closing the deal, they also love their job too. They are passionate about the mission of the business and how their sales efforts make a difference. You can hear the passion in their tone and in their presentation, and it gives prospects just another reason to commit. Being passionate as a sales rep not only fuels sales, but it impacts team morale and helps to define an organization’s sales culture. Communicative Salespeople need to find the balance between the gift of the gab and listening to what others have to say. The truth is great listeners make the best salespeople. The key is to ask open-ended questions that allow prospects and customers to share their pains, challenges and goals and to talk less about the features of your product. Beyond being a great listener, great sales professionals regularly follow up with customers, both past and present, to stay top of mind and provide them with valuable resources. Most of these traits are not only necessary to succeed in sales but required if you want to be a generally good human. In the end, people buy from people…and usually people that they like.
Press Release: Inc. Magazine Names Hatchbuck No. #704 On 2017 Inc. 5000 List Posted on August 17, 2017August 17, 2017 by Allie Wolff ST. LOUIS, Aug. 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Inc. magazine ranked St. Louis technology company Hatchbuck no. 704 on its 36th annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. Hatchbuck, a sales and marketing automation platform for smaller businesses, achieved three-year sales growth of 646% and $2 million in revenue in 2016. “We’re proud and honored to be included in the Inc. 5000 family with great companies such as LinkedIn, Zappos and Apple that have blazed this path before us. We are thankful for our loyal customers–without their support and dedication this award wouldn’t be possible. Our success is attributed to the role we are playing in helping thousands of small businesses propel relationships into sales,” said Hatchbuck co-founder and CEO Don Breckenridge. The 2017 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2013 to 2016. To qualify, companies must be privately held and have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2013. Hatchbuck was also ranked as the 14th fastest growing company in Missouri. “We are passionate about building a great company culture and are proud of the team we’ve built in St. Louis. It is a driving force for our success and a big factor in landing on the Inc. 5000 list this year,” said Hatchbuck CSO/CMO and co-founder Jonathan Herrick. Read the full press release here.
4 Ways to Avoid Sounding Pushy on a Sales Call Posted on August 16, 2017August 16, 2017 by Tegan Arnold Have you ever gotten a call from a telemarketer who talks right over you when you say you’re busy? Then you know what being on the receiving end of a bad sales pitch feels like. It certainly doesn’t put you in a buying mood. But it can be hard to strike the right note when you’re making a sales pitch. If you’re too timid, you might not close a sale, and sometimes customers need a gentle nudge. So how do you strike the right note? Try these strategies. Pay attention to cultural cues. If you come from a part of the country where people tend to do everything quickly, you may come off as pushy if you speak at your usual cadence to someone who lives in an area where the pace is slower. To avoid making a bad impression on a prospect or client, make a conscious effort to slow down, breathe and match the client’s cadence. Let the people you’re pitching set the tone for the conversation. If they want to spend some time on small talk, don’t rush them through it so you can get to your PowerPoint. Even the best presentation won’t sell them on anything if you come off as rude. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to deliver your pitch if you make the right impression up front. Think of yourself as a resource. It’s easier to sell a product or service your customers actually need than one that you are offering simply to drive revenue. The more you get to know your clients and understand what will make their lives easier, the easier it will be to approach them with products and services they would like to hear about. Let’s say you’re an accountant. Rather than pushing your B2B clients to go on retainer, send them regular emails mentioning impending tax deadlines and offer your help in resolving any tax-related questions. If you provide good advice on a regular basis, it will probably occur to them to ask you about your retainer fees. Having them approach you takes any possibility of pushiness out of the equation and will make it a lot easier to close the deal. Remind clients of your successful collaborations. When you’ve really delivered for a client, simply mentioning the wins you’ve achieved together can help you set the right tone in a pitch. For instance, if you run a social media agency and you just helped a client get a lot of Twitter followers in a month, you might open a conversation by saying, “Wow—congrats on the 400 Twitter followers who signed up last month. Our team was really excited to help you build the account, and we’re thrilled people are responding so well to your message. If you’re ready to try other social media like Facebook, let us know.” A pitch like that will seem a lot less desperate and pushy than one where you say, “We know we’re off to a slow start on Twitter—a couple of our team members have been on vacation—but we have a great program to get you started on Facebook that’s on sale this month that we know you’ll love.” If you don’t have any recent successes revisit with clients, don’t pitch them on anything else until you do—or you’re likely to come off as using the hard sell. Really listen. Paying attention to the reasons customers are not able to buy from you can help you find ways to make it possible. For instance, if you own a gym in a college town and keep approaching people who tell you they are going to school and can’t afford to join at the moment, why not offer a student membership at a 10% discount, with a valid university ID? It will help you keep your building full–and, if the gym offers a great experience—allow you to build relationships early with people who might become long-term customers once they start working. Similarly, if you work in professional services and clients can’t afford your deluxe package, consider offering a la carte options. If you do a fantastic job, clients are likely to come back to you when they have more money to spend. The more you deliver for your clients, the less likely it is that you will have to rely on aggressive sales pitches. You won’t have to sell your services at all because they’ll be flocking to you.