Social Media

Social Media -

Everyone is excited about having social media as a way of promoting their business.  Focusing on it as your only source for marketing will limit your options for your business.

In real life when you see a neighbour once in awhile in the winter and you wave at each other -- these moments in time help you stay connected during the cold winter when no one sees their neighbours as often as the summer.  In the summertime, we have BBQs and invite them over; stop and chat in the driveway and even invite each other over for a coffee.  Friendships are built on the longer conversations and chats but the winter waves and quick hellos, help bridge the time in between.

Social media is like the winter bridge - it helps you stay connected with people in between your real life meetings or phone calls.

It is possible to start business relationships on social media websites as well.  In this case, you are best to take the relationship even slower than in real life.  When you interact in a meeting, you can watch for reactions that will help you communicate with the person.  On the phone, we sometimes ask for clarification if we are unsure how the person is reacting.  On social media, most communication is done in slow motion -- one post out and then a reaction could be an hour later or a day later.

I wish there was statistics to guide everyone -- traditional marketing takes approximately 7 marketing touches to get someone to seriously think about buying from you.  Social media interactions need ____ touches to get someone to call you and get serious about buying your product.

So back to the basics - social media should be one part of your marketing plan.  Not your whole plan.  Do not stay hidden by your computer and try to run your business - get out and use other marketing strategies to build up your list and work on the relationships and of course close the deals.



Cheryl Rankin
Fit For Business
647-287-0320

Marketing at Events

Marketing at Events

Events have a variety of ways for you to market your business
- have a booth / table
- be a sponsor
- be an attendee
- be a speaker
- provide a door-prize
- provide gifts or coupons for the bags
- be the organizer
- be a guest of someone who has an extra ticket
- have your business cards or flyers or product on someone else's table

To choose which things to do at an event
1) what is your budget?
2) who is the target market for the event?
3) how many people do they expect to attend?
4) are you ready to market? (have handouts or a draw or signage)
5) will you have exclusivity for a booth?

Sometimes the best events that you can attend have nothing to do with your business and you go as an attendee and talk to a vendor and they buy from you or connect you to someone that will.

Attendees can not market directly to other attendees or vendors at large tradeshows.  The organizers will not be happy and ask you to leave or fine you for trespassing.  You can have conversations and enter draws and mingle.

Get out and attend events - it will give you energy and give your business some exposure.

Cheryl Rankin
Fit For Business
647-287-0320

Networking to market your business

Networking to market your business -

If you do not want to make cold calls and you do not have a full bank account for advertising then consider networking to market your business.

meetings - regular business networking meetings will give you business friends, some business referrals in the long run and depending on the group some education to help you grow your business to the next level.  If people buy from someone they know, they like and they trust then this type of networking can help you market your business.

tradeshows - small business tradeshows are a networking opportunity that also has some marketing opportunities to purchase a booth / table.  Having a booth / table means that people come to you to network which can sometimes make it easier to network.  It gives you a chance to show off / display what you do.  Networking at event like this also gives you a safe way to network - you can visit all of the tables.  They want to talk to everyone.  Talk to them to find out what they sell and only after they ask what you do should you tell them.  They paid for the chance to have a table and you are a participant.

networking events - these events can have from 15 to 50 people.  Everyone attends these events in the hopes of selling their product or service.  First strategy is to listen to the other person and then you will get the chance to promote yourself.  In many cases, you can start a business relationship with someone at an event like this.  You may go home with many business cards but only a few strong leads or opportunities to have coffee and continue to build business relationships.  The good news is you now have business cards that you can follow up on - phone them!  Ask them if you can send them your newsletter.

large networking events - these events have over 100 people.  I suggest having a few different goals -- 1) I want to go home with 30 business cards 2) I want to meet 3 people that we schedule a coffee meeting and 3) I want to help at least 3 people so they remember me later.  Trying to get all of the business cards means that you will not get time to shake any hands.  Trying to have long conversations with people means you only meet one person.  Try and balance your time.

To help find business networking meetings and events -
www.businessconnectionexchange.ca
www.biznetworknews.com
www.thenetworker.ca

To book a business consultation to discuss your networking needs call Cheryl at 647-287-0320.

Cheryl Rankin
Fit For Business
647-287-0320
info@fitforbusiness.ca
Social media - twitter / linked in / facebook

Marketing -

Marketing -

How often do you talk to your current clients and find out why they came to you the first time or why they stay?

It has been suggested that an annual review / survey / check-in be done with current clients.

BUT

The best information comes from past clients who stopped being clients. (past clients!)

1 - ask them why they stopped being a client
2 - usually the manager would call and ask about a client / member
- you could hire an outside company to make the follow-up calls
3 - it could be a phone call or a written survey
4 - why did they stop being a client?
5 - did any employee do anything that affected their decision?
6 - how could the company have kept them as a client?
7 - would they consider coming back as a client some day in the future?
NOTICE - it does not ask them to come back today.  "some day in the future"

Tracking why people stop being a client should give you lots of information on how to get your clients and how to keep your clients.

To develop a follow-up system for your past clients, call Cheryl Rankin at 647-287-0320.

Cheryl
Fit For Business
647-287-0320
info@fitforbusiness.ca
www.fitforbusiness.ca
facebook / linked in / twitter

No Dollars Marketing Tips

No Dollars Marketing Tips

Would you like some ideas on how to market your business without spending any money or very little money?  Send me an email to register for my free newsletter and get a copy of "No Dollars Marketing" Tips - info@fitforbusiness.ca

step 1 - target market - knowing 3 or 4 things about your target market will not give you enough info to market effectively and appropriately.  List at least 20 things about your target market - now you know them well enough to figure out how to get their attention without spending huge amounts of money.

step 2 - read the tip sheet and pick two items that you can implement within the next week.

Cheryl Rankin
Fit For Business
www.fitforbusiness.ca
647-287-0320

Easy Phone Calls

Easy Phone Calls

What a crazy title - easy phone calls?  How can phone calls be easy when you are so nervous?

Whether you are making cold calls to introduce your business, calling to book an appointment or calling to close the sale - all calls can be tough to make.  Here are some tips to make them easier:

1 - prepare a script for any out-going calls
a) one for voicemail
b) one for a live person if the call goes well
c) one for a live person if the call is tough

2 - review your target market
a) what do you know about the person you are calling?
b) what do you know about similar people / businesses?

3 - is there a chance they could have some objections?
a) list the objections
b) prepare a positive response to the objection (your come-back)

4 - email or mail them something to introduce your business or your proposal

5 - schedule a timeslot to make calls so you are not rushed

6 - be dressed professionally

7 - take a big breathe

8 - dial the phone
a) identify yourself but be friendly  Good afternoon, This is Cheryl from Fit For Business.  How are you today?
b) ask if it is a good time to talk for a minute or two
c) follow your script
d) find out if they received your email

9 - listen!  listen! listen!  Even though you want to follow your script be very careful to listen to the person on the other end of the line and your call will go much better.

10 - track your results
a) what phrases seemed to work well
b) what objections did they have?
c) what follow-up is needed?

Remember that if you can talk to 100 people in your target market that you should be able to close at least one sale so just get busy and start the calls.

If you want some help preparing your scripts or practicing, then call Cheryl Rankin, Fit For Business at 647-287-0320.

Web-sites and SEO

Web-sites and SEO

Many people get very focused on SEO - search engine optimization.  Well if I send 1000 people to a store that is not ready to serve them then the store will not get any sales.  If I send 1000 people to your website - is it ready to help them or not?

Here is the check list that I use in my consultations when we review websites and decide whether or not they are ready for SEO.

1 - number of calls - does your website convert visitors into calls? (content related)

2 - will a stranger who visits your website ever call?  For some industries it is extremely rare for brand new contacts to follow through on calls.

3 - is there a safe next step for the website visitors?

            free review

            coffee
            sign up for newsletter
            articles or handouts
            templates (budget)
            workshop / seminar

4 - do the words and messages on your website match your target market?

5 - back links - the more back links the higher your ranking on search engines; backlinks that are on an all advertising type website are not as useful but still help a bit.  Use free business listings to help in this area.

6 - key words -- what do your prospects search?

7 - how many people are searching for you/your business?

 

To have your website reviewed and updates, call Cheryl Rankin, Fit For Business at 647-287-0320.

Social media - waste of time for marketing?

Social Media Marketing is a waste of time!

Social media can be a huge time out of your day and it could be just a big waste of your efforts. 

Based on my observations and marketing experience - many business owners make the following mistakes -

1 - way too many personal updates that your clients do not want to know

2 - over sell - just posting advertisements and messages to buy from you
3 - post the same thing in every spot that they can so people who happen to follow them in multiple spots or are in some of the same groups get the same email 3 or 4 times in a row.
4 - always posting at the same time of day so the exact same people see your message
5 - posting topics that have nothing to do with your business or your target market -- just posting because they are neat quotes or pictures.
6 - using industry jargon that none of your target market understands
7 - no contact info in the profile so that people can easily contact you if they want to buy from you
8 - only spending time and effort online and not marketing anywhere else
9 - target market is never online and all messages are worded specifically for them
10 - trying to run the company from behind your computer

If you would like to ensure that your time and effort on social media is not a waste but a productive and useful piece of your marketing then contact Cheryl Rankin at 647-287-0320 to arrange for a consultation.

1 hour business consultation - $100 plus tax

1 hour  social media / phone consultation - $50 plus tax

Cheryl Rankin

Fit For Business
www.fitforbusiness.ca
647-287-0320
info@fitforbusiness.ca

 

 

Google Ad Words

Google Ad Words

Trying to use pay per click can be like shooting darts in the dark if you do not do a bit of planning and track your results.

1 - confirm what services your business offers
2 - confirm what makes you better than the competition
3 - confirm who your target market is
4 - create a list of words / phrases that they would type into a search engine when they are looking for your type of service
5 - adding a defining word could decrease your cost for leads and make you stand out in a smaller list of suppliers
* fitness centre - large cost, large list of supplier and large list of leads
* women's fitness centre - lower cost, smaller list of supplier and more accurate list of leads
6 - create at least two different ads
7 - compare cost per click to the number of people offering that service -- it may be worth attracting a smaller list of leads but a much smaller list of suppliers
8 - try it

Track your results
1 - how many clicks did you pay for to get a phone call or email?
2 - what words / phrases got the best results for you?
3 - an ad with poor results should be shelved and not used
4 - an ad that gets results should be used again
5 - create a new ad

To work on your keywords for your website or google ad words, call Cheryl Rankin at 647-287-0320.

Cheryl Rankin
Fit For Business
www.fitforbusiness.ca
6472-87-0320
info@fitforbusiness.ca

Create an event

Create an event - not sure how to generate some excitment for your business then consider creating an event. 
- have a sale for a day / week / month
- host a customer appreciation event
- have an open house
- create a larger event that other business owners come and invite their contacts (a fitness centre hosting a health fair)
- create a charity event that you are the main sponsor / organizer
It does not matter if you run your business from your home or an office; whether you sell products or services - you can create and event to generate some excitment for your business.

To get help creating your event, call Cheryl Rankin, Fit For Business at 647-287-0320.

Cheryl Rankin
Fit For Business
info@fitforbusiness.ca
www.fitforbusiness.ca
Twitter - fitforbusiness
Linked in - Cheryl Rankin
Facebook - Cheryl Rankin

Business Sales

Business Sales tend to be the lifeline of your business. No sales then you have no business.

To boost your sales for your business (new or experienced):
1. Be pro-active - make 5 new calls out today
2. Send out a group email (blind copy) to at least 25 people
3. Attend an event this week that has business owners or your target market
4. Check up on one business that is competition - what are they doing sales / marketing-wise?
5. Write down your sales process - what steps do new clients have to take in order to buy from you? Do they have to try something on? Do they need to read statistics? Do they need a coffeee meeting? Do they need to receive 3 newsletters?
6. Be confident that at least 1 out of the next 5 sales pitches that you do will turn into a client so any rejections just get you closer to a sale.

Fit For Business is hosting a sales workshop on Feb 16th. Check out www.fitforbusinesssales.eventbrite.com for details.

Fit For Business

Good morning -

I am Cheryl, Fit For Business. I am a business consultant who likes to compare myself to a personal trainer. A trainer takes care of your whole body from head to toe - that is what I do for your business. I shape up your sales; add muscle to your marketing; tighten your budget and make your business healthier.

I am going to use this blog to pass along useful information to business owners so that their business will grow and they will reach the next business level. You can ask questions that will help your specific business and when I share the answer, it may help many other business owners.

As a business consultant, I do suggest that my clients take advantage of any technology that will save them time, save them money and in the long run - make them money. I think that this blog will give me another opportunity to pass along this information at no expense to you or me.

My monthly newsletters / Business Fit Tips are also posted on my web-site - www.fitforbusiness.ca.

Do you have any business questions? Please post any questions here on this blog and I will respond to them through the blog and help your business reach the next level.

Hope we will cross paths often. Have a great business Day!

Cheryl Rankin,
Fit For Business
647-287-0320
fitforbusiness@rogers.com
www.fitforbusiness.ca