Posts Tagged ‘Advice’

If you own and run your own business, you may relate to the idiom, “its lonely at the top.” It doesn’t much matter if the top is being in charge of hundreds of employees, or just one. Being chief decision maker means taking all of the responsibility. That is why it is so important for small business owners to have people they can go to for advice. I wrote about this before when I suggested every small business owner should have a M.O.M. I wanted to revisit the subject because I believe it is one of the core things every business owner should focus on.

Specifically, I want to talk to you about creating an advisory board. You may think of this as an abstract idea or something for bigger businesses, but its not. Every business, no matter how small, should have one. I am currently a one person business and I am working on creating my own advisory board.

What an Advisory Board Looks Like

The main thing to understand is that this board can be made up of anyone, anywhere. You don’t need to pay the people who you go to for advice, at least not until you grow so big that you need a formal board of directors. Furthermore, an advisory board can be a give and take situation. Everyone on the board can be small business owners and can share ideas with one another. That is how Becky McCray created her board.

This might work for you, or you might want a more mixed board that you feel more accountable to. In an upcoming episode of my podcast I talk to Melinda Emerson, who suggests that your advisory board include at least one former executive, one small business owner or entrepreneur, one person from another industry, and one customer.

Setting up and Running an Advisory Board

Putting a board together is often as simple as asking. You need to take the initiative and schedule monthly meetings. You might meet with them all at once or one by one. Your board might be local so you can have face to face meetings, or all over the world. What matters is that you have people that you respect that you can go to for advice.

The second thing you need to do, once you have a board in place, is to actually listen to these people and act on their advice. An advisory board is only as good as the action you take.

Geoffrey P. Lamdin, of Left Field Solutions, LLC., had this advice to share in the All Business Answers Success in 2010 Free Report.

“Create, re-invigorate, or expand your Advisory Board. Then listen to them and ACT upon what they are telling you! Seek out the BEST of the BEST for your advisors, regardless of where in the world they are – the internet and Skype are at your disposal. Small businesses often suffer from isolation, “small business think” paradigm, and perceived limitations. These are a sure path to eventual (or sooner) failure. Reach out to successful advisors for continuous, energized mentoring – and go!”

Can You Use Advice?

Take a moment and think about what a little good advice can do for you. Think about what it means if that advice can come from a perspective outside of your business, or even from your customer base.

We all need advice. We can all benefit from a different point of view, and from someone else’s expertise. If you do not have people that you go to on a regular basis for advice, why not? I’d be willing to wager that it’s not because you are pompous S.O.B. who thinks you know it all. Instead, you probably just don’t know how, or who, to ask.

It is okay to ask for advice. It doesn’t make you stupid. In fact, it is one of the secrets to great business success.

This post is part of a series on Success.

See more posts from this series.

Get a Free Report on Success for Small Business.

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Hello, I’m Bradford Shimp. I’ll admit that I am usually more comfortable giving advice than in asking for it. But I really believe that getting good advice is key to building a successful business, and I’m working on it. If you need advice on how to optimize your website for search traffic and lead generation, check out my business at BroadRiverCreative.com.

I often state that social media is helping make business personal again. It is a bit strange to think that communication that happens over the internet could be considered personal. However, social media and web 2.0 has made it easier for customers and businesses to interact. While its not face to face and a handshake, it is still personal interaction. And while you can only shake so many hands and have so many meaningful face to face conversations, social media provides a much wider platform. With social media you can communicate with thousands at once. Yet, at the same time, you can talk one on one.

“The Flight Attendant Effect”

This is a bit of a paradox. How do you communicate one to one, and at the same time reach a wide audience? The beauty of social media is that you can. In fact, by focusing attention on one person, either answering their question or engaging in thoughtful conversation, you are also positively impacting others who may be paying attention.

My friend and social media maven Desiree Scales calls this the “flight attendant effect” of social media. The premise comes from when a flight attendant gives special care to one passenger, and all of the other passengers around that person experience increased satisfaction just by watching this happen. The concept works the same way in social media, where conversations are often public and your helpful advice and answers can be read by many more people than just the original person you were helping.

Its Good to Get Personal

With this effect in mind, you should consider the benefit of focusing on just one person at a time. By doing this, you can provide nuanced, helpful advice or assistance to a particular person. There is great value in this kind of one on one communication. Not only is it helpful to the person on the other end of the conversation, it also helps you sharpen your skills and learn first hand what customers need and want.

The more intimately you know your customer, the better you can serve him or her. You can’t get this kind of intimate knowledge by just broadcasting. Broadcasting online is you just pushing out blog posts, Twitter updates, or newsletters, without having any interaction. Broadcasting happens offline, as well. It is when you launch a product without taking time to find out exactly what the customer wants or needs. It is when you make changes to your services or costs without talking to customers about it first. Chances are, you broadcast more than you think.

Open Conversations

Instead of broadcasting online, try having some good one to one conversations. Have them in open arenas, so others can listen in if they are interested. You want an audience, but your best focus is on the individual. Imagine having a conversation with someone but always looking around to see what is going on around you and who is nearby. That shows that you aren’t really interested in the conversation. So, when you are having one to one interaction online, focus in on that conversation. This means things like not inserting your ad into the answer to a question. It means following it through until you know that you have successfully helped the individual. It also means being willing to get very specific and dig into the unique need of the person you are talking to. Don’t worry whether there is a crowd.

Building Reputation

If you have meaningful interactions, people will notice that. If you give good advice and are always helpful, people pay attention to that. More important than broadcasting your marketing message is gaining a good reputation. Get a good rep in your industry, and people will seek you out for advice, for business, and with new opportunities.

It is pretty amazing what you can accomplish just by focusing on one person at a time. There was always benefit to this, but the benefit never traveled as far as it does now thanks to social media.  Today, you can focus on providing value to just one person and benefit from the many ears and eyes that are also paying attention. Do this, and you will increase satisfaction and add value to everyone in your audience.

photo credit: paalia

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Bradford Shimp coaches small business owners on how to build their presence online at BroadRiverCreative.com.

I recently asked this question to a group of small business owners and experts. I was curious what people thought would be important for small business success moving forward into this new year and decade.

What I got back were a ton of great answers. Not surprisingly, no two were exactly alike. However, each one has merit and the potential to be the “one” thing your business needs for more success this year.

Overall, I came away with one general theme. Despite the fact that platforms and technologies are changing, the basics for business success aren’t. The number one thing experts point out is the importance of marketing. This is still an area where many small businesses do not put enough focus. The good news for this decade is that marketing platforms are becoming cheaper and easier to use.

Other important areas of focus are having strong leadership, caring for customers and employees, and actually having a plan.

Over the next few weeks, I will be digging through the results and suggestions from various experts. We’ll look into what it takes to be more successful today in small business. Success is an important term for business owners. It encompasses the goal of business. Success encompasses everything from profits to customer satisfaction to changing the world.

Only you know what success is for your business. But advice and tips from others who are in the battle can be very helpful. To that end, I would like you to do two things.

First of all, continue to read this blog through the next few weeks. Each post we will be discussing success, ideas on how to be more successful, and actionable advice for moving things forward in your business. If you don’t want to miss a beat, consider subscribing via RSS or email. You can do that at the top of the the right hand column.

The second thing you can do for your success is to sign up for the free report I put together for the new year. This report is a collection of advice from over 100 business owners and experts on what you can do to be more successful with your small business this year.

Get the free report, The Number One Thing You Can do to Make Your Small Business More Successful in 2010, by filling out the form below. You will receive the report as a PDF via email.

Here’s to your success in 2010! Enjoy the free report and join me as we discuss success for small business over the next few weeks.

Be Regular

If you are going to engage in conversation marketing techniques, you are going to have to learn how to keep talking. Regular communication from you is essential. Customers and prospects aren’t very likely to strike up conversations with you out of the blue, so you have to put something out there that they can latch on to.

As far as frequency, you want to sit somewhere between chatterbox and mime. Put enough out there so that you are consistently a presence, but don’t overwhelm people either.

What is Talking

Lets talk about talking. What is it? Talking is any communication that goes out, but specifically it is communication that is targeted toward your regulars. This may be in the form of an email newsletter, or it may be your Twitter feed. Talking isn’t pushing ads. Its providing information and tid-bits that your listeners will find interesting or entertaining.

If you only communicate on a sporadic basis, you won’t have a lot of listeners. You need to get into a rhythm with your communication. You will get the best response when you are regularly communicating, so keep talking.

Email Like You’re Friends

Mike Michalowicz, author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, has a great piece of advice when it comes to how often to email. He says that he thinks of his emails as communications with friends. He did a test to see how often he emails his best friends, and also what kind of voice he uses. Turns out, it was about 1 to 2 times per week. So that’s what he does for his newsletter.

Think about it for a moment. Many small business owners are afraid of sending too many emails. They think once a month is probably appropriate. Who do you email only once a month? Not people you are close with, that you care about and love to communicate with. You wait a long time in between emails for people you don’t have a great relationship with, or those you feel obligated to stay in some contact with (ie. relatives). Is this the kind of relationship you are going for with your customers?

If you want to engage in customer conversations, you need to be more frequent. Remember, a conversation is two way communication that leads to you solving a problem or them buying a product. Good, ongoing conversation also leads to more sales and a growing network of future-customers.

Gauge Your Frequency

So, when it comes to email, forgo the long, multi-article monthly newsletter for a quick weekly note, like you would send to a friend. Gear your other frequencies to the medium. For instance, its a good idea to blog once a day. That’s not overkill. Superstar bloggers like Seth Godin and Chris Brogan even blog more than once a day. For an interesting conversation on blogging frequency, check out this post and then this one by Jim Connolly. Twitter can be updated frequently throughout the day.

What about phone calls? I believe that you should build phone calls in to your conversation marketing. One on one phone calls don’t allow you to communicate with a group, but they give you a quality of conversation like nothing else. Schedule in calls to your customers. Frequency depends on what you are selling. Here’s my best advice. Call at least one more time than you need to. If you need to make one phone call a year to book a sale, then start making two. The second call is not a sales call. Its a conversation about the customer’s needs, about how well you are helping with those needs, and just about catching up and saying hello.

Break Through the Barriers

If you keep talking, you will find that the barriers that keep you stiff and stand-offish with customers will start to fade. You will also notice a consistent buzz of conversation and sales that are happening around your efforts. And once you get comfortable increasing your frequency, you will find yourself becoming a part of your customer’s life, which is a very good thing.

If, on the other hand, you choose to only speak up occasionally, you will have to break through the wall of trust over and over again. Your message will be missed. You will be seen as an opportunist looking for a sale. You’ll be providing info only when its convenient for you, when you want a sale. It doesn’t matter if these are your intentions or not. This is what it will look like. So, your best intentions of not being a bother to your customers could actually backfire.

Keep talking on a regular basis. Provide useful information. Don’t dump too much stuff at once. A few paragraphs per email should do it. 500-800 words in a blog post is just fine. 120 characters on a Tweet is perfect (leaving room for a retweet). And in all of your communication, make it easy for your listeners to talk back. Always be prepared to listen.

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photo credit: tibchris

Bradford Shimp helps small businesses figure out their communication frequency and approach at BroadRiverCreative.com

Have you ever had a scenario where you are talking to a customer about his or her needs, and you realize what you have to offer isn’t an exact fit? Maybe you can provide part of the answer, but you know that you can’t solve the whole problem. What do you do in this scenario?

Hopefully you treat it like a good doctor would. You diagnose and provide the necessary referrals to the people who can help. If you think of your customers in terms of relationships, you will always be looking to add value. One of the best ways to add value to a customer is to truly listen to their needs, be honest about what you can and can’t provide, and provide suggestions and referrals when you can’t solve the problem.

Listen First

If you want to be able to give good advice, you need to be able to listen to your customers and diagnose their issue. If you are too focused on what you are offering, you will miss what the customer is saying they need. If this happens, you will not get the sale. The customer will realize that what you are offering isn’t going to be a fit for them. They probably won’t tell you right away. But eventually, when you catch them on your third or fourth follow up call, they will tell you that they aren’t going to buy.

If you do take the time to listen, a different dynamic will be in play. You will see that what you offer is not an exact fit, perhaps even before the customer does. If you do, you can adjust. You can honestly tell them that you see their need and that you don’t have a perfect solution. Then, in that moment, you can build trust with that person by telling them your suggestion and referrals for people who might be able to help them further. When you do this, one of two things can happen, and perhaps both.

First of all, you will have the opportunity to continue to build a relationship with this customer. You want to do this whether or not you get the sale. By listening and providing pertinent info, the customer will be happy to engage in a continuing relationship. You will be a valuable source of information going forward. You will have the opportunity to stay in contact via newsletters, phone calls, and more. The door remains open, even if the sale doesn’t happen.

Secondly, when you recognize that you can’t provide a complete answer and recommend some other options and ideas, you may find that you still end up with a sale in the end. Because you provided good advice, you will be valued. If you can provide a piece of the puzzle, the customer may want to work with you on that piece. Finding a business that can provide good advice and be trusted is a valuable thing, after all.

Network and Learn

Listening is the key to being able to give good, pertinent advice. But you are also going to need to know what to say and who to recommend when you find a need that your business doesn’t fill.

Educate yourself about broader issues in your industry. Read books, blogs, and go to conferences. If you have a solid understanding of things that your customers need to know, you will be in a position to provide great advice.

Just as importantly, network with people and businesses who provide answers that you don’t. Get to know the people you may end up recommending. Remember, trust is the most important currency you have. If you refer a customer to a business, you had better trust that business to do a great job. If you don’t have that confidence, it is better to not refer. Go out and find companies that share values with you. Build a network of complimentary businesses so that you will have someplace good to send customers on referral. Chances are, if you build these relationships, you will receive referrals in return.

Give the Best Advice

Its okay to be known for giving advice, as long as its good advice. Don’t spout off about things you know nothing about. Do your research. Put in the time to provide great information. Yes, you will be providing the extra information for free. In some cases, you will even be convincing customers to take their business somewhere else. But here is what matters, your relationship and your reputation.

Be a fountain of good advice and you will attract quality customers as well as a great network of complimentary businesses. You will also be trusted, which makes getting sales a whole lot easier. So don’t be afraid to be honest and to be helpful, even at your own expense. It’ll pay off in the end.

photo credit: laughlin

Recommended Reading

I am constantly on the prowl for good business books. Right now, I am reading Crush It, by Gary Vaynerchuk. I love Gary’s take on passion and business. This book will give you a kick in the butt to get up and get moving as you pursue your passions and your business.

If you are interested in Crush It, you can get it through Amazon by clicking here or by visiting your local bookstore.

Have a Small Business Question? Ask me and I will answer it here – email me with your question now.

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Bradford Shimp is the publisher of All Biz Answers. He is also the co-creator of Idea Anglers, a place to see your ideas come to life through collaboration. Follow on Twitter @bradfordshimp. Let Bradford help you with your business – visit BroadRiverCreative.com