Posts Tagged ‘truth’

Do you ever feel like you are the king of the world one day, with things just clicking in your business, only to find yourself wondering what you are doing and where you are going the next day? I have been personally struggling with this of late. The problem comes from having a general idea of what you want to accomplish with your business, but having no real, day to day, plan of how to get there. Call it non-planicitis.

You Need a Plan

The truth is, without some kind of plan, you have a much harder time staying on task. Staying on task directly relates to meeting your business goals, so it is very important.

You need to know where you are going if you ever want to get there. So, if you feel like you are hitting walls pretty often, or if you find yourself constantly changing direction, stop everything. Take the day off and work on a plan. Thats what I am going to do. Its time to refocus and really get a handle on where you are going.

Track Your Progress

Once you know where you are going, you need to put in place markers along the route so that you will know that you are still on track. A good plan includes a step by step map that takes you from where you currently are to where you want to be. Draw the map, and then trust it every day. For me, I think my map will include some non-blog writing every day. I really want to create some info products, but in order to do it I have to work on it a little every day. Your daily tasks will be your own. Your job is to make sure that you know what to do every day to get you to the goal.

Learn the Power of No

Just as important is knowing what not to do every day. I, for one, am easily distracted. Because I am in the beginning phases of my own business, I could take it literally anywhere. If you are in a more established business, you are already a little more focused. But it is still possible to take your business off the path if you are not careful. Say no to things that aren’t going to move you toward your goal.

I think the only way to keep things moving forward daily, and to avoid rabbit trails and walls, is to have a good plan. Read my article on business planning for some advice on how do that. Or just think of your business path as a map. Figure out where you are going, and then put in place the steps and the daily activities that will get you there.

Happy planning. I hope you have smooth sailing.

photo credit: Horia Varlan

I hear this question a lot. When a small business starts getting involved in social networks, such as Twitter, the owner wants to know if they should allow any personality to show or not. The question is a valid one, and my opinion comes down pretty heavily on one side. However, before I give that to you, I want to walk through the process that a small business goes through when its first dipping its foot into social media.

Why Do You Get Involved?

As a small business owner, there is really only one reason to get involved in social media. You want to get sales. If you are moving into social media for this, congratulations, you are still ahead of the curve.

Its possible that you were involved in social media on a personal level before you decided to bring your business into the mix. Most of us have Facebook pages and LinkedIn accounts. However, you probably didn’t spend that much of your personal time on these sites. As a small business owner, you simply don’t have all that much personal time.

So when you decided to bring your business into social networks, you probably didn’t already have a huge personal presence. You have to build something from scratch for your business. You think, and rightly so, that social networking can drive sales to your business. But you may be mistaken in how you think that will happen. Lets look at where most small businesses are coming from in terms of marketing driven sales.

Where Are You Coming From?

As a small business, the truth is, you probably don’t do a whole lot of marketing. You are probably considering social media because you have heard its effective and, just as importantly, its free. There is no shame in this. Free marketing can be just as effective as paid.

When a small business does market in the offline world, it is usually in the form of newspaper ads, yellow pages, and post cards. And because all of these things get expensive, you probably don’t do these as consistently as you would like. With social networks, you will be able to be very consistent. In fact, it is a necessity.

When you market now, you probably spend a fair amount of time talking about your business and hoping your message will reach people who are ready to buy. This traditional form of marketing could also be called interruption marketing.

So, it would make sense if you tried the same tactics on social media. You may think that the best thing you can do on Twitter and in your newsletter is to provide deals and advertisements for your business. When you first start out, you will likely want to talk about your business all of the time. That is what you are used to doing. You get sales by telling people what you do.

Let me intervene right here. If there was a television station that was all commercials, all of the time, would you watch it? No, you would not. Likewise, people will not pay attention to you online if you are a 24/7 commercial. Its okay to make some mistakes when you get started. But in order to make social media worthwhile for your business, you need to get a feel for what it is all about.

How Long Does it Take to Get Comfortable?

Getting comfortable with social media tools is an important aspect of your success. If you don’t “get it”, you will never make a dime and will be wasting your time.

“Getting it” involves more than learning the technology. You also need to learn the people. Your prospective customers don’t log in to Facebook with the hopes that they will see a promotion from your business. People aren’t interacting looking to buy. Instead, they are looking for entertainment, education, and answers to their problems.

What you need to do is take enough time building relationships so that you can get a feel for your prospects and how they use social media. Then you can position yourself to be an entertainer, and educator, or a problem-solver.

This takes buying in to the power of online relationships. If you think its all a gimmick, please feel free to stay away. If you don’t spend time on social networks yourself, you aren’t going to be able to find the perfect voice for your business. If you learn how to interact, on the other hand, you will be turning up all kinds of new opportunities for your business.

Should You Be Yourself or Not?

Making the decision about whether you should let your personality shine through on social networks needs to be informed by your own usage of these tools. The  question is whether  your business is interesting without your personality. Also, you need to recognize how important you are to your business’s brand.

Think about this. The most popular people on Twitter are, well, people.  Businesses get follows, but there is less of a personal connection. If you are going to be interacting and building relationships on social networks, it is much easier to do it as a person. And as a person, you can build trust and point people back to your business.

My answer to whether you should be yourself on social networks is a resounding yes. It starts with you taking a different view of social media than you take with your traditional marketing. In a way, social media is more about sales than marketing. This is because its about personal connections. When you are on Twitter or Facebook, your big goal should be to build a network. It is only later that you can tap that network to drive sales. And when you are ready to, you will already have a good understanding of what your prospects will respond to.

In the end, it does all come down to sales. But its not a numbers game. Social media allows you to build a group of qualified prospects that respect you first, and then buy from you second. It is hard to build this kind of network as a faceless business.

Don’t be afraid to be a person. You are a person when you make a sales call, or when you talk to a customer on the phone. Be the same person online. Join social networks as yourself and contribute to the conversations. You will have plenty of opportunities to talk about your business. And if you do decide to send out a special offer, at least there will be people listening.

photo credit: We-Present: Travel-UggBoy-The-Photographer!

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

I am a huge advocate of blogging and a weekly email newsletter. I think every small business should employ these tools, for a bunch of different reasons. Perhaps the biggest thing that stands in the way of accomplishing this is that small business owners don’t think that they have enough to say.

The truth is, there is always plenty that you can talk about with your customers. As you start to do it, chances are pretty good that your passion will be reignited and that you will be able to think of new things each week or even every day. Here are a few things that make good conversation with customers. As you practice talking to your customers more regularly, you will discover what works best for you.

Educate Them On Your Product

If you sell a product that has any kind of complexity at all, you might be able to talk to your customers about it. By providing eduction on how to use the product more effectively, you are providing a serious service. Don’t just hide your information in a user manual. Be proactive and highlight uses for your product and provide trainings on how to use it.

Smartdraw is a company that does this very effectively. They sell a software program that allows you to make all kinds of charts, mind maps, and really a ton of different visualizations. They use their blog and email newsletter to teach customers how to use the product better. They also include case studies of customers and how they are using the service. It is all very helpful and turns Smartdraw into more than just a software provider. They are also an information provider and an asset to each of their customers.

Provide Related Information

When you are looking for topics to talk about with customers, don’t just focus on your product or service. Instead, think about how your business intersects with customers’ lives. You attract a certain type of customer. Your customers probably have similar interests with other customers. Find out what these interests are and start writing or talking about them. If, for instance, many of your customers are teachers, talk about topics that would be interesting to teachers. Sharing news, tips, and event information with customers is a great way to connect as well.

Stevco Fundraising is a company that does a lot of work with school parent groups and youth sports organizations. So, instead of blogging just about fundraising, it provides advice and news of interest for this type of customer. What’s really nice about this is that a company can easily speak to a wider audience, beyond its existing customer base. By speaking on wider issues, your small business can attract new customers.

Talk About Issues They Face

Your customers have unique concerns and issues that they face daily. They may not be the same issues that you face. Find out customer needs and then talk about them. In this way, you can become a trusted advisor for your customers and for others who face similar issues.

The point is to connect with customers where they are at. This is sometimes in the sales interaction, where they need your product or service. But your customer is probably thinking about that need on a limited basis. Find out their other needs and help with them. In some cases, you may be able to provide an answer with your business. Other times, you will just need to be there. Building trust builds loyalty and will lead to sales.

Give Them an Insiders Look at Your Business

Okay, so if it is killing you that you can’t talk about your business all of the time, this one is for you. By being transparent and interesting, along with a bunch of other stuff, you can actually get customers interested in you and your business. If you can create that dynamic, you can talk about the inside baseball of your business. Fans will always want to hear what is going on inside. The trick, of course, is to create fans. In order to do that, you need to do the stuff from the other suggestions and always focus on your customers first.

Don’t spill all of the beans. Always keep your fans asking for more. At the same time, be transparent. Talk about your challenges and invite feedback from your customers. By bringing customers in to your story, you are creating a family. You will supercharge your fan base and they in turn will do more for your business in terms of sales then you could ever do by yourself.

Talking to your customers on a regular basis is not really that hard. The biggest trick is to just do it regularly. When you do, you will be inspired. As you can see, there is plenty to talk about. Just take the focus off yourself and plug in to the world of your customers.

photo credit: Silveira Neto

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.

Get Unique Content Weekly with The All Biz Answers Insider Newsletter

–

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