Monthly Archives: June 2021

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Why, When and How to Delegate

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WHY? Because you have a boatload of things to do and there aren’t enough hours in the day to complete them all. Because you may not have the expertise or inclination to do everything that needs to get done. Because removing certain tasks from your plate will improve your productivity and also lower your stress level.

The best leaders know how to delegate. There is an art to delegating, though, and to do it well takes practice. Some leaders resist delegating because they assume it will take as much time to explain to someone how to do what needs to be done as it would to do it themselves. Others are so buried in work that they’re unable to recognize what only they, the leader, can do and what someone else can do.

Those who have employees should also realize that delegating certain tasks to the team represents skills-building opportunities for them. Delegate selected tasks and you acknowledge the expertise within your team and demonstrate your trust in their professionalism. Employee job satisfaction will increase, as will the quality of work they do, because your employees will feel valued and respected.

Delegating can be a win-win for all, but upfront planning and maybe also a tutorial will be necessary. Furthermore, you’ll need to decide who you’ll delegate to and why.

WHEN? First, take an honest look at your to-do list and the timetables involved. Do you have the time and bandwidth to do it all? Then, determine which tasks can be called executive functions that only you can do, like meeting with clients or writing proposals and contracts. Next, acknowledge your primary skill set and own up to those tasks that you simply hate doing.

Now you’re ready to figure what you might delegate. Rather than muddling through and forcing yourself to take on what you either don’t do well or hate doing, do the smart thing and delegate to employees or to a Freelancer who has the expertise needed.

Bookkeeping, graphics, payroll and video meeting tech help are often outsourced. Do you have an important client proposal to prepare? If you’ve been invited to submit a proposal that may win you a new client, ask a team member who has a talent for creating data presentation graphics to turn the numbers you’ll include in the financial section into easily understood and visually interesting charts and graphs. Train a team member who has an affinity for technology to run and manage the tech requirements for videoconference meetings and webinar.

HOW?

Communicate expectations

Be specific about what you would like to be done. If there is a deadline attached, make it known. Create project milestones to help guide and pace the project and ensure that the final deadline is achieved. Commit directions to writing, so that everyone understands and you remember what you asked for. Verify that the person(s) to whom you delegate understands what to do, the process you would like him/her to follow and the deadline for completion. If you delegate to a team, appoint a project leader.

Provide resources

Empower the person or team to whom you delegate and give them full access to all necessary information, budget, authority and all necessary support to come through for you. Provide the context of why their work is integral to the overall success of the larger project, if that is what is delegated, or explain why the routine task you have now passed along may seem mundane but is nevertheless vital to operating or managing the company.

Verify and give feedback

Ask questions about the progress of the work and examine what has been done. If a mid-course correction is needed, show patience as you point out what must be redone and why. Were your directions not understood, or were the required tools or resources not made available? If everything is going well, be generous with your praise.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Chefs training in the culinary arts program at the University of Hawaii

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Storytelling Basics

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We all know that bringing to market a desirable product or service is the foundation of every successful business. It would seem that alone would guarantee the ongoing presence of loyal paying customers but we also know that other factors can influence business viability. Business location and pricing may immediately come to mind, but there are less obvious factors involved as well and those factors can potentially play a significant role in creating a successful enterprise. Their absence or mishandling can tank it.

One factor that can convert an occasional customer into a repeat customer is the right brand identity that is articulated by a brand story that resonates. When a business develops an appealing brand identity and delivers a brand story that seeds an emotional connection with target customers, brand loyalty will be the likely result. Feelings of empathy and belonging drive the process.

According to Gerald Zaltman, emeritus professor of business administration at the Harvard Business School, 95% of customer buying decisions emanate from the subconscious and are fueled by emotions, not logic. In 1997, he received a U.S. patent for the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique, which is used to explore the unconscious thinking that drives behavior. Based on Zaltman’s research-backed theories about what motivates customers to buy, or not, we might infer that an effective and accessible way to create an emotional connection that draws current and prospective customers to a company and its products and services is a good brand story.

Now like every other marketing strategy, a powerful and effective brand story requires research and planning. You have to figure out what to say and how to say it. Mostly, a compelling brand story will focus on the customer, s/he who makes the purchase. We’re talking B2B products and services here, something meant to benefit an organization, even if used by just one department. Still, it’s important to remember that the buyer is an individual (representing the company) and s/he is often (but not always) one of the users of your product or service.

Think P2P, person-to-person, and incorporate personal, individual benefits and user experiences as part of your storytelling—-brand narrative, buyer’s journey, or selling points—-that make the story relevant and memorable to potential buyers. Logic-based reasoning and key statistics are helpful but they’re not the story. Bullet points and numbers quickly fade from memory.

Remember as well that buyers today have a finely-tuned sense for authentic and inauthentic storytelling and authentic means that the brand story will validate what the listener already believes and also reflects your own values. Wrap your products and services in the context of a story and your narrative instantly becomes far more memorable and trustworthy than a digital banner listing your current sale prices and website address.

The emotional connection that leads prospective customers to identify with the hero of the story and root for his/her victory is a big part of why case studies and testimonials are such effective tools. Presenting a story that shows the personal benefits someone enjoyed through your brand helps potential customers to visualize how your products and services could help them, too. Real-life stories that are presented in a compelling manner will make your brand far more memorable and valuable in the minds of your customers.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 1882 – April 1945) was elected President of the United Stares four times—1932, 1936, 1940 and 1944. His pioneering “ Fireside Chats,” broadcast on coast-to-coast radio, set a new standard in how political leaders communicate with the citizens.

Marketing , , , 2 Comments

Trendspotting: 5 Sales and Marketing Benchmarks

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Your prospects are continuing to increase their control over the buyer’s journey, enabled by the internet and the work from home culture. That said, it makes sense for marketers to confirm our understanding of how buyers respond to your marketing activities. A few key data points, culled from a large and well-selected cohort, can provide to Freelancers and others who oversee marketing or sales functions valid insights into how buyers are responding to commonly used inbound and outbound marketing tactics in the post-COVID marketplace.

The content marketing company HubSpot, based near Boston, MA, began collecting marketing and sales outcomes data from its 100,000 + customers in January 2020 which was, as it turned out, a most interesting time to begin. Barely three months later the world would change radically. Billion dollar industries, most notably travel, hotel, restaurant and fitness, would crater. Those enterprises lucky enough to have survived, or thrived, have entered a changed business environment.

Benchmark data can provide guide posts that help you to get your bearings in the new business environment. The post-shutdown business climate demands a recalibrated understanding of customer expectations. How do prospects and customers want to experience the buyer’s journey now? How do they want to be sold? Find answers here in May 2021 data.

  • Sales meetings. The number of sales meetings in May 2021 (overwhelmingly made by videoconference call) was 21% higher than what was done last May and have risen 18% since March of this year. Knees were buckling in March 2020 and nearly every company was reeling, including those that were emerging as winners, such as grocery and liquor stores. Small business owners and leaders tended to reach out to customers sooner than larger companies. It is theorized that small business owners immediately realized that if they wanted their venture to survive, it was imperative that a plan to generate revenue had to be put into action, which usually meant figuring out a polite way to contact customers (I did the same). May 2020 was not the time to pursue new business, but rather to offer empathy and reinforce relationships that one hoped could be leveraged at some point, including relationships with those who cancelled contracts just 60 days previously.
  • Prospecting. Small business (1-25 employees) got busy prospecting at a frequency that was 31% higher in May 2021 compared to May 2020 and up 26% as compared to March 2021. Companies with 26-200 employees also saw an increase in prospecting activity of 18% as compared to May 2020, with a 17% increase as compared to March 2021.
  • Website traffic. Perfect your landing page! Website traffic was 34% higher in May 2021 than it was in May 2020. Further, website traffic increased by 25% between March and May 2021. Online shopping of various kinds, from home decor at Wayfair to the take-out dinner you’ll pick up in 20 minutes at a favorite local restaurant seems to have accounted for a big chunk of the increase. Software companies accounted for 51% of website traffic seen by HubSpot customers.
  • Chat bot. Speaking of your website’s landing page, a useful tool to add there would be a chat bot. Business moved online in a big way in March 2020, but the trend has been building for 20 years. Business owners and marketers are stepping up the functionality of company websites and adding a chat bot is a leading upgrade. Customers appreciate them because through chat, they’re able to get basic questions answered quickly and without paging through the website, which can be time-consuming. The volume of chat conversations rose 16% year-over-year May 2021 compared to May 2020.
  • Marketing emails. Reports of the death of email marketing have been greatly exaggerated and marketers are reinvesting in the genre (again!). Since the start of the pandemic shutdown in mid-March 2020, marketing email volume has increased 49% through May 2021 and is 52% higher pre-COVID volume. The open rate hovers at around 15% and that is 10% – 20% higher than April 2021.
  • Sales outcomes. U.S. Businesses adapted extremely well to the numerous protocols required by the shutdown, most dramatically demonstrated by the quick and often well- executed pivot to working from home. America means business! However, unreliable cash-flow prevented many customers from buying and that resulted in sluggish sales revenue in many organizations. In April 2020, sales outcomes bottomed out at 36% lower than 1Q20 benchmarks. Positive sales outcomes rose gradually throughout 2020 and May 2021 finished with a 10% increase in deals done (national or international companies). Deal creation (proposals) climbed 35% above benchmark.

So how do these statistics apply to you? They definitively show that the shutdown has ended, that money is being made agin and that you can make money again, too. Reboot your operation by using what have become standard marketing and sales strategies and actions.

Develop a powerful digital presence for your company. Employ Inbound and Outbound marketing and sales tactics. Optimize your website to help prospects easily find information about your products and services. Post and distribute relevant marketing content to confirm your expertise. Send emails to promote engagement with customers and prospects. Work hard, work smart.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: A young lady gets serious about researching benchmark data.

Sales , , , Leave a comment

5 Smart Sales Questions

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“To get the right answers, you have to ask the right questions,” said business strategy and management expert Peter F. Drucker (1909-2005), author of pioneering management insights and founder of the Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont College in California. When your goal is to sell a product or service to a prospective client, knowing which questions to ask and when to ask them can make a big difference in your ability to make sales and generate revenue that keeps your company alive. Actionable information is worth money, even when you learn that who you hoped would be a prospect is not. Knowing when to cut bait and pursue other avenues is a good thing.

Ask a handful of questions that first, confirm that your prospect is ready to do business and next, guides the prospect through the sales (buying) journey is a pillar of the thriving company you want to build.

“How long have you been in business? Who are/ what kind of customers do you serve? What big plans are in the works now?”

Set the stage for your sales conversation by obtaining background info that gives context to why there is a need for your product or service and the role it would play in achieving company objectives, or solving/ avoiding a problem.

“You appear to have steered your company successfully through the pandemic troubles. Was there a big change, or two, that you decided had to be made to adjust to the new business reality?”

The coronavirus pandemic left no business unscathed, not even those that saw a big increase in profits, like liquor stores and delivery services. That you’ve thought to ask this question and the preceding demonstrates to the prospect that you’re interested in the business and that it’s success means something to you. Successful sales professionals, including business owners and Freelance consultants, usually aim to become a collaborative partner, a reliable and trusted resource, for the client.

“Did anything fall through the cracks as you shifted gears during the pandemic? Is there anything that was not previously a worry now emerging as a challenge?”

Here is the question where the pain is revealed. Now you’ll learn what’s keeping your prospect awake at night and what your solution must address. You continue to earn your prospect’s trust, which is invaluable. You are closing in on the sale because you’ve shown that you care enough to want to understand company leaders are grappling with and are trying to do.

“So, what will success look like?”

This question helps the prospect to define the desired outcomes and deliverables of the project, something that, surprisingly, the prospective client and his/ her team may be a little fuzzy on, Maybe the decision to ask for a meeting with you was to find out what you, and perhaps a competitor or two, can offer in terms of helping the company achieve necessary outcomes?

“What’s new? What’s next? What help might you need to make it happen?”

A question designed to do more business with clients you’ve worked before, that is, repeat business. It really is easier in terms of time and money spent to do more business with clients who know you than to bring in new clients (but a business needs both types of clients).

“What’s new?” lets the client update you on what’s been happening with the business since the last time you’ve worked together. “What’s next?” opens the door to the future—- what initiatives are on the drawing board? “What help might you need to make it happen?” is, you guessed it, a way to help the client envision a role for you as plans for a sustainably profitable future are made.

Whether you’ll speak with your prospect on line or face2face, the questions presented here will politely and unambiguously get the sales process flowing in the right direction. Your prospect will be called upon to reveal his/ her intentions about doing business. In an always-appreciated show of empathy, your questions will invite the prospect to acknowledge the impact of the pandemic on his/ her organization.

Describing the pain point that (could be) a factor driving the necessity of the project you’re there to discuss and clarifying the expected outcomes (success) and the deliverables of the project will be confirmed. If you’re trying to get back in the door and get repeat business, the final 3-part question will help you and the client to segue into that possibility. You can continue on with question two and address the impact of the pandemic or question three and get an understanding of pain points that may be driving factors. You’ll have a good chance of making a sale!

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Spices and rice bring women to the market.

Sales , , Leave a comment

Make Doing Business Easy

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Do you know what business you’re really in? I have asked this question of readers before. It remains a question that every Freelance professional or business owner should periodically explore and confirm the answer. The unspoken motives that bring clients to your door (or website) are powerful. They will evolve and adapt to the times. In order to maximize the success of your venture, those motives must be understood in the present. The drivers that brought in clients five years ago may not be persuasive today.

Add to the mix that attention spans are short and seem to be getting shorter. We are used to 140 character tweets, sent by everyone from middle school teens to captains of industry. On August 25, 2020, it was announced that there were 100 million active TikTok users each month in the U.S, uploading and viewing 60 second cell phone videos.

Everyone wants what they want now, bring it to me fast and make the way to get it easy. Instant gratification. Folks have been working from home for more than a year and they’ve come to enjoy sitting at home in their jammies, only reaching for a professional-grade shirt when a video meeting demands their presence.

Online ordering and home delivery of everything imaginable rules the day. Despite the gradual lifting of pandemic restrictions across the states, it appears that many pandemic-driven customs will remain. Whatever is fast and easy-peasy —-convenient—-is now an expectation and that’s what it takes to win the hearts and wallets of customers. Anazon CEO Jeff Bezos is well on the way toward reaching his stated goal of becoming a trillionaire.

In other words, no matter what business you determine that you’re in, the operational aspects of the buying process must be easy, seamless and convenient as customers perceive it. Let’s look at how you and your team can set that into motion.

Technology to the rescue

The right tech solutions are your ticket to making it easy and convenient for prospects and current customers to do business with your organization. The right tech solutions can also make it easy and convenient for you, Freelancer or business owner, to more efficiently manage your company by utilizing targeted software, if you will, for certain routine tasks. You and your team can then apply the time saved to working on the business—-analyzing Key Performance Index data and using the findings to develop strategies and action plans that will most likely be effective, for example.

Bring convenience to your website visitors by installing a chat bot, programmed with a half-dozen concise answers to common questions that prospects ask, that make it easy and convenient to find what’s important while in the initial stage of their decision-making process. Add links written in a bold font and brightly colored lettering that call attention to links for company contact info, the blog or newsletter, case studies or white papers and your upcoming podcast or webinar appearances. Devise an appealing Call to Action and you’ll persuade visitors to learn more about your products, your services and you.

Check website tabs to make sure that visitors can intuitively find company press releases, articles published by you or about the company, customer testimonials and any business awards, nominations, or recognition your company has received. Get site visitors to decision-influencing information quickly and easily.

Enable the sale by installing e-commerce software that you’ve determined is a good fit to make ordering, shipping and paying easy to navigate and secure with encryption.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Hugh Laurie (l) as Bertie Wooster, British gentleman and member of the Idle Rich, with Stephen Fry as Jeeves, his sardonic but loyal butler, in the BBC-TV adaptation of the P.G. Wodehouse Jeeves stories.