Monthly Archives: July 2021

Marketing , , Leave a comment

Networking in the Next Normal

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We are on the cusp of a new era (but you know that). Can we agree to name the period before COVID-19 normal, the business-as-usual drill with which we’re all familiar? Where we are now, the present, is commonly referred to as the new normal and maybe for you the term is already getting old. But time moves forward and we will soon enter the true post-COVID-19 era, the next normal. If you expect your business venture to survive and thrive in the fast-approaching future, the time to prepare for the next normal client is now.

Preparation begins with devising strategies to recover revenue lost to the 2020-2021 shutdown. Your plan to encourage and support client acquisition and increased revenue may include upgrades to the company’s digital presence, more sophisticated and targeted content marketing, greater use of marketing automation, greater attention devoted to financial management and post-pandemic next normal networking activities.

Networking is one of the most important business development activities that a Freelance consultant can perform. Networking can have a significant impact on your ability to meet potential prospects and build your client list. In the post-COVID environment, you would be wise to put your networking energy into building relationships and not blatantly hunting for a sale.

In your travels, where networking can organically happen anywhere and need not be limited to formal meetings or conferences, set your sights on meeting people who you find interesting and enjoy getting to know. Should the subject of business comes up, listen for ways that you can be helpful.

While conversing with a new colleague in person or online, you may eventually find an opening to talk turkey and slip into LeadGen. Whether you meet your new colleague in real time or by digital means, the smart networking strategy is to use finesse as you steer the conversation to the next level. Don’t risk undoing the effort you’ve invested with a clumsy approach.

  • Ask the right questions: Be politely curious and actively listen as you encourage your new colleague to talk about him/herself and their business. Focus on getting to know those whom you meet.
  • Be a resource: Marketing is the new sales. Offer insights based on your experiences and/or offer to send a link to additional info that spotlights your expertise and grasp of the goal or problem that a would-be prospect needs to address.
  • Don’t be afraid to play the long game: You’re not going to marry someone on the first date and you’re probably not going to reach your LeadGen goal in the first encounter. Start networking conversations by asking questions and actively listening, to learn more about the potential prospects. Build trust as you invite him/her to do what they like best—-talk about themselves! It can also be an excellent strategy for building relationships and finding clients.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: The the networking is in full swing in a scene from an unidentified circa 1930s Hollywood movie.

Sales , , , Leave a comment

Make Email Subject Lines Pop

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Email marketing is an all-star player in your outbound marketing lineup. During the 15 month pandemic shutdown email marketing which, BTW, includes your blog posts and newsletters, became even more important as business leaders struggled to maintain communication with clients and prospects.

Think about it—-before you can schedule a video call to launch a full-on sales presentation, you need to establish contact with would-be prospects and open the door to the buyer’s journey. LeadGen is how to keep your sales pipeline filled and the process deserves a comprehensive inbound and outbound approach.

The challenge with email marketing is getting your message opened and read, even when the recipient knows your company. The powerful decision-makers you need to reach are pummeled with dozens of emails every day, Monday to Friday (and sometimes on the weekend). To manage the inflow, your decision-maker prospects are constantly prioritizing their inbox, often setting up filters and other gateways to organize messages that help them respond to important and urgent notes as efficiently as possible.

If you expect to persuade your intended prospect to click on your email in the midst of a typical deluge, it’s imperative that your email stand out in the best way. The way to do that is to create a stop-and-read subject line, an irresistible headline, that acts like a magnet. The subject line is the single most important part of an email because the opportunity to tell your story is lost if your email is sent to trash. The success of your marketing strategy is tied to the open rate of your sales/ marketing emails.

So, how does one create an intriguing, arresting, read-me email subject line? While every subject line is unique, there are guidelines to keep in mind as you write. In short, your subject line must tell recipients that your email contains information they’ll consider valuable, or somehow interesting, maybe a tad controversial or unexpected.

Eye-catching

Words such as free, limited offer and new are among those that can potentially make your subject line grab the reader. Providing a contrarian or surprising fact or statistic that challenges a common belief can likewise be compelling. Info that concerns a recent change in the industry is an update that many clients and prospects will appreciate.

Call-to-action

A call-to-action asks the reader to do something — learn, win, sign up, give feedback, for example. Many emails that drop into the average inbox lack an interesting, appealing subject line. It’s so easy for the eye to slide over much that is sent.

Devise an amusing, novel, or practical call-to-action that will both grab attention and either inspire or dare your intended reader to read on.

What’s in it for the reader?

Do you sell a product or service that can help your email recipients make money, save money, or save time? Can you help the reader’s organization achieve a mission-critical goal faster, more easily and maybe at a lower than expected cost? All of these scenarios offer value to your recipient and are enticing benefits to include in your subject line.

Be concise

Your subject line must do a lot of work in a small space. It must grab attention with a call to action, tempt the recipient with what could be in it for him/her and concisely getting to the point.The ideal length of an email subject line varies between mobile, desktop, and tablet devices, so keep this in mind as you craft the perfect one-liner for your sales email. On average, the maximum subject line is about 40 characters so that it can be seen in its entirety on phone, tablet, laptop, or desk model devices.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Attention grabbing front page headline in the Roswell (NM) Daily Record July 8, 1947 issue

Professional Development , Leave a comment

8 Great Business Reads for Summer 2021

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This summer seems tailor-made for staying close to home. International travel remains a difficult proposition as COVID-19 rages on, causing the Tokyo Summer Olympics to ban the presence of a live audience. Weather across the U.S. has been a problem, with the East Coast repeatedly doused with heavy rain while western states suffer through dangerously dry conditions and temperatures ranging from the 90s to beyond 100F.

We cannot control the weather, but we can control our response to it. Whether summer finds you in your back yard or a park in the city, vacationing in the mountains or near the water, why not crack open a business book or two and pick up some pointers on how to grow your business skills? Please take a look at the recommendations below.

Rise and Grind (Daymond John with Daniel Paisner, 2018)

Shark Tank investor Daymond John reminds readers that anything worth having is worth working for. He tells the outrageous truth—if you want to create real success in business, then be prepared to out-think, out-hustle and out-perform the competition. In 1992, John and three friends in his hometown of Queens, NY founded FUBU, a casual apparel line that become must-have street style fashion.

In this New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling book, John shares behind-the-scenes stories of how he overcame adversity and went on to co-found and become CEO of a company that now generates nearly $6 billion in annual sales worldwide. https://www.goodreads.com/pl/book/show/35083562-rise-and-grind

The Art of the Start 2.0 (Guy Kawasaki, 2015)

Kawasaki made a name for himself in the 1980s, when he helped launch the Apple Macintosh computer. He’s an entertaining writer and presenter and his book is filled with practical advice, particularly for those who’ll need venture capital. Whether you’re leading an existing business or planning to launch a new venture, you’ll find Kawasaki’s cut-to-the-chase business building blueprint useful and inspiring.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-art-of-the-start-20-guy-kawasaki/1120058655

Marketing Made Simple (Donald Miller, with Dr. J.J. Peterson, 2021)

New York Times best-selling author Donald Miller details how to create and implement a marketing plan that will bring qualified prospects to your door. Readers learn the fundamentals of lead generation, how to build a sales funnel, how to recognize and optimize key customer touch points and how to develop and communicate an authentic brand story that builds trust and loyalty.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/marketing-made-simple-donald-miller/1132751806

Uplevel Your Business, Uplevel Your Life (Kristen S. David, 2020)

Discover the four pillars of successful business management. Ms. David gives Freelancers and small business owners a roadmap for scaling or growing your venture. Learn to recognize growth opportunities and push them forward with smart action plans. Learn to accurately monitor progress with relevant quarterly goals. Understand the types of operational support systems and processes that will enable you and your team to build and sustain a thriving, profitable venture.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50390493-uplevel-your-business-uplevel-your-life

Eat What You Kill (Donald Williams, 2020)

In 2005, Williams launched the eponymous Williams Accounting and Consulting in New Orleans, LA and in 2006, he opened a second location in Atlanta, GA. Small business owners are the principal customer group served. Guiding clients as they grow their ventures is Williams’ mission and he provides for readers valuable money-saving and money-making strategies that will enhance your financial management and future.

Donald Williams’s “Eat What You Kill” Promotes Financial Empowerment

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work (Michael E. Gerber, 2004)

The author is credited with revealing the distinct differences between working in and working on your business. Gerber has more revealing insights to share in this influential book, including the common fantasy that just because you enjoy and may even excel at doing something—cooking, for instance—does not mean you are prepared to operate even a modestly successful restaurant. Just because you are good at something doesn’t make you qualified to turn your hobby into a business.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/81948.The_E_Myth_Revisited

Your Next 5 Moves: Master the Art of Business Strategy (Patrick Bet-David, 2020)

At age 10, Bet-David and his parents escaped war in Iran. The family traveled to the U.S., earned citizenship and Bet-David eventually joined the Army and served in the 101st Airborne Division. After his tour of duty, he worked in the financial services industry. Before his 30th birthday, Bet-David successfully launched PHP Agency, Inc., an insurance sales, marketing and distribution company, which has become one of the fastest-growing ventures in the financial services sector.

But when Bet-David created the video The Life of an Entrepreneur in 90 Seconds, it went viral. The 30 million viewers his educational video received inspired Bet-David to found Valuetainment, which quickly became the #1 YouTube channel for entrepreneurs.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50542735-your-next-five-moves

The Lean Startup (Eric Ries, 2011) Ries has a long history with start-up ventures, variously serving as a start-up employee, adviser and founder and this book is a long-time best seller. While a college student, he founded Catalyst Recruiting, a platform on which students could create and share their professional profiles that could bring them to the obtaining a job after graduation. The venture failed, because he didn’t understand the needs of his customers. Ries eventually learned that in order to build a great company, one must begin with addressing the needs of target customers.

Over time, Ries connected the dots on what he’d learned about launching a new company. The lean start-up methodology favors experimentation over writing the traditional, elaborate business plan, direct customer feedback and iterative design over traditional “big design up-front” development. Although the lean startup strategy is just a few years old, its concepts—such as “minimum viable product” and “pivoting”—have quickly taken root in the start-up world, and business schools have already begun adapting their courses to teach them.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lean-startup-eric-ries/1100642052

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Books that beckon at The Last Bookstore, the largest independent bookstore in Los Angeles, CA https://www.lastbookstorela.com/about

Business Strategy Leave a comment

Kick-off FY 2022

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Hello July! Fiscal Year 2022 has arrived and happy new year. Calendar year people are greeting the second half of 2021. As businesses throughout the U.S. shake off the shutdown, we can be confident that nearly every business owner and leader is working to decipher what the post-COVID landscape looks like for their enterprise and how to make it profitable. It’s time to double down and make up for revenue losses.

In-person encounters are on the rise. Work from home policies are receding and employees are being asked to return to the office, if only for two or three days a week. To position your organization for a fourth quarter recovery, July and August are the time to put pedal to the metal and revitalize your company.

First thing, if you haven’t done so already, is to determine how much revenue was lost during the shutdown. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but that information will greatly support your recovery plans. When you know about how much revenue was lost, you’ll know how much revenue you’ll need to generate to get back on your feet and you can start to think realistically about how you might be able to do that. Use your 2019 year- end P & L figures as the 2Q 2020 – 2Q 2021 benchmark.

Focusing on the marketing and operations functions of your company will be useful as you develop rebooting strategies. The typical Freelance consultant is familiar with marketing and may even dabble in it, at least in the social media realm. However, operations is often outside of our B2B knowledge economy comfort zone. It shouldn’t be.

Operations encompasses whatever it takes to acquire or produce your product or service, get it into the clients’ hands and do so efficiently, with a goal of maximizing productivity and minimizing costs. If your clients have made adjustments in how they do business, how they serve their clients, you may have to change along with them. Changes in how you provide your products and services is an operational issue.

Pivoting to videoconferencing from in-person meetings when clients opted to work from home was an operational change for all involved. The response to that change entailed not only a change in communication but also technology and skill set upgrades (or the meeting tech was outsourced, at a price).

You’ll continue to work the operations angle as you consider the financial, technical, educational and even networking resources and activities you may need to launch your recovery, as well as the timeline. You may need to confront the reality that while some clients were able to adjust to the pandemic restrictions and bounce forward, with some having resumed working with you at some level, others may be gone forever. In other words, assess the size and likely revenue potential of your client list.

Operations will look different in every business but in your B2B service venture, be aware of operational processes, which also include invoicing and getting paid. Use the post-pandemic reopening process to rethink what you do, how you do it and for whom you can do it now that maybe a couple of big clients aren’t working with you anymore. Do you need to revamp your business model and reevaluate your value proposition? How will you you reach out to clients now?

Ramp up marketing with content and PR. Increase the name recognition and visibility, credibility, trust and perceived expertise of your business venture (and you) with text, audio, or video content that reaches out to current and prospective clients to educate, inform and engage with them. Content is still king but distribution is now queen. You must create content that persuades prospective clients to follow-up with your organization in some way—-listen to your webinar or podcast appearance, read a case study, request a free 30 minute consultation.

Include distribution in your your PR/content strategy. Not every prospect will find your content through your website or social media and that is why sending a press release to print or digital publications that are trusted by those who could potentially buy from you is important.

Work on finding good speaking engagements and use them to create a compelling PR roll-out. In-person events are being restarted. Let that inspire you to pick up the thread and reach out to organizations where you’ve appeared before, or contact those on your wish list. You could be a keynote speaker or moderate a panel. Podcasts and webinars are still a thing. Just get yourself in front of a good audience, so you’ll generate buzz in the right circles.

Your PR strategy might consist of first, confirming that the host organization will do a PR campaign to publicize your appearance. On your end, you’ll post the notice for your talk on Alignable, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts. Post your event in the local Patch if the location where you’ll speak is part of that community and also send a press release to local community newspaper. Be advised that if the editor chooses to include your story, many community newspapers will simply publish your press release so make sure that your story is concise and compelling.

As your name and your company’s appear in various online media, there will be positive impact on search engines. Google favors companies that EAT—expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness—and that’s who gets the highest page rankings.

An online presence makes your company more prominent and brings those looking for your category of products or services to your website and social media pages. That is precisely what you want, whether or not you’re rebuilding your business, because leadgen is always a priority. As you attract new potential clients, your updated operations will greet them with a seamless and pleasant experience, that may result in referrals.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Photograph: © Associated Press 1996 created by Lynne Sladky. Carl Lewis qualifies for the long jump finals at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, GA (USA).