Want to get an edge on your rivals? Then explain things in simple terms. I’ve spoken to many clients who have been impressed by my ability to explain ideas in simple terms; and who have compared me favourably with rivals who leave them confused. How do I explain things in simple terms? By using everyday language [...]
Networking groups can be a great way to grow your business – provided you remember two important rules. First, you have to be selective about which group you join. You want to hang out where your customers and/or referral partners hang out; so only join networking groups that give you access to those key people. Second, [...]
Imagine you’re in discussions with an existing customer or a potential customer. What’s the best way to communicate with that customer? Answer: however the customer prefers to be communicated with. Some prefer phone calls; some prefer texts; some prefer emails; some prefer messaging apps. Do you dislike shifting from your preferred method of communication to an [...]
Should you fake it until you make it in marketing? The answer is half no, half yes. No because you should never claim to have knowledge you don’t have – you should never pretend to be an expert in something when you’re not. But yes because you don’t need to have a particular certificate or to [...]
Do you feel uncomfortable marketing your services to friends and family? If so, one way to get around that is to let them think of the idea. Tell them what your business does, and ask them if they know of anyone who needs that kind of service. At that point, they might reply: "That's exactly what [...]
If you want to succeed with marketing, choose consistency over intensity. Don’t be one of those businesses that suddenly gets excited about, say, blogging, and then pumps out 10 blogs in the next month … and then runs out of steam. A better approach would be to write one blog per month forever. One big thing [...]
A business owner I know was running all his marketing through Facebook … which seemed like a great idea until his account was hacked and Facebook suspended his account. The business owner tried desperately to get his account back online, but Facebook is a big, bureaucratic organisation that moves at its own pace and follows its [...]
Every six months, the universe presents us with two glorious marketing opportunities. The first is the end of the financial year (June 30 in Australia). The second is the end of the calendar year (December 31). As the year is drawing to a close, you have the perfect pretext to contact old clients and ask them [...]
Have you noticed the connection between relationships and sales? It's easy to persuade a family member or an old friend to buy from you, because they know, like and trust you. That’s why it’s so important for you to constantly work on building new relationships and nurturing existing relationships. And that’s why relationships are a form [...]
Want to build a strong personal brand or a strong reputation for your small business? One surprisingly simple tactic is to do what you say you’re going to do. I continue to be amazed by how positively new clients respond when they discover my company, Hunter & Scribe, contacts them when we say we will and [...]
