| “The more intensely we feel about an idea or a goal, the more assuredly the idea, buried deep in our subconscious, will direct us along the path to its fulfillment.” - Earl Nightingdale
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Posts Tagged ‘clients’
Setting Goals & Completing Them
Monday, October 10th, 2011How to ‘Network’ When Your Referral Network is Built
Thursday, March 10th, 2011
In 2010, I built a relationship marketing network from scratch that produced over $200,000 in revenue for our company. If you want to learn how I did that, attend my next Referrals and Revenue seminar at the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce.
In 2011, I have had new challenges with relationship marketing: I could do the same thing I did in 2010 and get the same results, or I could change my relationship marketing tactics and get different (better) results. I have chosen to change my tactics – but how?
Here are a few questions about relationship marketing that I have had, and how I have approached them. I would love to get your feedback on how you have attacked these same issues.
Why should I go to networking events when my referral network is already built?
You already have a group of 15 referral partners that you consistently trade business with, whom you know, like, and trust. You could add more people to that group, but it’s not the best use of your time. Consider networking from a leadership and branding perspective. Your thought and referral leadership is still needed in strategic networking circles, and you should be leading networking groups, instead of just attending. When you lead, your message and brand travels faster, and will allow you to pick up clients and referrals that you have done very little ‘work’ to obtain. Don’t go to events to just grab a beer and hob nob; grab a microphone, run the meeting, and watch your message spread like wildfire.
How do I begin networking with more of my clients directly?
After your strategic network is built, then you can begin networking with your clients. Begin your networking at places like Rainmakers, BNI, or your local Chamber of Commerce to build your strategic network, and then start thinking about the associations that your clients belong to. If your clients are Accountants or Architects, you should join and take a leadership position in the Indiana CPA Society or the American Institute of Architects. There are associations for almost every profession. Find the one for your target market, join them, and take the lead in order to get noticed.
How do I leverage special interest groups to generate revenue?
Your strategic team is built, and you are a leader within your clients’ sphere of influence. Now, it’s time to impact your community and be a leader on a larger scale. Whether your interests lie in puppies, preeclampsia, or politics, there is something that you are passionate about that you should give your time to.
Join a special interest group.
When you do this, you are seen in the community as someone who cares about people in a bigger way than just “making money”, and you’re able to connect with other leaders in a deeper and more personal way.
Out of the three relationship marketing strategies I mentioned, this one takes the most time to convert into revenue. The way to begin that process is by meeting with everyone one-on-one, getting genuinely interested in what they care about, and building your credibility over time. Eventually, your special interest pals will think of you when they randomly come across someone who needs your services.
One of the unifying themes in this blog is leadership. When you show up in the community as a leader, that is when ‘next-level’ relationship marketing takes off!
Jamar Cobb-Dennard is the Vice-President of Business Development for reachmore, which teaches small business owners how to build a business that runs without them. For more resources on business leadership, please visit reachmore’s seminars.
Your Prospects are Waiting for You!
Tuesday, January 25th, 2011
Snow stinks, and I hate shoveling. On Tuesday, I saw a teenager walking around the neighborhood with a shovel, soliciting impromptu snow removal jobs.
As I pulled into my garage, he got turned down two doors down, and then won a job at my next door neighbor’s house.
As I sat in my living room, I longed for this kid to scrape his plastic snow remover on my concrete too. I watched him with anticipation, hoping that he would finish quickly so he could come over an aid in my laziness. All I wanted that evening was to give this kid $20 so I could watch him do my work.
The phone rang. My mom called. I got distracted. The kid left without even coming to my house.
I was distraught.
How many of your potential clients are sitting in their offices upset because you neglected to call them with an offer to buy?
Think about it, and then pick up the phone.
Jamar Cobb-Dennard is the Vice-President of Business Development for reachmore, which teaches small business owners how to build a business that runs without them. For more resources on business leadership, please visit reachmore’s seminars.
Perception vs. Reality
Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010I recently completed a book called Sway by Ori and Rom Brafman.
It reinforces the concept that perception is almost always for more important than reality.
We often tell ourselves that we shouldn’t “judge a book by its cover” but unfortunately most people do. And with the onslaught of information coming at us each day, this is the new reality.
As a result, it is absolutely critical that you consider the impression you leave on others at all times.
If you’re not sure where to start ask yourself the following questions?
1. What does my physical appearance say about me?
2. What does my facial expression say about me?
3. What does my voice mail greeting say about me?
4. What does my car say about me?
5. What does my tone of voice say about me?
6. What does my email signature say about me?
7. What does my website (think initial impression) say about me?
8. What does my contract say about me?
Now more than ever we need to realize that it’s extremely difficult to overcome a first impression.
By the way… If you find yourself thinking, “I don’t want to do business with people that are going to allow my appearance, car, tone of voice, etc. affect their opinion of me?” get ready to cut your pool of prospects by 90%.
CJ McClanahan is the Founder of reachmore, which provides leadership coaching for small business and executives. Email CJ at cjm@goreachmore.com for the latest on reachmore’s revolutionary executive coaching program, Summit.
Click here to learn more about CJ’s new book – Thrive.
Image vs. Brand in Small Business
Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010In small business, your image is the collective thought about what the marketplace thinks of your product or service. Your brand is the experience that your product or service actually delivers for your clients.
Make sure that your image and brand match.
Remember Milli Vanilli? Yeaaaaah… Total image/brand mismatch. Get it?
Another example is Ke$ha. Her image is awesome; Saucy funny attitude, cute catch phrases, kinda hot messy hair, and an attractive body. She has a pretty face, a few signature dance moves, and her voice is cool – until you hear her sing acapella. This girls singing is horrible. Seriously. Check out this live SNL performance. Horrible.
After you have spent so much time creating a fancy website, eye-catching business cards, a cool 60-second pitch, and bought fancy clothing to impress your clients, don’t forget to make sure that your actual product ROCKS.
That is the best thing that you can do to create an amazing brand and image.
Jamar Cobb-Dennard is the Vice-President of Business Development for reachmore, which teaches small business owners how to build a business that runs without them. For more resources on business leadership, please visit http://blog.goreachmore.com.
What Does Happiness Mean to the Bottom Line?
Tuesday, August 24th, 2010I just completed “Delivering Happiness” by Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos.
The book was average (If you want a good summary go and Google the Zappos core values, you don’t need to read it). However, I do believe that Tony is truly a revolutionary CEO and can teach us all a lesson.
In an age where your competitive advantage can disappear overnight (think MySpace), we all need to focus on something that can separate us from everyone else.
That something is people.
Tony clearly demonstrates that by focusing on creating an amazing environment that is filled with passionate people you can achieve just about anything.
It doesn’t matter what you sell (he chose shoes), the key to building a great business has everything to do with how well you treat your people.
I couldn’t agree more.
In a hyper-competitive environment our prospects are trying to commoditize our products/services every day. We have to get different.
I would first look at your people. What if they were truly passionate about your company? Would your customers see the difference? Would your prospects?
CJ McClanahan is the Founder of reachmore, which provides leadership coaching for small business and executives. Email CJ at cjm@goreachmore.com for the latest on reachmore’s revolutionary executive coaching program, Summit.
Feedback
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010About 1 year after I began coaching business owners I started sending out a customer satisfaction survey asking my clients how I was doing.
The first few response were great. I had responses like, “For the first time in my life I have a clear direction for my business” and “one of the best investments I have made as a business owner”. I felt great!
Then it happened.
I was sitting in my office and heard the familiar hum of the fax machine indicating that a message was on the way. I looked over and noticed that it was coming from a current client who had recently received the customer satisfaction survey. I was seconds away from reading another glowing testimonial about how my coaching had transformed another business owner.
Unfortunately, that’s not what I read.
Instead, this feedback form was filled with comments like “this isn’t what I expected” and “I am receiving very little value from this program”.
My heart sank. I literally felt like I was going to cry.
But guess what? I am a much better coach today because of feedback from that very honest business owner (who remained my client for more than 3 years).
There is no better teacher than a very honest assessment of your performance.
I realize that sometimes the feedback might be negative. That’s OK. This feedback is by far the most valuable of all.
CJ McClanahan is the Founder of reachmore, which provides leadership coaching for small business and executives. Email CJ at cjm@goreachmore.com for the latest on reachmore’s revolutionary executive coaching program, Summit.
The Rule
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010I have a “to do” list. It is related to my quarterly goals which are a subset of my 2012 objectives.
Like most, I get off track from time to time and wonder if I set the wrong goals.
Maybe.
However, when all is said and done, what is real reason that I set out to accomplish these daily to-do’s?
That is the question. In fact it may be the only question that matters.
Is my goal to have more checks on my “to-do” list than anyone else? Is it to make more money? Have more clients?
Something tells me that you probably face the same questions on a daily basis.
And if you answer is that you want more money, more clients and more stuff that is OK. As long as these things provide fulfillment to your question (What is the reason I do what I do?).
However, experience tells me that it is unlikely that the acquisition of more money, clients and things will lead to any satisfaction.
So, what will?
I am certain that it is different for everyone. Nevertheless, this week I would like to suggest that you try an experiment.
This week, let the following question guide your daily activity – “How can I make a positive contribution in the life of someone else?”
Give it a week, I promise you won’t regret the investment of putting the needs of others before your own.
10 Ways to Generate Immediate Sales!
Friday, November 20th, 2009This blog is an example of simple exercise that I took our Account Executive through last week. She is building her portion of our business from scratch, and if she wants to get immediate sales, she is going to have to beat the pavement. Yes, Beat It – just like Michael Jackson.
This blog may not be for executive leadership, but it is for any business owner who wants to survive the re-prioritization of corporate dollars spent by generating new leads and immediate sales fast!
Here are the top 10 ways to generate immediate sales:
1. Scour your personal database – When I sold Cutco, we started our lead base with our friends and family. After I had been in the business a few years, it always amazed me when new kids beat me for the week. They didn’t beat me because they were better; they beat me because they saw people who they already had rapport with. If you want an instant jump in sales, scour your personal database for a few new leads. You’ll be surprised with the results.
2. Go Networking Today – If you don’t have any revenue generating appointments today, get online and find a networking event. Between all of the chambers, Rainmakers, BNI, and other small networking groups, there are at least 5 substantial networking events going on EVERY DAY. Find one, attend it, and get some leads.
3. Call Your Strategic Relationships – In between appointments, I usually call someone from my referral team just to touch base. I have found that 1 out of 5 of these calls results in someone giving me a new lead within the next 24 hours.
4. Show Up at a Leads’ Door – I’m sure you have some leads that you have called for a month and they are NEVER available, right? The solution to that is to just stop by their office. When you’re there, do your phone approach and ask them for an appointment. It’s harder to ignore someone or say no when they’re standing right in front of you.
5. Call Your Current Clients – Your current clients probably love you, and will become even more infatuated when you call them to ‘check-in’ on their customer satisfaction. As you build a deep relationship with your clients, they will refer you business before you even open your mouth to ask!
You may have noticed that I stopped at 5 tips when I said that there are 10. There are 10, but you’ll have to wait a week or so to get them. I like to keep my readers coming back for more! By the way, the last 5 are some of the most creative ideas that I have ever thought of to get new leads, and they will change your results in a huge way. Check back later this month for the rest of the scoop!
Jamar Cobb-Dennard is the Vice-President of Business Development for Reachmore, which provides leadership coaching for small business and executives. Email Jamar at jamar@goreachmore.com for the latest on Reachmore’s newest seminar, Launch.