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Archive for September, 2010

Social Media Levels The Playing Field For Small Business

Posted on: September 30th, 2010 by Beth Heilman

It used to be, and not that long ago, that to be successful in a home based business you got the word out by making a list, calling your list, getting rejected by most of those people on your list, and then once you’d burned through that list, the next step would be buying leads that more times than not would cost much and produce little. Today there’s a much better way.Social Media Marketing

Now with Web 2.0 where people all over the world can interact with each other in the blink of an eye, and the social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, even the beginning home business owner can create the same amount of exposure for their business as the big guys.

There are so many different ways to promote your business online and the really cool thing is that you can choose the methods that you like the best. Let’s talk about just a few of them.

Social Networking Sites– Unless someone has just flown in from a remote deserted island, nearly everyone has heard of sites like Facebook and MySpace. They aren’t just for teenagers sharing music anymore. The big thing to remember though is that there is an etiquette when talking to folks on these social sites.

Imagine being at a huge party, are you going to go up to everyone you meet for the first time and say “Hi, my name is Al. I represent the most awesome, super-duper advanced mega product and you just have to buy it.  As a matter of fact, it’s so good that if you don’t buy it, your life will go down the toilet.”

Obviously I’m exagerating, but I’ve been on Facebook and MySpace for nearly a year and let me tell ya, those people are out there. Don’t be one of them. I had one guy make a comment on my Facebook status (status is kind of an update on what you’re doing at the moment like, Beth is… getting ready to make another blog post) because I’d mentioned I was needing some coffee and he was pitching me on his no caffeine energy drink.  Not exactly a great first impression, besides, I love my caffeine.

Websites and blogs– It used to be that to put a website online, you had to be a techy in the computer department. Thank heaven that’s not the case anymore. Now it’s possible to build an entire online business presence without knowing any computer mumbo-jumbo geeky stuff. This blog is a great example of how easy it is to reach people online. You can literally be reaching new customers and business builders within minutes.

Online Advertising– I know what you’re thinking. Advertising, lots of money, no budget, can’t do it. Yes, you can. Did you know you can advertise for free on websites like Traffic Swarm (a traffic exchange site), CraigsList, Walmart (yes, Walmart) and many others? There are also low budget places like ezines (electronic magazines), paid website ads and when you’ve gotten a little experience, pay-per-click ads on Google and MSN. (I’ll be doing training on that in the near future)

Bottom line is, you can do it. The very cool thing is that marketing online virtually eliminates rejection because you’re talking to the people who want to talk to you, and who want what you have to offer.

What a great way to build your business. How do you use social media in your business? Do you use social media in your marketing? Please leave a comment and let me know what’s working for you 🙂

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Trust Your Inner GPS

Posted on: September 17th, 2010 by Beth Heilman

How many of you out there have a GPS in your car?

You know the one I’m talking about.
That nifty little gadget that gives you directions when you program in an address or a major landmark you want to drive to.

There’s nothing quite like the comfort of knowing that you have a little computerized navigator (or nag-ivator as I call it 🙂 ) to get you to your destination using the best route possible…or does it?

The other morning I had an early morning appointment and I was running just a tad bit behind (morning meetings are usually something I try and avoid, but this one was necessary)

I programmed the address into Miss Garmin (that’s what we call her, Miss Garmin) and set off on my way. Problem was, the route she was giving me was nothing but 11 miles of traffic lights in rush hour traffic. What was she? Nuts?

Once I realized what she was up to, I hopped on the 215 beltway and flew (legally, of course) to my destination. Recalculate this, Miss Garmin!

I got there a little late, but not as late as I would have been if I’d have listened to my computerized companion.

The purpose of this story?

We all have our own inner GPS. It’s that little voice inside that
instinctively knows how to get where we’re going, but do we listen to it?
How many times have we set a goal for ourselves and in trying to take the
shortest route possible(quick fixes, get rich quick schemes, the magic
program that will make all of our business headaches disappear) only to find
that we’re hitting a red light on every corner?

The surest way to reach your goal is not necessarily taking the shortest route, but the most effective one.

In miles, Miss Garmin’s way was shorter, but riddled with lots of stops and
starts (all those magic fairy dust programs the gurus promote, or chasing
another shiny object). In the end, my time on the road would have been
doubled.

When I chose the slightly longer, but much more effective route I got to my
appointment in much less time.

My lesson for today, grasshopper? Trust yourself and your instincts. Map out
the road to your goal in the most effective way for you. If something doesn’t
feel quite right to you, most times it isn’t. You instinctively know what’s
right for you, your business and your life.

Do yourself a huge favor. Listen to your own intuition, your own inner voice.
If you need help, ask. If you need more training, get it. If you need to hire
a coach, by all means hire one. It’s the best investment you’ll ever make.

There are times when we’re so close to a situation we can’t see the solution
and we need someone on the outside looking in.

Do you trust your inner GPS? What results do you get when you do? What about
when you don’t? 🙂 Leave your comments, I’d love to hear them…

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Motivation versus Hype (and How To Tell The Difference)

Posted on: September 12th, 2010 by Beth Heilman

For any of us who have ever attended a pep rally in school or heard a pumped up rah-rah speech, we know what it’s like to get the adrenaline rushing. For that moment in time, we feel like we could go out and conquer the world on sheer will power alone. To those who call that true motivation I say, “hold your horses”.

There is a difference between true motivation and hype. Let’s define the two.

What's The Carrot That Motivates You?

What Motivates You?

True motivation comes from deep down inside. It’s that “Why” we so often hear talked about in our businesses. It’s that driving force that keeps us going when it seems like all the cards are stacked against us. It’s the reason we keep doing what we’re doing even when it appears nothing is working because our intuition “knows” it’s gonna work.

True motivation is internal, hype is external (and doesn’t last very long).

Think back to the pep rally. Everyone’s cheering, everyone’s excited, but once the source of the excitement is gone (the cheerleaders, the game), things go back to the way they were. Nothing has changed. Hype cannot take on a life of it’s own because it’s well…hype.

My advice to you is to ask yourself some hard questions.

Why am I doing what I’m doing (build your own business, starting a new fitness routine, whatever)? Is it because you truly want to? Did someone else tell you it was a good idea and you didn’t want to hurt their feelings or look foolish? Is this something you really want to do long term (even when no one else is looking)? Are you doing it for your reasons or someone elses?

There are times we’ll do something for another person before we’ll do it for ourselves, and that’s fine. Starting your own business so you’ll have the money for your kids college fund is an awesome goal.  Working out three times a week to get healthy so you can play with the grandkids one day is fantastic, but the only one who can keep you motivated to stick with it day in and day out, is you.

Hype lasts for only a moment, true motivation carries you through and lasts a lifetime.

 

 

 

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Relationship Selling and The Power Of The Truth

Posted on: September 8th, 2010 by Beth Heilman

These crazy economic times we’re in call upon those of us in business to especially mindful of Relationship Selling; customer service, trust, honesty and integrity. To illustrate the point, here’s a story that happened to me.
Relationship Selling
The other day when I was checking around,getting prices for a repair job on my car that was
hit in a rear end collision.

Since the other person’s insurance company will be paying for repairs, I wanted to get a couple of opinions so they would know I wasn’t trying to “pull one over on them”.

Let me start by saying that I have an Acura SUV. It’s my third Acura, so I know they’re not cheap to fix.

The first place I went gave me an estimate of over $1700, just to replace a muffler. That doesn’t take into account the body damage. I thought that was a little pricey so I called another muffler place for a second opinion.

The answer I got is the reason I’m writing this now.

Now, I know my car and I know the price of the parts are a little steep. When I called the second muffler shop (mind you I already had the first estimate) The guy who answered the phone quoted me a price off the top of his head of “around $150”. No asking anyone, no checking in the computer for the part number or price.

I reminded him of the make and model of my car and he then rethought his answer and said “well, maybe then double that to around $300).

Still not convinced, I stopped by the shop later that day to get a written estimate for the insurance company.

My car was put on the lift and examined. They called the parts supplier and the final estimate was over $1500!!

Now, back to point of the story. When a client or customer asks something of us, it’s because they consider us an expert.

They’ve come to us because they need the product or service we offer.

Nothing, but nothing, will kill business faster than pretending to be an expert and giving someone an answer when you don’t know all the facts.

Any business person that gives a customer an answer that “sounds good” Any amount of trust that had been established is now gone. Even if the customer still chooses to do business with that company, they’re going to be suspicious of anything they’re told.

Long term business success is based on trust and honesty.

We’re the one’s working in a certain establishment or running our business. We know more than they do, right? And if we’re not sure of something, the last thing we should do is make something up. That’s what this kid at the muffler shop did.

Rather that look up the information if he wasn’t sure, or ask someone who had more experience, he told me something that even I, as a non-mechanic knew wasn’t true.

Did I go in and get the estimate anyway? Yes, they are a national chain that I knew the insurance company would recognize.

Did I believe the actual technician who looked at my car? Yes, because he showed me (in black and white) the price for the parts. He gave me the information I needed to make an informed decision and didn’t just quote something off the top of his head.

All our customers want is some understanding and honesty. They’re not asking for perfection. People are a whole lot more receptive to the not-so-great news (like the price to fix my car) when they’re being consulted with and not talked at. That’s relationship selling at it’s best.

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How To Stay Focused Working From Home

Posted on: September 2nd, 2010 by Beth Heilman

Most of us Home-Based Business Owners and Network Marketers who have worked a “real job” have dreamed of the day when we could finally give our notice, tell the boss good-bye and never look back. Ahh, freedom. It’s a beautiful thing.

Freedom is a funny thing, though. On the one hand, when you have your own business you can do what you want when you want to. On the other hand, because you can do what you want when you want to, it’s really easy to not do anything.

Keep Your Focus

Keep Your Focus

It’s also really easy to get caught up in “busy work” and put the things that will make you money on the bottom of the “to do” list.

The other day I got a really cool video from Eban Pagan promoting his course “Wake Up Productive”. In that video he talks about all the time that gets wasted in non-productive things like checking email, surfing the net (in the name of research) and returning phone calls that could be put off until later, or even delegated to someone else.

Here are some suggestions.

Figure out when your most productive times are. Let’s face it. Some of us are morning people and some are night owls. While I might get my best work done in the mornings and early afternoon, you might do better to sleep late and work later in the day. The cool thing about most of our businesses is that they’re international, so sending an email from the west coast at two in the morning would get to a business associate in Australia at a normal time. Work with your own internal clock instead of against it.

Set aside blocks of uninterrupted time to focus on just one project. Schedule one to two hour blocks of time and don’t work on anything else but that one thing. There’s no such thing as multi-tasking folks, as much as we’ve heard all the hype about it. Try this little experiment. Think about a green dog now at the same time think about a purple elephant. You have to focus on one or the other (and you can alternate between the two of them pretty fast), but you can only concentrate on one thing at once.

So many of us home based business types will simultaneously be talking on the phone to a prospect, while checking our email, while writing ourselves a reminder about something at our kid’s school and what did we really accomplish? Our prospect (the most important person in this scenario) isn’t getting the full attention he or she deserves and they can feel it. We give up effectiveness in the name of efficiency and nothing important gets accomplished.

The bottom line is this. The freedom of a home based business is in being disciplined with your time.

When you’re writing an article or blog post for your marketing campaign, do only that. Give it your complete attention and don’t stop until it finished.

When you block out time for your follow-up calls, do only that. Then your prospects have your undivided attention and they’ll be able to feel that you’re really listening to them. That you really care about what’s important to them.

When you can master your time and focus all your energy on one project at a time, you’ll be amazed at how much more productive you’ll be and how much extra time you’ll have for all the fun things in life.

 

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