“You want me to do what?” 7 Steps to Write an Effective Call to Action
Once you get visitors to come to your site, what do you need to do to get them to pick up the phone, sign-up for your eNewsletter, send you an email or click on a coupon, etc.? Here are 7 steps you can take to convert visitors into leads for your business.
How To Ask For a Recommendation – And What To Do If They Say No?
“It’s an equal failing to trust everybody and to trust no body.” Thomas Fuller
People do business with people they know and trust. Trust not only builds relationships, it drives transactions. According to McKinsey, over 66% of the economy is influenced by recommendations. People even trust recommendations from people they do not know! How many times for example, have you consulted Amazon ratings, Consumer Reports or Morningstar before making a purchase?
If your business is based primarily on recommendations and referrals, than you know how powerful they are for building trust and influencing others to buy from you. Here are some best practices to keep in mind when asking for a recommendation or referral.
1) Ask in a way that does not make your colleague feel awkward, or allow them to decline gracefully.
For example, asking, “Can you please recommend me to the CEO of your company?” is a yes or no question and does not give your colleague an easy way out. Asking, “Do you think you might be able to provide me with a good recommendation?” is better. However, asking, “Do you think you know me well enough to provide me with a good reference?” keeps your colleague focused on your accomplishments or allows them to decline gracefully.
2) Select your referral sources carefully.
This might seem overly simplistic – however, you are asking for a favor so make it as easy as possible (especially if it has been some time since you last spoke).
- Highlight key projects and your specific contributions relevant to the request at hand.
- Be cognizant of their schedule (ex. think twice about approaching an accountant during tax season).
- Explain what you seek to achieve by meeting their colleague and the best way to follow-up after the recommendation has been made.
- Thank your colleague after they agree to make the referral, thank them after they make the referral and follow-up with them after your meeting (quickly!).
3) What do you do if you ask for a recommendation or referral and your colleague says no?
One option is to be grateful for their honesty, thank them for their consideration and walk away gracefully. A more productive option is to thank them for being honest and forthright but instead of walking away, keep the relationship moving forward. For example, try following up with “My sense is that I have disappointed you in some way. So let’s put the the issue of referrals aside, and spend a few minutes identifying what the problems are so we can get back on track. Would that be ok with you?” This latter approach allows you to start a conversation to rebuild your relationship and hopefully, establish trust.
How To Manage Your Professional Brand Online
As we move more and more towards social media and social networking, companies – as well as individuals – need to manage their online brand. If you don’t, Google, ZoomInfo and other public networking domains will manage it for you. Check out your professional brand (aka profile) online periodically (ex. Google yourself, visit ZoomInfo, etc.). If it is not impressive or accurate, or does not reflect positively on you – change it.
Airplanes & Ostriches
“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” Henry Ford
No one ever said that growing a business was easy – but someone is making money out there and it might as well be you! Companies that ‘bury their heads in the sand’ by cutting back on prospecting while waiting for the economy to improve are leaving the window wide open for competitors to gobble up sales.
Counter intuitive as it might seem, bad economic times can be great for businesses with disciplined sales and marketing teams and high impact programs to forge a path to success. Implementing these sales and marketing tips will help ensure your company is one of them.
Diversify for Development If your business depends primarily on one industry that is being hit hard, look for other sales avenues within it. Identify new channels, product applications and partnerships that compliment your business. You might have to ‘tweak’ your marketing message and/or service offerings to address new needs. The result? Increased visibility and awareness in the marketplace, prospecting opportunities and broader market appeal.Get Creative with Pricing Pricing and budget cutbacks are often show stoppers in slow times. Avoid losing the sale by offering extended payments, limited time offers, discounts for large purchases and long term engagements or picking up part of the expense to get customers from ‘no’ to ‘go.’ In tough times, a little good will goes a long way.
17 Trade Show Tips
Trade shows are an incredibly effective promotional and sales tool. With proper preparation, you can make the show work for you! Here are 17 helpful tips to maximize your time and financial investment, and generate new business opportunities from any trade show you attend.
1. Set goals. What do you want to achieve by attending the show? Sell a certain amount of inventory? Launch a new product? You can have more than one goal, but make sure you are clear about what you want to achieve.
2. Be selective. Only participate in trade show(s) that will give your business the best ROI for your goal. If your goal is on-site sales, participating in a big, splashy trade show with a dozen other vendors that sell similar products is not a good idea. Instead, choose a trade show that targets your audience and has the best chance of achieving your goal. Find out what the trade show’s objectives are – investigate and evaluate the audience.
3. Scope out your space. Find out everything you can about your space: where it is located on the floor, what exhibitors will be around it, whether it’s a high traffic or low traffic area, and the physical conditions of your booth space (e.g. lighting).
4. Target your audience. Who are you targeting with your display? Retail customers? Wholesale buyers? Other businesses in your industry? Different audiences “shop” trade shows differently and have different needs.
5. Advertise in advance. Put the word out that you’re participating in a trade show invite clients, prospects, suppliers, media and other contacts to stop by your booth. (Be sure you give them all the details, e.g. booth number.) Advertise your upcoming trade show on your website.
6. Alert the press. Find out which press are covering the trade show and the angle they are covering. If it is a good fit with your goals, ask them to include your company’s name as an example or third party resource.
7. Think neatness and visibility. Make sure your booth is organized and tidy, and your prices are clearly marked. Display some of your products at eye-level to draw prospects to your booth.
8. Build the impression of demand. Prospects are more likely to want your products if they think they’re in high demand. Place a strategic SOLD sign on one or two items. You might even leave a display spot empty to give the impression that you’ve been too busy to restock.
9. Pull a crowd to your booth. Use an interactive display, such as a quiz, computer game, contest drawing or scheduled demonstration. It doesn’t need to be fancy to get people’s attention and create a cluster around your booth vs. someone’s booth.
10. Give away promotional items. Small, useable items are best. Print your company’s name and telephone number on promotional items to remind prospects about your business. Make sure prospects have to walk through or into your booth to get the item.
11. Offer a prize drawing or contest. This is a great way to collect contact information from prospects. Give away promotional items to encourage participation.
12. Make it easy for prospects to get information. Use signs to communicate pricing, minimum orders and other basic information. This will save time and prevent prospects from leaving your booth if you are occupied with another customer.
13. Have plenty of promotional literature on hand. Make it easy for prospects to find you after the show. Bring a good supply of colored flyers and brochures as well as order forms, price sheets and business cards to hand out to prospects. Prepare press kits for trade media.
14. Be ready to do business. Have a good supply of order forms, pens, credit card slips, and anything else you need to conduct sales and track orders.
15. Occupy your booth at all times. Make sure someone is always at your booth to greet prospects, engage them in conversation and answer questions.
16. Actively engage prospects. The trick is to draw prospects to your booth without intimidating or overwhelming them. Make sure your body language is friendly (ex. give prospects a friendly welcome, don’t cross your arms). Find out what aspect of your business they’re most interested in and be prepared to offer specific solutions.
17. Follow-up promptly. Email, snail mail or telephone prospects as soon as possible after the show. The faster you follow-up with prospects the more your business will stand out from the rest.