When it comes to the holiday season, one of the key components of a successful holiday sale is promotion. However, a tricky question that many business owners get caught on when trying to promote a sale is when to start advertising for that sale.

If you advertise too early for a sale, then you run the risk of customers ignoring your ads and supporting other stores.

However, advertising too late can result in loss of customers who have already purchased their goods for the season.

As you can see, timing is important for a holiday advertising campaign- the right timing can help store owners  maximize their profits during the busy holiday season.

5 Tips for Creating a Timely Holiday Advertising Campaign

For stores starting to prepare for the holiday season, it is easy to get overwhelmed. With the endless amount of retailers bombarding customers with Christmas and New Year’s sales, owners may wonder when and where to place their ads for maximum impact. Here are five tips to help your store draw in seasonal shoppers.

1.    Cater to Your Audience

One common mistake that holiday marketers make is considering their audience to be one large homogenous  group. However, your target audience may exhibit certain behavior  that can help you customize your advertising campaigns (just as you would when it isn’t the holiday season).

A way to determine when to advertise is to understand the type of shoppers that patronize your store. Some shoppers are more web-savvy and prefer to scour the internet for coupons and deals, looking for the best sale possible. Other shoppers wait until the last possible moment to purchase their presents, attracted by the first sale that appears within that window.

The ideal time to place your ads will depend on the type of shoppers that frequent your store. If you have customers that tend to search and compare, then you may want to place your ads early, with competitive sales or offers.

However, if your audience is comprised of late shoppers, then you may want to conduct one, large advertising campaign a few weeks before the holidays. If you are an older company, look at the purchasing trends of past years to determine the types of shoppers you attract.

If you’re a new company, you may want to look at your competition and make educated guesses. In the information age, this is easier than most assume.

2.    Major Sale Days

When starting an advertising campaign, store owners should consider major shopping days such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday. However, if you’ve missed these days, not to worry; there still a month left before the holidays!

Marketers can still take advantage of Super Saturday, the last Saturday before Christmas, where customers frequent stores for their last-minute shopping.  For online retailers, an important period to consider is mid-December, where shoppers are starting to search for holiday sales. Retailers that want to target these dates should consider timing advertising  to appear a week or two before the date of the sale.

3.    Consider the Competition

Who are your competitors, and when are they conducting their advertising campaigns? This question is important to answer when deciding the best time to start placing your ads. If your competitors are placing their ads early, then you may want to consider placing yours after theirs, so your store appears as an attractive option for customers. Understanding your competitors can give you an edge in the race for holiday shoppers.

Of course, this can be risky – you have no idea how your competitors are getting their intelligence.

4.    Maximize Exposure

When conducting an advertising campaign, you may want to consider staggering your ads so they can increase visibility as much as possible.

For example, stores can use Twitter or other social marketing platforms to send out updates to customers about upcoming deals. By constantly reminding customers about sales, your ads will be on their mind when they start to shop for the holidays.

5.    Maintain a Balance

On the other hand, it is important to stay away from bombarding your customers. If you constantly foist upon your audience ad after ad, then you risk alienating your customers. Instead, using a few, well-placed ads that clearly convey details and purpose will allow your customers to come to you.

The holiday season is a hectic time for any store. However, store owners must make sure they don’t neglect their holiday advertising campaigns. By understanding when to start advertising, retailers can ensure that they draw in seasonal shoppers, maximizing their profits for a nice end-of-the-year finish.

Image courtesy of emdot.

Amanda DiSilvestro is a writer on topics ranging from social media to corporate credit cards. She writes for an online resource that gives advice on topics including business credit card applications to small businesses and entrepreneurs; the leading B2B Directory, Business.com.

Share Your Thoughts on this article here: Targeting Seasonal Shoppers: When to Start Advertising for the Holidays

The other day I tuned into Dr. Oz, one of my favorite daytime shows, and he was raving about RecycleBank.com.

The site actually gives you rewards for buying organically. Wow! Talk about a win-win situation.

Recently, my husband Shannon and I decided to change our diets to strictly organic (we even drink organic beer – check out New Belgium’s Mothership Wit!).

It’s been one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. We find the concept that we know exactly where our food comes from and how it was created to be both comforting and satisfying.

We know we’re doing right by the environment and doing right by our bodies. In fact, we were so curious we decided to visit a local organic farm to see exactly where our food was coming from. You can check out the videos from those visits (yes, plural) here.

People are always exclaiming they wish they could eat organic, but the cost drives them away. In my opinion this is not excusable.

Drawing comparisons

Processed food is like murky water. No one wants to drink murky water, because no one knows what’s inside.

If you’re eating processed, non-organic food, you’re essentially putting murky water in your body. To me, you can’t put a price on clean water over your health.

All of this begs the question: Why do we trust organic food as being actually organic?

This is an excellent point and a perfect lead-in to a connection with PR.

The organic food industry launched a campaign to educate the country about the benefits of an organic diet.

The media grabbed hold of it and soon every news station, magazine, and newspaper in the country was reporting on the rise of organic foods and how rocking an organic diet can be for you. This media blitz created a sense of trust with people.

Sure, if one medium was reporting on the wonders of organic food we might be inclined to blow it off, but when all mediums are shouting from the rooftops we tend to take notice.

Remember, media begets media.

My point, in case my jubilance over organic food made it difficult to decipher, is that media coverage leads to credibility and credibility leads to trust. If the public trusts you as an authoritarian in the field, or they trust your product as viable, you gain exposure.

And exposure leads to sales.

PR is all about creating trust and credibility, not selling products (that comes later!). Just because you have a product doesn’t mean I’m going to buy it. There is a process everyone goes through where the ultimate result is purchase or pass.

Obviously, as the owner, creator, or marketer of that product, you hope the decision is always purchase. But what are you doing to ensure I will want your product?

Here are the three stages of the sales process and advice on how to incorporate this towards your ultimate goal.

Stage 1:  Do I trust you?

This is self-explanatory. Has your product had media coverage and are you a reliable person who I can believe?

Organic food is a fine example of this. I trust organic farmers because they must pass a USDA certification to be organic. This gives them clout and trust from their customers. I know this because of the media exposure that revolves around organic foods.

How can you gain the trust of the public? The answer is simple; a good PR campaign. Quality PR work can get you the exposure you desire and that exposure should lead to trust.

If I can read about your product from a media source that I trust then chances are you have accomplished the first step of the sales process.

Stage 2: What’s in it for me?

Now that you’ve established the trust factor it’s time to focus your attention on why and how your product differs from the rest of the items currently on the market.

What does your product do for me? How will your product benefit my life?  Why would I be better off by using your product?

Once again, we can look to organic foods to see how they constructed their campaign to answer these questions. No fluff, no frills – just a basic statement: “If you have an organic diet, what you put into your body will be healthier than if you didn’t.”

That’s it. Sweet, simple, and to the point.

To achieve this goal it’s best to have a website or Facebook Fan Page outlining the benefits of your product. Content from satisfied customers is always a nice touch and shows how everyday people are being impacted.

The importance of social media is immeasurable. Using Facebook and other social networking communities helps to spread your message/product across gender and socioeconomic lines, for free.

If your product is reported by a news source then it behooves you to post this to your Facebook page and spread the word.

Again, remember, media begets media. Your one story has the potential to lead to many more, which only builds your credibility as noted in step 1.

Stage 3:  Is it worth my time and/or money?

By this point you have my trust and you’ve outlined why your product benefits me. Now comes the game changer. We value our time and money highly in this country and we aren’t afraid to admit it.

You’ve lured me in to the point of purchase, but will I pull the trigger? Well, that all depends on you.

How many times have you been online and you’re about to purchase a product but given up because the shopping cart is either too confusing, too long, or simply too hard to understand?

It happens more often than you think. Make sure your sales page is simple, easy, and quick. Chances are, if after five minutes I haven’t been able to purchase the product because I’ve been filing in useless information, I’m just going to give up.

Have people test your page and offer feedback on their ordering experience. Work to ensure your product is efficient from start to finish.

If you wish for your product to be well received by the consumer I highly recommend you follow the path blazed for you by the organic food industry. They recognized that trust is the most important factor.

Once you’ve gained the trust of the consumer, only then can you express your message or product in a positive light. Remember, PR is about building credibility, not about selling your product; that comes from credibility and trust.

It’s one big cycle, and if you can crack that nut you’re well on your way.

More from Women Grow Business:

• How to uncover your business’ unique sales cycle, by Suzanne Paling
• Four ways to win business even when you’re runner up, by Joanna Pineda

Image: micamonkey via Flickr, Creative Commons

Twenty-year PR veteran Michelle Tennant Nicholson is Chief Creative Officer of Wasabi Publicity and co-founder of www.PitchRate.com, a free media tool that connects journalists, publicists, and experts. Called a five-star publicist by Good Morning America’s Mable Chan, Michelle specializes in international PR, working regularly with the likes of Oprah, Larry King, BBC, The Today Show and other major media. Contact her at PR blog http://www.StorytellerToTheMedia.com where she teaches tips from the trade.

Share Your Thoughts on this article here: 3 Tips to Ensure Trust, Credibility, and an Easy Buying Experience

To call or not?

As someone who cold called her way to a job during the spaghetti days of graduate school, I can say that this technique can work if you do it right.

Recently, I read a 51-page e-book by Martha Retallick, a Tucson, Arizona-based freelance photographer and graphic designer.

As her business started to slide along with the economy, she tried a number of tactics—including advertising, direct mail, mentoring, networking, and publicity—to get new clients. When those ideas failed for various reasons, she turned to the often-dreaded task of cold calling.

And it worked.

In the Freelancer’s Guide to Finding New Clients—her how-to guide on cold calling—Retallick outlines a five-step process for growing your business.

Step 1: Create Your Ideal Client Profile

Step 2: Find Lead Lists

Step 3: Script Calls

Step 4: Make Calls

Step 5: Follow Up

I’ll share some of her suggestions from each section so you can get an idea if this is a book you need to build your own business.

Step 1: Create Your Ideal Client Profile

In the first step, Retallick suggests that readers determine characteristics of their ideal clients. These details can include any of the following:

• a target company’s annual revenues,
• whether the organization is a start-up or mature,
• location of the company,
• the company’s industry,
• whether the company is privately held or publicly traded, and more.

Creating an ideal client profile early in the process can save you from contacting companies that can’t afford, or aren’t interested in, certain services or products.

Most importantly, identifying your target market can increase your conversion rate while saving you precious business-building time.

Step 2: Find Lead Lists

Lists of potential leads can be found in association and Chamber of Commerce directories, on websites, and in the news.

Retallick suggests setting up Google Alerts to track specific target industries that interest you and contain your potential clients. Once you get your materials ready and the names gathered, it’s time to figure out what to say.

Step 3: Script Calls

To get ready for cold calls, write up a short script that introduces yourself and your service or product. The book provides specific examples for a variety of situations. For example, Retallick provides this likely situation followed by a sample script:

Situation:

Tom. You met him at a business event, and you think you can help create a better online ordering system for his company. He asked you to call next week. Once you reach Tom, here’s what to say:

Sample Script:

You: “Tom, this is Shirley Shopping Cart. We met at the Business-to- Business Mixer last Thursday, and you mentioned that your company needed a better online ordering system.”

A script can help prevent you from fumbling out of nervousness during a call and encourage you to hone your elevator pitch.

Even if you don’t need to use it when you make the actual call, writing a script can help you narrow your focus so you can connect with your target market.

Step 4: Make Calls

With your ideal client identified, your call list ready, and your script written, you are steps closer to reaching the right person and converting them into a client. However, making the phone calls is the step most business owners dread. Calling someone you’ve never met in order to get new business can be scary, dull, or frightening.

The bad news is, although the numbers can change, roughly 90% of the people you contact will not contact you back. The good news is that you do not need a 100% response rate to achieve success.

A small percentage of those you contact will express interest and could become profitable long-term clients.

If calling someone scares you, this book about feeling the fear and doing it anyway might help.

Step 5: Follow Up

To succeed at this step, it’s important to have contact management software or, at the very least, a system. If you are a bootstrapping startup, an Excel spreadsheet may work well until you can afford more sophisticated software.

One business owner I know prefers to conduct call-mail-call campaigns.

At first, she’ll make a phone call and see if she can speak with the contact. If not, she’ll leave a message. Then, she’ll snail mail a relevant item (filled with informational value) to the contact. After a certain period of time, she’ll call the contact back to follow up.

You’d be surprised how many people will take the call after receiving the item.

The item can be a book (my preference) or something else that the prospect will find useful to their work.

What are you supposed to do after making the initial cold call?

If you receive a positive response—even if it’s not an immediate yes—Retallick suggests using the following ideas for keeping in touch:

1.   Adding them to your e-mail newsletter or podcast lists. (Ask for permission first!)

2.   Making periodic “keep-in-touch” phone calls and e-mails.

3.   Inviting them to attend events with you.

4.   Including them in your direct mailings.

5.   Sharing if you see a useful article or website link.

6.   Adding them to your Twitter feed.

7.   Adding them to the RSS feed for your blog.

8.   Inviting them to join your LinkedIn network and/or Facebook friends.

Although I might change the word “freelance” to “consultant” or “small business owner” in the title, this book provides a comprehensive outline of what you need to do to succeed in growing your business with a cold calling plan.

More from Women Grow Business:

• Suzanne Paling’s guest post on how to uncover your business’ unique sales cycle
• Marissa Levin tells you how to evaluate prospective clients for your business

Image: Pete Prodoehl via Flickr, Creative Commons

Deborah Ager manages niche affiliate websites, publishes a nationally known poetry magazine, owns ClickWisdom, and authored a book of poetry (Midnight Voices). She likes connecting on Twitter.

Share Your Thoughts on this article here: 5 Steps to Cold Calling Your Way to More Business

Guest post by Suzanne Paling

Are you an accidental sales manager?

Do your prospective customers frequently cancel or reschedule meetings at the last minute?

Will some voice objection after objection? How often do others remain “just about ready” to sign the contract for months on end?

It’s frustrating, isn’t it?

Understanding your organization’s unique sales cycle (the approximate length of time and separate steps involved in closing a sale) allows you to minimize these aggravating situations.

“We’re too small to have a sales cycle,” you say. Others might reply, “Even if we did have one it wouldn’t matter. We do everything possible to close all sales.”

Sales cycles aren’t the exclusive domain of large corporations, or about how much effort you put forth.

Whether you’re a solo consultant or run a business with many employees, you have some type of sales cycle.

How do you begin to determine what yours looks like?

Think about your top 10 – 15 customers.

From the time you first met (whether by introduction or prospecting call) how did things proceed? Did you move from a phone call to an in-person meeting? If you started with a face-to-face meeting what followed? A product demo? A second meeting?

At what point (if at all) did you meet others in the company? At what juncture in the process are proposals typically submitted? How many weeks or months did it take, on average, to get their business?

Consider current, particularly high maintenance, clients.

Did the acquisition of their business follow a different pattern from your lower maintenance clients? How? When did you suspect they might be challenging?

Review any recently lost sales. Did the prospective client stay with their current vendor or select a new provider? Was there a point in the process where you felt these sales slipping away? Do lost deals usually come as a surprise?

After reflecting on these different scenarios, a pattern will begin to emerge. A sales cycle of sorts starts to take shape.

It may not be in perfect alignment yet, but you’re getting there.

As you recognize that you do have a sales cycle, changes start to occur.

Warning bells sound when potential customers are out of sync with your sales cycle. You’ll ask the hard questions of yourself and them.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t or won’t eventually do business with these prospects. Every sale will always be slightly distinct in its own way. Rather, you’ll experience an increased awareness that a sale isn’t progressing as it should.

Most importantly, you’ll begin to walk away from time-wasting prospects that may never have had serious intentions of doing business with you in the first place.

Your focus will shift toward those opportunities with a higher potential for success. That’s empowering.

More from Women Grow Business:

• Four ways to win business even when you’re runner up, by Chief Troublemaker aka Joanna Pineda
• “It’s Not You, It’s Me:” evaluating prospective clients for your business, by Marissa Levin
  

Image courtesy Suzanne Paling, used with permission

Suzanne Paling is the principal consultant of Sales Management Services, with more than 20 years of experience in sales consulting, sales management, and sales for both field and inside sales organizations. Paling founded her company in 1998 to provide practical advice to business executives, owners, and entrepreneurs seeking to increase their revenue and improve their sales organization’s performance. Her new book, The Accidental Sales Manager, was published by Entrepreneur Press in October 2010.

Share Your Thoughts on this article here: How To Uncover Your Business’ Unique Sales Cycle

I’m thrilled about many things in 2009, both inside and outside my business. And I wanted to share a few that continually motivate me.

An accomplishment: seeding every day no matter what
My company hasn’t emerged unscathed from this recession.

We took some heavy hits. But action – consistent action – not fear – was the daily strategy. Some of the actions were counter-intuitive, like spending scarce cash on new marketing initiatives and professional development for staff when resources were low. Some were high risk, like making a new hire in a particular market segment when business was down in other segments. Most were just plain grunt work.

Some actions were successful; some weren’t. But our mantra was to stay busy seeding, and trust that the harvest would come. Once we committed to finding seeding opportunities, they appeared everywhere.

Networking. Helping. Prospecting. Brokering. Innovating. We stayed busy on purpose, seeding everyday, no matter what. Turns out it’s a great fear management tool. Looking back on this year, I don’t remember being afraid. I just remember being almost overwhelmed with seeding opportunities, frantically trying to fit them all in. And the harvest? We’re looking at a TON of little green sprouts!

An insight: preserving life
Last month, one of my virtual assistants, Kristy, who lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia found a not-yet-weaned kitten on a compost heap. She rescued it, and because she knows I’m an animal lover, emailed me to ask if I knew anyone who might want it. I didn’t, but was willing to foster it. So we each drove half way and I got the little fur ball and took it to my vet for a checkup. Happily, the kitten seemed OK (pictured above), and the vet even knew a couple that might want to adopt it.

Getting confused about how many people were involved in this?

I ended up fostering for only one night, because the folks my vet contacted did indeed want the kitten.

That kitten would not have survived a cold night out on the compost heap. Kristy only saw it by merest chance. In less than 48 hours that tiny little life passed through four sets of hands, 100 miles apart, to finally have a chance at life.

Only the 4th set of hands could give it a home – but other hands helped along the way. Makes me wonder – whose life could each of us advance just a little bit today?

A success: radiance in a staff member
I have a middle-aged female staff member who honestly has no idea how smart and capable she is. No one takes her more for granted than she does. This lack of confidence makes her shun opportunities that would elicit demonstrations of her strengths. A few weeks ago, I insisted that she attend my course on professional presenting, during which she would have to make 5 video-taped presentations in front of others over a 2-day period.

The first day she was huffy and defensive – her usual response to feeling vulnerable. By the end of day two, though, she was RADIANT.

And she deserved to be. She had done a great job of integrating all the learning, and delivered really terrific presentations. She knows she’s good at a particular set of functions, but has been unwilling to believe she can be good an expanded set of functions. This experience helped her discover another dimension of her existing strengths. It was absolutely wonderful to see that realization dawn on her. Can’t wait to see what’s next!

What about you?
What benchmarks, successes, or insights have been revealed through this year?

More from:

• Francie Dalton and her Women Grow Business series;
• Heavy Hitter Sales Blog and credibility in your sales team (hint: honest forecasts are key);
• Marissa Levin and how imagination impacts her leadership and success.

Guest contributor Francie Dalton, CMC, is founder and president of Dalton Alliances, Inc. and author of the recently published book Versatility. Her Washington, DC based consultancy helps the C-Suite solve business nightmares. Francie equips clients to deal with what they didn’t see coming (and shows them there’s always another way to win!). She welcomes a chance to meet you via Twitter or on LinkedIn.

Image of the rescued kitten used with permission by blogger Francie Dalton.

Share Your Thoughts on this article here: An Entrepreneur's 2009: Seeding Business and Preserving Life

I haven’t watched a Miss Universe pageant in a long time, but a part of the program will stay with me forever: the part where Bob Barker says to the 1st runner up something along the lines of:

In the event that Miss Universe is unable to serve, you will take the crown?

What on earth does the Miss Universe pageant have to do with running a business?

Your business and winning first prize (or not)
Well it turns out if you run a business long enough, no matter how successful you, there are times when you don’t take home the prize. I can remember deals where we came soooo close to winning the account, but ultimately we came in second place – or 1st runner up.

But unlike a Miss Universe pageant
-the 1st runner up in business often has a good chance of taking the prize when: the first choice can’t deliver, the client’s needs outpace the capabilities of the selected vendor, or a change in staffing triggers a review of the account and the contracts.

When Matrix Group comes in second, yes, it totally sucks but here’s what we try and do:

• We ask for a debrief so that we can learn why we didn’t win the account. We learn a lot from these debriefs and the prospects know that we care about their feedback.
• We ask the prospect if they’d like to stay on our list and continue receiving news about our launches and webinars, and sign-up for our RSS feeds, blog or social media pages. This strategy allows us to keep in touch with the prospect with little effort and in a non sales-y way.
• We ask the prospect to please keep us in mind for future projects; this lets the prospect know that we’re not upset (even if we are), that we still want to do business with them, and the door is always open.
• We check back every six months or so and monitor the site to find out when the new site goes online. If we don’t see the site launching according to the scheduled timetable, we drop an e-mail or check-in with a phone call.

Matrix Group has been a proud 1st runner up that ended up – eventually – taking the ‘new account crown’ in many, many instances.

We landed the Catholic Charities account over nine years ago when the first vendor stumbled; we still have the account today. Just this week, I heard from a prospect from 2005 that had selected another firm for their redesign; and the redesign is still not done and they’ve selected Matrix Group to finish the work!

How about you?

Has your company come in second aka 1st runner up and then taken the prize? What strategies do you use to take the prize away from the prospect’s first winner or ‘Miss Universe’?

(And finally, do you ever watch the Miss Universe pageant and would you ever admit to it?!)

Founder/CEO and self-proclaimed Chief Troublemaker of Matrix Group International Joanna Pineda is a Women Grow Business enthusiast. She is known for her visionary big-picture thinking and drive for excellence. Combining her broad liberal arts background and passion for technology, she started Matrix Group in 1999, today a leading interactive agency. As a trusted advisor, Joanna inspires and motivates her clients and employees alike to simply, “be better” with her mantra being: Do or Do Not. There is no try!

Thanks Joanna Pineda for sharing your observations from The Matrix Files.

Image Platinum Tiara by Mauro Luna, Creative Commons.

Share Your Thoughts on this article here: Chief Troublemaker and 4 Ways To Win Biz Even When You're Runner Up

Buckle down
If your thoughts are primarily fear based, if you’re envisioning the worst for yourself and your business, if your conversations are focused predominately on bad news, then you’re seriously impeding your own success. Stop being your own worst enemy! Instead of giving succor to all the negative blathering, buckle down and determine to take 3 actions every single day to improve revenue.

Discipline, metrics, and prospecting: a new series
In this three part series, you’ll get specific suggestions you can implement immediately to begin to enhance your business success. The tips are grouped into three categories: discipline, metrics, and prospecting.

6 essentials for the disciplined entrepreneur
To start us off today will be six essential disciplines applied by successful entrepreneurs.

1. Be fully absorbed in creating new business.

Don’t you dare pick up that phone, go to Twitter or Facebook or LinkedIn during work hours unless it’s to generate business.

Be ruthlessly disciplined about generating revenue as job one. Any activity that doesn’t secure new business should be delegated or done during non-business hours. Prioritize everything else around this fundamental principle. During business hours, dedicate yourself exclusively to expanding your client base or deepening business with your current clients rather than connecting with friends.

2. Invite scrutiny & tough truths.
Whose business acumen do you admire? Who is already successful in your field? Whose clientele do your products or services complement? Establish an advisory board and invite these folks to be part of it. Meet quarterly to gain their advice on your business challenges.

Advisory boards impose a level of scrutiny and accountability that both challenge and comfort, and a level of ideation and innovation that helps you expand your scope and reach.

Ensure you get unbiased, unemotional, tough truths by not including friends and loved ones on the board. Alternatively, you could treat selected individuals to a meal now and then to get their advice. Whatever the way in which you access the intellectual capital of others, be sure to thank them, act on at least one of their suggestions, and follow up with them to let them know the outcome of having implemented their advice.

(Image Kernels of Truth by Daveblog Creative Commons)

3. Don’t pander – ponder!
Showcasing your products and services too early, without taking time to probe client needs, can be insulting. Instead honor the unique needs of your client by asking probing questions. Be inquisitive about their goals, frustrations, hopes, and struggles. Then link the utility of your products and services to their specific needs.

4. Publicize to optimize.
Both credibility and sales increase as a result of publishing articles and by speaking on your area of expertise. It’s not that hard. Every time you solve a problem for a client, produce an outline of the process from start to finish. Then fill in the outline, and voila, you have an article or a speech. Multiple articles can comprise a book. Writing a book is less daunting if you write only one chapter at a time without thinking of it as a book.

5. Diversify to amplify.
Particularly important in tough economic times is that you have established multiple lines of business. Ensure your repertoire includes as many permutations of your core business as possible. For example, if you’re a consultant, you may want to ensure your service includes as many of the following as your expertise permits: business consulting, facilitation, an ever expanding menu of workshops on as many topics as you’re fluent in (both virtual and on site), surveys of as many types as you can do well, coaching (both in person and virtually), speeches, retreats, and more. You might also consider partnering with others whose offerings are complementary, and/or subcontracting to others who have skills that you don’t have.

6. Essential certifications.
Differentiate yourself from competitors by earning certifications in your field. For example, in the consulting profession, The Institute of Management Consulting (IMC USA) – an extremely prestigious group of professional consultants – confers the highly coveted Certified Management Consultant designation. The CMC demonstrates competitive distinction globally, making it much more likely that you will gain the attention of decision makers. You can find the chapter nearest you, and learn more at IMC USA.

Regardless of how many of these tips you implement, your own outlook and attitude can diminish their effectiveness.

Those who prevail in difficult times are the ones who steadfastly refuse to allow negativity to form a barrier to their success. They instead deliberately and diligently take multiple constructive actions every single day. Doing so helps sustain a positive attitude, increases resilience, and reinvigorates a commitment to success and your business.

I look forward to discussing more core ideas and steps to take in building your business revenue throughout this series.

So which of these tips resonate with you? How would you expand this list?

More from:
Francie Dalton and her great insight at Women Grow Business, including what she wished she’d known when first launching her business.

Guest contributor Francie Dalton, CMC, is founder and president of Dalton Alliances, Inc. and author of the recently published book Versatility. Her Washington, DC based consultancy helps the C-Suite solve business nightmares. Francie equips clients to deal with what they didn’t see coming (and shows them there’s always another way to win!). She welcomes a chance to meet you via Twitter or on LinkedIn.

Share Your Thoughts on this article here: 6 Disciplines: Building Revenue for Your Business

Sometimes things just aren’t meant to be.
We’ve all been there… we’ve all met people at times in our life and thought that a relationship was going to work out, only to discover after you’ve peeled back the layers that perhaps it just wasn’t meant to be.

Bitter pill to swallow
This happens in business all the time. But often we only think about it in terms of why the customer doesn’t select us, or why a customer has broken up with us. Being dumped by a client is a bitter pill to swallow… it’s a blow to both our ego and our bottom line.

We rarely consider the fact that we too have choices in whether to continue a relationship with an existing client, or even refuse a new client. The truth is that not every prospect is a match for our business.

Sometimes it is as simple as being too expensive for a prospect, and in cases like this, you may want to refer the prospect to another firm. But in many cases, a prospect can be detrimental to a business.

The composition of your client base is significant.
(Image Composition Lesson by DrWhimsy, Creative Commons)

It communicates a lot of information about your organization, and it shapes your enterprise. Clients dictate the employees you need to hire, the partners you need to engage, and the work that will be performed. Clients largely contribute to your organizational culture.

I’ve always believed that we become the people that surround us.

I also believe that we all have choices in selecting those that are closest to us – our circle of influence. This applies to the business environment as well. We are extensions of our clients, and they are extensions of us. So selecting the right clients for our organization is essential to building the organization that the leadership envisions.

There are many scenarios in which you want to reconsider working with a new client or existing client.

Questions to consider when evaluating new clients

1.) Does the client’s mission align with your values?

This is a very important consideration. Quite a few times, we have had the opportunity to perform work for organizations that I fundamentally couldn’t support. One example is the tobacco lobbyists.

Several years ago, a pro-tobacco lobbyist wanted to hire us to do marketing and outreach. There was just no way I could accept this work.

As a mother, I work hard to educate our kids about the dangers of smoking. I fundamentally oppose everything that this group is trying to accomplish.

2.) Do you want to help the client achieve their goals? Do you believe they can accomplish what they are trying to do?

We’ve had potential clients contact us to design and develop training programs to achieve objectives that we did not think were realistic. In one particular instance, the money was very good, and I’m sure they found a company to perform the work. But we did not see the link between the client’s vision/objectives, and the training they wanted. It was just too much of a stretch. So we declined the work, not only because we couldn’t buy into it, but also because we believed it would have set us up for failure.

3.) Does the client’s needs align with your competitive differentiators? (price, quality, speed, etc.)

No company can be all things to all people. Some customers are looking for the lowest price or quickest turnaround. In cases like that, we are not a match. So we decline this type of work.

4.) Will the client infuse chaos into your organization?
(Image above, right flush, Chaos by Dave Pearson, Creative Commons)

Some client organizations are very chaotic. While “managed chaos” can be productive, “unmanaged chaos” can be detrimental. Clients that don’t respect our processes, our people, or our culture won’t be happy with our service.

5.) Can the client afford your service?

When we first launched 14 years ago, low price was definitely a competitive differentiator. This is often the case with new businesses because they don’t have the overhead that accompanies growth. In addition, new businesses are working to build their client base, and establish their presence and credibility. Mature businesses follow a completely different business model, having migrated from a price-oriented service to a value-oriented service. If a customer can’t afford our service, it’s not a match from a short-term and long-term perspective.

6.) Is this a one-time client? And if it is, does that fit your business model?

For our business, one-time clients are not good investments. Many small businesses get trapped in the cycle of working with one-time customers, which forces them to live the life of a gypsy… constantly moving from one client to another. So much energy goes into acquiring the knowledge about a customer, and building the relationship. It is the same level of energy for one-time client or a repeat client. But with a one-time client, you don’t have additional business when the project is over.

7.) By taking on the client, are you in any way compromising the perception of the value you provide?

(image below, Altered Perceptions by Paddy, Creative Commons)

This is a really important point for Information Experts. We are on several government-wide area contracts (GWACs) that many agencies like to use. We also hold multiple GSA schedules, and we are 8a-certified, which are also gateways to specific opportunities. Many organizations that have these contracts, schedules, and certifications do “pass-throughs,” which enable companies that lack these gateways to work with government customers. They see these pass-throughs as opportunities to make “easy” money (by charging an administrative fee) and to get into an agency.

A note on pass-throughs
But I don’t view pass-throughs in such a positive light. While there are some rare exceptions that warrant a pass-through, I believe pass-throughs ultimately diminish the value of our organization. Our role is basically reduced to one of a contract administrator, and often creates a situation in which we are unable to demonstrate the value we can bring to our client. In addition, there is risk associated with being a pass-through because ultimately as the prime contractor, we are responsible for delivering – even though we are not performing the work.

8.) Is the prospect’s requirement aligned with your core competency?

Like so many companies, we’ve discovered business opportunities that look great on the surface,

…but once you start digging, you realize there are many other companies that can perform the work better than you can.

I don’t believe that a company can be all things to all customers. By sticking with your core competencies, small businesses have an opportunity to build a reputation of dependability and expertise in areas in which they really shine.

9.) Is the client in an industry you currently support, or want to support?

Sometimes great work comes along that is right in your sweet spot and in the industries you serve. And sometimes work comes along that you are able to do, but it is in an industry that you know nothing about. At this point, businesses need to determine whether they want to invest the money and resources required to branch out into that industry.

What to look at when re-evaluating existing clients
Some client relationships are meant to last forever, and some are not. As the business owner, it is important to be aware of any customer that could potentially jeopardize your organization or credibility. I am not suggesting that small businesses don’t honor their agreements to deliver. However, once a project is completed, the company needs to closely evaluate whether the client is a fit for the company moving forward.

Does the client disrespect or abuse your employees?
We have had many cases over the years in which my employees have been subjected to abusive behavior. Even under stressful deadlines, this isn’t acceptable. Nothing damages employee morale faster than abusive behavior.

Are you working with incompetent people?
Few things are as frustrating as working with someone who thinks they know a lot and are not open to learning, when they actually know very little. Not only is it frustrating; it is hazardous to a successful outcome.

Are you set up for failure on a project?
Sometimes a project is at-risk from the very beginning. When you see red flags, run. I talk about this from our experience of jumping from a run-away train that is about to crash.

We worked on a project as part of a team (we were a subcontractor), and we quickly learned that the Prime lacked the knowledge, experience, and personnel to complete the work.

We implemented stringent project management processes because the Prime’s project manager didn’t. We tried to put accountability processes in place, including daily check-ins, conference calls, and project status reports to keep the schedule on track (they didn’t have these either).

The project was doomed to fail.

When it was apparent to the entire team that the project was in serious jeopardy, the project manager tried to place the blame on our assigned resources. We had no choice but to terminate the relationship because our credibility was on the line and we could not be affiliated with this failure.

Businesses work so hard to build their reputation, provide quality service, and make a difference. The right clients enable business owners to achieve these objectives. The wrong clients can poison the entire well, and put the organization at risk.

So choose wisely.

More from:

• Marissa Levin’s Women Grow Business series on sales for small business growth;

Guest contributor Marissa Levin is Founder and CEO of Information Experts. Launching a new Women Grow Business series on sales strategy, Marissa was named a 2008 BRAVO Award winner by SmartCEO Magazine (which honors the region’s 25 most influential women CEOs) and recently was listed in Washington’s 100 Technology Titans by Washingtonian Magazine. Describing her true passion as “helping other business owners be successful with their own business growth”, Marissa can be reached through her blog Marissa Levin.

Share Your Thoughts on this article here: 'It's Not You, It's Me': Evaluating Prospective Clients for Your Business

“You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince.”
This is the mantra I learned many, many years ago when I first stumbled into the dangerous world of dating. Finally, on February 14, 1993 (yes I was married on Valentine’s Day), it appeared that I had finally found my prince, and that I would never have to live by this mantra ever again. Well I was wrong. While I am still happily married to my prince, I have had to kiss many frogs in my sales organization at Information Experts.

14 years, 15 different reps: a sales team journey
Over the last 14 years, we have gone through at least 15 different sales representatives, sales executives, business development representatives, or whatever the title of choice was at the time, to drive revenue. And while I am not an expert on Miller-Heiman, Dale Carnegie, SPIN Selling, or any of the other popular sales models, I do know this:

Sales people will say and do whatever they need to do to convince you that they are the answer to your troubles.

After all, if they can’t sell themselves, how will they possibly be able to sell your product or service?

Rare yet possible: the right sales pro for your business
As our business started to grow, it became apparent to me that I was going to have to expand the sales team to include others than just myself. There was no way I could build revenue by supporting the entire business on my back. Undoubtedly, the business owner is always the best sales person. It is very difficult to find a sales person who is as knowledgeable, passionate, and emotionally invested in your business as you are. But from time to time, a sales representative comes along that truly believes in what you do, can connect with the customer, is everything they say they are, and is highly motivated to bring in sales day after day.

Sales is definitely a numbers game.
If you connect with a certain number of people, you want to be able to count on closing a designated percentage of those connections. But for many businesses it is much more than a numbers game.

The sales process is much more complex than just being in the right place at the right time, or calling a prospect on exactly the day that they need what you are selling. Sometimes those stars align, but most of the time they don’t.

Finding your special sales ‘prince or princess’ requires several factors including:

• Attractive compensation package
• Precise job description
• Precise description of how performance will be measured
• Marketable product or service
• Alignment between how they perceive the sales role and how you perceive it
• And luck. Lots of luck.

Recognize if they’re a good sales match for your team
In addition, the sales person must be a match for your organization. If you are selling a highly consultative solution that requires the sales person to construct a customized solution to a unique need, you can’t hire someone who sells off-the-shelf software, regardless of what their numbers have been or who is in their rolodex.

Product sale vs solution sale
There is a HUGE difference between a product sale and a solution sale. A product sale is often black and white. You can put definitive parameters around the product. It is easy to do a comparison of one product to another product.

A solution sale requires the creation of a strategic, trust-based relationship with a client.

Both have their places in the business world. When you purchase any commodity product, it is a product sale.

The chart below highlights some of the differences between product-based selling and solutions-based selling:

History (and mistakes) of our sales hiring process
Over the years, we have made a lot of mistakes with our sales hiring process.

• We’ve hired sales people based on their rolodexes, and the contacts that they said they had, only to learn that those connections weren’t that strong.
• We’ve hired people based on the previous sales they had made to customers, only to learn that the customer wasn’t so satisfied with their service, or that the customer was going out of business, or that the customer had no money, or that the contacts at that customer were no longer there.
• We’ve hired people who were totally incompetent.
• We’ve hired people who were actually selling for multiple companies, but didn’t tell us.
• We’ve hired people who said they “get” consultative selling, only to learn they had no idea how to formulate a solution. Examples – we don’t sell “websites.” A website is a product. We sell creative and strategic communications solutions, and a website may be part of the overall solution.
• We’ve worked with every conceivable compensation structure – salary plus commission, commission only, salary plus draws, salary only.

“Coffee is for closers” (and making a sales hire is risky!)
As the owner, you can’t help but want to watch and measure their productivity every day. You are banking on them bringing in the revenue. And the longer they are in the organization, the more money you have invested in them. So the days roll into one another as you anxiously wait for a sale to close. You think to yourself,

“I’ve already invested 6 weeks with them. What if that closed sales is right around the corner? I’ll give him another week.” It’s just as stressful to keep a non-performing sales person as it is to cut them loose.

In today’s market, there is just no cushion for non-performing sales people. If they aren’t driving revenue, then they are pure overhead. They are either building your profits or bleeding your profits. There is no in-between.

Research plus intuition
A lot of the decision process to bring on a sales person boils down to intuition. After you have done your research – you’ve looked at their numbers, you’ve cross-checked their references and contacts, you’ve had multiple conversations about what you need and what they can do – you will have to do some soul searching to see if you are ready to make the leap of faith.

Whether that leap will land you on a lily-pad or in a castle is anybody’s guess, and only time will tell.

More from:

• Marissa Levin and her sales strategy series on Women Grow Business;
• Entrepreneur.com and traits clients prefer in sales people.

Guest contributor Marissa Levin is Founder and CEO of Information Experts. Launching a new Women Grow Business series on sales strategy, Marissa was named a 2008 BRAVO Award winner by SmartCEO Magazine (which honors the region’s 25 most influential women CEOs) and recently was listed in Washington’s 100 Technology Titans by Washingtonian Magazine. Describing her true passion as “helping other business owners be successful with their own business growth”, Marissa can be reached through her blog Marissa Levin.

(Image AlCool – Frog Prince – by Alicanto)

Share Your Thoughts on this article here: Your Revenue and a Harsh Fairytale: When Building a Good Sales Team, You Kiss A Lot of Frogs

Summer and mirrors on the beach
One of my favorite activities on the Ocean City, MD boardwalk when we make our annual summer beach pilgrimage is visiting the collection of mirrors that distorts your image. It is something I have enjoyed for as long as I can remember… staring into the mirror and being greeted with a reflection that casts me in a most unusual and sometimes disturbing light. I love getting really close to the mirror and then quickly backing away, all the while continuously changing what looks back at me. Of course the fun of it all centers around the fact that I merely have to walk away to make my negative self disappear… as if she never existed.

If only our relationships with our customers were that simple.
Have you ever stopped to think about the impression you are leaving with your customer? The impression that can’t just come and go as you please like the one created in a fun-house mirror?

It is irrelevant how good your product or service is if you can’t connect with your customer – if your customer can’t grasp the authenticity of who you are, what you stand for, and why they should trust you.

Smoke, mirrors, or something different
How easy is it for your customer to see you for who you are? Are you smoke & mirrors, or are you real? Is the person that shakes their hand and presents a business card the true you, or is she a façade that morphs into a person that you think the customer wants to see? The ability to answer this question rests upon how well you know yourself.

Getting to the essentials: do your research
When you walk into your customer’s office, are you going in with the confidence of someone that feels comfortable in their own skin, believes in what she does, and can confidently connect with the customer? To get to the essential YES for this important question, you need to do your research. You need to be prepared. You need to work to gain your customer’s trust. You need to bring your authentic self to the table – the person that has the customer’s best interests at heart, knows the customer’s pain points, and truly has a solution to their problems.

Today’s buying environment is largely influenced by fear.
Why do I say this? Because in my career that spans more than 15 years, I have never seen a buying environment that involves so many decision-makers. Ten years ago, when companies were cash cows and budgets had no limits, decision-makers had no qualms about making unilateral decisions in a vacuum. Today’s customers are taking deliberate steps to mitigate their risk. They don’t want to be the lone man standing when a customer fails to deliver. One buying decision could involve half a dozen people, from IT, to accounting, to HR, to operations, to legal, to marketing.

So what can you, the solutions provider, do to calm the fear?
The bottom line is that you not only have to sell your product or service, you also have to sell yourself – your true self. You have to embed yourself in the customer organization at multiple levels. And this means having a strong handle on who you are, how you will connect with multiple players, and why each player should trust you with their business.

Today’s sale is very complicated.
Sales are not only connected to growth; they are connected to survival. Return on investment is not a 12-month or 24-month time frame; it’s a 30-day or 60-day time frame. Implementations have to happen in a matter of weeks, rather than months.

Customers don’t want to hear about features & benefits. They want to hear about the time, money, and risk it will cost them to move from concept to contract to completion.

They want to know if you are substantive or just a mirage of someone presenting a solution.

Are you ready?
So when you prepare to meet with a customer are you prepared to bring your full & truthful self to the table? Are you giving 100 percent of who you are? Are you invested in their success? Are you treating your customer as if they are your most important customer?

Because they are your most important customer. And if you don’t think they are, then you have no right to disillusion them and be at their table.

Bringing your full self to the table doesn’t mean that you have all of the answers.

What it means is that you are showing exactly who you are. It’s likely that you don’t have all of the answers. Better to speak up and tell a customer that you need to do more research or consult with colleagues to provide accurate information than to pretend to be something you are not. As a business owner, I’ve learned to tell the difference between vendors that are blindly taking shots at anything that moves just to land a sale, and vendors that are genuinely interested in helping me.

The mirror and you
How well do you know the person that looks back at you when you look in the mirror? (image Picasso’s Girl Before the Mirror, WallyG, Creative Commons)
And is it someone that you would trust? Would you do business with the person you see? Be personally invested. Be truthful. Be substantive. Be authentic. Don’t be a mirage. Because unlike the fun-house mirror, the impression you leave with your customer won’t disappear when you walk away.

More from:

• Marissa Levin’s Women Grow Business series on business and sales strategy;
• Achieving transparency in your business from John Havens and Shel Holtz on Blog Talk Radio (great interview series).

Guest contributor Marissa Levin is Founder and CEO of Information Experts. Launching a new Women Grow Business series on sales strategy, Marissa was named a 2008 BRAVO Award winner by SmartCEO Magazine (which honors the region’s 25 most influential women CEOs) and recently was listed in Washington’s 100 Technology Titans by Washingtonian Magazine. Describing her true passion as “helping other business owners be successful with their own business growth”, Marissa can be reached through her blog Marissa Levin.

Share Your Thoughts on this article here: Smoke, Mirrors, and Getting Business: How to Deserve Your Customer's Trust