5 Keys to Building Your Content Strategy

Several intrepid entrepreneurs met today to discuss the in’s and out’s of developing a content marketing strategy and tactical plan. Themes that emerged from our discussion:

1.  It is no longer possible to attract customers with scattershot marketing (i.e. “getting your name out there”). Every entrepreneur needs a map and a plan.

2.  Make sure you look in the mirror before you head out the door.  (In other words clearly understand your business identity, brand, and value proposition before you start spreading your message).

3.  It is important to adapt your content and messaging as the needs of your market shift.

4.  To clearly understand your business identity, take time to define your Values, Purpose, Mission, and Vision. These components are the foundation for a solid brand.

5.  Two helpful tools for developing content strategy include: the empathy map and the buyer persona map.  These allow you to see the world from your client’s eyes, and adjust your content strategy and tactics accordingly.

Increasing Sales with the “Skinny Call”

One of sales reps’ most common mistakes is to try closing a sale too quickly. Predictably, the potential customer feels misunderstood, turns off, and leaves the conversation. End of story.

One widely-taught solution is to create a “trial close”.  A trial close is where you present an offer that falls short of an actual sale, but is something that the prospect can still say “yes” to. You ask the prospect for an opinion or idea that reveals how she’s thinking so you can further tailor your sales approach – rather than requiring her to make an actual buying decision.

One special type of trial close is the “skinny call”.*  A skinny call is one that’s kept very short and to the point.  It avoids explanations and seeks simply to qualify the prospect so no one’s time gets wasted.  It also breaks up the sales process while building trust with the potential client at the same time. Here’s how to a skinny call might work to help you better qualify your leads.

Suppose someone comes to your website and downloads a white paper.  You get an email notification in your Inbox, and follow up by phone. What do you say in this phone call?

What you SHOULDN’T say is “Ms. Smith, I see you downloaded our awesome white paper. Do you want to buy our product?”

Remember your only goal on the skinny call is to qualify this person and build trust.  It is NOT to make a sale.  So you COULD say…

-          Ms. Smith, I see you downloaded our white paper on x subject.

-          Is x an issue in your company?

-          Is it a priority for you / your company to solve the problem we’ve outlined there? [because if it isn’t a priority, you might as well not waste each other’s time at this point.  You could offer to check in again at a later time, or ask them if you could send out a further helpful document that also addresses their needs in some way]

-          Would it be helpful to talk to an expert / attend a webinar / schedule a further call that would help you to explore ideas and options? [insert helpful intervention that addresses one of their top 3 issues or pain points here. This will allow you to explain details when they’re in the mood to hear them and are thus likely to be more receptive]

-          Would you be available at x time? [get a commitment to proceed to your next step in the sales process]

That’s pretty much it.  The skinny call saves time and aggravation, builds trust, and leads to more and better deals over time.

* I first heard the term “skinny call” in our @Communitech Tactical Sales Peer-2-Peer Group this week.  Thanks to Ryan McCartney and Brad Kwiatkowski of Miovision for sharing it with us!

The Top 5 Questions to Ask When Starting or Growing a Business

Whether you’re starting a brand new business, or seeking to grow an established one, there is one key principle that should always be top of mind…

Stay focused on the customer.

In the hurly-burly of business life, it’s easy to get sidetracked by all sorts of issues that in the long run are not nearly as relevant to business success.  Pressing tactical issues like…  What’s the best way to “get my name out there”? How do I get the best price from suppliers? Which social media should I be on? Which networking groups should I attend, etc. etc.  Yes, these are important.  But the key, central question should always be…

1. “What do my customers want to buy that I can provide better than anyone else?”

Below is a list of related questions to ask when starting or growing a business…and continue asking at least once per quarter ever after!

2. Why do I want to own this business in the first place?
In the early days of your business, your goal is to experiment to learn what works:  to “fail fast, fail cheap, and fail often”. But sooner or later, you’ll need to articulate your values, purpose, mission, and vision  – because you’ll be called upon to determine what’s most important in a variety of difficult situations.

Values describe the things that are so important to you that you would hold to them – even if you were to start a different business, in a different industry, 100 years from now. They include things like integrity, innovation, competition, service, and respect. Your company’s purpose, vision, and mission flow naturally out of your core values.

Whether or not you’ve expressed them, your core values shape your most important business decisions: who to bring on as a supplier, who to hire and fire, how to manage conflict, and how to build a strong, talent-attracting culture.  Being clear about your values will empower you to make quick, well-grounded business decisions, sometimes under extreme conditions, at the drop of a hat.

Check out http://www.jimcollins.com/tools/vision-framework.pdf for helpful exercises that will help you identify values, purpose, mission, and vision.

3. Which customers am I most eager to serve, and why?
High energy and motivation are crucial to success in business. It’s much easier to stay focused and motivated when you are attracting and serving your favourite people. What is their age, stage, location, variety of needs, concerns, and so on? Where do they congregate and how can you hang out with them, both face-to-face and online? Connecting with your potential customers in a variety of helpful ways facilitates the flow of energy and money.

Sometimes it can be just as important to fire customers as it is to retain them. Bad customers can quickly drain valuable time, energy, and resources.  Look for a way to kindly offload repeatedly difficult customers so you have more time and energy to spend on the people you can genuinely help.

4. What do my customers need that I most love to provide for them?
Business is about more than taking people’s money: it’s about meeting people’s needs. Money is a handy side benefit.  When we meet the needs of customers we love with our strengths and talents, they’re generally happy to give us their money.  The better we meet their needs, the more money they’re willing to give us. It’s not rocket science.

Don’t be afraid to think outside the box on this one. What else do your customers need that you can provide, besides your regular products or services?  Maybe they need further connections, cool experiences, information and learning resources, incentives and perks, and so on.

As customers turn to you to get a variety of needs met, you become a centre of influence for them.  They say good things about you when you’re not there, and they naturally refer their friends.  What’s not to like? You get valuable word-of-mouth marketing for only the cost of providing a few extra resources for people you care about anyway.

5. What are the ways in which I’m able to meet my customers’ needs better than anyone else?
Price, Quality, and Service are the top three factors that allow a business to compete in the marketplace.  But it’s very rare for a company to be amazing at all three factors.  Better to choose two of these three and focus your development efforts around them.
For example, you could advertise your services as the lower-cost, faster alternative to your competition. The fact that you’re also of higher quality would be a much-welcomed surprise – allowing you to under-promise and over-deliver.

Blogging from Smartphone

Okay, so I’m not an engineer. It took me long enough, but I’m finally figuring out smarter ways to post content to my blog. So I’m sending this post via email from my Blackberry.
If you want to do the same, check out http://www.en.support.wordpress.com/post-by-email/.

Get Grounded for Growth

“Vision, mission, values”…ah, they roll off the tongue so easily.

But I find that folks tend to line up these three musketeers in the wrong order.   We need to reverse the order – start with Values and add in Purpose, before we go anywhere near Mission and Vision.

Why?  Values and Purpose tell us who we are as a business and why we’re here on this planet.  When we know the who and the why, it’s much easier to figure out the what and the how (“Mission”), and then the where of it all (“Vision”).  True, start-ups often need to fly by the seat of their pants until experience helps them more fully understand their identity. But for established businesses, a clear understanding of Values and Purpose is crucial for strategic planning and business success.

Success in business involves above all the ability to quickly decide what is most important in any situation. A deep understanding of core Values and Purpose allows us to say in a flash, “Yes, of course – it’s this, and not that”.  Strategic decision-making gives us the agility to out-dance both competitors and general market conditions.  And with an engaged and aligned work team that is also empowered to make its own decisions…the sky is the limit!

Since all decisions are based on Values, it should be easy to figure out our Values, right?

But in fact Values are not easy to identify.  We are way too close to them.  They’re like the background of a favourite painting…bringing definition and meaning to events in the foreground, but easily overlooked on their own.

Over the years, I’ve tried many methods to help people articulate their values.  I have to say that most methods fall short. Generally people work with a laundry list of abstract terms like “peace”, “freedom”, and “balance”.  Well, who on earth doesn’t want world peace?  Who doesn’t want freedom and balance?

Using the laundry list approach, people find it difficult to choose, internalize and then remember their chosen values – much less apply them in decision-making.  And the important question is always: what do these grand ideas really mean to me, right now, in this situation?

I’ve been having a lot of fun asking big questions lately with the 4-partner succession team at Menno S. Martin Contractor.  The fact that MSM is already over 70 years old tells us this business has been doing the right things over the years!

When we first started re-examining core Values at MSM, I asked the partners if they could state their company’s values without looking at the website.  When they weren’t able to do so easily, I knew we were starting in the right place.
So I asked team members to individually review a basic Values list and choose the ones that stood out for them.  We pooled our lists, noted commonalities and patterns, and reduced the joint list to about ten.

Now, 10 is way too many values to work with.  I like to see people whittle away until they come up with a top 3.   Because generally by the time most people get to the 4^th one, they’re hesitating, and by the 5^th value they’re drawing a blank. We’ve all seen this happen.

But this is not what we want to see with core Values. In fact, we want every last person in the entire business to remember the company’s core Values at the drop of a hat, in their sleep, and while they’re out of town.

So we took each of the 10 values and put it through some tests.  Business author Jim Collins has developed some highly useful questions for prioritizing Values and Purpose. Here are my personal favourites:

-       If you were to start a new organization, would you build it around this core Value regardless of the industry?

-       Would you want your organization to continue to stand for this core Value 100 years into the future – no matter what changes occur in the outside world?

-       Would you want your organization to hold this core Value, even if at some point in time it became a competitive disadvantage?

After much discussion, we were able to come up with MSM’s renewed list of Values.  While there are some similarities with the original list, the new list of values is shorter, pithier, and easier to remember:

1. Build it right.

2. With integrity.

3. People first.

We all fell in love with MSM’s renewed Statement of Values…including me : ).

ACTION STEPS:

1. Grab a list of Values from the net, or email me, and I’ll send you one.

2. Review the list and choose your Top 10.  Take your time and confer with others if necessary.

3. From there, test each brainstormed value and choose the 3 that really stand out for you.

4. Wordsmith until you resonate completely with them and you sense they really articulate what is most important to you.

5. Now post your values where you’ll see them every day and let them permeate everything you do.

Networking Tips

How can I use networking to grow my business?
• Attitude of “abundance” vs. “scarcity”.  Give before you get.
• High-value people attract high-value people and opportunities.
• Warm leads vs. cold leads – way easier and more fun.
• Longer-term vs. shorter-term solution.
• All business is built on relationships and conversations.
• Network to establish and strengthen your brand. Aim to be as visible as possible.
• Energy is money and money is energy.
• Conversations create energy, move your business forward and open up new opportunities.

How do I decide where to network, or evaluate the networks I already have?
• Clearly identify your target market and value prop.
• If you’re not clear who your target market actually is, network to get clarity.
• “Generic networking” to start (e.g. Chamber of Commerce).
• “Targeted networking” to connect with your specific market (professional
associations, supplier groups, clients’ networks).
• Conferences, trade shows – regular and reverse tradeshow marketing.
• Networking efforts should be bringing new business opps.  If not, change strategies.
• Distinguish between “high-value” (to your business), and “low-value” people.

What should I say to people?
• Even more important to listen.
• Be interested in others. Follow your natural curiosity and ask the questions that
interest you.
• Aim is to connect.  Never to sell. Selling comes much later!
• Be yourself.  If people don’t respond well, get feedback and aim to improve.
• Always ask how you can be helpful to them.  Who is their ideal client?  Who do you
know that you can connect them with?

How can I feel more at ease while networking?
• Notice and acknowledge your anxiety, but put it off to one side.  Don’t let it become the main event.
• Breathe deeply.
• Tell yourself “these people are just friends I haven’t met yet”.
• Never take it personally when someone doesn’t warm up to you. We either resonate or we don’t.
• Watch your self-talk – keep it positive.

How can I actually turn business cards into business?
• The key is in the follow-up.
• Your job at the networking event is to connect with as many people as you can, and
notice which ones you feel attracted to and might like to meet again.
• Write follow-up thank-you notes or emails to strengthen the connection.

How can I use social media to network online?
• Twitter, Linked In, Facebook.  Write your own content that answers questions and
concerns of your target market. Teach them how to think about your industry,
product or service.
• Join groups.  Start conversations with people that interest you.  Ask questions,
answer questions. Create events and use social media to invite people.  Track your
leads and follow-ups.

Growing Your Business Using Linked In

Linked In is a living, breathing network that automatically updates itself 24/7 online. What’s not to like?  If you’re a business owner or professional who is not on Linked In yet…today’s the day to get started.

Last week I was privileged to hear fundraising expert Paul Nazareth provide some excellent tips last week on how to use Linked In to grow your business. Interestingly, he was presenting at a locally-based Linked In group: Social Media Breakfast Waterloo Region.

I’ve put together Paul’s points with some of my own to come up with a Top 10 for Linked In.

1. Best Linked In resources: Linked In Log is a tiny book that takes you step by step from soup to nuts on how to plan and measure business results on your Linked In site. Linked In for Dummies is an excellent general guide and provides a helpful cheat sheet here. Other recommended marketing books: The Power of Pull,  UnMarketing,  and The Best Service is No Service.  Linked In has its own YouTube channel full of how-to videos.  Company Pages has lots of tips for organizing your business page.

2. Create both a personal page and a business page. On both sites, make sure you follow best practices using the resources above.  The most obvious basics are to make sure your profile is 100% complete, have a professional photo, and at least 3 recommendations.

3. To get recommendations, give them first to as many of your 1st degree connections as possible.  People usually want to reciprocate – but they’re busy, and it can help to shape their recommendation by offering content suggestions.  Paul’s tongue-in-cheek suggestion: “Can you just share with others that I didn’t kill you, and what you appreciated about our work together?”

4. Use the Summary section of your personal site to provide a snapshot of your personality and your value proposition. In my view, the Summary section should read like the “Professional Profile” section of your resume – so that even if a person reads no further, they still have a solid idea about why you’re on the planet. When I write these things with clients, I’m always asking “how”.  As in “Wow, that’s great – now how did you accomplish that?  How did you do it differently from someone else?” It’s a good idea to speak directly to your reader using I-statements, and to avoid jargon-y, empty descriptions like “dynamic” and “effective”.  You can also include your Vision and Mission in this section.

5. Don’t overwhelm people with your genius, or your posts will start to feel like spam.  Paul recommends maximum one status update per day, and minimum one update per week as a good guideline.  Follow updates from your network and make comments on a regular basis.

6. Include a personal note with each of your Linked In invitations.  If it’s a new connection, remind the person about how you know each other and ask for the opportunity to link.

7. Who to link to? People you already know well, people you worked with in the past, people you know professionally.  Take some risks.  Seek connections with your heroes, teachers, and other influencers who are important in your industry. Give them a reason as to why they might want to link with you. You have nothing to lose and a lot to gain.  You never know who might come up on your “suggested links” list.  Not too long ago I was astonished to see “Barack Obama” come up in in my own!  Talk about six degrees…!

8. Linked In Groups and Linked In Answers are excellent ways to showcase your knowledge and talents.  Seek groups where your target market hangs out and start to add value in those circles.  Aim to OWN your sector by creating your own groups. The best groups are not based around a specific company brand, but are targeted toward a sector, profession, special interest, or common problem.  Groups are about branding – establishing your reputation and getting your name out there – more than they’re about sales. One creative idea is to start an Amazon booklist, and hold meetings to discuss specific books.

9. Linked In Events is not yet the best vehicle for getting the word out about events, since not everyone is a member.  I park my own announcements at Eventbrite.com, but also list them on Linked In and Facebook, and send them out by email.

10. Use a timer.  Social media can be addictive – one could spend one’s whole day writing and talking to people, but making no money.  Set a timer to allow 10 – 15 minutes a day for social media activities to remedy this problem. After all, how long can it take to skim your network’s posts, make a few comments, post one update  yourself or answer one question?  That’s all the time you need to develop a solid reputation on Linked In.

Next:  Growing Your Business with Your Linked In Business Page.