Yellow Dog Consulting

Sales & Marketing Consulting for solo-preneurs.

Dog Treats and Business Treats

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Last week I had the chance to meet with Kim Scott, the owner of The Nyima Bakery here in Issaquah. I read about her in a recent Issaquah Press article and had to meet her! So, I did what any sales person does, I shot her a note and asked to meet. And great news, she said yes! So Hank & I went to meet with Kim, and she’s awesome. And The Nyima Bakery is AWESOME. Natural and organic dog treats made right here in Issaquah. Hank is in LOVE! The treats are delicious, and I don’t worry about giving him high-processed treats since they’re all natural and organic ingredients! The Nyima Bakery is also committed to giving back, and 10% of their profits each month go to a pet-friendly nonprofit organization.

When I started Yellow Dog Consulting one of the pages on my website I knew I wanted was a Resources page. I know a lot of people, and while there’s a lot of things I CAN do to help businesses, there are a lot of things that are best left to others. So I created my resources page. Everyone on the page is someone I have actually done business with, and I think might be helpful for you and your business.

Since I’m all about Hank it’s probably a good idea to offer some “resources” for Hank as well. So I asked Kim, and The Nyima Bakery is not only a resource on our website, she’s offering 10% off your entire order using the code HANK at checkout. As always, you can thank him with treats (he’s loving the wheat free salmon bites!) And Hank (and I) will thank Kim by sharing the love with others!

Respond To Your Audience

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One of the wonders of modern technology and social media is that you can schedule your posts and organize your social media so you don’t have to sit around and manage it all day. And that’s great. BUT…

You still have to manage your social media and keep an eye on it once or twice a day at least. Make sure that you are paying attention to what people are saying about you, to you or asking for your help with.

A couple weeks ago I signed up for a 30-day trial of a program. Within 2 hours I had a phone call from a sales rep, and an email a couple hours later. This went on for 3 days. Really, just let me play with the product, I’ll let you know if I need anything. The sales rep was so bad that I’ll never use the product again. I was so annoyed I went to the company website, found their twitter account and tweeted them about their over bearing sales reps. And I got NO RESPONSE. AT ALL. If you aren’t using and managing your social media outlets, don’t promote them.

On the flip side, Full Circle Farms does a great job of managing their twitter account, answering questions and paying attention to what customers are saying. A couple months ago I had a string of too-fresh produce showing up in my weekly box. I tweeted about it, and another follower responded to me having had a similar issue. Within 12 hours I had an email from Full Circle that they were going to credit me a box of produce for my inconvenience. And they did the same for the other guy I was tweeting with. Happy customer, and see, I’m talking about them, and saying NICE things!

Where in your business can you make your clients happier or provide an unexpected service or upgrade that will remind them why they love you and would never leave you?

The Holiday Vacation Excuse

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Summer in SeattleIt’s easy to drag along in the summer. We make the excuse that everyone’s on vacation, so I will too. But bills still have to be paid, most people don’t take the WHOLE month off, and while the 4th of July falling on a Wednesday kind of screws up the week, a lot of people stick around. After all, summer doesn’t start in Seattle until July 5th!

What are you doing this week and month to grow your business? What prospects do you need to check in on? What client do you need to schedule a 2nd half of the year conversation with? What work aren’t you getting done because you’ve been “too busy”? If it’s really a quiet week, you should have PLENTY of time to get through at least one of those projects you’ve been pushing off.

Hop to it folks! The sun will be out in a few days, and we all know how useless this town gets when that happens! Need some accountability? Let me know, I’m happy to check in with you!