Yellow Dog Consulting

Sales & Marketing Consulting for solo-preneurs.

Take a Field Trip

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The view at Allium

The summer is an easy time to make excuses- it’s nice out, the sun is shining, Hank wants a walk, and then he wants to go lay on the patio and sun bathe- it’s easy to get distracted from getting your job done. I can make an excuse to not do ANYTHING I don’t want to do. On Monday I took the day off to drive to Orcas Island and visit my friend Lisa who owns Allium, the greatest restaurant EVER. It’s worth a 16-hour day of driving and ferries and traffic for a meal here, trust me. And the day away was JUST what I needed.

I drove up with my friend Karen at One Smart Cookie Marketing, who I don’t get to spend much time with, she also has a marketing firm, but we focus on different market segments so we were talked about strategy, best practices, what’s working, and what’s not. I realized that getting out of town can be really great for my business. Pick a topic, pick a friend and take a field trip. It’s amazing what a day away from work can do for your business.

And rewarding yourself with an incredible meal with 6 other friends doesn’t hurt.

Need a day away?- I highly recommend a trip to Orcas & Allium…

 

 

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?