Yellow Dog Consulting

Sales & Marketing Consulting for solo-preneurs.

I’m Not an Expert, And Neither are You

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I was talking to someone the other day and they mentioned they want to be positioned as an expert in their field. As we all know, Malcolm Gladwell says that’ll take us 10,000 hours. Hop to it!

Expert, Guru, Maven – there’s a variety of ways we can present ourselves as an expert in our field. And I’m hoping to  never refer to myself as any of these things. I’m a business owner, who’s found my niche with small business owners, helping them with their newsletter and marketing efforts.

Should I be an expert? Maybe. Should I be on Facebook? Maybe. My ego isn’t at a place where I need you to think I’m the best at something and I have to do ALL THE THINGS to prove it. I have found my success in doing what I like to do, doing it really well and making my clients happy. When I do that, they refer business to me, colleagues refer business to me and I haven’t panicked about where my next client will come from in well over a year.

Are there people who are better at this and have more bells and whistles than I do? Sure. And if that’s what you want, you’re welcome to work with them. I understand. If you want to pay that premium price for an expert who will stick you into their cog, go for it!

I’m grateful to have found my niche and thankful for the clients who want to work with me.

And, when I hire people, this is the method I prefer. I’d much rather you show me how awesome you are instead of tell me.

6 Things You Should Include on Your Website

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6 things your website needsI spoke earlier this week to a group of new business owners. It’s always fun to talk to people when they’re just getting started! The variety of questions and overwhelm is understandable. One thing I talked about was having a website. It doesn’t need to be a big crazy site, but it does need to have some basic information. There’s a lot of things to consider when you start your business, but having a basic online presence is part of this.

Here are 6 things I suggest you consider for your website:

  1. Contact Information – Yes this seems obvious, but I had a client years ago who talked about “hire us” “work with us” “contact us” but no email, contact form or phone number to contact them…
  2. Physical Address – If you’re a physical location, you should have your physical address so I can drive there and see you! You won’t find my address on my site because I work from home and I don’t want people showing up unannounced!
  3. Phone Number – A lot of people like to call rather than email. It drives me crazy, BUT it’s important. If you use your personal phone for work (like me) and need the general public to contact you by phone I suggest getting a Google Voice account setup.
  4. Email or contact form – Make it easy for me to contact you. Include your email address or have a contact form on your website.
  5. About Us – Your about page is the story that sells you. This is why you do what you do and why you’re so awesome. This may also be some history of  how you got to this point. Be a real person on this page. If you’re really that passionate about what you do, make sure we get that from your about page!
  6. Services – What would you say you do here? List out your services – it doesn’t have to be exhaustive but I need to get a good idea of what you do and how I can hire you or buy your product. Pricing is optional on this page. I don’t list my pricing on my site for a variety of reasons, but if it makes sense for you to list your pricing, go for it!

This list isn’t exhaustive at all, but as a small business owner just starting out, I think these are a few of the essentials. What other pieces are a must have on your website?

You’re Using Social Media Wrong

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Norm, Kenzie & Tucker!I’ve had a few too many conversations lately with clients and potential clients who have been spending a lot of time (and money and effort) on social media with no results.

I really wish I were surprised by this, but I’m not. Social media marketers really want Facebook to be the next big get rich quick scheme. And it’s not. That’s because it’s not a sales funnel. It’s a lead nurturing tool.

Everything I do on social media has the ability to bring people to my website to learn more about me. All of my profiles are fully filled out and tell people that I run Yellow Dog Consulting with my yellow dog Norm. Now, not every social media post is about marketing or my business, but if they like something I say, they may just head over to my site to learn more about this twisted mind of mine. I don’t expect someone to see a tweet, come to my site and hire me. It hasn’t happened yet.

BUT, when I’m out networking I use social media in my follow up. I connect with everyone I meet on LinkedIn. I follow everyone who has their Twitter handle on their card. And I may even check out their Instagram to see if they’re as obsessed with something as I am (#mydailynorm). I might drop it after a week or two if I don’t love it, but more often than not, I start to engage with them. No sales. No obnoxious message. I’m just a real live person having a conversation with them.

In a few months I may see them at another networking event and we decide to get coffee. And when the time is right, maybe the hire me.

Social media isn’t about getting the sale, it’s about growing and nurturing the relationship. Becoming human so when the time comes, they know who you are.