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Know Your Energy Zappers

07.20.2012 by Elizabeth // 2 Comments

On Wednesday I attended the monthly eWomen Network luncheon. This month we were treated to Tammy Redmon, a Business Growth Strategist. Like me, she jumped ship on “cubical nation” and runs a thriving consulting business. Tammy talked about Knowing your Blind Spots. She gave 7 power tips to keep you moving forward and not getting stuck in the roud about of business and life.

My favorite tip was the first- Know Your Energy Zappers. This has been my biggest challenge since starting Yellow Dog Consulting. Since starting my business everyone wants to grab coffee, meet for a drink, or have lunch. And that’s great. I love to catch up with friends and meet new people who might become a friend or business connection. But I also have a business to run and leaving my house for two hours for a meeting with travel time that gives someone a lot of great tips but leaves me with a bigger pile of work is a challenge.

To combate my Energy Zappers I schedule days at home, and if someone wants to meet (that’s not a client) I try to build those meetings around OTHER meetings, especially if I can do it before or after a client meeting (so I’m at least billing something that day!).

Take a look at your schedule. Where are your Energy Zappers? And what gives you energy? Who and where do you need to spend more of your energy?

 

 

Categories // Lessons Learned, Networking

Take a Field Trip

07.13.2012 by Elizabeth // Leave a Comment

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…

 

 

Categories // Holidays, Lessons Learned, Networking

Respond To Your Audience

07.05.2012 by Elizabeth // 1 Comment

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?

Categories // Lessons Learned, Sales, Social Media

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About Us

Yellow Dog Consulting is a sales and marketing firm located in Hillsboro, Oregon with clients around the world. We work with small business owners who love what they do, but the sales and marketing part of their job sucks their will to live.

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