Yellow Dog Consulting

Sales & Marketing Consulting for solo-preneurs.

Don’t Do Stuff You Suck At

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imagesLast week at the eWomen luncheon my friend Jessica Butts spoke on “Live Your Business Life From The Front Seat” which was a GREAT topic that I needed to hear.

One thing she said that was a great reminder, is Don’t Do Stuff You Suck At. It’s so true folks. Three months ago I finally hired a virtual assistant to handle my invoicing. I can do it, but it tedious and I screw up something half the time. I now pay someone to do this, it take her a third of the time it took me and I’m WAY happier on the first of each month.

What stuff are you doing in your business that you suck at and need to outsource? Your website? Data entry? Billing? Your newsletter? Social Media? Accounting?

What stuff do you like to do but don’t have the time for? What would you do if you had the time not doing the stuff that makes you so frustrated and angry? Make a list, start asking for introductions to these folks, and figure out if the cost is worth it for you. Trust me, it is.

3 Way to Increase Your Online Reviews

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imagesLately my clients have been asking about increasing their online reviews and presence. It’s important for prospective clients and customers to be able to find you online and get reviews from other past clients who have experienced your work. And sometimes that’s hard to do than others.

I had a doctor appointment last week and the next day I had an email asking me to review my experience online for them. My mother in law had a handout in her “goody bag” at the dentist asking for a Google+ review if she was happy with her dental experience (and said nothing about if it was an awful experience). Sometimes your business lends itself to easily ask for reviews, and other times it’s a bigger challenge. So, here’s 3 way you can increase your online reviews.

  1. Ask. We all know what I think about asking, you should do it. When you finish working with a client, or at the end of a big project (or when they’ve just emailed you a really nice note about how great you are), respond and ask if you can use that, or if they wouldn’t mind posting something on your Google+, Facebook, AngiesList, Yelp, etc page. Just ask for ONE, not all of them!
  2. Be Active! If you want folks to review and comment on your accounts, YOU need to be active on them. An ignored Google+ page is not somewhere I want to leave a review. An active page where you’ve posted something in the last week and seem to be paying attention to it, that’s where I’ll be responding.
  3. Be Honest. Occasionally I’ll email all my clients with an update. It’s usually something a bit more HR-ish. My vacation schedule, a sick day, rate change, etc. So why not include something like this? Just be honest “I’m trying to increase my online presence and adding reviews is a part of that. If you’re comfortable would you mind writing a couple of lines on Google+, LinkedIn or Yelp about me and our work together? If you need help with what to write I’m happy to help or review. And if you don’t have time or don’t want to, that’s OK too!”

Being straight forward and asking is always the easiest way to do this, but make it easy for clients and customers to review and talk about how great you are. Make sure your social media buttons are on your website, on your follow up materials, and when someone says something nice, and it makes sense, ask them to publish it. It can’t hurt to ask!

Your Lack of Organization is Costing You Business

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imgresLast week my client forwarded me an advertising opportunity that was a LIMITED opportunity. I reviewed it, it seemed like a good deal and our demographic so I emailed for more info. The ad rep sent me that info, AND two different rates for the same ad. I responded and ask if it really was the lower rate. the rep responded and said it was the higher rate and OF COURSE they were now sold out.

And I knew from the first email this advertising rep was going to be a nightmare to work with, and told my client that it probably wasn’t worth the great deal because she’d drive us all crazy in the mean time.

AND THEN…I get an email the next day that space is suddenly available again but I had to respond ASAP. So I ignored the email and went camping without internet access for the weekend. I let my client know this morning about the email and we decided to go with another ad option that will work just as well for my client’s demographic AND they aren’t a nightmare to work with.

Why oh why are sales reps so unorganized & all over the place? Get systems in place, stop, breathe and pay attention before you hit send, and you might sell a lot more. And sure, we have ALL done this, where you just can’t catch a break and keep hitting send too soon or screw up. But good grief, for the first time you contact a potential client, and then all 3 interactions are incompetent? No, you need to get it together.