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.

Be Friendly to Customer Service

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The other day I posted this to my Instagram:

PRO TIP: be friendly to customer service folks. A few weeks ago I had a weird issue pop up in @mailchimp so I chatted with a friendly customer support person. I was nice & he was helpful & after we finished the chat and he resolved my issue he sent me a link to order a prize! And now I can’t wait for winter (or to see if norm will let me put it on him tonight after daycare…)

Update – he did:

Norm and the hat

So what are the marketing lessons to be learned here?

  1. If you’re in customer service – kill them with kindness. I’m a paying MailChimp customer and most of my clients are not. And my question was for an account that’s not paying for this technical support. But they answered my question anyway. They could have been an asshole about it, but they were awesome. And I was rewarded for my gratefulness with a new winter hat to terrorize my dog with.
  2. If you’re speaking to customer service: BE NICE. It’s not their fault something happened to you. It’s probably some glitch in code somewhere way down the line that they’re in no way responsible for. Plus – if you’re nice you could win a prize!
  3. Empower your employees! I didn’t need a hat – or any free MailChimp swag. But I’m pretty excited for it! And now I’m writing a blog post singing their praises. Empower your team to reward your customers.
  4. Dog’s in human clothing are always funny.

I hate when I get further by complaining to a company on social media than being able to handle it politely behind chat rooms. Start by being nice and polite. Yes, you can be super frustrated too. I often start out conversations (not the one with MailChimp) with “I’m super frustrated and I know it’s not your fault so I apologize if I accidentally yell or blame you for something outside your control.” That also helps put them at ease. They know they aren’t the villain in this story, but does the customer?

Be Friendly to Customer Service.

3 Ways to Manage Your Summer Slump

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3 WAYS TO MANAGE YOUR SUMMER SLUMPLast month I attended, and spoke, at an event with my friend MaryAnn McNulty. She talked about the stages and cycles in business. It was a great reminder of what I can do to better manage my business year round, not just when times are great or I’m in a slump.

The summer is an easy time to slack off and enjoy the sunshine while it’s here. But, what I often notice is that when I slack off, I pay for it. Not in a week, but a few months down the road. So, what can you do to prevent a slump in your business?

  1. More 1:1’s – Some networking groups take time off in the summer. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still network. I like to schedule more individual meetings in the summer. Plus sitting outside drinking coffee (or something stronger) is best enjoyed with awesome new people.
  2. Networking in August – Why? August is AWESOME in the PNW! I can make an excuse to stay home and hangout in my backyard with Norm and my husband instead of putting on mascara and driving into the city to network. But it needs to happen. That’s why you’ll find me networking, even in August. And I won’t be alone.
  3. Follow Up – Summer is a great time to make sure you have your follow up systems in place. People are on vacations and not working as many hours, but you are! Make sure to follow up, and don’t use the summer excuse. Let your potential clients and referral partners tell you, don’t assume!

What do you do during your potentially slower months to ensure you don’t pay for it later?