clients

clients

How to Get the BEST Clients

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This month in our private  “The Thursday Club” we are diving into the Law of Attraction – think friends, clients, acquaintances, etc..  What you put forth, you attract. What you say, you become.

I’m coaching on how to create a personal brand that attracts the right people and clients into their inner circle.  Because you are who you surround yourself with – yes your Mama was right.

Here’s where many businesses go wrong – they think that brand trumps people.  When your brand excludes the people connection it becomes a commodity and then often the price is the point.  Not always – but often.

How to attract the BEST clients?  Be authentic.  Don’t fake it.  Be honest, be real and deliver on what you promise.

 Some stories…..

I’d like to share why I bought a Tiffin Motorhome. 

I did a bunch of research and found that it is a family-owned business, that customer service was their #1 priority and they stood by their word.

ALL of their marketing talks about it.

ALL of their social media screams to it.

ALL of their EMPLOYEES honor those values.

Their tag line is “Roughing it Smoothly” – it just sings to me.

They have Clubs and Get Togethers for Tiffin owners – and again they go above and beyond.

They charge a premium for their products, and I’m willing to pay that because I want to be able to pick up the phone and talk to Bob or Trent Tiffin if there is a problem.

Their brand is ALL about the people!  Their employees – their owners – their family. 

Not everyone cares about the level of customer service I do – some are more concerned about the price – and that’s ok!

Not everyone wants the RV I have – again that’s ok.

Tiffin Motorhomes is a prime example of using Attraction Marketing to woo people like me.

What they put forth – they attracted.  They think of all the little details and they have an avatar of ME in mind.

Now let’s take my company  Red Barn Consulting

 If you look at our marketing, what we put forth, who we are – we are very intentional.

We aren’t for everyone.  We know that.

We want to work with people who we like, who we can bring value to and who can afford us.

Jenn and I are not corporate, we are more country than city – and there isn’t a suit in either of our closets.  We go above and beyond to make sure our clients are happy and if you aren’t for us, we will let you know.

So if you attracting clients who aren’t a good fit and your “perfect client” eludes you – go back to your marketing and your messaging – there is something off.

Tell YOUR story – make it about people, not your logo.  You’ll see a shift.

How to Get the BEST Clients Read More »

How to take time off from your small business during the holidays!

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Depending on the type of business that you run, your business can either be super crazy during the holidays, think retail, or it could experience a bit of a lull. Many service providers, especially small businesses, often see a drop in business during the holidays. But just your potential buyers have checked out and gone on autopilot and decided not to decide until after the New Year doesn’t mean you put your marketing on hold for the last 2 weeks of the year.  Even if your business and customer engagement levels slow to a crawl this time of year it doesn’t mean it has to stay that way. And don’t worry – you can still enjoy some time with your family during the holidays too!

Reach out to top prospects before they check out for the season. Before the calendar rolls over to January, many businesses evaluate current contracts and services that they are using. Make sure you check in with your top prospects to stay front of mind, BUT you need to also make sure your current clients are happy and will continue to stay loyal to you. A little extra love during the holidays won’t hurt and may increase your sales.

Embrace the season of giving. Make sure that your clients know that you appreciate them. Sending them a holiday card or even a small gift will remind them that you care and take their business serious. At Red Barn, we bake cookies for our clients and we share the wealth with any top prospects that we are looking to woo as well. 😊

Optimize your email. Whether you plan to take a few days off or a few weeks, making sure your customers don’t feel neglected or ignored should be top of mind. Create an out of office message that lets people know when they can expect to hear from you, additional ways to reach you if it’s urgent, and when you may be checking emails while away. You should also list any special products or services with links to more information to help increase sales while you are away. You can also link to an FAQ page on your website that may be helpful to some common questions that you may receive. Be proactive!

Schedule, Schedule, Schedule. Just because you are going to be spending time away from your business, it doesn’t mean that all marketing and content comes to a halt. Create a bunch of content in advance and pre-schedule those weekly emails and blogs, and daily social media posts. Of course, you’ll need to check emails to see if you get any responses, and monitor social media for any messages and comments, but it takes a lot of the burden off when you automate and schedule in advance!

Don’t allow the demands of running your business overwhelm you to the point where you don’t know if you can take any time off for the holiday break. Everyone needs some down time and the holidays can be both stressful for your business and personal life. There’s no reason to miss out on a sale or lose customers just because you want to recharge and enjoy some family time – just set yourself up for success before you unplug!

How to take time off from your small business during the holidays! Read More »

No sales team – no problem. How to increase your sales without a sales team

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When you own a small business, you may not have resources available to hire a dedicated sales person, but you still need to make sales, right? When sales are your goal but not necessarily your specialty, you need to make sure every lead, every prospect counts. That one missed sale could really affect your bottom line when you are just starting out. So how do you kick your sales effort into overdrive without a robust sales process and team? Check out these great tips to give your sales effort the boost it needs.

Email, email, email. If you didn’t read my previous blog on the importance and value of email marketing – go back and read it here. Email marketing is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to reach your prospects and clients. And yes, you should be emailing your current clients too – they still need nurturing to get them to continue to buy your services/products and buy additional services/product. Just because they bought once or twice, doesn’t mean they will continue to buy. Make sure you list is targeted as well. Don’t blindly email everyone whose email you have – unless they sign up for a specific newsletter. Make sure the people on your list are people who could actually buy your offering.

Be mobile-friendly. From your website to your emails to your social media profiles – everything should look great and be easy to navigate on mobile devices. Why? Because pretty much everyone nowadays owns a smartphone or tablet and they are using them to open emails, check social media, and visit websites. If they can’t quickly and easily access you on a mobile device, you may be losing a lot of sales.

Make the pathway to a sale easy. Can your customers easily place an order with you? Even if they can’t order direct from your website if it’s a service-based business, do you make your process easy? Are they able to get ahold of you or someone who can take the sale? Is there a lot of mundane paperwork they need to complete? Streamline your sales process to make it as easy as possible for your client to work with you.

Networking and referrals. What’s better than free marketing? Your network of peers sending prospects your way via referrals. When you network and build up a tribe of people who know you, know what you do, and genuinely like you – they are happy to refer business your way, especially when you reciprocate. The saying it’s not what you know but who you know still holds value.

Amazing customer service. Customers really learn a lot about your business from the customer service you provide. Providing timely responses to calls and emails, answering questions they may have about the product, and giving them value during the decision-making process could be the deciding factor in whether they purchase from you or not. Don’t go AWOL after the sale either – customer service is just as important as making the sale – you don’t want people spreading negative feedback that you could have easily controlled.

Still have questions on how you can take your sales to the next level – give us a call. We can help with everything from how to approach your prospects to defining your sale’s pitch and message.

No sales team – no problem. How to increase your sales without a sales team Read More »

It’s 2018 – why aren’t you using email marketing!

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I’m sure we’ve written several blogs, emails, social media posts, and talked about the importance of email marketing, but it’s 2018 and there are still people who aren’t taking advantage of the amazingness of it so, it’s time to share some remarkable statistics with you.

  • The return on investment is MASSIVE! There are many reasons to use email marketing but if you are honest with yourself, the end goal is to make money. And for every $1 spent on email marketing, you get an $83 return on your investment. That is huge!
  • It’s bigger than social media. Yes, Facebook ads are big right now, but email marketing is the most direct way to reach and interact with your clients and prospects. People are twice as likely to sign up for your email list as they are to interact with you on Facebook.
  • People prefer to communicate via email. Let’s be honest, very few people like to pick up the phone and call people these days – and even fewer like answering – especially with all the spam robocalls these days. 72% of consumers prefer email as their source of communication – they can learn about your business and make informed buying decisions.
  • Your customers WANT emails from you. Surprised? Well, 61% actually enjoy receiving promo emails and 38% want more frequent emails!
  • Consumers who purchased products via email spent 138% more than those that didn’t receive email offers.
  • The conversion rate for men and women on a desktop is about equal, but women are more likely to purchase on a tablet and men on a smartphone.
  • Wonder why Red Barn predominantly sends plain text emails for our weekly newsletters? Because although people SAY they prefer HTML emails, the open rates are higher for plain text.
  • Don’t have a segmented email list – you might want to create them. Segmented lists have a 14% higher open rate and 100% higher click thru rate. WOW!

    • It doesn’t matter the size of your business, but when it comes to email marketing, you can’t afford NOT to invest in it. From a limited budget to a hefty one, you can still accomplish great things using email as a business tool. With so many awesome platforms out there, it’s easy to find one that can meet your needs and your budget. Not sure where to get started – give us a call. We love talking about email marketing!

    It’s 2018 – why aren’t you using email marketing! Read More »

    Why your current employer could be you #1 Customer

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    One of the biggest roadblocks for many “Want-trapreneurs” looking to launch a service based business (or any type of business for that matter) is maintaining their current income base.   It’s hard to leave the security of a guaranteed salary, health insurance, paid vacations and the almighty 401K, I get it – I’ve been there.

    When I sit down to coach people who are living in limbo land   – the land of “I really want to be out on my own” BUT “I need to still make 6 figures”.

    I first address the need versus want.  What many perceived as a necessity is simply a want that can be given up.  It’s no secret that many of us live far richer than we need to – everything from the $5 daily allotment of coffee to the big house and the fancy car to eating out 3x a week.  When you really track what you are spending your money on, you quickly realize there is a lot of fluff.  You need a roof over your head, basic utilities paid and food on the table, access to health care (don’t get me started on this one) – in other words, you NEED the basics, you WANT the other stuff.

    After we create that need budget we come down to what type of salary is vital for your existence.  I’m not saying you need to sell your car and your house and go live in a tent, but I do force people to be realistic.  The more fat you cut, the less money you need to leave your 9-5 and go out on your own.

    Once this is out of the way – I dive deeply into their current situation.  I often find many people really love what they do, they like who they work for but they have an “itch” to go out on their own. They want to have control over their destiny and work for themselves versus someone else.  They’ve done a great job, have aced their reviews but there is just something missing.

    If you want to start a consulting gig that aligns with what you are currently doing in your 9-5 job, your #1 big prospect should be your current employer.  Many, not all, will embrace the concept.  They get to keep great talent at a reduced cost – no longer paying taxes and benefits.  It will also help them bridge the gap until they find a replacement if indeed they decide to do so.

    I usually suggest to my clients that they flesh out their idea with some smaller clients that aren’t their employer to ensure they have refined their process before the ultimate pitch and the resignation letter. Some employers frown on or forbid a side hustle, so make sure you know the rules because the last thing you want to do is burn a bridge.

    The bridge theory works, I’ve done it and I’ve helped others to do the same.   There’s a bit more to the process than a 500 word article can articulate, but you get the picture!

    Why your current employer could be you #1 Customer Read More »

    Marketing – it\’s a TEAM effort!

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    As the saying goes – there is no “I” in TEAM. I wish the word Marketing didn’t have an “I” in it so I could carry the saying over – but I think you know where I’m going here.  You can spell team using the letters in Marketing though! Marketing is a TEAM effort – that is, if you want to have the biggest ROI (Return on Investment).

    About the TEAM in MARKETING.  I get some pushback on this, especially if I have a client paying me to handle marketing for them, or if they have an in-house marketing person or group.  Why do the rest of the employees need to be involved – what gives?

    In fact – a lot gives. Here’s why.

    1. When you build a culture of inclusion making everyone part of the process and therefore the story, magical things happen.  It creates a powerful place of employment, more importantly, the team not only drinks the proverbial Kook-Ade – but they also share it.  WORD of MOUTH Marketing is powerful.  When employees brag about your brand – what does that say about you?  Ps – A Lot.
    2. You get the REAL STORY. Back to #1.  When you have team members posting work selfies on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter – or FB or Insta Live videos they tend to get far more engagement and will tend to become viral over a standard – hey here’s what we do post.  More importantly, you are getting a behind the scenes look at what makes the company tick aka “The Real Scoop”.
    3. Your buyers don’t want to be sold to. When you get that real behind the scenes story, buyers can see what’s real and then make a decision based on that reality.  Far more powerful than an advertisement telling someone why they should buy from you.
    4. The team includes your customers! We all strive to have brand evangelists, so why not encourage your employees to find those evangelists and engage with them on social.  Salespeople are your ideal target for this since they are often client facing – or perhaps even a service team.  Having an employee and a happy customer in an Instagram Story or in a picture on Twitter is PRICELESS!  You can’t beat that kind of advertising.
    5. Consistency, Authenticity, and Transparency. The holy grail of marketing.  When you have your team involved this becomes far easier.  You will have more engagement, you will see the real behind the scenes story from real people – not actors, not stock photos and not a stagnant social feed or website.

    So….that’s why I encourage CEO’s to have a flexible yet monitored social media policy.  Yes, you have to have training and controls especially in compliance driven fields such as healthcare, financial services, and insurance – but trust me, it can be done and done well.

    That’s my story, I’m sticking to it.  Go Team is the answer to this one. 100% hands down a winner!

    Marketing – it\’s a TEAM effort! Read More »

    Marketing – it\’s a TEAM effort!

    Leave a Comment / Featured, Finance, Fun Stuff, Healthcare, Insurance, Marketing, Must Read Blogs, Sales, Small Business, Uncategorized / By / / , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

    As the saying goes – there is no “I” in TEAM. I wish the word Marketing didn’t have an “I” in it so I could carry the saying over – but I think you know where I’m going here.  You can spell team using the letters in Marketing though! Marketing is a TEAM effort – that is, if you want to have the biggest ROI (Return on Investment).

    About the TEAM in MARKETING.  I get some pushback on this, especially if I have a client paying me to handle marketing for them, or if they have an in-house marketing person or group.  Why do the rest of the employees need to be involved – what gives?

    In fact – a lot gives. Here’s why.

    1. When you build a culture of inclusion making everyone part of the process and therefore the story, magical things happen.  It creates a powerful place of employment, more importantly, the team not only drinks the proverbial Kook-Ade – but they also share it.  WORD of MOUTH Marketing is powerful.  When employees brag about your brand – what does that say about you?  Ps – A Lot.
    2. You get the REAL STORY. Back to #1.  When you have team members posting work selfies on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter – or FB or Insta Live videos they tend to get far more engagement and will tend to become viral over a standard – hey here’s what we do post.  More importantly, you are getting a behind the scenes look at what makes the company tick aka “The Real Scoop”.
    3. Your buyers don’t want to be sold to. When you get that real behind the scenes story, buyers can see what’s real and then make a decision based on that reality.  Far more powerful than an advertisement telling someone why they should buy from you.
    4. The team includes your customers! We all strive to have brand evangelists, so why not encourage your employees to find those evangelists and engage with them on social.  Salespeople are your ideal target for this since they are often client facing – or perhaps even a service team.  Having an employee and a happy customer in an Instagram Story or in a picture on Twitter is PRICELESS!  You can’t beat that kind of advertising.
    5. Consistency, Authenticity, and Transparency. The holy grail of marketing.  When you have your team involved this becomes far easier.  You will have more engagement, you will see the real behind the scenes story from real people – not actors, not stock photos and not a stagnant social feed or website.

    So….that’s why I encourage CEO’s to have a flexible yet monitored social media policy.  Yes, you have to have training and controls especially in compliance driven fields such as healthcare, financial services, and insurance – but trust me, it can be done and done well.

    That’s my story, I’m sticking to it.  Go Team is the answer to this one. 100% hands down a winner!

    Marketing – it\’s a TEAM effort! Read More »

    Client retention issues? I bet I know why.

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    I often get calls from business owners telling me they need marketing because their sales have “dipped”.   I dig a bit deeper asking questions about why they think revenue and retention have dropped.  I get the following:

    • My competition is eating me a live
    • I need better employees
    • My customers don’t value me like they used to
    • I’m not competitive anymore
    • No problem – I just need marketing!

    When I get these type of responses, it’s the red flag zone for me.  99% of the time there is a deeper issue and marketing is the last thing they should be focused on right now.

    My next step is to head to their office – I want to be there first thing in the morning when employees are showing up.  I want to just watch, listen… and learn.  What I typically find is an unhappy situation, a morgue with Stepford Wife type employees who fake being happy there.  Where’s the boss?  In his/her office drinking coffee, with the door closed.  It’s Monday and there is work to do.  The Grind. The Misery.

    In my line of work, the #1 reason most companies fail to thrive is due to their culture and the lack of a leader who understands the importance of TEAM.

    When you hire the right employees into the right culture with a leader who embraces a culture of learning and mentoring– your customer experience will soar.

    It all comes back to the Core Values of the company – the driving principals. The Ten Commandments – it’s how you act internally and how you project yourself externally.  When there is a disconnect with the Core Values of the owner and those of the employees – it becomes a hot mess and those dissatisfied employees become a cancer – which then trickles down to the customer experience.

    If your retention and revenues are dipping – please take a hard, holistic look at your business and ask WHY.  WHY are customers not sticking?  It’s rarely because of price or your competition – it’s because of their experience with you and your brand. They left because they didn’t feel the love and someone else was loving them more than you were.

    Employees matter.  Culture matters.  Most importantly, how your employees express your culture to your customers matters.

    Until you fix this – don’t spend a dime on marketing. You are tossing dollars out the damn door.

    Client retention issues? I bet I know why. Read More »

    Working from the Road – Remotely!

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    I’m penning this article while sitting riding in my RV through the hills of West Virginia enroute to Kentucky. I’ve created a work scenario for myself that allows for this type of flexibility. “Back in the day”, very few people could work remotely unless they were writers and had typewriters, a travel luxury. Today, more and more companies/organizations are allowing their team to work from virtually anywhere. Now, as Jenn at Red Barn would say, it’s not all roses and unicorns this remote world I live in – but, it’s pretty darn close. Why I LOVE IT

    • I work on my time. In the end, as long as all the work gets done and clients are happy, does it really matter when the work gets completed or where? Absolutely not. In fact, I am far more creative when I’m not sitting in my office surrounded by stuff. Put me in my RV (I wrote 4 magazine articles this morning before 10 am), or outside in the woods and I’m creative as all get out!
    • Change of pace. Going back to the creative piece, sometimes different scenery can inspire or the lack of the stifling office piles of papers (well in my office anyway) gives you some freedom to think better. For me, getting away always improves my work output.
    • My team is huge, costs are low. I can have employees all over the world and I don’t have some massive brick and mortar to pay for. I can also give my clients a more competitive rate and pay my employees more and even offer them more perks.
    • My employees are happy. Happy employees mean happy customers means happy business owner. If one of my team members wants to take their laptop and go sit at a park for the day, they go. The only “No” is if there are scheduled staff meetings or meetings with clients. Although we’ve been known to have more than one meeting outside or even via Skype.

    The Challenges

    • Sometimes you miss people. Now today, I’m in the RV with Dave – so I have people! But there are days when I don’t have any client appointments and I’m just tired of no human interaction. Same with my staff – good news is we are all conscious of that challenge and work with it. We may all get together at my house or all grab lunch – just for some humanizing!
    • Staying Organized. Big challenge for me, not my forte but I force myself. Between project management tools, lists, and cloud based everything, I seem to keep it together. You must embrace technology if you want it to work though.
    • Not everyone is a good remote worker. I learned this the hard way when hiring my team. I’ve learned that some people just love a cubicle (Gasp – not for me at all!).
    • Discipline. You should be disciplined working remotely – especially for me in the RV! I set work time and stick to it. But once my work is done – I’m done, I don’t sit in front of my laptop from 9-5 because I’m supposed to.
    • Getting away from work. When you don’t go to an office, your office follows you around. My discipline challenge is not working all the time vs. not working enough! At home, I leave my office and don’t go back in. The RV is a bit more challenging! I put away my laptop and papers into my bag and that’s me closing the door for the day.
    • Security. Making sure our data is secure in multiple locations has its challenges, but we just have processes to ensure we are internally compliant! So far (fingers crossed) we’ve done very well!

    Business owners who allow their team to try working remotely might be pleasantly surprised of the outcomes! Happier employees, better productivity and increased revenues!

    Working from the Road – Remotely! Read More »

    Who you REALLY want to work with

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    What is the Target Client Profile – or TCP?

    The Target Client Profile (TCP) is the criteria that makes up your ideal client. Clients who meet the following 5 criteria are the clients you should be on the look out for. We get it, not all your clients right now probably fit into this mold, but it\’s something to strive for. Hey, at the end of the day, having clients who fit into your TCP will make every one happier.

    • You need to have a strategic plan on where you want to be.  If it isn’t necessarily the clients you have now, it’s the clients you WANT to have. Who are they, where do they live, how much do they make, what do they like to do, are they conservative or not, what do they wear, what do they eat…you need to get that granular.
      • Find a picture in a magazine of your perfect client and start adding sticky notes around them that describe them.
    • You need to like them. This is so important. If you meet someone and you just cringe or think I’m going to hate answering the phone when he/she calls. Don’t do it.
    • Don’t be a slave to the almighty dollar – see #2
    • They need to be able to afford you. I never haggle on my price. EVER. I may reduce services, but my brain is worth something. Hell, 55 years of “stuff” in there has value. Don’t haggle or sell on price. If you do, you are training your customer that price is the point and you are a commodity. People will pay for things they see value in.
    • You have to be able to bring them value. If the prospect doesn’t drink your Kool-Aid – you will never bring them value because they will always be questioning your actions. The trust factor has to be there.

    And there my friend is the TCP. When you start out you are going to take clients that don’t fit – hey, you have to eat. But if you can afford NOT to do that – you are in a great space. Taking clients that are not in your TCP suck the life out of you and then keep you away from working with your TCP.

    Want some weekly advice and brain food? Join my Thursday email list HERE!

    Who you REALLY want to work with Read More »