How to Be a Better Listener

When you’re networking or meeting with potential clients, it is very important that you listen to what they say. If you don’t, you could leave money on the table.

Being able to listen to others allows you get the information you need to solve a potential client’s problems and make them YOUR client.

Here are some tips to help you listen better:

• Let the other person explain what’s on their mind. Acknowledge their feelings.
•  Encourage the person to explain in more detail by asking open-ended questions, making eye contact and making listening noises (these are called “minimal encouragers”). 
• Paraphrase what was said to you. This shows you were listening and understood what they were saying. 
• Ask questions and offer to work on a possible solution. 

Learn how to be happy with what you have while you pursue all that you want. – Jim Rohn

My interested in life comes from setting myself huge, apparently unachievable challenges and trying to rise above them. – Richard Branson

How to Write a Winning Proposal

Writing proposals is not something any small business person wants to do. They can be difficult to write and you don’t always win the business.  One reason you’re not getting the job could be your proposal isn’t effective. 

So, how do you write a more effective proposal that will win the business?

Don’t leave it to the last minute

Are you a procrastinator? Don’t be when it comes to getting a proposal written.

Even if you’re not ‘feeling it,’ try to spend some time writing down some ideas. Refer back to the notes you took when meeting with your potential client. You were listening to what they said, right? Your clients make think they only need one thing, but you heard their need for several other things too. Put them all in the proposal.

Write up a rough first draft and put it away for an hour or a day. Then, when you revisit it, you have something to edit and work from while meeting your submission deadline.

Develop a boilerplate

Having a template to work from can make that first rough draft closer to a finished version.

For some businesses, a boilerplate won’t work, but if it can for your business, it is worth the time you invest in creating it.

If you’ve already written a few proposals, look them over and see what you can repurpose. Perhaps it’s the wording of a specific service offering or the look of the delivery timetable. Some things will be able to be used over and over with minimal tweaking for each specific client.

Keep if about the client

Naturally you’re proud of your business but keep the information about you and your company to a minimum in the proposal. It’s all about the client, their company and their needs.

Don’t use industry jargon

Your potential client may not know or understand jargon or abbreviations common in your industry. So don’t use them.

For example, as a marketer, I know what SEO stands for. My clients have probably seen stories about it, but I spell it out (Search Engine Optimization) for them and briefly describe what it is and how it will help raise their website in online searches. I don’t assume they know what SEO means or what it is.

Use correct grammar and spell check

Your proposal will not look professional and polished to your potential client if it has misspelled words, incorrect grammar and punctuations throughout.

Use spell check on your computer and hire a proofreader to check your work. Or ask a colleague to look it over for you. It’s difficult to proofread your own work because you know what it’s supposed to say.

Use these tips to write winning proposals that bring in new work for your small business. 

Happy First Day of Summer!!!

Happy Father's Day!

Tips to Successfully Promote Your Products on Social Media

You sell clothing or jewelry. Taking pictures of your products and posting them on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook is fun and sometimes results in sales.

But, are you looking for ways to increase the promotion and sale of your products on 

social media? Many brands use social media successfully to promote and sell their products so let’s borrow some of their ideas for your business.

Combine Social Media and E-commerce

The lines are blurring between traditional e-commerce and social networks. Recently, social media platforms have integrated e-commerce into their sites.

When you post great pictures of your products, make sure the ‘buy’ button is activated so your customer can purchase right from Twitter and Facebook.

Use Customer Images

Many retailers are encouraging their customers to take selfies with their products and post them. These retailers then post and tag these pictures directly on their official Instagram and Facebook pages. How cool is it that you can shop for clothes at these retailers and see what their clothing looks like on real people, not only on skinny models? This sharing is more than just free content for retailers, it also acts as a powerful social approval tool that can encourage more sales.

Encourage your customers to post photos of themselves with or in your products. This will inspire people to make spur-of-the-moment purchases of your products.

Celebrate Flag Day!

Maybe stories are just data with a soul. - Brené Brown

Why Aren’t They Hiring Me?

You have prospects lined up, but they’re not hiring you. Do you ever wonder why? They seem interested but the just don’t take the next step to hire you.

Why don’t they take that next step if they seem interested? There are three reasons why prospects aren’t hiring you.

You’re not clear about the benefits

Potential clients are interested in what you are talking about. They could be ‘window shopping’ for the best company to help solve their problem. To get them to commit to you, you must communicate clearly what the benefits of working with you are and make sure they get what’s in it for them.

They think they don’t need you

If you’ve clearly communicated the benefits of working with you, you then must show them why they need you. Show them where they are now, where they want to be and how you will help them get there.

Make them an offer they can’t refuse

Sometimes the main reason your prospects are hiring you is because you haven’t asked them to. You have to ask. Make them an offer that is tantalizing and speaks to your clients’ needs.

Now you’re ready to bring those prospects and make them customers.

Goals are dreams with deadlines. – Diana Scharf Hunt

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. – Scott Adams

7 Tips on What to Post on Instagram

Instagram isn't just for individuals anymore. Many smart companies have noticed that it's a powerful social network they need to have some sort of presence on.

Instagram is all about the visual content. Photos, videos, illustrations, and GIFs are a significant way for businesses, both large and small, to communicate their message. Also, Instagram is a great way to humanize your brand, recruit employees, showcase your products and engage your customers.

Here are some great ways to use Instagram to share your brand message:

Behind-the-scenes pictures at work

Instagram is a great way for you to humanize your company. Give your followers a look at what goes on behind the scenes is one way to do that. Sharing the faces behind the brand gives your followers a chance to get to know the awesome people you have working for you!

Sharing behind the scenes pictures is also a good way to show followers what it's like to work for your company, which is great if you’re looking to grow.

Share quotes that speak to you

Quotes are a great opportunity to share the types of things your brand stands for. Quotes can also help lift and lighten the day for your followers.

Timely news and happenings

Is something fun happening in the world today? Is it National Pet Day or National Siblings Day? Join in on the fun and post something entertaining.

Promote your products

Instagram really isn't the place for posting about your products all the time. But that doesn’t mean you can't use it to showcase products every once in a while. Keep in mind, that your product post content should be fun and captivating.

Compelling videos

Video has been ‘hot’ in the world of social media for the past few years. For the past few years, most of the social media world has been moving toward emphasizing video. On Instagram, you have the ability to upload videos that are up to 60 seconds long.

By default, every Instagram video will start playing without sound -- after which viewers can choose whether or not to turn the sound on. Because of this, you'll either need to upload videos that don't need sound to be well understood, or you'll need to entice people to turn the sound in the first second or two.

Use Hyperlapse videos

If you want your video to stand out from the crowd, try creating a Hyperlapse video. Hyperlapse is a free Instagram app that condenses videos into brief, moving, hyper-speed videos. The videos end up looking pretty cool thanks to built-in stabilization technology that lets you film these time lapse videos without having to keep your hands still.

Run contests

Contests are one of the best ways to expand your reach and engage your community on Instagram. Unlike other social media platforms, Instagram doesn't make it easy to capture leads and information from your followers, but a contest or giveaway is one way to get that information.

In your caption, include instructions on what action you want your followers to take. Explain the contest and guide them to a link in your bio.