Walt Goshert » Business-Building

How to Grow Your Small Business Got Ya Stumped?

Walt Goshert — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 16:25:11 +0000

Check out Ryan Healey’s 31 Ways To Grow a Business.

You’ll want to:

Print this post out…
Check out the links…
Study it…
Apply the ideas to your business…

And…

Do It!

Oh yeah, thanks to Jonathan Fields for Tweeting this post of Ryan’s today. Picked up Jonathan’s Tweet scanning through my Google Buzz stream.

Photo Credit: Flickr

How to Turn 10 Bucks into One Million Dollars

Walt Goshert — Wed, 19 May 2010 22:48:22 +0000

Something quick for you today…

Troy White opened my marketing mind with his rewrite of a Bad Marketing Email message.

Some months ago I downloaded and read Troy’s Million Dollar Lobster Report… and promptly saved and filed it away on my computer hard-drive.

Do yourself a favor…

If you’re grappling with how to use the Internet to boost your local business sales, grab Troy’s Million Dollar Lobster Report.

It’s an entertaining story. Troy isn’t kidding… in the right hands, the information in the report is GOLD.

You just might catch an idea you can use in your local business… and turn it into a Million Dollars.

Or…

You’ll become a card-carrying member of the Ready brothers Lobster Club.

Enjoy!

Photo Credit:Flickr

The Referral Engine: “Tune Up” Your Small Business Marketing

Walt Goshert — Tue, 11 May 2010 18:52:28 +0000

Is your small business “Referral Engine”…

… a sputtering, oil-leaking, smoke-spewing, back-firing, about to blow a gasket wreck?

Or…

… a fine-tuned, high-pitched, ear drum busting, screaming, turbo-charged, world-class racing machine?

Yes, as Chris Brogan says, it’s hard to believe John Jantsch could top Duct Tape Marketing…

But he has!

Indeed, John puts you in the drivers seat of your word-of-mouth marketing with The Referral Engine.

Buckle up, put on your helmet. Get in the race to win the hearts and minds of clients who know, like, and trust you… and Teach Your Business How to Market Itself with the The Referral Engine as your new Word-of-Mouth Owner’s Manual.

This Ain’t Grandpa’s Word-of-Mouth World

Sure, movers and shakers back-slapping over 3-hour, 3-martini lunches at the Club, mid-week, mid-day rounds of golf, volunteering on charity boards, and attending private big-wig cocktail parties still grease the skids of business… always will.

And, keeping your head down, minding your business, delivering good service at a fair price… well, that’s kinda expected in today’s New Economy.

You’ve no doubt noticed that newspaper ads, your Yellow page ads, Val-Pak mailers, Trade Shows, TV and Radio ads don’t seem to work the same magic as in the “Good Old Days”.

Yep, even getting a steady, consistent stream of quality referrals… the bread and butter of nearly all local small business marketing… is different now a days.

The Internet has Changed the Referral Race

Forever. And, for businesses who plug into John’s advice in The Referral Engine, for the better.

Yes, in the back of the book, John shares tons of real-world, practical “Snack-sized Suggestions” on how to get your clients and business community spreading the word about you that have little to do with SEO, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, or cutting a YouTube video.

But, before you get to John’s “Snack-sized Suggestions” and his Action Plan Workshop, John “refers” you to…

112 Online Case-Studies, Resources, and Tools

Throughout The Referral Engine, John points you to Case-Studies, Business Examples, practical SEO Resources, Social Media Marketing Resources and Tools, Business Blogging and Content Creation- Text, Audio, Video, Tools to Monitor and Spread the Conversation about your business, and Time-Saving Productivity Tools.

To help you take ACTION, implement, and build your race-ready Referral Engine, here are the links: (pretty much in the order as they appear in The Referral Engine)

The Referral Engine.

Buy it. Read it. Drive it. Use it to Build Your Business.

Disclosure: While, yes, I do have affiliate relationships with some of the links on this post and an affiliate relationship with Duct Tape Marketing, none of the links on this post are affiliate links. John was kind enough to give me a copy of The Referral Engine in return for this review.

Win Copies of John Jantsch’s “The Referral Engine” (marketingpilgrim.com)
10 Observations about Duct Tape Marketing’s Dirty Little Market Research Secret (inklingmarkets.com)
Weekend Reading: The Referral Engine, by John Jantsch (Preview) (readwriteweb.com)
Referral Engine Preview and Book Giveaway (ducttapemarketing.com)
“The Referral Engine” – New Book by John Jantsch (realestate.about.com)
Making Referrals As a Job Creation Engine (ducttapemarketing.com)
Making Referrals as a Small Business Job Creation Engine (prweb.com)
5 Creative Ways to Get More Referrals (ducttapemarketing.com)
The Referral Engine Overview (ducttapemarketing.com)

Photo Credit: Flickr

Mari Smith’s Free Facebook 3-in-1 Report

Walt Goshert — Wed, 05 May 2010 12:37:17 +0000

With all the recent changes, lots of small, local business owners have questions about Facebook.

How do I get started on Facebook?

How do I avoid making stupid, costly and time-sucking mistakes?

How can Ii use Facebook to attract more customers to my local business?

Muhammed Saleem, a leading social media consultant, shared this Facebook Factbook on Mashable to illustrate the explosive growth of Facebook in 6 short years.

Notice… more than 700,000 Facebook Pages for Local Businesses!

Get answers to all your Facebook questions TODAY.

Mari Smith is one of the THE leading expert on how to use Facebook to grow your business.

Mari has put together a Special Free 3-in-1 Facebook Tips Report.

Ten Steps To Getting Started on Facebook
The 5 Mistakes Newbies Make on Facebook
Mari’s Five Success Secrets for Using Facebook Effectively to Grow Your Business

Get Smart… Get the Info You Need… Learn the Tips and Tricks to using Facebook to Grow Your Business

(Click the link below… Yep, it’s an affiliate link. To grab Mari’s Free report, you must opt-in. If you buy any of Mari’s products down the road to help you with your Facebook and Social Marketing efforts, I’ll make a couple bucks)

Grab Mari Smith’s Free 3-in-1 Facebook Report

4 Opportunities to Assure Your Business Thrives (biztipsblog.com)
Facebook Upgrades Events, Integrates Wall Publisher (allfacebook.com)
Facebook Webinar Recording and Resources (ducttapemarketing.com)
Facebook Pages Are Fast Becoming Essential for Business (biztipsblog.com)
14 Smart People with Social Media (myventurepad.com)
Free Webinar: 8 Hot Social Media Marketing Tips You Need to Know (biztipsblog.com)
Free Live Training Facebook for Small Business (ducttapemarketing.com)

Two Main Reasons Small Businesses Don’t Check Their Marketing and Sales Funnel

Walt Goshert — Tue, 04 May 2010 12:56:19 +0000

Does your small, local business leak sales and profits?

Lots of small businesses open the doors each and every day with a hole in the screen.

Without taking time out to check and make repairs, you’re “leaking” clients.

Here’s your answer to fixing your Marketing and Sales Funnel leaks from Jennifer Davey, Small Business Coach and Marketing Strategist.

Get More Clients by Taking Stock of Your Marketing

If you’re a small business owner or self-employed professional, it is so important to keep your eye on what is getting you clients and what isn’t, and then to change course as needed. It’s more important for YOU than for big businesses, because you have less money to burn.

A few weeks ago, I decided to take stock of my own sales and marketing funnels to see what was working successfully and what wasn’t. After looking at my metrics (I know it sounds scary, but I promise metrics CAN be easy), I realized there were a few places in my funnel that weren’t very smooth. I also noticed a couple of spots where I was dropping the ball in my follow-up. What did the rough spots and lack of follow up mean to me? Fewer clients, less sales, and less income.

Just by being aware of the parts of your marketing funnel that aren’t effective, you can make a few simple changes that can get more clients with the same amount of leads and traffic that you have right now.

The theory of understanding where your marketing funnel needs adjustments to fill your sales pipeline is important, but you still have to “get out of your own way” in order to be able to take stock of what is getting you clients and what is not. It can be tough to be honest with yourself-to really look at your offerings, your marketing funnel, and your sales funnel and say, “My funnel is not terrific in a particular area and it could use improvement.” It’s common for small business owners to look at that area that needs improvement as a personal failure, rather than as an opportunity to learn from mistakes and improve. The thing to keep in mind is that being aware of those areas where your business could be doing better can lead you to take actions that make your business incredibly profitable.

I have found that there are two main reasons many businesses DON’T look at their marketing and sales funnels to see where they can improve.

1. Fear: Fear of failure, fear of making mistakes, fear of having to admit a mistake or miscalculation, fear of being embarrassed.
2. Lack of know-how: Lack of understanding how to create metrics, lack of understanding how to analyze marketing and sales funnels.

The problem with giving in to that fear is that your fear can stop you from looking for answers, solutions, and ways to improve your sales pipeline. It’s fear that will stop you from trying new things, and it can also stop you from making those changes to your marketing and sales funnels that can turn your not-so-great results into FANTASTIC results. Ultimately your fear stops you from taking action, and in the end, it’s those who take action who are successful.

Lack of know-how is the easiest thing to overcome, as long as you don’t give in to your fear. You can find coaches and mentors to help you figure out how to create marketing metrics, how to know what is getting you sales, and what is getting you clients, and they can help you create a marketing funnel that will get clients. It’s not reasonable to expect yourself to know EVERYTHING. Experts hire coaches and support staff-people who can help them do the things they don’t know how to do themselves-all the time. Experts become experts because they are willing to invest in themselves.

Small Business Coach and Marketing Strategist, Jennifer Davey, is the author of the “Getting Clients Home Study Program”, the step-by-step guide to getting clients, building your business and making more income.

Grab a copy of her Report “What you Need to Know to Be Successful at Getting Clients”:
http://jjscoaching.com/free-report/

The Social Marketing & Sales Funnel (thesocialorganization.com)
Give Customers An Intuitive Path To Payment (marketingonlineinternet.com)
It’s Time To Feed The Funnel From The Top Again (threeminds.organic.com)
Flip The Funnel. How to use existing customers to gain new ones. Joseph Jaffe. (regnordman.com)
Secrets Of Successful Marketing Plans (slideshare.net)
Sales And Marketing Workshop (slideshare.net)

Photo Credit: Flickr

Walt Goshert » Business-Building

How to Grow Your Small Business Got Ya Stumped?

How to Turn 10 Bucks into One Million Dollars

The Referral Engine: “Tune Up” Your Small Business Marketing

Is your small business “Referral Engine”…

This Ain’t Grandpa’s Word-of-Mouth World

The Internet has Changed the Referral Race

112 Online Case-Studies, Resources, and Tools

More on The Referral Engine, John Jantsch, and Duct Tape Marketing:

Mari Smith’s Free Facebook 3-in-1 Report

Grab Mari Smith’s Free 3-in-1 Facebook Report

More on Facebook…

Two Main Reasons Small Businesses Don’t Check Their Marketing and Sales Funnel

More on Marketing and Sales Funnel: