The 11 Most Crucial Emotional Triggers That Convert Prospects Into Customers

It’s called “The 11 Most Crucial Emotional Triggers That Convert Prospects Into Customers.”

(In a hurry? Sign up for this complimentary call now here)

The important thing to know is that Sue’s methods work – she’s helped everyone from home-based moms to seasoned business owners double or triple their revenues by ramping up their business marketing.

You see, there’s a monumental shift happening in marketing, and in business.

Previous marketing models are failing and fading. Entrepreneurs who are continuing to operate as they have previously are finding the same old strategies are not working anymore. In fact, they are likely hurting their business.

The “traditional” paradigms for marketing are collapsing. And those who know will be leading the way as they listen to Sue talk about…

Sue will explain it all on this one-time call.  Again, learn more and register for this free teleseminar on August 18 here.

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Make Sure You Snag your User Name

I read an article yesterday that came through my Facebook or Twitter about social networking squatters. Today I’m not able to find it. If you posted about this yesterday, please let me know and I will give you the kudos for this one.

Maybe you’re on LinkedIn or Facebook, maybe more. But have you considered or even know about all of the other networking sites out there? Even if you aren’t doing the social networking thing right now, you’ll want to register your name on the various social networking sites. Why? Because if you don’t someone else will!

Imagine your potential or current customers looking for you and finding someone else using your name or your business name. You have no control over the content coming out with your name on it.

Quickly check the availability of your name or your business name using KnowEm.

You can’t buy this type of publicity

I watched a video yesterday that Ashton Kutcher tweeted. It’s a great video, see it below. When I watched there had been about 5000 views. This morning I get up and Good Morning America is promoting a story about this couple and their video. I check the views and it has gotten more than a million views since last night. Say ‘Thank you Ashton.’

It’s not easy getting Ashton’s attention. He has almost 3 million followers on Twitter, but follows less than 200 people. So you can’t count on him to get your message out there. So, how can entrepreneurs and small business owners get this type of hype? Piggy back off of a hot or popular story is a great way to drive traffic to your blog (this post).

Blogging and social networking are more important than ever. If you’re not spending some time each and every day working your network, you’re missing out.

Don’t have the time? Hire a virtual assistant to help you out.

Check out the video…

Stay In Business After A Disaster

Whether it’s a natural or man made disaster, you want your business to survive a disaster with little disruption.  How quickly you can get back to business depends on the emergency planning you do today.

1. One of the first things you will need to do is to determine which staff, materials, and equipment are absolutely necessary to keep your business operating.
2. Create procedures for all aspects of your business in case someone has to step in and cover another persons duties.
3. Contact your insurance provider to review your coverage for things like physical loss, business interruption, and flood coverage.  Ask what records they will require after an emergency and include them in your emergency supply kit.
4. Create a contact list that includes all of your suppliers and business contacts.  Include back-up vendors in case your primary is not able to supply you after a disaster.  Keep this list in your emergency supply kit and at an off-site location.
5. What will your business do if you are not able to access its location?  Can you run the business from another location?
6. Define procedures for a crisis.  Make sure everyone knows what they are supposed to do.  Include emergency preparedness information in your internal communications, newsletters, employee email.  Designate an out-of-town number employees can call to leave a message saying they are “OK.”  Provide emergency information in the form of a card that can be placed in a purse or wallet.
7. Review your emergency plans annually. Your business may change as well as your procedures. 

With a little preparation you should be able to minimize the interruption in business in the event of a disaster.

Improve Your Bottom Line with What You Say

When was the last time you thought about what you were actually saying to potential clients? Are you closing the deal more often than not? Or maybe it’s time to revamp your elevator speech or introduction.

Remember potential clients do not want to hear statistics about you and your company; they want to know how your product or service will benefit them and make their life easier.

Here are some guidelines to inspire a winning introduction.

1. Do your homework. What is important to your potential clients? What do they value, what are their struggles, what stresses them out and keeps them up at night?

2. I have taken countless writing and grammar seminars, the one thing that they say is to write at an 8th grade level–the TV Guide is written at a 3rd grade level. You want everyone to understand what you are trying to sell them. Jargon will only impress other people in your field

3. Keep it short and simple-less than 50 words.

4. Start with a question that you know the answer will be ‘yes’. For example, “You know how business owners spend so much time doing their paperwork that they do not have time to do their actual work? I take care of your administrative tasks so you can focus on your billable hours.” This gives them something to relate to.

Remember the person on the other end of this conversation is either your ideal client or knows someone who is. Giving them a clear picture of what you do so they think of you when they run into someone looking for particular talents.

Manage Your Time Efficiently

Running your business takes a lot of time.  Everyone has the same amount of time each day, so why do some people achieve more?

Successful business owners realize what their time is worth and spend their valuable time adding to their bottom line.  Figure out what your time is worth, and then decide ‘what is the most productive way to spend my time?’  The little things can sometimes take up a good portion of your day.

Do you actively seek out new clients, and what about your current clients?  Do you take the time each day or week to prospect new clients and keep in touch with current clients? Or are you getting caught up in busy work?

Think of all the things that you do throughout your business day.  Can someone else be handling the things you don’t have time to learn or the things you don’t like to do?  Successful business owners delegate certain activities so they are able to focus on what they do best and they are able to achieve greater success.

Now days, you have no excuse for not working efficiently.  There are a host of programs and web sites that offer ways to streamline your business.  Take a look or hire someone to look for ways to automate some of your procedures.

When you take the time to make changes to your business, you will be more successful.

Is Your Business Running You…

Instead of You Running Your Business?

Between your clients, lenders, title companies, and trying to actually have a life; do you find that there isn’t enough time in the day? Do you worry that important issues will slip through the cracks? Save yourself a lot of time and money by hiring a Virtual Assistant.

What is a Virtual Assistant? A Virtual Assistant is an independent business owner who provides administrative support from her own fully equipped office. Virtual Assisting is a profession born from the advancement of technology. The concept is to enter into a long-term partnership with entrepreneurs and small businesses, to provide administrative and personal support. VAs are worldwide and networked. When you hire a VA you’ve actually hired a knowledgebase you can’t get by hiring a traditional employee.

What does this have to do with real estate? Today’s consumers expect to be kept in the loop and to receive immediate answers regarding their affairs. Realtors are busy people and, when available to talk, don’t always have the answer on hand.

Working with a Virtual Assistant can take your business to the next level. Having someone dedicated solely to the transaction process releases you of administrative responsibilities and allows greater productivity. Your listing presentation can contain the fact that your client can access his or her transaction 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They don’t get frustrated trying to track you down for the answer to a simple question; they log on and see the status of their transaction. Your cell phone is not attached to your ear all day long because the lender and title company have access to the transaction on-line too. And you don’t have to purchase any additional software!

With the number of people involved in a single transaction, from inception to closing, information is being disseminated multiple times, to multiple parties. Keep a common platform in control of the critical communications. How many hours do you spent on a single transaction? 10? 20? Utilizing a Virtual Assistant can save you a lot of time and make you money.

Just imagine all parties communicate and retrieve data from one centralized location via the web and your Virtual Assistant takes care of all the administration.

Are You Prepared for Disaster?

Yesterday I look at my calendar and saw that my newsletter was on my calendar for today. I wondered what I would write about. By the end of the day, I had my topic. Back-up and Recovery System.

Are you prepared for a disaster? Around 2pm yesterday I looked up from my computer and saw a reflection of smoke. I knew right away someone’s home was on fire. Thinking it was one of the homes behind me I stepped out my patio door. It was the house right beside mine that had caught fire. I immediately went out front to find two members of the family in shock. I found out 911 had been called and no one else was at home. The fire department was there within moments and started fighting the fire. I, like a lot of my neighbors, stood outside and watched with sympathy as this single mother with five children lost everything they owned.

It always happens to somebody else, right? Not all the time. One minute my neighbor’s house was on fire, the next, a whole opened up in their attic and the most amazing ball of flames shot directly towards my house. It was at that time I realized that I could also lose my home. I went in, grabbed my purse and my dog and was back out in the driveway. As I stood there I realized I didn’t follow my plan.

You see, since I started my business I’ve had what I considered a good plan in case of fire, I’ve even written up a disaster recovery plan. My business and its equipment are insured separate from my homeowners. It will also cover any lost income I may incur. I’ve burned copies of all my software and keep it off site along with copies of important business documents. I back up my entire hard drive daily in case my PC crashes. I keep my calendar on my PC and sync it with my palm; I also keep a paper calendar in case of power outage. Now, the plan was that on my way out of the house I would grab my external hard drive that is used as a backup.

I stood there really hoping that my home would be saved and thinking I need a new plan because when push came to shove, my dog and purse were the only things on my mind. I was so shocked that after all that planning, my business didn’t even come to mind.

Well, I was lucky; my home suffered only some exterior damage. My neighbors, unfortunately, lost everything except what was in their garage. Note: fireplace ashes stay alive at least a week after the fire burns out.

If you have not considered what you would do to get your business back up and running in case of a disaster, I suggest now is a good time to start.

A virtual assistant can help with this process.

Are You Losing Customers?

As a small business owner, you are grateful for all of your clients or customers. But did you know that small business lose over 62% of sales because they don’t follow up? You are caught up in the business of running your business you don’t take the time to follow up with your clients.

After moving to a new city recently I’ve been, of course, searching out a new hair salon. The first place I tried was what seemed to be a very upscale salon that offered everything from hair cuts to nails to a massage. At this place I received on of my least favorite hair cuts. I tried two other places that gave a pretty good cut. The big surprise is that I’ve not received so much as a post card from any of the stylists requesting my return for my next cut.
How much business are these places missing out on? Tons if they don’t follow up with their clients. I had the same experience with a masseuse I found here also. Wow, imagine what would happen if they mailed out a monthly postcard; a quarterly newsletter; a monthly e-zine?
Whether you have a brick and mortar or an on-line business, you don’t want to miss out on all that business because you are not following up with your customers. It’s never too late to start.

1. Buy a reliable customer database system and track more than just your clients name and phone number. You should track their birthday, anniversary, and other important dates about their business, interests, etc.
2. Establish a routine to take at least an hour a week to update and maintain your database. Review it each week to prepare for any upcoming events for your client.
3. Implement a system to send an email, a personal, note, and thank you notes.
4. Develop a monthly newsletter if you currently don’t have one. It can be delivered via email.
5. If you come across an article, product, or service that will benefit a client, pass it along with no strings attached.
6. Remember your clients with holiday gifts between November and January.

If you don’t have the time or expertise to develop a follow up system, hire a pro to do it for you.