Interactive Marketing for Local Business
Here is the slideshare of the paired down version of the presentation I did this morning on interactive marketing trends for small business owners.
If you are managing the marketing for a small business. I dare you to visit the Google Adwords Keyword Tool HERE then type in your city and your product and service offerings – just 5 or so like “Atlanta Heating” “Atlanta A/C” etc.
Then look at the Search Volume that comes up. I bet you’ll be surprised. Then try and find your business using any of the terms with the high search volume…then call an Interactive Marketing Firm to find out how to fix it!
Google goes REAL TIME
Google will be turning their indexing to a PUSH…meaning, as soon as you update your site content, you can let Google know instead of waiting for them to find that you’ve updated it. What does this mean? A brand new company that is actively updating content can beat the rankings of a hoary sage that has a stagnant website. What does this mean to you? Start planning how you will create content for your site EVERY DAY, find an Interactive Marketing Partner that can set your site up correctly, then start reaping the benefits of higher rankings!
If Facebook were a Country it’d be the 4th largest in the World
Another Cool Video I stumbled across, VERY neat…did I just say neat?
What the F**K is Social Media?
Awesome slide show I had to share – what the F**K is Social Media – 1 year later!
Selling, Persuading, Communicating, and Negotiating
Too many times, people confuse selling, persuading, communicating, and negotiating. Professional Selling is a process, involving many, many steps and many, many skills.
Persuasion is a skill. You can cajole someone into a one time transaction, but you didn’t sell them anything, you just tricked them. If you sell someone something they feel good about the transaction and look forward to buying from you again in the future. If you are overly persuasive, your customer will make a bad decision, and blame you for it. There are many points in the sales process where persuasion is helpful and even neccessary, however simply eliciting an emotional “buy” may work for candy in the grocery check-out lane, but isn’t the basis of a professional transaction. Too much persuasion makes you slick, like a revivalist stealing from the offering plate or a used car salesman peddling lemons.
Communicating is also a skill. Good communication is often a part of persuasion, but you can communicate without being persuasive. Good communication is usually part of the sales process as you educate a client on the benefits of your product or service. However, the most valuable part of communication in the sales process is LISTENING. Understanding a clients needs makes a salesperson better able to address them. Meeting needs is the key to a successful sale. The fast talking salesman belongs with the overly persuasive huckster.
Negotiating should only take place after a sale has been made. Too many times sellers try to negotiate on price as a way of selling thier product. If you buy a product simply because it was a low price you still feel like you got ripped off , because you weren’t SOLD on the fact that you needed it to begin with! You still feel tricked! Professional sellers know that price is not the only aspect of the deal that can be negotiated. Length of contract, perks, add-ons, billing arrangement, customer support plans etc. are all opportunities for negotiation.
Next time your selling something – even if it’s trying to sell your friends on a particular restaurant for dinner, think about the process. Communicate first, listening to find out thier needs, be persuasive in explaining how your solution fits thier needs, then negotiate once you’ve reached an agreement in principle. You’ll win more often and wind up with happier customers in the process!