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Build A Buzz Around Your Business And Profits Will Soar No Matter What

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In the film industry, movies are products. For business owners, it is interesting and useful to consider what makes a new movie successful. How do studios today reach that incredible goal of one billion in total box office receipts? It’s quite simple; they build a buzz around the product. This is what you need to do with your product. The best recent example is Suicide Squad. Suicide Squad is Warner Bros product, and it’s just been slammed by critics. Should they care, should they be worried it’s not going to sell? Actually no, because they’ve already done their job. The marketing has built a buzz. There have been viral strategies in place for over a year. They’ve had millions of views on YouTube, and it came out as the top brand in a recent marketing event. All this points to one fact. Warner Bros have got themselves a hit, whether critics like it or not. This is a valuable lesson all business owners should learn. It doesn’t matter whether you’re selling a product of high quality, if you can establish a high demand, it will sell. How do you do this?

Social Media Marketing

Build A Buzz Around Your Business And Profits Will Soar No Matter WhatPhoto courtesy of Pixabay

If you want to build a buzz around your new product or business, you should start by looking at social media. You need to use your social media networks in two ways. You should be connecting with your customers on a regular basis, and you should be releasing content that they want to share and view. You can use each social media network in various ways. For instance, on Facebook, you can create discussion or group pages. Groups can be powerful marketing tools, particularly if you fill the group with influential members. People who your customers will trust and will want to hear from. An extra tip is to not add these people to the group yourself. Rather, you need them to join independently. This is the best way to ensure that they are an active member of the group. They will generate the buzz around your business for you.

On Twitter, it is crucial that you use hashtags, although not in every tweet. This can get annoying. At the same time, though, it’s useful to know that hashtags make it more likely for content to be shared. If your content is shared, more people will be talking about your business or your product. It is an easy way to generate more interest in your company.

Live feeds are becoming more important as well. Live feeds are often used as a backdoor into the company. You can show your customers what is happening behind the scenes and make the business more accessible. If you can do this, it could be very valuable. Customers always want to see the people behind the corporation. If you have interesting individuals working for you, it’s a great way to build a buzz.

Content

Build A Buzz Around Your Business And Profits Will Soar No Matter WhatPhoto courtesy of DigitalRalph via Flickr

The key to great content that generates talk and publicity is to make sure that it’s targeted. You need to write and create content specifically for your target consumer. Think about the people who don’t need to be primed to buy your product. This is who the content needs to be aimed towards. You might be offering SEO services. If that’s the case, then your business is going to appeal to local and international entrepreneurs or business owners. You might also catch the interest of bloggers and website owners. Since these are your target customers, you need to think about what is appealing to them. The best way to do this is to create a context around your marketing. Business owners are probably unaware of the difficulties of SEO. By pointing things out such as Google penalties, you can persuade them to use a professional service. This is just one example of how content can get your business the buzz it needs. You will be offering your consumers the solutions to their problems.

More Than A Business Space

Build A Buzz Around Your Business And Profits Will Soar No Matter WhatPhoto courtesy of Pexels

You should be aiming for your business venue to be more than just space. It needs to shine on the high street, particularly if you are part of a retail company. It is all about offering customers more and taking your service that extra mile. If you own a physical space as a business, creating an online buzz won’t do the trick. You have to get the customers through the door to buy and to do that you may want to look at these great tips from The POET Companies. Agencies like this know what customers want and what they’re looking for. Once you have redesigned the space, then you can start generating a buzz around it online before it reopens.

Marketing Events

Build A Buzz Around Your Business And Profits Will Soar No Matter WhatPhoto courtesy of Charles & Hudson via Flickr

We have already mentioned how the film industry uses marketing events to create a buzz. Every industry has the potential to do this, and it is a possibility that you should be looking into. A marketing event is the chance to make your company shine over other businesses. You can attract attention from investors and consumers at the same time. Obviously one of the key marketing events that you need to know about is a trade show. You can use a trade show to generate a buzz by showing off a new product or a new business model. Remember, though; trade shows are highly competitive environments. You will need to deliver something truly special to win the attention of customers and investors. One possibility is to utilize available technology. With the right tech, you can make your business seem modern and exciting. Even using older ideas could generate this effect such as 3D. 3D is fairly cheap tech these days, and it could bring your marketing into an entirely new dimension.

These are just some of the techniques you can use to create a buzz around a company or a product. As you can see, it is all about perception. If you alter the perception of your product, customers will buy anything. We have seen this time and time again in different industries. With the right marketing and promotion, you’ll always get the sale.

How to “Zap” Executives Out of Their Comfort Zone

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In today’s fast-paced and ever-changing business environment, leaders must stay motivated. Motivated leaders consistently seek out new ideas to improve the business and are very aware of what the competition is doing. They enjoy what they do and are willing to take risks. They set the example for others. When you have motivated executives, you have motivated employees.

If your executives seem complacent, here are three proven strategies to “zap” them out of their comfort zone and get them motivated again.

The Weakest Link: Call an executive meeting to discuss the budget. Announce that you are cutting an executive position due to financial constraints. Throw them a ‘curve ball’ by instructing them to select the person who they consider the ‘weakest link’ and should be asked to leave the team. Have them submit a name, along with the reason for their decision.

Once the choices have been made, each team member will be instructed to call that individual and explain the circumstances that led up to their decision. Only you, the executive group leader, will know this exercise is a training technique. You really won’t let anyone go, but it will shake up the team and make those who aren’t pulling their weight aware of where they stand in the eyes of their fellow teammates. This will motivate them to get back into gear and give the extra effort necessary to take up the slack.

The Presentation: Give each executive a month to prepare a strategic plan on how to double the size of your business in five years. Then, surprise them by setting up a panel of business leaders who will listen to their presentation. Presentations will be rated for quality and a winner will be selected. This tactic will show how well your leaders adapt to unforeseen circumstances, and denote the strength of their presentation skills along with the quality of their work.

Back to Nature: To motivate executives as a team, let nature help. Take them on a retreat to a mountainous area, take away all cell phones, then have them camp out for five days, sleeping three to a tent, cooking their own meals over a small cook stove. With professional mountaineering guides, divide them into two teams and take them on daily hikes moving their campsite several times. Towards the end of the week have them climb up the mountain to the peak. Equip them with backpacks, water and climbing gear and start the trek at 4 a.m. Make it a race to the summit to watch the sunrise.

This tactic will “zap” the executives out of their comfort zones and force them to work together. It is designed to have each person explore their capabilities and push themselves beyond their limits. It can be one of the most powerful “Team Zapping” experiences you will ever conduct. We know. We did it.

The three tactics above are not for the faint of heart, but they are for those who want to quickly and effectively “zap” their executives out of their complacency. The benefits will be a more motivated, energized group of executives who will, in turn, zap their teams… and your company will be better poised for the future.

About the Author

Lorraine GrubbsLorraine Grubbs recently co-authored Beyond the Executive Comfort Zone: Outrageous Tactics to Ignite Individual Performance (www.executivecomfortzone.com). Lorraine is president of the consulting firm Lessons in Loyalty. As a former 15-year executive with Southwest Airlines, she takes principles and practices she helped develop to companies that strive for better employee engagement and loyalty.

Do you have the character and characteristics of sales success?

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Here is list of sales success characteristics.

They represent the elements of what will make a salesperson successful.

But here’s the secret – before you make judgments about others and how they compare to the list, FIRST judge yourself. Measure yourself against the elements that make salespeople who they are, and successful at what they do. And for those of you who hire salespeople, a checklist of the real things to look for in a potentially successful person.

NOTE WELL: If you want to succeed, you and whoever you hire better be somewhere between 8 and 10 (on a 1-10 scale) on every one of these characteristics.

With that in mind, here’s a list of 13.5 individual characteristics that would make any person a “hire”able and “succeed”able salesperson (you included).

1. Smart. Salespeople have to be smart enough to think on the spot, and deal with every kind of situation as it happens. CAUTION: Very experienced salespeople, who think they know everything, are most vulnerable to be beaten by a smart person with hustle.

2. Self-Starting. Great salespeople don’t need “motivation.” They have a built in fire – that’s somewhere between a cup of Death Wish Coffee and a Red Bull. Nobody has to tell them what to do. They know what to do. And they do it. They make the first call of the day, and the last call of the day.

3. Great Attitude. Great salespeople believe they will make every sale. Great salespeople take “no” as “not yet.” Great salespeople accept every lemon thrown at them by management, customers, and accounting – and use those lemons to open up a lemonade stand. A great salesperson is able to take everybody else’s crap, and somehow turn it into money.

4. Excellent Communication Skills. Great salespeople are not “good” communicators. They’re great communicators. Their message is both compelling and transferable. Their passion and their belief system is as contagious as their enthusiasm. And they’re able to articulate in a way that gets customers to buy, more often than not.

5. Physically and Mentally Fit. The statement speaks for itself and implies that you work out on a regular basis working your mind and your body. Exercising your mind and body before you get to work (push-ups and brain-ups) so that you feel good and that good feeling is projected every time you interact with a customer.

6. Computer, Tablet and Smartphone Literate. There’s no excuse for a lack of computer literacy other than stubbornness and laziness. The internet will rule the economic world for at least the next decade. And those who ignore this fact will find themselves completely unemployable after they get fired from their present job.

7. Focused and Intention Driven. Having a goal is a basic fundamental element. Intending to achieve it is the motive to achieve it. Having a plan is a basic fundamental element. Intending to implement it is the motive to put it into action. Keeping your eye on the prize and working towards it steadily is what separates those who do and those who don’t. “Goals without intention and focus,” is like an automobile without gasoline. It looks pretty, but it can’t get you anywhere. Intention is the fuel that will take you from where you are to your goal, your destination, to where you want to be.

8. Dedicated to Succeeding. With great salespeople, it’s not just a matter of goals. It’s a matter of focus on outcome and achievement. Multiple achievements lead to success, and a self-confidence that keeps the momentum going from sale to sale.

9. Past History of Success. Every time a great salesperson makes a sale, it remains in their self-confidence memory bank and can be called upon for positive energy in any situation. The more you succeed, the more your success is likely to continue.

10. Looking for a Career, Not a Job. If a salesperson has a base salary and a commission, the job person wants a raise in their base pay. The career person wants a raise in their commission.

11. More Interested in Personal Success and Personal Development, Than Money. Salespeople who work for money rarely achieve it. Great salespeople work to be their best, and dedicate themselves to that process daily. And as a result, earn tons.

12. A Constant Student: Willing to Learn and Adapt. Great salespeople know there is always more to learn. They dedicate themselves to being better, being best. Great salespeople know that learning from their past allows them to adapt and be ready for new encounters and new challenges. It’s the difference between “already knowing everything” and “life-long learner.”

13. Taking Joy in Serving Others. This is the “master” quality. One of the best salespeople I’ve ever known is John Ruhlin. He created and is the master of Giftology, and loves to serve.

13.5 A Great Social Presence and Reputation. Easier stated: “google-able” by you and any customer they might visit. They know social media, have a social understanding, and participate daily in learning, posting, and reputation building.

Notice one characteristic missing? Sales skills. I’d rather have attitude and brains than selling skills any day. I can teach someone to sell. I can’t teach them to be smart or happy.

Easier answer. Compare these qualifications to the best salesperson you ever knew. Compare them to the best salesperson you ever had. Compare them to yourself. Ouch.

Now that you know the criteria, you have some work to do.

If you’d like examples of how to discover and breed great salespeople go to www.gitomer.com – register if you’re a first time user – and enter the word SALES CHARACTER in the GitBit box.

Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.

About the Author

Jeffrey GitomerJeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at [email protected].

Are You Ready to Be the Boss?

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More than six million new businesses launched in the U.S. in 2015, according to the Kauffman Index. Given that volume, it’s certain that some of these new businesses were rolled out by people who had never led a company before. Budding entrepreneurs devote considerable time to developing products and business plans, but they may not adequately prepare to become a boss.

That can be a serious problem since leadership competency is a critically important success factor, and not everyone is a natural at it. My co-founders and I discovered the challenges involved in running a company when we rolled out our startup a year ago. Here are a few tips we learned about being the boss:

1. Divide responsibilities. You and your cofounders are ultimately responsible for all decisions when you start your own company. There’s no one else who can resolve an impasse. That’s why it makes sense to divide operational areas up and assign ultimate authority of each to one person. We call them Direct Responsible Individuals (DRIs) at my company, and it’s a great way to make the responsibilities manageable. DRIs are in charge of listening to input from everyone and then making final decisions.

2. Become a jack-of-all-trades. At a large, well-established company, there are specialists to handle every task: HR people for personnel issues, travel experts to coordinate trips, etc. At a freshly minted startup, you won’t have that luxury, so you’ll have to learn to manage many different functions — and quickly. Along the way, you’ll pick up a wealth of knowledge and experience that can come in handy when you begin to expand your team; you’ll have firsthand knowledge of what each role requires.

3. Listen to customers. When you’re busy running a company and rolling out a new app, product or service, it can be easy to focus so intently on executing your business plan that you forget to hear what your customers are saying. As the boss, it’s your job to observe how customers use your product and, if necessary, adjust your strategy if you find that their usage doesn’t exactly match your expectations. Stay flexible and be prepared to tweak your approach to meet customer needs.

People who are launching a new startup have a lot to think about, including product development, fundraising and marketplace factors. These are undeniably important issues that are worthy of much consideration. But it’s also critical to prepare for your new role as the boss.

To make sure you give your startup the best chance for success, designate areas of operational responsibility, be prepared to handle a multitude of job functions and don’t forget to listen to your customers. When you keep these key success factors in mind, you’ll be ready to be the boss.

About the Author

Arvind ParthibanArvind Parthiban is the CEO & co-founder of Zarget, where in addition to conceptualising the company vision and piloting the course of action to meet their objectives, he currently heads product marketing, presales and sales operations. A former employee of Zoho where he headed the product marketing for ITSM suite of flagship products, Arvind gained valuable insights into the SaaS industry and all things ‘Marketing’. Arvind draws from his vast wealth of experience to power the business units forward.

What are the Best Collaboration Options for Modern Businesses?

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As businesses increasingly move their operations to digital platforms, and in particular to cloud space, even the most traditional staples of running an organization are being improved by embracing technology.

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About the Author

Gemma Walford is head of Sales and Account Management for Convene for the EU region. She has extensive experience of the Public sector and is interested in improving productivity and business change.