Content marketing is a tactic as old as print publishing, but the rise of digital content marketing began with the dotcom bubble is the 1990’s. The democratization of content that occurred during that time, when the internet invited inexpensive distribution of thoughts and ideas. In 2004, when Merriam-Webster named “blog” the word of the year, content marketing was officially mainstream and the unlimited proliferation of content began.

While the internet has been a successful vehicle for content marketing, this movement isn’t without challenges. Today, according to Chad Pollitt with Relevance , “There are a finite number of people in the world, and they can consume only so much content. According to Mashable, 347 WordPress blog posts are published, 48 hours of YouTube videos are uploaded and 571 websites are launched every minute of every day. Those numbers continue to grow year over year.” As you might imagine, these staggering statistics force good writers and marketers to obsess over content quality, relevance, and timeliness.

If your organization has an inbound marketing strategy or is considering adding Inbound as a marketing channel, here are four ways to do so successfully without your content contributing to the saturation problem.

Go for Unique

So often, published content is just a rearrangement of ideas already on the internet. This is due to the research your writers might conduct as part of their content creation process, in which they end up outlining generic best practices that are widely accepted. In my work as an inbound marketing strategist with both B2B and B2C companies, the most effective content with the highest levels of engagement have always come straight from the mouths of the company’s thought leaders. The challenge is that often these individuals are busy, have limited availability, and their time is highly valuable. However, if you want your content to be unique, cutting-edge, and therefore valuable to your target audience, it’s key to get into the minds of these subject matter experts at your organization.

One effective tactic is the age-old interview, where you record a conversation with one of your company’s thought leaders about a topic you’d like to explore in a more formal format. This could be an open ended conversation that might start with “what are the upcoming challenges you predict in this industry?” or be more of a formal Q&A format. If you choose the latter, it’s often helpful to start with a creative brief that might include an executive summary of the point you’d like to make in the content piece, along with some interview questions that help you understand the perspective of your company’s key influencer. Recording and transcribing the call can help you catch details that might be missed in the conversation as it’s unfolding, and provide additional content to supplement the original piece.

Tell a Story

Company case studies or specific situations experienced in your role or within company will always provide unique content opportunities. Instead of writing an article about “industry best practices” why not share a story about how you overcame a unique organizational challenge using one of those best practices? For instance, if you are tempted to write a post about “increasing email open rates with three best practices” why not share a mini case study instead? Maybe you run an experiment on “from” email addresses at different points in the sales cycle. Instead of sharing generic information about how you might change the “from” email address in your email promotional efforts as the prospect progresses through the buyer’s journey, share the problem your organization was working to overcome around open rates, the hypothesis, and what you learned through the experiment.

Classically, this is business storytelling, a trend that is resurfacing in popularity as indicated by Jeff Bezo’s recent abandonment of powerpoints at Amazon in favor of a storytelling approach to solving business problems.

Crowdsource

In a world where anyone with a website and passion for writing can become an “expert” in a topic, crowdsourced content can be a valuable way to consolidate a wealth of credible knowledge into one meaningful piece of content.

Our partner, Databox, does this weekly after surveying dozens of industry leaders on hot marketing topics. In their recent post, Databox featured ways to reduce bounce rates based on 76 industry expert contributions. Not only does this bring together (healthy) conflicting points of view on one topic, it promotes distribution to the right audience. If you are featured alongside other thought leaders, you are more likely to tweet, share, like and ultimately follow the collective leaders featured in the post. And in a world of saturated content, distribution is key to success. When there is an abundance of content, those seeking information are more likely to turn to sources close to them for credible information, and that credibility is present in crowdsourced content from industry leaders.

Stand Out

When there are over 35,500,000 articles written about “SEO Best Practices” sometimes it’s best to play devil’s advocate in the industry. In a recent presentation at the Denver Digital Summit by LinkedIn’s Global Brand Strategist Jon Lombardo, I was reminded that success is contrarian in nature, or that success only comes from being right and being different.

Therefore, to create traction is a world of saturated content, sometimes you have to take a risk and go against the grain. In the way of “SEO Best Practices” Rand Fishkin, SEO guru, does an excellent job of doing just this on his SparkToro blog. Sometimes, getting attention for your content means presenting information that your audience doesn’t expect, providing data that challenges their current beliefs, and presenting a completely different perspective on a common theme.

A successful inbound content strategy is not just creating content with keywords on your blog. It’s not hiring an intern to repurpose information already on the internet. Effective inbound content marketing will always be about creating value. It will always be about improving the customer experience, whether that “customer” is your most profitable customer or a potential customer who is currently just a website visitor. It’s about creating content that is memorable, valuable, meaningful, and unique. Inbound marketing is an art and a science, not just a writing exercise and can be summed up in advice from the great Benjamin Franklin “Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing about.”

A major benefit of working in a digital-growth consultancy is that you see businesses across all industries and lifecycle stages try to grow their companies. I see good actions that really help a company grow but also common elements that hinder growth.

In this article, I’ll give you insight into nine of the most common things I see holding back business growth—and how we’ve helped clients solve these issues.

Before we get to that though, I asked my LinkedIn connections about the #1 thing holding back their companies. I was blown away by the number of things they suggested and how varied they were.

View the post and the answers.

It’s clear from the 80+ answers that many things hold companies back, so consider these nine a starting point in your quest to improve your business. (As I’m a marketer, these focus on a marketing approach.)

Okay, let’s get into it.

Growth killer #1: Silos

The first major issue that companies have—especially older, more established companies—is silos. They can be everywhere—between departments, such as the marketing and sales department, or within departments. For example, in the marketing department, the content and email teams may be siloed.

Silos also exist between external partners, such as agencies and consultancies. Silos hold back growth because they fail to maximize the ROI from the work people are doing across silos.

For example, if you’re spending money to generate leads but your sales team isn’t informing the marketing team of common questions, you’ve lost a big opportunity to improve lead quality and share information that could improve the marketing team’s work.

Or, if the content team is producing awesome content but not distributing it across email and social channels, you’re once again missing an opportunity to maximize the ROI.

Silos between external partners are also very common and can duplicate work, generate a lot of unnecessary back and forth, and waste an opportunity to maximize the value of one agency through another.

So, what can companies do about it?

The best way to break down silos within companies is to establish dedicated growth teams—something even Facebook did when they hit a growth plateau early in their journey.

The growth team should be made up of people across the company from all departments and seniority levels. Their task? To break down the barriers between departments and work as one unit to grow the company using any means possible.

By including all departments, you get insights from across the business, and you also bring in an influential member of each team to help get things done within their own team—much easier than trying to do so with an “outsider” from another department.

As for breaking down silos with external partners, I recommend condensing the number of agencies you’re using down to one, if possible. If not, remember these are professionals that you’re paying, so put a framework in place that enables them to work together and maximizes the value of their efforts.

A few things I would suggest:

1. Align and link their goals.
2. Create a fair tracking and attribution framework.
3. Set clear responsibilities across partners.
4. Combine all major meetings, with each partner represented.
5. Open up communication between agencies on platforms such as Slack so they know what the other is doing and can look for ways to collaborate.

It may take time, but if you remove any silos in your company—even partially—you’ll improve business growth.

Growth killer #2: Different goals and metrics

The second thing that holds companies back: departments and vendors trying to grow a huge array of different goals and metrics:

• The SEO team may want to improve rankings and search engine traffic;
• The email agency may be looking to increase subscribers; and
• The sales team may focus on closing sales.

Each team and person will prioritize, spend their budget, and allocate their time trying to grow these metrics, but their metrics may not translate into business growth.

So, what can companies do about it?

The best way to solve this issue and grow your company rapidly is to simplify all your goals down to one trackable metric, which—if you grow month-on-month—will have the biggest impact on your business growth.

At Web Profits, we call this your “one trackable metric,” while Sean Ellis—who invented the term “growth hacking”—calls it the “North Star.” It doesn’t really matter what you call it; it just has to align closely with your overall business growth.

Once you’ve identified the metric, never lose sign of it. Get your whole company excited about it and make sure it’s reported on regularly. Ensure teams are aligned and rewarded for growing this metric month-on-month. That way, each time your team is faced with a decision on their outputs, they can ask, “Will this grow our ‘one trackable metric’?”

Over time, refine your North Star to ensure its growth matches your business. If you’re a superannuation company, for example, you may initially align everyone to grow “signups” but later realize that few signups fund their accounts, so the metric may change to “funded signups.” Then, over time, it may change again to “funded signups with balances over $100,000,” and so on.

Once your metric is in place, you’ll find that the team will start prioritizing their work, their time, and their budget based on the impact on this metric, which will really move the needle for your business growth.

Growth killer #3: Not knowing the numbers

Many businesses we talk to simply don’t know their numbers. Whether it’s their lead-to-sale close rate, their lifetime value, or any other important number, knowing each makes a huge difference for business growth. If you don’t know your numbers, you won’t know if you’re making the right decision or not.

A good example is if you set your lifetime value too low, or don’t know what it is at all. You’ll optimize your marketing campaigns for that low lifetime value and end up switching off campaigns that were actually making a profit, reducing sales and growth.

And if your competitors have calculated lifetime value accurately, they’ll have more marketing budget to work with per sale and, therefore, outbid you and steal market share.

So, what can companies do about it?

First, ensure you can trust the data you’re getting across the business. Make sure you’re tracking everything correctly and pulling the right data from the right systems, and look for any holes. If the data is correct, spend time working out all the numbers that matter to you.

Some of these formulas and methods are complex—you can calculate lifetime value, for example, in multiple ways and with some very long formulas. But you don’t have to be perfect first time. Refine these numbers over time to make them more accurate as you gather more data and insights.

Despite the complexity, knowing your numbers is well worth your time and will help long-term business growth.

Growth killer #4: One-off marketing

Among the bigger companies we serve, many want to grow rapidly month-on-month and ask internal marketing teams to focus 100% of their time on one-off marketing campaigns. This negatively impacts growth.

One-off marketing campaigns are things like promoting a sale, running a themed campaign for a month, writing content about an event—essentially any marketing effort that lasts for a limited period of time.

Focusing entirely on one-off marketing hurts growth because it forces teams to scramble to get campaigns designed, developed, and launched, only to earn a return on that investment for a short period of time.

As soon as the campaign is done, they’re onto the next one, reinvesting more time and money to generate a limited return. That level of investment isn’t scalable over time, and you’re essentially only as good as your last offer—which may or may not work.

Evergreen marketing (bottom) provides long-term benefits compared to one-off marketing (top).

So, what can companies do about it?

To grow faster, teams should focus more of their time and effort on always-on, evergreen marketing—marketing that is unaffected by time and won’t expire. If someone sees a current campaign two years from now, it should still be relevant and have the same effect.

The “evergreen” label can apply to content, to a marketing funnel that shows different ads, or even a never-ending competition with a new winner each month.

No matter the campaign, making it evergreen means that the team invests their time, energy, and money into its setup and push live once. Over time, every hour and dollar you invest will layer on more and more assets that repay you for years to come.

To be clear, even with these benefits, I’m not suggesting that 100% of your marketing should be evergreen. Ecommerce stores should still run sales. You should still run branding campaigns and put out time-based content.

What I’m suggesting is that companies that want to grow do more evergreen marketing than they’re currently doing, which will increase ROI from every dollar and ounce of effort you put into your campaigns.

Growth killer #5: Not enough automation

Automation—it’s been a business buzzword for years, but most companies still do tons of things manually that could be automated easily:

• Data migration from one platform to another;
• Copy-and-paste report creation; and
• Retention of agency services for manual work that could be automated.

These manual tasks stunt growth because they take time—a valuable, limited resource. When your team works on manual tasks, you’re essentially losing time that could be spent on higher-value items such as creative, strategy, research, and planning.

So, what can companies do about it?

Take automation off your plate and empower your staff to automate as much as they can. Give them budgets to find software and resources to build tools and invest in training—for things like good old-fashioned Excel Macros, which your team probably still isn’t using.

After they’ve automated the big things they do every day, look for other elements of your business that automation could make more efficient, such as turning paper-based processes digital.

If you have manual, low-value processes that can’t be automated, empower your team to outsource this work overseas or to lower-cost areas.

Investing in automation will save a significant amount of staff time, which can refocus on things that are more likely to make a big difference to business growth. You’ll also get the added benefit of employee satisfaction as you take manual, repetitive, and low-value tasks off employees’ plates.

Growth killer #6: Concentrating on the top of the marketing funnel

Marketing teams generally concentrate their effort on the top of the marketing funnel: blogging, Facebook and Google ads, and emails to subscribers.

In contrast, companies ignore a huge part of the post-purchase funnel that doesn’t require expensive advertising, and it’s definitely hampering their growth.

So, what can companies do about it?

It’s simple—spend a good portion of your time marketing to your customers.

This could be retention efforts to keep them happy so you earn more repeat sales and increase lifetime value. Or, it could be the development of referral programs to incentivize current customers to promote your product or service. You could also solicit testimonials or encourage happy clients to place reviews on third-party websites.

By spending more time on the bottom of the marketing funnel, you’ll generate additional revenue for every new customer you bring in without extra advertising costs. This will grow the lifetime value of your customers, which will allow you to spend more at the top of your funnel to bring in new customers—building market share and growing your business faster.

Growth Killer #7: Setting ad-spend budgets in stone

I’ve worked with many companies that set their advertising budgets in stone at the start of the year, even breaking down budgets by channel for each month. (And they stick to them.) That rigidity can limit growth significantly.

The problem with setting budgets in stone is that you’re relying on your forecasts to be right—right about which channels will perform best, right about the maximum you can spend profitably on each channel, and right about which month you’ll need to ramp up or ramp down your spend based on when the target market is most active.

So, what can companies do about it?

Rather than setting budgets per channel or at all, companies that want to grow need to set advertising budgets based on profitability.

At a certain cost-per-sale or profit-per-conversion, companies should have an unlimited budget—every dollar they spend on advertising will increase their profit. This gives marketing teams the freedom to find profitable channels, scale them up until they can’t spend another dollar profitably, look for new channels, and repeat.

If you can’t accept an “unlimited budget” mindset, at least allow your team to optimize your total advertising budget across all channels, fluidly shifting resources based on performance and opportunity.

Of course, there are implications like cash flow that can’t be ignored, but as long as you track the right metrics, you don’t have to set your budgets in stone—and you’ll grow faster.

Growth killer #8: Moving more slowly than competitors

Speed is a big one, and it’s holding back most companies from growing to their full potential. “Speed” includes how quickly you make business decisions; how quickly you get new initiatives live; and how quickly you test things, learn from them, and test again. Slowness seems ingrained in some business cultures, and it can be hard to change, but it definitely stunts growth and is worth improving.

The faster you implement, test, find winning ideas, and scale them up, the faster your business will grow. That’s across marketing, sales, staff productivity—everywhere.

Take two competitors. If they’re the same in every aspect—product, price, brand, and team—then the only variable that will determine which grows fastest is speed. The faster company will roll out business improvements first, and those winning improvements will make a big difference for their business growth.

So, what can companies do about it?

It’s hard to change your business culture if you do things slowly, but it’s possible. Start by looking at your recruitment. Consider hiring people from non-traditional backgrounds, such as entrepreneurs, who think differently and look for faster, better ways of doing things.

Or, test interviewees by giving them a task they’ve never done before to see how fast they can teach themselves—and how quickly they can get a solution back to you.

Look at your management team as well. Ensure that managers aren’t micro-managing but instead empowering their teams to make decisions to get things done quickly. Clear roadblocks that cause delays, such as compliance, and look for ways to speed up common tasks by creating processes and finding new tools and software.

For slow, reluctant teams, show them small wins from moving fast and the effect it has on the business. Set KPIs that align with business growth. Monitor the number of things they implement each month and work with them to improve that number.

Growth killer #9: Not prioritizing correctly

People love ticking things off their to-do list—whether or not it’s the highest priority item.

Not prioritizing correctly holds back growth because the things that really grow a business are usually the hardest, and, without prioritizing them, those initiatives get rolled out slowly—after lower-priority, easier tasks your team is happy to tick off. That mentality will stunt your growth.

So, what can companies do about it?

Give your team the tools they need to determine where to spend their time. We use the ICE prioritization method. It ensures that the ideas that will have the biggest impact are higher on people’s tasks lists and, therefore, rolled out sooner.

To implement the ICE prioritization method, ask every team to score the things they’re working on out of 10 for the following factors:

• Impact: The possible impact the idea could have on the metric you’re trying to grow month-on-month, if the idea works.
• Confidence: How confident you are that the idea will succeed based on past experience.
• Ease of Implementation: How much work and how long it will take to get this task done (i.e. Does it require a lot of development time, or can it be done in a day?)

By scoring items based on growing your most important metric, you ensure that all teams across the company work on the highest priority items first—and the business will grow faster because of it.

Conclusion

Nine things commonly hold back business growth:

1. Silos
2. Different goals and metrics
3. Not knowing the numbers
4. One-off marketing
5. Not enough automation
6. Concentrating on the top of the marketing funnel
7. Setting ad budgets in stone
8. Moving more slowly than competitors
9. Not prioritizing correctly

If you can solve even one of these things, I’m confident it will accelerate your business growth.

Plenty of other things can hold back business growth, too. If you have some to add to the list, please let me know in the comments.

Key/value pairs are a set of linked items: a unique identifier and a value. These aren’t dissimilar to how you might think about the contents of a dictionary – each word represents a unique identifier, or key, and the value is that word’s definition. When used in your app, key/value pairs allow you to populate content, create custom deep links, and much, much more.

To take advantage of key/value pairs in your app marketing, you and your engineering team will need to do a bit of planning. That’s because key/value pairs only work if yourapp understands them. These identifiers and definitions need to be built in to the code of your app so that it can recognize the keys and know how to respond with the right values.

If you’re looking to enhance your messaging campaigns and app experience, using key/value pairs can unlock functionality beyond what you can do with the Localytics Dashboard. It might be hard to know how to take advantage of key/value pairs in the abstract – the possibilities are almost endless! That’s why we recommend coming up with campaign ideas, then working backwards to understand what your app will need to accomplish. Once you have that figured out, you can work with your engineering team to build in the key/value pairs that enable your marketing campaign ideas.

We’re going to dive into some of the ways that you can use key/value pairs to personalize your messages and create unique app experiences.

Messaging

Key/value pairs are a very valuable addition to your mobile messaging toolkit. They’re one of the ways you can personalize messages to individual users or dynamically control how they experience the app.

TIP: key/value pairs are not noticeable to the user receiving the message but instead are delivered to the app and cause the app’s code to perform some type of action.

Push notifications

The most common use case for key/value pairs is for personalizing your messages. You can build a library of images that correlate to specific preferences, like favorite category for retail apps or genre for media and entertainment apps. When building out your push messages you can incorporate images that correspond with the individuals favorite categories automatically.

TIP: Keep in mind that you can also use liquid templating to personalize messages by dynamically inserting values into the message content eg. “Hey “, order now for free shipping on your “ items!”

key/values can deliver data you can use for a more complex rich push experience. For example, on iOS, you can send live streaming video or show the current status of a cab ride or delivery order. To do this, your key/value pair needs to connect a user or order ID to a content extension that will serve the content.

The push message you draft in Localytics should also include key/value pairs that allow for the display to be changed by using the property mutable content. Once the message is received by your app, it will use the key/value pairs to communicate with a service or content extension. The service extension can pull in static content, like message copy, pictures or video where the Content extension allows you to pull in live streaming content like a delivery map.

For retail apps, push messages are a great vehicle for delivering deals to app users. In order to keep the shopping experience consistent between mobile and web, it is necessary to sync discounts or offers (eg free shipping) with your PoS system. To do this, send your push message with a key/value pair to sync the offers available to the end user via your app to your PoS system. This ensures that your user should have access to that offer no matter where they check out, unifying the mobile app experience with the web.

In-app Messages

You can also use key/value pairs to alter the design elements of your in-app messages. Your app may be configured to change the dimension of the message window, hide the close button, or change the layout of your in-app messages by including a key/value pair with the message. With help from your dev team, you can design completely custom in-app messages that drive action and engagement in your app.

Another really common use case for key/value pairs is for deep linking. When paired with a CTA in your in-app message, you can use the key/value pair to drive users into a specific screen deeper in your app. For example, if you need a user to update their billing information you can drive them to the Account screen by linking to it with the key/value pair.

TIP: Deep links aren’t limited to in-app messages. They can be used with push notifications as well, as long as your app has been set up to handle them.

Inbox Messages

Using the Inbox tool, you can create A/B test to try out brand new app experiences and learn about how different layouts and colors impact your users behavior. When creating an Inbox campaign, you’re able to pass key/value pairs that can be configured to instruct the app on which version of the app layout to display. You can change button colors, copy, or any other design elements in your app experience.

With silent inbox campaigns you can change design elements in your app without the user seeing an actual message. This makes it really easy to update layouts or refresh colors in order to see what works best.

Mobile marketers are constantly working to optimize and personalize app experiences in order to drive engagement. With key/value pairs, they’re able to tackle more complex tests and design more advanced message journeys that delight users and move the needle.

This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here.

The mobile augmented reality (AR) market is quickly becoming primed for the retail space. By blending the online and in-store shopping journeys, mobile AR promises to provide an immersive digital shopping experience unlike anything shoppers have seen before.

Mobile AR is one of the most coveted technologies for improving the digital shopping experience among consumers. That’s because mobile AR can be used to bring the in-store experience to consumers’ homes by recreating the try-on experience. It allows online shoppers to test out multiple sizes and variations of products, or just see what a product looks like overlaid into their home — without making a true commitment to the purchase or a trip to the store. It can also be used in-store to quickly provide product information or guide users to the right item using location-based services.

Retailers that meet this need for mobile AR stand to pull ahead of the competition. Mobile AR can help build brand loyalty, heighten engagement, increase geographical customer reach, shorten conversion times, boost purchases of larger items, and cut down on returns.

In a new report, Business Insider Intelligence examines the importance of mobile AR to businesses in the retail space, explores the various ways brands are utilizing mobile AR to enhance the customer experience as well as their own, and determines the factors retailers should consider when devising a mobile AR strategy.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• Nearly 75% of consumers already expect retailers to offer an AR experience. Mobile AR retail experiences are more likely to come to fruition as Apple and Google continue to build out their AR developer platforms, ARKit and ARCore, respectively, which will expand the addressable market exponentially.
• Retailers in certain segments, including furniture and home improvement, as well as beauty and fashion, have been the first to jump on the mobile AR bandwagon through their own apps. These sectors appear to have the most immediate need for mobile AR strategies, as trying out furniture and clothes are two of the most coveted AR use cases by consumers.
• Social media is emerging as a prominent channel for retailers to reach consumers through mobile AR experiences. Platforms like Facebook and Snapchat continue to build out tools that businesses and developers can utilize to enhance their advertising strategies with immersive experiences.
• But retailers will have to consider several factors before implementing their mobile AR strategies. These include the cost of building AR experiences, the availability of AR-compatible smartphones, consumer awareness of mobile AR apps, and the quality of mobile AR content.

In full, the report:

• Explores the ways mobile AR brings value to the customer shopping experience. 
• Highlights how the consumer benefits of mobile AR can be transformed into valuable outcomes for retailers.
• Discusses how major retail brands are leveraging mobile AR to enhance the customer journey, and what goals they are striving to achieve.
• Outlines the several factors retailers and brands will have to consider before implementing their mobile AR strategies.

Join the conversation about this story »

Not to brag, but we’ve been writing about Software Asset Management for a long time at SoftwareONE. Which makes sense because as we wrote about in “Implementing a Software Asset Management Plan,” employees across the globe have become more reliant on software for communication, organization and automation of daily operations – rendering SAM a business critical process.

However, one area we haven’t touched on as thoroughly is how SAM – both the process and the tools – has evolved, and continues to evolve, as more organizations turn from on-premises to the cloud, or Software as a Service (SaaS) applications.

Gartner reported in April 2018 that SaaS continues to be the largest segment of the overall cloud market (including BPaaS, IaaS and PaaS) and is expected to see revenues increase to $73.6 billion by the end of 2018 and constitute 45 percent of overall application software spending by 2021. According to Cisco’s Global Cloud Index for the period 2013 – 2018,59% of all cloud workflows will be delivered by the end of this year.

Further solidifying the importance of SaaS in the world of SAM is the fact that a major vendor – Flexera and ServiceNow– recently purchased Meta SaaS and VendorHawk respectively to more effectively monitor SaaS spend management. Other SAM tool providers are also acquiring SaaS solutions to bolster their existing SAM tool solution. As more companies realize a hybrid approach with their software estate, needing to manage both on-premises increasingly more SaaS applications, it is imperative that SAM processes and tools keep up in order to better manage overall cloud spend.

Nine key areas

There are 9 key areas to think about when implementing your SAM plan:

1. Spend and added costs: SaaS costs a lot. Any organization using SaaS solutions sees how quickly it grows. This is because SaaS is intentionally engineered to make it easy for employees to sign-up and invite other employees to use software without the intervention of the IT department, leading to IT procurement not having the internal financial controls over SaaS. Without an effective SaaS software asset management process, spending can quickly spiral out of control.

Published pricing may appear to be of good value, but extra fees can add up quickly. Common additional costs include extra users, customizations, integrations, third-party services, training, and set-up fees. Work with your sales rep early in the process to understand what additional charges might apply to your account. By far the best way to keep the additional costs down is to avoid customizations to functionality and integration with other systems. Also, negotiate a set rate for incremental growth as the project grows.

2. Compliance and security risks: License compliance is very different from packaged software, and it’s naïve to think that buying a SaaS solution means that there’s no longer a compliance problem. SaaS is simply replacing compliance risk with spend management risk.

If you are non-compliant with on-prem software, you waste money if audited and risk large penalties. With SaaS, you waste money if you’re not proactively managing your users or subscription levels. An example can help illustrate this: Take Adobe Creative Cloud. Do users only need 2 – 3 applications in the Creative Cloud catalog? If so, maybe it’s best to purchase a Single App version of Creative Cloud versus a Creative Cloud All Apps plan. This is the value a good software asset management consultation can give you.

Snow shares the same view with industry experts such as Gartner in their paper SAM Reaches a Tipping Point: SaaS Cost Management Eclipses License Compliance.

“IT sourcing and vendor management leaders need to recognize that SaaS subscriptions are not a turnkey fix to licensing complexity, but will increase cost risks and add to the demands on SAM.”

(Source: Gartner, Software Asset Management Reaches a Tipping Point: SaaS Cost Management Eclipses License Compliance)

3. Length of Term: If the vendor wants a long-term subscription, we recommend that you start with the shortest – probably one or two years. If you do agree to a longer term of three to five years, make sure you have an out clause. Typically this would provide a window of opportunity to break the contract during a specific time window. For example, it might allow you to walk after one month of using the system but before 90 days. Another example might be the ability to break the contract if certain levels of service are not provided consistently.

4. Service Level Agreements (SLAs): The SLA is the vendor’s commitment to keeping the system up and running. It is typically expressed as a percentage of “up time.” You will almost always see the SLA represented as 99.9% or thereabouts. However, there is wide variation in how that number is calculated.

5. Renewals: Given that the renewal process provides an important exit opportunity from a bad contract, as well as an opportunity to re-negotiate, make sure you are still in control when the renewal date comes around. Watch for an “evergreen” renewal. An evergreen automatically renews your term, usually 30 days prior to expiration. If you spot an evergreen renewal, ask to remove it. When a company refuses to remove the clause, this is a red flag.

6. Backups and recovery: If you input valuable data every day, then you will want to ensure the provider performs a backup each day. Others might back up throughout the day. The way the backups are performed is also important. Some vendors maintain numerous backups, while others maintain only one and overwrite the previous backup. Creating separate entries allows you to rollback to a prior date if necessary. This takes up a lot of space so you will probably have to ask for it specifically. The final consideration with backups is whether the data is backed up in a separate data center. Keeping it at a separate center will add a buffer against data loss in the event of a data center disaster.

7. Data export: Finally you will want to include a clause about data export. Two things are key here: you should always retain ownership of your data and you should know how to get it back. This will be most important in two scenarios:

• If you want to migrate to a new system because you are unsatisfied
• The vendor goes out of business and you need access to your data even before you select a new system.

The method for getting your data back will vary, but common methods include a XML, CSV, and HTML. For the very technical, a SQL export may be better.

8. Shadow IT: Shadow IT refers to technology that has been procured outside of official organizational channels and isn’t managed by the IT team. In a typical SAM plan with on-premises software you have checks and balances in place to ensure that any software purchase goes through specific procurement and approval processes.

With SaaS this isn’t always the case. Employees can simply use the company credit card to buy what they want, when they want it. This can cause serious compliance, data integrity and cost issues, as well as compromising what may already be in place on-premises.

It is vital to ensure that the SAM culture at your organization encompasses checks and balances for SaaS based applications as well, and that the SAM tool you are using can evaluate SaaS usage.

9. Total Cost of Ownership: On-premises license structure tends to be more straightforward than SaaS, as they are typically dependent on number of users and not consumption.

When implementing a SAM process and tool for SaaS, it needs to cover off on shorter upgrade cycles, how the subscription model actually works, and service renewal costs to ensure you have full visibility into what the SaaS model is costing your company.

Many organizations deploy SaaS based applications and have zero visibility into the actual cost of those applications until their cloud budget is entirely out of proportion – SAM can help reign in those costs and make sure your budget stays aligned.

SAM is for SaaS too!

SaaS based applications are only increasing throughout the business environment and it’simportant to realize that there are differences between how SAM works on-premises and in the cloud.

Good software asset management will cover the following:

• Discovery: revealing who is using what subscription and which subscriptions are known and unknown.
• Cost optimisation: Cut SaaS costs, manage license renewals and forecast spend. Take a look at how Pyracloud does this.
• Monitoring and alert: covering activity – such as who is doing what and security – alerts for risky behavior and suspicious permissions granted to third party apps

A comprehensive SAM plan and tool will cover off on both and ensure you have full visibility and control of your assets, and the costs of said assets across the entire software estate.

If you’re just getting started down the SAM “path” and you’re also a business increasingly driven by SaaS solutions, please visit here to learn more about our SAMSimple offering to better understanding how SAM can result in you quickly realizing the value of your SaaS investment, reign in rogue SaaS spend and reduce compliance risk.

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last two decades, you’ve probably heard a thing or two about social media platforms. Social media has transformed the way we communicate with friends and family and interact as a society. Social media platforms have also opened new avenues of advertising and marketing for businesses, both B2B and B2C.

76% of B2B tech marketers use social media to market their products because they recognize the value in tapping into those channels. Over 70% of Americans use one or more social media platforms, so your customers are already on social media! You just need to join them!

Because of the growing usage and benefits in social media marketing, having a social presence has become a necessity rather than an afterthought for B2B organizations.

Consider the following five steps to build your social media strategy:

1. Set social media goals that are aligned with your company’s business objectives

The two biggest mistakes we see marketers make when it comes to social media are setting up accounts that are never, or rarely, used and creating an account that doesn’t align with business objectives.

Your social media account is an extension of your business, or another advertising outlet if you want to look at it that way instead. From your profile to your posts, your brand voice and style guide are going to be key assets for your social media team.

Your profile should also be in alignment with your brand or website. Use similar graphics, if not the same, that have been created for your website. Be sure to adapt sizes accordingly, all in pixels:

• Facebook profile picture: 180×180
• Facebook profile cover: 820×312
• Facebook post: 1,200×630
• LinkedIn profile picture: 300×300
• LinkedIn profile cover: 1536×768
• LinkedIn post: 698×400
• Twitter profile picture: 400×400
• Twitter profile cover: 1500×500
• Twitter post: 440×220

Source

Key questions to consider when setting up your social media profile:

• Am I aligned with the brand voice and style guide set by the organization?
• What is my industry focus?
• Who are my target personas?
• What information do they want to know more about?

2. Create a social media policy for your organization

Just like any other policies in place for your organization, you should carefully consider what sort of policies apply to your social media presence. These policies will help drive what you post, how you respond and ways you will engage with your audience.

Most businesses use a more informal tone on their social media than they would for other marketing efforts like the website or email marketing. You are connecting more directly with individual audiences and consumers, and therefore you want the conversation to feel like business-like, and more casual.

Discuss who in your organization will be in charge of on-going social media management. It is important to have one person that drives your activity on social media. This person should be responsible for regular posts, replying to messages and comments and upkeep of your profiles.

Key questions to consider when setting up your social media policies:

• What tone/voice is appropriate for our organization?
• What role will be in charge of social media management?
• What types of posts are acceptable on our accounts?

3. Determine what social media networks make sense for your organization

With so many social media platforms out these days, you just can’t be on all of them. But it would be worth your time to pick out at least a few to set up shop on.

Ultimately, you want to choose networks that your customers and audience are already on. 81% of Americans ages 18-29 and 78% of ages 30-49 have a Facebook account already set up. That is a huge majority of adults in the US!

In addition, 9 out of every ten B2B companies are on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is an ideal platform for businesses because it is geared toward professional interactions. You can do research on other companies and their employees, reach out to connections and build your network pretty easily.

These facts give compelling evidence for why many B2B (and B2C) organizations choose to use Facebook and LinkedIn as their social media platforms. However, these aren’t the only social media platforms many businesses choose to use. Twitter and Instagram are also quite popular, and YouTube is another platform to consider – especially if you are adding video marketing into your mix.

Research what platforms your competitors have chosen and view their followers to see why. Also, check out who your competitors are following on social media as well. Take note of what kinds of posts they are posting, the frequency, how much internal vs. external content there is. This will help you balance yours strategy.

Key questions to consider when setting up your social media networks:

• Who are our target audiences, and what are their age ranges?
• What platforms are our competitors using?
• How will we reach our target audience?

4. Develop an organic and paid social strategy

Your social media policies are separate from your strategy. Policies will help ensure that all the correct processes are in place to help move something along. Your social media strategy will affect how you plan and think strategically about the objections of your social media accounts.

Organic vs Paid social strategies: you need to have BOTH! Relying solely on organic growth and following would be a dream, but in reality, you’re very unlikely to reach to the potential you’d like. This is because many social media platform algorithms are programmed to not give as much credibility/reach to business posts.

The majority of your social media presence should be organic, because A. it’s free, and B. it’s free. Why wouldn’t you use free promotional outlets that directly reach your target audience?

When you’re organization is ready to start promoting posts on social platforms, it is best to have a key asset or event sign-up to offer. This way you can also collect information about people viewing your ads, and extra bonus to including a gated asset. Use images that are sized correctly to ensure that there is no distortion or image cut-off.

Key questions to consider when setting up your social media strategy:

• What are the goals of our social media use?
• Who are our targets when it comes to our social media audience?
• What assets would we offer in social media ads? Why would those assets be relevant to our audience?

5. Implement metrics that you want to measure against to determine effectiveness of efforts

Tracking your social media metrics will help you identify how your engagement rates are trending. This will help you identify more quickly when your engagement rates start to drop and why. With clear, comprehensive reporting in place, you can easily see a full picture of your overall performance.

Create a regular report that you update each month. Monthly reporting is sufficient because in general, engagement rate changes will not happen overnight and require consistent work over time.

For some executives, the question becomes why worry about this with social media? If you post good, quality posts, then obviously the social engagement comes without any pushing. As a social media manager, you already know that this is not usually the case, especially for startups and smaller organizations. Strong, consistent engagement takes time and consistency!

Key questions to consider when setting up your social media metrics:

• Which metrics are most important to our goals?
• How often should we report on these metrics?
• How do these metrics effect our social media strategy, or vice versa?

As always, use these tips to help guide your own organization to success. Test different ideas and figure out what combination of posts resonates with your audience and boosts your engagement.

Need more #digitalmarketing insights? Get our 2018 Digital Marketing Guide: In-Depth Digital Strategy for B2B Marketers

Have you been a little selfish with your customers lately? Ignoring their needs, not listening to their desires, or just flat-out hoping to move from zero to sale with little to no effort on your part?

If so, it’s no wonder your customers haven’t been responding as you’d hoped. They don’t feel appreciated — they sure as hell don’t feel pretty or special — and if things don’t change soon, you’re probably never going to seal the deal.

Why is this? Because customer service is a lot like foreplay. If you’re not willing to put in the work, you’re not going to reap the benefits a happy, satisfied customer has to offer.

Yes, we know you’re busy running a business, possibly managing employees, and if that’s not enough – you’re balancing a personal life too. With all of this on your plate, it’s easy to forget that implementing just a few extra customer service touches could make all the difference to your customers — and for your business.

Still, no matter how much you have going on, you can’t deny that offering excellent customer service is not only what will keep your customers happy, but it’s what will set you apart from the competition.

Luckily, we’ve done the dirty work for you and already came up with ten fast and easy customer service tips that’ll leave your customers feeling wanted, appreciated, and ready for more.

1. Say My Name, Dammit

Your customers are people – and people like to feel appreciated. One way to let your customers know that you value their business is by asking for their names when they come into your store… and remembering them the next time they stop by too.

Yes, it can be hard to remember names, but you won’t have to do this with everyone (as that would be impossible). But if you notice you’re starting to get some regulars, make it a point to ask their names — and greet them warmly next time they visit. They’ll feel appreciated, and you’ll have wowed them with excellent customer service — all by the time they’ve walked in the door.

Kristi Hedges, a writer for Forbes, suggests this tactic to help you remember your customers’ names: “Conjure a verbal game or image when you first hear a name. This could be an alliterative pattern involving something you know about the person, i.e., Forbes.com contributor Helen Coster gives the catchy example of “Joann from Jersey.” Or consider something about the person’s interests or job, i.e., Sarah’s in sales, so Sarah Sells.”

2. Give Your Customers a Reason to Be Faithful

I love when a business has a loyalty card. Why? Because it makes you feel like you’re getting more bang for your buck – and it shows the company values a faithful customer.

And if I’m given the choice of going shopping at one business that rewards me ‘X’ amount off for every ‘X’ amount I spend – well, I’m going to choose that business rather than another because my dollar will go further there.

So give your customers a loyalty card, or come up with some kind of loyalty program, to show them that their devotion is appreciated, and better yet, rewarded.

3. Babe, You Gotta Have a Gimmick

A gimmick, a perk, a hook, an edge… whatever you want to call it, it’s time you had one.

Whether you offer free gift-wrapping with every purchase, free coffee for customers, a fun discount wheel that customers can spin for a percentage off a future purchase, or complimentary lollipops for little ones, this customer service tactic is fast, easy, and sure to please.

4. Use Criticism to Get Better

You know what I’ve noticed lately? That companies largely ignore customer service complaints until you take them to a social media site like Twitter.

And then the second that you actually go through with sending that angry tweet they, almost instantly, want to rectify the situation. Why? Because the complaint is now public and could potentially dissuade other people from purchasing from them. That is not okay.

Be the type of business owner who handles all complaints immediately, whether they’re received by email, a phone call, or social media. Ignoring a complaint only makes a customer more irritated – and more apt to let the world know about the bad experience they’ve had at your store.

Plus, responding to complaints right away gives you the chance to save that customer’s business — and your reputation — by offering a fair solution to each complaint in a timely manner.

5. Keep the Glass Half Full

Jill Hoffman, a marketing expert for Marketo, says keeping the glass half full with your customers, even when you can’t immediately meet their needs, will help them stay satisfied with your business.

She says, “Think and speak positively. Instead of telling customers what you can’t do, tell them what you can do. Instead of highlighting that you can’t replace the broken part for two weeks, emphasize that you’re placing the order for the part right now.”

6. Go the Extra Mile… With a Smile

Yes, it’s super annoying when a customer has procrastinated and is now asking you to go the extra mile by accommodating a large, last-minute order.

But… if you fulfill it, happily, you may have just made a customer for life – and earned their word-of-mouth referrals.

Emergency and last-minute accommodations build loyalty and trust, which often translates to repeat customers and a great reputation for going above and beyond for your customers, making it well worth the initial hassle.

Remember, excellent customer service doesn’t always come easily — but when you’re willing to do something others won’t, you differentiate your business from the rest.

7. Catch Them Off-Guard

Using the element of surprise to your advantage can be a great (and easy) way for you to boost customer service satisfaction at your business.

Why not toss in an unexpected freebie when a customer reaches a certain purchase level, or discount their order by 10% because they’re your 10th customer of the day?

There are many ways you can surprise (and delight) your customers with an unexpected gift or discount, and since you control its value, this tactic works well for any budget.

8. Hold ‘Em to High Standards

You know what doesn’t build confidence? When your employees can’t answer a customer’s questions.

If your employees are saying things like, “Uhm, yeah, I think so.” and “Hmm, that’s a good question.” don’t be surprised if your customer service levels plummet right along with your profit.

To combat this problem, come up with an internal FAQ about your company/products. Each time an employee is hired, and at regular intervals throughout their employment, have them read it – and give them a test that they must pass.

This is a great way to ensure your employees are armed with enough knowledge to properly, and professionally, assist your customers and provide the type of excellent customer service that makes them want to return.

9. Celebrate Your Customers

Who doesn’t like to be remembered on their birthday, and better yet, receive a special deal just for being born?

When you collect customer information, be sure to ask for their date of birth. This information will allow you to celebrate each customer individually by emailing or snail-mailing them a birthday card and including some kind of birthday-exclusive treat.

You might offer 15% off during their birthday week, 50% off on their birthday only, or opt to take that excellent customer service one step further by inviting them to stop in for a small birthday gift – no strings attached.

10. Become the Total Package

Your body language, facial expression, tone of voice… they’re all a part of how your customers perceive you, whether you like it or not.

If you don’t look welcoming, if you’re bored, if you sound annoyed, well, all of these things can cost you sales, as well as land you on a customer’s ‘stores to never return to’ list.

Whether you’re at your retail location or handling phone orders, you need to sound cheerful, happy to help, and appreciative that they’ve chosen you – even if you’re feeling not-so-chipper at the moment.

Foreplay for the Win

Yes, as we’ve seen here today, customer service is a lot like foreplay. So don’t be afraid to seduce your customers each day with a welcoming hello, entice them with a loyalty program that encourages faithfulness, and lure them, figuratively, into your arms with an irresistible sale.

Start by choosing a few, or even just one, of the ideas above to show your customers that you care about their happiness and will actively, starting now, put in the necessary work to keep them satisfied.

And — if you’re lucky — you will have pleased them so much that they’ll start blowing up your phone with orders, stopping by your store unexpectedly just to say “hi,” and, of course, raving about your excellent customer service skills to all of their friends.

Yes, when it comes to receiving outstanding customer service, people always kiss and tell, and that, in this case, is a very, very good thing.

We’ve all noticed the phenomenon of deciding to buy a particular type of car – say, a Red Mazda – and then suddenly noticing them everywhere. Well that has recently happened in the Speakable office.

It started with a very simple phone call. A previous client, from a lifetime ago, called to see if I could dust off my Sales Training for her Regional Manager’s team. I laughed and said I don’t do that now, I’m focussing on Communication; to which she quite rightly reminded me my entire sales and pitching process is based on conversation and communication.

So I took the training – which was originally based on how I could take someone and turn them into a 7-Figure Recruitment Consultant within a year – dusted it off, and submitted a proposal.

Just 3 days later, one of my clients had an opportunity with a leading national brand to provide a sales trainer and on sharing the proposal I had just dusted off with her, we decided to jointly submit and I have just been contracted to deliver this training across Australia.

And it appears as though every single conversation since then – with clients, with friends, even with family – comes back to how we actually convert, what are the real keys to doing so, and how do we do that to generate cash through a pitch before we even have our digital footprint sorted.

Conversation 1. Actually, this isn’t a single conversation; it happens almost every single day. People asking me how I have built a business with little visible advertising or marketing, and when, quite frankly, Google hates me. It’s curiosity about how on Earth have I done it in an era of funnels and nurture sequences. It’s simple. I know how to have a conversation with someone and work out if what I have is of value to them.

Conversation 2. A client launching a consulting practice who has been shying away from the sales conversations. I laid it out very clearly in a meeting last Monday that his ONLY problem was a top-line problem, and he needed to get comfortable with having the conversations that would convert.

24 hours later he messaged me to tell me he had secured $96,000 worth of work. Yes that’s right, $96,000 locked in, deposits paid.

Conversation 3. A highly experienced professional unable to wrap his head around what his pitch was to be for a meeting coming up with one of his top target clients. In discussion I realised he had made the most fundamental mistake that we can make; he was getting ready to pitch when he didn’t know what and where the challenges for this future client lay. So we talked through framework and as a result he should be able to shift into a very powerful trusted advisor position – rapidly.

And it is ALL in the conversations that we have at each touchpoint; it’s a process you can take as long as you want, or do at lightning speed, but it is critical to your success.

The Fundamentals – Before You Meet With Someone. Actually Anyone.

1. Have your ecosystem established; know what your products and services are, how they are packaged, and priced, and what problem each element solves.

2. Build your arsenal; stories, case studies, thinking, emerging trends etc, which all speak to the problems you solve in the space in which you work.

3. Ensure whatever digital footprint you do have supports the conversations you WANT to have, with the client you want to secure. Spoiler alert – you don’t need a website to start having conversations : )

When You Meet With Someone. In Any Form.

All of my greatest wins – from a $500 consulting job when I first went out on my own 11 years ago, to a contract that grew to $3 million per year – have come from being insatiably curious as I go into any meeting.

Here are the keys:

1. Have a diagnostic conversation framework ready to go. The entire reason for meeting / speaking with the potential client is to understand:

a. If they actually have a challenge

b. If you can add value, bring a solution to that challenge

c. If you were to build a solution, would it be of interest to them

2. Build the conversation deliberately so you can understand the key challenges and gaps, and whether or not you can truly add value. Do this through asking key questions which may include:

a. What is really important for you to achieve in the next twelve months / 1 / 3 years

b. Where do you see the greatest challenge in being able to achieve that

c. What is important to you, personally, about the outcome

d. What difference will it make

e. What have you tried already that worked

f. What have you tried already that didn’t work

g. What’s been unexpectedly challenging

h. What’s been unexpectedly smooth

i. If I could change one thing for you right now about this, what would it be (and why)

(and you should ask me how this one question added $800,000 to our top line in what seemed like a matter of moments!)

3. Then build trust; Talk to your experience, what you have seen, what you have delivered, what the outcomes have been, what you have noticed is happening now and how that can be applied to what you already know, ALWAYS tying the conversation back to what is important to them.

4. Then if rapport is strong, go here, Ask.

a. ‘If I could come up with a strategy/solution/your words that resolved all of this for you, would that be of interest to you?’

b. Talk to what you think could work for them, based on your experience, at a high level

c. ‘If I was to work up a project/proposal/pitch, based on that, would that be of interest to you?’ and get their agreement

d. Leave the meeting committed to having a tailored/custom/bespoke proposal to them to resolve their specific challenge within 48 hours

There are ways to compress or extend this process; to close on the phone; to close in a first meeting; to secure works over a period of time where multiple key stakeholders are involved in the decision-making process.

But the most important thing to remember is you have to get curious before a pitch, and not just about finding where their challenge matches your solution, but where your solution can shift and meld to resolve their challenge.

By now you’ve probably heard of the Defense Department’s massive winner-take-all $10 billion cloud contract dubbed the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (or JEDI for short).
Star Wars references aside, this contract is huge, even by government standards.The Pentagon would like a single cloud vendor to build out its enterprise cloud, believing rightly or wrongly that this is the best approach to maintain focus and control of their cloud strategy.

Department of Defense (DOD) spokesperson Heather Babb tells TechCrunch the department sees a lot of upside by going this route. “Single award is advantageous because, among other things, it improves security, improves data accessibility and simplifies the Department’s ability to adopt and use cloud services,” she said.

Whatever company they choose to fill this contract, this is about modernizing their computing infrastructure and their combat forces for a world of IoT, artificial intelligence and big data analysis, while consolidating some of their older infrastructure. “The DOD Cloud Initiative is part of a much larger effort to modernize the Department’s information technology enterprise. The foundation of this effort is rationalizing the number of networks, data centers and clouds that currently exist in the Department,” Babb said.

Setting the stage

It’s possible that whoever wins this DOD contract could have a leg up on other similar projects in the government. After all it’s not easy to pass muster around security and reliability with the military and if one company can prove that they are capable in this regard, they could be set up well beyond this one deal.

As Babb explains it though, it’s really about figuring out the cloud long-term. “JEDI Cloud is a pathfinder effort to help DOD learn how to put in place an enterprise cloud solution and a critical first step that enables data-driven decision making and allows DOD to take full advantage of applications and data resources,” she said.

The single vendor component, however, could explain why the various cloud vendors who are bidding, have lost their minds a bit over it — everyone except Amazon, that is, which has been mostly silent, happy apparently to let the process play out.

The belief amongst the various other players, is that Amazon is in the driver’s seat for this bid, possibly because they delivered a $600 million cloud contract for the government in 2013, standing up a private cloud for the CIA. It was a big deal back in the day on a couple of levels. First of all, it was the first large-scale example of an intelligence agency using a public cloud provider. And of course the amount of money was pretty impressive for the time, not $10 billion impressive, but a nice contract.

For what it’s worth, Babb dismisses such talk, saying that the process is open and no vendor has an advantage. “The JEDI Cloud final RFP reflects the unique and critical needs of DOD, employing the best practices of competitive pricing and security. No vendors have been pre-selected,” she said.

Complaining loudly

As the Pentagon moves toward selecting its primary cloud vendor for the next decade, Oracle in particular has been complaining to anyone who will listen that Amazon has an unfair advantage in the deal, going so far as to file a formal complaint last month, even before bids were in and long before the Pentagon made its choice.

Somewhat ironically, given their own past business model, Oracle complained among other things that the deal would lock the department into a single platform over the long term. They also questioned whether the bidding process adhered to procurement regulations for this kind of deal, according to a report in the Washington Post. In April, Bloomberg reported that co-CEO Safra Catz complained directly to the president that the deal was tailor made for Amazon.

Microsoft hasn’t been happy about the one-vendor idea either, pointing out that by limiting itself to a single vendor, the Pentagon could be missing out on innovation from the other companies in the back and forth world of the cloud market, especially when we’re talking about a contract that stretches out for so long.

As Microsoft’s Leigh Madden told TechCrunch in April, the company is prepared to compete, but doesn’t necessarily see a single vendor approach as the best way to go. “If the DOD goes with a single award path, we are in it to win, but having said that, it’s counter to what we are seeing across the globe where 80 percent of customers are adopting a multi-cloud solution,” he said at the time.

He has a valid point, but the Pentagon seems hell bent on going forward with the single vendor idea, even though the cloud offers much greater interoperability than proprietary stacks of the 1990s (for which Oracle and Microsoft were prime examples at the time).

Microsoft has its own large DOD contract in place for almost a billion dollars, although this deal from 2016 was for Windows 10 and related hardware for DOD employees, rather than a pure cloud contract like Amazon has with the CIA.

It also recently released Azure Stack for government, a product that lets government customers install a private version of Azure with all the same tools and technologies you find in the public version, and could prove attractive as part of its JEDI bid.

Cloud market dynamics

It’s also possible that the fact that Amazon controls the largest chunk of the cloud infrastructure market, might play here at some level. While Microsoft has been coming fast, it’s still about a third of Amazon in terms of market size, as Synergy Research’s Q42017 data clearly shows.

The market hasn’t shifted dramatically since this data came out. While market share alone wouldn’t be a deciding factor, Amazon came to market first and it is much bigger in terms of market than the next four combined, according to Synergy. That could explain why the other players are lobbying so hard and seeing Amazon as the biggest threat here, because it’s probably the biggest threat in almost every deal where they come up against each other, due to its sheer size.

Consider also that Oracle, which seems to be complaining the loudest, was rather late to the cloud after years of dismissing it. They could see JEDI as a chance to establish a foothold in government that they could use to build out their cloud business in the private sector too.

10 years might not be 10 years

It’s worth pointing out that the actual deal has the complexity and opt-out clauses of a sports contract with just an initial two-year deal guaranteed. A couple of three-year options follow, with a final two-year option closing things out. The idea being, that if this turns out to be a bad idea, the Pentagon has various points where they can back out.

In spite of the winner-take-all approach of JEDI, Babb indicated that the agency will continue to work with multiple cloud vendors no matter what happens. “DOD has and will continue to operate multiple clouds and the JEDI Cloud will be a key component of the department’s overall cloud strategy. The scale of our missions will require DOD to have multiple clouds from multiple vendors,” she said.

The DOD accepted final bids in August, then extended the deadline for Requests for Proposal to October 9th. Unless the deadline gets extended again, we’re probably going to finally hear who the lucky company is sometime in the coming weeks, and chances are there is going to be lot of whining and continued maneuvering from the losers when that happens.

I'm always saying, “Sound, well-structured business email templates are central to effective sales communication, initiating productive sales conversations, and sustaining relationships with prospects and customers.” Okay, maybe I'm not always saying that — nor have I ever actually said it word-for-word out loud — but it's still an important sentiment.

Business emails are a mission-critical component of virtually every step of the modern sales process, and it serves you to know how to send thoughtful, professional, approachable ones. Now at this point, you may be thinking, “My gosh! I totally understand how important these emails are, but I don't know where the heck to start with them!”

Well, reader who conveniently thinks of the questions I need to answer in this article, you‘re in luck! Here, we’ll cover what business emails are, the various types of business emails you should be sending, how to write business emails, and some examples and templates you can leverage as reference points.
Table of Contents

• What is a business email?
• Types of Business Emails
• How to Write an Email to a Potential Customer
• Sample Business Introduction Letter to Prospective Clients
• Sample Email to Approach New Client
• Tips for Sending Proposal Emails to Clients

What is a business email?

Broadly speaking, a business email is any email sent in a professional context — specifically tailored to advance business interests with a prospect or customer. It's relatively self-explanatory.

When you dig a little deeper, the concept gets significantly more nuanced. The term “business interests” covers a lot of bases, so naturally, a business email can take on a lot of forms. I've sent business emails for everything from driving referrals to flexing my expertise for prospects to delivering cold pitches — along with a host of other purposes.

Let's get a little more perspective on the various kinds of business emails you can send.

Types of Business Emails

1. Proposal Emails

A proposal email can take on a lot of forms, but generally speaking, the term refers to an email that includes pertinent information, valuable context, and a persuasive edge — typically sent during the consideration or decision stage of the buyer's journey.

It‘s essentially a digital elevator pitch — a quick yet thoughtful rundown that sheds light on your value proposition and how your solution is specially equipped to suit your prospect’s needs and interests.

2. Prospecting Emails

Prospecting emails are business emails generally sent to warm or cold contacts to pique prospects‘ interests and get your foot in the door. They’re typically structured around some sort of value add and personal appeal.

That can be something like responding to a social post, commending a prospect on a recent achievement or career milestone, referencing a recent blog article they published, or any other avenue to frame yourself as an interested, consultative resource that they should consider doing business with.

Here's an example of what that might look like:

3. Follow-up Emails

Follow-up emails are central to keeping prospects engaged, ensuring deals stay in motion, and in some cases, disqualifying uninterested prospects before you sink too much time and effort into your engagements with them.

They're typically sent following initial conversations, meetings, or proposals (shocking, I know.) Generally, they require a tactful balance of assertiveness and respect — you don‘t want to alienate prospects by being too aggressive, but you don’t want to let opportunities pass by being too “walking on eggshells-y” either.

4. Referral Request Emails

Happy customers are some of the most lucrative resources any sales org has at its disposal. According to HubSpot's 2024 State of Sales Report, 33% of sales professionals say that customer referrals are the best source for hig- quality leads — the highest percentage of any source.

Referral request emails provide an excellent opportunity to capitalize on the exceptional work you‘ve done to win a customer’s business — along with the effort your service and customer success teams put in to ensure that customer stays delighted.

1. Spend some time on the subject line.

According to Finances Online, 64% of recipients decide to open or delete emails based on subject lines — so how you structure your subject line is pretty high stakes when crafting business emails.

A solid subject line grabs a prospect and compels them to click and read further.

Here's what you should be doing if you want to write good email subject lines:

• Use personalization.
• Pose a compelling question.
• Use concise and action-oriented language.
• Leverage scarcity and exclusivity.

Check out our post about the best sales email subject lines if you want to see some of these tips in action.

2. Introduce yourself.

In my experience (and likely everyone else‘s) prospects are more inclined to open and engage with your email if they already know, like, and trust you. Unfortunately for us, many — if not most — prospects you send business emails to don’t know you intimately (or at all).

But hey, you have to start somewhere, right?

If a prospect has never received communication from you, give them a little context — but don‘t be too stiff and borderline robotic. People are more receptive to warm, authentic communication, so make sure you’re able to convey your warmness and authenticity (within reason).

Convey who you are and why they should listen to you, but also be sure to make it about them. For example, your email sales introduction could go something like this:

“My name is [Name], and I'm reaching out because ...”

Your next sentence could easily be a question to open a loop or a short elevator pitch to establish trust and authority.

3. Consider where they're at in the buyer's journey.

I, personally, wouldn‘t want to receive an email from a rep who’s trying to close before I‘ve even researched a solution — and I think everyone who has ever been on the buyer’s side of any sales communication can agree with that.

There‘s no point in selling yourself as a provider if your prospect hasn’t decided on a type of solution yet. This is where your CRM, a sales software solution, and their behavior on your website can be valuable tools.

If they've opted into consideration or decision stage content, you can ask them more pointed questions to drive them to a purchasing decision. However, suppose they've only opted into awareness stage content. In that case, it might help to take a more informational and educational approach because their behavior indicates they're not ready to make a decision yet.

4. Hone in on their pains and provide value.

A productive sales engagement doesn't revolve around cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all sales communication. Prospects are individuals — with individual needs, interests, and preferences.

That means they have specific pain points, and if you want to appeal to them as effectively as possible, you need to zero in on those issues and speak to them directly.

No one wants to read a vague, generic sales email. They want to know what you can do for their business and the outcomes they can expect to see when they leverage your solution.

When you send a business email, aim to establish empathy and rapport by touching on their problems and the unique value you can offer them. For example:

“I see you host several campus events per year. I know it can be tough to get the students attentive and interested. I work with companies like Facebook and Google to help promote their college recruitment events.”

5. Push your value proposition.

This point is an extension of the last one — your understanding of your prospect's circumstances will help you shape a thoughtfully tailored, specific, compelling value proposition for your prospect.

If no one else in your space does it like you, say so, and provide social proof to back it up — this can come in the form of testimonials, case studies, or exciting statistics.

You need to pair a specific vision you have for their company with more general context of how you‘ve helped businesses like theirs. It can be hard for a prospect to just take the salesperson on the other side of a sales email at their word — so being able to point to bonafide evidence of your solution’s effectiveness can go a long way.

This helps them see your customer's success story and think, “If they could do it for them, they can do it for me.”

6. Conclude with a strong call to action.

Lastly, it’s important to include a strong closing line that nudges prospects to proceed to the next step, be it scheduling a call or simply replying with some questions. Jumping straight to your sign-off can sometimes feel anticlimactic and potentially confuse prospects.

That said, end on an intriguing note — think of something that would spark the prospect’s interest or subtly guide the customer into responding. For example, your closing line could look something like this:

“Let me know when as soon as you’re available, and I’ll schedule a call right away. Sounds good?”

Including links to your website or social media profiles within your email signature is also recommended. As I said earlier, people are more likely to engage with your email if they trust you — letting them verify your claims by checking your website or social accounts helps with just that.  

Sample Business Introduction Letter to Prospective Clients

Here are several examples that can inspire your own prospecting techniques.

A couple of caveats:

• These are generalized to a greater degree than emails we would typically send; they apply to all types of companies and categories. (I've given you some examples of different languages you can use as a guide.)
• You can certainly get more creative than the email examples below, but be careful. That can backfire if you get too cutesy or familiar. You can pair email design templates with content to customize and build emails that stand out, delight your clients, and gets you the results you’re looking for.

1. Landing the First Meeting: Introduction Email to Potential Clients

This email would be used as an initial introduction to your company. The key is immediately establishing your expertise and asking for the meeting reasonably early.

Why It Works

This email works because it’s direct and straight to the point. The second paragraph tells them why you’ll be valuable to them, which is great because most people don’t have time to go through a long essay.

2. Landing the First Meeting: Follow-Up Email

If you‘ve been referred to a prospect, use this template to make that connection. The great part is that you’ll have a warm start to building rapport.

Why It Works

This email template leverages the power of referrals. The mutual connection provides a level of familiarity and credibility that can help to build trust quickly. By personalizing the message based on research, the sender can show that they are genuinely interested in helping the recipient achieve their business outcome. The recipient benefits from receiving a referral to a potential solution provider, which saves them time and effort in their search.

3. Landing the First Meeting: Follow-Up Email

This would be used as a follow-up to the above email (either the next day or the following week), and I would recommend the subject line: “Sorry I Missed You.” We often see 30% to 40% open rates with this email. You'll also want to introduce a case study at this point.

Why It Works

The subject line is intriguing and will likely lead them to open the email. Using a case study offers social proof, which gets them thinking about how you can also help them like you helped others.

4. Landing the First Meeting: The Expert Opinion Email

Offering help is the typical route sales reps go when reaching out to prospects, but try asking for help and see how the odds work in your favor. Finding solutions experts on problems you're working on can be a great way to build your network and find some mutually beneficial opportunities to work together later on.

Why It Works

This email template works because it shows that the sender has done their research and values the recipient's expertise. By asking for their input, the sender is able to build a relationship and trust with the recipient. The recipient benefits from being recognized as an expert in their field, which can lead to further opportunities for collaboration.

5. After the Meeting: Meeting Follow-Up Email

Let's say you met with the prospective client, and you did an initial discovery call to assess their needs and goals. Of course, with longer-term sales cycles, you won't close a deal after that initial meeting, so you should still keep them engaged by moving to the next step.

One of the best ways to get them to open your meeting follow-up email is by piquing their interest with a subject line like, “This may help with [pain point they mentioned]” or “Here's that information you requested.” Then, you can request to move the conversation forward with the template below:

Why It Works

It works because it conveys personal interest in them — and people love the attention. Highlighting the pain point shows you’re attentive to their needs and will likely cement your place as the go-to solution.

6. After the Meeting: Limited Time Offer Email

This template works well when time is of the essence and you‘ve dotted your i’s and crossed your t's on qualifying the prospect.

Why It Works

This email template works because it creates a sense of urgency and exclusivity. By offering a limited-time discount, the sender encourages the recipient to take action quickly. The discount also provides an added incentive to try the sender's solution. The recipient benefits from receiving an exclusive discount, which can lead to cost savings or a trial of a new solution.

7. After the Meeting: Sales Proposal Email to Client

Consider this email a digital elevator pitch. You want to reference the different elements central to a conventional sales pitch: problem, value statement, “how you do it,” proof points, customer stories, and an engaging question.

This is the hardest sales-oriented email you will send in this series. Make it personal but authoritative. Really show that your product or service can suit their specific needs and goals.

Why It Works

This is a hard-hitting, impactful email that provides extra information about your company and further cements your authority. You’re bringing out the big guns now. You tell them what their problem is and waste no time proffering a solution.

8. Post-Proposal Send: Follow-Up Email

This one should be used sparingly and only if your prospect has gone dark. This email typically gets a response as it gently points out to your prospect that they've gone dark, but you've stuck with them.

It's simple but effective, and it continues to provide the prospect with opportunities to learn about your company, read your thought leadership, and be reminded of your expertise.

Typically, the prospect‘s response is apologetic and appreciative. And even if you don’t get the business at this point, at least you'll know if you can move on or keep this prospect on your radar.

You'll typically want to use the subject line, “[Company Name] — Still Interested?”

*I would never lead with “Hope you've been well/had a good weekend” unless you've actually spoken with the person.

Why It Works

The subject line “Still Interested” will likely get the attention of even the busiest of managers. While it appears that you won’t be closing the deal, dropping helpful information for free will keep you in their good books. If you don’t close a deal right now, you might be at the top of the list next time.

9. Post-Proposal Send: The Case Study Email

Providing value is the name of the sales game this year and that goes for prospecting, not just customer onboarding. Sharing relevant case studies that are well-crafted and apply precisely to your potential customer is a great way to show them that you've done your research and are here to help.

Why It Works

By sharing a success story from a similar business, the sender can show the recipient that they understand their pain points and have a track record of success. The recipient benefits from seeing tangible evidence that the sender's solution can help them achieve their business outcome.

10. Last-Try Send: Follow-Up Email

It‘s essential to follow up with prospects more than once, but knowing when to throw in the towel is equally important. At a certain point, you’re wasting their time and detracting from your time spent on prospects who are actually ready to close.

This email should only be used when you can't spend any more time chasing a prospect and need to either push them to action or close the books on them — for now.

Why It Works

If the prospect has been vague about closing the deal, this email works because it demands a direct answer. Short, straight-to-the-point, and polite, it’ll likely get a response from the prospective client, even if it’s a no.

Sample Email to Approach New Client

Here‘s a sample email you can use to approach a new client. It’s based on the first introduction email template.

Email templates like the one above reduce the amount of time I spend doing admin while helping me connect with uber-busy buyers. I hope they'll do the same for you. Introduce them into your email cadence and see what kind of a difference they make.

Why It Works

It works because it directs their attention to your value proposition early on, and by the end of the email, the client would likely have decided whether they need you or not.

Business Email Templates

1. Referral Request Email: Post-Conversion

I touched on this earlier, but happy customers are some of the most valuable resources you have when it comes to generating high-quality leads. Prospects trust each other more than they trust you — especially when they're close to one another.

Use this email template to touch base after your prospect has had some time to sit with your solution and see results. Hopefully, they're better off as a result of leveraging your offering — it also helps if your customer success and support teams have done their part.

Hi [Prospect's Name],

I hope this email finds you well. It‘s been a pleasure working with you and seeing how our [product/service] has made a positive impact on [mention specific benefits or improvements they’ve experienced].

I‘m reaching out today to ask for a small favor. We’re always looking to expand our network and connect with more individuals who can benefit from our solutions. Given your experience and satisfaction with our offerings, I believe your referral could make a significant difference.

Would you be open to recommending us to any colleagues or contacts who might benefit from [briefly describe your product/service]? Your endorsement would mean a lot and help us continue to grow and improve.

Thank you in advance for considering my request. I truly appreciate your support and look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

[Your Name]

Why It Works

If your solution has delivered the kind of results your prospect needed to see, there‘s a good chance they’ll be inclined to sing your praises a bit — that said, they might need a little push to set things in motion. This template strikes an appropriate balance between friendly and professional. It also clearly lays out some simple, actionable steps for them to take if they're interested in giving you some names.

2. Referral Request Email: Requesting Referrals to Connections

I know I keep harping on this, but prospects will (almost) always trust a close friend or connection over some salesperson. A happy customer vouching for you to their peers is one of the most valuable assets you can ever have at your disposal. This email is one of the more streamlined ways to generate that kind of referral.

Dear [Prospect],

I hope this email finds you well. I am reaching out to you as I have been impressed by your expertise and network in [industry or field]. I am currently exploring opportunities to expand my professional connections, and I believe your insight could be immensely valuable.

Would you be willing to refer me to [specific individual or company] or anyone else in your network who might benefit from [mention your skills, services, or expertise]? I am confident that my [mention your strengths or offerings] could be of great value to them.

I understand that your time is valuable, and I appreciate any assistance or guidance you can provide. Thank you in advance for considering my request.

Best regards,

[Your Name]

Why it Works

This email can help you gain traction in a specific vertical. By asking a satisfied customer to refer you to industry peers, you can generate higher-quality, more focused referrals.

3. Marketing Email: Awareness Stage

Effective business emails aren‘t always acutely focused on the nuances of a prospect’s situation — especially when they‘re only in the "awareness" stage of the buyer’s journey. In those instances, a “putting-out-feelers-esque” email like this one is more appropriate.

Dear [Prospect]

Are you looking to [address a pain point or desire]? Discover how [Your Product/Service] can revolutionize your [specific area, e.g., workflow, productivity, etc.].

At [Your Company], we specialize in [briefly mention key features or benefits]. Our goal is to [explain how your product/service solves a problem or fulfills a need].

Why choose us?

[Benefit 1]

[Benefit 2]

[Benefit 3]

Ready to take the next step? Schedule a demo or request a free trial today!

[Call-to-action button/link]

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Best regards,

[Your Name]

Why It Works

As I said, this one is more about putting out feelers and drumming up interest during the awareness stage. You probably won‘t have a particularly intimate understanding of where a prospect is at when you send something like this — allowing you to send it at a broader scale and a range of potential customers’ interests.

4. Abandoned Cart Email Template

When selling online — generally D2C — you‘ll have a fair amount of prospects get distracted while shopping online. In those instances, they might place an item in their cart without buying. If that’s the case, you can use this business email format to re-pique their interest and remind them to buy.

Dear [Customer's Name],

We noticed that you left items in your cart, and we wanted to remind you that they‘re still available! Don’t miss out on these fantastic products — simply click the link below to complete your purchase and enjoy:

[Product Name] — [Price]

Why shop with us?

Fast and reliable shipping

Easy returns and exchanges

Exceptional customer support

Complete your order now and experience the convenience of shopping with us!

[Call-to-action button/link]

If you have any questions or need assistance, please don‘t hesitate to contact us. We’re here to help!

Best regards,

[Your Name]

Why It Works

This email is enough to potentially re-generate interest in your product without being too intrusive or desperate. Sometimes, people just need a little push in the right direction to complete a purchase — this email can help get them there.

5. Customer Satisfaction Email Template

Virtually every business has room for improvement, and customer feedback is the most valuable resource you can leverage to identify where you might be lacking. This email will give you a solid reference point for what you need to work on.

Dear [Customer],

At [Your Company], customer satisfaction is our top priority. We strive to provide exceptional products and services that meet your needs and exceed your expectations.

We would greatly appreciate it if you could take a few moments to share your feedback with us. Your input helps us understand what we're doing well and where we can improve to serve you better.

Please click the link below to complete our brief customer satisfaction survey:

[Survey Link]

Your feedback is invaluable to us, and we thank you for being a valued customer. If you have any additional comments or suggestions, please feel free to share them in the survey or reply to this email.

Thank you for choosing [Your Company]. We look forward to continuing to serve you.

Best regards,

[Your Name]

Why It Works

This email reconciles value for your business with accessibility for your customer. It's approachable and provides a convenient avenue for them to offer their feedback.

6. Invoice Email Template

This one is pretty straightforward. Invoices are central to several business transactions — so maintaining a well-structured, professional email template is essential when operating by this payment model.

Dear [Client],

Attached is the invoice for the [product/service] you recently purchased from [Your Company]. Thank you for choosing us as your provider.

Invoice Details:

Invoice Number: [Invoice Number]

Invoice Date: [Date]

Due Date: [Due Date]

Amount Due: [Amount]

Please find the attached invoice for your reference and review. If you have any questions or require further clarification regarding the charges, feel free to reach out to us.

Payment Options:

[Payment Options]

We appreciate your business and look forward to serving you again in the future.

Best regards,

[Your Name]

Why It Works

Again, this one is pretty straightforward — it's a clear-cut, professional template that politely but thoroughly covers all of the bases you need when sending a customer an invoice.

7. Meeting Confirmation Template

You want to confirm every meeting you schedule — providing a friendly reminder and some context around anything you're going to discuss or materials your fellow attendees need to bring is always best practice.

Dear [Recipient's Name],

I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to confirm our upcoming business meeting scheduled for [Date] at [Time]. The meeting will take place at [Location/Online Platform]. Agenda:

[Agenda Items]

If there are any specific topics or materials you would like to discuss during the meeting, please let me know in advance so that I can prepare accordingly.

Please confirm your attendance by replying to this email. If for any reason you are unable to make it to the meeting, kindly inform me as soon as possible so that we can reschedule if needed.

I look forward to our productive discussion and collaboration.

Best regards,

[Your Name]

Why It Works

This one covers all of the bases it needs to with a thoughtful, professional tone.

Sample Email to Approach New Client

Here‘s a sample email you can use to approach a new client. It’s based on the first introduction email template.

Email templates like the one above reduce the amount of time I spend doing admin while helping me connect with uber-busy buyers. I hope they'll do the same for you. Introduce them into your email cadence and see what kind of a difference they make.

Why It Works

It works because it directs their attention to your value proposition early on, and by the end of the email, the client would likely have decided whether they need you or not.

Tips for Sending Proposal Emails to Clients

1. Lead with a clear subject line.

I touched on this earlier, but I‘ll mention it again — your subject line can make or break any business email, and proposal emails are no exception. I know I’ve ignored plenty of emails with less-than-compelling headers, and I promise you, your prospects have too.

Make sure your subject line has some degree of personalization. Prospects never want to feel like another name on a list, so do what you can to make them feel a little special (in a purely professional sense) — and make sure your line is action-oriented as opposed to passive.

For instance, if you were selling a curriculum scheduling software to a community college on behalf of an edtech startup, you wouldn‘t want your proposal email’s subject line to read:

“Our Software Can Help Colleges”

That's too dry, generic, soft, and vaguely tailored. Instead, you would want to lead with something like:

“Unlock More Efficient Curriculum Scheduling at XYZ College With RedTech”

That lets them know that the content of the email is locked in on their needs. It's also engaging — with some urgency behind it.

2. Make sure your greeting is personalized and approachable.

As I said with the last point, you don‘t want your prospect to feel like another name on a list. Sales, when done correctly, is a personal, consultative process — so you don’t want to undermine those elements by addressing your proposal to “To whom it may concern.”

Address them personally to start things off, and make sure to keep things conversational and professional as you lead into the meat of your proposal. Try going with something like this:

“I hope things are going well on your end. My name is Bryan, and I represent RedTech, an innovative provider of EdTech solutions designed to streamline curriculum scheduling processes.”

3. Keep the initial context about your business concise and focused on benefits.

In my experience, prospects aren't trying to be inundated with information on the proposal email. No one wants an instruction manual in their inbox, detailing each and every feature your solution has to offer.

Prospects are busy, and in most cases, they‘re less interested in all the neat bells and whistles your product or service has. As you lead into your value proposition, try to keep things focused — if you pique their interest with your proposal, they’ll likely do some research independently.

Try something like:

“After thorough research and understanding of East Valley College's needs, we have developed a tailored solution that can significantly enhance your curriculum management efficiency.”

4. Frame a specific, personalized, compelling value proposition.

This point ties in with the last one a bit — you want to continue to keep things focused on your prospect and what you can do for them, specifically. Avoid offering a cookie-cutter value proposition that blanket applies to everyone in their industry.

And if you mention features, tie them to the outcomes your prospect can expect to see — on both company-wide and personal levels. In the case of the edtech example we've been running with, you might want to go with something to the effect of:

"Our solution offers key benefits like:

• Accelerated degree velocity — saving costs and bolstering your reputation.

• Improved scheduling efficiency for teachers — improving retention.

• A more accessible, effective administrative solution than your legacy system — making your life, as an administrator, significantly easier."

5. Offer a clear call to action and next steps.

Let's say your email blows your prospect away — you have them jumping for joy and thinking, “Holy cow! What an email! This company is going to do wonders for my professional life and broader business interests … but where do I go from here?”

If that's the case, you need to give them a place “to go from there.” That means giving a clear CTA with next steps. Give them the direction they need to keep the conversation going — whether that be setting a meeting, scheduling a demo, or any other avenue to advance the deal.

Use Sales Email Templates to Nurture Leads

Even though your prospects might have crowded inboxes, they still take the time out to read and respond to emails that address their pain points and needs.

The sales email templates in the post offer you a starting point for creating these types of valuable emails.

Remember that many other people would be reading this guide, so don’t just copy and paste this template. Instead, model it after your business and prospect’s needs.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in October 2015 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Every day, millions of outreach emails are sent by entrepreneurs and small businesses around the world. 

In fact, I have a bunch sitting unopened in my inbox right now. The sender is hoping to catch my attention, so we can work together in a way that grows their business.

But here's the cold, hard truth: I won't reply to the majority of these messages. I'll put most in my trash folder. 

The Most Important Lesson of Sending Outreach Emails

When I first started out in sales over 15 years ago, my outreach emails were also ineffective at driving action. I was wasting my time writing messages that ended up in people's trash folders.

That was, until I learned one important lesson: The true goal of any email outreach is to build meaningful relationships with the person you’re hoping to contact. It isn't to bombard them with offers until they magically decide to purchase from or collaborate with you. 

Once I realized this, my outreach emails started to get opened. Since then, I've scored business opportunities with everyone from startup founders to Fortune 500 executives. I’ve figured out what works and what doesn’t.

That's why I put together relationship-building email templates inside our product at Close.io. These templates help hundreds of thousands of sales professionals increase their open rates, start more conversations, and drive more sales. 

So whether you’re looking to secure a spot as a contributor for a major online publication, book yourself on someone else’s podcast, or land your next big client, outreach emails are a necessity in today's business world. Follow my 5 tips below to learn how to effectively write them so they don't end up in someone's trash folder.

(Heads up: An outreach email is different than email marketing. You send an outreach email to a single recipient who has no prior relationship with you. Email marketing, on the other hand, is a message sent to a mass audience that has opted-in to receive your content.)

1. Use mutual connections

Did you know that 92 percent of people trust referrals and recommendations that come from people they know?

When sending outreach emails, remember that you’re probably not the only one emailing with a similar request. (Let alone the only one pitching them that very same day.) So whenever possible, leverage your personal or professional connections who have a more direct relationship with your intended recipient. Then, ask them to make an introduction.

Related: How to Get Your First 50 Subscribers in Less Than 30 Days 

I recommend researching your recipient's LinkedIn profile to find mutual connections. You can also follow them on Twitter to see if you have any followers in common. If they have a blog, check out who contributes as a guest. If they have a podcast, see who they’ve interviewed. You may just uncover a common connection.

You’re not always going to have a mutual connection that can just fire off a quick intro, so look to see who you might build connections with that could influence your target recipient.

2. Write the world’s most intriguing subject lines

Surprisingly, 47 percent of people decide whether or not an email is worth reading based on the subject line alone.

At most, you have a little over a second to make them want to open your message. Try to create as much intrigue as possible.

You want your reader to think, “Really? Why?” as soon as they read your subject line. While there are a variety of ways you can do this, in my experience the easiest way to create intrigue is to either challenge a commonly held belief they may have, or simply ask them a question.

Here are several examples of effective, intriguing subject lines: 

• Interested in being on my podcast, [first name]?
• Can I feature you in an upcoming blog post?
• Are you looking for speakers for [name of event]?
• Why I think you're the perfect person for my next podcast
• I want to run an idea by you, [first name]
• Question for you, [first name]...
• I surveyed my audience, and they asked for you...
• I just had [name of influential person] on my show... care to jump on as well?

Strive to make your subject line as specific and personal as possible to show you’ve done your homework. Even more importantly, make sure your subject line reflects what the reader will find inside. This is by far one of the easiest ways to establish trust with your prospect. Without that foundation of mutual respect, nothing else is likely to materialize with the relationship.

Related: Your Guide to Writing the World's Best Subject Lines

3. Personalize your email and get to the point quickly

When sending outreach emails, remember that you’re hoping to speak with one specific person, which means you want to personalize your pitch as much as possible.

In my own inbox, I always see emails with paragraphs of text about the company’s mission and values, and why they’d be so perfect to work with. The reality is that most professionals don’t care about that—and they have no reason to.

The only thing prospects care about is how you can help them.

For example, if you want to secure someone on your blog, podcast or webinar, be sure to include the following in your outreach email:

• Introduction
• Why you’re reaching out to them (what type of partnership or opportunity are you pursuing?)
• What’s in it for them (e.g., How many readers will see their blog post on your website; How many leads they can expect by being a guest on your webinar or podcast)
• How you’ll help promote them and their business throughout the partnership
• Why your audience is the right fit for them.
• Make the ask

Related: The Easiest Way to Skyrocket Your Open Rates

If you want to secure a spot on someone else’s blog, podcast or webinar, be sure to include the following in your outreach email:

• Introduction
• Why you’re reaching out to them (what type of partnership or opportunity are you pursuing?)
• What value you can provide to their audience (e.g., education, service, products, etc.)
• Why you have the right experience to be featured on their site or show (e.g., give examples of other blogs, podcasts or webinars you’ve contributed to in the past)
• Make the ask

If you want to tell someone about your business, products, or services, be sure to include the following in your email:

• Introduction
• Why you’re reaching out to them 
• Show you've done your research (highlight something you both have in common, like an alma mater or a past work colleague, or highlight something they've worked on recently that you enjoyed)
• Make the ask

Keep your email short and to the point. Your prospect is busy. Make your pitch concise and stick with just the essentials they need to know upfront. That way, they can make a quick decision about whether they need what you’re offering.

4. Nurture ALL contacts

One of the most frustrating aspects of email outreach is deciding your best course of action when a recipient doesn’t engage with your messages. 

The reasons for a recipient dropping off the map could be numerous — maybe they don’t have the time right now, they just never bothered to reply, or they’re simply not interested and haven’t explicitly told you that.

Whatever the reason, you may be tempted to shrug your shoulders, write them off in order to pursue a new opportunity, and never follow up with them again.

But that’s one of the biggest mistakes you can make.

According to a Rutgers University study of 224 executive MBA students who reached out to dormant connections—people they hadn’t spoken to in at least three years—for help with an important project, researchers found that not only were the dormant contacts useful, but they were often more helpful than active connections.

The study further suggests that the novelty of seeing an old friend, previous co-worker or former classmate pop back into your inbox, tends to spur people into taking quicker (and more enthusiastic) action than with existing relationships that already have an ongoing value exchange.

Related: How to Find Your Customers' Pain Points

This means you shouldn’t abandon an opportunity as soon as they stop replying to your messages or even after they say they’re not interested at this time. Instead, take a relationship selling approach and keep the opportunity on file for quarterly check-ins. Just because someone says, ‘Not right now’ or drops off the radar today, doesn’t mean they won’t be a good fit a few months down the line.

Since the last time you got in touch, their circumstances (or yours) may have changed, and you may be able to better address their past objections.

Before you begin sending outreach emails to every dormant connection you have, consider the fact that they might not remember you from that one conversation you had over a year ago. Treat them as a new prospect again.

Always begin your reconnection email with a quick reminder of how you met or where you worked or collaborated together. Establish a clear context around why you're reaching out today.

5. Use other channels beyond email

Despite the fact that 86 percent of business professionals prefer to use email when they communicate for business-related purposes, be wary of relying on email too much in your outreach.

For some people, email might not be their preferred channel of communication and you’ll have a better chance of getting their attention if you speak to them over the phone, in person, or on social networks like LinkedIn or Twitter.

If your prospect doesn’t respond to email, try one of the following:

• Follow them on Twitter and send them a DM.
• Send them a message on LinkedIn.
• Private message them on Facebook.

Start by introducing yourself and what you do. Ask them a question, or comment about something they recently worked on. This helps create common ground and trust, and sets you up for further conversations.

When it comes to bigger opportunities, like complex co-marketing partnerships, there’s typically a lot more back and forth that occurs. In this scenario, phone calls may be much more effective at building trust and securing the opportunity. Use email for following up on conversations and nudging a prospect closer to locking in the opportunity.

The key to successful email outreach

Targeted email outreach is an effective way to create and nurture opportunities that can help you grow your business to new levels.

The key to successful email outreach is to focus on creating conversations and building relationships without the immediate expectation of a quick transaction. If you can do this, you’re well on your way to email outreach success.

To Recap...

What is an Outreach Email? An Outreach Email is the process of sending an email to a potential contact. The goal of your outreach email is to build a meaningful relationship so you may form a partnership/collaboration, request a backlink or mutually promote content. It is not to bombard them with offers until they purchase from you.

Not sure how to get more leads? Struggling to create a profitable email strategy? We can help. At AWeber, we're not just an email marketing platform — we're a team of email experts that want to see you succeed. You can contact us day or night to get all of your questions answered.  Get AWeber Free today.

Steli Efty is the CEO and co-founder of Close, a CRM with built-in sales automation features for startups and SMBs. Used by 70,000+ inside sales teams across the world.

The post Outreach Email: A Sales Pro’s Best Email Tips appeared first on AWeber.

There’s no secret that the power of social media is incredible. Everyone knows about Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. All these social channels are here to help you connect with your clients, colleagues and other professionals. However, when it comes to LinkedIn, we are talking about a special case. This social and professional network is a powerhouse, ready to unleash its benefits for your business’s advantage.

The way you build your personal brand tells a lot about yourself. LinkedIn is a great tool to help you strengthen your presence on the market and expand your network. There are various LinkedIn profile best practices you can use to increase your business development. Some of them can be implemented right away while others will take a bit of time to show their efficiency.

Keep reading and discover how powerful it is for businesses and which are LinkedIn best practices in 2018.

Top LinkedIn Best Practices for Increased Sales

Have you ever wondered why is LinkedIn so powerful for B2B businesses? First, according to the latest estimations, there are approximately half billion people using this network. Therefore, it is easy to imagine that there are 500 million people with whom you can connect and share your ideas. Part of them are your future clients and partners.

It worth mentioning that 61 million LinkedIn users are considered to be senior level influencers and over 40 million of LinkedIn users are in key decision-making positions.

Researches reveal that:

– 80% of B2B leads are generated by LinkedIn compared with 13% on Twitter and 7% on Facebook.

Source: Foundationinc

– 59% of marketers active in B2B confirm that LinkedIn is leads pipeline for their business

– 38% of marketers active in B2B sustain LinkedIn generates revenue for the business they market.

Source: Foundationinc

Moreover, LinkedIn is appreciated as high-quality source of content. This makes users become very engaged when using it and count on it in their business decisions. Even though it is a valuable resource for any type of business, this doesn’t mean that success is guaranteed.

If you really want to have a competitive advantage when using LinkedIn, you need a forthright strategy. Since it is a marketing channel that can change the face of your business, it should be granted special attention.

Before we dig more in depth, here is a short list of LinkedIn best practices for business that you can implement today:

· Develop SMART goals for your LinkedIn strategy. Just like in any marketing strategy, your goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-based.

· Reach the right audience. LinkedIn offers you various demographic data which can help you develop specific audience segmentation. Therefore, it will become very easy for you to personalize your messages and grow your audience.

· Create the right messages. Your messages should give answers to your clients’ questions and provide solutions to their problems.

Now that you got yourself familiar to what LinkedIn means and how it can help you, let’s dive into more details. Use the strategies below and get ready to revamp your business.

Strengthen Your Profile

The first thing your clients and business partners see when they want to know more about you on LinkedIn is your profile. It is your business card and it should show you on the best light possible.

So, you need to pay close attention to the way you present your business, your story and services. Your profile picture and background photo are extremely important for the first impression. LinkedIn best practices for personal profile encourage you to use recent photos, not exaggerate with powerful colors and use symbols that represent you. As long as you don’t complicate things too much, there’s nothing that could go wrong.

Other useful tips when it comes to your company’s profile are the following:

· Your company page should be always up-to-date;

· Your summary section should talk about your fascinating story. People like to read about others. They feel immediately when you are telling the truth, or you are just writing nice words. So, be real and speak from your own experience;

· Use your company logo and keywords to help clients identify your page faster;

· Optimize your profile for search on LinkedIn by using your main keywords;

· Highlight your most important products and services and rearrange sections to align with your strategy;

· Ask your clients to share their experience with your products and services by writing reviews and testimonials. This is how you show your future clients that you are reliable, and your products are exactly how you present them to be;

· Attach a ProFinder Badge to your profile if you are a solopreneur or just starting up.

Source: Linked University LinkedIn Profile

Use LinkedIn’s Educational Nature

Another remarkable thing about LinkedIn is that it makes very easy for its users to publish articles. However, if you think that you will write some promotional content that will sell your products immediately, you are totally wrong. The people who are using LinkedIn are not interested in just another promotional post that encourages them to spend their money on a specific product.

LinkedIn users are rather more interested in how your products will help them solve their problems. They have several questions for which they hope to find the right answers by reading your articles. So, you should focus on educating your customers and give them practical solutions to their problems. This is how you build your brand’s credibility and show that you are an expert in your field.

Conceive LinkedIn Showcase Pages That Target a Certain Buyer Persona

You have the possibility to create niche pages related to your main Company Page via LinkedIn Showcase Pages, highlighting specific products or a targeting specific audience. This helps you personalize user experience and communicate more effectively, as users have the possibility to follow just a showcase page, not the main page of the company or other showcase pages that your company might have installed.

Focus on Visuals

There have been many studies revealing that humans react better to visual context. We are visual creatures which makes us understand visuals a lot faster than any text. Thus, if we apply these findings to the internet world, it is already a fact that visuals get more views than content. So, this is one point you should focus on in your LinkedIn strategy.

One of the LinkedIn best practices in 2018 which will continue to be successful the following years too, is using infographics and charts in your articles. Your readers will find it easier to understand the information and remember it when they need it in the future. So, if you already applied this strategy last year, you should continue using as much visuals as possible in your content.

Tell Your Story Using Videos

Keeping your audience engaged and enticing her curiosity concerning your products is tough job. Taking into consideration the soaring popularity of videos, you can use them to convince your prospects to return. Furthermore, it’s easier day passing for your clients to be able to watch videos from their desktop or mobile devices, no matter their location across the globe.

Here are some ideas you can use to create new videos:

· Create a demo on how to use your products;

· Interview an influencer in your industry/niche who is open to share his/her opinion on your products or services;

· Interview customers and publish their video testimonials;

· Create a video story of your brand.

Be Consistent

No one sustains that LinkedIn is going to bring incredible results overnight. It takes a lot of consistency and hard work to show your clients that you are a reliable business owner who puts them on top of his priority list. Therefore, you should pay attention to keeping your content fresh.

The publishing frequency is also important. So, if you post a new article at least once per week, then you are on the right track. In addition, try to always be the first who announces your loyal customers when something new appears in your niche. You will see that all these efforts will pay off in the end.

Don’t Underestimate the Power of Your Employees

Your employees can become your strongest partners in promoting your business. Who else can better promote your products than your employees who know all details about them? LinkedIn best practices encourage entrepreneurs to listen to their colleagues’ ideas and publish them. Sharing your LinkedIn strategy with your employees will help you grow your business presence in your industry.

This is a good approach if you want to show your employees that you care about what they think, and you want to make them part of your business. They will become more loyal to the brand and be more open to contribute to your business’ growth.

So, adopt a smart strategy and accomplish a double goal: grow your employees’ productivity by listening to their ideas and strengthen your presence on the market.

Use LinkedIn Analytics to Measure Results

Even though you think you are doing things right, this doesn’t mean that you are really successful. You need clear data to show you how many people viewed your page, or which was your most popular post, etc. LinkedIn metrics will tell you everything you need to know when you analyze your marketing efforts, like:

· Your visitor’s demographics. You will know everything about the people who visit your page: where they live, which are their jobs, how old are they, etc.

· The number of page views during a specific period.

· How many unique visitors you had during the analyzed period.

· Identify what your competitors are doing and how their metrics look like.

· Engagement statistics.

· The number of new followers acquired.

If you belong to the LinkedIn Business Solutions category of clients you benefit of Content Marketing Score and Trending Content resources. The Content Marketing Score provides you with insights related to the user engagement on your sponsored posts, pages, groups or Influencer posts if the case. And also showcase recommendation to implement in order to improve your numbers and the results of your LinkedIn content.

LinkedIn Ads and Sponsored Updates

In case your budget allows it and you want faster results, then you can use LinkedIn ads to amplify the power of your content. LinkedIn offers you a bunch of features allowing you to target and refine the audience you want to communicate your message to. For instance, you can target specific job titles or industries. Therefore, your messages reach exactly the type of persons you need in order to grow your business.

You can find out in the video below more details why LinkedIn is a prominent channel for B2B advertising:

Create Your Own Group

Creating a group can be a smart decision only if you have a strong number of followers who will form a solid foundation. People look for evidence before they join a group. Therefore, you need to count on your connections who can convince new followers to become active on your group.

And of course, you need to be aware of your competition. There are many groups on LinkedIn, in fact too many, especially promotional ones. This means that you have a mighty competition. If you want your group to be successful you need to bring a new and interesting idea on the table. Moreover, apart from promoting your products, you need to create discussion topics and encourage people to share their ideas.

By the end of August 2018 LinkedIn plans to release the new version of LinkedIn Groups, that will integrate into the main site and mobile apps. The main purpose of this revamp is to make Groups more user friendly and more engaging and to reintegrate Groups into the prime LinkedIn experience. As consequence Groups will benefit of an admin functionality and will have the capabilities of being managed via Android or iOS apps.

So, if you are planning to have a group on LinkedIn this is a great moment to start.

Nurture Your Connections

If persons from your connections list take some minutes to say something positive about your business, then you should show them how much you appreciate it. Always leave a comment when you receive a feedback from one of your connections. If the person who commented is not in your connections list, then this is a fantastic opportunity to connect with them. You can also stand out by replying to the people who send you a connection invite. People are so busy with their activities that they don’t pay so much attention to the power of these small actions.

There is no doubt that LinkedIn is a powerful tool which can boost your business. These best practices will help you use your talent to its fullest potential and show your clients that you have something to say in your niche.

If you use this platform for your personal profile, you can also apply the tactics listed above. LinkedIn is great when you want to stay updated with the latest trends in your industry.

Conclusion

Implementing a LinkedIn strategy is definitely not as difficult as it might seem at a first glance. It is a powerful tool for those who want to leverage their business. These practices show you that this is an achievable goal. The above-mentioned LinkedIn best practices in 2018 will help you build a stronger profile and reach more customers than ever before.

There is a reason to focus on competitive displacements, even though they take time, and even though taking a client from your competitor requires effort. When you pursue a prospective client being served by your competitor, they have already made a number of decisions that a lead may not yet have made.

Three Decisions

First, they have decided to buy what you sell. You no longer have to establish the need for what you sell. In other sales, you have to make a market, convincing people they need something they haven’t ever purchased. If you believe taking a client away from your competitor is hard, spend time trying to convince someone to buy something they don’t believe they need.

Second, and even more important, is the fact that your dream client depends on what you sell, increasing the odds it is important to them—and even rising to being “strategic.” If they depend on what you sell to operate their business, there is continuity, i.e. they continually buy what you sell.

Finally, when the first two are true, it is a certainty that there is an improvement available. There is always something your dream client wishes were better, and there are always internal and external factors that compel companies to change what they do and how they do it. There is an opportunity for a better future state for your prospective client, and that provides you with an opportunity of your own.

Better Than Leads

There are many who wish for more leads, better leads, leads they believe are “ready-to-buy.” This is the order-taker’s dream. A lead, however, is not likely to have decided to buy what you sell (least of all if the only factor that makes them a lead is that they downloaded a white paper). If they are not already using what you sell or some alternative, what you sell hasn’t yet become strategic to your lead.

As markets mature, more and more salespeople and sales organizations are going to need to live, thrive, and survive in the red ocean. This is now true for the startups with the big idea that is going to change the industry they serve as they fight to displace other ideas and other priorities.

For more on this idea, pick up Eat Their Lunch: Winning Customers Away From Your Competition.

The post Why You Need to Displace Your Competitors appeared first on The Sales Blog.

Recently, I was with some people who refused to believe I was in sales.  They thought, “How could somebody like him be a salesperson?”

The small group said I was too nice and too thoughtful to be a salesperson.  When I asked them why they thought that way, their response was uniform. Their view of a salesperson was somebody who takes advantage of others.

You can imagine the engaging conversation I had with these people about how I viewed the sales profession, and I think I was successful in turning their opinions around about salespeople.   After our conversation was over and we had all gone our separate ways, I couldn’t help but wonder about the millions of others who share the same feeling about salespeople as these people did.

Is sales and, in particular, sales leadership evolving?  I think so! No, I don’t have data points I can share to indicate it is evolving, but I can take confidence in doing what I can.

Each day I make it my objective to impact others positively.  Will you join me in this task?  Will you each day strive to be seen as a stronger more impactful sales leader regardless of the position you hold?

Titles don’t mean a thing when it comes to being seen as a sales leader. Being seen as a sales leader is a personal decision you make. It’s a decision you make to impact and influence others.

As a total optimist, I’m sold on the belief if we all make it our mission to up our sales leadership game each day, we will make a significant difference in the continuing evolution of sales leadership.

What will the outcome be if we’re successful? It’s quite simple — we will have helped many more people be able to see and achieve what they didn’t think was possible.

And don’t forget that a coach can help you excel in your sales career! Invest in yourself by checking out my coaching program today!

Copyright 2018, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results

Starting a business is very en vogue right now. Everyone wants to be an entrepreneur and work for themselves. And as someone doing that very thing, I can say that it is great in many ways!

It’s also the most demanding, stressful, and hardest thing I’ve ever done. Businesses are not destined to always succeed. Business mistakes are easy to make, but unfortunately they can come with major consequences.

Businesses Can Fail, and We Can Learn From That

As much as I love to soak up stories of people who have succeeded, I also find value in hearing the stories of those who haven’t. There’s a lot to learn from people who fail.

One story came out last year and went viral, about a man who opened a restaurant and closed it amid debt, personal stress, and drug use. I still think about it a lot.

Here’s a brief recap of the story: a man left his government job to open a restaurant (his dream job.) He leased a space that needed over $80,000 in repairs, sold his house, emptied his pension further, borrowed money from family, and started abusing pills to try and make the business a success. Within a year, he had put over $170,000 into the restaurant, it closed and he was deeply in debt from the adventure.

While it may seem dramatic, this is a story with plenty of lessons for other aspiring business owners. Here are three lessons I learned from his business mistakes:

Three Business Mistakes

Capitalize on the good- The owner got a 4 star review by a major Toronto newspaper and had a few good weeks of business. Then he closed the business for a vacation. He still had to pay overhead costs, like server pay and rent. He didn’t have nearly enough in savings to take a break, especially not on the heels of a good review.

If your business gets good press, work harder to capitalize on it. Use it to drive more business.

Have a detailed business plan- He went into starting a restaurant with a head full of dreams and no idea of the true cost of things. He had no idea that the space he rented would need over $80,000 in repairs; all he saw was a space that would one day be a restaurant. He also mentions undercharging for the type of food they served.

A detailed business plan of how much your start up costs will be, how much your employment costs will be, and how you plan to make money, will help you see a lemon from the start.

Enthusiasm is not enough- You can love something madly, but that doesn’t mean it will pay your bills. This man went into the food business because he personally loved to cook. He spent most of his time repairing things, running the books, and feeling stressed. Loving something doesn’t mean you can make a business out of it, and it doesn’t mean that it will generate profit.

Final Thoughts

Business mistakes are easy to make, but they are even easier to learn from. I feel for this man, and I wish him a speedy financial recovery. But I know I won’t be making the same business mistakes that he did.

What You Need to Know About Using Hashtags on LinkedIn
For those of you who aren’t quite as social savvy, let me begin by defining what a hashtag is and how to effectively use hashtags on LinkedIn.

First, it is a designator added to an article or post that identifies the topic. On LinkedIn, you can search for a hashtag to join a conversation based on common topics or interests.

For example, if my post or article’s core topic is about marketing, then at the end of my text I would simply add #marketing which designates what the post is about. I could add several hash tags which elevates my post in terms of getting found by multiple designators. Example: #digitalmarketing #relationshipmarketing #marketingTips

Create hashtags for your personal brand. What is your expertise, and what are you known for and post about? Be sure to add the relevant hashtags to everything you post on LinkedIn.

How to Incorporate Hashtags into Your LinkedIn Marketing

Because hashtags are searchable, they are great for finding posts and articles with a core topic that you have an expertise in. This would give you the opportunity to see who is talking about your topic and second, this is an opportunity for you to comment on and share posts where you can add your unique perspective and value.

Before you start using hashtags, do some research. A good place to start is to look at posts from other leaders in your niche and see what they are using. I recommend you also research leaders in your niche on Twitter and Instagram to learn how they are using hashtags in their posts and follow their lead. No reason to work any harder to figure it out than from those already using them.

It is a good idea to keep a document with your relevant hashtags that you can update as you see additional hashtags you may want to incorporate. Incorporating hashtags is also a savvy move for professionals who use LinkedIn for lead generation.

To find new hashtags to follow:

1. Enter the hashtag you’d like to find in the Search bar at the top of the page. For example: #TimeManagement
2. Select an option from the drop-down of suggestions that appears as you type.

• You can also click See all results for “#hashtag” and then select Content from the drop-down at the top right of the page to view posts that mention the hashtag.

Click the Follow button to follow the hashtag – you can then track people and posts for that hashtag.

Adding a Hashtag to Your Post

When you want to create a post from the home page tab, as you type the topic, LinkedIn’s algorithm offers suggestions based on the content for possible hashtags. This offers you relevant suggestions on hashtags LinkedIn tracks, so this is a good idea to click on them and they will add to the end of your post. I recommend after adding the ones LinkedIn suggests, add any others that you have researched.

Managing the Hashtags You Follow

Once you’ve followed a hashtag, you’ll be able to manage it from your LinkedIn homepage.

To manage the hashtags, you follow:

1. Click the Dropdown icon next to Hashtags you follow on the left rail of your LinkedIn homepage.
2. Click See all at the bottom of the list of hashtags.

• If you follow more than three hashtags, click Show more to view your full list of hashtags, then click See all.

If you’d like to unfollow a hashtag, click Following below the hashtag you’d like to unfollow. If you change your mind, click Follow to begin following the hashtag again.

You can also pin your favorite hashtags for quick access by clicking the Edit icon next to Your communities on the left rail of your LinkedIn homepage. In the pop-up window that appears, click the Pin icon next to a hashtag you’re following to select it.

If you pin the hashtags that are most relevant for you, it will save you the extra step of clicking Show More and serve as a reminder to use your key hashtags when you post updates.

Managing Hashtags in Your Newsfeed Preferences

Improve your LinkedIn feed by discovering new content and customizing your feed preferences. You can follow or unfollow people, companies and hashtags for topics you’re interested in from desktop and the LinkedIn mobile app.

Note: All edits to your feed preferences completed on mobile will transfer to the desktop experience.

To manage your feed preferences, LinkedIn suggests:

1. Click the More icon on the top right corner of any post.
2. Click Improve my feed.
3. Click the Follow fresh perspectives tab, the Following tab, or the Followers tab near the top of the page to update your feed preferences:

• Follow fresh perspectives – This is a list of recommended sources to follow. Click Follow under a person, company or hashtag to add content to your feed from that source.
• Following – This is a list of people, companies or hashtags you currently follow. Click Following below the person or company to stop seeing content in your feed from that source. The displayed will change back to Follow.
• Followers – This is a list of people who currently follow you.
Click Done in the top right corner of the page to return to your feed.

Add Hashtags to Your LinkedIn Comments

There are all sorts of ways to weave hashtags into your LinkedIn marketing. I suggest using one or two hashtags in your engagement strategy with a comment only if it makes sense and is appropriate. First and foremost, you never want to take away from the person’s post you are commenting on, with that said, using hashtags to make a further point that enhances the original authors content.

Hashtags in Groups

When creating a post in a LinkedIn group it makes perfect sense to add a hashtag to your post. Because hashtags are searchable, your post inside a group can be found so why not leverage it!

Hashtag Tools/Resources

Hashtagify.me – this tool is great for checking out the popularity and uncover influencers that are using them. They offer a free and paid version of this tool.

Ritetag – Get instant hashtag suggestions for images and texts on desktop and mobile

Trendsmap – shows you the latest Twitter trending hashtags and topics from anywhere in the world. No reason you can’t use these hashtags for LinkedIn

Conclusion

The first use of hashtags was in 2007 and created by online users to discuss specific events and relevant issues and was posted on Twitter. Now we use them to follow current events, industry trends, niche conversations, research and to grow influence. If used both properly and thoughtfully, hashtags can elevate you and your brand. Becoming a socially savvy hashtag user remember to adapt your LinkedIn hashtag strategy to this platform as you would with other social media platforms.

**Originally posted on my blog

There is a difference between price and cost. Price is what you pay for something, and the cost is representative of the value (of which price is only part of the equation). Some people prefer to use price as the value, eliminating all other factors from consideration. Helping clients to recognize and address the other factors can shift them away from looking only at price.

All Things Being Unequal

I am going to use this example from a footnote in my book, Eat Their Lunch. I used to wear Johnston & Murphy shoes. I am incredibly hard on clothes, and J&Ms were durable, with a pair of shoes costing $249 lasting me years. These same shoes now last a year at the most. A friend of mine recommended that I buy Allen Edmunds, where a similar shoe comes with a price of something near $450, or $200 more than I was used to paying.

But because the shoes with the higher price tag last for 5 years, the math makes the higher price shoe the less expensive shoe. Buying the $249 shoe every year for 5 years is $1,245. Buying the $450 shoes is $450 over that same time, a savings of $750 (and a reduction of four extra trips to the shopping mall, which has an equal or greater value than the money for me personally).

Soft Costs Are Expensive

Sometimes the math doesn’t work out this cleanly or neatly. Instead, you have to engage your client about what else they value outside of price, or you have to prompt them with the value by addressing it directly. You have to point them at the additional costs they are going to incur by being cheap, things like missed deadlines, rework, reordering, waiting for product, additional labor, poor speed to market, falling behind their competition, more labor, disappointed clients, lost clients or customers, poor experience, frustrated internal employees, loss of reputation and on and on.

The soft costs your client doesn’t acknowledge often make the lower priced solution more expensive

When your dream client weighs price more heavily than other factors that are equally—or more—important, you are responsible for helping them break through the limitation of this thinking. You are also responsible for not allowing them to underinvest in the results they real need—and avoiding the higher price they pay by being cheap.

The post Helping Your Clients Understand Value appeared first on The Sales Blog.

“In the startup world, resources are like carbs. Resourcefulness is like muscle. When you develop it, it actually stays with you and impacts everything you do going forward.”
— Scott Belsky

Scott Belsky (@scottbelsky) is an entrepreneur, author, investor, Chief Product Officer of Adobe, and venture partner with venture capital firm Benchmark. Scott co-founded Behance in 2006 and served as CEO until Adobe acquired the company in 2012. Millions of people use Behance to display their portfolios, as well as track and find top talent across the creative industries.

Scott is an early investor and advisor in Pinterest, Uber, and Periscope among many other fast-growing startups, and his new book, The Messy Middle: Finding Your Way Through the Hardest and Most Crucial Part of Any Bold Venture, hits the shelves October 2nd.

I urge you to check it out, but until then, please enjoy this interview!

• Listen to it on Apple Podcasts.
• Stream by clicking here.
• Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”

Want to hear another podcast with someone who wears many different hats? — Listen to my conversation with actor, filmmaker, artist, musician, and entrepreneur Joseph Gordon-Levitt! (Stream below or right-click here to download):

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This podcast is brought to you by FreshBooks. FreshBooks is the #1 cloud bookkeeping software, which is used by a ton of the start-ups I advise and many of the contractors I work with. It is the easiest way to send invoices, get paid, track your time, and track your clients.

FreshBooks tells you when your clients have viewed your invoices, helps you customize your invoices, track your hours, automatically organize your receipts, have late payment reminders sent automatically and much more.

Right now you can get a free month of complete and unrestricted use. You do not need a credit card for the trial. To claim your free month and see how the brand new Freshbooks can change your business, go to FreshBooks.com/Tim and enter “Tim Ferriss” in the “how did you hear about us” section.

This episode is also brought to you by LegalZoom. I’ve used this service for many of my businesses, as have quite a few of the icons on this podcast such as Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg of WordPress fame.

LegalZoom is a reliable resource that more than a million people have already trusted for everything from setting up wills, proper trademark searches, forming LLCs, setting up non-profits, or finding simple cease-and-desist letter templates.

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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

Scroll below for links and show notes…

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

• Connect with Scott Belsky:

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

• The Messy Middle: Finding Your Way Through the Hardest and Most Crucial Part of Any Bold Venture by Scott Belsky
• Behance
• Evernote
• LinkedIn
• Everyday (Grand Piano) by Carly Comando
• Cadbury Flake Chocolate Bars
• AppDynamics
• Slack
• Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World by Timothy Ferriss
• Dribbble
• Matte Leao Cha Mate Natural (from Brazil)
• Doling out the Placebo Effect by Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times
• Airbnb
• When to Quit — Lessons from World-Class Entrepreneurs, Investors, Authors, and More, The Tim Ferriss Show
• Alibaba
• The Real Story Of Twitter by Christian Wolan, Forbes
• Pinterest
• “E.L. Doctorow said once said that ‘Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.'” -Anne Lamott
• Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
• Amazon’s Leadership Principles
• This Original Letter From Jeff Bezos to Amazon Shareholders Teaches Some Extraordinary Lessons in Leadership by Justin Bariso, Inc.
• Alphabet
• Amazon Web Services
• Stratechery (Ben Thompson)
• 25iq (Tren Griffin)
• Lux Capital
• Josh Wolfe’s Tesla-Related Tweets
• Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
• The Truth Barrel Sauna
• Rambo: First Blood
• Rick Rubin on Cultivating World-Class Artists (Jay Z, Johnny Cash, etc.), Losing 100+ Pounds, and Breaking Down The Complex, The Tim Ferriss Show
• “Don’t Make Me Angry. You Wouldn’t Like Me When I’m Angry.”
• The Sunk Cost Fallacy by David McRaney, You Are Not So Smart
• Rhode Island School of Design
• MIT Media Lab
• The Laws of Simplicity by John Maeda
• Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
• Obama Reacts to Osama bin Laden Joke Night Before, Chicago Tribune
• The “Wizard” of Hollywood, Robert Rodriguez, The Tim Ferriss Show
• Google’s Skybox Imaging Has New Name, Business Model by Jeff Foust, Space News
• Underwater Dreams
• Carl Jung on Accepting the Darkness of Self and Others, Opravdovy Clovek
• Walker and Company
• What It’s like to Sell Your Startup for ~$120 Million Before It’s Even Launched: Meet Twitter’s New Prized Possession, Periscope by Alyson Shontell, Business Insider
• Lord of the Flies by William Golding
• Leadership Coaching: The 360 Degree Review Process by Bea Fields, Fast Company
• The New Toughness Training for Sports: Mental Emotional Physical Conditioning from One of the World’s Premier Sports Psychologists by James E. Loehr
• Stripe
• Trulioo
• del.icio.us
• Uber
• StumbleUpon
• Adobe
• The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

SHOW NOTES

• Scott elaborates on how eclectic his career has been thus far — from starting Behance to becoming an investor and everything in between. [07:02]
• Scott keeps hundreds of ideas in Evernote. Here’s why he started to organize them and what he learned in the process of breaking them down into three themes: endurance, optimization, and the final mile. [10:47]
• What were Scott and his team trying to create and sell when they started Behance? [13:14]
• What a venture capitalist taught Scott about salaries, heroin, and the occasional need to short-circuit one’s reward system. [15:02]
• What recommendations does Scott have for founders, CEOs, or any kind of leader who needs to keep their team motivated through times of lean rewards? [16:58]
• How Scott would play out best and worst case scenarios for his team. [18:28]
• How helping a team accept the burden of uncertainty is akin to merchandising. [19:47]
• How Scott short-circuits his own reward system, and the music and snacks he allows himself when he’s on track with his goals. [20:56]
• Other methods for getting through tough times in the middle. [23:42]
• What did Scott gain by looking back at old photos from five years of bootstrapping? [25:13]
• It’s easy to get stuck in the mire of what’s not ideal about life without little reminders to keep us going, but sometimes we just have to do the job, regardless. [27:26]
• What emotions does Scott experience by default in times of stress? [30:07]
• What Scott discovered during times when fear would take the driver’s wheel. [31:39]
• How Scott tries to maintain lessons learned from mistakes made under the sway of fear — even though the struggle is still quite real. [33:51]
• How does Scott go through “what if” scenarios? [37:44]
• Suspending disbelief as a tactic towards endurance and what Scott’s father taught him about generating hope in a New York City emergency room with 100cc of Obecalp. [40:24]
• What increasing expectations of a current project by a hundred does to near-term doubts. [41:27]
• The empowerment of naivete. [42:11]
• Self-talk for founders experiencing self-doubt in their industry of choice. [43:44]
• How do you know whether you should quit or persist? [45:18]
• How does Scott assess conviction? [46:49]
• Why Scott believes timing in investing is more about the present than the future. [49:20]
• Building and perpetuating patience into a company’s culture with examples from Amazon and Alphabet/Google. [50:28]
• What online resources does Scott reference for investing and entrepreneurship? [54:54]
• What non-investment content is Scott reading these days? [57:52]
• A leadership lesson from Ernest Shackleton. [58:17]
• This part of the podcast brought to you courtesy of the truth barrel. [1:00:27]
• What anger management wisdom can even-keeled Scott impart to me so I can have a relaxing weekend after a particularly frustrating Friday? How might this apply to someone managing a team? [1:01:11]
• For post-conflict resolution and coping with slow progress, Scott asks what designer and thinker John Maeda would do. [1:09:48]
• Okay. But what should I do? What will I probably do? [1:13:22]
• Compartmentalizing uncertainty. Is a honeymoon irresponsible when your startup isn’t exactly prospering? [1:16:15]
• Admiring people on both sides of the spectrum: from fully professional to emotionally authentic. Toward which side of the spectrum does Scott aspire? [1:17:34]
• Sometimes the job you think you signed up for isn’t the job at all. [1:18:53]
• Sweating and half-naked in a sauna is a perfect time to address optimization. How is resourcefulness like muscle? How did Behance’s first operations leader deal with teams who requested more resources than they really needed? [1:20:40]
• How do I resist the urge to strain my resources? [1:23:44]
• Real-life examples of innovative resourcefulness. [1:25:05]
• In Jack Ma’s counterintuitive view, a startup’s lack of resources is an advantage. [1:26:58]
• Why is initiative more important than experience in the resource-deprived startup world, and what does this look like? [1:27:14]
• How observing initiative in others can make us take better initiative ourselves — and, as a result, better lead by example. [1:28:48]
• What might hiring someone who has experienced adversity bring to your company’s culture? [1:30:51]
• What the Periscope founders impressed upon Scott and why he tries to interview promising senior role candidates twice before deciding who to hire. [1:32:35]
• After a cool-off break, we talk about everyone’s true blind spot, the context of reaction, and the role Scott once played in a Lord of the Flies style scenario. [1:34:38]
• Scott’s experience with something called the mirror exercise and the question it prompted him to start asking others. [1:37:09]
• What a 360 review entails, and why I recommend it to everyone even though it will probably make them feel — as I did — like a broken human being. [1:40:53]
• Is the voice in your head you identify as you really your voice? [1:46:01]
• Escaping the sauna to enjoy the outside world, we engage in product talk and the 30 seconds when all customers are lazy, vain, and selfish. How does not having faith in people seeing the genius of your product inform its improvement? [1:46:57]
• How does Scott’s team stress test a product’s first design and guide its customer’s initial, first-mile experience? [1:51:18]
• A first-mile experience going perfectly doesn’t guarantee a smooth second mile. Early adopters tend to be more forgiving than later waves of customers. [1:52:38]
• “The Devil is in the default”: The most important decision you have to make about your product. [1:54:47]
• Is empathy more important than passion when an entrepreneur needs to make the best choice between two or more products to launch? How does Scott recommend such a choice be made, and what does this choice mean for the team’s work that follows? [1:55:05]
• What’s wrong with putting out a minimally viable product with the intention of making the next iteration better? For what kinds of products might this be a grudging exception? [1:56:25]
• Are you proud of your company’s email address? Why this is often a consideration in the stages of designing a brand before a product has even been developed. [1:59:41]
• The skills and decisions that get a leader through the beginning stages of a product launch are different from the skills necessary to keep it going and see it through acquisition and IPO — if that’s the end game. [2:04:00]
• How one of Scott’s senior staff subconsciously worked to sabotage his own success before the company’s big pay day, and what Scott did to connect and correct the situation. [2:06:44]
• My own experiences with “last-minute churn.” [2:08:35]
• How do you make sure you have a successful final mile? [2:09:55]
• Why I found it necessary to move on from what might have been the lucky success of my first book. [2:11:31]
• What to expect from The Messy Middle, Scott’s upcoming book. [2:13:46]
• Parting thoughts. [2:16:41]

PEOPLE MENTIONED

• Fred Wilson
• Beyonce
• Carly Comando
• David Wadhwani
• Derek Sivers
• Whitney Cummings
• Molly
• Larry Page
• Ben Silbermann
• Anne Lamott
• E.L. Doctorow
• Naval Ravikant
• Ben Thompson
• Tren Griffin
• Bill Gates
• Josh Wolfe
• Doris Kearns Goodwin
• Walter Isaacson
• Ernest Shackleton
• Rick Rubin
• Hulk
• John Maeda
• Yoda
• Barack Obama
• Osama bin Laden
• Robert Rodriguez
• Will Allen
• Jack Ma
• Carl Jung
• Tristan Walker
• Kayvon Beykpour
• Joe Bernstein
• Dave Marin
• Garrett Camp
• Chris Dixon

"Is it worth it to start paying for a premium LinkedIn account?"

I can always count on hearing this question during the Q&A portion of my LinkedIn presentations.

My latest LinkedIn user survey showed 20 percent of respondents have upgraded to one of the paid LinkedIn accounts—up from 15 percent a few years ago. More people are discovering specific features that work well for them, and they upgrade because they want more of those goodies. After five years of using a free account, I personally upgraded to a paid account in 2013.

To view a chart that outlines the additional features you will receive with the various types of paid accounts, do an internet search for “LinkedIn premium options.”
.

Who typically should upgrade to a paid LinkedIn account?

Consider moving to one of the paid accounts if you are:
.

• A human resources professional
• A recruiter
• A sales professional who uses LinkedIn extensively for business development purposes
• Someone who consistently runs into the screen that says you should upgrade

If you are regularly seeing the screen that suggests you should upgrade, you are probably using a LinkedIn feature that is working for you, and you may want to consider upgrading to one of the paid accounts. For example, if you like to send InMails, prefer to do an unlimited number of searches or would like to have more saved search alerts, you may want to upgrade your LinkedIn account.

In general, I do not recommend moving to a paid account unless you fall into one of the four categories listed above. However, in order to encourage more of us to pay for LinkedIn on a monthly basis, there will undoubtedly be more and more valuable new features available exclusively to premium members.
.

Features available to premium members

This is certainly not an exhaustive list of LinkedIn’s premium features, but here are a few features you might find useful:

More saved search alerts. The free account includes three saved searches. Many power users (including me) find this feature to be extremely valuable and well worth the money.

Longer list of search results. You get up to 100 results on the free account, but a longer list could mean more leads and thus more income.

Who’s Viewed Your Profile? With a free account, you can only see the last five people who have scoped you out. An upgraded account lets you see everyone who’s looked at your profile (unless they’ve blocked their name) in the last 90 days. This is one of the main reasons I finally broke down and upgraded my account.

Additional advanced search filters. I especially like being able to filter by company size.

InMails. An InMail is a direct message you can send to people who are not part of your first-level network. The number of InMails you are allotted per month varies based on the type of premium account you purchase, but you can purchase additional InMails for $10 each. However, before buying an InMail, be sure to check if you are in a group with your target, because common group membership enables you to send a free message. Also, if the recipient of your InMail replies within seven days, LinkedIn gives you a $10 credit.

The cost of InMails may seem a little steep, but many people find the extra income that results from response to their InMails actually covers the cost of their upgraded account.

Only you can determine whether a premium account will be worth your investment. Personally, I’m currently on the Sales Navigator Professional version, and I’m happy I upgraded my account because I’ve gotten quite a bit of new business by contacting people who have viewed my profile and sending InMails to people outside my network.

But if you choose to upgrade and later decide you’re not getting as much value as you’d like from your premium account, it’s easy to cancel your subscription and return to a free account. However, please note that if you pay for your subscription annually (rather than monthly) to save money and you want to return to a free account or move to a different premium level, LinkedIn will not refund your money.

If you'd like to learn more about the very best Sales Navigator features, check out my article "Is LinkedIn Sales Navigator Worth the Money?"

So, as you can see, the answer to whether it is worth the money to start paying for LinkedIn is yes, no or maybe. For me, it's definitely worth it, because I do a lot of searches for prospecting purposes.

If you'd like a personal tour and evaluation of Sales Navigator, sign up here for one of my specially priced $197 one-on-one, one-hour LinkedIn consultations.

I will share my computer screen with you during the call and send you a critiqued copy of your profile prior to the call.

There are limited spots available, so don't delay. Book your session today by clicking here.

 

The post What Are You Missing by NOT Paying for LinkedIn? appeared first on Wayne Breitbarth.

Sales optimization is the soup du jour in the sales world – every company is working hard to streamline processes and bring in revenue faster. While it’s important to optimize every bell and whistle you can, it’s also important to understand that growth is not only about getting more leads into the pipeline or more customers to sign on the dotted line. You’ve got things like the buyer’s journey to consider, the importance of decreasing churn, and a whole lot more if you really want your company to grow. Tiffani Bova writes about these topics and more in her new book, “Growth I.Q.” and she’s Anthony’s guest to talk about them, on this episode of In The Arena.

Hear .@Tiffani_Bova speak about #sales optimization, the buyer’s journey, and expanding into new markets on this episode of #InTheArena with @Iannarino.Click To Tweet

Churn can actually be leveraged as an offensive strategy

Most of the time when sales organizations address the issue of churn, they approach it defensively, like there’s a problem to be fixed or someone to blame. While it’s true that you may have adjustments to make that can decrease the churn rate in your sales process, it’s is often an indication that rather than being defensive you need to go on the offense when it comes to existing customer relationships. Tiffani Bova explains how you can use churn to reveal ways you can keep the gold you already have, in this conversation.

When is expansion into new markets a good idea?

One of the ways large companies attempt growth is through the expansion of the company into new or foreign markets. But Tiffani Bova doesn’t think that’s always the best idea. In her mind, you have to ask yourself a vital question before proceeding. What’s the question? “Can what you’re doing successfully in your existing market(s) be replicated EXACTLY in the new one?” In other words, you need to analyze whether the things you’re doing so successfully in your present market are easily transferable to the potential opportunities you see elsewhere. If you don’t take the time to figure this one out you could spend months and lots of money only to discover that your efforts in the new market are not going to gain anything.

When is expansion into new markets a good idea? @Tiffani_Bova explain the key question to ask yourself before expanding on this episode of #InTheArena with @Iannarino. #salesClick To Tweet

Sales optimization and the buyer’s journey are very different things

Sales optimization is about processes and procedures. It might include the way things are done as well as the successful integration of a tech stack that makes the process itself smooth and quick. It’s a linear process: this happens, then this, then this. The buyer’s journey is not linear at all – it’s a very circuitous route that customers travel according to their unique biases, needs, and fears. Tiffani Bova points out that too many sales organizations try to stuff their customer’s journeys into their sales optimization efforts like square pegs into round holes. It simply won’t work and the customer winds up being served poorly. You can hear Tiffani’s insights nad recommendations on this episode.

Your invitation to the very best sales conference you’ve ever attended

The Outbound Conference is like no other sales conference you’ve attended…. and for two days of stellar content that moves your sales success forward, the ticket price is ridiculously low. The conference addresses something no other event does – how to keep your pipeline full of high-value prospects. Four giants in the sales world, Anthony Iannarino, Mark Hunter, Mike Weinberg, and Jeb Blount bring you the sessions and you’ll also be led through your choice of sixteen high-impact training tracks delivered by today’s top speakers, authors, and experts. Join Anthony and his friends in Atlanta, April 23-26, 2019. Get your tickets here: http://outbound.ticketspice.com/outbound-2019

Here is your personal invitation to the very best #sales conference you’ve ever attended. http://outbound.ticketspice.com/outbound-2019 @iannarinoClick To Tweet

Outline of this great episode

• The hunger for sales growth was the motivation behind Tiffani’s book
• There is a lot of thinking to do about sales strategies. It’s not a template approach
• How can you think about churn in a practical, actionable way?
• Is expansion into new markets the right strategy?
• What is sales optimization and how should it be approached?
• Why the case studies alone are worth the price of the book

Resources & Links mentioned in this episode

• Tiffani’s website: http://www.tiffanibova.com/
• Tiffani on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffanibova/
• Tiffani on Twitter: @Tiffani_Bova
• Tiffani’s BOOK: Growth I.Q.
• Dreamforce
• Salesforce
• The Iannarino Sales Accelerator – 833-426-6274
• The Outbound Conference – get tickets: http://outbound.ticketspice.com/outbound-2019
• Anthony’s planner: www.B2BSalesToolkit.com
• BOOK: The Lost Art of Closing

The theme song “Into the Arena” is written and produced by Chris Sernel. You can find it on Soundcloud

Connect with Anthony

Website: www.TheSalesBlog.com

Youtube: www.Youtube.com/Iannarino

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iannarino

Twitter: https://twitter.com/iannarino

Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/+SAnthonyIannarino

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iannarino

Tweets you can use to share this episode

Churn in your #sales cycle can actually be leveraged as an offensive strategy. Hear how @Tiffani_Bova explains it on this episode of #InTheArena with @IannarinoClick To Tweet #Sales optimization and the buyer’s journey are very different things. @Tiffani_Bova explains why on this episode of #InTheArena with @IannarinoClick To Tweet

The post Tiffani Bova on Sales Optimization, The Buyer’s Journey, and Expanding Into New Markets – Episode #113 appeared first on The Sales Blog.

The sales process is all too often a glaring source of inefficiency within businesses. Companies can address this problem by getting set up with CRM software and committing to a more systematic process.

Disorganization in the sales process

There’s nothing worse than losing out on a lead’s business because of structural disorganization. Clever marketing campaigns and good products won’t help much if sales representatives don’t contact prospects at the opportune moment. Removing this disorganization can have a big impact on sales.

Replace intuition with a systematic process

Intuition is often the source of disorganization in the sales process. Sales representatives are used to scheduling meetings based on their gut feeling, as opposed to sales metrics. By committing to a more systematic process, sales representatives will get in touch with more leads at the appropriate time.

Get in the habit of documenting often

This is where CRM software comes into play. With it, sales representatives can document meetings and save noteworthy data in relation to customers. The more data your business collects, the more you’ll know about prospective customers and their buyer personas.

The key here is to make documentation a habit. According to this Forbes article, this small difference can make a big difference in terms of sales numbers:

“As it relates to utilizing a CRM, I have found that by documenting often and letting the technology manage me, I was 10 times more efficient and my sales numbers backed up my argument. The discipline of using a CRM helped me build stronger relationships with my customers. I always remembered who to call and when to call them.”

When all sales representatives adopt this habit, you’ll have a valuable database of customer information. They can then refer to this data to prepare for customer meetings.

Identify the customer data you want

To get the most out of CRM, you need to identify exactly what you want to find out about customers. According to this Forbes article, this means prioritizing the questions you ask in qualifying forms:

“Optimize tasks by defining standard question and qualifying forms that will make it easy for reps to rapidly record critical information that your automated workflow can instantly record into your CRM.”

The more data you collect, the more trends and relationships you’ll find. Over time, you’ll learn how to create targeted qualifying forms that give you the insights you’re looking for.

Bring old customers back

Returning customers are more profitable than new ones. Bringing them back is the key for long-term growth.

By analyzing CRM data, you’ll identify certain patterns in a customer’s purchase history. This Entrepreneur article explains how you can use this to bring customers back:

“More engagement, with a good strategy in place, will equal more sales. You can’t be passive and just hope people will come back. You must have your staff engage your customers with new, and better, buying opportunities. With a good CRM in place, you can cross-reference the data with any new incentives you have on specific products to create more targeted prospects.”

If a sales representative sees that a particular customer places a similar order at the end of each quarter, for example, then they can reconnect with that customer a few weeks earlier in anticipation of the sale. This is a simple, yet effective way of bringing old customers back before they have time to check out your competitors.

Despite how some experts talk about it, CRM isn’t magic. But if you use it for what it is and document relevant data, then you’ll have the tools to make your sales process more systematic and efficient.

Originally published here.

The 65 software firms on the 2018 Growth 500 ranking of Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies grew their revenues an average of 941% between 2012 and 2017. Collectively they employed 7,507 full time-equivalent employees in 2017. Here is the complete list of Canada’s fastest-growing software companies.

1. Prodigy Game
Growth 500: 3
Growth (2012–2017): 9,230%
Revenue (2017): $10–20 million
Headquarters: Burlington, Ont.
What it does: Develops online math games for children

2. Maropost
Growth 500: 5
Growth (2012–2017): 7,855%
Revenue (2017): $20–50 million
Headquarters: Toronto, Ont.
What it does: Develops digital marketing and sales software

3. Buyatab Online
Growth 500: 13
Growth (2012–2017): 4,626%
Revenue (2017): $50–100 million
Headquarters: Vancouver, B.C.
What it does: Operates a platform that helps merchants sell online gift cards

4. TouchBistro
Growth 500: 24
Growth (2012–2017): 2,917%
Revenue (2017): $10–20 million
Headquarters: Toronto, Ont.
What it does: Provides point-of-sale software for the food service industry

5. Diff
Growth 500: 26
Growth (2012–2017): 2,641%
Revenue (2017): $5–10 million
Headquarters: Montreal, Que.
What it does: Provides diversified e-commerce solutions

6. Martello Technologies
Growth 500: 28
Growth (2012–2017): 2,231%
Revenue (2017): $5–10 million
Headquarters: Ottawa, Ont.
What it does: Develops performance management software for communications systems

7. Motoinsight
Growth 500: 32
Growth (2012–2017): 2,033%
Revenue (2017): $5–10 million
Headquarters: Toronto, Ont.
What it does: Operates digital retailing platforms for car buyers and sellers

8. Volanté Systems
Growth 500: 42
Growth (2012–2017): 1,569%
Revenue (2017): $5–10 million
Headquarters: Toronto, Ont.
What it does: Develops and sells point-of-sale software for the food management and operations industry

9. sMedia
Growth 500: 53
Growth (2012–2017): 1,397%
Revenue (2017): $2–5 million
Headquarters: Regina, Sask.
What it does: Provides automated advertising software to clients in the automotive industry

10. DashThis
Growth 500: 58
Growth (2012–2017): 1,302%
Revenue (2017): $2–5 million
Headquarters: Quebec City, Que.
What it does: Helps marketers and agencies create automated marketing reports

11. Fiix Software
Growth 500: 63
Growth (2012–2017): 1,253%
Revenue (2017): US$5–10 million
Headquarters: Toronto, Ont.
What it does: Provides cloud-based software for industrial maintenance and asset management

12. Unbounce
Growth 500: 66
Growth (2012–2017): 1,201%
Revenue (2017): $20–50 million
Headquarters: Vancouver, B.C.
What it does: Provides marketers with a customizable landing page and conversion tool builder

13. Traction on Demand
Growth 500: 72
Growth (2012–2017): 1,140%
Revenue (2017): $20–50 million
Headquarters: Burnaby, B.C.
What it does: Develops and consults on cloud-based software, specializing in Salesforce.com implementations

14. Vena Solutions
Growth 500: 75
Growth (2012–2017): 1,130%
Revenue (2017): $20–50 million
Headquarters: Toronto, Ont.
What it does: Offers cloud-based budgeting, planning and forecasting software

15. Gsoft
Growth 500: 90
Growth (2012–2017): 963%
Revenue (2017): $20–50 million
Headquarters: Montreal, Que.
What it does: Develops workplace-efficiency and employee-engagement software

16. Simplex Mobility
Growth 500: 93
Growth (2012–2017): 923%
Revenue (2017): $2–5 million
Headquarters: Edmonton, Alta.
What it does: Provides software that allows enterprise clients to manage telecom usage and expenses

17. Clearbridge Mobile
Growth 500: 94
Growth (2012–2017): 918%
Revenue (2017): $5–10 million
Headquarters: Vaughan, Ont.
What it does: Develops custom mobile apps for businesses

18. PageFreezer.com
Growth 500: 97
Growth (2012–2017): 900%
Revenue (2017): $2–5 million
Headquarters: Vancouver, B.C.
What it does: Archives websites and social media data for companies and government agencies

19. Helcim
Growth 500: 98
Growth (2012–2017): 897%
Revenue (2017): $20–50 million
Headquarters: Calgary, Alta.
What it does: Hosts a cloud-based merchant platform for small businesses

20. MobileLIVE
Growth 500: 99
Growth (2012–2017): 894%
Revenue (2017): $20–50 million
Headquarters: Richmond Hill, Ont.
What it does: Provides diverse software and app development services

21. eCompliance
Growth 500: 101
Growth (2012–2017): 884%
Revenue (2017): $2–5 million
Headquarters: Toronto, Ont.
What it does: Produces cloud-based worker safety management software

22. Appnovation
Growth 500: 105
Growth (2012–2017): 859%
Revenue (2017): $20–50 million
Headquarters: Vancouver, B.C.
What it does: Provides open-source software development, IT services and consulting

23. Copperleaf
Growth 500: 108
Growth (2012–2017): 843%
Revenue (2017): $20–50 million
Headquarters: Vancouver, B.C.
What it does: Develops decision analytics software that helps companies manage infrastructure and assets

24. TWG (The Working Group)
Growth 500: 116
Growth (2012–2017): 782%
Revenue (2017): $10–20 million
Headquarters: Toronto, Ont.
What it does: Develops software and mobile apps for startups and innovators

25. Smile.io
Growth 500: 117
Growth (2012–2017): 779%
Revenue (2017): $2–5 million
Headquarters: Kitchener, Ont.
What it does: Creates and implements turnkey reward programs for e-commerce merchants

More fast-growing software companies:

26. Neovation Learning Solutions (No. 132); 27. Vendasta (No. 142); 28. TextNow (No. 149); 29. Xpertdoc (No. 164); 30. InGenius Software (No. 173); 31. Big Viking Games (No. 174); 32. Advisor Websites (No. 180); 33. ScreenScape (No. 190); 34. BSM Technologies (No. 195); 35. LawDepot.com (No. 200); 36. Ciao (No. 211); 37. Fleet Complete (No. 221); 38. Real Estate Webmasters (No. 232); 39. Geotab (No. 237); 40. Digital Echidna (No. 241); 41. Upstream Works Software (No. 258); 42. Agreement Express (No. 268); 43. Shared (No. 272); 44. Cority (No. 276); 45. DataCandy (No. 277); 46. Indellient (No. 289); 47. Yardstick Software (No. 301); 48. gShift (No. 305); 49. Convergent IS (No. 324); 50. NetFore Systems (No. 330); 51. Easy Projects (No. 337); 52. iQmetrix (No. 342); 53. i-Sight (No. 349); 54. Global Relay (No. 352); 55. Doxim (No. 356); 56. V2V Technologies (No. 361); 57. Archon Systems (No. 362); 58. DMS (No. 374); 59. Points (No. 386); 60. Optimus Information (No. 389); 61. Spiria (No. 399); 62. AppCentrica (No. 406); 63. Libéo (No. 412); 64. Orbis Communications (No. 434); 65. CoreHealth Technologies (No. 448);

The post Meet Canada’s Fastest-Growing Software Companies: 2018 Growth 500 appeared first on Canadian Business - Your Source For Business News.

It isn’t easy to get a sales gig at Home Painters Toronto. For Brian Young, the CEO of the Toronto-based company (2018 Growth 500: No. 205), the hunt for a new addition to his sales team is an intricate, multi-step process. He’s looking for so-called “farmers,” people who want to sow long-term relationships, and it takes some work to tease that out.  The process starts by having candidates fill out an online questionnaire to ascertain whether they have the qualifications he’s looking for. Sample questions include “What kind of people do you find it difficult to work with?” and, “Can you tell me about a time when you needed to be extremely proactive?” If a candidate makes it past the initial questionnaire, the tests then begin. Young will ask a potential hire to call him at an irregular time—like 9:30 p.m. on a Sunday night—mirroring the unconventional work hours he sometimes requires of his sales team. He also likes to change the time and location of an in-person interview at the last minute, testing a candidate’s ability to pivot quickly without getting flustered. “I like to refer to the interview process as ‘running the gauntlet,’” says Young. Young knows as well as anyone that it’s hard to find good salespeople. Finding likeminded, customer-focused and highly motivated reps who can close, and who won’t quickly leave to chase the next big thing, is a chronic frustration for many business leaders. For entrepreneurs—many of whom never fully shed their early role as chief salesperson—the struggle can be especially acute.  While Young’s techniques may seem to be a touch idiosyncratic, they clearly work: Home Painters Toronto grew revenue by 348% from 2012 to 2017, and that wouldn’t have been possible without a strong sales bench. His story, and those of his peers on the 2018 Growth 500 ranking of Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies, prove that it is possible—and, with the right choices, relatively simple—to translate an entrepreneur’s innate hustle into a motivated and effective sales army capable of propelling exponential growth.

Know who you want

When it comes to salespeople, you have to know what and who you’re looking for—something that can be a challenge, say Sonya Meloff, founding partner at Sales Talent Agency (No. 446), a sales recruitment company based in Toronto. “We go into some companies and ask sales leaders what they look for, and they all put their hands to their chins, look to the left and right, and then say something like, ‘I like someone who’s really sporty,’” she says. In other words, they look for easy markers of a competitive spirit. By contrast, when Meloff looks for new talent, she focuses in on several traits, including natural goal-setting tendencies, the ability to overcome obstacles, leadership aptitude and an appreciation for expertise. “The ability to achieve goals while faced with obstacles is what truly differentiates ambition from drive—and the latter is a key trait for success in sales,” she says. Ben Hogervorst, CEO of Lucknow, Ont.-based Britespan Building Systems (No. 454), which builds temporary, permanent and portable structures, has learned through trial and error the value of personality fit in sales. He’s found the most successful hires have been those who really understand the friendly-but-no-nonsense style preferred by the company’s clientele. “Our customers just want to come in, tell you what they need and have you give it to them,” he says. “Analytical types will drive my customers crazy, doing 25 quotes for them.” Hogervorst pays particularly close attention to body language during the interview process, preferring candidates who are highly attentive, who lean forward in their chairs, make eye contact, smile and demonstrate enthusiasm. “Attitude is contagious and positive salespeople give consumers more confidence in what they’re buying,” he says. 

Train your managers

As important as it is to find quality candidates to fill sales roles in a growing business, it’s even more key to ensure you have good people managing them. Many entrepreneurial businesses don’t hire dedicated sales managers until they’ve reached a certain scale—and when they do, they often find the fit isn’t right. “If salespeople are failing, the first place to look is their managers,” says Jason Jordan, co-author of the 2011 book Cracking the Sales Management Code.  Part of the problem, says Jordan, is that employers tend to take successful salespeople and promote them into management roles. That might seem a logical progression, but the skills that make a good salesperson are different than those that make a good sales manager. Without the right training, a rep-turned-manager is unlikely to succeed. Bad sales managers don’t just lead to poor sales performance; they can also create retention issues. “Sales manager training tends to fall into a few buckets: general leadership training and generic coaching,” says Jordan. “But that’s not really what they do. They’re managing sales pipelines, creating forecasts, and spending time with their people to help them win deals and penetrate accounts—and that’s the kind of training they need.” That training can take a lot of forms: Mentorship, online courses, books and, increasingly, events. Sales Talent Agency’s Meloff, who has also observed a lack of formal sales management training, points to events run by such organizations as SalesTO and Enterprise Sales Forum as great opportunities for sales managers to network and learn.

Be free with feedback

Most salespeople thrive on information­—the more, the better. “Salespeople are different from other people in an organization,” says Herb MacKenzie, associate professor of marketing at Brock University’s Goodman School of Business. “They like the excitement and challenge of closing deals on a regular basis, but they also need to be shown new opportunities.” MacKenzie recommends providing formal feedback three or four times a year, but informal feedback on a weekly basis. “There shouldn’t be a week that goes by when the sales manager doesn’t talk to a salesperson about how they’re doing.”  The love for feedback ties, in part, to the common need among salespeople for validation—which can be essential in a role full of rejection. “The best validation a salesperson can get is closing a sale, but salespeople lose sales opportunities frequently,” MacKenzie says. “This makes feedback from sales managers much more important.” At Document Imaging Partners (No. 471), a Breslau, Ont.-based data management company, this takes the form of a weekly sales meeting comprising equal parts scrum, workshop and post-mortem. Every Monday, the entire sales team gathers for three hours to go through all aspects of the sales process, including tips to start that initial phone call and understanding ongoing customer needs. “We do role-playing,” says co-CEO Carole Dunkley. “Our reps have a chance to troubleshoot obstacles they may have encountered during the week.” The process takes up time and resources, but Dunkley says it keeps all the reps on the same page, with the added benefit of lifting morale. Another spirit-booster? When a sales rep makes a win, Document Imaging Partners shares that news with the whole team, and even blows an air horn in the head office.

Simplify, simplify

Research has demonstrated that the most motivating thing for salespeople is not compensation, but having a very clear task to accomplish. “Incentives and rewards are important, but when salespeople have a very clear idea of what they need to succeed, then they’re more motivated to do it,” says Jordan. He recommends setting one key, measurable objective for each salesperson—whether that’s winning back customers, acquiring new ones or cross-selling products into existing accounts—then limiting the scope of her job to include only the most important tasks achieving that goal.  That clarity can have stunning results. Sherri-Lynn Teri, the other co-CEO at Document Imaging Partners, notes that her organization has recently reduced the amount of red tape expected of their sales team. “We really want them to have time to just focus on sales,” she says. “There are only so many hours available in a day, and administrative tasks can actually give sales reps an excuse to not prospect as much as they should.” This change necessitated the creation of a new admin role, but it’s allowing sellers to sell, which is proving popular with both reps and, crucially, clients. At Sales Talent Agency, Meloff is also a champion of simplifying the work of her sales team. She encourages her reps to focus on things they can control—like the number of phone calls they make, or emails they send—rather than outcomes. “If you’re placing targets on the right activities, the results will follow,” she says. Patience, she adds, is key: “It can take a couple of years before salespeople hit their stride with targets. It’s up to the company to ensure the right activity is happening, that there’s progress in terms of learning, making more targeted outreaches, understanding clients and asking better questions.” If this measured approach seems like a slog, consider that it has helped Sales Talent Agency more than double its revenue in the past five years. That kind of growth doesn’t happen when salespeople are disengaged—and it sure doesn’t happen by fluke.

The post How to build a stellar sales force appeared first on Canadian Business - Your Source For Business News.

There are a lot of innovations that you can use to grow your business. In this post, we are going to look at some of the technologies that you can use today that will help your business increase productivity, generate leads, boost sales and keep your reputation safe.

1) CRM Systems

A customer relationship management system or CRM system helps businesses to track customer interactions and keep contact details up to date. There are various CRM options to choose from enterprise solutions like Salesforce to free solutions such as Hubspot and Zoho.

With a CRM system, you will be able to better manage your clients in your acquisition funnel, nurture leads, create upselling opportunities and improve customer lifetime value.

CRMs can be linked to your epos system or your website so that you can collect and manage new leads and customers.

2) Inbound Marketing Software

If you do not currently have an inbound marketing strategy for your business, you are missing out on a huge potential to generate new leads and sales for your business.

Inbound marketing can work in a wide range of different industries from ecommerce, manufacturing, engineering, financial, IT and marketing.

What is inbound marketing?

Inbound marketing is creating valuable content that provides a positive impact on potential customers and your business.

It is a method of “attracting” leads to your business rather than “pulling” them. Hubspot describes inbound marketing as “a method of attracting, engaging, and delighting people to grow a business that provides value and builds trust.”

There are a lot of inbound marketing software solutions currently available for your business. Most marketing platforms are paid solutions. The most popular inbound marketing software you can choose from includes Hubspot, Pardot or Marketo.

Which platform that best suits your company comes down to your budget, your current CRM system, and your overall preference. Ideally, to have an inbound marketing solution, you need to have a dedicated marketing team or have an agency managing the content creation for you.

3) Cyber Security Software

Cybersecurity is becoming a hot topic as of late with more and more cyber attacks on companies and data breaches from large organizations from around the world.

Personal information is becoming a commodity for cybercriminals and as a result, organizations that store customers’ personal information are becoming a target for cyber-attacks.

Organizations can implement cybersecurity software on all work devices, while large corporations can implement staff awareness programs to reduce the risk of a data breach.

For employee computers, internet security software should be used including the use of spam filters. Cybersecurity specialists MetaCompliance state that “96% of data breaches originate from email”.

As the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force in mid-2018, there are large fines for companies who misuse or who fail to disclose a data breach affecting personal information belonging to EU citizens. By investing in cybersecurity software, you can protect not only your company but also your reputation.

4) IoT

The internet of things or IoT offers exciting new opportunities for businesses in a wide range of sectors. IoT provides efficiency and economic benefits across all industries.

For labor-intensive industries such as manufacturing, IoT allows for decreased dependency on humans. The use of robots in production provides more productivity through increased output, a reduction in the need for quality control. Other benefits include employee safety in high-risk environments.

Artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning is another element of IoT that is helping to revolutionize business. The use of chatbots on websites that can learn to communicate to customers is a game changer for the ecommerce and customer services sectors.

5) Automation

There are lots of automation technologies available for businesses today. The growth of AI is helping customer services through automated systems. Marketing is becoming automated regarding email automation, social media automation platforms and through data collection. These advancements are just the tip of the iceberg.

Automation software can help small business owners to manage mundane tasks so they can continue working on the tasks that will grow their business. Some simple platforms like IFTTT and Zapier help to automate social media and emails. Automation bots can be coded so that more complex processes can also be automated.

Automation extends to the production sector where robots can work essentially 24 hours a day, producing products. AI can regulate systems in power plants, and computers can be coded to be able to repair problems in other computers.

The boundaries for automation are endless. If you analyze the processes in your business, you can now pinpoint where you can improve it through automation.

The technologies above offer a huge opportunity for businesses to increase their revenue, improve productivity and contain their costs. Technology for business continues to improve year on year, and your company fails to adopt these technologies you could potentially miss out on these opportunities for your organization.

For knowledge workers in the 21st century, efficiency and productivity are still integral to being seen as a “success.” We value writers who can produce 10 pieces of content each day, and we look to investing personalities for advice on what 10 trades to make to maximize our portfolios. But what if we could reframe…

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Based on a lot of articles that are being written, Lately, marketing metrics are increasingly important to everyone. Especially to B2B companies.

A recent study by Demand Gen found that 87% of B2B marketers that they talked to said: “marketing measurement and reporting are a growing priority for their organization.” Here’s another surprise. Only 7% of these B2B marketers said their measurement efforts were excellent, and that’s a 6% drop from 2017!

When I talk with business owners and marketers one of the questions that I always ask is “how often do you review your analytics reports.” My unscientific result to this question is that 80% of the people, that I ask that question of, look at their analytics reports less than once a month, with many more looking at their reports only a couple of times a year.

Apparently, I’m not alone. Harvard Business Review had an article that reviewed a study of Chief Marketing Officers, conducted by Duke University. These CMO’s said that they are planning huge investments in analytics over the next three years. As a percentage of their marketing budget, these CMO’s are going to go from spending 5.8% of their marketing dollars on analytics to spending, on average 17.3% of their marketing budget on analytics. That’s HUGE! This is an increase in spending of 198%!

It doesn’t seem to make sense. One of the biggest benefits of digital marketing is the ability to measure marketing results. Digital marketing can also help measure traditional marketing channels if campaigns are setup properly before their start.

So, that got me to wondering why this is happening. The demand for metrics is increasing. Pressure on marketing teams to demonstrate effectiveness is at an all-time high, but people are still not reviewing their numbers on a regular basis.

Who Owns The Data

I’m starting to see a pretty common theme, at least when it comes to web data. In many companies, there hasn’t been a plan put in place that places the ownership of data to any one department or person. Is web data taken care of by IT or by Marketing? Who is responsible for getting the data out of the system.

This is one of the great divides of digital marketing, the technology. Many marketers aren’t confident that they can get the data from their system, without causing problems. The IT dept is more than happy to pull out the data, but they’re not sure what data marketing is looking for. So, nobody owns the data.

Data Dumping

The other issue with getting the marketing metrics, which you need to prove marketing value, is the vast volume of data that is available. There are multi-day training seminars that are built around just Google Analytics. There is so much data available it can easily become overwhelming trying to sort the data you need from the data that you don’t need.

In fact, Janneke van Geuns, head of insights and analytics at Google said: “collecting more data isn’t going to bring about better insights.” And, Janneke is just talking about the data that’s available within Google Analytics (GA). The amount of data will overwhelm you if you don’t have a clear picture of what you’re trying to communicate. Trying to manage too many metrics is worse than managing no metrics, at all. Managing large amounts of data require large amounts of resources to track and produce reams of data that call for substantial time and effort to analyze.

How To Use Data

So, now that we’ve covered why I believe we have a conflict between what CMO’s and business owners want, more marketing metrics, and what they are getting, little marketing metrics, we can start to look at how to get the marketing metrics that everyone wants without the mind-numbing work involved in getting the information.

• Step One

  • Goals: Define exactly what you are trying to communicate with your data. Do you really want to know how many people are coming to your website? Or, are you trying to communicate how many people are coming to your website that are in the geography that you do business in?
  • KPI’s: What will be the Key Performance Indicators that you will use to measure results. If you’re trying to increase traffic to your site within your business geography, what report will you use to communicate those reports? Here’s one way to produce a report that will give you that answer.

• Step Two

  • Consistency: Once you’ve decided on what data will give you the information that you need and what report to use to present that data, be sure that you provide that information consistently and within the same format until a major change is required.
  • Business Support: Be sure that all of your reporting supports business objectives. Reporting on the traffic that is coming to your site, alone, doesn’t show value. Traffic that is coming to your site from a campaign that ultimately converts on your site, now that has value.
  • Holistic Data: Use data from all of the available sources that you have to tell the whole story. GA will tell you how much traffic is coming from your social accounts. That information would be even more valuable if you knew what post or what type of post drove most of that traffic from your social account. Use the tools necessary to get all of the information. Contact us on how to get specific data from your social platforms.
  • 
    Data Visualization: Tired of creating spreadsheets until your eyes cross? Setting up a data visualization dashboard will cut hours out of your reporting tasks and keep all of the people that need to know what’s happening, in the know all the time.

Conclusion

Digital marketing has been a game changer for marketers and business owners, but you have to setup your analytics reports with the data that gives you the answers to your business questions. Then, you have to make sure that you’ve established a method to receive those reports on a consistent basis. You’ll be amazed at how easy decisions will be, when you are using the right data to help you make them.

The start of a new company is rewarding, exciting, and completely overwhelming. Every new business comes with a host of new issues and responsibilities that generally fall to the entrepreneur. But one person can’t possibly cover every position in a startup, so then there’s the issue of hiring.

One of those hiring needs is for marketing. Establishing your brand and spreading the word is vital to the early stages of your business. You need a well-defined target audience, and you need to constantly be attracting that audience.

If you’re an overwhelmed entrepreneur and you need a marketing team to spread the word about your startup, where should you begin? Marketing takes a lot of skills—at a minimum, your marketing department is likely to need 2-4 people. You have to think about brand development, content creation, digital marketing, and PR, among other things.

But your business is a startup, and you’re trying to minimize expenses. Hiring 4 people is expensive! There’s not only salary to think about, but also benefits and maybe amenities. If they’ll be working in an office, you need space for 4 people, and you may need to provide equipment too. You’ll need email addresses and digital collaboration tools. Then there are the costs of onboarding that many people, and the long-term costs of turnover for 4 people. The costs add up quickly!

So what’s your best chance at achieving a high ROI in your marketing department?

Marketing Unicorn = High ROI

You need a Marketing Unicorn! Instead of hiring four people, you hire one of the rare marketers who is good at everything. Marketing Unicorns blend creative genius, resourcefulness, and marketing fundamentals to do the work of an entire marketing department. In addition to the lower costs associated with one person instead of four, you also save the costs of knowledge transfer and communication. A Marketing Unicorn can spend more time creating value for your business while bringing you a higher return on your investment.

Check for a broad range of capabilities—like marketing strategy, brand positioning, social media, public relations, sales enablement, creative development, content strategy, and digital marketing—to find your Marketing Unicorn.

If you do find one, you have the powerful opportunity to bring a wealth of knowledge and energy into your startup at a fraction of the cost of multiple employees. The full-time cost of a single employee is, of course, less than that of four employees, but you may also be able to work with a Marketing Unicorn on a freelance or consultant basis.

A Marketing Unicorn can help your small business or startup even with little or no marketing budget. They’ll help you reach the right audience for crucial growth and supply you with the right marketing tools and resources to scale your business.

Marketing Unicorns are a rare breed and sometimes difficult to find (that’s why they’re unicorns!), but today may be your lucky day.

Originally published here.

The first day on the market, their supply of camelina oil completely sold out. All 19 bottles, in just one hour. It was early, and welcome, proof they had a hit. “We were super ecstatic,” says Natasha Vandenhurk, recalling the day she and her sister, Elysia, launched Three Farmers brand camelina oil at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market in 2011. Bolstered, they decided to try to sell to health food stores, which were few and far between in Saskatchewan. So, they packed a car with camelina oil and set off for Toronto to knock on some doors. Seven years later, with 11 employees and five-year sales growth of 476%—enough to land at No. 170 on the 2018 Growth 500 ranking, Three Farmers camelina oil and snacks are available everywhere from airport tuck shops to major grocery chains across Canada; American distribution is in the works. The sisters have appeared twice on CBC-TV’s Dragons’ Den, shaking hands on a deal on both occasions, but eventually deciding to eschew the offers. This fall, they launch their fourth product (not counting a hummus they say “failed miserably”—more on that later), a dry-roasted lentil snack made in a new $1.5-million processing facility. The Vandenhurk sisters clearly do not lack chutzpah, but their entrepreneurial success story isn’t just about big, bold moves. It’s about having the foresight to see where trends are going and having the discipline to get ahead of the pack. That story all started with three prairie farmers—the Vandenhurks’ father and two neighbours at Midale, Sask., 160 km southeast of Regina—growing an ancient oil seed called camelina for its agronomic advantages. Also known as false flax, camelina had long been pressed for oil in Europe, but had not yet been tested and approved for food use in Canada.  Natasha and Elysia smelled opportunity. “Camelina oil has all these wonderful attributes of being high in Omega-3, naturally cold-pressed, with a long shelf life and 475-degree smoke point, yet it had never been commercialized in Canada,” says Natasha, a business graduate and the company’s CEO. Adds Elysia, COO and a Red Seal chef who trained with famed Toronto chef Susur Lee: “It tastes great and goes well with other flavours. It’s versatile in the kitchen.”  Seeing potential, the sisters secured novel food status from Health Canada, allowing them to start batching the oil. The rest, as they say, is history in the baking.  Well, not quite. Few Canadians knew about camelina oil, so the two sisters had to, in essence, build a market from scratch. “Our strategy was to walk into a store, speak to the manager and bring a case in. Then I would stand there, talk to the customers and sell that first case for the retailer,” says Elysia. This extremely hands-on approach proved to retailers that the product could move. “It’s not just about getting the product on the shelf, it’s about getting it off the shelf,” Elysia continues. “The customer needs to take it home, understand how to use it, actually use it, and go back for more.” By 2014, sales of camelina oil were quietly growing in indie and health food markets, but the Vandenhurks had bigger ideas. Why not, they thought, introduce a line of snacks? Diversifying would add new revenue streams and up demand for camelina oil.  So they introduced a line of snack foods based on another novel Saskatchewan crop—a crunchy chickpea in five flavours, including maple cinnamon. “As soon as it hit the shelf, people wanted more,” says Elysia. That success prompted the sisters to launch a snacking green pea called Pea Pops in amped-up flavours such as Sriracha Slap and Dill Pickle Pow. The company’s newest addition, coming this fall, is Crunchy Little Lentils. All Three Farmers snack products are nut-free, low in fat, high in plant protein and fibre, and lightly dressed with that uber-healthy camelina oil—all attributes the sisters felt buyers would appreciate. They were right. Three Farmers’ snacking chickpeas hit the marketplace just as consumer demand for healthy snack foods exploded into one of the fastest-growing grocery categories. “Families are no longer sitting down for three meals a day. They’re having a big breakfast and snacking all afternoon,” says Elysia. “They want healthy alternative snacks to get them through the day.” Those consumers also want to feel good about the source of their food, a trend Three Farmers met from the start; consumers can enter a product code on the company’s website to see where and how the ingredients are grown. “We are vertically integrated,” says Natasha, 33, the elder sister by one year. “We tour the fields. We know where our products come from.” All this resonates with today’s two largest consumer groups: Millennials, who quest for natural, less-processed foods made by smaller, socially conscious companies, and Boomers, who demand healthy “food as medicine” from trusted brands, according to a recent trend analysis by the Farm Credit Corporation. Indeed, demand has soared. In 2017, the sisters underwent a major expansion of their production facility, equipping them to supply national grocery chains like Loblaw and Sobeys (and, soon, Amazon and TJ Maxx in the U.S.). Breaking into big grocery chains took every skill the sisters learned on the way up: knocking on doors, speaking retailers’ language and telling a great brand story. But it was the innovative and on-trend product that really stood out. “They were ahead of the curve with their chickpeas, and they were in an emerging group with their Pea Pops as well,” says Chris Neal of Neal Brothers Foods, a specialty food company in Toronto, which distributes Three Farmers products in Eastern Canada. “It’s an all-Canadian product, made in Canada by a couple of Canadian entrepreneurs, and that recipe makes for a great product.”  With ramped up production, the Vandenhurks are again looking forward. This time, they’re starting to supply other food manufacturers with camelina oil and crunchy “bits” used in power bars, granola and salads. As Elysia explains, it’s a way to fad-proof the company: “With ingredients, if there’s quality and you’re on trend, you can grow pretty quickly. We’ll have two very complementary sides of the business.” It’s something they know they can execute well—a key factor the sisters now apply when deciding where to go next. This is a lesson drawn from that failed hummus experiment: soon after launching a camelina-based dip, the Vandenhurks found they had neither the logistics nor price-point to supply the fresh-food market well. Says Natasha: “We’ve learned to stick with our strengths. Think things through. Grow sustainably.” 

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