Episode 100: Ninja Tricks for Automating Marketing and Sales
The single most important focus for growing a business is sales and marketing. Building a database of customers and potential customers is critical. But to communicate effectively with your customers you need to understand where they come from and what they are interested in. You need to segment your list to communicate effectively with clients and potential clients.
Darin Adams is an expert at growing small businesses and sales and marketing using Infusionsoft. Today, we discuss how setting up and automating your marketing efforts from the beginning is one of the most important things that you can do for your business. We talk about list segmenting, lead nurturing, CRM software, API integrations, and smart ninja tricks to get started automating and tracking your sales and marketing efforts.
You can find Darin here:
Ask Loral
Darin’s Website
Darin on Twitter
Darin’s YouTube Channel
Show Notes
- [01:22] Darin has a background in broadcasting and worked with small business owners. He helped them with their message in their marketing.
- [01:54] When Darin discovered Infusionsoft, he knew it was a great combination. It combined his love of teaching people and helping people with marketing.
- [02:10] His focus is growing, building and automating business.
- [02:15] He travels around and teaches people how to grow their business.
- [02:25] Marketing and sales. The single thing a business owner can do to jump start their business.
- [02:46] The number one thing you need to be doing is building a segmented list.
- [02:56] People often think the value of their business is the product or service, but it’s really in the list.
- [03:17] The importance of marketing and having a database of customers.
- [03:46] Your list isn’t very helpful, unless you know actual information about the people on it.
- [04:12] Breaking things down into segments lets you know exactly who the people are and what they are interested in.
- [04:26] The money comes in when you have tools in place to grow the list and collect data on the people on the list.
- [05:07] How people think their website and even Facebook are critical to their businesses.
- [05:41] A website is one arm of your business. It can be used to drive people to your database.
- [06:59] You want to know how people come to your list, so you can communicate out to them.
- [07:12] Your customer relationship management tool or CRM allows you to communicate out to them and make money.
- [07:40] Information in a segmented list.
- [08:44] The beauty of Infusionsoft is that it allows you to tag people, so you know how you first engaged.
- [09:21] You can tag people, so that you understand how to communicate with them.
- [11:47] Ways to capture leads include a landing page, a webinar, life events with text integration or a website integration, and free gifts or lead magnets.
- [13:32] Once you have your leads you need to nurture those relationships. People don’t buy on the first contact.
- [13:45] Find out what their pain is and how to solve it. That will build relationships and trust.
- [14:08] You also need to be able to track what they’re doing like if their opening emails or clicking on links.
- [14:44] Map out the process to take your customer from step A to B and automate the process.
- [15:08] Tracking people will allow you to make the right offers at the right time.
- [15:43] The number one way to grow a business is to use your existing business.
- [16:21] Lifecycle marketing. Drive the leads, nurture the leads, track the leads, make offers depending on what they’re doing, make sales, and follow up and turn customers into raving fans.
- [17:15] Infusionsoft integrates with so many other companies.
- [17:43] Integrating Facebook retargeting with Infusionsoft will allow you to target specific groups.
- [18:03] You can also use text integration with tools like FixYourFunnel, Call loop, Salesmsg, PlusThis, or Twilio.
- [18:28] You can use the system to integrate texting.
- [18:38] PicSnippets allows you to personalize a photo. Sending what looks like a personalized photo to someone is amazing.
- [19:23] SoTellUs let’s you capture video referrals. Folklore Creative makes animated people.
- [21:23] For a small business with Infusionsoft you can have a full integrated marketing sales and accounting software.
- [21:58] You need a CRM and a system like this from day one. When you start collecting leads. You need something to do with those leads.
- [22:25] This is more important than a website or formulating what your actual product is. This is the most important foundational tool for any business.
- [23:06] You can API QuickBooks on to the end of this, and as always don’t forget to get incorporated.
Links and Resources:
- Loral’s Real Money Talks
- FixYourFunnel
- Call loop
- Salesmsg
- PlusThis
- Twilio
- PicSnippets
- SoTellUs
- Folklore Creative
- Infusionsoft
- QuickBooks
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Episode 83: Eye-Opening Marketing Tips with Chris Williams
Chris Williams is a world-class marketer and salesperson. We have known each other for years, and we both have a love of sales in common. Everybody wants more customers and that comes down to sales. Everyone looks to the marketing community for leads, but even if you get those leads they aren’t going to convert unless you know how to sell.
Today, we discuss the most important part of sales, and how many people are afraid of the follow-up. We also talk about Facebook sales strategies, how to have that all important sales conversation, time-blocking, some of the most important things you can do to get more sales, and more.
You can find Chris here:
Wide Awake Business on Twitter
Wide Awake Business Website
Chris Williams on LinkedIn
Show Notes
- [01:20] Chris Williams began selling when she was nine years old and sold more Girl Scout cookies than anyone else for three years in a row.
- [02:02] At her young age, she understood the advantage of leveraged time and got friends and relatives to sell the cookies for her.
- [03:14] The most important part of sales is follow-up. 80% of business owners and sales reps never follow-up after the first interaction. Also, 80% of people don’t make a decision until after the 5th interaction. If you don’t follow-up it’s never going to happen.
- [04:46] People often fail to follow-up, because they don’t want to bother people or they have a sales problem.
- [05:16] There’s nothing wrong with calling people when you have a reason to call them.
- [05:59] Gracious follow-up strategies include visiting or dropping something off with a potential client every 3 weeks. Otherwise they will just forget about you.
- [07:06] Once you identify a potential prospect find them on LinkedIn and Facebook and have a conversation with them. A handwritten note with a sticky note on an article that’s appropriate for them is a great way to follow up.
- [07:49] Don’t stop following up. Follow-up until they tell you no. I love it when people say no not now, because I immediately make a date to follow up.
- [08:42] Get used to no, because it just means not now.
- [09:23] Most people get their business from no not now and taking advantage of the follow-up.
- [09:48] If your why isn’t clear enough, and you’re not doing something for a specific reason then you can get your feelings hurt all day long.
- [10:31] Get clear on your big why and what gets you out of bed every morning. Understand the consequences of not accomplishing what you set out to do.
- [11:43] There are a certain amount of people that have to get through your funnel in order to have a conversion. If you have someone who’s just a phone dialer they need to do a hundred calls a day. Understand how many people you need to get through the top of your funnel in order to make two or three productive cells.
- [12:59] How many brand new people did you talk to last week?
- [13:21] 98% of emails go unread, and most people at networking events just chat with their friends.
- [13:40] The sales process. Always ask open-ended questions. Start with how or what not why. Always leave the conversation.
- [14:07] Ask situational questions. Understand what the person’s problem is by asking open ended questions that begin with how or what.
- [15:49] Ask if I could… would you? Go out and ask five people.
- [16:33] Talk about things from a sales perspective not a subject matter perspective.
- [19:09] Most people don’t make all of their money from online sales. People buy from people.
- [20:15] New Facebook strategy. Post your blog on Facebook and then once a week give out a tool or PDF. Get them in your database. Then do a little Facebook Live to augment that.
- [22:12] Get people out of the social channels and into your database.
- [23:47] Integrity and making money when you say you’re going to make money.
- [24:28] Challenge: go over the last two weeks of your calendar and highlight everything that’s personal time. Then highlight everything that’s revenue-producing in green. Figure out where you’re spending your time. Don’t waste time, make money.
- [25:39] Have a power hour where you block out an hour every day where you are making sales calls. Providing you have a list of people to call.
- [26:35] Final words: Power Hour, If I could would you?, and highlight revenue-producing time in your calendar.
Links and Resources:
Wide Awake Business on Twitter
Wide Awake Business Website
Chris Williams on LinkedIn
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The Power of Affiliates
Would you like to have new leads flowing into your database every day?
Would you like to receive these leads whether you are out there, beating the pavement, or not?
Consider starting an affiliate program! Affiliate programs pay on percentage of sales, so they return actual results. They can be run manually or you can use a program like Infusionsoft to put it all on autopilot. A motivated affiliate can be your best advocate. All you have to do is give them the tools they need to promote you, make sure they know your talk-track, and track their results so they are paid in a timely manner. If you nurture your affiliate base by keeping them informed and motivated, the results they will deliver will make your head spin!
That’s it! Get out there, start turning your customers and vendors into affiliates, work through the leads they provide, and count the cash.
Want to know what it feels like to BE an affiliate? Why not apply to be one of Loral’s? Her commission structure is generous and the affiliate community is packed with tools you can use to get the most out of your affiliate relationship.