Tag: Sales&Marketing

Managing Your Time As A Business Owner

 

iHeart May

How to manage your time as a business owner

Owning a business is hard work. The passion and drive sometimes get depleted by the multiple tasks needed to succeed. Lack of management and focus can be critical to keep business moving in the right direction. Sometimes being too many things creates disfunction and distractions. Think about it, you are many things:

  • king of networking (even if your a queen)
  • an expert in your field
  • a student in your field
  • your top salesperson
  • HR department
  • marketing manager
  • receptionist
  • IT staff
  • janitor

These roles don’t even factor in the higher priority and personal roles in everyday life like:

  • Mother/Father
  • Wife/Husband
  • Something special to someone
  • social media community manager
  • adventurist planner
  • housecleaner
  • fitness trainer
  • dry cleaner
  • landscaper
  • mechanic
  • dog walker
  • chef

So it’s fair to say aspiring to your dreams and goals can get a bit hectic. Managing your life means managing your business: professional and personal. Your life is a unified business you manage. Some things to remember that can make an easy balance to  your life are:

  • Prioritize your goals – knowing daily, monthly, quarterly, and long term keep you grounded
  • Set work hours for yourself – you’re the boss of you… now get bossy with yourself!
  • Visualizing success daily – if you don’t believe in you who will?
  • Stick to a routine – work, exercise, socializing, it all gets factored in to time spent well
  • Give back – spend some time mentoring or helping out others, it sparks rejuvenation
  • Work hard, play harder – everyone needs to recharge, do what you love, love what you do!

In the long run, managing yourself is the hardest job you will ever do. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Identifying your weaknesses and retraining yourself takes time. Take each day as a chance to improve!

 

Did you enjoy this post? See a previous post for inspiration on Keeping The Creative Child Alive In Your Business!

 

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Rule Your Marketing Track…. Don’t Run Around It Aimlessly

 STAY ON TRACK EASILY BY FOLLOWING THIS… 

Many business owners often find the task of marketing daunting. Staying on track with your plan can be a challenge and often takes a single person to keep on track with the plan throughout the year. If you are a small business owner and do not have the luxury of an assistant or a full marketing department don’t worry, staying on track can be easily obtained by following this short list:  

1. Keep It In Your Face. Never file your marketing plan away in a file cabinet. Keeping your plan posted on your wall or board will allow it to be a constant reminder. If your plan is wordy get creative and make a nice visual chart that will enhance your decor!

2. Organize By Time Horizon. Divide your marketing plan into months. Following a timeline is often the best way to stay on track. More important put your monthly reminders into your electronic calendar to act as a back up. When you schedule meetings and appointments you will get reminders of things to do. For help with setting up your marketing plan follow our Roadmap of Marketing directions here. 

3. Plan and Prioritize Special Promotions. If you are like many small businesses you have special promotions or advertisements that need to go out at specific times. These are most often a greater part of your marketing budget. Keeping close track of these is crucial to your success. If your piece is not planned already leave time in your schedule for an ample planning process. 

4. Monthly Reviews.  Your marketing goals are like targets. Reviewing monthly to make sure all your targets have been met can be very rewarding. Proving you can stay on track and follow your marketing plan successfully will build confidence in this segment of your business!

5. Estimate Your Time Spent. Estimating your time spent on all of your marketing tasks will allow you to plan for next years marketing. Your business grows year after year. Keeping track of time spent on marketing is a great way to see what tasks you will want to delegate later. Examples of good things to track is:

  • How many hours do you spend on specific marketing activities?
  • What are the three main marketing activities where you spend the most time?
  • How many hours each week do you spend on marketing? Be specific: mailing, addressing, setting up, dealing with designers…

You’ll likely find that you are spending half your time on your highest marketing priorities. Some business owners haven’t carefully thought about their targets, and often neglect important marketing tasks until it becomes a crisis, demanding their full attention.

Marketing can be easy and fun when planned around your main business activities. Remember a solid, successful campaign must be consistent and followed throughout the life-span of the original plan. If you cannot stick to a full year of marketing it may be time to revise your budget and bring help in immediately. There are plenty of resources at your local chapters of APA, ASMP, ASPP, and PPA. Remember to utilize your core support groups for advice, referrals, and insight on steps to follow with the most success!

For assistance with your marketing and staying on track contact iHeart Marketing or book your FREE no-obligation consultation today!

Four Ways To Kill A Sale

Selling Is Not Telling!

No matter what you do sales is always a part of it. People are selling something everyday. In business there are rules and certain etiquette that needs to be followed to be successful at sales. Selling is not telling someone what they should buy from you. Selling is asking the pertinent questions that allow you (as a salesperson) to know what needs someone would like met. 

Secret be told, a successful salesperson doesn’t even look at themselves as a salesperson. Sales is fun, fulfilling, it is feeding the need in you to want to help people. It is quite a talent when you can read someones body language or match their wants and needs with them not even knowing themselves. 

So how do you learn these skills? My experience has taught me that not just anyone can be a salesperson. Sales is NOT something that can fully be taught without the hidden talent being installed in someone already. It is also NOT about money. When money becomes the factor of your sale you might as well start updating your resume. I believe a successful salesperson is born. A person well-rounded. One who can gets along with all of the packs. One who knows they have two ears and one mouth: and shuts the mouth long enough to await the opportunity of learning something new! 

To fail at success is easier to define, believe it or not. If you want to be a salesperson hold on… it’s a long and hilly roller coaster ride. Emotional ups and downs, more defeat to get to success, and having the strength in your vision of where you are going at all times! Try some of these tactics to immediately fail and get off the salesperson roller coaster:

  • Not listening to customers
    Selling is not telling, it’s listening! Close your mouth and use your ears. You’ll be amazed at what people say even without words! And yes, a good salesperson can hear these things even over the phone!
  • Overselling 
    Too much information can cause overload. If you talk up a service/product too much it’s likely to cause doubt and a need to “sleep on it” for a customer. Let the customer guide you and your success will follow them. Nobody likes to be “sold” People have more faith and comfort in salespeople that guide them with knowledge. After all, knowledge is power!
  • Improper training
    Don’t be led by the boss. Of course your boss wants you to make sale, they have their own personal agenda and quota to meet quarterly. That’s the bottom line for all businesses. Have integrity in knowing you always do the right thing and sales will come flooding to you in the form of repeat business!
  • Lack of follow-up 
    Knowing a sale does not always happen on the spot is key. Reading peoples signals will tell you firmly if they are in it for now, the near future, or farther. A sale made today doesn’t always leave you cashing a check at the bank the same day. Follow up, nurture, and always stay in touch. 

Now go on out there and practice your selling skills today!