Effective Lead Generation From Your Local Business Chamber

Your local business leads group and Chamber of Commercecan be great sources of leads for you and your company. Whycan and not are? Because many business owners join and expect the leads to just fall in their laps without much effort on their part. Then they quit and decide that this type of lead generation simply doesn't work for them. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Paying the monetary dues is only the first step in joining a chamber or business group. Showing up to the events regularly and showing your face is the next basic step. Being friendly and helpful is another basic prerequisite for success. But none of these are guarantees for bringing you prospects and customers. They are the entry ticket. Sadly, many stop with these steps and drop out before giving it a real chance. What does work? Consistency -- The long-time members and those you would love to have as clients will quietly decide for themselves through your actions whether you're someone they can trust. Caring enough to show up and be active will go a long way in building that trust. If you can't commit to doing these basic steps, save your money and don't join. If your sole purpose for joining is to find leads and someone to sell to, you've missed the main point of joining this type of organization. Sure, those are important reasons and by-products of joining, but they cannot be the sole or even the primary reasons. Attitude -- Go in with a truly helpful and positive attitude if you want to succeed. Proactively seek out opportunities to help other members in every way you can, through referring and introducing them to other members, even if those actions don't directly benefit you. Do this, and you'll be on the right track. Active participation -- One of the secrets to being successful with your membership is to join committees. Every group will have sub-committees for various needs and functions of the chamber. These may include groups like education committees or new member committees. Not only will you get to interact with other dedicated members in a smaller setting when you join these committees, but you'll also get recognition and notoriety for your efforts, which will lead to more chances to get to know other members better. This takes time and is a sacrifice, but it's extremely important to do. To have real success from your membership, remember that you must give before you get. The more effort you can put in, the more success you can expect. It's a long-term strategy that has a proven track record for those who can practice one of life's golden rules.

What is Your Customer Hiding From You?

In order to sell any kind of product or service, you first need to know the challenges your prospects face, so you can offer the best solution. On the surface, this seems like an easy problem to resolve. You send out a few surveys and questionnaires. You dig and do your research. You think you've found the answers. Yet when you build your pitch or presentation around what you think your prospect wants and needs, it falls flat. Why? Because the prospect is hiding the truth from you. It's not done with malicious intent. They're not even necessarily lying. They simply want to be liked and don't want to hurt your feelings by telling you things they think you wouldn't like to hear. Also some prospects don't really know what they want. Emailed and online surveys aren't the best at this type of information gathering. That's the reason most surveys don't reveal many helpful answers. The problem isn't with the surveys themselves, but with the questions and how they're presented. Most survey questions don't get to the heart of the matter in order to pull out the answers you're looking for. What can you do about this? Pick up the phone! The best way to get the answers you're looking for is to call your prospects and engage them in a conversation. But before you do that (and if you don't want the phone slammed in your ear), do your homework first. The responses will only be as good as your questions. Your questions need to be open-ended. You must be able to tap into the emotional and/or logical reasons why a prospect would (or wouldn't) buy your product or service. The more you're able to get them to open up and give you honest answers, the closer you'll get to the heart of what you're looking for. Keep good notes on the data you gather, and review it so you can make the next call even better at intelligence gathering. Start your call with a very brief description of why you're calling, then quickly turn your attention to the prospect. Let them know you're not trying to sell them anything (so it brings down the wall and barriers they automatically put up). State that you respect and value their opinion, which is why you chose them to call. Make them feel respected and special before you dive into your questions. Once you have your answers, take the time to carefully review all the information. Look for common themes or threads in the answers. If you don't find any, go back to your questions and reword them to get better answers. Yes, this takes real work. But the end result will be well worth your time. After you analyze the information, it will make your job of creating an irresistible offer that your prospects can't refuse much easier.

Deadline Lessons from Saturday Night Live

It's 11:30. Are You Ready? Saturday Night Live (SNL) producer Lorne Michaels once said, "I say it every week: We don't go on because we're ready. We go on because it's 11:30." He went on to say that being "ready" is a state of mind, one you can condition yourself to overcome with regular deadlines. SNL is a long-running late-night live television sketch comedy created by Lorne Michaels. The live aspect of the show requires an absolute commitment to being ready to go on air at 11:30 eastern time every Saturday. It's a hard deadline. No excuses can be accepted or tolerated. The show begins with a topical sketch, at the end of which someone breaks from the skit and shouts: "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!" But before the show airs each Saturday night, an entire week's worth of preparation has gone into making that episode a reality. Monday starts with a production meeting where ideas for the following week's skits are pitched. On Tuesday, the ideas chosen are turned into skits, and on Wednesday they're reviewed to pick the best ones to move forward. On Thursday, the skits are tweaked and adjusted as needed. The winning skits are rehearsed on Friday and then once more before a live audience on Saturday at 8 PM before the actual live performance at 11:30. Whatever project you're creating -- whether large and elaborate or small and simple -- you likely follow a similar process. Your ideas are put on paper, the best survive, an action plan to move forward is chosen, and deadlines are given. Everything is ready, so then why do some ideas and projects never get done? Over-thinking, doubt, procrastination, and perfectionism are the enemies of deadlines. Each one can play the role of devil's advocate in your head to delay and destroy deadlines. The cure might be to learn from SNL and Lorne Michaels. Take imperfect action when necessary. When you delay, nothing can move forward. You can always correct course and improvise as you move toward your goals, but nothing can happen unless you make that leap of faith to take the first steps. SNL has aired some 730 episodes since its debut and began its 38th season this year, making it one of the longest-running network television programs in the United States. It has produced countless stars, created immense wealth for the creators, and entertained several generations of audiences over the years. The live aspect of the show creates a certain drama that most other shows lack. Some of the jokes fall flat, and there are unexpected surprises in many shows that had not been rehearsed. But the actors improvise as needed, and the show always goes on. SNL doesn't go on air at 11:30 every Saturday evening because they are ready. It goes on because it's 11:30. You may never be "ready" enough if you don't commit to a deadline to go live. Set aside your fears and worries. Time is wasting, and you may never get another chance to go live again.

Sometimes Less Really is More

"There are many things of which a wise man might wish to be ignorant."  -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Your mother probably admonished you as a youngster: "You need to finish that plate of food because there are children in Africa starving right now." So we have been conditioned to eat even when our stomach is full or even if we don't really like the taste of the food. The negative side effects surround us everywhere. Living in this age of access to unprecedented amounts of information, we must be careful not to overindulge there, too. Just as it is harmful to overeat, it is perhaps even more detrimental to consume the incessant amount of unrelated and useless information that fills the web, the airwaves (TV and radio), and print. Just because it's free to access doesn't mean it comes without another kind of cost. This type of cost is more precious than the monetary kind. It's your valuable time. Unlike money, time can't be replaced once it's gone. Like the youngster who becomes conditioned to eat too much, we are becoming conditioned to consume too much information, most of it the useless variety. Many of us need to go on an information diet! How many minutes and hours are wasted daily on email, Facebook, and various news/entertainment websites? Too many. "Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking." -Albert Einstein Not all reading or information is harmful, of course. But it is time to stop reading negative and time-consuming information that is not helping you advance toward your goals. If you start reading an article that turns out to be less useful than you thought, no need to keep reading it. Do you have to constantly check your email? Not really. Start taking your time back by going on an information diet today. You will be much more productive and will like the new you the next time you look in the mirror.

Loyalty Marketing... or We HEART You!

Customer loyalty programs are an easy and effective way to keep customers coming back to your business. Here are a few tips to help you create a loyalty program with a simple yet important goal: rewarding repeat customers. Offer custom-printed punch cards or stamp cards for customers who frequent your business. A simple reward (such as "buy five car washes, get the sixth free") may be enough to keep customers from visiting your competition down the street. Utilize the back side of your loyalty-marketing promotions to advertise upcoming events, highlight exclusive offers, share helpful tips, and more. Celebrate! Be sure to recognize customer birthdays, holidays, and even the date your customer joined your loyalty club. Provide loyalty club members with special coupons for free upgrades, such as "upgrade to a premium deluxe XYZ for the same price as our standard XYZ." Reward customers who buy ahead. For example, if you own a repair shop, you might offer a year-long package of oil changes for a discounted rate. Not only will the customer be happy to save money, but you can ensure the customer will return to your business all year long. Invite loyal customers to join a review panel group, and offer free products or services in exchange for their valuable feedback and input on how to improve your business. Develop creative ways to show your company's reciprocal loyalty to customers. Send "thank you" campaigns, for example, with exclusive discounts or promotions. Give us a call if we can help you create loyalty program marketing materials your customers will love!