Small Business Success Index

Index Score^*		Grade
SBSI INDEX	75	C
Capital Access	67	D+
Marketing & Innovation	70	C-
Workforce	79	C+
Customer Service	91	A-
Computer Technology	74	C
Compliance	90	A-
*Index score is calculated on a 1-100 scale.

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Shopping for a Bank, Part II: The Regional Bank

March 12th, 2010 :: Monika Jansen

As I recounted in Shopping for a Bank, Part I, I hate math, numbers, accounting, the whole shebang. Since the March Grow Smart Business theme is small business finance, I was not sure what I would write about, as my posts are normally about marketing. Then a light bulb went on: Since I am currently bank-shopping, I would use my experience as blog post fodder. I already wrote about the upside of doing business with a small community bank; specifically, Access National Bank, which is headquartered in Reston, VA and has five branches. I now turn my sights on a regional bank; next up will be a huge national bank. My goal is to figure out which type of bank would be most convenient, easiest, and most fun to do business with.

Without further ado: the regional bank.

I met Mike Moore, Assistant Vice President at BB&T, through networking. He is a really nice guy, and if you read enough of my blog posts, you know that the simple act of being nice earns huge points in my book. We sat down together recently, and he gave me some background on the bank. It was founded in 1872 in Wilson, NC and is now headquartered in Winston-Salem, NC. Their territory stretches from Maryland down to Florida and over to Texas (after first leap-frogging over Mississippi and Louisiana). They have 1800 branches, and their bank is in the top ten in the US in terms of size. They also own the sixth largest insurance brokerage firm in the US, and they have a merchant services company under their umbrella as well.

Just as I asked Access National to run down a list of what makes them unique, I asked Mike to do the same. Here’s what he said:

Over the past 18 months, BB&T’s focus has shifted to servicing small to mid-sized businesses rather than just personal accounts. As a result, Mike and his colleagues are not strictly lenders anymore but rather small business advisors who build a collaborative relationship with their clients.
Not only does Mike put together banking and financing plans for his clients, but he also meets with and speaks to his clients on a regular basis to find out if their needs have changed. He is also easily reachable via email or his direct office line.
“We’re as big as you want us to be, and we’re as small as you want us to be.” BB&T offers all of the products and services the huge banks do, but only if you need them. In other words, credit cards, mortgage refinancing, special car loan rates, etc. are not pushed on BB&T clients.
Though BB&T is fairly large, decision-making is done locally, allowing Mike and his colleagues to make quick decisions on behalf of the bank for their clients. The fact that the employees are empowered to make decisions that put the bank at risk (lending is a risky endeavor, after all) speaks volumes about the leadership at the bank. It is extremely important for me to work with people and institutions who view trust as a two-way street.
Because BB&T has its own insurance brokerage firm and merchant services company, they can offer lower rates on certain services.
BB&T is still lending money to small businesses, even start-ups. Mike said the fact that the media constantly talks about restricted access to capital is wrong, and he gave me examples of loans he has recently made to clients. I wonder if it’s only the huge, TARP-dependent banks that are not lending money?

When compared to Access National, BB&T offers the same highly personalized service. I would not be a number with them, something I really appreciate. Naturally, they offer more products and services, but one product in particular is a big deal for me: BB&T offers a credit card, while Access only offers a debit card. However, Access is across the street from me, while I’d have to drive to BB&T. Again, not a huge difference, but an important one.

Next up: the huge national bank (and yes, they received TARP money!).

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Tags: banking, Financing, small business banking, small business loans
Posted in Capital Access, Small Business | Comments

Shopping for a Bank, Part I: The Small Community Bank

March 8th, 2010 :: Monika Jansen

I am not a numbers person. I hated math class while I was in school, starting in kindergarten and going right through college. During my two required statistics courses in college, I felt like I was dying a slow death. In fact, I remember falling asleep during one class, and I was not the only one to do so. I still only understand the most basic concepts of finance, banking, investing, accounting, etc., because honestly, these subjects bore me to death (if they’re not putting me to sleep). My husband handles the family finances, allowing me to live in a state of blissful ignorance. Our financial advisor keeps us on track and explains complex (to me) terms and instruments. Basically, everyone else does the work for me in my personal financial life.

From celebster on Flickr

But now my business is nearly a year old, and I have yet to shop for a bank. Since the Grow Smart Business theme is small business finance during March, I decided to use my bank shopping experience as blog post fodder. I will be looking at a small community bank, a regional bank, and a huge national bank to figure out who would be most convenient, easiest, and most fun to do business with.

First up: the small community bank.

Access National Bank is the definition of a small community bank. It has 5 branches in northern Virginia, and the main branch is conveniently located across the street from my neighborhood. During its ten years of business, it has been a standout in the local banking industry: it was profitable within 6 months (one year is the norm), and in fact its first two quarters were the only non-profitable ones on record. CEO Mike Clarke did not establish the bank with the goal of growing it and selling it. He has kept the bank focused on its core competencies and shied away from subprime mortgages and the residential and commercial real estate markets, the latter of which is now also imploding. During the first quarter of 2009, one of the worst on record for local banks, Access National posted a $2.9 million profit. Obviously, this is a solid bank with two feet firmly planted on the ground. Awesome, and reassuring.

I recently had a meeting with Diane Holland, Assistant Vice President of Client Services, and Cynthia Caldwell, Senior Vice President of Client Services. It took all of five minutes to walk over—how often can you do that in the suburbs?—a fact that already gave them a leg up on the competition. I asked them to run down the list of what makes them unique. Here’s what they said:

Access National focuses on the business sector. Their clients are small to mid-sized businesses with up to $100 million in annual revenue.
Each month, clients receive a $20 rebate for ATM fees to make up for the fact that they do not have ATM machines on every corner.
A pioneer in online banking (they embraced it up on their founding in 1999), Access National still stands out for offering real-time online banking. Transactions are posted immediately, not 24 hours later.
There are no 800 numbers at Access National. If you need to reach someone, you have a phone number for a real person, and your needs are usually handled by that same person. Cynthia said she has almost no turnover in her client services division. Amazing!
Access National offers networking events for their clients, and because they actually know all of their clients, they also act as a source of referrals.
Access National is the #1 commercial bank by lending volume in the entire Washington metropolitan area. They are also a preferred partner for SBA loans.
Though they are small, Access National offers all of the products and services that large banks offer: investing, life and health insurance, payroll, etc.

By the time I walked home, I was impressed. First of all, how often does the Senior VP of Client Services meet with a potential client? It was obvious to me that if I chose them as my bank, I would receive highly personal service, and I cannot stress enough that being able to walk over to the bank is the ultimate in convenience. However, the fact that they foster a sense of community through their networking events is the real kicker. I have never heard of a bank that does so.

Next up: the regional bank.

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Tags: banking, Customer Service, Finance
Posted in Capital Access, Customer Service, Small Business | Comments

I Love You, You Love Me: Customer Service Gets High Marks from SBSI

March 1st, 2010 :: Monika Jansen

In case you missed my last blog post, Marketing, the Small Business Success Index, and You, I wrote about the C- score that marketing and innovation earned in the Small Business Success Index survey that was conducted by Network Solutions and the Center for Excellence in Service at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. The index was released on February 16 and is designed to track the competitive health of the small business sector over time. Scores in 6 categories are graded; customer service, something that is near and dear (or should be) to marketing folks, scored an A-.

The major strength of small business is in customer service, with the great majority of businesses reporting success in all six areas that comprise this component of the SBSI.

In all honesty, this did not surprise me at all. High-quality customer service is a differentiator that small business owners embrace. In this age of faceless technology, we all crave a personal transaction. Automated phone menus, customer service departments on the other side of the world staffed by people who are not empowered to make decisions, and multi-national corporations that don’t even post a customer service phone number on their website create nothing but negative feelings and poor experiences. And we all know how eager people are to share a bad customer service experience.

Case in point: I decided to save a little money, bypass Sephora, and buy mascara at CVS. I saw an ad for L’Oreal’s Extra Volume Collagen Mascara in InStyle Magazine. Just the thing my skimpy little lashes need, I thought. The mascara was flaky and clumpy, and it looked terrible. Since I couldn’t find the CVS receipt, I decided to contact L’Oreal’s customer service department via email to see if I could get a voucher or coupon. L’Oreal is a massive company; they own 21 other skincare, cosmetics, fragrance, and hair care brands. Long story short, you can’t email them, but you can waste your time in a chat session with an Online Beauty Advisor. Turns out you are not chatting with a person, you are chatting with a computer. The computer could not understand what I was telling it, so I gave up. I have zero patience with adults, less with technology, and I hate wasting time. Now I shop for mascara—and all other cosmetics—exclusively at Sephora.

Around nine out of ten small businesses are highly successful at answering customer questions, ensuring customer satisfaction, showing empathy, providing consistent service, resolving problems and winning repeat business.

And that quote perfectly illustrates what makes us small businesses so special:

Successful at answering customer questions: Because many of us are the business, we know all of our clients personally, and we certainly know our products and/or services intimately.

Ensuring customer satisfaction: We work hard to make our clients are happy, whether it’s quick turnaround on a project, special pricing based on their loyalty, or a gift card to a favorite shop or café just to say thanks, you are valuable to me.

Showing empathy: We’re not robots, computers, or customer service reps who don’t give a damn. We care, and we show it.

Providing consistent service: When you go out to eat, you never know what kind of server you might get stuck with: a veteran or a newbie. Our clients know what to expect from us.

Resolving problems: If there’s a problem in the middle of a project, our clients can reach us directly by phone, text, or email. We can immediately start working on resolving the issue.

Winning repeat service: It’s a lot of work to look for new vendors or partners. If we do a good job the first time, our clients will come back and recommend us.

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Tags: Customer Service, Marketing
Posted in Marketing, Small Business Success Index | Comments

Pay-Per-Click Can Really Pay Off

February 22nd, 2010 :: Monika Jansen

Our focus this month at Grow Smart Business has been on getting found. We’ve been writing a lot about SEO, and I’ve actually learned quite a bit about it. I am not an SEO expert, so I had no idea how involved it was or how expensive it can be to implement. If, like me, you are on a limited budget, marketing or otherwise, consider incorporating pay-per-click (PPC) into your marketing plan. According to my good friend Harry Brooks of Search First Marketing, PPC is one of the most important elements of a marketing strategy. From huge multi-national corporations to local service-based businesses, Harry said PPC is a must for driving traffic to your website.

Monika: How does PPC work?

Harry: It’s pretty simple, really. There are six steps to it:

Write an ad or ads about your business, product, or service.
Create a list of key phrases, which, when entered into the Google search field, will trigger your ad to appear.
Tell Google how much you are willing to pay if someone clicks on your ad.
Activate your campaign and watch traffic start to come to your site.
As people type your key phrases into the Google search field, your ad will appear.
As you get some history on your campaign, you will gather enough data to optimize and refine your campaign for conversions and cost.

Monika: That sounds really easy, especially when compared to on-page optimization. But I bet there’s a catch.

Harry: Well, all of that is MUCH easier said than done! But there are three things to keep in mind that make PPC so important.

Speed to market. A PPC campaign can be set up and launched in an afternoon. Results will start accumulating immediately. Within hours, targeted visitors can be arriving at your website.

Targeting. Because the PPC campaign is defined entirely by the business, it can be laser focused on specific products or on a specific target market. For example, an accounting firm might launch a PPC campaign for Quickbooks Pro Advisory Services (rather than accounting in general). In doing so, the accounting firm is spending marketing dollars on a very specific part of their overall target market—those looking for help with Quickbooks. Beyond product specific targeting, PPC campaigns can be geo-targeted to specific cities, regions, or to a defined geographic radius. By focusing a PPC campaign so specifically, an advertiser can expect a higher level of qualified visitor, and thus, more conversions from site visitors to new customers.

Budgeting. PPC can be budgeted down to the penny, which is in stark contrast to traditional marketing vehicles, which can have variable expenses (i.e. graphic design, printing, postage, list purchases, etc.). PPC budgets are defined by the advertiser.

Monika: So, how does a business owner figure out what to spend on PPC?

Harry: The first question I ask a potential client is, “What is the average value of a new customer?” Knowing this information, we can craft a PPC campaign that will best meet the needs of the client. For example, let’s say a painting contractor has an average customer value of $2500. If we have a PPC budget of $800 per month and find that the campaign is generating 4 new customers per month, PPC is working. The acquisition cost is only $200/customer with an average value of $2500.

Monika: I’ve heard a few things about Google’s Quality Score in PPC campaigns. What is it, and how does it work?

Harry: I’m glad you asked, because there is more to a PPC campaign than writing an ad, choosing a few key phrases, and setting a budget. Google uses a sophisticated “Quality Score” algorithm to determine how your PPC campaign will perform. Quality Score dictates how much your clicks will cost and what position your ad will be in relative to other advertisers. To further complicate things, Quality Scores are calculated for each individual key phrase contained in your campaign.

Monika: How do you get a high Quality Score?

Harry: Here are a few things to do:

Split test your ads. Google uses the click-through-rate (CTR) as part of the Quality Score calculation. By split testing your ads, you are constantly improving your ads’ performance. As your average CTR improves, so too will your Quality Scores. You will see a commensurate improvement in average cost per click and ad position.

Design your website with quality in mind. Here are some of the things Google looks for on a website:

A physical address
A privacy policy
Contact information
Resources or outbound links to other authority sites
Well-crafted pages with unique titles, meta descriptions, headers and sufficient body copy (aim for 250 words)
FAQ page
About Us page

Be sure to include all of these elements in your site before you launch a PPC campaign!

Don’t be afraid to hire a specialist. I talk to many businesses who have tried Adwords on their own only to lose money on it. In many of those cases, there were some problems that a professional could have identified and fixed to make the campaign a success.

Monika: Great, thanks for that tutorial Harry!

Harry: My pleasure! There is a Beginner’s Guide to Adwords on Google, which is worth checking out.

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Tags: local search marketing, pay-per-click, PPC, Search engine optimizations, seo
Posted in Marketing, Search Marketing | Comments

Pass It Along: 8 Tips for a Successful E-Newsletter

February 22nd, 2010 :: Monika Jansen

From cocolinda on Flickr

Like blog writing, e-newsletters can be really fun to write while at the same time being a great way to position you or your company as a thought leader. Make them entertaining, keep them filled with useful content, and give them personality, and you will attract eager readers.

OK, that last statement was a little disingenuous. It’s not really that easy. There are several other things that go into a successful e-newsletter. (By successful, I mean one that is not only read by people but that also drives traffic to your website.)

Here are 8 quick tips to help you put together a successful e-newsletter:

Send it to the right people. Know who your audience is (hint, it is not everyone in your address book!). Unless you put together a solid list of people who would find your newsletter useful, few people will read it. Keep in mind that whether you use Network Solutions, Constant Contact, Vertical Response, or someone else, you cannot buy a list and use it with their programs.
Keep it short. Just like with blogs, no one has time to read a long article, let alone several long articles. Include one article/topic of no more than 300 words. If there is more information to share on that topic, write about it in your next e-newsletter or provide a hyperlink to your website in case readers would like to learn more.
Make it easy to pass along. Be sure it’s easy for people to forward and subscribe to your newsletter. Email marketing programs provide ways to do this in their templates. Use them! Remember, the more readers the better!
Include graphics. Photos, illustrations, even charts or graphs will make your newsletter more interesting to read and look at. Just be sure they are relevant to your topic. I like to pull photos off of Flickr for this blog (type in Creative Commons in the Advanced Search box—you can use any of those photos), but most email marketing programs allow you to use photos in their gallery (you’ll have to pay for that feature). Be sure you give the photographer or artist credit for the graphic you are using.
Use your logo and your logo/company colors. This is just good branding. You want your readers to recognize your newsletter as yours.
Keep format and delivery timetable consistent. People like consistency. If you’re going to share a tip, an interview with a client, or a coupon, do it in every newsletter. Figure out a delivery timetable and email your newsletter out around the same time, whether it’s every month, every other week, or every week.
Let content build on previous topics. This will keep readers eager to hear what else you have to say on a subject, and it’s easier for you—you don’t have to keep thinking up new topics.
Use attention-grabbing subject lines. The subject line that shows up in your readers’ inboxes must be intriguing. It can be witty, sarcastic, silly, a little out-there, whatever. It just needs to be compelling enough to get your reader to click on it.

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Tags: Branding, e-newsletter, Email marketing, Marketing, newsletter
Posted in Email Marketing, Marketing, Thought Leadership | Comments

When Bad Websites Happen to Good People: Six Common Mistakes to Avoid

February 15th, 2010 :: Monika Jansen

From Jurveston on Flickr

One of my favorite projects is writing and editing website content. I love putting together messaging that clearly introduces a company, explains what they do, and successfully states why they’re better than the competition. For me, it’s a really fun challenge. Plus, I get to meet a lot of interesting people and learn about new industries.

Lately I’ve been working on several websites. Whether the company is big or small, new or well-established, selling a product or a service, I have been running into the same simple mistakes over and over and over again. These mistakes can turn out to be costly in a major way. After all, the purpose of your website is to be informational, yes, but more importantly, it should be a lead generator. If people cannot quickly and easily find the information they are looking for on your website, not only will visits to your site be short, but they will not result in new customers. As I am so fond of saying, not good.

Here is my list of the top six most common website mistakes and how to fix them.

So…what do you do again? Ever been to a company’s website and couldn’t figure out what they did? Not clearly stating your company’s mission statement front and center on your home page is the number one mistake I run into. If I don’t see it, I am not going to search for it. Instead, I am going to go back to my search engine results page and click on the next company that is listed. If your mission statement is on your About Us or Company Profile page, move it to the home page pronto.

Watch your language! If your company is of a more technical nature and has its own language, make sure your website is written in plain English so that both industry insiders and outsiders can easily understand what it is you do.

Less is more. I am begging you, dear readers, please remember that less is more. I am known for editing entire pages down to two paragraphs, as I firmly believe there is no reason to continually repeat the same information using ever larger SAT words. No one is going to read it! Also—and this is worth repeating—be sure to have someone edit the content before it is posted. It must be free from grammatical mistakes, run-on sentences, spelling mistakes, and punctuation errors.

Bread crumbs. It should be really easy to move around on your website. If you have multiple sections with multiple sub-pages, make sure it is easy to get back to that section’s main page and to jump from one page to another within that section. Keep a navigation bar for the section, as well as for the entire website, clearly visible at all times. (By entire website, I also mean the home page.)

Graphics. Use graphics that are of high-quality, professional, and relevant to your industry and your company. This should be obvious, but, well, to some people it is not.

News should be new. If you have a News page, and you should, keep it updated. Even if you don’t, be sure all the information on your website is current. You should not be referencing the holiday 2009 season, upcoming fall specials, or have a press release from August 2009 prominently featured. Visit your website at least once a month to update it. If your content management system is difficult to use, find someone within or outside the company who is comfortable with it.

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Tags: editing, lead generation, Website, website content, writing
Posted in Web Design | Comments

Blog, and They Will Come: 5 Tips for Great Blog Writing

February 10th, 2010 :: Monika Jansen

I remember when blogs first appeared in the late ’90s. They were generally written by regular folks who were sharing essays, thoughts, feeling, what-have-you on the internet. I immediately thought why on earth would I want to waste time reading that stuff? Who cares? And then businesses started wising up to the fact that it was a great way to become a thought leader and a go-to source of industry information. Et voila, here I am, writing for Network Solutions. Funny how things can go full circle!

If you’ve thought about starting a blog for your company, cool! The first thing I would do, though, if you haven’t already, is find a bunch of blogs both inside and outside your industry that you enjoy reading on a regular basis. What is it you like about them? Their style, technique, tone of voice, subject matter? How often do they write? What do they write about? My point is that there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Incorporate your favorite elements from these other blogs into your own.

And remember: Be sure to promote your blog via social networking, in your email signature, on the home page of your website, and on your business card. If no one is reading it, what’s the point in writing it? And if you want people to read it, follow my 5 handy tips for great blog writing.

From moodeous on Flickr

Share useful information. I cannot stress that point enough! Tips, challenges you’ve overcome and how you overcame them, and industry news all qualify as useful information. The better your content, the more people will read it, share it, and look forward to getting it.

Provide value to your reader. Don’t use your blog to promote your company. Mention it here and there, but only occasionally. No one wants to read what amounts to an infomercial.

Find your voice. Give your blog personality! I tend to write in a conversational style. I use slang and exclamation points, because that’s how I talk. You want to keep readers engaged and eager for more, and you want new readers to go back into your archives to read what else you’ve written.

Short and sweet rule the day. Remember that everyone is crunched for time, so keep your posts short (less than 500 words). Don’t ramble, and be sure whatever point you are making is clearly stated.

Make it personal and entertaining. Include funny stories that are relevant and have happened to you. People love to laugh and be entertained, especially if they’re slogging through a tough day at work.

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Tags: blogs, blogwriting, Marketing
Posted in Marketing, Thought Leadership | Comments

Getting in the Game: How Super Bowl Advertisers Are Using Social Media to their Advantage

February 5th, 2010 :: Monika Jansen

Even if you live outside the US, you are well aware that this Sunday is the Super Bowl. With all due respect to Saints and Colts fans, I couldn’t even remember who was playing (I know, very sad), so I had to look it up on the NFL’s website. But before you tsk tsk me, please understand that football has never been a big–or small– part of my life. My dad is from Hungary and couldn’t care less about American sports. My mom is not a football fan, so, when I was growing up, I only watched football once a year when my uncle would come for a brief visit. In fact, I didn’t watch the Super Bowl until my younger brother was old enough to ask to watch it (I think I was in 7^th or 8^th grade). All I remember from that first Super Bowl viewing is that the Denver Broncos won.

Like many people, I watch the Super Bowl for the ads. In fact, that’s all I watch. During the actual football, I talk, play with my kids, read, pour more wine, or grab more food. Perhaps it’s because I’m in marketing, but I really enjoy watching the creativity and out-of-the-box thinking that results from huge ad budgets and the pressure to not only make a big impression, but also come out on top as the most talked about ad the next day.

There’s a new twist to the whole Super Bowl ad frenzy, and it comes in the form of Facebook. Thanks to clever marketing folks at Budweiser, Facebook is playing a major part of their Super Bowl ad campaign. Budweiser has asked their Facebook fans to vote for 1 of 3 ads that will air during the Super Bowl. So, first you become a fan, then you vote. Then you can post your vote to your wall where your friends can see it. Now they can comment on it and cast their own votes (once they also become fans, of course). If you remain a Bud fan, you’ll be dinged with all sorts of promotions and information from them. Pretty clever, especially since their ads are usually great. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that, no matter how small the role may be?

Pepsi is usually a big Super Bowl advertiser, but this year, they’re just focusing on social media. They have a Facebook page and a Twitter account, of course, but they’re also on YouTube with their Refresh Studio, billed as “the ultimate music collaboration between will.i.am and LMFAO”, and they’re sponsoring the Super Bowl Fan Jam, a concert featuring Rihanna, on February 4 on VH1. They do have a really cool commercial, though it’s only on their website. “Bob’s House” was created by people within the company’s EnAble division, which employs people of all abilities. This particular commercial features deaf actors, and it’s really quite funny. Check out www.pepsi.com to watch “Bob’s House”. While you’re there, look around their website a bit, which is both very slick and easy to navigate.

Once again, Doritos, has asked amateurs to create Super Bowl ads for them. They solicited votes for the top ads, and there are six finalists, which are listed at www.crashthesuperbowl.com. It looks like they are no longer taking votes, but there are four days to go before the Super Bowl as I write this, so I can kinda understand their logic. Their website is worth looking up. It’s set up like a video game, so it’s got an interactive element that is interesting and very different from anything I’ve seen: www.doritos.com.

Any other interesting Super Bowl-related ad campaigns out there? I’d love to hear about them!

Speaking of the Super Bowl and social media, Network Solutions has a couple of great social media deals you might want to know about: The domain purchase for social media is only $6.99 (use the coupon code DOMSOCIAL1 at check out), while a domain transfer for social media is also only $6.99 (use coupon code DOMSOCIAL3 at checkout). Visit www.networksolutions.com to take advantage of these offers. And enjoy the Super Bowl!

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Tags: advertising, Facebook, Marketing, social media
Posted in Branding, Marketing, Social Media | Comments

Network Like You Mean It: 4 Ways to Make it Work

January 29th, 2010 :: Monika Jansen

If you’re shy, the very notion of networking is paralyzing. If you’re like me and not shy at all, the idea of networking is fun and challenging and an opportunity to meet a lot of cool people. If you work at home alone, it’s also the chance to actually talk to someone in person. And if you are a small business owner and/or just starting out, it is a great way to spread the word about your business quickly.

When I first started networking, I thought I would instantly pick up new clients. As I learned, though, networking is not about sales, it’s about building relationships with people. I have learned three other key things as well: have an engaging elevator speech, talk to as many people as possible, and, if it’s an evening event, don’t drink.

But first, you need to find events that work for you. I have been to a few events that were packed to the gills with network marketers (you know, Mary Kay sales people and the like). They are only interested in selling to you, so every conversation with them is about their product(s). I avoid them like the plague now. The events I do attend and enjoy are populated by small business owners, CEOs, and executives. Rather than spending a lot of money and learning through trial and error like me, ask people you meet and like which events they attend and why they like those events.

Four Ways to Make it Work:

Build relationships. As I said above, networking is about building relationships, not generating sales. Of course, if you meet someone who needs your service/product, awesome! But that is not the point of networking. I look for two kinds of people at events: those that are expert networkers and know tons of people and those who are in complementary businesses. If I find an expert networker, I develop a relationship with that person. They are most likely to be able to refer me business and introduce me to people I do need to meet. I also like to meet those in complementary businesses: graphic designers, web designers, and those who work in marketing, public relations, and advertising, as we need each other’s services.
Have an engaging elevator speech. If you and I met at a networking event and I told you I was a marketing communications consultant, well, so what? That doesn’t tell you anything about how I can help you (and most people don’t even know what marketing communications is!). So I tell people, “I am a writer and editor, and I help my clients articulate who they are, what they do, and why they’re better than the competition via blogs, email marketing, newsletters, direct mail, brochures, press releases, and website content, among other things.” Then I’ll ask the person I’m talking to what sets them apart from the competition, but usually people will ask questions about my services. The point is, you want your elevator speech to clearly state how you help your clients, and you want it to prompt questions. If it doesn’t, work on it!
Talk to as many people as possible. Sounds like a no-brainer, but you’d be amazed at the number of people I meet who hang out with people they already know the entire time. Almost as bad are the people who settle into conversations with one or two people and don’t bother mingling. When I go, I say hi to the people I know, but mostly I walk right up to strangers and introduce myself. If I see someone hovering nearby with no one to talk to, I invite them to join in the conversation. If a conversation seems to be going nowhere, I say, “Well, it was great meeting you, but since we’re here to network, I better go network!” No one has taken offense to that yet. After all, isn’t that why they’re there as well?
Don’t drink. Another no-brainer, but lots of people have no brains once they start drinking, so I figured it ought to be said. I personally do not want to do business with someone who does not know how to handle liquor or themselves once they’ve had liquor. I also prefer to be fully cognizant of what I am saying to people and what they are saying to me. If I want a drink, I have one when I get home.

One other thing to mention: be careful about the amount of networking you do. It can get expensive and turn into a time-suck. I try to go to one to three events a month, tops. Anymore than that, and I am losing too many billable hours!

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Tags: elevator speech, networking, sales
Posted in Business Development | Comments

Keeping Up With the Marketers

January 29th, 2010 :: Monika Jansen

Marketing is one of those fields that is constantly evolving, and trying to keep up with it all can be exhausting. I think that is especially true if you have to do the marketing for your own business yourself, when all you’d you’d rather be doing is what you actually do. But learning something new is fun, and fun is good. And learning is even more fun when you can take short cuts. So, to save you time and help you learn, here are some great companies and organizations that I turn to regularly to keep up with the rest of the marketing peeps out there.

American Marketing Association: You need not be a member to receive emails from them announcing free marketing-related webinars. I have learned a lot from these webinars, though just a word of caution: some speakers are far better than others. I have listened to a couple of people read their presentations—for 45 minutes. However, if you sign up for a webinar and miss it, a link to the presentation will be emailed to you so you can watch or listen to it at your leisure. www.marketingpower.com

451 Marketing: Founded in 2004 and based in Boston, 451 is an interactive marketing and PR agency that specializes in inbound marketing. The team at 451 publishes a fun blog, is active on Facebook, and sends out a steady stream of useful tweets. If you want to learn more about marketing 2.0, PR 2.0, and social media, check them out. www.451marketing.com

Hubspot: Another Boston-area inbound marketing company (they’re actually across the Charles River in Cambridge), Hubspot creates software that facilitates the inbound marketing efforts of its clients. I just logged onto their website, and I was met with a message stating that over 2,000 businesses use their software to grow traffic, leads, and sales. Pretty impressive! I follow their VP of Marketing, Mike Volpe, on Twitter, get their newsletter, and read their blog posts as often as I can. www.hubspot.com

Marketo: I learned about both Hubspot and Marketo through AMA webinars. Marketo also makes software, but theirs focuses on lead generation and collaboration between the marketing and sales departments. They publish a great blog called Modern B2B Marketing that is always full of interesting information. I signed up for an RSS feed, so it arrives as an email in my inbox. In a really smart marketing move, they make it super easy to share their blog via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, del.ici.ous, Reddit, and StumbleUpon. www.marketo.com

Web Marketing Today: This website is a clearinghouse of sorts on web marketing and e-commerce. They publish a short newsletter that is always worth reading, and many of them contain short “how to” videos. The only thing that tends to rub me the wrong way is the founder’s use of “God bless” this and “God bless” that. But because of the high-quality information he disseminates, I ignore it. www.webmarketingtoday.com.

Inc.: Last, but definitely not least, is Inc. Magazine’s website. If you are an entrepreneur or small business owner, Inc. is basically required reading. They do a whiz-bang job covering sales, marketing, strategy, finance, operations, and so on in an engaging manner. I learn a lot from them every month, and their website is loaded with great articles (plus blogs and newsletters) that are not published in the magazine. Sign up for an RSS feed today. www.inc.com

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