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Browse every published article connected to Sydni Craig-Hart, with exact attribution and full-archive search.
Articles
Browse every published article connected to Sydni Craig-Hart, or search within this exact expert archive.
I have no doubt that you are an amazing administrative professional. The skills that you currently possess may be enough for you to get starting in your new career as a Virtual Assistant. Although you will need to acquire new skills (as normal), the base knowledge and skillset that you possess could put you on the road to becoming an entrepreneur. What do I mean by that? You Have The Needed Skills!
Great salons and spas give their clients exactly what they need. To find out what your clients need, you have to get the inside scoop on them. How do great spas and salons get the insider info? They use surveys! Survey clientele to collect feedback on your staff, your services and what else you can do to wow the client. Follow these do's and don'ts to make your surveys a success.
Creating visibility for your business online can seem like a daunting task. There are many different options to choose from and you'll likely find yourself in "analysis paralysis" if you try them all at one.
Running a business has been compared to eating an elephant! That is a weighty thought when you consider that an elephant may not be able to fit into your home, let alone on your dinner plate. Similarly, thinking about starting a business (or keeping up with the one you have) may seem daunting.
Doesn't it feel great to pass along the word about your favorite restaurant or tell someone about a terrific book you can read? You can make it easy for your clients and colleagues to do the same for your services. When you do great work for your clients, they are just as excited to tell others about you. Creating a referral based business, where you're consistently getting leads from your current clients, has multiple benefits. It helps cut down your marketing time and costs, it gives you more opportunities to provide great service and can help you grow your network exponentially.
Ask any entrepreneur what their main goal is and you can be sure that increasing income is at the top of the list. Let's face it. There will always be bills to pay, saving accounts to pad, vacations to plan - you name it - and just about all of it requires money. So what's a busy entrepreneur to do? You do what most small business owners do. You work harder. You raise your fees, repackage your services, work more hours to bring on more clients - and find yourself overwhelmed and still underpaid.
There are likely tens of thousands of people who need the solutions that you provide. It is up to you to make sure that they receive your information in a way that is going to produce the greatest results in the least amount of time. Content marketing is the way to create lasting relationships with your target market. Here are 5 ways to use content marketing to get more clients now:
According to HubSpot in 2010, 45% of all Americans are aware of podcasting, while 23% of Americans listen to podcasts. This has increased from 11% in 2006. It is also estimated that 70 million people have listened to or viewed a podcast. So there's a high likelihood that a fair number of your ideal prospects are familiar with podcasting and enjoy receiving information in this format. Of course, as with ALL marketing efforts, the key to success is to provide specific solutions to specific problems your audience is facing. This is what gets them engaged and keeps them coming back for more.r
No matter what differences you and I have, the type of business we have, our philosophy about being self-employed or what our personal goals are, we most definitely have one thing in common. We want to be successful and we want to make a good living doing the work we love. There are a lot of ways you could pursue creating your version of a successful business. But I would like to share with you the fastest, easiest, least stressful method I know.
It can be a challenge to determine how much to charge for your products and services. You need to charge enough to cover your costs and consistently generate a profit, but you don't want to scare your prospects away. Pricing doesn't have to be a struggle. Follow these tips to price your services for maximum profits.
Your customers have specific needs, needs that you're working hard to fulfill and over-deliver with practical solutions. The #1 rule of small business is that you can't be all things to all people. Sometimes your customers need things your business can't provide. When that happens, incorporating affiliate offers into your email marketing is the best way to keep your customers happy while supplementing your revenue with affiliate commission. When incorporated into your email marketing, affiliate offers can:
Is your website doing all that it can to bring you new leads and build trust with your prospects? If not, you could be missing out on loads of clients who need exactly what you have to offer. With a few changes to your approach, you can turn your website into the number one tool that generates a profit for your business.
How many times have you attended a networking event, had a number of great conversations with ideal prospects, collected a bunch of business cards and never followed up? Perhaps more times than you'd care to admit. The bad news: You likely missed out on a number of key opportunities to deepen connections that could lead to an increase in revenue, a joint venture or more visibility for your business.
Partnerships are a powerful tool to grow your business. The right partnership will give your business a shot in the arm. You'll get fresh ideas, a new audience and maybe, depending on the type of partnership, a new product. However, there are some right ways and wrong ways to find a partner for your small business goals. These are the most common mistakes entrepreneurs make when looking for partners. Learn how to avoid them and take advantage of this powerful opportunity to partner with others. 1. Thinking about your own needs first.
You know the feeling. You're sitting at your computer watching the cursor blink. You haven't gotten a single thing done. You've worried about an important client project, all of the phone calls you need to return and made are making mental notes about the errands you need to run. You just can't seem to stay focused long enough to complete any of the critical tasks in front of you. Take a break and try these counterintuitive ways to get back on track and knock tasks off your to do list.
Let's face it. Most folks go to a networking event hoping to close new business. Is that the case with you? If so, then you need a plan to make this happen. Simply showing up and collecting a few business cards, is NOT going to create new money in your business. First, you need to research which networking opportunities are the best fit for you. Don't just go to an event for the sake of going. Look for events, seminars, conferences, workshops, etc., that cater to your ideal client and/or individuals who could be referral partners for you.
What is a marketing strategy? I like to define it as "a process that allows you to concentrate your limited resources on the greatest opportunities to increase your visibility, sales and income." For example, let's say you have the goal to enroll 3 new clients within the next 30 days. You should then focus your time, energy and resources ONLY on the necessary tasks that will allow you to reach that goal, and NOTHING else! How can you ensure that your marketing plan will yield the results that you seek? By making sure to:
Since we launched the current version of the Smart Simple Marketing brand back in 2009, by far one of the most effective marketing strategies we've used has been our email newsletter. We've sent it out every week since March 2010 and have never missed a single issue. Because of that, every single week we receive phone calls from prospective clients inquiring as to how we might work together to achieve their goals.
Unfortunately being a fabulous interior designer, virtual assistant, financial planner or whatever profession you happen to be doesn't make you an automatic marketing expert. (Wouldn't it be great if it did?) So as you strive to be of service to those who need you and generate an income to meet your personal goals, you often find yourself struggling with which marketing strategy, tactic, etc. will best suit your needs.
Have you ever wondered why some webinars are wildly successful, while others fall flat? Or why some webinars enjoy thousands of attendees while others are attended by 20 people, tops? The truth is that successful webinars follow a proven checklist that virtually guarantees their success. This checklist contains 5 crucial elements that must be included in your webinar presentation in order for it to be successful.
I get it. You need some affordable marketing ideas you can implement without laying out a lot of cash. But how can you consider even affordable marketing ideas when the budget's tight, your client base is small and you're not quite so confident in your marketing skills? Affordable marketing is easier than you think. In fact, you can start a new campaign today! After all, marketing is simply a matter of presenting solutions to people who are already looking for them! Using just a bit of creativity, you can implement these three affordable marketing ideas right now.
The success or failure of your business is not left up to chance. It is not a huge mystery as to whether you will accomplish your goals or not. This leads to an important question that you need to personally address: 'What type of person are you?'
You created a business because you have valuable solutions to offer and are in a position to serve hundreds if not thousands of people in your target market. The key however, to reaching these individuals is to put your message, your content out into the world... consistently!
You might think that only large organizations host educational events. But according to a recent study I read, more than 40 percent of small businesses hold events. Of those small business that hold events, seminars and classes account for the highest percentage of events held. What's the appeal?
If you’ve never created a webinar before, the thought of webinar marketing can be really intimidating. You’re probably wondering... • How will I work out the technical aspects of holding a webinar? • How do I give people access to the webinar? • What platform should I use for hosting the webinar? • What should the webinar be about, anyway? • How do I get people to attend my webinar? Don’t worry! While webinars are certainly more technically involved than other types of content marketing, once you get the first one under your belt you’ll be off to the races.
There is a fundamental truth about construction. Any building that is constructed has a better chance at lasting on bedrock than on sand. That is a guarantee! This is why it is so important that your business has a solid foundation. How can you make sure that this is the case with your business?
Many businesses have characteristics that are similar to any stock market in the world; there are ups and downs. When you experience a downturn, the culprit may be a slow drip of revenue, which means a slow drip of closed business from very few leads. Your goal, then, is to get in front of more leads, convert leads to clients and create systems around making this your business habit. Here's how you do it:
Right now, at this very minute, there is an ideal prospect perusing the Internet, intently looking for the answer to a question that you could answer in 30 seconds flat. If you were able to connect with that individual and chat with them about their needs and their goals, it's quite likely that at some point in the conversation they would inquire about the products and services you offer, which would provide you with an opportunity to make a sale.
You've heard me say it before. Marketing is simply a matter of sharing solutions with people who are already looking for them. So, the point of your marketing messages is to encourage your prospective clients to take the next step with you: hire you to help them solve their problems.
Even if you're not currently offering a lead magnet on your website, you've probably seen them before - a free report for opting into an email newsletter, a free music download for filling out a survey, and so on. Some small business owners go to great lengths to offer dynamic lead magnets, or as we like to call them "problem solving gifts". They put in lots of time and money to create a product or service that they could, in essence, sell for a profit. But instead of selling the solution, they give it away to build credibility and generate leads.
Ka-boom! You've just had a brilliant idea for a new product. You rush to get all your ideas down on paper, shell out thousands to your web designer, and start building a new business that you're sure is going to change lives (not to mention make you a millionaire!) Six months later no one's buying, and you end up disheartened, disillusioned, and broke. What did you do wrong? You failed to consider your prospects' pain points. Keep reading to learn: -Why you should never start a business without a problem in mind -How to tell the difference between a problem and a pain pointr
Skype is open. Instant message programs are pinging. Your unread email count is rising. Your browser has 8 tabs open. There are 5 documents open on your desktop. Your calendar alerts are popping up and you stop to send a quick text. Sound familiar? You probably think you're being efficient, but you're not. Multitasking is a big mistake and it's hurting your productivity. Which in turn is hurting your profits. Consider these startling statistics that highlight the negative effects of multitasking:
A webinar is one of the most involved – and most rewarding – arrows in your marketing quiver. Because webinars include a lot of moving parts like opt-in pages, social integration, audio/visual components, and slide shows, it’s no wonder that many small business owners commit these 7 common webinar mistakes when first getting started. Here’s what NOT to do when creating and marketing your webinar: 1. One-off Marketing
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that you want your target market to be giddy over your services and products. You are in the business of serving others and you want to help as many ideal clients as you could possibly manage. Right?
What we think our clients want and what they actually want can be vastly different. The only way to create offerings that are easy for them to say yes to and solve their problems is to find out for sure. And the easiest way to do that is to ask them! When you ask your audience what they need, it paints a clear picture of how you should position your business and your solutions in a way that appeals to them. So how do you come to understand what your clients really want?
Have you ever presented a product or service offer to your audience that you were beyond excited about? But then quickly found out you were the only person excited about it because very few (or no one) expressed an interest? (This has happened to us a few times. You live and learn, right!)
Every (and I do mea EVERY) business - including yours - has the potential to be immediately more profitable. Unfortunately, many times we are unable to see the opportunities in front of us because we buried in the minutia of our daily task list. So how do you dig out the hidden treasure in your business? How do you tap into those "well... duh!" opportunities that are right in front of you? Here are a few areas of business to investigate:
After being in business for 7 years, we have learned what it takes to grow a successful business. We had no idea when we started our first Virtual Assistance business that friends, family and associates would constantly ask the same question: "How did you do it?" Every single day of the week, we have new members join our community and ask a sought-after question. That question is, "How do I get clients?" Follow along as I share some foundational work that you can copy and start to implement today. If I were a new Virtual Assistant trying to grow a business, I would do the following:
I'm often asked, "Sydni, how do you find so many great opportunities to grow your business?" So I want to share a behind the scenes story of how we walk our talk and open new doors for ourselves to attract the perfect clients for our business:
Many entrepreneurs think the best marketing tactics cost a fortune and require budgets of thousands per month. The truth is that any small business owner with any budget can implement the following 3 marketing tactics with hardly any financial investment. The best part? These tactics are not only cost-effective, they’re the most effective ways to generate new business and keep current customers coming back. 1.Increase “word-of-mouth” referrals It’s an old adage for a reason: there really is no better marketing than word-of-mouth.
"Old-school" business marketing ideas can still help you greatly in your quest to bring in more ideal clients to your business. In today's post, learn about 3 ways you increase business.
If you want to pump up your profits, you have to get clear about exactly what you are offering your customers and offer it to them in a way that is compelling and interesting. The best way to do this is to position yourself as a problem solver for your ideal prospects. If you can solve problems for your clients, you're going to increase your visibility and keep your pipeline full.
Entrepreneurs generally have a lot in common. We're passionate about our work. We care deeply about delivering high quality products and services to the people who need us. We have a "never-say-die" spirit. Another thing we have in common is a bad habit of focusing on what went wrong. We often lose sight of the great things that went RIGHT, especially when it comes to reviewing our activity over a period of time. When you focus on the negative, you can make growing your business much more difficult than it needs to be.
Let's be honest! If you look back at the previous 12 months of your life, do you find things that are noteworthy or humdrum? Noteworthy - (adjective) Significant or unusual. Examples of things that are noteworthy: • Accomplishing meaningful goals. • Building or repairing important relationships. • Breaking through a paralyzing limiting belief. Humdrum - (adjective) Lacking excitement or variety; dull; monotonous. Examples of things that are humdrum: • Allowing hours, days and months to pass you by without making quality contributions to your life or that of others.
Why do some of your emails get high open rates, while others sit in people's inboxes collecting dust? If your open rates and click-through rates are inconsistent, it could be because you're not following a strategic email blueprint. This article will outline the specific elements that should be included each and every time you email your list. The more consistent you are in including these items, the more consistent your open rates will be! Email Body
Getting a straight answer when it comes to email marketing can feel like to trying to solicit tax advice from a four year-old. How the heck are you supposed to know who's wrong, who's right, what works, and what doesn't when it comes to your email marketing? If you take a quick look online, you'll quickly stumble upon expert debates on the topic. One marketing guru swears by long emails packed with information, while another insists upo "short and sweet" emails to increase conversions.
How many times have you checked your email inbox today? How many times throughout the day do you check for new messages? The answer to these questions is likely more often than you'd like to admit. The good news is, though... you're not alone! Most of the prospective clients and customers you are looking to do business with have similar habits. This means that your staying in touch with prospective clients, existing clients and referral partners via email is a very smart marketing strategy.
As we approach the end of the year, NOW is the perfect time to take a look back at the last 12 months and take stock of what's working and what's not working in your business. Were you thrilled by your success or disappointed in your business? What were your greatest successes? What aspects of your business do you wish you were stronger in?
One of the most important elements of profitable marketing is often the most difficult for solo service professionals to maintain. That is sharing your solutions consistently. To keep your pipeline filled with ideal clients who happily and readily pay for your solutions, you MUST market your business regularly (meaning EVERY week...YES, that often).
Feeling hesitant about what you're trying to accomplish affects all of us at one time or another. If you're ready to own your value and create more success in your business, it's time to move away from "I don't know if I can do this... " to "This is what I'm going to accomplish!"