Since September, we’ve been able to publish 3 Kindle books to Amazon.
At first it started off as an experiment to help spread the word about who we are and what we do at Black Dog Education. Sure we love saying at fancy parties, “We have a few books on Amazon. Whatever, no big deal.” But beyond that, our experience with Kindle books have given us the opportunity to break into a new part of the online marketing world while teaching us some important lessons.
Surveys are a small business owner’s best friend.
We don’t have the luxury of extensive databases with years of information and study results. So instead, we must rely on following up with clients to see how marketing and other business elements are working.
The good news is that creating online surveys for your business has never been easier. With services like SurveyMonkey and Constant Contact, there’s a solution for every budget. But before you blast something out, I want to give you a few tips to help improve your surveys and get the most accurate results.
When working with a web developer, or any contractor, it’s important to have good communication. Seems easy on paper, but sometimes this simple concept can go completely haywire—even with a fantastic contractor.
That’s why today I want to tell you the story of Susan. Susan is a fictional person, but her experience has happened to quite a few real people.
We don’t usually talk about LinkedIn on the Black Dog Education blog.
It’s not because we hate it, or don’t use it. We usually spend more time talking about Twitter, Facebook and YouTube because they change more often. On the other hand, LinkedIn has gone through design changes over the years, but no huge functional overhauls or strategies necessary to properly use it. And since LinkedIn is slower and less flashy, it can sometimes get put at the bottom of the priority list.
If you find yourself struggling to remember the last time you’ve looked at your LinkedIn profile, don’t worry! There are easy things you can do to dust off the cobwebs and make it work for you.
Without proper training and application of that training, it can be uncomfortable to ask people for their money. However, too many business people put their offering out there and wait, often walking away with no sale.
If a prospect doesn’t quickly see the value of your services and jump right in to take advantage of it, then you may start to lose confidence in your abilities or in the value of your service. And this wavering of confidence weakens your desire to close the sale. In other words, you don’t ask for the order, call for a decision, or otherwise try to get a commitment from the potential client.
We conducted a little survey and asked people who were not persuaded to buy why they didn’t go ahead with whatever it was they were offered. Interestingly enough, the most common answer was that they were never asked. The potential clients were contacted, a product or service was demonstrated to them, and their questions were answered. In some cases, they were convinced of the value of the offering and probably would have gone ahead, but nothing happened. The salespeople didn’t ask them to make a commitment or to part with their money, so they didn’t.
Don’t ever let the fact that you didn’t ask someone to make a buying decision be the reason a potential client doesn’t go along with you. It can be as simple as saying, “How would you like to handle the investment for this?” Practice saying it in a business-like manner. It works fine when delivered with a warm and sincere smile.
Knowing when to ask, however, is just as important as doing it. Sometimes salespeople wait so long to ask for the sale that the right time to ask passes them by. To get past this timing challenge, figure out how to take a potential client’s buying temperature. You do this by asking an ownership question, like the following:
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