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Does your email message stink?

May 8, 2008 | 1 Comment

The reason you communicate with people is to create relationships.  Maybe not directly, one to one, but connections none the less.

 Before you dash off your next email, consider if you are just answering the question or building a better relationship.

Email mistakes you may be making:

• Email too short: If you are just replying to a question, you may be losing an opportunity to create a better relationship.  What could you send that demonstrates value and caring?
• Email too long: If your email is too long, people will just skim it and get what they need.  Send the email with links that point to more information they might be interested in.
• Personal & Caring:  Address the person and make your message more about them and less about you.
• Email Signature: One of the ways I frequenly contact people is to look up a recent email and scroll to the bottom.  If you do not have a good email signature, you are missing out.

And lastly, don’t give away the farm.

You should build resources that you can send people to if you get common inquiries.  For example, I could have sent a recent group of inquiries the link to our blog post on 99 ways to create buzz.  Instead, I let them know they get that link if they sign up for our free buzz marketing email course.  The link was shorter, the message was shorter and the relationship is stronger because they sign up for our course.

Don’t get me wrong here - don’t double the time required to answer emails.  Simply have resources available that you can send or link to that strengthen the relationship beyond a yes or no.

Are you creating LinkedIn LOVE?

April 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Years ago, I worked at a university where we created an online community (before it was super easy) and used it to help students get to know each other before arriving at the school.  It was a big success but with some unexpected usages.  Students were using the site to plan parties and other kinds of activities.  The developers later started referring to it as the orgy board.

LinkedIn was developed to organize your network.  People you really know.  But by nature, some people like to connect with lots of people far and wide.  I see value in either option - having a strong network or having a broad network both have some great positives.

The trick to creating a broad network in LinkedIn is to have your email in your title and LION (Linked In Open Networker) also in your top portion.  These two things are an invitation to connect to strangers.  - See my profile

LinkedIn  could put a stop to this.  It is certainly not their intention, but why fight nature?  Wouldn’t people just find another way to hook up eventually?

Now, if you want people to pay attention to your invitations, write one that shows you took a real look at them.  Today I got this:

Ron

I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn. I work in a buzz marketing agency in Italy, and I think that Buzzoodle is the bible of word of mouth

-Dario

How could I not connect to Dario!?!?  That is how you spend 10 extra seconds and get a much bigger bang for your buck.

Super Hero Cards

April 22, 2008 | 2 Comments

If you are a regular reader or know me personally, you know we have some very unique business cards that are shaped like bee hives.  They get great results and are well worth the little extra to pay for a die cut.

Today I stumbled upon Super Hero Cards.  I am not sure I want to see me in tights, but this is a good option for those people that want to have fun, stand out and have something different.

I usually get two or three people asking me “What ideas do you have for my card…” after a presentation.  Creativity in such a small and portable space takes time, but take a look at that site for a different take on the business card.

Updated:  Benjamin Bach emailed me his Super Hero card.  Here it is and see his comment.

How an informal networking group turned into a franchise business

March 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment

I have a friend and business associate, Ron Finklestein, who recently converted his Business Mastery Advisory Board into a franchise opportunity. For years he has put together informal and formal groups for networking and advising.

Obviously, this is a good way to create buzz, add value for other people and build your network. His business has grown because of it.

He also worked hard at perfecting the format.  Eventually, he created an advisory board that is all business owners that act as each other’s advisors.  I have been in that program and the candid discussions around how to improve each person’s business were incredibly valuable.

When the time was right and the process worked well, he found it very easy to roll it into a franchise.

You can check out what he is doing here:  www.rpfgroupinc.com

If you want the benefit of years of experience, buy his franchise.  Or you can just wing it and start a networking group of your own.  You never know where it will take you.

How do you create a buzz partnership?

April 2, 2007 | 1 Comment

If you are in business, you probably do a lot of referral networking.  Going in and doing a pitch to a group about your business and hoping to get referrals. 

If you are selling something simple, such as make up or your restaurant, you may get lots of business from the whole group.  If you have a complex sale, such as insurance, legal, technology or accounting, you will probably be better off targeting your message and forming buzz partnerships.

A buzz partnership is when you and another company form an agreement to create some buzz for each other and jointly. This happens when you have established a reasonable level of trust and appreciation for each other and familiarity with the stories and products that the other company has.

Once this happens, it is easy to create buzz for each other and both win.  How?

• Joint seminars
• Tell stories to your clients that illustrate a point with your buzz partner.  If they show interest, let them know you could set up a chance to meet them.
• Referrals
• Co-Branding Events - Share a booth
• Create a blog and both contribute to it
• Offer specials to each other’s client list

There are many more.  The key to success is not to try to do this with too many people.  Create a special group of buzz partners that really support each other and care about the success of the parnership.

Go Get Highrise Now

March 23, 2007 | 1 Comment

Recently we assessed how we manage our contacts.  Traditionally you have your Outlook contacts and you may have a CRM for sales.  The problem for us is we do not need to sell much, because people come to us.  So the CRM has languished, rarely used.

We have various ways to track advocates, but not a good, centralized way.  Until last night at 11:30 PM when I was on Seth Godin’s Blog and came across Highrise.

Many people are going to look at this and say, “I don’t need another contact manager.”  You are probably right.  However, I feel fairly confident you are not tracking all your advocates and fans in their own database, and that is where I see the big value.

This software has a fully functional free version.  There is absolutely no excuse to not build an advocate database for yourself.  And if you use the email function (drop box) you can quickly forward emails and populate the system with the right contacts. Then you can use the tasks to make sure you are following up regularly.

The funny thing for me is we have a plan on the table for a custom database system geared only towards advocacy…. Did I say on the table?  I mean in the trash.

Rain Today Report on Sales and Leads

March 12, 2007 | 1 Comment

I got an email from Aaron Joslow, Editor of RainToday.com (http://www.raintoday.com), an online content site focused on marketing and selling for professional services.

Here is what he wrote:

We recently surveyed over 700 professional services firms and asked them, among other things, what has worked to generate leads for them in the past, what has not worked, and what they are planning on doing to generate leads in the future.

We released the results and analysis in the report, The “Future of Lead Generation” Benchmark Report (http://www.raintoday.com/leadgenreport.cfm). Some results I thought you might find of particular interest include: 

• 33% of respondents reported they currently approach the goal of getting new clients by generating referrals – aka generating buzz and word of mouth for their products and services.
  
• 38% of respondents reported that becoming members of industry organizations is “very” or “extremely effective” in generating new leads. This speaks to your point #2 about cultivating relationships with people that are influential in areas that benefit you.

• 27% of respondents reported that “publishing our own e-newsletter” is “very” or “extremely effective” in generating new leads. This speaks to your point #4 and as we both know can certainly help to nurture leads and stay in touch with your network.

This data certainly supports your points about the best ways to generate buzz! I thought that you and your readers might be interested in some of these results for your blog.

———-

Go check out their site.  I have been getting their email newsletter for years and they do a great job at providing highly useful information for sales.  They have a free executive summary of the report here: http://www.raintoday.com/6insights.cfm.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Sales, Networking, Marketing ROI, Word of Mouth Marketing, Blog 

Does your email stand the test of time?

March 2, 2007 | Leave a Comment

We just got a call today for someone that needs one of our services.  (An eMagazine for an alumni organization.)  Here is the interesting thing.  He found us by looking up an email I sent him nearly two years ago.

I am surprised if someone responds after a week.  2 Years must be a new record.

So how does an email have a shelf life beyond 24 hours?

• It must have a clear subject line that states the purpose.  When someone remembers you sent an email 6 months ago, can they quickly scan the list and find it?
• Have solid contact information.  It is surprising how many people do not have the phone number in the email.
• Clearly state the benefit of what you are offering in the message.  I may not care about health care premiums today, but when it goes up next year I may be looking back for that email that promised to save me money.
• Don’t try to trick people, SPAM people or waste their time with long emails.  Respect people’s time and they will be more likely to call on you when the time is right.

We all know that most emails will be deleted.  But if a gem falls out of the woodwork once a year it is worth the little extra effort.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Networking, Small Business, Blog 

Who are the New Influentials?

January 9, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Years ago, we all knew which people were influential.  Which people could talk about us and generate buzz for us.  It was the reporter, the TV anchor, the country club president or the dynamic speaker.  If these people talked highly about you, it was gold.

Then something changed.  These people were still important, but new avenues of communication were opening up and influence was no longer in the hands of the few.  Now, many people are influential.  Yes, it is diluted and each person does not pack the same influence as influentials in the past, but more people have marginal levels of influence in a more targeted niches.

Influence is measured by the number and quality of relationships you have and the extent that those people respect and listen to your message.  You can leverage technology to have more relationships and more contact with those relationships.  If you think of a blog post as the same as an email out to 50 people, it makes more sense.  Either one is a message reaching people that want to communicate with you. (Or at least hear what you have to say.)

So if you are trying to meet influential people that will be interested in what you have to say, consider some of these options and build relationships with people who have an audience in your particular niche.

• Bloggers
• Website Authors
• Podcasters
• Speakers
• Reporters, Anchors
• Online Community Moderators
• eNewsletter Publishers
• Editors
• Successful Business Leaders/Networkers
• Club Presidents
• People that serve on boards and in the community
• Active Online Social Network Participants
• Professors and Educators (I frequently guest lecture and know it will give me the opportunity to influence students in their future jobs.)

Feel free to use the comments below to let me know which ones I missed.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Networking, Buzzoodle, Word of Mouth Marketing, Blog 

Randomness and Luck

November 29, 2006 | Leave a Comment

I sat down to watch a presentation yesterday by Connie Dieken (An excellent speaker) and the woman next to me, Joan Looman of GEMS and I started talking. She asked me some questions about what I do and I eventually mentioned the book.  I happened to have one demo copy with me and she bought it on the spot.  I did not try to sell it to her, she really wanted to buy it.  Random sale

The same evening someone was telling me about stopping in to cold call a business to sell them advertising about 10 years ago.  He said the receptionist tried to blow him off, but the woman behind the desk smiled at him and asked him to come in.

She took him to her big, executive office and when she turned to him, she asked, “Don’t you recognize me?”  It turned out to be his teacher from middle school.  She bought some advertising just because of the chance meeting.  Random.

You can count on a certain percentage of sales from any given activity (assuming it results in at least one sale.)

You can also count on a certain percent of good luck, which is not truly luck.  If you create more buzz, you are communicating with more people and spreading more good stories.  This will increase the frequency of things that happen to you just out of luck.

Maybe I should have named the book 57 Ways to Get Lucky.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Sales, Networking, Buzzoodle, Blog 

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