Jack of all trades, master of none.

It is an old saying “he is a jack of all trades, but a master of none.”  This phrase refers to a person who is capable of doing many things but not doing them all with excellence.  This particular adage is very important to small business owners.

It is easy to get caught in the trap of knowing just enough to work on a something yourself, but this is not always in the best interest of your business.   Lots of people can build web sites, and many templates are available, but if the web site does drive revenue or customers for your business does it serve your business well?  Would you even consider not hiring a surgeon to perform open heart surgery?  or an attorney to present your case in court?

Here at The Greenbo Agency we completed a skills assessment before deciding who would work on what projects and what services we could offer clients.  For the skills we did not have, or for skills we were not masters of, we found associated to contract that work to.  This has allowed us to offer a full buffet of a la carte services while maintaining excellence and customer satisfaction.

Think of what you are “saving money on” in your business by not contracting with a master at their trade.  Have you really saved any money or has your short cut cost you more than your original investment would be?

The next time you are tempted to be penny wise and pound foolish, ask yourself: am I a master at this skill and what will it cost me if this is not done right?

The importance of not “over-selling”

We recently completed an event that was a moderate success.  I would have stated this was an overwhelming success but our venue was not what we had been promised.

As we reviewed all the details of what we had planned versus what was delivered we quickly realized we had been a victim of an overzealous sales person.  It happens one time, and then you learn.

It is imperative that when selling your products and services that you not over sell.  The best policy is to always under promise and over deliver allowing for increased (and outstanding) customer satisfaction. Who complains when they get MORE than what they contracted for?

The same goes for your marketing.  All your claims and promises should equal or exceed what your product or service will offer.

To tell you the truth…

I was talking with a client the other day and they said to me “to tell you the truth, I never liked my prior marketing representative.”  A pretty ordinary statement and we have all said “to tell you the truth…” but on this day it really made me think, what does this say about me?

When you are your brand and your brand is your business – what does it say when you have to announce you are telling the truth?  Sure, it is a just a saying – but is it?

We should all approach our business interactions as honestly as possible ( honesty is always the best policy – but on occasion choosing your words carefully is equally important).   There are times when our customers may ask us a question that requires a delicate response but delicate and a lie are two different things.

I started Facebook for my family.

I hear this almost every day “I started using Facebook to keep up with my family, but now I have business connections on there.  I am not sure I should have them both.”  That is a very important statement, and a very important thought process to complete before you decide.

Ask yourself the following:

1. Do I want to grow my business connections and am I okay with being personal with business people?
2. Do I have a filter (eg am I going to want to share when my son is potty trained or when the dog just took a dump in the house?)
3. Do I understand all of the Facebook security and privacy settings available to me?
4. Do I need a Fan Page for business connections and a Facebook profile for my family and friends?

If you have a filter and understand the business of people doing business with people, then you are more than ready to combine work and family on your profile.  If on the other hand you would prefer to keep these two worlds separate and you are not ready for a fan page, then just connect with business people on LinkedIn.

If you have decided to combine both worlds on your profile, review your privacy settings:

1. Check your photo album settings.  You can make them visible to specific groups or individuals.  You should not make all pictures open for everyone to view.  Even if you are a photographer.
2. If you would not say something on the side of a bus, then send it in a message.  A DM (direct message) is a much better way to communicate with someone one on one versus talking really loud to one person in a crowd and posting a simple personal message to their wall.
3. Use the “@” symbol to highlight businesses, fan pages and people you want to cross promote.  This is a wonderful way to say “a great job” or “I recommend this person.”
4. You can tie your website, blogs and twitter feeds directly to your Facebook profile using apps and tabs.  Check them out.
5. Consider your audience when picking your profile picture – this is the first thing someone sees when they search you on Facebook.
6. Set your privacy settings to share your “information” with all, but keep the rest of your page (and connections) private until your are “friends”.  This is like handing out your business card before handing someone your full life biography.
7. Keep it light on your status.  We all have super icky days and work clients we would love to just trash – but screaming about it (in all caps) on your status is more likely to turn friends and contacts off than to keep growing your network.
8. Use groups.  Under the “edit friends” setting you can create groups.  Please take the time to set these up and you can check status updates by group, send messages by group, share albums by groups – allowing you laser focus in your communications versus buckshot.
9. Do not invite every person to every event.  If your event is local you can invite your local groups, do not flood others with events they will not attend.  It takes away from the purpose of a targeted event and communication.
10. Consider sharing open events on your wall, but targeting your invitations.  A message accompanied by an invitation will bring you more response than an open event with no idea why a person should consider attending.

Sure, Facebook was started as a way for college students to communicate and share “experiences” but consider these statistics published by Facebook:

• There are over 900 million objects that people interact with (pages, groups, events and community pages)
• Average user is connected to 80 community pages, groups and events
• Average user creates 90 pieces of content each month
• More than 30 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each month.

• There are more than 150 million active users currently accessing Facebook through their mobile devices.
• People that use Facebook on their mobile devices are twice as active on Facebook than non-mobile users.
• There are more than 200 mobile operators in 60 countries working to deploy and promote Facebook mobile products

Opportunities for both personal connections, increased family communications and business abound!

What makes a web site work?

I spend a fair amount of time looking at websites.  Some I am looking at for information, others I am studying for what makes them successful – and others I am working on for clients.   If you have spent enough time on the internet I am sure that you have seen your share of the good, the bad and the very ugly.

With the variety of easy to use software available today, anyone can put up a web site.  But having a web site does not do anything for your business if you did not design it with a purpose.  Do you want your site to drive customers to purchase?  To consider your services?  or are you using the site to just be a yellow pages ad for people to know you are on the web but there is no action to take place?

And once you have a web site, do you immediately believe you need a Facebook Fan Page, a Twitter stream and a LinkedIn Group?  Maybe you do, but more likely you do not.  If you have no plan in place, no objectives to measure and no staff to commit to updating your content I would recommend you save your time and avoid being on the web at all.  If on the other hand you have set your objectives, understand the success metrics, have a steady stream of content and are ready to start making money, then by all means – open your registers and start posting!

A common misconception is that any one of your web activities can stand alone.  In reality, the most successful sites are supported by traffic that is driven from blogs, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.  Activities driven by your company, and your employees, are creating leads generated from external sites driven to your website.

Some key questions to consider when looking at your site:

* Does your marketing team have the expertise and bandwidth to create content on a weekly basis?
* Does your company need all of these tools (blogs, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) or are only some relevant to your business?

* What action are you asking a person to take when they visit your site?
* Do you have metrics in place to measure success?

Once you can answer these questions you can answer the most important question of all:  can we do this in-house or is now the time to consider hiring this out?  What you may have thought was a savings in the end can cost your company more in revenue if not done properly.  Your website is just like the outfit you so carefully picked out for your client meeting,  there is only one chance to make a first impression.

How many networking groups is enough?

There seems to be a renewed interest in networking again.  And I am not talking about Facebook or LinkedIn – I am talking about the old fashioned-shake some hands-share a bit about your business-hand out business cards in person kind of networking.

It is true that we are doing more over the internet and with our mobile phones, iPads and other communication devices we can Tweet our status, need for work, business recommendations and new product announcements at anytime from anywhere.  Yet none of this can take the place of doing business with a person face to face.  In a challenging economy this is where your networking skills are put to the test – as is your wallet and time.

Before you decide on how many networking groups you belong to, you need to decide on which group is right for you by answering a few questions:

1. What financial and time resources will I need to invest to make this group profitable for me?  Most experts agree you should experience a 10:1 ratio on your investments to consider your participation a success.
2. Can you commit to being a part of the group and not just taking a seat at each event?  You will only get out of a group what you put into it.  If you come prepared with your 60 second business description, business cards and the desire to give out more referrals than you receive – you are prepared for success.
3. Would you be willing to invite more people to join your group?  Each member must be willing to extend invitations to their social circles to increase the overall effectiveness of the group.

Once you have answered yes to all of the above questions, now it is time to review how many groups you have time for and what differentiates each group.  I belong to three networking groups locally, and two virtually.  I am expected to participate fully in each group if I want to continue to increase my personal and business brands.  Each group focuses on different areas that are important to me for work, friendship and spiritual development. 

I recommend you balance your groups based on time committment as well.  With online groups you can often pop in once a week and attend a once a month online webinar.  With local groups you need to decide if you have the bandwidth to do every week, every month or every quarter commitments.

You cannot “over-network”.  You can choose to not participate fully in groups and be seen as the “non-networker” at each visit.  Remember two very important facts and you will always meet with success:

• No one wants to do business with a business, they are looking to connect and do business with people; and
• no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.  In the case of networking groups they are looking for you to listen, ask for their help with referalls and for you to assist them in the same way.

If you build it, they may not buy it.

I am working on a couple of new projects I am pretty excited about.  Both come with huge challenges as it relates to awareness and audience.  Neither will be an easy sell.  Both are all about the basics of any good marketing strategy:  product, price, position, promotion and people.  In case you thought the basic principles of marketing had changed, these are still the five most important items as it relates to your most important business principle: profit!

Product
Just because you have one, it does not mean people want it.  If you have a service it does not necessarily mean someone has a need for it.  You must double-check and then triple check your audience and survey for wants and needs as it relates to your gee-whiz-I-think-this-is-so-cool offering.

Price
Once you have a product or service you need to think about what you can realistically ask for in the way of price.  It is more than just saying I want to make 150% percent in return.  You need to build in all of your costs and then look at what the market will bear.  Your understanding of your competition is imperative here.  In the age of everything is online all the time you must do as much research as your customers will when it relates to your product pricing.

Position
I know that you are sure your product is the only one that anyone needs.  The fact of the matter is that needs are slim these day, wants are in great demand.  You have to position your products differentials in a way that your customers not only want your product, but they are reasoning a need for it.

Promotion
You do not have to be a used car salesman to sell your products.  Promotions are not nearly as easy as they used to be.  Consumers are far more aware of how promotions work and what the cost to them is.  If you are selling a product MSRP for $40 and next week you run a promotion at $20 your customers know you are not loosing money and they will only buy when the product is on promotion.  Be careful of how you promote your product, and where.  The great thing about an online community is you can quickly promote specific products to individuals meeting your demographics with laser accuracy versus a buckshot approach.

People
In the end, remember no one buys from a business.  People love to buy from other people.  Make your products and service personal.  Never forget who is paying the bills – your customers don’t.  It is easy to get caught up in a bottom line and the business of business, but people are the most critical part of any business.

From your employees, who are the most important part of any positioning and promotion of a product, to your suppliers who are talking about how much they like or don’t like doing business with you.  There is not a person who comes in contact with your business who does not form an opinion which translates to their perception of your business.

And we all know that your customer’s perception is your revenue reality.

Your Facebook Status.

“There is no reality – only perception” - Dr. Phil

My sister called the other day and asked how I was.  I shared that I had been under the weather and that the mess in our house was driving me insane.  I am ready for some sense of order in all of this chaos and I was working extra hours to keep up with clients.  She was surprised and said “based on your Facebook status I had no idea.  I thought everything was great.”

That made me laugh, I mean really laugh.  Who would post on their Facebook status “I have a hangover, I forgot to pay the cable bill,  the kids are driving me insane, plus I could use a break from my husband/girlfriend/whatever you need a break from”?  Sure we may have all thought about it, (and you may have one of those TMI connections who not only shares why they feel like yick, but what kind of yick) but would you ever really post it?

More than likely the answer is “no”.  We are all aware that perception is far more important in a networked world than reality.  We shout and share the good news, and keep the requests and bad news or even the mundane news to ourselves.  Behind the daily updates, status feeds, live news feeds and blogs there are real people attached to those words sitting in chairs with a computer screen in front of them.  The screen is not a mirror.  Rather it is a safety filter, if you will, that allows the user to present anything they want through a series of keystrokes.

This is exactly how a business, brand, personality or individual cannot do enough to keep perceptions of them free from unwanted attacks.  How often do you take the time to Google your name or your business?  When is the last time you ran a search on your personal information?  Everything you post, every bit of public information you make available through LinkedIn, Twitter, MySpace, Facebook and other networked sites is all free to the collectors of such information.

This is also a good time to remind readers that you cannot believe everything you read.  A good marketer will spend their time carefully crafting audience perception of their brand throughout all aspects of their business.  A poor marketer will continue to push content out without ever gauging the impact of their messages.  A wise customer will take their time to understand and investigate the difference.

Network Marketing (not your Mother’s MLM)

Call it what you want:  multi-level marketing, direct marketing or network marketing – this is one place where growth is exploding.  According to the Direct Selling Association (http://www.dsa.org/) Direct selling is defined as “the sale of a consumer product or service, person-to-person, away from a fixed retail location, marketed through independent sales representatives who are sometimes also referred to as consultants, distributors or other titles.”

You may wonder what draws a person to direct sales.  For many it is the flexible schedules, the ability to earn extra income without having to work in a corporate environment and owning their own company with a limited investment in merchandise and no R&D or manufacturing to consider.

As our economy continues the roller coaster of job security, many people have returned to purchasing from friends and family versus a large company.  The products available include everything (cosmetics, kitchen gadgets, clothing, accessories, and yes – most insurance is a form of direct selling).

So what do you look for to succeed in network marketing?  The same thing you look for to succeed in any business.  First do your research.  Understand the products you are looking at, the company you are doing business with and what the marketing opportunity is.

Once you decide to jump in the water, know your plan.  You will need both an operating expense plan (what are your expenses, how long before you must make money, what is your profit versus revenue goals) and a marketing plan (who are your customers?  Who is your competition?  Where will you find more customers?).

The next part is easy: network.  There has never been more opportunity to network with other business owners or groups as there is today.  Leverage LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and local business groups to increase your circle of contacts.  Ask for referrals and in turn, be ready to offer referrals as well.

Remember, all strong businesses are built by smart business owners.  If you are being asked to invest money in a company that is not investing money and training in you, you might be looking at the wrong product to offer.

For more information on starting your own business with direct sales of products and services, I encourage you to visit the Direct Selling Association (http://www.dsa.org/).

Facebook: Friend or Foe?

I had an interesting conversation with a web marketing company the other day.  This gentlemen said to me “I am not so sure about Facebook, it seems to be a mess and yet you have to belong to be part of the club.”

That made me stop and think about how some individuals and businesses approach Facebook.  For years companies have built one way conversation mechanisms with their customers.  Personal communication gave way to 800 numbers, and 800 numbers were moved from business headquarters to offshore locations.  The web allowed for email collector accounts with limited feedback options.  Customers began to grumble but still today you can spend 10 minutes on a company phone directory before getting a live body.

Facebook has changed the customers expectation of personal communications.  The real-time activity in Facebook requires someone to monitor and respond to the page.  Someone must initiate conversations, post company news, share links that keep traffic on your page and offer responses to customers.

Take a look at the user statistics provided by Facebook:

• More than 400 million active users
• 50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day
• Average user has 130 friends
• People spend over 500 billion minutes per month on Facebook
• There are over 160 million objects that people interact with (pages, groups and events)
• Average user is connected to 60 pages, groups and events
• Average user creates 70 pieces of content each month
• More than 25 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each month.
• More than one million websites have integrated with Facebook Platform
• More than 150 million people engage with Facebook on external websites every month
• Two-thirds of comScore’s U.S. Top 100 websites and half of comScore’s Global Top 100 websites have integrated with Facebook
• There are more than 100 million active users currently accessing Facebook through their mobile devices.
• People that use Facebook on their mobile devices are twice as active on Facebook than non-mobile users.

This is more than “belonging to a club” this is real use by your customers and potential customers.  You can choose to ignore Facebook and treat it as a fad hoping that your competition is not looking for business where your customers are.  This is equal to a Yellow Page ad in a city where you do not do business.

Or, you can embrace the open communication between customers and companies and participate in actively reaching out to your audience every day.  Seriously – there has to be something to Facebook if 400 million users are there, can you afford to not talk with them?