Referral Week - do something

This content from: Duct Tape Marketing

Tired of Hearing About E.D. - then do something.

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting tired of all the talk of economic downturn (E.D.) and I think, as a group, small business owners are too.

Therefore we hereby declare March 9-13, 2009 - Make a Referral Week. Make a Referral Week is an entrepreneurial approach to stimulating the small business economy one referred business at a time. The goal for the week is to generate 1000 referred leads to 1000 deserving small businesses in an effort to highlight the fact that this simple action can blossom into millions of dollars in new business. Small business is the lifeblood and job-creating engine of the economy and merits the positive attention so often saved for corporate bailout stories.

Th e-week long virtual event will also feature daily education programs focused on teaching small business owners and other marketers how to tap the power of referral marketing. The featured session includes a live web conference with Ivan Misner, founder of BNI and author Masters of Networking, Bob Burg, author of Endless Referrals and the Go-Giver, Bill Cates, author of Get More Referrals Now. (Here’s the full list of education planned for the week)

No money is exchanging hands, no sponsors are being hit up, it’s just something that we thought needed to be done. If you want to get involved in this small business happening visit the Make a Referral Pledge page and submit your intention now to make at least one referral during the March 9-13 event. (Take this step and you are automatically eligible to receive audio recordings of the entire expert series)

Once you pledge you will also find tools that make it easy to refer friends, post to your Facebook profile and blog about the week. If you would like to actively promote visit the sponsor page for additional tools. During the week of March 9-13 we will activate the Referral-o-meter to track the march to 1000 referrals as small business owners visit and describe who they referred a lead to and why. This is every small business person’s chance to be a part of the solution!

I blogged this in its entirety. Take a look and check back with me for a few local opportunities and a special deal on Referral Flood.

Technorati Tags: Duct Tape Marketing,Referral Week,Referral Flood,BNI,Referral

Referral Week - Headline Event

Ivan Misner, founder of BNI and author of Masters of Networking, Bob Burg, author of Endless Referrals and the Go-Giver, and Bill Cates, author of Get More  Referrals Now make up a panel of what may be the worlds greatest single collection of thought leaders on the subject of referrals.

The live web conference is scheduled for Tuesday, March 10th at Noon CST and will be hosted by John Jantsch, author of Duct Tape Marketing. To register for the conference - click here

The conference is the headline event of the educational component of Make a Referral Week.

Special offer on the Duct Tape Marketing Referral Flood Package.

Technorati Tags: Referral,Referral Week,Referral Flood,Duct Tape Marketing

STIMULUS WILL CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNEMPLOYED CONSTRUCTION

"In just a few short weeks President Obama and Congress have created real and meaningful opportunities for unemployed workers and struggling businesses that will counter the effects of the economic downturn. They understand that significant investments in infrastructure and construction projects can play a vital role in our economic recovery. Millions of construction workers and tens of thousands of construction companies are now ready to lead the way in proving them right," says Stephen Sandherr, chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America

STIMULUS WILL CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNEMPLOYED CONSTRUCTION WORKERS & STRUGGLING BUSINESSES, BUILDERS ARE READY TO LEAD THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY, AGC'S STEPHEN SANDHERR SAYS

People want to do business with people

Do you remember the last time you called a toll-free number and were routed through phone-tree hell (“Press 4 for customer support. Press 5 for sales.”) and then had to wait on hold? How did that make you feel?

Or consider the Web sites you’ve visited recently. How many were dull and uninspiring and didn’t answer any of your questions? Did it feel like these organizations cared about you?

Of course not.

People want to do business with people. We're human, and we crave interaction with people who know us. When you build content especially for your buyer personas, you build a relationship with people before you’ve even met them.

This is from Web Ink Now, and written by David Meerman Scott.

Take a look at my message on Target Marketing.

Can you use the Obama plan to be successful.

I am going to print a trillion dollars to make it through the next couple of years. That is good sound advice that I can give you and let YOU IMPLEMENT IT! If you pull it off, I can be the hero. By the way can I have a referral?

Oh, you want an alternative strategy, then deal with reality. Take you budget, reduce your s ales income, balance your expenses and get efficient so you can make money. The most important requirement to be successful right now is common sense. You are embarking on a journey that will make your company more successful than it ever has been. Start think like a turnaround, it is not hard, put yourself in survival mode now. Begin by asking 4 simple question:

1. Determine where you are at now in each category and from each perspective. The categories you can start with are Financial, Human Resources, Customer, Product/Services.

2. Create your vision. Where do you want to go and don’t be afraid to think long term. Where would you like to be in 3 to 5 years.

3. How are you going to get there? What strategies are you going to use. There is lot to this step and you may find out a few of these do not work but you must get them in place and carry them out.

4. Set your objectives and measure them. Hint: If you can’t measure them, quit doing them. This will be the one thing that will keep your on course.

That is it. Now, I could probably throw in action plans to carry out the objectives but here is the real secret: I just described the One Page Business Plan to you. Go out and build one for each department, for each person and your company will survive and you will not have to spend a trillion dollars to do it.

Technorati Tags: Obama,Budgets,One Page Business Plange,Turnaround

Duct Tape Marketing - 7 Step Webinar

This week and the following 2nd and 4th Thursdays, I will hold a newly created webinar for 2009 based on the  Duct Tape Marketing - 7 steps to Small Business Success. During the webinar I will go over the 7 -star principles and at the end offer you several special deals. More information on the webinar can be found on the registration page. 

Technorati Tags: Duct Tape Marketing,Webinar,Small Business,7-steps,Seven Steps

Lean Your Marketing

Remember the old adage about marketing - only 50 percent of your marketing works, you just do not know which 50 percent? Many marketers are still under that philosophy.

Today’s companies are innovative and focuses on waste reduction, improved lead time, maximized flexibility and upgraded quality using lean principles. But few are transferring these principles to their marketing practice.

One of my post on the American Express Open Forum, take a look and make a comment.

Technorati Tags: Lean,Lean Marketing,Lean Six Sigma Marketing

Back to the Fundamentals

Palo Alto Software is proud to present an on-going series on getting your business "Back to the Fundamentals". With all the information out there on what you should be doing, this series is focused on giving you actionable items that get you moving toward success today!

Free Webinar - Simple Marketing Tactics presented by John Jantsch on February 11, 2009 at 12:00pm CST

Let's get back to basics and start utilizing simple, effective and affordable marketing tactics to create momentum that carries your business through the tough times and allows it soar in the good times.

Register Here

Technorati Tags: Marketing Plan Pro,Duct Tape Marketing,Marketing Tactics,Back to the Fundamentals

Can I beat Amazon on Google?

 

Ok, this is a relatively unimportant blog post but you have to have some fun sometime. One of my goals occasionally is to find out where I can get to on Google Search. Well, the last few weeks I have been trying to beat Amazon on two Google search terms: One Page Business Plan and Duct Tape Marketing.

I was able to do it for One Page Business Plan, 4 of the last 6 days but Duct Tape Marketing has stumped me though. I just can’t do it.

Now for the fun part. I am not a neophyte when it comes to SEO but let me tell you something. I don’t even try. But you tell me, why is my ratings so good or not so good? Give me some suggestions, I need help!

Technorati Tags: Amazon,One Page Business Plan,Duct Tape Marketing,Business901

This is from Business901.

[901 Blogs] Social Media Hierarchy Revisited

This content from: Duct Tape Marketing

Social Media Hierarchy Revisted

Awhile back I wrote a post that outlined what I called the hierarchy of social media. In that post I compared the tools commonly employed in social media to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs. The primary notion being that certain tools were more suited to someone just getting started, meeting basic needs, than someone deeply evolved and more suited to more advanced needs.

So my new hierarchy or pyramid has evolved to this

Plan,listen, join and grow!

Sales and Marketing the Six Sigma Way

Improve your Sales Process

Win more of the Right Customers

Lower Your Cost, Boos Your Margins

This is what Michael Webb, author of Sales and Marketing the Six Sigma Way, promises on the outside cover of the book. Does he deliver? You betcha! This is one of my top reference books that sits either on my desk or my shelf immediately adjacent to my desk. I use it, deface it, bend corners or the stuff that an author would love to hear about his book.

If you have followed my blog, you can understand that this is not just a ho-hum recommendation. It is a great book, the best of any of his writings, and allows you to really study your sales and marketing process. The book is even written in a fashion that you can just sit down and have an enjoyable read. However, the charts and the procedures he recommends are really great guidelines to use and you will find yourself referring back many times to the material.

If you want to learn how to start the Lean Six Sigma Marketing Process this is a great companion book. Of course I would also recommend Duct Tape Marketing for the marketing side.

Technorati Tags: Lean Six sigma,six sigma,marketing,lean,Lean Marketing

Mystery e-mail,Good Info

I had this in my email box but did not know where it came from. I had forwarded it to myself. I think it is pretty good info: It looks like Pragmatic Marketing, so that is who I am going to credit it too. 

But if you concentrate on crisply and clearly documenting the answers to five key solution selling questions, you can save yourself a lot of time and become a hero in the process.  Those five questions are:

1. What are a few things sales people need to know to more intelligently discuss the most important customer’s needs and problems your solution solves?

2. Why should solving those problems be a high and urgent priority for your customers?

3. How should sales people identify and qualify the best prospects for your solution?

4. How does the customer use your solution to solve each need and problem?

5. What is the value of your solution’s differentiation in the context of each need and problem?

These sound pretty simple, but getting the sales force to institutionalize this knowledge sure isn’t easy.  Any experienced Product Marketer however,  should have this information down cold, so the key is to figure out a way to organize  this knowledge so sales people can get access to it and handle the 20% of the conversations that drive 80% of the solution selling process without bringing you or another product expert on the sales call. 

Cut Customer Service? You'll Lose Customers

Just about every company faces tough choices about how to improve operations in an increasingly tough environment.

Companies need to be careful that short-term cuts don't lead to long-term pain.I've clearly stated my perspective that the worst thing companies can do in the Great disruption is to stop investing in innovation. Companies might think that innovation and survival are discrete choices. They are not. Companies that stop innovating are sowing the seeds of their own destruction.

The first was Hertz...

In future posts I'll present some different ways to think about cost cutting that truly allow companies to do more with less, drawing on some of the material that will appear in my forthcoming book The Silver Lining: An Innovation Playbook for Uncertain Times.

In the meantime, any other good stories about clear cuts in customer service that have damaged what used to be a great relationship with a company?

Read the rest of this post from Scott Anthony.

I would promote you looking at building a referral program using some creative techniques before cutting service. For a few ideas look at this web page of mine.