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Are You Successful at Gathering Quality Leads?

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Many businesses focus on gaining new leads. The problem is that they don’t determine the difference between any lead and a quality lead.

A quality lead is anyone that is a good possibility of becoming a sale.

It is essential that businesses find more online leads to increase growth against fierce competition.

Think Long-Term

To build more leads that will turn into customers, you must think past the immediate future to the long-term.

Blogs and social media are two good ways to do this.

While they might not garner you immediate results, you will see the benefits when you do it right.

What this means is putting value in your posts or tweets. Think about what your audience wants to see instead of just posting whatever comes easy.

Quality over Quantity

It’s easy to create a product to add people to a list.

Many marketers think that they more people they get on the list, the more they will sell. They choose a product that everyone wants as part of the freebie without putting thought into whether those same people will invest money and become customers.

Instead of trying to win numerous leads that go nowhere, choose a freebie that complements the product the business sells.

While you may not end up with as many people added to your list, you will have leads that are interested in what your business offers.

Try Something New

Be willing to try a new way to reach people.

If you have been using your blog or white papers, do a video instead.

Make it fun and get people’s attention. You won’t know if it will work until you try it. Don’t let the fact that you have never done a video keep you from moving to a profitable marketing option.

If you can’t get in front of the camera, find someone who will. Take advantage of the latest trends to capture people’s attention.

If something doesn’t generate the results you want, move on to something else. That being said, make sure you give each method enough time.

As the following article looks at, some options generate results quickly while others take longer to increase leads online.

Look to Your Current Customers

Your customers can be the spokespeople for your products. If they like what you have to offer, they can convince their friends.

Give them a reason to promote your business, and you will see results. Since people who are alike tend to spend time together, their friends will be more likely to be interested in your business.

Check out the most effective ways to spread the word.

For instance, a Share button on Facebook can get attention. Encourage others to tweet or retweet. You never know when one lead will generate many other secondary leads.

Generating quality leads online is essential for the survival of any business. Be willing to invest time and thought and be open to change.

When you find the right formula, be dedicated to following it to ensure that you always have new prospects that turn into sales.

About the Author: Joyce Morse is an author who writes on a variety of topics, including running a business and marketing.

Time for a Career Consultant?

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Are you feeling stuck in your career? If your career is a little lackluster, a career consultant can help you get it back on track.

A career consultant is a worthwhile investment of time and money if you need some help moving forward, but naturally you want to choose the right consultant to make sure you get a return on that investment.

So how can you do just that?

Follow these four tips to help find the right career consultant for you.

  1. Know Your Goals

A career consultant can help you find what you want to do, gain clarity and narrow down your options. However, they will be much better able to help you if you start off with a clear idea of your aim.

Are you looking for a complete change of career or are you more interested in moving forward in your current field? Do you have specific goals regarding earning more money or being able to work from home?

It’s ok to have a lot of unanswered questions – that’s why you’re hiring a career consultant – but try to start out with an idea of your overall aims. That way, you’ll be better placed to choose a consultant whose methods and track record are well suited to those aims.

  1. Research Their Credentials

As the article “How to Find the Right Career Consultant for You” points out, anyone can set themselves up as a career consultant.

The lack of consistent accreditation can make finding the right consultant seem like a minefield, but don’t worry.

There are other ways to find out how well qualified your career consultant is:

  • Search engines. By searching for their name, you can see what others have said about them online;
  • Professional references. Ask if they can provide you with professional references to follow up;
  • Find out if they have previous clients who would be willing to talk with you;
  • A good consultant will usually have some level of visibility, such as books, papers, social media or speaking engagements.
  1. Make the Most of Your Consultation

Any career consultant worth your time will be happy to offer you a free initial consultation, either in person or by phone or email. This helps you both assess one another and figure out if you’d be a good fit.

Prepare some questions before hand to learn more about how they work and what exactly they can help you to achieve.

The consultation is also a good opportunity to see if there’s chemistry between you. Do you feel you could work well with this person?

A career consultant doesn’t occupy the same place in your life as a friend, but a certain level of rapport and ease of conversation is a must.

  1. Assess Their Methods

Every career consultant works differently.

Some are more hands on than others. Some lean more towards “tough love” while some are more holistic. All good consultants will help you with goal setting, but some will have a more formal approach than others, and some will set very specific homework.

As well as getting a feel for how they work and what kind of success they’ve had with those methods, finding out more about how they approach coaching will help you to decide if their methods are right for you.

Everyone is different, so be honest with yourself about which methods are most likely to motivate you.

A career consultant can help you turn your career around and guide you in the best direction for you.

Of course you’ll still be responsible for the work needed to get there, but the right consultant will act as your trail guide, showing you the best routes and helping you avoid the rocky ground.

About the Author: Tristan Anwyn writes on a wide variety of topics, including social media, career consultants and changing careers.

Is Your CEO Taking the Company to New Heights?

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Chief executive officer, or CEO, is usually the highest-ranking executive officer in a company, and he or she is responsible for overseeing every aspect of the business.

As a business owner, you have to make sure that you have a competent CEO, because he or she can make a big difference to your company’s performance.

Here is a look at the role of a CEO and how he or she can contribute to the success of your business.

Responsibilities of a CEO

Your CEO is tasked to ensure that every aspect of your company is running smoothly and effectively, including operations, human resources, financing, marketing, sales, public relations, fundraising and others.

While some of the responsibilities of your CEO can be delegated, others cannot be delegated, such as building company culture and establishing the senior management team.

Basically, your CEO’s main responsibility is to develop a vision and business plan for your company.

He or she will set the direction for your company and make decisions concerning budgets, partnerships, product lines, market entries, brand identity and others.

Another important duty of your CEO is building culture. His or her every action will send cultural messages to your employees, giving them a clearer idea of what is acceptable or unacceptable in your company.

Additionally, your CEO is responsible for capital allocation and hiring, firing and leading the members of your senior management team.

How Your CEO Can Be a Greater Asset to Your Company

Be Humble

According to successful entrepreneur Cecilia Ibru, CEO of Oceanic Bank International, CEOs should try to refrain from being overly arrogant even though they hold a higher position than most people in their companies.

It is fine if your CEO wants to be in the spotlight to help your company gain visibility and establish a firm foothold in the marketplace. However, he or she should be willing to do whatever is best for your company at any given time, even if it means putting aside his or her ego.

A humble CEO will be able to gain the trust of your employees and create a more closely-knit workforce.

Make Full Use of Data

The success of your company depends a lot on your CEO’s decision-making ability.

One thing you can do to ensure that he or she will be able to make better decisions is to implement big data analytics.

With a big data system in place, your CEO can analyze your company’s data more efficiently and effectively, and derive valuable and actionable insights that can help him or her make well-informed decisions.

Communicate Clearly

Whether your CEO is communicating with the board, investors, employees or clients, it is essential that he or she knows how to communicate and inform clearly.

The people whom he or she is communicating with should be able to understand his or her visions, goals and strategies. Clear communication can lead to greater efficiency and productivity, as well as higher work quality.

In most companies, the CEO is the person who has the greatest influence on business performance.

If you have a capable CEO, you will have the peace of mind that your company is in good hands.

About the Author: John McMalcolm is a freelance writer who writes on a wide range of subjects, from social media marketing to running a business.

Does Your Business Profile Get Enough Love?

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Digital marketing revolves around building an online presence, at the core of which is your online business profile.

When you first brought your business profile online, you probably set up a few social media accounts, posted a few pictures on your Facebook page and maybe even Tweeted an announcement that you were open for business.

But without continual maintenance, your business profile will collect cobwebs faster than a tavern during the prohibition.

What Have You Done for Me Lately?

Your followers are always looking for the latest and greatest offerings from your social media accounts.

It’s not enough that you announce your grand opening or a 20% off sale three months ago. You have to keep the offers flowing.

Whether you’re offering up fashion tips from your online clothing store blog, or posting pictures of your company employee outing on Pinterest, the posts have to keep coming.

Assume your followers have short-term memory loss. They don’t remember today what you did for them yesterday, so you have to keep reminding them why they follow you.

You Never Know Where Gold Will Turn up

If you think that simply having a website and a stagnant online business profile is sufficient, think again.

Business networking is still the key to drumming up leads, referrals and long-term business relationships. Just like in the old days when you handed your business card to everyone from the plumber to the guy sitting next to you on the subway, you should network everywhere.

You never know where the gold will turn up.

Don’t assume that certain social media sites are only for one specific demographic. Pinterest started out with women posting pretty pictures of hairstyles and tea sets.

As the following article looks at, now savvy business people post their business profile on Pinterest, like the Bob Pratt profile, because they recognize that people from all walks of life visit a variety of social media sites. Market your business profile everywhere you can.

Give People What They Want

To really make your business profile stand out, make it about the people, not about you. In other words, your posts and tweets should have value to the people, helping you increase and improve your brand profile along the way.

Of course, it’s fine to toot your own horn just a little. For example, if you’ve made a sizable donation to a charity, you can certainly announce it.

But most of your posts should be about giving the people what they want. In order to do that, you have to find out what they want. This is where business marketing surveys really come in handy.

A short survey with a few simple questions should be able to tell you if your followers are interested in receiving things like information, coupons, infographics, or investor tips from you. Whatever it is, make sure you comply.

Try to put your own agenda in the background, and your followers’ wants in the foreground of your online business profile campaign.

Make sure your business profile is getting enough love.

Post often and everywhere with information that your followers want.

Photo credit: Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

About the Author: Kate Supino writes extensively about best business practices.

Do Your Employees Successfully Communicate?

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As an employer, what do you look at as some of your greatest challenges?

Many will point to keeping their revenue in the black or at least break-even all the time. Meantime, others will note the difficulties of retaining some of their top employees, employees who may decide the pasture is greener in another job. Still others will single out the task of keeping customers happy.

No matter what you find to be your greatest challenge running a company, having employees who can properly communicate amongst themselves and with customers is oftentimes more difficult than it should be.

For one reason or another, communications break down.

When that happens, customers can be left holding, meaning some of them will choose not to remain with you and go elsewhere.

Review Communication Procedures Regularly

So that you can avoid issues concerning employee communication, put aside these reminders:

  1. Technology – First and foremost, do you have the right technology in place for your employees to succeed with? Simply having a few phones, computers, a fax machine or two and a printer here and there in the office are not enough. You should do a technology review of your office at least a couple of times a year, checking to see that you have all your needs being met. If you have a busy call center, make sure your employees are staffed with the right technology so they can deal with customers quickly and efficiently, not leaving them on hold for extended periods of time or dropping calls routinely;
  2. Usage – Even if you have the latest in technology, is it being put to proper use? Start by looking at your office phone system. Whether you work on the West Coast, East Coast, Midwest or in the Sunshine State and have Florida home phone or another such setup in your office or home office (for those who telecommute or run companies out of their residences), make sure you and your employees are getting your money’s worth. The same holds true if you have office cell phones, especially for employees who are on the road conducting sales, meeting with clients, attending trade shows etc. The phones should have necessities such as texting, the ability to take photos, folders for holding important dates such as meetings and more;
  3. Pricing – If you are a savvy business owner, you undoubtedly are good at budgeting and saving money for a rainy day. Check the pricing plans for your phone and Internet connections, making sure you are clearly getting the best deal possible. In many cases, you can get a bundled deal, meaning your phone and Internet needs are all tied up in one, coming at a discounted rate. Also track the amount of time you and your employees spend on the phone with customer service matters versus email. Many companies have gotten away from the one-on-one phone conversation as the primary source to interact with customers, instead opting for emails and SMS text messaging.

No matter what technology devices your company uses, it is a good idea to make sure you have the best devices around, not to mention the best employees to use them.

Sound communication with your customers is not an option; it is a necessity that should never be overlooked.

Photo credit: Image courtesy of photostock at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

About the Author: Dave Thomas writes for a variety of websites on topics such as social media and marketing.

Do You Have the Right Brand Promotion Mix?

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marketing-words-blackboard-shows-selling-promotion-and-sales-100211117Are you looking to grow your company, gain exposure to the media and market your business to a specific clientele?

If so, you’re going to need to carefully plan exactly how you should go about marketing your business. There is no “one size fits all” method, but rather a mix of strategies that work together to give your business the type of growth it needs.

Popular ways businesses go about marketing include networking with other businesses and individuals in the area, asking for referrals, using free forms of advertising (such as Craigslist), developing an online social media presence, placing ads in the newspaper or print media, creating a mass email or text message list, offering deals and specials, donating to a local charity and more.

There are hundreds of ways to market your business, but the trick is finding a mix that works best for your specific industry.

Get More Social

Social media is quickly rising to the top when it comes to marketing. Not only is it an effective way to advertise for nearly all businesses, regardless of industry, but it’s also a free way to advertise.

To market via social media, you first start out by setting up your business accounts on various social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, LinkedIn and more.

Then, start networking with other business and individuals, post information on your company including any specials or promotions you have going on, interact with customers and start developing a following.

Finding the Right Combinations

While growing your online presence is one of the best ways to market your business, it shouldn’t be the only way. A business that markets well knows that it’s a combination of marketing strategies that are the most effective.

The article “Integrating social media, text and email” suggests that the best social media marketing strategy incorporates text messages and email marketing into their plan. Instead of having three separate plans, it’s best to have them work together to form one larger marketing campaign.

So how do you get all three to work together?

A few ideas include asking customers via email to “like” your Facebook page, getting customers to “opt in” to your text message service by offering a discount on your product or placing a “subscribe to my email” option on all of your social media accounts.

By offering discounts or free products to the customers and making it easy for them to share and follow you, you’ll have a much better chance at growing a following and gaining customers.

Once you’ve combined your social media marketing strategy with your text and email campaign, you can begin to seek out other ways to advertise.

Its trial-and-error, as some methods will work wonderfully and others will crash and burn. Your strategies will also change over time as new and improved ways of marketing come on to the market.

Be flexible and be willing to try a variety of methods in order to figure out what works best for your business.

Photo credit: Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

About the Author: Sarah Brooks is a freelance writer living in Charlotte, NC. She writes on a variety of topics including social media, small businesses and personal finance.